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Tennis world to vote on Davis Cup shakedown

LOS ANGELES — The most radical overhaul in the 118-year history of the Davis Cup could be given the green light on Thursday as the tennis world gathers in Florida to vote on sweeping reforms which have divided the sport.
Around 120 delegates at the International Tennis Federation’s annual meeting in Orlando will decide whether proposals by federation chief David Haggerty are to be given the go-ahead.
Haggerty’s plan will see the Davis Cup’s sprawling existing format, stretched across the calendar year and played in all corners of the globe, condensed into a season-ending 18-nation event played at a single, neutral venue.
Haggerty told AFP in a conference call on Tuesday that the overhaul would boost the ITF’s ability to spread development funding across the globe, pumping around $25 million back into the sport.
“The ITF is the only organization that puts money into the development of the game,” Haggerty said. “And that’s what this project enables us to do. The money that we make will be put back to the nations for their development programs and the future of tennis.”
The reforms have the backing of a $3 billion partnership from the Kosmos investment group, founded by Barcelona football star Gerard Pique and supported by Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani.
The ITF maintains the new-look Davis Cup would boost the profile of the tournament, which was first held in 1900 when the United States defeated Britain at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts.
Under the new proposed format, 18 teams would play in the Davis Cup finale, split into six groups of three teams. Six group winners and two runners-up would then advance to knockout rounds.
Unlike current Davis Cup ties, which comprise four singles and one doubles, ties would feature only two singles and a doubles game.
Federation chiefs say the revamped competition would effectively create a fifth Grand Slam event, increase prize money and allow the Davis Cup to attract top players by freeing up space on the calendar.
Yet the changes have appalled some of the greatest names ever to grace the competition.
Past Australian Davis Cup captains and players including Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Lleyton Hewitt were united in condemning the proposed overhaul.
‘DEATH OF DAVIS CUP’
Newcombe, a five-time champion as a player, described the overhaul as “a recipe for the death of the Davis Cup as we know it.”
“The Davis Cup is 118 years old and was the forerunner that made tennis into an international sport,” Newcombe said.
Hewitt disparaged the changes as little more than a “money grab” which ignored the tournament’s history.
Haggerty however said Tuesday that while “change is difficult sometimes,” he had been encouraged by positive feedback from delegates in Florida this week.
“The mood is good. The reception has been very positive,” he said. “We just want to do the right thing for tennis…The new model allows the ITF to fulfil the mission in a much better way.
“Having more resources to put behind the development of tennis is the most important thing for an international federation.”
The overhaul has also won support from Serbian star Novak Djokovic.
The 13-time Grand Slam winner believes a change in format is long overdue.
“I think that format needs to be changed. And I’m all in favor of that,” Djokovic said in Toronto last week.
“You play one year, and then the next year you don’t play. It’s just the scheduling of this kind of format so far has been pretty bad.”
The Davis Cup reforms require two-thirds majority support from ITF delegates in Orlando on Thursday.
If successful, the new format would be launched in November of 2019, with Europe guaranteed to host the first two editions of the new-look event.
One complication however could well be the introduction of a revamped World Team Cup due to take place in Australia in the first week of 2020.
The tournament, which has the backing of the ATP and Tennis Australia, will feature 24 teams and offer prize money and rankings points.
ATP executive chairman Chris Kermode has acknowledged the problems of staging the new event just six weeks after the proposed Davis Cup, describing the scheduling as “insane.” — AFP

San Beda, San Sebastian on collision course today

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
NATIONAL Collegiate Athletic Association rivals San Beda Red Lions and San Sebastian Stags collide for the first time in Season 94 today in a scheduled matchup at 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Currently charting contrasting paths early in the tournament, the defending champions Lions (5-0) look to stay unbeaten in the first round with a sixth straight victory while the Stags (3-5) shoot for consistency in winning as they try to make their way up the pecking order.
San Beda is coming off a narrow 80-76 victory over the Letran Knights on Aug. 10 where it relied on the all-around game of veteran Robert Bolick and clutch shooting of AC Soberano to hack out the dig-deep victory.
Bolick found multiple ways to elude Letran’s defense all game long en route to finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists while Soberano came up big in extra time, hitting two booming triples in overtime to help the reigning back-to-back champions in their cause.
“Credit to the players for stepping up in this game to get this tough win,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez following their win.
San Sebastian, for its part, is fresh from a tough 78-76 loss at the hands of season hosts Perpetual Help Altas at the latter’s home in Las Piñas on Aug. 9.
With the score knotted at 76-all with 3.3 seconds remaining, the Stags saw the game slip away from their hands when the Altas scored a game-winning basket care off Prince Eze with half a second remaining.
It completed for Perpetual Help a charge back from as much as 21 points down and spoiled for San Sebastian an opportunity to win back-to-back games.
Preceding the San Beda-San Sebastian match is the battle between Perpetual Help (4-2) and Mapua Cardinals (2-5) at 2 p.m.

Special Asian Games emojis available on Twitter

FANS following the goings-on in the Asian Games in Indonesia will have their experience enhanced with the special emojis that Twitter has come out with.
In celebration of the biggest sport event in Asia, which officially kicks off on Aug. 18, Twitter has decided to launch three special emojis in the shape of: the official Asian Games logo, a torch that symbolizes the energy of Asia, and the three mascots — Bhin Bhin, Atung, and Kaka — that reflect Indonesia’s diversity with three animals, each from different regions in the country.
The emojis are available until October and will appear when the hashtags #AsianGames2018 and #AG2018 (the official Asian Games logo), #AsianGames and #18thAsianGames (three mascots), and #EnergyOfAsia (torch) are used in Tweets.
In the Asian Games in Indonesia, the Philippine campaign is set to be bannered by 272 athletes competing in 35 categories.
Filipinos throwing their support to the Philippine athletes can do it via Twitter by using the hashtags #LabanAtletangPilipino and #TeamPHIsaAsianGames2018. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Federer opens with win over Gojowczyk; Kvitova ousts Serena

CINCINNATI — Roger Federer began his US Open preparation with a quick 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Peter Gojowczyk in his first ATP Cincinnati Masters appearance since 2015.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, is pacing his tennis year, playing a limited schedule and skipping events when he feels the need to rest.
He has missed the last two editions of this tournament because of injury.
Eighth seeded Petra Kvitova used her precision serve to overpower Serena Williams 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in their second round match on Tuesday night.
Federer’s defeat of the 47th-ranked German in 72 minutes marked his first step towards a possible eighth title at the tournament.
The contest was the first for the Swiss since losing to Kevin Anderson in five sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on July 11.
Eighth seed Dominic Thiem was forced to withdraw without hitting a ball. He was from a virus.
The Austrian played just one losing match last week in Toronto on the hardcourts since making a late switch from post-Wimbledon clay.
Nick Kyrgios served 39 aces, including one to save match point, to power into the second round with a dramatic 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 7-6 (11/9) win over Denis Kudla.
Last year’s losing finalist finally saw off the American on his sixth match point.
The Australian will next face Croatian Borna Coric, who beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 6-3.
Weekend Toronto finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas tired late in a 7-5, 6-3 loss to Belgian 11th seed David Goffin.
South Korea’s Chung Hyeon rallied past a struggling Jack Sock for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Chung handed the slumping American an eighth straight defeat, with Sock’s last win coming in the opening round at Rome three months ago.
Unseeded Milos Raonic advanced past Serb Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 at the combined ATP and WTA event, the last major tune-up prior to the US Open on August 27.
In the women’s draw, the second set of the Kvitova-Williams contest was significant for Williams because it was her first set win this season against a top 10 opponent.
OUT OF GAS
The 23-time Grand Slam champion won her first round match over Daria Gavrilova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday, but appeared to run out of gas in the third set against Kvitova.
Just two weeks ago, Williams suffered the worst defeat of her career in San Jose when she was crushed 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes by world No. 39 Johanna Konta.
“I’m still at the very beginning. You know, this is a long comeback. I just began. Definitely at the very, very beginning,” Williams said. “I’m getting there, and I’m going to just continue to work hard, and hopefully I’ll start winning more matches.”
Czech ninth seed Karolina Pliskova made a personal breakthrough as she beat Agnieszka Radwanska for the first time after seven previous straight-sets losses to the Pole, winning 6-3, 6-3.
“It was a tough round for me because I’ve never beaten her, never even taken a set,” said Pliskova. “I was so happy when I won the first set because I thought, ‘Finally, one set for me.’”
Australian 16th seed Ashleigh Barty defeated Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5, while 14th-ranked Elise Mertens topped Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4, 6-2. — AFP

GM Gonzales, WGM Frayna and IM Miciano turn back respective foes

GRANDMASTER (GM) Jayson Gonzales destroyed Anusha Narava Lakshmi of India to re-enter the top 10 even as Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna and International Master (IM) John Marvin Miciano turned back their respective foes to stay in the hunt after six rounds of the Burgse Meesters in Burges, Belgium Tuesday night.
Gonzales, who drew with FIDE Master Georgi Tomov of Bulgaria in the fifth round early in the day, thus hiked his total to 4.5 points, which was good for a place in the 13-player logjam at seventh spot or a full point behind solo leader GM Wan Yunguo of China.
The 49-year-old Gonzales was playing top seed GM Nikolov Momchil of Russia in the seventh round at press time.
Frayna, 22, bounced back from a fifth-round defeat to Dutch IM Lucas Van Foreest with a sixth-round win over German Maximilian Ponomarev while Miciano, 17, blasted Belgians Guillaume Chauvon and Nando De Blende to barge into the top 20 with four points each.
Frayna, whose trip here is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and The Philippine STAR president and chief executive officer Miguel Belmonte, and Miciano hope to move further the standings with wins over Belgium’s Gert Van Vooren and Sweden’s Joachim Bergre, respectively.

22nd Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament

 

22nd Hogeschool Zeeland
Tournament
Vlissingen, the Netherlands
August 4-11, 2018

Final Top Standings
1-3. GM Sandro Mareco ARG 2643, GM Eduard Iturrizaga Bonelli VEN 2640, GM Roeland Pruijssers NED 2606, 7.5/9
4-10. GM Wan Yunguo CHN 2500, GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov RUS 2546, GM Zeng Chongsheng CHN 2539, IM T homas Beerdsen NED 2469, GM Daniel Hausrath GER 2502, GM Sandipan Chanda IND 2553, IM Liam Vrolijk NED 2430, 7.0/911-20 IM Antonio Dcunha Viani IND 2414, IM John Marvin Miciano PHI 2381, GM Jorden Van Foreest NED 2636, GM Jayson Gonzales PHI 2383, IM Max Warmerdam NED 2421, IM Casper Schoppen NED 2394, IM Migchiel De Jong NED 2339, GM Oleg Romanishin UKR 2441, FM Sief Rijnaarts NED 2339, IM Mark Timmermans NED 2383, 6.5/9
Total Participants: 242
Time Control: 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game with 30 seconds added to your time after every move starting move 1.
The Hogeschool Zeeland Tournament (or HZ Tournament) is an annual international chess tournament which takes place in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. It is hosted by the HZ University of Applied Sciences.
The triumvirate of Argentinian GM Sandro Mareco, Venezuelan GM Eduard Iturrizaga and home crowd favorite GM Roeland Pruijssers finished in a tie for first place. All three of them were undefeated with six wins and three draws but after the application of tie-breaks it was GM Sandro Mareco who got the nod.
GM Sandro is one of the most active players in the world and has been playing continuously this year, always finishing high in the tournament table. Last March he won the 8th HD Bank Cup (the biggest international tournament in Vietnam) in Hanoi, Vietnam and this is his second big win.
Remember GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz (b. Jan 15, 1963, d. July 14, 2006)? He was a frequent visitor to the Philippines. The last 8 years of his life was spent in the United States and he spent those years playing continuously. He won or tied for first place in more than 240 tournaments, averaging over 30 tournament victories a year — or nearly three per month making him arguably the most successful tournament player in the United States.
You will note though that “Wojo’s” highest rating ever was 2595 and he was never considered among the top players of the world, so how did he achieve so much success? Well, he had a “system” for winning chess tournaments and oftentimes would be on auto-pilot for the whole game. And this “system” was anchored around the Catalan.
If you want to know more about his “system” you should go and buy the series of books on “Wojo’s Weapons” by Jonathan Hilton.
Anyway, perhaps one player who has been over those books is GM Sandro Mareco. His main weapon for White is the Catalan Opening with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 and with it he has scored 75% in his career.
Here is one of them.

Mareco,Sandro (2643) —
Beerdsen,Thomas (2469) [A14]
22nd Hogeschool Zeeland 2018
Vlissingen (4), 06.08.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0–0 0–0 6.b3 c6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bb2 b6 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Qe2 e5 11.d4 e4 12.Nh4 Re8
From this quiet position Mareco builds up a strong attack down the f-file.]
13.f3 exf3 14.Qxf3
Intending e3–e4.
14…Bb4 15.Nd1 Rb8 16.g4
This time threatening g4–g5.
16…h6 17.Nf5 Bf8 18.Nf2
White will follow-up with Ng3 and then e3–e4.
18…c5 19.Rad1 g6
[19…dxc4 20.d5 cxb3 21.axb3 g6 22.Ng3 does not accomplish anything. Black is temporarily a pawn up but the pressure down the a1–h8 diagonal, the f-file, and the possibility of a central pawn advance with e3–e4–e5 give White more than enough compensation]
20.Ng3 cxd4 21.Bxd4 Qe7
[21…dxc4 22.Nfe4 the hidden attack along the f-file aimed at f7 is problematic for Black]
22.cxd5 Nxd5 23.Nfe4 Bg7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7
POSITION AFTER 24…KXG7
25.Nd6! Qxd6
With perfect hindsight Black should have just given up the exchange with 25…Ne5.
26.Qxf7+ Kh8
Black is counting on the counterblow …Ne5.
27.Bxd5 Ne5 28.Qf4! Bxd5
Black doesn’t see Mareco’s threat.
29.Qxh6+ Kg8 30.Nh5! 1–0
Threatening mate on g7 and Nf6+
Those knight moves to the side of the board are easy to miss, because they are usually bad (“a knight on the rim is dim”, remember?). Brings back memories of the Philippines vs Argentina match in 2000 Istanbul.

Hoffman,Alejandro (2491) —
Villamayor,Bong (2495) [A07]
34th Olympiad Istanbul TUR (13),
10.11.2000

The crucial 13th round, and this was the opponent Bong wanted to meet — he had a score to settle with Hoffman. Remember the sensational performance of Bong in the 1998 Elista Olympiad? And how his quest for an outright IM title was jeopardized by a 7th round loss to an Argentinian opponent? It was Hoffman.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0–0 Bf5 5.d3 e6 6.Nfd2 e5 7.e4 dxe4 8.dxe4 Bg4 9.Qe1 Nbd7 10.h3 Bh5 11.a4 Be7 12.Nc4 0–0 13.b3 Qc7 14.Bb2 Rfe8 15.Nbd2 b5 16.Ne3 a6 17.Nf5 Bf8
Most people would have preferred 17…Bc5. I don’t know why Black chose to retreat the bishop.
18.Kh1 Nc5 19.Qe3 Rad8
Both sides were expending huge chunks of time at this point — Black to find a way to increase his slight advantage, White to counter.
20.Bc3 Qb8 21.axb5 axb5 22.g4 Bg6 23.Rfd1 Bxf5 24.gxf5 Ncd7?!
This has a nice idea, to post his bishop on c5, but Black does not take into consideration Hoffman’s bishop sally. Perhaps more accurate would be 24…Nb7 with the same idea, and the knight can go to d6 later on.
25.Ba5! Bc5 26.Qe2 Rc8 27.b4 Bf8 28.Bf1
Obviously intending to follow-up with c2–c4, targeting Black’s b-pawn
28…Nb6 29.c4 Na4
Both players had less than five minutes to make the mandatory 40 move time control. True, there were 30 seconds increment added after every move, but still the atmosphere was becoming very tense.
30.Rdc1
A mistake is 30.cxb5? Nc3 31.Qd3 Nxd1 32.Rxd1 cxb5. After the text move White’s clever play has shut out one of Bong’s knights from the center and weakened the b5–pawn — how is Bong going to save it now?
30…Qd6 31.Nf3
[31.cxb5 cxb5 32.Qxb5?? Rxc1 33.Rxc1 Qxd2 wins for Black.]
31…g6 32.fxg6 hxg6 33.Ra3
[33.cxb5? cxb5 34.Qxb5 Nc3 35.Qd3 Nfxe4]
33…Qe6 34.Ng5 Qe7 35.cxb5
Finally.
35…cxb5 36.Rxc8 Rxc8 37.Qxb5 Nc3?
A mistake, the refutation of which is 38.Qa6 Nb1 39.Rf3! And White is winning. The panic time conditions under which both players were under pressure Hoffman into a bad mistake.
38.Qd3
And the knight is trapped, or so White thought. In reality there is a deep plan by Bong here.
38…Nh5 39.Nf3 Nf4 40.Qc2
This was the last move Hoffman had to make to reach the time control. He was fully confident of winning the knight, and he showed this by smoothly sliding over his queen to c2. Now, with 4 seconds remaining, Bong uncorks …
40…Qa7!
White is confident that he had taken into consideration all the tactics in the position. With a contented look on his face GM Hoffman got up to fetch a cup of coffee, chat with his team captain. When he went back to the board the following moves came rapidly.
41.Rxc3 Rxc3 42.Qxc3 Qxf2 43.Nh2
He smiled at Bong, thinking that Black had no alternative but to resign here, but now comes …
43…Nh5! 0–1
After which Hoffman lets out an “augh!,” his jaw drops, and then he resigns with a violent shaking of head. He has to give up the queen to prevent mate. His comment at the end of the game says it all: “I had no idea …”
Next week Tuesday we will write about our European campaigners (IM John Marvin Miciano, GM Jayson Gonzales and WGM Janelle Mae Frayna) and how they did in Vlissingen.
 
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

Woods now at peace

LAST week’s broadcast ratings are out, and, as expected, the final round of the PGA Championship got a major — pun wholly intended — boost when Tiger Woods played himself into contention and became the prime focus of CBS’ Sunday coverage of the final Grand Slam event of the year. Even as the rock-star atmosphere he engendered at Bellerive highlighted his pull among the sport’s avid followers, the myriad eyeballs he attracted on the small screen served as proof of his unparalleled crossover appeal.
Certainly, there was a definite charm to seeing the best player of the previous decade, and perhaps of all time, contend in a premier stop when, not too long ago, he wasn’t physically able to swing a club. And, to be sure, his questionable fitness as a surgical veteran wound up to be just one hurdle. The other, and likely more significant, involved his recovery from one public humiliation after another. Between his exposure as a serial adulterer and as an apparent painkiller dependent, he had to endure a fall from grace unlike any other athlete with his sterling resume.
That Woods just reminded longtime habitues of the wonders he could do on the course and, more importantly, endeared himself to casual observers in a way he never did before his challenges in life. From his trials emerged a more sympathetic figure, humbled and intent on not merely restoring the luster on a name once synonymous to dominance, but on cementing a legacy with a human touch.
Indeed, the Woods that came close at the British Open and finished second at the PGA Championship was far easier to cheer for and empathize with. In his early march towards greatness, he witnessed respect. In his frailties of late, he found adulation. Only time will tell whether he can generate both from a new swath of followers, but it’s clear that he’s already at peace no matter what happens.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Traveloka rounds up the 75 best hotels in the Philippines

When it comes to traveling, one of the biggest and perhaps most difficult decisions you have to make is picking a hotel. Apart from budget considerations, you also have to check if the place is clean, safe, and has access to necessities like water and dining options. This might take a while, especially if you’re meticulous. The wide array of accommodations available might also add to the challenge of honing in on that one hotel that meets all your requirements.
For those with a limited budget, the difficulty usually stems from finding an affordable place that also isn’t “kuripot” or worse, has substandard facilities. For those who can splurge a bit more, the problem may lie in the service; there are establishments that have a five-star rating but have poor customer reviews.
To help make things easier for travelers, online flight and hotel booking platform Traveloka has compiled a list of the top hotels in 26 tourist destinations in the Philippines. The list includes three hotels per destination: budget (up to P2,000/night), midrange (up to P5,000/night), and luxury (P5,000 above/night).
The round-up includes hotels in locations like Baguio, Subic,Tagaytay, Makati, Manila, Cebu,Boracay, Iloilo, Coron, Vigan, Davao, Panglao Island, and 14 other tourist hotspots in the country. Places like New Orleans Auberge Hotel in Tagaytay and Lub d Philippines in Makati are listed in the budget hotel category; Montebello Villa in Cebu and Best Western Plus in Subic are in the midrange category; and South Palms Resort in Panglao Island and Richmonde Hotel in Iloilo are in the luxury category.
Traveloka crafted the list based on the popularity of the destinations, price points, and customer reviews. The last one is especially important because Traveloka wants to ensure that every traveler experiences only the best, from the beginning until the end of their trip.
Have you finally decided where your next trip is going to be? Let Traveloka help you have an enjoyable and hassle-free vacation! Visit https://www.traveloka.com/en-ph/hotel and book your hotel today.

Fitch: Rate hikes could weigh on growth

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE CENTRAL BANK’s stronger tightening step last week could initially dampen growth, a Fitch Ratings analyst said, although robust domestic demand should continue to support expansion.
Stephen Schwartz, head of sovereign ratings for Asia Pacific at Fitch, said gross domestic product (GDP) growth could take a hit following an aggressive rate hike from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) at its Aug. 10 policy meeting.
This comes after a disappointing six percent GDP expansion in the second quarter.
“As you note, the Q2 GDP outturn was below expectations, and [Thursday’s] 50bp rate hike by the BSP could put some further downward pressure on growth for the remainder of the year,” Mr. Schwartz said in an e-mail interview when sought for comment.
Economic expansion eased to its weakest pace in three years due to slower growth in consumer spending, even as this was offset by a surge in state spending.
By industry, exports contracted from a year ago while farm output stood flat, the Philippine Statistics Authority announced Thursday last week.
That same day, the BSP tightened rates by 50 basis points in a bid to temper inflation expectations, even as it acknowledged that supply pressures — which are beyond the central bank’s scope — have been driving prices higher.
Despite this, the Philippines will remain a growth leader in Asia Pacific even though the government’s 7-8% target may be missed this year.
“Nevertheless we still expect the Philippines to be a strong growth performer this year and next, due to a combination of strong domestic demand and a still-resilient external environment despite rising risks from the escalation in trade tensions between China and the US,” the credit analyst added.
As of its last review, Fitch expected the Philippine economy to grow by 6.8% this year, faster than 2017’s 6.7% pace.
Actual GDP growth averaged 6.3% last semester, as the first-quarter place was revised lower to 6.6%.
In December, Fitch upgraded the Philippines’ credit rating to “BBB” — or one notch above minimum investment grade — with a “stable” outlook. This was affirmed early July in the face of strong growth prospects, although the debt watcher flagged rising inflation, rapid bank lending and a wider trade gap as key risks to the outlook.
Fitch analysts had then flagged that the Philippine economy is facing “overheating” risks, but said the BSP’s policy tightening moves may help contain such risks.
The BSP introduced back-to-back rate hikes in May and June of 25bp each, before whipping up a tougher response last week as inflation continues to surge. Prices of widely used goods jumped by 5.7% in July to mark a fresh multiyear high, which pulled the year-to-date average increase to 4.5% against the central bank’s 2-4% full-year target range.
The BSP now sees full-year inflation averaging 4.9% this year and 3.7% next year.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. has said that the Philippine economy is robust enough to “accommodate a further tightening” in interest rates.
SEEKING A ‘DELICATE BALANCE’
In a separate statement issued yesterday, the inter-agency Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) said its members were working to “strengthen” long-term finance through various policies geared to ensure the country’s resilience amid “volatile” times.
“Financial markets are extraordinarily volatile this year and the FSCC continues to assess the possible impact to the Philippines of changing macro-financial conditions,” said Mr. Espenilla, who heads the FSCC as chairman.
“The challenge is to intervene early enough so that systemic risks do not build up but not too early that they derail our own growth momentum. We continue to be cognizant of this delicate balance, nurturing innovations and ideas while providing appropriate prudential oversight.”
The FSCC held its quarterly meeting yesterday. It is composed of the BSP, the Department of Finance, Bureau of the Treasury, Insurance Commission, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

DoF says 7.7% GDP expansion this semester ‘still possible’

Capital formation was a silver lining in the latest economic growth data.

A BLISTERING 7.7% gross domestic product (GDP) expansion this semester — needed for the economy to hit the bottom of an official full-year target for 2018 — may still be “possible” on the back of strong capital formation, according to a senior official of the Department of Finance (DoF).
“While the [second-quarter’s six percent] growth rate was disappointing to us because it’s slower than what we thought we will achieve, there is that silver lining in the growth performance. The fastest growing sector is capital formation. It’s more than 20% and, because of that, we believe that in the future quarters we will be able to perform better,” Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran, the DoF’s chief economist, told reporters on Monday.
“Once the factories… the machines that were purchased in the second quarter will be operational, we expect that the growth will accelerate in the future quarters.”
Philippine Statistics Authority data show that gross capital formation grew 20.7% in the second quarter.
The 6.6% and six percent first- and second-quarter GDP growth rates, respectively, fueled a 6.3% first-half expansion that compares to the government’s 7-8% target for 2018.
“Still possible but difficult. If we get 30-40% increase in capital formation in the third or fourth quarter,” he said when asked if 7.7% overall economic expansion is doable.
Mr. Beltran said that an above-seven percent growth rate “is not new,” noting that it was reached during the presidency of Gloria M. Macapagal-Arroyo, how speaker at the House of Representatives.
“We have to push capital formation further because during those years that we achieved 7.7-7.8% growth, we had a 30-40% increase in capital formation. So we will need to work harder,” he said, adding this should offset agriculture’s marginal growth.
Asked whether overall price spikes could pull down economic growth, Mr. Beltran said inflation’s recent surge made a marginal dent on household consumption in the second quarter.
“What was affected is just consumer spending. It’s a slowdown of 0.1 percentage points. First quarter household consumption: it was 5.7% in the first quarter and went down to 5.6% in the second quarter,” he recalled. “Actually we have grown at very high rates in the past even with a higher rate of inflation.”
Inflation clocked in at a fresh multi-year-high 5.7% in July, bringing the year-to-date pace to 4.5% against the central bank’s 2-4% full-year target range for 2018. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Executive-House budget impasse elevated to Duterte and Arroyo

harry-roque-pcoo2
‘I think the President needs an explanation — a very clear explanation — of why people who may be considered his closest allies have rejected it outright.’ — Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr.

IT may take a sitting President and a former president-turned Speaker to break the current deadlock between the Executive and the House of Representatives over the P3.757-trillion national spending plan proposed for next year.
“[T]here’s another meeting tonight… with the President (Rodrigo R. Duterte)… I think it will be attended by Speaker (Gloria M.) Arroyo,” House Appropriations committee Chairman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, noting that a meeting that he held that morning with Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and Senate Finance committee chairman Loren B. Legarda failed to break the impasse.
The office of Ms. Arroyo — herself a former president whose term saw budgets reenacted after proposed spending plans failed to secure legislative approval or be signed into law — confirmed her appointment with Mr. Duterte. Mr. Duterte greeted Ms. Arroyo at the start of his keynote at an event with some business leaders in Malacañang yesterday evening.
Mr. Nograles opposes the Executive’s shift to a “cash-based” system for the proposed national budget — characterized by allocations for projects that can be auctioned off within a year — from the existing “obligation-based” framework that provides funds for projects that can be auctioned off over a two-year horizon, after noting that the proposal for 2019 is even less than this year’s P3.767-trillion spending plan.
But state economic managers have argued that, on a cash basis, this year’s national budget is less than what they submitted to Congress for 2019.
SENATE SUPPORTS PALACE
The Senate, meeting in a caucus anew on Tuesday afternoon, straddled the opposing camps, saying it supports the Executive’s cash-based system after announcing on Monday that the chamber will have to wait for the budget to emerge from the House, as required by law.
“The entire Senate, in caucus, have agreed to support the President’s budget re[garding] cash-based obligations,” Senate President Vicente C. Sotto told reporters in a mobile phone message yesterday evening, admitting that this position puts his chamber at odds with the House.
Saying “[t]he Senate supports a cash-based budgeting system that will help discipline the bureaucracy [and] address the problem of underspending,” Ms. Legarda said in a separate text that “[t]he Senate Committee on Finance will continue to conduct budget hearings based on the 2019 National Expenditure Program that was submitted to Congress and we will introduce amendments as necessary.”
Recalling his meeting with Mr. Diokno in the morning, Mr. Nograles said in Tuesday’s briefing: “Right now, parang ang dating is nagha-hardline sila (Right now, it seems the Executive has taken the hard line),” adding he was “hopeful na mabi-break pa rin ang impasse. I’m not closing my doors or any windows. I’m keeping my lines of communication open.”
Mr. Diokno has warned that Congress’ failure to approve the national budget in time for year-end enactment would trigger automatic reenactment of this year’s spending plan for use in 2019 —mid-term election year — with Malacañang calling the shots on allocations. Mr. Nograles has insisted there is still time to make amendments in the spending proposal, while a Senate caucus on Monday yielded a decision to await the outcome in the House.
On Tuesday, Mr. Nograles warned that a reenacted budget would be more costly, since it would require a supplemental budget for items — including succeeding tranches of salary standardization for state workers — not covered in 2018.
In a briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr. reminded Mr. Nograles that he was standing in the way of “the President’s budget… not the Secretary’s budget”.
“This is not the Secretary’s budget. This is the President’s budget. So I think the President needs an explanation, very clear explanation of why people who may be considered his closest allies have rejected it outright,” Mr. Roque said.
“[W]e’re also reminding them that there’s a concept of political allies and political enemies, and majority and minority. The concept of being in the majority is that you want to support the administration. And when you reject the project outright, it’s not something you expect from an administration party.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan, Arjay L. Balinbin and CAA

Kick-start your dream venture with a personal loan

Entrepreneurship is alive and well in the Philippines, with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) growing by the day as more Filipinos engage in the activity.
According to data from the Department of Trade and Industry, there were 911,768 MSMEs operating in 2016, accounting for 99.57% of all registered businesses. This figure was 1.7% higher than in 2015, when 896,839 MSMEs were recorded and constituted 99.5% of all commercial establishments.
Likewise, a 2017 survey of 106 chief executive officers and founders of start-ups by Isla Lipana & Co. (PricewaterhouseCoopers Philippines), QBO Innovation Hub and IdeaSpace Foundation Inc., noted that more start-ups were being established in recent years. More than half of the respondents opened their ventures between 2016 and 2017.
The road to entrepreneurship
According to an earlier survey of more than 2,500 adults by the members of the Philippine GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) National Team, necessity is what drives majority of entrepreneurs amidst few available job opportunities. Entrepreneurship, the survey pointed out, is seen by society as a reliable means of improving one’s lot.
Necessity alone is not enough, though. A key ingredient for entrepreneurial success is passion – passion to make a difference, passion to make the world a better place, passion to change the world. The findings of a 2011 study published in the Emerald Insight strongly suggest that the grounds for a globally successful creative venture require the passion of at least one inventor entrepreneur.
That passion can be so intense that salaried employees choose to quit their day jobs. Those who can’t afford to do so try a different tack – they transform their passion into a sideline, preserving the security of salaried employment and the joy of doing what they love.
But the road to entrepreneurship – as anyone who has dived into it can attest – is paved with daunting hindrances that prompt aspiring business owners to shelve the idea or entirely abandon the plan altogether  . The two aforementioned studies drew attention to what is perhaps the most daunting of them all – money.
An overwhelming majority of the start-up executives polled by Isla Lipana identified capital as the top challenge that they had to address when they were starting their businesses. One of the two top barriers to entrepreneurship among the youth, the GEM survey noted, is access to funds. (The other is lack of business skills.) Experts who were separately polled cited lack of financial support allowing access to capital as the leading obstacle to getting into entrepreneurship.
Seeking financial help
Using one’s personal savings is  a common practice among the newbies to the field. Others also seek financial support from family and friends. But more often than not, these sources are barely enough. This is where banks come in. They offer very useful loans that budding entrepreneurs can tap into with ease.
For instance, one of the most prominent banks in the country, Citi Philippines has made taking out personal loans a breeze. Loan approval can be processed in as fast as 24 hours, provided that the borrower submits the few required documents, including the filled-out application form, a pay slip or an income tax return, and a valid government-issued ID. It is important to mention that neither collateral nor a guarantor is necessary – things that, although critical in other transactions, may severely slow down the application process. The loanable amount is as high as P2 million, and paying the loan off can take one to five years.
To begin the process, one needs to fill out Citi’s online application form. The borrower will then receive a call from a sales officer to verify the application. Only after that will the borrower be asked to submit the documents.
Financial institutions like Citi are exactly what aspiring entrepreneurs need. The loans they provide remove the financial obstacle that can oftentimes feel too obstinate to overcome, allowing entrepreneurs to kick-start and grow their dream ventures.

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