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NEA clarifies 2 unrecorded bank accounts with P290 million  

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

STATE AUDITORS found that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) had two unrecorded bank accounts that was not listed in their records with savings worth P290 million.   

In a 2020 audit report, the Commission on Audit (CoA) said that confirmation letters from state banks United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) showed that NEA had around P90.67 million and P200 million in saving accounts, respectively, as of Dec. 31, 2020.  

“Both savings accounts were not reflected in the NEA’s books as at yearend, and no subsidiary ledgers were found for the two accounts,” CoA reported.  

CoA also found that NEA had a bank account with the DBP worth around P200.65 million that was not confirmed by the bank.   

CoA recommended for NEA to record the missing amounts worth P290 million and verify the recorded amount of around P200.65 million with the DBP.   

NEA Financial Services and Accounting Division Manager Ma. Chona Dela Cruz said in a press release Tuesday that they have already addressed the unrecorded accounts.   

“All funds were well accounted for. A total of P290 million were transferred into newly-opened accounts of NEA in 2020, sourced from two existing bank accounts. Book entries were all that were needed for NEA’s books to reflect the said accounts, which were already done,” she said.   

President Rodrigo R. Duterte fired NEA Chief Edgar R. Masongsong on Aug. 21 based on the recommendation of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, following allegations of allowing electric cooperatives to continue financial support to the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association party-list. — Russell Louis C. Ku  

Senate approves bill simplifying adoption process on 3rd reading 

BW FILE PHOTO

A BILL simplifying the adoption process was approved by the Senate on third and final reading on Tuesday. 

The Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act of 2021 or Senate Bill 1933 was passed unanimously with 22 affirmative votes.  

The measure is a consolidation of two bills originally authored by Senator Mary Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares and Senator Ramon B. Revilla, Jr. 

Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel, author and sponsor of the consolidated version, said the measure seeks to dispense with the “lengthy process associated with judicial adoption by allowing domestic adoptions via an administrative process.”  

Under the bill, the waiting time of adoptive parents would be cut from years to six to nine months.   

Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said in a statement that previously, “only 60% of adoption cases in the country are finalized within one year to three years. Some cases take up to four years or longer. Families end up spending hundreds of thousands of pesos in these lengthy proceedings.” 

The provision also mandates a simpler, less-costly administrative process of adoption to be managed by a new government body, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC).    

“There are thousands of children who have been voluntarily or involuntarily given up by their parents due to poverty, negligence, abuse, a death in the family, or many other reasons. But thank God that there are others who wish to step up, adopt children, and provide them with a loving home,” said Ms. Poe-Llamanzares in a manifestation on Tuesday.  

“However, the adoption process has not always been easy. And just as it takes a village to raise a child, today, we have seen that it takes a village of senators to produce a bill that we can all be proud of,” she added.  

Procedural safeguards are included in the bill to protect the child’s welfare, such as the requirement of a home study and case study by a social worker for each application for adoption. The bill also penalizes abuse and exploitation of children as well as simulation of birth or the fictitious registration of the birth of a child under a person not their biological parent.  

Ms. Poe said the bill, if passed into law, may encourage adults to pursue adoption. The bill will “minimize costs, declog the courts and help the 4,943 Filipino children under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development who are still waiting for a permanent home,” she said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

Meralco holds off on disconnection activities in Metro Manila, nearby areas until Sept. 7 

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) said on Tuesday it has suspended disconnection activities in Metro Manila, Laguna, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Lucena City in Quezon until Sept. 7, after the government extended the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status in these areas.  

In a statement issued on Viber, the distribution utility said the “no disconnection” policy will continue to apply to customers who have not yet settled their obligations until next week.  

“Meralco encourages customers to reach out, so they can discuss and help clarify their concerns, and even come up with payment terms, if really needed. Meralco remains to be very considerate during this period and vowed to assist customers with their concerns,” the firm said.  

“Meralco will continue vital operations such as meter reading, bill delivery, and service crews will continue to work around the clock to serve its customers,” it added.  

Earlier this month, the Department of Energy issued an advisory urging power distributors based in Metro Manila and 13 other areas to withhold disconnection activities in their respective franchise areas under strict quarantine classifications.  

In an Aug. 6 advisory, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi advised all electricity end-users to immediately coordinate with their distribution utility on “amicable” payment settlements as soon as the strict quarantine levels are lifted. He also encouraged consumers who can pay and settle their bills to do so within their due dates to ensure the continuous operations of power utilities, among others.   

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.  

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., which has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Angelica Y. Yang 

Aspiring for high-income status

PCH.VECTOR-FREEPIK

(Part 2)

In a publication of the Asian Development Bank in 2011 entitled Asian 2050: Realizing the Asian Century, the phenomenon of the “middle income trap” was first clearly defined. Middle income trap refers to countries stagnating and not growing into advanced countries of high-income level. In the last 30 years or so, many middle-income countries, a good number in Latin America, have been caught in a situation in which they are unable to compete with low-income, low-wage economies in manufacturing exports and are also unable to compete with advanced economies in high-skill innovations. Such countries cannot make a timely transition from resource-driven growth, with low-cost labor and capital to productivity-driven growth.

The classic example is the contrast between South Korea on the one hand and two middle-income countries — Brazil and South Africa — on the other, over a 30-year period (1975 to 2005). In 1975, South Korea was still a low-income country with less than $1,000 per capita while South Africa in the same year already had per capita incomes three times that of South Korea. By 2005, South Korea’s per capita income ballooned to over $20,000 while those of the two middle-income economies failed to grow above $10,000, clearly trapped in their middle-income status.

For perspective, let us cite some data from an article by Jesus Felipe entitled “Tracking the Middle-Income Trap: What Is It, Who Is In It and Why?” (March 2012). In 2010, out of 124 countries with available data, there were 52 middle-income countries, of which 35 were caught in the middle-income trap. There were four income groups of GDP per capita that were surveyed in the article. Using 1990 purchasing power parity dollars, the categories were as follows: low income ($2,000 and below); lower middle-income ($2,000 to $7,250); upper-middle income ($7,250 to $11,750); high-income (above $11,750).

In 2010, there were 40 low-income countries in the world, 38 lower-middle income, 14 upper-middle income, and 32 high-income. The paper calculated the threshold number of years for a country to be considered as being caught in the middle-income trap. A country that becomes lower-middle income (i.e., that reaches $2,000 per capita) has to attain an annual average growth rate of per capita income of at least 4.7% to avoid falling into the lower-middle income trap (i.e., to reach $7,250, the upper-middle income threshold). A country that reaches upper-middle income (attains $7,500) has to grow at an average annual rate of per capita income of at least 3.5% to avoid falling into the upper-middle income trap (i.e., to reach $11,750 which is the high-income threshold). Avoiding the middle-income trap is, therefore, a question of how to grow rapidly enough so as to cross the lower-middle income segment in at most 28 years and the upper middle-income segment in at most 14 years. We shall consider these indicative figures in assessing how long, if ever, it will take the Philippine economy to attain high-income status.

To complicate matters, these figures have been slightly modified in 2020 figures. Today, the low-income threshold is $1,036 and below; lower-middle income is $1,036 to $4,045; upper-middle income is $4,045 to $12,535. A country with a per capita income in nominal terms (not purchasing power parity) of $12,535 or more is considered today as high-income. Before the pandemic struck, the Philippines was on the road to attain upper-middle income status by 2021. Unfortunately, the big decline of GDP of -9.1% in 2020 has temporarily delayed this transition. Depending on how fast we can recover our GDP annual growth of 6% to 7% (or more), it may take us another three to four years to cross the threshold to upper-middle income category.

In 2019, our per capita GDP in nominal terms was already at the level of $3,511.94 as compared with Vietnam that registered a per capita income of $3,372.52 in the same year. Because Vietnam was able, at least in the beginning, to manage the pandemic challenge more efficiently, its economy was one of the few in the world to attain a positive growth of GDP in 2020 so that last year, its GDP per capita of $3,497.51 was already exceeding ours which dropped to $3,372.53. In addition to its more efficient response to the pandemic, I attribute Vietnam’s surpassing us to other factors: their State has been very responsive to the needs of their small farmers for the required resources to improve their productivity (Vietnam achieved the admirable feat of surpassing Brazil in coffee exports in less than a decade). Another reason why Vietnam has outperformed us and will continue to be ahead of us in per capita income growth is its being much more open to foreign direct investments than we are. In the last five years or so, the volume of FDIs entering Vietnam has been more than double ours. As our government will have to struggle to bring down the high debt-to-GDP ratio that has resulted from massive borrowings during the pandemic, it will be very difficult to continue funding the Build, Build, Build program in the coming years without our having recourse to massive amounts of foreign direct investments, especially in public utilities, infrastructure, and the digital sector. This is one reason why we have to remove the many restrictions that still exist against FDIs. Otherwise, we can be caught in the middle income trap for a long time.

Assuming that we can recover our average annual growth of 6-7% in GDP by next year, it will take us up to 2025 to become an upper-middle income economy that will be at the range of $4,046 to $12,535 per capita. If we can maintain that average for some 22 years, we shall attain the status of a high-income economy before 2050, a time horizon during which the millennials and centennials of today can reasonably expect to still be alive (life expectancy during their generations will be about 81 years for women and 79 years for men). I arrive at these figures by assuming that the average population growth rate annually will slow down to 1% annually. Given a GDP growth rate of 6% annually, that means per capita income will grow at 5% annually. At that rate, the GDP per capita of a little over $4,000 in 2025 will grow to a little over $12,000 (the threshold for a high-income economy) in 22 years.

In addition to the strong fundamentals that explained our having been able to grow at an average of 6.4% from 2010 to 2019, as celebrated by the World Bank, it is important that we add to these strengths what the Leader (Editorial) of The Economist advised all emerging markets to adopt post-pandemic. Let me quote from the closing lines of the Leader: “… the principles of how to get rich remain the same today as they ever were. Stay open to trade, compete in global markets and invest in infrastructure and education. Before the liberal reforms of recent decades, economies were diverging. There is time yet to avoid a return to the needless hardship of old.”

To be continued.

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a Visiting Professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Don’t let private education bite the dust

FREEPIK

By this time, it has become a cliché to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things in our lives. Latest figures put the number of cases worldwide at 216 million and the deaths at 4.5 million. These rising numbers undoubtedly conjure images of a war, more so if we consider the major disruption in our so-called normal lives — from restrictions on physical mobility to a major economic decline.

Normally, at about this time of the year, there is a jovial and festive mood in our country as we usher in the so-called “-ber” months that signal the longest celebration of the Christmas season anywhere in the world. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. expressed confidence in having a better Christmas for Filipinos. But with the COVID-19 cases on the upswing at record-breaking numbers due to the Delta variant, many are again painting a picture of doom and gloom.

However, there is a growing voice of dissent against putting our lives further on hold. The line that “we must learn to live with COVID-19” is becoming a battle cry for survival. How many more lockdowns can we take? How many more can the government afford? How much can private businesses endure?

Take the case of private schools for instance. Latest figures from the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed a steep drop in enrollment, with only about 314,000 registering compared to the 2 million students who were enrolled in school year 2020-21 when the pandemic hit, and the 4.3 million students the year before that. This situation is a serious cause for alarm as it clearly and convincingly demonstrates the effects of the pandemic on the viability of private educational institutions.

The pandemic has indeed created the largest disruption of education systems according to a United Nations policy brief on education during COVID-19 and beyond, released in August 2020. Last year, based on the DepEd, close to 900 private schools in the country faced closures due to low enrollment and their failure to meet the requirements for distance learning. DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones attributed the lack of enrollees in private schools to the reduced income of parents due to the economic downturn. This assertion is supported by the UN policy brief that says that the direct cause of this school revenue decline is the concomitant drop in individual income brought about by the economic slowdown. When parents have lower income, they find it more difficult to bear the direct costs of education, such as tuition, miscellaneous fees, books and supplies. This situation, in turn, creates a cycle of lower student enrollment and, thus, deeper revenue shortfalls that could eventually lead to school bankruptcy. The survival of private schools hangs by a thread.

Private schools, however, seem to have adapted to online learning and are committed to continue with it, despite the prevailing pandemic. In a statement, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) said that its member-schools are resolved to continue with online learning for this school year. The presidents of the associations that comprise COCOPEA agree that the safety of our students and stakeholders at this time of the pandemic is our “paramount concern.” They commit to devote their resources to online learning, including teacher-training and upgrading of their IT infrastructure.

The government’s role now is to serve as the enabler of the private schools’ viability and survival. One major stumbling block for the schools is Revenue Regulation (RR) No. 5-2021 issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) this year that imposes a tax rate of 25% on all private educational institutions. This has become controversial because it represents a whopping 150% increase from the previous 10%.

The BIR suspended certain provisions of RR 5-2021 relating to the controversy in consideration of the deliberations in Congress that would amend the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) in order to clarify the definition of proprietary educational institutions and clarify the tax treatment.

The House of Representatives has approved — with 203 affirmative and zero negative votes — a measure on third and final reading to explicitly make private schools eligible for preferential tax rates. House Bill 9913 amends Section 27 (B) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 that will allow private schools to pay a tax rate of 1% between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023, as authorized by Republic Act No. 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law and 10% once the provision expires.

The ball is now in the hands of the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano. Let us give education the importance it deserves. The future of the country rests largely on the quality of education that we provide our children today.

 

Edwin Santiago is a Fellow and Member of the Editorial Board of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Just cut the dolomite beach losses

PEOPLE gather at the artificial white sand beach along the shore of Manila Bay. — PHILIPPINE STAR / MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

FROM out of the blue, at a televised meeting of his COVID-19 Task Force, President Duterte justified the dolomite beach “nourishment” project by defending his choice of Roy Cimatu as his Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources. He, typically, cited his personal trust in Cimatu as having worked in Davao when he was mayor there. Therefore, it seems, in his opinion, Cimatu, who happens to be a retired general, can do no wrong.

Look at the facts.

We are trying to deal with a humongous pandemic crisis. There is not enough money to pay for all the vaccines that we need. Nurses and other healthcare frontliners have not been getting their hazard pay, let alone their basic salaries. Millions of people have lost their jobs or their businesses. Government revenues have been decreasing due to reduced tax collections from businesses which are closing or losing money, plus reduced consumer spending: a source of business incomes and VAT collections. Social welfare “ayuda” benefits for the needy, including the newly needy as a result of the pandemic, are not enough to prevent more and more involuntary hunger and deaths caused by inability to pay for expensive anti-COVID treatments. Besides, hospitals, which are losing their frontliners, are unable to cope with the unprecedented demand for rooms, medicines, patient care, and survival equipment.

Government certainly has to prioritize between basic needs and wants.

The Manila Bay artificial beach project at best is definitely not a need, but a want, if at all. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) justifies it as something that the public needs. A beach in the heart of the capital city! We can’t even swim in highly polluted Manila Bay! Can’t we just enjoy the most beautiful sunset in the world? Can’t we just sit on the sea wall and watch for the awesome view like I used to when I lived there?

When the “beach” was opened to the public, the people who went there forgot the social distancing protocols in place because of the pandemic. So, surveillance and security personnel had to be mobilized to supervise the crowds which included children. These required additional operating costs that surely were not anticipated.

After the project was “completed,” when the rains came, as they always do, black sand covered the “white” dolomite fake sand. The DENR claims that the dolomite beach was not washed away by the rain, but that the black sand from the bay covered the dolomite. What difference does that make? The artificial beach was ruined. Engineering cures had to be shoveled in place to keep the dolomite beach from getting submerged. Did that mean more unplanned spending? Marine biologists say that the quick fixes will not last as they work against nature. Dolomite is not indigenous to Manila Bay’s environment. It is destructive to marine life there. The fish kill that followed the construction of the dolomite beach testifies to this. Of the hundreds of “beach nourishment” projects in the world, the Manila Bay project is the only one using dolomite, which is crushed into sand after being mined in Alcoy town in Cebu province. We haven’t even studied the impact the dolomite mining will have on the environment of Alcoy and Cebu province.

If the government persists in operating and maintaining the artificial Manila Bay beach project, are we prepared to allocate more and more funds to this ill-conceived and unnecessary project? We are a poor country and getting poorer. Government loans are already at the record highest in history.

Secretary Cimatu obviously was not asked the usual question that President PNoy would ask his Cabinet: “Is this the best use of the people’s money?” Last I checked, the initial budget for the dolomite beach was P389 million. This year, another P265 million has been allocated. More will be provided for 2022 when the beach “nourishment” project is supposed to be completed. Additional funds will have to be provided annually for the destructive heavy rains and typhoons that come to our Pacific island country. These climate disasters will continue to visit us with increasing frequency and severity with unmitigated climate change.

Mr. President, this is not personal. This is not about relationships. This is about responsibility for the people’s money.

Mr. President, let’s just cut our losses. Drop the project now. Just let it die. We cannot continue to spend money on it that we cannot afford. This is the plain and simple, sensible and practical option among several worse ones. Let’s just acknowledge it as a terrible mistake.

 

Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and Fellow of the Development Academy of the Philippines.

tsabesamis0114@yahoo.com

AI, employee privacy and COVID-19

JCOMP-FREEPIK

For more than a year now, the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected “how we do things” in all aspects of our lives. Apart from “shocking” our health systems, this pandemic forced companies to adapt in order to survive, drastically changing working arrangements. Caught in a difficult exercise of balancing interests of protecting health and providing continuous employment, most companies implemented remote working or work-from-home (WFH) arrangements for their employees. Among others, companies implemented tools and processes to ensure that WFH employees remain productive and comply with the company rules and policies. The deployment of technological resources such as artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor WFH employees prove to be efficient, especially for those that deal significantly with confidential records and personal information of various clients and customers. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised whether the use of AI in WFH employee monitoring (such as use of webcams integrated in WFH PCs and devices) violate one’s right to privacy.

The National Privacy Commission’s (NPC) Advisory Opinion (AO) No. 2020-004 on “Guidelines on the Use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Systems” does not expressly prohibit the use of such work-monitoring AI tools since it applies to companies “engaged in the processing of personal data through the use of CCTV systems operating in public and semi-public areas.” A “semi-public” space refers to “a space that, even if privately owned, is accessible to the public during operating hours.” For an employee who is working remotely within the confines of one’s home and not in an “unsecure” public or semi-public area, this NPC AO does not squarely apply to the use of AI and other technological tools a company uses in connection with WFH computers or devices.

This notwithstanding, in an earlier opinion, i.e., Advisory Opinion No. 2018-084 on “Computer Monitoring,” the NPC stated that where the computer monitoring results in the collection of personal information of employees, employers are considered engaged in the “processing personal data” as defined under our privacy law, and thus, covered by the provisions of the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA). As such, the monitoring of employee activities when the employee is using an office-issued computer (which clearly includes the use of A.I. software and other tools) is allowable under the DPA, provided that such “processing” falls under the criteria for lawful processing of personal data under Sections 12 (for non-sensitive personal information) and/or 13 (for sensitive personal information) of the DPA.

Under Section 12 of the DPA, the processing of non-sensitive personal information is permitted only if not otherwise prohibited by any law, and when at least one of any of the following conditions exists:

a.) Consent from data subject (in this case, the employee) is secured;

b.) Processing of personal information is necessary to the fulfillment of a contract with the data subject;

c.) Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation;

d.) Processing is necessary to protect important interests of the data subject (such as life and health);

e.) Processing is necessary due to national emergency, or public order and safety; or,

f.) Processing is necessary to pursue the legitimate interests of the company.

Meanwhile, Section 13 of the DPA provides that processing of sensitive personal information shall be generally prohibited, except in any of the following cases:

a.) Consent from data subject (in this case, the employee) is secured;

b.) Processing is provided for by existing laws and regulations, and that the latter guarantees the protection of the sensitive personal information and expressly provides that consent of the data subjects is not required;

c.) Processing is necessary to protect the life and health of data subject who is legally or physically unable to express consent;

d.) Processing is necessary for lawful, noncommercial objectives of public organizations so long as it is only confined and related to their members and consent of the data subject was obtained;

e.) Processing is necessary for purposes of medical treatment; or,

f.) Processing is necessary for the protection of lawful rights and interests of persons in court proceedings, or when provided to government or public authority.

Considering that the use of AI technology as a WFH monitoring tool is within the scope of the DPA, companies employing such security measures must ensure that the “processing” complies with the privacy principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality. The company must first inform the employee of the legitimate purpose/s of the processing of personal data and obtain the consent of the employee with respect to the use and implementation of the AI technology. Moreover, the method of data collection must also be proportional to the fulfillment of the purpose/s of the company and the use of computer monitoring is allowed only if it cannot be fulfilled by any other less privacy-intrusive means.

Further, the NPC recommends that employers conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment and prepare a policy or set of guidelines on the use of the company-issued devices and equipment containing at least the following information: 1.) purpose/s that computer monitoring seeks to fulfill; 2.) circumstances of monitoring, including the time and place it may be conducted; 3.) kinds of personal data that may be collected in the course of monitoring; 4.) criteria for accessing monitoring records; 5.) retention period of recordings or footages; 6.) security measures pertaining to storage, disclosure and disposal of recorded information; 7.) authorized personnel who have access and control over the system in place; and, 8.) procedure on how employees may lodge a complaint in case of violation of their rights, including the right to access their own personal data collected. All the foregoing information are prescribed by the DPA and its implementing rules and regulations.

The invaluable help of attorneys Maria Isabel M. Llave (mmllave@accralaw.com) and Mary Erica D. Manuel (mdmanuel@accralaw.com) for the research involved for this article is acknowledged.

This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as, and does not constitute, legal advice or legal opinion.

 

John Paul M. Gaba is a Partner in the Intellectual Property Department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

jmgaba@accralaw.com

8830-0000

PBA Philippine Cup resumes

THE TnT Tropang Giga play the Blackwater Bossing in the resumption of play in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday. — PBA IMAGES

Triple-header opens in Pampanga

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) resumes action in the All-Filipino tournament on Wednesday with a triple-header opening the return at the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) in Bacolor, Pampanga.

After a month of stoppage to heed government directives after cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), particularly the Delta variant, rose in Metro Manila, the PBA is now proceeding with the elimination round of the Philippine Cup and looking to stay the course all the way to crowning a champion.

Three matches are on tap as the resumption begins, with the TnT Tropang Giga (3-0) taking on the Blackwater Bossing (0-4) in the 12:30 p.m. contest, followed by the San Miguel Beermen (3-1) against Terrafirma Dyip (0-4) at 3 p.m. League-leading Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok (4-0) face off with the Meralco Bolts (4-1) in the final match at 6 p.m.

Commissioner Willie O. Marcial expressed hope that their return will proceed with little hiccups as possible so they can finish the eliminations on schedule — targeted for Sept. 19 — and then the playoffs after.

The PBA Philippine Cup opened on July 16 with games held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Action was stopped after matches on Aug. 1 as Metro Manila was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

The league spent the next weeks looking for areas which could hold its games, eventually finding a willing host in Pampanga, which is under a less strict Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) setup.

The resumption of play will be conducted under a “semi-bubble” environment, with player and team movements limited to hotel-game venue-hotel.

All the competing teams have been in different parts of Pampanga since last week to prepare for their return to action.

As per the protocols approved by the national and provincial government of Pampanga, Mondays are set for RT-PCR tests, with the results expected to come out the next day, while antigen testing of all the teams will be conducted in the morning of each play date.

In the tournament return, games will be played from Wednesday to Sunday, with triple-headers set for Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and double-headers on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Other teams seeing action are the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-2), NLEX Road Warriors (2-2), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (2-2), Alaska Aces (2-3), Northport Batang Pier (1-3), and Phoenix Fuel Masters (1-4).

TOP PERFORMERS
Meanwhile, Matthew Wright, Christian Standhardinger, and Jayson Castro, top performers in key individual categories prior to the tournament halt, look to extend their solid play in the resumption of action.

Phoenix’s Mr. Wright is the league’s top scorer, averaging 19.8 points in five games.

The Fuel Masters actually have two of the top scorers in the season-opening tournament so far, with teammate Vic Manuel right behind Mr. Wright with an 18.8-point average.

Completing the top five scorers are Kevin Alas of NLEX (18.5 points), Northport’s Robert Bolick (18.3), and Stanley Pringle of Barangay Ginebra (18.3).

Mr. Standhardinger, meanwhile, tops rebounding with 13 boards per outing in four matches with his new team Barangay Ginebra.

Coming in at second is Terrafirma sophomore Roosevelt Adams, who is averaging 10.7 rebounds, followed by TnT’s Troy Rosario (10.7) at no. 3.

Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson is fourth with 10.3 rebounds, with Alaska big man Yousef Taha fifth with 9.6 boards per game.

In assists, it is Mr. Castro who is showing the way with 6.7 dimes in three matches for TnT.

Kiefer Ravena of NLEX is at second spot with 6.5 per game, followed by Mr. Bolick with six assists per game. Tied at fourth spot are the trio of LA Tenorio (Barangay Ginebra), Chris Ross (San Miguel), and Mark Barroca (Magnolia), all with an average of 5.5 assists, while Chris Newsome of Meralco makes it at no. 5 with 5.4.

Philippines to play in Group A of FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

The Philippines will play in Group A of the Asia/Oceania region of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. — FIBA

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

The Philippines will play in Group A of the Asia/Oceania region of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. This was known following the official draw held in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Gilas Pilipinas is bracketed with New Zealand, Korea and India in the first round of the qualifying phase with games set to begin in November this year.

The country, however, is already assured of a spot in the World Cup, being one of the three host countries along with Japan and Indonesia, but the national team has made it known that it will go in the qualifiers seeking to do well as part of its preparation for the 2023 basketball event.

For Asia/Oceania, six spots are up for grabs in the 32-team field that will see action in the World Cup.

As hosts, the Philippines and Japan are automatically qualified but will play in the Asian Qualifiers first round and second round, advancing to the next phase as automatically qualified.

Indonesia, for its part, needs to be ranked among the top eight teams at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 in order to receive automatic qualification as per the decision of FIBA’s Executive Committee. ​

New Zealand is the highest FIBA-ranked team in Group A at number 25, followed by Korea (29th), the Philippines (31st) and India (78th).

The rest of the groupings have Australia, China, Japan and Chinese Taipei in Group B; Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia in Group C; and Iran, Kazakhstan, Syria and Bahrain in Group D.

FIBA said each qualification window will last nine days, with the windows running until February 2023. The national sides play home and away games across each of these event windows.

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is scheduled to take place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 with the Group Phase taking place in all three host countries, and the Final Phase of the tournament happening in the Philippines.

Taliban celebrates self-rule as last US troops leave Afghanistan

CELEBRATORY gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last US troops, ending 20 years of war that left the Islamic militia stronger than it was in 2001.

Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last US troops took off a minute before midnight, marking the end of a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies.

“The last US soldier has left Kabul airport and our country gained complete independence,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf said, according to Al Jazeera TV.

The US Army shared an image taken with night-vision optics of the last US soldier to step aboard the final evacuation flight out of Kabul — Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.

America’s longest war took the lives of nearly 2,500 US soldiers and about 240,000 Afghans, and cost $2 trillion.

Although it succeeded in driving the Taliban from power and stopped Afghanistan being used as a base by al Qaeda to attack the United States, it ended with the hardline Islamic militants controlling more of the country than they ever did during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001.

Those years were marked by the brutal enforcement of the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, and the world is now watching to see whether it forms a more moderate and inclusive government in the months ahead.

Thousands of Afghans have already fled fearing Taliban reprisals. A massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies over the past two weeks succeeded in evacuating more than 123,000 people from Kabul, but tens of thousands who helped Western countries during the war were left behind.

A contingent of Americans, estimated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as under 200 and possibly closer to 100, wanted to leave but were unable to get on the last flights.

General Frank McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, told a Pentagon briefing that the chief US diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was on the last C-17 flight out. “There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we’d stayed another 10 days, we wouldn’t have gotten everybody out,” Mr. McKenzie told reporters.

As the US troops departed, they destroyed more than 70 aircraft, dozens of armored vehicles and disabled air defenses that had thwarted an attempted Islamic State rocket attack on the eve of the US departure.

‘NATIONAL DISGRACE’
President Joseph R. Biden, in a statement, defended his decision to stick to a Tuesday deadline for withdrawing US forces. He said the world would hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan.

“Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended,” said Mr. Biden, who thanked the US military for carrying out the dangerous evacuation. He plans to address the American people on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Biden has said the United States long ago achieved the objectives it set in ousting the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda militants who masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The president has drawn heavy criticism from Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats for his handling of Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul earlier this month after a lightning advance and the collapse of the US-backed government.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the US withdrawal a “national disgrace” that was “the direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence.”

But Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse tweeted: “Bravo to our diplomats, military, and intelligence agencies. An airlift of 120,000 people in that dangerous and tumultuous situation is something no one else could do.”

Mr. Blinken said the United States was prepared to work with the new Taliban government if it does not carry out reprisals against opponents in the country.

“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our position is any legitimacy and support will have to be earned,” he said.

The Taliban must revive a war-shattered economy without being able to count on the billions of dollars in foreign aid that flowed to the previous ruling elite and fed systemic corruption.

The population outside the cities is facing what UN officials have called a catastrophic humanitarian situation worsened by a severe drought.

A Taliban official in Kabul said the group wants people to lead an Islamic way of life and get rid of all foreign influences.

“Our culture has become toxic, we see Russian and American influence everywhere, even in the food we eat. That is something people should realize and make necessary changes. This will take time but will happen,” he said. — Reuters

Explained: What happens now that American soldiers are out of Kabul?

FOR THE FIRST TIME since 2001 there are no American troops in Afghanistan after the United States completed the evacuation of most of its citizens and thousands of at-risk Afghans.

More than 114,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul airport in the past two weeks as part of the US effort.

But the end of the US military involvement in Afghanistan raises a new set of questions for President Biden and his administration.

WHAT HAPPENS TO AMERICANS AND AT-RISK AFGHANS LEFT BEHIND?
The United States has evacuated more than 5,500 US citizens since evacuation flights began on Aug. 14. A small number of American citizens have chosen to continue to stay in Afghanistan, many of them so they can be with family members.

The Biden administration has said it expects the Taliban to continue allowing safe passage for Americans and others to leave Afghanistan after the US military withdrawal is completed.

But there are concerns about how those citizens will be able to leave if there is no functioning airport.

Tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans, such as interpreters who worked with the US military, journalists and women’s rights advocates, have also been left behind.

It is unclear what their fate will be but officials are concerned that the Taliban may retaliate against them. Follow Afghanistan News LIVE Updates.

The Taliban have pledged to allow all foreign nationals and Afghan citizens with travel authorization from another country to leave Afghanistan, according to a joint statement issued by Britain, the United States and other countries on Sunday.

WHAT HAPPENS TO KABUL AIRPORT AFTER US FORCES LEAVE?
For the past two weeks, the US military has been securing and operating Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport with nearly 6,000 troops.

The Taliban are in talks with governments like Qatar and Turkey to seek assistance to continue civilian flight operations from there, the only way for many people to leave Afghanistan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that repairs need to be made at Kabul airport before it can be reopened to civilian flights.

Turkey, which is part of the NATO mission, has been responsible for security at the airport for the past six years. Keeping the airport open after foreign forces hand over control is vital not just for Afghanistan to stay connected to the world but also to maintain aid supplies and operations.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE US-TALIBAN RELATIONSHIP LOOK LIKE?
The United States has said it does not plan to leave diplomats behind in Afghanistan and will decide on what to do in the future based on the Taliban’s actions.

But the Biden administration will have to determine how it is able to ensure a humanitarian and economic crisis does not break out in the country.

The United Nations says more than 18 million people — over half Afghanistan’s population — require aid and half of all Afghan children under 5 already suffer from acute malnutrition amid the second drought in four years. 

Some countries, including Britain, have said that no nation should bilaterally recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

WHAT KIND OF THREAT IS POSED BY ISLAMIC STATE?
The one area of cooperation between the United States and the Taliban could be the threat posed by Islamic State militants.

There are questions about how Washington and the Taliban can coordinate and potentially even share information to counter the group.

Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after a historic term for the region, first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.

The group claimed responsibility for an Aug. 26 suicide bombing outside the airport that killed 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians.

The United States has carried out at least two drone strikes against the group since then and Mr. Biden has said his administration will continue to retaliate for the attack.

ISIS-K is a sworn enemy of the Taliban. But US intelligence officials believe the movement used the instability that led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government this month to strengthen its position and step up recruitment of disenfranchised Taliban members. — Reuters

Ida carves path of destruction across Lousiana as it heads northward

NEW ORLEANS — Ida, one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the US Gulf Coast, knocked out power to more than a million homes in Louisiana on Monday and prompted rescue operations in flooded communities around New Orleans as the weakening storm churned northward.

Ida made landfall on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, evoking memories of a disaster that killed more than 1,800 people in 2005 and devastated New Orleans.

By late Monday afternoon, after dumping a deluge of rain in Louisiana and killing at least two people, Ida was downgraded to a tropical depression as its eye crawled through neighboring Mississippi. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said more fatalities were expected in his state.

“We didn’t have another Katrina and that is something that we should be grateful for. However, the impact is absolutely significant,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell told a news conference.

City officials vowed to comb every neighborhood block by block to assess damage and aid the afflicted, seeking to reassure a majority Black city that felt abandoned by the US government after Katrina.

“No one will be left out,” Ms. Cantrell said.

President Joseph R. Biden declared a major disaster in the state, and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) sent 3,600 of its personnel and 3.4 million meals to the storm-devastated area.

Climate change is fueling deadly and disastrous weather across the globe, including stronger and more damaging hurricanes.

The National Guard said it has dispatched thousands of personnel as well as vehicles that can navigate flooded roads, boats and 34 helicopters to rescue people stranded by flooding.

Local officials and “Cajun Navy” disaster relief volunteers sped to the small city of Houma, where volunteers searched for people who were reported trapped by floodwaters.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto said he was coordinating a flotilla on Monday to rescue an estimated 400 people in Lafitte, a fishing community about 25 miles (40 km) south of New Orleans.

Another 40 people rode out the storm and appeared to be safe on the tiny barrier island of Grand Isle, just a few miles from where Ida made landfall at maximum strength on Sunday, Mr. Lopinto told WWL Radio.

A helicopter on a fly-over found people on Grand Isle flashing thumbs-up signs, Mr. Lopinto said.

Coast Guard aerial video showed widespread flooding on the island and significant roof damage to many homes.

The town of LaPlace, on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, also sustained damage, with homes crushed by trees or surrounded by several feet of water. People waded through floodwaters to check on their loved ones.

“The sky went black and what you could hear was a tornado,” said Madeline Brewer, 30, shortly after being rescued by the US Army on Monday. “There was a whole tree that flew past.”

POWER OUT
Widespread power outages reached as far north as over 200 miles from where the hurricane made landfall. Many water systems in Louisiana were also out.

One transmission tower collapsed into the Mississippi River, the Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Department said.

The entire New Orleans metropolitan area lost power after the failure of all eight transmission lines that deliver electricity to the city, the utility company Entergy Louisiana reported.

Customers in the hardest-hit areas could experience power outages for weeks, Entergy said.

More than a million Louisiana electric customers and 92,000 in Mississippi remained without power, according to PowerOutage, which gathers data from US utility companies.

Oil production in the US Gulf of Mexico on Monday was almost completely shut off after the storm forced the evacuation of hundreds of oil and gas production platforms and drilling rigs, with 1.72 million barrels of output suspended, according to offshore regulator the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

The closures are equivalent to 95% of the Gulf’s crude output and 94% of gas production.

PESTILENCE
Ida crashed ashore at a time when Louisiana is reeling from a resurgence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections that has strained the state’s healthcare system, with an estimated 2,450 COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide, many in intensive care units.

Even so, early assessments indicate that the healthcare system in Louisiana largely escaped catastrophic damage.

Another encouraging development was that the $14.5-billion system of levees, floodwalls and gates erected after Hurricane Katrina seemed to have passed their first major test.

“There were no levee breaches or overtopping… There have been no issues with our pumps,” the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East said, adding that the system performed as designed.

Although Ida weakened over land it still threatened to generate tornadoes in Louisiana and storm surge warnings remained in place for the Gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. — Reuters

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