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7s Football League commences new season with Kampeon Cup

THE FOURTH season of the 7s Football League commences later this week with the staging of the first-ever Philam Vitality Kampeon 7s Cup at the McKinley Hill Stadium in Taguig City.

A two-day event, happening from July 27-28, the Philam Vitality Kampeon 7s Cup will feature all-star squads from Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao, cities with their respective 7s Football League tournaments, which will battle it out to determine the country’s best 7s football squad.

Proponents of the tournament said the Kampeon 7s Cup is in line with their thrust of using 7s football as a platform to create opportunities for people across the country as well as further promote the sport of football.

“The 7s Football League is in four major cities across the nation now: Manila, Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao. In order to bring it all together, I thought it would be best to create a tournament to see who the best is in the country,” said 7s Football founder and Manila Commissioner Anton Del Rosario at the press conference for the tournament and the new season on July 18 in Makati City.

“What I have done together with Philam Vitality is to have these cities put together all-star teams composed of 10 Filipinos and four imports to represent their cities. We will be flying teams to Manila to compete on July 27 and 28 to see who the best in the country. That’s what the KAMPEON 7s is all about: creating opportunity for people across the country,” he added.

Mr. Del Rosario went on to say that the Philam Vitality Kampeon 7s Cup is only the first tournament of what is going to be a packed season for the league, with more cities/teams expected to be taken in and involving squads from Brunei, and possibly Singapore and Malaysia.

He also shared that the league is to get added dimension this season as they are set to raise funds for cancer patients by way jersey auctions and in-venue activities beginning in the upcoming Philam Vitality Kampeon 7s Cup.

With Mr. Del Rosario at the press conference last week were Bernadette Chincuanco, Philam Life Head of Branding and Communications; Kats Cajucom, Head of AIA-Philam Life’s Philam Vitality program; Leonard Tan, CMO of Philam Life; Faezal Murni, 7s Football League Brunei partner; and Belay Fernando, former Philippine women’s national team player. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Kings, E-Painters go for PBA series closeout

UP 1-0 in their respective best-of-three Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal pairings, the defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters go for the jugular of their opponents today and book a spot in the semifinals.

Set at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the fourth-seeded Kings play the fifth-seeded Magnolia Hotshots Ang Pambansang Manok at 4:30 p.m. and the sixth seeds Elasto Painters jostle with number three Blackwater Elite at 7 p.m. with an eye on closing out things.

Barangay Ginebra took Game One on Saturday, 85-79, over Magnolia to move on the brink of advancing to the next round.

The Kings used a strong finishing kick in a tightly fought contest to create separation in the end and hold off the Hotshots.

Import Justin Brownlee paced Barangay Ginebra in the win, finishing with 20 points, 16 rebounds and five assists.

Guard Stanley Pringle, named player of the game after, added 18 points while Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.

For Magnolia it was Paul Lee who top-scored with 24 points while replacement import Rakeem Christmas had a better outing than his debut with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Despite up in the series, Kings coach Tim Cone said they cannot afford to relax against Magnolia, more so since he felt their win in the series opener was not as convincing as they wanted it to be.

“As much as we won, it felt like a loss because we weren’t able to play the game we wanted to play at all. Credit to their defense and coaching staff for putting up a fine defensive game plan. We got to handle it better on Tuesday and make sure we’re better prepared,” Mr. Cone said after the game.

COMPLETE UPSET
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine seeks to complete an upset of higher-seeded Blackwater.

The E-Painters dug deep to get the better of the Elite to wrest the series lead last time around, 83-80.

Gunner Rey Nambatac hit what turned out to be the game-winning trey with 2.3 seconds remaining to complete the come-from-behind victory by Rain or Shine.

Ed Daquioag led the Elasto Painters in scoring with 19 points, followed by import Carl Montgomery with 17 points to go along with 19 boards.

Game hero Nambatac had 13 points with Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood adding 11 and 10 points each.

Rookie Ray Parks, Jr., meanwhile, led Blackwater with 20 points.

Replacement import Greg Smith, who replaced Staphon Blair, had 16 points and 19 rebounds in his tournament debut. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

NCAA: Streaking Knights eye fourth win in a row

THE SUDDENLY streaking Letran Knights go for their fourth straight win in National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 95 today when they collide with the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals in the scheduled 4 p.m. match at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

Lost their season debut on opening day, the Knights (3-1) have been on a roll since to make their way to the top four to date in the brand-new season of the country’s oldest collegiate league.

The latest of the conquered of Letran were the Perpetual Help Altas, 82-80, in overtime period on July 19.

Bonbon Batiller and Ato Ular starred for the Knights in said game, helping their team to the hard-earned victory.

Batiller top-scored for Letran with 22 points with Ular adding a career-high 19 markers.

Big men Larry Muyang and Jeo Ambohot also came up strong for the Knights, combining for 19 points and 22 rebounds.

While they are happy with the current streak they are in, Letran coach Bonnie Tan said they still have things to work on and polish, including how to properly close games, which he said is still suspect as attested by the game against the Altas.

“We are still in the learning process and we have to do a better job of closing out games. But we will take this. A win is win,” said Mr. Tan after their game on Friday.

Incidentally, the top-scoring performance of Batiller earned for him the NCAA player of the week honors.

Looking to derail the Knights today are the Generals, who have been competing well despite the current losing 1-2 record they have.

The Generals fell to the defending champions San Beda Red Lions, 89-72, in an NCAA on Tour offering on July 18.

The quartet of Marwin Taywan, Kriss Gurtiza, JP Maguliano and Jethro Mendoza all scored in double digits in the game but it was not enough to stop the Lions from running away with the victory.

Previous to the game, the Generals, now coached by Oliver Bunyi, defeated the Lyceum Pirates and narrowly lost to the College of Saint Benilde in their season debut.

Meanwhile, playing in the 12 noon seniors’ play opener are the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (1-3) against Perpetual Help (1-2), to be followed in 2 p.m. by the clash between Lyceum (2-1) and San Sebastian (2-0). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

The Baguio Variation

Croatia Grand Chess Tour
Zagreb, Croatia
June 26-July 8, 2019

Final Standings

1. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2875, 8.0/11

2. Wesley So USA 2754, 7.0/11

3-4. Levon Aronian ARM 2752,

Fabiano Caruana USA 2819, 6.0/11

5-7. Anish Giri NED 2779, Ding Liren CHN 2805, Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2775, 5.5/11

8. Sergey Karjakin RUS 2748, 5.0/11

9-11. Viswanathan Anand IND 2767, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2774, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2779, 4.5/11

12. Hikaru Nakamura USA 2754, 4.0/11

Average Rating 2782 Category 22

Time Control: 130 minutes play-to-finish with 30-second delay before the clock starts on every move

Magnus Carlsen put on a great performance to win the Croatia leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour and Wesley So did very well himself to finish a strong second, but they were not the only ones playing some good chess. Today I will show you the game Caruana versus Nakamura, which was very interesting to me since it featured the Baguio Variation, played in game 21 of the Karpov versus Korchnoi world championship match in 1978 held in the Baguio Convention Center.

Starting 1957 all the world championship matches were held in Russia and the streak was broken in 1972 Reykjavik. The Baguio match was only the second one held outside Russia. It was also the first match with an unlimited number of games featuring the first-to-win-six games clause.

The bickering started almost immediately after the players landed in the Manila International Airport. Korchnoi, a recent defector from the USSR, wanted to play under the flag of Switzerland, but the Soviet representatives would not agree, citing FIDE regulations that he has not yet been a permanent Swiss resident there for at least 12 months. There was an impasse, broken finally when someone suggested to remove all flags from the table.

What music to play during the opening ceremonies? After a great deal of argument finally Korchnoi acquiesced to Beethoven’s 9th (Schiller’s Ode to Joy). He got his revenge though when the military band made a blunder and played “The Internationale” instead of the Soviet national anthem.

Then, during the match, there was the Ananda Marga issue — Korchnoi brought in two American members (Victoria Sheppard and Stephen Michael Dwyer) of the Indian-based Ananda Marga sect to help him concentrate. The problem was that these two were free on bail after being convicted of attempted murder. Karpov complained that the two “meditation experts” in bright-colored flowing robes were terrorists, and they bothered him immensely.

Then there was the Zoukhar issue. The Soviets brought him in as an expert in psychology and neurology to study the psychological conditions in the playing hall. Korchnoi took exception when he noticed that all Mr. Zoukhar did was sit in the front row and stare at him all throughout the game. He claimed that Zoukhar was a parapsychologist trying to affect his normal thoughts.

We can go on and on, let us concentrate on the chess.

The two players swapped wins in games 8 and 11 and Karpov then took a three-game lead with victories in games 13, 14 and 17. Korchnoi crawled back with a nice victory in game 21 (with the Baguio Variation) but then lost again in game 27. This was the 5th win for Karpov and he just needed another win to retain his world title. Betwixt the cup and the lip though, Korchnoi seemed to get second wind as he broke through with wins in games 28, 29 and 31 to tie the match. Karpov then won game 32 to retain his title.

Here is game 21 which is generally considered the best game in the whole match.

Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich (2665) — Karpov, Anatoly (2725) [D37]
World-ch28 Karpov-Korchnoi +6–5=21 Baguio City (21), 12.09.1978

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bf4 0–0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.Rd1 Qa5 10.a3 Re8 11.Nd2 e5 12.Bg5 Nd4 <D>

POSITION AFTER 12…ND4

The Baguio Variation.

13.Qb1

The knight cannot be taken: 13.exd4 exd4+ 14.Ne2 Ng4 with the deadly threat of …d4–d3. Black wins in all variations: 15.Bh4 (15.Qd3 dxc4 16.Qxc4 Ne5 17.Qb3 Bf5) 15…d3 16.Qxd3 Ne5 17.Qxd5 Bf5 etc…

13…Bf5 14.Bd3 e4 15.Bc2

Korchnoi’s move was good enough for a slight edge. With the benefit of modern computer chess engines we now know that best is 15.Bf1! giving up the queen for three pieces. After 15…Ng4 16.cxd5 Ne5 17.exd4 Nf3+ 18.gxf3 exf3+ 19.Be3 (19.Nde4 Bxe4 (19…Rxe4+ 20.Qxe4 Bxe4 21.dxc5 Re8 22.Bb5) 20.Qc1 Bxd5+ 21.Be3 and the extra piece should prevail) 19…Bxb1 20.Nc4! He just has too much for the queen, Black’s attack is petering out, and the passed pawn on d5 will be a monster. I emphasize that this was calculated by the chess engines as I doubt whether anyone can work this out over the board.

15…Nxc2+ 16.Qxc2 Qa6

A disappointment, but 16…d4 does not work: 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Nd5 d3 19.Qb3 White is at least equal.

17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Nb3! Bd6 19.Rxd5

Korchnoi has survived with an extra pawn to boot.

19…Re5 20.Nd4 Rc8 21.Rxe5 Qxe5 22.Nxf5 Qxf5 23.0–0

[23.Qxe4? Qxe4 24.Nxe4 Rxc4 25.Nc3 Bxa3! Black has recovered his lost pawn.]

23…Rxc4 24.Rd1! Qe5 25.g3 a6 26.Qb3 b5 27.a4 Rb4 28.Qd5 Qxd5 29.Rxd5 Bf8 30.axb5 a5 31.Rd8 Rxb2 32.Ra8 f5 33.Rxa5 Bb4 34.Ra8+ Kf7 35.Na4 Rb1+ 36.Kg2 Bd6 37.Ra7+ Kf6 38.b6 Bb8 39.Ra8 Be5 40.Nc5 Bd6 41.b7 Ke7 42.Rg8 Be5

[42…Kf7? 43.Rd8 loses at once]

43.f4! exf3+ 44.Kxf3 Kf7 45.Rc8 Ke7 46.h3 h5 47.Rg8 Kf7 48.Rd8 g5 49.g4! hxg4+ 50.hxg4 Ke7 51.Rg8 fxg4+ 52.Kxg4 Kf7 53.Rc8 Bd6 54.e4 Rg1+ 55.Kf5 g4 56.e5 Rf1+ 57.Ke4 Re1+ 58.Kd5 Rd1+ 59.Nd3! Rxd3+ 60.Kc4 1–0

Now that I have sufficiently whetted your appetite, please allow me to present the Caruana-Nakamura game from Zagreb.

Caruana, Fabiano (2819) — Nakamura, Hikaru (2754) [D37]
Croatia Grand Chess Tour chess24.com (1.2), 26.06.2019

In the first round in Zagreb Caruana struck hard against his compatriot Hikaru Nakamura. He came up with a very sharp novelty on the 19th (1) move with 19.Qf5 followed by 20.h4 and really went for broke.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0–0 6.e3 c5

Nakamura used to specialize in the Black side of the 6…Nbd7 7.c5 but lately has been dabbling in this more open lines of the Baguio Variation.

7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.Rd1

The last word hasn’t been spoken yet on 10.0–0–0. We discussed this many columns ago and used the following game to illustrate its dangers: 10…Be7 11.g4 Rd8 12.h3 a6 13.Nd2 e5 14.g5 Ne8 15.Nb3 Qb6 16.Nxd5 Rxd5 17.cxd5 exf4 18.dxc6 fxe3 19.fxe3 Bxg5 20.Kb1 bxc6 21.Bc4 Ra7 22.Rhf1 Bf6 23.Qe4 Kf8 24.Qxh7 g6 25.e4 c5 26.e5 Bg7 27.e6 1–0 (27) Speelman, J (2645)-Short, N (2665) London 1988.

10…Re8 11.Nd2 e5 12.Bg5 Nd4!? 13.Qb1 Bf5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ne4

White has to choose between 16.Ncxe4 16.cxd5, Ndxe4 and 16.Nxd5. All of them are playable.

16.Nxd5 Nxg5 17.b4

[17.exd4 Bxd4 18.b4 Qd8 19.Qb3 Ne6 20.0–0 Nc7 21.Ne3 Qf6 22.c5 b6 23.Ne4 Qe6 24.Qxe6 Rxe6 25.Nf5 bxc5 26.Nxc5 Bxc5 27.bxc5 Na6 28.Rd5 g6 29.Nd6 Rd8 30.Rfd1 Nxc5 31.Nxf7 Rxd5 32.Rxd5 Kxf7 33.Rxc5 draw. Mamedyarov, S (2809)-Nakamura, H (2787) Moscow 2018]

17…Qd8 18.bxc5 Nde6 19.Qf5!

This move followed by 20.h4 is Caruana’s preparation.

19…Nxc5 20.h4 Nge6 21.Nf3

[21.Qxe5?? Nd3+]

21…Qa5+ 22.Ke2 f6 23.h5 e4 24.Nd2 Qxa3

Nakamura: “I’m a bit confused, because he told me after the game that Qxa3 was his preparation, and here I thought that 24…Ng5 is the move — a complete mess.”

25.Rh4!

The move Nakamura expected was 25.h6, after which White is doing well. However, during his long think to check the variations Caruana found the text, which was even stronger.

25…Rad8

The line that Caruana was computing was 25…Ng5 26.h6 Re5 27.Nxf6+ gxf6 28.Qxf6 Qd3+! 29.Ke1 Qd7 and now White cannot take the rook because of a potential knight fork on d3. However, then he spotted 30.Nxe4! Ncxe4 31.Qxe5 Qf7 32.Rf4 wins just as well.

26.Nxe4

Caruana basically has a strong kingside attack for nothing. He is currently threatening 27.Nexf6+ with a mating attack.

26…Qa2+ 27.Ke1

[27.Kf1? allows Black to take the c4 pawn with check.]

27…Qa5+ 28.Kf1 Nxe4 29.Rxe4 Qa4 30.Rb1 Ng5

[30…Qc6 31.h6! (31.Nxf6+ does not work as after 31…gxf6 32.Rg4+ Ng5 33.f4 is met by 33…Qxc4+ 34.Kg1 Qe4 and Black has survived) 31…Rd7 32.Qg4 Kf8 33.hxg7+ Rxg7 34.Qf3 Rf7 35.Nxf6 the attack is too strong]

31.Rd4 Nf7 32.Rxb7 Qa6 33.Qb1

With the idea of Nc7.

33…Rf8 34.Kg1 Kh8 35.c5 Rc8 36.Nf4 Ne5

[36…Rxc5? 37.Rxf7]

37.h6 g6 38.Rd6 Qc4 39.Re6 Rxc5 40.Ree7 1–0

The Baguio Variation is part of chess history. We should all remember it and be proud.

 

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

Irishman tames Royal Portrush

To argue that Shane Lowry battled the odds in order to win the British Open would be an understatement. It wasn’t simply that he carried the hope of Ireland in the major tournament’s return to the country for the first time since 1968 and just the second time ever. It was that his performances in Grand Slam events had been spotty at best, and that his most memorable turn ended up in disappointment. He held a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 2016 United States Open, only to sputter with a 76 and finish a bridesmaid.

Not surprisingly, local habitues of the sport saw fit to root for compatriots with superior resumes. As things turned out, though, Royal Portrush claimed their champions one by one, and until only Lowry was left to keep their cause alive. Rory McIlroy, whose near-lifelong love affair with the course and sharp play in recent memory made him a natural favorite, all but bowed out on the very first hole of the very first round. Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington likewise failed to make the cut. Graeme McDowell did, but closed with a 77 and in 57th place.

Amid all the tumult and increasing pressure to do well for flag and fans, Lowry held his head high. For all his usual doubts, he wielded his clubs with confidence; tied for the lead at the halfway mark, he then took advantage of benign conditions in the penultimate 18 to build a four-stroke lead. And in the face of brutal weather that pursuers figured would get scores closer, he turned the final round into a red-carpet walk to the podium. He was steady in the pouring rain and swirling winds, and, even as not a single player in the final 12 groups managed to break par, he put up a one-over 72 that reflected his steely nerves and capacity to display his best under pressure.

When the battlesmoke cleared, Lowry found his arms wrapped around with the Claret Jug to widespread cheer. “I can’t believe it’s mine,” he said, the gravity of his accomplishment finally hitting him. “You’re our there trying to win an Open in your own country, and it’s just incredibly difficult.” And he’s right, never mind that he seemed to be in control throughout the last day; at no time in his final round did his lead narrow to less than three strokes. Light made way to dusk, and, in the night, Royal Portrush was at peace with the outcome it carved; home to the British Open once more, it awarded the title of Champion Golfer of the Year to one of its own.

 

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.

Duterte’s anointed gets House leadership post

PHILSTAR

TAGUIG CITY 1st District Rep. Alan Peter S. Cayetano was voted speaker by an overwhelming majority at Monday’s opening of the 18th Congress, confirming President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s strong influence in the House of Representatives.

With 297 congressmen present, 266 voted for Mr. Cayetano, who was anointed by the President after weeks of wrangling over the House leadership.

The other nominee, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido M. Abante Jr., got 28 votes while two lawmakers abstained and one casted a “no-vote.”

The other bets for speakership —  Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, Leyte-1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte — nominated the Taguig City lawmaker.

During his nomination speech, the solon Duterte, son of the President, said he does not agree with the supposed term-sharing agreement between Mr. Cayetano and Mr. Velasco as suggested by his father.

“The term sharing agreement, the one between Congressman Cayetano and Velasco with the President, I am against any term-sharing agreement. However, if the speaker resigns after 15 months, then we have to elect a new speaker,” said the presidential son.

Under the deal, Mr. Cayetano will serve for the first 15 months while Mr. Velasco will have the post in the next 21 months.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Cayetano assured that the House is “partners” with the Duterte administration after reading the bible verse under Matthew 6:33.

“In layman’s terms, it’s very simple when we say seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, we are saying… let us do what is right. People love their congressmen, but they love to hate Congress… Let us change that because this is the House of the People,” he said.

Mr. Cayetano also appealed for help and cooperation from his colleagues within his “15 months” as speaker.

Mr. Velasco, for his part, said he is hopeful that he will still have the majority’s support after 15 months.

“I’m not giving up, we had the gentleman’s agreement. I respect the 15 months of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano,” said Mr. Velasco in a chance interview after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday.

“Hopefully on the 15th month, he said will step down and like what I’ve said, we will go back to elections of the next House speaker,” he added.

Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos T. Zarate, on the other hand, said that many things could happen in 15 months.

The speakership position is “very precarious,” he said, “even if it is already clear na 15-21 yan, who can say na (that) in 15 months, wala ng mangyayari (nothing else will happen).”

Meanwhile, Mr. Romualdez was elected as majority leader.

Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro T. Ungab will manage the committee on appropriations while Tagaytay City Rep. Abraham N. Tolentino will head the committee on accounts.

Elected deputy speakers are Mr. Duterte, Ferdinand L. Hernandez, Evelina G. Escudero, Loren B. Legarda, Conrad M. Estrella III, Prospero A. Pichay Jr., Roberto V. Puno, Eduardo C. Villanueva, Aurelio D. Gonzales Jr., Johnny T. Pimentel, and Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte Jr.

MINORITY
For the minority positions, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo A. Garbin Jr. said they will be choosing the minority floor leader on Tuesday, with the group endorsing Mr. Abante.

“Bukas (tomorrow) after the SONA (State of the Nation Address), we will constitute ourselves as the minority and we will elect among ourselves a minority leader,” Mr. Garbin said in a briefing on Monday.

The 28 opposition congressmen will also vote for the seven deputy minority and the four assistant minority leaders.

Mr. Garbin also said that Mr. Cayetano has assured him that the minority will be given chairmanship in major committees, one of which would be the committee on ethics and privileges. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras and Gillian M. Cortez

Bill on foreign investments among Senate priorities

SENATOR VICENTE C. Sotto III on Monday maintained his post as Senate president for the 18th Congress.

The Senate, via voice vote, reelected Mr. Sotto, after his nomination by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri was seconded by Senators Panfilo M. Lacson and Pia S. Cayetano.

Of the twenty-four senators, two were unable to attend the opening of session on Monday — detained Senator Leila M. De Lima and Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, who was advised against traveling back to the Philippines after his fight with Keith Thurman on Sunday.

Senator Franklin M. Drilon noted during the plenary session that Senators Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel and Francis N. Pangilinan abstained from voting.

The chamber also reelected Senator Ralph G. Recto as Senate president pro tempore while Messrs. Zubiri and Drilon are the majority and minority leader, respectively. Mr. Sotto said among the priority measures they discussed were the proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 9372 (Human Security Act of 2007), Commonwealth Act No. 146 (Public Service Act) and RA 7042 (Foreign Investments Act of 1991).

“These were some of the bills that I know were left from the 17th Congress that we wanted to prioritize, but for lack of time,” Mr. Sotto told reporters in a chance interview ahead of the plenary session.

Sought for comment, University of Santo Tomas political science professor Marlon M. Villarin said he sees the new composition of the 18th Congress is more “collaborative” rather than confrontative.

“The re-election of Senator Tito Sotto as Senate President is a testament that the majority members of senate choose to be collaborative than confrontative in their legislative relationship with the executive department, but of course anytime depending on the political atmosphere especially 2022 presidential election is fast approaching, changes in the leadership is inevitable,” Mr. Villarin said over mobile phone message on Monday.

“The present set up of congressional leadership gives President Duterte a kind of legislative assurance that will sustain its programs and activity he promised to the Filipino people.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Senate committees buckle down to deliver SONA orders

THE SENATE will organize its committees on Tuesday to immediately begin with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s “marching orders” during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Senate majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said.

“We heard the marching orders of the President. Tomorrow we’ll start electing the chairperson of the different committees para sa ganun ay trabaho na po tayo (so that we can start working),” Mr. Zubiri said in a chance interview at the House of Representatives Monday evening.

“We’ll all be working. All the committees will be assigning their members to work on the different measures and from then we’ll await the committee reports,” he said.

Among the measures the President urged the 18th Congress to pass is the creation of the Departments of Water, Disaster Resilience and Management, and Overseas Filipino Workers.

The President also pushed for economic measures, such as the remaining packages of the government’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), beginning with the proposal to gradually reduce corporate income tax and streamline fiscal incentives.

The CTRP also include improving the valuation system of local governments, rationalizing capital income tax, and increasing excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products.

Senator Imee R. Marcos opposed increasing anew the excise tax on tobacco products, but commended the President for bringing focus on the agriculture sector.

“Tobacco taxes utang na loob tigilan na kami nakadalawang beses na ang (for goodness’ sake, enough, there have been two hits on)  Ilocos,” she said in a chance interview, referring to the tobacco-growing region of Ilocos.

She, however, said, “Tuwang-tuwa ako na nabanggit ni Presidente ang agrikultura, higit sa lahat ang (I am very glad that the President mentioned agriculture, especially the) coco levy (fund).”

For his part, Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa, presumptive chair of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, sees the President’s request to revive capital punishment on heinous crimes involving drugs and plunder as an appeal rather than a directive.

“Well, klaro ‘yung sinabi niya na humingi sya ng tulong na makalusot ‘yang mga batas na ‘yan. Depende sa indibidwal na myembro ng Congress ‘yan kung susundin nila. ‘Yung kaniyang appeal is appeal, hindi yun directive, hindi namumwersa, hindi nagdidirekta (it was clear that he is asking for help to have that law passed. It depends on the individual members of Congress if they will heed it. The President’s appeal is an appeal, it was not a directive, he is not forcing use, he is not giving us an order),” said Mr Dela Rosa, who previously served as city and national police chief under Mr. Duterte as Davao mayor and later as President. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

SC affirms validity of SSS premium hike

THE SUPREME Court (SC) has declared valid the premium hike in members’ contributions implemented by the Social Security System (SSS) in 2013.

In a statement on Monday, the SC Public Information Office said the court denied for lack of merit the petition for prohibition filed by labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, Anakpawis Party-list, and the National Federation of Labor Unions-KMU.

In denying the petition, the SC said Republic Act No. 8282, the Social Security Act, is complete in its terms and conditions and contains sufficient standard for the Social Security Commission (SSC) to fix monthly contribution rate and minimum and maximum monthly salary credits.

The SSC in April 2013 issued a resolution providing for an increase of SSS members’ contribution rate to 11% from 10.4% and the maximum monthly salary credit from P15,000 to P16,000.

In October 2013, the commission issued another resolution for the revised schedule of contributions, in which the employer and employee shall equally shoulder the 0.6% increase in contributions.

The SC said the increase in contributions is reasonably necessary for SSS to observe its mandate of promoting social justice under the Social Security Act.

“Given the past increases since the inception of the law, the contribution rate increase of 0.6% applied to the corresponding monthly salary credit does not scream of unreasonableness or injustice,” it said.

The decision, dated April 2 but was released only yesterday, was penned by Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Judge allows Lim or Faeldon to testify vs Trillanes

JUDGE ELMO M. Alameda of the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 has granted the manifestation of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to bring to court former fellow accused of former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV to testify against him in his rebellion case. The next hearing has been set on Oct. 7. The DoJ’s panel of prosecutors intend to bring either Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Danilo D. Lim or Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor E. Faeldon to stand as witness against Mr. Trillanes over the 2007 Manila Peninsula Siege wherein they all participated. Assistant State Prosecutor Evee Eunice P. De Keyser told reporters that Messrs. Lim and Faeldon’s being former co-accused would help in the charge against the former senator. “We did not ask the court to issue subpoena because we undertook to bring them here,” she said. On the other hand, Reynaldo B. Robles, lawyer of Mr. Trillanes, said the two were not included in the 23 witnesses initially listed in the pre-trial order and “good cause” should first be presented before they are allowed to testify. The rebellion case of Mr. Trillanes was reopened after President Rodrigo R. Duterte revoked the amnesty granted to him in 2011 by former president Benigno C. Aquino III, citing the former senator’s alleged failure to comply with the amnesty requirements. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

GSIS opens loan window for El Niño-affected members in Iloilo

THE GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced on Monday that it is allocating around P1 billion for its active members and old-age pensioners in Iloilo affected by El Niño. Members with no existing emergency loans may borrow P20,000 while those who still have an outstanding balance in their previous emergency loan account may be granted a P40,000. Old-age pensioners, meanwhile, may apply for a P20,000 loan. Based on GSIS data, there are 33,465 active members and 7,406 old age pensioners in Iloilo who are qualified to apply for the loan. The program excludes Iloilo City, and the municipalities of Janiuay, Lambunao, and Mina, which were already offered the same loan. Old-age pensioners must personally apply for the loan while active members may apply through GSIS kiosks located in all branches of the agency and extension offices, and various local and national government offices. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Anti-Duterte protest rallies draw thousands, held peacefully

PROTEST RALLIES against President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his policies on such issues as China and the West Philippine Sea drew thousands on Monday as he delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA). The police said there were no untoward incidents reported as crowds gathered in the capital Metro Manila as well as in major cities such as Iloilo, Cebu, and Davao. “Peaceful with no untoward incident,” said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo T. Eleazar in a phone message to BusinessWorld. As of 4 p.m., the NCRPO said 8,780 rallyists converged near the vicinity of the House of Representatives, of which 5,530 were anti-administration while the rest were supporters of the President. NCRPO deployed 14,100 policemen around Metro Manila. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

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