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Palay farmgate price rises 1.3% in late Nov.

THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, rose 1.3% week on week to P15.84 per kilogram in the last week of November, with the price up 0.6% year on year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its weekly update on palay, rice, and corn prices, the PSA said the average wholesale price and retail price of well-milled rice were unchanged at P37.64 and P41.29, respectively.

The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice rose 0.3% to P33.62 while the retail price rose 0.1% to P36.43.

The farmgate price of yellow corn grain rose 0.3% week on week to P11.98.

The average wholesale price of yellow corn grain fell 0.3% to P19.54 while the retail price fell 0.3% to P24.47.

The farmgate price of white corn grain rose 0.4% week on week to P13.08.

The average wholesale price of white corn grain rose 0.5% to P16.28 while the retail price rose 0.5% to P25.24. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

BoC files 70 smuggling cases, shuts down 19 warehouses

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) filed 70 criminal cases against 244 alleged smugglers and ordered the closure of 19 customs-bonded warehouses in the year to date, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement Thursday.

Citing a report from the BoC, the DoF said 151 warehouses were inspected between January and Dec. 4.

Anti-smuggling operations yielded P9.52 billion worth of confiscated goods found to have been illegally imported.

Around 53% of the total were tobacco products, according to Deputy Customs Commissioner Vener S. Baquiran.

Meanwhile, other seized products included P1.85 billion worth of illegal drugs, P1 billion of fake goods, and P414 million of smuggled general merchandise.

Other smuggled items confiscated by the BoC included automobile accessories (P354.53 million); agricultural products (P238.49 million); food (P200 million); personal protective equipment, medical supplies and cosmetics (P195.57 million); jewelry and other products (P68.89 million); used clothes (P48.09 million); smuggled cash in various currencies (P33 million); electronics goods (P31.07 million); chemicals (P5 million); steel products (P4.76 million); alcoholic beverages (P2.43 million); and firearms (P300,000).

The BoC collected P44.69 billion in November, exceeding the revised P42.221-billion goal by 5.85%, but 12% below than the year-ago level.

In the 11 months to November, the bureau collected P493.324 billion, or 97.47% of its revised full-year target of P506.15 billion. Before the pandemic, Customs was tasked with collecting P730 billion this year. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Against the Cult of Cheer

The advent of a new year and the end of the old should be an occasion for assessing what has gone before as well as for looking into what could happen in the next. But the second task is more difficult than the first for being the opportunity for the usual cheer mongers to once more predict that despite its foundations in yesterday, tomorrow will inevitably be better for everyone.

The year 2020 has been unprecedented in the horrors it inflicted on this already prostrate country and its people. It practically began with a disaster — the eruption of Taal Volcano on the 12th of January after 42 years of dormancy. It led to the lockdown of several Batangas towns. The ash reached Manila and adjacent provinces. Its effects continued to be felt until Jan. 24, among them losses in crops, livestock, and, with the destruction of fish pens, in tilapia and milkfish estimated at over P500 million. But far more distressing was the death of and injuries to dozens of people.

The Taal eruption temporarily diverted Filipino attention from disturbing news in early January of an unusual, “pneumonia-like” disease in Wuhan, China that some epidemiologists were saying could spread to other countries. Within a few weeks the Philippines recorded its first cases among Chinese nationals who were visiting the country, after the World Health Organization (WHO) had confirmed the existence of a new strain of coronavirus. It was followed by the WHO’s declaration of a global pandemic of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus whose origins had been traced to the wildlife meat and seafood markets of Wuhan.

From an initial handful, the number of Philippine cases began to mount into the hundreds as February ended, prompting lockdowns in March of the most affected communities, among them the National Capital Region.

The lockdowns cost millions of workers their jobs and forced the economy into a recession. But as in other countries under strongman rule, the pandemic became the excuse for the government to expand its powers by militarizing what passed for its response to it.

In the months after March, not only the health and well-being of millions were increasingly endangered as the number of infections multiplied to eventually reach, in December, nearly 450,000, and counting.

Human rights became a major casualty of the contagion, as police and military empowerment led to arrests and the dispersal of demonstrations demanding government assistance; the drivers of “traditional” jeepneys — some of whom were forced to beg in the streets for food and other forms of help government was not too eagerly providing — were prevented from plying their accustomed routes and were arrested when they protested; and the harassments, arbitrary arrests, and killings of human rights defenders, independent journalists, farmer and Lumad leaders and activists surged.

Despite the national health emergency, Congress denied in May the ABS-CBN network’s application for the renewal of its franchise while approving posthaste the applications of “friendly” networks. The harassment of the online news site Rappler continued, with the cases against it and its Executive Editor Maria Ressa prospering in the courts.

The trolls and print and broadcast media hacks of the regime, together with the State media system, predictably extolled those assaults on press and media freedom, while either defending or totally ignoring in their issuances any mention of those agencies of government whose officials had been accused of corruption and other wrongdoing.

Those agencies included the Bureau of Immigration, where a so-called “pastillas” scheme (pastillas are sweets that are among Filipinos’ preferred take-home gifts from their travels) allowed visitors from China who were willing to cough up P10,000 in bribes entry into the country; the PhilHealth insurance system, in which an overpayment conspiracy with favored hospitals cost the taxpayers billions; the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in which, said the government’s own Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), only 50% of the budgets allotted for the construction of infrastructure projects are actually spent for them while the rest go into the pockets of DPWH officials; and, of course, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which squandered P389 million on the “white sand” beautification of Manila Bay, and damaged the environment in Cebu where the crushed dolomite rocks that were soon gone with the first high tide had been sourced.

Meanwhile the pandemic raged, the capacity of the health system was severely strained, and thousands died. Despite the life and death need to contain the contagion, the regime practice of labeling this or that organization or individual a front, a terrorist and/or a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) reached the heights of absurdity in late October when it “red-tagged” celebrities, to whose defense responsible journalists, actors, singers and others in the communication and entertainment fields quickly rallied.

It stopped momentarily only when four devastating typhoons smashed into the country in early November, but immediately resumed even while many communities remained under flood waters, millions had lost homes and livelihoods, and as the floods aggravated the flaws of the distance learning system that had been hurriedly put in place and haphazardly implemented despite the inadequacies of the country’s WiFi connectivity, the unpreparedness of parents and students, and the computers and Internet accounts that poor families could not afford to pay for. At the same time, the arrest and harassment of government critics and of political and social activists continued, with, at one point, President Duterte threatening to defund and shut down the University of the Philippines (UP) for “doing nothing except recruit communists.”

As the year winds down, what has become obvious is that it is not so much volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, or even the pandemic that are the major sources of the Filipino affliction. It is the uncaring bureaucrats the voters put in office who cannot abandon their ideological biases, their obsession with pelf and power, and their misplaced priorities to pay some attention to the plight of their long-suffering constituencies.

But most Filipinos — and the year-end surveys are likely to confirm it — will nevertheless tell the polling firms and anyone else who cares to ask that they will face the coming year with hope and even the certainty that their lives will somehow be better than what they had been in 2020. They said the same thing in 2019, in 2018, in 2017, in 2016, etc., and they will be saying that again when 2021 ends even if the year turns out to be another disaster.

Conventional wisdom has always looked at Filipino optimism as a good thing, but is it? By preventing many from taking a long hard look at the social and national predicament rooted in the poverty, bad governance, and worse leaders that it has been their misfortune to have, it prevents things from improving, and contributes to their being worse. It is precisely the kind of “positive thinking” that, because it helps prevent change — if the future will be better, why do anything? — the ruling oligarchy approves of and encourages.

What has been happening in this part of the planet over the last seven decades since 1946 should be enough of an indication that the cult of cheer that survives every disaster and resurfaces every year-end serves only the powerful, and least of all those who subscribe to it. But that is a lesson that will take generations to learn, like the many others in the sorry history of this country of willful optimists. 

 

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

Business and consumer uncertainty: ‘Somebody dropped the ball’

Last Monday, the press covered the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ report on business expectations for the last quarter of 2020. It’s a relief seeing the headline numbers showing that firms in the survey “have revived plans to pursue expansion programs and hire more workers next year in anticipation of a strong economic rebound from the pandemic-induced recession.”

A strong statement of confidence and hope in the future, no doubt.

From the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) website, details of the actual report provide us a better sense of the emerging business sentiment. The big picture was indeed encouraging. The overall confidence index (CI) reverted from -5.3% in quarter 3 to positive 10.6%, which means optimism is beginning to creep in.

The BSP report cited that business optimism for the last quarter may be attributed to the expected increase in domestic demand arising from reopening of businesses and adapting to the “new normal.” Business respondents were also positive about the easing of community quarantines nationwide. Much was also expected from seasonal factors like the uptick in demand during the holidays and start of milling season. Finally, they were encouraged by the perceived increase in sales.

Equally crucial in this survey is the business sentiment for the first quarter of 2021 and the next 12 months.

The next quarter’s CI climbed from 16.8% in the previous quarter’s result to 37.4%, more than twice. All the reasons for a more optimistic stance are related to the ability of the Philippines to mitigate the pandemic, relax the quarantine restrictions and re-open economic activities to allow a pick-up in transactions.

This improvement in sentiment for quarter 1 next year is mirrored in the entire year, as CI rose from 37.5% to 57.7%.

Lest we miss the potential risk to economic revival, the headline business response and some of the key components of those headline numbers should be squared.

Three risk areas were cited by the business respondents. Insufficient demand has always figured even in previous surveys, something they should expect under pandemic conditions. Nothing they can do about it except to keep their workers healthy and compliant with health protocols. What is surprising is their second response about the problem with stiff competition. Competition is almost irrelevant. It’s a bust for nearly all businesses. The third was very logical and this is the adverse impact of COVID-19 on their operations.

Pandemic-related factors like lower demand go hand in hand in explaining the relative uncertainty surrounding the more optimistic response of Philippine business. Perhaps this would explain the specific business responses that did not exactly dovetail with the headline numbers.

With overall optimism about their own operations, firms intended to expand their average capacity utilization for quarter 4. Firms were also optimistic about employment for quarter 1 and the next 12 months.

Such optimism was rather heroic because their financial conditions — or the firms’ general cash position including their loan repayments — remained negative. Their perception about their access to credit was also negative. They felt credit-constrained. Results of quarter 4 Senior Bank Loan Officers Survey validate this constraint because the banks continued to tighten their lending standards. As proof, actual bank loans sharply slowed down in October 2020.

The firms’ prognosis of the economy also needs some reconciliation.

While they continued to expect lower interest rates on account of accommodative monetary policy, firms expected the peso to appreciate and inflation to increase. Lower interest rates and higher inflation are not quite consistent with a strong peso, unless the BSP is not very confident the bounce back would hold. Hence, the Bangko Sentral might continue to reduce the policy rate until inflation starts rising. A strong peso in that set-up could only happen if dollar demand remained tepid. A higher FX reserves level than what was reported the other day at $104.5 billion is not implausible.

Alongside the business expectations report, the BSP also released the results of its consumer expectations survey for the last quarter of 2020.

This is also sobering.

Consumer sentiment remained pessimistic even as the CI rose from -54.5% in quarter 3 to -47.9%. Consumers turned optimistic for quarter 1 of 2021 but less optimistic for the next 12 months. Their CIs recovered from -4.1% to 4.3% and 25.5% down to 23.6%, respectively.

What made consumers less pessimistic in quarter 4?

They expected more and more permanent jobs. For this reason, the prospect of more and higher income made them less pessimistic. They were also positive about public policy on cash transfer and agriculture. They anticipated some lifting of community restrictions. Obviously, the possibility of a viral resurgence was outside the consumers’ scope.

Drilling down the data on consumer spending would help us ascertain the implications on the national income. Their sentiment remained unchanged for quarter 1 of 2021 at 26.4%. For the current quarter, the percentage of households who would spend on big-ticket items fell to a record low in 13 years. No wonder manufacturers and dealers of durable consumer goods and motor vehicles reported extremely weak sales. The spending patterns of households appeared to have shifted more to food and other basic goods.

It would also be useful to check the ability of consumers to smoothen their consumption patterns given the uncertainty of the pandemic and the availability of the vaccines to achieve herd immunity. For quarter 4, the percentage of households with savings slightly rose from 24.7% to 25%. More consumer respondents in the higher-income group were behind this as a result of the economic lockdown. Unable to spend, more must have decided to save instead. They would rather prepare for emergencies, health and hospitalization, education and retirement. Some intended to do business when things become more normal.

Unlike their business counterparts, consumers believed interest rates would increase in the current quarter, next quarter, and the next 12 months. This is more consistent with a stronger peso even as it was expected to depreciate next year as domestic demand bounces back. Job prospects were considered dim in the next six months but some improvements were expected for the next 12 months. Consumers expected inflation would remain within the government target.

But the reported drop in overseas cash remittances suggests weak prospects of consumption expenditure. For the first 10 months of 2020, their level at $24.6 billion was down by 0.9% from year-ago level of $24.9 billion. True, the two-month gains in cash remittances are encouraging but we have to be cautious because four-fifths of the total derived from only nine nations, of which Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Japan, and the UK all recorded lower remittances. Thousands of Filipino workers were repatriated due to the pandemic. Future flows will certainly suffer.

The problem, as pointed out by a blog from the London School of Economics on Oct. 8, is that these repatriated workers have few options in the Philippines. The October labor force data shows unemployment remained high at nearly 9% or about 4 million jobless Filipinos.

Are there signs of consumer life in the mall, or in eating places, or even on the streets?

We consulted three high-frequency data providers on mobility in the Philippines which would suggest some vacillation in business activity.

From October through Dec. 4, Google shows there was a sustained even if gradual rise in mobility. But between November and December, some dip was most noticeable, most probably on account of Typhoon Ulysses.

The same uptrend is shown as of Dec. 6 by Apple mobility trends. But the trend was very volatile though, with an upward bias but double dips between November and December.

As much was also reflected in the Waze mobility report in terms of the kilometers driven as of Dec. 5. Two sharp declines were also noted. But lower mobility was recorded for all the first five days of December.

We are afraid that what could tie up all these loose ends of business and consumer uncertainty in the run-up to 2021 and 2022 is only the strategic cooperation between Government and the private sector to vanquish COVID-19.

But if this portends things to come, Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin’s disclosure that “somebody dropped the ball” in our bid to secure Pfizer vaccines to be funded by the World Bank and ADB is not exactly reassuring.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

Merry Christmas. Time to cancel ‘cancel culture’

If ever there’s something in need of canceling it’s “cancel culture.” That pernicious attitude that whoever and whatever disagrees with your beliefs or perception of the world should not only be silenced but destroyed. It’s sheer fascism disguised behind saccharine pleas for equality and tolerance.

People suffering from this affliction come in many forms and it would be unfair to attribute it exclusively to the “woke generation.” Even in the supposedly mature world of academia and political commentary, there are people threatening others with destruction for simply having ideas contrary to theirs.

Which shows you that insanity can strike anywhere.

The “logic,” to use the word loosely, of these people is that fundamental rights, including freedom of expression (as well as religious and academic freedoms) are acceptable but not to the extent of protecting “hate speech” or “intolerance.” The problem with this asinine “thinking” is that the determination of what constitutes “hateful” or “intolerant” is purely up to them. Absent any discernible standard. Or regard for consistency.

Example: to discriminate against women is immoral (true) but — according to liberal progressives — so is discrimination against transgenders. Thus, when a male identifying himself as female in 2014 bashed a biological female MMA fighter to a bloody pulp, breaking the latter’s skull, such was considered a historic assertion of equality. Criticize that and you’re labeled intolerant and transphobic.

Another is today’s encouragement to defile Christianity. Nobody is allowed to criticize any minority, religion (no matter how violent), or ideology (no matter how confused or harmful). Christianity, however, must be exterminated. Argue against abortion or even just saying “merry Christmas” are considered acts of ignorant bigotry.

The inanity and insanity of cancel culture disregards the fact that freedom of expression is precisely there for ideas we disagree with. There’s no point to that right if every idea allowed expression are those we solely like. And the reason why opposing ideas need protection is that such constitute a fundamental pillar of any civilized modern, dynamic, and thriving society.

Or in one word: “criticism.” The ability to criticize government, ideas, religion, art, or each other. That is what made society develop, progress, and prosper. “Dissent, in primitive societies, was normally punishable by death. The upshot of this was that a society’s core body of knowledge and doctrine tended to remain almost static, especially if inscribed in writings that were regarded as holy. It was against this historical background that the pre-Socratic philosophers of ancient Greece introduced something wholly new and revolutionary: they institutionalized criticism. From Thales onwards each of them encouraged his pupils to discuss, debate, criticize — and to produce a better argument or theory if he could. Such, according to [Karl] Popper, were the historical beginnings of rationality and scientific method, and they were directly responsible for that galloping growth of human knowledge.” (Bryan Magee, Confessions of a philosopher)

However, society now is turning away from the ideal of competing ideas and focusing instead in ensuring that feelings (no matter how irrational) are not hurt. Mark Judge wrote presciently of this back in 2012 (“America has changed, but God hasn’t”), describing a country whose decline mirror ours: “The truth is that America is now a leftist country. It’s Rachel Maddow and Jeremiah Wright’s country. You know that divorced fortysomething female neighbor of yours? The one who’s not half as bright as she thinks she is, and doesn’t know much about Libya or the national debt, but watches Katie Couric’s new show and just kind of didn’t like Romney because she, well, just kind of didn’t like him? America is now her country. It’s Dingbatville.”

And to repeat, this obsession with feelings isn’t harmless. It is actually hypocritical, with the unspoken objective of ruthlessly shutting down any opposing thought. As Fr. Dwight Longenecker (“The dictatorship of sentimentality”) accurately describes it: “This sentimental ‘sadness’ is used all the time as a smokescreen for anger. You can tell because as soon as you’re thrown off kilter by the sentimentalism, the gloves come off and the true rage that was beneath the surface kicks in.”

Indeed, by shutting down rational discourse — that is, composed of facts, reason, and logic (as opposed to mere anecdotes and feelings) — it damages our community and each of us individually, preventing people from arriving at and appreciating truths, including the proper discernment and achievement of the common good.

Even the response to this “pandemic,” what with prolonged lockdowns, mandatory mask requirements, banning gatherings, closing schools — are all manifestations of a derangement built upon unrestrained narcissism, fear, and cancel culture.

Next year, 2021, must be devoted to re-establishing our way of life and freedoms. The value of country, of nationhood, of families, and of faith in God must be upheld. And we must absolutely reject any attempt to throw away our rights and freedoms.

With that, I wish you all A Merry Christmas and A Happy and Sane New Year.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

jemygatdula@yahoo.com

www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com

facebook.com/jemy.gatdula

Twitter @jemygatdula

Wishes

We have been living in a liminal space, a continuum for the past nine months. We are at the threshold between the familiar past and the unknown future. The uncertainty, anxiety, and fear have grown as the world experiences the pandemic and economic recession. It is like being in a World War but the enemy is unseen and deadly.

We salute and thank the heroes — the frontliners, doctors, nurses, medical teams and health workers, who have given their energy, time and have risked their lives to save others.

We count our blessings and release all worries and negativity.

This Christmas wish list is for the children who are trapped and confined during this global crisis.

1. A healthy, clean home with loving parents who will guide and teach kids spiritual and family values and good manners. That all children will be safe from domestic violence and all forms of abuse.

2. Good health.That all children in the urban and rural areas will have proper nourishment, medical and dental care, and protection from the virus. That the essential vaccines to combat diseases will be available to all children especially in the remote areas.

3. Food. That millions of kids will have adequate food, vegetables and vitamins to nourish them so that they can grow up to become productive and creative.

4. Clothes. That the children in marginalized sectors of our communities will have basic clothing and footwear.

5. A pollution-free environment with clean air, pure water, open fields and parks with trees and flowers. That they could have the freedom to enjoy and appreciate nature. That they would learn how to protect the seas, rivers, lakes and forests.

6. Quality education. Children are now required to stay home and learn online. They need good, dedicated, and caring teachers with updated learning modules for both public and private schools. The lack of daily social interaction is a challenge. It limits the development of the social skills of younger children who miss being with their teachers and classmates. Mobile libraries.

7. Reliable, stable internet service for connectivity and distance learning. Protection from predators and cyber bullies, cyber trafficking. There is so much danger in cyberspace that kids are victimized and exploited.

8. A comprehensive sports program for national and international competitions. That kids will learn the values of friendly competition and the art of winning and losing gracefully. While in quarantine, young athletes can continue to train and be supervised by their coaches.

9. A progressive national arts and culture program with virtual outreach concerts and projects to elevate the consciousness of the children and their parents.

10. A gender discrimination-free society that will encourage girls and boys to aspire to become leaders in their future professions. The resources and opportunities to fulfill their goals.

11. Education grants for scholarships (with living allowance) for deserving students.

12. Quality and balance programming on television with more educational shows. That producers and directors will not exploit the aspiring young performers.

13. An accelerated science and math and internet technology program to equip all future graduates with skills to compete in the international markets.

14. A stable economy. Jobs and livelihood programs so that parents can work and earn a living. That children can concentrate on their studies and not have to work.

15. A country with visionary national leaders who are hardworking, honest and who have wisdom, integrity and heart.

16. A safe, crime-free, drug-free, abuse-free environment. That all kids will be protected from the menace of incest, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. That the scourge of drugs and violence against children will dissipate.

17. That children will not be recruited and used as soldiers in areas of armed conflict.

18. Freedom of expression. The right to be themselves. That adults realize that children need respect and they are entitled to be heard. Open communication with parents and teachers and guidance counselors when needed.

19. Innocence. A happy childhood and the chance to enjoy being a child. Time to play, study and rest. Time to grow up — at his own pace — despite the current challenges.

We pray for spiritual grace, enlightenment, and protection, compassion, healing, forgiveness, and for world peace.

A Blessed Christmas to all!

 

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

Olympics-bound boxer Marcial a UD winner in professional debut

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

TOKYO Olympics-bound boxer Eumir Felix Marcial of the Philippines made it a winning professional debut as he defeated American Andrew Whitfield by unanimous decision (UD) in their four-round middleweight clash on Thursday (Manila time) in Los Angeles.

Part of his preparation for the rescheduled Olympic Games in 2021, Mr. Marcial, 25, did not disappoint in his first fight as a professional, holding his own and more on his way to the 40-36, 40-36, and 40-36 victory.

The Zamboanga native started the contest sizing up his opponent early on before picking it up as the opening round progressed to build some separation in landed punches.

He further elevated his game in the second round as he connected with head and body shots with more frequency, which took a toll on Mr. Whitfield.

The round ended with the American, also making his pro debut, nursing a swollen right eye.

Recognizing that his opponent had built some distance in points, Mr. Whitfield came out more aggressive to begin the third frame.

But the Filipino was up to the challenge and kept the gains of Mr. Whitfield to a minimum to stay comfortably ahead heading to the final round.

In the fourth and final round, Mr. Marcial spent much of the time fending off any upset from his opponent while, at the same time, adding more damage, including a solid shot to the body that had Mr. Whitfield cringing for a moment.

The final scorecard had Mr. Marcial (1-0) connecting 39% of his total punches (120-of-310) to Mr. Whitfield’s (3-2) 17% (46-of-273).

Mr. Marcial, who signed a professional deal with Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions in the middle of this year flew to the United States in October to train with famed Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach at the latter’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood with the end view of levelling up his training for the Olympics, while also beginning his journey as a professional.

MP Promotions has made it known that despite Mr. Marcial signing up with them as a professional, it is fully supportive of the boxer’s pursuit of Olympic glory, and is making sure the fighter fulfills his obligations to flag and country.

In the lead-up to the fight, MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons said if Mr. Marcial’s pro debut went well they would line up a couple of more fights to continue the fighter’s buildup for the Olympics.

Apart from Mr. Marcial, other Filipino athletes going to the Tokyo Games to date are pole-vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and boxer Nesthy Petecio.

The Marcial-Whitfield fight was part of a Premier Boxing Champions offering, which was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and broadcast over FS1.

Cignal TV, Smart formally sign five-year partnership with UAAP

For the first time in two decades, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) has chosen a new partner to broadcast its games. Cignal TV, the country’s #1 Pay TV provider, and one of the leading mobile services providers Smart Communications, Inc. have joined forces to shine the spotlight on the nation’s best student-athletes from the top collegiate sports league in the country.

 The partnership will run until 2026 and was sealed through a contract signing held with top executives from the said institutions: PLDT Chairman and President Manuel V. Pangilinan; President and CEO, Smart Communications, Inc. and Chief Revenue Officer, PLDT Group, Alfredo S. Panlilio; Smart Communications Inc. SVP/Head, Consumer Business – Wireless Jane J. Basas; Cignal TV and TV5 President and CEO Robert P. Galang; UAAP Board Of Trustees Chairman Brother Raymundo Suplido, FSC; UAAP President Emmanuel Calanog; UAAP Vice President Fr. Aldrin Suan; UAAP Treasurer and Chairman of the Negotiating Panel Edwin Reyes; and UAAP Executive Director Rebo Saguisag. Also present to witness the signing were members of the UAAP Board of Managing Directors.

As the official Philippine broadcast partner of the UAAP, Cignal TV will broadcast the games live via  One Sports on Free-To-Air Channel, while Smart will also stream the games live through an exclusive platform to be made available to all Smart prepaid and postpaid subscribers.

“Our joint venture with the UAAP goes beyond being an official broadcast partner. Together with providing a superior viewing experience for all sports fans nationwide, we have put in place plans to help further grow the league and its athletes — giving more depth to our partnership,” said Mr. Galang in a statement.

“We are confident that this undertaking will inspire and revitalize our countrymen who have such a deep affinity for sports. From the Cignal team, and the rest of the MVP group, it is with great pleasure that we welcome the UAAP, and we are extremely excited to begin our partnership,” he added.

“Our partnership with UAAP opens a lot of groundbreaking opportunities to further expand the digital footprint of the country’s biggest collegiate league while we leverage on the strength of our Smart LTE and 5G networks to give viewers an amazing mobile streaming experience. Through the power of digital technology, we hope to inspire more Filipino youth to discover and cultivate their passion for sports and strive for excellence,” Mr. Panlilio, for his part, said.

Outside of airing the games, Cignal and Smart have committed to continuously grow the league and its athletes’ popularity through various activities within the schools. These activities ensure that the partnership nurtures and engages not only the participating athletes but also the rest of the student body in each UAAP school. Coupled with a massive consumer base of loyal subscribers and nationwide touchpoints, Cignal TV and Smart provide the UAAP a partnership that truly goes beyond broadcast.

Mr. Suplido shared, “The partnership with Cignal TV and Smart will continue to bring the UAAP closer to the students and alumni of the member schools as well as the general public. We are grateful for this opportunity to showcase and highlight UAAP’s values, especially, promoting amateur sportsmanship and the well-rounded development of our student athletes, through the various platforms of Cignal TV and Smart.”

Last week, the UAAP announced that it would postpone the events scheduled for Season 83, considering the health and safety of the student athletes. Despite these challenges posed by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, the league, together with Cignal TV and Smart remain committed to bringing the UAAP back to its students, alumni and nationwide fan base at the earliest possible time.

Harden speaks, sheds little light on future with Rockets

AFTER reportedly looking for a way out of Houston and skipping the start of Rockets training camp, James Harden finally took questions from the media on Wednesday, while hardly clearing up what has become a sticky situation.

The eight-time All-Star finally took the court on Tuesday night for the first time under new Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. He had 12 points and four assists in 21 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs and said it felt good to be on the court again.

Whether or not he will continue to take the court for the team remains an unanswered question.

“Right now, I’m just focused on being here,” Harden said. “Today was good. Yesterday felt really good being out there for the first time since the bubble. I haven’t really had an opportunity to do a lot of five-on-five work. But for my first time being out there, I felt pretty good.”

As for his whereabouts during his early absence from training camp, Harden offered little details. He went to Las Vegas and posted pictures on social media, attending the birthday party of rapper Lil Baby in Atlanta.

“I was just training,” Harden said when asked if he was trying to make a point about being elsewhere at the start of camp.

And why were Atlanta and Las Vegas better locales than Houston?

“Just my personal trainers,” he said.

According to ESPN, Harden’s preferred trade destinations are to the Brooklyn Nets or Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets not only have a new coach, they traded superstar Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in an intriguing deal that brought back another superstar in guard John Wall.

It seems a long shot that Wall and Harden become the next tag-team duo in Houston, although Harden said Wednesday that he has not talked to new general manager Rafael Stone about the matter.

“Since I’ve been here, there’s nothing that’s been said about it,” said Harden, who did not arrive in Houston until Dec. 8, two days after training camp started. He did not set foot into camp until Monday once he was cleared to practice.

“Everybody in the locker room and the coaching staff has been focused on ramping up and preparing for the season,” Harden said. “So, that’s all that matters.”

It’s just that his trade request might hinder that focus. The Rockets won’t know who they will be this season until they get some type of closure on the subject.

“I can only focus on right now, and for me, the best James Harden is making sure I’m in shape,” Harden said. “Like I said, I hadn’t even had an opportunity to play five-on-five.

“Individual workouts, when you do individual basketball training, is great, but as every NBA player can agree, there’s nothing like five-on-five training, the physicality, making reads and things like that.”

In 11 NBA seasons, Harden has averaged 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 833 career games. He spent his first three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, after becoming the No. 3 overall selection in the 2009 draft.

Capturing his third straight scoring title, Harden averaged 34.3 points with 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists over 68 games last season. — Reuters

English Premier League: Liverpool goes clear at top, Everton beats Leicester

LONDON — Roberto Firmino’s 90th-minute header sent Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, whose 11-match unbeaten run came to an end on Wednesday.

Tottenham began the night ahead on goal difference and will rue some golden chances after the break, but Firmino’s goal sparked joy amongst the 2,000 fans allowed in at Anfield.

Theo Walcott scored against his old club for Southampton, who moved into third spot with a 1-1 draw at struggling Arsenal who, for the second match running, ended a game with 10 men.

Everton backed-up their weekend win over Chelsea to beat fourth-placed Leicester City 2-0 away and move into fifth spot.

Sebastien Haller’s stunning bicycle kick secured a 1-1 draw for West ham United at home to Crystal Palace for whom Christian Benteke scored and was later shown a red card.

Leeds United struck three times in the last 11 minutes to sink Newcastle United 5-2 at Elland Road.

Fulham edged out of the bottom three with a 0-0 draw at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.

All eyes were on Anfield though where Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham were to face the biggest test yet of their title credentials against Juergen Klopp’s champions.

A fascinating clash of styles ensued with Liverpool dominating possession, but Tottenham carving out enough chances to have ended Liverpool’s long unbeaten home run in the Premier League, which now extends to 66 matches.

Liverpool went ahead through Mohamed Salah’s deflected effort, but Tottenham levelled from their first attack when Son Heung-min raced on to Giovani Lo Celso’s through ball and drilled a shot past Alisson.

Tottenham offered more threat after the break and Steven Bergwijn burst through into the box, but his shot cannoned off the inside of the upright. Seconds later Harry Kane headed wide from a corner with the goal at his mercy.

The visitors paid dearly for their missed chances as Brazilian Firmino sent a bullet header past Hugo Lloris in the final minute of normal time.

Mourinho and Klopp had a lengthy discussion after the final whistle with the Spurs boss saying he told his Liverpool counterpart that the “better team did not win”.

“I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t,” Klopp said.

Arsenal snapped a run of four successive home league defeats as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cancelled out Walcott’s opener at the Emirates Stadium, but the hosts are now six matches without a league win and pressure is growing on manager Mikel Arteta.

He was not helped by a red card for Gabriel after he hauled down Walcott in the 62nd minute. “We showed some resilience and character to hang in there for so long against a really dangerous team,” said Arteta.

Everton have rediscovered the form that sent them to the top of the table earlier in the season.

Richarlison gave them a halftime lead and Mason Holgate doubled their advantage after the break.

“It’s been a good week. We’ve found consistency defensively and that was the reason for these two results,” Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said.

“The season is long, but at the moment, it’s good.”

Leeds and Newcastle were locked at 2-2 after 77 minutes but goals from Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski and a cracker from Jack Harrison secured the points for Marcelo Bielsa’s vibrant side. — Reuters

FIBA confident NBA’s best players will be at next year’s Tokyo Games

BERLIN — The NBA’s best players will feature at next year’s Tokyo Olympics even though the season could end just days before the Games get under way, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said on Wednesday.

The new National Basketball Association (NBA) season will start next week, on Dec. 22, with the regular season wrapping up on May 16 before the playoffs between May 22 and July 22.

The Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed by a year to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kick off on July 23, with the basketball preliminaries starting two days later.

“Looking at the late finish of the Orlando bubble (last season’s playoffs) and the following season, we had requested an in-depth discussion with the NBA and the NBA players association,” Mr. Zagklis said.

“We explained what the repercussions are on the Olympic qualifying tournaments and the Olympic Games,” he told a virtual round table.

He said the Olympic qualifying tournaments had been delayed by a week to late June following talks with the IOC to accommodate the late NBA season.

“I believe this means we will have at the Olympic qualifiers more than 85% of the NBA players available and all teams will have finished in time for the Games,” he said.

Since professional players were allowed to compete at the Olympics, beginning with the 1992 Games in Barcelona, the United States have won six out of seven gold medals with star-studded squads made up primarily of NBA players.

With more than 100 international players in the NBA, other countries also have concerns over availability for Olympic qualifiers and the Games themselves. — Reuters

Bucks have breathing room to grow

Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t want to wait until the end of the 2020-21 season to decide. He still had a year to go on his contract before becoming a free agent, and he could have used the time to exert maximum pressure on the Bucks. As the reigning National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year, he certainly had the power to hold his employers — and, yes, would-be suitors — hostage. Instead of wielding it just as other stars in the same position did, however, he made it irrelevant. He went with what he thought to be right. He went with his heart.

Considering the options Antetokounmpo had, the surprise — or to be more precise, shock — that greeted his decision to re-up with the Bucks was understandable. True, no other alternative provided him with maximum earning capacity. Only by signing a supermax extension to his existing deal would he have what he now stands to earn: $228 million through 2026. Then again, money has never been his primary motivation. As he indicated when he faced scribes yesterday, he considers Milwaukee to be his second home; it would have taken a lot for him to pack his bags. “The way that this city has supported me and my family has been amazing since Day One, since the day I walked in the Cousins Center gym and Bradley Center also. It’s been amazing. I was 18. I’m 26 right now. All I know is Milwaukee,” he said.

And because Antetokounmpo affixed his Hancock on the new deal, all Milwaukee will know is him for the foreseeable future. The development is exactly what the Bucks wanted to ensure by trading for erstwhile Pelican Jrue Holiday and risking censure by prematurely angling for erstwhile King Bogdan Bogdanovic. That the latter move was scuttled, instead caused sleepless nights and threatened to derail their best-laid plans. Fortunately, their foundational piece is just as unique off the court as on it, and found their commitment to him more than enough to deserve his to them.

Has the turn of events brought the Bucks closer to a championship this season? The answer is subject to speculation and debate. After all, he did lead them to the best regular season slate over the last two years, only to fail to go deep in the playoffs. That said, his reaffirmation of ties with them eases the pressure considerably. Instead of being hard-pressed in the near term to do far more than just cast moist eyes on the hardware, they now have breathing room to grow — with him and for him. A generational talent staying in a small market. Imagine that.

 

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.

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