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PHL esports team members for SEA Games bared

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FOR the first time this year esports will be a medal event in the Southeast Asian Games and the Philippine team set to compete in it took further form with the unveiling of its final roster.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Sibol, the Philippine national esports team, announced the names of players competing in the six games included in the 30th SEA Games which the country is hosting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The players will compete in six titles, namely, DOTA 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

Among the considerations for inclusion were the players’ mastery of the esport they are going to compete in as well as their ability to work with the team.

Sibol DOTA 2 team is made up of Marvin Salvador “Boomy” Rushton, John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas, Bryle Jacob “cml” Alvizo, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva, James “Erice” Guerra and “Van” Jerico Manalaysay.

StarCraft II has Caviar “EnDerr” Acampado and Justin “Nuks” Santos while for Hearthstone it will be Jacinta “Jia” Dee and Dustin “WaningMoon” Mangulaban.

For Arena of Valor it will be the team composed of Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon, Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo, Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag, Jevan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos, Lawrence Anthony “Rubixx” Gatmaitan, Bradie Ryan “Yatz” Velasquez, and Kyle Jepherson “Vindicated” Padlan.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel, Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Carlito “Ribo” Jr., Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon, and Allan Sancio “Lusty” Castromayor.

Competing in Tekken 7, meanwhile, are Andrei Hosea “Doujin” Albar and Alexandre Gabrielle “AK” Laverez.

Esports competition in the SEA Games begins on Dec. 5. Venue is the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The team captains competing in all six titles featured in the esports event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games — Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

MY Football League kicks off Saturday

THE best of youth football will be showcased in the NCRFA’s Manila Youth Football League (MY Football League) which opens on Saturday at The British School Manila.

The opening tournament will feature 50 teams, which includes The British School Manila, Makati Football Club, De La Salle Zobel, Tanauan, Atheltico Diliman, G8, Manila Japanese Football Club, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Angono Rizal and RAYA FC.

Guided by FIFA Grassroots, the NCRFA League was formed to create a program that will bring together as many people as possible through the league and its patrons. It is designed to reach out to the young and create a process that connects them to the future.

The father and son duo of Tomas and SeLu Lozano of pioneer youth club Makati FC has created a league whose thrust is growing the sport.

Tomas Lozano has been bringing Makati FC to Gothia Cup in Sweden to represent the Philippines for 37 consecutive years. Through NCRFA, it aims to elevate the level of youth tournaments locally as what the club have experience abroad.

Aside from the Gothia Cup, Makati FC was also invited to the Paris World Games last July, where its two age groups teams made it finals appearance with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.

After the opening ceremony, the continuation of matches will be on Oct. 5, 12, 26, with the semifinal and final to be played on Nov. 9.

World Cup madness

A total of 128 players and their coaches and seconds gathered in Khanty-Mansiysk (Siberia, Russia) last Monday to participate in the 2019 World Cup. These include:

The four 2017 World Cup semi-finalists: Ding Liren, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So and Levon Aronian

World Junior Champion in 2017 (Aryan Tari) and 2018 (Parham Maghsoodloo)

Qualifiers from the European Championships in 2018 and 2019, 46 players

Qualifiers from the American Continental Championship 2018 and 2019, 8 players

Qualifiers from the Asian Chess Championships in 2018 and 2019, 10 players

Top 2 from the African Chess Championship 2019

Zonal Champions and Qualifiers: 26

Highest rated players not otherwise qualified: 18

Others (seeded players, invitees, etc)

The tournament is a 77-round Knock-Out (KO) event. The matches from round 1 to 6 consist of two classical games with time control of 90 minutes per 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1. The finals and the match for the third place consist of four classical games.

If the score is tied after the classical games tie breaks are played the next day. The tiebreaks start with two games of 25+10, meaning 25 minutes per game per player with 10 seconds added to your clock after every move. In the case of another tie, two more games follow with time control of 10+10. If the score is still tied, two blitz games follow (5+3). Finally, if all else fails then an armageddon game is played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. White has 5 minutes per game and Black has 4 minutes, with an increment of two seconds per move starting from move 61. White needs a win to advance to the next round.

In round 1 half of the participants were eliminated and had to go home. Don’t feel too bad for them though as they each get $6,000 just for being there. There were too many interesting games and match-ups to cover here so let me just touch on some matches which interested me.

Wesley So defeated Sergio Duran Vega, a 26-year-old International Master from Costa Rica who qualified through the 2019 American Continental Championship. He won a pawn with a small combination in the first game and quickly and efficiently brought the game to a close:

So, Wesley (2767) — Duran Vega, Sergio (2387) [A29]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.1), 10.09.2019

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.d3 0–0 9.Be3 Re8 10.Rc1 Bf8 11.Bg5 f6 12.Be3 Be6 13.Nd2 Rb8 14.Nb3 Qc8 15.Bc5 Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxh3 17.Nb5 Qc8? <D>

POSITION AFTER 17…QC8

18.Nxa7! Nxa7 19.Bxb6 Nc6 20.Bc5 Qh3 21.Bxf8 Rxf8 22.Nc5 Kh8 23.e3 Ne7 24.Rc4 c6 25.Qg4 Qxg4 26.Rxg4 Rfd8 27.Rd1 Rd5 28.Rc4 Ra8 29.Ra4 Rb8 30.Nb3 Rbd8 31.Kf1! Kg8 [31…Rxd3 32.Rxd3 Rxd3 33.Ra7 Rd7 34.Nc5 wins back the pawn with a winning endgame] 32.Ke2 Kf7 33.d4 Nf5 34.f3 exd4 35.e4 Re5 36.Kf2 Ne7 37.Rdxd4 Rxd4 38.Nxd4 f5 39.Ra7 fxe4 40.Rxb7 Kf6 41.Rb6 exf3 42.Nxc6 Re2+ [42…Re6? 43.Nxe7 Rxb6 44.Nd5+] 43.Kxf3 Rxh2 44.Nxe7+ Kxe7 45.a4 [With two distant passed pawns on the queenside to contend with Black throws in the towel] 1–0

In the second game Wesley settled matters with a direct attack to finish the mini-match at 2-0.

As expected Russia had the biggest delegation with 28 players and 21 of them topped their opponents in the first round to qualify for the second. In rating order they are: Ian Nepomniachtchi 2776, Sergey Karjakin 2760, Alexander Grischuk 2759, Valdislav Artemiev 2746, Dmitry Andreikin 2741, Nikita Vitiugov 2732, Peter Svidler 2729, Evgeny Tomashevsky 2718, Maxim Matlakov 2716, Daniil Dubov 2699, Ernesto Inarkiev 2693, Dmitry Jakovenko 2681, Kirill Alekseenko 2671, Vladimir Fedoseev 2664, Sanan Sjugirov 2662, Alexandr Predke 2657, Anton Demchenko 2655, Evgeniy Najer 2635, Andrey Esipenko 2624, Aleksandr Rakhmanov 2606, Daniel Yuffa 2577. Quite an imposing line-up. Even their lowest rated player, Daniel Yuffa, is an amazing talent — in September 2017 he appeared on the Russia-1 talent show “Amazing People,” playing three blindfold simultaneous games while performing classical music pieces on the piano!

Yuffa’s chess is not too shabby either as he eliminated one of the big fish, the Czech GM David Navara, with some very precise calculation.

Navara, David (2724) — Yuffa, Daniil (2577) [B12]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nxc5 Qa5+ 8.c3 Qxc5 9.Be3 Qc7 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nf3 Nge7 12.Be2 0–0 13.0–0 h6 14.Kh1 Be4 15.Nd2 Bh7 16.Nb3 Na5 17.Bc5 Rfe8 18.Bd6 Qb6 19.Nxa5 Qxa5 20.b4 Qd8 21.a4 Be4 22.Bb5 Nf5! 23.Bc5 [23.Bxe8 Bxg2+! 24.Kg1 (24.Kxg2 Ne3+) 24…Bxf1 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.Qxf1 Rc8 material is even but Black is clearly better because of his powerful knight] 23…b6 24.Bf2 Rf8 25.a5? d4! 26.Bxd4?! Bxg2+! 27.Kxg2 Qd5+ 28.Rf3 Qxb5 29.Qd3 Qc6 30.b5 Qb7 31.Bf2 Rfd8 32.a6 Qe7 33.Qe2 Qd7 34.c4 Rac8 35.Raa3 Qe7 36.Rad3 Re8 37.Rb3 Rc7 38.c5 bxc5 39.b6 axb6 40.Rxb6 c4 41.Rc3 Rec8 42.Rb2 Qd7 43.Kh3 Ne7 44.a7 Nd5 45.Rf3 c3 46.Rc2 Qa4 47.Ra2 Qe8 48.Ra1 c2 49.Be3 Rxa7 50.Bxa7 c1Q 51.Rxc1 Rxc1 52.Bf2 f5 53.exf6 Qh5+ 54.Kg3 [54.Kg2? Nxf4+] 54…Qg6+ 55.Kh3 Qf5+ 56.Kg3 [56.Kg2 Qg4+ 57.Bg3 Nxf4+]

56…Nxf6 57.Kg2 Rc2 58.Qd1 Ng4 59.Qe1 Qg6 60.Kh3 [60.Rg3 e5! opening up the long diagonal 61.fxe5 Qc6+ 62.Kg1 Nxf2 63.Qxf2 Rc1+] 60…h5 61.Bg3 Ne3 [with unstoppable mate on g4] 0–1

This round was also a big triumph for the players from St. Petersburg, as all of their native sons won: Kirill Alekseenko, Vladimir Fedoseev, Nikita Vitiugov, Peter Svidler and Maxim Matlakov.

Matlakov eliminated the youngest player in the field, Uzbekistan’s 14-year old GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Matlakov, Maxim (2716) — Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (2608) [B91]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.4), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 b5 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Nec3 Bb7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Be3 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Nf6 14.a4 Nxd5 15.exd5 f5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Qd3 Qd7 18.Rfd1 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 Ra8 20.Rxa8+ Bxa8 21.Qb3 [threat: Bf1] 21…Qb7 22.h4 Kf7 23.h5 Bf6 24.Qb4 Ke7 25.g4 e4 26.g5 Be5 27.f4 exf3 28.Bxf3 Qa6? [Black underestimates the danger. He should have played 28…Qc7 so that after 29.Bd4 he has the counter 29…Kf7 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Qxb5 e4!] 29.Bd4! Kf7 30.Bxe5 dxe5 31.Qc5 Qb7 32.Qd6 Qa7+ 33.Kg2 Qe3 34.Qd7+ Kf8 35.Qxf5+ Ke8 36.Qc8+ Ke7 [and now, instead of the “obvious” 37.Qxa8, Matlakov sank into deep thought and after 90 seconds (remember this is a rapid game) blitzed out all of his remaining moves] 37.d6+ Kxd6 38.Qf8+ Kc7 39.Qxg7+ Kb6 40.Qf6+ Ka5 41.Qd8+ Kb4 42.Qf8+ Kc4 43.Qc8+ [43.Qc8+ Kd4 (43…Kb4 44.Qc3+ Qxc3 45.bxc3+ Kxc3 46.Bxa8) 44.Qd8+ Kc4 45.Qc7+ Kd4 (45…Kb4 still cannot be played for the same reason: 46.Qc3+) 46.Qa7+ wins the queen] 1–0

The leader of the St. Petersburg School of Chess Peter Svidler came through with his own brilliancy.

Svidler, Peter (2729) — Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel (2581) [B51]
Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup (2.19), 11.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0–0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.d4 Bxf3 9.gxf3 cxd4 10.cxd4 d5 11.e5 Nh5 12.e6! g6 13.Nc3 f5? [After the game Svidler said that this was a very bad move and Black should have continued 13…Bg7 14.exf7+ Kxf7 15.Bh3 Nxd4 16.Be3 Nf5 17.Nxd5 e6 and Black is not doing so badly] 14.Qb3 Nxd4 15.Qxb7 Rb8 16.Qxa6 Nxf3+ 17.Kh1 Qc7 [17…Nxe1? 18.Qc6+ Qd7 19.Qxd7#] 18.Qa4+! Kd8 19.Bf4! Nxf4 [19…Qxf4 20.Qd7#] 20.Nb5 Qb6 21.Nd4! [21.Nd4 threatens mate on d7. Now if 21…Qc7 (Or: 21…Qb7 22.Nc6+ Kc7 23.Qxf4+ Kxc6 24.Rac1+ Kb6 25.Qb4+ Ka7 26.Qa5+ Qa6 27.Qxa6#; 21…Rb7 22.Nc6+ Kc7 23.Qxf4+ Kxc6 24.Rac1+) 22.Nc6+ Kc8 23.Ba6+ Rb7 24.Bxb7+ Qxb7 25.Na5 followed by Qe8+] 1–0

India had 10 players in the World Cup and fortunately none of them were matched against each other. The delegation was immediately halved after the first round. 20-year-old GM Chithambaran Aravindh (Aravindh is his given name, Chithambaran his father’s) scored a huge success by eliminating one of the chess greats Michael Adams (England). The other prodigy, 15-year old Nihal Sarin (Nihal is his given name) was also successful, defeating the tough Peruvian GM Jorge Cori 2-0. Other successful Indian GMs were Penteala Harikrishna (2-0 versus Cuban Yuri Gonzalez Vidal), Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (1.5-0.5 against Alan Pichot of Argentina), and Baskaran Adhiban (1.5-0.5 against the very strong GM from Venezuela Iturrizaga).

The five who lost were Surya Shekhar Ganguly versus Vladimir Fedoseev (2-4), Muraily Karthikeyan to Ernesto Inarkiev (0.5-1.5), Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan against the Spaniard Anton Guijarro (1.5-2.5), SP Sethuraman in a thriller against the Israeili GM Tamir Nabaty 3-1, and Abhijeet Gupta to Anton Korobov (2-4).

The Nabaty versus Sethuraman match was one of the most exciting of the 1st round, as both are fierce tacticians with great fighting spirit. Nabaty won the first game after a slugfest but Sethuraman came back to win the second.

Nabaty, Tamir (2658) — Sethuraman, S.P. (2624) [B22]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.2), 12.09.2019

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 g6 5.Na3 Bg7 6.Bc4 Qd8 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bg5 Nf6 10.Nxd4 0–0 11.0–0–0 Qe7 12.Rhe1 Na6 13.Bf4 Nc5 14.Qb4 Nh5 15.Be3 b6 16.Nc6 Qc7 17.Bxc5 bxc5 18.Qxc5 Qxh2 19.g3 Bb7 20.Ne7+ Kh8 21.Nb5 Nf6 22.Nd6 Bf3 23.Be2 Ne4 24.Qc6 [the idea is to play 24.Bxf3 Nxf2 25.Nxf7+ Rxf7 26.Qxa8+] 24…Bh6+! 25.Kc2 Qxf2 26.Nxf7+ Rxf7 27.Qxa8+ Rf8 28.Rd8 Bxe2 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Qd8 Bc4+ 31.Kd1 Bd5 32.Nxg6+ [32.Nxd5 Qd2#] 32…hxg6 33.Qh4+ Kg7 34.Rxe4 Bxe4 35.Qxe4 Kf6 36.Qa8 Qf1+ 37.Kc2 Qf5+ 38.Kd2 Qd5+ 0–1

In the tie-breaks GM Tamir won the first rapid game and then sewed up the match with a beautiful finish in the next game:

Nabaty, Tamir (2658) — Sethuraman, S.P. (2624) [A48]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (1.4), 12.09.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nbd2 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.c3 0–0 6.a4 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Be2 Nc6 9.0–0 Qc7 10.Qc2 b6 11.Nc4 Bb7 12.Bg5 Rad8 13.Rfd1 h6 14.Bh4 Nh5 15.Ne3 g5 16.Nd5 Qc8 17.Bg3 Nxg3 18.hxg3 e6 19.Ne3 Ne7 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Bxd1 Qc6 23.Qd3 Qxe4 24.Qd8+ Bf8 25.Bc2 Qc6 26.Ng4 Kg7 27.Nf6 Qc8 28.Nh5+ Kh8 29.Ne5 f5 30.Qd6! Bd5 31.c4 Bc6? 32.Nf7+! Kh7 33.Nd8 Kg6 [33…Bd7 34.Nf6+ Kh8 35.Qxd7] 34.Nxe6 Kxh5 35.Ng7+! Bxg7 36.g4+ fxg4 [36…Kxg4 37.Bd1+ Kh4 38.Qg3#] 37.Qh2# checkmate! 1–0

Percentage-wise the best performing delegation was from Azerbaijan as all four of their representatives (Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Eltaj Safarli and Nijat Abasov) won their matches and qualified for the second round.

All in all there were only a few surprises in the first round of the World Cup. The top 15 seeds won and the few upsets are:

Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (NOR 2558) beat Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL 2739). Johan-Sebastian was in excellent form and dominated the match 2-0. His opponent, the Polish no. 1, is known as the long-time second of Vishy Anand and assisted him during most of his world championship matches.

Daniel Yuffa (RUS 2577) beat David Navara (CZE 2724).

Xu Xiangyu (CHN 2576) beat Bu Xiangzhi (CHN 2721) — the hardest match-up to pronounce! You will recall, by the way, that Bu Xiangzhi was the one who eliminated Magnus Carlsen in the previous World Cup.

Eltaj Safarli (AZE 2593) beat Samuel Shankland (USA 2705). The former US Champion did not seem to be in his best shape but he can be forgiven for he was playing with a heavily bandaged left hand. As explained in the chess.com website he hurt it last month while trying to catch a falling glass container. He severed the flexor tendon just below his left pinky and needed surgery to reattach it.

So, onwards to the second round!

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), 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

All eyes on Brown

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was understandably cautious in assessing new acquisition Antonio Brown’s progress on the field prior to yesterday’s match. Just a week removed from inking a contract that would net him $15 million for the 2019 campaign, he couldn’t possibly know all the play calls of the defending champions heading into yesterday’s set-to. “A long way to go,” the bench tactician told members of the media after practice Friday. “The systems that he’s been in are quite different … He’s working hard to pick [ours] up, and we’re working hard to get it to him.”

That said, all eyes stayed on Brown as the Patriots took on the Dolphins at the Hard Rock Stadium. And, to his credit, he didn’t disappoint. Never mind his late signing, or his controversial offseason that kept him from staying sharp under organized drills, or the civil lawsuit that figures to divide his time and focus. Before the second quarter of his first stint with his third team of the summer ended, he managed to score a touchdown off a 20-yard beauty from quarterback Tom Brady. It was his fourth catch of the half, during which he participated in roughly a third of the snaps.

Looking back, Brown couldn’t have had a better start. He was called up on the Patriots’ second set of the day, and Brady immediately went to him down the middle for 18 yards. They would connect twice more for 10 and eight yards on the opening drive; in fact, he proved to be the only on-air target through 11 plays that ended with a one-yard touchdown run. He wasn’t as successful after the half; three attempts to find him in the red zone ended up incomplete, clearly borne of lack of familiarity with places, preferences, and predilections. Still, his mere presence served to keep the Dolphins guessing. Between Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, and him, the defense was hard-pressed to keep up.

To be sure, there wasn’t much need for Brown yesterday, not with the Dolphins so thoroughly overmatched that oddsmakers pegged them to be 18-point underdogs going in. And the Patriots, true to form, didn’t let up. Brady handled the pigskin to the finish, overseeing a shutout that saw them run up their own score to 43. Nonetheless, the unanimous first-team All-Pro selection cannot but be a valuable asset moving forward — assuming, of course, that the National Football League doesn’t step in while his sexual assault case is being tried.

Brown was gone by the time scribes were allowed inside the Patriots’ locker room. Even his name plate was out of sight, in violation of NFL policy requiring teams to “ensure that name plates with players’ names and numbers are left in position until after the locker room has cleared of media.” Which, if nothing else, underscores the fragility of his situation. In any case, life goes on for the titleholders, who, at the very least, proved once more that, under Belichick, talent begets results regardless of circumstance.

 

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.

Bargain hunt fuels last-minute rebound to flat end

THE MAIN INDEX managed to stage a last-minute rebound on Monday due to bargain hunting, ending nearly flat from Friday.

For much of the day, however, stocks reeled from concerns about global oil stocks in the wake of the attack on Saudi Aramco’s processing plants last weekend that was estimated to have shut five percent of the world’s supply.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) edged up 0.05% or 4.58 points to close at 7,996.90, while the broader all shares index was largely unchanged at 4,823.05, up by 0.002% or 0.08 points.

“Last-minute bargain hunting lifted the local market by 4.58 points to 7,996.90,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a market note.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, however, said fears about the impact of the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities capped the last-minute lift. “Local shares closed flat following the news of drone attack on Saudi oil assets over the weekend,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

The Saturday attack is estimated to have halved the output of Saudi Arabia — the world’s biggest supplier — and cut global supply by five percent or about 5.7 million barrels a day. Reports say this is the single biggest disruption in oil supply that country has seen.

Oil prices surged on Monday following the disruption. Meanwhile, US President Donald J. Trump gave the go signal for the release of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The International Energy Agency also said it was monitoring the situation.

“The sudden spike in prices is deemed as a negative for the Philippine economy, as the country imports almost all its petroleum requirements. Overseas, there was little news to offset attack in Saudi Arabia as US stocks were mixed on Friday despite the sentiment surrounding the US-China trade relations improving,” Mr. Limlingan said.

Asian markets ended mixed following the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.05% or 228.68 points to 21,988.29; the Hang Seng index lost 0.83% or 228.14 points to 27,124.55, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.02% or 0.48 points to 3,030.75.

Back home, the six sectoral indices were equally divided between those that lost and those that gained. Those that ended with gains were the industrial counter, which rose 0.36% or 39.99 points to 11,051.93, property which went up 0.1% or 4.08 points to 4,068.16 and mining & oil which edged up 0.02% or 2.17 points to 9,593.63. Financials dropped 0.16% or 3.05 points to 1,829.57, holding firms shed 0.14% or 11.69 points to 7,906.90, while services slipped 0.08% or 1.34 points to 1,622.27.

Some 942.233 million shares worth P4.967 billion switched hands, compared to last Friday’s 7.12 billion issues worth P4.53 billion. Stocks that lost were more than double those that gained 131 to 68, while 47 others ended flat.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the second straight session at P130.4 million, though slightly lower than Friday’s P140.55 million. — Arra B. Francia

Peso drops on risk-off sentiment after attack on Saudi oil facilities

THE PESO weakened against the dollar as investors flocked to safe havens after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities drove up crude prices and worsened tensions between the United States and Iran.

On Monday, the local unit returned to the P52-per-dollar level as it closed at P52.28, down, crashing by 37 centavos from its P51.91 finish on Friday.

The peso started the trading session at sharply weaker P52.15 against the dollar. It failed to gain any ground against the greenback, with its intraday high at just P52.13. Meanwhile, it sank to as low as P52.36 versus the dollar.

Dollars traded on Monday jumped to $1.325 billion versus the $1.172 billion recorded on Friday.

One trader attributed the peso’s weaker performance for the day to better-than-expected US data released over the weekend, coupled with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“The black swan event in the attack towards the oil facility in Saudi Arabia triggered a risk-off tone all throughout the day,” the trader said.

A black swan event refers to an event that comes as a surprise which triggers a major effect in markets.

A second trader shared the same sentiment, saying the attack on the Saudi Arabia oil facility dragged the peso’s performance for the day.

“Emerging market currencies are sensitive to risk appetite of investors. Investors would want to opt for safe haven currencies such as the yen and swiss [at times like this],” the second trader explained.

Oil prices soared with Brent crude posting its biggest intraday percentage gain since the Gulf War in 1991, after an attack on Saudi Aramco’s crude processing sites on Saturday shut about 5% of global supply.

Saudi Aramco has assured some clients that vessel loading has resumed following disruptions caused by the weekend’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities, two sources who received the notice told Reuters.

“Emerging Asian currencies most at risk to higher oil prices belong to countries with the largest oil trade deficits. They are the South Korean won, the Thai baht and the Indian rupee,” a DBS note said.

The Indian rupee was the worst hit by the surge in oil prices, weakening 0.9%, while the Indonesian rupiah shed 0.6%, its biggest intraday percentage drop since Aug. 6.

Investors now await the US Federal Reserve rate decision expected later this week with the market expecting a rate cut for the second meeting in a row.

The first trader said the result of the Fed meeting will guide sentiment moving forward and sees the local unit to moving around the P52.10-P52.50 band versus the dollar today.

Meanwhile, the second trader expects the peso to play within the P52.10-P52.40 range. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

Lorenzana kept in dark about China-linked deal

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana was kept in the dark about a deal that would allow a Chinese-linked telecommunication company to build towers inside Philippine military camps.

The government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte will cancel the agreement with Dito Telecommunity Corp. if it risks national security, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said at a briefing yesterday.

“Certainly, if it involves national security then the government can do something about it,” he said. “I’m sure the Defense secretary and Hermogenes Esperon will be undertaking measures to respond to that concern,” he added, referring to Mr. Duterte’s national security adviser.

Mr. Lorenzana will investigate the memorandum of agreement between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Dito Telecommunity, Mr. Panelo said. “We will wait for his findings.”

Opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan on Monday raised a “national security concern” over the agreement, noting that two Chinese laws require companies there to “cooperate in gathering of intelligence information by the state.”

Formerly Mislatel, Dito is a consortium of Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and its unit Chelsea Logistics Corp., and state-owned China Telecommunications Corp., a parent company of China Telecom, the lawmaker said.

Mr. Pangilinan said the Duterte administration had laid the “red carpet” for Dito inside military camps. “This Chinese telco’s involvement in our military camps is no joke.”

GLOBE, SMART DEALS
The agreement is not yet final and needs to be approved by the Defense chief, Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer of Dito, said in a mobile phone message. “As a Filipino company, Dito Telecommunity will of course comply with all government requirements,” he added.

Mr. Tamano said the deal is similar to the ones the Armed Forces had signed with Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. “We want to assure the public that Dito has a cybersecurity plan approved by the National Telecommunications Commission,” Mr. Tamano said. “The company will always protect the national and cybersecurity interests of the Philippines.”

“This partnership gives Mislatel a fair chance to compete with the other networks, given that the AFP also has similar partnership with Globe and Smart,” AFP Chief of Staff General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said in a statement.

Under the deal, the military will determine specific locations that may be used without undermining the operations of its units, he said.

“Our MOA with other telcos significantly improved the ICT infrastructure of the AFP and we are optimistic that this opportunity will also bring great benefits to the Armed Forces,” Mr. Madrigal said.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino B. Biazon also defended the deal, saying Mr. Lorenzana probably had not been briefed about it because it was still at the level of the AFP chief of staff.

“There is no one who could be more jealous of security than the Armed Forces,” he said during plenary debates on the Defense department’s 2020 budget.

But Mr. Pangilinan said the installation of electronic communications inside Philippine military camps raises fears of electronic espionage and interference given the record of some Chinese companies in this illegal activity.

“This fear is especially acute given that China’s National Intelligence Law from 2017 requires Chinese companies to “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.”

Mr. Pangilinan said countries such as Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand have banned Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei due to security concerns. — Arjay L. Balinbin and V.A.C Ferreras

Prices of petroleum products to go up starting Tuesday

OIL COMPANIES yesterday announced increases in fuel prices starting today, with gasoline and kerosene prices rising by more than a peso.

The announcement came despite assurances from the government that the drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil production sites had yet to be reflected on local prices.

Gasoline prices will increase by P1.35 a liter, while diesel prices will go up by 85 centavos a liter. Prices of kerosene will increase by P1 a liter.

“These reflect the movements in the international market,” Petron Corp. said in a statement.

Last week, oil companies cut gasoline prices by 50 centavos a liter, by 10 centavos for diesel and by 25 centavos for kerosene. — Victor V. Saulon

New rules disqualify murderers, rapists from parole grants

AUTHORITIES signed revised rules on the release of convicts for good conduct after illegally freeing about 2,000 felons convicted of heinous crimes.

Under the new rules, all recidivists, escapees, habitual delinquents and convicts of heinous crimes are excluded from parole, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said at a briefing yesterday.

Heinous crimes include murder, rape, destructive arson, parricide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and violations of certain provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Mr. Guevarra said while those convicted of heinous crimes are disqualified, they may still avail themselves of parole but with lower time credits.

While time allowances are credited monthly, its grant will take effect on the second, fifth, tenth, and eleventh year of imprisonment, according to the implementing rules drafted by the Department of Justice and Department of Interior and Local Government.

Meanwhile, more than 600 of about 2,000 convicts who got illegally released for good conduct have surrendered after President Rodrigo R. Duterte threatened to hunt them down “dead or alive,” the Justice department said.

Justice Undersecretary Markk L. Perete said the 612 heinous crime convicts were now in the custody of jail officials. The rest of the convicts have until Sept. 19 to yield, he added.

President Duterte has fired Nicanor E. Faeldon, head of the Bureau of Corrections, after he allowed the illegal release of the felons convicted of heinous crimes for good conduct.

He also ordered his and other prison officials’ probe by the Ombudsman for corruption.

The Ombudsman has ordered the suspension of about 30 jail officials in connection with the botched release of ineligible prisoners.

Mr. Faeldon headed the Bureau of Customs but was forced to resign at the height of a controversy involving the shipment of billions of pesos worth of crystal meth from China. He was reappointed to the Office of Civil Defense before heading the BuCor in 2018.

Opposition Senator Franklin M. Drilon earlier said Mr. Faeldon was not only incompetent but also lied under oath to evade accountability for the planned early release of ex-Calauan Mayor Antonio L. Sanchez.

The release of the former politician, who was sentenced to seven life terms in 1995 for the rape and murder of two University of the Philippines students in 1993, was suspended after a public outcry and a Senate investigation of the plan.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the reported sale of hospital passes to inmates at the Bureau of Corrections.

GMA News earlier reported that prisoners inside the maximum security compound of the national jail in Muntinlupa City had been allowed to transfer to less crowded jails after illegally paying for hospital passes.

Mr. Guevarra earlier ordered a review of the rules on early release as well as a separate probe of corruption at the bureau after reports that parole grants have become for sale.

During a Senate hearing early this month, a witness accused some prison officials of selling parole to families of convicts. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

House lawmaker seeks private car ban on EDSA

AUTHORITIES should ban all private vehicles on the main EDSA highway during rush hours to ease traffic in the capital, a congressman said yesterday.

This would make room for buses and other public utility vehicles that ordinary citizens can use, Caloocan Rep. Edgar R. Erice told reporters.

“We need to prioritize the welfare of ordinary workers, the poor and the lower middle class who don’t have cars,” he said in Filipino.

About 300,00 private vehicles pass through EDSA daily, compared with 8,000 buses, Mr. Erice said. Banning private cars would cut the travel time of ordinary commuters, he added.

He said private car owners may use side streets as alternate routes if his proposal is enforced.

The congressman said the plan is just temporary and may end once major road projects are completed including the North Luzon and South Luzon expressway connector road, the rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit 3 and the Metro Subway.

Jose Arturo S. Garcia Jr., general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), said Mr. Erice’s suggestion makes sense.

The Metro Manila Council will meet next month to study all proposals to ease traffic on EDSA and other main roads, he told reporters yesterday.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade has renewed his call for presidential emergency powers to solve the traffic gridlock on EDSA. During a House of Representatives hearing on his agency’s budget, Mr. Tugade said it was possible to solve the traffic problem but it would take longer without giving special powers to the president.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte earlier said he would not beg for emergency powers from Congress to solve the traffic problem.

Mr. Duterte said he asked his officials not to pursue it anymore after a lady senator had said they couldn’t be trusted with more powers.

Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the public service committee, earlier said the body was not inclined to grant the Transportation department’s renewed plea for emergency powers to solve traffic congestion in the capital.

The senator, who opposed a similar proposal in the past Congress, said Mr. Duterte could ease traffic in Metro Manila without emergency powers from Congress.

Several bills were filed in the previous Congress seeking emergency powers for Mr. Duterte to ease traffic congestion. The measures sought to give the Transportation chief “full power” to manage traffic on EDSA and control road use.

The House approved the bill but the Senate version did not progress. The bills have been re-filed in both Houses. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Judge inhibits from case of Korean businessman

AN ANGELES City regional trial court judge has inhibited herself from the murder case of Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo.

In an order dated Sept. 2, Judge Irin Zenaida S. Buan granted separate pleas of the Department of Justice and accused policemen Ricky M. Sta. Isabel and Jerry A. Omlang.

“To insist on trying these cases despite the continuing call for recusal will already conjure an erroneous image of a judge holding on to a case under a continuous cloud of doubt,” according to the order.

The case will be re-raffled to another branch of the Angeles City court.

Prosecutors earlier said the judge had been partial to Police Lieutenant Colonel Rafael P. Dumlao III, the alleged mastermind of the killing.

Messrs. Dumlao, Sta. Isabel and Omlang, are charged with kidnapping for ransom with homicide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and car theft in connection with the slay of Mr. Jee.

The court on April 24 only allowed Mr. Dumlao to post bail of P300,000 but denied the petitions of the other accused.

The Korean businessman, along with his housekeeper was abducted from his house in Angeles City on Oct. 18, 2016 in an alleged drug-operation. Ms. Morquicho was released but Mr. Jee was killed at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police and his cremated remains were reportedly flushed in a toilet.

Nationwide round-up

Senator says ‘drug recycling’ shows Duterte campaign is failing

Franklin M. Drilon Corporation Code
PHILSTAR

OPPOSITION Senator Franklin M. Drilon, a former justice secretary, expressed alarm and disappointment over the admission of Director General Aaron Aquino, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), that recycling of illegal drugs is still rampant despite the administration’s bloody war on illegal drugs that has killed thousands.

The lawmaker said Mr. Aquino’s admission that confiscated drugs were being recycled with the assistance of law enforcers is a sign that the campaign against illegal drugs, the cornerstone of the Duterte administration, is failing.

“I am disgusted and dismayed by the report of the PDEA that recycling of shabu is rampant,” he said.

“This is worrisome. This is a decades-old case of bantay-salakay, wherein the people who are given the task of enforcing the law insofar as drug trafficking is concerned are the ones who lead the anomalous practices,” he added.

“Given that admission, I am not very optimistic about the success of the anti-drug campaign, in general,” Mr. Drilon said.

Mr. Aquino told senators during his agency’s budget hearing yesterday that one way to prevent the recycling of illegal drugs is to conduct joint police, PDEA and Armed Forces operations for better accountability.

PDEA has seized P10 billion worth of illegal drugs from January to August this year and still has illegal drugs worth P22 billion in their inventory, P20 billion of which is crystal meth, Mr. Aquino said.

Village, youth elections to proceed

NEXT year’s village and youth elections will proceed in the absence of a law deferring these, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) told senators.

“Until Congress passes a law on the postponement, we are proceeding with our elections,” Comelec Commissioner Antonio T. Kho told senator during a hearing on the agency’s 2020 budget.

Preparations for the 2020 elections have begun starting with voter registrations, which will run from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30. While the Comelec had not spent on anything yet, it is in the process of procuring materials for the polls, Mr. Kho said.

Comelec Chairman Sheriff A. Abas told lawmakers Congress should hasten the passage of a measure postponing the elections because the agency can’t cancel orders due to legal issues.

The Comelec’s approved budget for 2020 is P9.8 billion but officials have sought an additional P2.2 billion for other programs. — G.M. Cortez

Ex-NYC chief withdraws as youth representative

FORMER National Youth Commission (NYC) Chairman Ronald Carlo L. Cardema wants to withdraw his nomination as Duterte Youth Partylist’s first nominee after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissed him for being ineligible.

Comelec Commissioner Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon noted back in June that the partylist still had a pending case over the eligibility of 34-year-old Mr. Cardema as a youth representative.

Under the law, only those who are 25 to 30 years old are allowed to run for the position.

Last month, the Comelec dismissed Mr. Cardema’s nomination for committing “material misinterpretation” in his qualification as a nominee. Mr. Cardema filed to substitute his wife Ducielle who was the initial first nominee of the partylist prior to her withdrawal to make way for Mr. Cardema. — Gillian M. Cortez

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