Manila Standard - 2020 June 5 - Friday

TERROR BILL. Hundreds of protesters wearing face masks

and shields carry placards as they march at a university campus in Quezon City on June 4,2020, a day after Congress approved an anti-terror bill which critics says will curtail civil liberties. The rally concides with a UN report on the war on drugs in the Philippines, calling for an independent probe into human rights abuses. AFP

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 101 • 1 SECTION 4 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Frontliners’ perks snagged Rody fumes, issues ultimatum on health workers’ benefit payments

Palace strikes back at critics of drug war

By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Joel E. Zurbano

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte gave government officials until Tuesday, June 9 to distribute the cash benefits for health workers who died or got infected with COVID-19, Malacanang said Thursday.

By Willie Casas THE Palace said Thursday there were limits to the right of free expression after the UN human rights office accused the Philippines of using the COVID-19 pandemic to crush dissent and to silence critics.

In a televised briefing, presidential

Palace spokesperson Harry Roque made the announcement in a televised Next page

UN hits out at terror bill ‘vague’ proviso P5-b shabu in biscuit cans

BIG BUST. Some P5-billion worth of high-grade shabu was seized by government operatives during a buy-bust raid in a subdivision in Marilao, Bulacan. Suspects Yuwen Cai (standing, middle) and Filipina partner Angela Moile Tulio, along with her sister Marialyn watch as an anti-narcotics operative makes an inventory of the illegal drugs placed inside cans of biscuits.

By Maricel V. Cruz, Rey E. Requejo and Willie Casas

THE UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the new anti-terrorism Next page

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COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JUNE 4)

seized more than 750 kilos of imported high-grade shabu with an estimated MALOLOS CITY—Operatives of the street value of P5.1 billion in a buy-bust Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operation Thursday night.

Next page and the Philippine National Police

By Orlan Mauricio

20,382

House OKs P1.3-t stimulus nal reading the proposed Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus VOTING 216-7, the House of Repre- for the Economy of the Philippines sentatives approved on third and fi- or ARISE Philippines Act Thursday

By Maricel V. Cruz

634 NEW

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

313

984

10

4,248

95

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

FRESH

NEW

NEW

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‘Transitional’ water bill in the pipeline

By Rio N. Araja and Joel E. Zurbano will reflect their total consumption dur- Maynilad said, its customers will be ing the enhanced community quarantine. receiving a “transitional” water bill this Following the resumption of its ac- month that will reflect their billing and MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. said Thursday its customers’ June 2020 bill tual meter reading starting June 1, Next page

SHORT-LIVED RUN.

Tricycle drivers start ferrying passengers in Cavite which has shifted its quarantine status to a less restrictive GCQ. A similar plan to let them operate along EDSA and other major thoroughfares was announced by the Palace on June 4, 2020 but shot it down two hours later.

Jr Josue

Tricycles, backriders along EDSA banned

WORLD ROUNDUP

• China lifts ban on US carriers • Roche cleared for clinical tests

By Darwin Amojelar and Joel Zurbano MALACAÑANG on Thursday said tricycles and other vehicles with sidecars are now allowed on the Next page

Robodog dispenses sanitizers A SCURRYING robot dog named K9 dispenses hand sanitizer to curious children and wary shoppers – one of the more unexpected measures Thai malls are taking as the kingdom relaxes virus restrictions.

Next page

FAKE NEWS VICTIMS. Hundreds of overseas Filipino workers flocked to the Naia terminal 2 the other night, hoping to take a free ride to the provinces, but ended up sleeping at the curb side. It turned out they were fake news victims, according to airport authorities. Che Santos

CHINA on Thursday said foreign airlines blocked from operating in the country over virus fears would be allowed to resume limited flights, lifting a de facto ban on US carriers, a day after Washington ordered the suspension of all Chinese travel into and out of the US. The apparent decision to step back

by Beijing comes as tensions between the world’s two superpowers are sent Next page

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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

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Test targets asymptomatic ones

By Willie Casas

T

HE government plans to include in its “expanded targeted testing” the people who don’t exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, the official in charge of the testing said Thursday.

Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters.

Her agency halted the trial use of the medicine about a week ago as it followed the WHO directive to momentarily stop using the off-label drug because of its potentially serious side effects, including heart arrhythmia.

Hydroxychloroquine was initially made to treat malaria and is normally used to treat arthritis, but initial studies have supposedly shown that it is a promising treatment for COVID-19, which emerged late last year from China.

“Actually, the executive committee of the WHO and the proponents for the Solidarity Trial here in the Philippines met last night until midnight to discuss this issue before giving out a statement,” Vergeire said.

“And they now have decided it is okay, and we will now include hydroxychloroquine.”

Vergeire said the public should not think that the concerned organizations were being inconsistent since the COVID-19 situation was evolving.

She said decisions might change based on new evidence, since the virus was just recently discovered and still being studied.

“We stand by the position that this is the evolving nature of this disease.

And decisions may really be changed quite fast because of these new pieces of evidence that come out every day,” Vergeire said.

“We listen. We follow, and now we will continue using hydroxychloroquine.”

and private health workers who contract severe COVID-19 infection while in the line of duty will receive a compensation of P100,000 and those who die “while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic” will be compensated with P1 million.

There are currently 32 health workers — four nurses, 26 doctors and two non-medical staff — who died due to COVID-19, the DOH said.

As of Thursday, the DOH said there are 60 health workers who were severely ill with COVID-19 and another 19 who were considered critical cases.

In a statement, the department said the families of the 32 fallen health workers have already been contacted and will each soon receive a P1 million death benefit.

“We are processing the checks and working out the necessary documents they need to submit to avail of the benefits,” the DOH said.

Earlier, Senate President Vicente Sotto III wrote a strongly-worded letter to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, following up on the release of the benefits.

“A law’s effectivity does not and cannot rely on the IRR’s existence or nonexistence, especially if the provisions of the law is clear and categorical,” Sotto said.

“Assuming [for argument’s sake] that an IRR is indispensable in the imple-

mentation of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, particularly on the grant of compensation to affected health workers or their families, then what hindered your office to draft and approve the said IRR in the past two months?” he asked.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, meanwhile, said a new provision of the Senate version of a bill extending the validity of the Bayanihan Act requires payment of compensation not later than 90 days after date of confinement or death.

“We are imposing a deadline. Its release should not be at the mercy of red tape,” Recto said.

Recto said under the proposed “Bayanihan Act II,” both the death and sickness compensation shall be exempt from all applicable taxes under the National Internal Revenue Code.

“The taxman should not have a share of the state’s monetary thank you to these heroes,” Recto said.

The DOH said 2,675 health care workers have contracted COVID-19 as of June 2.

The DOH said 1,457 of them have recovered from the respiratory disease, while 32 have died since May 29.

The other 1,186 medical workers are active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.

“The vague definitions in the AntiTerrorism Act may violate the principle of legality,” it adds.

She said the measure was among “worrying new laws and amendments” that could erode constitutional and other legal protections.

The leftist Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Thursday denounced the bill that awaits President Duterte’s signature, saying the measure could be used to trample upon the people’s basic freedoms and civil liberties.

The group headed by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said while President Duterte has repeatedly expressed his desire to declare nationwide martial law, “this new anti-terror law handed

to him by his allies in Congress at his behest will grant him powers that transgress the constitutional limits on the exercise of certain martial law powers and run roughshod over fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to due process and freedom of expression.”

“On the pretext of amending the Human Security Act of 2007 to make it more effective in the fight against terrorism, this new anti-terror law has expanded and overly broadened the definition of terrorism to make it easier for authorities to declare legitimate acts of expression, collective action, and dissent protected by the Constitution as terrorism,” Zarate, a human rights lawyer, said.

Vince Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the government’s response to COVID-19, said this was to intensify the efforts against the pandemic’s transmission.

“We have to expand the testing to asymptomatic individuals,” Dizon said.

He said this new goal would be possible with the country’s maximum testing capacity now at 41,000 a day, with 52 laboratories processing results.

Despite the capacity, however, the ac-

tual tests done per day were just around 10,000, Dizon said.

Meanwhile, the Health department said Thursday the clinical trial use of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19 patients will resume in the Philippines after the World Health Organization lifted the temporary stoppage of the malaria drug in its multi-country trial.

“We’ll lift the suspension and we’ll continue treating people with hydroxychloroquine.,” Health Undersecretary

Palace...

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Frontliners’...

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spokesman Harry Roque cited the provision in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act that penalizes anyone spreading false information “clearly geared to promote chaos, panic, anarchy, fear, or confusion” during the public health emergency.

“Freedom of expression is not absolute. It is subject to derogation and one form of derogation is the criminal clause… in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” Roque said.

He also dismissed suggestions of an independent UN investigation, saying the Philippines has a functioning judicial system.

The UN report, released Thursday, said President Duterte’s drug war has unleashed widespread and systematic killing with “near impunity” for offenders.

Police have been encouraged by the highest levels of government to use lethal force on drug suspects and thousands have been killed by officers and unknown gunmen since 2016, the UN human rights office said.

Many victims had been put on “drug watch lists” by local officials and then visited by police at their homes, which often ends in a deadly shooting that officers claim was self-defense.

But details in police reports on the incidents cast doubt on their own version of events, the UN office said, citing an example of two handguns which each reappeared at five different crime scenes.

“Despite credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings in the context of the campaign against illegal drugs, there has been near impunity for such violations,” it said.

The UN office called for “independent, impartial, credible investigations into all allegations of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law” after the Philippines’ failure to ensure accountability.

public press briefing, warning government officials, particularly from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to give the compensation benefits to health workers who got sick with COVID-19 while in the line of duty, and aid for the families of health workers who died.

Roque said the President issued the directive after he was informed about the delay in the release of the assistance.

“The President is displeased. He’s angry, frustrated and this is the first time I saw him in a temper. This, after the President learned that after three months of the Bayanihan Heal as One Act, it has not yet been given,” Roque said.

Earlier, senators said they were dismayed to learn that the DOH had not carried out the compensation provisions of the law because of the absence of implementation rules.

The DOH has failed to distribute at least P32 million in compensation to the families of front-line health workers who died treating COVID-19 patients.

Under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, public

Tricycles,...

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such are still prohibited from traversing the national highways,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Roque made the retraction as workers continued to struggle to go to and from work as a result of the limited rides, and jeepneys are still banned from the roads.

Backride on a motorcycle was still prohibited even if the rider was married to the driver.

routes in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces to serve more commuters.

The agency said buses will ply the Monumento-Balagtas, EDSA-Montalban and NAIA Loop routes starting June 5.

And on June 8, buses will start taking passengers along Monumento in Caloocan City to the Valenzuela Gateway Complex, Gilmore to Taytay in Rizal and Monumento to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan.

Mimicking an excited puppy, K9 roams around the popular Central World mall in downtown Bangkok, drawing the attention of delighted children eager to get gel from a bottle attached to its back.

“It’s convenient for people to wash their hands, just like a preventive measure... especially in this COVID-19 situ-

ation,” said Petra Saktidejbhanubandh, a marketing officer for mobile operator Advanced Info Services (AIS).

AIS is aiming to roll out a 5G network for smartphones by the end of the year.

K9’s 5G-powered comrades include ROC, which checks temperatures, and LISA, a customer service-bot.

“For K9 especially, people just think

UN...

From A1 bill that Congress approved Wednesday “dilutes human rights safeguards.”

“The proposed 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act, slated to replace the already problematic Human Security Act, dilutes human rights safeguards, broadens the definition of terrorism and expands the period of detention without warrant from three to 14 days, extendable by another 10 days,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, in her report on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

national highways to address the shortage of mass transport following the general community quarantine in parts of the country, only to retract the announcement hours after.

“Regarding the issue on tricycles/ those similarly situated, Interior SecMore bus routes retary Eduardo Año clarifies that alThe Transport department said though apprehension from the Highway Patrol Group is temporarily suspended, Thursday it will open additional bus

Robodog...

From A1 The hi-tech hound is controlled using 5G, a technology promising super-fast internet speeds with immediate reaction times that is still in the initial stages of roll out in Thailand.

World...

From A1 soaring by a series of issues including Donald Trump’s accusations over China’s handling of the pandemic, Hong Kong and Huawei.

The latest spat was rooted in the Civil Aviation Authority of China deciding to impose a limit on foreign airlines based on their activity as of March 12. Because US carriers had suspended all flights by that date, their cap was set at zero, while Chinese carriers’ flights to the US continued.

P5-b...

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Authority said Thursday it will enforce the modified number coding scheme to ease traffic in the metropolis during the general community quarantine.

The agency said the following vehicles are automatically exempted from the coding scheme: • all private vehicles provided there are two or more passengers including the driver, physical distancing is strictly observed, and all passengers wear face masks.

• owner-driven or self-driven private motor vehicles of doctors, nurses and Modified coding scheme The Metropolitan Manila Development other medical personnel.

On Wednesday the US said it would the infection but ends up also destroying block Chinese passenger flights from June healthy tissue and even organs such as the 16, raising concerns of another front being kidneys with life-threatening implications.

Very ill patients require mechanical venopened up in the economic titans’ standoff. tilation, putting a huge burden on medical teams and resources over many weeks.

Roche gets clearance for “The US Food and Drug Administraclinical tests Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche said tion (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Thursday the US authorities had given it Authorization (EUA) for the Elecsys® IL-6 emergency clearance for a test identifying test,” Roche said in a statement. “This test patients most at risk of a dangerous immune measures levels of the biomarker interleukin 6 (IL-6) and can be used to help identify response to coronavirus infection.

Some of those worst affected display patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease a very severe inflammatory response to who could be at high risk of intubation with COVID-19 as the body tries to combat mechanical ventilation.”

haul for the year.

The drug contraband were hidden inside 63 boxes of imported biscuits found in a house at Relay Street, Meralco VilPNP chief Director-General Archie lage in Brgy. Lias, Marilao, Bulacan.

Gamboa said this is the biggest drug Authorities led by Brig. Gen. Romeo

Caramat arrested a Chinese national identified as Yuwen Cai and his Filipina partner, Ma. Angela Moile Tulio, 38, and her sister Marialyn, 23.

The suspects were also caught with the P1 million buy-bust boodle money.

it’s really cute,” Petra told AFP, adding they hope to dispel any fiction-fueled fear of a robot takeover.

“The robots are here to assist people, not to replace them.”

But shopper Lapassanan Buranapatpakorn was unconvinced, saying that she found K9’s skeletal mechanical frame “creepy.”

‘Transitional’...

From A1 consumption for the months of March to May and their bill for June 2020.

Maynilad made its statement even as Senator Sherwin Gatchalian proposed a bill extending the lifeline rate subsidies for 20 more years and provide a continuing relief to the marginalized households, or those who use 100 kilowatt hours or less of electricity a month.

Gatchalian, who heads the Senate committee on energy, filed Senate Bill 1583 that seeks to further amend the law extending the implementation of the lifeline rate.

With the lifeline-rate subsidy set to expire next year, Gatchalian sees the urgency to further extend the subsidies to help low-income power consumers until 2041.

Customers with an average monthly consumption of 21 to 50 kilowatt hours

New round of aid eyed for PUJs

By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz THE government is studying the possibility of giving another round of cash assistance to the jeepney drivers affected by the general community quarantine, Malacañang said Thursday.

President Rodrigo Duterte promised the cash aid after thousands of jeepney drivers were not allowed to ply their regular routes under the GCQ. “We are studying to give a thirdmonth cash assistance to the jeepney drivers who have lost their jobs because our jeepneys have not been allowed to run,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Under the government’s cash assistance program, some 18 million families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be given P5,000 to 8,000 for the months of April and May. “We know that this is really difficult for them because they are not allowed to operate. So we are now preparing an additional cash aid just for them,” Roque said.

He said the jeepneys will not return anytime soon because of the impossibility of implementing physical distancing in them.

Roque said the government will do everything to help jeepney drivers if the traditional jeepneys are phased out as a result of the government’s modernization program.

“As we phase out the old jeepneys, we have to allow the new jeepneys to come in,” Roque said.

“We’re actually considering alternative livelihoods for them. There is a suggestion that they be employed as contact tracers because we do need about 120,000 of them. there’s only about 30,000 employed so far.”

House...

From A1 night. The measure is aimed at reviving the economy and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hardest hit businesses and sectors.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said through the bill, the government will respond to the needs of the workers in non-essential businesses, freelancers, repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and self-employed workers who may have been left out in the government’s social amelioration programs and Small Business Wage Subsidy Program.

AAMBIS-OWA Party list Rep. Sharon Garin, who is also the co-chair of subcommittee on economic response package cluster of the Defeat COVID-19 Committee, cited the urgency to help the people who have lost their jobs under the Enhanced Community Quarantine through the implementation of transitional interventions.

“Workers in non-essential businesses, the self-employed, the freelancers and OFWs will be given a maximum subsidy of P15,000 per month for two months,” Garin said in her sponsorship speech.

House ways and means committee chairman and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, the principal author of the bill, said the package is expected “to protect and assist up to 15.7 million workers, create 3 million short-term jobs, and 1.5 million infrastructure jobs over three years, and help up to 5.57 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, both formal and nonformal.”

“It will cost about 3.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) or P688 billion in new spending on its first year,” Salceda said. are now entitled to a 50-percent discount, while those using an average of 51 to 70 kWh get a 35-percent discount.

Those who consume 71 to 100 kWh are entitled to a 20-percent discount.

Maynilad, which serves the west zone, said its customers will only receive one printed water bill for the months of March to June, and the readings in that bill would have been adjusted to reflect their actual consumption.

The total actual consumption is computed by subtracting a customer’s February meter reading from the actual meter reading in June.

This was divided by four months to arrive at the monthly consumption from March to June, with each month billed separately based on the current tariff rate.

All bill payments made during the enhanced community quarantine would already have been subtracted from the total amount due in the bill.

News

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

80 courts to test video confab

By Rey E. Requejo

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HE Supreme Court has authorized 80 more trial court stations in the country to pilot test hearings of civil and criminal cases via video conferencing to speed up resolution of cases despite restriction on physical access to courts arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez said Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta had approved the pilot testing of video conferencing in the 80 court stations.

Video conferencing is one of the measures adopted by the SC to resolve cases and decongest jails in the country.

In areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ,

courts are fully operational but the entry of people is restricted and, in many cases, discouraged. Courts are managed by skeleton work force on rotation basis.

Filing of cases and petitions, like those on bail issues, are authorized to be done manually or electronically. Justices and judges are mandated to act on urgent cases.

Marquez earlier said that since May 4, some 1,350 trial courts nationwide have conducted 7,624 hearings via video conferencing that resulted in the release, as of May 22, of 22,522 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who were mostly detained at the lockup cells of the Philippine National Police.

According to Marquez, the PDLs were released either through bail or their own recognizance or when they were found to have served the minimum period of their sentences.

“There have already been three convictions promulgated online by our trial courts. There was a case for qualified human trafficking in Angeles City, and for large scale trafficking for prostitution and rape both in Cebu City. In all three, the accused were

sentenced to life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua,” he said.

Chief Justice Peralta had authorized the continuation of video conferencing on cases involving PDLs and children in conflict with the law (CCWL).

PDLs are those charged in court with criminal offenses and violations of city and municipal ordinances and are detained while petitioning to post bail, attending hearings, and awaiting the decisions on their cases.

A CCWL is “anyone under 18 who comes into contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offense.”

Video conferencing will enable suspects in criminal cases to testify and be cross-examined right inside their detention cells.

IN BRIEF Dentist Mata dies Tuesday, 61 DR. AGNES Vila Mata, former faculty member of the University of the Philippines, Padre Faura, College of Dentistry for Masters in Orthodontics, died on Tuesday. She was 61.

Mata, who held clinic at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia, died at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, with her husband, Jose Antonio Nestor and only son, Jan Victor Nestor at her bedside, a family statement said.

Her body lies at the Emerald Chapel of the Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina City.

Visiting hours will be implemented from 10am to 6pm daily, in strict compliance with the General Community Quarantine (GCQ. Internment will be on Sunday, June 7 at 3 in the afternoon, the statement said.

Kapa-Community appeals to Duterte THE Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc. is appealing to President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his closure order on its operations.

God’s Grace Generations of Jesus Christ Church Inc. Pastor Raddy Umandac, along with Life Shaper Church Pastor Joerie Argate and Jesus Christ Great Provider Church Pastor Rey Pablo, said they are hoping that the President would look into the predicament of their five million members who were badly affected by the enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

He also called on members to stay united and rally behind their cause.

Kapa Ministry launched a signature campaign to collect millions of signatures in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Argate said many of their members have lost their jobs when the government imposed a three-month lockdown.

Kapa and its officials were accused of operating an investment scam before various courts, while the Court of Appeals ordered to freeze the bank accounts and assets of Kapa on the petition of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Pasay City stops building by 3 firms THE Pasay City government on Thursday ordered three private firms to stop building new structures for their failure to comply with the government’s construction safety guidelines during COVID-19 pandemic.

This, after a team from the City Engineering Office led by Johari Rangiris, found the D.L. Cervantes Construction Corp., the Montevista Construction Corp., and the Donor Builders Inc. violated the safety standard set by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Mayor Imelda Rubiano said there would be no let up in their campaign to implement safety guidelines and other health protocols as Metro Manila now under the general community quarantine status.

“We have to make sure that workplaces are safe. We always have to be vigilant so that COVID-19 won’t spread in the city,” she said.

DPWH Order 39 strictly requires all construction companies to secure a construction quarantine pass from the city government before any activity takes place during the enhanced community quarantine. Joel Zurbano

P7.48-m worth of shabu seized LAGUNA Police Provincial Director Col. Serafin Petalio II said Thursday a total of P7.48 million worth of suspected shabu had been seized by law enforcement agents from three suspects who were arrested during a drug buy-bust operation in Santa Rosa and Biñan City.

Petalio identified the suspects as Samson Tan, Ansadin Kamid, and Dexter Saliek.

Police Lt. Elfredo Bicomong, acting head of the Public Information Office of Camp Paciano Rizal in Sta. Cruz, Laguna said operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Santa Rosa Central Police Station conducted the buy-bust operation at Brgy. Don Jose, Sta. Rosa City Laguna.

This resulted the seizure of at least 500 grams of shabu worth P3.4 million.

A follow up operation led to the confiscation of 600 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P4.08 million, assorted drug paraphernalia, and an undetermined amount of money in bundles of 20-peso bills. Benjamin Chavez

GOODS FOR MANILA. Chinese Ambassador Ambassador Huang Xilian donates 5,000 relief goods to the City of Manila in a ceremony attended by Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna as well as FFCCCII President Lim Bion, External Affairs Chairman Nelson Guevarra, Ronald Gun, Cecilio Pedro and Bernie Ang. Norman Cruz

HB 78 tries to exclude telcos as public utilities—Carpio FORMER Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said Thursday that House Bill 78 was an attempt to free telcos from the 60 percent Filipino ownership requirement of the Constitution.

HB No. 78 was passed by the House of Representatives on March 10, 2020, a week before Metro Manila and some parts of the country was placed by President Rodrigo Duterte under an Enhanced Community Quarantine due to the spread of the coronavirus.

“That House bill, if approved by the Senate, will amend the Public Service Act to exclude telcos as public utilities which, under the Constitution, must at least be 60 percent Filipino-owned,” said the retired SC magistrate.

He added the amendment would allow foreign investors to own 100 percent of telco companies, implying that China Telecom ccould be 100 percent owner of the third telco being prodded by Duterte as early as Nov. 21, 2017.

As it stands today, the ticket for the country’s third telco was awarded to Dito Telecommunity, a partnership of Davao-based Udenna consortium and China’s State-owned telecom.

But the former magistrate of the high court said: “Apparently China Telecom wants to come in as a majority, or even 100 percent owner, of the third telco.”

Carpio said HB 78 was unconstitutional, explaining that “the framers of

our Constitution, in discussing Section 11, Article XII of the Constitution requiring public utilities to be at least 60 percent Filipino-owned, expressly referred to telco companies.”

He added: “Another provision of the Constitution, not covered in HB 78, also required telcos to be 60 percent Filipino-owned.”

He explained telcos, which cannot operate without utilizing radio frequencies, must also comply with Sec. 2, Article VII of the Constitution, which provides that:“All natural resources are owned by the State. The State may directly (exploit such natural resources), or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations at least 60 percent of whose capital is owned by such persons.”

He explained that radio frequencies are natural resources owned by the State.

“Every franchise granted by Congress to utilize radio frequencies contains this provision: The radio spectrum is a finite resource that is part of the national patrimony and the use thereof is a privilege conferred upon the grantee by the State.”

“This is a clear acknowledgment that radio frequencies are natural resources owned by the State, and can be utilized only by a corporation that is 60 percent Filipino-owned,” Carpio said.

BIKES AT THE READY. A bicycle store in Caloocan City is gearing up to sell bicycles as an alternative transportation mode for workers going to work—with at least two cities in the metropolis already constructing bike lanes for this transport vehicle for the new normal. Andrew Rabulan

GSIS adopts contactless filing of benefits TO H ELP cu rb t he spread of COV I D -19, st ate pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is now adopting contactless methods of accepting application for claims and benefits after successfully shifting to online loan application in March this year.

“We are moving to new methods of transaction to provide our members and pensioners the same quality service, without needlessly exposing them to health risks and viral infection,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet said in a statement.

The pension fund chief approved three new ways by which government employees, retirees and beneficiaries may submit their application forms and requirements to GSIS, which may be through any of the following: 1) postal mail or delivery courier, 2) drop boxes located in the lobbies of all GSIS branch offices nationwide, and 3) electronically through email.

The contactless transactions will apply to the filing of the following claims and benefits: retirement; life insurance (maturity or cash surrender regular or optional policies); survivorship; death; funeral; employees compensation; preneed; and request for pension accrual.

“Claimants must download the pertinent application forms, which may be accessed in the GSIS website (via https://www.gsis.gov.ph/downloadableforms/). Then, they may either choose to print the form and send it manually to GSIS either by drop box or by snail mail, or they may opt to send their application electronically via email through an email address designated by GSIS for a particular area,” Macasaet said.

Members who opt to file their application through email may do so in two ways: 1) file it through their agency authorized officer or liaison officer; or 2) submit it using their personal email, preferably the email address that was originally recorded in their GSIS files.

They must also attach the required documents for the particular claim that they are applying for. In addition to the requirements, they must submit a clear photo of the claimant holding the duly accomplished application form and Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID) card (or two valid IDs in the absence of a UMID card).

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House OKs bill creating 2 more Rizal districts

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives has approved on third, and final, reading a bill that reapportions Rizal’s Second District into three legislative districts.

Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, who represents the district, said House Bill 6222 was approved on Monday.

Nograles hailed the bill’s approval, and expressed optimism the measure would hurdle the Senate’s scrutiny and merit the President’s signature soon.

“We filed the reapportioning bill to ensure equitable representation for our constituents. At the moment, the coverage of the Second District is too big,” he said.

“No matter how we strive to serve all the constituents, some will be left behind if the present setup continues,” Nograles added.

Under the present setup, Rizal’s four legislators are representing 2.9 million constituents, or a ratio of one for every 721,000 people.

In contrast, Pangasinan and Batangas, which have roughly the same population, have six legislative districts, he explained.

The bill divides the Second District into three, with each one composed of the following towns: • Second Legislative District–Cardona, Baras, Tanay, Morong, Jala-jala, Pililia, Teresa • Third Legislative District–San Mateo • Fourth Legislative District–Rodriguez (Montalban) If enacted, the measure would take effect in time for the 2022 elections.

Nograles said he filed the reapportioning bill earlier this year on account of logistical challenges he had encountered during his first year in office.

“While we are aware that governance requires making hard decisions in terms of distributing valuable yet finite resources in our jurisdictions, the choice is much more difficult when by all accounts the towns are on equal footing,” lamented the lawmaker.

He also said that the province would receive additional funds with two more legislative districts and that would help Rizal grapple with the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns imposed to control its spread.

QC: Don’t transact with fixers

By Rio N. Araja THE Quezon City government on Thursday reiterated its call to business operators to avoid transacting with fixers.

Margarita Santos, Business Permits and Licensing Department chief, told the public visiting the city hall to deal only with authorized employees regarding licenses and other permits.

She reacted to the supposed fraud involving a business owner—Norberto Reblora Jr. of Massive Integrated Tech Solutions—who was duped of P339,499.95 by an alleged fixer who promised to expedite the renewal of his business permit.

Reblora filed an estafa case against Mariecris Bobiles after she was arrested by a joint team composed of operatives of the city hall police detachment and the city’s legal department.

Santos said Reblora’s case must serve as warning to other businesses to stop from transacting with fixers in processing their permits and other documents.

“There should be no reason for you to approach a fixer to expedite the process of your permit, license and other pertinent documents relative to your business operations,” Santos said.

Last January, Bobiles offered her services to fast track the renewal of his business permit in exchange for P339,499.95 in manager’s check.

He said he received a copy of the permit from Bobiles through his e-mail, but noticed a minor error in his company’s address so he went to the city hall to have it corrected.

He, however, discovered he was not issued a business permit.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

A4 FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020

Business

Dominguez plans to tax cross-border digital deals THE government plans to propose a taxation scheme on cross-border digital services transactions to capture income tax once an international agreement is reached, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Wednesday.

Dominguez’s statement came in the wake of report that the US government was investigating the digital services taxation scheme of countries like Great Britain, the European Union, Indonesia, Turkey and India.

Such taxation scheme, as claimed by the US, was aimed at American technological companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix.

“We are aware that several tax administrations have started to impose digital services tax even when countries have yet to agree on how to reallocate income taxation rights on cross-border digital transactions,” Dominguez said in a statement.

“We are constantly monitoring developments on this matter. Once an international agreement is reached, we will immediately study and propose tax reforms to capture income tax on crossborder digital transactions,” Dominguez said.

For now, he said, the government was focusing on efforts on collecting value-added tax on both local and cross-border digital transactions, similar to what the other Southeast Asian countries were doing.

“The DoF and the BIR are currently crafting regulations and designing a system to effectively collect VAT on digital transactions to help the government raise revenues,” he said.

He also welcomed Rep. Joey Salceda’s proposed bill on digital tax, specifically on his proposed amendments to the VAT Law. He clarified once an international agreement on cross-border digital transactions was reached, and in case it passed into law in the Philippines, the digital services tax would be on top of the VAT/consumption tax.

Earlier, Salceda filed a tax bill to better capture the value created by the digital economy in the country’s tax system, and plug loopholes caused by ambiguities as to what kind of taxes digital services are liable to.

Julito G. Rada

Diokno says ‘A’ investment grade remains a target BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the goal of attaining an “A” investment rating by 2022 will remain on the table if the economy rebounds strongly next year in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease 2019.

In an online press briefing on Thursday, Diokno reiterated the priority of the government right now would be to save lives and the livelihood of the people adversely impacted by the pandemic.

“Our [earlier] goal [of attaining an ‘A’ rating] is by 2022… Whether we accomplish that is secondary right now… [But] assuming we have a U-shaped recovery, then the ‘A’ rating [remains] on the table… ”Diokno said.

“But we have to have more reforms and pass more legislations… But for now, [the] priority is saving lives and saving livelihoods…,” Diokno said.

Diokno said in an earlier briefing the ambitious goal was put in the backseat because of the impact of the pandemic that required the government to prioritize help to the people.

S&P Global Ratings rates the Philippines “BBB+” with a stable outlook. The rating was given in May last year. Amid the pandemic, S&P affirmed the rating and the outlook last month. The BBB+ rating―the highest in the country’s history― is a notch away from the most-coveted “A”rating category.

Fitch Ratings gave the Philippines an investment grade rating of “BBB” with a stable outlook earlier. The rating of BBB was affirmed and the outlook of positive was revised to stable also last month.

Moody’s Investors Service, meanwhile, gave the country an investment grade rating of “Baa2” with a stable outlook earlier, which was affirmed in July 2018.

The government earlier said the economy might contract between 2 percent and 3.4 percent this year due to the impact of the pandemic. Julito G. Rada

PSE INDEX

Thursday, June 4, 2020

271.84 points 6,517.49

TOTAL VOLUME 2,201,404.662 TOTAL TRADES 165,916 TOTAL VALUE 11,520,952,735.73 ADVANCES 132 DECLINES 65 UNCHANGED 42

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.1700

Japan

Yen

0.009184

0.4608

UK

Pound

1.257800

63.1038

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129029

6.4734

Switzerland

Franc

1.040474

52.2006

Canada

Dollar

0.741125

37.1822

Singapore

Dollar

0.715973

35.9204

Australia

Dollar

0.692100

34.7227

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651113

133.006

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266525

13.3716

Brunei

Dollar

0.713419

35.7922

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.031696

1.5902

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.6599

Euro

Euro

1.123700

56.3760

Korea

Won

0.000823

0.0413

China

Yuan

0.140517

7.0497

India

Rupee

0.013278

0.6662

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.235018

11.7909

New Zealand

Dollar

0.642000

32.2091

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033503

1.6808 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

AirAsia offers low fares on local flights

ABOITIZ DONATION. The Aboitiz Group, through the Aboitiz Foundation, is contributing to the government’s rapid mass testing efforts with the donation of 4,400 kits in Batangas to help in detecting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the province. At the turnover ceremony are Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste (fourth from left) and officers of Aboitiz business units in Batangas led by Lima Technology Center assistant vice president-industrial business unit Clifford Academia (extreme right).

PH, World Bank sign P25-b COVID-19 loan

By Julito G.Rada

T

HE government on Wednesday signed a $500-million (P25-billion) loan agreement with the World Bank that aims to support ongoing efforts to ease the social and economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak on poor households and workers of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the swift approval of the agree-

ment for the Philippines’ Emergency COVID-19 Response Development Policy Loan underlined the strong confidence of the international community in the government’s capability to meet the massive funding needed to save lives and provide immediate relief to Filipinos affected by the global health crisis.

Dominguez and Achim Fock, the World Bank acting country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, signed the agreement for the loan.

“This is the third loan accord that we have signed with the World Bank that is designed to assist us in swiftly respond-

ing to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 emergency. The World Bank has always been our reliable partner in strengthening our country’s economic resilience,” Dominguez said.

“We once again thank the World Bank for its prompt action on this financial support package that will help us to promptly provide relief to poor and low-income households and employees of MSMEs who lack the means to fend for themselves during the lockdowns implemented nationwide to contain the spread of COVID-19,” he added.

Fock said the new financing could help ensure the timely delivery of finan-

cial support for struggling families and communities while the country expands efforts to contain the pandemic and reduce its economic impact.

Dominguez said the ECRDPL replaced the earlier proposed additional financing for a project that aims to support the government’s goals of promoting competitiveness, enhancing fiscal sustainability and strengthening financial resilience to natural disasters and climate change.

The ECRDPL will have the same terms and conditions as the initially proposed Promoting Competitiveness and Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters Subprogram 1, which it replaced.

Dominguez said “the change is in view of World Bank’s advice to specifically come up with a new development policy loan on the country’s COVID-19 response instead of a supplemental financing package for the Promoting Competitiveness and Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters project.”

The agreement for the ECRDPL will bank on the policy actions accomplished

Villar’s AllHome increases profit by 30% to P270.2m

By Jenniffer B. Austria ALLHOME Corp., a one-stop shop home store chain owned by the Villar Group, saw its first-quarter net income increase by 30 percent to P270.2 million from P207.1 million year-on-year on strong revenues.

All Home said in a statement Thursday first-quarter revenues remained robust, rising 41 percent to P3.4 billion from P2.4 billion in the same period in 2019 “AllHome’s growth in the first quarter of 2020 was mainly driven by the additional contribution from the new store openings from the last quarter of 2019,” said AllHome chairman Manuel Villar Jr. “We are very pleased with our performance, which remained strong despite the occurrence of unforeseeable cir-

cumstances such as the eruption of Taal volcano and the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) due to the COVID 19 Pandemic,” he added.

AllHome expanded its store network from 23 in 2018 to 45 by the end of 2019. It is evaluating the expansion program this year.

But All Home said it had the capability to speed up the construction and subsequently open new stores once quarantine rules eased and overall conditions improved.

“The start of the year has been quite challenging. However, AllHome plans to capitalize on the ‘new normal mindset’ which is to stay at home. More households are taking the opportunity to recreate their personal spaces by prioritizing comfort, refurbishing and renovating their homes since they spent

most of their time during the ECQ inside the house,” said AllHome vice chairman Camille Villar.

“We also added measures to enhance the safety of our transactions such as touch-free payments and various delivery options, including curbside pickups, the use of personal shopping services and beefing up our e-commerce platforms,” she added.

The group has implemented several measures to ensure the safety of company personnel, including the early closure of stores to allow for more stringent sanitation and the replenishment of essential products, the practice of social distancing, as well as limiting the number of customers inside the stores.

The company’s total assets as of March 31, 2020 stood at P19.9 billion from P19.7 billion on December 31, 2019.

AIRASIA Philippines is offering low fares on domestic flights as it gradually resumes services beginning June 5 after the government eased community quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and several parts of the country.

The budget airline owned by F&S Holdings Inc. of the Romero family said the resumption of services would initially be on key domestic routes with promotional fares starting from P538.

Services will gradually increase to include international destinations by July.

As of 2 June, domestic flights are open for booking such as Manila to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa and Davao and from Clark going to Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa and Davao.

The airline said the safety and wellbeing of passengers remained its top priority.

Darwin G. Amojelar

BSP enhances cyber surveillance—Diokno

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has enhanced its regulations, cyber surveillance, collaboration with law enforcers, and communication campaign to boost the financial system’s resilience amid a rise in digital accounts in the Philippines.

“As more Filipinos take advantage of online payment, remittance and other technologyenabled financial services—we need to ensure that potential risks are well-managed. Thus, we will continue to find innovative strategies to sustain the resilience of the financial services industry as we transition towards the New Economy,’’ said BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in an online press briefing on Thursday.

BSP data showed that from March 17 to April 30 this year, around 4.115 million digital accounts were opened among banks and nonbank electronic money issuers. From January to April 2020, industry sources indicated new web sign-ups and app downloads increased by 100 percent year-on-year. Julito G. Rada

Gatchalian files bill to extend subsidies

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for the extension of lifeline rate subsidies for 20 more years in order to provide continuous relief to marginalized households, or those who consume 100 kilowatt-hours or less of monthly electricity.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1583, which seeks to further amend Section 73 of Republic Act 9136, or the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), as amended by Republic Act. No. 10150 or an act extending the implementation of the lifeline rate.

“The spirit of this measure is to really cushion the blow of power-rate increases to marginalized households who cannot afford to pay the full cost of their electricity bill. We already made strides in breaking that barrier to access electricity through the lifeline-rate subsidies and there’s no turning back now,” Gatchalian said. Alena Mae S. Flores

Solar power firms seek stimulus plan

THE Philippine Solar and Storage Alliance appealed to lawmakers for a stimulus package that includes the greening and digitization of the energy infrastructure, such as a shift to smart meters to prevent a repeat of billing problems during the enhanced community quarantine period.

In a letter to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, PSSEA raised the problems of power customers arising from an old and antiquated metering system.

“The inefficiencies of our present meters, particularly in reading kwh consumption, in billing customers, and collecting payments are not where we want to be in the future,” PSSEA chair Tetchi Capellan said in a statement.

Consumers complained of high power rates after the distribution utilities were forced to resort to billing estimates during the ECQ. Alena Mae S. Flores

Stimulus spending, CREATE bills backed

GBF, URC FACE SHIELDS. Dr. Felicitas Soriano of Veterans Memorial Medical Center (left) tries out a Universal Robina Corp.-produced face shield while Waldy Berras, procurement head of The Medical City, shows a reusable face shield designed by URC and distributed by the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation. The GBF and URC completed the distribution of over 100,000 reusable face shields to 33 hospitals, as the country ramped up its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

FORMER government secretaries, bankers, economists and industrialists have sought the immediate congressional passage of the second package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program―the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, formerly known as the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA).

In a statement Wednesday, an initial list of 17 signatories expressed their full “support for the immediate passage of the bill as a much-needed boost to the recovery of the Philippine economy, and as a necessary policy tool for retaining and creating jobs that will help the people secure their livelihoods against the adverse impacts of COVID-19.”

The signatories cited the need for an immediate 5-percent cut in the corporate income tax, which will benefit all businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, and the extension of the net operating loss carryover (NOLCO) by

two years to “provide businesses more resources to pay for their expenses and keep their employees” amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.

Signatories to this joint statement include former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr.; former Finance Secretaries Roberto de Ocampo, Margarito Teves, Jose Camacho and Jose Pardo; former Prime Minister Cesar Virata; Monetary Board member and former Economic Planning Secretary Felipe Medalla; former Economic Planning Secretary and Ateneo professor Cielito Habito; MB member Bruce Tolentino.

Business groups, meanwhile, called for an increase in stimulus spending under the proposed Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) bill, formerly the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) bill, to fight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, protect jobs and create more businesses.

Julito G. Rada