Retired high court justice backs call for speedy disposition of cases

May 17, 2021 | 7:48 pm

RETIRED Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza has backed the call made by business organizations and legal practitioners for courts to ensure the speedy disposition of cases by strictly implementing the maximum periods provided under the Constitution.

“I would like to join the call made last March 29, by 22 organizations representing the business community, three law deans in Iloilo City and the Iloilo integrated bar, urging this Court to lead by example and treat the 24-month period as uniformly mandatory across all levels of the courts to ensure the speedy disposition of cases,” Mr. Jardeleza said during the last oral arguments on the Anti-Terror Act on Monday.

Article VIII, Section 15 of the Constitution states that “all cases or matters…must be decided or resolved within (24) months from date of submission for the (Supreme Court), and, unless reduced by the (SC), (12) months for all lower collegiate courts, and three months for all other lower courts.”

Mr. Jardeleza was earlier appointed amicus curiae for the anti-terror law oral arguments, meaning someone who is not involved in the case being heard but presents information, expertise, or insights on the case.

Mr. Jardeleza made the point on case disposition period after stating his position that the 37 petitions against the Anti-Terror Act should be dismissed.

“None of the petitioners has claimed direct personal or constitutional injury or has alleged actual prosecution under the (Anti-Terror Act) as to be entitled to relief. Thus, following the court’s ruling, all 37 petitions should be dismissed,” he said.

The Supreme Court “is not a trier of facts,” he said. “Cases presenting factual issues such as the veracity of the allegations of torture must first be tried under the doctrine of the hierarchy of courts: thus, before the trial courts first and then on appeal before the Court of Appeals.”

He said following the hierarchy doctrine will also hasten the resolution of court cases. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Duterte remains supportive of Bangsamoro transition extension

May 17, 2021 | 7:48 pm

Bangasomor-decommissioningofguns-BARMMGOVT — The guns of 106 Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants from Lanao del Sur are displayed during a decommissioning ceremony held February 18, 2020. The decommissioning and normalization process in the Bangasamoro region has been set back by the coronavirus pandemic. — BARMMGOVT

THE PALACE on Monday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte remains supportive of the peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the extension of the transition body that seeks to normalize the situation in the conflict-torn region of Bangsamoro in southern Philippines.

“He continues to be supportive po of the initiative for the transition,” Presidential Spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing on Monday.

Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group from the MILF, clashed with government troops in Datu Paglas in Maguindanao province last week following weeks of conflict in the more remote surrounding areas.

Facing Bangasamoro leaders a few days after the incident, Mr. Duterte had warned armed groups to stop their operations in Mindanao or risk facing an all-out offensive by government forces. He asked the Bangsamoro officials to help the government solve the conflict in the region while he’s still in office.

Mr. Roque said the President’s strong statement was an “expression of exasperation” and a warning that the state will not tolerate such acts of violence.

“He is not blaming the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim in Mindanao). We know that those who are wreaking havoc are the BIFF, the bandits, splinter groups of BARMM,” Mr. Roque said in Filipino.

BTA EXTENSION
Various groups have been urging the President to certify as urgent proposed measures extending the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) officials by another three years from 2022.

The Palace last year said the President would ask legislators to amend the Bangsamoro Organic Law to extend the life of the BTA.

“That is moving and what is important, as the President has repeatedly said, even if he can certify anything as urgent, if Congress is not really convinced, then it will face difficulties,” Mr. Roque said.

The proposed BTA extension has both supporters and opponents among lawmakers.

Congress has only nine remaining session days before it adjourns sine die on June 4.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) earlier said the normalization track of the peace pact is yet to be achieved more than three years after the transition team was established in 2018.

Budget realignments and logistical problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic affected the normalization process, according to OPAPP.

The decommissioning of 70% MILF combatants, or approximately 28,000 fighters, is yet to be done, OPAPP said at a Senate hearing on the proposed legislation seeking to extend the term of BTA officials.

The normalization plan aims to disarm MILF’s armed members, initiate socio-economic programs, create transitional justice and reconciliation, and implement confidence-building initiatives. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Zamboanga City allows home-based isolation as COVID-19 cases continue to spike

May 17, 2021 | 7:48 pm

Food-delivery-driver — FOOD delivery riders are among the very few allowed on the streets in Zamboanga City on Sundays as the local government implements a no-movement Sunday policy until the end of May. — ZAMBOANGA CITY CMO-CIO

ZAMBOANGA City residents who test positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but are asymptomatic are now encouraged to stay at home in isolation as available facilities reach critical level.

“Amidst depleting hospital and isolation facilities due to continuous increase in COVID-19 cases, home isolation is an option,” Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said in a statement Monday.

The city has been placed under the second strictest lockdown level from May 14 to 31 due to a continued uptrend in cases beginning early April.

As of May 15, Zamboanga City had 2,359 active cases out of the total 8,439 recorded since the start of the pandemic, based on the local government’s COVID-19 tracker site.

Of the total, 5,774 recovered while 306 died, with 112 or more than a third of the deaths recorded in April and May this year.

Majority of the active cases are through community transmission at 2,292.

The Zamboanga City Medical Center, the main coronavirus hospital for the city, was at over capacity as of May 15 with 160 patients and 152 beds. Most other hospitals were at over 50% bed occupancy rate.

In terms of facilities and equipment in both public and private hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 patients, Zamboanga City has 15 intensive care unit beds, 426 ventilators and six ambulances.

Patients who will choose to go on home-based isolation are required to be in close coordination with the barangay-level health teams. — MSJ

NBI recommends prosecution of Zamboanga town mayors for corruption

May 17, 2021 | 7:48 pm

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Graft Division has recommended the prosecution of a former and the incumbent mayor of Siayan town in Zamboanga del Norte for graft and corruption over questionable contracts with businesses allegedly owned by the former.

The complaint filed before the Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao names former Siayan mayor Flora L. Villarosa, incumbent mayor Josecor S. Gepolongca, and two others.

In the 31-page recommendation sent to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, the NBI alleges that Ms. Villarosa “acquired numerous businesses, real estate properties, vehicles, and money which are manifestly disproportionate to her salary and other sources of lawful income.”

The information was reported by a woman who claims to be one of the people whom Ms. Villarosa had “dummy arrangements” with. Her name was allegedly used as “dummy owner” of Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises in Siayan, Zamboanga Del Norte.

Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises, allegedly owned by Ms. Villarosa, bagged contracts from the Siayan local government during her term as mayor from 2014 to 2019.

Information submitted by the Commission on Audit to the NBI showed that Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises had a total of 190 contracts and projects with the municipality amounting to P32.3 million during that period.

Mr. Gepolongca, who succeeded as mayor in 2019, has been included in the complaint due to “continuous and intentional non-compliance and non-submission of the public documents” requested by the NBI relating to their investigation of Ms. Villarosa.

Ms. Villarosa’s secretary and the “dummy owner” of the two companies are also implicated in the graft case. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Corporate Governance’s Principle of Transparency: Disclosure of compensation received by directors or trustees

May 17, 2021 | 6:54 pm

Recommendation 8.4 of the Corporate Governance (CG) Code for Publicly-Listed Companies (PLCs) is that proper disclosure should be made of the policies and procedures in setting Board remunerations, thus: “The company should provide a clear disclosure of its policies and procedure for setting Board and executive remuneration, as well as the level and mix of the same in the Annual CG Report. Also, companies should disclose the remuneration on an individual basis, including termination and retirement provisions.”

The Explanation to Recommendation 8.4 is to the effect that disclosure of remuneration policies and procedure enables investors to understand the link between the remuneration paid to directors and key management personnel and the company’s performance. It noted that while the 2014 Revised CG Code required only a disclosure of all fixed and variable compensation that may be paid, directly or indirectly, to its directors and top four management officers during the preceding fiscal year, it regarded as good practice mandated in many countries, to disclose board and executive remuneration on an individual basis, including termination and retirement provisions.

The Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RCCP) is actually fascinated with the principle of disclosing the compensation received by each director or trustee on an annual basis, and provides for such obligation in three distinct sections, thus:

(a) SECTION 29: Requires that corporations vested with public interests “shall submit to their shareholders and the [SEC] an annual report of the total compensation of each of their directors or trustees;”

(b) SECTION 49: Makes it a mandate for all corporations, not just those vested with public interests, to present to the shareholders or members at the annual meeting, a director or trustee compensation report; and

(c) SECTION 177: Reiterates the obligation of corporations vested with public interests to submit to the SEC a director or trustee compensation report, and adds in addition the submission of “A director or trustees appraisal or performance report and the standards or criteria used to assess each of director or trustee” an obligation to report to the SEC directors’ or trustees’ compensation.

In addition, Section 177 provides that the SEC may place the corporation under delinquent status in case of failure to submit the reportorial requirements three times, consecutively or intermittently, within a period of five years.

Finally, Section 161 imposes a criminal penalty of a fine for the “unjustified failure or refusal by the corporation, or by those responsible for keeping and maintaining corporate records, to comply with” Section 177 of the RCCP.

CG PRINCIPLES OF ‘ACCOUNTABILITY’ AND ‘RESPONSIBILITY’: ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF DIRECTORS OR TRUSTEES
Principle 6 of the CG Code for PLCs expresses the CG principles of responsibility and accountability by providing that the best measure of the Board’s effectiveness is through an assessment process, thus: “The best measure of the Board’s effectiveness is through an assessment process. The Board should regularly carry out evaluations to appraise its performance as a body, and assess whether it possesses the right mix of backgrounds and competencies.”

Recommendation 6.1 of the CG Code for PLCs recommends that the Board should conduct every three years an annual self-assessment of its performance, including the performance of the Chairperson, individual members and committees, which assessment should be supported by an external facilitator.

Recommendation 6.2 provides that the Board should have in place a system that provides, at the minimum, criteria and processes to determine the performance of the Board, the individual directors, committees, and that such a system should allow for a feedback mechanism from the shareholders.

The RCCP now mandates a system of individual appraisal of directors or trustees in the following manners:

(a) SECTION 49: Provides that at the annual meeting of shareholders or members of all corporations, not just those vested with public interests, the Board of Directors shall endeavor to present to shareholders or members, among others, “(h) Appraisals and performance reports for the board and the criteria and procedure for assessment;” and,

(b) SECTION 177: Provides that corporations vested with public interests must also submit on an annual basis to the SEC, in addition to the GIS and the Audited Financial Statements, “(2) A director or trustee appraisal or performance report and the standards or criteria used to assess each director or trustee.”

In addition, Section 177 provides that the SEC may place the corporation under delinquent status in case of failure to submit the reportorial requirements three times, consecutively or intermittently, within a period of five years.

Finally, Section 161 of the RCCP imposes a criminal penalty of fine the “unjustified failure or refusal by the corporation, or by those responsible for keeping and maintaining corporate records, to comply with” Section 177.

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or the MAP.

Attorney Cesar L. Villanueva is Chair of the MAP Corporate Governance Committee, Trustee of Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), was the first Chair of Governance Commission for GOCCs (August 2011 to June 2016), was Dean of the Ateneo Law School (2004 to 2011), is author of The Law and Practice in Philippine Corporate Governance and the National Book Board Award-winning Profession, and Founding Partner of Villanueva Gabionza & Dy Law Offices.

map@map.org.ph

cvillanueva@vgslaw.com

http://map.org.ph

Can digital cash make inflation worse?

May 17, 2021 | 6:54 pm

INFLATION is coming. Or wait, it’s already here. Bond investors are looking at the 4.2% annual rate that US consumer prices jumped to in April and wondering if it’s all because of depressed levels from last year. Could it be that the Federal Reserve is wrong about higher prices being transitory?

In that case, the Fed and other central banks may have to rethink, among other things, their space-race-type competition to offer digital cash.

It’s a project best undertaken after price pressures have eased, and the vast pools of excess liquidity to fill the gaping economic hole left by the pandemic have dried. A premature contest to introduce a digital yuan, digital euro, FedCoin, or BritCoin could see them emerge as widely accepted substitutes, not only for physical cash but for bank reserves. Tackling inflation could then get harder.

To see why, consider the typical response to unexpected inflation from a monetary authority that has done a lot of quantitative easing. It has to taper its bloated balance sheet by selling some government and corporate bonds to the banking sector, draining the excess reserves they’re keeping with the central bank. Less liquid lenders would, in turn, sell loan assets. Tighter monetary conditions would tame inflation.

Now, think of a twist in this standard playbook: You and I are free to convert the funds in our bank accounts into electronic cash issued directly by a monetary authority. Commercial institutions lose our deposits, but if they aren’t bothered about becoming a little less liquid, they won’t sell income-earning loan assets to compensate. Instead, they may shed another asset to balance their books: their idle cash with the central bank.

The monetary authority now owes a little less to commercial banks, and a little more to us. The size of its balance sheet hasn’t changed, and the tapering it wanted to achieve by selling bonds to the private sector hasn’t occurred. Digital cash “renders the current asset-purchase programs quasi-permanent, as reversing such programs becomes harder to implement,” says a recent study by researchers at the Swiss Finance Institute.

Central banks in China and Sweden have fairly advanced plans to introduce currencies in electronic form for retail use. Other major economics are toying with the idea or conducting experiments. None that I know of foresees digital cash to replace bank reserves.

The immediate goal of national authorities is to tamp down the cryptocurrency mania by giving citizens a safe, sovereign alternative to Bitcoin — something that Elon Musk can’t refuse to accept as payment for a Tesla. For China and the US, though, the motivation behind launching digital cash extends to challenging — and defending — the outsize role of the US dollar in the global economy.

Whatever their reasons to offer electronic currencies, the return of global inflation shows that caution is warranted. Record low yields on junk bonds is one indicator of the surplus cash floating around. Global liquidity has risen by $32 trillion over the past year, equivalent to more than a third of world output, according to London-based Crossborder Capital Ltd., which estimates that another $15 trillion is slated through the end of 2021. In its quest to maximize profit, a part of the commercial lending system could easily jettison the parachute of sticky retail deposits — allowing them to turn into digital cash — without selling risky assets. The pursuit of profit by sacrificing liquidity usually ends with socialization of losses: expensive, taxpayer-funded bank rescues.

The trajectory and persistence of inflation needs a close watch. Maybe the combination of aggressive fiscal stimulus and generous monetary easing has managed to release the price genie out of the bottle — something that quantitative easing alone couldn’t do after the 2008 financial crisis. If that is indeed what we’re witnessing, then monetary authorities should hope that public reception to digital cash remains like it is in China’s pilots right now: lukewarm. Anything hotter would be risky.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

GDP contraction, government overspending, and non-green recovery

May 17, 2021 | 6:54 pm

In 2020, the Philippines was the worst performing economy in Asia with a 9.6% GDP contraction. Nine East Asian economies reported their First Quarter (Q1) 2021 GDP as of this writing, and the Philippines is again the worst performing: China’s Q1 2021 GDP is 18.3%, Taiwan’s is 8.2%, Hong Kong’s 7.8%, Vietnam’s 4.5%, South Korea’s 1.8%, Singapore’s 0.2%, Malaysia’s -0.5%, Indonesia’s -0.7%, and the Philippines’s -4.2%.

There are many proposals that are supposedly meant to help the Philippines recover faster. For this piece, I will deal with two of those proposals: 1.) government spending must expand, and, 2.) there should be “green path” to recovery.

Among the Opinion pieces here in BusinessWorld arguing for (1) is “Why we need extraordinary government spending” (by Men Sta. Ana, May 16) and arguing for (2) is “How to ensure a green recovery from the pandemic” (by Nazrin Camille D. Castro, April 27).

Both arguments are wrong and not based on hard facts.

For (1), it has been done — government spending grew double-digits in 2020 and Q1 2021 but this was not enough, or government may have worsened contraction in household spending and private investments because these two constitute the largest portions of GDP (see Table 1).

Spain and the UK also did (1), their budget balance as percentage of GDP expanded four to six times: for Spain, -2.9% in 2019 to -11.5% in 2020, and for the UK, -2.3% in 2019 to -13.4% in 2020. And yet they are the worst performing countries among the world’s top 50 largest economies in 2020: Spain’s GDP was -11.0% and the UK’s GDP was -9.9% (see https://www.bworldonline.com/10-reasons-to-lift-the-lockdown/, April 26).

There is a close positive relationship between power generation and GDP growth, so if we want to propel faster and sustained economic recovery, our electricity production and power supply should rise more at competitive and cheaper prices. In Table 2, I divided the selected countries (all belong to the top 50 largest economies in the world) into group A, Europe; group B, North and South America’s largest economies, and group C, major East Asian economies.

Table 2 shows two important trends:

One, as experienced by many countries, as the percent change in power generation declines from the 2000s to 2010s, average GDP growth also declines.

Two, European economies with low and anemic growth have a high share of wind-solar over total power generation. Conversely, Asian economies with fast growth have a low share of wind solar over total power generation.

The Philippines needs to prioritize more growth and economic dynamism, more businesses and job creation, and this is possible only with more fossil fuel use, not less. Or use nuclear power but many people are still scared of it.

Efforts to attain “net zero” carbon emission by 2050 or 2040 for the Philippines will be counter-productive and poverty expanding, not reducing. As of 2020, wind + solar + biomass combined contributed only 3.5% of total electricity generation. Geothermal + hydro contributed 17.7% of the total. So, the total RE share is 21.2% of total electricity generation. To demand that this should rise to 100% by 2050 is unrealistic and irrational.

Concerns about climate change is understandable but climate change is natural (nature made), not man-made. It is cyclical (warming-cooling) and not “unprecedented, unequivocal warming” since the planet Earth was born about 4.6 billion years ago. We do not “fight” what is naturally and cyclically occurring and, in the process, condemn our economy and people to perennial poverty.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Filipino Louie Sangalang proving worth on ONE’s The Apprentice

May 17, 2021 | 6:16 pm

Louie-Sangalang-presenting-for-Team-Valor — FILIPINO LOUIE SANGALANG has been impressive on The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition with his business acumen and toughness in the physical challenges, allowing him to be a consistent contestant of note in the program. — ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE ONE Championship edition of The Apprentice is nearing the homestretch and one of the candidates proving his worth and flourishing is Louie Sangalang from the Philippines.

As of this writing, Mr. Sangalang, 43, is the only male candidate left standing and one of five contestants still in the running for the $250,000 job offer to be the protégé of ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and his chief of staff at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore.

The former mixed martial arts fighter and corporate executive has been impressive with his business acumen and toughness in the physical challenges, allowing him to be a consistent contestant of note on the program.

In a recent media availability with Filipino sports journalists, Mr. Sangalang shared that finding the right balance and taking things as they come have been serving him well up to this point.

“I didn’t really have a game plan coming into the competition because I didn’t know what to expect. So my preparation was quite simple: I told myself that I’m just going to be my best professional self and practice mental toughness, then I will adapt to the situation along the way,” said Mr. Sangalang, who also made a mark as the first Filipino cancer survivor to finish the North Pole Marathon.

As further proof of his consistency, of all the 16 candidates in the show he is the only one who has stayed undefeated as a project manager.

It is the same course he wants to stay in all the way to the end.

He went to say that the competition gets only tougher as it moves to the finish and that each and every one of them still in the mix are deserving to win.

But he is confident of what he can bring to the table and reiterated that he is out to win it all.

“What matters is proving one’s self. Chatri found strong characteristics and abilities in each one of us. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. We’re here and there’s a reason why we’re here. Probably, Chatri sees some greatness in us that he believes he can unlock once he chooses ‘the one,’” he said.

“From my end, my mind-set is when you’re part of something, you have to make yourself valuable. Make your mark, show that you bring value.”

Apart from Mr. Sangalang, still in contention in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition are Irina Chadsey of Russia, Jessica Ramella of Venezuela, Minca Millington of the United States, and Paulina Purnomowati of Indonesia.

The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is hosted by Mr. Sityodong, who has an estimated net worth of $350 million. It can be seen in the Philippines every Thursday on AXN at 8:50 p.m. and on Mondays on One Sport at 9 p.m.

Utah Jazz top Sacramento Kings to finish with best record in NBA

May 17, 2021 | 6:15 pm

JORDAN Clarkson scored 33 points and made six 3-pointers and Bojan Bogdanović added 18 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 121-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 16 rebounds. Mike Conley chipped in 11 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Utah (52-20) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs after finishing with the league’s best regular-season record.

Terence Davis scored 20 points to lead the Kings. Damian Jones chipped in 19 points. Buddy Hield added 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Sacramento.

The Kings (31-41) rested several key players in their final game of the season. De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes were all the sidelines but being short-handed did not faze Sacramento early in the game.

Utah played sloppy to start the first quarter. The Jazz had six turnovers compared to only five baskets in the game’s first nine minutes.

Sacramento took advantage, ripping off an 11-0 run to stake an 11-5 lead. Delon Wright assisted a basket to start the run and capped it off with a 3-pointer. Utah climbed back to within a point on a 3-point play from Clarkson. The Kings answered with a 14-3 run — highlighted by three straight baskets from Davis — to extend their lead to 25-13.

Clarkson helped Utah erase the deficit before the first quarter ended. The Jazz scored on six straight possessions to mount a 15-0 run. Clarkson scored three baskets to help Utah reclaim a 28-25 lead going into the second quarter.

The Kings struggled to keep pace as the second quarter progressed. After Sacramento trimmed Utah’s lead to 50-45 on back-to-back baskets from Wright and Jahmi’us Ramsey, the Jazz closed the half on a 14-4 run to take a 64-49 lead. Conley scored a pair of baskets and assisted another to fuel the run.

Utah put the game out of reach after opening the third quarter with a 20-6 run. Clarkson capped the run with a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Jazz an 84-55 lead.

WARRIORS
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 46 points en route to his second NBA scoring title and Jordan Poole stalled a rally with a late 3-pointer Sunday afternoon as the Golden State Warriors held off the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in San Francisco for a 113-101 win to claim the No. 8 position in this week’s play-in tournament. — Reuters

Gilas continues to build legs for tough international competitions

May 17, 2021 | 6:15 pm

THE Gilas Pilipinas men’s team continues with its preparation for two tough international competitions slated for the middle of this year.

This was shared by Ryan Gregorio, assistant to the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), in his session on The Chasedown television program on Saturday, saying all members of the pool are cooperating to have the possible representation for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament next month.

The team made up of Gilas cadets is hard in training at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, and is excited to plunge into action and represent the country.

“They have been in the bubble for three to four weeks already,” said Mr. Gregorio. “They temporarily broke camp for the players to be reenergized but they are to reenter in five days’ time and resume training on May 22.”

Upon return, the team is expected to pick up their training further before entering the “bubble” tournament for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark, Pampanga, on June 13.

The nationals are to compete in the third and final window of the qualifiers set for June 16 to 20 where they will seek to formalize their entry into the FIBA Asia Cup in their games versus Korea (June 16 and 20) and Indonesia (June 18).

Gilas currently leads Group A with an unblemished 3-0 record, followed by Korea (2-0), Indonesia (1-2) and Thailand (0-4).

After the Asia Cup Qualifiers, the national team then competes in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia from June 29 to July 4.

The Philippines plays in Group A along with the Dominican Republic and Serbia. Group B, meanwhile, has Puerto Rico, Italy, and Senegal. One Olympic spot is up for grabs in the tournament.

Part of the Gilas player pool are Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto, Isaac Go, Dwight Ramos, Rey Suerte, Jordan Heading, William Navarro, Tzaddy Rangel Jaydee Tungcab, Kemark Carino, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Dave Ildefonso, SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos, Carl Tamayo, Justine Baltazar, Jason Credo, Geo Chiu, Lebron Lopez, and naturalized player candidate Angelo Kouame.

The pool is training under the guidance of Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin, and coaches Jong Uichico, Sandy Arespacochaga, Boyet Fernandez, Caloy Garcia, Alton Lister, Sandro Soriano and Dex Aseron.

Mr. Gregorio said they appreciate the sacrifice the players and coaches are giving to be part of the team and their cooperation to what the SBP is putting in to make its program “sustainable.”

As to the federation’s preparation for hosting the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers here, the SBP official said the process is ongoing despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

“The SBP is trying to make sure everything is cleared for the hosting. Duties have been deputized for proper coordination. We are in the process of asking for needed documentation from the federations who will compete here. It has been challenging because of the pandemic, but we are confident of having it done,” he said.

They are also appreciative of the approval they got from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to proceed with the qualifiers, which were set to take place initially in February but had to be canceled because of the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus.

Aside from Group A, the Clark bubble will also host games in Groups B and C. All the matches will be played behind closed doors as part of health and safety protocols. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pagadian Explorers and Iligan Archangels look to make waves in VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg

May 17, 2021 | 6:14 pm

Iligan-(2) — ILIGAN Archangels homegrown players

TEAMS from Pagadian and Iligan are girding for their respective campaigns in the soon-to-start Mindanao leg of regional basketball league VisMin Super Cup.

Pagadian, which will parade a team known as the Explorers, will make its return to regional basketball competition after a decade while Iligan pins its tournament bid on homegrown talents collectively known as the Archangels.

The Explorers were one-time finalists in the National Basketball Conference before competing in Liga Pilipinas during the late 2000s.

They are seeking to have the same success now in the VisMin Cup in reviving the team.

“Before, we already had a team. I don’t know what happened because I was out of politics for six years. Right now, I have another first term and I made sure to revive a team,” said Pagadian mayor Sammy Co of the decision to assemble another squad.

He said they hope the team would serve as an inspiration for their citizens, especially the youth, to keep themselves active and healthy and stay away from drugs.

Through the league also, they want to promote Pagadian City and showcase what the place has to offer.

Bannering the Explorers is 6-foot-6 Mark Benitez, who previously played for Rizal-Xentro Mall during the 2019-21 Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup.

Head coach is Harold Sta. Cruz while team manager is Dodong Pamaran.

HOMEGROWNS
Meanwhile, Iligan will boast 12 natives out of 13 players in its roster.

According to team manager Amador Baller, Mayor Celso Regencia made sure to have an all-homegrown squad so that the province’s youth will be able to relate with the team.

“Iligan is very active in sports. It’s part of our campaigns here that will encourage the youth to get into sports and not into drugs,” said Mr. Baller, who is also the sports coordinator for the province.

Headlining the team is 6-foot-2 swingman Jericho Montecalvo, who at just 20 years old will be the youngest player in the competition.

“We expect them to perform well in the upcoming tournament,” said Mr. Baller. “Some of our players played in the MPBL while others are varsity players in known universities. Almost the entire team is from Iligan. We got them so that the kids will look up to them.”

The VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg will kick off on May 30 with Chooks-to-Go as presenting partner. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Sports infrastructure focus of PSC online national summit on May 19

May 17, 2021 | 6:14 pm

0568Barangays_Malate_Pablo_Ocampo_Adriatico_Streets_19_judgefloro — SPORTS infrastructure takes center stage in the 14th session of the online Philippine Sports Commission national summit on May 19. — JUDGEFLORO

SPORTS infrastructure takes center stage in the 14^th session of the online Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) national summit on May 19.

Multi-awarded architect Gerard Lico leads the discussion which will explore sports infrastructure, providing an overview of different facilities in the country.

University of the Philippines professor Lico led the team behind the renovation of the historical Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

He is also behind notable works on Philippine architecture and cultural studies such as Edifice Complex: Power, Myth, and Marcos State Architecture (2003) and Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architecture and Urbanism in the Philippines (2008).

For the PSC, the talk on sports infrastructure is an important component in what it wants to achieve with the online summit.

“We are elated for the chance given to us by Dr. Lico to share his breadth of knowledge and skills to our summit stakeholders on this important topic. The improvement of sports facilities has always been part of the goal to provide a better sporting experience to our countrymen,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez in a statement.

The online PSC summit is aimed at taking insights of different sports stakeholders and using them as foundations in crafting a sustainable and workable short to long-term plan for Philippine sports.

The PSC said all data gathered from the web series will be processed and studied to create a new set of resolutions to be presented to sports leaders for action. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo