Presidential son and newbie solon gets senior deputy majority leader post

July 26, 2022 | 6:49 pm

ILOCOS Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos III stands behind his father, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., during the latter’s oath-taking ceremony on June 30 in Manila. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ KRIZJOHN ROSALES

ILOCOS Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos III, son of the President and on his first term in the House of Representatives, has been given the post of senior deputy majority leader during Tuesday’s session.

With the post, Mr. Marcos will also be a member of the House Committee on Rules, which determines procedures on inquiries, impeachment, and scheduling of proposed bills, among others.

Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente “Joey” S. Salceda retained his post as chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means while AKO BICOL Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co was appointed as chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations.

For the minority, 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino C. Libanan will stand as leader while Northern Samar Rep. Paul R. Daza was named senior deputy minority leader. — Matthew Carl L. Montecillo

Fate of K-12 education program out by next year

July 26, 2022 | 6:49 pm

enrollment-2022-PHILSTAR-EDD-GUMBAN — STUDENTS of Lakan Dula High School in Manila register on July 26 for the new school year that will start on Aug. 22. — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

VICE PRESIDENT and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio said her team was given until next year to decide on the fate of the Kinder to Grade 12 (K-12) program, which has been criticized for failing to achieve its goals while adding financial burden to families.

“We were given by President [Ferdinand R.] Marcos one year, this School Year 2022-2023, to give a final answer about our K-12 program,” she told an economic briefing on Tuesday held after Mr. Marcos’ first address to Congress.

Ms. Duterte said the Department of Education under her predecessor already “initiated the review of K-12 and they are about to finish and wrap up and make their report on the review of Kinder to Grade 10.”

“My administration will start the review on Grades 11 to 12,” she said.

Mr. Marcos said in his State of the Nation Address that a careful review of the education curriculum’s viability is being done. “All necessary inputs and points of view are being considered.”

The 10-year-old education curriculum extended the basic education cycle to include two additional years in the secondary level with the goal of giving learners opportunities to acquire the necessary skills demanded by the labor market.

At the same briefing, Ms. Duterte said she and Labor chief Bienvenido E. Laguesma are in talks to “strengthen and intensify our coordination particularly in the Philippine Skills Framework between the Department of Labor and DepEd.”

Mr. Laguesma was present during the briefing. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Group calls for release of indigenous community members arrested during Davao City SONA rally

July 26, 2022 | 6:48 pm

A GROUP that campaigns for the rights of political prisoners on Tuesday called for the immediate release of two members of an indigenous peoples (IP) community who were arrested at a rally in Davao City during President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s first address to Congress on Monday.

Kapatid, a support organization of families and friends of political prisoners in the Philippines, said brothers Ismael Pangdas, 22, and Mawing Pangdas, 19, were members of the Kabataan Party-list, which held a rally at a park designated for protest actions.

The group said the brothers face “trumped-up politically motivated cases” under the new administration.

“It is the height of irony that two Lumad (Visayan term for indigenous, used collectively by IPs in Mindanao) youths were arrested in what is supposed to be the Freedom Park of Davao City while their former Mayor and now Vice President and Secretary of Education also ordered the closure of Lumad schools as she paraded in Lumad Bagobo attire during the State of the Nation Address,” it said.

Vice-President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio donned a traditional Bagobo Tagabawa dress at the President’s first SONA.

Kapatid said the arrests showed that political repression and oppression of marginalized indigenous peoples will continue under the Marcos-Duterte administration. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Twice-to-beat teams SMB, TNT eye shorter route to semifinals

July 26, 2022 | 6:26 pm

SMB_PBA-images — TOP seed San Miguel Beer faces eight ranked Blackwater. — PBA MEDIA

FOR top seed San Miguel Beer (SMB) and No. 2 TNT, it’s time to reap the fruits of all their hard work throughout the eliminations and mad dash for the two coveted quarterfinal incentives.

With fresher legs and a shorter route to the PBA Philippine semifinals, the twice-to-beat Beermen seek to advance straightaway with a victory against eighth-ranked Blackwater in tonight’s 6 p.m. main game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Giga carry the same mission against No. 7 Converge at 3 p.m. as they try to take the next step in their title-retention bid.

The odds may be in their favor but TNT coach Chot Reyes said they should be on their toes against the tough league debutants. In their lone meeting in the elims, the Tropang Giga needed Jayson Castro’s late heroics to pull off an 86-83 escape act against the upset-conscious FiberXers.

“Iyung effort namin in our game in the elimination round, it’s not going to be enough come the playoffs,” said Mr. Reyes. “So iyun ang focus talaga namin, we have to raise the level of our game.”

He noted Converge’s strong offensive rebounding and fastbreak game as among the major areas to address for the Tropang Giga to stop the FiberXers from forcing a deciding game.

“They’re a big team and well-distributed ang minutes nila so mapapalaban kami nang husto nito,” said Mr. Reyes. “We have to keep them off the glass, stop them sa fastbreak and also important, at least ma-match yung energy nila.”

It’s been 17 days since TNT’s last outing and the break allowed Troy Rosario and Brian Heruela to recover from their respective injuries and get ready for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, rejuvenated June Mar Fajardo and the Beermen look to continue their climb back to the summit and standing in their way is a Bossing team bent on saving a sputtering redemption campaign and extending its redemption tour.

The Bossing made the playoffs again after their league-worst 29-game losing streak. But after a promising 5-1 start, they spiraled to five successive losses to find themselves paired with mighty SMB.

“Still positive. Sabi ko nga sa team, we’re four games better than last conference (1-10 in the Governors’ Cup). We’re in the playoffs, we’re not dead,” said Blackwater mentor Ariel Vanguardia. “But we have to put our acts together against San Miguel.” — Olmin Leyba

EJ Obiena targets Paris Games medal and six-meter club

July 26, 2022 | 6:26 pm

WORLD Athletics Championships pole-vault bronze medalist EJ Obiena isn’t done rewriting history.

A day after his glorious Eugene, Oregon feat where he delivered the Philippines its first podium finish in the Worlds, Mr. Obiena said he is eyeing to accomplish two more things what only a rare few had done — snare an Olympic medal and join the elite 6-meter club.

“There are a lot of things I want to do in the sport. I’m still happy to win the bronze medal but missing six meters is like yeah, there’s something I need to do,” said Mr. Obiena during yesterday’s zoom meeting he hosted.

“There’s only 24 people who reached the six-meter mark, I want to be the 25^th,” he added.

Mr. Obiena had his chances in Eugene though as he went for 6m but missed in three attempts.

But his 5.94m was enough to deliver the country its first medal in the history of the biennial event while shattering the old Asian mark of 5.93m he himself set in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria last year.

The Southeast Asian Games gold medalist will have his opportunities to breach the 6m-mark as he is scheduled to see action in the Silesia leg of the Diamond League set on Aug. 6 in Poland and the Gyulai Istvan Memorial-Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix on Aug. 8 in Hungary.

Another goal that would cement Mr. Obiena’s status as one of the biggest, brightest stars of the sport is if he could win medal in the Olympics, a first by a Filipino since Miguel White copped a 400m hurdles bronze in the 1936 Berlin Games.

To achieve this, Mr. Obiena said he must level up with rivals Armand Duplantis, who set a new world record of 6.21 in Eugene, and American Christopher Nilsen, who snatched the silver with a 5.94m.

“That’s the plan, that’s definitely what I want to achieve. Mondo (Duplantis) is definitely a force to be respected, to be reckoned with and Chris (Nilsen) is a competitor and everybody else in the field so if it’s going to be a medal, that I can’t say. Hopefully it will be a better case in Paris,” he said. — Joey Villar

UAAP champion UP shoots for solo lead

July 26, 2022 | 6:25 pm

UP_Filoil-EcoOil-Sports — UP Maroons’ forward Carl Tamayo — FILECO SPORTS

REIGNING UAAP champion University of the Philippines (UP) shoots for a solo lead while defending NCAA titlist Letran finally dives into action against separate opponents in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The Fighting Maroons collide with fellow UAAP squad University of the East (UE) at 5 p.m. in Group A right after Letran’s Group B debut against another NCAA team in Jose Rizal U at 3 p.m. to headline the quintuple bill.

Emilio Aguinaldo College and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta open the show at 9 am. followed by matches of Far Eastern U-San Sebastian and Arellano-National U at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

The spotlight is on the undefeated Maroons under the leadership of Gilas Pilipinas forward Carl Tamayo as they go for a 3-0 card in Group A.

Mr. Tamayo who’s lording it over the Filoil competition with double-double averages of 19.0 points and 12.5 rebounds.

Mr. Tamayo’s Gilas teammate in Rhenz Abando, on the other hand, is expected to banner the Knights in their Filoil debut along with ace guard Fran Yu.

Both UP and Letran are touted as the heavy favorites to top their respective groups as only four teams from each pool will advance to the knockout quarterfinals after a single-round robin eliminations.

The Fighting Maroons and the Knights are gearing up for their defense bids in the UAAP and the NCAA, which will return to a full calendar in September after compressed formats last season. — John Bryan Ulanday

Puentevella not sure if Hidilyn Diaz will continue her lifting glory

July 26, 2022 | 6:23 pm

Hidilyn_officialfb — HIDILYN Diaz with her husband/trainer Julius Naranjo — HIDILYN DIAZ OFFICIAL FB

THE WORLD Weightlifting Championships set in Bogota, Colombia in December this year could decide whether Tokyo Games gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz will continue in her pursuit for more Olympic glory or just end it to focus on her personal life.

“If she does not do well in Colombia, I think I have to talk to both of them as one of their godfathers to just focus on family because she has nothing more to prove, she deserves to be happy,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella during yesterday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that coincided with Ms. Diaz’s wedding with her trainer Julius Naranjo in Baguio.

“After her wedding, we will see in the World Championship if she still really has something left in her, I would tell her to go for it. But if there is really none left, I will advice her to raise a family,” he added.

One other problem that could pose as another threat to Ms. Diaz’s bid to have another go at the quadrennial event was her division — the 55 kilograms — was scrapped from the Paris calendar.

“If she does well, she would have to think if she’s willing to go down on weight at 49kgs or go higher at 59kgs where she would compete with Elreen Ando,” said Mr. Puentevella. “If she goes up, she would compete against bigger women. If she choses 49kgs, she would need to go down by six kilos and she would be forced not to eat.”

Mr. Puentevella also announced Ms. Diaz’s participation in the National Open set Aug. 8 to 12 in Tagbilaran, Bohol.

“Hidilyn will be peforming on an exhibition basis in Tagbilaran fresh from honeymoon,” he said.

It would also be a busy year not just for Ms. Diaz but also for the rest of the national team as the country is scheduled to join the Asian Senior Championships slated in October in Bahrain where teenage sensation Vanessa Sarno will be eyeing to improve on her two-gold, one-silver haul in the 71kg class in last year’s edition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

But whether or not Ms. Diaz could make it that far, Mr. Puentevella remains optimistic of the country’s chances in Paris.

“A gold and silver in Paris,” he said. — Joey Villar

‘Bong’ Coo: Happy to be of service to fellow athletes and PHL sports

July 26, 2022 | 6:23 pm

THE APPOINTMENT of bowling legend Olivia “Bong” Coo as board member of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) meant there would be at least one big ally by the athletes and national sports associations in the agency.

“My position as an athlete and NSA official will help me to see both sides and I’m sure it will help me in the PSC,” said Ms. Coo during yesterday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

“I’ve come full circle because this is the highest I have attained. I’m very happy to be of service to my fellow athletes and Philippine sports as a whole,” she added.

The 74-year-old Ms. Coo has a perspective of an athlete having brought home so many accolades for the country having topped the World Cup, the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games among others while serving as secretary-general and eventually president of the Philippine Bowling Congress.

Now she will help chart the course of the country seeking to extend Philippine sports’ glorious era following the breakthrough gold medal won by lifter Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Olympics last year.

“I’m sure we’re getting already there, we already had a great start. I’m sure the PSC will be helping all NSAs to be able to achieve the gold medals we all desire to win,” said Ms. Coo. — Joey Villar

Alex Eala jumps to career best No. 282 WTA ranking

July 26, 2022 | 6:22 pm

ALEX Eala’s meteoric rise in the international tennis scene reached another peak after barging into Top 300 rankings of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

From No. 317, Ms. Eala jumped 35 notches to No. 282 as per the WTA list on Tuesday for her new career-best placing in the women’s pro circuit.

Ms. Eala, only 17 years of age, started at No. 526 this season and way outside the Top 1000 when she turned pro in 2020.

She has won two championships since then in Spain and Thailand with hopes of capturing more crowns in a bevy of tournaments still in line for her this season.

Last week, she just fell short from that bid after a semifinal exit in the W60 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain. She also finished runner-up in the W60 Madrid last month.

With only a little break, Ms. Eala is slated to play in the W25 El Espinar/Segovia also in Spain starting today with a first-round action against Maria Bondarenko.

The Filipina wunderkind opted to focus on women’s tournaments this season more than the juniors, where she was once the world No. 3 player built on two doubles Grand Slams in Australian and French Open. — John Bryan Ulanday

Red Sox snap cold spell with win over Guardians

July 26, 2022 | 6:22 pm

A PAIR of sixth-inning runs helped the host Boston Red Sox edge the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

After Rob Refsnyder walked to lead off the frame, Alex Verdugo doubled him home to give Boston a 2-1 lead. Xander Bogaerts’ base hit moved Verdugo to third, and Christian Vazquez singled him home to give Boston a cushion it would retain to snap a five-game losing streak.

Yolmer Sanchez also drove in a run for the Red Sox, who hadn’t won since before the All-Star break.

Zach Plesac (2-8) allowed all three runs in addition to three hits in five innings of work. He walked three and struck out four.

John Schreiber (3-1) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief and picked up two strikeouts. Starter Nick Pivetta was strong across 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits with six strikeouts. He walked three.

Garrett Whitlock picked up his second save of the season. The right-hander retired all six batters he faced in order, fanning two of them.

Jose Ramirez and Myles Straw both went 2-for-4 for a Cleveland offense that didn’t record an extra-base hit. Ramirez drove in Straw with a single in the fifth for the lone Guardians run.

The Red Sox got on the board with back-to-back hits in the third inning just before a 38-minute rain delay began.

Jackie Bradley Jr. led off the inning with a double off the Green Monster and crossed the plate on Sanchez’s line-drive single into the left-field corner. It was Sanchez’s second RBI in just as many days, and he’s hit safely in two of four games since being recalled from Triple-A Worcester last week.

Cleveland didn’t get on the scoreboard until the fifth when Ramirez flicked a game-tying base hit inside the third-base bag.

Trevor Stephan and Sam Hentges each provided 2/3 of an inning out of the Guardians bullpen, and James Karinchak struck out four across 1 2/3 scoreless frames. — Reuters

Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaq, signing with G League Ignite

July 26, 2022 | 6:21 pm

SHAREEF O’Neal is signing with the G League Ignite after going unselected in last month’s NBA draft.

“VEGAS LETS DO IT!!” the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal tweeted Monday, referencing the city where the Ignite is based. “Thank you ignite!”

The Athletic reported O’Neal signed “a six-figure contract” with the Ignite.

The G League Ignite was formed in 2020 as an alternative development route for elite NBA prospects to pursue instead of college basketball, but those who have played collegiately and turned pro are also eligible. The Ignite play an exhibition schedule of G League opponents and international teams.

The 2022-23 Ignite roster will include O’Neal, former five-star high school prospect Scoot Henderson, Washington State transfer Efe Abogidi, Canadian five-star Leonard Miller and French 18-year-old Sidy Cissoko.

The Ignite had three players selected in last month’s draft — Australian Dyson Daniels (No. 8 overall), MarJon Beauchamp (No. 24) and Jaden Hardy (second round, No. 37).

O’Neal, 22, played for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League this month. In two games he averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over 9.6 minutes per game.

O’Neal played 13 games for UCLA in 2019-20 before transferring to LSU for two seasons. In 37 career NCAA games, he averaged 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He averaged 50 percent from the floor for the Tigers last season, including 60 percent from 2-point range. — Reuters

PHL chess team off to Solo, Indonesia for ASEAN Para Games

July 26, 2022 | 6:21 pm

THE Philippine team seeing action in the 11th ASEAN Para Games slated July 30 to Aug. 6 in Solo, Indonesia left the country yesterday with one goal in mind—make the country proud.

The bulk of the 212-strong delegation flew to Solo via a chartered flight arranged by the Philippine Sports Commission that included an optimistic 22-strong chess team seeking to harvest multiple gold medals.

“We will do our best for the country,” said national para chess tean coach James Infiesto, whose team will be bannered by quadruple 2018 Jakarta Asian Games gold medalist Sander Severino.

The PSC had given its full support to the team via the P31.7 million released to cover the Nationals’ actual participation not to mention the P10.4 million for training equipment, supplies and uniforms and P7.7 million for their bubble training months before.

“We support our national para-athletes as much as we support our abled athletes. This is their chance to raise the flag again in the 11th ASEAN Para Games,” said PSC executive director and officer-in-charge Atty. Guillermo B. Iroy Jr.

“We wish them all the best this APG. They are the greatest pride of the country, especially for the PWD community. We are all behind them, win or lose,” he added.

Chess is one of the sports the country is expected to draw its victories and help duplicate, if not surpass, its 20-gold, 20-silver and 20-bronze medal haul in the biennial games that will finally push through after several cancellations and postponements due to the pandemic.

The team will also to try to improve on its four-gold, three-silver, nine-bronze haul in Kuala Lumpur where Severino encountered some rough patches and wound up with three mints.

But with the addition of blitz where the country is strong at and the strengthening of the women’s team with the arrival of Cheyzer Mendoza, a talented former University of the Philippines standout, there were high hopes the Filipino chessers could reach new heights.

Chess will stake a total of 36 golds—12 in standard, 12 in rapid and 12 in blitz—spread in different classes of disability.