Private school tax relief bill passes Senate on 2^nd reading

September 22, 2021 | 7:58 pm

Online-learning — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

A BILL which makes explicit the eligibility of private schools for tax relief during the pandemic has passed in the Senate on second reading.

Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, on Tuesday sponsored Senate Bill No. 2407, as reported out from committee with some minor modifications. The measure amends Section 27(B) of the National Internal Revenue Code.

The amendment specifically makes private schools qualified to pay a temporarily lower tax rate to help them survive the economic crisis.

Their eligibility had initially been questioned by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which ruled that only non-profit private schools were entitled to tax relief. This BIR ruling has since been withdrawn.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that it was important to ensure that private schools, which have been severely affected by the pandemic, do not shut down permanently.

“The type of bailout through tax relief is more economical on the part of the government than letting private schools close, as the latter would trigger a migration of refugees to public schools whose education must now be shouldered by taxpayers,” he said.

The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act had provided for a concessionary tax rate of 1% for enterprises hit hard by the pandemic between July 2020 and June 2023. The withdrawn BIR ruling would have forced public schools to pay the regular corporate tax rate of 25%.

“This bill (removes) the vagueness caused by a missing comma,” Mr. Recto told the plenary. “Another reminder that when crafting tax laws, syntax matters.”

“When the language of a tax provision can be subjected to multiple interpretations, citizens and common sense always lose to collections,” he added.

Meanwhile, private schools released a joint statement backing the Senate’s waiver of the period of interpellation and hoped for expedited approval of the measure.

“Help has finally come; we need this more than ever,” the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) said.

COCOPEA represents over 2,500 private educational institutions with over 300,000 employees.

“With our enrolment numbers that continue to go down because of the pandemic, this economic and policy intervention from our Senators empowers and uplifts our institutions in taking on the challenges in education particularly the current learning crisis of our students; preparations for reopening of schools to in-person classes; and the need to continuously strengthen our country’s human capital development in response to the fast-evolving digital economy,” it added. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Bids sought for 15-year Negros Occidental port management contract

September 22, 2021 | 7:58 pm

THE Philippine Ports Authority has started soliciting bids for a port terminal management contract in Negros Occidental.

The contract is for the port of Pulupandan in Negros Occidental.

“The concession period will be for a period of 15 years,” the agency said in its bid invitation.

The project consists of ancillary and other related services, stevedoring services, bagging services, RORO (roll-on/roll-off) cargo services, store management, waste and shore reception facility management, water distribution services, and weigh-bridge facility operations.

The agency said the minimum concession fee for the duration of the concession period is P597.07 million, exclusive of all taxes.

Meanwhile, the minimum concession fee for the first year is P27.67 million, exclusive of all taxes.

Bid documents were issued on Sept. 21. The deadline for submission of bids is Oct. 18. Bid opening will take place on the same day.

“A prospective bidder must not be engaged in any business activity, whether primarily or otherwise, which will prevent it from properly and sufficiently discharging its contractual obligations under any port terminal management contract to be awarded,” the agency said. The prohibition covers entities engaged in maritime transportation.

The agency requires bidders who have experience in cargo handling, passenger terminal building operations, and RORO operations of at least two years.

The bid format is open competitive bidding using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Construction materials Aug. price growth in NCR at 31-month high

September 22, 2021 | 7:58 pm

construction-worker-720p — Workers are seen mixing cement at a construction site in Quezon City, May 19, 2020. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

WHOLESALE PRICES of construction materials in Metro Manila rose 4.3% in August, the highest rate in 31 months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

Preliminary PSA data indicated that the rise in the August construction materials wholesale price index (CMWPI) accelerated from 2.3% in July and 1% a year earlier.

The 4.3% result was the highest since January 2019, when wholesale construction materials prices grew 4.4%.

Year to date, the CMWPI rose 2.4%, up from the 1.5% expansion posted a year earlier.

The August growth was led by the price of galvanized iron sheets, which rose 11.5% year on year compared with 2.3% in July; reinforcing and structural steel (7.6% from 3.6%); electrical works (5.6% from 4.1%); plywood (2.2% from 1.9%); lumber (2.2% from 2%); doors, jambs, and steel casements (2.2% from 1.9%); painting works (1.9% from 1.7%); and concrete products and cement (0.7% from 0.6%).

The year-on-year growth in wholesale prices of fuels and lubricants remained elevated at 17.4%, though easing from the 18% rise in July. Meanwhile, glass and glass products grew 14.4%, unchanged from July.

Wholesale prices of sand and gravel grew 3.4%, retreating from the 3.6% growth rate in July.

“This could be the result of increasing bottlenecks brought by new lockdowns in August. It should also be noted that construction growth had been on an upswing the previous period and there is momentum in the recovery of demand, particularly for construction materials,” UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in an e-mail.

“We’ve seen (first-quarter) gross domestic product (GDP) growth supported by both manufacturing and construction recovery, and this same momentum might have pushed prices higher as restrictions went up in August,” Mr. Asuncion added.

The NCR (National Capital Region) and the surrounding areas were under general community quarantine between May 15 and Aug. 5, albeit with local variations. This was elevated to a stricter setting of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) between Aug. 6 and 20 in order to curb the spread of the more infectious Delta variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and later eased to modified ECQ.

The government implemented on Sept. 16 a new lockdown system in Metro Manila. Under the new guidelines, lockdowns will be localized at the city level depending on case transmission rates and healthcare utilization rates. The new alert system will consist of five levels, with level 5 equivalent to ECQ.

Mr. Asuncion said the “granular” lockdowns may ease the pressure on prices.

“This would open certain parts of the economy not directly ‘locked down’ because of rising infections. The shift, in general, I believe is a better option as the government strives to open the economy further,” Mr. Asuncion said.

“If implemented effectively, I think prices of construction materials will ease as supplies and consumers can move more freely,” he added. — Bernadette Therese M. Gadon

Volumes landed at fish ports rise despite typhoons — PFDA

September 22, 2021 | 7:57 pm

VOLUMES unloaded at fish ports rose 5.85% week on week to 10,065.42 metric tons (MT) in the week to Sept. 12, despite recent typhoons, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) said.

The PFDA said in a report that volume gains were led by the General Santos Fish Port Complex, which posted a week-on-week increase of 17.27% to 6,248.74 MT, followed by Navotas Fish Port Complex, up 7.77% at 2,405.33 MT, and Sual Fish Port, up 2.50% at 74.55 MT.

The Philippines was recently hit by typhoons Jolina (international name: Conson) and Kiko (international name: Chanthu).

Meanwhile, the PFDA said landed volumes at Davao Fish Port Complex fell 75.58% week on week to 9.94 MT.

Bulan Fish Port Complex fell 40% to 359.11 MT. Also declining were volumes at Lucena Fish Port Complex (down 31.99% at 272.85 MT), Zamboanga Fish Port Complex (down 23.17% at 273.82 MT), and Iloilo Fish Port Complex (down 12.18% at 421.09 MT).

“As of Sept. 12, all PFDA regional fish ports have unloaded a total of 832,245.16 MT of fish since the start of the pandemic in March 2020,” it said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

ERC orders PEMC to halt collection of congestion fees associated with Cebu-Negros cable outage

September 22, 2021 | 7:57 pm

THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) to suspend the collection of congestion charges and other fees triggered by an outage at a high-voltage submarine cable connecting Cebu and Negros.

“The Commission is of the view that the congestion and other charges that are attributable to the damage of the Cebu-Negros Submarine Cable, which was not caused by the consumers, should not be charged to them,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera said in a statement Wednesday.

The line had been severed in June by dredging works.

The commission also required PEMC to refund congestion and other fees collected between June and August within “a period equivalent to the number of months covered by the subject collections.”

The ERC added that it ordered PEMC to defer congestion payments and other applicable charges to generation companies affected by the incident.

The commission’s directives will take effect until the transmission line is completely restored or until the ERC comes up with a pricing solution and settlement.

In mid-June, the 138-kiloVolt Cebu Negros Line 1 was damaged by dredging carried out by the Department of Public Works and Highways on the Bio-os River in Negros Oriental.

“The damage to the line has consequently resulted in decreased transfer capacity of the Cebu Negros Submarine Cable, thus resulting in congestion that limits the available supply. Consequently, costlier diesel plants have been tapped to compensate for the load required, ultimately setting the marginal costs that define the current pricing in Negros and Panay,” the ERC said.

“As reported to the commission, significant increases in the electricity rates of consumers in the subject areas have been observed beginning in their June billing. The significant increases in electricity billings have been decried by many stakeholders in Panay and Negros as an unreasonable burden on consumers and businesses,” the ERC said. — Angelica Y. Yang

Pork industry seeks relief from imports amid low farmgate prices

September 22, 2021 | 7:57 pm

THE GOVERNMENT needs to review its pork import policy due to the dampening effect imports have had on farmgate prices and amid increasing production costs, the pork industry said.

Rolando E. Tambago, Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, Inc. president, said by phone that growers are facing dual pressures from the low price of live hogs and higher feed costs.

“(The government) needs to revisit its expansion of pork imports,” Mr. Tambago said.

He said the current average farmgate price for live hogs in Luzon is P160 per kilogram (/kg), while the average farmgate price in the Visayas and Mindanao is P130/kg.

He also estimated that the current cost of production in Luzon is P165/kg; in the Visayas and Mindanao the cost is P140/kg.

“It is higher in Luzon because of the higher biosecurity costs resulting from African Swine Fever (ASF),” Mr. Tambago said.

“Feed corn also increased from P14/kg earlier this year to the current price of P23/kg,” he added.

Mr. Tambago said some hog raisers have been selling their hogs at below cost due to weak demand and the arrival of imported pork at lower tariff rates.

“The demand is down since the purchasing capacity of people is low… imported pork is also competing with local pork,” Mr. Tambago said.

“While the government is asking us to increase production capacity — to which we responded even with low demand — it still opted for massive importation. Definitely, the swine industry’s confidence to further repopulate is affected,” he added.

In May, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed two executive orders that expanded the minimum access volume allocation for pork imports by 200,000 metric tons (MT); and lowered the tariff rates of in-quota and out-of-quota pork imports to increase supply and control prices.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) estimates that meat imports in the eight months to August rose 44.8% year on year to 800,152.24 MT, led by pork.

Pork imports during the period increased 184.1% to 389,556.86 MT.

The BAI also tallied sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for meat imports covering 1.72 million MT as of the end of August, an increase of 107% year on year.

Approved SPSICs for pork imports as of Aug. 31 is 837,955.34 MT, against 276,424.23 MT a year earlier. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

The REIT Investment at the REIT Time

September 22, 2021 | 7:56 pm

The lingering pandemic has spurred governments across the globe to continue expanding the money supply, ostensibly to keep interest and borrowing costs low for businesses and support faltering economies. However, too much money circulating in a depressed economy has the unwanted consequence of inflation. To combat inflation and preserve wealth, investors can purchase income-generating assets such as real estate, but this requires substantial capital and can therefore be pursued only by well-funded institutions or high net worth individuals.

The average person has fewer options. While readily available, the yields of time deposits, bonds, and similar instruments are limited in the face of suppressed interest rates and will not keep up with inflation. On the other hand, owning income-generating property may be out of the question, as for most, even owning a home is far from attainable due to shrinking income and swelling prices.

At this critical time, an option has recently opened up for investors to participate in the real estate industry — the Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT.

In the simplest of terms, a REIT is an investment vehicle, generally a corporation organized to purchase and own income-generating property. Other requirements for forming a REIT include a minimum number of shareholders, public ownership, and listing on the stock exchange.

The advantages of putting up a REIT include tax incentives, such as a tax deduction on dividends. Since REITs are required to regularly declare 90% of their distributable income as dividends, this would result in substantially lower taxes on income. The savings may then be passed on as higher payouts or dividend yields to the investors.

REITs also offer advantages to various stakeholders. For property owners, transferring their property to a REIT helps liquidate the value of their properties. They can readily divest partly or fully by selling and trading their shares. Also, stock transactions will be taxed at a rate lower than the 15% capital gains tax since the sale will be coursed through a stock exchange.

On the part of developers, a REIT also provides a better way to raise capital for new investment and developments through the listing and public offering, removing the obligation to pay interest in the event of borrowing while also eliminating the risk of default.

A REIT has the most to offer to conservative investors, as it essentially allows almost anyone to invest and participate in income-generating real estate assets without the steep costs and capitalization of actually purchasing, registering, and owning real estate assets. An investor would only need to purchase shares in a REIT to co-own a portion of it. Since REITs are required to invest in income-generating property, the REIT will have stable revenue streams distributed regularly to investors as dividends, which need to be issued annually if the net distributable income is positive. Finally, the investment should also retain its value since the REIT holds assets whose prices will generally adjust to inflation.

Due to its clear-cut advantages and desirable features, REITs have long been a staple in highly developed capital markets such as the US and Japan. In the ASEAN region, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia have REIT industries. As a result, REITs have the potential to contribute to the healthy development of the capital markets and make them more attractive for investors.

However, while the Philippines passed a REIT law as far back as 2009, the market failed to materialize until recently. The lack of a REIT industry may be one of the reasons the Philippines was seen as a less attractive market, despite experiencing a boom in construction and real estate.

The hurdles a decade ago involved the 12% value-added tax (VAT) for developers looking to transfer their assets into a REIT, as well as substantial estate taxes for property owners seeking to contribute inherited property. The implementing rules also required REITs to comply with a 67% minimum public float by their third year, which was much higher than the 33% minimum threshold provided in the law. This constraint effectively discouraged would-be proponents of REITs as they would have to divest majority ownership in the REIT very early on.

Fortunately, such hurdles were recently overcome by reforms such as the TRAIN law, which now specifically exempts from VAT those properties transferred via a tax-free exchange. The estate tax rate was likewise lowered to 6%, and an estate tax amnesty was passed, which helped reduce the cost of transferring and developing inherited property. Finally, the implementing rules were revised to lower the public float requirement to a minimum of 33%.

As a result of these reforms, real estate companies have moved forward with setting up REITs. The first REIT by Ayala Land was successfully listed in 2020, followed by Double Dragon early this year, and most recently, Filinvest. Other major players such as Megaworld, SMDC, and Robinsons Land have also made public their intention to establish REITs.

Given these developments, REITs present a solution to the need for higher returns to preserve the value of an investor’s hard-earned savings. Despite the pandemic, putting one’s extra savings in REITs now may be the “REIT” investment for the future.

The views or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for specific advice.

Jaffy Y. Azarraga is a Director at the Tax Services Department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of the PwC network.

jaffy.y.azarraga@pwc.com

Meralco secures second seed

September 22, 2021 | 6:43 pm

PBA-Images7-(1) — THE MERALCO Bolts officially claimed the second seed in the playoffs of the PBA Philippine Cup after defeating the NLEX Road Warriors, 104-101, in league action on Wednesday. — PBA IMAGES

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE Meralco Bolts officially claimed the second seed in the playoffs of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after defeating the NLEX Road Warriors, 104-101, in league action on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Needing only one win from its scheduled two matches in the final week of elimination play to secure number two, Meralco did not waste time and claimed it at the first instance, bagging in the process the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association tournament.

The Bolts were on top of things for much of the game, riding on a balanced attack, but had to dig deep in the end to survive NLEX’s spirited comeback.

They opened the first five minutes of the contest building an 18-7 cushion which they used to claim the opening quarter, 30-20.

In the second half, NLEX tried to compete on a better footing on the lead of rookie Calvin Oftana, who scored 11 points in the frame, boosted by three triples.

But Meralco had collective answers to the charge back of the Road Warriors, continuing to hold sway at the break, 65-54.

In the third canto, the Bolts showed no letup, still safely ahead, 75-62, by the 6:41 mark.

Meralco extended their lead to 20 points, 85-65, with three minutes to go in the quarter before settling for a 15-point advantage, 89-74, heading into the final frame.

Things got chippy in the early goings of the fourth quarter when NLEX forward Anthony Semerad and Meralco guard Chris Newsome got into a shoving match and ball-throwing incident, which resulted in the latter being tossed out.

When play resumed, the Road Warriors tried to rally back but with little success.

The count stood at 101-82, in favor of the Bolts, with seven minutes to play.

But Mr. Oftana and NLEX managed to reduce the gap to just two points, 103-101, with two seconds left but never got any closer after.

Allein Maliksi led the Bolts in the win with 22 points, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Rookie Alvin Pasaol had 17 while Mac Belo had 16 points.

“This is the game we wanted to get because we know playing back to back the players may be tired. So the players really played hard to get the win and for us to focus on our game against Ginebra tomorrow and the playoffs after,” said Meralco coach Norman Black after the game, referring to their scheduled match with defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel King on Thursday.

Meralco now has an 8-3 record, tied with the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, with one game left to play. But even if it loses to Barangay Ginebra, it still gets the second seed, having beaten Magnolia in the eliminations.

For NLEX (5-6), it was Mr. Oftana who led with a career-high 34 points, going 8-of-11 from three-point land. Raul Soyud and JR Quinahan added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Despite the loss, the Road Warriors are still through to the quarterfinals but have to wait for the results of the matches on the final day of the eliminations on Thursday to find out where they end up in the standings.

Azkals to play in Group A of 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup

September 22, 2021 | 6:43 pm

THE Philippine men’s national football team will play in Group A of the 2020 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup when action kicks off later this year.

In the official virtual draw on Tuesday, the Azkals landed in Group A along with multiple-time winners Thailand and Singapore, and Myanmar, as well as the winner in the qualification round between Brunei and Timor-Leste.

Playing in Group B, meanwhile, are defending champion Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos.

The top two teams at the end of group play advance to the crossover knockout semifinals.

Competition happens from Dec. 5, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022.

“We wish the Philippine Men’s National Team all the best in the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 later this year,” said Philippine Football Federation President Mariano Araneta, who, along with General Secretary Edwin Gastanes, attended the draw.

“It will be an interesting competition being held in the midst of the pandemic. Nonetheless, we request all Filipino football fans to rally around our team in its bid to be champion of Southeast Asia’s most prestigious football competition,” he added.

The AFF Suzuki Cup was supposed to take place in 2020, but because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was deferred first to April this year before being pushed back to December.

In the last edition of the biennial football meet among Southeast Asian nations in 2018, the Azkals advanced to the semifinals after finishing second to Thailand in Group B. They lost to eventual champion Vietnam, 4-2, in aggregate in the semifinals.

The Philippine Azkals last played in June in the second round of the joint 2022 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup and 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Qualifiers.

They fell short of advancing to the next phase of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, but are through to the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Gilas women fly to Jordan to compete in FIBA Asia Cup

September 22, 2021 | 6:42 pm

THE Philippine women’s basketball team flew to Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday night ahead of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women’s Asia Cup where they will be competing beginning next week.

The Gilas Pilipinas Women is bracketed in Group B of the competition, from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, along with China, Australia and Chinese-Taipei. They will try to stay in the top three in the grouping to advance to the next round and avert risking being relegated to Division B play in FIBA Asia.

Coached by long-time national team bench tactician Patrick Aquino, the Gilas women squad is composed of a mixed of veteran and new players.

Southeast Asian Games 2019 double gold medal winners Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos and Clare Castro banner the team, along with Andrea Tongco, Chack Cabinbin, Mar Prado, Khate Castillo and Ria Nabalan.

Making their senior team debuts, meanwhile, are Ella Fajardo, Camille Clarin, Ann Pingol, and Kristine Cayabyab.

The Philippines begins its Women’s Asia Cup campaign on Sept. 27 against China at 9 p.m. (Manila time). It then collides with Australia on Sept. 29 then plays Chinese-Taipei on Sept. 30.

Venue is the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman.

Playing in Group A, meanwhile, are Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and India.

In its power rankings heading into the Asia Cup, FIBA placed the Philippines at sixth out of the eight participating teams.

The world basketball governing body noted that the Gilas women will have their hands full against China and Australia, the number one-ranked and third teams, respectively, while seeing the contest against Chinese-Taipei (seventh) as crucial.

It went on to note that the leadership of the likes of Mses. Bernardino, Pontejos and Castro will go a long way for their campaign.

Prior to leaving for Jordan, Mr. Aquino shared they recognize the tough challenge that awaits them and that they are going about it a game at a time and making sure they execute their game plan.

Gilas Pilipinas Women had its “bubble” training at the Summit Point Golf & Country Club in Lipa, Batangas, for two weeks as part of its preparation.

In 2019, the Philippines went 0-3 in group play of the Asia Cup, but salvaged one win over India in the seventh place game to avoid being relegated. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

POC requests P450 million from GAA for major international competitions in 2022

September 22, 2021 | 6:42 pm

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) submitted an additional budget request of P450 million in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Filipino athletes’ preparation and participation in five major international competitions in 2022.

POC President Abraham N. Tolentino submitted the letter of request to Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III through Senate Committee on Appropriations Chair Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, House Speaker Lord Allan Q. Velasco and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William I. Ramirez.

The request is broken down into P5 million for the Winter Olympics (Beijing, Feb. 4 to 20), P150 million for the Sixth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, or AIMAG (Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand, March 10 to 20), P10 million for The World Games, or TWG (Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 7 to 22), P270 million for 19th Asian Games (Hangzhou, China, Sept. 10 to 25), and P15 million Fifth Asian Youth Games, or AYG (Shantou, China, Dec. 20 to 28).

“Participation in these high-level sports events is truly significant as these are held only every four years,” Mr. Tolentino said in the letter of request dated Sept. 20. “

“Not only will joining these sports events showcase the Filipino brand of athletic talent, but more so elevate the morale of our athletes and inspire other young Filipinos to engage in sports training and development,” added the POC chief, also a sitting congressman representing the 8^th district of Cavite.

Mr. Tolentino said that the budgetary requirements were based on the total number of participating athletes and the events in which they will participate — including the costs of training to be incurred.

The POC expects the Asian Games to have the most participants ranging from 250 to 275 athletes, followed by the AIMAG with 160 athletes, AYG with 15 to 20 and the Winter Olympics with three to four athletes.

The TWG is by invitation from the international federations that are not on the Summer or Winter Olympics programs of the International Olympic Committee.

Mr. Tolentino also stated in the request — but not in the actual budget matrix — possible additional expenses for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. The estimated budget for the postponed SEA Games is pegged at P200 million.

“Unfortunately, the allocation requirements for all these major international events were not included in the preparation of the 2022 National Budget, hence, this letter is submitted for your reference and guidance,” Mr. Tolentino said.

The POC stressed that participation in the five major international competitions “would sustain the momentum that Filipino sports gained from the Tokyo Olympics.”

Albert Pujols’ 10^th-inning hit carries Dodgers past Rockies

September 22, 2021 | 6:38 pm

ALBERT Pujols had a pinch-hit RBI single in the 10^th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies (5-4) on Tuesday night in Denver.

Trea Turner and Gavin Lux had two hits apiece for the Dodgers (97-54), who have won three straight and nine of 10. Kenley Jansen (3-4) pitched one scoreless inning, and Alex Vesia got the final out for the first save of his career.

Los Angeles began the night one game behind the first-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

C.J. Cron had three hits and two RBIs for the Rockies (70-80).

Lux started the 10^th on second base, and after Jhoulys Chacin (3-2) struck out Luke Raley, Pujols singled up the middle to put the Dodgers in front.

Neither team had a baserunner until the fourth inning. Colorado got its first hit when Garrett Hampson led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and he went to second on a groundout. Hampson scored on Charlie Blackmon’s two-out double to right-center.

Cron followed with a double down the right field line to drive in Blackmon and give the Rockies a 2-0 lead.

The Dodgers came right back in the fifth. Antonio Senzatela struck out the first two batters in the inning, but Lux and Raley singled to put runners on the corners. Pitcher Julio Urias drove in Los Angeles’ first run with a single, and then Mookie Betts’ infield single brought home Raley with the tying run.

Los Angeles rallied again in the sixth. Trea Turner led off with a single and scored from first on a double by Max Muncy. Justin Turner flied out to right to advance Muncy to third, and Muncy scored on Will Smith’s sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

Colorado answered in the bottom of the inning. Brendan Rodgers led off with a single, went to second on a groundout and scored on Cron’s two-out double. Elias Diaz hit a short fly to left that Lux couldn’t get, driving in Cron to tie it again.

Senzatela and Urias both allowed four runs on seven hits and no walks in six innings. — Reuters