Manila Standard - 2020 June 10 - Wednesday

Palace receives anti-terror bill, says Duterte to review measure

By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta VOL. XXXIV • NO. 105 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NCR may remain in GCQ till June 30 COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JUNE 9)

22,992 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

1,017

518 NEW

6

DEATHS

NEW

4,736

99

RECOVERIES

NEW

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday received a copy of the anti-terrorism bill which is now up for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a text message.

In a virtual press conference earlier in the day, Roque said Duterte has 30 days to act on the legislation or else it will lapse into a law.

“We have a 30-day period to review, either to veto or to sign the bill.

Otherwise, if the President does not act on it, it

will become law,” he said.

Roque acknowledged the growing opposition to the new law, saying it is the President’s decision if the measure would be beneficial to the people’s protection or not.

“That will undergo a process. The provisions will be reviewed and if there is anything unconstitutional, the President will be advised if he should veto it or not,” Roque said.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Duterte is likely to wait for his department to review the measure, adding his department aims to submit its comments on the bill in 15 days.

Roque, meanwhile, assured critics and detractors that the measure Next page

By Willie Casas, Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo

O

NE question is sweeping Metro Manila these days: Will the national capital of nearly 13 million people transition away from General Community Quarantine (GCQ) after June 15?

The question chases reports from the Department of Health, which registered 280 “fresh cases” of COVID-19 in the Philippines as of Tuesday, with total recorded cases reaching nearly 23,000 and deaths now recorded at 1,011, and 4,637 recoveries—and the numbers are rising.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said quarantine restrictions in the National

Capital Region (NCR) could also be tightened and extended to June 30 by the government's Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases on COVID-19, depending on doubling rate and healthcare capacity.

Given these figures, Malacanang said the government might keep Metro Manila Next page

President Rodrigo Duterte inspects a draft bill before signing it into law in this file photo.

WORLD ROUNDUP • WHO: Pandemic worsening globally • 136K new cases MOSCOW—Moscow emerged from a strict coronavirus lockdown on Tuesday despite Russia seeing thousands of new cases every day, as the World Health Organization warned the pandemic was "worsening" worldwide.

Muscovites flocked to streets and parks after authorities in the Russian capital lifted a lockdown in place since March 30, even as the country registered 8,595 new cases and its total death toll surpassed 6,000.

But as large parts of Europe and the United States reopen, the WHO reported a record number of new coronavirus cases globally.

Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday that 136,000 cases had been reported in the previous 24 hours, "the most in a single day so far," with the majority of them in the Americas and South Asia.

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BEACHING RAMP SET. Officials of the Department of National Defense (inset) cut the ribbon to inaugurate a beaching ramp on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, which would let its ships dock on the disputed island. It is the first major upgrade of the country in the nine features it occupies in the waterway. Camera DND

GETTING READY.

Workers put up tarpaulins along Kalaw Street in Manila on Tuesday, in preparation for the Independence Day celebration on Friday.

Norman Cruz

Defense execs open Pag-Asa Is. pier, shock over ’alien welcome’ DEFENSE officials on Tuesday inaugurated a cemented pier that would let their ships dock on Pag-Asa Island whose waters were deluged by more than a hundred Chinese boats last year.

The pier, also known as a "beaching ramp," is the first major upgrade of the Philippines in the nine features it occupies in the West Philippine Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Beijing.

The West Philippine Sea is the country's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. Pag-asa Island hosts Kalayaan town, a Palawan municipality that is home to a military outpost and a civilian community. It has a school, military barracks and a runway, among other infrastructures.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Felimon Santos Jr., Navy Flag Officer-inCommand Vice Admiral Giovanni Bacordo, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Allen Paredes, Army Chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, and newly installed AFP Western Command chief Lt. Gen. Erickson Gloria inaugurated the structure.

It was the first time they all visited the island at the same time.

But Lorenzana and the reporters who went to Pag-asa were surprised after a telco told them via text that they were in China and Vietnam.

The text messages said services were available via the telco's roaming partners in those two countries.

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China drug firm latest PH vaccine dev’t ally THE China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. will now be among the potential collaborators of the Philippines in the coronavirus disease vaccine development and clinical trials, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the two pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in the market today—PCV10 and PCV13—are comparable in performance based on new evidence gathered by global health experts.

This was what the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of the Philippines declared during a webinar sponsored by the Samahang Plaridel, dubbed “Communicating Key Truths in Public Health,” on Tuesday.

“We have been given up-

dates on both PCV10 and PCV13. These updates have been reviewed and assessed by the immunization committee and we see that both are comparable,” said Mary Ann Bunyi, vice president of the PIDSP. “So, the updates that were given to us by both companies we have forwarded to the Department of Health, and we leave it to the DOH which pneumococcal vaccine will be made available for public use, and especially given for free to vulnerable children.”

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases had Next page

Virus casualties: Night club chain to fade out lights, Corregidor ferry service to stop SOME of the evening lights in Metro Manila will soon be on a fade out.

The country's “king of night entertainment” is bowing out from the glitters of night clubs that employed many attractive bar girls in select Metro Manila districts.

Jolly Ting, chairman and chief executive of publicly-listed Jolliville Holdings Corp., has sent out separation pay to employees of

Pegasus

Heartbeat KTV

Classmate

several high-end entertainment clubs and KTV bars in Metro Manila’s pleasure districts, including Pegasus Ultimate Men’s Club, and Heartbeat Mega KTV, a well-informed source said Tuesday.

Jolliville rents out the facilities to these night clubs and KTV bars while an outsourcing unit of the company provides the staff and talents for their operations.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

DOH misses Duterte deadline U Vergeire’s statement was made as the deadline set by President Rodrigo Duterte for the distribution of the financial assistance arrived.

Vergeire said 26 checks had been distributed to the heirs of health workers

that died from COVID-19, but there were six others that have not gone out because a special power of attorney was needed because the next of kin were abroad or in confinement.

Some 24 health workers who were se-

verely ill with COVID-19 were expected to receive P100,000 each as a benefit, but only 10 of them have received their checks so far. The records for the others were still under verification, Vergeire said.

Mental health a concern The impact of COVID-19 reaches beyond the immediate physical health and economic concerns that have grabbed attention over the past few months, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday.

A person’s mental and psychosocial well- being is also an equally important part of staying safe and healthy during the pandemic, the DOH also said.

In Tuesday’s Beat COVID-19 virtual

NCR...

Late cases for Tuesday reached 238, which brings the total additional cases to 518, raising the total coronavirus cases in the country to 22,992, according to the Department of Health.

At the same time, the DOH reported the number of healthcare workers who have contracted the coronavirus disease has reached 2,736 as of June 7.

In its COVID-19 report on Monday, the DOH said 1,589 of these health workers recovered from the respiratory illness. The death toll has remained at 32 since May 29.

The DOH said the other 1,115 medical workers were active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine.

Of this number, 990 are mild cases, 124 are asymptomatic, while one is in severe condition.

Health workers account for 12 percent of the total infections nationwide.

Testing backlogs But health authorities said the fresh cases might include testing backlogs and patients who sought medical help much later.

Vergeire said this was because the date of the onset of illness of the fresh cases were far from the release date of test results.

This is why, she claimed, the recent increase in cases may not mean that the virus is spreading further in the country.

Vergeire said DOH’s experts on data analytics were already studying the figures to help the IATF come up with its decisions on whether to further relax restrictions in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

Metro Manila and other earlier hotspots are now under GCQ, where businesses have been allowed to reopen and public transport have resumed limited operations. The rest of the country is under modified GCQ. Worldwide, people who contracted the COVID-19 virus reached 7.1 million on Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. Of this number, almost 3.3 million have recovered while 406,000 have died.

Tracing efforts Meanwhile, the DOH is tracing the date of onset of illness in patients positive for COVID-19 as the number of fresh coronavirus cases reported this week increased.

Vergeire was responding to questions if the rising number of fresh cases—meaning those samples from patients whose results were released by the laboratories in three

days—equate to the rising COVID-19 cases amid the easing of quarantine measures nationwide.

“We have to be cautious in interpreting our data. We also have to look at the weakness of our information system...

There has been an increase in the past few days, but this could be a function of reporting (on the part of laboratories) because our timeline begins from the time the results are released,” Vergeire said.

Vergeire earlier said the varying capacity of laboratories processing COVID-19 tests, which are experiencing shortage in supplies and manpower, greatly affects their ability to report COVID-19 cases in real time.

DOJ employees positive Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday revealed that 40 employees of the Department of Justice were tested positive after being subjected to rapid anti-body testing for coronavirus disease, prompting him to seriously consider suspending the work at the DOJ. Guevarra said there were 40 DOJ employees tested positive as of Tuesday, but these were through rapid test only.

“They will still be subjected to a more reliable swab test,” he added.

The numbers of DOJ employees who tested positive in the rapid test rose from the initial three, comprising of two security guards and one from maintenance, to 40.

According to the DOJ chief, they have disinfected the DOJ premises to prevent other employees from being infected with the virus.

“We've disinfected the premises over the weekend, and we'll do it all over again. We will also decide if we need to suspend all work on site in the meantime,” Guevarra said.

The DOJ had also sought the help of the Chinese General Hospital and requested that they conduct rapid test on their other employees.

Prohibited still The Palace reiterated that motorcycle backriding, horse racing and cockfighting remained prohibited in areas under community quarantine to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Duterte’s spokesman Roque also said this coming Independence Day celebration on June 12, only 10 people will be allowed to attend the ceremony as part of the health protocols being observed

amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

The latest decision on the quarantine restrictions on amusement games and June 12 occasion was reached during a meeting of the IATF, Roque told a news briefing on nationwide television.

Roque also warned local government officials of possible administrative charges should they allow motorcycle backriding in their respective areas while the country was still under community quarantine.

“Horse racing is still not allowed.

Cockfighting is also prohibited. Although the IATF gave the approval for the celebration on June 12, the participants must be limited to 10 persons,” he added.

At present, amusement, gaming, and fitness establishments, as well as those in the kids and the tourism industries are still not allowed to operate in areas under GCQ like Metro Manila.

Outdoor non-contact sports and other forms of exercise such as walking, jogging, running, biking, golf, swimming, tennis, badminton, equestrian, range shooting, and skateboarding however are allowed, subject to minimum health standards in GCQ areas.

At the same time, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said other industries still prohibited to operate in GCQ are gyms/ fitness studios and sports facilities, cinemas, theaters, karaoke bars, libraries, cultural centers, museums, beaches, water parks and other tourist destinations, travel agencies, tour operators , personal care services such as massage parlors, sauna and facial care; pet grooming services, internet shops, and education centers like testing centers, review centers, language, driving, dance/acting/voice schools.

Mass gatherings such as movie screenings, concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment activities, religious services, and work conferences shall be allowed provided that participants shall be limited to 50 percent of the seating or venue capacity in places under MGCQ. Meanwhile, the Department of Interior and Local Government said chiefs of police could now issue travel passes, which would cut down bureaucracy as the Philippines restarts its economy under relaxed restrictions imposed during the lockdown.

Those who want to cross checkpoints were previously required to coordinate with the police, which will then inform their regional counterparts and the local governments responsible for issuing travel authority.

to ensure that it complies with the 1987 Constitution.

He said Duterte is in no rush to sign the measure meant to add more teeth to the country’s law against terrorism.

Roque also said the anti-terrorism bill would not curtail freedom of speech.

Under the bill, persons who shall threaten to commit terrorism and those who will propose any terroristic acts or incite others to commit terrorism shall suffer imprisonment of 12 years.

Suspected persons can be detained for up to 24 days without a warrant of arrest, compared to only three days under the

Human Security Act the bill is designed to replace.

A 60-day surveillance on suspected terrorists can also be conducted by the police or the military, with an allowable 30-day extension.

Video conferencing for the accused and witnesses will also be allowed under the measure.

The Commission on Human Rights will be notified in case of the detention of a suspected terrorist.

The opposition and progressive groups condemned the passage of the measure in the Congress, describing it as an attack on

freedom of speech or an avenue for redtagging.

Catholic church leaders feared that the new anti-terrorism bill threaten the very values of freedom, respect, justice and compassion.

Under the Human Security Act, law enforcers can be fined for wrongfully detaining a person tagged as a terror suspect.

Lawmakers removed such safeguards in the new legislation and authorized surveillance and wire-tapping of any individual on mere suspicion of being an alleged terrorist, even without any evidence of wrongdoing.

pandemic influenza (avian flu), the H1N1 influenza (swine flu), varicella and mumps.

The Beijing-based company primarily sells its vaccines in China while also exploring growth opportunities in the international markets. It is registering its products in over 30 countries.

Based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s 11th weekly report to Congress on the government’s COVID-19 response efforts, there are 20 out of 24 hospitals participating in the World Health Organization Solidarity Trials that are now recruiting participant-patients.

A “Solidarity Trial,” an international clinical trial, was earlier launched by the WHO and its partners to test the safety and effectiveness of the possible vaccines in treating COVID-19.

The Philippines’ participation in the WHO Solidarity Trial was approved by the Single Joint Research Ethics Board on April 17 in support of the COVID-19 global response.

As of June 3, data showed there were 220 participant-patients or enrollees in the clinical trials

Defense...

"Welcome to Vietnam!" a portion of the message read.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, meanwhile, said the relationship between the Philippines and China was “enjoying a renaissance” under the Duterte administration as the economic cooperation between the two countries remained strong.

He made the statement in a televised public press briefing as the two countries marked the 45th year of diplomatic relations.

“The Philippine government is hoping that these warming ties may lead to mutual prosperity and to the resolution of the disputes between the two nations,” Roque said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the warm diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China “has not cooled” down, but instead had bloomed into a new partnership for

mutual benefits and progress despite the maritime dispute over some territories in the South China Sea. “The feeling of warm friendship has not cooled, let alone been lost, not even in our differences. But under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, that old friendship has flowered into a new partnership for mutual profit and progress,” Locsin said in a two-page message marking the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In the Senate, Senator Risa Hontiveros said the suggestion to seize China's assets in the Philippines as payback for the damage it had caused in the disputed territorial waters needed further study.

She made the comment after she was asked if such a move was allowed by the Constitution.

"Anything is possible, I guess. There was a whole spectrum of proposals that came out yesterday, and that one was on the spectrum end of hard diplomacy— very provocative," Hontiveros told ANC.

"Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening," he told reporters.

Tedros said that in countries where the situation was improving, "the biggest threat is now complacency", adding that "most people globally are still susceptible to infection".

"More than six months into this pandemic, this is not the time for any country to take its foot off the pedal," he said.

New York City—the epicentre of America's coronavirus outbreak—began partially reopening its shattered economy on Monday after almost three months of lockdown.

Some 400,000 New Yorkers were allowed to return to work as retailers began offering limited in-store and curbside pickup, with construction and manufacturing also permitted to resume operations.

"It's good to be back," said Michael Ostergren, manager of the Shakespeare and Co bookshop on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where a trickle of customers arrived shortly after the doors reopened.

"Everybody wants to be out of the house. We're just picking up where we left off in March," he added.

Walking in central Moscow under sunny skies, 33-year-old marketing manager Olga Ivanova said that after weeks stuck at home it felt good to have her city back.

"It's nice out and there are a lot of people on the streets. It's a beautiful day, in every sense of the word," she said.

With more than 485,000 cases as of Tuesday Russia has the third-highest number of confirmed infections after the United States and Brazil.

Officials say the high number is the result of a huge testing campaign, with more than 13 million tests carried out so far, and point to Russia's relatively low mortality rate as evidence it is safe to ease lockdowns.

Critics have accused authorities of under-reporting deaths and say officials are rushing to lift restrictions for political reasons, after President Vladimir Putin rescheduled a high-profile military parade in Red Square for June 24 and a vote on constitutional reforms for July 1.

COVID-19 deaths have passed 404,000 worldwide, with more than seven million infections, since the disease emerged in China late last year before sweeping the globe, subjecting billions to some form of lockdown and paralysing economies.

Governments around the world are cautiously peeling back those restrictions to resuscitate their economies while trying to avoid a resurgence of infections.

In Belgium, pubs and eateries flung their doors open, but with social distancing measures in force, while Ireland opened shops and allowed gatherings of six people and limited travel. AFP

you have shared with us all these years," read a portion of the statement.

Speaking to GMA News Online, seen nationwide, Tina Cortez, president of Sun Cruises, admitted that the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent lockdown were among the reasons for the decision.

"We have been around since 1988.

Imagine, more than three decades already, but when we started the year, there was the Taal eruption, which affected tourism," Cortez began in a phone interview.

She added that a guest in March tested positive "and so we were asked to close, and we haven't opened since."

The Standard source said at least 10 big night clubs, including Pegasus and Heartbeat in Quezon City and Genie Magic KTV in Cainta, Rizal that have been non-operational over the past three months, were not expected to reopen this year because of strict social distancing rules of health authorities.

“Kalungkot nga sir and nangyari sa amin (What happened to us is

saddening),” said Jeremy, a “talent” at Heartbeat.

Gerry, another staff, said they were assured of separation pay, while a supervisor confirmed the notice of closure due to COVID-19.

The clubs have been shut down since March 16 when the government declared Metro Manila under the enhanced community quarantine.

Jolliville Holdings through corporate secretary Ortrud Ting-Yao and legal counsel Maria Joy Ting had yet to

respond to queries from Manila Standard at presstime.

Calls made to Heartbeat and Pegasus went unanswered.

Sources said thousands of regular employees and talents, mostly dancers and guest relations officers, under Servwell BPO International Inc., Jolliville’s outsourcing unit which provides the staffing needs of different KTV operators in Metro Manila, were expected to lose their source of income.

NFORESEEN circumstances have been hampering the distribution of compensation to the families of health care workers who died or health workers who got critically sick due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday.

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under GCQ until the end of June if coronavirus infections in the metropolis continue to rise.

"All the decisions of the IATF, whether or not to graduate to the next regime, in the case of Metro Manila to MGCQ (modified general community quarantine), is always dependent on data," Roque told a Palace press briefing.

According to Roque, who is also IATF spokesman, if Metro Manila would continue to see a rise in infections, further easing of restrictions might be unlikely.

“If the trend continues, either we continue on under GCQ or we could go back to modified GCQ. All classifications are flexible, depending on the data,” he said.

“Fresh cases” of COVID-19 have been averaging more than 300 daily for the last three days, higher than previous weeks, but it does not mean a spike in the actual number of cases, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

“Our fresh cases really are increasing in the past days,” Vergeire said. “But we can’t say these are actual fresh cases because the date of the release of test results is actually far from the recorded date of the onset of illness.”

The health department started reclassifying additional cases into “fresh cases” and “late cases” in late May to distinguish those that are only being reported now because of delayed validation.

The DOH said fresh cases referred to patients whose test results were released and subsequently validated in the last three days, while late cases referred to patients whose test results were released more than three days ago but validated only recently.

Tightened restrictions President Rodrigo Duterte is set to meet with the IATF in his hometown Davao City on Thursday to decide on fresh quarantine protocols for the June 1630 period.

Of the 280 fresh cases reported by the DOH yesterday, 61 are from the National Capital Region, 82 are from Region 7, and 115 are from other regions. There are also 22 Filipino repatriates.

This was the fifth straight day that fresh cases from Region 7 or Central Visayas exceeded that of NCR.

Palace...

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will have safeguards against human rights abuses.

“There are safeguards. First, it is necessary to have a judicial declaration to be classified as a terrorist group,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

He also said law enforcement authorities that abuse the proposed law could face imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Last week, Roque said Duterte will thoroughly review the anti-terrorism bill

China...

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approved the recommendation of the Department of Science and Technology to include Sinovac among the prospective collaborators of the Philippines.

“The IATF has approved the recommendation of the DOST to include Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in the list of potential collaborators in the Philippines for COVID-19 vaccine development and clinical trials,” Roque said.

Last month, the biopharmaceutical company behind China's most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates announced it was in talks to conduct late-stage trials globally.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. focuses on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases, according to its website.

Sinovac’s product portfolio includes vaccines against enterovirus71 (EV71), hepatitis A and B, seasonal influenza, the H5N1

Virus...

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Meanwhile, another leisure company —Sun Cruises Inc., provider of ferry services to Corregidor Island—on Tuesday announced its closure effective May 16.

On Facebook, SCI posted a statement on the stoppage of its operations servicing Corregidor Island.

"We wish to convey our warmest thanks for all the support and patronage

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press conference, Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire discussed with local mental and psychosocial care groups about the options available for managing the psychological impact not only of the pandemic, but all the other stress-inducers.

The National Center for Medical Health (NCMH) offers its 24/7 crisis and suicide services for free and confidential consultation. Callers are received by mental health crisis responders and are referred to a hospital’s licensed psychiatrist, if needed. The NCMH Crisis Hotline may be reached at 0917-899USAP (8727) or (02) 7-989-USAP. Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta

DICT eyes free Wi-Fi for ’new normal’ schools THE Department of Information and Communications Technology is working with Education agencies to provide free WiFi in schools as the country's learning system prepares to shift to a new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was made known through President Rodrigo Duterte's 11th weekly report to Congress on the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was released Monday.

The DICT ordered its regional offices to coordinate with the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education "for the prompt installation and deployment of the Free WiFi Internet Access Service," Duterte's report said.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday called on the Department of Education to formulate a tuition payment scheme to help parents affected by more than two months of the enhanced community quarantine.

Senator Win Gatchalian is also urging the government to give subsidies that would keep private schools afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A teachers’ group on Tuesday raised concerns on the low turnout of online enrollment in 14 regions, saying it showed millions of poor children in the provinces would likely be left behind when classes resumed.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines made the statement over the 6.4-million enrolment turnout after the first week of June as revealed by the Department of Education. Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta

World...

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News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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Solons vow better SAP bill, distribution

By Maricel V. Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta

H

OUSE Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday assured the public that Bayanihan II will institute mechanisms to improve the social amelioration package (SAP), particularly the distribution of the assistance.

“Congress will be exercising its oversight functions to ensure that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated,” Cayetano said in statement.

“We want also to ensure that SAP will be given to all Filipinos who need it most.

We respect and acknowledge the tremen-

dous work done by the departments involved, but our citizens cannot afford to wait that long. There must be a better way, and together we will find it,” he added.

Cayetano said he is optimistic that the second Bayanihan to Heal as One law will be “better and more responsive,” noting

that the proposed measure will improve on what has been achieved so far.

Congress enacted the Bayanihan One to Heal As One Act, which is set to expire on June 25. The House has yet to pass its version of the Bayanihan II while the Senate passed its version before session adjourned sine die last June 5.

Cayetano reaffirmed the commitment of Congress to find solutions to prepare for challenges that the Filipinos will face as it prepares for the new normal.

He said that while the government response to the unprecedented crisis has been nothing short of extraordinary, there is still room for improvement.

“Now we must take the hard lessons we have learned the past months and apply it in the testing, tracing, and treatment of patients in order to escape the threat of a more devastating second wave,” Cayetano said.

The administration’s Balik-Probinsya Program that is aimed at decongesting Metro Manila, will receive a big boost once the the CURES (COVID- 19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus Act of 2020) bill has been enacted, a legislator said on Tuesday.

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said enactment of the Housepassed bill providing for a three-year,

Caloocan court orders release of elderly driver

IN BRIEF BOC agents seize P24-m cigarettes in GenSan port THE Bureau of Customs seized more than P24 million worth of smuggled cigarettes at the Dadiangas Port in General Santos City, Mindanao province.

Dadiangas Sub-port Collector Elenita Abano said the shipment was declared as 25,000 brand new corrugated boxes but upon inspection, customs examiners found 1,325 misdeclared boxes of President cigarettes.

The illegally imported President brand cigarettes came from Vietnam and valued at P24, 843,750.00, Albano said.

Albano added that the shipment did not only violate Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 8-2007 or the “Description of Imported Articles in Tariff Terms,” as implemented in Customs Memorandum Order Number (CMO) 28-2007 or “Goods Declared in General Manner to Avoid Proper Classification and Valuation,” but also violated Section 117 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) on import and export of regulated items like cigarettes”.Vito Barcelo

Manila allocates P36-m plus for 5,007 city cops MANILA City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso has announced that the Manila City government has allocated about P36,445,000 for 5,007 policemen, who also served as frontliners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mayor said that the allowances will be issued to police personnel through checks.

“You will be protected of a new system that you will get the entire allowance,” Domagoso said.

“Tapos na yung araw na alam ko naman, nababalitaan ko sa MPD na pulis sa kapwa pulis natotolongges.

Hindi na mangyayari iyon,” he added.

According to Domagoso, the allowance given to the police personnel will cover the months of January up to March.Willie Casas

P1.5-trillion stimulus program anchored on infrastructure spending mainly in rural communities, will let the government effectively implement the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) program and provide quick employment to those left jobless as a result of the long quarantine imposed since March in Luzon and other parts of the country.

Villafuerte, representative of Camarines Sur’s Second District said the measure focuses on “shovel-ready, easy-to-implement infrastructure projects” on health, education, agriculture, local roads, livelihood, information and communication technology and tourism infrastructure.

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

RESCUED. A certain Police Corporal Rotor was rescued by emergency health workers after he accidentally rammed into a four-wheeled SUV while riding his motorcycle in the street fronting the Presidential Security Group Compound in United Nations avenue in Manila. Rotor was slightly injured and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Norman Cruz

Manning agencies reject DOLE’s Department Order PHILIPPINE maritime industry stakeholders are now seeking the intervention of President Rodrigo Duterte in salvaging the shaky state of the manning industry business from a clear upheaval, as they are now up in arms following the issued Department Order 211-A of the Labor Department mandating manning agencies to shoulder the board and lodging of their crew undergoing mandatory quarantine protocols for Covid 19 once repatriated in the Philippines.

DOLE’s Department Order states that “the Philippine Manning Agency or the ship owners they represent shall cover the board and lodging of their deployed seafarers during their quarantine period in accordance with Standard A4.2.1, paragraph 1 (a), of the Maritime Labor Convention, 2006.”

In their letter to Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello, the Joint Manning Group, Filipino Association of Mariners Employment Inc., composed of major manning enterprises, along with known maritime unions United Filipino Seafarers and Associated Marine Officers and Seafarers’ Union of the Philippines, vigorously object the said measure as it will translate to an estimated US$700 incremental cost per repatriated seafarer to their ranks, incurring the loss of respect of foreign ship owners to the Philippines.

“The local manning agencies and the Shipowners/Principals, with the strong support of the Seafarer’s Unions, hold the position that the Philippine Government, and not any private groups or sectors, should shoulder these costs, similar to what other countries are doing this time

78 Parañaque residents tests positive for 789 total

Online oathtaking for 2019 bar passers set

SEVENTY-EIGHT more residents of Parañaque City tested positive for COVID-19, bringing to 789 the total number of cases recorded in the city as of Tuesday.

The city government released the latest count after conducting COVID-19 rapid testing during a three-day calibrated lockdown in two densely populated streets in Barangay San Dionisio.

Dr. Darius Sebastian, chief of the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit reported that 78 out of 1,689 residents who underwent rapid testing have tested positive for the deadly disease.

Of that number, 44 were found asymptomatic, according to Sebastian.

The streets in Tramo I and II in Barangay San Dionisio were placed under calibrated lockdown last June 4 upon recommendation of the City Health Office for having the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the entire city.Joel E. Zurbano

a statement.

The virtual oath-taking will be exclusive for the 2019 Bar passers.

The Office of the Bar Confidant, under the guidance of Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who chaired the 2019 Bar Examination committee, has been authorized to organize and carry out the oath-taking as contemplated in the resolution, the SC PIO said.

A total of 2,103 candidates passed the 2019 Bar exams, representing 27.36% of the 7,685 examinees who completed the licensure test for lawyers last November.

Mae Diane Azores, a certified public accountant, was the topnotcher with a rating of 91.0490%. She studied law at the University of Santo Tomas Legazpi.

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has allowed the oathtaking of the country’s new lawyers through online on June 25 due to the prevailing public health emergency arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

During its en banc session on Tuesday, the SC adopted a resolution mandating the oath-taking to be conducted via online video conference and linked to a government television network for broadcast.

“The Court noted that the current health crisis and COVID-19 pandemic made it not possible to hold the oath-taking ceremony the traditional way, as it had to take into consideration the existing government policies on public health, particularly on mass gatherings,” the SC PIO said, in

FOOD AND HYGIENE. Parents

and guardians of students studying in Dr. Rafael V. Palma Elementary school in Zobel Roxas, Manila wait for food and hygiene kits distributed by Guardians Parents Teachers Association as a form of support in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Norman Cruz

of unprecedented Covid 19 Pandemic,” the letter read.

The group aired that if the implementation of DO 211-A pushes through, foreign principals might be compelled to look for replacements for Filipino seafarers in other source countries such as Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, India and China, where repatriation quarantine costs are charged to their government.

The group noted that the said order contradicts Section 19 of the POEA Standard Employment Contract, stating that “seafarer’s contract terminates upon the seafarer’s arrival at the point of hire (i.e.

Philippine international seaport or airport) and not arrival at their place of domicile, and shipowners contractual obligation to pay for quarantine-related expenses is without any contractual basis.”

A CALOOCAN City court on Tuesday ordered the release of an elderly jeepney driver who was arrested last week for supposedly disobeying authorities during a protest.

Judge Gloria Santos of Caloocan City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 51 ordered the Caloocan City police to release Elmer Cordero after the detainee posted the P10,000 bond.

The 72-year-old man was arrested last week along with 5 other jeepney drivers for disobedience to authority when they allegedly refused to stop protesting on EDSA. They were asking for government aid and permission for jeepney drivers to ply the roads.

Judge Santos ordered the release despite an earlier statement by Palace spokesperson Harry Roque that Cordero still have to face an estafa case which needed to be ‘fixed.’

The Caloocan Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 52 Acting Executive Judge Dorothy Grace Daguna-Inciong allowed the six arrested jeepney drivers to post bail of P3,000 each.

“Charges filed against an individual must be faced “regardless of age,” Roque had said, adding Cordero was not only being detained for allegedly breaching quarantine protocols during a recent protest in Caloocan but because of pending cases in court.

However, Roque said that Cordero will undergo due process, adding that if there is no evidence, the case will be dismissed.

“We will look into it because regardless of your age, if you have a pending case, you need to face the charges.

There will only be clemency if he is found guilty. There is a provision that the court can recommend pardon or parole to senior citizens,” Roque said.

STUDENTS’ ASSISTANCE. The City Government of Navotas will resume distribution of educational assistance to high school students, Some 383 junior high students from Tanza National High School and Kaunlaran High School will receive P5,000 each, according to Mayor Toby Tiangco. Andrew Rabulan

PAL cancels PH flights to US, Canada

By Joel E. Zurbano LEGACY carrier Philippine Airlines has announced that it has canceled eight international flights to and from the United States and Canada scheduled between June 10 and 12.

“We regret that we have canceled the following flights to and from the USA and Canada. The government authorities are unable to give us an allocation for international arrival slots at Manila airport because of unavoidable constraints in quarantine processing capacity in Manila,” PAL said in its advisory Tuesday.

The affected flights were PR-102 and PR-103 (Manila - Los Angeles-Manila), PR-104 and PR-105 (Manila - San Francisco - Manila), and PR-116 and PR-117 (Manila-Vancouver-Manila), all scheduled on June 10; PR-126 (Manila-New York JFK) on June 11, and PR-127 (New York JFK-Manila) on June 12.

The airline management, however, said

it plans to operate the following flights departing on June 11, 2020: PR-102 (Manila – Los Angeles) on June 11 and PR-103 Los Angeles - Cebu, in lieu of Manila, on June 11 (arrival date in Cebu is June 13).

“We are still working on arrangements for PR-103 to land in Cebu on June 13, and will announce this once confirmed,” it said.

PAL officials added that PR-103 passengers will be required to undergo the mandatory COVID-19 testing in Cebu instead of in Manila, and will be quarantined at a Cebu hotel accredited by the Department of Health until they receive a negative test result (usually within 24 to 48 hours of the test).

Once a negative test result is confirmed, PAL will fly them from Cebu to Manila free of charge.

The cost for the COVID tests and the quarantine hotel will be shouldered by the traveler, whether the tests and quarantine take place in Cebu or Manila.

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

A4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

Negrenses ride more sweeper flights via PAL

CLEANSING WATER. USAID partners deliver water supplies daily to 1,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Marawi transitory sites and provide handwashing (inset photo) and hygiene promotion to IDPs and vulnerable groups in BARMM. CRS/Jomari Guillermo

199 Boholanos in contact tracing get virus test TAGBILARAN CITY—The Provincial Health Office (PHO) in Bohol on Monday conducted swab testing to 199 individuals who were in close contact with two elderlies who are the earliest recorded coronavirus disease 2019 community transmission cases in the province.

Last Thursday, Governor Arthur Yap received the information about the test results of the two Boholano senior citizens positive of COVID-19 from Department of Health (DOH-7) Regional Director Jaime Bernadas.

Yap immediately relayed to Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell Yap and Calape Mayor Nelson Yu the test results of their respective constituents.

The governor also relayed the information to the hospital authorities in Tagbilaran City -- Dr. Ronald Ramiro, president of Ace Medical Center; and Dr. Mutya Kismet Tirol-Macuno, chief of Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital -- as the two patients were admitted at their facilities.

One of the confirmed cases is an 89-year-old male resident of Lawis, a village on Pangangan Island in Calape town.

He was admitted at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital around 9 p.m. on May 25 wherein health workers took a swab sample from him.

He died due to severe myocardial infarction secondary to community-acquired pneumonia on May 26 and was buried on May 27, within 12 hours after his death as per protocol observed since the onset of coronavirus pandemic. PNA

USAID gives BARMM, Cotabato $4M in aid

By Nash B. Maulana

C

OTABATO CITY—The US government is providing a fresh aid package of P201 million ($4 million) to support vulnerable sectors of the Mindanao population during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Embassy in Manila said.

This developed following a virtual meeting on June 2 between US Ambassador Sung Kim with officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao officials, led by Chief Minister Ahod Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who also chairs the BARMM InterAgency Task Force on COVID-19.

The United States Agency for International Aid (USAID) “will also continue to provide vital water supply in transitory sites in Lanao del Sur for families displaced by the Marawi Siege and in North Cotabato for earthquake-affected communities,” said a statement released Friday by the US Embassy in Manila.

Ambassador Kin reiterated US commitment to a continuing working partnership with the Philippines to address COVID-19 in the region, a US Embassy statement said.

Ebrahim has thanked the US ambassador for “upholding his country’s commitment to the Bangsamoro, particularly

Aboitiz Power unit Hedcor hands over P20.1m to LGUs WHILE a number of community quarantines throughout the country have been gradually eased, the battle against the pandemic is still far from over.

Hedcor, AboitizPower’s run-of-river hydropower subsidiary, sticks to its commitment to power its host communities in Northern Luzon and Mindanao with “Cleanergy.”

To assist local communities recovering from COVID-19, Hedcor is remitting a total of P20.1 million of generation shares under the Energy Regulations 1-94 (ER 1-94) policy of the Department of Energy (DOE).

The ER 1-94 program allows Hedcor’s host communities to get a share of one centavo for every kilowatt-hour (P0.01/ kWh) generated by Hedcor’s facility in the area. The revised provision of the ER 1-94 policy now allows direct remittance of funds from Hedcor to its host communities.

While generating Cleanergy, AboitizPower’s brand of clean and renewable energy, Hedcor is able to further advance its partner communities’ development through ER 1-94.

“In accordance with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, host LGUs can maximize ER 1-94 shares in mitigating the repercussions brought by the pandemic,” says Andy Faelnar, Assistant Vice President of Hedcor Group.

Faelnar added that the ER 1-94 funds are to be used for electrification, for development and livelihood programs, and for reforestation, watershed management, health, and environmental enhancement programs.

But with the Bayanihan Act, host LGUs may now also opt to use this funding for the construction of COVID-19 facilities along with the procurement of medical testing kits and other supplies and necessities.

CONTINUED SUPPORT. Hedcor continues to look for ways in assisting their host communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

during this period of crisis when we are all fighting an enemy that is unseen through the naked eyes.”

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Bombit Alonto Adiong gladly received the good news, in times, he said, when the Provincial Capitol would have to continue reaching out to village populace for aid.

Both Moro leaders have acknowledged that local partner-organizations of the USAID were in-charge of implementing programs funded with the new aid package.

The Embassy statement said the meeting “provided an opportunity for BARMM leadership to discuss challenges and present its COVID-19 contingency plan, while Ambassador Kim and USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy provided updates on US COVID-19 assistance.”

The new assistance package brings the total amount of US pandemic assistance to the Philippines to over P978 million ($19.5 million), the statement said.

“In these trying times, I am inspired by the resilience and courage of the Filipino people,” said Ambassador Kim. “The United States and the Philippines have met and overcome many challenges together, and I am confident that working together, we will overcome this challenge as well.”

With the additional $4 million in humanitarian assistance, USAID will help protect vulnerable populations - those displaced by conflict and the recent earthquakes in Mindanao - from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

USAID and its local partner organizations will work with local governments, local health authorities, and communities so that vulnerable populations have access to the most accurate and up-todate health messages, the statement said.

Local partner organizations of the USAID will help reach out to over 100,000 persons with distributions of essential hygiene supplies, handwashing stations, hygiene promotion to reduce transmission risks level, and help communities reopen, it added.

The Embassy statement said the United States has provided more than P228 billion ($4.5 billion) in development assistance programs to the Philippines over the past 20 years, including over P29 billion ($582 million) in health assistance packages.

BACOLOD CITY—The Negros Occidental provincial government is preparing for the arrival of more sweeper flights it has arranged with the Philippine Airlines (PAL) for stranded Negrenses in Metro Manila this week.

On Monday, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod-Silay Airport Manager Percy Malonesio led the inspection of the installation of thermal scanners and swab-testing booths at the airport here.

Charina Magallanes-Tan, spokesperson of Provincial Incident Management Team for COVID-19, said the flights will arrive within the next three days, starting Tuesday.

Passengers on the special flights are paying for their own fare, she added.

The trips from Manila are expected to depart at 11 a.m. and arrive in Bacolod-Silay Airport around 12:30 p.m.

Locally stranded individuals (LSIs) in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City can also book for seats on a return flight, which will leave at 1 p.m.

Magallanes-Tan said those who have previously bought tickets from PAL for Bacolod-bound flights need to rebook to take either of the sweeper flights.

“PAL will just refund the payments made for commercial flights,” she added.

The provincial government warned that anyone misrepresenting his or her identity, residence, and other personal details to obtain a ticket will be blacklisted and subjected to criminal and administrative action.

Magallanes-Tan said the provincial government organized these sweeper flights to ensure that LSIs and returning Negrenses will be given priority in all flights until June 15.

After that, the Bacolod-Silay Airport will already be opened to commercial flights.

Also on Monday, eight overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who are residents of Bacolod, and 13 others from Negros Occidental arrived aboard an AirAsia sweeper flight from Manila around 12:50 a.m.

Some 21 OFWs and a child, who are all from Negros Occidental, also landed in Bacolod-Silay Airport at 2:50 a.m. on Sunday. Also on the same flight were 12 Bacolodnons.

Later in the afternoon, a total of 102 LSIs, who are residents of Bacolod, arrived on a PAL special flight around 3 p.m. PNA

FCF bares 2019 infra work in Vizcaya towns

By Ben Moses Ebreo QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya—FCF Minerals Corp. spent more than P16 million last year for its assistance to infrastructure development and support services to its host and neighboring communities.

Ian Moller, FCF’s general manager for sustainability, said they have completed 45 infrastructure projects in this town and in the neighboring town of Diffun in Quirino province.

“These projects benefited 18,356 villagers who are mostly farmers and micro-business entrepreneurs in our covered communities,” he said.

FCF operates the gold-molybdenum project in barangay Runruno in Quezon town.

According to Moller, the completed projects are the improvement of barangay roads in Darubba, Maddiangat, Aurora, Baresbes, Nalubbunan, Bonifacio in Quezon town and in barangays Tadji and Papaya in Kasibu town.

Other infrastructure projects were the improvement of forest park in Diffun, Quirino, development of Lintungan Falls in barangay Runruno, construction of hanging bridge in barangay Maasin, multi-purpose covered court and hall in barangays Dagupan and Runruno, respectively.

It also includes the K-12 Workshop Building and slope protection and rubble masonry also in barangay Runruno and improvement of irrigation canals in barangays Buliwao, Runruno in Quezon town and in barangay Tadji in Kasibu town, among others.

Binan Rep. Marlyn “LenLen” Alonte Naguiat (left) delivers 1,000 food packs donated by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go with Vice Mayor Gel Alonte and Councilor Jigcy Pecaña to the people of Barangay Tubigan in Biñan City. They thanked Barangay Captain Alex Cabrera and the Barangay Council for the help and support they provided. Benjamin Chavez

‘Alagang Len’ to help Biñan tourism workers BIÑAN Rep. Len Alonte Naguiat, through the Alagang Len Program, has launched cash assistance for Biñan tourism industry workers who lost jobs or earnings due to the coronavirus lockdowns.

“Tourism-related establishments are still closed, and tourism activities are still prohibited this General Community Quarantine (GCQ). This is just a simple gesture of support for our tourism workforce,” said Alonte, who is a BS Tourism graduate.

The “Tulong Panghanap-Buhay Financial Assistance for Displaced Tourism Industry Workers as Post COVID Intervention” is for Biñan residents who are not financial assistance grantees of DSWD, SSS, DOF, DOLE and 4Ps. They include resort and hotel employees, travel agency employees, and personal care services employee who have lost jobs or earnings were affected due to COVID-19.

They are asked to submit the follow-

ing documents, the original and a photocopy until June 11 for Validation and Screening: Voters ID or Voter Certification, two Government Issued IDs, Proof of Work (certifications, permits, photos and the like), a Letter of Request to Grant Financial Assistance address to Congresswoman Marlyn B. Alonte-Naguiat, and a Letter of Endorsement from the person’s Employment Agency.

“Submit documents at BCHATO, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Binan (Old Municipal Building) from Monday to Thursday between 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon and look for Shiela or Che,” Alonte said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the country’s tourism industry. Since the passage of the Tourism Act of 2009, the industry, according to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, has contributed 12.7% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2019. Benjamin Chavez

Opinion CROSSROADS

J.A. DELA CRUZ SOMETHING strange is happening on the way to the President’s signing of the Anti-Terrorism Law. After almost everybody, including some of the most vocal oppositors, acknowledged the need for an anti-terrorism law to replace the useless Human Security Act passed some years back, and after a clear majority of members of the House of Representatives (HoR) adopted and approved on third and final reading the Senate version of the bill before it adjourned last week, a deluge of “protests” from all kinds of groups prompted some 20 or so members to retract their earlier Yes/Abstain votes.

The critics are confusing the public.

The idea, it seems to me, is to wrap this new bill into all sorts of objections or, as some sectors advised concerns for further study, to delay if not altogether tear it up to smithereens. That brouhaha over the #DefendUPLB account which is now turning up to be a contrived effort to draw public ire over the bill is instructive.

In any event, this waylaying of an otherwise more robust effort to counter terrorism which has taken different hues, forms and intensity through the years is not only unfortunate but a disservice to our country. After all almost all countries in the world including the US and other Western liberal democracies have adopted their own anti-terrorism laws. In ASEAN, if we go by the record, we have the most indeterminate if not ineffective human security law.

As retired Justice Adolf Azcuna noted the current Human Security Act of 2007 “proved inutile and, worse, caused confusion vis-a-vis other laws such as the Revised Penal Code and the Philippine Humanitarian Law.” He noted that the existing law is “useless because of a provision that imposes very heavy fines daily on police officers who violate the safeguards so in the end police officers tend not to act at all.”

What exactly are the objections to the bill, anyway? One is the definition of terrorism which in the view of the critics is so broad and prone to abuse. Well, we would like to see their own definition as we agree that we must have a clear, proper and realistic one considering that there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism. For now, most UN members are using the UN Security Council Resolution 1566 definition which states in part that “criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or

The greatest terror VIRTUAL REALITY

TONY LOPEZ THE Anti-Terror Law is a done deal. The bill was submitted to President Duterte yesterday (June 9). The President doesn’t even need to sign it to make it a law. He needs only to wait 30 days and the bill lapses into law, says his spokesman Harry Roque, a human rights lawyer in his other life.

As drafted, the Anti-Terror Bill is no worse than what the rest of ASEAN countries have. The bill allows for 24 days of detention of terrorist suspects, although with repeated extensions, detention could be longer than that.

According to a primer given me by Senate President Tito Sotto, Bangladesh allows for 15 days detention, Indonesia 21 days extendable to 120 additional days, Pakistan 30 days, Malaysia 59 days extendable to two years, and Singapore 730 days to indefinite.

Yes, you can be arrested without warrant.

But that is already provided for by Rule 113 of the Rules of Court and strictly constricted by a Supreme Court ruling. You cannot be arrested on mere suspicion, also under the same Rule 113.

You can be wiretapped, for not more than 60 days and extendable by another 30 days,

but that should be authorized by the Court of Appeals and the evidence obtained therein cannot be used against you, in court. But you can be assassinated, of course, as what happened to Osama bin Laden. In any case, unauthorized wiretapping is subject to ten years imprisonment.

I vibered my colleagues in the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) to lessen focus on the Anti-Terror Bill, opposing it vigorously. I said there is nothing much one or nations can do with terrorists who injure, maim, or kill people and killing themselves in the process because they believe doing so will make them meet their Creator. How many Catholics believe killing oneself is the fastest way to meet one’s God? Yet, elementary school catechism teaches you that man’s ultimate goal in life is meeting the Lord face to face.

I also suggested to MAP to stop focusing on solving the national capital’s traffic problem. It cannot be solved, no matter what government or the private sector does, unless the mass transport infra is there—subways and railways that can extend from Manila to Laoag in the north and from Manila to Legaspi in the south. Absent that is what makes one exclaim it’s more fun in the Philippines. In Japan, you can take a fast train from Tokyo to Osaka, a distance of 400 kms in two hours and 30 minutes; sometimes even less. One of my employees takes four hours to commute, one way, daily from Cavite to Manila, a distance of 20 kms.

B1

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Tearing up the Anti-Terrorism Law an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act which constitute the offenses within the scope of or as defined in the international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism, are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature.” This definition is carried almost verbatim in the new law and for the most part in the old.

Secondly, the critics are crying foul over the possible “restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly” under this proposed law. But what restrictions are they talking about when under this law there is an effort to balance the exercise of that right with those provided for under the Constitution and other existing laws. The only restrictions ensue as follows: “a) when necessary to safeguard national security, public order, public health or morals or respect for the rights of others; b) should be proportionate using the least intrusive means available and c) limited to speech presenting a ‘clear and present danger’ to one of such interests.” These safeguards follow internationally accepted standards of conduct.

In fact, the suggested proportionate means by which that balancing should ensue are enrolled in the bill as it provides for an advisory (council) act to declare one as a terrorist and even the preventive detention action is reviewable by the Court of Appeals. There are no such safeguards under the more stringent Internal Security Act (ISA) of Singapore and even under the reformed Malaysian ISA. Finally, the repeated incendiary argument is about warrantless arrests and the period of detention. We have to make clear that there are already a number of laws regarding such kind of arrests which the critics should study to avoid confusing themselves and misinforming the public. There are clear instances when such can be undertaken and the new law incorporates the same.

Now, as far as detention is concerned, the new law calls for detention without charges against terrorists for a period of 14 days extendable for another ten days.

This is a far cry from those of other countries like Singapore and Malaysia which call for detention without charges for two years, extendable for another two. As Justice Azcuna noted “..it is a balancing act and should be resorted to in extreme cases and never against non-derogable human rights such as right to life and the right against torture..”

Of course, the critics will now say this is prone to abuse. They will ask: How can we trust the security forces? Well, as we have always been saying, all laws are prone to abuse if the citizenry is not vigilant and let the abusers go their merry ways. There are more ways than one to restrain if not completely do away with such abuses. A vigilant citizenry and a trained and responsibly motivated security force will be the principal antidotes to any abuses. And, of course, we have to strengthen our institutions of governance especially the Judiciary to serve as the beacon of freedom and the counterweight to any forms of derogation, neglect or incompetence on the part of the two other branches of government.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

Not another one F

ILIPINOS have been treated to shameless displays of entitlement and privilege during this pandemic. These displays were made worse by the leniency and compassion extended to the individuals, while ordinary citizens are flagged and punished for lesser violations.

from outside the city were supposed to undergo a medical examination.

Mayor Francis Zamora claimed he was asleep in his vehicle when his driver sped through the checkpoint. He also said he went to Baguio to bring his wife, a Stage 3 cancer patient, who needed her rest. He immediately apologized to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

We’ve seen our fair share of entitlement, privilege and hypocrisy.

Remember how we were all aghast when a senator, tested positive for COVID-19, accompanied his pregnant wife to the hospital and went to a supermarket days before, exposing dozens to the virus at a time he had been feeling symptoms of the disease?

Remember, too, how the chief of Metro Manila police became a laughingstock for insisting that a birthday party thrown for him by his men—with food, drinks and merrymaking—was not a party but a mananita?

It turns out the joke was on us, because compassion and understanding were extended to these two officials despite their violations and despite the high office they occupied—and the degree of accountability supposedly demanded of them.

Now there appears to be another: The mayor of San Juan City went up to Baguio City last Friday and his six-vehicle convoy reportedly ignored a checkpoint set up on Kennon Road by the city government. The vehicles sped through a triage where visitors

In a statement made Monday, Magalong said he accepted the apology of Zamora, asked the public to practice discernment and restraint in prejudging him, but said investigation would proceed.

A hilarious side story was that the same police official, General Debold Sinas, who held a birthday party during the lockdown in violation of a number of health protocols, had the gall to talk about the consequences of violating quarantine restrictions. Sinas relieved five San Juan cops who were part of Zamora’s entourage from their posts.

"We, as law enforcers, are bound to respect the existing rules and regulations anywhere in the Philippines. The safety

of the people remains as our top priority in this (sic) trying times," Sinas said, in a stunning display of hypocrisy.

We remain perplexed, however. Even if Zamora were indeed asleep and it was his escorts in charge of the vehicle, did he not give them instructions beforehand to abide by the city’s health protocol? What were these escorts thinking when they drove past the triage—could they have been emboldened by the thinking that since they were the mayor’s men, they could do anything?

If they knew Zamora to be a law-abiding, considerate individual, would not the rudest, most entitled of police escorts have thought twice about ignoring the rules, knowing that he would be in trouble the moment his boss found out?

And why travel with 30 people when Zamora’s wife needed her much-needed rest and private time?

Magalong said he found Zamora’s apology sincere. That is his prerogative—and we agree we should gather the facts before judging anybody’s behavior.

Still, all public officials should know that the public is keenly watching what they do with their privilege, especially when millions have suffered because of this health and economic crisis. In the end, we await the results of the investigation. We hope that this episode would not be consigned to mere memory, as we move on to the next thing to be furious about.

PDRs in ABS-CBN SOLICITOR General Jose Calida’s quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN, which he filed before the Supreme Court, brings up several interesting questions about the Lopez-owned network. Among Calida’s grounds are the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts, allowing foreigners to own shares in the network contrary to the 1987 Constitution.

According to an article by former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a thinly capitalized corporation named Worldtech Holdings Corporation was organized with an authorized capital stock of only P1,000 divided into 1,000 common shares and with a par value of P1.00. The owners of 400 subscribed and issued shares of Worldtech Holdings were Lopez Inc., 50 percent, and certain directors and officers of Lopez, Inc., 50 percent. All were admittedly Filipinos.

The primary purpose of Worldtech Holdings was to invest in, purchase and hold real and personal property, shares of stock, bonds, debentures, notes, evidence of indebtedness and other securities and obligations. This is all taken from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On September 16, 1999, the name of Worldtech Holdings was changed to ABSCBN Holdings Corporation.

Since then, this company never had any business of its own. It is more of a shell company crafted with no other business purpose of its own other than as sole issuer of Philippine Depositary Receipts and as a receptacle and custodian of common shares of ABS-CBN Corporation transferred to it from Lopez Inc., pursuant to a financial scheme devised by its Filipino owners.

What everybody should focus on is the looming economic crisis which will be the worst in our country’s history. Mass unemployment, mass hunger, mass poverty and colossal incompetence make for a combustible mix. The crisis will be the greatest terror of all. And not even 100 Anti-Terror Laws can solve it.

The looming economic crisis will be the worst in our country’s history.

Yet, the solution to this greatest terror is only two-fold: Mass food production and massive job creation.

Every vacant lot in this country should converted into a farm—to grow rice, vegetables, and fruits. Loan for food production should be interest free. Instead of building barangay roads and other infra, government should buy farm implement and machinery and give it away free to the farmers.

Our cost of producing palay is double that of Thailand or Vietnam. But the pandemic has proved that there is nothing like producing one’s food because the destruction of globalization has also destroyed the global food supply chain. We don’t have enough rice.

We are deficit in protein. We have one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. Yet, we import sardines and meat.

As for employment, construction could do the trick. Construction is one business

TO THE POINT

EMIL JURADO Clearly, the creation of ABS-CBN Holdings was intended to simply circumvent and overcome the Filipino ownership requirement of the 1987 Constitution for mass media. This can be gleaned from its financial records in the SEC, according to Enrile.

Can foreigners qualify to own shares in a media organization?

In the words of Enrile, from these disclosures, the question is: What is the consideration, if any, received by Lopez Inc. to ABS-CBN Holdings’ 132,000,000 ABSCBN shares before the closing of the PDR offering.

What is it about the 132,000,000 PDRs with an issue value of P46.00? Enrile said this was not clearly disclosed in the financial records of ABS-CBN Holdings to the SEC. Enrile also asked, was the transfer of those shares free from income taxation?

From all these disclosures, it would in-

where minimum wage and labor laws do not apply as a habit. Because many construction workers are on contract or per project basis.

At least 15 other industries are tied to construction—cement, steel, GI sheets, gravel and sand, raw wood, furniture, electrical, plumbing and sewerage, appliances, internet and wifi, television and radio, interior design, architecture, engineering, trucking, logistics, to name some.

The Philippines has among the world’s strictest labor laws designed by the late Blas Ople, who was a socialist. I worked in Hong Kong briefly for a foreign magazine. There, you walk into your boss’ room at 9 a.m. and by 9:10 a.m., you are fired. You bring out your personal belongings in a small carton box. Here in Manila, you fire a lowly clerk, you have to get permission from the Department of Labor.

Labor in Manila is every expensive, the highest cost in ASEAN after Singapore. It is the same labor that enjoys the most number of paid holidays in the world—from 32 to 38 days a year. San Juan City alone celebrates the feast of Saint John twice a year. We have 16 days of Christmas. In Japan, the Japanese work on Christmas Day. Our Holy Week is really a week. At the Vatican, you can party, or rather work, on Good Friday.

The government grossly underestimates the massive unemployment triggered by the pandemic—just 7.6 million or 17.7 percent of the labor force of 43 million. My estimate is at least 32 million jobless, half of the population of Filipinos who are 15 to 60 years old—66 million. When one is 15 or above, one is considered part of the labor force because one is capable enough to work. But the

dicate that the intention of the holders of those PDRs, who are obviously foreigners, to benefit from the activities of the ABSCBN network since all of the dividends of the corporation are likewise enjoyed by the PDR holders.

Santa Banana, with 132,000,000 PDRs at P46.00 each, that is easily P6.072 billion!

That is what was not disclosed to the SEC. The Solicitor General should dig deeper into this. With so many PDRs floating around, was that not a violation of the Constitution? *** President Duterte is firm in his statement that so long as there is no vaccine against COVID-19, there will be no classes in public and private schools.

The Department of Education will have to resort to online classes. But how will this be done as not all school children have computers at home? Another option being considered is the use of radio. I agree that radio is the best way to communicate. *** The passage of the anti-terror bill is a contentious issue. More and more lawmakers are withdrawing their support. With both labor and business joining the protests, there must be really something wrong with it.

My gulay, under the proposed bill, persons arrested without warrants shall be detained for 14 days, longer than what is provided for in the Constitution.

If it is true that Senate President Tito Sotto said in jest that with this bill we would no longer need martial law, whether or not he was joking, he would actually be right!

government has this fancy term called labor force participation rate and thus reckons only 43 million who are part of the labor force.

Also the definition of an employed person is very iffy— if you worked one hour during the past week, you are employed.

You know, if you worked for just one hour in one week, you are actually jobless. You cannot even eat a piece of chicken for an hour’s wage in one week. And it cannot bring you home from work. biznewsasia@gmail.com

MORE OPINION ONLINE (www.manilastandard.net) SO I SEE LITO BANAYO

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Demanding justice from China

by Ambassador Albert del Rosario

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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World

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Nokor severs communication links with South

IN BRIEF Police to probe activist’s abduction CAMBODIAN police said Tuesday they will investigate the alleged disappearance of a self-exiled Thai activist, denying any involvement in what a rights group claimed was an abduction.

Pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsksit, a sharp critic of the Thai government, was dragged into a car in broad daylight last week in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, according to Human Rights Watch, which cited witnesses and security camera footage.

"I would like to confirm that Cambodian authorities and police did not arrest that individual," National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun told AFP, as fears mounted about the activist's safety.

"We are launching an investigation into it... it's not clear yet at what level this information (about his disappearance) is true." AFP

NORTH Korea is severing all official communication links with the South, it announced Tuesday in a move analysts said was aimed at manufacturing a crisis on the divided peninsula.

Since last week the North has issued a series of vitriolic denunciations of the South over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border—something defectors do on a regular basis.

In recent days, authorities in the North have organized large-scale rallies across the country of citizens pledging their support, with inter-Korean ties at a standstill despite three summits between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in in 2018.

Tuesday's move cuts all official communication links between the two sides, but the immediate effect will be limited—Pyongyang has refused to engage with Seoul for months, with few if any conversations on the lines aside from test calls.

The latest development comes just three days before the two-year anniversary of a landmark summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore.

Negotiations over the North's nuclear program have been deadlocked since the collapse of a second meeting in Hanoi last year over what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.

The impasse has left Pyongyang increasingly frustrated over the lack of concessions and analysts say it has taken no substantive steps towards giving up its weapons.

It has increasingly turned its anger towards Seoul rather than Washington, carrying out a series of weapons tests and other provocations in recent months—including last month shooting at a Southern guardpost in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.

Pyongyang "will completely cut off and shut down the liaison line" between North and South from noon on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said, along with military hotlines and a communication link between the headquarters of the North's ruling Workers' Party and the South's presidential office.

Hotline calls by the South to the North rang unanswered as the deadline expired, Seoul's unification ministry said. AFP

Ku Klux Klan leader charged for driving into US protesters FOR GEORGE. Black Lives Matter (BLM) supporters gather for a memorial service honoring George Floyd in downtown Los

Angeles on June 8. Hearses from four different parts of greater Los Angeles met downtown for the peaceful interfaith gathering.

Meanwhile, pallbearers move the casket of George Floyd after a public viewing at the Fountain of Praise church in Houston, Texas (inset). Demonstrations continued across the United States—including in Washington, New York and Winter Park, Florida—as protesters began focusing their initial outrage over the death of the unarmed Floyd into demands for police reform and social justice. AFP

Family, close friends come for George Floyd’s funeral OUSTON—Family and close friends will gather in Houston on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) for the funeral of George Floyd, two weeks after he died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

H

The private funeral will take place at The Fountain of Praise Church at 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. Wednesday in Manila). The service will also be live-streamed, said La'Torria Lemon, spokeswoman for Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center, the funeral home where Floyd's visitation took place Monday. Thousands attended the visitation.

The service will be a celebration of Floyd's life, Mia K. Wright, the co-pastor of The Fountain of Praise

church, told CNN's Don Lemon Monday night.

"We celebrate a life that had its ups and downs as many lives do but also a life that was connected to God and one that all people around the world have now connected to because of the tragedy and the trauma by which he passed," Wright said.

"And so we want to have a home-going celebration, we want to remember his name," she added.

Wright said the service will in-

clude multiple speakers—including civil rights leaders who will "have a call to justice, a call for social reform."

"It is so important that we move forward from here from a place of healing and wholeness because if we expect change to happen in our community, we can't come from anger and hurt and loss," she said. "We have to learn how to move as a whole unit."

Tuesday's service will be limited to 500 people. Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather is handling all the expenses for Floyd's funeral, Lemon said in a news release.

Mourners paid their respects to the African American whose death in custody ignited global protests against police brutality and racism. AFP

AN "admitted" Ku Klux Klan leader who drove a vehicle into a crowd of peaceful George Floyd protestors in the US state of Virginia is being investigated for possible hate crimes, a county attorney said Monday.

The man has been charged with several offenses after he "recklessly" drove into a crowd on Sunday, Henrico County's Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a statement posted on Twitter.

US media reported one protester was injured in the incident near Richmond.

The person was checked at the scene by emergency responders and refused further treatment.

"Harry H. Rogers, 36, is charged with assault and battery, attempted malicious wounding, and felony vandalism. Additional charges are being investigated," Taylor said in a separate tweet. AFP

Fossil of 2 million year old frog found ARGENTINE paleontologists have uncovered fossilized remains of a rare species of frog that lived two million years ago, the science and technology agency at the La Matanza national university said.

"We know very little about prehistoric frogs and toads," said Federico Agnolin, a researcher at the Natural Science Museum.

"Frogs and toads are very sensitive to climate and environmental changes, which makes them an important source to understand past climates."

The fossil was discovered 44 meters (144 foot) underground during the digging of a well in San Pedro, around 180 kilometers to the north of the capital Buenos Aires. AFP

Chinese fighter jets enter Taiwan airspace ahead of military drill HK seethes one

CHINESE fighter jets briefly entered Taiwan's airspace on Tuesday, forcing the island to scramble its own, Taipei said shortly after announcing plans for its largest annual live-fire military drill.

The Taiwanese defense ministry said it broadcast warnings and "took active responses Manila to dispel" multiple Chinese Standard Su-30 fighters to the southwest of the TODAY

island.

"The military is fully monitoring sea and air conditions around the Taiwan Strait and takes active responsive measures to defend our territorial safety," it said in a statement.

The incursion came as the ministry announced that the "Han Kuang" livefire drill would be held next month, in-

INVITATION TO BID NO. 17-2020 The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Biliran-Leyte del Norte-Leyte del Sur Irrigation Management Office, Marasbaras, Tacloban City through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2020 intends to apply the sum corresponding to the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), to payment for the following contracts listed hereunder.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) now invites bids for: Item/Description

Approved Budget

Duration

1. BNLSL-LCB-24-2020 – Construction of Diversion Works, Canal, Farm Level and Road System of Montebello SIP, Kananga, Leyte

18,834,953.01

360 cd

2. BNLSL-LCB-28-2020 – Construction of Diversion Works, Canal and Farm Level System of Cambalading SIP, Albuera, Leyte (Package I)

17,805,795.61

360 cd

3. BNLSL-LCB-28A-2020 – Construction of Supplementary Dam of Cambalading SIP, Albuera, Leyte (Package II)

5,859,258.63

180 cd

Bidding will be conducted in accordance with relevant procedures for open competitive bidding as specified in the IRR of RA 9184. Bids received in excess of ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. The contract shall be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during post-qualification.

Interested bidders must submit a Letter of Intent and may submit the Class “A” documents addressed to the Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee, NIA, Biliran-Leyte del Norte-Leyte del Sur Irrigation Management Office, Marasbaras, Tacloban City.

Interested bidders must submit bid proposals in three (3) copies, one (1) original and two (2) duplicate copies.

The schedules of BAC activities are as follows: BAC Activities

Schedule

Time

Starting June 10, 2020 to June 26, 2020

8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m

2. Pre-Bid Conference

June 17, 2020

10:00 a.m.

3. Receipt and Opening of Bids

June 29, 2020

9:00 a.m.

1. Issuance of Bid Documents

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by the interested bidders from the address above and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P10,000.00 for Contracts above P5.0M up to P10.0 M and P25,000.00 for Contracts above P10.0M up to P50.0M to the Cashier.

NIA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: CATHERINE G. MACANIP National Irrigation Administration Marasbaras, Tacloban City (053) 888-1514 Sgd. CATHERINE G. MACANIP BAC Chairperson (MS-JUNE 10, 2020)

Noted: Sgd. CONRADO M. SAMSON Division Manager A

cluding computer simulations and an exercise to defend against forces landing on the island.

China has ramped up fighter flights and warship crossings near Taiwan or through the Taiwan Strait since President Tsai Ing-wen was first elected in 2016, as she has refused to acknowledge that the island is part of "one China."

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Tsai lashed out at Beijing for "meaningless and unnecessary" military moves after a Chinese military jet in CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK February briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait separating the HONG Kong on Tuesday marks a year two sides. AFP since pro-democracy protests erupted, as mass arrests, coronavirus bans on gatherings and a looming national security law keep a lid on any return to city-wide unrest.

Seven months of massive and often violent rallies kicked off on June 9 last year when as many as one million people took to the streets to oppose a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China.

As the government dug in, battles between police and protesters became routine, leaving the city's reputation for stability in tatters and swathes of the population in revolt against Beijing's rule.

Messaging groups used by protesters have called on people to hold flashmob gatherings in the evening, although locations will only be announced an hour ahead of time.

The tactic is a bid to thwart police, who now move swiftly against such gatherings to enforce anti-virus restrictions.

Student groups and unions have also NEW NORMAL. A member of staff wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), including a announced plans to canvass members face mask as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, poses as he cleans the handrail of Cecil over possible strike action in coming Brewer staircase with disinfectant at the re-opened Heal's flagship store in central London following days, but Hong Kong's labor movethe easing of the lockdown restrictions. UK retail sales dived by a record 18.1 percent in April with ment has limited influence. the country in coronavirus lockdown. Non-essential shops have been allowed to reopen their doors City leader Carrie Lam, an unpopuMonday, June 8. AFP lar pro-Beijing appointee, was peppered with questions from reporters on Tuesday about the unrest under her tenure.

"Hong Kong cannot afford such chaos," she said, adding all sides needA SOUTH Korean court on Tuesday declined retrial, but adds to the difficulties for the Samed to "learn lessons." to issue an arrest warrant for the heir to the sung group, by far the biggest of the family-conResidents needed "to prove that country's Samsung empire over a controver- trolled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate Hong Kong people are reasonable sial merger of two business units seen as a key business in the world's 12th-largest economy. and sensible citizens of the People's step to his succession.

Prosecutors had sought the arrest warrant for Republic of China" if they want their Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Lee on suspicion he was involved in price mafreedoms and autonomy to continue, Electronics, is already being re-tried on nipulation and illegal trading during the 2015 Lam added. charges of bribery, embezzlement and other merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T. Under a deal signed with Britain offenses in connection with a corruption But the Seoul Central District Court turned ahead of the 1997 handover, authoriscandal that brought down former South Ko- down the prosecution's request, ruling there was tarian China agreed to let Hong Kong rean president Park Geun-hye. not sufficient probable cause for his arrest or keep certain freedoms and autonomy The merger case is separate from his ongoing those of two former Samsung executives. AFP for 50 years. AFP

Samsung heir avoids arrest for bribery

year on; protests on the back foot

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market up; Bloombery, ICTSI gain

T

HE stock market extended its rally Tuesday along with the rest of Asia, as long-running optimism over the re-opening of economies overcame early profit-taking to extend a rally across world markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced 69.84 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,583.84 on a value turnover of P8.5 billion. Gainers beat losers, 135 to 73, with 43 issues unchanged.

Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. climbed 6 percent to P8, while affiliate International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator, rose 4.9 percent to P107.

Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fast-food chain, rallied 4.8 percent to

P138.90, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, added 4.7 percent to P1,194.

Sydney and Hong Kong, meanwhile, were the standout performers, with traders picking up the baton from Wall Street where the Nasdaq ended at a record high and the S&P 500 wiped out all its losses for the year.

There were warnings, however, that the gains—which have seen markets soar from their March trough thanks to the lockdown easing and massive stim-

ulus—may have gone too far, and could be derailed by any number of issues.

Still, for now, the mood is upbeat, with governments slowly removing restrictions that were put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 but strangled economies and are widely expected to have caused a world recession.

Hong Kong rallied 1.7 percent and Sydney jumped more than two percent as investors there returned from an extended weekend break to play catch-up with Monday’s regional advance.

Shanghai gained 0.6 percent and Taipei added 0.2 percent, while Singapore rallied more than one percent.

Seoul rose 0.2 percent despite geopolitical concerns re-emerging after North Korea said it was severing all official

communication links with the South, and Mumbai was up 0.4 percent.

But profit-taking dragged Tokyo 0.4 percent lower and Wellington slipped two percent after racking up gains of more than three percent on Monday.

While traders continue to buy into world markets on hopes the economy will bounce back, analysts urged some caution.

“The good news is that this shows central banks’ effort to stabilize the market have worked,” Tai Hui, at JP Morgan Asset Management, said in a note.

“The more worrying news is that global economic activity is far from where we were before the pandemic. The current risk rally is driven by investors’ belief that the worst of this recession is behind us, which we agree with.” AFP

PSEi June 9, 2020 TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS

Britain’s labor mart outlook bleakest since 1992—survey LONDON―The outlook for Britain’s coronavirus-blighted labor market is at its bleakest for almost 30 years despite the easing lockdown, a survey showed Tuesday.

Employment consultancy ManpowerGroup revealed the outcome of a survey of 1,056 UK employers, which comes as Britain continues to relax its COVID-19 lockdown.

“Hiring intentions for the third quarter of 2020 are down to minus 12 percent, with a sharp drop across all major sectors,” ManpowerGroup said in a statement, noting this was the worst level since it began the survey in 1992.

The so-called net employment outlook is calculated by subtracting the number of employers who want to cut staff from those wanting to hire staff.

On a more optimistic note, ManpowerGroup added that most UK businesses expected to return to normality over the next twelve months.

“Employers remain cautiously optimistic that this will be temporary with... 57 percent of employers expecting to return to pre-COVID-19 hiring levels by this time next year.”

Mark Cahill, managing director of ManpowerGroup UK, noted the data showed “unprecedented” disruption from the disease, which has killed more than 40,000 in Britain.

“While there’s no getting away from the challenges that lie ahead, the data underlines the resilience of UK employers,” Cahill said.

He added: “The level of disruption is unprecedented and many will be looking closely at what happens next with how COVID-19 progresses, how consumers respond and what all this means for their own operations.”

Recent official UK data also painted a dire picture of the current state of the labor market.

The number of Britons claiming jobless benefit soared nearly 70 percent in April to 2.1 million.

Unemployment claims surged by a record 856,000 from March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Britain imposed a lockdown on March 23 to halt the spread of the virus, and launched a furlough jobs retention scheme under which the state temporarily pays the bulk of wages. AFP

MOST ACTIVE

LYCHEE EXPORTS. Vietnamese farmers transport harvested lychees to sell to domestic traders at a wholesale market in Luc Ngan district of Vietnam’s Bac Giang province on June 9, 2020. Each year, Vietnam exports up to 100,000 tons of fresh lychees, earning more than $30 million in the season which often last between mid May and end of June. AFP

Cathay Pacific unveils $5-b gov’t bailout program HONG KONG―Troubled Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific announced a HK$39-billion (US$5 billion) government-led bailout plan on Tuesday as it battles a crippling downturn caused by the coronavirus.

Like many carriers hammered by the crisis, the company has seen passenger numbers evaporate in recent months, leaving most of its fleet sitting on the tarmac and the firm hemorrhaging cash.

The airline was already under pressure after taking a hit from months of sometimes violent protests in Hong Kong last year that saw tourism battered.

On Tuesday the carrier announced a sweeping proposal to inject liquidity and keep it afloat with the help of Hong Kong’s government, which will take a small stake in the firm.

“Cathay Pacific has explored available options and believes that a recapitalization is required to ensure it has sufficient liquidity to weather this current crisis,” it said in a statement to the city’s stock exchange.

The bulk of the capital will come from new shares issued to Aviation 2020, a company owned by the government,

as well as a HK$7.8-billion bridge loan also from the government.

Under the proposal, Cathay will raise about HK$11.7 billion in a rights issue on the basis of seven rights shares for every 11 existing shares held, while preference shares will be sold to the government for HK$19.5 billion and warrants for HK$1.95 billion, subject to adjustment.

Share trading in Cathay Pacific―and its two biggest shareholders Air China and Swire―was suspended in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning ahead of the announcement. They will resume trading on Wednesday, Cathay said.

Swire, a Hong Kong and British conglomerate with colonial-era roots, has a 45-percent stake in Cathay while Air China owns 30 percent.

Once the recapitalization plan is complete, Aviation 2020 will take a six percent stake while Swire’s shares will be reduced to 42 percent and Air China’s to 28 percent.

Aviation 2020 will also be allowed to send two “observers” to attend board meetings.

The South China Morning Post newspaper reported it is the first time Hong

Kong’s government has directly injected money into a private company.

Finance Secretary Paul Chan said the government acted to protect Hong Kong’s status as an international transport hub after Cathay approached them for help.

“We expect the investment to last three or more years as we at least need to wait for the pandemic to pass,” he told reporters.

“The government will not take part in the company’s daily operations,” he said, adding the two observer board members would not have any decisionmaking powers.

In its statement, Cathay said it also plans to implement a further round of executive pay cuts and a second voluntary unpaid leave initiative for employees.

Before the pandemic struck, Cathay was one of Asia’s largest international airlines and the fifth largest air cargo carrier globally.

The virus has caused a collapse in passenger numbers, and while its cargo business has kept going, Cathay has no domestic demand to fall back on, unlike many other big airlines. AFP

French economy to plummet by 10% and recover in mid-2022 PARIS―The French economy will likely shrink about 10 percent this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not recover to pre-crisis levels until mid-2022, the Bank of France said Tuesday.

It said signs of a “gradual” recovery should be seen from the third quarter of this year, after a slump in output of 15 percent expected in the three months to June due to the “very sharp shock” resulting from the countrywide lockdown imposed in March.

The economy should then expand seven percent in 2021, gaining another four percent in 2022, it said.

But unemployment is expected to surge to above 11.5 percent by mid2021, well above previous peaks, the bank said.

The forecasts are in line with the government’s forecast of an 11-percent GDP contraction this year as the country braces for its worse recession since World War II. France’s economy shrank 5.3 percent in the first three months of the year, and statistics office Insee has said the contraction could reach 20

A person wearing a protective mask walks past by a closed store with a banner reading “for rent “ on June 8, 2020 in Paris, as France eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic (novel coronavirus). AFP

percent in the second quarter.

The Bank of France’s forecasts assume that the coronavirus will continue to spread but remain under control, and that the economy will adapt to the health measures required.

The outlook remains dependent on many uncertainties, the bank said in its report, and the trade-off between savings and spending will be crucial for the future.

“It is likely that the expected increase

in unemployment and the highly uncertain global context will continue to weigh on consumer confidence,” it said.

As a result, household savings could surge by 22 percent this year while household spending―a key driver of the economy―could fall 9.3 percent, it said.

With profit margins thin due to the slowdown, companies are in turn likely to reduce capital investment by around 23 percent.

Combined, these difficulties “will cause a significant drop in employment,” but government efforts to reduce the blow will mean the jobless rate rises relatively slowly―to more than 10 percent this year and then to above historic highs of more than 11.5 percent by the middle of next year.

By 2022, however, unemployment should come down to 9.7 percent.

Prices are likely to be under pressure, and may even fall outright at the end of this year, as energy costs remain weak, meaning inflation will run at less than one percent through to end-2022, the bank said. AFP

Germany says exports down sharply in April FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany―German exports tumbled 24 percent month-on-month in April to 75.7 billion euros ($85.5 billion), official data showed Tuesday, as Europe’s top economy felt the full effects of coronavirus lockdowns worldwide.

Compared with a year earlier, exports slumped 31.1 percent in April― “the biggest fall in a single month since foreign trade statistics began in 1950,” the federal statistics authority Destatis said in a statement.

Germany’s trade surplus―widely criticized by partners and allies before the pandemic crisis as a sign of economic imbalances―tumbled to just 3.2 billion euros in seasonally adjusted terms, the lowest since December 2000 and far short of the 17.8 billion euros reported in April 2019.

That was because imports in April fell more slowly than exports―down 16.5 percent month-on-month to 72.2 billion euros.

Trade with fellow European Union members accounted for around half of both exports and imports in April, with exports falling slightly faster year-onyear to eurozone countries than the rest of the EU. Among important individual partner countries, sales to China took a “comparatively moderate” hit of 12.6 percent year-on-year, Destatis noted, while exports to France fell by almost half, Italy 40 percent and the US more than one-third.

Meanwhile, imports from China surged by 10 percent, with a smaller rise for American imports and France and Italy both falling back sharply.

“International trade will recover gradually as more and more economic zones around the globe take the path into the new normal,” predicted Joerg Zeuner, chief economist at Union Investment.

“It will nevertheless be challenging for Germany (as) globalization has passed its peak and worldwide demand for German investment goods will lag behind global aggregate demand,” Zeuner said.

“However, Germany has shown itself to be comparatively resilient place to do business in the crisis,” he added.

AFP

PSE INDEX CLOSING Tuesday, June 9, 2020

69.84 points

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES

980,797,558 154,879

TOTAL VALUE 8,544,118,649.70 ADVANCES 135

6,583.84

DECLINES 73 UNCHANGED 43

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.8860

Japan

Yen

0.009226

0.4602

UK

Pound

1.272500

63.4799

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129032

6.4369

Switzerland

Franc

1.044496

52.1057

Canada

Dollar

0.747105

37.2701

Singapore

Dollar

0.720046

35.9202

Australia

Dollar

0.701400

34.9900

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654491

132.421

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266560

13.2976

Brunei

Dollar

0.717463

35.7914

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.031827

1.5877

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.5826

Euro

Euro

1.129300

56.3363

Korea

Won

0.000836

0.0417

China

Yuan

0.141441

7.0559

India

Rupee

0.013266

0.6618

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.234467

11.6966

New Zealand

Dollar

0.655100

32.6803

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033684

1.6804

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

Business Chelsea Logistics holds talks with foreign investors

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Source: BSP

IN BRIEF PH gets $750-m loan from AIIB

THE Philippines signed an agreement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank for a loan of up to $750 million (P37.5 billion) to support the government’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and augment the funds needed to address the health crisis.

AIIB earlier committed to co-finance with the Asian Development Bank the Philippines’ COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support program, a quick-disbursing budget support facility designed to fund the government’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and mitigate the adverse impact of the contagion on the economy.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and AIIB acting director general Rajat Misra signed the agreement on June 5.

“The loan package from the AIIB will help augment our funding requirements necessary to mitigate the severe negative impact of COVID-19 on our people and our economy. On behalf of the Philippine government, we thank the AIIB and president Jin Liqun for committing with the ADB to support the CARES program, which will go a long way in helping our people get back on their feet, and our economy recover and emerge stronger after the crisis,” Dominguez said. Julito G. Rada

PLDT eyes higher profit in first half PLDT Inc. said Tuesday it expects first-half earnings in 2020 to grow from a year ago despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our revenues in the first four weeks of the lockdown—spanning the last half of March and the first half of April—were hardest hit.

However, starting the week of Easter Sunday in April, following through the balance of April, then May, and onwards to June, we have seen a steady, upward March of our revenues especially in wireless and home broadband,” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan told participants of the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.

Pangilinan said revenues in April and May this year were ahead of last year. “Given this momentum, it is likely that service revenues for the first six months this year will improve over last year’s despite the pandemic,” Pangilinan said.

PLDT’s service revenues in the first half of 2019 amounted to P76.7 billion, up 7 percent from the same period in 2018.

Darwin G. Amojelar

RAPID TESTS. Tim Hortons Philippines announces it tested employees for COVID-19 using FDA-approved rapid test kits on May 19 to 21 to protect the health of customers and ensure employees’ preparedness for the general community quarantine. All essential restaurant staff, frontlining 22 stores across Metro Manila and corporate employees tested negative. Tim Hortons said it conducted another run of rapid testing for the rest of its employees who need to report to work.

World Bank expects PH economy to decline 1.9%

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE World Bank said Tuesday it expects the Philippine economy to contract 1.9 percent this year, a reversal from the expansion of 6 percent a year ago because of the debilitating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The latest forecast was contained in the multilateral lender’s June 2020 report titled “Philippines Economic Update.” It was a substantial revision from the 6.1-percent growth forecast made in January.

The bank said the eruption of Taal Volcano and the global outbreak of COVID-19, including the strict containment measures against the pandemic, led to severe disruptions in manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, construction and trade.

The bank said with millions of households and overseas Filipinos affected, the cumulative impact of these events on the economy were broad-based, steep and deep, halting investment activity and leading to the lowest consumption growth in three decades.

Private consumption growth fell to 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from 6.2 percent last year. The hotel and restaurant industry suffered the most, contracting by 15.4 percent.

The bank said the economic contraction in 2020 would likely cause an increase in poverty. Containment measures cut off income streams from seasonal wage earners and those engaged in entrepreneurial activities in non-agricultural activities and low-end service jobs, which were the drivers of poverty reduction in recent years.

“During these difficult times, strengthening the capacity of the healthcare system to control the outbreak while protecting poor and vulnerable households remains an urgent task for the country,” said Achim Fock, World Bank acting

PH exporters lost P100b in 3 months due to lockdown

Hedcor pays fine for soil dumping HEDCOR Inc., the hydro subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., paid a fine of P200,000 for alleged dumping of soil in the Chico river in violation of the Clean Water Act. Aboitiz Power said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it was informed by Hedcor of the fine paid to the Pollution Adjudication Board in connection with the DENR-PAB Case No. CAR-00874-16.

The case involved the alleged illegal dumping of soil in the Chico River during the construction of the Hedcor Sabangan hydro-electric power plant, supposedly in violation of Republic Act No. 9275.

Aboitiz Power said the respondents in the case were directed to pay the fine, and the payment was made for and on behalf of all the respondents by Sta. Clara International, the contractor for the Hedcor Sabangan hydro-electric power plant, in compliance with its contractual obligation and liability for the “care of water” during the construction of the plant.

“During the development of our Sabangan Hydro from 2013 to 2015, as in the construction of all hydropower facilities, it was necessary to build a temporary cofferdam to be able to construct the weir,” Aboitiz Power said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

By Othel V. Campos

HEALTH CENTERS. BDO Foundation sustains efforts to rehabilitate rural health units across the country, which have become increasingly important now that hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. The support for health centers and their medical frontliners has been instrumental in helping local government units conduct tests and provide patient care. The corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank is set to rehabilitate its 100th rural health unit as part of efforts to help improve the healthcare delivery system in the Philippines.

Regional coalition welcomes Hong Kong’s termination of vaping ban A REGIONAL consumer advocacy group has lauded Hong Kong Legislative Council’s (Legco) decision to terminate discussions on the proposed ban on vaping products, saying this will provide smokers with safer smoke-free alternatives.

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates is referring to the announcement of Legco’s Bills Committee on Smoking that it ceased discussions over the proposed ban on electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products and other electronic nicotine delivery systems on June 2.

The committee ended its work after nine meetings, including three public hearings, since it was established in March 2019 to tackle a proposed bill that aimed to amend the Smoking Ordinance and impose a blanket ban on vaping or the use of e-cigarettes, HTPs and the likes.

CAPHRA said these smoke-free

country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

“Similarly, financial support to affected firms, especially small and medium enterprises, to prevent job losses and bankruptcy, can help ensure that the recent shocks do not cause permanent damage to the country’s productive capacity and human capital,” Fock said.

Rong Qian, World Bank senior economist, said the country’s digital infrastructure would play a critical role in the economic recovery.

“Measures that restrict mobility, regulate physical contact, and limit business activity have forced more businesses and families to use the internet for transactions,” said Qian.

“This change in consumer behavior and firm operations is expected to continue even after quarantines end. To take full advantage of this situation and help the economy in recovering from the losses it has suffered due to the lockdown, the country must ramp up its efforts to accelerate the digitalization of the economy,” Qian said.

nicotine products are considered a part of tobacco harm reduction—a public health strategy which aims to provide alternatives to reduce risks caused by smoking cigarettes.

The vaping ban in Hong Kong was not imposed after it was strongly opposed by some members of the committee who cited scientific studies showing that e-cigarettes, HTPs and the likes have much lower levels of toxicants compared to combustible cigarettes.

Scientific studies have shown that the harms of these technology-aided products represent less than 5 percent or just a fraction of the health risks of combustible tobacco because they do not involve combustion or burning which is being blamed as the source of toxicants. It has been known for decades that tar, and carcinogens found in tobacco smoke, cause the death and disease associated with smoking, and not nicotine. Unlike combustible ciga-

rettes which are being linked to 20,000 deaths a day globally, THR products do not produce smoke as they deliver nicotine by heating, and not burning tobacco.

Nancy Loucas, executive coordinator of CAPHRA, noted that Hong Kong, like Japan and Korea, has a high number of former smokers who have switched to HTPs. “CAPHRA is pleased to see that the impending ban on HTPs in Hong Kong has been abandoned by the government in favour of a pragmatic, science-based approach to tobacco harm reduction,” she said.

“It was pleasing to see that some of the officials involved in the process to decide the fate of the products strongly opposed the ban based on science that proves that HTPs have a lower level of toxicants compared to cigarettes, whilst addressing the concerns of creating black market in illicit trade in the products,” Loucas said.

EXPORT companies in the Philippines lost over P100 billion worth of revenues in the past three months, or since the government enforced the Luzon lockdown in mid-March.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority said these companies were still expecting to incur P34 billion in losses every month until the economy stabilized.

“While health and safety is a top government priority, the economy is as important. Businesses especially manufacturing and logistics need to operate while health measures of the workers are in place.

Our projected global decline in production, labor export and import transactions is estimated at P34 billion per month, more or less $700 million,” said PEZA director-general Charito Plaza.

She said that following the easing of the lockdown, about 35.5 percent of the export companies had not yet resumed operations while 55.7 percent of the economic zone workforce still had to return to work.

Data showed that of the 2,634 locators in ecozones, only 55 were fully operational, 804 companies were operating on skeletal force on site with work from home component, 532 were on skeletal force and 310 companies were operating purely on work-from-home mode.

PEZA said that in the last three months, only 661,245 of the 1,491,957 workers were actively on work mode.

Before the outbreak, employment in ecozones reached 1,565,588 in January 2020, or 6 percent higher than the previous year’s 1,476,969.

CHELSEA Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. of businessman Dennis Uy is in talks with possible foreign strategic partners to help the local shipping industry survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Chryss Alfonsus Damuy, president and chief executive of Chelsea Logistics, said the company held talks with possible partners with operations overseas to bring value to the business considering their wide experience in shipping.

Damuy said these discussions were still at the initial stages and the company would disclose further details once plans became more definite.

“We are overly cautious on this matter as we wanted to enter into a partnership that will not only bring in financial investments, but also bring in expertise, best practices and value to the overall business,” Damuy said.

He said the company’s significant growth in the first two months of the year was interrupted by the COVID-19 global pandemic which led to the lockdown in the third week of March.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost all industries all over the world and we are not an exception. The shipping industry has been severely affected by the ECQ and GCQ, and unfortunately this coincided with the industry’s peak season,”Damuy said.

Damuy said that in response, Chelsea Logistics immediately revisited future strategies, including strengthening its balance sheet and aggressive fixed asset management by slashing planned capital expenditures and disposing of aging and underperforming vessels.

“To scale up work efficiencies, the Group is now undergoing workforce rationalization to restructure support functions and right-size existing workforce,” he said.

“The Chelsea Group is working aggressively with the goal of achieving business resiliency, to be able to adjust the business to the “new normal” and protect its market share in the process during this crisis,” Damuy said.

Damuy said that for upcoming infrastructure projects such as the Davao Sasa Port and Airport Modernization projects, the company was expecting revenues to come from shares in terminal fees, airport concessions, cargo handling and stevedoring and docking charges.

Japanese firm relocating in PH with 10,000 jobs THE Board of Investments said Tuesday it approved two investment projects last week, including the manufacturing operations of a Japanese company that is relocating in the country and generate at least 10,000 jobs.

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the projects included a major investment in the infrastructure sector and a big manufacturing facility that will employ 10,000 workers.

“Secretary Ramon Lopez as the chairman of the Board of Investments approved last week the biggest infrastructure project ever. This could have been approved last month. The project will help boost Philippine tourism and international travel,” Rodolfo said Tuesday during the webinar “Philippine Business Environment-Post-COVID”.

The e-forum was organized by the Trade Department, assisted by the Philippine Embassy in the United States and Philippine Embassy in Canada and with support from Philippine trade offices in these countries.

Rodolfo said the manufacturing investment would come from a Japanese company interested to relocate from another country. He said the firm was looking at operating in the northern part of Luzon, which would help decongest economic zones in southern part of Luzon.

Investments approved by the BOI reached more than P1 trillion in 2019, or about $22 billion.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the approval of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act bill would make it more attractive for investors in the Philippines.

Othel V. Campos

Sports

Ninoy Aquino Stadium sends home 123 healed COVID survivors ZERO death cases!

The Ninoy Aquino Stadium, one of the PSC facilities converted to “We Heal as One Centers” for COVID-19 patients, has sent home all of its 123 survivor cases with no recorded fatalities.

“Malaking pasalamat po natin sa Panginoon dahil wala pong namatay sa ating mga pasyente.

Napakagaling po ng ating AFP medical doctors dahil ginawa po nila ang mga nararapat talaga,” said Philippine Sports Commission’s Security Supervisor Angel Dayag.

After the discharge of the 123 recovered patients, the NAS immediately went through full disinfection and repairs last Monday and will go through until Friday.

There are other PSC facilities that are operational and still catering to suspected to mildpositive and positive COVID-19 patients.

The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila has only 67 patients remaining as per Armed Forces Health Service Command.

The Multi-Purpose Arena inside the PhilSports Complex in Pasig City on the other hand, has 34 patients still at the complex as of June 9, according to Philippine National Police Health Service head Lt. Col. Jay Carpio.

“Kami pong PSC frontliners, umaasa po kami na gagaling po ang lahat ng mga pasyente natin dahil ginagawa naman po lahat ng AFP medical doctors ang lahat. Ang hiling lang po namin ay sana walang mamatay sa ating mga pasyente, dasal na lang talaga ang kailangan natin,” said Dayag.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

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Action in the PBA, like the one shown above, is expected to resume before 2020 ends.

PBA confident stalled season may resume before year ends

By Peter Atencio

T

HE Philippine Basketball Association is optimistic it can resume its stalled 45th season before the year ends.

PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial believes there is a very good chance the league will be able to restart operations and hold even just a conference for its 2020 calendar that has been greatly affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus.

At the same time, Marcial eased uncertainties and worries many players have following the momentary halt of

the league’s 45th season.

“We made a policy on this. And they will be able to rejoin their teams,” said Marcial during yesterday’s webcast of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Marcial said many players were affected when the season was called off before of the ongoing lockdowns imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The cagers’ contracts will lapse in the coming months, with many team still not practicing because of the quarantine protocols that have been imposed by the government.

Marcial said teams have five days to sign their players once the go-signal

has been given by the interagency task force to allow physical activities and for teams to have practices.

Those who have not signed will become free agents, added Marcial.

During the online discussion, Marcial expressed confidence that there is a very good chance that the league will be able to restart operations and hold even just a conference for its 2020 calendar.

He rated the chances of a PBA return at seven when asked on a scale of 1-10.

“Seven to eight sa akin na matutuloy. Ako sa akin, makakalaro pa talaga tayo kahit isang conference this year,” said Marcial, who was joined by deputy commissioner and head of PBA operations Eric Castro in the weekly session.

At the moment, the league is awaiting

MILO uploads online training Brogdon joins protests vs racial prejudice sports sessions MILO Tennis has started to upload its own series of online training sessions under the Milo Sports Clinics Online.

The objective is to help kids stay active and healthy during the ECQ period.

The organizing Children’s Tennis & Sports Management produces the online training sessions, led by Milo tennis coach Kevin Mamawal.

CTSM had already uploaded lessons on Grip and basic forehand and backhand ball dribbling on thru its facebook and youtube, while Milo promotes on facebook and instagram to encourage moms and kids to participate in the Milo Sports Clinics Online.

The Milo Tennis Online Sports Clinics is designed for beginners ages 7-12 where they will be introduced to easy and fun basics of the game.

And for safety purposes, the children can perform the actual online training sessions at the home garage or in any space enough to do the practical movements.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to supervise the children as they perform the sessions.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor

MALCOLM Brogdon, the Indiana Pacers’ 6’5” combo guard, won’t rejoin his squad until a week before his team’s scheduled game at the resumption of the 2019-2019 National Basketball Association.

One of three players recovering from injuries, Brogdon has joined protests in Atlanta, Georgia, following an invitation from Celtics’ wingman Jaylen Brown last week.

Brogdon, who is supporting protests against racial injustice and police brutality, said he will be back a week before their scheduled game. He said he will be inviting teammates to join him when another protest march takes place in Indiana.

“I plan to come back to Indiana a week before we are supposed to be back (to play).

And just to be early before everybody gets back,” said Brogdon, who averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds right before the season was halted by postponements resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Brogdon talked about his plans during an online Zoom conference. The audio file of the web conference was shared to the Manila Standard by NBA Philippines.

Brogdon and Brown are cur rently the Vice Presidents of the NBA Players Association.

He has been communicating with Pacers’ president for basketball operations Kevin Pritchard daily on his activities, along with coach Nate McMillan.

The 27-year-old Brogdon credits his

Malcolm Brogdon of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball against the Washington Wizards at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brogdon, who is supporting protests against racial injustice and police brutality, said he will be back a week before their scheduled NBA game.

activism to his great grandparents, who were part of the civil rights’ movement in the United States.

“It’s been a part of my upbringing, part of my history,” said Brogdon.

Since May, the Indiana Pacers have started to get players back to practice at St. Vincent Center. Their sessions adhere to government and NBA guidance on social distancing and other health

guidelines for COVID-19 prevention.

Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb have been spending time individually, undergoing rehabilitation for their injuries.

Brogdon had a torn left thigh muscle, but says he is 100% ready to play.

On the other hand, Lamb, who needed surgery on his left knee for a torn ligament and and a broken leg bone, will be out for the season. Peter Atencio

Asia Pacific Predator League postponed to spring of 2021 ACER announced that the Asia Pacific Predator League 2020 will be postponed to spring 2021 in the Philippines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The health and safety of the gaming community remains Acer’s primary concerns, and the company has been working closely with public health authorities and their advisories.

The same qualifying teams from the local preliminary competitions will attend the finale in Spring 2021, and the event has been renamed as Predator League 2020/2021 with a prize pool of US$400,000.

“The postponement of the Asia Pacific Predator League, instead of a cancellation, demonstrates Acer’s commitment to the gaming community,” said Andrew Hou, President of Acer Pan Asia Pacific Regional Operations. “With

the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we made the decision to move the competition to Spring 2021 for the safety and best interests of the tournament’s competitors, fans, spectators and staff.”

Almost 20,000 tickets have already been sold for the tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place in Manila, Philippines in February 2020 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City in Manila. A total of 17 regions entered the local qualifier competitions held from October 2019.

As a token of appreciation for the patience of the whole Predator community, a complimentary drawstring bag with limited edition Predator League 2020 shirt and face mask will be given away for those who purchased VIP tickets, and a Predator shirt for regular

ticket buyers. Further instructions on claiming will be posted on Predator’s social media pages.

The inaugural Asia Pacific Predator League was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018 to reinforce the Predator brand’s commitment to supporting the gaming industry in the region.

The second edition in 2019 was held at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, watched by over 10,000 fans in real-time. It garnered 4.3 million views online and the peak concurrent viewership reached 123,000.

All contestants will be directly contacted with notices of important updates and when a new date has been established. Follow Acer’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep updated on the latest developments Asia Pacific Predator League 2020/2021.

the response of the IATF on the PBA Board-approved protocols it submitted.

The league hopes that the protocols it forwarded will pave the way for teams to at least start practicing even by small groups as soon as possible.

Castro said they have sent a formal letter to the IATF last week, with copies furnished to co-chairpersons Karlo Nograles and Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

“Kapag pinayagan ang PBA, hindi lang basketball baka lahat ng sports dahan-dahan na papayagan na ‘yan,” said the commissioner in the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go-ForGold, Amelie Hotel, Braska Restaurant, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and powered by Smart.

Mobile Legends pro league sets highest finals’ viewership MINESKI Global, in partnership with Moonton Games, successfully conLOS ANGELES—Sports footwear cludedReebok the fifth giant has season decidedofto the endMoits bile Legends:with Bang Bang Professional partnership CrossFit Inc. later League in the Philippines Indonesia, this year following anand insensitive with an all-time-high viewership. comment by the fitness organizaMPL-Philippines’ season, tion’s chief executivefifth concerning which broadcast playoffs and grand protests against its racial injustice roilfinals May 31, 2020, was the mosting theonUS. viewed in thesaid league’s entireithistory Reebok Sunday wouldin the country, and also the it most-watched make the move once fulfils its Philippine esportsobligation event ever,asregiscurrent contract the tering a peak online count of title sponsor for the viewer 2020 CrossFit 317,330 for the finals’ match between Games.

OnicPH and Sunsparks.

“Recently, we have been in discusThe regarding success of the the Philipsions a MPL new in agreement, pines shows the potential of esports however, in light of recent events,towebe a majormade part of entertainment have thesports decision to end ourin the new normal the wakeHQ,” of theReeCOpartnership withinCrossFit VID-19 pandemic. bok said in a statement Sunday.

In fact, the chief same hype was generated CrossFit executive Greg around MPL Indonesia, also organized Glassman tweeted, “It’s FLOYD-19”

by Mineski Their ‘El Clasico’ on SaturdayEsports. after the Institute for match between and Evos in the Health Metrics RRQ and Evaluation clasplayoffs helped generate 702,689 peak sified racism and discrimination as a online viewers before topping it off with public health issue. a peak viewer countgroups of over one million Human rights expressed during the grand finals, wherein RRQ outrage at the tweet, calling it insenclaimed the Indonesian championship. sitive to the current events and the “I’mofvery proudFloyd, of oura Mineski Esdeath George black man ports Philippines and Indonesia teams who died in police custody on May 25 forMinneapolis, pulling off five seasons of the MPL in Minnesota. with flying colors, all officer while Derek setting Floyd was killed when records in terms of viewership forhis esChauvin, who is white, kneeled on ports for tournaments Southeast Asia,” neck nearly nineinminutes. said Mineskihas Global CEO and founder, Chauvin been charged with Ronald Robins. second-degree murder and manMineski Global’s Esports armofficers has been slaughter, while three other working closely with Moonton have been charged with abettingGames mursinceand themanslaughter. establishment of the Mobile der Legends: professional leagues ReebokBang andBang CrossFit previously in 2018.

The league has produced the best signed a deal that named the athletic players in company the region as when comes to the footwear the ittitle sponsor mobile for the MOBA CrossFitgenre.

Games.

“In the recently-concluded fifth Magseason Other affiliates like CrossFit of the MPL, MPL Indonesia and Philipnus also decided to cut ties with the pines have achieved positive growth and Washington, DC-based global fitness breakthroughs in performance. We feel organization. very grateful to the Mineski Esports team “After eight years as a CrossFit for their hard work and will continue to affiliate we are ending our affiliapartner with them and contribute to the tion,” CrossFit Magnus spokesman development of the esports industry in Nick Hurndon wrote in a social meSoutheast Asia. We will make efforts to dia post. bring greater experiences to our players “We will no longer continue to and fans,” shared Lucas Mao, Moonton ‘carry your water,’ as it is antithetiGames’ director for esports.

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Sports

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

Top-level golf back with Schwab Challenge

H

ONG KONG—Top-level golf returns from its coronavirus shutdown Thursday as the US PGA Tour season resumes with a star-studded field at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.

Can’t see the Woods Sixteen of the world’s top 20 will tee off on Thursday at Colonial Country Club, but Tiger Woods will not be among them.

The 15-time major winner last played on Tour in February at Riviera and missed the next four tournaments, including the Players, with a sore back.

The world number 11 looked to have his game in top shape on May 24 when he and Peyton Manning defeated Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in a charity match.

But he may be saving his fragile body for the frantic revamped schedule in August and September, and so could return as late as Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament on July 16, which Woods has never missed when healthy.

The Memorial could be the first of eight events in 10 weeks for the 44-year-old.

The WGC Invitational is on July 30-August 2, followed by the US PGA Championship, three FedEx Cup playoff events, and September’s US Open and Ryder Cup. Woods needs one victory to set the all-time wins record having tied Sam Snead’s 82 PGA Tour victories at the Zozo Championship in Japan in October.

‘Debutant’ Rory leads stellar cast World number one Rory McIlroy has been installed as favourite this week, despite never having played at Colonial before.

He will be joined in the hunt by the rest of the world’s top five— Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson—with

Thomas another to play the event for the first time.

But picking a winner is not easy: 101 of the 148 players have PGA Tour wins under their belt, the strongest field in the event’s history.

The top three—McIlroy, Rahm and Koepka—will play together for the first two rounds in a stellar featured group that will have an odd feel in front of empty galleries.

Number four Thomas will play alongside his great pals Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler in what could be a fun grouping for an expected large TV audience.

‘Beef’ doesn’t mince word While the return of the PGA Tour has been universally welcomed, the decision to restart the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) has not gone down so well.

Players at the Charles Schwab Challenge and a second-string Korn Ferry Tour event in the US this week will be awarded ranking points.

But the European Tour is not scheduled to return until late July

and it will be September before the Asian Tour sees any action.

Players on those circuits, with no points-scoring opportunities, took to social media to vent their anger.

“Completely dumb from @OWGRltd but anyway least golf is starting,” fumed England’s Andrew “Beef” Johnston on Twitter.

Compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick, the world number 25, chimed in: “Very unfair, can’t understand this!”

South Africa’s 165th-ranked Brandon Stone tweeted: “Find this very disrespectful to all other tours around the world.”

“Agreed! Either all Tours are playing for points or none!” said Austria’s number 26 Bernd Wiesberger.

Officials from the OWGR claimed in a statement that the averaging formula used to calculate rankings will help mitigate the problem.

But a row could be brewing, especially if a player on a suspended tour were to drop out of the all-important top 50 and miss out on a major or a lucrative WGC event as a result. AFP

La Liga gets wish for return but not without compromise MADRID—La Liga president Javier Tebas said the games would have to go on and from Thursday they will, with stadiums full of virtual fans, crowd noise from a computer game and fewer than 300 people allowed to attend.

As Ligue 1 in France was called off and the Premier League, still the benchmark for Spanish football, tied itself in knots, La Liga has been steadfast in its pursuit of completion.

“I always believed we would play again,” said Tebas on Sunday.

The government in Spain had indicated it would be good for morale, perhaps even important for their standing in the world, while the country’s infatuation with football meant the prime minister was often addressing the question of its return.

Yet driving La Liga’s determination, as Tebas admitted, was the fear of financial meltdown. Cancellation would cost clubs a billion euros, he repeated, and no team would be spared.

Even with the season about to resume, Barcelona and Real Madrid have had to impose pay cuts. Atletico Madrid said they enforced a drop in wages “to guarantee their future”.

Public opposition to the season continuing has therefore been fleeting.

Eibar’s players said last month they were “afraid” to go back to training while Valencia’s Gabriel Paulista was one of the few to say it felt rushed.

Among the governing bodies, the players’ union (AFE) was sidelined and even the conflict between La Liga and the Spanish football federation (RFEF) was largely put on hold.

Instead, La Liga has answered to the health authorities, who have always had the power to scrap even the most advanced plans at any given moment.

So when Sevilla host Real Betis on Thursday to begin a 39-day sprint finish with matches every day, they will do so according to strict guidelines that even this week were still being updated.

“We’ve planned everything to the last millimetre,” Tebas said.

Infection risk ‘practically zero’ Players will be tested for coronavirus within 24 hours of kick-off and visiting teams will use exclusive flights and hotels, before travelling to stadiums in two buses to ensure social distancing is maintained. Home team players will arrive in their own cars. AFP

LONE BIKER. A cyclist rides in al-Qudra desert in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. AFP

Racism ‘swept under carpet’ in Germany BERLIN—Boris Becker says racism in Germany needs to be discussed openly after the tennis icon drew criticism on social media for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest.

The six-time Grand Slam champion claims he was the target of angry comments “from Germany” on Twitter after participating in an anti-racism demonstration in London over the weekend.

Becker spoke out in a video message posted on the platform.

“I must have hit a sore spot with my Tweet about my family history” and Black Lives Matter, said Becker, whose ex-wife Barbara is the daughter of an AfricanAmerican, while the mother of his second wife Lilly comes from Suriname.

“In our country it is swept a bit under the carpet and I think that’s a pity.

“We should talk about it much more publicly”, said the 52-year-old, who called for more social engagement against racism in his native country.

“We are all one family.”

In an earlier Tweet, Becker said he was “shocked, shaken and horrified” by the “many insults ONLY from Germany”.

“Why, why, why? Have we become a country of racists...?” he added.

The death of George Floyd, who died in police custody on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparked protests across

Boris Becker

Europe and Germany at the weekend.

According to German police, around 10,000 protestors gathered at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz on Saturday, while there were similar numbers for demonstrations in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg. AFP

Hamilton: Slave trader’s statue should ‘stay in river’

Lewis Hamilton

LONDON—Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said a slave trader’s statue that was torn down and dumped in a harbour during anti-racism protests should “stay in the river”.

Hamilton, who is F1’s only black driver, was commenting after protesters in the British city of Bristol toppled the bronze statue of Edward Colston, who made his fortune in the slave trade.

“If those people hadn’t taken down that statue, honouring a racist slave trader, it would never have been removed,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram.

“There’s talks of it going into a museum. That man’s statue should stay in the river just like the 20 thousand African souls who died on the journey

here and thrown into the sea, with no burial or memorial.

“He stole them from their families, country and he must not be celebrated! It should be replaced with a memorial for those he sold, all those that lost their lives!!”

Colston’s statue was pulled down during anti-racism protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during his arrest last month in Minneapolis.

Government officials have called the statue’s removal a criminal act.

But the action won some support, including from Bristol’s mayor, against a backdrop of public pressure to reexamine representations of Britain’s colonial past.

Britain’s Hamilton, a six-time

world champion, has been a vocal opponent of racial injustice, previously saying he was “overcome with rage” and criticising “white-dominated” Formula One for its silence over the Floyd incident.

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has backed Hamilton after the six-time world champion spoke about his “rage” over racial injustice following the death of George Floyd.

The 89-year-old Englishman said Hamilton and other sports stars should have the freedom to air their views.

Hamilton, the only black driver in F1, on Tuesday said he had been “completely overcome with rage at the sight of such blatant disregard for the lives of our (black) people” following the incident in the United States. AFP

NFL boss admits: We were wrong over protests LOS ANGELES—NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted Friday the league had been wrong to silence player protests as it responded to calls from a group of players to issue an explicit condemnation of racism.

In a video message posted on social media, Goodell said the league would now support peaceful protests from players in future.

Goodell’s message came as a wave of protests against police brutality and racism continued across the United States following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

“It has been a difficult time for our country,” Goodell said. “In particular, black people in our country.”

“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people.

“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.

“We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.”

The NFL had been criticized for a statement released last Saturday which failed to directly reference racism or police brutality.

On Thursday, a group of several prominent NFL players including Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Odell Beckham Jr released a video demanding that the NFL condemn racism and support protest.

“How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players?” Kansas City chiefs ace Tyrann Mathieu asked in the video.

“What will it take?” Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins added.

“For one of us to be murdered by police brutality?” Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry asked.

‘I protest with you’ Goodell, who has faced criticism in the past for his handling of NFL player protests launched by Colin Kaepernick in 2016, insisted he would now be a sympathetic ally for players.

“I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much needed change in this country,” Goodell said.

“Without black players, there would be no National Football League.

“We are listening, I am listening and I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve and go forward for a better and more united NFL family.”

Green Bay Packers player Aaron Jones said he is pleased that Goodell has changed his outlook.

“I am just glad he is listening. He has corrected himself and he has open ears,” Jones said.

The NFL, which is the most popular professional league in the United States, has long struggled with allegations of racism.

Many team owners are supporters of US President Donald Trump, who led stinging criticism of player protests in 2017, plunging the league into a protracted crisis. AFP

Spurs’ Aldridge out for rest of season after shoulder surgery LOS ANGELES—San Antonio Spurs star LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of the 2019-2020 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, the team said on Monday.

A statement from the Spurs said Aldridge went under the knife in April to fix problems with the rotator cuff in his right shoulder.

Aldridge injured his shoulder at Utah on February 21 and then played through the pain against Oklahoma City two days later.

He missed six games after that before returning to score 24 points against Dallas on March 10 -- a day before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.

Aldridge, 34, is a seven-time AllStar who joined San Antonio in 2015 from Portland.

The Spurs said Aldridge is expected to be fit to resume training camps ahead of the 2020-2021 season.

The NBA has been on hold since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in March. The league plans to restart the season in Orlando, Florida in late July. AFP

Entertainment Entertainment

K

orean fever continues on SKY as it gives the entire family a wideranging line-up of shows across genres—from romance to thriller to reality shows—on Tvn, Kix, KBS World, and K Plus channels, all this month of June.

Some of the must-watch shows in the roster are K-dramas Sweet Munchies, Soul Mechanic, Prison Playbook, 2 Weeks, and How To Buy A Friend.

Sweet Munchies is not your ordinary tale of a love triangle. Jung Il Woo (Park Jin-Sung) is a chef and a bar-owner down on his luck, struggling to pay for his father’s medical bills. When regular bar customer Kang Ji Young (Kim Ah Jin) asks him if he knew a gay chef who could star in her latest project, he lies about his sexual preference and offers himself for the part. Things get complicated and trouble ensues when they start fighting over one man. airing every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. on K Plus, the drama is shown within 24 hours of its South Korea airing.

Soul Mechanic promises to be a roller coaster ride of emotions with the story of Lee Shi-Joon (Shin Ha Kyun), psychiatrist and rising actress Han WooJoo (Jung So-Min). He is a passionate doctor with unorthodox ways in curing people of their emotional wounds while she has anger issues and mental breakdowns that threatens her career.

Catch Soul Mechanic every Thursday and Friday at 9:10 p.m. on KBS World, as it airs simultaneously in Korea.

In Prison Playbook, Korea’s best baseball pitcher Je-Hyeok (Park HaeSoo) is all set to make his major league

A festival of Korean shows ‘How To Buy A Friend’ is a South Korean TV series based on the Daum webtoon ”Friendship Contract’ by Laad Kwon.

debut in the US. But his new life is put on hold when he gets into a struggle with a man who assaults his sister.

Convicted of using excessive force, he is sentenced to a year in prison. Get acquainted with the stories of convicts,

their families, and officers working in prison every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:20 p.m. on Tvn. 2 Weeks takes viewers to the dangerous world of the small-time gangster Jang Tae San. When he discovers from a past

Food is KC’s language of love In a recent online interview, KC Concepcion expressed how she misses her mom Sharon Cuneta as they are unable to be physically together due to the CoVID-19 pandemic.

The 35-year-old actress lives independently in her condominium, which is not that far from her mom’s house.

“She sends a lot of food and I also send from time to time. I guess that’s how we express our love---through gifts. My mom and I, in a way, have the same love language, where we like to give each other gifts,” she says.

But KC points out that theirs is not a perfect mother-daughter relationship.

They also pass through difficult moments like any normal family. “at the end of the day, all that’s happening within our circle should stay in the family. Just like any family, nobody’s perfect. We go through bumps along the way. The only difference is we’re public,” she adds. as a mother, KC is all-praises for Sharon. She said the Megastar is such an amazing mom.

“She gave birth when she was 19, so I’m sure that was also very hard for her.

We were both babies. She had a baby when I was a baby. Maybe she wasn’t ready as she could have been,” she shares. at this point, KC wants to make up for lost times. She is simply grateful to all those who are there supporting their mother and daughter relationship. “every day, you just want everything to be nice, light, and happy. For one, I’m not a perfect daughter. nobody is. But what’s important is what happens now.

KC Concepcion

If there was time lost before, I think the important thing is for us to embrace both each other’s imperfections, forgive and become loving towards each other.

That’s the best we can do,” she ends. * * *** actor Matteo Guidicelli is optimistic that despite its shutdown, aBS-CBn will eventually be back on air. He and his wife Sarah Geronimo are “always praying that our home studio will be back soon.” “all we need is humility, unity, and peace. I believe that Filipino people want aBS-CBn and love it like a family. So, I

believe it will come back one day and all the issues will be resolved,” he says.

The 30-year-old actor admits to being surprised when the Kapamilya network went off the air on May 5, due to some dispute in relation to the application for renewal of its 25-year franchise.

“It’s heart-breaking. But we’re just being positive that everything will be okay. With your prayers and sincerity, and with your humility and being positive, things will be okay. You have to stay positive because it’s futile to put more fire to fire, right?”

Matteo hopes that things will get settled eventually.

GMA RTV hits 100K subscriber mark on YouTube “We are proud to reach our 100k-subscriber mark on YouGMa network’s regional arm, GMa regional TV, marks another milestone as it recently reached 100,000 subscribers Tube and we want to share this achievement with every Kapuso netizen who made this possible,” said GMa regional on the popular video-sharing platform YouTube.

Launched on Feb. 26, 2016, TV Vice President and Head OliGMa rTV’s YouTube channel is ver Amoroso. the only platform that made vari“Videos featured on GMa reous GMa rTV programs and vidgional TV’s YouTube channel mireos available to netizens anytime, ror the story of every Filipino, in anywhere. These original content every corner of the Philippines. include daily newscasts that preWe are happy that through this viously aired on GMa rTV local platform we are able to bring such channels such as GMA RTV Balilocal stories to all our Kapuso all tang Amianan, GMA RTV Balitang over the world. and as GMa netBisdak, GMA RTV One Western work celebrates its 70th anniverVisayas, and GMA RTV One Mindsary, GMa rTV is committed to anao. netizens also get to watch producing relevant content both GMa rTV’s festival coverages on-air and online because local and specials, as well as GMA RTV news and stories matter.”

Presents.

GMa rTV has been bringing Some of the most-watched vidlocal news and information that eos on GMa regional TV’s Youmatter to Filipino viewers nationTube channel include One Mindwide with its local newscasts all anao’s news report on “Lalaking over the country, and just recentnagtangkang Manaksak sa Su- GMA Regional TV (GMA RTV) marks another milestone ly, with the morning shows GMA mita sa Kanya, arestado” which as it recently reached 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Regional TV Live! in Central and has 1.9 million views to date; One eastern Visayas and At Home with Mindanao’s “ambush na-huliGMA Regional TV in Mindanao. cam” which earned 1.3 million views; One Western Visayas’ at the same time, more viewers get to watch these local “nagdumong sa aswang nasaysay” and “Leader Sang nPa programs via GMA Regional TV Strip that airs weeknights Patay sa engkwentro” with 841.3k and 776k views, respec- on GMa news TV at 9:45 p.m.. tively; and One Mindanao’s “U.S. Philippine Peso Coin naall the freshest news, events, and updates about GMa rekita sa Malungon, Sarangani” with 753k views. gional TV are now available on www.gmaregionaltv.com.

relationship that he has a daughter awaiting a bone marrow transplant, he also learns only he could save her life. Taking this as a chance to pay for his past sins, he agrees to undergo surgery. But many obstacles stand in the way—he is framed by gangmates for

Nickie Wang, Editor wednesday, june 10, 2020 nickie.standard@gmail.com nickie.standard@gmail.com

C3 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 || C3

murder and must evade the police. He must get to his daughter without getting caught in two weeks or she dies. Premiering on June 25, it airs every Thursday and Friday at 10:00 p.m. on KIX. Valuable life lessons abound in How to Buy a Friend. Don Hyuk becomes his high school’s prized fighter after his girlfriend’s suicide. as the tragedy takes a toll on him, he gets into fights and sent to detention. returning to school after one of his scuffles, he meets Park Chan Hong, a bullied student with talent for writing. With a simultaneous airing in Korea, the show airs every Friday at 5:15 p.m. on KBS World.

Sing and dance your worries away the Korean way with KBS Music Bank and Show Champion. Have fun with the best tunes in South Korea and be dazzled with fantastic performances from the nation’s top musicians, as you follow the latest Korean music trends through the hottest songs on K-chart.

Meanwhile, be entertained with Show Champion, hosted by various guest MCs, featuring popular Korean hits and upcoming super rookies of the K-Pop scene. KBS Music Bank is on live every Friday at 4:00 p.m. on KBS World while Show Champion airs every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on K Plus.

Then, enjoy some K-Pop vibe with Road to Kingdom. In this second installment to Queendom, get to journey with seven rising boy groups—Pentagon, ONF, Golden Child, The Boyz, Verivery, ONEUS, and TOO as they compete with each other. Catch the thrill every Thursday at 11:00 p.m. on Tvn. Get your fix of the best Korean entertainment this month as you stay home together with SKY. To subscribe or get more updates on SKY offers and services, visit www.mysky.com.ph.

Free life coaching sessions for LGBT members this pride month JUne is officially declared as “Pride Month.” This is the time when members of the LGBT celebrate their freedom of expression and bring to surface the issues concerning their community. one prevalent issue nowadays due to the pandemic is the rise of depression cases among members of the pink community. This is brought about by the CoVID-19 lockdown, which resulted in job losses, fear of the unknown, and re-living painful experiences from the past during isolation.

Celebrity life coach Myke Celis saw the need for this and decided to offer free coaching sessions for the members of the LBGT community during the whole month of June, in celebration of pride month. a proud member of LGBT community himself, Coach Myke believes that more than ever, members of his community should be given access t o prof e s sional help that will enable them to manage their mental and emotional state during the pandemic.

The international best selling author of the #bestmeever book series and radio talk show host has this to say: «During the past few months, I have received a number of messages from the members of the LGBT community asking for help and support in managing stress and anxiety, among other personal issues. I believe that by offering free coaching sessions to the LGBT people, I will be able to give back to the community which has supported me for the longest time.»

«It›s not just about the issues brought about by the pandemic that need to be addressed; personal issues such as coming out, being bullied, abusive relationships etc. may also be discussed during the session to ensure that each and every member of the LGBT community availing of it will not only survive the greater changes experienced now because of the pandemic, but rather, thrive eventually in the process by getting clarity

about themselves and what holds them back.»

How can members of the LGBT Community avail of the complimentary coaching sessions?

«They can just visit calendly.com/ coach-myke-celis and book a schedule under PrIDe Free Coaching for LGBT Unicorns. once confirmed, we will have the 30-mins session via FB video call or Zoom. Hopefully, after that, a new version of themselves will arise. one that is genuinely happier and proud. This can be their first step to living the life they want and deserve,” Myke shared. any words of advice for the LGBT Community in celebration of the Pride Month?

«My dear fellow Unicorns, always remember that you don›t have to wait for the PrIDe month to celebrate yo u rself.

B e i ntentional in making that choice to sparkle every single day, as you heal from your past, maximize your current space and become the person you›re meant to be -- your own #bestmeever . and I can›t wait to journey with you all,” he ended.

To know more about Coach Myke Celis, visit www. bestmeever.com.

Celebrity life coach Myke Celis

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

C4

FASHION AND BEAUTY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020

No more beauty product sampling, socks required for shoe fitting:

New guidelines for shopping

By Bernadette Lunas

L

IFE as we know it has changed. Whether it’s permanent or temporary, we don’t know yet. But adapting to these changes is the only way we can regain a sense of normalcy while keeping ourselves and others safe.

Activities that require contact with different items and several people such as shopping have to be adjusted to the current situation. Temperature checks at the entrances have become normal, hand sanitizing stations are now a usual feature in establishments, and more— even those who were previously skeptical—are now considering contactless payment options which have been available long before the pandemic.

Other changes in our usual trip to boutiques and department stores include disinfecting of fitting rooms and restriction of product sampling.

These and more are implemented at premier department store Rustan’s which began reopening its doors on June 5.

“Our goal for the past 70 years has always been to serve the community with great service and to provide a safe environment that feels like home. In this new chapter, we are

SHOP SAFELY. New protocols in shopping, such as disinfecting of fitting rooms after each use and restricting beauty product sampling, are now implemented to ensure safety of shoppers. committed to the idea of ‘One Home, One Hope’ to strengthen our solidarity with our countrymen as we help uplift the society’s mindset to look forward to brighter days,” Rustan’s chairman and chief executive Zenaida R. Tantoco said in a statement.

At Rustan’s, fitting rooms are disinfected after each use, sampling of products at the Beauty section is restricted, and shoe brands’ store personnel will ask customers to wear ankle socks before fitting shoes (socks will be provided).

Further, should customers decide

against purchasing any fitted/worn apparel, the item will be placed in a designated “For Sanitation” box whose contents will be steamed and put back on display or in the stockroom after 24 hours.

Packaging of merchandise will be disinfected by receiving personnel upon receipt in store and before issuing to customer. And contactless payment is encouraged.

Should a shopper pay by cash or credit card, the cashier will provide a money tray and politely request for the former to place cash, credit, or gift cards on it.

After each transaction, all FSP, Beauty Addict, loyalty cards, credit cards, and Rustan’s EGC will be sprayed with alcohol, dried on a cloth, and returned well-sanitized to customer.

In addition, before handing over purchased items to customers, the outer portion of packages of merchandise will be sprayed by cashier/sales personnel with disinfectant.

“As an establishment that has been a second home for many shoppers, we will stay dedicated in implementing thorough safety protocols to ensure

Rustan’s requires all its employees to undergo rapid testing before returning to work and to change into a new set of clothes before entering store premises.

Father’s Day gift guide IT’S dad’s time to be surprised. And while he insists that he ply need to check out the catalog (www.thesmstore.com/calldoesn’t need any present, he can surely use one. to-deliver-catalog), pick an item, and call 0917-800-1074 from Leading department store The SM Store makes it easier to Mondays to Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to order or inquire. buy dad a gift with its Call to Deliver service. Customers simSome of the gift choices available in the catalog include:

A gift of safety in the form of smart and protective helmet he can use when he takes his ride.

A gift of time with any of the timepieces that can help dad stay on schedule especially during busy days.

A gift of fashion and fitness with a nice pair of rubber shoes, tees, shirts, or dri-fit shorts for his home workout.

A gift of memories in the form of Fujifilm Mirrorless Digital Camera or Go Pro Hero Max Action Camera that captures special events and moments.

A gift of scent-sibility with either a new scent he might love or his signature scent he’s used to.

Join The SM Store Viber Community Group for updates.

that our employees and shoppers are protected and can visit us with ease of mind,” added Tantoco.

Other safety protocols in place include mandatory temperature check before entry, and installation of disinfectant floor mats and automatic hand sanitizers with sensors at the entrances. Complimentary face masks will be provided to customers not wearing any.

Physical distancing is implemented especially in queues, on escalators, and in elevators. Store premises undergo daily intensive cleaning and disinfection at the start and end of the day; high touch areas like doorknobs, escalator rails, elevators buttons will be wiped down frequently; air ducts will be cleaned regularly; and electric fans are installed at all mall entrances as added protection against the virus.

With their employees at the forefront, Rustan’s require all staff members to go through rapid testing before returning to work and only those with a negative result shall be permitted to enter store premises. Employees are also required to change into a clean set of clothes and shoes before entering the establishment.

Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La are now open from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Alabang from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, Rustan’s Gateway and Cebu will open on June 12 with daily operating hours of 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Keep it short and versatile

Uniqlo’s latest shorts collection for women includes pairs in denim and satin fabrics.

SHORTS are a quintessential staple for those living in a tropical country. Weather aside, they have become more popular now that many are staying at home.

Rain or shine, pandemic or not, shorts are a versatile apparel that can be dressed up or dressed down.

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo introduces to the Philippines its new shorts collection consisting of pieces made of high quality fabric and come in different styles—from vintage textures to elegant silhouettes.

Women’s Satin Shorts – Each pair features an elegant texture and nice sheen, creating a refined, dressy look.

The elastic waist provides additional ease when worn, while the glossy appearance of satin gives a sophisticated vibe.

Women’s Mid Rise Denim Shorts - A classic denim look with a relaxed fit. Each pair has an authentic vintage texture perfect for a casual day.

Men’s Kando Shorts - Developed jointly with pro golfer Adam Scott, these are high performance pieces

great for any sport. These shorts feature lightweight and breathable mesh fabric in the pocket and at the back of the waist for added comfort. The waist stretches, making it easy for wearers to move around to reduce stress on the hips when bending or playing golf.

Men’s Stretch Slim Fit Shorts – This style has a refined look and feel. Designed with a high-rise waist to create a beautiful silhouette, each pair is made of a fine brushed dense cotton twill that has a premium feel, and with added stretch for more comfort around the waist.

Men’s Nylon Active Shorts – These shorts possess materials and details with a sporty finish for a different take on a stylish piece. Lightweight nylon is washed for a stylish, sporty look. The slightly shorter knee-high length makes it easy to wear. It also includes a belt that can be adjusted with just one hand, and zippers that keep items from falling out.

The collection is now available in all Uniqlo stores nationwide.