Manila Standard - 2020 September 9 - Wednesday

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No more home quarantine Año bares gov't plan to implement new isolation policy this week

By Vito Barcelo

COVID-19 PH

T

HE government will enforce a strict “no home quarantine” policy for people who test positive for COVID-19 "within the week," Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday.

“It's really best that we isolate everyone, rich and poor," Año told CNN Philippines.

Año said that "the well-to-do" should not have any problems with the new policy as the government has made hotels available as isolation facilities.

AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM SEPT. 8)

241,987 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 187• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Año’s statement runs counter to the current policy that allows asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases to go on home quarantine, provided there is a separate room and toilet for the patient and quarantine protocols are strictly followed.

These conditions have been difficult to

monitor, however, and home quarantine has been cited as a possible reason COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the province of Lanao del Sur and the city of Bacolod under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ)

from Sept. 8 to 30, after a spike was in COVID-19 infections was recorded in these areas.

During a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases

3,281 52,893 NEW

ACTIVE

3,916

26

185,178

286

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

NEW

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TWO 'HAZARDOUS' FACES. The laying of crushed dolomite continues on the Manila Bay beachfront beside the United States Embassy in Manila (left photo)—a move the government said would contribute to Filipinos' mental health amid the coronavirus pandemic—but on the southern end of the shoreline, personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) clean debris and garbage, obvious physical health hazards, washed up from the bay owing to recent monsoon rains. Tina Panganiban Perez via GMA News Twitter and Norman Cruz

Cebu stops ‘white sand’ mining for Manila Bay CEBU Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on Tuesday ordered a stop to mining operations in Alcoy town for the dolomite or powder-white sand used for the P389-million beautification project of the Manila Bay beach, which has drawn criticism from environmentalists and lawmakers alike.

This developed as Environment Sec-

retary Roy Cimatu defended to Congress the use of crushed dolomite rocks to whiten the Manila Bay shoreline—even as Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the project could be stopped if proven that dolomite dust is harmful to the public.

Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko" Domagoso on Tuesday also sought clarification from the Department of Environ-

ment and Natural Resources (DENR) on the possible health risks of crushed dolomite rocks, following a statement from Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire that inhalation of dolomite particles could cause respiratory problems.

But Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, in an interview with Next page

Palace elated over PH among nations with lower new cases MALACAÑANG said Tuesday it was “pleased” with a report that included the Philippines among the countries where the new cases of the coronavirus disease were “lower and staying low.”

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque was referring to the New York Times report titled “Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak.”

The Philippines aside, the Southeast Asian countries that were also on the list were Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The other categories in the article were countries "where new cases are higher and staying high", "where new cases are higher but going down", "where new cases are lower but going up", "where deaths

are increasing".

3,281 new cases A total of 3,281 confirmed cases were reported Tuesday by the Department of Health, which brought to 241,987 the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The department also listed 286 patients who recovered from the coronavirus, resulting in a total of 185,178 recoveries. It likewise announced 26 deaths.

Of the 3,281 reported cases, 2,932 (89 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days, or from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.

Remain cautious, Filipinos urged While the reported decline in new COVID-19 cases is reason to be optimistic, Next page

‘Pemberton may be out by Friday’

By Rio N. Araja, Rey E. Requejo, Macon RamosAraneta and Butch Gunio

THEN AND NOW. In a photo taken five years ago, US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton stands with his lawyer, Rowena Garcia-Flores. Fast forward to Tuesday, Pemberton gets his final mugshot with local authorities before his release from prison, expected this Friday.

Cascolan sets tougher policy vs. virus, drugs

Sotto, Lacson differ on Rody clearing Duque

PHILIPPINE National Police Chief Camilo Cascolan has vowed a tougher approach against the COVID-19 pandemic, illegal drugs and the insurgency.

"Think of it like we are in a basketball game. As your chief, I am holding the ball. I want three points in my leadership,” Cascolan said during his first flag-raising ceremony as PNP chief in Camp Crame on Monday.

“I want my police officers to be

By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo and Joyce Pangco Panares

Next page

COVID CASUALTY. Sorsogon 2nd District Rep. Ma. Bernardita "Ditas" Ramos, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, passed away Tuesday, the House of Representatives announced.

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has been "cleared of any wrongdoing" by President Rodrigo Duterte, even as Senate President Vicente Sotto III insisted the Chief Executive should Next page

US Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton could be released from prison by Friday after President Rodrigo Duterte granted the American serviceman absolute pardon for the 2014 killing of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude, his lawyer said.

“I am hoping he can leave prison by

Friday, but I will still talk to the Bureau of Immigration as to what they require of us before they release Pemberton,” lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV on Tuesday.

Pemberton remains in his cell in Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as he has no deportation order yet, Flores said.

Before the deportation order takes effect, the lawyer said the BI also required Next page

HELLO, GOODBYE. President Rodrigo Duterte talks on the phone with outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left), then confers the Order of Sikatuna on US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, who paid a farewell call on the Chief Executive at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on Tuesday. Presidential Photos

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

P8b more for AFP warchest A “Considering the foreign threats we are facing in the West Philippine Sea, we are assuring the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) of sustained funding support for its modernization projects, despite the coronavirus pandemic,” Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, public budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines (SWP) has expressed willingness to participate in the budget legislation process, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.

This was in response to Cayetano's call for the public to involve themselves directly in the hearings for the P4.5-tril-

lion 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

In the proposed 2021 national budget, Pimentel said the AFP modernization program is getting P33 billion in fresh funding, or P8 billion higher than the usual P25-billion annual allocation.

The military modernization program was given P25 billion in the 2020 national government budget, but the Department of National Defense (DND) returned P9.4 billion in “unobligated (program) funds” to the National Treasury to help the government’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Unobligated funds are appropriations that remain uncommitted by contract.

No...

are under a general community quarantine (GCQ).

The rest of the Philippines is under a modified GCQ. As of Monday, the country has recorded a total of 238,727 confirmed COVID-19 cases of which 3,890 are deaths and 184,906 are recoveries.

Also on Tuesday, the IATF allowed the use of antigen tests a preboarding requirement for all domestic travelers.

"IATF allowed the use of the antigen test, when it is used as a pre-boarding requirement for asymptomatic domestic tourists before departure and travel to tourist destinations, or as a requirement upon entry at the place of destination if in accordance with the protocols of the local government unit," Roque said in a

statement.

Antigen tests could be a substitute for the gold standard real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, Roque said.

IATF co-chairperson Karlo Nograles previously said they are studying the use of antigen tests in detecting COVID 19 to further ramp up the country’s testing capacity.

The antigen tests use nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab for the collection of specimens but it uses laboratory or health care settings for validation of results.

If antigen tests show positive results, it means there are “presumptive COVID-19” but if it yields negative results, it means COVID-19 is unlikely.

The Joint Task Force (JTF) Covid

Shield on Tuesday said it will implement tighter screening on the issuance of travel authority for returning locally stranded individuals.

In a statement, task force commander, Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, said Brig. Gen. Alfred Corpus, director for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has ordered all police commanders to strictly coordinate with the receiving local government units (LGUs) to make sure they give the gosignal before a travel authority is issued to an applicant.

The stricter rules are in response to complaints of some LGUs regarding the uncoordinated return of some locally stranded individuals, which are among the causes cited for the surge of COVID-19 cases in some areas.

wearing of face masks.

90-percent success rate The Department of Health on Tuesday reported a 90-percent success rate in its ability to quickly connect Filipinos needing medical attention under the One Hospital Command Center.

“The high success rate in closing cases is also attributed to the increasing COVID-19 bed capacities in different hospitals and facilities across the country,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

He says they will continue to work with the hospitals and health facilities to meet the prescribed COVID-19 bed allocation of 30 percent for public beds and 20 percent for private beds as set by Administrative Order 2020-0016.

According to the latest health system capacity report, as of Sept. 6 there was an overall increase in the number of dedicated beds from 20,620 on Sept. 2 to 20,888

on Sept. 6,” Duque said.

Rep. Ramos dies of the virus Rep. Maria Bernadita Ramos of Sorsogon's second district has died of the Coronavirus Disease 2019, Deputy Majority Leader Xavier Jesus Romualdo announced at the chamber’s plenary hall on Tuesday.

"It is with sadness that we just found out that our dear colleague, Rep. Maria Bernadita 'Ditas' Ramos of the second district of Sorsogon, has passed away," Romualdo said.

Last Sunday, House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales said the chamber had received a report that Ramos had tested positive for COVID-19.

“She developed symptoms and got tested in the province,” Montales said.

The announcement of Ramos’ passing prompted the House to offer prayers for her, which was led by Rep. Christopher

de Venecia of Pangasinan.

‘Don’t be complacent’ Senator Christopher Go on Tuesday reminded the public not to be complacent despite the findings of some experts showing positive signs that the country is on its way to flattening the curve.

“Let us not be complacent, the fight is not yet over. Let us boost the implementation of health and safety protocols to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Go, head of the Senate committee on health.

He urged the public to continue cooperating with the government, show their compassion to their fellow Filipinos, and remain vigilant against the disease.

The gains of the community quarantine measures in the past months, Go said, should be sustained and not be taken for granted. Willie Casas, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

quality there along with the water treatement plant we installed at the baywalk," he said.

Cimatu said it was not the first time that crushed dolomite rocks would be used for decorative purposes, as it was also the same material found in many resorts in Mactan, Cebu.

He added that dolomite rocks can also treat the pH level of water, from acidic to alkaline, and disputed claims that crushed dolomite is harmful when inhaled.

"What is hazardous is the fine silica quartz in some dolomite in the form of dust that is generated during crushing and screening, not the calcium or magnesium.

Note that it is dust-size which is about 10 to 15 microns that is hazardous if inhaled for long periods of exposure without personal protective equipment," he said.

"However, the size of the dolomite in Baywalk is 2 to 5 millimeters or equivalent to 2,000 to 5,000 microns or 100 times bigger than dust and therefore not suspended in air and cannot be inhaled," he added.

Meanwhile, Año told CNN Philippines that government officials had discussed the supposed threat of dolomite to a person's health.

"Based on the presentation of Secretary Cimatu and of course there will be more discussion on this. But based on what we have learned, it really isn't harmful anymore, but I leave it to the experts," he said.

"We'll have more discussion on this and we'd like also to get the side of the [Department of Health] if they can really prove that it is harmful, and if so, then we can put a stop but for now I'm inclined to support really the [DENR]," he added.

The DENR is planning to fill 500 meters of the Baywalk on Roxas Boulevard with white sand under the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program.

In a letter addressed to Cimatu, Domagoso said: "Pursuant to the faithful discharge of my duty to promote health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology and preserve the comfort and convenience of the city inhabitants, may we seek your clarification on this declaration of Usec. Vergeire to make sure that the health, comfort and convenience of the city inhabitants and other neighboring local government units are properly taken care of."

Meanwhile, Antiporda assured that marshals will be deployed by the DENR, while a police outpost will be in place for maintenance of the project. Maricel V. Cruz and Willie Casas

‘Pemberton...

“This is just one of many cases that show the government’s bias for the powerful,” she said in Filipino.

“There are so many Filipinos who are guilty of less, but they are not being given this kind of attention privilege.”

“What we see is this. If you are poor, you get punished; if you are rich or powerful, you go free. We continue to hope that the President exercises his vast powers in a manner that is fair and that benefits the common Filipino,” she said.

“Our question is, is this decision just and fair? Thousands are in jail because they could not afford a lawyer. Pemberton had lawyers, special detention facilities, a quick, public trial, and an appeal. Now it becomes clearer that he has the resources to get the President to take notice of his case,” she said.

The lawyer of Laude family questioned Duterte’s statement that Pemberton had been treated unfairly.

Virginia Lacsa Suarez, legal counsel for the family of slain transgender woman Jennifer Laude, said the Philippines has not been able to take hold of Pemberton from the beginning; the police had difficulty serving the summons and notices; during trials US soldiers were inside the court while the Laudes have only their counsels; and the media were prevented from getting in.

By Maricel V. Cruz

N EXTRA P8 billion has been allotted to for military modernization in the proposed 2021 national government budget due to external threats.

From A1

(IATF), Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. requested that his province be reverted to an MECQ. Galvez, the chief implementer of the National Policy Against COVID-19, said cases in Bacolod are much higher than cases in Iligan City, which is currently under MECQ. MECQ is the second most strict quarantine classification.

There are currently three areas under MECQ--Lanao del Sur, Bacolod City, and Iligan City.

Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Batangas and the city of Tacloban

Palace...

From A1

Filipinos should still be cautious of the virus, an official leading the country's pandemic response said Tuesday.

Researchers from the University of the Philippines on Sunday said Metro Manila—the coronavirus epicenter—and Southern Tagalog were starting to flatten the pandemic curve, as the virus’ reproduction rate in the two regions was estimated at 0.95, or below the “1” threshold.

"Let us be cautious. Let us not be complacent," COVID-19 policy chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a virtual press briefing.

He said the reported declining trend in new virus infections could be attributed to increased public awareness on the needed minimum health standards such as the

Cebu...

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radio dzBB, said the DENR will continue its effort of adorning the Manila Bay shoreline with white sand, even amid a potential legal challenge before the Supreme Court.

Through Executive Order No. 25, Garcia ordered the Philippine Mining Service Corp. (PMSC) and the Dolomite Mining Corp. (DMC) to "immediately cease and desist from further extracting, processing, selling and transporting of dolomite, associated mineral deposits, and other quarry resources."

The executive order also said both the provincial government of Cebu and the municipality of Alcoy were not informed of the beautification project in Manila.

There was also no public consultation prior to the issuance of ore transport permits by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, an agency under the DENR, in Central Visayas.

"The issuance of the OTPs to PMSC without the proper notice to the local government unit and the absence of public consultation and participation clearly lacks transparency on the part of MGB, PMSC and DMC," the order read.

Garcia's order added that such is a violation of DENR Administrative Order No. 2010-21, which states that the local government should ensure compliance with relevant laws on public notice, public consultation and public participation.

The order likewise said there was no Environmental Impact Study performed on the use of dolomite in the Manila Bay shoreline project.

"The absence of said Environmental Impact Study is a clear and blatant violation of DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-30, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Presidential Decree No. 1586, Establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System," the order read.

The extraction of dolomite from Alcoy town and the "consequential damage it will cause the terrestrial environment of Cebu Island" is also a violation of the constitutional right of Cebu residents to "a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature."

But in Congress, Cimatu said the effort to rehabilitate Manila Bay was in response to the mandamus issued by the Supreme Court to the government to clean up the body of water.

"So this is what we're doing now, cleaning and improving the bad water

From A1

them to secure clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation, along with other travel documents, fingerprinting and picture-taking with authorities, and an airplane ticket.

The Bureau of Corrections is likewise making its own preparations while they wait for an official copy of the pardon, spokesman Gabriel Chaclag said.

He said this is the first case of an American getting pardoned that they have encountered since Director General Gerald Bantag was appointed to lead the BuCor. Chaclag said they will follow the ordinary process for the release of inmates, including pardonees and parolees, which he said can take days but can be expedited "so this issue is finished."

"Only that we have to consider all implications of what we're doing, because this PDL (person deprived of liberty) is covered by another agreement," he added, referring to the Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement.

Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday led new critics in questioning the fairness of Duterte’s pardon of Pemberton.

“Is this fair and just?” she asked.

Sotto,...

From A1

talk to lawmakers and not just listen to Duque's "excuses."

"With his appointed chief investigator to his right and one of those being accused in the PhilHealth mess to his left, he cleared the accused of any wrongdoing. End of story," Lacson said on Twitter, referring to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Duque.

Guevarra and Duque were both with the President on Monday night, when Duterte once again vouched for the Health secretary in a televised meeting and told him he should not resign.

Still, Sotto said Duterte should talk to the senators and not simply listen to the excuses offered by Duque, who has been implicated in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. corruption issue and criticized for his handling of the country's coronavirus crisis.

Better yet, Sotto said, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea should have the President read the Senate Committee of the Whole findings on the corruption in PhilHealth, which Duque heads

Thus, Pimentel said, military modernization will be given a higher budger “to restore the bulk of (program) funds earlier 'repurposed' for the fight against COVID-19.”

Pimentel is a staunch backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States. The accord is in support of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.

In a recent letter to Cayetano, SWP Co-Convenor Rene Raya thanked the Speaker for committing to promote people’s direct participation in the budget process and said group is willing to contribute its inputs and recommendations.

as board chairman.

Sotto added that perhaps the President was unaware of the facts that linked Duque to the irregularities in PhilHealth.

He said those who are aware of the illegal transactions at PhilHealth—including Duque—are answerable under the Revised Penal Code, even though the Health secretary claims he never signed a board resolution on the issue.

Although Lacson acknowledged the Palace is not bound by the Senate’s findings, he said it bears watching how the Justice department-led task force looking into corruption allegations at PhilHealth will treat those findings and recommendations.

Lacson is among two senators who sakd there is not enough evidence to prove the criminal liability of Duque in the corruption at PhilHealth. He has called for Duque’s resignation, however, on the basis of his poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate Committee of the Whole led by Sotto said Duque should be indicted for the questionable release of PhilHealth funds through the agency’s interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM).

Solons bat for Revilla Sr. as National Artist HOUSE Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Tingog partylist Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, and 22 other lawmakers have endorsed the late Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. for the National Artist Award for Film.

The Romualdez couple filed House Resolution 1176 expressing the sense of the 300-strong House of Representatives to include Revilla, father of Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., in the roster of awardees.

They said the popular action star’s immense contributions to the Philippine culture and arts, particularly to the country’s entertainment industry “should not go unrecognized.”

“Ramon Revilla Sr. is a renowned entertainment icon, actor, producer,writer and director, and a public servant.

Through the years, he has contributed immensely in the development of Philippine art,” the Romualdezes said.

"His movies depicted not only the Filipino way of life, but also our unique culture and strong ideas,” they added.

Several lawmakers co-authored the Romualdezes' HR 1176.

They were Reps. Aleta Suarez of Quezon, Marilou Arroyo of Negros Occidental, Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur, Yasser Balindong of Lanao del Sur, Leonardo Babasa of Zamboanga del Sur, Fredenil Castro of Capiz, Rep. Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte, Paz Radaza of LapuLapu City, Geraldine Roman of Bataan, Hector Sanchez of Catanduanes, Christopher De Venecia of Pangasinan, Elizalde Co and Alfredo Garbin Jr. of AKO Bicol, Sonny Lagon of Ako Bisaya, Adriano Ebcas of Ako Padayon Pilipino, Romeo Momo Sr. of CWS, RECOBODA party-list Rep. Godofredo Guya, Jose Teves of TGP, Alfred Delos Santos of Ang Probinsyano, and Sergio Dagooc of APEC. Maricel Cruz

Rody: Publish contracts of big infra projects

By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the government agencies implementing infrastructure projects to be transparent by publishing in the national dailies all projects under negotiation and those already bid out and completed.

He says he wants to know the contractors that won the multi-million-peso government projects being implemented by the Public Works and Transport departments and the National Irrigation Administration.

“I have a list. I want to know the winning bids and to whom these were awarded, and for how much,” Duterte said.

Most of the government projects are being awarded to favored contractors who usually win the biddings by “diving” the estimated cost by as much as 20 percent.

“I want to know who dive the project cost. If it’s P50 million and it is dived to P30 million, there’s something wrong. So what do you expect of a P30-million project? P50 million, and then dive it to P30 million?” Dutete said.

The lowest bids have been the source of all corruption, beginning from the national level as well as the local level including the barangays, Duterte once said at an event at the National Economic and Development Authority.

Cascolan...

From A1

responsible, respected and disciplined. I expect no less. Our loved ones and the public we serve demand and deserve that.”

Under this strategy, Cascolan says, the program dubbed Barangay AntiCOVID Defense or BaCod will involve the forging of stronger ties between the police and the community in responding to the pandemic.

“We will expand our participation and cooperation with the community. We will no longer be regarded as just enforcers in the checkpoints. We will have more presence in the barangays. We will be closer to the people in this fight. We will adopt a new hashtag. Today I declare #WeFightAsOne,” Cascolan said.

He says he will also intensify the campaign against illegal drugs and highvalue targets.

“We will further push our fight against illegal drugs, another menace that destroys our people. We will be more aggressive in capturing high-value targets,” he said.

He says the cooperation with various stakeholders and groups will be needed to level up the PNP’s restorative efforts against drug users who want to change their lives as responsible citizens.

News IN BRIEF

Body of dead Pinoy found in sunken ship

THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said the body recovered by Japan’s Coast Guard in the East China Sea last week has been identified as that of a Filipino.

“The deceased was confirmed to be of Filipino nationality. The family of the deceased has cooperated in identifying the remains,” the DFA said in a statement.

The Coast Guard had been conducting a search for the cargo ship Gulf Livestock 1, which sank off Japan’s southwestern waters last week, before suspending the search momentarily due to bad weather conditions.

En route to Port of Jingtang in Tangshan, the ship was carrying 43 crewmen, including 39 Filipinos.

The ship was able to make a distress call on Sept. 2 off Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture as Typhoon Maysak lashed the area with strong winds and heavy seas.

The Japanese Coast Guard was supposed to resume its full sea and aerial search on Tuesday.

So far, two crewmen—both Filipinos— have been rescued, while a body was recovered on Sept. 4. Rey E. Requejo

Malaysia gov’t issues ban vs PH travellers—PAL PHILIPPINE Airlines on Tuesday reminded the public that Malaysian authorities has issued a new advisory restricting Filipinos from travelling to their country to further prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

The PAL management said effective Sept. 7, all non-Malaysian travelers from the Philippines are prohibited.

The restriction, which was decided due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, also covers those with long term pass holders, permanent resident status, Malaysia My Second Home Pass holders, expatriates and professional visit pass holders; foreign students and spousal visa holders.

Exemptions from the restrictions may be considered for the following: (1) Diplomats and their dependents who are eligible under the Exemption Order. Diplomats and Embassy staff who do not have required passes, such as those entering Malaysia for the first time, are required to obtain approval from the Director General of the Immigration Department through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to travelling; (2) professional crew/workers in the oil and gas industry with existing passes, and seafarers (signing on or joining ship in Kuala Lumpur). oel E. Zurbano

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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‘Rise of EJKs in QC slums alarming’ COURTESY CALL.

House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep Martin Romualdez (left) welcomes to his office Secretary Roy Cimatu of the Department of Natural Resources during a courtesy call and short meeting before the Budget Briefing for 2021 Budget of the Department of Natural Resources at the House of Representatives.

Ver Noveno

In a related photo (right) Cimatu was welcomed by Manila Yacht Club Commodore Robert Lim Joseph. Cimatu inspected a newly inaugurated solarpowered sewerage treatment plant located in front of the MYC building which connects three major drainage outflows between the US Embassy and the MYC. This was a major milestone to lessen the flow of pollution into Manila Bay. Cimatu has designated the MYC as the ground zero of the “Save Manila Bay” project, an enormous undertaking to save Manila Bay and restore its lost glory.

The project was executed by DENR in collaboration with Rotary Club of Manila where Joseph serves as president.

New telco builds towers inside military camps

By Maricel V. Cruz DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday admitted that he has signed an agreement that allows the China-backed Dito Telecommunity Corporation to build cellular communication facilities such as towers and other equipment inside military camps.

At the hearing of the Department of National Defense’s proposed 2020 budget at the House of Representatives, Lorenzana said the Senate had initially asked for a copy of the deal to enable the chamber to

review it.

However, the senators did not have any complaint or suggestion regarding it, he said.

“Yes, I signed the contract recently because last year, when the contract reached my table, [the] Senate also asked [for a] copy of the contract for them to scrutinize,” Lorenzana said.

“They came out with nothing naman.

Wala silang (The senators had no) complaint or any recommendation on the contract. It was returned to the department and the senior officers of the Armed Forces of

the Philippines assured me that they will institute safeguards so as not to compromise national security and the security of our camps will be maintained,” he added.

The spokesman for the AFP, Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, earlier said the presence of the structures inside military camps would not harm the country’s national security, adding that “it has more gains than risks.”

On the other hand, the telecommunications company has assured the public that their facilities would not be used to obtain classified information.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

O

PPOSITION Senator Leila M. de Lima has expressed alarm over the recent rise of extrajudicial killings in Quezon City slums, saying this shows how the death squads are taking advantage of the current COVID-19 pandemic in their murderous campaign.

De Lima, a staunch critic of the administration’s war on drugs, issued the statement after Father Robert Reyes recently revealed that the killings in Barangay Pinyahan in Quezon City continue to persist amid the global health crisis.

“Not even a global pandemic can stop this climate of murderous impunity that has gripped us since 2016. And it has become an even deadlier virus, taking away lives, gangland-style, while people grapple with ways to survive this health and economic crisis,” she said.

“Fr. Robert Reyes has been lighting candles at the San Isidro Labrador Parish since July for those killed by motorcycle-riding tandems in the slums of Brgy. Pinyahan.

Sunod-sunod ang patayan. As if the deaths from this pandemic are not enough,” she added.

Reyes disclosed that 10 summary executions were recorded in Barangay Pinyahan, which is located near the headquarters of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, since January 2020.

He also said half of the unlawful deaths took place during a four-week stretch.

In just a span of two weeks in July, Reyes said he presided over funeral masses for three people, namely Jeselyn Ordono, Gilbert Paala, and Jonathan Burce.

“As I write this dispatch, I received reports from my staff of two more killings in Brgy. Pinyahan, one in V. Luna, and the other, along NIA Road,” De Lima said.

Lt. Col. Bernouli Abalos, Quezon City Police District-Station 10 chief, however, belied allegations that there is a high incidence of summary executions in the said barangay.

BI warns public vs human traffickers

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday said that human traffickers are back in business and are trying to take advantage of the pandemic in their illegal activities after immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport stopped from leaving the country two Filipinas suspected of being trafficking victims.

“We are warning our kababayans not to fall prey to the nefarious activities of these syndicates who do not feel any remorse in preying on their poor countrymen amidst the continuing COVID-19 pandemic,” BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement.

Morente said he had instructed immigration officers at the airport to double their vigilance and prevent the departure of passengers who, based on their assessment, could be victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

The BI Chief issued the statement after two female passengers bound for the United Arab Emirates were stopped from leaving the NAIA last week for presenting fraudulent travel documents.

According to BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit head Ma. Timotea Barizo, the passengers were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Dubai on Sept. 1 when they were intercepted at the immigration departure area of the NAIA 1 terminal.

LGBTQ PROTEST. Manila Police District Civil Disturbance personnel waited for hours at the Chino Roces bridge near Malacanan palace in Manila after the Bahaghari LGBT group, which earlier announced to hold a lightning protest at the said bridge at high noon on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The LGBT group, however, instead held their protest action at the Boy Scout Circle in Quezon City calling for justice for murdered trans woman Jennifer Laude at the hands of US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton who was recently given an absolute pardon by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.

260 kilos of expired glutathione products destroyed

By Joel E. Zurbano

PLANTING RICE. Farmers in Kawit, Cavite plow their rice paddies following heavy rains on Monday, Sept. 7, using their new rice planting machine. The Department of Agriculture recently partnered with a US business group to boost agricultural investments and trade as a way to help develop the sector amid the health crisis. JR Josue

‘Disjointed’ deployment ban slammed

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE incident involving seven Filipino nurses bound for the United Kingdom who were offloaded by the Bureau of Immigration Sunday night due to the deployment ban on healthcare workers highlighted how disjointed this policy, Senator Joel Villanueva said on Tuesday.

Villanueva called on authorities, particularly the Department of Labor and Employment, to immediately sort out the misunderstanding.

He said this should be done so that no

other healthcare worker suffers the trouble caused by the wrong interpretation of government policies.

“It is clear that the current policy allows healthcare workers with contracts perfected as of March 8. The date when the visa was issued is not part of the discussion,” Villanueva said.

He said that the BI’s interpretation of the deployment ban is clearly wrong as seen in its memo issued on Aug. 20, which states that healthcare workers whose visas were issued after March 8 are not allowed outbound travel.

THE Bureau of Customs - Ninoy Aquino International Airport has destroyed 260 kilograms of expired glutathione products in line with the campaign to dispose illegal and unsafe shipment that unnecessarily congest Customs facilities.

Customs NAIA district collector Carmelita Talusan said the condemnation of 52 cartons of expired glutathione products last September 3 and 4 in Trece Martires in Cavite is also part of their mandate to protect the borders and ensure the safety of stakeholders from hazard.

She said the expired glutathione products

were assessed to be unsafe for consumer use and must be properly disposed of through condemnation to protect the public.

Glutathione products are strong antioxidant which had become the most popular systemic skin lightening molecule. Based on a study, when a glutathione product is taken beyond the expiration date, the consumer may not reap the same benefit from registered and unexpired pills.

“In compliance with the directives of Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the BoC-NAIA will continue to be vigilant and ensure that expired, hazardous and harmful products will not be made available to the consuming public, espe-

cially during this COVID-19 pandemic,” Talusan said.

Talusan said the condemned products were part of the 16.03 tons of other illicit, forfeited, and smuggled products destroyed on the same days.

The authorities recently destroyed 29.5 tons of anti-social goods and unsafe smuggled items late last month.

Among the goods disposed include dietary supplements, medicines, vape products and medical kits and devices which were imported but lack the necessary Food and Drug Administration approval and clearances that pose as health risks to the public.

SC, PNP launch ‘Enhanced e-Warrant System’

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court and the Philippine National Police on Tuesday launched the “Enhanced e-Warrant System” aimed to fully automate the issuance of arrest warrants by all courts for speedier and more effective service by law enforcement authorities.

Considered a first for the Philippine justice system, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, together with newly-appointed PNP Chief Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, inaugurated the Enhanced e-Warrant System at the En Banc Session Hall of the Supreme Court yesterday.

Peralta said that the implementation of the Enhanced e-Warrant System will fully automate the issuance of arrest warrants by the courts for more effective service by law enforcement agents.

The chief justice said the new system, a timely response amid the COVID-19 pandemic, features an online database of warrants of arrest, providing real-time updates on the status of warrants and the specific actions taken by law enforcement agents.

“With the nationwide roll-out of the Enhanced e-Warrant System, we are able to adopt technologically-advanced innova-

tions in our court processes for a more accessible, efficient, effective and responsive administration of justice,” Peralta said in a statement/ Through the coordinated efforts of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management Director, Police Major General Elmo Francis O. Sarona, and the Office of Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, the first ever e-Warrant was issued on Tuesday by Presiding Judge Maria Gracia Cadiz-Casaclang of Pasig City Regional Trial Court, Branch 155, involving the case of qualified theft.

LGUs

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

A4

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

PH Virology Institute gets P283m, says Albay solon THE recommended creation of the Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP), considered an urgent measure, will get a tentative P283-million outlay from the P4.5-trillion proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) approved by President Rodrigo Duterte last week.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and author of the bill, said House Bill 6793, which he filed May this year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, proposes the creation of the institute, which will be the country’s research center for cures and preventative methods and products for viruses.

Salceda, who co-chairs the Defeat COVID-19 Ad Hoc Committee, said the budget allocation is “preliminary,” and that he will ask the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to clarify whether these are merely for capital expenses or include organizational costs.

“The estimate is that construction of facilities might take five years. If so, the organization should be established soon, so that we can already begin securing funding commitments and partnerships.

By the time its facilities are ready, we can also get to work with research,” he said, adding that the institute also needs to start being integrated into industry development plans.

“Research and development is the future of the Philippine economy. We see much industry development potential in the virology institute. Abaca is apparently the best surgical mask filter.

Virgin coconut oil apparently has therapeutic potentials for throat viruses. Our metals extractive industry could also see plenty of value-added potentials in it if used in virus-combatting technology. This could be game changing for many industries,” Salceda said.

Nolcom scores ‘rout’ vs. NPA

By Jess Malabanan

TARLAC CITY—The Northern Luzon Command claimed Monday it has killed 80 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) during separate encounters with the communist rebels leading to the surrender of 1,000 symphatizers and confiscation of 300 pieces of assorted high-powered firearms, the Armed Forces announced.

NOLCOM covers the whole Northern Luzon areas including Region 1, Region 2, and Cordillera, one of the NPA’s stronghold in the north, the Philippine Army said.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gilbert Gapay, who presided the turnover rites between outgoing Nolcom Chief Lt. Gen. Ramiro Manuel Rey and incoming commander Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., said the command tradition of excellence is paramount in sustaining the peace and development in Northern Luzon.

In his speech, Gapay cited the outgoing Nolcom Chief for his accomplishments citing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte executive order No. 70, calling for the whole-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict In the countryside.

“Rey has carried on NOLCOM’s tradition of excellence in sustaining and securing peace and development in the region,” Gapay said.

FRESH HARVEST.

Former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman and Bataan 1st district congressman Felicito 'Tong' Payumo (right) checks the fresh pineapple fruits harvested from an upland farm in Brgy. Maite, Hermosa, Bataan.

Butch Gunio

‘Race to Zero’ virus tack launched in Quezon City

By Rio N. Araja

T

HE Quezon City government has launched a “Race to Zero” campaign to urge its 142 barangays to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“The main objective is not all about the money or an award, instead our goal is to encourage all the barangays to work harder to ensure that our constituents are safe from COVID-19,” she said.

The campaign shall identify the most number of suspected and probable COV-

ID-19 cases and the lowest number of infected persons.

Quezon City has 13,331 confirmed coronavirus cases, as the city government reported 351 new cases on Tuesday.

Active COVID-19 cases were at 2,652 following 153 new recoveries, bringing

the total number of recovered patients to 10,233.

The city also had four new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing its total number to 446.

The 142 barangays would be grouped in clusters based on their population size with members of each cluster to compete against one other.

The village officials would search for active cases and conduct surveillance activities via the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) and barangay contact tracers.

COVID BRIGADE.

National Action Plan Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez administer the oath-taking of the new members of the 'Barangay Disiplina Brigades' as part of the city's measures to prevent an increase of coronavirus infection cases in every village.

The formation of the brigades promotes the spirit of volunteerism and ensures that minimum health standards are implemented by the community themselves, Olivares said.

Lockdown stricter in 2 Taguig areas

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Taguig City government on Tuesday imposed a more stricter quarantine status in two areas of Barangay Sta. Ana where testing continues to find general community transmission in the cluster of COVID-19 cases there.

“As part of Taguig City’s aggressive action to curb the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of our residents, Pulong Kendi 2 and Samasipat in Barangay Sta. Ana shall be placed under Localized Community Quarantine starting September 8 until September 23, 2020,” the city’s public information office stated in its advisory.

The local government made the decision upon the recommendation of the members of the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CEDSU) and Quarantine and Containment Management Team (QCMT) who investigated the case cluster and evaluated the area.

In order to further isolate and contain the virus, CEDSU and QCMT officials recommended the following: 1. Restrict the movement of all residents in the area, 2. Move all confirmed cases to quarantine facilities, and 3. Conduct further testing and active case finding at the identified localized area, making sure to send all individuals tested to quarantine facilities while awaiting results.

IATF, CODE Team laud Caloocan for coronavirus management

By Jun David THE Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) Team of the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) commended the Caloocan City Government for their response to the problem of COVID-19 in the city.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana praised the efforts of

the local government to suppress COVID-19.

Also, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that compared to his first visit, the number of positives recorded on COVID-19 in Caloocan City has dropped significantly in recent days.

Dar said the city has good strategies for zoning, isolation and even in finding ways to be more effective and efficient.

Officials who attended the meeting also expressed admiration for the

Ex-Taliptip residents see new, safer homes BULAKAN, Bulacan—Former settlers of Barangay Taliptip have started moving into their new homes― with many others about to complete construction― following the lump-sum cash assistance given to them by San Miguel Corporation.

This allowed them to voluntarily relocate to safer areas paving the way for the construction of the P734-billion Manila International Airport project.

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said that the company has been constantly in touch with the former settlers in the coastal area where the airport will be built, to monitor their progress.

“Many have already completed building their houses. What is important is that they are now living in safer areas, in stronger houses they can be proud of and pass on to their children. They will no longer

be exposed to the elements and to risk, whenever there are typhoons,” Ang said.

Ang said that while the company has been known for building housing communities for disaster victims or relocates from hazard zones, many Taliptip residents preferred to receive financial assistance.

This has enabled them to voluntarily transfer to places of their choice, with some choosing to go back to their home provinces to build homes and start life anew there.

Still, others opted to buy built houses, or land to build their own houses. Many have opted to remain in Bulacan.

Most of the former Taliptip residents worked as caretakers or workers at privately-owned fishponds that have gone out of business. They used to live in shanties or houses built on stilts in the coastal area.

proper implementation of the colorcoded quarantine pass system to maintain physical distancing in populated areas and for the city government’s scheduled use of the quarantine band (qBand) for its innovative process for contact tracing.

Caloocan Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan thanked the national government for its support for Caloocan City’s continued fight against the pandemic.

The mayor also assured his close liaison with the barangay chiefs regarding

the implementation of rules and programs against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, part of the program is the swearing in of barangay chiefs and city government officials as members of the Barangay Disiplina Brigade which is a program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DOH).

A ceremonial turnover of face mask donations, personal protective equipment (PPE), and hygiene kits in the city was also held.

COURTESY CALL. New

Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan (second from left) and Director for Comptrollership Emmanuel Licup (right) pay a courtesy call on House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (second from right) on Monday as they discuss Congress can support and complement PNP's development plans.

Roy Tomandao

MORE OPINION ONLINE

Opinion

(www.manilastandard.net) BUSINESS CLASS

RUDY ROMERO

Grandstanding legislators versus practicing lawyers

EVERYMAN Enabling the future of education with blended learning

by Aisa Q. Hipolito

CROSSROADS

J.A. DELA CRUZ add calcium and magnesium, improve soil structure, and maintain or promote conditions favorable for the utilization of soil nutrients by plants and for the growth of desirable soil organisms...”

Properly harvested and used, dolomite can be life-enhancing.

So, properly harvested and used, dolomite can be life enhancing as what it is intended to achieve as mandated under the executive order creating the multi agency, multi year Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program. That task group which started work sometime in 2018, is composed of at least 11 national government agencies and the local government units surrounding the entire Manila Bay region from Cavite to Bataan.

This 500-meter “baywalk” along the stretch of Manila Bay from the yacht club to the US Embassy is just a tiny, weeny portion of this humongous program which in its totality includes the clean up of all waterways draining into the bay, the relocation of informal settlers along these waterways.

Reclaiming of all easements along these systems which may involve the closing of factories and setting up of sewage treatment plants and of course, accelerating the full construction of the sewerage system for Mega Manila as provided for under the agreements with the two MWSS concessionaires, Manila Water and Maynilad.

By the way, the fresh impetus to have an organized effort to clean up the bay and make the entire Mega Manila a more livable

place was the result of the final call issued by the courts to have the original Supreme Court continuing mandamus ruling in 2008 on the petition by a group of concerned citizens for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan.

The decision ordered the government to undertake the comprehensive Manila Bay rehabilitation. Since that time to the present, efforts to have such a program in place on a sustained basis have seen limited success. Hopefully, this time around we will have a more concrete, sustainable push to get things going. But people specially the critics would like to concentrate on this pile of sand, as Ongpin noted.

It will be good for the public to know that this “beach nourishment” portion which is the engineering intervention term for this stretch is not just for beautification purposes as the critics insist. It is actually meant to return the shoreline to a more ‘swimmable’ state after the pile of garbage and sediment eight to ten meter deep which used to be there were removed and the bottom sand restored. With the pulverized dolomite boulders on top, the engineers tell us, the shore cover will be more stable and the waters therein given more time to be nourished and returned to more acceptable and swimmable levels.

Truth be told, the Manila Bay waters, specially within several meters of the shoreline, have been declared unbearably hazardous to health. In many areas that “beach” included, as one scientist noted, liquid feces. In 2018, at the start of the project, the inshore level of fecal coliform contamination found on the small strip of beach was 54,000,000 mpn per 100 ml. of water (the maximum safe level standard for swimming is on the average just 200 mpn per 100 ml. “MPN” or “Most Probable Number”. So, 54 million mpn is 270,000 times as much fecal coliform bacteria as that considered safe, which is 200. That was just for that “beach” area.

TONY LOPEZ

Full version at www.manilastandard.net

I

N HIS previous life, Harry Roque was a crusading lawyer fighting for the underprivileged and the powerless. He taught constitutional law and fought for those whose human rights had been trampled upon.

and the US Embassy.

We wondered briefly how Mr. Roque would defend the decision of the man he is supposed to be speaking for, seeing how unpopular, ill-conceived and insulting it was to Filipinos. We wondered too how he would take the developments that were so starkly against his personal views.

Many of us can still remember his passionate service to the family of transgender Jennifer Laude, who was killed by an American Marine, Joseph Scott Pemberton, at a motel in Olongapo City, in October 2014. It was established in court that Pemberton had dunked Laude’s head into the toilet until she drowned, and then had broken her neck.

Pemberton was found guilty of homicide and then sentenced to 10 years in prison.

But last week an Olongapo court ordered Pemberton’s release on the strength of calculations of Good Conduct Time Allowance. In reaction, Roque said Laude’s death was "symbolic of the death of the Philippines' sovereignty." It was judicial overreach, he said, because the determination of GTCA credits was an executive function.

“Where else have you seen anything like this, where the crime happened in the Philippines, the victim was Filipino, yet we did not get to hold Pemberton while the case was being litigated, and now, while we symbolically hold him, American soldiers still guard him?” he asked.

On Monday night, however, President Duterte himself announced that he was granting an absolute pardon to Pemberton. The soldier had not been treated fairly, the President said. It was a move that reportedly surprised Pemberton’s lawyer

Not many people can do his job.

Tycoon

1

Company

Market Cap (P Million) Ownership (% ) As of Sept. 8, 2020

Value of Ownership

Sub- Total

Lance Y. Gokongwei

JG Summit Holdings, Inc.

444,096

52.00

(P Million) 230,930

PLDT Inc.

311,120

11.23

34,939

719

Manuel B . Villar Jr.

Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. Golden Bria Holdings, Inc.

39,999 199,419

69.54 85.00

27,815 169,506

572 3,487

AllHome Corp.

22,125

67.00

14,824

305

Ayala Corp.

440,418

26.00

114,509

2,356

San Miguel Corp.

237,852

27.18

64,648

1,330

ICTSI

212,053

61.43

130,264

2,680

Bloomberry Resorts Corp.

76,280

58.17

44,372

913

4,751

Networth ($ Million)

P48.61 to $1 (As of Sept.8, 2020)

5,469

2

4,364

3

Iñigo Zobel and sister

TO THE POINT

EMIL JURADO THE coming birthday of the late strongman and President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos has unfortunately become a national issue—and all for the wrong reasons!

A local bill designating September 11 as a non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte has been passed on third reading at the House of Representatives and is now at the Senate. Senate President Tito Sotto, in an interview, was quoted to have said: “Since it’s a local bill affecting only the province of Ilocos Norte, I'm sure the Senate will also pass it.”

3,686

4

Enrique K. Razon Jr.

3,593

5

Erramon Aboitiz

Aboitiz Equity Ventures

278,133

60.00

166,880

6

Lucio C. Tan

LT Group, Inc.

94,146

74.35

69,998

1,440

PAL Holdings, Inc.

66,415

74.36

49,386

1,016

7

Ramon S . Ang

San Miguel Corp.

Eagle Cement Corp.

237,852 68,900

24.00 86.57

57,084 59,647

1,174 1,227

8

Lucio L. Co

Puregold Price Club, Inc.

147,673

70.00

103,371

Jollibee Foods Corp.

DoubleDragon Properties Corp.

152,973 35,039

57.09 37.00

87,332 12,964

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

8.20

88,306

1,817

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

7.27

78,290

1,611

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

7.26

78,183

1,608

13 Teresita Sy- Coson 14 Hans Sy

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

7.09

76,352

1,571

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

6.30

67,845

15 Roberto V. Ongpin

Alphaland

0

90.00

1,152

1,152

20,156

58.38

11,767

242

16 Elizabeth Sy 17 Arthur Ty

SM Investments Corp.

1,076,897

5.90

63,537

1,307

GT Capital Holdings, Inc.

82,884

59.30

49,150

1,011

18 Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. 19 William Belo

San Miguel Corp.

237,852

N/A

N/A

1,000

Wilcon Depot

65,759

65.45

43,039

20 Andrew L. Tan

Alliance Global Group, Inc.

60,571

57.16

34,622

712

Global-Estate Resorts, Inc.

8,679

70.00

6,075

125

21 Isidro A. Consunji 22 Ayala Family (except Iñigo)

DMCI Holdings, Inc

52,711

66.00

34,789

Ayala Corp.

440,418

7.40

32,591

23 Oscar M. Lopez

First Philippine Holdings Corp.

30,902

46.30

14,308

294

Lopez Holdings

11,129

52.80

5,876

121

24 Helen Y. Dee 25 Mercedes T. Gotianun 26 Edgar "Injap" Sia II

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

31,512

62.00

19,537

402

Filinvest Land, Inc.

22,552

67.00

15,110

311

DoubleDragon Properties Corp.

35,039

37.00

12,964

Chelsea Logistics

6,085

70.00

4,260

88

Phoenix Petroleum

15,488

42.85

6,637

137

GMA Network, Inc.

17,309

28.50

4,933

101

GMA Network, Inc. GMA Network, Inc.

17,309 17,309

27.00 25.60

4,673 4,431

96

3,433

2,456

2,401

9

Tony Tan Caktiong

2,127

1,797 267 2,063

10 Herbert Sy 11 Harley Sy 12 Henry Sy Jr.

Atok-Big Wedge Co., Inc.

1,396

1,394

885

837 716 670

415

27 Dennis Uy

267

224

28 Gilberto R . Duavit 29 Menardo R . Jimenez 30 Felipe L. Gozon

91

Source: BNA Research

And, as he always has, Roque tried to do his job. True to form, his comment on the pardon toed the administration line.

We can’t say we are surprised. The spokesman does not seem to be the kind of person who would leave his post out of principle or delicadeza. In fact, this is not the first time he has changed his tune about issues of importance—he used to fight on behalf of fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, and of the families of slain journalists. Lately, he has had to make inane statements about boosting Filipinos’ mental health by giving them a view of a white-sand beach, even though the sand is synthetic and is a health hazard.

Not many people can be Harry Roque.

It takes a special kind of person to stomach the conflicts he must be dealing with.

We wish, however, that the presidential spokesman’s time was spent on less polarizing issues—say, explaining the administration’s science-based and wellthought out plan to get us out of this public health crisis—instead of on controversial issues that won’t even be addressed at the core and will be forgotten as soon as the next big story comes along.

‘Marcos forever’

I GOT a great deal of reaction from my column "Oligarchs and Dynasties."

Here is how we computed the wealth of the richest Filipinos: This table will take the place of my column for today.

The Filipino billionaires by BNA Rankings as of Sept. 8, 2020

B1

Roque’s predicament

The richest Filipinos, per BizNewsAsia VIRTUAL REALITY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

EDITORIAL

Tempest in a teapot HERE’S what respected journalist and blogger Apa Ongpin said in his Facebook page about the “Manila Bay white sand controversy” which has been hitting the headlines for some days now: “There’s been a lot of noise, since yesterday, about a pile of sand on Roxas Boulevard. I guess many people are fed up and disgusted with the gross incompetence, lies and insincerity displayed by this government in so many areas, to the point where in their eyes, everything this regime does is wrong. It’s just a pile of sand, but it has begun to assume the proportions of the Sierra Madre..The point of this piece is not to defend the government’s actions, but try to examine this issue a little more objectively. In fact, let’s talk about science, and numbers...”

Indeed, if all that the critics have against this pile of sand, as Ongpin noted, is about the potential—and I emphasize potential here—health problems this can bring about then they better look elsewhere. The sand cover is not actually sand as in powdery sand like Boracay’s although it may have the same ‘feel” but tiny dolomite stones or pulverized dolomite boulders as the scientists and engineers would describe them.

These are the same kind of “sand/stones” used in such famous waterfronts as Dubai’s Palm Island, Shangrila Hotel and Plantation Resort in Cebu and even parts of Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach.

To date, we have yet to be told about the ‘health issues” which may have afflicted the millions of people who have swam, walked on and even stayed in these places.

In fact, scientific journals point out that dolomite has been used for “...acid neutralization in the chemical industry, in stream restoration projects and as a soil conditioner.” As a magnesium source it has also been used for acid neutralization in the chemical industry, in stream restoration projects, and as a soil conditioner. It is also used as a source of magnesia, a feed additive for livestock and “..together with limestone is applied to soils...to correct soil acidity,

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

This is how it is for most Ilocanos.

A local bill, like changing a street name, or changing the name of a school by tradition is passed by Congress without any debate unlike a bill which affects national interest which is subjected to debate. A local bill affects only a local place, my gulay!

To most Ilocanos, especially in the province of Ilocos Norte, it is “Marcos forever.” Marcos haters can never erase the fact he did Ilocanos a lot of favors when he was president—cemented roads, a national highway all the way from Manila to Ilocos Norte, the Marcos Highway from Rosario, La Union to Baguio City. These have helped businesses in the region.

The great playwright William Shakespeare, in an epigrammatic tone when Marc Antony made his speech at the funeral of Julius Caesar, left us with these words: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”

Thus, it is typical of some people to have short memories of the others’ perceived wrongdoing. Such is the case with Marcos.

His perceived illegal acts have been incessantly repeated, marginalizing his landmark contributions, particularly in the political and legal system.

I would like to quote Justice Manuel “Lolong” Lazaro in an introduction of a book on “The Legacy of Marcos.” Lazaro recalled the words of the great surrealist painter Salvador Dali: “The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false one that looks almost real, the most brilliant.”

The Ilocanos owe Marcos so much.

Is Marcos a hero or a heel? It really depends since it’s a matter of perspective. Marcos is a

hero to those who are aware and appreciative of his performance and achievements. He is a heel to those who envy his ingenuity and foresight, and to those who seek revenge and hatred.

Santa Banana, in my many decades as a journalist, I have covered 10 presidents from President Elpidio Quirino. I have walked the corridors of power. I can say that no other President had/ has Marcos’ vision and foresight.

Specifically, many of the laws he issued and proclaimed during his time are still being used today.

There never has been any Philippine president like him. I am saying this not because I am an Ilocano (I trace my roots to Ilocos Sur and I grew up in Abra). That’s the reason why in Ilocos Norte, the Ilocanos there always vote for governor, a mayor, representatives of Marcos. They know how to repay their debts. *** There’s a bit of good news about the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan province, now being constructed in a 2,400-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan.

It’s the largest infrastructure ever in the history of the Philippines, costing P745 billion with four runways. There is a provision for two more runways in the plan. That will truly be a game-changer that will allow the San Miguel conglomerate to employ about a million people.

The congressional bill being passed by both chambers of Congress will grant San Miguel a franchise to build and run the new gateway.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has given the franchise its all-out support.

If the franchise is enacted, the proposed measure would cover the air hub, the proposed city and land surrounding the airport.

What is truly remarkable about this project of San Miguel is that Ramon Ang intends to hire returning OFWs. The enterprises operating within the San Miguel Aerocity will also be granted tax incentives and other benefits.

The New Manila International Airport in Bulacan will be something which all Filipinos can truly be proud of. Thanks to the vision of businessmen like Ang, president and COO of San Miguel. *** It seems that controversies never end. After graft and corruption at the PhilHealth, now comes the controversy over the crushed white rocks from Cebu called dolomite, intended to cover a 500-meter stretch of rocks along the beach of Manila Bay. While the Department of Environment and Natural Resources claims that white sand coming from those white rocks from Cebu is harmless, there are those who claim that the dolomite could cause skin and eye irritation, a well as cancer, and damage to the lungs through prolonged or repeated exposure.

If these claims are true, then the DENR should do something about it!

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

China vs. India blame game on

Spain passes 500k virus milestone M

BEIJING―China and India accused each other of firing shots first across a flashpoint Himalayan border, intensifying a monthslong standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbours that has already claimed at least 20 lives.

China said Tuesday its soldiers took “countermeasures” after Indian soldiers opened fire in a contested mountainous region in Ladakh.

India was guilty of a “severe military provocation” on Monday after its soldiers crossed the Line of Actual Control in the western border region of Ladakh and “opened fire”, according to China’s Defence Ministry.

New Delhi was swift to give its own account, accusing Chinese border forces of “blatantly violating agreements” and firing “a few rounds in the air” to intimidate their Indian rivals.

“Despite the grave provocation, (our) own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner,” the Indian army said in a statement.

It is first confirmed shooting across the contested frontier for decades, where skittish border forces by convention do not use guns to avoid escalations of violence in remote terrain.

The relationship between the neighbours has plunged following a June clash in the contested region in which 20 Indian troops were killed.

A spokesperson for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) gave no speALL EARS. Trump supporters listen to a speaker during a rally and caravan in Oregon City, Oregon on September 7. Supporters of cifics on the apparent retaliation and gave President Donald Trump gathered in the Willamette Valley on Monday, caravanning down highways around the Portland area in support no report of casualties, calling on India to of the president and police, and in opposition to protests in Portland. AFP probe the incident. AFPCYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 80-QUEZON CITY DAN DARWIN A. CACANINDIN, Plaintiff, -versus-

R-QZN- 16- 14310-CV Re : Quieting of Title

CATALINO S. FRANCIA, Defendant. x-------------------------------------------x AMENDED ORDER Pursuant to the Order dated February 12, 2020, the dispositive portion of the Decision dated July 25, 2019 is hereby amended as follows: “WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Court resolves to grant the Complaint dated December 8, 2016 filed by Dan Darwin A. Cacanindin and declaring him as the absolute owner of TCT No. 262266 issued by the Register of Deeds of Quezon City.

SO ORDERED. Quezon City, February 12, 2020

(Sgd.) RAFAEL G. HIPOLITO Acting Presiding Judge* *As per Supreme Court AO No. 237-2019 dated October 17, 2019 Issued by Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, SAJ Carpio

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION REGIONAL TRIAL COURT BRANCH 80, QUEZON CITY DAN DARWIN A. CACANINDIN, Plaintift

- versus -

Civil Case No . .

R-QZN-16-14310-CV

CATALINO S. FRANCIA, Defendant. x-------------------------------------------x DECISION Before this court is a Complaint dated Decelnber 8, 2016 filed by Dan Darwin Cacanindin (Darwin for brevity) against Catalino S. Francia (Catalino for brevity) praying that a decree of ‘quieting of title be issued declaring the former the absolute owner of Transfer Certificate of Title No. 262266 of the Registry of Deeds, Quezon City to remove the cloud of doubt as to his ownership.

As the plaintiff has no more witnesses to present, he formally offered his evidence16 which was admitted by the court in its Order dated May 21, 2019.

The Court’s Ruling The sole issue to be resolved by the court in this case is whether or not herein plaintiff Dan Darwin Cacanindin has a right over the property covered by TCT No. 262266 as its absolute owner thereby removing the cloud or doubt brought by the claim of defendant Catalino Francia before the Land Registration Authority.

Under the Civil Code, an action for a quieting of title may be brought under this circumstances: Art. 476. Whenever there is a cloud on title to real property or any interest therein, by reason of any instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or proceeding which is apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in fact invalid, ineffective, voidable, or unenforceable, and may be prejudicial to said title, an action may be brought to remove such cloud or to quiet the title.

An action may also be brought to prevent a cloud from being cast upon title to real property or any interest therein.

An action to quiet title or to remove the clouds over a title is a special civil action governed by the second paragraph of Section 1, Rule 63 of the Rules of Court. Specifically, an action for quieting of title is essentially a common law remedy grounded on equity. The competent court is tasked to determine the respective rights of the complainant and other claimants, not only to put things in their proper place, to make the one who has no rights to said immovable respect and not disturb the other, but also for the benefit of both, so that he who has the right would see every cloud of doubt over the property dissipated, and he could afterwards without fear introduce: the improvements he may desire, to use, and even to abuse the property as he deems best. For an action to quiet title to prosper, two indispensable requisites must concur, namely: (1) the plaintiff or complainant has a legal or an equitable title to or interest in the real property. subject of the action; and (2) the deed, claim, encumbrance, or proceeding claimed to be casting cloud on his title must be shown to be in fact invalid or inoperative despite its prima facie appearance of validity or legal efficacy.17

On the petition and claim of the defendant filed with Herein plaintiff Dan Darwin Cacanindin testified and when presented, he identified 9 the Judicial Affidavit dated the LRA, Catalino only submitted a machine copy of the owner’s duplicate copy of TCT No. 296624 stating that it was February 16, 2019 he executed and the documents attached derived from TCT No. 262266 but the same does not bear therein which was adopted as his direct testimony. any annotation or encumbrance whatsoever and that said In his affidavit, Darwin stated that he knows the parcel of title is already registered to another person in the name of land subject of this case covered by TCT No. 292266 with an Adolfo Bustria but pertains to a different to Lot 12, (LRC) Pcsarea of Four Hundred Sixteen (416) Square Meters located 9789 and not to the lot as claimed in the title allegedly under in Lot 4, Block 7 Capitol Hills, Batasan hills, Quezon City as the name of the defendant as contained also in the Order the same was sold to him by ElnorValmonte (Ms. Valmonte previously issued by Atty. Cabatu.21 for brevity) as shown by the Deed of Absolute Sale dated Clear from the foregoing that the defendant has not proven August 11, 2016.10 Plaintiff Darwin also stated that the title is under the name of Mover Enterprises Inc. because it is the his ownership of the parcel of land with certainty before the LRA and before the court who declared him in default as original owner but it sold the same to Ms. Valmonte as shown compared to the evidence of the plaintiff. The plaintiff has by the Deed of Absolute Sale dated November 25, 2002.11 clearly established that he is the owner of the parcel of land On August 17, 2016, as further stated in his affidavit, covered by TCT No. 262266 and that the cloud or doubt over Darwin alleged that he filed a petition for reconstitution of the ownership of the same has been resolved in his favor.

TCT No. 262266 before the Land Registration Authority WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the court resolves (LRA) as shown by the Petition for Reconstitution.12 The same, however, was held in abeyance due to another to grant the Complaint dated December 8, 2016 filed by Dan petition for reconstitution filed by Catalino on May 20, 2013 Darwin A. Cacanindin and declaring him as the absolute as shown by a Certification issued by the LRA 13 of TCT NO. owner of TCT No. 2622266 issued by the Register of Deeds 292624 registered under the name of the latter and covering of Quezon City. the same parcel of land as the same was allegedly derived No pronouncement as to the cost of suit. from the title of the plaintiff. Upon inquiry from the LRA and SO ORDERED. according to annotations or even encumbrances and in fact, said officer issued an Order dated November 2, 2016 July 25, 2019, Quezon City. affirming the same.14

In his affidavit, Atty. Cabatu stated that he is the Chief, Reconstitution Division, Land Registration Authority and as such he resolves petitions for administrative reconstitution of lost and/or destroyed original copies of certificates of title and insofar as judicial reconstitution is concerned, he signs technical reports intended for the Regional Trial Court in connection with reconstitution proceedings.

Atty. Cabatu also stated in his affidavit that a certain Catalino Francia filed for a reconstitution involving Lot 4, Block 7, Pcs-4998 and covered purportedly by TCT No. 292624 in the name of Catalino Sarto Francia sometime in May 2013. On November 2, 2016, Atty. Cabatu issued ADM. Order No. Q-1261 (2016) holding in abeyance the resolution of the said petition due to the pendency of the petition filed

by Darwin before the said office on the purported TCT No. 292266 still in the name of Mover Enterprises, Inc. and also issued ADM. Order No. Q-1260 (2016) also holding in abeyance the petition of herein plaintiff.

Trump, Biden trade blows into last stretch MILWAUKEE—Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden traded tough blows Monday as the White House race entered its final stretch, with the Republican leader branding his opponent “stupid”—and the Democrat firing back that the president lacked the “guts” to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

As Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris took their campaign message to must-win swing states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the president convened a surprise news conference at the White House.

In a freewheeling and grievance-laden performance, Trump once more teased the possibility of a Covid-19 inoculation by Election Day—something experts say remains unlikely—and accused

his opponents of playing politics with a vaccine after Harris said she would not take his word alone on its safety.

Touting an upswing in job creation—after tens of millions lost job—and claiming the US is turning the corner on the pandemic, he called Biden “stupid,” saying he “wants to surrender our country to the virus, he wants to surrender our families to the violent left-wing mob, and he wants to surrender our jobs to China.”

Labor Day traditionally kicks off the final sprint of the campaign, with less than two months until the November 3 election—but the rival campaigns have been knocked off stride by multiple layers of turmoil, from the pandemic to the struggling US economy to deep racial unrest. AFP

(Sgd.) GAY MARIE F. LUBIGAN-RAFAEL Acting Presiding Judge 1

p. 30, Record p. 38, Id. p .41, Id. 4 p. 60, Id. 5 p . 58, Id. 6 Motion for Reconsideration dated January 18, 2018,p.54, ld.

7 p . 66, ld.

8 p . 68, Id. 9 TSN dated February 22, 2019 10 Exhibit “A” 11 Exhibit “B” 12 Exhibit “C” 13 Exhibit “D” 14 Exhibit “F” 15 Supra note 9.

16 Formal Offer of Evidence dat ed February 27, 2019 17 Mananquil v. Moico, 699 Phil. 120, 126-127 (2012). Italics supplied.

18 Exhibits “A” and “B” 19 p. 3, Complaint 20 Order dated November 2, 2016 (Exhibit “F’:) 21 Id. 2 3

(MStandard-Aug. 26, Sep. 2 & 9, 2020)

Spain had largely gained control over its outbreak by imposing one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, but infections have surged since the restrictions were fully removed at the end of June.

The country became the first in western Europe to hit the 500,000 mark -- albeit with a far lower death rate and many more asymptomatic cases than were recorded during its previous peak in late March and early April.

“The situation is much more favourable but we remain in an upwards phase,” said health official Fernando Simon.

But the overall caseloads in European countries are dwarfed by India’s 4.2 million confirmed infections.

Nevertheless, economic necessity pushed the South Asian nation to risk reopening transport lines on Monday -metros began running again in the capital New Delhi after a five-month shutdown and 12 other cities also restarted subway services.

“For our lives to move on, we have to get out of our homes... so this is a good move by the government,” said commuter Deepak Kumar on the Delhi subway told AFP. Passengers are obliged to wear masks, keep their distance and undergo temperature checks.

In Beijing, China has passed “an extraordinary and historic test” with its handling of the coronavirus, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday at a triumphant awards ceremony for medical professionals decorated with bugle calls and applause.

The nation’s propaganda machine has churned out praise for China’s Covid-19 response, reframing the public health crisis as an example of the agility and organisation of the Communist leadership. AFP

IN BRIEF 18 killed, more trapped in marble mine rockslide PESHAWAR, Pakistan―At least 18 miners were killed and more than a dozen were still trapped on Tuesday after a rockslide at a marble mine in northwest Pakistan, officials said.

Boulders of white marble came crashing down on workers on Monday evening in the mountainous Mohmand district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan.

“So far 18 bodies and 20 injured have been pulled out after a rockslide at a marble mine,” Muhammad Arif, the provincial minister for mines and minerals development, told AFP. He said around 20 more miners were still believed to be trapped under the rubble with a rescue mission under way.

Labourers often rest at the bottom of the mountains after long working hours. AFP

On the first requisite, herein plaintiff have proven that he has an interest over the parcel of land registered under TCT No. 262266 as he purchased the same from Ms. Valmonte who then acquired it from the registered owner, Movers Enterprises, Inc. as shown by the two (2) deeds of sale18 he presented and which were admitted by the court.

Anent the second requisite, the petition for reconstitution filed by herein defendant before the LRA casts a cloud or doubt on the title of the plaintiff as Catalino claims that he is the registered owner of the same parcel of land bought by plaintiff but registered under a different title, TCT No. 292624 and because of this, the LRA is holding in abeyance the petition for reconstitution filed by herein plaintiff in the said Summons was served to herein defendant, however, office until the court has resolved the issue as to who owns the same was unserved as shown by the Sheriffs Return the said property. dated January 12, 2107 which states that Catalino has not been residing in the address provided by the plaintiff for Herein plaintiff, however, asserts that the petition and about ten (10) years already.1 In view thereof, the plaintiff claim of Catalino are based on suspicious documents and filed a Motion for Service of Summons by Publication dated non-existent right. On this, the court agrees with the plaintiff February 25, 20172 which was granted by the court as stated that he has a vested right over the said property with all the in the Order dated April 11, 2017.3 rights to exercise full dominion, ownership and possession over the same to the exclusion of all the other parties19 as On October 25, 2017,4 the court dismissed the case compared to the claim of Catalino that he is the owner of the for failure of the plaintiff to comply with the Order dated said parcel of land.

September 22, 2017.5 However, the same was reconsidered on motion of the plaintiff6 as stated in the Order dated April The plaintiff has proven his ownership of the parcel of land 4, 2018 7 subject of this case and the existence of the said title through the documents he presented and admitted by the court and On April 24, 2018, the plaintiff filed a Compliance with as can be confirmed also by the statement of Atty. Cabatu that Motion to Declare Defendant in Default8 of even date praying TCT No. 262266 was based on the owner’s duplicate copy that herein defendant be declared in default pursuant to and the subject of a transaction after the June 11, 1988 fire the Rules of Court and that he be allowed to present his which is the cancellation of a real estate mortgage and was evidence ex-parte which was granted by the court in its provisionally registered under PR No. 31468 on September Order dated November 23, 2018.

12, 1991 which officer has personally confirmed with the concerned Register of Deeds.20 Evidence for the Plaintiff

The plaintiff also presented Atty. Jose Mamerto B. Cabatu15 who when presented identified his Judicial Affidavit dated February 18, 2019 and the documents mentioned therein.

ADRID—Spain passed the landmark figure of 500,000 coronavirus infections on Monday as India reopened some metro lines despite becoming the world’s second most affected country.

FACE MASKED. A worker stands behind memorabilia being produced to promote Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party at a print house in Yangon on September 2. Myanmar will hold its general election on November 8. AFP

Myanmar poll countdown under virus shadow YANGON—Myanmar’s election campaign began Tuesday with Aung San Suu Kyi’s party tipped for victory, with the Nobel laureate much loved at home despite her reputation shattered overseas, although she is appealing for a landslide to counter the still mighty military.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept to power in 2015 -- the first national polls since the Southeast Asian nation emerged from decades of junta rule.

This time the coronavirus pandemic threatens to derail the vote, but that is doing little to deter NLD supporters.

A tide of red NLD paraphernalia is rising with printing shops in overdrive to produce stickers, T-shirts and the 2020 face mask accessory.

“I support the NLD because I love Mother Suu,” declared Zaw Min, 43, whose Yangon

trishaw stood festooned with the party’s flags, matching his red T-shirt, baseball cap and mask.

But the armed forces are still hugely powerful in a country governed under a constitution written by the former junta.

The military controls three key ministries and 25 percent of parliamentary seats—effectively giving the institution a veto on legislation.

In August Suu Kyi reminded the country on Facebook why her party needed every vote.

“We can’t just get more than 50 percent of elected seats like in a normal democracy.”

Credibility in question?

Suu Kyi—once hailed as a democracy icon— has seen her international standing plummet in recent years over allegations Myanmar committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim community. AFP

Race for PM Abe’s successor launched TOKYO — Japan’s ruling party on Tuesday kicked off the race to pick Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s successor, with his powerful right-hand man Yoshihide Suga commanding an all-but-insurmountable lead.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, the 71-year-old son of a strawberry farmer, has already secured the support of major factions in the Liberal Democratic Party ahead of its leadership vote on September 14.

But he isn’t running unchallenged, with a popular former defence minister and the party’s policy chief standing against him.

With the LDP commanding a solid legislative majority, the race’s winner is certain to win a parliamentary vote on September 16 and be named the country’s next prime minister.

The LDP race began after Abe, modern Japan’s longest-serving premier, abruptly announced in late August that he would resign for health reasons. AFP

US accuses China of threatening, harassing foreign journos BEIJING—The United States on Tuesday accused China of “threatening” and “harassing” foreign journalists after it refused to renew press credentials for several employees of American media organisations.

The two superpower rivals have restricted reporter visas -- with China expelling journalists -- as brinkmanship over trade and tech, Hong Kong and the coronavirus, spills over into the media.

China’s record of “threatening, harassing, and expelling US and other foreign journalists goes back decades”, US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement provided by the US Embassy in Beijing.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently informed the US embassy in Beijing of new curbs on foreign reporters “by denying them press card renewals and refusing to process pending visa applications for journalists

who were expelled earlier this year,” she said.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) on Monday confirmed the action, saying at least five journalists at four media groups—including the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Bloomberg—had been denied new press cards.

More are expected to receive similar treatment in coming weeks, placing further pressure on the already diminished foreign press corps. AFP

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market rallies again; MPIC rises T PSEi September 8, 2020

TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS

HE stock market rallied Tuesday for the second straight day, boosted the apparent slowdown of the pandemic in the Philippines.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 98.18 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,034.03 on a value turnover of P4.6 billion. Gainers beat losers 112 to 84, with 46 issues unchanged.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night praised the country’s frontliners and the public for the decline in coronavirus cases in the country, noting that lockdowns had contributed greatly to flattening the curve.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, advanced 4.7 percent to P3.54, while Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, also rose 4.7 percent to P3.10.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group climbed 3.9 percent to P400, while BDO Unibank Inc., the largest

lender in terms of assets, increased 3.7 percent to P93.50.

The rest of Asian markets ticked higher Tuesday after last week’s steep drops as investors brushed off Donald Trump’s latest anti-China salvo, while sterling suffered more selling pressure on fears over Brexit talks.

Despite continued uncertainty about the timetable for economic recovery— and with no coronavirus vaccine yet available—investors remain convinced central banks around the world are willing to play backstop and keep monetary policy supportive for years to come.

The wall of cash put up by authorities has been credited with fueling an incredible surge in world markets from March troughs—led by tech firms which have benefited from people staying at home during the pandemic.

Last week’s harsh sell-off brought that rally to a juddering halt, but analysts do not expect a retreat anything like that seen earlier in the year.

“The sell-off provides a stark reminder that with everybody holding on to the same side of the vaccine life-raft, it should not be too unexpected that when the seas

turn rough, many will fall into the drink on the first significant starboard list,” said Stephen Innes at AxiCorp.

“Still, investors have ample flotation thanks to the Federal Reserve, and the fiscal harness would allow them to hurry back aboard with relative ease if they so choose.”

Tokyo piled on 0.8 percent and Sydney climbed more than one percent while Shanghai and Seoul enjoyed healthy rallies. There were also gains in Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Jakarta and Wellington.

There was little initial reaction to Trump saying he wanted to wind back Washington’s economic relationship with China, warning he would stop US firms doing business with the country from winning federal contracts.

“We’ll manufacture our critical manufacturing supplies in the United States, we’ll create ‘made in America’ tax credits and bring our jobs back to the United States and we’ll impose tariffs on companies that desert America to create jobs in China and other countries,” the president said in a White House news conference. With AFP

MOST ACTIVE

LIQUOR BARS READY. Bartender Gagan (left) and a waitstaff clean their bar in a restaurant on the eve of the scheduled reopening of liquor bars in the capital, which were ordered shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic in New Delhi on September 8, 2020.

Liquor bars will reopen in the capital from September 9 on a trial basis at fifty percent seating capacity. AFP

Syrian olive trees take roots in Kurdish Iraq

By Qassim Khidir

Aussie crop output to grow sharply as rains ease drought SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—Australia’s winter crop production is set to soar 64 percent after much-needed rainfall eased a drought that had ravaged the country’s southeast, according to official projections released Tuesday.

The agriculture department said production of major winter crops including wheat, barley and canola would increase substantially, taking output 20 percent above the 10-year average.

It comes after Australia’s hottest and driest year on record in 2019 drove summer output to the lowest levels since 1980-81, with a two-thirds fall in production.

Steve Hatfield-Dodds, executive director of the department’s statistical body ABARES, said the boost in output was driven largely by rainfall in New South Wales state, which has borne the brunt of a prolonged drought.

“New South Wales production is forecast to be 14.8 million tons in 2020-21—that’s more than a 300 percent increase on last year and the highest since 2016-17,” he said.

Parts of the state—as well as large swathes of neighboring Queensland— remain in drought, but above-average rainfall predicted through spring has raised hopes of an end to the three-year dry spell.

The agriculture department said the expected favorable conditions would support summer production in most regions with the exception of Western Australia, where less rainfall was expected.

The area planted is forecast to rise by 194 percent to around 1.0 million hectares (2.5 million acres) in summer, though that remained well below average.

The climate-change-fueled drought also exacerbated a bushfire season that ripped through more than 10 million hectares of tinder-dry landscape in Australia’s south and east, killing 33 people. AFP

ARBIL, Iraq—Tucked away in the rolling hills of Iraqi Kurdistan is a hidden treasure: tens of thousands of olive trees, thriving in a new homeland after being smuggled from neighboring Syria.

Their branches are heaving with bright purple-black olives ready to be picked.

Their caretaker, Syrian Kurdish businessman Suleiman Sheikho, is proud to have brought the olive oil business to Iraq’s autonomous north.

“This year was a good year,” said 58-yearold Sheikho, who has been transporting trees from his native Afrin in northwest Syria into Kurdish Iraq since 2007.

“On this farm I have 42,000 olive trees, all of which I brought from Afrin when they were three years old,” he told AFP, gesturing to neat rows reaching the horizon.

In early 2018, his mission took on a new urgency.

Turkey, which saw the semi-autonomous Kurdish zone of Afrin on its border as a threat, backed an offensive by Syrian rebel groups to take control of the canton.

The operation, dubbed “Olive Branch,” displaced tens of thousands, many of whom had made their living for decades by producing olive oil in the area’s mild climate.

Sheikho himself is a fourth-generation olive farmer and had 4,000 trees in Afrin that are older than a century.

The slender businessman, who once served as the head of Afrin Union for Olive Production, sprung into action.

He transported some of his trees legally, but smuggled others across the border, managed on both sides by autonomous Kurdish authorities.

Some of the new transplants joined his orchard, located among luxurious summer villas near the regional capital Arbil. He sold others to farmers across Kurdish Iraq.

Raw olives are a staple on Levantine lunch tables, while their oil is both used in cooking and drizzled on top of favorite appetizers like hummus.

The oil can also be used to make soap, while the dark, sawdust-like residue from olives pressed in the autumn is often burned to heat houses in winter.

Fertile ground ahead Olive trees struggle in the blistering heat and desert landscapes of Iraq, so the yellowish-green oil was long imported at great expense from Lebanon, Syria or Turkey.

A domestic oil industry could change all that.

Sheikho was relieved to find the soil near Arbil as rich as in his hometown, but the warmer temperatures meant his trees required more robust irrigation networks.

There are two harvests a year, in February and November.

He built a press, where the olives are separated from twigs and leaves, pitted, then squeezed to produce thick, aromatic oil.

Dressed in a charcoal grey blazer during AFP’s visit, Sheikho tested the quality by drinking it raw from the press, before the viscous fluid was poured into plastic jugs. AFP

Japan says economic decline in Q2 deeper TOKYO, Japan—Japan’s economy shrank slightly more than initially thought in the April-June quarter, official data released Tuesday showed, deepening a contraction that was already the worst in the nation’s modern history.

The world’s third-largest economy shrank 7.9 percent in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter, more than the initial 7.8 percent in the preliminary data, the Cabinet Office said.

The downward revision comes with corporate investment weaker than in the preliminary data released last month, as the coronavirus deepens the country’s economic woes.

The latest headline figure was modestly better than market consensus of an 8.0 percent contraction, but it is the worst figure for Japan since comparable data became available in 1980, beyond the brutal impact of the 2008 global financial crisis.

Separate data released by the internal affairs ministry Tuesday showed Japan’s household spending in July dropped 7.6 percent onyear, also underlining the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

The 7.6-percent drop was the 10th consecutive monthly decline and comes after a 1.2-percent slide in June and 16.2-percent dive in May. The figure came in much worse than economist expectations of a 3.7-percent decline, Bloomberg said.

Japan’s economy was in recession even before the coronavirus hit due to damage from a powerful typhoon last year, and a sale tax hike in October.

The country has seen a smaller coronavirus outbreak compared to some of the worst-hit places, with about 71,800 infections and fewer than 1,400 deaths. AFP

Manila

APOLLO GLOBAL CAPITAL, INC. Standard(FORMERLY: YEHEY! CORPORATION)

TODAY

Unit 504, Galleria Corporate Center, EDSA corner Ortigas Ave., Brgy. Ugong Norte, Quezon City NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS Please be advised that the Annual Meeting of the stockholders of APOLLO GLOBAL CAPITAL, INC. will be held on 02 October 2020, Friday, 10 a.m., via Zoom application (Zoom meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85963665876?pwd=dzhDRkxqM2xzdW55 d3FFcS9IeCtsZz09), for the following purposes: 1.

To approve the minutes of the previous Annual Stockholders’ Meeting held last 07 January 2020.

2.

To consider and approve the President’s Report.

3.

To consider and adopt the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 contained in the Annual Report.

4.

To ratify all acts of Board of Directors and Management since the last annual stockholders’ meeting.

5.

To elect the Directors and Independent Directors of the Company for the ensuing year.

6.

To approve the application for listing of the 247,396,071,520 common shares of APL issued pursuant to a share for share swap with certain shareholders of JDVC Resources Corporation as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 09 October 2017, details of which are as follows: 1. Hyung Rae Doo (Korean) - 109,065,080,064 shares 2. Napoleon M. Deleon, Jr. (Filipino) - 46,224,979,304 shares 3. Lloyd Raegan C. Taboso (Filipino) - 46,471,972,000 shares 4. Daniel Chua Go (Filipino) - 45,634,040,152 shares

7.

To approve the application for listing of the 5,140,277,777 shares issued to Joanna B. Co in relation to the exercise of the right to convert the Convertible Loan Agreement dated 20 February 2019 to common shares of APL.

8.

To approve the conduct of a Follow On Offering (FOO) of the Company’s primary shares with authority delegated to the Board of Directors in relation to the finalization of the details thereof as well as to do all other necessary approvals in connection thereto.

9.

To appoint the external auditor of the Company for the year 2020.

10. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting and at any adjournment thereof.

The Board of Directors has set the close of business on 02 September 2020 as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting.

To ensure the safety and welfare of our stockholders and other stakeholders and as a precaution against the COVID-19 risk, the Company’s Board of Directors has approved on 17 August 2020 in accordance with SEC rules, to conduct a virtual stockholders’ meeting for 2020. The meeting will be held online by remote communication and voting will be in absentia. The specific procedures for participating in the meeting through remote communication and voting in absentia are set forth below.

Stockholders who intend to attend and participate in the virtual meeting in person or through proxy shall first submit on or before 17 September, 2020 via email to apollocapital_ph@outlook. com the scanned copy of their Letter of Intent to attend and participate via proxy or by remote communication and a copy of the stockholder’s valid government-issued ID showing photo and personal details. Once validated, a registered stockholder will receive via email the proxy form and voting ballot. Stockholders must submit on or before 25 September, 2020 via email to apollocapital_ph@outlook.com their duly accomplished proxy form and/or voting ballot which shall then be validated. Only stockholders who have notified the Company of their intention to participate in the virtual meeting and have registered themselves or their proxies, will be included in the determination of a quorum. All agenda items indicated in the Notice of the Meeting will be set out in the voting ballot and the stockholder may vote as follows: a. For all items, except for Election of Directors, the stockholder has the option to vote: For, Against, or Abstain. The vote is considered cast for all the stockholder’s shares. b. For the Election of Directors, a stockholder entitled to vote: (i) may vote such number of shares owned by it for as many persons as there are Directors to be elected; or (ii) may cumulate said shares and give one candidate as many votes as the number of Directors to be elected multiplied by the number of their shares; or (iii) may distribute them on the same principle among as many candidates as may be seen fit. c. The Company’s stock transfer agent and Office of the Corporate Secretary will tabulate all votes received and will validate the results. d. Except for the Election of Directors, all the items in the Agenda for the approval by the stockholders will need the affirmative vote of stockholders representing at least a majority of the issued and outstanding voting stock present at the meeting. For the Election of Directors, the top eleven (11) nominees with the greatest number of votes are elected.

Registered stockholders will receive the meeting link and password to log on to the meeting two (2) days before the stockholders’ meeting. We encourage all registered stockholders to log onto the meeting link 45 minutes before the meeting starts, to avoid any technical difficulty. The meeting will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. on 02 October 2020. The meeting shall be recorded in audio and video format and copies shall be posted by the Company in its website. The procedures for voting and participation in the meeting through remote communication are also discussed further in the Information Statement which shall be made available to the public not later than 9 September 2020 through PSE Edge and the Company’s website at http://www.apolloglobalcapital.com/. For any questions or inquiries, including request for assistance in the registration process, please contact our Office of the Corporate Secretary through apollocapital_ph@outlook.com .

Very truly yours,

Suleiman Sheikho, a 56-year-old Syrian Kurd from Afrin, stands at an olive farm made of trees smuggled from neighboring Syria, on February 22, 2020 in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region. Sheikho brought the iconic Afrin olive trees to Iraqi Kurdistan. AFP

KRISTINA JOYCE CARO-GANGAN Corporate Secretary (MS-SEPT. 9 & 10, 2020)

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

PSE INDEX CLOSING Tuesday, September 8, 2020 98.18 PTS. 6,034.03

TOTAL VOLUME 1,185,036,790 TOTAL TRADES 75,850 TOTAL VALUE 4,574,093,239.07 ADVANCES 112 DECLINES 84 UNCHANGED 46

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.6160

Japan

Yen

0.009410

0.4575

UK

Pound

1.316500

64.0030

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129034

6.2731

Switzerland

Franc

1.091346

53.0569

Canada

Dollar

0.763650

37.1256

Singapore

Dollar

0.732118

35.5926

Australia

Dollar

0.727400

35.3633

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

128.954

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

12.9632

Brunei

Dollar

0.729448

35.4628

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.031827

1.5473

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2368

Euro

Euro

1.181700

57.4495

Korea

Won

0.000842

0.0409

China

Yuan

0.146434

7.1190

India

Rupee

0.013616

0.6620

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.240674

11.7006

New Zealand

Dollar

0.669200

32.5338

Taiwan

Dollar

0.034102

1.6579 Source: BSP

Vista Land set to launch more housing projects in second half

Business

BSP warned on risks of ‘debt monetization’ A

By Julito G. Rada

BANK economist warned that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas may lose its “sterling” credibility in the long run and its independence will be questioned with the implementation of Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or the Bayanihan 2, which has a provision on de facto “debt monetization.”

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said in a report that Bayanihan 2 has a provision that will allow the BSP to buy up to P850 billion worth of bonds from the primary market to help in debt financing. Debt monetization occurs when the government borrows from the central bank, which eventually prints new money, resulting in inflationary pressures.

President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to soon sign Bayanihan 2 into law, after it was ratified by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The BSP’s charter already allows the central bank to “advance” P300 billion to the national government through a re-

purchase agreement with the Bureau of the Treasury.

“Although not technically debt monetization, should the BTr simply roll over the repurchase agreement upon end, such a move could constitute a de facto debt monetization,” Mapa said.

Mapa said on top of the primary market repos, the BSP was active in the secondary bond market, buying up bonds worth roughly P800 billion over the course of the last six months to stabilize market yields while flooding the market with additional liquidity.

“The central bank continues to single-handedly provide the much needed stimulus to the economy while fiscal authorities stockpile funds and yet roll out modest stimulus packages,” Mapa said.

Mapa cited the move of Indonesia’s finance ministry early this year when it announced a “burden sharing” arrangement where Bank Indonesia would buy up bonds in the primary market to help finance the deficit in the fight against COVID-19.

He said authorities pledged the move would be a “one-off” incident given the extreme circumstances. He said Bank Indonesia faced a firestorm when a panel of experts from Indonesia proposed ceding more control of Bank Indonesia’s monetary board to the finance ministry, opening the door for successive rounds of debt monetization, once perceived as taboo in central bank circles.

Bank depositors told to secure accounts THE Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines, a group of banking institutions which seeks to upgrade the practice of bank marketing in the country, advised the public to always secure their bank accounts amid the rising cybercrime incidents during the current health crisis.

“The Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines supports the industry’s fight against cybercrime and theft, by raising awareness of the banking public on how to protect themselves offline and online,” it said in a statement Tuesday.

“BMAP encourages everyone to remain vigilant and confident in the banking industry’s cyber security measures against fraud attacks to ensure the delivery of secure and safe financial services,” it said.

It said cyber threats such as phishing and smishing were fast evolving and growing, and extraordinary times like the COVID-19 pandemic opened up opportunities for fraudulent activities. Julito G. Rada

PH seeks safeguard on polyethylene pellets THE World Trade Organization approved the Philippines’ petition to initiate an investigation whether safeguard measures are needed on the importation of high-density polyethylene and linear low- density polyethylene pellets and granules from various countries.

The petition filed by the Department of Trade and Industry on behalf of JG Summit Petrochemical Corp. sought the imposition of safeguard duties on imported HDPE and LLDPE amid an alleged upsurge in imports in the last five years.

The Philippines launched safeguard investigation on HDPE and LLDPE pellets and granules on Sept. 4, 2020, when it notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards about its plans to conduct a “preliminary safeguard investigation”.

The period of investigation covers imports of HDPE from 2015 to 2019. A safeguard investigation seeks to determine whether increased imports of a product are causing, or is threatening to cause, serious injury to a domestic industry.

Othel V. Campos

BSP expects 5m enrollees in PERA

By Jenniffer B. Austria HOMEBUILDER Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. plans to launch more residential projects in the second half to capitalize on the shift in customers’ preference for house-and-lot developments in the provinces.

Vista Land said because of the pandemic, homebuyers and investors were now putting a premium for safety and looking for homes with adequate space and within an integrated community.

“This pandemic has impacted our performance for the first half of 2020 and we still expect the rest of the year to be challenging. However, we are happy to see encouraging signs for both our residential and leasing businesses,” Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar Jr. said.

“This shift of customer preference bodes well for the company since Vista Land has always been the leader in horizontal housing and has since positioned its housing products very well across the country through its unparalleled geographical presence in 147 cities and municipalities in 49 provinces nationwide,” Villar said.

Vista Land derived 50 percent of revenues from areas outside Mega Manila in the past five years.

Villar said the company’s June sales already reached 70 percent of pre-COVID level, with July and August sales tracking better than June.

“Thus, if this sales trajectory continues, we might decide to launch more projects in the fourth quarter. We do not need to acquire new land anyway as we have an existing land bank of about 3,000 hectares,” Villar said.

He said that on the leasing business, 79 percent of Vista Land’s gross floor area resumed operations, up from 20 percent during the enhanced community quarantine.

The remaining 21 percent remained closed because of government-mandated restrictions.

IN BRIEF

MUFJ’S GRANT. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and local bank partner in the Philippines, Security Bank, turn over a pledge of 100 million yen to the Association of Filipino Students in Japan. Attending the virtual event are (from left) Takayoshi Futae, member of the board and senior managing executive officer of MUFG Bank; Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose Laurel V (on screen), Filipino Students in Japan president Sean Patrick Jacob Razo, vice president for internal affairs Christian Oliver Kalaw, vice president for alumni affairs Ea Kristine Tulin and vice president for socio-cultural affairs Clyde Co.

Aboitiz’s construction unit hiring 1,200 skilled workers

By Darwin G. Amojelar ABOITIZ Construction Inc. said Tuesday it plans to hire about 1,200 skilled workers, including medical professionals, as it resumed construction in various project sites.

It said among the job openings are for project managers, engineers, safety and quality inspectors, pipe fitters, welders, fitters, scaffolders, crane operators and TIG (tungsten inert gas) welders for ongoing works, shutdowns and acceleration projects in Surigao, Cebu, Iligan, Davao, Sarangani and Subic.

Also included in the required job pool are medical professionals such as nurses and aides who will strictly monitor workers’ health, wellness and overall well-being as part of ACI’s stringent COVID-19 protocols.

“Amidst the massive disruption in the labor market caused by the global pandemic, we are still fortunate to be able to offer jobs to a sector of Filipino workers

who need livelihood the most,” said Nina Ylagan-Pedro, ACI vice president for people, reputation and corporate social responsibility.

Pedro said ACI was providing livelihood in rural areas as it prioritized the hiring of local residents from nearby communities.

She said the company was looking to add more to this number toward the end of the year, depending on additional projects.

ACI provided jobs to more than 2,000 new workers in 2019.

She said to ensure the hiring of appropriate skilled workers, all shortlisted candidates would go through standard trade proficiency exams and rigorous health and safety protocols aligned with the Aboitiz Group’s safety guidelines and policies and those imposed by the national and local governments.

Once hired and mobilized to the assigned project areas, new hires are received in designated areas ready for a mandatory 14-day quarantine period

where daily essentials are provided.

Aboitiz Construction project sites strictly observe physical distancing in the work areas (service vehicles, offices, canteens, barracks, and staging areas) and are equipped with preventive and control measures such as disinfection and wash bays, proper personal protective equipment, and constant health and temperature checks.

Project sites also set up isolation areas for use if needed.

A construction employment contract starts upon project mobilization and ends with project turnover. With this, ACI provides project-based team members with valuable experience and training for jumpstarting future employment.

Aboitiz Construction, together with international arm Aboitiz Construction International, Inc., is the construction arm of the Aboitiz Group of Companies, with a 45-year track record in delivering projects for local and international customers in the industrial, infrastructure, energy, utilities and commercial industries.

Science-based policies benefit consumers

SMC RELOCATION HOUSES. Former settlers of Barangay Taliptip in Bulakan, Bulacan start moving into their new homes—with many about to complete construction—following the lump-sum cash assistance given to them by San Miguel Corp. The assistance allowed the residents to voluntarily relocate to safer areas, paving the way for the construction of the P734-billion Manila International Airport project.

EVIDENCE-informed policies can enable governments to put in place science-based product standards that provide protection for individual consumers and society as a whole, according to a top executive of Philip Morris International.

“The private and public sectors in the Philippines need to work together in creating the right standards and regulations that help accelerate innovation,” said Stacey Kennedy, president for South and Southeast Asia Region of Philip Morris International.

Kennedy joined two top Filipino executives in the virtual panel event, “Defying conventional wisdom: Promoting fact-based innovation,” organized by the international weekly publication The Economist on Sept. 3, 2020.

The panelists shared their insights on how businesses and policymakers can ensure facts and evidence are central to disruptive new initiatives, and foster trust and transparency in decision-making processes

to ensure these new ways gain widespread support throughout the Philippines.

PMI is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to benefit adults who would otherwise continue to smoke. Among the smoke-free products developed by PMI and already available in many markets around the world is IQOS, an electronic device that heats tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper, called HEETS or HeatSticks, to generate a nicotine-containing aerosol.

IQOS heats specially designed tobacco units just enough to release a flavorful nicotine-containing tobacco vapor but without burning the tobacco.

Because the tobacco is not burned, the levels of chemicals produced by IQOS is significantly lower compared to combustible cigarette smoke. Around 11 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to IQOS.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects to achieve the target of having five million contributors to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account or PERA by 2025 through digitalization.

Governor Benjamin Diokno said in presentation that PERA remained underutilized, with only 1,586 contributors.

“Since its implementation in December 2016, the PERA industry has not gained significant momentum. As of July 29, 2020, only 1,586 Filipinos had been investing in PERA, with total contributions of P137 million,” he said.

Data showed that of the total contributors, 1,099 or 69 percent were locally employed, 273 or 17 percent were overseas Filipino workers and 214 or 14 percent were selfemployed. On average, OFWs have higher contributions at P110,000; local employed workers at P82,000; and the self-employed at P76,000.

“These figures remain regrettably low,” Diokno said. “After laying the foundation of a digital ecosystem for PERA, we are targeting to reach 5 million Filipinos in a period of 5 years, or what we call ‘5 in 5.’ The target seems ambitious. But with more than 40 million locally employed Filipinos prior to the pandemic and around 2.2 million overseas Filipino workers, I am optimistic that this goal is easily attainable,” Diokno said.

Julito G. Rada

Nuclear energy likely to displace coal plants in PH

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE reintroduction of nuclear power in the Philippines may displace coal-fired power plants, according to the latest commentary of Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research, a product of Fitch Solutions Group Ltd. UK. “Nuclear power will offer an effective solution to meet the country’s rising power demands over the coming decade, particularly as coal-fired power—which Philippines has largely turned to—comes under increasing environmental oppositions,” Fitch Solutions said.

“Should nuclear be successfully introduced in the power mix, coal-fired power will face the highest risk of being displaced,” it said.

Fitch Solutions said if nuclear power was reintroduced, coal would likely be the first generation type to face cuts because the increasing structural risks and public opposition.

It said the government remained committed to coal power generation, despite increasing opposition on the ground while the domestic financial sector showed no signs of moving away from coal.

“We stress that coal remains the cheaper and more reliable option to meet with the country’s power demand surge, particularly as resources in the Malampaya gas field deplete with limited scope for exploration success and infrastructural headwinds to LNG import capacity. Renewables have also faced many headwinds in development, and we do not expect a substantial ramp up in this regard,” it said.

Fitch Solutions said the Philippines’ power mix was expected to remain dominated by coal over the coming decade, with the share of coal-fired power increasing from an estimated 54.6 percent of total generation in 2019 to 60.2 percent by 2029.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Clippers whip Nuggets; champ Raptors on brink

Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers blocks a dunk attempt by Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets during Game Three of the Western Conference SemiFinals of the NBA Playoffs. AFP

PRURide PH to hold virtual bike tournament FOR now, staging a physical race won’t be possible. But a virtual one will be.

And this is what organizers of the largest cycling festival in the Philippines will do later this year.

Allan Tumbaga, senior vice president and chief customer marketing officer of PRU Life Philippines said they will hold an online cycling event by November.

He discussed their plans to stage virtual cycling activities yesterday at the weekly online session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum, with assistant vice president for brandand advertising, Khalil Robles.

They were supposed to hold the PRURide PH in Clark, Pampanga from March 11 to 15 early this year.

But lockdowns that were implemented by the government to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced them to cancel.

As a result they will do their races online, with the virtual race that was held in London last August as their model.

“Hopefully, next year, physical na. Importante pa rin ang health and safety ng mga cyclist,” said Tumbaga.

As mass gatherings will be impossible this year, participants can register and join through Pulse, a first-ofits-kind health app that provides 24/7 real-time health information PRURide PH was first staged by Pru Life UK in 2016 to engage the growing cycling community in the Philippines.

And this was done to raise awareness on cycling as a sustainable alternative mode of transport.

Robles said they will make efforts to find out they can have their races sanctioned again by UCI and PhilCycling.

PRU Ride PH was inspired by Prudential RideLondon, the largest global cycling event sponsored by the life insurer’s parent company, global financial services giant Prudential plc.

When the virtual cycling festival was held in London, participants used the My Prudential RideLondon app.

With the app, cyclists around the world were able to calculate their speed and track their distances based on the actual routes in the United Kingdom capital.

Successful participants received digital certificates to celebrate their achievements.Peter Atencio

PBA adapts to new normal with virtual tilt Y

OUR favorite professional players are back, but not on the hardcourt. The Philippine Basketball Association is offering its fans a new kind of experience with its latest project—the PBA 3-point Shootout Charity Virtual Tournament, which Commissioner Willie Marcial believes should draw interest from the league’s young fans, specifically those who are hooked on arcade games.

This tournament-for-a-cause features 24 players from the league’s 12-member ball clubs, who will battle each other using the mobile app game PBA Slam.

Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa and Scottie Thompson, SMB’s June Mar Fajardo and Von Pessumal, Paul Lee and Alvin Abundo of Magnolia lead the participants, who are vying for the top prize of P250,000. The amount goes to the charitable institution selected by the winning team.

Also entered in the tournament are Mike Digregorio and Robbie Herndon (Alaska), Diego Dario and Chris Bitoon

(Blackwater), Roosvelt Adams and Bon Bon Battiler (Terra Firma), Philip Paniamogan and Kevin Ighalo (NLEX), Dave Marcelo and Justine Chua (Phoenix), Lervin Flores and Kib Montalbo (TNT), Rey Nambatac and Adrian Wong (ROS) Kevin Ferrer and Paolo Taha (NorthPort) and Baser Amer and Nard Pinto (Meralco).

The event launched last Aug. 28, is held during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Fans can catch it live on PBA Rush at 7p.m. and on http:// www.pba.ph at 8 p.m.

Teams are divided into two groups of six. The elimination round pits players from

C1

Commissioner Willie Marcial

the same team. They play four rounds with a time limit of 1:30 minute per round.

The winner of the challenge advances to the six team semifinals. Already qualified for the semis are Herndon, Thompson, Bitoon, Abundo and Ferrer.

The same process will be used in the semis with the three winners advancing to the finals.

MIAMI—Paul George scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers turned up the heat defensively Monday in a 113-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets for a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.

Kawhi Leonard added 23 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, coming up big on both ends of the floor as Los Angeles powered to the finish in the see-saw battle.

Denver, blown out in game one but coming off a convincing game-two victory, led 78-68 midway through a third quarter that featured nine lead changes.

It was tied up at 101-101 with less than five minutes remaining and the Clippers closed it out with a 12-6 scoring run.

“The game came down to one of the two teams was going to play some defense,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

“For three and a half quarters both teams were basically scoring and the last six minutes it was our defense.”

Leonard contributed a breathtaking block, reaching to deny Jamal Murray’s dunk attempt with his fingertips at the rim with 1:47 left to play.

“That play by Kawhi was amazing,” Rivers said. “I don’t even know where he came from.”

Nikola Jokic scored 32 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists for Denver and Murray scored 14.

The Nuggets had their chances late, but after Denver took a 97-90 lead early in the fourth quarter the Clippers came back with eight straight points.

Ivica Zubac’s dunk—assisted by Leonard—tied it at 101-101 and he followed with a free throw to give the Clippers the lead for good.

“We got stops,” George said. “It’s going to be a battle, (Denver) is a great offensive team.

“We’re up for the challenge.”

‘Job isn’t done’ There was no suspense in the Boston Celtics’ 111-89 blowout victory over the Toronto Raptors, which pushed the reigning NBA champions to the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The Celtics, who had lost two straight as the Raptors clawed their way back into the best-of-seven series, took a 3-2 lead and can clinch a place in the conference finals with a win on Wednesday.

They dominated defensively to hold the Raptors to 20 percent shooting in the first quarter, emerging from the opening period with a 25-11 lead.

The Raptors never recovered from the early body blow. AFP

Face-to-face training not guaranteed

By Peter Atencio THE go-signal by the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases for student-athletes to go back to training is a welcome development.

But this does not a guarantee that face-to-face activities can take place.

University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics Dean Francisco Diaz said this after accepting his role in the Technical Working Group, which was formed by the Commission on Higher Education last Monday.

The TWG, which will be led by CHED executive director Cindy Jaro, has been formed to draft recommendations that will make it possible for varsity players from different disciplines to resume training.

“While this is a welcome development, people should understand that the IATF is not a green light for collegiate teams to start embarking in physical face to face practice.” said Diaz.

Two more officials of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines will join a Technical Working Group formed by the Commission on Higher Education.

Executive Director Rebo Saguisag and Far Eastern University Athletics Director Mark Molina have been tasked to be part of the TWG tasked by the CHED to craft guidelines.

“The forthcoming guidelines that will be crafted is imperative for all universities compliance. Kasi sa totoo lang, ang pandemya ay hindi pa natatapos at

kahit nakakakita ng positive trend in terms of the plateauing of the COVID infections, nandiyan pa din siya at kinakailangan na, we won’t let our guards down,” added Diaz.

The guidelines being crafted are workouts for student-athletes aged 21-years-old-and-below in general community quarantine and modified general community quarantine areas.

“As we wait for these guidelines, the UAAP continues to emphasize the importance of health and safety of our student-athletes,” said the league, which is headed by Nong Calanog of Season 83 host de La Salle University, in a statement.

The TWG was formed after CHED chairman Prospero de Vera III had a meeting with Diaz and Chooksto-Go 3x3 tournament director Eric Altamirano.

The formation of the TWG comes after the JAO group wrapped up its inquiry on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers men’s basketball team and the National University women’s volleyball squad’s health and safety protocol violations.

The JAO group has brought their findings to the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Govermnent also yesterday.

In the report that was submitted by UST’s legal team, the JAO group leaned that UST’s Athletic Director Fr. Jannel Abogado, at first, refused to approve coach Aldin Ayo’s request for a training camp in his home province of Sorsogon.

According to accounts, Ayo came back a week

Aldin Ayo

later, with the players giving their consent “since they had nothing to do in their hometowns.”

It is now up to the DOJ to issue a show-cause order, which will demand UST officials to explain why its officials should not be sanctioned.

Similar actions will also be done to the National University, after its women’s volleyball team held a training session in Laguna.

2 Fil-Moroccans join PH athletics’ team TWO Fil-Moroccans are set to join the national athletics’ team.

Guermali brothers Said and Yacine will train with the Philippine team, according to Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico.

The brothers specialize in middle and long-distance running and are being readied for their first international meet that they will join as members of the national squad.

“They have plenty of time to prepare for

the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games, the 2022 Asian Games in Giangzhao and the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh and finally the 2024 Olympics in Paris,” said Juico, who added they have been in talks with the father, Adam, since 2016.

The 23-year-old Said and Yacine, 21, were supposed to join them in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

But they were sidelined by injuries a few weeks before the games.

The Guermalis have successfully joined events in the 800 m, 1500m and 5000m distances.

Juico believes that the Guermalis will do well in the Vietnam SEA Games, predicting a 1-2 finish in the 1500-meters.

The existing SEA Games’ record in the 1500 is 4:06:53 and Said’s personal best time is 3:54:26, achieved in Portland on May 16, 2016.

On the other hand, Yacine’s is even better at 3:48:91, which he clocked on May 11, 2019.

In the 5000, the existing SEA Games record is 14:31:15 versus Yacine’s personal best of 14:02.64 on April 19, 2019 at Palo Alto, California.

“Both the boys’ records are, interestingly, threatening the Asian Games’ mark,” said Juico.

The Guermali boys are from the Quilban clan of cycling fame, based in Pangasinan but whose roots are in Nueva Vizcaya.

Peter Atencio

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Sports

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Hashimoto: Olympics must be held at any cost T OKYO—Tokyo 2020 should be held next year “at any cost” given athletes’ efforts to be ready, Japan’s Olympic minister said Tuesday, a day after the IOC’s John Coates told AFP that the postponed Games would go ahead in 2021 “with or without Covid”.

“For the Games next year, athletes are continuing to work hard in the environments they find themselves in. So I feel we have to hold it at any cost,” Seiko Hashimoto said when asked about International Olympic Committee vice-president Coates’s remarks.

“I think Mr Coates felt reassured

that the Tokyo Games can be held with further close coordination of efforts,” she added.

Coates on Monday told AFP in an exclusive interview that he was confident the delayed Games would open as planned next year, vowing they will be the “Games that conquered Covid.”

Serena battles into quarters; Thiem, Medvedev march on NEW YORK—Serena Williams battled into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday as top men’s seeds Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev sailed through to the last eight at Flushing Meadows.

After Williams kept her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title alive, second seed Sofia Kenin was sent crashing out in the last 16 by Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

Williams had to summon up every last ounce of strength to depose 15th seed Maria Sakkari in three hardfought sets.

The 38-year-old American needed almost two and a half hours to dislodge her 25-year-old Greek opponent 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 inside an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

“She’s such a good competitor. It was a really intense match,” said Williams, who had been dumped out of a US Open tuneup tournament by the same opponent last month.

The American will play Tsvetana Pironkova for a place in the semifinals after the Bulgarian ousted France’s Alize Cornet in another draining three-setter.

‘Absolutely unreal’ Pironkova, playing her first tournament in three years after a lengthy

Johnson wins PGA, $15M FedEx titles WASHINGTON—World number one Dustin Johnson capped a two-underpar 68 with a birdie at the last to seal a three-stroke victory in the US PGA Tour Championship and earn the $15 million FedEx Cup playoff title on Sunday.

Johnson finished with a 21-underpar total at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta—three shots clear of Americans Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas.

“I hit the fairways when I needed to coming down the stretch,” said Johnson, who started the day with a fiveshot lead.

He rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt at the third, a 10-footer at the fifth and a three-footer at the sixth.

But bogeys at the seventh and eighth—where he was in a fairway bunker—opened the door just a crack for Thomas and Schauffele.

Neither could do enough, never getting the deficit below two strokes as Johnson parred nine straight.

That run included a 21-foot parsaving putt at the 13th, where he was in the left rough off the tee and right of the green and hit a poor chip but drained the putt to push his lead back to three over Schauffele.

“He made that putt, which I didn’t,” said Schauffele, who bogeyed the 13th.

“That was a pinnacle moment, I think.”

“Obviously it’s a very tough trophy to win. This time I did control my own destiny, I knew what I had to do.

“But I still had to go out and play well today. I had a lot of great players right behind me and they played some good golf today. I knew I was going to have to come down the stretch and hit some golf shots.”

He was in the fairway at the par-five 18th, but his approach hit the bank in front of the green and bounced back into the greenside bunker. He blasted out to five feet and made the putt for a closing birdie.

The 36-year-old claimed his 23rd US PGA Tour title and his third since the tour resumed in June after a threemonth coronavirus shutdown.

He’s the first overall points leader since 2009 to win the season-ending showdown for the $15 million (12.6 million euro) playoff prize. AFP

break in which she gave birth to her son, prevailed 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“It’s absolutely unreal, I really can’t believe it,” said Pironkova, whose last tournament appearance before this year’s US Open was the 2017 Wimbledon championships when she exited in the second round.

Mertens ousted Kenin, this year’s Australian Open champion, 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 14 mins to set up a last-eight tie with former world number one Victoria Azarenka.

The Belarusian overcame 20th seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in 2hr 30min at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

In the men’s draw, second-seeded Thiem raced into the round of eight with a three-set demolition of Canadian rising star Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Thiem dismantled the 20-year-old 15th seed 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, 6-1 in 2hr 7min.

“I played a great match today, the best one from my whole America trip,” said Thiem.

He will play Australia’s 21st seed Alex de Minaur for a spot in the semifinals after the Australian breezed past unseeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 6-2, in 2hr 17 min.

Third seed Medvedev blew away

“It will take place with or without Covid. The Games will start on July 23 next year,” said Coates, who heads the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games.

“The Games were going to be, their theme, the Reconstruction Games after the devastation of the tsunami,” he said, referring to the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

“Now very much these will be the Games that conquered Covid, the light at the end of the tunnel.”

A spokesman for the Tokyo 2020 organisers declined to comment directly on whether they agreed with Coates’s

confident assessment.

But Masa Takaya said the remarks showed “that the IOC team is fully committed to delivering the Games next year.”

In a landmark decision, the 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the coronavirus, and they are now set to open on July 23, 2021.

But Japan’s borders are still largely closed to foreign visitors and a vaccine is months or even years away, feeding speculation about whether the Games are feasible at all.

Officials have made clear that another delay would not be possible, and there are signs that public enthusiasm in

Japan is waning.

A poll this summer found just one in four Japanese want them to go ahead next year, with most backing either another postponement or a cancellation.

A taskforce including organisers and Japanese government officials that will develop coronavirus countermeasures met for the first time this week.

Takaya said the organisers would continue “carefully monitoring” the pandemic’s evolution and “make every effort in coordination with all relevant organisations to ensure a safe and secure Games.” AFP

Serena Williams of the United States is seen after defeating Maria Sakkari of Greece during their Women’s Singles fourth round match on Day Eight of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. AFP

unseeded American France Tiafoe 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 in only 1hr 38 min.

“I’m pleased with the fact that I’ve won all of these sets and didn’t have to stay long on the court. That’s always good when you’re playing a Grand

Slam,” said the Russian.

Medvedev will face compatriot Andrey Rublev for a spot in the last four after the 10th seed ousted Italy’s sixth seed Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

The men’s competition was blown wide open on Sunday after world number one Novak Djokovic was thrown out for accidentally hitting a line judge after smashing a ball in frustration during his last-16 match. AFP

Maroons, STATS renew partnership for 2 more years THE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons will still have Januarius Holdings, Inc. and STATS Performance Apparel among its top supporters for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Seasons 83 and 84.

STATS Performance Apparel, an athleisure brand under Januarius Holdings, Inc. (JHI), and the UP Men’s Basketball Team have inked a new contract to continue being the Fighting Maroons’ sixth man for two more years. The local athleisure brand has been supporting the UP Fighting Maroons since 2017 and was the team’s official outfitter last season.

Over and above being the official outfitter of the Fighting Maroons, STATS and JHI have been bankrolling the UPMBT’s training camps in Las Vegas, Serbia and Tokyo in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. This year the COVID-19 pandemic has ruled out overseas trips for the Fighting Maroons but Atencio and company are still including advanced training as part of their plan.

“Our journey with the UPMBT started three years ago, when, acting on a strong gut feeling, we decided to be major sponsors, despite the team’s just coming out of a lackluster season, the absence of significant community support, and my not even being a UP alumnus. We wanted to be part of the dream and help create something that eventually we could all be proud

THE LINK REY JOBLE WHEN the PBA instituted the All-Star Game to become an annual event as a treat to the fans, the league went off to a blazing start by not just making the inaugural staging more exciting, but also more significant.

There, we saw ‘The Maestro’ Baby Dalupan playing the role as the mediator for ‘The Big J’ Robert Jaworski and ‘El Presidente’ Ramon Fernandez as the two cage titans ended what was like a five-year-old cold war.

Fans, who packed the old ULTRA were thrilled each time these two players would exchange passes and there’s no better way to end the match with the two players conniving for the final

Shown here are (from left)—Renan Dalisay, NowheretogobutUP founder; Atty. Agaton Uvero, UP Men’s Basketball Team manager; JJ Atencio, CEO and president of Januarius Holdings Inc.; Edrin Panganiban, CEO of STATS Performance Apparel and UP coach Bo Perasol (standing).

of. Fast forward to today, it’s a completely different situation, isn’t it?” asked JHI chief executive officer and president JJ Atencio.

Atencio is a graduate of UP’s Katipunan rival, Ateneo de Manila University, but believes he has a mission with the Fighting Maroons and it is not yet done.

“While the team has accomplished a lot these past years, the work isn’t finished yet. That dream continues to unfold. Suc-

cess is a process after all, and we continue to be motivated and encouraged to keep on supporting and being part of this journey—in good times and bad. We think that the next two years will be really good for the team,” said Atencio, who is now taking up his master’s degree in UP. Atencio said he believes that foreign training is a game changer that can quickly produce the desired results. “We’ve seen it. After

three straight years of training abroad, we placed fifth the first year, second in the second year, and third after last year’s training.

We’re still committed to sending the team for training abroad in Seasons 83 and 84 as soon as it’s possible,” Atencio added.

Besides the team outfits and the commitment to send the team abroad for training, Atencio announced that STATS and JHI are providing the Maroons with data analytics technology. “What’s also exciting for us starting this year is analytics. That’s one of the things we are working on with the team and that’s what we’re looking forward to—how it would help them,” Atencio bared.

Present in the memorandum of agreement signing were Atencio, UPMBT head coach Bo Perasol, team manager Atty. Agaton Uvero, nowheretogobutUP Foundation founder Renan Dalisay, JHI chief operating officer Marcy Venezuela, and STATS chief executive officer Edrin Panganiban.

“We are beyond grateful for having JJ [Atencio] and STATS in the team for the past three years and a couple more. Despite the COVID-19 situation, he still chose to stay on. He is as determined as we are to see everything through. More than the financial aspect of things, the moral support they have given us from the start is priceless. JJ is like a father or a brother to the players and us coaches. His kindness and faith in the team truly inspires us,” said Bo Perasol.

A quiet star named Boy Cabahug play: Jaworski in-bounding the ball and spotting Fernandez, who delivered the under goal stab against Benjie Paras at the buzzer as the crowd went crazy.

In the midst of the celebration and attention, there’s one man, a nearly forgotten player, who also etched his name in history by becoming the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP coming from a losing team.

That man was Elmer “Boy” Cabahug, then a rookie player from Alaska, who played for the Rookies and Sophomores’ squad that battled the Veterans.

Quietly, Cabahug received the MVP trophy from then commissioner Rudy Salud after the game.

Throughout his playing career, that’s how Cabahug played his role in the PBA —quiet, but deadly. He was a part of two championship teams of the old Purefoods

franchise, both of them were All-Filipino titles in 1991 and 1993 and silently embraced his role behind star players Alvin Patrimonio and Jerry Codiñera.

Meek as a sheep, but has the mentality of a coldblooded assassin when he shoots the basketball, Cabahug went on to play in the pro league until 1998 and quietly faded from PBA spotlight when he decided to leave the game to assume a higher calling as Councilor of Mandaue City. Nine years was indeed a short time for a player of his caliber, but he chose to fade away without making any fuzz.

When his term as Councilor ended, he embarked on a coaching career as head coach of the University of Visayas Lancers and led his squad to an unprecedented nine straight championships in the CESAFI. He didn’t only continue a winning legacy, he was able to sustain

the family’s rich tradition.

Cabahug’s family traced its roots as winners in UV. His grandfather, Atty.

Cesar, was a former national champion while playing for UV, then known as the Visayan Institute. His dad, Eduardo, also ended up as a champion when he led the Lancers to the inter-collegiate champion.

But it was only Boy, who ended up winning both as national champions for UV as a high school and college player and in the process, winning the MVP award in both levels.

Truly, there are players who choose to do things silently, but effectively and Boy Cabahug didn’t mind even when the spotlight wasn’t focused on him. He cares about one thing—winning—and throughout his life, he’s been a winner, be it on the basketball court, in the field of politics and the hearts of his loved ones.

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Entertainment

Inspiring Filipinos to stay strong

M

OST health advice can be summed up to staying physically active—even while at home— or doing simple but essential activities that also benefit one’s mental state.

This pandemic, numerous platforms, and digital activities have been launched catering to almost everyone who wants to take good care of their physical and mental wellbeing. Experts say that poor physical health can lead to an increased risk of developing mental health problems. Similarly, poor mental health can negatively impact physical health.

Thus, it’s beneficial that we promote a healthy and active lifestyle as it’s tantamount to giving our mind and body its much-needed care and attention.

In this very same premise, Century Tuna Superbods was launched more than a decade ago scouting role models and ambassadors who have great bodies and healthy lifestyle philosophies.

This year, the tradition continues as the road to Century Tuna Superbods 2020 was all set with a fitting slogan, Stay Strong Pilipinas fully supported by showbiz royalties Nadine Lustre and Alden Richards as ambassadors.

“It’s no big secret that they both have a big fanbase. We knew that’s the reality but we are actually surprised how big and supportive they are both to Nadine and Alden. Beyond the fanbase, what was exciting when we were scoping who the best endorsers would be, everything fell into place when their names came up,” Century Pacific Food Inc EVP and COO Greg Banzon told Manila Standard Entertainment in an exclusive interview.

“We started noticing that Alden is very active in his fitness journey and of course Nadine has always been very fit.

We felt that they were both perfect. Despite the pandemic or otherwise, they provided a good inspiration to everyone,” Banzon added.

For Nadine and Alden, being Superbods ambassadors entails big responsibilities. More than anything else, their role is crucial since they are not just trying to educate people in their household but it’s the public that they are directly communicating with.

“It inspires other people to better themselves when they see someone, a celebrity ambassador exuding self-confidence for being physically fit. When I became part of the Century Tuna family, it’s a whole new level, because finally, I am being recognized now because of my effort in terms of fitness,” Nadine shared.

“It’s always been my goal to be healthy and not just have a nice figure.

Nadine Lustre

MULTIMEDIA STARS. More than having a huge fanbase, Nadine and Alden serve as perfect role models to keep people inspired. They have been exercising at home and posting their workout routines to motivate the public to stay strong and healthy.

The celebrity ambassadors join Century Tuna Superpods finalists in a virtual launch streamed live on Facebook.

This quarantine, I played a lot of computer games, watched TV all day, but because of my responsibility, it kind of pushed me to maintain an active lifestyle,” she added.

Alden, on the other hand, believes that being an ambassador is a longterm engagement.

“It’s really a responsibility. Many people look up to the people who have the Superbods title. Our role is to educate people that taking care of our physical and mental health should be our utmost priority especially that we are in a very rough time. The best way to get by or to cope up is to maintain a healthy body and mind,” the actor underscored.

“It’s an enjoyable journey for me. It’s an engagement that allows me to stay fit and healthy every day. It’s more than just an endorsement deal. It’s a lifetime commitment to maintaining an active lifestyle,” Alden carried on.

With the message “Every day is a chance to be a better you,” the annual fitness competition had all 34 finalists lined up. But when the COVID-19 pandemic happened, the competition

pivoted to become a platform with an inspiring message for all.

Streamed on the Century Superbods Facebook page, the launch featured celebrity Superbods Nadine and Alden, together with the 34 Century Tuna Superbods finalists enjoining everyone to witness the strength of the Superbods spirit to continue pursuing their passion and dreams of a healthier future that begins with proper diet and exercise.

“Now more than ever, we need to encourage everyone to stay physically and mentally strong, and we feel that that can be achieved by eating right, moving our bodies every day, and practicing proper hygiene to protect ourselves from the ongoing virus,” said Banzon.

To further reinforce the importance of staying strong, Century Tuna released a rousing video (https://www. fa c e b o o k .c o m /c e n t u r y t u n a / v i d e os/221566542278633) that signaled the resumption of the highly-anticipated Century Tuna Everybod Superbod 2020 competition, following the same objectives: The candidate must be a “Difference

Maker,” someone who can make a stand and empower Filipinos to be the best they can be.

Of course, this year’s unstoppable finalists were ready to show off their hot and fit bods to make a difference and inspire everyone to Stay Strong. In the female category, the 18 finalists are Katrina Arceta , Grace del Rosario, Sherlyn Doloriel, Zai Ebido, Shirley Garcia, Lynn Gonzales, Astrid Hernandez, Renzel Jose, Liz Kuczera, Karla Lasquite, Samantha Lo, Ines Lorenzo, Kai Ochosa, Kathleen Paton, Christine Picardal, Samantha Purvor, Candice Ramos, and Key Trajano.

Meanwhile, the 16 men who made the final cut are Sam Ajdani, Nelson Banzuela, Kirk Bondad, Enzo Bonoan, Hans Braga, Nicholas Chua, Robert Hamilton, Albert Lorenzo, Philippe Magalona, Erie Matic, Malcolm Mostoles, Gianpaolo Paparo, Julian Roxas, Gian Ruiz, Jason Senga, and Jojo Urquico.

In the runup to the finals happening on Sept. 19, each candidate’s journey to becoming the Century Tuna Everybod Superbod 2020 grand winners -- consists of various digital challenges -- is posted on the Century Tuna Superbods Facebook page and can be searched using the lifestyle fit hashtags (#StayStrongPilipinas, #CenturyTunaSuperbods, and #EverybodCanBeASuperbod). Grand winners, one male and one female, can take home over P2,000,000 worth of prizes.

To know more about “Century Tuna’s Everybod Superbod 2020,” visit and follow Century Tuna’s Facebook page, @centurytuna or Instagram @ centurytunasuperbods.

Alden Richards

ABS-CBN rolls out new children’s TV block, online portal

Nadech Kugimiya Matt Peeranee Kongthai play the lead characters in the Thai version of ‘Love from Another Star.’

Thai version of ‘My Love From Another Star’ now on local TV LOVE fills the air with another romantic offering for avid viewers of Thai drama as My Love From Another Star airs on GMA Heart of Asia.

Based from the original hit Korean drama My Love From The Star, follow once again the story of the heartwarming character of an alien named Justin, played by Nadech Kugimiya, who comes to Earth for research and sees a woman in trouble and decides to save her.

This heroic gesture gets him strand-

ed on Earth for 300 years. Now with only three months left before his much-awaited departure from the world, he meets actress Stephanie, played by Matt Peeranee Kongthai, and soon realizes their connection.

Justin is caught between standing firm on his decision to return to his planet and staying on Earth with the famous actress whom he’s started to develop feelings with.

My Love From Another Star airs weeknights on GMA Telebabad.

WITH parents and kids spending more time at home together, ABS-CBN brings together its educational, informative, and entertainment shows via a morning block on Kapamilya Channel on cable and satellite TV and watch them anytime on the new online portal called Just Love Kids.

On top of these TV and digital offerings, ABS-CBN is empowering kids by offering online its sought-after Star Magic talent development workshops at the comfort of their homes.

Starting Friday (Sept. 11), new and well-loved kid-friendly Kapamilya programs will be available streaming ondemand for free through the Just Love Kids interactive online portal.

The Just Love Kids’ block on Kapamilya Channel kicks off on Sept. 12 featuring Robo Car Poli, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pop Babies, and Team YeY every Saturday from 6:00 a.m. and Wikaharian, MathDali, Bayani, and Hiraya Manawari every Sunday starting 7:00 in the morning.

“Just Love Kids seeks to provide parents and children easy access to multimedia content in a one-stop-shop platform for the little ones’ learning, entertainment, and play,” shared Red Lasam-Escueta, ABSCBN Kids Digital Content head.

She explained that the content in the online portal is curated, themed, and arranged in playlists to meet the varying needs of kids belonging to different age groups. These are preschool for kids ages 2 to 5, primary for 6 to 8-yearold children and intermediate for older kids ages 9 to 12 years old.

Just Love Kids seeks to provide parents and children easy access to educational, informative, and entertaining content.

“The platform will also provide printable worksheets and activities that will engage children offline and allow for some bonding time as parents and kids work on them together,” said Lasam-Escueta.

Some of the shows included in the portal are the Department of Education’s curriculum-based shows by Knowledge Channel, values-laden Kapamilya series that teach children important lessons and champion love for family, community, and God like Wansapanataym, Starla, and 100 Days to Heaven.

Kids who miss their favorite programs on YEY channel can watch Team YEY and Pororo, and iWantTFC originals like Jet and the Pet Rangers.

Through the platform, parents and in-

terested students can easily register for virtual classes in voice, dance, and acting led by Star Magic Workshops.

Just Love Kids is the latest addition to ABS-CBN’s digital ventures, after the introduction of Kapamilya Online Live which showcases its past and current programs through livestreaming and on-demand, the online kids channel TuTuBee, and digital events of KTX. ph to reach more Filipinos audiences after Congress denied its franchise to broadcast on TV and radio last July 10.

Visit the Just Love Kids online edutainment hub at justlovekids.abs-cbn. com and catch the Just Love Kids morning block every weekend on Kapamilya Channel. For more details on Just Love Kids, like @JustLoveKidsPH on Facebook.

Life

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

C4

FASHION AND BEAUTY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Loungewear on a higher level

By Bernadette Lunas

much attention as we spend more time indoors. The pieces brands usually showcase last in presentations are T’S loungewear’s time to now front and center. shine.

Take Uniqlo’s latest collection for the fall/winter 2020 season for example.

The Japanese brand’s LifeWear clothThe clothes we usually wear at ing, “designed to improve the everyhome, or, sometimes, while running day life of everyone,” features new and errands—if passable—are getting updated pieces that promise “superior

comfort” and “provide ease” when staying at home or performing daily tasks.

Dubbed “Sustainable Cities,” Uniqlo draws inspiration from concepts that impact consumers’ needs and wants.

Divided into three categories, each consisting of pieces that embrace life indoors and outdoors, the new collection focuses on urban landscapes and design and architecture.

I

Korean stars representing luxury brands BRANDS before usually look to high fashion models and Hollywood celebrities to represent campaigns and collection to, according to them, maintain authenticity. But in recent years, they are slowly turning to South Korea’s gamut of popular idol groups and celebrities to appoint as their new brand ambassadors.

Check out what global brand your favorite K-star is endorsing:

Rosé of BLACKPINK for Saint Laurent Rosé attended her first Saint Laurent show in February 2019, since then she has been a front row regular during Fashion Week for the brand. She’s been doing shoots for Saint Laurent for different campaigns, prior to her announcement as the new face of the brand by no less than Anthony Vacarello, Saint Laurent’s creative director.

rities starred in the Calvin Klein Jeans’ “Deal With It” spring/summer 2020 campaign. He became MAC Cosmetics’ first brand spokesperson for China in 2018. Less than a year later, he became an ambassador for Asia Pacific. He continues to break records and barriers as the brand’s global ambassador.

Park Min-young for TOD’S Min-young or Rachel Park, who rose to fame for her roles in “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?” and “Her Private Life,” is TOD’S newly appointed South Korean Ambassador for 2020. She first attended the brand’s show last year and was present again earlier this year for its fall/ winter Women’s Collection show.

Look professional while comfortable in jersey jacket, cotton shirt, rayon blouse, and chiffon skirt.

Pieces from the Airism and Dry Ex lines offer sports utility and comfort functionalities that suit life at home in a tropical country.

Outdoors As the season heralds colder months and inclement weather, Uniqlo highlights its sports utility wear with functionality for sports and everyday wear, or as the brand puts it, “made to be worn as one mile wear, comfort work wear at home, and for staying healthy and active.”

The Airism and Dry Ex lines offer pieces whose functionalities suit life at home in a tropical country such as ours, while the Blocktech Parka, Pocketable UV Cut Parka, and Cocoon Parka offer outerwear solutions for the changing weather.

Art and design Although a bit different from something one would wear at home, this category features pieces that form part of today’s urban uniform—something professional but also chic and comfortable. “Inspired by the cross pollination that takes place among architecture, furniture, and fashion design.”

Pair a rayon blouse with a chiffon pleated long skirt for a stylish yet comfortable wear for women, while men can nail that casual-professional-cool look in a fine cotton striped shirt, extra fine merino V-neck sweater, and a pair of Smart Ankle Pants.

Song Hye-kyo for Bottega Veneta Song Hye-Kyo represented South Korea when she attended the brand’s fall/ winter 2020 show in February in Milan.

A few months later, she starred in the brand’s short fashion film, La Donna Che Amiamo (The Woman We Love) for the spring/summer 2020 collection.

Jackson Wang of GOT7 for Cartier For the September 2020 launch of the Pasha de Cartier, Jackson joins the Pasha Community, also consisting of Rami Malek, Troye Sivan, Willow Smith, and Maisie Williams. Mid last year, he was also seen sporting the brand’s Juste un Clou collection.

French chic as usual in Ines de la Fressange’s latest collection for Uniqlo.

Kai (Kim Jongin) of EXO for Gucci EXO’s Kai is the first Korean model and global brand ambassador for the Italian brand. He participated in Gucci’s 2019 fall/winter campaign and has recently modeled for the spring/summer 2020’s Eyewear Advertising campaign.

Blocktech parka and flannel long sleeve shirts for men, and dainty blouse and cardigan and EZY Colored Jeans for women working from home.

Work and craft Modular, versatile, and easy to combine and layer are the characteristics of the pieces that comprise this category.

These are clothes you can wear while working at home and for lounging later.

Smart Ankle Pants, EZY Colored Jeans, Jersey Relaxed Jacket, and Flannel Long Sleeve Shirt are highlighted in this recycling and upcycling-inspired category, along with lightweight Relaco Shorts, dainty blouses, and light cardigans and hoodies.

Park Seo-joon for Montblanc German watch brand has been working with Park Seo-joon ever since he became the brand ambassador for Korea in 2018. Since then, he is labeled as a “Friend of Montblanc,” and has been seen wearing the brand, not just for his dramas but also during his shoots and personal travels.

Designers’ corner Uniqlo also launches the latest collections of its collaboration with Christophe Lemaire for Uniqlo U, Ines de la Fressange, and Hana Tajima.

ADD TO CART

Jun Ji-hyun for Alexander McQueen

Shop Kiehl’s on Lazada

The “sassy girl” herself, Jun Ji-Hyun is the first Korean to represent Alexander McQueen. According to the British luxury house, her charisma and versatility as an actress synergizes well with the brand’s identity. She first appeared on the brand’s fall/winter 2020 campaign.

THE cult-favorite Midnight Recovery Concentrate serum, Calendula toner, Ultra Facial Moisturizer, and more from Kiehl’s are now within easy reach as it opens its official LazMall on Lazada.

“Our LazMall store will allow both Kiehl’s newbies and loyal friends of Kiehl’s to customize and create a Kiehl’s routine for themselves through our tailored shopin-shop that echoes the informative yet quirky and fun experience that we offer in-store,” says Lerizze Tan, product manager for Kiehl’s.

To formally launch its Lazada online store, the brand is staging an online party on September 17. The Kiehl’s Grand Lazada Live Party at the Lazada PH App will feature hosts Alodia Gosiengfiao, Camille Co, Laureen Uy, Kryz Uy, and David Guison.

As part of the nationwide 9.9 sale,

Shop Camille Co’s Woke Up Like This Essentials (left) or Laureen Uy’s Spotless Skin Essentials (featuring the mini version of the Corrective Dark Spot Solution) on Kiehl’s newly opened LazMall store.

customers can pre-order beginning Sept. 9 exclusive kits tailored to each Kiehl’s X Lazada partner, such as Laureen’s Spotless Skin Essentials and Camille’s Woke Up Like This

Essentials. Also available only on Wednesday is the mini (8ml) version of the Corrective Dark Spot Solution.

More surprises await on the grand launch day.

Irene (Bae Joo-hyun) of Red Velvet for Clinique Irene was chosen as Clinique’s newest ambassador representing the AsiaPacific region. Clinique partnered with Lay (Zhang Yixing) of EXO Irene as her happy, positive, smart and modern beauty is a natural fit for the for Calvin Klein Jeans and brand. She previously said Clinique MAC Cosmetics Lay, together with Kendall Jenner, products were instrumental in keeping Justin Bieber, Maluma, and other celeb- her skin healthy and luminous.