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UAAP high school wars

UAAP Season 81
2018-2019 UAAP Chess Team Tournament (Boys)
1st Floor, QPAV Building, UST, España St., Manila
Sept. 19-Oct. 28, 2018

FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY (FEU), 33 points, 19 match points

bd01 FM John Merill Jacutina 9/12, bd02 Dale Bernardo 9.5/11, bd03 Istraelito Rilloraza 6/11, bd04 Jarvey Labanda 3.5/6, bd05 Christian Marcelo Olaybal 2/4, bd06 Frankly Loyd Andes 3/4. Team Captain: FM John Merill Jacutina, Head Coach: Grandmaster (GM) Jayson Gonzales, Asst. Coach: NM Alexander Milagrosa, Team Manager: Atty. Ruel Canobas.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS (UST), 33 points, 16 match points

bd01 Samson Chhiu Chhin Lim 9.5/12, bd02 Anatoly Pascua Jr. 3.5/5, bd03 Daniel John Lemi 7.5/12, bd04 Dennis Gutierrez III 5/9, bd05 Emanuel Van Paler 6.5/8, bd06 Jester Sistoza 1/2. Team Captain: Daniel John Lemi, Team Coach: Peter Lim.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (NU), 30 points, 16 match points

bd01 Jayson Danday 9.5/12, bd02 Dennis Gutierrez Jr. 2.5/5, bd03 Mark Gerald Reyes 1/5, bd04 Chester Neil Reyes 6/12, bd05 Ruther Barredo 9/12, bd06 Sean Canasta 2/2. Team Captain: Jayson Danday, Team Coach: Jose Aquino Jr., Mark Anthony Bernales, Team Manager: Samson Go, Manny Go.

UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST (UE), 28.5 pts, 16 match points

bd01 Norsh Daniel Francois Lopez 3/5, bd02 Noel Geronimo 7.5/12, bd03 Francis Roi Parro 3/8, Lee Roi Palma 7.5/12, bd05 John Kenneth Gelua 7/9, bd06 Arvie Aguilar 0.5/2. Team Captain: Noel Geronimo, Head Coach: John Perzeus Orozco.

ADAMSON UNIVERSITY (AdU), 23.5 pts, 11 match points

bd01 Gerald Sean Gonio 1/3, bd02 John Frederick Sunga 5/11, bd03 Jalen Rhey Lacambra 5/11, bd04 Erick Spencer Valdez 5.5/9, bd05 Dustin Mackenzie Herrero 4/8, bd06 Joeben Jones Balitos 3/6. Team Captain: Jalen Rhey Lacambra, Team Coach: Christopher Rodriguez.

DELA SALLE-ZOBEL (DLS-Z), 12.5 points, 3 match points

bd01 Ezekiel Joachin Figueroa 0/7, bd02 Jethro Dino Aquino 5.5/11, bd03 Angele Tenshi Biete 5.5/12, bd04 Jefferson Danil Villarin 1/8, bd05 Hans Jeremy Reyes 0.5/6, bd06 Paolo Joaquin Villa 0/4. Head Coach: WIM Mikee Charlene Suede.

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY (ADMU), 7.5 pts, 3 match points

bd01 Raphael Tamayo 0/8, bd02 Elijah Derek Pilien 0.5/10, bd03 Jose Enrique Guevarra 0/3, bd04 Gabriel Caleb Chua 2/8, bd05 Kurt Kenly Ong 3.5/10, bd06 Cris Angelo Rayos 1.5/9. Team Captain: Kurt Kenly Ong, Team Coach: Ildefonso Datu.

Individual Medal Awardees

Most Valuable Player: Dale Bernardo, FEU

Rookie of the Year: Angele Tenshi Biete, DLS-Z

Board 1
Gold — Jayson Danday NU 9.5/12; silver — Samson Chhiu Chhin Lim, UST 9.5/12; bronze — FM John Merill Jacutina, FEU 9/12

Board 2
Gold — Dale Bernardo, FEU 9.5/11; silver — Noel Geronimo, UE 7.5/12; bronze — Jethro Dino Aquino, DLS-Z 5.5/11

Board 3
Gold — Daniel John Lemi, UST 7.5/12; silver — Istraelito Rilloraza, FEU 6/11; bronze — Angele Tenshi Biete, DLS-Z 5.5/12

Board 4
Gold — Lee Roi Palma, UE 7.5/12; silver — Erick Spencer Valdez, AdU 5.5/9; bronze — Dennis Gutierrez III, UST 5/9

Board 5
Gold — Emanuel Van Paler, UST 6.5/8 silver — John Kenneth Gelua, UE 7/9 bronze — Ruther Barredo, NU 9/12

Board 6
Gold — Franklyn Loyd Andes, FEU 3/4; silver — Joeben Jones Balitos, AdU 3/6; bronze — Cris Angelo Rayos, ADMU 1.5/9

Unlike the Men’s and Women’s team competitions in the 81st Season of UAAP Chess, where were blowout victories for FEU and DLSU, respectively, the competition in the High School section was very close and indeed FEU and UST finished the double round-robin event tied at 33 points apiece. The tie-breaker was the match points and so FEU, which won nine matches against a draw and two losses (to UST and Adamson), was awarded the title against the Thomasians who only had seven team wins, two draws and three losses (to FEU, NU and UE).

For FEU it was the tandem of FM John Merill Jacutina and Dale Bernardo who did the heavy lifting. Jacutina likes closed positions with interlocked pawns and scope for long maneuvering games. Then with infinite patience he wears down his opponent. In the endgame he is really good — he beat NU’s Jayson Danday with king and two knights vs. Danday’s king and pawn! How many of you know how to do that?

[NU] DANDAY, Jayson C. — [FEU] FM JACUTINA, John Merill E. [A07]
2018–19 UAAP Chess (High School Boys) 1st Flr., QPAV Bldg., UST, España (9.1), 13.10.2018

POSITION AFTER 54 MOVES

In case the diagram does not reproduce well here are the piece positions:

White: Ke4, Nb5, Pawns on a4 and c4

Black: Kd7, Knights on e7 and g7, Pawn on c5

55.Nd4?

The best line of resistance is 55.a5 Ne6 56.a6 Nc8 57.a7 Nb6 58.Kf5 and I am not sure if Black can win this. However, White knew that K+2Ns vs. K cannot be won without allowing stalemate, so he gives up his knight for Black’s remaining pawn to “clinch the draw.” Did he not know that if the weaker side has a pawn then the two knights can win because there would be no stalemate possibility? I actually think he did but did not believe that Jacutina has the skill to do it. Big mistake.

55…cxd4 56.Kxd4 Ne6+

Jacutina blockades the c-pawn and captures the a-pawn.

57.Ke5 Nc5 58.a5 Kc6 59.Kf6 Nc8 60.Ke5 Nd6 61.a6 Nc8 62.Kf6 Kb6 63.Ke5 Kxa6 64.Kd4

Now, maintaining the blockage on c5 he has to force the White king to the edge of the board.

64…Kb6 65.Ke5 Kc6 66.Kf6 Kd6 67.Kf5 Nb6 68.Kf4 Ke6

Of course not 68…Nxc4? which eliminates White last pawn but is only good enough for a draw. You will understand why later.

69.Ke3 Ke5 70.Kf3 Nbd7 71.Ke3 Nb8 72.Kf3 Nc6 73.Ke3 Nd4 74.Kd2 Ke4 75.Kc3 Nc6 76.Kd2 Kf3 77.Kc3 Ke3 78.Kc2 Ke2 79.Kc1 Nd4 80.Kb1 Kd2 81.Kb2 Ne2 82.Kb1 Kc3 83.Ka2 Nc1+ 84.Ka3 N1d3 85.Ka2 Kb4 86.Kb1 Kb3 87.Ka1 Na4 0–1

Jacutina is going to mate his opponent with Na4–c3 followed by Nd3–b4–c2. Take note that after Na4–c3 White’s king is in the corner and has no more moves. If his c4–pawn did not exist this would be stalemate, but since the pawn is there Black can execute the checkmate.

There was also a close battle to see who would top the board 1 race. In the end it was Jayson Danday (NU) with 9.5/12 who got the gold, UST’s Samson Lim (also with 9.5/12) earning the silver, and John Merill Jacutina contenting himself with the bronze with 9.0/12. Jayson and Samson tied at 9.5/12, but since the NU top board defeated Samson twice in their individual encounters the gold medal went to him. Here is one of their games.

[NU] DANDAY, Jayson C — [UST] LIM, Samson Chhiu Chhin [A43]
2018–19 UAAP Chess (H. S. BOYS) 1st Flr., QPAV Bldg., UST, España (4.3), 27.09.2018

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg2 e5 6.Nb3 d5 7.Bg5 Be6 8.0–0 Qd7 9.Nc3 0–0–0 10.e4 d4 11.Nd5 Be7 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.Qe2 h6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Rfd1 h5 16.h4 Bg4 17.Bf3 Be6 18.c3 Bxb3 19.axb3 Kb8 20.b4 Rd6 21.b5 Nd8 22.Ra4 Ne6 23.Rda1 d3 24.Qe3 b6 25.Rc4

The smart Danday could have gotten the Black queen for his two rooks with 25.Rxa7 Qxa7 26.Rxa7 Kxa7 27.Qd2 but Samson’s passed d3–pawn will give White nightmares.

25…Qd7?

[25…d2 26.Rc6 Rhd8 27.Rxd6 Rxd6 28.Bxh5 Qd7 it is still a game]

26.Rc6! Nc5

[26…Rxc6 27.bxc6 Qxc6 28.Qxd3 now, with the destruction of Black’s dangerously advanced d-pawn, White holds all the cards]

27.b4 Nb3?

Relatively better is 27…Ne6 but even then 28.Rxd6 Qxd6 29.Rd1 Rd8 30.Bxh5 White is winning. Samson clearly did not see White’s next move.

28.Rxa7! Qxc6

Foced.

28…Kxa7 29.Qxb6+ Ka8 30.Rxd6;

28…Qxa7 29.Rxd6 Kc7 30.Rxf6 Black’s position is going to collapse.

29.bxc6 Kxa7 30.Bd1

This is the reason why 27…Ne6 was better than 27…Nb3. Now the knight has nowhere to go and is lost.

30…Rxc6 31.Qxd3 Rhc8 32.Bxb3 R8c7 33.Bd5 Rxc3 34.Qb5 Rc1+ 35.Kg2 R1c2 36.Qe8 Rc8 37.Qd7+ 1–0

Samson is something like a diesel engine — he gets stronger as the game gets longer. When you play the King’s Indian against him though make sure you cover all your bases as he has a particularly mean streak against that opening!

[UST] LIM, Samson Chhiu Chhin — [ADMU] TAMAYO, Raphael M. [E70]
2018–19 UAAP Chess (High School Boys) 1st Flr., QPAV Bldg., UST, España (8.1), 07.10.2018

1.e4 d6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Bd3 0–0 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0–0 Nd7 8.Be3 b6 9.Qd2 Re8 10.f4 Bb7 11.Rf2 e5 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.d5 Nd4 14.Raf1 Re7 15.Bxd4 exd4 16.Nb5 c5 17.d6 Re6 18.Rxf7 Bxe4 19.Nc7 Rf6 20.R1xf6 Nxf6 21.Rxg7+ Kxg7 22.Ne6+ 1–0

 

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

Lottery shockers

Predictability wasn’t exactly the calling card of the National Basketball Association yesterday. True, the Warriors proved true to form and ran roughshod over the Blazers. Having had to endure a quick turnaround from a semifinal-round-series do-or-die affair to Game One of the conference finals, the latter looked too physically and emotionally drained to compete with consistency against the defending champions. Then again, perhaps some semblance of order was, well, in order following a draft lottery that shook probabilities and had oddsmakers scrambling in reaction.

Indeed, the NBA’s rules changes to prevent tanking wound up dropping the Knicks, erstwhile mathematical favorites to land the top pick in the rookie draft next month, to third. Suddenly, all the planning that had them partnering presumptive pick Zion Williamson with projected free-agent pickups Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving fell by the wayside. Such is the drop in incoming talent two spots down that, for the blue and orange, prognoses of a fifth appearance in the playoffs over 19 years, and the first since 2013, suddenly became murky.

In stark contrast, the Pelicans found their future much brighter after somehow catapulting from seventh to first in the draft. They already had Lady Luck smile on them last month in moving a spot ahead of the Mavericks, who likewise held the seventh-worst regular-season record, and the double jump had pundits speculating if resident star Anthony Davis would consider staying to fortify their status as contenders. Coincidentally, the Lakers likewise benefited from the way the ping-pong balls bounced, catapulting to fourth from 11th in the draft order and leading general manager Rob Pelinka to acknowledge the possibility of using it as a tool to pair another marquee name with LeBron James.

How the lottery shockers will impact the league landscape remains to be seen. The fact that there are too many moving parts to make a definitive assessment at this stage figures to fuel speculation. Will Durant think twice about heading to New York? Will Irving want to go to Brooklyn instead? Will Davis no longer pine to leave given Williamson’s presence? Or will a desired union with James come closer to fruition in light of the Lakers’ trade chip? All these, and much more, will dominate discussion off the court even as the action on it waxes and wanes. There are the games, and there are the games around games. No wonder the NBA is fan-tastic.

 

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

Senate to look into glitch in midterm polls

By Charmaine A. Tadalan , Reporter

THE Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation will hold an oversight hearing on June 4 to look into technical issues that hounded Monday’s midterm elections.

Committee chairman and reelectionist Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III, who currently places 10th in the ongoing election count, confirmed the scheduled hearing in a phone message, adding that his panel’s counterparts at the House of Representatives will also conduct their inquiry.

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson affirmed this in a phone message to reporters. “We have to conduct the inquiry as soon as we resume our session,” he said.

Mr. Lacson also said he will take up, among other things, the glitch in the transparency server which led to a seven-hour delay in the transmission of election results on Monday night.

“Comelec has to address certain issues that I myself will raise — among which are: (1) why did they shift from a simultaneous transmission of data at the precinct level as practiced before(,) to a transparency server which…as we found out caused the stoppage of the dissemination of data for some 7 hours,” Mr. Lacson said.

He added: “(2) who controls the transparency server; (3) what is the purpose of the transparency server in the first place except to act as a traffic controller; and (4) why did they procure low quality SD (secure-digital memory) cards…etc.”

Initial results transmitted from the transparency server to media organizations and PPCRV (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) were posted at around 6:00 p.m. on Monday but did not change until 1:00 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said his colleagues will hold a caucus on Monday on this and other matters. “Meron kaming (We have a) Majority caucus on Monday at 12 to discuss important issues,” he told reporters in a phone message. “It would probably be discussed there.”

‘SUPPLIER SHOULD NOT BE PAID’
For her part, Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon of the Commission on Elections told reporters on Wednesday: “This is my personal view, na itong supplier ng SD cards hindi namin babayaran ng buo at ipapasuri ko ‘yan ‘yung proseso sa pag bidding at saka pag deliver nila ng cards kasi ‘yan po talaga ‘yung naging culprit.” (This is my personal view, that this supplier (S1 Technologies Incorporated) of SD cards should not be paid by us in full and I will have this looked into, the bidding process and the delivery of the cards, because that is really the culprit).

As of Tuesday, 1,665 SD cards out of more than 55,000 used were reported defective, compared with the 120 memory cards reported defective in the 2016 general elections.

Comelec Chairman Sheriff A. Abas told reporters on Tuesday the poll body is reviewing its supply contracts to determine possible contract violations.

The PPCRV, for its part, said it wants to check the results in the central server received by the Comelec.

PPCRV Chairperson Myla C. Villanueva told reporters on Wednesday, “Gusto po namin makita ang central server data kasi ‘yung central server data i-ma-match namin sa transparency server data (We want to…match the central server data with the transparency server data). We wanted to make sure that it’s the same.”

“We want the count, all the results to match,” she added.

Ms. Villanueva said PPCRV has asked the Comelec for the “logs” after the transmission of votes in the transparency server to determine the cause of the glitch. “I will insist on the logs…It is right to wait. Ayaw natin guluhin ‘yung transparency server kasi tinatanggap pa ‘yung data (We do not want to disrupt the transparency server because data are still coming in). Pero (But) I don’t see any reason why we will not get it. I’m sure gusto rin nilang malaman kung ano ‘yung nangyari (I’m sure they also want to know what happened), but definitely we want to know. It’s a way of auditing.”

Regarding the Comelec’s agreement with the National Printing Office (NPO), over the printing of voter information sheets in which NPO reportedly tapped the Holy Family Printing Corporation, Ms. Guanzon said, “That’s against COA (Commission on Audit) rules, ‘yang subcontracting. Kaya nga sila ang pinili namin para wala na kaming bidding.” (Subcontracting is against COA rules. That’s why they [NPO] were selected, so there’ll be no more bidding).

She said the Comelec spent P4 per voter information sheet or an estimated total of P200 million for the over 61 million printed. — with Gillian M. Cortez and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Agreement signed on welfare of Filipino workers in New Zealand

THE Philippine Embassy in Wellington witnessed the signing of a “landmark deal” with New Zealand employers to ensure protection of Filipino workers, particularly in the construction sector.

New Zealand recruitment agency ExtraStaff Management Ltd., the FIRST Union-Union Network of Migrants, and the Embassy on May 3 signed the Fair Labour Migrant Agreement (FLMA), The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported in a statement, Wednesday.

FIRST Union General Secretary Dennis Maga said in a statement: “This is a landmark deal that sets a precedent for other companies to follow and we invite more to do so. I believe this agreement will be monumental in the construction industry.”

According to the FIRST Union, Mr. Maga said the agreement includes a repatriation clause to ensure the protection of workers. The agreement is also aimed at sparing workers from incurring extra living costs.

FIRST Union has over 27,000 members across New Zealand engaged in retail, finance, transport, logistics, and manufacturing, among other industries.

For his part, Ambassador to New Zealand Jesus S. Domingo said in a statement, “This is a ‘win-win-win’ agreement, which underscores the gains from the tripartite collaboration among the stakeholders and the Filipino migrants.”

“While this agreement is very Kiwi, it is also very Filipino, as it upholds the principle of ‘fairness,’ a Kiwi attribute, and ensures that the ‘family,’ which is at the heart of every Filipino migrant worker, continues to be provided for.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Palace slams US comedian for portrayal of Duterte

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday criticized an American comedian-host for “implying” in his Netflix show that President Rodrigo R. Duterte is an “autocrat” who “every so often goes on a killing spree.”

“We find it desperate that, on the eve of the Philippine midterm elections, the vociferous detractors of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte would use an American comedy show (“Patriot Act”), aired on Netflix, to demonize the Chief Executive and his government in its episode entitled ‘Brazil, Corruption and the Rainforest’ before the global audience,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said in a statement on Tuesday night.

He added: “Mr. Hasan Minhaj, an American comedian and host, maliciously implied that President Duterte is an ‘autocrat’ who ‘every so often goes on a killing spree.’ He cited an exaggerated figure — 27,000, which is way higher than the official figure — to besmirch the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.”

Citing Real Numbers PHL data, Mr. Andanar said there were about “5,050 drug personalities who died during the 115,435 anti-drug operations from July 2016 to November 2018.”

He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has also reported that “a large number of deaths were done by the hands of vigilantes due to the rivalry between drug gangs.”

“There were also 164,265 individuals arrested during the same police operations,” Mr. Andanar also said. “Since President Rodrigo Roa Duterte assumed (office), there are about 303,533 individuals who graduated from the (government’s) rehabilitation programs.”

“We express outrage that such erroneous narratives, obviously peddled by anti-Duterte haters and trolls, would find their way to the gullible TV host and his comedy show and unwittingly parrot these falsehoods to an audience unaware of the real score in the Philippines.”

The official Mr. Andanar said preliminary results of the midterm elections “affirmed that the public indeed heeded the President’s call” and “continues to believe in the genuine reforms advocated by the candidates” of Mr. Duterte.

“For the information of Mr. Minhaj, 6 out of 10 Filipinos pointed out that the illegal drug users in their areas have decreased based on independent pollsters….Also, 7 out of 10 Filipinos mentioned that the Duterte Administration is serious in solving the killings in the country.”

Mr. Andanar likewise noted that Mr. Minhaj “heaped praises” on Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria A. Ressa and detained opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima for “standing up” against Mr. Duterte.

“Their cases underwent legal processes and their politics, or opposition to President Duterte, has nothing to do with the charges that they are now facing. Both personalities violated domestic laws with Ms. Ressa committing tax evasion, breach of anti-dummy laws, and violation of cyber laws; and Senator De Lima transgressing anti-drug laws,” Mr. Andanar said.

Chavit wins as Narvacan mayor as Singsons continue to dominate Ilocos Sur

LUIS “CHAVIT” C. Singson, the businessman and former Ilocos Sur governor who is turning 78 in June, does not have retirement from politics in mind as he is set to take the post of Narvacan town’s mayor after winning in Monday’s elections. His son Ryan Luis is poised for another term as governor while brother Jerry is also staying on as vice-governor. The other Singson family members in the winning circle are: Jimboy as provincial board member and Kristine as congressional representative for the 2nd District. Chavit’s son Ronald, who ran as an independent and not under the family’s local Bileg party, lost for the congressional seat in the 1st District which he previously won in 2013.

169 tons of campaign trash collected; MMDA offers materials for repurposing

A TOTAL of 168.84 tons of campaign trash was collected by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) following the just-concluded midterm elections, including those placed outside designated areas during the campaign period and those taken down after Monday’s vote. MMDA, in a statement on Wednesday, said it aims to complete the post-election clean-up operations this week. “We target to rid the major roads in the metro of campaign materials and spruce up public schools until this week so the public can prepare for the opening of classes next month early,” said MMDA Chairman Danilo D. Lim. The cities of Manila, Quezon, Parañaque and Makati produced the most number of campaign materials. The collected materials, currently stored under the flyovers in Santolan and Nagtahan, are on offer to recycling groups. “Various groups in need of candidates’ tarpaulins to recycle them into bags, place mats, school supplies and other useful items can coordinate with us,” said Francisco B. Martinez, head of MMDA’s Metro Parkway Clearing Group.

Peso rebounds vs dollar

THE PESO recovered against the dollar yesterday following the upbeat statement of US President Donald J. Trump on its trade negotiations with China that slightly boosted the risk appetite of investors.

The local unit ended Wednesday’s session at P52.35 against the greenback, 8.5 centavos stronger than the P52.435-per-dollar finish last Tuesday.

The peso opened the session at its intraday low of P52.43 against the dollar. Meanwhile, its best showing stood at P52.28 versus the greenback. Trading volume thinned slightly to $847.3 million from $881.1 million that changed hands the previous session.

A foreign exchange trader said the peso traded within range yesterday.

“Not much movers to be considered, but we saw peso stronger against the dollar on slight risk-on sentiment given that Trump said the deal has not collapsed with China,” the trader said in a phone interview.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the trade negotiations between the US and China did not collapse, saying the two countries are merely having a “little squabble.”

“We’re having a little squabble with China because we’ve been treated very unfairly for many, many decades,” he told White House reporters.

Last week, Washington raised levies on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. In retaliation, Beijing said it will increase tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods by June 1.

Despite these actions, Mr. Trump still touted his relationship with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as “extraordinary.”

Most other Asian currencies also enjoyed a welcome breather after Mr. Trump softened his tough trade rhetoric against China.

“The peso appreciated as market sentiment improved as President Trump noted that the trade discussions between the US and China will continue despite the recent mutual imposition of higher tariffs,” another trader said.

The first trader added that markets are anticipating the possible cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio today at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board’s weekly meeting.

For today, the first trader expects the local unit to move between P52.30 and P52.60, while the other trader gave a P52.20-P52.50 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

20 new lanes to be constructed at SCTEX toll plazas

TWENTY NEW lanes are set to be added at the toll plazas of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), operator NLEX Corp. announced on Wednesday. The expansion project, which is expected to be completed by Nov., involves one toll lane each at the Clark North entry/exit and Clark South B exit; two each at Clark South A exit and Tarlac entry/exit; conversion of the San Miguel (Luisita) plaza into a full interchange with two lanes each at the northbound entry and southbound exit and another toll lane will be added to the northbound exit; and the soon-to-open Bamban Interchange will have three entry and three exit lanes. “The additional toll lanes will help improve SCTEX’s connectivity in its areas, particularly in Clark, which is being positioned as Asia’s next aerotropolis and investment center,” said Luigi Bautista, president and general manager of NLEX Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC). The Bamban Interchange will become the direct connection to New Clark City, the main venue for this year’s Southeast Asian Games. MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

Stocks decline further as foreign selling persists

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL EQUITIES dropped on Wednesday as foreign investors continued to exit the market.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) retreated 0.91% or 69.95 points to close at 7,576.71, settling in negative territory after steady gains in the early morning session. The all-shares index likewise slipped 0.59% or 28.37 points to end at 4,708.17.

“The index steadily dropped throughout the day after a strong start in the morning to end 69.95 points lower at 7,576.71 after even being sold down at the close. Today’s net foreign selling of P1.2B may have been the culprit,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail on Wednesday.

Foreign net outflows persisted for an eighth straight session yesterday, albeit slightly lower at P1.16 billion from Tuesday’s P1.46 billion.

“With the PSEi firmly closing below its 200-day moving average support [on Wednesday] that it rebounded from [on Tuesday], support level to now look to if foreign selling persists in the coming days would be the area of December 2018’s low of 7,350,” Mr. Perez said.

On the other hand, Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan blamed concerns over the trade war between the United States and China.

“The Philippine market continued to trade sluggishly as Sino-US trade news dominated headlines,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message yesterday.

After China hiked its tariffs in retaliation to the US’ actions, US President Donald J. Trump tweeted that the Federal Reserve could “match” whatever Chinese officials were doing to offset the impact of the tariff increases on the economy.

Negotiations between the two parties, however, remain open, with a US delegation reported to be traveling to Beijing sometime soon for further talks.

Markets were up in the US overnight as investors went bargain hunting after the sharp losses seen in the previous week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.82% or 207.06 points to 25,532.05. The S&P 500 index jumped 0.8% or 22.54 points to 2,834.41, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.14% or 87.47 points to 7,734.50.

Back home, the services counter was the lone sub-index that ended with gains, up 1.6% or 25.61 points to end at 1,620.78 on Wednesday. The rest declined, led by property which fell 1.93% or 80.34 points to 4,076.47. Industrials plunged 1.35% or 155.41 points to 11,290.42; holding firms lost 0.86% or 61.94 points to 7,114.44; mining and oil slid 0.7% or 52.24 points to 7,359.85; while financials was down 0.28% or 4.87 points to 1,681.01.

Some 761.08 million issues valued at P7.23 billion switched hands, lower than the previous session’s P11.95-billion turnover.

Decliners slightly outpaced advancers, 98 to 92, while 52 names were unchanged.

5 undocumented OFWs blocked at Clark airport

THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) stopped five undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who attempted to leave the country as tourists at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in separate incidents last May 8. In a press release, BI Ports Operations Division Chief Grifton SP. Medina said the five women intercepted were bound for Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three were hired as nightclub entertainers while two were domestic helpers. The BI said the three recruited to work in a pub said they received a job offer online and met with a man in Quezon City who paid them P10,000 for recruitment. The two others, meanwhile, presented fake visas to UAE and admitted they have been offered jobs in Beirut. “Obviously these women have been victimized by unscrupulous human trafficking syndicates that prey on the poor,” Mr. Medina said, “We must pursue cases against these illegal recruiters to protect our fellow Filipinos from exploitation in foreign lands.” The five women were turned over to the inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation and assistance. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Suspects in VCM burning arrested

THE TWO suspects behind the burning of vote counting machines (VCM) in Jones, Isabela on Tuesday have been identified and are now in police custody. They were identified as Jayson Leano, who was caught in pursuit operations at Barangay Diarao at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Rodel Pascual, who surrendered to the barangay chairman of Sta. Isabel on Wednesday morning, the Police Regional Office II reported. Investigation is underway to determine the affiliation of both suspects and identify other persons involved in the incident. According to the Philippine National Police, both suspects were identified by witnesses as the persons responsible for the burning of the VCMs in Manayao Hill at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday while the election equipment were being transported to a local canvassing center. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

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