Manila Standard - 2020 June 22 - Monday

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Virus cases exceed 30,000

DOH bares 26,000 cases active; NCR, Visayas tally most number of victims

By Willie Casas

T

HE Philippines breached the 30,000 mark for COVID-19 infections on Sunday as the Department of Health reported 653 additional cases, raising the overall tally to 30,052.

The DOH said 415 are "fresh cases" (results released to the patient within the past three days) while 238 are "late" cases (results belatedly reported and verified only recently).

Of the fresh cases, 219 are from the National Capital Region (NCR), 89 from Region 7 (Central Visayas) while the remaining 107 are from other regions.

Thirty-two of the late cases are from NCR, 177 are from Central Visayas, and the remaining 29 are from other regions.

The DOH also reported 243 new recoveries and 19 new deaths.

To date, the total number of recoveries Next page

BONDING MOMENT. The “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse seen through clouds from New Delhi on June 21, 2020 occasions a bonding moment for father and child (inset) who watch the phenomenon through a telescope along a promenade in Hong Kong. The annular solar eclipse thrills skywatchers from Africa to Arabian Peninsula, India and Southern China. AFP

Ring of fire eclipse thrills skywatchers

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 118 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SKYWATCHERS along a narrow band from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and the Far East witnessed Sunday a dramatic "ring of fire" solar eclipse.

So-called annular eclipses occur when the Moon—passing between Earth and the Sun—is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

They happen every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.

Sunday's eclipse arrived on the northern hemisphere’s longest day of the year—the summer solstice —when Earth's north pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun. The "ring of fire" was first visible in the northeastern Republic of Congo just a few minutes after sunrise.

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COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JUNE 21)

30,052

653 NEW

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

415

1,169

19

7,893

243

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

FRESH

NEW

NEW

DSWD faces grilling over slow cash-aid

By Rio N. Araja HOUSE leaders are set to grill officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on four problem areas, including the slow distribution of cash aid to the poor, when Congress begins its investigation of its social amelioration program today (Monday).

Among the top problems is the 30step process required, from the identification of qualified beneficiaries to the actual release of funds, that has delayed the distribution of aid, particularly during the lockdown imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

House Resolution No. 973, which Next page

Gordon: Duque critics after his post

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Richard Gordon on Sunday said critics of beleaguered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III were gunning for his position, and said replacing him in the middle of a health crisis would do more harm than good.

"Definitely, there were issues. But nobody is perfect. And as I see it… they were targeting the position," Gordon said in an interview on radio dzBB. He added that the DOH and Phil-

Health, which Duque leads, now have access to even more funds.

Duque is the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged anomalies related to the government's COVID-19 response.

These include the delayed procurement of personal protective equipment and other medical gear for health care workers, the rising number of deaths and infected medical front liners, delays in the release of benefits and financial assistance Next page

SHIPPING OUT. Wearing protective suits, Navy members assist locally stranded

individuals (LSIs) unload their personal belongings onto a disinfection area at Pier 13 in Manila on June 21, 2020 before boarding the BRP Davao del Sur that will take them to the provinces, particularly Cebu and Iloilo. NORMAN CRUZ

Mental health desks proposed

By Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta

is the worsening mental health situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She urged the public to donate SAN Jose del to cause-oriented Monte Rep. Florida groups dealing with Robes of Bulacan mental health ishas called for the sues, such as the activation of mental health desks in barangays under the Men- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Next page tal Health Act to address what she says 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

LOCAL ROUNDUP

UV Express no go; PUJs greenlighted

By Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta ROFs. Coastguards disinfect the facilities inside BRP Gabriela Silang to ensure returning overseas Filipinos are safe and virus-free in preparation for their homecoming. PCG

THE deployment of UV Express units today (Monday) will not push through because the routes are still being determined by the Department of Transportation, road

sector consultant Alberto Suansing said on Sunday.

But the modern jeepneys will be allowed on the roads.

"Hindi pa natin papatakbuhin ang mga UV Express dahil inaayos pa natin ang kanilang ruta," Suansing told Dobol B sa News TV. Next page

WORLD ROUNDUP • Trump: Slow down on coronavirus tests • Women bear pandemic brunt US PRESIDENT Donald Trump said he was encouraging health officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing, arguing that increased tests lead to more cases being discovered.

The president has claimed falsely on several occasions that surges of COVID-19 in several states can be explained by greater numbers of diagnostic tests.

At his first rally since the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, Trump told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma

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News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Unioil sets price hike: P0.80 O

By Alena Mae S. Flores and Rio N. Araja

IL prices are likely to go up again next week, and by as much as P0.80 per liter to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.

“Diesel should increase by P0.70 to P0.80 per liter. Gasoline should increase

by P0.70 to P0.80 per liter,” Unioil Philippines said in its weekly forecast.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate on Sunday demanded that the oil companies withdraw their opposition to

Bayan Muna’s request to unbundle their prices so the public would know if they were overpricing.

He urged the Energy department to make public the unbundled price of each liter of fuel. He also called on Malacañang to use its power under the Bayanihan Act on the issue of overpricing and

the unbundling of oil prices.

World oil prices have been in a continuing upswing in recent weeks. They went up last week due to falling inventories in the US and the commitment of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production.

“In addition, optimism over a swift and steady economic rebound from the crushing pandemic lockdowns have helped global oil prices stage a speedy rebound from nearly two-decade lows in April,” the Energy department said in its latest report.

But the agency said the oil price movements were largely driven by supply rather than demand, and were seen as unsustainable.

Global oil demand is forecast to still shrink by around eight million barrels per day year–on-year, and to around 92 million bpd in 2020 from an average of 100 million bpd in 2019.

The US Energy Information Administration sees global oil demand averaging 99 million bpd in 2021, which would still be around one million bpd lower than the 2019 levels.

On June 16, the price of gasoline increased by P1.25 per liter, diesel by P1.10 per liter and kerosene by P0.75 per liter for.

The increases brought the total yearto-date adjustments to a net decrease of P6.72 per liter of gasoline, P9.99 per liter of diesel and P13.69 per liter of kerosene.

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nationwide is 7,893 while the death toll is 1,169.

In its case bulletin, the DOH noted that there are 20,600 active Covid-19 cases where 550 or 2.7 percent are asymptomatic, 19,963 or 96.9 percent have mild symptoms, 69 or 0.3 percent have severe symptoms, and 18 or 0.1 percent are in critical condition.

As of Wednesday, the DOH had a total bed capacity of 13,679 dedicated to patients with Covid-19, about a third of which are occupied.

Of the 3,121 ward beds, 36.65 percent are occupied. Of the 9,218 isolation beds, 34.24 percent are occupied. Some 34 percent of the 1,340 intensive care unit beds are occupied.

There are 1,998 total ventilators for Covid-19 patients with about 18.87 percent in use.

Also on Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that 49 of its personnel had contracted COVID-19.

In an interview with DOBOL B Sa News TV, Vice Admiral George Ursabia said 30 of those have already recovered.

The PCG has been providing transport to stranded overseas Filipino workers arriving in the country in batches.

Gordon:...

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to health workers who are infected or die

by COVID-19 and delays in the reporting of COVID-19 deaths and cases.

Gordon acknowledged that it is the job of the Ombudsman to investigate these problems, but said the investigation should be done quickly for the sake of “confidence and hope.”

Senator Christopher Go welcomed the decision by the Ombudsman to investigate Duque and other health officials, but

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Saturday that testing was a "doubleedged sword."

The United States—which has more deaths and cases than any other country —has carried out more than 25 million coronavirus tests, placing it outside the top 20 countries in the world, per capita.

"Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases," Trump argued.

"So I said to my people 'slow the testing down.' They test and they test."

It was not clear from Trump's tone if he was playing to the crowd, who cheered as he spoke, or if he was being serious.

However, a White House official told AFP that Trump "was clearly speaking in jest to call out the media's absurd coverage. We are leading the world in testing, and we are proud to have conducted 25 million plus tests."

BICOL- BOUND. Several locally stranded individuals board a PNR train that will take them home to Bicol Region at the Tutuban Station in Manila. They are among the beneficiaries of the government's “Hatid Tulong” which aims to transport more than 13,000 people standed in Metro Manila following the Luzon-wide lockdown imposed amid the raging coronavirus contagion.

said the fight against COVID-19 must continue.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said while the DOH was exempted from the Procurement Act under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the temptation to purchase overpriced goods could not be overlooked.

Senator Francis Tolentino said all government transactions must be transparent.

Go on Sunday said Duque continues to enjoy the trust of President Duterte despite the investigation by the Ombudsman.

In a statement, Go said Duque contin-

ues to have the full trust of the President, and said it was difficult to replace the Health secretary in the middle of a pandemic.

Earlier, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said his office is issuing subpoenas to Duque and Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado for documents detailing where funds for the COVID-19 response went.

“We want to know where the money was spent, how long it took to provide aid to the families of front liners who died after they were inflicted with the virus... Where's the money and where

did it go?” Martires told CNN in Filipino.

Budget officials said they have already sent the requested documents.

As of June 9, the government has spent P354 billion on the effort to contain COVID-19.

Two weeks ago, President Rodrigo Duterte scolded Health officials for the slow release of compensation to the families of health workers who were sick or died of COVID-19. The delays in the release of the benefits sparked calls for Duque’s resignation in the Senate.

China races to contain new outbreak China's capital reported 22 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday after a mass testing effort that has collected more than two million samples in a race to contain a new outbreak.

The fresh cluster in Beijing has raised fears of a resurgence of the virus in China, which had largely brought the disease under control over recent months.

Dozens of communities have been sealed off in the city to contain the spread, with residents told to avoid non-essential travel and schools closed.

The new infections reported Sunday include a nurse – the first health worker to test positive since the re-emergence of the illness just over a week ago.

LatAm cases breach 2M mark Coronavirus infections in Latin America surged past two million on Saturday, with worst-hit Brazil home to nearly half of the cases as the virus accelerates its spread in the region.

With nearly 50,000 deaths and more than one million cases, Brazil is the

second worst-affected.

In total Latin America and the Caribbean have 2,007,621 confirmed cases, according to an AFP tally based on official tallies.

The figures were particularly alarming in Chile, where the death toll nearly doubled to more than 7,000 under a revised tallying method, and passed 20,000 in Mexico.

Women bear pandemic brunt The reverberating economic shock of the coronavirus crisis has delivered a massive setback for women because so many work in the badly exposed services sector, experts say.

The nature of the outbreak means women are more likely than men to lose or quit their jobs in vulnerable low-paying workplaces like bars, conference venues, hairdressing salons, hotels, pubs and restaurants, which faced extensive shutdowns.

School closures during lockdown have exacerbated the situation because more women than men tend to care for and teach their children, even while working from home. AFP

Mental...

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This is the point of maximum duration, with the blackout lasting 1 minute and 22 seconds.

Arcing eastward across Africa and Asia, it reached "maximum eclipse"—with a perfect solar halo around the Moon—over Uttarakhand, India near the Sino-Indian border at 12:10 local time (0640 GMT).

More spectacular, but less long-lived: the exact alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun was visible for only 38 seconds.

In Nairobi, east Africa, observers saw only a partial eclipse as clouds blocked the sky for several seconds at the exact moment the Moon should have almost hidden the Sun. Despite some disappointment Susan Murbana told AFP: "It was very exciting because I think I'm so obsessed with eclipses.”

"Today has been very kind to us in terms of the clouds.

And we've been able to see most of it," said Murbana who set up the Travelling Telescope educational program with her husband Chu. Without the coronavirus pandemic, they would have organized a trip to Lake Magadi in southern Kenya where the skies are generally clearer than over the capital.

"With the pandemic situation, we're not able to have

crowds... and get kids to look through or do stuff," she said but still managed to share the event on social media.

"We had around 50 people joining us via Zoom and then we have so many people via our Facebook live."

The annular eclipse is visible from only about two percent of Earth's surface, Florent Delefie, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory, told AFP. "It's a bit like switching from a 500-watt to a 30-watt light bulb," he added. "It's a cold light and you don't see as well."

Animals can get spooked – birds will sometimes go back to sleep, and cows will return to the barn.

The full eclipse was visible at successive locations over a period of nearly four hours, and one of the last places to see the partially hidden Sun was Taiwan.

People hundreds of kilometers on either side of the centerline across 14 countries could also see light drain from the day but not the "ring of fire."

Weather conditions are critical for viewing.

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses are visible from about half of the Earth's surface.

There will be a second solar eclipse in 2020 on December 14 over South America. Because the Moon will be a bit closer to Earth, it will block out the Sun's light entirely. AFP

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Robes said apart from the protocols put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the communities, local government units should put up mental help desks in every barangay for those suffering from anxiety or depression as a result of the pandemic.

"The establishment of mental health desks in the community level is provided for under Section 16 of RA No. 11036.

The issue on mental health should also be given importance given the mental health risks we are all facing,” Robes said.

Assurance praised House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Sunday praised the assurance by the National Task Force on coronavirus disease 2019 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to improve the health protocols under the “Hatid Probinsya” program.

“This is a welcome development in our defeat-COVID-19 campaign. I thank Secretary Galvez for acting with dispatch in ensuring the safety of locally stranded individuals and all provinces in our country through improved health protocols,” he said.

Romualdez is the co-chairperson of the Defeat COVID-19 ad hoc committee.

The Hatid Probinsya program is a short-term humanitarian effort to help locally stranded individuals and repatriated overseas Filipino workers in Metro Manila back to their home provinces due to the limited transportation as a result of the pandemic.

Help the MSMEs Senator Sonny Angara on Sunday called on the Department of Trade and Industry to step up its efforts to help micro, small and medium enterprises in finding markets to sell their wares during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of the community quarantines imposed across the country, many MSMEs—including those from the indigenous communities—are having difficulty selling their products because the movement of people and the access to traditional markets are being restricted.

"In order to continue operating and generating revenues during the community quarantines, entrepreneurs have started shifting to online markets," Angara said.

DSWD...

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calls for an investigation into the DSWD's delays in distributing assistance as mandated by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, cited as a problem the requirement beneficiaries needed to fill up social amelioration cards that were “too long, tedious and intimidating” for them to accomplish.

The resolution also said the DSWD acted arbitrarily when it based its “restrictive” master list of target recipients on the 2015 national census, causing discrepancies between national government data and those of local government units, which were more up to date.

The DSWD, the resolution added, failed to coordinate closely with local executives in the distribution of assistance.

The House committees on good government and public accountability and on public accounts will start the investigation Monday afternoon.

“Given the failure of DSWD officials to consider suggestions from both House leaders and LGU executives on how to hasten the process of accrediting beneficiaries and subsequently releasing the subsidies to them, the SAP had expectedly encountered speed bumps along the way, with the first tranche due in April received by recipienthouseholds as late as last month,” said Deputy Speaker Luis Ray Villafuerte, one of the authors of the resolution.

“In fact, the SAP distribution has been so held up to the point that the DSWD started distributing the second tranche only in mid-June,” he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera urged the government to consistently maintain an updated database of the country’s poorest families for quick and effective distribution of financial aid to them during a crisis.

“We look forward to seeing a national database system of qualified beneficiaries of the emergency cash subsidy, particularly those who belong to poorest families, to ensure that the implementation of future programs of this kind will be smoother and more efficient,” she said.

Red tape, however, is only part of the problem.

Earlier this month, the police said it was investigating nearly 300 elected local officials for alleged anomalies in the distribution of the first tranche of the SAP. The officials ranged from mayor down to Sangguniang Kabataan chairman, while 445 other people, including barangay secretaries, treasurers, purok leaders, and liaison officers were under investigation.

Among those being investigated was a municipal mayor in Eastern Visayas who allegedly did not transmit cash aid worth over P300,000 to a barangay chairman, who is the complainant.

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He said UV Express units should operate point-to-point.

The modern jeepneys, however, are good to go.

"Yung mga modern jeepney, identified na ang mga ruta nila at maari na silang tumakbo bukas," Suansing said.

Curfew lifted Public utility vehicles no longer have to worry about curfews after the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases affirmed the exemption of PUVs from the curfew ordinances under Resolution 47.

Only non-workers in the areas placed under the modified enhanced community quarantine, general community quarantine and the modified general community quarantine will be covered by the curfew. "[Local government units] are enjoined to enact the necessary ordinances to enforce curfew only for non-workers in jurisdiction placed under MECQ, GCQ, and MGCQ to penalize, in a fair and humane manner, violations of the restrictions on the movement of people as provided under these Omnibus Guidelines,” the resolution read.

Allow back riders Senator Bong Go on Sunday called on the government to study the proposals to allow motorcycle back riders because of the shortage of public transportation.

He urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Diseases to look into the proposed guidelines and determine the health and safety protocols needed to be in place in permitting motorcycle back-riders.

He also appealed to commuters to comply with the health and safety guidelines to be implemented.

Jeepneys backed Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro on Sunday supported the call of jeepney drivers and transport groups to return to the road.

She blamed the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Department of Transportation for the income loss of the jeepney drivers for the past 78 working days due to the ban. She said the least they could do was to send them back to the roads.

"We deplore the continuing ban on the jeepneys on the roads,” Castro said.

“Jeepney drivers have been sacrificing 78 days of earnings because of this ban by the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force and the Department of Transportation, with little to no aid provided to them by the government.”

News

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DA accused of ‘centralized corruption’

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

A

N UMBRELLA organization of agriculture stakeholders has accused the Department of Agriculture of centralizing corruption when it took control of the negotiated bidding for urea fertilizers that resulted in last month’s allegedly overpriced supply contracts worth P1.8 billion.

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) chairman Rosendo So also rejected the claim of Agriculture Secretary William Dar that the close to P1,000 per bag contract price was cheaper than the national average retail price ranging from P1,043 to P1,062 per bag from March to May. “That’s pure fiction. They invented those numbers to justify the overpricing. You can go to any outlet store across Central Luzon and you will not encounter such prices. The average price is only at P850 per bag. That means under the negotiated bidding, there’s a difference of almost P150 per bag at their price tag of P990 to P995,” So said.

“Farmers are laughing at the DA for making such a claim, but unfortunately, unscrupulous officials at the DA are probably laughing too, all the way to the bank after making a killing out of the emergency funds meant to protect farmers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Dar earlier insisted the biddings were

above board and resulted in savings for the government, but So stood firm on his position that the supply contracts were grossly disadvantageous as these were overpriced.

“It is hard to hide the price of urea fertilizer because every municipality has outlets that sell these. If a farmer can buy fertilizer from an outlet store at P850 per bag, why did the DA—buying in bulk for 1.8 million bags— decide to buy the more expensive one?” the SINAG head said in a radio interview.

“DA is claiming the higher contract price would cover distribution costs but it is the same for retail outlets. In fact, for retail stores, you go through the importer, the distributor, and the dealer until it reaches the retailer. And at every step there is additional cost, yet the retail price average is only P850. The DA went straight to the importer, but the price is P995 per bag.

What kind of deal is that?” he added.

So said this defeated the DA’s decision to centralize the bidding process amid what

the department said were questionable transactions at the regional level.

“The funds were already at the regions yet they decided to bring the process to the Central Office, citing corruption at the regional level. But now it appears the Central Office is more corrupt with these overpriced contracts of single qualified bidders,” he said.

So cited the case of a disqualified bidder who offered P830 to P850 per bag for last month’s supply contracts. When the same bidder offered to participate in this week’s bidding process and offered P985 per bag, the DA wanted to qualify the bidder, he said.

“If you give a lower bid, they disqualify you. If you raise your bid, your bid will qualify,” So noted.

The Department of Agriculture, under its stimulus program Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat Kontra COVID-19 (ALPAS sa COVID-19), has allocated P5.69 billion for the procurement of urea fertilizer at slightly less than P1,000 per bag.

Notices of award were issued last month to two suppliers amounting to P1.8 billion—to La Filipina Uy Gongco Corporation for P1.69 billion at P990 to P995 per bag for supply contracts for Regions 4A, 6 and 3; and to Atlas Fertilizer for P96.74 million for a supply contract for Region 7.

Farmers have questioned the supply contracts, saying a bag of urea fertilizer could

be bought at outlet stores for P830 in Tarlac, P810 in Pangasinan, and P840 in Nueva Ecija.

A national alliance of farmers has already called for the filing of graft charges against Agriculture officials involved in the allegedly overpriced supply contracts.

“We must get to the bottom of this matter and hold accountable those who are involved in the negotiated bidding for the emergency purchase of P1.8-billion worth of fertilizer,” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairman emeritus Rafael Mariano said.

Over at the Senate, Agriculture committee chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar said she is committed to investigate the alleged overpriced fertilizer supply contracts approved by the Department of Agriculture.

“I will look into the issue but I have to file a Senate Resolution first in order to schedule an inquiry or investigation,” said Villar.

Since Congress is in recess right now and will resume in the third week of July, Villar said she would still have to wait in order to file a Senate resolution to conduct a Senate probe into the matter.

“Once the Senate opens, we will, of course, look at all the sides to this issue,” she said.

“For the meantime, the agri groups and farmers can bring their concern or complaints to the State Prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DoJ),” she added.

IN BRIEF 2 Chinese held for illegal face masks AUTHORITIES have arrested two Chinese nationals and seized P21 million worth of face masks during an entrapment operation in Taguig City, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said on Sunday.

The CIDG identified the Chinese nationals as James Zhu and Charles Lee, both were arrested on Friday night (June 19) at AKH Construction Plant, Lusacan, Barangay Wawa, Taguig City for selling large quantities of KN95 disposable face masks through phone call and text transactions.

The confiscated face masks have a market value of P105 each. However, the arrested Chinese nationals sell it at a cheaper price of P45 each.

The CIDG Anti-Transnational Crimes Unit seized 200 boxes containing 1, 0 0 0 p i e c e s o f K N 9 5 face mask each and entrapment m o n e y, i n c l u d i n g a P 1 , 0 0 0 b i l l used to make boodle money appear genuine.

Zhu and Lee are now under the temporary custody of the CIDG ATCU and will be facing charges for violations of Republic 11469 or Bayanihan to Heal as One Act; RA 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act); and Article 151 in relation to Article 14(7), both of the Revised Penal Code.

NBI cautions public on use of Face ‘app’ THE National Bureau of Investigation has warned on Sunday the public against the use of FaceApp which might be getting their private information.

NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Vic Lorenzo said the use of the app, which allows users to switch their genders, can access the user’s information.

“Danger dun ay kapag may sensitive photos ka, may access na sila don. Kapag naka-enable ang GPS mo, makukuha nila locations mo. Kung business may purpose, laging may purpose yan (The danger there is if you have sensitive photos, they can access it. If your GPS is enabled, they can get your location. Business always has a purpose.),” Lorenzo said.

“Pwede nila gamitin for advertising.

Pwede rin sa espionage. Halimbawa may targeted politician o individual ka, pwedeng pag-aralan ang movement nila (They can use it for advertising or espionage. For example, they are targeting a politician or individual, they can track their movements),” he said. Willie Casas

FATHERS’ DAY GIFTS. Members of People for Accountable Governance and Sustainable Action (PAGASA) distribute food packs to “tatay-drivers” as a gift this Father’s Day on June 21, 2020 at Morayta in Manila. Around 200 drivers of jeepney, tricycle and buses received gift packs containing rice, canned goods, bread and vegetables, which were gathered by the group through donations online. Norman Cruz

Bring home OFWs’remains, Saudi king tells PH gov’t LABOR Department Secretary Silvestre Bello said the Saudi government has given the Philippines three days to immediately bring home the remains of 282 Filiapinos in the kingdom, including 50 who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In a television interview, Bello said Saudi King Salman gave the Philippines 72 hours to repatriate the cadavers.

Bello, however, said Manila would ask the Saudi government to allow the COVID-19 fatalities to be buried there instead.

Bello said the Labor department and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will charter 3 flights for the remaining bodies.

Senator Richard Gordon, who chairs the Philippine Red Cross, said the OWWA had informed him of their concern over the cadavers, and the need to repatriate some 5,000 Filipinos there who lost their jobs.

“Kaya susulat ako kay Prince Abdullah na Chairman ng Red Crescent ng Saudi Arabia. At ipagdasal ninyo na sana makuha natin, matulungan tayo, at mapauwi yung mga taong iyan,” Gordon said.

Bello, meanwhile, said that while he refused to dismiss reports about jobless Filipinos in Saudi resorting to scavenging as “fake news,” he said OFWs there who need food, medicines and other necessities are being taken care of by the Filipino community.

“In the meantime, hindi namin pwedeng pabayaan yung ating mga OFWs. ‘Pag walang pagkain, kailangan binibigyan natin ng pagkain yan. And we are doing this through the Philippine community. Sila ang tumutulong sa pagbigay ng pagkain, toiletries, pati yung medisina... face masks... Binibigay natin through the Philippine community,” Bello said.

Nograles seeks to refine anti-terror bill

By Rio N. Araja PUWESA ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles on Sunday said that civil rights provisions in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 would be further expounded in the implementing rules and regulations to assure the public that the measure would not be used and abused to suppress the people’s civil liberty.

He said he would propose for the IRR to include a whole section dedicated to the accountability of public officers.

He added that there should be an automatic filing of criminal, administrative and civil cases against public officers who would abuse their discretion in carrying out anti-terrorism operations.

“The safeguards in the law must be clear in the implementing rules and regulations to be very sure that the anti-terror law will only be used against terrorists,” he said.

Citing the Global Terrorism Index, Nograles said the Philippines is ranked ninth and the only Southeast Asian country in the

top 10 of the index.

“The Human Security Act of 2007 is not enough to fight the evolved nature of terrorism.

As an example, our law enforcement and security forces cannot go after a foreign terrorist in our own land because we have not yet legally defined a foreign terrorist until this Anti-Terror Bill. I believe if the President signs the Bill into Law, the foreign terrorists will think 1,000 times before entering the Philippines again,” he said.

Nograles said he would push for the inclusion of special sections in the IRRs solely dedicated to fully spell out the law’s provisions in protecting the people’s civil liberties.

“The threat of terrorism is a clear and present danger now. People forget that just last year, we had our first suicide bombing in Jolo and in that suicide bombing, there was an actionable intelligence to prevent such suicide bombing. However, the Human Security Act of 2007 does not enough teeth that would have allowed us to stop the suicide bomber even before he could carry out his mission,” he said.

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Sharon to file case vs netizen who threatened to rape daughter

By Rey E. Requejo and Willie Casas JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Sunday that megastar Sharon Cuneta has conveyed her intent to file criminal complaint against a man who posted on social media his alleged threat to rape her controversial 19-year-old daughter, Simone Francesca Emmanuelle “Frankie” Pangilinan.

This developed as the Gabriela Women’s Partylist has aired its support to Frankie.

“Gabriela Women’s Party fully stands with Frankie ‘Kakie’ Pangilinan amid the slew of troll hate speech and even rape threat she is receiving for criticizing the Duterte administration,” Gabriela said in a statement.

“No one deserves to be threatened with sexual violence for merely voicing out political beliefs,” the group said.

“Rape is a serious criminal offense, and hence should never be used casually under any circumstance,” said Gabriela.

Gabriela also blamed President Rodrigo Duterte for supposedly influencing “bigotry and macho-fascism.”

Frankie Pangilinan made headlines this week for criticizing a police station and TV host Ben Tulfo for implying that rape was a consequence of women wearing scanty clothing.

Her reaction drew support from netizens but one of the most recent responses was from a man who publicly threatened to assault the 19-year-old.

Guevarra said Cuneta has brought the matter to his attention and has a “strong desire” to file appropriate charges against the person who reportedly posted on social media his threat to rape Frankie, her daughter with Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

“Ms. Sharon Cuneta has brought this matter to my attention and has expressed her strong desire to file a criminal complaint against the person who posted the offending message in social media. I advised her that the identity of the person and his location should first be clearly established,” Guevarra said, in a text message.

According to the Justice Secretary, the information that would be gathered and verified by Cuneta could be used in locating the whereabouts of the suspect and in sending the notice, to inform him that a case has been filed against him.

LGUs

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

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MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

A year gone by, Didipio renewal blinks in dark

By Abe Almirol

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

AIDING MANILA. Grand Taipan founder and president Joeben Tai (right) turns over donations to Mayor Francisco "'Isko" Domagoso for Manila City's quarantine facilities.

‘Lift provincial bus ban, let people move’ HOUSE Ways and Means Chair Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has called for the lifting of the provincial bus ban and allow people to move under and within optimum health protocols and standards, to help the economy recover faster from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, Salceda warned against ‘opportunistic predilections among transport operators, most particularly in charging transport fares, stressing that “this is the worst time to step on other people to gain undue advantage over them.”

“As long as we can maintain minimum health standards, we should allow people to move. A rational system of public transport takes human needs and realities into account. These are the realities: One, local government units are already transporting citizens to and from Manila. Two, some bus lines are already operating. Three, we have already allowed people to go to work in most places,” he pointed out.

Salceda said continuing the provincial bus bans, at this point, would have little value as far as preventing infections is concerned, and merely imposes greater damage to people who need to go to work.”

“Until transport can be made operational, the economy will not fully recover. People are the driving force of the economy, and if people find it hard to move, the economy will likewise find it hard to get going,” he said.

“For the stimulus plans to work, you need people to create value,” added Salceda, who also principally authored the House stimulus plan.

“If they’re stuck in the provinces or in Manila, away from where they usually create value, the stimulus will face serious roadblocks,” he said.

Pension coming, Isko tells Manila seniors

By Willie Casas

S

ENIOR citizens in Manila have been assured they will receive their complete monthly pension, as the city government strives to complete its backlog of unissued cash cards.

The issuance of PayMaya cards for Manila senior residents was severely delayed due to quarantine protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso vowed during the weekend the backlog of unissued cash cards will be completed before October this year.

Domagoso has ordered Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) chief Marjun Isidro to complete the backlog before

the deadline.

Isidro said the turnover of the monthly pension to the city’s senior citizens will be retroactive.

They will receive their complete pension from January to October if the PayMaya cash cards will be issued in October, the OSCA chief explained.

“Our PayMaya cards got stuck owing to the pandemic. We are trying our best to complete them all before our mayor celebrates his birthday in October,”

Isidro said.

“We need all the help we can get.

We are dealing with almost 170,000 senior citizens, and the backlog (of unissued cash cards) is about 120,000 of the total registered seniors,” the OSCA chief added.

Isidro said his office will coordinate closely with PayMaya to erase the backlog, especially after they hand off their other databases.

During the first month of his administration, Domagoso signed Ordinance No. 8565, which grants a P500 monetary allowance not only for senior citizens, but also persons with disabilities and solo parents who are Manila City residents.

SCHOOL DONATION. SM

Prime, through SM Foundation, is set to turn over a fully furnished, two-story, four-classroom school building to Villa Kananga Integrated School in Butuan City.

This will be the first SM-donated school building in the city.

Red Cross opens 2 bio-molecular labs in Clark, Subic Freeport Zones

By Ansbert B. Joaquin SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has upped its coronavirus testing capacity with the opening of two bio-molecular laboratories in Clark and Subic Bay Freeport Zones.

PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard J. Gordon yesterday said the laboratories in Clark and Subic are now up and ready to run after it passed the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s (RITM) proficiency test last week and were accredited as certified

COVID-19 testing centers.

“Both molecular laboratories are equipped with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that are capable of testing 2,000 samples per day each.

These two laboratories increase PRC’s testing capability to 16,000 tests a day.

“This will really help us as we ramp

up our testing capacity so that more people will get tested all over the country,” said Gordon. “Our aim is to really get our people tested so that we can immediately isolate those who are affected and prevent the non-carriers from acquiring the virus, Gordon pointed out.

NGO: Halt Romblon road project A non-government organization in Sibuyan Island in Romblon province has called on the government to again stop and reevaluate a road project that will cut through the Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, a declared protected area.

“Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park or known as #G2 has thick forests which serve as carbon sink and protection against landslides and floods in the entire island,” Rodne Galicha, chairman of the Bayay Sibuyanon Inc., said.

Galicha pointed out that the project was already halted in 2018 by the Department of Public Works and Highways but was again included in the 2020 national budget with a P95 mil-

lion allocation.

The project, a 3.8-kilometer road that provides a link to the Magdiwang Port from San Fernando, is supported by local officials citing economic benefits.

However, Galicha, argued that the environmental cost outweighs the potential commercial value. With Mt. Guiting-Guiting’s plant and mammal biodiversity, considered one of the richest in the world.

“The small island of Sibuyan has been contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” said Galicha, a recipient of the 2018 Ten Outstanding Young Men Philippines award for Environment and Climate Change.

GENERAL VISIT. Police Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., Calabarzon Regional Police Chief (middle), visits and inspects the prepared isolation and quarantine facility for COVID-19positive policemen in Laguna, with the help of Laguna Provincial Police Director Col. Serafin Petalio (left) last June 18 at the Laguna Police Provincial Office headquarters in Camp Gen. Paciano Rizal, Bagumbayan, Sta Cruz. Roy Tomandao

IN A statement posted in social media on Saturday (June 20), Nueva Vizcaya Governor Carlos M. Padilla has renewed calls to end mining in Didipio.

One year has passed since the expiration of the Financial and/or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of OceanaGold Philippines Inc., a local subsidiary of Australian-Canadian miner OceanaGold Corporation operating the Didipio mine.

“Let us vigorously oppose the renewal of OceanaGold’s FTAA. Let us stand against mining,” Padilla said in a press statement.

FTAA, a mining contract governed by the Mining Act of 1995, has a life span of 25 years and renewable for another 25 years. The Didipio mine’s contract was set to end this year.

But the contrast between the country’s current situation and the governor’s plea is evident, as the national government is desperately rushing to look for possible revenues. The economy was left devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many people lost their jobs.

By the end of April this year, 60% of the 714 employees of OceanaGold at the Didipio mine were laid off.

Out of the 300 remaining workers, only a skeleton work force of about 100 will be left by July if there will be no FTAA renewal, an insider from OceanaGold’s Didipio operations revealed.

According to the Mining Act of 1995, Didipio would be under the government’s care and maintenance if OceanaGold gives up or fails to secure a renewed contract.

There is no doubt the national government is still considering the huge potential of the country’s mineral industry, since no categorical response from Office of the President has been made public as of late regarding OceanaGold’s application for FTAA renewal.

In his statement, Padilla lamented that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) is highly supportive of the renewal of OceanaGold’s FTAA. The MGB estimated that in 2019, the export of metallic and non-metallic minerals and products was valued at US$4.38 billion. (To be continued)

IN BRIEF PCCI donates P50m to QC for COVID-19 THE Quezon City government and the city's Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chapter have partnered to establish mobile testing centers and acquire more face masks and testing kits in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The QC PCCI chapter, led by its president Sarah Deloraya-Mateo, donated P50 million. Mayor Joy Belmonte thanked the group for its effort to help fight COVID-19.

“I am so thankful that we have a lot of kind-hearted people, groups and organizations, such as the PCCI- QC, that are continuously pouring in their resources to help the city government in providing the basic needs and medical attention to our constituents amid the pandemic,” Belmonte said.

Deloraya-Mateo said their members pooled their resources to be able to purchase clinic-grade face mask, testing kits and other essentials.

“We, however, let Mayor Belmonte to spend the donation for any specific items which may help the QC government in this crisis,” she told reporters.

Under the partnership, the PCCI-QC and the city government have extended help through the latter’s QC Kalinga program to over 3,000 workers, such the construction, salon, barber shop, spa and restaurant workers. Rio N. Araja

Navotas, TESDA set more courses MORE technical and vocational courses will be available to Navoteños for free following the establishment of a training partnership between the Navotas Vocational Training and Assessment (NAVOTAAS) Institute and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Mayor Toby Tiangco and TESDA Director General, Secretary Isidro S. Lapeña, Friday led the virtual signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that established the TESDA—NAVOTAAS Training Institute.

TESDA Camanava District Director Rolando V. Dela Torre and NAVOTAAS Institute Supervising Administrative Officer Jayne B. Rillon also served as signatories.

Under the 5-year agreement, TESDA will use the second, third and fourth floors of NAVOTAAS Institute–Main at Brgy. North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) Kaunlaran as their satellite office and training center.

They will offer tech-voc courses on 2D Animation, Advance Microsoft Excel Training, Computer System Servicing, Cyber Security, Driving, and Solar Powered Lighting and Mobile Phone Charging Kit Training. Jun David

Opinion Encounters with ECJ SO I SEE LITO BANAYO IN THE 1992 presidential elections, I was designated spokesman for the Mitra-Fernan tandem under the LDP. There were so many candidates: FVR-Lito Osmena; Miriam Santiago with Jun Magsaysay; Danding Cojuangco with Sonny Osmena; Doy Laurel-Eva Kalaw; Jovito Salonga-Nene Pimentel; Imelda Marcos as well, and an Erap-Sonny Rivera team that petered out midway, with Erap substituting for Sonny Osmena as Danding’s vice-president.

From a traditional point of view, the odds were stacked in favor of Mitra, although his numbers in the surveys were low. The LDP had as many as 90 percent of the country’s traditional politicians and dynasts in its ar-

Hail and farewell, Mr. Ambassador. senal, and had the most credible and winnable senatorial slate.

I was an original supporter of a Fernan for president movement, but when that didn’t pan out, my principal agreed to run as Speaker Monching’s vice-presidential candidate. This became my first taste of political defeat, after a stunning Batasang Pambansa elections where the UNIDO won a third of the seats in the legislature, followed by the snap elections and the EDSA revolt which brought Cory and Doy to power.

About a week or so before the 1992 elections, the Batasang Pambansa printing press was raided, with full media coverage, by operatives of the FVR campaign. In it were discovered propaganda collaterals for Monching Mitra and some other congressional candidates from Lanao del Norte.

Coming so close to E-Day, with Mitra unable to gain momentum, upended by an unexpected political wellspring for neophyte Miriam, while steady Eddie (FVR) and Ambassador Danding Cojuangco kept their following, I knew deep inside my gut that our candidate had lost.

But I thought Danding Cojuangco would emerge winner, especially since he got the Iglesia ni Cristo support along with Erap as his veep. I remember congratulating ECJ’s spokesman, Quinito Henson, the week before the elections.

Of course it did not come out like that.

FVR won narrowly over a protesting Miriam. And licking my wounds as spokesman of a failed team, I then learned a basic lesson: a huge war chest and an army of trapos do not get to elect a Philippine president.

And in subsequent elections, from Erap to PNoy to PRRD, my political lesson learned was vindicated. Erap had a rag-tag party which forced us to consolidate with Ed Angara’s LDP for political cachet. PNoy ran against the humongous war chest and advertising savvy of Manny Villar armed only with memories of his parents. And everybody and his mother in the nation’s capital pooh-poohed and ridiculed me when I supported Duterte in January 0f 2015.

So much for that. When Erap was president, and I as head of the Philippine Tour-

IT IS often said that never has Philippine politics been as polarized as it is today. This political divide is most evident on social media, where discussions by either side are usually angry, hurtful and personal. As a result, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to carry out a reasoned exchange of divergent views.

Many people think that the solution to this malaise is for people in politics to focus more on finding a common ground. This suggests that we focus on what we agree on, rather on what we disagree, and to work on what unites, instead of what divides.

There is no question that the search for a common ground in politics is no easy task.

Political contests are, by nature, highly competitive exercises, where one candidate aims to better the other. In fact, the concept of liberal democracy is built on the premise of an inclusive political society—where there is room for every ideological belief or partisan political loyalty.

However, what makes finding a political common ground even more difficult is the misconception that such common ground requires absolute ideological or political like-mindedness. That the way for societal solidarity is complete agreement in terms of ideological

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Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

ism Authority and concurrent political affairs adviser, along with some friends that included now Executive Secretary Bingbong Medialdea decided to bring Miss Saigon, the widely acclaimed musical starring our very own Lea Salonga, to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, I approached the San Miguel CEO for sponsorship.

I went to the SMC headquarters with then Public Estates Chairman Frisco San Juan (a dearly departed friend), who was a close political confidante of the ambassador. After explaining to Danding the merits of making the Philippines a cultural mecca in Southeast Asia through the first Asian performance of Miss Saigon, he generously pledged his financial support. San Miguel became one of our biggest sponsors, and we never tapped any government funds for the project.

A few months after that meeting, I accompanied then President Erap on a visit to Pontevedra upon Negros Occidental, where Danding Cojuangco earlier launched a “corporative” effort supported by the Department of Agrarian Reform then headed by the late Horacio “Boy” Morales, to assist land reform beneficiaries in modern farming methods and thus gain better incomes.

After a sumptuous lunch of lechon and pancit molo capped with deliciously sweet mangoes and durian grown in his farm, the president and the ambassador, with me in tow, had a private meeting in ECJ’s den.

The topic was the 2001 senatorial elections due the following year.

But ECJ digressed, and asked Erap who he would likely choose as his political successor in 2004. Erap was rather taken aback, unable to come up with an immediate name, or a list of potentials.

ECJ then said, “Kung wala rin naman po (ever the polite old school gentleman who recognized rank), mabuti pa manukin na natin si Gloria; may pangalan na at may kaalaman” (then the vice-president who belonged to an opposition political party).

Later, aboard the presidential helicopter returning to Bacolod, the president instructed me to talk to VP GMA and explore the possibilities of a united tandem for the forthcoming local elections, along with a joint senatorial slate, with the promise of his support for GMA come 2004.

In a lunch meeting at her PICC office wherein sat the vice-president, her brother Buboy (Diosdado Jr.), and my friend and her public relations honcho, Dante Ang (now owner of The Manila Times), I was able to present my political formula for both 2001 and 2004, with the proposal that she would run for president supported by the incumbent, who would choose her running mate. This was three months before the Chavit Singson episode.

Though no names were discussed, I had in my mind Ping Lacson, the highly successful Chief of the Philippine National Police who had turned around the institution’s previously bad image to high public acceptance, as our VP candidate in 2004.

And the idea of a united front came from the legendary ECJ, industrialist, political king-maker, nationalist and visionary.

How would things have turned up for the Philippines if his advice came to bear fruit, instead of an Edsa Dos that toppled Erap a few months later? And how would the Philippines be now if ECJ had won in 1992?

Ave atque vale, Mr. Ambassador. Hail and farewell, ECJ.

The politics of common ground THE FIFTH GOSPEL JUDE ACIDRE

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

persuasion or political allegiance, to a point that criticism and competition are considered antithetical to the mainstream political ideal.

Far from conformity and unanimity, finding a common ground in politics is about providing room for divergent viewpoints and disagreeing opinions. It is our capacity to disagree agreeably that is the true hallmark of a mature democratic society. The truth is that democracy is not served by asking everyone to think in the same manner, or for that matter—to vote for same candidates.

Truth be told, our disagreements and differences in viewpoints and perspectives can help define our political common ground. The beauty in democracy is that politicians have to periodically take their case to voters—not by presenting what they share in common, but how they are strikingly different from each other. That is how candidates compete and fight for every vote. The paradox is that the sooner that we accept that is healthy and helpful for people to compete and disagree in a democracy, the closer we become to building a political common ground.

Finding a common ground in politics, first and foremost, means accepting that we are different from each other – in terms of our backgrounds, experiences, cultures, allegiances and beliefs. The common ground is the realization that we need to engage with others who may think, live or believe differently from us—to listen when we don’t like what they have to say, to respect what they have in mind without attempting to change them, and to remain openminded enough to the possibility of

Convenience comes at a price A

SOCIAL media application purports to be able to show what one would look like as a member of the opposite sex, or as an older person. The resulting images are entertaining; they make for a good distraction at a time when the things we see on social media only cause anxiety and frustration.

become more common; online meetings have taken the place of face-to-face ones. Deliveries of food and other items have taken the place of shopping and dining out.

Socialization has also moved to a different platform as people spend more time on social media in lieu of the time they actually spend in the physical company of friends.

Refuse to be the low-hanging fruit.

Unfortunately, using the application is reported to have serious security implications. As early as last year, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said the face-editing software, developed in Russia, posed a potential counterintelligence threat. Data from users can supposedly be used for targeted ads and campaigns, even as these users gave no explicit permission that such personal information can be used.

These days as most people remain ensconced in their homes in fear of the still-raging virus, they use means to continue transacting and interacting with the outside world using personal devices. Online bank transfers have

Enterprising and technically adept individuals have taken advantage of this development to increase their chances of getting their hands on precious personal information they can use for profit. While accusations and denials are traded, people who know only how to use such apps, not necessarily how they work, will not be able to grasp the technical issues that may or may not put them in danger.

Even the introduction of online learning comes with various security issues that may not be imagined yet.

We can share the highlights of our days with our friends online, but in doing so we may also be sharing them with strangers.

We can think that as long as we have passwords for our online banking accounts, our money would always be safe, not realizing that passwords however strong can be hacked or figured out.

We can read our email and follow links or open attachments believing they are from somebody we know or somebody legitimate.

But there are ways we can be fooled into clicking items—and allowing other “eyes” into our personal devices.

And we can think we are only having fun downloading various apps and going to different sites, not knowing that these provide a digital footprint of our interests and preferences, which may be used to exploit us for the benefit of others.

It would be absurd to eschew technology altogether. We must, however, recognize that by allowing some convenience into our transactions, we also invite some risk. The key is to know these risks and identify ways we can minimize them, protect ourselves, and refuse to be the low-hanging fruit for such scams.

The health of humans, environment, and the economy To move forward, the leaderships of government and industry must work together on building the country’s resiliency to sustain the interlinking dynamics between the health of the population, the environment, and the economy. Regaining the lost momentum of our economy will need the mobilization of the country’s best human and natural resources in an environmentally sustainable ecosystem that will result in inclusive economic prosperity for

OPEN THOUGHTS ORLANDO OXALES ECONOMIC experts and the International Monetary Fund predict the onset of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. It will push hundreds of millions into poverty.

Here in the Philippines, the Department of Labor disclosed during the recent Senate hearing on the government's coronavirus response that an estimated 4 to 5 million Filipinos will lose jobs while legislators in the House of Representatives see more than 10 million will be unemployed as the community quarantine restrictions are extended.

The extent and complexity of the fallout from the crisis is unprecedented but so is the global response awakened by this existential threat. Inter-sectoral collaboration is no longer a conceptual aspiration but has emerged as a powerful spirit thought to be lost in the post-Baby Boomer, post-Generation X culture.

This awakening is evident in the ongoing interventions from the private sector and civil society to complement the gaping limitations of government resources and agility. Unfairly sullied by the populist posturing of the current administration, the pandemic has somewhat caused a repivoted attitude open to partnerships with private business groups to fight the COVID-19 war with urgency, efficiency and transparency.

Businesses will not survive without sustainability. The disruptions caused by this pandemic has shaken this basic requisite and has caused the closure of half of the country’s Micro Small and Medium Enterprises which, according to Department of Trade and Industry data, accounts for 99.5% of the businesses in the country.

We must all change for the better. the current and future generations. Each sector will need to rethink its role and re-engineer a new path from the lessons of the pandemic.

The amazingly clean air in Metro-Manila during these lockdowns, perhaps unseen since the 60s, shows the magnitude of the pollution emitted from our daily activities. This should punctuate the urgency for an efficient low emission mass transportation infrastructure that would make private vehicles more of a luxury than a necessity and put an end to the chaotic reign of jeepneys to obsolescence.

Strengthening our public health systems to fully implement a truly universal healthcare system will obviously be on top of the priority. This will need the cooperation of the pharmaceutical industry and its allied linkages to contribute innovative approaches to ensure accessible and quality healthcare services and products ready to be deployed in crisis and non-crisis scenarios.

The big drop in electricity demand during the quarantine months because of the suspended business operations of the manufacturing and service sectors saved us from looming brownouts during the summer months, but the

MORE OPINION ONLINE (www.manilastandard.net) changing our own views, if need be in the end.

Unfortunately, many people simplistically reduce a political common ground to simple political civility. That is why expressing a differing view is misjudged to be disruptive of the social order. That is why being indignant for one’s political belief is thought to contravene social cohesion. That is why critical language is shunned as “sowing negativity”—in favor of “spreading positivity.”

But that is far from what a political com-

It means discovering a shared sense of mission. mon ground is meant to be. Phony civility in politics—or even this culture of “political correctness” can result in a complete abdication of what democracy is, in its essence. A democratic society matures when people are able to hold on to their beliefs, have clarity about their principles and the confidence to think and speak freely—whether or not they are in agreement with the rest.

In simple terms, building a political common ground begins with agreeing that the society we live in needs to be better. Not perfect. Just better. Not some utopian construct of what so-

long-term supply outlook will still need more base load power plants as more business operations transition to new normal conditions. Pressured by environmentalists to ban fossil fueled generation plants, consumer subsidized and expensive renewables cannot beat the reliability and cost of coal. The best option for now is to build new and efficient power plants that comply with emission standards or, nuclear power.

Responsible stewardship of our natural resources will address our food security problems by using technology to develop productive marine and agricultural ecosystems. Our potential as one of the most mineralized countries is a low hanging fruit that just needs a stable policy regime to jumpstart a long dormant industry that can become a major economic pillar that will support long-term developed in the remote, unserved areas of the country.

Probably the biggest lesson that hit us all is how technology has become an indispensable tool for interaction in a social distancing world. Imagine how much worse the world would be if we had no digital technologies to connect us outside of our quarantine quarters.

Our digital infrastructure must be a top priority in the government’s Build, Build, Build program that will need the right private sector partners to build thousands of telco towers and fiber cable networks to deliver fast and reliable broadband services to unserved areas. This is a proven stimulus for investments and new business opportunities.

Warnings of face masks and Personal Protection Equipment adding to the garbage pollution in our oceans is another side effect of the pandemic that reprises a complex waste management problem that needs a whole of society approach.

The timeline of this pandemic will depend on the cooperation of every inhabitant of the planet. When we finally defeat this virus, we cannot afford to revert to the old ways. We must all change for the better.

CROSSROADS

TO THE POINT

J.A. DELA CRUZ

EMIL JURADO

Marginalized

Two issues about ABS-CBN

ciety ought to be. But that shared human phenomenon of progress and growth. That is why even if there is no single shot solution to end poverty, we never give up—because we know of our potential to make human lives better. We never managed to eliminate wars, but we have come to learn its price and decide accordingly.

We may never be able to outrun the lure of profit, but we can always temper it with justice and fairness.

Becoming better, being better is what is at the heart of a political common ground. That is, to know that despite our divergent political views, our differing partisan allegiances—each one has in his heart a prayer for a better tomorrow. That even if we may appear to work in contending ways, we are actually laying the foundations for complementary action. Our political system have grown and matured, not by exacting uniformity in beliefs and opinion, but by that continuous testing of differing ideas— complemented by reason and shaped by past experience. As history has taught us, when people or their political leaders disagree on issues, reasoning with each other allows them to reach mutually acceptable decisions. How we think differently about the issues around us can help us come up with far better societal choices and political decisions, and indeed, for us to thrive as a society.

The basis, therefore, for a political common ground is far from being common. It means accepting, that while we want our lives and

communities to be better, we will always have different words and ways to express and pursue it. So just when you think you are right in what you believe in, it doesn’t mean the others are wrong. Just when you think your side of the political divide is correct, it doesn’t follow that the opposing side is incorrect. In fact, as we argue, disagree and debate, so does our understanding of the social and political problems around us increase and deepen.

With this in mind, it is but logical to understand that the supposed polarization that we see is far from the political darkness that it is often associated with. It follows then that it wouldn’t be right to say that we should all be “spreading positivity” instead of “sowing negativity.” While the atmosphere may be adverse and tense at times, and there may be situations that don't always bring out the best in people— it is important to be reminded that oftentimes what divides us will ultimately help define what unites us. By embracing our differences and divergences, we are able to understand each other’s ideas and interests—and that makes it even easier to see how our ideas and interests would overlap and realize that we might be more alike than we are different.

In the end, building a common ground in politics means discovering a shared sense of mission—even when we may vehemently disagree on the details—for the simple reason that such action is important to the country, and that it can make life better for the people.

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

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

JOYCE PANGCO PAÑARES, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Mt. Merapi erupts, spews 6-km high ash INDONESIA’S Mount Merapi, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted twice on Sunday, sending clouds of grey ash 6,000 meters into the sky, the country’s geological agency said.

The two eruptions lasted around seven minutes, according to the agency, and prompted local authorities to order residents to stay outside a three-kilometer no-go zone around the rumbling crater near Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta.

The agency did not raise the volcano’s alert status after the eruptions, but it advised commercial planes to be cautious in the area.

Local media reported that people in neighbouring areas including Sleman and Klaten heard strong rumbling sounds this morning.

Mount Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced the evacuation of some 280,000 residents from surrounding areas.

That was its most powerful eruption since 1930, which killed around 1,300 people, while another explosion in 1994 took about 60 lives.

Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and islets – and nearly 130 active volcanoes.

The Southeast Asian archipelago nation sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a vast zone of geological instability where the collision of tectonic plates causes frequent quakes and major volcanic activity. AFP

This handout photo taken and released on June 21, 2020 by Indonesia’s Research and Technology Development for Geological Hazard Mitigation shows the Merapi Mount volcano spewing thick smoke into the air as seen from Yogyakarta. AFP

Trump holds fiery rally but crowd disappoints U

S PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned Saturday to one of his favorite spots—a campaign rally stage – defying the pandemic and attacking Democratic rivals at an event with crowds far smaller than promised.

Gathering his political faithful for a much-hyped rally in Oklahoma, his first in three months, the Republican president sought to Manila reinvigorate his flagging campaign in the face of a crushing health Standard and economic crisis as well as protests against racial injustice that TODAY

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES TARIFF COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Pursuant to Section 1608 of Republic Act No. 10863, othenwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and in relation to Section 1603(b) and 1603(h) of same, the Tariff Commission (Commission) will conduct a Public Hearing via Videoconferencing (PHV) on the proposed reduction from 10% to 0% of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate of duty for “Frozen Potato Fries”, falling under ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2017 Subheading 2004 10.00, as petitioned

by Prime Pacific Food Corporation and Multi-M Food Corporation (Investigation No. MFN-2019-Frozen Potato Fries).

The PHV will be held on 8 July 2020, at 10:00 a m., using Microsoft Teams.

Interested parties are required to register their participation on or before 3 July 2020 using the registration link posted on the Commission’s website https:// tariffcommission.gov.ph/. Parties who intend to make presentations are also required to submit their presentation slides to the Commission on or before said date.

have swept the nation in recent weeks.

Trump all but claimed victory over the pandemic that has killed some 120,000 Americans —“I have done a phenomenal job with it!” he insisted—even as six members of his own Tulsa advance team tested positive for COVID-19.

The event – which the White House promised would be flooded with up to 100,000 people, but actually did not fill the 19,000-seat arena where Trump spoke—has emerged as a flashpoint in the pandemic era.

But Trump was more interested in reviving his political fortunes after several bruising weeks that saw continued economic woes tied to the pandemic, nationwide protests over racial injustice, the toppling of Confederate and other statues and critics including former aides savaging his performance.

“The silent majority is stronger than ever before,” Trump said in a rowdy, freewheeling speech in which he blasted his 2020 election rival, Democrat Joe Biden, as a “helpless puppet of the radical left.”

“Five months from now we’re going to defeat ‘sleepy’ Joe Biden,” he said.

Many rally-goers wore red “Make America Great Again” hats or T-shirts, but very few wore masks and there was little social distancing, even though coronavirus cases have recently been skyrocketing in Oklahoma.

The president has downplayed the risk that the evening rally­—with thousands of shouting, cheering attendees—might trigger a fresh

outbreak, ignoring danger warnings by Tulsa health and municipal officials.

Trump reverted to full-on campaign mode, reviving themes that dominated his 2016 campaign: smearing immigrants, building a wall on the southern border, demanding flagburners be sentenced to jail and highlighting a rising stock market.

“If you see it happening on November 3,” he said of America’s potential rebound, “you don’t have the guts to vote against Trump.”

He notably steered clear until well into his one-hour, 45-minute speech of the racial tensions that have swept the country in the CYAN weeks since a handcuffed African American, George Floyd, was killed by police in Minneapolis.

Instead he warned that Democrats were seeking to erase American heritage, a reference to the tearing down of several statues of Confederate slave owners and other figures.

“The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our beautiful monuments, tear down our statues, and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control,” he said.

Rally organizers provided everyone with hand sanitizer, temperature checks and optional masks.

Attendees were required to sign a waiver protecting organizers from any liability in the event COVID-19 spreads at the venue. AFP

For inquiries and other details, Director Ma Lourdes M. Saluta, Head of the Task Force, may be reached at the following email addresses; TC.Assist@mail tanffcommission gov ph or mmsaluta@mail.tariffcommission.gov.ph.

Issued this 18th day of June 2020 in Quezon City. Metro Manila.

MARILOU P. MENDOZA Chairperson

(MS-JUNE 22, 2020)

The Law Offices of Gerard DeSapio Richard S. Chadwick.Esq. ID #: 03722-2009 528 Market Street Newark, New Jersey 07105 973-732-4200 Attorneys for the Plaintiff Marlou Somera De La Paz MARLOU SOMERA DE LA PAZ Plaintiff, vs.

MARVIC BELLO DE LA PAZ Defendant,

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY CHANCERY DIVISION: FAMILY PART HUDSON COUNTY

CIVIL ACTION FINAL JUDGEMENT OF DIVORCE

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED by the Court by Virtue of its power and authority granted to it by the acts of the legislature in such case made and provided that the Plaintiff Marlou Somera De La Paz and the Defendant Marvic Bello De La Paz be divorced from the bonds of matrimony for the causes stated in the Complaint and each of the said parties be hereby freed and discharged from the obligations thereof, the marriage being hereby dissolved.

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED, that this shall constitute the final Order of the Court and it is.

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED, that all parties be served with a copy of this Judgement within 7 days of the signing of the Judgment HON. Nesle A. Rodriguez P.J.F.P. dated 06/12/2020

(MS-JUNE 22, 2020)

NZ porn safety advert goes viral A NEW Zealand government advert showing two pornography actors turning up at a boy’s home has helped the country’s new online safety campaign go viral.

The Keep It Real Online video shows two naked actors being greeted by the child’s mother before the youngster wanders into the hallway with a laptop and reacts in shock at the sight of the pair.

A New Zealand government spokeswoman said the advert was part of a wider campaign to help parents deal with online dangers including grooming, bullying and pornography.

The video has reached millions of viewers since launching about 10 days ago, she told AFP. “The response to the campaign has been overwhelming,” the spokeswoman said.

“In the first week and a half of the campaign, the ads have been viewed online a total of 11 million times.”

The pornography awareness advert has racked up almost two million views on YouTube alone.

“In the case of the pornography ad, it draws attention to the fact that many young people learn about sex from pornography,” the spokeswoman said.

MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK “It can be upsetting for younger kids and sends poor messages about consent, body image and sex to teens.”

The campaign is due to run until the end of July. AFP

‘Unplugged’ guitar sells for record $6m THE guitar that grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain played during his legendary 1993 MTV Unplugged performance sold Saturday for a record $6 million, the auction house said.

The retro acoustic-electric 1959 Martin D18E that Cobain strummed for Nirvana’s career-defining performance in New York – just five months before his suicide at age 27 – sold after a bidding war to Peter Freedman, founder of RODE Microphones, Julien’s Auctions said.

At $6.01 million after fees and commission, the instrument was the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, among other records.

The starting estimate was $1 million.

Freedman said he plans to display the guitar in a worldwide tour, with proceeds going to benefit performing arts.

“When I heard that this iconic guitar was up for auction I immediately knew it was a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to secure it and use it as a vehicle to spotlight the struggles that those in the performing arts are facing and have always faced,” the Australian was quoted as saying by Julien’s Auctions.

The guitar was sold with its case, which Cobain had decorated with a flyer from punk rock band Poison Idea’s 1990 album “Feel the Darkness.”

Until now, the most expensive guitar in history was a Fender Stratocaster, dubbed “Black Strat,” used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.

It had been sold by the musician for nearly $4 million during a charity sale in June 2019.

Nirvana’s acoustic performance during the taping for the popular MTV Unplugged series on November 18, 1993 became what is considered one of history’s greatest live albums. AFP

Hundreds riot in Stuttgart city

DOCKET NO. FM-09-000301-20

THIS MATTER, having come before this Court, the Honorable Tara Schillari Rich, J.S.C. presiding on this 12th day of June, 2020, in the presence of Richard S. Chadwick, Esq., of the Law Office of Gerard DeSapio, attorneys for the Plaintiff, Marlou Somera De La Paz, and the Defendant Marvic Bello De La Paz, not appearing in this matter, upon Complaint, having been duly served according to the Rules of the Court, and Default having been entered; and the Court having read and considered those papers and proofs as heretofore herein; and it appearing that the Plaintiff and the Defendant were married in 1985 in the Philippines, and the Plaintiff Marlou Somera De La Paz, having pleaded and proved a cause of action for Divorce under the statue in such case made and provided, and the Plainiff having been a bona fide resident of the State of New Jersey for more than one year preceding the commencement of this action and jurisdiction having been acquired over the parties pursuant to the Rules governing the Courts, it is on this 12th day of June, 2020, by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division.

IN BRIEF

STRIKING A POSE. Fakhria Momtaz (center), 43, a yoga teacher and founder of Kabul’s first yoga center for women, takes part in a yoga session at Shahrak Haji Nabi hilltop during International Yoga Day, on the outskirts of Kabul on June 21, 2020. AFP

215 bodies found in mass graves AT LEAST 215 bodies were found between January and May in nine mass graves near Guadalajara, in Mexico’s Jalisco state, authorities said.

State prosecutor Gerardo Octavio Solis told a virtual press conference that “215 bodies have been found in (mass) graves, of which a large number have already been identified and made available to their families.”

Most of the graves were located on fenced land or abandoned farms in the towns of Zapopan, Tlajomulco, Juanacatlan and El Salto, all in the Guadalajara metropolitan area.

The state prosecutor acknowledged that there are still five graves pending analysis due

to the lack of staff.

They warned that once these are assessed the number of bodies will increase.

Organized crime has not stopped in Mexico, despite confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Specialists and human rights defenders attribute the violence that the country suffers to a controversial military crackdown on organized crime launched in late 2006 by then President Felipe Calderon.

According to official data, since then there have been more than 287,000 murders in the country, though it is not clear how many cases are linked to fighting due to organized crime.

AFP

HUNDREDS of people ran riot in Germany’s Stuttgart city center in the early hours of Sunday, throwing stones and bottles at police and plundering stores after smashing shop windows.

Several arrests were made, a police spokesman told AFP, adding that he did not have a firm figure of the number detained.

Some police officers were also hurt, he said.

Tensions built up shortly after midnight when increasing numbers of people began gathering close to the city’s biggest square, the Schlossplatz.

Clashes then broke out between several small groups, with police estimating around 500 people were involved.

Shops along the neighbouring Koenigstrasse, a key shopping thoroughfare, were attacked and looted.

Police called in reinforcements and said they could not immediately give a reason for the outbreak of violence.

Videos posted on Twitter showed people breaking shop windows, with their goods strewn on the streets.

A jewelry store was completely emptied and a mobile phone shop wrecked, according to regional broadcaster SWR. Smaller scale clashes had broken out downtown last week between police and groups of young people. AFP

Business Dubai ports giant ready for decreasing trade volume DUBAI, United Arab Ermirates―The giant Dubai-based ports operator DP World is “preparing for the worst” in the months ahead, as coronavirus inflicts the heaviest blow on global trade since World War II. However, the firm which runs port and logistics operations in 54 countries, is still hungry for revenue-generating acquisitions, its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told AFP in an interview.

Already one of the most profitable government-linked entities in Dubai, DP World has spent billions of dollars on assets ranging from P&O Ferries in Britain to terminals in Chile.

But the coronavirus crisis has stifled world trade, 80 percent of which is transported by sea, leaving major supply chains paralyzed and scaling down imports and exports, including from powerhouse China.

Bin Sulayem said the pandemic has taken a “big toll” on trade, eclipsing the aftermath of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and drawing similarities with the post-World War II devastation.

In those dark times, the global economy collapsed with the destruction of industries and transport infrastructure and as people fled cities, he said.

“Today, factories are intact, but nobody can work. The streets are clear and safe, and nobody goes out. Shops are full with all kinds of cargo but nobody buys.”

Predictions of a U or V-shaped recovery, with a slump followed by a pick-up, were too optimistic, Bin Sulayem said.

Instead, he warned that the world faced an L-shaped scenario―a drop followed by a slump―unless stimulus measures were adopted.

The World Trade Organization said in April that global trade is expected to fall by between 13 and 32 percent in 2020, as the pandemic ravages normal economic activity.

Bin Sulayem said trade handled by DP World through its 82 ports, terminals and logistics centers worldwide dropped by only 4.0 percent in the first quarter.

“But this could be misleading,” he said, noting that the traffic reflected orders placed before the crisis.

“From now on until the next four months, that’s the key issue... what’s going to happen―we need to watch but we are preparing for the worst,” he said. AFP

B3

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stock investors remain cautious S

By Jenniffer B. Austria

HARE prices are expected to maintain their sideways movement this year as investors remain cautious about the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country and around the world that could delay the recovery of the economy.

“The week’s close at 6,315.07 highlights the risk on themes remain vulnerable and the test towards the 6,500 levels remain challenging in the nearterm. Watch out for a break below 6,230 levels as it signals the retest of the 6,000 levels,” BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said.

Analysts said the decline in remittances from overseas Filipinos workers in March could further weaken consumer spending.

The government last week reported that that OFW remittances fell 4.7 percent in March, the most since March 2018.

“This caused foreign funds and local investors to lighten up their positions,” Ravelas said.

Concerns bought about the Asian Development Bank’s projected 3.8-percent contraction in the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) and COVID-19 worries will continue to affect market sentiments.

The Philippines Stock Exchange Index last week declined 2.5 percent to 6,315.07, while the broader All Shares Index dropped 3 percent to 3,684.55.

All major sub-indices ended in red led by industrial, which fell 5.3 percent, followed by mining and oil which lost 4.4

percent, and property which decreased by 4.3 percent. Services also dipped by 3.32percent while financials and holding firms went down 3.2 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P5.08 billion, while athe verage daily value traded increased to P9.3 billion from the previous week’s average of P8.5 billion.

Shares of newly-listed MerryMart Consumer Corp. surged 96.7 percent last week to P2.95 from its initial public offering price of P1.

Global stocks, meanwhile, were mixed Friday as markets weighed hopes that business activity would get back to normal against worrisome coronavirus trends in several parts of the United States, while the World Health Organization warned of new outbreaks.

Bourses in Europe and Asia finished higher and the US at first seemed headed for another positive session as well.

PSEi June 19, 2020 TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS Cars arrive to cross the French-Spanish border at La Jonquera on June 21, 2020.

Traffic flowed again across Spain’s border with France as the last of the strict Spanish coronavirus restrictions introduced in March were eased. AFP

MOST ACTIVE

Spain eases restrictions further, reopens France border LA JONQUERA, Spain—Traffic flowed again across Spain’s border with France on Sunday as the last of the strict Spanish coronavirus restrictions introduced in March were eased.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced earlier this month that Madrid would remove border checks with most of its EU member partner states from June 21 as efforts to control the pandemic appeared to be working.

Spain has been one of the worst affected countries, suffering more than 28,000 deaths and nearly 300,000 cases, with its economy and especially the key tourist industry devastated.

Madrid, the capital, and the Barcelona and the Catalan region, were very badly hit and remained longer under tighter restrictions than elsewhere.

MARISSA C. MARASIGAN

Green Light THROUGHOUT our 99-day lockdown, I watched and read the news more frequently to see which countries have (and have not) taken good care of their citizens physically, mentally, emotionally, and economically. The leaders of New Zealand, Taiwan, and Germany have been lauded for their decisive but empathetic responses.

At the local government level, we have local leaders who shine in their efforts to serve their constituencies comprehensively, caringly and creatively. We can cite, for example, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

The European Commission defines public administration as covering six core areas: a strategic framework for public administration reform; policy development and coordination; public service and human resource management; accountability; service delivery; and public financial management.

One definition of public service delivery is the “mechanism through which public services are delivered to the public by local, municipal, or federal governments.” Examples are trash disposal, street cleaning, education and health services. However, during a health crisis, especially one aggravated by the world’s longest COVID-19-related lockdown, the public expects more from government.

When citizens, most of whom are daily wage earners or informal sector workers, are forced to stay at home for two and a half months, they look to government to satisfy their physiological and safety needs. Every management student can tell you that these are the two lowest levels in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Physiological needs are what we require for survival. Safety refers to the need for physical and financial protection.

Metro Manila was under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 15 to May 15, and under modified ECQ (MECQ) from May 16 to 31.

Thankfully, June ushered in the more benign general community quarantine (GCQ), during which businesses have started to reopen.

June is a historically significant month for

On Sunday, AFP reporters at the Perthus crossing near the eastern end of the border saw cars crossing both ways every two or three minutes, with more going from Spain into France.

There were no checks from midnight and the traffic flowed freely.

The Spanish government announced Saturday that from Sunday EU member state citizens and those from the passport-free Schengen zone would be allowed freely into Spain, with no 14-day quarantines required.

Portugal has, however, said it will keep its border with Spain closed until July 1.

In Madrid’s main Atocha railway station, Laura Garcia waited impatiently for the train taking her to Barcelona to see her fiance.

“It has been a long time since I last saw him, obviously, that is three months, a 100 days. I bought the very first ticket available so as to get there as quick as possibly,” said Garcia, who was wearing a mask for travel.

In the “new normal,” Spaniards will have to wear masks in enclosed spaces, maintain social distancing of 1.5 meters (five feet) while access to pools, beaches, hotels and restaurants will be limited accordingly.

About 600 health ministry staff, meanwhile, will monitor airports to check the personal details and temperature of arriving foreign passengers.

Doctors will examine any suspected cases.

From July 1, Spain will fully open all its borders. AFP

S is for Super Service Manileños. On June 24, 1571, the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi declared Manila the first municipal government in the country under Spanish colonial rule. Manila’s 449th anniversary is therefore a good time to evaluate how Mayor Isko has handled the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns.

Sustenance. The city government gave ayuda (aid) in the form of several kilos of rice, canned goods and spaghetti to every family; food packs and hygiene kits to more than 242,000 kinder to grade 12 public school students; and fortified powder drinks to about 150,000 seniors. It also gave food to various groups such as jeepney, tricycle and pedicab drivers, and former Manila residents now relocated in Cavite. And it has not forgotten to give cakes to more than 33,000 senior citizens with birthdays from March to June!

More importantly, the city government gave every family in Manila’s 896 barangays P1,000 during the ECQ, and another P1,000 during the MECQ. The first tranche amounted to about P620 million while the second amounted to almost P660 million (additional names were registered with the barangays). It gave P5,000 each to 11,000 public elementary and high school personnel. It continued distributing the P1,000 monthly allowance to Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and Universidad de Manila students, and P500 monthly allowance to public school Grade 12 students. It continued giving the P500 monthly allowance to senior citizens, first in cash, and now through PayMaya cards that also serve as senior citizen ID’s.

Its Kadiwa Rolling Stores continue to visit various barangays so that residents can buy farm and other food products at prices kept low because of the absence of middlemen.

Shelter. The city government temporarily houses street dwellers (even non-Manila residents) in various shelters (e.g., San Andres Sports Complex and Del Pan Sports Complex), where they can have three meals a day, hygiene kits, sleeping mats, and private sleeping quarters per family.

The government has also housed health workers, seafarers, OFWs and stranded local travelers.

For the long term, the city government will build Tondominiums and Binondominiums, four

15-story buildings for informal settlers. Groundbreaking for the Tondominiums was done early this month.

Safety. As of June 19, the city government has conducted 12,952 RT-PCR tests and 115,411 rapid tests for free. It has built 12 quarantine facilities for patients who have tested positive based on rapid COVID-19 tests or who have COVID-19 symptoms. It has also established the 66-bed Manila Infectious Disease Control Center at Sta. Ana Hospital which has sent home more than 100 recovered COVID-19 patients. It has purchased equipment (e.g., analog and portable digital Xrays) for its six public hospitals. It has installed disinfection booths at the Manila City Hall and city hospitals. It has launched Manila.StaySafe. ph, which helps in contact tracing, health condition reporting, and social distancing.

The city government has also launched its online payment and financial services system (Go Manila app) so that taxpayers don’t have to go to (and from) City Hall, line up to pay and risk getting infected with COVID-19.

Sanitation. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 situation, the city government continues its dengue prevention activities, drainage unclogging, and garbage removal from Manila Bay and esteros in preparation for the rainy season. It regularly cleans major streets, such as C.M. Recto Avenue, where farm produce is sold nightly to wholesalers during the quarantine.

Schooling. The city government will purchase110,000 tablets with SIM cards for students and 11,000 laptops and pocket Wi-Fi devices for teachers to help them with online classes. The SIM cards come with a 10-GB monthly load with free 2 GB of data for YouTube.

Source of income. The city government has partnered with delivery company Foodpanda to employ 500 of Manila’s tricycle drivers. It has also hired unemployed Manileños, including PWD’s, to produce one million face masks to be distributed, one mask per family. The mayor also promotes during his nightly report products made

by SME’s that are sent to his office.

The city government has been able to do all these by quickly realigning this year’s budget. As

Mayor Isko succinctly put it, “Unahin ang bituka bago kalsada.” The government has also been able to tap many private sponsors―both individuals and organizations–who willingly give resources because they see their donations benefiting the citizens rather than the politicians.

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, some people have criticized the way the city government documents its accomplishments on social media and on its website. However, such documentation helps achieve another public administration principle: accountability, or enabling constituents to examine the actions of their government leaders.

Sadly, previous mayors of Manila did not practice accountability to the same degree, if at all. But that is another story.

Proverbs 29:2a states, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” Manileños have been quick to return the love as evidenced by, say, the numerous positive comments and “likes,” “hearts” and “care” emoticons they share on the mayor’s and the city government’s Facebook walls and during Mayor Isko’s nightly reports broadcasted on Facebook Live.

Having been out of the country in May 2019, I did not get to vote for a mayor. Honestly, I do not know if I would have voted for Mayor Isko. But having lived in Manila all of my life, I can say that he is the best mayor the nation’s capital has had in the past five decades. I hope he runs for mayor again so that he can continue the work he has begun in Manila.

Salamat, Mayor Isko. On behalf of all Manileños, maraming salamat po sa masugid ninyong serbisyo.

Marissa C. Marasigan teaches business communication, corporate social responsibility, and management subjects in the undergraduate and MBA programs of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She welcomes comments at marissa.marasigan@ dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.

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

B4

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Business

Wirecard’s $2.1-b fund not in PH PSE INDEX

By Julito G. Rada

Thursday, June 19, 2020

33.38 PTS.

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE

1,583,992,538 129,881 13,406,630,631.94

ADVANCES 89

6,315.07

DECLINES 101 UNCHANGED 54

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.0380

Japan

Yen

0.009354

0.4681

UK

Pound

1.243000

62.1972

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129026

6.4562

Switzerland

Franc

1.051746

52.6273

Canada

Dollar

0.735348

36.7953

Singapore

Dollar

0.717360

35.8953

Australia

Dollar

0.684800

34.2660

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651113

132.656

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266610

13.3406

Brunei

Dollar

0.714796

35.7670

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.032154

1.6089

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.6239

Euro

Euro

1.120800

56.0826

Korea

Won

0.000825

0.0413

China

Yuan

0.141078

7.0593

India

Rupee

0.013091

0.6550

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233836

11.7007

New Zealand

Dollar

0.642100

32.1294

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033785

1.6905

B

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said over the weekend none of the missing $2.1-billion fund of German payments company Wirecard entered the Philippine financial system.

“The international financial scandal used the names of two of the country’s biggest banks―BDO [Unibank Inc.] and BPI [Bank of the Philippine Islands]―in an attempt to cover the per-

petrators’ track,” Diokno said in a statement Sunday.

Wirecard, a financial services provider which is listed on the German stock exchange, was reported to have been the victim of fraud after some $2.1 billion allegedly went missing from its accounts which were supposed to have been deposited in BDO and BPI. Diokno said both BDO and BPI had already stated the German firm was not their client nor did they have any business relationship with the firm.

“Both banks informed Ernst & Young, the external auditor, that the documents that attested to the presence of the supposed funds were ‘spurious’,” Diokno said.

He said the matter was reported to the

BSP, which is currently conducting its own investigation.

“The initial report is that no money entered the Philippines and that there is no loss to both banks,” Diokno said.

Wirecard chief executive Markus Braun resigned on Friday after the company’s stocks tumbled by more than 70 percent last week on reports of missing funds.

BDO and BPI described as fake documents showing Wirecard has deposits in the two banks.

A Reuters report said on Sunday that BPI had suspended an assistant manager whose signature appeared on one of the fraudulent documents while a BDO marketing officer may be involved in fabricating a bank certificate.

Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

NLEX to stop cash transactions soon

NLEX Corp. asked the government to require all motorists to install radio-frequency identification stickers as it is set to implement cashless transactions on all expressways within the year.

Luigi Bautista, president and general manager of NLEX, said his company submitted to the Department of Transportation a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of cashless transactions on North Luzon Expressway, Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway and Cavite Expressway.

“The DOTr is already evaluating that, and they are very supportive. We are just sorting some final details,” he said.

Bautista said the company’s proposed roadmap would be implemented in three phases.

“The first phase is 100-percent RFID in five to six months. Phase 2 would be interoperability with the other expressways which can happen in the next 12 months and Phase 3 would be the free flow already of what is called open road tolling the can happen in the next two to three years,” he said.

The current RFID penetration among motorists using NLEX, Cavitex and SCTEx stands at 30 percent to 35 percent. Darwin G. Amojelar

Globe Telecom backs RA 11469 extension

GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it is supporting moves to extend the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act to accelerate the construction of more cell sites all over the country.

The telecom firm said the proposed extension of Republic Act No. 11469 would help speed up the construction of information and communications technology infrastructure such as cell sites.

Bayanihan Act is seen to foster the approval of permits and clearances from local government units in as short as seven days as mandated by the Ease of Doing Business and the Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

“For years, our network expansion plans have been hampered by bureaucracy among LGUs and homeowners associations. This has been the main reason why building cell sites even before the COVID-19 crisis has been very difficult and slow,” said Froilan Castelo, general counsel of Globe. Darwin G. Amojelar

D&L plans to boost coconut oil exports

FOOD ingredients and plastics manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. expects exports to remain resilient during the pandemic on strong demand for coconut-based products under food and oleochemicals business.

D&L said it would capitalize on the current strong interest in coconut oil in the global market because of its perceived natural antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Coconut oil is also a great organic and sustainable substitute for many petroleum-based raw materials used in personal and home care products.

“The company sees continued strong coconut oil exports, which should offset some of the weakness in the domestic market in the near term.

The company plans to capitalize on this trend as it develops more products and penetrates more markets globally,” D&L said. Jenniffer B. Austria

ENERGY FUNDS. Barangay San Pedro in Sto. Tomas City, one of the host communities of APRI-MakBan, utilizes its Energy Regulations 1-94 funds for the decontamination of the supermarket and other public areas. Aboitiz Power Corp. and the Department of Energy turned over P140.1 million worth of ER 1-94 funds to 36 host beneficiaries of AboitizPower units AP Renewables Inc. and San Carlos Sun Power Inc. The initial remittance is part of the P351.6-million ER 1-94 funds generated by AboitizPower’s geothermal and solar facilities.

DOE still keen on West Philippine Sea oil exploration

By Alena Mae S. Flores ENERGY Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the exploration and development of resources in the West Philippine Sea will not compromise the country’s sovereignty.

Cusi said the Energy and Foreign Affairs Departments are working together so that exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea could finally proceed.

“While we are protecting our territories, the DOE is trying to work together with the DFA on how we can continue exploration in the area,” Cusi said in a meeting with members of the Regional Peace and Order Council of Region IVB. ROPC is chaired by Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, while Cusi is the designated Cabinet officer for Regional

Development and Security for Region IV-B. “We are doing this without compromising our sovereignty. That’s one thing we can assure you as we progress in our exploration on how to develop and utilize the resources there at the West Philippine Sea,” the energy chief said.

“We need it to attain energy security,” Cusi said.

Cusi commended the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines headed by Lt. Gen. Erickson Gloria for keeping watch over the Philippine territories in the area.

“We thank our uniformed people, the WESCOM, for keeping watch in that area and for protecting our territories,” Cusi said.

Cusi earlier said talks about the framework of the joint oil and gas exploration

with China over the West Philippine Sea were ongoing.

“Under the disputed area, we are saying we have an MOU with China on how to go on a possible joint exploration so that we can exploit and make use of whatever resources are available in the area for the use of our country,” Cusi said.

“We are still working on that. We are still working on the way forward on how we can proceed with the joint exploration,” he said.

He said the second meeting for the framework was supposed to be held in February but did not push through because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We continue to pursue, we continue to discuss this with China…We are just exploring legal framework, operational framework,” he said.

FOODCOURT REOPENING. Araneta

City, Quezon City’s ultimate entertainment and transportation hub, gears up for the resumption of operations of its mall foodcourts and select transportation terminals on June 22. The reopening comes three weeks after the implementation of the general community quarantine in Metro Manila, which revives public operations at the City of Firsts.

For the mall foodcourts, Araneta City placed measures to ensure proper physical distancing at the Food Express (Gateway Mall), Food Gallery (Ali Mall) and Food Plaza (Farmers Plaza). Markings are placed on tables to ensure limited seating capacity. Tables are arranged to ensure distance from each other.

Mediation resolves Sumifru labor row

A PEACEFUL settlement was reached between 92 plantation workers from Compostela, Davao de Oro and Sumifru (Philippines) Corp. in a conciliation mediation sanctioned by the Department of Labor and Employment Region XI on June 9.

The workers were duly represented by their counsel in the single entry approach, which is a settlement procedure for all labor issues brought forward by NAMASUFA PP 90 leader Vicente Barrios to DOLE Region XI senior labor employment officer Isidrick Paqueo. The workers also manifested their desire to claim separation pay in lieu of reinstatement and to move forward in mutual agreement with Sumifru.

The claims are based on the ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of Sumifru against Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Suyapa Farm which declared the PP 90 workers as regular employees of the said company.

All 92 banana workers voluntary received the separation pay and cash bonuses given out on the spot by Sumifru in the presence of labor officials.

Prohibitive policies on smoke-free nicotine products violate consumer rights TOBACCO harm reduction advocates said the prohibitive policies imposed by governments and health authorities against smoke-free nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products and snus are in violation of consumers rights.

Clarisse Virgino, the Philippine representative to the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, made the statement during the online version of the Global Forum on Nicotine on June 11 to 12.

“It’s a sad thought that in this ruckus, consumers become the collateral damage—the one that, in the end, will suffer, if prohibitive policies will be put in place,” said Virgino during the annual conference organized by London-based Knowledge Action Change Limited to discuss the merits of tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products and snus as safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes.

Virgino said governments in their attempt to strengthen public health policies end up

disregarding the very core of it—people.

“Consumers and their rights should be protected under these policies. I think it’s just unfair and wrong, in so many levels, to disregard consumers in creating policies surrounding THR. As they say, there is nothing about us, without us,” she said.

More than 600 individuals participated in the 2020 forum to listen to presentations from 30 expert speakers on the theme “Nicotine: science, ethics and human rights”.

“Prohibiting THR products such as e-cigarettes or vape, HnB devices, and

snus will not just affect people who have already made the switch. This will affect people who are still trying to quit regular combustible cigarettes, depriving them of their right to do the switch, or basically, just to choose. A person’s right to choose is not just a consumer right, but it’s a basic human right,” Virgino said.

Smoke-free nicotine products are considered a part of THR—a public health strategy that aims to provide alternatives to reduce risks caused by smoking cigarettes.

PSE okays Altus listing by way of introduction

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange approved the listing of Altus Property Ventures Inc., a unit of Robinsons Land Corp., by way of introduction or without an initial public offering.

Under the plan, Altus Property will list 100 million common shares with an initial listing price of P10.10 per share.

Listing by way of introduction allows a company to list its shares with the PSE without having to sell shares to the public immediately.

Under the PSE rules, listing of securities by way of introduction may be appropriate when the securities of an unlisted issuer are distributed by way of property dividend by a listed issuer to shareholders.

“The exchange’s approval of the listing of the company’s shares is subject to its compliance with all of the post-approval requirements of the exchange,” the PSE said.

“The exchange will advise the investing public of developments on the listing by way of introduction of the Company, including the listing date and the availability of the listing prospectus,” it said.

Robinsons Land earlier sought the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission to declare 100 million common shares as property dividend to existing shareholders of record as of Aug 15.

The property dividend declaration was approved by the SEC in March.

The dividend shares, which represent 100 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Altus Property, entitled Robinsons Land’s to own 1 Altus Property share for every 51.9382 Robinsons Land shares owned.

The listing price of P10.10 per share was based on the fairness opinion conducted by Navaro Amper & Co. which showed that value of the company is P1.1 billion to P1.22 billion or P10.10 to P12.20 per share.

Altus Property owns and operates Robinsons Place Ilocos in Ilocos Norte.

Other companies that were listed in the PSE by way of introduction were Top Frontier Holdings Inc., AgriNurture Inc., Integrated Microelectronics Inc. and Trans Asia Petroleum Corp.

Auto firms may not receive incentives under CARS program

By Othel V. Campos THE Trade Department said participants in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program may not qualify for incentives from the government because of the poor demand amid the coronavirus pandemic “I guess the participants may not be able to receive variable incentives.

There hasn’t been any active talks on that, even as we see them having difficulties for whatever reasons they kept citing,” said Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.

Rodolfo said the department was studying the option to give CARS participants more time to comply with the volume target.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., the only two companies that joined the program, were given six years to produce 200,000 vehicles each for domestic sales in order to qualify for P27 billion worth of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.

Rodolfo said there were talks, even before the crisis, to reduce the target production volume.

“If at all, we have not considered cutting targets. We will follow what is specified in CARS,” Rodolfo said.

Toyota and Mitsubishi invested P5.4 billion and P5.7 billion, respectively, in the last three years.

Rodolfo said the government was aware of the plight of the automotive industry with Europe announcing a 70-percent decline in vehicle sales.

“We’re pretty sure that there will be huge toll on world car sales and we’re not an exemption to this. Globally, that is the trend. However, we see no immediate need to revise CARS,” he said.

Data show that May 2020 sales fell by 84.6 percent from 30,998 units sold in May 2019. The industry sold 69,463 units in the first five months, down by 51.1 percent from 142,195 units.

Sports

Toroman says PH basketball must adapt to changes

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

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

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By Peter Atencio FOCUS in the international basketball scene is starting to shift according to former Gilas Pilipinas coach Rajko Toroman.

Because of this the Philippines must brace itself for changes that are coming.

Toroman, who is now coaching the Indonesian national men’s team, said the focus on the international basketball scene is now swinging on the development of mid-sized players.

“You know, (the Philippines) is very unlucky country. Because when they got the big guys, the basketball went small. Now you have Fajardo, Kai Sotto, you know a lot of teams in Europe are not using the big guys,” said Toroman in weekly podcast hosted by Charles Tiu and Anton Altamirano.

Toroman made this observation after having returned to Serbia two weeks ago.

He decided to return home after lockdowns in Indonesia which were done to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. This forced the Indonesian national team to stop practicing in the middle of March.

According to Toroman, big players are now being asked to assume positions that are not usually assigned to tall men.

“They are going with small ball.

They are going with four small so even five smalls,” said Toroman.

He believes that these adjustments will determine the future of basketball, globally.

The 65-year-old Toroman used to handle the Gilas Pilipinas program from 2009 to 2011.

He started handling Indonesia last year.

Toroman said he is excited in helping Indonesia develop its basketball culture.

The Indonesians may not have the height, the talent of their players is something to consider.

“I was surprised with their discipline, they’re really hard workers.

Their basketball IQ is really high.

They are good shooters. They have character but some things they miss,” said Toroman.

He added that Indonesia’s level may not be at par with the Philippines and China at the moment, but it will get there.

Jockey Manuel Franco rides Tiz the Law (left) to victory during the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 20, 2020 (June 21 Philippine time) in Elmont, New York. AFP

Tiz the Law gallops to win at 152nd Belmont N

EW YORK, United States—Tiz the Law richly lived up to his favorite’s billing, sweeping to victory in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday (Sunday Philippine time) to launch a topsy-turvy Triple Crown year.

Trained by 82-year-old Barclay Tagg and ridden by Manny Franco, Tiz the Law became the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont since Forester in 1882.

There was no roar to greet him as he surged across the finish line since the cavernous grandstand at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York—where the race can draw more than 100,000, stood empty amid ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

It was the COVID-19 pandemic that saw the Belmont, usually the final race in US flat racing’s flagship treble after the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, run first for the first time in history.

The race, long dubbed the Test of the Champion, was also shortened from its usual 1 1/2-mile distance to 1 1/8

—a nod to the difficulty of getting the 3-year-old contenders in proper condition for the longer distance in the pandemic-disrupted year.

Tiz the Law broke smartly from the eighth post in a field of 10 and settled into third place behind pace-setter Tap It to Win down the backstretch of the sweeping Belmont track known as “Big Sandy.”

Franco made his move in the lone turn, surging ahead on the outside and powering home ahead of the Todd Pletchertrained Dr Post with Irad Ortiz aboard.

Max Player, trained by Linda Rice and ridden by Joel Rosario, was third.

“Well, that’s what I’ve watched him do each time,” Tagg said of the bay colt that was the only Grade 1 winner in the field off his March 28 victory at the Florida

PHILIPPINE Basketball Association star James Yap of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters named teammate Gabe Norwood, fellow University of the East product Ronald Tubid, and TNT KaTropa guard Ryan Reyes as the best defenders at

his position in the league.

“Isa si Gabe (Norwood). Isa pang nahihirapan ako si Ronald Tubid tsaka si Ryan Reyes,” said Yap in a recent podcast interview.

Yap spent the best years of his PBA ca-

Derby and a triumph last October at Belmont in the Champagne Stakes. “I was delighted to see it.”

Franco, who notched his first Triple Crown race win on his third Triple Crown mount, was just as delighted— but not surprised.

He felt a few butterflies in the starting gate, “but at the same time I was confident because I know what I have under me,” Franco said.

The Triple Crown will continue with the Kentucky Derby, usually held on the first Saturday in May, now rescheduled for September 5 at Churchill Downs.

‘Really good’ The Preakness at Pimlico, usually the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, is scheduled for October 3.

Franco was looking ahead to September with confidence.

“I’ve got the horse for the race,” he said.

“I’m very happy with the opportunity the owner has given me, and the trainer, Barclay, I’m in good hands. AFP

IM Dableo rules 3rd Baby Yap recalls PBA’s best defenders at his spot Uno Online Chess tourney INTERNATIONAL Master (IM) Ronald Dableo, from Trabajo, Sampaloc, Manila emerged champion in the 3rd Baby Uno Online Chess Tournament at lichess.org.

The former Asian Zonal champion Dableo collected 13.5 points on 13 wins, one draw and one loss to win the 15-round tournament backed up

by Seaman Chief Engr. Julio V. Trunio Jr., PECA president Dr. Fred Paez, Auckland New Zealand-based Jun Isaac, Jubail Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-based Jimmy Reyes, former NCFP Director Ed Madrid, Dr. Jenny Mayor, Ron Demain, sportsman Kim Zafra, Mc Daniel “Danilo Oabe” Ebao and Pretty Zada Skincare Product.

Dableo already got his three GM norms and needs to raise his 2407 FIDE elo rating (standard play) to 2500 to complete his GM title status.

Dableo, who helped the Philippine Army chess team into the overall championships in the AFP-PNP Olympics, is also the head coach of UAAP chess champion University of Santo Tomas chess team along with coach Peter Lim. National Master (NM) Ronald Llavanes, the pride of Philippine Air Force chess team came second place with 11.5 points followed by third placer former Adamson University stalwart Jerome Villanueva with 11 points.

Woman National Master (WNM) Francois Mariel Magpily of the University of Santo Tomas chess team and Jasper Faeldonia of Arellano University chess team wound up tied for fourth to fifth with 10.5 points in this blitz event also backed up by Philippine E-9 Chess Club in South Korea headed by Jun Jun Jabay, Norwin Altez Marasigan, Ruel Gomez, Recca Carcueva, Don Ken Calendario and Lando Balao Jr. The tilt was organized by Bayanihan Chess Club led by AGM Marlon Bernardino and Genghis K. Imperial in cooperation with layout artist Arjie Bayangat.

PBA superstar James Yap of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters glides to hoop against two TNT KaTropa defenders, from left: Jayson Castro and KJ McDaniels. PBA Media

reer with Purefoods where he had to face off against the 6-foot-6 Norwood.

“Mabait si Gabe. Kapag nagbabantay yan, honest defense lang talaga. Gagamitin niya talaga yung athleticism niya (sa iyo),” said Yap. Norwood was named to the PBA Defensive Team of the Year six times and was a one-time Defensive Player of the Year (2009-10).

Among active players Yap has the most points with 10,044 just ahead of Barangay Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa who has 9,927 points.

Tubid, who relied on guile and street smarts, was a totally different matchup.

“Si Tubid naman....biglang magpapacharge, tapos umaangat yung paa (niya), yun pala natutuhod ka na,” said Yap. “Naging teammate ko na siya nung high school sa Iloilo selection, and then nung college, naging teammate ko na talaga siya.”

Reyes’ best qualities were his daring and quick hands.

“Kaya kailangan hindi mo ipapakita sa kanya yung bola. Kailangan yung katawan mo talaga ihaharang mo sa kamay niya. Kung hindi aagawan ka niya,” said Yap.

Dettori crowns Royal Ascot run with victory at Coronation LONDON, United Kingdom— Frankie Dettori rounded off his week with a treble, including finally winning the only Group One at Royal Ascot to have eluded him with victory in the Coronation Stakes on Irish raider Alpine Star.

The 49-year-old Italian’s haul, which also included another Group One for trainer John Gosden in the St James’s Palace Stakes with Palace Pier, gave him six winners for an overall Royal Ascot tally of 73.

However, 25-year-old Kevin Stott, who once had a trial as a footballer at Tottenham, denied him a fourth win in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the Kevin Ryan-trained Hello Youmzain.

The Danish rider added a second winner, along with Ryan in the big handicap of the day, the Wokingham Stakes.

Dettori punched the air and his trademark flying dismount followed after Saturday’s triumph, despite there being no spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic to admire it.

“It has taken 30 years to win all the Group Ones, but I can say that I have really conquered Royal Ascot now,” said Dettori.

“I am thrilled, thrilled. It is a big tick of a box in my career for me.”

For trainer Jessica Harrington, who watched the race with friends in Ireland, it was her second victory in the race having trained Alpine Star’s half-sister Alpha Centauri to triumph in 2018.

“You could probably have heard us in Ascot the volume we were shouting,” said Harrington.

“I could not believe how well she did it. She has such a big heart.”

Dettori, who had started with a win on American runner Campanelle in the Queen Mary Stakes, struck in the next, the St James’s Palace Stakes, conjuring up a late burst from Palace Pier to overhaul Pinatubo and denting further the runner-up’s reputation. AFP

Football makes reluctant return in Brazil RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—After a three-month hiatus for the coronavirus pandemic, football returned to South America in Brazil, with a Rio de Janeiro state tournament match, though some clubs and fans insist it is too soon.

Copa Libertadores holders Flamengo beat minnows Bangu 3-0 in Rio’s iconic Maracana stadium, in a match with no fans played just meters (yards) from a field hospital set up to treat COVID-19 patients.

Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who authorized the tournament to resume, had said President Jair Bolsonaro, a fierce critic of coronavirus quarantine measures, would attend the match. But in the event the far-right leader did not make the trip.

The Rio championship is the first professional football competition to resume in South America, where the new coronavirus is still spreading rampantly.

With nearly 48,000 people killed by the virus so far, Brazil has the second-highest death toll in the

world, after the United States, and the number of cases continues rising steeply.

Top Brazilian clubs, including Botafogo and Fluminense, have come out against the restart, arguing it is too soon.

Supporters of those two clubs, as well as Flamengo, Bangu and others, protested outside the stadium before the match, saying the authorities were putting lives at risk.

Players had their temperatures checked on arrival at the stadium, while reporters and photographers covering the match had to pass through a disinfection tunnel.

The match opened with a minute of silence for victims of COVID-19, including Flamengo’s own massage therapist, Jorginho, who died last month.

Brazil’s national championship was due to begin in May but has been indefinitely suspended.

The first national league to restart in South America will be Paraguay’s on July 17. AFP

Flamengo football team player Filipe Luis shoots the ball during the Carioca Championship 2020 football match against Flamengo at the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is played behind closed doors as the city gradually eases its social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19. AFP

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Sports

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

COVID-19 cases force baseball to shut down spring training WASHINGTON, United States— Major League Baseball is shutting down all spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida according to a post on MLB.com as a worrying number of Covid-19 cases surfaced among several US sports.

With the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer all hoping to resume seasons shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, and baseball trying to hammer out a framework for getting 2020 underway, a spate of cases among athletes has sparked concern.

USA Today reported that baseball’s decision to close club’s spring training bases in Arizona and Florida means that players and staff won’t be admitted until the facilities are disinfected and deemed safe.

Then those entering must be cleared as negative for the virus.

The move comes a day after baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants shuttered training campuses over virus concerns.

The Phillies said five players and three staff members had tested positive at the team’s Clearwater, Florida, training center.

The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning closed their facility 23 miles (37km) from Clearwater, after multiple players and staff members tested positive.

With confirmed COVID-19 cases on the rise in Arizona as well as Florida, the Giants had closed their spring training base in Scottsdale on Friday after one person and a family member exhibited symptoms.

It was in Arizona that NHL Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was quarantining at home after testing positive, according to the Toronto Sun. The NHL said Friday that 11 players had tested positive since training facilities reopened on June 8 in anticipation of a 24-team restart in July at still unspecified “hub” locations.

The spike in COVID-19 cases in Florida could be a serious concern for the NBA and MLS, which are both planning to resume play in so-called “bubble” environments that someone isolate teams in the state.

The NBA is planning a July 30 restart at the Walt Disney World sports complex near Orlando, Florida.

The league plans to have 22 teams —13 from the Western Conference and nine from the East—to start play with a chance to reach the final. AFP

Antonio Blakeney (with ball) of Suzhou Dragons drives strong to the hoopl against Li Muhao (9) of Shenzhen Aviators during their CBA basketball match in Dongguan in China’s southern Guangdong province. The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league resumed behind closed doors after a five-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, just as the country battles a cluster of infections in Beijing. AFP

PSC will help Marcial take next step to Tokyo A

By Peter Atencio

FTER training all by himself at home for the last three months, Eumir Felix Marcial will soon be able to leave his residence in Imus, Cavite.

The Philippine Sports Commission will soon form a team of experts to help him prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.

And it will also make the boxing gym at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex available to him for workouts.

Commissioner Ramon Fernandez said he will make this possible when the board meets in the coming days to discuss their plans for Olympic-bound athletes.

Fernandez also made assurances of the agency’s support to Marcial after both talked by phone last Thursday.

“Ang importante at maibalik ang physical shape niya sa 100 percent,” said Fernandez in an interview.

The team of experts that Marcial will have is similar to the group of individuals which formed the core groups of experts that behind the ongoing preparations of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo and those who are backing up fellow boxer Irish Magno.

Since the lockdown started last March 15, the 24-year-old Marcial has been getting in shape through shadow

boxing and exercises inside his home, and with whatever available materials he has.

Because he has no equipment available, he cannot get far with his preparations.

“Pwede na siya makapag-sparring sa PSC gym. And we’ll see later kung pwede na siyang may ka-sparring,” said Fernandez.

Marcial has been getting ready for the Tokyo Olympics since he earned a qualifying slot last March in the 2020 Asia/Oceania boxing qualifying tournament in Amman, Jordan.

“Tuluy-tuloy lang kahit walang equipment,” said Marcial.

He is seeking one professional fight before going to the Olympiad.

Marcial believes that stepping on the ring as a pro, before the Olympiad, will be a great experience for him.

NBA sets dates for return to action with October finals

Washington Wizard NBA player Bradley Beal (wearing black cap) speaks to demonstrators gathered at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial to mark Juneteenth in Washington, DC. AFP

NEW YORK, United States—The NBA has settled upon key dates for the upcoming resumption of its coronavirus-halted 2019-20 season, including an October NBA Finals and NBA Draft, according to multiple reports Saturday (Sunday Philippine time).

ESPN and The Athletic said a league memo to clubs set August 25 for the NBA Draft Lottery, October 16 for the 2020 NBA Draft and October 18 for the start of free agency, although no signings can start until October 23.

A potential seventh game of the bestof-seven NBA Finals would be played on October 13.

The dates would not become official until the NBA and its players’ union reach a deal on changes to the collective bargaining agreement related to returning from the March shutdown due to the deadly virus outbreak.

Players seeking an early entry into the NBA Draft would have to declare by August 17 and would then have until October 6 to drop out if they wish.

As previously revealed, the NBA plans a July 30 restart in a bubble isolation situation at the Walt Disney World sports complex near Orlando, Florida.

The league plans to have 22 teams, 13 from the Western Conference and nine from the Eastern Conference, to start play with a chance to reach the final.

The memo also clarified the timing for transactions, which can be made starting Tuesday for players who will compete in Orlando. Players have until Wednesday to notify clubs they will compete in the restart.

The transaction window lasts until June 30.

The memo also outlined how teams can replace players not in the bubble for health issues, excused absences or who choose not to go.

From July 1 until the mid-August finish of “seeding” games, substitute players can be signed for players missing due to each of those categories.

Should a player test positive for COVID-19 after seeding games, they could be replaced only by someone with three years or less in the NBA. Any player refusing to play in the Orlando games would lose about 1.1% of his salary for each missed game to a limit of 14 games, or about 15% of his contract.

Excused absences and those missing for health issues would not lose salar y. AFP

China’s CBA resumes games ahead of NBA SHANGHAI, China—The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league resumed behind closed doors after a five-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, just as the country battles a cluster of infections in Beijing.

There was a somber moment of silence beforehand in the arena in Qingdao as the CBA became the first sports league to restart in China, where the deadly virus emerged late last year before spreading worldwide.

The league has been split into two groups as part of measures to ensure player safety—one group playing games in Qingdao in the northeast and the other in the southern city of Dongguan.

All games will be played without fans, in line with sports around the world trying to relaunch even as the virus continues to infect and kill thousands.

In front of the watching Yao Ming, the first match of the restart saw Zhejiang Guangsha Lions defeat Nanjing Monkey Kings 112-95. Both teams bowed at the end to the largely empty arena in Qingdao and celebrations were muted.

Yao, president of the CBA and the former Houston Rockets All-Star, was among the few in the stands and had a mask on. An electronic screen showed supporters watching remotely.

Beforehand, players, coaches and officials stood with their heads bowed for a period of silence in remembrance of those who died in recent months of coronavirus.

There were five matches scheduled on Saturday, with former NBA champion Jeremy Lin in action for the Beijing Ducks, as the CBA races to make up for lost time.

When the CBA was brought to a halt on February 1, at the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China, defending champions Guangdong Southern Tigers topped the standings after 30 matches.

More than half of the 20 teams in the CBA will compete without foreign players because most overseas visitors cannot enter China because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

China has seen a marked decline in the number of infections, but is now concerned about a recent surge in Beijing. AFP

Catalan wants another run at ONE strawweight title AFTER an impressive run of of six consecutive victories Rene “The Challenger” Catalan failed in his bid to annex the ONE Strawweight World Title.

The number three-ranked veteran lost by submission to champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio last November.

Although already 41 years old Catalan is not losing hope and wants to prove himself worthy of another crack at the gold.

“I may be a bit older now, but make no mistake about it, I am still gunning for my dreams of one day winning a World Title,” said Catalan.

“I am willing to face anyone in order to get there, though I hope to avoid my fellow Filipinos.”

Clearly, Catalan would rather not face up and coming Filipino compatriot Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang.

However, he has three other men directly in his crosshairs.

These are strawweight contenders Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta, Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito, and Alex “Little Rock” Silva.

Catalan would love a crack at Saruta, the former ONE Strawweight World Champion.

“Saruta is a very good athlete. He is really strong. I believe

that if he did not make a mistake against Joshua Pacio (in April 2019), he would have defeated him again (and retained the ONE Strawweight World Title),” said Catalan.

A win over ranked challengers Naito or Silva will also propel Catalan right back into championship contention.

Silva beat Catalan by armbar in their previous encounter.

“If I face Silva again, I have to really focus on ground defense. It’s all about good preparation when facing someone as dangerous as him,” said Catalan.

Veteran MMA fighter Rene Catalan (right) unloads a head kick against his opponent Zhang You Liang inside the ONE circle during an MMA match. ONE Championship

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com MONdAY, june 22, 2020

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Top bands gather on virtual stage to salute frontliners

Pride and Prejudice

’Kapuso Barangayan on Wheels’ travel across the country

Life

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

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FOOD

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

T

HANK the food gods for delivery and pick-up services, cravings are catered and life feels normal again, even in just a few bites.

SM malls across the country have been gradually adjusting to the new normal of eating out by offering services that allow diners to order food from restaurant tenants for them to enjoy at home.

Pasay-based SM Mall of Asia brings dishes from well-loved specialty restaurants to customers’ houses through its My MOA Shopper and MOA DriveThru Pick Up services.

To use the services, customers must connect with MOA Assistance through Facebook Messenger to inquire about the list of open establishments and place their orders.

My MOA Shopper allows customers to shop from the convenience of their homes with the help of personal shoppers, and have it delivered straight to their doorsteps. MOA says it “has partnered with the best delivery service providers in the metro to ensure you can safely enjoy shopping from your favorite restaurants and brands.”

On the other hand, MOA Drive-Thru Pick Up is a direct call-to-order service which allows shoppers to buy and pay directly to participating establishments, and have their orders delivered through delivery services. For those who still wish to do their own personal shopping can directly pick up their orders at designated pick-up point entrances around MOA complex.

Participating restaurants from which diners can order include Abe, Café Adriatico, Juan’s Bistro, Max’s Restaurant, Hawker Chan, Hediu Grill Station, Paradise Dynasty, Pho Hoa, Song Do Won, Tenya, Tim Ho Wan, Tong Yang Plus, Vikings, Wow Cow Restaurant, Banh Mi Kitchen, New York Slice Pizza, Sbarro, Shakey’s, Goldilocks, J.Co, and Krispy Kreme Milk tea lovers can have their favorite drinks from Chatime, Chachago, Macao Imperial, Tiger Sugar, and True Boss delivered to them. Starbucks is likewise included in the list of participating establishments.

Those who opt to go the mall are assured of safety when entering the premises. State-of-the-art thermal scanners are used for temperature checks, while reminders and guides for social distancing are visible inside. The “No Mask, No Entry” rule is strictly implemented.

The mall is also sanitized before opening and after closing and several times within the day.

SM City San Jose Del Monte’s pick-up and go Meanwhile, over at SM City San Jose Del Monte, diners can place their orders through its Pick-Up and Go service.

Flavors from the mall

delivered to your home

CRAVINGS DELIVERED. Specialty restaurants in SM Mall of Asia as well as SM City San Jose Del Monte allow diners to order their favorite dishes which they can have delivered straight to their doorsteps or picked up at the malls.

The service lets customers place their order in advance, pick it up, and safely enjoy their meal at home.

To order, go to this link (https://bit. ly/36yol8d), fill up the necessary information needed, and select the restaurant and see the attached menu per item.

NEW EATS

Filipino-style spaghetti

at Kuya J

HOMEGROWN restaurant chain known for its traditional and new takes on classic Filipino dishes now offers Pinoy-style spaghetti.

Kuya J’s new spaghetti features the characteristics many Filipinos love in this pasta dish—sweet,

cheesy, and savory.

The new menu item is now available for delivery in select areas via Central by Landers (centraldelivery.ph) for a special introductory price of P99. It’s also available for takeout in select branches.

They can then type in their complete orders and choose the preferred date and time of pick-up. Customers can settle payment at the mall’s central pickup station located at the main atrium.

Cut-off of orders is at 4:00 p.m. Orders placed after the cut-off will be

processed the next day.

For those who were not be able to go out for Pick-Up and Go, more restaurants at SM City San Jose del Monte are open for delivery via Ride Eat. With the customers’ safety in mind, SM City San Jose del Monte continues

to strictly implement safety and sanitation protocols such as disinfection before and during mall hours; equipping entrances with temperature checks, foot disinfectant mats, and alcohol dispensers; wearing of face mask; and observing physical distancing. Jun David

SIP

Glenfiddich releases limited edition whisky for a cause GLENFIDDICH is releasing an exclusive limited edition whisky to raise funds to support COVID-19 efforts in Speyside community.

Only 450 bottles of Glenfiddich 2007 (Cask No. 25427) Spirit of Speyside Distillery Edition 2020 hand-selected by Malt Master Brian Kinsman are auctioned off at whiskyauctioneer.com from June 17 to 22. All proceeds are going to local Speyside causes and those most affected by COVID-19.

In honor of the Spirit of Speyside Festival, which has been cancelled this year due to the pandemic, Kinsman handpicked this special liquid which has spent the last 13 years maturing in the darkness of Glenfiddich’s Warehouse 26.

Finished in a sherry cask, Glenfiddich Spirit of Speyside Distillery Edition 2020 has been bottled at the unusually high strength of 65.7 percent ABV and tastes silky smooth and sweet, with a rich citrus and cinnamon-infused apple fruitiness.

Glenfiddich 2007 Spirit of Speyside Distillery Edition 2020

Hendrick’s celebrates World Cucumber Day online IN CELEBRATION of World Cucumber Day on June 14, Hendrick’s Gin brought the party online as it launched its first-ever augmented reality game, The Cucumber Horticulturist.

Available on worldcucumberday. asia beginning June 20, the game allows players to earn currency through cultivating cucumbers, plant the seeds of delightful peculiarity, and get a chance to win discounts off their next Hendrick’s Gin purchase.

“To win the game, simply grow the cucumber plant by collecting falling water droplets on the screen. But steer away from the roses! A stray petal can Hendrick’s The Cucumber Horticulturist game bring the round to a thorny end. With enough water gathered in the pot, drick’s said in a statement. you’ll be able to grow a majestic vine Players will receive their cucumwith fruits ripe for the picking,” Hen- ber currency over email, presented as Sweet and cheesy Filipino-style spaghetti now available at Kuya J.

an e-ticket coupon for 15 percent off Hendrick’s Gin. The discount can be redeemed at boozeshop.ph until July 31. However, each player can only win a coupon once.

“World Cucumber Day is an opportunity for us to showcase the versatility of the noble fruit as real currency that adds delight and whimsy to our lives especially in these unfamiliar times,” said Hendrick’s Southeast Asia ambassador Charmaine Thio.

The cucumber plays a pivotal role in giving Hendrick’s Gin its delectably unusual f lavor. The spirit’s distillation process includes infusions of rose and cucumber, which yields an extraordinarily inviting gin that is a rare union of lightness and complexity.