Manila Standard - 2020 July 24 - Friday

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Cases nearing dreaded number New infections breach 2k-mark for third time in a week – DOH

By Willie Casas, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Joel Zurbano

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HE total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines jumped to 74,390 on Thursday after the Department of Health (DOH) announced 2,200 more infections, 1,314 of which were “fresh” or newly-validated and 886 that were reported late.

This marks the ninth consecutive day that over 1,300 new infections were reported and the third time in the past week where new cases breached 2,000.

The five provinces with the highest number of new cases were Metro Manila with 1,546, Cebu with 246, Laguna with 83, Rizal with 61 and Cavite with 48.

The death toll climbed to 1,871 with 28

new fatalities.

Total recoveries rose to 24,383 after 760 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease.

There are 48,136 active cases undergoing treatment or quarantine, 90.1 percent of which are mild, 9 percent of which are asymptomatic, 0.5 percent of which are severe, and 0.4 percent of which are in critical condition.

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Non-essential trips abroad curbed; insurance required VOL. XXXIV • NO. 150 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE Philippines, battling against rising cases of infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic, has reimposed restrictions on nonessential outbound travel for Filipinos, Malacañang announced Thursday.

But the government allowed the resumption of essential outbound travel for Filipinos – these trips include business and work, medical, emergency and other humanitarian reasons which Next page

Bantag rues appointment: It’s a big headache

SHOW OF STRENGTH.

Several Australian warships join American and Japanese navies in a joint show of strength in the Philippine Sea as tensions grow over China’s maritime ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

By Rey E. Requejo BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag said Thursday he is willing to be removed after several senators said he should leave over the questionable deaths of several highprofile inmates, supposedly from COVID-19, at the New Bilibid Prison.

“If they have lost confidence in me, then remove me,” Bantag told Dobol B sa News TV in Filipino. “I’m willing to go. It’s a big headache being here.”

Earlier this week, Senator Richard Gordon of the Blue Ribbon committee said BuCor officials cannot expect the public would simply accept their claim that 21 inmates—including nine who were convicted of drug offenses--died of COVID-19 and were cremated before anyone else could identify their remains.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III added that the deaths, which went unreported at first, have fueled speculation that the deaths were faked to free the high-profile inmates, including convicted drug lords, or that they were executed.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, called for Bantag’s removal, after he repeatedly withheld information about the deaths

UN seeks financial lifeline for world’s poorest people NEARLY three billion of the world’s poorest people should receive a temporary basic income to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, a United Nations body said.

As infection numbers spike in develop-

LOCAL ROUNDUP

‘3 LGU execs breach rules of quarantine’

ing countries, measures to protect vulnerable populations are “urgently needed,” according to a report released by the UN Development Program (UNDP).

Funding of $199 billion per month would provide 2.7 billion people with a

temporary basic income and the “means to buy food and pay for health and education expenses,” the report said.

The virus has brought havoc to the developing world where millions work in the informal economy with little access to

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government welfare or other support.

“Unprecedented times call for unprecedented social and economic measures,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

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Duterte, guests to take virus tests a day before 5th SONA PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte and the guests to his fifth State-of-the-Nation Address or SONA will undergo a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test the day before the annual event on July 27, Malacañang

said Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte and his guests must have tests to make sure they are free of COVID-19 before they head to the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, the venue of

Duterte’s fifth and penultimate SONA. “All those who will get inside the Batasan will be subjected to RT-PCR testing on Sunday, the day before [the SONA],” Roque said in a virtual press briefing aired on state-run PTV-4.

The latest health protocol came a day after the Presidential Security Group or PSG confirmed that eight of its personnel assigned to the office of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had testNext page

Clamor mounts for voiding of anti-terror law

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz THE Department of the Interior and Local Government has filed complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against three local chief executives for alleged violations of quarantine protocols.

According to DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, two complaints have been filed against the mayor and a councilor of Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan for holding a birthday celebration despite the prohibition of mass gatherings when the town was under enhanced community quarantine.

In May, Sto. Tomas Mayor Timoteo Villar III was criticized for celebrating his birthday amid the quarantine. The video of the celebration was uploaded on Facebook by his son Dickerson, a councilor.

Villar had denied any wrongdoing

US orders China consulate shut

By Rey Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

HIGH-WIRE ACT.

Meralco maintenance men repair power lines and install safety devices along a busy avenue in Pasig City, not minding the risks attendant to their job.

FIVE more petitions were filed on Thursday before the Supreme Court seeking to nullify Republic Act No. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA) for being unconstitutional.

The petitioners claimed that the ATA effectively declares peaceful assemblies like the 1986 People Power Revolution as an act of terrorism.

The new petitions brought the total number of petitions filed with the high court against the ATA to 16 since President Rodrigo Duterte signed the

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News

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Aussies join naval drill in PH Sea N EFFORTS to keep international waters “free and open,” five Australian warships have joined American and Japanese navies in conducting military exercises in the Philippine Sea in a reciprocal show of strength as tensions grow over China’s maritime ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

maritime claims in the South China Sea. “Strategic balancing against China is ramping up dramatically in the IndoPacific region,” said Prof. Rory Medcalf, the head of the National Security College at the Australian National University and author of the newly-published IndoPacific Empire, which outlines the power struggle between China and the US. Earlier this week, two Australian warships docked at Subic Bay in Olongapo City for a four-day goodwill visit in the country and will conduct maritime exercises in the West Philippine Sea dubbed Passing Exercises (PASSEX).

The exercise will be held as the two visiting warships – the long–range guided missile frigate HMAS Anzac and HMAS Success – sail out of Subic.

“The goodwill visit will be capped by a send-off ceremony and the customary Passing Exercises, which include a re-

plenishment-at-sea operation wherein Philippine Navy personnel are invited to board the two warships while underway to observe the activity,” Navy spokesman Capt. Lued Lincuna said.

While in the country, the visiting Australian sailors will be engaging with their Filipino counterparts in various activities, including a luncheon aboard Anzac, goodwill games and a traditional boodle fight which will be held on April 14 at the headquarters of the Navy’s Naval Education and Training Command in San Antonio, Zambales.

Lincuna said Capt. Bradley White, Australia’s defense attaché to the Philippines and Cmdr. Michael Devine, commander of the Anzac and Comdr.

Grant Zilko, commander of Success, are scheduled to make a courtesy call on Rear Admiral Allan Ferdinand Cusi, commander of the Navy’s NETC.

omy while treating mild, severe and critical cases.

Gatchalian said looking at two numbers—active cases and number of deaths—was an indication of how effective the health system is.

He said the country’s death rate was below 3 percent, which was below the global death rate.

He added that the government could not afford to give more aid to the unemployed during a prolonged quarantine period.

The Manila International Airport Authority on Thursday reported it has recorded 57 cases of workers tested positive for COVID-19.

Out of this figure, 19 have already recovered and some have already reported back to work, said MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal, who added that there was no need for a lockdown at the airport.

The airport authority is conducting free rapid testing for its employees. On its first testing day, a total of 294 underwent examination. Out of this number, 283 tested negative while 11 tested positive.

A confirmatory RT-PCR (swab) test was immediately done on the 11 who tested positive in the rapid test.

In compliance with the government’s health protocol, employees were instructed to report to their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams and go on home quarantine while waiting for the results of their PCR tests.

Another round of testing will be done this Saturday, and twice a week for the other employees within the month of August.

Monreal said airport management aims to cover the activities to its service

providers, which include janitorial services and contracted security companies. He added on various dates, MIAA intends to cover a total of 6,462 organic and non-organic employees combined.

MIAA officials urged airport personnel to avail of the free testing, especially those whose nature of work exposes them to greater risk of catching the virus.

The testing activity is being held at the check-in area of NAIA Terminal 4, the old domestic terminal, which remains closed.

The three other terminals – NAIA 1, 2 and 3 – are open for flight operations.

In other developments: • Bishop Broderick Pabillo, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, said he has tested positive COVID-19 and is now under quarantine. “Although I do not feel anything, I follow the protocol that is set. I am now in a designated area for quarantine observing strict protocol as required. My condition is being monitored and (I am given) healthy food and vitamins, and do physical exercise,” the Manila auxiliary bishop said. He also reported that his staff has been tested negative and the people that had contact with him last week have been informed so that they may follow necessary safety measures.

• The Taguig City government on Thursday reported that 506 COVID-19 patients have recovered in two areas in the city placed under localized lockdown.

Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said even if none of these cases resulted in death, the localized quarantine will still be in effect in Lower Bicutan and at a construction site in Bonifacio Global City until the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit declares these areas as cleared.

by invoking the Data Privacy Act. BuCor earlier reported that 21 NBP inmates have died from COVID-19, among them Jaybee Sebastian, who testified against detained Senator Leila de Lima, saying she had allowed the illegal drug trade to flourish in the national penitentiary in exchange for bribes that she used in her election campaign.

De Lima has denied the allegations.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) would continue its probe of the prison deaths, even if Bantag refuses to take a leave of absence.

Guevarra said he is leaving Bantag’s fate to President Duterte who appointed him to BuCor amid calls for him to leave or be removed from his post for

failing to immediately report the deaths of the high-profile inmates.

Guevarra said that while the BuCor is an attached agency of the DOJ, he has no control over the bureau.

“Under the BuCor Law, the DOJ exercises supervision, not control, over the bureau. The BuCor director general is appointed directly by the President, and the latter’s trust is the measure of the DG’s continuance in office,” he said.

However, even if Bantag stays, Guevarra said the NBI would be professional in investigating the demise of the nine high-profile PDLs, who were all convicted for illegal drug offenses.

These inmates reportedly died because of COVID-19.

“On the matter of DG Bantag’s taking a leave of absence while the NBI is conducting its probe, we leave it entirely to Bantag’s sound discretion. But the DOJ will ensure that the NBI’s investigation will remain free

and unhampered,” he said.

BuCor on Thursday dismissed speculation that the deaths of the high-profile inmates were faked to allow them to escape from prison.

At a Laging Handa press briefing, BuCor spokesman Col. Gabriel Chaclag pointed out that this is impossible as this supposed “grand conspiracy” would require the involvement of “hundreds” of BuCor staff.

He assured the public that there was no truth to the speculation, and that nobody was taking bribes to set inmates free.

Chaclag, meanwhile, insisted that the BuCor had followed proper protocols in the death of the high profile inmates, noting that the bureau has the necessary documents to prove that.

“We have pictures, our doctors we trust. We cannot overemphasize the reputation of our doctors and medical personnel,” Chaclag said.

on Wednesday, the 12th group of petitioners were led by 1986 Constitutional Commission members Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid and Prof. Edumundo Garcia.

A team from the Justice department, meanwhile, will convene today, Friday, to discuss the implementing rules of the ATA, its top official said Thursday.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra

said the department’s team will brainstorm and identify the provisions of the ATA that will need implementing rules and regulations.

“We will consult with the legal team of the OP [Office of the President], as well as with the secretariat of the ATC [Anti-Terrorism Council], as we go along,” Guevarra said in a text message.

He made his statement even as Solicitor General Jose Calida said Thursday the ATA was already in effect even if the government had yet to craft its implementing rules and regulations.

In a statement, Calida, citing cases previously decided on by the Supreme Court, said laws were not contingent on the implementing rules.

I

An Australian Joint Task Group, led by HMAS Canberra, joined the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and a Japanese destroyer for a “trilateral exercise” – three-sided or trigonal – as an effort to improve cooperation in keeping international waters “free and open.”

It follows maritime drills between a US Navy carrier strike group, led

by USS Nimitz, and Indian warships near the vital Malacca Strait trading route, sending a strong signal to Beijing against the backdrop of a violent IndiaChina border standoff last June 15.

The fatal face-off took place when

soldiers from the Indian Army clashed with troops from the People’s Liberation Army close to Patrol Point 14 in the Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh, more than 4,300 meters above sea level.

The three-sided military cooperation also coincides with a warning from Washington that America will step up its challenges to Beijing’s territorial moves in the region, where several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have overlapping claims.

Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally rejected “most” of China’s

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cannot be postponed.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, in a televised briefing, said the government’s COVID-19 task force decided on this since only one insurance company agreed to provide travel and health insurance in relation to the pandemic.

However, those with confirmed bookings as of July 20, 2020 will be allowed to leave the country subject to the conditions imposed by the government.

The task force earlier lifted the ban on non-essential overseas travel on July 6.

Under the guidelines, a traveler must have adequate travel and health insurance to cover rebooking and accommodation expenses if stranded, and hospitalization in case of infection.

A traveler must also submit confirmed roundtrip tickets for those traveling on tourist visas.

The country of destination should also have no entry ban for Filipinos and the traveler must execute a declaration acknowledging the risks in traveling and follow the COVID-19 guidelines for returning Filipinos such as the mandatory RT-PCR testing and quarantine.

At the same time, Roque said he would suggest the return of the quarantine pass requirement in Metro manila – to regulate the number of people leaving their homes amid the continued rise of COVID-19 cases.

According to Roque, a colleague of his observed that some local governments in areas under the least restrictive modified community quarantine (MGCQ) still required their residents to present their quarantine passes even if they were no longer required.

“Perhaps this will be one of the suggestions later because we are now in GCQ, we need to reprimand them to minimize the number of people going out without having to lock down the economy again,” he said.

But he clarified that the InterAgency Task Force had yet to approve his proposal.

Quarantine passes are no longer required in checkpoints. However, individuals must present other proofs of identification or their certificates of employment.

Metro Manila is currently under GCQ, but Roque did not discount the possibility it might revert to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the second-highest quarantine classification if COVID-19 cases in the country’s metropolis continued to spike.

The DOH said figures reported on Thursday were based on data submitted by 76 out of the 90 operational laboratories.

The department also removed 79 duplicate cases from the total tally of infections.

The Philippines still has the highest number of active cases across Southeast Asia and the second-highest number of infections in the region between Indonesia with 91,751 cases and Singapore with 48,744.

As the number of infections continued to rise, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said reverting to a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) or an ECQ would be “painful.... and too risky to the country’s economy.”

In a media conference over Zoom, Gatchalian said more would lose their jobs and go hungry if stricter quarantine conditions were reimposed.

“I would rather address the health system by putting more temporary hospitals to increase the capacity. That’s what I saw in other countries that is still lacking in our country. Let us put up more temporary hospitals,” Gatchalian said.

He said other countries like Spain and China had built massive temporary hospitals.

Instead of going back to MECG, he said the government should expand its health system and hospital capacities to treat more mild cases to ensure they would not become severe and critical and overwhelm hospitals.

In this way, Gatchalian said the government can gradually open the econ-

Clamor...

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After retired high court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and former high court Justice and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales filed the 11th petition

Duterte,...

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The eight did not have any close contact with Duterte, PSG commander Jesus Durante III said Wednesday.

Roque said “strict” measures would be in place to protect Duterte and his guests against COVID-19.

The presidential family, the members of Congress and their spouses, former presidents, foreign diplomats, government officials and other dignitaries are usually invited to grace the SONA. Roque said Duterte would be accompanied mostly by PSG members, and that 15 Cabinet members and 50 lawmakers had also been invited to the SONA. He said he was not sure if Medialdea, who had already tested negative for

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COVID-19, could attend the SONA. Roque, who will be at the Batasang Pambansa on July 27, could also not confirm the attendance of Duterte’s family to the SONA. He said it would be understandable if the presidential family skipped the event.

Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Wednesday she would skip the SONA to avoid the strict health procedures.

To ease the risk of exposure to COVID-19, Duterte will be delivering his SONA in a chamber separate from guests, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced Wednesday.

Duterte is expected to present a roadmap that will help the nation recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roque said Duterte’s SONA would be aired live.

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At the same time, the DILG also filed a complaint against the mayor of Buluan, Maguindanao after the official allegedly failed to prohibit mass gatherings in his municipality.

SAP irregularities

Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte made the appeal to Año following various complaints reaching Malacañang on alleged shenanigans committed by certain local government executives on the matter.

“Secretary Ano should take immediate and forceful action to put an end to the SAP irregularities by suspending at once and then filing criminal and administrative charges against local elective officials involved in such hanky-panky to put flesh into President Duterte’s earlier warning against public officials not to mess with this relief program for families hit the hardest by the pandemic’s economic fallout,” Villafuerte said.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker from the Bicol region on Thursday urged Año to take “immediate and forceful” action against certain local government executives who reportedly took advantage of P200 billion-worth of cash grants Temporary release for coronavirus-hit poor families unAn opposition leader in the House of der President Rodrigo Duterte’s Social Representatives reiterated the call for Amelioration Program (SAP).

Ex-DOH chief chimes in on Rody’s jokes

By Willie Casas PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte “needs to be more serious” in making remarks that may affect public health, a former Health secretary said Thursday.

Duterte might have been joking when he advised the public to disinfect their face masks with gasoline, but he needs to make accurate remarks and take health advisories from experts, former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Thursday.

“We know that the President is very popular especially among the masses at this point, so everything he says can be taken seriously by these people,” Cabral told ANC. “The public does not know when he is joking and when he is not...so he really needs to be more serious about the things that he tells the public.

“People may take him seriously and actually do what he says we should do, and people are going to be put in danger because of those.”

Cabral cited US President Donald Trump who earlier told his constituents that drinking disinfectants reduced the chances of COVID-19 infections. “[Duterte] needs to actually rehearse these things to make sure that he’s saying accurate things,” Cabral said.

“So maybe every two weeks or every month he can come out when there is something important to say and he should leave it to his IATF [InterAgency Task Force] to tell people the nitty gritty of things.”

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Dutertte’s statement was only a “joke” when he advised the public to wash their face masks with gasoline.

“He’s been President for four years, and it’s as if you still don’t know him,” Roque said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque, meanwhile, should listen to the advisers whom he trusts after making inaccurate statements about the pandemic in the Philippines, Cabral said.

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From A1 “Bailouts and recovery plans cannot only focus on big markets and big business. A Temporary Basic Income might enable governments to give people in lockdown a financial lifeline.”

UN projections have warned the virus could kill 1.67 million people in 30 low-income countries.

The crisis has left tens of millions unemployed around the world and crippled global commerce, prompting the European Union to approve an unprecedented $858 billion aid package for its hardest-hit member states earlier this week.

Melbourne orders compulsory masks

Anyone venturing out in Australia’s second-biggest city was ordered Thursday to wear a mask as authorities struggle to contain multiple coronavirus clusters in the country’s southeast.

Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, recorded 422 coronavirus cases on Thursday – a dip from a record peak of 484 on Wednesday, but its 18th consecutive day of triple-digit rises.

The mandatory mask order allows police to issue fines of $140 to anyone who refuses to cover their face in public, although previous lockdown rules have generally been enforced with warnings.

“Stability is not enough; stability won’t get us beyond this,” Premier Daniel Andrews told the media. “We have to also see compliance in the community at extraordinarily high levels.” AFP the Duterte administration to at least temporarily free persons deprived of liberty (PDL) as more of them die due to COVID-19 and other causes.

“It is imperative that senior citizen PDLs as well as those with co-morbidities be temporarily released before more of them die in prison due to the pandemic,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said.

He also noted the recommendation of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Justice chairman Rep. Vicente Veloso III for the release of prisoners especially those who were old and sick to avoid the COVID-19 contagion.

Aid for families

A House leader on Thursday proposed financial assistance for the families of 301 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have died abroad during the pandemic.

News Some mining firms allowed to resume

By Rio N. Araja AFTER a series of inspections, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has allowed the resumption of operations of some mining companies ordered closed by the late agency chief Gina Lopez.

“Only those that have passed through the proper (review), (and) those who have submitted motion for reconsideration with DENR,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.

“Our technical experts have already conducted an audit and gone to the mining companies that had been suspended by former secretary Lopez,” he added.

He, however, did not identify the mining firms that are about to resume operations due to the ongoing reviews.

According to Cimatu, miners to be allowed to resume are those that have adopted corrective measures of their violations.

“Those that have not yet already complied must still pursue their compliance before we could allow them to open,” he said.

In 2017, Lopez ordered the closure and suspension of the mining activities, following an environmental audit.

In 2018, Cimatu directed a review of the closure and suspension orders of Lopez.

Those suspended were AAMPHIL Natural Resources and Exploration and Development Corp., Carrascal Nickel Corp., Emir Mineral Resources, Krominco Inc., Libjo Mining Corp., Mt. Sinai Exploration and Development Corp., Strong Built Mining Development, Wellex Mining Corp. 1&2, and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp.

Maynilad to extend bill payment period—spokesman

By Rio N. Araja

tomers until Sept. 30.

“We have a payment extension, and WEST zone water concessionaire Mayni- this is up to Sept. 30,” said Maynilad lad Water Services Inc. is extending the spokesperson Zmel Grabillo. bill payment period for millions of its cusHe said customers may settle their un-

paid bills on an installment basis in any amount through online payment or payment centers.

Grabillo said Maynilad has a mechanism of tracking the staggered payments

of its clients.

“They can pay little by little. In fact, they can pay any amount, which they can afford to pay while trying to recover from their situation,” he said.

‘Franchise bid may reach plenary’

By Maricel V. Cruz

S

PEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday hinted on the possibility that the House of Representatives will tackle the resolution and technical working group report of the legislative franchises committee rejecting the application for the renewal of the franchise to operate of ABS-CBN Corp.

Senate nixes jail transfer of ninja cop

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Senate Blue Ribbon and Justice and Human Rights committees rejected a request to transfer custody of “ninja cop” P/ Supt Rodney Raymundo Juico Baloyo IV from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to the BJMP-San Fernando City District Jail in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of both committees, said it was the committees’ collective decision for Baloyo to stay at the NBP for commitment and continued detention instead of being transferred to the San Fernando City district jail.

“He (Baloyo) has committed an offense that has been approved by the committee, almost the whole Senate, which placed him in contempt for being very evasive and changing his answers frequently. He’s been trying to get out of Muntinlupa and the committee is not disposed of, as far as I know, to release him.

If it would be up to the determination of this Congress, that will be where we’re headed—he will not be released. At the moment, this is the collective decision,” said Gordon.

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FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

BRIGADA. Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao together with Philippine Navy reservists from the 741st MCR joined the Brigada Eskwela 2020. A total of five schools benefited the activity, namely the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Logistic Command Elementary School, F. Bustamante Elementary and High School, Alfredo A. Aledia Elementary School and Osmeña Elementary School.

Coco group denies using monkey to harvest coconuts

By Alena Mae S. Flores COCO industry advocacy group United Coconut Association of the Philippines strongly denied using monkeys to harvest coconuts amid the circulation of a viral video which elicited negative reaction from consumers, animal rights activists and other cause-oriented groups abroad.

“The use of monkey labor in harvesting coconuts in the Philippines was never a practice in its long history of coconut farming. Production of 15 billion nuts annually are manually harvested by coconut farmers and farm workers,” UCAP said in a statement.

The animal rights group PETA showed

pigtailed macaques in Thailand working like “coconut-picking machines”. After seeing the video, the UK Prime Minister’s fiancée Carrie Symonds, a conservationist, recently called on all supermarkets to boycott the products.

The Philippine Coconut Authority said there is no monkey business in the local coco farming practice.

“Philippine coconut farmers do not use monkeys in harvesting coconuts for local use, exports or even tourism purposes,” said ret. Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno of the PCA Office of the Administrator.

Coconut trees dot an estimated 3.6 hectares of land in the Philippines while

3.5 million Filipinos are engaged in coconut farming.

The local arm of the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the international animal rights group which documented the now viral video, also echoed their support for the Philippine coconuts farmers and industry.

“Other coconut-growing regions—including the Philippines, India, Brazil, Colombia, and Hawaii—harvest coconuts for export using humane methods such as tractor-mounted hydraulic elevators, willing human tree-climbers, rope or platform systems, or ladders. Thailand can easily implement these humane methods, too,” PETA said in a statement.

Cayetano made the statement in response to the appeal of the Makabayan bloc and other legislators to allow a full and extensive debate on the matter, and that all House members be allowed to participate and vote on the measure in plenary session.

Cayetano said while it is not allowed under existing House rules, the plenary, under the Constitution, “has all the powers” and it still depends on the entire chamber to decide.

“Is it possible? Yes. Is it a regular procedure? No. So that’s what we need to clarify,” Cayetano said in an interview with The Source on CNN Philippines.

But Cayetano said the matter will not be a priority of the chamber when Congress opens its Second Regular Session next week as there are other priority measures needed to get passed to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our priority is fighting COVID-19.

We’re dealing with so much work and unforeseen future uncertainties. So if you’re asking directly about the possibility, anything is possible (in the) plenary,” Cayetano said.

“Let’s not put in front and center because the reality is, we are in a pandemic and we have to focus on solving the dayto-day problems of our countrymen,” he added.

Earlier, several lawmakers supported the move of the Makabayan bloc to bring the franchise issue from the House legislative franchises committee to the plenary for deliberations.

Two of them, Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto and Parañaque City Rep. Joy Tambunting said the House plenary must decide on the divisive issue.

Villar reminds public on health protocols

By Macon Ramos-Araneta AS quarantine restrictions relax in many areas, Sen. Cynthia Villar reminded on Wednesday the public not to be complacent, stressing the need to continue to practice protocols prescribed by the health department to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“As we begin to adjust to the new normal way of life, we should not put our guards down. Let us be reminded that the virus and no vaccine yet against COVID-19 somee need to follow health protocols,” Villar said.

Villar also said there is a growing body of evidence saying that face masks and cloth face coverings help prevent the spread of the virus proves that we can defend ourselves against the virus while

waiting for the vaccine.

Together with her daughter Camille, who sits as Representative of the lone district of Las Piñas, Villar distributed 2,000 tarpaulins in the different barangays of the city to remind residents of the needed health protocols such as the wearing of face mask, practice of physical distancing and frequent hand-washing.

“We have to be reminded that stopping the spread of the disease is not just the work of the medical workers and our frontliners,” he said.

According to Villar, it is the duty of everybody to help fight COVID-19 by wearing face masks properly and observing one-meter physical distancing when outside our homes. She said lapses in health protocols endanger the well-being of our families and co-workers.

RAPID TESTS. A free community-based rapid testing was conducted at Peace Village in Barrio San Luis in Antipolo City to identify and isolate infected residents. Teddy Pelaez

Senator seeks more access to diagnosis for PWD learners

By Macon Ramos-Araneta AMID the celebration of National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) Week, Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing to increase access to early interventions and diagnosis for learners with disabilities, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens their access to essential health and education services.

It was learned during a Senate panel hearing that less than ten percent of child development workers are trained to manage children with disabilities in daycare centers, as shared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Pro-

gram Management Bureau (PMB).

In the absence of developmental pediatricians to provide medical diagnosis, Gatchalian said child development centers can conduct assessments to identify risks of developmental delays. These assessments are done with screening tools such as the Early Childhood Care and Development checklist.

Gatchalian, author of Senate Bill No. 171 or the Inclusive for Education for Children and Youth with Special Needs Act, said interventions should be available at child development centers and daycare centers that cater to children aged zero to four.

The lawmaker emphasized that early

detection and interventions in these centers can help learners with disabilities in their developmental milestones, especially when they join regular classes.

“Child development workers, however, need to be capacitated so they can address developmental delays and provide minimum interventions for learners with disabilities,” said Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on basic education.

Earlier this year, Gatchalian said he also sought to include a medical diagnosis for learners with disabilities in the Universal Health Care Law. Unfortunately, parents tend to skip this procedure due to its high cost.

BINONDOMINIUM. Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso along with Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna lead the ceremonial ground breaking ceremony of the 15-storey Binondominium in Delpan, Binondo in Manila on Thursday, July 23. Norman Cruz

LGUs

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

A4

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Isko: Manila mass testing takes inclusive tack

By Willie Casas

T

HE Manila City government’s free mass testing operations for the coronavirus are taking an inclusive approach by allowing both Manilans and non-Manilans to avail its services, Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso said on Thursday.

Domagoso made the remark as the city government launched its second walk-in testing center at the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC) in Tondo, Manila.

This is a manifestation that Manilans are being “good neighbors” to their neighboring cities amid the COVID-19

Law penalizing parents of kids roaming passed

pandemic, Domagoso said.

“I want you to be proud as a ‘Batang Maynila,’ na kayo ay mabuting kapitbahay. Even if we are tired, even if we are having difficulty, we have the chance to show we can be good neighbors to all,” he said.

Meanwhile, the mayor personally

thanked owners and operators of hotels, motels and other accommodations that housed medical frontliners for free without asking for anything in return.

As an expression of gratitude by the Manila City government, Domagoso led the turnover of tax credit certificates worth P100,000 to the lodging business owners.

Under City Ordinance No. 8646, the tax credit may be applied on all forms of local business taxes, regulatory fees and services, including the appropriate surcharge and penalty interests.

“Since day one (of the pandemic),

you have lost income. You really suffered severely as an industry.

Manila was the first to come up with an executive order requesting each of you to help our medical frontliners to accommodate them,” Domagoso said in a speech at the City Council session hall.

“Most of you went to us voluntarily, and I am grateful for that. It cost you millions, but you did not ask for a single cent. On behalf of our doctors, nurses, hospital staff who were accommodated in your place of business, we thank you. I cannot thank you enough,” he said.

Hinatuan Mining coral garden project a success

By Romeo Dizon SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The Pampanga provincial board approved during its regular session Thursday a resolution penalizing parents and guardians who allow minors to roam the streets without face masks and commit other health protocol violations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Under Provincial Ordinance No. 765 Series 2020, parents and guardians will be fined P2,000 or imprisoned 3 months or both, at the discretion of the court for first offense.

For the second and third offense, the custodians are liable for P3,000 with 4 months imprisonment and P5,000 and 6 months imprisonment, respectively, the measure added.

The law with take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the province.

Aside from not wearing face masks, other violations penalized by the ordinance include lack of physical distancing, travel restrictions, curfew violations, and mass gatherings, which is proven by public health authorities to be “super-spreading” the coronavirus.

Under the law, parents refer to the biological or adoptive father or mother or guardians of the minor child, which is generally below 18 years old, and “must be responsible enough to guide their children and help the government in its campaign against the disease.”

Also included among the special parental authorities are grandparents as provided for under Article 214 of the Family Code, older brothers and sisters under 21 years old, and the child’s actual custodian, the ordinance said.

Magalong holds tracing seminar in Pampanga

Police round up 397 in Navotas IN JUST 24 hours, 397 residents of Navotas were arrested by police on Wednesday for violating quarantine protocols during the 14-day city-wide lockdown to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

Navotas City currently has 625 active COVID-19 cases.

The city government reported that 3,071 have been arrested during the first seven days of the lockdown.

With the addition of the 397 on Wednesday, total detainees are now at 3,468.

According to Mayor Toby Tiangco, of those arrested, 3,285 were adults, while 183 were minors.

Most of those arrested by police were not wearing face masks, violated curfew, and did not comply with physical distancing, Tiangco said.

The detainees were fined P250 for not wearing a face mask for the first violation. Those who did not pay will have to do community service for eight hours. Those caught twice without face masks were fined P500 or must render 11 hours of community service.

A fine of up to P750 and one day of community service can be imposed for third-time violators, while those who break other health protocols will be fined from P1,000 to P3,000. Jun David

Clark hosts webinar on contact tracing

CORAL GARDEN. Hinatuan Mining divers monitor the coral

nursery off the island in Surigao del Norte twice weekly to record its detailed growth and to graph survival rates. The healthy coral outgrowths (inset) prove the cleanliness of the water despite the nearby mine, the firm’s officials said. Photo courtesy HMC

HINATUAN Mining Corp. (HMC), a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), has announced the success of its coral nursery project on the island of Hinatuan in Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte.

The coral nursery initiative, designed and implemented by HMC’s Mine Environmental Protection and Enhancement Department (MEPEO), aims to further enhance the growth of the natural coral reef systems around the marine waters of the island, said Forester Manuel A. Torres, Jr., HMC’s MEPEO lead and Envi-Manager.

For Jusua dela Peña, HMC’s dedicated marine biologist, success means that in less than a year of establishing the nursery, initially with 343 coral fragments in

four nursery beds, the coral fragments have fully recovered with an excellent growth rate and a yield of 90% survival against a mortality rate of 10%.

The nursery begins the successful coral gardening in Hinatuan Island as healthy coral “outgrowths” are transplanted to propagate the coral garden.

The United Nations (UN) connects coral gardening to the current narratives about the coronavirus pandemic, detailing how humans and our livelihood are connected to corals in so many ways: the fish that live on coral reefs provide food; coral reefs are draws for tourists who bring in the cash that provide livelihood; that there are new medicines being developed from

species found in coral reefs; and, that coral reefs help in the protection of our shores from erosion and pollution.

“We know that the priority right now is to keep the communities and our workforce healthy and safe from the virus, but we at HMC will never stop finding ways to also protect the environment and enhance the island’s marine resources,” said dela Peña.

Engr. Francis J. Arañes, Jr., HMC’s Resident Mine Manager, is most happy about the success of the company’s coral gardening because it showcases the healthy waters surrounding the mine site, which is something to be greatly proud of as a miner.

By Jess Malabanan CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Chief of the National Task Force for Contact Tracing, and his team held a one-day seminar on contact tracing for coronavirus cases at the Police Regional Office 3 headquarters here Tuesday.

The seminar sought to arm participants with special skills in contact tracing, as the number of persons who contracted the coronavirus in the region have skyrocketed in recent days.

Magalong said it is better to have many contact-tracing teams because there are cases when first-level contacts of COVID-19 cases can reach as many as a hundred people.

Contact tracing teams are made up of health care workers such as doctors and nurses as they determine the level of risk of virus transmission. Police assist the team for cognitive skills, the mayor said.

Meanwhile, Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr., the National Task Force on COVID-19 Chief Implementer, who was also present during the activity, highlighted the crucial role of Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) in the nation's fight against the disease.

IN BRIEF

GUNS DOWN. Some of the 131 former communist rebels join police and local officials

led by Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa (center) in presenting to the public their cache of arms and propaganda materials (inset) they surrendered to government forces at Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna. Also pictured are (from left) AFP Southern Luzon Command Joint Force Commander Lt. Gen. Antonio G Parlade Jr., Police Regional Office Calabarzon chief PBGen. Vicente D Danao Jr., and Secretary Jose Maria Nicomedes Hernandez, chairperson of the RTF-ELCAC4A. Roy Tomandao

Gamboa, cops laud 131 Red rebel surrenderers

By Roy Tomandao CALAMBA, Laguna—A total of 131 former communist rebels who have surrendered to authorities were welcomed back to the fold of society as they were presented to the public Thursday by Philippine National Police Chief PGen. Archie Francisco F. Gamboa. Gamboa commended the efforts of both the Police Regional Office Calabarzon under the leadership of PBGen. Vicente D Danao Jr. and the AFP

Southern Luzon Command under the Joint Force Commander, LtGen. Antonio G Parlade Jr. The PNP chief also lauded the local government units and other stakeholders “whose efforts to address threats on insurgency and terrorism in the region” helped police fulfill their mandate, Gamboa said.

After the program, the 131 former rebels were given 25 kilos of rice and grocery packs from PRO4A, as presented

by Danao.

CLARK FREEPORT—The Clark Human Resource Council (CHRC) has hosted a webinar on “Contact Tracing Protocols,” participated in by representatives of different locators here, to prepare companies in containing COVID-19 in the Freeport.

Done via Zoom video conferencing, the webinar—the sixth of which the CHRC has hosted—was aimed at sharing a workplace contingency plan as a proactive response against the coronavirus.

Dr. Ma. Clemencita Dobles, Clark Development Corp.’s Health and Sanitation Division (CDC-HSD) Manager, as one of the resource speakers, discussed the importance of establishing a Health and Safety Committee in a company.

This includes designating safety officers and COVID marshals for the day to ensure compliance of safety protocols.

“Your health and safety committee may be small in composition, but you could always assign certain people in that specific area to be marshals or patrollers. You don’t need to add people, but you could include or engage them in monitoring,” she said during the recently held webinar.

According to Dobles, active and regular monitoring is vital among companies to keep track of each employees’ health status.

Iskolar ng Bataan listup goes online BALANGA CITY, Bataan—The Iskolar ng Bataan program has started its online application process and will last until August 15 for school year 2020-2021.

“The purpose of the online application is to avoid mass gathering, which is a factor in the spread of COVID-19,” said Vice Gov. Cris Garcia, who is also the Iskolar ng Bataan adviser.

Before becoming vice governor, Garcia was the original coordinator of the Iskolar ng Bataan.

Gov. Abet Garcia and the vice governor have been exhorting Bataan residents to strictly follow health protocols like wearing face masks and social distancing to fight the dreaded coronavirus.

“We are doing our best to continue implementing the scholarship program attuned to the ‘new normal’ set up due to the coronavirus threat,” said Iskolar ng Bataan Coordinator Ramon Canas.

Canas said the program can accommodate a total of 300 applicants per day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Canas also said they are eyeing to distribute cash refunds to the students through online banking and to partner with colleges and universities in Bataan for validation.

The late Governor Tet Garcia and current Gov. Garcia, as congressman of the 2nd district, hatched in 2005 the Iskolar ng Bataan program, benefitting thousands of college students in the province. Butch Gunio

Opinion Dead Sebastian or dead dummy?

POINT OF IMPACT

ERWIN TULFO SHOWING the picture of a man’s body, supposedly the cadaver of a COVID-19 patient, would have sufficed to consider him dead. Not in the case of Jaybee Nińo Sebastian.

I’m not surprised that quite a number of people remain skeptical about Sebastian’s reported death along with several big-time drug lords, including Amin Imam Buratong in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) facilities.

Among the doubting Thomases include Senators Tito Sotto, Dick Gordon and Risa Hontiveros who seek an inquiry into the "mysterious deaths."

I have a few questions myself about the circumstances surrounding the death of the prisoner. At least nine drug lords suffered from coronavirus infection and were confined in a quarantine building apart from the NBP hospital.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director-general Gerald Bantag must have been aware of the fact that Sabastian was a state witness against former Justice Secretary and now-detained Senator Leila De Lima over illegal drugs charges.

The alleged deaths of Sebastian and others who were involved in such a case should have been properly reported to Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

It is in the interest of justice that the deaths be reported publicly even before the cremation was done.

And then, the fact that the matter made the news by way of a leaked info on "one Jaybee Sebastian” being on a list of dead inmates fueled public speculation that he had been surreptitiously freed, using the cadaver of another COVID-19 patient as his dummy for his supposed cremation.

After all that has happened, such as the Ninja Cops scandal that implicated former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, and after massive irregularities in connection

with the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) at the BuCor that led to the release of heinous criminals for huge sums of bribes, nothing seems unthinkable anymore.

Sebastian and his rival drug lords had reportedly turned the NBP into a shabu laboratory and center of illegal drugs trafficking, earning billions of pesos.

Buratong was known for his shabu tiangge in Pasig City before he was imprisoned.

Nothing seems unthinkable anymore.

So, the possibility of an illusory magic being pulled to spring Sebastian out of prison is not at all far-fetched.

We know all too well that Sebastian, who could have paid a fortune, might turn out alive and well at some white-sand beach by crystal clear sea waters under the sun.

A no-nonsense inquiry is indeed in order, as Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct.

Both BuCor and NBI are attached agencies of the DOJ. Not to cast doubt on the character of the doctors and medical staff of the NBP hospital, but they too must shed light on the medical history of the COVID-19 patients including Sebastian and present the documentation such as daily charts during his confinement at the isolation facility.

There have been conflicting reports that Sebastian’s family could not be contacted within 12 hours, prompting the BuCor to have his remains cremated, according to the rules of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

At least there is one unthinkable thing in this instance and that is for some bigshot like Jaybee Sebastian and his henchmen dying just like that after years of lording it over in the NBP, hosting parties and jamming with top DOJ officials as special guests.

MORE OPINION ONLINE (www.manilastandard.net)

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GMA no. 1 even before ABS-CBN closure

Everyman

The state of the Filipino nation

By Ernesto G. Banawis ON MONDAY, July 27, President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address.

This is an important event held on the opening of the regular session of the Congress of the Philippines every year.

This is the day when the president renders his report to the people on what he has done for the country in the last 365 days. He is also expected to tell the people what he wants to do in the last two years of his term.

What is, however, of special importance to the people is what his plans are for the presidential elections in 2022—if one will take place.

If elections are held even with the grave uncertainties confronting the nation today, what will be of special interest to the people is

whom Mr. Duterte will endorse as his successor. The prevailing speculation is that whomever he anoints will be the next president. Unhappily, there is no one yet from the opposition who appears to be a good alternative.

In the event the exercise of suffrage is indefinitely postponed, the consequences will be either welcome or unbearable depending on which side one stands in the political fence.

Will the incumbent officials remain in hold-over capacities? Is this not abominable? Or unacceptable? If the President imposes martial law, it will surely be ratified

by Congress because most of its members are loyal to or allied with him.

Most of the people would probably favor the imposition of martial law since he seems to still enjoy a high performance and acceptance rating.

What he would be doing is similar to what

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

B1

EDITORIAL

Shift to MECQ is suicidal ease the quarantine measures in Metro Manila and other major urban centers to accelerate the reopening of the economy after a long lockdown period.

Mobility restrictions, or the lack of transportation, have been hampering the full reopening of the economy. The business group, in a letter to the task force, supported looser quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila, CALABARZON, comprising the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, and other urban areas as soon as possible to reopen the economy, “with the precaution that those factories and barangays with COVID-19 cases be dealt with more strictly.”

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier noted that while the people’s health and safety remained the government’s top priority, Filipinos cannot be retreating from the virus at the cost of their livelihoods, especially in Metro Manila and Calabarzon, which collectively account for 67 percent of the domestic economy.

B

RINGING back Metro Manila and some parts of the CALABARZON region to stricter quarantine rules, or modified enhanced community quarantine, from ECQ is destructive and not foolproof that COVID-19 cases will slow down.

Curbing the rise of the pandemic in the capital region can be done through the no-nonsense implementation of health protocols, while allowing businesses to reopen fast and restoring the jobs of Filipino workers. Authorities down to the barangay level should enforce the health and safety rules laid down by the Inter-Agency task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases in containing the virus spread while the economy is reopening.

The Federation of Philippine Industries, the umbrella organization of over 100 manufacturing companies, has backed the call of the Department of Finance to

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country’s largest business organization, also called on the government to allow businesses to resume full operations. Nearly five months of lockdown have restricted business operations and put more companies at greater danger of permanent closures.

Business closures, meanwhile, will translate into reduced tax collections and put the sustainability of public finances and the ability to fund public services, including health and education, at risk.

The rest of Europe and Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea have reopened their economies while practicing social distancing.

These nations at the same time implemented widespread testing and contact tracing to limit the virus transmission, which the Philippines can do.

A responsible government should not withhold the jobs of those who want to feed their family. Hunger will eventually catch up with the unemployed.

People’s Initiative: A form of people power THE idea of a people’s initiative was first introduced in the 1987 Constitution when the spirit of the People Power revolution was at its strongest. The president for more than 20 years, Ferdinand Marcos, had just been ousted and the people were very hopeful.

The same People Power in 2001 pushed the former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada to leave Malacañang Palace before the Senate impeachment trial against him was completed. The gains of the first People Power revolution were institutionalized primarily in the Constitution to highlight that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” Clearly, without the people, there is no government. The Constitution also declares “the prime duty of the government to serve and protect the people,” and with the country’s militarized past, the framers made sure that “civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military.”

Amendments or revisions of the Constitution may be proposed by the Congress, upon a vote of three fourths of all its members; or a constitutional convention. The amendments or revisions may otherwise be directly proposed by the people through an initiative upon a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters therein (Article XVII, Sections 1 and 2, 1987 Constitution). Two years after the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, Congress passed Republic Act 6735, otherwise known as the System of Initiative and Referendum.

This enabling law enumerated the systems of initiative, namely: (a) proposing amendments to the Constitution; (b) proposing to enact national legislation; (c) proposing to enact a regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay law, resolution or ordinance.

For a people’s initiative to pass a national legislation, at least 10 percent of the total number of registered voters may initiate it, of which each legislative district must be represented by at least 3 percent of the registered voters thereof (Section 5(a), R.A. 6735). The people’s initiative petition must

the late President Ferdinand Marcos did in 1972. He would be staging a revolt or mutiny against his own regime. Marcos called this constitutional authoritarianism, clearly a contradiction in terms.

Marcos said he imposed martial law to save the republic. Political analysts, however, opined that he did so to perpetuate himself in power since making his wife, Madam

What ail us are moral depravity and decadence.

Imelda Marcos, run for president was a risky business. Mr. Duterte can offer the alibi that his imposition of martial rule is necessary to prevent the country from going under since the pandemic and economic devastation have become unbearable and terrifying. He cannot be accused of perpetuating himself in power since he still enjoys a high acceptance and performance rating. What is perhaps the truth is that there is no one among his trust-

FOOTNOTES

TRANQUIL G.S SALVADOR III contain (a) the proposition; (b) the reasons for its filing; (c) justification that it is not one of the exceptions; (d) the signatures of the petitioners or the registered voters; and (e) the summary in not more than 100 words at the top of every page of the petition.

Moreover, according to the case of Lambino v. COMELEC, the proposed amendment (or legislation) must be incorporated with, or attached to the petition signed by the people (G.R. No. 174153).

All it takes is to light the spark that will rally the people to a common cause.

The COMELEC upon receipt of the Petition shall determine its sufficiency. If found to be sufficient, the petition will be published and the referendum scheduled not earlier than 45 days but not later than 90 days from the determination of the sufficiency (Section 8, R.A. 6735). The decision of COMELEC regarding the sufficiency of the petition may be appealed to the Supreme Court within 30 days from notice (Section 12, R.A. 6735).

If the proposition (for a national law) is approved upon a referendum by the majority of the votes cast, the national law shall become effective 15 days following the completion of its publication in the official gazette or a newspaper of general circulation (Section 9(a), R.A. 6735).

People Power movements—wherein people go out on the streets whether as registered voters or not—rely heavily on the groundswell of the population to determine

ed aides and allies who is highly acceptable to the electorate—and deserving of his endorsement.

Leaders of the political opposition and the President’s critics can howl and grumble in protest which most of the people will ignore or even detest.

Mr. Dutete remains popular because they people are tired and desperate for having been long abused and neglected. They voted for him because he promised to address their grievances and champion their welfare and interests. They are cheering him on because he has repeatedly sworn that he would go after the wealthy and elite for evading or underpaying their taxes to the government and for being responsible for the widening economic disparity and the continuing poverty of the masses.

With the pandemic still disturbing their minds, the people will cling to Mr. Duterte for being one among them.

This is the real state of the nation today.

What President Duterte is trying to do is to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and destitute and allay their fears of the crisis confronting the nation.

But what is the more serious ailment of the

its outcome. In a people’s initiative, the petition must have the required percentage of registered voters who will sign the petition.

Hence, observers who have not participated in an electoral exercise; who have not registered to vote whether by choice; and who are non-Filipinos, cannot participate in the initiative and referendum but cannot be prevented from expressing their ideas in any media platform consistent with the basic freedoms guaranteed under our Constitution.

People Power is very fluid. All it takes is to light the spark that will rally the people to a common cause. Here, political players and political opportunists play important roles to advance their collective or personal causes. Groups with diverse political beliefs, interests and advocacies may momentarily set aside their differences and unite to get rid or fight a perceived common enemy. Here, the playing field is broad, and those initiating it may rely heavily on social media, mainstream print, TV or radio to circulate their messages. To catch public attention using sound bites, banner headlines, and reliable talking heads is important. There will also be concurrent rallies to bring the causes and objectives to the awareness of the people.

A people’s initiative is a formal process that has to comply with the requirements of the law with regard to the contents of the petition, the petitioners/registered voters who will sign the petition, the validation of the signatures of the registered voters, and the determination of its sufficiency by the COMELEC. Only then can a referendum take place to ascertain whether the people agree to the proposed legislation. In People Power movements, there is no specific timeline: the outcome of the collective movement will depend on how quickly the general public will embrace the common cause presented to them. On the other hand, a people’s initiative has a timeline outlined under the law that must be followed once there is an affirmative determination of the petition’s sufficiency by COMELEC. Full version at www.manilastandard.net

Filipino nation?

What ails the Filipino people today is not just graft and corruption, the drug menace, or the economic recession. The cancer gnawing at the minds and hearts of our people is moral depravity and decadence.

What has happened to the original inhabitants of this archipelago?

The barangays which existed before foreigners reached our shores were functional village democracies. The inhabitants were simple and humble people who were cooperative rather than combative; hospitable rather than suspicious, and decent rather than devious. The village chieftains like Lapu Lapu were courageous and daring, It was the Spaniards who corrupted their simple beliefs, the Americans who treated them with condescension, and their own leaders who never really cared for them.

There is hardly any president who sincerely loved our country and our people.

Will President Rodrigo Duterte prove to be the exception?.

Mr. Ernesto G. Banawis was formerly general manager of the Philippine News Agency.

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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Trump touts 5-word memory test to prove ‘mental stamina’

US orders China consulate shut U

S-CHINESE relations, already tense over the coronavirus pandemic and Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong, deteriorated once again Wednesday as Washington ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston within 72 hours.

DONALD Trump has divulged details of a cognitive test he “aced”—including a fiveword memory challenge he said proved he had the “mental stamina” to lead the US. “Person. Woman. Man. Camera.

TV,” the US president recited as he revealed details of the much-discussed test to Fox TV on Wednesday.

“The last questions are much more difficult,” he said in an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” in which he repeatedly questioned the mental capacity of his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

“Like a memory question. It’s like, you’ll go: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV,” the president said. “So they say, ‘Could you repeat that?’ So I said, ‘Yeah.

It’s: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.’” “Then, ten minutes, 15, 20 minutes later they say, ‘Remember that first question... Give us that again.”

“And you go: ‘Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.’” “And they say ‘that’s amazing. How did you do that?’”

“I do it because I have, like, a good memory,” Trump continued. “Because I’m cognitively there.”

In the interview Trump also called for his Democratic rival Joe Biden— currently leading Trump in polls ahead of the November presidential election— to take a similar test, because “something’s going on.”

“You need physical stamina,” he said. “You need mental stamina... we have to be sharp... President Xi is sharp.

President Putin is sharp. Erdogan is sharp.” AFP Manila

Standard

TODAY

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Romualdo B.. Reyes and Marcelina A. Reyes was extra-judicially settled among his heirs on December 10, 2019, per Doc. No. 206, Page No. 42, Book No. XL, series of 2019 before Notary Public Atty.John Edward Trinidad Ang, Notary Public for Manila with Notarial Commission No. 2018-117 until December 31, 2019 Roll of Attorney No. 68731.

(MS-JUL. 24, 31 & AUG. 7, 2020)

Manila

Standard NOTICE

TODAY TO THE PUBLIC

BE IT KNOWN THAT JASA BUILDER’S owned

by SAMUEL C. LAM with address at 123 La Perla St. Luciente 1st Bolinao, Pangasinan has changed its ownership from single proprietorship to corporation on March 14, 2019 and is now JASA GD 2000Manila CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION with business address at 123 TODAY La Perla St. Luciente 1st Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Standard

(MS-JULY 24, 2020)

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that the estate of the late MRS. ANNA Y. SYCIP was extrajudicially settled among the heirs as per Doc. No. 205; Page No. 42; Book No. V; Series of 2020 before Notary Public Atty. Felippe Mart E. Closa of Makati City.

MS (JULY 17/24/31, 2020)

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that Stock Certificate No. 48991 worth One Million Two hundred Twenty One Thousand Five Hundred Fifty One (1,221,551) Shares of Stocks of FMF Development Corp., under the name of George Edwin Sycip was reported loss per Document notarized before Notary Public Atty.

Alexandra E. Lioanag of California San Francisco County MS (JULY 17/24/31, 2020)

NOTICE NOTICE Is hereby given that Stock Certificate Nos. C-77, C-123 & C-130 worth Nine Hundred Ninety Thousand Five Hundred Eighty Seven (990,587) Shares of Stocks of AMSEC Holdings Corp., under the name of George Edwin Sycip were reported loss as per document notarized before Notary Public Atty. Alexandra E. Lioanag of California San Francisco County.

MS (JULY 17/24/31, 2020)

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that an Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate of EMILINA M. FERNANDO has been entered into and executed by her heirs as per Doc. No.175, Page No.36, Book V Series of 2020 of the Notarial Register of Notary Public Atty. Vincent Angelo P. Calara, MBA. MS (JULY 17/24/31, 2020)

China slammed the US move, which came one day after the unveiling of a US indictment targeting two Chinese nationals for allegedly hacking hundreds of companies worldwide and seeking to steal virus vaccine research.

President Donald Trump threatened more consulate closures, telling reporters “it’s always possible.”

“We’re setting our clear expectations for how the Chinese Communist Party is going to behave,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Denmark.

“President Trump has said ‘enough,’” Pompeo added.

The secretary of state cited the indictment of the two Chinese nationals for computer hacking but did not specifically mention the order to close the Houston consulate.

The closure of the Chinese diplomatic installation in one of America’s biggest cities marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between the world’s top two People watch a Long March-5 rocket, carrying an orbiter, lander and rover as part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, lifting off from the CYAN MAGENTA economies. YELLOW BLACK Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan province on July 23, 2020. AFP Washington and Beijing are feuding over a slew of issues ranging from trade to the pandemic to China’s policies in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, actCHINA launched a rover to Mars on broadcaster CCTV. ing chairman of the Senate Intelligence Thursday, a journey coinciding with a The five-ton Tianwen-1 is expected Committee, called the Houston consulate similar US mission as the powers take to arrive in February 2021 after a seventhe “central node of the Communist Partheir rivalry into deep space. month, 55-million-kilometer voyage. ty’s vast network of spies and influence KUWAIT’S 91-year-old ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad AlThe mission includes a Mars orbiter, The two countries are taking advantage operations in the United States.”

Sabah left for the United States Thursday to undergo mediof a period when Earth and Mars are fa- a lander and a rover that will study the Michael McCaul, Republican Leader cal treatment, his office said, days after he had surgery for an vourably aligned for a short journey, with planet’s soil. on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, undisclosed illness.

“As a first try for China, I don’t expect the US spacecraft due to lift off on July 30. echoed this, saying the consulate was the The emir, who has ruled the oil-rich Gulf state since The Chinese mission is named Tian- it to do anything significant beyond what “epicenter” of efforts to steal “sensitive 2006, had been in hospital since the weekend. wen-1 (“Questions to Heaven”)—a nod the US has already done,” said Jonathan CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK information to build up their military.”

Sheikh Sabah “left the country today at dawn to go to the to a classical poem that has verses about McDowell, an astronomer at the HarvardState Department spokeswoman United States to complete his medical treatment,” his office Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. the cosmos.

Morgan Ortagus said the consulate was said in a statement cited by state news agency KUNA. It is a crowded field. The United Arab Engineers and other employees ordered shut “in order to protect AmeriEarlier, it had said he would make the journey “based on cheered at the launch site on the southern Emirates launched a probe on Monday that can intellectual property and Americans’ the advice of his medical team to complete treatment followisland of Hainan as it lifted off into blue will orbit Mars once it reaches the Red Planet. private information.” ing the successful surgery.”

But the race to watch is between the sky aboard a Long March 5—China’s The State Department said China has The statements did not reveal the nature of his illness, the United States and China, which has biggest space rocket. engaged in massive spying and influtype of surgery he had undergone in Kuwait, or what treatSite commander Zhang Xueyu de- worked furiously to try and match Washence operations throughout the United ment was planned in the US. clared the mission a success on state ington’s supremacy in space. AFP States for years.

AFP BLACK In September 2019, he underwent medical tests shortly CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW after arriving in the United States, leading to a meeting with President Donald Trump being called off.

The emir had his appendix removed in 2002, two years after having a pacemaker fitted. In 2007, he underwent urinary tract surgery in the United States.

Under Kuwaiti law, when the emir is absent, crown prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, 83, the emir’s half-brother, is appointed acting ruler.

Sheikh Nawaf is an elder statesman who has held high office for decades, including the defense and interior portfolios.

Sheikh Sabah argued last year for de-escalation in the Gulf as tensions surged between the US and its arch-foe Iran.

He is widely regarded as the architect of modern Kuwait’s foreign policy. AFP

Kuwait’s emir off to US for medical treatment

House approves removal of Confederate statues THE US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a measure removing from Capitol Hill statues of people who served in the Confederacy during the country’s bitter 19th century Civil War. While the measure was approved 305-113 in a bipartisan vote in the House, where Democrats hold a majority, it still needs approval in the Senate, controlled by President Donald Trump’s Republicans.

Trump, who has strongly opposed taking down historical statues, would also need to sign the measure for it to become law.

The bill orders the removal from the US Capitol, where Congress is located, of statues of individuals who voluntarily served in the Confederacy.

During the 1861-65 Civil War several southern states tried to secede and form an independent slaveholding republic.

The measure would also remove the statues of three men who either supported slavery or white supremacy.

Activists and many African-Americans see Confederate battle flags and monuments to Confederates as symbols of racism, while others, especially white southerners, see them as symbols of heritage.

In mid-June the portraits of four senior 19th-century lawmakers who served in the Confederacy were removed from the US Capitol.

The paintings of the men, all former speakers of the House, were taken down at the order of current Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The US public has been increasingly grappling with the country’s legacy of racism and slavery since protests swept the nation following the May 25 killing of African American George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer.

“My ancestors built the Capitol, but yet there are monuments to the very people that enslaved my ancestors,” said Representative Karen Bass from California, chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus. AFP

Beijing launches rover to Red Planet

ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Cosplayer Todd Felton, dressed as a TIE Pilot from Star Wars, poses in front of the Gaslamp Quarter sign on July 22, 2020 in San Diego, California. The 2020 Comic-Con International will occur as a virtual event due the COVID-19 pandemic. AFP

Israel names coronavirus supremo as infections grow AMID mounting calls for Israel’s government to appoint a dedicated coronavirus response coordinator, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has named a public health professional to the post, his office said Thursday.

It said in a statement that the job went to Ronnie Gamzu, CEO of Tel Aviv’s Sourasky medical complex.

“Professor Gamzu has many years of administrative experience in the health field, including previous service as health ministry director-general,” it added.

Public confidence in the government has been dented by a recent wave of contradictory emergency decrees opening, closing and reopening amenities, such as restaurants, public beaches and gyms.

Protests against economic fallout from the pandemic have spread across the country, with demonstrations outside Netanyahu’s official Jerusalem residence becoming a regular event.

After his government curbed flights and imposed lockdown measures in March, Israel briefly reduced its daily

tally of newly confirmed cases to single digits in early May, but in recent weeks new cases have regularly topped 1,000 per day, with a spike of 2,000 on Tuesday.

Netanyahu took responsibility for the hasty re-opening of Israel’s economy between late April and June – measures widely seen as triggering the resurgence in cases.

The country of some nine million people had recorded over 56,000 confirmed cases by Wednesday evening, including 430 deaths. AFP

Italy detains migrant rescue ship over safety concerns THE migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking was detained on Wednesday over technical irregularities, Italy’s coastguard said, a move blasted as “harassment” by the charity that runs the vessel.

The ship had been allowed to disembark at a Sicilian port on July 7, with 180 rescued migrants onboard transferred to another boat for a two-week coronavirus quarantine.

Those two weeks ended on Tuesday – but the next day the Ocean Viking was immobilized.

The Italian coastguard said in a statement that an inspection had revealed “several technical and operational irregularities” and the ship was under “administrative detention” until they were corrected.

The unspecified problems were “of a nature likely to compromise not only the safety of the ship and its crew, but also of the people who have been and could be recovered onboard,” it added.

The coastguard also referred to “violations of regulations aimed at protecting

marine environment.”

SOS Mediterranee, which charters the Ocean Viking, released a furious statement condemning “a blatant administrative harassment maneuver aimed at impeding our lifesaving work.”

“Over the past three months, the same argument over safety has been systematically used by Italian authorities to detain four NGO ships,” Frederic Penard, director of operations at the organization, said in the statement. AFP

Business

B3

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Germany nabs former key officers of Wirecard MUNICH, Germany―German prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested the former chief executive and two former board members of Wirecard for “commercial fraud” reaching 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion), saying investigations show that trickery was already happening in 2015.

The latest arrests marked another episode in the fast-running thriller over the spectacular collapse of the German fintech company, which crashed in June after admitting that 1.9 billion euros on its balance sheets likely didn’t exist.

Underlining the scale of the suspected fraud, prosecutors in Munich said investigations have had to be “substantially widened” as evidence showed that banks in Germany and Japan as well as other investors were conned into providing funds of up to 3.2 billion euros to Wirecard.

Those sums are now “very likely lost because of the insolvency of Wirecard,” they added.

The collapse of the payments provider in June shocked the nation and has since snowballed into a political hot potato for the government.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is due to be grilled by parliament’s finance committee on July 29 after it emerged that he had been aware of suspicions of misconduct at the company in early 2019.

The case is also proving to be embarrassing for Chancellor Angela Merkel who had on a trip to China discussed Wirecard’s planned foray into the Chinese market.

Ex-CEO Markus Braun, who had already been arrested before being freed on bail over market manipulation, along with former finance chief Burkhard Ley and the group’s former accounting head Stephan von Erffa were detained on Wednesday in Munich, prosecutors said.

All three, plus another suspect who was identified only as the managing director of Cardsystems Middle East FZ-LLC, a Dubai-based subsidiary of Wirecard, are suspected of “inflating the balance sheet and volume of revenues by falsifying the company’s intake.” AFP

PSEi July 23, 2020 TOP GAINERS

A woman pulls a cart at a shopping district in Seoul on July 23, 2020. South Korea’s economy recorded its worst performance in more than 20 years in the second quarter, the central bank said on July 23, as the coronavirus pandemic hammered its exports. See related story. AFP

Stock market declines again; URC, Jollibee dip T HE stock market declined again Thursday on concerns the capital region could go back to stricter quarantine rules amid rising COVID-19 cases.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 35.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,029.01 on a value turnover of P4.3 billion. Loser overwhelmed gainers, 150 to 50, with 36 issues unchanged.

Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said the return to a modified enhanced community quarantine from the current general community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas was possible if the number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 85,000 by the end of July, as projected by experts from the University of the Philippines.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, dropped 3.6 percent to P3.19, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, shed 2.6 percent to P126.60.

Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, dipped 2.1 percent to P119.70, but Philex Mining Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific, climbed 3.5 percent to P2.99.

The rest of Asian stocks were mixed Thursday as investors juggled hopes for a new stimulus deal in Washington with coronavirus concerns and another flareup between China and the United States.

Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent, Sydney gained 0.3 percent, and Singapore climbed 0.9 percent, while Mumbai and Jakarta put on 0.6 percent.

But Shanghai fell 0.2 percent, though well off its earlier lows of more than one percent, while Seoul, Taipei and Wel-

lington were also down.

Optimism over the development of a vaccine and a wall of government and central bank cash is providing muchneeded support to equities as traders fret over a spike in new infections around the world and the reimposition of containment measures in key economies.

European leaders lifted sentiment this week when they finally agreed on an $860-billion rescue package for the eurozone, putting the focus on US lawmakers, with their earlier multi-trilliondollar program―which gives cash to households―about to wind down.

Republicans have been struggling to come up with a bill to counter a $3.5-trillion Democrat proposal, fanning concerns they will not come up with anything ahead of an August break.

However, reports said Mitch McConnell would soon unveil a $1-trillion plan after overcoming some differences with the White House. With AFP

TOP LOSERS

MOST ACTIVE

Manila

Standard

TODAY

Korean economy contracted by 2.9% in second quarter SEOUL―South Korea’s economy recorded its worst performance in more than 20 years in the second quarter, the central bank said Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic hammered its exports.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy contracted 2.9 percent year-on-year in the April-June period, the Bank of Korea said.

It was the fastest decline since a 3.8-percent drop in the fourth quarter of 1998, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.

Quarter-on-quarter, it shrank 3.3 percent, also the worst showing in more than 20 years.

South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the coronavirus outside mainland China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing was widely observed from March until it started loosening restrictions in May. But its economy has been unable to escape the global impact of the pandemic.

The country is highly trade-dependent, and exports plunged 13.6 percent year-on-year in Q2―the sharpest decline since 1974, in the wake of the OPEC oil crisis.

The decline was driven by “decreases in motor vehicles and coal & petroleum products”, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

The BOK forecast in May that the economy will shrink 0.2 percent in 2020, a dramatic downgrade from its February forecast of 2.1-percent growth.

But its governor Lee Ju-yeol said last week another downward revision to the prediction was “inevitable,” noting export declines were “deeper than previously expected.”

The International Monetary Fund last month also cut its growth forecast for South Korea, predicting it would shrink 2.1 percent this year― compared with an average 8.0 percent decline for the world’s advanced economies. AFP

NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING FOR

: The Stockholders of CENTURY PROPERTIES GROUP INC.

FROM

: The Corporate Secretary

SUBJECT : 2019 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on AUGUST 27, 2020 Please be informed that the annual stockholders’ meeting of CENTURY PROPERTIES GROUP INC. (the “Corporation”) shall be held on AUGUST 27, 2020, Thursday at 9:00 a.m., to be conducted virtually and attendance at the meeting will be via remote communication only.

Only common stock shareholders as of AUGUST 4, 2020 shall be entitled to notice and to vote at the said meeting.

The agenda for the said meeting shall be as follows:

In this file photo taken on May 16, 2020 cyclists ride on the rue de Rivoli in Paris as France eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

Biking craze: Demand out-pedals cycling industry

By Juliette Vilrobe PARIS, France―Bikes are booming across the globe as people seek to avoid crowded buses and trains for their daily commutes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic―or get back into shape after long months of lockdown.

But with sales exploding in many countries, the current cycling craze has left manufacturers and retailers out-pedaled by demand.

In Paris, where mayor Anne Hidalgo has been working hard to put cycling on the map, vastly increasing the number of bike lanes in recent years, would-be buyers often have to wait weeks to get their hands on a brand new velocipede.

“For three or four weeks now, I’ve had a dozen or so clients waiting. And I’ve had to return money to a few because I simply have no idea when I’ll have bikes for them,” independent Paris retailer Federico Mosca told AFP. One customer, 31-year-old Nicolas, said he had visited as many as eight different shops before getting lucky.

And even then, he was forced to bust his budget and buy a more expensive model than planned because the cheaper bike he wanted was sold out.

“I was looking for a specific bike and had given myself a month to buy one, but it’s not available anywhere,” he said.

Leading retail chain Decathlon said it too has waiting lists, but it can also refurbish secondhand bikes for more impatient customers.

French bike sales doubled in May and June compared to the same months last year, according to the sporting and cycling federation.

Sales are booming in most countries around the world.

Decathlon calculated that in Europe overall, sales “have increased two- and even threefold.”

In China, demand has increased fivefold since lockdowns were eased.

And in the US, sales of bikes have exploded, with online purchases alone skyrocketing in May by 5,000 percent over the figure for the same month last year.

Overall US sales, both online and in-store, jumped by 81 percent year-on-year to $1.1 billion (957 million euros) in May, according to People for Bikes, a coalition of manufacturers and retailers.

Broken chain But in addition to runaway demand from the end consumer, lockdowns have also made it difficult for European and US manufacturers to obtain parts.

The Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) estimates that 45 to 50 percent of parts for all bikes sold in Europe are imported from Asia.

Moreno Fioravanti, secretary general of the European Bicycle Manufacturers’ Association (EBMA), said the industry has “lost three months of production of components, and our stockpiles were used up in only two months.”

Pancho Pimentel, marketing chief for Summit Bicycles, which has five stores in California, said “there are shortages everywhere, from bike brands to parts.”

Cycling “works off of a global supply chain that has been interrupted due to COVID-19 and its consequences are being seen in every category,” he said.

According to CONEBI, 7.3 million bikes and e-bikes were imported into Europe last year, principally from Taiwan and Cambodia. AFP

1.

2.

3.

Call to order Certification of notice and the existence of a quorum Approval of the minutes of the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held on June 28, 2019 4. Annual Report of the President 5. Ratification of all Acts and Proceedings of the Board of Directors and Corporate Officers 6. Approval of the 2019 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements of the Corporation 7. Election of Members of the Board of Directors and three Independent Directors 8. Appointment of External Auditor for 2020 9. Other Matters 10. Adjournment In light of the current conditions and in support of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, there will be no physical meeting.

Stockholders may only attend and participate in the meeting by remote communication. Stockholders may vote electronically in absentia, subject to validation procedures.

Stockholders who intend to attend by remote communication are required to REGISTER via https://www.century-properties.com/asm2020/ on or before August 12, 2020.

The instructions, procedures and requirements for electronic voting in absentia and participation by remote communication shall be sent to the email address provided in the stockholder’s registration from.

The link through which the Meeting may be accessed shall be sent to the email address of the registered stockholder after validation. The procedures for participating in the meeting through remote communication and for casting of votes in absentia will be set forth and discussed in details in the Company’s Definitive Information Statement (SEC Form 20IS).

The Definitive Information Statement, Management Report, Audited Financial Statements, Quarterly Report/s and other documents relative to the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, including the Procedures and Guidelines on the participation by remote communication and voting in absentia may be accessed, beginning on August 5, 2020 through any of the following: 1.

Go to the Corporation website via this link: https://www.centuryproperties.com/

2.

3.

Go to the PSE EDGE portal via https://edge.pse.com.ph/ or; Request for a copy by sending an email to icsales@centuryproperties.com or danny.bunyi@divinalaw.com

For ASM-related queries, you may send an email to icsales@century-properties.com or danny.bunyi@divinalaw.com or contact us at (02) 7-7938905.

ATTY. DANNY E. BUNYI Corporate Secretary (MS-JULY 23, 2020)

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

B4 FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

Business

Villar Group starts telecom unit Streamtech

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Villar Group launched telecommunications unit Streamtech Systems Technologies Inc. to address the increased demand for faster connectivity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Streamtech plans to take over the internet systems operations of Planet Cable Inc., a multi-system operator offering cable TV services, cableInternet and digital video broadcast with operations in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

“We have high hopes of providing internet services to the farthest reach possible, also in line with our commitment to provide high-quality services to Filipinos across the country.

We are very confident that we can greatly boost the internet experience of our existing and future customers,” said Paolo Villar, owner and founder of Prime Asset Ventures Inc., the parent company of Streamtech.

The new telecom company established a strong partnership with Tier 1 global internet upstream providers in the Asia-Pacific and United States routes. Having international point of presence has allowed Streamtech to easily expand capacity to multiple Gigabit connectivity.

Localized content and peering add to its network strength, making it easier to deliver good connections using a fully meshed metro ethernet supporting fiber reach.

Streamtech also secured a direct partnership with one of the leading international telco equipment manufacturers, with the latter being the technology partner for its network equipment as well as its fiber to the home access technology.

Streamtech is initially offering services such as fixed broadband for residential and SMEs, direct Internet access and Metro E connectivity for enterprises.

Major clients include Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. which operates housing brands Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and Vista Residences; and essential-services brands PrimeWater, S.I. Power Corp., Kratos RES, E-Prime Business Solutions and Crystal Clear.

AREIT prices IPO at P27 per share to raise P13.57b AREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust firm owned by Ayala Land Inc., priced its initial public offering shares at P27 apiece to raise more than P13 billion.

AREIT will generate up to P13.57 billion in proceeds from the sale of 456.88 million common shares consisting of 47.86 million new common shares and 409 million secondary shares, plus 45.68 million in overallotment shares.

The final offering price is 10.15 percent lower than the maximum P30.05 per share that the company indicated in the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

AREIT’s IPO will be the country’s first REIT listing following the issuance of the REIT Act in 2009.

The offering period will run from July 27 to Aug. 3, 2020 while the listing of AREIT’s shares is set on Aug. 13.

AREIT’s property portfolio consists of three commercial buildings, including Solaris One and Ayala North Exchange and McKinley Exchange.

Net proceeds from the maiden share offering will be used to acquire Teleperformance Cebu from ALO Prime Realty Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Land.

After the IPO, Ayala Land will remain as the majority shareholder, with 51-percent interest in AREIT. BPI Capital Corp. will serve as the sole global coordinator for the maiden share sale while BPI Capital, UBS AG Singapore Branch, PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. will act as joint underwriters for the offering.

REIT aims to provide a new asset class to the public, allowing investors to diversify their portfolio and democratize ownership of real property assets in the Philippines.

PSE INDEX

Thursday, July 23, 2020

35.25 PTS. 6,029.01

TOTAL VOLUME 1,605,204,650 TOTAL TRADES 96,155 TOTAL VALUE 4,265,597,993.41 ADVANCES 50 DECLINES 150 UNCHANGED 36

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.3390

Japan

Yen

0.009335

0.4606

UK

Pound

1.273400

62.8283

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129001

6.3648

Switzerland

Franc

1.075731

53.0755

Canada

Dollar

0.745490

36.7817

Singapore

Dollar

0.722491

35.6470

Australia

Dollar

0.713600

35.2083

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655267

131.008

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266724

13.1599

Brunei

Dollar

0.719891

35.5187

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.031616

1.5599

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.4336

Euro

Euro

1.157400

57.1050

Korea

Won

0.000835

0.0412

China

Yuan

0.142880

7.0496

India

Rupee

0.013405

0.6614

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.235460

11.6174

New Zealand

Dollar

0.665600

32.8400

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033984

1.6767 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF San Miguel raises $500m in securities

ALTUS LISTING. Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. hosts a ceremonial bell ringing for the listing by way of introduction of Altus Property Ventures Inc. Attending the ceremony are (front row, from left) APVI director Faraday Go, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran, APVI treasurer and compliance officer Kerwin Tan, APVI chairman Frederick Go, PSE president and chief executive officer Ramon Monzon, Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines COO Renee Rubio; APVI corporate secretary Rosalinda Rivera, APVI vice president and controller Anna Katrina De Leon, APVI director Cora Ang Ley and PSE vice president Rachelle Blanch.

Two Lucio Tan’s children left out of new PAL board T

By Darwin G. Amojelar

WO children of tycoon Lucio Tan were left out of Philippine Airlines board of directors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sources said Vivienne Tan and Michael Tan were “not nominated” as part of PAL’s board of directors for 2020-2021.

Vivienne, Tan’s daughter with first wife Carmen Tan, is executive vice president/chief administrative officer of PAL. She will remain a director of Eton Properties Philippines and the Lucio Tan Group.

Michael, meanwhile, is a board member of PAL for 2019-2020 and will remain as president of the Lucio Tan Group and chief operating officer of Asia Brewery Inc. Sources said the newly-elected board of directors of PAL Inc. include Dr. Lucio Tan, Carmen Tan, Gilbert Santa

Maria, Mark Chen , Rowena Chua , Johnip Cua, Florentino Herrera III, Juan de Zuniga, Ryuhei Maeda , Lucio Tan III , Samuel Uy and Gregorio Yu. Vivienne and John Tan informed the board of PAL Holdings Inc. of their withdrawal from nomination to the board for 2020-2021 for “personal reasons.”

Mark Chen, an independent director of PAL Holdings Inc., the parent company of PAL, also backed out from his nomination as a board director.

PAL Holdings confirmed comprehensive loss of $183.1 million in the first quarter ending March 31, 2020 that reflected the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline

sustained a $14.7-million loss in the first quarter of 2019.

PAL said it registered a healthy net income of $37 million in January 2020, a 10-percent improvement from a year ago, before the pandemic forced a slowdown in February and the eventual suspension of domestic and international flights in March.

“To address the impact of the flight shutdown that persisted into April and May, PAL’s shareholders have infused new capital and endorsed an aggressive strategy to generate revenues and control costs, as the flag carrier gears up for a ‘new normal’ in air transportation,” PAL said.

The company said the other cost control strategies included a delay in the delivery of new aircraft, the suspension of capital expenditures, adoption of a skeletal work force set up during the current crisis period, cuts in senior management salaries and cutback on non-essential expenses.

Marubeni unit taking 50% stake in Ayala’s power plant

By Alena Mae S. Flores AXIA Power Holdings Philippines Corp., a subsidiary of Marubeni Corp., is taking a 50-percent stake in the 150-megawatt diesel plant of ACE Endevor Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AC Energy Philippines Inc. AC Energy said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday Endevor signed a shareholders’ agreement with Axia for the development, construction and operation of the 150-MW diesel power plant in Pililla, Rizal which is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2021.

Under the agreement, Axia will acquire 50 percent of the shares and

50 percent of the economic rights in Ingrid Power Holdings Inc., the special purpose vehicle of the diesel power plant, while AC Energy will hold 50 percent shares and 45 percent of the economic rights. Endevor will have 5 percent share of the economic rights in the project.

The plant will supply peaking and reserve power to the Luzon grid.

Ingrid and Endevor were among AC Energy Inc. subsidiaries acquired by the company in exchange for ACEPH shares. As of January, ACEPH infused P570 million into Ingrid to fund the project.

The joint venture is subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission.

AC Energy chief executive Eric Francia earlier said the company was exploring diesel power plant opportunities because, “we believe the country will need more peaking and reserve, ancillary capacity…especially in a world where you inject more renewables.”

Francia said that as more renewable energy was injected to the grid, there would be more intermittency of power, thus “you need ancillary for that.”

“This [Pililla plant] is going to be fast-start,” he said.

AC Energy is one of the country’s most aggressive energy players, expanding its power generation footprint here and abroad.

DIVERSIFIEd conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said Thursday it raised $500 million from the issuance of perpetual capital securities with a fixed initial interest rate of 5.5 percent per annum.

San Miguel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the $500-million securities would be issued under the company’s $3-billion medium term note and securities program.

The dollar-denominated notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.

The company earlier engaged BofA Securities, DBS Bank Ltd. and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers for this transaction. Jenniffer B. Austria

PH Resorts to open casino by Q2 of 2022

PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., the listed gaming and hospitality firm of businessman Dennis Uy, expects to open its first casino by the second quarter of 2022. The project was originally targeted to open in 2020.

PH Resorts chief operating officer Jose Angel Sueiro said the company was working towards the completion of the first phase of Emerald Bay Resort and Casino in Mactan, Cebu despite the current challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we are diligently working on the completion of the first phase of Emerald Bay by the second quarter of 2022. Our team continues working to ensure to reduce project costs without sacrificing quality. Our focus is getting Emerald Bay to open on time without cutting corners,” Sueiro said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Jenniffer B. Austria

PLDT, Smart back digital payments

PLDT Inc. and wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. encouraged their subscribers to use their expanded digital payment channels and online billing services, not only because these are more convenient and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also because these processes are more environment-friendly.

The shift to paperless transactions is already underway as customer payments via digital channels have jumped three-fold compared to last year, particularly after many parts of the country were placed under quarantine in midMarch of this year.

“The health and safety of our customers are our priority. By using our online payment channels, our customers do not have to physically go to our stores to pay their bill. It saves them time, money, and at the same time, protects them from possible exposure to COVID-19,” said Jane Basas, senior vice president and head of consumer wireless business at Smart.

“There’s a bonus. Online payments are greener,” she said.

Dagupan hospital adopt digital solutions

DAGUPAN Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital, a leading healthcare provider in the Metro Dagupan area, actively offers contactless payment options, so pßatients would not have to carry cash, lessening the chances of being infected by or being carriers of the new coronavirus.

Patients availing of the hospital’s Villaflor On Demand and Hello Dok services can pay via GCash and PayMaya. They may download and register on their e-wallet app of choice, then call DDVMH to avail of their needed services. The hospital’s call center agent will then request the needed details and provide the instructions and payment link for an efficient transaction.

Villaflor On Demand is the hospital’s mobile medical service offering laboratory extraction services in patients’ homes.

Hello Dok is an online consult program that allows patients to see a doctor through online channels such as Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Google Meet and Doxy.me.

Gov’t agencies ease rules on telecom towers

SM MASS TESTING. In support of the government’s drive to broaden testing for COVID-19, SM holds repeated rounds of rapid testing and RT-PCR testing for their employees and agency workers, so far covering more than 140,000 individuals across its supermarkets, retail stores, malls, residential and property companies. The group regularly tests against COVID-19 to assure the uninterrupted delivery of services to customers and to protect its workforce.

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology and other government agencies signed a joint memorandum circular to streamline the requirements and reduce procedural delays in securing the necessary permits for the construction of shared passive telecommunications tower infrastructure.

The JMC complements DICT’s recently issued Department Circular No. 008 series 2020, which provides for guidelines on shared PTTI or the common tower policy.

It aims to encourage the growth and development of independent tower companies as a pioneering sector for the development of a robust ICT environment, in line with the overall objective of enhancing wireless network coverage and quality of ICT services across the country.

“The signing of the guidelines is a significant step in addressing the nation’s connectivity needs that have be-

come more immediate because of the pandemic. The deployment of common towers, particularly in unserved and underserved areas, will improve not only internet condition, but also socioeconomic welfare through ICT,” DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said.

“One of the key reasons for our country’s slow deployment rate of telecommunication towers has been the red tape associated with its permitting requirements. With the passing of this JMC, ITCs will be unburdened with the multiple permitting requirements and can focus on the accelerated roll-out of PTTIs across the country,” he said.

The guidelines aim to shorten the entire timeline to a target period of 16 days, from the original period of over 200 days for constructing PTTIs by mobile network operators and ITCs duly registered with the DICT to facilitate the accelerated rollout of telecommunications infrastructure.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Sports

Marcial won’t fight Canelo or Golovkin FOR now, Eumir Felix Marcial won’t be seeking fights against the top two middleweight fighters Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin.

Marcial believes that he needs to more preparation before he can face them in the ring.

The 24-year-old Marcial said he needs to go down in weight when he gets ready for his first professional fight this October.

“Hindi ko muna iniisip iyun.

Alam ko malayo pa iyun. Ang dami pang aayusin para sa aking mga laban,” said Marcial.

Marcial, who is one of five national athletes who can earn the country’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo next year, is getting ready to go on the ring for three professional fights before the Olympics next year.

His promoter Sean Gibbons is making arrangements so that three bouts against not-so-prominent fighters will happen to allow him to stay prepared for the Olympics.

And as he prepares for the Olympiad, going down in weight is among his priorities.

“Iyung middleweight, ito po iyung fit sa akin. Medyo mataas pa po ang timbang ko,” said Marcial.

He was heavier when he joined the Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordan last March, when he beat Abilkhan Amankul of Kazakhstan via a split decision victory for the crown last March.

Marcial’s chance to qualify for the Olympics came when he hurdled Ashish Kumar of India via a split decision victory in the semifinals.

He said he has no issues in the going down in weight, because this will help keep him in shape as well. Álvarez is a four-division world champion, having held, the World Boxing Association, The Ring and lineal middleweight titles, and the WBA super middleweight titles since 2018.

Golovkin is known by his nickname “GGG” or “Triple G”, is a Kazakhstani professional boxer.

This two-time middleweight world champion has held the International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization titles since 2019.

For now, Gibbons is not keen on setting a fight for Marcial against these two.

Marcial will soon be flying to Los Angeles to train, and most of his fights will be handled with the help of promoters from Premier Boxing Championships, the same outfit which took care of most of Manny Pacquiao’s fights in the US. Peter Atencio

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

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Russell Westbrook (foreground) of the Houston Rockets dribbles the basketball during practice as part of the NBA Restart 2020 on July 22, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. AFP

Member-nations lobby for SEA Games events

By Peter Atencio

M

EMBER countries have raised many question on the events that will be played in next year’s Vietnam Sea Games.

Host Vietnam accepted appeals from numerous sports officials during an online SEA Games Federation meeting last Wednesday and will soon decide on a finalized list of sports events.

Vietnam will make the Games calendar known by November this year at the earliest.

In a meeting that was attended by Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino and secretary

general Ed Gastanes, Vietnam officials informed the attendees that that they need time to consider the 22 sports that are under appeal from member countries for inclusion.

There were appeals for 11 sports: indoor hockey, tenpin bowling, sailing cricket, skateboarding, sambo, floorball, netball, lawn bowls, squash and rugby sevens.

Aside from these, the inclusion of muay thai, triathlon, taekwondo, traditional boat race, jiujitsu, esports, arnis, obstacle course sports, kempo, teqball and soft tennis were also put forward.

Host Vietnam has also appealed for three sports: chinlone (sepak takraw), water polo and synchronized swimming.

So far, the number has been reduced from 56 events last year to 36 events next year.

Tolentino, who is also the represen-

tative of the eighth district of Cavite in Congress, said there are already 36 sports with 450 events, and organizers may accept four more sports disciplines, with one demonstration event.

“It’s for them to decide with eight countries asking more than 20 more sports,” said Tolentino at the end of the virtual conference.

Among the events that have been listed so far includes the two compulsory sports of athletics and aquatics, which has swimming and diving events.

There’s archery, badminton, basketball 5-on-5 and 3X3, boxing, billiards and snooker, canoe-kayak, chess, Xiangqui, cycling road and mountain bike.

Other sports mentioned were dancesport, fencing, football, futsal, golf, gymnastics’ artistic, rhythmic and aerobics, handball indoor and beach, judo, karate, muay, pencak silat and pétanque.

Specter of Olympic cancellation hangs over Tokyo TOKYO, Japan—Japan holds subdued celebrations Thursday to mark one year until the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the coronavirus pandemic raising stark concerns about whether the Games will go ahead.

In Tokyo, which should have been buzzing with thousands of athletes and fans by now, organizers will hold a small event at an empty National Stadium after the public were barred following a new surge in infections.

Olympic countdown boards have been quietly reset around the capital, where digital signs display the message “365 days to go to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics”.

Despite the setbacks and the downbeat mood, Japanese and Olympic officials have not wavered from the message that the Games will go on, serving as a symbol of the world’s recovery from the virus.

“They will be the first worldwide gathering after the coronavirus,” International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach insisted last week.

However, experts and officials—including Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe—have raised the prospect of the first peace-time cancellation of the multi-billion dollar Games if the pandemic is not under control by next year.

The historic decision in March to delay the Games came as the real scale of the pandemic was emerging and countries imposed lockdowns that threw training into chaos and forced the cancellation of qualifiers

United States, Brazil and India—the disease remains rampant.

And in places where lockdowns have ended or countermeasures been eased, the virus has often come roaring back, raising questions about the feasibility of an event involving tens of thousands of people arriving from around the world.

Public sentiment dips Public sentiment in Japan also appears less than optimistic, with two polls in July showing the majority of Japanese think the Games should be postponed again or cancelled altogether.

Only somewhere between one quarter and a third of respondents in the polls thought the Games should open as scheduled on July 23, 2021.

“I’m afraid about the situation even next year,” said Sachiko Ahunwan, a 50-year-old department store employee. “It’s unclear how far the coronavirus can But Japanese and Olympic officials have insisted that another delay is impossible.

The unprecedented one-year postponement has already caused a host of logistical and financial A woman wearing a face mask and holding an umbrella headaches. stands in the rain in front of a countdown clock for the One major obstacle has been cleared, with Topostponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games kyo 2020 confirming this month that it has sein Tokyo on July 23, 2020. AFP cured all the venues originally contracted for the Games.

Winning agreement from stadiums that were and test events.

Since then, restrictions have been eased across booked up long after the original Olympic date was much of Europe as infections and deaths from the considered among the most difficult challenges orgavirus decline, but elsewhere – including in the nizers faced. AFP

Westbrook joins Rockets workouts after quarantine MIAMI, United States—Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, whose positive COVID-19 test delayed his trip to the NBA restart bubble, rejoined the club Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) for his first team workout.

Westbrook was forced to quarantine for two weeks after testing positive, then arrived Monday and tested negative but still spent two days in isolation in his hotel room at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

While the league began scrimmage games Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time), Westbrook was adjusting to his first time on the court with NBA scoring leader James Harden and his other teammates.

“I’m just thankful and blessed to be able to go out and compete again,” Westbrook said. “Before I had to quarantine, I was in pretty good shape, so I should be all right.”

Westbrook said a stuffy nose was his only COVID-19 symptom and that he felt like he was able to stay in shape while in isolation.

“Just quarantining at home, trying to be productive, obviously not able to get on the basketball floor, but finding ways to kind of stay active and do as much conditioning I can probably do as far as that,” Westbrook said.

“I have to see if I can make a layup at this point. I got to start there and work my way from there.”

Westbrook, who joined the Rockets last July in a trade with Oklahoma City, probably will not play Friday in Houston’s first scrimmage against defending NBA champion Toronto after going through about 80% of the full workout, coach Mike D’Antoni said.

“We’ll wait the next two practices, see where he is, whether he wants to be thrown out there real quick or wants another couple of days,” said D’Antoni.

“Whatever he wants is cool. He knows his body. We’re not talking about a normal athlete. We’re talking about a super athlete.”

Westbrook was the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player after matching 1960s star Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple double for an entire season, producing his first of three consecutive triple-double campaigns with a league-high 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists. AFP

Whittaker reinvigorated by absence from UFC

By Reuel Vidal FORMER UFC middleweight champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker tries to bounce back into championship contention when he battles Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 174 to be held at the Flash Forum, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi On July 26, Sunday.

Whittaker has not fought for nine months or since he was knocked out by Israel Adesanya in the second round at UFC 243 when he lost his crown last October 5, 2019.

He says the long break from fighting has allowed him to fully recover from injuries and he’s eager to get back inside the octagon to fight.

“It feels good. It feels really good. I was hungry. I’ve been hungry. That break I had was exactly what I needed. It lit a fire in

me. It brought back the happiness and enjoyment in what I do,” said Whittaker in an online interview.

While the fight itself is just 25 minutes, the training and daily grind takes a toll on the fighter according to the former champion.

“I had to start enjoying again. And just having that break. Being away from the game, away from the training and away from the gyms, it just lit that fire in me. It re-invigorated me,” said Whittaker.

He added that the closed-door setting of the fight did not bother him because he was just excited to be able to travel the world to fight.

“That (absence of an audience) does not bother me so much. The thing is, I’m just happy to be fighting overseas. I’ve fought a lot in Australia. And I love fighting there,” said Whittaker.

“But at the same time, I get to travel the world. I get to visit exciting places for work.

I get to fight in front of different crowds. I get to experience the sort of life other people can’t. Granted it’s a little restricted right now. But it’s good. I’ve always wanted to come to places like Abu Dhabi.”

Whittaker said he does not feel any pressure to try to recover the championship he once held. He is just enjoying the game, enjoying the sport and enjoying training in the game.

“People view me as a top contender because I am a top contender. I am one of the best in the world. I’m still only 29, I think a lot of people forget that as well. So I have enough time to walk away from the game, Robert Whittaker (right) trades blows at the center of the octagon train skillsets, and come back at a later with Israel Adesanya in this file photo of their UFC Middleweight time,” said Whittaker. championship fight last year won by Adesanya. AFP

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Sports

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

McIlroy’s path to award gets boost M

IAMI—Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning a second consecutive Byron Nelson Award for low scoring were boosted Wednesday when the US PGA Tour trimmed the number of rounds needed to qualify.

The coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season, which featured a three-month hiatus from March to June, will require only a minimum of 35 rounds instead of the usual 50.

World number two McIlroy, a fourtime major winner from Northern Ireland, leads the tour this season with a 68.899 scoring average through 40 rounds as he chases a fourth career Nelson Award after 2012, 2014 and last year.

American Bryson DeChambeau ranks second on the list at 68.956 after 44 rounds.

The last player to repeat as the Nelson winner was Tiger Woods from 2005-2007.

The scoring average award is similar to the PGA of America’s Vardon Tro-

World champ skater details abuse suffered in China SINGAPORE—A world championship figure skater has opened up about physical and mental abuse she allegedly suffered while training in China, which included being kicked, hit and called insulting names.

Jessica Shuran Yu, who was born and trained in China but competed internationally for Singapore, is the latest athlete to make abuse allegations in recent weeks.

Yu detailed the alleged mistreatment in an Instagram post, saying that her coach hurled insults at skaters such as “lazy”, “fat”, “stupid” and “useless”.

“I was eleven years old when the physical abuse started,” wrote Yu, who competed in the 2017 world championships, describing how her coach would hit her using a plastic blade cover.

“When he got angry with me, which seemed to happen whenever I made the smallest mistake, he would ask me to reach out a hand.

“On especially bad days, I would get hit more than ten times in a row, until my skin was raw.”

Her coach would also kick her shin with the blade of a skate, the 19-year-old said.

“Even though I would be bleeding from his kick, I would have to turn around and continue practice without limping as to avoid angering him more,” she said in the post on Wednesday.

She said the physical abuse “levelled off when I started competing in the seniors. However, the verbal and mental abuse was consistent. I don’t remember a time without it.” AFP

Jessica Shuran Yu

phy, which has a 60-round minimum.

The last time winners differed was 2013 when Woods won the Vardon Trophy and Stricker the Nelson award.

Law leads on European Tour’s return at crowd-free British Masters In London, Scotland’s David Law burst to the top of the leaderboard as the European Tour returned to action at the British Masters in Newcastle.

Law began his first round at Close House with five straight pars but then birdied the next five holes in a row, produced a brilliant up and down from thick rough to save par on the 11th, and went on to birdie the 12th and 13th.

The resulting seven-under-par 64 left the 29-year-old a shot ahead of Oliver Fisher, Garrick Porteous and Renato

Paratore, with 2018 winner Eddie Pepperell among those two shots further back.

The European Tour has resumed behind closed doors due to the coronavirus for the forseeable future.

All players, caddies and officials were tested for COVID-19 before travelling to the venue and again when arriving on site, with no reported positives so far.

Face masks are required indoors and social distancing measures observed.

“I felt a little bit violated I must say,” said Fisher of the nasal swab test.

“It felt like he was trying to find my brain in there somewhere.”

Law had missed five cuts in seven events in 2020, including four in a row before the sport shut down due to the pandemic.

“I did not really know what to expect,” Law said. “You need to know it might not go your way this week. It’s only one round but it’s a very positive start.

“It was guilt-free time at home because there were no tournaments on that

you were missing to be at home. It was a strange time but I got time at home with the family; we have a 19-month-old daughter and we’ll never get that time again.”

Despite the lack of crowds, Pepperell had one particular viewer in mind when he recovered from a slow start with four birdies in six holes from the sixth.

“I think having TV cameras there was a bit of a God-send,” Pepperell said.

“When they’re there, you’re aware you’re on television. My mum’s watching, so I want to impress her.”

One of the most impressive rounds of the day came from former US Open champion Michael Campbell, who admitted he was “completely flabbergasted” with an opening 68.

Campbell has not made a cut on the European Tour since 2013 as he struggled with a foot injury and loss of form, but the 51-year-old New Zealander rolled back the years with the help of his caddie, his 21-year-old son Thomas. AFP

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy reacts after teeing off during round 2 of the 80th Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. AFP

McGregor’s ex-sparring partner, eager for UFC debut BERLIN—Having sparred with Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Conor McGregor earlier in his career, Germany’s Niklas Stolze now wants to step up and make his own mark in UFC. The 27-year-old welterweight from Magdeburg fights Russia’s Ramazan Emeev in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday when Australia’s Robert Whittaker and England’s Darren Till headline UFC Fight Night 174.

After Emmev’s original opponent pulled out with injury, Stolze seized the chance of a UFC debut when the call came in early July.

“I’ve always had the goal of fighting in the UFC and wanted to prove myself,” he told AFP from London before flying to the UAE. “I rang my girlfriend and we celebrated, but I wanted to sleep early so I could train the next morning.”

After the coronavirus pandemic caused a global shutdown in March, UFC boss Dana White decamped the event to Abu Dhabi’s locked-down Yas Island in the UAE. Strict hygiene protocols mean athletes and staff are tested twice before leaving for the UAE, and twice again on arrival.

Stolze, whose record is 12 wins and three losses, now has a chance to make the grade.

His nickname ‘Green Mask’ was born when his coach Sascha Poppendieck said he needed to attract attention on his way into the ring.

“I got a KO in the first fight I wore the mask, so I stuck to it.”

After his MMA debut in 2014, Stolze travelled to Dublin from Germany the following year to try his luck at McGregor’s Straight Blast gym.

After impressing McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh, Stolze was asked to spar with the Irish former double world champion, who retired last month.

Stolze helped McGregor prepare for his 2015 win against Jose Aldo and two bouts against Nate Diaz in 2016, which launched the Irishman to superstardom.

“He’s my role model and I am a huge fan, because of what he has achieved,” said Stolze.

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but we talked around training sessions.” AFP

Former PH gymnast, Grab Bayahinan aid OFWs FORMER Filipino gymnast and now Saudi Arabia-based Robingen Bernardo Padiz continues to extend a helping hand to his countrymen affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Padiz, a member of the Philippine Gymnastics’ Team during his prime before becoming a national coach, found his luck as an international gymnastics’ instructor and big-bike enthusiast in t he middle east. He has shifted gear in his advocacy from Riyadh to Al Khobar to distribute hundreds of foodpacks and essential needs of a big number of Filipinos displaced by the worldwide heath crisis in Saudi Arabia.

With the help of his friends from Al Faris International School, Alhambra Compound, Seder Village, Kingdom Compound, Albustan Muhaya, Alreem Com-

pound, Harley Davidson Riders and Pinoy Bilyarista Kingdom, Robingen led a heroic tour with the Philippine Riders Brotherhood and Grab Bayanihan to Al Khobar for another round of distribution of goods.

“A big number of affected OFWs in Riyadh benefited from my humble advocacy, with the help of our friends and Harley riders. Our next destination is Al Khobar, where hundreds of our kababayans are expecting ‘ayuda.’ Thank God, we are already here,” said Padiz, also a billiards’ ace in the oil nation in his message conveyed to his brother educator/sportsman Solomon Padiz Sr. in Manila.

Robingen’s generosity, passion for sports and big-bike riding he inherited from his late father Master Servillano Padiz, the founder of Philippine Sepak Takraw.

Former Philippine gymnast Robingen Bernardo Padiz (left, with mask) and his Grab Bayanihan friends distribute goods to a number of overseas Filipino workers hoping to get back home at the Riyadh Airport yesterday. The group was scheduled to head to Al Khobar for another round of distribution of goods to OFWs.

NBA, Titan announce PH partnership THE National Basketball Association and Titanomachy International, Inc. (Titan), the Philippines’ leading basketball specialty concept store, announced today a multiyear merchandising partnership to relaunch the official online NBA Store in the Philippines.

Operated by Titan, NBAStore.com. ph will go live Thursday, Aug. 6 and will provide fans across the Philippines with access to official NBA products on all mobile devices. NBAStore.com.ph will offer a comprehensive selection of authentic NBA merchandise from all 30 teams, including jerseys, shirts, footwear, headwear, outerwear, accessories, and equipment from brands including Nike, Jordan Brand, Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Herschel, Spalding and Stance.

“Our partnership with Titan provides an exciting opportunity to engage and deliver an enhanced digital retail experience to NBA fans in the Philippines,” said Lesley Rulloda, NBA Asia Associate Vice President of Global Merchandising. “We look forward to providing passionate Filipino fans with unprecedented access to authentic NBA products through the relaunch of the league’s online store.”

“At Titan, our mission is to inspire consumers to love the game through the best basketball products, stories and experiences,”

said Mike Ignacio, Managing Director of Titanomachy International, Inc. “Our newly-forged partnership with the NBA will enable us to cater to a wider range of Filipino basketball fans and equip them with new ways to express their love for their favorite teams, players and league.”

As the league’s 25th branded international online store, NBAStore.com.ph will offer special collections and exclusive product releases highlighted by locally designed apparel. During the launch, NBAStore.com.ph will showcase the NBA Philippines Tees Collection, featuring four unique designs inspired by the country’s premier NBA fanbase and passion for the game of basketball.

Fans can visit www.nbastore.com.ph and sign up for the newsletter to get access to exclusive offers on authentic NBA merchandise, and follow NBAStore.com.ph on Facebook and Instagram for more information on NBA product launches and brand highlights.

Filipinos can also watch NBA Republika Huddle on the NBA Philippines Facebook page, designed as a platform for local influencers, sports personalities and fans to discuss the latest events and happenings around the league.

For all the latest NBA news and updates, visit www.nba.com and follow NBA Philippines on Facebook and Twitter.

Bang Bang unveils new Project Next logo MOBILE Legends: Bang Bang recently hosted an official unveiling of Project NEXT, which is one of their most significant endeavors of the year.

In the latest trailer released by the most popular mobile MOBA game in the world, the development team has dropped a lot of info including the revamp and optimization of some heroes to show their unique traits, the official logo of Project NEXT and its stories behind.

The first and iconic hero of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang—Miya, will be the first on the revamp list and will embark on a new adventure, skill adjustment, and significant makeover. Miya's passive and second skills will grant higher damage output, stronger control ability, and more flexible positioning.

Another well-loved and highly requested hero, Alucard, who has a deep bond with Miya and is highly anticipated by players will also be revamped.

The team found that most of the players were

impressed with Alucard's capability in a one-onone duel, which led to a decision to maximize his damage dealt on a single enemy target.

The development team adjusted his original passive skill and removed the extra damage generated when hitting 2 targets. The new Passive allows Alucard to dump massive damage on a single target. Also, the extra life steal effect of his Ultimate Skill is removed and replaced with additional damage dealt on marked targets. The skill damage can trigger the Passive effect, further boosting his damage output.

“We’re very happy to share these new game updates to our loyal gamers to improve their gaming experience. It's worth mentioning that the makeover, skill tweaks, and the stories between Heroes have been reconstructed to various degrees. And since MLBB’s Project Next is a long-term project, we also designed an exclusive logo for Project Next to match MLBB’s vision in the pursuit of better quality and elevated gaming experience for our loyal gamers,” said William Mei, Marketing Manager of MLBB in the Philippines.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

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Miss Universe PH revolutionizes pageantry with digital series ‘Ring Light’

Miss Universe Philippines launches the eight-part series, ‘Ring Light,’ featuring 50 candidates from all over the country.

VERY WANG NICKIE WANG

P

OP star and television personality Sarah Geronimo-Guidicelli has been identified as one of the most valuable celebrity endorsers in the country. She is considered a reliable name due to her exponential social media presence, consumer approval, and wholesome personality, which most brands look for in a celebrity ambassador.

In other words, Sarah G has all the characteristics essential for successful brand endorsement.

With this in mind, The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has tapped the 32-year-old singer as the newest ambassador for the 2020 Census of Population and Housing program starting September. Her endorsement was launched via a virtual presser where a 60-second infomercial was released.

“We wanted the campaign to reach more audience that’s why we asked Sarah to join us in this endeavor. We chose her because of her massive influence,” Florante Varona, officer-in-charge, National Censuses Service, told Manila Standard during the virtual media event.

“There was no other choice. From the beginning, we already had Sarah in mind.

She is known to most Filipinos from all walks of life. As such, we believe her to be perfect for the job,” Varona added.

MISS Universe Philippines strives to break pageant norms and build a new beauty tilt that promotes empowered women with a purpose through its new online series, Ring Light, premiering on Sept. 27 on www.empire.ph.

Going beyond preliminaries and the coronation night, Ring Light is the first of its kind in the world as it gives pageant fans a closer look at what it truly takes to become a beauty queen. From rigorous training to fascinating challenges and fun, behind-thescenes activities, Ring Light proves that there’s more to beauty than meets the eye.

The eight-episode series follows 50

Sarah G

wants you get counted in “Sarah is very relatable. People easily identify with her. Sarah was and is our only choice to lead the campaign,” Joseph Cajita, population and housing division chief, said.

“It helps to have a popular figure leading the campaign because it gives the project more weight. People will definitely be more interested when they see their idol endorsing the campaign,” Minette Esquivias, assistant national statistician, added.

Also launched in the same press conference were the Census Population and Housing (CPH) Dance Video and Music Video shot (pre-pandemic) in Legazpi City (representing Luzon), Cebu City (representing Visayas) and Davao City (representing Mindanao), indicating that the upcoming 2020 Census of Population and Housing will be conducted nationwide.

The PSA was given a mandate through Executive Order No. 352 and Republic Act No. 10625 which will be kicked off on September of this year. All households and institutional populations will be

enumerated to count all members and determine their respective demographics and socio-economic characteristics.

The PSA will undertake the entire process of enumerating the population of the Philippines by going through collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating data, which will be achieved through the 2020 Census of Population and Housing or CPH. This entire process consists of listing by batch some characteristics of each individual and household at a certain time and area which will be conducted by the PSA representatives. Some data to be gathered are sex, age, marital status, education, religion, ethnicity, disability, occupation, and records of birth and death. Information on main sources of water, electricity, fuel resources, housing units, garbage disposal, toilet facility, ICT devices, vehicles, and internet access will also be collected.

The 2020 CPH aims to provide the government executives and policymakers the updated data on population and

aspiring Miss Universe Philippines candidates and takes viewers through their inspiring journey to the crown.

A portion of each subscription will go to the candidates’ chosen beneficiaries as well as partner organizations. Each Miss Universe Philippines candidate has a corresponding referral code that will directly benefit her chosen personal beneficiary. Fans can check out their favorite candidate’s Instagram page for the referral code and use it when purchasing their subscription.

“We’re very excited to launch Ring Light, the first-ever fundraising online

pageant series that will allow fans to take the same journey to the crown while making a positive impact. With this online series, we hope to inspire our viewers to find their own light and empowerment and show that beauty is not only skin deep,” says Miss Universe Philippines National Director Shamcey Supsup-Lee All eight episodes, including five learning episodes, a challenge episode, the preliminaries (swimsuit and gown competition), and the grand finale, will be available to stream on www.empire.ph for a one-time fee of P299.

Sarah G has been tapped by the Philippine Statistics Authority to promote the country’s population and housing census campaign.

housing that could be used as bases for their social and economic development plans, policies, projects, and programs.

The results of the census will also be used to develop key strategies for population management. This will also be beneficial to businesses, industries and non-profit organizations, including research and academic institutions. The 2020 CPH to be undertaken in the country starting Sep. 1 will be the 15th Census of Population and 7th Census of Housing.

“More than 100,000 enumerators

and Census supervisors will conduct the house-to-house data gathering all over our country. Census interview will last for only 15 to 30 minutes per household,” PSA’s assistant national statistician shared with Manila Standard.

“The will be following safety precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic, like the wearing of facemasks, physical distancing and adhering to the health protocols of the government,” the statistician ended.

Virtual benefit concert raises over P1 m for students and teachers

Delicious Saturday with Kara David Broadcast journalist Kara David

BEGINNING tomorrow, join Kara David in her food adventures as Pinas Sarap moves to a new timeslot—now every Saturday at 7:45 p.m. on GMA News TV. This weekend, brace yourself for a flavorful food trip as Pinas Sarap airs one of the viewers' favorite episodes where the show went to Albay in Bicol.

Bicolanos are known for being ‘uragons’ or daring, especially when it comes to their food choices, which are mostly spicy. From appetizer to dessert, Bicolanos add the very hot sili to their dish—pansit bicol express, kandingga, and tinutungang manok!

For dessert? They have a mix of sweet and spicy flavors with sili ice cream and cold brew chili.

Pinas Sarap also highlights another popular Bicolano dish, the pinangat that is made of gata or coconut milk and gabi leaves. Pinangat has a lot of versions. Bicolano also gave it an Italian twist through pinangat pasta and Mayon pizza. They also have inulokan, another kind of pinangat except it contains ulok or freshwater crab.

PLDT Home’s live fundraising concert titled At Home with PLDT: No Learner Left Behind successfully raised over P1 million worth of funds to help address the challenges of many students, teachers, and schools nationwide as they adapt to the new normal in education and online distance learning.

Led by the National Artist for Music Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, the online concert gathered some of the country’s most talented and respected OPM legends Regine Velasquez alongside husband singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid, Martin Nievera, and Pops Fernandez. They were joined by musical theater artists 8 Taal Ensemble, Sheila Valderama, Yanah Laurel, Lara Maigue, Gabriela Pangilinan, Gian Magdangal, Arman Ferrer, Flord Tena, and David Ezra who sang songs full of hope and inspiration for the future.

As many families face difficult situations due to the pandemic, the benefit concert has become a venue for Filipinos to show support for each other as they THE Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Instrument Petting Zoo continues with its live online program with featured bassoon players Adolfo Mendoza and Frenvee Andra on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. via the PPO Facebook page.

For the instrument petting zoo session, Mendoza and Andra will talk about the bassoon and demonstrate how it is played. They will also perform classical pieces suited for the bassoon.

Mendoza finished his Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music under Prof. Romeo Verayo and Prof. Arnaldo Custodio. He studied with the NHK principal bassoonist. Prof. Koji Okazaki at the Elizabeth University of Music in Hiroshima Japan for his Master’s Degree.

He was a full scholar at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing arts under Prof.

Kam Sui, principal bassoonist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He finished his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A) at Texas Tech University in Texas, U.S.A. in 2016 under Prof. Richard Meek.

Mendoza is the Principal Bassoonist

rediscover what really matters to them – their loved ones at home. With PLDT Home’s long-time commitment to make education and online learning accessible to more Filipinos, the country’s fastest home broadband continues to deliver the strongest and most reliable connections so that families can enjoy meaningful relationships and create an effective learning environment for children at home.”

During the free online concert, viewers enjoyed iconic songs and OPM hits such as Sa Piling Mo and Hanggang Ngayon sang by Ogie and Regine, and Pagdating ng Panahon by Martin and Pops. They also enjoyed covers of We are Family, You’ve Got A Friend, and Home­—all of which are songs that evoke encouragement and hope to help everyone in these tough times.

The concert will be uploaded for replay streaming on the PLDT Home’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The movement ‘No Learner Left Behind’ is a joint initiative by PLDT Home and PLDT-Smart Foundation which aims to make education accessible for all as

the country promotes distance learning in the new normal. All funds raised from the concert will be donated for the benefit of students and teachers in far-flung communities, enabling them through broadband connectivity and maximize the use of technology as they continue their

Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Regine Velasquez, and Ogie Alcasid joined forces in PLDT’s virtual fundraising concert held last week.

PPO Instrument Petting Zoo with Mendoza and Andra

PPO’s Adolfo Mendoza (left) and Frenvee Andra

of the PPO, a faculty member of the Sta. Isabel College of Music and the Conductor of Trinity University of Asia Symphonic Band.

Andra, on the other hand, obtained his

school activities from home.

Interested donors can continue to show support to the cause and donate through the PLDT-Smart Foundation, Inc.’s Paymaya and bank accounts, or Text DONATE<Space><Amount> and send to 3456.

Bachelors in Music Degree in Bassoon Performance at the University of Santo Tomas under the tutelage of Prof.

Severino Ramirez. He also studied under John Mostard and Adolfo Mendoza.

He pursued his Master’s Degree from Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima under the legendary bassoonist Koji Okazaki, Principal Bassoon of NHK Orchestra. He founded the I-House Woodwind Quintet in Hiroshima. He was also the Bassoon Principal of the Hiroshima Festival Orchestra in 2001 and Instructor of Bassoon with the Hiroshima Junior Orchestra.

Andra is the Music Director of the Sta. Cecilia Band 89 City of General Trias Cavite. At present he leads the newly formed Gentri Youth Symphonic Band which he co-founded with the City of General Trias.

A project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the instrument petting zoo aims to promote appreciation for musical instruments of the orchestra and its music among children and families.

It is held every Sunday at 4:00 p.m., and runs for several months.

Catch the Musical Instruments Appreciation Series on the official PPO Facebook page.

Life

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

C4

TRAVEL AND LEISURE

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020

BACK TO THE PAST.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, an open-air museum and heritage resort consisting of 128 guest rooms and 63 elite casas or houses, is a restored piece of history saved from total ruin and neglect in Barangay Ibaba in Bagac, Bataan.

(Inset) Visitors can enjoy nostalgia and romance on horse-drawn carriages. (Photos from Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar / Facebook)

By Honor Blanco Cabie

S

EVEN years ago, when my family visited Bataan, on the peninsula once drenched by the blood of Allied freedom fighters, there has risen a living museum of Philippine customs and traditions reborn in a community now visited by Filipino and foreign tourists.

The customs and traditions of the Filipinos, from the 18th- to the 20th-century Philippines, is seen—thanks to costumed male and female cultural tour guides—in the reconstructed houses of stone, stilt houses built in that span, and the different dances performed by a dance troupe during the cultural night.

These houses were old and decaying architectural pieces of a bygone era and slowly fading into the background of urban life, according to Mabel, one of the weekend tour guides, who spoke her lines in impeccable Filipino.

She explained before her assigned 20-something group of weekend visitors, from different parts of the country and some from overseas, how Filipinos lived in as early as the 18th century, their manners and traditions—no smiles during picture taking to stress the character of the Filipino women of the era—and their lifestyle.

Some of the houses were opened to the visitors who had a quick travel back in time with Mabel who related how the Filipinos then lived in the different houses that dot the 400 hectares of bayside area fronting Bagac Bay on the country’s western seaboard.

The 27 architectural pieces were painstakingly reconstructed from different parts of the country and rebuilt, according to the tour guide, “brick by brick” and “plank by plank,” and now stand dazzling against a backdrop of verdant mountains

AFTER having been locked down for so many months, subsisting on homecooked, takeout, and delivered meals, one can’t help but hanker for some fine dining experience with his/her favorite entrée. This is why when news broke that the Inter-Agency Task Force has finally allowed our 5-star hotels to open their restaurants to the public, I immediately planned my culinary pilgrimage.

Of course, I knew right away that many restrictions were in place and safety protocols have been set up to ensure the well-being of the dining public. I also found out that the restaurants were allowed only 30 percent of their capacity which, to my mind, makes the dining experience less jovial. Nevertheless, the anticipation of dining in these places gave me the same feeling as when I was a little boy waiting to open Santa’s gifts on Christmas Day. Here are some of the foodie destinations I visited: Conrad Manila China Blue has always been a favorite stopover because of its modern interpretation of authentic Chinese cuisine well-curated by celebrity Master Chef Jereme Leung and Executive Chinese Chef Eng Yew Khor.

Some of their signature dishes which I thoroughly enjoyed were Steamed House Specialty Truffle Mushroom Buns, Wagyu Beef Cheeks and Tendons with Radish Hot Pot, Homemade Spinach Tofu, and Spicy Eggplant in minced Chicken Sauce.

I noticed that their extensive menu also offers Braised Bird’s Nest Soup with Superior Crab Roe, Deep-fried

Time travel in Bagac’s quaint living museum

There is also Casa Cagayan, as well as rain-fed rice fields and a runwhich has, at present, four houses ning river that empties into the sea. along the shoreline of the property One of the houses is the Casa Candwhich were originally from Cagayaba, owned by a prominent family in an province.

Candaba, Pampanga, used as the resiDuring the early 20th century, the dence of the Spanish governor general wood houses were referred to as the when he visited the province.

Poor Man’s Houses—built on stilts The interior of the rebuilt house was with the three trunks in their natural sturdy but simple and devoid of external shape used as posts and columns details, but the interior was neo-Gothic to give its residents extra space for in influence—from the arches, brackets, relaxation, storage, and livelihood to column details. activities.

The weekend visitors were also The afternoon tour is capped by a shown the Casa Luna, built in 1850, dinner either at the Filipino restauoriginally owned by a prominent famrant or the Italian restaurant, soon afily of Namacpacan (eventually renamed ter a cultural show performed by the Luna), La Union.

Las Casas Filipinas Dance Group The immense symmetrical house was that allows the visitors to have a constructed on a square plan typical of glimpse of the different dances of the Ilocano balay a bato or stone house, the archipelago of 7,107 islands at with the ground floor used for carriages low tide. and store room for garlic, onions, and The dances include “maglalatik,” tobacco harvested at different times of carinosa,” pandanggo sa ilaw,” the year.

The second floor, where the bedrooms The author and his family pose outdoors before their breakfast. “itik itik,” “sayaw sa bangko,” and “tinikling,”—the last a winner for are distributed round the grand living structure. the audience, when some are invited to room, is shielded by the volada or short Continuous lower eaves are found make the rhythmic steps with “instant” flight on the entire length of the façade. throughout the top of the second floor The rear portion of the second floor is a sliding windows, and the lower windows dance instructors from among the young grand dining room serviced by an equally or the ventanillas were also secured with dancers, many of whom are college or high school students and out-of-school large kitchen area with an azotea which is decorative wooden grills. adjacent to the toilet and bath.

The Paseo de Escolta, where many of youth.

Like Mabel, others like Olive and Joy There is also the Casa Meycauayan, the weekend travelers were billeted, is a originally constructed in 1913 in San Fer- strip of supposedly commercial structures as well as Maylody Gonzales were very nando, Pampanga, which was constructed which are replicas of the typical Escolta accommodating and ready with the necout of adobe stone on the ground floor and buildings in Manila, the country’s capital, essary information travelers needed during the overnight weekend stay of the wood on the upper floor in the typical ba- during the early 20th century. hay na bato (stone house) style.

The structures in Casa Escolta, which visitors.

Maximilian Santos, 7, of Toronto, CanThe original house was generally a has 17 rooms with individual toilets and classic example of the passive cooling baths, were built based on old photo- ada, was excited when he and members of his clan reached the community by ventilation adopted throughout the entire graphs found in magazines.

5-star dining… once again Crab Claw coated with Shrimp Paste and Salted Egg Taoso, Deep-fried Lobster with Yuzu Dressing Mango Salsa and tropical fruit, and Goose Liver Mousse Cherries Squid Ink Crumble.

Feasting on these Chinese culinary delights made me feel like I was ready to speak Mandarin even if I don’t know a single word of the language!

Joy Nostalg Hotel & Suites Manila For something less formal, but just as filling and delectable, I drove halfway across town to this premiere hotel in the Ortigas Business District. I heard about their World of Burgers Promo from some friends, and wanted to be sure I would sink my teeth into it.

Currently available at The Nostalgia Lounge & Bar for lunch and dinner is a wide array of juicy, mouthwatering burgers from all over the world. You can have fun choosing from these: The Philippines’

Joy Nostalg’s very popular Bayani Burger

Bayani Burger has longganisa and fried egg; The Greek Parthenon Burger features chicken patty and feta cheese; Vietnam’s Banh Mi Burger uses pork patty and fish sauce; South Korea’s Bibimburger highlights soy-glazed beef patty and kimchi; The French Ça Va banners cognac-flamed beef patty and bleu cheese; Spain’s Con-

Conrad Manila’s Deep-fried Crab Claw

private vehicle through 146 kilometers of the North Luzon Expressway and thickly asphalted roads of Pampanga and Bataan that snaked by the side of Mount Samat through tree-lined national highway. ”I’m excited, I want to swim now,” Maximilian told his grandfather when he heard the roar of furiously lapping waves after the tour of the stone houses that stand round village cobblestone streets that have witnessed visitors enjoying nostalgia and romance on horse-drawn carriages. ”It’s amazing,” his 3-year-old maternal cousin Mirko Alexander chased his line, to which the latter’s 5-year-old brother Mikhail Bernard agreed.

Felisa vda. de Dilon, 95, of Nueva Ecija, herself arrived in the community on a wheelchair with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, but appeared happy to see members of her family, particularly the children, in-laws, and the younger generation enjoying the food at the Filipino restaurant.

Cris, Gerry, and Lui and their motherin-law Maria Rosa themselves were having their day as Roel Roma and Hazel Corpus serenaded the family with two traditional Tagalog love songs and the Ilokano “O Naraniag A Bulan (Oh Luminous Moon).”

The four were joined by their respective spouses Francisca, Mary Anne, Lord Bernardo, and Amanidong as well as the three minors while the weekend winds blew softly through the second floor of the restaurant.

The walk back to their Casa Escolta house for the weekend, on rain-washed cobblestones, accented their time travel.

Steak Café de Paris, and Country Crispy Chicken, among others, which is a perfect way to reunite with your loved ones after having been separated for several months during the lockdown.

The restaurants of the other hotels beckon, but they will have to wait until such time that I develop the appetite once again. For now, I have to take heed of my cardiologist’s caution on calorific engagements such as these.

I may have been isolated from these culinary delights for several months, but my recent foray into these yellow brick road of 5-star dining more than made up for it.

quistador Burger boasts of beef patty with chorizo mayo; and India is represented by the Spice Burger with curried potato rosti and mango chutney.

If you’re crazy about hamburgers, just as I am, I suggest you make reservations immediately for your share of these sumptuous, meaty specialties, because due to the limited capacity, the place is always full. Yuppies and business executives were making a beeline to the venue when I went there.

Century Park Hotel It was convenient for me to drive to this nearby hotel, only a few minutes away YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE from my residence, to partake of their FiliMy chiropractor did not call me pino dishes which are part of their internaafter all. I stand corrected. tional cuisine offerings.

My seafood cravings were satisfied by their Grilled Prawns, Pan-fried Salmon For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@ Fillet, and Blue Marlin Supreme. They also had Grilled Lamb Chops, Sirloin gmail.com.

Century Park Hotel’s Salmon Shioyaki