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Defying the virus

MEMBERS of the QCPD Batasan police station rounded up 135 residents, including 15 minors, for violating the public safety hours of 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. of the enhanced community quarantine at Barangay Batasan in Quezon City on March 23. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

With over 500 cases in the Philippines, the COVID-19 threat is already serious enough to concern everyone. But its unwanted presence has also further exposed Filipinos to the authoritarian virus that to this day has survived the 1896 Revolution, World Wars I and II, the EDSA civilian-military mutiny of 1986, and the untiring efforts of human rights defenders, independent journalists, committed artists and academics, civil society organizations, and social and political activists to combat it.

Although resident as well among the citizenry, the contagion is most visibly lodged in the flesh, blood and bone of the government bureaucracy. Its symptoms have several times been manifest during the present crisis. But so has growing resistance to it.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared earlier in March the lockdown of metro Manila to stop the spread of COVID-19. But instead of health personnel, he made it a point to have police and military officials prominently behind him. Not a few citizens concluded that it was to remind everyone that Mr. Duterte and his cohorts now control the coercive powers of the State and that he is prepared to use them. Human rights defenders went on to alert the public to the possibility of his using the present crisis to place the country under martial law and of the imperative of opposing it.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) immediately required journalists covering, or who intend to cover, the lockdown and events related to the COVID-19 emergency to obtain accreditation cards before they go about their job of providing the public the information it needs in this hour of national peril.

Journalists already carry press ID cards issued by their media organizations. That fact makes the requirement superfluous, unless the purpose is to limit reporting what’s happening only to those journalists and media organizations the PCOO approves of. Hence the protest of, among others, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

This is the same PCOO whose trolls, hacks and accomplices in social media, print, and broadcasting have accused independent journalists and their organizations of irresponsible reporting, and advocated their licensing by government. This is also the same agency that has been using public funds to tour Europe in “press freedom caravans” to convince various countries there that press freedom and free expression are alive and well in Mr. Duterte’s Philippines.

After President Duterte locked down the whole of Luzon, he announced on March 18 that he would address the nation, which many sectors thought would be on such urgent concerns as how the workers who’ve lost their daily wages can feed themselves and their families.

He instead used the occasion to warn local government executives not to do anything contrary to national government directives — as vague, as contradictory and as unsuitable to local conditions as those may be — at the risk of facing administrative charges.

The warning was apparently addressed to Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, who has taken exception to the ban on tricycles on the argument that not only do their drivers need the work to survive; they’re also needed to transport health and other frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19 as well as the sick to hospitals, clinics, and dialysis centers.

Mr. Duterte is supposedly an advocate of federalism because it would enable local executives to more meaningfully address local concerns. But he has apparently become the champion of the presidential form of government he now commands but of which he was once so critical. Some lawyers, however, were quick to point out that his claim that the national government has control over local governments has no legal basis.

Several municipalities including Manila have declared a curfew. In the aftermath, the threat of arresting anyone caught outside their homes during curfew hours has fallen frequently from the lips of the all-powerful police and their military partners.

Missing is any mention of exactly what crime the putative offenders will be charged with. However, as the experience of activists who have been accused of committing common crimes from murder to child trafficking to illegal possession of firearms and explosives to kidnapping has time and again demonstrated, these experts in planting evidence can always manufacture something.

Both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also warned purveyors of disinformation (“fake news”) that charges will be filed against them under “existing laws.” Several bills have indeed been filed in Congress to penalize the generation and dissemination of “fake news,” but none have passed, among other reasons because of protests that such a law would lead to the abridgment of free expression and press freedom. Crisis or no crisis, the threat of penalizing people for offenses no law covers is evidently still first in the PNP and NBI’s list of scare tactics and priorities.

Using the same tactics, barangay officials in Sta. Cruz, Laguna crammed several young men into a dog cage for being outside their homes during curfew hours, and were rightly condemned for that brazen display of abuse of power and gross stupidity. The curfew being intended to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, crowding the young men into the cage defeated that purpose. But that was obviously the farthest thing in what passes for their minds, their focus being on demonstrating their power over the lowly.

In another display of petty power, policemen threatened to arrest a woman in Manila when she took photos of them out of curiosity over their unusual presence in her neighborhood unless she deleted the shots from her phone. She was outraged enough to post the alleged incident on her social media page. It’s more than likely that she was telling the truth. Policemen have become as camera-shy as criminals, because cameras have more than once caught their fellows in the act of breaking the laws they’re supposed to implement, as in the 2017 killing during a supposedly anti-illegal drugs operation of teenage schoolboy Kian de Los Santos, whose murder by policemen was caught on CCTV.

The name of the regime game isn’t public health and safety; and neither is it law and order. It is instead intimidation and control, not only over everyone’s mobility, livelihood, access to information, and free expression, but even more importantly over their very lives and fortunes by those who call themselves the authorities, whether president, Cabinet member, barangay official, soldier or policeman. But while the authoritarian malignancy has prevailed over the last three years, it may not survive the present crisis, so rapidly has resistance to it in various forms been growing during the COVID-19 emergency.

The defiance is there not only in some local executives’ insisting that they know best what’s happening in their jurisdictions and they are who can better address their problems and needs. It is also there in tricycle drivers’ plying their trade despite the threat of arrest, and in the determination of workers and the poor to feed themselves and their families.

But even more crucially is it there as well in the citizenry’s mounting anger. The streets may be empty for now, and silent. But the lessons this crisis is imparting, once the threat of the COVID-19 contagion is over, are unlikely to be so soon forgotten by the millions to whom the arbitrariness of power has so clearly demonstrated the imperative of political engagement, protest and resistance in the defense of their communities, their lives, and those of their families.

 

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

Spring thoughts

Spring officially began on March 21st . In our tropical country, it is also the start of the long, hot summer season.

We are having a surreal experience. The series of consecutive disasters around the world seemed to be a prologue of the overwhelming, devastating pandemic nightmare. Time seems to fly. There is nothing to look forward to — at least until it is over.

How shall we survive?

By being good citizens and following all the important, difficult instructions. By praying and being grateful for the blessings. By simplifying our lives and reinforcing the traditional values. By relearning the basic lessons. By sharing and helping others.

On the practical side, people are coping by doing the mundane chores of spring cleaning. It is the external organization of one’s files — personal and professional. It is deciding what to keep, what to give away or discard. It is the act of downsizing, rearranging furnishings to make space. For something new or just having empty breathing space. In a house or a tiny studio, one tends to accumulate clutter over the years.

One has to let go of the voluminous folders, papers, books, piles of sentimental stuff, little and big.

Change is essential.

The act of organizing symbolizes an internal distillation process.

Introspection triggers mixed feelings — the unloading of emotional baggage, hurt feelings, imagined wrongs, repressed anger, envy and pain. Thoughts that have repressed come to the surface.

One of the most precious things in life is the gift of friendship. Its elements are mutual loyalty, love, compassion, understanding, humility and a sense of selflessness.

A genuine friendship is nurtured. It endures, strengthened by mutual experiences — the roller coaster twists and turns, ups and downs. Some childhood friends will eventually grow up to become best buddies, wedding sponsors, godparents for their kids, work colleagues. They will survive the petty quarrels and transcend many differences — in career choices, religious and political beliefs and other issues.

One passes important milestones, hurdles obstacles and survives the crises with a steadfast mate.

Upon reaching the crossroads, a true friend is there to hold one’s hand, through thick and thin, feast and famine. In fair and foul weather.

Inevitably, like the moon and the tides, there are natural cycles — the ebb and flow, the waxing and waning of a long-standing friendship.

A sudden rupture, personal or professional, may separate former confidantes. A minor spat can easily be repaired — like a tiny tear or a scratch. However, a severe misunderstanding can be a devastating wound. It festers and deteriorates.

Communication ceases as defensive walls sprout. Worse than geographical distance is the surge of false pride. The inability to admit a mistake, to be contrite, to act with humility and sincerity.

In Greek classical drama, hubris is “overweening pride that leads to disaster… the refusal to accept the authority of the gods.” This character flaw can drown the individual in emotional quicksand.

A treasured heirloom figurine, once shattered can be patched and restored painstakingly. However the delicate pieces would have missing chips and hairline cracks. From a distance, it may resemble the original. Despite expert gluing and mending, the fine flaws appear. There is no perfect finish. People observe that the imperfect patina with scars can give the object character.

Like the fragile figurine, a patched friendship may appear normal on the surface. A glaze of social niceties can camouflage the profound inner damage. Underneath the cool exterior, the fissure would still be vulnerable to the slightest tremor.

To heal a wound completely, it is necessary for the protagonists to seek forgiveness and forgive. Nothing less than a mutual reaching out and reconciliation. Cracks and scars notwithstanding, a friendship that goes through the test of fire will endure. The gruff, begrudging attitude of an arrogant person is not acceptable. GK Chesterton once wrote, “A stiff apology is a second insult.”

To illustrate, here is an anecdote on apology Baron Beaverbrook ran into young British MP Edward Heath in his London club’s washroom soon after printing an insulting editorial in his newspaper. Beaverbrook said contritely, “I’ve been thinking it over, and I was wrong.” MP Heath replied, “Very well. Next time, please insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper.”

For those people who have been hurt beyond endurance and apology, it is useless to go down to the level of the enemy. Hold your head high. Keep your dignity and move on.

There is karma. Sometimes, you might be lucky enough to see it happen.

The British poet and clergyman George Herbert (1593-1633) wrote, “Living well is the best revenge.” This will pass. One looks forward to the healing light after the confusing darkness.

 

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

China coronavirus killed federalism

If anything, this China coronavirus-induced crisis spectacularly revealed the unworkability and shortcomings of a federal form of government for the Philippines. When push came to shove, the instincts of even the most ardent federalism supporters almost immediately were for the National Government to take control of the situation.

One sees this in the request (later withdrawn) by the Administration for additional or emergency powers. Or even more revealingly, in President Duterte’s obviously peeved admonition to certain local government executives: the National Government “calls the shots” and that local governments should just “comply.”

Interestingly, that declaration would be unheard of in a federal form of government. There, even in times of crisis, it’s the local governments that take the lead.

Thus, as Michael Levenson points out (“Local and State Officials Unlock Sweeping Powers to Fight Coronavirus,” March 14): “It might seem there is no more awesome power available to the government than a national emergency declaration… But the governors, county executives and mayors across the country who have declared states of emergency in their own areas have actually unlocked even more sweeping powers.”

Berkeley’s John Yoo concurs: Under the US “federal system, Washington, D.C., has only limited powers to respond to a pandemic. The Constitution grants the national government a limited set of enumerated powers.” Instead, “under our constitutional system, the primary authority to fight the pandemic rests in the hands of our state governors” (“Pandemic Federalism,” March 20).

The Heritage Foundation’s David B. Rivkin, Jr. is even more succinct: National government “leadership is crucial, but there are measures only states have the authority to take” (with Charles Stimson, “A Constitutional Guide to Emergency Powers,” March 19).

There’s this persistent misconception about federalism being merely a division of governmental functions: essentially one layer but of two levels. This is not true. That’s what we have right now with the present Constitution and the Local Government Code. It can be mostly top-down or bottom-up depending on how Congress formulates implementing legislation.

Federalism actually creates two competing layers of government. Or to be precise: two parallel authorities each equally exercising sovereign power over the citizenry.

Each “State” or LGU (i.e., province or region) is left to its own devices to generate domestic revenue and develop export markets, and is responsible for providing basic governmental services. It has the capacity to make its own laws, as well as judicial and law enforcement.

As their entire earnings remain with the LGU, the national government is not legally obliged to help destitute regions/provinces, or even in calamities or states of emergency. In short, the States or LGUs can be left to fend, sink or swim for themselves.

Under federalism, the consequent competition between “States” or LGUs allows citizens to freely leave poorly managed States and transfer to those providing a better way of life: lower taxes, less government regulation, better property protection, as well as developed healthcare and education.

Going back to the Philippines, the approach taken was not federalism but a unified central government. The reason is necessity: particularly during war, or in times of national calamity or emergency. This was Apolinario Mabini’s rationale for a strong national government and this was mirrored by Alexander Hamilton (see Federalist No. 6-7).

Nevertheless, the Constitution declares that the government work under the concept of “subsidiarity” encouraging smaller political units and civil society (LGU’s, churches, the family) to take greater responsibility in governance matters.

Thus, as constitutionalist Michael Yusingco posits: “we already have a quasi- federal set-up under the current charter.”

Subsidiarity is reflected greatly in Article X, declaring that local governments enjoy local autonomy, with the president exercising only “general supervision” over LGUs, and each LGU allowed to raise its own revenue.

Specifically, in relation to the present pandemic, governors and mayors have the power to procure without public bidding (Secs. 366 and 368, Local Government Code), to carry out emergency measures (Secs. 444 and 465), and to promote general welfare and health (Sec. 16).

Hence why it’s emphasized here again that the aims of federalism can be achieved by simply amending the Local Government Code (and without changing the Constitution).

The Local Government Code can be amended to give greater powers to the LGU’s, with greater share or even 100% of their earnings retained by the LGU’s (particularly taking into account the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mandanas vs. Executive Secretary, GR 199802). The power to make investment, trade, and customs regulations, and providing education, welfare, and health services can be devolved to, with primary responsibility in the hands of, the provinces.

The national Departments for Trade, Education, Welfare, and Health can be relegated to mere coordinating agencies, with the National Government focusing on national security, and law and order.

So, as the country recovers from this crisis (and it will), it’s time to bury federalism and move on. The present constitutional system may have its moments but it’s proven to serve us well.

 

Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter @jemygatdula

Why our leaders fail to learn pandemic lessons

By Clara Ferreira Marques

IT’S THE WORST EPIDEMIC of our times, a health emergency that has now left more than 420,000 infected, 18,800 dead and paralyzed the global economy. The scale has been clear for weeks. All the more baffling, therefore, to watch poor decisions being repeated, over and over again.

From Italy to the US and Britain, each government first believes its country to be less exposed than it is, overestimates its ability to control the situation, ignores the real-time experience of others and ultimately scrambles to take measures.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now closed schools and imposed a lockdown to limit the lethality of the coronavirus in Britain. It’s a sharp course correction for a man who, less than a month ago, said he was shaking hands in a hospital and spoke of business as usual, while Italy was pulling down the shutters.

He’s not alone. With populism in the ascendant, leaders from US President Donald Trump to Indonesia’s Joko Widodo have worried about immediate political concerns first, rather than the impending pandemic. Countries that have successfully learned from others and from past experience, say, Taiwan, are far outnumbered by those apparently incapable of taking lessons even from near-neighbors.

It’s not as simple as poor governance. The shortcuts that humans use to make decisions in a crisis underlie how hard it is to adapt policy to fast-changing circumstances.

At the most basic level, the explanation is simple: We make decisions based on past experience and recognized patterns. Countries that have done best at containing the virus so far have the experience of dealing with previous outbreaks. That includes Hong Kong and Singapore in the case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS; and South Korea with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

For governments outside Asia, the same error of decision-making, or cognitive bias, has been less helpful. For them, SARS was a disease that they could see was devastating but also less contagious, confined to a different region and over within months. They also think of flu. That’s easily transmitted, but much less lethal. Their experiences suggested drastic early action was unnecessary.

Compounding this is that superficial differences blind us to the fact that an experience elsewhere could be useful for policy at home, points out Nick Chater, professor of behavioral science at Warwick Business School. In the current outbreak, China was seen as too dissimilar — politically, socially, even ethnically — for the virus to be quickly considered a coming problem that might merit a response.

Italy, the first Western country to be floored by the illness, initially resisted wide-ranging closures. In late February, as town-level lockdowns were beginning, one party leader urged people to go out for drinks, coffee, or pizza: “Let’s not lose our customs.” He later contracted the virus.

This held even as the situation worsened across Europe. France was edging toward a Paris lockdown, eventually announced March 16, but across the channel, Britain still held horse races and music concerts, sticking to a policy of so-called herd immunity that requires the majority of people to get infected and recover. It took an Imperial College report, laying bare the human cost, to change minds at the top. The scramble to prepare backup plans for UK schools and other services suggests it was never considered a real possibility — until it was.

The failure of empathy doesn’t happen at just cabinet level. When I spoke from my home in Hong Kong to relatives in Europe a few weeks ago, they struggled to comprehend that what was hitting us in Asia could reach them and change their daily lives. It did. Writ large, that has dramatic consequences, not least the waste of months when tests and protective equipment could have been prepared. Entire policy options are off the table because the epidemic has spread too far.

Narratives that build on national exceptionalism don’t help, clouding the response of even Southeast Asian countries to the experiences of neighbors. Populist tendencies that encourage confirmation bias and our preference for omission discourages decisions that may have painful outcomes today — even if not doing anything produces a worse result. Populists, after all, don’t want to be unpopular. That partly explains the tendency of Trump, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and others to downplay the threat. Bolsonaro continues to compare the virus to “a little cold.”

It makes little sense to worry about a temporary downturn when the worst-case could involve permanently wiping out a significant portion of your population. That makes basic distancing measures, in the words of St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, an investment in survival. But it’s tough to act out of proportion with what people see in front of them compared to what they might be dealing with tomorrow.

There’s another unhelpful proclivity, explains Donald Low, professor of practice in public policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: an optimism bias that leads to myopia in times of crisis. This is especially true for the usually successful governments of wealthy nations, rarely presented with debacles on this scale. Often, there is an illusion of control.

Humans don’t like to change their minds. Consider the rabbit-duck illusion, used by psychologist Joseph Jastrow and cited by Chater in a recent article. Once I see a duck in the image, I can’t see a rabbit, and I won’t see both. In a pandemic, this can be very bad news, especially if supranational organizations that should foster wider thinking are largely absent.

There are glimmers of hope. Local authorities and companies have been nimble in places like Brazil and the US, apparently able to switch from rabbit to duck. More policy makers will need to set in place the defenses, with better advice and transparency, to ensure they do the same.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Adjustments set for PHL Olympic push after Games postponement

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

PREPARATIONS of the Philippines for the Tokyo Games will continue albeit set for adjustments after the quadrennial sporting spectacle was officially pushed back by a year this week as the world continues to grapple with combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Originally set for July 24 to Aug. 9 this year, the Olympics is now targeted to take place no later than the summer of 2021 as agreed upon in a conference call between International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.

The agreement was arrived at after carefully considering the cloud of uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, which has infected more than 400,000 people worldwide to date and forced the sporting world to a standstill, coupled with mounting pressure from stakeholders not to push through with the event.

It was a decision that Philippine sports officials support and in favor of, underscoring the safety and health of everyone in sports is primary at this point.

With the postponement, local sports executives said adjustments are due in the country’s Olympic push but the mission of sending as many capable athletes as possible remains.

For Mariano Araneta, Philippine chef de mission to the Tokyo Games and president of the Philippine Football Federation, among those on deck for them on the heels of the Olympic postponement is making a thorough assessment of where the country’s push is at right now.

“With the postponement, we will wait for the NSAs’ (National Sports Associations) direction on how they will prepare their athletes for qualifiers on the case of those that have not qualified yet [and see what still can be done]. For those that have qualified, we will also ask for their new training preparations. Meantime, we ask the athletes to stay safe and healthy,” said Mr. Araneta in a text message.

At the time the 2020 Olympics was postponed, four Filipino athletes had already qualified, namely EJ Obiena (athletics/pole vault), Carlos Yulo (gymnastics), Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno (boxing).

More athletes were expected to join the four from sports like boxing, canoe-kayak, golf, skateboarding, judo, wrestling, archery, cycling, weightlifting, table tennis, athletics, and wrestling as they were in the mix in their respective qualifiers which were also put on hold because of COVID-19.

In the lead-up, confidence was high that 2020 could be the year that the Philippines finally win its first-ever gold medal in the Olympics, owing to having better-prepared athletes and jacked-up support given to them.

FAVORABLE
While a regretful turn of events, a postponement was far better than having the event cancelled altogether and the Philippines actually could use it in its favor, said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino.

“It’s better to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics rather than cancelation so as not to lose our chance for our first gold medal — or even more golds. [With the postponement] More Filipinos have a chance to qualify,” said Mr. Tolentino.

“A postponement would mean more time to train for those who have already qualified and for those who are still trying to qualify. A 2021 schedule is ideal enough,” he added.

Budget in the training and preparation of the athletes, too, will have to be addressed, something officials said they are ready to do, with Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez saying “Implications on the budget will remain manageable.”

Filipino athletes, for their part, expressed sadness with the Olympic Games being pushed back but respect the decision and believe it is the right direction to take. They also vow to continue their push.

“God’s time! Road to whenever it will be #tokyo2020 #tokyo2021,” Mr. Obiena wrote on a Facebook post when he heard of news of the Games postponement.

Mr. Obiena, 24, is making his Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The Alliance of Boxing Associations of the Philippines (ABAP) also expressed its readiness to adjust and prepare its athletes for the Olympics, hoping more boxers would join Mr. Marcial and Ms. Magno.

Team Lakay fighter Lito Adiwang rising above adversities

HAD HIS FAIR SHARE of adversities while growing up, ONE Championship fighter Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang said it only made him a better individual and something he is now taking cue from as he builds a solid career in mixed martial arts.

Growing up in Baguio City, 26-year-old Adiwang said life was not easy for him.

But instead of having hardships consume him, he chose to use it as motivation to improve his lot and make something out of his life.

“I was born the youngest in a family of seven children. Life was tough and we had to get through a lot of trials. My parents used to plant crops in an open lot so we would have food to eat, but it wasn’t enough,” Mr. Adiwang said.

“It really taught me a lot about overcoming adversity in life. I wanted to help my family, but I felt powerless. Then I lost my fourth sibling in a mining accident. My parents separated when I was a teenager. I just felt hopeless,” he added.

To help him take on the challenge that life had thrown at him head-on, Mr. Adiwang said he drew inspiration from other people who started with nothing but steadily improved their lives through good old hard work and determination.

One such person is Filipino boxing legend and now-Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

“Growing up watching the rise of Manny Pacquiao, I was motivated to become a boxer just like him. I wanted to represent my country and make my people proud, too. I wanted to help bring my family out of hardship and poverty,” said Mr. Adiwang.

“There used to be an old church on the streets where I grew up, where I initially started to learn how to box. I was 12 years old at the time. I would shadowbox and imagine I was Manny Pacquiao, fighting against legends like Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. I loved his relentless style. His opponents couldn’t handle him,” he furthered.

The grit and determination he got from watching Mr. Pacquiao are serving as a motor for Mr. Adiwang as he makes a name for himself in the strawweight division of ONE Championship.

Following his winning at the ONE Warrior Series last year which earned for him a contract in the main draw of the promotion, Mr. Adiwang has steadily climbed the ranks, winning his first two matches with the “big boys” of ONE.

He first defeated Japanese veteran Senzo Ikeda by TKO in October last year before winning by submission over Thai Ponsiri Mitsatit in January.

With the twin wins, Mr. Adiwang improved his MMA record to 11-2.

The Filipino fighter said he is just scratching the surface and he is ready to deal with the challenges that lie ahead in his career to reach the position where he wants to be.

“Right now I’m just focused on being the best that I can be. I really want to prove myself against the best opponents, and I feel I am ready.”

ONE Championship is currently at a pause like many sporting events in the world as the coronavirus disease pandemic rages on.

It hopes to begin staging live events behind closed doors in April and with audience late in May here in Manila. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

IOC working with sports bodies for rescheduled Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is working with sports bodies to arrange a July–August window for the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and hopes to confirm the schedule within a month, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday.

John Coates, the IOC’s Coordination Commission chief for Tokyo, told the Yomiuri the Games would have to be held between the tennis Grand Slams of Wimbledon, slated to end in mid-July, and the US Open, which starts in late August.

“We want to more or less finalize the dates in four weeks’ time,” the paper quoted Coates as saying.

Mr. Coates, who is also president of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), said the summer scheduling would be dependent on avoiding clashes with the world championships for swimming (July 16–Aug. 1) and athletics (Aug. 6–15).

World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe has said the world athletics championships in Eugene, Oregon, could be moved back to 2022 if necessary.

Mr. Coates told the newspaper the hope was to follow the same arrangements next year that had been planned for 2020, including holding the marathon in the northern city of Sapporo instead of Tokyo to escape the heat.

The AOC confirmed the Yomiuri report’s veracity and also told Reuters in a statement that Mr. Coates had “proffered a view but confirms a range of options are on the table for the IOC.”

The IOC and Japanese government succumbed to intense pressure from athletes and sporting bodies around the world on Tuesday, agreeing to push back the Games by as much as a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

IOC President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday that “all options” were on the table for rescheduling, including holding the Games before the Japanese summer.  — Reuters

Legendary UAAP coach Aric del Rosario passes away

THE local basketball community is mourning the passing of legendary University Athletic Association of the Philippines basketball coach Januario “Aric” del Rosario who suffered cardiac arrest on Wednesday. He was 80 years old.

A native of Candaba, Pampanga, Mr. Del Rosario was a winner at every level of basketball he coached in.

He steered the University of Santo Tomas men’s basketball team to four straight UAAP titles from 1993 to 1996. His 1993 team, which boasted of the likes of eventual pros Dennis Espino, Rey Evangelista and Patrick Fran, swept the competition on its way to being crowned as automatic champion.

While at it, he was also a valuable part of the Alaska franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association, serving as one of the assistants of Tim Cone during their memorable run in the 1990s, including winning a grand slam in 1996.

In 1998, Mr. Del Rosario coached the Pampanga Dragons to the inaugural Metropolitan Basketball Association title.

Mr. Del Rosario, himself a former UST star player, served as coach of the national team that won gold in the Southeast Asian Games in 2003.

He went back to coaching in college late in his career, taking the reins at the University of Perpetual Help in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and leading the team to three Final Four appearances (2012-14) in the four years he was there.

Mr. Del Rosario was also part of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) with the Paranaque Patriots.

When news of his death broke out, former colleagues and players of his gave their tributes, underscoring his brilliant basketball mind and the good person he was.

They lament not being able to pay their respects to Mr. Del Rosario because of the ongoing lockdown in Luzon because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) but offered their prayers to the late coach and his grieving family.

Mr. Del Rosario is survived by his five children and nine grandchildren. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

NBA could be back by May — Mavs’ Cuban

DALLAS MAVERICKS owner Mark Cuban said he’s hopeful the National Basketball Association can resume playing games on TV, without crowds, by May.

“America needs sports right now. We need something to cheer for. We need something to get excited about. We need a team to root for, and I think the NBA can fill that need,” he told Neil Cavuto of FOX Business on Wednesday.

The NBA has indefinitely suspended its regular season amid the current pandemic, and at least 10 active players have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Mr. Cuban told the Dallas Morning News he thinks the NBA will be the first professional league in the US to bounce back.

“I’m proud of the NBA and the way we’ve reacted,” he said. “We’ve led the way and hopefully will lead the way out of this. No one has perfect information right now, so all decisions are tough, but if I had to guess based off the people I’ve talked to at the CDC and other places, I would say that the over-under [for the league’s return] would be June 1 and I’m taking the under.

“… Hopefully by the middle of May we’re starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games, maybe not with fans, but we’re playing games.”

Meanwhile, Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood is healthy after a bout with the coronavirus, his agent said Wednesday.

Adam Pensack told the Detroit Free Press that Wood is “feeling great and fully recovered.”

Wood’s positive test for COVID-19 was reported on March 14.

There are 10 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 among NBA players, but only five of those players have been identified: Wood, Rudy Gobert, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, Utah All-Star Donovan Mitchell and the Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart. — Reuters

QB free agency

To argue that the National Football League has been having a bizarre offseason would be to understate the obvious, and not simply because of the continued threat of the new coronavirus pandemic. For the first time in a long, long while, quarterbacks aren’t in demand. Erstwhile Patriot Tom Brady was a target of suitors, certainly, and for more reasons than 20 years’ worth of achievements show. For others who have had significant burn under center, however, the free-agent market doesn’t seem to be inviting at all. Even as unease and accompanying movement have historically been tied to the most important position relative to success, 2020 appears to be setting itself up as an outlier.

Fit is crucial, to be sure. Even Brady found his options curtailed in this regard; he was keen on touching base with the Niners and Titans after he bid the Patriots farewell, but their interest, iffy at best to begin with, was further stunted by their comfort level with resident stars Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Tannehill. That said, others still on the lookout for landing spots didn’t figure their employment opportunities to be slim to none. Which isn’t to say they’re not wanted. They may, but on conditions they would be hard-pressed to accept: as backup, or with few guarantees, or both.

In the case of former league Most Valuable Player Cam Newton, the questions start with his capacity to keep taking a beating on the field. Parenthetically, even the Panthers had worries, going so far as to look for trade partners during the season, and then just releasing him after finding no takers. And while his former employers did give him a clean bill of health, the inability to check him out firsthand given community quarantine protocols coupled with the dearth of starting positions and his likely asking price scared potential suitors away.

Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco has it worse, released by the Broncos with a “failed physical” designation and thereby forced to accept the plan to keep playing at age 35 as more of a pipe dream. And then there is Jameis Winston, fresh off a campaign in which he passed for a whopping 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns. With Brady waiting in the wings, the Buccaneers had ample cause to lead him and his predilection for interceptions to the exit. Seeing no one so much as pass by his doorstep is, however, another matter altogether.

For the unexpected castoffs, there is no recourse but to keep plodding on and hope for the best. They have talent and experience. All they lack is opportunity, and they know they would do well to believe it will come, and be prepared when it does.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

alcuaycong@bworldonline.com

UP students win competition for generating electricity from water vapor

Patrick Parone and Hannah Ramos, BS Mechanical Engineering students of University of the Philippines Diliman, were hailed as Country Champions in the recently concluded Philippine finals of Schneider Electric’s Go Green 2020. Their winning project is a portable water purifier designed to generate electricity through water evaporation. Dubbed Kislap, it is inspired by the current living situations of Filipinos in rural areas.

Go Green is a global competition organized by Schneider Electric (SE) – an energy and automation digital solutions provider – to empower students to come up with solutions that will shape the future of the energy industry.

Patrick Parone and Hannah Ramos’s Team Scintillans bagged the coveted award, besting 352 hopefuls nationwide in the process.

“Every day, there is always a challenge to shift into more sustainable energy sources to mitigate, if not eliminate, some of the global problems,” said Parone. “We thought of a source that is ubiquitous yet untapped—water evaporation. If we could find a way to harness that energy, it could be a major step towards sustainability, especially since the majority of Earth is composed of water.”

“With our idea, Filipinos living in rural areas can turn their water collected from deep wells, rivers, and rain safe to drink with the sun’s energy during the day and can act as the community’s source of light during the night,” Hannah Ramos said.

The passion to make a difference

Ruth Kharen Ramayla, Schneider Electric’s Industrial Automation Director, led the panel of this year’s judges and acknowledged the relevance of Team Scintillans’s project.

“Schneider Electric, through Go Green, has always been on the lookout for the next bold ideas from our students,” she said. “What sets the winners apart is the passion to make a difference, and I see that in Team Scintillians’s Kislap. It is grounded on a plight many Filipinos have, and I am excited not only for Patrick and Hannah, who showed smarts and resourcefulness, but for the future beneficiaries of the project.”

The winners, along with the ten other finalists, were mentored prior to the finals by coaches from SE Philippines, headed by country president Alexandre Vermot.

“Filipinos are naturally resourceful, and Filipino students are no exceptions,” Vermot said. “With the existing social and environmental challenges, it is empowering to see how the youth can draw inspiration from these circumstances and rise above them through ingenious solutions.”

Parone and Ramos will represent the Philippines in the regional finals, to be held virtually, where they will be up against student delegates across Asia-Pacific on April 16, 2020.

Eastern Communications on why cloud computing is key to business continuity

The emergence of cloud service in the digital era is developing at an incredible pace. Locally, cloud computing is expected to take account for 13% of Philippine IT services market by 2020 driven by government agencies and SMEs according to BMI Research report. Businesses have started adopting cloud service which productively improves their operations and, soon, other companies will follow suit.

With the evolving workplace environment, cloud proves to be an ideal solution for every enterprise. Eastern Communications, one of the premier telecommunications companies in the country, lists down reasons why cloud can be an asset for your business’ continuity and growth.

Work flexibility

Cloud storage allows users to store files in such a way where members of an organization could access it anytime and anywhere. This offers significant help especially now that companies have started implementing a skeletal workforce or work from home arrangements for their employees due to the threat of Covid-19.

Businesses can continue doing their tasks from any location and conveniently access necessary data as long as an internet connection is available. Cloud allows employees to manage their workflows better with easier communication and team collaboration while accessing data from a central location. This can prevent organizations from halting operations even in challenging situations such as work suspension and calamity.

Cost efficiency

Simply put, businesses save huge amounts of money by investing in cloud storage services. The purchase cost ensures maximum utilization of budget on the needed software features of the business. Overhead is the responsibility of the service provider. This big cut on overhead expenses could be used instead for business expansion.

Secured data backup

Official work files contain a lot of essential information. From images to documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, it is necessary for businesses to keep a secure copy and backup of these files. It is not advisable for businesses to depend solely on external servers and drives or on printed documents for data storage since these are prone to data corruption. By storing data in the cloud, businesses are guaranteed file safety and data loss are no longer a concern even during uncontrolled environmental hazards such as natural calamities or accidents. Data will be saved safely in the cloud.

Data Protection

Through a virtual environment, cloud services provide protection in the event of primary operations failure. It does not only store data but also protects it from untoward situations. Cloud services offer ease of mind so businesses would not have to worry about permanent loss of critical data, like what Eastern Cloud-based Disaster Recovery provides.

Increased productivity

Cloud storage frees up spaces from resources such as desktops and servers. Having a clean, uncluttered, and well-organized workplace helps reduce waste while optimizing productivity. It is also useful for employees who work from home as necessary files would be accessible at the comfort of their home, making them as productive as they are when in office.

With the fast-changing business environment, cloud services make it easier for companies to access data and information more efficiently. It is also important to choose the right service provider for a reliable and satisfactory cloud experience for your business. Eastern Cloud is one of Eastern Communications’ latest ICT solutions offering world-class methods of storing and sharing company data and applications securely over the Internet, hence advancing overall business performance.

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