Manila Standard - 2020 October 19 - Monday

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‘Govt aid to jobless wanting’ SWS: Assistance rated minus 2, but response to COVID hits high marks

Senator bucks plan to amend P4.5-t budget in the House

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OST Filipinos found that the government did not do enough to help those who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest survey from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 227 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

By Rio N. Araja SENATOR Francis Pangilinan said Sunday the House of Representatives cannot introduce amendments to the P4.5 trillion 2021 budget through “errata” after approving it on third and final reading, saying this was inconsistent with the process of legislation.

In a radio interview, Pangilinan said this position was already manifested on the floor of the Senate last week.

Pangilinan was reacting to statements by House appropriations committee chairman Eric Yap that amendments will be made to the 2021 general appropriations bill that the House approved on Friday before it will be submitted to the Senate on Oct. 28.

Pangilinan said that if the House has corrections or interventions, congressmen can present them during the bicameral conference committee, especially if the amounts are significant.

He added that the House plan to introduce amendments to its version of the budget could lead to questions regarding its legality.

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COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

LANTERN MAKERS’ LAMENT.

(AS OF 4 PM OCT. 18)

356,618

A lantern maker works on bamboo frames to meet orders in Las Pinas City on October 18, 2020.

Many of her ilk, long-time residents of the city, are forced to work at home for lack of permit to assemble Christmas decorations by the roadside, a government prohibition intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Norman Cruz

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

2,379 39,808 NEW

ACTIVE

6,652

50

DEATHS

NEW

310,158 14,941 RECOVERIES

LOCAL ROUNDUP

MRT-3 raises capacity limit to 30 percent

special session.

Crisologo was sworn in by Romualdez.

The Leyte lawmaker said even Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe took his oath as a Lakas-CMD member last Sept. 15.

The four party-list lawmakers who also become Lakas allies are Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, BHW party-list Rep. Angelina

THE Department of Transportation has ordered an increase in the maximum passenger capacity of MRT3 trains starting today, Monday, to accommodate more commuters.

The system will increase its maximum passenger capacity from 13 percent now (51 passengers per train car, 153 passengers per train set,) to 30 percent (124 passengers per train car, 372 passengers per train set).

“We will do this to help transport more people. In addition to increasing our train capacity, our passengers can also expect more trains to be deployed along the mainline, shorter waiting time, and faster travel time,” MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael J. Capati said.

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NEW

Lakas-CMD beefs up muscle HOUSE Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said Sunday the strength of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats in Congress has grown to 42, of which 21 are district congressmen and 21 are party-list allies.

Romualdez, Lakas-CMD president, said the latest addition was Quezon City Rep. Anthony Peter Crisologo who took his oath as party member on Oct. 16 at the majority leader’s office before the House of Representatives adjourned its

According to the September SWS poll, only 44 percent found the government’s actions to provide help to the jobless adequate. Forty-six percent found the efforts to be inadequate while 9 percent were undecided.

This gave the government a net adequacy score of -2 in terms of joblessness assistance, the SWS said.

By area, net adequacy in helping the unemployed was lowest in Metro Manila (-15), followed by Balance Luzon (-2), Mindanao (-1), and the Visayas (+4),” the SWS said.

The government scored higher marks for its efforts to inform the public on how to counter COVID-19, with 71 percent saying these were adequate, and only 22 percent saying they were not.

Six percent were undecided, yielding a net adequacy score of +49 (percentage adequate minus percentage inadequate).

By area, net adequacy is higher in Mindanao (+52) and the Visayas (+51) than in Balance Luzon (+47) and Metro Manila (+45), it added.

Some 67 percent found the government's efforts to ensure extensive contract tracing to be adequate, while 23 percent said they were inadequate.

Nine percent were undecided, yielding a net adequacy score of +43 for contact Next page tracing.

EXPANDED CAPACITY. MRT-3 crewmen have placed social-distancing markers inside the coaches in preparation for an increase in passenger capacity that takes effect today, Oct. 19, 2020. Likewise, the LRT lines and trains run by the Philippine National Railways have made provisions for the expanded capacity. DoTr

Another PhilHealth exec quits

By Willie Casas ANOTHER official of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has resigned following the allegations of irregularities that the state health insurer has been involved in, an official said Sunday.

PhilHealth spokesman Rey Baleña

confirmed the resignation of the unnamed executive in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV. "As of late, we announced that 43 had resigned, but one more filed a courtesy resignation, so the total now is 44,” Balena said.

He did not provide details. Next page

GOING STRONGER. House Majority Leader and Lakas-CMD party president (4th from left) administers the ceremonial oath taking of Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Dalipe as new member of Lakas at the Majority Leader's office in the House of Representatives.

With them are (from right) Lakas VP for Muslim Affairs Rep. Yasser Alonto Balindong, VP for Luzon Rep. Hector Sanchez, Depouty Secretary Genereal Wilter Palma, EVP Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, Secretary General Prospero Pichay Jr, Lakas members Rep. Joseph Cabatbat and Rep. Xavier Romualdo. Ver Noveno

WORLD ROUNDUP

Grandma oldest survivor at 92

Virus stays on skin for 9 hours—study RESCUED. After a 17-hour sarch and rescue operation, the Naval Task Group Sulu has managed to bring to safety five of six fishermen whose motorized boat “FV OK LNG” capsized off Patikul, Sulu as a result of bad weather. One of the fishermen remains missing and the task group continues the search and rescue, according to JTF Sulu commander Maj. General William Gonzales.

THE coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pathogen that causes the flu Next page

By Willie Casas SUVIVOR. A 92-year old woman, Amanda Morales, has recovered from COVID-19, making her Manila's oldest virus survivor. Morales was admitted to the Sta. Ana Hospital and discharged on Oct. 13, according to Mayor Isko Moreno. Manila PIO

A 92-YEAR-OLD grandmother from Pandacan, Manila, is the oldest COVID-19 survivor who was treated in a hospital being run by the city government.

An 80-year-old Manila resident Next page

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

Probe into DPWH mess urged C He said the NBI and the Senate were both in a better position to initiate a credible investigation into the matter.

“Let the axe fall where it may. The NBI can pursue a case buildup against the people behind the systemic and systematic corruption at the DPWH,” Barzaga said.

“Some senators who have been talking about the huge lump-sum appropriations in the DPWH budget for next year could help shed light on President Rodrigo Duterte’s complaint by conducting a probe on the matter.

“This may serve as an opportunity for the senators to exercise their legislative

function and draw inputs for a possible investigation on the matter similar to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s investigation.”

The President's statement on the alleged corruption at the department came after Senators Franklin Drilon and Panflio Lacson took a swipe at it for over P300 billion in lump-sum appropriations embedded in the agency’s proposed P667.3-billion budget for 2021.

“We need to help the President on his campaign to stamp out the deep-rooted corruption in all levels of governance.

It’s really frustrating that this is continuing even in the middle of our pandemic battle,” Barzaga said.

“The continuing web of corruption

’Govt...

The SWS survey was taken from Sept. 17 to 20 using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1,249 adult Filipinos.

It has a sampling error margin of ±3% for national percentages, ±6% for Metro Manila, ±5% for Balance Luzon, ±6% for the Visayas, and ±6% for Mindanao.

Last week, a Pulse Asia survey suggested eight out of 10 Filipinos approved of the Duterte administration's handling

of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the government to clamp a lockdown on March 17.

The Sept. 14 to 20 poll found that 84 percent of Filipinos had a "positive opinion about the work done by the Duterte administration to control the spread of the novel coronavirus."

Some 10 percent of the respondents were neutral on the government's actions in reining in the pandemic while 6 percent disapproved of its performance, ac-

was passed on third and final reading on Oct. 16.

Interviewed over Dobol B sa News TV, Yap said he prevented any members of the House of Representatives from making amendments to the budget bill.

“All the errata will come from the agencies. None of them will come from the congressmen,” he said in Filipino.

A small committee was created to accept proposed amendments from government agencies.

Yap said they would submit a soft copy of the budget bill to the Senate and National Printing Office for printing on Oct. 28.

He said no amendments may be accepted after the third reading approval of a measure.

“This is a special case because the budget was certified as urgent,” Yap said. “Because it was urgent, it was approved on second and third reading on the same day, and then you will form a small group to look at the amendments of the agencies.”

“Friday was the deadline for submission by the agencies, but there were some who did not submit them. The way we see it, we can give them the leeway and give them additional time until Monday to submit these amendments,” he added.

Lawmakers said they believed the leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez was off to a good start with the four-day special session

By Rio N. Araja

AVITE Rep. Elpidio Barzaga on Sunday urged the National Bureau of Investigation and the Senate to conduct a parallel probe of the supposed massive corruption at the Department of Public Works and Highways.

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A little more than half or 54 percent found the government's actions to ensure affordable COVID-19 testing to be adequate, while a third or 33 percent said they were inadequate. Eleven percent were undecided, yielding a net adequacy score of +21 for affordable testing.

Senator...

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The senator recalled that some parts of the 2019 budget were vetoed due to questionable insertions amounting to P95 billion meant for infrastructure projects.

“It can happen again so the Senate is standing firm that after the third reading, they can no longer correct it,” he said.

Pangilinan also warned that the late amendments might lead to delays that could result in a reenacted budget for next year.

Yap on Sunday said only government departments and agencies, and not lawmakers themselves, could make amendments to the budget bill, which

at the DPWH has been jeopardizing the President’s Build, Build, Build program with alleged substandard infrastructure projects. No less than President Duterte has stated that no construction will proceed without money changing hands.”

He said the “investigation can be used by concerned DPWH officials and other personalities to present their sides on the serious corruption allegations made by the President and save the agency as an institution from further disgrace and embarrassment.”

But Barzaga vouched for Secretary Mark Villar’s untarnished image, saying “I have not heard of any irregularity on the DPWH secretary’s projects during his stint as congressman of Las Piñas City.”

Velasco vows to amend AMLA

By Rio N. Araja

SPEAKER Lord Allan Velasco on Sunday vowed to pass amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 under House Bill 6174.

“The House of Representatives is committed to approve the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 under House Bill No. 6174 to address concerns on our antimoney laundering law," he said in a statement.

“Cognizant of the importance to put in place more stringent provisions in AMLA, the House will see to it that the measure which aims to curb the cost of doing financial transactions of our overseas Filipino workers and the business cording to the poll results. sector, will be approved expeditiously The survey coincided with a report once plenary sessions resume next that President Rodrigo Duterte garnered month," he added. a 91-percent approval rating in the midPresident Rodrigo Duterte certified dle of the unprecedented crisis. as urgent the proposed measure and As the pandemic brought economic Senate Bill 1412 seeking amendments activities to a standstill, the Philippine government provided cash aid to low- to the AMLA. House Majority Leader and Leyte income families, repatriated migrant Rep. Martin Romualdez, committed to workers and businesses to fend off the working “harder, smarter and more effiimpact of the crisis, which got a stamp of ciently when Congress resumes session approval from Filipinos. on Nov. 16” to pass important legislation.

The President also certified as urthat saw the passage of the national budget and a bill granting anti-red tape pow- gent Senate Bill 1849 to ensure that the country’s financial industry is resilient ers to the President.

"The performance of the new leader- amid the challenges of the COVID-19 ship during the special session was very pandemic. commendable. This is a very encouragAs early as June, Congress has ing sign in our mission to approve the passed its own version called the prolegislative agenda of President Duterte. posed Financial Institutions Strategic The Velasco-Romualdez leadership has Transfer. got off to a good start,” said Cavite Rep. “The House of Representatives will Elpidio Barzaga Jr. ensure that President Duterte will be Bulacan’s San Jose del Monte City able to sign these important pieces of Rep. Florida Robes said she is “extremelegislation into law at the soonest posly delighted that the leadership impasse in the House of Representatives had sible time," Velasco said. been resolved peacefully and amicably.”

“I look forward to a renewed, more united and inclusive leadership at the House of Representatives,” she said.

Local...

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Balena made his statement even as Philippine Red Cross Chief Senator Richard Gordon said Sunday it should be PhilHealth that should be investigated for its debt to the non-government organization for the COVID-19 tests it had conducted.

The Red Cross earlier announced it would halt PhilHealth-funded coronavirus testing due to the state insurer's P1 billion in outstanding bills as of Friday.

PhilHealth apologized for the delay in payment, saying it was partly due to the review being conducted amid the corruption probe on the state insurer.

But Gordon on Sunday warned PhilHealth officials against speaking ill of the Philippine Red Cross amid a supposed investigation by the state insurer.

PhilHealth earlier said that, as of Oct. 8, 43 senior officers had resigned after its chief executive Dante Gierran issued a Sept. 30 memo implementing a 2019 board resolution directing all senior officers from Salary Grade 26 and above to tender their courtesy resignations.

Of the 43 officers, 27 tendered their courtesy resignations, and of those 21 were from the central office and six from the regional offices.

Meanwhile, 16 officers are retiring, and 10 of them are from the central office and six from the regional offices.

Baleña, however, says the courtesy

Grandma...

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who was confined for 44 days was earlier declared the oldest survivor of the disease.

Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso made the revelation over the weekend as he praised the doctors, nurses and staff of the Santa Ana Hospital and its director, Grace Padilla, for successfully saving Amanda Morales— including the other members of her family who also were infected by the coronavirus.

Domagoso said Morales even had pre-conditions, but with ample care and better health facilities she was able to pull through after 12 days of treatment.

“Congrats grandma and be careful next time. I’m happy for you. Thank God and please hold on. After eight years you will have P100,000 from the city government. I hope to visit

resignations will only take effect once Gierran accepts them.

"May isang buwan si Atty. Gierran para aksiyonan ang nasabing mga courtesy resignation," Balena said.

He says Gierran's appointment as the new PhilHealth chief is a "morale booster" to the employees at the state health insurer. "'Yung mga aksiyon nitong nakaraan ni Atty. Gierran ay dagdag na morale booster sa hanay ng mga empleyado," he said.

"Kamakailan nga, nagpatupad na siya ng rotation ng mga regional vice presidents, bahagi na 'yan. Kamakailan ay in-order na rin niya ang mga regional vice presidents na iprofile ang lahat ng mga ospital, pasilidad at mga healthcare professionals.

Bahagi na ito, nagsisimula na itong mga anti-fraud measures na bahagi ng kaniyang programa.”

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the filing of charges against former PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales and other officials linked by an inter-agency task force to the irregularities in the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism, the procurement of ICT equipment, and policy for accountability.

Resigned PhilHealth anti-fraud officer Thorsson Montes Keith has claimed that the PhilHealth "mafia," composed of the executive committee, stole some P15 billion through fraudulent schemes, including those involving the IRM. PhilHealth in a statement denied the allegations. you someday,” Domagoso said.

He says Morales’ recovery serves as an inspiration for him and the rest of the officialdom of the Manila city government. It drives them to continue exploring ways of saving lives, and further improving the city’s healthcare system and facilities and the support being given to medical frontliners.

“Every Manilan saved is one step closer to success. Ample care and better health care facilities is the only way so far. This should be an inspiration for us,” Domogoso said.

He said based on the information he had gathered, Morales had not been going out of the house since she belonged to the high-risk age group. But her children and grandchildren were going out, and this was how she got infected.

He reiterated his appeal to those allowed to go out under quarantine rules to only do so when necessary, and to take all precautions.

Lakas...

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Co, Dumper PTDA Rep. Claudine Bautista and Duterte Youth party-list Rep. Ducielle Cardema.

As part of the administration’s coalition party, Romualdez reiterated LakasCMD’s commitment to support the passage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda.

“Welcome to the ever growing Lakas-CMD party. This is in line with our commitment to strengthen Lakas-CMD’s political influence nationwide and help President Duterte pass the remaining legislative agenda of his administration and ensure that genuine reforms are implemented in the last 20 months of his administration,” he said.

“Lakas-CMD is gaining momentum in its goal to strengthen its ranks at the House of Representatives,” he added.

The party, which is currently headed by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., has produced two presidents, namely Gloria Arroyo and Fidel Ramos. Rio N. Araja

World...

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survives on human skin for about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the study published this month in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.

"The nine-hour survival of SARSCoV-2 (the virus strain that causes COVID-19) on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV (influenza A virus), thus accelerating the pandemic," it said.

The research team tested skin collected from autopsy specimens, about one day after death.

Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15 seconds by applying ethanol, which is used in hand sanitizers.

End of the party in Paris Shortly before the clock struck 9 p.m. on Saturday, restaurant shutters in Paris came down and people dashed home to beat a strict new curfew to battle the coronavirus outbreak.

Police patrolled streets which would ordinarily be bustling with party-goers to enforce the new anti-mingling measure as the country notched up a record of more than 32,000 positive COVID-19 tests in 24 hours, with 1,868 people in intensive care.

Densely-populated Paris has been an infection hotspot, with bars already shuttered since Oct. 6 although restaurants and other establishments that serve food were allowed to stay open.

The 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for Paris and a dozen other French cities—some 20 million inhabitants in all—will remain in place for at least four weeks.

Melbourne eases restrictions Lockdown restrictions in Australia's second-biggest city were eased slightly Sunday following a steady decline in new coronavirus

cases, but officials stopped short of ending a controversial "stay-athome" rule.

More than 100 days after the lockdown was imposed on Melbourne's five million residents to fight an outof-control surge of COVID-19 cases, authorities said that as of midnight they were lifting a two-hour limit on the time people could spend outside their homes for permitted activities.

They also extended from five to 25 kilometers the distance people could travel from their homes for several activities, including exercise, shopping for essentials, socializing and work in essential professions.

China's new biosecurity law China has passed a new law to improve its handling of disease outbreaks —including protecting whistleblowers—following a cascade of criticism over its coronavirus response and accusations of an early cover-up.

The new biosecurity law, approved by lawmakers on Saturday, flags the right to report "acts that endanger biosecurity" and calls for risk prevention systems, ranging from active monitoring to emergency plans.

It takes effect from April 15 next year.

"Any work unit or individual has the right to report acts that endanger biosecurity," the regulation said.

"When a report is required according to the law, no work unit or individual shall conceal (it)... or hinder others from making a report," it added on infectious diseases and epidemics.

China's approval of the law comes in the face of Western criticism on the coronavirus, over accusations that it covered up the initial outbreak and silenced early whistleblowers.

But China has been trying to reshape this narrative, with authorities seeking instead to model the country as a vanguard in the pandemic fight.

AFP

“The increase in train capacity is a timely boost for the MRT-3 as the public demands a higher number of public transportation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Restrictions studied After the government lifted the restrictions on non-essential outbound travel beginning Oct. 21, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said they were now studying easing the inbound travel restrictions despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nograles, the co-chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the government would be reviewing non-essential inbound travel policies because they recognized that there were foreign citizens who also wanted to spend the holidays with their loved ones and fiancées in the Philippines.

COVID recoveries soar The “mass recoveries” in the Philippines of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching 14,941 patients pushed the total to 310,158, the Department of Health reported on Sunday.

The department also reported 2,379 new infections, bringing the total to 356,618.

“As of 4 p.m. today, October 18, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 356,618 after 2,379 newlyconfirmed cases were added to the list of COVID-19 patients,” the department said in a bulletin.

Of the 2,379 reported cases, 1,580 (66 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days from Oct. 5 to Oct. 18, 2020.

Teachers protest The Alliance of Concerned Teachers has condemned the alleged lack of health protection mechanisms for the employees of the Department of Education as the group observed a steep increase in the agency’s number of COVID-19 infection of late.

ACT said that, comparing Rep. Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong’s sharing of the department’s report on 2,193 COVIDpositive cases among its employees in Sunday’s budget hearing with the agency’s data of 526 infected personnel on Aug. 23, the number of cases among teaching and non-teaching staff increased by 316 percent in less than two months.

“The rapid spread of infection among our teachers and staff brings alarm and anguish among our ranks.

We feel the seriousness of our vulnerability with the lack of health screening and mass testing while we were obliged to report to school for module distribution and other duties,” said Raymond Basilio, ACT Secretary-General.

News

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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Nationwide vaccination underway

By Willie Casas

T

HE Department of Health is encouraging the public to prioritize immunization from vaccine-preventable diseases through its upcoming Measles, Rubella and Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine campaign which will be held from October 26 to November 25 in several regions.

FOGGY. Foggy weather makes it difficult for motorcycle riders and other motorists to negotiate the roads going to Tagaytay City in Cavite. JR Josue

Villafuerte files DepEd hit for discouraging students to join rallies bill on media By Rio N. Araja wokers’ welfare

By Rio N. Araja CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte is batting for the enactment of a law that will provide workers in the media industry with security of tenure, hazard and overtime pay, and other benefits being enjoyed by regular employees.

Villafuerte filed House Bill No. 7820 or the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act that aims to guarantee the rights of media workers to self-organization, and to create a safe, protected atmosphere conducive to their “productive, free and fruitful work.”

“Media workers risk their own lives being exposed to the perils and hazards outdoor just so we can receive our needed information. It is unfortunate that the very same people behind it are usually the ones whose labor rights are ignored, such as those pertaining to security of tenure, hazard pay, night shift differential pay and overtime pay, among others,” he said.

“Hence, this measure seeks to ensure that media workers shall be provided with comprehensive benefits package at par with the current benefits enjoyed by those in the labor force both in government and the private sector,” he added.

Under HB 7820, media workers in entry-level positions shall receive the minimum monthly compensation determined by the National Wages and Productivity Commission or the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards depending on which applies in one’s case.

THE Commission on Human Rights on Sunday took a swipe at the Department of Education for discouraging children from joining peaceful assemblies.

“We are concerned that a module on Media and Information Literacy allegedly coming from DepEd discouraging children from participating in peaceful assemblies, such as rallies, because the government is doing its best for all Filipinos and its constituents,” lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline

Ann de Guia said.

“While respect for the law is a good value to teach, it is equally important to develop among our children critical thinking, especially when it comes to issues that affect us, not only personally, but as well as those national in scope. Love for one’s country is not limited to mere obedience, but can also be manifested through collectively tackling issues of our communities and the country under the guidance of rights entitled to us and protected by the Constitution, including the people’s right to freedom of speech,

of expression, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and petition the government for redress of grievances,” she added.

She called on the government to recognize the rights of the people.

“We stress that our current freedoms that we enjoy today are fruits of past struggles. Instead of discouraging dissent, it would be better to demand better services and accountability from the government and its officials as part of their duty to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of all,” she said.

‘Water, power part of Marawi rehab’

By Rio N. Araja HOUSING czar Eduardo del Rosario on Sunday said the government is working non-stop to energize and connect Marawi City in Lanao del Sur to a water system with work expected to fully begin within a couple of weeks as part of the overall effort to completely rehabilitate the wartorn city.

He said the rehabilitation works are set to be undertaken both to fully restore electricity and bring in water to the city’s most affected area.

“Everything will be completed within the term of the President,” he said.

“This is a manifestation that the instruction of the President… for him that he will soon see that Marawi City will

rise again, and we commit ourselves, we will comply,” he added.

Del Rosario, also the Task Force Bangon Marawi chief, said Local Water Utilities Administration administrator Jesli Lapus has already received funds for the construction of a pumping station for the water connection project in the most affected area, while a funding has also been secured for the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative for the construction of a power sub-station.

The restoration of power and water connection system in the most affected areas are part of the 22 projects that have been designed to fully rehabilitate Marawi City before the end of the administration of President Duterte.

MARCH AGAINST TERROR. Two hundred residents from Barangays Anitapan, Golden Valley, including its special barangays Mascareg and Singapore, all of Mabini marched together to condemn the terror attacks, recruitment of minors and massive extortion activities of the CPP-NPAs at Brgy Anitapan, Mabini, Davao de Oro

PUP students as ‘eco-warriors’

Surveillance radar on Benham ok’d

By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has tapped the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila to mobilize and capacitate its students for the protection and conservation of environment and natural resources.

As part of the partnership, Secretary Roy Cimatu recently turned over 100 units of tablet computers to PUP executive vice president Alberto Guillo.

The tablet computers were to be distributed to the “environment and natural resources ambassadors” of one of the country’s premier state universities.

“Behavior change is difficult to achieve so we need the assistance of the education sector to help us effect change in the minds of the students and the youth, and to change their practices,” Cimatu said.

“We will be working together, and with the ENR ambassadors, you can help us in our main effort which is to clean up Manila Bay by cleaning the esteros and rivers that flow into it,” he added.

On Aug. 19, DENR-National Capital Region director Jacqueline Caancan and PUP president Manuel Muhi signed a memorandum of agreement for the ENR Ambassador Project.

The implementation of health protocols during this campaign is also designed to prevent any inadvertent transmission of COVID-19.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the protection of children against measles, polio, and rubella are equally important during the time of COVID-19.

“We should be vigilant about other diseases that can affect some of our most vulnerable like infants and children, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The child’s first five years are very formative to his or her health. The illnesses we are vaccinating them against can be very damaging and will have repercussions on their growth and maturity. That is why we are urging parents not to take these conditions lightly, but must vaccinate their children as soon as possible,” Duque said.

The vaccines used to counter measles, rubella, and polio have been proven safe for the past decades. “No child should have to suffer because of them, especially because the vaccines are free,” said the DOH Secretary.

At the same time, Duque also assured the public, especially parents, that the DOH is well aware of and will address their concerns about safety, saying, “We understand their fears of getting infected with COVID-19 if they go to our clinics to have their children vaccinated,” he explained. “But we have committed ourselves to safety and the clinics will be making sure that health protocols are followed by healthcare workers and patients alike.”

Bicol (Region V) and MIMAROPA (Region IVB) will be the first locations for the program’s implementation because of the need of the children in those areas to be vaccinated from the aforementioned diseases.

The DOH is also setting the stage for the campaign’s first phase which will cover Regions I, II, IVB, V, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and all of Mindanao. Safe and high quality measlesrubella vaccine and bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine will be distributed for free, following safety measures. Children from 9-59 months old will be given the MR vaccine while those who are 0-59 months old will receive the bOPV.

ILLEGAL FIREARMS. The Bureau of Customs-NAIA seized an estimated 1.5-M worth

of illegal weapons, parts, and accessories, all of which did not have import permits from the Firearms and Explosive Office of the Philippine National Police.

Mangyan schoolkids get timely help J&T Express and Child’s Pose Yoga Project Philippines have joined forces to empower Mangyan schoolchildren through school supplies, books and other educational materials.

“It was like fate when we were approached by Child’s Pose Yoga Project Philippines,” said Zoe Chi, Vice-President of J&T Express Philippines. “We immediately agreed to partner with them because we too believe in empowering those who may otherwise be held back by resources or location.”

Child’s Pose Yoga Project Philippines, Inc. is a youth-led organization that aims

to create positive social transformation through yoga, sports, education, and life skills.

“We decided on the Mangyan community, because it’s easy for kids in such situations to feel lost and ignored,” said Chi, referring to the region where their beneficiary is located.

“That’s why we introduced them to various outlets and donated materials that will nourish and inspire them holistically so they can pursue their big goals and eventually become the tycoons, thought leaders, and champions our country needs.”

BUHAY Rep. Lito Atienza has welcomed Camp Aguinaldo’s plan to deploy a fixed surveillance radar to provide “optimal airspace monitoring” over Benham Rise (Philippine Rise).

“We understand that the Department of National Defense is positioning over Benham one of the three long-range surveillance radar systems that the Philippine Air Force recently acquired from Japan,” Atienza said.

“This should help us enforce our exclusive rights over Benham,” Atienza said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, in a previous congressional inquiry, had acknowledged that due to the government’s lack of capability to detect illegal entry, Beijing was able to survey Benham in 2017 without any permit from Manila.

“We must stress that nobody can explore Benham without the express consent of the Philippine government,” Atienza said.

“And only the Philippine government may authorize and regulate offshore drilling in Benham for all pur-

poses,” Atienza added.

As Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources during the Arroyo administration, Atienza had Benham surveyed and delineated to support the Philippine government’s claim that the 13-million-hectare underwater region located north east of Luzon is within the outer limits of the country’s continental shelf.

As a result of the successful claim, the United Nations had in 2012 awarded Benham to the Philippines as an extension of its continental shelf.

Under international law, a coastal State exercises over the continental shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.

“We are counting on the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy to protect Benham at all times,” Atienza said.

“We have to safeguard the rich natural resources of Benham for the enjoyment of future generations of Filipinos,” Atienza said.

A portion of Benham is a designated marine resource reserve.

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

A4

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

‘LIKHANG MUNTI.’ Mayor Jaime Fresnedi (right) talks to a local seamstress as the local government of Muntinlupa launches “Tahi by Likhang Munti,” a stimulus employment program for displaced seamstresses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fresnedi joined the launching ceremony and visited the sewing site in Muntinlupa City Technical Institute at Southville 3, Brgy. Poblacion last October 16 (inset) together with other local execs. The program is facilitated through the Lingkod Muntinlupa Foundation and aims to produce 350 uniform sets for local security guards.

QC virus recovery rate up to 90%

By Rio N. Araja

Q

UEZON City has posted a record-high 90 percent recovery rate for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Mayor Joy Belmonte announced Sunday.

This is apart from the continued drop in the city’s reproduction number, which indicates how contagious an infectious disease is or the number of people who can get the virus from one infected person.

Meanwhile, the Quezon City government is set to unveil today its first dialysis center solely for COVID-19 patients at the Quezon City General Hospital and

Medical Center (QCGHMC).

The center is housed at the ground floor of the QCGHMC extension facility, where four machines are available for COVID-19 patients who need dialysis.

On Oct. 16, the dialysis center obtained its accreditation from the Department of Health.

Belmonte said the additional 218 re-

coveries increased the city’s recovery rate to 90 percent as of Oct. 17, from 81 percent last Sept. 30.

Out of the 21,543 COVID-19 cases validated by the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) and District Health Offices, 19,363 have already recovered, while 1,576 cases or seven percent are active and recovering.

“This is good news in our campaign against COVID-19. It only proves that our COVID-19 response is effective,” Belmonte said.

“This is also a testament to the hard work and sacrifice of all our frontliners, most especially our medical workers, who are putting their lives on the line to win this most-important battle,” she added.

The record-high recovery rate happened days after the city tallied its lowest reproduction number in six weeks at 0.67 on Oct. 7 to 13.

“As we move closer to the ideal number of 0.50 set by the World Health Organization (WHO), this also serves as the ideal sign for further opening up the economy, which will help produce jobs and livelihood opportunities for many residents,” the city mayor said.

Dr. Rolly Cruz, CESU head, said the promising development will inspire frontliners to intensify their trace-test-isolatetreat approach against the virus.

He reiterated that the full cooperation of residents is needed to improve the city’s high recovery rate.

Angeles workers get P15k bonus on December 22 ANGELES CITY—Fat bonuses and other incentives await city government workers here as Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. readied P19.74 million in additional incentives -- P15,000 for each city hall employee -- on top of their regular wages.

This was after the City Finance Committee issued a Memorandum No. 1198, Series of 2020 on Oct. 15 calling for additional benefits to city hall employees.

Lazatin said the release of the additional benefits for qualified city government employees, including the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) bonus worth P5,000, Productivity Enhancement Incentive worth P5,000, and the Service Recognition Incentive worth P5,000, will be on December 22, 2020.

City Hall has a total of 1,316 employees, including 980 permanent, 321 casual, and 15 contractual. All of them will receive the additional P15,000 benefit, the mayor said.

City Hall employees – permanent, casual, and contractual – will also receive their tax-free yearend bonus, equivalent to one-month basic salary, amounting to P32.54 million. The employees will also receive a P5,000 cash gift, amounting to P6.58 million.

Both the year-end bonus and cash gift incentive will be released for qualified government employees on November 16, the mayor said.

Lazatin directed the Local Finance Committee composed of the City Budget Office, City Accounting Office, and City Treasurer’s Office, to immediately compute and prepared the yearend bonus of the city government employees.

The city mayor stressed the importance of releasing the bonus and other incentives for the year as a means of ensuring their financial security amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is also in recognition of all the efforts being done by our hardworking and dedicated city government employees, despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We want them to still be able to celebrate the coming holiday season,” Lazatin added.

The grant of year-end bonus is in accordance with Republic Act (RA) No. 66861, as amended by RA No. 8441, and under the Department of Budget Management Circular No. 2016-4.

Meanwhile, Lazatin said Contract of Service (COS) employees are also qualified for a P3,000 cash incentive. They will receive the perk on December 10.

Jess Malabanan and Butch Gunio

30 Caloocan families get new homes

By Jun David A SAFE and orderly life awaits 30 families who were successfully relocated last Friday (October 16) by the Caloocan City Government.

With the help of employees from the Caloocan City Housing and Resettlement Office, families from Barangay 37 were relocated to their new home in Camarin Residence, Barangay 175.

In addition to a good place to live, the City Government also offers relief

packs to families to help them start their new life.

According to Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan, the local government will not stop its other programs despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“Although we are in a time of crisis caused by Covid-19, projects for people and services will continue with action and concern,” Mayor Oca said.

Last month, 37 families from the same barangay were also relocated by the city government.

San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora (right) joins the San Juan Police in inspecting the public cemetery on its first day of Oplan Undas 2020. The city requires residents to use QR codes for contract tracing registration, and scheduling of visitors are required before entering the cemetery. Manny Palmero

New Simunul mayor hits foe’s attack via media UPGRADED LODGE. SM Foundation Inc., through its Health and Wellness Program, upgrades public health centers in its host communities, complemented by its medical caravans across the country. To date, it has renovated more than 160 health and wellness centers and served more than 1 million patients in medical missions.

SM Foundation upgrades AFP Watchers Lodge STAYING true to its commitment of upgrading health and wellness centers in its host communities, SM Foundation (SMFI) recently improved the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Patient Watchers Lodge in Quezon City.

This transient amenity was originally designed to cater to the family members of soldiers who are confined at the AFP Health Service Command facility. But in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will serve as a temporary lodging facility for military doctors, nurses, and other AFP frontliners.

The AFP Patient Watchers Lodge, which serves as the 169th wellness center of SM Foundation, is a 327 sqm. facility with 60-bed capacity, living room, kitch-

en, dining area, and a mini office.

SM Foundation also provided the necessary furniture and equipment such as new beds and beddings, refrigerators, television sets, water dispensers, wall fans, and microwave ovens, among others.

The wellness facility was officially launched on October 16 via SM Foundation’s Facebook and YouTube accounts (@SMFoundationInc).

SMFI, through its Health and Wellness Program, upgrades public health centers in its host communities, complemented by its medical caravans across the country.

To date, it has renovated more than 160 health and wellness centers and served more than 1 million patients in medical missions.

THE newly-declared mayor of Simunul town in Tawi-tawi province, Benzar Tambut, has decried his political opponents’ use of media to cast aspersions on the Regional Trial Court’s decision regarding the real winner of the 2019 mayoralty elections in the town.

Tambut was declared the new Mayor, unseating Wasilah Abdurahman, by Judge Grace Tillah of RTC Branch 26, Tawi-Tawi in a decision released on October 5.

Tambut denounced a news item that appeared recently in a national news-

paper (not the Standard), which quoted Abdurahman as saying that Tambut, “a losing candidate, a third placer at that, is trying to disrupt our march toward economic prosperity.”

The same news item also said Abdurahman “blasted (Judge) Tillah for siding with Tambut.”

In Simunul’s four-candidate mayoralty race in 2019, Abdurahman was proclaimed winner by the Municipal Board of Canvassers with 5,892 votes, followed

by Pirza Bulante (2,887 votes) and then

Tambut with 1,559 votes.

Tambut filed a protest with RTC Branch 26 on the grounds of fraud through votebuying, ghost voters, inconsistencies in the Book of Voters and other irregularities.

Following an exhaustive review of the evidence presented, including the technical examination of official ballots and other election documents in 23 clustered precincts and a declaration by the Electoral Boards of the malfunctioning of 17 of the selected 23 Voter Registration Verification Machines, Judge Tillah ruled in favor of Tambut.

DENR to grant P1m to BPSU for Capunitan project BALANGA CITY, Bataan—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Bataan will grant P1 million to Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU) Office of the Extension Training Services (OETS) for livelihood project of the residents of the seaside Barangay Capunitan in Orion town.

Dr. Hermogenes Paguia, BPSU Vice President for Research, Extension and Training Services, said the scope of the project was finalized in a meeting on

Friday between DENR Bataan Division Chief Mila Ramirez and BPSU Office of Extension and Training Services (OETS) Director Dr. Bernadeth Gabor.

Paguia said OETS will consult barangay officials and residents to identify the livelihood activities to be conducted.

It was also agreed OETS will be given leeway in managing the fund, designing livelihood training programs, and establishing support mechanisms for the beneficiaries.

Paguia said Capunitan residents will be organized into an association for project sustainability.

A memorandum of agreement between DENR Bataan and BPSU will be signed. The project is targeted to be implemented in six months.

BPSU President Dr. Greg Rodis is supporting the project, as he has been pushing for sustainable innovations and researches of the university to reach end users through extension works. Butch Gunio

Opinion ‘Les enfants terribles’ SO I SEE LITO BANAYO THERE were a lot of issues juggling in my mind after the events of the last four days, issues I thought I would write about Sunday for my Monday space in this esteemed paper.

They are children of ambition, whose ups and downs must in time be tempered by the wisdom wrought by experience.

Issues like a baby named River, who died under the most appalling circumstances, separated from a mother imprisoned allegedly for illegal possession (why do we always suspect that ain’t so?), and whose inability to nurse her child, let alone embrace the dead body of River by the officers of the law, who took the letter of that law as license to do away with the most basic humane compassion, disturbed my heart as I am sure it did millions of others.

Issues like Xi Jinping’s admonition to China’s marines to “prepare for war” with pure energies and pure spirits, almost threatening a maelstrom in the East and South China Sea divided by that narrow body of water separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan, called the Taiwan Strait. One would hope that the admonition is a “si vis pacem, para bellum” (if you want peace, prepare for war) exhortation rather than actual preparation for hostilities in our volatile region.

Or in distinction, write comments about President Tsai-Ingwen’s speech on the Double Ten anniversary commemorating the Wuchang Revolt of 10 October 1911 that led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912, headed by the revered Sun Yat Sen. While rallying the spirit of the Taiwanese against repeated threats by their mainland cousins, President Tsai also offered respectful dialogue as proffer of meaningful co-existence.

I also thought of making some commentary about the latest Pulse Asia survey, which gave President Duterte an astounding and outstanding 91-percent public approbation, followed by a rather queer methodology in giving an “aided list” of a few names for 2022 “presidentiables,” while giving respondents some kind of a second thought over an “unaided list.”

But I retired earlier than usual without taking any dinner Saturday night, probably after a sumptuous lunch of self-made coci-

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Opportunity arises

The better kind of politics THE FIFTH GOSPEL JUDE ACIDRE IT IS the inconvenient truth that no one dared speak about—that our world is “showing signs of regression.”

Politics often finds itself at the middle of this societal maelstrom.

In fact, more and more people see politics as part of the problem.

Pope Francis himself, in his recent encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” appears to share this concern.

The Pope writes: “Political life no longer has to do with healthy debates about longterm plans to improve people's lives and to advance the common good, but only with slick marketing techniques primarily aimed at discrediting others. In this craven exchange of charges and countercharges, de-

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

B1

EDITORIAL

do which I brought to the house of one of my daughters whose husband and kids have hankered for Papa Lito’s culinary concoctions after seven long months of uninterrupted work in Taiwan.

For whatever reason, I woke up yesterday a few minutes before five in the morning, and to the strains of Diana Krall’s duet with Christian McBride on “I’ve got the World on a String,” suddenly thought of two of my treasured politician friends: Alan Peter Cayetano and Chiz Escudero. Both “roosters” have reached their golden year this October of the Year of the Rat. In the western zodiac though, Chiz is Libra while Alan Peter is already Scorpio.

Alan Peter was bida or kontrabida, however you align yourself, for the last week of September leading to the denouement of October 14, when he finally yielded to the formula named after Hernando de Magalhaes, the Portuguese explorer under the employ of Spain who was killed by our intrepid Rajah Lapu-Lapu in 1521.

Chiz Escudero of Sorsogon, whose father Salvador was probably the youngest agriculture secretary of the country, and one of its best, is now governor of his province, after having served three terms as its representative, thence becoming senator at the young age of 37. Serving two consecutive terms, he has “graduated,” albeit temporarily in 2019, and is widely expected to return to the Senate in 2022. Meanwhile, he sort of hibernates in the languid confines of beautiful Sorsogon, far from the madding crowd that is the national capital and its crazy politics.

In 2009, he was the “darling of the colegialas,” an articulate young legislator who could out-talk the legendary Ninoy Aquino on practically any subject under the sun.

When my principal, Sen. Ping Lacson gave up on his purported second quest for the presidency after the GMA “win” over FPJ in 2004, where Ping, running independently and without a vice-presidential team-mate, accompanied by a single senatorial candidate, my good friend Carlos Padilla of Nueva Vizcaya, scored a high 11 percent of the national vote, I found myself rooting for the young Chiz.

I bet on Chiz, and to this day maintain that had it not been for a fortuitous circumstance which was President Cory Aquino’s death on the first of August 2009, he would have become president at the young age of 40. But such is fate, and as the trite saying goes, the presidency is a matter of “destiny,” and it was Benigno Simeon Aquino III, son of Ninoy and Cory, upon whom the gods smiled.

In 2015, Alan Peter wanted to gun for the presidency, and together with a fellow senator, Antonio Trillanes who also at a young age captured the public imagination by a derring-do mutiny against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, they began to unravel in several Senate blue ribbon hearings the supposed untold wealth of Vice-President Jejomar Binay, at the time the undisputed king of the poll surveys to become the next president of the Republic.

TO THE POINT

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

bate degenerates into a permanent state of disagreement and confrontation.”

Far from being frustrated and discouraged, Pope Francis speaks about the future with profound optimism.

He challenges today’s society to embrace “the better kind of politics.”

It is a timely wake up call for the political landscape in Asia’s largest Catholic nation.

The Catholic Church remains one of most trusted social institutions in the Philippines, and at times one of the most critical of government excesses and social injustice.

This has often result in an uneasy relationship between faith and politics.

Inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Pope affirms an earlier call to Catholics not to be indifferent to politics.

“A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern.”

This “better kind of politics” is caring, compassionate and committed to dialogue.

Once more the pope appeals for a renewed appreciation of politics as “a lofty vocation and one of the highest forms of

R

EINA Nasino’s experience of motherhood has been fraught with tragedy since the beginning.

Baby River ing from pneumonia.

The Manila court initially allowed Reina a three-day furlough to go to her baby’s wake, but the jail’s chief inspector requested a shorter time, claiming that the jail lacked sufficient manpower. Despite this claim, 47 police officers guarded Reina when she went to the wake. She was dressed in protective equipment and remained in handcuffs, not being able to even wipe her tears as she mourned her daughter. The cops made sure reporters did not get near her, and they dragged her by the arm even before her time was up.

She was already a political prisoner—arrested November last year during a raid of the Bagong Alyansa Makabayan office— when she discovered that she was pregnant.

In April, her petition for temporary release due to humanitarian conditions—the COVID-19 pandemic was raging and she feared not only for her safety but for her unborn child’s, in a congested jail—was denied.

Less than a month after giving birth on July 1, Nasino was forced apart from her daughter, River. The court denied a petition to allow the pair to stay longer at Fabella Memorial Hospital, or even in a jail with natal care facilities for at least a year. Another petition, this time for Nasino to be allowed to express breastmilk and be provided clean lactation facilities, was also denied—the Manila City Jail lacked childcare facilities, she was told.

River, left to the care of her grandmother, was hospitalized on September 24. The infant died October 9 from complications aris-

How could some people defend this indefensible act?

The police also interfered with the funeral procession and brought the baby’s remains straight to the cemetery, against the wishes of the family.

We join those who denounce the absence of compassion and humanity in Nasino’s case. We cannot imagine what drove those who insisted that the mother be given shorter time to visit, that she be surrounded

by a phalanx of cops—as if a mother weakened by loss and desperation would even have the strength to contemplate escape— or that she be in handcuffs all the way, to decide the way they did.

We are aghast, too, how some people could defend the government’s cruelty, even insult the dead and the bereaved, and dismiss the blatant injustice experienced by the family.

To think that the charges against Nasino have not been proven in the first place.

In the meantime, we have seen numerous examples of convicted plunderers and murderers being allowed to roam free for so-called humanitarian reasons. We denounce the double standards of humanity and compassion as they apply to the powerful on the one hand, and the powerless on the other. Are some people, by virtue of stature and money, more human than others?

Those who feel apathetic toward the family or even applaud the government action should ask themselves why Baby River and her mother experienced such a treatment even as we are known to extend courtesies to prominent politicians or well-connected individuals. There is only one standard that must apply—common decency, humanity and compassion—and one either passes or fails it.

The consequences of online piracy OUR smart devices have become an indispensable appendage of our body that directly interfaces with the digital world. The digital transformation that has been delayed for decades by fear and resistance to the disruptive nature of technology has ironically now become a critical tool for surviving and recovering from the global health and economic crisis brought about by the pandemic.

The ease of accessing the wealth of content and services in the cloud has revolutionized the way we work, live, and play. These, however, do not come without risks.

“Digital Risks in the New Normal” was the theme of the day in last Thursday’s virtual town hall discussion series of thinktank Stratbase ADR Institute, where disturbing insights on the damaging consequences of downloading pirated content from the cloud.

Stratbase ADRi president Prof. Dindo Manhit pointed out that the rapid digitization and transition to online platforms has also caused a spiking of phishing attacks, online scams, and other cyber-security threats since the onset of the pandemic.

“This makes cyber security the second major issue for our rapidly digitizing community. Given our reliance on digital platforms, hacking and data loss can translate to a loss of funds through online banking scams and cyber heists.”

There is also the added threat of fake news networks and the proliferation of fake accounts. We have also seen the rise of online piracy, one way that malware spreads that also has a negative impact on our creative economy. In addition to its illegal nature and effect on the economy, illegal downloads hog bandwidth and slow down network speeds,” Manhit said.

Representing the Coalition Against Piracy, Asian Video Industry Association General Manager Neil Gane urged the government and internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to websites that carry pirated content citing the successful crackdown in Indonesia that effectively cut online piracy by 69 percent and increased business for legal platforms by 30 percent. charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good”.

This definitely runs counter to today’s polarized political landscape, widening economic inequality and increasing social unrest.

It is caring, compassionate and committed to dialogue.

The Pope takes note of these adverse realities: “Today, in many countries, hyperbole, extremism, and polarization have become political tools. Employing a strategy of ridicule, suspicion and relentless criticism, in a variety of ways one denies the right of others to exist or to have an opinion. Their share of the truth and their values are rejected and, as a result, the life of society is impoverished and subjected to the hubris of the powerful.”

In a time of much uncertainty, the Pope’s encyclical is a timely call to reflect on and reimagine our social, economic and political structures.

A report by Media Partners Asia revealed that the growing demand for legal Subscription Video on Demand services such as Netfiix, HBO Go, Prime Video, Viu among others has seen a parallel rise in revenue losses to illegal streaming websites estimates yearly losses at a staggering $120 million or 90 percent of the current legal opportunity.

This is not a good scenario for the upcoming Philippine launch of Disney+, Hotstar, and local brand VIVA planned for next year.

Gane linked online piracy to criminality and the negative consequences to Filipinos in the content industry citing job losses and the tax revenues robbed from the government by these online pirates. He goes on to show how risks posed by the top pirate sites in the Philippines exceed global figures when it comes to malware and fraud (17 percent), branded advertising of fake prod-

ucts (49 percent), and explicit pornographic ads which at 11 percent is much higher than the global average.

Atty. Teodoro Pascua, Deputy Director general of Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) acknowledged the government’s serious concern on the economic impact of piracy and is currently working the legislators and the Department of Trade and Industry in the new and more flexible rules that will be set in the proposed Philippine Innovation Act now pending in the Senate.

An IPOPHIL report revealed that piracy activities accounted for most intellectual property rights infringement cases. Piracy operations such as illegal streaming and illegal reproduction of copyrighted content accounted for 42 percent of total reported violations from March to June of this year.

As a key stakeholder in intellectual property rights, E-commerce platforms are likewise cooperating with IPOPHIL and pending legislative initiatives in both Houses of Congress to protect intellectual property rights and shield consumers from pirated content and products.

“IPOPHIL will be at the forefront with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission to take down sites which violate content rights,” Pascua said.

Studies by the Oxford Business Group have shown that creative industries are a potential growth pillar of the Philippines.

The success of our artists in well developed countries shows how an enabling environment can unleash the potential of our human resources. Developing our potential as a global center for creativity and innovation in a digitized world will need an integrated approach that harnesses the talents and resources of the private sector with empowering government policies that creates a competitive edge in a global market. Protection of property rights is not just a cybersecurity concern; it is the foundational asset of a viable creative industry.

Contrary to the perception of being the problem, the Pope believes that politics can provide the solution.

He points to a politics that is rooted in compassion and charity, seeks the common good, places human dignity at the center, unites us and builds community, and demonstrates a preferential love for those in greatest need.

He affirms that in order to create an open world with an open heart, it is necessary to engage in politics, and a better kind of politics is essential. Politics for the common and universal good.

With the filing of candidacies for the 2022 elections happening a year from now, “Fratelli Tutti” offers a timely moral guidance for voters—and a fitting examination of conscience for politicians.

Pope Francis reminds us that the politics of rivalry and rancor must give way to a politics of cooperation and solidarity.

He also underscores that politics can and must be “something more noble than posturing, marketing and media spin.”

The relevance and timeliness of the pope’s latest encyclical is further amplified by the fact that it was written at time of the coronavirus pandemic. Amid this global crisis, the Pope offers, in clear and simple language, profound spiritual and moral guidance.

In fact, the Pope opens his encyclical with an assessment of the world’s inability to come together for a common response to COVID-19. Reflecting on his words, the Pope appears to ask each one of us the question, “In response to this crisis, did we work as one community, or did we focus only on ourselves?”

In a society fatigued and frustrated by this crisis, Pope Francis asks us to stop and instead of indifference and cynicism, to look at the world in a different way. He challenges us to pay attention, not only to the suffering and difficulties around us, but also to its beauty, grace and resilience.

The Pope’s challenge is most especially true for the Church, including in the Philippines. Going beyond simply challenging our political, economic and social life, the Church must stand as a “well-spring for a fatigued world.” It cannot stay behind the walls of our churches, instead it must go out into the world to accompany life, sustain hope and build a society of justice and mercy, compassion and charity.

“Fratelli Tutti” asks us to embrace “a culture of encounter capable of transcending our differences and divisions,” a culture where everyone is included and no one is expendable. This is a message and call to action that our world desperately needs.

OPEN THOUGHTS ORLANDO OXALES The penetration of online piracy in the country is prominent in the YouGov survey cited by Gane which shows that 49 percent of Filipino consumers admit to having accessed piracy streaming sites compared to only 28 percent in Indonesia and 22 percent in Malaysia. Forty-seven percent of those who access these sites cancelled subscriptions to the loss of local and international content providers.

Protection of property rights is not just a cybersecurity concern; it is the foundational asset of a viable creative industry.

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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NZ new PM vows China passes new export law protecting national security to deliver reforms NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed Sunday to “crack on” with delivering her vision following a landslide election victory, after a string of disasters frustrated reform in her first term.

Ardern won a historic outright majority in Saturday’s poll -- the first since New Zealand adopted proportional voting in 1996 -- allowing her to implement policies without support from minor parties.

After facing criticism since winning office in 2017 for not delivering on key promises such as protecting the environment and reducing child poverty, Ardern said she now had a mandate for change.

The charismatic leader said the scale of the victory, Labour’s biggest since 1946, meant more voters were backing her centre-left party and its reformist agenda.

“I think they were endorsing the work we’ve done and the plan we have to go forward, and there are some areas we do want to crack on with,” Ardern said.

The 40-year-old, who has been hailed internationally as a standard-bearer for progressive politics, admitted the need to placate minor-party coalition partners “slowed down” reform in her first term.

She also dealt with New Zealand’s worst terrorist attack, a deadly volcanic eruption and the country’s deepest recession in 30 years.

In her victory speech late Saturday, Ardern flagged increased state housing, more renewable energy and other infrastructure investment.

She also spoke of more training programmes, job creation, protecting the environment and a determination to tackle issues such as climate change, poverty and inequality.

‘Covid election’ Opposition leader Judith Collins conceded voters had given Ardern free rein to implement change, but said that also meant the prime minister could no longer claim her policy failures were caused by reform-shy coalition partners.

“The government has got the mandate to do all the things that they’ve promised to do, so they can’t blame anyone else for not delivering,” Collins told reporters.

Campaigning during the vote centred on the government’s successful coronavirus response, with Ardern dubbing it the “Covid election”.

New Zealand has recorded only 25 coronavirus deaths in a population of five million, which Collins said boosted Ardern’s standing in an electorate anxious about the pandemic.

However, Ardern received a pointed reminder that the threat remained potent when health authorities on Sunday announced a new case of community transmission in Auckland, two weeks after she had announced: “We beat the virus again.”

Asked if she had enjoyed a lie-in after an exhausting campaign, Ardern replied: “No, I was dealing with Covid.”

She said the case appeared to be contained and would not prompt a change to New Zealand’s virus alert level, currently on its most relaxed setting, Level One. AFP

CHINA has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, a move that adds to policy tools it could wield against the US as tensions -- especially in technology -- continue to rise.

The law, which China’s top legislature

passed on Saturday, comes into effect on December 1 and allows Beijing to “take reciprocal measures” against countries that abuse export controls and pose a threat to national security.

Technical data related to items covered will also be subject to export controls, ac-

cording to the published text of the law.

Beijing’s latest measure gives it more room to hit back in US President Donald Trump’s war on Chinese tech firms, with the White House moving against popular platforms and major companies -- including apps TikTok and WeChat, tech giant

Huawei and chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.

The new law, “formulated to safeguard national security and interests”, adds to China’s regulatory toolkit which also involves a restriction catalogue of tech exports and an unreliable entity list. AFP

Thailand’s celebs break silence on protests, demand changes A

K-POP superstar, beauty queens and TV personalities are among a growing wave of celebrities backing Thailand’s pro-democracy movement, sending out messages of support to millions of followers on social media.

Protesters are targeting the government and calling for reforms to the monarchy. AFP

Singapore’s face scan sparks privacy fears SINGAPORE will become the world’s first country to use facial verification in its national ID scheme, but privacy advocates are alarmed by what they say is an intrusive system vulnerable to abuse.

From next year, millions of people living in the city-state will be able to access government agencies, banking services and other amenities with a quick face scan.

This biometric check will do away with the need to remember a password

or security dongle when performing many everyday tasks, its creators say.

It is part of the financial hub’s drive to harness technology, from ramping up the use of electronic payments to research on driverless transport.

“We want to be innovative in applying technology for the benefit of our citizens and businesses,” Kwok Quek Sin, who works on digital identification at Singapore’s technology agency GovTech, told AFP.

Facial verification has already been adopted in various forms around the world, with Apple and Google implementing the technology for tasks like unlocking phones and making payments.

Governments have also deployed it at airports for security checks on travellers.

But Singapore’s rollout is one of the most ambitious yet, and the first to attach facial verification to a national identification database. AFP

Political statements are unusual from Thai celebs, whose lucrative endorsements rely on the billionaire clans that are a pillar of the country’s establishment. But some prominent figures broke cover after police fired water cannon at peaceful protesters in Bangkok on Friday.

Thai-American K-Pop idol Nichkhun, better known as the “Thai Prince”, told his 6.9 million Twitter followers he cannot “stand idly by” after Friday’s scenes, an escalation after months of student-led protests.

“The use of violence is something I cannot watch and stand idly by,” said Nichkhun, a member of ultra-popular South Korean boy band 2PM, in a message that was retweeted by tens of thousands within hours.

“Violence has never helped anything.

I hope everyone stays safe... and take care of yourselves.”

Friday’s showdown was the first such use of force against the protesters, who are calling for the resignation of Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former military chief brought to power in a 2014 coup, and demanding reforms to the powerful monarchy.

It followed a tense week in the Thai capital when protesters defied a ban on demonstrations, and the arrests of scores of leading activists, to return to the streets in their tens of thousands. AFP

Trump stumps in Florida, Georgia

ON THE STUMP. US President Don ald Trump is campaigning hard in Florida, which he won in 2016. AFP

Merkel’s crown pretenders slug it out Israel-UAE song THE three men vying to lead German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party took each other on in an online debate Saturday in a bid to revive a race that has been knocked off course by the coronavirus pandemic.

The chief of the Christian Democratic Union, who will be chosen at a party conference in December, traditionally leads it and its smaller Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union to the polls.

The chosen candidate would have a claim on the post of chancellor and be in pole position to replace Merkel should the conservative bloc win next year’s election.

Armin Laschet, state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz and foreign affairs expert Norbert Roettgen are eyeing the post.

The race to become head of the CDU was thrown wide open earlier this year when Merkel’s protegee Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer resigned after just months in the job over her handling of a regional election scandal.

But a meeting originally planned for April to elect a new leader was postponed

due to Covid-19.

Back then, the party that has dominated German politics for 70 years was facing plummeting ratings and a deep identity crisis over how to position itself against the resurging extreme right.

But since then, its fortunes have been reversed as the German public widely applaud Merkel’s handling of the pandemic.

Yet ironically, the three pretenders for her throne have lost visibility in the media spotlight as Germany has grappled with the outbreak.

Instead, a fourth potential replacement for Merkel has emerged -- not from the CDU itself, but from the CSU. Bavarian state premier and CSU leader Markus Soeder has repeatedly stressed that his place is in Bavaria.

But his tough attitude on halting virus transmission has won him plaudits.

Seeking to close the gap The latest opinion poll on who Germans would like to see as their next leader has Soeder topping the charts far ahead at 52 percent -- more than 20 points ahead any of the three CDU contenders. AFP

big hit on YouTube

PRESIDENT Donald Trump fought Friday to recover from sinking election polls by campaigning with a hardline pitch to America’s right wing, claiming at rallies in Florida and Georgia that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden would deliver communism and a “flood” of criminal immigrants.

While Trump put on a brave face, the fact that he was fighting at all for the two southern states he won four years ago illustrated how much ground he has to make up against Biden in the 18 days left until the election.

With his polls sliding and US Covid-19 infections spiking, Trump is focusing entirely on his core Republican base, in hopes that highly energized supporters will turn out in huge numbers.

In Ocala, Florida, the coronavirus was an afterthought.

Instead, Trump tossed the large, loudly cheering crowd red meat on immigration, race, and his conspiracy theory that Biden is steeped in corruption.

Spicing his stump speech with lurid exaggerations, Trump claimed that the “Biden family is a criminal enterprise.”

He said Democrats “have nothing but disdain for your values” and “want to

turn America into a communist country” -- a reprise of his successful 2016 message tapping into white, working-class resentment.

“It’s time we sent a message to these wealthy liberal hypocrites,” he told the cheering crowd in Macon, Georgia on Friday night.

Trump also dived into racially charged comments on Latin American migrants, saying Democrats will “flood your communities with illegal aliens, drugs, crime.”

And he lashed out at one of his most outspoken critics, the Somali-American Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying “she hates our country” and “comes from a place that doesn’t even have a government.”

Trump had still more venom for journalists, whom he called “the enemy of the people.”

And he seemed to acknowledge things might not go his way in the end.

“Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me. Could you imagine if I lose?,” Trump mused.

“What am I gonna do?,” he continued.

“I’m not gonna feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country. I don’t know.” AFP

THE scene cuts from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the lyrics switch from Arabic to Hebrew to English and the song is a slightly kitsch electro-pop duet by artists who, for now, remain apart.

The normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has produced its first musical collaboration: “Ahlan Bik”, or “Hello you” in Arabic.

“This is a historic moment,” said Israeli singer Elkana Marziano, whose duet with Emirati artist Walid Aljasim has clocked more than 1.1 million YouTube views since it was posted on September 30.

Marziano, 28, is a former winner of Israel’s version of The Voice, a singing competition TV show, and an Arabic speaker influenced by the Mizrahi culture of Jews from the Arab world.

He told AFP that he and Aljasim had collaborated over the Zoom video-conferencing service, with some parts of the song recorded in Dubai and others in Israel.

“The understanding was immediate,” HELLO YOU. Israeli singer Elkana Marziano, 28, sings along with a video clip of his Marziano said of the partnership. AFP collaboration with Emirati artist Walid Aljasim. AFP

Business

B3

MONday, OCTOBER 19, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stock market to trade in tight range

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

hE stock market will likely trade within a tight range this week week due to lack of significant catalysts that could push it out out of its sideways movement.

Analysts said investors were waiting for a signal that domestic demand was picking up and that the economic recovery was gaining traction.

Investors are also expected to stay on the sidelines until the November US presidential elections.

“The market may be more inclined to trade within range for now, until after the US elections are finalized by November.

This, plus indicators that COVID-19 will

remain a major concern by at least first half of 2021, explain the 26-day consecutive net foreign selling,” online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week ended in the negative territory, dropping 0.6 percent to close at 5,898.47, while the broader All Shares Index declined 0.6 percent to 3,563.85.

Sectoral indices showed mixed results. Mining and oil index jumped 12.7 percent after President Duterte lifted the oil exploration moratorium in the West Philippine Sea, while the property, financial and industrial sectors gained 1.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, Holding firms fell 2.7 percent while the service index slipped 0.9 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the week by P3.63 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P5.5 billion from the previous week’s average of P9.3 billion.

Top gainers were oil exploration firms Atok-Big Wedge Co. Inc., which jumped 49.9 percent to P11.54; PXP Energy Corp., which surged 45.4 percent to P7.72; and Apex Mining Co. Inc., which climbed 31.4 percent to P2.09.

Weekly price gainers were ABS-CBN Corp., which declined 14.8 percent to P12.20; Puregold Price Club Inc., which fell 9 percent to P41.40; and JG Summit Holdings Inc., which dropped 4.9 percent to P59.70.

US stocks, meanwhile, ended the week mixed on Friday as optimism over positive economic data was tempered by a soaring US deficit and the growing realization a new stimulus package is unlikely anytime soon.

Better-than-expected retail sales data and consumer confidence showed Americans remain willing to spend—for now—and shares were boosted by positive news about Boeing’s 737 MAX and

drugmaker Pfizer.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 percent to finished an up-down week at 28,606.31, while the broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat, rising just 0.1 percent to end at 3,483.81.

But declines by industry titans like Amazon, Apple and Netflix reversed early gains in the tech-rich Nasdaq, which lost 0.4 percent to close at 11,671.55.

US retail sales climbed 1.9 percent in September, triple expectations, with purchases of cars and parts, clothing and sporting goods increasing dramatically, according to the Commerce Department report released before markets opened.

The data was a reassuring sign of the economy’s resilience after key provisions of the $2.2-trillion CARES Act preventing layoffs and providing support to consumers expired in recent months. With AFP

Airlines face tough winter as traffic fails to rebound PARIS, France—Airlines face a long, hard winter after a much hoped for rebound from the coronavirus crisis failed to materialize, prompting savage cost cutting programs and fresh calls for government support.

“We are in a race against time. The key thing is to have the cash... we need to move quickly, very quickly,” said Stephane Albernhe, managing partner at Archery Strategy Consulting.

Airline revenues plunged 80 percent in the first six months of the year, according to industry body IATA, but they still had fixed costs to cover— crew, maintenance, fuel, airport levies and now aircraft storage.

After a slight recovery in July as coronavirus restrictions were eased, traffic fell again in September while bookings for the winter season— which begins October 25—are down 78 percent compared with a year earlier, promising more hardship to come.

One of the biggest disappointments has been the absence of highly lucrative business class travelers who prefer now to rely on tele-conferencing rather than run the risk of catching the virus.

Repeated efforts to reassure passengers that air travel is safe have failed to make much of a difference while government restrictions, including quarantines of up to 14 days for returning passengers, have only added to the pressures on the battered airline companies.

“The risk of contracting Covid-19 during air travel is really very, very low,” says Dr David Powell, medical consultant for IATA. AFP

Black Sea gas find bigger than earlier estimated—Turkey ISTANBUL, Turkey—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that a vast natural gas field discovered in the Black Sea was even bigger than first estimated.

In August, Turkey said it had found gas reserves of 320 billion cubic meters (11.3 trillion cubic feet), a discovery that could help wean it off imported energy.

But on Saturday Erdogan, who was on board a drilling ship in the Black Sea, said the field was now 405 billion cubic meters, and that gas from the site could start being pumping into people’s homes in 2023.

The Fatih drill vessel made the discovery in the Tuna-1 field off the coast of the town of Eregli after beginning the search in July.

Turkey hopes the discovery can help ease its dependence on energy supplies from other countries, notably Russia, which comes at a high cost at a time when the local currency is weakening and the economy is more fragile because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysts have urged caution over the discovery’s significance, pointing out that deep sea drilling is expensive and takes time.

Turkey consumes between 45 billion and 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year, representing about 11 billion euros.

Ankara has said that the Black Sea find will not however deter it from exploring in the eastern Mediterranean, despite accusations from neighboring Greece that its longtime rival is violating maritime borders.AFP

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ComPLete shutdoWn. a photograph taken on October 17, 2020 shows a closed bar in Eindhoven, as the catering industry will remain completely closed for at least four weeks, to fight the spread of Covid-19. AFP

Teaching in the time of COVID-19 I hAVE been teaching in college for over a decade, but I have not taught inside a classroom in the last seven months. Instead, I teach my classes in Zoom, but the experience hasn’t been the same.

There is value in the four walls of the classroom.

It separates learners from the distractions of the outside world. You may argue that there will always be distractions anyway, but none more apparent than when you’re learning remotely. Not everyone will have the privilege of carving out a conducive learning environment at home.

Gadgets vary.

The quality of Internet connectivity varies.

Living situations vary.

As if a bad Internet connection or a noisy environment isn’t stressful enough, consider learning during a pandemic. Students today face added worries.

They worry about their physical and mental health.

They worry about their family’s health. Some of my students are caregivers to family members. They worry about their family’s finances. Some work in the family business. A few have taken up part-time work.

Many of my students have been cooped up indoors since the beginning of the quarantine. They have not seen their friends and have lost access to the spaces where they socialize with peers. Instead, they have to process all of their worries in the same space where they live, work, study, eat, play and relax.

Can you imagine yourself, as a college student, living at a time like this?

And then, there are challenges to teaching events marketing as a course during a pandemic. The events industry is experiencing massive disruptions after authorities ban public gatherings from curbing the coronavirus’s spread. The shifts in academia mirror the shifts in the events industry—both are going online.

Before joining the academe, I worked in the events industry. My experience and training have taught me to be resilient. Every events professional knows that the show must go on. Nothing, however, has prepared me for the drastic changes that the pandemic has brought.

Changing where I teach alters how I teach because teaching online reshapes where and how my students learn. how does one teach events marketing during a pandemic? how do I make my class relevant and meaningful? how do I motivate my students, given their circumstances? how do I keep the learning experience fun and engaging?

From the beginning, I focused on setting up an environment that was conducive to delivering fun, engaging, and meaningful experiences. In events, experience is everything. Experience is all about engaging people in a personal way—how you make people feel. Experiences last longer in memory, far longer than any information that is shared. People learn best from experience.

My teaching approach has always been projectbased because my experience has taught me that students learn best by doing. Prior to the pandemic, I relied on my training and experience to teach students about the subject matter, particularly about solving common problems faced in events marketing. Today, I do not have the same privilege.

dR. RayMONd allaN G. VERGaRa

Green LiGht

As most events are shifting online, I am learning how events can evolve and how practitioners can innovate to stay relevant, just like everyone else. In my online class, everyone is a learner. Everyone is faced with the same challenge: how do we create an environment that is conducive to delivering a fun, engaging, and meaningful experience?

The first thing I had to do was to condense the course coverage, focusing on the most relevant topics. Doing so required developing new course materials and short videos. I also reduced the number of student requirements and cut my lecture time down to 30 minutes per class.

I adjusted how I engaged with my students. In the first few weeks of the term, I purposefully checked in on them to ask how they were doing.

When teaching online, engagement and connection matter. It matters that I asked my students how they are doing. It matters that I keep my class fun and engaging—that I try my best to be very animated and to engage students in their interests.

It matters that I use my class as a venue for students to engage and connect with each other. I have learned that many of them feel isolated. Students have not seen their peers. It mattered to my students that they made friends in class.

Well-being matters. Mental health is a critical factor in learner performance. Zoom school is exhausting. Living in a pandemic is very stressful. It mattered to my students that I gave them a free cut that one time. I will never forget the grateful messages I received because of this unexpected brain break.

I lost my father to cancer a few weeks after the term started. The brain break was as important to them as it was to me. Teachers need breaks, too.

It matters that I give students opportunities to do meaningful work. I am proud to share with you what my students have accomplished. The following student-led projects initiated in my events marketing course cumulatively raised over P1 million worth of donations, in cash and in-kind, to help those who have been severely affected by this pandemic: One with Frontliners, Bridge for Dreams, Fit 2 Fight, Para sa Pumapasada, Manila’s Appetite, Bikes on Duty, Asia’s Aspirations, helping Gloves, Impart for hope, Care for a Cause and We Got the Power.

Despite the challenges, teaching during a pandemic taught me that many students are eager to learn, have the passion to perform, and have the intense desire to make a mark in this world. For that, I am honored and grateful to have met every one of them. Thank you.

In memoriam Virgilio Vergara, my father.

The author is an Associate Professor in the Marketing and Advertising Department and the Assistant Dean for External Affairs and Lasallian Mission at DLSU Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. He can be reached at raymond.vergara@ dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the position of De La Salle University, its faculty and its administrators.

Peopl

China’s millennials stimulate EU leaders call on Lond on post-Brexit deal, dra sex toy market valued at $15b

BRUSSELS, Belgium—European Prime leaders on Thursday demanded Britain could urgently give ground on fair trade rules unless BEIJING, China—Single andtolocked out of Beijing’s dating scene by the to a br unblock stalled post-Brexit negotiapandemic, Amy was encouraged by other women in online chatrooms tions, angering London and putting theto The find a solution to her enforcedfate abstinence—a sexintoy. of the talks jeopardy. line a “Before, I felt a bit scared The and 27 embarrassed to use them,” said the bloc leaders arrived for a sum- onus 27-year-old, who did not wishmit to in disclose her real name. “Then I discovBrussels expressing cautious op- time r ered a new world.” timism but, in their written conclusions, In a Amy now plans to expand her collection. urged the EU and its member states to Frost Demand for sex toys is increasing China, which isfor already the world’s step upin preparations a chaotic “no summ biggest exporter of bedroom aids. deal” exit. they “ That is partly thanks to the coronavirus, which brought prolonged sepaTheir calls for urgency were balanced ‘inten rations for partners due to lockdowns, closures ofthat public enter- ship” howeverand bylengthy an invitation Britain tainment venues that ruled outkeep hook-ups. talking next week in London and Fro But it is also a product of ainwider cultural in after attitudes towards sex that o Brussels theshift week that. by a younger and more open-minded “As demographic. of tomorrow I will be speaking it “an “Quite a lot of women... who sexually active have a very openOn at- a nego witharemy counterpart David Frost. titude towards using sex toys,”Monday, Yi heng,we’ll a prominent sex and relationships be in London for the full Joh advice blogger, told AFP. week, including the weekend if neces- on Fri “They see it as very naturalsary,” and normal.” the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Ger Yi, who has over 700,000 followers on the Twitter-like platform appea Barnier said after addressingWeibo the leaders. and runs discussion groups on the topic, believes women are “That’s what I Chinese have proposed to drivthe and af ing the market.

British team,” Barnier said. was u Changing social values The invite comes after a warning by too. A China is more commonly associated with conservative public attitudes to sex—pornography is banned and authorities have launched periodic crackdowns on “vulgar” online content.

President Xi Jinping has pushed for a “clean and righteous” cyberspace, and the Chinese government has sought to promote marriage and traditional family values as a way to revive flagging birth rates.

But China’s divorce rate reached a record high of more than 3.1 million two Bysign Ayaka McGill in the first nine months of 2019—a of change in societal values.

“T As they become increasingly empowered over what they want in the bedHONG KONG—Rare pink dolphins beha room, women in their thirties and younger are getting more comfortable with the idea of using sex toys. are returning to the waters between soci F Hong Kong Macau after the want, coro“Sometimes they don’t find the orgasms andand pleasure they really navirus halted ferries, maybe because men’s skills in bed are not pandemic good enough,” explains Yi. but phin T scientists deeply concerned “Women are then perhaps more motivatedremain to find a way to please themselves.” about their long-term survival in one of cent the w China’s domestic sex toy sales lagthe far world’s behind Western countries or even Japan. busiest sea lanes.

B But, driven mainly by female and the country’s Themillennial tell-taleconsumers, flash of pink leaping nascent sex toy market is valuedfrom at over billion yuanNaomi ($14.7 Brennan billion), bou the100 waters alerts according to Chinese research firm iiMedia.

AFP of a local Chinese white dem to the presence Fe dolphin and she jots the animal’s locahave tion into a GPS device.

Conservationists like Brennan regu- vidin larly board boats in the Pearl River ty to Delta to document how the mammals, to th “W known for their eye-catching pink colsize oring, are faring.

“Today we encountered three differ- mat ent groups of dolphins—six adults and ally

By Laurie Chen

Hong Kong pink d

This photo taken on October 14, 2020 shows a worker using his mobile phone in a sex store in Beijing. demand for sex toys is increasing in China, the world’s biggest exporter of bedroom aids, partly thanks to the coronavirus and also a product of a wider cultural shift in attitudes towards sex by a younger and more open-minded demographic. AFP

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Petron asked to reconsider plan to close crude refinery

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

B4

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

Business

By Alena Mae S. Flores SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian expressed hope over the weekend Petron Corp. will reconsider a plan to shut down its 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Bataan.

“Let’s hope [it will no] because there is a pandemic. We are talking about employment, revenues. For me, employment is the most important right now,” Gatchalian said in a virtual briefing with reporters.

Petron confirmed in a disclosure on Oct. 7 reports the company might shut down refinery operations if talks on tax issues with the government bogged down.

Petron is the lone refiner in the Philippines after Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. announced in August the closure of its 110,000-barrel refinery in Batangas because of the pandemic.

“We only have one refinery left, and refineries create value, you import crude oil at a lower price, you sell it at a higher price, so it creates value for us,” said Gatchalian who is the chairman of the Senate committee on energy.

“And also employment. Now is not the right time to shut down businesses, but make sure that they operate and survive,” he said.

Petron wants a level tax playing field with oil importers given the impact of COVID-19 on its business.

Petron suffered a consolidated net loss of P14.2 billion in the first six months, compared to the P2.6 billion net income in 2019, as the company reeled from the impact of the pandemic this year.

The company’s inventory losses reached nearly P15 billion because of the combined slump in demand, poor refining margins and collapse in prices.

“Whatever concessions, it should be talked about. I think they can work things out,” Gatchalian said, as he assured that he would look into the tax issues raised by Petron.

PH Resorts pegs offering price at P1.68

LIVELIHOOD KITS. The Department of Trade and Industry-Pangasinan awards ‘negosyo kits’ to 26 beneficiaries from the municipalities of Lingayen and Binmaley as part of the agency’s Livelihood Seeding Program-Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay and Pangakabuhayan sa pagBangon at Ginhawa program. Each beneficiary received P8,000 worth of sarisari store kits during the awarding ceremony on Oct. 15.

Consunji bucks proposal to open local construction

By Othel V. Campos

L

OCAL contractors expressed strong opposition to a bill that aims to fully open the construction business to foreigners, saying it will cause the demise of the local industry that employs over 4 million Filipinos.

House Bill No. 7337 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 4566, or the Contractors’ License Law, by allowing foreign companies to obtain a regular license originally exclusive to companies with at least 60-percent Filipino equity.

D.M. Consunji Inc. president and chief executive Jorge Consunji warned that removing regulations favoring Filipino contractors would “open the floodgates to unregulated entry of foreign-

owned construction companies.”

“This will kill the local construction industry, and the entry of unqualified foreign contractors cause a danger to public safety,” Consunji told the House committee on trade and industry during a recent virtual hearing on the bill.

Valenzuela City Rep. Wes Gatchalian, the committee’s chair and author of the bill, said the measure would level the playing field in the construction industry to encourage competition, transfer of technology and sharing of knowledge between Filipino and foreign contractors.

Consunji, however, said it was important to balance the extension of opportunities to foreign contractors and the protection local players, especially those in the micro, small and medium enterprises.

“While the proposed bill seeks to provide a level playing field, this must be balanced to protect the country’s vulnerable sectors and workforce, particularly

Business

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PH RESORTS Group Holdings Inc., the leisure and gaming arm of businessman Dennis Uy, set the final price of its planned follow-on offering at P1.68 per share.

PH Resorts based on this price will raise up to P756 million from the sale of 300 million common shares and over-allotment option for another 150 million shares.

The final price is close to the middle of the indicative offer price of of end-June across the country.

By B. Austria P1Jenniffer to P2.50 that the company earlier AYALA DONATION. Officials of BPI Foundation Manila Water Foundation “Rose and Pharmacy is a very strategic considered. turn over a 10-faucet hand-washing facility toaddition Ramon Magsaysay High School underwith to our drugstore portfolio OBINSONS Retail Holdings Inc. said Friday the Brigada ng Ayala program. Attending theits ceremony are (from brand left) Manila Water and The P1.68 final price offers a prehighly-regarded in VisMin unit South Star Drug Inc. acquired Foundation executive director Reginald Andal, Ramon Magsaysay High School principal mium ofpharmaceutical 37.5 percent over the stock’s complementary network to Southstar Gene drugstore Pangilinan, School Division Office Manila chief Virgilio Brigada ng Ayalaand 100 percent of Cebu-based chain Rose Drug’s strongSantos, presence in Luzon closing of P2.69 on Friday.

Cenen Milan and BPIwe Foundation Metro Manila.

Together, can leverPharmacy for P4.5 billion.chairperson Cel Amores, Ayala Foundation manager DocumentsInc. showed PH Resorts program manager Kristine Gonzales. age our scale and synergies to drive widwould use the net proceeds from the RRHI, to a unit of the offering partially fundGokongwei the con- RRHI founder John Gokongwei Jr. er product assortment, better customer service and offer greater value to our Group, said disclosure to Emerald the stock started as an entrepreneur. Mr. John also struction ofin thea first phase of exchange South Star bought Rose admired Rose Pharmacy for its strong customers across Philippines when they Bay, the company’s flagship beachPharmacy from Mulgrave Corp. B.V., brand reputation in Visayas and Mind- need it most,” South Star Drug managresort in Mactan, Cebu. of Dairy anao,” said RRRHI president and chief ing director David Goh said. a front wholly-owned subsidiary Emerald Bay willHoldings be the firstLtd. inte-A executive A GROUP of community bakers said tunities others. AndDairy this has resulted Hong as Kong-based Farm iniFarm International Robina Gokongwei-Pe. acquired 49-percent share in Rose gratedpurchase casino resort on Mactan over weekend they lost aboutour30 tially in many closing their bakeries,” APP share agreement was Island signed “Thethe deal also further bolsters 2015. ItLunar increased stakea Friday. partnership with Farm Pharmacy with a convenient access from Cebu- strategic percent of sales in the firstDairy few months president in Princess said its during the company to 100 percent Noour as position Rose Pharmacy was established in toofstrengthen Mactan International Airport. the pandemic a resultinofPhilippine border re- inwebinar celebrating World BreadinDay. vember 2018. multi-format retailing.

We first worked 1952 as a family-run drugstore in Cebu It will be constructed in two phasstrictions and lockdown.

The webinar, hosted by Tinapayan RRHI said net income in the first half City with the goal of providing quality with Dairy Farm for the acquisition es, with the targeted completion of The Asosasyon ng Panaderong PiliFestival, discussed how thebillion crisis beafdeclined 4.1 percent to P1.6 and affordable medicines to communi- of Rustan Supercenters Inc. in 2018, the first phase by the second quarter which pino said while some fectedofthethe local breadofindustry. impact the COVID-19 deepened our bakeries footprintbenefited in the cause ties. ofRose 2022. from the crisis, smaller space. ones were Commercial bakeries and artisanal/ on various businesses.

Pharmacy, which has more than premium supermarket Ourforced ac- lockdown the first phase, The group had 1,890 retail outlets to close of shop or operate at limited ca- specialty bakeries were not spared by Rose Pharmacy yet again 300Upon storescompletion across the of Visayas and Min- quisition supermarkets, drugstores, Emerald Baynet willsales feature 122 gaming danao, posted of nearly P9 bil- offers opportunities for innovation pacityripe when the government imposed including the crisis, according to Tinapayan Fesdepartment DIY stores, convelion in 2019. strategic community synergies,” she said. tables for mass, premium mass and through the enhanced quarantine tival owner stores, and president Chito Chavez. stores and stores of “I am delighted that Rose Pharmacy The this transaction is expected to nience junkets; 600 electronic gaming maearly year.

Chavez said hespecialty was forced to as close end-June. strengthen RRHI’s drugstore business. will be part of our portfolio as it takes chines; and 270 hotel room bays.

“The reality of community bakeries is many of his outlets by operating from The share price of RRHI dropped 2.6 us back to our hometown in Cebu where Excluding The Generic Pharmacy, The management team is pushing that not everybody has the same opporhis main branch. percent Friday to close at P65.50. my father and JG Summit Holdings and RRHI was operating 520 drug stores as for a soft opening by the end of 2021 and expects to increase its gaming capacity and hotel rooms starting 2022.

PH Resorts expects gaming revenues in the country to surpass the exposed to the environment as indicated

By Julito G. Rada 2019 level by 2021. by a change in color shade or toning of It cited data from Innovation Group THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ad- the coin ring. showing that gross gaming revenues vised the public over the weekend to The BSP said to preserve the integrity in the country would likely drop to properly handle and circulate the “20- and prolong the luster of coins, the pub$1.7 billion this year from $4.3 bilpiso” new-generation currency coins lic should keep them clean and dry; avoid lion in 2019, before recovering to that were released to the public in De- putting adhesives on the coins; and avoid $5.1 billion by 2021. cember 2019. soaking the coins in liquids for prolonged PH Resorts appointed Unicapital Inc. It said the bicolor coin has a nickel- periods. and Abacus Capital and Investment plated steel core and a bronze-plated “If needed, clean coins using weak Corp. as lead and co-lead underwriters, steel ring. By nature, copper-based met- acid, e.g., citric acid from kalamansi/lemrespectively, for the follow-on offering. als like bronze undergo oxidation when on; rinse with water and wipe it with a

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the MSMEs that have been heavily impacted by the ongoing pandemic,” Consunji said.

The Philippine Constructors Association reminded the government that equal opportunities should be given the both local and foreign contractors.

“The unregulated entry of foreign contractors will adversely affect small and medium-sized Filipino contractors.

We will even deprive Filipinos of job opportunities in our own country,” said PCA president Will Decena.

He said foreign contractors had the tendency to bring their own people even for jobs than could be performed by Filipinos.

The government should also hold foreign contractors to comply with regulatory requirements, such as payment of necessary taxes; putting up of equity and investments; and structural warranties for materials, manpower and equipment, which also are required for local contractors, the PCA said.

PSE INDEX

Friday, October 16, 2020

-39.86 PTS. 5,898.47

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

4,888,199,034 112,577 5,636,883,050.42 118 89 46

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.6200

Japan

Yen

0.009489

0.4614

UK

Pound

1.290900

62.7636

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129031

6.2735

Switzerland

Franc

1.094092

53.1948

Canada

Dollar

0.756487

36.7804

Singapore

Dollar

0.735402

35.7552

Australia

Dollar

0.709300

34.4862

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652238

128.9518

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266603

12.9622

Brunei

Dollar

0.732708

35.6243

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.032041

1.5578

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2379

Euro

Euro

1.171200

56.9437

Korea

Won

0.000873

0.0424

China

Yuan

0.148699

7.2297

India

Rupee

0.013620

0.6622

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.240790

11.7072

New Zealand

Dollar

0.659900

32.0843

Taiwan

Dollar

0.034802

1.6921 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF Community bakeries lose 30% of sales in lockdown period

BCDA affirms legality

“Our stores in U-Belt area are still ofWe MTD Capital deal closed. have to adapt to the new sitSTATE-RUN Bases Conversion and Deuation.

As aAuthority bakery owner, all I’m after, velopment on Friday affirmed thenow, legality of its joint venture with MTD for is to survive this crisis.

After Capital Berhad for the construction of survival, then wein can to regain sports facilities Newtry Clark City inwhat response to comments issued by the profitComwas lost and build a life towards mission on Audit. ability.

Wesaid need to have protocol by in the the BCDA the project is supported Asian Development Bank, which provided bakery industry,” he said. transaction advisory services “to ensure Gerik Cua,and president theproject.”

Filipinotransparency swiftnessof of the It is cited by the legal opinion of the Inc., OfChinese Bakeries Association fice of the Government Corporate Counsel, said some of BCDA his bakeries which said the was welltemporarily within legal and corporate charter totoundertake the projstopped operations concentrate on ect through a joint venture based on BCDA’s branches foottotraffic. guidelineswith andhigh subject a competitive Swiss Challenge.

Othel V. Campos “Considering that the legal, financial and technical aspects of the project should be taken as a whole, it is our opinion that the choice of modality or legal framework of the project is part of the business prerogative of the BCDA in pursuance of its statutory mandate to develop and accelerate the sound and balanced conversion of Clark military reserdry clothand orits paper towel; and avoid using vations extensions,” the OGCC said.

V. Campos chemicals that contain Othel oxidizing agents

IN BRIEF DTI, car assemblers to review auto perks THE Department of Trade and Industry and the local car assemblers agreed to review and revise the automotive incentives program to make them more relevant in the new normal.

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. president Rommel Gutierrez said the participants in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program relayed to the government they could not comply with the volume of production required under the program.

“We already agreed that the volume requirement cannot be met. And government understands this. Right now, we continue to talk about what would be the appropriate measures or actions to take,” Gutierrez said during the weekend launch of the new Toyota Fortuner.

CAMPI, representing CARS participants Toyota Motors Philippines and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., virtually met with Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez last week.

Gutierrez said the meeting was the first of a series the group expected to have with the DTI to resolve program concerns.

Othel V. Campos

Globe’s broadband users moved to fiber GLOBE Telecom Inc. said over the weekend nearly half of its broadband subscribers were migrated from copper to fiber for better data experience.

The telecom unit of the Ayala Group said it had shifted over 40 percent of the targeted customers nationwide to the newer and higher speed network for free.

It said with the shift to fiber, broadband customers can enjoy faster speed, bigger data and more stable connection to address the growing demand for online connectivity at home as people turn to the internet for work, learning, entertainment and other essential needs.

“A good, stable and reliable internet connection is a critical need under the new normal.

To meet our customers’ demands, we upgraded our network with superior technology for a better internet experience,” Globe vice president and head of broadband business Darius Delgado said.

“We are rolling out fiber to homes nationwide, and upgrading our customers to fiber connections for free to give them first world internet connectivity that they deserve,” he said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Sector reforms yield P2.49b in savings STRUCTURAL reforms in the telecommunications and logistics sector yielded P2.49 billion in savings for both the government and private sector, according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority.

ARTA director-general Jeremiah Belgica said the National Effort for the Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-related Agencies program successfully and significantly improved certain business processes.

The NEHEMIA program is a sectoral-based inter-agency streamlining effort to speed up the socio-economic agenda of the government.

The program aims to reduce by at least 52 percent the time, cost and procedures for key economic sectors in 2020.

Belgica said for the telecommunications sector, permits issued by local government units and government agencies were reduced by 38 percent from 13 to 8 permits while documentary requirements were cut by 59 percent from 86 documents to 35.

The time spent to process permits and documents was streamlined by 93 percent and went down to 16 days from 241 days.

Othel V. Campos

Bangko Sentral urges public to preserve and circulate ‘20-piso’ bicolor coins such as bleach, or strong acids such as DBP to back muriatic and agrees sulfuric acids,” it said. transportation sector “If coins were accidentally exposed to STATE-RUN Development Bank of the these chemicals, immediately with Philippines said Friday it is rinse working with and the wipe Department of Transportation water them with dry cloth or paand the Land Transportation Franchisper it said. Board to come up ingtowel,” and Regulatory with interventions help the Thefinancial BSP encouraged the to cooperation sector get the back on track oftransportation the public to preserve integrity of after reeling from the ill-effects of the Philippine pandemic.currency. president andagainst chief executive EmItDBP earlier warned online sellers manuel Herbosa said the assistance includes government subsidies to public utility vehicle operators to cover revenue gaps during the period when a temporary ban on PUVs were imposed as part of community lockdowns.

“DBP is one with the DOTr and LTFRB

advertising “brilliant” uncirculated 20piso coins for sale.

The BSP said it had “not issued brilliant uncirculated 20-piso coins.”

The 20-piso NGC coins were released to the public beginning December 2019.

As of end-August 2020, some 2.09 million pieces of these coins amounting to P41.85 million were in circulation.

It said the coins are legal tender and may be used as payment for goods and services at face value.

Sports

Knott wants Olympic slot in 100-m run

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

By Peter Atencio KRISTINA Knott now has another goal after she broke the Philippine national mark in the women’s 100-meter run during the star-studded Drake Blue Oval Showcase meet at Drake Stadium last August.

The 24-year-old Knott will not just seek to qualify in the Tokyo Olympics in the 200-meters, she will now also seek entry in the 100-meters as well.

Knott will make an effort to hit the time required when Olympic qualifying competitions return on December.

And Knott’s bid comes after months of cancellations following lockdown measures that were imposed throughout the United States to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now that I see my potential, I am now going to try to hit the 100 and 200 in the Tokyo Olympics,” said Knott.

The 5’6” Knott said this, some two months after she came close to the Olympic qualifying time in the 100 meters with her 11.18 second clocking.

Knott won second place behind US National Indoor champion Kayla White after reaching the finish line at a national record-smashing 11.27 seconds.

Knott finished ahead of another Rio Olympics veteran, long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta, one of six Olympians who showed up in the meet.

The Florida-based Knott went on to shatter Philippine track legend Lydia de Vega-Mercado’s one of two remaining national records.

The national mark of 11.28 seconds, set by de Vega-Mercado when she claimed the gold in the 1987 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, stood for 33 years.

Both White’s and Knott’s time is close to the 11.15 second mark, which is the qualification time for the Olympics.

Knott who saw action in the 200 meters was not supposed to take part in the 100 meters.

But a miscommunication with organizers put her in the century sprints.

“I had no high expectation. I was just shocked when I saw the result,” said Knott.

The 22.80-second mark is Olympic Qualifying time in the 200 meters.

And Knott came close to it when she won the gold, and timed a national record-smashing 23.01 second during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Knott’s feat surpassed Zion Corrales Nelson’s 23.16 seconds finish in Sacramento set on the same year.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

C1

NorthPort Batang Pier forward Sean Anthony (with ball) tries to drive past three Rain or Shine Elasto Painters defenders, from left: Rey Nambata, Jewel Ponferada and Norbert Torres. PBA

Elasto Painters subdue NorthPort Batang Pier

By Reuel Vidal

T

HE Rain or Shine Elasto Painters grabbed a share of the lead in 2020 PBA Philippine Cup with a hard-earned, 70-68, victory over the NorthPort Batang Pier yesterday, Sunday, October 18, 2020 at the Angeles University Foundation Arena Powered by Smart 5G.

Kelly Nabong, never known for his threepoint shooting, drilled back-to-back triples to cut the Rain or Shine lead to just five points, 66-61, with 2:30 left in the game.

Christian Standhardinger scored on a drive and Sean Anthony converted a charity split to cut the Rain or Shine lead to just two, 66-64.

Standhardinger and Nabong both scored from inside the paint for NorthPort against two free throws by Rey Nambatac which left the score tied at 68-all with 3.3 seconds left in the game.

Nambatac converted two free throws to peg the count at 70-68 for Rain or Shine with 1.3 seconds to go.

Sean Manganti missed a desperation attempt as Rain or Shine prevailed.

Rookie Adrian Wong was the unlikely hero for Rain or Shine. He finished with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists to win Player of the Game honors.

“We just had to find ways to win. We started off slow in the beginning. They started off well. We just stayed with it and figured out the way to win. My teammates believe in me. We believe in each other. We are 15 deep. We depend and help each other,” said Wong during the post-game interview.

With the win the Elasto Painters (3 wins, 0 loss) vaulted into a tie at the top of the standings with TNT Tropang Giga

(3-0). Trailing them are the Phoenix Super LPG (2-0) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-0).

The other teams include the Blackwater Elite (2-1), the Meralco Bolts (1-1), the Alaska Aces (1-2), the San Miguel Beermen (1-2), the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok (1-2), the Terrafirma Dyip (02) and NorthPort Batang Pier (0-3).

Standhardinger split his charities to push the Batang Pier to a six-point, 38-32, advantage over the Elasto Painters after the second quarter in a ridiculously low scoring first half.

But if scoring proved difficult in the first half things turned from bad to worse for the Batang Pier in the third.

Sean Anthony converted a jumpshot which turned out to be the only field goal for NorthPort the entire period as Rain or Shine protected a six-point 46-40 lead after the third.

Wong stole the ball then passed off to a streaking Rey Nambatac who converted the fastbreak layup to push Rain or Shine to a 10-point, 60-50 lead with six minutes left to play.

Henley posts three-stroke lead at PGA third round LOS ANGELES, United States— Russell Henley opened the back nine with three straight birdies on his way to firing a fiveunder par 67 for a three-stroke lead after Saturday’s (Sunday Philippine time) third round of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.

The 31-year-old American, chasing his fourth US PGA title but his first in 3 1/2 years, stood on 15-under 201 after 54 holes over the Las Vegas layout.

Compatriots Xander Schauffele, Talor Gooch, Lanto Griffin and Jason Kokrak shared second on 204 with Australian Jason Day, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Justin Thomas sharing sixth on 206.

“I had a nice putting day, made some really nice putts. Kept the ball in front of me and stayed patient,” Henley said. “It’s a tough course but if you hit some good shots you can have some chances.”

World number 121 Henley plans to keep it simple in his bid to add to a trophy haul that includes the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii, the 2014 Honda Classic and 2017 Houston Open.

“Just trying to play my game,” Henley said. “Gives me confidence to know it’s working so well. Hopefully I can keep it going.

“I’ve got to play a solid round of golf, keep my head down and keep grinding.”

Russell Henley hits out of a bunker on the fifteen fairway during the third round of the CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

Henley sank an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-5 fourth, blasted out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 seventh to 10 feet and made a birdie putt, then rolled in his back-nine birdie treble to seize the lead.

Henley dropped a 22-foot putt at the par-4 10th, tapped in from two feet at 11 and sank a four-footer at the 12th to reach 15-under before parring his way into the clubhouse.

“You keep making putts, it makes up

for a lot of flaws in your game,” Henley said.

Griffin, who defends his only PGA title in two weeks at the Houston Open, ran off four birdies in seven holes on the back nine but closed with his only bogey to shoot 66. He also sank an eagle putt from just inside seven feet at the par-5 seventh.

“The putter saved me,” Griffin said.

“I hit it all right there in the middle of the round, hit some good shots, but kind of the start and the end I struggled a little bit off the tee. But the irons feel good and the putter feels great. It was a fun day.”

Eighth-ranked Schauffele, who shared second at last year’s Masters and last month’s Tour Championship, seeks a fifth US PGA title and his first since last year’s Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Schauffele, 26, began the day with a three-stroke lead, but struggled to a 74 with two birdies against four bogeys, including at 14 and 17 to fall off the pace.

“It was just a lot of bad breaks,” he said.

“Not to be like a sour person, but just one of those days. Today was my bad day for the week, got it out of the way before Sunday, which is nice.” AFP

Ortega, Andrade prevail at UFC Fight Night BRIAN Ortega played a calculated game, hitting Chan Sun Jung from distance with his jabs and then winning the close-in encounters with blistering counters to post a unanimous decision victory at UFC Fight Night at the Flash Forum, Abu Dhabi yesterday, Sunday, October 18, 2020.

In the co-main event Jessica Andrade made an electrifying debut at UFC women’s f lyweight with shocking knockout victory over no. 1 contender Katlyn Chookagian.

Nearing the end of round 1 the two fighters clinched at the edge of the cage.

Andrade connected with a hard right to Chookagian’s torso. Chookagian spun

around in pain and tried to back pedal away.

Andrade jumped after her and connected with another body shot. The referee stopped the fight after Chookagian fell face down on the mat and Andrade started raining down ground and pound punishment.

Ortega was two years removed from a brutal TKO loss to Max Holloway at UFC 253. He virtually reinvented himself, assembling a whole new team of trainers to help him prepare for this fight.

“It was good. It felt good. I was getting the butterflies again like I said. I’m loving the training part. I’m loving the learning part.

I’m loving the growing part. I’m loving the getting to be better in this fight game with-

out just brawling like before,” said Ortega.

“I felt great to come back and trust my team with everything that we’ve been working hard to do and show the world.”

Ortega was cool and composed and won all five rounds 10-9 in all three judges’ scorecard. He and his team had devised a formula to win and he was disciplined and stuck to that through the five rounds of the fight.

“I knew I could do that (win) once I stuck to a game plan and not get emotional like I used to. I’ve been working with these guys for a while now. While everyone was watching the UFC and I kind of disappeared from the face of the earth,” said Ortega. Reuel Vidal

POC executive board to meet to resolve SEAG concerns THE executive board of the Philippine Olympic Committee will meet this Thursday, and will formally seek a resolution on the need to obtain an audited financial statement from the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

Members of the Execom said that a report from the PHISGOC is long overdue, and needs to be resolved.

Taking proper measures, according to sports official, needs to be done at this time.

“These controversies could have been avoided had PHISGOC met conditions in keeping with the agreement,” said Clint Aranas of archery, and a member of the Execom.

PHISGOC failed to comply with a tripartite agreement made with the Philippine Sports Commission and the POC last year.

Officials from the Philippine Sports Commission clarified that P1.461-billion, and not P6 billion, was turned over to the PHISGOC before the Games.

With an audited disclosure, an accurate verification on how the money was spent can be done This cash figure was supposed to help organizers to be able to tackle its many obligations during the Games when it was held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10 last year.

Aranas will formally make an inquiry with POC president Abraham Tolentino on this matter.

Peter Atencio

Jessica Andrade screams after she knocked out Rose Namajunas in this file photo of their battle at UFC 236 at the Rio Olympic Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 11, 2019. AFP

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Sports

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

Arozarena named MVP as Rays reach World Series

Randy Arozarena (56) of the Tampa Bay Rays hits a two run home run against the Houston Astros during the first inning in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at PETCO Park. AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States—The Tampa Bay Rays punched their ticket to their second World Series in franchise history with a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros in a decisive game seven of the American League Championship Series on Saturday (Sunday Philippine time).

Rookie Randy Arozarena clubbed a two-run homer in the first inning and Charlie Morton worked 5 2/3 solid innings for the Rays, who won the series 4-3 and await the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves clash which is also headed to a game seven on Sunday.

Arozarena belted a two-r un homer in the f irst inning and now has seven homers in the postseason, matching his total from the regular season. He was named the MVP of the ALCS as the Rays celebrated their victor y on the f ield at Petco Park in San Diego.

“He is the best player on the planet.

It’s incredible,” said Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier of Arozarena.

Mike Zunino also slugged an early home run as the Rays salvaged their season and recovered from the shock

CHED studies training protocols ficials of the University Athletic Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association has RAINING of student-athletes will joined forces with the Joint Administrative Order group in coming up with the details of the plan. soon happen, and it could take The technical working group believes student-athplace under a bubble that each letes should be “physically separated from the general school, university and college can put up population” when they go into training.

A go-signal by the Interagency Task Force for the inside their respective campuses.

Management of Infectious Diseases is now being A draft of this plan is now in the hands of the Com- awaited. mission on Higher Education since Thursday.

Officials of the JAO said contact sports and A joint technical working group composed of of- activities for non-professional sports are not al-

By Peter Atencio

T

lowed at any time.

This restriction remains until an effective vaccine and an established standard of care has been put in place.

Last month, the TWG was formed with University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics Dean Francisco Diaz leading the way for the UAAP. The TWG was been formed to draft recommendations that will make it possible for varsity players from different disciplines to resume training.

A bubble with protocols meant for competition is still being worked out.

NFL teams still set to play Sunday despite virus cases NEW YORK, United States—The Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars remained scheduled to play NFL games on Sunday despite at least one player for each club being placed on the Covid-19 reserve list Saturday (Sunday Philippine time).

Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Cominsky, Baltimore defensive tackle Brandon Williams and Jacksonville defensive end Josh Mauro were put onto the list, which means either a positive test or close contact with someone who has tested positive.

In addition, 12 players from the Jaguars practice squad were placed onto the Covid reserve list after one tested positive, prompting the closing of the team training facility.

The reserves are together and apart from active players during meetings and workouts.

Mauro had just completed a five-game ban for using performance-enhancing substances.

The Falcons (0-5) remain scheduled to play Sunday at Minnesota (1-4) while the Ravens (4-1) visit Philadelphia (1-3 with one drawn) and the Jaguars (1-4) entertain Detroit (1-3).

More testing and contact tracing is being conducted under NFL safety protocols that could have an impact on Sunday’s schedule.

ESPN and the NFL Network reported Saturday that the Patriots had placed starting right guard Shaq Mason, reserve defensive end Derek Rivers and injured rusher Sony Michel on Covid-19 reserve.

The Patriots (2-2) home game Sunday against Denver (1-3), postponed from last week over COVID-19 issues, also remains on the schedule.

Cominsky, 24, joined defensive tackle Marlon Davidson on the Falcons virus list while an assistant coach tested positive on Thursday, prompting the club to close its practice facility before reopening Friday.

Williams, who won’t play Sunday, did not test positive but had close contact with someone who did, according to the NFL Network.

Under NFL safety protocols, any “high risk” close

The Atlanta Falcons (left) offense lines up against the Carolina Panthers defense in the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 11, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP

contact person must be isolated for at least five days.

Williams, whose entire eight-year NFL career has been spent with the Ravens, has made 11 tackles in five games this season.

The Jaguars closed their practice facility and worked remotely as a precaution after the practice squad positive while more testing was conducted.

“Last night, we received results from our daily PCR testing that an individual on our practice squad tested positive for COVID-19,” the Jaguars

said in a statement.

“After confirming the positive test later in the evening, our organization began working with the NFL to review contact tracing data while the player self-isolated.

“As a precautionary measure for today, we made the decision to conduct our football activities remotely while following NFL protocols and recommendations... We plan to play tomorrow’s game as scheduled.” AFP

of being in a winner-take-all showdown after cruising to victories in the first three games then losing three straight.

“Every night we have a different hero.

Except for Randy Arozarena. He’s the hero every night,” said Rays Austin Meadows.

The Rays’ win prevented the Astros from becoming just the second team in Major League Baseball history to storm back from a 3-0 deficit.

Tampa Bay reached the World Series in 2008 before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rays starter Morton allowed just two hits, struck out six batters and walked one against the Astros.

Houston ace Lance McCullers struck out seven but allowed four hits, three runs and two home runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work.

Following a tumultuous offseason and a regular season in which they underperformed, the Astros regrouped in the postseason.

Their 2017 World Series championship lost much of its luster after a MLB probe found Houston illegally stole opponents’ signs that year. AFP

GM Antonio rules first Qualifying Tournament GRANDMASTER Rogelio “Joey” Antonio Jr. ruled via tiebreak the 1st Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) national try out at lichess.org on Saturday, October 17, 2020.

Antonio, tied for first and second places with United States based Grandmaster Mark Paragua, with 10.5 points in the 12-round Swiss System, 3 minutes plus 2 seconds increment time control format organized

by Atty. Paul Elauria.

With the highest tiebreak points, Antonio took the title while Paragua finished second.

Rounding up the top 10 were Fide Master Arden Reyes (3rd); Grandmaster Oliver Barbosa (4th); Ellan Asuela (5th); International Master Chito Garma (6th); International Master Ronald Dableo Rivera (7th); Kyle Ochoa (8th); John Michael Silvederio (9th); and Jiggy Miguel Vicente (10th).

Meanwhile, Arena Grandmaster and Fide Master elect Robert Suelo stunned an elite field to capture the second RojoJ Trading bullet online chess tournament on Friday, October 17, 2020.

Playing black, the 1996 Philippine Junior Champion Suelo downed Ted Ian Montoyo after 39 moves of London System Opening to rule the oneday, Arena two-hour duration event with Arena 127 points.

The Singapore-based Suelo is fresh from winning the Jolina Icao Youtube Channel Arena last October 13.

Inaugural champion International Master Angelo Young halved the point with Fide Master Rico Salimbagat to finish second place with Arena 97 points.

The United States based Salimbagat, on the other hand, finished third place with Arena 96 points.

Rounding up the top 7 winners were fourth MG Reyes (93 points), fifth Ted Ian Montoyo (86 points), sixth Bryan Blair Fallarme (82 points) and seventh AGM Hermie Cagatin (79 points).

The next Bayanihan Chess Club event is the Pretty Zada Skin Care Products online tournament hosted by McDaniel Ebao.

Lopez stuns favored Lomachenko

Vasiliy Lomachenko (left) punches Guillermo Rigondeaux in this file photo of their WBO Junior Lightweight Title bout at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2017 in New York City. AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States—Unbeaten Teofimo Lopez upset Vasiliy Lomachenko by a unanimous decision on Saturday (Sunday Philippine time) to become the undisputed world lightweight champion in Las Vegas.

Lopez defended his 135-pound IBF lightweight title and seized the WBC, WBO and WBA belts from Ukraine’s Lomachenko who suffered his first loss in six years.

“I am ready to take over the world,” said Lopez, who won by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112.

Lopez, 16-0 with 12 knockouts, became the lightweight king in a fight that appeared to be closer than the lopsided judges’ scorecards indicated at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

In the biggest fight of his career, Lopez, of the US, dominated the first half before Lomachenko came storming back in the later rounds to set the stage for a

thrilling final round.

At 23, Lopez is the youngest fighter to become a four belt undisputed champion. He did it in an empty MGM arena where spectators were banned because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lopez received a nasty cut over the right eye from an accidental head butt in the final round but was able to continue.

Lomachenko, defending for the fourth time the title he took from Venezuelan Jorge Linares in 2018, bristled at the decision and immediately left the ring after the scores were announced.

“I think I won the fight,” said Lomachenko.

“But I am not going to argue it now.

“In the first half of the fight he won more rounds. In the second half I took it over. I don’t agree with the scorecards. “ Lomachenko is an unusually slow starter

and that was the case once again on Saturday.

He didn’t start landing meaningful combinations until the seventh or eighth round which left him with a huge hole to climb out of.

Lomachenko dropped to 14-2 with 10 knockouts. He was coming off a unanimous decision victory over English southpaw Luke Campbell last August in London.

Lopez, a Brooklyn native, was making the first defence of his IBF title he captured by stopping Ghana’s Richard Commey in the second round last December at Madison Square Garden. He has not lost since his last amateur bout at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Lopez represented Honduras in the Rio Games when he failed to make the America team.

Lomachenko, an Olympic champion in 2008 and 2012, was a 3-1 favourite heading into the fight. AFP

Entertainment

C3

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

Kapamilya leads PH winners at Asian Academy Creative Awards ABS-CBN brings honor to the country with 14 national winners at the prestigious Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAAs) 2020 that will represent the Philippines and compete against the best of Asian countries in the regional awards night happening in December.

ABS-CBN won the most national awards for the Philippines with 13 recognitions that include Best Telenovela/Soap Opera for Killer Bride and Best Drama Series for A Soldier’s Heart. ABS-CBN’s 14th winner is Jake and Charice, a coproduction with Documentary Japan Inc., that won Best Documentary Programme in Japan.

ABS-CBN’s other content for different platforms are also in the running to be named the best in the region, such as original Kapamilya talent reality show Your Moment (Best Non-Scripted

Entertainment) and Dreamcatchers: Malapacao (Season 3) (Best Lifestyle Program).

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc.’s Hello, Love, Goodbye, the highest-grossing local film, continues its winning streak as national winner for Best Feature Film, while its director Cathy Garcia-Molina was named Best Director (Fiction). Cathy, Carmi Raymundo, and Rona Co also won Best Original Screenplay for their work in the movie.

ABS-CBN, the country’s leading media and entertainment company, also bagged awards for its digital offerings via ABS-CBN streaming service iWant (now iWantTFC). These include Best Original Program by an OTT for The Tapes, Best Documentary Series for The Last Manilaners, Best Animated Series (2D or 3D) for Jet and the Pet Rangers, and Best Ac-

tor for Arjo Atayde for the iWant original series Bagman.

UxS and ABS-CBN’s Coke Studio (Season 3), on the other hand, won in the Best Branded Programme or Series and Best Music or Dance Programme categories.

In the service of the Filipino for 67 years, ABS-CBN remains committed to produce world-class content for different media platforms and for audiences all over the world. Many of its shows are already being shown in countries in Asia, Africa, and South America.

Watch ABS-CBN programs and films on cable and satellite TV on Kapamilya Channel, online via Kapamilya Online Live and iWantTFC, and on free TV on A2Z channel 11. ABS-CBN content are also available in select foreign territories through TFC, the Filipino Channel.

Digitally yours, MMFF 2020

Real-life couple Jennylyn Mercado and Dennis Trillo reunite on the small screen in this week’s installment of ‘I Can See You’ drama anthology.

ARIAS

ALWYN IGNACIO WITH streaming giants such as Netflix. HBO Prime, Iflix, the many movies and other entertainment content for free on YouTube, does the annual Metro Manila Film Festival, trumpeted to go digital this holiday season, stand a chance to get the chunk, love, and support of the online watching public?

Romance and mystery meet in ‘Truly. Madly. Deadly.’

H

OW to create a character that audiences will love? In drama series, he doesn’t just need to be the main character that appears in every scene. He must also have a convincing flaw and a compelling backstory. The character must be human, someone every normal person can easily relate to.

In GMA’s Truly.Madly.Deadly., director Jorron Lee Monroy explained how they crafted the characters in the fourth installment of I Can See You drama anthology.

“In ordinary drama series, there’s the protagonist and the contravida, but in this story, it’s one of the few projects I did na pwedeng bida lahat, pwedeng contravida din. They have their own dark sides, just like all humans do,” Monroy told Manila Standard Entertainment in a virtual interview.

“It speaks about our life on social media, and how we people express our love. When we love, we love truly and madly and deadly in a way,” he added.

The story begins with Coleen (Jennylyn Mercado), a professional woman who, after being ridiculed online for a

Arjo Atayde is the Best Actor national winner for the iWant original series ‘Bagman.’

VERY WANG

NICKIE WANG

scandal with a married man, moves out of the city and works in a remote resort where she meets the mysterious resident IT guy named Drew (Dennis Trillo). Life seems to be going well for the recovering Coleen until her best friend turned enemy Abby (Rhian Ramos) shows up and her past begins to haunt her once again.

“The series wanted to ask what do we do if someone from our painful past comes back to our new and well-adjusted life. Will we just trust that person again for what it’s worth or will we turn to our newfound love to help us escape from a resurfacing traumatic experience?” the director continued.

Dennis, despite feeling unaccustomed to the new taping protocols, shares that working with his girlfriend Jennylyn somehow alleviates his worries, “Nakakapanibago pero mabuti na lang magkasama kaming dalawa ni Jen. Although nakakapanibago rin talaga dahil iba na ‘yung taping procedures, mas iniisip talaga ‘yung safety

ng lahat.”

Jennylyn, whose character binds the other two together, hopes for the viewers to experience various emotions as they watch the show, “Gusto namin na sa una matuwa sila, mainis sila habang tumatagal, at matakot din sila. Mixed emotions. Syempre, sana ma-enjoy nila. Makaramdam sila ng iba’t ibang emosyon sa kwento namin.”

Meanwhile, Rhian, who admits to feeling wary of returning to work, believes that adjusting to the new way of doing things is vital, “Ang daming nagbago sa mundo since the last time na nakapag-taping ako, it’s very different. I was even asking Jen for a lot of tips because tapos na siyang mag-shoot for another show. But I think it’s really important na matuto tayong mag-adjust under the new normal.”

In observance of anti-COVID-19 protocols alongside the Network’s precautionary measures, the cast and crew of the show underwent RT-PCR tests, lock-in tapings, and strictly practiced government-mandated safety and health protocols on the set.

Joining the cast are Jhoana Marie Tan with the special participation of Ruby Rodriguez. I Can See You: Truly. Madly. Deadly. premieres tonight after Encantadia.

Is there any MMFF film product that even comes near the Korean film gem that was Parasite?

The yearly tradition of Filipino films going digital is a decision that is similar to the dolomite beach that now is being eaten slowly by the Manila Bay. Cinemas inside established malls are already open in some parts of the metropolis and are strict in implementing all the public viewing protocols. All it needs now is a major movie to bring back the flock of viewers.

It is imperative that the MMFF entries be shown at the cinemas because the majority not only crave but want “normalcy” and the “happy chaos” during the holidays.

The annual film festival could have been the litmus test if the audiences are ready to go out from the safety of their cocoons and embrace once more the movie house going experience, with popcorn and sodas, of course, for Filipino movies.

Now that the MMFF films are for online streaming, does this mean that in the eventuality that there will be major Hollywood and other international movie releases with a Christmas day opening date, they will be accorded a green light and allowed to be screened in cinemas? Does the current ruling body of the MMFF has the mandate to stop movie theater owners

from opening their doors to motion pictures that are making box office wonders? It will be disastrous for their business not to show these films knowing how much they have already suffered financially with economic onslaught brought by the pandemic and they can cry that you chose to show it online so we have every right to present movies during Christmas day so that majority can have a grand time?

Has the MMDA even considered the fact that internet access is available to those who can only afford it? The speed and connectivity of laptops, desktops, and mobile gadgets are constant concerns in Mega Manila where most of the MMFF audiences reside, how do you entice this demographic when the basic issue of strong internet connection has yet to find a solution?

Also, what is with this drama that the festival being streamed online opens the MMFF entries in competition to global audiences? The cinematic aesthetics and tastes of the international audiences you so aspire are far more discerning and there are many choices that are available.

For the longest time, the powers that be that run the Philippine festival equates mammoth box office returns as their premium measurement of its resounding success. That is why in terms of plot, story development, and telling and production values, the entries in the MMFF are always found wanting and not of world-class caliber.

Several decades under the rule and leadership of the MMDA can you enumerate at least five movie titles from the MMFF entries that received acclaim? The dream of a Filipino movie nominee in the best foreign film category in the Oscar's or Golden Globes continues to be an impossible dream.

The honors we reap in the cinematic global arena are mostly directorial and acting and never for a film. Is there any MMFF film product that even comes near the Korean film gem that was Parasite??

Brighlight’s Albee Benitez urges halt of network wars TV5’s programming partner and major block timer, Cignal TV, is buoyed up by an influx of new and familiar faces adding more color and cheer to the network’s current talent roster. Headlining the new shows are the likes of Piolo Pascual, Korina Sanchez, Aga Muhlach, Ian Veneracion, Billy Crawford, Matteo Guidicelli, Maja Salvador, Sue Ramirez, Dimples Romana, Alex Gonzaga, and Catriona Gray.

During a recent virtual media conference for the shows these stars are part of, one of the network’s most recent block time partners, Brightlight Productions President and CEO, former Rep. Albee Benitez, urged the halt of network wars, sharing that “it’s time that all of us should work together. Right now, I don’t think there should be a network war.”

Benitez also mentioned that stars should be given flex-

ibility and be allowed to take on work where it is available.

“I think that should be our landscape moving forward,” he underscored.

Meanwhile, Robert P. Galang, President, and CEO of Cignal TV and TV5 said that with the network's new lineup of shows, TV5 is offering something for everybody.

“The new program line-up does not only set the bar higher for innovativeness and production values but also reinforces TV5’s vision to become a formidable force in Philippine television as it continues to challenge traditional program programming standards and reinvigor reinvigorate the network’s adaptabil adaptability to survive and thrive in this pandemic and beyond,” Galang pointed out.

The news of the partnership of TV5 with block timers comes months after Cig Cignal TV & TV5 Chairman Brightlight Productions President and CEO, former Rep. Albee Benitez.

Manny V. Pangilinan declared an open invitation, offering alternative jobs for displaced workers in the entertainment industry; a clear display that the priorities of the network is to give a helping hand and keep people afloat amidst the pandemic.

"We are revving up our entertainment content creation and will need creatives, talents, directors, scriptwriters, cameramen, etc.," Pangilinan shared last August.

Earlier, Archangel media launched its slew of programs, and its president, Michael Tuviera has this to say: “We are absolutely honored to be working in partnership with Cignal TV and TV5. We all want to create more jobs out there for our hard-working brethren in the industry.

We all want to create content that will not only entertain but provoke and inspire as well. We all want to help make our industry, our country, and our world, a better place than it was yesterday.”

Together with Cignal TV and TV5, Archangel Media is proud to be pushing forth in what we hope is a new age in Philippine Television—where unity and collaboration take precedence over competition, where the focus will continue to be on the audience who lend their eyes

and ears to the stories we tell, and where, as before and always— Content is King.”

Viva, who has a long-standing partnership with Cignal TV, thru its president and COO, Vincent del Rosario said “We’re very happy that Viva’s partnership with Cignal and TV5 has been going strong, given that our joint venture company, SSNI, is now on its 5th year.

I guess what makes it fun working with the group is the collaborative nature of the relationship where each side has an equal say on the creative direction to take in every project.”

“As for the effect that this will bring to the industry, we believe that this will not only bring some parity in the network wars but will also open more job opportunities for the artists and the creative and production communities,” Del Rosario concluded.

Brightlight Productions, CS Studios, and Project 8’s ‘I Got You’ with lead cast members Beauty Gonzalez (top), RK Bagatsing, and Jane Oineza (left).

Life

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

C4

FOOD

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020

Don Papa

wants to bring you to

‘SUGARLANDIA’

Alaska milk products are available at discounted prices this October.

FROM THE FIELDS, TO THE WORLD. Bleeding Heart Rum Company’s Don Papa Rum is made from the oldest strains of sugarcane that grow in the rich volcanic soil in the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon.

By Bernadette Lunas

I

T’S quite ironic that a locally made rum is not as popular in the country from which it originated as it is abroad.

Such is the case of premium rum brand Don Papa.

“A lot of people here have not heard about Don Papa Rum. Our company’s growth was due to foreigners coming to the Philippines asking where they can get Don Papa,” shared Ben Scharlin, the brand’s “man on the ground.”

Once locals learn the rum from foreign visitors, that’s when the discovery happens inside.

Scharlin said “most of the brand’s sales are in Europe,” owing to the fact that Bleeding Heart Rum Company’s, the maker of Don Papa Rum, founder is from the United Kingdom.

Stephen Carroll founded the company in Negros, also known as the “Sugarbowl of the Philippines” or “Sugarlandia,” when he heard stories of the island—which produces more than half of the country’s sugar output—having the finest sugarcane in the world.

In 2012, the company launched Don Papa, made from one of the oldest strains of sugarcane which grows in the rich volcanic soil surrounding Mount Kanlaon.

The harvested sugarcane goes through the island’s sugar mills where it is crushed and ground creating sweet, rich molasses. It is then fermented, distilled, and aged in exbourbon barrels.

To promote the brand and the place where it is made, Bleeding Heart Rum Co. launches #ExperienceSugarlandia online contest where three winners will each get a five-day eco-cultural

The molasses are fermented, distilled, and aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

The company’s flagship Don Papa Rum (light and fruity) and Don Papa 10-year (rich and sweet) are popular in Europe.

trip for two in Negros Occidental worth P80,000.

Winners will go on a guided tour (once travel restrictions are lifted between June and December 2021) of the Hawaiian Mill, ride a train through the sugarcane fields, visit ancestral homes like Hacienda Rosalia, and relax at Punta Bulata and Danjugan Island, to name a few. Along the way, they will also indulge in the most delicious dishes the island has to offer, with a glass of rum on the side.

“Sugarlandia is a real place, but in the world of Don Papa, it’s also a place of magic and mystery. We want them to experience the real place, the real people of Negros, as well as the Don Papa version. So when the winners come here to Negros, they’ll also be treated to that otherworldly experience—taste the best food, experience white sand beaches, and get to see a 100-year-old train used in the sugar industry here,” enthused Scharlin.

To join the contest, post a creative photo of Don Papa Rum or Don Papa 10-year on Instagram, with the hashtags #ExperienceSugarlandia and #DonPapaRum. The winning posts that best capture the Sugarlandia feel will be announced on November 15, December 21, and January 8, 2021.

Milk sale for a cause

HITTING two birds with one stone, Alaska Milk Corporation offers discounted milk products to its consumers while helping those in need.

The milk brand will donate 10 percent of total profits made throughout its month-long 10.10 sale to Filipino families heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a nation, we have seen many lose their lives and livelihood. But some have it worse than others,” laments Harvey Uong, managing director of Alaska Milk Corporation.

He continues, “As a brand, we want to stay true to our promise of nourishing Filipino families with the goodness of quality yet affordable milk. This is why we’re having the Alagang Alaska 10.10 Sale. This initiative provides moms who continue to find ways to nourish their families with easier access to our products by making it more affordable through discounts.

It will also help us raise funds which will go to helping those who are heavily affected by the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The sale, which started on October 6, continues on the brand’s official Lazada and Shopee accounts. Up to 50 percent is slashed off the prices of Alaska Milk products including Alaska Ready-to-Drink Milk, Alaska Fortified Powdered Milk Drink, Alaska Créma AllPurpose Cream, Alaska Classic Condensed and Evaporated Milk, and Alaska Evaporada and Condensada.

DINE OUT

Redefined buffet at Marriott Café PREMIUM restaurant Marriott Café offers the all-you-can-eat concept in a safe way.

Diners will be welcomed by ServSafe-certified servers who will take them on a tour around the restaurant to get a glimpse of the dishes they can choose from through the various stations.

Once diners choose their desired dishes through a QR-code enabled menu, the chefs will then prepare them and serve directly to the customers’ tables.

Marriott Café’s eat-all-you-can a la carte dining concept includes savory

carvings such as crispy pork belly and rib eye steak, finest seafood selections from mud crab to tiger prawns, cheese and charcuterie, and cuisine from all around the world prepared by Manila Marriott’s culinary team The restaurant’s private dining rooms are also open for those dining in groups.

For the whole month of October, Club Marriot members get 30 percent discount, while Marriott Bonvoy members get 20 percent off. All frontliners likewise get 20 percent discount this month.

Marriott Café reopens with an eat-all-you-can dining concept where ServSafe-certified chefs and servers bring food directly to the guest’s table

Beer pairings for delivery

A bowl of fresh Cobb Salad

Marriott Café is open for lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Monday to Saturday) and dinner from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Monday to Sunday) at P1,700++. Sunday lunch, meanwhile, is priced at P1,988++.

Prior reservation is encouraged but walk-ins will be allowed.

Apart from Marriott Café, guests can also savor authentic Cantonese dishes at Man Ho from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., indulge in Certified Angus and Wagyu steaks at Cru Steakhouse from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and enjoy a drink at the Still Bar from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. or the Greatroom from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For orders, reservations, and inquiries about Manila Marriott’s latest offers, call 0917-859-9521 or 0917-825-2896.

MISSING Oktoberfest?

Resorts World Manila keeps its annual October Fiesta celebrations alive this year by offering food packages of its best beer pairings for delivery.

Customers can order, via Delishvery, Package A which comes with bar grubs that include one serving of Shrimp Salted Egg Popcorn, a plate of Roasted Pork Sisig, and six mini-servings of signature Franks Pinoy Hotdogs, with six cans of San Miguel Beer for P1,200 nett.

Solo drinkers, meanwhile, may order the P550 nett Package B that consists of a choice of one bar grub and two cans of San Miguel Beer.

Call Delishvery at (02) 7908-8885 or 0917-878-8856 for inquiries regarding minimum order requirements and delivery orders.

Yema caramel cake

FOLLOWING the success of Yema Caramel Cake in the US, Red Ribbon finally offers the sweet treat here in the Philippines.

It features delectable chiffon cake layered with creamy, melt-in-yourmouth yema caramel icing and filling, garnished with toasted cashew nuts, and topped with a beautiful yema-cream rosette. It’s available in regular (P700) and junior (P490) sizes.

The new cake flavor is available nationwide for take-out, call and pick up, and delivery through the Red Ribbon Hotline #87777 and Red Ribbon RIA on Facebook Messenger.

Red Ribbon’s Yema Caramel Cake