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Liverpool suffer title blow in home draw with Spurs

LIVERPOOL, England — Liverpool suffered a huge blow in their hopes of winning the Premier League title as they could only draw 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on a tense night at Anfield on Saturday.

Luis Diaz canceled out Son Heung-min’s opener to preserve Liverpool’s 14-month unbeaten run at home in the Premier League and send them top of the table on goal difference.

But the mood at the end was subdued as reigning champions Manchester City can move three points clear in a gripping title race with three games to play if they win their game in hand at home to Newcastle United on Sunday.

It was only the second time in 15 league matches that Liverpool have not taken all three points — the other occasion being a draw against City last month — and the consequences could be severe for Juergen Klopp’s men.

With the margin of error tiny, City now look strong favorites to retain their crown.

“It is incredibly difficult to play against an opponent with world-class players and a world-class manager when they have had a week to prepare and we play every three days,” Klopp, whose side reached the Champions League final on Tuesday, said.

“The dressing room is not flying, come on, but there are other games to play. We just have to keep going.”

It could have been even worse for Liverpool had Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg converted a glorious chance deep in stoppage time instead of bizarrely opting to head the ball across to Harry Kane rather than at a gaping goal.

In the end a draw was a disappointing outcome for both clubs in their respective ambitions, Liverpool’s to reclaim the title and Tottenham’s to finish in the top four.

Liverpool and Manchester City both have 83 points while Tottenham remain in fifth spot with 62 points, one behind fourth-placed Arsenal who host Leeds United on Sunday.

“It is a big point, but gutted we didn’t make it at the end,” Son, who is now only two goals behind Mohamed Salah in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, said.

Liverpool dominated possession but Tottenham dug deep defensively and rode their luck at times.

Virgil van Dijk came closest to scoring before the interval when he headed a corner against the crossbar while Mr. Diaz forced Mr. Lloris into a fine low save.

Tottenham, who have emerged unbeaten from their games against Liverpool and City this season, were always a menace on the counter-attack and they took the lead in clinical style.

Mr. Kane did superbly to control a high ball and then played in Sessegnon on the right channel and his cross was tapped in by Son for his 20th goal of the season.

Tottenham looked capable of holding on and moving into fourth spot until Mr. Diaz cut in from the left in the 74th minute and his shot took a wicked deflection to beat Hugo Lloris.

Liverpool laid siege to Tottenham’s goal after that but the late goal they so often find refused to arrive. — Reuters

Bucks respond to furious Celtics rally, take 2-1 lead

GIANNIS Antetokounmpo poured in 42 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the visiting Boston Celtics 103-101 Saturday afternoon and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

After trailing by 13 in the fourth quarter, the Celtics came all the way back to take a one-point lead with 1:49 remaining when Jaylen Brown made a pair of free throws.

After Mr. Antetokounmpo scored to put the Bucks back into the lead, Jrue Holiday sank a turnaround jumper with 11.2 seconds remaining and Milwaukee was back up by three.

Marcus Smart was fouled with 4.6 seconds remaining, and after he made one free throw, he intentionally missed the second, the Celtics got the rebound but Smart missed a fadeaway as the clock was running out and Al Horford’s tip-in to potentially tie things at 103-103 came just after the final buzzer.

Mr. Antetokounmpo added 12 rebounds and eight assists on 16-of-30 shooting to give the Bucks the series advantage. Holiday contributed 25 points and seven rebounds, and Brook Lopez chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Mr. Brown paced Boston with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting. Horford supplied 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics while Derrick White went for 14 points off the bench.

Milwaukee outscored the Celtics 20-6 over the first 5:46 of the third quarter to open up a 10-point lead. Boston responded with a brief run to pull back within five, but the Bucks punched right back and would go on to carry a 13-point advantage into the fourth.

Despite shooting just 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, the Celtics went into the break with a 50-46 lead thanks to a 9-2 run to close the first half.

Boston took advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe, cashing in on 16 of 17 first-half free throws (94.1 percent).

Mr. Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds to keep Milwaukee in contention, and Lopez had 11 points and seven rebounds. Both players found themselves in foul trouble, though, as they each picked up three fouls in the half.

Defense dictated the first 12 minutes of action, as neither team could shoot above 37 percent from the field. Boston also went just 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range, while the Bucks shot 2-for-10 (20.0 percent). — Reuters

Better Tatum

First off for the Celtics, the bad news: They got next to nothing from top dog Jayson Tatum in Game Three of their semifinal-round series against the Bucks. It wasn’t simply that he posted a four-of-19 clip from the field, with nothing in six tries beyond the arc, for 10 points all told. It was that he appeared too passive on both ends of the court; he had as many turnovers as assists, and only one rebound to show in 41 minutes on the court. His relative timidity was especially evident in the second half, through which he came up with a mere two markers. To argue that he was the single biggest reason for the loss would be to understate the obvious; even he knew it, and acknowledged it in his post-mortem.

That said, the Celtics can point to a silver lining as they prepare for the next match at the Fiserv Forum tomorrow: Notwithstanding Tatum’s atrocious outing, they still came to within a basket of snatching victory from the throes of defeat. The controversial call that had Defensive Player of the Year awardee Marcus Smart taking only two free throws instead of three with the Bucks up three 4.6 ticks from the final buzzer was a bummer, but, for the most part, officiating actually went their way. Not for nothing did they take a whopping 17 charity attempts compared to zero for the hosts in the last 16 and a half minutes.

Bottom line, the Celtics had ample chances to reclaim homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven affair. That they didn’t is a testament to the Bucks’ — or, to be more precise, two-time Most Valuable Player awardee Giannis Antetokounmpo’s — relentlessness. The Greek Freak just would not, could not, be denied, and he got more than enough support on offense from defensive ace Jrue Holiday in the absence of second-leading scorer Khris Middleton. Still, a fortunate bounce here, a different move there, and increased focus everywhere may well have changed the outcome for the green and white.

Tatum pledged to do better in Game Four, and it’s fair to argue that there’s really nowhere else for him to go but up. There’s no excuse for him to make zero of 10 field-goal tries with journeyman Wesley Matthews as his primary defender. And, after having had such an excellent first-round series that talking heads felt compelled to lump him among the handful of the National Basketball Association’s best of the best, he cannot possibly have negligible impact in other aspects of the game. Imagine LeBron James or Kevin Durant getting a single rebound in a postseason setting.

So, yes, Tatum needs to do better — make that much better — in order for the Celtics to prevail against the Bucks. If nothing else, the defending champions deserve respect, and he can give it by being at his finest against them.

 

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.

NEDA sees pre-pandemic growth restored this year

PHILSTAR

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the economy is projected to return to its pre-pandemic growth track by this year, aided by laws liberalizing investment in several industries.

In a statement on Sunday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the easing of restrictions governing foreign investment in industries like telecommunications, retail and railways is expected to drive a wave of interest from overseas, where investment interest has long been deterred by the foreign ownership caps of 40% set in the Constitution for many industries.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.7% in 2021, following a contraction of 9.5% in 2020. The government is targeting a growth of between 7% and 9% this year.

On April 29, Mr. Chua said that “Without a doubt, the pandemic and its adverse economic impacts are indeed testing the Philippine economy like never before. But unlike past crises, the Philippines has solid fundamentals to address this crisis.”

“It is very important at the outset to have a strong macroeconomy so that you have enough buffers and enough resources to withstand any shocks, and you can concentrate on improving the welfare of the people,” Mr. Chua added.

“In the final months of the Duterte administration, we are vigorously pursuing the economy’s full recovery to restore jobs and bring more people out of poverty,” Mr. Chua said. “Executive Order (EO) No. 166, signed a few weeks ago, fully opens the economy, and we are working on getting tourists back (and) getting travel back to as normal as possible,” he said.

The government’s approach to reviving the economy centers on accelerating the vaccination program, reducing restrictions on foreign and domestic travel, and fast-tracking digitalization.

Mr. Chua specifically cited amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Public Service Act, all of which reduce foreign ownership restrictions.

The amended Public Service Act now allows 100% foreign ownership in public utilities, which includes telecommunications, domestic shipping, railways, subways, airlines, expressways, tollways and airports.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion projects full-year GDP growth at around the 5.8% mark, below the goal set by economic managers for this year.

On the other hand, he expects first-quarter growth to come in at 5.5%, a forecast he called “robust,” given the contraction of 3.8% in the year-earlier period. 

“With so much uncertainty all over, it is very difficult to determine if government will hit its 2022 growth target,” Mr. Asuncion said.

He said that external headwinds, including the Russia-Ukraine war, China’s economic slowdown, and a hawkish US Fed “can weigh down on overall economic growth especially as the Philippine economy is yet to return to a pre-Covid economic growth trajectory.”

Mr. Asuncion said that the reforms Mr. Chua highlighted may not start showing up until long after the administration steps down.  — Tobias Jared Tomas

Export performance touted as heralding broader recovery

BW FILE PHOTO

THE 9.8% growth posted by exports in the first quarter inspires confidence in the growth in the overall economy, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

“The Philippine economy will continue to rebound and grow in the coming months. Of course, this will just depend on how bad the world economies will be affected by the prolonged war in Ukraine,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement on Sunday.

“The rate of Philippine export recovery in terms of both our key export products and markets brings greater optimism for a stronger Philippine economy. The only uncertainty is the possible global slowdown towards the second half of the year,” he added.

According to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, exports in the three months to March grew 9.8% year on year to $19.42 billion.

The DTI said exports of manufactured goods were particularly strong in electronic products, garments, textile, and travel goods.

It added that agro-based exports posted 32.6% growth in March, due to higher export sales of coconut products and other fruits and vegetables.

“Twenty-one out of 48 Philippine export commodity groups drove the resurgence of the export sector, registering consistent increases in export sales as compared to three time periods: 2021, 2020, and the pre-pandemic average over 2017-2019. This growth was propelled by exports in electronics, other mineral products, copper cathodes and sections of cathodes, coconut oil, and processed food and beverages,” the DTI said.

“In terms of markets, while China was the Philippines’ top export destination for the month of March, the US was the country’s largest export market in the first quarter of 2022. Completing the country’s top five markets for the quarter are Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore,” it added.

Mr. Lopez said the growth in the manufacturing sector and overall economy were driven by the reopening of the economy.

“The full reopening of more sectors, the de-escalation of all areas to (quarantine) Alert Levels 1 and 2, and the intensified vaccination efforts drove increased mobility throughout the country, thus further increasing demand,” Mr. Lopez said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

E-vehicle industry law seen driving technology investment

REUTERS

THE signing of Republic Act No. 11697 or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) is expected to attract tech investment as the industry gears up, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“With EVIDA, the Philippines is now in a stronger position to further attract tech investment and create high-value jobs by taking advantage of the ongoing global shift to electric vehicles (EVs),” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement on Sunday.

“This measure (is) a move towards lessening direct usage of oil products in transport, thus, signifying reduced air and noise pollution in urban areas. This will also reduce the transportation sector’s direct dependence on oil, especially amidst rising fuel prices affecting both businesses and consumers,” he added.  

The DTI said the EVIDA, which lapsed into law on April 15, directs the Board of Investments to create an EV Incentive Strategy (EVIS) that will provide fiscal and non-fiscal inducements to reduce the production cost gap between EVs and traditional vehicles.

According to Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba, the EVIDA is vital in the context of rising competition in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to attract EV investment.

“The EVIS will allow the government to provide competitive and industry-specific fiscal and non-fiscal support to attract private sector investments in strategic EV segments, especially manufacturing, which is a crucial step in deepening our participation in the regional automotive value chain,” Ms. Aldaba said.  

The EVIDA authorizes the creation of the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI), which will serve as the development plan for the industry en route to the commercialization of EVs.

The law also requires government offices and private companies to meet a quota of 5% electric vehicles in their fleets based on a timetable to be set by the CREVI.

“EVIDA aims to promote innovation in the field of clean energy and sustainable transportation while developing a sunrise industry in the country and generating more employment,” the DTI said.

“EVIDA will also serve as a blueprint for a comprehensive and coordinated policy direction among national government agencies in terms of promoting EV to ensure investors’ confidence and attract EV-related investments,” it added.  

The DTI has said that it is hoping to pass a zero tariff policy for EV imports, down from the current 30% tariff, to lower EV prices and drive greater adoption of the technology. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Winning consumers with a future-fit operating model

(First of two parts)

Chief executive officers of global consumer product companies face the challenge of transforming their organizations at a rapid pace to ensure they stay relevant to evolving consumers. Part of this challenge entails strategizing and delivering multiple business models and propositions swiftly, but due to time and cost constraints, CEOs cannot build a new operating model from scratch every time something new has to be done.

This calls for more agile, responsive and resilient ways of working that will allow consumer companies to pivot overnight when necessary. In fact, according to a recent global C-Suite survey commissioned by EY from MIT SMR Connections, Becoming Future Fit: Challenges and Opportunities for Today’s Consumer Products Companies, 86% of the surveyed C-Suites said transformation was essential to become future ready. However, the study also revealed that there was great uncertainty in whether leaders are keeping the process of continual change in their organizations on the right track.

How products, services and experiences are valued is dictated by evolving consumer perspectives, while technology is key to enabling new ways of purchasing and engaging with products. Technology is also what redefines the kind of value propositions that companies can offer consumers, as well as how these propositions are delivered. There are increasingly more options in how companies can design, create, market, combine, package, and deliver their products and experiences to get them closer to the consumer than ever, enabled by technological capabilities in data and analytics.

CEOs will need to apply a transformation mindset and create a C-Suite agenda reflecting the new reality of things. With the pandemic bringing to light uncertainty and the urgent need for technological change, these and more factors have already changed every aspect of a consumer’s life and will continue to do so. Their needs, expectations and behaviors have shifted in ways that put the old ways of working and the companies that propagate them at risk.

The current times require companies to be agile, responsive, and resilient. These characteristics can be built into a business by applying five interconnected design principles that CEOs must follow to lead systemic transformation and become future-ready.

The first of this two-part article will discuss the first two principles: becoming part of dynamic business ecosystems and building upon data and analytics with data fabric.

BECOME PART OF DYNAMIC BUSINESS ECOSYSTEMS
Companies that harness dynamic business ecosystems are better positioned to drive capital efficiency and innovation that creates long-term customer value. It becomes imperative to have a good understanding of ecosystems to stay ahead of the pace of change, especially in anticipation of potential disruptors.

Those who participate in business ecosystems are more likely to create increased value in a group than they would individually, putting companies who are unable to adapt at the risk of falling behind. By building ecosystem models into the structure of their value creation strategy, consumer companies can more effectively navigate the digital space and more quickly generate customer value.

A previous Suits the C-Suites article, How to win Asia-Pacific consumers in the new era, found that digital business ecosystems have emerged in recent years to allow companies to complement each other and offer interconnected products and services in a singular integrated experience. This is already seen in the super apps that consumers are familiar with today, with local examples such as ride-sharing apps with expanded services that include on-demand purchase assistance, food delivery, and even bill payment functions.

BUILD UPON DATA AND ANALYTICS WITH DATA FABRIC
Companies are facing more pressure than ever to become data-driven as leaders understand the value of data and use it to generate valuable insights. While a listening organization that is built on data and analytics allows CEOs to make timely, informed decisions, simply prioritizing analytics is not enough. Data fabric, a set of independent services put together to provide a single, focused view of data relevant to business across all sources, will be necessary for many large enterprises to operationalize data in order to address specific challenges as well as innovate.

Digital networks and their data flows serve as the connective tissue and nervous system that lets the body of the ecosystem function by integrating disparate data sources. Data fabric connects the threads of information across an enterprise, delivering value in the short term with a long-term transformation strategy. It is not designed to collect and store information, as opposed to data warehouses, and there is no need to replicate data or start from scratch when searching and aggregating it.

By utilizing the data fabric approach, data is integrated into useful formats that allow for maximum reuse. It enables sharing, portability and governance by intertwining threads of structured and unstructured data to form a consolidated view made available to users in formats they can use and in terms they can understand.

In the second part of this article, we discuss the remaining three key design principles necessary to drive agility, responsiveness and resilience: encouraging talent flexibility, innovating at scale, and embedding a purpose-led strategy into every facet of the organization.

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice where the facts and circumstances warrant. The views and opinion expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of SGV & Co.

 

Maria Kathrina S. Macaisa-Peña is a business consulting partner and the consumer products and retail sector leader of SGV & Co.

Comelec assured of steady power until May 20

PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

By John Victor D. Ordoñez

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) has borrowed about 1,000 generator sets from the Energy department to ensure continuous power as Filipinos vote for a new president on May 9, according to the election body.

The Department of Energy has also assured Comelec there won’t be any blackouts until the third week of May, Election Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia told an online news briefing on Sunday.

More than 18,000 national and local positions from president to village councilors are up for grabs in Monday’s elections.

During the 2019 elections, Comelec experienced a seven-hour delay in the transmission of votes to its server because of a power failure.

He told an online forum last week Comelec has contingencies in place in case of technical errors, which he said was unlikely.

“The problem with the seven-hour glitch was due to the Comelec transparency server being overloaded with information,” Mr. Garcia said. Comelec fixed the problem by allowing its server to transmit data to media servers in bulk, he added.

He said 633 of 805 defective vote counting machines had been repaired as of Sunday.

Comelec and its partner agencies are ready for Monday’s national and local elections, its chairman Saidamen B. Pangarungan told the same news briefing.

“We have repeatedly stated the principle of the Commission on Elections to protect the sanctity of the vote in whatever circumstances,” he said. “Together with our partner agencies, the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Education, we are going to pursue this to the end.“

“We sincerely hope that there will be no power outages nationwide as the automated election system is heavily dependent on electricity, especially the transmission aspect,” Danilo A. Arao, lead convenor of election watchdog Kontra Daya, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“We have demanded full transparency and accountability in the past on several election-related issues,” he added.

Mr. Arao cited the Comelec’s lack of transparency and accountability during election preparations.

Maria Ela L. Atienza, who teaches political science at the University of the Philippines, said the election body had been slow in deciding election disputes.

“The rank-and-file personnel of the Comelec are used to the process of preparing for elections, however, half of the commissioners are new to the job and not yet confirmed by Congress,” she said in a Viber message.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte appointed three of the seven Comelec officials including the chairman in March after their predecessors retired.

Comelec has yet to resolve cases on appeal with the en banc seeking to disqualify former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. from the presidential race.

Comelec Chairman Saidamen B. Pangarungan said the lawsuits would be resolved by Tuesday.

Mr. Garcia earlier said the lawsuits would be resolved by end-April.

Mr. Arao said Comelec should show more transparency and accountability in its probe of vote-buying, harassment and intimidation cases.

In a statement on Saturday, Comelec said it was looking at 10 complaints of vote-buying, with at least one complainant having submitted evidence and an affidavit.

Comelec “shortcomings” include the lack of transparency in the printing of ballots and weak public education on safeguards to inspire confidence in the elections, Carlo Africa, a policy specialist for election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Comelec in March randomly examined ballots upon the request of lawyer Romulo B. Macalintal, who said the agency had disallowed observers during ballot printing.

The election body on Saturday destroyed almost a million defective ballots in front of media, members of citizens’ arms and political party representatives at the National Printing Office in Quezon City.

On the other hand, Mr. Africa said Comelec has put health protocols in place to protect voters from the coronavirus.

The agency last week held a demonstration of health protocols for voters who show coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Under the rules, voters with coronavirus symptoms may vote inside isolated polling areas.

Election Commissioner Aimee Torrefrance-Neri, who heads Comelec’s new normal committee, earlier said they would create their own medical advisory board to help develop more timely policies and guidelines.

Comelec will also set up medical desks at election precincts to attend to voters with health-related concerns on election day.

Mr. Garcia earlier said face shields, vaccination cards and negative RT-PCR test results would not be required during the elections.

More than 37,000 public schools will host 106,439 voting precincts nationwide on election day, Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones told a televised new briefing last week. More than 65 million Filipinos have registered to vote.

Watch elections for rights violations, global media told

BW FILE PHOTO

A GLOBAL human rights watchdog has called on international media to monitor the Philippine elections on May 9.

“We urge the international community, including global media outlets, to monitor these closely, to recognize the Filipino people’s effort to assert their civil and political rights in this election period,” the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines said in a statement on Sunday.

They cited the need to ensure that the crimes committed under the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos are not repeated.

In February, the group started the International Observer Mission, a campaign that seeks to record instances of election-related violence, red-tagging and vote-buying during the election period.

The watchdog also started a campaign to sanction human rights violators in the country, specifically the so-called architects of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs.

“Even the possibility of a return of the Marcos family to power exposes the negligence of national and international institutions to hold accountable perpetrators of crimes against humanity, and by extension their complicity in the human rights crisis in the Philippines,” Peter Murphy, the group’s Global and Council head, said in the statement.

“After these elections, all democratic governments and organizations including the labor movement and faith communities need to radically increase their support for Filipino democracy and the Filipino people who passionately want to restore it,” he added.

The group earlier said the International Observer Mission (IOM) would provide independent monitoring of the May 9 elections to inform the international community about the election situation in the country.

The monitoring started in February and will end once elected candidates are confirmed by June. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

May 9 vote: What will the ballots say of the pre-election polls? 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

VOTERS in the Philippines head out on Monday to cast their ballots for the country’s next leaders, and the results would either confirm or debunk pre-election opinion polls that have themselves been a hot issue during the campaign period.  

Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines, said while the polls have indicated a clear majority win for frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., there were deficiencies this year compared to the survey scene in previous presidential elections.    

“SWS did not conduct election polls this year and Pulse Asia has fewer surveys than in 2016,” she told BusinessWorld in a Viber message, referring to research institution Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia Research, Inc.   

“They (Pulse Asia and other opinion polling groups) did not have a survey at the end of April.  So, as surveys are snapshots of the voters’ preferences as represented by the sample, we have not captured the last few weeks of the campaign,” she said, noting that 45% of voters decide between April to the actual national election day set on the second Monday of May.   

As such, the results of the May 9 elections this year will show if the last few weeks of campaigning, particularly on the ground by volunteers of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, made a significant impact, Ms. Atienza said. 

The latest survey conducted by independent pollster Pulse Asia in mid-April showed 56% of 2,400 respondents said they would vote for Mr. Marcos if the election was held during that period, while Ms. Robredo was at a distant second with 23%.  

Senator and retired boxing champion Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao overtook Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso with 7%, gaining a point. The mayor lost 4 points to 4%. Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson remained in fifth place with 2%.   

Pulse Asia and SWS have faced allegations that opinion polls have been rigged.   

“Those who make these unfair and unjust criticisms bear the responsibility for their baseless accusations feeding into the spiral of disinformation and malinformation that afflicts our society,” Pulse Asia President Ronald D. Holmes said in a statement released on May 2  

“These false accusations only further deepen polarization and distrust and contribute to the continuous erosion of an already extremely feeble democratic order,” he added. 

The Marketing & Opinion Research Society of the Philippines has expressed support for SWS and Pulse Asia, noting their consistency and reliability to “provide public opinion representative of any population of interest.”  

“We have always resolved to uphold the highest professional standards in delivering the most precise and representative feedback and insights decision-makers and stakeholders require for either making informed decisions or reflecting on prevailing public opinion,” it said on its website.  

Froilan C. Calilung, campaign expert and political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, also said that certified surveys remain the most accurate barometer of a candidate’s performance.  

He cited that in 2010, the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III reached 42% in pre-election surveys, and won with about the same percentage. In 2016, President Rodrigo R. Duterte received 33% in voter preference polls, and won with 38%. 

“The results may not necessarily be a 100% correct, however, their effect on people is very real,” University of the Philippines Associate Professor Perlita M. Frago-Marasigan told BusinessWorld in a Viber message, noting its influence on people’s perceptions.  

Outside of the surveys, Ms. Robredo and Mr. Marcos received more attention from voters because they represented two clear opposites, said Ms. Atienza. 

“Marcos represents continuity of not only the Duterte policies but revival of martial law nostalgia and revision of Philippine history while Robredo represents the more inclusive governance, equitable development and strengthening of democratic institutions and processes, and a repudiation of Duterte politics of fear, violence and lack of respect for rights,” she said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

It’s fake, says Comelec on resolution about disqualified party-lists

PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

AN ELECTION Commissioner on Sunday debunked a resolution circulating online on the supposed disqualification of several progressive party-list groups and a senatorial candidate.   

“These are all fake resolutions, we haven’t disqualified any party-list (at this point) and we do not put ‘whereas’ in these resolutions,” Election Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia said in an interview over DZBB radio.   

He reminded voters to refer to the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) official pronouncements as well as reports by legitimate media organizations for correct information.    

“Do not believe in fake news spreading on social media,” Mr. Garcia said in Filipino during a news briefing on Sunday. “We should just rely on traditional media as they give truthful and genuine news.”  

The subjects of the fake resolution called on the poll body to take action against the perpetrators.  

“We appeal to the Comelec to prosecute this and the conspirators because of their grave crime of using the commission’s logo and letterhead on fake documents and acting like them,” Anakpawis Party-list National President Ariel B. Casilao said in Filipino in a statement on Sunday. 

“Their mission is really to deceive the voters, and sabotage the candidacy of progressive party-lists and (senatorial candidate) Neri Colmenares,” he added.  

The fake document cited the disqualification of the following: Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Kabataan, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and Gabriela. It said Mr. Colmenares, a human rights lawyer, along with the parties have been involved with terrorist groups and activities. 

This is “nothing but a pathetic desperate act by anti-democratic and fascist minions of NTF-ELCAC (the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict),” said House Deputy Minority leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate in a statement.  

Mr. Zarate challenged the poll body’s commissioners to denounce and investigate the forgery of their signatures as this undermines the credibility of their respective offices.  

Makabayan said it will take legal action against those behind the posting. — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Lagonoy fishing communities ‘build back better’ boats with WWF

MARK BAUTISTA VIA WWF

FISHERFOLK around Lagonoy Gulf, a rich tuna fishing ground in the central-eastern part of the Philippines, have been working with environmental non-government organization World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature Philippines since 2011 and they have a global certificate to show for their sustainable operations.   

The year 2020, however, proved to be particularly challenging for these small-scale fishers, not so much because of the coronavirus pandemic but due to three strong typhoons that devastated their homes and boats.   

Joann P. Binondo, WWF-Philippines project manager of the sustainable tuna partnership program, said this underscored the importance of resilience among fishing communities amid the climate crisis.     

As part of the program, WWF-Philippines initiated the “Build Back Better” project aimed at fabricating boats that will better withstand increasing extreme weather conditions while maintaining sustainable practices.   

The main objective, Ms. Binondo said during the project launch last week, is increasing “resilience of handline fishers in the project region” against “poverty and disasters.”  

Industrial designer Mark Victor Bautista and the tuna fishermen combined traditional and technological expertise to design a boat that is tougher against the elements as well as support the communities’ Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, a global eco-label for sustainable seafood.  

Yellowfin tuna catch from the Lagonoy Gulf are sold locally and to European companies that support the MSC.   

Three new boats have been turned over to the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation, Inc. and WWF-Philippines is looking to raise at least P21 million to build 27 more of the prototype vessels to help more fishers around the gulf.   

Each boat is equivalent in capacity to three traditional fishing boats, and the project will benefit 200 families in 15 towns.   

“Our experience working with the Lagonoy Gulf fishers validates a model for sustainable fishing that has improved community livelihood,” WWF-Philippines Executive Director Katherine Custodio said at the project launch.   

“Knowing what already works,” she said, “we are hoping to seek more support… We hope that many more people, companies, and organizations join in this Build Back Better campaign.” 

Ms. Custodio said that apart from funding, they also need assistance in terms of logistics such as sourcing appropriate engines for the boats.  

WWF-Philippines Ambassador Pia Wurtzbach and her partner WWF-USA Ambassador Jeremy Jauncey, who visited the Lagonoy communities in April, are supporting the campaign.  

“This trip to the Lagonoy Gulf has not only been educational for me and Pia but also affirming for us. One boat at a time, we can help change the lives of several fishers and their communities through the ‘Build Back Better’ campaign,” said Mr. Jauncey.   

Elizaldy Boboyo, an official of the fishers federation, said they have come a long way from an attitude of “to each his own” to working together and “doing what is right for fisheries.” 

Ms. Custodia said the Lagonoy communities stand as a model of how fishers can be “stewards, not abusers” of marine resources. — Marifi S. Jara 

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