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Brave CF defers Manila event, goes to Romania instead

WHAT was supposed to be Brave Combat Federation’s second Manila event later this year is no longer happening after the promotion decided to defer it and play Romania instead.

In an announcement shared to media late on Tuesday night, Brave said that due to “unforeseen circumstances” it made the decision to move its 28th show from the Philippines to Romania, where it will be making its debut.

The Romania event will be co-promoted with top local organization Real Xtreme Fighting on Nov. 4 in Bucharest.

Despite the postponement of its Manila return, Brave reiterated that it was still committed to engaging the Philippine mixed martial arts scene, which it said it values as a market especially since it is home to world bantamweight champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman of Team Lakay.

Brave made its Philippine live show debut on March 1.

It was headlined by Mr. Loman, who successfully defended his title by stopping challenger Elias “Smile” Boudegzdame of Algeria in devastating fashion in the fourth round.

Brave officials raved about the good turnout and reception that its first show in Manila had, even calling it “the best Brave show” so far.

“It’s the greatest event I have witnessed, the best Brave yet. I really enjoyed it even if I was preoccupied with a lot of things for much of the time. The fans were great, the people were great. And I could not wait to come back here and stage another event,” said Brave CF President Mohammed Shahid in an interview after the event.

For its Manila show, Bahrain-based Brave CF partnered with ESPN5 as its official broadcaster. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

How did Radjabov do it?

FIDE World Cup 2019
Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
Sept. 9–Oct. 4, 2019

Result of Finals (winner in bold)

Teimour Radjabov AZE 2758 vs. Ding Liren CHN 2811 6-4

7-round 128 player Knockout event

Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move, starting move 1

Teimour Radjabov defeated Ding Liren 6-4 in the finals to win the 2019 World Cup. He had to survive a grueling 25-day event with games everyday and only two one-day breaks. Round about the 15th day of competition the participants were already complaining about exhaustion and this was only the halfway point!

Before we go into the point I am making, let us do a quick review of Teimour Radjabov.

As perhaps the BW reader will recall Radjabov was a child prodigy — born 12 March 1987, he earned the International Grandmaster (GM) title in March 2001 at the age of 14, the second-youngest in history at the time. He was really a chess phenomenon not only for of his results but also for the beauty of his play. In 2003 he beat the-then World No. 1 Garry Kasparov in spectacular fashion in the famous Linares tournament, winning the brilliancy prize for that game as well. This was a really big deal at that time for Kasparov had been undefeated in five consecutive Linares tournaments before losing to Radjabov and has not lost a rated game with White in seven years, and never lost one again.

Kasparov, Garry (2847) — Radjabov, Teimour (2624) [C11]
20th Linares (2), 23.02.2003

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 Qb6 10.Ne2

This move, allowing Black to close the center, is pretty common now but back in 2003 the usual continuation was 10.Be2 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bc5 12.Rd1 etc.

10…c4 11.g4 h5 12.gxh5 Rxh5 13.Ng3 Rh8 14.f5!? exf5 15.Nxf5 Nf6! 16.Ng3

[16.exf6 Bxf5 17.fxg7 Bxg7 18.Rg1 Bf6 I prefer Black]

16…Ng4 17.Bf4 Be6 18.c3 Be7 19.Ng5 0–0–0 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Be2 <D>

POSITION AFTER 21.BE2

21…Ngxe5!?

Probably not the best, but enough to confuse Kasparov.

22.Qe3!?

Not the best:

22.dxe5 is wrong because of 22…d4 23.cxd4 Rxd4 24.Qc1 (not 24.Qe3? Rf8 25.Bg5 Bxg5 26.Qxg5 Qa5+ and Black mates) 24…Na5 25.Be3 Nb3 26.Bxd4 Qxd4 27.Qd1 Qe3 28.Qc2 Bh4 Black is clearly winning;

Correct is 22.Bxe5! Nxe5 23.dxe5 Bc5 (23…d4 24.0–0–0 and White has survived the opening) 24.Bg4! Be3 25.Qe2 d4 Black is still attacking but everything is far from decided.

22…Nd7 23.Qxe6 Bh4 24.Qg4?

White should have picked up the d5 pawn 24.Qxd5.

24…g5! 25.Bd2

[25.Bxg5 Rdg8]

25…Rde8 26.0–0–0 Na5 27.Rdf1?

A mistake as now Kasparov’s king has to go back to the center where it once more becomes a target.

27…Nb3+ 28.Kd1 Bxg3!

Radja wants to play …Qg6 to threaten …Qb1 with dire consequences for White, but if he does it right now White can block it with either Qf5 or Nf5, so first he gets rid of the g8–knight.

29.Rf7

There is no good way to capture the bishop:

29.hxg3 Qg6! 30.Bc1 (30.Qf5 is not posible because of 30…Qxf5 31.Rxf5 Rxh1+) 30…Qb1 31.Qxg5 Nxc1 32.Qxc1 Qe4 attacking the bishop on e2 as well as the rook on h1. Black is winning.;

29.Qxg3 Qg6 30.Bc1 Qb1 31.Qxg5 Rhg8 32.Qf4 Re4 33.Qh6 Rxe2!

29…Rd8!

[29…Qd6 allows White to complicate: 30.Bxg5 Bxh2 31.Rf6 Qc7 32.Bf3 Kb8 33.Rxa6 White still has chances to hold]

30.Bxg5

[30.Qxg3? Qg6 attacks the rook and also threatens Qb1]

30…Qg6 31.Qf5

[31.Rf5 Rde8]

31…Qxf5 32.Rxf5 Rdf8 33.Rxf8+ Nxf8 34.Bf3 Bh4! 35.Be3 Nd7 36.Bxd5 Re8 37.Bh6 Ndc5! 38.Bf7 Re7 39.Bh5 Nd3 0–1

Later on that same year he defeated former World Champions Anand and Ponomariov to show that he was not a “flash in the pan.” Several more successes followed and in November 2012 he achieved his peak rating of 2793, good enough to be ranked no. 4 in the world.

All this changed though when he played in the Candidates’ Tournament of 2013. The Azeri GM finished last with a 1 win 6 draws and 7 loss score. This affected him psychologically for he had never been beaten this badly before and afterwards he started limiting his appearances to two or three tournaments a year.

So, when he arrived in Khanty-Mansiysk for this year’s World Cup no one expected him to win. After all, Radja was basically semi-retired and is not expected to be in his best form. When the competition started though the former child prodigy had a strong performance from start to finish, not losing a single game until the 2nd game of the finals against Ding Liren, and even then avenging that loss right away. Before reaching the final against Ding, Radjabov defeated two of the so-called chess-elite who get invited to all these high profile tournaments — Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and he stopped the challenge of the younger players in the persons of Daniil Yuffa and Jeffery Xiong, who until they met him were having their own stronger performances.

So how did he do it? How did he take all his skill, lock it up in a freezer, and take it out for the World Cup tournament?

The short answer, opening theory. He would only play in top tournaments like Wijk aan Zee or the FIDE Grand Prix events where his opponents will be very highly rated. That way, agreeing to draws wouldn’t harm his rating too much. Then Radja never stopped working hard on his opening theory and, when playing, using a safety-first strategy, frequently choosing forced theoretical lines to avoid any nasty surprises.

And it did not hurt that he had a great positional feel and a sharp eye for tactics — these never left him. Last Tuesday I showed you his Marshall Attack win over Ding Liren where he was still within his opening preparation on move 29 (!). Against Vachier-Lagrave he was winning by move 10! Then in an earlier column I showed you how he slipped through the cracks and defeated Mamedyarov with a sudden tactical resource.

Now we will look at his win over Daniil Yuffa, beautiful positional play.

Radjabov, Teimour (2758) — Yuffa, Daniil (2577) [B11]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk (3.1), 16.09.2019

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3

The Two Knights’ Variation, Bobby Fischer’s favorite weapon against the Caro-Kann.

3…Bg4

As Bobby Fischer explained in his annotations to his draw with Petrosian in the 1959 Candidates’ Tournament, the purpose of the Two Knights’ line is to exclude the Classical 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 line.

How’s that again? Let me explain. Here in the Two Knights if Black now continues 3…dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5? (4…Nf6 is correct) 5.Ng3 Bg6? (5…Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 had to be played) 6.h4! h6 7.Ne5 Bh7 8.Qh5 g6 9.Qf3 Nf6 10.Qb3 White wins material. This trap has come up more than a hundred times in the international tournament circuit, sometimes even involving grandmasters.

4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.Be2

Another possibility is to offer the sacrifice of a pawn by 6.d4 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Qxd4 8.Bd3 but perhaps this is not suitable for a big-money tournament like the World Cup.

6…Bc5 7.0–0 Ne7 8.Qg3 0–0 9.d3 Nd7 10.Kh1

Obviously intending f2–f4–f5.

10…f5!?

Which is why Yuffa goes ahead with his own f-pawn advance.

11.Bg5 Bd4 12.Qd6 Bf6 13.f4

[13.Qxe6+? Kh8 14.Bd2 (14.Bxf6 Rxf6) 14…Nc5 in both cases the white queen is caught in a trap]

13…Rf7 14.Bxf6

[14.Qxe6? Nc5]

14…Rxf6 15.e5 Rf7 16.d4

White obviously has an edge now because his pieces have more scope, but he has to harness that extra maneuverability quickly before Black can regroup.

16…Nc8 17.Qb4 Qb6 18.a3 c5 19.Qxb6 Ncxb6 20.Nb5 Re7 21.b3 cxd4 22.Nxd4 Nc5 23.g4 Ne4 24.Rg1 Rf8 25.gxf5 exf5 26.h4 g6 27.Rg2 Kf7 28.h5 Rh8 29.Rag1 Ree8 30.a4 a6 31.a5 Nd7 32.c4!

This is better than 32.e6+ Rxe6 33.Nxe6 Kxe6.

32…dxc4 33.e6+ Rxe6 34.Bxc4 Nf8 35.hxg6+ hxg6+ 36.Rh2 Rg8 37.Nxe6 Nxe6 38.Rh6 Nf2+ 39.Kg2 Ne4 40.Kh2 Nf2 41.Bxe6+ Kxe6 42.Rhxg6+ Rxg6 43.Rxg6+ Kd7 44.Rb6 Kc7 45.Kg3 1–0

Everything looks so simple, and yet only a great master can play a game like this.

 

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

Simmons’ trey

By all accounts, Ben Simmons was the star of the Sixers’ preseason match yesterday. He certainly put up a heady stat line that included eight caroms and seven dimes, not to mention 21 markers off just 14 shots. For all his usual array of close-in makes, however, his most significant score came via a contested pull-up from 27 feet out. Launched with 2.3 ticks left in the second quarter of a blowout, it got leather and nylon to meet, resulting in hearty applause from the 13,407 who trekked to the Wells Fargo Center. No matter that the score was then 79-41 against the hapless Guangzhou Long-Lions, and that, despite the coverage, he faced no pressure in taking it after milking the clock close to halftime.

Considering Simmons’ nonchalance in the aftermath of his trey, casual observers would have been forgiven for deeming it par for the course. Just about everybody else knew better, though. Fellow All-Star Joel Embiid was pumped, running to him to give a hearty push. The rest of the Sixers were, too; those on the bench erupted as if they won the last game of a championship series. And why not? They understood its significance, coming from a heralded player whose myriad skills at the point were offset by one glaring weakness: He was averse to taking a shot from deep.

Indeed, Simmons has attempted just 17 three-point shots in his career spanning 5,432 minutes and 160 regular-season games. And he has been even more loathe to hoist from beyond the arc in the playoffs; through 22 matches, he has one measly try. And “try” is the operative word, because, despite the wide latitude the competition invariably gives him, he has so far laid an egg. Which was why his make yesterday was especially significant, and why it augurs extremely well for the Sixers in their quest for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. They’re contenders in any case, but his progress from long range should enable them to get to higher hear few others in the National Basketball Association can match.

No doubt, Simmons is a generational talent who impacts the Sixers any which way. That said, he has likewise been an odd fit for franchise cornerstone Joel Embiid. Given his failure to keep defenses honest with his outside shooting, his partner’s effectiveness as a powerhouse down low is contained by all the sagging. And, to his credit, he seems to have truly made strides with his shot; all the practice videos making the rounds in social media are apparently legit. Now, all that’s left for him to do is prove his capacity to deliver — again and again. Yesterday was a good start. Whether he can sustain his confidence for the games that actually matter remains to be seen.

 

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.

Peso weakens vs dollar

THE PESO traded sideways on Wednesday as the US widened its trade black list to include Chinese artificial intelligence firms.

The local unit ended at P51.79 against the greenback on Wednesday, dropping two centavos from its P51.77-to-a-dollar close on Tuesday.

The peso opened at P51.90 versus the dollar. Its weakest point was recorded at P51.92, while its intraday best was at P51.77 against the greenback.

Dollars traded on Wednesday rose to $1.23 billion against the $1.13 billion recorded on Tuesday.

“The peso weakened after the US and China both banned more tech companies which heightened worries ahead of their scheduled trade talks this week,” a trader said in an email.

“There was a narrow range trading as people await the results of the trade negotiations with some Chinese officials already in the US,” a second trader said in a phone call.

The US government widened its trade blacklist to include some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups, punishing Beijing for its treatment of Muslim minorities and ratcheting up tensions ahead of high-level trade talks in Washington this week.

The decision, which drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, targets 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies including video surveillance firm Hikvision, as well as leaders in facial recognition technology SenseTime Group Ltd and Megvii Technology Ltd.

The action bars the firms from buying components from US companies without US government approval — a potentially crippling move for some of them.

For today, the first trader expects the peso to rise anew.

“The local currency might strengthen ahead of possible dovish cues from the US Federal Reserve September policy meeting minutes due to be released overnight. Exchange rates might move within the P51.70 and P51.90 range,” the first trader said.

Meanwhile, the second trader said the peso’s performance will depend on the US-China trade negotiations.

“If it’s risk-off then the peso could fall to around P52-52.20. If it’s risk-on, then it could go to the P51.50-51.70 range,” the second trader said. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

PSE index falls to 7,600 level ahead of trade talks

THE MAIN INDEX dropped to the 7,600 level on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines in anticipation of the trade talks between United States and China.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 75.47 points or 0.97% to close at 7,681.25 yesterday. The broader all shares index likewise lost 32.4 points or 0.69% to end at 4,655.99.

“Local stocks fell once again today on very light trading activity, despite reassurances on monetary policy by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, after earlier reports on the progress of US-China trade relations disappointed investors,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message on Wednesday.

Total volume was at 321.84 million yesterday with a total value of P4.8 billion, down from P6.95 billion last Tuesday.

Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez echoed this sentiment, saying in an e-mail: “It seems like the market’s still waiting on the results of the upcoming US and China trade talks which would determine much of the movement in the immediate term.”

Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail that investors are “pessimistic” with the developments and “most Asian markets followed suit including here at the PSE.”

Most Southeast Asian stock markets dropped on Wednesday, as tensions between the United States and China heightened hours ahead of high-level negotiations, denting hopes of a trade deal.

Washington imposed visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials over abuses of Muslim minorities. The move came only hours after the Trump administration widened its trade blacklist to include some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups.

High-level talks between the world’s top two economies on trade are due to resume on Thursday. The negotiations, which are the global markets’ most important catalyst for months, have weighed on investor sentiment.

Singapore shares were on track to snap two sessions of gains, dragged by industrial and financial sectors.

Bucking the sombre mood, Vietnam index traded marginally higher.

Back home, all sector indices tallied declines at the end of trading. Holding firms fell 99.9 points or 1.3% to 7,539.14; services went down 14.49 points or 0.95% to 1,498.96; and mining and oil dropped 84.65 points or 0.92% to 9,073.02.

Industrials went down 71.51 points or 0.67% to 10,523.33; financials dropped 11.58 points or 0.64% to 1,780.83; and property slid 24.49 points or 0.6% to 4,019.42.

Decliners edged up advancers, 114 to 60, while 58 names were unchanged.

Foreigners turned net sellers on Wednesday, with net outflows totalling P1.87 billion, a reversal of the net purchases worth P5.21 million recorded on Tuesday. — Denise A. Valdez with Reuters

SWS: Duterte’s rating dips but still ‘very good’

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte’s overall satisfaction rating dropped in the third quarter this year, but remains at a “very good” level of +65, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Wednesday.

In its Third Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey, SWS reported that 78% of Filipinos are satisfied with the President’s performance while 13% are dissatisfied and 9% undecided.

Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction rating of +65 — representing the percentage satisfied minus those dissatisfied — was lower than his +68 score in June 2019.

SWS’ Net Satisfaction Ratings are classified as: +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; -70 and below, “execrable.”

Mr. Duterte’s rating soared for Class ABC at +70 (79% satisfied, 9% dissatisfied) in September, up by 12 points from +58 (76% satisfied, 18% dissatisfied) in June.

SWS said the rating “also stayed very good in class D or the masa, at +66 (79% satisfied, 13% dissatisfied) in September, although down by 2 points from the personal record-high +68 (79% satisfied, 11% dissatisfied) in June.”

For Class E, the rating was “very good” at +57 (73% satisfied, 16% dissatisfied) in September 2019, but lower by 11 points from +68 (81% satisfied, 13% dissatisfied) in June.

The rating drop was reflected in both urban and rural areas.

Rural net satisfaction was at +64 in September, lower by 4 points from +68 in June, while urban net satisfaction was +66, down by 1 point from +67.

Satisfaction also decreased in Mindanao, Mr. Duterte’s home turf, though still at an excellent level at +76 (85% satisfied, 9% dissatisfied) from +81 (88% satisfied, 8% dissatisfied, correctly rounded) in June.

The net satisfaction rating among Filipinos in Luzon, excluding Metro Manila, was also lower at +54 (71% satisfied, 17% dissatisfied), down by 11 points from +65 (78% satisfied, 13% dissatisfied).

INSIGNIFICANT
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, reacting to the latest SWS survey, said the Palace welcomes the results and they see the slight decrease in ratings as “insignificant.”

“(T)he President would simply shrug off his survey numbers, saying he is not interested in any popularity contest relative to his governance because with or without a soaring satisfaction rating, he is unaffected and will just continue to do his constitutional task of serving and protecting the people even at the loss of his life, liberty and honour,” Mr. Panelo said in a statement on Wednesday.

The non-commissioned survey was conducted on 1,800 adults nationwide last September 27–30 this year and has an error margin of ±2.3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon and Mindanao; and ±6% for Metro Manila and the Visayas. — Gillian M. Cortez

SC rules gov’t nurses should get higher pay

THE SUPREME Court (SC) has ruled that nurses working in government health institutions should receive higher basic pay.

In a statement, the SC Public Information Office (PIO) said the high court declared as valid Section 32 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9173, or the Philippine Nursing Act, which states that the minimum base pay of nurses in public health facilities should be at salary grade (SG) 15.

The case stemmed from the petition of Ang Nars Party List in 2015 questioning the validity of Executive Order (EO) No. 811, signed by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, mandating that the salary for the position of “Nurse I” should be increased from SG10 to SG11.

The EO is based on Joint Resolution No. 4, which authorized the president to modify the compensation and position classification system of civilian personnel as well as the base pay schedule for military and uniformed personnel.

RA 9173, which provided for an SG15 as basic pay for government nurses, was signed into law by Ms. Arroyo on Oct. 21, 2002.

“(T)he Court declared as valid Section 32 of the Philippine Nursing Act,” the SC PIO said.

“In ruling in favor of the petitioners, the Court ruled that Joint Resolution No. 4, being a mere resolution, cannot amend or repeal a prior law such as RA 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act. The same applies to EO 811 which is also not a law, but an executive directive,” it added.

The high court, however, said it cannot grant the petition to compel the implementation of increased base pay for nurses “since its implementation would necessarily require a law passed by Congress providing necessary funds for it.”

Based on Department of Budget and Management data, an SG11 earner receives a monthly pay of P20,754 to P22,829 monthly, while SG15 earns P30,531 to P33,279. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Another witness says Albayalde had a take from resold drugs

A NEW testimony in the Senate’s probe on the 2013 multi-million reselling of illegal drugs seized during police operations claims Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar D. Albayalde had a share from the transaction.

Retired PNP general Rudy G. Lacadin on Wednesday recounted a telephone conversation between him, who was then central Luzon regional director, and Mr. Albayalde, wherein the latter claimed receiving some of the money from the reselling of drugs.

He narrated that part of the conversation was: “‘Yes, Oca (Oscar Albayalde)… Nagkaroon kami ng (We had an) investigation, but if you’re in the right, wala ka naman dapat katakutan (you have nothing to fear).”

In response, Mr. Albayalde allegedly said, “actually konti lang naman ang napunta sakin d’yan (just a small share went to me.”

Mr. Lacadin said he does not know if it was said “jokingly.”

Mr. Albayalde defended himself saying if he was liable, he should have been charged in previous investigations.

He said, “It seems that everybody’s ganging up on me,” he said, “why was I not charged? After all these investigations… why was I not charged?”

Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee cheer, expressed support for Mr. Albayalde’s question, but said the statement of Mr. Lacadin serves as a strong evidence against the police chief, who may face charges for neglect of duty or graft.

After the hearing, Mr. Gordon told reporters that the testimony of Mr. Lacadin is strong, him being a “former general, former regional director.”

“(A) retired general would normally not say that,” he said, noting that such have nothing to gain in testifying against Mr. Albayalde.

Others who have testified against Mr. Albayalde were former PNP Chief Alan Purisima, who was in the position at the time of the buy bust, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong.

Mr. Magalong was the director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group that conducted the probe on the alleged cover up of the confiscation of around 200 kilograms (kgs) of drugs in a Nov. 2013 drug buy bust.

The report submitted by the thirteen Pampanga cops declared only around 38 kgs. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

3 NPA leaders, member arrested in Tuguegarao

THREE LEADERS and one member of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, were arrested in Tuguegarao City Tuesday evening, police and military authorities reported on Wednesday. In a statement, the three tagged as the “most wanted persons” of the NPA were identified as Violeta Ricardo, Delilah Padilla and Cristeta Garcia, while the member was named as Carol Ballesta. The National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said Ballesta was arrested for harboring the three, who are facing charges for murder, assault and homicide. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

Report on LRT-2 fire out Thursday

DEPARTMENT OF Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing III said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is expected to release today its report on the fire incident on a portion of the Light Rail Transit-Line 2 (LRT-2). “I have already spoken with Fire director Leonard Bañago,” Mr. Densing said during a hearing by the House committee on transportation. “What is significant here, once the report comes out, he will immediately order or issue a clearance, so that the LRT could start with their repairs,” he added. During the hearing, Muntinlupa City lone district Rep. Rufino B. Biazon asked the LRT Authority (LRTA) LRTA if it has any disaster recovery playbook. LRTA Corporate Board Secretary Hernando Cabrera explained that what the agency has is a risk management plan.

PANELO
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo explained on Wednesday that the government is providing solutions to ease the mass transport woes in the capital. Mr. Panelo has drawn flak over his comment on Tuesday that there is no mass transport crisis despite worsening traffic and commuter difficulties. Among the recent contributing factors was the LRT-2 fire. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras and Gillian M. Cortez

PACC recommends charges vs 12 NHA officials over Yolanda housing

THE PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Wednesday recommended the filing of administrative charges against 12 officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) due to alleged anomalies in the P4-billion housing program for Typhoon Yolanda victims in the Eastern Visayas Region. PACC chairperson Dante LA. Jimenez, in a chance interview with reporters, said the case particularly involves projects in Eastern Samar. PACC, in its filing before the Office of the Ombudsman, said the construction of 2,559 units in four municipalities were bagged by a sole contractor, identified as J.C. Tayag Builders, Inc., with a total contract cost of P741.53 million. However, only 36 housing units were completed as of November 2017. “The case of J.C. Tayag Builders, Inc. was also uncovered in a public hearing of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development in September 2017. In spite of this, no legal actions have been taken to bring them to account,” said Mr. Jimenez.—Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

NEA asks PALECO to draft sustainability plan

STATE-LED National Electrification Administration (NEA) has called on the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) to come up with a sustainability plan as rehabilitation activities for its power distribution system continues. “We cannot do this all the time whenever they have a problem. PALECO must have a sustainability plan in terms of vegetation management, line clearing and maintenance. Otherwise, the problem would recur always,” said NEA Deputy Administrator Artis Nikki L. Tortola in a statement on Wednesday. In his meeting with the PALECO management on Sept. 26, Mr. Tortola said he emphasized the need for power cooperatives to come up with a sustainability program so that the hard work and efforts extended by the “Task Force Kapatid” would not go to waste. Rehabilitation works for PALECO’s power distribution system will continue as the initial batch of electric cooperatives completed their tasks last month. The second batch of cooperatives from the Visayas is now preparing to be deployed to Puerto Princesa City. “The rehabilitation activities are not finished yet but we are making progress,” NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong said. — Victor V. Saulon

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