Manila Standard - 2020 July 1 - Wednesday

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NTC ORDERS ABS-CBN TO STOP ITS SKYCABLE OPERATIONS (Story Below) Quarantine areas as of July 1

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 127 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)—Cebu City General Community Quarantine (GCQ)—National Capital Region, Benguet, Cavite, Rizal, Leyte, Southern Leyte, LapuLapu City, Mandaue City, Ormoc City, Talisay City, Minglanilla (Cebu), Consolacion (Cebu) Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ)—Cordillera Autonomous Region (Abra, Baguio City, Ifugao, Kalinga); Region 1 (Ilocos Norte, La Union, Pangasinan); Region 2 (Cagayan, Isabela); Region 3 (Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Angeles City); Region 4-A (Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Lucena City); Region 4-B (Palawan, Puerto Princesa City);

Region 5 (Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Naga City); Region 6 (Capiz, Iloilo, Iloilo City, Negros Occidental, Bacolod City); Region 7 (Cebu Province, Bohol, Negros Oriental); Region 8 (Tacloban, Western Samar); Region 9 (Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Del Sur); Region 10 (Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City); Region 11 (Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao City, Davao de Oro); Region 12 (Cotabato, South Cotabato). Region 13 (Agusan del Norte, Butuan City, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao) • All other areas not on this list will be under “low-risk classification.”

NCR, Cebu City retain status Duterte twits undisciplined Cebuanos, hails Manilans for compliance

By Willie Casas and Jimbo Owen Gulle

COVID-19 PH

C

(AS OF 4 PM JUNE 30)

AT A GLANCE

EBU City will remain under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) while Metro Manila and other areas will stay under a General Community Quarantine (ECQ) starting today, as the Palace sought to open up more areas of the country currently under lockdown to help restart the economy.

In a televised message late Tuesday night, President Rodrigo Duterte also chastised residents of Cebu City and neighboring Talisay City, noting that the Visayas metropolis was now the hotspot of the country’s coronavirus pandemic “kasi hindi kayo sumunod” (you did not follow orders).

Duterte noted that Metro Manila and other areas showed “substantial compliance” to government directives to control the COVID-19 epidemic, an observation shared by the World Health Organization (WHO) (see list of quarantine areas above—Editors).

The President admitted there were quarantine violations in these areas, “but not on the scale I’ve seen” in Cebu, as he upbraided its residents—using his native Cebuano language—for their hardheadedness and non-compliance with health protocols.

“Think of your fellowmen. You might be the (coronavirus) carrier. Stay healthy.

37,514

1,080 NEW

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

858

1,266

11

10,233

277

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

FRESH

NEW

NEW

Palace: 40,000 cases off mark; experts disagree

4 Army soldiers killed by police in Jolo FOUR Army troopers, including two officers, were killed when police in Jolo, Sulu, fired upon them Monday afternoon, with police and military officials giving differing accounts of the incident.

An Army statement said its commander, Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, was enraged by the death of four soldiers at the hands of the police and demanded a full-blown

investigation.

Gapay, in a separate statement, said that even after the soldiers properly identified themselves, the police approached and fired on them for still unknown reasons.

"The soldiers

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were on a mission to identify the location of known terrorists in the area. Based on eyewitness accounts, no altercation transpired between the two parties nor was there any provocation on the part of Army personnel to warrant such

By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta A PALACE spokesman on Tuesday crowed that the country has defined a University of the Philippines prediction that there would be 40,000 COVID-19 infections by the end of June.

Raising his fist in celebration after learning the month-end tally fell below the UP projection, presidential spokesman Harry Roque exclaimed: “We beat the UP prediction. We beat it so congratulations, Philippines! Let’s do it again in July.”

Roque’s congratulations came as the country posted the second highest number of new cases of COVID-19 in a single day on Tuesday.

The Department of Health reported 1,080 more infections, 858 “fresh” and 22 that were reported “late,” bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 37,514.

The death toll climbed to 1,266 with 11 new fatalities, the DOH reported.

The DOH said total recoveries also rose to 10,233 after 277 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness.

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'MISENCOUNTER'. The bodies of three Philippine Army officers lie alongside

their vehicle after a gunfight with police anti-drug operatives on Monday in Jolo, Sulu.

Another photo (above) shows no visible firearms near the bodies of the soldiers. Their remains were later flown to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and given military honors (inset). Philippine Army photos

SkyCable satellite service cut off

By Darwin G. Amojelar and Maricel V. Cruz

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday ordered the Lopez-led SkyCable Corp.— a subsidiary of media giant ABS-CBN — to stop operating and to give back to its subscribers their unconsumed prepaid loads and subscription fees.

DEPED EXTENDS ENROLLMENT FOR SCHOOLS TO JULY 15 NEWS / A2

The legislative franchise granted to SkyCable under Republic Act 7969 expired on May 4, 2020.

“Upon the expiration of RA 7969, SkyCable Corp. no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise to install, operate and maintain a direct broadcast satellite service,” the NTC said.

SkyCable, which is operating in 251 cities and municipalities throughout the Next page

CHINA PASSES WORRISOME HONG KONG SECURITY LAW NEWS / A2

CG reports no survivors found in sea collision

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo COAST Guard authorities have seen no signs of life in the search for 14 people who went missing during a collision last weekend between a fishing boat and a Hong Kong cargo vessel off Occidental Mindoro south of Manila.

But PCG commandant Vice Admiral George Ursabia Jr. told a news conference Tuesday their personnel remained hopeful they would find the missing persons.

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HOLE IN THE BOW. A hole is prominent on the bow of the Chinese cargo vessel MV Vienna Wood (inset) after it collided with local fishing boat FV Liberty 5 off the coast of Mindoro island on Sunday, as a Coast Guard team goes around to inspect the damage on the massive ship. Philippine Coast Guard photos

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News

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

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Enrollment extended to July 15 Senator Win Gatchalian urged local government units to help the Education department localize the Learning Continuity Plan or LCP. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on basic education, arts and culture, says that would respond to the specific needs and concerns of learners, parents and teachers when classes reopen.

He says since connectivity and the availability of gadgets remain a challenge to most learners, there is a need to identify and maximize alternative learning modalities that are most accessible—especially in the far-flung areas.

Roque said the government recorded only more than 672,000 enrollees in the private schools for the coming school year.

But he cited Education Secretary Leonor Briones as saying that 15,223,315 students had already enrolled in the public schools and 672,403 in the private schools.

The region with the least number of enrollees was the Cordillera Administrative Region with 262,578, followed by the Caraga Region with 416,807 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 421,582.

in local government units is different,” Abeyasinghe said.

“We see poor compliance with guidelines, we see [the] number of [COVID-19] cases increasing, and this is actually becoming a worrying situation,” he added.

Pending the discovery of a vaccine, countries, including the Philippines, should heavily invest on non-pharmaceutical interventions such as contact tracing to minimize the health and economic impact of COVID-19, Abeyasinghe said.

“What we are advocating is that the DOH and the government invest in expanding testing capacity and contact tracing so we can isolate and prevent further transmission,” he said.

“Unfortunately, this aspect of Philippine response needs strengthening,” Abeyasinghe said.

There has been improvement in the country's contact tracing efforts in the last month “but it is not keeping pace with the expansion of testing capacity,” he said.

While the Philippines has the capacity to conduct 60,000 COVID-19 tests per day, the actual COVID-19 tests done per day is just around 15,000 due to lack of laboratory supplies, Abeyasinghe said.

The WHO official recommended that LGUs impose localized lockdowns instead.

"We don't believe that the situation in the metro requires a reversal (of a strict community quarantine). We recognize the impact of this outbreak not only on health but also on the economy," he said.

"There is a provision for localized lockdowns and while we are seeing an upsurge of cases within the NCR, in some localized cities, barangays, there is a need to make use of those provisions to suppress the transmission," Abeyasinghe added.

He reminded the public of the importance of the minimum health standards such as observing physical distancing and wearing face masks.

Metro Manila transitioned to a GCQ at the start of June from a modified ECQ as the government sought to restart economic activity.

The NCR had been the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines, but recently government officials have reported Cebu City and Cebu Province as among the emerging hotspots because of the recent spike in cases.

The DTTB was established by the DOH in 1993 to address the lack of doctors in far-flung rural areas.

When the DOH announced it was going to deploy DTTB doctors to Cebu City, two batches questioned the move, saying they were not consulted.

The doctors called it an “exploitative order,” especially since some would be placed in private hospitals. They said it went against the thrust of the DTTB program, which was to serve

disadvantaged areas.

The Community Medicine and Development Foundation also said that the DOH was “gaslighting” the doctors to make it appear that they are being unpatriotic when they are only ensuring that they serve “resource-poor communities who are also in dire need of care.”

Vergeire said the original plan was to deploy 40 doctors in batches of 10.

“The rotation will be every two weeks, then two weeks quarantine, before they go back to their area,” she said.

However, they found out that 11 could not be deployed since three of them were pregnant while others were serving areas that did not have any other doctors.

To address the demand for doctors in Cebu City, Vergeire said there are slots for Cebu from the department's emergency hiring program.

Vergeire said they will also check if they can lend doctors from other hospitals.

“We are trying to source out some professionals from other universities in Cebu,” she said.

Cebu City has recorded 5,915 confirmed COVID-19 cases, as of 5 p.m. of June 29, of which, 3,374 are active.

The neighboring cities of Mandaue and Lapu-lapu have 772 and 609 confirmed cases, respectively, of which, 530 and 475 are active. For the rest of Cebu province, a total of 1,120 cases have been recorded, of which, 834 are active.

A week after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) went to Cebu City to help manage the public health crisis, it called for the efficient management of patient care centers to decongest hospitals handling severe cases.

Melquiades Feliciano, IATF deputy chief implementer for Visayas, said proper management of isolation and quarantine facilities will enable medical front-liners to better handle severe COVID-19 cases.

Feliciano said if mild to moderate cases, suspected, and probable ones are taken to the patient care centers, doctors will be able to focus on serious COVID-19 patients brought to hospitals.

“We need to enhance the system to avoid people from going straight to the hospitals. We have Barangay Isolation Centers (BICs) and quarantine facilities.

If we are able to manage them well, we will certainly decongest our hospitals,” Feliciano said in Filipino.

He said patient care centers are wellequipped and manned by experienced health workers who are capable of taking good care of coronavirus patients.

“We have health workers and medical front-liners assigned in the isolation centers and quarantine facilities to care and attend to the needs of the patients,” he added.

Mary Jean Loreche, DOH chief

pathologist, confirmed that many patients who have been experiencing mild and moderate symptoms of COVID-19 are not following referral protocols by going straight to private hospitals.

“Many of our patients want to be admitted in private hospitals because our government hospitals, like the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, have eventually been converted into a COVID-19 facility. But private hospitals only allocated a certain percentage of their capacity for COVID patients,” she said.

The DOH-7, Loreche said, has already deployed more than a hundred nurses to augment the front-liners in private hospitals.

Earlier, DOH-7 regional director, Dr. Jaime Bernadas, called on barangay officials to coordinate with the operations center of the health agency in the region for the referral of COVID-19 patient from their locality.

The coordinated referral, Bernadas said, will ensure that patients with mild to moderate symptoms will only be treated in BICs and avoid clogging hospitals.

Meanwhile, Feliciano responded to some allegations that the city has been “militarized”, explaining that while Covid-19 is a medical issue, the main task of the military and police is to strictly enforce the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) guidelines.

“No matter what medical intervention that we do, if people are violating the rules, the minimum health standards, we will never be able to stop the threat. The priority effort here is medical intervention.

In fact, medical practitioners are our advisers,” he said.

In other developments: • Senator Juan Edgardo Angara called for the establishment of more mega quarantine facilities in Region 7, especially in Cebu as the number of cases continue to rise in the various provinces in Central Visayas. “We need to put up more mega quarantine facilities in Region 7, especially in Cebu City, which could become the country’s next COVID-19 hotspot in the country. The Department of Health should step up its response in Cebu City because the only way that we can flatten the curve is if all areas of the country are able to control the spread of the disease,” Angara said.

• The Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday it is closely monitoring several areas in Mindanao, considered now as “emerging hotspots” for COVID-19.

Vergeire identified these as Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Occidential for Region X; Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental for Region XI; South Cotabato ang Sultan Kudarat for Region XII; and Maguindanao within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

the troops tried to leave the police station.

In a phone interview with CNN Philippines, Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command Chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana defended those on board the vehicle saying they were AFP personnel assigned to the 11th Infantry Division and were on an official mission.

Sobejana said the vehicle the soldiers were riding was initially stopped at a PNP checkpoint where they immediately identified themselves as soldiers, and the parties agreed to have the soldiers go to the police station to clear things.

Citing several versions of the incident, Sobejana said he asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate what really happened to ensure impartiality.

“We don't want any escalation of hostilities out of the incident. Our interest is to know the facts and [to make sure] justice is given," he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described the incident as "very unfortunate," but declined to comment while an inquiry was in progress.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac described the incident as “a case of misencounter.”

"Yes, we consider it as misencounter, a case where our cops might not have been able to identify properly those soldiers [as] our colleagues... This is really just an unfortunate incident... for maybe lack of proper identification and lack of communication between and among ourselves," Banac told CNN. "This thing could have been prevented. This is a big lesson for us.

We will take this seriously so this won't happen again.” PNA

Palace:...

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Education department has extended the enrolment for public high school students to July 15, 2020, for those who still have to list up for the 20202021 online classes, Malacañang said Tuesday.

The enrolment for the 2020-2021 students even with the COVID-19,” presischool year was supposed to end on June dential spokesman Harry Roque said in 30. televised press briefing.

“Let’s not stop the education of our He made the announcement even as

NCR,...

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Then, avoid crowded places. Observe the distance rule, at least one meter. When somebody coughs, turn around or leave immediately,” he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III—whom Duterte vouched for again, saying his trust in him “was not a press release”—announced the areas under varying levels of quarantine starting July 1, with more areas put under “low-risk modified GCQ.” This was necessary because, as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez explained in the same meeting with the President last night, the National Capital Region and the Calabarzon areas south of Metro Manila “should move to MGCQ as quickly as possible since 67% of economy is based on these areas.”

Meanwhile, localized lockdowns in Metro Manila will suffice to control the transmission of COVID-19, the WHO said Tuesday.

The coronavirus situation in Metro Manila does not warrant a stricter lockdown, WHO Philippine representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said.

But he described as a "worrying situation" the local government units' (LGUs) "poor compliance" with guidelines set by the Department of Health (DOH) with regards to combatting COVID-19.

Also, the DOH said it has decided to make the deployment of rural doctors to Cebu City voluntary after several doctors and organizations criticized the plan.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a media briefing that the DOH was trying to bring all its resources to bear when it decided to deploy physicians under the Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) program to Cebu City, which is experiencing a surge in new COVID-19 cases.

“When we talked to the doctors, many refused, and this is quite disheartening,” Vergeire said in Filipino.

Vergeire confirmed that some of the government doctors may be placed in private hospitals but said the DOH would ensure that they are not taken advantage of.

The doctors won’t be posted in operating rooms, but instead serve to supplement staff in hospital triage areas, she added.

During the regular Laging Handa briefing on Tuesday, Abeyasinghe praised the DOH guidelines on managing positive cases and putting them on quarantine as "very good."

However, compliance by LGUs with the guidelines "does not seem to be universally good," Abeyasinghe said.

“The DOH issued very good guidelines in managing positive cases, how to quarantine them, but the implementation

4 Army...

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carnage," Gapay said.

The soldiers killed have been identified as Maj. Marvin Indamog, Capt.

Irwin Managuelod, Sgt. Eric Velasco and Cpl. Abdal Asula.

"The Army grieves and condoles with the families of our fallen men. There will be no let-up in our quest for truth and justice," Gapay said.

On the other hand, an initial police report said members of the Jolo Municipal Police Station and the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit of Sulu were patrolling Barangay Bus-Bus when they spotted a a sports utility vehicle with four armed men who were not wearing uniforms.

They were instructed to go to the Jolo Municipal Police Station for questioning, but upon arriving at the station, they allegedly defied the order and fled.

A chase ensued and when they were cornered in an area in downtown Jolo, those onboard the vehicle disembarked and pointed their firearms at the police, according to the report.

Before they could pull the trigger, the PNP personnel were able to shoot them in defense, thus an exchange of gunfire ensued which resulted in the death of the four suspects," the report said.

The Army has refuted these claims, saying the initial report was “fabricated” and “misleading.”

Army spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala Jr. said the troops could not have engaged the policemen in a firefight as they had "properly coordinated and identified themselves" as soldiers.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Edgard Arevalo also denied

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The new cases reported on Tuesday are the second-highest since June 23’s 1,150 new infections.

This also marks the highest number of fresh cases recorded in a single day.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the new cases reported on Tuesday were only based on reports from 57 out of 67 licensed laboratories.

Four duplicates were removed from the total tally of infections.

Among the fresh cases, 158 are from Metro Manila, 430 are from Region VII (Central Visayas), while the remaining 270 are spread out across the country.

Among the late cases, 45 are from Metro Manila, 38 are from Region VII, while the 139 other patients came from various areas nationwide.

As of June 28, the Philippines has 53 certified polymerase chain reaction facilities and 19 GeneXpert laboratories that have tested a total of 653,656 individuals.

SkyCable..

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country, said it will comply with the cease and desist order (CDO) stopping it from operating its direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service immediately.

But in a statement, SkyCable appealed to NTC “in the spirit of fairness... to extend the same privilege given in the past to other companies whose franchises have expired but are currently pending in Congress to

China passes feared HK security law HONG KONG—China passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong on Tuesday, a historic move that critics and many western governments fear will smother the finance hub's freedoms and hollow out its autonomy.

The legislation was unanimously approved by China's rubber-stamp parliament on Tuesday morning, little more than six weeks after it was first unveiled, sending shockwaves through semi-autonomous Hong Kong and beyond.

The United States, Britain, the European Union and the United Nations rights watchdog have all voiced fears the law could be used to stifle criticism of Beijing, which wields similar laws on the authoritarian mainland to crush dissent.

In an unprecedented decision, the law bypassed Hong Kong's fractious legislature and the wording was kept secret from the city's 7.5 million inhabitants. AFP

UNHRC chief to Du30: Don't sign terror bill THE United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to refrain from signing the antiterror bill, citing what she called its potential "chilling effect" on humanitarian and human rights work.

Reporting on the Philippines' human rights situation at the 44th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Bachelet cautioned that the measure "heightens our concerns on the blurring of important distinctions between criticism, criminality and terrorism.”

"I would urge the President to refrain from signing the (Anti-Terrorism) law and to initiate a broad-based consultation process to craft legislation that would effectively prevent and counter violent extremism but which contains some safeguards to prevent its misuse against people engaged in peaceful criticism and advocacy," she said.

"The law could have a chilling effect on human rights and humanitarian work, hindering support to vulnerable and marginalized communities," she said.

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Meanwhile, 1,300 or 34.92 percent of intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients are currently occupied while 1,950 or 23.23 percent of mechanical ventilators are in use.

Roque said the government was ready for the worst in its fight against COVID-19.

He offered this assurance after the World Health Organization said the worst is yet to come as the pandemic speeds up.

“We were ready and remain ready [for the worst],” Roque said.

As part of the government’s continuing efforts to contain COVID-19, the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFEID) has approved the proposal to revisit strategies in combating the new coronavirus disease, Roque said.

“We will boost people’s confidence to go back to work. We will also boost consumer demand. How? Through expanded targeted testing,” he said.

Roque said the government is also accelerating the country’s testing capacity by end of July to aid in achieving a positivity rate of 3 percent. With PNA

“No signs of survivors and life. But we are hopeful, with the strong southwest monsoon, we are anticipating that some of them have reached the coast line of Mindoro,” he said, adding residents of Mindoro's coastal communities had been alerted.

Reacting to the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said it was “shocked and saddened,” adding in a statement “This is a tragic incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the missing crew members and passengers. We sincerely hope all of them could be rescued at the earliest.”

The embassy said it was ready to render any necessary assistance to the concerned Philippine agencies conducting investigation into the cause of the incidents.

“During this difficult time, our top priority should be given to the rescue of missing crew members and passengers,” it said.

Pending the investigation, the embassy said, “we hope all parties refrain from politicalizing the issue and seeking narrow interests from such a humanitarian tragedy.”

The embassy also bewailed the revival by a few in the media of the fishing vessels' collision that happened on June 10, 2019 in the South China Sea. “China has been working closely with the Philippine side to solve the case. The concerned Chinese fishing association has already offered a compensation proposal to the Philippine side and has been waiting for formal feedback from the latter,” the statement said.

continue its operations until a resolution is passed.”

“SKYdirect’s 1.5 million subscribers nationwide, including those in remote areas that do not receive television signals, will be deprived of access to the channels we carry that bring them news, information, education, and entertainment starting tonight, June 30, 2020,” it added.

Sky Cable assured subscribers “of exhausting all legal remedies to resume our services.”

In July 25, 2018, the NTC extended the

provisional authority of SkyCable from June 23, 2017, up to but not beyond June 23, 2021 “subject to the applicable terms and conditions set forth in the previous provisional authority and conditioned upon compliance with the Commission’s existing rules and regulations.”

The NTC issued its order even as a Labor official, in a House hearing, said ABS-CBN was able to comply fully with the general labor standards, occupational health and safety standards and measures to ensure the security of tenure of its employees.

News

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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President grants parole to sick, elderly prisoners

By Vito Barcelo and Rey E. Requejo

SWAT PATROL. Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics of Manila Police District patrol in the vicinity of Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila on Tuesday June 30,2020, following the announcement that the church was put under a lockdown after a priest tested positive for COVID-19. The church will remain closed until July 4, 2020. Norman Cruz

Family of PWD ID abusers sought

By Maricel V. Cruz PAMPANGA Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo on Tuesday asked a panel in the House of Representatives to invite as resource person the family in Quezon City who allegedly obtained identification cards intended for persons with disabilities allegedly without having submitted proper documents to warrant its application.

During a virtual meeting of the House Special Committee on Persons with Disability, Arroyo made a motion to invite the family in the next committee hearing to guide and enlighten legislators over reports of abuse on the use PWD IDs. “I believe we can’t have a hearing if we don’t invite them and we can correct the supposed misdemeanors or misdeeds,” Arroyo told the panel headed by Rep. Maria Lourdes Arroyo of Negros Occidental. “I would like to make my manifestation a motion that we invite the family,” he added.

The committee conducted the hearing after Reps. Ronnie Ong of the Ang Probinsyano and Eric Yap of ACT-CIS earlier sought a review of the imple-

IN BRIEF Bello junks bid to use OWWA fund for OFWs LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Tuesday rejected calls for the use of the trust fund being managed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to provide for the emergency needs of displaced and repatriated Filipino migrant workers.

“They are sending us more than $30 billion a year. It helps our economy. At least, for once, let’s pay back to them. ‘Let us not touch the money,” Bello said.

The OWWA has asked for a P5 billion supplemental budget from Congress to prolong its fund’s sustainability as it warned of a “largely looming” bankruptcy should it continue to spend for the food, accommodation and transportation of repatriated workers beyond 2021.

At a Senate hearing last week, OWWA chief Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency’s P18.79-billion fund is expected to be reduced to P10 billion by the end of this year, and plunge below P1 billion by the end of 2021 should OFWs continue to be displaced and repatriated.

The OWWA has so far spent more than P800 million for repatriation, accommodation and cash assistance to Covid 19 affected returning OFWs, Cacdac said. Vito Barcelo

Solons want probe on NGCP rate hike LAWMAKERS have sought a congressional inquiry whether the Energy Regulation Commission was remiss in its regulatory oversight task in allowing the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to raise its transmission charges.

In filing House Resolution 953, Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the matter, in turn, had triggered the “unexplainable surge’ in electricity rates at this time when consumers are grappling with the economic pain unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Villafuerte, one of the authors of the resolution, urged the House committee on good government and public accountability to look into “the recent unexplainable surge in power rates” when “millions have lost their income and are struggling to survive” in the face of the global health crisis spawned by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.

He added the inquiry is also for the chamber to find out if the NGCP could be “obligated to refund” to electricity consumers an estimated over-recovery of P53.3 billion from 2016 to 2020 by way of lower power rates— based on the country’s lower Risk Free Rate and other factors such as depreciation that were supposed to have reduced investors’ interest rate from 10% in 2010 to just four percent in 2015. Maricel V. Cruz

mentation of Republic Act 10754 or the Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability (PWD) even a photo of allegedly fake PWD IDs issued by the Quezon City government to the family of six recently went viral on social media.

The two legislators also asked earlier the Department of Health, the Department of Interior and Local Government and the National Council on Disability Affairs to initiate a crackdown against the proliferation of PWD impersonators.

Arroyo’s motion was carried by the committee. “I would also like to hear their side, how they got these, if and where they got these, and it’s also good to know that everyone who is accused is proven innocent until declared guilty,” Rep. Maria Lourdes Arroyo said.

Chairwoman Arroyo, in her speech at the opening of the meeting, scored the alleged proliferation of fake PWD IDs, saying that it incurs “tremendous losses in government revenues and subsidies.”

“This highlights a lot of personal and social conscience, education, upbringing and a high sense of entitlement,” she said.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte granted parole to at least 221 convicted prisoners as the country races to stop the spread of coronavirus disease in congested jail facilities in the country.

Duterte gave the update on the assistance given to PDLs in his latest weekly report to Congress Monday night, saying the parole for 221 persons deprived of liberty was approved by the Board of Pardons and Parole.

In May 2020, around 144 PDLs have been granted parole by the BPP and recommended the pardon of more than 1,000 PDLs. Among those who were ordered released were prisoners sentenced to jail for six months or below, as well as qualified elderly and ailing prisoner.

The government earlier issued interim rules prioritizing PDLs who are old, sickly or suffering from terminal illness in the processing if parole or executive clemency.

The resolution also simplified the procedures by dispensing with some documentary requirements for application for parole and clemency.

Excluded from the interim rules are those convicted of heinous crimes or drug related offenses as well as those considered as high-risk prisoners.

A person granted parole must fulfill the conditions of the provisional liberty otherwise he will be brought back to prison to finish his sentence.

The government earlier said those who will be released on parole will have to undergo quarantine at a facility in their respective penal farm and colony before being freed.

Agri groups seek scrapping of ‘overpriced’ fertilizer deal

By Rey E. Requejo

A

N UMBRELLA network of agriculture stakeholders has called for the scrapping of the supply contract awarded to La Filipina Uy Gongco after it failed to fulfill its obligation to deliver 911,073 bags of urea fertilizer in Central Luzon by the end of June.

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) chairman Rosendo So said that as of June 30, the supplier was only able to deliver about 110,000 bags of fertilizer, or about 12 percent of its total obligation.

“This is ground enough for Agriculture Secretary William Dar to rescind this contract,” So said.

“This is proof that La Filipina, con-

trary to its claim, has no stock on hand nor does it have enough incoming supply of urea fertilizer,” So added.

Based on the terms of reference of the contract, which was awarded in May, La Filipina should have achieved a 50 percent delivery compliance within May and must meet full delivery by the end of June.

La Filipina’s supply contract for Cen-

tral Luzon at P995 per bag is part of the initial four winning bids in May amounting to P1.8 billion.

La Filipina was also awarded the supply contracts for Calabarzon at P990 per bag and Western Visayas at P995 per bag, while Atlas Fertilizer won the contract for Central Visayas at P900 per bag.

Farmers have questioned the contracts, saying the winning bids were overpriced given that the average retail price of urea in Central Luzon was between P850 to P890 per bag.

At the House of Representatives, the Makabayan bloc of party-list lawmakers have sought a joint inquiry of the Committees on Agriculture and Food and Good Government and Public Accountability on the questionable procurement, including La Filipina’s lack of stock on hand.

15 QC cops face criminal raps

By Rio N. Araja CRIMINAL charges have been filed against the 15 police officers who were on duty when six Chinese inmates escaped from their detention facility in Camp Karingal in Quezon City.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Quezon City Police District director Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo said the erring officers were charged with evasion through negligence, a violation of Article 224 of the Revised Penal Code before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office. “’Yung (administrative) case nila, ongoing ‘yung investigation (As for their administrative cases, the investigation is still ongoing),” Montejo said.

On June 22, Chinese nationals Zhang Yi Xin, Ludong Jin, Song Qicheng, Lu Yinliang, Huang Yong Qiao and Chen Bin were found to be missing during a headcount at the temporary custodial facility inside the camp.

They were rearrested in a follow-up operation in Barangay Krus na Ligas on June 23 and were transferred to a detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The suspects are among the 342 foreign nationals arrested by the Bureau of Immigration and the QCPD for working without proper permits and visas at a building in Barangay Bago Bantay, Quezon City in December last year.

They were also found working for a licensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator that was not yet allowed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to operate.

Meanwhile, thE numAber of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Quezon City has surged to 3,362 as of June 30, 8 a.m.

The city government, in its official Viber account, reported 107 new cases.

There were at least 94 new recoveries bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,978.

Also as of yesterday, there were four new cases of death.

The total number of deaths stood at 233.

DRIVERS-TURNED-BEGGARS. Drivers of public utility jeepneys beg for support from passing motorists and commuters along

Blumentritt Avenue in Manila, on 30 June 2020, on Day 108 since Metro Manila was locked down under an enhanced community quarantine in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although strict quarantine protocols have been lifted and public transportation has been gradually allowed, traditional jeepneys have yet to return to their routes; with drivers and their families having no income to depend on for food and necessities. Norman Cruz

NBI nabs man in Marikina with P13m in illegal drugs

By Willie Casas THE National Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday announced the arrest of a man in Marikina City for illegal drugs and illegal possession of firearms.

NBI Officer-In-Charge Eric B. Distor identified the suspect as Philip Jacob Nocom, who uses aliases such as Alex Benson Vergara, John Robert Bautista, and Joseph Francis Lee. He was charged before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Marikina City for violation of Section 28 of R.A. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition

Regulation Act), Section 11 of R.A. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), and Section 3 of Commonwealth Act No. 142, Regulating the Use of Alias.

The operation stemmed from a report received by NBI-International Operation Division from the owner of a security firm on June 25, 2020, that his employees discovered in a condo unit two pieces of high powered firearms, live ammunitions, and white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu.

Earlier that day, a representative of the unit owner sought the assistance of the two security guards of the condominium

to check on the tenant whom they known as “Alex Vergara” because the tenant has defaulted payment for two months. After knocking several times and waiting for several hours, and with the permission of the unit owner, they forcibly opened the door.

They found Vergara lying on his bed, almost unconscious and weak. The security guards also saw an M16 rifle beside Vergara’s bed and a 9mm caliber automatic pistol with several loaded magazine lying around.

They also saw several transparent plastics with white crystalline substance. Several identification cards were also found inside the unit.

PH lawyer linked to Wirecard mess gets death threats

By Rey E. Requejo JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said the Filipino lawyer linked into the financial scandal involving German payments firm Wirecard has claimed that he has been getting death threats.

Atty. Mark Tolentino went to the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday to shed light on his alleged role in

the Wirecard’s supposedly missing $2.1 billion.

“Atty. Tolentino said he was hired by his principal early this year to provide consultancy services,” Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.

Guevarra said that Tolentino is set to submit a formal affidavit.

“He said he’s receiving death threats,” the Justice Guevarra added.

Tolentino was reported to have been

appointed a trustee of Wirecard to open six accounts at Philippine banks to hold $2.1 billion in escrow. He has since claimed he was framed and is a victim of identity theft.

According to him, the “foreigners” went to his office early this year telling him they wanted to start a business in the Philippines. He said he told them they can open a corporation but that they told him they were in a hurry.

A4

LGUs

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

DOUBLE DUTY. Policemen in Atok, Benguet conduct random checks on motor vehicles passing by Kilometer 50 at sitios Sayangan and Paoay on Monday to ensure their compliance with minimum health standards, while others deliver the mail to residents under their ‘Pulis Mo, Mailman Mo’ project (inset). PNP Benguet Atok Twitter

Mayors, DOH discuss virus testing playbooks Mekeni offers Munti lifts ECQ on Sucat sitio four days early L solutions for local resellers

AS quarantine protocols begin to ease, most of the areas in the country have started moving on to life in the new normal.

However, countless Filipinos are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic—and the lockdown that was implemented to contain it—on their livelihood. Many have suffered heavy losses in terms of income; some had no choice but to permanently close up shop.

Knowing this, Mekeni Food Corp. came up with a number of solutions to help provide additional sources of income to those whose means of earning may have been affected by the pandemic.

Among these solutions are the Mekeni Home2Home delivery service, reseller programs for distributors and employees, and the Bayani product line.

To enable customers to purchase quality food from the safety of their homes, Mekeni launched its own online delivery service in April called Home2Home.

The company was one of the first to offer this service among food manufacturers at the start of the lockdown period, in a bid to immediately address the needs of customers.

N. Vizcaya offers 20% discount for medical lab fees BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The provincial government has suspended its hospital fees benefits and granted 20 percent discount for its medical laboratory fees to lessen the burden of villagers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suspended hospital fees benefits are the consultation fee in outpatient departments, medical certification fee, and non-medico legal fee.

The discount also covers the diagnostic and laboratory examination fees such as blood chemistry and Hepatitis B Vaccine, drugs, medicines and takehome medications prescribed to in-patients or outpatients, among others.

The suspension and discounts will be implemented among the provincial government-operated and managed hospitals.

These are the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital (NVPH) in Bambang, Dupax District Hospital (DDH) in Dupax del Sur, Lt. Tidang Memorial Hospital (LTMH) in Kayapa, Kasibu Municipal Hospital (KMH), the Diadi Emergency Hospital (DEH), and the Provincial Integrated Health Office (PIHO). Ben Moses Ebreo

THE local government of Muntinlupa has lifted the enhanced localized community quarantine in a sitio in Brgy. Sucat ahead of schedule due to improving situation of COVID-19 in the area.

Muntinlupa City Health Officer Dr. Teresa Tuliao recommended the lifting of the localized quarantine in Sitio Pagkakaisa Zone 3 Interior in Brgy. Sucat, on June 29, 11:59 p.m., four days before the set deadline of the lockdown for the community.

Earlier, the local government placed the area in ELCQ starting June 13, 12:01 a.m. until July 3, 11:59 p.m. due to the alarming increase of COVID-19 cases.

Tuliao reported that out of 29 confirmed cases, 14 have already recovered, while 15 residents were admitted to Os-

pital ng Muntinlupa for isolation and treatment. All residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are now recovering and have shown improving conditions.

The local health officer noted that the doubling time in Sitio Pagkakaisa Zone 3 Interior has slowed down.

During the lockdown, CHO conducted a mass testing in the community and strengthened its detection, isolation, and treatment strategies. The local government has also provided relief food packs to cover all meals and other basic supplies during the effectivity of the lockdown.

Residents of Sitio Pagkakaisa are urged to continue observing social distancing and other health protocols such as wearing of face masks, and frequent washing of hands.

Sitio Pagkakaisa Zone 3 Interior in Brgy. Sucat is the second community to have completed an ELCQ following Morning Breeze Homes in Brgy. Alabang last June 16.

Localized lockdowns in Muntinlupa started after the implementation of the general community quarantine in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, the local government continues to monitor Block 35 Excess Lot, Soldier’s Hills in Brgy. Putatan, the third community to be put under lockdown which is set to end on July 7, 11:59 PM. Muntinlupa eyes to conduct more localized community quarantine in several areas in the city to curb the alarming transmission of COVID-19 in the communities.

Clark firm now producing 10m masks a month

GETTING READY. Teachers at the Navotas Schools Division Office prepare the NavoSchool-in-a-Box kits for distribution to grade schoolers across the city, as the pupils’ parents wait patiently to claim them (inset). Jun David

Navotas launches School-in-a-Box

By Jun David THE city government of Navotas has launched the NavoSchool-in-a-Box program to ensure continued access to basic education for young Navoteños.

The City Schools Division Office (SDO) distributed the boxes to select parents of students enrolled in kindergarten, grade 6, and grade 8 levels at Bagumbayan Elementary School, Dagat-dagatan Elementary School, and Navotas National High School.

The boxes contained textbooks, selflearning modules, activity sheets, and school supplies. Those for kindergarten pupils included hygiene kits and toys donated by the Philippine Toy Library and other private entities.

From June 30 to July 3, teachers of these schools will conduct a simulation

of the distance learning classes via an online messaging app or through text messages.

Parents will guide their children in accomplishing assigned tasks and developing desired learning competencies.

They will submit the actual output of the learners and the assessment of the module every week.

Teachers will constantly coordinate with parents on the progress of their children and if any concerns arise, school officials said.

“Based on the survey conducted by our SDO, we learned that most of our students have access to cellphones and mobile data. This is why our education stakeholders decided that it is best to use the modified modular distance learning approach,” Mayor Toby Tiangco said.

CLARK FREEPORT— For the last two months, a Japanese firm inside this Freeport has been fulfilling its promise to produce 10 million pieces of face masks after quarantine restrictions have been relaxed and more personnel were permitted to go to work.

Yokoisada (Phils.) Corporation has already reached its maximum capacity for the months of May and June, although the firm is still in need of 80 more factory workers to complete its target of 300 workers, for its plans to further expand operations inside this Freeport.

The face masks being made in Clark use non-woven fabric and ear-looped raw materials, to lessen reliance on raw materials from China.

In a recent interview with Yokoisada President Yuki Yokoi, the firm’s decision to expand in Clark was driven by strong support from government agencies – the Department of Trade and Industry, the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corporation, and the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka – during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With support from the government, Yokoisada managed to quickly get their production facilities back on track to meet the Philippine and international requirements.

Yokoi also cited successful operations in the country for the past years and the goal to contribute to Philippine society as a reason for expanding.

OCAL, national, and regional health officials and executive officers recently met virtually to discuss strategies to improve COVID-19 testing outcomes at the fourth and final COVID-19 Virtual Learning Session.

The meeting was organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. and the Association of Political Consultants in Asia (APCA).

Titled “Rising to the COVID-19 Leadership Challenge, Mobilizing Resources for Effective Targeted and Expanded Testing and Use of Appropriate Technologies,” the event featured presentations by Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire and Dr. Huong Thi Giang Tran of the World Health Organization – Regional Office for the Western Pacific.

They outlined the national testing strategies implemented by the Philippine and Vietnamese governments.

Meanwhile, Mayors Oscar Moreno (Cagayan de Oro City), Jerry Trenas (Iloilo City), and Marcelino Teodoro (Marikina City) joined Batangas City health chief Dr. Carmelita Barrion to reflect on best case practices and challenges faced in implementing their respective local testing regimes.

USAID/Philippines Project Management Specialist on Infectious Diseases Dr. Ernesto and Bontuyan Jr. and Professor Joaquin Gonzalez III of Golden Gate University (California, U.S.A.) also shared their insights.

Vergeire explained that the national government’s targeted expanded testing strategy focuses on serving vulnerable sectors that are particularly susceptible to COVID-19.

She explained that limited resources since the onset of the pandemic have necessitated the creation of data-backed strategies to maximize the government’s expanded testing program and related pandemic responses.

Fortunately, advancements in testing procedures have also led to an expanded scope of testing, Vergeire said.

Guided by the mandates of the national government, local government units have been empowered to develop testing facilities together with the help of the private sector.

Vergeire said a total of 67 COVID-19 laboratories have been fully certified by the Department of Health (DOH), with 80 others approaching full certification.

In Vietnam, Tran said that risk assessment began in January due to fears that the shared border with China would result in a high incidence of infection.

Opinion EDITORIAL

L

We are certain that when they cam-

paigned to be elected to their current positions, they had no way of knowing that a global pandemic would accompany the usual challenges and temptations of the job.

In those pre-COVID days, progress, inclusive growth, resilience and good governance were among the aspirations of local government units. Each LGU’s chance at success varied greatly, depending on its own history, attributes, baggage left by previous leaders, the culture of its people, and the qualities of its new leader.

It appeared that eschewing traditional practices and restrictive mindsets in the manner of governance could be good predictors of success. Younger executives, adept at technology, appreciative of science, and more inclined to make decisions

May best practices be highlighted, retold and replicated.

May blunders and incompetence be rebuked.

And then this pandemic brought the world to its knees. All of a sudden, all plans were put on hold and survival became the name of the game. Each leader grappled with the threat of the virus, and the corresponding economic consequences of the public health emergency, with whatever resources available. Some were lucky to have actual or vicarious

CROSSROADS

J.A. DELA CRUZ

experience running an LGU; others had a rude awakening.

While Filipinos look to the national leadership for direction, all policies, directives and assistance is delivered through the local government.

What an ordeal the past months have been—and the crisis is far from over.

With the pandemic far from over, our local leaders will continue to be the face of the government, and will be the cause of our confidence in, or abhorrence of it.

The leaders who marked their first year on the job this year will be the ones to see us through as we make a transition to the so-called new normal. May best practices be highlighted, retold and replicated. May blunders and incompetence be rebuked.

These leaders’ competence or ineptitude will determine whether we simply pick up from where we left off—or whether we have to work hard to recover after losing the equivalent of many years of progress.

TODAY, July 1, marks the beginning of our fourth month in quarantine and ushers in the second semester of 2020. To describe this period as a challenge for our country and our people would be an understatement. Given the unprecedented impact of this invisible enemy not only on our lives but to millions of people worldwide, it has been a struggle like no other. But we have not seen the end of all that exertion. Far from it. In fact, if we go by the record, we probably just got off the starting line.

Like all others, our first and, of course, continuing response to the pandemic is to save lives. We imposed the most restrictive lockdown, the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), asked everybody to stay at home and ensured that everything else except essential services and personnel would be allowed to take to the streets. Nobody moved.

Period. Government had to scramble to get hold of available resources to put in place a medical and social net to cover the needs of the most vulnerable sectors which make up the majority of the population even as it enjoined the private sector to keep-workers-onthe-job and enhance their support to frontliners and the poorest-of-the-poor.

These undertakings they were obliged to do even as they themselves had to bear the costs of idled operations. To Save Lives. But, as is now getting obvious, any extended lockdown without easing up to let the economy breath is a formula for a double whammy.

Saving Lives comes with Saving Livelihoods. Under the circumstances, saving one without the other is not only unsustainable. It is unworkable. The economy has to breathe, people have to move and goods have to be traded to ensure that services including health care are put in place. The country cannot be indefinitely locked down. Therein lies our stress test: How to calibrate the easing up to ensure that we really Save Lives while Saving Livelihoods.

Last January, buoyed by the country's economic performance in 2019 which put us squarely within the top tier of the best performing economies in Asia if not globally, we were looking at another year of top notch growth. We were the darling, so to speak, of rating agencies and financial institutions almost all of whom were in agreement that indeed 2020 will be a banner year for the Philippines. Then, COVID- 19 set in. The global economy literally got locked down and almost all countries went into a tailspin.

We entered uncharted territory, optimism turned into anxiety and gloom set in. We have to brace for the global fall out. Our economic stress test is now underway with hardly any room for error given our make up as a heavily consumption based economy.

For years, household consumption has accounted for more than half of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the balance by a modicum of manufacturing, construction, tourism and related services and investments. With sustained growth in OFW remittance and BPO set ups (POGOs, by the way, are actually BPO operations), consumption's GDP share went up even more. Last year, it

Politicizing a pandemic SANTA Banana, with the warning of no less than the World Health Organization that the COVID-19 pandemic will still get worse, and with a vaccine still nowhere in sight, I wonder why President Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases keep on easing protocols.

The pandemic has already breached the 10-million mark globally, and the numbers keep on rising. Here at home, we have reached 35,000. The Philippines has seen remarkable increase among countries in the Western Pacific.

I believe that the President and the IATF are doing their best to keep the numbers down. Still these best efforts are inadequate. I wonder—what is the reason other countries are beating COVID-19 and we are not.

This is just my observation. My opinion.

It appears that political expediency has entered the picture, like in the case of Metro Manila where I live. The IATF relies too much on the recommendations of the Metro Manila Development Council, composed of 17 Metro Manila mayors. In turn, the IATF passes on this recommendation to the President.

The end result is our current situation.

I suggest the President study how other countries are beating the virus. *** Cebu City is now the epicenter of the pandemic in the Philippines. The reason for this is that the Cebuanos do not seem to respect guidelines and protocols. They violate measures such as wearing face masks and practicing physical distancing. These are the best ways to stop the transmission of the virus.

TO THE POINT

EMIL JURADO We should all understand that unless we observe all guidelines, we can only expect COVID-19 to get worse.

The problem is that people who have been rendered jobless because of COVID-19 and those who have lost their livelihood are now desperate to go to work. They are willing to take safety risks.

Why are we easing restrictions when the numbers are still getting higher?

This is where government should step in and control the people, even if it means solutions like what the President has done in Cebu. There is need for draconian measures. I am sure the President realizes this­— then again, he is also a politician. *** Santa Banana, in my 70 years as a journalist, I have seen many instances when libel convictions spark an outcry that human rights are being curtailed, or that press freedom is being stifled. There is a chilling effect, they say. The same is happening now with the conviction of Rappler’s Maria Ressa of cyberlibel.

But we should all keep in mind that free-

Recession VIRTUAL REALITY

TONY LOPEZ THE Philippine economy is now in recession. Recession is a slowdown or decline in economic production for two consecutive quarters.

The economy contracted by 0.2 in the first quarter 2020 and is estimated to contract by another 5.7 to 6.7 percent in the second quarter ending June 30, 2020. For the whole year 2020, the contraction could be between 3 percent (government forecast) and 6 percent (economist Ciel Habito’s forecast). To me, I think the drop in output could be as deep as 8 percent in 2020.

The last time the country suffered a GDP growth rate decline was in early 1998, 21 years ago. After that 1998 semi-recession, the Philippines has had 84 consecutive quarters of economic expansion, the longest and richest in our country’s history. That boom brought Filipinos to low middle class status, with per capita income of $3,765.

Filipinos were supposed to be upgraded to upper middle income this 2020, with each Filipino making close to $4,000 per year. With the country

enjoying among the world’s most robust growth rates, the Philippines was recording among the lowest rates in unemployment, underemployment, and poverty in recent memory. Then, the coronavirus struck.

The milestones would have made Rodrigo Duterte the best president in terms of economic achievement.

No wonder, the President was surfing waves after waves of popularity surges, hitting unheard of territory, with eight in every 10 Filipinos giving him the thumbs up.

Why not? His economic managers promised to lift six million Filipinos out of poverty in 2022, at the end of his six-year term. They did it four years early, in 2018 when poverty incidence fell from 23 percent of the population in 2015 to 17 percent by 2018.

It is not as if there was a dramatic increase in real income by the poor. Poverty reduction also benefited from the “redefinition” of poverty.

Statisticians said anybody who drinks beer and smokes cannot be counted as poor, although beer and smoking are staple habits of most Filipinos. Also, statisticians redefined what it means to have a “full time” job. He is anyone who has worked for one hour in the past week. They also redefined what is a labor force. Anyone who is 15 and

dom of the press is not absolute.

Another instance is the case of ABSCBN network, which was ordered shut down by the National Telecommunications Commission. Those with bleeding hearts for the Lopezes now say there is a threat to freedom of the press.

But is there, really?

I don’t think press freedom is even involved at all! I was business editor for The Philippines Herald many years ago, and I knew that the Lopezes used their network for money, politics and power.

Every network franchise holder has some things it can and cannot do. An example of the latter is the issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts to foreigners, because the 1987 Constitution is very clear that ownership and management of mass media are limited to Filipino citizens.

Sure, foreigners holding PDRs cannot vote, but they are still deemed owners.

The Lopezes have had their heyday, but the good times will not last forever. That is the real issue, not freedom of the press. *** I cannot see the reason why the IATF is still prohibiting jeepneys from plying their regular routes. Modernized jeepneys are here, yes, but the elimination of traditional jeepneys has created a bigger problem for the government. Now the drivers roam the streets, begging.

I cannot believe that the government would resort to the phaseout of traditional jeepneys at this time, when many are getting hungry. It is hardly the time for this plan to be implemented!

My heart goes out to the drivers asking for alms because they have no more income. They could become desperate.

above who is supposed to work but is not seeking work is not counted as part of the workforce. This definition removes easily 20 million from the workforce, making the universe on which to base unemployment and underemployment ratios much smaller, about 43 million.

Based on 43 million, a 5 percent unemployment is just 2.15 million. Based on 63 million, a 5 percent unemployment is 3.15 million, a difference of one million jobless Filipinos.

Before this, the Philippines has had 84 consecutive quarters of economic expansion—the longest and richest in our country’s history.

In the 1970s, statisticians decided that anybody using cosmetics and wearing some fancy jewelry could not be poor.

That “improved” the lot of the poor, statistically.

Duterte’s economic managers also claimed that they saved more than 100,000 lives and millions more of possibly infected Filipinos, thanks to Manila’s early lockdown, on March 15, which became the world’s longest lock-

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

B1

Stress test

The longest year based on hard data, seemed to be making OCAL executives elected in the May 2019 elections mark good first impressions. their first anniversary in office this week.

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

down and Asia’s strictest lockdown. I was initially cynical of those claims, made by Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez and his fair-haired freshly minted economic planning secretary, Karl Kendrick Chua.

Then, by design or negligence or both, Health Secretary Francisco Duque started trying to prove Sonny and Karl were right. The number of COVID-19 cases rose stratospherically to total 36,438 as of yesterday, with 983 new cases per day. On March 15, the day the lockdown began, there were only 140 cases, with 29 new cases per day. Cumulative deaths were 1,255 as of June 29, up from just the 12 total on March 15, 2020. Ever heard of the term “predictive” text in texting or writing? Well, it also applies to COVID reporting.

Bangko Sentral Governor Ben Diokno sent me the following press statement yesterday on the latest economic performance and outlook: S&P’s forecast that the Philippine economy might contract by 3 percent should be seen in a positive light. This is better than the International Monetary Fund’s -3.6 percent and the Asian Development Bank’s -3.8 percent.

The negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis is harsher than what was originally thought. In fact, the IMF has recently downgraded global growth to -4.9 percent, down from 1.9 percent points from its April forecast.

The S&P forecast for the Philippines falls within the government’s revised

was estimated to have climbed up to 70 percent (whew!!) of the country's gross domestic product.

That dependency while not ideal was deemed permissible at that time given the buoyancy of the global economy which, from all indications, was possibly going to last at least for another five or even 10 years. The US-China trade war was semi-aborted with the inking of the first covenant on the exchange of goods and services. The price of oil, a major factor in global trade, was at an all-time low, easing up only gradually. Travel and tourism were at an all-time high. Manufacturing in most industrialized countries was inching up. No less than the World Bank and the IMF were projecting global growth to inch up to 4 maybe even 5 percent—a record.

The government’s policies, properly implemented, will get us back on track.

But COVID-19 has altogether wiped out those rosy expectations. Last we looked, both institutions are now hoping the global economy will not plunge into recession worst than during the Great Depression. Even the mightiest countries, from the G-7 to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping to the newly industrialized ones have given up on their own prospects for recovery.

Under the circumstances, we are really in for a stress test like no other.

We were able to withstand the effects of the worst financial crisis in recent memory the latest being the Wall Street crash which broke the backs of the biggest US and European banks. It's iffy this time around.

We just registered the highest unemployment rate in recent memory—17.7 percent of the workforce was out of job immediately after the onset of COVID-19. Our OFWs who remit more than US$35 billion annually are coming home, swelling the ranks of the unemployed. Travel and tourism are down to almost zero. Our two biggest airlines are cutting back and definitely saddled with debt.

Many retail and service establishments are closing down. Trade and manufacturing are barely moving. The most immediate economic booster—construction—is yet to get on track. The MSMEs which make up most of the employing sector have yet to get back on track. Simply put, government must make the necessary moves to get the country out of its COVID-19 imposed slumber.

Well, the good thing about it is government has gotten almost all of the allocated P259-billion Bayanihan-To-Heal-As-One funds back into the economy. Hopefully, that money will now circulate in a manner that can ignite some fire in the targeted sectors.

The Bangko Sentral has tweaked monetary policy to neutralize the pandemic impact.

Government is scouting for means to fund the stimulus package and other interventions to get things going. All of these, properly implemented, will get us back on track.

I hope our struggle for economic recovery will materialize soon enough. We heard we would surely have a break by the second semester of 2021. Sana na nga.

projection that the domestic economy will contract at between 2 to 3.4 percent.

It is also consistent with the BSP staff’s forecast that Q2 2020 GDP growth would contract at between 5.7 percent to 6.7 percent.

The S&P’s GDP forecast for the Philippines is right in the middle of growth forecasts for ASEAN-5 countries: Indonesia, 0.7 percent; Vietnam, 1.2 percent; Philippines, -3 percent; Singapore, -5 percent; and Thailand, -5.1 percent.

The other good news is that the rating agency sees a strong rebound for the Philippine economy next year, as it forecasts that the economy will bounce back by 9.4 percent as economic activities resume. biznewsasia@gmail.com

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Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

B2

World

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Texas testing centers drowning under virus wave HOUSTON—Armed with blankets and pillows, Texans wait in their cars for hours outside a testing center in Houston, one of the new COVID-19 epicenters in the US. “I’ve been here since three in the morning,” said Maria Solis to AFP. The 22-year-old has come to get tested for a second time, after her first came back positive, prompting her to quarantine for 14 days.

In two weeks, the situation in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States, has sharply declined— as seen outside the United Memorial Medical Center Tidwell, a hospital in a residential neighborhood in north Houston.

“When I first got tested, there were no lines whatsoever and that was maybe two weeks ago,” Solis said.

“I just went inside and it was maybe three cars, and now it’s a big growing number. It’s kind of scary.”

The spread of the coronavirus in Texas has taken a “swift and very dangerous turn,” according to Republican governor Greg Abbott.

Everyone is watching the rate of infection, which is currently at 14 percent—double what it was at the beginning of June.

Concerns have become so great that Houston is often compared to New York city, which has three times as many residents, at the start of the pandemic.

Huge pickup trucks and ordinary sedans—all the cars move one by one from the line through the white tents constructed in the hospital parking lot.

Some people came with their families, and more than one person has nodded off during the long wait. AFP

US, China in tit-for-tat moves over HK

W

ASHINGTON­—The United States on Monday ended sensitive defense exports to Hong Kong, further ramping up pressure in a row over the financial capital’s autonomy from China.

The US announced the decision hours after China said it would curb visas to some Americans heading to Hong Kong, itself a response to a US move.

The United States has been leading a global uproar over a national security law which Hong Kong activists say will destroy the city’s freedoms.

“We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong

Kong or to mainland China,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

“We cannot risk these items falling into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, whose primary purpose is to uphold the dictatorship of the CCP by any means necessary,” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

The direct impact will be modest. The

US couple draw guns on protesters passing mansion

WASHINGTON—A US couple, brandishing an assault rifle and a handgun, confronted protesters outside their Missouri mansion in a viral video that was retweeted by President Donald Trump, sparking divided reactions.

In the video, Mark McCloskey wears a pink polo shirt and pleated khakis, with his wife Patricia is in a striped T-shirt and cropped pants.

Both are standing barefoot in their garden in St Louis, Missouri, on Sunday evening as protesters marched down a private street to demonstrate in front of the mayor’s house.

Mark McCloskey, 63, a lawyer like his wife, 61, told a local news channel they were “terrified” when the protesters arrived.

“A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place (and) rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives,” he told KMOV4, the local CBS affiliate.

“This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets,” McCloskey said.

“I was terrified that we’d be murdered within seconds, our house would be burned down, our pets would be killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob.”

Trump retweeted without comment the video of the white couple pointXI’S ORDER. This file photo taken on May 28 shows China’s President Xi Jinping voting on a proposal to draft a security law on ing a semi-automatic rifle and a handHong Kong during the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong on June 30, a historic move that critics and many western governments fear will gun at the protesters, the majority of smother the finance hub’s freedoms and hollow out its autonomy. AFP whom were YELLOW black. AFPBLACK CYAN MAGENTA

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pagbabago o pagwawasto sa nasabing impormasyon, sa CIC para sa konsolidasyon at paghahayag nito nang naayon sa pagpapahintulot ng CIC.

TODAY

Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2020

CARACAS—Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Monday gave the head of the European Union mission in Caracas, Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, 72 hours to leave the country after the bloc announced sanctions against 11 Venezuelan officials.

“Who are they to try to impose themselves with threats?” said Maduro.

“We will sort it out in 72 hours... she will be given a plane to leave, but we will arrange our things with the European Union.”

Venezuela’s airspace is currently closed to commercial airplanes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Maduro also accused the EU of getting down on its “knees” to US President Donald Trump, who has taken a hard line against the leftist leader, and copying “erratic policies” against the Latin American nation.

Relations have been tense since 2017, when Venezuela became the first Latin American country to receive sanctions from the EU, including an arms embargo.

Among the officials sanctioned Monday was Maduro-backed opposition legislator Luis Parra, who is contesting the leadership of the opposition-controlled National Assembly with its president Juan Guaido. AFP

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, makipag-ugnayan sa [Pangalan ng Magsusumite] o bisitahin an gaming website [website ng Magsusumite].

COMPLIANCE OF MICROFINANCE NGOS WITH REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9510 OR THE CREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEM ACT

Maraming salamat.

[Pangalan ng Magsusumite]”;

Whereas, the Credit Information System Act (“CISA”) established and created the Credit Information Corporation (“CIC”) to address the need for a comprehensive, centralized and reliable credit information system1;

4.

Whereas, Microfinance NGOs (“MF-NGOs”) are referred to as submitting entities under the CISA and a ‘submitting entity’ is defined as “any entity providing credit facilities and required by [Republic Act (“R.A.”) No. 9510, or the CISA, and its implementing rules and regulations (“IRR”)] to submit information or data about a borrower [to the CIC], including, but not limited to, banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, investment houses, financing companies, cooperatives, non-governmental, microfinancing organizations, credit card companies, insurance companies and government lending institutions”2;

Adopt the following notification clause template, in English or Tagalog language, to be inserted in the submitting entities’ loan/credit applications for data subjects to read and sign: “I hereby acknowledge and authorize the following: (1) the regular submission and disclosure of my basic credit data (as defined under Republic Act No. 9510, or the Credit Information System Act, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations) to the Credit Information Corporation (CIC), as well as any updates or corrections thereof; and (2) the sharing of my basic credit data with other lenders, as authorized by the CIC and other credit reporting agencies duly accredited by the CIC; and for the sole purpose of establishing my creditworthiness.”

Whereas, submitting entities are required to submit current, objective, factual and basic credit data, both positive and negative, to the CIC regularly on a monthly basis, which is on or before the 5th working day of the month3;

or

Whereas, regular updates on the data shall be submitted by the submitting entities within thirty (30) calendar days from the time they are made available to them by their data subjects in accordance with their credit policy and the CISA’s IRR4;

“Sa pamamagitan nito, aking kinikilala at pinapahintulutan ang mga sumusunod: (1) ang madalas na pagsusumite at paghahayag ng mga pangunahing impormasyon hinggil sa aking pagkakautang (gaya ng pagkakahulugan nito sa ilalim ng Republic Act No. 9510, o ang Credit Information System Act, at ang Implementing Rules and Regulations nito) sa Credit Information Corporation (CIC), gayundin ang anumang pagbabago o pagwawasto sa nasabing impormasyon; at (2) ang pamamahagi ng mga pangunahing impormasyon hinggil sa aking pagkakautang sa ibang nagpapautang, nang naayon sa pahintulot na ibinigay ng CIC at iba pang ahensyang may mandato at akreditasyon mula sa CIC na magsumite ng mga impormasyon hinggil sa mga pagkakautang; at para sa natatanging layuning matasa ang aking kakayahang mangutang.”;

Whereas, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) required MF-NGOs to submit before the SEC a certification stating that the MF-NGO has fully complied with the requirements under the CISA within fifteen (15) days from the date of its compliance5; Whereas, the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council (“MNRC”) is an accrediting entity created under R.A. No. 10693, otherwise known as the Microfinance NGOs Act, to require regular submission of reports by MFNGOs, among others6; NOW THEREFORE, all accredited MF-NGOs are enjoined to comply with the following obligations of a submitting entity pursuant to the CISA, its IRR and CIC issuances:

5.

Maintain copies of the letter notification and when so required by the CIC, submit the same to the latter;

1.

Submit to the CIC the basic credit data on all data subjects, as provided in Rule 4.4 of the IRR of the CISA;

6.

2.

Inform their borrowers in writing of the submitting entities’ obligation to submit their basic credit data and other credit information to the CIC;

Maintain a copy of the Deposit and/or Fund Waiver if the same is executed by a borrower, and when so required, submit it to the CIC;

7.

Regularly submit the basic credit data of all of their borrowers to the CIC, as contained in their respective databases, files or systems, not later than on the 5th day of the month, and in the form/format and manner prescribed by the CIC;

8.

Ensure that the basic credit data of their borrowers submitted with the CIC are accurate, complete, correct and current up to the relevant update cycle date of the CIC;

9.

Whenever error reports are received from the CIC, rectify the errors in the relevant files and send the corrected files to the CIC within a period of three (3) working days;

Adopt the following letter template, in English or Tagalog language, to notify their existing borrowers of the submitting entities’ obligation under the CISA: “Dear valued client, This is to notify you that pursuant to Republic Act No. 9510, or the Credit Information System Act, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), creating the Credit Information Corporation (CIC), we are mandated to submit your basic credit data, as defined under the said law and its IRR, as well as any regular updates or corrections thereof, to the CIC for consolidation and disclosure as may be authorized by the CIC.

MASKS ON. A woman walks past a mural by US muralist Kyle Holbrook with health workers and Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage (right, below) wearing a mask in Wynwood Art District in Miami, Florida on June 29. The City of Miami issued an emergency order mandating facial coverings be worn in public at all times and until further notice. Officials will start issuing fines of up to $500 for not wearing a mask in public. AFP

US Supreme Court rejects key challenge to abortion law

10. Develop an internal dispute resolution process by which a data subject can dispute information recorded in his own consolidated credit data, and by which said dispute may be investigated and resolved within a period of five (5) working days;

Consequently, your basic credit data may thus be shared with other lenders authorized by the CIC and other credit reporting agencies duly accredited by the CIC for the purpose of establishing your creditworthiness.

11. Extend full, complete and timely cooperation to the CIC with respect to disputes brought before it by data subjects who allege that the credit information pertaining to them is erroneous, incomplete or misleading; and

For more information, please contact [Name of the Submitting Entity] or visit our website [Website of the Submitting Entity].

12. Inculcate in their borrowers the importance of maintaining a good credit record.

Thank you.

[Name of Submitting Entity]”

Maduro ejects EU ambassador

Kung gayon, ang mga pangunahing impormasyon hinggil sa inyong pagkakautang ay maaaring ipamahagi sa ibang nagpapautang na may pahintulot ng CIC at iba pang ahensya na may mandato at akreditasyon mula sa CIC na magsumite ng mga impormasyon hinggil sa mga pagkakautang para sa layuning matasa ang iyong kakayahang mangutang.

MICROFINANCE NGO REGULATORY COUNCIL

3.

State Department last year approved $2.4 million in defense sales to Hong Kong, of which $1.4 million worth were actually sent, including firearms and ammunition for law enforcement, according to official figures.

The Commerce Department simultaneously said it was revoking its special status for Hong Kong.

It will now treat the financial hub the same as China for so-called dualuse exports that have both military and civilian applications—and which are highly restricted when sought by Beijing. AFP

This circular shall take effect within fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

or

Issued this 24 June 2020, Pasay City.

“Mahal naming Ginoo/ Binibini, Alinsunod sa Republic Act No. 9510, o ang Credit Information System Act, at ang Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) nito, na nagbigay daan sa pagkakatatag ng Credit Information Corporation (CIC), nais naming ipagbigay alam na mandato kaming isumite ang mga pangunahing impormasyon tungkol sa iyong pagkakautang, gaya ng pagkakahulugan nito sa ilalim ng nasabing batas at IRR nito, gayundin ang anumang

EMILIO B. AQUINO Chairperson 1 2 3 4 5 6

Section 4 of R.A. No. 9510.

Rule 3(t) of the IRR of R.A. No. 9510.

CIC Letter Circular No. 2017-01.

Rule 4.2 of the IRR of R.A. No. 9510.

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 7, Series of 2016.

Section 11(e) of R.A. No. 10693.

(MS-JULY 1, 2020)

WASHINGTON—The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law that tightly restricted access to abortion in the first constitutional test of abortion rights since President Donald Trump named two conservative justices to the top court.

In a key victory for abortion rights activists, the justices voted 5-4 to overrule a state law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

The Louisiana law “would drastically reduce the number and geographic distribution of abortion providers, making it impossible for many women to ob-

tain a safe, legal abortion in the state,” the ruling said.

Right-leaning Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four progressives, frustrating abortion opponents who had hoped that Trump’s appointments had tilted the high court firmly in their direction.

But Roberts gave them hope that a different challenge to abortion rights might succeed in the future in the conservative court.

He said his decision to join with the progressives in the case, June Medical Services v Russo, was strictly on institutional grounds, and not because he believed the Louisiana law was unconstitutional. AFP

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Britain’s economy suffers worst quarterly contraction since 1979

CHEERS! Customers pose for a photograph with their drinks outside the re-opened Murray’s Bar in Dublin on June 29, 2020, as lockdown measures begin to be eased. Irish pubs unlock their doors and begin pouring pints on Monday, ending a 15-week dry spell forced by the nation’s coronavirus lockdown. All domestic travel restrictions were also lifted, as churches, hairdressers, cinemas and museums opened and mass gatherings of 50 indoors or 200 outdoors were permitted. AFP

LONDON—Britain’s economy has suffered its biggest quarterly contraction for more than 40 years as the coronavirus pandemic slashed activity, revised official data showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product shrank 2.2 percent in the first quarter, or JanuaryMarch period, compared with the prior three months, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement giving a second estimate.

The initial figure given by the ONS showed a GDP contraction of 2.0 percent in the first quarter, or worst reading since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Second-quarter data will show the full impact of coronavirus because Britain’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown was only imposed on March 23.

Recent official figures had showed UK economic activity crashed by a record 20.4 percent in April.

“Our more detailed picture of the economy in the first quarter showed... the largest quarterly fall since (the third quarter of) 1979,” said ONS deputy national statistician Jonathan Athow.

“All main sectors of the economy shrank significantly in March as the effects of the pandemic hit.”

Athow added, however, that “the sharp fall in consumer spending at the end of March led to a notable increase in households’ savings.”

This has been helped further by the government paying the bulk of privatesector workers’ wages during the pandemic to keep them in jobs.

Economists, meanwhile, anticipate a double-digit slump in output during the second quarter or April-June period, placing Britain in a technical recession.

“It is evident that the UK economy witnessed a record GDP contraction in the second quarter,” said Howard Archer, economist at EY, which is forecasting a 17-percent slump before a 10-percent rebound in the third quarter.

The Bank of England has warned that COVID-19 paralysis could spark the nation’s worst recession in centuries, after the coronavirus slammed economies worldwide.AFP

Market rallies; Alliance Global, Altus climb

S

HARE prices rebounded Tuesday along with the rest of Asia, as traders welcomed positive economic data from China and the US, which helped offset a pick-up in virus infections and the reimposition of containment measures in some countries.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 102.54 points, or 1.7 percent, to 6, 207.72 on a value turnover of P6.5 billion. Gainers beat losers, 118 to 70, with 54 issues unchanged.

Altus Property Ventures Inc., a unit of Robinsons Land Corp., jumped 49.9 percent to P41.60.

Altus listed 100 million shares Friday with an initial listing price of P10.10 a share by way of introduction, or without an initial public offering.

Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan advanced 4.6 percent to P6.80, while BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 4.3 percent to P98.

Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-largest bank, rose 3.6 percent to P72.

The easing of lockdowns in recent months has been a key catalyst for world equities as investors―supported by a wall of government and central bank cash―bet on a sharp recovery from what is expected to be a global recession this year.

Wall Street provided a healthy lead, helped by news of a record 44-percent on-month jump in US pending home sales in June, as well as a massive improvement in manufacturing activity as reported by the Dallas Federal Reserve.

On Tuesday, China said its purchasing managers index (PMI) of factory activity improved on May and beat forecasts, while the non-manufacturing reading was also better than hoped.

The readings from the world’s top two economies provided some muchneeded hope to investors that a rebound

PSEi June 30, 2020 TOP GAINERS REPUBLIC OF THE PHILLIPINES TARIFF COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE CONDUCT OF AN EXPIRY REVIEW OF THE ANTIDUMPING DUTY IMPOSED AGAINST THE IMPORTATION OF WHEAT FLOUR FROM THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

is stirring, helped by the reopening of businesses around the world, led by Europe.

Fed boss Jerome Powell lifted the mood with comments on the economic recovery as he said consumer spending had seen a big jump in May and the US economy had “entered an important new phase sooner than expected,” though he warned the recovery was dependent on keeping the virus in check.

Tokyo, Sydney, Wellington and Bangkok were all more than one percent higher, while Shanghai added 0.8 percent and Hong Kong gained 0.5 percent. There were also healthy gains in Singapore, Mumbai and Taipei.

“Worries about second-wave states appear now to be last week’s news, so it seems, as investors turn focus to the robust reopening narrative,” said AxiCorp’s Stephen Innes.

However, there remains a lot of uncertainty on trading floors owing to a spike in new cases in the US, which has led to the reclosure of bars in Los Angeles and the reimposition of measures to fight the disease elsewhere.

Germany, while pressing ahead with easing moves, has also been forced to lock down some districts, while there are also strict measures in place in parts of Beijing and Victoria state in Australia.

And World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pressed home the long fight ahead for the world, saying “the hard reality is this is not even close to being over,” adding that “although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up.” With AFP

AHTN 2012 Subheading 1101.00.10 (AHTN 2017 Subheadings 1101.00.11 and 1101.00.19

____________________________________

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

TOP LOSERS

The pandemic has not hit Japan particularly hard, with fewer than 1,000 deaths and around 19,000 cases recorded.

There have been no mandatory lockdowns, with the government instead requesting people stay at home―requests that were largely heeded.

But that, coupled with a shuttering of the country’s borders, crippled tourism and consumer spending.

In a bid to pep up the economy, the government and central bank have offered trillions of yen (billions of dollars) in stimulus packages and cheap loans, while maintaining an ultra-loose monetary policy.

Economists forecast the unemployment rate in Japan will hit four percent by the end of the year, as the tourism and hospitality sectors suffer from border closures and people staying at home because of the virus.

Many countries would welcome an unemployment rate of “only” four percent, with the luxury of having more jobs than jobseekers.

The US unemployment rate hit 13.3 percent in May, with more than 47 million people laid off since coronavirus lockdowns began.

With AFP

Pursuant to Section 711 of Republic Act No. 10863. otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and in relation to Sections 1603(a) and 1603(h) of the same Act, the Tariff Commission (Commission) will conduct a Public Hearing via Videoconferencing (PHV) for the purpose of determining whether the expiry of the definitive anti-dumping duty imposed on wheat flour imported from the Republic of Turkey would likely result in the continuation or recurrence of material injury to the domestic wheat flour industry.

Using Microsoft Teams, the PHV will be held on the following dates and time:

DATE

TIME

20-24 July 2020

1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (GMT +8)

27-31 July 2020

1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (GMT +8)

Interested parties are required to register their participation on or before 15 July 2020 using the registration link posted on the Commission’s website https://tariffcommission.gov.ph/. All interested parties are required to participate on the first day of the Public Hearing.

Parties who intend to make visual presentations are required to submit their presentation materials to the Commission on or before 13 July 2020. Affidavits of witnesses to be presented during the public hearing are to be submitted also on or before the same date, copy furnished the other parties.

Should a party desire to submit a list of issues for discussion at the PHV, other than the issues on product coverage/comparability, price difference, and the likelihood of the continuation or recurrence of dumping as these are excluded from the matters for discussion in the PHV, the same shall likewise be submiIIed on or before 13 July 2020.

For inquiries, Director Elvira C. Ignacio, Head of the Task Force created for this investigation, may be reached at email address TC.Assist@maiI.tariffcommission.gov.ph.

Issued this 30th day of June 2020 in Quezon City, Metro Manila.

MARILOU P. MENDOZA Chairperson (MS-JULY 1, 2020)

MOST ACTIVE

TO

: ALL STOCKHOLDERS

FROM

: THE CORPORATE SECRETARY

DATE

: June 22, 2020

SUBJECT : ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING OF HEALTHSERV LOS BANOS, INC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of Healthserv Los Banos, Inc. will be held only by remote communication through an online meeting platform on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2:00PM.

Japan’s unemployment rate rises 2.9% TOKYO―Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 2.9 percent in May, official data showed Tuesday, the third consecutive monthly rise as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on the world’s number-three economy.

The 0.3-percentage-point rise from April suggests Japan’s first recession since 2015 is beginning to have an impact on the labor market.

Another closely watched indicator showed there were 120 jobs available for every 100 jobseekers, compared to 132 jobs in April―the steepest drop since the 1974 oil shock.

Set against the millions of newly unemployed seen in major economies like the United States, Japan appears to have weathered the economic chaos of the pandemic.

However, economists say the situation is not as rosy as the low headline figure may suggest, with persistent labor shortages hampering companies and millions struggling on precarious temporary contracts.

Analysts also point out that the low rate may not account for millions of people who have simply left the labor market after giving up their search for a job.

FOR: ANTI-DUMPING MEASURE (Republic Act No. (RA) 8752) Investigation No. AD2019-ER WheatFlourTR

As provided for in the by-laws, only stockholders of record as of June 22, 2020 will be entitled to notice, attend and vote at this meeting.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 102 – QUEZON CITY MARIA ANNA MACARAIG-TABUNAN, Petitioner, -versusRONALD TABUNAN,

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

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.

Copies of the Minutes of the 2019 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting and other Board Materials shall be uploaded in the hospital’s website or may be requested from the stockholder relations officer, Ms. Dhang Apalla or Ms. Janine Pamulaklakin through their email: fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph or jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph Shareholders who choose to participate by designating a proxy or remote communication must deliver a duly accomplished and signed proxy letter and notice to participate through remote communication through the stockholder relations officer, Ms. Dhang Apalla or Ms. Janine Pamulaklakin at fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph or jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph at least five (5) days before the scheduled meeting.

(Original Sgd.) ATTY. GARNEY M. CANDELARIA Corporate Secretary

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

(MS-JULY 1 & 2, 2020)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW

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

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

Business

Banks still sound amid Wirecard woes IN BRIEF T

By Julito G. Rada

Fruitas reports 41% growth in Q1 earnings

FRUITAS Holdings Inc., a food and beverage kiosk operator, said Tuesday net income increased 41 percent in the first quarter from a year ago despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fruitas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday net income in the first three months reached P14.6 million, up from P10.3 million recorded in the same period last year.

It said while sales grew 16 percent in the first two months, the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in the second half of March caused first-quarter revenues to decline by 16 percent to P374.1 million from P422.9 million a year earlier.

“We experienced strong sales growth in the first quarter of 2020, although it was cut short by the quarantine. However, the cost containment measures we had earlier implemented, as well as our flexible cost structure, allowed us to cut costs to deliver higher net income in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019,” said Fruitas president and chief executive Lester Yu. Jenniffer B. Austria

HE Bankers Association of the Philippines, the organization of universal and commercial banks in the country, said the domestic financial system remains strong amid the Wirecard controversy but asked the public to be very careful in receiving certifications and documents from third parties by having them validated by the issuing bank.

“The BAP assures the public that the country’s financial system is sound and that very strict rules regarding the issuance of bank certifications are in place,” the group said in a statement Tuesday.

It said some individuals might try to forge or falsify these documents, but their authenticity could be readily ascertained through careful scrutiny or verification by the appropriate institutions.

“We encourage the public to practice due diligence in receiving certifications and documents from third parties by having them validated by the issuing bank,” it said.

BAP said it was working closely with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and other government agencies to improve their processes and that member banks were regularly and proactively strengthening security checks and sys-

tems to ensure integrity at every level.

Earlier wire reports said the chief executive of Wirecard resigned June 19 after 1.9 billion euros ($3 billion) went missing from its accounts, “sending its shares into a tailspin and putting a question mark over the company’s future.”

Reports said Markus Braun, who built the German company into one of the hottest investments in Europe, left Wirecard facing a looming cash crunch amid allegations of fraud over the missing money, “which has hit a dead end in the Philippines.”

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno earlier said none of the missing $2.1 billion of German payments company Wirecard entered the domestic financial system. Diokno said the international financial scandal used the names of two of the country’s biggest banks---BDO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands---in an attempt to cover the perpetrators’ track.

Security Bank’s bond offer gets high demand SECURITY Bank Corp., one of the country’s biggest banks in terms of assets, loans and deposits, said Tuesday it shortened the offering period for its fixed-rate bonds which started on June 23 on strong demand from investors.

The two-year bonds carry a fixed rate of 3.125 percent per annum. Minimum denominations were set for P1 million and increments of P100,000.

“We appreciate the overwhelming support that our investors and clients have been giving our bond offer. In view of the strong demand we have received so far, we are shortening the offer period to end on July 03, 2020, from the initial target end of offer period of July 15, 2020,” Security Bank executive vice president and treasurer Raul Martin Pedro said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The bonds will be issued out of the bank’s P100-billion peso bond and commercial paper program. The program was initially established in December 2018 with an aggregate amount totaling P50 billion and was subsequently increased to P100 billion as approved by the bank’s board of directors.

Julito G. Rada

Inflation rate likely accelerated in June THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday inflation rate likely accelerated to as high as 2.7 percent in June from 2.1 percent in May on higher prices of fuel and rice.

The BSP Department of Economic Research said the June 2020 inflation would likely settle within a range of 1.9 percent to 2.7 percent.

“Higher gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices as well as the uptick in the price of rice due to supply bottlenecks contributed to positive price pressures during the month,” it said.

“These could be partly offset by slightly lower LPG [liquefied petroleum gas] price and electricity rate in Meralco-serviced areas during the month,” it said.

The BSP said it was closely monitoring the evolving economic and financial conditions to ensure that the monetary policy stance remained consistent with its price stability mandate.

Inflation in May settled at 2.1 percent, bringing the average in the first five months to 2.5 percent or within the target range.

SOLAR PANELS. The Aboitiz Group turns over 19 30-watt solar panels, complete with batteries, to the Department of Agriculture in support of the urban garden set-up of the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry under its ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program. Attending the turnover ceremony are Aboitiz Foundation chief operating officer Maribeth Marasigan (second from left) and Agriculture Secretary William Dar (third from left).

Petron, Shell refineries remain on temporary shutdown

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE country’s only two oil refineries remain on temporary shutdown amid the slowdown in fuel demand and low oil prices arising from the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. shut down their respective refineries in May to mitigate the impact of the low demand and low prices.

“Both Shell and Petron continue to be on shutdown, but are ready to operate once there is a need to augment the supply beyond the level of what the importations and their existing inventories can provide,” said Rino Abad, director of the Oil Industry Management Bureau.

Abad said Pilipinas Shell sent a letter to the department on June 4 providing a status report on the existing economic shutdown. Pilipinas Shell implemented a one-month shutdown of its 110,000-a-day-barrel refinery in Batangas on May 24 as part of its “cash conserva-

tion measures.”

Meanwhile, Petron shut down its 180,000-barrel refinery in Bataan on May 5 for maintenance activities.

“The two refiners have around 87 days of available supply based on the 22 June report,” Abad said.

“The shutdown of Petron and Shell was due to very low demand. Both refiners, however, could easily resume their operations once demand increases,” the department said earlier.

“We have experienced very low demand for the months of March, April and May, but is expected to gradually increase by June, as quarantine restrictions are eased in an attempt to restart our economy,” the agency said.

Both Petron and Pilipinas Shell suffered losses worth billions of pesos in the first quarter alone.

Petron incurred a net loss of P4.9 billion in the first quarter as fuel sales declined by a quarter, while Pilipinas Shell suffered a P5.5-billion loss in the same period.

ALLIANCE Global Group Inc., the holding company of billionaire Andrew Tan, said net income fell by 32 percent in the first quarter to P3 billion from P4.4 billion in the same period last year as core businesses were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

AGI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday first-quarter consolidated revenues slipped 7 percent to P38 billion from last year’s P41 billion.

“We started 2020 with twin challenges, and these are changing the way we live and do business today,” AGI chief executive Kevin Tan said.

He said to adapt to changed consumer behavior, AGI planned to accelerate digital strategy within its core businesses including real estate, leisure, entertainment and hospitality, spirits manufacturing, quick service restaurants and infrastructure.

“While most businesses have been affected by this health crisis, the situation reinforced our belief that our business model is sound and sustainable.

For instance, we view our decision to focus on township developments as the

way of the future. Even our foray into the international market for our spirits business has allowed us to diversify our risks, even as this pandemic has global dimensions,” Tan said.

Megaworld recorded a 9-percent decline in attributable net income to P3.5 billion from P3.8 billion a year ago, as consolidated revenues were flat at P15.1 billion.

Travellers International, the owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, suffered a net loss of P1 billion in the first quarter, a turnaround from the P244-million net income a year earlier.

Total gross revenues declined by 19 percent year-on-year to P6.9-billion, mirroring the same drop in gross gaming revenues to P5.6 billion.

Liquor unit Emperador recorded a 16-percent year-on-year decline in attributable profit to P1.5 billion in the first quarter as revenues slowed 3 percent to P10.7 billion.

Golden Arches Development Corp. saw its attributable net income plunge by 72 percent to P108 million as some of its store operations were disrupted by the Taal Volcano eruption in January and the community quarantine in mid-March.

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

102.54 PTS.

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES

857,265,590 107,607

TOTAL VALUE 6,465,944,156.17 ADVANCES 118

6,207.72

DECLINES 70 UNCHANGED 54

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States

Dollar

1.00000

49.851

Japan

Yen

0.009298

0.4635

UK

Pound

1.2305

61.3417

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129027

6.4321

Switzerland

Franc

1.051525

52.4196

Canada

Dollar

0.732225

36.5021

Singapore

Dollar

0.717463

35.7662

Australia

Dollar

0.6864

34.217

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651113

132.16

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266667

13.2936

Brunei

Dollar

0.714898

35.6384

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.032394

1.6149

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.573

Euro

Euro

1.1242

56.0425

Korea

Won

0.000834

0.0416

China

Yuan

0.141243

7.0411

India

Rupee

0.013245

0.6603

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233536

11.642

New Zealand

Dollar

0.6421

32.0093

Taiwan

Dollar

0.03395

1.6924 Source: BSP

Treasury: Gov’t debt jumps by P290b to P8.89t THE government’s outstanding debt jumped P290.44 billion, or 3.4 percent, in May to P8.89 trillion from P8.6 trillion in April as the government issued more securities and borrowed debt from international agencies to fund its COVID-19 response amid a sharp drop in revenue collections.

Data from the Treasury also showed the debt on a year-on-year basis surged P975 billion, or 12.3 percent, from P7.91 trillion in May 2018.

The Treasury said the government’s debt portfolio from the endDecember 2019 level increased by P1.159 trillion or 15 percent. Of the total outstanding debt stock, 32 percent was secured externally while 68 percent was borrowed domestically.

Domestic debt amounted to P6.034 trillion, P170.52 billion or 2.9 percent higher compared to the end-April level following the net issuance of domestic government securities. Domestic debt has increased by P906.44 billion or 17.7 percent since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, the external debt of P2.856 trillion was P119.92 billion or 4.4 percent higher from the previous month. “For May, net availment of external loans amounted to P114.01 billion as part of continued government efforts to secure financing for the COVID-19 response while local currency depreciation added P7.65 billion to the peso value of external obligations,” the Treasury said.

The Finance Department earlier said the government incurred a budget deficit of P202.1 billion in May, bringing the total budget shortfall in the first five months to P562.2 billion.

Revenue collection dipped 52 percent in May to P151.5 billion amid the prolonged enhanced community quarantine which prompted the Bureau of Internal Revenue to extend its deadline for tax filing and payments.

Julito G. Rada

2 1600

TEACHING PLATFORM.

Alliance Global’s profit declined 32% to P3b in first quarter on virus impact

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Online English teaching platform 51Talk turns over P5.25 million worth of personal protective equipment to the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry Inc. for the use of three hospitals in Metro Manila. Attending the turnover ceremony are (from left) Barangay 281 Z-26, Manila chairman Jefferson Lau, FFCCCII external affairs committee chairman Nelson Guevarra, 51Talk country head Jennifer Que and Manila Overseas Chinese Service Center vice chairman Amado Chua.

LT Group cautious on 2020 outlook as pandemic’s effects linger LT GROUP Inc., the listed holding company of tycoon Lucio Tan, expressed a guarded outlook for 2020 because of the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its core businesses.

LT Group president Michael Tan said during the annual stockholders’ meeting held via teleconference that sales volume of tobacco and beer could be affected by the decline in purchasing power of Filipino consumers.

He said the group’s banking unit under Philippine National Bank would also have to grapple with non-performing loans and slower demand for loans, while prop-

erty arm Eton Properties Philippines Inc. would be affected by lower rental revenues as some tenants might end their lease contracts.

Tan said that despite the challenges, he was hopeful that LT Group’s strong 2019 results would give the conglomerate a strong foundation to weather the current crisis.

He said the core businesses started feeling the effects of COVID-19 in mid-March when the government declared the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

“Some plants were not allowed to operate when ECQ was declared as

the products were considered non-essential. Sari-sari stores that play a big role in reaching consumers were closed in some areas. There were also liquor bans declared by some local government units,” he said.

“Even as the economy restarts under different permutations of the quarantine thereafter, LTG believes it will take a while before the Philippine economy goes back to the normal, or to what it used to be. The key to faster recovery would be the availability of a vaccine for COVID-19 which it hopes will be sooner than later,” he said. Jenniffer B. Austria

Sports

ABAP: More amateur pugs may turn pro MORE amateur boxers are expected to follow the footsteps of Eumir Felix Marcial.

These boxers will seek to turn professional, while representing the country in international amateur competitions at the same time.

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ricky Vargas said Marcial is seeking to get on the ring for at least one professional fight and before seeing action in the Tokyo Olympics next year.

“That’s the biggest challenge now.

Are we ready for that?” said Vargas during the weekly online Zoom session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum with ABAP executive director Ed Picson.

Vargas said the time has come when professional organizations, pro fighters and the ABAP should be talking together to plan out the future of boxers in the country.

“So, it’s important to marry the two, if they (boxers) are allowed to play in the Olympics. The professionals and the ABAP should really be talking together and planning the journey of boxers, rather than they planning it alone,” said Vargas.

Marcial has been training while in quarantine at home for the last three months, in Imus, Cavite. He has been getting offers to fight abroad, following invitations from international fight promoters in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

The 24-year-old Marcial, who earned a qualifying slot with Irish Magno, has been continuously getting ready for the Tokyo Olympics.

And he has been doing so since he earned a qualifying slot last March in the 2020 Asia/Oceania boxing qualifying tournament in Amman, Jordan.

Vargas said they are looking into two scenarios involving this situation, which was not possible since the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, which was the first time in history that organizers are allow to let professional boxers to compete among amateurs.

The ABAP chief said these pro boxers will need to qualify for the Olympics, or any international amateur meet that will open their doors to them.

This situation does not follow what went on with Marcial, who qualified for the Olympics first. Peter Atencio

C1

Best chance to win gold is in Tokyo T

HE Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines is hoping that the Tokyo Olympics will push through in July next year.

“I’m just hoping that the Olympics will push through because this is our best chance,” ABAP president Ricky Vargas told Tuesday’s online version of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Vargas was reacting to wire reports saying that over half of Tokyo residents that took part in a recent survey are not comfortable with the staging of the Olympics in 2021.

They either backed a “further delay or an outright cancellation” of the Tokyo Olympics.

The Philippines qualified two boxers

in Eumir Marcial and Irish Magno to the Tokyo Games, and had hoped for a few more to make the grade, including Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Rogen Ladon, and Ian Clark Bautista.

“When I look at our boxers, we were ready (for Tokyo 2020),” said Vargas, who was joined in the forum powered

by Smart and presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, PAGCOR, Amelie Hotel, and Braska Restaurant by ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson.

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything came to a halt, including the rest of the

qualifying tournaments.

“We lost steam,” said Vargas.

Picson said the Filipino boxers remain steadfast in their training even if there’s no definite schedule on hand. He said training is done mostly with the coaches’ online supervision.

“But it’s not the same. Training online is not the same. We need to be able to go back to the gym and spar and box.

Not only here, but overseas as well,” said Vargas.

“Given the situation that is the next best thing,” Picson added.

Vargas said it’s difficult to pin their hopes on a vaccine for things to be even close to what they used to be.

“Mahirap hintayin ‘yung vaccine.

They may have the vaccine, but normally, it takes years before we’d like to

with 19 points, the same output of star player Derone Raukawa.

The FEU skipper was supposed to be on his final year with the Tams in season 83 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

But he got stuck in New Zealand during the semestral brea, and could not get home following the implementation of quarantine measures in the country last March 15.

With Season 83 not expected to begin till next year, because of uncertainties caused by lockdown protocols done throughout the country to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, he decided to accept an offer to play for the Mountainairs.

“Quite a relief to finally get out there, I was quite worried you know, I’ve been training with the team and all of that. I didn’t really know what’s going to happen so I was just waiting patiently on the decision of the UAAP board and thankfully, they let me and understood I’ll play as an amateur and I won’t be able to lose my eligibility status so I’m thankful for that,” said Tuffin in a podcast.

Tuffin said he got clearance to suit up

Ken Tuffin: Tough in NZ

for a team in Zealand from the league while waiting for his chance to return to the Manila and play his last season for the Tams.

“I guess right now in New Zealand I was very fortunate to have this opportunity at the moment to play,” added Tuffin.

The Mountainairs now have a 2-1 winloss record.

Inigo Anton

Ivan Carapiet

and Montero ended up in the top for the final showdown. Carapiet was able to finish with the best time claiming the title, taking with him P50,000 worth of Family Mart food packages to be donated to Barangay Western Bicutan. All celebrity racers will also receive P10,000

worth of Family Mart goodies for their own beneficiary communities.

“I am truly happy I got to do what I love while helping people. We have to move forward to evolve. Congratulations to all the competitors and TRS!” said Carapiet.

Meanwhile, Inigo Anton ruled the

risk ourselves in getting the vaccine,” he added.

“It’s very sad if the Olympics will not push through at least next year. Or we wait for the next Olympics (in Paris in 2024),” Vargas said.

“It’s a very tough decision. The IOC (International Olympic Committee), I’ve been reading, is having a very difficult time because of all the investment put in by the Japanese government,” he added.

The ABAP chief had high hopes that the country could win the elusive gold in the Tokyo Olympics—through boxing.

But the pandemic, somehow, had turned things around.

“Sayang (It’s a pity). We were more ready then than we are now,” said Vargas.

Lady Falcons help in relief efforts vs virus

They are currently running third in the seven-team field, with Rams and Otago Nuggets in first and second spots.

Returning to play for the Tams when the schedule of season 83 is among Tuffin’s plans after his stint with the Mountainairs is done.

“Yeah, I still have one more year and I’ll be back,” added Tuffin. Peter Atencio

RaceForFrontliners raises P403K donation; Carapiet, Anton win THE championship round of the #RaceForFrontliners ended with a lot of excitement from the Celebrity Challenge and an unexpected twist in the Final Round.

Tuason Racing together with Phoenix PULSE pioneered the Esports campaign starting April to bring together racing enthusiasts during quarantine and help out different frontliners and Barangays around Metro Manila.

After four elimination rounds, the culminating event was made even bigger with more prizes and the holding of the Celebrity Challenge, composed of composed of Troy Montero, Aubrey Miles, Fabio Ide, Phoemela Baranda, Gaby Dela Merced, Jinno Rufino, Ivan Carapiet, and Arianne Bautista, who raced for their barangay beneficiaries.

The event raised a total of P403,000 donation to various frontliners and barangays.

The celebrities went head-to-head in the Time Attack Competition, and after a fierce battle, Carapiet

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 2020

TRAINING IN ISOLATION. Olympian Kara Kohler rows a single scull during a training session on June 29, 2020 in Oakland, California. Kohler won the bronze medal in the quadruple sculls at the 2012 Olympic Games, and finished third in the single sculls at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Athletes across the globe are now training in isolation under strict policies in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. AFP

Tuffin makes waves in NZ cagefest FAR Eastern University cager Ken Tuffin, taking time off from his collegiate stint in the Philippines, drew impressive numbers in his first two games in a semiprofessional basketball tournament in New Zealand.

As the season got under way last week, the 6’6” small forward of the Tamaraws averaged 14 points, five rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.7 minutes after four games for the Taranaki Mountainairs in the New Zealand National Basketball League.

The tournament got under way last week, with Tuffin playing for the Mountainairs in their second and third games of the season at the Trusts Arena in Henderson, Auckland.

Tuffin, whose mother is from Pangasinan, drilled in 10 points and had four rebounds when he started out for the Mountainairs in their second game of the season, helping the team pull off a 112-96 beating of the Nelson Giants.

Then, he had 14 points and six rebounds, behind top scorer Derone Raukawa when the Mountainairs bowed to the Canterbury Rams, 101-121.

In a losing game (93-109) against the Huskies, Tuffin led the Mountainairs

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

the premier #RaceForFrontliners championship round.

“There will always be someone better than you out there and you should make them your inspiration to be better. I learn a lot from them and I believe that experience, hard work, and practice will always make you a better racer,” said Anton.

Anton will bring home a new racing simulator rig; decked with OMP Full Bucket Seat, Seven Star Garage Sim Rig Frame, Logitech G29 Wheel, LG HD Television unit, OMP Racing Suit, and OMP Helmet amounting to more than P150,000.

The Tuason Racing—Phoenix PULSE Young Drivers ESports Program: Race For Frontliners is presented

by Phoenix Pulse Petroleum Philippines, and sponsored by LG OLED TV, PC Express, FamilyMart, OMP and Toplift and supported by partner organizations, AAP, GT Philippines, SRPH, Ribbon Arc, and Seven Star Garage with media partners, AutoCar, AutoDeal, C! Magazine, Inquirer, Time Attack Manila, and WheelsPH.

SINCE their games in Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines have been postponed, the Adamson Lady Falcons women’s softball team still stayed in shape over the last three months.

And they have never stopped training and preparing for their 10th straight crown.

Lady Falcons’ coach Ana Santiago said members of the squad have gone online in their bid to remain fit and ready.

“Mayroon kaming four times a week online training, it’s more like conditioning training monitored by the Philippine Sports Commission sports specialists.

So doon na lang kami halos araw-araw nagkikita. Four times a week, Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday, every 2 p.m.,” said Santiago in a podcast interview hosted by Martie Bautista.

Team members, according to Santiago,were heartbroken when their games in Season 82 were called off.

“Kasi nu’ng na-cancel ang UAAP, masasabi natin na heartbreaking siya para sa amin, kasi looking for 10-peat kami. So, after ma-officially announce na cancelled ang UAAP, instead na mahurt lang kami dahil sa nangyari, nagisip na lang kami ng ibang way kung paano namin gagamitin pa ‘yung oras namin kasi naabutan na rin ng lockdown ‘yung mga players ko,” added Santiago.

The Lady Falcons are now able to do workouts since the beginning of the lockdown last March 15.

Back then, many teammates were left stranded in the dormitories of their school.

Because of their situation, they decided to band together and pack goods for distribution in various parts of Manila.

“So nu’ng nagsabi ‘yung Adamson na magbibigay sila sa mga community ng something para makatulong, so nag-volunteer kami na kami na lang ‘yung magre-repack, magpe-prepare, then some of us na puwedeng sumama magdeliver,” said Santiago.

And these also helped the girls get busy during the last three months.

“Doon na umikot ‘yung time namin habang naka lockdown kami sa Adamson kasi even me nandoon rin. Inabot kami pero ang sarap sa pakiramdam habang ginagawa namin siya especially noong pumunta ng PGH, naghatid para sa mga frontliners natin so talagang napakasarap sa pakiramdam,” added Santiago. Peter Atencio

C2

Sports

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

Kaepernick subject of six-part Netflix series LOS ANGELES—Former NFL star Colin Kaepernick, who launched kneeling protests during US national anthems to protest police brutality and racial injustice, will be the subject of a six-part series, Netflix announced Monday.

“Colin in Black & White” will focus on the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s high school years, formative time that led to his social activism.

Kaepernick, who has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season after starting his protest movement, will appear as himself as a narrator of the series, which will be guided by filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

The project, which completed the writing stage in May, shows how growing up as a black child with a white adopted family impacted his journey to the NFL as well as social activism.

“Too often we see race and black stories portrayed through a white lens,” Kaepernick said. “We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that black people face.

“We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted black man in a white community during my high school years. It’s an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see.”

Kaepernick played six seasons for San Francisco, leading the 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl, where they lost to Baltimore. After a coaching change for the team, Kaepernick opted out of his contract in March 2017 but has remained unsigned since then.

In September 2017, US President Donald Trump intensified the controversy over the kneeling protest, calling anyone kneeling during the anthem “sons of bitches”.

The May death of unarmed black man George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota sparked global protests over police brutality and brought the Black Lives Matter movement into higher profile as Kaepernick had sought.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league was too slow in joining the movement and said he was open to a club signing Kaepernick for the 2020 season, set to begin in September. AFP

Dustin in elite company with PGA win H ONG KONG—One player’s amazing streak continued, Ryder Cup speculation grew and a player retired with an almost perfect finale -- here are this week’s AFP Sport talking points in golf.

Dustin time Dustin Johnson is back up to third in the world rankings after recording his 21st PGA Tour win since turning pro in 2008, a tally matched only by Tiger Woods over the same period.

World number one Rory McIlroy— who also began his pro career in 2008

—is next on the list with 18 PGA Tour titles in that time, but he has four majors and eight European Tour trophies whereas Johnson has only one of each.

Johnson, however, kept up his incredible streak of winning at least once in each of his 13 seasons on the

PGA Tour with victory at the Travelers Championship last weekend.

At the age of 36, the victory puts Johnson three PGA Tour wins behind Gary Player, but with only one major to his name—the 2016 US Open— opinion is split as to whether he can yet be ranked among the all-time greats.

But consider this: only Arnold Palmer (17), Jack Nicklaus (17) and Tiger Woods (14) started their careers with wins in more consecutive seasons.

Exalted company indeed.

Surely the laid-back, big-hitting “DJ” is only a couple more major wins from being recognised as truly one of the game’s greatest.

Ryder doubts Speculation has been growing that this year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits will be postponed until 2021— with an announcement likely as early as this week.

European Tour chief Keith Pelley orginally promised a decision by the end of June, when course preparations at the Wisconsin layout would need to begin in order to be ready for the September 25-27 USA v Europe showdown.

Many top players, including McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, have said that holding the noisiest event in golf without colourful galleries of partisan fans would be unthinkable.

The US PGA Championship, the first major of the year in August, has already announced that it will be played without spectators, and there has been a surge in coronavirus cases in the US over recent days.

With five PGA Tour players testing positive for COVID-19 in the past week and the European Tour unable to restart until next month, the most responsible course of action would seem to be reverting to odd-numbered years for the first time since 1999—the 2001 event was postponed for 12 months because of the 9/11 attacks.

Extra time

Dustin Johnson of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. AFP

American journeyman Daniel Summerhays came within a whisker of a Cinderella sign-off as a professional at the weekend.

The 36-year-old had ground out eight seasons on the PGA Tour without a victory until losing his card in 2017.

Further lean years followed, and Summerhays announced last week that the Korn Ferry’s Utah Championship on his home course would be

Memphis rookie star Morant apologizes for anti-police post NEW YORK—Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant, the second pick in last year’s NBA Draft, apologized Monday for reposting an antipolice message on social media.

The 20-year-old standout, who has sparked Memphis into the NBA season restart at Orlando in late July, had reposted a message Sunday which showed a four-letter profanity on a jersey bearing his number 12. Twelve is a slang term for police.

The tweet came after reports at the weekend that the NBA would allow players to customise jerseys at next month’s league restart to carry social justice messages.

Morant late removed the post and tweeted Monday that he had not meant to condemn all police.

“I want to first apologize for reposting something that didn’t clearly and accurately convey what I wanted to share,” Morant posted Monday.

“My post was intended to focus on the bad cops who get away with the murder of unarmed Black men and women, and those who continue to harass peaceful BLACK LIVES MATTER protesters.”

Morant, last year’s national college assists leader at Murray State, spoke out in the wake of May’s killing of unarmed black man George Floyd while in police custody and the global protests against racism and social injustice that have followed.

“I know there are some good cops ‘12’ out there. I know some, and a few are family,” Morant wrote. “I am thankful for the cops at Murray State who took care of me, and the cops who continue to watch over me with the Grizzlies.”

Morant has averaged 17.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game this season for the Grizzlies, who were 32-33 when the NBA season was shut down in March for the coronavirus pandemic.

That has Memphis eighth in the Western Conference when the campaign resumes July 30 with five other clubs chasing them for the final playoff spot in the West.

“You may see me as just a basketball player and I may lose fans for taking a stand, but I won’t stay silent,” Morant wrote, citing the shooting death

Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant guards Los Angeles Lakers’ Avery Bradley at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California in an NBA game.

of Breonna Taylor in her Kentucky apartment by police.

“BLACK LIVES MATTER!!

Where’s the justice for Breonna Tay-

lor?? And the countless other innocent Black lives that have been taken at the hands of dirty cops with no convictions?”

his final tournament before taking up a new career as a high school teacher.

And then he nearly won it.

Summerhays saved his best till last, signing for a nine-under par 62 on Sunday and the clubhouse lead at 20 under.

Three hours later he found himself in a playoff with Paul Haley II and Kyle Jones but agonisingly the fairytale ending did not materialise as Summerhays bogeyed the first playoff hole. Jones won a hole later.

But a beaming Summerhays was still grateful for the chance. “Oh man, to be in that position, to be able to have a little bit of extra golf was spectacular,” he told the Golf Channel.

And the performance had not changed his mind about retirement. “When it comes time for school in August, that’s where I’ll be,” he added. AFP

F1 deploys war chest of virus strategies for Austria PARIS—The Formula One season roars into action at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg this weekend with “military-like”, coronavirus-busting sanitary regulations.

Every single person who sets foot inside the Red Bull Ring, where the first two races of the rescheduled season take place, must adhere to strict health and safety protocols developed jointly by the organisers and teams, who have employed their genius for logistics to the task at hand.

“The meticulous approach of the teams to both logistics and engineering and procedures and protocols is what we’ve transferred into our approach to dealing with this challenge,” F1 chief Ross Brawn said.

The Red Bull Ring, nestling in the picturesque Styrian mountains, has been put into a fortress-like lockdown and will play host to a first race on July 5 and a second a week later.

Brawn predicted teams would be quick to adapt to all new measures.

“It suits our culture, our philosophy of working through every scenario, plan A, plan B, plan C,” said Brawn, who added there was a two-metre social-distancing rule and compulsory visors or masks.

Each team has been reduced to a maximum of 80 staff, they will be asked to refrain from mixing with other groups and even split into subgroups so as to limit any possible cross contagion.

The teams will travel in motorhomes and once on site will use the facilities there to cook.

Anyone at the track must submit to coronavirus testing and regular temperature checks and no spectators will be allowed in the arena.

‘Live and learn’ Organisers also say they will be ready to react and improve or adapt to developing situations in the same way they do with races.

“We will live and learn at each race,” Brawn said.

“That’s the nature of F1. It’s very military like in its approach.”

Ferrari’s sporting director Laurent Mekies says the strategies will make the sport more resilient to coronavirus, especially the sub-division of teams to carry out activities, which he argued would mean having a limited number of people in isolation were there an outbreak. AFP

Catalan expects rematch with Naito in ONE Championship

Rene Catalan

RENE “The Challenger” Catalan wants another crack at reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio.

But for him to get there, he may need to meet an old foe who is hungry to even the score with him.

The 41-year-old expects to cross paths with the second-ranked strawweight, Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito, as he hopes to build his case again as the top contender in the weight class.

“I need to beat the number two guy first, so I have a chance to vie for number one,” Catalan said.

“Saruta is currently the number one contender, I waouldn’t be sur-

prised if he faces Pacio again, so it’s very possible for me to get a rematch with Naito.”

Catalan has already beaten Naito in the past at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR, but the Japanese athlete remains on top in the official rankings after winning his last two bouts.

“I have no problems with Naito going over me. He has bounced back and he’s looked impressive as of late, so I am fine with the rankings the way it is.”

In their initial match last year, Catalan surprised everyone with excellent takedown defense, which basically kept Naito at bay all match long.

With the Catalan Fighting System founder stuffing every Naito attempt at a takedown and raining down big time blows as counters, it did not take long for referee Kemp Cheng to stop the contest and award Catalan the momentous victory.

That in mind, he expects a tougher match against Naito this time. “[Naito] will definitely work double-time against me. He can certainly adjust like what he did against Alex Silva,” Catalan said.

“I also expect him to polish his striking, and maybe play with me a bit on the feet before trying to impose his will on the ground.”

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 ||

C3

New digital channel ‘Heart of Asia’ launched

Devon Seron continues showbiz journey with new partner

Kapamilya maintains broadcast on ABS-CBN TVPlus not covered by NTC’s CDO

Life

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

C4

FASHION AND BEAUTY

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

READY FOR WORK.

Clean lines and neutral colors stand out in the modern architecture-inspired collection of Oleg Cassini. (On him: Navy blazer jacket, dress shirt, casual trousers; On her: Bernadette single button blazer in gray, Matilda white sleeveless blouse, Hyacinth navy blue tapered pants, and Sandra beige tote bag)

On duty

Clean, crisp, classic for working men and women at home or in the office

By Monica Sanchez

L

UCKY for those who are allowed to work from home, dressing up for the office is no longer a requisite—unless there’s a virtual meeting scheduled, in that case, it’s “business up top, cozy on the bottom.”

But according to experts such as Dr. Vicki Belo, dressing up for work, even if your office is your bedroom or an area in the living room, goes beyond looking presentable for video chats with colleagues. It helps provide a distinction between work life and home life.

For those working in the office, of course, looking polished is a must.

Oleg Cassini C’s latest collection for men and women makes office dressing a little easier with clean lines, classic cuts, and sleek silhouettes in crisp neutral colors—ideal for easy mixing and

matching, because let’s admit it, there’s so much going on right now, dressing up should not be as stressful.

Timeless colors like black and white are primary standouts in the collection, combined with mixes of earth and navy tones.

As it drew inspiration from modern architecture, there is a focus on volume and lean shapes, while the prints show an integration of geometric patterns, linear forms, and solid blocks commonly found on buildings in and around the city.

Oleg Cassini is exclusively available at Rustan’s nationwide.

From left: Carmen white long sleeves and Joan black pencil skirt; blue microfiber pullover jacket, blue long sleeve dress shirt, casual trousers in khaki; Crispina black organza blouse and Lucia black and white long skirt

Three-ply surgical face mask

Mix and Go rechargeable juicer

Anti-dust and anti-splash face shield

Air revitalizer

Portable Bluetooth speaker

Smart thermometer

Rechargeable mist fan

Surplus ships essentials FASHION apparel store Surplus embraces the new way of living and shopping, particularly for today’s essentials, with its Ship and Shop service.

Now available for delivery are face masks and smart thermometers, as well popular items for the home such as air humidifiers and revitalizers, portable mist fans and Bluetooth

speakers, and rechargeable juicers, among others.

Customers must join Surplus’ Viber Community to shop, call the available branch they prefer, and pay through cash, credit or debit card, or online transfer. The store’s essential items are also available at ShopSM.com and Surplus branches in SM malls.

YOUNG fashion innovators showed what it looked like to wear outfits inspired by iconic landmarks and historical and renowned events that have helped shape Manila.

Coined as Batang Kalye, the sustainable and inclusive 35-piece collection was launched as the Prologue of Sinulid, the highly successful annual culminating show of the graduating students of the Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) Program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

Batang Kalye featured exquisite looks that exhibited the various facades and narratives of the country with the use of unconventional recycled materials such as paper, paper plates, supermarket boxes, plastics, straws, cellophane, single-use candy wrappers, masking tapes, ang pao, Chinese lanterns, tea bags, scraps of textiles and leather, rubber slices, linen and tulle, abaca and rattan, as well as metal, wires, radiographs, and LED strips.

The assortment included upcycled outfits that encapsulated the noteworthy architecture and interiors around the City of Manila: the stained glass windows of the chapel of St. Scholastica’s College, the shape of the ceilings of the National Museum of Natural History and its foyer of The Tree of Life, the Art Deco elegance of the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the renovated Jones Bridge, and the cantilevered edifice of the Philippine International Convention Center.

Other looks captured the dramatic contrast between the undulating beauty and the environmental issues of Manila Bay, the golden sunset that touched the arch of the Fort Santiago, the seamless weaving of the contemporary art and legacy of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the abundance of good luck in Chinatown Binondo, the neoclassical aesthetics of the Manila Central Post Office, and the red carpet and controversial story behind the Manila Film Center.

Ensembles that embodied the aerial view of Rizal Park, the old Manila night life of Ermita, the nostalgic sari-sari store tradition, the vibrant University Belt, the renowned pedestrian lanes of Recto Avenue and España Boulevard, and the remarkable craftsmanship, creativity, and resourcefulness of Filipinos also contributed to the assembly.

Wear Manila

Erika Mae Ng’s Rizal Park-inspired design

Frances Nina Fabian’s Manila Bay-inspired design

Charlene Te’s San Sebastian Churchinspired design

Raya Abastillas’ University Belt-inspired design

Batang Kalye likewise included dresses that narrated the rich history of the country, from remarkable events such as the Battle of Manila Bay and the Edsa Revolution to figures from the Ilustrados to the gwardiya sibil (civil guards).

FDM Program Chairperson Christine Benet shared that the design process behind the collection allowed the aspiring fashion designers to unravel their

identity as designers and artists, while highlighting their organic approach that goes beyond the conventional interpretation of Filipino ingenuity.

“Our students are also stakeholders of the city given that Benilde is located in Manila and the expanded concept of Batang Kalye encompasses their day-today experiences—from their childhood to their ambitions,” elaborated Benet.