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Davao Light plans power rate hike

BW FILE PHOTO/

DAVAO CITY — An official of the Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light) announced over the weekend that they are poised for an electricity rate increase in June due to the impact of El Niño on power sourcing.

Fermin Edillon, head of Davao Light’s Reputation Enhancement Department, said the planned increase will be reflected in the billing period starting June 15. Consumers within its franchise area may expect the posting of the updated rate on June 17.

“But let me clarify: we are saying that there may be an increase,” Mr. Edillon told BusinessWorld. “The demand normally increases during the summer months, it is also normal if the generating capacity in hydro runs out during the summer months, but now it is quite severe due to the impact of El Niño.”

Last January, Davao Light’s rate was at P8.81 per kilowatt hour then increased in February to P9.25. In March, the power rate dropped to P8.99 then increased in April to P9.13 and in May to P10.76.

Mr. Edillon said Davao Light is expecting that by next month the generating capacity will likely return to normal.

Aside from Davao City, franchise areas of Davao Light include Panabo City and the municipalities of Braulio E. Dujali, Carmen, and Santo Tomas in Davao del Norte, covering a total of 480,000 customers.

The company encouraged its customers to properly manage their energy consumption. — Maya M. Padillo

Southern peace rings on Eid’l Adha

UNDETERRED by intermittent rains, Filipino Muslims took part in prayers at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City on Sunday in celebration of Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

COTABATO CITY — The outdoor Eid’l Adha congregational worship rites in the Southern Philippines were peaceful on Sunday morning with clerics telling worshippers to keep adhering to teachings on respect for other religions and harmony with non-Muslims.

Captain Alinair C. Guro, the ustadz, or command Islamic theologian of the 6th Infantry Division, said in his khutbah, or sermon, during the outdoor rite on Sunday morning at Camp Siongco, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte that it is a duty of Muslims to be “instruments of peace” to achieve solidarity with people around them regardless of their races and religions.

“The essence of Eid’l Adha is something like absolute belief, or submission to Allah, whose commandments about respect for life, fraternalism and respect for others who have different religions and rejection of sinful doings are like catalysts for peace and co-existence among all in this world,” Mr. Guro said.

A known pro-Moro Christian political leader, Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza, on Sunday extended her Eid’l Adha greeting to Muslims in her province, where there are enclaves of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front that are now recognized as “peace zones” by the national government.

“We in the provincial government of Cotabato shall continue to embark on programs that shall keep the religious unity among Muslims and Christians in the province. We are grateful to the Islamic religious community in different towns in our province for helping us achieve that goal,” Ms. Taliño Mendoza said.

Eid’l Adha, an important religious holiday in Islam, marks the culmination of the hajj season, or yearly pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, of Muslims from around the world.

It is also centered on the biblical story on how Abraham, who is prophet Ibrahim in Arabic, almost slaughtered his son, Ismael, as a sacrifice, as commanded by God to test his faith.

Narrations in the Holy Bible and the Quran stated that God sent down from heaven Archangel Gabriel to tell Abraham he had proven his subservience to him and replaced Ismael with a ram, then offered as thanksgiving sacrifice.

Brig. Gen. Prexy D. Tanggawohn, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters that Sunday’s Eid’l Adha gatherings in open fields in Cotabato City and nearby Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces were generally peaceful and orderly.

“We also had peaceful Eid’l Adha events in other provinces and cities that are under our watch,” Mr. Tanggawohn said.

Mr. Guro said he and other Muslim personnel of units under 6th ID who participated in the Eid’l Adha activity at Camp Siongco are thankful to their division commander, Major Gen. Alex S. Rillera, for continuously supporting their Islamic religious activities. — John Felix M. Unson

Chinese with fake passport falls

PHILSTAR

THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) arrested a Chinese man bearing a fake Vanuatu passport, which he had used repeatedly in traveling to Japan and Thailand and reentering the Philippines.

Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco said the man was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 before flying to Bangkok.

During the investigation, BI officers noted the man spoke fluently in Chinese and was using a mobile phone in Chinese settings. He also had never gone to Vanuatu and is unaware of the Pacific Island’s culture, the BI added.

Mr. Tansingco said foreigners assuming fake identities and using fake documents are violating the Philippines’ immigration laws and should be repatriated to their countries of origin.

“If we are able to establish that he is actually a Chinese citizen and that his Vanuatu passport was merely procured from fixers to conceal his real identity, he will be summarily deported and banned from re-entering the country,” he said.

At present, the man is detained in Taguig City while awaiting legal proceedings. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Baguio commits to net zero by 2050

DOT.GOV.PH

BAGUIO CITY — The Baguio City government is committed to taking steps to reduce carbon emissions in the Summer Capital by 2030 and achieve net zero in greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2050.

To achieve net zero, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong is pushing for the public utility jeepney (PUJ) modernization program for a low carbon urban transport system; tree planting efforts; a sewerage system rehabilitation funded by a $50-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He also mentioned a waste-to-energy project that has become a BLISTT (Baguio, La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay) Development Authority project that would establish a power plant in Sablan, Benguet.

When completed, this is where the city’s garbage will be dumped instead of in a landfill which produces methane gas that is 38 times more destructive than carbon, said the mayor.

All this is being pursued, he said, so that the amount of GHGs produced and sequestered, when totaled, negates each other and amounts to zero. — Artemio A. Dumlao

Bodies of 3 OFWs in Kuwait fire flown home today

THE BODIES of three Filipinos who died in the foreigner workers’ housing complex in Kuwait last week are expected to arrive in Manila today, June 17, Philippine authorities said Sunday.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Arnaldo A. Ignacio said their office in Kuwait was facilitating the letter of acceptance of the victims’ next of kin and guarantee that they receive cash assistance.

Active OWWA members are entitled to have their surviving family receive a P220,000 burial assistance and P15,000 livelihood assistance. For inactive members, the burial assistance is set at P200,000, the agency said.

The overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died in the al-Mangaf fire in Kuwait were among a total of 50 people who died.

Eight other Filipinos, who worked in a construction firm, were hurt or displaced as a result of the fire, said Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac last week. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Lawmaker bats for UP Board membership expansion

SEAN DUNCAN S. REYES

A PROPOSAL to expand the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Board of Regents (BoR) membership is seen to boost the state university’s research capabilities, a congressman said on Sunday.

In a statement, Quezon City Rep. Marvin D. Rillo said he filed House Bill No. 7821 to add board representation to research and administrative staff, which comprise 14% of the entire staff and student body of the UP system nationwide.

“Our measure, once enacted, will make UP more democratic. It will ensure that every sector in the system enjoys a distinct voice and vote in the BoR,” said Mr. Rillo. “It will also further boost UP’s institutional research capabilities.”

The BoR is the governing body of UP with stakeholder representation in policy-making, which includes students, teaching, and non-teaching personnel.

He said amending the UP Charter of 2008 to expand UP’s BoR would also make staff and student representation in the university “more democratic.”

The UP Board comprises the chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the university president, heads of the Senate and House higher education committees, one regent each from alumni, faculty, administrative and research, and student bodies, three regents appointed by the president, and the university secretary. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Arca shares 2nd place halfway thru Asian Youth Chess championships

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

FILIPINO rising chess star Christian Gian Carlo Arca kept on plowing through older, tougher competition as he jumped to a share of second spot halfway through the Asian Youth Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan over the weekend.

The 15-year-old FIDE Master (FM) came out of a cramped opening position with a pseudo central pawn sacrifice that allowed him to win the exchange, a pawn and eventually the game at the expense of Iranian Abolfazl Mogheyseh in 47 moves of a Slav Defense.

It hiked Mr.Arca’s total to four points, or just a point behind solo leader and fourth seed FM Eldiar Orozbaev of Kyrgyzstan, who remained unbeaten and perfect with five points after he trounced Satbek Akhmedinov of the host country in this nine-round tilt.

Mr. Arca, whose trip here is being bankrolled by Dasmariñas, Cavite, shares No. 2 with Mr. Akhmedinov, sixth pick FM Alexander Khripachenko of FIDE, Shahdad Teimouri Yadkuri of Iran, Duong Vu Anh of Vietnam and Chia Yu Zhe Ashton of Singapore.

Mr. Arca, who earned his second of three required norms to become an International Master  (IM) after he ruled a Grandmaster tournament in Quang Ninh, Vietnam last month, was looking to sustain his solid start as he was battling top seed IM Aldiyar Ansat of Kazakhstan in the sixth round at press time.

The 2024 PSA Tony Siddayao awardee is hoping to win the tournament and claim an outright IM title. — Joey Villar

Gilas Pilipinas tops FIBA 3×3 Under-23 Nations League Asia

REY REMOGAT starred as Gilas Pilipinas scored a breakthrough leg title in the FIBA 3×3 Under-23 Nations League Asia 2 Conference.

Mr. Remogat drained the title-clinching deuce with still more than three minutes remaining as Gilas stunned Mongolia, 21-12, to rule the fifth leg over the weekend in Handan Shi, China.

Gilas’ best finish was at third place a few days ago in Stop 2, where Mr. Remogat also put on heroic performance capped by a game-winner for a 21-19 win against China.

Opposite the top-ranked Mongolian squad known for its halfcourt prowess, Mr. Remogat and company were not to be denied in leapfrogging China (325) and snatching the third place in the entire six-stop tour with 340 points.

Gilas trails Japan (360) and leader Mongolia (460), which won three leg titles entering the final stop at press time.

Mr. Remogat, who’s now a UP Maroon after transferring from the UE Red Warriors in the UAAP, fired 18 points in the entire stop as Gilas also scored big wins against Japan, 19-18, and China, 20-17, en route to leg victory.

Patrick Sleat, Jun Roque and JM Tulabut also played instrumental for the young Filipino ballers making their mark in the booming halfcourt circuit.

Meanwhile, Gilas women also scored a breakthrough 21-15 win over Japan to hike its points to 310 at fifth place.

The Filipinas, heading into the crucial sixth leg, moved closer to Kazakhstan (310) and Mongolia (315) for a podium finish with China (440) and Japan (410) leading the way. — John Bryan Ulanday

DeChambeau 3 clear at the US Open

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU brushed off hip issues to move three shots clear at the top of the US Open third round leaderboard on Saturday, setting up a potential mouth-watering showdown with world number three Rory McIlroy.

On another steamy afternoon at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, Mr. DeChambeau recovered from an early bogey and troublesome hip that required treatment mid-round to return a three-under 67 to lead Frenchman Matthieu Pavon (69), Patrick Cantlay (70) and Mr. McIlroy (69) by three.

Sitting a further two back and five off the pace are Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (70) and young Swede Ludvig Aberg (73), who had held a one shot lead after the second round.

Mr. DeChambeau will be partnered with Mr. Pavon for Sunday’s final round but it is Mr. McIlroy, paired with Mr. Cantlay, who he will share the spotlight with as the former US Open winners and two of golf’s most intriguing figures grapple for the trophy.

Mr. McIlroy, bidding to end a decade-long major drought, may be one of golf’s most popular figures but the big-hitting Mr. DeChambeau has evolved into one of the most entertaining and has enjoyed the backing of huge crowds at Pinehurst.

There will also be some golf politics and bragging rights at stake on Sunday with 2020 US Open winner Mr. DeChambeau now playing on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour and Mr. McIlroy, long one of the most vocal critics of the renegade circuit.

It will mark the 10th time Mr. McIlroy has appeared in the top three going into the final round of a major while Mr. DeChambeau has played some of the best golf at the biggest events, finishing runner-up at last month’s PGA Championship. — Reuters

Toyota leads 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race into the morning

TOYOTA led the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race after nine hours on Sunday with Japanese driver and 2022 winner Ryo Hirakawa at the wheel of the number eight car.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, driving a Ferrari for the satellite AF Corse team, had enjoyed a spell at the front in a tight battle with the two factory Ferraris and the Penske Porsches.

The former F1 driver led after eight hours but dropped back after a clash at the end of the Mulsanne straight with the number 15 BMW driven by Dries Vanthoor that hit the barriers and retired.

Rain, with showers forecast until the morning, led to tricky conditions at the Sarthe circuit and difficult decisions on tyres.

The 92nd edition of the race was flagged away by French soccer great Zinedine Zidane, with the number six Porsche Penske on pole position in a field of 62 cars watched by a crowd of more than 300,000.

Ferrari dominated the first hour with Nicklas Nielsen in the number 50 car taking the early lead, before a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release from the pits.

Renault-owned Alpine lost both their hypercars as night fell with the number 35 catching fire at Arnage after nearly five hours of racing and the 36 car also having to retire with engine trouble.

Italian motorcycle great Valentino Rossi was competing in the LMGT3 class.

The race, fourth round and jewel in the crown of the world endurance championship, ends at 1600 local time (1400 GMT) on Sunday. — Reuters

CPC honors stellar collegiate athletes, coaches

THE STAGE is set as the Collegiate Press Corps (CPC) honors the brightest athletes and best coaches of the 2023-2024 athletic season in its Annual Awards Night presented by San Miguel Corp. on Monday at the Discovery Suites Manila in Ortigas, Pasig City.

This year’s awards night will recognize the stellar student-athletes of UAAP Season 86 and NCAA Season 99 with Collegiate Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Kevin Quiambao of De La Salle University headlining a total of 23 awardees.

Mr. Quiambao, the UAAP Season 86 Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Finals MVP, steered the Green Archers the to the UAAP men’s basketball throne to snap a seven-year title drought following a thrilling three-game series win against the University of the Philippines (UP).

Joining him is Kent Pastrana of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) as the inaugural recipient of the Collegiate Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in the ceremony also backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Ms. Pastrana, who was also named the Player of the Year for team events by the UAAP in the Season 86 closing ceremony, played a vital role in the Growling Tigresses’ stunning upset of seven-peat champion National University (NU) to end a 17-year title futility.

With Mr. Quiambao in the Men’s Mythical Five are NCAA are Rookie-MVP Clint Escamis of Mapua University, UP’s Malick Diouf, Lyceum of Philippines University’s Enoch Valdez and Jacob Cortez of San Beda University.

For the first time, the CPC will also have a Women’s Mythical Five including Ms. Pastrana and teammate Finals MVP Tantoy Ferrer, Far Eastern University’s Josee Kaputu, UP’s Favour Onoh, and Kacey dela Rosa of Ateneo de Manila University.

In just his first year as head coach, Topex Robinson was successful in calling the shots for De La Salle en route to the UAAP Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year honor while San Beda mentor Yuri Escueta is the NCAA counterpart after the Red Lions’ Season 99 championship win against Mapua.

Longtime UST coach Haydee Ong engineered the Growling Tigresses to topple the NU dynasty, making her the first-ever UAAP Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year in the event supported by Discovery Suites as official venue partner and Jockey as minor sponsor.

Leading the Lady Bulldogs to their second women’s volleyball championship in three years, the charismatic two-time league MVP Bella Belen earned her second UAAP Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year as graduating MVP setter Cloanne Mondonedo anchored College of St. Benilde to its third consecutive championship for the NCAA women’s Volleyball Player of the Year plum.

The CPC will also award the first-ever Men’s Volleyball Players of the Year to NU setter Owa Retamar from the UAAP and Perpetual spiker Louie Ramirez from the NCAA.

Also on spotlight are Perpetual coach Sammy Acaylar and Lady Blazers coach Jerry Yee as NCAA Coaches of the Year as both squads extended their dynasty in collegiate volleyball. — John Bryan Ulanday

Underachieving Aces

A’ja Wilson was beside herself when she met members of the media after the Aces bowed the Liberty yesterday. It was the defending champions’ fifth setback in the last seven matches, placing them at an even .500 after a 4-1 start, and she struggled to come to grips with reality. For all the individual end-to-end brilliance that firmly establishes her as a bona fide Most Valuable Player candidate, she has proven unable to lift the games of those around her with consistency.

To argue that Wilson has taken the losses hard would be an understatement. She holds herself accountable for the Aces’ progress en route to an expected title defense, and she’s bent on doing anything — everything — to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. In this context, she seems their inability to underscore their elite standing so far in the season as a reflection on her leadership. Never mind that they’re missing the services of point god Chelsea Gray, widely acknowledged as the glue that holds their system together.

Not that the Aces don’t have time to get their collective act together. After all, only one-third of the season is in their rear-view mirror. Notably, their schedule has likewise counted among the most difficult in the WNBA. Which is to say some measure of relief is in the offing. And, yes, they can confidently look forward to a big boost when Gray returns from injury; with her status having already been upgraded from “Out” to “Questionable,” it’s seen to come sooner rather than later.

For now, though, Wilson will have to do all she can to tread water. Given that the Aces still have two other Olympians in Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum to rely on, it may well be fair to contend that they’ve been underachieving. That said, they’ll be all right. They cannot but be. Because they have Becky Hammon at the helm. Because she’s on point. And because she’s not letting herself, and those around her, off the hook.

 

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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