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Heat snap 76ers’ home win streak at 14

LOS ANGELES — Kendrick Nunn scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo added 23, and the visiting Miami Heat defeated the 76ers 108-104 on Wednesday, snapping Philadelphia’s season-long home winning streak.

At 14-0, the 76ers had been the last unbeaten home team in the league. They trailed by 16 points with nearly seven minutes remaining in the game before rallying to within two, but Al Horford’s potential go-ahead 3-point try missed with five seconds left.

Duncan Robinson contributed 15 points and Jimmy Butler had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who had been blown out 113-86 in their first meeting with the 76ers this season in Philadelphia on Nov. 23.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 22 points and 19 rebounds while Tobias Harris added 20 points. Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson had 17 apiece.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 107 — MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 99
Brandon Ingram scored 34 points, and New Orleans ended its franchise-worst, 13-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Jrue Holiday added 18 points, JJ Redick had 12, Josh Hart added 11 and Lonzo Ball 10 as the Pelicans earned their first victory since Nov. 21. New Orleans was playing the opener of a four-game road trip.

Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points to lead the Timberwolves, who lost their eighth consecutive game. Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t play because of a sprained left knee sustained in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 126 — MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 122
Dennis Schroder matched his season-high with 31 points and Oklahoma City pulled off a second consecutive improbable comeback, beating visiting Memphis.

Schroder scored 22 of his points in the second half, when the Thunder started chipping away at a 24-point deficit. It was the third-biggest comeback in Oklahoma City history and came just two days after the Thunder won after trailing the Chicago Bulls by 26 points.

Oklahoma City is just the second team in the last 25 seasons to win back-to-back games after trailing by 20 or more points, along with the Indiana Pacers in January 2010, according to Elias Sports.

BOSTON CELTICS 109 — DALLAS MAVERICKS 103
Kemba Walker scored 32 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 as visiting Boston ended a two-game losing streak by beating Dallas.

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points while Enes Kanter grabbed 13 rebounds as the Celtics rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit to avoid dropping to .500 on the road. While the Celtics are 10-1 in home games, they are just 8-6 away from Boston.

Kristaps Porzingis had 23 points and 13 rebounds before he fouled out while Seth Curry added 20 off the bench as the Mavericks lost a game for the first time without Luka Doncic, who is out for two weeks with a sprained ankle.

CHICAGO BULLS 110 — WASHINGTON WIZARDS 109 (OT)
Wendell Carter Jr. hit a go-ahead reverse layup with 9.1 seconds remaining in overtime and Lauri Markkanen scored a game-high 31 points to spark visiting Chicago to a come-from-behind victory against Washington.

Washington led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter, but scuffled down the stretch as the Bulls closed regulation on a 23-5 run. Bradley Beal missed a short jumper in the paint as time expired, as the Wizards lost for the fifth time in six games.

Beal swished a jumper from the free throw line with 0.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Wizards ahead 98-96. The shot looked like an apparent game-winner, but Washington’s Isaac Bonga fouled Zach LaVine (24 points) under the basket on the ensuing inbounds play, and LaVine hit both free throws to send the game to overtime.

TORONTO RAPTORS 112 — DETROIT PISTONS 99
Pascal Siakam had 26 points, Serge Ibaka supplied a season-high 25 points with 13 rebounds, and Toronto downed host Detroit.

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry notched a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while OG Anunoby had 19 points and eight rebounds in the victory.

Detroit center Andre Drummond, the league’s leading rebounder, returned to action after missing two games due to left eye inflammation related to an allergic reaction. He had 22 points and 18 rebounds.

DENVER NUGGETS 113 — ORLANDO MAGIC 104
Jamal Murray scored 33 points, Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and host Denver erased a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Orlando.

Paul Millsap had 15 points and 12 rebounds in his return to the lineup for the Nuggets, who beat the Magic for the eighth straight time. Millsap missed the previous two games due to a right quadriceps strain.

Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and D.J. Augustin scored 18 off the bench for the Magic, who were outscored 68-44 in the second half.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 100 — CHARLOTTE HORNETS 98
Collin Sexton scored 23 points and Cedi Osman added 18 as host Cleveland held on to beat Charlotte.

Cleveland saw a 24-point lead trimmed to two, highlighted by Charlotte’s Terry Rozier draining four 3-pointers in a 65-second span late in the fourth quarter. Sexton dribbled the ball off his foot to give Charlotte one more chance, but Rozier’s final 3-point attempt drew iron.

Kevin Love collected 16 points and 14 rebounds and Tristan Thompson added 14 and 13, respectively, as Cleveland posted just its third win in 19 games.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 122 — GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 112
Damian Lillard recorded 31 points and a season-high-tying 13 assists, and CJ McCollum scored 30 points to help Portland notch a victory over visiting Golden State.

Hassan Whiteside collected a season-best 23 rebounds to go along with 16 points as Portland won for the third time in its past four contests. Carmelo Anthony also contributed 17 points and eight rebounds.

D’Angelo Russell registered 26 points and seven assists for the Warriors, who lost their fifth straight game and ninth in the past 10. Glenn Robinson III scored 17 points and Alec Burks added 16 for Golden State. — Reuters

Athletes underscore national sports associations’ role in ensuring programs succeed

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WHILE on a high after the country dominated the 30th Southeast Asian Games on its way to bagging the overall championship, national athletes expressed hope that the gains made in this year’s edition of the biennial regional sporting meet be sustained even as they underscored the key role that national sports associations (NSAs) play in ensuring that programs succeed.

Gathering in a “champions summit” early this week, days after the SEA Games held here concluded, local athletes took time to share their take on their recent campaign, highlighting the improved support they got from the government, specifically through the Philippine Sports Commission, as having a big hand in their spirited showing in the Games which resulted in the Philippines topping the event anew after 14 years with a total medal haul of 149 gold, 117 silver and 121 bronze medals.

It is a support, which included providing international exposure for athletes, they hope to get to be sustained moving forward so as not to put to waste the gains Philippine sports had achieved in this year’s SEA Games.

Also brought to the fore by the athletes was the NSAs’ role in getting programs sustained.

“More than the government support, the NSAs’ support is also important,” said Cheska Altomonte, a member of the Philippine women’s softball team which bagged a gold medal, at the champions summit held on Tuesday at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

“We cannot solely depend on the support of the government. The NSAs, too, have to find the right funding for us, it works hand in hand. It starts with the NSA. The program has to be good enough to build on and be sustained,” added Ms. Altomonte.

Her views were shared by Jake Letts, a former athlete and now general manager of the Philippine Rugby Football Union, Inc., who also added that an open line of communication among all stakeholders of a particular sport would go a long way.

“Transparency between organization, athletes, coaches and sports administrators is very important. And the line of communication has to be open to make any program better,” said Mr. Letts, whose men’s and women’s team won gold and silver, respectively, in the recently concluded SEA Games.

“The responsibility of the NSA is to ensure that the sport has sufficient funding not only from the government but also private partnerships. To have them get behind the athletes. The more support a sport can get the better,” he added.

Mr. Letts went on to say that work has to continue for Philippine sports in general.

“Everyone now is on a high because of the result (of the SEA Games). But the truth is, every NSA should do their review in the next two weeks because every great NSA and athlete knows that the next phase is just around the corner,” he said.

PLDT-Smart Communications rewards Southeast Asian Games eSports victors

AS PART of its commitment to promote sports and support Filipino athletes, PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications (Smart) recently awarded cash incentives to the 30th Southeast Asian Games eSports gold, silver, and bronze medalists from Team Sibol, the Philippines’ first national eSports team. Team Sibol bagged five medals at the multi-sports competition’s inaugural virtual tilt.

According to PLDT chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, the cash award for the eSports athletes is a tribute to their commendable performance. “We are very proud of how well you represented the Philippines in the SEA Games, especially since it’s the first time that eSports has been included in a prestigious sporting event,” Pangilinan said.

“While it may not be as physical as basketball, eSports requires a lot of physical and mental effort, and dedication for our young people to excel in this sport,” Pangilinan added. Cignal TV and TV5 President and CEO Jane Basas also acknowledged that eSports is one of the fastest growing sports today.

“Many years ago, including eSports in an International Olympic Committee-accredited event was just a dream, and now, it actually happened, thanks to our partners; the athletes, coaches, and management; and of course, to sponsors like Smart.” Basas added, “It’s a milestone in the history of eSports that we were been able to put it in an international event like this and broadcast to many homes, not just in the Philippines but to the rest of Southeast Asia.”

With his team conquering the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) competition, Angelo Arcangel shared that the team would play eight to 10 hours a day as part of their training. Also known as Pheww among his teammates, he said all of their hard work has borne fruit after clinching the gold medal.

Smart provided the connectivity and other equipment in the training grounds of Team Sibol. Pangilinan and Basas personally greeted and congratulated Team Sibol in awarding the cash incentives.

The gold medalists for team events (MLBB and DoTA II) were awarded P2 million. Individual event gold medalist for StarCraft II Caviar “EnDerr” Acampado was awarded P1 million. Tekken 7 silver medalist Alexandre “AK” Laverez and bronze medalist Andreij “Douijin” Albar were awarded P500,000 and P250,000 respectively.

Even after the SEA Games have concluded, Pangilinan said that PLDT and Smart will continue extending support to the eSports athletes to encourage them, particularly as they prepare for the 2021 SEA Games should host country Vietnam decide to sustain the event.

Team PHL bags the silver medal at the FEI Asian Equestrian Championship

PATTAYA, THAILAND — While the 30th Southeast Asian Games were ongoing in Manila, there was another sweet victory for Team Philippines for Equestrian Jumping in Pattaya, Thailand, where the inaugural FEI Equestrian Championships were hosted.

The jumping team composed of Olympian Toni Leviste, veteran Philippine team member Joker Arroyo and US based rider Colin Syquia climbed up the medal board to clinched the Team Silver Medal, after coming from fourth position behind Hong Kong, Kuwait and Uzbekistan; the top three teams in the lead after the first team round on Dec. 5.

With only three (3) riders in the Team, having no opportunity to discard the lowest score of the group, in what is normally a team of four (4) riders, the crowd at the prestigious Thai Polo and Equestrian Club, as well as equestrian enthusiasts watching the live streaming around the world were astonished and awed with the Filipino fighting spirit.

Team Philippines was assured of the bronze medal once Leviste, the anchor rider for Team Philippines crossed the finish line with a faultless round on the second day of the team event on Dec. 6, and eventually clinched the team silver medal, only after the anchor rider from Team Kuwait finished with 10 penalty points.

“It was an incredible feeling to have the opportunity to showcase what the Filipino can do, faced with nearly insurmountable circumstances,” says Leviste. It’s always a proud moment to see our flag flying high on foreign soil, and on the world stage, she continues to say.

Texans look to clinch playoff spot in Tampa

THE SELECTIONS of Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins to the Pro Bowl were a given. The Texans’ dynamic duo at quarterback and receiver had done more than enough statistically to merit the honor, making this week’s official naming to the game more afterthought than surprise.

For offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and linebacker Zach Cunningham (one of the Texans’ five alternates), their nods were more opaque. Tunsil earned his first selection in his first season with the Texans (9-5), who will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. To an extent, the honor justified the ballyhoo created when Houston traded for Tunsil just prior to the start of this season.

“It’s been a goal since I was a kid to be in the Pro Bowl, and I achieved it,” Tunsil told reporters. “There’s always more goals to be achieved, and I want to be in as many Pro Bowls as I can, so I’ve got to keep putting the hard work in and keep going.”

Tunsil has been instrumental in providing Watson superior protection compared to 2018 when he was sacked a league-worst 62 times. With Tunsil anchoring the line, the Texans have allowed 39 sacks of Watson.

Cunningham leads the AFC with 89 solo tackles and has provided both production and stability for a unit besieged by injury. The Texans are celebrated for their offense, but if Houston is to defeat Tampa Bay and clinch a playoff berth on Saturday, what the defense does will resonate.

With his receiving corps decimated by injuries, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston initiated the process of talking up his relatively inexperienced collection of wideouts this week.

Winston will be without a pair of Pro Bowl receivers against the Texans: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Evans did not participate in the Buccaneers’ 38-17 victory over the Detroit Lions last weekend while Godwin was carted off with a hamstring injury after posting five receptions for 121 yards. Tampa Bay received a breakthrough performance from fourth-year receiver Breshad Perriman, whose three touchdowns exceeded his total from his previous 11 games this season.

Without Evans and Godwin, Winston might rely upon tight end O.J. Howard to supplement the Buccaneers’ top-ranked passing attack. That doesn’t mean he won’t utilize all of his options.

Even through the attrition, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians remains optimistic. His team riding a four-game winning streak, Arians revisited how two plays earlier this season could have swung the Buccaneers’ direction — a fumble versus Tennessee returned for a touchdown that was inadvertently blown dead, and a missed 34-yard field-goal attempt at the end of a one-point loss to the Giants — and how two more wins to close this schedule would mean so much more than a six-game streak into the offseason. Non-playoff seasons by definition are rarely deemed successful, but they still can be considered something positive. — Reuters

Giannis vs LeBron

Giannis Antetokounmpo paid fellow Most Valuable Player candidate LeBron James the ultimate compliment by describing him as “an alien” in an interview after practice the other day. “It’s crazy. Obviously, for me, that’s one of my goals: to be able to play at a high level for the next 10 years. But he’s about to turn 35 this month and he’s moving like that, playing like that, and just playing smart,” he said of the 16-year veteran, whose Lakers his Bucks will be hosting today. And he’s right; no other National Basketball Association player has been able to perform at or near a peak for as long a time as the 15-time All-Star, not coincidentally the immediate past top vote-getter.

Antetokounmpo was, to be sure, being modest. He isn’t simply the reigning owner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy; he’s on track to retain the hardware with consistently outstanding performances this season. He’s pacing the league in player efficiency rating, second in scoring, and fifth in rebounds — all while being just 60th in minutes played. And his impact cannot be denied; the Bucks share the best record in the NBA with — who else? — the Lakers. And, unlike his idol, he has no Top Five talent in Anthony Davis to back him up.

Nonetheless, there can be no denying the rejuvenated manner in which James has approached his 2019–20 campaign. Not since his Heat days has he approached the regular season with as much purpose; instead of coasting along and waiting until the playoffs to show his best, he has seen fit to remain in high gear, but with strategic rest periods in between. And, so far at least, his gambit seems to be working; his minutes may be at a career low, but he hasn’t missed a game. He’s evidently primed to show that he still has a lot in the tank, especially given the prolonged vacation he got after missing the postseason for the first time since 2005.

Today, Antetokounmpo will, no doubt, be motivated to prove he deserves to be deemed the best of the best. Meanwhile, James figures to stem the inevitable changing of the guard with transcendent play. Never mind that the match matters little in the grand scheme of things. Forget that it’s being held in December, far removed from the games that truly carry high stakes. Unless and until the Bucks and Lakers meet in the Finals, they will not find another time to settle scores. The fans will be on their seats. A humdinger awaits.

 

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.

Talino Venture Labs launches three new inclusion tech startups

Talino Venture Labs, a “venture builder” and incubator focusing on inclusion technologies, has launched three new startups in partnership with leaders in various industries.

These are Saphron, a digital insurance platform, Asenso, an MSME digital supply chain firm, and Unawa, a compliance automation platform—all aimed at supporting the nation’s poorest communities.

According to the e-Conomy 2019 study by Google, Temasek, and Bain and Company, inclusion tech will drive the region’s Internet economy to $300 billion by 2025.

“We have a large, digital-savvy and tech-driven population that now consumes online. But there is still a huge underserved market at the base of the pyramid,” said Winston Damarillo, CEO of Talino Venture Labs. “For us to fully realize the potential of our market, we need to empower the underserved with more inclusive digital products and services.”

Unawa, a regulatory and compliance automation platform for businesses, was co-created with PJS Law, one of the country’s leading legal firms. One of their products, Unawa RapidStart, takes care of incorporation for new businesses to help them focus on other important matters.

“Normally, when we think of legal compliance, we immediately either get intimidated or annoyed. So with technology, we hopefully try to make it easier and maybe even exciting to comply with law,” said Atty. Monalisa Dimalanta, CEO of Unawa.

There’s also the challenge of laws and regulations having to keep up with the fast pace of technology. “Very often, we find ourselves in the unique situation of being ahead,” said Lorenzo Chan, Jr., CEO of Saphron. “So what do we comply with? What law does that apply to? We just have to make sure that it’s still all above the law, even if it has not been defined.”

In order to overcome these barriers, it’s become necessary for businesses to cooperate and boost each other.

“There are all these things that compound the unnecessary complexity of starting a company here in the Philippines,” said Damarillo. “But I think what we need to do is just team up… because the challenges are enormous enough that if we don’t have this mesh of collaboration, it would appear daunting. But we have to deal with it, because we have to progress.”

As with Unawa, Talino Venture Labs’ two other new startups were borne out of collaborations with leading firms in the country, aimed at leveraging industry expertise to build products for those most in need.

Saphron, a digital insurance platform for the poorest sectors, was conceived with Pioneer Insurance and CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc. (CPMI), the country’s largest microinsurance provider. One of their projects is NAN.AI, a microinsurance agent platform that cuts down the onboarding process for new customers from months to minutes using artificial intelligence tools.

Asenso, built in partnership with CPMI, is a digital supply chain and enabler for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Puhunan, one of their products, is a loan platform that provides sustainable capital through fair microfinancing.

Farm growth expected to have steadied

AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION likely sustained growth this quarter despite storms that cost the sector about P4 billion worth of losses, a Cabinet official and private sector experts said in recent interviews.

“Hope to have between 2.5% to 3.0% [due to] productivity increase and hard work of the farmers and fishers, plus support from DA (Department of Agriculture),” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a mobile phone message when asked for his estimate for fourth-quarter farm performance.

Three storms hit the country in these past two months. DA data as of Dec. 10 showed that Typhoon Nakri, locally known as Quiel, which hit early in November caused agriculture damage worth about P334.207 million; Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally known as Ramon, which hit the country in mid-November led to an estimated damage of about P26.607 million; while Typhoon Kammuri, or Tisoy, which hit the country early this month, caused P3.7 billion worth of agriculture production loss as of Dec. 13. In total, this quarter has seen about P4.061 billion in agriculture losses, according to the department.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that agriculture output grew 1.8% year on year in 2018’s final quarter on the back of higher crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries production, pushing full-year growth to 0.56% that, in turn, was a marked slowdown from 2017’s 3.96% expansion.

Fourth-quarter farm data will be released next month, a few days ahead of fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 gross domestic product report. Agriculture accounts for about a fourth of jobs in the country but contributes just a tenth to overall economic production.

In the third quarter, the sector grew 2.87%, the fastest in more than two years despite a 4.53% drop in output of palay, which contributed 15% to the total value of farm output in that period.

Agriculture production expanded just 0.77% in the first three quarters, against a 2.5-3.5% target range under the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan.

“I am optimistic,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies Research Fellow Roehlano M. Briones said in a telephone interview, adding that in the “[l]ast quarter, maganda ’yung recovery ng agriculture (recovery has been good).”

Mr. Briones said “parang nag-normalize na ’yung palay prices (seem to have normalized)… after the initial shock and the adjustment of farmers” after the government opened up rice importation in March, leading to a flood of imports that depressed prices.

Hence, he said, “magre-resume ’yung previous growth trend (will resume)” for palay as farmers have resumed planting.

Senen U. Reyes, senior management specialist at the Center for Food and Agribusiness of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said that recent storms should not affect agriculture’s overall performance much, even as he did not give an estimate for the fourth quarter.

“I don’t see significant impact of Q4 typhoons on overall agriculture performance… While rice main cropping is Q4, the typhoons came at the tail end. Corn main cropping was in Q3,” he said in a text message.

“Our full-year projection is 1-2%,” Mr. Reyes said, citing government interventions like cash transfers and loan assistance to rice farmers amid depressed prices and the stricter issuance of rice import permits, as well as steps to curb the spread of African Swine Fever. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Palace to get ‘sin’ tax bill next week

THE MEASURE increasing the excise tax on alcohol products, electronic cigarettes and other vapor products made it out of the bicameral conference committee on Wednesday, in time for its ratification on the same day ahead of Congress’ Dec. 21, 2019-Jan. 19, 2020 Christmas-New Year break.

The tax measure is expected to generate P22.2 billion in the first year of implementation, of which 60% will be earmarked for Universal Health Care programs, 20% for Health Facilities Enhancement Program and 20% for attaining Sustainable Development Goals.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda confirmed that the measure would be ratified “in the House (of Representatives)” that same day, while his counterpart, Senator Pia S. Cayetano said the same of the Senate. The two were speaking in a briefing with reporters during which they held up a copy of the signed committee report.

Mr. Salceda told reporters later that the measure will be transmitted “next week” for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature.

The Finance department has been pushing approval of this measure in time for implementation starting Jan. 1.

The measure forms part of the administration’s comprehensive tax reform program, which Mr. Duterte asked Congress to prioritize during his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 22.

The Senate approved its version, Senate Bill No. 1074, on second and third reading last Monday, while the House passed House Bill No. 1026 on Aug. 20.

The reconciled version provided to increase the specific tax on distilled products to P42 per proof liter in 2020 from P23.40 currently; P47 in 2021; P52 in 2022; P59 in 2023; P66 in 2024. This is on top of a 22% ad valorem tax on net retail price, compared to 20% currently.

The bicameral conference committee retained the amendment proposed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto to impose a P50 per liter single rate on all types of wine, after he said the industry makes up just one percent of the alcoholic drinks market.

At present, sparkling wines costing up to P500 and those costing more than P500 are levied P316.33 and P885.72, respectively, while still wines and carbonated wines are charged P37.96 for bottles with up to 14% alcohol content and P75.92 for those with more than 14%.

The panel also retained the Senate proposal to raise the tax on fermented liquor to P35 in 2020, which will increase by P2 every year until it reaches P43 in 2024. Fermented liquors are currently levied P25.42 per liter.

The measure also amends Republic Act (RA) No. 11346, which will increase excise tax on tobacco products to P45 per pack beginning 2020 from P35 currently. It will then increase by P5 per year until it reaches P60 in 2023.

The same law introduced a P10 per pack rate on heated tobacco products in 2020; and a P10 rate for 10 milliliter vapor products, P20 for 20 ml, P30 for 30 ml, P40 for 40 ml, P50 for 50 ml and so on.

If the new “sin” tax bill is enacted, it will increase rates on heated tobacco products to 25 in 2020, P27.50 in 2021, P30 in 2022 and to P32.50 in 2023.

Vapor products with salt nicotine will be charged a P37 specific tax in 2020, increasing by P5 annually until it reaches P52 in 2023; while vapor products with conventional nicotine will be taxed at par with conventional cigarettes.

The bicameral conference committee also adopted the Recto amendment to exempt the sale and importation of prescription drugs for diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol from value-added tax in the law’s first three years of implementation. After those three years, such exemption will extend to medicines for kidney diseases, tuberculosis, cancer and illness related to mental health.

Other tax reform packages awaiting approval by Congress are measures that seek to reduce corporate income tax and overhaul fiscal incentives; provide a uniform framework for real property valuation and assessment; and simplify the tax structure for financial investments.

Besides RA 11346, the government has so far enacted RA 10963, which slashed personal income tax rates and increased or added levies on several goods and services — the main component of the tax reform package — and RA 11213, which grants estate tax amnesty and amnesty on delinquent accounts left unpaid even after being given final assessment. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Duterte tries to tame hunger through rice imports

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter

NILO BINALANGBANG, 61, has been tilling two hectares of land in Occidental Mindoro — one of the rice-producing provinces south of the Philippine capital — for about 20 years now.

He is one of about 10 million rice farmers affected by falling palay prices after a new law allowed cheap imported rice to enter the country. Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, also freed the National Food Authority of its mandate to import the grain after it was given a P7-billion budget to obtain it locally.

“The government failed to solve the issue of tariff,” Mr. Binalangbang said in an interview. “We never felt the support of the government. It never came.”

The Rice Tariffication Law seeks to make rice — a highly political commodity in the Philippines given its importance as a staple food and a major source of employment for millions of Filipinos — affordable to consumers, while raising the income of farmers. The law’s main goal is to ensure food security.

But critics noted that since the law took effect in March, rice consumer prices have indeed gone down, but not low enough as originally expected. The buying prices for farmers’ palay, on the other hand, have continued to go down.

As of last month, average retail prices of regular milled and well-milled rice had fallen to P36.70 and P41.53 a kilo respectively, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data. These fell short of economic managers’ P25 a kilo projection for the staple. The average palay price fell 22.6% from a year earlier to P15.52 a kilo.

A total of 3.72 million metric tons (MT) of imported rice is expected to arrive by yearend, which represents 26% of the country’s annual requirement, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said last month. This would make the Philippines the world’s biggest importer of rice this year, beating China.

Palay production for 2019 is expected to reach 18.49 million MT, which is 15% short of the country’s annual need.

The Philippines produced 19.07 million MT of palay in 2018, 1.1% lower than a year earlier as harvested areas and yield declined 0.2% and 0.9%, respectively, according to the statistics agency.

Some rice farmers have opted to sell their land or shift to planting a different crop as farmgate prices continue to fall. Some farmers now sell their harvest for P14 a kilo — a level set by local buyers — to be able to earn, lower than the P19 a kilo of the NFA’s buying price.

Prices so far dissuaded farmers from planting.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY
The government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte now relies on the liberalization of rice imports for food security, after pushing self-sufficiency for years.

The current policy begs the question: is rice self-sufficiency no longer needed?

Rosario Bella Guzman, and economist and executive editor at IBON Foundation, argued that the Rice Tariffication Law jeopardizes food security. “The Philippines has now embarked on import liberalization of its staple, a dangerous path not just for the country’s food security, but more importantly, for that elusive economic development,” Ms. Guzman wrote on the Web site of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies state think-tank a month after the measure took effect.

She cited the “narrow” global rice market, with only 9.7% of global production ending up in the global market in 2018. “Contrary to what President Duterte and his economic managers are saying that Filipinos should no longer aspire for self-sufficiency, the rice-producing world is consuming more than 90% of the rice produced where it is produced,” Ms. Guzman said.

“Even the country’s self-sufficiency ratio in 2017 was 93%. It is inconceivable therefore that the government is declaring that rice-producing Philippines, whose average self-sufficiency ratio in the last 30 years is 91%, should now simply rely on importation,” she said.

Ms. Guzman said economic managers pushing for import reliance contest the capacity of local farmers to feed the nation.

But she also noted that government statistics on average rice consumption is inaccurate and outdated.

“Despite lack of wisdom, the Duterte government has painted a picture that the country can never be rice self-sufficient.”

But Roehlano M. Briones, a PIDS research fellow, said rice self-sufficiency in the Philippines is impractical given the big budget needed to subsidize farmers. “You provide huge subsidies or production support in the order of tens of billions of pesos. But obviously, nobody wants to pay that price, so it’s not a practical policy.”

Rolando T. Dy, executive director of the Center for Food and Agri Business of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the state should focus instead on increasing farmers’ income and production. “If the farmers are productive and profitable, we may be able to reduce imports, and if they are productive, who knows?” Mr. Dy said. “But on the other hand, we have only so much money to address agriculture-related poverty.”

Grab slapped with new fine

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) slapped Grab Philippines with new fines amounting to P16.15 million for overpricing and higher driver cancellations.

The new set of fines includes P14.15 million for pricing deviations, and P2 million for driver cancellations of 7.76% of rides, instead of the 5% ceiling.

In a statement on Wednesday, the competition watchdog said the P14.15-million fine will be refunded to customers who have availed of Grab services from May 11 to August 10, 2019.

The PCC order was released after an audit report submitted by Smith & Williamson, an independent entity tapped to monitor Grab’s compliance with voluntary commitments on price, service quality and non-exclusivity for a year which ended on Aug. 10, 2019.

Grab’s pricing and service quality commitments to PCC are conditions for clearance of the company’s acquisition of Uber Philippines last year. The PCC noted that Grab’s violations indicate an exercise of market power in the absence of a competitor of adequate scale.

“The ride-hailing market has seen profound changes in the past year as a result of Grab’s acquisition of Uber. With the commitments in place, PCC aims to maintain pre-transaction market conditions and will discipline any tendency to exercise monopolistic power with corresponding penalties,” PCC chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

PCC last month fined the company P23.45 million, including a P5.05 million refund to customers, for breaching its pricing commitments.

Grab in a statement said that it will be refunding the P14.15 million penalty to customers through the GrabPay Wallet by February 10, 2020. The remaining P2 million penalty for driver cancellations will be paid to the PCC.

The company said it complies with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) fare matrix despite reduced supply of transport network vehicle services, growing commuter demand, and worsening traffic conditions.

“However, Grab Philippines respects the findings of the Philippine Competition Commission on its May 11-August 10, 2019 monitoring, after the antitrust body identified certain deviations from Grab’s voluntary commitments which is caused by the lack of TNVS supply to service the steadily growing commuter demands, coupled with the worsening traffic situation. TNVS is initially intended to augment the mass transportation system in the country, at the current rate, the TNVS is now carrying the heavy load of serving commuters which the current mass transport system is unable to accommodate,” the company said.

The PCC maintained that Grab’s pricing commitment is separate and independent from the LTFRB fare matrix.

“While LTFRB has imposed a fare matrix for all transport network vehicle services, the PCC binds Grab to its voluntary commitments, including keeping its fares within a range as if a competitor like Uber were present in the market. As such, PCC fines Grab for fares that deviated from its pricing commitments to the Commission, even if the same is not considered overcharging based on the fare matrix imposed by LTFRB,” the competition watchdog said.

PCC said that the fines will be paid by Grab, and will not be passed on to drivers or riders.

Grab may ask to be released from its commitments if a competitor takes on at least 20% market share, or two or more players take on a combined 30% market share.

“As the new monitoring year begins with the new system-wide average monitoring scheme, Grab is hopeful in fulfilling its commitments to the PCC, however, it highlights that as a platform, pricing will still be influenced by factors such as lack of supply, and the traffic situation,” the company said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

BSA sees ‘encouraging response’ to software legalization program

GLOBAL software advocacy organization The Software Alliance (styled “BSA”) said it has reached an “encouraging response” at the halfway mark of its software legalization campaign among Philippine companies.

Philippine software legalization has come second to BSA’s Thailand campaign, and ahead of Vietnam and Indonesia, a statement from BSA on Tuesday said.

BSA reported that nearly 250 corporations across nine Philippine provinces have cooperated with software legalization so far, especially in companies in Metro Manila, Laguna, and Cebu.

They identified most participating companies to have come from the manufacturing, engineering, and industrial design industries.

The four-ASEAN nation Clean Up to the Countdown campaign was launched in September, as part of the Legalize and Protect campaign that began in March.

Since September, 1000 ASEAN corporations have made legitimate software purchases for 6000 PCs.

In the Philippines, BSA partnered with the Optical Media Board (OMB) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for the campaign.

BSA’s software legalization campaign ends in February 2020, after which the organization will issue reports for the use of the ASEAN governments.

“This campaign works in the Philippines because many corporations understand that software legalization is necessary, and it is better to be proactive than wait for a cyber crisis or legal consequences,” BSA Senior Director Tarun Sawney said.

“The Optical Media Board (OMB) also plays an important role in holding corporations accountable. We believe that most CEOs in the Philippines are aware of their responsibility to use legal software, and we expect many more to make certain their companies do so as our campaign continues.”

BSA said software legalization helps prevent cybersecurity damage, improve productivity, centralize license management, and reduce costs due to the flexibility of the subscription model.

Software piracy violates the IP code of the Philippines (Republic Act 8293) and the Optical Media Act (RA 9239), and could result in imprisonment, monetary penalties, or business closure.

“We like the progress we are seeing this year, but some CEOs will only clean up their companies when they face very significant pressure from government enforcement officials, so we will work with our partners in each government to bring appropriate action against CEOs whose corporations refuse to comply,” Mr. Sawney said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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