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In the thick of October

A bit of historical trivia: Why is October, the 10th month of today’s 12-month calendar, named after the Greek word “octo” meaning “eight”?

Simple — October was the 8th month of the early Roman 10-month-calendar instituted, according to legend, in 738 BCE by Romulus, the founder and first ruler of Rome. October became the 10th month when the second Roman ruler, Numa Pompilius (715–673 BCE), added January and February to account for the winter gap, thereby creating the 12-month-calendar, which was then re-calibrated to become the Julian calendar beginning 46 BCE, and the Gregorian calendar from October 1582 AD to date.

An almost Christmassy month with a cooler temperature, October has its unique historical actualities — from the temporal to the spiritual — petering out on “All Hallows Eve” with the joyful sound and scent of Yuletide fast breaking through.

From a temporal perspective, the approach of October trumpets the revelry of the world’s largest folk festival — Oktoberfest. The German “beer extravaganza” is held over a two-week period, peaking and ending on the first Sunday in October.

WORLD’S LARGEST ‘VOLKSFEST’
As the story goes, Octoberfest originated in Munich, Germany on Oct. 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of Bavaria’s crown prince — later King Ludwig I — to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festival lasted five days, ending with a horse-race in a 42-hectare area called Theresienwiese (“Therese’s green”) in honor of the Crown Princess, although the locals shortened the name to “Wiesn.”

The anniversary celebration is held regularly, growing more popular with the years. When the city began allowing beer on the fairgrounds, makeshift beer stands began cropping up, eventually replaced by beer halls/tents sponsored by local breweries that are also represented in parades featuring horse-drawn beer wagons/floats (the Paulaner, Hofbrau, Augustiner, Spatenbrau, Hacker-Pschorr brau, etc.), with people in folk costumes amidst carnival and crazy-rides.

A highly profitable attraction in Munich, it is said to earn over 450 million euros each year, drawing more than six million people annually. Beer consumption is claimed to “go upwards to 2 million gallons with large supplies of pork sausages, smoked fish, spit-roasted chickens, among others, for the two-week extravaganza.”

Adding to the festivities is Rosa Wiesn — the “Gay Oktoberfest” event. Its high-point, called Gay Sunday, is said to attract over 8,000 LGBTQ festival goers, the second biggest LGBTQ event after the June 28th Christopher Street Day, forerunner of Gay Pride Day.

Oktoberfest has spread worldwide, taking after the traditional German beer festival, keeping alive the Bavarian sense of cordiality. However, with COVID-19 on the rampage, this fabled folk festival may take a respite this year. And for Oktoberfest Philippines? Good luck 2021!

But beyond this worldly extravaganza, what is it about October that makes it remarkably spiritual to churchgoers in this Asian Christian nation?

RELIGIOUS IMPORT
Ecclesial references point to October as the month when the feast days of some of the more popular saints of the universal Church are celebrated: St. Therese the Little Flower (Oct. 1), St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4), St. Faustina Kowalska (Oct. 5), and, St. Teresa of Avila (Oct. 15), among others.

Foremost is the devotion to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (originally instituted by Pope Saint Pius V as the feast of Our Lady of Victory to commemorate the miraculous Oct. 7, 1571 Victory at Lepanto) to which October is dedicated.

The Holy League’s naval victory over the Ottoman Turks at Lepanto, Gulf of Patras in Western Greece — though out-numbered three to one, the Holy League’s navy sank about 200 enemy ships, killing over 30,000 — spelled the decline of the Ottoman Empire, saving Christian Europe from going the way of another Faith. The Holy League (made up of the Venetian Republic, Papal States and Spanish Empire) attributed its victory to Christian Europe’s praying the Holy Rosary. The Venetian Senators declared after the Battle of Lepanto that: “It was not courage, not arms, not leaders, but Mary of the Rosary that made us victors!”

Then there is La Naval de Manila, the Philippines’ parallel to Lepanto when, in a series of five naval battles circa 1646, the out-numbered Spanish-Filipino forces repulsed the superior naval forces of the Dutch Republic which were attempting to conquer Manila. In commemoration of that victory (attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin), the La Naval de Manila procession is likewise held in October, coinciding with the established devotion to the Lady of the Holy Rosary.

Yet another October event connected to the Virgin Mary is the Miracle of the Sun. On Oct. 13, 1917, amid the brewing Bolshevik Revolution (which erupted alongside the Great War of 1914-1918, with the deadliest pandemic of modern history, the Spanish flu, following soon), the miraculous solar phenomenon was witnessed by about 70,000 in Fatima, Portugal (shortly after the apparition of the Blessed Virgin who identified herself as the “Lady of the Holy Rosary”). Not long after, the Great War ended.

Ironically, it took 13 years (on Oct. 13, 1930) for the Bishop of Leiria, Portugal to accept the vision of the three peasant children — Lucia dos Santos and cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto — as truly the apparition of the “Lady of the Holy Rosary.” And the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin came about, so with the recitation of the Rosary for the cause of World Peace.

Not too long after the 1914-1918 Great War, the world was again facing a black time. There was a perceived waning of the public recitation of the Holy Rosary. And by late 1930s to mid-’40s, barely two decades after World War I, came the prophesied destructive modern war foreshadowed at Fatima. And the “ideology of Godlessness” was on the offensive: Communism rapping closer to the underbelly of the Free World.

The October miracle at Fatima was an alarm bell, an urgent call to return to prayer. “We put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which afflict our times” said Pope Pius XII (1939-1958 pontificate). And the rest is history.

But how did the Rosary come about? Again, a bit of reverent trivia: the word “rosary” comes from the Latin word “rosarium” meaning “rose garden.” The same way “orchidarium” means “orchid garden.”

The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the Rosary as a religious activity in which prayers are recited and counted on a string of beads called a chaplet — a kind of garland or wreath worn on the head in those early times — arranged in five decades.

The origin of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin as a popular Catholic method of public and private prayer is associated with St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order, who received it, according to tradition, in that early-13th century Marian vision in Prouille, France. It reached its definitive form in the 15th century through the preaching of the Dominican, Blessed Alan de la Roche.

The Rosary’s mysteries — four sets of five mysteries each — emphasize the Rosary’s Cristocentric nature. The New Testament on a knotted cord, so to speak.

In 1520, Pope Leo X gave the Rosary official approbation. And in 1826, Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot founded the Living Rosary Association, supported by Pope Gregory XVI, receiving official canonical status in 1832. In a “Living Rosary,” people represent each bead of the rosary, with each person leading one prayer of the rosary.

Fittingly observed as Holy Rosary month, October beckons: that we pause a bit from the temporal, humble ourselves, give thanks, and, in the “noisy-confusion-of-life,” bend our knees in supplication — more so with COVID-19 still fiendishly challenging the mettle of medical science and economics, the resilience of our social fabric, and the depth of our Faith in this age of disruptions.

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.

 

Antonio “Tony” T. Hernandez is management and development finance consultant; Past President & Advisory Council member of the Government Association of CPAs; past Director of PICPA; and former senior officer of Land Bank of the Philippines.

map@map.org.ph

ath7543@yahoo.com

http://map.org.ph

Is Lord Allan Velasco qualified to be Speaker?

“I am the Speaker, I can always impeach the President,” Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was supposed to have boasted. He must have concluded that if Speaker Manuel Villar could impeach President Joseph Estrada, he should also be able to impeach President Rodrigo Duterte.

While Speaker Villar was able to send a resolution signed by more than two-thirds of the members of the House that elevated the impeachment case to the Senate for trial, which eventually led to President Estrada’s untimely exit from Malacañang, Speaker Alvarez was removed from the Speakership shortly after he made his boast.

The Speakership is a position of power. The person who holds the position should be powerful by his own right, otherwise he becomes expendable. That is what Mr. Alvarez was — a political lightweight when he assumed the position of Speaker and therefore a pushover.

After he graduated from Ateneo’s Law School in 1983, he went into private practice of Law. In 1992, he became an action officer at the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA). He was promoted to chief operating officer of MIAA in 1995, a position he held until September 1997.

He was elected representative of the 1st District of Davao del Norte in 1998. President Gloria Arroyo appointed him acting Secretary of Transportation and Communications in 2001. His stint was undistinguished. He was again elected representative in 2016. Newly elected President Duterte made known to his political allies in the 17th Congress that his preference for Speaker was his province mate and long-time friend.

His ascension to the Speakership was not by his own power but by virtue of the endorsement of his friend, President Duterte. So, when he bragged that he could impeach the president, the same person who got him to be speaker, he was unceremoniously pushed off the Speaker’s dais.

Speaker Villar remained unshakable in his position even if he had President Estrada impeached. He was a person of gravitas before he became Speaker. He was a recipient of many awards for his achievements in his professional and business career before entering politics in 1992. Forbes magazine had ranked him among the Top 5 richest men of the Philippines long before he became a member of Congress.

He took over the then moribund Nacionalista Party. He is known to have bankrolled the candidacies of many members of the House of Representatives. That is why it was a cinch for him to get elected speaker. President Estrada had no hand in his ascension to the Speakership.

Marinduque’s lone representative Lord Allan Velasco is supposed to take over the Speakership from Taguig representative Alan Peter Cayetano on Oct. 14. That is in accordance with a time-sharing agreement by which Mr. Cayetano was supposed to lead the House of Representatives for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress and Mr. Velasco to take over the remaining 21 months. The agreement was brokered by President Duterte and forged in his presence.

Speaker Cayetano offered to resign on Sept. 30, the day after President Duterte told him to honor the time-sharing agreement he entered into with Mr. Velasco. “Congressman Velasco told the President that he is ready. Then I think the best time to prove it is now. If colleagues want you today, go ahead. I am offering my resignation, my dear colleagues. My fate and the fate of the 2021 budget and the leadership of the house is in your hands.”

If the agreement was to be honored, Speaker Cayetano should have resigned outright on Oct. 14 to give way to Mr. Velasco. But he did not resign. He only offered to resign and left it to his colleagues in Congress to accept his offer or reject it. Whether Mr. Velasco is ready or not was beside the point. His agreeing to the time-sharing deal was not contingent on Mr. Velasco’s readiness to lead the Lower House.

Clever of Speaker Cayetano to leave it up to the members of Congress to decide who their leader should be. They were not party to the time-sharing deal and therefore not bound by it. That the deal was brokered by President Duterte is of no import to them. The legislative branch of government is co-equal with the executive branch and therefore independent of the president. So, Mr. Cayetano remains Speaker because the great majority of the members of the Lower House, 184 out of 243, or 75%, voted to reject his offer to resign. That means the overwhelming majority of the congressmen believe that Mr. Velasco is not ready to lead them.

When it was first bruited about that Lord Allan Velasco was one of the contenders for Speaker of the House, a popular broadcast political commentator asked, “Who he?” The public asked who indeed is this Velasco to be vying for the Speakership.

Lord Allan Velasco was first elected representative of the lone district of Marinduque in 2010. He ran for re-election in 2013 but was defeated by Regina Ongsiako Reyes, daughter of the governor of the province, Carmencita Reyes. However, he was proclaimed the representative of Marinduque on Feb. 1, 2016 after the House Electoral Tribunal removed Regina Reyes from her seat in the House of Representatives for being an American citizen. If it were not for that, Regina Reyes would be in Congress instead of Lord Allan Velasco.

Why then is Lord Allan Velasco, who is in the House of Representatives only by virtue of a technicality, supposed to be Speaker for the remaining months of the 18th Congress, people ask?

Well, as Mr. Velasco often says in interviews with broadcast journalists, he is President Duterte’s choice for Speaker. But as the President also wanted to accommodate the aspirations of Mr. Cayetano, his staunch political ally, the President proposed the time-sharing agreement.

Many wonder why Mr. Velasco is close to the President. He is not from Davao nor did he have any connection with the city unlike Bong Go and Bato de la Rosa, whom the President plucked out of obscurity and thrust to national prominence such that both are now senators of the realm. Mr. Velasco does not come from a political dynasty allied with the President as the Marcos and Villar families are.

Lord Allan’s father, Presbitero Velasco, is Governor of Marinduque. He went into politics only in 2019 when he ran for governor of Marinduque. He cannot be considered a long-time political ally of the President. He spent many years in the judicial branch of government. In fact, he was Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2006 until 2018, when reached the age of retirement.

One Supreme Court ruling penned by him was the dismissal of Senator Leila de Lima’s petition to nullify her arrest on drug charges. Associate Justice Antonio Carpio found Justice Velasco’s arguments inconsistent with those he (Velasco) used in many other cases. I discerned from Justice Carpio’s dissenting opinion that Justice Velasco performed legal contortions to keep De Lima, a vocal critic of President Duterte’s war on drugs, in jail. That must have pleased the President who had said, “She is going to rot in jail.”

Could that be why the President forged that time-sharing agreement by which Mr. Velasco would be Speaker, to return a favor to retired Justice Presbitero Velasco?

According to Congressman Velasco himself, the President told him, “We were duped by Cayetano.” That statement of the President implies submission to the machinations of Speaker Cayetano. That is uncharacteristic of the President, accepting the thwarting of his intentions. Whatever the President wants, people oblige, whether they be subordinates or from the supposed co-equal and independent legislative and judicial branches of government. Take the case of the Supreme Court keeping Senator De Lima in detention and ousting Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno, and the House of Representatives denying ABS-CBN a new franchise.

Could it be that President Duterte, like the overwhelming majority of congressmen, does not believe Lord Allan Velasco is ready or even qualified to be Speaker, which is why he submits to the will of the House of Representatives? He probably feels he has returned the favor to Lord Allan’s father by brokering the time-sharing deal.

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired corporate executive, business consultant, and management professor. He has been a politicized citizen since his college days in the late 1950s.

Why some Millennials just can’t manage their money

IN 2008, Jackie and I arrived at our investment banking jobs on Wall Street. Fresh out of college, we were now among the top earners in our peer group. Twenty-hours-plus daily, most days of the week, working hard on pitchbooks, models and deals. We saw eye-to-eye on most things: people, what we were going to eat that night off of seamlessweb.com, and, more or less, life.

We were both so-called Millennials, defined as those born between 1981 and 1996. There were a couple of big differences. One was that she thought about savings and investing her earnings. I was more basic, just thinking about spending less than I made. The day Jackie had to run out to set up her Charles Schwab Corp. account, I barely understood what she was doing. She came back with flyers and talked about Pacific Investment Management Co., or Pimco, bond funds.

I was bemused. While I could go through companies’ financial statements and run accretion-dilution and discounted cash flow models, I could just about keep track of my personal income. I was basically financially illiterate when it came to my own accounts. That stemmed, as I now see it, from the more fundamental difference between us: We grew up on two sides of the world — she in Maryland, me in Indore, India.

Our micro-example is reflected in several surveys showing that financial literacy rates in Asia are far lower than in the US, Canada and the UK.* That means possessing a basic understanding of concepts like interest rates, compounding, diversifying risk, and inflation to make decisions about personal savings. Money management behavior is tightly linked to such knowledge.

Some of this comes down to cultural investing priorities. In Asia, property and gold — hard assets — have always taken precedence over speculative stocks and bonds. Capital markets haven’t been deep enough for previous generations to participate with confidence. Nor were retail investing products mainstream. A recent survey by China’s central bank that covered more than 30,000 urban households in 30 provinces showed that almost 60% of assets were tied up in real estate. About 70% of liabilities were mortgages. The portion of financial assets was low.

To be sure, the privileges of investing and even holding financial assets are often impossible for many people in wealthy countries who are just trying to make ends meet. That’s even more true in emerging economies.

In India, the average household has 77% of total assets in real estate and 11% in gold, according to a Reserve Bank of India report. The total is 44% in the US. About 5% is held in financial assets like savings accounts, mutual funds and publicly traded shares, compared to 17% in the US, a Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. report says.

Generational attitudes get passed along. My parents didn’t really talk about money at the table or otherwise; it was only ever mentioned in terms of being prudent. (That’s a whole different topic I’ll save for another column.) Jackie’s family had a slightly different approach. Her allowance (and that of her younger brother) was split into four jars: taxes, savings, charity and spending money. They got to choose the charity. That helped create a sense of where money goes. “My dad was always (like) dollars and cents, spend wisely and make good choices,” she told me recently. “But not miserly.”

For Millennials, choices are constantly changing. In the US, gurus like @MrsDowJones drop knowledge on their hundreds of thousands of Instagram and Twitter followers. Millennial investing podcasts laud putting money where you spend your time, thinking about your own price per hour when setting out for a new purchase. Gaming is big; experiences are more valuable than things. Millennials tend to think more about wellness and what’s good for the environment (greener packaging, no plastics). Fashion choices are sustainable — vegan leather, you name it.

In Asia, the tech-enabled generation is beginning to take charge of its finances. Millennials have increasingly become a bigger part of the Asian consumer class that has driven travel and spending across the world. In India, savings in physical and financial assets as a portion of gross domestic product has been dropping, while net financial savings as a share of the gross national disposable income has also come down.

To this cohort, property and jewelry increasingly look old-school. The permanence of such holdings is a turn-off. These assets are plagued with issues parents faced buying property (especially in India — a pre-sale gone bad, an incomplete project that took their cash) and the shifting relative value of gold. There are also questions of taste and practicality. Will I pull out bling and unfashionable traditional jewelry to go to the office? Unlikely.

Online finance makes growing sense. More people in China are buying wealth management products, or thinking about how to maximize their balance sheets and taking out consumer loans. In India, investing apps such as Groww are all the rage. Backed by the likes of Sequoia India, it has 8 million users for mutual fund offerings and a couple of hundred thousand have bought stocks on it. Zerodha, ETMoney and others are increasingly popular.

Economic insecurity from COVID-19 will likely accelerate the change. Millennials will be less quick to splash out on soy lattes and yoga pants, especially in Asia, as they become savers again. What they buy will be higher up the quality ladder — “premiumization.” That behavior will come with smarter ways to put their money to work instead of stashing it away in vanilla bank deposits. Risk profiles should change.

There might be a whole new class of savvier savers, but the need for financial literacy will remain paramount. A YouGov-Mint Millennial Survey in India recently found that post-Millennials, born after 1996, “are much more likely to keep their savings as cash and least likely to invest in mutual funds.” But, this crowd was more prone to invest in cryptocurrencies and alternative investments.

I’m still behind the curve on investing my retirement savings, but I’m going to start by setting up four jars for my kids today.

 

* But even in the US, financial literacy levels among Millennials are considered low when compared to older generations. https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Millennials-and-Money-Technical-Report-August2020.pdf?x38887

BLOOMBERG OPINION

The gender dimension of a pandemic

Every crisis affects women and men differently. This difference is more pronounced in cases of emergencies, whether driven by natural disasters, armed conflicts, economic crisis, or health-related outbreaks. One difference lies in a more heightened occurrence of patterns of gender-based violence on women, as well as children, exacerbated by conditions that challenge whatever safeguards are put in place to protect vulnerable groups. UNICEF (2018) reported that during public health outbreaks, such as in the case of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa from 2014-2016, it is women and children who are at greater risk of exploitation and sexual abuse.

Thus, the gender dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be underestimated because while the virus itself does not recognize gender, its impact on women, particularly women from poor and low-income households, puts them at an even greater risk than other vulnerable groups.

WOMEN AND ECONOMIC INSECURITY
The pandemic confronts the precarious state of women’s economic security on a global scale. According to the recent publication of UN Women (2020), women working in the informal economy saw their income fall by 60% at the start of the pandemic, and that in the Asia-Pacific alone, women’s working time in a formal workplace setting showed a bigger drop compared to men. The risk of women losing their jobs is 19% higher than their male counterparts in highly feminized sectors such as domestic work, hospitality, and food services (UN Women, 2020). For women, COVID-19 is more than a global health crisis. It has become a source of economic insecurity for them as the economic availability of resources becomes limited.

In the Philippines, while there is limited information on a more current employment rate by gender, a 2012 report by the Asian Development Bank indicates that the employment rate for women (46.7%) is just two thirds of the employment rate for men (72.9%). This gender gap indicates, among other analyses, a level of inequality that can be addressed by employment-led economic bridging. However, with the overwhelming impact of the pandemic on the economic performance of countries worldwide, including the Philippines, the country’s unemployment rate surged to 17.7% (7.3 million) by April this year. Filipino women make up a big percentage of the informal sector as well as those working in the service, tourism, and retail industries, and the disrupted operations of these sectors further contributed to their diminished earning capacity. As some industries closed down because of the stringent lockdowns, especially between March and May, the economic security of many workers was compromised, and along with it, the rise in women’s susceptibility to abuse.

PANDEMIC’S ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND LOCKDOWNS VIS-À-VIS WOMEN’S SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DOMESTIC ABUSE
With the economic downturn and the state-imposed mobility restrictions that vary from low to high quarantine classifications, many were let go by their respective employers as companies shut down or chose to operate with a reduced number of people. Some who were not let go from their places of employment but who could not travel due to mobility restrictions, have to deal with “no-work, no-pay” schemes.

In both instances, staying at home is the only option and loss of livelihood is the immediate burden. While staying at home during the lockdowns in the first months of the quarantine was crucial for the government’s attempt to flatten the curve of positive virus cases and lessen the population’s vulnerability to contracting the disease, it opened up a different form of vulnerability for many others. For women who are already in violent households, being on lockdown for prolonged periods of time with their abusers made them even more vulnerable to domestic abuse, on top of their increasing economic insecurity.

In a June report, the Philippine National Police recorded 4,260 cases of violence against women and children since March when the enhanced community quarantine was first implemented. Of these cases, 2,183 were violations against women (Cabico, 2020).

The women’s group Gabriela blames the lockdowns for the rise in the number of abuse cases, factoring in poverty and hunger, as well as poor access to social protection. Plan International Philippines Country Program Manager Selena Fortich mentions that based on past pandemics, emergencies tend to negatively affect women and children as they become trapped in the same location as their abusers.

POOR WOMEN BECOME POORER, THE VULNERABLE BECOMES MORE VULNERABLE
The death of Michelle Silvertino, a single mother and domestic worker who was found unconscious under a footbridge in Pasay City while waiting for a bus ride back to her hometown in Camarines Sur, reflects the situation of other women in the same predicament, particularly in the Philippines, who continue to overcome the impact of this pandemic on their livelihoods and on their overall well-being. The layers of health, economic, mental, and physical insecurities that women have to overcome during emergencies or pandemics are more pronounced among the poor, as seen in the case of Silvertino.

There are other challenges too, of gender-based violence shifting to a different platform such as online pornography both of women and children. Such exploitation is a statement about increased economic difficulties which continue to push vulnerable groups towards unwarranted exploitation. Without access to different forms of social protection that could cushion the blow of COVID-19 on their lives, the platforms where women can experience abuse expand.

CHALLENGE OF KEEPING GENDER EQUALITY IN A PANDEMIC
Women are naturally strong and resilient, and have had transformative roles in the face of disasters like in the case of women leaders who emerged from the tragedy of typhoon Haiyan and have since led their villages toward recovery (World Vision, 2014).

However, every new disaster, crisis, or pandemic brings with it a new set of challenges that women have to overcome. It does not help that the burden of caring for the family traditionally falls on the shoulders of women. Without any mechanisms to support and protect women as they support those around them, the disproportionate impact of pandemics on women is intensified. The government plays a critical role in ensuring that gender equality is promoted and abuses or discrimination of women are kept at bay.

Acknowledging that emergencies such as pandemics could worsen the existing inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by women is the initial step into mainstreaming and promoting a more gender-responsive approach to COVID-19 response. In the Philippines, the increased number of cases of violence against women as well as children during the first few months of the lockdown came as an unintended consequence while efforts were being done to curb the increase in infections. While unintended, the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological threats to affected women are just as real.

Moving forward, offering better safety nets such as better reporting and monitoring schemes and strict implementation of existing laws against violence on women and children, for the economic security and protection of women against abuse, is as critical as putting an end to COVID-19.

 

Pilar Pajayon-Berse, PhD. is an Assistant Professor at the Political Science department of Ateneo de Manila University.

Los Angeles Lakers return to glory

Claim record-tying 17th NBA title; James is Finals MVP

WITH the Los Angeles Lakers on the way to missing their sixth consecutive postseason last year, LeBron James made a promise to fans that the drought wouldn’t last much longer.

The King delivered in 2020, and then some. In a year that has seen the country combat a pandemic and racial injustice and the Lakers franchise deal with the immeasurable loss of an icon, James led Los Angeles to perhaps the most meaningful of its record-tying 17 championships, sealed Sunday night with a 106-93 rout of the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals at the NBA bubble near Orlando.

James capped his fourth championship with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the blowout win. He became the first player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three different teams and won the award for the fourth time to trail only Michael Jordan (six) in the league’s record books.

“Thinking I have something to prove fuels me,” said James, cigar in hand, after his record-setting 260th career playoff game. “No matter what I’ve done in my career up to this point, there’s still little rumblings of doubt, comparing me to the history of the game. ‘Has he done this, has he done that.’ Having that in my head, saying to myself why not still have something to prove, I think it fuels me.”

Partnered with offseason acquisition Anthony Davis, James led the Lakers to first place in the Western Conference in his second season with the club, dominating a regular season played around a 4 1/2-month hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Los Angeles went 16-5 in the playoffs, never once losing back-to-back games.

The team also didn’t lose sight of the importance of winning in memory of Laker legend Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash in January. “Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do was do it for him,” said Davis, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds Sunday.

Rajon Rondo scored 19 for the Lakers, who matched the Boston Celtics for most titles in league history with their first championship since 2010. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 points.

Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder scored 12 each for the Heat. Goran Dragic returned from four games missed with a foot injury, but it wasn’t enough for Miami to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-1 in the series.

“It’s hard, because it was special to us,” said Butler of the team’s Cinderella run. “We really enjoyed playing with one another, really enjoyed being around one another. I just appreciate it and am thankful that I had the opportunity to be able to do that.”

The Lakers never trailed in Game 6, first-year coach Frank Vogel shaking things up from the tip by starting Alex Caruso over Dwight Howard and shifting Davis to center. Caruso had only made two starts all season. The move paid off, as Los Angeles effectively put the game away by outscoring Miami 36-16 in the second quarter.

A 13-0 run in the period, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Caldwell-Pope, had the Lakers up by 30, 64-34, with 49.6 seconds left in the half. The margin was 28 at the break, the second-largest halftime lead in NBA Finals history.

Davis and Caldwell-Pope each had 15 points at the break, and Rondo was a spark off the bench with 13 points on six-of-six shooting. James had 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Butler was held to eight points on three-of-seven shooting, as the Heat shot 34.2% from the floor as a team over the first 24 minutes.

“We didn’t get the final result that we wanted,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the disappointing showing. “But these are going to be lifetime memories that we have together.”

Intermission did little to slow down Los Angeles, which led by as much as 36 before finishing the third quarter up 87-58. Ahead 103-86 with 1:27 remaining, James and Davis went to the bench to begin celebrating with teammates.

“It doesn’t matter where it is if you win a championship — a bubble, Miami, Golden State,” James said. “When you get to this point, it is one of the greatest feelings in the world for a basketball player.” — Reuters

Phoenix Fuel Masters chalk up win in PBA bubble debut

THE Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters won in their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) “bubble” debut, beating the Meralco Bolts, 116-98, on Monday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Pampanga.

Banking on its steady play on both ends of the court throughout the match, the Fuel Masters went on to outlast the Bolts and be among the first winners in the PBA’s long-awaited return from a seven-month lull because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The start of the contest was marked by runs and counter-runs.

Sophomore Bong Quinto led the early charge of the Bolts, who sprinted to a 16-9 lead in the first six minutes of the opening quarter.

The Fuel Masters, on the lead of Matthew Wright, then went on an 8-0 run in the next two minutes to overtake Meralco, 17-16.

Phoenix sustained control the rest of the period, holding a 25-21 advantage in the end.

The teams continued to keep it close to begin the second canto, fighting to a 38-35 count, with the Fuel Masters still on top, by the midway point.

Phoenix then stepped on the gas to create further distance, 53-41, at the break.

Mr. Wright and the Fuel Masters began the third quarter sizzling, outscoring the Bolts, 15-2, to extend their lead to 68-43 by the 7:47 mark.

Meralco tried to recover some ground with no success as it saw Phoenix pull away with an even bigger lead of 29 points, 92-63, heading into the final 12 minutes.

The Bolts continued fighting in the last canto, but no comeback would happen as the Fuel Masters held sway up to the final buzzer.

Mr. Wright had 36 points and six assists in the victory with Jason Perkins finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Justin Chua also had 17 points for Phoenix while guard RR Garcia had 14.

Reynel Hugnatan, meanwhile, led Meralco with 16 points. Chris Newsome had 12 while Allein Maliksi and Mr. Quinto finished with 11 markers apiece.

Phoenix (1-0) returns to the court on Oct. 15 versus the Northport Batang Pier while Meralco (0-1) next plays the Alaska Aces (0-1) on Oct. 14.

The PBA is holding its ongoing Philippine Cup under a bubble setup, where the teams will be holed up at Clark City for the duration of the tournament. This is with the end view of at least completing one conference in its pandemic-hit season.

The PBA returned to action on Sunday after suspending its season in March. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Asia-Pacific countries ease travel restrictions but hurdles remain

SYDNEY — Asia-Pacific countries including Singapore, Australia and Japan are gradually easing some international travel restrictions as coronavirus cases slow, in hopes of helping to revive their economies.

International travel in Asia has collapsed during the pandemic due to border closures, with passenger numbers down 97% in August, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

Although European countries that had been more open add fresh travel restrictions as cases rise, in Asia the trend is toward easing, though not always on a bilateral basis.

For now, few people are likely to travel because of testing and insurance requirements, and in some cases the need to quarantine upon return home, meaning the deals offer limited hope for airlines and the tourism industry.

A Singapore-Indonesia deal announced on Monday for essential business and official travel will require an application and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) swab tests both before and after travel.

New Zealanders will be able to travel to some parts of Australia starting Friday without quarantining, including to New South Wales, Canberra and the Northern Territory.

However, New Zealanders who return from Australia must quarantine for two weeks under government supervision at the cost of NZ$3100 ($2,064.91) for the first person and more for additional family members.

New Zealand, due to hold an election on Oct. 17, has said it does not plan open its borders to Australians for now.

Australia is also in talks with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and South Pacific nations on reopening travel as coronavirus infections ease, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. Japan and Vietnam will allow short-term business travel with each other, the Yomiuri daily said on Saturday.

The pact, which will take effect by the end of October at the earliest, follows similar steps to ease business travel restrictions to Singapore and South Korea, the paper added.

Japan is also planning to remove a ban on overseas travel to China and 11 other countries and regions including Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia next month, the Yomiuri said, though it would still advise against non-essential travel.

Asked about the report, immigration official Seiji Matano said that no decision had been made, but that the government would consider how to reopen traffic in a way that prevents infection.

Many of the countries to which Japan will reportedly allow travel ban most non-citizens and non-residents from entering.

Japan allows citizens, residents, and visa holders to reenter the country after testing negative for COVID-19 at the airport, with a capacity of about 10,000 per day. — Reuters

China ends virus-free streak as new cluster in port city emerges

CHINA reported a new cluster of coronavirus infections in the eastern port city of Qingdao, snapping a streak of over two months without local transmission, underscoring the risk of resurgence in countries that have achieved near-eradication of the pathogen.

The city in Shandong province said on Sunday that it found three asymptomatic cases linked to a hospital which treats coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients coming from abroad. Expanded testing of hospital patients and staff then found another nine infections — of the total of 12 in the cluster so far, six are asymptomatic.

More testing is underway and aims to cover the entire city of 9.5 million within five days, the local health commission said on Monday.

The cluster has now become China’s biggest in months, reflecting the difficulty of stamping out the coronavirus in any one country when outbreaks are still spreading rapidly in places like India and the US while rebounding in Europe. Several nations in the Asia-Pacific region like Thailand and New Zealand have also maintained long stretches of virus-free periods, only to see the pathogen rear its head again.

“A single moment of negligence may provide a way in for the virus under the radar, and then it’ll cause several domestic cases,” said Zhang Wenhong, director of infectious diseases at Shanghai Huashan Hospital, who advises the local government on containment strategy. “This is the risk we need to raise our response against.”

Still, the new cluster is unlikely to interrupt China’s progress in moving past COVID-19 as its economy rebounds and life returns to normal for the vast majority of citizens. A national eight-day holiday period that just concluded saw 637 million trips made domestically, 80% of the level from a year ago, reflecting the country’s confidence that mass travel with few restrictions won’t result in uncontrollable new flareups.

The sources of these resurgences remain largely a mystery, as asymptomatic carriers prevent health experts from being able to map a chain of transmission. Last month, Qingdao also found two port workers -— responsible for unloading frozen seafood — who tested positive in routine checks without showing symptoms.

China has suspended frozen food imports from plants in several countries after detecting the virus on the packaging or surface of imported meat and seafood.

Authorities in Qingdao are now sticking to the same playbook China has used in curbing resurgences after it contained the initial deadly outbreak in Wuhan. Amid mass testing and contact-tracing, all who test positive are isolated and quarantined, regardless of symptoms. — Bloomberg

King Nadal continues Paris reign with record-equaling 20th Slam

PARIS — Spaniard Rafael Nadal inflicted one of the most humiliating defeats on great rival Novak Djokovic in the French Open final on Sunday, thrashing the world number one (6-0 6-2 7-5) to lift a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam men’s singles title.

Tennis fans would have been salivating at the prospect of another epic clash in one of the sport’s greatest rivalries, but it proved to be one of the most one-sided Grand Slam finals in the Open era under the closed roof of Court Philippe Chatrier.

The roof, which made its debut at this year’s rescheduled Grand Slam, was closed just before the start of play, sending fans and pundits on social media into a frenzy on which player would benefit from the indoor conditions.

Most thought it would favor the Serbian’s game against the 34-year-old Nadal, who was bidding for a 13th title on the red claycourts at Roland Garros.

But Nadal adapted brilliantly as he has done all fortnight to the new brand of balls and the much colder and wet conditions at this year’s event, which started in late September rather than its usual May-June slot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Of course, we were hoping for a great final and this is not going to go down as a great final. I am more surprised, I didn’t think Rafa was going to play this well,” Eurosport tennis expert and seven-times Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander said.

The stakes were high for both players in their ninth meeting in a Grand Slam final — they were tied 4-4 previously — with the added incentive of lifting another major trophy in the battle to be considered the men’s “Greatest of all time”.

Nadal has now tied Roger Federer’s haul of 20 majors with Djokovic, the last active player to beat the Spaniard at Roland Garros, three adrift.

Before the match, Djokovic had said Roland Garros was Nadal’s home and the Spaniard did not once leave the door ajar for the Serbian to make a comeback into the match.

Djokovic, 33, who had won five Grand Slam finals in a row since losing to Stan Wawrinka at the 2016 US Open, still leads Nadal 29-27 in career meetings but the scar of Sunday’s defeat will run deep.

The drop shots on the slow claycourts served Djokovic well in earlier rounds and he used plenty of them in his opening game on Sunday, but Nadal ran most of them down, blunting the Serbian’s weapon and gameplan.

Djokovic struggled with his first serve and was unable to come up with a Plan B as Nadal continued to be the aggressor while making just two unforced errors in the opening set to hand his opponent a rare bagel in the opening set.

Nadal showed exemplary athleticism and court coverage to get his racket to Djokovic’s crunching groundstrokes as the bewildered Serbian watched on, fast running out of ideas on how to win important points.

In the second set, there was no letup in intensity from Nadal, who continued to hit deep returns to keep his opponent pinned to the back of the baseline.

Djokovic got on the board at the start of the second set after managing to save three breakpoints, but Nadal maintained his iron grip by breaking the Serbian’s next two service games to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In a high-quality third set, Djokovic broke Nadal’s serve for the first time for 3-3, but dropped serve on a double fault in the 11th game before the left-hander went on to bag his 100th victory at Roland Garros with an ace.

“Today, you showed why you are the king of clay. Today was a tough match. I was outplayed by a better player today,” said Djokovic after losing his third final to Nadal at Roland Garros.

“He did surprise me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing, the level. He’s phenomenal. He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets.” — Reuters

Filipino golfer Pagdanganan earns US Women’s Open spot

FILIPINO golfer Bianca Pagdanganan is bound for the US Women’s Open in December after finishing in the top 10 of the just-concluded KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Pennsylvania on Sunday (Manila time).

Ms. Pagdanganan birdied the 72nd hole to save a 73 and be among top finishers in the event that happened from Oct. 8 to 11.

She was tied for ninth spot with an even 280 with three others, namely, Lauren Stephenson and Brittany Lincicome of the United States and Gaby Lopez of Mexico.

South Korea’s Sei Young Kim topped the $4.3-million event with a 14-under 266.

Ms. Pagdanganan, 22, said after the tournament the feeling was “incredible” and that she was proud to have exceeded her expectations.

The top 10 finish did not come easy for the Filipino, who won gold medals for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games and 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

She had a sluggish start to the tournament, which saw her tally a 7-over 77 in the first round.

But she made up for it in the succeeding days, registering back-to-back 5-under 65 in the next two rounds that pushed her to solo fifth place heading into the final round.

For her impressive run, apart from booking a spot in the US Women’s Open, she also pocketed $83,765 (P4 million).

The US Women’s Open will be held from Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Course in Houston. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Aranas vows to work with stakeholders as he seeks POC presidency

A PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) representing its stakeholders is what Clint Aranas will be pushing for in seeking the body’s presidency.

Set to challenge incumbent president Abraham Tolentino in elections set for late next month, Mr. Aranas, the country’s archery federation president, vows to work with national sports associations (NSAs), particularly in making them self-sufficient, if privileged enough to be voted to the POC’s top position.

“While we appreciate the service of the current president, we feel we can improve on it. We feel there are still things that need improvement… we want to go back to the basics of why the POC was built,” said Mr. Aranas in his session on the Power & Play with Noli Eala program on Saturday.

“Our program is rooted in transparency and accountability because the POC is the representation of the NSAs to the sporting community here and in the world. And our vision is to be the ambassador of all these NSAs. And we want to be a representative of them not only to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), but also to corporate sponsors because we want them to be self-reliant,” he added.

Mr. Aranas went on to say that he and his ticket will work to make sure that athletes are properly supported.

And one of the ways they are looking to go about it is bringing the NSAs to possible corporate sponsors with support going directly to the sports federations themselves.  

“We have a clear plan ahead in relation with the NSA, especially in making them self-sufficient. We want to be transparent that corporate help could go their way,” he said.

Mr. Aranas’ ticket for POC elections set for Nov. 27 has incumbent chairman Steve Hontiveros (handball) running for the same position and Philip Ella Juico (archery) for first vice-president and Ada Milby (rugby) for second vice-president.

Also part of the ticket are Julian Camacho (wushu) for treasurer; Monico Puentevella (weightlifting) for auditor; Charlie Ho (netball), Robert Mananquil (billiards and snooker), and Robert Bachmann (squash) as directors.

An adopted candidate of the group for director is Pearl Managuelod (muay thai).  Ms. Managuelod incidentally is part of the ticket of Mr. Tolentino. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

NFL roundup: Dak suffers ugly injury in Cowboys win

GREG ZUERLEIN kicked a game-winning field goal from 34 yards out on the final play as Dallas defeated the visiting New York Giants 37-34 Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a game that was overshadowed by an ugly ankle injury suffered by Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Midway through the third quarter, Prescott gained 9 yards on a run and was tackled by New York safety Logan Ryan. Prescott immediately clutched his lower right leg. After he was put in a cast, Prescott appeared to be crying as he was carted off the field. He was transported to an area hospital and ESPN later reported that Prescott was expected to undergo surgery Sunday night.

Dallas gained the final possession with 52 seconds left and moved 72 yards in four plays with backup quarterback Andy Dalton at the controls to set up the winning field goal. With the win, the Cowboys (2-3) snapped a two-game losing streak in their first outing against an NFC East Division rival.

The Giants (0-5) went ahead on Devonta Freeman’s 4-yard run with 8:46 remaining, extending the lead to 34-31 on Daniel Jones’ two-point conversion pass to offensive tackle Andrew Thomas. The 17-yard drive was set up after a fumble by Dalton.

Dallas led 24-23 at the time of the injury. Prescott completed 14 of 21 passes for 166 yards and an interception. Dalton was 9-for-11 for 111 yards after replacing Prescott. Jones was 20-for-33 for 222 yards. He was sacked twice.

RAMS 30, WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM 10
Jared Goff threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns to lead Los Angeles past host Washington in Landover, Md., on a day that Alex Smith played in his first game in nearly two years.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald had four sacks and linebacker Troy Reeder had three as the Rams (4-1) finished with eight on the day.

Washington quarterback Josh Allen was sidelined after taking a hit to the head and arm late in the first half by Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He was replaced by Smith, who was making his first National Football League (NFL) appearance since a gruesome leg injury on Nov. 18, 2018 that required 17 separate surgeries to fix.

Smith completed 9 of 17 passes for 37 yards and was sacked six times for Washington (1-4). Allen was 9 of 13 for 74 yards before departing. Washington finished with 108 total yards of offense.

DOLPHINS 43, 49ERS 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 350 yards and Miami erupted for 30 first-half points en route to a demolition of San Francisco at Santa Clara, Calif.

Fitzpatrick threw touchdown passes to Adam Shaheen, DeVante Parker and Preston Williams during his 14th career 350-yard game, his first since throwing for a career-best 419 against Cincinnati last December. Myles Gaskin added a 1-yard touchdown run for the Dolphins (2-3).

The loss was the second straight overall and third in a row at home for the 49ers (2-3), who benched quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after an ineffective first half in his return from a high-ankle sprain.

BROWNS 32, COLTS 23
Baker Mayfield threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and host Cleveland’s defense hassled Indianapolis quarterback Philip Rivers into major mistakes as the Browns won their fourth straight.

Mayfield was 21 of 37 with two interceptions as Cleveland improved to (4-1) by complementing its league-best rushing attack with key passes, particularly when it scored on all four first-half possessions.

Meanwhile, Rivers completed 21 of 33 for 243 yards, but tossed two interceptions. One was a pick-six that Ronnie Harrison Jr. took 47 yards at the 12:15 mark of the third quarter for a 27-10 Cleveland lead. Rivers was also pressured into an intentional grounding foul in the end zone 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, giving the Browns a safety and a nine-point lead that the Colts (3-2) could not overcome.

RAVENS 27, BENGALS 3
Lamar Jackson passed for two touchdowns and the Baltimore defense repeatedly flustered rookie quarterback Joe Burrow as the Ravens cruised past visiting Cincinnati.

Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown caught touchdown passes from Jackson, who was 19-of-37 passing for 180 yards and one interception for the Ravens (4-1). Baltimore’s defense forced three turnovers, including Patrick Queen’s 53-yard fumble return touchdown, and tallied seven sacks.

Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick who entered with a rookie-record three consecutive 300-yard games, completed 19 of 30 passes for 183 yards with one interception in his fifth career start for the Bengals (1-3-1).

STEELERS 38, EAGLES 29
Rookie Chase Claypool had three scoring catches and ran for another touchdown as Pittsburgh stayed unbeaten with a win over visiting Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh, which built a 17-point lead in the third quarter, but didn’t seal it until Claypool’s fourth touchdown with 2:39 left, is 4-0 for the first time since 1979. Claypool had seven catches for 110 yards, Ben Roethlisberger was 27 of 34 for 239 yards and the three touchdowns.

For Philadelphia (1-3-1), Miles Sanders had two touchdown runs, and Greg Ward and Travis Fulgham (10 catches, 152 yards) each had a touchdown catch. Carson Wentz was 20 of 35 for 258 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions.

PANTHERS 23, FALCONS 16
Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdown passes in a big first half and it was enough as visiting Carolina won its third game in a row and kept Atlanta winless.

Bridgewater completed 27 of 37 passes for 313 yards — including an NFL season-high 261 yards in the first half — and Mike Davis rushed for 89 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Panthers (3-2).

Matt Ryan threw for 226 yards, but had a costly fourth-quarter interception in the end zone for the Falcons (0-5). Calvin Ridley caught eight passes for 136 yards. Todd Gurley rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

CARDINALS 30, JETS 10
Kyler Murray accounted for 411 total yards and two touchdowns to lead Arizona past winless New York in East Rutherford, NJ.

Murray’s 380 passing yards were a career high in his time with Arizona (3-2). DeAndre Hopkins was his top target, finishing with six catches for 131 yards.

Joe Flacco started in place of the injured Sam Darnold for the Jets (0-5). Flacco completed 18 of 33 passes for 195 yards and zero interceptions.

RAIDER 40, CHIEFS 32
Derek Carr passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns, outdueling Patrick Mahomes as Las Vegas stunned previously undefeated Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo.

Josh Jacobs added 77 rushing yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Raiders (3-2), who snapped a seven-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium. Carr fired three quick-strike touchdowns in the second quarter on passes of 59, 5 and 72 yards from Carr to Nelson Agholor, Darren Waller and rookie Henry Ruggs.

The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Chiefs (4-1) that included last season’s Super Bowl run. Mahomes threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted once — his first of the season — and completed just 22 of 43 passes.

TEXANS 30, JAGUARS 14
Deshaun Watson tossed three touchdowns, Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked three field goals and Houston defeated visiting Jacksonville for its first victory of the season and first under interim coach Romeo Crennel.

Watson passed for 359 yards and finally established a connection with receiver Brandin Cooks, who posted his first 100-yard game with the Texans (1-4). Cooks had eight catches for 161 yards plus a 28-yard touchdown on fourth down with 4:39 left that sealed it.

The Jaguars (1-4) lost their fourth straight game, hurt by two costly turnovers and two missed field goals by Stephen Hauschka. — Reuters

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