Being left behind: Framing the challenge right

April 22, 2021 | 7:09 pm

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Being left behind in economic growth and political stability is not a new experience for the Philippines. We were mostly cellar dwellers in the 1980s and 1990s until we decided to pursue policy and structural reforms for the last 30 years. We embraced competitive market solutions and addressed many self-defeating distortions in the goods and labor markets, as well as those in international trade and finance. We deregulated industries and liberalized markets. As a result, factor productivity and economic efficiency improved. Favorable demographic factors and technology transfer extended our output frontiers. Focus on infrastructure promised more self-sustaining economic growth.

COVID-19, being a crisis like no other, changed the rules of the game. At the time that we were about to join the upper middle-income group in 2020 with at least a single A-credit rating, some sins of the past caught up with us.

Much neglect of the public health system rendered our pandemic mitigation efforts less effective than what is required by the rapidly spreading COVID-19. We failed to use appropriate technology to establish our capability to do medical surveillance in terms of testing, tracing, and isolating infected individuals. Treatment posed a bigger challenge because government and private hospitals were both stretched to the limits. They ran out of wards, rooms, and beds. Many patients sick of COVID-19 lost their lives outside the emergency rooms waiting to be admitted.

This is the narrative of Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking which we covered in our past column. We managed to score only 51.9 and ranked 35 out of 53 major economies included in the study. Some causalities are apparent. Those leading countries in vaccine rollout such as Israel, the UAE, the UK, and the US have recorded sharp declines in mortalities. The World Bank also showed the poverty implications of COVID-19 to emphasize that effective pandemic mitigation leads to quicker economic bounce back.

We might be missing the train.

This was illustrated in an IMF blog by my friend Chang Yong Rhee, Asia Pacific Department director, and Katsiaryna Svirydzenka (“The Future of Asia: What a Difference a Year Can Make,” March 17). They cited a few Asia-Pacific countries showing increasing signs of normalcy, one year into the global health pandemic. They include Australia where the Sydney Opera resumed live performances. Melbourne hosted the Australian Open tennis tournament. Japan is continuing its planning of the 2020 Summer Olympics. China is focusing on the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

But have we reached herd immunity to allow us to restore economic and social normalcy?

Outside the region, BBC news reported that “Israel may be reaching herd immunity.” Herd immunity is attained when enough of a country’s population has been vaccinated to provide protection against infection and prevent transmission. The estimate is at least 65% to 70% of the population must be vaccinated.

A key to a clear direction towards herd immunity is the sustained decline in daily caseloads even if more and more restrictions are lifted. The BBC report quoted Dr. Sarah Pitt, a virologist at the University of Brighton, actually cautioning against making conclusions about herd immunity. She said that to be convinced, we should see the sustained fall and stability of cases at lower levels.

First quarter 2021 performance shows Israel coming down fast with the vaccine rollout. This trend is also true for the UK and the US which pioneered in rapid jab administration. As a result, we are seeing more and more photos from these countries lifting restrictions, like mask mandate, without driving another upsurge in infection rates.

Which brings us back to the science of lockdown.

As Gideon Lichfield wrote in MIT Technology Review of March 17, the challenge of the global pandemic was to “flatten the curve.” He was prescient to argue that as long as the virus is with someone, “breakout can and will keep recurring without stringent controls to contain them.” He quoted London’s Imperial College proposal for a science of lockdown: impose more extreme social distancing measures every time ICU admissions spiked and ease them every time they fell.

Of great use in this activity would be Israel’s cell phone location data and Singapore’s exhaustive contact tracing methodology. They are possible instruments for ascertaining who is infected and who is not to restore the world’s ability to socialize safely.

Another related issue here is whether herd immunity is possible to be achieved. We recall the shift done by an independent data scientist Youyang Go with respect to his popular COVID-19 forecasting model from “Path to Herd Immunity” to “Path to Normality.” He argued that reaching herd immunity is not likely because of, one, vaccine hesitancy among the world’s population; two, emergence of new variants; and, three, the delayed arrival of vaccines for children. Current mitigation methodologies are challenged by the uncertainty of the vaccines’ ability to prevent transmission; uneven vaccine rollout; and immunity that may not last forever.

This is the reason why we found it wise for the APD staff to suggest that it is too early to say whether the region is “back to health.” Economic scarring has been serious including those on productivity growth, increasing debt, aging population, rising inequality and managing climate change. Its impact is long lasting. On average, it takes around five years before pre-recession output levels are restored, if at all.

With depressed business activities, profitability of firms is severely impaired leading to increasing reliance on borrowings. Even with public support and central bank regulatory forbearance, corporate insolvencies could be a common result and in turn, drive up non-performing loans. This is shown in the chart covering Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The Fund’s suggestions on healing the economic scars of the pandemic to help usher in economic recovery are very much at play in the Philippines. Economic reforms are critical in supporting productivity growth and investment. The Philippines has been a continuing pioneer in fiscal reforms, simplification of business processes and infrastructure upgrades. Social safety nets for displaced workers and other vulnerable sectors are actively used to cushion the social impact of the pandemic.

More specific suggestions came from Chang Yong 10 months ago (“Reopening Asia: How the Right Policies Can Help Economic Recovery;” June 30, 2020). He prioritized close coordination between monetary and fiscal policy which was actually done in the Philippines although observers thought that there was a bigger scope for fiscal policy at this time to do more while monetary policy could afford to conserve ammunition.

Resource allocation was also proposed to secure corporate solvency and adequate capital base for banks. In the Philippines, banks by themselves put up more loan loss provisioning to strengthen their ability to absorb potential losses due to increased corporate distress. Various forms of inequalities were also proposed to be addressed to ensure a more durable crisis mitigation. Authorities implemented policies promoting financial inclusion through greater use of the digital platforms and democratizing the opening of bank deposits, reducing tariffs to help bring down consumer prices and rationalize the tax system.

But first things first.

In the last several months, government planners issued strong calls for re-opening the economy to save jobs. These were supported by the business sector. Unfortunately, they were not exactly aligned with the medical sector’s recommendation based on having a flatter curve to save lives.

In last Tuesday’s cabinet meeting with the President, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Karl Chua correctly framed the challenge: “We need to help each other to solve this COVID-19 spike so that we can slowly open the economy again and bring back jobs and incomes of people.” Pandemic mitigation first; slowly open the economy, second; and bring back jobs and incomes of people, third.

C’est le ton qui fait la musique.

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

In context: Block-timing and truth-telling

April 22, 2021 | 7:08 pm

CNTV-02 — CHINATOWN NETWORK FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

ABS-CBN has canceled its block-timing agreement with Chinatown News TV apparently in reaction to the spate of criticism it had been getting on Twitter and Facebook. If it had continued, it would have detracted from the heightened credibility of the network and the renewed public confidence in it that were among the positive consequences of the government’s denial last year of its application for the renewal of its franchise.

Journalists’ and artists’ groups, media advocacy organizations, and human rights and press freedom defenders supported ABS-CBN then, and so did 75% of the population. Ordinary folk also weighed in by recalling how its news reporting had helped them prepare for the typhoons, floods and other catastrophes that regularly afflict their communities.

When the now canceled agreement became public, this time Netizens, among others, expressed their disappointment through social media because of the context in which it was signed: the country’s continuing problems with Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Only a few days earlier, China’s warships had harassed and chased to within 90 miles of Palawan province a civilian ship on which an ABS-CBN news team looking into the situation of Filipino fisherfolk was aboard. The network’s block-timing agreement with CNTV therefore surprised many.

“Block-timing” is a practice in which an individual or group buys “blocks” of time from a radio or television network to air its own programs in behalf of its political, economic, or other interest. Under that all too brief agreement with CNTV, the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) would have aired its programs during certain times, presumably not only in the Chinese common language (Putonghua) that is still known as Mandarin in the Philippines, but also in English and Filipino. The practice gives anyone who can afford to pay for it the opportunity to disseminate without being challenged information, even if false, as well as their views on whatever issue they wish to focus on. Politicians campaigning for public office, for example, regularly buy blocks of time on television and radio. They or their hirelings present issues in a one-sided way, and attack their rivals without the latter’s being able to defend themselves. It is one of the means through which one can air one’s version of events without having to acknowledge and give equal time to opposing views. Because block-timing is fraught with ethical and professional infirmities, the self-regulatory Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) has expressed concern about the practice, but has failed to stop its use for even the most malignant purposes.

Managed by Filipinos of Chinese origin, would-be ABS-CBN block-timer CNTV is an advocate of China’s “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) infrastructure program that would link some 70 countries to that country supposedly to foster trade and development. OBOR has been criticized as China’s way of luring other nations into its orbit in furtherance of its strategic aim of global economic and political dominance. The station also implied in one of its recently released videos that the West Philippine Sea should be shared by China and the Philippines.

When asked why the company was entering into a block-timing agreement with ABS-CBN, a CNTV spokesperson said it was because of the bigger network’s credibility. Translation: CNTV wanted to enhance the credibility of its own programs and to extend their reach through the use of ABS-CBN’s digital and online platforms. Perhaps its officers believed that if it had gone through, the arrangement would soften most Filipinos’ outrage over China’s claim that some 80% of the West Philippine Sea are part of its territory, and allay their fears that the Philippine government’s construction projects with China are debt traps.

But despite the Duterte regime’s seeming unconcern with China’s militarization of the West Philippine Sea and its other acts of aggression in it and its entering into billions of dollars’ worth of projects under the much touted — and much delayed — “Build, Build, Build” program, China is nevertheless the one country an overwhelming number of Filipinos trust the least. They instead trust the most China’s leading adversary, the United States. The distrust of China has been fueled by such acts as its occupying Philippine reefs and shoals, its sea craft’s driving Filipino fisherfolk away from their traditional fishing grounds and even stealing their catch, sinking a Filipino fishing boat, etc. These acts have helped strengthen anti-Chinese biases in Philippine culture despite centuries of interaction with that civilization, and on the other end, the supremacy of pro-US sentiments. The media are the leading means through which such sentiments are expressed and reinforced. The home and the educational system also help, but the mass reach of the media makes them more influential.

Not only in the Philippines has the weakness of Chinese cultural influence been a hindrance to the realization of its current hegemonic ambitions. In addition to US military might, China is also hindered by US cultural power. It is a power based on the dominance of that country’s culture industry, which daily floods the planet with unending streams of news reports, songs, movies, television programs and other vectors of Western values and ideas.

Even Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden was getting his news from Time-Warner’s CNN. When Russia was still the leading member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), one could watch in Moscow such US movies — dubbed in Russian, of course — as Rambo, and US television serials like Days of Our Lives. But because of their familiarity with the English language that the US forced on their forebears when the Philippines was still its colony, Filipinos don’t even need to have translated the Hollywood movies, the news programs, or the police and crime serials, situation comedies, cartoons, fantasy shows and other products for television the US media giants bombard the globe with.

Aware of how influential the US is on the minds and consciousness of billions of people, and of its own weakness in that area, China has launched a cultural offensive, encouraging the learning of China’s common languages, reminding such countries as the Philippines of its Chinese cultural heritage, providing scholarships, and sponsoring visits to China. But it is also aware of the need for favorable publicity via the news media in advancing and defending its political, economic and strategic interests.

This is the larger context in which the cancellation of the CNTV agreement with ABS-CBN must be understood. Initially at least, the latter network seemed to have missed the implications on its own advocacy when it signed the agreement.

Hopefully the cancellation of that scheme was not only in reaction to the criticisms against it, but also in the realization that its support for Philippine rights and sovereignty over its territorial waters would have been compromised.

The cancellation is neither a matter of censorship nor discrimination, but of complying with ethical and professional standards. Like any other media organization, CNTV is protected by Article III Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution which guarantees everyone’s rights to free expression, free speech and press freedom. It also has every right to its advocacy, which in fact it has been airing through its own facilities. The issue is whether that advocacy is factually based, and, if it is not, whether any other media entity should help advance it to the detriment of its own convictions — and to the further injury of the fundamental journalistic responsibility of truth-telling.

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

Reflections on mission and joy

April 22, 2021 | 7:08 pm

person-mountain-top — BEDNEYIMAGES-FREEPIK

A period of silence allows us time and space to think about our lives and the direction that we are taking. In the whirling chaos around us, there should be a quiet refuge where we can hold on with faith and grace.

During the prolonged crisis, people have undergone a series of professional setbacks and/or personal losses. The mood has been somber, sad and sorrowful. There are feelings of pain, helplessness, frustration and despair.

However, there are some moments of hope and light.

Here are some enlightening points and reflections from two wise men who talked about truth, mission, and joy.

“The Truth has two facets: the meaning of the text and the historical truth; the actual chronology of events. Outside the truth, there are Critical thinking and Fundamentalist reading.

“If you don’t have full control, it is because you don’t have a choice. You are not all-powerful. God does not exercise complete control in the world and our own lives because He chose to create an open system.

“In the Open System, there are unintended consequences: the possibility of physical evil such as sickness, death, accidents, and natural disasters; the possibility of moral evil: Sin.

“The intended consequences of the open system are: a universe of freedoms with people and nature; the possibility of Love.

“The interacting causes in the open system are: God’s will (good cause); laws of Nature (natural causes); structure and culture (social causes); human freedom (human causes); good and evil spirits (spiritual causes).

“These causes lead to the codetermination of events.

“Embrace it all — both the sadness and joy. Let go God through you.

“Letting Good, one learns how to deal with fear. Believe in the Good. Commit to the Good. Discern the Good.

“Letting Evil, one learns how to deflect anger. Defy and resist evil. Forgive the evil-doers. Take and transform the pain.

“Letting God. One learns about sadness and joy in a ‘mathematical equation.’

“Share in sadness — and halve it. Share in joy — and double it.

“Reveal to others a world super-saturated with the Lord’s presence and goodness.

“Two metaphors: Drop the rock. Let go of the umbrella.

“There’s always been a rainbow hanging over your head.”

— Father Johnny Go, S.J., “Pins of Light” Lenten retreat

Climbing the second mountain is the stage in our lives when we ascend to a more spiritual plane. According to Fr. Carmelo Caluag, we should give people three things at the different stages of life:

“… Something to live on…. Something to love for.

“… Something to die for.”

“We are now at the stage of Something to die for.

“What is our Mission?

“It is the meeting point between your deep gladness and a deep hunger of the world.”

He shared this excerpt from The Second Mountain by David Brooks:

“Here I want to shift now to the highest layer of joy… moral joy… this is the highest form of joy… because this is the kind that even the skeptics can’t explain away. The skeptics could say that all those other kinds of passing joy are just brain chemicals in some weird formation that happened to have kicked in to produce some odd sensation.

“But moral joy has an extra feature. It can become permanent. Some people live joyfully day by day. Their daily actions are aligned with their ultimate commitments. They have given themselves away, united and wholeheartedly. They are so grateful to have found their place and taken their stand. They have the inner light.”

Pope Francis, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the great cellist Yo-Yo Ma have this unique inner light.

The author was once seated with the Dalai Lama who did not say anything particularly illuminating or profound during lunch. However, he noticed that the Dalai Lama would burst out laughing.

“He would laugh, and I wanted to be polite, so I would laugh, too. He laughed, I laughed. He is just a joyful man. Ebullience is his resting state.

“Happiness is the proper goal for people on those on their first mountain. And happiness is great. But we only get one life, so we might as well use it hunting for big game: to enjoy happiness, but to surpass happiness toward joy.

“Happiness tends to be individual. We measure it by asking, ‘Are you happy?’

“Joy tends to be self-transcending. Happiness is something that you pursue; joy is something that rises up unexpectedly and sweeps over you. Happiness comes from accomplishments; joy comes from offering gifts. Happiness fades; we get used to things that used to make us happy. Joy doesn’t fade.

“To live with joy is to live with wonder, gratitude and hope. People who are on the second mountain have been transformed. They are deeply committed. The outpouring of love has become a steady force.”

Pope Francis once said, “This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities — what we value, what we want, what we seek — and to commit to it in our daily life on what we have dreamed of. What I hear at this moment is similar to what Isaiah hears God saying through him: Come, let us talk this over. Let us dare to dream.”

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

Super League shelved

April 22, 2021 | 6:32 pm

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — The European Super League collapsed on Wednesday as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project under massive pressure from fans, politicians, soccer officials, and even the British royals.

Founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli told Reuters he was reluctantly calling time on the new league after six English clubs withdrew on Tuesday, with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid following suit and AC Milan indicating they would, too.

“The voices and the concerns of fans around the world have clearly been expressed about the Super League, and AC Milan must be sensitive to the voice of those who love this wonderful sport,” the Italian club said in a statement.

However, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, the Super League chairman, struck a defiant tone, saying the project was not dead and he was still talking with AC Milan and remaining clubs Barcelona, Juventus, and Real.

“The project is on standby,” Pérez told Spanish radio program El Larguero. “We are going to keep working.

“I’m convinced that if this project doesn’t work, another similar one will.”

Agnelli said he still believed in the merits of the Super League despite the overwhelming criticism and had no regrets about how the breakaway had been conducted.

“I remain convinced of the beauty of that project,” he told Reuters.

Juventus itself conceded there were limited chances of the project being completed in its original form.

The Italian club said in a statement that clubs that intended to leave had yet to complete the necessary procedures under the Super League agreement.

Agnelli quit on Sunday as chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), which represents over 200 clubs. The ECA said Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi would replace him, adding that recent events were a reminder that “owners are merely custodians of their clubs.”

‘RIGHT RESULT’
The Super League argued it would increase revenue for the top soccer clubs in Europe and allow them to distribute more money to the rest of the game.

However, the sport’s governing bodies, other teams and fan organizations said the league would only boost the power and wealth of elite clubs, and that the partially closed structure went against European football’s long-standing model.

Players, fans, pundits and politicians celebrated the U-turns of the English teams on Tuesday that left the league in tatters and pushed other founding members to jump ship.

“This is the right result for football fans, clubs, and communities across the country. We must continue to protect our cherished national game,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Britain’s Prince William, president of the English Football Association, who had criticized the planned breakaway, said in a signed tweet: “I’m glad the united voice of football fans has been heard and listened to.”

The founding members were Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur from England, AC Milan, Inter and Juventus from Italy and Spain’s Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Barcelona had yet to comment on the Super League by late on Wednesday.

Two sources told Reuters the clubs that withdrew from the Super League could face breakup fees for backing out.

Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan will not be punished by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) over their involvement in the Super League, FIGC chief Gabriele Gravina said.

Liverpool’s principal owner John Henry apologized in a video on the club’s website and social media on Wednesday.

“It goes without saying, but it should be said that the project put forward was never going to stand without the support of the fans,” he said.

“I, alone, am responsible for the unnecessary negativity brought forward over the past couple of days. It’s something I won’t forget. And shows the power the fans have today and will rightly continue to have.”

Manchester United’s co-chairman Joel Glazer apologized in an open letter to supporters for failing to show respect for the English game’s “deep-rooted traditions.”

“We continue to believe that European football needs to become more sustainable throughout the pyramid for the long term. However, we fully accept that the Super League was not the right way to go about it,” Glazer wrote. — Reuters

PBA reevaluating plans for delayed Season 46

April 22, 2021 | 6:31 pm

THE PBA is studying options available to it to operate as effectively as possible during these trying times. — PBA IMAGES

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is currently reevaluating its thrust for the league’s Season 46 after its initial plans were derailed by the changing conditions amid the pandemic.

Speaking in an online press briefing on Tuesday, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and Vice-Chairman Bobby Rosales shared that the league is revisiting its tack for its new season, which was supposed to start last April 18.

Ongoing discussions, the officials said, circle around how the PBA can operate as effectively as possible during these trying times, including concerns on availing vaccines, the extent of the offering it will come out with, and measures related to the financials of the entire PBA family.

“The first order of the day is for the whole PBA family to be vaccinated,” said Mr. Rosales in reiterating now that vaccination figures prominently in the league’s push moving forward.

The PBA official representing the Terrafirma team said getting everybody in the league vaccinated will give the PBA more stability and flexibility in charting its path for the new season.

The league said vaccine supply is not going to be much of a problem since the group of sports patron Manny V. Pangilinan and the San Miguel Corporation, both part of the PBA family, have committed to provide jabs for the league.

It also has reached out to the Philippine Red Cross.

Mr. Rosales said the question really is when they can get vaccinated since it is only now that vaccine supplies are coming in.

The PBA is hopeful that vaccines for it can come in May or June, but underscored that it will not jump the line in receiving vaccinations.

After the majority of its members have been inoculated, the league will then coordinate with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for guidance in the next moves it will make.

JUNE OPENING
Mr. Marcial, meanwhile, said they are targeting to start Season 46 at least by June so that they can still push through with their initial plan of offering two conferences this season.

The PBA in March said it was looking to be busier this year with two conferences — All-Filipino and import-laden Governors’ Cup — running for 10 months to give fans more basketball action.

This will be in contrast from last year where the league only held one conference because of the pandemic.

A closed-circuit setup with the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, Rizal, as venue, is being planned for the season, where the movements of participants are confined to home-gym-home.

Another “bubble” similar to that staged in Clark, Pampanga, in 2020 is also an option, the league said, with Ilocos Norte reaching out to host the PBA under such a setting.

The planned 3×3 tournament running alongside the five-a-side competition is still a go but being recalibrated as for its makeup and schedule.

To date, 16 teams are expected to see action in the 3×3 tournament, composed majority of the existing PBA squads and a number of guest teams.

SALARY CUTS
Mr. Marcial also shared that the league will be imposing a temporary 20% salary cut to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the financials of the league.

Affected will be the PBA employees, players, coaches, managers, assistant managers, and other personnel. Utility workers, however, are not included.

PBA employees will see cuts on their salaries on their payroll beginning April 25 while for the teams, it will start in May.

Mr. Marcial said the cuts are the league’s share in helping team owners who have been patient and generous in continuing to look after their members and support the PBA during these difficult times.

“It’s about time that we give back to the teams and team owners. They have supported us for 16 months, not cutting our salaries, protecting the players. This is our small way of helping them,” said the PBA chief.

Mr. Marcial said the board of governors in unison “appreciated” the gesture while the decision was already communicated to all concerned.

The league official, however, was quick to say that the salary cuts will only be in effect as the league awaits to return to play. Once teams are allowed to do scrimmages again, the salaries will be reverted to their normal rates.

Olympic hopeful Didal training at new skate park

April 22, 2021 | 6:31 pm

OLYMPIC skateboarding hopeful Margielyn Didal trains in a custom-built facility in Cebu which she herself designed. — RED BULL

OLYMPIC skateboarding hopeful Margielyn Didal’s training continues amid the pandemic as she trains in a custom-built facility in Soul Sierra, Cebu.

One of the Filipino athletes seen to have better chances of making it to the rescheduled Tokyo Games, Ms. Didal, 22, an Asian Games gold medalist, has been sharpening her game in the new skate park in preparation for qualifying tournaments leading to the quadrennial sporting spectacle in July.

The skate park, completed early this year, was designed by Ms. Didal, funded by energy drink maker Red Bull, and supported by the National Skateboarding Association (NSA).

It is geared to augment the training of champion skateboarder Didal and other members of the national skateboarding team amid the limitations, particularly on travel, presented by the pandemic.

The NSA hopes that the facility will keep Ms. Didal in top form as she vies for a spot in the Olympics through the qualifiers in the United States and Europe.

“It’s a great way to efficiently maximize the potential of an athlete. It’s just a great facility to practice in instead of us spending the money and effort to travel to another country,” said NSA President Carl Sambrano.

The facility is inside a Modified General Community Quarantine area, where training is allowed, provided required permission from authorities is given and health and safety protocols are followed.

As to the support given by private entities like Red Bull, Ms. Sambrano said they welcome such, seeing them as going a long way in their push to promote and further grow the sport among the Filipinos.

“These new things that Red Bull brings such as the sport science department, physical therapy, and evaluation of elite athletes is a new thing that the sport of skateboarding has never had before,” said Mr. Sambrano.

The NSA chief vowed to make full use of what is shared to them in dispensing their duties as a local sports federation.

Ms. Didal is currently inside the top 20 skateboarders (No. 14) in the world vying for a place in the Tokyo Olympics where skateboarding will make its debut.

If she gets to maintain the position, or even improve on it, in the qualifiers she earns an Olympic spot as only the top 20 skateboarders in the women’s category get into the Games. “It’s such an honor to be one of the skateboarders to represent the Philippines [if I get in]. I’m really hyped!” said Ms. Didal, also a two-time Southeast Asian gold medalist in 2019. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns scorch Sixers

April 22, 2021 | 6:30 pm

PHOENIX All-Star guard Chris Paul led the Suns over the Philadelphia 76ers (116-113) on Wednesday.
— PHOENIX SUNS FACEBOOK PAGE

CHRIS Paul compiled 28 points and eight assists to lift the Phoenix Suns past the host Philadelphia 76ers (116-113) on Wednesday.

Devin Booker added 19 points and Mikal Bridges had 18 for the Suns. Booker had scored at least 30 in each of his past seven meetings with the Sixers.

Cameron Johnson contributed 15 points and DeAndre Ayton chipped in with 10 for the Suns (42-16), who hold the best road record in the league (19-7).

The depleted Sixers (39-19) played without Ben Simmons (illness), Seth Curry (hip) and Tobias Harris (knee). It was the third consecutive game that Harris sat out.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 38 points and 17 rebounds. Danny Green scored 18 points, Tyrese Maxey added 14, Furkan Korkmaz put up 12, and George Hill had 11. Dwight Howard swept 11 rebounds.

The Sixers have lost consecutive home games for the first time all season.

Booker’s long jumper with 2:03 left gave the Suns a 109-101 advantage, but Korkmaz’s three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left cut the deficit to two.

Paul made one of two free throws with 0.8 seconds left for a 116-113 lead. Embiid tossed a 75-foot shot in and out of the rim as time expired.

The Suns lost Jae Crowder to a sprained right ankle in the second, and the team announced soon after that he would not return.

Korkmaz appeared to twist his right ankle early in the third as he limped to the bench with 9:25 left, but he reentered the game.

Paul dropped in a three-pointer from the wing with 4:53 left in the second quarter to give the Suns a 45-43 lead.

Embiid responded with a three-point play on the Sixers’ next possession to put the hosts back on top.

Green hit a shot with 0.2 seconds remaining and the game was tied at 54 by half time.

Hill missed two free throws with 0.7 seconds left and Phoenix led 77-76 at the end of the third.

Johnson hit a tough jumper in the lane to extend the Suns’ advantage to 93-90 with 7:49 to go in the fourth.

Jevon Carter soon knocked down consecutive three-pointers and Phoenix led 101-94 with 6:32 left.

When Embiid hit a trey from the top of the key with 4:40 remaining, the Sixers closed within 105-99. — Reuters

Brazilian John Lineker solidifies standing in ONE bantamweight division

April 22, 2021 | 6:29 pm

ONE-photo — BRAZILIAN bantamweight fighter John Lineker (left) solidified his standing as a top contender in the division in ONE Championship after another impressive victory in the promotion’s Singapore event on Thursday. — ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

BRAZILIAN bantamweight fighter John “Hands of Stone” Lineker solidified his standing as a top contender in the division in ONE Championship after another impressive victory in the promotion’s Singapore event on Thursday.

Mr. Lineker (34-9), currently the top-ranked bantamweight contender in ONE, knocked out American Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen in the opening round of their headlining fight at “ONE on TNT III.”

It was the third straight victory for the former Ultimate Fighting Championship campaigner, who joined ONE in 2019.

Mr. Lineker did not waste much time to get it going, coming out aggressive with powerful boxing combinations, landing solid shots to the head and body of his opponent.

Mr. Worthen did a good job in surviving the initial onslaught, but eventually found himself wilting amid the continuous attack of the Brazilian.

The fight came to an end when Mr. Lineker connected on a straight right hand that sent Mr. Worthen to the canvas before closing things out at the 4:35 mark of the first round with another right hand.

Following his victory, Mr. Lineker called out reigning ONE bantamweight champion and compatriot Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes for a title fight.

The loss was the second straight for Mr. Worthen (7-2) after winning his first three outings in the promotion.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Japanese Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu got the better of Australian Reece “Lightning” McLaren in their three-round collision by way of unanimous decision.

“ONE on TNT III” is part of the “ONE on TNT” series, which is catered to North America apart from the promotion’s traditional audience. Matches in the series are being broadcast both digitally and on television on prime time in the United States.

On April 29 will be the last installment of the series, “ONE on TNT IV,” headlined by the ONE light heavyweight world championship fight between champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang and challenger Vitaly Bigdash of Russia. Also part of the card is the third lightweight fight of Filipino veteran Eduard “Landslide” Folayang with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Potential Tokyo state of emergency does not affect Games, says IOC

April 22, 2021 | 6:29 pm

IOC President Thomas Bach giving updates on the Tokyo Olympics. — SCREEN GRAB FROM REUTERS FACEBOOK LIVE

A POTENTIAL state of emergency that could be imposed on Tokyo is unrelated to Olympic Games preparations and is part of the government’s plan to curb infections during Japan’s holiday week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday.

Japan’s government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka, local media reported, a move that would enable prefectural authorities to impose curbs to try to stop infections spreading.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is preparing to request an emergency period be declared from April 29 to May 9, encompassing Japan’s annual “Golden Week” holiday period, the Mainichi newspaper reported.

“We were informed there might be another state of emergency declared in Tokyo,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

“We understand that this would be a proactive measure for the ‘Golden Week’ holiday with which the government is aiming to prevent the spread of infection.

“This measure would be in line with the very diligent approach we see taken by Japanese authorities,” he said following an IOC Executive Board meeting and a report from the Tokyo Games organizers.

With thousands of new cases resulting from highly infectious strains of the virus, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said the government wants to decide this week whether to declare the state of emergency for major parts of the country.

The Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year in 2020 and the IOC has said there are no plans to cancel or postpone them again, with the Games now less than 100 days away.

“This (state of emergency) is absolutely in line with the overall policy of the government but it is not related to the Olympic Games,” Bach said. “It is related to the Golden Week.”

Japan has, so far, avoided the rapid spread of the pandemic which has plagued many Western countries, with total cases at about 540,000 and a death toll of just under 10,000.

The latest rise in infections has stoked alarm, however, coming just months before the start of the Olympics and amid a sluggish vaccination rollout. — Reuters

Chris Paul’s value

April 22, 2021 | 6:28 pm

The Sixers once again trekked to the court without two starters, a handicap that certainly affected them yesterday. That said, it’s also fair to argue that they remained a force, especially at the Wells Fargo Center and with Most Valuable Player candidate Joel Embiid suited up. And, true to the determination and resolve that had them pacing the Eastern Conference heading into their homestand, they made a go at winning the outing. Never mind that they faced the red-hot Suns, holders of the league’s second-best overall record.

True enough, the match was close all the way. Leads kept changing and being exchanged. Adding to the drama was Chris Paul — close to a sure thing on the charity stripe — missing his second free throw with 0.8 ticks left in regulation and the Suns up by three. The ensuring rebound was snared by Embiid, who promptly turned around and heaved the ball to the opposite basket. As things turned out, his throw was on the mark, but ever so slightly strong — drawing fiberglass and then iron before rimming out.

It’s fair to wonder how the Suns would have reacted had the prayer been answered. Up until then, they put up a gallant stand that underscored their strength on the road. Yet, every time they threatened to pull away, the Sixers kept pace. And when the opportunity to close the deal finally came, Paul bucked the odds and flubbed the back end of his trip to the line. Only when Embiid barely failed with his ensuing Hail Mary did they get to claim relief. In the aftermath, head coach Monty Williams ruminated on how close defeat was snatched from the throes of victory. “It would have made for a long flight, long night, and not a lot of sleep.”

To be sure, a win is a win, and the Suns have been counting a lot since the 2020-21 season began. In this regard, there can be no overestimating the value of Paul’s leadership. He affected the Thunder the same way last year, and his steady hand has been a boon to the otherwise-inexperienced roster, All-Star Devin Booker included. At 35, he’s still going there and doing that, but with the added mission of imparting his wellspring of knowledge to the younger set. Success may be attributable to a collective effort, but it’s clear to all and sundry who propels the engine.

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

Pandemic interrupts National Quincentennial Committee art tilt

April 22, 2021 | 5:37 pm

In a Facebook post on April 20, the National Quincentennial Committee in the Philippines announced that artists who had submitted entries to the Quincentennial Arts Competition would be unable to retrieve them as originally planned due to the ongoing spike of COVID-19 cases.

“Owing to prevailing IATF protocols and the surge in COVID-19 cases, the delivery of Quincentennial Art Competition entries in various key sites for retrieval is postponed until further notice,” the announcement said.

Participants may retrieve their artworks from the same sites where they had been submitted within six weeks upon the announcement of the retrieval date. For retrieval guidelines, they should visit https://nqc.gov.ph/en/qart/retrieval-guidelines/. Updates will be given on the National Quincentennial Committee’s Facebook page @nqc2021.

Unretrieved artworks shall automatically become the property of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

In the meantime, the National Quincentennial Committee is seeking permission from the participants who submitted artworks in Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo, and Negros, to exhibit the works in the following venues and dates: Cebu City in August, Iloilo City in September, and Bacolod City in October (the dates are subject to change). Artists who agree to lend their artworks to the exhibitions may fill out the exhibit form accessed through the website. Entries may be retrieved a week after the exhibition opening. Afterwhich, a six-week retrieval grace period will commence.

The winners of the Quincentennial Art Competition were announced in February.

Ateneo de Manila is top Philippine university for real-world impact, according to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021

April 22, 2021 | 5:33 pm

Ateneo de Manila University was the highest placed Philippine institution in terms of societal impact and sustainability, placing in the top 300 universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2021. This is Ateneo’s first time to be included on the list.

The said university was ranked in the 201–300 bracket — the highest ranked Philippine institution this year — and also the highest overall placement of any local institution since the performance table was inaugurated in 2019.

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), called the “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Calibrated indicators are used to provide comprehensive comparison across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.

In the Philippines, a total of five universities made the 2021 list. Joining Ateneo de Manila University are

De La Salle University (401–600)
University of Santo Tomas (601–800)
Tarlac Agricultural University (601–800)
Mapua University (801–1000)

Last year’s list saw the University of Santo Tomas (301–400), the University of Asia and the Pacific (601+), De La Salle University (601+), and Mapua University (601+) having the best rankings among the country’s universities.

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
In terms of “Partnerships for Goals” or SDG 17, Ateneo de Manila ranked number 68 worldwide, with a score of 87.4. Among Philippine universities, it also had the highest scores in the following SDGs:

SDG 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions: rank 101–200 (score: 63.1–72.9)
SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities: rank 101–200 (score: 61.9–72.6)
SDG 3: Good health and well-being: rank 101–200 (score: 70.1–77.6)

“Ateneo de Manila’s noteworthy performance in the 2021 THE Impact Rankings — its initial outing, to be precise — shows that our university can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s top institutions when it comes to actual, real-world impact,” said Fr. Roberto Yap SJ, university president, in a press statement. “THE Impact Rankings are really consistent with our identity and mission. The SDGs on Health, Sustainability, Peace and Justice, and Partnerships really resonate with who we are and what we do.”

“It is proof that our community is able to affect change in our society, in our classrooms, to our research and creative work, and our social development programs. Ateneo de Manila vows to continue and expand its work in helping create a more sustainable and equitable world for everyone,” he added.

This year’s Impact Rankings is in its third edition, and includes 1,115 universities from 94 countries/regions. The University of Manchester leads this list, with the University of Sydney and RMIT University — both from Australia — rounding out the top three. Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University is the top institution from an emerging economy, and shares 23rd place with the UK’s University of Plymouth and the University of Southern Denmark. Russia is the most represented nation in the table with 75 institutions, followed by Japan with 73. — Patricia B. Mirasol