Atthaya Thitikul shoots 64, wins JTBC Classic in playoff

March 28, 2022 | 7:52 pm

THAI 19-year-old Atthaya Thitikul defeated Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen on the second playoff hole to win her first Ladies Proffesional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour title at the JTBC Classic on Sunday in Carlsbad, CA.

Thitikul fired an 8-under-par 64 in the final round to catch Madsen and force the playoff. It was the lowest round at Aviara Golf Club all week.

Madsen entered on Sunday with a three-stroke lead but only managed a 2-under 70. Her birdie at the par-5 17^th hole moved her into sole possession of the lead at 17 under, but she bogeyed the par-4 18^th to fall back into a tie with Thitikul at 16 under.

They replayed No. 18 twice. After both parred the first time through, Madsen’s second shot on the second playoff hole found the water, leading her to a double bogey.

Thitikul tapped in a short bogey putt to win, becoming the youngest winner on tour since Canadian star Brooke Henderson won the 2016 Cambria Portland Classic as an 18-year-old.

“Anyone (who comes) here, they want to win,” Thitikul said. “I want to win as well, but didn’t expect (it would) come really fast, in my rookie year as well. It’s just crazy in my mind right now. I cannot believe that I became an LPGA winner.”

Thitikul’s round featured nine birdies and just one bogey. Five birdies came on the back nine, including at Nos. 16 and 17.

It was just the fifth start of Thitikul’s rookie season, though the youngster had previous success in Europe, winning Player of the Year honors on the Ladies European Tour last season.

Madsen earned her maiden win on tour at the Honda LPGA Thailand earlier this month and was vying for back-to-back titles.

“It wasn’t a very good playoff,” Madsen said. “Yeah, I played a good week and I’m happy with the game. I could have maybe have done a little better today, but it was what I could do.”

Na Rin An of South Korea carded a final-round 68 to finish 15 under, alone in third. Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn, Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc and world No. 1 Jin Young Ko of South Korea all shot 68 and tied for fourth at 14 under.

Charley Hull (69) was seventh at 12 under, and defending champion Inbee Park of South Korea (68) and Lilia Vu (70) tied for eighth at 11 under. — Reuters

Sinner survives five match points in Miami Open thriller; Gauff, Norrie advance

March 28, 2022 | 7:52 pm

JANNIK Sinner saved five match points to advance past Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 in a sensational display in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday.

Carreno Busta had Sinner on the ropes in the 10^th game of the second set, nearly breaking him for the match before the Italian recovered to hold his serve and converted on a chance in the next game.

They traded breaks in the third before a marathon 10^th game in which the Spaniard nearly broke his opponent for the win four times.

The world number 11 Sinner, who launched 15 aces across the net across the entire match, survived and converted on a chance in the next game to seize the advantage.

Serving for the match, he clinched the affair with a forehand winner as the crowd at Miami leapt to its feet and cheered.

The 2021 runner-up next faces Australian Nick Kyrgios, who put in a clinical performance to down Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4, dropping just five first-serve points.

GAUFF ADVANCES
Elsewhere in the day’s action, American Coco Gauff kept alive her bid for a maiden WTA 1000 title, firing off five aces to overcome China’s Zhang Shuai 7-6(1), 7-5 in a tightly fought contest.

“I just kind of mentally was hanging in there. I wasn’t playing my best. She’s a tough player to play,” Gauff told reporters. “I knew it was going to be a tough match, and I was glad that I was able to pull it out today.”

British number one Cameron Norrie overcame a false start to keep his hopes of winning a second Masters 1000 title alive, beating Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-3, 7-5.

Norrie, who triumphed at Indian Wells last year and won at Delray Beach five weeks ago, opened the contest by dropping his serve but kept his nerve as three break points went begging in the next game before he finally converted the fourth.

Norrie fired down his seventh ace on his eighth match point to set up a meeting with world number eight Casper Ruud, who has beaten the Briton on both of their previous meetings.

The in-form Ruud dispatched Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-2 in less than an hour and had the best seat in the house when his Kazakh opponent produced a highlight-reel-worthy shot in the fifth game of the second set. Bublik flipped his racquet over and tapped an overhead shot with the handle.

“You will be on Tennis TV like always,” Ruud quipped to Bublik after the match.

Spanish fifth seed Paula Badosa put up a pristine performance to topple Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-2. Putintseva was so frustrated with her error-filled display that she slammed her racquet with such force to the ground that it flew back up and almost hit her.

Badosa, who won last year’s Indian Wells, next faces 16-year-old Czech wild card Linda Fruhvirtova, who advanced after former world number one Victoria Azarenka abruptly retired midway through the second set of their contest.

Fruhvirtova was leading 6-2, 3-0 when Azarenka, who pulled out of Doha last month with an injury, informed the chair umpire that she was done and briskly walked off the court.

“I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s what I’ve always dreamed of, playing in these big stadiums in front of so many people,” Fruhvirtova said courtside.

“It’s definitely a dream come true.” — Reuters

Brandon Ingram returns for Pelicans, fuels win over Lakers

March 28, 2022 | 7:51 pm

BRANDON Ingram returned from a 10-game absence to score 26 points and the host New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 23-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-108 on Sunday night.

The Lakers (31-43) led by 23 in the second quarter and by 20 at half time, but rookie Trey Murphy III, who finished with 21 points, led a third-quarter comeback before Ingram, who had been sidelined by a hamstring strain, took over in the fourth.

Jonas Valančiūnas added 19 points and 12 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 18 and Herbert Jones, Jr. had 16 points and a season-high six steals for the Pelicans (32-43), who moved a half-game in front of the Lakers into ninth place in the Western Conference.

The comeback was one point short of the largest ever for New Orleans, which clinched the season series against the Lakers with one game remaining April 1 in Los Angeles.

LeBron James scored 39 points, Malik Monk added 23 and Russell Westbrook had 18 for the Lakers, who were outscored 67-39 in the second half.

Monk’s 3-pointer cut the lead in half, but Valančiūnas made a layup and McCollum added a basket via a goaltending call on James. That gave New Orleans a 115-108 lead with 29.5 seconds left.

James made two 3-pointers and two more baskets as the Lakers scored the first 12 points of the game and took a 31-23 lead at the end of the first quarter. They held a 69-49 half time lead.

Murphy led a third-quarter charge by the Pelicans, who got within two points twice before Westbrook’s layup gave Los Angeles a 94-90 lead at the end of the period. Murphy scored 16, making all three of his 3-point attempts, as the Pelicans outscored the Lakers 41-25 in the period. — Reuters

Tribunal asked to clarify Marcos estate tax case

March 28, 2022 | 7:42 pm

A RIVAL political party has asked the Supreme Court to issue a “certificate of finality” on a decades-old lawsuit that upheld the government’s estate and income tax assessments on the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

In a letter to the tribunal’s deputy clerk of court, Aksyon Demokratiko Chairman Ernesto M. Ramel, Jr. sought the certificate to establish that the case had long been resolved and could now be enforced, contrary to the claim of the Marcos family.

“The purpose of the requested certificate of finality is to establish the above cited case is in fact final and executory and had been entered in the book of judgments,” he said. Aksyon Demokratiko is the party of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso, who is running for president this year.

He cited a March 3 statement by Victor D. Rodriguez, lawyer of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. that the tax case had not been resolved with finality. The dictator’s namesake and only son is the top contender for president, based on various opinion polls.

Mr. Rodriguez did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

Mr. Ramel earlier said the P23-billion estate tax had ballooned to P203.8 billion due to interests and penalties after the Marcos family refused to pay it.

He separately asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) this month to clarify whether the Marcos heirs had paid the taxes.

Mr. Marcos on March 16 cited “fake news” surrounding their unsettled estate taxes. “Let’s leave it to the lawyers to discuss it because the so-called facts that they quote are not facts at all,” he told a news briefing. “Whatever the court orders me to do, I will do.”

This contradicted what the tax agency and PCGG said in reply to Aksyon Demokratiko.

“The Bureau of Internal Revenue did send a written demand letter to the Marcos heirs on Dec. 2, 2021 regarding their tax liabilities,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay said in a letter to Aksyon Demokratiko on March 14.

PCGG, the agency tasked to recover ill-gotten wealth of the dictator and his cronies, in a separate letter said the tax agency in 1991 assessed the estate of Ferdinand Marcos P23.29 billion in estate taxes, P184.16 million in unpaid income taxes of Mr. Marcos and his wife Imelda for 1985 and 1986 and P20,410 in unpaid income taxes against the dictator for 1982 to 1985.

In 1993, BIR levied and sold 11 Marcos properties in Tacloban after the family failed to file an administrative protest. The lots were awarded to the state in the absence of bidders, PCGG said.

The Supreme Court in 1997 denied a plea by Marcos, Jr. to void the levies as it ruled the tax assessments had become final and unappealable.

Mr. Ramel in a separate statement warned that the debt could get erased if the tax agency fails to collect the tax by June 30, in case Mr. Marcos wins the election.

“The P203 billion that belongs to the Filipino people will disappear like a bubble if Marcos, Jr. lucks out,” he said in Filipino.

Mr. Ramel on Sunday slammed Mr. Marcos’s spokesman for saying that his rivals were using the tax issue to score political points for the May 9 elections.

Meanwhile, opposition coalition 1Sambayan said Mr. Rodriguez’s claim last week that the Marcos family’s estate tax liability is still pending in court is “the worst kind of propaganda.”

“With all due respect to Mr. Rodriguez, there is no pending case,” it said in a statement. “Alleging that the case is still pending without specifying the actual case details sounds like fake news and — if it turns out to be untrue — the worst kind of black propaganda.”

It said Filipinos could not afford to have a president who had been convicted for tax evasion.

The dictator stole as much as $10 billion (P521 billion) from the Filipino people, according to government estimates, earning him a Guinness World Record for the “greatest robbery of a government.” PCGG has recovered about P171 billion.

Mr. Domagoso earlier vowed to use the tax payment to help drivers, farmers and jobless Filipinos if he becomes president. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Philippines records 2,726 COVID cases for March 21 to 27

March 28, 2022 | 7:41 pm

Senior-citizen-vaccination-PHILSTARFILE-MICHAEL-VARCAS- — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE PHILIPPINES posted 2,726 new coronavirus infections on March 21 to 27, 24% lower than a week earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Monday.

There were no severe and critical cases recorded during the week, while deaths increased by 752, it said in a bulletin. It said 107 deaths occurred in March and 105 in February.

The agency said 484 of 3,204 intensive care unit (ICU) beds had been used as of March 27, while 4,613 of 27,547 non-ICU beds were occupied. There had been 758 severe and critical admissions as of March 27.

DoH said 65.64 million people had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of March 27, while 11.83 million people have received booster shots.

About 73% of the target population have been fully vaccinated, including 75.56% of the target senior population, it added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Police seized P13.2B of illegal drugs in 1,794 raids — DILG

March 28, 2022 | 7:40 pm

LAW enforcers seized 13.2 billion worth of illegal drugs from 1,794 raids on March 6 to 19 alone, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Sixty-one suspects surrendered, 2,471 were arrested and two got killed in those anti-drug operations, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

“Because of the quick response of the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, many of the youth and their families have been saved from the dangers of illegal drugs,” Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said in the statement in Filipino.

“I urge our drug enforcement agencies to further intensify their operations and target big drug syndicates so we can protect and save our people and our country from the ill effects of illegal drugs.”

He said drug haul from the raids hit a record 1,775.2 kilos of crystal meth and 421.4 kilos of pot. “This is a huge victory in our campaign against illegal drugs as we seized tons of shabu and marijuana.”

The March 8 raid in Valenzuela yielded P1.08 billion worth of crystal meth confiscated from a Chinese national and a Filipino, he said. He added that 1,600 kilos of the drug worth P12 billion were seized from 10 suspects in a drug raid in Quezon province on March 16.

Philippine prosecutors have filed charges in court against law enforcers in four cases and plan to investigate 250 more of what could have been wrongful deaths in the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra told the United Nations Human Rights Council last month.

An inter-agency committee formed 15 teams last year that probed extralegal killings and human rights violations during these operations.

Meanwhile, the DILG on Monday promoted 25 officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to chief superintendent.

Mr. Año said 18 fire officers were mostly regional directors who rose through the ranks, and seven of those promoted were senior jail officers.

“The officers are a testament to the hard work of our personnel and the fruition of years of committed service they dedicated in the name of their sworn duty to the people,” he said. Chief superintendent is equivalent to the rank of General.

The BFP has 33,872 firefighters across the country and the BJMP has 18,600 jail personnel. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Don’t ignore China actions during campaign, gov’t told

March 28, 2022 | 7:40 pm

Chinese navy warship — PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD

THE GOVERNMENT should take action against China’s maneuverings in the South China Sea even during the election campaign period, a senator said on Monday.

“Its call to action should not be drowned by the frenzy of the political campaign as China’s intransigence on the West Philippine Sea issue remains real,” Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares said in a Viber message to reporters, referring to areas of the waterway within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Congress is on recess to allow national and local politicians to campaign for the May 9 elections.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, which overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. Each year, trillions of dollars of trade flow through the sea, which is also rich in fish and gas.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday reported that a Chinese Coast Guard vessel had made a close distance maneuver to BRP Malabrigo, a Philippine ship off Scarborough Shoal, on March 2, risking collision.

It was the fourth time within a 10-month period since May last year that Chinese Navy ships had sailed too close to Philippine vessels, the Philippine Coast Guard said, citing a breach of international law.

“We must not let this pass without raising protest even as we continue to bolster diplomatic initiatives with other foreign nations in asserting sovereignty over our waters,” Ms. Poe said.

She said the government must act urgently because the presence of Chinese ships “poses risks to the safety of navigation and impedes on Filipinos’ rights to benefit from marine wealth in our exclusive economic zone.”

The Chinese Embassy told reporters via Viber it would issue a statement soon.

Earlier this month, the Philippines summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to explain how a People’s Liberation Army Navy electronic reconnaissance ship had entered Philippine waters without permission on Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended the ship’s intrusion, calling it an exercise of “innocent passage.”

The Philippines earlier said the movements of the ship did not follow a track that could be considered continuous and expeditious, lingering in the Sulu Sea for three days. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Lacson eyes collection of unpaid taxes for broadband network; Robredo talks about renewable energy in Samar

March 28, 2022 | 7:39 pm

PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr. is eyeing the collection of unpaid taxes to fund the government’s national broadband plan (NBP) in full.

“If we accomplish that (NBP), our internet services will be steady,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino in a statement.

The senator noted that about P18 billion is needed to build infrastructure and systems that can enhance internet connection services across the country.

The Department of Budget and Management has only released about P900 million for the national broadband network project, Mr. Lacson said.

Given the insufficient allocation, the Department of Information and Communications Technology was unable to develop “the fiber optic backbone, which is a vital component of high-speed internet services.”

Should he win the presidential race, the senator said digitalization of all government transactions will be prioritized. This, he said, is part of his mission to combat graft and corruption.

A fully digitized administration, he added, would intensify tax collection efforts.

This would also help the Philippines level with neighboring countries whose investments on digitalization programs have saved them billions in public funds and improved their economies.

Robredo in Samar

Presidential bet Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, meanwhile, vowed to boost energy security in Samar, as she wooed voters in the Eastern Visayas province on Monday.

In her speech at a campaign rally in Calbayog City, where the crowd was estimated at 7,000, Ms. Robredo vowed to invest in roads and more renewable energy sources in the province.

“Electricity rates are high here, which should compel the government to provide (energy-related) subsidies,” she said, noting that the typhoon-prone province has potential green energy sources.

Ms. Robredo said these subsidies would help fishermen and farmers the most. “They are already spending too much on fuel.”

The late dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. won against Ms. Robredo in Eastern Visayas region in the 2016 vice-presidential election by a slim margin.

In that election, Ms. Robredo won in all other regions in the Visayas, the central islands of the Philippines.

Ms. Robredo has secured the endorsement of some key political figures in central Philippines, including Eastern Samar Governor Ben P. Evardone.

Mr. Evardone is a partymate of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who celebrated his 77^th birthday on Monday.

Mr. Duterte was greeted by some of his controversial political allies, including Taguig Rep. Alan Peter C. Cayetano who was ousted as House speaker in 2020 after he failed to honor a term-sharing deal brokered by the President in 2019.

The President was also greeted by his top spiritual adviser, Apollo C. Quiboloy, who is wanted in the United States for sex trafficking and other charges.

Mr. Duterte’s six-year term ends in June. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan and Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

‘Resilient’ houses underway for typhoon-hit Dinagat Islands residents

March 28, 2022 | 7:38 pm

CONSTRUCTION is underway for the first of at least 60 “resilient” relocation houses in Dinagat Islands intended for those whose homes were totally destroyed during Typhoon Rai, locally named Odette, in December last year.

“The construction of these buildings are laboriously done,” the Dinagat provincial government said in a statement in the local language, “especially the foundation that will hold resilient houses.”

An initial 20 housing units are currently being built in Barangay Cuarinta, San Jose, one of the relocation areas identified as low-risk from calamity threats such Typhoon Odette.

Work on the access road for the site is also ongoing.

The housing projects, dubbed Angat Buhay sa Kalikasang Buhay Villages, are an initiative of the provincial government and supported by Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, the Robredo People’s Council, Tanging Yaman Foundation, Assisi Development Foundation, and BALAOD Mindanaw.

“In our Bayanihan Dinagat recovery plan, we included resilient and safe housing as one of our primary objectives,” said the provincial government led by Gov. Arlene “Kaka” J. Bag-Ao.

“Our engineers, planners, and workers, together with our policy makers and each and every member of our recovery team are doing our very best to ensure that we can build houses that will be able to withstand typhoons like Odette.”

Typhoon Rai, the 15^th and strongest to hit the Philippines in 2021, made its second of nine landfalls in Dinagat Islands. It affected more than 2.99 million families across 11 of the country’s 17 regions, based on data from the national disaster management council.

In Dinagat, 16,336 houses were totally destroyed while another 14,104 were partially damaged. — MSJ

Gordon won’t back higher taxes, says solution is expanded tax base

March 28, 2022 | 7:36 pm

SENATOR Richard “Dick” J. Gordon, who is running for reelection in May, said he does not support increasing taxes to help pay off the national government’s P12-trillion debt, and instead recommended an expansion of the tax base through better investment promotion.

“What other countries do is to strengthen their tax base. We have many debts. Our debt is worth P12 trillion,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview on Monday.

“How will we pay for that? Can we fix that? Our gross domestic product is 60%… goes to our debt,” he said.

Raising taxes would not be a good solution because it would just add burden to Filipinos who are still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, he added.

“We should boost the tax base, invite more investors here. We in Congress have loosened the laws (on foreign investors),” the senator said, referring to the passage of legislation relaxing rules on foreign ownership in some key sectors.

“Now, we should examine the Department of Trade (and Industry), they have many trade attachés. The tourism, I did that. I was able to boost the tourism in the country,” said Mr. Gordon, who served as tourism secretary from 2001 to 2004.

He said promoting the Philippines should include an emphasis on its skilled workforce.

“Not just market. Show them that we have potential. Add scholarships so that they (investors) will come here because they see that our people are skilled,” he said.

“We should also find ways to lower the cost of our electricity through using renewable energy,” he added.

The Philippines has one of the highest power costs among southeast asian nations.

Mr. Gordon, who previously served as Olongapo City mayor, is also chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Red Cross since 2004. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

House inquiry sought on BFAR’s crablet rules’ impact on Sorsogon gatherers

March 28, 2022 | 7:36 pm

A PARTY-LIST filed a resolution seeking to investigate the socio-economic effects of the government’s regulations on the collection of mangrove crablets on gatherers in the town of Gubat in Sorsogon.

House Resolution No. 2533, filed March 24, calls on the House committees on aquaculture and fisheries resource, agriculture and food, and natural resources to look into the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 264.

The order was temporarily suspended in March 2021 in consideration of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on livelihood of coastal communities across the country.

The suspension will be revoked upon the lifting of the national state of emergency, which is in effect until Sept. 12 this year, based on an order issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Bayan Muna Party-list’s resolution said the inquiry in aid of legislation should review the crab collection method indicated in the administrative order.

“Once implemented, only juvenile crabs measuring 5 centimeters — the legal size for trade — will be allowed for catch,” Bayan Muna legislators said in their resolution. “This will threaten mangrove areas as gatherers will have to disturb these for catching.”

Gubat has 13 fishing villages and its coastal areas are home of mud crabs, a main source of income for residents.

According to the resolution, Gubat Mayor Sharon Rose G. Escoto asked the Municipal Agriculture office to review FAO No. 264 and the result of the study showed that stakeholders were not informed about it, it would increase poverty and unemployment, and would worsen the export quality of crabs.

“A year after the issuance of a partial suspension, stakeholders are clamoring for continued suspension FAO No. 264 given its socio-economic impact on small crablet gatherers and the continuing economic crisis worsened by the pandemic,” Bayan Muna representatives said. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

PHL-US joint military exercises begin

March 28, 2022 | 7:35 pm

AFP-military — PHILIPPINE STAR/ WALTER BOLLOZOS

AMERICAN soldiers don Balikatan patches during the opening ceremony of the Philippine-United States annual joint military exercises on March 28, 2022 at Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). There will be 3,800 AFP members and 5,100 from the US military who will engage in simulation activities on maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counter-terrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.