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Gilas pool lineup product of consultations — Reyes

ARRIVING at the 12 players to make up the additions for the national men’s basketball team pool was no easy task but the people behind the Gilas Pilipinas program managed to do so following a lot of consultations among the coaching staff. This was shared by returning coach Chot Reyes as they revealed the names of the add-ons to the group that will banner the country’s cause in international competitions.

In an announcement made last Sunday, Mr. Reyes and officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas unveiled the list of players added to the Gilas Pilipinas pool.

Said players were culled from the 12 competing teams in the Philippine Basketball Association — one per ball club — as agreed upon by the SBP and the PBA.

Making up the additions are June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen, Terrence Romeo of the GlobalPort Batang Pier, Jayson Castro of the TNT KaTropa, Japeth Aguilar of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, Calvin Abueva of the Alaska Aces, Raymond Almazan of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Paul Lee of the Star Hotshots, Jonathan Grey of the Meralco Bolts, Bradwyn Guinto of the NLEX Road Warriors, Arthur Dela Cruz of the Blackwater Elite, LA Revilla of the Mahindra Floodbuster and Norbert Torres of the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters.

Said players, in turn, join forces with Gilas cadet members now seeing action in the PBA, namely, Mac Belo (Blackwater), Matthew Wright (Phoenix), Jio Jalalon (Star), Kevin Ferrer (Barangay Ginebra), Von Pessumal (GlobalPort), Ed Daquioag (Meralco), Mike Tolomia (Rain or Shine), Carl Bryan Cruz (Alaska), Russell Escoto (Mahindra), Roger Pogoy (TNT), Arnold Van Opstal (San Miguel) and Fonzo Gotladera (NLEX).

“Before the lineup was made public, we in the coaching staff really consulted among ourselves who to select,” said Mr. Reyes, who counts son Josh, former Gilas player Jimmy Alapag and PBA coach Jong Uichico as part of his coaching staff with former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin as consultant.

“It’s a very young team but balanced and versatile. It’s a mix of everything we want to see in our system,” said the returning coach even as he underscored that they may still make some tweaks in it as they see fit moving forward.

“We have a very clear picture of the kind of game that we want to play. We wanted the best players that can fit and implement that kind of game. So for now, this is the 24 players that we will work with along with Andray Blatche who is our naturalized player,” Mr. Reyes added.

PREPARING THE TEAM
Mr. Reyes went on to say that the challenge now is preparing the team for the competitions ahead, beginning with the Southeast Asia Basketball (SEABA) Championship this April which the country is hosting.

While the Philippines has had a great success in the SEABA Championship, winning it seven times already, including the last one in 2015, Mr. Reyes highlighted the need for Gilas to be at its best in the tournament as a lot hinges on it, particularly the country’s stint in the FIBA Asia Cup later this year and, hopefully, the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

“We need to win the SEABA to be able to play in FIBA Asia. We are bent on bringing the strongest team for the SEABA considering our Southeast Asian neighbors have really improved a lot. We’re focused on it and don’t want to risk our chances,” Mr. Reyes said.

For local basketball analyst Levi Verora, Jr., that Mr. Reyes and the Gilas coaching staff went the way they did with their player selection was not at all surprising.

“There was nothing really surprising about the selection. It’s all about the system and these players fit the system that they want. You have a good mix of young veterans who have Gilas experience and players to develop,” said Mr. Verora when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts on the Gilas pool.

“I think the message is clear that Coach Chot is looking at the program long term. He mentioned that they are aiming to compete in the World Cup in 2019 that is why there are lot of young guys in the pool like from Phoenix Norbert Torres and Meralco’s Jonathan Grey who were part of the junior national teams in the past. Guys like Bradwyn Guinto and Art Dela Cruz, by 2019 these players will already be matured,” the analyst said.

Mr. Verora agreed that for Gilas it all starts with the SEABA Championship, necessitating the need to have best team possible.

“The thing about the SEABA is that it will not be easy for us. We have to remember that we have to win that to take us to the other tournaments. Maybe we can send half cadets and veterans depending on the availability of players so as to make sure we get everything covered and secure the title,” he said.

The SEABA Championship 2017 happens from April 23-30. The last time the Philippines hosted the regional tournament was in 2001 where it won its second consecutive title.

Three-time PBA most valuable player June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen is once again part of the Gilas Pilipinas pool. — Alvin S. Go

Serena storms on towards crown, top world ranking

MELBOURNE — Serena Williams battled into her 11th Australian Open quarterfinal on Monday, joining sister Venus, in her unrelenting quest for a record Grand Slam title and the return of her top world ranking.

Serena Williams of the US celebrates her victory against Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova during their women’s singles fourth round match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE

The American powerhouse was tested by Czech 16th seed Barbora Strycova but she dug deep to win 7-5, 6-4 in hot conditions and will face Johanna Konta for a place in the last four.

Williams has made clear in Melbourne she is here for one reason only — to win — and she was in a fighting, but nervy, mood during an entertaining contest.

The 35-year old had added incentive after the shock defeat on Sunday of top seed Angelique Kerber, the woman who beat her in the final last year and then snatched her top world ranking.

Williams, seeded two, can again become world number one if she lifts the trophy this week.

“I love pressure, I deal well with pressure,” she said, when asked why she keeps coming back for more.

“I love this game and I honestly have nothing to lose. Everything is a bonus for me now.”

Williams winning the title on Saturday would rewrite history. She is not just chasing a seventh Melbourne crown, but also a 23rd Grand Slam to surpass Steffi Graf’s Open-era record.

With her sister, a potential final opponent, already safely into the last eight in the other side of the draw, Williams had to use all her experience to get past a dogged Strycova.

Despite the temperature already past 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) when they began at 11:00 a.m., Williams opted to wear knee-length black leggings and sleeves, and she made a slow start.

It was Strycova who drew first blood, breaking the first Williams serve, but with the sweat starting to drip off her she immediately broke back with a sizzling crosscourt forehand.

But Williams’ first serve was still not firing, with just 33% successful in the opening games, and the Czech took full advantage to break to love and go 2-1 in front.

It was woeful serving from both players with Williams broken again before they both began to warm to the task.

‘C’MON!’
Williams finally held serve in the fifth game but it didn’t last long when Strycova broke again to go 4-3 ahead.

Another break — an incredible sixth in eight games — put Williams level and she then held, before a defensive Strycova saved four set points in a marathon 10th game.

Williams was fired up and screaming “C’mon!” and she went 6-5 ahead before Czech, serving to stay in the set, was finally undone on the eighth set point by a lucky shot from the American that came off her racquet frame.

Strycova, at a career-high ranking of 16, is a two-time former girls champion in Melbourne but had never been past round four in the main draw.

And with her nose in front, Williams was never going to let that happen and a netted volley from the Czech gave her an early break for 2-1 in the second set.

Strycova was wilting and Williams was in control, and despite being broken when serving for the match she broke straight back to book her place in the last eight. — AFP

Serena Williams — AFP

Global FC takes on Singapore’s Tampines today

ONE of the groundbreaking football clubs in the country, Global FC looks to put another feather in its cap by making a good account of itself in its debut at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League beginning today.

Global is set to take on Tampines Rovers of Singapore at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium at 7:30 p.m. in the first of what is a three-stage path to enter the group play of Asia’s premier club football tournament.

Ended 2016 as the top team in the United Football League by winning the League and Cup titles, Global earned the nod from the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) to represent the country and play in the preliminary/playoff stage of the AFC Champions League.

Global needs to beat Tampines in their East Slot allocation match to advance to the next round.

If Global defeats visiting Tampines it then moves to the next assignment against Australian side Brisbane Roar in an away game on Jan. 31.

The playoff stage in February will be another away match for Global if ever against Shanghai Shenhua FC, which finished fourth in the Chinese Superleague.

“It’s an honor to play with a club like Global. And this is another first for us,” said Global captain Misagh Bahadoran at yesterday’s prematch press conference at Century Park Hotel.

“This is something new for us and we need to familiarize ourselves with the tournament. But we will do everything we can to get the win tomorrow (today) and advance to the next stage,” he added.

Also present at yesterday’s presscon was new Global coach Toshiaki Imai who said he is excited for the chance to coach the local club.

“I’m excited to coach Global. I just came in recently but I like what I have seen so far,” said Mr. Imai, who replaced Leigh Manson for the Global post.

This year’s edition of the Asian club tournament, which runs till November, will be its 36th edition, and 15th under the current title of AFC Champions League.

South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the title in 2016, beating United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain FC, 3-2, on aggregate.

The Pohang Steelers of South Korea is the most successful club in tournament history, winning it three times — 1997, 1998 and 2009 — while 10 teams have won it twice, including defending champion Jeonbuk.

Tickets for the Global-Tampines match are priced P50, P100 and P120. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Global FC captain Misagh Bahadoran (L) and new coach Toshiaki Imai pose for photo at their pre-Asian Football Confederation Champions League match press conference yesterday. — Mike Murillo

Super Bowl: It’s Falcons vs Patriots on Feb. 5

LOS ANGELES — Tom Brady led the New England Patriots into the seventh Super Bowl of his career on Sunday with a clinical 36-17 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Atlanta Falcons routed the Green Bay Packers to reach the NFL showpiece.

Brady, 39, will now be chasing a record-equalling fifth Super Bowl crown in Houston on Feb. 5 after throwing three touchdowns for 384 yards in a convincing defeat of the Steelers at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium.

Brady’s latest Super Bowl appearances comes a fully 15 years after he led the Patriots to victory over the St. Louis Rams in the 2002 championship game.

Brady was at his deadly best on Sunday as the Bill Belichick-coached Pats outsmarted the Steelers with a series of clever plays which often left Pittsburgh’s defense chasing shadows.

After a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski opened the scoring for New England, Brady picked out wide open receiver Chris Hogan for the first touchdown with a 16-yard pass.

The Steelers responded with a five-yard touchdown run from DeAngelo Williams which reduced the deficit but Brady found Hogan once again with a clever play-fake that left the Patriots defender in acres of space to make it 17-6.

Chris Boswell and Gostkowski traded field goals to keep the score respectable but New England took full control with two quick touchdowns in the third quarter from running back LeGarrette Blount and receiver Julian Edelman which propelled the hosts into a 33-9 lead.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger endured a frustrating evening, unable to get any change out of a dominant Patriots defense until finding Cobi Hamilton with a 30-yard pass for a consolation score late in the fourth quarter.

RYAN RAMPANT AS FALCONS SOAR
Earlier Sunday, Matt Ryan led a dominant offensive display as Atlanta crushed Green Bay 44-21 in their last ever game at the Georgia Dome.

The Falcons surged into a 24-0 half-time lead after overwhelming the Packers defense with their varied running and passing game as Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was never able to get going.

“We’ve got some more business at Houston in two weeks,” Ryan said after the Falcons were presented the NFC Championship trophy.

“We showed up. We did exactly what we’ve been doing all year. It feels really good,” added Ryan, who completed 27 out of 38 pass attempts for 392 yards and four touchdowns.

Rodgers was left frustrated as the Packers squandered vital early scoring opportunities through a missed Mason Crosby field goal and a fumble from Aaron Ripkowski near the Atlanta line with a touchdown begging.

The Falcons meanwhile looked threatening whenever they ventured into Green Bay territory.

Mohamed Sanu scored the opening touchdown from a flipped shovel pass from Ryan before the Atlanta quarterback grabbed his team’s second six-pointer with a 14-yard run into the end zone.

Ryan punished a Rodgers interception with a pass to find Julio Jones from five yards, leaving the Falcons 24-0 ahead at the break.

Jones then galloped away for a 73-yard touchdown in the opening minutes of the third quarter to put Atlanta 31-0 ahead.

Further Atlanta touchdowns came from Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman and although Green Bay attempted to give the scoreline some respectability with touchdowns from Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, and Jared Cook, the result was never in doubt.

Ryan said the Falcons had been determined not to let up on Green Bay despite building their massive first half lead.

“We knew going in against Green Bay and going against Aaron (Rodgers) it’s never over,” Ryan said. “He’s such a great player. We just kept at them the entire four quarters. I’m proud of the way we competed.” — AFP

Keep saving HK, China’s coming for your best land

HONG KONG — It takes around 35 years for a median-income household to buy a 90-square meter (970-square foot) apartment in Hong Kong. So, by 2052 in other words. That makes the former British colony the world’s least affordable city, according to Oxford Economics. Now, with Chinese buyers forking out ever-higher amounts for land sold by the government and outbidding domestic stalwarts, prospective home buyers are going to have to wait a whole lot longer.

A stamp-duty hike in November to 15% for all non-first time home buyers and to as much as 30% for foreigners hasn’t dulled the market. Secondary home prices surged almost 40% between July 2012 and the end of last year, Centaline Property’s Centa-City Leading Index shows, just 1.8% shy of their September 2015 record.

Although the increased levies helped put a lid on sales volumes, there’s still more end-user demand than supply, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Patrick Wong. First-time home buyers, being exempt, remain a force while existing homeowners always seem to find ways to circumvent the rules in their hunt for yield. Hong Kong’s relatively low unemployment rate also means lots of people are willing to take the real estate plunge.

Added pressure, meanwhile, is coming from China. Mainland purchasers, keen to buy property in the city as a hedge against a weaker yuan, have long been imaginative when it comes to evading foreign-exchange curbs. Now developers are getting more aggressive.

At a time Beijing is clamping down on speculative buying, Hong Kong offers a chance to diversify. Although land is more expensive than on the mainland, funding costs are lower. The Hong Kong interbank offered rate has averaged 1.01435% this year while the People’s Bank of China benchmark lending rate for individual housing loans of up to five years is 2.75%.

Buyers from China accounted for almost half the value of all land sold by the Hong Kong government in 2016, up from 30% in 2015 and less than 5% in 2011, research from CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. show. That Chinasation of the market, as CIMB calls it, may increase prices 10% by 2019.

Some impact is already being felt. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. sold all 188 apartments at a project on the site of the city’s former airport on day one last week. The units were offered to Hong Kong residents only.

And while the city’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying may bemoan the large amount of parks and green spaces that could be put to better use, mainland buyers did help the government chalk up record revenue from land sales in the first nine months of the 2016 fiscal year.

With so many cash-rich companies across the border and even firms like HNA Group Co. joining the bidding party, the tensions pooling in Hong Kong real estate aren’t about to go away. All too soon, taking 35 years to buy a shoebox may seem pretty decent. — Bloomberg.

Airports to toll roads top picks amid boom in infrastructure

MANILA’S Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Indonesia’s PT Krakatau Steel and Airports of Thailand Pcl. are among the top investor picks as Southeast Asian governments embark on programs to boost roads, rail, ports and power plants.

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte is promising P8 trillion ($160 billion) of spending over his six-year term, while Thailand’s military-led government plans to list an infrastructure fund on the stock exchange in March. Indonesia has set aside almost 10% more to spend on projects this year and Malaysia is pushing ahead with plans including a high-speed rail line from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Thailand and the Philippines are likely to see the biggest increase in infrastructure spending over the next few years, while in Indonesia and Malaysia, budgetary constraints may mean the rhetoric of politicians translates into comparatively little extra outlay, Capital Economics Ltd. said in a Jan. 16 research note.

Below are some selections from fund managers and analysts across the region:

INDONESIA
Within Southeast Asia, Old Mutual Global Investors favors Indonesia, said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities in Hong Kong. The Jakarta Composite Index is cheap and President Joko Widodo’s improved political standing will give him some firepower to push ahead with his infrastructure plans, despite perceived fiscal constraints, he said. Mr. Crabb said he liked Krakatau Steel. While acknowledging the budgetary risk, Jemmy Paul, investment director at PT Sucorinvest Asset Management in Jakarta, said many Indonesian infrastructure-related firms have received capital injections from the government and have good revenue outlooks. PT Adhi Karya, PT Pembangunan Perumahan and PT Waskita Beton Precast are among his top construction picks, along with toll road operator PT Jasa Marga. Krakatau Steel is also interesting as prices are on the rise due to stronger demand from projects, Mr. Paul said. Earnings growth for Indonesian construction companies will still be there, but investors should emphasize cash flow and look for companies with stronger balance sheets, said Jeffrosenberg Tan, a director at PT Sinarmas Sekuritas in Jakarta. The condition of the state budget will be critical this year, he said, adding that he prefers Pembangunan Perumahan and Adhi Karya.

THAILAND
The 2016-2020 infrastructure rollout in Thailand should benefit from the longevity of the military government and high public and private sector participation, said Maria Lapiz, co-head of research at Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) Pcl in Bangkok. She said she likes the high cash flow of Airports of Thailand and telecommunications company Advanced Info Service Pcl. Sino Thai Engineering & Construction Pcl. is also attractive, said Lapiz. The Thai government will provide 10 billion baht ($283 million) for its Future Fund, which it expects to grow to as much as 50 billion baht with money from private investors, pension funds, insurers and sovereign wealth funds. It’s an attractive investment alternative, but more details and pricing are needed before deciding to invest in the fund, said Yingyong Nilasena, the Bangkok-based chief investment officer of Government Pension Fund, which oversees around $22 billion of assets.

PHILIPPINES
Infrastructure will be least vulnerable to the headwinds of a strengthening dollar and rising US interest rates, said Frederico Ocampo, chief investment officer at BDO Unibank, Inc. in Manila. Metro Pacific — which is involved in water, toll roads and electricity generation and distribution and is looking at bidding for airport projects — and Megawide Construction Corp. are among the best bets, he said. Metro Pacific is also the top infrastructure pick of Karen Hizon, an analyst at UBS Securities Philippines, Inc. in Manila. Some exposure should also go to construction company DMCI Holdings, Inc., cement firms will be a good play, while banks and property companies will also benefit, she said. Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital & Investment Corp. in Manila, said his company was looking at structuring new debt instruments for infrastructure, but is waiting for rules to govern such issuance. The challenge for marketing the debt would be the absence of cash flow in the initial years of projects, he said.

MALAYSIA
Construction stocks will provide the biggest opportunity among shares in Malaysia this year, said Ang Kok Heng, chief investment officer at Phillip Capital Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur, whose Phillip Master Equity Growth Fund has beaten 94% of its peers over the last five years. He said he favors mid-cap stocks like George Kent Malaysia Bhd., Hock Seng Lee Bhd. and Kimlun Corp. as they have better return potential, especially when they win large contracts relative to their size. Some 96 billion ringgit ($22 billion) of new and ongoing infrastructure contracts will be awarded over 2017 and 2018, Loong Chee Wei, an analyst at Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur, wrote in a Jan. 16 note. Loong maintained an overweight call on Malaysia’s construction sector and his top buys are Gamuda Bhd., Sunway Construction Group Bhd., WCT Holdings Bhd. and Gabungan AQRS Bhd. — Bloomberg

Philippine builders are among investors’ top picks on prospects of accelerated government spending. A view of the Pasig City skyline — BW File Photo

In all humility

As a national pastime, putting down our country beyond the bounds of humility has become all too common. Is it an inferiority complex that automatically compares our country unfavorably with others? Don’t travelers always come home with stories of how things are much better in the countries visited (they have clean public toilets), even when their experiences are limited to sightseeing, not at all subjected to what citizens there undergo and the high cost of living?

Overseas workers even when employed (or unemployed) under dire conditions find their adopted homes more advanced in every way. Of course, being home and pampered in their infrequent visits somehow reins in the tendency for odious comparisons.

Self-deprecation in the form of making fun of oneself and any accomplishments, no matter how awesome, can be an endearing trait. Paradoxically, self-deprecatory humor work best when one is clearly triumphant. Winners of international competitions like beauty contests, computer game events, and billiard tournaments credit their triumphs to luck, prayers of the nation, and support of fans.

Even a fading boxer who previously got top dollar and won on a routine basis by knockouts credits an appetite for more games in the face of fading excitement to the desire to wave the flag, and bring the bout to his home country. (When did that start?) There may be no more competitive matches to be had or ardently awaited. But, never mind. Those who buy tickets or subscribe to pay-per-view may decide to sit the next ones out, even if there may still be somebody left out there willing to run around the ring avoiding physical contact with the former icon, and just waiting for the final bell to declare that he can now deposit his check.

Politicians use self-deprecation in the campaign trail to great advantage. But once in power, the language may change into a confrontational and threatening tone. Why abandon a winning strategy? Self-deprecation at this time can be refreshing — I can’t do this alone. Maybe I’ll start inviting her again.

A twisted version of self-deprecation is false humility. Anyone prefacing what he is about to say with the phrase “modesty aside” is about to launch into self-aggrandizing statements, trumpeting achievements by packaging them as modest — my winning this prestigious award against other contestants from forty other countries is testament to the ingenuity of the Filipino (ahem, you’re looking at him). It’s probably better to outsource this praise release and hire image consultants for the job. Nothing seems more off-putting than a windbag who puts modesty aside on a regular basis.

Is it only the obviously competent and unquestionably accomplished that can comfortably engage in self-deprecatory humor? Is the phrase, “in all humility” going to make a comeback without strains of self-flagellation?

The insecure and under-qualified may feel that making fun of himself may invite ready agreement. (Oh Sir, you have every right to be modest.) For self-deprecation to work as it should, a social compact is implicitly entered into between the speaker and his audience. Poking fun at oneself is premised on the desire of avoiding envy and malice, and putting people at ease who would otherwise be intimidated by the speaker’s power, intellect, or wealth — yes I used to take the bus to school. It was a good way to meet girls, although I didn’t meet any who were not asking for my ticket.

Self-deprecation has to do with humility, or more crassly, lowering people’s expectations. There is an invitation not to be taken seriously, even to be underrated. (Please I am not a threat to your standing in the organization.) An achievement is scaled down (I was just lucky) in order not to attract resentment and inciting a desire to see a fall from grace for the high and mighty.

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first make arrogant. Intentional depreciation of one’s assets is a way to deflect the lightning from Mount Olympus. Anyway, if nothing else, self-deprecation preempts the viciousness of critics who are only too willing to put down anyone standing on a pedestal. This is harder to do when he is already climbing down from it and laughing at himself as he takes off his socks… ready to jump into a shallow pool.

A. R. Samson is chair and CEO of Touch DDB.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Another round of high FiT due to expensive wind-solar power

Cheaper electricity and stable energy supply are among the important components to have fast and sustainable economic growth.

On Jan. 17, the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) sent a press release saying that “effective settlement spot prices (ESSPs) in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) plunged to P2.28/kWH for the December 2016 billing period which is the lowest since January 2011. ESSPs refer to the average prices paid by wholesale customers for energy purchased from the spot market.” That is good news as various players using fossil fuel sources like coal, natural gas, and oil, are fiercely competing with each other in generating electricity. WESM was created by EPIRA of 2001.

On the same day, the Department of Energy (DoE) posted a “Request for comments on the draft Department Circular entitled ‘Declaring the launch of WESM in Mindanao’ (on Jan. 26, 2016) and providing for transition arrangements.” Another good news because finally, there will be a formal spot market for power producers and electric cooperatives that will guide a competitive and deregulated market, benefitting the consumers.

Last Dec. 23, 2016, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) posted a request for public comments until Dec. 30 regarding the petition of three wind developers — Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corporation (TAREC), Alternergy Wind One Corporation (AWOC), and Petrowind Energy, Inc. (PWEI) — that their feed in tariff (FiT) or guaranteed price for 20 years of P7.40/kWh be raised to P7.93/kWh, citing various cost escalations. That was bad news because expensive electricity is never a virtue. I sent a letter to ERC Commissioner Salazar arguing that they say No to the petition.

And last Dec. 6, 2016, the ERC published in a newspaper a National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) petition asking for a FiT allowance (FiT-All) of 22.91 centavos/kWh starting January 2017. That’s also bad news because FiT payments by consumers keep rising fast. From an introductory price of only 4 centavos/kWh in 2015, became 12.40 centavos/kWh in 2016, and almost 23 centavos/kWh this year.

Now two factors will raise the FiT-All for 2017 beyond 23 centavos. (1) ERC will not be able to act on this by January or not even February 2017, that means there will be price underrecoveries that must be added to the original requested price. And (2) with low WESM prices the past few months — P3.19/kWh last September, P2.91/kWh last October, P2.54/kWh last November (data from Meralco), and the P2.28/kWh ESSP last December — this means that FiT-All will go up. This allowance is the difference between FiT rates (highest prices are solar of P10+/kWh this year due to price escalation, followed by wind, then biomass, cheapest is run of river hydro) and average WESM prices. Or FiT-ALL = FiT rates — WESM prices

Expensive electricity is the hallmark of renewable energy favoritism anywhere in the world.

Understand that in my previous columns, it was shown that the main beneficiaries of expensive electricity from renewables in the Philippines are not ordinary firms but huge companies: the Lopez group (EDC Burgos wind) and Ayala group (Northern Luzon UPC Caparispisan wind, and Northwind Bangui) who got P8.53/kWh FiT and combined revenues of about P4.3 billion in 2015 alone.

Let us check Germany’s renewables output. The chart below is for the last three months, Oct. 23, 2016 to Jan. 22, 2017.

Last Jan. 8, its total electricity consumption was 57.4 GW and here are the renewables output that day: solar 0.23 GW, onshore wind 1.53 GW, and offshore wind 0.39, or a total output of only 2.15 GW from these three renewables (see chart).


Click to enlarge

A total of only 2.1 GW was generated by solar-wind sources or only 3.7% of 57.4 GW power demand. If Germany relied solely on wind-solar, that would have meant massive, large-scale, and catastrophic blackouts. Germany of course was saved by the power plants that it wants to banish someday — fossil fuel sources like coal and natural gas plus nuke power, within Germany and from energy imports from its European neighbors — and which it kept running. So we did not hear or read such massive blackouts in Europe’s biggest economy.

Aside from expensive direct cost of wind and solar in Germany due to FiT, there is additional indirect cost of higher transmission cost. From a news report, “The Energiewende is running up against its limits” last Oct. 21, 2016 (http://energypost.eu/energiewende-running-limits/)

“German transmission system operator Tennet recently announced an 80% increase in its transmission fees because of the high construction costs of new power lines to accommodate renewable energy. A study of the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics found that by 2025 costs of the Energiewende could exceed €25,000 for an average four-person household.”

The Joint Congressional Power Commission should consider introducing a law in the future that will abolish the RE Act of 2008 (RA 9513). Penalizing the energy consumers to further enrich the favored and crony firms in renewable energy is wrong.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers, a fellow of SEANET and Stratbase-ADRi.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com.

Let’s fix our trade statistics

There are many stories from the private sector about the unreliability of some export statistics. The latest was about the halving of banana exports in 2015 from 2014. Despite the drought, these numbers were not as credible as the players in Davao confirmed otherwise.

This brief discusses three cases — banana, pineapple, and rubber tires. The data, which will cover Philippine exports and buyers’ imports from the Philippines, is from the United Nations (UN) Trademap. The UN uses the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for Philippine transactions.

BANANA
The Philippines reportedly exported 1.22 million (M) tons ($440 million) in 2015, a massive fall from 7.93M tons ($1,137M) in 2014, and 3.27M tons ($963M) in 2013.

In 2015, the Philippines exported 898,000 tons to key country markets as compared to 2,020,000 tons bought by the main partners. It was also down 87% versus only six percent based on purchases by importing countries.

Export to Japan in 2014 was unbelievable at 5.35M tons. The 80,000 hectares of Cavendish areas in Mindanao could not produce that much yield (almost 100 tons per hectare)!

My hypothesis is that the PSA data were only for the first half of 2015.

Export and import data are bound to have some variations but a 20% to 25% difference appears suspect.

PINEAPPLES
A similar story can be told regarding large quantity differentials in 2015 between what the Philippines exported and what the key countries bought. As per Philippine data, exports fell 37% in 2015 over 2014. With respect to imports of main trading partners, shipments only fell by six percent.

RUBBER TIRES
The country exports nearly $300M a year of rubber tires. However, they are not reflected in Philippine export statistics. There is only one major tire exporter in the Philippines — Yokohama Rubber, located in Clark Economic Zone. Very likely, the PSA does not collect export and import data of locators in ecozones.

Even imports of crumb rubber were not reflected in Philippine statistics. In 2015, Indonesia and Thailand exported over 10,000 tons of crumb rubber ($14.5M). These did not appear in Philippine official data, either.

WHAT TO DO?
There is a need to fix our trade statistics. Accurate and timely data are crucial to making the right decisions. It will be good for PSA to keep an accurate record of export shipments from the ports and ecozones. If more personnel are needed to access Customs data, so be it.

Moreover, government needs to consider the views of the industry players on the export trends. This way, the country will have better reading of export performance.

The article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the M.A.P.

Rolando T. Dy is the vice-chair of the M.A.P. AgriBusiness and Countryside Development Committee, and the executive director of the Center for Food and AgriBusiness of the University of Asia & the Pacific.

map@map.org.ph

rdyster@gmail.com

http://map.org.ph

It’s going to be a laughter-filled year

The Philippine Daily Inquirer called 2016 annus horribilis — a horrible year, although the high profile public officials provided much comic relief with their laughable utterances. That is why in my last column for the year I wished you all dear readers a laughter-filled 2017.

Well, indications are 2017 will indeed be laughter-filled as in the month of January alone the jesters — the old and the new — in the court of DU30 have already drawn much laughter with their ludicrous pronouncements. The new ones opened the year with statements that elicited from the public a reaction like “What was that?” or “Say again!”

On the very first working day of 2017, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno made this banal statement: “The candidate Duterte is different from President Duterte. You make campaign promises but when you see the data you realize it’s impossible to fulfill.” One didn’t have to study in the prestigious universities Syracuse and Johns Hopkins as Mr. Diokno did to know that.

The comment though reflects on the true character of the highly respected economist. He supported the candidacy of Mr. Duterte for president when he knew all along that what Mr. Duterte was promising during the campaign cannot be fulfilled. It raises the question of what the motive for his support is.

Immediately following was Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial dimwitted remark: “People are now afraid to light firecrackers because of the President. They have this impression that somehow they will get caught or they will be punished.” That observation was no more than an expression of sycophancy for the people had no reason to fear punishment for lighting firecrackers. As Presidential Spokesman Martin Andanar had explained, the President had deferred the signing of an executive order banning firecrackers because there are industries and laborers who would be adversely affected by the ban.

Then came the resident jesters of the Duterte administration.

On Jan. 4, Senate Committee on Justice Chair Richard Gordon said that he will not look into what Matobato says following the latter’s recent allegation that he personally saw President Duterte kill eight people when Duterte was still Davao City mayor. “Well, for me it’s finished, I will not look into it unless he will say something new, he himself discredits his own testimony. The law says you have to prove it, there should be evidence. He had every opportunity,” said Sen. Gordon. He added that he, a lawyer, “would be laughed at if he presented Matobato’s testimony in court.”

He is now laughed at as a lawyer precisely because of his sloppy handling of Matobato’s testimony. First of all it is not true that Matobato had every opportunity to provide evidence. As the Jan. 4 editorial of the Inquirer put it, Sen. Gordon “had abruptly terminated the hearings, in a fit of pique.”

The Inquirer also pointed out that the law also provides guidelines for assessing the credibility of a witness and the worth of his testimony. A person who speaks against his self-interest is more credible than someone who speaks only to protect his own interest; Matobato came forward to claim responsibility for at least 50 kills. He dismissed Matobato’s account of the killing of alleged Pakistani terrorist Sali Makdum because a Google search had revealed nothing about Makdum. But now, Sen. Gordon’s committee has recommended the filing of charges against Matobato precisely for the Makdum case. Sen. Gordon also ignored Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s own claim that he personally killed some criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.

Last week, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez expressed amazement at people talking about Martial Law. He urged the public to stop talking about Martial Law. “Let’s not talk about it,” he said.

Funny, he should ask the people to refrain from talking about it when it is his bosom buddy Digong who brings up the subject now and then.

As the Inquirer editorial of Jan. 18 said, President Duterte was “unprompted and unprovoked” when he said: “If I have to declare Martial Law, I will declare it, not because of invasion, insurrection, I will declare Martial Law to preserve my nation, period.”

Also last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay stated that “the public should know we are not sleeping on the job.” That was in reaction to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement that the Philippine government would be remiss in its duty to protect its national interest if it does not protest, question, and seek clarification from China on the presence of weapons in the Spratlys.

Not only does the public know that Sec. Yasay and company are not sleeping on the job, the public knows that they are wide awake but watching passively if not submissively what China is doing in the Spratlys.

But perhaps there is nothing more inane than what Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao uttered in the same week. “God gave the government the right to use capital punishment. Jesus Christ was even sentenced to death because the government called for it,” pontificated the Bible-quoting pastor when he pushed for the restoration of capital punishment.

Strange that he did not say crucifixion when asked what his preferred form of execution is. He said he would go for hanging, quipping, “We just have to kick the chair.” Sen. Francis Pangilinan cautioned the professional boxer against turning the death penalty into a laughing matter.

On the call of Speaker Alvarez last week for PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa to resign in the wake of the brutal murder of Korean Jee Ick-joo allegedly by police officers right in the backyard of Dir. Gen. Dela Rosa’s official residence, Bato said: “Do they think I’m enjoying my work? That’s too much. How cruel of them to say that I should resign.”

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief himself and former superior of the beleaguered Bato, advised him to refocus his priorities, shun activities not related to work and start thinking PNP 24/7. He had gone to Las Vegas to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Jesse Vargas fight at a crucial stage of the war on drugs, and watched a concert of American singer-songwriter Bryan Adams when public attention on the Jee kidnap-murder case was at its height. He had watched Philippine Basketball Association games, too.

Last Christmas, he donned the Santa Clause garb and distributed gifts to orphans of victims of the drug war, to compensate for the loss of their father. What a display of insensitivity.

The other resident jesters Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre, Sen. Tito Sotto, and Cong. Reynaldo Umali have also let out laughable statements but space limitation prevents me from quoting them all.

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a member of Manindigan! a cause-oriented group of businessmen, professionals, and academics.

oplagman@yahoo.com

Group of aggrieved plan holders revives estafa class suit vs Lifetime Plans

BY ABOUT 450 plan holders on Monday went to the Department of Justice (DoJ) to file a total of more than 1,600 counts of syndicated estafa against executives of Abundance Providers and Entrepreneurs Corp. (APEC) — then Pacific Plans, Inc. (PPI) — led by businessman Alfonso Yuchengco.

840 counts of “syndicated estafa by means of deceit” and 840 counts of “syndicated estafa by abuse of confidence were filed against Mr. Yuchencgo, Alfonso Yuchengco III, Ambrosio Padilla, George Dee, Helen Dee, Paul Sycip, and 30 others by disenfranchised plan holders.

Lawyer Joshua Santiago who stands counsel for the group said: “We are focusing all our efforts to delivering this case to court and getting the justice the disenfranchised plan holders deserve.”

In a statement, the complainants, who declined to be named, recounted their grievances against the pre-need company. The group recalled: “In June 2004, PPI unilaterally transferred the assets and liabilities of its pension, memorial, and fixed-value educational plans to a new company, Lifetime Plans.” Two months later, GPL holdings bought Lifetime Plans’ stake in PPI. In 2009, Noel Oñante of Zest Air acquired PPI.

The group said that “they were only informed of the takeover through letters sent via mail,” adding that no explanation was given to them.

“Sometime in [2004], the Department of Finance (DoF), which has supervision over corporate regulators, called for a probe on the series of inter-company transactions, that eventually led to the sale of PPI. The company then had almost P17 billion in assets, nearly P3 billion in receivables from installment contracts, and 400,000 plan holders. Yet at the time of the sale, it claimed it had no resources to fund the claims,” the group stated.

The group also contested that in 2009, the company had “P591 million available as tuition assistance payments. Of the amount P250 million came from Yuchengco Group of Companies head Alfonso Yuchengco, and P341 million from Pacific Plans itself. None of the money was distributed to the plan holders.”

An earlier class suit against Mr. Yuchengcho and several others who served as part of the executive board of Pacific Plans. was dismissed by the DoJ on 2013, saying that the complainant “failed to prove that respondents committed any unlawful act or carry out transactions of soliciting funds from the public by way of investments in fraudulent scheme.” — Kristine Joy V. Patag

North Cotabato encounter spurs call for bilateral cease-fire

DAVAO CITY — The clash between the New People’s Army and the military during the weekend in Makilala, North Cotabato has pushed the Philippine government to convince the National Democratic Front (NDF) to implement a bilateral cease-fire agreement.

In a statement released Monday, President Assistant on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza said it is important to implement a bilateral cease-fire as there will be a mechanism that will find ways to resolve these issues.

“In a bilateral cease-fire, independent monitors conduct their own independent investigations, submit reports with possible sanctions imposed, if warranted,” said Mr. Dureza, using as an example a similar mechanism being employed in the peace negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government.

In the incident, he added, both the rebels and the soldiers “have their own reports and accusations favorable to their own version and interest or propaganda line.”

The NDF and the government have resumed peace talks since January 19 in Rome, Italy with the bilateral cease-fire agreement as among the issues to be tackled.

In its press statement, the rebels claimed that one of their members and eight soldiers were killed. The military on the other hand had no casualties, according to a press statement by the 10th Infantry Division.

The rebels, in the statement signed by Southern Mindanao spokesperson Rigoberto F. Sanchez, claimed that since the government implementation of the unilateral cease-fire in August, soldiers of the 39th Infantry Battalion, in the pretext of its peace and development outreach program, have “continued to mobilize…troops and paramilitaries in various forms.”

They added that the soldiers even killed civilians in Arakan Valley on Nov. 22, prompting an evacuation.

The military, on the other hand, claimed the encounter was the result of a campaign to run after those who have been extorting local businesses in the area.

“Several extortion letters signed by a certain Ricardo Fermiza, spokesman of Guerilla 51, Davao del Sur-North Cotabato Operation Command of the NPA, Southern Mindanao Region were also recovered (from the encounter site),” said a press statement from the command.

On the allegation that the military lost eight of its soldiers in the encounter, the statement said it is inviting the public to scrutinize the records of the Makilala MPS (Municipal Police Station), interview the people around the encounter site and check on all hospitals and funeral parlors in Regions 11 and 12 to determine who is telling the truth.”

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