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VOL. XXXIV • NO. 231 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Pope airs support for same-sex unions Duterte snipes at Catholic conservatives
By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz
P
OPE Francis has voiced support for same-sex couples, calling them "children of God" and saying they should be allowed to have legally recognized civil unions, in a radical shift from previous pontiffs.
POPE FRANCIS
P13-b subsidy for distressed SMEs sought
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Chinese urged: Invest before you can retire CHINESE millennials who are holders of special retiree's visa are required to invest in business and employ Filipinos, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday amid criticisms on the entry of young foreign nationals retiring in the country. “Holders of the special retiree's visa
By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta A CONGRESSIONAL leader on Thursday urged the national government to subsidize distressed employers to the tune of P13.7 billion to enable them to pay their workers their 13th-month salary. “Our workers in the micro, small and medium enterprises have suffered so much since March 15 from layoffs or reduced working days up to now, and it will be cruel to deny Christmas to them by not giving their 13th month pay,” Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City said. His appeal, contained in Resolution 1310, is specifically addressed to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Data from the DOLE and the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that between 1.5 million and 5.1 million SME workers have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez said. In Cagayan de Oro, more than 16,000 workers have been laid off because of the pandemic, he added. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello lll estimates that P5 billion to P13.7 billion would be needed to subsidize distressed MSME employers so they could pay their personnel their Christmas bonus.
The Pope, whose opposition to gay marriage remains unchanged, said in a documentary premiered at the Rome Film Festival: "These are children of God, they have the right to a family.” "What we have to create is a law of civil union, they have the right to be legally protected. I have defended that," he
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COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE
(AS OF 4 PM OCT. 22)
363,888 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
TRAIN MARSHALL. One of the 120 trains marshalls guards the entrance of an MRT-3 train to see to it that passengers abide by
health and safety protocols against COVID-19 now that the railway system is allowed to expand its capacity to 30% to accommodate more commuters. #MRT3
Red Cross virus testing halt hurts DoH By Willie Casas THE decision of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to suspend COVID-19 testing until the government pays it almost P1 billion in debt has hurt its ability to detect and report cases, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.
In a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire acknowledged the PRC’s contribution to the daily reports on COVID-19 cases. The Red Cross laboratories account for about 25 percent of the country’s capacity for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing.
NEW
ACTIVE
6,783
38
312,333
843
DEATHS
The organization accounted for over 1 million of the 4.3 million tests conducted as of Oct. 18, The suspension of its COVID-19 testing has led airport authorities to limit the number of inbound passengers on international flights allowed at the Ninoy
RECOVERIES
NEW
NEW
LOCAL ROUNDUP
• Garment trade Pusher with P150m shabu nabbed takes a beating • Inbound travel By Joel E. Zurbano GOVERNMENT agents arrested and detained a high-value target drug dealer operating in Metro Manila and Central Visayas, and seized more than P150 million worth of shabu from his possession during a buy-bust operation Wednesday in Cebu. A team from the National Capital Region Police Office - Special Operations Group, Quezon City Police Department,
MANNA FROM DOWN UNDER. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana
1,664 44,772
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and Central Visayas Region Police Office arrested Gilbert Lumanog around 4:30 a.m. in Barangay Subabasbas, Lapu-Lapu City, officials said Thursday. Prior to the arrest, the authorities formed a special team and placed Lumanog under police operation called "Coplan Totong Toldo". The team conducted surveillance, monitoring and intelligence gathering to establish the veracity of information
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By Willie Casas and Vito Barcelo
THE Philippines' garment industry has taken a big hit from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, cutting exports by almost 40 percent and putting the livelihoods of over 600,000 Filipinos "at-risk," the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Thursday. Next page
WORLD ROUNDUP
meets with his Australian counterpart Linda Reynolds in Manila to discuss anti-virus responses, South China Sea and other regional security issues including terrorism. Australia is also providing an additional P70 million in medical support to AFP hospitals.
Volunteer dies General sees red in the stars during tests By Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta GABRIELA party-list Representative Arlene Brosas on Thursday accused Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. of "rabidly redtagging" actress Liza Soberano and Next page
RED-TAGGED. Miss Universe of 2018 Catriona Gray holding a PRC mascot, has been named Red Cross Ambassador. Gray, also a TV-movie actress, has been tagged a communist symphatizer for her advocacy for women's rights, along with celebrity endorser Liza Soberano.
A VOLUNTEER participating in clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University has died in Brazil, officials announced, though media reports said he had received a placebo, not the test vaccine. It is the first death reported in the various coronavirus vaccine trials taking place worldwide. However, organizers of the study on Wednesday said an independent review had concluded there were no safety concerns and that testing of the Next page
PCSO DONATION. Ma. Louise Serojales, Executive Assistant at the PCSO general manager's office (left) and Anjo De Leon, Executive Assistant at the PCSO Chairman’s Office show some of the 40 units of Nissan Urvan Patient Transport Vehicles during the turn-over rites held at Nissan North Edsa, Quezon City as part of PCSO’s Medical Transport Vehicle Donation Program.