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Dakak Golf Club ready for the world in 2020

THE most unique golf course in the world will be fully operational in the first quarter of 2020. This was revealed by Dakak Golf Club president Rick Gibson after numerous inquiries from interested clubs and tournament organizers.

“Due to unexpected rock formations located on hole No. 11, our previously planned Chairman’s Cup event slated for late November will move to a date near the end of the first quarter of 2020, with a final date to be announced at a later time,” said Gibson, a veteran Asian Tour winner, in a release.

“In this past weeks, the Habagat winds have been replaced by Amihan breezes and morning rain showers to help with our newly turfed areas on the ‘Ocean 9’ at Dakak Golf Club. The ‘Ocean 9’ has four holes available for play by our members, guests and staff and comments thus far include scenic and demanding!”

Started five years ago with Greg Norman as designer, the course’s front nine has been in play for over three years. Seven of Dakak’s front nine face the sea, and the entire course has a record stretch of ocean in play.

There are almost no man-made structures on the entire par 72 course, which is adjacent to the picturesque Dakak Beach Resort, a mere 20-minute drive from Dipolog Airport.

A newly renovated No. 5 fairway will reopen for the Nov. 23 Monthly Medal tournament. Selected Ocean 9 holes will be included as well.

Further improved drainage has been done on the ‘Hillside 9.’ A new maintenance program has been implemented, and additional maintenance equipment have been procured, and additional personnel have been hired to aid in the goal of making Dakak Golf Club become world-class golf experience within a world-class beach resort.

Donaire vs Inoue in Japan

FILIPINO BOXING champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, Jr. returns to the ring today to take on hometown bet Naoya “The Monster” Inoue in a high-stakes clash in Japan.

Happening at the Saitama Super Arena, Messrs. Donaire (40-5) and Inoue (18-0) will dispute the World Boxing Super Series Bantamweight title and the Muhammad Ali Trophy as well as battle for the Internationl Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association (Super) World Bantamweight Championships in a scheduled 12-rounder.

Mr. Donaire, 36, made his way to the finals of the WBSS by topping British Ryan Burnett (technical knockout) and American Stephon Young (knockout) in impressive fashion in the earlier rounds of the series.

It has been an impressive bounce back for the veteran fighter, who prior to the back-to-back wins, absorbed two losses out of three fights.

Mr. Donaire acknowledged that he is in for a tough fight against the undefeated Inoue, who has willed his way to being among the top fighters in the world in just 26 years of age.

But the Filipino champion is not allowing himself to be consumed by such thoughts, and instead used it as motivation heading into the fight even as he said that he is giving his all come fight day.

Mr. Inoue, for his part, has won his 16 of his total 18 fights by way of knockout, including the last two against Juan Carlos Payano of the Dominican Republic and Emmanuel Rodriguez of Puerto Rico to earn his spot in the WBSS finals.

Mr. Inoue has made it known that he idolizes his Filipino opponent but is nonetheless is determined to bring Mr. Donaire down in his home turf. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Citi shores up support for Paralympic movement

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FURTHER underscoring its commitment to championing inclusion in sports, and society in general, Citi Philippines recently unveiled a marketing campaign supporting the country’s para-athletes seeing action in next year’s ASEAN Para Games happening here.

Paralympic power lifter Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta and wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan have been named as part of “Team Citi” — a diverse group of 41 Paralympic athletes from around the world, competing in 13 sports.

Ms. Dumapong-Ancheta and Mr. Mangliwan will be supported by Citi as they compete at the ASEAN Para Games from Jan. 15 to 20, 2020 at New Clark City in Tarlac, just as they serve as ambassadors of the company in its efforts to foster a more diverse, inclusive society and help change perceptions of persons with disabilities.

“Adeline and Jerrold are the embodiment of strength and courage in the face of adversity and are great ambassadors for Paralympic spot. We are deeply honored to have them as part of Team Citi. Together, we will increase awareness of Para sports and the need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in our society,” said Citi Philippines Chief Executive Officer Aftab Ahmed during the launch of their marketing campaign on Monday at the 7107 Culture + Cuisine Restaurant at Treston International College, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig.

For the campaign, the athletes’ images with the message “Greatness deserves attention” will be shown on Citi’s digital billboards and social media channels in the weeks leading up to the ASEAN Para Games.

Seeing the support that Citi is giving, Ms. Dumapong-Ancheta, long the face of the Paralympic movement in the country, said they are very thankful for the attention given to them while also expressing hope that more people get to pick up the cause towards widespread inclusiveness.

“This is a truly inspiring moment. When I started in this sport I didn’t dream of these opportunities. I am honored to be part of an elite group of para-athletes promoting the vision of a society that is inclusive of all. I am hopeful that together we can grow the reach of the Para sports and change mindsets about what disability means,” said Ms. Dumapong-Ancheta at the launch.

Ms. Dumapong-Ancheta won a bronze in her Paralympic debut in 2000 in Sydney and has won multiple medals since in various international competitions, including the Asian Games and ASEAN Para Games.

She is a prime mover for the local Paralympic movement which has gained a lot of headway in the last decade.

Citi partnered with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in December last year.

Since then it has been actively participating in many activities, and organizing its own, including here in the Philippines with the first “Lakad Para Atleta” in June in support of para-athletes.

Next generation

FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019
Douglas, Isle of Man
October 10–21, 2019

Final Top Standings (All are GM)

1–2. Wang Hao CHN 2726, Fabiano Caruana USA 2812, 8.0/11

3–8. Kirill Alekseenko RUS 2674, Levon Aronian ARM 2758, David Anton Guijarro ESP 2674, Magnus Carlsen NOR 2876, Hikaru Nakamura USA 2745, Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2732, 7.5/11

Total of 154 participants: 133 GM, two WGM, 16 International Master.

Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, followed by 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

Jeffery Xiong is one of the new heroes of American chess. In September 2015, at the age of 14, he was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). He followed this up by winning the US Junior Championship the following year. In September, Xiong played in the FIDE World Cup. Although he was seeded no. 31st he made it to the quarter-finals (final 8) by upsetting Anish Giri and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

So how did he do in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament? The bare score is three wins, one loss and seven draws for 6.5/11, which landed him in 32nd place — in other words not so good. As I expected his opponents adjusted to his new status as a legitimate 2700+ player and no longer tried to wipe him off the board – they would now play solidly and accept the draw willingly if the resulting middle game positions are equal — something they would normally play on against a young upstart who should be beaten and his points taken away.

This means it is now harder for Jeffery Xiong to play for a win as his opponents are already wary of him. Anyway I am sure this is only a temporary setback and once Xiong makes his own internal adjustments the successes will start coming in again.

During the World Cup Jeffery sought to always complicate the positions where he hoped to outplay his opponents. Here in the Grand Swiss he faced India’s Baskaran Adhiban in the second round, a tactical monster who quite cleanly out-calculated him in an Open Spanish.

Xiong, Jeffery (2708) — Adhiban, Baskaran (2639) [C82]
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss Douglas ENG (2.9), 11.10.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Bc5 10.Qd3

Going into the Dilworth Variation with 10.Nbd2 0–0 11.Bc2 Nxf2 12.Rxf2 f6 is something that Adhiban might have planned. Theoretically white should be better but in practice Black gets an attack and a lot of swindling chances. Xiong prefers to be the one to do the attacking.

10…0–0 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 f5

In the Open Spanish Black usually has a weakness on c5 and to address that Black players usually go for 12…Ne7 13.Nbd2 Nf5 14.Qe2 (14.Qf4 g5 15.Qg4 Nfg3 loses the queen) 14…Nxd2 15.Qxd2 c5 and Black is ok.

13.exf6 Qxf6 14.Nbd2 Nxd2 15.Qxd2

Black still has a weakness on c5 but in exchange for that his pieces are actively placed. This is exactly Adhiban’s type of position.

15…Kh8 16.Rfe1

[16.Bxd5? Rad8]

16…Rad8 17.Nd4 Bg8 18.Bc2 Ne5 19.b4

Fixes the weakness on c5 but now Black gets the c4–square. I would say that Black gets the better deal.

19…Nc4 20.Qe2 a5! 21.Qf3

[21.a3 gives Black the chance for 21…Nxa3! 22.Rxa3 axb4 23.Ra7 (23.cxb4? Qxd4 Black is clearly better) 23…Rde8 24.Qf1 bxc3 25.Nxb5 c5 Black’s pawns on the queenside are looking very dangerous]

21…Qb6! 22.Qg3? <D>

POSITION AFTER 22.QG3

Losing — White had to play 22.bxa5! Nxa5 first before 23.Qg3 you will soon see why.

22…axb4 23.Nf5 Qf6 24.cxb4 d4

Next Black intends …Nb2 followed by …d4–d3.

25.Ne7 Be6 26.Nc6 Rd6 27.Na5 Bf5!

After the bishops are exchanged the Black passed pawn on d4 gets even more dangerous.

28.Bxf5 Qxf5 29.Nb3 d3 30.Rad1 d2 31.Re7?

Loses quicker. Going passive though with 31.Rf1 Re8 does not give any real chances to survive. Black will go Qf5–d5 and Rd6–g6 to force the exchange of queens, then the second player will move against White’s weak pawns. Boring technique, but a full point nevertheless.

31…Rg6! 32.Nd4 Qf6 33.Re6 Qxd4 34.Rxg6 Qe4! Attacking the g6 rook and also threatening …Qe1+ and mate. White resigns. 0–1

Let’s now look at some young talents from India. I had already introduced you to Grandmaster Nihal Sarin last Tuesday. He has a nice easy style which shows great talent.

Nihal, Sarin (2610) — Zatonskih, Anna (2422) [D58]
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss (5.66), 14.10.2019

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.e3

The main line goes 7…0-0 8.Rc1 c6 9.Bd3 Nd7. Zatonskih (the wife of GM Daniel Fridman and a strong International Master in her own right — she is a 4-time US Women’s Champion) knew this, of course. She pondered for some time over this position before playing 7…b6. Probably just wanted to try something new.

7…b6 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.0–0–0 0–0 11.Kb1

White now has the standard attack h2–h4, g2–g4, g4–g5, etc.

11…Nd7 12.h4 c5 13.g4 cxd4 14.exd4 Be7 15.g5 h5 16.Bh3 g6 17.Rhe1 Re8 18.Bxd7 Qxd7 19.Ne5 Qe6 20.Nb5 Bd8

[20…Rac8 21.Nc7 Qd6 22.Nxe8 Rxc2 23.Nxd6 wins material for White]

21.Nxf7! Qxe1

[21…Qxf7 22.Nd6 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Qg7 24.Re6 is winning]

22.Qxg6+ Kf8 23.Qh6+ Kg8

[23…Kxf7 24.Nd6+ Kg8 (24…Ke7 25.Rxe1+) 25.Qg6+ Kh8 26.Nf7#]

24.Qh8+ Kxf7 25.Nd6+ 1–0

Aside from GM Nihal Sarin there is also Praggnanandhaa (born Aug. 10, 2005 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu), the youngest International Master in history (10 years 10 months and 19 days) and fourth youngest person to achieve the title of International Grandmaster. Another Indian talent who is making waves is Gukesh (born May 29, 2006 also in Chennai, Tamil Nadu). He is the second youngest ever to achieve the title of International Grandmaster at 12 years seven months and 17 days.

The last two named players above are from Tamil Nadu — they are Tamils. As you know, Tamils do not have a concept of “family name.” The first part of their name is a patronymic. Pragg’s full name is Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. His given name is Praggnanandhaa and his father’s name is Rameshbabu. Similarly Dommaraju Gukesh’s given name is Gukesh while Dommaraju is his father’s name.

Gukesh is currently rated 2544 but his play is steadily improving and I will not be surprised to see his rating go up to 2600+ by 2nd quarter next year.

Gukesh D. (2520) — Houska, Jovanka (2430) [B12]
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss (6.67), 15.10.2019

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0–0 c5 7.Na3!?

The 1st Indian prodigy was Mir Sultan Khan, someone who relied on native talent alone with no book knowledge, went to England in 1929, became one of the world’s top players including beating Capablanca, won the British championship three times and represented England on top board in three olympiads. This was a long time ago. Nowadays the child prodigies coming out of India are always well schooled in opening theory. Jovanka Houska has written a well-received book on the Caro-Kann but this does not stop Gukesh from challenging her in a forcing line.

7…Nec6 8.c4 Be4

Both 8…cxd4 and 8…dxc4 are considered very playable. The text move is not so popular but Jovi probably wanted to try out an idea.

9.Nb5 Nd7 10.Bg5 Qb8?

It is better to put the queen on b6. If now White continues as in the game 10…Qb6! 11.Rc1 dxc4 12.Nd2 Bd5 13.Bxc4 cxd4 14.Qh5 (White cannot play 14.Bxd5 because with the queen on b6 Black can reply 14…Qxb5! and the worst is over for Black) 14…Bb4 15.Bxd5 exd5 16.e6 0–0 17.exd7 Bxd2 18.Bxd2 Qxb5= with chances for both sides.

11.Rc1 dxc4 12.Nd2! Bd5 13.Bxc4 a6

[13…cxd4 14.Bxd5 (take note of my comment in the previous variation on move 14. With Black’s queen on b8 white is winning) 14…exd5 15.Re1 Bb4 16.Nd6+ Bxd6 (16…Kf8 17.Nxf7!) 17.exd6+ Kf8 18.Be7+ Kg8 19.Nb3 White has a winning attack]

14.Nd6+ Bxd6 15.Bxd5 exd5 16.exd6 Nxd4

[16…Qxd6 17.Re1+ Kf8 18.dxc5 Qc7 (18…Nxc5 19.Nc4! white penetrates 19…Qc7 20.Ne3 Ne6 21.Nxd5 Qd6 22.Qb3 Nxg5 23.Qxb7 Rb8 24.Rxc6!) 19.Nf3 h6 20.Bh4 Kg8 21.Qxd5 White is a pawn up and completely dominating the position]

17.Re1+ Kf8

[17…Ne6 18.Be7 Qc8 19.Qh5 g6 (otherwise Rxe6) 20.Qxd5 Qc6 21.Qb3 Qb6 22.Qc3 Rg8 23.Qh3 Qxb2 24.Nc4 Qg7 25.Bg5 White threatens Rxe6+. Black’s position is lost — if he tries to avoid the rook sac on e6, say with 25…Kf8, then 26.Bh6 wins his queen]

18.Nf3 Qxd6 19.Be7+ Qxe7 20.Rxe7 Kxe7 21.Nxd4 cxd4 22.Qxd4 Rhc8 23.Re1+ Kf8 24.Qxd5 Nc5 25.b4 Ne6 26.Qxb7 Rcb8 27.Qe4 a5 28.bxa5 Rxa5 29.Qxh7 Rb4 30.Qh8+ Ke7 31.Qxg7 1–0

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Lakers’ reserves

For a while there, the Bulls looked like legitimate contenders. Despite sporting anemic advanced numbers and claiming just two victories through seven games to start the season, they managed to outperform the vaunted Lakers for much — make that most — of the first three quarters of yesterday’s match. Playing inspired ball from opening tip, they had the overflow crowd at the United Center engaged and primed for an upset. They were making shots and, more importantly, acting like ungracious hosts to keep the visitors, and especially hometown hero Anthony Davis, at bay.

And then reality struck. The Lakers happened, albeit not in the way casual observers would have expected a typical comeback to be forged. Down 13 with 12 minutes left, they found themselves relying on their supposedly questionable bench to take the measure of the Bulls. With Davis, fellow All-Star LeBron James, and the rest of the starting unit in the sidelines, they used the first three minutes and seven seconds of the payoff period to put together a remarkable 14-point run. They weren’t perfect, but they got the job done, sharing the ball to post five dimes on their six baskets while pressuring the competition to commit three misses and two turnovers.

That Lakers head coach Frank Vogel would stick to his rotation and rely on a five composed of Dwight Howard, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, and Troy Daniels to start the final quarter despite the sizable deficit speaks volumes of his trust in both his charges and the process itself. He’s still feeling out his lineup, and not because the 2019–20 campaign is just a little over a tenth gone; among other things, early revelation Avery Bradley and rotation regular Rajon Rondo were out due to injury. At the same time, it bears noting that he has the luxury of patience given the presence of Davis and James.

When the battlesmoke cleared, the Lakers left what Davis deems the Mecca of pro hoops with a sixth straight triumph in their pockets. He didn’t have a good game by any means, but at least he finished strong. James was again outstanding in coming up with a third consecutive triple-double, although the game ball goes to the reserves. Yesterday, they bailed the purple and gold out of a potentially embarrassing outcome. Little wonder, then, that Vogel was beaming in the aftermath. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, but he knows the future is bright.

 

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.

Stocks sink on cautiousness ahead of GDP data

LOCAL SHARES took a nosedive on Wednesday as investors went on a selling spree ahead of the announcement of third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data on Thursday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gave up 190.80 points or 2.32% to close at 8,025.88, as the broader all-shares index lost 83.01 points or 1.69% to 4,804.36.

“[T]he main index was the worst performer in Asia, by far, wiping out all of yesterday’s advances and even taking back some of Monday’s gains,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail Wednesday.

“We have just witnessed the massive selling pressure that always came as the PSEi got above 8,000. Perhaps investors are anticipating lower than expected GDP numbers and nobody wants to be left holding the bag,” he added.

The government is set to release third-quarter economic growth data on Thursday, which economists are expecting to reflect a recovery due to the increased household consumption and state spending during the period, based on a poll by BusinessWorld last week.

The poll of 13 economists on the third-quarter GDP showed a median estimate of 6%, improving from second quarter’s 5.5% and first quarter’s 5.6%.

But investors seem worried about the announcement. Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Jervin S. de Celis said the selling of shares in blue-chip stocks yesterday primarily caused the downfall of the PSEi.

“The PSEi succumbed to a profit taking today as heavy selling of shares in index heavyweights such as ALI, SM, SMPH, AC (Ayala Land, Inc.; SM Investments Corp.; SM Prime Holdings, Inc.; and Ayala Corp.) dragged the index. Investors may have taken some profits a day ahead of the GDP and MSCI index announcement,” he said in a text message on Wednesday.

Shares in ALI, SM, SMPH and AC declined by 4.08%, 3.12%, 4.43% and 1.71% yesterday, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended in the red. Property fell 154.98 points or 3.62% to 4,119.20; holding firms dropped 190.45 points or 2.34% to 7,922.14; financials shed 28.75 points or 1.46% to 1,935.76; industrials declined 120.56 points or 1.13% to 10,503.14; services decreased 7.84 points or 0.5% to 1,547.16; and mining and oil slid 27.63 points or 0.3% to 9,134.71.

Value turnover dropped to P5.89 billion from Tuesday’s P9.55 billion, with 595.80 million issues changing hands.

More stocks declined than advanced yesterday, 109 against 74, while 49 names were unchanged.

Foreign investors turned bearish after six straight days of optimism, as the local bourse saw a net selling of P975.03 million on Wednesday, a reversal of the P1.22 billion in net purchases seen the previous day.

“If the 8,000 key level does not hold in the next few days, all bets are off and the rally is over,” Mr. Mangun of AAA Southeast Equities said. — Denise A. Valdez

Peso weakens against the dollar on US non-manufacturing data

THE PESO weakened against the dollar on Wednesday following its rally amid better-than-expected US data reported late Tuesday.

The local unit finished trading at P50.61 against the greenback on Wednesday, depreciating by 20 centavos from the P50.41-to-a-dollar close on Tuesday.

The peso started the trading session at P50.55 versus the dollar. Its weakest point for the day was at P50.70, while its intraday best was at P50.45 against the greenback.

Dollars traded on Wednesday slipped to $1.112 billion from $1.188 billion recorded on Tuesday.

One trader said that the peso’s weakness after days of dominance against the dollar was due to strong US data released on Tuesday night.

“The greenback regained its ground against the peso with the better US ISM (Institute for Supply Management) as it recovered from a contraction and even went beyond the 50-level forecast. It turned around and it was a pleasant surprise for the market,” a trader said in a phone call.

Another trader echoed this sentiment, but maintained that risk-on sentiment is still present in the market, which could support the local unit.

“Dollar got stronger across the board after the US ISM non-manufacturing data bounced back after a three-year low. The market had a mixed reaction so trading was sideways as there was buying and selling,” another trader said by phone.

A survey on the vast US service sector published on Tuesday showed that business sentiment had improved in October from a three-year low in September.

The US ISM non-manufacturing sector index rose to 54.7 from 52.6 in September, beating market expectations.

The rebound is a welcome sign for dollar bulls as a fall in the index would have suggested that malaise in trade war-hit manufacturers was infecting the service sector, too.

The data came after strong a US employment report on Friday.

For today, the first trader forecasts a trading range of P50.55-50.80 against the dollar, while the second trader said the local unit could move around the P50.40-50.70 band.

Most emerging Asian currencies eased on Wednesday with the Thai baht dropping ahead of a central bank policy rate decision, while the Chinese yuan firmed below 7 per dollar after the People’s Bank of China fixed the daily midpoint at its strongest level for three months.

Regional markets tested gains made earlier in the week as investors awaited concrete details from the Sino-US trade front, with a report suggesting that the United States was considering certain tariff concessions on China.

China is also insisting that the United States remove tariffs imposed in September as a part of the “phase one” trade deal, which is expected to be signed this month at a yet-to-be-determined location.

“Market sentiment has turned a bit more tentative on latest trade war news,” OCBC said in a note to clients, adding that if Chinese insistence for concessions represented a “hardened stance,” then the chances of a deal were less likely than markets expected.

The Indonesian rupiah dipped 0.25%, with the currency holding at a level of about 14,000 a dollar.

Bucking the trend, the Chinese yuan rose about 0.13% after the People’s Bank of China set its yuan midpoint at a three-month high. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

I was asked to dance

“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.” I first heard this tagline during our company’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) campaign. I am blessed to be a part of an organization that highly values respect for people. As a matter of fact, respect for people is one of our company’s core values and I am proud to share that respect has been embedded in our culture. My first-hand experience of “being invited to the party” was when I was nominated to be a part of a project composed of mostly Western and Middle Eastern employees. I knew I was “asked to dance” when I was given the role to lead a critical part of the project. I felt included and valued throughout the project and even after its completion as I knew that my inputs were appreciated.

Based on my experience, diversity is simply being there while inclusion is feeling that you are indeed there. On a general note, I think inclusion should not only be in the wish-list of an organization but rather should be in the must-have list. Studies have shown that it takes more than a hefty paycheck to make an employee stay in a company. Some of those factors are the company’s environment and culture.

Do managers really understand the importance of an inclusive culture to its employees? I like to believe that the current generation is shying away from biases. But looking closer, individuals compose the organization and the unconscious biases of these individuals can contribute dangerously to the shaping of the corporate culture. Harvard’s Implicit Association Test (IAT) which aims to help people identify their unconscious biases showed that 80% of the people who have taken the test prefer younger people over old ones and 75% of them prefer white people over minorities. These unconscious biases can manifest through micro-inequities when one excludes those viewed as outside the “in-group.”

Imagine if you are the one who is being excluded. How would that make you feel? This is where an organization’s culture come into play. Companies need to take measures to spread awareness of D&I and ensure that this mindset is inculcated among staff.

Diversity and inclusion consultant Verns Myers shared that embracing inclusion requires “the institution’s ability to fully integrate its understanding of and appreciation for the diverse cultures and backgrounds of its employees.” I am proud to share that our company goes the extra mile to understand its people. The People Survey is conducted annually to hear the staff’s feedback. The survey includes a portion on D&I where staff can express their sentiments and insights and provide suggestions on how to improve the workplace atmosphere. The results of the survey are reviewed and included in the strategic planning of the management team. The survey can also serve as a handrail for supervisors on a team-level and can pave the way to deepen the conversation within the team members to address any D&I issues and to further promote D&I. Additionally, there are HR policies in place against D&I violations, D&I campaigns, such as road shows and symposiums, are hosted annually, and platforms such as town halls and e-mail blasts are available for employee appreciation.

More often than not, people are hesitant to raise their hands and admit that they feel excluded. To empower employees, our organization has implemented the “fruit ninja” by encouraging staff to say “banana” if they feel excluded in any way or “pineapple” if they feel offended by a colleague. This serves as a subtle reminder to the employees to respect colleagues and has thus far proven to be effective in our organization.

Yes, we have come a long way towards having a truly diverse workplace but we are not there yet and there are still opportunities. I have shared some of our practices and I hope that they can serve as a handrail for your organization with you as the change agent. Gandhi once said, “be the change you want to see in the world.” Intervening on someone’s behalf can go a long way. Something as simple as not laughing at offensive jokes can improve relationships. Do not single out people and be an ally.

Have you been asked to dance? Have you invited others to dance?

 

Marcelle Galera is an MBA student at De La Salle University’s Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay was written as part of the requirement in her Strategic Human Resource Management class.

marcelle_josephine_galera@dlsu.edu.ph

Inflation and electricity prices

The good news about Philippines inflation is that we have declining rates, only 0.9% in September and 0.8% in October 2019. The bad news is that after being the inflation valedictorian in 2018, taking the gold medal at 5.2% (silver was Vietnam, bronze Indonesia), the country still has the third highest inflation rate year to date (ytd), January to September/October 2019 (see Table 1).

The main culprit is the “expensive energy is beautiful” policy under the TRAIN law, with the oil excise tax rising yearly from 2018-2020, total of P6/liter. Since the VAT also applies to the excise tax, the effective increase by January 2020 will be P7.20/liter. The coal excise tax also rising from P10/ton in 2017 to P150/ton by 2020.

What mitigated the continued price pressure was rice tariffication — rice and food price indices declined in recent months and hence, it is a good policy. It is the “expensive energy is beautiful” policy that is anti-poor, anti-farmer, anti-fisherfolk as farming and fishing now are becoming more mechanized and hence use lots of oil that contribute to higher agriculture and fishery productivity.

Aside from agriculture, fishery, and transportation, higher oil taxes also caused higher electricity prices in many islands, including big ones like Mindoro and Palawan, that are served only by big gensets running on diesel, from NPC-SPUG, and private generators. The people in these provinces and islands should pay P15-25/kWh in generation charge alone, but they only pay below P10/kWh and the balance is passed on to all consumers in the country via the higher universal charge in our monthly electricity bill.

That universal charge, along with eight other charges (generation, transmission, distribution, supply, system loss…) plus subsidies to renewables (FIT-All) and taxes make the Philippines’ electricity prices reach about P10/kWh, the 3rd highest in Asia after Japan and Singapore (see Table 2).

Note that countries with the highest electricity prices in the world — Germany and Denmark — are also those with the highest concentration of wind-solar, variable renewables that are intermittent, unstable, and unreliable, dependent on the weather for power supply and dependent on state subsidies to become “economically viable.”

During the ASEP-CELLs project launch at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City last week, Senior Technical Advisor Dr. Josef Yap showed data on comparative electricity prices among eight Asian countries from 2010-2017. His source, EnerData, showed that the Philippines has 2nd highest prices of around 18 US cents/kWh in 2017, next to Japan’s 23 cents/kWh.

Now we read reports this week of “more than 11,000 scientists worldwide warning of a climate emergency” and that the world “must replace fossil fuels with low-carbon renewables.”

This is just another alarmist paper as the UN FCCC meeting is approaching, mid-December in Madrid, Spain.

Now consider the Petition Project (www.petitionproject.org) signed by 31,487 American scientists and academics, 9,029 of whom have PhDs, explicitly declaring: “There is no convincing evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environment of the Earth.”

See the result of climate and energy alarmism — Germany having the highest electricity prices in the world, got 24.3% of its total electricity generation in 2018 from wind-solar. In contrast, Malaysia and Vietnam got only 0.3% and 0.2% respectively from wind-solar and they have among the cheapest electricity prices in the world, only 1/6 of prices in Germany.

More energy issues and data will be discussed in The Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP) conference on Nov. 21 at the Marriot Hotel Manila. One of the three focus sectors to be discussed in the afternoon session is power and electricity.

We need climate and energy realism, not alarmism. We need less politics, coercion, and legislation in power generation and pricing of commodities, especially energy sources.

 

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

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Covering tycoons in media

By Tony Samson

TV interviews of businessmen used to be drab. The set was dull, a gray background with the program title: None of your Business. Only the red necktie of the interviewee splashed color to the scene. The two talking heads cover such topics as GDP, fire insurance options, talent retention programs, and the cost of lost productivity from traffic, given various assumptions — Are you riding in an ambulance?

Business shows have switched gears and taken a page from glossy magazines (now mostly online) with their soft coverage of beauty queens, feuding sisters, and celebrity chefs. CEOs and tycoons have become media subjects getting a more casual treatment.

It may have been the annual listing of the 10 richest tycoons (or a list of the Top 1,000 taxpayers) that turned wealth into a celebrity game although they always have been, but now with more details.

CEOs, who don’t own the companies they head and cannot be classified as tycoons, also get their celebrity turn, usually through concerted PR efforts on their birthdays or company anniversaries. They are known by their initials, like IOU.

The sheer size of a business empire elevates its high-profile executives. Corporate metrics like revenues, market cap, profits, and net worth are disregarded because they’re too hard to follow. (Try saying EBITDA) They are also volatile and not always disclosed. It’s enough for a company to be described as among the biggest for its CEO to be accorded celebrity status when introduced as a wedding sponsor — he is the owner of the nationwide tire vulcanizing chain, “U Blew It.”

One determinant of fame is visual ubiquity. A business with many branches in different parts of the country qualifies, especially when it has a distinctive logo, like a bumble bee. Thus, owners of food chains, motel networks, or a line of apparel featured in big billboards become more of celebrities than an investment banker or the CEO of a tech company — we are in the Internet of Things (IOT). That’s interesting, Sir.

Maybe because business achievements like tripling of shareholder value are too abstract for the celebrity hounds to appreciate, it’s what the CEO can buy, whether companies or private jets, that seems to impress.

Interviews of CEOs now tend to be lifestyle-oriented and shot “on location”: the plush boardroom adorned with expensive art works, the executive gym, and the helipad are juxtaposed with towering buildings under construction and a ride in a helicopter. These are all video-taped with the chug of the propellers in the background — Is that a man-made lake down there?

Hobbies need to be unusual. (Reading Victor Hugo in French is dismissed as pretentious.) The obsession is not limited to collecting big sculptures just outside the lobby of the head office or joining triathlons, or training for one. Causes and advocacies are also declared. Prevention of child abuse, protecting an endangered species (old employees), promoting safe sex (no video needed), and turning rivers into additional transport hubs. These now define the CEO — What legacy would you like to leave?

The business scenarios of the executive conducting a meeting (at the head of a table and doing hand signals as his minions take notes) or gazing out the window looking for a cumulus formation have nothing to do with success in business. The leader may mention his management style of accessibility (My office is always open… though I’m not always there), and the introduction of a paperless culture — except in the genderless toilets.

Still, there are news segments, especially in business channels, that do away with the lifestyle questions and jump right into numbers — Your cash flow has been shrinking in the last three quarters, can you still maintain your dividend rate? However, the background is livelier — pie charts, outside scenes of pedestrians rushing to Starbucks, and the trading floor.

The CEO doing the Zumba in the gym works well for a female subject. Pole dancing is usually reserved for movie celebs.

The “day-in-the-life” portrait of the CEO now favored in TV features goes for the soft side of business. Still, the rule on high media profiles still holds: “The more celebrated the executive, the less sterling the numbers become.”

Of course, anonymity does not also imply wealth. It just means nobody knows who you are… which is not bad.

 

Tony Samson is Chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Will Christine Lagarde do ‘whatever it takes’ to save the Earth?

By Ferdinando Giugliano

FOR THE past decade, politicians in the rich world have relied too much on central banks to solve their problems of weak growth and high unemployment. They may be about to do the same with climate change.

Central bankers have started to make their voices heard on the threat of carbon emissions. From worries about how financial institutions might withstand climate shocks to analysis of how global warming will affect national economies, it certainly makes sense to look at what role there is for regulators and monetary policymakers.

But they should be careful about roaming too far beyond their guiding objectives. Privileging “green” assets, for example, would put them squarely at the center of a political debate. It’s up to politicians to lead the fight for the environment as they have the democratic mandate to reward or punish certain sectors through investment, regulation, and tax policy.

In fairness, the Bank of England’s Mark Carney deserves credit for insisting that bank governors can’t ignore the environmental problem. In a speech in 2015 he spoke about the “tragedy of the horizon,” whereby climate change will only become an issue for central banks when it’s too late. He said supervisors should scrutinize bank balance sheets to make sure they’re ready to withstand climate-related shocks such as a backlash against fossil fuels. The BoE plans to test the UK financial system for climate resilience, a welcome addition to its other stress tests.

Benoit Coeure of the European Central Bank (ECB) has also done useful work on how climate shocks might affect inflation because of the impact on things like crops and transport. Then there are second-order effects such as mass migration and how that would play into the labor market.

While such analysis is helpful, central bankers are on dodgier terrain when they try to set climate-friendly policies. The actions of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England (BoE) and others are bound by precise mandates, confining their actions to certain tasks such as preserving price stability. This helps technocrats defend themselves against accusations of their acting in undemocratic ways. Given the backlash against experts, it’s a vital protection.

So central bankers should be wary of expanding their mission, as Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann warned last week. “A monetary policy which pursues explicitly environmental policy objectives is at risk of being overburdened,” he said. “And in the long run, the central bank’s independence might be called into question.”

Weidmann was talking about central banks engaging in “green quantitative easing” by skewing bond purchase schemes toward climate-friendly assets. And he’s right that this idea runs contrary to the principle that central bank’s should try to minimize their distortions of financial markets. As long as a central bank’s mandate is preserving price stability, the purpose of quantitative easing should be lifting inflation — not favoring certain types of company over others.

Similarly in financial regulation there are calls for central banks to water down their risk assessments on “green assets” to encourage lenders. Yet the prime objective for supervisors is to constrain a bank’s (and the financial system’s) overall riskiness. The peril is that banks stop properly scrutinizing green projects, causing bubbles and instability.

The fight against climate change has to start with politicians. They must force companies and consumers to pay higher prices for pollution, for example via carbon taxes. They must decide whether to give incentives to finance firms to load up on “green” assets via more favorable regulation. In extremis, they must also decide whether they want to change the mandate of central banks to include climate change.

The alternative is what we have seen so often since the banking and sovereign debt crises: Politicians leaving it to central banks to solve politically difficult problems. This habit has already put the ECB and its ilk under enormous pressure. Another burden would be too much.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Inequality isn’t always a bad thing

By Mark Buchanan

IN RECENT DECADES, economic inequality in the US and other developed nations has hit levels not seen since the 1920s. Such inequality exacerbates social problems, amplifying health issues among the poor, reducing economic mobility and weakening democracy, research tells us. Inequality even eats away at basic human cooperation, undermining the trust that supports social life.

But some of this research has been rather unrealistic — assuming, for example, that people are identical in all respects aside from wealth. In reality, people differ in many ways, including in productivity and in ability to contribute to a group’s goals. How might these characteristics affect the interplay of inequality and cooperation? Recent experiments find some surprises. Yes, too much inequality is socially corrosive. Yet too little can also be a problem: When some people are more productive for the benefit of the group than others, moderate inequality can actually help further cooperation.

Importantly, however, this is true only if those who get more also produce more for the public good. Poor alignment between rewards and contributions is socially costly, too. Cooperation is perhaps the singular skill that sets humans apart from other species, and these experiments suggest that how it works isn’t simple. Inequality isn’t always bad. Nor is it, as right-leaning economists sometimes argue, something we just shouldn’t worry about.

One approach to studying inequality and cooperation is to set up a simple game in which individuals freely choose how much money to contribute to a public fund. As the rounds progress, they can potentially get back more if many others also contribute. Hence, all have an incentive to cheat, but do best by contributing, as long as many others do also. Such studies have found that people cooperate if their wealth remains fairly equal, but not so much if wealth differences grow too big. Inequality destroys social solidarity.

But what if the participants are unequal not only in wealth? What if some are more productive than others, as is often the case in life? Economist Oliver Hauser and colleagues have explored this question using game theory, computer simulations, and online experiments.

They confirmed that too much inequality generally makes people less cooperative. In the online experiments, high inequality caused those with the most wealth to lose interest in cooperating, as they had little to gain from the relatively poor participants. The rich players came to prefer social isolation. This outcome resonates with some disturbing trends in recent years, as the hyper-wealthy have increasingly isolated themselves in gated communities and enclaves. Some are even making plans to survive a global catastrophe by leaving the rest of the world to perish.

The study’s surprising finding is that moderate inequality can boost cooperation as long as those who get more of the pie are more productive for the benefit of all. Both the more and less productive people recognize they can benefit by working together. The less productive tolerate the higher wealth of the more productive, because the larger contributions of this group benefit everyone. The wealthy find it costs them little to contribute more, and they enjoy the extra wealth they’re given in return.

The flip side is that cooperation collapses quickly if more of the wealth ends up in the hands of the less productive.

These experiments are far simpler than real life. Even so, the two factors they identify as most corrosive to cooperation — too much inequality, and misalignment of contributions and rewards — seem central to the problems now plaguing capitalist economies. In their recent book The Triumph of Injustice, economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman explore how the wealthy have managed to keep an ever larger share of their wealth by paying taxes at lower rates than the poor. They have, in effect, withdrawn from contributing to the public good. Meanwhile, economist Martin Wolf has suggested that the most plausible explanation for dwindling productivity in capitalist economies is the changing nature of business: Companies have increasingly drawn profits not from productive activities, but from rent-seeking and winner-take-all markets.

If so, it’s no wonder the social ills tied to inequality are getting worse.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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