THREE-TIME Philippines Football League (PFL) champion Ceres-Negros FC returns to international competition as it opens its AFC Cup 2020 campaign here at home today against visiting Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC of Cambodia.
Set for 7:30 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila, the Group G match will see the “Busmen” try to open their bid on a winning note to set the right tone for them in the tournament.
The match is the first of three straight home matches for Ceres in the AFC Cup with the team also set to face group mates Than Quang Ninh of Vietnam on Feb. 25 and Indonesian champion Bali United on March 11.
The match versus Than Quang Ninh was supposed to be an away match but with the Vietnamese government’s decision to bar any sports event in light of the ongoing novel Coronavirus (nCoV) acute respiratory disease outbreak the game was rescheduled to be played here instead.
All of the home games of Ceres in group play will be played at the Rizal Memorial as its home turf of Panaad Park and Football Stadium in Bacolod City is currently unavailable.
Playing at home, Ceres coach Risto Vidakovic underscored the need for them to take advantage of the situation so as to pad their push for a solid top two finish in the grouping to advance to the next phase of the competition.
“There are no secrets when we play because the information is always available so we have to focus on our strengths,” said Mr. Vidakovic in the lead-up to today’s match.
“It’s a really tough group again for us, so the players really have to raise their level. Playing at home hopefully gives us a good start,” added the coach, whose team is coming off a strong push in the AFC Champions League where it came just a win away from advancing to the main draw of the premier club tournament in Asia organized by the Asian Football Confederation.
In last year’s edition of the AFC Cup, Ceres advanced to the ASEAN semifinals before losing to Ha Noi FC of Vietnam, 3-2.
The year prior, it was able to reach the ASEAN finals but lost to Home United FC of Singapore, 3-1, and in 2017, it was the AZEAN Zonal champion and advanced to the Inter-zone semifinals.
In their game against Svey Rieng, the Busmen will get added ammunition with the return of midfielder Manny Ott.
Spent time in the Thai league last season, Mr. Ott will see action again for Ceres and looks to help the team in its quest.
“It feels good to be back home. I’m just trying to settle in the last few days, but I’m looking forward to the match on Tuesday,” said Mr. Ott.
DESPITE concerns over the ongoing outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (nCoV) acute respiratory disease, the 2020 Badminton Asia Manila Team Championships set for this week will take place as scheduled albeit with some changes to the roster of teams competing.
Set for Feb. 11 to 16 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, organizers of the event — Badminton Asia and the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) — said they have taken all measures to ensure the safety of the players participating in the tournament, leading them to confidently give it a go.
“We can assure to the players and the Filipino people that their safety is put on a premium to ensure the world-class staging of this event,” said PBA secretary-general Christopher Quimpo in the lead-up.
But as the tournament proceeds, teams from mainland China and its special administrative region Hong Kong will not be competing given the issue over nCoV.
Recently the Philippine government issued a temporary travel ban to people coming from China, Hong Kong and Macau to avert the further spread of the respiratory disease here.
Wuhan, in Hubei province in China, is the ground zero of nCoV, with the disease having spread to other parts of China.
Also not competing are the men’s and women’s from India.
In light of the changes, a redraw of the groupings was scheduled for later yesterday.
Originally, China and Hong Kong were in Group B in the men’s division, together with Thailand. Hong Kong was in Group W of the women’s division with Malaysia and Japan while India was slotted with Korea and Kazakhstan in Group X.
“The world’s best badminton players have been vocal in saying that they are ready to put on a show come the Asian Team Championships — and this includes our national team who has been training hard for the past few months for this event,” said Mr. Quimpo as he promised a competitive tournament that aficionados of the sport would enjoy.
Other teams seeing action in the tournament are host the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Chinese Taipei.
The 2020 Badminton Asia Manila Team Championships is backed by Smart Communications Inc., MVP Sports Foundation, Leisure and Resorts World Corp., Cignal, and TV5.
THE Philippine Basketball Association moved the start of its season-opening Philippine Cup a week later than originally scheduled over the threat of the novel Coronavirus (nCoV) acute respiratory disease outbreak.
In an announcement released on Monday, the PBA said it was heeding the advice of local health officials on the nCoV concern and decided to move opening day to March 8 from March 1 as set previously.
“It’s a preventive measure against nCoV. It’s now in place and will be implemented. The safety of our fans, teams, players and officials remain to be our utmost priority,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial in announcing the calendar adjustment.
Also moved was the opening of the PBA D-League, which is now to kick off on March 2 from Feb. 13.
As the threat of nCoV is still high, Department of Health officials are discouraging people from going to large gatherings like sporting events to prevent the further spread of the disease.
The highly communicable respiratory disease continues to be a major concern, affecting many countries, including the Philippines.
PEBBLE BEACH — Phil Mickelson fell short in his quest for a record sixth Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory on Sunday but said his results over the last few weeks had given him momentum for the rest of the year.
Mickelson got within two strokes of eventual winner Nick Taylor with five holes left on the famous California course but faded down the stretch to finish five back.
“It was a hard day but I got outplayed,” the five-times major champion told reporters after shooting a two-over-par 74.
“I’m totally fine with that in that I’m going to continue to get better and give myself more chances and I’m really excited about the rest of the year.
“These last couple of weeks have really given me a lot of motivation and momentum to continue doing what I’m doing.”
The 49-year-old has plenty to motivate him this year, not least the US Open at Winged Foot, the same venue where he double-bogeyed the last in 2006 when needing only par to win.
He is not currently exempt to return this year to a championship he has never won despite six runner-up finishes.
Mickelson has said he would not accept a special exemption into the tournament in June but Sunday’s third-place finish will help his chances of earning a place on merit.
The result will lift him to about 55th in the world rankings, with the top 60 as of May 20 exempt.
Also on the horizon this year is the Ryder Cup, an event the American has not missed since making his debut in 1995.
September’s installment at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin could be his final chance to play in the biennial competition against Europe on home soil.
Sunday marked Mickelson’s first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since winning at Pebble Beach last year. He also came third at the European Tour’s Saudi International a week ago.
While not at his best on Sunday, Mickelson said it was not because of a lack of self belief.
“My focus was really sharp today,” he said.
“I just didn’t execute and we had a few misjudgments of the wind.” — Reuters
HOUSTON — Bojan Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Utah Jazz to a 114-113 victory over the host Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Bogdanovic had just two field goals and eight points for the night, 13 below his season average. But Utah executed the final inbound play to perfection, with Bogdanovic making a 28-footer over James Harden and P.J. Tucker, the final clutch 3 in a sequence of them down the stretch.
The Jazz took a 103-100 lead on a Bogdanovic 3-pointer with 4:18 left and extended that lead to 107-100, their largest of the night, on a Donovan Mitchell jumper in the lane. But the Rockets responded, with Harden registering a triple-double (28 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) with his pass to Robert Covington, whose 3-pointer with 28 seconds left gave the Rockets a 110-109 advantage.
Mitchell responded with two free throws after a Tucker foul, only for Tucker to hit a corner 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left that pushed Houston back in front. Bogdanovic had the final word.
Jordan Clarkson paced the Jazz with 30 points off the bench while Mitchell added 24 and six assists. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Westbrook led the Rockets with 39 points. After a hot start from the perimeter, Houston shot just 10 of 33 from behind the arc over the final three periods.
The first quarter represented an offensive ideal for the Rockets. Twelve of their 14 field goals came via layups or 3-pointers, with Westbrook closing the period with four consecutive driving layups immediately following Ben McLemore, Tucker and Harden combining for four 3s.
But the Jazz found their offensive rhythm in the second period by countering the Rockets’ small-ball attack. Three-pointers from Clarkson, Georges Niang and Royce O’Neale helped Utah close an 11-point deficit to 48-45 midway through the period. — Reuters
THE ever-growing running community in the country expanded some more with the establishment of a new running club in the province of Cavite.
Santé Fitness Lab (SFL) — a one-stop fitness center that offers holistic training programs for south-based communities — in partnership with Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus recently launched the Trail Blazers Run Club.
The Trail Blazers Run Club was established with the end view of engaging and encouraging the local community to adopt a healthy lifestyle through running.
The club, which is under the supervision of dedicated coaches Junrox Roque and John Joseph Ogacion, has three main objectives, namely, provide an enjoyable, supportive, and positive running atmosphere; provide competitive and participatory events for runners of all abilities; and conduct events and fora to educate the public about the benefits of running.
“More than being one of the simplest ways of getting fit, running is also an inexpensive sport. It only requires a pair of shoes and a space where you can run. With this new running club, we want to bring the sport closer to the Caviteños,” said Mr. Ogacion, who is a Santé Fitness Lab coach, certified sports nutritionist, and a marathon finisher.
The Trail Blazers Run Club was officially launched on Jan. 16 at Santé Fitness Lab and the Vermosa Track Oval with coaches Ogacion and Roque discussing in detail the rules and regulations of the club, covering registration procedures, observing proper outfits, schedules, and the programs, tailor-fitted for beginners and seasoned competitors.
“All aspiring and competitive runners who want to join the club may visit the SFL, located in Daang Hari Road in Imus, Cavite. The track oval sessions happen on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.,” said Mr. Roque.
UNIVERSITY of the East and Ateneo stake their men’s and women’s crowns as the UAAP Season 82 fencing tournament opens Tuesday at the Paco Arena.
The men’s individual saber and women’s individual foil will be featured at 8 a.m., while the men’s individual epee will be played in the afternoon.
The Red Warriors clinched a seventh straight title and the 13th overall last season behind their strong showing in the individual events. CJ Concepcion won the saber gold and two-time MVP Sammuel Tranquilan topped the epee and foil events.
Reigning MVP Maxine Esteban, who captured gold medals in the individual foil and saber events in her rookie season, will lead the Lady Eagles’ bid to remain in the throne.
Behind Esteban, Ateneo won its second championship overall, and the first since 2006, while ending UE’s 11-year reign.
The Junior Warriors, meanwhile, hope to achieve another golden double in the high school division.
The competition will also start at 8 a.m. with the boys’ individual epee, while the girls’ individual foil and boys’ individual saber will be held in the afternoon.
UE, starring Asian U23 championship gold medalist Samantha Catantan, accomplished an eight-peat in the girls’ division, while the boys’ team streaked to its ninth straight championship behind MVP Prince John Francis Felipe.
82nd Tata Steel Masters
Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
January 10–26, 2020
Final Standings:
1. Fabiano Caruana USA 2822, 10.0/13
2. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2872, 8.0/13
3. Wesley So USA 2765, 7.5/13
4–5. Jorden Van Foreest NED 2644, Daniil Dubov RUS 2683, 7.0/13
6-9. Anish Giri NED 2768, Viswanathan Anand IND 2758, Jan-Krzysztof Duda POL 2758, Alireza Firouzja FIDE 2723, 6.5/13
10–11. Jeffery Xiong USA 2712, Vladislav Artemiev RUS 2731, 6.0/13
12. Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2747, 5.0/13
13. Yu Yangyi CHN 2726, 4.5/13
14. Vladislav Kovalev BLR 2660, 4.0/13
Average Rating: 2740 Category 20
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1
GM Jorden Van Foreest
No doubt the big winner in the Tata Steel Masters was Fabiano Caruana, but another GM who put in a good performance was the 20-year old Jorden Van Foreest, who was the lowest player by rating but started the tournament with 2 wins in the first 3 rounds, kept nipping at the heels of the tournament leaders for most of the tournament and finished with +1, tied for 4th place ahead of the other Dutchman Anish Giri.
Jorden played in last year’s Tata Steel Masters and tied for last place with Vladimir Kramnik (!) with 4.5/13 (3 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses) but came back this year full of opening surprises and seriously determined to give a better showing. His main weapon for White was the Sicilian Alapin, with which he scored two wins and a draw.
Van Foreest, Jorden (2644) — Dubov, Daniil (2683) [B22]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (3.6), 13.01.2020
The old main line is 6…d5 7.exd6 Qxd6 but lately 8.Na3 before d2–d4 or 0–0 has become popular. I do not have the space to go into the theory but no less than Evgeny Sveshnikov, who has made a lifelong study into the Sicilian c3 line, endorses it. Here in the Philippines it is Jerad Docena who plays it invariably.
7.Bc2 d5
Lately 60% of all games in this line go 7…Qc7 8.Qe2 and now 8…g5!? The one who originated this line is Vassily Ivanchuk who reeled it off against no less than Eugene Torre in the 1996 Yerevan Olympiad. The game continued 9.Nxg5 Qxe5 10.d4 (10.Qxe5? Nxe5 11.Nxh7 Bh6 12.Bf5 d5! Black is already winning a piece at least) 10…cxd3 11.Bxd3 Qxe2+ 12.Bxe2 Bg7 13.0–0 0–0 14.Rd1 d5 Chucky’s position is more than ok. Torre, E. (2535) — Ivanchuk, V. (2730) Yerevan 1996 0–1 (57)
8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0–0 g6
It looks like Dubov is intentionally avoiding the more popular lines here. More common is 9…Bg4 10.Re1 You might think that black is dominating the center here but in fact White has better prospects in the center thanks to the plan b2–b3 and then after trading opponent’s c-pawn then d2–d4. All this avoid-the-main-lines tactic does not work though, as Van Foreest revealed that up to the 17th move everything was still preparation.
10.Na3 Bg7 11.b3!
Adopting the same plan I described in the previous note.
Van Foreest: I got my preparation on the board. His move Qd7 is not supposed to be good, even though many people play it. At least that’s what I think. I didn’t know how or why it was bad, I just remembered 17.Rd1 and then I think I played a bunch of only moves. It looked kind of tricky at first, but then when the dust settled I had a very promising position and some crazy things happened, but I think I had it more or less under control, if I’m not mistaken.
GM Igor Stohl, annotating the game Christopher Lutz versus Alexander Khalifman, suggests 16…Qd5 as a better move as it prevents d4–d5. Lutz, C. (2580) — Khalifman, A. (2645) Wijk aan Zee 1995 1/2 50.
17.Rd1! a6
One of the world’s greatest experts in this line, GM Dusko Pavasovic, has already demonstrated how strong White’s position is: 17…exd4 18.Nxd4 Nxd4 19.cxd4 f5 (of course not 19…Bxd4? 20.Be3) 20.b4 Kh8 21.Ra5 Rac8 22.Bb3 a6 23.Bf4 Nc4 24.Rc5 b5 25.d5 Nd6 26.Rdc1 Rfe8 1–0 (26) Pavasovic, D. (2568) — Grosar, A. (2470) Bled 2002.
18.d5! Nb4
[18…axb5 19.dxc6 Qxc6 20.Rxa8 Rxa8 21.Be3! and now, surprisingly, the knight on b6 has nowhere to go and might be lost]
19.Na3 Nxc2 20.Nxc2
White has accomplished his plan initiated on move 11 of obtaining a queenside pawn majority.
20…Rac8 21.c4 f5
Winning the exchange with 21…e4 22.Qxe4 Bxa1 23.Nxa1 Rfe8 24.Qf3 Qd6 25.Nc2 looks very dangerous for Black. The White queen and bishop will form a battery on the long diagonal and the knight can also get into the action with Nc2–e3–g4–f6. Instead, Dubov pins his hopes on getting some action on the kingside.
The much simpler 33.Qc2 is also winning but chessplayers live for the day when we can play moves like this. I remember a game from my high school days when my opponent quite by accident suddenly had a queen sacrifice forcing checkmate. Instead of executing the sacrifice he pretended to be deeply absorbed in the position, got up and whispered the move to some of his friends milling around the other chessboards, and only when a small crowd had gathered did he sit down and smash down the move on the board. That’s the nature of a chessplayer.
Van Foreest is the name of a noble house from the 13th century. In the early modern period, the family played a role in the city councils of Haarlem, Delft and Alkmaar.
Currently Jorden is the eldest child of his family and thus carries the title of Jonkheer (“young lord”). In chess terms he is the highest rated in the family as well. Lucas (born 2001) earned the title of grandmaster in 2018, has an ELO rating of 2523 and participated in this year’s Tata Steel Challengers event — he finished in the middle of the pack. His sister, Machteld (born 2007), won the Dutch Girls’ U10 Championship at the age of 6 and shared second place in the Dutch Girls’ U20 Championship when she was 9. In 2017, she became the first girl ever to win the Dutch U12 Championship.
Jorden’s great-great-grandfather Arnold van Foreest and his brother Dirk van Foreest used to dominate chess in the Netherlands and each won the national championship three times (Arnold: 1889, 1893, 1902; Dirk: 1885, 1886, 1887). Dirk van Foreest was a medical doctor and was so strong that the 5th world champion Max Euwe once said he could have been World Champion if he had dedicated himself fully to chess. The brother Arnold van Foreest was an inspector at the Dutch postal company and held positions in the Dutch Chess Federation, including one year as President.
So, brothers Jorden and Lucas have a strong chess pedigree — let’s see how far they go.
Wesley So had two wins in the tournament. I showed you his fine victory over Alireza Firouzja. Here is how he defeated Vishy Anand.
So, Wesley (2765) — Anand, Viswanathan (2758) [C54]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (2.7), 12.01.2020
We all know that Wesley So had authored a chessbase DVD on the Italian Game, so he knows a lot about it. Nobody has played this move before, is it some sort of deep preparation?
10…dxe4
[10…Nxe4 discovering an attack on the g5 knight is met by 11.Ndxe4 dxe4 12.0–0 e3 13.Bxe3 Bxe3 14.Nxe6 Bxf2+ 15.Rxf2 fxe6 16.Rxf8+ Qxf8 17.Qg4 with equality]
14.Kg3 Ne3 15.Qe2 Nxc2 16.Rb1 is the same position as in the game with the white king on g3 instead of g1. The trapped black knight on c2 can now be rescued by 16…Qg5+ 17.Kh2 Qf4+ 18.Kg1 Qe3+ and Black emerges from the complications a pawn up.
14…Ne3 15.Qe2 Nxc2 16.Rb1
How is Black to extricate the knight on c2?
16…N6d4!
[16…Qh4 does not work: 17.Nf3 Qg3 18.h4! threatening Rh3]
Vishy wanted to win and 22…Nxg2 23.Rxg2 Rxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Qe2+ 25.Kg1 Qe3+! (25…Qe1+? 26.Nf1 Rf8 is refuted by 27.Qxg7+! Kxg7 28.Bh6+) 26.Kg2 Qe2+ 27.Kg3 Rf8 leads to a draw by perpetual.
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.
Phil Mickelson began yesterday’s round with confidence, and not just because of his history of outstanding showings at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. True, self-assurance has never been a weakness; when he claimed the tournament last year, for instance, he figured it to be the trigger for an outstanding campaign. Instead, it proved to be mostly downhill from there, with his world ranking tumbling down 55 spots to 72nd by the time he went about his title defense. All the same, he remained upbeat, in no small measure because of his third-place showing at the Saudi International.
As things turned out, Mickelson wasn’t quite right in his assessment. He came close, greeting his final 18 holes a mere shot off the lead and then tying for it after just two. And, with Nick Taylor, his biggest threat, not exactly a lock under pressure given just one win — an opposite-field stop to boot — in the last five years, he deemed himself in prime position to prevail. Unfortunately, the wind had other plans, and his planned march to glory wound up being derailed by the elements. By the time nature was done with the course, he could do no better than post a 74, five shots off the pace.
In typical fashion, Mickelson’s scorecard was full of colors. He carded birdies in three of his first six holes, signaling to all and sundry that he meant business. Taylor, however, was even better over the same span, coming up with two birdies and an eagle to raise the advantage. Still, he appeared to be on track — that is, until the eighth, when a seemingly safe shot off the tee found trouble and necessitated (at least to him) an aggressive response, leading to him overshooting the flag. Two more strong strokes would then set up double bogey.
Mickelson would actually get to within two of Taylor with four holes to play, but it was fool’s gold. As evidenced by two more bogeys to offset a lone birdie after the turn, he hadn’t been playing well to that point. And, true enough, another bogey against his opponent’s two birdies the rest of the way made for the final scores. From his standpoint, though, his performance was enough to underscore his progress. Needless to say, top of mind for him is outright entry to the United States Open, which he pledged not to join on an exemption.
Make no mistake. Mickelson wants to be at Winged Foot in June. He’s heck bent on exorcising the demons that plagued his ill-fated run for the title in 2006. And in addition to being the major that has given him the most number of heartbreaks, it happens to host the only title missing from his stellar Grand Slam resume. Will he finally win? At this point, the more relevant query pertains to his chance of qualifying. He believes he will, just as he believes victory is in his grasp. He is who he is, even at 49, and even when his game has most definitely seen better days.
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.
THE PESO depreciated slightly on Monday following the appreciation of the Chinese yuan and as markets continue to factor in a possible global growth slowdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The local unit finished trading at P50.78 versus the dollar on Monday, weakening by 2.50 centavos from its Friday close of P50.755 against the greenback.
The peso opened at P50.85 per dollar. Its weakest showing for the session was at P50.855, while its intraday best was at P50.74.
Dollars traded dropped to $581.4 million from $771.92 million last Friday.
Traders attributed the peso’s depreciation to developments related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Asked about the factors that may have affected market sentiment for currency exchange today, a trader said in a phone call: “Most likely Chinese yuan kasi nag-appreciate ’yung yuan when the inflation data was released this morning above expectation siya. So lumakas ’yung Chinese yuan and na-drag ’yung peso (It’s most likely the Chinese yuan because it appreciated when inflation data was released this morning and it was above expectations. So the yuan got stronger and the peso was dragged down).”
Inflation in China hit an eight-year high of 5.4% in January, going beyond the 4.9% forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
The Chinese yuan appreciated by 0.2% to 6.9891 per dollar on Monday, according to Reuters.
Most emerging Asian currencies also firmed on Monday as Chinese authorities lifted some work restrictions and implemented measures to support the economy, though concerns around the virus outbreak persisted due to a mounting death toll.
Workers began trickling back to offices and factories around China on Monday as the government eased some restrictions on working in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic that has now killed more than 900 people, mostly on the mainland. Meanwhile, another trader attributed the decline to market worries on the virus.
“The peso weakened amid renewed global slowdown concerns from the novel coronavirus outbreak,” the trader said in an e-mail.
S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Friday that the coronavirus crisis would probably stabilize globally by March, “with virtually no new transmissions in April.”
“Of course, the virus has global reach and there will be feedback effects on China as other economies adjust and global financial conditions shift,” it said.
For today, the first trader gave a forecast range of P50.70-P51.00 while the second trader said the peso might move within the P50.70-P50.90 range. — L.W.T. Noble withReuters
LOCAL SHARES ended lower on Monday as local investors turned sellers following last week’s surge in bargain hunters.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 76.34 points or 1.01% to close at 7,430.86 yesterday, while the broader all shares index declined 39.43 points or 0.89% to 4,383.21.
“While the market ended with foreigners being net buyers, the index ended lower and market breadth was negative as investors took profits from last week’s four-day rally from 7,100 back up to 7,500 levels,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren T. Pangan said in a text message yesterday.
Mr. Pangan was referring to the continued rise in net foreign buying on Monday to reach P2.05 billion, up from last Friday’s net purchases worth P288.47 million.
Christopher John Mangun, research head at AAA Southeast Equities, Inc., said the massive foreign inflows mean the sellers yesterday were mostly onshore investors.
“Despite ending lower, we saw substantial foreign inflows which tells us that local investors were selling today,” Mr. Mangun said in an e-mail.
“Several third-liners hit their ceiling prices today as retail investors avoid blue-chips and try their luck with highly volatile stocks,” he added.
Mr. Mangun noted several blue chips lost more than 3% of their value yesterday. For example, BDO Unibank, Inc. (-3.47%), GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (-3.24%), Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (-3.45%), PLDT, Inc. (-3.48%) and JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (-3.25%) are some PSEi members that ended more than 3% lower yesterday.
Sectoral indices were mostly in red territory at Monday’s close. Mining and oil lost 251.95 points or 3.41% to 7,131.52; industrials shed 195.88 points or 2.08% to 9,195.80; financials declined 37.22 points or 2.07% to 1,753.87; services decreased 17.60 points or 1.17% to 1,485.27; and holding firms shaved off 36.50 points or 0.51% to 7,109.51.
The sole gaining index was property, which added 5.52 points or 0.13% to 4,042.32.
Value turnover stood at P8.68 billion yesterday with 1.67 billion issues switching hands, higher from last Friday’s P5.33 billion worth of 2.86 billion issues.
Decliners outpaced advancers, 120 against 77, with 45 names unchanged.
Yesterday also saw selling in stocks of ABS-CBN Corp. after the Office of the Solicitor General filed a quo warranto to nullify its congressional franchise. Shares in the company dropped 30 centavos or 1.76% to P16.70 apiece.
“Investors may become pessimistic of ABS-CBN shares although developments regarding the company’s status may affect its price over the short term, Timson Securities’ Mr. Pangan said.
“For the broader market, investors are yet again reminded of the regulatory risks facing some companies listed in the market,” he added.
THE JUSTICE department has indicted former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV and ten others for conspiracy to commit sedition, but another sedition-related complaint involving him along with Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo and 29 others has been dismissed.
The indictment was filed before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court last January but was released to the public only on Monday.
The other respondents include Peter Joemel Advincula or “Bikoy,” Joel Saracho, Boom Enriquez, Yolanda V. Ong, Vicente Romano III, Fr. Albert E. Alejo, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Jonnel P. Sangalang, Eduardo Acierto, and “a certain Monique.”
The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the online publication of the Bikoy videos, which insinuated that members of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s family and political allies were receiving pay-offs from drug syndicates, was one of the evidence of conspiracy among respondents.
Mr. Advincula, in a press conference last May 7, 2019, admitted to being “Bikoy,” the supposed whistleblower featured in the videos and also testified to the respondents’ conspiracy to commit sedition.
Based on the Revised Penal Code, the crime of conspiracy to commit sedition is punishable by imprisonment from two years, four months and a day to four years and two months and a fine of up to P2,000
Mr. Trillanes said the case is “but another proof that the Duterte administration continues to weaponize the law against the political opposition, critics and the media.”
“But let me assure Mr. Duterte that we will not be cowed by such political persecution,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said he is “very interested” to find out how the prosecution panel was able to resolve that the respondents plotted to commit sedition.
“I am very interested to find out how the prosecution panel was able to resolve that Trillanes et. al., plotted to commit sedition, considering that the crime of conspiracy deals with the state of mind of the defendants, and especially given the fact that the information was solely based on the testimony of one person,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DoJ dismissed the complaint for sedition, inciting to sedition, cyberlibel, libel, estafa, and obstruction of justice against all 31 respondents, including Mr. Trillanes, the vice president, detained Senator Leila M. De Lima, and former senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV.
These prominent personalities are members of the opposition.
“In finding no probable cause for sedition or inciting to sedition, the Panel found the element of public and tumultuous uprising wanting,” the DoJ said.
Ms. Robredo’s spokesperson, Barry Gutierrez, said the dismissal of the complaint “is a definitive condemnation of the fabricated accusations and trumped-up charges brought against her and stands as vindication of what she has maintained from the start: that these ‘charges’ were never anything more than lies and political harassment.” — Genshen L. Espedido
