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
TAIWAN is included in the Philippine’s flight ban list, Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique C. Domingo said on Monday.
He made the clarification after Health Undersecretary Gerardo V. Bayugo said in an earlier briefing on the same day that the government was considering adding Taiwan to the travel ban that is already in effect for China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau.
Taiwan has so far 17 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 1,000 people under observation.
Globally, there are over 40,000 cases and more than 900 deaths, mostly in China, according to the World Health Organization.
With Taiwan covered under the ban, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said around 120,000 overseas Filipino workers there will be affected.
Meanwhile, four more Filipinos aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the coronavirus, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday.
This brings the number of affected Filipinos to five since the cruise ship, docked in Yokohama, Japan, was placed under quarantine.
“They are now being treated in hospitals in Japan,” the DFA said in a statement.
“The Embassy is closely coordinating with Japanese authorities, and is in constant communication with the Filipinos still onboard, to provide them all possible assistance.”
Reuters reported that as of Monday, 60 more cases on the ship have been confirmed, bringing the total to 130.
There are around 3,700 passengers and crew members onboard, of whom 538 are Filipinos. — Gillian M. CortezandCharmaine A. Tadalan
PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte said he is determined to end the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States despite American President Donald Trump himself wanting to keep the accord.
In a speech Monday evening, Mr. Duterte said he will not reciprocate the efforts of Mr. Trump, along with “others” whom he did not specify, to maintain the bilateral military cooperation.
“Si Trump and others are trying to save the Visiting Forces Agreement, pero sabi ko ayaw ko (but I said no, I don’t want to),” he said.
Last Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said Mr. Duterte will be talking to Mr. Trump about the VFA, but there is so far no confirmation whether the discussion already took place.
In late January, Mr. Duterte announced that he wanted to cancel the VFA in the wake of the cancellation of the US visa of Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa, his political ally and former police chief.
He first gave the US two months to address the issue, but said in later statements that he has already set his mind to end the agreement.
The President said the visa cancellation was just one of the reasons why he wanted to lessen ties with the US.
He has also announced that he will be skipping the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Las Vegas in March and directed his Cabinet officials to refrain from travelling to the US.
Meanwhile, the Senate adopted on Monday evening the resolution asking Mr. Duterte to reconsider the VFA termination plan while the chamber is undertaking its thorough review of the agreement.
Mr. Dela Rosa abstained from the voting for the resolution’s adoption. — Gillian M. CortezandCharmaine A. Tadalan
THE SENATE foreign relations committee has approved the resolution asking President Rodrigo R. Duterte to reconsider the abrogation of the Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said the resolution was calendared to be sponsored in the chamber on Monday’s session. The Feb. 10 agenda showed the resolution is lined up for sponsorship.
“This afternoon, idi-discuss na namin ang (we will discuss the) VFA,” Mr. Zubiri said in a briefing ahead of the session. As of this writing, the Senate has yet to tackle the measure.
“I’m leaning towards the adoption of the resolution,” he said.
Government officials over the weekend gave contradicting statements on the President’s directive over the VFA issue.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a Senate hearing last week that the notice to terminate the agreement has been prepared, but still awaiting Mr. Duterte’s go-signal.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, for his part, said he would wait for the President’s official announcement as a Senate review would be “a waste of time” if Mr. Duterte terminates the agreement.
At the House of Representatives, Speaker Alan Peter S. Cayetano hinted on support for ending the VFA, saying the accord may have “the effect of derailing the attainment of our National Goals and Objectives.”
“Today, if we do our research and review the facts, we can see that we have been neglected by the United States. They have stood by blindly as we where abused by our neighbors and our territory snatched from us. And their former enemies — despite still differing values on democratic process and human rights — continue to get better treatment and more resources from them than their old friend, and ever reliable ally, the Philippines,” Mr. Cayetano, said in a statement on Monday. He also called for a review not only of the VFA, but also on the Philippines’ “long relationship” with the US government. — Charmaine A. TadalanandGenshen L. Espedido
THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism-Western Visayas (DoT-6) office will meet with the region’s industry stakeholders, starting in Boracay, to map out marketing strategies and possible room rate discounts to spur domestic travel. DoT Regional Director Helen J. Catalbas said they will start the discussions this week to cushion the impact of the drop in Chinese tourists amid the travel ban for flights from China, Hong Kong and Macau. “We are looking at meeting with the stakeholders. I go there, talk to establishments with massive cancellations and offer to them the marketing facilities of DoT-6 by having them agree on room rate sales,” Ms. Catalbas said on Friday. “Discounted room rates are better than empty rooms that may result to loss of employment, loss of livelihood, to hundreds of thousands in the region dependent on tourism,” she added. Around 50% of the 434,175 foreigners who visited Boracay in 2019 were Chinese. Ms. Catalbas said it is too early to account for the full impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak in statistical terms, and what can be done now is to stimulate local tourism, even just at the regional level. With the eight million people in Western Visayas, she said, having just a portion of the local population as tourists can help compensate for the losses from the foreign market.
HUGE
Governor Florencio T. Miraflores of Aklan province, which covers Boracay, said the coronavirus situation compounds the impact of last year’s six-month closure of the popular island destination for rehabilitation and typhoon Ursula (international name: Phanfone) in December. “We barely have recovered from the closure, Ursula, and then this one. It has really a huge impact,” Mr. Miraflores said. “There are still Koreans coming but the businesses that catered to chartered flights direct from China will really be affected,” he added. In the meantime, he said he is hoping that local travelers will keep Boracay businesses afloat. “I would like to assure our local tourists that Boracay is safe. There is no truth to the rumor going around that there is a confirmed case in Boracay,” he said. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo
THE Mt. Apo trails from Digos City and Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur will be closed from April 6 to 12 for campsite and trail assessment to be conducted by a multi-agency monitoring team.
These dates are marked as Holy Monday to Easter Sunday in the Catholic calendar, which is usually a peak period for travelers.
Julius R. Paner, tourism officer of Sta. Cruz, said the evaluation is necessary as the trails have been on full carrying capacity since late last year while the four other trails have been closed.
“Ngayon (Nowadays), every weekend puno ang aming trail (the trail is full),” said Mr. Paner, referring to the one in Sta. Cruz, where a maximum of 50 climbers are allowed per day.
The four other Mt. Apo trails are in Bansalan, also in Davao del Sur, and Magpet, Makilala, and Kidapawan City in Cotabato.
The Kidapawan trail was affected by the series of earthquakes in Mindanao last year, particularly those with epicenter in Cotabato.
Mr. Paner said despite the “no camping at the summit” policy imposed since the major forest fire in 2016, many still want to climb the country’s highest peak.
“Very stringent ang policy, but despite that, Mt. Apo is Mt. Apo, a bucket-list for mountaineers, kaya marami pa rin ang umaakyat (that’s why many still come),” he said.
“In tourism we have this ‘the more the merrier’ thing, but we have to consider the impact of Mt. Apo to the environment in general,” he added.
The monitoring team will be composed of representatives from the barangay and municipal government, Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, and Bureau of Fire Protection.
APRIL EVENTS
Two extreme adventure races will be hosted by Sta. Cruz in April, the Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge on the 18th, and the Mt. Apo Sky and Vertical Race as part of the town’s Pista sa Kinaiyahan (Feast for Nature) festival on the 25th.
“We have proven for 10 years that Mt. Apo is the most extreme adventure race in Asia, and now we are trying to make it a friendly race. We won’t make it too extreme this year because we would like to allow everybody to enjoy the beauty of Mt. Apo,” Mr. Paner said.
“This is a feast for mother nature and its aim is not just to do tourism activity but also this is the time to make it as a strategy of conservation and protection of the country’s highest peak Mt. Apo,” he added. — Maya M. Padillo
THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) released a memo on Monday discouraging events that will gather large crowds amid the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) threat. In its health advisory, DoH said it “strongly urges the public to avoid attending, participating in, and organizing events that draw a huge number of attendees.” DoH also called on organizers to cancel planned events to lessen the risk of virus transmission. In a briefing on Monday, Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique C. Domingo clarified that the advisory is not a directive that strictly prohibits all large gatherings, but a public warning.
PUI
DoH reported 314 persons under investigation (PUI) in different parts of the country as of February 10. “We are seeing a rapid increase in the transmission rate of the virus globally. In response, DoH has strengthened its capacity in preparation for the possibility of local transmission. All DoH hospitals are equipped to cater to the influx of patients and are following strict infection control protocols to contain the virus,” Mr. Domingo said. According to the World Health Organization, more than 900 deaths have been recorded as of Monday from 40,000 confirmed cases.
DAVAO CITY
Following the DoH advisory, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio announced the cancellation of activities lined up for the 83rd Araw Ng Davao celebration in March. “Our game plan is to eliminate activities that are possible maka-transmit (to transmit) the virus like mass gatherings,” she said in a press conference Monday. She said the Thanksgiving Mass will be the only highlight for the celebration of the city’s founding anniversary, and all preparations made for this year will be executed in 2021. The scheduled holidays on March 1 and 16 will remain in effect. Ms. Carpio noted that the city’s health care facilities have limitations and cannot possibly carry hundreds of sick individuals all at the same time. “Because of these limitations, our plans for us Dabawenyos is to ensure that we do not get the infection. Please read all available information on how you can keep you, your children and the entire family healthy,” she said. The mayor also announced a ban on all welcome and send-off groups at airports, seaports, bus terminals, and other transportation hubs. “Doon na sila mag-we-welcome sa kanilang mga bahay. Lahat ng iyakan at goodbyes sa bahay na gagawin (They can do the welcoming at home. All the crying and goodbyes, do those at home),” she said. The new policy has been discussed with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, which manages the Davao International Airport, she said. For the holding of this year’s Ironman 70.3. triathlon, which will be the third staging in the city, Ms. Carpio said they have yet to make a decision. “We will still have to discuss what is the best thing to do.” — Gillian M. CortezandMaya M. Padillo
