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Over 17,000 register to vote abroad

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THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said over 17,000 Filipinos had enrolled for overseas voting ahead of the May 12 midterm elections.

The Commission also noted that of the 93 diplomatic posts, 77 will adopt internet voting, while 16 posts will use the Automated Counting Machine voting system, based on a document Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia shared to reporters in a Viber group.

The majority of overseas Filipinos will cast their votes through internet-based platforms across 77 posts globally. This method will cover a wide range of countries across various regions, including:

Asia Pacific: Thailand, Brunei, Australia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, among others.

Europe: Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Middle East and Africa: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, South Africa, and Israel.

North and Latin America: the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

Meanwhile, 16 posts have been designated for ACM voting, primarily covering countries and territories with larger Filipino populations or where internet voting infrastructure may be limited.

These include: Asia Pacific: China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and others), Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea.

Europe: Türkiye (Ankara and Istanbul) and Russia.

Middle East and Africa: Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and Libya.

The 2025 Philippine Midterm Elections will take place on May 12, giving voters the opportunity to elect new members of the Senate, House of Representatives, and local government units. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Enhanced price monitoring urged

A general view of the rush-hour traffic at a market in Manila, Philippines, Dec. 20, 2024. — REUTERS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Tuesday urged government agencies to enhance their price monitoring system to better reflect prevailing market prices.

The Agriculture and Trade departments should coordinate in monitoring market prices to ensure it’s consistent and aligns with current food rates, he said.

“Our agencies have price monitoring mechanisms, but we must ensure that the prices stated in the monitoring are what we see in markets,” he said in a statement in Filipino. “It seems that the estimates in price monitoring do not align with the actual prices in the markets.”

“These agencies must work together to obtain an accurate picture of market price,” he added.

Both the Trade and Agriculture departments have an online price monitoring system available on their respective websites, providing Filipinos with a price guide on the basic goods and necessities. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

DoE to issue guide for EV stations

EREN GOLDMAN-UNSPLASH

THE Department of Energy (DoE) is planning to release a set of guidelines this month that will set installation requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in a bid to improve infrastructure and accelerate local EV adoption.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DoE said it will release the implementing guidelines on obligation of EV charging station providers, as well as the requirements, specifications and interconnectivity.

The guideline will provide clear installation requirements for charging stations, particularly for Mode 4 chargers, which use direct current to deliver energy rapidly to EV batteries.

“The issuance will also include comprehensive safety standards designed to streamline the deployment process and encourage investment in charging infrastructure,” the DoE said.

As of March 31, there are 912 publicly accessible charging stations operational nationwide, according to the DoE. Under the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry, the Philippines targets to deploy over 7,000 EV charging stations by 2028.

In a separate development, the DoE said that it is evaluating potential sites for nuclear energy development in the Philippines, including Bataan, Bulacan, Batangas, and Palawan.

“Many of them qualify because we have specific metrics, such as how many kilometers away they are from fault lines or volcanoes,” Energy Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin told reporters in a recent interview.

Under the Philippine nuclear energy roadmap, the country is targeting to have at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) of nuclear energy capacity by 2032, and scale this up to 2,400 MW by 2040 and 4,800 MW by 2050. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Tetra Pak Philippines gets P9-M refund

CTA.JUDICIARY.GOV.PH

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) partially granted Tetra Pak Philippines, Inc.’s petition for a refund, ordering the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to return over P9 million in unutilized input value-added tax (VAT) for the fourth quarter of 2018.

In a ruling publicized on March 25, the court’s Second Division denied the BIR’s motion for partial reconsideration, finding it to be a mere rehash of arguments previously raised in their answer.

It cited Supreme Court rulings, stating that motions for reconsideration should present substantially plausible or compellingly persuasive new matters to warrant a reversal of the original decision.

Since the BIR’s motion did not raise any new or substantive legitimate grounds, the tax court denied the prayer.

“This Court is constrained to deny respondent’s motion as it is a mere rehash of arguments that have already been previously pleaded, submitted, and resolved by this Court, and the arguments therein are too unsubstantial to warrant reconsideration of the assailed decision,” the 16-page ruling penned by Justice Ma. Belen M. Ringpis-Liban read. “Accordingly, nothing is left for this Court but to deny respondent’s Motion for Partial Reconsideration.”

The original decision, promulgated on Aug. 20, 2024, had already partially granted Tetra Pak’s claim, ordering the BIR to refund P9.171 million. The March 25, 2025, ruling increased the refund to P9.174 million.

In the original decision, the input VAT on purchases of services from SGS Philippines, Inc., amounting to P19,238.99, was disallowed because the nature of the service was not indicated in the VAT Official Receipts (ORs).

However, in the amended decision, the court found that these ORs had invoice references, and the corresponding service invoices indicated the services being paid for.

Therefore, this input VAT was allowed and included in the adjusted valid input VAT on domestic purchases of services. This adjustment increased the pool of input VAT available for refund.

The original decision also disallowed the input VAT related to sales to Cardinal Agri Products, Inc. (CAPI), amounting to P61,048.78, due to discrepancies in the details between importation invoices and related zero-rated sales invoices.

Upon reconsideration, the court found that one item did match in both invoices, leading to the allowance of P125.25 as directly attributable to valid zero-rated sales. This also contributed to a slight increase in the refundable amount. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

P1-M reward offered for capture of 5 Basilan jail escapees

COTABATO CITY — The governor of Basilan has offered a P1-million incentive in exchange for any information leading to the capture of five prisoners who escaped from a jail in the province on Sunday with the help of two armed intruders.

Gov. Hadjiman H. Salliman told reporters on Tuesday that his office has allocated P1 million as a reward for the capture of the five escapees, who are being prosecuted separately for murder, and possession of powerful explosives.

They are still undergoing judicial proceedings for the offenses that led to their detention in the Basilan Provincial Jail.

Officials of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade and the Basilan Provincial Police Office are cooperating in locating the five escapees and the two armed men who arrived at the jail on Sunday, pretending as visitors, disarmed the jail guards on duty at gunpoint and set them free. They hurriedly left the jail premises and disappeared.

“Everything is being done to locate them, return them to the Basilan Provincial Jail,” Mr. Salliman said.

Brig. Gen. Romeo J. Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters on Tuesday that personnel of all municipal and city police stations in Basilan are helping the provincial jail management determine the exact location now of the five men and their two accomplices. — John Felix M. Unson

Obiena takes gold at foggy Taiwan meet

EJ OBIENA — REUTERS

WORLD NO. 4 EJ Obiena flew to Nantou City for one thing only — to rule the Taiwan International Pole Vault competition.

And that the Asian champion and record-holder from Tondo did with aplomb after he ruled the meet held at the Sun Moon Lake in foggy conditions.

Mr. Obiena took the gold with a 5.5-meter (m) clearance, ahead of American Matt Ludwig, who snared the silver with a 5.3 m.

The 25-man field also included another Filipino, a young Hokket delos Santos, tipped as Mr. Obiena’s successor to the throne, who cleared a personal-best 5.15 m, good for 10th place.

“I had a new experience (on Monday). I had my first fog warning in the midst of a pole vault competition, in Taiwan. With roughly 10 meters visibility, you just disappear. Talk about a leap of faith, he said.

“I am thankful to have won the competition under such murky conditions! We can’t always have sunny skies and perfect weather.”

Mr. Obiena said he learned a lot in Taiwan.

“We have to persevere through all kinds of adversity. This was a new kind of adversity and I learned from it,” he said. — Joey Villar

La Salle seeks 16th straight women’s volley win vs Ateneo

DE LA SALLE LADY SPIKERS — UAAP/NEO GARCIA

Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
9 a.m. – DLSU vs ADMU (men)
11 a.m. – UST vs AdU (men)
1 p.m. – DLSU vs ADMU (women)
3 p.m. – UST vs AdU (women)

A SWEET 16th straight win over its archrival and a stronger grip of second spot are up for grabs for La Salle when it dukes it out against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lady Spikers own the solo No. 2 seed at 6-3 after a 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14 revenge win over Santo Tomas last weekend, making it a perfect opportunity to shoot two birds with one stone at 1 p.m. against the Blue Eagles.

Both squads will come to battle fresh from wins but La Salle remains as the heavy favorite to prevail given its eight-year mastery of Ateneo.

While Ateneo sports a three-game winning run to close in on the Final Four chase, La Salle has won five of its last six games behind the lethal duo of Angel Canino and Shevana Laput, including a 25-15, 25-14, 20-25, 25-19 conquest in the first round for its 15th straight win over the former.

The last time La Salle bowed to Ateneo was in the elims of the UAAP Season 79 that it eventually won via finals sweep as part of its three straight championships.

“Kami naman kung sino ‘yung darating na game simula nang matalo kami sa NU, sabi lang namin girls, kalimutan niyo na ‘yan at mag-focus tayo sa one game at a time. Isa-isahin natin kung sino darating,” said La Salle deputy mentor Noel Orcullo.

“Paghahandaan namin at ganun din ang gagawin namin sa Ateneo. Wala kaming babalewalain.”

La Salle may have made short work of Ateneo in their first meeting this season but the Blue Eagles, now more than ever, are ready to change the script riding on a three-game winning momentum.

Ateneo beat the University of the East, University of the Philippines and Adamson, in an unbeaten second-round campaign so far to stalk closer to Santo Tomas (5-4) and UP (5-5) for the No. 4 spot.

And they’re not going to let the opportunity slip away, even with a crippled crew that is now led by Lyann de Guzman and AC Miner.

“The most important thing is we’re fighting. Our players never give up. Our team never stops so if we have a one percent chance, we’ll fight for it,” declared Blue Eagles coach Sergio Veloso.

Meanwhile at 3 p.m., skidding Santo Tomas (5-4) seeks to snap a three-game skid to revive its Top-Two hopes against Adamson (3-6) while the men’s play features La Salle (5-4) and Ateneo (6-3) at 9 a.m. as well as UST (5-4) and Adamson (2-7) at 3 p.m. — John Bryan Ulanday

OKC thrashes Bulls, sets nonconference win mark

ISAIAH JOE led Oklahoma City (OKC) with a season-high-tying 31 points as the Thunder beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 145-117 on Monday for their 10th win in a row.

The Thunder are 28-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season, setting a record for most out-of-conference wins in NBA history. The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors held the record with a 27-3 mark.

Oklahoma City (63-13) kept alive its chances of becoming the third team in NBA history to win 70 games in a season. The Thunder would need to win out to accomplish the feat.

Oklahoma City is a win shy of tying the franchise mark for victories in a season, set in 1995-96 when the team was in Seattle.

The Bulls (33-42) took their second consecutive loss and fell to 10th in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Thunder’s 145 points were one off their season high, while it was the most given up by the Bulls since January 2023.

Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. He added 12 assists in just 27 minutes of action as he sat out the fourth quarter with the outcome well in hand.

Joe equaled his career high with eight 3-pointers.

The Thunder came into the game averaging an NBA-best 21.6 points off turnovers this season. They had topped that mark by halftime, scoring 22 points off the Bulls’ 14 first-half giveaways while building a 74-40 lead.

The Thunder took control with a 45-point second quarter. The period included a 36-13 run that put Oklahoma City up 65-33. Oklahoma City reserves Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso each had two steals during that stretch.

By the time five minutes remained in the third, Oklahoma City had stretched its lead to 43 points.

The Thunder finished with 34 points off 20 Chicago turnovers.

The game was the first in Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey since being traded to the Bulls in exchange for Caruso in the offseason. The Australian spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Thunder.

Giddey received a large ovation when he was introduced before the game. He finished 6 of 15 for 15 points, with 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Jevon Carter led the Bulls with 17 points, while Patrick Williams and Talen Horton-Tucker added 16 points each. — Reuters

Horford scores 26 off the bench as Celtics extend streak vs Grizzlies

AL HORFORD came off the bench to score 26 points and grab nine rebounds as the visiting Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to nine games by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 117-103 late Monday.

Horford made six 3-pointers in the win, which gave Boston (56-19) six victories during its six-game road trip. The Celtics have won eight in a row on the road overall and are 32-7 record in road games this season.

Jayson Tatum added 25 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Boston’s Derrick White finished with 14 points and made three 3-pointers, the second of which set a franchise record for most made 3-pointers in a season (246).

Ja Morant scored a team-high 26 points for the Grizzlies, who received 20 points and 15 rebounds from Jaren Jackson. Santi Aldama tossed in 21 points.

Memphis (44-31) has lost six of its last seven games. The Grizzlies are 0-2 since they fired head coach Taylor Jenkins and named Tuomas Iisalo interim head coach.

Boston played without Jaylen Brown (knee) and Luke Kornet (illness). Brown is averaging 22.4 points per game and is the team’s No. 2 scorer.

Memphis led 32-25 after one quarter and stretched that lead to 11 points early in the second quarter, but Boston had a 66-61 advantage at halftime.

The Grizzlies scored the first 10 points of the second half to go in front 71-66, but Boston regained control with an 11-2 run that gave the Celtics an 80-75 lead with 6:10 left in the third. Boston had a 92-85 lead after three quarters.

The Celtics had their first double-digit lead after Horford made a 3-pointer with 9:13 to play. The Grizzlies failed to get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The victory allowed Boston to split its two regular season games against Memphis. The Grizzlies won 127-121 in Boston on Dec. 7. — Reuters

McIlroy battling injury with Masters tourney 10 days out

RORY MCILROY acknowledged he is dealing with an elbow injury as he prepares to head to Augusta for next week’s Masters.

The World No. 2 made a spirited run up the leaderboard at the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Sunday, carding a 4-under 31 on the front nine that included an eagle. He made three more birdies before closing with a bogey to settle for a tie for fifth.

Despite shooting 65-64 over the weekend, McIlroy told NBC Sports that his right elbow has been bothering him. The Masters begins in 10 days.

“Get some treatment on that and make sure that that’s OK going into Augusta,” he said.

McIlroy is not playing in this week’s Texas Valero Open, giving him time to rest the elbow and work on a tweak he made to his driver following the third round in Houston.

“I just took a little bit of loft off it,” he said. “I felt like it was getting a little bit spinny, especially if I wanted to hit cuts off the tee, so I took a little bit of loft off it. Definitely went through the wind better today and felt a little more comfortable.”

Despite the elbow discomfort, McIlroy posted yet another strong result after scrambling a bit just to make the cut in Houston. The T5 adds to his pair of wins along with a T4 in Dubai among his first eight starts worldwide in 2025.

However, McIlroy said his game is not where he wants it to be as he chases an elusive green jacket next week.

“Still feel like I’ve got some stuff to work on. Still don’t think like my game is absolutely 100% under the control I would want, but it’s nice to have a week to work on some things,” he said. “I’ve got my coach, Michael Bannon, coming in (Monday), so we’ll be working at home and making sure my game feels good going into the Masters.”

The Masters is the lone major missing from McIlroy’s trophy case, although his overall major drought now stretches 11 years to the 2014 PGA Championship. He finished T22 last year after missing the cut at Augusta in 2023. He was

runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in 2022.

“This week, going forward, it’s just about feeling as comfortable as I can be with the things I’ve been working on, which is sort of iron play, wedges,”

McIlroy said. “Obviously, short game’s really, really important around Augusta as well. You know, work on those things over the next few days and hopefully I’m feeling good going in there.” — Reuters

Creamline pushing to take its usual place in PVL finals

Games on Thursday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4 p.m. – Akari vs Petro Gazz
6:30 p.m. – Choco Mucho vs Creamline

There has been only one occasion in the last 14 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) championships that Creamline wasn’t in contention.

The Cool Smashers aren’t about to make it two.

On the brink of finals elimination, the proud, dynasty unleashed its full might on Akari with a merciless 25-18, 25-19, 25-19 victory on Tuesday that kept its record championship aspirations alive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

This sealed Creamline its first win in the single-round robin semis after succumbing to Petro Gazz, 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, on Saturday at the Ynares Center Antipolo. That loss pushed Creamline to the brink of dropping out of the finals race.

A win over sister team Choco Mucho on Thursday at the Big Dome would bolster its bid of barging into the finals for the 14th time in the last 15 conferences, a magnificent stretch that yielded 10 championships including a four-peat, both league records.

“We knew how important this game was, it was a do-or-die game for us,” according to Creamline middle blocker Pangs Panaga, who came through with 13 points on 10 kills, two service aces and a block.

“That’s why we really worked hard to get the win,” she added.

Creamline showed its determination early in the opening set and found ways to claw back from deficits in the next two sets, including a 13-8 disadvantage in the second frame.

They knew one mistake could lead to oblivion.

The last time Creamline did not make the finals was during the 2022 Reinforced Conference, where it ended up claiming third place.

It never happened again and the Cool Smashers don’t appear to be in a hurry to repeat that experience.

Bernadeth Pons dropped a match-best 17 points while Tots Carlos uncorked 13 hits.

Creamline’s charismatic skipper Alyssa Valdez chipped in nine points herself, including her patented clutch kills that sealed the deal.

Despite the defeat, the Chargers, who turned back the Flying Titans, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14, in their first semis outing and stumbled to 1-1, could still make it to the finals for the second time after their Reinforced Conference stint last year.

But they would have to pull the rug from under the Angels to accomplish it. — Joey Villar

Starting them young

There’s no question that golf requires patience, discipline, and skill. True, it can be learned at any age, but its counterintuitive nature makes starting young a significant boon. Those who take on the sport early get to hone essential motor skills, develop hand-eye coordination, and gain a natural feel vis-a-vis older players already set in their ways. At the same time, it instills values that are best applied in the formative years, among them perseverance, integrity, and respect — both on and off the course.

But picking up a club early is one thing. Having fun while — and excelling in — swinging it is quite another. The right environment matters, and it is what US Kids Golf Philippines strives to offer would-be practitioners of the sport. As the local chapter of the US Kids Golf organization, it is dedicated to nurturing juniors through competition and coaching programs. And in creating development opportunities for young golfers to learn and compete, it likewise does its part in shaping the future of the sport in the country.

US Kids Golf Philippines emphasizes “Play & Learn,” ensuring that children derive pleasure from honing their craft and, at the same time, reinforce proper technique and principles that will serve them throughout their lives. It sponsors a local tour, which consists of a series of tournaments for various age groups. Those who do well claim priority status, which brings them closer to joining international US Kids Golf events, including the US Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

U.S. Kids Golf Philippines just finished its sixth and final leg of the Spring Tour over the weekend. One hundred and twenty junior golfers teed off at the Norman Course of the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Cavite, with such notables as Celine Abalos, Emilio Hernandez, Tiffany Bernardino, Lujo Gomez, Race Manhit, Davelyn Dy, Luis Espinosa, Adrian Irinco, Georgina Handog, Halo Pangilinan, Zoji Edoc, Winter Serapio, Zach Guico, and Alonso Fabul taking home the hardware in their respective brackets. And who knows? They may well be on their way to follow in the footsteps of two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, who carried the country’s colors at nine years old in the 2011 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. In any case, their achievements underscore the importance of early training and structured development to success.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

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