Manila Standard - 2020 July 4 - Saturday

Rody OKs anti-terror bill

• Suspect may be held for 24 days without arrest warrant

• Surveillance for 60 days

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

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the controversial antiterrorism bill that seeks to strengthen the country’s ability to combat terrorism, but which the political opposition and human rights groups denounce as a dangerous measure that is prone to abuse.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano and presidential spokesman Harry Roque both confirmed the signing of the anti-terrorism law, which replaces the Human Security Act of 2007.

“As we have said, the President, together with his legal team, took time to study this piece of legislation weighing

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Govt steps up bid to test asymptomatic people

By Rey Requejo, Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz

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THE government will further ramp up its efforts by conducting tests even to people who are not exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Malacañang said on Friday.

This, after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the expansion of the testing strategy to fully utilize the 10 million reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PRC) test kits procured by the Budget and Health departments, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

“People who will be tested include not only those symptomatic and exposed to COV-

ANTI-VIRUS SWAB.

Red Cross worker (left), wearing a protective gear, conducts a nose swab on a locally stranded woman to find out if she is safe from the coronavirus disease. She is among the hundreds of LSIs displaced by the Luzon-wide lockdown who are staying in the Philippine Ports Authority compound seeking to be shipped back to their home-provinces.

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PH to dispose of assets for vaccine buy

DND chief sees 80% chance of MM easing quarantine

By Willie Casas, Joel E. Zurbano chance that restrictions would be eased 40,336. in areas currently under a general comInterviewed on the morning show and Rio N. Araja

munity quarantine (GCQ), even as the Unang Hirit, Lorenzana said shifting DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana government reported 1,531 more COV- to a more relaxed modified GCQ would on Friday said there is an 80 percent ID-19 cases, bringing total infections to Next page

By Vito Barcelo and Willie Casas THE government will sell its assets to generate funds to purchase vaccines for the coronavirus disease once it becomes available to address the crisis, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Friday.

He made the statement after reports that four COVID-19 vaccines being tested by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech reportedly showed “encouraging” results.

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China warned not to impinge on PH territory

By Rey E. Requejo FOREIGN Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Friday warned China of the “severest response” – diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate – from Manila if it holds military exercises within Philippine territory in the

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JULY 3)

40,336 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

1,280

1,531 NEW

688 FRESH

6

DEATHS

NEW

11,073

400

RECOVERIES

NEW

WORLD ROUNDUP

NO LINE ONLINE.

• US braces for July 4 weekend amid surge in virus cases

Drivers who have applied online to get their new driver’s license wait for their turn at the Land Transportation Office along East Avenue in Quezon City. LTO says applications via its website are available in its 24 units nationwide.

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Customs seizes P244-m worth of PPE, supplies; LSIs warned

By Julito Rada, Benjamin Chavez, er medical supplies from March 25 to May 31, 2020. and Nash Maulana The agency says this was part of its efTHE Bureau of Customs says it has forts to stop the illegal importation, storconfiscated P244 million worth of age and hoarding of supplies essential for smuggled, unregistered or counterfeit the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. personal protective equipment and othNext page

THE United States posted a record 53,000 new coronavirus cases as the deadly pandemic accelerated and the nation braced for the July 4 weekend.

Now the epicenter of the pandemic, the country has recorded nearly 129,000 deaths out of more than 2.7 million cases. It is expected to record its three millionth infection next week.

The United States soared past 50,000 new infections Thursday for the second time in two days, casting a grim pall over its upcoming Independence Day celebrations.

Florida, which now has more than 169,000 cases, is a key focus of public health experts who worry about a surge in southern and western US states.

Current COVID strain more potent The genetic variation of the novel Next page

Duterte acts to boost morale among PNP, AFP CASH AID. Philippine Red Cross chaired by Senator Richard Gordon leads the distribution of cash to 204 beneficiaries of the COVID-19 aid program on July 3, 2020 at the Dr. Nolasco High School in Tondo, Manila. Each beneficiary family receives P3,500.00 in cash subsidy.

MALACAÑANG said Friday President Rodrigo Duterte would have separate meetings with police and military officials to assure them that justice would be served following the death of four

soldiers from the guns of policemen in terte’s visit to Zamboanga City on FriJolo, Sulu on Monday. day was meant to boost the morale of During the Laging Handa program the police and the military. aired on state-run PTV-4, Presidential “That’s how important his mission is.

Spokesperson Harry Roque said DuNext page

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SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

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Another fertilizer overprice bared

By Rey E. Requejo

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ARMER groups and allied stakeholders on Friday slammed the decision of the Department of Agriculture to bid out the next batch of supply contracts for urea fertilizer worth more than P1.3 billion, saying these were again overpriced and grossly disadvantageous to the government.

and Quirino at P975 per bag.

“Our members who are distributors and outlet owners have informed us that the retail prices in Regions 1 and 2 are far lower than the DA’s price report,” So said.

“Universal Harvester Inc., which won the contracts for Region 2, bid out for a retail price of only P860 per bag, and in some areas for as low as P850 per bag. Did the DA fail to monitor this, that it awarded the contract for P975 per bag? That amounts to a P125 overprice per bag of fertilizer.”

So says with the allocation of 797,089 bags of urea fertilizer for Region 1 and 614,233 bags for Region 2, or a total of 1,411,322 bag, the overpricing translated to P176.41 million, which could still

be used to procure more farm inputs.

Universal Harvester, in a previous bid when the process was still being conducted at the regional level early this year, tendered offers of P830 and P850 per bag.

It was disqualified despite the low bid, but was qualified when it raised its bid to P975, So said.

Funding for the supply contracts came from the department’s stimulus program Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat Kontra COVID-19 (ALPAS sa COVID-19), which allocated P5.69 billion for urea fertilizers at a ceiling of P1,000 per bag.

Suppliers La Filipina Uy Gongco Corporation and Atlas Fertilizer bagged the initial four contracts amounting to P1.8 billion for Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas and Central Visayas in May.

ly joins a terrorist organization will face 12 years in prison under the new law.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Anti-Terrorism Law is full of safeguards against abuse, it is strong against terrorists.

“I cannot imagine this measure being signed under another administration. If only for this, I take my hat off to the President,” Sotto said.

Lacson said they crafted the AntiTerrorism Act of 2020 based on the guidelines and standards set by the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1373. It was the UN that prodded the Philippines to strengthen its laws against terrorism, he added.

Lacson also said some critics jumped on the bandwagon of denunciation without thoroughly reading and understanding the provisions of the law.

He said misinterpretation and misconceptions triggered by “an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation” dominated the mainstream and social media platforms and unduly influenced people’s thinking.

He assured the public that the law was a good one—“one that is swift, effective and most importantly constitutional.”

Senator Francis Pangilinan, however, vowed to challenge the constitutionality of the law before the Supreme Court.

“I am not surprised,” he said about the signing of the bill. “From Day 1 this administration unleashed draconian and authoritarian measures as a showcase of its brand of leadership.”

He said the law was a “draconian measure” that was nothing more than “a show of senseless, mindless violence as means to sow fear among the people.”

“From the murderous drug war, to the longest martial law in Mindanao, to the

longest lockdown in the world, and now to the anti-terror law. “ The drug war, he said, has not neutralized any big drug lords and drugs still flow after four years.

He also said martial law in Mindanao did not address the need for the reconstruction of Marawi, just as the longest lockdown failed to address the continuing spread of COVID-19.

“All this proves that an iron fist is not the solution to our problems,” he said in Filipino.

He added that the anti-terror law will not address the problem of a disease and hunger due to the pandemic.

Human Rights Watch also condemned the new law.

“By signing the Anti-Terrorism Bill into law, President Duterte has pushed Philippines democracy into an abyss,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia directo at Human Rights Watch.

“The law threatens to significantly worsen the human rights situation in the Philippines, which has nosedived since the catastrophic war on drugs began four years ago. The Anti-Terrorism Law will give a green light to the systematic targeting of political critics and opponents, as well as ordinary Filipinos who dare to speak out. Human Rights Watch is especially concerned by provisions that permit warrantless arrests and weeks of incommunicado detention, which facilitates torture and mistreatment. The law threatens increased ‘red tagging’ of activists, journalists, and social media users, with dire effects for freedom of expression. Foreign governments should publicly denounce this development, which amounts to a stealth declaration of martial law.”

Opposition lawmakers also bemoaned the passage of the law. released critical updates on the ongoing COVID-19 trials as part of WHO’s Solidarity Trial for treatments.

The global clinical trial aims to rapidly discover treatment options to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19.

DOH OIC-Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, underscoring the importance of thorough, strict and oversight regulation on clinical trials, stressed the importance of discovering COVID treatment.

She was joined by FDA Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo who gave an overview on the current trials being done. shooting incident and he would ensure that justice would be served for the four slain soldiers.

“The President will be there to give assurance that justice would be served.

If someone commits a wrongdoing, he would be punished because that’s the policy of the administration of President Duterte,” Roque said.

Rosendo So, chairman of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura or SINAG, said the department used the same modus when it bid out the first four supply contracts in May. “The DA did it again! Just like what happened in May, the DA again qualified only one bidder per lot (contract/s grouped together to form one lot). And all the bid prices are again ridiculously

overpriced,” So said.

The department bid out six lots for Regions 1 and 2 and North Cotabato.

The qualified bidders were Goldman’s Supply Corp. for North Cotabato at P975 per bag, First Planters Agri Solution for La Union and Ilocos Sur at P975 per bag and Pangasinan at P985 per bag, and Universal Harvester Inc. for Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya

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depend on data on COVID-19 cases.

“The Department of Health says it will depend on the analytics but more likely, there’s an 80 percent chance that we’ll be under an MGCQ by July 16,” Lorenza said in Filipino.

Lorenzana, a member of the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, did not say whether Metro Manila, which is currently under GCQ and which accounts for the most number of COVID-19 cases, would be put under an MCGQ. The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Friday that the Philippines’ total number of COVID-19 cases reached 40,336 after recording 1,531 more cases.

Of these new cases of infection, 688 were considered “fresh,” while 843 were reported late.

There were 400 new recoveries, bringing to 11,073 the total number of COVID-19 survivors in the country.

The death toll due to the virus increased to 1,280 with six new fatalities.

As of June 30, the Philippines had 67 accredited COVID-19 testing laboratories which have tested 681,667 individuals.

DOH data on July 1 showed that 481 or 36.32 percent of ICU beds and 3,805 or 40.78 percent of isolation beds are occupied nationwide, and 449 or 22.45 percent of mechanical ventilators are in use.

While Metro Manila is still the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, Region 7’s Cebu province and Cebu City have been identified as hotspots.

Because of this, Cebu City remains under a strict enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The Paranaque City government, meanwhile, imposed a three-day lockdown in some areas of Barangay BF Homes where at least 55 persons were infected with COVID-19.

The lockdown was enforced starting Friday upon the recommendation of city government and barangay officials, said Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Areas covered by the lockdown include Purok 1 and 2 in Clinicville; J. Marquez Compound; Apple Street, Chico Street, Dalandan Street and Calamansi Street, all in Sampaloc Site 2; Purok 3 and Purok 3A, Aratiles

the concerns of different stakeholders,” the Palace statement said.

“Terrorism, as we often said, strikes anytime and anywhere. It is a crime against the people and humanity; thus, the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach to contain terrorist threat. The signing of the aforesaid law demonstrates our serious commitment to stamp out terrorism, which has long plagued the country and has caused unimaginable grief and horror to many of our people.”

“Together, let us defeat terrorism and make our communities safe and secure under the rule of law,” it added.

The principal author of the bill, Senator Panfilo Lacson, said the “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020” aims to secure the country and its people against domestic and foreign terrorist attacks.

He said the bill adheres to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.

The President earlier said that even with the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism is still the top threat.

“Terrorism is number one on our list.

Actually the number one threat to the country, it’s not Abu Sayyaf, it’s not terrorists of no value. The high-value targets are communists,” he said.

The new law will give more teeth to the provisions of the Human Security Act of 2007.

Under the proposed measure, suspected terrorists may be held for up to 24 days without a warrant of arrest. The law also allows a 60-day period for surveillance of suspected terrorists, which may be extended for another 30 days.

A person who voluntarily or knowing-

Earlier, the President said he would dispose of government assets as a last resort to keep the country afloat as it grapples with COVID-19 pandemic.

Duterte said he would sell government assets, including state-owned institutions Cultural Center of the Philippines and Philippine International Convention Center, both in Pasay City.

Roque claimed the President was serious when the Chief Executive announced the idea of selling government

assets to help the Filipino people, particularly in this time of pandemic.

“When a vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, we will sell government assets and purchase vaccines for our countrymen,” Roque said.

The World Health Organization reported the said vaccine triggered an “immune system response” and prepared the body to fight the virus.

Pharmaceutical giant Moderna also reported it had started the final-stage clinical trial of its vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 this July.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration

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National Bureau of Investigation to speed up the investigation into the alleged “misencounter” between members of the PNP and AFP in Jolo that led to the death of four military personnel.

Killed were Maj. Marvin Indammog, 39; Capt. Irwin Managuelod, 33; Sgt. Jaime Velasco, 38; and Col. Abdal Asula, 33.

The four slain troops were tailing

four terrorist suicide bombers when the shooting happened.

Roque said Duterte wanted to personally tell the police and the military that he would make sure that the recent incident would be the “last” under his watch.

He said Duterte would hold separate meetings with soldiers and the nine relieved police officers involved in the

Laboratory experiments meanwhile showed that the variant is three to six times more capable of infecting human cells.

“It seems likely that it’s a fitter vicoronavirus that dominates the world rus,” said Erica Ollmann Saphire, who today infects human cells more readily carried out one of the experiments at La than the original that emerged in China, Jolla Institute for Immunology. according to a new study published in Test monkeys develop the journal Cell. temporary immunity The lab-based research suggests this Test monkeys infected with the novel current mutation is more transmissible between people in the real world com- coronavirus responsible for the COVpared to the previous iteration, but this ID-19 pandemic were protected from reinfection for up to 28 days later, a Chinese hasn’t yet been proven.

Researchers from the Los Alamos Na- study in the journal Science said.

While the monkeys displayed initial tional Laboratory in New Mexico and Duke University in North Carolina part- immunity, it’s unclear how long such nered with the University of Sheffield’s immunity will last in humans – it will COVID-19 Genomics UK research group be necessary to wait months, or even to analyze genome samples published on years, to know if the millions of people GISAID, an international resource for infected at the start of the pandemic are protected from re-infection. sharing genome sequences.

Scientists from Peking Union MediThey found that the current variant, called “D614G,” makes a small but po- cal College performed an experiment tent change in the “spike” protein that on rhesus macaques, often used beprotrudes from the surface of the virus, cause of their similarities to humans, to which it uses to invade and infect hu- find out if they have a short-term immunity to the virus. man cells.

Six rhesus macaques were infected in their trachea with a dose of the SARSCoV-2 virus. They developed mild to moderate symptoms, and took about two weeks to recover.

The monkeys showed a stronger immune response after the first infection, producing more so-called neutralizing antibodies which may have protected them against short-term reinfection, the scientists wrote.

He will show his support to the armed forces and the police,” said Roque, scheduled to accompany Duterte in his Mindanao trip.

The President recently directed the

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UK begins lifting quarantine The British government on Friday revealed the first exemptions from its coronavirus quarantine, with arrivals from Germany, France, Spain and Italy no longer required to self-isolate from July 10.

But in a potentially confusing move, the exemptions – applied to countries considered to have a low risk of COVID-19 – will only apply to arrivals into England.

Those arriving into other parts of the UK – Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland – will still have to self-quarantine for 14 days, or face a fine. AFP

Customs...

From A1 In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the bureau said while it had released various regulations to speed up the importation of medical supplies, some unscrupulous traders had taken advantage of the coronavirus crisis to smuggle those items into the country.

Advice to the stranded The Transport department has advised stranded individuals not to risk

China...

From A1 South China Sea. “My first reaction was to check the coordinates in the Navigation Notice…

The Chinese naval military exercises, if they stick to their coordinates, do not impinge on Philippine territory,” the

House ready to take up Bayanihan 2

By Maricel V. Cruz THE leadership of the House of Representatives on Friday expressed readiness to pass, in a special session, the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act to continue giving special powers to President Rodrigo Duterte so he could continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

“House leaders have engaged senators and Executive department officials in continuous discussions on the proposed provisions of Bayanihan II that would let the President best deal with the deepening global health and economic crisis spawned by the coronavirus pandemic,” Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte is the lead author of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Republic Act 11469 and the proposed Bayanihan II bill.

“We need to give continued special powers to the President to beat the pandemic, which, according to the WHO [World Health Organization], has reached a dangerous stage of accelerated spread as governments across the world start relaxing mobility restrictions and reopening their economies,” Villafuerte said.

The economic managers say Malacañang can only afford a P140billion stimulus package, but Villafuerte says he hopes Palace officials will try to raise more money that will allow the Duterte administration to spend more on stimulating the economy after the four-month lockdown He hopes Malacañang will increase the funding for the proposed stimulus package to an initial P200 billion to clear the way for a strong and quick economic recovery.

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Roque said testing targets as well as implementation items and timelines of the expanded testing strategy would be subject to guidelines jointly prepared by the National Task Force, the Department of Health and the DOH’s Technical Advisory Group.

He said there was also a plan to include front-liners, including media workers and other government personnel, in the expanded targeted testing for COVID-19.

“This will still be based on the expanded testing strategy subject to guidelines that will be issued by the National Task Force and DOH,” Roque said.

On June 29, National Task Force against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon announced the government was now aiming to test 10 million Filipinos in the next eight to 10 months.

On Friday, around 11 individuals representing various sectors asked the Supreme Court to order the government to conduct free mass testing for COVID-19.

Former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, along with 10 other petitioners, filed a petition for mandamus before the SC to direct the current administration to conduct free mass testing, as they cited violations to Filipinos’ rights to health and information.

Roque was confident the high tribunal would junk the petition since the government was already conducting expanded targeted testing.

going to ports or airports without a confirmed booking after the continuing accumulation of people stranded in the country’s gateways.

“People should not go to the ports and airports if they don’t have a ticket. This is for their own safety and well-being,” Transport Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran said in a message on Friday.

She made the statement after Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade visited the Manila North Harbor on Thursday and ordered the Philippine Ports Authority to provide better accommodations to the 203 stranded people awaiting passage to different provinces. country’s top diplomat said.

“These exercises are taking place in waters off Xisha Islands – the Paracels – over which Vietnam claims sovereignty. Should the exercises spill over to Philippine territory then China is forewarned that it will be met with the severest response, diplomatic and whatever else is appropriate,” he added.

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MPTC invests P120b for new expressways

ENGINEERING MARVEL.

An architect’s rendering of the Cebu Cordova Expressway, an 8.5 km bridge spanning the Mactan Channel to link Cebu and Cordova promises to be another engineering marvel when completed as it features a 600-meter cable stayed iconic bridge, according to MPTC chief Franco.

IN BRIEF Solon files ‘virtual’ wedding rites bill KABAYAN party-list Representative Ron Salo filed House Bill 7042 at the House of Representatives that aims to allow the conduct of “virtual” wedding rites using digital devices amidst coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Salo said that marrying couples were forced by the health crisis to postpone their wedding ceremonies due to quarantine protocols such as prohibition on mass gatherings and guidelines on social distancing.

“It is respectfully proposed that the term presence and personal appearance provided in the Family Code be broadly construed to include virtual presence,” Salo said.

The bill amends Articles 2, 3, 6 and 10 of Executive Order No. 209, of 1987 Constitution or Family Code of the Philippines.

Under the proposed bill, the couple to be wed must be together in one location but their presence before the solemnizing officer may be remote or virtual.Benjamin Chavez

XPRESSWAY builder and operator Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. has set aside a P120-billion investment to construct new expressways, delivering a clear and strong signal of support for President Duterte’s aggressive infrastructure program.

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“We have resumed full-blast construction of our big ticket expressway projects in the country,” said Manuel Pangilinan, MPTC chairman, “responding to the call of the President to accelerate economic recovery via the government’s ‘Build Build Build’ program.”

Speaking online recently to reporters on the eve of the completion of the latest elevated section of the NLEX Harbor Link along CAMANAVA area, the MPTC chairman declared once again the firm’s continuing investment in the Group’s lengthening network of express-

ways in the country.

Pangilinan has cited the huge impact of infrastructure building on the country’s economic recovery. He pointed out that “restarting construction projects has a huge multiplier effect on the economy, notably in generating jobs.”

Rodrigo Franco, MPTC president and CEO, underscored the MPTC chairman’s view, saying: “We believe that an efficient road infrastructure will stimulate economic activities and push the business sector to create more employment opportunities.”

Franco pointed out that expanding the country’s expressway network enables faster and easier mobility for the people and supports the unhampered flow of goods and services.

Franco disclosed that the Tollways Group has re-mobilized its contractors (observing IATF COVID-19 protocols), paving the way for the resumption of construction activities in project areas in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, South Luzon and the Visayas, particularly Cebu.

MPTC has identified four priority construction areas this year.

In northern Metro Manila and Central Luzon, MPTC is constructing three projects this year along the North Luzon Expressway corridor, including the NLEX Connector, with a combined length of 19 kilometers.

These NLEX projects include the re-

Media blocktime deal ‘fraudulent’

By Maricel V. Cruz

Cops arrest 2 big-time drug dealers in Taguig POLICE arrested in Taguig City two suspected big-time drug dealers operating in southern Metro Manila.

The authorities also seized P2 million worth of shabu from the suspects -- Tarhata Abdullah, 41 and resident of No. 329-B, Manuel L. Quezon Street, Lower Bicutan, Taguig City; and Joyce Rio Lusung, 18, of Sampaguita Village, San Pedro City, Laguna.

Anti-Narcotics agents from the Southern Police District and Northern Police District conducted the police operation at No. 329-B, Manuel L. Quezon Street, in Barangay Lower Bicutan late Thursday night.

The operation stemmed from a previous buy-bust operation last Tuesday at Block 15, Sawata, C-3 Road in Barangay 28, Caloocan City where a drug trafficker was arrested and 60 grams of shabu were confiscated. Joel E. Zurbano

BOC seizes smuggled cigarettes in Subic port THE Bureau of Customs seized three container vans of smuggled cigarettes worth more than P93 million at the Port of Subic, in Zambales.

Customs District collector Maritess Martin said the contraband was declared as LED lights but upon inspection of the shipment, customs authorities found thousands of boxes containing imported cigarettes.

The cigarettes, bearing various brands, reportedly came from China and concealed in 3,100 master cases.

Martin said that even during a global pandemic, the bureau is committed to working with other government agencies to stop smuggling in the country.

Customs commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said the agency will take all necessary measures to ensure that smuggling activities in all ports of the country will be stopped. Vito Barcelo

cently opened Harbor Link C3 to R10/ Mel Lopez Boulevard in the CAMANAVA area, plus the ongoing 8-km. elevated NLEX Connector Road that is being built over the PNR railroad line, with a project cost of P19.59 billion.

NLEX Corporation is also constructing a new 8-km. carriageway at the Subic Freeport Expressway, including a new tunnel and two bridges. With a project cost of P2.36 billion, the expanded expressway will be opened to traffic before the end of 2020.

MPTC’s ongoing construction projects south of Metro Manila are being undertaken inside the Cavite Expressway, valued at P15.20 billion, with a combined length of 6.75 kilometers; CAVITEX is implementing road widening improvements, featuring three new bridges in Paranaque, Wawa, and Las Pinas.

BACK ON THE ROAD. A passenger boards a traditional jeepney plying the Quezon Avenue-Sta Mesa route along Agno Extension cor Araneta Avenue in Quezon City on Friday, July 3, 2020. According to LTFRB Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-026 released on Thursday, a total of 6,002 jeepneys will be allowed to ply 49 routes in the region with no additional permits necessary. PNA Photo

Villar launches Search for missing fishers, gov’t urged ‘farm directory’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Cynthia Villar on Friday announced the launching of the updated version of the directory which will guide farm enthusiasts, trainees and tourists about farm destinations and learning sites in the country.

The 466-page 5th edition of Directory of Farm Schools, Tourist Farms and Learning Sites in the Philippines contains photographs and contact details of these sites from all the 17 regions in full color.

“This book is part of my efforts to promote farm tourism and the farm schools in our country. I continue to urge farmers to follow the example of others who have since become more profitable. They have tripled their income sources—from their crops or harvests, from tourists who visit their farms and from trainees who enroll in training programs,” Villar said.

Villar principally authored Republic Act 10816 or the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016 which paved the way for an increasing number of farmers, farm owners and farming communities to enjoy the benefits of converting their farms into tourist destinations.

SENATOR Grace Poe on Friday urged government authorities to augment and mobilize resources to scour the waters for 14 Filipinos missing after their fishing boat collided with a Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Mindoro.

“Every day counts. We should not let down the families of the 14 Filipinos awaiting the safe return of their loved ones,” she said.

Poe noted that all-out efforts for an exhaustive and wide search will increase the chance of finding the missing fishers and added that even coastal communities are volunteering to be on the lookout for signs.

“In this situation, we need true all-

hands-on-deck efforts. We must keep searching,” she said.

Poe said the government should make available any assistance needed by the families of the fishermen as they keep their hopes alive.

The Philippine Coast Guard, she said, should also seek help for sea and air assets of neighboring countries as the search has become a race against the clock.

While life at sea is not easy, the country’s fishermen continue to brave its perils and pitfalls to provide food for their families.

Poe said the investigation being conducted by the Coast Guard should be extensive to determine the real cause of the incident, the immediate action taken on the ground and possible liabilities.

A LEADER of the House of Representatives has accused ABS-CBN Corp. of fraud when the media network claimed to be a mere “blocktimer” at Amcara Broadcasting Network, which appears to be a company owned by the media giant.

Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla described ABS-CBN’s blocktime agreement with Amcara as an alibi to circumvent the power of Congress over legislative franchises.

“It shows there is an element of fraud on the part of ABS-CBN against the legislative powers of Congress,” Remulla said at the continuation of the joint hearing of the House Committees on Legislative Franchises and on Good Government and Public Accountability.

Amcara, whose own 25-year legislative franchise is expiring in November, continued to air ABS-CBN’s programs through Channel 43 and TV Plus, even after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against the Kapamilya network on May 5 due to its expired legislative franchise.

This prompted the NTC to issue an alias CDO against ABS-CBN on June 30, saying both Channel 43 and TV Plus were effectively covered by the original closure order against the network giant.

At Thursday’s hearing, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba disclosed that Amcara has no equipment and permit to operate digital television.

Cordoba also said that right after the alias CDO was served on ABS-CBN, NTC engineers inspected its premises to monitor and locate the signal source of Channel 43 assigned to Amcara.

NLEX Corp., DPWH open new interchange in Bocaue

By Darwin G Amojelar NLEX Corp. said it opened to the public a new interchange in Bocaue aimed at decongesting traffic in the province of Bulacan.

A partnership between the Department of Public Works and Highways and NLEX , the new Tambobong Interchange in Bocaue will offer another alternative for commuters at Bocaue In-

terchange bound for Sta. Maria, Angat, and Pandi in eastern Bulacan.

“The completion of this new route is vital to fulfilling our goal of improving roads leading to growth corridors. We are delighted to let our commuters know that we are able to provide traffic congestion relief and reduce travel time between the NLEX and eastern Bulacan towns,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

The new interchange features a two-

lane southbound entry, a two-lane northbound entry, and a three-lane northbound exit. It also has exclusive RFID lanes to encourage cashless and faster transactions.

“With these new access roads, we are expecting to enhance mobility within the Bulacan road network and help alleviate the heavy traffic situation at the Bocaue Interchange,” Luigi Bautista, NLEX president and general manager said.

LGUs

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

A4

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

Angeles budgets P147m for hospital, gadgets for pupils

By Romeo Dizon

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

PNP CHIEF VISIT. Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa (right) leads the blessing of quarantine facilities at the PRO-4A Calabarzon center (inset) on Thursday along with Police Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. (left) and other officials. Gamboa also turned over the quarters for the female DIPO in Southern Tagalog and BMI kits, and presided over an awarding ceremony at Camp BGen Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna. Roy Tomandao

NAC mining firms respond to virus with P50m in aid NICKEL Asia Corp. (NAC) acknowledges the threats of any possible crisis to its partner communities by immediately activating the company’s built-in system of methodically responding to any emergency.

So when President Rodrigo Duterte declared the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) on March 15 as response to the threat of COVID-19, NAC through its subsidiaries started spending more than P50 million from these companies’ realigned Social Development Management Program (SDMP) and Corporate Social Responsibility funds.

NAC’s subsidiaries include Cagdianao Mining (CMC), Dinapigue Mining (DMC), Hinatuan Mining (HMC), Rio Tuba Nickel Mining (RTN) and Taganito Mining (TMC), with Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI) and Cordillera Exploration Inc. (CExCI).

Mining companies regularly assume the role of first responders during natural calamities such as typhoons or earthquakes, ensuring that people in the mining communities get the assistance they need. The threat of COVID-19 was no different, officials said.

Mining companies are mandated by law to be responsible for the communities where they operate—designing and funding programs that provide jobs and boost the local economy in a sustainable manner.

The SDMP is a five-year plan budgeted to use as tool for the implementation of development programs in the mining communities, which the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has allowed to be realigned to assist the mining companies’ host communities during the pandemic.

The accumulated P50 million used in part to buy sacks of rice, food packs, vitamins, and medical supplies such as alcohol and hand sanitizers that were distributed to thousands of families and frontliners.

Some funds were used to build isolation and disinfecting facilities and to fund the extensive information campaign necessary to educate the communities about the pandemic and how they can be protected from the virus.

BARMM to take in 5k Malaysia deportees

By Nash B. Maulana

C

OTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Interagency Task Force (BITF) braced for the arrival Friday of the first batch of 5,000 Filipino deportees from Malaysia after prior coordination with Kuala Lumpur authorities, officials of the autonomous region here said.

Minister Naguib Sinarimbo of the Interior and Local Government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) said the region has deployed humanitarian workers to Zamboanga City for the arrival there this weekend of the first batch of 5,000 Filipinos returning from Sabah.

Sinarimbo, who also heads the BARMM-Rapid Emergency Assistance to Disaster Incidents (READI), said the

region’s humanitarian team will provide initial services, including random medical consultation before sending them to the region’s isolation areas.

BIATF spokesperson Mohammad Asnin Pendatun said BARMM authorities has also had prior coordination with their Malaysian counterparts to subject to PCR laboratory tests the Filipino families returning to Mindanao from a long residency in Sabah.

As it is in BARMM, observers elsewhere have linked current increases in COVID-19 cases to the massive influx of returning residents, availing of the Hatid Probinsya Program of the national government.

Pendatun said BARMM has posted three new cases in Basilan and five more in Lanao del Sur—seven among LSIs and one ROF. This brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in BARMM to a total of 134 patients.

“We don’t have to worry because we already have an agreement with our counterparts from the government of Malaysia to have all the deportees undergo PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing before they depart Sabah,” Pendatun said.

NAC AT THE READY.

Community Organizer Allan Bandoy Jr. from Hinatuan Mining, one of the companies under Nickel Asia Corp., delivers food packs to a resident of Sitio Campandan in Hinatuan Island, Surigao del Norte.

ANGELES CITY—The city government has earmarked a total of P147 million for the improvement of the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (RLMMC) and its online education program, as it continues to battle the highly infectious coronavirus disease.

Mayor Carmelo Lazatin said the public measures aim to protect the people, prevent the transmission of the virus in the city, and support the government’s online education program under the “new normal.”

In his State of the City address Friday, Lazatin said the hospital improvement aims to turn the center into a Level 2 facility by procuring modern medical equipment for it and constructing intensive care units, pediatric and gynecology services to better serve the people.

“I believe that a healthy citizenry is the backbone of a productive society,” Lazatin said.

Also known as Ospital Ning Angeles (ONA), the RLMMC plays a vital role in the city’s fight against the coronavirus, even providing the cheapest and free medical treatments to residents, indigents and senior citizens.

According to the mayor, the remaining P47 million is intended for buying 90,000 electronic gadgets in support of the digital public program and the improvement of the City College of Angeles (CCA).

The RLMMC and CCA currently serve as quarantine facilities for the city.

“Although the online education system remains untested in the country, we are supporting the program in this time of pandemic with internet connection for public schools free of charge,” he said.

Padilla hands P2.5-m check to provincial cops

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya— Governor Carlos Padilla recently gave a P2.5-million check to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to fund the construction of a multi-purpose covered court here.

Police Brigadier General Angelito Casimiro, PNP regional director for Cagayan Valley, received the funding assistance at the Police Provincial Office (PPO) in this town.

Casimiro, Padilla and Provincial Board Member Flodemonte Gerdan led policemen and other local officials during the groundbreaking program for the proposed PNP multi-purpose covered court.

“I am happy to give you your project.

I believe and hope that this will inspire the PNP in upholding their mandate to serve Novo Vizcayanos,” Padilla said.

He also reminded Casimiro not to forget “his province” once he starts his new job in Camp Crame or the PNP national headquarters.

“Please do not forget us when you are in paradise,” Padilla jokingly told Casimiro, who hails from Bayombong town.

Padilla pledged the fund for the PNP multi-purpose covered court during the turnover of new armaments, facilities and equipment to the Nueva Vizcaya Police Office last month.

2k trike drivers get P2,000 each from Balanga govt BALANGA CITY, Bataan—The city government through the leadership of Mayor Francis Garcia and Vice Mayor Vianca Venzon-Gonzon has distributed cash aid to more than 2,000 tricycle drivers in the city to help them in this time of the COVID-19 crisis.

Each tricycle driver received P2,000.

The distribution activities were conducted separately in various covered courts in observance of social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

A new set of availing tricycle drivers is expected to register for the fi-

nancial assistance.

The city government said tricycle drivers needed help because they have limited income nowadays due to the pandemic.

The drivers profusely thanked Garcia and Venzon-Gozon for the assistance.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod mem-

bers supported the cash aid program of the city to the transport sector with a resolution authorizing the release of the funds.

Balanga is also implementing a “Kusina sa Barangay” feeding program and milk distribution to children. Butch Gunio

SMFI, Bata give comfy shoes to PGH frontliners BATA, a world-renowned shoe brand with over 6,000 retail stores across the globe, partnered anew with SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI) in donating 1,800 pairs of shoes for the frontliners of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) as part of Bata’s Global 1 Million pairs donation project.

This social good collaboration emerged from SM Foundation and Bata’s commitment to support the needs of our frontliners during this COVID-19 pandemic.

With the distribution of the donated footwear, both the SMFI and Bata expressed their hopes that this would provide comfort and protection to our brave

frontliners in PGH while they are on duty.

“Bata Philippines donated these shoes as our way of saying thank you to our frontliners for the help that they have extended to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bata Philippines General Manager Arlyn Guanlao said.

UP PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi expressed his gratitude to SM Foundation and Bata.

“I’d like to thank SM Foundation for being ever supportive of our COVID-19 fight here in PGH. You have covered the whole spectrum of our needs from ventilators and now sneakers,” he said.

“Thank you to Bata shoes for having shared their different kinds of sneakers

which I’m sure would go a long way into making our frontliners feel appreciated and comfortable when they work,” Legaspi added.

“Due to long and oftentimes back-toback work shifts, a number of our health workers are experiencing foot and back pain. The need to constantly disinfect their shoes also results in faster wearing out of their footwear,” SMFI Executive Director Debbie Sy said.

“SMFI and Bata wanted to provide our health workers with quality footwear to address this need and provide them with comfortable footwear and protection while at work and doing their rounds,” she added.

CHEERFUL GIVERS. Bata Philippines General Manager Arlyn Guanlao (left) and UP PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi (center) share a laugh during the distribution of Bata shoes at the Philippine General Hospital. Through SM Foundation, Bata Philippines was able to donate 1,800 pairs of shoes to PGH as part of their ‘Bata Heroes’ project.

Opinion Coping with the pandemic POWER POINT

ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO AS I was beginning to write this, I was interrupted by shouts of “Mama! Mama!

We’re here to have lunch!” My heart skipped a beat. It was my grandchildren with their mom and dad. I have not seen these two for more than two months since they were picked up from my home.

My daughter and her husband are both doctors. They had to undergo self-quarantine because of exposure to COVID-19 colleagues. Also, at the start of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), we all decided that it would be best for the kids to stay with me first since my two doctors were, and still are, on the frontlines.

So when the kids were with me, my home was busy and alive with the laughter, shrieks, running around, and sounds of the two fighting like any other siblings. During the evenings, virtually all our lights were on until the two were already sound asleep.

We had our hands full as we were constantly thinking of food, activities, and things that would keep them busy and entertained since we knew they were missing their parents and their home. There were the regular morning and evening video calls so the family was kept connected. The kids knew and understood about the virus and what their mom and dad were doing. So we were also in constant discussion with them especially because the older often expressed concern about her parents.

All these helped me deal with the uncertainties, danger, and apprehensions brought about by the pandemic and the fact that I have two doctors out there right in the frontlines, fighting the pandemic and treating patients. The kids helped me cope.

The kids’ leaving was like a switch that turned off the lights and sounds in the house. Suddenly, we were engulfed with silence and we needed to find other ways to cope.

My life is a lot better compared with the millions of Filipinos who, even before the pandemic could barely make both ends meet and who, because of this crisis, need to find ways so their families can have food on the table.

Luck is on my side since I can still work from home, and thus, earn some even as most of our projects are on hold. It’s worrying but my kids all have stable jobs and I need not ask them for help. Groceries and goods from the market are delivered to us, and our utilities are paid. What more can I ask for? However, like many parents, being dependent on my kids is not the life for me.

Despite the lockdown, I do not feel as constricted as others because parts of my home have an outdoorsy feel. Friends living in condominium units have been saying that their anxiety level is rising because of being in enclosed condos day in and day out.

Like many others, plants have been effectively tempering my stress levels. We have harvested pansit-pansitan for our salad, a five-kilogram ube, and one big guyabano while waiting for the seven other fruits to ripen. I have papaya, kangkong, ampalaya, squash, tomato, carrots, chili pepper, tarragon, malunggay, and laurel plants. My cacti, succulents, and other ornamentals are nicely surviving and many are used to decorate and bring the outdoors into the house.

We need to help ourselves and others.

Music, especially that of my generation, is another thing that entertains me. So are Korean dramas. Although I got hooked late, it was at the tail-end of the popularity of Crash Landing on You, I am liking the storytelling, the complex characters, and the reference to Korea’s history. Yes, Netflix and YouTube are my newfound friends during this pandemic.

Because of the long ECQ, the decision to stay home unless it is important, and the fact that we still cannot do activities in communities, I have been busying myself with writing, doing policy advocacy primarily for the pro-women and pro-workers bills in the House of Representatives, coordinating with other civil society organizations (CSOs) on the issues we work on, participating in online webinars, and finding ways to help in initiatives to assist those who are adversely affected by this crisis. My activism is continuously expressed primarily through social media.

Taken everything together, despite all the limitations, being productive is something that we can still achieve.

Government initiatives to help people maintain our mental health is minimal at best. Anxiety and stress levels are high.

Families who lost loved ones are grieving and we can only console them with our words. Our families, friends, and families of close friends are getting sick. Doctors are saying that there has been an upsurge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila since we went on General Community Quarantine (GCQ). There have been cases of suicides among our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to depression.

Millions have lost their jobs and poverty levels are its highest. Our human rights are being threatened left and right.

These are very challenging times and we need to cope especially in the face of government’s demonstrated incapacity to address the pandemic. We need to keep our sanity. We need to help ourselves, and others, cope.

Too many of our people are suffering.

Those of us who are in a position to help, please do. Let us cope together. @bethangsioco on Twitter Angsioco on Facebook

Elizabeth

EVERYMAN

The fourth of July

By Ernesto G. Banawis THE most poignant and profound lesson mankind has learned from the turbulent, yet epic and glorious world history is that all dictatorial, tyrannical and repressive regimes end up in shame and infamy.

Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and the despotic rulers of many other countries have been all consigned to the dustbin of history. They have been condemned, hated, and disdained—never revered. Their faces and names appear in rogues’ galleries in museums all over the world. Their countries do not celebrate their birth and death anniversaries.

It reverberates today.

This lesson affirms the truth that no regime or ruler can run a nation without the consent of the governed. It cannot stand for long under a complete political vacuum.

Abraham Lincoln summed up an ideal government which is run by, for and of the people themselves. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the American Declaration of Independence, clearly laid down the principle that all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Today July 4th, the American people celebrate the 244th anniversary of their inde-

pendence from Great Britain.

With a nucleus of 13 original colonies, the United States of America, has now 50 states with a population of over 330 million living under a truly democratic government.

Many Filipinos still celebrate this event, particularly those who felt the first stirrings of patriotism singing the Star Spangled Banner rather than the Philippine National Anthem. These are the Filipinos who were born during the commonwealth years.

The Philippines became a colony of the USA under controversial, accidental, mysterious and providential circumstances.

The Spanish-American war broke out when the USS Maine was blown up in the harbor of Cuba on February 15, 1898 under mysterious circumstances.

When the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898, the Spanish colonial government in Intramuros, Manila, arranged a secret surrender to the American military contingents three days after the war ended. Yet, the Americans never engaged the Spaniards in a shooting incident. But this was the basis for the USA to assume jurisdiction over the Philippines. It even paid the bankrupt Spanish monarchy $20 million for enslaving over 10 million citizens of the Republic of the Philippines which was proclaimed earlier on June 12, 1898.

When the Treaty of Paris was awaiting ratification by the US senate, it was passed by a majority of one vote. A leader of the opposition lobbied for its approval to advance his personal political interests.

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

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EDITORIAL

K

Wearing face masks

EEPING one's self healthy in the recently minted term “new normal” should be everyone's top priority.

Worldwide, there are to date nearly 11 million infections, almost 516,500 deaths, and more than 5.4 million recoveries.

As some areas are easing or lifting restrictions and slowly lifting stay-at-home orders, although there are still many others under General Community Quarantine, we ask the question: what will indeed this new normal be?

Workers and non-workers, in whatever gathering with other people under the new normal raised by the coronavirus pandemic, must learn to accept the wearing of face masks as a safety net.

This is being respectful and considerate of others, at the same time being protective of one's self in a crowd, given that the virus, which has infected nearly 39,000 and killed at least 1,274 in the Philippines—and the numbers are rising despite imposed protocols and restrictions—is asymptomatic.

This is part of the new normal.

Before the coronavirus pandemic whipped itself out of Wuhan, China and charged to every direction including the Philippines, millions of workers unconsciously did not realize that some 93 percent of them lived in countries with the same sort of workplace closures.

They may not have considered, but understandably, how close they were standing, walking or sitting with other people in a crowd—and no face masks were a daily part of the work luggage.

In the new normal, we must beware of what authorities describe as the three Cs: Crowded places, with many people nearby; Close-contact settings, especially where people have close-range conversations; and Confined and enclosed spaces, with poor ventilation.

Where we can't avoid crowds, and until a safe coronavirus vaccine is available, we agree with health experts that there will continue to be the risk of infection, as people get back, slowly, to work, school and a more normal life.

How “normal” will the new normal be?

Meanwhile, we note how we, individually and collectively, can protect ourselves as the country of 110 million slowly goes down from the level of a lockdown imposed in mid March.

Wearing masks is for any person's protection and to protect vulnerable populations.

Danger in the President’s political decisions Part I IT HAS always been my passion, as a political analyst, to ask why our political leaders act this or that way. For whatever choice they take there is always in them a justifying reason.

Take, for instance, the delay in deciding the petition for recount filed by Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos against the self-styled vice president. We know that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal is given up to two years to decide the petition of which an afterthought choice candidate for vice president saw in the early evening of the counting tailing Marcos by almost one million votes.

For an unexplained reason, before daybreak, Ma. Leonora Robredo managed to overtake Marcos by over one million votes.

Nobody could believe the cheating machine operated by Smartmatic could overtake the votes by almost two million without the votes of Marcos proportionately increasing.

It was wholesale cheating, for practically the counting machine of Smartmatic downloaded a total of 2 million votes with practically no vote casts in favor of one expected by many to win. The overall ledger in the increase of votes cast only referred to the two specific candidates out of the more than a hundred thousand candidates listed

by Comelec in that election of 2016.

Marlon Garcia is the local head of Smartmatic believed by many as a CIA operative to oversee the cheating operation has fled the country to avoid being indicted for electoral sabotage. He together with the former head of the Comelec identified as Andres Bautista, is believed by many to have collaborated to reduce the 2016 election to sham. Both are now in the US. Marcos was able to present his allegations of the rigged result why he lost despite the expectations of many who voted for and supported him.

To recall, the coup-installed President redrafted her own constitution allegedly to

President William McKinley should have immediately recognized Philippine independence which his predecessors did in the case of six South American nations, which gained earlier independence from Spain.

But the Jingoists, led by Alfred T. Mahan, the foremost exponent of American expansionist policy, Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt, and moguls of business interests, pressed McKinley to take over the Philippines.

The most vehement and frantic voices which viewed with shock and dismay the trend towards acquisition of further territory, was Speaker Thomas B. Reed, who became widely respected and admired for his wit and wisdom as presiding officer of the House of Representatives.

One time, a congressman, after lambasting President McKinley, proudly announced at the end of his speech: “That\s why, Mr. Speaker, I would rather be right than be president.”

Speaker Reed promptly banged his gavel and said: “The gentleman need not worry, he will never be either.”

The Imperialist League, prominent names in the academe and other leaders from the business community, like Andrew Carnegie, E. L. Godkin, Samuel Gompers, William James and Harvard University President Charles Eliot, reminded their fellow Americans that “if here is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest.’

BACKBENCHER

ROD P. KAPUNAN pave the way for a clean and honest election under the tutelage of the Americans. In the land of luminaries where demagogues pretend to say their piece about the Constitution, however, they omitted the Supreme Court’s inherent jurisdiction to decide petitions involving the recount of presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Why the outrageous delay?

Instead, the new constitution gave reference to Section 5, Article VI creating the Electoral Tribunal but by-passed the Commission on Elections and accorded supervisory power to the SC by placing the Chief Justices as presiding head of the presidential electoral tribunal (PET) enacted by R.A. No. 1793. The question is, can this silly provision enacted by ordinary legislation be cited as equivalent to the provision of the Constitution itself?

Specifically R.A. No. 1793 states to quote: “An Act Constituting an Independent Presidential Electoral Tribunal to Try, Hear and Decide Protest Contesting the Election of the President-Elect and the Vice-President-Elect of the Philippine x x x.”

One cannot even say this law is rooted in the powers of the Legislature to entertain electoral contests and recounts because a particular law called Presidential Electoral Tribunal has been created to perform specific assignments, and the Comelec was also deprived of its regular function. This explains why for whatever irregularity that

Eliot called Lodge and Roosevelt, degenerate sons of Harvard.

But the man who predicted that the Philippines will fall under the sovereignty of the United States was Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

In his article, The Philippines, A Century Hence,” published in the September 30, 1898 issue of La Solidaridad, Rizal made the curious prediction that neither Germany, England, France, Holland, China or Japan would take interest in the Philippines once Spain’s colonial hold weakened.

“Perhaps,” he wrote, “the great American Republic, whose interests lie in the Pacific, and who had no hand in the spoliation of Africa, may someday dream of such a possession.”

In suppressing the Filipinos’ valiant struggle for independence in the first few years of the colonial government, the American administration claimed that they are here to educate the Filipinos on democratic principles and practices. Howard Taft, the first civil governor assigned to the Philippines who later became US president, had a condescending attitude on his Filipino subjects and spurned efforts to grant them independence.

Taft and succeeding caretakers and envoys sent by the US to the Philippines ignored the fact that the Filipinos have been freedom-loving and had staged hundreds of revolts in their struggle for independence.

may be committed in the election of President and vice president, a case cannot be brought for questioning before any court, not even in Congress and the Comelec. In the vernacular, “pina ikot lang tayo.”

It is even foolish for one to raise his petition before the Supreme Court because it reneged on its function, and cannot now resolve the issue of constitutionality for the fact that its own “boss-chief” is there to supervise.

By that as it may, my concern is not why Robredo won and Marcos lost, but why up to now the Supreme Court or its amorphous adjunct has not decided the petition despite the clear mandate for the PET to decide the petition within the given period of time.

Section 3 of R.A. No. 1793 states that “The Presidential Electoral Tribunal shall decide the contest within twenty months after it is filed, and within said period shall declare who among the parties has been elected x x and in case of a tie between the candidates x x x for vice-president x x x.”

It appears that the PET and the High Court are collaborating to delay the release of the petition as if to tell the petitioner to wait until kingdom come.

Duterte is now in his fourth year as elected President, and has only two years more to go. Admittedly R.A. No. 1793 is not a constitutional provision, which is the reason why they have almost ignored it. As the justices continue to have their “siesta,” they are quick to slap anybody who would dare remind them of their duty to decide cases within the required period of time.

Even an “abugado de campanilla” will go crazy why the coup-installed president and his appointed minions in the Constitutional Commission have difficulty applying legal hermeneutic in deciphering what those lackeys want to convey or in applying statutory construction to avoid contradictions by way of eliminating redundancy.

Full version at www.manilastandard.net.

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Sonny, Obet, and Pat

EVERYMAN A license to kill

by JV Arcena

The Brawners in Marawi

by M.L.Salvacion

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IN BRIEF Canadian birds change their tune

PART OF YOUR WORLD. Vandals apparently pushing for inclusion and diversity scrawled the words ‘Racist Fish’ at the base of the Little Mermaid statue (Den lille Havfrue) in Denmark on July 3, 2020.

Early this year, unknown vandals also painted “Free Hong Kong” on the most famous Danish landmark that is especially popular with Chinese tourists. AFP

Beijing appoints hardliners to HK C HINA appointed a hardliner involved in a clamp down against protests on the mainland as the head of Hong Kong’s new security agency on Friday, state media said, days after imposing a sweeping law on the territory that criminalizes dissent.

Zheng Yanxiong will take the helm of the controversial national security agency, a new office set up under the legislation that empowers mainland security agents to operate inside Hong Kong openly for the first time, unbound by the city’s laws.

The office—which has investigative and prosecutory powers—will monitor

intelligence related to national security and process cases, in some circumstances handing them over to the mainland for trial, according to the law.

Zheng rose through the ranks of the local government in southern Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong, to serve as secretary general of the provincial Communist Party committee.

The 56-year-old is known as a hardliner who stamped out often-violent anticorruption protests that erupted in Wukan, a village in the province, in 2011 after a local activist died in police custody.

“He is a tough enforcer, a law and order person,” Willy Lam, an expert on China’s Communist Party at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told AFP. Lam said Zheng could speak Cantonese, Hong Kong’s lingua franca, unlike other recent appointments of senior party officials who deal with Hong Kong.

“His experience in cracking down on riots in Guangdong will endear him to the authorities,” he added.

During the Wukan riots, multiple Hong Kong media outlets quoted Zheng

as saying villagers were “colluding with foreign media to create trouble.”

Hong Kong was rocked by several months of huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests last year, a movement which Beijing has vowed to end with its new security law.

China has dismissed protesters’ demands for greater democracy and portrayed the unrest as a foreign plot to destabilise the motherland.

On Friday, the State Council also named Luo Huining—the current director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in the semiautonomous city—as the national security adviser to the city’s newly-formed national security commission chaired by Chief Executive Carrie Lam. AFP

Hong Kongers scrub socmed history in face of security law HONG KONGERS are scrubbing their social media accounts, deleting chat histories and mugging up on cyber privacy as China’s newly imposed security law blankets the traditionally outspoken city in fear and self-censorship.

China’s authoritarian leaders enacted sweeping new powers on Tuesday —keeping the contents secret until the last minute—after more than a year of often violent protests in a financial hub increasingly chafing under Beijing’s rule.

Certain political views such as wanting independence became outlawed overnight and legal analysts and rights groups warn the broad wording of the law—which bans subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces—will choke civil liberties and free speech.

Despite assurances from Beijing that political freedoms would not be hindered, many Hong Kongers moved to delete digital references of their opposition to China’s ruling Communist Party, which uses similar laws on the mainland to crush dissent.

“I changed my profile name and switched to a private account so that my employer will not be able to see future posts which they deem to be offensive to China or have breached the national security law,” Paul, an employee of a large company whose management he described as “pro-Beijing,” told AFP. He said he would be “very careful” about posting in the future, fearing colleagues or even friends might report him, and asked not to be identified.

After the law came in, many Hong Kongers took to Twitter and other social media platforms such as Telegram and Signal to either announce their departure or share tips on internet safety.

“We will clear all the messages for your safety,” one popular Telegram group used by pro-democracy protesters wrote. “Please watch out for what you say.”

One lawyer with pro-democracy leanings messaged an AFP journalist asking for their entire WhatsApp history to be deleted.

Another announced they were moving all communications to Signal, which they felt was a more secure messaging app. AFP

MEMBERS of a Canadian sparrow species famous for their jaunty signature song are changing their tune, a curious example of a “viral phenomenon” in the animal kingdom.

Bird enthusiasts first recorded the white-throated sparrow’s original song, with its distinctive triplet hook, in the 1950s.

Canadians even invented lyrics to accompany the ditty: “Oh my sweet, Ca-nada, Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da.”

But starting from the late 20th century, biologists began noticing that members of the species in western Canada were innovating.

Instead of a triplet, the new song ended in a doublet and a new syncopation pattern. The new ending sounded like “Cana, Ca-na, Ca-na.”

Over the course of the next two decades, this new cadence became a big hit, moving eastward and conquering Alberta, then Ontario. It began entering Quebec last year.

It’s now the dominant version across more than 3,000 kilometers of territory, in an extremely rare example of the total replacement of historic bird dialect by another. AFP

Nokor border to remain closed

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned against the “hasty” relaxation of anti-coronavirus measures, state media reported Friday, indicating the country will keep its borders closed for the forseeable future.

The nuclear-armed North closed its borders in late January as the virus spread in neighboring China and imposed tough restrictions that put thousands of its people into isolation.

Pyongyang insists it has not had a single case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus that has swept the world infecting more than 10.8 million people and killing over 500,000.

Analysts say the North is unlikely to have avoided the contagion and that its ramshackle health system could struggle to cope with a major outbreak.

But Kim told a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on Thursday that its efforts had been a “shining success,” the official KCNA news agency reported.

“We have thoroughly prevented the inroad of the malignant virus,” it cited him as saying, “despite the worldwide health crisis.”

Kim cautioned against any “selfcomplacence or relaxation,” calling for stricter anti-epidemic efforts while “re-infection and re-expansion of the malignant contagious disease persists in neighboring countries.” AFP

Spike in child abuse recorded

SHOW OF FORCE. In this handout photograph taken on July 3, 2020 and released by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB), India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) sits during a briefing with military commanders as he arrives in Leh, the joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh. The surprise visit to India’s northern frontier region with China was his first trip to the area since a deadly border clash last month. AFP

A MAJOR London children’s hospital registered a 15-fold increase in the number of apparent child abuse cases it dealt with during the COVID-19 lockdown compared to previous years, researchers reported.

From March 23 to April 23 – corresponding to the height of self-isolation rules – the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children saw 10 infants ranging in age from two weeks to 13 months diagnosed with “abusive head trauma.”

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, the hospital reported an average of only 0.67 such cases over the same time period each year, Jai Sidpra from the London Medical School and four doctors from Great Ormond reported in Archives of Disease in Childhood, a medical journal.

Clinical examinations revealed symptoms including bleeding in the eyes, bruising, and scalp swelling, while X-rays or CAT scans showed brain hemorrhaging, internal bleeding and skull fractures.

Immediately prior to examination, half of the infants were colic, 40 percent were on the edge of unconsciousness, and 20 percent had had seizures, according to hospital records. AFP

Modi makes surprise China border visit after clash PRIME Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to India’s northern frontier region with China on Friday in his first trip to the area since a deadly border clash last month.

The incident in the Galwan Valley saw 20 Indian troops killed and was the first time in 45 years that soldiers had died in combat on the Asian giants’ long-disputed Himalayan border.

Modi toured a military base at Nimoo in Ladakh, about 100 kilometers as the crow flies from the site of the June 15 battle.

He was due to go to a military hospital in nearby Leh to meet soldiers injured in the hand-to-hand skirmish, a security source told AFP. The head of India’s military and the army chief also joined the visit to the sensitive area, which has been used as a staging post to build up troop numbers in the region.

China also suffered casualties but has not given details.

Both sides have blamed each other for the incident and since sent thousands of extra troops to the region.

They have held several rounds of

military-level talks and said they want a negotiated settlement but have made little apparent progress.

India has also attempted to turn the screws on China economically, this week banning 59 Chinese mobile phone apps including the popular TikTok citing national security concerns.

With anti-China sentiment on the rise locally, Chinese imports including raw materials vital to India’s pharmaceutical industry have reportedly been piling up at Indian ports due to more stringent border checks. AFP

Singapore opposition hit with misinformation law SINGAPORE’S government has used a controversial online misinformation law to order an opposition party to correct a social media post, days after campaigning got underway for an election next week.

Under the law, ministers can order social media sites to put warnings next to posts the government considers false and order pages be blocked, but critics fear it is being used to suppress dissent.

On Thursday the government ordered People’s Voice to correct a video posted on Facebook and YouTube and the opposition party complied, putting up banners saying it contains inaccurate information.

In the video, party chief Lim Tean said the government spends a quarter of a billion Singapore dollars ($180 million) “providing free education for foreigners every year.”

A government website aimed at debunking untrue information said the video contained “a false and misleading statement,” as a significant majority of such students have to pay fees higher than local students.

The large number of foreigners in the city-state has become a hot-button issue ahead of the election, with the opposition pressing the government to put Singaporeans first when it comes to job opportunities.

People’s Voice is among a handful of small opposition groups taking on the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) at the July 10 vote.

While the PAP is expected to remain in power, the opposition hopes to win more seats in parliament.

Since the misinformation law came into force last year, several opposition figures and activists have been ordered to correct posts while Facebook has been forced to block pages on several occasions.

The tech giant said last month the use of the law is “severe” and risks stifling free speech, while Google and Twitter have also expressed concerns. AFP

ROARING BACK ECONOMY?

US President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 2, 2020. Trump hailed the ‘spectacular’ US jobs report for June, saying the return to work of 4.8 million Americans marks a huge comeback for an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

Business PSEi July 3, 2020 TOP GAINERS

Stock market up slightly; JG Summit leads gainers T HE stock market rose slightly Friday in mixed trading after reversing early losses, with investors welcoming a forecast-busting US jobs report overnight.

TOP LOSERS

B3

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 8.58 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,372.66 on a value turnover of P7.4 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 103 to 92, with 45 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate JG Summit holdings Corp. of the Gokongwei Group climbed 3.1 percent to P67.25, while Manila Water Co. Inc., a unit of Ayala Corp., advanced 2.7 percent to P13.64.

Altus Property Ventures Inc., a unit of Robinsons Land Corp., however, sank 24 percent to P30, while Dito CME Holdings Corp., formerly ISM Commu-

nications Corp. and the third telecommunications company owned by tycoon Dennis Uy, fell 11.6 percent to P3.04.

The rest of the regional equities rose on Friday, though an acceleration in virus infections across the world’s top economy tempered big gains.

While the US registered more than 50,000 new cases for a second straight day and authorities across the country reimposed containment measures, traders backed up with a wall of government and central bank cash chose to look to the positives.

And a near-five million jump in employment in June, combined with promising vaccine tests, provided the platform for another market rally that saw the Nasdaq clock up yet another record.

The jobs report showed people returning to jobs in hard-hit and crucial sectors such as leisure and hospitality, which accounted for just under half of the increase.

The US advances, and a strong per-

formance in Europe—where countries are pressing ahead with lockdown easing—gave Asia a strong lead, which investors picked up on.

Hong Kong rose 1.2 percent after climbing almost three percent Thursday, while Tokyo finished 0.7 percent higher and Shanghai jumped two percent.

Sydney climbed 0.4 percent and Seoul put on 0.8 percent, while there were healthy advances in Taipei, Seoul, Wellington, Singapore and Mumbai.

“There’s still a general positive sentiment about how quickly we’re seeing the recovery,” said Chris Gaffney at TIAA Bank.

“But we do think you’re going to see the recovery level off, especially if we continue to see higher case numbers on the virus.”

Analysts warned that while the employment data were good, jobless claims were still elevated—at 1.43 million last week, which was slightly better than the week before but missed expectations. AFP

MOST ACTIVE

SENTOSA VISITORS. A visitor poses for photos in the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on the resort island of Sentosa in Singapore on July 3, 2020, as the attraction reopened after being temporarily closed due to concerns about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. AFP

Trump cheers US jobs surge in June despite COVID-91 rise WASHINGTON―US President Donald Trump hailed data released Thursday showing huge employment gains in June, but he continued to downplay surging COVID-19 cases that could reverse the tentative recovery.

His cheering drew a sharp rebuke from former vice president Joe Biden, who is challenging Trump in the November election and said there is little to celebrate with the economy still in a dire state.

The quarrel came as the Labor Department reported employers brought 4.8 million people back to work last month, close to half in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector.

The hiring dropped the jobless rate by two points to 11.1 percent―a figure nonetheless higher than any seen in decades and well above the peak of the global financial crisis.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump, who needs a strong economy to help his re-election bid, went through the report line-by-line, saying some of the job gains were records.

“Today’s announcement proves that our economy is roaring back,” Trump said.

“The crisis is being handled,” he continued. “This not just luck, what is happening. This is a lot of talent.”

He also cheered the soaring stock market, but left without taking questions from reporters on the spike in cases of coronavirus, nor the scandal over reports that US intelligence believes a Russian unit paid bounties for Taliban-linked militants to kill American troops.

In a live webcast later in the day, Biden pointed to the worsening COVID-19 situation in the United States, which has seen the world’s worst outbreak with more than 128,000 deaths and new infections now at 50,000 a day.

“There’s no victory to be celebrated when we’re still down nearly 15 million jobs and the pandemic is getting worse, not better,” Biden said.

“We are still in a deep, deep jobs hole because Donald Trump has so badly bungled the response to the coronavirus, and now has basically given up responding at all,” Biden said. AFP

EU, UK both warn Aircraft builder Airbus seeks gov’t aid to minimize job cuts as workers fret of wide gaps after after negotiations BRUXELLES, Belgium―A round of intensified Brexit talks ended on Thursday with both sides warning of big remaining differences but committing to more negotiations next week in London.

The four days of meetings in Brussels were the first held face-to-face since the coronavirus shutdown, with hopes high that progress would be made, but they broke up one day early.

“Our goal was to get negotiations successfully and quickly on a trajectory to reach an agreement,” EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in a statement.

“However, after four days of discussions, serious divergences remain,” he added.

More hopefully, the former French minister added: “We continue to believe that an agreement is possible and in everyone’s interest.”

Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost mirrored Barnier’s statement, warning that “significant differences” remain with the European Union.

But Frost added: “We remain committed to working hard to find an early understanding on the principles underlying an agreement.”

Holding in-person talks “has given extra depth and flexibility to our discussions,” he said.

The talks this month are being held in a more limited format than earlier sessions, in hopes that a more personal encounter can deliver a breakthrough.

However, a final one-on-one session between Frost and Barnier set for Friday was cancelled, though a source said the schedule was never ironclad.

The “expected dynamic did not occur,” a European source told AFP. “At the same time, we are digging into the hard stuff and no longer just summarizing our divergences.”

The talks will resume on Monday in London in the same restricted format, with a full session, involving hundreds of negotiators, planned for July 20 in the UK capital.AFP

FRANKFURT―European aircraft builder Airbus dangled a lifeline Thursday for some employees menaced by 15,000 layoffs planned worldwide over the coronavirus, saying government aid could rescue thousands of factory workers fearing for their livelihoods.

“We could preserve up to 500 jobs if the German government supported us via its program to develop hydrogen drive for planes. Prolonging shorter hours schemes to 24 months could save 1,500 more,” chief executive Guillaume Faury told news weekly Der Spiegel, adding that “talks are already under way on this.”

Some 1,500 posts could also be saved in France, he said.

Germany and France have complained in recent days at around 5,000 layoffs each set to hit their countries, with Berlin urging fair distribution of the pain while Paris blasted the cuts as “excessive.”

Faury told Spiegel that with around two-thirds of the world’s jet fleet grounded by the pandemic in recent months, “the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the air travel sector was and remains catastrophic.”

Airbus plans to slash production by 40 percent this year and next compared with previous plans.

“We can stabilize the company, but it’s necessary to adjust the number of workers,” Faury said.

Airbus’ plans for 15,000 layoffs

were “excessive and disproportionate,” said Jean-Francois Knepper, who represents workers organized in Force Ouvriere (FO)―the largest union inside the plane maker’s French operations.

“We don’t know where we’re going. It’s a brutal shock,” said David Neff, a 26-year-old technician at one of Airbus’ factories in the Toulouse area.

“Before the Covid crisis, we were in the middle of a boom... we were planning to hire new people.”

Airbus employs around 49,000 people in France, with 25,000 working for the giant group and its subsidiaries around Toulouse.

“We’re worried. No one knows

who’s going to be knocked out. Some of us are paying off debts, if we lose our income, it’s going to get complicated,” said Ludovic Beller, a 29-yearold mechanic who has worked for Airbus for seven years.

Workers “will sit at the negotiating table... we’re starting on Monday morning and it will last for four months,” union representative Knepper said.

Unions have called on Airbus employees to demonstrate Wednesday at the company’s Toulouse headquarters.

They plan to call for early retirements, voluntary redundancies, long-term shorter hours schemes and training to minimize the number of layoffs. AFP

Hong Kong business community backs new security law despite fears HONG KONG―China’s new security law has sent fear coursing through many Hong Kong residents, but the city’s commercial community has largely embraced it as a way to get back to doing business.

The controversial legislation has granted mainland Chinese authorities unprecedented control as they seek to end the pro-democracy protests that plunged Hong Kong into turmoil last year.

Despite warnings from rights groups and legal analysts that it could be a fatal blow to the city’s legal autonomy and political freedoms, many in the business community have welcomed the law as a way to restore stability.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce described the passing of the law earlier this week as “instrumental in helping to restore stability and certainty to Hong Kong, which has been severely impacted by the social unrest since last year.”

“We need a stable environment which the (security law) aims to provide.”

British banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered―both with a major presence in Hong Kong and on the mainland―joined other firms in publicly backing the law last month.

Analysts and members of the busi-

In this file photo taken on July 01, 2020 Police detain people on a bus after they cleared protesters taking part in a rally against a new national security law in Hong Kong on the 23rd anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China. AFP

ness community have said the law could add to the risk and complexity of doing business in Hong Kong, but it is unlikely to spark a mass exodus of foreign firms.

Hong Kong stocks rallied almost three percent Thursday, led by property firms with investors betting that the law will restore stability to the city.

“By and large, the mindset of busi-

ness people is always to try and carry on as if nothing has changed, and try and avoid the political risks,” said Ben Bland, a political analyst at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

“So I’m not surprised by the sort of reactions we’ve seen.”

Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays, told Bloomberg News it was a “very difficult political situation.”

He added: “We’re not going to get involved in the politics of Hong Kong.”

Grave concerns The text of the law has set off alarm bells with its broad phrasing of offenses and the supremacy of the mainland’s Communist Party-controlled courts over Hong Kong’s.

The city transformed itself into a global financial hub thanks to the reputation of its independent judiciary, becoming a center for settlements and arbitration―especially with mainland firms.

That legal autonomy―among other freedoms for its residents―was guaranteed for 50 years under the “One Country, Two Systems” agreement that saw Britain hand over the colony to China in 1997.

It created a firewall between the city and China’s opaque legal system― and also helped Hong Kong act as a gateway to the mainland for foreign firms.

The new law has undermined that system, and the Hong Kong Bar Association said it was “gravely concerned.”

The law threatens protections including fair trials, fundamental rights and freedom of expression, the organization said in a blistering critique on Wednesday. AFP

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

B4

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

Business

BDO raises P36b from bond sale IN BRIEF B

By Julito G. Rada

Century Properties posts P6.1b in sales

CENTURY Properties Group said Friday it booked P6.1 billion in reservation sales in the first half of the year despite the challenges in the property market caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

CPG said in a statement the P6.1-billion reservation sales were equivalent to 1,925 homes or 651 condominium units and 1,274 house and lot units under its affordable housing brand.

It said from P2.96-billion reservation sales in the first quarter, pre-sales accelerated to P3.16 billion in the second quarter as a result of the company’s digitalization efforts that transformed the home buying process into a safe, contactless and convenient experience for customers.

“Century Properties was quick to adapt to digital selling and contactless transactions that generated healthy reservation sales for the first half of 2020. From an investment standpoint, real estate is more stable and safe in the long term, and it’s a hard asset that you can use,” said CPG president and chief executive Marco Antonio.

Jenniffer B. Austria

DO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by the Sy family, said Friday it raised P36 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate peso bonds amid the robust demand from individual and institutional investors.

BDO said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the proceeds were more than seven times the original offer of P5 billion. “The latest bond issuance is part of BDO’s continuing efforts to diversify its funding sources and support its lending activities,” it said.

“The bonds have a tenor of 1.75 years and a coupon rate of 3.125 percent per annum. Interest will be paid quarterly, calculated on a 30/360 count basis,” the bank said. The offering period started on June 15 and ended on June 26.

The bonds were exclusively offered through BDO Trust & Investments

Group and BDO Private Bank Trust.

Standard Chartered Bank was the sole lead arranger and market maker for the issuance, while BDO Unibank and BDO Private Bank Inc. were the selling agents.

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

The bank allocated P20 billion in additional provisions after a comprehensive review of the loan portfolio. Tan said the move was anticipatory in na-

ture, adding this was a prudent measure amid the challenging environment.

The bank’s net income hit a record P44.2 billion in 2019, while its firstquarter net profit reached P8.8 billion on the back of strong core income sources.

Tan said the bank’s capital position remained strong despite the additional provisions, and that BDO intended to continue with its regular quarterly dividends.

The bank paid out P0.30 per share in cash dividend on common shares for first quarter 2020 and declared the same for the second quarter 2020 payable on June 29, 2020 to all stockholders of record as of June 17, 2020.

BDO is a full-service universal bank which provides a wide range of corporate and retail banking services. These services include traditional loan and deposit products, treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, rural banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, retail cash cards and credit card services.

EDC supports DOE’s geothermal target ENERGY Development Corp. lauded the Energy Department for intensifying the development of geothermal energy to attain the targeted 35-percent renewable energy mix.

“We highly welcome the DOE’s recent directives to explore and maximize geothermal energy sources in the country, and especially to reclaim our rightful place in the global energy sector as one of the top producers of geothermal energy,” said Marvin Bailon, EDC head of business development, trading and marketing in a statement.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi is pushing for geothermal power development to help attain energy security and boost Republic Act 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Cusi said the department was preparing a formal directive that would contain initiatives and guidelines on how to promote geothermal energy development and increase its utilization.

“I would like to issue an order to really look deeply and comprehensively into how we can develop geothermal. I have been really thinking about it, assessing how we are addressing RE,” Cusi said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

IPOPHL taps PIDS to boost research

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines teamed up with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies to increase research activities and enable intellectual property policies to be more effective in driving innovation and creativity in the country.

The two parties signed on June 30 a memorandum of understanding to work jointly on IP research projects, capacity building, policy analysis and recommendations and information sharing.

The MOA was the start of another enriching research on the Philippine intellectual property environment, a crucial pursuit in spurring the innovations needed in the fight against a health crisis and embracing the opportunities presented in the fourth industrial revolution.

“Creating a vibrant scene for IP research will fulfill our broader goals of raising IP awareness and formulating policies that capture the current and long-term needs of businesses, innovators, and creative industries,” said IPOPHL director-general Rowel Barba. Othel V. Campos

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. said Friday it is moving the bulk of its 2020 capital expenditure budget of P3.7 billion to 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Consistent with our disciplined and prudent approach to managing our company, we are rescheduling P3.7 billion worth of capex to 2021,” SMPC chairman Isidro Consunji said during the first virtual stockholders’ meeting of the company.

The company is spending only about P300 million this year. SMPC last year completed its P10-billion life extension program for subsidiary Sem-Calaca Power Corp.

SMPC also completed its P2.9-billion South Panian mine rehabilitation program in Semirara Island.

Consunji said that while operations were unaffected by the community quarantines, the company was susceptible to weak demand and lower market prices.

He said 2020 would be “very difficult” but the Philippines could experience a “strong rebound” next year. He

Friday, July 3, 2020

8.58 points 6,372.66

TOTAL VOLUME 2,661,903,534 TOTAL TRADES 108,966 TOTAL VALUE 7,385,546,033.36 ADVANCES 92 DECLINES 103 UNCHANGED 45

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.7770

Japan

Yen

0.009301

0.4630

UK

Pound

1.247100

62.0769

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129032

6.4228

Switzerland

Franc

1.057977

52.6629

Canada

Dollar

0.737300

36.7006

Singapore

Dollar

0.716949

35.6876

Australia

Dollar

0.692200

34.4556

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654844

132.150

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266631

13.2721

Brunei

Dollar

0.714388

35.5601

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.032165

1.6011

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.5536

Euro

Euro

1.124100

55.9543

Korea

Won

0.000834

0.0415

China

Yuan

0.141523

7.0446

India

Rupee

0.013380

0.6660

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233481

11.6220

New Zealand

Dollar

0.650900

32.3998

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033988

1.6918 Source: BSP

Converge ICT seeks SEC nod for October IPO worth P35.9b

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONVERGE ICT Solutions Inc. on Friday filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold a P35.9-billion initial public offering in October.

The company said in a registration statement it was planning to sell up to 1.3 billion common shares and an over-allotment of 195 million common shares at an offering price of P24 apiece.

The planned IPO would facilitate the listing of the fiber internet and other consumer-centric digital services provider on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

It said up to 415.68 million of the 1.3 billion shares are primary stocks and 885.6 million are secondary shares.

It tentatively set the offering period from Oct. 13 to 19 and the listing date on Oct. 26.

Net proceeds from the share sale will be used as capital expenditures to accelerate the nationwide fiber network rollout.

The company tapped Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank Inc., Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG for the planned share sale.

Converge ICT’s IPO could potentially be the largest share sale in the country since the maiden offering of Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., which raised P28 billion in proceeds in 2013.

Converge ICT is just the second company to file for an IPO this year.

The first was grocery chain MerryMart Consumer Corp., which was listed on the local bourse last month.

Analysts said that while the market remains volatile, they are bullish on telecommunication companies because of the increased demand for faster connectivity as millions of people are working and learning from home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Converge ICT had over 615,000 subscribers as of end-March 2020.

The company reported in May that it acquired 50,000 new residential subscribers, the highest monthly gross adds on record.

2 1600 TESTING LAB. San Miguel Corp. opens Better World Edsa—a facility that houses the company’s own state-of-the-art COVID-19 RT-PCR testing laboratory, which aims to test some 70,000 employees in its network to unburden the health sector and help ensure a safe return-to-work strategy in the coming months. Unveiling the marker for the new laboratory are (from left) COVID-19 Task Force deputy chief implementer and testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon, SMC president and COO Ramon Ang, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega and COVID-19 Task Force chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

San Miguel opens own lab to test 70,000 employees CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. on Friday opened a state-of-the-art COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing laboratory with an initial capacity of 4,000 tests per day.

San Miguel said in a statement the Better World Edsa COVID-19 RT-PCR testing laboratory could be upgraded to 12,000 tests per day and help the government reach testing capacity to 50,000 per day. This would ease the strain on the country’s testing and processing facilities.

The facility will primarily be used to test the company’s workforce of 70,000 who are set to return to work in the coming months.

It is equipped with two sets of RTPCR machines and fully automated nucleic acid extraction systems or NATCH. A set has two PCR machines and one NATCH. This makes the facility one of the most advanced private testing laboratories in the country.

“Two weeks into the quarantine last March, we included the testing laboratory as part of our business continuity plan. We procured the machines, and had personnel undergo training for its full-scale operations,” Ang said.

“With this facility, we are taking responsibility for testing our own employees and unburdening our health system.

It also helps make our operations more resilient to disruptions brought about by the virus. Lesser disruptions on our operations will allow us to better contribute to the immediate recovery of the economy,” Ang said.

San Miguel aims to bring back 50 percent of its workforce over the next few weeks.

Prior to the shift to general community quarantine, the conglomerate started testing its employees, prioritizing those in its food manufacturing facilities to further stabilize the country’s food sup-

ply in the coming months.

“It’s our contribution the government’s effort to continuously test and trace COVID-19 transmission and contain it, as well as enable early intervention or treatment to save lives,” Ang said.

“The country and the rest of the world are still feeling the effects of the pandemic on the economy, particularly on businesses and loss of jobs for many of our fellowmen. We have to take more aggressive steps in addressing the virus and make sure that no more lives and livelihood are lost further,” he said.

Ang unveiled the marker for the new laboratory togerther with National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., COVID-19 Task Force deputy chief implementer and testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon and Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega. Jenniffer B. Austria

Semirara postpones most of 2020 capital spending to 2021 amid crisis

By Alena Mae S. Flores

PSE INDEX CLOSING

said a second wave of infections could derail economic recovery efforts.

“The challenge, therefore, is to keep our employees and finances healthy while we weather this pandemic-induced economic downturn,” Consunji said.

SMPC is also implementing other cash conservation measures such as deferment of hiring for non-core positions, reduction of nonessential business expenses and disposal of non-core assets.

“Implementing these measures will allow us to preserve and generate cash, which we intend to use to meet our stakeholder obligations,” he said.

Consunji said the company would pare down its debt through internally generated cash. As of March 31, SMPC owed P5 billion in short-term loans and P16 billion in long-term debt.

“If the pandemic and economy worsen, we can rely on our unused credit lines to tide us over,” he said.

Consunji said it would take some time before SMPC could return to the profit and dividend levels the company was used to “given the prevailing conditions and continuing risks presented

by COVID-19.”

JAPAN LOAN. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez (standing, left), on behalf of the Philippine government, and Japan International Cooperation Agency chief representative Eigo Azukizawa, on behalf of the government of Japan, sign the 50-billion-yen (P23.5 billion) COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan at the Department of Finance Building in Manila. The emergency support loan is designed as a co-financing operation complementing the Asian Development Bank’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support program alongside prospective loans from other development partners.

DITO hiring more staff to launch services by March next year

By Darwin G. Amojelar DITO Telecommunity Corp., a joint venture of businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecom, said it is hiring more staff to support network expansion in line with the target to commercially launch its telecom services by March 2021.

“When we started, we have about 100 people. Currently, we are nearing the 300 mark and by end of the year we will probably double that,” DITO chief

administrative officer Adel Tamano said in a virtual media briefing.

“We are one of the industries that instead of laying off people, we are actively hiring people because we need to roll out our network,” he said.

Tamano said the company was on track to commercially launch telco services by March 2021 or earlier despite the extension of the technical audit by the National Telecommunications Commission.

“The March 2021 date, that’s the latest we will launch. We are moving

heaven and earth to meet that, but we are pushing it earlier,” Tamano said.

NTC earlier issued a resolution extending the July 2020 technical audit under the certificate of public convenience and necessity provisions of DITO because of the COVID-19 crisis.

DITO was given another six months to deliver the commitments for the technical audit requirements, including an Internet speed of 27 megabits per second to cover 37 percent of the population.

Sports

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

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

Medina gets closer to slot in Tokyo Paralympics Josephine Medina, a 2016 Paralympics’ table tennis bronze medalist, will be able to avail of an extra seat if a participant begs off or an additional berth is added in next year’s Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Resumption of basketball, football practices welcomed

By Peter Atencio Stephen Fernandez

PH taekwondo team’s training continues via online sessions THE training of the national taekwondo team is continuing through online lessons and instructions.

Stephen Fernandez, one of the national coaches, said that jins seeking Tokyo Olympic qualification have intensified their preparations even though the qualifiers this June won’t push through due to the numerous lockdowns imposed by various countries to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

They will now have more time to prepare after the sports’ international association, the World Taekwondo Federation, rescheduled the qualifiers in the early months of 2021.

“Ang taong 2020 ay delikado para gawin ang selection para sa mga athletes. Pero, patuloy naman ang paghahanda nila,” said Fernandez in an online interview during the weekly virtual session of TOPS: Usapang Sports.

There are six jins that the Philippine Taekwondo Association are betting on to have the best chances of making it to the Tokyo Olympics.

And this is on account of their good showings in last year’s Southeast Asian Games.

They are Pauline Lopez, Kirstie Elaine Alora, Kurt Bryan Barbosa, Veronica Graces, Arven Alcantara and Samuel Morrison.

Fernandez added that members of the national poomsae team are also into home training.

Among them is Jocel Lyn Ninobla, who claimed the gold medal last month in a National Open held online. Peter Atencio

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PORTS officials on Friday welcomed the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to allow the resumption of practices for basketball and football.

Philippine Football Federation secretary Ed Gastanes said they will be guided by protocols set by the international body FIFA and the World Health Organization when club teams finally get on the ground to do their fitness training in an outdoor setting.

“With the practices, we have around 30 days before any tournament begins and this will give the players their needed match fitness,” said Gastanes.

Philippine Basketball Association chairman Ricky Vargas said they will be calling a special board to discuss the decision.

“Once we get that official statement (from IATF) not only the news, we will immediately call for a board meeting, spe-

cial board meeting. I am excited and very grateful,” said Vargas.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said he is now getting in touch with club owners.

Scrimmages will most likely resume in the latter part of the month.

“I met the coaches, the trainers and the managers on this. Now, we will meet with the board within 5 to 7 days over this decision,” added Marcial.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said that the IATF has given the green light after reviewing the protocols submitted by the PBA and the PFF. “Basketball is already allowed by the IATF and the decision was only made yesterday. It’s conditioning only, no game,” said Roque.

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The protocols were forwarded by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Games and Amusements Board last month after consultations with various national sports associations.

Under a General Enhanced Community Quarantine, practice sessions will be limited to just five athletes on the floor in basketball, and in the field for football.

In a Modified GCQ setup, as many as 10 athletes can do workouts together.

Basketball and football officials will still discuss the venue for practices, since many facilities are currently being used as quarantine and testing areas.

Also, Philippine horse-racing could be back by the third weekend of July, without the usual crowd and fans at the racing clubs, provided that the National Capital Region is already under a Modified General Community Quarantine.

Meanwhile, PSC Officer in Charge Ramon Fernandez said they will meet next week with the Philippine Olympic Committee and football president Mariano Araneta in his capacity as chef de mission of the Tokyo Olympics.

JOSEPHINE Medina, a 2016 Paralympics table tennis bronze medalist, is getting close to earning a slot in next year’s Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Philippine Paralympic Games chef de mission Francis Diaz said her seat came from an outright “alternate” invitation from the International TableTennis Federation.

The invitation was made possible by ITTF, through a bipartite agreement that was given by all International Federations to member countries.

“We formally confirmed our intention to get that slot for her. This was the context why I posted in my social media account that Josephine Medina is already our 2nd qualifier for the Tokyo Paralympics,” said Diaz.

For Medina to finally get accepted to the Games, the international federation will coordinate with the Tokyo Paralympic Games Accreditation committee to facilitate this process, according to Diaz.

The 50-year-old Medina will be able to avail of an extra seat if a participant begs off or an additional berth is added.

If that happens, Medina will be prioritized for that slot.

So far, Swimmer Ernie Gawilan is the first Filipino to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Gawilan made it due to his stellar performance in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia.

While in Indonesia, Gawilan won the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle (S7 class), 100m backstroke (S7 class), and 200m individual medley (SM7 class) in the continental meet to earn him qualification points. Peter Atencio

Belingon willing to move out of bantam division FORMER ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon addressed the rumors about him moving up a weight class to challenge ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen.

In the past, Belingon has repeatedly said that he does not want to leave the bantamweight division, but the Kiangan, Ifugao native is starting to change his mind.

“For me, the priority is still getting the ONE Bantamweight World Title back, but of course I am willing to challenge Martin for the belt if given the opportunity by ONE,” Belingon said.

“Still, regaining my belt remains my top priority.”

The reason being? Aside from his desire to even things out with rival Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes, Belingon believes he has to check off a few other names at bantamweight.

Shoko Sato, Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev, Shuya “Stealth” Kamikubo, Daichi Takenaka, and John “Hands of Stone” Lineker are all

itching to get past number-one ranked Belingon.

“This is a ver y deep division now,” the Filipino said. “The names here are just getting bigger and bigger.”

“I believe it’s a tougher division now, and I am still challenged because of all the good fighters we have.”

It was actually Nguyen who went down to Belingon’s division at ONE: REIGN OF KINGS in July 2018 to take on “The Silencer” for the interim ONE Bantamweight World Title.

Belingon won the scrap by unanimous decision, but should he move up a weight class to meet “The Situ-Asian” again, he foresees a more challenging contest.

“If we face each other again, I expect the same tough Martin Nguyen who I faced before, someone who hits very hard and has very good timing,” he said.

ONE returns to action with ONE: NO SURRENDER, a closed-door, audience-free show set for 31 July in Bangkok, Thailand. Catch it for free by downloading the ONE Super App.

Kevin Belingon

Davis likes Lakers’ title chances in NBA return LOS ANGELES—Anthony Davis says he likes the Los Angeles Lakers’ chances of winning the NBA title when the coronavirus-halted season resumes July 30 even more after the four-month break.

The 27-year-old power forward says he feels “100% healthy” after working out at home nearly every day since the NBA shut down on March 11 after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.

“Actually I think our chances are higher because we’re all rested,” Davis told reporters Thursday.

“It’s going to be who wants it more.

“We’re motivated as a team and self-motivated to win.”

The LeBron James-led Lakers had the secondbest record in the NBA at 49-14 and topped the Western Conference by 5.5 games over the Los Angeles Clippers when the campaign was halted.

They will travel to the NBA “bubble” at Orlando, Florida, next week for training camp and play eight more regular-season games without fans starting July 30 against the Clippers before the playoffs begin.

If the Lakers do make a run to the championship with the NBA Finals in October, they would spend about three months in the quarantine atmosphere.

The Lakers will be without guard Avery Bradley, who opted out of the comeback plan, and might not have center Dwight Howard, who’s status is uncertain.

“Obviously we’ll miss (Bradley) but we have guys that are healthy, guys that are ready to go,” Davis said.

The Lakers have added J.R. Smith, a former James teammate in Cleveland, to replace Bradley, while Dion Waiters and Markieff Morris had barely

joined the Lakers before the shutdown.

“Markieff showed he can be a big part of our team,” Davis said. “Dion and J.R. are going to help us tremendously as well, with J.R.’s ability to shoot and Dion’s ability to score and playmake. It’s going to be beneficial for us going to Orlando.”

Davis is mindful of coronavirus worries and Florida’s rising number of COVID-19 cases, but he has confidence in NBA safety precautions and other players not wanting to become infected either.

“I think everybody would be mindful of following the rules. I don’t think no one wants to get COVID,” Davis said. “Guys won’t put themselves or other players, staff in jeopardy. The NBA is doing as much as they can to keep the bubble as Anthony Davis safe as possible.”

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Tech & Gadgets

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

LG’s UltraWide, UltraGear line of monitors bring work from home setup to next level

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RRIVING at the most opportune time, LG’s Monitor lineup for 2020 is tailor-made for extended hours spent at home, whether for work or play.

Even if you’re using a laptop at home, using a dedicated monitor for work has its benefits as you can boost productivity with a wider area to work with, more comfortable viewing angles, and better color rendition.

For the ideal WFH setup, LG introduces the UltraWide™ line. The range, particularly the 25UM58-P, delivers an impressive 21:9 UltraWide™ Full High Definition (2560*1080) display, offering visual comfort and ensuring your best viewing pleasure. There is no color shift or no distortion of color at all when you’re viewing from every possible angle. No color degradation or washed-out whites are evident when viewing from the side or from above.

An immersive work environment is ensured through realistic color expression thanks to 99% sRGB and the IPS display, guaranteeing faithful color rendition for design and creative work. LG UltraWide™ is perfect for creatives as it accurately displays over 99% of the color gamut of sRGB, which is the default color space used in web and design applications.

The LG’s UltraWide™ gives you a wide 178-degree field of view. Multi-tasking is made easy thanks to Upscaled Work Efficiency Screen Split and PIP Mode. With the Screen Split option, you can split and customize your screen space in various configurations according to the task at hand, while with Picture-in-Picture (PIP), you can overlay a smaller screen on top of a larger one. Both give you the freedom to customize your virtual office space as you see fit, removing the need to constantly switch tabs in order to work.

LG’s UltraWide™ line is no slouch on the gaming front as well. Even as a general purpose monitor, it has 5ms, which gives you high responsiveness, proper motion handling, and reduced ghosting for most games. It is also equipped with a Game Mode, that gives you FPS, RTS, and Custom modes, and provides a customized gaming experience that varies with genres. These are pre-calibrated presets that are perfect for those respective genres but the Custom modes are there for you to play around with to get that sweet point. It also comes with two additional features that can help you get a winning edge. Black Stabilizer is especially useful to detect objects including enemies that are hiding in dark areas without mucking up the color, while Dynamic Action Sync allows you to attack enemies faster with less lag time.

LG’s UltraWide™ line of monitors

LG’s UltraGear™ on the other hand, is a powerful dedicated display with high performance features to take your gaming to the next level. Ideal for competitive gaming, the 24GL600F-B is optimized for games requiring instantaneous decisions, such as RTS and FPS. With a high refresh rate and fastest response time, you can take advantage of any battlefield, as each millisecond counts and spells the difference between winning and losing a pivotal match.

The fast 144Hz refresh rate of the LG’s UltraGear™ allows you to capture even the smallest movements while also providing smoother motion. On the other hand, the LG’s UltraGear™’s 1ms gives you the fastest response time possible, reducing ghosting. With the 1ms response time, trailing and motion blur of fast-moving objects in games are virtually eliminated. You can play with ultra-high frame rates to your heart’s content without worrying about input lag getting in the way.

The LG UltraGear™ gaming monitor also comes equipped with Radeon FreeSync, which provides fluid, smooth motion without tearing or stuttering thanks to Adaptive Sync technology. With a compatible graphics card, the FreeSync technology provides you with a

Bringing dynamic learning to everyone’s home A TYPICAL classroom scenario is led by a teacher imparting knowledge to the students. But because of the lifechanging effect of the pandemic, the once filled classrooms are now empty and even teachers are becoming learners themselves as they seek innovative solutions to make education truly accessible and inclusive.

In the Philippines, some of the solutions being considered are online learning, print modules, and even educational programs on mass media. On top of this, what the Filipino learners and teachers truly need is a crisis-resilient approach that can securely reach everyone’s home, even to far-flung and remote areas of the country.

In pursuit of this advocacy, Ramon Magsaysay Awardees and physicists, Dr. Chris Bernido and Dr. M. Victoria Carpio-Bernido developed an innovative teaching strategy called the CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program (DLP) way back 2002. Recognized by the Department of Education as a Flexible Learning Option, this approach develops students as independent learners so they can continue their studies at home even with limited to no internet connectivity and with minimal teacher and parent intervention.

The program grooms students, including those in DepEd’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program, to harness future-ready skills and develop competencies on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

The Dynamic Learning Program web forum organized by Smart gathered over 400,000 viewers throughout its 3-day run.

or STEM. Students under the program were recorded to achieve exemplary academic performance and were able to pass entrance examinations for universities here and abroad.

Partners ensure business continuity for ongoing remote work initiative IN THE wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprise workers around the globe have had to adapt to full-time telework environments in order to maintain business functions. Even as we begin to transition to a new normal, the cultural impact of widespread remote work will remain. 38% of employees expect their companies to expand their remote work policies, meaning that telework will likely stay in place for some time.

For MSSPs, this presents an opportunity to support their customers' remote work initiatives while ensuring that they have programs in place that allow for ongoing business continuity.

The Telework Opportunity As more customers adopt longer term remote work policies, MSSPS are in a prime position to enable secure transitions to full-time telework environments. MSSPs should focus on providing customers with services that secure hosted applications and work-from-home users. During these times of uncertainty, MSSPs can also offer insights to help customers scale their remote workforce without compromising security. This can be achieved by expanding their current SD-WAN, SD-Branch, and

public cloud service offerings.

Leveraging Existing Resources to Bolster Telework Strategies Over the past few months, customers have had to modify their networks and cut costs to ensure business continuity. With the groundwork now laid, customers must take additional steps to convert their makeshift solutions into reliable and secure business-ready strategies.

Below are three ways MSSPs can leverage security solutions to help their customers address key challenges with remote work.

Cloud Migration Security To account for new working conditions, many customers accelerated their transition to the cloud without adequate planning. This resulted in organizations connecting to cloud environments without proper visibility, access control, or data protocols in place. Another area of concern is how customers transferred their workloads to the cloud. Many relied on the "lift and shift" approach, which can result in long-term security and compliance issues.

By offering their expertise in this area, MSSPs can help customers avoid potential vulnerabilities within cloud migrations.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) that eliminates stuttering in games as long as your FPS is within the VRR range of 48-144Hz. In case your FPS dips below that, the LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) is activated and compensates by multiplying the frame rate 2-3x. Another feature is Dynamic Action Sync, which minimizes input lag so the gameplay in RTS and FPS games is more responsive and gives you a feel of real time combat. If you find yourself needing more help in getting your kills up, LG UltraGear™ also has helpful modes to give you a boost. The Black Stabilizer gives gamers full visibility even in deep-dark scenes. It synchronizes the darkest areas and makes them brighter without washing out the display. The Crosshair feature, on the other hand, enhances accuracy in first-person shooter games by placing the striking point in the center of the display. You can customize crosshairs that are more to your play style.

LG’s UltraWide line of monitors start at P12,699 for the 25”, P14,799 for the 29”, P29,499 for the 34”, and P45,999 for the curved 34” version. LG’s UltraGear™ gaming monitor line on the other hand starts at P12,599 for the 24”, P22,199 for the 27”, and P23,999 for the 32.”

To enlighten educators about this approach, the CVIF-DLP staged a three-day, free-for-all web forum titled No Learner Left Behind: Education For All In The New Normal, with the support from the Department of Education, and its lead implementers, PLDT-Smart Foundation, and Smart Communications, Inc. With over 400,000 views throughout its 3-day run, the virtual event was made possible through the efforts of its lead proponents and partner organizations such as Gabay Guro, AHA Learning Center, Save The Children Philippines, World Vision Philippines, and Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation.

“We are now facing a big shift on how learning can be done, but we believe that learning beyond classrooms can and even produce better results as long as the students have a strong support and supervisory system from their family and teachers,” shared the Bernido couple. “Most importantly, a crisis-resilient learning would be possible if we can gather communities, the government, and even private sectors to support every Filipino child’s education.”

"We understand how difficult it must be for our educators to adjust their strategies and look for an approach that can stand any situation, whether there is a pandemic or not,” said Ramon Isberto, PLDT-Smart Public Affairs Group Head.

“We believe that the CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program can help schools acclimatize to the new normal, and I am also proud to say that we believe in this learning method and that we have been supporting this program, along with other initiatives, for many years now.”

Drive Groceries: Household supply solution from quarantine to new normal THE current pandemic caught everyone by surprise when it hit. Consumer responses resulted in shortages of disinfectants and alcohol. The fashion industry pivoted to produce PPEs, distilleries into manufacturing rubbing alcohol, and teleconferencing apps became virtual classrooms.

Some 100+ days of quarantine later, social distancing protocols made routine activities like grocery shopping became a matter of strategic planning. One had to consider transport availability, limited shoppers per store, long lines because skeleton crews meant fewer cashiers. It is not a strange story to hear of a trip to the grocery to require 5 hours just to get a dozen eggs.

In response to this need, Drive the app driven car rental company has done its own pivot to come up with Drive Groceries as early as the third week of the quarantine.

Drive Groceries is an online system of doing your grocery shopping accessible from your desktop, mobile browser at https:// groceries.drivemanila.com/ or through facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ drivegroceriesphThe user interface of the platform is intuitive and user friendly. Anyone who has done any sort of shopping in virtual stores would know how to navigate the site. Items are categorized as canned goods, basic commodities, fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish, meat etc. and as a bonus there are even restaurant food selections from partner establishments to give you restaurant dining at home. If anything you want is not on the list, you can add it through the chat available on the site.

Among the other uses of the service already taken advantage of by the users is shopping for loved ones. A customer from Tacloban for example can send groceries to relatives in Quezon City. This means no need for the sender to navigate quarantine protocols to send money and for relatives to do the same to receive it before they buy the groceries. Give groceries directly to family and friends that need it.

Once ordered groceries will be received by the system and your shopping list dispatched to the nearest grocer available to do your shopping for you, no minimum orders. Due to the volume of demand, expect the groceries to take 24 hours at the most to clear the cue. But rest assured the groceries will be shopped and shipped from store to door directly—no holding time so your fresh food gets to you fresh.

All in all the cost of ordering from Drive Groceries and doing the trip yourself will not be too far off or even prove more economical. At a low 9% service charge on the total receipt (not a markup on individual items) + ₱200 for delivery you paid for your parking fee minus gas consumption and time in traffic. And with social distancing and isolation applied in public transport, you know that’s a good deal.

For orders amounting to ₱5,000 and up, Drive Groceries will waive the delivery fee, and groceries ₱5,000 and below can avail of the service through COD. Drive Groceries currently operate in the following areas: Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna.

Grab Celebrates 8th Anniversary GRAB, Southeast Asia’s leading everyday app, celebrated its 8th anniversary in June by giving back and helping fulfill the requests of Filipinos to help them adapt to the new normal. Throughout the years, Grab has expanded its services to continuously provide safe and convenient access to everyday necessities. Today, GrabCar, GrabFood, GrabExpress, GrabPay, and GrabMart continue to give Filipinos access to their essential needs despite the limitations that the country will continue to face as we transition to the new normal.

As a means of giving back, and reminding Filipinos that Grab has their backs, the company partnered with Nestle, Pringles and Kellogg’s, San Miguel Brewery, Ginebra San Miguel, San Miguel Foods, Lazada, Heineken, Unilever and P&G and launched its Sagot Kita campaign, showing how Grab now—more than ever—proves to be Filipinos’ partner in navigating through life in the new normal.

Throughout the month of June, Grab granted over 100 wishes, big and small, of things Filipinos miss the most and surprising them with experiences they wish for—from snacks that used to be part of their daily routines, to milestones and occasions they missed celebrating, or even requests that extend help to others. To these wishes, Grab says, “Sagot kita.”

Using Grab as a means to help others Filipinos prove that the spirit of helping

GrabExpress rider delivered the sari-sari store items to Lony Marvillo takes centerstage when the opportunity arises.

Instead of satisfying personal whims, many wishes were made for others—family, friends, or neighbors that need a little bit of help to get by during these trying times.

Jan de los Reyes has found a true friend in Jellie Tiu. When Jellie heard about Grab’s campaign, she used the opportunity to help her friend and her 10-month old daughter.

Losing her job as an OFW after the lockdown, Jan is left scrambling for ways to keep providing for her child. With the help of Grab, baby supplies and milk were delivered safely via GrabExpress.

Through thick or thin, Lony Marvillo stands

by her husband's side. She provides for them both by operating a small sari-sari store, as her husband is no longer fit to work and is in need of dialysis. Instead of wishing for financial assistance, Lony instead wished for more supplies to sell in her store to sustain their livelihood. Her small sari-sari store waa replenished with the help of GrabMart.

Having a soft spot for animals, Manila Santos went ahead and wished for supplies for the staff and animals of PAWS. Some of the staff were locked in the shelter during quarantine, and were in need of supplies. Animal food donation also dwindled, and a little help would go a long way. Delivered by GrabExpress, PAWS was able to receive groceries for the staff, and food for the animals.

Grab brings back experiences Filipinos missed the most So many restrictions brought us realizations that there are experiences we can no longer do like before. To bring delight to this mood-dampening thought, Grab made ways for people to bring back these experiences one way or another.

Social distancing doesn’t allow much for close contact, and Greg Cendana expressed that he misses eating out with his girlfriend Iyrelle Mauricio. Granting his wish through GrabFood, a virtual pizza date was set up to make up for the distance.

Tech & Gadgets Dell Technologies sets new standard for unlocking potential of data with PowerScale DELL Technologies (NYSE: DELL) announces Dell EMC PowerScale, a new family of storage systems engineered with industry-leading storage software and server hardware to set a new industry standard for how organizations capture and capitalize on unstructured data, such as documents, images, videos and social media content.

“The amount of unstructured data enterprises store as file or object storage is expected to triple by 2024, and there are no signs of it slowing,” said Dan Inbar, president and general manager, Storage, Dell Technologies. “In this data era, businesses need a simple, seamless and cost-effective way to store and use unstructured data to innovate, create differentiation and bring products to market faster. The Dell EMC PowerScale family provides the foundation companies need to unlock the potential of their data, no matter where it resides, and use it to drive meaningful business impact.”

"Organizations across Asia Pacific and Japan are looking for their unstructured data storage solutions to do three things well – be scalable, manage the increasing growth of data volume as well as data types and finally, handle data well, no matter where it lives,” said Jay Tuseth, General Manager, Unstructured Data Solutions, Asia Pacific, Japan & China, Dell Technologies. “The Dell EMC PowerScale storage portfolio is designed to address our customer needs and enable them to fully unlock the potential of their data by offering simplicity at any scale, handling any unstructured data, be it across data centres, at the Edge or in the cloud, and providing intelligent insights that are drawn from their data as well as their infrastructure.”

The leader in enterprise storagei unlocks the potential of unstructured data Dell EMC PowerScale runs on the next generation of OneFS, the operating system best known for powering Dell EMC Isilon.

The PowerScale family features new 1U PowerEdge-based PowerScale all-flash and NVMe nodes and existing Isilon allflash, hybrid and archive nodes running the PowerScale OneFS 9.0 operating system.

The PowerScale family delivers up to 15.8 million input-output operations per second (IOPS) per cluster, offering the performance that customers need to handle demanding AI, analytics, IOT, digital media, healthcare and life sciences workloads.ii New all-flash PowerScale F200 nodes bring up to five times more performance than its predecessor. Enhanced inline data reduction makes the platform up to six times more efficient.iii

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

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Tesla becomes richest auto group

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the Tesla China-made Model 3 Delivery Ceremony in Shanghai. The US electric car maker Tesla became the world's most valuable auto company by market value, surpassing Japan's Toyota after earlier overtaking conventional Detroit giants.

Tesla's value reached $207.2 billion, according to Bloomberg, compared with Toyota's value of $201.9 billion.

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EW YORK—Tesla engineered its latest coup Wednesday, becoming the world's richest car company while two of Detroit's old guard, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, reported sagging auto sales amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Led by Elon Musk, Tesla has seen ups and downs but its shares have risen steadily since late 2019 as it met key production targets for its Model 3 car, with the automaker topping Japan's Toyota in market valuation.

The company still sells only a fraction of the autos of the Big Three, yet it has captivated investors' imaginations as a bet on the future under charismatic leader Musk, who has challenged conventional wisdom on CEO comportment while also trying to shift the industry towards electric cars.

The lower sales at two of Detroit's "Big Three" were largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, which depressed auto demand during the quarter and prompted a nearly twomonth shutdown of US auto production.

Both GM and FCA pointed to improving sales trends later in the quarter, although GM also said the recent spike in US coro-

navirus cases added to uncertainty.

Analysts at Cox Automotive have warned of the possibility of a "cruel summer" for auto sales as the United States contends with a resurgent coronavirus outbreak and automakers struggle to replenish inventories.

"The market is losing the upward momentum that it enjoyed in May and early June," said Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.

"The challenge ahead begins with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases that's causing consumer sentiment to decline again. It also appears the pent-up demand that gave us a much stronger recovery in May and June is waning. Dealer inventory remains challenged as well.

"When you add it up, it looks like the industry will be heading into an even more challenging sales environment in July."

New kinds of learning with SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab S6 Lite SAMSUNG officially launches with Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem. the new Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and With Call and Text Continuity supis now available nationwide port, conveniently answer calls and starting today. texts anywhere using the tablet.

Turn ideas into action with the Learning also becomes more fun as Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s precise and the tablet comes with ergonomic S Pen, which lets users pre-installed Netflix and write down notes and accomplish Spotify apps which protheir tasks with ease. From writing vide access to a wide arnotes, creating artwork, and develray of content. oping presentations, learning can Speaking of content, be done easier with the S Pen. The parents can rest easy as the best part is that it is magnetically tablet comes with Samsung attached to the tablet, ready for use Kids, providing children acanytime and anywhere. cess to age-appropriate and The tablet ensures the best learnfamily-friendly materials. Ading experience without interruptions ditionally, the tablet also lets usas it comes with a 10.4” WUXGA+ ers enjoy up to 4 months of FREE display, as well as dual speakers by Youtube Premium.

Dolby Atmos and sound by AKG, Experience new kinds of learnthat allow for an immersive viewing ing at home with the Samsung and listening experience in one comGalaxy Tab S6 Lite, now available pact companion. With these features nationwide! With a retail price that offer premium quality display of P26,990, the tablet comes in and sound, focusing and immersing beautiful Angora Blue and Oxford Galaxy Tab S6 Lite in education and inspirational videos Gray with a free book cover. is easier.

To know more about the Galaxy Tab S6 The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is also seamlessly integrated Lite, visit samsung.com/ph/.

Demand up or down?

At GM, sales plunged 34 percent in the second quarter from the year-ago period to 492,484 vehicles, the company said.

The auto giant, along with Ford and FCA, halted manufacturing for nearly two months at the height of the virus outbreak, but has returned to normal operating levels at most plants.

The company's press statement alluded to "very lean" inventories of popular pickup and sport utility vehicles, where demand has been solid and increased notably in May and June.

"After falling into a deep recession in March, the US economy has begun to recover as it reopens," said GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg.

"Auto sales are benefiting from historically low interest rates that make now an attractive time to buy a vehicle for many customers. We expect continued sales recovery as businesses ramp back up, but recognize that the path forward may not be linear."

FCA reported a similar trend, with sales bottoming out in April and bouncing back more strongly than expected in May

and June. The company reported a 39 percent decline during the quarter to 367,086 transactions.

Others reporting big US second-quarter sales drops included Honda, which suffered a 27.9 percent fall to 293,502 and Nissan, which saw sales plunge 49.5 percent to 177,328.

Ford is scheduled to report sales on Thursday.

Cox has estimated that US auto sales fell around 30 percent during the quarter to 4.4 million vehicles. This includes an expected drop of 61.1 percent in Tesla US sales to 10,000.

Tesla shares gained 3.7 percent to finish at $1,119.63, while GM shed 1.3 percent to $24.96 and FCA fell 3.3 percent to $9.90.

Other upstarts gain Conventional automakers have ramped up their online sales to include features such as delivering a car to consumers.

This has also proven a fertile space for Carvana and Vroom, which have risen in market value during this year's turbulence.

Barhead Solutions develop app to help businesses adapt to new normal TECH firm Barhead Solutions recently unveiled a workforce management application called Return to Office, which aims to help companies ensure the efficient and safe return of employees to the workplace.

In the wake of the implementation of General Community Quarantine (GCQ), which sees most companies returning to work, Barhead Solutions has launched the Return to Office app using Microsoft’s Power Platform integrating with other modern workplace solutions such as Microsoft Teams. The Return to Office app provides employees with a streamlined way to connect to the workplace, to book workspaces, meeting rooms, general office spaces or schedule work from home periods, and alert employers to their current location and future plans.

With security at its core, the app ensures employers’ complete visibility on their staff’s working location and who they have been recently in contact with. The Return to Office app is compatible with existing basic systems, which allows the platform to streamline the way in which meeting rooms and office spaces can be reserved. The app can also be used to help schedule any necessary workflows such as deep cleaning before a meeting room or desk is allowed to be occupied again, following previous use.

Barhead founder John Orrock said, “The way an organisation needs to engage with its clients, engage with its employees, industry partners, and so forth, will change, for the foreseeable future.” He added that the Return to Office app would support the wellbeing of employees as they return to the office and deliver rich real-time insights to the enterprise to help mitigate risk around issues such as insurance and workers health and safety.

“As the country gears up to adapt to our new reality, companies are finding new ways to guarantee the continuity of their business operations, while ensuring the safety of their employees,” said Fides Amo Ricasa, Commercial Partner Lead of Microsoft Philippines.

“This platform allows businesses to focus on getting back on track, maximizing their digital transformation opportunities, and keeping their people safe all at the same time.”

The Return to Office app can check employees in and out of the system based on their Microsoft Teams activity or prompt them to check in manually to specify where and when they are working, including work from home arrangements. It has also been developed to incorporate solutions such as people counting, health stations to conduct temperature checks and facial recognition, access control, ID scanners, and desk check-ins.

MediaTek introduces Helio G35, G25 Gaming Series Chipsets HSINCHU, Taiwan—MediaTek, the world's 4th largest global fabless semiconductor company, today launched its newest chips in the smartphone gaming-focused G series—the MediaTek Helio G25 and G35. The latest chips feature MediaTek HyperEngine game technology for faster, smoother performance, enhanced power efficiency, and brilliant graphics.

The new chipsets always keep you connected and deliver the lowest latency gaming experience.

They also offer enhanced imaging features, making these G-series chipsets a perfect fit for photography enthusiasts and gamers alike.

Targeting the global smartphone user base, the new chips enable device makers to design innovative, feature-rich smartphones, at competitive prices.

“Mobile gaming is now the preferred mode of entertainment across market segments, and Me-

diaTek expanded its G-series to meet the huge demand for competitively priced, mainstream gaming smartphones,” said Dr. Yenchi Lee, Deputy General Manager, Wireless Communications Business Unit, MediaTek. “The MediaTek Helio G25 and G35 chips offer smartphone users premium features included in our other G-series family, including enhanced power efficiency, optimum performance, seamless gameplay, and enhanced photography,” he added.

Both chips provide fast gaming experiences, powered by Arm Cortex-A53 CPUs, operating up to 2GHz & 2.3GHz for the MediaTek Helio G25 and G35 chips. The chips feature IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPUs, with speeds of up to 650MHz and up to 680 MHz for the MediaTek Helio G25 & G35, respectively.

Both the MediaTek Helio G25 and G35 have

optimal power efficiency due to an advanced 12nm FinFET production process which, combined with MediaTek HyperEngine’s intelligent power management, ensures long battery-life and power efficiency, even during long gaming sessions.

MediaTek HyperEngine Game Technology The chips feature an enhanced MediaTek HyperEngine, for intelligent resource management that ensures sustained and smooth performance, even in demanding action. When the Wi-Fi signal is weak, the technology intelligently triggers Wi-Fi & LTE concurrency within milliseconds, to ensure a lag-free connection. MediaTek HyperEngine also lets users defer calls, while in a game, so you never drop a connection or have to stop your game-play. The technology also ensures intelligent and dynamic management of the CPU, GPU, and memory.

Built for mainstream gaming smartphones, Helio G25 and G35 include MediaTek HyperEngine game technology, premium imaging, and camera support.

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2020

F1 masked men keep their distance Victory path: Max Verstappen took the win in Austria in 2019

Formula One in brave new world • Austrian GP a surreal season-opener; Verstappen seeks repeat win

M

AX Verstappen will seek a hat-trick of home wins for Red Bull and an early lead in the drivers championship at this weekend’s delayed and somewhat surreal season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.

For everyone involved, the race will be an unprecedented experience—the calendar is unknown beyond the first eight races in Europe in 10 weeks, all to be run behind closed doors and severe limitations introduced with a new paddock protocol forbidding meetings.

Teams are cut to a maximum of 80 staff, all in protective equipment, there will be no sponsors, no guests and only a limited number of accredited broadcast and written news media.

Journalists, limited to a dozen instead

of 300 or more, have to pass a test within 72 hours in advance of arrival and will not be allowed to leave the media centre.

All interviews and news conferences will take place by video.

The teams will be kept isolated, based in tents with awnings instead of their usual grand motorhomes—and there is expected to be a synchronised taking the knee by the drivers on the grid, to support Black Lives Matter, ahead of Sunday’s race.

Afterwards, there will be no podium

ceremony.

When the race begins, it will end the longest gap between races in the sport since 1962, but with two successive races in Austria and then one in Hungary, the pressure will be immediate and intense.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “There’s been a long drought. We all do this because we love it. We’ve missed it, so we can’t wait to start.”

“It’s going to be exciting and intense.

The races come thick and fast.”

Dutch driver Verstappen, who bullied his way past Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc to triumph in front of a mass of his “orange army” of fans last year, says he is unfazed by high expectations or the absence of spectators at the Red Bull Ring, a remote and compact circuit in the Styrian Alps.

“I am not thinking about a hat-trick,” he said.

“The most important thing for me is to have a competitive car and to perform at my best.

“I never consider myself as a favourite because, actually, when you look at the track, it’s not even our best one, but

last year it was very warm and we were good at keeping the engine cool.

“So I don’t expect an easy win— I think Mercedes will be very strong again and they are the ones to beat.”

Verstappen, who has kept a low profile during the lockdown, delivered three wins and eight podiums last year as Lewis Hamilton claimed his sixth title with Mercedes, who this year seek an unprecedented seventh constructors’ and drivers’ double in succession.

Verstappen and team-mate Alex Albon will have an upgraded Honda engine package, developed since the coronavirus lockdown ended, to boostw them at the contest in the Styrian Alps where the 800-metre altitude can affect engine performance.

Mercedes will also have an updated package while Ferrari, struggling to match them in pre-season testing, announced Tuesday that they are updating their cars for the third race in Hungary.

Hamilton this year bids for a recordequalling seventh drivers title as he campaigns passionately for greater diversity, and against racism, in the sport.

AFP

IN THE unlikely scenario of Romain Grosjean sweeping to a podium finish at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, he demands forgiveness should he break the strict coronavirus health protocols put in place at the Red Bull Ring.

“We will want to jump into the arms of the team,” said the Haas team’s French driver.

“So there are times when there may be things that are not going to be 100% controlled, but we will try to stay as close as possible to the rules.”

The Formula One season, which suffered a dramatic false start in Australia in March, finally gets underway this weekend in Spielberg.

However, this is a season like no other after a coronavirus suspension which stretched beyond three months.

It shrunk the calendar from a record 22-race event to just eight so far confirmed - although others are expected to take place.

On the ground at the Red Bull Ring, the sport’s brave new world was very much in evidence on Thursday.

To allow the season to start, F1 now operates in a system of “bubbles”, isolating the paddocks from the outside world but also keeping those inside at a safe distance.

In a normal year, 200,000 fans would attend the race, squeezed into campsites in the foothills of the picturesque Styrian Alps.

This year, however, with supporters banned, there were just a few diehards armed with binoculars and cameras waiting around the airfield which adjoins the circuit to see the drivers’ private jets land.

For the 2,000-3,000 people allowed to enter the circuit, they must be negative for Covid-19, be tested again every five days and pass several checkpoints, including having temperatures checked. AFP

Workers install a banner reading “Welcome to Spielberg” near the entrance to the Red Bull Ring

GR Supra GT virtual racing zooms out Partner for Life boosts skills, earnings of motorbike mechanics SINCE their victory as National Champions of Partner for Life 2019, Castrol’s annual training and recognition program for motorbike mechanics, the mechanic team at MC Motorparts have experienced a massive boost in their skills and profitability, helping them service bikes of delivery riders and customers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Joining the program has been a true blessing for me and the mechanics at MC Motorparts,” said Arnel Evero, owner of the Lipa (Batangas) City-based MC Motorparts.

“We were not only recognized in Luzon, but in the whole Philippines as well, greatly improving the business in ways we’ve never seen before.”

Castrol Super Mechanics Rall Magnaye, Alvin Camitan, and Allan Lucero, and shop owner Mr.Evero emerged as the champions of the Partner for Life 2019 National Final event held last December, edging out eight of the country’s best motorcycle mechanics teams.

Following their success, a wave of transformation continues to benefit team MC Motorparts personally.

“The program provided us with more practical knowledge on how to work on bikes at a professional

Castrol Super Mechanics Rall Magnaye, Alvin Camitan, and Allan Lucero.

level, recommend the right products, and minimize wear of motorcycles from daily use,” said Allan Lucero.

“The competition raised my confidence in my ability, as our customers are now happier with our work, therefore trusting us more,” said Rall Magnaye, Castrol Super Mechanic 2019.

Partner for Life courses that stood out most to them included Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI), Fault Codes, and Troubleshooting, enabling them to “be more effective in diagnosing what’s wrong with the motorbikes brought to us,” said Allan Lucero.

Evero is very proud of his team of mechanics and the brotherly bond they have built working and

training together during the program.

“The mechanics have grown to a great degree since joining the program. I have witnessed them accumulate more knowledge and abilities to solve motorcycle problems,” said Evero.

“I am very proud of their achievements and the quality of their work. They are an inspiration to all of us at the shop.”

The development of their skills has resulted in better business for MC Motorparts. Mr. Evero said that more and more customers are flocking to his store which proudly displays a Castrol Super Mechanics 2019 banner and the Castrol branded motorcycle prizes that they took home.

TOYOTA Motor Philippines has officially launched its first e-motorsports program, the GR Supra GT Cup Asia—Philippines which will start this month. Organized under Toyota’s global Gazoo Racing brand, the virtual racing tournament aims to find the Philippines’ top e-sports racers who will represent the country in the Asian Regional Round in the last quarter of this year.

The GR Supra GT Cup Asia— Philippines expands TMP’s range of motorsport activities with its long-running One-Make-Race program as its forerunner, the Vios Racing Festival (VRF). TMP recently announced the postponement of the VRF’s 2020 season in view of health and safety risks resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, this did not stop the automotive company from keeping the wakudoki (heart-pumping excitement) spirit alive by taking the race online with no less than its flagship sports car, the GR Supra.

Filipino gamers aged 18 and above, will get the chance to race against other participants with a chance to represent the country against competitors from Asia Pacific countries in the GR Supra GT Cup Asia Regional Round.

Participants will get to race Toyota’s iconic flagship sports car in the Gran Turismo SPORT game on Playstation, and in two classes for the public:

• Promotional Class—for novice drivers with no professional e-sports background • Sporting Class—for intermediate and professional e-racers The qualifying rounds will start this July and will be concluded with the grand finals in August, in time for the regional competition towards the latter part of the year.

To join, interested players may checkout the complete mechanics and register online via toyota. com.ph/gtcup.

Another class for Media & Celebrity partners will be created based on a different selection process by TMP. A separate registration will be conducted and details will be announced soon.

TMP will also open the Junior Class, where racers below 18 years old can join. Winners, however, cannot qualify for the regional round in compliance with the international tournament rules.

“Because of the current situation, we have decided to postpone VRF this year for safety reasons.

The good news is, our waku-doki spirit lives on. This 2020, we are launching the GR Supra GT Cup Asia – PHILIPPINES. “ says TMP President Mr. Atsuhiro Okamoto “This e-motorsports program will not only continue Toyota’s racing legacy, but will also discover the Philippines’ top e-Sports talents.

We are very excited to find them so they can represent the country in our international races.”

Toyota executives pose beside Toyota’s flagship super car during a recent launching.