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Braves earn second straight walk-off win over Dodgers

EDDIE Rosario lined Kenley Jansen’s first pitch off the glove of shortstop Corey Seager and into center field for a walk-off single on Sunday night, scoring Dansby Swanson as the host Atlanta Braves worked their ninth-inning magic for a second consecutive game in a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

Joc Pederson had a two-run home run and Austin Riley an RBI double as the Braves completed a two-game home sweep of the defending World Series champs by rallying twice from two-run deficits.

Travis d’Arnaud led off the ninth against Brusdar Graterol (0-1) with a bloop single. After he was forced out at second on a Swanson bunt attempt, the Braves advanced the potential winning run into scoring position on a Guillermo Heredia infield out before Jansen entered the game and Rosario ended it.

The best-of-seven series moves on to Los Angeles for the next three games. The Dodgers also trailed the Braves 2-0 in last year’s NLCS before winning four of the next five to advance to the World Series.

The Dodgers put the ball in 20-game winner Julio Urias’ hands with a 4-2 lead entering the last of the eighth, but the Braves rallied into a tie. After Ozzie Albies’ RBI single got Atlanta within one, Game 1 hero Riley doubled off the fence in center field, scoring Albies with the tying run.

Los Angeles twice blew two-run leads in the first eight innings after grabbing an immediate lead when its second batter of the game, Seager, followed a Mookie Betts single with a two-run home run off Atlanta starter Ian Anderson.

Pederson, a former Dodger, got his new club even in the fourth with a two-run shot against Los Angeles starter Max Scherzer.

The Dodgers took their last lead on another two-run hit, this one a bases-loaded, two-out double by Chris Taylor in the seventh for a 4-2 lead.

Both starting pitchers exited early. Anderson lasted just three innings, charged with two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Scherzer wasn’t around much longer, going 4 1/3 innings, during which he allowed two runs and four hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

Rosario’s game-winner capped a four-hit night for the in-season acquisition from the Cleveland Indians. His hit total equaled that of the Dodgers, who were limited to a homer, a double and two singles by eight pitchers, including Will Smith (2-0), who was credited with the win after pitching a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

The Dodgers failed to take advantage of nine walks, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. — Reuters

NFL roundup: Cowboys escape with OT win over Patriots

DAK Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 3:52 left in overtime (OT) as the Dallas Cowboys held off the host New England Patriots 35-29 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.

Prescott finished 36 of 51 for 445 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for Dallas (5-1), which hasn’t lost since a 31-29 setback at Tampa Bay on opening night. Lamb hauled in nine catches for 149 yards and two TDs and Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 69 yards on 17 carries.

The Cowboys took over at their own 20-yard line after the Patriots won the coin toss and punted on the first possession of overtime. Prescott orchestrated a seven-play, 80-yard drive and connected with an open Lamb for the winning score. Prescott strained his right calf on the play and will have an MRI on Monday.

Mac Jones was 15 of 21 for 229 yards, including two touchdowns and an interception for New England (2-4). Damien Harris rushed 18 times for 101 yards and a touchdown and Kendrick Bourne led the Patriots with 75 receiving yards.

JAGUARS 23, DOLPHINS 20: Matthew Wright made a 53-yard field goal as time expired to help Jacksonville snap a 20-game losing streak, courtesy of a win over Miami in London.

Wright also made field goals of 54 and 40 yards. Entering this game, Jacksonville (1-5) had not made a single field goal this year. Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 41 passes for 319 yards and one touchdown, and Marvin Jones, Jr. caught seven passes for 100 yards and one score.

Tua Tagovailoa returned from missing three games with fractured ribs and completed 33 of 47 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns for Miami (1-5), which has lost five straight games. Rookie wideout Jaylen Waddle had 10 catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Mike Gesicki had nine receptions for 115 yards.

CARDINALS 37, BROWNS 14: Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes and Arizona remained the lone unbeaten team in the National Football League (NFL) by rolling past host Cleveland.

Kyler Murray completed 20 of 30 passes for 229 yards, and DeAndre Hopkins hauled in a pair of scores as the Cardinals (6-0) cruised despite the absence of head coach Kliff Kingsbury (COVID-19 protocols).

Already injury-riddled, Cleveland (3-3), saw quarterback Baker Mayfield (shoulder), wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. (shoulder) and running back Kareem Hunt (calf) sustain injuries. Hunt did not return after his injury early in the fourth quarter. Mayfield finished 19 of 28 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, but had three turnovers. Donovan Peoples-Jones had four catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

CHIEFS 31, WASHINGTON 13: Patrick Mahomes passed for 397 yards and two touchdowns and Kansas City overcame three turnovers to topple Washington at Landover, MD.

Mahomes bounced back from two second-quarter interceptions, completing 32 of 47 passes. The Kansas City (3-3) defense, ranked 31st coming in, held Washington (2-4) scoreless in the second half. Tyreek Hill snagged nine receptions, and Travis Kelce added eight for 99 yards as the Chiefs’ offense rolled to 499 total yards.

Taylor Heinicke completed 24 of 39 passes for 182 yards, but Washington gained little offensive rhythm, recording just 76 second-half yards. J.D. McKissic led Washington with 110 yards from scrimmage.

RAVENS 34, CHARGERS 6: Baltimore played stingy defense in shutting down Justin Herbert and Los Angeles’ dynamic offense en route to a home win.

The Ravens (5-1) held Los Angeles (4-2) to just six points and 208 total yards. Herbert struggled to move LA’s offense against Baltimore’s suffocating defense, finishing 22 of 39 for 195 passing yards, with a touchdown and an interception. The Ravens held the Chargers to just 26 rushing yards.

Lamar Jackson didn’t fare much better statistically for the Ravens, completing 19 of 27 passes for 167 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. However, unlike the Chargers, Baltimore established the running game, finishing with 187 rushing yards against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL.

RAMS 38, GIANTS 11: Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes during a dominating second quarter and Los Angeles remained undefeated in three road games by beating New York in East Rutherford, NJ.

Stafford was 22-of-28 passing for 251 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception. He threw second-quarter scores to Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Darrell Henderson, Jr. as the Rams (5-1) turned an early deficit into a 28-3 half time lead.

Henderson had 78 yards rushing on 21 carries and added a rushing touchdown, and Kupp finished with nine receptions for 130 yards. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was 29-of-51 passing for 242 yards and three interceptions after spending the week recovering from a concussion last weekend at Dallas.

COLTS 31, TEXANS 3: Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns and host Indianapolis rode big plays in trouncing Houston.

Taylor gained 139 yards and posted both of his touchdowns in the second half as the Colts (2-4) methodically pulled away from the error-prone Texans (1-5), whose skid reached five games. Houston committed three turnovers, two of which the Colts converted into scores.

Wentz passed for 223 yards with scoring strikes of 51 yards to Parris Campbell in the first quarter and 28 yards to Mo Alie-Cox with 11:50 left in the third, with the latter score following a Darius Leonard interception of Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills.

PACKERS 24, BEARS 14: Aaron Rodgers passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, Aaron Jones had 110 yards of total offense and the defense allowed its fewest points this season as Green Bay downed host Chicago.

The Packers (5-1) stretched their winning streak to five games, overcoming three Bears sacks to outgain Chicago 323-277, and Rodgers improved to 21-5 against the NFC North-rival Bears in his career. He was 17-for-23 through the air for 195 yards while rushing for 19 yards.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields was 16-for-27 passing for 174 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while adding 43 yards on the ground. Rookie Khalil Herbert rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries and scored his first NFL touchdown.

BENGALS 34, LIONS 11: Joe Burrow tossed three touchdown passes to lift visiting Cincinnati to a convincing victory over winless Detroit.

Burrow completed 19 of 29 passes for 271 yards and connected on scoring strikes to running backs Joe Mixon and Chris Evans and tight end C.J. Uzomah. Mixon finished with five catches for 59 yards and also added 18 rushes for 94 yards for the Bengals (4-2).

Jared Goff completed 28 of 42 passes for 202 yards for the Lions (0-6). Cincinnati’s aggressive defense limited winless Detroit to just four first downs and 51 total yards in the first half.

VIKINGS 34, PANTHERS 28 (OT): Kirk Cousins threw 27 yards to K.J. Osborn on the first possession of overtime as visiting Minnesota defeated Carolina in a mistake-filled game in Charlotte, NC.

Cousins threw three touchdown passes and Dalvin Cook returned to action by rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Cousins went 33-for-48 for 373 yards through the air.

Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold was 17-for-41 for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Carolina forced overtime by driving 96 yards, scoring on Darnold’s 7-yard pass to Robby Anderson and converting a two-point conversion pass with 42 seconds left.

RAIDERS 34, BRONCOS 24: Derek Carr was 18-for-27 passing for 341 yards and two touchdowns, Kenyan Drake had a touchdown run and catch, and visiting Las Vegas beat Denver on Sunday.

Henry Ruggs III had three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown and Josh Jacobs ran for another for Las Vegas (4-2). Terry Bridgewater was 35-for-49 passing for 334 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, Noah Fant had nine catches for 97 yards and a score. Courtland Sutton had eight receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown for Denver (3-3).

The Raiders were playing their first game since Jon Gruden resigned as head coach after offensive e-mails were made public last week. Rich Bisaccia was elevated to interim head coach. — Reuters

Irving’s vaccination stance looms large over NBA season

LOS ANGELES — The 75th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) tips off on Tuesday with fans focused on Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, whose refusal to take the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in defiance of New York City’s mandate led the Nets to announce he would not suit up for the championship contender.

The loaded Nets roster includes Kevin Durant and James Harden, but the team will be at a disadvantage without sharp-shooting point guard Irving, a seven-time All-Star who won a title with Cleveland in 2016.

Irving, 29, framed his decision as one of personal choice in an Instagram Live video last week.

“Nobody should be forced to do anything with their bodies,” Irving said.

“You only get one of these (bodies). If you choose to get the vaccine, I support you. If you choose to be unvaccinated, I support you.”

More than 700,000 people have died in the United States from COVID-19. Vaccination rates have risen more than 20 percentage points after multiple institutions adopted vaccine requirements, while case numbers and deaths from the virus are down, the White House said last week.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the widely available vaccines can keep the recipient from getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 while protecting others, particularly those at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

“It was a bold move by Brooklyn,” former NBA coach and current ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy told reporters on a call.

“I’m sure it came after great deliberation and speaking to Durant and Harden to see how they felt.”

New York’s mandate requires proof of at least one shot of the vaccine to enter large indoor spaces. The NBA has said players who are unable to compete due to local mandates will miss out on pay.

Van Gundy said Brooklyn has accumulated enough talent to win a championship even without Irving, but said he expects to see the situation get worked out one way or another.

“I think it will get resolved, and I don’t know how,” he said.

“I think we’ll see him play this year, and I’m hopeful for Brooklyn and really for NBA fans that we do, because he’s a special, special talent.”

POINT GUARDS ON THE MOVE
Irving is not the only point guard who has generated attention during a busy offseason, which saw a flurry of moves at the sport’s most important position.

The dynamic Russell Westbrook has joined the Los Angeles Lakers, the rapidly improving Lonzo Ball has gone to the Chicago Bulls, and the tenacious Kyle Lowry is now a member of the Miami Heat.

Former player and coach turned ESPN commentator Mark Jackson said it will be fascinating to see those players adapt to their new environments.

Playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Westbrook gives the Lakers a “legitimate chance” to win it all, Jackson said.

Ball brings size and shooting ability to the Bulls and will benefit from playing alongside veteran forward DeMar DeRozan while Lowry is an elite point guard who adds “toughness” to the Heat squad, he said.

“I think across the board as a fan of the NBA, it’s an awesome time, and teams have really put themselves in position to improve, some to have a chance to win it all, some to make the playoffs,” Jackson said.

“It’ll be an entertaining season.” — Reuters

Rory McIlroy wins CJ Cup for 20th Tour victory

RORY McIlroy converted an eagle putt from off the 14th green on Sunday and held on for a one-stroke win at the CJ Cup at Summit in Las Vegas.

The four-time major champion from Northern Ireland posted a final-round 6-under 66 to go 25 under over four days. Collin Morikawa eagled the last hole for a 10-under 62, coming up just shy for second place at 24 under.

It was McIlroy’s second win of the calendar year and his 20th career Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour victory.

“To get to 20 wins out here is a big achievement,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, I mean, I didn’t know if it was going to be this week, but I knew if I just kept my head down and kept playing well and doing the right things, eventually I’d get there.”

Playing in the final pairing with 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler, McIlroy made five birdies and one bogey before reaching No. 14, a par 5. His second shot landed short of the green, but he used his putter to sink an uphill 35-footer.

“I never really saw it as a chip, I saw it as a putt,” McIlroy said. “There wasn’t much break in it actually. The only thing I needed to do was get the speed right and just try and judge what it was going to do coming through that first little bit of fairway. And it came out really nice. It grabbed the hole, or the hole grabbed the ball maybe is a better way of putting it.”

McIlroy — who posted a 62 on Saturday to shoot up the leaderboard — was playing his first competitive golf since last month’s Ryder Cup, where Team USA spanked his European side 19-9. He said he had done some reflecting since that week.

“I felt like I started to work on the right things on my game,” he said. “I didn’t think that it would translate into a win this quickly, but I’m thankful that it did.”

Morikawa, the No. 3 player in the world, was considered the favorite entering the week because The Summit Club is his home course. That local knowledge proved useful on Sunday, as he made seven birdies on the front nine to go out in 29 and made eagle on the par-5 18th by landing his second shot inside 7 feet of the pin.

“I was actually trying to land it just short of the ridge, but we knew if I flushed a 4-iron and I got some height on it, it would stop,” Morikawa said. “It was just exactly pretty much how we planned out. Always nice to finish on a couple good swings.”

Fowler slipped out of the lead with a double bogey at the par-5 seventh en route to a 1-under 71. He had to take an unplayable lie after his second shot at No. 7 and eventually three-putted.

Fowler finished T3 with Keith Mitchell (67), which he called “a big step in the right direction” after failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs last season. It’s his best finish since March 2019, when he tied for second at the Honda Classic.

“It felt good to finally hit the golf ball properly, at least most of the time, for 72 holes,” Fowler said. “A lot of quality shots, a lot of good swings this week.”

Talor Gooch (62), Sam Burns (66), Aaron Wise (66) and Australia’s Adam Scott (69) tied for fifth at 21 under.

Normally played in South Korea as part of the tour’s Asian swing, the CJ Cup was held in the Las Vegas area for the second straight year due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic travel restrictions. — Reuters

Constitutional basis for social responsibility of corporations vested with public interest

VECTORJUICE-FREEPIK

We come to the root of where all great debates in the Philippines seem to start or end up with — the constitutional basis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as the basis for upholding the Stakeholder Theory for publicly held companies and all other corporations vested with public interest.

Although the constitutionally guaranteed principles of private ownership and free-market system are now beyond argument, our Constitution has, in unmistakable terms, decreed the “social function” of private property and economic enterprises, even when held or pursued through corporate medium, thus:

SEC. 6. The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so demands.

Sections 9 and 10, Article II of the 1987 Constitution declare that society should care first and foremost for its masses, rather than emphasizing the “individualistic” rights to property and livelihood, thus:

SEC. 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

SEC. 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

In constitutional language, we as a nation declare that, above all else, equitable distribution of wealth and opportunities should be the main goals of society, and all activities, resources, and equity shall be deployed to achieve such ends; that economic progress, although important, when it benefits only the few would be an unwanted boon.

The doctrine of the “social function of Philippine corporations” has been upheld and applied by the Supreme Court in Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association, Inc. v. Romulo, where the main issue that had to be resolved was the lawfulness and constitutionality of the minimum corporate income tax (MCIT) imposed upon all corporations which did not report taxable income after the initial three succeeding taxable years of operations.

The Court summarized the technical aspect of the MCIT under the 1997 National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), thus: “Under the MCIT (minimum corporate income tax) scheme, a corporation, beginning on its fourth year of operation, is assessed an MCIT of 2% of its gross income when such MCIT is greater than the normal corporate income tax imposed under Section 27(A) of the NIRC. If the regular income tax is higher than the MCIT, the corporation does not pay the MCIT. Any excess of the MCIT over the normal tax shall be carried forward and credited against the normal income tax for the three immediately succeeding taxable years.”

The Court noted that “The MCIT on domestic corporations is a new concept introduced by RA 8424 to the Philippine taxation system. It came about as a result of the perceived inadequacy of the self-assessment system in capturing the true income of corporations. It was devised as a relatively simple and effective revenue-raising instrument compared to the normal income tax which is more difficult to control and enforce. It is a means to ensure that everyone will make some minimum contribution to the support of public sector.”

In justifying the constitutionality of the tax imposition, the Court in Chamber of Real Estate, employed a CSR principle that every corporation, even though operated primarily for profits, enjoys the protection granted by the State, and therefore is bound to assume certain social responsibilities, thus: “Domestic corporations owe their corporate existence and their privilege to do business to the government. They also benefit from the efforts of the government to improve the financial market and to ensure a favorable business climate. It is therefore fair for the government to require them to make a reasonable contribution to the public expenses.”

In fact, even the for-profit nature of private corporations was employed as the rationale for imposition of the MCIT, thus: The Court added: “The primary purpose of any legitimate business is to earn a profit. Continued and repeated losses after operations of a corporation or consistent reports of minimal net income render its financial statements and its tax payments suspect. For sure, certain tax avoidance schemes resorted to by corporations are allowed in our jurisdiction. The MCIT serves to put a cap on such tax shelters. As a tax on gross income, it prevents tax evasion and minimizes tax avoidance schemes achieved through sophisticated and artful manipulations of deductions and other strategems (sic). Since the tax base was broader, the tax rate was lower.”

In particular, on the argument that the MCIT is “unconstitutional because it is highly oppressive, arbitrary and confiscatory which amounts to deprivation of property without due process of law,” the Court employed not only the principle of taxes being the lifeblood of government, but also its duty to promote the common good, as the bases for upholding the lawfulness of the imposition, thus: “Taxes are the lifeblood of the government. Without taxes, the government can neither exist nor endure. The exercise of taxing power derives its source from the very existence of the State whose social contract with its citizens obliges it to promote public interest and the common good.”

We may therefore conclude with the thought that, in the exercise of its police power and the discharge of its duty to promote the common good, the State, through its agencies, and the judicial system, shall continue to promote and enhance the social function of private property, of the CSR of private corporations, and of ever-expanding and at the same clarifying the stakeholder theory in our jurisdiction.

There can therefore be little argument against the proposition that since private property and economic enterprise, which includes expressly that found in the corporate medium, is constitutionally endowed with “social function,” then the State may, through its various agencies, mandate a system of corporate governance that shall hold corporations, their Board of Directors and Management accountable to, and owing fiduciary duties, to stakeholders other than just the shareholders.

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.

 

Cesar L. Villanueva is chair of MAP Corporate Governance Committee, is a trustee of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), was the first chair of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (August 2011 to June 2016), is a former dean of the Ateneo Law School (April 2004 to September 2011), and a founding partner of Villanueva Gabionza & Dy Law Offices.

map@map.org.ph

cvillanueva@vgslaw.com

http://map.org.ph

Ending persistent poverty

BW FILE PHOTO

THE International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is annually commemorated on Oct. 17 to raise awareness about the need to end global poverty in all its forms everywhere. This year’s theme, “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, respecting all People and our Planet,” offers an opportunity to recognize those who are at the forefront of fighting poverty against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of climate change.

In adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community recommitted itself to the aspiration to “end poverty in all its forms, everywhere,” as embodied in the first of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Before COVID-19, nearly 1 billion people worldwide have been lifted out of poverty. In the Philippines, 6 million Filipinos were lifted out of poverty between 2015 and 2018. Official estimates show that the proportion of people in poverty across the country stood at 16.6% in 2018. The government reported that improved welfare conditions led to an expanding middle class and that the country was well on track to meeting its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) commitments. Until the pandemic hit.

COVID-19 is reversing decades of progress made in the fight against poverty in low- and middle-income countries around the world. In addition to the threat to public health, the economic and social disruption threatens the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions. In 2020 alone, 100 million people were pushed into poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Oct. 8, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the 2021 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). It paints a detailed picture of poverty around the world, complementing monetary measures by looking at how people experience deprivations in many of the aspects of life: quality of life, education, healthcare, and livelihood. The report showed that 1.3 billion people are still multi-dimensionally poor and are facing depravation of a wide range of basic necessities in varying degrees. The MPI offers policy makers better options to respond to the call of SDG 1 to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.

In the Philippines, the most recent publicly available survey data for its MPI estimation was in 2017 — pre-pandemic. It showed that 5.8% of the population is multidimensionally poor while an additional 7.3% is classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.

Various institutions have estimated that the pandemic has likely increased the ranks of the poor, potentially reversing the gains the Philippines made in 2018 — an obvious impact of COVID-19.

Together with the Zero Extreme Poverty Philippines 2030 coalition, UNDP commissioned a survey which covered more than 18,000 poor households in seven provinces and the capital. Through the COVID Pulse PH survey, we found that nearly three-fourths of those families had their incomes decreased when the pandemic struck. Those in locked-down Metro Manila could not go to work, while those in rural areas lost access to markets for their products. Most affected were those who depended on informal sources of livelihood. And the pandemic affected not only their livelihood but also their ability to access healthcare services and send their children to school.

The situation is fragile, and the poor are in a precarious position. The Philippine Human Development Report 2020/2021 reports that the recently expanded middle class is now shrinking.

COVID Pulse PH also inquired into the assets and capabilities the poor have: majority have basic business skills, those in urban areas can work online, and they overwhelmingly embody traits they would need for the new normal: resourcefulness, initiative, and learning independently.

Poverty is not merely income deprivation but a complex web of interconnected issues. The SDGs give us an inspiration: progress on one goal is necessary for progress on the others to happen. Poverty is multidimensional. No single actor in society can claim to have the sole solution for it. A systemic approach is required. Collective action is not an option, but is a must. We need to “build forward better together.”

Beyond looking at the numbers, we must do more to listen to those who suffer the most, address the indignities they face and tackle the power structures that prevent their inclusion in society. We must be reminded that our own survival is intrinsically connected to the well-being of our planet, this means ending poverty within planetary boundaries and placing human dignity at the heart of policy and action.

 

Dr. Selva Ramachandran is the UNDP Philippines resident representative.

Cooperating with the world to achieve a net-zero future

SUNSET over Taipei City — THOMAS TUCKER-UNSPLAH

AS THE COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere keep setting record highs. The Working Group I contribution to the 6th Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August 2021 strongly confirmed that human activity has furthered the warming of the atmosphere, oceans, and land. The atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, and biosphere have all undergone broad and rapid changes. The weather in 2021 has also been unstable, as can be seen by the winter storm in the US state of Texas that severely damaged the energy system and the record-setting temperatures of nearly 50 degrees Celsius on the North American west coast. By the same token, Western Europe and China have suffered from heavy rains. In addition, Taiwan experienced its worst drought in more than 50 years, which was followed by abnormally heavy rainfall. One can clearly see how climate change has profoundly affected the whole world.

With extreme weather events challenging the entire globe today, the United Nations calls on all countries to implement the Paris Agreement and take more proactive steps. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan strives to integrate with global efforts to mitigate climate change. President Tsai Ing-wen declared on this year’s Earth Day (April 22) that realizing net-zero emissions by 2050 is the goal of the world, including Taiwan. She also unveiled clear greenhouse gas emission targets for Taiwan. At the 33rd meeting of the National Council for Sustainable Development, Premier Su Tseng-chang announced the inclusion of the 2050 net-zero emission target in the amendment bill for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, demonstrating Taiwan’s determination to actively reduce carbon emissions. More and stronger management mechanisms and incentive systems will be introduced with other vital amendments so as to enhance governance efficiency, introduce carbon pricing mechanisms, and adapt strategies for climate change. Such measures aim to encourage private investment in research and development, as well as public participation in the sustainable development of Taiwan.

Taiwan has established long-term reduction targets and is planning a practical path to attain 2050 net-zero emissions. The Executive Yuan has coordinated relevant ministries and agencies, convened a working group on paths to net-zero emissions, and sought professional consultation from Academia Sinica and the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Four working groups have been formed to focus on the areas of decarbonized energy, industry and energy efficiency, green transportation and vehicle electrification, and carbon-negative technology so as to carry out interministerial technical assessments. With respect to energy and industrial policies, short-, medium-, and long-term markers for 2030, 2040, and 2050 will be set on the path toward net-zero emissions. In addition, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and other relevant ministries and agencies have launched a public consultation on visions for 2050 to facilitate social dialogue on critical issues such as agricultural and forestry carbon sinks, net-zero buildings, green transportation, low-carbon industries, economic instruments, and just transformation. With diverse participation from all sectors and research and development investment in innovative technology, Taiwan will seek the most suitable climate governance path for its sustainable development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that Taiwan’s industries are an extremely reliable and significant partner in the global supply chain. Countries worldwide have successively proposed new goals on net-zero emissions to bring about a net-zero economy. The Taiwan government aims to formulate a clear and comprehensive carbon reduction path and green growth strategy. Cooperation with private enterprises plays a critical role in these efforts. The Taiwan Climate Alliance, formed by eight ICT companies, has set the goal of using renewable energy in 100% of their manufacturing processes by 2050 and will lead other manufacturers in the supply chain to jointly reach this target. In addition, the Taiwan Alliance for Net Zero Emission, formed by traditional manufacturing, technology, finance, and service industries, seeks to attain net-zero carbon emissions at office sites by 2030 and at production sites by 2050. To support the climate actions of enterprises and other actors in the private sector, the Taiwan government has implemented financial mechanisms such as green financing and green bonds, thus creating a virtuous circle in the investment and industrial pursuit of sustainable development.

Taiwan, situated in a region highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, has long been actively engaged in policy formulation, the establishment of related legal systems, energy transformation, technological research and development, industrial innovation, social transformation, and environmental sustainability in response to climate change. It hopes to actively construct a sustainable green homeland from the facets of supply, manufacturing, demand, and environmental protection. Furthermore, Taiwan will continue to share its experiences and capabilities with the international community to overcome this crisis.

The spirit of cooperating and working together remains key to accelerating and extending global efforts. Although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it will always seek to be a model citizen for the international community. We will continue to work with all other countries to foster a global net-zero emissions future and a more resilient living environment for coming generations and to realize intergenerational justice.

 

Chang Tzi-Chin is the minister of the Environmental Protection Administration of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Energy prices, climate spending and NGCP

The bad energy supply situation in Europe, China, and India has worsened as evidenced by continued rise in prices of key energy commodities. This column discussed this topic three weeks ago.*

HUGE SPIKE IN GAS AND COAL PRICES
Over the last three weeks, the price of coal has nearly doubled while EU gas and UK gas prices are three to four times higher than end-2020 levels. The year to date (YTD) or from end-2020 to Sept. 24 then Oct. 15, 2021 percentage increase in prices are shown in Table 1.

Now more businesses recognize that solar-wind are non-reliable sources as shown by their continued index price contraction. And the EU carbon permits index continued to slide. The non-distortionary price of carbon permit or carbon tax should be zero.

COP26 AND CLIMATE SPENDING
The UN Climate Change Conference known as COP26 will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, UK. “The Conversation” has estimated that about 25,000 people from around the world are expected to attend. They will burn lots of fossil fuels in this global travel to demand “net zero” reduction if not the death of fossil fuels for the rest of humanity who are not privileged like them.

While waiting for a portion of that $100 billion a year of climate money from rich countries as agreed upon in COP20 in Paris in 2015, the Philippine government has been doing big climate spending on its own, P184 billion in 2020 and P284 billion in 2022. Many departments and agencies jumped into the climate issue because there is huge funding allocation (see Table 2).

Excluded here are climate spending of many LGUs as they have other sources of revenues aside from the transfers they get from the National Government. Also excluded here is the budget of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) with P118.7 million in 2020, P150.5 million in 2021, and a proposed P145.4 million in 2022.

Hundreds of billions of pesos yearly to fight less rain and more rain, less flood and more flood, less cold and more cold. Whatever the weather and climate, they say it is a scary “climate crisis” and just spend-spend-spend then tax-tax-tax the public.

NGCP AND TRANSMISSION ISSUES
These recent reports in BusinessWorld caught my attention:

• “Meralco rates to go up this month” (Oct. 8),

• “ADB funding for climate mitigation projects since 2011 hits $31.5 billion” (Oct. 11),

• “NGO says RE plants prone to fewer outages than coal-fired facilities” (Oct. 14),

• “NGOs say ADB climate financing targets not ambitious enough” (Oct. 17).

Report number 1 is due to higher transmission charge, higher ancillary service (AS) charges by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). AS are needed most if the grid has plenty of intermittent, unstable, and weather-dependent sources like wind-solar, also ageing conventional sources like old coal, geothermal, and hydro plants.

And this belies the claim by NGOs in report No. 3. They hide the inconvenient truth that wind-solar are intermittent and will require AS 24/7. That solar is out every night, 365 nights a year, and even at day time when it is very cloudy and rainy. Wind is also out when the wind does not blow. This is what happened in Europe since around July this year — they had calm weather, the wind hardly blew, and they have so many wind farms, and the grid was edging towards blackout so they scampered for more gas and coal, even at high, prices to prevent actual blackouts.

Reports No. 2 and 3 are related to climate spending discussed above. And the ADB is bitten by the same NGOs it has accredited as partners because these NGOs will not be satisfied with $31 billion or $100 billion of climate-related lending.

Finally, a good opinion column by Barok Biraogo, “The NGCP controversy should be an election issue” in Manila Standard on Oct. 8. He noted that the only national monopoly in the country “the NGCP made hostages of both the Philippine government and the Filipino people by declaring that there will be no hikes in electricity bills if the NGCP is allowed to violate its franchise and to ignore the EPIRA… the Communist Party of China, which controls the NGCP… has been hiring Chinese nationals for its management posts. This is a violation of the constitutional provisions on alien involvement in public utilities, as well as the Anti-Dummy Law. In short, Congress has valid reasons to cancel the NGCP franchise.”

*See https://www.bworldonline.com/energy-prices-gdp-projections-the-erc-and-hydro-development/.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Richest families in Southeast Asia scout for the next unicorn

REUTERS

SOME of Southeast Asia’s old-money tycoons are boosting investment in technology startups, looking to ride a wave of surging valuations as they seek to counter the fallout of the pandemic on businesses ranging from retail to hospitality and manufacturing.

Holding companies, family investing arms and other vehicles of moguls from Thailand’s Dhanin Chearavanont to the Philippines’ Lance Gokongwei are either plowing millions of dollars directly into promising companies or setting up venture capital funds. Partnering with Silicon Valley venture capital firms is also gaining popularity.

With the flurry of investments, these traditional brick-and-mortar business empires are also transitioning to a new world of e-commerce and digitization, paving the way for fresh revenue streams after being crippled by months of lockdowns and travel restrictions. The pivot has gained even more urgency under a new crop of leaders — in some cases younger, third-generation heirs.

“The universe of family money in Southeast Asia has become very alive to what technology and tech investments are bringing because of recent startup successes,” said Vishal Harnal, managing partner of 500 Startups Southeast Asia, which was an early investor in ride-hailing giant Grab and online marketplace Carousell. “There’s a lot more family money coming in to chase that, and the pandemic’s accelerated that race.”

The conglomerates, which have helped power Southeast Asia’s economies for decades, are now facing some tough challenges as governments still battle to contain COVID-19 infections. The Asian Development Bank last month slashed the 2021 growth outlook for the region to 3.1%, saying “developing Asia remains vulnerable” to the pandemic.

CHASING UNICORNS
Although Covid-19 has decimated tourism and retail in Southeast Asia, the region is home to some of the fastest-growing internet markets. Venture backers made a record 393 deals in the first half of 2021, raising $4.4 billion by investing in startups across Southeast Asia, according to a separate research by Cento Ventures.

Among the leaders in the race is Charoen Pokphand Group Co., a 100-year-old Thai conglomerate spanning agri-food to retail and telecommunications. The group’s senior chairman is Dhanin, the head of Thailand’s wealthiest business dynasty.

Bangkok-based CP Group led a series C investment round in startup Ascend Money in September -— backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. — that spawned Thailand’s first fintech unicorn with a valuation of $1.5 billion. CP Group also partnered with Siam Commercial Bank the same month to set up a $800-million emerging-technologies venture fund, seeding it with $100 million each.

“CP Group is actively embracing innovation and exploring advanced technologies such as robotics, logistics, cloud and other digital technologies,” said Yue Jun Jiang, CP Group’s chief technology officer. “Southeast Asia is going into a golden era of transformation where corporations are upgrading with advanced technologies and new business models, and the pandemic has further accelerated digitization.”

In Indonesia, Intudo Ventures raised $115 million to close its third fund in September to focus on the region’s biggest digital economy. Investors in the fund include more than 30 Indonesian families and their conglomerates, according to the company.  

PLUG AND PLAY
Plug and Play Tech Center, a Sunnyvale, California-based early-stage investor that’s backed more than 20 unicorns including PayPal Holdings, Inc., has signed on more than a dozen partners in Southeast Asia, most of them family-controlled groups. They include Philippine construction-to-power conglomerate Aboitiz Power Corp. in the Philippines, Thailand’s CP Group and Indonesia’s Astra International.

While the surging valuations may be alluring, the groups face some risks as they embrace the tech strategy.

Early stage companies typically burn a lot of cash before showing any signs of gaining traction in their businesses. They also require a lot more support and guidance than established corporations may be willing to offer. Plus, the conglomerates also have to jostle with investors with deeper pockets and longer experience such as sovereign-wealth and venture capital funds.

But many family-owned businesses are undaunted by the challenges. Some have started pilot projects with tech startups with the aim of investing in those with promising technologies. They are seeking deals and partnerships that run the gamut from manufacturing automation to sustainable innovations, as well as fintech, health tech and electrical vehicles.

“They’re looking at what will impact their business, like the pandemic, and they need to develop new ideas,” said Shawn Dehpanah, Plug and Play’s executive vice president and Asia-Pacific head of corporate innovation and investment. “These big corporations are the pillar for speeding up innovation among startups now.”

TECH PARK
Even Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas company PTT Pcl doesn’t want to be left behind. It’s signed a partnership agreement with Plug and Play, and this month, one of its units, teamed with 500 Startups to set up a $25 million fund to invest in early-stage businesses in Thailand and Southeast Asia that can help the group expand its own footprint.

CP Group unit True Corp., Thailand’s No. 2 mobile operator, meanwhile has spent about $17 million to build Southeast Asia’s largest tech park that now houses a mix of foreign and domestic ventures, as well as the local operations of established tech giants such as Google and Mitsubishi Corp.

The tech park, which takes a leaf out of Silicon Valley’s book by outfitting the space with sports and entertainment facilities and adding venture capital pitch sessions, is set to expand next year.

Such investments will help accelerate the cycle of innovation and build tech ecosystems in developing markets like Thailand, said Vinnie Lauria, founding partner at Golden Gate Ventures in Singapore.

“I’ve been impressed meeting with the family patriarchs,” said Lauria, whose venture capital firm is also a True Digital Park partner in Bangkok. “They are asking the right questions about how to build and grow their businesses with tech.” — Bloomberg

Myanmar junta leader blames opponents for prolonging unrest  

FLOWERS hang during a nationwide flower campaign against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, April 2, 2021. — REUTERS

Myanmar’s junta chief on Monday said that the ruling military was committed to peace and democracy, and that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should consider the provocations and violence being carried out by its opponents.  

In his first comments since Myanmar’s neighbors decided to exclude him from an upcoming ASEAN summit over a lack of commitment to its five-point roadmap, Min Aung Hlaing reiterated the junta’s own five-stage plan to restore democracy.  

Min Aung Hlaing, who led the Feb. 1 coup that plunged Myanmar into deadly chaos, made no mention of the ASEAN decision, but suggested the outlawed National Unity Government (NUG) and armed ethnic groups were trying to sabotage the ASEAN-led peace process.  

“More violence happened due to provocations of terrorist groups,” Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech on television, where he appeared in civilian attire. “No one cares about their violence, and is only demanding we solve the issue. ASEAN should work on that.”  

ASEAN decided to invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to its Oct. 26–28 summit, in an unprecedented snub to the military leaders behind the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.  

Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar wanted ASEAN’s special envoy, Erywan Yusof, to visit the country as agreed, but some of his demands were non-negotiable. He did not elaborate.  

The NUG, a broad alliance of anti-coup groups that includes members of Suu Kyi’s ousted ruling party, has backed the training and formation of militias called “People’s Defence Forces” behind attacks on security forces in several regions of the country.  

The NUG recently declared a nationwide rebellion against military rule.  

The shadow government on Monday welcomed ASEAN’s exclusion of the junta leader, but said the NUG should be the legitimate representative.  

IMPORTANT STEP 
“ASEAN excluding Min Aung Hlaing is an important step, but we request that they recognize us as the proper representative,” said its spokesman Dr. Sasa.  

However, he said the NUG would accept inviting a truly neutral alternative Myanmar representative.  

ASEAN’s decision was an unusually bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which traditionally favors a policy of engagement and non-interference.  

Brunei, ASEAN’s current chair, issued a statement citing a lack of progress on a roadmap that the junta had agreed to with ASEAN in April.  

A spokesman for the military government at the weekend blamed “foreign intervention” for the decision.  

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which ended a decade of tentative democracy and economic reform. Thousands of its opponents have been arrested, including Ms. Suu Kyi.  

Security forces have killed more than 1,100 people, according to activists and the United Nations.  

Minutes after Min Aung Hlaing’s speech, state television announced that more than 5,600 people arrested or subject to arrest warrants over their roles in anti-coup protests would be freed in an amnesty.  

It said the decision was on humanitarian grounds, and blamed the shadow government for causing the unrest. — Reuters 

iPhone 13’s price predicted to drop 12% in six months 

By Patricia Mirasol 

Data shows that consumers can save 12%, or P6,959, if they purchase the iPhone 13’s 256GB model six months after its expected release date on Oct. 22. Waiting a year will further reduce the price by 13%, for a total savings of P7,539, according to iPrice, a Southeast Asian e-commerce aggregator site.  

The iPhone 13 sells at P57,990 for the 256GB model. Its 128GB model, meanwhile, is P51,994, or $1,025, said MoneySuperMarket, a UK-based site that compares various deals online. 

Filipino Apple fans would need to work an average of 775 hours (or 97 days) to purchase the 128GB model, the deal comparison site also said. This makes the Philippines the least affordable country to purchase the latest iPhone. In comparison, people residing in Switzerland – a country where the average annual salary is $79,270 – will only need to work 34 hours to purchase the same model.  

The least expensive place to get the iPhone 13 is Hong Kong, where the 128GB option starts at $874.  

IPrice’s research also determined the unique selling point of iPhone 13 by using data from GSM Arena. It found that the latest iPhone’s battery (with a A15 bionic processor and an 11% larger battery), cameras (with a 12-megapixel system featuring larger sensor-shift stabilization), and screen performance (with a higher absolute color accuracy plus its ProMotion refresh rate) are exclusive to the smartphone.  

Apple’s latest iPhone has been available for pre-booking since Sept. 17. Analysts at J.P.Morgan and Credit Suisse said customers worldwide who had pre-ordered online would have to wait about two weeks for the base iPhone 13.  

Market and consumer data firm Statista said iPhone sales consistently make more than 40% of the California-based company’s overall share of sales. Sales for the phone accounted for 48.59% of Apple’s overall revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021.

China’s economy stumbles on power crunch, property woes 

REUTERS

BEIJING — China’s economy hit its slowest pace of growth in a year in the third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and major wobbles in the property market and raising pressure on policymakers to do more to prop up the faltering recovery.  

Data released on Monday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in July–September from a year earlier, the weakest clip since the third quarter of 2020 and missing forecasts.  

The world’s second-largest economy is facing several major challenges, including the China Evergrande Group debt crisis, ongoing supply chain delays and a critical electricity crunch, which sent factory output to its weakest since early 2020, when heavy coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) curbs were in place.  

“The domestic economic recovery is still unstable and uneven,” said National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesperson Fu Linghui at a briefing in Beijing on Monday.  

China’s economy had staged an impressive rebound from last year’s pandemic slump thanks to effective virus containment and hot overseas demand for the country’s manufactured goods. But the recovery has lost steam from the blistering 18.3% growth clocked in the first quarter of this year.  

“In response to the ugly growth numbers we expect in coming months, we think policymakers will take more steps to shore up growth, including ensuring ample liquidity in the interbank market, accelerating infrastructure development and relaxing some aspects of overall credit, and real estate policies,” said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics.  

A Reuters poll of analysts had expected GDP to rise 5.2% in the third quarter.  

The weak numbers sent the yuan and most Asian stock markets lower amid broader investor concerns about the world economic recovery.  

Global worries about a possible spillover of credit risk from China’s property sector into the wider economy have also intensified as major developer China Evergrande Group wrestles with more than $300 billion of debt.  

Chinese leaders, fearful that a persistent property bubble could undermine the country’s long-term ascent, are likely to maintain tough curbs on the sector even as the economy slows, but could soften some tactics as needed, policy sources and analysts said.  

NEW RISKS 
New construction starts in September slumped for a sixth straight month, NBS data showed, the longest spate of monthly declines since 2015, as cash-strapped developers reined in investment and paused projects following tighter borrowing limits.  

Meanwhile, the industrial sector has been hit by power rationing triggered by coal shortages, as well as environmental curbs on heavy polluters like steel plants and floods over the summer.  

Overall industrial output rose just 3.1% in September from a year earlier, marking the slowest growth since March 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic.  

Aluminum output declined for the fifth consecutive month and daily crude steel output hit the lowest level since 2018.  

Bucking the negative trend, retail sales grew 4.4%, faster than forecasts and the 2.5% growth in August, and the surveyed nationwide jobless rate fell from 5.1% to 4.9%.  

“Most of the [negative] factors are policy-driven… the economy is having a lot of pain points and these pain points are not going away soon because policies are here to stay, and therefore it will continue into 2022,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.  

On a quarterly basis, growth eased to 0.2% in July–September from a downwardly revised 1.2% in the second quarter.  

Premier Li Keqiang said last week that China has ample tools to cope with economic challenges despite slowing growth, and expressed confidence in hitting full-year development goals.  

On Sunday, People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang said the economy is expected to grow 8% this year.  

“At present, China’s fiscal strength is continuously increasing, and there is still relatively big room for monetary policy,” said the NBS’s Mr. Fu.  

Still, the central bank is expected to remain cautious about monetary easing due to worries about high debt and property risks.  

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the People’s Bank of China to refrain from attempts to stimulate the economy by reducing the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve until the first quarter of 2022. — Kevin Yao and Gabriel Crossley/Reuters  

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