17 MARCH 2019

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SPORTSPLUS 20 SUNDAY Sunday, 17 March 2019 Daily Tribune What’s stalling the SEA Games? VARGAS RAMIREZ POC executive council members, most of them aligned with Cojuangco, accused Vargas and his men of acting on their own on SEA Games-related matters By Julius Manicad Preparations for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games are hardly moving with barely eight months left before the opening ceremonies. Some quarters say the setback was brought by the untimely leadership change in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Others claim it was due to the national government’s failure to approve and release the proposed SEA Games budget on time. Even the government guarantee took some time before it was released and it was just in a form of a memorandum circular — not through an executive order similar to former President Arroyo’s during the country’s previous hosting of the biennial meet in 2005. Shortly upon his return, Cayetano immediately assembled the Phisgoc and kicked off the SEA Games preparation. But this tight situation was caused by the undefined roles and blurred lines separating the three major bodies tasked to hold hand in making sure the regional sportsfest will be a success — the POC, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc). Simple structure When the POC was awarded the hosting during the staging of the 28th SEA Games in Singapore in 2015, the first major order of business by POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco was an audience with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who had just assumed his post following the victory of President Rodrigo Duterte. Medialdea tapped Sen. Miguel Zubiri to help, serving as the overall chairman in a SEA Games body that will be composed of Cojuangco and PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez. “The structure before was simple: The POC will run the SEA Games while the PSC will fund it. No government fund will pass through the hands of the POC nor any organizing committee,” said a senior POC official, who attended the first few meetings of the three-man panel. “We learned our lesson from the previous SEA Games. We had only P500 million, but P27 million got disallowed. We didn’t want it to happen again, so we made it clear that the POC will not touch any government money and will just focus on the training of athletes and organization of the event.” But the initial agreement was not to happen. A terror siege erupted in Marawi City, prompting President Duterte to come up with a memorandum diverting all government resources to the rehabilitation effort. Like a loyal solider, Ramirez followed the President’s order and declared that the country will be pulling out of the hosting chore. A few weeks later, Zubiri stepped down and Thailand floated willingness to host. The Thais even went to the extent of claiming that can host “even if the SEA Games are held tomorrow.” Just like that, the country’s hosting was officially dead. Revival But former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano came in to save the hosting. His arrival in the SEA Games picture came at a perfect time. It was when the SEA Games Federation Council was already asking if the country will still push through with the hosting and Cojuangco was looking for one to fill the huge void left by Zubiri. Cayetano, whose only involvement in sports was as patron of the Philippine women’s volleyball team, was suddenly thrown into the limelight and received the SEA Games flag from outgoing SEA Games Federation Council president Tunku Imran during the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017. Shortly upon his return, Cayetano immediately assembled the Phisgoc and kicked off the SEA Games preparation at the same time when the Bases Conversions Development Authority was starting to build a multibillion-peso stadium to serve as hub of the Games in Capas, Tarlac. Setbacks But stability in the country’s SEA Games hosting didn’t last long. In February of 2018, Cojuangco was booted out of power after the Pasig Regional Trial Court recalled the 2016 POC elections. Boxing chief Ricky Vargas prevailed in the court-ordered polls and declared readiness to lead the country’s SEA Games hosting. Vargas’ honeymoon period as new POC boss, however, wasn’t sweet. POC executive council members, most of them aligned with Cojuangco, accused Vargas and his men of acting on their own on SEA Games-related matters. They stressed that most of his decisions regarding the biennial meet did not have board approval and they were being left in the dark about the preparations. My boss here is the President. If they can’t do anything about it, then we will take charge because I am under the instruction of the President and the Executive Secretary. Then Cayetano stepped down as secretary of the DFA to chase a congressional seat in Taguig City. With Cayetano, also a former senator, giving up his government position, he made himself no longer qualified to receive government fund, prompting the bicameral conference committee to lodge his proposed SEA Games budget from the DFA to the PSC. The budget was also slashed from P7.5 billion to only P5 billion, a 33-percent reduction that would definitely have an impact on the success of what is billed as the “biggest, most extravagant SEA Games ever.” Few weeks later, the Commission on Audit sent the PSC a notice inquiring if there was a memorandum of agreement or a board resolution from the POC appointing Phisgoc as the chief organizer of the SEA Games. The state-run auditing firm said this MoA or BR will serve as the CAYETANO basis for the PSC to disburse money to a private entity such as Phisgoc. There was none. With Phisgoc having no money, no power and no legal personality while bickering and unrest cloud over the POC, the country’s hosting of the SEA Games is on the brink. Undefined roles Phisgoc is now calling the shots in other SEA games-related matters such as broadcasting, transportation, marketing, security and official outfitter of the athletes, officials and thousands of SEA Games volunteers. POC executive council member Prospero Pichay said everything the Phisgoc is doing should pass through the POC executive council. “As far as the POC is concerned, we have not recognized it (Phisgoc),” said Pichay, president of the chess association and top supporter of Cojuangco. “It is not authorized to enter into contracts that has anything to do with the SEA Games.” Pichay added that Vargas carries only a single vote in the POC board so his decisions that favor Phisgoc doesn’t reflect the stand of the entire POC executive board. “There is also no resolution that the president of the POC will be part of Phisgoc. In other words, if he’s there in Phisgoc, he’s there in his personal capacity, not as president of POC,” Pichay said. “Because in anything the POC president does, there should always be a board resolution.” ZUBIRI COJUANGCO The confusion isn’t limited to POC and Phisgoc alone. In his rabid desire to win the overall title, Ramirez stated he will spearhead the creation of a SEA Games task force that will screen the qualification of SEA Games-bound athletes and start drumming up the preparations for the Games. He also lit a fire from under chief of mission Monsour del Rosario, saying that if he takes his sweet time, the PSC will definitely take over. “Give me a week or two. If nothing happens, we will start drafting our own SEA Games activities,” Ramirez said. “My boss here is the President. If they can’t do anything about it, then we will take charge because I am under the instruction of the President and the Executive Secretary.” The hosting of the SEA Games — the event that’s supposed to unite a heavily fractured country — is in danger of a great collapse. And we only have eight months to save the Games. United/divided basketball Clearly, there is a need to rationalize the establishment of leagues to ensure its continued patronage By Joel Orellana Basketball as a religion in this country is an understatement. The numerous basketball leagues — from professional level to inter-barangay — are enough proof that Filipinos are crazy for the sport James Naismith invented. The country organized the first pay-for-play league in Asia in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), established in 1975 and is now about to celebrate its 44th year anniversary this April. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the oldest collegiate basketball league founded in 1924 and 14 years later, University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) was formed, with some of the founding members coming from the NCAA. Then there are second-tier collegiate leagues like the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) established in 1993, the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA), a league exclusively for women formed in 1970, among others. The Philippine Amateur Basketball League, later on known as Philippine Basketball League, was founded in 1983 and became the breeding ground of PBA stars. It closed shop in 2011. I think it’s not hurting the sport. In fact, we are providing jobs and opportunities for the players and staff. Last year, Sen. Manny Pacquiao established the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), a regional semi-pro league with former PBA Most Valuable Player Kenneth Duremdes as its commissioner. In 1998, a similar regional league named Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) was founded and backed by television giant ABS-CBN. It folded after five seasons, citing financial and logistics concerns. The love of Filipinos for basketball is immeasurable and their thirst for hoops, whether as participants or spectators, is quenched by these leagues. But is too many basketball leagues good or bad for the sport? The more, the merrier Willie Marcial, the PBA’s 10th commissioner, is a firm believer that the more basketball leagues, the better. The reason? Economics. “Many people are benefiting from these leagues. From the players, staff to the vendors and tricycle drivers in different venues. The more, the merrier,” said Marcial, who started as the PBA’s statistician in 1983, became a floor director of the league’s TV coveror and was appointed as media bureau chief and special assistant to Commissioner Noli Eala in 2003. “Even with the MPBL now, we’re okay with that. We don’t feel threatened because for me, the more leagues, the better for the fans. It’s now a matter of uplifting the quality of the games,” he added. The PBA is made up of 12 teams, half of them are under the umbrella of the Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) group (TNT KaTropa, Meralco and NLEX) and the San Miguel Corp. group (San Miguel, Ginebra and Magnolia). Big companies Alaska, Phoenix, Rain or Shine, Blackwater, NorthPort and Columbian Dyip are also parts of the league. Duremdes shared the same sentiments as his MPBL is employing close to 500 players from the 26 participating teams in the ongoing Datu Cup. “I think it’s not hurting the sport. In fact, we are providing jobs and opportunities for the players and staff. And there are a lot now playing in the grassroots level,” said Duremdes. “I think it (having many leagues) is doing positive things for the sport.” Eala said the surplus of basketball leagues in the country is not hurting the sport per se. What is suffering is its commercial viability. And the former PBA commissioner said this will result in having leagues that will lack in credibility and in the long run might lose its appeal to the public. “The growth of the sport is not being hurt by the establishment of too many leagues, regardless of nature. In fact, I believe its popularity is enhanced by these leagues. Basketball remains the envy of other sports when it comes to sheer number of constituency,” said Eala. “But too many leagues hurt the commercial viability of the sport. The sports advertising pie is not growing and too many leagues, especially if they BASKETBALL remains a religion among fans. WOMEN’S basketball, neglected? are not coordinated, will not survive financially and commercially,” he added. And the scary part if this trend continues, according to Eala, this might eventually affect the entire landscape of the sport. “Clearly, there is a need to rationalize the establishment of leagues to ensure its continued patronage,” he said. Forgotten sector? While basketball leagues for boys and men are abundant in the country, the same cannot be said of the girls and women. The reality is there is no women’s basketball league that is enjoying full media coverage (print and broadcast) and support from private entities like the PBA, UAAP, NCAA and even MPBL are getting. Ewon Arayi, the former Perlas Pilipinas standout and now the coach of Adamson Lady Falcons in the UAAP, said there is a handful of women’s basketball leagues right now but they are not well coordinated. “The problem is these leagues are not united. I established the Pinay Ballers League in 2014 but instead of supporting it, some created new women’s leagues and the support (from sponsors) is now divided,” said Arayi. “It would be better if these leagues are well coordinated. And the problem for some leagues, they use them to profit not to promote women’s basketball. Don’t use the sport to become popular. Make the sport popular to get media coverage and develop the grassroots level,” she added. Right now, her Pinay Ballers League is on a hiatus and she plans to restart the league this coming August. It’s now a matter of uplifting the quality of the games. National women’s team head coach Patrick Aquino said the women’s sector need a solid backer to organize a well-funded tournament. “Someone who can gamble like before in the WPBL,” Aquino said, referring to the Women’s Philippine Basketball League of the PBL formed in 1998 but lasted just two years. It was revived in 2008 for a one-and-done season. “It’s important so that the woman players have something to loop up to after their collegiate careers. And I think, if we have one like that, women’s basketball will be more competitive in international competition,” he added. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the body that is tasked to promote the basketball in all sectors, is maintaining a women’s national team but unlike its counterpart, is not enjoying the kind of support the men’s team is getting. Marcial said the PBA is planning to put up another 3x3 event for women like during the time of Commissioner Chito Narvasa in 2015. “We’ve been planning the 3x3 since last year. But this season, we will launch it again,” said Marcial. At least the PBA is again taking the initiative to promote women’s basketball. Arayi and Aquino are hoping other groups will follow.
Dinah S. Ventura, Editor SPOTLIGHT Sunday, 17 March 2019 21 Daily Tribune Cinema One Originals festival entries revealed The festival is part of the 100 th year celebration of the Philippine cinema and the 25 th year celebration of leading cable channel Cinema One Cinema One Originals just announced this year’s finalists which offer more diverse, audacious stories — a vampire thriller, a religious mystery, a romance fantasy, a coming-of-age drama, comedy, action and more — in the much-awaited film festival happening on September this year. Festival director and Cinema One channel head Ronald Arguelles named the following projects as the 15th Cinema One Originals finalists which will be awarded with a P3 million production budget each. Ascendant by Sherad Anthony Sanchez In the religious drama/mystery film Ascendant, a mysterious death in the convent drives an unpredictable Mother Prioress to investigate three nuns under her care, but she is not looking for justice. The corpse returns to haunt for justice, but is haunted back by the ghosts of the nun’s murky pasts. The question is, who is haunting who? Lucid by Natts Jadaone, Victor Villanueva, and Dan Villegas Ann Cruz is a luminous dreamer in romance/ fantasy movie Lucid. Her dreams are the exact opposite of her mundane, routinary life. In one of her fabricated dreams, she meets a mysterious man who challenges her to make her dreams more adventurous. As she crosses paths with another lucid dreamer, she realizes her dreams are far more alive than her reality — making her question if it is worth staying in there or not. Metamorphosis by J.E. Tiglao Metamorphosis is a coming-of-age story about Adam, a 14-year old kid who was born with a secret of having both male and female genitals. O by Kevin Dayrit Maria, a morgue intern meets vampire “drug lord” Matilda in O. In this thriller, Matilda forces Maria to become a blood pusher in exchange for her life, selling dried blood sachets to modern-day, harmless vampires. Sila-Sila by Giancarlo Abrahan A 30-year old man returns to Manila in Sila-Sila and is forced to confront his old life, his old friends, and his ex-boyfriend at their high school reunion where the drama of the past and the present collide. Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo by Denise O’Hara Tayo Muna Habang Hindi Pa Tayo is a romance drama. When Alex DTR-ed and found out that Carlo is not ready to commit to a relationship, Alex must ask herself if love can survive without commitment. Utopia by Dustin Celestino and Dustin Uy An action entry, it tells the stories of a videographer, a rookie police officer and an undercover agent which intertwine in the labyrinth of a violent city’s underbelly. Yours Truly, Shirley by Nigel Santos In this comedy flick, a 50-year-old widow believes that the young pop star is the reincarnation of her dead husband. How far would she go to prove herself right? These exciting stories were carefully chosen by the selection committee members — Ronald Arguelles, Black Sheep head Kriz Gazmen, IWant creative manager Nico Hernandez, Rappler film critic Oggs Cruz, and film writers Jinky Laurel and Lilit Reyes — from over 130 entries submitted. The biggest C1 Originals yet, the festival is part of the 100th year celebration of the Philippine cinema and the 25th year celebration of leading cable channel Cinema One. Catch these films in various cinemas on September 2019. Visit @CinemaOneOriginals (FB), @c1origs (Twitter) and @c1originals (IG) for more updates. #PLAYITRIGHT is meant to urge Filipinos to watch or download content only from legitimate sources. Combating growing content piracy Our local audience is getting exposed to newer platforms to consume content and it’s not just happening here but in other countries as well As innovation and technology continues to change how people view and experience cinema, the internet is perhaps the most accessible digital platform available for filmmakers now as a venue to tell stories to a wider audience. However, it is this same platform where digital theft or piracy occurs at an alarming rate. At the recently concluded Film Ambassadors’ Night The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) together with Globe, feted films, actors and producers who won various international recognition for the country’s film industry. FDCP chairperson Liza Diño also shared the challenge of Philippine cinema right now is to develop more quality content which can be made available in various platforms. “Our local audience is getting exposed to newer platforms to consume content and it’s not just happening here but in other countries as well,” she said. The event was also in commemoration of 100 years of Philippine cinema. Diño also acknowledged Globe and its long-running anti-piracy advocacy, #PlayItRight. During the Film Ambassadors’ Night, Diño encouraged filmmakers to support the cause by thanking the men and women at the back and in front of the camera whose lives are affected by online piracy through a short video at the end of every movie appealing to moviegoers to respect the hard work of the cast and crew and help them sustain their livelihood. This way, moviegoers are made aware of the reality of how the entertainment industry and its people are affected by illegal content consumption. #PlayItRight is meant to urge Filipinos to watch or download content only from legitimate sources, which started with a Piracy vs. Piracy initiative during the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival. #PlayItRight took the battle against piracy in the pirates’ own grounds, plus its other efforts to educate the public on the havoc that malwares and other viruses can create on their devices. In the campaign, Globe uploaded supposed copies of the festival film entries in streaming sites but once the links were clicked, viewers got the surprise after the opening credits, what followed was a heart-felt appeal of the film crew themselves, A family of dancers and more They discuss their experiences as performers and how the interest in dance can be nurtured in children Art 2 Art continues its 12th anniversary celebration with forthcoming episodes focusing on an on-the-rise painter, a family of ballet artists and a summer art camp for children. These follow episodes featuring the spoken-word group Titik Poetry and National Artist Ryan Cayabyab aired earlier this month. Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Company and hosted by Ballerina ng Bayan Lisa Macuja, Art 2 Art airs every Sunday, 3:30 to 4 p.m., on radio via DZRH (666 khz on the AM band), on cable television via RHTV (Ch. 129 on Skycable in Metro Manila, Ch. 18 on Cignal TV and Ch. 3 on Cablelink) and livestreaming at http://dzrhnews television.tv. The show may also be viewed via the Facebook account DZRH News Television. Last 17 March, Paulina Luz Sotto shared her relatively new journey in visual arts. Though she lived most of her life with her grandfather, National Artist Arturo Luz, it was only four years ago that she decided to become a SUDOKU where they stated how much hard work and time they spend on a film, and how piracy has affected their livelihood. The latest in Alexa data analysis shows that streaming piracy is significantly up with a 75% increase in pageviews of an average user of streaming piracy websites between 2016 and 2017. In terms of downloads, there is still a total of 502 million movie and TV BitTorrent downloads in 2017. The Philippines alone has 22 million visits to infringing websites. The new threat of digital content piracy now involves the use of illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and apps. Accessing content through these illegal means exposes viewers to various threats such as viruses and malwares that can steal private information. Left unregulated, this puts consumers, especially children at risk. These pressing issues remain the major concern of the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), an initiative of the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), a collective of Asian and international entertainment companies and distribution platforms. CAP by Ramon Lorenzo Write a numeral from 1 to 9 in each box so that each appears only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box. Answer for yesterday’s puzzle FDCP chairperson Liza Diño also shared the challenge of Philippine cinema right now is to develop more quality content. recognizes the #PlayItRight campaign as an effective move to combat digital content piracy which has an estimated US$50-billion impact to the media industry annually. At the recent Digital Anti-Piracy Summit in Kuala Lumpur, one of the key learnings as reported by Hong Leong Investment Bank Research is that education on the consumer end, such as #PlayItRight, is perhaps the most effective way to combat piracy of content. During the summit, Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia Gobind Singh Deo expressed that, “Piracy has a serious impact on the ability of these practitioners to continue creating content commercially,” referring to job losses in the filming and broadcasting industry. Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and senior vice president for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto also shared in-depth, the company’s #PlayItRight initiative at the summit that, “whether you like it or not, piracy is part of the digital lifestyle of our customers nowadays. In the Philippines, 52% of viewers access through unauthorized sources. With #PlayItRight, we saw a 53 percent decline in illegal content access. If you’re paying a very small amount of money to get to legal content, it doesn’t really make sense for you to get into illegal sites. And that’s what we’re trying to communicate.” #PlayItRight is meant to urge Filipinos to watch or download content only from legitimate sources. Globe is the preferred partner for content distribution by global entertainment brands like Disney, Netflix, Hooq, Turner, Astro, Sports Illustrated, and Musical.ly. Other than content distribution, Globe also now produces its own original content through Globe Studios. Among the projects under Globe Studios was the film Birdshot, starring Mary Joy Apostol, John Arcilla and Ku Aquino. It won Best Picture in the Asian Future category at the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival and director Mikhail Red won Best Director. Apostol also won Best Actress at the First Asean Film Awards in Vietnam. Birdshot is the first Philippine-produced content released on Netflix worldwide. For more about Globe and its anti-piracy efforts, visit www1.globe.com.ph/play-it-right. To get more updates follow GlobeICON and Globe Bridging Communities on Facebook. PAULINA Sotto (right) tells “Art 2 Art” host Lisa Macuja how she began her visual arts journey just four years ago. full-time painter. Today, she continues to explore various styles within the field of abstraction. On 24 March, Art 2 Art welcomes Ballet Manila principal artist Romeo Peralta, his wife Sofia Sangco-Peralta and brother Robert Peralta, the latter two both teachers at the Ballet Manila School and also former dancers with the company. They discuss their experiences as performers and how the interest in dance can be nurtured in children. On 31 March, the show focuses on i-Shine Talent Camp, a talent development program for kids aged six to eleven. Sheryl Yao of Wyeth Philippines talks about the program, now on its seventh edition. Kara Escay, one of the camp’s visual arts mentors, meanwhile demonstrates how easy it is to draw, even giving a crash lesson to host Lisa Macuja. For inquiries, e-mail art2artdzrh@gmail.com or visit the Ballerina ng Bayan page on Facebook. Past episodes of the program may be viewed on YouTube, at the Art 2 Art with Lisa Macuja channel. MACUJA (left) interviews Ballet Manila’s Sofia Sangco-Peralta, Romeo Peralta and Robert Peralta.
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