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US Open will go ahead without fans amid COVID-19 — reports

TORONTO — The United States Tennis Association will hold the US Open this year without fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic even though some top players have expressed concerns about attending the tournament due to the virus, according to multiple reports.

The New York Times, which both cited unnamed sources, said the USTA will announce this week that it will hold the Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 event in New York with the support of the men’s ATP Tour and the WTA, which runs the women’s circuit.

The USTA’s agreements with the men’s and women’s tours are “happening or almost there,” one source told Forbes. ESPN, which cited a source familiar with the plan, said the USTA is waiting for a green light from local and state health officials.

“We’re following each step in the procedure that we need to with the great hope that we can announce that the 2020 US Open will be played in its regularly scheduled date,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said in an e-mail to Reuters.

“We hope to make an announcement regarding the status of the 2020 US Open in the very near future.”

No professional tennis tournaments have been held since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left the sport’s calendar in tatters, and the shutdown will extend until August.

Wimbledon was cancelled altogether while the French Open has been moved to September and is due to start one week after the scheduled US Open men’s final.

World number one Novak Djokovic and reigning US Open men’s champion Rafa Nadal are among the players who have expressed concerns about attending the New York tournament.

Nadal said earlier this month he would not travel to the US Open in present circumstances while Djokovic said playing the event this year would be impossible given “extreme” protocols that would be in place.

In mid-April the USTA said its decision on whether to hold the Grand Slam this year will be made in June, and playing it without fans is on the table but highly unlikely.

The US Open is held annually in New York City, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center was even turned into temporary hospital to help in the battle against the virus.

Last year’s edition drew an all-time attendance record of nearly 740,000 fans and the event is the engine that drives the governing USTA. — Reuters

Asian promotions signal intent to return when already allowed

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

CURRENTLY sidelined by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Asian mixed martial arts promotions ONE Championship and Brave Combat Federation said they are raring to get back into action and intent on going for it when given the go-ahead.

In separate releases shared to the media recently, ONE and Brave said they have been positioning their operations for a possible return from the COVID-19-induced break although still mindful of having safety as primary consideration.

For Asia’s largest sports media property ONE it would be a “very measured approach” in making its way back.

It last played a live event on Feb. 28 in Singapore — “ONE: King of the Jungle” — which was held behind closed doors as a precautionary measure against the potential spread of the highly contagious COVID-19.

“At ONE Championship, we have the same level of intensity, but I would say we are a little more prudent, because safety is our highest priority,” ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said.

“We are not in a rush to come back just for the sake of coming back due to our financial commitments to broadcasters and brands and whatnot. We want to come back to an environment where we are sure that we can do it safely for all parties involved,” he added.

Apart from the safety concerns, the ONE chief said they want to do it in full cooperation with the different governments of places they stage their live events at, and in full recognition of a particular country’s health and safety protocols.

“Different governments have different policies on their borders, as well as their lockdown policies, so that’s been a little bit tricky in getting everything up and running. But my team and I have been working on it nonstop, and we feel pretty good about it,” said Mr. Sityodtong.

Meanwhile, Singapore-based ONE also shared while on a forced break it managed to shore up its war chest, adding $70 million to bring its total capital to $346 million.

“I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship closed another round of funding a few weeks ago with existing institutional investors as well as a new institutional investor. I am full of gratitude for this strong vote of confidence amidst the worst global economic crisis in 100 years,” said Hua Fung Teh, Group President of ONE Championship.

He, however, did not give further details.

ONE also announced that because of COVID-19 it had to make the tough decision of streamlining its operations, including reducing its worldwide headcount by 20%.

BRAVE CF
Bahrain-based Brave, for its part, is also positioning for a possible return to hosting events.

In a statement, Mohammed Shahid, President of Brave, said recommencing staging live events, built around the safety of all stakeholders, is on top of their push after months of inactivity.

“Brave CF looks forward to recommencing events and safety of our team, fighters and crew is paramount. As well as adhering to existing health guidelines, we are implementing the biggest and strongest COVID policy in sports as of yet and we have taken extra safety measures to ensure our team is protected against the spread of coronavirus,” said Mr. Shahid.

Adding, “I’m very delighted to have Brave CF events back and I have full confidence in the Brave CF team to successfully run our upcoming events safely and smoothly.”

Founded in 2016, Brave has staged nearly 40 events in different parts of the world, including its first-ever in the Philippines in 2019.

Meanwhile, Brave world bantamweight champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman of the Philippines is ready to go and battle once called up.

“I have been able to train constantly throughout the lockdown period. I do cardio and technique training every day and I’m ready to fight and defend my title once again,” said Team Lakay’s Loman (13-2).

Mr. Loman is riding an eight-fight winning streak, the latest coming in November last year over Canadian challenger Ilias Sanoudakis by unanimous decision.

WNBA announces plan to tip off 2020 season

The WNBA is planning to tip off the 2020 season in July. (WNBA Facebook page)

NEW YORK — After significant discussions with the league’s key stakeholders, including the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), the WNBA announced on Monday elements of plans to return to the court to begin the WNBA 2020 season.

The league is finalizing a partnership that would make IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the official home of the 2020 WNBA season highlighted by a competitive schedule of 22 regular-season games followed by a traditional playoff format.

Beginning in July, IMG Academy will be the home for each of the league’s 12 teams and serve as a single site for training camp, games and housing. The top priority continues to be the health and safety of players and staff, and the league is working with medical specialists, public health experts, and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.

Due to the fluid situation resulting from the pandemic, the league and players will continue to review the appropriate health and safety protocols and make necessary changes to the plan prior to arriving on site for the start of training camp and throughout the season.

“We are finalizing a season start plan to build on the tremendous momentum generated in the league during the offseason and have used the guiding principles of health and safety of players and essential staff to establish necessary and extensive protocols,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Adding, “We will continue to consult with medical experts and public health officials as well as players, team owners and other stakeholders as we move forward with our execution plan. And, despite the disruption caused by the global pandemic to our 2020 season, the WNBA and its Board of Governors believe strongly in supporting and valuing the elite women athletes who play in the WNBA and therefore, players will receive their full pay and benefits during the 2020 season.”

Throughout the unique season format where all players will be at the same place, at the same time, a first in the league’s history, the WNBA will build on its commitment to social justice and will support players in launching a bold social justice platform as a call to action to drive impactful, measurable and meaningful change. The WNBA 2020 season will include a devoted platform led by the players that will aim to support and strengthen both the league and teams’ reach and impact on social justice matters.

Under the current plan, teams will report to IMG Academy in early July and regular-season action will tip off in late July after a team training camp period. Although the WNBA 2020 season will be played without fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league will continue to build on the current momentum around the WNBA and the players, while offering fans a front row seat at home thanks to broadcast partners ESPN, CBS Sports Network and NBA TV and their ongoing commitment to women’s sports.

Running continues to thrive even amid COVID-19, ASICS study shows

NOT EVEN the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could stop people from turning to running to stay fit, this is according to a study made by global footwear and sports equipment maker ASICS.

Speaking to 14,000 regular runners across 12 countries, the ASICS study shows that more than a third, or 36%, of them are more active now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, despite most sports grinding to a halt because of social-distancing measures.

The study also shares that figures from fitness-tracking app, Runkeeper, show that runners of every level are clocking up more strides, more often, during the pandemic.

In April, the app saw a 252% rise in registrations globally and a 44% increase in monthly active users compared to the same time last year.

It also reported a 62% spike globally in people heading out for a weekly run.

The study also reveals that for the majority of people, this activity surge is not only about physical health. Two-thirds (67% globally) say exercise helps them cope mentally when faced by challenging situations like the one at hand with COVID-19 and eight in 10 (79% globally) runners insist that being active is making them feel more in control of themselves.

A similar number (81% globally) say running is playing a key role in helping them clear their mind while two-thirds (65% globally) insist its mental benefits outweigh any other form of physical exercise.

“For most of us, life is full of anxieties, uncertainties and restrictions at the moment. As our study’s initial findings prove, a run has therefore become much more than just a run. It’s a way for people to put aside the extraordinary mental challenges of this pandemic despite being physically confined,” said Yasuhito Hirota, ASICS president and chief operating officer.

The ASICS study further says that such upward appreciation for running is set to be maintained even after COVID-19, with nearly three-quarters of the respondents (73%) saying they want to continue running as much as they are now after the pandemic while seven in 10 (70%) people who exercise regularly are determined to hang on to the important role sport and movement is currently playing in their lives.

More encouraging still, among those who only took up running after the COVID-19 crisis started, nearly two-thirds (62%) say they plan on sticking with it in future.

In line with this, ASICS reiterated its commitment to help in enhancing the push of runners by coming up with various initiatives geared towards such mission.

These include calling on runners of all levels to share their stories of how it has helped them via #RunToFeel; offering free access to the ASICS Studio at-home workout app for everyone from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of summer (August 2020); hosting virtual races powered by Race Roster and Runkeeper to motivate runners and let them compete together safely; and allowing free access to the #RunToFeel Challenge in the ASICS Runkeeper™ app — with new challenges being added each month.

For expert advice, training plans and more information about how to run, people can follow #RunToFeel or visit http://www.asics.com/ph/en-ph/mk/run-to-feel. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Questions

Uncertainty has gripped the National Basketball Association’s plan to restart its 2019-20 campaign, with a significant number of players rightly considering the personal and collegial repercussions of engaging in sports while other seemingly more pressing concerns make demands on their time. The good news is that the second-guessing, regardless of how it was spurred, has ramped up discussions on safety and civil liberties, the very discussions required to secure accession to — and ensure maintenance of — the planned bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida.

With lives and futures literally at stake, the decision to play or not has become deeply personal; decision makers representing all those who have a skin in the game must therefore strike the right balance between risk and reward in order to guarantee an acceptable measure of success. Given the little that is still known of the pandemic and the very nature of basketball, keeping rosters and staff of the 22 teams slated to finish their respective seasons at Walt Disney World wholly free from infection is an impossibility. In this regard, the intent is to keep reaching for the ideal while preparing for the probable. What happens when — and not if — a player tests positive for the novel coronavirus? How can protagonists continue to exercise their right to contribute to the necessary discourse on social justice while essentially quarantined?

The answers to these and countless other relevant questions must be addressed and, in so doing, strengthen the league’s capacity to cope with worst-case scenarios. Thus far, the collaborationist stances taken by commissioner Adam Silver, union chief Michele Roberts, owners, and players have resulted in considerable progress on designs to resume the season. And while much more has to be done, with each step forward bringing about whole new sets of issues, all involved can at least take comfort in the fact that they’re so far ahead in the process than most other organized sports organizations, and Major League Baseball in particular.

Certainly, self-preservation can bring about universal benefits, and there is ample reason to contend that the players will be able to shine the spotlight on their cause precisely through the use of platforms their singular talents provide. Meanwhile, scuttling the current season will result in major financial losses all around, with repercussions extending to a likely lockout. Giving the thumbs-up to the playoffs isn’t simply about crowning a champion. Most importantly, it’s about getting closer to a new normal. Change will inevitably come. What’s up in the air is when.

 

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

Duterte’s media assault will exact a price

By Clara Ferreira Marques

THE libel conviction for the head of a Philippine news outlet known for its scrutiny of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration is a blow to one of Asia’s most vibrant media sectors. It’s also the sort of headline that’s often overlooked by foreign executives and fund managers casting around for fast-growing economies. They would be wrong to gloss over this one.

Duterte’s rule has already seen institutions eroded and top-level opponents targeted. If fewer questions are asked, that will reduce transparency and drive up the risk premium for investing in the Philippines. That’s something the coronavirus-weakened economy can ill afford when inbound investment is already falling.

The case against Maria Ressa — whose Rappler site has been directly denounced by the president and often critical of his war on drugs — was always about more than the allegedly defamatory article on a local businessman, first published in 2012. The verdict, similarly, has ripples far beyond the online publication.

Monday’s conviction is no isolated incident. Ressa and her co-accused, Reynaldo Santos, were sentenced to as long as six years in jail, but she faces seven other criminal charges including for alleged tax evasion. There’s more. A month ago, the country’s largest broadcaster, ABS-CBN Corp., shut TV and radio stations after its license wasn’t renewed — a move repeatedly threatened by Duterte, reportedly because of a disagreement over paid election campaign commercials. Opponents elsewhere, from the human rights commission to the Supreme Court, have fared little better. Meanwhile, lawmakers passed an anti-terrorism bill this month that, while targeting a real problem, could also allow worryingly lengthy detentions without charge.

The presidential spokesman says Duterte upholds free speech and played no role in the Ressa verdict. That should offer little comfort to investors, or to a local population facing the deepest economic contraction in decades. Indeed, it suggests weakened institutions are carrying out the president’s whims without needing to be told. The target is one of the country’s best-known journalists, at home and abroad. Ressa was honored by Time in 2018. With other governments behaving badly, there is little reason to hold back.

To be clear, Duterte isn’t the first occupant of the Malacañang presidential palace to castigate the press, or indeed other institutions, since the end of martial law in the 1980s. While free and outspoken by the region’s standards, the Philippines has also had high rates of violence against journalists. The difference is in what Nicole Curato of the University of Canberra describes as the normalization of attacks on the press, and the sheer volume of vitriol released through spokespeople, political allies, and on social media. Worse, it is done with the language of democracy. At least in openly authoritarian states, as Ressa said Monday, the rules are clear.

The economic context is grim. While the Philippines is young, promising and has been an outperformer in terms of headline expansion, its economy remains highly concentrated, unequal, and opaque. Foreign direct investment and local stocks were fading even before the pandemic, despite infrastructure spending plans and tax reform efforts. After the coronavirus, an economy that had been projected to expand 7% this year will instead contract. Unemployment and underemployment are high and remittances, which account for about 10% of gross domestic product, have dropped.

Ressa’s verdict brings more reasons for concern.

The first is the increasingly arbitrary nature of the attacks, in part because of the disparate coalition behind Duterte vying for favor. This leaves investors vulnerable, says Aries Arugay, professor of political science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Duterte triggered a more than $2 billion stock rout in December after targeting the Ayala family and another local businessman, demanding the renegotiation of contracts with two concessionaires, Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services Inc., to supply the capital. Companies such as Fraport AG and Suez SA left the Philippines over just such disputes.

While the old guard is under fire, a new, Duterte-friendly oligarchy is being created, tilting an already uneven playing field. Aaron Connelly, research fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, points to telecoms as an example of the change: Duterte ally Dennis Uy, with China Telecom Corp., won the country’s third telecoms license in 2018. Partner risk has always been a problem in Southeast Asia, but the shift away from Manila elites is making this less predictable.

Lastly, there’s the issue of transparency. The simple act of questioning authority, deals, and negotiations is becoming more challenging. It could get worse still if, as Arugay posits, the current purge fosters the flourishing of partisan Duterte-friendly media. The Manila Times closed in 1999 after running afoul of then-President Joseph Estrada, only to be bought by one of his close associates.

Duterte’s enduring popular support, and a term that doesn’t end until 2022, create room for plenty more lasting damage. Investors could do worse than to ponder Ressa’s words after her conviction: This is a precipice.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

The risk of downplaying Chinese gray zone operations against the Philippines

One year ago, at midnight of June 9, 2019, a Chinese fishing vessel suddenly rammed and sank a wooden Filipino fishing boat, the F/B Gim Vir 1, which was anchored at the Reed Bank. The captain of the ill-fated Gim Vir 1 claimed that the incident was deliberate since the crew of the Chinese vessel saw his fishing vessel before the collision. Ship captain Jonnel Insigne observed that the Chinese vessel turned its lights on seconds before it rammed the Gim Vir 1. It fled the scene with its lights off after the smaller and wooden Filipino boat began to sink with all its catch and equipment.

He told reporters that they expected the Chinese crew would pick them out of the water after their boat sank. The Chinese vessel, however, immediately left the Filipinos alone in the dark, cold, and dangerous waters of the South China Sea. The 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned their boat and struggled to keep themselves afloat and alive for more than six hours. Fortunately, a Vietnamese fishing vessel rescued all the Filipino fishermen.

SPOOKING THE PHILIPPINE NAVY
On Aug. 15, 2019, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced the incursion of several People’s Liberation Army’s Navy (PLAN) warships into the country’s territorial waters without prior coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Based on an AFP report written after a routine Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) operation in the southern Philippine island of Tawi-Tawi, the four Chinese warships passed through the country’s porous southern backdoor. It was then observed that the ships’ sailing pattern appeared to be highly suspicious as they were zigzagging and not sailing straight as civilian ships should do when performing the rights of innocent passage. Thus, these warships’ transit in Philippine waters could not be considered innocent passage because they followed a curved course. Secretary Lorenzana opined that China was taunting the Philippines because the Chinese warships’ Automatic Identification System (AIS) was switched off and ignored the radio communications from the AFP units that were observing their passage in Sibutu Straits in Tawi-Tawi.

On Feb. 17 this year, a PLAN corvette directed its Gun Control Director (GCD) against the Philippine Navy’s (PN) newly acquired anti-submarine corvette the BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) in the Spratlys. While it was on its way to Rizal (Commodore Reef) Reef Detachment, the BRP Conrad Yap established radar contact with another gray ship, a PLAN corvette with bow number 514. The PS-39 visually observed that PLAN ship’s GCD was pointed on it. The GCD is a mechanical or electronic computer that continuously calculates trigonometric firing solutions used to designate and to track potential targets and transmits targeting data to direct the weapon firing crew. The BRP Conrado Yap’s crew members claimed that the Chinese ship’s gun-firing mechanism was aimed at them. If the corvette’s GCD was indeed pointed at the PS-39, then this is the first time that a PLAN warship directly threatened a Philippine public vessel in the South China Sea.

CHINESE GRAY ZONE OPERATIONS
These maritime incidents are examples of Chinese gray operations conducted against the Philippines. Gray zone operations are “actions in the sea that often blur the between military and non-military platforms, actions, and attribution for events, and are often, but not always, undertaken to advance China’s territorial claims.” They are conducted to keep Chinese aggression at sea below the level of actual naval operation and are performed hidden behind the cloak of deniability. These complicate the littoral states’ ability to effectively respond to China’s expansion in the South China Sea.

Unfortunately, the country’s political leaders have down-played these gray operations conducted against Filipino fishing boats and naval vessels. In the aftermath of the June 9 F/B Gim Vir 1 incident, President Rodrigo Duterte adopted and even parroted the Chinese foreign ministry’s position that “it was an ordinary maritime traffic incident.” Secretary Lorenzana dismissed the Feb. 17 PN-PLAN incident in the West Philippine Sea as a routine matter given that the Chinese navy has no intention of hurting Filipinos even after its corvette directed its GCD against the BRP Conrado Yap. He even asserted his view that China would never attack Philippine vessels and aircraft passing through the disputed waters.

Downplaying or ignoring these incidents enables China to advance its agenda of maritime expansion through distinctly subtle aggressive actions that do not generate serious and effective responses from targeted states like the Philippines. Thus, China finds no more need to embark on a major naval operation to control the disputed waters because it has no need for it. China will eventually gain virtual control over the fishing grounds and strategic waterways in the South China Sea without sparking open conflicts with the littoral states of Southeast Asia.

 

Dr. Renato de Castro is a trustee and convenor of the National Security and East Asian Affairs Program of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Managing employment contracts in the time of COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced many companies to temporarily close or drastically reduce production and/or services. While restrictions are slowly being lifted, not all establishments have been allowed to operate at full capacity, if at all. Furthermore, people are still discouraged to go out and engage in non-essential activities. This, in turn, affects businesses.

Establishments have been facing difficult decisions with respect to employees considering that employees’ salaries and benefits constitute a significant expense. In deliberating what to do in order to survive, companies must be guided by the principles of law.

For businesses that manage to keep their head above water, the determination may simply be limited to whether or not to adopt a work-from-home or implement a telecommuting arrangement which is highly encouraged by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

The DoLE also suggests the adoption of any or a combination of the following as an alternative to the termination of employment or closure of business:

1. Transfer of employees to another branch or outlet;

2. Assignment of employees to another function or position in the same or other branch or outlet;

3. Reduction of normal work hours per day or work days per week;

4. Job rotation alternately providing workers with work within the workweek or within the month;

5. Partial closure of the establishment; and

6. Other feasible work arrangements.

The transfer or reassignment of employees to other branches and/or functions will allow management to allocate resources pursuant to the business requirements.

Other options suggested by the DoLE are the reduction of workdays and/or work hours, as well as job rotation. Under these options, the employees will continue to receive their salaries and benefits which are reduced in proportion to the actual days or hours worked. The unworked or reduced hours or days shall not be paid under the principle of “no work, no pay.”

Even with the above-mentioned alternatives, some businesses may have to consider additional means to reduce costs such as the reduction of wages and wage-related benefits. Any reduction must be voluntarily agreed upon in writing by the employer and the employee, and must not exceed six months or the period provided by the collective bargaining agreement, if any. After such a period, the employer and the employee may renew the agreement after review.

Under normal circumstances, all these alternatives may be interpreted as an act of diminution of benefit and/or constructive dismissal for which an employer may be held liable. However, considering the extraordinary circumstance, even the DoLE is advocating for these alternatives in lieu of termination. Thus, the DoLE mandates that the alternatives are temporary and must only be implemented during the Public Health Crisis.

For businesses that are allowed to operate after the lifting of restrictions, but predict that the demand or sales cannot possibly cover operating expenses, an option to consider is Article 301 of the Labor Code which allows the temporary suspension of work due to bona fide suspension of business operations or undertaking for a period not exceeding six months. During this period, employees are placed on a “floating status” and are not entitled to any salary or financial benefit. After the lapse of six months, the employer has the option of recalling the employees back to work, or permanently retrenching them. Failure to exercise any of these options would be tantamount to illegal dismissal for which the employer may be held liable. If recalled back to work, the employer is required to reinstate the employees to their former positions without loss of seniority rights provided they exercise such right not later than one month from resumption of operations.

The most extreme measure to be considered is retrenchment. Retrenchment is the termination of employment initiated by the employer through no fault of and without prejudice to the employees. It is resorted to during periods of business recession, industrial depression, seasonal fluctuations or during lulls occasioned by lack of orders, shortage of materials, conversion of the plant for a new production program or the introduction of new methods, or more efficient machinery or of automation. It is an act of the employer of dismissing employees because of losses in the operation of a business, lack of work, and considerable reduction in the volume of his business.

The prevention of losses sufficiently justifies retrenchment provided that the following requirements are observed:

1. Retrenchment is undertaken to prevent losses, which are not merely de minimis, but substantial, serious, actual, and real, or if only expected, are reasonably imminent as perceived objectively and in good faith by the employer;

2. The employer serves written notices both to the employees and the DoLE at least one month prior to the intended date of retrenchment;

3. The employer pays the retrenched employees separation pay equivalent to one month pay, or at least half month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher;

4. The employer must use fair and reasonable criteria in ascertaining who would be dismissed and retained among the employees; and

5. The retrenchment must be undertaken in good faith.

In a perfect world, all establishments will be able to get back on their feet without resorting to any extraordinary measure affecting employees. However, for most companies, the difficulties arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic do not allow for a perfect scenario. Taking decisive action now may be critical to the survival of the enterprise. Hopefully, the continued existence of business will allow them to survive, thrive, and take care of employees in the future. We cannot allow perfect to be the enemy of good.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Martin Luigi G. Samson is a Senior Associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Davao Branch.

(6382) 224-0996

mgsamson@accralaw.com

Gay rights are civil rights

By The Editorial Board, The New York Times

IN AN EMPHATIC WIN for civil rights, equal justice and common sense, the US Supreme Court ruled on Monday that federal law bars employers from firing workers for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

The vote was 6-3. It should have been unanimous.

As Justice Neil Gorsuch explained for the court’s majority, the right result could not be clearer. The federal law at issue, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, prohibits employment discrimination “because of sex.” And “an employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Gorsuch wrote. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

In separate cases consolidated for argument, three plaintiffs — two gay men and a transgender woman — had sued their employers for firing them after learning of their sexual orientation or transgender status.

It does not matter, the court said, whether the employer might have had additional reasons for the firing. “Intentionally burning down a neighbor’s house is arson, even if the perpetrator’s ultimate intention (or motivation) is only to improve the view,” Gorsuch wrote.

Nor can an employer avoid the law’s prohibition by claiming it treats all men the same or all women the same. The bottom line, he wrote, is that Congress wrote a law with intentionally broad language, and “ours is a society of written laws.”

Monday’s decision will soon have ripple effects, including the likely invalidation of the Trump administration’s decision last week to eliminate protections against discrimination in health care for transgender patients.

In a lengthy dissent that sounded like it was written in 1964, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, argued that the court’s job is to interpret statutes to “mean what they conveyed to reasonable people at the time they were written.” It’s hard to imagine these justices applying the same logic to the meaning of the Second Amendment, which reasonable people at the time understood to apply to bayonets and muskets. But we digress.

Alito’s point was that the lawmakers who passed the Civil Rights Act could not possibly have anticipated “sex” to cover discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

That’s true, of course. They also could not have imagined that it would cover sexual harassment of male employees — and yet in 1998 the Supreme Court found unanimously that it did.

“Statutory prohibitions often go beyond the principal evil to cover reasonably comparable evils, and it is ultimately the provisions of our laws rather than the principal concerns of our legislators by which we are governed,” the court said then, in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch, who succeeded Scalia on the bench, reiterated this basic concept Monday: “The limits of the drafters’ imagination supply no reason to ignore the law’s demands. When the express terms of a statute give us one answer and extratextual considerations suggest another, it’s no contest. Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit.”

While we’re on the subject of legislators’ intentions, it is worth noting the historical irony behind the inclusion of “sex” in the civil rights law — which was, after all, targeted primarily at racial discrimination. The term was added at the last minute by Rep. Howard Smith, a staunch segregationist from Virginia, in the hope that lawmakers would see it as a bridge too far and vote down the entire bill. Smith’s failed gambit continues to pay off in ways that he surely never could have dreamed.

Still, there are reasons to be cautious.

Gorsuch’s commitment to textualism, a method of interpreting laws by looking solely to their plain words, achieved a just result in this case, but when applied too rigidly it can lead to very unjust results. In his previous job on a federal appeals court, then-Judge Gorsuch wrote an opinion holding that a trucker could legally be fired for abandoning his broken-down truck in subzero temperatures — based on a wooden reading of the word “operate.” In short, this particular victory for gay rights was based not on the fundamental equality or dignity of gay and transgender Americans, as previous Supreme Court decisions have been; it was based on the meaning of a single word.

The opinion also hints at a potentially serious obstacle on the horizon: claims by employers that being prohibited from discriminating against gay and transgender workers violates their religious convictions. Such claims are likely to find a sympathetic ear among this Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which has repeatedly voted to protect if not promote religion and religious objectors.

For now, however, Monday’s decision is a victory to savor, the next major step in a line of gay rights decisions stretching back nearly a quarter century, and until now written solely by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who succeeded Kennedy in 2018, graciously admitted as much in his own dissent. Although he disagreed with the majority’s opinion, he wrote: “It is appropriate to acknowledge the important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans. Millions of gay and lesbian Americans have worked hard for many decades to achieve equal treatment in fact and in law. They have exhibited extraordinary vision, tenacity and grit — battling often steep odds in the legislative and judicial arenas, not to mention in their daily lives. They have advanced powerful policy arguments and can take pride in today’s result.”

Take pride, indeed.

© 2020 The New York Times

Home is where Singapore’s new casino is

By Andy Mukherjee

THE house arrest of pandemic lockdowns seems to have thrown open the gambling switch in our brains.

How else to rationalize the frothy frenzy across asset classes globally, a madness so complete that the bankrupt car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is raising up to $500 million by selling new shares after warning investors of the significant risk that their purchases will be worthless?

A bizarre markets rally is underway amid the worst unemployment scare since the Great Depression. It’s being led by day trading gurus for the coronavirus era, like Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy, who’d bought only one stock in his life before the quarantine but thinks Warren Buffett is “washed up.”

The hysteria isn’t limited to the US, or shares. Take the latest Singapore residential property data, which showed a 75% jump in new private home sales in May from the previous month. This at a time when new projects couldn’t be brought to the public and all viewing galleries were shut. What was going on here?

Singaporeans weren’t leaving home and the city’s two casinos were closed, along with other outlets for spending money and relieving stress. So many went online to buy and sell stocks at a pace not seen since a 2013 crash in penny stocks. But that wasn’t enough, for the asset class that stands head and shoulders above everything else in the imagination of the space-constrained Asian financial center is property. And that’s where people shifted their attention. Or, as broker PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor says, buyers and investors adapted to digital modes of property marketing.

There’s a danger of reading too much into the Singapore numbers. The overall sales figure of 486 units is the worst May for developers since 2008. And it’s entirely possible that many of the 56 buyers of Treasure at Tampines — the bestselling condo development in the eastern suburbs — had done their on-ground research beforehand. Besides, the Singapore regulator has rules against dodgy tricks — such as very large balconies combined with tiny interiors — that give a certain credibility to what prospective customers see in virtual galleries.

Still, the real surprise is that the buyers paid a median S$1,360 ($979) per square foot, 2% more than when the units were first launched in March 2019. The more expensive Florence Residences, another suburban property that first started sales at the same time, saw a 6% higher median price per square foot across the 54 units that sold in May.

PropNex’s characterization of this unusual month as the “new normal” may be an exaggeration. It’s perhaps a not-so-new abnormal, in which people feel compelled to conclude transactions. In March, when the COVID-19 scare was beginning, I wrote about the Black Death in medieval Europe and how it had brought in a wave of consumption (and consumption taxes) because of a sudden feeling among survivors that life was indeed short. Is something similar going on here?

There weren’t many choices for asset purchases in pre-capitalist times, but now there are. An apartment scooped off an online gallery in Singapore, or Hertz shares bought on the Robinhood Markets Inc. trading app, seem to be playing the role that Venetian women’s platform heels did back then. In Hong Kong, where there are serious question marks about the city’s future after Beijing imposes a national security law, dozens of would-be buyers wearing face masks stood in rain. All but one of 94 apartments on sale by China Vanke Co. in its Campton project in central Kowloon was sold in just eight hours.

The pandemic came to us in an epoch of extreme inequalities in incomes and wealth. The poor everywhere are anxious about livelihoods. The affluent are nervous about their cramped lifestyles. The middle class, the typical buyer of Treasure at Tampines, shares both concerns, though perhaps not to the same extent. For the sandwiched classes, writing a down payment check and taking a 15-year mortgage are expressions of optimism in hopeless times, and a chance to scratch the gambling itch.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Charting a path toward recovery for small businesses

The coronavirus pandemic will long be remembered among the greatest challenges of the modern world, not only because of its long-term impact on the global healthcare system but also because of its effects on the world’s economy.

Estimates of the virus’global impact vary: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted that COVID-19 will lower global GDP growth by one-half a percentage point for 2020 (from 2.9 to 2.4%). Bloomberg Economics, meanwhile, warns that full-year GDP growth could fall to zero in a worst-case pandemic scenario.

Worst of all, COVID-19 has an outsized impact on small businesses, many of which have lost revenues to the quarantines imposed by governments worldwide. The same case exists here in the Philippines.

“Of the essential businesses that were allowed to remain open, most of them experienced very low demand, the cost of doing business was higher, their supplies were limited and the personal health risks a constant concern,” BDO Network Bank President Jesus Antonio Itchonsaid in an e-mail.

And for those businesses that were declared non-essential and were not allowed to operate, BDO Network Bank Senior Vice-President and Head of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Karen Cua added that the only choice was to shut down their businesses.

“There is now a lot of uncertainty regarding future sales in the new norm, and a recurrence of the lockdown could be possible due to a second wave of infections. Being unable to operate, or else seeing dramatically reduced sales, businesses are now struggling to meet their payment obligations like rent and loans,” Ms. Cua said.

This is why BDO Network Bank has doubled its efforts to meet the needs of Filipino communities. As the country’s biggest rural bank, BDO Network Bank operates more than 220 branches and over 230 automated teller machines across the country. Throughout the pandemic, the bank has kept all of its branches and offices open even during the most challenging periods of the government-imposed community quarantine.

To help their clients during the crisis, Mr. Itchon noted that BDO Network Bank’s account officers have kept regular contact with customers to remain as an accessible avenue for support. This was possible through the support provided by the BDO Group for its employees, such as rapid testing, tele-medical consultation, shuttles, and bonus pay for frontline staff.

“We are fortunate to have been able to keep all of our branches, office and ATMs open during this challenging time. In many of communities where we are located, we are the main provider of financial services. The men and women of BDO Network Bank have endured many personal sacrifices to mitigate the risks and keep the branches and office open to serve the communities. The Bank continues to make significant investments in keeping our workplace safe for our employees and our customers,” he said.

Mr. Itchon added that the bank has been working just as hard to adapt to the environment by promoting alternative banking channels that allow customers to open accounts, avail of loans, administer payroll and other disbursements, as well as manage their accounts. The bank is also ready to make loan repayments much more affordable to ease the burden of its clients and help them recover and restart their businesses.

Bouncing back

 Many businesses, Mr. Itchon pointed out, are still not allowed to operate, and are therefore forced to reassess their strategies to adapt for the uncertain future. Such efforts might need further investments into digitalization, identifying new opportunities, updated business models (as in the case of eateries transitioning to takeout and delivery), and managing their cashflow to remain liquid.

But given his experience in working with Filipino entrepreneurs, he remains confident that they will be able to bounce back.

“The communities we serve are very resilient. Many communities have undergone and survived various crises, such as earthquakes, investment scams, and violence. They have managed to adapt, survive and succeed,” Mr. Itchon said.

“Most successful businesses have found their best opportunities in the most challenging crises. Henry Sy’s own personal account described him making his best investments in the most trying periods of our country’s history. The most resilient, diligent and persistent entrepreneurs willcontinue to find new opportunities.”

Aiding in that path to recovery, BDO Network Bank remains open and ready to serve rural communities affected by COVID-19 by offering its clients continued access to financial services and loan consultations for businesses wishing to restart operations. The bank offers entrepreneurs a reworked installment scheme that can reduce their original installment by up to 65%.

“Successful communities work together well. We are all hoping for a quick recovery, but we are also prepared to see our communities through a longer and more challenging journey towards normalcy,” Mr. Itchon said.

IBM veers away from facial recognition, advocates for racial equity

The brazen arrest and murder of African-American George Floyd by a US police officer has sparked outrage and introspection across America and the globe these past few weeks. His last words—“I can’t breathe”—was heard the world over. Fellow Americans continue to take to the streets, flouting calls for social distancing in a clear signal of their priorities as a nation: Fix racial injustice, pandemic be damned. In response, many companies have since pledged their support for police reform and racial equity, including IBM, which has announced that it will no longer offer, develop, and research facial recognition technology.

Facial recognition software has improved much over the years thanks to artificial intelligence, offering distinct advantages in terms of safety, security, and convenience. Because there is little regulation among the private vendors providing it, however, there are concerns that the technology is vulnerable to inheriting (and further cementing) humans’ racial, ethnic, and gender biases. This, as well as infringe on people’s right to privacy. For these reasons, critics believe the tool may prove unreliable for law enforcement and ripe for wrongful surveillance, profiling, and abuse.

In a letter addressed to US Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, and Representatives Karen Bass, Hakeem Jeffries, and Jerrold Nadler, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna outlined policy proposals to promote racial equality. He also announced that his company has sunset its general purpose facial recognition and analysis products.

Here are some salient parts from Krishna’s letter:

“In September 1953, IBM took a bold stand in favor of equal opportunity. Thomas J. Watson, Jr., then president of IBM, wrote to all employees:

“. . .Each of the citizens of this country has an equal right to live and work in America. It is the policy of this organization to hire people who have the personality, talent and background necessary to fill a given job, regardless of race, color or creed.”

Watson backed up this statement with action, refusing to enforce Jim Crow laws at IBM facilities. Yet nearly seven decades later, the horrible and tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many others remind us that the fight against racism is as urgent as ever.”

The letter continued with an offer from IBM to work with Congress in pursuit of justice and racial equity, particularly in policy areas such as police reform through new federal misconduct rules, as well as expanding opportunities through training and education for in-demand skills. It also advocated for technology policies that responsibly protect communities:

“IBM no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software. IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency. We believe now is the time to begin a national dialogue on whether and how facial recognition technology should be employed by domestic law enforcement agencies.

Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that can help law enforcement keep citizens safe. But vendors and users of Al systems have a shared responsibility to ensure that Al is tested for bias, particularity when used in law enforcement, and that such bias testing is audited and reported.”

“The symbolic nature of this is important,” said Mutale Nkonde, a research fellow at Harvard and Stanford universities who directs the nonprofit AI For the People. Nkonde believes IBM shutting down a business “under the guise of advancing anti-racist business practices” shows that it can be done and makes it “socially unacceptable for companies who tweet Black Lives Matter to do so while contracting with the police.”

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