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Barangay Ginebra outlasts TNT to make finals return

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings marched back to the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup after eliminating the undermanned TNT KaTropa with a 115-105 victory in Game Four of their best-of-five semifinal affair last night to claim the series, 3-1.

Showing much resilience, the Kings capitalized on the early ejection of TNT import Glen Rice Jr. to buck a shaky start and slowly drain a KaTropa crew that tried hard to hang on and extend its season but just did not have enough in the end to see Barangay Ginebra return to the championship and defend its title against familiar foes Meralco Bolts.

TNT put itself in a tougher position to win when reinforcement Rice allowed his emotions get the better him just as his team was on a roll and had Barangay Ginebra staggering early.

With less than two minutes left in the opening period, Mr. Rice threw down Kings rookie Kevin Ferrer on the floor after a made Barangay Ginebra basket.

Instead of walking away quietly, the TNT import threw the ball back on Mr. Ferrer, who was still sprawled on the floor.

That twin action by Mr. Rice merited for him an unsportsmanlike foul and a technical that automatically sent him off the floor.

TNT, however, hung on tight to cushion the initial impact of Mr. Rice’s departure, taking the first quarter, 41-32, and extending the lead further by halftime, 66-52.

In the third quarter, the Kings raised their game behind import Justin Brownlee, cutting their deficit down to six points, 72-66, with 6:43 to go in the canto.

But Jayson Castro helped the KaTropa to keep their heads above water, 86-80, at the end of the third frame.

Getting the needed momentum, Barangay Ginebra came charging to start the fourth quarter, going on a 10-4 run on the efforts of Mr. Brownlee in the first three minutes to tie the count at 90-all.

Veteran Mark Caguioa gave the Kings the go-ahead basket, 92-90, with a jumpshot, which the Kings would use as a springboard to go on a 9-4 run to build a 101-94 advantage with 5:49 remaining on the clock.

LA Tenorio drained a three-pointer in the 4:07 mark to extend their lead to double digits, 104-94.

The KaTropa tried to claw their way back but the Kings just would not let the win slip away from them and moved on to take home the win.

Mr. Brownlee finished with a PBA career-high 46 points on top of 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks while Mr. Tenorio had 25 points and seven assists.

Greg Slaughter had 21 points and nine rebounds with Sol Mercado adding 11 markers.

Troy Rosario tried to pick up the slack for the departed Rice for TNT with 28 points and 10 rebounds while Mr. Castro had 26 markers, eight rebounds and nine assists.

“Jaworski gave us a lot of motivation at halftime. He reminded us of the never-say-die attitude and the need for us to play hard,” said Mr. Brownlee after their win, referring to Ginebra and PBA legend Robert Jaworski who was in attendance last night and gave a talk to the Kings at halftime that inspired them a lot in the second half.

He went on to say that they are looking forward to meeting the Bolts anew in the finals.

“It is going to be fun and we will be ready for them,” the Kings import said.

Last year Barangay Ginebra beat Meralco in the finals of the season-ending PBA tournament in six games.

The best-of-seven PBA Governors’ Cup finals series between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco begins on Friday, Oct. 13, in Lucena City.

Traveloka adds new mobile app features to help budget travelers

Taguig City – Budget-conscious travelers will now have an easier time searching for affordable flights with the release of two new features from the Traveloka App. Airline and hotel ticketing service provider Traveloka has added the Price Alerts and the Best Price Finder features to its mobile app, allowing users to find flights that fit perfectly with their budget.

The exclusive app-only feature Price Alerts enables travelers to easily keep track of airfare ticket prices based on their desired destination and their budget. Once the user inputs their ideal ticket price for their travel routes, the app will automatically send a notification once an available flight falls within this price range.

This is especially useful for tourists who are traveling on a budget and want to get the most out of their expenses. The automatic notifications are also a great way to stay informed whenever an airline company is offering reduced ticket prices.

Best Price Finder, on the other hand, is a feature that lets users view the ticket prices of flights across multiple airlines and choose the one that best fits their budget. This feature displays all available flights to a particular destination in a calendar view format, making it easy to compare the different airline ticket prices across different dates.

Since both features allow a quick view of ticket prices across a specified period, it makes it very easy for users to keep an eye out for good travel deals. The app also has access to ticket price data across all major airlines, eliminating the need to go to each individual website to check the prices.

With the travel peak season attracting both foreign and local travelers, it’s especially difficult to find good travel deals during this time. The new Traveloka App features aim to help budget-conscious couples, families, and groups of friends plan their trips better, especially if the budget is one of the main concerns.

Traveloka is quickly gaining ground in Southeast Asia as one of the most prestigious online flight and hotel booking services. Its online platform offers over 100,000 flight routes and hotel accommodations globally for affordable prices.

 

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Ateneo nips DLSU, 76-75

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE league-leading Ateneo Blue Eagles remained unblemished in Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) after beating rivals and defending champions De La Salle Green Archers, 76-75, on the final day of first-round elimination play yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Towed by their hot shooting at the start, the Eagles built enough momentum and confidence which they rode the rest of the way to weather the ferocious challenge of the Archers in the end.

Earlier in the day, the National University (NU) Bulldogs arrested a three-game losing streak by beating and, in the process, adding to the struggles of the suddenly skidding University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 77-70.

Guard Anton Asistio got the scoring going for Ateneo, draining three triples inside the first four minutes of the first quarter to help his team to a 13-5 lead.

Matt Nieto waxed thereafter from beyond the arc to give the Eagles further boost and hold a 12-point cushion at the end, 28-16.

An early basket by Raffy Verano gave Ateneo its biggest lead of 14 points, 30-16, in the second quarter, but led by Ben Mbala and Prince Rivero, La Salle started to make its move thereafter.

The Eagles though would continue to hold sway as the period drew to a close, 43-36.

Mbala once again jump-started an aggressive rally by La Salle in the third period.

Scoring six quick points, the reigning league most valuable player got the Archers within six points, 50-44.

La Salle continued to chip away on Ateneo’s lead and was rewarded accordingly and just trailed by a point by the end of the third quarter, 63-62.

Rattled in the preceding period, the Eagles steadied to start the fourth, scoring five straight points in the opening minute to take their lead to five, 67-62.

It proved to be short-lived though as Ricci Rivero led the Archers to tie the knot at 69-all halfway into the period and to take the lead, 73-71, with three minutes to go.

Three converted free throws by Chibueze Ikeh and Nieto allowed Ateneo to regain the lead 74-73 with under two minutes left.

Mbala gave the upper hand back to his team with two free throws of his own, 75-74, at the 1:03 mark.

Ateneo had two chances to get back the lead but attempts to the basket by Asistio and Thirdy Ravena failed to produce a result.

With seven ticks remaining, the Eagles got a shot at redemption, forcing a La Salle turnover that resulted in Nieto being fouled and connecting two free throws to go up, 76-75, with 3.9 seconds remaining.

Mbala tried to bulldoze his way to the basket to try and snatch the win but Ateneo’s defense stood its ground and held on for the win.

Nieto finished the game with 16 points to lead Ateneo while Asistio and Jolo Mendoza had 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Ricci Rivero top-scored for La Salle with 19 points with Mbala adding 18 points and 13 boards.

SKID HALTED
In the first game, meanwhile, NU ended the first round of the eliminations on a winning note after losing three straight with a victory over UP.

The Bulldogs used a spirited fight in the second half to outlast the Maroons, who dropped their third straight game.

NU trailed UP, 38-33, at the halftime break before the Bulldogs, led by Matt Salem, foreign player Issa Gaye and guard Rev Diputado charged back and overtake the Maroons, 56-53, by the end of the third period.

Making matters worse for UP, it saw main playmaker Jun Manzo go down with an apparent ankle injury in the quarter and never came back.

With the outcome of the game still open, the two teams battled it out in the payoff quarter.

They fought to a 70-all stalemate with 1:34 remaining after which veteran Jayjay Alejandro gave the Bulldogs the upper hand, 72-70, with a basket in the paint.

Moments later, Salem gave NU further breathing room when he drilled a three-pointer with 45 ticks to go, 75-70.

The Maroons tried to claw their way back but the Bulldogs held firm and secured the win with two free throws from Jordan Bartlett for the final score.

Salem finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gaye had 13 points and eight boards while Alejandro had 12 points and seven assists.

UP, for its part, was paced by Paul Desiderio with 15 points with guard Diego Dario adding 11 points and Javi Gomez de Liano 10.

“UP really fought hard today and we were both in a situation that we needed the win. We are happy that in the end we came up with the victory,” said NU coach Jamike Jarin in the postmatch press conference.

The win allowed NU to tie UP for joint fifth place with a 3-4 record, behind Ateneo (7-0), La Salle (5-2), Adamson Soaring Falcons (5-2) and Far Eastern University Tamaraws (4-3).

The University of the East Red Warriors (1-6) are at seventh place while the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers (0-7) are at the bottom at the end of the first round of eliminations.

DOTA major event in 2018 to shore up e-sports scene

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE already-competitive and growing e-sports scene in Southeast Asia is expected to be taken to another plane when the region hosts the second season of Galaxy Battles in January 2018.

Following a successful first season held in Shenzhen, China, organizers of the widely followed Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) event have decided to bring the tournament to Southeast Asia, in particular, the Philippines.

They said the event, happening at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, is in line with their vision of reinventing the DOTA e-sports scene by way of its delivery of the tournament, which they are angling to be more “experiential” for gamers and fans alike.

“There are hidden gems for e-sports in the region that have not been found yet. In every country actually, whether it is Vietnam, Cambodia, all the way down to Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, there is a lot of hidden talent,” said Adrian Gaffor, managing director of Malaysia-based organizer Fallout Gaming, when asked by BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the press conference for Galaxy Battles last Friday why they have decided to return to Southeast Asia.

“It’s just a vast market where they are very passionate and just won’t quit and that is the kind of spirit we are looking for to grow the tournament, to grow the scene. The people are the ones who grow the community and with this we want to give them a platform,” added Mr. Gaffor, whose group is organizing the major e-sports event with Purpose Win Entertainment Ltd.

He went on to say that the Philippines was a very logical choice for them to stage the second season of Galaxy Battles.

“The e-sports scene here in the Philippines is just intense. The people here are very passionate about e-games and e-sports, particularly DOTA 2. I don’t foresee that declining anytime soon and everyone here really gets behind the teams that play,” Mr. Gaffor said.

“Why are we here? Well, we wanted to go to a market where DOTA 2 is very well accepted and blow that out of the water and give them something to be proud about, something we will be proud about, and grow it from this particular point,” he added.

Mr. Gaffor went on to say that the Philippine government has been supported of what they want to accomplish and helping them every step of the way.

“The Philippine government has been very supportive of what we want to stage here. We had meetings with the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and it has been helping us all throughout the process and we are looking forward to working with them some more in the future. I love that they are putting up regulations and it shows that it’s another step towards legitimatizing e-sports in the Philippines,” Mr. Gaffor said.

During the press conference, Attorney Gennelyn Abao represented GAB and spoke about what their agency is doing about e-sports in the country, including regulations pertaining to player status and conduct.

DOTA major event in 2018 to shore up e-sports scene

ROAD TO GALAXY BATTLES
For Galaxy Battles Majors: DOTA 2 Tournament, which will happen from Jan. 19 to 21, a total prize pool of $1 million is at stake.

It will commence in mid-November with the regional invitational qualifiers and the open qualifiers played throughout six regions, namely, China, Southeast Asia, Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), North America and South America.

The qualifying period will run for an approximate duration of four weeks and will determine the top eight qualifying slots for the Galaxy Battles qualifiers.

The slot allocations per region are divided as such: one slot for the Open Qualifiers, one slot for China, one slot for Southeast Asia, one slot for Europe, one slot for CIS, one slot for North America and one slot for South America.

The Galaxy Battles Major will also see two slots being allocated for the first time to the New Blood Championships, Southeast Asia’s first amateur tournament — an initiative started by the organizers to help shed light on aspiring e-sports athletes and talents in the region.

Following these 10 slots allocated to the qualifying phases, Galaxy Battles will be directly inviting eight teams across six regions to the main event, including the likes of Newbee, Infamous Gaming, OG and TNC Pro Team, accommodating a total of 18 teams.

During the staging of the Galaxy Battles, the area housing the Philippine Arena will be separated into three main sections.

The main arena will serve as the “battleground” of the event while an area is also being allocated for theme park-like activities, food and beverage zones, resting pods and rest areas, and a sponsorship area where partners are able to feature their products, services and engagements.

The Philippine Stadium beside the arena will host the Galaxy Battles music festival that will feature international artists, regional artists and local artists throughout the duration of the event.

Organizers of the event said further details on the event, including the tickets, will be known in the coming weeks.

PSC, stakeholders to meet on school sports later this month

IN line with the government’s thrust to make “sports accessible to all,” particularly the youth, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will hold the National Consultative Meeting for Collegiate Sports later this month.

Designed to build on the initiatives already put in place by the commission under the leadership of now Chairman William I. Ramirez, the two-day gathering from Oct. 17 to 18 at the Philsports Multipurpose Arena in Pasig City will gather stakeholders of collegiate sports to tackle a list of issues and developments.

“From the very beginning our direction was clear. Ever since I went back to the PSC, we pursued our mandate to develop sports at the grassroots level. We dove right in to where interest in sports starts — the family, the community and the school,” said Mr. Ramirez, who is in his second tenure as the head of the PSC, in a statement shared to members of the media.

“Make sports accessible to all, involve our youth in sports,” he added, referring to the marching orders he got from President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Presidential Adviser for Sports Dennis Uy, Congressman Conrado Estrella, Congressman Mark Zambar and Congressman Monsour del Rosario of the Committee on Youth and Sports have been invited and are expected to attend the meeting with the end view of helping fortify sports at the collegiate level.

Senator Sonny Angara will be the keynote speaker.

In the lead-up to the consultative meeting, a spate of consultations was done by the PSC last year with different groups, among them athletic associations in colleges and universities.

“We should not stop asking where and how we could help. We should follow through,” said Mr. Ramirez as he underscored the value of the about-to-happen meeting.

The National Consultative Meeting for Collegiate Sports is expected to see representatives from around 140 schools, colleges, universities and athletic associations.

Since taking office anew last year, Mr. Ramirez and the PSC have initiated a number of projects, like the Children’s Games, Indigenous Games and the reactivation of the Philippine Sports Institute, to bolster the sports development thrust of the present administration. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

MLB: Nationals level series with Cubs; Dodgers beat Diamondbacks again

WASHINGTON — Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper blasted home runs in the eighth inning to rally the Washington Nationals over the World Series champion Chicago Cubs 6-3 Saturday to level their Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff series.

Harper belted a two-run homer to equalize for the Nationals at 3-3 and Zimmerman delivered the winning blow by smashing a three-run homer into the left-field stands.

“We’ve been struggling to score some runs. We kind of busted out that inning,” Zimmerman said. “The timing was huge.”

The Nationals and Cubs are 1-1 in the best-of-five National League division series, which shifts to Chicago’s century-old Wrigley Field for games on Monday and Tuesday.

“You don’t want to go down 0-2. Obviously a huge win,” Zimmerman said. “Going down 0-2 going into their place would be tough. Needless to say, big win.”

Washington’s Adam Lind singled in his first playoff appearance to set the stage for Harper’s towering two-run homer to right field off Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards to lift the Nationals level. It was Harper’s first homer in two months.

“I was trying to get a pitch I could drive and I got one. I got pretty lucky,” Harper said. “For us to come back and win that ball game like that, pretty incredible.”

The series winner will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or Arizona Diamondbacks for a berth in the World Series.

The Dodgers rallied for an 8-5 home victory over the Diamondbacks to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their series.

Austin Barnes delivered a two-run double as part of a four-run fifth inning for Los Angeles, who were down early after Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt belted a two-run home run off Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill in the first inning.

Logan Forsythe, again getting the start at second base over Chase Utley, had three hits, scored two runs, drove in one and stole a base for the Dodgers.

Yasiel Puig, who drove in two runs in Friday’s win, had three hits and drove in two runs.

After Brandon Drury pulled the Diamondbacks to within two runs with a three-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh, Dodgers closing pitcher Kenley Jansen entered the game with one on and one out in the eighth and retired all five hitters he faced to seal the win.

The Dodgers will try to finish off the series in Arizona on Monday.

The American League playoffs resume Sunday with the Cleveland Indians at the New York Yankees and Houston Astros at Boston Red Sox, each visiting squad needing a victory to complete a series sweep. — AFP

JT-Mighty to generate additional P24B from better tax compliance

THE Japan Tobacco (JT)-Mighty Corp. takeover deal will add at least P24 billion annually in sin tax revenue due to improved tax compliance, on top of the one-time take from Mighty’s tax bill settlement.

The Department of Finance  estimated that it can raise P2 billion per month in cigarette excise taxes, now that the Japan Tobacco-owned Mighty brands are more compliant with tax rules.

This is double the P1 billion earlier estimate last August.

“It looks like from their initial loan estimates we are going to get another P24 billion a year, at least. And that’s every year assuming that the demand is just steady. So not a bad deal,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters last week.

Nevertheless, Mr. Dominguez said that the tax take could rise further if Mighty Corp.’s new owners sell more aggressively.

“Obviously the new owners of the brand and the new manufacturers have not yet geared up their marketing, so if they are able to sell more of course that amount will increase,” he said.

Mighty settled its tax obligation for P30 billion as part of a P45-billion buyout by JT.

Mighty was found to have had fake internal revenue stamps on its products in three separate raids conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs. The agencies then filed tax evasion charges with the Justice department, claiming  P37.88 billion in arrears.

The government has said that the additional revenue will help fund the rehabilitation of Marawi city, and the government’s infrastructure program.

It will also help the BIR meet its P1.829-trillion collection target. As of August, the tax bureau has collected P1.157 trillion, which is equivalent to 63.26% of the target.

Moreover, Mr. Dominguez also noted that the sin tax law has proven successful, as reflected by the rise in cigarette prices.

“We’ve noticed when you break down the inflation, it’s alcohol and cigarettes that have gone up the highest. So that means to say what we did is working, that the change in ownership between Mighty and JT has really benefited the government and has achieved the goals of the sin tax which is to raise the price of products that affect your health badly,” he said.

In September, the Philippine Statistics Authority said that inflation for alcohol and tobacco products was 6.4% year on year.

“So we just hope that demand will also go down because the prices are up,” added Mr. Dominguez. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

SWS poll: Duterte’s net satisfaction rating falls 18 points in Q3

A LITTLE over a year into office, President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s net satisfaction rating dropped 18 points in the third quarter this year from the average 60 to 65 points he had enjoyed since assuming the presidency in July last year.

The 3rd Quarter 2017 Social Weather Survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed Mr. Duterte at +48 as of September, from +66 last June, +63 last March, and an average +64 last year, when he succeeded Benigno S.C. Aquino III on June 30. Mr. Duterte’s current rating is classified by the SWS as “good,” from the previous “very good.”

In comparison, Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, Mr. Aquino, had an average net satisfaction of +62 in his first year in office in 2010, a rating that slipped to +51 in March the next year, went down further to +46 in June, but rose to +56 in September in his second year in office. Among Mr. Duterte’s predecessors, Messrs. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, and Joseph E. Estrada enjoyed “very good” ratings midway into their second year.

The noncommissioned survey was conducted Sept. 23-27 via face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, with sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.

By area, Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction had the sharpest decline in the Visayas, from excellent +73 to good +43; followed by Balance Luzon, where his net satisfaction dropped 22 points from very good +58 to good +36.

In the National Capital Region, Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction dropped 19 points from very good +63 to good +44.

Net satisfaction in Mr. Duterte’s home region of Mindanao remained steady at excellent +76 from +75 last June.

(The survey’s terminology for net satisfaction and net trust ratings is as follows: +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to –9, “neutral”; –10 to –29, “poor”; –30 to –49, “bad”; –50 to –69, “very bad”; –70 and below, “execrable.”)

By class, Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction dropped 17 points in Class D from very good +66 last June to good +49 in September, and fell 32 points in class E, from very good +67 to good +35.

Among ABC, his rating remained steady at very good +57.

Trust in Mr. Duterte fell 15 points to very good +60 in September, from excellent +75 last June, which was close enough to what SWS had classified as his “record high of excellent +79 just days before his inauguration in June 30, 2016.”

Sought for comment, University of Santo Tomas political science professor Edmund S. Tayao said in a phone interview: “So, the 15% and 18% in decline in the overall satisfaction rating of the President already says that there’s a significant change in the public’s pulse and this can be attributed to a number of factors, among others.”

“There’s still the unresolved issue on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and, of course, the excuses that the government has been giving to explain the still increasing incidents or cases of EJKs have become rather unacceptable as far as the public is concerned, especially with the incidents or cases involving minors,” Mr. Tayao also said.

Mr. Tayao also cited economic factors:

“As far as the public is concerned, almost every week, gasoline prices have been increasing. Ngayong week lang yata napalitan na bababa ng konti ’yung gasoline prices. (I think it’s only this week that there’s a slight reduction in gasoline prices.) If I’m not mistaken, it has already increased by as much as P5 per liter since it’s started going up.”

“Now, this is, of course, a reflection of the economic situation in the country right now and clearly there’s a need for the government to recalibrate its strategies.”

Malacañang was also sought for comment, but there was no response as of this reporting. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

Ferguson wins interim lightweight title; Johnson makes record 11th defense

TOP-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight fighter Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson positioned himself for a title fight after surviving an explosive encounter for the interim belt yesterday at “UFC 216” in Las Vegas while flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson dominated his way to a record 11th straight successful title defense.

Played out in the aftermath of the deadly shooting in Las Vegas last week and with the spirit of “Vegas Strong” very much alive, Messrs. Ferguson and Johnson displayed tremendous fighting skills to get the better of their respective opponents in impressive fashion.

Mr. Ferguson had it rough early against Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee but found ways to fight his way through before finishing things in the third round.

Managing to put Mr. Lee in the armbar, Mr. Ferguson wasted no time in going for it.

But Mr. Lee was able to survive it only for Mr. Ferguson to get back at him by transitioning to a triangle choke that led Mr. Lee to tap out at the 4:02 mark.

“Whoa! It’s amazing!” Mr. Ferguson blurted out after being declared the winner.

“It was the kind of fight I was expecting. He (Lee) is a tough fighter and very aggressive,” he added.

Mr. Ferguson went on to call out reigning lightweight champion Conor “The Notorious” McGregor to come out and face him and unify the title in the division.

“Where you at [Conor]? Get your ass here and defend your title!” said Mr. Ferguson (23-3), who rolled to his 10th straight win.

With the loss, Mr. Lee dropped to 16-3.

HISTORY MAKING
In the co-main event, UFC legend Johnson solidified his standing as arguably the greatest fighter of all time by booking his 11th straight successful title defense with a dominant victory over challenger Rey “The Tazmexican” Borg that culminated in a submission in the fifth and final round by way of armbar.

Mr. Johnson, 31, was all over his young challenger Borg, 24, never allowing the latter to get much headway.

So dominating was Mighty Mouse that the fight numbers were never really close despite the determination and courage that Mr. Borg showed throughout.

Mr. Johnson had more total strikes, 172-22, with an 82% efficiency rate, and significant strikes, 64-13.

He took down his opponent five more times, 8-3, all successful ones, and had more submission attempts, 2-0.

And while everybody thought with the distance he had over Mr. Borg was enough to force Mr. Johnson to just coast to the win, the champion suddenly exploded midway into the fifth by lifting the challenger in the air and slammed him down while locked in an armbar.

It signaled the end for Borg, who moments later tapped out, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the fight at the 3:15 mark.

“Rey Borg is a tough fighter and I just stuck to my game plan and I knew I will get him,“ said Mr. Johnson, who improved to 27 wins, two losses and a draw and stretched his win streak to 13 straight fights.

The win allowed Mr. Johnson to break the record he erstwhile shared with another UFC legend Anderson “The Spider” Silva of 10 straight successful title defenses.

Mr. Borg (11-3), for his part, saw his fight win streak halted at two after the loss.

In earlier fights, former heavyweight champions Fabricio Werdum made short work of last-minute replacement opponent Walt Harris with an opening-round submission (armbar), women’s flyweight Mara Romero Borella was a first-round winner by submission (rear-naked choke) over Kalindra Faria, lightweights Beneil Dariush and Evan Dunham fought to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28 and 28-28).

Next for the UFC is “UFC Fight Night 118” on Oct. 22 (Manila time) in Poland that will feature the welterweight battle between Donald Cerrone and Darren Till as wells as the women’s strawweight engagement between Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Jodie Esquibel.

In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Senate targets approval of tax reform bill by November

By Mario M. Banzon

THE SENATE hopes to pass on second and third reading the proposed Senate version of the tax reform bill when Congress resumes its session on Nov. 13.

“We have closed the period of interpellations and moved to the period of amendments which hopefully will be done by Nov. 15,” said Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, sponsor of the bill, in a text message to BusinessWorld on Sunday, Oct. 8.

The previous plan was to approve the proposed Senate version, Senate Bill No. 1592 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill, before the chamber would go on recess on Oct. 13.

Mr. Angara said: “Nagbago na ngayon ang kalendaryo natin. Ang TRAIN Nov. 13, 14, 15 kung kailangan 16, ’yun ang period for amendments. Ang target natin before mag-end ang November maipasa na kasama na ang bicam (We’ve changed our calendar. TRAIN [is scheduled] on Nov. 13, 14, 15, and if needed [Nov.] 16. The target is to have it approved by the end of November, including the bicameral conference).”

Senate President, Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III, for his part, told reporters last Friday: “So sometime in December, approved, signed by the President, hence, effective Jan. 1, 2018, so kaya pa (so we can make it).”

Mr. Angara said amendments discussed during the interpellation would be considered “along with the repercussions.”

“Definitely, revenue will be upped by increasing VAT efficiency and decreasing leakages,” he said.

During the interpellation on TRAIN last Wednesday, Oct. 4, until past midnight of Thursday, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto asked Mr. Angara to take into consideration the administration’s infrastructure plan under its “Build, Build, Build” program.

“TRAIN bill revenues represent around 17% of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, so it is complementary and not the bulk of the government’s infra spending through targeted spending for education, health, infrastructure, and other public goods that will pay dividends down the road,” Mr. Angara had said.

He also said it is “equally crucial” to cushion the impact of the proposed tax reform on the poor.

The Department of Finance (DoF) has estimated that the proposed Senate version of TRAIN will only generate P59.9 billion in revenues, much lower than the P157.2 billion in the DoF’s original proposal and P133.8 billion in the House version of tax reform.

National Transmission Corp. says potential telecom partners express interest

NATIONAL TRANSMISSION Corp. (TransCo) claims to have received expressions of interest from 10 mostly foreign entities that wish to partner with the state-led agency in its plan to become a third player in the country’s telecommunications sector.

“What I did was to reply to them, for them to come out with a policy and a project concept to help us to design the law that will be passed by the Congress,” Melvin A. Matibag, TransCo president and chief executive officer, told reporters.

He previously said that he would ask lawmakers to amend TransCo’s charter by expanding its business to include telecommunications. TransCo owns the country’s power transmission assets, which are being operated and maintained by privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) under a congressional franchise.

Mr. Matibag said he could not enumerate offhand the identities of the interested companies except that many of them are Chinese. He also said Japanese and Indonesian companies were keen on the project. He named the local company as Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp.

“But of course we have to validate [if their interest is authentic],” he said, adding that the expressions of interest were sent via phone, letter, text and e-mail.

He said he had asked experts in the sector, who told him that the only entity that could compete with Smart Communications, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc. is the government.

A private company with financial and technical capability will be spared from securing a congressional franchise as TransCo is on its way to filing an application to operate and manage a full telecommunications business, he added.

He said at least 10 lawmakers in both Houses of Congress are keen to sponsor TransCo’s charter amendment.

Asked whether NGCP was informed of TransCo’s plan, he said he has yet to although the two “were having meetings.”

In June, NGCP said it was preparing to formalize an agreement with the government on the use of the power grid operator’s fiber optic network for the national broadband program.

NGCP said it has been chosen as a partner by the Department of Information and Communications Technology for the program, which it described as bringing the country’s average internet speed closer to those of “first-world countries.”

The company said its fiber optic cables, which cover 6,154 kilometers or 160,779 fiber kilometers, will be the primary network of the program that aims to bring wi-fi connection all over the country.

NGCP previously declined to comment on TransCo’s plan. — Victor V. Saulon

Garbage facility said to discharge waste in Manila Bay ordered suspended

By Janina C. Lim
Reporter

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has suspended the operations of a garbage transfer station in Tondo, Manila for allegedly allowing the discharge of prohibited solid waste materials into Manila Bay.

The suspension order against Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (PhilEco) followed the Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) probe which concluded that the firm violated certain conditions of its approved environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for its operation of the Vitas Marine Loading Station (VMLS) at Pier 18 in Manila.

PhilEco’s VMLS functions as a transfer facility for the waste materials collected in Metro Manila that, in turn, are transported by barge to the 40-hectare Navotas Sanitary Landfill, which is also operated by PhilEco.

“The PhilEco incident is just one of the many battles the DENR must squarely address in winning the campaign for Manila Bay under the mantle of the continuing mandamus order of the Supreme Court,” DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu was quoted in the agency’s statement over the weekend.

“It is high time that we strictly enforce the law on solid waste management no matter who gets hurt, otherwise we will continue to live in an unhealthy environment to the detriment of public health.”

The Environment chief personally inspected the firm’s loading station on Sept. 27, two days after the EMB came out with a notice of adverse findings (NAF) against the facility based on a recent ECC-compliance inspection which is conducted on a regular basis.

Last Tuesday, Oct. 3, PhilEco officers appeared in a technical conference called by the EMB to explain and contest the violations cited in the NAF and pledged to undertake further corrective measures on top of those which they immediately undertook following the cited violations.

The firm’s executives said the company had already backfilled its ponding area, installed liners, drainage pipes and runoff storage tanks at the transfer facility and begun a water clean up using two newly purchased trash-collecting boats.

PhilEco officials vowed to rehabilitate the facility’s 100-meter seawall, install a containment area for waste materials delayed for transfer during inclement weather and install litter fences around the facility — all this in a 60-day time frame.

Mr. Cimatu said PhilEco will “face up to the full consequences of their violations,” despite the immediate measures the firm took up.

“[T]he suspension will remain in effect until PhilEco is able to carry out all its commitment to address the problem and prevent a similar situation from happening in the future,” the DENR’s statement read.

The EMB had imposed a fine of P150,000 to PhilEco for violating certain provisions of its ECC.

These include the firm’s failure to meet the effluent standards for phosphate and total suspended solids as it was discharging untreated wastewater directly into the bay; for holding the collected waste materials at the Vitas transfer station beyond the mandatory 24-hour limit as per DENR Department Administrative Order 2001-34; and for allowing solid wastes in the shoreline as a result of poor housekeeping practices.

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