Manila Standard - 2020 June 24 - Wednesday

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PH stays under quarantine Gov't scraps shift to ’new normal,’ warns virus still exists with no cure yet

By Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

OLD VS. NEW. Several traditional jeepneys plying the Sta. Ana-P. Faura route in Manila are parked at a gasoline station on Tuesday, with no clear timeline as to when they can resume operations amid the coronavirus pandemic. Transport groups have accused the government of preferring modern jeepneys (inset photos) to the country's traditional kings of the road, as old jeep drivers and operators face the reality that their days are numbered with a looming phaseout. Lino Santos

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HE country will remain under a form of community quarantine as long as the coronavirus exists and life will not return to normal unless a vaccine is found, Malacañang said Tuesday.

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 120 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said even if the country is under the more relaxed modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), many areas in the country would still be under “extreme lockdown” if they have cases of COVID-19.

Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) removed the “new normal” classification in its community quarantine phases as it plans to keep lockdowns in place.

Local government units (LGUs) can place areas under the most stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or the modified ECQ, while moderate-risk areas will be put under general community quarantine (GCQ) or the modified GCQ, Roque said.

Even if GCQ is declared in some areas, Roque said the situation remains “critical” since the threat of COVID-19 Next page

Record 1,150 new cases sets total near 32k, UP team cites relaxed lockdown for surge COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JUNE 23)

31,825

1,150

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

1,186

NEW

789 FRESH

9

DEATHS

NEW

8,442

299

RECOVERIES

NEW

By Rio N. Araja and Willie Casas THE relaxation in quarantine restrictions has brought about a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections nationwide, a University of the Philippines math professor said Tuesday.

This developed as the number of coronavirus cases in the country exceeded 31,000 on Tuesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported a record-high 1,150 new infections—789 “fresh” or newly validated and 361 reported late—bringing the total to 31,825.

Total recoveries increased to 8,442, with 299 more patients recov-

ering from the respiratory illness, The death toll climbed to 1,186 with nine new fatalities.

Explaining the surge, Prof. Guido David of the University of the Philippines Institute of Mathematics said: "What we do is to get the average number per day every week."

"From the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), it seems there was an a 50 percent increase (in the number of cases) in the entire country. From MECQ to general community quarantine (GCQ), there was another 50 percent (increase)," he said.

However, he said the COVID-19 Next page

EDSA Busway seamless and faster—DOTr

Groups slam jeepney phaseout, Palace says options up for some

By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta DESPITE protests from public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, the Palace said Tuesday traditional jeepneys may be allowed to ply their routes only if they are roadworthy and if the government finds that there is shortage of public transportation.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque also denied that the government is using the coronavirus pandemic to gradually phase out the old jeepneys by allowing only the modern jeepneys to ply their routes in Metro Manila.

“Should authorities find that traditional jeepneys are still needed, the government

would allow these to operate,” Roque said.

This drew the ire of jeepney drivers' groups under the Stop and Go Coalition and Piston (Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide), saying it was clear that the move was anti-poor and that only rich businessmen would profit from the government's planned phaseout program.

“We support the rehabilitation of the PUV sector but oppose a phaseout of the venerable jeepney, an icon of the post-war era,” said Stop and Go Coalition president Jun Magno.

George San Mateo, Piston president, said in a radio interview that the program would lead to killing off small PUV cooperatives and single-unit jeepney Next page

Many Pinoys expect life to worsen

OFFICIALS of the Department of Transportation said they were “disappointed and frustrated” after Senator Nancy Binay called its ongoing EDSA Busway project “totally unrealistic” and “bound to fail” and invited Binay to a dialogue on the project.

In an open letter addressed to Binay on Tuesday, the DOTr said the senator has derided its initiative which seeks to “serve the riding public with a better mass transport system” without giving the department an opportunity to explain or present its plan.

“The EDSA Busway plan is actually

By Vito Barcelo NEARLY half of the working Filipinos surveyed by Social Weather Stations expected the quality of their lives to worsen in the next 12 months.

The survey, conducted from May 4 to 10 and released on Tuesday, asked some 4,010 Filipinos aged 15 and above what they thought the quality of their lives would be in the next 12 months.

The survey found that 43 percent expected the quality of their lives to worsen (pessimists), 24 percent expected their lives to stay the same, and 24 percent expecting their lives to improve (optimists)

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in the next 12 months.

SWS says the 43 percent proportion of the pessimists was the new peak in the 37year history of 135 SWS surveys, breaking the previous record of 34 percent in March 2005.

Meanwhile, the 24 percent who believed their lives would improve, dubbed

by SWS as optimists, were just four points above the record-low of 20 percent in October 2000 and March 2005.

SWS says the May 2020 net optimism score, which was at -18, is the worst in survey history, topping the previous record of -13 in October 2000 and March Next page

EDSA BUSWAY. A bus travels along an isolated lane near the EDSA-Kamuning flyover in Quezon City on Tuesday, as the Department of Transportation starts implementing the EDSA Busway concept, which transfers the dedicated bus lanes from the outermost to the innermost lanes of Metro Manila's main highway. Infographics from the DOTr also explain how long buses would wait at stops and allow passengers to get off near pedestrian lanes (inset). PNA, DOTr images

SC DISMISSES SOLGEN DA CHIEF 'HOODWINKED' PETITION VS. ABS-CBN ON COSTLY FERTILIZER NEWS / A2

NEWS / A3

MAY BUDGET DEFICIT SWELLED TO P202B BUSINESS / B4

OFF ON WEEKENDS. Operations of the MRT 3 train line, pictured in this file photo, would be suspended during four weekends of July to September to continue with the fast-tracking of its rail replacement works, scheduled to be finished by September 2020, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday. (Story on A3)

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

SC zaps SolGen bid vs. ABS-CBN

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed for being moot the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against ABS-CBN Corporation, which was ordered to stop operation after its legislative franchise expired on May 4.

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High court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka relayed the decision.

“I was able to confirm with Chief Justice [Diosdado] Peralta that the Supreme Court dismissed today during their En Banc meeting the Quo Warranto petition filed by the Solicitor General against ABS CBN Corporation on the ground of mootness,” Hosaka said in a text message.

However, the quo warranto case

against ABS-CBN Convergence remains pending before the high court even if its franchise expired on March 17 ahead of the expiration of ABS-CBN’s franchise.

“Let us wait for the resolution of the Court on this matter,” Hosaka said.

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to couples and family members who live, eat and sleep together under one roof.

The IATF ordered the relevant government agencies to come up with rules on pinion riding to ensure that COVID-19 minimum health standards are enforced.

Ong said he hopes the IATF would expedite the crafting of the guidelines as he noted that the main objective should be to provide the public with a safe but accessible mode of mobility amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Despite the move to finally allow city buses and modern jeepneys to operate, there is still a huge gap in terms of capacity and accessibility of these modes of public transport. We should allow people to ferry their family members on motorcycles to reduce the demand for the buses and jeepneys,” Ong said.

“Every day, we see a lot of stranded people on the streets because there is really a big gap on the capacity of these buses and jeepneys. We would definitely bridge the gap if we finally allow motorcycle back-riding among couples and family members,” Ong added.

Ong added that the IATF-EID can also allow motorcycle taxis but their guidelines should be different.

“Motorcycle taxis should have stricter safety and social distancing protocols if compared with motorcycles that are strictly for family members. The IATF-EID should prioritize those who are ferrying family members,” Ong said.

Also on Tuesday, Senator Christopher Go urged the executive branch to conduct a thorough review of the Hatid Tulong program, which intends to help locally stranded individuals, overseas Filipino workers and others who wish to return to their provinces.

Since Hatid Tulong is a directive from the President, Go said it is important to make sure that proper health and safety protocols are in place to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

"Proper coordination must also be conducted to make sure that receiving LGUs are willing and ready to accept their constituents," he said.

"I am also urging the IATF to look into unauthorized travels and unsanctioned initiatives reportedly conducted by various LGUs and groups that do not comply with health protocols," he added.

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has not yet been eliminated. With no vaccine still in sight, he said, people cannot yet return to their pre-coronavirus lives.

“For now, there will be no new normal.

This means that all areas in the Philippines will stay under community quarantine,” Roque said.

At the same time, Roque said restaurants will be allowed to serve dine-in customers until 9 p.m., after curfew hours where shortened to 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Restaurants in GCQ areas are allowed to operate their dine-in services at only up to 30 percent of store capacity while those in modified GCQ or MGCQ areas can operate up to half of store capacity.

Customers are required to observe physical distancing and wear face masks.

Meanwhile, an online survey conducted by the National Research Council of the Philippines found that predominantly middle-class Filipinos showed a high level of compliance with one of the world's longest lockdowns and other safety protocols, but had "little confidence" in the country's health care system to deal with the pandemic.

Most of the 288 respondents said they would agree to be isolated for three to four weeks should they contract COVID-19, or be placed under quarantine "even if healthy and knowing" that none of their close contacts had the disease.

The council said most respondents were taking the COVID-19 threat seriously and complying with preventive behaviors.

Governors and mayors were found to be the most trustworthy among government officials in providing information about the health crisis, the survey showed.

Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto was perceived to be the "most effective" followed by Vice President Leni Robredo, whiel Secretary Salvador Panelo ranked below the midpoint in the trust category.

In the House, Rep. Ronnie Ong of the Ang Probinsyano party-list group welcomed the decision of the IATF to allow motorcycle pinion-riding for couples and household members.

Ong had argued that social distancing protocols on motorcycles should not apply

Record...

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situation in Metro Manila is getting "quite stable.”

"The increase is not that much," he said. "The transmission has not slowed down, this is the first reason for the high incidence of cases. It is not that bad but the curve has not yet flattened."

David attributed the increased number of COVID-19 cases to mass testing and influx of thousands of returning overseas Filipino workers.

He also said they could not draw a relation between the Balik Probinsya Balik Pag-asa program to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

Among the fresh cases, 207 are from Metro Manila, 288 are from Region VII, while the remaining 294 are spread out across the country.

Among the late cases, 110 are from Metro Manila, 32 are from Region VII, while the 219 other patients came from various areas nationwide.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier admitted that the DOH has a lot to improve on in terms of its coronavirus response as the department faces a probe by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Vergeire made the statement more than three months after a lockdown was imposed to prevent COVID-19 transmission, a measure that limited mobility of people and prevented mass gathering amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the things that need improvement is data gathering of COVID-19 cases, she said.

Vergeire also said there is still a need to increase COVID-19 laboratories to process test results.

At present, Vergeire said, the country’s COVID-19 testing capacity is 12,000 to

The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN had long been expected after the expiry of

13,000 a day. As of June 22, the Philippines had 64 licensed laboratories that have tested a total of 558,163 individuals.

The case doubling time is seven days, while the critical care utilization is at 35 percent.

There are also 65,328 dedicated community isolation beds across the country, while over 52,000 contact tracers have been deployed.

Meanwhile, the DOH said the use of critical care facilities like hospital beds in Cebu province have reached a “warning zone” following the recent spike in cases in the area.

“In Cebu as of June 21 when we analyzed the data, while only 13 percent of the 19,718 dedicated community isolation beds are occupied, 58 percent of the 1,533 hospital beds are occupied,” Vergeire said in a media briefing.

More than half (56 percent) of intensive care unit beds are also occupied while 37 percent of mechanical ventilators are in use.

The percentage indicates the severity of COVID-19 cases in the province--a crucial metric in determining the impact of the coronavirus on the country.

“They are not at the critical level because that would be 70 percent and up, but they are in the warning zone already,” Vergeire said.

“That’s why Cebu City went into an enhanced community quarantine, because their critical care utilization is already in the warning zone,” she added.

The government has placed Cebu City back under ECQ on June 16 following two weeks under general quarantine as COVID-19 cases continued to spike.

Talisay City, also in Cebu province, was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine. Both quarantine levels will remain in effect until the end of the month.

its franchise on May 4, which prompted the National Telecommunications Commission to issue a cease-and-desist order against the television giant.

The Office of the Solicitor General said it filed the quo warranto petition because it wanted “an end to what we discovered to be highly abusive practices of ABS-CBN benefitting a greedy few at the expense of its millions of loyal subscribers.”

ABS-CBN allegedly had been broadcasting for a fee, “an abuse of the privilege granted by the State when it launched and operated a pay-per-view channel in ABSCBN TV Plus, the KBO (Kapamilya Box Office) Channel, without prior approval or permit from the NTC.” In the KBO Channel, subscribers of ABS-CBN TV Plus, a device introduced

by ABS-CBN to transmit a digital signal

to television sets, would pay a certain fee to watch select movies weekly.

The Office of the Solicitor General also claimed that ABS-CBN issued Philippine Deposit Receipts through ABSCBN Holdings Corporation to foreigners, which allegedly violated Article 16, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution that limits ownership of mass media to Filipinos.

The chief state lawyer also said that the network’s subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence, “resorted to an ingenious corporate laying scheme in order to transfer its franchise without the necessary congressional approval.

“It failed to publicly offer any of its outstanding capital stock to any securities exchange within the Philippines within five years from the start of its operations, which is an indispensable condition in its franchise.”

Groups...

the return of traditional jeepneys as a mode of public transport since the traditional open-air jeepneys have to be reconfigured to meet minimum health standards.

“The risks in riding a jeepney are great,” she said in Filipino. “Their seats face each other, not like on a bus.”

She also questioned if jeepney drivers would comply with physical distancing regulations, since they won’t have the money to maintain spacing between seats.

Leftist groups maintained their attack on the government policy to phase out jeepneys.

“The Duterte regime is cunningly carrying out the much-opposed jeepney phaseout under the guise of upholding physical distancing,” said Ariel Casilao, a former representative of the Anakpawis party-list group. “Moreover, its deployment of modern public utility vehicles reeks of opportunism, totally neglecting the impact on the affected sectors.”

Senator Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday urged the government to immediately allow jeepney and UV Express drivers get back on the road to ease the transportation woes of commuters.

“Everyday, the public is burdened.

If we allow jeepneys and UV express o return to the roads, we are solving two problems: transportation for commuters and jobs for jeepney at UV Express drivers,” he said.

Pangilinan said that unlike jeepneys and UV Express, P2P buses can only serve on major highways, forcing commuters to walk for kilometers from their homes to bus stops..

Despite the urgent need, Pangilinan said he wonders why government appears to be discriminating against traditional jeepneys and UV Express vans.

He said that insisting on modernization in this time of pandemic is “insensitive and ill-timed.”

Senator Grace Poe said the safety and well-being of passengers should be the foremost consideration as more transport options become available.

"Our commuters, drivers and enforcers should not forsake social distancing, wearing face masks, regular disinfection and other protocols against COVID-19,” Poe said.

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operators. He said the government wants to replace small operators with larger corporate-type franchisees.

The traditional jeeneys were prohibited from plying their regular routes since the March 15, after President Duterte placed the entire Luzon under the enhanced community quarantine until June 1.

The government relaxed public transportation restrictions on June 22, but traditional jeepneys have not been allowed to operate because their seating arrangements—with passengers facing each other—were deemed unsafe during a pandemic.

Roque said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is still studying if traditional jeepneys should be allowed to operate again.

Transportation officials previously told congressional hearings that traditional jeepney operators should form cooperatives and consortiums so they can acquire at least 10 of the modern jeepneys offered at P1.4 million each under the government’s PUV modernization program, Also, the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday warned the passengers on a jeepney would be at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because of the vehicles’s layout.

“We already know that there is a huge risk with jeepneys because passengers sit face-to-face. Unlike in buses where you are not sitting in front of another person,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario told reporters when asked if jeepneys were actually safer because they are open-air.

“The mode of transmission is droplet infection. With or without aircon [in a vehicle], as long as you are all wearing masks, and you are at a distance from the person next toyou and you are not cramped, the possibility of getting infected is very low,” Vergeire said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“With aircon or without aircon, if you do not wear your mask, you will get infected,” Vergeire said.

Vergeire said she would not recommend

EDSA...

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not even a new concept but a takeoff from the Bus Rapid Transit system or BRT, and the Bus Median Lane usage that has been proven to be one of the more effective mass transport systems in the world,” the DOTr said.

It said that in adopting the BRT and the median lane, the DOTr will ensure the safety of commuters through the establishment of designated bus stops in “strategic locations,” with proper entrances, exits, accessible crossings, pathways, “most of which will be complementary to the existing MRT-3 station facilities.”

“Thus, even PWDs (persons with disabilities) and senior citizens will have easier access,” the DOTr said.

Some of the reasons the DOTr believes in the effectivity of the Edsa Busway, it said, include the “seamless” or uninterrupted and faster movement of buses “like

a train on a railroad” and faster travel time for commuters and a more predictable route schedule.

It would also lead to faster turnaround time and more trips which lead to higher passenger capacity, safe and protected bus stops with enforcers/transport marshals, “atgrade” pedestrian crossings and/footbridges, buses to stop only at designated stops.

The department said it would also be friendly to PWDs and senior citizens through the provision of special lifters, “as provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways/Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.”

During its planning for the project, the DOTr said various transport experts and stakeholders were asked to engage and coordinate with the project, including “commuter groups, economists, and community leaders.”

These groups, it said, shared a belief with the DOTr in coming out with a plan that aims to “eradicate decades of car-centered policies that have clogged roads and

Many...

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2005. The score also dropped from +44 in December 2019.

In another survey conducted from May 4 to 10 among 4,010 respondents, 83 percent said the quality of their lives got worse (SWS called them losers) while 10 percent said their lives were the same (unchanged). Only six percent said their lives got better (gainers) compared to a year ago.

Of the three groups, only the losers recorded a negative net personal optimism score (the percentage of optimists minus the percentage of pessimists) at –25. They were followed by the unchanged at +10 and the gainers at +24.

The gainers from the past were always the most optimistic and the losers always the least optimistic about the future. In the four surveys of 2019, the Net Personal Optimism scores were high or better in all groups, even for the losers. The scores also generally stayed within the same grade range.

However, all scores dropped in May 2020, with the losers recording the biggest decline from December 2019 with 55 points.

They were followed by the gainers (down 34 points) and the un-

Rody, Duque brod ‘close,’ but probe still on

By Vito Barcelo MALACAÑANG said Tuesday President Rodrigo Duterte is “very close” to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s brother, but that “closeness” will not affect the ongoing investigation against the top health official.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told CNN Philippines that Duterte continues to trust Duque because of the President’s “closeness” and “deep friendship” with his brother Gonzalo “Gonz” Duque.

He said Duque’s family is well off, and that it is believed he will not steal from the government.

The beleaguered Duque is being probed by the Office of the Ombudsman due to his allegedly poor handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

“I think Ombudsman [Samuel] Martires will proceed with the probe regardless of what the President has said,” Roque said.

He pointed this out despite admitting Duterte himself appointed Martires as a Supreme Court justice and as Ombudsman in 2017. Martires is also the President’s fellow alumni at the San Ben College of Law. “The Ombudsman is an independent body. It’s headed by a seasoned litigator and former trial court judge and Supreme Court justice,” Roque said.

Duterte wants to tour camps, visit troops PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will visit military camps across the country, Malacanang said Tuesday, after again stressing in a televised address that terrorism is the country's top threat and that communist rebels are worse than extremist groups like the Abu Sayyaf.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte is set to visit troops in an area with “intensified fighting” as the President admitted to be “bored” inside the Palace and in his hometown of Davao City for several months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

In his late Monday night meeting with his Cabinet, the President said he hates the lockdown and would like to go around the country.

“If there is anyone who wants to be out to enjoy and even to live life normally, that would be me. I’m the one who really dislikes having to impose a lockdown. I hate it. I do not want it even for myself,” Duterte said.

Meanwhile, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines has asked Malacanang to veto the Anti-Terrorism Bill that Congress passed recently due to “vagueness, infirmities or constitutional issues.”Vito Barcelo, Rey Requejo and Rio Araja oppressed the majority of the public who commute to work.”

Rather than “berate or mock our efforts via media sensationalism just to gain mileage and exposure,” it called on Binay to attend one of its online video conferences to air issues, concerns or to provide inputs and recommendations.

“Our road transport officers are also most willing to come and visit her at her office, at her convenience, if she would like to seek further explanation and enlightenment,” the DOTr said.

On Friday, Binay criticized the Edsa Busway project of the DOTr and called it a “virtual experiment” and a “neglectful and hurried plan in EDSA, which placed public safety as a secondary concern.”

In particular, she said putting bus lanes in the two innermost lanes in Edsa will inconvenience passengers as they will have trouble crossing EDSA, particularly senior citizens and others who might have trouble climbing up elevated walkways.

Joel Zurbano with PNA

changed (down 27 points).

SWS attributed the nationwide net personal optimism score of –18 to the low or very low scores in all areas. The scores reached record-lows in the Visayas and Mindanao at –37 and –32, respectively. The scores were –16 in Metro Manila and –5 in Balance Luzon.

The net personal optimism score was lower in the General Community Quarantine areas at –25, compared with the Enhanced Community Quarantine areas at –13.

SWS said the net personal optimism by job situation was lower among those who had a job but were not receiving pay at –26, and among those who had no job but used to have one at –20. This was followed by those who never had a job at –14 and those who had a job and were receiving full pay at –13.

The survey showed that only college graduates received a low net optimism score while the rest received very low scores.

The score was lowest among the non-elementary graduates at –30, followed by the elementary graduates at –27, the junior high school graduates at –18 and the college graduates at –7.

The SWS survey was conducted using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Romualdez inducts new members of Lakas-CMD

Leni hits netizen for spreading fake news on spoiled food distribution

By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Tuesday afternoon administered the oath of three mayors in Zamboanga del Sur as new members of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.

Bayog Mayor Celso A. Matias, San Miguel Mayor Angelito L. Martinez II and Guipos Mayor Vicente P. Cajeta was sworn in as new party members by Romualdez and witnessed by House Deputy Majority Leaders Wilter Wee Palma II of Zamboanga Sibugay and Juan Miguel Arroyo of Pampanga via Zoom application.

“Welcome to the ever growing LakasCMD party. The leadership is always here to make sure that all your concens and requirements are addressed. Ang problema n’yo ay problema namin. We are family here. That’s the mandate of the party leadership,” Romualdez, President of the Lakas-CMD and chairman of the powerful House committee on rules, told the new members during the ceremony.

“Joining the Lakas-CMD is the right decision. The leadership is committed to help the concerns of our members,” said Palma.

Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Leonardo Babasa, Jr., who joined the Lakas-CMD last June 8, shepherded Matias, Martinez and Cajeta to the to Lakas-CMD. With the recent entry of Babasa, a former member of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), the Lakas-CMD’s strength has increased to 35 with 17 congressional districts and 18 party-list lawmaker-allies.

Romualdez reiterated the strong commitment of the Lakas-CMD to support the passage of President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte’s legislative agenda.

“The Lakas-CMD political party is a staunch ally of the government and will continue to support the swift passage of President Duterte’s legislative agenda,” said Romualdez, the co-chairman of the Defeat COVID-19 Ad Hoc Committee with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano that spearheaded the passage of at least six anti-COVID measures designed to kickstart the economy through infrastructure spending programs that would create jobs and boost public health following the global health emergency.

Lakas-CMD produced two Presidents, namely Fidel V. Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a former Speaker in the previous 17th Congress.

IN BRIEF ‘Recall ECC on Bacoor reclamation project’ WARNING about several serious problems, Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to recall the issuance of the environment compliance certificate (ECC) to the 320-hectare Bacoor reclamation project.

The Bacoor project was initiated by Bacoor City government together with the owner of Erabelle Fishing Corporation.

Villar, chair of the Senate environment committee, cautioned that the reclamation would destroy legislated protected area and cause massive flooding in communities surrounding Manila Bay. “The reclamation project will potentially cause irreparable damage to the Las PiñasParañaque Wetland Park. The project will be building on the buffer zone of this protected area and will destroy the landscape in which the wetland now thrives,” she said.

Under Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act or E-NIPAS Act, the 175-hectare Las Piñas-Parannaque Wetland Park is a declared protected area. It is also one of the seven areas in the Philippines listed as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention because of its critical role in the survival of threatened, restricted-range and congregatory bird species. Macon Ramos-Araneta

PH needs to develop own vaccines—Gordon WITH the UNICEF warning that at least two million Filipino children below two years old who may miss out on vaccinations this year amidst COVID-19 could be vulnerable to an outbreak of vaccine preventable diseases, Senator Richard J. Gordon stressed the need to boost the country’s capability to develop its own vaccines.

Gordon said vaccine factories should be established in the country, noting that countries like Thailand and Vietnam, which has four, have their own facilities.

The senator, who is also chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross, pointed out that disruption in the provision of immunization services increases the number of susceptible individuals in the community, adding that the declining immunization coverage is exposing children to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio.

“This can lead to outbreaks of VPDs as well as VPD-related deaths, and further burden the already exhausted healthcare resources due to the rise in COVID-19 cases,” he said. Macon Ramos-Araneta

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By Rio N. Araja

CREATIVE RIDING. Since the ban on back-riding remains in effect, this man on scooter uses a nylon cord to pull the bicycle of his woman companion along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Caloocan City on Tuesday (June 23, 2020). Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. the other day said back-riding will soon be allowed again pending the approval of the requirements set by a technical working group. PNA Photo

‘DA chief hoodwinked on overpriced fertilizer’

By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz

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NATIONAL alliance of rural-based organizations has warned Agriculture Secretary William Dar that some of his underlings may have been deliberately feeding him wrong information on the retail price of urea fertilizer that led to the awarding last month of allegedly overpriced supply contracts worth P1.8 billion.

This developed even as the Makabayan Bloc in the House of Representatives has sought a congressional inquiry into the alleged overpriced fertilizer procured by the Department of Agriculture worth P1.8 billion.

Oftociano Manalo, national president of Pambansang Mannalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka ng Pilipinas (P4MP) which is affiliated with the DA’s Agricultural Training Institute, challenged the department to show where one could buy a bag of urea fertilizer for almost P1,000, saying no such retail price exists as the market average is lower than P850.

“I personally bought two bags of urea fertilizer last Friday. One cost P830 while

the other fetched for only P810. And these bags were delivered to my house, which is at least 6 kilometers away from the outlet in Rosales, Pangasinan. That means the retail price already includes the delivery charge,” said Manalo, also a former president of the Irrigator’s Association of Pangasinan.

“So the P990 to P995 price tag per bag under the supply contracts awarded by the DA, that is very wrong. They are making fools out of us,” he added.

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.

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 4-A, 6 and 3; and to Atlas Fertilizer for P96.74 million at P900 per bag for Region 7.

Manalo said he also asked P4MP stakeholders in other regions to check the retail price of urea fertilizer, and none reported prices anywhere near P900 per bag.

“The DA has field people—how come they did not check the prevailing retail prices? I think some shady people at the DA have pulled a fast one Secretary Dar,” he said.

“I still believe in the integrity of the Agriculture Secretary, but he was probably fed wrong information by his own people.

These contracts are disadvantageous not only to the government but to farmers as well. The price difference is already enough to buy close to half a million more bags of fertilizer. Niloloko siya (Dar) ng mga tao nya,” Manalo added.

Dar earlier said 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.

DOJ identifies man who threatened to rape Frankie

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice has ascertained the identity and location of the netizen who allegedly threatened online to rape Frankie Panginan, daughter of actress Sharon Cuneta and Senator Francis Pangilinan.

Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete disclosed that the DOJ’s Office of the Cybercrime has also requested Facebook to preserve the contents of the account where the threat was supposedly made pending the filing of a complaint by the offended party.

“The DOJ-Office of Cybercrime has ascertained the identity and location of the person who allegedly threatened Frankie Pangilinan. It has also made a request for Facebook to preserve the content of the account pending the filing of the complaint by the offended party,” Perete said, in a text message to reporters.

“Should a complaint be filed, law enforcers may apply for a warrant to disclose computer data and a request for extradition, if warranted, may be made,” the DOJ official added.

The DOJ official also confirmed that the Office of Cybercrime has determined the person who made the threat is in London.

When asked if the person the DOJ located was the same person being alluded to by Cuneta in her posts, Usec Perete said, “We have yet to receive reports from the camp of Sharon.”

Based on unconfirmed reports the offensive online message was traced to a certain Sonny Alcos, who’s alleged real name is “Sonny Co” and is based in the United Kingdom.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to verify the identity and the location of the person. He said this is to give notice to the person should a complaint be filed.

Over the weekend, Guevarra admitted that actress Sharon Cuneta, Pangilinan’s mother, had reached out to him and expressed a strong desire to file a criminal complaint against the person who made the threat.

LONG WAIT. An elderly driver contemplate on his jeepney parked at Dapitan Streer in Manila, on Tuesday June 23,2020, as he waits for news from the government if jeepneys would finally be allowed to transport commuters. Public transportation, including public utility jeepneys, were suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March. Norman Cruz

VICE President Leni Robredo on Tuesday hit a netizen who accused her of distributing spoiled food to medical workers at the Diliman Doctors Hospital in Quezon City.

She vowed to go after her accuser, a certain Phillip, and to those who reposted the allegation on Facebook and Twitter.

She reacted to Facebook post alleging her spokesperson, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, “rushed to the hospital and asked the staff to keep it quiet,” and that he even “offered a cash donation.”

The concerned netizen said the medical facility’s director “refused to meet” the Vice President when she went there the following day.

“This has never happened. I never went to this hospital,” she said, adding Gutierrez “never visited any hospital” since the March 15 lockdown’s imposition.

According to the Vice President, the team that delivered the hot meals donated by private personalities never received any complaints.

She said her accuser “is trying to skip liability with his ‘confirm, if possible’ line.”

“If there was no malice, you should have checked first before posting. You should know that posting fake news makes you criminally liable,” she said.

“We will go after all of them. We will no longer tolerate any of these,” she added.

Solons accept WHO position on PCV issue Legislators have said that they take the position of the World Health Organization on the comparability of the two pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in the market today and caution on allowing a monopoly on PCVs to persist and overspend for this particular vaccine.

In February 2019, WHO issued a statement reaffirming a position paper they released in 2017 saying that the two available PCVs--PCV10 and PV13--are equally effective in preventing overall pneumococcal diseases in children. The position paper also states that there is at present insufficient evidence of a difference in the net impact of the two available PCVs on overall disease burden.

House Committee on Health Chair Rep. Angelina Tan affirmed that breaking the monopoly may enable the DOH to save on costs.

“Both vaccines exist. If the health assessment proves that both PCV10 and PCV13 have the same effects, then we need to go through a procurement process that’s open and competitive so the government can save on costs,” said Tan. The new evidence released by WHO on the comparability and efficacy of the two PCVs are also supported by local medical experts. This prompted the Department of Health (DOH) to seek the help of the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) in reviewing the two vaccines.

The biggest vaccine tender in the country, the PCV bidding is currently being reviewed in terms of cost-effectiveness and comparability.

A House resolution that was made ad hoc amid the pandemic also mentions the importance of having an open, competitive tender.

MRT 3 to suspend operations while replacing tracks

By Darwin G Amojelar THE Department of Transportation said the operations of MRT 3 would be suspended during four weekends of July to September to continue with the fast-tracking of rail replacement works, which is scheduled to be finished by September 2020.

The agency said the suspended weekend operations will cover July 4-5, August 8-9, August 21-23, and September 12-13.

“Rail replacement works to be done during the weekend suspension include turnout works for both the southbound and northbound tracks at North Avenue and Taft Avenue stations. Turnouts are used to enable trains to switch from one track to another,” the DOTr said.

After rail replacement works are com-

pleted, the agency said train operating speed will gradually increase from 40kph to 60kph by December 2020, and headway, or the interval between trains, will gradually decrease to 3.5 minutes.

The weekend suspension of operations will also enable Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the service provider for MRT-3’s comprehensive rehabilitation, to perform rail destressing, rerailing, turnouts replacement, resurfacing, rail profile grinding, ballasting and tamping, and other major works for MRT-3’s trains, electrical systems, and other subsystems.

To accommodate MRT-3’s weekend passengers during the weekend suspension of operations, MRT-3, together with DOTr Road Sector and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory

Board, will implement its bus augmentation program.

As of 21 June, the bus augmentation project for MRT-3 passengers was able to serve 1,956 passengers with a total of 20 bus units deployed.

The bus augmentation service is available from Monday to Sunday, 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., from the North Avenue station to Taft Avenue station (both bounds).

Passengers going southbound will be picked up in the North Avenue and Quezon Avenue stations and will be dropped off in Ayala and Taft Avenue stations.

Meanwhile, passengers going northbound will be picked up in Taft Avenue at Ayala stations and will be dropped off in Ayala, Quezon Avenue and North Avenue stations.

DRUG RAID. Police round up at least 14 persons after an anti-illegal drug operation in Barangay Niog, Bacoor, Cavite on Tuesday. Police also said one suspect, identified as Eduardo Tagala, was shot dead on the spot during the operation, which yielded 50 grams of shabu with a street value of P340,000. Jr Josue

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

A4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Pasay, Taguig shorten curfew hours for biz THE cities of Pasay and Taguig in Metro Manila are now implementing new curfew hours to help businesses regain losses amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Members of the Pasay City Council approved on June 19 Ordinance 6114 and was signed by Mayor Imelda Rubiano stating the new curfew hours will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., two hours shorter than the previous 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Period.

In Taguig, City Ordinance 22 was approved by the local government amending existing Ordinance 7, stating the new curfew hours in the city would now be from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Dispensable travels and mobility will be limited in the city within these hours, according to Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano.

"Everyone is reminded to follow the rules and regulations set forth by the local government through the Safe City Task Force to maintain the peace and order in the city and to keep every Taguigeño safe," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) until June 30 when more industries and businesses are allowed to open and limited public transportation are permitted to resume.

Rubiano said the adjustment would help businesses to recoup losses during the pandemic, noting the health crisis had affected many business establishments in the city, particularly those in the food and retail industries.

“These industries help drive Pasay’s economy,” said Rubiano.

Joel E. Zurbano

LGUs 85k Makati students get tech package, free ‘load’ M

ORE than 85,000 public school students in Makati City will receive a learner’s package and free daily five- hour internet load for school year 2020-2021.

The project covers preschool to senior high school in the city’s public schools.

Mayor Abigail Binay said each learner’s package contains an On-The-Go (OTG) flash drive, printed modules, and two washable face masks in a pouch.

The city government came up with the additional benefits in consultation with the City Schools Division Office (DepEd Makati), as part of efforts to adapt to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The city government has been ac-

tively involved in current efforts of the Department of Education to ensure that quality education continues to be accessible to the youth amid the crisis. We are committed to making the blended learning approach work to the advantage of our students, through equipping them with the right tools,” Binay said.

Binay also appealed to parents to support the initiatives of the city, underscoring their indispensable role in the effective implementation of new teaching methods designed to adapt to the

Bataan capitol now new hospital annex BALANGA CITY, Bataan—The old provincial capitol building of Bataan has been converted to an annex of Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) in Balanga City following the COVID -19 crisis.

Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia said during blessing of the post-war structure the idea of converting the government building to a hospital emerged when patients swarmed the BGHMC in March and April during the height of corona virus disease.

The 50-bed capacity hospital annex has delivery room, medical ward, neonatal ICU, operating room, pedia ward and surgical ward will cater to nonCOVID patients. Butch Gunio

P250k reward set for Dilao killers

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

By Joel E. Zurbano

IN BRIEF

“new normal.”

She said: “We are counting on the parents to do their part by guiding their children in the daily learning activities. Even now, they can start imbuing the students with the proper mindset and discipline so that they will be ready and eager to learn when classes begin in the new setup.”

The city chief executive noted the learner’s package and internet load would be given on top of the annual benefits received by the students, including free school uniforms, leather and rubber shoes, and school supplies.

She added the city would also provide free internet load to public school teachers of Makati for the conduct of online activities and sessions.

CALOOCAN City Mayor Oscar Malapitan is offering a P250,000 cash reward to any person who could identify the killers of Barangay 151 chairman Douglas Dilao.

Police are still facing a blank wall as to what the motive is behind the killing of the 59-year-old Dilao.

Caloocan City Police director Col. Dario Menor said they were still waiting for Joan Cañedo, 33, the live-in partner of the victim, to cooperate and shed light.

“We are still giving the victim’s family members enough time to grieve before they approach us to issue their statements,” he said.

Cañedo's statement is important to the investigation since she was with the victim during the shooting incident, he said. Rio N. Araja

DA, Searca firm up garden agreement LOS BAÑOS, Laguna­ —The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture here have formalized their partnership in establishing gardens under the DA-BPI Urban Agriculture Program.

This was contained in an agreement signed on June 22 at the DA main office in Quezon City, with signatories Agriculture Secretary William Dar and SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio.

The DA-BPI is leading the implementation of the Urban Agriculture Program “as one of the modalities that renders safe food available, accessible, and affordable while providing additional income to households and communities in urban areas.” Brenda Jocson

Opinion A clamor for information S

show his commitment to transparency if only in his own branch of government. The more skeptical could argue that it is a token order to keep up appearances of openness and accountability.

Legislated FOI, of course, will send a stronger message about commitment to openness.

Because it becomes part of the law of the land, it would cover the entire government and not just one branch. Being an institutional move, it also will not be associated with the discretion or magnanimity of any one person—specifically, the President who issued the executive order.

That bill was never passed. FOI initiatives generated strong interest among the people—but feeble support among lawmakers, even those who claimed to be champions of transparency.

When President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, he issued Executive Order 2, establishing FOI in the Executive branch of government. The EO also caused the creation of the FOI Project Management Office under the Presidential Communications Cooperation Office. Since its creation, the PMO has received countless requests for information among the public. It has responded to these requests, farmed out among concerned executive agencies, in varying degrees of success.

Mr. Duterte’s issuance of the EO could be seen in a number of ways. One, it could be taken to

Access to information should be a priority in ordinary and extraordinary times alike.

There were at least 16 pending FOI bills in the last Congress, set to be reviewed by the House committee on public information.

Unfortunately, not much action was taken on these bills. And then, without warning, until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted

TO THE POINT

EMIL JURADO where they served small fish fry. Upon seeing this dish, my wife and daughter went out of the restaurant, screaming. Santa Banana!

My father was an honest man. He took pride in his job, even though he earned only P120 per month. His salary was increased to P250 when he got his education degree before his retirement.

For a long time before he earned his Bach-

My father taught me many things, but boy, was he a disciplinarian. elor’s Degree in education, he spent two months of summer in Baguio, at the teacher’s village, to get his credits. I recall going with him in those days—those were the days when you could still smell the pine trees. Traffic was very light, and there was only one hotel— Pines Hotel. The man-made lake where you could paddle a boat was already there. And I cannot forget riding those small cars.

I would sit on my father’s knees when he

J.A. DELA CRUZ

all programs and plans, and sent everybody into emergency mode.

The ensuing public health crisis only highlighted the need for legislated access to information, and the inadequacy of the current order.

According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, just one in 10 COVID-19-related requests filed in the FOI portal between March 13 and May 27, 2020 has been granted.

Most of these were about COVID-19 spending and financial assistance.

But there are a lot more we wished we knew.

While the government is releasing numbers by the day, we would like to know more, and go deeper. For instance, how accurate are the tallies, how do these relate to localized counts, and how reliable, really, are the daily and aggregate figures? Could we ever be privy to documents that tell stories better than official spokespersons ever could?

There have been pieces of legislation­—for instance, the anti-terrorism bill—brought to our attention when they do not seem to be relevant to the current crisis we now face. No less than the President has articulated his support of this law by certifying it urgent. Certainly, institutionalizing access to information, not only for a certain branch of government, and empowering people to have a say in the government which they fund, should be a priority in ordinary and extraordinary times alike.

SO what are we supposed to do now? Today, we will already be on our 96th day of a national lockdown albeit in various gradations by region. Every 14 days since March 15, we have had four lockdowns as the overarching strategy. It appears that our policy makers have become so enamored with lockdowns they have difficulty giving it up or even just tweaking it to consider fast-changing conditions.

So, from total lockdown (ECQ) last March 15, we have graduated into MECQ then GCQ then MGCQ. After this, what?

Will we then ease up to another gradation?

Or, will we just hang up and let things stay as is? Up to when and under what conditions will we, as the experts say, finally get into some kind of a more predictable state of affairs where people can move freely and do their business under simple, uniformly set conditions?

We note that all of these lockdown variations carried essentially the same medical protocols, i.e., testing tracing, isolation, protection (TTIP) and its twin advisory, social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing (SMH). Absent the discovery of a vaccine and eventually a cure for COVID-19, this will be, for all intents and purposes, the most that the experts can provide as guide for our everyday living. More than that would already be a burden and an insult to our people. It will also bring the economy and the country to its knees. Already, government has said it can no longer sustain the present state of affairs where most of the country, specially its most productive sectors, is under lockdown. It cannot afford to have more than 7 million people out of job on top of the million or so others considered almost permanently unemployed and underemployed citizens. It is time to consider tweaking the nationwide lockdown policy before we face the pandemic of joblessness and social unrest.

Not counting countries which remain under strict lockdown having belatedly used the same to contain the virus such as some African countries and those who picked and choose lockdown and easing up alternatively without regard for the basic protocols we will already be among the remaining ones going against the grain of the global response. It’s as if we have surrendered the very basic and clear responsibility of taking care of ourselves to government’s tender mercies which is an unwise and unsustainable option.

Already, lockdown as national policy is being set aside and overturned in most countries including our neighbors in ASEAN. In the United States, despite the continuing spikes in infections in most states, its most visible COVID-19 response person, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has declared that the country no longer needed widespread lockdowns to contain the spread of the disease. "I don't think we're going to be talking about going back to lockdown," he said when asked whether places like California and Texas that are seeing a surge in their caseload should reissue stay-at-home orders. “I think we're going to be talking about trying to better control those areas of the country that seem to be having a surge of cases."

Other countries in the Western world have also eased up considerably. Italy which had the most number of infections and deaths before the United States and Brazil took over has eased up considerably. People are going back to work, sports and cultural events are being scheduled and the coun-

narrated his adventures. One day, he came home with a shield, spear and arrow—a gift from his friends, the “alzado” of Kiangan and Kalinga. These alzados were feared by the lowlanders.

He told me a story about these people and their rituals. When a chieftain dies, his remains were placed on his throne for days on end. They had to drink “basi”—Ilocano wine.

In 1935, Tatang had to sell two of his favorite pacers to be able to afford a car. He tried very hard so we could afford to send my sister to medical school. She became one of the first female graduates of UST. I remember the day we had our family portrait taken at Rialto Studios. My parents looked so proud! By that time, my sister had graduated medicine, my brother Desi had graduated Bachelor of Arts from the old Ateneo de Manila, my brother Willie had just finished high school, and I had finished valedictorian of my grade school class. I still have this photo.

I still wonder how my parents were able to give us a great education despite their humble beginnings.

My greatest frustration is that I never learned how to swim, when my Tatang was a great swimmer.

Much later, when I was already a professional in Manila, some politician from Abra came to our house and asked me to relocate to Bangued to run for mayor, then governor, then congressman. My wife told me to refuse—and I am happy I did. I could not imagine myself as a politician.

To be continued.

The new libel IF THERE is any reason why Filipino journalists should hate or be thankful to Maria Ressa, the dimunitive American girl masquerading as a crusading Filipino journalist in the Philippines, through her upstart media company, Rappler, Inc., it is her conviction on June 15, 2020 for libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10175).

Libel, after all, is basic to the exercise of press freedom and freedom of expression. What is expression without curses, expletives, and malicious allegations?

The conviction exposed two things: one, Maria Angelita Ressa is a negligent, incompetent, overrated, and malicious journalist, and two, the libel provision of the Cybercrime Prevention Act is an insidious attack on press freedom and sends a chilling effect on all journalists, legitimate and bogus, especially the bogus kind.

Under the Revised Penal Code, libel has a prescriptive period of only one year. Under RA 10175, libel, with the use of a computer or any future technology, has a prescriptive period of 12 years. Other lawyers say the prescriptive period could be longer, 15 years. Also, when the complainant is a private person, malice, a basic element of libel, is presumed. The writer is presumed to have malice. The prosecution does not have to prove it.

Write an article that somebody doesn’t like today, online, and for the next 12 to 15

VIRTUAL REALITY

TONY LOPEZ years, you will be constantly under threat of libel.

Cyberlibel is punishable under Section 4 (c)(4) of Republic Act No. 10175, otherwise known as Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which provides: Section 4. Cybercrime Offenses.—The following acts constitute the offense of cybercrime punishable under this Act: (c) Content-related Offenses: xxx xxx xxx (4) Libel.—The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future.

Libel is defined as “a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.”

In her decision convicting Ressa and Rappler writer Reynaldo Santos of six months up to six years imprisonment, Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Branch 46 Presiding Judge Rainelda H. Estacio-Montesa said: “By adopting the definition of libel as embodied in the Revised Penal Code, Section 4 (c)(4) also adopts the elements of libel as defined in Article 353 in relation to Article 355 of the Code. Thus, the elements of libel are: (a) the allegation of a discreditable act or condition concerning another; (b) publication of the charge; (c) identity of the person defamed; and (d) existence of malice. In addition to the aforementioned four (4) elements, the act must be committed through the use of a computer system or any similar means which may be devised in

the future, so that said act may constitute cyberlibel.”

Section 4 (c) (4) establishes the computer system as another means of publication.

Computer system, as defined under Section 3 (g) of RA 10175, refers to: “any device or group of interconnected or related devices, one or more of which, pursuant to a program, performs automated processing of data. It covers any type of device with data processing capabilities including, but not limited to, computers and mobile phones. The device consisting of hardware and software may include input, output and storage components which may stand alone or be connected in a network or other similar devices. It also includes computer data storage devices or media.”

Malice, the judge said, “does not necessarily have to be proven. There are two types of malice—malice in law and malice in fact. Malice in law is a presumption of law. The Supreme Court, in the case of Disini, Jr. v. The Secretary of Justice, already settled that there is malice in law in case the offended party is a private individual, thus: “But, where the offended party is a private individual, the prosecution need not prove the presence of malice. The law explicitly presumes its existence (malice in law) from the defamatory character of the assailed statement.”

In the Implementing Rules and Regulation of RA No. 10175, the penalty for cyberlibel is prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period.

“Libel—The unlawful or prohibited acts of libel, as defined in Article 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future shall be punished with prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period or a fine ranging from Six Thousand Pesos (P6,000.00) up to the maximum amount determined by Court, or both, in addition to the civil action which may be brought by the offended party.”

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CROSSROADS

My Tatang, my idol LAST Sunday was Father’s Day and I could not help remembering my late father, Emiliano Cortez Jurado—Tatang, as we Ilocanos called our fathers.

My Tatang was born in 1886 and died in 1957. He was a victim of the influenza epidemic that swept across Asia. He succumbed to complications arising from his Parkinson’s Disease.

He passed just two years after my wedding.

Tatang retired after many years as a district supervisor of schools in the province of Abra, formerly a sub-province of Ilocos Sur. Abra is now a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

My late father was my idol, but boy, he was a disciplinarian. I recall those days when he would whip me with his latigo. Tatang was known all over Abra as a breeder of pacers. In fact, he taught me how to ride a pacer and how to feed the horses in his stable.

In fact, he taught me a lot of things—catching frogs in the rice fields, skinning them and even cooking them. My mother refused to join us on these occasions because she did not like frogs skinned and eaten. But they were so delicious!

My gulay, other delicacies which my late father taught me to eat were wasis, and the eggs of red ants found in the forest. Abous, as they are known, are still a delicacy in Abra, as are river snails.

Tatang’s specialty was kilawen or halfcooked meat of goats, mixed with the liquid from their intestines. My wife also refuses to eat these things; many Ilocano dishes repel her imagination.

One time when I took my family to Ilocandia during the summer, we went to a restaurant

B1

Saving oneself, saving lives

EDITORIAL

EVERAL years ago, there was clamor for the passage of a freedom of information bill in Congress. The argument was that passing a law mandating government bodies to respond to inquiries from the public showed commitment to transparency and accountability in government.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

try’s borders are slowly being opened up.

Germany, France and Spain , all of which imposed strict lockdowns sometime back, are going the same way. Germany has all but opened up its borders, manufacturing sites, malls and other public places. France has signaled the opening of its cinemas and the French are back to the sidewalk cafes.

Spain has put its transport system back to harness, opened up its borders and allowed tourists get back to the beaches.

It is time to consider tweaking the nationwide lockdown policy.

Even England, which has had a checkered COVID-19 response history has all but abandoned its strict lockdown policy.

In fact, the public has all but forgotten the infractions committed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominick Cummings, and other high officials early in the lockdown as it opens up the economy to arrest the increasing number of unemployed feeding on the unemployment benefits fund. And we are not yet talking here about the easing up in countries such as Norway and Denmark not to mention Sweden (which did not lock down, anyway)— all of whom have quite successfully moved to a sustainable new normal.

In our part of the world, most countries have also moved to relax their lockdowns.

Korea and Japan, both of which did not actually impose a nationwide but targeted lockdown, have eased up considerably they are no longer talking about it. Rather they are more concerned about revving up their economies and, in the case of Korea, the threat from the North. In ASEAN, Singapore which did not actually declare a statewide but targeted lockdown is now opening up after clamping on the migrant workers’ quarters. Only Indonesia and the Philippines of the remaining seven members still adhere to a national lockdown policy.

Of course, India and the rest of South Asia are still trying to contain the massive spike in cases and are on nationwide lockdowns until the first week of July. It is with these countries that we are competing for the longest running national lockdowns globally. The question is: should we continue with this policy—a government imposed, top down lockdown or should we now tweak it, shift the burden and let individuals and their communities heal as one? Instead of stay-at-home, save lives, save the country, should we now proclaim: save oneself, save lives, save your community and get the country back on track?

That means empowering individuals to be responsible, as they should be, for their health and well being. That means treating each and everyone as thinking, pro active, caring persons not unthinking, whining ones. That means freeing peoples and communities to heal as one not sore dependents waiting for manna from government. That means, equally, government from Malacanang to the lowest barangay providing at the minimum the means and resources—from finally setting up a proper and responsible health care system to pro actively educating and informing citizens about conditions under this COVID situation including job opportunities and the like, enable people to move freely in search of such opportunities and provide a social net for the poorest and vulnerable sectors without burdening the state and working citizens and so on and on. In a word, create the environment for each and every citizen to fend for himself, take care of others and finally, be an asset not a burden to family and society, without fear or favor.

MORE OPINION ONLINE (www.manilastandard.net)

EVERYMAN

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO

Democracy dies by a thousand cuts

Tourism past 2023 Considering that prision correccional in its maximum period and prision mayor in its minimum period is 4 years, 2 months and 1 day to 8 years, the offense shall prescribe after TWELVE (12) YEARS following the provision of Section 1 of Article 3326.

The Keng case was filed in Court on 5 February 2019, well within the period of twelve (12) years and clearly, prescription has not yet set in.

Montessa said “the prosecution sufficiently established that Keng is a private person being a businessman, with interests in several companies based in the Philippines and China. Thus, the prosecution is discharged of its burden in proving actual malice. Considering that Keng is neither a public official nor a public figure, the law explicitly presumes the existence of malice from the defamatory character of the assailed statement. For their defense, the accused must show that they have a justifiable reason for the defamatory statements even if it were in fact true. Lamentably, the defense miserably failed in this regard.”

At the same time, there is “actual malice” or malice in fact” when the offender makes the defamatory statement with the knowl-

by JV Arcena

edge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. The reckless disregard standard used here requires a high degree of awareness of probable falsity.

There must be sufficient evidence to permit the conclusion that the accused in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the statement he published.”

Rappler did not verify the accuracy of the derogatory article on Keng linking him to crimes like murder, illegal drugs, human trafficking, and smuggling, and implying the businessman had a shady past. Keng requested Rappler to publish his side of the story. Rappler refused.

Moving forward, the libel provision of the Cybercrime Prevention Act must be repealed. The prescriptive period for filing a libel case should only be one year, as provided under the Revised Penal Code. And the penalty must be lighter.

Libel, after all, is basic to the exercise of press freedom and freedom of expression.

What is expression without curses, expletives, and malicious allegations? President Duterte knows that. biznewsasia@gmail.com

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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Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

B2

World

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

JIMBO OWEN GULLE, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NY reopens as US cases spike N

EW YORK — New York businesses opened their doors to returning waves of workers Monday as the city that was once the epicenter of the global pandemic marked an important milestone in its return to normalcy, even as other US states were seeing an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases.

Nationwide, cases have been on the rise for the past two weeks following a long plateau in the spring, with California hitting levels of new infections not seen since March and Florida passing the 100,000 cases benchmark on Monday.

President Donald Trump acknowledged that the US death toll -- which has surpassed 120,000 -- could reach 150,000 people. “It could go beyond

that,” he said.

But for many in hard-hit New York, where more than 20,000 people succumbed to the disease, the return to normal meant resuming their small everyday rituals.

For some, that meant getting a haircut.

“I’ve been cutting it myself and doing a very bad job, so I was very excited to see (the barber),” said Jeremiah Zinn, a man in his 50s who was the first client

to walk through the door at Benny’s Barbershop in Brooklyn.

Yury Ykubov, the owner, told AFP he had opened the shop six months prior, and negotiated with the landlord to make rent during the lockdown.

Ykubov himself contracted COVID-19 but, like the city itself, has recovered and has antibodies for protection.

But all the barbers in his shop took online courses on how to be safe, which included using special gowns, wearing masks, and no blow-drying.

“I’m slightly nervous, like it’s the first day I come to work, the first day somebody hired me,” he laughed.

In Manhattan, Sam Karalis, owner of The Windsor Florist, said his business was one of the lucky ones to have survived with the help of the government and his landlord.

He was relieved to be able to open his doors to paying customers.

“If you can’t look at the stuff, you can’t really buy it,” he said.

Nationwide cases rising Statewide, Governor Andrew Cuomo reported 10 new deaths Sunday while the rate of positive test results has fallen to one percent—which has paved the way for incremental lifting of restrictions.

New York City is now in the second of its four-phase reopening, which began two weeks ago when construction and industries were allowed to resume working.

But the picture is far less positive in other parts of the United States, with the virus spiking in several states despite predictions that summer heat, humidity and bright sunlight would limit its spread. AFP

K-pop fans flex muscle vs. Trump NEW YORK — Legions of K-pop fans and TikTok users are taking credit for upending Donald Trump’s weekend rally after block-reserving tickets with no intention to attend an event that was beset by an embarrassingly low turnout.

Prior to the event in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- hyped as a major relaunch ahead of the November election -- Trump’s campaign chairman tweeted that more than a million tickets had been requested.

But according to the local fire department, just 6,200 people attended.

Viral posts on TikTok and Twitter revealed that plans to reserve tickets en masse had been circulating for days, racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

One video urged fans of the South Korean “K-pop” sensation BTS -- one of the world’s most popular bands, with more than 21 million Twitter followers -- to participate in the plot.

“Oh no, I signed up for a Trump rally, and I can’t go,” said one woman who coughed sarcastically in a separate TikTok video.

Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, blamed “radical protestors” for “interfering” with the rally.

But Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 30-year-old leftist congresswoman from New York, clapped back: “You just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok.” “KPop allies, we see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice too,” she added.

‘Socially conscious’ fans Though ascertaining the viral campaign’s concrete impact on the rally’s attendance is near impossible, the action spotlighted K-pop’s tradition as a politically engaged fandom.

Just in the past month, fans of the globally dominant pop genre -- which was born approximately 25 years ago in South Korea -- co-opted the hashtag #WhiteLivesMatter by flooding it with K-pop-related imagery to drown out racist tweets.

“K-pop has a culture of being responsible,” said CedarBough Saeji, an academic expert of the genre based out of Indiana University.

“K-pop fans in general are outwardlooking, socially conscious people and K-pop in the United States is very heavily supported by people of color, by people who identify as being LGBTQ,” she told AFP. AFP

KEEP DISTANCE. Masked pedestrians walk past a billboard reminding people on social distancing practices amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Tokyo on June 23. AFP

UN: A quarter-billion children getting no education PARIS—Nearly 260 million children had no access to schooling in 2018, a United Nations agency said in a report Tuesday that blamed poverty and discrimination for educational inequalities that are being exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak.

Children from poorer communities as well as girls, the disabled, immigrants and ethnic minorities were at a distinct educational disadvantage in many countries, the UN’s Parisbased education body UNESCO said.

In 2018, “258 million children and youth were entirely excluded from education, with poverty as the main obstacle to access,” the report found.

This represented 17 percent of all school-age children, most of them in south and central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The disparities worsened with the arrival of the coronavirus crisis, which saw over 90 percent of the global student population affected by school closures, the report said.

And while children from families with means could continue schooling from home using laptops, mobile phones and the internet, millions of others were cut off entirely.

“Lessons from the past—such as with Ebola—have shown that health crises can leave many behind, in particular the poorest girls, many of whom may never return to school,” UNESCO’s director general Audrey Azoulay wrote in a foreword.

‘Pushed out’ The report noted that in low- and middle-income countries, adolescents from the richest 20 percent of households were three times more likely to complete the first portion of secondary school -- up to age 15 -- than those from poor homes.

Children with disabilities were 19 percent less likely to achieve minimum reading proficiency in 10 of these nations.

In 20 poor countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, hardly any rural girls complete secondary school, UNESCO said.

CIVIL CASE NO. R-QZN-19-02337-CV FOR: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

Saudi to hold ‘very limited’ hajj

Respondent. x----------------------------------------x ORDER of SUMMONS

by PUBLICATION In a verified Petition filed on September 8, 2019, petitioner MARIA ANNA MACARAIG-TABUNAN, prays that after due hearing, her marriage to the respondent RONALD TABUNAN, which was solemnized in a civil rite on September 12, 2017 in the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, be declared NULL and VOID AB INITIO. On November 18, 2019, upon petitioner’s motion, service of summons on said respondent was allowed by the Court to be served by publication.

NOW, THEREFORE, respondent RONALD TABUNAN, whose residence is last known to be at Brgy. Porpohoyon, Purok 5, Andaya subdivision, Butuan City, is hereby summoned and required to file with Branch 102 of the Regional Trial Court, National Capital Judicial Region, Quezon City, his Answer to the instant Petition within THIRTY (30) DAYS from last date of publication of this summons.

In the event of his failure to do so, this Court shall direct the Public Prosecutor to conduct an investigation of any collusion between the parties and if the Court is convinced that there is no collusion, the petitioner shall be allowed to present her evidenced in support of the petition.

Let this Order be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation pursuant to P.D. 1079 at the expense of the petitioner.

Likewise, let a copy of the summons as well as a copy of the petition be deposited in the Post Office, postage pre-paid and sent registered mail addressed to the respondent at his last known address, also at the expense of the petitioner.

SO ORDERED. Done in Quezon City this 18th day of November 2019.

(Sgd.) (Sgd.) MA. LOURDES A. GIRON Judge (MStandard - June 24 & July 1, 2020)

IN BRIEF

civil war on the mainland in 1949, but Beijing sees the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory to be brought back into the fold.

Taiwan and China have been engaged for years in a diplomatic tug-ofwar in developing countries, with economic support and other aid often used as bargaining chips for diplomatic recognition.

The island nation of Kiribati, with a population of about 110,000, is a collection of 33 far-flung atolls and reefs scattered over an area the size of the continental United States that sits about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. AFP

MARIA ANNA MACARAIG-TABUNAN, Petitioner,

RONALD TABUNAN,

WASHINGTON—US President Donald Trump will prolong a ban on US employment permits to year-end and broaden it to include H-1B visas used widely in the tech industry, the White House said Monday.

A senior administration official told journalists that the move would free up 525,000 jobs, making a dent in the high unemployment rate caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“President Trump is focused on getting Americans back to work as quickly as possible,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.

Trump had endlessly touted a strong economy, but now finds himself desperate for a political boost ahead of the November election.

An executive order, expected later Monday, will extend and widen the 60-day freeze Trump placed on new work permits for non-US citizens two months ago.

The administration official said the new order would extend to the end of 2020 and include H-1B visas provided to 85,000 workers each year with special skills, many of them joining the US technology industry.

It will also cover most J visas, common for academics and researchers, and L visas used by companies to shift workers based overseas to their US offices.

The official said the order was necessary to respond to soaring unemployment that resulted from the COVID-19 shutdown.

The official also stressed the H-1B visa freeze was temporary while the program is restructured, shifting from an annual lottery that feeds coders and other specialists to Silicon Valley to a system the gives priority to those foreign workers with the most value.

Trump “is going to prioritize those workers who are offered the highest wages,” as an indicator that they can add more value to the US economy, the official said.

“It will eliminate competition with Americans... in these industries at the entry level, and will do more to get the best and the brightest.”

The move also freezes most H-2B visas—used each year for about 66,000 short-term, low-skilled jobs in landscaping, food and hospitality industries—and H-4 visas, which allow spouses of other visa holders to work.

Exemptions will apply to seafood processing plants and to au pairs, foreigners offering families household help like childcare. AFP

And in richer nations, 10-year-olds taught in a language other than their mother tongue scored 34 percent lower than native speakers in reading tests.

In the United States, LGBTI students were almost three times more likely to have stayed home from school because they felt unsafe.

“Unfortunately, disadvantaged groups are kept out or pushed out of education systems through more or less subtle decisions leading to exclusion from curricula, irrelevant learning objectives, stereotyping in textbooks, discrimination in resource allocation and assessments, tolerance of violence and neglect of needs,” the report said.

‘Education segregation’ Two African countries still ban pregnant girls from school, 117 Pro-Beijing Kiribati leader re-elected countries allow child marriages, WELLINGTON, New Zealand - The pro-China president of Kiribati has and 20 have yet to ratify an inwon reelection, state media in the tiny Pacific nation reported Tuesday, ternational convention that bans fending off a challenge from his Taiwan-supporting rival. child labour.

Radio Kiribati said incumbent Taneti Maamau garnered 26,053 votes Some 335 million girls attendto claim a second four-year term, finishing more than 8,000 ahead of opposition leader Banuera Berina. ed schools that did not provide “The president-elect of Kiribati is Taneti Maamau,” Chief Justice John them with the water, sanitation Muria told the radio station. and hygiene services they need “Congratulations Taneti Maamau and congratulations to the people of to stay in class while menstruatKiribati. God bless you all.” ing.

Maamau switched Kiribati’s allegiance from Taiwan to China in SepIn several central and easttember last year, just a few days after another Pacific nation, the Solomon Islands, did the same. ern European countries, Roma Berina was highly critical of the move and praised Taiwan, raising the children are segregated in mainpossibility he could rekindle ties with Taipei, which has been engaged in stream schools. a battle for diplomatic influence with Beijing in the Pacific.

And in Asia, displaced people At the time of the switch, Taiwan accused China of engaging in “dollar such as the Rohingya are taught diplomacy” to buy off its few remaining allies. in separate systems. AFP China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 102 – QUEZON CITY

-versus-

White House: US work visa halt extended to year-end

TOAST TO GRADS. High school graduate Maja and her father Wolfgang drink champagne in their car during the awarding of baccalaureate certificates of the Gesamtschule Bruenninghausen school at a drive-in cinema in Dortmund, western Germany, on June 18. Because of the distance rules of the coronavirus pandemic, the comprehensive school presented the Abitur certificates at a drive-in cinema. AFP

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has announced it will hold a “very limited” hajj this year, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to perform the annual ritual as it moves to curb the biggest coronavirus outbreak in the Gulf.

The decision marks the first time in Saudi Arabia’s modern history that Muslims outside the kingdom have been barred from performing the hajj, which last year drew 2.5 million pilgrims.

The move to scale back the five-day event, scheduled for the end of July, is fraught with political and economic peril and comes after several Muslim nations pulled out of the ritual that forms one of the main pillars of Islam.

The kingdom’s hajj ministry said the ritual will be open to various nationalities already in Saudi Arabia, but it did not specify a number.

“It was decided to hold the pilgrimage this year with very limited numbers... with different nationalities in the kingdom,” the official Saudi Press Agency said on Monday, citing the ministry.

“This decision is taken to ensure the hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective... and in accordance with the teachings of Islam.”

The hajj -- a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime -- could be a major source of contagion, as it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites.

The decision comes as Saudi Arabia grapples to contain a major spike in infections, which have now risen to more than 161,000 cases -- the highest in the Gulf -- and over 1,300 deaths. AFP

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks slip; BDO, Security Bank up

T

HE stock market fell slightly Tuesday in mixed trading, with gains in select blue chips capping the losses.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index shed 49.65 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,297.78 on a value turnover of P7.3 billion. Gainers, however, edged losers, 103 to 98, with 45 issues unchanged.

Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, dropped 3.4 percent to P144, while SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group declined 2.6 percent to P935.

Security Bank Corp., the sixth-largest lender in terms of assets, however, rose 3.8 percent to P108, while BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest bank, climbed 3.7 percent to P102.70.

The rest of Asian stocks rallied Tuesday after an early plunge as Donald Trump countered one of his top economics advisers who said the China-US trade deal was “over,” fanning fears of a renewed tariffs standoff between the superpowers.

Peter Navarro’s remarks sent shivers through markets, which had started on the front foot as investors cheered the continued reopening of economies despite signs of a second wave of infections in several countries.

Appearing on Fox News, Navarro hit out at China’s handling of the corona-

virus outbreak and when asked whether the much-vaunted pact signed in January was over he replied: “It’s over. Yes.” Markets across Asia immediately fell into negative territory. But soon after, Trump tweeted: “The China Trade Deal is fully intact. Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the Agreement!”

Navarro also said his comments had been taken out of context.

Equities then rallied and by the end of the day Hong Kong was up more than one percent, Tokyo added 0.5 percent, while Sydney and Shanghai put on 0.2 percent.

Seoul jumped 0.2 percent despite signs of a second wave of coronavirus in South Korea, while Mumbai rose 0.7 percent and Singapore edged up 0.1 per-

cent. Taipei and Bangkok were also up.

Jakarta and Wellington were in the red.

“Navarro’s fluffed interview answer served as a useful beta test for how relevant the US-China trade deal still is for markets, even among all the concerns over the coronavirus,” said Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group.

“The markets have continued to sing an optimistic tune despite souring relations between the US and China. This wobble... demonstrates that optimism rests on the idea that souring relations won’t threaten the phase one deal.”

The easing of lockdown measures combined with trillions of dollars in government and central bank support remain the key drivers of the seemingly unstoppable march higher for equities. With AFP

PSEi June 23, 2020 TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS

Ex-Wirecard CEO nabbed for suspected manipulation FRANKFURT—The former chief executive of Wirecard, Markus Braun, has been arrested on suspicion of market manipulation, German prosecutors said Tuesday, after the payments provider admitted that 1.9 billion euros missing from its accounts likely “do not exist.”

Current investigations show that “the conduct of the accused justifies the suspicion of inaccurate presentation concurring with market manipulation,” prosecutors from Munich said in a statement.

Wirecard on Monday admitted 1.9 billion euros that auditors say are missing from its accounts likely “do not exist,” fueling fraud suspicions that saw its CEO resign.

The group withdrew preliminary results for 2019 and the first quarter of this year as well as financial targets for 2025, and said: “Potential effects on the annual financial accounts of previous years cannot be excluded.”

The scandal marks a stunning fall from grace for the Bavarian start-up, set up in 1999 and once seen as a darling of the fintech scene owing to the global increase in electronic payments.

Wirecard’s revelation followed the resignation of the company’s founder Braun on Friday after the firm was hit with fresh fraud allegations that have left it struggling for survival.

Auditors Ernst & Young said on Thursday that 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) were missing from Wirecard’s accounts, and Braun resigned the next day.

“The Management Board of Wirecard assesses on the basis of further examination that there is a prevailing likelihood that the bank trust account balances in the amount of 1.9 billion EUR do not exist,” the Wirecard statement said.

“The company previously assumed that these trust accounts have been established for the benefit of the company in connection with the so called Third Party Acquiring business and has reported them as an asset in its financial accounts.”

From humble beginnings processing payments for porn and gambling sites, the firm entered Germany’s prestigious DAX 30 index with great fanfare in 2018 after elbowing out traditional lender Commerzbank. AFP

MOST ACTIVE

GPS RIVAL. A Long March 3B rocket carrying the Beidou-3GEO3 satellite lifts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on June 23, 2020. China on June 23 launched the final satellite in its homegrown geolocation system designed to rival the US GPS network, marking a major step in its race for market share in the lucrative sector. AFP

WTO: Global trade set to contract 18.5% in Q2 GENEVA, Switzerland—Global trade is expected to drop around 18.5 percent yearon-year in the second quarter of 2020 in a huge coronavirus-driven plunge which nonetheless could have been much worse, the WTO said Tuesday.

“Initial estimates for the second quarter, when the virus and associated lockdown measures affected a large share of the global population, indicate a year-on-year drop of around 18.5 percent,” the World Trade Organization said in a statement.

The global trade body said that in the first quarter, the volume of merchandise trade shrank by three percent year‑ on‑ year.

Giving its initial estimates for the second three months of the year, the expected drop of 18.5 percent was better than the WTO’s worst predictions.

“The fall in trade we are now seeing is historically large—in fact, it would be the steepest on record. But there is an important silver lining here—it could have been much worse,” said outgoing WTO directorgeneral Roberto Azevedo.

“This is genuinely positive news but we

cannot afford to be complacent.”

In its annual trade forecast issued on April 20, the WTO forecast volumes would contract by between 13 percent at best and 32 percent at worst in 2020.

“As things currently stand, trade would only need to grow by 2.5 percent per quarter for the remainder of the year to meet the optimistic projection,” the WTO said.

“However, looking ahead to 2021, adverse developments, including a second wave of COVID‑ 19 outbreaks, weaker than expected economic growth, or widespread recourse to trade restrictions, could see trade expansion fall short of earlier projections.”

Azevedo said policy decisions had softened the ongoing blow and would help determine the pace of economic recovery from the crisis.

“For output and trade to rebound strongly in 2021, fiscal, monetary, and trade policies will all need to keep pulling in the same direction,” said the Brazilian career diplomat, who is leaving his post a year early at the end of August. AFP

Scooters slalom through Rome as city emerges from lockdown ROME, Italy―With Rome emerging from lockdown into warm summer days, electric scooters have invaded its streets as the Italian capital joins the debate over urban public transport during the pandemic.

During a recent sunny weekend, thousands of users, mostly young people, slalomed through Rome’s historic center, on the road leading to the Colosseum and around the famed Piazza Venezia.

Two-wheel scooters were parked on the sidewalks, arranged side by side, or in other cases isolated on street corners, or lying abandoned in the roads.

For some Romans the self-service battery-run scooters, already common in other European cities, ease congestion and help people avoid packed-out public transport in times of pandemic.

For others they are messy, unregulated nuisance.

“Rome is full of cars and mopeds, so it’s important to use this kind of means of transport for the environment,” said Vito, a tourist visiting Rome with his family.

“We are tourists, and to avoid any contact with public transport, we decided to take the scooter.”

As European cities lift virus lockdowns and reopen, many are keeping social distancing restrictions on public transport as a

way to stop the spread of the virus.

As people look to alternatives, bike sales are up and cities from Paris to Athens have introduced more cycling lanes, with plans for greener transport.

‘Small revolution’ Rome was one of the last major European cities to make self-service scooters available to its pedestrians, residents and tourists.

In other cities such as Paris they are well established, though often the source of debate over their benefits and drawbacks, and the question of safety regulations.

“Electric scooters represent a small revolution for our city,” said Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi.

E-scooters are already present in other cities in Italy, such as Milan, Bologna, Turin, Verona.

Four self-service scooter companies have been operating in the capital since their authorization on March 1: Lime, Bird, Helbiz and Dott.

The municipality’s project provides for a two-year experimental phase.

Rome’s historic city center is relatively untouched by traffic jams, but the car remains favored means of transport in the Italian capital, which has few bike paths, and often poorly maintained roads, potholes and damaged asphalt. AFP

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Notice of Annual Stockholders’ Meeting In light of current conditions and in support of the efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting (the “Meeting”) of Concepcion Industrial Corporation (the “Company”) will be conducted virtually via Zoom on 15 July 2020 at 10:30 AM, to consider and act upon the following matters: 1. Call to Order; 2. Certification of Existence of Quorum; 3. Approval of the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders held on 10 July 2019; 4. Report of the Chairman; 5. Approval of the Audited Financial Statements as of 31 December 2019; 6. Election of the members of the Board of Directors; 7. Appointment of External Auditor; 8. Ratification of Actions Taken by the Board of Directors and Officers; 9. Other Matters; and 10. Adjournment.

Stockholders of record as of 15 June 2020 shall be entitled to notice of and to vote at the said meeting.

Stockholders who wish to participate by remote communication or vote in absentia or by proxy should notify the Corporate Secretary by email to cic.secretary@ romulo.com on or before 3 July 2020.

Successful registrants will receive an electronic invitation via email with a complete guide on how to join the meeting.

For any registration concerns, please get in touch with the Company through cic.secretary@romulo.com.

All stockholders who wish to vote through a proxy or in absentia shall submit the duly signed proxies or ballots, as the case may be, to the Office of the Corporate Secretary at the 21st Floor, Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City and/or by email to cic.secretary@romulo. com not later than 3 July 2020. The proxies and ballots submitted shall be validated on 10 July 2020 at 2:00 p.m.

We are not soliciting proxies.

The Information Statement of the Company which contains more details regarding the rationale and explanation for each of such agenda items and procedures for attending the meeting via remote communication and for casting votes in absentia, Management Report, and financial statements may be viewed or downloaded at [https://cicasm2020.cic. ph/] and through the PSE Edge portal [https://edge.pse. com.ph/].

Everyone is reminded that there will be audio and virtual recordings of the Meeting.

Youth ride a shared electric scooter on June 22, 2020 near the Coliseum monument in Rome, as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

(signed) Atty. Jayson L. Fernandez Corporate Secretary MS (JUNE 24 & 25, 2020)

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Business

May budget deficit swelled to P202b IN BRIEF

Meralco to complete readings this month POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said it expects to complete meter reading and distribution of billing to 2.8 million customers within the month.

Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the meter reading and billing distribution was ongoing. “Before the month ends we will complete all readings,” Zaldarriaga said.

Zaldarriaga earlier said around 2.8 million meters were not read in May. Meralco also drew flak from consumers because of the high electricity bills for June. He said this was due to the compounded fourmonth billing and higher residential consumption during the enhanced community quarantine as people stayed at home.

Higher temperatures during the dry months also forced consumers to increase the usage of electric fans, air-conditioners, electronic gadgets and other home appliances, he said.

Zaldarriaga said these customers did not receive their bills until their actual meter consumption were read. Meralco has nearly seven million customers in its franchise area. Alena Mae S. Flores

By Julito G. Rada

he government’s budget deficit widened to P202.1 billion in May, a reversal of the P2.6-billion surplus a year ago, as government disbursements continued to gain traction against reduced revenue collections amid the coronavirus outbreak.

T

The Bureau of the Treasury said Tuesday the figure resulted in a yearto-date deficit of P562.2 billion, much higher than he previous year’s budget gap of just P809 million.

“May revenues decreased by 52.25 percent year-on-year, reaching just P151.5 billion as both tax and non-tax sources declined by 45 percent and 88 percent, respectively. Ninety-six percent or P145.2 billion of the monthly total were made up of taxes,” the Trea-

sury said.

Collections in the first five months settled at P1.102 trillion, behind last year’s performance by 16.1 percent or P211.3 billion.

Collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue collections contracted P90.4 billion or 44 percent in May to P114.4 billion from a year ago.

“The agency’s weak performance was still due to the effect of the prolonged enhanced community quaran-

tine which prompted the bureau to further extend its deadline for tax filing and payments to June 14, 2020. From January to May, BIR collections were also reduced to P673.7 billion, 25.84 percent or P234.8 billion lower than the comparable outturn in 2019,” the Treasury said.

Collections by the Bureau of Customs also dipped to P30.8 billion in May from last year’s P58.2 billion on economic restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Customs collections in the five-month period also declined by 16.4 percent or P41.2 billion to P210.5 billion from a year earlier.

The Bureau of the Treasury said its income went down by 93.3 percent to P2.4 billion in May due to the timing of dividends which were remitted earlier this year because of the implementation of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

Ginebra expects strong 2020 profit GINEBRA San Miguel Inc., the liquor unit of San Miguel Corp., said it expects to register a strong net income in 2020 despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ginebra president Ramon Ang said during the virtual annual stockholders’ meeting that while this year’s net income would be slightly lower than in 2019, the company was still expecting to deliver strong results.

“For the first two months of the year, Ginebra was doing good. But during the last 15 days of March our performance was affected by the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine,” Ang said.

“But second quarter affected us the most because that is another 60 days of ECQ. But we are confident that for the full year the company should be doing at least a little bit lower than last year but will register strong income,” Ang said.

Ginebra posted a net income of P474 million in the first quarter, down 23 percent from the same period last year as sales volume declined by 14 percent, resulting in a 10-percent drop in revenues to P7.4 billion. Jenniffer B. Austria

Globe, CIMB boost strategic partnership CIMB Bank strengthened its strategic partnership with the mobile wallet of Globe Telecom Inc. to widen the reach of GCredit, a digital credit facility available for GCash users.

“We at CIMB Bank Philippines are happy to strengthen our strategic alliance with GCash, the number one mobile wallet in the country,” Vijay Manoharan, chief executive of CIMB Bank Philippines, said.

“We believe that through our partnership, we will be able to further reach more Filipinos to help them save, gain access to credit, and manage their finances with us” Manoharan said.

Martha Sazon, president and chief executive of GCash said that with the partnership, the company can scale up GCredit to reach more customers who are in need of micro loans. “This helps accelerate our vision of providing finance for all, which we at GCash have been pushing for the last decade,” she said. Darwin G. Amojelar

NEW CLARK CHIEF. The government is set to tap the underutilized Clark civil aviation complex, according to Aaron Aquino (left), the newly-appointed president and chief executive of Clark International Airport Corp., in his first meeting with CIAC executives at Clark. Aquino, a former police general and chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, was appointed on May 29 by President Rodrigo Duterte to head the government corporation in charged with developing the 2,367-hectare civil aviation complex in Clark.

Filinvest president says EastWest Bank not for sale EASTWEST Banking Corp., the financial unit of Filinvest Development Corp., is not for sale, according to Josephine Gotianun-Yap, the group’s president and chief executive.

“No, it is not true. Filinvest Development Corp. is not in any discussion nor does it plan to, with regards to any potential sale of EastWest Bank,” Gotianun-Yap said in a statement.

“There has been some speculation from media and netizens referencing how a certain bank was in talks of merging with or acquiring the FDC subsidiary. EastWest Bank is one of the pillars of FDC,” Gotianun-Yap said.

She said FDC remained very positive with the bank’s consistent high performance and that it was well positioned to continue to grow and sustain its track record of being among the most profitable listed universal banks in the industry.

FDC, the controlling stockholder of EastWest, is one of the country’s largest

conglomerates. Gotianun-Yap said for the conglomerate to let go of a highly profitable business does not make any business sense.

EastWest chief executive Antonio Moncupa Jr. said the bank was poised for another record year of profit, amid the low inflation environment and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s move of ensuring adequate market liquidity and reducing interest rates.

Moncupa said the lower rates magnified EastWest’s advantage from being business and consumer focused, and further enhanced its margins.

“Together with its improving deposit structure from the growth of lower-cost current and savings accounts, the bank is looking forward to sustaining its top position in profitability,” Moncupa said.

EastWest ranked an impressive No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in profitability position among banks in terms of return on average equity from 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively, he said.

Moncupa said EastWest went back to being No. 1 as the most profitable listed universal bank in the industry in terms of ROAE in the first quarter.

He said the bank’s record numbers were due to the “fruits of the seeds it has planted in the last few years, including improving economies of scale as the bank has grown and its branches have started to mature, better trading gains, lower interest rates and better deposit structure with the increase in current and savings account deposits.”

“In the last few years, there have been a number of queries, both from local and international entities, if EW is open to take new investors. I guess some sectors are attracted to EW’s unique business model and consistent high profitability record. But, no. We think that our stockholders will be better served if EW first optimized its potential as an independent company,” Moncupa said.

Julito G. Rada

THE Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. said Tuesday it is open to purchasing locally-produced mechanically deboned meat from poultry raisers, once the facilities to manufacture these products are established.

“We will buy all the MDM that local producers can provide so that we don’t have to import it anymore, thus saving our precious foreign exchange,” said PAMPI president Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. MDM is the principal material in the production of canned meat products and processed food.

PAMPI said in a statement canned meat products had played a crucial role in feeding the nation at the height of the lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

Meat processors currently import MDM from different countries in the absence of local production. The bulk or 70 percent of the country’s poultry imports is MDM. Tiukinhoy said PAMPI was willing to work with local producers and suppliers

to ensure that meat production will not be disrupted by any vested groups.

“We exist to serve the needs of our people, and we will not allow any group or groups, whoever they are, to destroy our industry,” he said.

The group earlier said some groups were critical of the importation of ingredients for meat processing used by PAMPI members to produce processed meat products that fed millions of Filipinos during the enhanced community quarantine period.

“Since March when ECQ was declared, the meat product imports that are being demanded to be banned by a group of poultry lobbyists enabled our industry to produce processed meat products that feed millions of our people up to today even as we write you this letter,” it said.

The government vowed to help local poultry producers cope with the impact of the pandemic. The Agriculture Department said it would continue supporting poultry stakeholders and members of United Broilers Raisers’ Association by way of fiscal support to help them survive the crisis.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

49.65 PTS. 6,297.78

TOTAL VOLUME 1,312,195,397 TOTAL TRADES 135,975 TOTAL VALUE 7,313,837,936.20 ADVANCES 103 DECLINES 98 UNCHANGED 45

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.0690

Japan

Yen

0.009355

0.4684

UK

Pound

1.247300

62.4511

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129026

6.4602

Switzerland

Franc

1.055186

52.8321

Canada

Dollar

0.739536

37.0278

Singapore

Dollar

0.718236

35.9614

Australia

Dollar

0.690800

34.5877

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651887

132.777

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266610

13.3489

Brunei

Dollar

0.715666

35.8327

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.032248

1.6146

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.6324

Euro

Euro

1.126300

56.3927

Korea

Won

0.000827

0.0414

China

Yuan

0.141487

7.0841

India

Rupee

0.013196

0.6607

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233918

11.7120

New Zealand

Dollar

0.648000

32.4447

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033799

1.6923 Source: BSP

BDO buying out Nomura’s shares in joint venture BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by the Sy family, said Monday it signed an agreement in principle to buy out Nomura Holdings Inc.’s entire holdings in their joint-venture arrangement under BDO Nomura Securities Inc. BDO currently owns 51 percent of BDO Nomura, with Nomura Asia Investment Singapore Pte. Ltd. holding the remaining 49 percent.

The original joint venture arrangement was signed in January 2016, with BDO Nomura starting operations in October 2016.

BDO said in a statement the transaction would enable it to consolidate the securities brokerage business into BDO Securities Corp., which is being reorganized into a full-service brokerage firm with an expanded product offering to include non-equity securities.

“The transaction is subject to further discussion and final agreements, in addition to any required corporate and regulatory approvals,” the bank said.

BDO is a full-service universal bank which provides a wide range of corporate and retail banking services.

These services include traditional loan and deposit products, treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, rural banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, retail cash cards and credit card services.

BDO has one of the largest distribution networks, with more than 1,400 operating branches and over 4,400 ATMs nationwide. It also has full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as 15 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

BDO ranked as the largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits and trust funds under management based on published statements of condition as of March 31, 2020.

BDO president and chief executive Nestor Tan earlier assured the bank’s continued strength amid the challenging environment highlighted by the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The bank set aside P20 billion in additional provisions after a comprehensive review of the loan portfolio.

Tan said the “move is anticipatory in nature” amid the challenging environment. Julito G. Rada

2 1600

WATER SUBSIDY.

Meat processors agree to purchase MDM from local poultry producers

By Othel V. Campos

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Coca-Cola Philippines, in keeping with its mission of helping communities gain access to clean water most especially at a time such as the pandemic, teams up with local NGO Water and Life Philippines to take part in their Water Relief Fund to provide access to potable water to families in need. Coca-Cola through The Water Relief Fund has so far provided potable water access, good for two months, to over 2,000 families, with each family receiving a 7-cubic meter water subsidy a month.

Bigger ASEAN currency swap agreement now in effect, says DOF THE amended Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization agreement took effect on June 23, offering a stronger currency swap arrangement and financial safety net among Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-states and their partnereconomies in the region.

The International Finance Group of the Department of Finance said all finance ministers and central bank governors of ASEAN and “Plus 3” partners Korea, Japan and China, along with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, signed the amended agreement.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III signed the amended CMIM in December 2019, while the Minister of Finance, Planning and Industry of Myanmar signed it on June 16, completing all 27 signatures needed for the amended CMIM agreement to be in force.

The original CMIM, which came into effect in March 2010, aimed to address balance-of-payments and short-term liquidity difficulties in ASEAN and its partners.

The current size of the CMIM has since doubled to $240 billion and its Interna-

tional Monetary Fund-delinked portion has since been raised to 30 percent, which means member-economies could draw up to 30 percent of their maximum borrowing amount, without being subjected to lending conditions set by the IMF. The IFG reported that among the key points in the amended CMIM is the flexibility on the supporting period for financing linked to IMF-lending conditions.

This will be done by allowing multiple renewals to match the supporting period of the IMF-supported programs.

Julito G. Rada

Sports

Murray plans to play both US, French Open meets LONDON—Andy Murray is hoping of making a return to Grand Slam tennis at both the US and French Open later this year.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has been out of action since November with a pelvic injury, but will return in an all-British tournament hosted by his brother Jamie Murray this week.

Murray will face Liam Broady at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton on Tuesday.

The Battle of the Brits gives Murray the chance to get some competitive action under his belt ahead of the planned August resumption of the ATP tour before two Grand Slams come in quick succession.

The US Open is set to take place behind closed doors from 31 August, with the French Open starting on 27 September.

Some leading players, including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, have questioned whether they will head across the Atlantic to play at Flushing Meadows.

However, Murray is happy to return to New York for his first Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open, even if it means limiting the number of his team who can travel with him.

“Playing the Grand Slams would be my priority,” said the Scot. “The schedule is tricky and I understand the reason why it is like that.

“I don’t mind what the situation is, providing it is safe.

“If I was told I could take one person with me, for example, you can make that work. I’d probably go with a physio and some coaching could be done remotely.”

Murray is yet to draw up a schedule of which events he will play in preparation for the Slams, but is hoping an extended layoff will help his body fully recover from a number of serious injuries.

The 33-year-old had career-saving hip surgery in 2019, before his latest longterm injury layoff.

Murray had been planning a return in March before the coronavirus pandemic brought the tour to a halt.

“My hip has been feeling better for probably the past three or four weeks,” he added. AFP

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

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SAFETY PROTOCOLS. Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Willie Marcial (right) and deputy commissioner Eric Castro (left) discuss the league’s protocols and measures in the event that it is finally allowed to resume operations by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases

Canelo on top of Eumir’s wish list

By Peter Atencio

A

FIGHT with four-division world middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is a dream of Eumir Felix Marcial.

And meeting him on the ring is on top of Marcial’s wish list when he turns pro.

“As a middlewight pro, siyempre ang sarap talaga makalaban ‘yung champion ‘di ba? ‘Yun ‘yung pinakapangarap natin, ‘yung champion, si idol Canelo talaga ang pangarap ko.

Pero sa tingin ko naman, hindi na ako aabot sa kanya kasi medyo matanda na rin siya and ngayon pa lang ako mag-start so medyo late na kung

aabot pa kami,” said Marcial.

The 24-year-old Marcial talked about his dreams and aspirations during a podcast last week.

“Tinitignan ko na lang ‘yung mga laban niya, kumbaga kumukuha na lang ako ng style, kung ano ‘yung matutulad ko sa mga laban niya. So hopefully, humihingi ako sa mga Pilipino na support niyo lang kaming mga atleta lalung-lalo na ‘yung mga boxing fans. Ibigay niyo lang po

‘yung support niyo sa amin at gagawin po namin ang lahat para matagumpay ‘yung laban,” remarked Marcial, who will represent the Philippines in next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Alvarez has held the unified World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles since 2018, along with the International Boxing Federation middleweight title from May to August 2019 and the WBA super middleweight title since 2018.

So far, Marcial is still studying offers that are coming his way.

And a little help from from coach Joven Jimenez is something Marcial appreciates in his regular training session at his home in Imus, Cavite.

“Sa ngayon, wala namang problema kay Coach Joven, okay naman. Nagusap kami, sabi niya willing siya tumulong,” added Marcial.

Marcial has been training while in quarantine at his home for the last three months.

And he may leave home soon, with the Philippine Sports Commission set to form a team of experts to help him prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.

And the agency is set to bring him to the boxing gym at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and make it available to him for workouts.

PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez recently made assurances of the agency’s support to Marcial after both talked by phone last Thursday.

NCAA teams cutting rosters in half to cope with crisis Ariza, Bertans NEARLY 8,000 athletes, coaches and officials have been affected following delays in the staging of Season 96 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the postponement of events during the previous season.

Management Committee chairman Fr. Victor Calvo of Season 96 host Letran said this as many member schools decided to make cuts in their scholarships and athletics budgets in the 100 days that lockdowns throughout Metro Manila were imposed.

“Lahat ng schools. This is 50% percent (varsity teams). This is across all NCAA member schools. And this is based on our research,” said Fr. Calvo during yesterday’s weekly online session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Calvo discussed the coming season with outgoing Mancom chairman Peter Cayco of Arellano University.

According to Calvo, around 7,985 athletes, coaches and officials were taken off the varsity programs of member schools in their effort to cut their budgets as they coped with the measures done by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the board is discussing the plight of their athletes during their weekly

meetings.

“We will see what we can. We will see how we can help,” said Calvo.

For now, Season 96 could be held in the early months of 2021.

And it will depend on the decision of the government and the Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

If the IATF gives the green light in October, or November, the league will need three months to prepare their varsity teams.

So far, the IATF is still not allowing many sports activities to take place in the next three months.

Calvo said the league will be strictly observing safety and health protocols when the season commences.

This will be the first time that the league’s opening will be disrupted for a long period of time since World War II. No venue for the games are available at the moment, with the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila being used a quarantine facilities for the sick, along with The Arena in San Juan, and the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

At the moment, only four mandatory sports events will be held, namely basketball, volleyball, swimming and athletics.

But Calvo added, there is still room to consider the inclusion of e-sports events

to skip NBA restart, forego paycheck

Action in the NCAA, such as this one featuring the Perpetual Altas against the Lyceum Pirates, will have to wait for a little longer due to the lockdowns imposed by the government to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Dennis Abrina

like Mobile Legends and online chess. athletes, with consideration to those, who The league has also decided to relax have already used up their playing years their eligibility requirements for student- and those who haven’t. Peter Atencio

Lee believes grappling experience gives her edge vs Zamboanga IT’S BEEN eight months since reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee stepped into the ONE Circle to defend her title.

That five-round war against strawweight queen Xiong Jing Nan in Tokyo last October brought the best out of the 23-year-old, with Lee turning in an

impeccable performance to exact vengeance on the athlete who gave her the first professional loss of her career.

She was slated to return to action later this year, but when the global health crisis struck hard early, plans on Lee’s next bout were shelved.

As the situation with COVID-19 eases

Angela Lee is ready to climb back into the Circle at the soonest possible time to defend the title against her next challenger, who could be Denice Zamboanga.

throughout the world, however, and ONE Championship is able to resume hosting live events once again, Lee is ready to climb back into the Circle at the soonest possible time to defend the title against her next challenger.

“I’m just excited to get back in the ONE Circle again. I’m feeling extremely motivated for my next matchup. I think it’ll be a great fight,” said Lee. While there is no official confirmation of who her next opponent will be, Lee is expected to face number one ranked female atomweight contender Denice “The Menace Fairtex” Zamboanga of the Philippines.

Zamboanga punched her ticket to a world title shot with a masterful and dominant performance over veteran and former two-time ONE World Title challenger Mei Yamaguchi just this February in Singapore.

The Filipina warrior, who trains with Stamp Fairtex at the famous Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, burst onto the scene with a shocking upset victory over highly-regarded Jihin Radzuan last December, and then followed up that performance with the win over Yamaguchi.

“I think Denice is very well-rounded.

She’s an up-and-coming fighter. I also think that her team did a great job in creating a smart game plan for her in the Yamaguchi fight, and she was able to execute that plan and get the decision win,” said Lee. “She’s young, hungry, and wellrounded. She is the new breed of MMA fighter that can do it all. She can strike, wrestle, and grapple. But I think she may be inexperienced in certain areas of the game.”

Lee is most likely referring to the area of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), in which she has shown exceptional skills. “Unstoppable” is known for her tricky ground game, as the majority of her opponents have had difficulty escaping from the clutches of her top game as soon as action hits the mat.

Seven of Lee’s 10 career victories have come by way of submission, including the infamous ‘Twister’ submission she successfully executed against EnglishFilipina striker Natalie Gonzales Hills in 2015—one of the rarest submission maneuvers ever seen in mixed martial arts competition.

LOS ANGELES—Portland Trail Blazers veteran Trevor Ariza and Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans have both opted to skip the NBA’s planned season relaunch in Orlando as Florida battles a surge in coronavirus cases, reports said Monday.

Ariza elected to miss Portland’s campaign after committing instead to a one-month visitation window with his son, ESPN reported.

The decision could cost Ariza up to $1.8 million in lost earnings if the Blazers make it into the playoffs.

Ariza’s decision comes ahead of a Wednesday deadline players have been given to notify teams if they decide not to play. Teams are required to inform the NBA of their final rosters

by July 1.

Meanwhile Washington forward Bertans will miss the restart as a precautionary measure, ESPN reported.

The 27-year-old is set to agree terms on a new long-term contract when he enters free agency and has already suffered two serious knee injuries in his career.

The two withdrawals come as Florida battles to get a grip on its coronavirus outbreak, with a record daily total of 4,049 recorded on Saturday.

On Monday, Florida passed a grim milestone after becoming only the seventh US state to register more than 100,000 cases.

The spike in numbers come as Florida prepares to stage the return of both the NBA and Major League Soccer seasons in Orlando.

Meanwhile, 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.

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 best-of-seven NBA Finals would be played on October 13. AFP

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Sports

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Baseball edges closer to season L

OS ANGELES—Major League Baseball edged closer to a shortened season on Monday as bitter wrangling between team owners and players neared its endgame.

MLB team owners on Monday voted unanimously to go ahead with the 2020 season under the terms of a deal reached with the MLB Players Association in March.

The owners’ vote came after the MLBPA’s executive board voted earlier in the day against a proposed 60-game regular season with expanded playoffs.

The rejection means MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred can now order teams to play a drastically shortened season— something the team owners have approved.

However, before formally inking the shortened season, the MLB has requested that the MLBPA confirm by 5pm Tuesday (2100 GMT) that players will be ready to

return to training camp by July 1.

The players must also agree on the terms of the season operating manual, which includes health and safety protocols related to COVID-19.

The MLB and the MLBPA have been at loggerheads over how to salvage the baseball season, which should have started on March 26 but was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The league proposed a succession of deals that would have seen the players receive only a percentage of their salaries, prorated by number of games played.

Players pushed back against the league proposals, noting that they had already agreed to a pay cut in March and should

not be required to accept a further reduction in salary.

The MLBPA had requested a longer regular season with no pay cuts, a proposal that has been firmly opposed by MLB owners, who will take a massive financial hit from a season that will be played out without spectators.

In Tokyo, Japan, up to 5,000 fans will be able to attend Japanese football and baseball games from July 10, officials said Monday as the sports inch towards normality after coronavirus suspensions.

The heads of Nippon Professional Baseball and football’s J-League announced the move at a joint press appearance after consultations with infection experts.

“We must fully consider the current situation... but we have received word from government officials that we can declare that we will let spectators in from the 10th of next month,” baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito told a press briefing.

J-League chief Mitsuru Murai said the same date would apply for football matches.

Stadiums will admit only 5,000 spectators or 50 percent of their capacity, whichever number is smaller. Fans are expected to be asked to wear masks, wash their hands frequently and avoid shouting, according to reports.

Professional baseball, Japan’s most popular sport, began its season last Friday behind closed doors after a three-month delay as the coronavirus pandemic swept around the world.

The top tier of Japan’s J-League football will return on July 4, initially in front of empty stadiums.

While Japan has experienced a comparatively small coronavirus outbreak, the pandemic has forced a one-year delay of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with some experts concerned that even that postponement may not be enough time for the event to be held safely. AFP

PGA meet to go ahead without fans LOS ANGELES—The PGA Championship will go ahead as scheduled in August but without spectators, officials confirmed on Monday.

The PGA of America said in a statement the first golf major of 2020 will take place at San Francisco’s Harding Park from August 6-9.

The tournament had been rescheduled to its August date after being postponed from its original slot in May because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The PGA of America formally confirmed the tournament would be held on Monday after weighing alternative options, which included moving the tournament to another course.

The decision to bar spectators from the event was taken out of consideration for “the health and well-being of all involved,” the PGA said.

“We are both inspired & honored to play on, grateful to the state of California & the city & county of San Francisco for being terrific partners,” PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh said.

“While the local community cannot be with us physically on-site, we will certainly carry their spirit of resilience and unity with us as we stage our major championship, on their behalf, for all the world to see and enjoy.”

PGA officials had also awaited approval from California officials before pressing ahead with the schedule.

The decision comes after the PGA Tour has made a largely successful return from its COVID-19 shutdown, which forced the postponement or cancellation of all four golf majors this season.

The tour returned to tournament play earlier this month with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Texas followed by last week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Both events took place without spectators while players have observed strict safety protocols which include frequent testing for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, former US Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie is the LPGA’s latest golf-mom, announcing the birth of daughter, Kenna, on Instagram on Saturday.

“Kenna baby, I have waited my entire life to meet you,” Wie wrote, adding a picture of herself cuddling the infant, whose full name is Makenna Kamalei Yoona West. “Your daddy and I love you more than any words can describe ...” AFP

A CROWD OF CARDBOARDS. A cameraman works among cardboards of fans prior to the Spanish league football match Villarreal CF against Sevilla FC at La Ceramica stadium in Vila-real. AFP

Burnley captain embarrassed by ‘White lives matter’ banner MANCHESTER—Burnley captain Ben Mee told fans who flew a “White Lives Matter” banner above the Etihad Stadium at the start of a 5-0 defeat

by Manchester City on Monday “to come into the 21st century”.

The banner reading “White lives matter Burnley” was seen shortly after all players and match officials had taken a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The aeroplane that went out at the beginning of the game, I am ashamed, I’m embarrassed, that a small number of our fans have decided to put that around the stadium,” said Mee. “It completely missed the point. The group of lads in there are embarrassed to see that and not what we are about at all.

“It missed the point of the whole thing of what we are trying to achieve. These people need to come into the 21st century and educate themselves as a lot of us do. I’m really upset that happened.”

Burnley also issued a statement at half-time saying those responsible for the aircraft would be handed lifetime bans from the club.

“We wish to make it clear that those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor,” Burnley said. “This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and take appropriate action.

“We are fully behind the Premier League’s Black Lives Matter initiative and, in line with all other Premier League games undertaken since Project Restart, our players and football staff willingly took the knee at kickoff at Manchester City.

“We apologise unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter.”

Black Lives Matter have been printed on the back of shirts rather than players’ names for the first 12 games of the Premier League’s return.

The gesture comes following the death of black American George Floyd at the hands of police last month, which sparked protests around the world and led to sportspeople showing solidarity with those demonstrations. AFP

Bubba Wallace: Winner on and off NASCAR track LOS ANGELES—Three years after making his debut at the elite level of NASCAR racing, arguably the biggest victory of Bubba Wallace’s career has come off the track.

The only black driver in a predominantly white sport, Wallace has been outspoken on racial injustice since the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd on May 25.

Wallace led calls for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag from its arenas, a move that the sport’s governing body eventually made in a landmark decision on June 10.

The flag has long been a staple at NASCAR tracks in the sport’s southern US heartlands, but it remains a symbol of slavery and racism for many.

Wallace, who this season has raced wearing a T-shirt with the words “I Can’t Breathe” and in a car emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter,” applauded the decision, voicing hope NASCAR would “come together and really try to be more inclusive.”

“You look at the Confederate flag and how, yes, it may mean heritage to most,

but to a group that is in a lot of pain right now, that’s a symbol of hate and it brings back so many bad memories, signs of oppression from way back when, and there’s no good that comes with that flag,” Wallace said.

“That’s the message we’re trying to get across: It’s not about you, it’s about a group of people that we are trying to bring together and make the world a better place for,” he added.

While NASCAR chiefs and many of Wallace’s fellow drivers have saluted his activism, it also has met with ugly opposition.

Wallace continues to be subjected to racist abuse on social media. And on Sunday, a noose was discovered in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, leaving the sport in shock.

“This will not break me,” Wallace said after the noose’s discovery. “I will not give in, nor will I back down.”

On Monday, he produced a battling 14th place finish at the Geico 500.

In a post-race interview where he was not wearing a face mask, he explained: “I wanted to show whoever it

Fans cheer for Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 Victory Junction Chevrolet, after the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. AFP

was that you’re not going to take away my smile.”

Accidental activist?

Activism, however, is a role that Wallace has grown into over time.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, he said he had started out focusing only on racing.

“I never saw color and never thought I was treated differently because I was black,” Wallace told the Times.

“I was way too young to understand what a trailblazer was or a pioneer was.”

Born in Mobile, Alabama in 1993, Wallace is the son of a white father and African-American mother. AFP

Virus cases raise questions over Djokovic tournament

His photograph taken on June 18, 2020, (from left) Croatia’s Borna Coric, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, tennis players as they pose for a group photograph ahead of an exhibition basketball match in Zadar. Croatia’s Borna Coric announced on June 22, 2020, that he has become the second player to test positive for coronavirus after taking part in an exhibition tournament in Croatia featuring world number one Novak Djokovic. It follows the June 21, announcement by Grigor Dimitrov that he had also tested positive after pulling out of the exhibition event, which is one of the biggest since the tennis season was halted because of the pandemic.

PARIS—Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki have all tested positive for coronavirus after taking part in an exhibition tennis tournament in the Balkans featuring world number one Novak Djokovic, raising questions over the sport’s planned return in August.

Croatia’s Coric, ranked 33rd in the world, revealed Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19, with Troicki confirmed to have contracted the virus several hours later.

It follows Sunday’s announcement by Dimitrov that he had also tested positive after pulling out of the exhibition event in Croatia, one of the biggest since the tennis season was halted because of the pandemic.

Coric tweeted: “I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during the last few days gets tested!

“I am really sorry for any harm I might have caused! I’m feeling well and don’t have any simptoms (sic). Please stay safe and healthy!”

One of Djokovic’s coaches and another mem-

ber of Dimitrov’s entourage have also reportedly tested positive for the virus, according to Croatia’s N1 television channel. Troicki, meanwhile, played Djokovic last week in Belgrade.

Coric had beaten Bulgaria’s Dimitrov in the second leg of the Adria Tour in Zadar on Croatia’s Adriatic coast on Saturday.

Dimitrov withdrew from the Balkans tournament following that match, complaining of feeling unwell.

Sunday’s final between Djokovic, who is president of the ATP Player Council, and Russia’s Andrey Rublev was immediately cancelled as a precaution.

Australian star Nick Kyrgios pulled no punches in his reaction to Coric’s tweet.

‘Not a joke’ “Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the ‘exhibition’,” Kyrgios wrote on social media.

“Speedy recovery fellas, but that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols.

This IS NOT A JOKE.” Britain’s Andy Murray called it “a les-

son for all of us”.

“Once you start having mass gatherings with people coming in from all sorts of countries, it’s a recipe for it to kick off,” Murray said.

Also playing in the tournament were world number three Dominic Thiem, former US Open winner Marin Cilic, seventh-ranked Alexander Zverev and Filip Krajinovic.

Both Zverev and Cilic later took to Twitter to say they their tests had returned negative for the virus which has killed over 465,000 people.

“I have just received the news that my team and I have tested negative for COVID-19,” Germany’s Zverev wrote.

“I deeply apologize to anyone that I have potentially put at risk by playing this tour.”

He said he would now be following “selfisolating guidelines” whilst Cilic announced his intention to quarantine for 14 days.

Djokovic will reportedly speak to the public on Tuesday after receiving the results of his test. AFP

Entertainment Entertainment

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Nickie WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, Wang, 2020 Editor

nickie.standard@gmail.com nickie.standard@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 ||

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Stars send love from their homes S

TAR Magic artists Piolo Pascual, Jericho Rosales, Maja Salvador, Vina Morales, and Jake Cuenca were joined by younger members of the talent management like Donny Pangilinan, Diego Loyzaga, and Maymay Entrata in a zoom conference on June 20 to launch “Love From Home.”

Maymay Entrata

“This project aims to raise funds for ‘Pantawid ng Pag-ibig (Isang Daan.

Isang Pamilya.),’ which encourages Filipinos to donate P100 to ease the hunger of a family during this community quarantine,” Piolo said during the online event.

“Aside from spreading love in this time of pandemic, we also wanted to help our kababayan especially those who were greatly affected by the crisis,” the Star Magic actor added.

Part of “Star Magic: Love From Home” is “Lockdown Portraits,” a collection of photos of Star Magic artists taken during the quarantine, which shows different aspects of love, including self-love, love for the arts, love for family, and love for others.

The portraits come in three volumes with volumes 1 and 2 to be released on June 24 and 28, respectively. Meanwhile, the third and special volume will be available on July 5, and it will feature Star Magic’s most sought after loveteams.

During the online event, the stars talked about how they were able to successfully pull off such project without the help of a glam team, a photographer, and a crew to set up the shoot.

“We had to arrange everything, from clothes to our makeup, to setting up the camera. It was hard but enjoyable and we’re happy with the results. I decided to shoot at the fire exit because I couldn’t think of any other places that would look different from the usual view that my fans see on social media,” Maymay shared in Tagalog.

These stars along with other artists like Liza Soberano, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Enrique Gil, and Gold Squad members Kyle Echarri, Seth Fedelin, Andrea Brillantes, and Francine Diaz, welcome fans into their homes as they share authentic, uplifting, and inspiring stories of love giving supporters a chance to know their favorite stars more behind the spotlight.

Fans will also be treated to a number of surprises with weekly fan sessions on TV and online where they can have fun and interact with the stars, bring-

GMA News among GMA Newsranks ranks among toptop online video worldwide online videopublishers publishers worldwide CONSISTENTLY leading as the Phil- the COVID-19 crisis. ping 16.4 million views, while its “Kaiippines’ number one online news video Among its top original videos that lan dapat sumama sa pulis?” and “COVpublisher, GMA News exceeded its raked in millions of views is the Need To ID-19 vaccine, kaya ba in 18 months?” own record anew as it marked its high- Know series of explainers to help shed videos got 1.8 million and 1.7 million est ever global ranking based on the light on the social and political issues that views, respectively.

May 2020 leaderboard of Meanwhile, the visocial video analytics Tural human interest story bular Labs.

“Milagro sa Gitna ng Ranked fifth worldwide COVID-19 Pandemic” under the News and Poliabout a couple who suctics category, GMA News cessfully conceived a tallied 458.6 million video child after seven years views on Facebook while it despite the wife’s condirecorded 181.5 million video tion, touched the hearts of views on YouTube for the a lot of netizens and regentire month of May. istered 3.2 million views.

24 Oras’ livestream GMA News and Pubremains to be the mostlic Affairs also recently watched local newscast launched its first Zoom both on Facebook and talk show hosted by GMA YouTube. GMA’s flagNews pillar and COVship newscast began ID-19 survivor Howie streaming globally on Severino called QuaranGMA News’ Facebook tined with Howie. Also in page and YouTube chanMay, GMA News’ Facenel last May 11. book page also tallied 55 GMA News’ online million engagements – its leadership is also made highest monthly total to possible through the efdate – according to leadforts of the GMA News ing content discovery and and Public Affairs Digisocial monitoring platform tal team. Its Digital VidCrowdTangle.

Broadcast journalist Howie Severino anchors GMA News’ first zoom eo Section has also been All these videos and talk called ‘Quarantined with Howie.’ producing viral and onmore are being premiered line exclusive explainers, on GMA News Online’s talk shows, and human interest stories have surfaced amid the pandemic. Need website, www.gmanews.tv, and later on – keeping netizens informed and at the to Know’s “Paano nasugpo ng Vietnam are available on GMA News’ Facebook same time inspired especially during ang COVID-19?” video reached a whop- page and YouTube channel.

Kim Chiu

Piolo Pascual

Kathryn Bernardo

Daniel Padilla

ing them closer to their favorite celebrities. These include Jeepney TV Love Team Bahay (July 4, 8:00 p.m.), Cinema One GCQ: Games with Celebrities on Quarantine (July 18, 5:00 p.m.), and Hotspot: The Love from Home with DJ Jhai Ho (July 25, 8:00 p.m.) which can be viewed on Facebook.

The stars’ stories of love will also be featured on a one-hour TV special on Metro Channel that will give sneak peek, behind the scenes footage, and exclusive interviews about their experiences during the quarantine.

The ABS-CBN Foundation-led campaign, now on its second phase, aims for the support of 10 million Filipinos in order to serve 300,000 more families, in

addition to the 750,000 families that already benefited from it since March.

As of May 31, the “Pantawid ng Pagibig” campaign already received over P400 million worth of donations, which were used to buy food and basic necessities for families greatly affected by the quarantine in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

Fans may visit Star Magic’s website (starmagic.abs-cbn.com) to see the full gallery of “Lockdown Portraits” and learn more about their idols’ stories. More details will be available on Star Magic Philippines on Facebook ( fb.com/starmagicphils), Twitter (@ starmagicphils), and Instagram (@starmagicphils).

George Floyd’s death at the hands of police rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement with seemingly unstoppable momentum.

Discovery Channel delves into ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement TO BETTER understand the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that recently shook America and the rest of the world, Discovery Channel airs special features tackling the sensitive and significant topics of racism and police brutality from June 26 to 28.

After the death of George Floyd at the hands of police on May 25, 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement was rekindled with a seemingly unstoppable momentum reaching beyond America’s borders into Europe and Asia.

Filipinos sympathetic to the cause have taken to social media to show solidarity with protestors in America by sharing their sentiments through the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.

The Filipinos’ support extended to a protest calling to protect civil liberties with an estimated attendance of 1,500-2,000 in early June, where demonstrators took a knee to express unity with BLM protestors.

To encourage further conversations surrounding the movement, previous news anchor and journalist Tony Harris hosts a panel with leaders involved in the movement including activists, press, and law enforcement in the first

special, The Murder of George Floyd: A Nation Responds, which airs 8:00 p.m. on Friday.

The second special is a two-part special that puts the spotlight on black activists, artists, and thought leaders as they speak openly with Oprah Winfrey about systematic racism in America and the current state of their nation. Among the guest speakers are filmmaker and director of A Wrinkle in Time Ava DuVernay and Interstellar actor Davil Oyelowo. The first episode of OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here? airs on Saturday at 8:00 p.m., with the second episode to air the following day at the same time.

Documentaries honoring the life of Nelson Mandela in The Making of Mandela on June 27 at 9:00 p.m. and Martin Luther King in Justice for MLK: The Hunt for James Earl Ray, where viewers can follow the manhunt for the fugitive assassin of Martin Luther King, on June 28 at 9:00 pm will also be aired as part of Discovery Channel’s special programming.

Discovery Channel is on Sky Cable CH 39, Cignal TV CH 140, and Destiny Cable CH 56.

Life

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

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SPECIAL FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

Of men dating trans women

‘‘

A lot of men who date us don’t plan for a clear future and they often just string us along. This has to stop.

Author and dating coach Amanda Valentine Dela Cruz

By Bernadette Lunas

D

ATING is tricky. One goes through it clueless about what the other person really wants out of it. It’s like swimming in the ocean with a blindfold on.

For transgender women however, dating is like swimming in the ocean wearing a blindfold and a jacket filled with rocks.

Notwithstanding the progress in many societies when it comes to LGBTQ+ acceptance—a 2019 Williams Institute study showed that majority of countries have become “more accepting” since 1981—Filipino trans woman Amanda Valentine Dela Cruz believes the Philippines still has a long way to go.

“Tolerance is one thing, but acceptance is another,” Amanda told Manila Standard in an email interview.

LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender, Amanda said “are still not protected in terms of healthcare, civil unions, workforce discrimination, harassment, and more. Working and studying are basic human rights and depriving transgender people of these is far from acceptance.”

Despite public clamor and support from high-profile personalities, the law meant to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community against discrimination, the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Iden-

tity Expression) Equality Bill, has failed to pass—becoming one of the slowestmoving bills in the Philippines.

Amanda is no stranger to discrimination.

“I was abused by the school system and even got locked up in a library during our Christmas party just because our principal said I was wearing a blouse for women. My 5th grade teacher also assaulted me regularly just because she hated how feminine I acted,” she related.

“On a scale of 1-10, I’d say Filipinos in terms of accepting LGBTQ+ people are at a solid 2, 3 if we’re being generous,” she lamented.

“Do a quick search on Facebook by keying in #SOGIEBill and you will not only see intolerance, but also hate.”

While she considers herself “fortunate” for being employed as a writer since 2013 because “companies from outside the country do not care so much about one’s gender identity and expression,” the 30-year-old writer and techpreneur believes that that hap-

GUIDE TO DATING.

The book, ‘Dating Transgender Women for Gentlemen’ discusses topics about romantic relationships between trans-oriented men and trans women.

pening here in the Philippines “is still far from reality.”

“Most companies in the Philippines still don’t employ transgender people, but positive change is gradually happening,” enthused Amanda, citing strides made by Cebu Pacific which hired two transgender flight attendants in 2019.

Going back to swimming with a blindfold and rock-filled jacket, discrimination also exists in the dating scene, particularly in the relationship between trans-oriented men—men who are attracted to transgender individuals—and trans women.

“Most people think that men who get involved with women like us are only after our money, have sick fetishes, pseudo straight, and more.

But that’s far from reality,” asserted Amanda, who’s also a dating coach for leading transgender website My Transsexual Date.

Tackling misconceptions surrounding romantic relationships between men and transwomen encouraged Amanda to write her book Dating Transgender Women for Gentle-

men, coming out on June 27.

“A lot of assumptions target trans-oriented men negatively and demeans the existence of women like us,” she said, pointing out that “men who date transgender women are not desperate, kinky, pseudo-straight, on the down low.”

She also challenges assumptions that transwomen are desperate to pursue a romantic relationship.

“A lot of transgender women like I am live a normal life and we work hard to achieve our dreams. We are quite selective when it comes to choosing a life partner,” shared Amanda.

These external factors, according to Amanda, also affect how men approach a relationship with a trans woman.

“Men who are interested in us fear of their lives. They don’t want to be bullied by bigots and this results in them not able to truly own up to their feelings. A lot of men who date us don’t plan for a clear future and they often just string us along,” said Amanda.

“This has to stop.”

Those “with an image to protect” are afraid that a relationship with

trans women will affect how other people look at them.

“CEOs, COOs, anyone with a high position in a company, celebrities, and religious types often find it difficult to date transgender women. I have a section in my book that talks about dating discreetly, and I think that the biggest boulders trans-oriented men have to break are the ones that they’ve created themselves,” shared Amanda.

While it entails a lot of trans-exclusive topics, her book discusses etiquette and relationship guides from which all men, regardless of sexual attraction, can benefit.

“Grooming, chivalry, patience, understanding, style, language, and more—these are what men have to learn if they want to attract the woman of their dreams,” said Amanda.

Optimistic, the author and dating coach reminds trans women: “Ladies, there are still good men out there.”

“If you want to be with a high-quality man, you have to be a high-quality woman. Refusal is elegance, leveling up is a must, and most importantly, know your worth, then add tax.”

Organizations discuss lockdown-driven domestic violence RECOGNIZING a silent pandemic happening inside closed doors, Avon Philippines has partnered with She Talks Asia to raise awareness of domestic violence driven by lockdowns imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Countless women quarantined at home have found themselves trapped with their abusers. Here in the country, the Philippine National Police reported 602 rape cases from March 17 to May 23.

With the lockdown effectively cutting off any means of help or escape, Avon has brought the fight online through #SpeakOut Online Tribe Meet Up event.

The two-part online event held on June 20, whose video is posted on She Talks Asia Facebook page, featured She Talks Asia co-founder Iza Calzado and CSR Lead for Avon Philippines Ces Fran-

From left: Iza Calzado, Ana Santos, Lynn Pinugu, and Sen. Risa Hontiveros join the recent #SpeakOut Online Tribe Meet Up.

cisco, who discussed Avon’s long-time commitment to end Violence Against Women and Girls and the company’s most recent global campaign #IsolatedNotAlone.

A panel discussion presented insights on the issue, possible

courses of action, as well as the proper channels for people everywhere to help.

Notable speakers joined the roundtable to share valuable information and viable ways to mitigate this critical concern, including gender equality ad-

vocate and 2005 Nobel Prize nominee Sen. Risa Hontiveros, journalist and Pulitzer fellow Ana Santos, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Luna Legal Resource for Women and Children Romeo Cabarde, Jr. She Talks Asia co-founder

Lynn Pinugu moderated the panel discussion.

Local celebrities and influencers have also shown support for the #IsolatedNotAlone campaign by coming up with Trojan Horse videos that offer domestic abuse victims a lifeline with-

out rousing suspicion from their abusers.

Published in their social media accounts, these videos feature athlete and activist Kali Huff and mental health and domestic abuse advocate Kris Ponce-Enrile, along with other personalities, seemingly doing regular, everyday activities that actually provide much-needed information on how to reach out to Avon’s partner NGOs. The Avon Foundation for Women issued P4.5 million in May to support local nongovernment organizations providing frontline services such as helplines and refuges. The emergency grant recipients included Luna Legal Resource Center for Women and Children, Gender Watch Against Violence and Exploitation, Women’s Care Center Inc., and ING MAKABABAYING AKSYON Foundation.