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Bulldogs ready for grind to get back UAAP title

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
FOR the sixth straight year the National University (NU) Bulldogs are back in the finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s volleyball tournament and expressed readiness to compete albeit expecting it to be no walk in the park.
Following their three-set win over the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Spikers, 25-13, 25-13 and 31-29, in their Final Four match on Sunday, the Bulldogs are back on the championship stage, putting themselves in position to win the title, something they have not done since UAAP Season 76.
They are now awaiting the winner of the do-or-die Final Four match between three-time defending champions Ateneo Blue Spikers and Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws tomorrow.
Back in the finals once again, NU coach Dante Alinsunurin underscored that it is a direct result of the tremendous support that the team has been getting from various stakeholders.
“Where we at right now is a product of the support we have been getting from the school, the managers and the parents of the players. Without them, this sixth straight finals appearance for us would not be possible,” said the coach, whose wards finished the elimination round with a 12-2 record, tied with FEU.
“But we are not done yet. We will continue to work hard to bring back the title to NU,” added Mr. Alinsunurin, who is steering the team in trying to end the stranglehold of Ateneo on the title.
Asked who they prefer to face in the finals, Ateneo or FEU, the NU coach said they do not have any preference as either way they would be up against good teams that should only make things tough for them.
“We have no preference who we will face in the finals. We will just do our best whoever we face,” said Mr. Alinsunurin, adding, “Key for us is to continue playing as team.”

PSL Grand Prix semifinal round begins

COMPETITION in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix hits a new phase beginning today as the semifinal round commences with a pair of best-of-three series.
Kicking off at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City, the now-reduced field of combatants will see top seeds and defending champions F2 Logistics Cargo Movers against the fourth seeds Foton Tornadoes featured in one semifinal pairing while the number two team Petron Blaze Spikers battle third seeds Cocolife Asset Managers in the other.
F2 Logistics, which will battle Foton in the 6 p.m. main game today, finished the elimination round with a 9-1 record before eliminating the Smart Prepaid Giga Hitters in the quarterfinals at the first instance, seeing no need to use its twice-to-beat advantage given to the top four teams.
Leading the charge for the Cargo Movers are imports Kennedy Bryan, MJ Perez and Minami Yoshioka.
F2 Logistics will also be banking on its local crew, bannered by Ara Galang, Kim Fajardo, Abi Maraño and Cha Cruz.
Looking to dethrone the Cargo Movers are the Tornadoes, who had a rough elimination round en route to finishing with a 5-5 record.
Foton ousted the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors in the quarterfinals and is eyeing to build on it and go deeper in the tournament.
The Tornadoes have Dindin Manabat, CJ Rosario, Maika Ortiz, Gyselle Sy and imports Elizabeth Wendel and Channon Thompson now backstopped by collegiate stars Tots Carlos and Isa Molde. Jaja Santiago, too, is set to join the team after her National University team was booted out in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines wars.
“We should want it more than them. F2 Logistics is very strong and disciplined team. But of course, it still has some lapses. And we should be ready to pounce on those lapses,” said Foton coach Rommel Abella of the kind of mind-set they should have in the semifinals against the Cargo Movers.
PETRON VS COCOLIFE
While it, too, finished with a 9-1 card at the end of the elimination round, Petron was relegated to number two in the seedings. But it has hardly mattered as the Blaze Spikers continue to be on top of their game.
Led by imports Lindsay Stalzer, Hillary Hurley and Yuri Fukuda, Petron made short work of the Generika-Ayala Life Savers in the opening round of the playoffs and is keeping its focus of completing an unfinished business after falling short in the finals of the tournament last season.
Also to be counted on are locals Mika Reyes, Frances Molina, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Rhea Dimaculangan.
Waiting for the Blaze Spikers are the Asset Managers, who finished the classification phase with a 6-4 card and disposed off the Cignal HD Spikers in the quarterfinals.
Serbian imports Sara Klisura and Marta Drpa are anchoring Cocolife’s push along with Royse Tubino, Tina Salak and Denden Lazaro.
The team hopes to make it to its first finals appearance.
“Petron is the best team this season. I must admit that. But it still lost a match. It still has some flaws. We have to put our best foot forward to expose those flaws and convert it to a victory in the semifinals,” said Cocolife coach Moro Branislav.
The Petron-Cocolife semifinal series kicks off today’s festivities at 4:15 p.m.
PSL matches are broadcast live over ESPN5. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PHL Ice Hockey Team concludes their first match of the year at the SM Skating Mall of Asia

THE Philippine Ice Hockey team finished their first game of the year by taking home the bronze medal at the Challenge Cup of Asia (CCOA). The International Ice Hockey Foundation (IIHF)-sanctioned competition was held at the SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink and marks the country’s first time to host the regional event.
Team captain, Steven Fuglister, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament with his split 14.5-second goal hit in the Philippines’ last game against Singapore.
“We want to thank everyone for their great show of support at this year’s Challenge Cup. Our families, friends, and fans gave us an incredible source of strength and motivation during this run, testament to our podium finish,” said Jonathan de Castro, the Philippine Ice Hockey Team’s new coach.
The national team will next play at the Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament in June. Although this will not have any direct impact to their IIHF standing, it will further promote the sport as some of the competing teams will come from neighboring countries.
The 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will play a big role towards the team’s overall direction as they look to defend their gold title and advance to the IIHF World Championships. With the Philippines as SEA Games host, the team also looks forward to having the home crowd cheer them on.
“We are currently starting preparations for the men’s and potentially the women’s teams for next year. Riding on our motivation from CCOA, the coaching staff is currently breaking down film from our last game to move forward and create the roster for the upcoming 2019 SEA Games,” de Castro added.
Future ice hockey games of the national team will be held at SM Skating Mall of Asia, which boasts an Olympic-sized ice skating rink that was unveiled last October 2017. SM Lifestyle Entertainment’s support for figure skating and speed skating alongside ice hockey goes hand-in-hand with SM Group’s vision to help and build homegrown talents.
For more updates and announcements on tournaments and events of the Philippine Ice Hockey team, visit SM Skating’s website at www.smskating.com or follow the official social media accounts at @smskating.

IM John Marvin Miciano

Asian Youth Chess Championship
Under-18 Standard Time Control
Chiangmai, Thailand
April 2-9, 2018

Final Top Standings
1. FM John Marvin Miciano PHI 2260, 7.5/9
2. Daniel Quizon PHI 2228, 6.5/9
3-5. FM Xu Zhihang CHN 2344, IM Tran Minh Thang VIE 2400, FM Wong Yinn Long MAS 2222, 6.0/9 6-9 Omidi Arya IRI 2400, FM Mitrabha Guha IND 2366, Timur Nurzhanov KAZ 2296, CM Le Minh Hoang VIE 2226, 5.5/9
10-13. CM Thilakarathne GMH SRI 2214, FM Mohammad Fahad Ragman BAN 2337, Ashid Tsetseg Ulzii MGL 1941, FM Jeet Jain IND 2232, 5.0/9
Total Participants: 30 players
Time Control: 90 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your time after every move starting move 1
The two representatives from the Philippines finished 1-2 in the Under-18 standard time control chess championship for Asia.
FEU’s John Marvin Miciano won the gold medal and was automatically awarded the title of International Master. Through the kindness of his coach GM Jayson Gonzales, he has agreed to annotate all of his 9 games in this event for us. I have picked out some of them to show to our readers. The first round game had a lot to do with pumping up John’s adrenaline for the rest of the tournament.

Miciano, John Marvin (2260) — Crowley, Regan (1826) [C11]
Asian Youth U18 Standard Chiangmai (1), 02.04.2018 [Miciano,JM]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
My opponent was moving confidently as I had lost to him in the rapid tournament.
3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Qb6!?
This line is very complicated, but only if black sacrifices a piece. You will see later.
8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3 cxd4 10.b4
This is the only move to save the a4–knight, for example after 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 b5.
10…Qc7!?
I wasn’t expecting this. The usual line is 10…Nxb4 11.cxb4 Bxb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Nxd2 0–0 14.Bd3 b5 15.Nb2 Nb6 followed by Nc4 and Black has the initiative.
11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4
I usually play 12.Qxd4 but this line is enough for a draw.
12…Be7 13.Bd3
This is the optimum square of the bishop, the knight need not to be maneuvered immediately because I’m not sure where the battle could take place. More chance is on the kingside because I have more space there, but I was not sure.
13…0–0 14.0–0 Re8 15.Qh5
This provokes black to push his pawns in front of his castled king but maybe I should have started immediately with 15.Rc1 and after 15…b6 I might immediately play 16.c4 (or make a preparatory move with 16.a3 this type of position also arise in Caro-Kann openings) 16…dxc4 17.Rxc4 Qd8 18.Nc3 Bb7 19.Nb5 white has the initiative as Rc8 isn’t possible yet.
15…Nf8 16.Nb2?!
Too slow. I also considered 16.Rf3 as one of the candidate moves, but I was not sure if because after 16…g6 17.Qh6 I still need to play Nb2 anyway. As they say, the threat is stronger than the execution, but I was making sure my knight is also taking part of the battle.
16…Bd7 17.Nd1
[17.Rf3 is still the best move, and after 17…g6 18.Qh6 White will follow through with Nb2–d1–e3]
17…a5 18.a3
Of course, close the queenside.
18…g6
This is a necessary move that has been done soon.
19.Qe2!?
I wasn’t sure about 19.Qh6 as it looks like Black can parry it with 19…Ba4 20.Ne3 Nd7 followed by Bf8 but looking at the game afterwards, it looks like I can still win with 21.f5! Bf8 (21…gxf5 22.Nxf5 exf5 23.Bxf5 it will be mate soon; 21…exf5 22.e6! f6 23.Bxf5 is an overwhelming attack) 22.Qh3 — and now there is a horrible threat of 23.fxe6 fxe6 24.Rf7! Kxf7 25.Qxh7+ Bg7 26.Bxg6+ Ke7 (26…Kf8 27.Rf1+) 27.Qxg7+ Kd8 28.Bxe8 Kxe8 29.Rf1 Black has no defense.
19…b6
Here it shows that Black has no plan at all — he is just waiting to see what I do.
20.Ne3 Bc6 21.Ng4 Reb8 22.Qe3 Nd7 <D>
Position after 22…Nd7
The final attack starts now.
23.f5!
Opening the diagonals for my bishops.
23…exf5 24.e6! Bf8
[24…fxg4 25.exf7+ Kf8 26.Qh6#]
25.exf7+ Kxf7 26.Bxf5 1–0
Black resigns as his king is defenseless. For example: 26.Bxf5 gxf5 27.Rxf5+ Kg8 28.Qe6#.
The top seed Vietnamese IM Tran Minh Thang was taken out early by Miciano’s compatriot the 14-year-old son of a motorcycle mechanic Daniel Quizon (we will have more to say about him later). After this Tran lost again in round 4 and was not a factor in the medal race.
After John defeated Regan Crowley he was in good spirits and won his next four games as well, taking out the no. 2 (Iran’s Omidi Arya), 3 (India’s LFM Mitrabha Guha) and 4 (Chinese FM Xu Zhihang) seeds in rapid succession.
Let’s take a look at those games.

Miciano, John Marvin (2260) — Omidi, Arya (2400) [B23]
Asian Youth U18 Standard Chiangmai (3), 03.04.2018 [Miciano, JM]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4
He didn’t expect this because I have no games on this opening in the chess databases.
3…Nc6 4.Bb5 Bd7 5.a4
Preferring to hide the bishop than exchange it, I honestly don’t want to exchange my light squared bishop this early.
5…g6 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.0–0 Nf6 8.d3 0–0 9.Bc4
It looks like my a4 pawn move is useless, but actually it hides my bishop and at the same time prevents a6–b5 ideas.
9…Nd4 10.Nxd4 cxd4 11.Nd5
[11.Ne2 Rc8 I got this position against IM Ronald Bancod once, but black has saved time without a6, and he can go with ideas like e6–d5.]
11…Nxd5
[11…e6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.Qf3 white gets an attack on the kingside whatever black moves]
12.Bxd5 Qc7 13.f5 e6
[13…Bc6 14.Bb3 followed by Qd1–g4–h4 and Rf1–f3–h3.]
14.f6 exd5 15.fxg7 Kxg7
Black’s squares on the kingside are rather weak, but after f6 white will have a hard time breaking through, I thought for a plan in this moment, because recapturing the pawn on d5 actually might waste a move for an attack.
16.exd5 Rac8 17.Qf3
There was a better plan with 17.Qe1 but after 17…f6 no one would of course play 18.b4! but the purpose is to develop the dark squared bishop along the a1–h8 diagonal 18…Qxc2?! 19.Qe7+ Rf7 20.Bh6+ Kg8 21.Qxd6 white immediately gets an attack.
17…f6
Black of course had to prevent Qf6+ followed by Bh6.
18.Rf2 Rce8 19.Bf4 Qc5 20.Raf1 Bxa4 21.Qh3 g5?
Allows me to deliver a deadly zwischenzug. Better is 21…h5 which attempts to close the kingside. I had planned to continue 22.b3 Bb5 23.Qg3 Qxd5 24.Bxd6 Rf7 25.Ba3 followed by Ba3–c1, Qg3–f4 and h2–h4.
22.b3! Bb5?
Still not sensing the danger. 22…gxf4 is forced after which 23.bxa4 Qxd5 24.Rxf4 Black has a pawn advantage but his king is wide open.
23.Qg3 Qc8
A bit of a disappointment. After 23…Qxd5 there is a beautiful line 24.Bxd6 Rf7 25.Rf5 Qc6 26.Rxg5+!! Kh8 (26…fxg5 27.Qxg5+ Kh8 28.Rxf7 the end) 27.Be5!! Qe6 28.Bxd4 Rd8 29.Bb2 Bc6 30.Qh4 followed by Rg6.
24.Bxg5
Now everything is easy.
24…fxg5 25.Qxg5+ Kh8 26.Rf7! Rxf7 27.Rxf7 Re1+ 28.Kf2 Re2+ 29.Kxe2 Qxc2+ 30.Ke1 Qc3+ 31.Kf2 Qc2+ 32.Kg1 1–0
We will continue on Thursday.
 
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

Spurs’ sparkplug

It would be an understatement to argue that the Spurs had their backs to the wall heading into Game Four of their opening-round series against the Warriors. Down zero to three, they needed to put together an outstanding effort on both ends of the court in order to stave off elimination, and not just because they faced the far superior defending champions. For the second straight match, they trekked to the AT&T Center without head coach Gregg Popovich, who was grieving the loss of his wife; the development meant they had to find an answer to their predicament, a seemingly Sisyphean task as evidenced by the 21-, 15-, and 13-point setbacks they hitherto absorbed.
Nonetheless, the Spurs were sure of one thing despite their tribulations: They would be fighting to the end. Regardless of score or circumstance, they would be hauling backsides, scrapping for the ball, and showing their capacity to be the best they can. For all their relative lack of talent, they knew exactly what it took to be greater than the sum of their parts. And so they remained confident of their chances, especially since they figured to have the support of a capacity crowd in one of the best homecourt venues in the league.
As things turned out, the Spurs exceeded themselves en route to forging their own double-digit victory. All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge was a rock, but the game ball belonged to 40-year-old sparkplug Manu Ginobili, whose tenacity on defense and utter fearlessness on offense forwarded the cause of the black and silver. He was particularly transcendent in the crunch, puncturing the hoop with consistency under pressure in a marked departure from his scoreless stint in Game Three.
In the aftermath of the upset, Ginobili touched on the motivation he derived from playing for acting head coach Ettore Messina; under the latter’s tutelage, he had thrived in the Euroleague prior to joining the National Basketball Association, and he relished the throwback opportunity. “Good memories,” he said. In any case, the Spurs continue to be the underdogs, and if they’re keen on staying alive, let alone advance to the conference semifinals, they’ll need more of his heroics.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Not a new jockey, Mr. President, NFA needs to retire

The NFA reverts back to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture. Through the years, administrative control of the NFA has shifted between the Offices of the President and the Secretary of Agriculture. However since 2016, President Duterte unprecedentedly appointed Cabinet Secretary Evasco to chair the NFA Council. Well, he just lost that position.
A mere transfer of the agency back to the Office of the President or to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture from the Cabinet Secretary’s Office is a palliative cure to rising rice prices and corruption in the NFA.
Let us track the movements of the NFA Ping-Pong ball starting in 2010.
Just barely warmed his Presidential chair, then president Benigno S. C. Aquino III fumed over the waste of rice and money after the Arroyo administration over-imported rice in 2008, which rotted at NFA warehouses.
He figured that private individuals must have profited substantially from the huge importation when rice prices in the world were highest.
President Aquino assigned then Agriculture Secretary Alcala, in whom he had full confidence, to supervise the NFA. That was a move from the Office of the President to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture.
In 2013, Secretary Alcala caused rice prices to increase. He reduced rice imports in an effort to meet his rice self-sufficiency goal.
Aquino’s confidence in Alcala was apparently shaken, because he took back the NFA from the DA. He could have asked Alcala to step down, but apparently could not and did not. He instead split the management of the DA and its attached agencies between Alcala and then presidential assistant Pangilinan.
In June 2016, NFA supervision transferred again this to time to the Office of Cabinet Secretary Evasco. Evasco had a running spat with NFA Administrator Jason Aquino over the volume, timing, and modality of rice imports.
In early 2017, rice prices went up due to low NFA stocks. The NFA Council, which Evasco chairs, sought President Duterte’s approval for NFA to import rice under a G2P arrangement. Administrator Aquino disagreed. He wanted NFA to import the rice (a G2G) instead of the private sector. Evasco prevailed over Administrator Aquino.
That quarrel had boiled once again, this time rice prices are up in the first quarter of this year due to low NFA stocks.
Low NFA stocks make rice consumers vulnerable to price manipulation by private traders.
Even if we have adequate rice supply in the country due to a good harvest, rice prices may go up, however, if the NFA stocks are down. Why?
By making NFA an import monopoly, we have inadvertently made the local rice market, in the language of economists oligopolistic, a competition between the few large rice traders, and the NFA.
The NFA is designed to check the price manipulation by a few large traders, selling the lowest price rice in the market. If the NFA had the appropriate inventory, private traders cannot bid up rice prices. If it does not, the rice consumers are vulnerable to rice spikes.
rice NFA
The two NFA officials know this, but they disagreed once again on the modality of importation. Secretary Evasco and the NFA Council decided it should be government to private (G2P). Administrator Aquino is for G2G.
The G2P procurement is beneficial to the country. The government does not need to finance the import.
Under a G2G, the NFA has to borrow money commercial to finance its rice imports. The arrangement, which does not require competitive bidding, is vulnerable to corruption.
There is money from importing rice. Local rice prices are higher than world prices. Whoever controls the NFA gets the profit from rice imports.
In 1998, former president Estrada placed the NFA under the Office of the President, away from the Secretary of Agriculture. According to customs officials at that time, individuals close to the then President allegedly showed up at customs, and claimed they brokered for the NFA.
That was a milestone in the rice industry.
Until then, the NFA earned profit from its rice import monopoly, which it used to offset its loss from “buying high and selling low” rice, and its operational inefficiencies.
NFA’s finances took a turn for the worse since that time. With reduced income, NFA started to rely more on corporate borrowing, increasing its commercial debt.
The corruption at that time may not have been as large as in 2008. The larger cost of it was that it emboldened others. Before long, technical rice smuggling started and continues to be a major problem until now.
The Arroyo government was no help. The biggest loss of the NFA occurred in a single year occurred in 2008 under president Arroyo’s watch. The NFA imported a year’s worth of rice imports of over 2 million tons in the first 5 months of that year. Thailand had to even advise the Philippines to stop importing because world rice prices had shot through the roof.
In my view, the NFA management was not that incompetent as to defy the law of demand.
Ironically, former president Arroyo had the opportunity to fix the financial problems of the NFA.
At the start of her administration, the government had an agreement with the Asian Development Bank, which former president Estrada approved, to carry out rice productivity investments and policy reforms.
The reforms were designed to keep rice prices affordable and stable, and saved taxpayer money. Former president Arroyo cancelled the program in 2002.
The changes in NFA leadership through the years are symptomatic of a very old institution. The NFA is not a Hagdang Bato, a triple crown winner in horse racing. The NFA had its peak years and had ably defended our interests. Mr. President it does not need a new hinete; it needs to retire.
I agree with Speaker Alvarez who said we must abolish the NFA and replace it with a modern food security agency: one that is not milked by corrupt officials; one that does not give us another National Power Corporation; one that puts rice smuggling and the rice cartel out of business; one that effectively defends the interests of the poor rice consumers; one that genuinely raises farm incomes; in short, one that is more responsive to the food security needs of the country in the 21st century.
 
Ramon L. Clarete is a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Transforming our political culture and mind-set

The political season is upon us. This May we will hold our barangay and SK elections. Next May, the mid-term elections will be for the Senate, House of Representatives, and local governments. It’s never ending politics for us because so much ambition for wealth and power are at stake. Politics is big business and the returns for the unscrupulous are instantly and constantly breathtaking.
In fact, politics didn’t end after the 2016 election period ended. Partisans, for and against, went to work to viciously demolish their principals before the eyes of the world. An eye for an eye so to speak. Every day, since then, we were fed with news from attackers and defenders, not that the news was real and educational either. Lost in that black hole was the agenda for “tunay na pagbabago.”
We have a culture of negligence, dismissive arrogance, corruption, and tribal loyalties that place no importance on values and merit. To the high and mighty, the rules don’t apply to them, only to others. Like they can’t be dictated upon, but it’s okay if they do the dictating. Like portraying their creative plunder as clever and innovative best practice while their inferiors are downright crooked.
Like their political pets and patrons are beyond reproach despite empirical evidence or indications to the contrary. Partisans, real ones and the mercenary, wage political warfare with that mind-set, stuck on personality-oriented politics and unable to rise to the level of ethics, policy directions, and standards of good governance as well as citizenship. It looks like we’ll have more of the same.
All their “talk the talk” savvy to feel good such as truth, integrity, inclusion, responsibility, excellence, and competitiveness, crumble in the face of vested interests and partisanship. They give way to criminal syndication, cartelization, manipulation, and disinformation, and look the other way if it’s their side. Yet, they wonder why there’s no end to lawlessness, civil unrest and armed conflicts.
We can’t build our nation this way. Partisan politics is divisive. It’s bad enough that we’re culturally tribal and geographically separated. Our corrosive brand of politics aggravates it all the more. Worse, ill-gotten gains are routinely laundered to hide the fruits of the crimes and acquire respect in the community. National interests are subordinated to vested interests. It’s typical of all sides.
This early, names are being floated for the Senate race to test voter response, but that’s alright because it’s part of the process. What’s not okay is that partisans from all sides are demolishing perceived candidates; or dissuading others not to join the other side even way before official announcements are made and the start of the campaign period. The pattern’s obvious; same, same.
Furthermore, manipulators are using early surveys to begin conditioning the public’s mind toward accepting predetermined voting outcomes for their clients who will benefit from e-cheating like they did in 2010, 2013, and 2016. Politics is indeed big business with breathtaking sustained ROI. Which is why every aspect of nation-building is subordinated to self-serving politics.
Our brand of politics is divisive, exclusive and offensive to national wellbeing. Lost in the sewer is the call for nation-builders in government, elected and appointed, who will treat public office as a public trust; those who will place national interest and common good above all else. Lost in the slugfest is process of weighing a person’s worth to serve, whether his merits outweigh his demerits.
As usual, potential candidates will be treated like race horses, never mind if the race may be rigged from the start with mind conditioning for mind recall and to justify the pre-selected outcome. Voter education rhetoric will amount to nothing more. Candidates, potential or official, who’re not in government won’t have the advantage of resources to facilitate exposure, travel and networking.
Time after time, there have been pledges by government to level the playing field, enforce campaign spending limits, and accord equal time and space in all kinds of media. So far, nothing transformational has happened by way of serious electoral reforms. We seem destined to careen from one election to the next with the same patterns of recidivist behavior, orchestration, and outcomes.
But hope springs eternal for this serial realist.
What else can one do under these opaque times and circumstances? Underlying that are the cries of millions who yearn for honest, orderly and peaceful elections (H.O.P.E.), emphasis on honest in this electronic age where virtual peace and order are used to mask the rot beneath, to give our people and democracy a fighting chance to win the future.
I’ll support candidates that stand for national unity, security, and development; and place a premium on those who’re ready to serve the people and save lives at grave risk from the consequences of negligence, poverty, separation, crime, and corruption. Those who agree must take the initiative to effect attitudinal and behavioral change, for society to be better Filipinos for a better Philippines.
Today, nation-building refers to the efforts of newly independent nations to redefine the populace of territories carved out by colonial powers without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries to become viable and coherent national entities. It includes the creation of national paraphernalia such as flags; anthems; national days, stadiums, airlines, languages and myths.
Nation builders take the initiative to develop a national community through government programs, military conscription, mass schooling, propaganda or infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth.
Nations stay together when citizens share enough values and preferences, and can communicate with one another. Homogeneity and interconnectivity amongst people can be built with education, a common language and technology. At times by brute force as most, if not all, great powers have demonstrated. Such is the painful human reality as nations struggle to unite.
This, I believe, is our sacred mission — to strive for One Philippines and to be the best there is in whatever we set our minds on.
 
Rafael M. Alunan III served in the cabinet of President Corazon C. Aquino as Secretary of Tourism, and in the cabinet of President Fidel V. Ramos as Secretary of Interior and Local Government.
rmalunan@gmail.com
map@map.org.ph
http://map.org.ph

The Supreme Court: A dictator?

The majority of the Supreme Court Justices are turning the Court into a dictator. They are making the Supreme Court the absolute ruler.
We must pay attention to two developments that signify the Supreme Court’s transmutation to a dictatorship dressed in judicial garb.
The first development is the Supreme Court’s accommodation of the quo warranto plea of the Solicitor General versus Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
As various concerned quarters have said, the application of the quo warranto in this case is wrong. It is patently illegal, outright unconstitutional. Impeachment is the only way that the Constitution prescribes to remove the Supreme Court Chief Justice (and for that matter the Senior Associate Justice and the Associate Justices).
The quo warranto petition cannot be used to question the performance of Chief Justice Sereno. Hence those who want to destroy Sereno question her qualification from the very beginning, in particular her integrity. They cite Sereno’s failure to submit her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC). The SALN has never been an absolutely necessary condition for qualification in the Supreme Court. After all, other Members of the Court have cases of non-submission of SALNs to the JBC, too. Neither can the non-submission of SALN be a test of integrity. How can it be that way when the Constitution does not include it as a requirement to become a Supreme Court Justice?
In addition, the quo warranto action has a prescriptive period of one year. Sereno assumed office in August 2012. The quo warranto petition is thus late by about five years.
Gigo Alampay, a lawyer and public policy specialist, points out the wisdom of having a limited period for the quo warranto action: “Public officials, even those who allegedly should not have been appointed in the first place, make decisions that have very real public impact. So it is in the public interest to have such questions settled in the shortest possible time.
“What happens now to all the decisions where Chief Justice Sereno participated, voted or even penned the decision herself? If her appointment was void ab initio, can lawyers then petition the [Court] for a review of all those cases where their clients lost? Should they now all be set aside and re-litigated? It is a recipe for legal chaos.”
In the event that the Supreme Court grants the quo warranto petition, not only will the Supreme Court violate the Constitution regarding the legal way of removing a Chief Justice. It will also be a virtual act of overthrowing the Constitution by making itself the most dominating apparatus of the State. Approving the quo warranto action against Sereno is the precedent wherein the Supreme Court can remove any member of the Court or the President on the basis of a whim or a lame excuse that absence of integrity is about carelessness in not submitting the SALN, or being rude, or being foul-mouthed.
Some members of the Supreme Court act like they can overrule anything, including the people’s will. Which bring us to the second most disturbing development, pertaining to the protest vis-a-vis the election outcome for vice-president.
On this issue, the fear is reinforced that the Supreme Court is usurping the powers that exclusively belong to other government agencies.
The Presidential Electoral Tribunal or PET (which has the same composition as the Supreme Court) has arbitrarily changed the rules on the vote recount for select precincts. Specifically, the PET has reversed the decision of the Commission on Elections that allows a shading of at least 25% of the ballot’s oval as a valid vote. Now, the PET rules that at least 50% shading of the oval counts as a vote.
This is plainly wrong.
First, it is not the PET that makes the election rules. Second, and worse, the PET changes the rules after the outcome of the elections. In any game, this is most foul.
To be sure, the Supreme Court has reversed its own decisions unjustifiably in the past. This has created rule unpredictability and has contributed to the erosion of the credibility of institutions. But the implication of the change of rules for the vote recount has a far-deeper, far-troubling impact. This is no longer about a legal question. This is a case of denying the people’s vote, the people’s will.
Taken together, the unconstitutional quo warranto action and the PET’s change of the election rules constitute the most serious threat to the institutions of democracy. The members of the Court and the conspirators of the dastardly plots must be made aware that the consequences of their decision on these matters will likewise apply to them. By acting like a dictator, the members of the Supreme Court are setting up the conditions that will not only destabilize society but that will also devour them.
To the Supreme Court: Let conflicts be resolved within the ambit of reason and the rule of law.
 
Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III coordinates the Action for Economic Reforms.
www.aer.ph

The political side of business

Because companies too are made up of people jostling for power and craving recognition and a share of the goodies, they have much in common with political entities and politicians. The incidences of turf battles, schemes for job retention, credit-grabbing, back-stabbing of rivals, glorification of the boss, and the climbing skills for getting to the top and staying there are all part of the game of survival that follows the Darwinian rule not of the survival of the fittest, or the least scrupulous.
The corporate rules of engagement, though following some principles of politics, also differ in some ways from the larger and more public spectacle of public life.
Business executives address a narrower base of interested parties (employees, stockholders, and investors) than politicians (the party and the struggling masses). Thus, media attention on the former is narrower since the goings-on in a corporation seldom affect issues that people march in the street for like rising prices, violation of human rights, taxi surcharge for travel time, and relocation of informal settlers.
Business stories interest only a few that are familiar with financial terms like market value, stock swap, and EBITDA. Due to their complexity even for general reporters, business stories are simplified into soap opera with heroes and villains. Seldom do business stories make it to the front page, unless they involve scandals and possible imprisonment for fraud and theft, or deals with politicians.
While regular politicians also buy votes, they make sanctimonious declarations to the contrary. It’s acceptable for business groups however to increase its number of shares by buying them in the open market or from other parties wanting to sell at a premium. Not only do corporate types admit to buying votes, they even disclose at what prices these had been bought and how much they now control. They are even obliged to buy more shares at a tender price from minority stockholders.
While politicians can rest easy once elected, needing to think about the polls maybe three years later, corporate officers need to go through voting every year at the stockholders’ meeting. While corporate elections to the board are often a foregone conclusion, they can be exciting when there are blocks of shares vying for supremacy. Anyway, exits at the very top, do not always need to wait for the yearly elections — he needs to attend to his family at this time.
Constituents can easily bail out. If stockholders are unhappy with the way the CEO is running the company, they can simply dump their shares. There is no need for a privilege speech or a congressional investigation, just an order to the broker or the computer to “sell at market” and then move on to cash out or invest in another company, not necessarily the competition. Corporate politics sometimes needs to touch base with its big brother. There’s no need to seek political connections if one is just selling carrot cakes or sandals. It is the customers that determine the fate of these companies. But natural monopolies that require franchises or government contracts for vaccinations need friends in high places. They are also likely to be invited to shed light on business practices in aid of legislation.
Given the political dimension of large corporations, it is puzzling that there has not been a successful business candidate for the highest national position. Given the risk-reward ratio that businessmen are constantly evaluating, it is deemed more appropriate to support (beyond just kind words and prayers) specific candidates rather than become one of them. Polls are so important for businessmen in allocating funds for the political exercise. But these sometimes change as businessmen get lessons on the meaning of sunk cost.
And here’s one last difference between politics and business. Corporate politicians do not employ surveys and popularity polls to determine their support. It is the earnings per share and dividends declared that serve to keep them in their jobs. It is not necessary for a CEO to smile or even be nice to media. It is the annual report that determines their worthiness to serve for another year.
And when the numbers go sour, there is no need for rallies or media bashing to see the end of a corporate career. The jump from a plane in flight is quick… and not always accompanied by a golden parachute.
 
A. R. Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Stocks flat on lack of leads

Local equities barely moved on Monday, April 23, as investors chose to stay on the sidelines due to lack of leads.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index ended 7.25 points lower or 0.09% to 7,719.47 on Monday. The broader all-shares index also fell 0.22% or 10.20 points to 4,677.09.
“Philippine markets began on a quiet note as the market traded almost unchanged while value turnover was nearly half of the average. There were no major economic data releases last Friday, giving minimal guidance to the direction for investors,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said.
All sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by the mining and oil sector which dropped 1.4% or 149.65 points to 10,532.72. Services went down 0.33% or 5.10 points to 1,564.14, while holding firms gave up 0.25% or 18.99 points to 7,631.93.
Property dipped 0.1% or 3.67 points to 3,587.69; financials slipped 0.08% or 1.57 points to 1,993.32; while industrial closed 0.07% or 7.74 points lower to 11,076.60.
Some 1.04 billion issues switched hands, resulting to a value turnover of P5.48 billion, lower than Friday’s P6.716-billion turnover.
“The market traded sideways for the majority of the day after some initial strength in the morning. This may have been due to some optimism following Friday’s green session…Investors may be waiting for the market’s next move as some only stood on the sidelines today,” Papa Securities Corp. Trader Gabriel F. Perez said in an email.
Decliners trumped advancers, 103 to 88, while 57 issues were unchanged.
Foreign investors remained sellers, with net foreign outflows recorded at P308.2 million, slightly lower than the P381.15 million posted last Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Peso declines as trade war tensions cool

The peso plunged to a one-month low on Monday, April 23, as the dollar gained strength, propped up by rising bond yields in the United States and easing tensions over a trade war with China.
The local unit closed at P52.24 versus the greenback on Monday, 14.5 centavos weaker than Friday’s P52.095 finish. This is the peso’s weakest showing since closing at P52.32 exchange rate on March 27.
The peso traded generally weaker throughout the session as it opened at P52.13 versus against the dollar. It touched P52.12 as its strongest point but also hit a peak of P52.26 before settling at the closing rate.
Sought for comment, two traders said the peso mirrored a depreciation trend seen with other Asian currencies compared to the dollar, fuelled by positive developments in the US.
“The peso dipped strongly due to recent rise in US yields and on news of possible visit to China by US Finance Secretary (Steven) Mnuchin to discuss trade concerns between China and the US,” one trader said via e-mail.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that he may visit Beijing to discuss trade practices — a move seen to allay fears over a looming trade war between the world’s biggest economies.
Concerns over the trade war continued to feed into market sentiment, with latest developments turning out in favor of the greenback.
A second trader pointed out a “stronger appetite” to trade currencies on Monday. Dollars traded amounted to $757.2 million yesterday, double the $329.5 million which exchanged hands last Friday.
“The market likely took positions ahead of US GDP (gross domestic product) data,” the trader said, noting that the peso is likely to weaken further over the coming days. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez
 

Student loan platform InvestEd just got a $100,000 grant to expand

Student loans are not as ubiquitous here as in the United States. In fact, the Philippine Statistics Authority estimates that 600,000 college students dropout annually due to financial problems. That’s one in five students.
But in this era of the sharing economy, getting a student loan need not be a tedious process of finding a needle in a haystack, especially because a Filipino startup engaged in matching student borrowers with lenders via an online platform was awarded a $100,000 grant from the government of Dubai last week to accelerate its expansion.
InvestEd, a company ran by 24-year-old CEO Carmina Bayombong, was among the 26 social enterprises from 30 countries that won the grant under the Dubai World Expo 2020 (Expo2020) program. Expo2020, which will be held in Dubai from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021, is a global convention that will showcase innovative businesses from different countries. More than 100 countries, including the Philippines, are set to join the expo.
“I witnessed a lot of my friends drop out due to financial problems,” Bayombong said in a previous speaking engagement at SparkUp’s Spark Series X Far Eastern University. “That got me thinking, why is financial aid in education such a hard thing to come by?”
Launched in December 2016, InvestEd offers student loans amounting from ₱10,000 to ₱80,000. Students need only to create a borrower account invested.phonline, get notified of qualification within seven business days, be interviewed for a final assessment, and sign a loan agreement that they will pay their loan after finishing their degree.
Where does the money come from?
InvestEd gets investors—lenders—who are promised that they can grow their money for 7%-11% per annum with a minimum amount of ₱100,000, deposited in tranches.
To secure their investment, a six-point approach to repayment is enforced. This includes multiple matching, where a lender is matched with at least three borrowers to reduce risk, as well as a credit investigation technology using a credit scoring and profiling algorithm powered by artificial intelligence. Lenders are repaid bi-monthly over 12 to 36 months, depending on the student’s loan amount and starting salary. An amortization schedule is provided after depositing their pledge.
In its initial operation, the company granted loans to 12 students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines during their last semester. The next line of lendees included, among others, engineering students from the University of the Philippines.
Apart from loans, the company also provides students with personal development training, financial literacy classes and pre‑employment workshops. Because of this supplementary program, borrowers get employed 33 days after graduating, compared to the national average of four to six months.
In a Facebook post, InvestEd said it will use the funding for its plan to increase the number of its loaners from 70 to 3,500 students.


Currently, InvestEd serves students across Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Sur, and the Cagayan Valley. The grant will allow them to widen their reach.

To learn more about InvestEd, click invested.ph here.

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