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DBM OKs P19B for school improvements

Students help teachers clean the classroom at a school in Marikina. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P19.06 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for school improvements.

In a statement on Tuesday, the fund aimed to build and renovate public school classrooms and other facilities throughout the country.

Out of the total, P15.52 billion will be charged under the Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF), P2.61 billion for the Last Mile Schools Program, and P925 million for the Conservation and Restoration of Gabaldon and Other Heritage School Buildings.

“This is to help decongest classrooms and bring better, safer, and conducive learning environments to students in high-need areas, which is aligned with the directive of President Bongbong Marcos to further strengthen our education sector,” she said.

This initiative is part of the P28.06 billion total allocation under the BEFF in the Agency-Specific Budget of the Department of Education under 2025 budget, where P23.84 billion was transferred to the DPWH.

“From the recent SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) releases, P2.969 billion covers the construction of 939 new classrooms in 235 sites all over the Philippines,” it said.

The DBM said P4.887 billion will go to the repair and rehabilitation of 6,275 classrooms in 546 sites, while P498.75 million will go to the installation and upgrading of water systems, toilets, hand washing stations, and other health and sanitation facilities in 176 schools.

It added that P2.61 billion has been released for the Last Mile Schools Program and P925 million for the conservation and restoration of 404 heritage schools like the Gabaldon buildings.

The Public Works department is currently facing public scrutiny for the anomalous flood control budgets that prompted the DBM and the DPWH to overhaul its budget and launch widespread investigations. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

US imposes sanctions on scam networks in Myanmar, Cambodia

STOCK PHOTO | Image from Freepik

THE United States imposed sanctions on cyber scam operators in Myanmar and Cambodia on Tuesday, a booming industry the US says stole tens of billions from Americans last year, according to a Treasury department statement.

Criminal networks have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people into Southeast Asian scam compounds, especially along the Thai-Myanmar border, where they are forced into debt bondage and defrauding strangers online.

“Southeast Asia’s cyber scam industry not only threatens the well-being and financial security of Americans, but also subjects thousands of people to modern slavery,” Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said in the statement.

The Myanmar junta’s spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment, and neither did a Cambodia government spokesman.

The scams include money laundering, illegal gambling and persuading victims to make fraudulent investments, and the operators tend to be people — usually foreigners — who have been trafficked and coerced into working in scam compounds.

Sanctioned entities included nine companies and individuals in Shwe Kokko, a town in Karen State on the Thai border.

The US sanctions aim to choke off funds to the criminal networks, which have flourished in regions controlled both by militias and Myanmar’s junta.

COERCION AND VIOLENCE
At Shwe Kokko, operators lured people from across the globe with deceptive offers, then confined, mistreated and coerced them into carrying out online fraud for criminal networks, the Treasury department said.

The criminals often use debt bondage, violence, and the threat of forced prostitution as part of their coercion tactics, it said.

The department also sanctioned 10 entities in Cambodia, where centers run by Chinese criminal networks were focused on digital currency fraud. Some compounds in Cambodia resembled prisons, according to Amnesty International, which accused the country of ignoring the industry, allegations it denies.

Since a 2021 military coup, scam centers have expanded rapidly in Myanmar, spreading from militia-controlled areas into those under junta control, a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said.

Shwe Kokko was established in 2017 by Hong Kong-registered Yatai International Holdings Group and the Karen National Army (KNA), an armed group allied with Myanmar’s military, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Yatai group is sanctioned and KNA has been previously sanctioned. — Reuters

South Korea to send chartered plane to Atlanta to bring back workers

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Vitamin from Pixabay

SEOUL — South Korea will send a chartered plane to Atlanta as early as Wednesday to bring back workers detained during a huge immigration raid last week on a car battery plant in the US state of Georgia, a Korean Air spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A Korean Air Boeing 747-8i plane with 368 seats will fly from South Korea’s Incheon to Atlanta, according to the spokesperson.

During the US immigration raid, about 300 South Koreans were among 475 people arrested at the site of a $4.3-billion project by Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution to build batteries for electric cars.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is traveling to Washington to negotiate on issues such as seeking assurances that the detained Koreans will be allowed re-entry to the United States.

South Korean officials had kicked off the process of bringing the detained workers back home, a senior diplomatic official told reporters in Georgia after meeting with the workers in custody.

The raid was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative operations, and sent shockwaves through South Korea, a US ally that has been trying to finalize a trade deal agreed with Washington in July. — Reuters

EU envoy in Washington for talks on Russia sanctions — Commission

REUTERS

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s (EU) sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan was in Washington with a team of experts to discuss further sanctions against Russia with US counterparts, the European Commission said on Monday.

On Sunday, US President Donald J. Trump said he was ready to move to a second phase of restrictions, the closest he has come to suggesting he is on the verge of boosting sanctions against Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

EU Council President Antonio Costa said new sanctions were being closely coordinated with the US, and EU officials are hopeful of better cooperation after several disappointments early in the year as Mr. Trump pursued his own peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin instead.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said late on Monday that he had met with Mr. O’Sullivan and that all options were on the table as part of Mr. Trump’s “strategy to support peace negotiations.”

“We are willing to take strong measures against Russia, but our European partners must fully join us in this to be successful,” Mr. Bessent said on X.

The United States has not joined other Group of Seven nations in lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil before sanctions are levied to $47.60 a barrel. However, Mr. Trump has announced steep tariffs on US imports from India in part due to its major Russian energy purchases.

The EU is currently drafting a 19th package of Russia sanctions, which EU diplomats said was likely to include more listings of Chinese companies, Russian banks and vessels in Moscow’s sanctions-evading “shadow fleet,” as well as a transaction ban on Russian oil.

The Kremlin said on Monday that no sanctions would ever force Russia to change course. — Reuters

Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra jailed as court rules hospital stay unlawful

FORMER Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — REUTERS

BANGKOK — Thailand’s influential former Prime Minister (PM) Thaksin Shinawatra was sent to prison on Tuesday after the Supreme Court ruled his time in hospital detention was an attempt to avoid jail, a major blow for a powerful family that has dominated politics for two decades.

The polarizing billionaire had spent only a few hours in prison upon his return from 15 years of self-exile in August 2023 before he was hospitalized after complaining of heart trouble and chest pains, prompting widespread skepticism and public outrage.

His eight-year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power while premier from 2001-2006 was commuted to one year by the King and Mr. Thaksin was released on parole after just six months of detention, the entirety of which he had spent in the VIP wing of a hospital.

The judges on Tuesday said Mr. Thaksin had no severe illness and could have been treated in jail, adding both he and his doctors had intentionally prolonged his hospital stay.

“The defendant knew the facts or was aware the situation was not a critical emergency. The defendant only had a chronic condition that could be treated as an outpatient and did not require hospitalization,” it said.

A corrections department vehicle carrying Mr. Thaksin was seen arriving at a Bangkok jail less than an hour after a ruling that has gripped the country, the latest drama in two weeks of political chaos that saw the fall of another Thaksin-backed populist government.

The 76-year-old powerbroker is experiencing a period of political reckoning after his daughter and protégé Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sacked as prime minister by a court on Aug. 29 — the sixth premier from or backed by the Shinawatra family to be removed by the judiciary or military.

Ms. Paetongtarn’s government fell on Friday, outmaneuvered by challenger Anutin Charnvirakul, who was elected premier by parliament in a humiliating defeat for Mr. Thaksin’s once unstoppable Pheu Thai party, which won five of the past six elections.

Mr. Thaksin, who has loomed large over Thai politics throughout a quarter of a century of turmoil, is Thailand’s first former premier to be sent to prison.

‘HISTORIC DAY’
He accepted the verdict and said he would remain strong.

“Today, I may no longer have freedom, but have freedom of thought to create benefit for the country and people,” Mr. Thaksin said in a statement on social media.

Mr. Thaksin’s immediate family attended the verdict with him. An emotional Ms. Paetongtarn said she was concerned about her father, but also proud.

“My dad has created history for the country, including useful policies that benefited the people,” she told reporters.

“Today is another historic day where he is the first prime minister to go to jail. This is quite heavy.”

Kokaew Pikulthong, a Pheu Thai party lawmaker who was in the courtroom, said Mr. Thaksin took the verdict well.

“He still has the fighting spirit,” he added.

Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political science professor at Ubon Ratchathani University, said that despite the jailing and Shinawatra family’s declining influence, the indomitable Thaksin would still attempt to call the shots in politics.

“Even with the one-year sentence, it doesn’t mean that he would completely withdraw from politics. He’ll still likely play a role within Pheu Thai,” he said.

“I still have doubts that he would spend the whole year in jail, as there are still legal ways to cut his sentence. And we have seen that he did try everything to stay out of jail.” — Reuters

Fighting Maroons open UAAP title defense against host UST

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES FIGHTING MAROONS — FACEBOOK.COM/WEARETHEUAAP

REIGNING champion University of the Philippines (UP) opens its title defense in the centerpiece men’s basketball tournament of the UAAP Season 88 against host University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Sept. 21 at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Game time is at 4:30 p.m. with the Fighting Maroons eyeing a flying start for back-to-back title bid with the debuting Rey Remogat after the first match between the National University (NU) and the University of the East (UE) at 2 p.m. 

UP beat De La Salle University, 2-1, in last year’s finals for its second title in four straight finals appearances under coach Goldwin Monteverde.

The first salvo of the back-to-back opening weekend features Far Eastern University (FEU) against Ateneo de Manila University at 2 p.m. then La Salle against Adamson University at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 20.

Before that, Santo Tomas will usher in the new season with a theme or “Strength in Motion, Hope in Action” in grand ceremony on Sept. 19 at the UST Grandstand and Open Field featuring a mass, a program then a finale concert.

The same theme will be introduced as the official UAAP theme song written by assistant professor Louell Baldoza of UST Institute of Religion and interpreted by Santo Tomas alumnus, OPM singer-songwriter and Callalily band frontman Kean Cipriano.

Around 30,000 people are expected to watch the UAAP opening, a number similar to the annual “Paskuhan” concert in December. — John Bryan Ulanday

Eala jumps to WTA rank No. 61 after Guadalajara Open win

ALEX EALA — FACEBOOK.COM/GDLOPEN

ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA inched closer to her previous-career best ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) after a breakthrough feat in the WTA125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico over the weekend.

The 20-year-old Filipina pride officially improved to No. 61 as per the updated WTA rankings ahead of her first-round duel in the WTA250 Sao Paulo Open in Brazil.

Ms. Eala, seeded No. 3, is up against qualifier and WTA No. 380 Yasmine Mansouri of France in the opener tentatively set at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

From No. 75, the lefty sensation climbed 14 rungs in the world rankings after winning her and the country’s first WTA in Mexico with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback triumph against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in the finale.

Her first-ever main draw win the US Open against world No. 15 Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11), also played a factor in her rise after being stuck around the Top 70 rankings for months.

Ms. Eala’s previous high was at No. 56, following a runner-up finish in the Eastbourne Open last June.

With an improved ranking and high seed at No. 3 in Sao Paulo, Ms. Eala is projected to reset that career-best in a continuous WTA Tour rise after playing in all four Grand Slams this season.

After Brazil, Ms. Eala is expected to play more tournaments closer to home in Asia leading to a possible Philippine team return for the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand in December.

She won three bronze medals in the 2022 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam but did not see action the next edition in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. — John Bryan Ulanday

Boatwright naturalization still on in present Congress

BENNIE BOATWRIGHT — PBA

THE bid to get Bennie Boatwright naturalized and join Gilas Pilipinas Men is still on.

Stalled in the previous Congress, the naturalization process of Mr. Boatwright has been revived in the 20th Congress through HB 04401 principally authored by Isabela Rep. Faustino Dy III.

“It (bill) has already been re-filed in this Congress when it opened and we’re just waiting for the Committee of Justice to call the first hearings,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy said during Tuesday’s PSA Forum.

“So scheduled process na lang siya. But as we know, our Congress has a lot of other things to take care of, before the hearing. So we’re trying to be as patient as we can about it, understanding there are other national concerns that come ahead of this,” she added.

Mr. Boatwright, who powered San Miguel Beer to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title in 2024, is being eyed to bolster the Gilas’ naturalized players’ pool or even potentially take over from Justin Brownlee, now 37, further down the road. Mr. Boatwright stands at 6-foot-10, giving the squad extra ceiling, and at 29 years old, has a lot of playing years ahead of him.

It’s a different situation for Nigerian Favor Onoh, 6-foot-4 naturalization prospect for Gilas Women. Former UP star Mr. Onoh has already left the country as she accepted a scholarship from the University of Oklahoma in the US NCAA.

“We’re still trying to keep in touch with her but we actually haven’t decided yet if we would move forward with her naturalization,” said Ms. Dy, who appeared with Norman Black, coach of the Gilas team to the Southeast Asian Games, in the forum. — Olmin Leyba

Coach Norman Black braces for import beef up at upcoming Southeast Asian Games

SEA GAMES head coach Norman Black — PBA

COACH Norman Black vowed to assemble the “strongest and most balanced” Philippine squad as he braces for rivals beefed up by imports in the coming Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

“The goal will definitely be to win the gold medal and we’ll do our best to try to get the best players and give us the best chance to win,” Mr. Black said during Tuesday’s PSA Forum with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy.

So far, Mr. Black said Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, Ray Parks, Matthew Wright, Remy Martin, Dave Ildefonso, Jason Brickman and Veejay Pre have committed to the SEAG campaign.

The veteran mentor, who previously steered the Philippines to SEAG glory in 2011, is looking at securing the services of big men from the collegiate leagues and possibly the pros to complete his crew to Thailand.

Mr. Black is also preparing to fend off a potential ambush from the challengers, recalling how previous host Cambodia fielded five American-born naturalized players and placed second to Gilas two years ago.

“We’re thinking that might happen again where teams may just hire imports to play for their country so we have to prepare for that. That’s why we need the strongest possible team and most balanced possible team,” he said.

Mr. Black said the actual prep time will be short, around eight to 10 solid days, so they will have to depend on the cagers’ adaptability.

“We have to get guys who can play together very quickly and play together very well because we won’t really have much time,” he said.

But he’s confident of getting his charges battle-ready.

“A lot of work to be done as far as organizing the team and preparations are concerned but by the time we get around to the SEA Games, we will be ready,” he said. — Olmin Leyba

Chavez joins Paalam, Fajardo and Ogayre out of World Boxing tournament

FILIPINOS in the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England are falling like dominoes.

The most recent casualty was Ronald Chavez, Jr., who was shown the door by France’s Makan Traore following the latter’s emphatic 5-0 victory in their round-of-16 men’s 70-kilogram bout on Monday.

Mr. Chavez, whose father Ronald, Sr. and uncle Arlo are both Olympians, thus joined Tokyo Games silver medalist Carlo Paalam, Mark Ashley Fajardo and Junmilardo Ogayre out of the annual meet.

There’s still hope though for the lean but determined Philippine delegation as it has two more fighters left — Riza Pasuit and Jay Bryan Baricuatro.

Ms. Pasuit, a Southeast Asian Games silver winner, was tackling Brazilian Rebeca de Lima Santos in their round-of-16 women’s 60kg class bout while Mr. Baricuatro was battling Spaniard Martin Molina Salvador in their round-of-16 men’s 50kg duel. — Joey Villar

IM Dableo, Barangay 449 rule Inter-Manila Chess Championship

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

INTERNATIONAL Master (IM) Ronald Dableo and his Barangay 449 squad bested FIDE Master (FM) Alekhine Nouri and his Brgy. 46 team, 3.5-0.5, in the seventh and final round to rule the first Mayor Isko Moreno Inter-Manila Chess Championship at the Coliseo de Manila in Tondo.

Mr. Dableo’s group, which also has Samson Lim III, Marco Jay Mabasa and Arnold Dableo, finished with 12 match points out of the possible 14 to claim the top prize worth P150,000 and trophy.

Winding up second was Grandmaster (GM) Joey Antonio, Robert Cacho, Sherwin Gatchalian and Ruel Nisperos of Brgy. 52, which blanked Brgy. 45’s IM Jem Garcia, Christian Arroyo, Joven Balsalubre and Eugene Trasfiero, 4-0.

IM Michael Concio, Jr., Genghis Imprial, Mark Oliver Ingcad and Princess Nicole Ballete of Brgy. 410, which edged FM David Elorta, Melito Ocsan, Jr., Teorwin Talapian and Andrade Tayson of Brgy. 46, 2.5-1.5, actually finished tied for second with Antonio’s team with 11 match points apiece.

But they ended up third after having an inferior tiebreak in the tournament organized by Alex Dinoy.

Rounding out the top 10 were Brgy. 46 of FM Roel Abelgas, Elorta’s Brgy. 46, Brgy. 4 of Ed Garma, Brgy. 53 of Darry Bernardo, Brgy. 431 of Jojo Aquino, Brgy. 265 of IM Hamed Nouri and Brgy. 592 of FM Alekhine Nouri.

GMs Daniel Quizon and Darwin Laylo also joined but their team did not crack the top 10. — Joey Villar

Alcaraz era

Carlos Alcaraz’s latest triumph in New York was most definitely about growth. Over the weekend, he faced Jannik Sinner for the second consecutive major tournament final. Unlike in Wimbledon, however, the outcome was to his liking. And while the rematch stretched across four sets, he appeared to be in control from the get-go. In the process, he reclaimed both the US Open title and the Number One ranking. His latest triumph pushes up his haul of Grand Slam championships to six. That he has that many trophies in his mantel at 22 is impressive in and of itself; the manner in which they were accumulated sparks confidence of even more at a faster pace.

Alcaraz did not simply bounce back from his setback at the All England Club with sharper strokes. He carried with him a reimagined game plan; he and his team had studied the defeat in detail, noting the areas where Sinner had the edge, and thereafter methodically worked to rebuild his patterns. And to argue that his effort paid off at Flushing Meadows would be to understate the obvious; his shots on the acrylic hard court came in layers — slices floated in, drop shots teased, heavy topspin alternated with flat drives — and his immediate past tormentor could not settle into the steady rhythm that had undone him on grass.

The adjustments were not subtle. They were a definitive statement of intent, and Sinner was compelled to admit as much in the aftermath. In frank admission, he called his own approach predictable and conceded that the variety Alcaraz displayed overwhelmed him. Their rivalry had shown enough promise to define the decade, particularly as age handicapped erstwhile kings in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and, finally, Novak Djokovic. On this occasion, though, his opponent demonstrated the advantage of reinvention over repetition. It was not just a matter of who hit harder or steadier, but who thought deeper about what transpired and then planned better for what followed.

The broader canvas adds weight to the win. In collecting a remarkable 14th “big” title by conventional wisdom’s standards, Alcaraz managed to surpass Sinner’s career aggregate; he thus placed himself in the company of such notables as Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. His strike rate — one major event every handful of tournaments — sits in the neighborhood of Djokovic and Nadal at similar stages. It is an efficient pace that indicates his burgeoning ceiling. What was once potential has hardened into precedent.

A fourth of the current season remains on the horizon, but this latest conquest provides clarity to the moment. Alcaraz is no longer a young phenom breaking through against legends or peers. He is setting the standard himself, shaping the contours of an era — his era — as it unfolds. The US Open did not simply restore him to the top ranking; it confirmed that his path, forged through analysis and adaptation, now runs ahead of the rest.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

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