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PFL: Kaya-Iloilo FC sends Ceres-Negros crashing, 2-0

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THERE are no more unbeaten teams in the 2018 Philippines Football League season after Kaya-Iloilo FC sent erstwhile unbeaten team Ceres-Negros FC crashing, 2-0, in their clash Saturday night at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium.
First-half goals from Robert Lopez Mendy and Alfred Osei did it for the visiting side, which did a good job holding its own despite playing more than 30 minutes with 10 men.
The win was a breakthrough as well for Kaya, which was lorded over by the defending champions in last year’s PFL.
“I said before the game it would take a collective team effort, and we got exactly that,” said Kaya coach Noel Marcaida following their victory.
“We took advantage of them in that first half. Everyone worked so hard, especially after we went down to 10 men,” added the coach.
Mr. Lopez Mendy got the scoring going for Kaya after tapping in a pass from teammate Jordan Mintah in the 10th minute.
The goal jolted the hosts, who got down to work to try to get back the goal.
Kaya keeper Ace Villanueva and the rest of the team would prove themselves up to the initial onslaught of Ceres and frustrate the latter.
The Iloilo side would double the lead in the 40th minute when Mr. Osei punctured through off a nifty pass from Miguel Tanton.
Sensing that the game was slipping from its hands, Ceres brought on Stephan Schrock and Super Herrera at halftime, but it was Iloilo that threatened to score after the restart.
Both Messrs. Mintah and Lopez Mendy connected from set pieces in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but their respective headers narrowly missed the target.
Then with 32 minutes in regulation, an off-ball clash between Camelo Tacusalme and Schrock led to both players getting booked.
The yellow card was Mr. Tacusalme’s second of the match, however, leading to his dismissal from the game. The incident not only meant Kaya would finish the match with a man down, but with a completely new center back pairing, as Masanari Omura was forced off earlier in the first half due to injury.
The turn of events reinvigorated the home side and its supporters.
The match turned physical, with cards flying out of the referees pocket with regularity.
Ceres threw everything it had at Kaya the rest of the way but the visitors just would not budge en route to the win.
“When the penalty was called, I just stayed composed. I kept telling myself, ‘I can save this. It doesn’t matter who takes it, I can save this,’” said Man of the Match Villanueva.
“It’s my first clean sheet, and against a big team. I just tried to stay calm and composed throughout. It was really a collective team effort,” he added.
“Kaya fought very hard. They gave 200% just to win this game. It’s what we expected,” said Ceres’ assistant coach Ian Treyes.
“As you noticed, we have our focus on our next game, so we rested some of our players for our upcoming match in the AFC Cup,” he added, referring to their key knockout AFC Cup match against Yangon United FC in Myanmar on May 16.
The win was Kaya’s third straight in the PFL, improving the club to 13 points after seven outings, good enough for second in the standings.
Ceres, meanwhile, despite being handed their first loss of the season, remains on top of the table with 15 points from six matches.

Japan’s Naito reclaims ONE strawweight title

SINGAPORE — Japanese Yoshitaka Naito is once again ONE Championship world strawweight champion after fashioning out a split-decision victory over erstwhile holder Alex Silva of Brazil in their title fight even as Filipino fighters were shown the exit early at “ONE: Grit and Glory” in Indonesia on Saturday night.
Surrendered the strawweight belt in December 2017, Mr. Naito tried hard to render it a temporary handover and was accordingly rewarded with the narrow victory over Mr. Silva in a match that was nip-and-tuck right from the get-go.
The two champion fighters engaged in a technical grappling display to open things in the headlining fight at the Jakarta Convention Center.
Mr. Naito showcased his overwhelming wrestling skills, consistently bringing Mr. Silva down to the ground and controlling the action on the canvas.
But the Brazilian would defend well against the Japanese’s attacks by turning to his world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
It, however, eventually was overcome by Mr. Naito’s grit to see his cause through.
With eye on the prize, Mr. Naito would step things up in the final round, putting himself in dominant position throughout, which turned out to be the difference maker with two of three judges in the end having him the victor in their scorecards.
Mr. Naito said post-match that he is very happy to have regained the strawweight title but admitted it did not come easy as Mr. Silva fought very hard to defend his belt.
“There were some dangerous parts [during the match], but I showed some good grappling, and I was able to get [the win],” said Mr. Naito after his victory while thanking the Jakarta crowd.
With the victory, champion-anew Naito improved to 13-1 while Mr. Silva dropped to 7-2 and saw his six-fight winning streak come to an end.
Meanwhile, not so lucky were Filipino fighters Eric “The Natural” Kelly and Rome “The Rebel” Trinidad, who fell fast in their respective fights at Grit and Glory.
Mr. Kelly, looking to bust his way out of a telling four-fight losing streak, had the door shut on him by Japanese Tetsuya Yamada in the opening round of their catchweight fight.
Mr. Yamada traded strikes with the Baguio native to begin the match, and waited for the perfect time to take his opponent to the ground. Once he was able to put Mr. Kelly on the mat, the Japanese wasted little time to go for the finish, taking his opponent’s back and locked in the rear naked choke to force the tap by the third minute of the first round.
Ms. Trinidad, for her part, fell a little over two minutes into her atomweight fight with hometown bet Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol by way of submission (guillotine).
After a brief exchange of strikes at the center of the mat, Ms. Gaol grabbed a hold of Trinidad’s neck in a standing guillotine. As Ms. Trinidad tried to fend off the submission, action transitioned to the mat with Ms. Gaol still holding on to Filipina’s neck and the tap came shortly after.
Also victorious in Jakarta were strawweight Stefer Rahardian over Himanshu Kaushik by submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round; middleweight Leandro Ataides over Vitaly Bigdash by technical knockout (strikes) in the third round; and Sergey Maslobojev over Antonio Plazibat by unanimous decision in their ONE Super Series Kickboxing catchweight joust.
Next for ONE Championship is “Unstoppable Dreams” in Singapore on May 18 which will feature the women’s atomweight title fight between champion Angela Lee of Singapore and Mei Yamaguchi of Japan.
Also on tap is the world featherweight title battle between Australian Martin Nguyen and Singaporean Christian Lee. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

TAG Heuer is the official timer of Milo Marathon

MILO announces TAG Heuer as its official timing partner for the 2018 National Milo Marathon. The renowned Swiss luxury watchmaker joins forces with Milo to provide a better race experience for all runners joining. Now on its 42nd season, the National Milo Marathon is the country’s biggest and most accessible running event.
As an additional motivation for runners to push their limits and finish at the top of their game, TAG Heuer is awarding the 2018 National Milo Marathon King and Queen with a special token, to help immortalize their remarkable feat.
In line with Milo’s advocacy of building champions and sports development, TAG Heuer also believes that Filipino marathoners have what it takes to compete at the highest caliber since they don’t crack under pressure.
The 42nd National Milo Marathon is set to kick off in Urdaneta on July 15, and will continue in Metro Manila (July 29), Tarlac (Aug. 26), Batangas (Sept. 16), Lucena (Sept. 30), Iloilo (Oct. 7), Cebu (Oct. 14), General Santos (Oct. 21), Butuan (Nov. 11), and Cagayan De Oro (Nov. 18). The National Finals in Laoag will be on Dec. 9.

Simpson pushes Players lead to seven strokes; Woods, Spieth move up

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Webb Simpson will take a record seven-shot lead into the final round of the Players Championship after a four-under 68 on Saturday gave him 54-hole total of 19-under 197.
Simpson’s three-round total matched the tournament record set by Australian Greg Norman in 1994 en route to a four-stroke victory.
Simpson had been five strokes clear of three players after his second-round 63. With just 18 holes remaining in the $11-million tournament at TPC Sawgrass, Simpson was seven clear of New Zealand’s Danny Lee, who carded a 70 for 204.
World number one Dustin Johnson birdied three of his closing six holes in a 69 to grab third place on 206. Former world number one Jason Day of Australia was in a group of five on 207 — but the tournament is Simpson’s to lose.
Hours after Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth charged up the leaderboard with morning 65s that moved them to eight-under, Simpson showed now sign of bowing to pressure from any quarter.
He declared his intentions with a birdie at the first and then another at the fourth to get to 17-under.
He bogeyed the par-three eighth but promptly recovered that shot with a birdie at the par-five ninth.
Simpson produced his shot of the day at the par-five 11th, where he sent his second shot some 33 yards past the hole and into a rear greenside bunker.
In another stroke of brilliance from a player currently ranked 41st in the world, Simpson proceeded to hole his third shot for an eagle that stretched his lead to seven strokes.
Simpson struggled somewhat in playing the 14th through the 16th in one-over.
But at the par-three 17th, where he took a double-bogey after finding the water on Friday, Simpson brought a huge crowd to their feet in sinking a three-footer for birdie that moved him back to 19-under.
No player on the PGA Tour has lost a tournament when leading by seven going into the final round.
Despite his position, Simpson said he saw room for improvement.
“I felt like today was a good day overall but then I wasn’t quite as sharp as I’d like to be,” he said.
‘QUALITY SHOTS’ FROM WOODS
Woods and Spieth will play alongside each other over the final round, with Woods delighted after his lowest score by three shots this year.
“I finally got off to a good start in birdieing the first couple of holes and I just kept it rolling from here,” said the 14-time major champion who is back in action this year after career-threatening back trouble.
“I played a lot of good shots out there today and it was nice to see a few putts go in.
“Overall on the whole day I just hit a lot of quality shots and a 65 was probably the highest I could have shot.”
If there was any disappointment, Woods said, it was in getting himself to eight-under through 12 but settling for a seven-under round. — AFP

Lomachenko stops Linares for historic third world title

NEW YORK — Vasyl Lomachenko stopped Jorge Linares in the 10th round yesterday to claim the World Boxing Association lightweight world title and a slice of boxing history at Madison Square Garden.
Ukraine’s Lomachenko survived a sixth-round knock-down to set a record in claiming a world title in a third weight division in just his 12th professional fight.
Lomachenko finished off the tightly contested bout with a fierce burst in the 10th, capped by a vicious left to the body that sent Linares down.
“I prepared for the last few rounds, and my father told me, ‘You need to go to the body,’” Lomachenko said.
Venezuela’s Linares slowly got to his feet, but referee Ricky Gonzalez waved it off at 2:08 of the 10th to give Lomachenko a victory by technical knockout that ended Linares’ 13-fight winning streak.
Linares said he thought he could have continued and would be eager for a rematch.
At the time of the stoppage, Lomachenko was up by two points on one judge’s card, Linares was up by two on another and one judge had it tied.
The bout, before a crowd of 10,429 in Madison Square Garden’s main arena, was a far cry from Lomachenko’s last four fights in which all of his opponents quit on their stools.
“I want to say thank you to Jorge Linares, he’s a great fighter and he gave me one more lesson in boxing,” said Lomachenko, who was sent to the canvas by a straight right to the nose late in the sixth round.
“I knew about this punch,” southpaw Lomachenko said. “But he’s good.”
Lomachenko quickly pulled himself together, his hand and foot speed making the difference against his bigger opponent. — AFP

Woods, Spieth had the crowd buzzing

It’s fair to argue that Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth will be playing for second when they tee off at the Players Championship today. They’re 11 shots behind provisional leader Webb Simpson, too far behind to gain enough ground over the final 18 holes. Even if they manage to recreate the third-round magic that catapulted them from their place in the cut line to the first page of the leaderboard, they know they’re better off going after more reasonable goals at TPC Sawgrass.
Granted, golf is, if nothing else, most susceptible to the complexities of competition. Anything from nature to luck can change fortunes. On the other hand, there’s a reason Simpson is a full seven strokes ahead of playing partner Danny Lee, and it’s not because he’s due for a monumental collapse. As thrilling as the runs of Woods and Spieth yesterday were, his second-round assault on the course was even better, the double bogey on the always-dangerous island-green 17th notwithstanding.
That said, Woods and Spieth certainly had the Ponte Vedra Beach crowd buzzing early yesterday. Taking advantage of the soft greens that held their aggressive approach shots, they put on a sterling display of shotmaking that underscored their pedigree. By the time they saw their respective balls fall on the 18th cup, they had moved up a whopping 60 spots to eighth. And it’s a testament to how well they played, and how harder the layout became as the day progressed, that eighth is where they still found themselves when the smoke cleared some six hours later.
In any case, Woods and Spieth figure to build on their momentum in an effort to go low yet again. This time, they will be showing up on the first tee just 40 minutes ahead of Simpson and Lee — good because they can reasonably estimate the impact their strides make, and bad because the ground will be harder and subject to quirky bounces. Will they get close? Or will they pull off the improbable and truly contend? Only time will tell, but if they end up with anything less than a podium finish, it won’t be because they didn’t try.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Duterte urges Maute members to surrender, wants to proclaim land reform in areas in Mindanao

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Friday, May 11, pleaded with former Maute terrorist group members to stop fighting the government and instead help with its rehabilitation efforts in rebuilding the once besieged city of Marawi.
“Huwag na muna tayo mag-away (let’s stop fighting,)” urged Mr. Duterte in a speech at the Marawi City Provincial Capitol Gym where he was presented with the firearms of the former fighters.
He asked the audience composed of Maute surrenderees to “give us a little time para mapagana namin ang rehabilitasyon (so we can progress with the rehabilitation.)”
“Give us time to rebuild, give us time to establish the goodwill, and I’m inviting the other Maute or whatever, nakikipag-away dito sa Marawi (the others fighting here in Marawi), you come down and we will talk how we can improve your lives,” he said.
Mr. Duterte pledged, “mag-land reform ako dito, magbuhos ako ng pera. (I will implement land reform and I will provide the funding.) I will look for the money.”
“I want to proclaim land reform here in Maguindanao because it is vast and wide, even the whole of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur,” he explained in Tagalog.
“All you have to contribute is the work. I will take care of the rest,” he added.
He explained that “when I saw our Maranao brothers and sisters return to Marawi to reclaim their land, their homes and their lives, I immediately felt a sense of hope that Mindanao can rise as a center of growth and development, not just in the Philippines but the entire ASEAN region.”
He added: “That is why we have embarked on unprecedented infrastructure development program that intends to facilitate commerce and trade in Mindanao.”
He said, “if you want, we can talk. I’m ready to talk.”
Mr. Duterte declared Marawi liberated on Oct. 17 of last year, five months after Islamic militants composed of Maute members and radicalized foreigners clashed with government security forces on May 23, the same day he proclaimed martial law in the whole region of Mindanao.
Martial law was extended until the end of 2018, citing that terrorist threats in the region still exist and public safety demanded the extension.
It is estimated that up to 360,000 people were displaced due to the fighting with 163 government troops and 47 civilians declared dead. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

Philippines, Kuwait sign deal ensuring OFW safety in the Gulf state

By Gillian M. Cortez
The Philippines and Kuwait have signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) that will ensure the safety and security of Filipino workers in the Gulf state.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has announced on its Facebook page that DFA Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah have signed the MoA that will ensure the protection and rights of Filipino employees working in Kuwait.
Filipino officials also present in Kuwait were Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Silvestre H. Bello, Special Envoy to Kuwait Abdullah D. Mama-o, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque.
Kuwait has agreed to grant repatriation of Filipino workers in the gulf state who need help. The DFA has also managed to propose a special police unit to help the Philippine Embassy and launch a hotline to assist embattled workers 24/7, both of which were approved by Kuwait.
Tension between the Philippines and Kuwait started after the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait’s efforts of rescuing distressed Filipino workers who claim that they were abused by their employers. This lead Kuwait to protest to the Philippines that this was a violation to their sovereignty. Kuwait has also declared Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa as persona non grata.
With the MoA finally signed, the deployment ban will be partially lifted, as promised by Mr. Bello during an interview with reporters earlier this week prior to flying to Kuwait. This means that only skilled workers will be allowed to work in the gulf state.
In another development, officials from the DFA and from the United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) reviewed bilateral relations between the two nations and “discussed priorities and developments… (as well as) pending bilateral agreements,” according to a press statement released by the DFA.
The statement said DFA Undersecretary for Policy Enrique A. Manalo and UAE Foreign Minister for Human Rights and International Law Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Jarman “noted the need to increase bilateral trade and investments” at the meeting held on Wednesday, May 9 at Abu Dhabi, UAE.
“The Philippines also sought to expand economic cooperation with UAE in the energy sector, halal industry, and Islamic finance,” the statement read.
It added: “The two officials discussed possible cooperation in addressing terrorism and violent extremism, as well as in combating human trafficking.”
Aside from committing “to continue bilateral label cooperation and to enhance people-to-people ties,” the the two officials also “agreed to push for more exchanges of high-level visits, and enhance support in multilateral frameworks.”
The meeting also saw the signing of two agreements between the nations, which are the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Sports and the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation on Technical Vocational Education and Training.

DoJ's Guevarra to have a "more personal approach" with Dela Rosa's BuCor

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Friday told Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ronald M. Dela Rosa he “intends to have a more personal approach (in supervising)” the agency, in connection to the personal mandate given to him by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“(Mr. Duterte) said (when) he appointed me that he will not interfere in any manner by which I will discharge my responsibility… except that he wants me to put in very special attention on two matters: campaign on illegal drugs and campaign on terrorists,” said Mr. Guevarra at the former Philippine National Police chief director’s oath taking ceremony at the Department of Justice (DoJ).
BuCor is one of the many attached agencies under the DoJ.
“As we all know (the) drug problem is not only found outside, but inside of the country. That’s why I have to take a more hands-on approach on a matter of supporting the efforts of the Bureau of Corrections in wiping out illegal drugs,” Mr. Guevarra said.
Mr. Dela Rosa, for his part, said, “ang importante mapahinto talaga ang drug transaction sa loob (what’s important is we end the drug transaction inside.)”
Also during the oath taking, the justice secretary assured Mr. Dela Rosa, “we will get the necessary support for the department… (starting) with budgetary requirements for 2019.”
“We’ll make sure that the bureau will make substantial adjustments or increases in its budgetary allocation,” Mr. Guevarra pointed out.
He added: “We’ll make sure that only appropriate funds shall be released so that (BuCor) may be able to discharge (their) functions easily.”
Mr. Dela Rosa had complained about the agency’s lack of budget, telling Mr. Guevarra, “hangga’t walang pera, mahihirapan din i-implement ang reform law (we will have a difficult time implementing the reform law as long as there’s no proper funding,)” referring to the implementation of Republic Act 10575 or the Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013 which aimed to modernize the agency. – Dane Angelo Enerio

Sugar output enough to meet local demand, US quota, agency says

The Philippines’ sugar production will be enough to meet local demand and, at the same time, satisfy allotments for the country’s US quota for this crop year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said on Friday.
Although “scarcity of cane cutters” has delayed harvests in certain areas, production targets will still be met this year, Hermenegildo R. Serafica, SRA administrator, said in a statement, referring to the 2.27 million metric ton (MT) target set for this year. The target is lower than last year’s 2.5 million MTs due to the expected unfavorable weather.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the lack of manpower in sugarcane fields, especially in Western Visayas, caused a drop in production in the first quarter by 11.56% due to delayed harvest.
Heavy rains in Northern Mindanao late last year also affected the crop output.
“We have the canes [to mill], but the problem besetting the industry at the moment is the scarcity of cane cutters. The canes have to be harvested and brought to the central for milling,” Mr. Serafica said. “That is why some mills may end much later in the crop year, around June or July, and others to start earlier to take advantage of the remaining canes.”
While some farmers are already on their second cycle for sugarcane, the SRA chief said that this would mean additional supply in the market.
With lower price quotations from the sugar milling stations, its price dropped by 11.55%. The first three months of 2018 posted a 21.77% reduction in gross earnings.
The crop year for sugarcane begins every Sept. 1 and ends on Aug. 31.
Of the total sugar production of the Philippines, 93% has been allocated for the local market while 6% of this is already reserved for the US Quota, according to the Sugar Order No. 1 issued in January.
The remaining share is set for the export market.
Production already hit 1.93 million metric tons (MT) as of the week that ended last May 6. As a result, only 340,694 MTs are needed to complete the 2.27 million MT, Mr. Serafica said, citing updates provided by sugar mill factory managers in Luzon and the Visayas.
“SRA [will continue] to closely monitor the supply situation and this agency is prepared to use available means under its mandate towards stable supply and to curb speculation,” Mr. Serafica said. – Anna G. A. Mogato

Duterte's net worth goes up by P1 million in 2017

President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s net worth increased by P1.1 million in 2017 to P28.54 million from P27.42 million in 2016, a document showed.
This, among others, was indicated in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) for 2017, which was released by the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday.
Mr. Duterte’s total assets amounted to P29.34 million, 19.36 million of which are cash on hand or in bank accumulated over the years, the document said.
Among his declared assets are P4.4 million worth of properties in Davao City, a 1978 Volks Sedan and a 1996 Toyota Rav 4 with values of P40,000 and P800,000, respectively, and household appliances and furniture totaling P350,000.
The president’s other assets, such as jewelry, investments, and other personal properties, have a total accumulated value of P4.3 million.
Furthermore, Mr. Duterte also declared an P800,000 personal loan, that was borrowed from Samuel Uy.
It was also noted five of Mr. Duterte’s properties were under the name of his youngest daughter, Veronica A. Duterte.
As of filing date, the President also named six relatives working in the government, which includes son and former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte (whose resignation has been accepted by his father in January 2018), daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter-in-law January N. Duterte, brother Benjamin R. Duterte, nephew Wilfrido D. Villarica, and nephew’s wife Jean Villarica. – C. A. Tadalan

Economists expect one more rate hike this year

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
ECONOMISTS expect one more rate hike from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year amid signs that inflation will remain on the rise in the coming months, following a tightening move introduced on Thursday.
Analyses issued by global banks following the central bank’s rate hike signalled that they still see at least one more tightening move within 2018.
“Further hikes are likely if upcoming data and developments indicate inflation remains elevated above the target range for an extended period of time,” ING Bank N.V. Manila senior economist Jose Mario I. Cuyegkeng said in a report issued late Thursday.
The BSP’s Monetary Board raised policy settings by 25 basis points (bp) during their third review for the year, with key rates now ranging from 2.75-3.75%.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said policy makers saw it was the right time to adjust rates as they now project inflation trending even higher and “more broad-based” than initially expected. The move is seen to arrest second-round effects of tax reform and temper inflation expectations among market players.
Prices of widely-used goods hit a fresh peak in April at 4.5% under the 2012 base year. This pushed the year-to-date tally to 4.1%, shooting above the BSP’s 2-4% target range for 2018.
Prior to this adjustment, the BSP last hiked policy rates in September 2014 when inflation was also trending above their 3-5% target then.
The central bank now sees 2018 inflation averaging 4.6%, versus the 3.9% forecast given last March under 2012 prices and will surely log beyond the 2-4% target. Price increases are expected to ease next year to average 3.4% versus the previous 3% estimate.
“We expect another hike but only in the fourth quarter. The market has expected tightening since late last month which has insulated the peso from the recent weakness of emerging market currencies,” ING’s Mr. Cuyegkeng said, while noting that the peso would likely remain volatile and weak versus the dollar.
Mr. Espenilla said the BSP is ready “to undertake further policy action as necessary” to keep prices stable. For his part, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo has said the 25bp increase in rates is “sufficient” to bring inflation back to target by next year.
ANZ Research economists Shashank Mendiratta and Sanjay Mathur said the BSP “kept the door open” for further tightening moves this year, with the earliest tweak expected by Aug. 9, or two meetings from now.
“We believe that one rate hike will not be sufficient to address these issues. Accordingly, we now expect one more hike of 25bps in August,” ANZ analysts said.
On the flipside, HSBC sees policy makers keeping rates steady, but pointed out that future rate increases will depend on emerging price dynamics.
“Our view that the BSP is likely to refrain from a tightening cycle is also based on our assessment that the country is not overheating, as some would suggest,” the global lender said.
“As such, we believe that any additional rate hikes would only be to limit the second-round impacts of tax reforms and to curb rising inflation expectations.”
Nomura sees two more rate increases by June and August, while IHS Markit is pencilling in at least one more hike in the coming months.

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