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Skateboarding: PHL fourth gold

THE Philippines’s gold medal haul at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia rose to four on Wednesday after Margielyn Didal added another one by topping the women’s skateboarding street event at the JSC Skateboard Stadium in Palembang.
A native of Cebu, Ms. Didal posted 30.4 points in the event where she showed the dexterity, agility, balance, and speed needed to come away with the gold medal.
Her score was head and shoulders above her closest pursuer, Kaya Isa of Japan, who finished with 25 points to score the silver.
Hometown bet Bungay Nyimas, meanwhile, wound up with the bronze with 19.8 points.
Seen as a favorite in the event, Ms. Didal hardly left a doubt with the billing as she wove through the course and through the tricks en route to the win.
“I’m so happy with this win. I gave all for the Philippines. Hopefully with this gold medal how people view skateboarding change; that a lot of things go in it,” a teary-eyed Didal said after her gold conquest.
She went on to say that she is training her sights on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. — MASM

Heat delivers beating at US Open


NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic suffered in sweltering US Open conditions Tuesday but held on to reach the second round with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
The Wimbledon champion, playing his first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium since falling to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 final, received a brutal welcome back as soaring temperatures and suffocating humidity prompted organizers to offer the men a 10-minute mid-match heat break for the first time ever.
“We both struggled. We were not the only ones today. Brutal conditions,” said Djokovic, who called for trainers who enveloped him in ice packed towels late in the second set.
“I had to find a way to dig myself out of the trouble.”
Until late in the third it was “survival mode” said Djokovic, who endured a rocky start to the season after elbow surgery before breaking through for a 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.
His Cincinnati Masters victory over Roger Federer stamped him a US Open favorite along with defending champion Rafael Nadal, despite his modest sixth seeding.
FEDERER DOMINATES NISHIOKA
Five-time champion Roger Federer eased into the second round of the US Open on Tuesday, beating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
The Swiss great, seeded second at Flushing Meadows behind defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal, improved his perfect record in US Open first-round matches with his 18th win in 18 attempts.
As the opening attraction of the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Federer escaped the worst of hot, humid conditions that punished players earlier in the day.
Nor did he meet much resistance from Nishioka, who was ranked 58th in the world last March before tearing a left knee ligament and sliding out of the top 150.
After rolling through the first two sets with the loss of just four games, Federer cruised to a 4-0 lead in the third. Up 5-1, he was unable to close out the match against Nishioka’s serve, and then was broken on his first attempt to serve it out himself.
Federer, who claimed is 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, would put the match away two games later, finally sealing the win with a service winner.
“I’m very happy to be back in New York healthy,” said Federer, who claimed five straight US Open titles from 2004-2008 but missed the 2016 edition and only made it to the quarter-finals last year.
He next faces France’s Benoit Paire, a 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) winner over Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak.
Mercurial Australian Nick Kyrgios, the 30th seed, will be in action on Armstrong, taking on Moldova’s Radu Albot with a possible third-round meeting with Federer in the offing.
Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki played in the heat of the day, but the weather oppressing so many seemed to suit the Dane as she defeated 2011 champion Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2.
“I just tried to cool down between games, used ice,” said Wozniacki, who also imagined she was on the beach “margarita in hand.”
While Wozniacki got by with the help of eight double faults from Stosur and “trying to think cool thoughts,” for France’s Alize Cornet the steamy conditions were a “nightmare.”
Cornet wept as she sat courtside, telling doctors she felt ill amid her three-set loss to Johanna Larsson of Sweden.
With the women already taking advantage of a WTA recommended “heat break” prior to a third set, organizers decided Tuesday afternoon that the men would be afforded a similar 10-minute off court rest prior to a fourth set under an Extreme Heat Policy.
‘MAGNIFICENT FEELING’
It wasn’t enough to prevent half a dozen retirements, with Italy’s Stefano Travaglia, Argentine Leonardo Mayer, Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, and Serbian Filip Krajinovic all victims of the heat and Romanian Marius Copil succumbing to an arm injury.
“I had heat stroke,” Mayer said of his decision to call it quits. “I was not going to die on the court, tennis is not for that.”
Djokovic called it “sad.”
“There’s so much cramping going on,” he said, noting that while it’s a player’s responsibility to be fit “there are some conditions that are so extreme that as fit as you are you can’t just not feel it.”
Although he appreciated the heat break, he wasn’t sure if organizers should go further and give up on the 25-second serve clock, newly introduced at the US Open to strictly monitor time players take between points.
“When a rule is implemented, it’s kind of hard to just switch the shot clock off just because the conditions are difficult and brutal,” Djokovic said. — AFP

NLEX adds to Columbian’s struggles

THE NLEX Road Warriors returned to winning in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday, defeating Columbian Dyip, 116-104, in the curtain-raiser at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Found themselves in a tight battle althroughout the match, the Road Warriors showed steady focus to keep in step with the Dyip before making their move in the end for the win.
The victory was a bounce back for NLEX (3-1), which lost in its previous game, while the loss sent Columbian (0-3) to its third straight defeat.
NLEX went on a fast start, racing to a 17-7 lead, led by replacement import Aaron Fuller, by the 8:08 mark of the opening quarter.
But the Dyip would not let the lead balloon, instead going on a furious run of their own with guard Jerramy King leading the charge.
They outscored the Road Warriors, 27-16, the rest of the way to seize the lead, 34-33, by the end of the first 12 minutes.
A slugfest marked the start of the second canto, with the teams jockeying to get control.
The count stood at 45-44 and Columbian leading with six minutes lapsing.
The teams battled thereafter with NLEX eventually ending on top at the half, holding a slim 64-62 edge.
The tight nature of the contest continued at the start of the third period.
Import Akeem Wright and guard RaShawn McCarthy towed the Dyip to a 79-76 lead at the 6:40 mark.
Much like the path the game took earlier, NLEX would reverse things on the lead of Mr. Fuller.
The Road Warriors would drive their way ahead anew, 91-87, after the first three quarters.
NLEX built on it the finish it had in the third to crank things up early in the fourth period.
It stretched their lead to 11 points, 100-89, three minutes into the final canto.
The Dyip managed to trim their deficit to five points, 102-97, in the next three minutes only to see the Road Warriors pull away once again.
The Road Warriors held an eight-point lead entering the last two minutes.
Columbian attempted to inch its way back but NLEX was not to allow the Dyip to gain much headway on its way to the victory.
Mr. Fuller led NLEX with 35 points and 21 rebounds while veteran Larry Fonacier had 17 points.
Kenneth Ighalo had 15 for the Road Warriors.
Mr. Wright, meanwhile, paced Columbian with 37 points and 17 rebounds. Mr. King added 22 points. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pencak silat adds another bronze to Philippine haul

ALMOHAIDIB Abad gave the Philippines its 13th bronze medal at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia with a podium finish in the pencak silat men’s single final on Wednesday.
Mr. Abad scored a total of 455 points behind Indonesian Sugianto Sugianto, who won the gold with 471 points, and silver medallist Ilyas Sadara of Thailand with 460 points.
The General Santos City native, with the bronze finish, joined the taekwondo poomsae men’s and women’s teams, taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez, wushu’s Agatha Wong and Divine Wally, BMX cyclist Daniel Caluag, jiu-jitsu’s Meggie Ochoa, golfer Bianca Pagdanganan and pencak silat’s Jeffrey Rhey Loon , Dines Dumaan and Cherry Mae Regalado and Karate’s Junna Tsukii. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Gilas builds data bank of game plans, scouting reports for future national team references

JAKARTA — It’s time for the Philippine men’s basketball team to put an archives of game plans, scouting reports and any reference materials that could help the national team program in future international campaigns.
Head coach Yeng Guiao suggested it to all the members of the coaching staff and wants to put a databank under the intellectual property of the Samahang Baseketbol ng Pilipinas, the governing body of basketball in the country.
“We need to do this for future references, so that whichever group is handling the national team, they won’t be left out in the dark,” Guiao told BusinessWorld. “We want to share this database because this is for Philippine team after all. We will keep our files secret for our respective mother teams in the PBA as this belongs to ours, but not for the national team because these files would help the program in the long run.”
Built for only two weeks, the Gilas Pilipinas team came and competed in the Asian Games having to strive on their own, scouting on players overnight and studying the team and players’ tendencies.
In creating an archive of game plans and scouting reports, it would help the future national squads in saving time doing its homework and giving them idea as they have files to look over.
Ryan Gregorio, chief scout of the squad competing here in the Asiad, who was also appointed just recently as Special Assistant to SBP President Al Panlilio, will make the files official under the property of the governing basketball body.
“The main proponent of this is Coach Yeng Guiao. We hail Coach Yeng to high heavens as a person who puts the best interest of the country and put this program a priority. I will operationalize it as part of the SAP function in the SBP,” wrote Gregorio in a text message. — Rey Joble

Eastern Conference open post-LeBron — Scalabrine

WITH National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James deciding to take his talent to the Western Conference, the East has become open for a new alpha team, this according to NBA champion and personality Brian Scalabrine.
A recent Manila visitor for the eighth staging in the country of NBA 3X, Mr. Scalabrine said with the decision of Mr. James to go to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, the pecking order in the Eastern Conference changed considerably with competition next season only expected to be very interesting.
While he considers the Boston Celtics as the best team in the East right now, Mr. Scalabrine, who won an NBA title with the Celtics in 2008, still thinks they have their work cut out for it.
He cited Toronto, Milwaukee, Indiana, Washington, and Philadelphia as Eastern teams that could challenge Boston for conference supremacy.
“Toronto with the addition of Kawhi Leonard is going to be interesting. A surprise team could be Milwaukee with a new coach in Mike Budenholzer, who is a tremendous coach, and another that is kinda sticky is Indiana with the development of Victor Oladipo,” said the NBA legend, fondly referred to as “The White Mamba,” on the sidelines of the conduct of NBA 3X Philippines on Aug. 26.
“And then there is Washington because you don’t know what kind of Dwight Howard we will see playing along with John Wall and Bradley Beal. There are a lot of good teams although I think the Celtics are the best team out there but it won’t be a cake walk like what everybody is saying. You, too, cannot discount Philadelphia. If you watch Ben Simmons’ posts on social media he has been hitting his jump shots and he looked perfect, and this is not to mention Joel Embiid who could be an MVP of the league,” he added.
NBA 3X WINNERS
Meanwhile, teams from Northern Luzon dominated the just-concluded NBA 3X Philippines, the league’s premier 3-on-3 competition which was presented by insurance firm AXA.
University of Luzon-Dagupan Team A from Pangasinan and Discovery Perlas topped the Men’s Open and the Women’s Open divisions in competitions held at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on Aug. 26.
University of Luzon, composed of Mario Angelito Torio, Reynald Ballesteros, Robert Caasi Jr. and Julius Tiburcio, outlasted Metro-Manila-based SAN-C in the finals while Discovery Perlas of Joy Galicia, Angeli Gloriani, Ella Rodrigues, and Jhenn Angeles outplayed Team Fast Track.
The eighth edition of NBA 3X Philippines drew a large audience that witnessed outstanding competition in the Boys Under 13, Boys Under 16, Boys Under 18, Girls Under 18, Men’s Open, and Women’s Open divisions. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Chess bits

 

Xinqiao Cup 2018
Wenzhou, China
August 10-15, 2018

Final Standings
Ding Liren CHN 2797 vs Veselin Topalov BUL 2747, 3.0-1.0
Nana Dzagnidze GEOI 2519 vs Tan Zhongyi CHN 2530, 3.0-1.0
China has already announced its team to the Batumi Chess Olympiad: Ding Liren (2797), Yu Yangyi (2760), Wei Yi (2735), Li Chao (2714), and Bu Xiangzhi (2712). With an average rating of 2751.5 (it is customary to only take into consideration the top four boards), they register as the third highest average rating after no. 1 USA (2776) and no. 2 Russia (2767).
China is serious about regaining the title of Olympiad champion which they won in 2014 Tromso with a team composed of Wang Yue, Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi, Ni Hua, and Wei Yi. The solid Wang Yue and fighter Ni Hua are no longer with the team but Li Chao and Bu Xiangzhi are powerhouses in their own right.
In the past few months their federation has arranged for tune-up matches to bring them up to fighting shape. Yu Yangyi played a rapid/blitz match vs Peter Svidler in Shenzhen, Wei Yi defeated Ernesto Inarkiev in a friendly match played in Magas, the capital city of the Republic of Ingushetia, there was this 2018 Yinzhou Cup Television Rapid Chess Tournament last June held in Ningbo where four of the national team members, Yu Yangyi, Wei Yi, Li Chao and Bu Xiangzhi played six rounds of 25 minutes + 10 second rapid games.
In Wenzhou, the hometown of Ding Liren, they organized the Xingqiao Cup, two one-on-one matches with Ding Liren facing the former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Tan Zhongyi, who had just lost her world title to compatriot Ju Wenjun last May, vs Georgia’s no. 1 player Nana Dzagnidze. The time control used was 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1. This is the same time control as in the chess Olympiad.
By the way, some trivia, Wenzhou is a prosperous foreign treaty port situated in a mountainous region, which caused it to be isolated from the rest of the country. As a result, its local culture and language is very distinct and unique. The Chinese here in the Philippines are mostly from the province of Fujian, while the ones in Hong Kong are from Guangdong. On the other hand 90% of all Chinese residents in Italy are from Wenzhou.
But I digress. Ding Liren and Nana Dzagnidze won their matches undefeated with a 3-1 score. Ding won the 1st & 4th games while Nana won the last 2. Cash prizes were quite respectable — Ding received $20,000, Dzagnidze $12,000, Topalov $10,000, and Tan Zhongyi $6,000.
Last June, shortly after the super GM tournament in Norway started Ding broke his hip in a biking accident and had to withdraw. This injury sidelined him for more than two months and also caused him to pull out of his scheduled four-game match with the Czech no. 1 player David Navara. Now that Ding Liren has recovered it was deemed imperative to arrange for a top level match to give him high-level practice. Not only did he win vs Topalov but now his FIDE rating has been brought up to 2804, no. 4 in the world behind Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
The following game is I believe the best in the match. A lot of queenside pressure then a sudden tactical strike in the kingside forces capituatlion.

Ding, Liren (2797) –
Topalov, Veselin (2747) [E10]
4th Xinqiao Cup 2018 Wenzhou
(4), 14.08.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3
Everybody seems to be playing the Catalan now.
4…Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Nc3 0–0 7.Bg5 c6 8.Bg2 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.0–0 Qd8 11.c5
Can’t White play 11.e4 ? The answer is yes, but after 11…dxc4 12.Qe2 (12.Nd2 e5 13.Nxc4 exd4 14.Qxd4 Bc7 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 White has no advantage whatever. Gledura,B (2500)-Bluebaum, M (2589) Karpacz 2015 0–1 49.) 12…b5 13.Rfd1 a6 14.h4 Nd7 15.e5 Be7 16.Nh2 Bb7 17.h5 Qc7 18.Ng4 I am not sure if White has enough compensation for the pawn. Walter,S (2406)-Bluebaum, M (2642) Germany 2016 0–1 39.
11…Bc7 12.e4 b6 13.b4 bxc5 14.bxc5 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Ba6
This bishop has no scope so Topalov transfers it to d5.
16.Re1 Bc4 17.Qa4 Bd5 18.Re3 Qc8 19.Nc3 Bd8 20.Rb1 Bf6 21.Bf1 Rd8
Threatening …Bxf3 followed by B or Rxd4.
22.Nxd5 cxd5 23.Reb3 Re8 24.Rb7 Re7 25.Rxe7 Bxe7 26.Ne5 Bf6 27.f4
Ding is overcautious. I am sure he saw that 27.c6! Bxe5 28.dxe5 and now Black can capture the c6–pawn two ways but both lead to disaster: 28…Nxc6? 29.Rc1; 28…Qxc6 29.Rxb8+.
But what if Black does not capture the c6-pawn but instead plays 28…a5? I think Ding doesn’t realize the strength of 29.Rb6! The threat is 30.c7 and Black loses. 30…Qxc7 (30…Nd7 31.Rd6) 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Rd6 The back rank penetration is fatal, not to say anything about the threat of Bd3+.
27…g6 28.h4 h5 29.Kf2 Kg7 30.Ke3 a6 31.Rb6 Ra7 32.Bd3
Black is in a bind, but how is White supposed to break through?
32…Ra8 33.Qc2 Nd7 34.Rc6 Qe8
With the threat of …Nxe5.
35.Rc7 Nxe5 36.fxe5 Bd8 37.Rb7 Qc6 38.Qb1 Bc7
39.Bxg6! Rg8
[39…fxg6 40.Qb6]
40.Bxf7! 1–0
[40.Bxf7 Kxf7 41.Qb6]
GM DAVID PARAVYAN
Have you ever heard of this 20-year-old GM from Moscow? If you haven’t yet then it is time to put his name in the stick-it note on your computer as one of those players whose games you have to follow. He is a modern-day Mikhail Tal. I recently saw one of his beautiful productions and would like to share it with BW (BusinessWorld) readers. The game is from the Viktor Korchnoi Memorial played as part of the 2018 St. Petersburg Summer Chess Festival. This is a huge event which includes many events run in parallel: The Children’s Cup of Russia, Fischer chess, the international Blitz tournament and also the Grand Prix of Russia in Rapid Chess. So, everywhere you go you are surrounded by chess players, children, adult and seniors. What a wonderful place to be!

Viktor Korchnoi Memorial
St. Petersburg, Russia
August 15-23, 2018

Final Top Standings
1. GM Kirill Stupak BLR 2573, 8.0/9
2-3. GM Maksim Chigaev RUS 2577, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov BLR 2585, 7.5/9
4-9. IM Zhamsaran Tsydypov RUS 2520, IM Maksim Vavulin RUS 2545, GM Pavel Ponkratov RUS 2605, GM David Paravyan RUS 2630, FM Nikita Afanasiev RUS 2473, GM Vadim Zvjaginsev RUS 2643, 7.0/9
Total Participants 150
Time Control: 90 minutes for the whole game with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
Paravyan,David (2630) — Golubov,Saveliy (2470) [C42]
Korchnoi Memorial chess24.com (6.7), 20.08.2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.c4 c6 9.Qb3
The text move is not so common here. The main lines are 9.Nc3, 9.Qc2, 9.cxd5 and 9.Re1.
9…dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nd7 11.Re1 Ndf6 12.Nbd2 Nxd2 13.Bxd2 Qb6 14.Qd3!?
First, a small offering of a pawn on b2.
14…Qxb2 15.Rab1 Qa3 16.Qc2
Threatens 17.Re3, which forces Black to give up a piece with 17…Bxh2+ otherwise his queen is lost.
16…Nd5?
Unbelievably, White now has a winning attack. 16…b5 is safer, giving his queen an escape square on a6.
17.Rb3 Qa4 18.Bxd5 cxd5 19.Ng5 g6
[19…f5? does not work: 20.Nxh7! Kxh7 21.Rh3+ winning the black queen]
20.Nxh7!
The knight still cannot be captured because then his queen falls to a discovered attack.
20…Bf5
[20…Kxh7 21.Rh3+ then Qxa4]
21.Nf6+ Kg7 22.Bh6+! Kxf6
[22…Kxh6 23.Rh3+]
23.g4 Bf4
[23…Bxg4 24.Qd2 forces mate]
24.Qc7! Bxh6
[24…Bxc7 25.g5#]
25.Qe5+ Kg5 26.h4+ Kxh4
[26…Kxg4 27.Rg3+ Kh5 28.Qe2+ Kxh4 29.Qf3 with forced mate 29…Qd7 30.Re5 g5 31.Rxf5 Qxf5 32.Qxf5 followed by mate]
27.Rh3+ Kg5
[27…Kxh3 28.Qg3#]
28.Qe7+ 1–0
[28.Qe7+ f6 (28…Kxg4 29.Qh4#; 28…Kf4 29.Qe3+ Kxg4 30.Qg3#) 29.Qe3+ Kxg4 30.Qg3#]
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Manu retires

IT was most certainly just a matter of time before Manu Ginobili announced his decision to hang up his sneakers. He had been working out at the Spurs practice facility daily, and he was, to be sure, tied to a contract that secured for him a roster spot should he have opted to play for one more year. The writing was on the wall, though, beginning with the retirement of Tim Duncan in 2016 and culminating with the departure of Tony Parker earlier in the offseason. The subsequent trade of Kawhi Leonard didn’t help, although it wouldn’t have mattered a whit to him had The Original Big Three still been intact.
And so Ginobili announced the end of his playing career yesterday, no doubt an agonizing development given his singular love for the sport that made him an international star and a local legend. His exit closes the book on a 16-year affair with the National Basketball Association that saw the Spurs nab four championships and establish a well-deserved and unparalleled reputation for consistent competitiveness. Season in and season out, they were in the thick of things, certain to vie for the hardware with a decidedly team-centered philosophy. And, just like them, he was expected to produce like clockwork, surely and efficiently sans any effort to draw attention to himself.
Given Ginobili’s style of play, however, staying out of the limelight couldn’t have been possible. He was a tireless dynamo armed with a velvet-smooth touch, superb court vision, and, most importantly, utter fearlessness. His unique skill set and willingness to defy the odds — and, occasionally, the Spurs’ system and head coach Gregg Popovich’s instructions — spelled both success and stardom. The Euro step was his, even when it wound up being copied to the point of being part and parcel of his peers’ basic drills; a mere crutch to them, it defined his game.
Not surprisingly, Ginobili noted that he would continue to be involved with the Spurs. Basketball is in his blood, flowing in his veins and compelling him to keep investing in hoops, as much a testament to his work ethic as an offshoot of the rewards he has derived from it. “It has been a fabulous journey,” he tweeted. “Way beyond my wildest dreams.” Indeed — for him and for every single fan who understands how much he has made the sport all the better for having touched it.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Nayong Pilipino board defends lease deal with Chinese casino operator

Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) reiterated that its deal with Hong Kong-based gaming firm Landing International Development Ltd. complied with all legal requirements, saying that graft and corruption allegations against its officials were all but a vicious smear campaign to derail the $1.5-billion integrated resort and casino project.
“Despite the fact that all procedural and legal requirements were strictly followed by the NPF board in getting the project off the ground, opponents and critics of the project had shamelessly foisted lies about the project, and falsely and maliciously accused the NPF, its trustees, and its officials of graft and corruption in approving the deal with Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRDPC),” NPF said in a statement.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte earlier this month fired NPF’s entire board for approving the integrated resort and casino project called NayonLanding, which he called a “grossly disadvantageous deal” due to its “ridiculously long” lease deal of 70 years and low lease rates.
NPF however clarified that the lease contract between the two parties never stated that the lease period would span 70 years. Instead, NPF and LRDPC signed a lease deal for 25 years, renewable for another 25.
Should LRDPC’s application with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority classify the project as a tourism enterprise zone, then the initial lease period can be changed to 50 years.
The foundation also noted that the approved lease rates for the 9.57-hectare property — pegged at P360 per square meter per month — is much higher than the basic lease rates of other such projects in the area.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque called the statement—which was posted as an advertisement in a number of newspapers — an act of open defiance of the President’s authority.
“At the end of the day, all public officials, including those who are in government-owned and controlled corporations, serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, who happens to be the President,” Mr. Roque said in a statement.
Mr. Roque also highlighted the president’s stance of no longer wanting a new casino project in the country.
“What the NPF trustees and officials did was actually a violation of the President’s order that there will be no more new casinos allowed to operate in this country,” Mr. Roque said. — Arra B. Francia

Transmission line that will improve Samar power supply near completion — NGCP

National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Wednesday that it is close to complete the Ormoc-Babatngon 138-kilovolt (kV) line that is aimed to strengthen the transmission of electricity in the Visayas.
“This line reinforcement strengthens transmission services in Eastern Visayas, particularly improving power supply delivery to Samar. It is NGCP’s continuing commitment to upgrade and improve of the country’s transmission network, especially with the constantly growing demand for power,” the company said in a statement.
The transmission line — built at a cost of P697.6 million as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission — is one of two components that make up the Leyte-Samar transmission corridor. The line is single-circuit at present.
Power grid operator NGCP said planned or unplanned outages along the line result in a loss of power for the Samar provinces, which remains heavily reliant on power supply from other islands.
“The construction of the second circuit will ensure the reliability of transmission services in the area and will minimize the occurrences of prolonged power interruptions,” it said.
The project involves the expansion of the Ormoc and Babatngon substations in Leyte aside from the construction of another overhead transmission line spanning nearly 80 kilometers.
Sy-led NGCP said that with the construction of a remaining tower and stringing of the line now 94% complete, “improvements on the substation are now about to take place and is expected to be finished before the year ends.”
The project gives way to a stronger transmission corridor from geothermal plants and other generating capacities in Leyte to Samar island. Distribution utilities in the two islands are set to benefit from the upgrading of the said transmission line. — Victor V. Saulon

LTFRB wants more oil firms to participate in fuel subsidy program

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Martin B. Delgra on Wednesday, Aug. 29, urged fuel companies in the country to participate in the government’s Pantawid Pasada Program that seeks to mitigate the impact of the tax reform law on the prices of fuel.
Mr. Delgra addressed the media at the Palace on Wednesday morning, Aug. 29, on the government’s Pantawid Pasada Program. He said, “Through the Department of Energy (DoE), we are inviting as many gas stations to participate, para mas malawak yung options ng mga (so there are more options for) PUJ operators.”
For now, the participating gas stations, according to Mr. Delgra are Shell, Petrol, Caltex, Unioil, and Phoenix.
Mr. Delgra said, the challenge now is that there some gas stations have no “POS” (point of sale) facilities that would accommodate the Pantawid Pasada Cards as mode of payment.
“One of the things we had discussed with the DoE during the technical working group committee meeting was precisely to address this issue. We wanted to clarify with them if these participating gas stations have POS,” he said.
Mr. Delgra stressed that the Pantawid Pasada Cards, which are being distributed and monitored by the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), are for “fuel purposes only.”
“The use of the card has to be consistent with the mechanics of the program. The way to monitor the program is that you have to use that in the participating gas stations for buying fuel. As mentioned in the law, it is for fuel purposes only,” he said.
Mr. Delgra said the pilot distribution of the first 10,000 cards began last month in Metro Manila. The regional distribution of cards started this month of August. He also said the target end of distribution is before the end of September this year. — Arjay L. Balinbin

AboitizPower to issue fixed-rate bonds worth P15 billion in fourth quarter

Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) will be issuing P15 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds by the fourth quarter of this year to refinance existing debt.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, Aug. 28, AboitizPower said the bond issuance will consist of a base size of P10 billion, with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion, with tenors of 5.25 years and 10 years.
AboitizPower looks to use the proceeds of the issuance to refinance the term loan of subsidiary Therma Power, Inc., previously used to partially fund the acquisition of GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. in December 2016. Part of the proceeds will also be used to repay short-term loan obligations and for general corporate purposes.
The listed firm appointed BDO Capital Corp. as the offering’s issue manager and, together with BPI Capital Corp. and United Coconut Planters Bank, as the joint lead underwriters. BDO Unibank, Inc. Trust & Investments Group will serve as the trustee.
The bonds will be listed at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.
Incorporated in 1998, AboitizPower has core interests in hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, coal-fired, and oil-fired power plant with a net sellable capacity of 3,175 megawatts (MW) as of the first half of 2018. The company also has eight distribution utilities under its portfolio, servicing 254 customers with a contracted capacity of 927 MW.
The company reported a net income attributable to the parent of P9.12 billion in the first six months of 2018, six percent lower than the P9.72 billion it posted in the same period a year ago. Gross revenues went up by 15% to P65 billion during the same period.
Shares in AboitizPower slipped 50 centavos or 1.35% to close at P36.50 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

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