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Ex-execs seek DENR probe of damages by Rapu-Rapu mine

By Manly M. Ugalde Correspondent

L

EGAZPI CITY—A former mining executive of the South Korean-owned RapuRapu Mining consortium in Albay has asked President Duterte to order a probe and study the abandoned town of Rapu-Rapu, after it was mined out of minerals that generated a whooping income of P65 billion in five years and left with a measly P158 million in rehabilitation fund.

Among the minerals mined on the tiny island were gold, copper, zinc and bronze in a 186-hectare land, where two disastrous cyanide spills dumped mine tailings to coastal villages, resulting to heavy fish kills in Rapu-Rapu and neighboring coastal communities of Sorsogon province.

Cecille A. Calleja, communication executive of South Koreanowned Rapu-Rapu Mines, was one of four complainants in the environmental case filed against four top officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources See “Rapu-Rapu,” A2

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Sunday, August 14, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 309

BSP expands liberalization of rules on forex trading Fed officials challenge decades of accepted A wisdom on inflation

By Bianca Cuaresma

@BcuaresmaBM

S part of its effort to update regulations to match the changing needs of the local economy, rules governing transactions in foreign exchange (forex) were liberalized again this week, with different salient points aimed to ease forex access to individuals and corporates alike.

“Following the thrust toward greater openness in view of the country’s increasing integration with global markets, the Bangko Sentral continues to review its existing regulations, particularly those governing transactions in forex,” the central bank said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the bank moved to ease rules on foreignexchange transactions in the country to benefit select sectors of the economy.

This liberalization of forex rules is part of a series of reforms initiated by the central bank since See “Forex,” A2

In this June 22, 2016, file photo, Federal Reserve Chairman Janet L. Yellen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on US monetary policy. AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta

O

BIG CATCH

Struggling his way out from the dehydrating riverbed of the Magat Dam reservoir in Ramon, Isabela, an enterprising fisherman shows his catch of big-size tilapia from the wild waters upstream. While Metro Manila and other parts of the country are under water, the reservoir of the multipurpose dam that generates power and irrigation has dropped to alarmingly low levels, and continues to decline due to the dry spell being experienced in the province. LEONARDO PERANTE II

Clark offers afternoon flights to PAL, CEB

By Joey Pavia

we will be saved

Lord Jesus Christ, You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees You sees Him. Show us Your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal; and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that You spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gift of God!” We ask this of You, Lord Jesus, to bless and forgive each one of us, so we become the true children of God the Father. Amen!

Give Us This Day, Committee on Divine Worship, Shared by Louie M. Lacson

P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 20 pages | 7 days a week

Correspondent

C

LARK FREEP O R T— Clark Internatio­n a l Airport Corp. (CIAC) President and CEO Emigdio P. Tanjuatco III said airline companies, including Cebu Pacific (CEB) and Philippine Airlines (PAL), could begin local commercial flights at the Clark International Airport (CIA) “even by tomorrow,” because they have no flights the whole afternoon every day.

In a phone interview on Saturday, Tanjuatco said the CIA averages about 16 flights per day, but

PESO exchange rates n US 46.7330

COMMERCIAL planes of Cebu Pacific at the main terminal of the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. JOJO DUE

it has no flights from noon until 6 in the evening. He said they have 100 flights per month.

Tanjuatco said commercial

airlines operating at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) “fight for the schedule, from See “Clark,” A2

VER the last year, Federal Reserve (the Fed) officials have dramatically curtailed ambitions for interest-rate increases, even as inflation has risen and unemployment has declined.

So what gives?

Perhaps just as important as the increased attention being paid to headwinds from abroad are the changing attitudes of Fed policy-makers toward inflation. That suggests more confidence they can afford to keep borrowing costs lower for longer, because there is less concern that price pressures will get out of hand.

Conventional wisdom says actual inflation trends depend largely on inflation expectations and, to a lesser degree, the amount of slack in the economy. The significance of the latter has been called into question as economic slack has been used up.

As Fed Chairman Janet L. Yellen put it during a June 6 speech, a stronger labor market would typically be expected to push inflation higher.

“But such estimates are inherently imprecise, and the effect on inflation could turn

out to be significantly different, either upward or downward, than I expect,” she said.

Central bankers are also coming to terms with the fact they don’t really understand what they believe to be the more important determinant of inflation—expectations— very well either.

Take a recent study by Fed economist Jeremy Nalewaik, who found that while inflation expectations and actual inflation were closely connected prior to the mid-1990s, the relationship has deteriorated markedly since then.

“Movements in inflation expectations now appear inconsequential, since they no longer have any predictive content for subsequent inflation realizations,” Nalewaik wrote.

He cited as a potential explanation for this a hypothesis offered in a 2000 paper coauthored by Yellen’s husband, Nobel prize-winner George Akerlof, who wrote that “when inflation is low, it may be at most a marginal factor in wage and price decisions, and decision-makers may ignore it entirely.”

See “Inflation,” A2

n japan 0.4584 n UK 60.5473 n HK 6.0253 n CHINA 7.0407 n singapore 34.8027 n australia 35.9610 n EU 52.0559 n SAUDI arabia 12.4661

Source: BSP (12 August 2016 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, August 14, 2016

Forex…

Continued from a1

2007 to keep foreign-exchange policies “responsive to current economic conditions.”

Among the recently liberalized points the Monetary Board approved this month are the increase in the amount of foreign exchange Philippine residents may purchase from the banking system without supporting documentation.

With the amendment, individuals may now file for application to purchase for legitimate transactions from $120,000 to $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for corporations.

“This policy aims to enhance and further facilitate access to foreign exchange of both individuals and corporates for legitimate nontrade current-account transactions,” the central bank said.

Also part of the recent amendments is allowing the deposit by Philippine residents of foreign exchange purchased from banks for certain underlying transactions, such as for travel abroad and payment of certain obligations to nonresidents, into their foreign currency deposit unit (FCDU) accounts.

This process can now be done prior to outward remittance to the intended foreign beneficiaries.

“This shall provide residents with greater flexibility in managing their cash flows, as well as provide greater ease in foreignexchange transactions,” the central bank said.

The bank also limited the prohibition on the sale of foreign exchange by banks and their forex corporations for resident-toresident transactions.

The central bank said this measure will facilitate payment of Filipino individuals to their resident counterparties. It would also allow further diversification of their investments.

Prior BSP approval and registration requirements for private sector loans from FCDUs were also lifted by the central bank, to facilitate access of the private sector to bank financing.

The Monetary Board also approved the increase in the amount of Philippine currency that may be brought into or out of the country from P10,000 to P50,000.

This, the central bank said, intends to provide greater convenience to travelers to and from the Philippines, and allow settlement of obligations in jurisdictions outside the Philippines, where the Philippine peso is accepted as a currency of settlement.

The implementing circular for these policies will be issued to take effect in mid-September 2016.

“Notwithstanding the liberalized rules, banks are expected to continue to adopt safe and sound practices in their foreign-exchange transactions and dealings with clients/other counterparties,” the central bank said.

“The BSP, for its part, will remain vigilant and stand ready to act to keep the foreign-exchange market stable.”

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Clark…

OGPI donates ₧53-M support to Cagayan Valley’s K-12 Program Continued from a1

Story & photo

by Leonardo Perante II

Correspondent

K

ASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya—As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social development management program dubbed “We Care,” Australian mining firm OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. (OGPI) recently donated P43 million for the construction of a three-story senior high-school building on the Eastern Nueva Vizcaya National High School (ENVNHS) campus in Barangay Didipio in this town.

Construction is in full swing. The donation is in support to the implementation of the K to 12 Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the mining village, home to the OGPI Didipio gold-copper project.

During the eighth Annual Global CSR Summit and Awards 2016 last summer in Indonesia, out of 200 entries received from all over the world, OGPI was accorded the Gold Award for Best Workplace Practices.

Designed to house 18 classrooms, the three-story building is expected to be completed by September this year. It will be equipped with two science-laboratory rooms to meet the requirements of senior high-school enrollees from Didipio and neighboring communities.

Another P10-million financial assistance was donated to the DepEd in Region 2 by the mining firm as additional support to the same K to 12 curriculum implementation in 16 schools

A three-story, P43-million school building (inset), which would house the Senior High School Department of Eastern Nueva Vizcaya National High School in Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, undergoes construction.

OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. donated a total of P53 million to support the K to 12 Program of the Department of Education in Cagayan Valley.

of Nueva Vizcaya and 18 schools in Quirino for a total of 34 additional beneficiary schools.

The financial assistance shall answer the funding for teachers’ training and the purchase of equipment or tools needed for the technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) discipline and science, technology, engineering, mathematics computer hardware and programming.

“Previously, essential health care for elementary pupils, construction of day-care facilities and improvement of comfort rooms were the initial educational support pro-

grams we have given to our host village and neighboring communities,” OGPI Senior Vice President for Communications and External Affairs Chito Gozar said.

A number of scholarship grants were also given to deserving students in Didipio and nearby communities.

The Australian firm keeps partnership ties with the local communities and educational institutions in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces—Nueva Vizcaya State University, Quirino State University, Eastern Nueva Vizcaya National High School and Didipio Elementary School.

Rapu-Rapu…

(DENR), the four companies under the Rapu-Rapu Mines consortium and 10 of their executives.

The residents of Rapu-Rapu town are dependent on fishing and are still waiting for the “huge” amount the South Korean mines executives promised under the Final Mines Rehabilitation Decommissioning Plan.

In a long-distance interview, Calleja—on vacation in the US— asked President Duterte to order an investigation on how the South Korean firm’s last shipment of ore in 2013, worth P440 million, was able to slip away despite a hold order by the DENR. The last shipment was demanded held by Rapu-Rapu as a sort of guarantee the rehabilitation plan would be complied with. Calleja said that, from the very beginning, the South Korean firm committed numerous violations with its continuous refusal to consult stakeholders regarding the health risks they faced following the mine’s closure in 2013.

In a complaint filed on January

Inflation…

2 to 4 p.m., for their local flights, and we have it at Clark. We can accommodate five flights per hour, and we can have 30 local commercial flights from noon to 6 p.m.”

Tanjuatco said they could also accommodate five flights in the morning every day.

The CIAC president and CEO said their lone local flight is the CIA-Cebu route offered by Cebu Pacific. He said CEB’s thrice-weekly flight leaves in the evening.

“If they grab the available time slots, we don’t have to add people and equipment. But the private airlines should also help by providing their own ground personnel,” Tanjuatco said.

In his recent State of the Nation Address, President Duterte said, “Clark can be utilized to shift some operations of domestic and international flights of airlines.”

Tanjuatco welcomed and lauded the statement of Mr. Duterte.

At present, the Clark Passenger Terminal has the capacity of 4.2 million passengers per annum as compared to the Naia’s 30 million capacity, he said. But the Naia and its four terminals were frequently plagued by flight delays and passenger congestion.

Tanjuatco said CIAC had already made some programs for the development of Clark airport that include the upgrading of its services and facilities. The services include ground handlers, security and airport infrastructure.

Continued from a1

16, 2014, at the Legazpi Regional Trial Court “for environmental protection order,” the former mine executive said the accused had “conspired to abandon the ecologically damaged Rapu-Rapu town.”

Charged were then Environment Secretary Ramon JP Paje, Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Leo L. Jasareno, DENR Region 5 executive Director Gilbert C. Gonzales and MGB Regional Director Theodore Rommel E. Pestaño. Gonzales has been promoted as Environment Management Bureau director in June, with Paje’s niece Crisanta Paje Rodriguez succeeding as Bicol DENR regional director.

The charged foreign mining firms and executives were RapuRapu Minerals Inc., Rapu-Rapu Processing Inc., Rapu-Rapu Holdings Inc., Korea Malaysia Philippines Resources Inc., Young Tae Park, Jason Lim, Soon Bang Ko, Melvin Alonso, Rogelio E. Corpuz, Marc Campos, Ben Dayao, Young Bong Ha, Mohd Ajib Anvar and Jung Sik Kho.

Aside from Calleja, complainants included former Rapu-Rapu Councilors Giovani Guapo and Marino Baranda, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Albay Chapter President Emerson Aquende.

Guapo and Baranda are serving as incumbent Rapu-Rapu councilors.

Court records obtained showed the first filed environmental case with damages was dismissed by RTC Branch 1 Presiding Judge Solon B. Sison on April 13, 2015, for lack of merit. The court record showed a countercomplaint for damages is ongoing for trial.

Both Calleja and Baranda lamented the dismissal of the case with a counter-damage claim, saying they filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals.

The Rapu-Rapu mining operation started in 2005 by Australianowned Lafayette Mining Philippines, which sold the operations to the South Korean group in 2007, after it suffered bankruptcy following the suspension of its operations by the Pollution Adjudication Board.

Continued from a1

Akerlof’s and Nalewaik’s research jibe nicely with ideas that Saint Louis Fed President James Bullard has injected into the debate on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year.

Bullard stopped submitting longer-run economic forecasts when the latest round of policy-makers’ projections was compiled in mid-June, stating in a June 30 speech that “the timing of a switch to an alternative regime is viewed as not forecastable, and so we simply forecast that the current regime will persist.”

Nalewaik suggested a return to a world in which inflation expectations and actual inflation become more tightly linked, as they were before the mid-1990s, may not be in the cards.

“Model estimates show it would take PCE price inflation above 3.3 percent or CPI inflation above 4 percent for several years to produce a transition back into the high-variance, high-persistence inflation regime,“ he said, referring to the personal consumption expenditures price index and

the consumer price index.

This helps explain why the “risk-management approach” to monetary policy in the current environment—a phrase now in use by influential policy-makers, like Fed Governor Lael Brainard, New York Fed President William Dudley and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans—is spreading among officials. They simply see very little risk that inflation will surge out of control.

Evans has taken the risk-management argument, which dictates that the Fed can be slow to raise interest rates because of increasing uncertainty about global growth amid an environment of muted inflation, a step further.

He argued in an August 3 briefing with reporters that the FOMC should consider engineering an intentional overshoot of the Fed’s 2-percent inflation target— which their preferred measure of inflation has been undershooting for the last four years—to make sure they can stabilize it around that level in a sustainable way.

The Chicago Fed chief also

questioned a fundamental notion that has governed the actions of central bankers since Milton Friedman famously quipped in 1960 that monetary policy works with long and variable lags. The implication of Friedman’s observation is that the Fed must begin raising rates before inflation gets to its target.

“That was very much a 1970s phenomenon, where inflation expectations continued to increase as policy didn’t meet reasonable inflation goals,” Evans said. “I think we should be careful in wondering how many things that we learned from previous periods are still really front and center, and still truly active.”

Still, not everyone on the FOMC is convinced.

“I’m definitely not one of those who thinks we should wait until we see inflation get to 2 percent before we raise rates,” San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in a Washington Post interview published on Thursday. “I think that would put us significantly behind the curve.” Bloomberg News

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www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 14, 2016 A3

Teenage moms lose P33B in potential lifetime income

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | Correspondent

A

BOUT P33 billion is lost in potential lifetime income of women who get pregnant or give birth in their teen years, according to a study on teenage pregnancy in the Philippines.

At a recent forum on young parenthood, health economist Alejandro Herrin calculated that a teenager who gets pregnant and does not finish high school may potentially lose earnings up to P83,000 a year when she gets paid for work at age 20. This is about 87 percent of the potential annual income of a 20-year-old woman who completed her high-school education and did not get pregnant in her teen years.

Using 2012 and 2013 data from several surveys of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Herrin predicted that early childbearing will reduce the probability of high school completion. Early childbearing refers to either getting pregnant or giving birth during the teenage years.

He then estimated the daily wage-rate profile of Filipino women who began childbearing before their 20s. “There is a wide gap in the estimated daily wage rate between a girl who got pregnant early and

a girl who gets to finish school,” Herrin said.

The study shows that completing high-school education increases daily-wage rates of women by P300.

At age 20, a girl who began childbearing before age 18 may only earn about P46 a day, compared to the P361 per day estimate for someone who completed high school and did not get pregnant early.

“When taken altogether, the potential lifetime earnings lost due to early childbearing is P33 billion, which is equal to 1.1 percent of the Philippines’s GDP in 2012,” Herrin added.

Herrin’s study underscored the economic implications of teenage pregnancy. His estimates showed that early childbearing reduces high-school completion rates and, eventually, decreases the predicted daily wage-rate profile of women in the Philippines.

On average, 72 percent of

women aged 18 and 19 are expected to complete high school if they did not begin childbearing before age 18. The predicted completion rate for teens who began childbearing early is lower at only 65 percent.

“These results suggest that policies on reducing early childbearing are likely to have substantial impact on the education and economic conditions of women and their families,” Herrin concluded.

After the release of a regional report citing the rising prevalence of teen pregnancy in the Philippines, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) commissioned several studies on early pregnancy and young parenthood in January 2016.

The Center for Health Solutions and Innovations Philippines Inc. (CHSI), a non-governmental organization, recently presented the research findings of Herrin and other experts, at a forum for advocates of teen health.

“We need to realize that teen pregnancy is not just a health issue. When a girl gets pregnant, her health, education and relationships with her family and community all get entangled in a life-changing roller-coaster,” UNFPA Country Representative Klaus Beck said.

Another study by renowned demographer, Corazon Raymundo, cited risk behaviors and effects of teenage pregnancy on the social environment of a Filipino girl. Using data from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Survey (YAFSS), Raymundo presented an

alarming profile of a pregnant teen.

“Smoking and the use of alcohol and drugs among teens may predict the likelihood of teen pregnancy,” Raymundo said. A girl who admitted having used drugs is six times more likely to engage in premarital sex than a girl who has not used any drugs.

Other factors that predict early sexual encounters and teenage pregnancy are living away from home, being idle or doing nothing and having older siblings who have gotten pregnant or given birth in their teen years.

Reasonable parenting style and open communication with parents may prevent teen pregnancy. Raymundo and her research team interviewed parents and teenagers in 10 different provinces and found that both parents and their adolescents are open to talking about sex, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

“They just don’t know how and where to start,” said Raymundo, pointing out the need to help parents communicate more effectively with their teen children.

The Commission on Population (Popcom) is pushing for the enactment of an Adolescent Health Act. “We are starting to gather our evidences to push for a law that will help adolescents and their parents gain better access to information and services on adolescent health and youth development,” said Juan Antonio Perez III, Popcom executive director.

Visaya willing to work with human-rights groups

G

EN. Ricardo R. Visaya, Armed Forces chief of staff, said he is willing to work with human-rights groups in the quest for lasting peace in the country.

Visaya made the statement during a joint flag-raising and oathtaking ceremonies held on Friday for the start of the celebration of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Month.

Visaya, during the occasion, reiterated the Armed Forces’s commitment to human rights and IHL. “We have made significant progress in our human rights-based military operations and want the Armed Forces to be fully compliant to the IHL, and we believe that we can achieve this with stronger and more constructive ties with humanrights groups,” he added.

Visaya pointed out that for justice and peace to permeate the minds of all parties, human-rights groups should also look into and work on the human-rights violations committed by the rebel groups.

“We are firm that the use of land mine by the communist armed group violates IHL and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International

Humanitarian Law. We also believe that their presence in indigenous people’s communities violates their rights as a people,” Visaya said.

Meanwhile, the celebration of IHL Day in the Philippines encouraged various government agencies, including the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces, to join the celebration through activities that promote awareness of basic human rights.

The highlight of the event was the IHL Human Formation, headed by the Philippine Red Cross, Quezon City Chapter, at the Armed Forces General Headquarters Grandstand and Parade Grounds in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

This was followed by the 5-kilometer run for humanity participated in by 1,475 uniformed and civilian personnel.

The event also featured a bloodletting for donors from the Armed Forces, the National Police and the Coast Guard.

Starting on Tuesday, workshops will be conducted at the Armed Forces Commissioned Officers Club and a photo exhibit showcasing the different aspects of human rights will go on display. PNA

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, August 14, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Brazil’s partisans go for the Olympic gold

By Mac Margolis | Bloomberg View

O

LYMPIC gold has many uses. Just ask Rafaela Silva, the 24-year-old Brazilian fighter who won the gold medal in judo in Rio de Janeiro on August 8, and now has become a trophy of sorts herself.

Silva had just dispatched the world’s best fighters in the 57-kilo class to get to the top of the podium. And yet, instead of reveling, she broke down and wept, and looked like she might even have buckled had her coach not been there to prop her up and mop down the tears.

A friend of mine, a martial-arts aficionado, said he was impressed by Silva’s fight—but even more by its aftermath.

“Medalists from other countries smile and revel in their feats,” Andre told me.

“Brazilians weep.”

True, she had overcome tremendous adversity. Poor and black, Silva grew up in the City of God, the iconic flatland slum portrayed in the eponymous drugsand-thugs film that became a byword for Brazil’s infamous urban violence and endangered youth. Instead of falling into crime, Silva converted her short fuse and penchant for street brawls into sports, then competitive fighting and, finally, to Olympic glory. She is now a hometown hero and Brazil’s newest media celebrity.

Her name graces a new public school in Rio. And yet, Silva’s victory may also serve less glorifying purposes. In a country caught in a political and ethical crisis of staggering proportions, she risks becoming a flag of convenience, to be hoisted by feuding factions eager to advance partisan agendas.

“Rafaela Silva: The day judo defeated racism,” went one postfight headline, a reference to the barrage of insults and racial slurs she received upon being disqualified from the 2012 Olympics for an illegal hold.

“Never needed feminism or [racial] quotas, did it all on her own merit,” parried one conservative admirer on Twitter.

Much was made of the failure by Silva, a navy sergeant, to salute the Brazilian flag when it was raised at the medals ceremony. Some lefties imagined her gesture as rebellion; right-wingers, as an antipatriotic slight. The truth was more prosaic.

Worried over breaking the Olympic code against denominational ardor and thereby jeopardizing her medal, she decided to play it safe and kept her hands by her side.

Still, others found a more immediate use for Silva’s triumph—an 11th-hour opportunity to plump for suspended Workers Party President Dilma Rousseff, now on the brink of impeachment. Silva, after all, had trained on an athletic stipend conceived by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (no relation) and rebranded by Rousseff, whom the boxer endorsed for reelection in 2014.

By this argument, ousting Rousseff would deal a low blow to “social inclusion,” the admirable, if not always fiscally sustainable, strategy for promoting equal opportunity that highlighted the Lula-Rousseff years.

However satisfying that version sounds to diehard “Dilmistas,” it does a disservice to Silva by suggesting the medal was not really hers, but a political trophy, to be flaunted by her official sponsors. That’s the sort of upside-down reasoning that turned Brazilian public office into an ugly competition for partisan spoils, rather than a contest of ideas about how best to serve the public interest.

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M r. D u t e r t e i s a r g u a b l y correct not to pay them that much attention, as a strong and uncompromising leader often personifies the strength of the country. For instance, critics who continuously demonized the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos as a dictator in the dark years of the country’s intractable politics did not happen for the first time in the nation’s history.

That label belonged to Emillio F. Aguinaldo, who, as head of State, formally assumed the title of a dictator. They denounced Marcos for extending his tenure beyond the constitutional limit when, in fact, the distinction belonged to President Manuel L. Quezon, who was the first to assume an extended term in office.

They impugned Marcos for suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus when the first to make such a suspension was President Elpidio Quirino on Ocrober 22, 1950, in his effort to indefinitely detain members of the Political Bureau of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas who were then captured.

They also spited him for his lengthy exercise of emergency powers when, in fact, Quezon was similarly decried for having used emergency powers until the end of 1941.

Marcos’s political rival, the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., echoed the communists’ summation of the Marcos presidency when he declared in 1977, thus: “Mr. Marcos declared martial law to perpetuate himself in power. He deliberately abetted chaos for seven years so that at the end of his constitutionally allowable term, he could justify the imposition of martial rule to cover up his mismanagement.”

That was Aquino’s opinion, and the theory was implausible since he was Marcos’s nemesis.

“The historical fact is that Marcos neither invented nor abetted

the communist and separatist insurgencies; rather, it was Aquino who morally aided both insurgencies and materially supported the communist movement, as well.

These insurgencies were the major reasons for the imposition of martial law.”

Marcos could have called off the holding of elections without consulting the people had he been obsessed with holding on to power. Instead, he held elections, plebiscites and referenda 15 times during martial law, which were participated by the opposition and witnessed by foreign observers. He also enfranchised the youth to the electoral process.

He could have ignored the needs of his people if he did not put the interest of the country at heart.

Instead, he proceeded to give them roads, electricity, potable water, public-health facilities, Medicare, schools, land reform, i r r igat ion, m i n i mu m w a ges, i ndu st r i a l i z at ion, soc i a l i z ed housing, Kadiwa rolling stores w it h low-pr iced goods, pr ice controls on basic commodities, ceilings on rental increases, a mechanism to stabilize fuel prices and a lot more, not the least of them public order. Memories of these make people yearn, in these deregulated times.

Ma rcos presided over not only an orderly government, but also worked hard to make the Republic strong, internally and internationally. To help contain the communist and separatist insurgencies, he opened diplomatic and trade relations with Red China on June 9, 1975; the Soviet Union on June 2, 1976; and the Eastern Bloc States in Europe starting in 1973, with East Germany, Hungar y, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, and countries in the Middle East.

He pursued an independent foreign policy, instead of simply following the American line, at the risk of gradually losing American support for his administration. He insisted on Philippine sovereignty over the US military facilities in the Philippines and on rentals for their continued use.

Most of these achievements were recorded during the martiallaw per iod. Marcos intended to employ martial law not only to contain the communist and separatist insurgencies, but also to provide a controlled environment, u nder a c r i si s sit u at ion, to propagate reforms that would transform the countr y into a nation of disciplined, capable and united Filipinos.

T he c u r re nt conce pt s on d e mo c r a c y h av e b e come s o perverted that democratic rights should include the right to rebel.

Following this logic, the Republic is denied the responsibility to defend itself from subversive elements and to curtail their activities even for reasons of law enforcement and public order. Nor should the Republic interfere with free enterprise, even when the public interest so demands this.

Indeed, such limiting restraints a re ref lec ted i n t he l i ne of argument of the Civil Liberties Union in defending members of the hierarchy of the Communist Party of the Philippines, thus: n That the killing of soldiers in combat should not be punished as a crime; n T hat civ i l ia ns k i l led in cross fire are qualified in war as “civilian casualties” and not murder victims; n The burning of buildings by rebels does not make them arsonists, because such structures have to be destroyed by fire to remove them as obstacles along the path of their military operations on their way to capture a target on which they have set their sight; n Seizing properties in the area captured is not robbery but legitimate spoils of victory; and n When rebels decide to detain any person, on suspicion that he is a spy of the forces of the government, it is to prevent him from pursuing said activity; therefore, the rebels did not commit the crime of kidnapping.

The practice is legitimate under the laws of war.

To contact this writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@gmail.com.

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, August 14, 2016 A5

A constitution is not a city charter I

T is not a city charter, but a constitution of which we speak, and yet, city charters have not been changed to address the evils of city government. There is worse corruption and bigger stupidity in local governments than in the national government, with the singular exception of Davao under President Duterte.

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

Local governments have been more resistant to reform than the national government. And not just here, but in the United States, where states’ rights advocates still demand a subordinate place for Blacks. And yet, the charter and control of local governments are within the power of Congress to improve.

I sat in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo discussing corrupt practices in the national government that were far worse in local governments. I proposed a reform of local governments by legislation and Executive action. The entire table erupted in laughter. The President remarked: “Somebody here is not interested in getting reelected.”

And yet, the issue is not a change in the charters of local governments.

The issue is not a change of the general law governing them—a law that strongly empowers them to abuse and only weakly holds

them to account.

No. The issue is the constitution of a unitary state, which alone can reside the power to correct local abuses. Local governments cannot decide the propriety of their own abuses. The first principle of government, John Locke said, is that no man can be a judge in his own case.

The present Constitution reposes in a central government an adequate power to correct local abuses. The same Constitution is now to be substituted with a federal constitution that will immensely empower local governments by making them the indispensable, indestructible and “unreformable” components of a federal—worse yet a parliamentary—government. Thereafter, no other power will coexist with the local states to discipline them and to stop them.

A national parliament cannot do it. The localities will decide electorally the composition of the

The issue is the constitution of a unitary state, which alone can reside the power to correct local abuses. Local governments cannot decide the propriety of their own abuses. The first principle of government, John Locke said, is that no man can be a judge in his own case. national parliament.

I myself am inclined to the shift for only one reason: It is the lifelong dream of the last living hero of the democratic struggle—Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. whose democratic credentials outweigh that of anyone else living, except, possibly… well…the one you are reading now. I will help by every means within reason.

However, President Duterte himself is the best argument for the current Constitution.

It is under this Constitution that he was elected president possibly in the teeth of electronic fraud.

It was under this Constitution

that Mr. Duterte made a Wild West city in the south the model of a well-run city.

Nothing in this Constitution stopped President Duterte from becoming the best mayor in our history. On the contrary, it was this Constitution mandating greater local autonomy that empowered him to be that greatest mayor.

Starting with these facts, let us now approach the proposition to change the devil we know with a devil we don’t. But keep in mind that parliaments and federalist governments abound in darkest Africa.

So let the debate begin.

But let us approach the task with the respect and circumspection that the task demands, given the unmatchable courage, intelligence and integrity of the people who wrote this Constitution—and of the revolutionary nation that threw out a corrupt dictatorship to adopt it.

It is of a Constitution that we speak—and not a city charter.

Why I support dissent: My great-uncle who wouldn’t name names

By Stephen L. Carter | Bloomberg View

T

HIS year marks a peculiar anniversary for my family. Seventy-five years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a file on my great-uncle. Ten years after that, he was in a federal penitentiary for refusing to name names.

The swirl of events of the intervening decade helps explain why I believe so strongly in the freedom of dissent, and why I find so repulsive efforts to restrict debate on controversial subjects, or to try to harass or intimidate those with whom we disagree into recanting or shutting up.

My great-uncle’s name was Alphaeus Hunton. He taught English at Howard University. He held a master’s degree from Harvard and a doctorate from New York University. His specialty was the Victorian poets, particularly Alfred Tennyson. And in 1941, due largely to his activism in the cause of anticolonialism, the FBI opened a file on him.

Well, a lot of people had FBI files in those days. But Alphaeus, it seems, was special. Within months, agents were following him around, watching his mail, and quietly spreading the word that he was a subversive and should not be trusted or (especially) funded. They spoke to his neighbors and his employers.

Because he taught at Howard—a

federal institution—they tried to get him fired. J. Edgar Hoover signed off on a preventive detention order to be used to justify Alphaeus’s arrest in the event of national emergency. In the file is a poignant letter from my greatuncle, asking whether he is under surveillance. The bureau never answered, and the letter did not slow things down.

Informants spotted him at gatherings that decided on such radical actions as protests against employment discrimination. His words were quoted verbatim and at length. He was overheard on a telephone tap agreeing to meet a friend, but an innuendo-filled cover memorandum breathed the meeting full of menace. Finally, he left Howard to join the Council on African Affairs (CAA).

By a happy coincidence, it was about this time that the council was placed on the attorney general’s list of subversive organizations. The list was not secret. It was published regularly, including in Billboard magazine, where the editors always added an enthusiastic admonition to readers that they should avoid doing business with such entities. It need hardly be added that the CAA had trouble raising money.

Then came prison; that, too, was the outcome of the criminalizing of dissent. In the late 1940s,

11 leaders of the Communist Party were indicted under the Smith Act—which, stripped of its frills, basically made it a crime to be a leader of the Communist Party.

They were tried and convicted, then allowed to post bail while they awaited sentencing.

The bail was raised by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), which, at the time, provided legal defense for many accused radicals, and also did significant death-penalty work. The CRC created a bail fund, which had three trustees: Dashiell Hammett, the mystery w r iter; Freder ic k Va nderbi lt Field, scion of the wealthy family whose name he bore; and Alphaeus Hunton. When four of those who had been convicted fled, the US government—represented by the execrable Roy Cohn—hauled the trustees before a federal judge who demanded to know the names of contributors to the fund. The three men declined to answer.

In the summer of 1951 the judge sentenced them to six months in prison for contempt.

Shortly after, people tried to post bail for the trustees pending appeal, only to discover that Cohn would also insist on knowing who put up that money. Potential sponsors backed out. Nobody wanted to be publicly smeared as a “supporter” of Communism.

The appeals failed (although two

Supreme Court justices considered the case worth hearing).

The men served their sentences.

W hen t hei r ter m w a s up, Hammett went back to writing.

Field was still rich. But Alphaeus Hunton, with his master’s degree from Harvard and his PhD from New York University, had become unemployable. For a while, he subsisted on writing a bit and on his wife’s meager income. Finally, after further official and unofficial pressures forced dissolution of the council, he gave up on the US. He moved to Africa, and never returned to the country of his birth.

That’s why I find it so chilling when we try to make it harder to express dissenting views, whether on campus or in the larger marketplace of ideas. Particularly terrifying is the insistence of today’s activists on knowing the source of funds of those whose views they dislike. If people know the source of funds will be made public, they will be less likely to support unpopular causes. It was precisely to resist this totalitarian idea that my great-uncle went to prison.

I know that all of us have causes to which we are deeply committed. But we have been down this road before. It’s hateful and it’s ugly and it’s un-American.

When I debate these proposi-

tions—and I’ve debated them a lot—the answer I receive, most frequently, is that the difference between the McCarthy Era and the present day is that they insisted on public shaming in a bad cause and we’re doing it in a good cause.

Which is how it always starts.

Hoover signed an unknown number of such orders. The Justice Department subsequently decided that they had no legal effect.

In the 1960s a witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee testified that the Council on African Affairs received an annual subvention of $200,000 from the Communist Party. Given, however, that council members regularly squabbled over secretarial time or reimbursements of $5 or $10, this seems unlikely.

The CRC was regarded by the FBI as a Communist-front organization. The term never had a settled definition. Certainly, t he g roup defended Communists and had many members who were Communists. Beyond that, the evidence of some forma l connection to t he Communist Party can charitably be described as thin.

You will notice that I have not said whether Alphaeus was a Communist or not. That’s because the answer doesn’t matter.

False promises: Avoid ‘miracle’ rice and just eat a carrot N

By Dr. Vandana Shiva | Inter Press Service

EW DELHI—Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, died on September 9, 2009. Alfred G. Gilman died on December 23, 2015.

Both were Nobel laureates and now both dead.

Gilman was a signatory to a recent letter condemning Greenpeace and its opposition to genetic engineering.

How many Nobel laureates does it take to write a letter? Easily ascertained—the dead Gilman and 106 others were enlisted in “supporting GMOs [genetically modified organism] and golden rice.”

Correct answer—107, dead or alive.

The laureates were rounded up by Val Giddings (senior fellow, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Jon Entine (author of Abraham’s Children: Race, Identity and the DNA of the Chosen People) and Jay Byrne (former head

of corporate communications, Monsanto). Real people don’t have the luxury of getting Nobel laureates to write 1/107th of a letter, “chosen” folk do. Evidently.

Cornell University is a “chosen” institution—central to genetically modified public relations. The Cornell Alliance of Science is funded

by Bill Gates, just like the failed golden-rice experiment.

The Nobel laureates accuse Greenpeace of killing millions by delaying ghost rice—something the biotech industry accuses me of doing, for the same reason. Unlike golden rice—whose failure to launch is the industry’s own failure—the opposition to genetic engineering (and hence golden rice)

is very real and successful.

As Glenn Stone, a rice scientist at Washington University, states: “The simple fact is that after 24 years of research and breeding, golden rice is still years away from being ready for release.”

Borlaug’s Green Revolution monocultures contributed to malnutrition by destroying biodiversity, which destroys the diversity of nutrients we need to be healthy.

As Navdanya research has shown, biodiversity produces more food and nutrition per acre. Borlaug’s ghost is still shaping the industrial agriculture “miracles” based on monocultures of the mind and spin in place of science.

It is now more than 20 years since the miracle golden rice began to be promoted as the excuse to allow patents on life.

The last time golden rice was resurrected when Patrick Moore of Allow Golden Rice Now was sent to Asia to push the failed promise.

Women of the world organized and responded to Moore—Diverse Women for Diversity issued a declaration on International Women’s Day in 2015, titled Women and Biodiversity Feed the World, not Corporations and GMOs. Golden rice is genetically engineered rice with two genes from a daffodil and one gene from a bacterium. The resulting GMO rice is said to have a yellow coloring, which is supposed to increase beta-carotene—a precursor of vitamin A. It has been offered as a potential miracle cure for vitamin A deficiency for 20 years.

But golden rice is a false miracle. It is a disease of nutritionally empty monocultures offered as a cure for nutritional deficiency. In fact, golden rice, if successful, will be 400 percent less efficient in providing vitamin A than the biodiversity alternatives that women have to offer. To get your daily requirement of vitamin A, all you

need to eat is one of the following: n Two tablespoons of spinach or cholai (amaranth) leaves or radish leaves n Four tablespoons of mustard or bathua leaves n One tablespoon of coriander chutney n One-and-a-half tablespoon of mint chutney n One carrot n One mango So, if you want to be four times more efficient than 107 Nobel laureates, just eat a carrot!

Not only do these indigenous alternatives based on women’s knowledge provide more vitamin A than golden rice ever will, and at a lower cost, but also provide multiple other nutrients.

Our critique of golden rice is that, even if it is developed, it will be inferior to the alternatives women have in their hands and minds. Women are being blocked from growing biodiversity and

spreading their knowledge to address malnutrition, by rich and powerful men and their corporations who are blind to the richness of the earth and our cultures.

Through their monoculture of the mind, they keep imposing monocultures of failed technologies, blocking the potential of abundance and nourishment. As I wrote in 2000, blindness to biodiversity and women’s knowledge is a blind approach to blindness prevention.

Transcend Member Prof. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, ecofeminist, philosopher, activist and author of more than 20 books and 500 papers. She is the founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, and has campaigned for biodiversity, conservation and farmers’ rights, winning the Right Livelihood Award [Alternative Nobel Prize] in 1993. She is executive director of the Navdanya Trust.

A6 Sunday, August 14, 2016

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

BFAR approves importation of herbivorous tilapia species

A

By Marvyn N. Benaning | Correspondent

N aquaculturist trained at the University of the Philippines said on Saturday the Coptodon rendalli, or Redbreast tilapia, which he will introduce into the country from South Africa, would boost the food-sufficiency drive of the Duterte administration.

Virgilio B. Marzo said in an interview he finally got an assurance from lawyer Annaliza Vitug, director of the Regulatory and Licensing Division of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar), that his import permit would be released next week.

Vitug reportedly told Marzo that his permit would be for research purposes and asked that he provide the Bfar hatchery in Muñoz City, Nueva Ecija, some of the 30,000 imported Redbreast tilapia for possible propagation.

Marzo added that Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol is interested in his venture, and the fish tanks could eventually be maintained by some families living along the Marikina River, particularly in the Riverbanks area.

Marzo w rote a letter to forme r B far D i re c t or A s i s G .

Perez on June 16, seek ing the issuance of a permit for the importation of 60,000 fingerlings

for brood stock and production of more fingerlings.

T he Bfar e v e nt u a l l y ap proved t he impor tation of 30,000 Redbreast tilapia, which volume, Marzo said, was good enough for initial operations.

He emphasized that the Coptodon rendalli could be bred and sold at P70 per kilo, or 40 percent lower than current market prices for tilapia produced in Laguna de Bay, Taal Lake and other inland waters.

Marzo told Perez that Redbreast tilapia is rich with Omega 3, has no fishy taste and can be produced at lower cost.

He is seeking the quick approval of his permit since Redbreast tilapia is not found anywhere in Asia, unlike Coptodon zillii, or the Redbelly tilapia, that was introduced into the country in 1972, and it will be bred in tanks, preferably by urbanpoor families, with the fingerlings to be bought by the Calamba Citybased Grupo ng May-Palaisdaan Inc. that he heads.

Marzo was surprised why the Bfar has to consult the Central Luzon State University about his application for an import permit, since the bureau was supposed to be manned by fisheries experts who would certainly know the impact of Coptodon rendalli on other freshwater fish species.

Marzo claimed that all the tilapia bred in the Philippines came from Africa and are generally Oreochromis nilotica, while the Red tilapia originated from Florida.

Redbreast tilapia is not a predator and is a fast-growing herbivore that eats weeds and vegetables, like lettuce and cabbage, Marzo said, “but with aqua feed we and my colleagues are developing, the culture period for this kind of tilapia would be at par with our commercial feeddependent tilapia.”

Marzo added that the Redbreast tilapia can be differentiated from the Redbelly tilapia by its vertical bands numbering from five to nine, the red margin along the dorsal fin, white belly and red throat, which appears before breeding season to attract females.

Currently, Laguna de Bay supplies about 70 percent of the total fish requirement of Metro Manila, particularly tilapia and milkfish, or bangus, but if Marzo’s project succeeds, he would be breeding the Redbreast tilapia in tanks maintained by urban-poor families along Marikina River and relocation sites in Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna.

By approving the import permit, Marzo said Perez can justly be a party to the production of cheap fish for the marginalized sectors

of society, whether in the urban or rural areas, to support the food sufficiency campaign of President Duterte and Piñol.

Perez left the Bfar on July 1, and Assistant Director Drusila Esther E. Bayate wrote back to Marzo on July 5, saying, “We would like to inform you that this species of tilapia is not endemic to the Philippines, and there is no record of introduction of the species to the country.”

Bayate added that, since it would be “the first time that a request is made for its introduction to the Philippines, we need to conduct an import risk assessment of this species as provided under Fisheries Administrative Order [FAO] 221 [Further regulating the importation of live fish and fishery/aquatic products under FAO 135, series of 1981, to include microorganisms and biomolecules].”

Bayate told Marzo: “The risk analysis will focus on the possible pest and diseases that this species may have, and other attributes that may be detrimental to other aquatic species and the environment. Joselito Somga, our fish diseases expert, has read your application and is currently reviewing the pests and diseases history of this species. We are also consulting Adelaida Palma, chief of our inland fishery research station in Tanay, Rizal, for her comments and recommendations.”

On August 8, Marzo said tilapia was never endemic to the Philippines and was brought to the country for mass production, like gourami from Japan and other types of freshwater food fish.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Increased maternity leave key to improved breast-feeding rate

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent

B

REAST-FEEDING advocates on Saturday pushed for the passage of a law that will increase the period of maternity leave from the current 60 days to 100 days.

Speaking during the launching of the “Feel Free to Breastfeed” campaign at the SM Aura in Taguig City, Cristina Bernardo, a pediatrician, said the reason breast-feeding rate remains low is because many mothers have to leave their babies to work two months after delivery.

Exclusive breast-feeding rate in the country for children under 6 months remains at 36 percent.

Bernardo said if mothers are allowed to stay with their children for a longer period of time, exclusive breast-feeding will be more successful.

“We have been pushing for the passage of the expanded maternity leave bill, because we believe that the key to successful breast-feeding is to give mothers the time to be with their babies longer. Many mothers discontinue exclusive breast-feeding when they return to work after the allowable 60 days,” Bernardo said.

Compared to other countries in Southeast Asia, she pointed out, the Philippines has one of the lowest maternity leave period. Vietnam provides 120 to 180 days of maternity leave, while Singapore gives 112 days maternity leave.

Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Lao PDR have 84 days maternity leave.

Ber n a rdo a l so encou raged pregnant women to seek the suppor t of lactation e x per ts

and breast-feeding advocates to guide them through the process of breast-feeding. “We have a lot of support groups now because breast-feeding is really a challenge. There are also many medical practitioners now, as well as hospitals that are actively pushing for exclusive breast-feeding that they can also seek out to guide them through the journey,” she said.

During the event, which was cosponsored by gobreastfeeding.com, Lactation Attachment Training Counselling and Help, La Leche Philippines and SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Prime Inc., a photo exhibit featuring mothers breast-feeding their children was unveiled.

Kate de los Reyes, creator of gobreastfeeding.com, said she came out with the exhibit to show there is nothing to be ashamed of when breastfeeding. “It is the most natural way of feeding our children and there is no shame in that. In fact, we should be encouraging women to make this a commitment when they have children, because this is the best nourishment we can give them,” she said.

A breast-feeding pod was also unveiled to make breast-feeding more convenient. Tomas Meneses, president of Metropolitan Pharmaceutical Products Inc., creator of the pod, said they want to show the future of breastfeeding in the Philippines. “ The pod, which can accommodate four women at a time, can be placed any where in a public place because it is moveable and it gives mothers the privacy needed to breast-feed,” Meneses said.

Environmentalists satisfied with EDC expansion plan in Negros

T

HE Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC) organized a recent site visit for various stakeholders to its Southern Negros Geothermal Power Plant (SNGP) in Valencia, Negros Oriental, to dispel environmental allegations about its 60-megawatt (MW) expansion plan.

EDC, the country’s biggest geothermal-energy producer, is expanding SNGP’s capacity from 222.5 MW to 282.5 MW to meet the region’s growing electricity needs.

Earlier, some quarters claimed that EDC expansion required an additional 5,163 hectares that would encroach into Mount Talinis, considered a key biodiversity area in Negros Oriental.

During the site visit on August 10, however, the stakeholders learned EDC expansion calls for an increase in capacity, not in area.

“We will confine our expansion within SNGP’s existing geothermal production block in Valencia,” Jay Joel Soriano, head of EDC’s Negros Integrated Geothermal Business Unit (Nigbu), told the visitors, most of them from local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

SNGP ’s ex isting geother ma l production or development block spans 5,163 hectares in the Palinpinon-Okoy watershed in Valencia, which is physically separate from Mount Talinis.

Within the geothermal production field, SNGP’s steam field and power plant occupy less than 200 hectares, and the expansion will be confined within the existing development block of 5,163 hectares.

“I believe the issue about SNGP’s plan to expand by another 5,163 hectares is a result of a misunderstanding, because the supposed additional expansion area corresponds to our existing development block,” Soriano noted. “But as we have been saying, we are not on Mount Talinis, and

SECOND DONATION The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for the second time received a

donation of P1,800,826 from Security Bank Foundation Chairman Rafael F. Simpao Jr. (fourth from left) for the acquisition of a second fully equipped ambulance. The donation was handed over to PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon (center) and Secretary-General Oscar Palabyab (second from left), with Director of Fund Generation Department Esmeralda Villanueva (left), at Security Bank Center on Ayala Avenue in Makati City. PNA

CBCP lauds CHR probe of several companies

GUESTS and hosts pose for a group photo during their recent visit to the Southern Negros Geothermal Power Plant in Valencia, Negros Oriental.

Energy Development Corp. organized the site visit to dispel erroneous environmental allegations about its 60-megawatt expansion plan.

we are not going to Mount Talinis.”

During the visit, Vicente Omandam, Nigbu senior manager, pointed to a direction southeast of SNGP’s power plant.

“Mount Talinis is two mountains away from our location,” he told the visitors. “From here, it will take you almost a whole day of walking to reach it,” he added.

EDC is awaiting the release of the env ironmenta l compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its 60-MW geothermal expansion.

Contrary to criticism from some quarters about EDC’s lack of transparency and stakeholder support, the company has gone through public consultations and hearings for its ECC application and has received the strong endorsement for an ECC from the host communities and local government of Valencia.

“But pending the release of the

ECC, EDC has not started any activity for its proposed geothermal expansion project,” Soriano said.

NGOs that sent officials or representatives to the site visit included Green Convergence, The Climate Reality Project-Philippines, Haribon Foundation, Archdiocesan Ministry on Environment, SEED4COM, Let’s Do It Philippines, EcoAgri, Climate Change Congress of the Philippines, and Development Options and Social Entrepreneurship Inc. After the visit, Angelina Galang, president of Green Convergence, threw her organization’s support behind EDC. Green Convergence is a coalition of networks and individuals working for sustainable development.

“We, in Green Convergence, commend EDC for its environmental practices and processes. These practices and processes in protecting the environment and in developing clean and renewable energy should be emulated, not criticized,” Galang

said during the site visit.

R o d n e G a l i c h a , Ph i l i p p i n e country manager of CRP, under former US Vice President Al Gore, also expressed satisfaction over EDC’s openness and appealed that any issue raised on their project should be addressed in a manner, which conforms to international standards and targets of relevant sustainable-development goa ls supported by empirical evidence.

“We are happy that EDC has clarified the issues raised against it, however, we call on both parties, including the DENR, to sit down together for a genuine dialogue in good faith, with full transparency and participation of communities. Negros Island has won the battle against dirty old coal and is blessed with renewableenergy sources, such as geothermal, to utilize without compromising the capacity of the next generations to survive while addressing the present needs of its people,” Galicha said.

T

HE social-action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Saturday lauded the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for initiating an investigation into the alleged human-rights violations that resulted in climate change by several large corporations.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa)-Caritas Philippines who was among those who filed the petition last year, said the latest development is a step closer to their call for climate justice.

“We do hope that perpetrators of climate change be held accountable for their actions. We also pray that the CHR recommend to policy-makers effective accountability mechanisms that victims of climate change can easily access,” Gariguez said.

The CHR recently ordered the so-called carbon producers to respond within 45 days to the complaint accusing them of violating the people’s

rights to “ life, food, water, sanitation, adequate housing and self-determination.”

The respondents include companies that have branches and subsidiaries in the country, namely, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, BHP Billiton, BP, Anglo American, Lafarge, Holcim and Taiheiyo Cement Corp.

The CHR is expected to start its full investigation in October, after the companies have responded.

The companies will be ordered, as well, to attend public hearings, but only those with offices in the Philippines can be forced by the CHR to appear.

According to the 2016 Climate Change Vulnerability Index, the Philippines ranked 13 among the countries “extremely” vulnerable to climate change.

“The Philippines, being an archipelago, is prone to climate-induced disasters. The catastrophic effects of Supertyphoon Yolanda in our country could attest to this vulnerability,” Gariguez said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Editor: Jun Lomibao • mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Sports BusinessMirror

Sunday, August 14, 2016 A7

SCHOOLING SHOCKS PHELPS R

IO DE JANEIRO—Michael Phelps is used to being in a league of his own.

So it was strange to see him, after what he insists was his final individual race as an Olympian, crowding onto a medal stand with two other swimmers.

And it wasn’t even the top step.

In a changing of the guard that left him totally at peace, Phelps was beaten on Friday by a 21-year-old who grew up idolizing the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.

Joseph Schooling of Singapore built a big lead in the 100-meter butterfly and easily held off one of Phelps’s patented comebacks, leaving him at 22 gold medals with one race, a relay, left to go.

And that will be his final event, Phelps insisted.

No more comebacks.

“I’m not going four more years and I’m standing by that,” he said. “I’ve been able to do everything I’ve ever put my mind to in the sport and, after 24 years in the sport, I’m happy with how things finished.”

While Phelps wasn’t all that persuasive when he first retired after the 2012 London

Games—and, indeed, he began eyeing a return to swimming about a year later—the big hug for Schooling and the huge smile when it was done told a different story this time.

He’s a father now, to 3-month-old Boomer.

He’ll soon be marrying his fiancée Nicole Johnson. He’s ready to move on, and this time he really seems to mean it.

“I’m happy,” Phelps said. “I’m ready to spend some time with Boomer and Nicole, and watch the little dude grow.” This being Phelps, he had to do something out of the ordinary, even in defeat.

He was part of the first three-way tie for silver in Olympic swimming history, joined on the next-highest step by longtime foes Chad le Clos of South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. They all touched in 51.14 seconds, which was actually faster than Phelps’s gold medal-winning time in 2012.

They clasped hands and stepped up together.

Then they all looked up to Schooling, receiving the gold for his blistering time of 50.39.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Schooling said.

“I don’t know what to believe, like, whether I actually did it or I’m still preparing for my race.”

What made it even more special: Schooling still has a picture that he took with Phelps when the US team trained in Singapore before the 2008 Olympics, the games where Phelps won a record eight gold medals in the pinnacle of his career.

“That’s pretty crazy, what happens in eight years,” said Schooling, who attends the University of Texas. “I’m just honored and privileged to have the chance to race alongside him.”

With four gold medals at these games and 22 for his career, Phelps has an opportunity to pick up one more before he leaves Rio. He’ll need some help from his teammates to do it—he leads off with the butterfly leg of the 400-meter medley relay on the final night of swimming on Saturday.

While Phelps’s loss left the crowd in shock, Katie Ledecky got them on their feet again with another dominating performance, handily breaking the world record in the 800-meter freestyle.

And two other Americans won gold, too.

Anthony Ervin capped a remarkable

F2 Logistics’ Mika Reyes (center) scores against Rhea Dimaculangan (1) and Maika Ortiz (10) of Foton. ROY DOMINGO

personal journey with a gold in the 50-meter freestyle—16 years after he won his first individual gold in the same event at the Sydney Games. And Maya DiRado knocked off the Iron Lady in the 200 backstroke, pulling off a furious rally on the final lap to beat Katinka Hosszu.

Bronze went to Canada’s Hilary Caldwell.

Ledecky became the first woman since Debbie Meyer to sweep the three longer freestyle events at the same Olympics. Meyer took the 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter at the 1968 Mexico Games, and Ledecky matched that performance with a couple of world records, as well. Ledecky was merely racing the clock as she powered away from the field to touch in eight minutes, 4.79 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 8:06.68 that she set at a grand prix meet in Texas back in January.

Then, Ledecky played the waiting game, hanging on the rope for a while to let the rest of the field finish.

Jazz Carlin finally touched in 8:16.17 to claim the silver, just ahead of Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas grabbing the bronze in 8:16.37.

Some 23 seconds after Ledecky touched the wall, the last of the eight finalists chugged to the end of the grueling race.

TORNADOES STAY ALIVE

F

OTON lived for another day as it forced a winnertake-all match for the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) All Filipino Conference supremacy after outlasting F2 Logistics, 18-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-18, in Game Two on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Tornadoes refused to be swept as they played with more energy to keep their mission of second straight championship on track and forced a deciding Game Three on Wednesday.

“One more game,” Foton Head Coach Vilet Poncede Leon said. “Bilog ang bola, so pareho kaming may advantages and disadvantages. We will just prepare for Game Three, we will watch the game again and again and we will see kung saan pa rin kami kailangan mag-improve.”

Jaja Santiago, Cherry Rondina, Maika Ortiz and Patty Orendain provided the firepower for Foton, while playmaker Rhea Dimaculangan paced them with 36 excellent sets.

Santiago had another 19-point output built around 14 spikes, three blocks and a pair of service aces. Rondina unleashed 15 hits highlighted by 14 kills, including nine digs and six receives, while Ortiz and Orendain chipped in 13 and 10 markers, respectively.

Just like in Game One where they started sluggishly to absorb a 20-25, 14-25, 25-9, 25-20, 10-15 loss, the Tornadoes had another lethargic first set but stepped on the gas in the next two sets to take a 2-1 match advantage.

BLUE EAGLES STILL PERFECT

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EFENDING titlist Ateneo de Manila remained perfect after three games as it dominated National College of Business and Arts (NCBA) in straight sets, 25-20, 25-16, 28-26, to stay on top in Group B second Spikers’ Turf Collegiate Conference on Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Marck Espejo once again led the way for the Blue Eagles with 12 hits highlighted by 11 kills. Rookie Anthony Paul Koyfman scattered eight spikes and three blocks for 11 markers, while setter Ish Polvorosa dished out 25 excellent sets for Ateneo.

“So far, I’ve been impressed with all my players,” Ateneo Head Coach Oliver Almadro said.

“I want more of my veterans to be leaders and take on that responsibility of guiding the team in this tournament and, so far, nakaka-adjust naman sila.”

Nobody scored double digits for the NCBA Wildcats as they remained winless after three starts

in Group B. Far Eastern University (FEU), meanwhile, notched its second win in Group A after sinking Philippine Merchant Marine School (PMMS), also in straight sets, 25-19, 25-16, 25-23.

Reigning Open Conference MVP Greg Dolor topscored with 12 points, while Richard Solis delivered 10 hits to give the Tamaraws the solo second spot in Group A with 2-1 winloss record.

“Ganyan talaga kapag nakakuha kami ng lamang sa kalaban medyo nagre-relax,” FEU Head Coach Rey Diaz said. “‘Yan ang sinusubukan namin ng coaching staff na mabago sa mga bata sa tournament na ‘to.”

No player from the Mariners scored double figures as they remained at the bottom of Group A with three straight losses. Lance Agcaoili

Villanueva to take over as Philta head

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HE International Tennis Federation (ITF) has acknowledged Randy Villanueva as acting president of the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta), enabling the erstwhile Philta vice president to immediately call for a summit of all stakeholders of the sport.

Villanueva, who is assuming the unexpired term of resigned President Edwin Olivarez until 2018, said he will open the doors for more tennis stakeholders by overhauling the Philta bylaws and constitution, “which have become outdated and flawed.”

He said the existing bylaws and constitution “is run by only a handful of people all based in Metro Manila and who don’t represent the entire tennis population.”

“We want the association to be more hardworking and more responsive to a broader population,” said Villanueva, who added that the amendments will be followed for a proper electoral process that will widen the representations of the board and its officers.

Based on existing Philta charter, there are only 12

stockholders and 12 general memberships, which also comprised the officers, including the president, vice president, secretary general and treasurer.

“If anyone wants to run and he has the right intention, he can present his plans and platforms to a proper general membership and convince the general membership,” Villanueva said.

“Our goal is to have 100,000 members, which is very achievable for a big sport like tennis,” said Villanueva, who received the congratulatory e-mail from ITF President David Haggerty on July 30.

Haggerty practically gave recognition to Villanueva after the Filipino official e-mailed him a letter explaining the situation in Philta, saying “congratulations on your assumption as president.”

Among those Villanueva planned is to gather regional representatives, as well as school sports, like University Athletics Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association, for a summit as soon as possible. Villanueva said they will ask the Philippine Olympic Committee for guidance.

Ledecky was barely breathing hard.

“I hit all my goals right on the nose this week,” she said.

Ledecky also became only the third American woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, following fellow swimmers Amy Van Dyken and Missy Franklin.

While Ledecky, at 19, is the youngest member of the US team, Ervin is the oldest at 35. In the blink of an eye, Ervin went from one end of the pool to the other in a furious dash, edging the defending Olympic champion, Florent Manaudou of France, by a mere hundredth of a second. Another American, Nathan Adrian, took the bronze.

Ervin won his first gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, tying teammate Gary Hall Jr. for the top spot. Then, Ervin walked away from swimming, skipping the next two Olympics while he embarked on a journey to find his purpose in life.

Turns out, it was swimming all along.

Ervin returned to make the American team in 2012, but failed to win a medal in London.

Now, improbably, he’s back on the top of the podium again.

DiRado’s upset denied Hosszu a fourth gold

“‘Yung pag abante ng F2 kanina, it’s really our fault kasi alam naman naming fight until the end talaga ‘yung kalaban, so we just have to regroup and gawin lang kung ano ‘yung inensayo namin,” Ponce-de Leon said. “We are receiving better ‘yun talaga ang nawala sa amin nung Game One. It’s a good thing this time the players have been more careful sa first ball kasi that would make really the big difference kasi hindi kami makaka-attack kung wala iyon.”

After building a 19-9 margin in the second set en route to an easy win to tie the match, Foton was pushed to the limits in a neck-and-neck third-set battle, as the Cargo Movers were on the verge of taking a 2-1 lead after leading 22-20.

But Foton fought back and and scored the next five points to steal the set, which turned out to be the turning point of the game.

The momentum slowly favored the side of the Tornadoes as they took the commanding 23-17 lead in the fourth set. F2 Logistics closed the game with two straight points, 19-23, but two crucial errors cost them dearly and allowed Foton to stay alive in the series.

Ara Galang led the Cargo Movers with 16 points on 11 kills and five blocks including 17 receptions and seven digs but was not enough to lead the team to its first title in the PSL. Kim Dy chipped in 11 hits, while Aby Marano and Mika Reyes added nine markers apiece. Playmaker Kim Fajardo had 46 excellent sets for the Cargo Movers. Lance Agcaoili

BACK TO BACK FOR BAYRON J

AY Bayron took the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Riviera Classic crown as Clyde Mondilla hit a wild drive and an errant approach shot on the third playoff hole on No. 1, reaching the green in regulation and nailing his second straight Philippine Golf Tour crown at Riviera’s Langer course on Saturday in Silang, Cavite.

Bayron, who birdied the 72nd hole to salvage a 71 and force a playoff with Mondilla, who faltered with a 73, at four-under 280, drove to the right center of No. 1 and easily made it to the green, then watched his rival hook his drive and hit the trees on his approach, the ball bouncing back to the rough.

Seeing the futility of his bid, Mondilla conceded the hole and the match, enabling Bayron to wrap up another championship in as many weeks.

“It’s a tough win, but I’m happy I made it,” said Bayron, who pocketed another P270,000 one week after banking $17,500 (P822,000), following his twostroke triumph over Malaysian Gavin Green at Aboitiz Invitational at Wack Wack.

The duo traded pars in the two play-off holes on No. 18. But as the duel shifted to No. 1, Mondilla lost his touch off the mound and his poise on his second shot.

In contrast, Bayron flashed the same composure he showed in outlasting Green in a backside duel, coming through with a solid drive and an equally superb approach shot to frustrate Mondilla.

It was the second-longest play-off duel this year after Frankie Miñoza outlasted Miguel Tabuena on the fifth extra hole to snatch the Negros Occidental Classic crown in Bacolod last month.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for Mondilla, who blew his overnight one-stroke edge to a charging Nicolas Paez, but recovered and regained the lead with back-to-back birdies from No. 15. The backto-back winner at Eastridge and Calatagan kept his bid for a third-leg crown by matching Bayron’s pars in the first two extra holes only to falter with that errant drive on the third. He settled for a 1-1 in play-off duels this year after nipping Jobim Carlos in

sudden death at Eastridge in June.

It was also a sorry setback for Paez, who started the final round just one shot behind Mondilla then grabbed the early lead as the third round leader bogeyed the first two holes. The 27-year-old Californian moved two-up with a birdie on the fourth, but dropped into a share of the lead again with bogeys on Nos. 7 and 9.

He regained the lead with another birdie on the 13th, but Mondilla countered with a birdie on No. 15 before the duo succumbed to pressure and bogeyed No. 17.

That also enabled Bayron to gain a crack at the championship as the top Davaoeño shotmaker, one down behind the duo heading to the 72nd hole, birdied the closing hole to tie Mondilla, who closed out with gutsy par, at four-under overall.

Paez failed to check his skid and bombed out with a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 18th, after hitting the fairway bunker off the bound and needing four shots to reach the green in another stretch-run fold-up reminiscent of his final round meltdown in Aboitiz at Wack Wack, where he closed out with a 77 after taking charge in the middle rounds.

Paez wound up with a 74 and dropped to joint third with American Micah Shin, who carded a 73, at 282 while Carlos, who fought back from six down to move within one with a three-under card after 10 holes, failed to sustain his final round charge with bogeys on Nos. 14 and 17. He ended up with a 70 for solo fifth at 283.

Elmer Salvador, who dominated this event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. in the past two years, found his touch and rhythm a bit late, firing a three-under 68 to share sixth place at 284 with four-leg winner Tony Lascuña, who matched par 71, and Rolando Marabe Jr., who also rallied with a 68.

Marvin Dumandan capped his comeback from an opening 79 with a 67 as he finishing joint ninth with halfway leader Rufino Bayron, who wavered with a 76, at 286 in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Jay Bayron whoops it up after outlasting Clyde Mondilla on the third play-off hole to win the Riviera Classic crown.

Singapore’s Joseph Schooling shows off his gold medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly. AP

in Rio, and capped off a remarkable one-anddone Olympics for the American.

She’s already got a job lined up in Atlanta after the Olympics and made it clear she would be retiring no matter the results. She certainly has nothing to complain about after winning two golds, a silver and a bronze.

“This whole day has been kind of crazy because it’s all of these little last things that I’ve gotten to do, like my last warmup with the girls at the training pool,” DiRado said. “I tried to keep it all under control, but there’s been a lot of tears these last 24 hours.” AP

Katropa wallop Elite, remain unbeaten in PBA

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NT KATROPA stayed unbeaten after dismantling Blackwater in the fourth period to take a 109-89 win on Saturday in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After a tight battle in the first three periods, Katropa used their deep bench against the undermanned Elite, outscoring the latter, 33-11, in the final 10 minutes of the game to remain on top of the team standings with a 5-0 win-loss mark.

“We were rusty at the start as we’re trying to feel out [Mychal] Ammons and he was trying to fee us out,” TNT Katropa Head Coach Jong Uichico said.

“We’re trying to play the best we can every day.”

Veteran forward Ranidel de Ocampo led TNT Katropa’s balanced attack with 20 points, while Ammons, who replaced the injured Mario Little, had a solid debut with 18 points and 18 rebounds, half of them on the offensive end.

Troy Rosario also churned in a double-double game for Uichico with 16 points and 13 boards, while Asian import Michael Madanly had his best game yet in the conference for Katropa with 15 markers.

Jayson Castro, TNT Katropa’s top gunner, finished with seven markers in just 15 minutes as he arrived late in the game due to personal reasons.

Blackwater dropped to 1-4, joining Star at the lower half of the team standings and things don’t look good for Head Coach Leo Isaac.

Center JP Erram left the second period after injuring his knee. Import Eric Dawson also had a forgettable game with 13 points and 10 rebounds, as he was bothered by a bad back.

Still, the Elite managed to keep pace with Katropa and were even ahead at 78-76, before TNT Katropa unleashed a 17-2 assault capped by backto-back treys of Castro and Madanly for a 93-80 lead with 6:19 remaining.

Carlo Lastimosa hit five straight for Blackwater, 85-95, but Ammons led a strong finish by Katropa to seal the victory. Joel Orellana

Orencio to defend title in Cape Town

O

RENCIO James de los Santos vows to defend his title as he represents the country in the third International Shotokan Karate Federation World Shoto Cup from August 18 to 21 in Cape Town, South Africa. “I will do my best. I am training hard for this tournament. I am prepared both mentally and physically,” said de los Santos, who clinched the Male Kata Individual crown during the championships held in Cebu four years ago.

The 2011 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist has been performing well as a national team member of the Philippine Karatedo Federation (PFK).

Just recently, he bagged a silver medal in the 2016 Vietnam Open Karatedo Championship, complimenting the strong showing of the federation in international competitions, which included its fourth-place finish in the Thailand Open Karate-do Championship with its two-gold, two-silver and seven-bronze medal haul.

The PKF plans to improve its grassroots programs as it aims to send athletes in the 2020 Tokyo Games after the International Olympic Committee approved the addition of five new sports, including karate.

“We are grooming our youth and junior players for 2020. This is our program to help them achieve their goals,” PKF Secretary-General Raymund Lee Reyes said. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Sports BusinessMirror

NERVOUS, EXCITED

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IO DE JANEIRO—Mary Joy Tabal has tapered down in preparation for the biggest race of her life—the Olympics—and will go on full rest on the eve of the women’s marathon competition in Rio 2016 on Saturday.

Tabal, the first Filipina to qualify for the Olympic marathon, also started a strict dietary regimen ahead of the 42.195-kilometer race that will start and end at the Olympic Stadium at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday (Rio time).

“I am both nervous and excited,” Tabal told the BusinessMirror before hitting the sack on Friday. “But I am giving the race a positive thought and trying to keep the pressure away.”

Tabal tapered down in training from a one-and-ahalf hour session that was mostly jogging at the practice oval provided by the hosts and at the Athletes’ Village on Tuesday. On Wednesday the Cebuana went on a one-hour jog and on Thursday a 40-minute session. She ran only 3 km on Friday.

Saturday will be a full day of rest for Tabal, who described the Rio 2016 route as similar to the Ottawa Marathon, where he earned her qualification slot for the Olympics. “The difference, however, is that in Otttawa, there were no loops. Here, the race has three loops, but also relatively flat and with little incline, just like in Canada,” Tabal said.

Tabal’s diet in the four days leading to the race was heavy on carbohydrates. “It’s 60-percent carbo, 30-percent protein and 10-percent fat for me,” said the 27-year-old back-to-back winner of the Milo Marathon National Finals back home.

John Philip Dueñas, her personal coach since she started to run long distance in 2009, arrived here on Thursday and immediately worked on their strategy.

Tabal and Duenas joined the other participants in a route-familiarization bus ride on Thursday. Tabal said the route includes a 2-km stretch of cobblestones in a tight Rio street.

“Me and Coach Philip are not making any adjustments for this race,”Tabal said. “I will run the way I ran all my races before. I have set my mind, heart and focus on my first Olympic marathon and I am hoping that I deliver my best.”The official start list will only be known in a final technical meeting on Saturday night. Jun Lomibao

A8 | S

unday, August 14, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

IN DEEPER HOLE R

By Jun Lomibao

IO DE JANEIRO—Miguel Luis Tabuena couldn’t handle the winds in the first round on Thursday.

In the second round on Friday, the winds were absent, but the rain fell and he couldn’t master the downpour, too.

Worse, the 21-year-old 2015 Philippine Open champion played with an aching right shoulder, which he said bothered him since Thursday morning. He persevered in the first round, but could not conceal the pain on Friday, occasionally nursing his shoulder, while making circular motions with his arm.

The result? The country’s lone entry in golf’s return to the Olympics at Rio 2016 found himself in a deeper hole.

Tabuena shot a second-straight over-par round of 75 at the par-71 Olympic Golf Course, two more than his first round output of 73 to go six over after 36 holes. He fell 16 strokes in a tie for 54th place behind Australian Marc Frasier, who held on to the lead with a second-straight subpar round this time a 69, six off his record 63 on Friday.

“It was tough, I got two worse rounds. I teed off yesterday when the winds were at their peak, I teed off today when it started to rain,” said Tabuena, who needs to dig deep as he could in the final two rounds to achieve what could be mathematically probable, but seemingly impossible, in a field where the stars of the sport are all eager to take a bite at Olympic history.

Unlike on Thursday, when he started hot by going two under in the first nine holes of the 7,128-yard layout, Tabuena three-putted the par-5, 604-yard No. 1 for a bogey and never recovered.

“I bogeyed a par-5 [No. 1], which is not so good. I felt the pain in my right shoulder, and it was hurting enough to bother me,” said Tabuena, who stressed that if these were not the Olympics, he could have pulled out right after the first round.

“If this weren’t the Olympics and if I didn’t have this flag on my shirt, I would have withdrawn already,” he said. “But we have two more days and anything can happen.”

But Tabuena would badly need not only a healthy shoulder and a lot of comeback skills, but something short of a miracle to turn things around and get his hopes for a podium-finish running.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was on track to adding the Olympic gold to the claret jug he won at the British Open only a month ago by shooting a 68 to trail the Aussie leader by two strokes with a tworound 134 total.

In between them was Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, who carded a 66 for 133. Great Britain’s Justin Rose, a former US Open winner, joined the hunt with a 69 to share fourth place with France’s Gregory Bourdy (69). Canada’s Graham Delaet also faltered in a windless yet rainy round and fell five strokes off Frasier in a tie with three others at 137.

“Three under is not a bad score out there, especially not with that first five or six holes in those [rainy] conditions,” Stenson told a news conference after the round. “All in all, I’m happy with that. I didn't play as solid as I did yesterday, but we're still in the race and still in good position halfway through the tournament.”

For Tabuena, he is nowhere inside a happy place entering the final two rounds.

“Hopefully I will go out with my guns blazing tomorrow [Saturday’s third round]. That’s the only chance we can get a medal here,” he said. “I am pretty far down, but I have shot very low before and I don’t see why I can’t do it again.”

Tabuena again bogeyed No. 4, a par-3 hole, but managed a birdie in the next to breathe life into his round.

Tabuena again bogeyed No. 4, a par-three hole, but managed a birdie in the next to breathe life into his round until hole No. 7, when things got worst. Tabuena double bogeyed the hole to find himself groping for a decent finish in the 60-player field.His woes just wouldn’t go away. Tabuena over-hit the green and chipped in short for the ugly 6.

Overall, Tabuena had trouble hitting the greens, resulting further to back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13.

“The shoulder is really bothering me in my long game and it’s not good entering the last two rounds. But let’s see what happens,” Tabuena said.

Tabuena’s drives were a consolation. And his approach was the problem. “I had no drives that I’ll say ‘where did that come from?’ It hurts when I hit my irons and when the club makes contact on the

ground because it vibrates,” he said.

Alarmed by Tabuena’s bad shoulder, Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose S. Cojuangco Jr. and Chief of Mission Jose A. Romasanta tasked Team Philippines chiropractor Martin Camara to check on the golfer.

“It [pain] was something coming from his [Tabuena] neck area so I ironed it out and did some realignment then taped it,” Camara said. “He felt better and he can push with his right shoulder now.”

“I’m OK now, but I’m not 100-percent, yet,” Tabuena said after the session with Camara, adding that it’s the first time he felt pain in his shoulder. “I had wrist and back injuries before, but never this one. I hope it gets better in the morning.”

As a consolation, Tabuena was joined at the bottom of the tally board by multiple European and Asian Tour winners Lin Wen-Tang of Chinese Taipei, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Anirban Lahiri of India, as well as Rickie Fowler of the US. Jaidee (70-75) was at 145, Fowler (75-71) at 146, Lahiri (74-73) 147 and Lin at 60th and last with a 77-77-154.

Tied with Tabuena were his flightmate Roope Kakko (76) of Finland, Jhonattan Vegas (76) of Venezuela and Espen Kofstad (76) of Norway.

Filipino golfer Miguel Luis Tabuena falls down deeper after second round of the men’s golf event.