Businessmirror september 04, 2016

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PHL manufacturing sector among best in Asia Pacific during August

By Bianca Cuaresma @BcuaresmaBM

T

HE Philippines emerged as one of the countries in the region with the strongest growth in the manufacturing sector in August, as the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) bucked the regional trend of weak trade and production in recent months.

Data compiled by HSBC showed the Philippines had the highest PMI in Asia Pacific in August, despite the slight dip from the previous month.

The PMI is a composite index, calculated as a weighted average of five indiv idual subcomponents. The components include new orders—which weigh the most at 30 percent of the index; output, which is 25 percent of the index; employment, 20 percent; suppliers’ delivery times, 15 percent; and stocks of purchases, 10 percent.

On Thursday regional business media organization Nikkei announced the first public release of data collected from the new monthly survey of business conditions in the Filipino manufacturing sector.

See “PHL,” A2

TRUST IN THE LORD Dear Lord, happy are we who are giving our time in caregiving. “If you are wondering what God’s plan is in all this, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit in him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5-6). We need strength, warm and cheerful attitude to continue caring for clients under our care. Amen!

Caregivers, Lori Hogan, Shared by Luisa M. Lacson

A broader look at today’s business

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Sunday, September 4, 2016 Vol. 11 No. 330

P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 16 pages | 7 days a week

Davao: 15% hike in tourist arrivals despite bombing

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

Special to the BusinessMirror

A

DAVAO City tourism official on Saturday expressed confidence tourist arrivals will still surge by 15 percent, hours after a bomb exploded and ripped through a midnight market on Roxas Avenue.

As this developed, the Department of Tourism (DOT) assured tourists that Davao City remains a safe place for v isitors and residents alike. Related story on page A3 “The quick and professional response and action of our police, Armed Forces and security groups shows that Davao is well-prepared for contingencies, including isolated attacks, like this bombing incident,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Continued on A2

PAYROLLS IN U.S. COOL IN AUGUST AS JOBLESS RATE HOLDS STEADY

U

.S. payrolls grew at a slower, but solid, pace in August, while measures of labor slack were little changed, signs the job market is cooling as the economy approaches full employment.

Payrolls climbed by 151,000 last month, following a 275,000 gain in July that was larger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed on Friday in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 180,000. The unemployment rate and laborparticipation rate held steady, while wage gains moderated and hours worked were the

lowest since 2014.

The August figure is consistent with a simmering-down of payroll growth so far this year, as the world’s largest economy slogs through a period of weak investment and some companies have difficulty finding workers. Analysts were divided on whether the report gives Federal Reserve (the Fed) officials a green light to raise the benchmark interest rate in September for the first time in 2016, while futures traders slightly pared bets on a move.

“Overall, it still looks like the job market is doing well,” said See “Payrolls,” A2 Sales engineers

Where Older Workers Are Being Hired

Public transportation attendants Farmers

Compared with workers age 30 to 49

Guards and watchmen

Real estate sales

Human resource clerks

Porters

Technical writers

Dressmakers

Bus drivers

Twice as likely to be hired Taxicab drivers

Household cleaners

Janitors

Real estate and property managers Messengers Vocational counselors Management analysts

Funeral directors

Child care

Bookkeepers

WORLD’S BIGGEsT PEARL Currently on display at the Puerto Princesa City Hall is a pearl weighing 34 kilograms. The pearl is 1-foot (30.5 centimeters) wide and 2.2-feet long, estimated to be worth $100 million. If confirmed by governing authorities, the Palawan pearl will easily beat the current holder, “The Pearl of Lao Tzu,” which weighs 6.4 kg. STEPHANIE TUMAMPOS

SCAD eyes 2 Pampanga towns for Clark-Subic industrial hubs

By Joey Pavia

Correspondent

C

IT Y OF SA N FERNANDO—A study by the SubicClark Alliance for Development (SCAD) is proposing the establishment of new industrial estates in two Pampanga towns that will cater to prominent Japanese, Korean

PESO exchange rates n US 46.6270

and Taiwanese investors.

SCAD Chairman Roberto V. Garcia, who recently presented the study to the Pampanga provincial board, led by Vice Gov. Dennis G. Pineda, said, “We need to establish new industrial estates in Porac and Floridablanca towns,” because of the lack of “huge” leasable lands at the Clark Freeport Zone and Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The same study said Subic has 80 hectares left for lease, while Clark has 34 hectares.

Garcia is also chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Porac and nearby Floridablanca are two of Pampanga’s biggest towns in terms of land area and are accessible via the SubicClark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).

See “SCAD,” A2

Nursing aides

Librarians

Barbers Therapists

Bank tellers

Cashiers

Truck drivers

Salespersons

Equally likely

Social workers

Farm workers

Teachers Gardeners Police, detectives Cooks

Half as likely

Insurance adjusters

Statisticians

Welders

Managers

Physicians

Freight handlers Carpenters

Lawyers

Accountants and auditors

Admin. Support

Dentists

Mechanical engineers

Designers

Machine operators

Construction workers

Aerospace engineers

Pharmacists

Sales supervisors and accountants Registered

Electricians

Editors and reporters Electrical engineers

Plumbers Respiratory therapists

Animal caretakers

Psychologists Meter readers Auto mechanics

Pest control

Photographers

Hairdressers and cosmetologists

Library assistants

Software developers Computer scientists Circles are sized according to number of full-time workers ages 55 to 64 hired from 1996 to 2012.

Structural metal workers

Miners

Special education teachers

Factory food workers Waiters and waitresses

Median annual income: $20k

Civil engineers

Nurses

Butchers Teacher’s aides

Architects

Petroleum mining engineers

Human resource managers Financial specialists Industrial engineers

Machinists

Housekeepers Stock clerks Packers Receptionists

Food prep workers

Chief executives

Postal clerks Clergy

Retail clerks

Stenographers

Biological scientists Dental hygienist

$40k

$60k

Source: Rutledge, Sass and Ramos-Mercado, “How Job Options Narrow for Older Workers by Socioeconomic Status”

n japan 0.4517 n UK 61.8694 n HK 6.0104 n CHINA 6.9822 n singapore 34.3047 n australia 35.2080 n EU 52.2222 n SAUDI arabia 12.4375

$80k

$100k THE NEW YORK TIMES

Source: BSP (2 September 2016 )

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A2 Sunday, September 4, 2016

PHL. . .

Continued from A1

The maiden release of results showed the headline seasonally adjusted PMI registered 55.3 in August.

Readings above 50 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50 show deterioration.

The above-50 PMI recorded in August was attributed to strong expansions in new orders and output. However, the headline seasonally adjusted PMI in August was down from the 56.3 seen in July. “ The Philippines is on a roll: Although the headline manufacturing PMI eased in August, it remains comfortably in expansion territory,” HSBC said, adding that the strong PMI of the Philippines, along with Indonesia’s better reading, helped push the aggregate PMI of the region back above the expansion territory.

In particular, data compiled by the international bank showed the Philippines is among the five economies monitored by HSBC that has a PMI above 50.

China’s PMI is at 50.4, while India’s was at 52.6 and Indonesia at 50.4.

Taiwan’s was at 51.8 and Vietnam’s was at 52.2. These were all lower, compared to the strong 55.3 PMI of the country seen in August.

Contrasting this expansion were countries registering a below 50 PMI—including Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. The aggregate PMI for the Asean is at 50.3.

Payrolls. . .

Continued from A1

Michael Feroli, chief US economist at JPMorgan Securities Llc. in New York, who projected a 150,000 gain

Endangered ‘pawikan’ abandon nesting havens in Catanduanes

By Manly M. Ugalde | Correspondent

Old fishermen recounted that for years now, they have not seen a single pawikan laying eggs along the coast of four uninhabited beaches, known as Minaabat, Losadan, Kiagaw and Binokon. They suspected that the pawikan have abandoned their usual nesting place because of the rampant poaching of their eggs by unscrupulous local fishers.

The four beaches at Barangay Tinago used to be the nesting sites of marine turtles for centuries. The same phenomenon

was also observed in the five other neighboring coastal Barangays of Tambongon, Batohonan, Buenavista, Soboc and Botinagan, said Tinago village fisherman Romeo Torcuator, 74.

The Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines reported that only 1 percent of marine-turtle eggs laid survives, that is why every egg is important. The group added that every egg lost is a great loss to the turtle population.

Far mer-f isher man Er nesto Turreda, 66, also of Barangay

Tinago said at age 7, he was already joining his older brother in fishing.

He said then, he often saw pawikan in the four Tinago beaches going to the beaches to lay eggs. His brother Casiano used to tell him to be quiet and allow the pawikans to lay their eggs.

Turreda said during those days when catching pawikan were not yet outlawed, fishermen simply allowed the turtles to lay their eggs and let them hatch. Some, however, used to dig the eggs either to sell or eat.

Retired fisherman Gorgonio Tid, 72, also of Barangay Tinago, said he was 14 when he saw a fellow fisherman shot a turtle in the neck with his spear gun.

He was amazed to see the turtle shed tears. The memory stayed with him all his life that, he said, he could not bring himself to harm any turtle. The Tinago village fishermen are of the consensus that the government should undertake an aggressive information campaign for the preservation of the pawikan as an endangered specie and that corresponding punishment be meted out for violators.

in payrolls. Even so, “this probably takes a little bit away from the case for a September move,” with the shorter workweek “a bit of a concern,” said Feroli, who projects the Fed will raise rates in December.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

economists said they see a 55-percent probability of a rate hike this month, and Janus Capital’s Bill Gross also said the Fed is likely to move in September.

The 89 estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of

92,000 to 255,000 after a previously reported 255,000 July increase. Revisions subtracted a net 1,000 jobs from overall payrolls in the previous two months, as June’s increase was cut to 271,000 from 292,000. Bloomberg News

V

IGA, Catanduanes­­—The endangered marine turtles, locally known as pawikan, have abandoned several nesting havens along the beaches of six coastal barangays here, experts believe, because of wrongdoings by their human neighbors.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SCAD. . .

Continued from A1

Both towns are between Clark and Subic. Garcia said, “we are taking advantage of the interests of the three Asean countries” to relocate to Clark and Subic via the proposed industrial hubs in Pampanga. The proposed hubs will be “exclusive ecozone per country,” the study cited. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are looking for industrial hubs with 100 hectares of land each, Garcia said.

Most of the foreign investors want to leave China and transfer their manufacturing plants to the Philippines, he added.

“We are here in Pampanga to inform the top officials of the province and the board members and coordinate with them,” Garcia said.

The vice governor, whose hometown of Lubao, shares its border with Floridablanca, said “Pampanga should be ready for more investors, especially those who will bring in multibillion-peso investments and provide more employment for local residents.”

Third District Board Member Rosve Henson, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said “the SCAD’s presentation is most welcome, but we have to make sure that what’s due for Pampanga government and its people will be given in accordance to our laws, should this plan be approved.”

He said “the proposal of SCAD will be carefully studied by the Provincial Board and Pampanga Gov. Lilia G. Pineda and local officials of the concerned towns.”

Pineda and Gloria MacapagalArroyo of the Second District of

Pampanga, whose jurisdiction includes Porac and Floridablanca, are pushing for a master development plan for Pampanga. They want to tap urban planner and architect Felino Palafox. Arroyo recently visited Barangay Pulung Santol, Porac, headed by Rey Gamboa. She was working on the improvement of the roads and other infrastructure in the first-class town headed

by Mayor Condralito de la Cruz.

Board Member Fritzie DavidDizon and her brother, Porac Vice Mayor Dexter Albert David, said “this plan to bring in more foreign investments in our hometown will be beneficial to present and future generations.”

David said he, de la Cruz and the members of the town council are aggressively educating students through the Don Honorio Ventura Technical State University-Porac and the Porac Manpower Training Center.

Rene Romero of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce (PanCham) and Industry, who is reportedly incoming board of director of the Clark Development Corp., said it has been their call to establish the corridor linking Clark and Subic, including areas of Porac and Floridablanca. Garcia is reportedly set to present the study to the PamCham late this week.

“But I hope President Duterte will empower the SCAD more to effectively implement its mission to spur growth in the areas,” he said.

Garcia said the presentationstudy was made in the wake of the new investments of about P100 billion at the SMBA in just the first seven months of 2016. It recorded one of the biggest half-year investment turnouts for this free port since its establishment in 1992.

Davao: 15% hike in tourist arrivals despite bombing Continued from A1

Corazon T. Teo said in a news statement. On Friday Davao tourism executives held a news briefing to promote its summer activities in 2017, under the campaign dubbed “Visit Davao Fun Sale” (VDFS).

The campaign “aims to intensify the drive to make Davao a top destination next summer. Next year, Davao Oriental will be joining Davao City, Samal Island in Davao del Norte and Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, in offering new thrills in travel and tour adventures, extreme sports, culture and lifestyle events, and its season-long discounts from different sectors,” said Gene Rose Tecson, Davao City tourism officer.

Asked if the bombing would affect the tourism industry in Davao, Tecson told the BusinessMirror on Saturday, “In a way, we will be affected, but we’re hoping we will still hit our target of a 15-percent increase in visitors this year. The total numbers from the Kadayawan Festival haven’t come in yet.” Last year arrivals in Davao reached 1.73 million, of which 1.58 million were domestic travelers, while some 128,620 were foreign tourists. A 15-percent increase this year would mean almost 2 million visitors.

She said in 2015, 128,000 visited Davao for the Kadayawan Festival, and as of Friday, the count was already up to 115,000 for the festival visitors in August, “and that’s just 75 percent of the count, which is still being completed.”

Fun sale MAY ARANDA, secretary to the VDFS Executive Committee, added that in the two months of the “fun sale”—April and May 2016—visitors to Davao hit 175,000, up 9.4 percent from the same period in 2015.

Tecson said, “The Davao tourism industry will be working double time to promote the city and increase visitors to the city and the nearby regions. We will not be cowed into fear by these terrorists. That’s the message also of our

Mayor Sara Duterte. We will overcome this.” She expressed optimism that in 2017, visitor arrivals in Davao will even jump by 20 percent, hitting 2.4 million.

The VDFS campaign will be headlined by the Visit Davao Fun Art Sale from April 19 to May 31, along with other major events, like the Dive Fest on April 21 to May 31; Mindanao Dive Expo on April 21 to April 23; DurianMan Triathlon on April 23 in Davao City and Samal Island; Mount Apo Boulder Face Sky Vertical Race on April 29 and 30 in Davao del Sur; Samal Marathon on May 7 in Davao del Norte; Summerfun in Mati, Davao Oriental in April and May; Heritage Festival in Davao Oriental in May; Visit Samal in May, which will include the Bigiw Regatta, Mardi Gras and Sand Sculpting Competitions; Ethnica, a Music Fusion on May 27 in Davao City; and Davao summer parties from April to May in Davao City.

The tourism executives have promised huge discounts on sightseeing tours in Davao City, to the Philippine Eagle Center and Eden Nature Park. Teo expressed sympathy to those whose friends and relatives were taken from them by the bombing, as well as those who have been injured. However, she is confident President Duterte and the nation’s security forces are more than capable of bringing the perpetrators to justice, managing the aftermath and in preventing any more attacks in any part of the country.

“The President is making inroads in his campaign against lawlessness and terrorism and we are united with him in his pursuit of peace in Mindanao and throughout the country,” Teo added. “We need to show that such acts have no place in our society and should not deter us from doing our normal activities.”

DOTr tightens security at Naia, LRT facilities FOLLOWING Friday’s bombing in Davao City, the country’s premier airport and Metro Manila’s over-

head railway systems were placed on full alert as a measure to ensure safety in major transport hubs in the Philippines. Related story on page A3 In a media advisory, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said security in major transport hubs— including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3— were increased immensely to avert any threat of terrorism in the capital.

Davao was bombed on Friday night, claiming the lives of 14 and leaving more than 60 people injured.

Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) General Manager Ed Monreal said: “This is not to alarm the public. We have raised our alert status as a proactive measure to ensure safety and security of airport users.” He said the agency has directed baggage screeners to remain vigilant and discerning and to conduct thorough inspection only when the need calls for it.

“We do not want to cause inconvenience in the process by creating long lines at the baggage-screening checkpoints,” Monreal said.

He said that, as a matter of procedure during full-alert status, his group has “full complement in our airport police department” and cancelled days-off and leaves of absence.

Monreal further advised airport users not to be alarmed with increased police visibility within the terminal buildings and outer vicinities of the Naia.

“Our K9 units will also be a common sight in the complex under this situation,” the airport chief added.

Security at checkpoints shall conduct random rigid inspections on motor vehicles. The public is advised to oblige for their own protection. Issuance of access for the purpose of meeting or sending off passengers has also been limited.

“Depending on intelligence reports, we may completely suspend issuance of visitor passes for everyone’s safety,” Monreal said.

With Lorenz S. Marasigan

NewsSunday

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

BusinessMirror

Sunday, September 4, 2016 A3

Duterte declares ‘state of lawlessness’

P

By David Cagahastian

@davecaga

RESIDENT Duterte early Saturday morning declared a “state of lawlessness” throughout the country, following an explosion in Davao City that left at least 14 dead and 67 injured.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said the declaration of a state of lawlessness allows the President to call out the Armed Forces to suppress lawless violence.

Panelo said the declaration and the resulting use of the military in enforcing the laws are among the powers conferred on the President by the Constitution.

“First, it’s not martial law. Second, it’s not a suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. The reason behind the declaration is that there are many events in our country for which the President may make the declaration. One is the drug menace, which covers the entire country. Second, there are crimes happening throughout the country—both private crimes and public crimes,” Panelo said in an interview with government radio station Radyo ng Bayan.

However, Panelo hinted that the violent activities of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Mindanao could be classified as an actual “rebellion” for which the President may declare martial law.

“No. 3, there is terrorism and that is what they’re doing now in Davao. And No. 4, there’s rebellion and the activities of the Abu Sayyaf,” Panelo said.

Panelo allayed fears that the declaration of the state of lawlessness, which was last used by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she called out the military to suppress lawless violence, would lead to human-rights abuses. He said it would at most lead only to “inconveniences.”

“There would just be inconvenience, like, for instance, if there were no checkpoints in the past, now there would be checkpoints. Of course, you would have to submit to that and that would be an inconvenience to you,” Panelo said.

Palace seeks cooperation

PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella called on the citizenry to cooperate with the authorities to quickly resolve the threats of violence.

“The declaration is limited such that he can only call out the Armed Forces to suppress the lawless vio-

lence. It is a different case from the existence of invasion or rebellion.

Only if there is invasion or rebellion, and when public safety requires it, can he suspend the writ of habeas corpus or declare martial law,” Abella said in a statement.

“In the spirit of unity and love of country, let us remain alert to the activities of those who wish to create chaos and prayerfully agree for peace to reign in the land. It takes a courageous and united people who complain less and do more to build the nation we dream of and deserve,” Abella added.

Meanwhile, Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said the working visit of Duterte to Brunei Darussalam, which would have started on Saturday night, was postponed to allow the government to address the threats of violence.

Duterte’s visit to Lao PDR for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Leaders’ Summit and his working visit to Indonesia this whole week, however, will push through.

The blast happened a few hours after the Philippine Airlines inaugurated its renovated office at a building facing Roxas Avenue, where the explosion happened.

PAL said the Ateneo ticketing office would be the company’s first show-window of the rebranded company. Duterte said the country should expect the presence of more soldiers and police, but he said they would be under the objective to identify the assailants.”

He brushed aside fears that this might be a precursor to martial law

that was being floated around due to his strong policies against crime.

Not martial law

“THIS is not martial law, but there will be security searches. You stop at the checkpoints and if you see soldiers flashing their flashlights, turn off your headlights, turn on the lights inside, because I am authorizing them to conduct searches,” Duterte said.

“Include the drugs. There is a crisis in this country, in drugs, crime, there is lawless violence,” he added.

Duterte assured that “any punitive or other actions to be taken by the security forces is in furtherance to stop violence, he said. The declaration takes effect as of 5 a.m. on Saturday. He said the city would also be in a lockdown to trap the suspects.

T he police have conducted checkpoints in the 12 stations across the city, as they recall all personnel to duty.

Duterte has pinpointed at the Abu Sayyaf Group as the most likely perpetrators, but he said he would expand the suspicion to all groups, including those engaged in the illegal-drugs trade.

A national television station carried a broadcast early Saturday citing an Abu Sayyaf statement claiming responsibility for the Davao bombing.

“We are trying to link the pieces together,” he said, but said violent incidents in the cities, and especially in Central Mindanao are blamed “always on the Abu Sayyaf.”

Senators on Saturday condemned the previous night’s bomb attack in

Davao City, where 14 people were killed and 67 others were wounded, urging Filipinos to rally behind the country’s leaders.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the dastardly and cowardly attack last night against the peace-loving people of Davao City,” Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said in a statement.

He said there is “no excuse” to hurt and kill civilians who were simply enjoying a night out. The attack happened at the Roxas night market near Ateneo de Davao University.

“My prayers are with the victims of the terrorist attack and their families,” he added, vowing that the Senate will be supportive in achieving justice.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan II called for the cooperation of all sectors, coordination of the police and military with local governments, and political unity among officials, while having eternal vigilance.

“Let us all pray for our safety and everyone should rally under our flag and behind our national and local leaders,” Honasan said.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, meanwhile, reprimanded netizens who mocked Duterte for repeatedly standing by his claim that Davao is a safe city.

“The irony is that we Filipinos are known for our warmth and hospitality, but politics brings out the worst and insensitivity of some,” Ejercito said.

“This is not the time to mock the President, but rather, during tragedies like this, we should rally behind him. Friends, a tragedy happened in

Davao. We should be united in situations like this,” he added Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said that, alongside investigaing the cause of the attacks, victims and their families should be extended the necessary aid.

“This act of terrorism is unacceptable. We must bring to justice those responsible for the killing of innocent people and ensure that similar barbaric acts will not happen in the future,” Aquino said.

The Metro Manila police command implemented a “full-alert status” in Metro Manila, following the bombing in Davao City on Friday night. With the full-alert status, the checkpoints in the entire National Capital Region will be more stringent.

Policemen deployed will be augmented to secure malls, seaports, airports and bus stations.

The Department of National Defense (DND) has ordered the Armed Forces to place all its commands on high alert on Saturday.

“I have directed all commands of the Armed Forces to be on high alert, especially in urban centers, for possible other terroristic act attempts by this group. The Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City has been directed to assist the National Police in maintaining peace and order in Davao City and in the apprehension of the perpetrators. They will also aid in gathering intelligence information and in conducting investigations to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incident,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. With Manuel Cayon and Philippines News Agency

SundayV

Busine

A4 Sunday, September 4, 2016 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

A sign the oil bust might be ending. Might.

I

By Justin Fox | Bloomberg View

REALLY wouldn’t make too much of this. The number is preliminary. It will be revised. It might just be statistical noise. Still, it does seem worth mentioning: According to Friday’s jobs report, employment in oil-and-gas extraction in the US rose in August after 12 straight months of decline (and 19 out of the last 21).

In case you were wondering, there isn’t much of a seasonal adjustment for oil-and-gas employment, and the unadjusted number rose in August, too. It actually stopped falling in May. It’s important to note (yes, this column is full of caveats!) that since the early 2000s, employment in the oil-and-gas business has shifted away from the companies that extract oil and gas to companies that provide services to the extractors. Employment in this sector—support activities for oil and gas operations—is reported with a one-month lag, so we don’t know yet if it has stopped falling. It probably hasn’t: The broader category of support activities for mining, which is about three-quarters oil and gas, lost 5,200 jobs in August. That was one of its smallest monthly losses of the year, though. And maybe the employment uptick in oil-and-gas extraction is a sign of better things to come. Or maybe not. Remember, one shouldn’t make too much of one month of data.

Sixteen years and eight months of data are more likely to be informative. So here’s a longer view of oil-and-gas employment: The rise of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling drove a big boom in oil-and-gas production (and employment) in North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and parts of a few other states. The collapse in oil prices that began in mid-2014 put an end to that, and by late last year concerns were rising that the oil bust might drag the rest of the economy down with it. In terms of sheer job numbers, or contribution to GDP, it was hard to see how that could happen—especially because lower oil prices are great news for the rest of the economy. There were also fears of debt defaults by smaller drillers bringing a financial crunch, which hasn’t really happened, although now the big oil-and-gas companies are building up alarmingly large debt loads. If the price of crude falls below $20 a barrel, as A. Gary Shilling predicted here at Bloomberg View in June, that could bring lots more trouble for the oil business.

Still, since this spring, the price of West Texas Intermediate has been oscillating between $40 and $50. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of stability is returning to the oil patch.

Politics of hatred and vengeance T

HE late President Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco-Aquino had used the term “reconciliation” so much, people began to believe in its possibility. But the reconciliation she had in mind did not quite fit its dictionary meaning. It was peculiar in that it would be pursued strictly on her terms.

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The late nationalist historian Renato Constantino, whose house was raided by the government for his dissenting opinions, noted: “From the Aquino point of view, reconciliation with Mr. [Ferdinand E.] Marcos and his associates is not on the agenda.

Their extinction as the residual Marcos forces is a necessary condition for future reconciliation possibly on a case-to-case basis…”

To Marcos himself, Cory kept the door to reconciliation not only shut, but all boarded up. Her greatest cruelties were invoked in the name of national security.

She prevented him from coming home, dead or alive, by pressuring Washington to restrict his freedom of movement in America. President Marcos never did that to Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. while the Aquinos were in the United States.

Marcos was, thus, unable to personally pay his last respects when his sister Elizabeth died in December 1986, followed by his mother Doña Josefa Edralin in May 1988.

He was prevented from defending his honor in Philippine courts. Even when Marcos himself died on September 28, 1989, Cory continued to block his homecoming for burial in his native land. A widow’s wrath can, indeed, be wretched.

It would not be until September 1993, during the Fidel V. Ramos presidency, when the mortal remains of President Marcos would be flown home to the Philippines.

The Cory ban for Marcos to travel was justified on political rather than legal grounds: “In late 1989 Marcos and his family requested the Supreme Court to review the government’s decision banning Marcos, who was old and sick, from returning from exile in Hawaii to die in the Philippines. The petition invoked his right to travel according to Article 4, Sections 1 and 6 of the Philippine Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The book A Country ImperiledTragic Lessons of a Distorted History, written by this writer and published by Amazon, one of the world’s largest publishing houses, said: “A majority of the Supreme Court rejected this petition on the basis of the political hazards inherent in the return of the Marcoses.

Two important arguments raised by the dissenting minority concerned the conviction that the legal basis for the denial was too flimsy, and the opinion that the government had not convincingly demonstrated was that the return of Marcos would seriously destabilize the country.

“Nevertheless, the decision of the Aquino administration was not based on any law that specified the condition under which national security and public safety could be validly invoked in impairing the right to travel…”

Considerations of the survival of the post-Edsa political order, therefore, prevailed over Marcos’s individual freedom of travel and abode.

The Supreme Court’s 1989 ruling in this case, Marcos v. Manglapus (117 SCRA 668), underscored

one aspect of the Cory regime: The incompatibility between human rights and the regime’s survival.

The decision to uphold the “executive ban” on travel split the Supreme Court down the middle, 8-7.

Supreme Court Justice Vicente V. Mendoza commented on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Marcos v.

Manglapus: “On the whole, the Court was agreed that on the grounds of national security or public safety, the return of even a citizen can be prevented by the state. The justices differed on the question whether such grounds were present in this case. The majority, employing deferential review, found sufficient and factual basis for the president’s decision to bar the petitioners’ return.

On the other hand, the dissenters, insisting on strict scrutiny, found no ‘hard evidence’ supporting the president’s determination. Ultimately, the difference between the majority and the minority of the Justices concerned the appropriate standard of review.”

The majority justified its less demanding standard…adopted from the ruling in Lansang v. Garcia (42 SCRA 448, 480 [1971])…. The fact is that the Court performed a review on two levels in Lansang v. Garcia: On the level of policy, using deferential standard, and on the level of actual application, using strict scrutiny.

Meanwhile, what was involved in Marcos v. Manglapus was not the review of a policy, but of executive action against particular individuals.

Justice Mendoza questioned, in effect, the applicability of the ruling in the Lansang case to the Marcoses.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com

Competition works best to control drug prices

By Megan McArdle Bloomberg View

I

F you haven’t heard about EpiPen’s unconscionable price increases, you have probably been in an ashram.

The price of these life-saving medical devices, which are used to quell potentially fatal allergic reactions, has quintupled over the last few years.

The price increases have not come, because the devices have gotten more expensive to make. Adrenaline, the main component of the EpiPen, is cheap, and the devices, while tricky to make, have been produced for quite a long time and do not involve some ultrarare mineral or space-shuttle-quality precision engineering. They have not come because Mylan, the manufacturer, suddenly

needs to get back all the money it spent on research and development. No, the company has increased the prices simply because it can.

The public outrage is high and growing, and Hillary Clinton has quickly moved to capitalize on it. On Friday she released a plan to try to stop the prices of this and other generic drugs from suddenly rising to nosebleed levels. A federal panel would be established to examine price increases in the prescription drug and device market, and could take steps to combat them if they found the increases to be unjustified.

The panel would have the power to authorize the reimportation of similar medicines from other countries, or could purchase alternative treatments (which would create a market for

generics to compete the price down).

Is it a good plan? To know, we first need to understand why these increases are happening in the first place. No, don’t tell me “greed.” Companies are indeed greedy, but they are always greedy— it’s a constant, like the speed of light.

You don’t see prices suddenly popping up because of a constant. You see prices suddenly popping up because something has changed.

And what might that something be?

One thing that changed is that nine years ago, Mylan bought the rights to make the device. And Mylan decided to raise prices.

But that’s not quite enough of an answer. Companies often decide they’d like to raise prices. And yet, we rarely see markets where prices shoot up by

a factor of five when there’s been little change in the underlying costs.

However, those markets have something that the market for EpiPens lacks: competition. People trying to produce a generic version of the EpiPen are held back by the difficulties of getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

There is an alternative device, the Adrenaclick. It may be harder to use than the EpiPen, but with EpiPens selling at $600 a pop, you’d figure patients would be willing to go through some learning curve in order to save a lot of money. Unfortunately, here it interacts with two other features of the American health-care system: The need to get a prescription, and the need to get insurance to pay for it.

Voices

essMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph • Sunday, September 4, 2016 A5

Elections still best A

NDREW Anthony writes in the Guardian that it is time to save democracy from itself. We have to stop holding elections.

Free Fire

By Teddy Locsin Jr.

Whaaat?

He proposes to substitute elections with “sortitions.” That is to say the Athenian selection instead of the election of experts to tackle specific problems of state. Athenians believed this was smarter than turning over the entire state to democratically elected amateurs.

It has to be case-to-case government by who happens to be an expert in that case.

Sure, but when the experts failed, the Athenians killed them.

Here, the experts working in the central bank, after selling us downriver to the World Bank/International Monetary Fund and the New York banks in the 1970s and 1980s, were rewarded with jobs in Washington, D.C.

Take Donald Trump, argues Anthony, a candidate of unproven intelligence, demonstrable racism and uncertain solvency. A democratically conducted primary made him one of just two people who can end up the next United States president.

Arab spring in Egypt elected an Islamic fundamentalist. The army stepped in before Islamic State of Iraq and Syria took over. The failed attempt to establish a pro-western democracy in Syria (ISIS) gave rise to a caliphate instead, straddling Syria and Iraq. Giving democracy to Libya gave the country to ISIS. It is only now being recovered.

Create a democratic space and who steps in to fill it? Enemies of democracy, like the far right in the US. The British people, after watch-

The British people, after watching aghast the poor people of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain having to slave to pay back profligate German loans to the German banks that recklessly extended them, “foolishly” voted to Brexit, Anthony said. ing aghast the poor people of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain having to slave to pay back profligate German loans to the German banks that recklessly extended them, “foolishly” voted to Brexit, Anthony said.

He is wrong.

Britain must retain the power to manipulate its own currency and

The reemergence of emerging markets E

By Nir Kaissar | Bloomberg View

MERGING markets are back.

While the United States has grabbed the headlines this year with every new record high for the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500, emerging-market stocks have quietly done even better. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is up 14.8 percent this year through August, including dividends, while the S&P 500 is up 7.8 percent over the same period.

That’s a sharp reversal from recent years. The S&P 500 returned 6.5 percent annually from 2008 to 2015, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returned a negative 2.8 percent a year.

That eight-year period of US dominance opened a monster gap between the valuations in the US and those in emerging markets—a gap so wide that the emerging markets’ recent gains have barely budged it.

The S&P 500 now trades at a price-

to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24 (using 10-year trailing average earnings), while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index trades at a P/E ratio of 12.3.

There are signs that investors are worried about US valuations.

As I noted in a column on Wednesday, the five US sectors that have historically been the most stable— so-called defensive sectors, such as consumer staples and utilities—are meaningfully more expensive today than the five most volatile sectors, such as financials and technology.

Translation: Investors fear a washout in US stocks and are moving to higher ground.

That raises the question: Where are investors placing their sector bets in emerging markets?

Granted, sector risk doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing in emerging markets as it does in the US. Telecom, for example, has

historically been a safe harbor in emerging markets, whereas in the US it has been among the more volatile sectors. But by ranking the US and emerging-market sectors according to their respective historical standard deviations (a commonly used measure of volatility)— as the following table shows—you can compare investors’ appetite for risk in emerging markets with that in the US. At first glance, investors appear to be just as anxious about emerging markets as they are about the US. The average P/E ratio for the five most stable emerging-market sectors is 18.6, whereas the average P/E ratio for the five most volatile sectors is 12.7.

Dig deeper, however, and there’s a critical difference between the two camps: Emerging-market investors have gradually sought

more risk in recent years, whereas investors in US stocks have become increasingly cautious.

To fully appreciate that evolution, you have to travel back in time a few years. Emerging markets were king just before the financial crisis.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rode a wave of popularity to a lofty P/E ratio of 34 when 2008 began.

By comparison, the S&P 500’s P/E ratio of 24 seemed downright quaint at the time.

But not everyone was comfortable with the attention heaped on emerging markets in those days, because investors were paying a huge premium for defensive emergingmarket sectors. The average P/E ratio for the five most stable emerging-market sectors was 22.4 by the end of 2008, whereas the average P/E ratio for the five most volatile sectors was just 11.9.

spare itself the fate of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, a.k.a. the PIGS. Brexit is ignorantly condemned as a misuse of democracy. And yet, Italy may follow Britain with Quitaly. Italy needs to get back to its own currency to devalue or revalue, to avoid deflation or reduce inflation, as Italian need arises and not as Germany wants.

The European crisis was created by substituting wayward democratic decision-making by individual countries with unswervingly selfserving supranational rule by expert Germany hiding behind the façade of Brussels.

Democratically elected government is the worst form of government, except for anything run by experts.

As emerging-market valuations have gradually come back to earth, that spread in P/E ratios between the most stable and the most volatile sectors has gradually diminished.

Investors, in other words, are increasingly seeking riskier assets in emerging markets.

It’s been just the opposite in the US. There was hardly any difference in the average P/E ratios between the most stable and the most volatile US sectors when 2008 began. But as the US increasingly became the world’s go-to stock market in recent years, that spread has swelled. Today, the average P/E ratio for the five most stable US sectors is 25, compared with 21 for the most volatile ones.

Investors appear to be making a shrewd bet that it’s time for emerging markets to shine again. And if they’re right, the recent gains in emerging markets could just be the beginning.

Honduras still a death trap for environmental activists

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By Erika Guevara-Rosas | Inter Press Service

ONDON—Chills ran down Tomás Gómez Membreño’s spine when he first heard about the brutal murder of his renowned friend and ally, the Honduran Indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, six months ago this week.

A fellow environmental activist and second in command at the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), Tomás feared he would be next.

Berta’s work was widely and globally acclaimed and had earned her international awards—if someone could violate the sanctuary of her home and shoot her dead, it was too frightening to contemplate what could happen to any of the country’s lesser-known humanrights defenders.

Tomás also knew the hopes to have a proper investigation and to ensure the crimes against humanrights defenders would not be repeated again were slim, in a country where authorities rarely condone attacks on activists.

Without land to grow food or clean water to drink, entire communities will simply be erased without a trace.

Tragically, he has a point.

Six months after two armed men walked into Berta’s home one evening and murdered her in cold blood, Honduras has become a no-go zone for anybody daring to protect natural resources, such as land and water, from powerful economic interests.

The numbers say it all.

According to a recent survey

by Global Witness, Honduras and neighboring Guatemala have the two highest rates of murders of environmental activists per capita.

An astounding 65 percent (122 out of 185) of the murders of

Indigenous women during the March for the Water in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala, in April. Amnesty International/Anaïs Taracena.

human-rights defenders working on issues related to land, territory or the environment registered across the world in 2015 were from Latin America. Eight took place in Honduras and 10 in Guatemala alone.

Berta’s killing marked a turning point for what was already a scandalous situation. But her tragic end was hardly surprising; it was a tragedy waiting to happen.

Months before her murder, she had reported a number of serious threats related to her outspoken opposition of the construction of the Agua Zarca dam in the community of Río Blanco, in northwestern Honduras.

The local Lenca Indigenous community complained they were not properly consulted over a plan that would threaten the flow of the Gualcarque River, which is sacred to them and provides them with food and drinking water. Copinh said that if built, it would force the community to relocate, as life in the area would become virtually impossible.

But in resource-rich Honduras and Guatemala, it can be a deadly business to dare to defend natural resources that are highly valued in global commodity markets.

Both Central American countries have become ever-more attractive to powerful extractive

industries, partly due to increasingly lax laws governing what companies can and cannot do. Meanwhile, local communities are continuously squeezed out of the lands on which their survival depends.

The toxic cocktail of threats, bogus charges, smear campaigns, attacks, killings and crumbling judicial systems incapable of delivering justice has made the legitimate business of defending basic human rights a nearly impossible one.

Crimes against activists are rarely properly investigated, which perpetuate further violence. The authorities often blame their country’s weak institutions for the shocking

injustice, but conveniently fail to ignore the fact that the absolute lack of political will to protect and support these activists is often what puts them in mortal danger in the first place.

After a great deal of international pressure, the Honduran government initiated an investigation into Berta’s murder and arrested five individuals—but the process is still marred with question marks over its fairness and impartiality.

Meanwhile, members of Copinh and Berta’s lawyers continue to be threatened and harassed.

Tomás fears for what can happen to those linked to Berta. Other activists are so afraid they do not even dare to speak their names in public or discuss the threats they routinely face for protecting basic human rights.

But they say stopping their work is not an option. They are the last line of defence—no one else will defend their communities and rights.

A country’s natural resources— as well as the people who bravely protect them—are among its most precious assets. This is not just for financial considerations. Without land to grow food or clean water to drink, entire communities will simply be erased without a trace.The solutions to this profound crisis are not simple, but they cannot be ignored.

Investing time and resources in a much-needed overhaul of the Honduran and Guatemalan justice systems to ensure effective investigations into these crimes and putting in place proper protection for those at risk would go a long way to prevent the countries from losing more brave activists like Berta.

There is no time to waste.

Erika Guevara-Rosas is America’s director at Amnesty International.

NewsSunday BusinessMirror

A6 Sunday, September 4, 2016

No firm consensus yet to pass Palace tax package in end-2016 T

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Meralco asks ERC to approve transformer-replacement project

By Lenie Lectura

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By Butch Fernandez

@butchfBM

ONGRESS leaders have yet to firm up a consensus to pass the Palace-endorsed tax-reform package, including proposed reduction in personal income- and corporate-tax rates, before senators and congressmen go on Christmas vacation late this year.

“That is still being debated,” Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III told the BusinessMirror, when asked if senators are likely to support the Duterte administration’s plan to lift existing value-added tax (VAT) exemptions to compensate foregone revenues from lower personal and corporate taxes.

Sotto indicated the Senate is still awaiting word from House leaders

on their schedule for passing the awaited remedial legislation, so senators can adjust their schedule to fast-track approval of the awaited measure providing downward adjustments in income- and corporate-tax rates.

Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Ways and Means Committee chairman, who will endorse the Senate approval of the amending bill, affirmed that senators need

to wait for House approval of the money measure to comply with existing rules.

“We are dependent on the House, since under the Constitution all revenue measures must emanate from the House of Represetatives,” Angara said, when asked if senators can pass the lower income- and coporate-tax bill before they go on Christmas recess.

Under the approved legislative calendar of the First Regular Session of the 17th Congress, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives are to conduct separate plenary sessions from July 25 to October 21 before adjourning for All Saints Day Recess from October 22 to November 6, and resume sessions again from November 7 to December 16, then adjourn for Christmas recess from December 17 to January 15, 2017, and reconvene anew from January 16 until March 17, 2017.

Apart from VAT adjustments, also included in the tax-reform package pending approval in the bi-

cameral Congress are proposals to revisit existing tax incentives with no fixed expiration period, review of the two-decade old oil excise-tax rates, tax on “sugary and fatty foods” and amending the bank-secrecy law, among others.

But A n g a r a h ad t hu mb e d down earlier proposals to increase VAT rates to compensate for projected revenue loss from reducing income-tax rates, saying the move “would only burden ordinary Filipino consumers.”

He pointed out that the VAT is a pass on tax that allows businesses and corporations to claim their input tax and pass on the ultimate tax to consumers.

Department of Finance documents provided to the senators showed that the Duterte administration is also looking to post a revenue gain of P163 billion from VAT expansion, plus P18 billion more from sugar taxes, in addition to an estimated P33 billion more from rationalization of fiscal incentives.

MMDA chief reaches out to stakeholders

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N an effort to improve the delivery of services to 12.8 million Metro Manila residents, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Thomas M. Orbos has started to reach out to stakeholders to find solutions to the problems affecting the metropolis.

Recently, Orbos made a courtesy call on former President Fidel V. Ramos to revisit and learn the best practices of the Ramos administration and discuss projects to attend to basic services affecting the metropolis, such as traffic, garbage, sewerage and flooding.

Orbos expressed his gratitude to Ramos for his continuing service to the country as a senior

statesman and for being a mentor to a province mate—both Ramos and Orbos hail from Pangasinan.

“It was a great opportunity to engage President Ramos in a meeting and I am fortunate to be mentored on the best practices of his administration,” Orbos said.

“It was also very generous on his part to express his support to MMDA and to Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade for MMDA’s new Back-to-Basics program that would bring the authority back to the streets,” Orbos added.

The visit afforded Ramos and Orbos the opportunity to review plans and programs undertaken during the Ramos administration that are still applicable to date for

possible implementation by President Duterte and Tugade.

In the more than one-hour meeting, the former President welcomed Orbos and shared what his administration has done to abate flooding in, as well as decongest Metro Manila.

He, likewise, spoke of proposed projects that never got off the ground or continued by the next three presidents after him.

Among Ramos’s recommendations were the utilization of the port of Batangas to decongest the port of Manila; the construction of the Zapote-C6 bypass landing, which would link Southern and Northern Luzon; revival of the Save the Pasig River, Piso Para sa Pasig

and the Clean and Green Movement; the transfer of the Philippine Navy Headquarters to Sangley Point in Cavite; the full utilization of Subic and Clark airports; and the implementation of the common bus-terminal projects.

Also discussed were the garbage transfer stations that the Ramos administration put in place to address the waste-disposal problem in Metro Manila.

Ramos made a sales pitch for the proposed construction of the People Power Center will be beneficial, as this can help ease the vehicle-parking problem, the former President disclosed. The center is designed to accommodate 2,000 cars at any given time. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

HE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking regulatory approval for a plan to replace a power transformer at its Balintawak substation, which would cost a total of P56.84 million.

In its eight-page application, the utility firm asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to approve its emergency capital-expenditure project for the replacement of the defective Balintawak Transformer Bank 6.

The said transformer tripped on June 20. Based on tests conducted, the power transformer was “no longer safe to be energized and was declared for replacement.”

Meralco said the loads of Balintawak Transformer Bank 6 had to be temporarily transferred to adjacent power transformers. With such setup, Meralco warned of critical loading of said power transformers that could result to prolonged and massive interruption in affected areas.

“In particular, the same will adversely affect the supply of electricity to customers in said areas, which include Universal Steel Smelting Corp., TriNoma North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp., Light Rail Rectifier Substations, Maynilad and Manila Central University Hospital,” Meralco said.

As such, Meralco was constrained to use an available transformer to temporarily replace the defective transformer, pending the acquisition of a new transformer.

“The new power transformer will be subsequently installed, given the limitations of the currently installed transformer. This will ensure the re-

liability and quality of electric service to customers in the affected areas,” Meralco said.

Meanwhile, Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC), a subsidiary of Global Business Power Corp.

(GBPC), recently synchronized its 150-megawatt power-expansion project to the Visayas grid.

PEDC, one of the largest power producers in the Visayas, and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) completed the synchronization of PEDC3 last Friday. The said power facility is connected to the NGCP substation in Santa Barbara, Iloilo City.

“We would like to thank NGCP, PEMC and all parties responsible for the successful synchronization of PEDC3 to the Visayas grid,” GBPC President Rolando Bacani said. “ This marks another step toward the fulfillment of our continuing commitment to provide clean and efficient power to the region and contribute to its continued development.”

PEDC is eyeing commercial operation of the power facility within the third quarter of this year.

PEDC3 will supply power to the Meralco; Iloilo Electric Cooperatives I, II and III; and the Antique Electric Cooperative and Guimaras Electric Cooperative of the Panay-Guimaras Power Supply Consortium.

PEDC’s third plant is a boon to a region that needs more reliable power supply. In a recent forum, Department of Energy science research specialist Noriel Christopher Reyes said the Visayas needs more baseload capacity, or a stable supply of power 24/7.

Metrobank winds up LTNCD offer

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HE Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) on Saturday announced the early close of the offer period of its sevenyear long-term negotiable certificates of time deposit (LTNCDs), owing to oversubscription.

The bank is moving the close of the offer period to Monday, September 5. Despite the early close,

the issue and listing date remain unchanged at September 19.

Investors who may still want to participate in the seven-year LTNCD offer may contact Metrobank at 02-8700-700 or ING Bank at 02-479-8848.

All the necessary documentary requirements must be completed before the close of business on September 5 for the orders to be processed.

Chinese hospital gets new machine for heart ailments

Survey on migrant workers to cost govt ₧10 million

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HE national government will spend P10 million to conduct the 2016 Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA said the survey will cover around 43,000 households that have family members who are currently abroad. “[The survey cost will] cover the expenses necessary for the conduct of the survey, which will be conducted simultaneously with the PSA’s October 2016 Labor Force Survey [LFS],” the PSA said.

T he SOF prov ides data on the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), their remittances (cash and in-kind), modes of remittance, their occupation and place of work abroad.

The 2015 SOF results, released in May 2016, showed that the number of Filipino migrant workers was estimated at 2.4 million as of April to September 2015.

Around 97.1 percent of these OFWs were classified as overseas contract workers (OCWs) or those with existing work contract, while the rest, or 2.9 percent, worked overseas without contract.

Saudi Arabia remained the top destination of OFWs which accounted for 24.7 percent of the total OFWs in 2015.

Among the regions in the Philippines, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) registered the largest share of OFWs with 17.9 percent followed

by Central Luzon with 15.1 percent

@llectura

Red Cross mobility boosted

A new vehicle was added to the fleet of transportation assets of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), as Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) handed over a Mitsubishi Strada to the PRC recently at the Mitsubishi Santa Rosa plant.

MMPC President and CEO Yoshiaki Kato personally handed over the vehicle to Sen. Richard Gordon, PRC chairman. Also present in the turn over ceremony were MMPC Senior Vice President Yasuki Maruyama, other MMPC executives, and PRC Laguna Chapter staff mmbers and members of the board of directors.

“We are grateful to MMPC for this donation and would like to thank President Kato for the unceasing support. This is the fourth time that Mitsubishi has generously supported the Philippine Red Cross and, for that, we are very much thankful for your kindness and generosity to support PRC’s delivery of services and operations in times of calamities,” Gordon said.

Photo shows Kato (sixth from left) with Mitsubishi executives turning over the Mitsubishi Strada to Gordon (fifth from left) and PRC Laguna Chapter board of directors, headed by Chairman Jaime Ching (fifth from right) and Laguna Chapter Administrator Frank Gray Sorromeo (third from right).

and National Capital Region (NCR) with 11 percent.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) reported the smallest percent share of OFWs, with 1.5 percent. A total of P180.3

billion worth of remittances were sent by OFWs during the period April to September 2015.

Majority of OFWs sent their remittances through banks (62.2 percent), while others coursed

through their remittances to agencies or local offices (4 percent), door-to-door delivery (2.4 percent), friends or coworkers (0.1 percent) or through other means (31.4 percent).

HE Cardiovascular Team of the Heart Institute at Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC) successfully implanted the country’s first Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) device in a patient with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF).

The device prevents the entry of left atrial blood clots to the bloodstream, thus, reducing the risk of strokes significantly.

Cardiologist Timothy Dy and his team members—Melissa Co-Sia, Aristides Panlilio and Maria Luisa Jacildo—performed the rocedure at CGHMC Cardiovascular Catheterization and Intervention Unit.

The LAAC implantation procedure was performed under general anesthesia with guidance by 3D echocardiography and fluoroscopy (x-ray). Given the minimally invasive nature of the procedure, the patient recovered quickly and was sent home less than 48 hours after the completion of the procedure.

Atrial fibrillation refers to the irregular beating of the upper chambers of the heart. It is a condition that is commonly encountered and is more likely to be found in the elderly population.

AF has been proven to increase the chance of a blood clot forming inside the appendage, an ear-like out pouching of left upper chamber of the heart. When such clots exist, pieces can break off and travel with the blood flow ending up in different organs. If it ends up in the blood vessels of the brain, it leads to a stroke. The incidence of stroke is five or more times more likely if

DY

the patient suffers from AF. Patients with AF usually need to take anticlotting or anticoagulant drugs to prevent blood clots from forming in the LAA and, thereby, prevent strokes.

However, in the elderly population where falls and injuries are common, anticoagulants can also cause excessive bleeding from trauma. Patients who need surgery or have other bleeding problems, such as stomach ulcers, also cannot take anticoagulants. The LAAC device provides these patients with an alternative mode of treatment.

Sports IMPRESSIVE START BusinessMirror

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

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IÑAN CITY—Foton Pilipinas easily dispatched Pocari Sweat of Hong Kong, 25-20, 25-14, 25-10, to open its campaign on a high note in the 2016 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Asian Women’s Club Championship on Saturday at the Alonte Sports Arena here.

After sizing up their opponents in the opening set, Tornadoes Head Coach Fabio Menta turned to his local crew in the last two frames to give American imports Lindsay Stalzer, who is nursing a lower back injury and Ariel Usher, their needed rest in time for tough matches ahead.

Foton banked on Team Captain Jaja Santiago and guest players Jovelyn Gonzaga and Aby Maraño in neutralizing Hong Kong in their opening game and to improve its chances of making it to the next round.

“Sa una, mahirap pero marami kaming natutunan this game alam namin na marami pang kulang sa team namin pero kanina we played as a team talaga,” said Santiago, who topped all scorers with 12 points on seven spikes, four blocks and an ace. Gonzaga had 11 points all came from attacks, while Maraño chipped in eight hits. Crowd favorite Cherry Rondina, who came off the bench, had timely hits and added seven points to match Stalzer’s first set output. The Tornadoes, who unleashed 46 won attack points against Hong Kong’s 20 spikes, impressed their Italian mentor despite a sluggish first set. “We played poorly through that first set. I’m glad we were able to recover and use our height and blocking advantage in the end,” said Menta, who expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of the tragic bombing incident in Davao City on Friday night. “We’ll play better as the tournament goes.” Foton trailed early in the first set, 4-8, as opening jitters hit the home team but after the first technical timeout, the Tornadoes finally found their groove and took a 12-11 lead.

They pulled away at 21-13 and, although Hong Kong managed to keep within striking distance, Foton made sure to get the first set with timely hits, 25-20.

The Tornadoes’ onslaught continued in the second set when they built a commanding 16-6 lead with Usher as the only import on the floor, joining forces with Santiago, Gonzaga, Maraño, EJ Laure, setter Rhea Dimaculangan and libero Jen Reyes.

Menta fielded an all-Filipina squad after the second technical timeout, sending Rondina in for Usher. Rondina did not disappoint as she helped the Tornadoes snatch the second set for a 2-0 advantage.

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EAGLES, BULLDOGS TRIUMPH, NEAR SPIKERS TURF TITLE CLASH

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TENEO de Manila and National University (NU) clipped their respective Final Four rivals in varying fashions to move closer to a dream title showdown in the Spikers’ Turf Season 2 Collegiate Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Saturday.

The Eagles rebounded from a fourth-set defeat with an imposing show of force in the decider, hacking out a 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 26-28, 15-7 victory over the La Salle to gain the headstart in their best-of-three semifinal series.

Earlier, the Bulldogs proved steadier than University of Santo Tomas (UST) at endgame of three closely fought sets, coming away with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 victory in their side of the Final Four in the in the midseason conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed

by Accel as official outfitter.

Ateneo and NU go for the clinchers on Monday with the Eagles and the Archers facing off again at 10 a.m. and the Bulldogs and the Tigers colliding at 12 noon to be aired live via streaming on www. sports.abs-cbn.com.

The defending champion Eagles lorded it over the Archers in power hits, 72-53, but still needed to go through a wringer to turn back their tough arch rivals, who outlasted the former in an

extended fourth-set thriller to force a fifth set.

But Eagles put up a dominating performance in the decider anchored on Marck Espejo, Paul Koyfman and Rex Intal to carve out the hardearned victory in 1:49.

Arjay Onia fired 17 hits, while Cris Dumago and guest player Rafael del Pilar backed him up with 16 and 10 points, respectively, as top hitter Raymark Woo continued to struggle, finishing with nine hits.

Earlier, Fauzi Ismail and Madzlan Gampong fired 14 hits apiece and the Bulldogs produced six aces while controlling the net with eight blocks to fashion out the 72-minute victory.

UST did come up with six blocks and 35 spikes, just two off the Group A elims topnotchers, and made three aces, but the Tigers just couldn’t unleash the strong finishing kick needed to neutralize the tough Bulldogs.

Andrei Medina dished out a game-high 15-hit effort but no Tiger scored in double figures with skipper Arnold Bautista Jr. finishing with eight points nad Jomaru Amagan adding six markers.

NU’s Kim Dayadante and Tim Tajanlangit of UST canceled each other out with 33 excellent sets each with the Tigers turning in 18 digs, five more than the Bulldogs.

Patrick John Tierro returns a shot to Marc Reyes during their match in the 35th Philippine Columbian Association Open. NONIE REYES

Arcilla, Tierro down foes, meet for Open crown

J FOTON Pilipinas’s Jovelyn Gonzaga (left) hits the ball hard to score against Ching Yau of Hong Kong at the start of the 2016 Asian Women’s Club Championship. ALYSA SALEN The all-Filipina Tornodaes wrecked havoc in the third set and built a 20-5 advantage and never looked back to bag their opening game assignment in Pool A in just 81 minutes.

NEW COACHES TAKE CENTER STAGE

EW coaches take the spotlight on Sunday, as Season 79 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball fires off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

University of the Philippines (UP), now under new mentor Bo Perasol, takes on Adamson University in the opener at 2 p.m., with the latter parading UAAP multititled Coach Franz Pumaren.

In the second game, host University of Santo Tomas (UST), now to be led by Boy Sablan, entangles with Ateneo de Manila at 4 p.m., with the Blue Eagles leaning on Gilas Pilipinas Head Coach Tab Baldwin.

The Fighting Maroons and the Soaring Falcons missed the Final Four last season and and are now pinning their hopes on their established mentors.

“What we have in our minds is how can we make a change. Laging nasa last position ang UP. And for us to do that, we need to overhaul things we usually do,” said Perasol, who coached the Blue Eagles last season and led them to the semis.

The UP roster remains intact with Agustini Amar the only big loss and the Fighting Maroons are hoping that Jett Manuel and Kyles Lao can carry them to the Promised Land.

Perasol knows that Adamson is a different team this season, especially with Pumaren calling the shots and Papi Sarr showing improvement in his game.

“We can match up well with Adamson except Sarr. Our weakest is our frontline,” Perasol added.

Pumaren, who led the Green Archers to five

Sunday, September 4, 2016 A7

UAAP titles, admitted that he had little time to prepare the Soaring Falcons and the players he inherited, except Sarr, hardly played in Season 78.

“I have eight rookies and eight veterans. You can’t even classify them veterans because they did not play major minutes last season except Papi Sarr,” Pumaren said.

“The goal is to compete, erase the idea that we’re just competing and almost winning and we’re happy. I want to make sure that the guys compete from the opening buzzer till the final buzzer,” Pumaren added.

Among the noted recruits of Adamson are former La Salle guard Terrence Mustre, Jerrick Ahanmisi and Rob Manalang.

Meanwhile, the Growling Tigers begin a new era under Sablan, who replaced Bong de la Cruz at the helm. De la Cruz led UST to a runner-up finish in Season 78 but was not renewed by the school.

“We have no idea about Ateneo and same thing with us. Hindi nila kami nakita maglaro,” said Sablan, who lost veteran guard Jamil Sheriff days before the tournament due to eligibility issue.

Louie Vigil and Kent Lao are the key returning veterans for UST, which lost key players Kevin Ferrer, Ed Daquiaog and Karim Abdul, as the trio already graduated.

The Blue Eagles are also beginning a new era minus Kiefer Ravena but his younger brother, Thirdy, is returning to the lineup after missing the team last season. Joel Orellana

No Hong Kong player scored in double figures.

Menta, however, added warned his players that it will be a different battle when they face Thongtin Lienvietpost Bank of Vietnam on Sunday as they try to sweep Pool A and gain some momentum going to the next round.

Also barging in the win column was Taichung

Bank of Chinese Taipei, which beat Malaysia, 25-15, 25-22, 25-21, in the first game of the AVC Club Championship, which has SMM Sport, Nike, Senoh, Asics, Mikasa, Foton, BMW, Rexona, PLDT and Price Waterhouse Cooper as sponsors; Crimson Hotel as official residence; and TV5 and SMMTV of Thailand as television partners. Lance Agcaoili

SALVADOR RULES SPLENDIDO E

LMER Salvador battled back from three down with a birdie-binge in the early going then ran off a slew of gutsy pars at the back to card a 67, outgun an equally charging Jay Bayron and snare the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Splendido Classic crown by one on Saturday in Tagaytay.

Salvador rattled off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch from No. 2 to wrest control in second-tolast flight, as third round leader Jhonnel Ababa and erstwhile pursuer Tony Lascuña cracked midway through the pressure-packed finale and failed to strike back at the backside of the Splendido Taal Golf Club.

After birdying Nos. 10 and 11, both par 5s, to take control, Salvador held sway with clutch putts for pars in the last seven holes, the last a 5-footer that frustrated Bayron to force a sudden death that has marked the last two tournaments of the circuit.

Bayron birdied the final hole ahead of Salvador to cap a scorching 66 in windy day and was hoping for the latter’s final hole miscue that never came.

“My putting clicked today [Saturday].

Except for my missed green bogey on No. 1, I played solid from tee to green,” said Salvador, who pocketed the top P360,000 purse on an 11-under 277 aggregate.

“It’s nice to win again. I thought I’d go winless

this year,” added Salvador, who never figured in the title chase after 13 legs, settling for joint 15th in two of the last three at Aboitiz and Mount Malarayat while finishing tied for sixth at Riviera, which he ruled in emphatic fashion last year.

He went on a slump since until he sizzled with that early birdie-splurge and pounced on Ababa and Lascuña’s fold-ups to get into the winner’s podium again.

Bayron also rallied from third-to-last flight with the day’s best six-under card, spiked by a four-birdie string from No. 10 and a final birdie for second at 278. He took home P250,000.

Lascuña, who led midway through the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. with a 66 but dropped to joint second with a third round 74, regained control with back-to-back opening birdies. The four-leg winner led by two at nine-under overall and looked headed for another romp after another birdie on No. 10.

But he drove out of bounds on the next and ended up with a double-bogey, enabling Salvador to storm ahead at 11-under. Lascuña struck back with a birdie on No. 15 but failed to cash in on his chances in the last three holes and finished with a 70 for solo third at 279. He received P140,000.

Ababa, whose rare double-eagle feat on No. 10 in the third round put him two shots clear of Lascuña and Micah Shin, never recovered from

a two-bogey and double-bogey mishaps after seven holes, although he gunned down three birdies in the next 10 holes to save a 73 for joint fourth with Shin, who carded a second straight 71, at 280.

Rey Pagunsan also closed out with a 71 and ended up sixth at 281, while Aussie Peter Stojanovski turned in a second 71 for seventh at 283 and first-round leader Seok Jun Min of Korea fumbled with a 73 and finished tied for eighth with Michael Bibat, who fired a 70, at 284.

Mhark Fernando fought back with a 69 for a 286 and wound up 10th in the 14th leg of the circuit backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Salvador, who started way below the elite field after an opening 73 but rebounded with 68 and 69 in the next two days, actually fell by four behind Ababa with a bogey on the first hole. But the reticent Davaoeño shot maker made quite a noise when with an amazing iron and putting show that produced six birdies in the next 10 holes.

With Ababa succumbing to pressure early and Lascuña reeling with a double-bogey on No. 11, Salvador surged ahead by two over Bayron, who fired seven birdies against two bogeys in the first 13 holes, with a five-under card and clung to the lead—and the victory—with pars in the last seven.

GOLDEN DOUBLE FOR U.P. IN BALLROOM DANCE MEET

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THE University of Santo Tomas (UST) dancers show their moves during the dancesport competition at the Quadricentennial Pavilion inside the UST campus in España, Manila. ROY DOMINGO

NIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) swept the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) ballroom dancing competition titles at the start of Season 79 on Saturday at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.

The Fighting Maroons tallied 92.48 points in the Latin American category to beat UST (91.66) and University of the East (84.42).

UP made it a double victory, as it topped the standard ballroom category with 94.3 points, besting UST (92.1) and De La Salle (87) in the process.

Ballroom dancing was introduced as a demonstration event this year, like the highlypopular cheerdance and streetdance contests.

The season later opened with an Olympic-style ceremonies and a showcase of Thomasian traditions.

In the parade, the school presidents, as well as the league’s student-athletes, entered through the historic Arch of the Centuries en route to the UST Plaza Mayor, while they relish a vibrant light show that displays school colors.

The UST Symphony Orchestra performed the UAAP hymn and the Season 79 theme

song “Dare to Dream”. Also taking part were the school’s Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble, Coro Tomasino and the multititled UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe.

UST Rector Rev. Fr. Herminio Dagohoy OP officially declared the new UAAP season open, which followed by a grand pyromusical show.

Veering away from the traditional palabas, this was the second time that the league’s opening rites is separate to the season opener of men’s basketball since 2011, when Ateneo held the ceremonies at the Marikina Sports Park.

OHN Arcilla and Patrick John Tierro set up their third finals clash in three weeks after disposing off their respective rivals in the semifinals of 35th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open Cebuana Lhuillier ATF Tour at the PCA indoor shell-clay courts in Paco, Manila, on Saturday.

Arcilla, the 8-time PCA winner, ended the dream run of junior netter Jose Maria Pague, 6-1, 6-1, in a match that lasted just roughly an hour.

Despite an easy victory, Arcilla praised the 15-year-old Pague.

“Nilaro ko lang ’yung laro niya, puro drop shots lang.

Hindi siya sanay sa soft ball kaya marami siyang errors.

Pero may potential ’yung bata, kailangan lang i-develop pa,” Arcilla said.

Tierro, the reigning PCA Open champion, had his hands full and relied on his sharp baseline attacks to turn back Filipino-Italian Marc Reyes, 7-6 (8), 6-3, in the tournament supported by the Philippine Star, Dunlop, Whirlpool-Fujidenzo, Chris Sports, Mary Grace, Aseana City, PVL Restaurant, Maverick, Compass, Babolat, Just Jewels, Rexona, Palm Rock, Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines, Pearl Garden Hotel, Pearl Lane Hotel, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, L&M, Broadway Motors, Stronghold Insurance, Monte and Seno Hardware.

The finals is set on Sunday at 2 p.m., their third title meeting in three weeks.

Arcilla won the Olivarez Cup on August 21 but Tierro got back at the PCA Open finals on August 28.

“Matagal na kaming naglalaro ni Johnny. Veteran na si Johnny kaya kailangan na 100 percent ang laro mo kapag siya ang kalaban,” the 31-year-old Tierro said.

“We’ll see sa finals. He’s playing really well din naman so kung sino na lang ang maganda ang gising come finals, ’yun ang may advantage,” he added.

Arcilla knew what he needs to do to win the third act.

“Nasa peak siya [Tierro] ngayon.

Magaganda ang shots niya. Kailangan ko lang siyang maunahan para makapag-set ng momentum and, at the same time, minimize my errors kasi sa PCA Open finals, marami akong errors,” Arcilla said.

Arcilla reached the semifinals after defeating Ronard Joven, 6-3, 6-4, while Tierro made headway after downing Rolando Ruel Jr., 6-3, 6-2.

The winner pockets $1,200 while the runner-up settles for $900.

“I am really proud that our homegrown athletes are performing really well in this year’s tournament, which is making us all see how much tennis in our country has improved from the past years. It is truly an exciting time for Philippine tennis,” said Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, who is also the Philippine Tennis Association Chairman of the Board.

Sports Sock overwhelms 2014 Open champ Cilic to reach 4th Rd

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EW YORK—Before Jack Sock took on 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the third round, the 23-year-old American acknowledged that, as of a couple of years ago, simply making it that far would have made him, to use two of his words, “satisfied” and “excited.”

Now Sock wants more. He thinks his game and his mind-set are ready for deep Grand Slam runs. And the way he overwhelmed the No. 7-seeded Cilic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in a little more than one-and-a-half hours on Friday to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time, who would doubt Sock?

“Just all around, I think I’m putting things together, better and better,” said the 26th-seeded Sock, who celebrated his victory with a racket-as-foil jousting move in tribute to his friend and fellow US Olympian, bronze medalist fencer Miles Chamley-Watson. “I definitely feel more confident out there in everything I’m doing.”

Rightly so.

Against Cilic, who followed up his title with a semifinal appearance a year ago, Sock won all 14 of his service games, never facing so much as one break point. Not much of a surprise there on a hard court for a guy whose game is best known for two parts—”’serving and forehand’ is what I hear all the time,” he said with a hint of a smirk.

But on this windy afternoon, Sock showed off other improving parts of his repertoire. Sure, he delivered 10 forehand winners, but he also produced four on the backhand side (Cilic only had two). And as good as his serving was, with a top speed of 138 meter per hour and 86 percent of first-serve points won, Sock’s returns were in fine form, too: He broke Cilic four times.

“He’s a very dangerous guy in these kind of conditions,” Cilic said, “where the ball is coming off pretty fast, off the court.”

Sock’s second career appearance in the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament— the other came at the 2015 French Open on clay—will come against No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Tsonga, the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open, moved on Friday with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 23 Kevin Anderson.

Other men into the round of 16 included No. 1-seeded and defending champion Novak Djokovic, No. 10 Gael Monfils, No. 24 Lucas Spain’s Pouille Rafael Nadal and 2006 returns a shot Australian between his Open legs to Andrey finalist Marcos Kuznetsov of Baghdatis, who Russia. AP

ended the career-best showing of American qualifier Ryan Harrison by beating him, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-1.

At night, Rafael Nadal produced a spectacular ‘tweener lob with his back to the net on the next-to-last-point of his 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Andrey Kuznetsov. Nadal returned to the fourth round at the US Open for the first time since winning the 2013 title.

That was followed by the day’s last match, No. 2 Angelique Kerber’s 6-1, 6-1 victory over 17-year-old American CiCi Bellis.

Djokovic did not expend much energy yet

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unday, September 4, 2016 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

EXCITED

again, playing for only 31 minutes before his opponent Mikhail Youzhny stopped because of a strained left hamstring while trailing, 4-2. On Wednesday the man Djokovic was supposed to play in the second round, Jiri Vesely, withdrew before the match even began because of an arm injury.

“It’s not great, for neither players nor the fans,” said Djokovic, who went back out on court in Arthur Ashe Stadium for an hour’s practice session with Coach Boris Becker after the abrupt ending to Friday’s contest. “But it is what it is.

I’ll take it. I’m moving on and focusing on the next one.”

That will be against 84th-ranked Kyle Edmund of Britain, who never even had been as far as the third round at a major tournament until this week. The 21-year-old Edmund will play Djokovic with a quarterfinal berth on the line after getting past 20th-seeded John Isner of the US, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Friday’s most stirring turnaround came in

Ashe in the afternoon, when No. 8 Madison Keys of the US was down 5-1 in the third set before edging Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Asked whether she considered this the top comeback of her young career, the 21-yearold Keys replied: “For sure. Hands down.”

She’ll now face two-time US Open runnerup and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, whose ranking is all the way down to 74th after a series of losses and injuries, but followed up her win over 2004 champion and No. 9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova by defeating Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-1.

Other women who won included No. 7 Roberta Vinci, who stopped Serena Williams’s Grand Slam bid a year ago in New York, twotime Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, No. 13 Johanna Konta and Anastasija Sevastova, the player who beat French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the second round. No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova lost, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to Lesia Tsurenko.

Both Vinci, the 2012 US Open doubles champion, and Wozniacki credited their past success at Flushing Meadows with helping them now.

“In the end, the head does a lot,” Vinci said. “If you think negatively, it’s hard to get out of tense moments. So I try to think about what I did last year, what I’ve done in other years.” AP

Conti wins 13th stage; Quintana keeps lead

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RDAX, Spain—Valerio Conti successfully broke away on Friday to win the Spanish Vuelta’s long 13th stage, while Nairo Quintana kept his overall lead.

Conti, riding for Lampre-Merida, separated from a small group of escapees and rode alone to finish the hilly 213.4-kilometer (132.6-mile) route in five hours, 29 minutes, 4 seconds.

It was the 23-year-old Italian’s first win at a grand tour.

Danilo Wyss was second—almost a minute behind—followed by Sergey Lagutin.

The stage, which was the longest of this year’s edition of the race, started in Bilbao and ended in Urdax after a brief dip into France.

Led by Quintana’s Movistar, the peleton took the stage at a leisurely pace and crossed the finish line more than half an hour after Conti.

For a second straight day, Quintana and nearest challenger Chris Froome refrained from attacking one another with the tough, and potentially decisive, high mountains looming.

Quintana has a 54-second advantage over second-placed Froome, heading into Saturday’s daunting 196-km (121.7-mile) course that traverses the French Pyrenees.

Race organizers say the 14th stage, which includes three category-one ascents before a summit finish at the special-category Col d’Aubisque, is “one of the most demanding stages in the history of the Vuelta.”

The three-week race ends in Madrid on September 11.

Lampre’s Team Valerio Conti of Italy celebrates on the podium after winning the 13th stage of the Spanish La Vuelta cycling race. AP