Manila Standard - 2020 August 7 - Friday

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Recession as GDP nosedives Pandemic sends economy plunging by 16.5% to a 39-year low

Palace upbeat on recovery from slump

By Julito G. Rada

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HE COVID-19 pandemic has pummeled the economy into a recession—its first in three decades--as gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 16.5 percent in the second quarter after declining 0.7 percent in the first three months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.

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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Othel V. Campos and Macon Ramos-Araneta MALACAÑANG remains optimistic that the Philippines can soon recover after it officially entered a recession with a 16.5 percent economic plunge in the second quarter due to COVID19-related lockdowns.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that while a contraction in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected, he was concerned that the drop is “much worse” than what the government’s economists predicted.

Despite this, Roque said, economic managers have put together an economic recovery program dubbed as “PH-Progreso” or the “Philippine Program for Recovery with Equity and Solidarity”, to save the economy from collapsing.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa said this brought the contraction to 9 percent for the first half, the steepest decline among ASEAN economies. In the same period, Thailand’s economy contracted 6.5 percent while Malaysia’s shrank by 3.9 percent.

The second quarter decline was the worst since records began in 1981.

As a result of the poor first half, the government is now looking at a fullyear GDP contraction of 5.5 percent.

PSA data showed that the main contributors to the decline were manufacturing, -21.3 percent; construction, -33.5 percent; and transportation and storage, -59.2 percent.

Among the major economic sectors, only agriculture, forestry, and fishing increased with 1.6 percent growth. In-

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PH cases near 120,000, top Indonesia tally

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WORST IN 39 YEARS. Measured in terms of the gross domestic product, the economy fell by 16.5 perent in the second quarter of 2020, the lowest since 1981.

Source: PSA

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz THE Philippines on Thursday overtook Indonesia as the epicenter of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,561 new cases, raising the total to 119,460.

Indonesia logged 116,871 infections as of Wednesday with an average of 1,850 new infections reported daily in the past seven days.

This marks the eighth consecutive day during which more 3,000 new cases were reported.

Of the 3,561 reported cases, 2,023 are fresh and 1,538 were reported late.

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BAYANIHAN 2. House Majority Leader and Co-Chairman of the Defeat COVID-19 Ad-Hoc Committee (6th from

left) Martin Romualdez, together with deputy majority leaders, deputy speakers and minority leaders flash the ‘One Sign’ late Wednesday night at the plenary of the House of Representatives after approving on second reading HB 6953 or Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, providing for Covid-19 response, and recovery interventions. Ver Noveno

LOCAL ROUNDUP

• Virus hot spots: Canteens, hubs • Bed policy

By Willie Casas and Joel Zurbano PREPONDERANT PETITIONS. Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties led by former Vice President Jejomar Binay (3rd from left) on Thursday, August 6, 2020 filed a petition challenging the legality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 before the Supreme Court. Theirs becomes the 25th petition against the ATA which has taken effect on July 18, 2020. Norman Cruz

24 Filipinos hurt in Beirut blast

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the number of Filipinos injured in the powerful explosion that struck Beirut, Lebanon, killing at least 137, last Tuesday had risen to 24.

Foreign Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said most of the injured were house-

hold service workers.

Reports reaching Manila, quoting Lebanon’s health minister said at least 5,000 we wounded in the explosion that shook Beirut, with hundreds reported still missing, raising fears the death toll would rise.

At the same time, the reports said Next page

PhilHealth funds dwindle, exec quits

By Julito Rada, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Willie Casas FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Thursday the controversial state insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. “may run out of money” by late 2021 or in early 2022 due in part to the agency’s inability to make secure projections of its fund life

because of a poor information system.

Dominguez made his statement even as PhilHealth Vice President for Operations Augustus De Villa on Thursday tendered his “irrevocable resignation” for reasons still unknown.

De Villa did not cite any reason for his resignation, but he vowed to cooperate with the congressional investigations on the alleged irregularities in the Next page

CANTEENS, smoking areas, and other “spots of convergence” in workplaces were found to be sources of “great contamination” for COVID-19, Task Force Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday.

Workplaces, particularly in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal, were also guilty of a “great violation” of minimum health standards such as physical distancing, the chief implementer of the country’s pandemic response strategy said.

“We saw that the most critical areas right now are the workplace, in what

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Europe tightens up as virus 2nd wave looms EUROPE tightened virus restrictions to face the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 as the worldwide death toll crossed 700,000.

Several European countries and cit- and new face mask and quarantine ies reimposed tighter restrictions, in- rules elsewhere. cluding a “wake-up week” in Greece A total of 703,640 deaths have been re-

WORLD ROUNDUP

corded so far around the world, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources as of 0300 GMT Thursday.

Europe remains the hardest-hit region with 211,764 fatalities, but the number of deaths is rising fast in Latin America, Next page

SOLIDARITY. Israelis take a stroll past the city hall in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on Aug. 5 2020, lit up in the colors of the Lebanese national flag in solidarity, a day after a devastating blast at the port of Lebanese’s capital, in Israel’s latest gesture toward a country with which it is technically at war. AFP

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News

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Binay group bucks anti-terrror law

By Rey E. Requejo

F

ORMER Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Senator Rene Saguisag on Thursday led the convenors of the Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties in filing the 25th petition before the Supreme Court assailing the constitutionality of Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, that took effect on July 18.

The petitioners asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order to enjoin the implementation of RA 11479 and, subsequently, to declare the ATA as null and void.

They want the ATA declared unconstitutional for its vagueness that they say leads to a “chilling effect, infringement on the right to due process and violation of the equal-protection clause of the Constitution.”

“According to the Supreme Court, a statute or act may be said to be vague when it lacks comprehensible standards that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ in its application,” the petitioners said in a statement.

“The overbreadth doctrine, on the other hand, decrees that ‘a governmental purpose may not be achieved by means which sweep unnecessarily

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He said the government has also recalibrated the budget for 2021 and restarted the Build, Build, Build infrastructure programs, subject to health and safety protocols, to create jobs.

“Our resolve to recover at the soonest possible, however, remains strong. Protect life for livelihood is our battle cry,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Roque said the public should also take into consideration that the Philippines is not the only nation facing an economic crisis.

“COVID-19 has had an adverse economic impact on countries like Singapore, Indonesia, the United States, France, Spain, Mexico,” he said.

He recognized the hardships of Filipinos, especially low-income families, noting that the government provided an emergency subsidy program after it decided to impose lockdowns across the country.

Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Roque said the main contributors in the decline were the decline in manufacturing, construction, and transportation and storage sectors that were greatly affected by the lockdowns.

He also said the Palace expects an improvement in the performance of these sectors during the second semester of the year, with gradual reopening of the economy and the proposed Bayanihan to Recover As One or Bayanihan 2.

In a separate statement, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said that despite the economic slump, the country is in a “much stronger” position to address recession in the long term.

Andanar said the government will continue to strike a balance between supporting the economy while ensuring everyone’s protection, especially that of the country’s health care workers.

“We firmly believe that we will heal and rise again,” he said.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman, president and chief executive of PLDT on Thursday said the contraction of the country’s economic output in the second quarter was cause for concern, as it could affect people’s disposable income.

“The 16.5 percent contraction is worrisome,” Panglinan said, adding that the ability of the people to spend on the telco products may be affected in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

dustry and services both decreased during the period by 22.9 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.

On the expenditure side, major items that declined were household final consumption expenditure, 15.5 percent; gross capital formation, 53.5 percent; exports, 37 percent; and imports, 40 percent.

On the other hand, government final consumption expenditure grew 22.1 percent.

Net primary income from the rest of the world and gross national income declined by 22 percent and 17.0 percent, respectively.

Mapa said the value of the Philippine economy in nominal terms at current prices stood at P8.6 trillion in the first half, lower than the P9.28 trillion in the same period last year.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said if the government did not impose responses to contain the spread of the disease, including lockdowns that encompassed most of the second quarter, GDP would have contracted by a steeper 11.5 percent in the first half.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno, on the other hand, said, “The worst is behind us, but we are not out of the woods yet.”

“The Q2 GDP numbers were largely due to the comprehensive lockdown during the quarter. As we gradually reopen the economy, economic activity has started to pick up. No doubt, given the sharp drop of the economy in Q2, I am convinced that Q3 will be better than Q2, and that Q4 will be much better than Q3,” Diokno said.

He said the days of comprehensive, nationwide lockdowns were over as they exact a heavy toll on the economy, jobs, livelihoods and incomes.

“Henceforth, the focus of national leaders should be on more localized village level or building level containment. Isolation facilities should be built in all major cities and large municipalities, in support of the government’s test, trace and treat strategy,” Diokno said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist

more than 300,000 people had been displaced from their homes, with authorities declaring Beirut a “disaster city” and imposing a two-week state of emergency.

It was still unclear what exactly

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Hospitals told to comply with bed allocation policy

we call economic hubs,” Galvez said during the launch of the One Hospital Command in Makati City.

“We have these kinds of (coronavirus case) spikes and we saw that mass transport and common areas where our workers eat are very vulnerable,” he added.

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“The DoF has been in meetings with PhilHealth. We [earlier] told them that their current state of information system does not allow them to actually make secure projections on their fund life,” Dominguez said during the second-quarter’s GDP virtual press briefing.

“Because their information system is in shambles, we have told them this since October [of] last year.”

PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales, meanwhile, said if

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Few hospitals have been able to comply on the requirement to allocate a certain percentage of their beds to COVID-19 patients, the Department of Health said on Thursday.

Cases in Metro Manila and nearby provinces continue to surge, leaving many hospitals with fully-occupied COVID wards.

Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said when the DOH first directed Senator Panfilo Lacson wanted his job, “by all means.”

“Perhaps he might be more effective,” said Morales as he reiterated that he was serving at the pleasure of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“If I’m not needed, I will just think it out, it’s not easy. There’s nothing I would want. But as a good soldier, I will follow.”

Lacson on Thursday challenged the “corrupt elements” at PhilHealth to declare a moratorium on corruption, at least during the pandemic.

“Who knows, they might actually learn that it feels good not to be corrupt, and thus develop an aversion to corruption,” he said.

broadly and thereby invade the area of protected freedoms.

“The definition of a ‘designated person’ (Section 3), definition of the term ‘terrorism’ (Section 4) and other penalized acts (Sections 5-12) of the ATA are vague and overbroad, and must be struck down as unconstitutional.”

The petitioners say RA 11479 is vague and constitutes a violation of due process for its failure to accord persons, especially the parties targeted by it, fair notice of what to avoid.

“Such vagueness also leads to a ‘chilling effect,’ and the Supreme Court has ruled that an overbroad statute is unconstitutional because of its ‘chilling effect’ on the freedom of expression.

ATA is unconstitutional on its face as its provisions infringe upon the right to due process,” the petitioners said.

“The authority granted by the law to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) to authorize the arrest of suspected terrorists violates the guaranty of due process under the Constitution. Section 29 of the ATA uses the phrase ‘taken custody of a person’, which according to both the Rules of Court and jurisprudence is a form of arrest that requires a judicial warrant except in cases of warrantless arrests. The due process clause requires the existence of a probable cause before a warrant of arrest is issued.

“The ATA grants the ATC the power to issue the authority to take into custody a person based only on mere suspicion, which would put in constant danger the rights of persons under the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. It would violate not just the rights to life and liberty, but is also inimical to free speech.”

Nicholas Mapa said the 16.5-percent contraction in the second quarter was “worse than expected” with the strict lockdown measures “shackling oncepromising growth momentum.”

“The Philippine economy crash-landed into recession with the 2Q GDP meltdown showcasing the destructive impact of lockdowns on the consumptiondependent economy. With record-high unemployment expected to climb in the coming months, we do not expect a quick turnaround in consumption behavior, all the more with COVID-19 cases still on the rise,” Nicholas Mapa said.

He said with consumption cratering by 15.5 percent, investor sentiment will likely go into freefall with the recent investment boom snuffed out by the pandemic.

He said that while emphasis on infrastructure under the government’s Build, Build, Build program might revive construction activity to some extent, household spending would continue to be sidelined for the foreseeable future because of rising unemployment and a downturn in remittances.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said while the decline in Q2 GDP was huge, signs of recovery were beginning to be seen. He said manufacturing production, exports, and imports have taken a U-turn as the pace of decline slows.

“The volume of production index was -39 percent in April but improved to -19 percent by June. The second quarter contraction averaged -29 percent, and we expect it to gradually recover in the coming months,” he said.

“Similarly, exports and imports are beginning to recover. Exports improved from -50 percent in April 2020 to -13 percent in June 2020, and averaged -30 percent in the second quarter. Exports to China, one of our largest trading partners, improved from -55 percent in April to a 2.8 percent expansion in June. As China’s economy improves in the second semester, we can expect export growth to follow,” Chua said.

Imports, which support both household consumption and business investment, also recovered gradually from a large contraction of -65 percent in April to a slower contraction of -25 percent in

June, or an average decline of -44 percent in the second quarter.

Taking into account the second-quarter contraction, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office has revised its GDP forecast for the Philippines to -6.6 percent for 2020 and a 6.5-percent expansion for 2021.

In a report, AMRO said Thursday it expects a gradual U-shaped recovery in the ASEAN+3 region, led by China.

Regional growth is expected to slow sharply this year, to 0.1 percent, from 4.8 percent in 2019, before rebounding strongly to 6.0 percent in 2021. “[T]he biggest challenge facing ASEAN+3 policymakers in the second half of 2020 will be balancing the trade-off between easing restrictions to revive their economies and risking another wave of infections. Managing the exit from the raft of pandemic policies will be key to regional financial stability,” AMRO said.

Last year, the economy managed to grow by 6 percent, the low end of the target range of 6 to 7 percent despite the delay in the approval of the P3.7-trillion national budget. Before the onset of the pandemic, economic managers projected a 6.5 to 7.5-percent expansion this year, banking on infrastructure projects under the BBB program, consumption spending and investment.

But the first quarter GDP contracted by 0.2 percent, a reversal of the 5.7-percent growth a year ago and 6.4 percent expansion a quarter ago, due to the economic impact of the Taal Volcano eruption in January and exacerbated by the pandemic.

On Wednesday, PSA revised the first quarter GDP contraction to 0.7 percent from the preliminary estimate of 0.2 percent.

As health workers struggle to cope with the influx of patients, more than 27 million people in Metro Manila and four surrounding provinces--which accounts for more than two-thirds of the country’s economic output--went back into a partial lockdown for two weeks on Tuesday to help ease the strain on hospitals.

But President Rodrigo Duterte, who was reluctant to tighten restrictions after millions lost their jobs in the first shutdown, has warned the country cannot afford to remain closed for much longer. With AFP

caused the explosion. Lebanon’s prime minister said an investigation would focus on an estimated 2,750 metric tons of the explosive ammonium stored at a warehouse.

According to Dulay, at least two Filipino household workers died and one seafarer remained missing.

Citing a report from Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Dulay said 10 of the 11

seafarers initially reported as missing have been found safe and accounted for.

The 10 crewmen of Orient Queen Cruises suffered minor injuries and are now with the management of the shipping company Abu Merhi Cruises at Ain el Mraiseh, Beirut.

Lebanon is home to around 33,000 Filipinos, 75 percent of whom are in the greater Beirut area.

private and public hospitals in July to allocate 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of their beds for COVID-19 patients, only 8 percent of private hospitals and 16 to 17 percent of public hospitals complied.

“They have gradually increased this.

Private (hospitals) in the last week of July, 18 percent of them met the required allocation. At least 20 to 22 percent of public (hospitals) also came up with the allocation,” Vega said.

“It’s not easy to convert wards into COVID wards. It’s not just the placement of beds,” he added.

PH envoy tells China: What’s our is ours FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday invoked the country’s arbitral award against China in the disputed South China Sea, as it said Beijing was “reading too much” into Manila’s refusal to join military exercises in the waterway.

The country’s top diplomat insisted that the Philippines had been “consistent and clear” in its stand on the West Philippine Sea. “What is ours is ours under the Arbitral Award and no one else can tell us different,” Locsin said in a tweet.

“Our relations have been going really well. Let’s keep it that way. We’re sitting out this one, we don’t know if we will [do] the next one. Okay?”

Locsin made his remarks after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Beijing welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s order on Tuesday prohibiting the Philippine Navy from joining the exercises in the West Philippine Sea. “We appreciate President Duterte’s remarks and stand ready to properly resolve the maritime disputes with the Philippines through friendly consultations to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea and the entire region,” Wang was quoted in a China Global Television Network report.

The Philippines has asserted its arbitral victory against China’s sweeping claims in the disputed waterway and Locsin said the country’s position was non-negotiable.

Beijing has continued to ignore the ruling and said it was “illegal and invalid” and even warned the United States, the Philippines’ longtime ally, for its “intensified meddling.”

Rey E. Requejo

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Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Thursday said the government has not allocated funds for cash aid for those affected by the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“It was not anticipated and it’s not in the budget,” Dominguez said.

The five provinces with the highest number of new cases were Metro Manila with 2,041, Laguna with 222, Cebu with 221, Cavite with 100, and Rizal with 81.

Ten new deaths were reported Thursday, bringing total fatalities to 2,150.

At the same time, 569 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing total recoveries to 68,837.

There are 50,473 active cases undergoing treatment or under quarantine, still the highest in Southeast Asia. Of these, 90.9 percent are cases with mild symptoms, 7.8 percent are asymptomatic, 0.8 percent show severe symptoms and 0.5 percent are in critical condition.

The DOH said figures reported on Thursday were based on data submitted by 89 out of the 98 operational laboratories.

The department also removed 81 duplicate cases from the total tally of infections.

The country’s first confirmed case was recorded on Jan. 30 in a Chinese woman who arrived from the city of Wuhan where the disease is believed to have first emerged.

A few days ago, the Philippines’ cumulative tortal of COVID-19 cases surpassed that of China.

On Tuesday, 6,352 additional COVID-19 cases were reported.

On Thursday, the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD), a health care workers group, called on the government to come up with a comprehensive, decisive and transparent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and not to threaten medical frontline workers.

Reacting to President Duterte’s rant against medical workers who asked that Metro Manila be put back under stricter quarantine conditions, HEAD said the concerns of an overwhelmed health care system and exhausted workforce wre valid and legitimate.

least 700 million doses, according to an AFP tally.

These deals, under Operation Warp Speed, foresee launching production with 208,329 deaths recorded. in parallel with clinical trials, with the government taking the financial risk Vaccine trials away from the private sector.

The US government Wednesday anModerna’s vaccine is one of three Westnounced a new $1 billion investment in ern efforts in final stage human trials. a COVID-19 vaccine being developed

by Johnson & Johnson, guaranteeing Inmates test positive 100 million doses.

More than 500 inmates -- nearly half J&J, via its subsidiary Janssen, re- the population -- of a prison in the US ceived $456 million in March. state of Arizona have tested positive for With the latest deal, President Donald the novel coronavirus, officials said, Trump’s administration has spent $9.4 while at a California prison the virus billion on vaccine agreements, with death toll hit 22. five companies agreeing to provide at The Arizona Department of Correc-

tions said Tuesday that 517 inmates at the ASPC-Tucson Whetstone prison “have tested positive for COVID-19.”

Those inmates “are currently being housed as a cohort together in separate areas and are receiving appropriate medical care. They will not be allowed back into the general population until they have been medically cleared,” its statement read.

The coronavirus has severely afflicted US jails and penitentiaries, home to the world’s biggest prison population, which comprises 2.3 million inmates.

Officials are unable to force adequate distancing in crowded cells and face shortages of medical personnel and personal protective gear. AFP

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No allocation for cash aid

News IN BRIEF Experts call for end of political dynasties PHILIPPINE political experts called for deep political reforms to dismantle political dynasties in a recent online forum that presented analyses of ongoing political developments and needed reforms towards a new normal.

“We are in need of stronger public institutions, responsive legislation, good governance, and more responsible citizenship. There is a need to focus on the importance of whole-of-society solutions, strengthening institutions and legislation, the shift to e-governance, and continuous political development in building a new and better normal for the country,” said Prof. Dindo Manhit during a virtual townhall discussion held on Aug 03, 2020.

Dr. Julio Teehankee, Full Professor of Political Science and International Studies and Former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, De La Salle University said, “If a handful of families have managed to control all elected and appointed positions, in practically all the local government positions and national (sic), then that is an indication of a political market failure.”

He said, “One president’s oligarchy is another president’s crony...This system is perpetuated in collusion with the elite of power or the political class, and in the Philippines, the political class is largely composed of political dynasties.”

Three Koreans involved in ‘telco fraud’ arrested IMMIGRATION and police operatives arrested three South Korean nationals wanted by authorities in Seoul for in telecommunications fraud.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the foreigners as Lim Yeongjun, 36; Kwom Hyeoksoo, 49; and, Sim Dong Woo, 49.

The three were arrested by joint operatives from the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit and the Philippine National Police inside the Southern Police District Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City where they were taken earlier into custody by policemen.

Morente said the Koreans, who are all overstaying aliens, are subjects of red notices from the Interpol, and that their passports were already revoked by their government.

The BI Chief, however, said that the three cannot be deported yet as they are facing criminal charges for violating the 1988 Access Device Regulation Act and 2011 Anti-Cybercrime Law. Vito Barcelo

By Joel E. Zurbano

OLICE arrested a big-time drug trafficker and seized P2.5 million worth of shabu during a buy-bust operation Wednesday night in Makati City.

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The suspect was identified as John Edward Sayson, 25, a family driver and mechanic. He is now detained at the Makati City police station.

A composite team from the Makati City Police Station - Drug Enforcement Unit and Intelligence Section and Southern Police District conducted the entrap-

ment operation at 2617 Rockefeller Street in Barangay San Isidro around 6:40 p.m.

Sayson is included in the city’s Drug Watch List.

One of the policemen who acted as a buyer was able to negotiate with Sayson to purchase P50,000 worth of shabu resulting to his arrest.

IMPORTED. Bureau of

Customs Port of Clark officials turned over P2.1 million of imported illegal drugs, mostly by-products of marijuana, to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Wednesday, Aug 5, The prohibited items were seized in separate occasions late last month. Jess Malabanan

Bicol party-list lawmaker appeals for unity, prayer to fight COVID-19 AKO Bicol party list Rep. Elizaldy Co has appealed for unity and prayer as the country’s leaders and frontliners wage war against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Rep. Co said national unity is imperative to survive a crisis that has reached alarming levels with more than 112,000 positive COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, August 4. The Department of Health also recorded 6,352 new positive cases, the biggest increase in a single day.

“At no other point in our recent history do we need to stand together to fight a common, yet invisible enemy. Let’s heed and help our medical experts and frontliners by staying home, wearing protective gear and frequent handwashing. Most of all, we should fervently pray for national healing,” he said.

“Let us also pray for our leaders, especially President Rodrigo Duterte, his Cabinet and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Dis-

eases. They, too, need help and guidance in facing a pandemic no one has prepared for,” he added.

While the national COVID-19 response is not perfect, the solon said President Duterte deserves much credit for distributing aid, providing treatment for the sick and maintaining law and order.

“A weaker leader would have buckled down under tremendous pressure. If it were not for the President’s laser focus on security, we could be in the brink of

Support ‘exclusive breastfeeding’, public urged

By Willie Casas IN OBSERVANCE of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, the Department of Health, World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund on Thursday jointly appealed to the public to protect, promote, and support the practice of exclusive breastfeeding of infants from birth up to six months, and continued with complementary feeding onwards with breastfeeding being the most healthy, efficient, and environmentally-sustainable

action of mothers for their children.

This year’s theme, “I-BIDA ang Pagpapasuso Tungo sa Wais at Malusog na Pamayanan!”, reinforces the importance of breastfeeding now, more than ever, because of the COVID-19 pandemic which poses a challenge to infant feeding. “We enjoin everyone to ensure that Filipino infants will have proper and adequate nutrition to improve their resilience against the disease and minimize the long-term effects of malnutrition, ultimately meeting the country’s commitment to sustainable development,”

the DOH said in a statement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll in many Filipino families’ health, they said.

“Because of this, we cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring that the correct information on health and nutrition—which includes breastfeeding—reach our people. The child and the environment greatly benefit from the efficient, climate-smart practice of breastfeeding that contributes to food security and reduces our carbon and ecological footprints,” the statement read.

Manila readies P200-m for COVID-19 vaccine MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso said on Thursday a supplemental budget amounting to P200 million for the procurement of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in Manila has been approved.

Domagoso, who signed Ordinance No. 8659 on Thursday, that there is no need to wait for the 2021 budget should the vaccine become available this year.

“It turns out that the Manila City government already has available funds worth P200 million for the immediate procurement of of COVID-19 vaccines for all Manileños should it become available this year,” Domagoso said in a tweet.

“No need to wait for [the] 2021 budget if [a] vaccine is available this year,” he said.

Leading US-based coronavirus vaccine research developer Moderna Inc. announced on July 15 that it would start the final stage of human trials for its COVID-19 vaccine on July 27.

On Wednesday, the company started talks with several countries for supply agreements for its experimental coronavirus vaccine. It has said the vaccine could be ready for widespread use by the end of this year. Willie Casas

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Cops nab big-time drug dealer

‘Probe under-reporting of seized drugs in Subic’ SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday asked the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged under reporting of the volume of drugs seized from suspected Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators workers at the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone in Olongapo City on Saturday.

Barbers, chairman of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, made the call after six Chinese suspected POGO workers were caught in a dragnet by a composite government law enforcement team for possession of one kilo of methamphetamine hydrocholoride or shabu worth P6.8 million while they were about to go out of the free port zone through its Tipo Gate on Friday night.

However, Barbers said that widespead rumors at Subic indicate that the suspected had more than 30 kilos of shabu when arrested.

The arrested suspects, who were frequently seen with their vehicles at the POGO area at Crown Peak, in Cubi, were identified as Jiang Peng, Liu Qiao Zhi, Huang Du, Chen Pingxing, Xia Fayong and Fan Sheng Jian. Maricel V. Cruz

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SECOND SERVING. Residents of Cavite get ready to receive the second tranche of the government’s Social Amelioration Program from DSWD even as the IATF continues to remind people to practice social distancing to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 disease. JR Josue

Villar to monitor spending of ‘agri fund’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, intends to closely monitor the disbursement of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) to ensure that they are being distributed and utilized for their intended purposes and beneficiaries.

She also urged the Department of Agriculture to report out its status, similar to what is currently done with the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

“The Senate Committee which I chair

has oversight authority over ACEF, so we would like to look into it and get regular updates from the DA,” she added.

She noted that ACEF was mishandled and misused before, saying that “we don’t want a repeat of that.”

“The loans were extended to big corporations and influential people instead of to small farmers and fisherfolks. It’s been almost five years since ACEF utilization was extended, we want to see how effective it has been in uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolks.

ACEF aims to help Filipino farmers and fisherfolks to be more competitive

amidst increased regional competition when the ASEAN Economic Community took effect five years ago. Thus, RA 10848 identified where the funds should be channelled.

Eighty percent (80%) of the fund is in the form of credit with minimal interest, which shall not exceed five million pesos (P5,000,000) per project loan, for the acquisition and establishment of agri-based production and processing machineries, equipment and facilities to achieve modern agricultural practices to be managed by the Land Bank of the Philippines.

chaos and riots with the growing number of hungry people locked down by the pandemic,” he said.

More importantly, Rep. Co said the President deserves praise and support for seeking outside help to secure much-needed vaccines. “Whether the source is China, India or some other country, we should be happy that our President is doing everything to secure supply of COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. That’s our real hope for recovery,” the solon said.

Network franchise tied to Speakership issue—lawmakers

By Maricel V. Cruz LAWMAKERS on Thursday expressed belief that the rejection of ABS-CBN franchise renewal has something to do with the scheduled change of leadership in the House of Representatives this October Reps. Lito Atienza of Buhay, Edcel Lagman of Albay and Joy Tambunting of Parañaque were convinced that the decision of the legislative franchises committee to reject the network’s application was a “political decision.”

“It was an act of subservience to the Palace by its allies in Congress led by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano,” they said even as they warned that the franchise issue “may affect the term-sharing deal on the speakership post between Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.”

Atienza raised the possibility that Cayetano will keep his post beyond October as he was able to deliver the alleged President’s wish with the rejection of the ABS-CBN franchise. Cayetano is scheduled to step down by October to give way to Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

“We shouldn’t allow that. A gentleman’s agreement is a gentleman’s agreement. It should be honored no matter what. In Filipino, it’s called a gentleman’s agreement and it should honored,” Atienza said.

Lagman shared Atienza’s opinion. “I don’t want to make conjectures on the speakership arrangement. But this was brokered by the President so it is his obligation to see to it that it is carried out,” Lagman said.

Tambunting, for her part, said House members expect the turnover of House leadership in October. “All eyes will be on that.”

The three lawmakers who backed the grant of franchise renewal of ABS-CBN maintained that Duterte and Cayetano could have a hand in the panel’s decision.

LGUs

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

B4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

Antique palay farmers thrive via DAR-DA-LANDBANK BARBAZA, Antique—The combined efforts of government institutions led by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) have helped uplift the lives of palay (unhusked rice) farmers and irrigators in this fourth-class municipality through its successful palay trading business.

Jose Mario Rico Magtulis, president of the Barbaza Farmers Irrigators Association, Inc. (BFIA), credits the collaboration among different government agencies as instrumental for the group to extend assistance to their 708 members, with 217 of them being agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

Through the DAR, BFIA was able to avail of a P1-million credit line under the Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) of LANDBANK in 2016, which they used as working capital for this new business.

Before this, they also received various pre- and post-harvest facilities from

DAR and DA, through the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

“Before, only the NIA was giving us support. When DAR entered the picture, we learned about the APCP loan, and we were then introduced to LANDBANK, which allowed us to finally help our members,” said Magtulis.

Diversifying their association’s business into palay trading helped their farmers sell their crops at competitive prices, Magtulis said.

“Thanks to APCP, we helped our farmers because they are assured their produce will be bought. The association buys their palay, and they don’t suffer losses,” he added.

Equipped with a mechanical dryer, BFIA turns the palay they purchased from their farmer-members into rice, which are sold in their retail stores or distributed to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as one of the accredited suppliers of the program in the province.

FUTURE WITH PALAY. The Barbaza Farmers Irrigators Association, Inc. (BFIA)

(members shown inset) has successfully ventured into palay trading through the Agrarian Production Credit Program (APCP) of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK).

Makati pooled RT-PCR tests begin QC to DOH: Fix contact tracing effort

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Quezon City government on Thursday appealed to the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure complete information on all positive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) individuals to hasten its contact tracing efforts.

In a letter to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III dated August 4, Mayor Joy Belmonte said the agency’s failure to provide complete information in some cases delays contact tracing by days, and forces frontliners to spend valuable time looking for the needed information from other possible sources, including social media.

“The lack of available information from the outset, specifically addresses and contact numbers, amounting to half of all cases reported, delays contact tracing by days,” Belmonte said.

Owing to this lack of information, Belmonte said the city’s precious time and resources are spent in coordinating with disease reporting units (DRU), laboratories, and hospitals “to request information that should have been diligently filled up in the first place.”

She cited that on Aug. 3, DOH reported 1,224 COVID-19 cases from Aug. 1 to 2 through its COVID KAYA information system.

Of these, 401 are already in the City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (CESU) master file of confirmed cases, or were already previously contacted and contact traced by CESU. Some 241 cases have addresses or contact numbers or were reported by the QC Health Department.

By Joel E. Zurbano HE City of Makati will be the first local government unit in the country to conduct Pooled RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19 and will prioritize public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and market vendors when it starts testing on Aug. 15.

T

Mayor Abigail Binay announced this on Thursday, a day after she signed an agreement with officials of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, and the BDO Foundation to formally begin the pilot implementation of the project.

The city government is co-funding the project, which was developed under Project ARK, a private sector-led initiative to make mass testing available nationwide.

“We are initially targeting 10,000 individuals, mostly PUV drivers and market vendors who are among the sectors that are most exposed to the virus. Later

on, the pooled testing method can be applied to other sectors,” said Binay.

Under the pooled testing method, swab samples of multiple individuals are tested at the same time using RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). If the result is positive, all the individuals in the pool will be tested separately. If the test comes back negative, there is no need to test everyone in the batch.

“I am honored that Makati City is taking the lead in this groundbreaking initiative. COVID-19 is bigger than all of us. As mayor, I will gladly take on additional responsibility if it would lead to

better testing, isolation, and treatment for patients infected with the coronavirus,” Mayor Binay said.

She noted that the results of the study are expected to have a big impact on mass testing protocols and could lead to more efficient handling of coronavirus cases all over the country. The study was pioneered by PCMC and is now in its second phase.

Under the agreement, the city government will select groups of people or communities to be swabbed.

Health personnel will be trained on proper swabbing and sample pooling methods. The city will then apply the results of the research to its own health policies and programs for better COVID-19 response.

Binay emphasized that the result of the pilot test will be shared with other local government units to help them improve their own COVID-19 protocols.

CABANATUAN CITY—Top officials of the National Irrigation Administration are planning a cloud seeding operation to remedy the critical level of Pantabangan Dam and in the absence of monsoon rains to boost its water reserve.

As of Wednesday, the water level of Pantabangan Dam is at 177.55 meters above sea level (masl), way below the 189.36 (masl) during the same day in 2019, based on records from the NIAUpper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-UPRIIS).

Engr. Rosalinda B. Bote, NIA-UPRIIS department chief, said NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya recently approved their request to conduct cloud seeding over the dam reservoir and watershed area in Nueva Ecija province to mitigate a prolonged dry spell on agricultural areas and “water stress."

"But we are still closely monitoring the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) and based on the forecast, there will be La Nina (from) August to October," Bote said. Ferdie G. Domingo

Cleaner, safer air campaign set for Manila CORE ‘KAPIHAN’. The City Government of Biñan, in partnership with DILG Region IV-A and Center for Federalism and

Constitutional Reform (CFCR), successfully hosted the first-ever e-Kapihan in CALABARZON on CORE (Constitutional Reform) Movement. city Vice Mayor Gel Alonte, Fatima Noña Alon of DILG-Biñan, and lawyer Edward Arriba of the City Legal Office joined the discussion on the proposed priority amendments in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, hosted by Biñan City Mayor Arman Dimaguila via Zoom conference and broadcast over dwBC 87.9 Radyo Biñan on Wednesday. Roy Tomandao

Imus City shifts to e-gov with EON THE City Government of Imus has tapped Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), through EON, in its drive towards e-government for the efficient and effective delivery of services to its constituents.

EON will first be used in the “Lingap Imuseño” program, where monetary assistance will be given to Imuseños to help them with the financial difficulties caused by the pandemic.

The EON account, with its EON VISA card, enables the citizens to withdraw money from any ATM nationwide or pay for purchases at accredited merchant establishments or online.

“This partnership with UnionBank is timely as we strive to get much-needed

Pantabangan cloud seeding plan okayed

assistance in the hands of our constituents the soonest during these challenging times,” said Imus City Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi.

“We look forward to building on this initiative with EON to digitize our government and city for the benefit of our citizens, say, for example, using the EON VISA card for other programs like the BIDA KArd wherein we teach our youth how to save and live towards financial independence.”

“Coming off partnerships with other LGU’s, and now with the City Government of Imus, we continue to be inspired and committed in our purpose to tech up Pilipinas,” said Joyce Gonzales, EVP and Head of Retail Banking at UnionBank.

IMUS-EON PACT. Adrian Lim, FVP Metrosouth Sales Director; Joyce Gonzalez, EVP and Head of Retail Banking; Ma. Lourdes Tancinco, Business Manager RBC Parañaque; Emmanuel Maliksi, Imus City Mayor; Paolo Eugenio Baltao, SVP & Head of EON Banking; Gerard Darvin, FVP Cash Solutions Head of Transaction Banking; Franco Tristan Corral, Senior Corporate Solutions Manager; and Kimberly Espiritu, Communities and Linkages Head of EON Banking (from left) sign the ‘Lingap Imuseño’ project deal.

WITH a vision of cleaner air and a healthier, more livable urban environment, the City of Manila has embarked on the landmark Asia Blue Skies Program that is bringing science-based air quality solutions to the Philippine capital, which has dubbed as “Hinga Maynila” (Breathe Manila) by the local government unit of Manila.

Under the stewardship of Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso, and in alignment with the city’s Bagong Maynila (New Manila) initiative, the 449-year-old city is partnering with international non-governmental organization Clean Air Asia and science company 3M. The five-year program kicked off in November 2019 to improve air quality in the second most-populous city in Metropolitan Manila, and that in turn will advance the Clean Air Initiative announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in July 2019.

Over the next five years, 3M will assist Clean Air Asia in its efforts to assess baseline air quality conditions, design capacity-building programs for air quality management, implement awareness and education campaigns, develop Clean Air Action Plans with selected city and district governments, and measure the resulting impact on air pollution levels.

Opinion PhilHealth Mafia Godfather untouchable?

Instead of being fired, the four were rewarded by Morales with promotion to Department Manager III last May. Lawyer Thorrsson Montes Keith has had enough of Morales’ lies and dropped the bomb on the PhilHealth big boss, painting him as a “coddler” or “new leader” of a mafia in the state-run corporation.

POINT OF IMPACT

ERWIN TULFO JUST days ago, President Duterte blamed corruption for hindering the speedy processing of telecommunication companies’ (telcos) applications for installation permits of cell sites that will help improve telcos’ poor services.

The telcos’ abominable performance, particularly Globe Telecom’s weak signal, is the President’s pet peeve.

Apparently, it is easier for Manong Digong to detect the corruption in the bureaucracy than Globe’s almost undetectable signal in Malacańang when calling home in Matina, Davao City.

So, it is impossible now for the President not to catch whiff of corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

I sure hope all these congressional inquiries into the PhilHealth’s rampant irregularities would not be n vain.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation has exposed the massive corruption involving top officials who have allegedly fleeced the government-owned and government-controlled corporation of over a hundred billion pesos.

During the Senate grilling, PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales admitted he had not done enough to rid the agency of corruption, and that “some irregularities” are still present in the agency.

The Commission on Audit has unearthed alleged multibillion-peso irregularities under his watch. Morales is a retired Philippine Army general appointed by the President to PhilHealth’s helm in June 2019.

When the senators questioned Morales for promoting, instead of sacking, four agency officials linked to the WellMed “ghost” dialysis scam, the PhilHealth chief flatly denied even knowing such cases.

“I’m not aware that they were facing cases.

It’s the first we ever heard of that,” Morales said.

As Senate President Tito Sotto said in response, this official should have exercised due diligence in promoting his people.

Who does he think he was fooling except for himself when it was all over the news when graft cases were filed against those officials, namely: Cheryl Peña, Dr. Rizza Majella Herrera, Dr. Bernadette Lico, and lawyer Recto Panti.

I hope the probes would not be in vain.

Keith, PhilHealth’s former anti-fraud officer, accused Morales of allowing the irregular disbursement of P30 billion as part of the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism funds, a cash aid program, to healthcare institutions reeling from the COVID-19 crisis.

The senators also cast doubt on the release of P226 million to maternity care providers.

Senator Ping Lacson said the IRM is meant for hospitals and healthcare providers “hit by a fortuitous event with clear and apparent intent to continuously operate and or rebuild the HCI to provide continuous care services to adversely affected Filipinos.”

Backed by Lacson, Keith disclosed that Morales appointed members of the PhilHealth syndicate “who perpetrated the WellMed ghost patient dialysis despite our warnings.”

Keith resigned along with Morales’ Head Executive Assistant, Etrobal Laborte.

So, it is not true, after all, that Morales did not know about the ghost dialysis cases.

WellMed Dialysis Center cornered millions of pesos in fraudulent claims of dialysis patients, a number of whom were already dead, with the connivance of the PhilHealth mafia.

Whistleblowers disclosed that PhilHealth could have lost up to P154 billion in various rackets perpetrated by the mafia.

Senator Francis Tolentino also called for the resignation of PhilHealth’s senior vice president and board members in a bid to cleanse the agency.

In his response, Morales said the agency could not function if all officials resigned, adding that it would be “too disruptive to the corporation.”

One would wonder now if Armed Forces active and retired generals feel that Morales is making them proud with all the mess at PhilHealth.

Oh well, we all know that the mafia will not thrive if it didn’t have a powerful, well-connected and untouchable Godfather.

MORE OPINION ONLINE (www.manilastandard.net)

TO THE POINT

VIRTUAL REALITY

EMIL JURADO

TONY LOPEZ

Bad news, good news

Worst economic decline ABOUT TOWN

CROSSROADS

ERNESTO M. HILARIO

J.A. DELA CRUZ

Corruption: The other pandemic

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

The race for the atom bomb THE atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki capped six years of top-secret work by scientists from Europe and North America. Here is an overview of how that process unfolded.

Einstein warning In 1939, Albert Einstein signs a letter warning US president Franklin D. Roosevelt of the destructive potential of nuclear fission, which was discovered by the German chemist Otto Hahn.

The letter says the process could result in "extremely powerful bombs of a new type." Roosevelt creates the Advisory Body on Uranium.

Pearl Harbor On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes destroy much of the US Pacific f leet based at Pearl Harbor. The next day, the United States enters World War II.

The Manhattan Project In August 1942, the US officially launches a top-secret program to develop an atomic bomb. The project, which had been approved the previous year, comes to be known as the "Manhattan Project." Approximately two billion dollars are spent to achieve its goal.

In 1943, Robert Oppenheimer is named scientific director of a secret lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico that is to build the bomb. The project includes top physicists from the US, Britain and Canada, in addition to several who fled the Nazi occupation of their homelands in Europe.

Potential targets Around spring 1945, possible targets are evaluated and a list drawn up of Japanese cities that could be hit with an atomic bomb. At the top of the list is

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

B1

EDITORIAL

Economic plunge T

HE Philippine economy, as expected, plunged in the second quarter of the year, weighed down by the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown that shut down businesses and put millions of Filipinos out of work. The economy shrank 16.5 percent in the April-June period, the sharpest decline on record, officially bringing the Philippines into a recession after a 0.7-percent contraction in the first quarter.

due to the economy's bias toward the services sector and its consumption-driven nature. A strong consumer demand has driven the economy in the past, boosted by a growing labor market and robust remittances from migrant Filipino workers.

The military-style lockdown in the Philippines has not worked.

The business process outsourcing sector has employed millions, along with the real estate, and finance and insurance industries. But lockdown restrictions impaired the mobility of workers from these sectors, resulting in much-reduced consumption of goods and services.

Meanwhile, over 27 million people in Metro Manila Manila and the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan have been covered by varying lockdown degrees in the government's attempt to contain the virus

The Philippines fared worse than its peers in Southeast Asia. The local economy slumped 9 percent in the first six months of 2020 compared with a contraction of 1.2 percent in Indonesia, 6.5 percent in Thailand and 3.9 percent in Malaysia. Vietnam, one of the earliest countries to close its borders with China, the origin of COVID-19, eked out a 2.1-percent growth.

The Philippines suffered the sharpest contraction in this part of the world

spread. The capital region and the four neighboring provinces account for about 67 percent of the country's economic output.

Consumer spending in the second quarter, as a result, plunged 15.5 percent in the second quarter. This meant lower factory production in response to the reduced consumption of workers, many of whom lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno, however, is cautiously optimistic, saying the “worst is behind us,” although “we are not out of the woods yet.”

He notes that economic activity has picked up after certain businesses were reopened.

The military-style lockdown in the Philippines has not worked. It disrupted business operations and rendered many workers jobless. Authorities now know that the damage on the economy is severe after the release of the second-quarter gross domestic product figures. No government can handle the twin threats of pandemic and civil unrest.

Ejectment: A quick legal process EVERYONE wants a roof, whether owned or rented, over their heads. Having a place to stay in, no matter how small, is every man’s modest dream. In fact, in my generation, it is the pride of the head of the family to be able to provide food, clothing and shelter.

Hence, your rented place being padlocked by the landlord/lessor, your personal belongings being removed by the owner of the place without your consent, or local thugs physically forcing you to vacate the rented premises are all deplorable actions which are not allowed by law. The Philippine Civil Code does not recognize acquisition of possession through force or intimidation. He who believes that he has a right to deprive another of the holding of the thing must invoke the aid of a competent court if the holder refuses to deliver it (Article 536).

Barron’s Law Dictionary defines ejectment as a legal action brought about by one claiming the right to possess real property against another who possesses the premises adversely or who is a holdover tenant who remains beyond the termination of the lease. However, under the Rules of Civil Procedure, ejectment is a legal remedy for forcible entry or unlawful detainer. Forcible entry is when a person is deprived of the possession of any land or building by force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth. Unlawful detainer, however, happens when the possession of any land or building is unlawfully withheld from the owner or lessor after the expiration of the contract or the termination of the vendee’s right to hold possession (Section 1, Rule 70 of the Rules of Civil Procedure).

An example of forcible entry is when someone enters your land without your permission and builds a structure inside the property. On the other hand, an example of unlawful detainer is when a contract of lease expires or is terminated without the lessee/renter surrendering the possession

Japan's seventh-largest city, Hiroshima.

Kyoto is rejected as a target owing largely to its historic and cultural importance.

Conventional bombs On March 9-10, 1945, US warplanes carry out massive firebombing attacks on Tokyo and other major Japanese cities. Around 100,000 people die in the capital alone.

Battle of Okinawa On March 26, the battle of Okinawa begins. More than 100,000 Japanese soldiers and a similar number of civilians die over the next three months, while 12,000 US soldiers are also killed. The battle is used by US officials to justify using atomic bombs, since an invasion of mainland Japan is forecast to result in an even higher cost.

On April 12, Roosevelt dies and Harry Truman becomes president of the United States and learns of the "Manhattan Project."

German surrender On May 8, Germany surrenders, but

FOOTNOTES

TRANQUIL G.S SALVADOR III of the premises to the owner. In any of these instances, ejectment becomes the legal option for the owner to regain possession.

The requirements may vary depending on the basis of the action.

The requirements may vary depending on the basis of the action for ejectment. If the ejectment is rooted on forcible entry, the complaint must allege prior physical possession and that the deprivation of possession is by reason of force, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth. If the action for ejectment springs from unlawful detainer, the lessor or owner shall push through with the action only after a demand to pay or comply with the conditions of the lease and to vacate has been made upon the lessee or renter (Section 2, Rule 70). Regardless of the basis of the action for ejectment, it must always be verified. In fact, all pleadings filed in ejectment cases must be verified (Section 4, Rule 70).

The actions for ejectment shall only be instituted and tried in the Metropolitan Trial Court or Municipal Trial Court where the real property involved or a portion thereof, is situated. The action shall be commenced against the person or persons unlawfully withholding or depriving another of possession, or any person or persons claiming

fighting continues in Asia and the Pacific.

First American test Between May and July, components of the atomic bombs are shipped to Tinian, an island in the Marianas chain from where B-29 bombers are able to reach Japan.

On July 16, at 5:30 am, the "Trinity" test takes place near Alamogordo, New Mexico, demonstrating the awesome power of an atomic bomb and marking the dawn of the nuclear age.

On July 25, Truman agrees to a mission to drop an atomic bomb on Japan.

It included approval to drop additional bombs as soon as they became available.

Allied ultimatum On July 26, in the Potsdam Declaration, Britain, China and the United States warn Japan that it must surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction".

Japan decides to "ignore" the ultimatum, although the word used—mokusatsu—also translates as "no comment."

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

under them. Ejectment action must be filed within 1 year from deprivation or withholding of possession (Section 1, Rule 70).

While ejectment cases are intended to be swift and speedy, some have abused the legal remedy. There are plaintiffs who unreasonably amend the contract to shorten the life of the lease. There are also defendants who prolong the litigation by dragging the mediation for months, or sometimes creatively file pleadings that are not prohibited by the Rules. Worse, even after judgment by the Municipal Trial Court, some defendants refuse to surrender possession despite clear declarations from the court requiring them to vacate.

The complaint for ejectment has to be responded to or answered by the defendant within a period of 10 days (Section 6, Rule 70). This period was not affected by the amendment of the Rules of Court extending the period to file an answer to 30 days since ejectment is a special civil action covered by special rules. In case no answer was filed, the court can render a judgment based on the allegations of the complaint. A motion to declare the defendant in default and motion to dismiss are prohibited pleadings in ejectment cases.

The preliminary conference shall be scheduled no later than 30 days after the answer is filed. This conference is the equivalent of a pre-trial in ordinary cases.

The failure of the plaintiff to appear in the conference shall result in the dismissal of his complaint and the defendant shall be entitled to a judgment on his counterclaim.

On the other hand, if the defendant shall fail to appear, the plaintiff shall be entitled to judgment. While postponement is disallowed, it may be granted for highly meritorious grounds and without prejudice to the sanctions that the court may impose on the movant (Section 8, Rule 70).

Full version at www.manilastandard.net.

On August 6 the US B-29 bomber "Enola Gay" drops a 9,000-pound atomic bomb over Hiroshima at 8:15 am, killing 140,000 people by the end of December, according to a widely accepted toll. Truman tells Japanese leaders that if they do not surrender "they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the likes of which has never been seen on this Earth."

On August 8, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan.

On August 9, a second atomic bomb explodes over Nagasaki at 11:02 am, killing 74,000 people.

On August 15, Japanese Emperor Hirohito tells his nation it has lost the war.

He remains on the throne during postwar reconstruction of the country.

First Soviet bomb On August 29, 1949, four years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki are destroyed, the Soviet Union successfully tests its own atomic bomb in Kazakhstan and becomes the world's second nuclear power. AFP

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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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$10-m reward vs. US poll meddlers U

S SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo has offered a $10 million reward aimed at preventing foreign interference in the November election, as the State Department accused Russia of waging an increasingly sophisticated disinformation campaign.

SCENES OF DESTRUCTION...

A picture taken on August 5, 2020 shows the damaged grain silo and a burnt boat at Beirut’s harbor, one day after a powerful twin explosion tore through Lebanon’s capital, resulting from the ignition of a huge depot of ammonium nitrate at the city’s main port.

Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut after the cataclysmic explosion killed more than 100 people, wounded thousands and plunged Lebanon deeper into crisis. The blast was felt as far away as Cyprus, some 240 kilometers to the northwest. AFP

Melbourne enters toughest lockdown AUSTRALIA’S second-largest city entered the country’s toughest lockdown yet on Thursday, sparking a fresh wave of anxiety and confusion over evertougher regulations.

Melbourne’s streets were visibly quieter as non-essential businesses were forced to shutter under new coronavirus rules expected to be in place for six weeks.

A second lockdown for the state capital of Victoria began in early July but additional regulations came into force overnight, requiring hundreds of thousands more people to stay at home.

Residents are still allowed to go out during the daytime for exercise and food, or for work if their business is deemed essential.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned the latest lockdown would cost the Australian economy up to US$9 billion and push the unemployment rate back to 13 percent after a slight recovery.

He also said additional mental health support would be rolled out for Australians “working through the stress, and anxiety and strain” of lockdowns.

“Not being able to connect with friends and loved ones, concerns about employment, all of this takes a toll,” Morrison said.

While the rest of Australia continues to see only a handful of new infections daily, Melbourne—with its population of around five million—is still recording hundreds per day.

On Wednesday Australia saw its deadliest day of the pandemic to date, with 15 coronavirus deaths and a record Manila 725 new cases in Victoria alone. AFP 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)

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC BE IT KNOWN THAT JFR CONSTRUCTION owned

by JOJO F. REMIGIO with address at 17 Bliss Canlapwas (Pob) City of Catbalogan, Western Samar has changed its ownership from single proprietorship to corporation on June 25, 2020 and is now JFR CONSTRUCTION INC.with business address at 17 Bliss Canlapwas (Pob) City of Catbalogan, Western Samar.

(MS-AUG. 7, 2020)

(MS-JUL. 31, AUG. 7 &15, 2020)

Lebanon gives probe team 4 days to find culprits THE government of Lebanon has given an “investigative committee” four days to determine responsibility for the devastating explosion in Beirut port on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe told French radio Thursday.

“This morning, a decision was taken to create an investigative committee which in four days maximum must provide a detailed report on responsibility – how, who, what, where? There will be judicial deci-

sions,” he told Europe 1 radio.

“It is serious, and we take it seriously,” Wehbe said.

“Those responsible for this horrible crime of negligence will be punished by a committee of judges,” he added.

The provisional death toll from the massive blast stood at 137 Thursday, but with dozens missing and 5,000 wounded, the number of victims was expected to rise as rescue workers continued to comb

through the rubble.

The Beirut governor estimated up to 300,000 people may have been made temporarily homeless by the disaster, which he said would cost the debt-ridden country in excess of $3 billion.

On Wednesday, the government called for the house arrest of those responsible for the storage of a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, a substance used in fertilisers and explosives, in the port of the Lebanese capital. AFP

The reward marks one of the most public signs that members of President Donald Trump’s administration are taking election meddling seriously, despite anger by Trump himself over findings that Russia has assisted him.

Pompeo on Wednesday pointed to efforts by “Russia and other malign actors” as he announced the effort to stop election interference.

The United States “is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, interferes with US elections by engaging in certain criminal cyber activities,” Pompeo told reporters.

US intelligence concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to support Trump, especially through manipulation of social media, although it did not find that his campaign colluded with Moscow.

Trump has been outraged by the “Russia hoax” and in February removed the director of national intelligence over a briefing to lawmakers that found that Russia appeared to want Trump to win a new term on November 3.

Last month, four top Democratic lawmakers with access to intelligence said they were “gravely concerned” about a new “foreign interference campaign,” but their joint statement was notably not signed by members of Trump’s Republican Party. AFP

...75 YEARS APART.

This handout file picture taken on November 1945 by the US Army and released by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum shows the A-bomb Dome, three months after the atomic bomb was dropped by B-29 bomber Enola Gay over the city of Hiroshima.

Japan on August 6, 2020 marks 75 years since the world’s first atomic bomb attack, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a scaling back of annual ceremonies to commemorate the victims. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Japan marks 75th year of Hiroshima atom bomb Porn video interrupts hearing of Twitter hacker A COURT hearing held via Zoom for a US teenager accused of masterminding a stunning hack of Twitter was interrupted Wednesday with rap music and porn, a newspaper reported.

The purpose of the hearing was to discuss reducing bail terms set for the 17 year old Tampa resident arrested last Friday over the hack last month of the accounts of major US celebrities.

But the interruptions with music, shrieking and pornography became so frequent that Judge Christopher Nash ended up suspending it for a while, the Tampa Bay Times said.

Investigators view the youth—AFP has chosen not to release his name because he is a minor—as the brains behind the mid-July cyberattack that rocked Twitter.

Hackers accessed dozens of Twitter accounts of people such as Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk, after gaining access to the system with an attack that tricked a handful of employees into giving up their credentials.

The hack affected at least 130 accounts, with tweets posted by the usurpers duping people into sending $100,000 in Bitcoin, supposedly in exchange for double the amount NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION sent.

A majority of the Directors and B a i l Shareholders representing at least 2/3 for the 17 of the outstanding stock of PEDIATRIC year old ASSOCIATES, INC., in meetings held was set for on 20 May 2020 and 15 July 2020, respectively, at Bloomingdale Plaza, $ 7 2 5 , 0 0 0 Shaw Blvd., Pasig City, had approved the and in the Corporation’s dissolution by amending hearing his its Articles of Incorporation to shorten l a w y e r s the corporate term effective upon the were seekSecurities and Exchange Commission’s ing to reapproval. duce it. AFP (MS-AUG. 7, 15 & 21 2020)

JAPAN on Thursday marked 75 years since the world’s first atomic bomb attack, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing a scaling back of ceremonies to remember the victims.

Survivors, relatives and a handful of foreign dignitaries attended this year’s main event in Hiroshima to pray for those killed or wounded in the bombing and call for world peace.

But the general public was kept away, with the ceremony instead broadcast online.

Participants, many of them dressed in black and wearing face masks, offered a silent prayer at exactly 8:15 am

(2315 GMT Wednesday), the time the first nuclear weapon used in wartime was dropped over the city.

Speaking afterwards, Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned against the nationalism that led to World War II and urged the world to come together to face global threats, like the coronavirus pandemic.

“We must never allow this painful past to repeat itself. Civil society must reject self-centered nationalism and unite against all threats,” he said.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been criticized by some for his attempts to revise a key pacifist clause of

the country’s constitution, pledged in his address to “do my best for the realisation of a world without nuclear weapons and peace for all time.”

And UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the gathering by video message because of the pandemic, warned that “the only way to totally eliminate nuclear risk is to totally eliminate nuclear weapons.”

The bomb attack on Hiroshima killed around 140,000 people, many of them instantly, with others perishing in the weeks and months that followed, suffering radiation sickness, devastating burns and other injuries. AFP

Facebook, Twitter hit Trump ‘misinformation’ FACEBOOK and Twitter took aim at US President Donald Trump and his campaign Wednesday over a video post in which he contended that children are “almost immune” to the coronavirus, a claim they said amounted to “misinformation.”

In an extraordinary move, Facebook removed the clip from the president’s account—the first time it has taken down one of his posts for violating its content rules.

The video—an excerpt from a Fox

News interview—“includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation,” a Facebook spokesperson told AFP. Twitter meanwhile said it had blocked Trump’s official campaign account over a tweet containing the same video, in which Trump made the case for reopening US schools come September.

A spokesperson for the San Francisco-based service told AFP the tweet was

“in violation of the Twitter rules on COVID-19 misinformation,” adding that the campaign would have to remove it before being allowed to tweet again.

Soon thereafter, the @TeamTrump account was active, suggesting the contested video had been taken down.

“Another day, another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this president, where the rules are only enforced in one direction,” the Trump campaign’s deputy national press secretary Courtney Parella said in a statement. AFP

Manila

Business BOE upbeat, keeps Britain interest rate unchanged LONDON, United Kingdom―The Bank of England on Thursday said it had voted to keep its main interest rate at a record-low 0.1 percent, while predicting a less severe recession for the UK. The BoE added that its huge cash stimulus program used to prop up the British economy during the coronavirus pandemic would remain at ￡745 billion ($967 billion, 813 billion euros).

Britain’s economy was expected to contract by 9.5 percent this year, the BoE said, downgrading its prior estimate of minus 14 percent.

“Nonetheless, the recovery in demand takes time as health concerns drag on activity,” the BoE said in minutes of its latest regular meeting that took place Tuesday.

“GDP is not projected to exceed its level in 2019 Q4 until the end of 2021, in part reflecting persistently weaker supply capacity,” it added.

The pound, meanwhile, rallied against the dollar on the revision.

“The BoE was considerably more upbeat about the recovery than had been expected,” noted City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta.

“Upwardly revised growth forecasts, a more rapid recovery than initially feared and no tilting towards negative rates at this time has sent the pound surging towards $1.32.”

The BoE also forecast that Britain’s unemployment rate would shoot higher to around 7.5 percent by the end of the year.

“Employment appears to have fallen since the COVID-19 outbreak, although this has been very significantly mitigated by the extensive take-up of support from temporary government schemes,” the minutes said.

“Surveys indicate that many workers have already returned to work from furlough, but considerable uncertainty remains about the prospects for employment after those support schemes unwind.” AFP

2 1700

Standard

TODAY

Market rallies, ignores economic plunge in Q2 T HE stock market rose Thursday as traders looked past data showing the Philippine economy contracted 16.5 percent in the second quarter, the worst quarter on record dating back to 1981 and putting it into recession.

The Philippines Stock Exchange Index advanced 69 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,902.58 on a value turnover of P6.5 billion. Losers, however, edged gainers, 90 to 88, with 46 issues unchanged.

Observers said there was an expectation that the economy had suffered the worst and would begin picking up in the second half of the year.

Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co climbed 4.2 percent to P50, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the

biggest fast-food chain, increased 3 percent to P135.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, gained 2.9 percent at P3.20, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, rose 2.2 percent to P134.40.

Asian markets mostly rose Thursday building on a two-day rally, with nervous investors keeping an eye on stimulus talks in Washington, while China-US tensions continued to weigh on confidence.

And while there were hopes over the development of a coronavirus vaccine, the rapid spread of the contagion around the world and fresh flare-ups that have caused renewed lockdowns were keeping a lid on buying sentiment and sending safe-haven gold soaring to record highs.

Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai and Jakarta climbed more than one percent,

while Shanghai gained 0.3 percent and Sydney put on 0.7 percent.

Taipei, Bangkok and Wellington were also up.

However, Hong Kong slipped more than one percent and Tokyo ended down 0.4 percent.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended with gains Wednesday―the Nasdaq at another record―on bets US lawmakers will eventually reach a deal on another much-needed stimulus for the world’s top economy.

The two parties remain far apart on their proposals with Democrats’ $3.5 trillion plan more than three times bigger than the Republicans’ offer with a key sticking point the supplementary jobless benefits, which ran out last week.

“I feel optimistic that there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters. “But how long the tunnel is remains to be seen.” With AFP

B3

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSEi August 6, 2020 TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS

MOST ACTIVE

The Bank of England is seen under a cloudy sky in central London on August 6, 2020. Britain’s economic downturn fueled by the coronavirus pandemic will be less severe than thought—but the nation’s surge in unemployment will delay the recovery, the Bank of England forecast Thursday. AFP

Toyota warns of a 64% decrease in full-year profit as earnings fall TOKYO, Japan―Toyota on Thursday warned of a 64-percent drop in fullyear net profit and reported a slump in quarterly earnings, as the coronavirus pandemic shreds the global auto market.

Japan’s top car maker, which had previously declined to give a bottom-line forecast because of ongoing uncertainty, now projects net profit at 730 billion yen ($6.9 billion) for the fiscal year to March, down from 2.07 trillion yen the previous year.

Its forecast of annual operating profit remained unchanged at 500 billion yen, down nearly 80 percent from the previous year.

“The impact of COVID-19 is wideranging, significant and serious, and it is expected that weakness will continue for the time being,” Toyota said in a statement.

The warning came as Toyota reported a 74.3-percent plunge in net profit for the three months to June, with quarterly revenue down more than 40 percent.

By region, operating profit in Japan dropped more than 80 percent in AprilJune, while it logged losses in North America and Europe.

Carmakers around the world have been battered by the pandemic, with many relying on government help, as it slams the global economy into reverse and forces people to stay at home.

“It was a tough quarter for all Japanese automakers. Toyota was no exception,” said Satoru Takada, auto analyst at TIW, a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm.

“Production is recovering from the pandemic impact, after hitting rock bottom in April and May, but sales are expected to remain stagnant for now,” Takada told AFP ahead of the results.

General Motors fell into the red in the second quarter with a $758-million loss, reversing a quarterly net profit a year ago.

Toyota’s smaller domestic rival Nissan warned of a massive $6.4-billion net loss for the current fiscal year, while Honda re-

ported a net loss for the quarter and forecast a much-reduced full-year profit.

Toyota said the pandemic and the response to the virus had “adversely affected” the firm “in a number of ways.”

It cited falling demand, as well as the temporary suspension of production at plants in Japan and overseas and hits to Toyota dealers, distributors, and thirdparty suppliers.

“The duration of the global spread of COVID-19 and the resulting future effects are uncertain,” the firm warned, adding it was “difficult to predict” the final impact of the virus on its business.

Toyota upgraded its group’s global sales target to 9.1 million units for the fiscal year from its earlier estimate of 8.9 million units.

The revision and better-than-expected figures pushed Toyota shares up 2.3 percent at the closing on Thursday, though Nissan and Honda fell sharply.

“Negative factors have outnumbered positive ones, but Toyota is still less affected than its rivals,” Takada said. AFP

M

Sta NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING OF ALLIED CARE EXPERTS (ACE) MEDICAL CENTER-GENSAN INC.

Dea

DEAR STOCKHOLDERS: Please take notice that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center - Gensan Inc. will be held on August 25, 2020, Thursday, at 8:00 in the morning; the meeting will be conducted via Zoom Webinar. Kindly confirm your presence for the meeting by registering on or before August 22, 2020.

Toyota Motor’s latest cars are displayed at the company’s car showroom in Tokyo on August 6, 2020. Toyota on August 6 warned of a 64-percent drop in full-year net profit and reported a slump in quarterly earnings, as the coronavirus pandemic shreds the global auto market. AFP

V.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3970360612 The link will provide you the process for the registration. You will receive a confirmation email once you have successfully registered in the platform, including the details and procedures in the conduct of the meeting. Voting will be done via the online tool which you can access once you have logged in to the zoom meeting. The host will launch a poll where participants will be prompted to cast their votes.

The meeting shall be recorded (visual and audio) for future reference.

The Agenda:

VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII.

I. II. III. IV.

To register for the meeting, click the link below :

I. II. III. IV. V.

of M Thur www The

Call to Order Invocation Determination of Quorum Welcome Message from the Chairman of the Board Reading and Approval of the Minutes of the Y2019 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting Annual Financial Report President’s Report Ratification of the Acts and Proceedings of the Board of Directors, Officers, and Management of the Corporation Amendment of the Bylaws of the Corporation (Sections 6 and 8 of Article II and Section 6 of Article III) Election of the Board of Directors Appointment of External Auditor for the year 2020 Adjournment

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on August 5, 2020 (Record Date) shall be entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting. If you cannot personally attend the meeting, you may opt to send your proxy to attend in your behalf. Kindly submit your duly executed proxy form with the undersigned, via email, at compliance.acemcgensan@gmail.com not later than August 22, 2020, to enable your proxy to register in the Zoom Webinar. Attached is a sample proxy form for your reference. [NOTE: Management is not soliciting proxies] The Information Statement and Management Report and SEC Form 17-A are available at the Corporation’s website at http:// acemcgensan.com/.

You may contact the undersigned via email at compliance. acemcgensan@gmail.com, or through telephone numbers: (083) 553-3595, if you have inquiries or concerns regarding the meeting.

Very truly yours,

VI. VII.

VIII.

For entit stoc the C SEC by re parti set f

Stoc or th MED to at stoc Onc votin MED votin offic inten prox prox votin

a. Fo Agai b. Fo of sh may Dire them c. Th tabu d. Ex stock of th Direc

Reg mee stoc avoi 27, 2 be p in th Infor Augu com regis MED

Med By:

(Sign PAU Assi Mak

RHODORA G. GAGWIS Corporate Secretary (MS-AUG. 6 & 7, 2020)

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

B4 FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

Business

Gov’t shelves P370-b infra projects PLDT’s income climbed 16% in second quarter

By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. said Thursday net income rose 16 percent in the second quarter from a year ago as many workers required connectivity while working from home at the height of the community quarantine designed to contain COVID-19.

The country’s largest telecom company said net profit amounted to P6.44 billion in the April-to-June period, higher than P5.51 billion it booked in the same period last year.

The figure brought PLDT’s firsthalf net income to P12.42 billion, up by 1 percent from P12.23 billion in the same period last year.

Core net income amounted to P12.86 billion in the first half, up by 5 percent from P13.86 billion a year earlier.

“We are obviously pleased that our numbers have held up well despite the challenging times, and we are hopeful that we can maintain a bottom line similar to 2019. But more importantly, we are happy that we have been able to provide uninterrupted, essential communications services to our countrymen,“ PLDT chairman, president and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan said.

“This pandemic has underscored how staying connected is crucial to everyone’s lives. We are social creatures by nature and thankfully, technology has made it possible to keep in touch, even during a lockdown,” he said.

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE government said Thursday it will prioritize 92 infrastructure projects with a combined cost of P4.1 trillion until 2022, but shelved eight projects worth P370 billion.

Bases Conversion Development Authority president and presidential adviser on flagship projects Vincent Dizon said the government dropped P370 billion worth of infrastructure projects to give way to the COVID-19 response program.

“We have shelved eight projects, which were primarily in the feasibility study phase. And we have replaced them with other projects that prioritize health care, ICT and water. These are the three priority projects that we have added to the program,” Dizon said Thursday during the “Outlook for Build, Build, Build, Program” webinar organized by the GermanPhilippine Chamber of Commerce Inc. He said the government was already cash-strapped and continued to grapple for any potential source of finance that would complement efforts to contain the pandemic.

“Yes, there are difficulties in funding primarily because we had to realign a lot of the funding for 2020 to the COVID-19 response. So a lot of the projects,

even those infrastructure projects have been reallocated. However, the reallocations for infrastructure were minimal, even for 2020. We will just have to allocate more funding for infrastructure for local projects in 2021 and 2022 in order to catch up,” he said.

The reallocated budget for infrastructure under the “Build, Build, Build” program was repurposed to accommodate 13 new projects in information and communication technology, water, transportation and health to beef up the response system to the pandemic.

Dizon said the country’s very strong credit rating had allowed the government to increase future financing for the projects either through local or foreign borrowings.

San Miguel incurred P4-b loss in first half

By Jenniffer B. Austria DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said Thursday it incurred a net loss of P4 billion in the first six months, a sharp turnaround from the P26.1-billion net income it booked in the same period last year as the pandemic affected operations of core businesses.

San Miguel said in a statement firsthalf revenues declined 31 percent to P352.8 billion, while consolidated operating income plunged 74 percent to P14.9 billion.

“The first half was particularly challenging for most in the business sector, but we are seeing strong indications of a recovery for SMC businesses, and we remain focused and determined to build on these gains,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.

The conglomerate said that while most of its businesses managed to weather the storm caused by COVID-19, its beer and oil refining businesses were particularly

hit the hardest by the imposition of stricter quarantine rules.

Ang said that even with recent reimposition of stricter quarantine restrictions, the company was prepared to execute plans and support government initiatives to the fullest to help the country recover.

“The best thing we can do is to work hard to continue providing essential goods and services to our people, while adjusting our operations to fully adhere to the quarantine. We are fortunate that during the easing of the quarantine, we were able to put in place and strengthen strategies that will help us operate better, get our products and services to more customers, support long-term growth, and help boost our economy during these challenging times” Ang said.

San Miguel earlier announced that all its major infrastructure projects would push through despite the crisis to boost the economy and provide jobs for more Filipinos struggling to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

PSE INDEX

Thursday, August 6, 2020

69.00 PTS. 5,902.58

TOTAL VOLUME 7,273,410,329 TOTAL TRADES 78,518 TOTAL VALUE 6,531,441,757.58 ADVANCES 88 DECLINES 90 UNCHANGED 46

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas •WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.1040

Japan

Yen

0.009437

0.4634

UK

Pound

1.307900

64.2231

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129029

6.3358

Switzerland

Franc

1.090156

53.5310

Canada

Dollar

0.746714

36.6666

Singapore

Dollar

0.726427

35.6705

Australia

Dollar

0.712000

34.9620

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652590

130.252

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266695

13.0958

Brunei

Dollar

0.723798

35.5414

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.032020

1.5723

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.3696

Euro

Euro

1.176300

57.7610

Korea

Won

0.000839

0.0412

China

Yuan

0.143227

7.0330

India

Rupee

0.013301

0.6531

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.236855

11.6305

New Zealand

Dollar

0.661200

32.4676

Taiwan

Dollar

0.034068

1.6729 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF ICTSI’s earnings hit $62.5m in Q2

PORT operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. said Thursday net income fell 3 percent in the second quarter from a year ago on weak global trade brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company led by port magnate Enrique Razon posted a net income of $62.5 million from April to June, down from $64 million in the same period last year.

ICTSI’s net income reached $113.4 million in the first half, also down by 12 percent from $128.5 million a year earlier. ICTSI blamed the decline in net income to the lower operating income, increase in interest on concession rights payable and COVID-19 related expenses.

Gross revenues in the first half softened by 4 percent to $724.3 million from $751.8 million in the same period last year as trade activities declined because of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 4,799,765 twenty-foot equivalent units in the first six months, 5 percent less than 5,041,916 TEUs it handled in the same period in 2019.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Ayala’s REIT unit concludes P12-b IPO

AREIT Inc., a real estate investment trust sponsored by Ayala Land Inc., concluded its P12.3-billion initial public offering amid the current volatile trading environment because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ayala Land said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the AREIT offering, the country’s first REIT IPO, was well-received by the market as the firm offer was two times oversubscribed.

The deal was more than fully covered with broad distribution across retail investors and high-quality international and domestic institutional investors.

Over 3,300 local small investors also participated in the offering.

“AREIT’s IPO is not only for Ayala Land, but also for the continued development of the Philippine capital markets. Since the REIT law was passed in 2009, domestic and foreign investors have been eagerly awaiting to invest in REITs in the Philippines,” AREIT chairman Jose Emmanuel Jalandoni said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Filinvest Land earns P952m

FILINVEST Land Inc., the real estate arm of the Gotianun family, said second-quarter net income declined 23 percent to P952 million from P1.24 billion in the same period last year as the disruptions brought about by the pandemic weighed on the company’s earnings.

FLI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange second-quarter sales reached P3.66 billion, down 32.4 percent from P5.42 billion a year ago.

Real estate sales from April to June declined 55.7 percent year-on-year to P1.46 billion, while rental revenues were flat at P1.6 billion.

“The second quarter was a most difficult time for the company with ECQ [enhanced community quarantine] limiting the operations of our malls and construction restrictions affecting residential revenue recognition,” FLI president and chief executive Josephine Gotianun-Yap said.

Yap said the group saw a very healthy rebound of residential sales when the country shifted to general community quarantine in June. Jenniffer B. Austria

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

C1

Knott rules Evolution Track Meet

By Peter Atencio

Lakers bow to Thunder; Celtics, Raps beat rivals MIAMI, United States—Having clinched a Western Conference top seed in the NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers began experimenting for the post-season Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) and found they still have some work to do.

In their first game since taking the top spot, the Lakers were routed 105-86 by Oklahoma City, never leading for the first time all season.

Chris Paul scored a game-high 21 points and Italian forward Danilo Gallinari added 19 as the Thunder, 42-25, stayed one game behind Utah for fourth in the West.

Three-time NBA champion LeBron James led the Lakers with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes on the court while Anthony Davis had nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“Some things we need to continue to work on,” James said. “We’ve been out 4 1/2 months.

“When you put in the hours, put in the reps, you can’t worry too much. You’ve got to go get it.”

Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets each could have clinched an Eastern Conference playoff berth with a victory, but both were beaten by title contenders.

Fred VanVleet scored a game-high 21 points and matched Kyle Lowry’s gamehigh 10 assists to spark the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors over Orlando 109-99.

The Magic fell to 32-37, a half-game behind the seventh-place Brooklyn Nets, who fell to Boston 149-115.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 21 points and Jason Tatum added 19 as Boston had seven double-figure scorers and unleashed the team’s highest one-game point total of the season despite playing without rested star guard Kemba Walker.

Cameroonian star Joel Embiid had game highs of 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Washington 107-98 but the 76ers lost Australian star guard Ben Simmons to a left knee injury in the third quarter.

Simmons had eight points on 2-of10 shooting with six rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes before exiting as the Sixers improved to 41-27, one game behind fifth-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

The Athletic reported Simmons had an MRI on the knee that was negative and his status would be decided day to day.

The Wizards, 24-44 and 0-4 in the bubble, will be eliminated from playoff contention with one more loss or if Orlando and Brooklyn both win.

That could happen Friday when New Orleans plays Washington, Brooklyn faces Sacramento and Orlando meets Philadelphia. AFP

Chris Paul (3) of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on August 5, 2020 at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. AFP

Pacquiao says no formal talks to fight McGregor S

By Jessica Luna

ENATOR Manny Pacquiao said there have been no discussions to fight either Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Conor McGregor or reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Terence Crawford.

In response to several reports since early this year, Pacquiao, 41, explained that his main priority right now is to be more helpful and productive as an elected government official during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Wala pang napag-uusapan dyan.

Dito na lang muna tayo at tulungan muna ang mga kababayan natin,” said Pacquiao (62-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts) who is presently in General Santos City.

Pacquiao, who remains a supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, didn’t put too much weight on the tweet in Filipino by the 32-year-old McGregor that stated “Tinatanggap ko” which translated to English meant “I accept.”

Even UFC President Dana White told Barstool Sports last August 4 that they should not look too much into McGregor’s cryptic tweet. He also explained that McGregor was considered retired since June 6 and there are no

plans for him to fight within this year.

On the part of Crawford, Top Rank’s Bob Arum claimed to the media last June that the eight-division world champion Pacquiao was interested in fighting the unbeaten Crawford (36-0 record with 27 knockouts) this year or early next year outside the United States.

Arum said he is looking to hold that fight in Macau or somewhere in the Middle East.

That Pacquiao-Crawford fight negotiation may prove complicated for now.

Pacquiao is under contract with the Premier Boxing Champions of Al Haymon while the American pug is with Top Rank Promotions.

MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons refused to comment about a possible bout against McGregor or Crawford.

Boston Bruins bow to Tampa Bay Lightning MONTREAL, Canada—Tyler Johnson smacked in a rebound with 1:27 remaining Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins in a crucial National Hockey League seeding game.

The Lightning improved to 2-0 in the round-robin matches to determine the order of four top seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Tampa Bay can clinch the top spot by defeating Philadelphia on Saturday.

In the Western Conference, Colorado moved within a victory of swiping a top seed by blanking Dallas 4-0. The Avalanche can complete a seeding sweep by downing the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

Boston, which won a league-high 44 games for an NHL-best 100 points before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the regular season March 12, can finish no better than the third seed after an 0-2 start in the East bubble at Toronto.

The Lightning, who beat Washington 3-2 in a shootout in their opener, squandered a two-goal lead for the second consecutive game.

But Johnson’s third-period tally and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 25 saves brought a win for Tampa Bay, which was second behind the Bruins in the East when the NHL went on hiatus.

Tyler Johnson (9) of the Tampa Bay Lightning scores the game winning goal against Tuukka Rask (40) of the Boston Bruins at 18:33 of the third period in an Eastern Conference Round Robin game during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff at Scotiabank Arena on August 5, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. AFP

FIL-AMERICAN bet Kristina Knott showed her form when she joined two races over the weekend in Jacksonville, Florida.

With strong winds challenging her, the 24-year-old Knott finished the women’s 100-meter run in 11.75 seconds for the gold medal in the Evolution Track League Meet at the Showalter Field in Winter Park.

She was ahead of Makala Watson, who checked in 12.98 seconds.

In the 200-meter dash, Knott came in at 25.88 seconds, with Watson following in 26.1.

This is her second competition since emerging from home quarantine.

And because the winds were affecting her performance, her clockings were not within range of the best times that she did during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

But, conditions were better when she saw action claimed two gold medals in the JAC Final Countdown meet in Jacksonville, Florida, according results that were shown by coach Roshan Griffin.

Last July 25, Knott submitted 11.51 seconds in the women’s 100-meter heats, before taking the gold in 11.52 second in the finals.

In beating Jordan Hankerson and Kaymin Sales, Knott’s time was .09 off her personal best, and she was 4/100ths of second faster than her silver medal finish in the 2019 SEA Games (11.55).

Hankerson checked in at 12.5 seconds while Sales had a time of 12.7 seconds.

Knott had a tailwind of 3.8 meter per second helping when she later took the gold medal in the 200-meter dash in 23.21 seconds.

Her time was near the SEA Games record clocking of 23.01 seconds, which she did last December.

She and William Morrison have more time to get ready for the Tokyo Olympics.

They have devoted a lot of time preparing for Olympic qualifying competitions while in lockdown back in their respective area of residence back in the United States.

In the West bubble at Edmonton, Colorado was also second at the COVID-19 break, two points behind St. Louis, but the Avalanche could be the West team to beat when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Tuesday.

Colorado’s Czech netminder, Pavel Francouz, made 27 saves while Andre Burakovsky and Joonas Donskoy each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche.

Twelve top teams in each conference entered each bubble, the best four playing each other to decide seeds and the other eight meeting in best-of-five qualifying series, with those winners facing the seeds when the regular best-of-seven playoff rounds open.

The Florida Panthers avoided elimination from the NHL post-season with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders in their best-of-five qualifying series.

Erik Haula and Mike Hoffman scored power-play goals for the Panthers while Brian Boyle found the net at even strength for Florida, which also got 20 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Panthers must win again Friday to force a fifth game on Sunday.

“We played hard in a do-or-die situation,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “We asked a lot of each other today and we came out with a Grade-A outcome. We’re happy and excited to do it all again in two days.”

Conor Garland broke a 1-1 deadlock to launch a three-goal third period for Arizona as the Coyotes beat Nashville 4-1 to seize a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five qualifying matchup. AFP

Nadal preparing for Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves to Daniil Medvedev of Russia during their men’s Singles Finals match at the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York in this file photo taken on September 8, 2019. AFP

MADRID, Spain—Rafael Nadal on Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) said he still intends to play at the French Open next month and remains hopeful it will go ahead, despite withdrawing from the US Open due to coronavirus concerns.

Nadal also insisted the US Open will not carry an asterisk without its defending men’s champion, even if he admitted it will take place under “special circumstances”, with several top players expected to sit out.

The 34-year-old Spaniard’s withdrawal was confirmed shortly after the Madrid Open was cancelled on Tuesday, with a rise in coronavirus cases in Europe raising doubts around other events, including the French Open, which is due to start in Paris on September 27.

Nadal, who would be going for a record-ex-

tending 13th title at Roland Garros, was asked if he thinks the tournament will go ahead.

“I trust it will yes, it is in my mind and I am preparing for it,” said the 34-year-old in a briefing with international media on Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time).

“But we have to wait for events, to see how everything evolves because it is true that in recent weeks the situation seems to have worsened a little. But my hope and my intention would be to be there if conditions allow.”

Nadal also explained his decision to pull out of the US Open. “My heart says today is not the moment to take long travels without knowing exactly what can and cannot happen.

“My decision is to stay at home in Mallorca where the situation is good, it looks under control here, and to wait for

future opportunities.”

‘Special circumstances’ Women’s world number one Ashleigh Barty has also chosen not to compete in New York, where a depleted entry list in both the men’s and women’s draws looks inevitable.

Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are all still due to play.

“The tournament is still big, it’s a Grand Slam,” Nadal said. “I am not arrogant enough to say the tournament is not big because I am not playing. There will be important players.

“Of course it’s a tournament under special circumstances but still a Grand Slam and the winner will feel like the winner of a Grand Slam. It’s true it will be under special circumstances with a lot of important players not travelling there.” AFP

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Sports

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

Del Rosario forms football team F

By Peter Atencio

ORMER Philippine Azkals booter Anton del Rosario is forming a team that will join Philippine Football League.

Del Rosario, who retired from the national team back in 2014, said the team will be known as the Maharlika FC. The 47-year-old del Rosario said he is now in the process of applying for a license with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

“The team will be a mixture of youth

and experience, and we will have four foreign players that will be allowed to play,” said del Rosario during a weekly online session of TOPS: Usapang Sports on Zoom.

The team will be ready by the time training sessions are finally allowed.

So far, the PFF has decided to postpone the start of the training sessions

of club teams that will see action in the coming PFL. The sessions at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite were supposed to be held on the third week of August 2020.

But it was put off after the government’s decision to impose a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Cavite and Laguna from Aug. 4 to 18.

This was brought on by the increasing number of Covid-19 infections in Metro Manila.

Brazilian-Filipino model Daniel Mat-

sunaga will be among the players of the team, according to del Rosario.

Initially, PFL teams were allowed to have training sessions in areas under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the guidelines that were set in both the PFF Operations Protocol for the Philippines Football League and the Joint Administrative Order signed by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and the Department of Health (DOH).

The Olympic rings symbol is seen in front of Rainbow Bridge at Tokyo Waterfront in the waters of Odaiba Marine Park on August 6, 2020 while being transferred back to the factory where it was manufactured for a safety inspection and to receive maintenance. AFP

Olympic rings towed away from Tokyo waterfront TOKYO, Japan—A giant set of Olympic rings installed off Tokyo’s waterfront was towed away for inspections and maintenance Thursday after coronavirus forced the year-long postponement of the 2020 Games.

The 69-ton interlocking rings went up off the Odaiba bay area at the beginning of the year, as the city began the final countdown to the Summer Olympics.

They were intended to stay in place until the original end date of the Olympics, on August 9, and then be replaced by the Paralympics symbol.

But on Thursday, the barge holding the monument—which is more than 15 meters tall and 32 meters wide (49 feet by 104 feet)—was towed back to shore.

“The Olympic Symbol as well as its salvage barge will undergo a safety inspection and receive maintenance for about four months. The date of re-installation to the current location will be determined after maintenance has been completed,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said in a statement.

This year’s Games were originally scheduled to open on July 24, but officials took the historic decision to push back the event by a year as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe.

Olympic and Japanese officials have said they remain committed to holding the Games next year as planned, but experts have questioned whether the virus will be under control by then.

Opinion polls in Japan show waning confidence that the Games can, or should, be held in 2021. AFP

Bayanihan Hamilton forcing rivals Club rules to ‘count sheep’ at 70th GP Philippine E-9 chess Open THE Bayanihan Chess Club team (97 points) dominated the competition for a runaway victory in the Philippine E-9 chess club Open chess team championships dubbed as Arena Grandmaster (AGM) and National Master (NM) Almario Marlon Quiroz Bernardino Jr. 43rd birthday celebration Sunday night, August 2, 2020 at lichess.org.

Playing for Bayanihan Chess Club team were 13-time Philippine Open champion Grandmaster (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. (24 points), Doodee Libongcogon (24 points), Jiggy Miguel Vicente (20 points), Genghis Katipunan Imperial 17 (points) and NCFP executive director Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe (12 points).

The Founders team (75 points) placed second. Team members include tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) National Master (NM) Karl Victor Ochoa (28 points), National Master (NM) Elwin Retanal (19 points), Norwin Altez Marasigan (10 points), Jun Jun Jabay (10 points) and Ruel Gomez (8 points).

Magnificent team (63 points) headed by Grandmaster (GM) Darwin Laylo (16 points) took third. Other members included Paulo Buenaobra (15 points), Viel Espinosa (11 points), Ariel Santander (11 points) and Kim Kenneth Santos (10 points).

Actually, Magnificent team and Fire Power team, both tallied 63 points, however Magnificent team took third place honor with superior tiebreak points against fourth placer Fire Power led by National Master (NM) Gerardo “Gerry Cabellon, Kyle Ochoa, Christopher Megino, Ariel Duiz and Johnvic Yu. Other participating Teams were Destiny Team (58 points), Team Soju (57 points), No Mercy team (48 points), Avengers team (47 points), Power Moves team (45 points) and Baby Uno team (39 points).

Other notable players seeing in action were eight-time Illinois, USA chess champion International Master Angelo Abundo Young, Woman International Master Bernadette Galas, Fide Master Jony Habla, Woman Fide Master Cherry Ann Mejia, National Master Jonathan Tan, National Master Homer Cunanan, National Master Julius Sinangote, National Master Giovanni Mejia, National Master Robert Arellano, Bernardino, Arena Grandmaster Henry Roger Lopez and Korea chess champion Joel “Recca” Carcueva.

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom— Lewis Hamilton returns to Silverstone this weekend knowing he faces another “serious challenge” with even softer tires and hotter conditions for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix than those he overcame on his way to a dramatic triumph in last Sunday’s British Grand Prix.

Just days after his victory on three working wheels, and one that was damaged and punctured, the championship leader and six-time world champion is braced for a similarly testing weekend with high temperatures forecast and tire suppliers Pirelli switching to a less durable compound.

“One step softer is going to be a challenge for us all and, no doubt, will move us all to at least a two-stop (strategy),” explained Hamilton in the aftermath of his 87th career win.

“Obviously, our cars are a lot quicker this year, but we’re using the same tires as last year.

“They (Pirelli) weren’t able to develop a better tire to deal with the forces for this season so it’s going to be a really serious challenge.”

‘Counting sheep’ Max Verstappen has already suggested that Hamilton is uncatchable in the title race, giving only Bottas a chance of staying in contention, following Mercedes’ four wins out of four this year.

“So I will be counting sheep again,” he joked, when he looked ahead to his prospects of following the two Mercedes in this weekend’s race.

“You have to be realistic,” he said. “You can dream. You can hope. But I think it is more important to be realistic because that’s how you can move forward.”

This weekend’s race will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the inaugural world championship race, held at Silverstone in 1950—an event that saw Italian Giuseppe Farina victorious in the first of three triumphant Alfa Romeo cars.

Juan-Manuel Fangio, who was to be a five-time champion, led briefly but failed to finish in his Alfa Romeo after rupturing an oil pipe.

This allowed Luigi Fagioli to come second ahead of Briton Reg Parnell, who hit a hare during the race.

Such hazards may be less likely this weekend, but after last Sunday’s three tire

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton gestures on the winners’ podium holding the trophy after winning the Formula One British Grand Prix at the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England on August 2, 2020. AFP

failures in the closing laps—Bottas and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz were also hit by delamination and punctures—more unexpected incidents cannot be discounted.

“The hotter conditions brought the field closer together last week and the softer tires will mean more pit stops and more variability with strategy this time, so we can expect a good fight,” warned Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff.

After completing a hat-trick of succes-

sive wins in this coronavirus-hit season and extending his record of consecutive points finishes to 37, Hamilton will start as favorite again as he bids to draw level with Michael Schumacher’s record of 155 podium finishes.

If he wins, he will be within three victories of Schumacher’s record of 91 as he bids to progress to a seventh title and draw level with another Schumacher record total. AFP

NBA team owners commit $300 million to black empowerment NEW YORK, United States—NBA team owners will contribute $300 million over the next decade to establish a charitable foundation dedicated to economic empowerment in the black community, the league announced Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time).

The NBA Foundation, launched in partnership with the National Basket-

LeBron James (23) of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on August 5, 2020 at The Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.

AFP

ball Players Association (NBPA), will see all 30 club owners contribute a collective $30 million annually for 10 years in initial funding to support racial equality and social justice.

“The creation of this foundation is an important step in developing more opportunities for the black community,” NBPA president Chris Paul said.

“I’m proud of our league and our players for their commitment to this long-term fight for equality and justice, and I know we will continue to find ways to keep pushing for meaningful institutional change.”

The move follows worldwide protests after the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd last May while in police custody.

NBA players are wearing messages of support for cultural issues on jerseys as they finish their season while “Black Lives Matter” is written upon all courts where games are played.

The foundation mission will be to drive economic empowerment for black communities through employment and career advancement, boosting access and backing for high school, college-aged and career-ready black men and women.

It will also assist national and local organizations that provide skills training, mentorship, coaching and personal development in NBA communities across the United States and Canada.

Part of the foundation’s mission regarding employment will be on obtaining a first job, securing employ-

ment after high school or college and career advancement once employed.

“All NBA team governors recognize our unique position to effect change and we are committed to supporting and empowering young black men and women in each of our team markets as well as communities across the US and Canada,” said NBA board of governors chairman Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of the ownership group for the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors.

Four NBA club owners, three players and executives from the NBPA and a member of the league office will serve on the foundation board of directors.

“We’re dedicated to using the collective resources of the 30 teams, the players and the league to drive meaningful economic opportunities for black Americans,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“We believe that through focused programs in our team markets and nationally, together with clear and specific performance measures, we can advance our shared goals of creating substantial economic mobility within the Black community.” AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

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GMA strengthens reputation as top online news source in PH GMA News remained as the country’s number one online news video publisher based on the latest data of Tubular Labs, the Californiabased software company considered as the worldleader in social video analytics.

In June leaderboard for the News and Politics category showed, GMA News amassed 223.7 million views on Facebook and 139.9 million views on YouTube, making it the only Filipino news outlet to make it in the top 20 worldwide for the month.

Contributing a significant amount of views on GMA News’ Facebook and YouTube pages is the livestream of 24 Oras, which is still the most viewed newscast online. Also available for viewing worldwide are Express versions of GMA’s newscasts 24 Oras, Saksi, and Unang Hirit.

In the same period, GMA News launched an online exclusive show #BetterNormalPH, hosted by veteran journalist Malou Mangahas, which seeks to explore how Filipinos are adjusting to the new normal brought by the pandemic.

GMA News’ original video series are

VERY WANG NICKIE WANG

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ARDO Dalisay, the iconic character played

by Coco Martin in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, faces the biggest threat to his marriage as he finds a new, mysterious rival in Alyana’s (Yassi Pressman) heart, her childhood sweetheart played

by Richard Gutierrez.

Richard Gutierrez compares 'Ang Probinsyano' to a well-oiled machine which is why the series has been on air for almost five years and continues to provide entertainment to its loyal viewers.

likewise going strong—Quarantined with Howie Severino is consistent in guesting the top newsmakers of the week while explanatory journalism effort “Need to Know” series continues to shed light on the social and political issues that have surfaced amid the pandemic.

With 219 million views on YouTube and 71.2 million on Facebook, the award-winning group of GMA Public Affairs emerged as the second top video publisher in the Philippines under the same category.

The Philippines' leading TV program, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), is among the most viewed public affairs programs online along with Tadhana, Wish Ko, Lang, IWitness, and Imbestigador.

A substantial number of views for GMA Public Affairs Facebook and Youtube accounts also came from its online shows including Stand For Truth, Frontliners, Fact or Fake, RTx. Survivors, The Better Normal PH, Juan Love, Quarantours, Sumbungan ng Bayan, and ECQusina.

Consistently bolstering the network’s digital presence globally is the GMA News and Public Affairs Digital team that handles both accounts.

All these videos and more are being premiered on the GMA News Online website, www.gmanews.tv. For more Kapuso content, follow the GMA News and GMA Public Affairs official Facebook page and YouTube channel

TV5 positions itself as network of the new normal A scene from 'FPJ's Ang Probinsyano' featuring Coco Martin and Yassi Pressman.

The introduction of Richard’s character is one of the latest developments in the long-running series that is now available via livestreaming on Kapamilya Online Live launched on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

In a virtual interview with Manila Standard Entertainment, the 36-year-old actor shared that joining the series was an easy decision.

“I’ve been wanting to join the series since Coco and I talked about the offer.

We've been in constant communication since last year. It's really the schedule that we had to fix so I could join Ang Probinsyano,” Richard shared.

The actor only had good words for his co-star who also directs the five-yearold action drama series. And he’s quite impressed by the way they work on the set.

“On the first day of taping, Coco already established the kind of working environment we’re going to have. He’s very hands-on. Alagang alaga ako sa set. Everything is organized and properly coordinated. The staff and crew already know what to do. Ang Probinsyano is like a well-oiled machine,” he said.

Richard has observed the kind of environment Coco created for Ang Probinsyano—from the relationship he has with the cast and crew to the system he uses for an easier and faster workflow— that made him feel at home in an instant.

“As a director, you will really see that he wants to make every scene perfect.

As an actor, on the other hand, you will be impressed by his skills. It’s so easy for him to transition from being the one behind the camera to the person in front of the camera,” Richard shared.

“As an actor, I am very excited to be a part of this show that has been airing for years. Viewers should watch out for when my character finally comes face to face with Cardo and my love story with Alyana,” he added alluding to what people can expect from his character.

As Cardo and Task Force Aguila

continue to hide from the authorities, they will find an ally in Lito (Richard), a wealthy businessman who offers them job opportunities in one of his properties.

Despite his reservations, Cardo is forced to trust Lito after Alyana vouches for him and swears that her childhood friend would do everything to protect them. Unbeknownst to Cardo, Alyana is Lito’s reason for living, and that she once swore to Lito that she would return for him.

Alyana’s homecoming also ignites Lito’s only motivation in life—to get Alyana back, no matter the odds.

Will Lito win Cardo’s trust? How far will Lito go to destroy Cardo and Alyana’s marriage?

“That’s something that people need to find out,” Richard exclaimed.

Offered for free and without any subscription fee, Kapamilya Online Live livestreams a mix of current shows and classic Kapamilya programs throughout the day as ABS-CBN strengthens its digital presence to reach more Filipinos.

It will also allow viewers to catch the latest episodes of their favorite shows as it will be available on-demand in the next 24 hours. ***

Katrina Halili headlines new episode of ‘Wish Ko Lang’ For the next fresh episode of Wish Ko Lang! airing tomorrow, actress Katrina Halili brings to life the story of Teresa—a loving and hard-working mother who got mysteriously sick. Joining her are Kim Rodriguez, Luis Hontiveros, and Elijah Alejo.

Nothing can stop Teresa when it comes to the welfare of her children.

So, when her co-worker Cristel (Kim) picked on her 12-year-old daughter Marissa (Elijah), Teresa did not back down and defended the latter.

Because of her assertiveness, Cristel was fired by their boss Lander (Luis).

But something happened to Teresa: At

first, she only had difficulty breathing but later on, her legs got swollen and her body got bloated.

Her family could not help but wonder if Cristel had something to do with Teresa’s condition. People urged Teresa’s family to have her checked by a doctor. But because they have no money, Teresa was not brought to a real doctor.

Now Teresa’s children are suffering especially Marissa. They love their mother so much that Marissa and her siblings will do everything for their mother.

“She is a loving mom. She will do everything of her family,” Katrina shared how she saw herself in Teresa.

Meanwhile, the latest Wish Ko Lang! offering is the first project of Luis as Kapuso. The actor recently signed a contract with GMA Network.

“I am extremely humbled to be part of such a significant show. I am grateful that Wish Ko Lang! was the first show to allow me to showcase my craft.”

Directed by Rommel Penesa and written

by Erwin Caezar Bravo, watch the “Pighati” episode of Wish Ko Lang! hosted by Vicky Morales, this Saturday a f t e r Tadhana on GMA-7.

Katrina Halili

"WE WOULD like to be the network of the displaced workers over time, a clear sign new normal. That's how we would like to that they are more than ready to welcome brand ourselves. We are in a very interesting new people and program ideas into its fold. position to provide a different kind of A major new asset is the NBA that is now entertainment for the audience." available live on Cignal TV as well as TV5 This is how Perci Intalan answered and One Sports. when Manila Standard Entertainment asked “The NBA coming to Cignal TV and about their plans to rebrand TV5 only strengthens our TV5 when it announced position of bringing the yesterday its partnership best sports to our Filipino with Cignal TV to revive its viewers throughout the entertainment content. country,” Galang said.

Together with Intalan Also, coming month and other TV5 top guns, is TV5’s first salvo of an president and CEO Robert interesting mix of lifestyle Galang announced a new programs and game shows partnership between the hosted by various artists long-running broadcast with proven versatility institution and Cignal TV, and mass appeal. Its new which would be its major morning show called block timer as the network Chika, BESH! (Basta reclaims its position as Everyday Super Happy) a contender for the top TV5 president and CEO brings together winsome position in the country’s Robert Galang movie and TV personalities broadcast industry.

Pokwang, Pauleen Luna, Galang who also serves and Ria Atayde. as head of Cignal TV—a In the fitness-centric subsidiary of MediaQuest show Fit for Life, actressHoldings in a concurrent host Jessy Mendiola will capacity—said that the draw from her own fitness partnership would be transformation journey seamless considering the in inspiring viewers to complementary blending commit to a healthier of the strengths that each lifestyle. Get ready for organization brings to the intimate conversations table. and real-life talk on Cignal TV’s nation-wide Usapang Real Life with reach and technological Luchi Cruz-Valdez. prowess combined with There will also be two the innovative and creative new game shows that will nature which TV5 has been TV5 head of programming be headlined by loveable known for all these years Perci Intalan comedians—Wally Bayola would be an exciting package and Paolo Ballesteros for for Pinoy viewers. The new partnership Bawal na Game Show; Jose Manalo and aims to redefine the entertainment scene by Pokwang for Fill in the Bank—with both offering topnotch shows and talents that can shows promising loads of fun and prizes. greatly boost TV5’s re-programming goals Coming back to TV is Bangon Talentadong which have been an ongoing plan since late Pinoy which aims to reflect the creativity 2019, and now bolstered by Cignal TV’s other of Filipino artists regardless of the current digital assets. situation and will be hosted again by Ryan "We are revving up our entertainment Agoncillo who will be joined by talent scouts content creation and will need creatives, John Arcilla, Janice de Belen, and Joross talents, directors, scriptwriters, cameramen, Gamboa in the pilot episode. etc.," Cignal TV and TV5 Chairman “Our commitment is to celebrate the Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement lives of today’s Filipinos by providing sent to Manila Standard Entertainment. informative as well as inspiring and uplifting According to the chairman, if they are entertainment content, and hopefully, in so willing and able to work with the network, doing, we are able to make lives, a little then TV5 and Cignal TV are prepared better, a little safer, and a little easier in to offer alternative jobs for the relevant these changing times.”

RS Francisco develops dream line of fun, colorful apparel

Boy group Chicser (from left to right) Owy Posadas, Cav Villafuerte, Ully Basa, and Oliver Posadas in RS Luxe Wear.

UNUSUAL times call for innovation. And for multifaceted celebrity-businessman RS Francisco, the extra time brought by the unexpected (and unfortunate) pandemic gave way for him to fully develop his dream line of fun and colorful apparel while adding a functional twist to keep people safe protected from the virus.

A deliberate act that was partly aimed to promote public service in Pride month, RS’ passion for fashion meets his passion for mankind with a continuous pledge of 50 percent from RS Luxxe Wear sales

to charitable pursuits in response to COVID-19.

“May this piece of RS Luxxe Wear comes as a blessing to you, a clothing line that we’ve created to touch the lives of many people,” the award-winning actor, creative, and revolutionary entrepreneur stated.

The auspicious day of Aug. 8, RS Francisco’s birthday, marks the official launch of RS Luxxe Wear (RSLW).

There will be a live online selling on RS Francisco’s Facebook page to be graced

by the country’s trending social media personalities Team Joss—Sachzna Laparan and Jomar Lovena—and Team EBS—Angelica Yap and Flow-G. In collaboration with Frontrow Cares, the online selling will give patrons who purchase at least one shirt from the Facebook Live launch two additional face masks free of charge. The exact time for RS’ online charity fashion event tomorrow will be announced on RS Luxxe Wear official Instagram page, where you can also get a view of all the shirt and mask designs.

Life

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

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TRAVEL & LEISURE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2020

A

S MENTIONED in my last week’s column, moves are underway to revive the sports sector of our tourism industry.

The Clark Special Economic Zone and Subic Bay Freeport have been encouraged by the sports community to jumpstart such recovery, being among the areas with very low incidents of COVID-19 infections due to its strict health protocols.

On their end, Clark and Subic are determined to prioritize health safety for athletes, organizers, and stakeholders, with the guidance of the Inter-Agency Task Force, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and the Department of Tourism (DOT). This move to make the sports industry be the first to help revive local and international tourism has been propelled by the opening of nominations for the 4th Philippine Sports Tourism Awards (PSTA).

Organized by the Cebu-based Selrahco Management and Consultancy Services, with the support of DOT and PSC, this awards event is determined to push through, whether virtual or face-to-face, in the latter part of the year. The event will honor sports groups, private entities, and government agencies, based on activities organized or hosted in 2019.

Categories for nominations are: Sports Tourism Destination of the Year, Sports Tourism Organizer (Private and Government), Sports Tourism Event (Domestic and International), Sports Association, Sports Tourism Destination Marketing, and Sports Tourism Hotel.

Other categories are Sports Tourism Event Sponsorship, Sports Tourism Charity Event, Sports Tourism Airline, Sports Tour Operator, Adventure Event, Sports Venue, Sports MICE Event, and Sports Media Coverage.

Two special awards will also be given to prominent Sports Personalities in the private and government sectors.

The PSTA is the only one of its kind in the country, and it encourages professionalism in the planning and management of sporting events which consequently helps promote tourism.

The awards project is also aimed at helping both Clark and Subic reclaim their standing as premiere sports tourism hubs in the region, having hosted the 30th Southeast Asian Games last year.

Clark Development Corporation president Noel Manankil declared that despite the setbacks the destination experienced these past months, they are eager to re-

Sports(Parttourism 2)

Dinghy race at Chairman’s Cup Regatta in Subic Bay

Swimming event held at New Clark City Aquatics Center.

Participants at the Ironman Philippines in Subic.

sume sports activities to live up to their award as Sports Destination of the Year, which they won two years in a row.

On the other hand, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairperson Wilma Eisma believes that, as resilient as the Filipinos are, tourism will spring back to the heights it has reached before as one of the country’s most popular sports destinations.

PSTA president Charles Lim is now very busy compiling nominations for the various aforementioned categories.

More information on the 4th Philippine Sports Tourism Awards may be obtained from gabe.selrahco@gmail.com or through 0906-406-7051.

YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself entering a bank, wearing a mask, asking for money, and not get arrested by the police.

Some of the past PSTA winners.

FRONT DESK Manila Marriott turns guest rooms into office spaces

Philippine Sports Tourism Awards president Charles Lim

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com.

10 important documents you need when moving abroad FILIPINA author Donna Avellana Künzler draws from her experience moving to a foreign country as she shares a comprehensive list of the important paperwork Filipinos planning to seek a better life abroad must prepare before their departure.

Avellana Künzler has spent almost 20 years abroad in a successful career in finance. She first relocated to Singapore, continued her adventures in the United States, then in the United Kingdom, before finally settling down in Switzerland—first in Basel and now in Zurich.

Through her debut book, The Overseas Fabulous Pinay: A Modern Filipina’s Guide on How to Thrive Abroad, she lists down tips, shares light-hearted anecdotes, and details how to move abroad efficiently, settle in, and adjust to new culture, among others.

But before anything else, she advises, “Make sure you have prepared all the required paperwork and clearances for your move. Some are a must, while some are a nice-to-have.”

“As a friendly reminder, do note that some paperwork needs time and effort, or needs to be done in person. Give yourself ample time when preparing these documents before your departure.”

1. Passport. This must be valid for at least six months or one year from date of travel, depending on the destination. She recommends checking with one’s destination country’s embassy website to be sure.

2. Visa/work permit/residence permit. It’s important to have the appropriate document to prove the legality of your stay as a foreigner.

3. POEA clearance. Obtain proper immigration clear-

ance when you are at passport control at the airport, says Avellana Künzler. It’s also a way to ensure that your future employer is not an illegal recruiter.

4. Employment contract. This is a must-have document in case you get asked at passport control to provide proof of employment.

5. Proof of accommodation. Another must-have if evidence of stay is requested at passport control.

6. Various certificates of education and professional qualifications. Keep a copy or have the original in case they’re required for employment purposes. These may include certificates of education, transcript of records, copies of professional certifications and training, employment certificates, employer recommendation, and reference letters.

7. Certificates of funds and investments. These refer to bank accounts, stock certificates, property title, etc., which are useful as proof of net worth. This applies to future investments, computing your income tax, and so on.

8. Driver’s license. Have one that is valid, suggests Avellana Künzler, to be able to rent a car when needed and for when applying for a driver’s license in the country in which you will work and live.

9. Power of attorney. If you are leaving properties behind (e.g., real estate, an automobile, etc.), organize a power of attorney to facilitate their administration and maintenance.

10. Others. These are birth certificate, medical certificates, vaccination record/history, and NBI clearance.

The Overseas Fabulous Pinay: A Modern Filipina’s Guide on How to Thrive Abroad is available at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Amazon for P750.

FIVE-STAR Manila Marriott Hotel offers a “work from hotel” promo for those looking for a conducive workspace complete with high-speed Internet, free parking, and food and beverage discount.

Guests can book a deluxe room starting at P4,000++ or a deluxe suite at P8,000++ for a whole day—7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.—of working in a fullyequipped space free from distraction.

In addition to reliable Internet connection and comfortable workspace, guests are also afforded access to breakfast, lunch, and dinner as the hotel has a wide selection of menu that can be delivered to their rooms. This special promo also includes 20 percent f&b discount.

Hotel staff thoroughly cleans all surfaces with hospital-grade disinfectants, and uses enhanced technologies such as electrostatic sprayers to sanitize surfaces throughout the hotel and ultraviolet light technology to sanitize guest keys and devices shared by associates.

Special rates is valid until Sept. 30. Booking may be arranged for a minimum of seven days and is subject to room availability. Call 0917-5849565 to book.

Sheraton Manila Bay offers meeting package AS PART of its “work from hotel” special promotion, Sheraton Manila Bay opens its fully furnished Executive Suite and Presidential Suite to organizers setting up meetings.

Rates for The Suite Up experience start at P25,000 nett and comes with coffee break and working lunch prepared by the hotel’s culinary team, a dedicated events planner to provide seamless meeting coordination, and access to AV facilities including complimentary use of built-in LED TV for AV presentation, projector and portable white screen (upon request), free-flowing water, coffee and tea setup, video conferencing facility (subject to additional charge), and standard meeting stationeries.

The expansive 178-square-meter Presidential Suite has a grand double-door entrance that opens up to an elegant suite featuring a lavish two-bedroom, marble en-suite bathroom fitted with a luxurious Jacuzzi, kitchenette, powder room, and executive area.

Likewise exuding elegance, the spacious 126-square-meter Executive Suite features contemporary interior, an en-suite bathroom with premium amenities, a well-equipped kitchenette, as well as separate living and dining areas.

Both suites boast a stunning vista of Manila’s bustling city skyline and are equipped with highspeed Internet access.

For reservations, call (02) 5318-0788 or email reservations.manilabay@ sheraton.com.