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UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid stunned in 2-1 home defeat by Moldovan Sheriff Tiraspol

SEBASTIEN Thill of Sheriff in action during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between Real Madrid and FC Sheriff at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sept. 28 in Madrid, Spain. — REUTERS

MADRID — Real Madrid slumped to a 2-1 defeat by Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League on Tuesday as the visitors pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history with a stunning 89th-minute strike from Sebastien Thill.

Champions League debutants Sheriff went ahead against the 13-times European champions in the 25th minute with a header from Uzbek midfielder Jasurbek Yakhshiboev, who narrowly missed a chance to double their lead later in the first half.

Real dominated in both halves, but needed a penalty to level. Karim Benzema buried his spot-kick in the 65th after Vinícius Júnior was felled and awarded a penalty following a VAR review, having been denied after a previous review moments earlier.

Real substitute Luka Jović spurned a great chance to score, but Sheriff quickly went down the other end and following a throw-in the ball fell to Luxembourg midfielder Thill, who unleashed a lethal shot into the top corner on the half volley.

Sheriff, from the unrecognized breakaway state of Transnistria, top Champions League Group D with six points from two games while Real are second with three.

Thill’s unstoppable strike gave Sheriff a win that flew in the face of match statistics showing Real had 30 shots on goal to the visitors’ four and won 13 corners compared to none for the Moldovan side while the Spaniards had 67% of possession.

“I’m a little sad as I think we deserved to win,” said Real coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“You could say we had bad luck, we lost the game on the small details, they scored their goals on the counter-attack and from a throw-in. We had a lot of shots at goal, but sometimes luck deserts you in games.

“Everything went well for them, everything went wrong for us.”

BIGGEST RESULT
Sheriff came through four rounds of qualifying to become the first Moldovan team to play in the group phase of Europe’s elite club competition and surprised a highly experienced Champions League side in Shakhtar Donetsk to win their opening game 2-0.

Before kickoff, the club, founded in 1997, had a mere 6,000 followers on Twitter, contrasting with Real’s army of over 38 million on the social media platform.

They faced an unbeaten Real side and were outplayed for most of the game, but pulled off the biggest result in their 24-year-history, making the most of few chances and relying on some top-drawer saves from Greek goalkeeper Georgios Athanasiadis.

Real made a strong start and Vinícius and Benzema each went close to giving them the lead, Athanasiadis making the first of many saves to tip a stinging shot from Benzema over the bar.

But Ancelotti’s side were outdone on the counter when Cristiano tore down the left wing and crossed to the unmarked Yakhshiboev, who headed into the net.

Real continued to threaten, Benzema and Vinícius each fizzing shots just off target before half time although Yakhshiboev could have scored again down the other end following a glaring error from home keeper Thibaut Courtois.

The Spaniards looked set to go on to win the game after Benzema leveled from the spot, but Sheriff had the ball in the net again through substitute Bruno, although the goal was ruled out for offside.

Luka Modric was then thwarted by Athanasiadis, who saved a thumping shot from the Croatian with his face, before Brazilian forward Rodrygo fired narrowly over the bar.

A Real winner looked inevitable, but instead it came down the other end when Thill tried his luck from the edge of the box, scoring the most important goal in his club’s brief history.

“We had so many shots, their goalkeeper made a lot of saves and I think you have to congratulate them for scoring two goals,” said Real midfielder Casemiro. “We were in control of the game, had many chances and then they scored a wonder goal.” — Reuters

Congress approves additional budget for PSC 

2019 SEA GAMES WEBSITE

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the request of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for an additional P650 million for the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) 2022 budget from general appropriations. 

POC President Abraham N. Tolentino, who is also a representative from the eighth district of Cavite, sought for the additional budget to fund the training and participation of national athletes to at least five major international competitions. 

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), through the National Expenditure Program, appropriated only P175 million for the PSC, figures that cover only bare essentials for the government sports agency’s operations for the coming year. 

Mr. Tolentino informed the House committee of the importance of major international competitions that are held every four years as necessary to build on the momentum of the multiple medals won in the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the country won its first-ever gold medal.  

These are the Beijing Winter Olympics (Feb. 4 to 20), Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Thailand (March 10 to 20), The World Games (TWG) in Birmingham, Alabama, USA (July 7 to 22), Huangzhou Asian Games (Sept. 10 to 25) and Shantou Asian Youth Games (Dec. 20 to 28). 

In his manifestation during the House Committee on Finance hearing, Mr. Tolentino also included the postponed 31st Southeast Asian Games which Vietnam is bound to host also in 2022. 

“With due respect to the DBM, we in the POC were not consulted — and again with due respect to the PSC — we were not also asked, as part of planning, on how much is needed to fund our athletes for these major international competitions,” Mr. Tolentino said in his manifestation. 

“We are protecting and making sure that our qualified national athletes can compete in full force in those four major events that happen only once every four years, plus the SEA Games in Vietnam where we are the defending overall champion,” he said. 

Mr. Tolentino earlier planned a budget of P5 million for the Winter Olympics, P150 million for the AIMAG, P10 million for the TWG, P270 million for Asian Games and P15 million for the AYG. The SEA Games budget was pegged at P200 million. 

“The total budget is a measly sum and this could be tapped from several sources … my concern is the budget needed by our athletes in these major competitions,” he said. “I am also willing to put a provision — as an oversight function — that all cancelled competitions will be treated as savings and will be returned to the DBM or the National Treasury.” 

Both the Minority and Majority supported Mr. Tolentino’s manifestation for the additional budget for the PSC. 

PSC Chairman William Ramirez and his chief of staff Mark Velasco were also present at the hearing.

Gilas Pilipinas Women drops second straight Asia Cup match

GILAS Pilipinas Women lost to Australia, 120-56, on Wednesday for its second straight defeat in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Jordan. — FIBA

THE Philippine national women’s basketball team absorbed its second straight defeat in the ongoing Internatinal Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women’s Asia Cup in Jordan, losing to Australia, 120-56, in Group B play early on Wednesday morning (Manila time).

Gilas Pilipinas Women struggled at the start anew and could not recover from it.

The Opals opened the proceedings with an 11-0 blast until April Bernardino broke the Philippine silence with a jumper at the 7:05 mark of the first quarter.

Gilas stayed within striking distance of Australia for the rest of the opening frame, down by just 12 points, 32-20, heading into the second quarter.

In the second canto though, the Opals exerted further their might on both ends, outscoring Gilas, 32-13, to build a commanding 64-33 lead by the half time break.

From there, Australia just stayed the course, not allowing any significant headway for a Gilas rally to book its second win and fortify its push to take hold of the top spot in Group B of the preliminaries.

Forward Loren Nicholson led Australia with 21 points, followed by Keely Jane Froling with 19 points to go along with 13 boards.

Gilas, for its part, was paced by Janine Pontejos’ 13 points. Ms. Bernardino and Ria Nabalan each had eight points.

The nationals lost to China, 143-52, in their opener.

They wrap up their Group B assignments with a showdown with fellow winless team Chinese Taipei on Sept. 30 at 12 a.m. for the last spot in the crossover quarterfinals.

Whoever loses between the Philippines and Chinese Taipei will be sent down to battle against the last place team in Group A in the relegation game.

Playing in Group A are defending champion Japan, Korea, New Zealand and India.

Gilas Women matches are shown live over One Sports. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

US Open champ Raducanu handed Indian Wells wild-card entry

US Open champion Emma Raducanu will play in her first tournament since stunning the tennis world at Flushing Meadows after being handed a wild card for next month’s Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, organizers said on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old Briton became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam earlier this month when she beat fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez of Canada in straight sets.

“2021 US Open Champion and rising WTA Tour star Emma Raducanu has been awarded a wild card into the BNP Paribas Open, a combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event to be held October 4–17, 2021 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden,” organizers said in a statement.

Her entry into the Indian Wells tournament, often called the “fifth major,” will allow her to compete for the 1,000 ranking points up for grabs and possibly give her an outside shot at qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

Raducanu enters the Indian Wells draw a day after world number one Ash Barty withdrew from the tournament while former champions Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are also sitting out.

Raducanu won the US Open without dropping a set, climbing more than 100 places to 22nd in the world rankings since her maiden Grand Slam victory. She is now the British number one.

Her victorious campaign also prompted the Tennis Hall of Fame to add her outfit from her impressive run to their collection.

The teenager said last week she was seeking a new coach after announcing she would no longer be working with former Davis Cup player Andrew Richardson as she targets more success on the WTA Tour. — Reuters

San Miguel Beermen seek to close out Northport Batang Pier in quarterfinal series

THE San Miguel Beermen seek to sweep the Northport Batang Pier in their best-of-three PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals when they collide in Game Two on Thursday in Pampanga. — PBA IMAGES

THE San Miguel Beermen try to close out the Northport Batang Pier in their best-of-three Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup quarterfinal series in Game Two on Thursday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Took the series opener in cardiac fashion, 88-87, on Sunday, San Miguel now seeks to get the job done in the second game set for 2 p.m. and advance to the semifinal round.

“Northport will be playing with a heightened sense of urgency. They will do everything they can to extend the series and we have to be ready for that,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria.

San Miguel snatched the early lead in the series on a game-winning jumper from veteran guard Alex Cabagnot.

Down by one, 87-86, with 5.1 seconds left in the game, after Northport’s Robert Bolick drained an improbable three-pointer from nearly half-court in the previous play, Mr. Cabagnot fielded the inbound pass and made his move to the basket before pulling up for the winner.

It was an escape act for the Beermen who saw the Batang Pier charge back late in the contest to make a serious run at the win.

The game-winner capped an eventful return for Mr. Cabagnot in the San Miguel fold after missing their entire elimination assignments in the Pampanga “semi-bubble” because of a knee injury.

He finished with a game-high 20 points. Mo Tautuaa had 15 points while reigning PBA player of the week CJ Perez added 14. June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

For Northport, it was Sean Anthony who led with 16 points, followed by Greg Slaughter with 15 points to go along with 10 boards.

Meanwhile, also gunning for a closeout are the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, who took the opener, 81-70, of their own quarterfinal series over the Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang led their team in the grind-it-out win to move a win away from booking a semifinal spot.

Game Two of the Magnolia-Rain or Shine series will be played at 4:35 p.m., Thursday. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

With an ‘underdog’ mentality, Connecticut’s Jones snares WNBA MVP honor

CONNECTICUT Sun forward Jonquel Jones said an “underdog” mentality helped propel her to the top of her sport, after being named the winner of the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award on Tuesday.

Jones won the award in her fifth Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season after she received 48 of 49 first-place votes and 487 total points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, the league said, just four years after she was named Most Improved Player.

“My whole basketball career has kind of been… just coming in as an underdog and just really working a lot,” said Jones, a native of the Bahamas, who told reporters she “wasn’t even good enough to make the varsity team” when she moved to the US as a teenager.

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, who earned the other first-place vote, finished in second place with 224 points.

Jones averaged 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists, as Connecticut went a league-best 26-6 to secure the top seed in the playoffs.

“My teammates are behind me 100%, my coaches are behind me 100%, this organization is, and it allows me to grow there and flourish and I think that’s what makes an MVP: It’s the work, it’s the opportunity and it’s the combination of everybody being behind you,” she said.

The Sun, seeking to win their first WNBA championship, host the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky in the first game of the best-of-five semi-finals later on Tuesday. — Reuters

NBA staffers perturbed players get pass on vax

THERE is a divide between players and everyone else in the National Basketball Association (NBA) when it comes to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, and some are not happy about it.

The NBA mandated that all team employees must be vaccinated — except for players.

Mandatory vaccinations for players has been a non-starter with the National Basketball Players Association. Though the league has instituted strict protocols for unvaccinated players, there is lingering tension on staffs, ESPN reported.

“Everyone who is vaccinated should be pissed at those who aren’t,” a veteran assistant coach told ESPN. “Not requiring NBA players to be vaccinated is horses—.”

Protocols for unvaxxed players could include eating and traveling apart from vaccinated teammates as well as being located in a different part of the locker room.

Said one strength and conditioning coach: “They need to hold the players to the same standards they hold us. This is a disease that doesn’t differentiate between a player and a staff member.”

Roughly 90 percent of players have been vaccinated, but some highly publicized comments made by outspoken stars in the lead-up to training camp has raised eyebrows. Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins and Bradley Beal have put themselves out there in staunch opposition to getting the vaccine.

“People want to draw it as a personal health decision, but it’s not,” a Western Conference head athletic trainer told ESPN. “It’s a public health decision.”

Beal clarified earlier comments on Tuesday saying he would still considering getting the vaccine. Beal said he’s currently not able to be vaccinated because he tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 60 days.

Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard said he wouldn’t argue with players choosing not to be vaccinated, but explained his decision was multi-faceted.

“I’m not mad at people who say they need to do their research. But I have a lot of people in my family that I spend time around,” Lillard said. “I’m just not going to put their lives in danger. As a kid, I had to get shots my whole life.”

Lakers superstar LeBron James took a similar line on Tuesday, saying it’s not his place to be an advocate to other players. James is fully vaxxed after doing his research.

“We’re talking about individual bodies. We’re not talking about something political or racism or police brutality,” James said. “I don’t think I personally should get involved in what other people do for their bodies and livelihoods. I know what I did for me and my family… But as far as speaking for everybody and their individualities and things they want to do, that’s not my job.” — Reuters

Kishida certain to be named Japan’s next PM

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — KYODO/VIA REUTERS
FORMER Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida gestures as he is elected to be the new head of the ruling party in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 29. — KYODO/VIA REUTERS

TOKYO  — Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida won a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race on Wednesday, a victory that virtually ensures he will succeed Yoshihide Suga as prime minister within days.

Mr. Kishida enjoys only moderate public support and has a bland image and his victory could spell problems for the LDP in a general election due within weeks.

Mr. Kishida defeated former defense and foreign minister Taro Kono, seen as an outspoken maverick, in a second round run-off vote. Two female contenders, Sanae Takaichi, 60, and Seiko Noda, 61, dropped out after the first round.

The winner of the party poll to succeed unpopular Prime Minister Suga, who is not seeking re-election after just one year in office, is almost certain to become premier because of its majority in parliament’s lower house.

Mr. Kishida must call an election by Nov. 28 and faces the task of rebuilding an economy staggering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but his consensus style will help him consolidate power within the factious ruling party.

Mr. Kishida’s victory is unlikely to trigger a huge shift in policies as Japan seeks to cope with an assertive China and revive an economy hit by the pandemic, with the soft-spoken MP highlighting the need to focus on reducing income disparity.

He shares a broad consensus on the need to boost Japan’s defenses and strengthen security ties with the United States and other partners including the QUAD grouping of Japan, the United States, Australia and India, while preserving vital economic ties with China and holding regular summit meetings.

Specifically, Mr. Kishida wants to beef up Japan’s coast guard and backs passing of a resolution condemning China’s treatment of members of the Uyghur minority. He wants to appoint a prime ministerial aide to monitor their human rights situation.

Mr. Kishida said deregulation during the reform era in the early 2000s widened the gap between the haves and have-nots and that former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics,” which sought to fix tattered finances by achieving high growth and boosting tax revenues, did not result in benefits trickling down.

Mr. Kishida has said fiscal consolidation would be a major pillar of his policy and in the past has voiced doubts over the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) ultra-loose policy, saying in 2018 that stimulus cannot last forever.

With the economy suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Kishida reversed course to say the BOJ must maintain its massive stimulus. He proposed a spending package of more than 30 trillion yen, adding that Japan likely would not raise a sales tax rate from 10% “for about a decade.”

He stressed the need to distribute more wealth to households, in contrast to the focus of Abe’s “Abenomics” policies on boosting corporate profits in the hope benefits trickle down to wage-earners. — Reuters

Myanmar’s junta powerless as currency drops 60% in 4 weeks

REUTERS
U.S. hundred-dollar bills are seen at AYA Bank’s money changer in Yangon, Myanmar, July 17, 2015. — REUTERS/SOE ZEYA TUN

MYANMAR’S currency has lost more than 60% of its value since the beginning of September in a collapse that has driven up food and fuel prices in an economy that has tanked since a military coup eight months ago.

“This will rattle the generals as they are quite obsessed with the kyat rate as a broader barometer of the economy, and therefore a reflection on them,” Richard Horsey, a Myanmar expert at the International Crisis Group, said.

In August, the Central Bank of Myanmar tried tethering the kyat 0.8% either side of its reference rate against the dollar, but gave up on Sept. 10 as pressure on the exchange rate mounted.

The shortage of dollars has become so bad that some money changers have pulled down their shutters.

“Due to the currency price instability at the moment… all Northern Breeze Exchange Service branches are temporarily closed,” the money changer said on Facebook.

Those still operating were quoting a rate of 2,700 kyat per dollar on Tuesday, compared to 1,695 on Sept. 1 and 1,395 back on Feb. 1 when the military overthrew a democratically elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a report published on Monday, the World Bank predicted the economy would slump by 18% this year, partly due to the pandemic, and said Myanmar would see the biggest contraction in employment in the region and the number of poor in the country would rise.

The increasing economic pressures come amid signs of an upsurge in bloodshed, as armed militias have become bolder in clashes with the army after months of protests and strikes by opponents of the junta.

“The worse the political situation is, the worse the currency rate will be,” said a senior executive at a Myanmar bank, who declined to be named.

Myanmar is also struggling to deal with a second wave of coronavirus cases that started in June with the response by authorities crippled after many health workers joined protests. Reported cases have comes off their highs though the true extent of the outbreak remains unclear.

Stay at home orders in some townships have been withdrawn, but are still in effect in some areas.

In the immediate months after the Feb. 1 coup, many people queued up to withdraw savings from banks and some bought gold, but a jewelry merchant in Yangon said many desperate people were now trying to sell their gold back.

The central bank gave no reason to why it abandoned its managed float strategy earlier this month, but analysts believe its foreign currency reserves must be seriously depleted.

Central bank officials did not answer calls seeking comment on how much foreign currency was left, but World Bank data shows it had just $7.67 billion in reserves at the end of 2020.

After coming off its managed float, the central bank still spent $65 million, buying kyat at a rate of 1,750 to 1,755 per dollar between Sept. 13-27.

The bank executive said the central bank’s efforts had limited impact in a currency market shorn of confidence.

The economic crisis has driven up the price of staples, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this week that around three million people now require humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, up from one million before the coup.

A 48-kilogram bag of rice costs 48,000 kyat, up nearly 40% since the coup, while gasoline prices have nearly doubled to 1,445 kyat per liter.

The crisis is also hurting businesses, particularly those needing to import raw materials. A plastic bag manufacturer in Yangon said he had been forced to increase prices and sales had dropped about 30%.

Per capita gross domestic product was just $1,400 last year, and Zaw, a resident in Yangon who asked to use only part of his name, was under no illusion about where Myanmar was heading.

“People will become poorer.”  — Reuters

Learning not to forget

FORMER PRESIDENT FERDINAND E. MARCOS — BW FILE PHOTO

There is a post going around in Viber which features a column in the Manila Bulletin by former Vice-President Salvador Laurel dated July 14, 1998 — some 23 years ago.

The column was called “Turning Point” and the title of that day’s piece was, “A dying Marcos wanted to settle nine years ago.” By “nine years ago,” Mr. Laurel referred to an event that purportedly happened from Feb. 2 to 4, 1989 in Manila and Hawaii. The column appeared to have been posted on Viber by “#The Selfie Patriot.”

In his column, the former Vice-President claimed that “at this time nine years ago, a dying (Ferdinand) Marcos personally asked me to convey to then President Cory Aquino a 90-10 settlement in favor of government, but Mrs. Aquino would not hear of it.”

As the former Vice-President narrates it, “on Feb. 2, 1989, at about 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I was at home when an urgent call came from Honolulu. I was surprised to hear Imelda Romualdez Marcos on the other line. She was sobbing, ‘Doy, gusto kang kausapin ni Ferdinand! Mayroon siyang gustong sabihin sa iyo! Masama na ang kanyang tayo! (Doy, Ferdinand wants to meet you. He has something to tell you. He’s not in good health) Please come right away!’ she pleaded.”

Mr. Laurel left for Honolulu on Feb. 3. Upon arrival in Hawaii, Laurel reported he went to the Intensive Care Unit of the St. Francis Hospital. After describing the physical state of Marcos, the former Vice-President wrote that Marcos said, “Tell her (President Corazon Aquino), ‘I am willing to turn over 90% of all my earthly possessions to the Filipino people. Only 10% will go to my family. I have already created a foundation for this. Enrique Zobel has all the papers. All I ask is that I be allowed to die in my own country… I returned to Manila the next day, Feb. 4, and immediately sought an appointment with President Aquino to convey the offer of the dying Marcos.”

Mr. Laurel wrote President Aquino and asked to meet her to relay Marcos’s offer. According to Laurel, President Aquino refused to meet him.

I had read that same account many years ago. I discussed that visit of former Vice-President Laurel to Marcos with mainly columnist-friends who said they had “scoops” of that visit. Mr. Laurel’s relationship with President Aquino somehow soured several months after taking his oath as Vice-President at Club Filipino on Feb. 25, 1986. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency of the revolutionary government also on the same day.

Vice-President Laurel was later appointed by President Aquino Secretary of Foreign Affairs, a post from which he resigned in September 1987. A month earlier, August, military rebels unsuccessfully staged a coup but at the cost of many lives. Other military elements tried to seize power by taking over the main Manila airport and the television network, GMA. Early into President Aquino’s term, soldiers and civilians led by former Senator Arturo Tolentino by occupied the historic Manila Hotel under the direction of Marcos by remote control from Hawaii.

The Viber post and the supposed offer of Marcos to “turn over of 90% of all my earthly possessions to the Filipino people; only 10% will go to my family,” aroused my research instincts and led me to Bloomberg.com. The website had an article with a fascinating title, “Where did Marcos hide his $10 billion fortune?” The well-researched article was written by Andreo Calonzo.

The moment I saw the title, Marcos’s proposed settlement crossed my mind: 90% of $10 billion is $9 billion “for the Filipino people” and 10% of $10 billion “for my family” amounts to about P50 billion.

What was intended to go to the family should be compared with the proposed Department of Health (DoH) budget of P73.99 billion for COVID-19 response for 2022.

Calonzo narrates the work done by lawyers Sherry Border, based in Hawaii, and Robert Swift, a Philadelphia lawyer. Swift who had traveled to the Philippines at least 40 times to represent relatives of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime, developed an interest in the Philippines as he watched the EDSA People Power Revolution unfold before him on prime-time news together with millions of people all over the world.

Together with Broder, Swift was able to get a US court to award about $100 million to relatives of human rights victims during the 14 years of Martial rule that formally ended on Feb. 25, 1986.

The court-instigated award was funded by the sale of Marcos properties (in Hawaii, New York, and Texas) and art pieces, some of which were in the custody of prominent Filipino families who willingly served as Marcos’ property and art work “custodians.” Imelda eventually accused one of these keepers of trying to “steal a property” in Texas that belonged to her. Imelda complained to a Texas businessman that this keeper hadn’t turned over to her the papers of the property.

Etta Rosales, herself a human right victim and activist, a former party-list congressman representing Akbayan, and chair of the Commission on Human Rights from 2011 to 2015, cites the tremendous work done by Broder and Swift especially in the light of competition offered by the government’s Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in recovering ill-gotten wealth.

Rosales said that before her release from detention during martial law — during which she was suffocated and electrocuted — she warned a military officer that the Marcos camp would lose in the long run. Calonzo quotes Rosales, “I told them: I am going to win because we are on the side of justice and truth.”

Ruben Carranza, former PCGG commissioner who now works for the International Center for Transnational Justice, a human rights non-profit, points out that the Marcoses were never held directly accountable for the human rights violations they committed in any sort of legal proceedings in the Philippines, making it easier to whitewash their family’s history, writes Calonzo.

As of this point, Broder and Swift aim to recover more of Marcos assets, including a $2-million deposit Ferdinand Marcos made in 1972 in a Merrill Lynch account owned by Arelma, Inc., a Panamanian shell company set up on his behalf “at the same time he was declaring Martial Law,” according to Swift.

So far, a US court has awarded about $100 million to victims of human rights abuses while the Philippine government, through legislation sponsored by Rosales, awarded victims about $150 million or a total of $250 million or about P12.5 billion to more than 11,000 victims. The government award was administered by the Human Rights Violations Compensation Board, once headed by PNP General Lina Sarmiento, now with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The Bloomberg article says “the immediate trigger (for People Power) was Marcos’s victory in a seemingly fixed election, but the ire was much deeper. In the 1970s, Marcos had led a military government of uncommon brutality, disbanding congress, silencing media and using the army to torture and kill thousands of citizens.”

The people know better. Never again.

 

Philip Ella Juico’s areas of interest include the protection and promotion of democracy, free markets, sustainable development, social responsibility and sports as a tool for social development. He obtained his doctorate in business at De La Salle University. Dr. Juico served as Secretary of Agrarian Reform during the Corazon C. Aquino administration.

Singapore’s COVID response overlooked a major factor: Fear

SHAWNANGGG-UNSPLASH

SINGAPORE is very proud of its reputation for technocratic excellence. In recent months, government officials have tried to tackle the country’s most pressing question — how to live with COVID-19 — by scrutinizing, modeling, and projecting data, as if staring hard enough at those little gray-rimmed boxes on Excel would produce the answer.

The trouble with this strategy is that living with COVID is messy, and the data will never look good. Countries that have been praised for the most meticulous of approaches to the outbreak have stumbled time and again. Ultimately, treating the coronavirus as endemic will require Singapore to do something it may find unnatural: think beyond the numbers.

In recent days, the government reintroduced a host of restrictions to curb a quickly rising case count, which has remained above 1,000 for more than a week. Low by global standards, these figures are staggering for a country that had all but eliminated the coronavirus for several months before the Delta variant emerged in the spring. In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, Lawrence Wong, the finance minister who co-chairs the COVID task force, said Singapore should prepare to cope with 5,000 daily cases or more.

By most measures, Singapore’s COVID situation remains under control. With 82% of the population fully vaccinated, 98% of cases have mild or no symptoms. There are 209 cases requiring oxygen supplementation and 30 people in the intensive care unit. Officials’ major concern is an exponential increase in cases that would overwhelm ICU capacity. Wong said that while just 0.2% of cases end up in the ICU, doctors need to admit 10% into hospitals to provide “timely care” — these include seniors, those with serious symptoms, and patients with comorbidities. Intensive care cases stay in the hospital for at least a week, according to Wong. At 5,000 cases a day, 10% can add up quickly, even if those cases don’t all end up in ICU beds.

Singapore’s pathway to what it has called a “whole new normal” broadly relies on a three-pronged strategy: test, trace, vaccinate. The government has delivered self-testing kits to every household throughout the month. As of Sept. 20, it had tested 19.1 million swabs in a population of 5.7 million.

The result? Lots and lots of positive mild or asymptomatic cases. Because the government made little attempt to de-stigmatize COVID — catching it is still broadly seen as some sort of moral failure or impurity — many Singaporeans justifiably got scared and flooded into emergency rooms. “A lot of people are actually very anxious,” Kenneth Mak, the director for medical services told the Straits Times last week. It’s likely that people who are well are going to the hospital because they are worried and unsure of what to do, he said.

Now the government is hustling to shore up medical staffing and facilities. The latest plans account for 1,600 COVID-19 hospital beds, up from 1,000. Singapore is opening community treatment centers for non-serious cases, providing booster shots for the vulnerable, and has introduced a number of services to get people comfortable with the idea of staying home, from telemedicine and hotlines to assigning “recovery buddies.” It’s even deploying the Singapore Armed Forces to help roll out this effort.

This military-grade exercise is Singapore at its finest, but it’s only half the battle. Anyone who looks at data for a living will tell you that numbers are a Rorschach test: You see the story you want to see. Right now, Singapore wants an aggressive COVID tracking strategy, but cannot absorb the information that it produces. That leaves two choices: 1.) Stop testing asymptomatic cases because the numbers are scary and, given the high rates of vaccination, lack informative value; or 2.) change the public narrative. That means, instead of playing on fear, urging people to look past the numbers. Success will come down to trusting the smart plans the country is already putting in place. As COVID becomes endemic, managing emotions will be just as critical as managing the virus.

The psychological toll of Singapore’s data-first strategy is high: 73% of respondents in a recent survey fear catching the virus, up from 37% in August 2020, before vaccinations began. More than three-quarters reported feeling sad or depressed, and many parents are again juggling working from home with home-schooling. It’s this type of pressure that pushes people to the brink over arbitrary restrictions. (A live event can have 1,000 vaccinated attendees, but toddlers “need to stay in one place with their assigned play partner,” according to the latest communication from our pre-school.)

Singapore acknowledges the frustrations of its citizens and businesses, yet far too often this is seen as a necessary sacrifice toward a larger goal. “Living with COVID,” by definition, means those priorities need to be reversed: Day-to-day life must come first.

Singaporeans are resilient. But waiting for the numbers to paint a pretty picture is a fool’s errand. Far more important is mentally preparing the population for a whole new normal. You simply cannot program your way out of COVID Zero.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Twists and turns

FREEPIK

THIS IS NOT a good time for forecasters and planners. Even for the very short term, say the following day, is it possible to make plans like finally opening a restaurant for dine-in customers, even in limited numbers? Yup, some small businesses counted on that possibility when the rules of engagement, the dreaded Q status, made an about-face the evening before. (Just kidding, folks.) So, you bought inventory expecting a dine-in crowd and organized the shift of waiters? Tough luck.

This time they shifted the Q classifications to numbers, like alert levels or the Richter scale in earthquakes. Will the numbering system be fixed and well-defined? Hmm, they’ll let you know. What about the surprise “granular” classification of streets or blocks? They’ll be like surprise quizzes — no warning.

Of course, doomsayers and worst-case scenarists don’t have a problem. They seem to be thriving. More people are paying attention to them.

There will be webinars on end-of-the-world prophecies:

The economy is doomed, even after the lockdown is lifted (too late). Elections? Forget it. The system is rigged. Look who’s running them, all from one region. There may not even be the formality of lining up to vote. Investigations on corruption? Have you thought about the short attention span of the public? What about the distractions thrown to get the dogs off the scent? (I will be more active and visible in the second position than I ever was in the first.)

Can there be a planning function when the situation is so volatile? Not just unpredictable due to external factors like a pandemic or a typhoon, but even more from arbitrary rules with their twists and turns.

In science, chaos does not correspond to a state of confusion or an absence of order, as in ordinary conversation — “our politics are in chaos.” Chaos theory, as propounded by mathematicians like James Glick or meteorologists like Edward Lorenz, refers to non-linear, dynamic, and complex unfolding of events “without the precision and predictability of a Swiss watch.”

In a time of chaos, such concepts as agility, ambiguity, VUCA, and pivots become clichés.

Business sectors are now categorized as “winners” and “losers” in the pandemic. Basic needs like groceries, medicines, digital connectivity, and utilities are winners. Travel, hospitality, restaurants, retail, and beauty care are losers. Even in the winning category like healthcare, with hospitals bursting at the seams with high occupancy levels, and losses coming from rising receivables from PhilHealth.

Unpredictability and the resulting loss of planning and control functions are big obstacles to recovery. Projections are based on a set of assumptions that are expected to hold true for a certain period, longer than two weeks. The interjection of surprises in the business process is unwelcome, a good excuse to quickly exit from the scene. There are, after all, safer havens even in the region. Okay, we need capitalists who have a good appetite for risk, maybe even planning for the reopening to regular service of the airport in Afghanistan.

The excuse of government apologists is that the pandemic is not something we can control. (You never say anything good about the government’s response.) But being in the last place in handling this virus is no consolation. Other countries even in our region are already “living with the virus” through a combination of a high vaccination rates and the gradual opening of mobility, public gatherings, and tourism.

In this political period, we look for leaders that can promise predictability not of the situation, but the government’s responses to it. A leader needs to at least show some empathy in the plight of the citizens — you poor slobs, you deserve to wallow in misery. Okay, not that one.

Is it too much to expect integrity and transparency in the handling of funds meant to alleviate the suffering of the nation in these pandemic times? Maybe being singled out for name-calling and counter-investigation should be taken as a badge of honor.

We already look forward to a changing of the guard. Away with corruption and, yes, laziness. Hands-on management is not something this leadership can be accused of.

We are a hopeful nation that has seen abuses of power before. Yes, peaceful change is what we long for. We can bring this about. History is on our side… with its surprise ending for the seemingly entrenched leadership.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

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