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Green Archers dominate ex-coach, Growling Tigers

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE De La Salle Green Archers got the better of former coach Aldin Ayo after beating the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 99-72, in University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 action on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Met for the first time since parting ways late last year, the Archers (3-2) dominated Mr. Ayo and the Tigers (1-4) right from the start to move back into the win column of the ongoing season while sending UST to its third straight defeat.
The teams had a brief feeling-out period to start the contest before La Salle began its move.
It scored the first four points before racing to an 11-2 lead by the halfway point of the opening quarter led by big man Justine Baltazar.
UST tried to make up for lost ground behind Renzo Subido and Joshua Marcos but had little headway as they trailed, 28-13, after 10 minutes.
The Archers continued to pound on the Tigers, outscoring the latter, 12-5, in the first three minutes of the second canto to stretch their lead to 40-18.
From there it was all La Salle with the team holding a 54-34 advantage after the first half.
To start the third, the Tigers came out with more bite, scoring five quick points to narrow the gap, 54-39, with a minute and a half lapsing.
Baltazar and Aljun Melicio though would stand high for the Archers, helping their team keep its dominance, 60-43, at the halfway juncture of the frame.
The Tigers kept on angling to claw their way back only to be rebuffed by the Archers each time.
The count stood at 71-51 entering the fourth period.
With the match pretty much sealed, La Salle spent the final canto holding down any fight-back attempts by UST.
The Archers’ lead was at 26 points, 82-56, with five minutes remaining and they just cruised from there to the victory.
Baltazar led the way for La Salle with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks followed by Melecio with 19 points.
Andrei Caracut had 13 points while Santi Santillan and Jolo Go had 11 points each.
Subido finished with 16 points to lead UST with Marvin Lee and Zach Wang adding 13 apiece.
“The game plan today was to play at a high level for 40 minutes and I think we were able to do that. Good thing many contributed and stepped up,” said winning coach Louie Gonzalez in the postgame press conference.
“We really needed to win this game to put us in a good position moving forward,” he added.
La Salle next plays rival Ateneo de Manila University on Oct. 6 while UST takes on University of the East on the same day.

Smart recognizes Philippines 2018 Asian Games medalists

SMART Communications recently joined the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) in honoring Filipino athletes who bagged medals during the 2018 Asian Games held in Indonesia last Aug. 18 – Sept. 2.
During the awarding ceremonies held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Filipino Asian Games 2018 medalists received incentives from Smart, on top of their grants from POC’s donors including the MVP Sports Foundation, Inc. The gold and silver medalists received smartphones powered by Smart postpaid plans. Meanwhile, bronze medalists were given pre-loaded Smart Pocket WiFi kits.
“We want our PH medalists to experience our fastest LTE network,” said Gabby Cui, Smart assistant vice president and head of community development and partnerships. “We hope that with these Smart-powered phones, we are able to empower them in preparing themselves for future games; and of course, to connect them with their loved ones.”
Filipino Asian Games medalists received incentives from Smart Communications on top of their cash grant from the Philippine Olympic Committee and its partners.
During their stint at the Asian Games 2018, the Filipino medalists learned the value of teamwork and discipline despite the high level of competition.
“What I learned here is no matter what happens just don’t give up, persevere,” said Pauline Lopez, Bronze medalist for Taekwondo.
She also mentioned that camaraderie among teammates and the other Philippine national delegates helped them survive the pressure at the tournament.
For the Philippines’ first female athlete to win the Asian Games Gold medal for weightlifting, Hidilyn Diaz, she claims her strong faith in God made her win.
“Syempre sa hirap ng pinagdadaanan ko kinukwestiyon ko na ang sarili ko kung kaya ko pa ba and minsan kinikwestiyon ko siya minsan sa pressure na nararamdaman ko pero dahil nagtitiwala ako kay God, nanghihingi ako ng wisdom sa kanya at dahil du’n nagawa ko lahat” Diaz added.
Currently, Hidilyn is preparing for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Asian Games 2018 first-time athlete, Yuka Saso, gold medalist for the golf tournament, mentioned that she doesn’t let pressure get into her, and asserts that teamwork is the key to surpassing everything.
For Margielyn Didal, women’s street skateboarding gold medalist, her strong ties with her family and supporters back home contributed greatly to her winning performance.
FUTURE PLANS
Smart has been a staunch supporter of the sports industry in the Philippines and they have better plans for our PHL athletes in the future.
“We are looking at different ways to support Smart, on how they support Sports with POC and PSC. We are looking at certain technologies that we can use together, certain platforms for the athletes, to improve para they can use technology in sports science,” Cui added.

Don Gimperoso to represent Philippines in Red Bull Kumite global last chance qualifier

THE inaugural Philippine Red Bull Kumite Qualifier was successfully held last weekend with veteran player Don Gimperoso emerging as the winner and will represent the Philippines in the global Last Chance Qualifier at the Red Bull Kumite Finals in Paris, France, in November.
Up against other top Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition players in the land, PBE Don, as Mr. Gimperoso is popular known, stood triumphant at the Chaos Nightclub in City of Dreams, Manila, to earn the all-expenses-paid trip to the French capital as Philippines’ representative.
“I’m very happy since I won the tournament. It was a close match. My opponent made last-minute adjustments and I had a hard time closing out the game,” said Don, who defeated James Prado (PBE James) in an emotionally charged finals.
Don has competed in numerous tournaments overseas and regarded as one of the most dominant forces in the local gaming scene.
Red Bull Kumite is a showdown between the best Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition players in the world.
The contest has reached gamers all over the world, with qualifications now open across new territories. Each game takes place inside a cage until only one player is left standing.
This year marked the first time that the Philippines hosted a regional qualifier, which gathered players from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Competing at the global Last Chance Qualifier, Don will be among 256 players colliding for the last two remaining spots in the World Finals.
In the World Finals, a total of 16 players, two from the Last Chance Qualifier and 14 of the best Street Fighter V players invited by Red Bull, will square off in a series of head-to-head battles on Nov. 11 to determine the 2018 Red Bull Kumite Champion.
Don said he is not too pressured despite the tough battle ahead and instead basking in the excitement of facing the top players in the world.
“There’s very little pressure for me. I’m excited, and I expect the best players from around the world. My strategy is to watch their matches online and familiarize myself with their move set,” said Don. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

QCBL opens shop Nov. 10

A NEW basketball league in Quezon City, the largest city in Metro Manila in terms of population and land area, will rise soon.
To be known as the Quezon City Basketball League (QCBL), the cage league aims to develop a complete basketball program for the growing youth population and unveil a new generation of competitive basketball players in the city named after former Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon.
BJ Manalo, a former La Salle Green Archer and team manager of the Globalport team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), will head the direction of the QCBL as executive director.
Manalo, who had also held sports management positions in several colleges and universities, said that established teams and corporate firms with business headquarters in the city have already been invited to participate in the league that will open on Nov. 10 at its homecourt, JCR Gym of the FEU-NRMF in Fairview.
The QCBL will be ushered in by Corporate Cup Conference with three divisions on tap, namely the Open, Cadet and Starter.
“What makes this team league special is that our participating teams and our management team will jointly conduct free basketball clinics for kids in different barangays. We are getting them ready for the city-wide QCBL 3×3 and 5×5 tournaments. This also serves as our Corporate Social Responsibility,” said Manalo, who has earned the backing of several basketball patrons, including Nino Reyes of FEU-NRMF.
The Open Division is open to corporate teams that will be allowed to have maximum number of 20 players, with one import or foreign player in the line-up. Players must be 18-years-old and above but they should not be currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) or the Asean Basketball League.
The Cadet Division is a notch lower with the teams having a maximum of 20 players each but must have no experience playing in the pro leagues like the PBA, ABL, D-League, Maharlika league and the National Basketball League.
Former colleague players from ivy league likes the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) should have had their last playing year in 2010.
The Starter Division will have 20 maximum players in a team. Should have no foreign player and former pro leaguers and only two players with a maximum height of 6 foot, 2 inches are allowed.
Corporate teams outside Quezon City are welcomed to join. For more details, contact coach Oliver Bunyi at 0917-5226385. Or send message to Quezon City Basketball League’s Facebook page.

New B3 weapon

43rd Chess Olympiad
Batumi, Georgia
Sept. 23 — Oct. 6, 2018

Current Standings (round 8 of 11)

Country/Points TB1 TB2

1. USA 15/16 227.0 23.0

2. POL 14/16 209.5 22.5

3. AZE 13/16 236.0 22.5

4. IND 13/16 203.0 22.5

5. FRA 13/16 195.5 22.5

6. CHN 13/16 193.0 21.0

7. ARM 13/16 191.5 21.5

8. GER 13/16 182.5 21.0

9. ENG 13/16 175.0 19.5

10. NOR 12/16 180.5 23.0

11. RUS 12/16 178.0 21.0

12. CRO 12/16 167.5 20.5

13. MDA 12/16 160.5 19.5

14. ITA 12/16 156.5 20.5

15. AUT 12/16 151.0 20.5

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.
Scoring is on Match Points System (two points for team win, one point for draw, 0 for loss). First Tiebreak is on Olympiad Sonneborn-Berger System and Second Tiebreak is on Game Points (total points scored by each of their players).
Games are played at 7 p.m. Manila time every day, except for the last round which will begin at 3 p.m., also Manila time. If you want to watch the games live and for free I can recommend the following sites:

https://chess24.com/en/dashboard

https://en.chessbase.com/

In both cases you should go to the page indicated and follow the link to the live games.
I start off by showing you this game won by Magnus Carlsen earlier this year.

Carlsen, Magnus (2843) — Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (2744) [B23]
Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2018 (5.3) 23.04.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2
POSITION AFTER 5.QD2
Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.0–0–0 b5 9.f3 h5 10.Nh3 Be7 11.Ng5 h4 12.f4 Bb7 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rhe1 Nh7 16.Nxh7 Rxh7 17.g4?!
After the game Carlsen said that he felt 17.Nd5! is the winning move, but he could not see a clear-cut win. After some analysis we can say that his intuition was correct. 17…exd5 18.exd5 Nd8 19.Bd3 Rh5 (19…Rh8 20.Bxg7 Rg8 21.Bf6) 20.Rxe7+! Qxe7 (20…Kxe7 21.Qe2+) 21.Re1 Ne6 22.dxe6 White has a winning attack.
17…hxg3 18.hxg3 Bf6 19.Bd3 Rh8 20.g4 Nd4 21.Re3 Kf8 22.Ne2 Nxe2 23.Rxe2 Bc3 24.Bxc3 Qxc3 25.Qe3 Rc5?
A clear mistake, allowing White’s next move. Better is 25…Qc5 26.Qg3 Qd4 27.g5 a5 White’s position is looking good, but Black is fighting back.
26.e5! dxe5
Black has no choice. 26…d5 27.f5 is even worse for him
27.fxe5 Rh1 28.Rxh1 Bxh1 29.Rh2 Rxe5 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.Qa7+ 1–0
Black resigns because of 31.Qa7+ Kd6 (31…Kf6 32.g5+ Rxg5 33.Rxh1 Black does not have a check on e1) 32.Rd8+ Kc6 33.Rc8+.
Many people thought that Magnus’ eccentric opening play was just an attempt to get out of the books early, but the reality is the opposite — it is a new system developed and proposed by the Greek International Master (IM) Ioannis Simeonidis.
IM Simeonidis recently wrote an article in NIC Yearbook 128 about his new discovery. According to him most Sicilian Black players would not mind going into the Najdorf System (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6). After 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 the only way to transpose to the Najdorf is 2…d6, and now Black is ready for a closed Sicilian or the Najdorf.
After a great deal of research and study he came up with 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2! In his own words: “The point is that the queen is perfect placed on d2. If White gets the time to develop the bishop on b2 and castle queenside, White is doing great.” He then worked together with GM (Grandmaster) Vasilios Kotronias to try to find a hole in his analysis and even organized games between computer engines starting from the position after White’s 5.Qd2 — the tests were all a huge success.
Finally, they sent their analysis to the camp of world champion Magnus Carlsen and the game shown above was the result.
This idea has since caught fire. In the first round of the Batumi Olympiad GM Arturs Neiksans won the following brilliancy.

Neiksans, Arturs (2566) — Paiva, Donaldo (2206) [B23]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (1.1), 24.09.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 Be7 8.0–0–0 a6 9.Kb1 b5 10.f3 0–0 11.g4 Bb7 12.g5 Nd7 13.h4 Nc5 14.Nh3 b4 15.Nd5!? exd5 16.exd5 Nb8 17.Qxb4 Nbd7 18.Qd4 f6 19.h5 Bc8 20.Be2 Rf7? 21.g6!± Rf8 22.gxh7+
The thematic 22.h6! seems to be the quickest way to the win here: 22…hxg6 (22…gxh6 23.gxh7+ Kh8 (23…Kxh7 24.Ng5+ Kg7 25.Qg4 hxg5 26.Qxg5+ Kf7 27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.Qh7#) 24.Rdg1 Ne5 25.Qh4 h5 26.Nf4 White is clearly winning) 23.Qg1 Ne5 (23…Kf7 24.Nf4) 24.Bxe5 fxe5 25.Qxg6 Bf6 26.Rdg1 Black is toast.
22…Kxh7 23.Rdg1 Rf7 24.Rg6 Bf8 25.f4 Qe8 26.Bf3! Re7 27.Bc3 Nb6 28.Ng5+! fxg5
[28…Kg8 29.Qxf6 Kh8 30.Rh6+ Kg8 31.Rh8+ Kxh8 32.Qh6+ Kg8 33.Qh7#]
29.h6! Bh3
[29…Kxg6 30.Bh5+]
30.hxg7 Qxg6 31.Rxh3+ Kg8 32.Rh8+ Kf7 33.g8Q+ Qxg8 34.Bh5+ 1–0
In round 2 of the Olympiad the Philippines had a good win versus Slovakia. Ino Sadorra beat GM Christopher Repka and John Paul Gomez won over GM Tomas Petrik. The Slovakians got a small measure of revenge though when IM Martin Nayhebaver used “the line” against MJ Turqueza.

Nayhebaver, Martin (2466) — Turqueza, Mari Joseph (2360) [B23]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (2.4), 25.09.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bg7 7.Bb2 Nf6 8.0–0–0 Be6 9.Kb1 Rc8 10.f3 0–0 11.Nge2 Qa5 12.g4 Rfd8 13.g5 Nh5?
As the course of this game shows this knight has no business being on h5. It should have gone to d7.
14.a3 a6 15.Nd5 Qxd2 16.Rxd2 h6 17.h4 Bxb2 18.Kxb2 Kg7 19.Ne3 a5 20.f4 Bd7 21.Bg2 b5 22.Bf3 hxg5
Otherwise White plays 23.Bxh5 gxh5 24.Ng3 and his knights take over.
23.hxg5 Rh8 24.e5! Nxf4 25.Nxf4 Nxe5
[25…dxe5 26.Nh5+! gxh5 27.Rxd7 White is threatening both 28.Bxc6 Rxc6 29.Nf5+ and the simple 28.Bxh5]
26.Rf1 Nxf3 27.Rxf3
White is a piece up and the rest is a mopping up operation.
27…Bc6 28.Rf1 Rh1 29.Rxh1 Bxh1 30.Ned5 Bxd5 31.Rxd5 Rb8 32.Ne2 f5 33.gxf6+ Kxf6 34.b4 axb4 35.axb4 g5 36.Ng3 e6 37.Ne4+ Kf7 38.Nxd6+ Ke7 39.Rxb5 Rf8 40.Ne4 g4 41.Rb7+ 1–0
So the set-up developed by IM Simeonidas is now a “thing,” and from the white wins pouring in it is a good thing. Before we leave this topic let us take a look at the following game. Could it be “Part 2” of “the thing”?

Jobava, Baadur (2634) — Sulskis, Sarunas (2525) [A01]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (4.1), 27.09.2018

1.b3 a5!?
The reasoning goes that if White intends to castle queenside then Black might as well get the queenside attack going from move 1.
2.a4 e5 3.Bb2 d6 4.e3 g6 5.d4 Bg7 6.dxe5 Nd7 7.Nc3 Nxe5 8.Qd2 Nf6 9.0–0–0 0–0 10.h3 Ned7 11.g4 Nc5 12.Bg2 Be6 13.Kb1 b5!? 14.g5
Taking the rook on a8 is dangerous. After 14.Bxa8 Qxa8 15.f3 bxa4 16.bxa4 Rb8 it looks like the second player is already winning. Nor can White take the b5 pawn. After 14.Nxb5 Nfe4 15.Qe1 Bxb2 16.Kxb2 Qf6+ 17.Kb1 c6 Black’s attack is already in full swing.
14…Nfd7 15.Nxb5 Bxb2 16.Kxb2 Rb8 17.Ne2 Qxg5 18.Nf4 Nb6
There is a threatened knight fork on c4.
19.Qd4 Ncxa4+!
Precisely the move White was trying to prevent.
20.bxa4 Nxa4+ 21.Qxa4 Rxb5+ 22.Kc1 Rb4 23.Qc6 Rxf4! 24.exf4 Qxf4+ 25.Rd2 Rb8!
With the idea of …Ba2 and …Rb1 mate.
26.Qc3 Ba2! 27.Kd1 Bc4 28.Qa1
[28.Ke1? Rb1+ 29.Rd1 Rb5 30.Rd2 a4 there is now the additional threat of a queening pawn]
28…Qg5 29.f4 Qf6! 30.c3
[30.Qxf6 Rb1#]
30…Qf5! 31.Kc1 Bd3?!
Black’s only slip-up in a wonderful game. More accurate is 31…Qxf4! intending …Bd3. That would have prevented White’s next move.
32.Rb2 Qxf4+ 33.Kd1 Bb5 34.Rd2 Qf5 35.Re1 Bd3 36.Rb2 Bb5 37.Be4 Qxh3 38.Qxa5 Qg4+ 39.Kc2 Qg5 40.Ra2 d5 41.Qxc7 Re8 42.Ra7 Qf6 43.Qc5 Bc4 44.Rc7?
[44.Bd3 is correct]
44…Qh4 45.Bxd5 Qh2+ 46.Kd1 0–1
Jobava resigned when he noticed that 46…Rxe1+ 47.Kx1 Qe2 is mate.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

LeBron James preaches patience

LeBron James has already been on the court for 23 minutes and change before he made his first dunk in a Laker uniform. In fact, he reached the milestone in his second game; in his first, he settled for looping threes and midrange jumpers through 15 minutes of exposure. In hindsight, it was, perhaps, meant to be. For all the times he strutted his stuff at the Staples Center since being selected first overall in the 2003 draft, he hadn’t done so in purple and gold until yesterday.
Two games in, its clear that James won’t be leading the Lakers from the lottery to the championship on his inaugural season. From his vantage point, all of the pieces on the board are new, and he will need practice after practice, game after game, to get acclimated to his teammates, not to mention his role in guiding them to success. He’s still widely considered the best of the best, but even he can do only so much in a team sport, where the last man riding the pine at the end of the bench needs to contribute to progress.
That said, James has undoubtedly galvanized the Lakers, and to the point where they are once again thinking about rubbing elbows at the top. They’ve always thought big, in part because of their storied past, and in larger measure because of the intrinsic advantages they hold as the National Basketball Association’s glamour franchise. Nonetheless, his very presence transforms them from dreamers to doers. And with a little luck and additional roster tweaks, they should be ready to truly contend.
Meanwhile, the Lakers would do well to temper their expectations. James already has, understanding that in the deep, deep West, talent alone holds no guarantees. It’s why he broke recent tradition and signed on for four years, and why he knows well enough to preach patience at every turn. And just as he waited until he had a prime opportunity to go for his first slam, so will he willingly take baby steps to move forward. His goal is still the same. He just needs forbearance to get there.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Main index rebounds on Fed chairman’s remarks

THE MAIN INDEX snapped its three-day losing streak on Wednesday as it took a breather from oversold conditions in previous sessions.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) traded sideways for most of the day before jumping 1.1% or 78.51 points to 7,210.87. The broader all-shares index also climbed 0.54% or 24.17 points to 4,422.97.
“Philippine shares took a breather as investors focused on issues affecting other regional markets today, namely the Fed Chairman reiterating a muted inflation for the US, and the unfolding of the Europe budget debacle,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message on Wednesday.
Investors took cues from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement that there are no signs of inflation spiking amid a low unemployment rate. Markets in the US ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.46% or 122.73 points to 26,773.94. Both the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index fell, dropping 0.04% and 0.47%, respectively.
“Locally and in Asia, investors remain tentative as no fresh catalysts hit the market with China out for Golden Week,” Regina Capital’s Mr. Limlingan added.
Meanwhile, Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez said overall sentiment remained the same, with investors just waiting for the release of September inflation figures on Friday.
“The overall sentiment has been the same since the start of the week with participants waiting on Friday’s inflation data release. Until then, we might still see more of the low value turnover we’ve been encountering,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier said inflation have reached 6.8% last month, or within a range of 6.3-7.1%. The Department of Finance on the other hand, expects the reading to be the same as August’s figure of 6.4%.
All sectoral indices ended in positive territory. Property surged 2.1% or 73.39 points to 3,557.67, followed by mining and oil which gained 1.54% or 133.50 points to 8,766.42. Industrials rose 1.07% or 111.66 points to 10,543.46; holding firms went up 1.04% or 72.99 points to 7,088.42; services added 0.46% or 7.02 points to 1,507.50; while financials posted an uptick of 0.31% or 5.03 points to 1,614.14.
Some 587.96 million issues switched hands, resulting in a P5.44-billion turnover, slightly lower than Tuesday’s P5.70 billion. Advancers beat decliners by a slim margin, 93 to 92, while 60 names closed flat.
Foreign investors dumped P281.90 million worth of funds on Wednesday, slowing down from the previous session’s P397.38 million.
Thirteen out of the 20 most active stocks for the day ended with gains, including Manila Electric Co. (up 4.91% to P358.80); PXP Energy Corp. (up 4.84% to P16.90); Ayala Land, Inc. (up 3.05% to P40.50); and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (up 2.35% to P4.80). — Arra B. Francia

Peso up on consolidation ahead of data

THE PESO strengthened ahead of inflation data on Friday.

THE PESO went up against the dollar on Wednesday as it consolidated ahead of the inflation data release on Friday.
The local unit closed at P54.18 versus the dollar on Wednesday, up seven centavos from the previous close of P54.25. The peso opened flat at P54.25, while it traded as high as P54.17-per-dollar intraday. Its worst showing stood at P54.27 versus the greenback.
Trading volume grew to $725.2 million from the $655.4 million that switched hands the previous day.
A foreign exchange trader said on Wednesday that the peso strengthened as it traded within a tight range.
“The dollar peso was quite trading in a range. So roughly around 10-cent range,” the trader said in a phone interview yesterday.
The trader added there was “sizeable corporate demand” as the market sentiment is “going for a stronger dollar-peso.”
“In the afternoon, we saw it trading stronger to its close. I think this is a repositioning before the inflation data on Friday as well as the non-farm payroll.”
A faster inflation print last month is widely expected following August’s 6.4%. Market consensus is at 6.8%, according to a BusinessWorld poll’s median forecast for headline inflation in September. This matches the estimate given by central bank and faster than the 6.4% projection by the Department of Finance.
The jobs report in the United States will also be released on Friday.
Meanwhile, another trader said the local currency strengthened as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the implementing guidelines of the Currency Risk Protection Program.
“This contributed to the positive sentiment towards the currency,” the second trader added.
For Thursday, the first trader expects the peso to move between P54.15 and P54.30, while the other gave a P54.10-P54.40 range.
“The peso might weaken again due to caution ahead of the inflation report on Friday,” the second trader said. — K.A.N. Vidal

Optimism falls double digits in SWS Q3 survey

OPTIMISM toward personal qualify of life and expectations on the Philippine economy fell double digits in a new survey by the Social Weather Stations.
The Third Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted Sept. 15-23, found 28% (“gainers”) of adult Filipinos saying their lives improved and 30% losers saying their lives worsened, leading to a negative Net Gainers score of -2 (% gainers minus % losers), classified by SWS as “fair.”
That score is 7 points below the “high” +5 in June and is the lowest since the “fair” -8 in September 2014, SWS said, noting further, “This is the first time for Net Gainers to be negative again, after 14 consecutive quarterly positive scores, starting in the First Quarter of 2015.”
DOUBLE-DIGIT FALL
The noncommissioned survey found 36% “optimists” expecting their personal quality of life to improve in the next 12 months and 9% “pessimists” expecting it to get worse, for a Net Personal Optimists score of a “high” +27 (% Optimists minus % Pessimists), yet 17 points down from the “excellent” +44 in June. SWS also said this September score is the lowest since the “high” +27 in August 2012.
The survey also found 31% optimistic that the Philippine economy next year would get better, and 20% feeling it would deteriorate, for a Net Economic Optimists score of a “very high” +11 (% Economic optimists minus % Economic pessimists), but still 19 points below the “excellent” +30 in June. The polling group said this is the lowest since the “high” +6 in March 2015.
Net Personal Optimism refers to expectations in personal quality of life, while Net Economic Optimists refers to expectations about the general Philippine economy.
SWS said the 17-point fall in Net Personal Optimists was due to declines in all areas from June to September.
Like Net Personal Optimists, Net Economic Optimists also fell in all classes and all areas, with Mindanao’s 21-point drop comparing with Metro Manila’s 8-point decline.
DECLINE IN GAINERS
The 7-point decline in the national Net Gainers score was due to declines in Mindanao, Metro Manila and Balance Luzon, combined with an increase in the Visayas.
Net Gainers also fell sharply in class ABC by 30 points, from an “excellent” +31 in June to “fair” -1 in September, and also had a significant decline of 13 points to -14.
“Net Gainers declined in overall urban areas, from net zero (fair) in June to -2 (fair) in September, and in overall rural areas, from +10 (very high) in June to -2 (fair) in September,” SWS said.
“By gender, it fell among women, from +7 (high) in June to +3 (high) in September, and among men, from +3 (high) to -7 (fair) in September.”
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon, and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, with sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for the other areas.

Labor deputy fired

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said he has fired Labor Undersecretary Joel B. Maglunsod.
Mr. Duterte made this announcement during the presentation of rebel returnees at Camp Juan Ponce Sumuroy in Catarman, Samar, last Tuesday, Oct. 2.
But Mr. Maglunsod, the undersecretary for Labor Relations of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), said when sought for comment on Wednesday: “Sorry po, hindi ko alam ‘yon. I-tsek ko pa po (Sorry, I have no idea about that. I will check first).”
In his speech, Mr. Duterte said: “Iyong Undersecretary ng Labor,…Joel Maglunsod, pinaalis ko (The Undersecretary of Labor, Joel Maglunsod, I fired him).”
“Hindi ko po talaga alam… Nagtanong din ako sa sarili ko ano kakulangan ko? O ano kasalanan ko sa DoLE? Kasi lahat ng mga ginagawa namin doon, para…sa mamamayan natin, siyempre ‘yung itigil ang contractualization at for the regularization ng mga mamamayan natin. ‘Yun ang mga effort natin,” Mr. Maglunsod said.
(I really do not know about that. I also asked myself, where did I go wrong? Have I done anything wrong to DoLE? Because everything we do there is for the people. And, of course, it is to end contractualization and for the regularization of our workers. Those are our efforts.)
Mr. Maglunsod is a former Anakpawis representative and a leader of the leftist Kilusang Mayo Uno. Mr. Duterte did not mention his affiliation but apparently referred to that in his remarks:
“Pinagbigyan ko sila noon. Eh, ‘yung ideology niyo. Pero in the long run, gusto nila pati sila magdala ng gobyerno,” he said, addressing the rebel returnees. (I gave them a chance before. (But) your ideology. But in the long run, they want to take over the government.)
“Makipag-away ka sa akin, makipag-barilan ka tapos ngayon sabihin mo kasama tayo sa gobyerno…Kalokohan ‘yan.” (You fight me and shoot me, and then now, you say we’re together in government. That’s foolishness.)
“Ayan pakisabi — pati ‘yang (Kilusang) Mayo Uno na ito mag — ipaaresto ko lahat ‘yan.” (Tell them, including this Mayo Uno, I will have them arrested.)
Before Mr. Maglunsod, leftist officials like Judy M. Taguiwalo, Rafael V. Mariano, and Liza L. Maza were also prompted to leave the government.
For his part, Alan A. Tanjusay, spokesperson of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said in a statement: “[We] were surprised at the news saying Usec. Joel Maglunsod was fired by the President.”
He cited Mr. Maglunsod as being “very active in linking labor groups and workers organizations’ concerns and issues to the DoLE, business and employers groups, and to the President.”
“[Mr. Maglunsod] was always ready to listen and work out solutions to workers in trouble with their employers. [He] was (a) key DoLE official in helping move the very important security of tenure bill. He was also a key DoLE official in regularizing thousands of ‘endo’ workers,” Mr. Tanjusay also said. —with Gillian M. Cortez

BoC, BIR officials fired over SALNs

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Reporter
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) has dismissed five Customs officials in the first eight months of the year, over “false declarations” in their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN), and penalized more from other revenue agencies over administrative violations.
This is in compliance with orders from the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), after the successful prosecution of cases.
A statement by the DoF on Wednesday cited its Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS) as saying that five Bureau of Customs employees made “false declaration” in their SALNs.
Headed by Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin, RIPS conducts regular lifestyle checks on DoF officials, including those in attached agencies like the BoC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Customs Operations Officers Uthman Mamadra and Rosalinda Mamadra were found guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct for their failure to declare a complete, true and detailed inventory of their real properties in Parañaque City, Cavite and Mindoro Occidental; 12 pieces of firearms, and several motor vehicles, in their SALNs for the years 2003-2012.
They were barred from holding public office, forfeited of their retirement benefits, and were slapped with the accessory penalties.
SALNs are a mandatory declaration by government officials of all their properties and liabilities in a given year and are required to be renewed every year.
Delia Morala, Customs Operations Officer V of the BOC, was also slapped the same penalties after failing to declare real properties in Manila and Pangasinan, as well as her husband’s business interests in private corporations.
The DoF also said BoC Special Agent I Orlando Sangid, was dismissed from the service and meted with accessory penalties for misdeclaring several real properties, motor vehicles and business interests in his SALNs from 2004 to 2014.
Guillermo Roxas, Customs Security Guard II, was dismissed from the service with the accessory penalties of forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from holding public office over his “failure to secure the necessary travel authority for his trips abroad and failure to declare certain assets and business interests in his SALN from 2003 to 2014,” as well as “willfully disregarding established rules, and falsifying his daily time record for September 2014.”
Meanwhile, Pangasinan municipal treasurer Loida Cancino and her husband Norberto Cancino, a municipal engineer, were suspended for six months and one day and meted a fine of P5,000, after they were “found administratively liable for less serious dishonesty.”
Former Revenue Officer III Zenia Astorga was also ordered to pay a P3,000 fine for conflict of interest between her position and her business interests, a year after she retired.
“Four other employees from the BoC and two from the BIR were found administratively liable of the lesser offense of simple neglect of duty and meted the penalty of suspension from service for one to three months, aside from facing criminal indictments. Two other employees from BoC and BIR were reprimanded,” the DoF said.
Last year, RIPS investigated a total of 104 cases against suspected erring officials and employees under the DoF.

PCOO deputy quits

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
COMMUNICATIONS Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux “Mocha” J. Uson has announced her resignation and hinted possible plans to run in the 2019 midterm elections.
Ms. Uson made this disclosure at the Senate budget hearing on her agency on Wednesday, about a week before the deadline period for the filing of candidacies for next year’s elections.
Ms. Uson said her resignation was prompted by some members of the House of Representatives who were allegedly withholding the budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) due to her repeated absence in the budget deliberations by that chamber.
“Every year, I have been told not to criticize lawmakers so the PCOO budget will not be withheld. Even though the present system angers me, it should be followed. So I will sacrifice myself so the budget of PCOO is passed. I have decided to resign,” she said in Filipino during the Senate budget hearing.
Her resignation letter released by Malacañang on Wednesday was dated Sept. 28 and indicated that she has resigned effective Oct. 1. This was around the time she went to New York to attend the 73rd United Nations General Assembly with officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Asked whether she intends to run in the midterm polls, Ms. Uson said she was open to run for the Senate or the House of Representatives. During the hearing, she said she would bring her fight against abusive lawmakers to the two chambers of Congress.
“Senate or Congress? Just like what the President told me, let the people decide. Our kababayan are in Facebook so let’s see their sentiments there,” she told reporters.
Now a private citizen, Ms. Uson vowed that she would intensify her efforts to defend President Rodrigo R. Duterte from critics, saying “abangan niyo na lang po, may blog naman ako so raratsada tayo du’n, bakbakan na talaga ito (let us watch out, I have a blog anyway so we will step up there, this is really war).”
Sought for comment, presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said, “I wish her the best, I’ll miss her. But she did make it clear that she’ll continue her advocacy. Lagot silang lahat kay (they’re going to be in trouble with) Mocha Uson.”
In a statement, the Vice-President’s spokesperson Ibarra M. Gutierez reminded Ms. Uson that she should be held accountable over her attacks against the President’s critics despite her resignation. The former Palace official has repeatedly criticized Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, who also chairs the opposition Liberal Party.
“There are many times that Mocha Uson has shown that she does not understand and she is not ready to perform the duties of a public servant. This is why her resignation is not a loss for the country. She should not make the mistake in thinking that just because she resigned, she will not be held accountable for all her lies and libelous statements,” Mr. Gutierrez said in Filipino.
Asked for comment on Ms. Uson’s plan to rail against critics, opposition Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV told reporters, “That is her right and that is really the situation during campaign period….I don’t see anything wrong with that and in fact, it’s more appropriate for her to do that now she is no longer in government.”
Also at the budget hearing, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III proposed the revival of Malacañang’s Office of the Press Secretary to replace the PCOO. He said Congress can allot the budget of the PCOO into the Office of the Press Secretary.
“The perspective of some members of the Senate is that we have completely digressed already from the original intent of the creation of the Press Secretary….Perhaps this is the best time to study, while studying your budget, to review and study the possibility of reverting it back into the Office of the Press Secretary,” Mr. Sotto said.
Mr. Roque said the decision to bring back the Press Secretary’s office will have to come from the President.
“Well, I will bow to the wisdom of our legislators. I understand that was actually the system and I noticed the pictures in the stairways they are all press secretaries. But that will have to be a decision to be made also by the President because the creation of PCOO is by reason of an executive order, power of the President to reorganize the bureaucracy.” — with Arjay L. Balinbin

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