Presidential aspirant says planned oil tax cut will lure foreign investors

October 26, 2021 | 7:24 pm

Isko-Moreno-PHILSTARFILE-EDDGUMBAN — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso, currently the mayor of Manila City, said his plan to cut taxes on oil by 50% to bring down electricity rates would not just provide relief to consumers but make the country more competitive in attracting foreign investors.

“We have the most expensive electricity costs in Asia. That’s why we are not being approached (for investments),” he said in an ANC interview Tuesday.

“Thailand and Vietnam (have foreign direct investments of around) $10 to 20 billion because the plants want to go to (these countries) simply because the electricity is cheap,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Mr. Domagoso said the entry of foreign investments would create jobs and boost the country’s economic recovery.

He also said that he is not open to setting up nuclear plants in the country as he is focused on providing immediate solutions to Filipinos.

“That would take time (and) we can’t even handle well our literal trash. What more with nuclear waste? My attitude towards the situation is to fix the problem (or) the task on hand today,” he said.

He also wants the country to “go back to normal” from the coronavirus pandemic by the end of next year, if elected President.

“I want you, by Dec. 31 of 2022 (that) you are able to go out, eating out because all of you are vaccinated with the booster (shot) already (and) everybody is protected,” he said.

PHARMALLY DEAL
The mayor also weighed in on the Senate investigation on the administration’s questionable purchases of pandemic supplies such as face masks and face shields, saying the allocation could have been better spent on other medical needs.

“I think learning from this pandemic, there are unnecessary expenditures so you should redirect these funds to where it could be useful to people’s lives,” he said.

The standard bearer of Aksyon Demokratiko said that the funds should have been used to purchase medicine and supplies to treat COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) patients in hospitals nationwide.

“I would have wanted to buy tocilizumab, remdesivir, (and) oxygen. So that those infected, we can put those who are infected by putting up hospitals dedicated to COVID (to) give them ample care, survive, and go learn to live with COVID and go back to work safely,” he said.

He also said that he would charge those involved in anomalous contracts with Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. if there are sufficient grounds.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee recommended charges last week against Pharmally executives for alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, falsification of public documents, and perjury, among others.

Among the issues discovered by the upper chamber in its investigations were alleged overpricing of face shields and masks and the tampering of expiration dates. The Senate will continue its probe on Thursday. — Russell Louis C. Ku

Kids aged 11 and below banned from Manila beach

October 26, 2021 | 7:24 pm

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) clarified on Tuesday that minors aged 12 years and above will be allowed to visit the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach and only those aged 11 and below are temporarily banned.

The clarification came after the department announced Monday night that those 12 years and below will not be allowed to enter the area starting Oct. 26 due to restrictions under the alert level 3 system.

In a televised briefing on Tuesday, DENR Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda said there were “no lapses in communication” between the DENR and the national government, but the earlier announcement was based on information they received that children are allowed to go to open areas when Metro Manila was put under alert level 3 on Oct. 16.

However, the policy has been adjusted as the Dolomite Beach, despite being an open area, became a “crowded open area” when the number of visitors reached up to 25,000 in the past two weekends.

Minors aged 12 to 17 years are allowed to enter as the government has started vaccination against the coronavirus disease for the age group.

Mr. Antiporda also advised the public that the Dolomite Beach will be closed from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 for the All Saints’ Day observance.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso, meanwhile, called on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to press charges against DENR for allowing people to flock to the Dolomite Beach which could become a “superspreader” event.

The local government of Manila has no direct role in the area’s management.

“What’s ironic there is that they are the implementers and also the violators. Now I’m challenging agencies of government under IATF to file charges in violation against their fellow national government (officials),” Mr. Domagoso said in an ANC interview Tuesday.

Mr. Antiporda, on the other hand, said Mr. Domagoso gave the DENR a “very supportive letter” Monday night to ask about their plans and strategies to control the crowd. He said the letter started with the words, “We are in full support of the project of the DENR.”

Mr. Antiporda nonetheless admitted that there were “a few lapses” on the part of the DENR, but the problem “was addressed immediately.”

In an interview on CNN on Monday, DENR Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones said they are planning to close the Dolomite Beach once a week for maintenance and will implement a 15-minute stay for visitors in order to reduce the number of people in the area. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Baguio reopens for vaccinated tourists

October 26, 2021 | 7:23 pm

Baguio-park-BAGUIO TOURIST POLICE FB PAGE — BAGUIO Tourist Police officers patrol parks and other public spaces to ensure observance of health safety protocols. — BAGUIO TOURIST POLICE

THE BAGUIO City government has lifted the ban on leisure travel, but only fully-vaccinated adult tourists will be allowed entry along with minors who will have to undergo testing for coronavirus.

In a statement on Tuesday, the local government announced the requirements for non-essential travelers, which include online pre-registration through visita.baguio.gov.ph.

Those 12 to 17 years old, whether unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, “must present negative results of Antigen or RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to arrival or during health screening at the City Triage,” the local government said.

“Minors aged 11 and below shall be tested at the option of their accompanying parents or adult guardian.”

The reopening is also limited to residents of areas declared under Alert Level 3 or lower. “Those from ECQ, MECQ, Alert Levels 4 and 5 areas, are not allowed,” the city government said.

“Hopefully our reopening will spur economic activity in our city which had almost been nil for the past two months because of the restrictions that we imposed to manage the cases,” Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said on Monday before the issuance of the official guidelines.

“It has not been easy but as we have been doing since the pandemic started, we will continue to strike a balance between managing our cases and giving premium to the health and safety of our constituents on the one hand and keeping our economy afloat and sustaining the people’s livelihood on the other,” he said.

Tropang Giga and Hotshots in crucial Game Four collision

October 26, 2021 | 6:46 pm

Abueva — THE best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals series between the TnT Tropang Giga and Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots hits a critical juncture with Game Four on Wednesday in Pampanga. — PBA IMAGES

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals series between the TnT Tropang Giga and Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots hits a critical juncture with Game Four on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Set for 6 p.m., the contest will either see currently leading TnT move a win away from being crowned champion or Magnolia leveling the series at two games apiece and seizing momentum.

The Tropang Giga tried to take the fight out of the Hotshots in Game Three and go up 3-0, but just could not complete it as Magnolia came out with more sense of urgency than the previous games and made the necessary adjustments, which they successfully executed to go away with the 106-98 victory.

TnT rookie Mikey Williams had a historic shooting night, connecting on 10 three-pointers, a new Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) finals record, on his way to a game-high 39 points.

He nearly single-handedly towed the Tropang Giga to a come-from-behind win.

Magnolia, however, had the answers in the end to preserve the victory and infuse new life in its erstwhile flickering title hopes.

Gaining some traction in the series, the Hotshots are now looking to build on the win and further propel their push.

“We’re taking it a game at a time. We’ve been in this situation before. We’ve experienced it and now looking forward to coming back on Wednesday prepared and ready to play again,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero following their Game Three win.

Paul Lee finally broke through for the Hotshots last time around, finishing with 21 points, higher than his 12-point average in the first two games of the series.

“It would have been tough had we fell to 0-3. So we talked as a team and said to ourselves that we had to play the best way we can, make the adjustments on offense and defense. And we bought in to the system of Coach Chito,” said Mr. Lee in Filipino of the mindset they had.

Big man Ian Sangalang was also a catalyst for Magnolia with all-around numbers of 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

Mark Barroca and Calvin Abueva, meanwhile, added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Keenly being eyed heading into Game Four is the availability of TnT forward Troy Rosario, who failed to finish the last game after dislocating his left pinkie following a hard fall off a whistled flagrant foul on Magnolia’s Jackson Corpuz late in the third quarter.

Mr. Rosario was taken to a medical facility for further evaluation after the incident while Mr. Corpuz was summoned by the league office on Tuesday to discuss what happened.

TnT is seeking its eighth PBA title in franchise history and first since winning the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup while Magnolia is seeking their 15^th PBA title in franchise history, and seventh All-Filipino crown.

Meanwhile, the Best Player of the Conference award will be handed out prior to the start of Game Four. In the running for the plum are Magnolia’s Abueva and Sangalang, TnT’s Williams, Northport’s Robert Bolick and San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo.

Rondina-Pons, Arbasto-Garcia cop BVR on Tour first leg titles

October 26, 2021 | 6:45 pm

THE power duo of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons stayed true to form en route to winning the title in the first leg of the Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) on Tour on Monday in Cagayan.

Representing Creamline 1, Mses. Rondina and Pons remained untouchable as they pulled off a dominant 21-10, 21-16 victory over Good Health-CDO’s Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor in the finals.

The Cool Smashers went unbeaten in six matches and did not yield a set in the “bubble” tournament.

One of the winningest BVR athletes, Ms. Rondina captured her fourth gold overall — and second with Ms. Pons. They also emerged victorious in the Lianga, Surigao del Sur leg in Sept. 1, 2019 before the tour went into a long hiatus due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The second and final leg is set for Thursday at the same Santa Ana venue, with Ms. Rondina looking forward to delivering again with Ms. Pons as the two, being part of the Philippine team, continue to prepare for next month’s Asian Seniors Beach Volleyball Championship.

Creamline also bagged the first-leg title on the men’s division, with Krung Arbasto and Jude Garcia outlasting PLDT’s Rancel Varga and Efraem Dimaculangan, 21-19, 19-21, 15-12, in a tightly fought finals match.

For updates on the Santa Ana leg of the BVR on Tour, follow the league’s social media accounts.

Olsim now fighting in co-main event of ONE: NextGen

October 26, 2021 | 6:45 pm

THE return to action of Filipina mixed martial arts fighter Jenelyn Olsim has been advanced a couple of weeks after it was announced that she will be fighting in the co-main event of ONE Championship’s “NextGen” on Oct. 29 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Originally set to compete in ONE: NextGen II in November against Jihin Radzuan of Malaysia, Ms. Olsim is now battling India’s Ritu Phogat as a replacement opponent in a women’s atomweight world grand prix semifinal match.

Ms. Ritu was supposed to take on Japan’s Itsuki Hirata, who had to pull out for an undisclosed medical issue.

Team Lakay’s Olsim (5-2) is coming off a successful initial foray in ONE’s atomweight division in her last fight, beating American-Vietnamese Bi Nguyen by unanimous decision in August.

Prior to that, she competed in the women’s strawweight division and is currently the number five-ranked contender in the weight class.

Apart from an expected all-out fight between the two fighters, also of interest is how Ms. Olsim was actually looking forward to facing Ms. Phogat over Ms. Hirata in the semifinals if ever she was named a replacement.

“I also want to face Ritu. She is a good wrestler and popular. I want to test my wrestling,” said Ms. Olsim in a recent press conference for NextGen II.

Featured in the main event of ONE: NextGen is the women’s atomweight world grand prix semifinal match between Thailand’s Stamp and Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba.

The winners of the tournament semifinal bouts will meet in the world grand prix championship final, which is planned to take place before the year ends.

Another Filipino seeing action in NextGen is strawweight Jeremy Miado in a rematch with China’s Miao Li Tao. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Heavy-hitting Houston Astros open World Series versus ex-teammate Charlie Morton, Braves

October 26, 2021 | 6:45 pm

THE Houston Astros are regulars when it comes to recent appearances in the World Series, while the Atlanta Braves are back in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1999.

The Astros aim to get off on the right foot in the best-of-seven series on Tuesday when they host Game 1 against the Braves.

While Houston is making its third World Series appearance in five years, Astros manager Dusty Baker returns to the Fall Classic for the first time since his 2002 San Francisco Giants fell to the then-Anaheim Angels in seven games.

Nineteen years later, one would think that Baker can’t wait for the first pitch. Well, Baker dispelled that notion on Monday.

The Astros have shown plenty of emotion and energy after their high-powered offense propelled them past the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division and Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Houston has erupted for 67 runs in its 10 postseason games.

Leading the charge is Yordan Alvarez, who landed ALCS Most Valuable Player honors after finishing 12-for-23 (.522) with a homer, six RBIs and seven runs. He was 9-for-13 with five extra-base hits over the last three games, during which the Astros outscored the Red Sox by a 23-3 margin.

Alvarez said he isn’t fazed by facing several of Atlanta’s quality left-handed relievers.

Houston left-hander Framber Valdez will take the ball on Tuesday, pitching on regular rest. He is 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA in three 2021 postseason starts.

Valdez, 27, would love to repeat his dominance from his last start. He allowed one run on three hits in eight innings to earn the win in a 9-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.

Valdez would be wise to tread carefully around Eddie Rosario, the MVP of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). He went 14-for-25 (.560) with three home runs and nine RBIs in Atlanta’s six-game win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Atlanta will counter on Tuesday with right-hander Charlie Morton, who forever will be tied with Houston. After all, he picked up the win for the Astros in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers.

Morton, 37, is pitching in his fifth straight postseason and owns a 7-4 record with a 3.45 ERA in 16 playoff appearances, including 15 starts. He recently admitted the drive to reach the baseball’s second season is what fuels him.

Morton is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA in three postseason starts this year. He received a no-decision on Oct. 19 in Game 3 of the NLCS after allowing two runs on three hits with six walks in five innings.

The Astros announced on Monday that right-hander Lance McCullers, Jr. will be unable to pitch in the World Series due to a strained forearm muscle.

The availability of Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was not immediately known as he continues to work his way back from a left shoulder injury. — Reuters

PSC Board OK’s special incentives for Carlos Yulo

October 26, 2021 | 6:45 pm

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Board on Tuesday approved the granting of P750,000 (P500,000 for gold and P250,000 for silver) worth of special incentives for Carlos H. Yulo for his double-medal performance at the 2021 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Mr. Yulo, 21, is the first Filipino multi-medaled gymnast in the said tournament after claiming the gold medal in the men’s vault with a score of 14.916 points, ahead of Japanese Yonekura Hidenobu with 14.866 points.

He also won a silver medal in the men’s parallel bars.

PSC Chairman William I. Ramirez explained that the provisions and technical conditions of Republic Act No. 10699, also known as the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, do not cover the annually held world tilt of gymnastics.

Despite this, the sports agency recognizes the special significance of Mr. Yulo’s win and approved the incentives.

Mr. Ramirez congratulated and thanked Mr. Yulo for this historic win, saying, “He has bounced back and showed us all that he is still our world champion in gymnastics.”

Mr. Yulo wasn’t able to defend his title in the men’s floor exercise finals, but went on to claim two medals in other events.

In 2019, the PSC also granted Mr. Yulo P500,000 as incentives for winning multiple medals in the Southeast Asian Games and another P500,000 as qualifying incentives to the Tokyo Olympics.

Jayson Tatum’s 41 points help Celtics top Hornets

October 26, 2021 | 6:44 pm

JAYSON Tatum led all scorers with 41 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 and the Boston Celtics rallied to end the host Charlotte Hornets’ perfect start with a 140-129 overtime win on Monday night.

After Dennis Schröder tied it at 129 on a 3-pointer with 2:41 left in overtime, Brown added a trey of his own and followed it with an emphatic dunk at the 1:21 mark. Schröder added four consecutive free throws and Tatum made two to put the game away.

Tatum dished out a team-high eight assists while Brown grabbed nine rebounds. Schröder finished with 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Boston, which had dropped two in a row to open the season before a 107-97 win at Houston on Sunday.

Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball scored 25 apiece to lead the Hornets. Bridges, who was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week earlier on Monday, also grabbed 10 boards. Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 19 points, and former Celtics forward Gordon Hayward scored 15. Ball contributed nine assists.

Charlotte secured its best start in franchise history at 3-0 with a 111-95 win at Brooklyn on Sunday before losing on Monday.

Down by two at half time, the Hornets fell behind by six late in the third quarter before closing on an 11-2 run to lead 97-94 entering the fourth. Tatum’s 3-pointer at 10:35 of the fourth brought the Celtics within one before Charlotte opened a 12-point lead.

The Celtics erased the gap and went ahead 120-119 on a Robert Williams III alley-oop dunk with 1:42 remaining. Ball answered with a pull-up 3-pointer with 1:30 on the clock before Tatum tied it with a pair of free throws at the 1:11 mark.

Ball missed a step-back trey with 51.7 seconds left, and Boston’s Marcus Smart missed a 3-point attempt with 27.4 to go. After a time out, Smart stole the inbound pass from Hayward, and Boston called a time out with 8.2 seconds remaining.

Charlotte stripped the inbound pass, but was unable to get a shot off before the end of regulation.

Boston led 68-66 at half time. — Reuters

Late field goal lifts Saints to wet win over Seahawks

October 26, 2021 | 6:44 pm

BRIAN Johnson, making his National Football League (NFL) debut, kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining as the New Orleans Saints defeated the host Seattle Seahawks (13-10) on a rainy on Monday night.

Alvin Kamara accounted for 179 yards of total offense and the lone touchdown for the Saints (4-2). Kamara gained just 51 yards on 20 carries, but had a game-high 10 receptions for 128 yards and a score. Kamara set an NFL record by reaching 3,000 yards rushing and 3,000 yards receiving in 66 career games, breaking the old mark of 70 set by former San Francisco 49ers star Roger Craig.

The Seahawks (2-5), playing for the second straight week without injured quarterback Russell Wilson, dropped to 0-3 at home and took their third straight defeat overall.

Seattle’s Jason Myers missed two field-goal attempts in the second half, including a 53-yarder that would’ve given the hosts a lead with 6:49 left.

The Saints then drove for the winning score, thanks in part to two series-extending penalties committed by the Seahawks.

Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner had Jameis Winston wrapped up for an apparent sack on a third-and-9 play, but defensive back Marquise Blair came in late with a helmet-to-helmet hit, giving the Saints a first down.

New Orleans lined up for a 41-yard field-goal attempt with 3:08 left, but Seattle defensive lineman Al Woods jumped offside, giving the Saints a chance to move closer and run off more of the clock.

Winston completed 19 of 35 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. Seattle’s Geno Smith was 12 of 22 for 167 yards and a score.

Smith completed his first pass attempt to DK Metcalf for an 84-yard touchdown. Metcalf got a step on cornerback Marshon Lattimore, made the catch down the right sideline at Seattle’s 40-yard line and sidestepped a diving tackle attempt by New Orleans safety Marcus Williams before sprinting untouched to the end zone.

The Saints scored 10 points in the final 4:23 of the second quarter to take a 10-7 lead.

Johnson made a 21-yard field goal to cap a 19-play, 86-yard drive that took 10:16. The Saints had second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, but Kamara was stopped for a 1-yard loss and Winston’s third-down pass was knocked down in the end zone by linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

New Orleans took the lead with 40 seconds left in the half on a 13-yard pass from Winston to Kamara. Winston dropped the shotgun snap, but the ball fell on its side and stopped on the wet turf. Winston picked it back up with one hand, rolled to his right and hit Kamara on a screen pass, and the running back avoided a tackle on his way to the end zone.

The Saints finished with 304 total yards while limiting the Seahawks to 219. — Reuters

Collin Morikawa rises to career-high no. 2 in world rankings

October 26, 2021 | 6:44 pm

COLLIN Morikawa reached a new career high by passing Ryder Cup partner Dustin Johnson for No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday.

Morikawa overcame an opening-round 71 at the Zozo Championship to post three rounds in the 60s to tie for seventh place. That came on the heels of a solo second-place finish at The CJ Cup @ Summit.

Morikawa, 24, now has 8.4710 average points, topping Johnson’s 8.3777. The two paired to win three matches during Team USA’s dominating Ryder Cup victory last month.

Johnson has only played once since, tying for 45^th at The CJ Cup, and has said he plans to take the rest of 2021 off. That would mean Johnson will snap his 13-year streak of winning at least one PGA Tour event and fail to qualify for the season-opening Tournament of Champions.

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan vaulted seven spots to No. 12 in the world following his five-shot victory at the Zozo Championship in his home country.

Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka were idle last week, but Finau still moved past Koepka for the No. 10 spot in the rolling rankings system.

Also making big moves this week were Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale, who tied for second behind Matsuyama. Steele climbed 42 places to No. 88, while Tringale rose 15 spots to a career-best 54^th.

It was the best finish of 2021 for both players. — Reuters

Supersub

October 26, 2021 | 6:44 pm

Considering how Carmelo Anthony remains significant to the plans of would-be title contenders, it’s hard to imagine how close he came to being out of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for good. But he did come close, and, for a while, was actually on the outside looking in. Three years ago, he saw the Rockets unceremoniously dump him after 10 games, with his “I’m too good not to start” sense of self most certainly not helping his cause. He spent the rest of the 2018-19 season taking stock of his worth, and, in retrospect, the absence did him a lot of good. He was in a Blazer uniform the next time he suited up, and the two years he spent alongside All-Star Damian Lillard and extremely underrated CJ McCollum helped him adjust to life as a supersub.

These days, Anthony is happy playing his part off the bench. He’s chugging along just fine, and, in fact, proved instrumental in the Lakers’ first victory of their 2020-21 campaign. For all the marquee names dotting the roster, he was the single biggest reason they finally broke into the win column after poor performances off the blocks. Not LeBron James. Not Anthony Davis. Not Russell Westbrook. Him. And it was, perhaps, only fitting that his heroics coincided with his passing of acknowledged great Moses Malone to ninth in the all-time scoring list.

The previous iteration of Anthony would have reveled in the moment, taking in all the accolades to feed his ego. Instead, he used the occasion to reflect on his longevity, and, in the process, comprehend that his continued significance in the league stemmed from his acceptance of his reduced role in the grand scheme of things. He’s no spring chicken at 37, and he figures to be closer to the rocking chair than to the treadmill. Yet, if nothing else, his stellar showing against the Grizzlies the other day underscored his capacity to make a difference now and then.

Granted, the Lakers seem destined to be a year-long experiment in counter-programming. At a time when pace and space call for speed and mobility, they stack up on bigs and employ, for the most part, an elephant-walk offense that Westbrook’s presence aims to correct. They also launched an experience invasion that’s akin to rolling the dice. As far as Anthony’s concerned, though, they’re not wrong to have done so. And he knows he’s Exhibit A. Once upon a time, he would have shouted it to the world. Now, he’s content to let his accomplishments do the talking. He got the Lakers their inaugural win of the season. If he stays grounded, there’s no reason he can’t help them get closer to the hardware.

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.