Businessmirror june 18, 2016

“It took me much courage and two sleepless nights to consider, but I decided to share the whole story with you, and tell the whole world that this incident is not only about myself or the bookstore, it’s about the core values that Hong Kong people need to safeguard.”—Freed Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee, who detailed his experience in custody in mainland China during his months-long disappearance that has raised concern in Hong Kong that mainland authorities are undermining the territory’s autonomy and rule of law. AP

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“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaeda went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today, thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq.”—John McCain, blaming Obama for the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, in which a gunman killed 49 people because of the rise of the Islamic State group on the president’s watch. But he later issued a statement saying that he “misspoke”. AP

“If someone seriously thinks we don’t know who we’re fighting, if there’s anyone out there who thinks we’re confused about who our enemies are, that would come as a surprise to the thousands of terrorists we’ve taken off the battlefield.”—President Barack Obama, who blasted Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric as dangerous and contrary to American values. AP

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A broader look at today’s business n

Saturday, June 18, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 252

AQUINO ADMIN GIVING DOMINGUEZ FREE HAND TO EFFECT MERGER OR NOT

LandBank, DBP merger not happening for now

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INSIDE

By David Cagahastian

@davecaga

he merger between state financial institutions Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), as mandated by an executive order (EO) issued by President Aquino, has been called off.

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C.I.A.’S BRENNAN SEES MORE ISLAMIC STATE TERRORIST ATTACKS

Not for now; unless there is a clear directive from the incoming administration.”

—Palace source

An official at the Office of the President told the BusinessMirror that the current administration has decided against implementing Mr. Aquino’s EO to give incoming Finance Secretary Continued on A2

CIA Director John Brennan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Islamic State (IS). Brennan said the IS remains “formidable” and “resilient,” is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West and will rely more on guerrilla-style tactics to compensate for its territorial losses in the Middle East.

AP/J. Scott Applewhite

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sports

A8

STAMPING PLANT Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) on Friday held the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its stamping plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Leading the ceremonial breaking of the ground are (from left) MMPC Senior Executive Officer Hiroo Kurihara, MMPC President and CEO Yoshiaki Kato, Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments Vice Chairman and Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo, and Sojitz Corp. COO Hiroto Murai. Related story on B2. ALYSA SALEN

Sanders refuses to quit, but to work with Clinton

PLDT, partners to launch Gulf unit soon

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

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world

B2-2

@lorenzmarasigan

OKYO, Japan—The international sales and marketing arm of the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines is planning to set its foot in the Middle East, which hosts a huge Filipino community.

While this endeavor would bring the more than 850,000 Filipinos working in the Middle East closer to home, PLDT Global Corp. President Alejandro O. Caeg admitted that launching services

PESO exchange rates n US 46.3510

It has to be contentdriven, because international long distance is going down.”—Caeg

in the Gulf region may take a while.

“The big markets are usually found in the Middle East. However, I must

add that it’s not as easy as it seems to enter Asia, which has relatively more open markets. But we’re in discussion with a few partners,” he told the BusinessMirror.

Based on a workable business model and arrangement, the quickest way to enter a market, Caeg said, is half a year.

“If you come up with a workable business model and business arrangement, the fastest you can go to market is six to eight months,” he said.

Back in the past, the company’s main

entral Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan warned on Thursday that as Islamic State (IS) loses ground in Syria and Iraq, it probably will use “guerrilla tactics” to launch more terrorist attacks like those in Orlando, Florida; Brussels and Paris.

The CIA has seen “no sign” that Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, was in contact with IS or any other terrorist group, Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Like the married couple who killed 14 people last December 2 in San Bernardino, Mateen appears to have been selfradicalized online, in part by listening to jihadist sermons and watching videos of beheadings by militants.

Online exhortations and blueprints for attacks that are pushed to followers on Twitter and via encrypted apps can inspire individuals to “embark on this path to destruction,” while evading a surveillance net that tracks communications and travel for potential signs of terrorist plots, Brennan said.

Intelligence analysts are concerned that IS may try to send terrorists into Western countries by hiding them among refugees, by using smuggling channels or by finding weaknesses in the security screening of legitimate travelers, he said.

Gunmen and suicide bombers, including some who had returned from the war in Syria, killed 130 people in restaurants, a concert hall and a sports arena in Paris last November 15.

And on March 22, another terrorist team directed by IS bombed the airport and subway in Brussels, killing 32 people.

IS has enlisted thousands of fighters with European passports who could be tapped to return home and launch attacks, Brennan warned. The US-led coalition has steadily chipped away at the extremist group’s ability to raise money, and has increasingly choked the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq.

But the group still rakes in tens of millions of dollars each month from crude-oil sales and taxes on people living under its control, Brennan said. IS is a “formidable adversary,” Brennan said, and dismantling it will be a “long and difficult fight.”

The number of IS fighters and operatives “far exceeds what al-QaEda had at its height,” he said.

The CIA estimates the group fields up to 20,000 fighters in See “Brennan,” A2

See “PLDT,” A2

n japan 0.4446 n UK 65.8370 n HK 5.9741 n CHINA 7.0317 n singapore 34.3799 n australia 34.1097 n EU 52.0475 n SAUDI arabia 12.3636

Source: BSP (17 June 2016 )

BMReports BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, June 18, 2016

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Low income, not joblessness, cause of persistent poverty

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@cuo_bm

illions of Filipinos remained poor not because they are jobless, but because they have low incomes, according to the World Bank.

Data showed the growth of Filipinos’ real wages has been flat since 2000. This, despite the average growth of 3.4 percent in labor productivity between 2004 and 2014.

The World Bank said the implementation of the country’s minimum wage has also been inefficient and has not improved Filipinos’ incomes. “ The Philippines needs not necessarily more jobs, but better jobs. And one striking fact is that since 2000, real wages, meaning t he w a ges adju sted for t he increase in the cost of living, have remained flat. They have not increased and this is a very strong contrast to wage increases in other Asean countries, which saw very strong wage growth,” World Bank

PLDT. . .

Continued from A1

selling point is international longdistance calls to the Philippines.

However, with quick technological advancements, the telco has had to evolve to a digital-services provider to keep up with new trends.

Hence, the company’s offerings to the eight markets that it serves

lead economist Jan Rutkowski said.

For years the Philippines struggled with what economists have termed as jobless growth. This is economic growth that did not create jobs.

However, Rutkowski said this is no longer the case in recent years since the economic growth, at least in the past 10 years, was able to create jobs needed by the country’s growing labor force.

Still, Rutkowski said the growth of real wages of Filipinos, on average, remained flat. And there are certain groups of workers that even saw their real wages decline, particularly those engaged in lowskilled jobs.

“We do not recommend the abolition of the minimum wage. Most countries in the world have the are driven by data and content.

“We have to go to the market with content that appeals to the local market. It has to be contentdriven, because international long distance is going down,” Caeg said.

PLDT Global is a mobile virtual network operator that rides on the physical network infrastructure of other carriers to provide telecommunications services for a specific market.

minimum wage. It is recommended by the ILO [International Labor Organization], it can serve a useful purpose, it is meant to protect workers from poverty but to set in a way that will not cause distortions, to set it at a level that would indeed [perform a] useful function is very difficult and there is no simple solution,” Rutkowski said.

He added that another cause of low incomes is underemployment. Underemployed Filipinos consist of those in the informal sector, those who have no contracts or those looking for additional sources of income.

Based on the April round of the Labor Force Survey, some 18.4 percent of working-age Filipinos are underemployed. This translates to 7.351 million workers.

Rutkowski said the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum would be crucial in improving the situation. He said if more Filipinos, especially those belonging to the poorest 20 percent, will be better educated, they have a higher chance of getting formal jobs that pay decent wages.

He said informal jobs usually pay less than formal jobs.

Data showed that the pay in 56 percent of informal jobs is low;

Brennan. . .

Continued from A1

Syria and Iraq, down from 33,000 fighters last year. IS’s arm in Libya is its “most dangerous” and “most developed” affiliate, with about 8,000 fighters, he said.

But the group also has about 1,000 fighters in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, he added, and is now the country’s chief terrorist threat.

37 percent midrange; and only 7 percent pay high wages.

“If you have not completed secondary education, you are basically bound to end up in low-paying informal jobs,” Rutkowski said. “The completion of secondary education of 12 grades is, in a way, a necessary condition for getting a good job.”

The report emphasizes a threepronged approach to reduce in-work poverty. This includes continuation of investments in education and skills of disadvantaged youth in rural areas to raise their earning capacity.

The government must also simplify labor regulations to encourage employers to formally hire more workers and improve the investment climate and lower the cost of doing business in the formal sector to create more and better jobs, as well as sustain high economic growth.

“Economic growth in the last 10 years has created enough jobs to absorb the growing labor force,” said Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for the Philippines. “For many Filipinos, however, the main challenge is having jobs that can lift them out of poverty. With sound macroeconomic fundamentals and strong growth, the Philippines is well positioned to address this challenge.”

The Sinai affiliate has attacked Egyptian military and government targets, as well as foreign tourists.

It claimed responsibility for downing a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai last October, killing all 224 people aboard.

IS affiliates in Yemen and Afghanistan are much smaller and have been weakened recently by internal rivalries and a lack of cohesion, Brennan said. MCT

still top developer For three years in a row, property giant Megaworld has been named one of the Top Developers in the Philippines during the BCI Awards 2016 held in Makati City on June 7. BCI Asia honors the most commercially significant developers in Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and provides an international overview of developers with most significant contribution toward sustainable architecture. Receiving the award from BCI Asia COO Robert Krups (right) was Megaworld SVP Jericho P. Go.

LandBank, DBP merger not happening for now Continued from A1

Carlos G. Dominguez III a free hand on the matter.

“Not for now; unless there is a clear directive from the incoming administration,” said the source, when asked whether the proposed merger of LandBank with DBP will still push through.

An EO has been issued by President Aquino to effect the merger, supposedly for increased cost-

efficiency in fulfilling the mandates of the two government banks, which, as pointed out by proponents of the merger, are redundant.

The source at the Office of the President said the merger now appears to have been shelved altogether, since Dominguez had publicly announced that he would stop such merger, which was pushed by his predecessor Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima.

The Governance Commission on Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG) has already rejected all bids for the mergers and acquisitions services—worth approximately P100 million—that are required to effect the merger of the two government banks, precluding any chance to commence the merger during the last two weeks of the Aquino administration.

Aside from Dominguez’s public pronouncement against the merger, the incoming budget secretary of President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte had also expressed his reservations about it.

Returning Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno earlier said the planned merger is against competitive practices, because it would establish a monopoly over banking services required by the various agencies of the government.

“Since government funds can only be deposited in either DBP or LandBank, then there would no longer be a choice between the two if the service provided by one of them is not satisfactory,” Diokno said, when asked to comment on the proposed merger.

Mr. Aquino’s EO, which directed the merger of the two government banks cited, the redundancy in providing banking services and credit to both the agricultural and industrial sectors in the countryside.

The proposed merger will have LandBank as the surviving entity, and is seen as a cost-cutting measure to close down some of the branches of the two banks in areas where both are present.

According to a briefer released

by Malacañang, the number of branches of DBP and LandBank is as follows: in Metro Manila, 23 branches for DBP and 80 for LandBank; in Luzon, 34 branches for DBP and 136 for LandBank; in the Visayas, 21 branches for DBP and 53 for LandBank; in Mindanao, 26 branches for DBP and 68 for LandBank.

Economy BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon • Saturday, June 18, 2016 A3

Piñol to NIA execs: Free irrigation is nonnegotiable Solons slam Aquino veto of nurses’ pay-hike bill

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

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awmakers on Friday urged President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte and the leadership of the 17th Congress to approve the bill raising the salary of nurses, after President Aquino’s veto of the proposed Comprehensive Nursing Act that was supposed to upgrade nurses’ monthly minimum salary to P25,000.

Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna and incoming Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela vowed to refile the bill in the next Congress to provide better working conditions for nurses and the overall development of the profession.

“We hope that this bill, upgrading nurses’ salary, will fare better in the next administration,” Zarate said.

“We urge our colleagues in the House of Representatives to expedite the salary hike of our nurses as an urgent response to our exacerbating health-system crisis and the pleas of our health workers, especially those in public hospitals. We also urge the incoming President, Rody [Rodrigo R.] Duterte, to support the bill to increase our nurses’ salary,” he added.

Zarate, meanwhile, described President Aquino’s move as “consistently antiworker.”

“If there is a legacy the exiting Aquino presidency could claim is its consistent and unrelenting callousness against our working people and the poor,” he said.

“When we filed the bill in the last Congress, Bayan Muna recognized the unjust salary and working conditions our government nurses have, who, in the flight of many of our nurses abroad to find greener pastures, become more and more overburdened.

This is happening despite the number of nurses graduating year after year in our country,” Zarate added.

According to Zarate, nurses are supposed to be given at least P25,000, or the equivalent salary allotted for Salary Grade 15, as provided for by Republic Act 9173, or the Nursing Act of 2002. “But even President Aquino’s Executive Order 201, signed this year, only provides P20,754, or the amount being received by those in Salary Grade 11, which will only be received after four years,” he said.

Brosas, for her part, said the bill is more than pay hikes, explaining that the measure seeks to improve nursing practice, and provide better and fairer nursing conditions by outlawing nefarious work modalities that exploit nurses, such as the exploitative “volunteer work” schemes, where nursing graduates are forced to provide full-time clinical work and, oftentimes, are not paid any compensation.

“The law would have benefited public-health care for Filipinos, as it will have mandated the government to assign a nurse for every barangay, every school and every workplace; make hospitals ensure safer nurseto-patient ratios; and make nursing a humane and decent career by banning contractual, job order, on-the-job training and volunteer job positions,” she said. She added that it is ironic that the Palace insisted that nurses’ pay are already covered by the Magna Carta for Health Workers, because “the Department of Budget and Management has been suspending the law and denies health workers their due wage and other financial benefits.”

Brosas said Gabriela will bring the concern of health workers to the Women’s Summit to be launched in Davao City next week.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Nurses Association warned the government that the nonpassage of the bill may lead to more Filipino nurses seeking jobs abroad.

T

By Mary Grace C. Padin

@_enren

he next chief of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said the incoming administration’s commitment to provide free irrigation to farmers is “nonnegotiable,” and any official who does not share this commitment should resign from his or her post.

The statement, posted by incoming Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol on his Facebook account, came after a National Irrigation Administration (NIA) official expressed concerns on the removal of irrigation service fees (ISFs) when asked by a local TV network.

ISFs collected by the NIA reach an average of P2 billion a year. They are used to fund the operation and maintenance costs of existing irrigation systems, as well as the NIA’s employee salaries and allowances.

“Anybody in government who does not share President Duterte’s

Anybody in government who does not share President Duterte’s vision for the Filipino farmer is free to leave and find another job.”

—Piñol

vision for the Filipino farmer is free to leave and find another job,” Piñol said, when asked for his reaction.

He added that hearing the statement from the NIA questioning Duterte’s commitment is “not only irritating, but also a manifestation

of the malady afflicting people in government—that is the failure to think outside the box to help people.”

“What got my goat last night was the fact that the issue of the presidential promise of free irrigation was already discussed during the transition meeting I had with the heads of the four agencies under the Office of the President on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization [OpafSAM], which was also attended by outgoing Presidential Adviser Edel Guiza,” Piñol further stated.

The incoming agri chief said he has already ordered NIA Administrator Florencio Padernal to come up with a strategy to ensure that the presidential commitment is delivered by 2017.

Piñol accused top officials of the NIA to have forgotten their mandate, which is to help the government produce food for the Filipino people by providing irrigation.

He cited a complaint he received last week from DA Regional Director Jun Alviar, who said NIA in Region 2, in spite of repeated requests from farmers, has failed to release water to the farms.

“In my exasperation, I told Alviar to relay to the NIA director my request for him to release the water as requested by the farmers or else my first official act as secretary of agriculture by July 1 will be to fire him,” Piñol said.

“I hope people in government now, especially those who will work with me in the agriculture department and its attached agencies, will understand this—we are here not to lord it over the people but to serve them.”

“If you find this hard to understand and difficult to implement, I will place a big garbage can in front of my office on July 1. You could throw in your resignation letters in that trash can and leave government,” Piñol said.

Aussie solar-powered air-conditioning system promises hefty bill cut for malls, hotels

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Construction boom

Photo shows the ongoing rainy-season construction of yet another high-rise building at the corners of Macapagal Avenue and Edsa in Pasay City on Thursday. The government has reported an uptick on the most recent construction activities in Metro Manila. PNA/Joey O. Razon

RE firm CleanTech eyes $1.4-billion investment

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

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leanTech Global Renewables is eyeing to spend as much as $1.4 billion to develop 600 megawatts (MW) of solar and hydropower projects in the next five years.

Of the amount, $750 million to $1 billion would be earmarked to construct 500 MW of solar-power projects within the same period, company president Aboy Castro said.

“The cost of solar is going down. I don’t know what that cost will be in the next five years, but rough estimate is $1.5 million to $2 million per MW. So, that is somewhere [between] $750 million and $1 billion for

our solar projects,” Castro said.

The company had just energized its 15MW solar farm in San Idelfonso, Bulacan, on March 12. The project consists of 86,400 solar-power panels that could supply power to 9,750 households.

CleanTech’s first solar project costs $31 million, and Castro said this was financed through 100-percent equity. He added that “up to 40 percent” is held by its foreign investor, Armstrong Asset Management. The remaining 60 percent is a “combination of local investors, which include CleanTech Global and some other local investors,” Castro said.

This project, he said, was recently given a certificate of endorsement for the feed-in tariff. The company has plans to expand its

existing solar farm to 85 MW more, also in Bulacan, within the year.

Castro said the remaining 400 MW of solar-power projects would be mostly located in Northern Luzon. “We have a couple of smaller projects in [the] Visayas and Mindanao, as well,” he added.

For hydropower projects, CleanTech is setting aside $4 million per MW, or roughly $300 million to $400 million, to finance its planned 100-MW hydropower projects.

Construction can take 12 to 18 months, Castro said, adding that the company’s hydro projects will be divided into two. “These are the run-of-river and low-end hydro,” Castro said. “We have a couple of projects breaking ground already.”

ELBOURNE—Australian researchers have unveiled a solar-powered airconditioning system that will help commercial buildings achieve much greater energy-efficiency.

Developed by scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the system uses solar-thermal technology to produce energy used to power the system. The system has been tested at a shopping center in Ballarat, 100 kilometers northwest of Melbourne, and has proved successful so far, according to CSIRO Energy Director Peter Mayfield.

“CSIRO’s energy research is driving down costs of renewable technologies, accelerating the transition to a lower-emissions future,” Mayfield said in a news statement issued on Friday.

“We are pioneering new technologies, and this project is a world-first demonstration of a desiccant air-conditioning system using roof-mounted concentrating solar-thermal correctors.”

The closed-loop system uses two desiccant wheels, which absorb moisture from the air as dehumidifiers, while two other wheels, one of which is powered by solar heat, are used to regenerate cool air. Researchers on the project hope that the system will help reduce the large amount of energy required to heat and cool large commercial spaces, such as hotels and shopping centers.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) CEO Ivor Frischknecht, who partly funded the project, said he was excited by the potential impact of the research.

“It has the potential to further improve the efficiency of solar-thermal energy systems and storage to provide clean and reliable heating and cooling in commercial buildings,” he said.

“The Arena is committed to supporting innovative projects like this and helping share lessons learned among the wider research, development and deployment sector, powering Australian renewable energy well into the future,” he said.

CSIRO will spend the next 12 months monitoring and assessing the system to establish long-term commercial operations of the system. PNA/Xinhua

New circular binds five agencies for renewed GMO testing push

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox

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AVAO CITY—Five government agencies will pool their expertise together to address the technical pitfalls that led to the recall of all field testing of genetically modified eggplant in the country, which stalled its commercial production.

A joint department circular this year bundled the expertise of the departments of Health (DOH), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Interior and Local Government (DILG) to provide additional support to the effort of the departments of Agriculture and Science and Technology to push through with the tests.

The latter two agencies have mounted field tests on GMO

(genetically modified organism) eggplant and rice, and as early as 2012, their tests on Bacillus thuringiensis eggplant, as the genetically modified variety is called, were met with stiff legal opposition from environmentalists, who filed a case with the Supreme Court to stop the field tests. By 2014 the Court ordered a freeze on all tests.

The circular this year was an attempt to address the legal and technical loopholes that guided the implementation of the field tests.

After a series of consultations with the five agencies, along with farmers, academicians and crop and science experts, the circular binding the five agencies was formalized in March, and officially recognized as an interagency arrangement to handle permits and licensing to proceed anew with the development of the

GMO testing in the country.

The circular mandated the interagency arrangement to set up the rules and regulations for research and development, handling and use, transboundary movement, release into the environment, and management of genetically modified plant and plant products, derived from use of the modern technology.

Dr. Vivencio Mamaril, director of the Department of Agriculture Biotechnology Program Office, said the DOH would address issues on human health on the testing and commercial production of genetically modified food organisms, while the DENR would ensure the well-being of the physical environment around the testing sites.

The DILG would ensure local government support to the program and protection to biotechnology

activities being undertaken, including field testing.

He was unsure, though, if the circular would rule on allowing proponents of the field tests to proceed with commercial production, even though only a few areas have generated initial results of the field tests.

“But this circular has mandated these agencies to ensure proper compliance of the requirements in conducting the field tests or commercial production.”

“They would take charge of the permitting and licenses related to the scientific testing in the farms,” Mamaril said.

Mamaril spoke during the seminar on “Enhancing Agricultural Production Through BioTechnology” at the Apo View Hotel on Tuesday, where he answered a query from participants about the centralized

one-stop shop permitting process to be handled by the DA. “All the required permitting from the five agencies would be coursed through the DA,” he said.

Mamaril clarified, though, that the circular would not likely satisfy the opposition put up by environmentalists, “but the five agencies would be expected to be involved now in explaining to the public the issues raised on various issues about GMO.” He said the interagency arrangement would not be temporary nor would it be dissolved after all field tests were already sufficiently established to warrant commercial production. “It’s just a circular bringing in these agencies that could provide their expertise and mandates to the development of the biotechnology and production of GMOs.”

A4 Saturday, June 18, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

Voting in ‘political hell’

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etween now and September 2017, four major elections will take place, which will make the next 12 months or so “The Year of Political Hell,” as one political observer calls it. These are the British vote on whether to stay or leave the European Union (EU), the US presidential election this coming November, the French election in May 2017 and the German election in September 2017.

The recent Philippine national elections may have been the prologue of both the importance and the trauma of what is yet to come.

We can hardly wait until our election cycle comes to an end with the inauguration on June 30. Nothing has been normal, and we are ending—at least we hope it is the end—with the Commission on Elections’s (Comelec) decision regarding the filing of the candidates’ Statement of Contributions and Expenditures. Here the Comelec decided that “there are rules and then there are our rules,” which can be changed at any time in the game. At least, a political crisis has been averted.

As with the Philippine election, each of those elections will be a voter decision between “good” and “evil,” with the press and the media gladly fanning the flames of propaganda, misrepresentation and blatant lies. But no matter, it is all for the greater good, and voters need all the help they can get to make the right decision.

Scheduled for June 23, British voters will decide to remain or leave the EU. It started out as a “common market,” where goods could flow duty-free across the borders of the “European Economic Community” of nine countries.

The EU is now composed of 28 nations, from Iceland to Romania, from Malta to Finland. Nineteen of those nations use a common currency, the euro.

There is the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice of the EU, the Legislative Council of the EU and the European Parliament, and the unelected executive branch—the European Commission.

The underlying objective and core principle of the EU—in its own words —is to move nations to an “ever closer union with other EU member-states.”

British voters will decide whether giving up more national sovereignty for that closer union is for the better or the worse.

However, it is the campaign rhetoric—as we saw in the Philippines— that is frightening in a supposedly free democracy. British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that a vote for a British exit—or so-called Brexit—“could lead to Europe descending into war.” Cameron went on to imply that falling oil prices—which hurts the British economy—are partly the result of the Brexit vote. He also said the leader of Islamic State would be happy if the UK voted for Brexit. So also, according to the prime minister, would Vladimir Putin.

The emerging pattern is that the politicians have little if any respect for the electorate. Perhaps, that is why voters around the globe are choosing to vote against the political elite. The June 23 vote will be interesting to watch.

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Watching the externals John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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he Philippines is sometimes about as disconnected from the rest of the world as if it were on another planet. Take note, for example, that Philippine exports are almost the same in dollar value as it was 10 years ago and is down about 25 percent from this same time in 2014.

If this was any other country, there would be blood in the streets from this economic fact. We know the reason. Export earnings are not a big factor in the economy, except for the jobs this sector might create. Goods and services, including outsourcing exports, are equal to 28.7 percent of the Philippine GDP, which may seem high. But it is not.

For Thailand, that number is 64 percent. Malaysia is at 74 percent, and Vietnam is a whopping 85 percent.

Everyone is concerned that the slowdown in the Chinese economy

is going to be like a spreading cancer to global economies. But that is only if your economy is dependant on China buying your goods. Eleven percent of South Korea’s economic activity is from its exports to China.

Be glad you are not part of the Australian economy, where 34 percent of exports go to China and make up 6 percent of the economy. The Philippines is not even on the China map —except for our territory.

Local newspapers should have to pay readers every time US Federal Reserve (the Fed) interest rates are

mentioned in regard to price movement on the Philippine Stock Exchange. It means absolutely nothing.

If an investor loans money for up to seven years, he or she loses money lending to the following nations with negative interest rates: Switzerland, Japan, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and France. The point is that under these conditions were the US to raise interest, it would create such a massive flow of funds out of all those countries, and the euro currency, particularly, would collapse. The absolute last thing the US needs right now is a stronger dollar.

The US current-account trade deficit jumped 9.9 percent in the first quarter to the highest in seven years. But we in the Philippines do not care if the Fed raises rates. When the Fed raised rates for the first time in nearly 10 years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) did absolutely nothing with local rates.

Check back again in June 2017 to see if either the US Fed or the BSP has raised rates.

So what externals might be

worthwhile to track? Listen to what the big money is saying. And note that “big money” people are the biggest liars in the universe. Goldman Sachs is the biggest of the big and, based on their forecasts, should be out of business.

In June 2008, with oil at $125, Goldman raised its target to $200.

Oil utterly collapsing to $35 in less than a year. In May 2011 Goldman raised its forecast and oil plummeted almost immediately by 20 percent.

Their 10-year track record is almost perfect—perfectly wrong.

The heavy hitters have been calling for a global stock-market collapse for months. Maybe they will be right, and as the 18th-century British nobleman Baron Rothschild said, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” However, maybe when these people are talking about the blood, it is the time to buy.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.

Republican leaders cower as Trump burns down their party Margaret Carlson

BLOOMBERG VIEW

S

moke is rising from the Capitol dome, and the first responders are missing in action. Instead of running into the building to save it from their presumptive nominee, Republicans are running away. Watch them scurry at the approach of a reporter wielding nothing more than a notebook or a mic asking about the latest outburst from Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s press briefings have been designated Trump-free zones.

His No. 2, Sen. John Cornyn, announced he won’t take any Trump questions until after the November election.

Profiles in courage, one and all.

Hiding is not working and the situation is now dire. How could party leaders entrust the nuclear codes to the hands, big or small, of President Trump. In the last week alone, the Donald has accused President Barack Obama of treason. He says he is happy to talk to North Korea, without preconditions, and get it to put down its nuclear weapons, but he won’t accredit the Washington Post to follow his campaign.

His solution to tragedies, such as the mass shooting in Orlando, is to arm everyone, everywhere. Imagine how much better it would have been, he said, if those dancing the night away had guns “strapped to their ankle or strapped to their

waist” and shot back.

For Trump, Orlando was not a tragedy deserving thought but an occasion for calling attention to himself. He took a victory lap, saying that the massacre had somehow proved him right, an assertion with no basis in reality. He ended a tweet asking for credit for being right with the further claim that he wasn’t asking for credit for being right.

At a speech on Wednesday, Trump gave his party a taste of what it’s like to be one of his targets. He blasted would-be allies who had offered the mildest guidance to, perhaps, use a teleprompter, or think before he spoke, or bring in a few wise people to guide him on how to speak to an audience wider than the ones that

cheer when he calls for banning Muslims, says the word “wall,” or mocks a disabled reporter.

“Our leaders have to get a lot tougher,” he said at a rally in Atlanta.

“And be quiet. Just please be quiet.

Don’t talk. Please be quiet.”

If that’s not enough, in a pout, he said he will take his ball and play by himself: “Let me just do it by myself.

I’ll do very well. I’m going to do very well. OK? I’m going to do very well.

A lot of people thought I should do that anyway, but I’ll just do it very nicely by myself.”

He is like a misbehaving child you kick subtly under the table to shape up who then announces he’s been kicked and defiantly refuses to behave better. His defiance makes a mockery of the admonitions of McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan and others to just give Trump a little time to adjust to the bigger stage he’s on and the bigger job he is asking for.

Trump, however, would rather go it alone than acknowledge, by changing, that he might not have been perfect all along. After all, he won and they didn’t.

The campaign is more about him than the presidency. It wasn’t to win the presidency that he took after a judge whose life has been in danger for going after drug cartels in California and who’s been called an American hero by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Trump did

it to ensure that he wouldn’t have to make restitution to those duped by his fake university. Ryan called the judge outrage “counterproductive.”

The party didn’t mind that their presumptive nominee drove the birther movement, but they’re worried now that independents and moderate Republicans might not like a nativist and conspiracy theorist who accuses the president of treason.

Even now, the party is not worried about the stain itself as much as the fact that the stain is spreading. New polls show the Republicans could lose their ruling majority in Congress, with the Senate particularly threatened. The reelection bids of Senators Kelly Ayotte, Ron Johnson and even the venerable John McCain are in jeopardy.

No one should have expected bravery from a party that is spineless in the face of the National Rifle Association. Its leaders are too afraid of a bunch of lobbyists with checkbooks to do anything about protecting the country from lone wolf terrorists bearing military-style assault rifles. No wonder they’re afraid of a casino mogul.

There was a time when a bucket of water would have worked to stop Trump. Now the conflagration is such that it will take high-powered hoses to put out. Republicans weren’t willing to do it for the country. They may be willing to do it to save themselves.

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Opinion

Fathers, dads, papas, patriarchs

Radio Veritas recognizes schools, students’ excellence in Campus Hour Season 6

BusinessMirror

Jemain Tinio Diaz de Rivera

Rev. Fr. Antonio Cecilio T. Pascual

Forward Moving

F

ather’s Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society. One may be an adoptive father, biological father, putative father, stepfather or a father-in-law.

The Philippine social community is made up of extended families, and most everyone in the over 7,000 islands have one, two or all kinds of fathers who contributed to who they are now and who they will be in the future.

Earlier this month Benjamin F. Sanvictores and Josefina Bustos Sanvictores celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the large newly constructed event hall of Max’s Fried Chicken restaurant in Quezon City.

Guests include family, friends, church members and business associates.

They have two sons, grandchildren and a lot of great grandchildren.

As a young man, the patriarch of the family sailed to Japan in 1943 as a special overseas scholar chosen from various segments of Philippine society—children of ranking Filipino government officials and Army officers. He enrolled at the International Students Institute in Tokyo, where he learned Nihongo.

He graduated in 1945 from the prestigious Azabu Middle School, then admitted to the Gifu Agriculture and Forestry College, where he stayed until after World War II. Ben, as he is known to many, was raised to value family unity, sincerity, honesty, frugality, integrity and love of God and country. These are traits his entire family embraces.

He graduated at the University of Santo Tomas in 1950 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology. This was where he met his wife Josefina Bustos, who was his classmate and latter his loving partner, who is endearingly addressed as “lola boss” by their grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Ben helped in establishing several family-run business enterprises, such as logging, wood processing, industrial tree farming, agricultural machinery marketing, cast iron products manufacturing, agribusiness, footwear export manufacturing and real estate. Together with his father and siblings, they set up the Sanvictores Group of Cos. Always ready to share his experience and learning, he was a consultant to several United Nations agencies, including the Center on Transnational Corp.; Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Asia Pacific Forest Industries Group.

His contribution in the field of Philippines-Japan relations has been outstanding. When President Jose P. Laurel decided to organize the Philip-

pines-Japan Society in 1959 to assist in the restoration of normal relations between the two countries, Ben was selected to be the Society’s deputy secretary-general.

Ben offered his assistance in the establishment of the various Philippines-Japan organizations, which now play important roles in the promotion of closer Philippines-Japan relations.

Today we have the Philippines-Japan Society, of which he was vice president and director; the Philippine National Committee for Economic Cooperation with Japan, of which he was the treasurer and director; the Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation, of which he was the vice chairman and executive trustee; and the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni, of which he was a director. In May 1986 he retired from private business with his appointment as deputy chief of mission of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

His efforts to attain the goals of these organizations were recognized by the Japanese government, which conferred upon him the Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1985. As an outstanding Japan alumni, he has been honored with the Merit Award by the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni in 1986.

He was also conferred the Knight Grand Officer of Rizal by the Order of the Knights of Rizal in recognition of his invaluable contributions in perpetuating the memory of our national hero in Japan.

As a tribute to his efforts to enhance closer Philippines-Japan cooperation and understanding, the PhilippinesJapan Society conferred upon him the Medal of Merit, the highest award given by the Society.

Last week I shared in this space a loving childhood memory of my father, Ofero Garzon Diaz de Rivera. I honor his memory by being the best person I can be.

During my youth in the United States, I had a host father, Phil Trimble, who I will visit next month in Indiana. He and his family adopted me for an entire year as part of the Youth for Understanding Program.

They allowed me to comprehend what being a citizen of the United States of America means.

Today, I gave you a glimpse of Benjamin F. Sanvictores, who answers to dad, lolo darling, tito Ben and brother Ben. He has and continues to influence and make a difference in the lives of many Filipinos through the endeavors he undertakes. This makes him a man loved, respected and honored by his family, church and community.

Happy Father’s Day.

SERVANT LEADER

R

adio Veritas recently recognized schools and students’ excellence in radio broadcasting from among the participants of Campus Hour Season Six.

The youth-oriented program aims to provide communication students the opportunity to showcase their talents and creativity and take part in the evangelization program of Radio Veritas through nationwide radio broadcast and global outreach through the Internet.

Aired every Saturday from 2:303:30 in the afternoon, participating higher learning institutions conceptualize and manage the radio production for Radio Veritas for a period of one month covering at least four episodes. Through Cam-

pus Hour, students are provided with the laboratory for learning for students in order to hone their skills and potentials as future communication practitioners, as well as medium of articulating their views and opinions in the promotion of their rights as students and as young citizens.

Colegio De San Juan De Letran Calamba bagged major awards this season, with Best Campus Hour School Award and the Veritas Truth Award, in a simple ceremony held on June 4 at the Philippine Women’s University-

Bloomberg View

W

e’ve seen this movie before, but still don’t know how it ends: According to unconfirmed reports, the so-called caliph of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed by a US air strike in Raqqa, Syria. Similar rumors cropped up at least twice before, in January and October of last year, and both times the news of his death was greatly exaggerated. As for the latest report, US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk said, “We have no reason to believe that Baghdadi’s not still alive, but we have not heard from him since the end of last year.”

Baghdadi’s silence or even death might seem like excellent news for the fight against the jihadists. An accom-

plished scholar of the Koran, he was named the “commander of believers” globally by Islamic State in 2014, a title not held since the fall of the Ottoman sultan. But some military strategists and scholars of Islam make a strong argument that the US-led coalition would be better off if Baghdadi remains alive and in charge.

Consider a 2014 study by Jenna Jordan of the Georgia Institute of Technology on so-called decapitation strikes against major terrorist groups. On the death of al-Qaeda Founder Osama bin Laden, she writes, “decapitation is unlikely to diminish the ability” of alQaeda, “rather, it may have counterproductive consequences, emboldening or strengthening the organization.”

She bases her claim on the theory of “organizational resilience,” which may be more familiar to business-school

Jose Abad Santos Memorial School in Quezon City.

Other winners for this season include: Audience Choice Award: Polytechnic University of the Philippines Best Program Theme Song: Unibersidad De Manila Best Program Segment: Philippine Women’s University Best Program Episode: Polytechnic University of the Philippines Best Radio Promotional Campaign: Centro Escolar University Malolos Best Program Format: Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Best Audio Production Impact: Far Eastern University Best Female Anchor: Jaymie Dela Rosa (Far Eastern University) Best Male Anchor: Jordan Cueto (Colegio De San Juan De LetranCalamba) Best Production Team: Centro Escolar University Malolos During the event, several schools have also signed another contract for the seventh season of Campus

Hour, which will begin in July this year. Among the schools are Centro Escolar University Malolos, Colegio De San Juan De Letran Calamba, Far Eastern University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippine Women’s University of the Philippines, Unibersidad De Manila, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina and St. Paul University Manila.

Radio Veritas 846 is owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Manila. Established in 1969, the Ramon Magsaysay recipient Catholic radio station continues to be the leading social-communications ministry for truth and new evangelization in the country today.

To know more about Caritas Manila, visit www. caritasmanila.org.ph. For your donations, please call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857.

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments, e-mail veritas846pr@ gmail.com.

Negative German yields are evidence of ECB

G

By Mark Gilbert | Bloomberg View

ermany this week joined the elite club of sovereign borrowers able to raise funds for a decade at an interest rate of less than zero. Other euro-zone countries, including France, Spain and Italy, are also enjoying 10-year borrowing costs at or near record lows. Negative German yields are the strongest signal yet that the European Central Bank (ECB) is failing in its quest to revive the animal spirits that would drive inflation back to its 2-percent target.

Here’s the journey taken by euro government borrowing costs since the beginning of 2013: The yield on the 10-year German bund dipped to a record low of minus 0.038 percent on Thursday, two days after going negative for the first time ever. In part, the move that reflects safety-seeking by investors concerned about next week’s UK vote on European Union membership.

But it also reflects a wider postcredit crunch malaise. “If one wanted a simple indicator to reflect a broken financial system, then this would be a strong candidate,” says Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank’s global head of credit strategy. To put it bluntly, quantitative easing is failing.

There’s a growing consensus that

the law of diminishing returns is kicking in with regard to the ECB’s efforts to reanimate the euro-zone economy. After stepping up its bond-buying program to €80 billion ($90 billion) per month, the central bank’s balance sheet is poised to reach a record: But ECB President Mario Draghi’s favorite measure of inflation expectations—the five-year, five-year forward inflation swap rate—has just dropped to a record low of 1.35 percent, far below the central bank’s 2-percent target rate: That chart suggests the outlook for euro-zone inflation is getting worse, not better. Consumer prices fell for a second consecutive month in May, declining by 0.1 percent.

The average annual inflation rate for the past three years is just 0.4 percent, meaning the threat of deflation remains alive. And as Draghi himself has noted, the credibility of a central bank depends on meeting its mandate.

To be fair to the central bank chief, there’s only so much monetary policy can do on its own.

It’s not as if European officials don’t acknowledge the need for infrastructure investment

The danger of killing Islamic State’s caliph

By Tobin Harshaw

Saturday, June 18, 2016 A5

graduates than to counterterrorism operatives. Jordan doesn’t buy the argument that a cohesive group sharing an intense belief in a goal depends on the “charismatic leadership” (to use Max Weber’s phrase) of a single person like bin Laden or Baghdadi. Instead, she sees many clandestine groups as being bureaucracies often impervious to changes at the top. Such organizations “are diversified, have a clear division of administrative responsibilities and functions, follow rules and procedures, and are, thus, more likely to withstand the sudden removal of a leader or leaders.” All of those characteristics apply far more accurately to Islamic State than to the relatively decentralized al-Qaeda.

So if eliminating Baghdadi wouldn’t be a death blow to Islamic State, at least it would count as a victory in the ongoing war, right? Again, there is debate

here. At the web site War on the Rocks, Haroro Ingram of Australian National University and Craig Whiteside, a combat veteran teaching at the US Naval War College Monterey, argue that “charismatic leadership is an inherently volatile and ephemeral form of leadership.” The caliph, they worry, could be replaced by a figure with far stronger military and organizational skills.

The authors highlight the history of Islamic State’s dark days after the 2006 death of its ruthless founder, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the prototypical charismatic leader. While Zarqawi’s guerrilla war on US troops made what was then called al-Qaeda in Iraq the most feared faction in the Iraqi insurgency, his eagerness to kill fellow Muslims raised the ire of not just the nation’s Shiite majority but also fellow Sunni radicals, including the alQaeda leadership. He was succeeded by

as a catalyst for faster growth.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker introduced a program specifically to tackle the issue. His European Fund for Strategic Investments is designed to provide capital of €21 billion, leveraged 15/1 by drawing in accompanying private funds that would deliver total investments worth €315 billion.

Thus far, though, the fund has signed commitments worth just €1.8 billion, even though it was unveiled in 2014 and has been up

and running for about a year. Eurozone governments need to step in add some fiscal firepower to the ECB’s efforts, as Draghi keeps begging them to do. So there’s a great opportunity being squandered to borrow the cheapest money ever to invest in European growth. The ultralow borrowing costs available in the government bond market should persuade the euro zone’s leaders to step in and ease the burden that’s currently being carried by the ECB alone.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (no relation to the current caliph), who lacked Zarqawi’s battlefield bravado but was a skilled manager who took the long view. He mended fences with other jihadist groups and retooled the group to take advantage of the eventual withdrawal of US forces.

Thus, not only is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi replaceable, his successor could pose an even bigger threat, especially if he chose not to declare himself caliph of the Muslim world. That would open the possibility of Islamic State mending fences with other Sunni terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and its Syrian affiliate the Al Nusra Front, which is emerging as the most potent military force in that nation’s civil war.

So what’s the alternative to decapitation? The best way to cripple a terrorist group may be to take out its “middle managers.” In an articlefor the journal

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Peter Neumann, Ryan Evans (who founded War on the Rocks) and Raffaello Pantucci argue that the figures found on the org chart between the leadership elites and the field troops are the “connective tissue” that holds the organization together. Indeed, the French scholar Mathieu Guidere says the US-led coalition has made a priority of killing “technical cadres and the mid-level commanders who, though they don’t take the decisions, execute them.… Without them, nothing could be done on the ground.”

With Islamic State forces on the rocks in both Fallujah, Iraq, and their capital of Raqqa, Baghdadi’s grand strategy appears increasingly flawed. Instead of targeting him and rolling the dice on his replacement, the US should, perhaps, allow him to become, as Ingram and Whiteside put it, a “caliph without a caliphate.”

A6 Saturday, June 18, 2016 • Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo

The Nation BusinessMirror

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Ombudsman files charges vs ex-Albay congressman, 8 others over Pdaf mess

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By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

he Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges against a former congressman of Albay and eight others for the anomalous utilization of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf), or pork barrel, amounting to P27 million in 2007.

Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales accused former Lakas Rep. Reno Lim of Albay of four counts of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and four counts of malversation.

Morales also filed charges againts Technology Resource Center (TRC) executives Antonio Ortiz,

Emission standard for school-service vehicles not new, LTFRB official says

A

N official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) scored a transport group on Friday for allegedly disseminating wrong information on the exhaust emission-standards requirement for new school servicetransport vehicles.

Arnel del Rio, chief of the LTFRB Public Assistance and Complaint Desk, clarified that the said requirement is not entirely new. It has been implemented since 2014.

“Let’s just clarify that it is not a new requirement because it has been tackled in public consultations before,” he said in an interview.

Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (Acto) members picketed the agency’s compound on Monday to protest the requirement.

Acto President Efren de Luna said the “emissions-standard requirement was a new regulation that caught Aacto members unaware.”

T he re g u l at o r re q u i re s school-service operators for their units to pass Euro 4-emission standards.

Emission standards measure the allowable limit of exhaust emissions from vehicles in order to preserve air quality.

Del Rio added that the LTFRB is firm on its decision to phase out old school-service vehicles despite the request of transport groups, like Acto, to be given a one-year moratorium.

Those who defy the phase out order, according to him, face possible cancellation of franchise.

“If they still use the vehicles that are supposed to be phased out, that constitutes a franchise violation and may ultimately lead to franchise cancellation,” del Rio said.

He said the agency is giving provisional authority to vehicles whose application for accreditation is in process in order to cushion the impact of the phase out.

The phase out is part of the on-going modernization program being implemented by the regulating agency. Johnwyn Ace B. Fornal

Dennis Cunanan, Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, Marivic Jover, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu; Kaagapay Magpakailanman Foundation Inc. (KMFI) representatives Carlos Soriano and France Mercado; and Carmelita Barredo of C.C. Barredo Publishing House.

The Ombudsman also affirmed the administrative liability of Jover

and Espiritu for grave misconduct and ordered their dismissal from the service.

“Records show that in August and November 2007, Lim requested the release of his Pdaf amounting to P30 million and identified TRC as implementing agency with KMFI as NGO [non-governmental organization] partner,” she said.

“The P30 million was intended for the procurement of 8,000 sets of livelihood instructional materials and technology kits,” Morales added.

In 2008 the Ombudsman said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by Lim, and the TRC and KMFI representatives, saying Lim “personally handpicked KMFI twice as project implementor without the benefit of public bidding.”

“The Commission on Audit uncovered blatant anomalies in the fund use, citing the lack of public bidding; lack of track record of KMFI, as it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission only in 2006,” she said.

“The NGO had no legitimate business address, as its address is the same as C.C. Barredo; no accreditation process undertaken to determine the capacity of KMFI; payment of P27 million was made prior to signing the morandum of agreement; and the project was considered ‘fictitious or ghost project,’ as no deliveries of livelihood kits were made,” Morales added.

For his part, Lim, in his motion for reconsideration, said “he is not liable for his Pdaf having no hand in its disbursement and having relied in good faith that it will be used for the purpose it was intended.”

But the Ombudsman said, “The evidence—[consisting] of sworn statements of the witnesses, the disbursement vouchers, the indorsed/encashed checks, the MOA with KMFI, the written requests, liquidation reports, confirmation letters and other evidence on record—indubitably establish that [Lim] connived with the TRC officials in the repeated conversion of his P30-million Pdaf.”

Sotto on traders’ special powers proposal: Keep it short, simple

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

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HE Federation of FilipinoChinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. (FFCCCII) was advised on Friday to simplify its separate proposal for Congress to grant emergency powers to incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte in order to facilitate passage of the measure in the next Congress.

Specifically, the business group, which proposed to limit the duration of the special powers to six months, was exhorted to restrict the scope to allow the chief executive to use it only for campaigns against drugs and terrorism, not for a whole slew of problems.

The advice came from Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III, widely seen to be the Senate majority leader in the 17th Congress and, thus, the one who will bear the burden of shepherding the federation’s proposal up to its passage in the chamber.

Following an earlier proposal by the Managament Association of the Philippines for lawmakers to give Duterte emergency powers in

SOTTO

order to untie traffic gridlocks in the metropolis, the FFCCCII came up with an expanded proposition.

FFCCCII President Angel Yu backed an expanded proposal to give Duterte emergency powers to “address peace and order, drug problem, traffick gridlock and graft and corruption” within six months.

But Sotto suggested that the Filipino-Chinese businessmen’s federation simplify their proposal to facilitate its approval in the next Congress.

“Marami masyado ang proposal nila [Their proposal covers too

200 honored in 25th anniversary rites of Mount Pinatubo eruption

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ITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Some 200 personalities from the government, business sector, media institutions, religious organizations and international community were honored during the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Mount Pinatubo eruption.

The event held at the newly opened Laus Event Center aims to celebrate the triumph of the Capampangans’ unity and resiliency 25 years after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos, the guest of honor, is one of the awardees during the program.

Ramos was instrumental in the recovery of Pampanga, as he approved the initial P10 billion fund for the “aid, relief, resettlement, rehabilitation and livelihood services, as well as infrastructure support for the victims of Mount Pinatubo.”

The awardees also include Liberal Party Rep. Oscar Rodriguez of Pampanga, businessman Levy Laus, Vice Gov. Dennis G. Pineda and Gov. Lilia G. Pineda.

Governor Pineda, in her vbrief remarks said Capampangans should nev-

er forget the people who worked hand in hand with them for the rehabilitation and recovery of the province after the eruption.

“Nagdaan man ang mga taon, hindi natin dapat kalimutang magpasalamat sa mga taong nagmalasakit, nag-alay ng kanilang talino at panahon, para sa muling pagbangon ng ating lalawigan. [Years may have passed but we should never forget to thank the people who cared, who offered their time and talents, for the recovery of our province’.”

The governor said 25 years after the eruption, the province is recovering strongly from severe destruction.

“Ngayon, 25 taon na nakakaraan, patuloy na pinakikinabangan ang lahar na nagbaon dati sa pangarap ng mga Capampangan na ngayon ay tila gintong minang butil ng hindi maubos-ubos na buhangin na isa sa mga pinagkukunang kita ng lalawigan—halos isang milyong piso ang ating koleksyon kada araw [25 years after, we continuously benefit from the lahar that buried the dreams of the Capampangan but now, it is like a gold mine that overflows—a source of income of the province, generating a collection of P1-million a day],” Pineda said. Joel P. Mapiles

many subjects],” Sotto told the BusinessMirror.

He voiced concern this could delay passage of the federation’s proposal in the Senate and the House. “Malamang magtagal [It could take longer]. Better confine it to drugs and terrorism lang. Mas mabilis.” Sotto said.

At the same time, Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who is expected to assume chairmanship of the Committee on Ways and Means, assured that senators would consider the federation’s proposal. “ We w i l l st udy c a ref u l ly.

These are pressing, urgent problems requiring urgent solutions and we would like to help the President and his administrat ion tac k le t hese problems,” Angara remarked.

“Having said that,” Angara added, “there are also concerns whenever emergency powers are mentioned, such as respect for human rights, like the writ of habeas corpus, and with systemic safeguards, like competitive bidding, to ensure government is not shortchanged.”

CA clears 19 police officials linked to rubber-boat scam

By Joel San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

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HE Court of Appeals (CA) has cleared 19 high-ranking police officials of administrative liability in connection with the questionable procurement of rubber boats worth P4.54 million in 2009 intended for search and rescue missions during calamities.

In a 22-page ruling written by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, the CA’s 11th Division also reversed and set aside the Ombudsman’s resolution issued on June 2, 2015, which found them guilty of grave misconduct and ordered their dismissal from the service.

Instead, the appellate court directed the Ombudsman to reinstate the policemen to the service and restore the salaries and benefits withheld from them.

The CA held that the Ombudsman failed to present substantial evidence to prove that there was intent to benefit from the deal on the part of the petitioners.

In its ruling last year, the Ombudsman held that the police coastal crafts (PCCs) were procured without public bidding and despite noticeable defects.

Charges of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act, was recommended against the police officials.

The said provision penalizes a public officer who would give any party “unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through m a n i fest pa r t i a l it y, e v ident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”

Ordered dismissed from service for grave misconduct were Senior Supts. Asher Dolina (former Criminal Investigation Detection Group-National Capital Region chief), Ferdinand Yuzon, Cornelio Salinas, Thomas Abellar, Nepomuceno Magno Corpus Jr. and Rico Payonga; Chief Supts. Reynaldo Rafal and Rizaldo Tungala

Jr.; Senior Supts. Alex Sarmiento and Aleto Jeremy Mirasol; Supts.

Michael Amor Filart; Job Marasigan and Leodegario Visaya; and Chief Inspectors Juanito Estrebor and Renelfa Saculles; and Police Officer 3 Avensuel Dy. Supt. Henry Duque and thenAccounting Division chief Antonio Retrato were also dismissed for grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty, while Chief Supt.

George Piano and Commission on Audit (COA) Auditor for the National Police Jaime Sañares were dismissed for gross neglect of duty.

Also charged with graft were Roselle Ferrer and Pacita Umali of Four Petals Trading (FPT), the supplier of the rubber boats.

But, the appellate court explained, the resort of the respondents to a negotiated procurement was justified in light of then existing state of national calamity, wherein the rescue and relief and rehabilitation efforts were declared a priority by the government following the onslaught of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009.

“In this regard, petitioners, who have been in the police service for at least 30 years, most of whom are decorated members of the police force, in their bid to provide swift, adequate and reliable services to the people during a state of calamity, and, thereafter, could not be said to have committed grave misconduct imputed against them,” the CA said.

“Consequently, the penalty of dismissal meted by the Office of the Ombudsman must b e st r uc k dow n ,” it adde d .

In addition, the CA said the immediate and emergency procurement of the crafts is necessary to restore the faith of the people not only in the police force, but in the government, as well.

The appellate court added that the police officials even tried their best to get the best deal for the government, noting that the approved contract was P4.54 million, which was below the P5-million allotted budget.

Viet ‘polluters’ dump goods to PHL

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HILIPPINE traders continue to patronize Vietnamese cement makers that have been tagged as agents of pollution in Vietnam’s world-famous Ha Long Bay. Critics made this observation amid reports of unimpeded importation of cement from Vietnam notably those being shipped from seaports in the vicinity of Ha Long Bay, a world-renowned tourist haven and declared as world heritage site by the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

Vietnam’s northern province of Quang Ninh that has jurisdiction over Ha Long Bay has petitioned country’s central government to disallow the expansion of two cement plants near Ha Long Bay in light of potential risk of environmental pollution to the site.

“While Vietnamese regulators frown on these so-called agents of pollution, Philippine-based importers virtually encourage their questionable operations at Vietnam’s protected sites, notably Ha Long

Bay,” a source said.

In a meeting with the inspection delegation of the Ministry of Construction concerning cement projects in the province, Quang Ninh provincial people’s committee Vice Chairman Do Thong presented a petition seeking to stop the expansion of the Thang Long and Ha Long cement plants situated near Ha Long Bay. As proposed, the two cement factories will have to cease operations and move farther away from Ha Long Bay, to a site along the Mong Cai highway being eyed by the government for development as an industrial zone.

The two cement plants have been tagged as sources of pollution at the Ha Long Bay area.

Meanwhile, the Quang Ningh people’s committee has also banned the loading, unloading and transport of clinker, cement and wood chips at Ha Long Bay due to pollution concerns at the tourist site.

Under the ban, which takes effect July 1, the transport of clinker,

cement and wood chips classified as bulk cargo would have to be done at Hon Net port in Bai Tu Long Bay. Ha Long Bay, which covers 1,553 kilometers and hosts 1,969 islets and islands, was declared by Unesco as a World Heritage Site in 1994 and in 2000. It is a major tourist attraction in Vietnam with more than 500 boats servicing visitors.

Environmental advocates in the Philippines fear that a similar case may happen in the country, since there has been an increase of cement importation from Vietnam.

The cement imports are being unloaded in different parts of the country near marine-protected areas. Reports gathered indicate that formal complaints will be brought to the attention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) soon. These groups hope Filipino consumers will not promote the pollution of a world heritage site by supporting these products which seemingly do not put emphasis on environmental stewardship.

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph | sports@businessmirror.com.ph

Cardel as Batang Pier head coach?

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By Joel Orellana

LOBALPORT’S coaching experimentation continues and this time, Johnadel Cardel is being groomed to call the shots for Batang Pier in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup, which kicks off on July 15.

The BusinessMirror learned that the former De La Salle standout is the top choice for the position of head coach. Former Green Archers champion coach and mentor of disbanded Air21 Franz Pumaren was also tapped as consultant.

Cardel has been running the team’s training and could be promoted as head coach before the season-ending conference starts.

Cardel is one of Pido Jarencio’s assistants when the team made a historic Philippine Cup run, reaching the semifinals for the first time since joining the league in 2012.

But GlobalPort lost to Alaska in the bestof-seven semifinal series, despite winning Game One behind the 41-point explosion of Terrence Romeo.

In the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup, Batang Pier stumbled big time. They finished dead last in the standings with a 3-8 win-loss record. Cardel and fellow assistant Erick

Filipino boxers open Baku bid

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LYWEIGHT Ian Clark Bautista opened his bid to earn a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics against Spain’s national champion Jose Kevin de la Nieve Linares on Friday in the International Amateur Boxing Association World Olympic Qualifying Event at the Sarhadchi Stadiuim in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Bautista, the 21-year-old pride of Bilalbagan in Negros Occidental who won gold medals in the Singapore Southeast Asian Games and Sri Lanka Red Lion Tournament last year, was expected to have his fists full against Linares, a veteran of the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games.

Welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, the other Filipino hoping to join light flyweight Rogen Ladon and lightweight Charly Suarez in Rio, meanwhile, will climb the ring on Saturday against Abbas Baraou of Germany, who knocked out New Zealand’s Joshua Nyika in the division opener on Friday.

Marcial, 20, and the pride of Zamboanga City, brought into the qualifier his 2011 World Junior Championships gold medal he won when he was only 15. He annexed the 2015 Southeast Asian Games gold, the 2015 Asian championships silver and the Asian/Oceanian Olympic qualifying bronze medal.

Abap President Ricky Vargas was in constant long-distance communication with the team and told the boxers: “Let’s accomplish our mission in Baku and go on to Rio.” Nolito “Boy” Velasco and three-time Olympian Romeo Brin are coaching the two boxers.

Ladon and Suarez flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday to continue training with Alliance of Basketball Associations of the Philippines consultant Nonito Donaire Sr. They were accompanied by Head Coach Pat Gaspi. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Gonzales were tasked to call the shots for the team in lieu of Jarencio.

Cardel led the team to a victory in its final game in the Commissioner’s Cup, 125-118, over Phoenix.

During the break, the team announced the “promotion” of Jarencio as its basketball operations head and confirmed the appointment of Pumaren after getting an approval from Adamson University. Pumaren will be the Soaring Falcons’ head coach in Season 79 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

GlobalPort tapped Dominic Sutton, who once suited up for the now-defunct Air21 team in 2014 season, as its import for the Governors’ Cup. The 6-foot-5 Sutton, who played college ball at Kansas State and North Carolina Central, averaged 21.2 points, 15 rebounds and 3.4 assists in nine games with Air21.

POLAND’S Lukasz Piszczek (center) heads the ball against teammate Kamil Glik (left) and Germany’s Thomas Mueller. AP

GERMANY DRAWS POLAND

LANDRY WHO?

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AKMONT, Pennsylvania—Andrew Landry shook his head when the horn sounded, signaling yet another delay at drenched Oakmont.

Ten feet away from completing the round of his professional life, the world’s 624th ranked golfer had to settle for going to bed with his name atop the leaderboard on Thursday at the stop-start US Open.

When play was halted for a third and final time just before 4 p.m., Landry glanced at his caddie, picked up his ball mark and shrugged his shoulders.

Sure, he would have liked a shot at that birdie putt he set up with a mid-iron from 183 yards on the par-4 ninth—his last hole of the day—before the storms rolled through again. For now ending his first day ever in a major tournament at three under with the rest of the 156-player field looking up at him will have to do.

“I’ve hit the ball really well today and just made a bunch

of putts and just kept it going,” said Landry, who earned a spot by surviving sectional qualifying in Tennessee last week.

And going. And going. Heady territory for three-time AllAmerican at Arkansas, who has struggled generating any kind of momentum since turning pro in 2009. Landry arrived at Oakmont making the cut just five times in 11 events during his rookie year on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour, including a careerbest tie for 41st last week in Memphis.

Yet, on a course that seemed to befuddle fellow 20-somethings Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, the 28-year-old Landry spent the better part of nine hours getting the better of an Oakmont made vulnerable by a series of downpours that softened its notoriously slick greens.

He teed off at 6:56 a.m. and promptly birdied the 10th hole.

Six straight pars followed before a birdie at the short par-4 17th gave him the outright lead, one that he maintained despite weather stoppages that sent him back to the clubhouse twice and threatened to disrupt his rhythm.

Landry tried his best to stay in the moment. He kept his phone buried in his bag and made small talk with his caddie.

“It was good to just kind of be by myself and just take it all in,” he said.

Hard to blame him. Before Thursday, the most notable day of his career came in his victory in a Web.com Tour event in Colombia last year, a continent away from his hometown in Groves, Texas. He honed his game along the Texas coast, once shooting a 58 while doing two loops around a nine-hole track not far from his childhood home affectionately known by the locals as “the Pea Patch.”

The Pea Patch is no longer, having been sold to make way for a gated community. For a time it seemed as if Landry’s career may go the same as he kicked around mini-tours searching for consistency.

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He began to find it in 2014, finishing second in the Web.com qualifying school and making enough money there in 2015 to earn his PGA Tour card.

The transition to the big time has been difficult. He didn’t make it to the weekend in his first five events this season and his best round of the year is a two-under 68 he shot in the third round of the Byron Nelson.

If he gets down in two from 10 feet on Friday morning, he’ll somehow surpass that. Wearing a green shirt—one bare of any major sponsors—Landry’s got all the way to five under after draining three straight birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

A wayward tee shot led to his first bogey at No. 7 and he threeputted the massive green on No. 8. There would be no collapse, however. He steadied himself on the difficult 477-yard par-4 ninth by splitting the fairway off the tee and landing his approach within makeable birdie distance.

The crowd swelled around his group made its way back toward the clubhouse, with television cameras following Landry as he walked up to mark his ball on the ninth. In the gallery nearby a spectator—perhaps speaking for the thousands wondering about the unfamiliar name with the red number next to it—said, “I never heard of the guy, but he conquered Oakmont. At least for one day.”

One that Landry didn’t want to end with work left to do. Not that he was complaining, as playing partners Matthew Baldwin and DJ Trahan took their time while trying to salvage the final hole of a difficult round. Landry has been there. Many times. Thursday, for once, was not one of them.

“I was trying to get it in,” he said. “We were trying really hard, but it’s hard, you know, when you’ve got a couple 60-footers out here, and it’s the US Open.”

One Landry, remarkably, is leading. AP

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ARIS—Germany provided the first goalless draw, England earned the first comeback victory and Ukraine became the first team to be eliminated from the European Championship on Thursday.

World champions in Brazil two years ago and 2-0 winners over Ukraine on Sunday, Germany went into its Group C game against Poland at the Stade de France as the clear favorites.

Instead, Germany was kept in check by a well-organized Poland side that also had the best chance to break the deadlock in a dour game.

Arkadiusz Milik, who had scored Poland’s winner against Northern Ireland on Sunday, miscued a header as he fell to his knees in Germany’s goalmouth and the ball bounced wide.

“We created few chances today,” Germany Coach Joachim Loew said. “We didn’t increase the tempo and then nine of 10 Poles were behind the ball.”

For a second match running, Gareth Bale scored with a long-range free kick to put Wales, 1-0, up in a match.

But unlike its opening-game win over Slovakia, this time there was only disappointment after the break, as England substitutes Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge turned the match around for a 2-1 victory.

England Coach Roy Hodgson doesn’t have a reputation as a hardened gambler when it comes to substitutions. So the sight of Vardy and Sturridge walking on for the second half, instead of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, was little short of astonishing.

With teenager Marcus Rashford then replacing Adam Lallana in the 73rd minute, Hodgson ended up deploying three forwards, plus Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, in a playmaking role to try to shake things up in the Group B match.

It worked.

Vardy leveled in the 56th minute and Sturridge rifled home the winner from a similarly close range in stoppage time.

“We made the decision [on the substitutes] early. It was the right decision,” Hodgson said.

“We were anxious to inject a little bit more tempo and pace into our game, and we were anxious to persuade the players to take a few more risks and to show more confidence in themselves in the penalty area.”

Northern Ireland later claimed its first tournament victory in 34 years with a 2-0 win over Ukraine. With the loss, Ukraine became the first team in the tournament assured of not advancing to the knockout stages.

Gareth McAuley put his side ahead with a header in the first half and Niall McGinn padded the lead by driving the ball home in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Unrecognizable from the side that surrendered meekly in a 1-0 defeat to Poland, Northern Ireland played sharply in its first tournament win since beating host nation Spain at the 1982 World Cup. “It has been a long time,” McAuley said.

“We talked about leaving a legacy from this tournament. A few years down the line when I am finished and I look back on it, it will be extra special. It’s just sinking in, and now it means staying in the tournament.” AP

Petron kicks off title-retention campaign

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EW-LOOK Petron kicks off its titleretention bid as explosive women’s volleyball action gets under way on Saturday with the opening of the 2016 Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Petron battles Foton at 4 p.m. F2 Logistics and Cignal clash in the 2 p.m. opening salvo of the interclub tournament, bankrolled by Asics, Grand Sports, Mikasa, Mueller and Senoh with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

UNKNOWN Andrew Landry reaches the top of US Open leaderboard. AP

Provincial teams fight for survival

role with a 72 in the second round, failed to sustain a par-birdie start and stumbled with three bogeys in the next seven holes before finishing with a 41 and a 79. He ended up with a 229 for second in the event, which also served as a qualifier for the 2016 Asian Pacific Golf Confederation national seniors squad, according to the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Rolly Viray made a 78 for a 231 and nipped Benjie Sumulong, who skied to a 79, in the countback for third, while Rudy Amata turned in a 76 for a 238 and edged Jose Mari Hechanova, who shot a 79, in the countback for fifth place.

A simple but colorful opening ceremony is set at 1 p.m. It features a dance number by the players and an acrobatic cheerdance performance from the Perpetual Help Pep Squad. The league will also introduce its mascot during the ceremony.

Admission is free and tickets will be distributed at the gates starting 10 a.m.

After making the semifinals of the preseason Invitational Conference, F2 Logistics beefed up by acquiring Mika Reyes, Kim Fajardo, Majoy Baron, Kim Dy and the entire De La Salle squad that won

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ROVINCIAL teams Laoag and Iriga seek crucial victories against separate rivals as they try to stay in what has become a wild chase for the last semifinal berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City on Saturday.

Laoag appears to have a lighter assignment in winless Baguio, while Iriga need to hurdle unbeaten leader Pocari Sweat to keep its flickering semifinals hopes alive.

But the Lady Oragons may face a depleted Pocari side, as the power-hitting pair of Michelle Gumabao and Myla

Avena goes wire-to-wire in Mid-Amateur Open BE AVENA closed out with his worst score in three days—a three-over 75—but still posted a runaway 12-stroke romp over Alan Alegre, while Gerald Katigbak edged Richard Salcedo by two in the 2016 Philippine Senior and Mid-Amateur Open Championship at Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa City on Friday.

Avena made just one birdie against two late bogeys and a double bogey but his 37-38 card proved enough to cap the Mount Malarayat shotmaker’s wire-to-wire triumph in the 54-hole championship with a 217 total that included an opening 70 and a 72.

Alegre, who assumed the challenger’s

Saturday, June 18, 2016 A7

Katigbak bucked an opening 40 and a lasthole bogey as he salvaged a 78 for a 232 and nipped Salcedo, who fought back with a 77 for a 234, by two for the Mid-Amateur plum.

Japanese Takuya Kawamura placed third with a 241 after an 84.

Rupert Zaragosa matched Avena’s romp, shooting a one-under 71 and winning the invitational Elite Amateur Open crown with a 215 for an 11-stroke victory over Jolo Magcalayo, who fumbled with a 79 for a 226.

Kristoffer Arevalo placed third with a 227 after a 74, while Jan Philip de Claro and Luigi Guerrero took the next two places at 228 and 229 after a 73 and 77, respectively.

COSON SCHOLARS

Golfers, through the Louis Coson Friendship Cup, are sponsoring four Grade 11 students this year.

The scholars have family members who are caddies, a requirement for them to avail themselves of the scholarship grant. They are Estella Suelto, Caren Carsotcho, Stuart Mark Costa and Ann-Jane Villanueva. Shown with the scholars above are Felicidad Sy (seated, third from left), Eleanor Lansang, FTS Foundation’s Mel Elido and SM Foundation Inc.’s Carmen Linda Atayde and Hans Sy.

the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) crown. The Cargo Movers also drafted Ara Galang as No. 1 in the Annual Rookie Draft, reuniting her with former De La Salle stars Cha Cruz, Paneng Mercado and Aby Maraño.

“We still have to work hard to convert our success in the UAAP into a PSL title,” said F2 Logistics Coach Ramil de Jesus, who also steered Generika and Shopinas to bridesmaid finishes in the past. “We are facing a very tough field. We have to be at our best, game in and game out,

Pablo remains doubtful starters for their 4 p.m. encounter, to be shown live on ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel 23.

Gumabao, who averaged 18 hits in the Lady Warriors’ first three victories, is suffering from an abdominal pain, while Pablo, who normed 14 points, has back spasms. Their stint is a game-time decision, according to Pocari Team Manager Eric Ty. Despite the duo’s absence in their last game against Baguio, Pocari still fashioned out a 25-18, 25-17, 25-15 romp last week, with Rossan Fajardo, elder sister of La Salle star Kim,

because this is already the club level. All of these players have already proven something.”

True enough, it will not be a walk in the park for F2 Logistics in the tournament, also supported by Focus Athletics, KLab Cyscorpions, Islandrose.net, LGR and Petron.

Cignal is expected to pose a serious challenge behind Jeanette Panaga, Djanel Cheng and Janine Navarro—the troika that steered College of Saint Benilde to the National Collegiate Athletic Association title. Lance Agcaoili and Marciar Nepomuceno stepping up with 15 and 12 hits to power the Lady Warriors to the semifinals of the seasonopening conference of the league, sponsored by Shakey’s, with a 4-0 card. With a 1-3 mark, Iriga must sweep its last three games to stay in the hunt for a playoff for the last semifinals berth in the tournament backed by Mikasa and Accel.

Laoag, meanwhile, aims to bounce back from a heartbreaking 26-28, 23-25, 17-25 setback to BaliPure last Monday and remain in semifinal contention as it takes on Baguio, winless in four outings. Lance Agcaoili

Sports BusinessMirror

A8 | S

aturday, June 18, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao Asst. Editor: Joel Orellana

SEE YOU SUNDAY! Cleveland saved its season for the second time in four days and will head back to Oakland’s Oracle Arena for Sunday’s climactic game with a chance to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the National Basketball Association Finals and, more important, give this title-starved city its first major sports championship since December 27, 1964.

By Tom Withers The Associated Press

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LEVELAND—From the edge of elimination to the brink of history.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have pushed the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals to their limit. Game Seven is necessary.

James scored 41 points, delivering another magnificent performance with the season on the line, Kyrie Irving added 23 and the Cavs sent the finals packing for California by beating the rattled Golden State Warriors, 115-101, on Thursday night to even this unpredictable series and force a decisive final game.

Cleveland saved its season for the second time in four days and will head back to Oakland’s Oracle Arena for Sunday’s climactic game with a chance to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and, more important, give

LEBRON JAMES keeps contributing almost every way possible—41 points for the second consecutive game, 11 assists and eight rebounds. AP

STEPHEN CURRY could not get his rhythm and fouls out and is ejected in Game Six. AP

this title-starved city its first major sports championship since December 27, 1964.

“One more game left,” James said. “I’ll play it anywhere.”

James added 11 assists, eight rebounds and again outplayed two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Stephen Curry, who fouled out and was ejected in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors never imagined being in this spot. The defending champions, who powered their way to a record 73 wins in the regular season, won the first two games by 48 combined points. But Curry and his teammates have lost their touch, their poise and are in danger of seeing their historic season—and a second title—vanish.

Curry was ejected with 4:22 left after he was called for his sixth personal foul, cursed several times at an official and fired his mouthpiece into the front row, striking a fan. Curry finished with 30 points, Klay Thompson had 25 and Draymond Green, back from a one-game suspension, had 10 rebounds.

Warriors Coach Steve Kerr felt the officiating was biased against Curry.

“He gets six fouls called on him, three of them were absolutely ridiculous,” Kerr said.

“As the MVP of the league, we’re talking about these touch fouls in the NBA Finals. I’m happy he threw his mouthpiece.”

Curry walked off the floor smiling before making the long walk to the locker room.

“I didn’t think I fouled either Kyrie or LeBron,” said Curry, recounting fouls No. 5 and 6. “It was obviously frustrating fouling out in the fourth quarter of a clinching game and not being out there with my

teammates. So it got the best of me, but I’ll be all right for the next game.”

On Wednesday James called Game Seven, “the two best words ever.”

He’ll live them once more, thanks to a spellbinding effort—the two-time champion had a hand in 27 consecutive points during a stretch in the second half—and put away the Warriors after they trimmed a 24-point deficit to seven in the final period. James scored 14 in the fourth before checking out to a thunderous ovation in the final minutes as Cleveland fans chanted, “Cavs in 7!” and “See you Sunday!”

“It’s LeBron being LeBron,” Cavs Coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s one of the greatest of all-time.

Our back was against the wall and he took it upon himself, him and Kyrie, they put us on their backs. They’ve got us to where we wanted to be and that’s Game Seven.”

In typical Cleveland fashion, there were some heart palpitations in the fourth. The Cavs were up 70-46 in the third, and when JR Smith blindly dropped a lob pass to a trailing James for a dunk, Quicken Loans shook with noise.

The Warriors, though, weren’t done. On the same floor where they won their title exactly one year ago, Thompson made a pair of threepointers as Golden State, playing without injured center Andrew Bogut, used a 25-10 run to pull within 80-71 entering the final 12 minutes.

But James, as he did while winning two titles in Miami, made sure those belonged to him and extended Cleveland’s dream season.

For the Warriors, a golden year is suddenly stained.

“The playoffs haven’t been easy,” Curry said.

“But we’ve given ourselves a chance with Game Seven at home.”