Manila Standard - 2020 November 28 - Saturday

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PH clinches vaccines deal British firm signs up to deliver 2.6m doses at $3-$4 each – Galvez

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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HE Philippines will get 2.6 million doses of AstraZenica’s COVID-19 vaccine, which will enable it to inoculate 1.3 million people next year, the country’s vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said Friday.

The private sector will cover the cost of the vaccine, under a tripartite agreement between the Philippine government, the private sector and the British pharmaceutical company AstraZenica, which was signed Friday.

Galvez said the deal was significant because it provides equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine from a reputable company that worked with Oxford University.

He added negotiations were ongoing for another 1 million doses of the vaccine.

AstraZeneca-Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine has been found 70 percent effective against COVID-19 at first dose, but it increases to 90 percent after the second dose is administered a month after the first dose.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is expected to cost $3 to $4 a dose, much cheaper than drugs being developed by American companies Pfizer and Moderna, and does not need to be stored in ultra-low temperatures.

The British government said on Friday it has asked its independent medicines regulator to assess AstraZeneca’s Next page

LOCAL ROUNDUP

A FIRST FOR PH.

British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on November 23, 2020 said their jointly developed vaccine against COVID-19 has shown “an average efficacy of 70 percent” in trials.

Astra Zeneca became the first to sign a supply agreement with the Philippines for a coronavirus vaccine. AFP

Foreign spouses of Filipinos may now enter PH THE government will now allow the foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens as well as returning Filipinos or “balikbayans,” to enter the Philippines starting Dec. 7.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has amended the travel guidelines for foreigners wanting to enter the country.

Foreign spouses and children of citizens will be allowed to enter the country provided they secure a booking at a quarantine facility and have a swab test schedule at Philippine airports, Roque said.

They, too, must be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.

1,631 new COVID-19 cases logged

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 267 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Two communist leaders get life term for kidnapping four soldiers in 1988

By Rey E. Requejo and Rio N. Araja A QUEZON City regional trial court has convicted couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who are believed to be top officials of the Communist Party of the

Philippines (CPP), of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Presiding Judge Alfonso C. Ruiz II of Quezon City RTC, Branch 216, sentenced the accused to up to 40 years in jail.

The court also ordered the Tiamzons to pay complainant Lt. Abraham

Claro Casis P75,000 as moral damages; P75,000 as civil indemnity; and P75,000 as exemplary damages.

The cases arose from a 1988 incident in which four soldiers were held captive by the communist group for about two months. Charges

were filed in court in 1990, but the Tiamzons were arrested and arraigned only in 2014.

The trial court found sufficient basis to convict the Tiamzon couple on the basis of the testimony of Casis, one of Next page

COVID-19 PH LIFE TERM.

Benito Tiamzon (right) and his wife, Wilma AustriaTiamzon, leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines, have been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the QC regional trial court after finding them guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

(AS OF 4 PM NOVEMBER 27)

425,918 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

1,631 30,047 ACTIVE

8,255

46

387,616

370

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

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CamSur solon protests undue cuts in outlay

By Maricel V. Cruz

AT A GLANCE

NEW

The Philippines logged 1,631 new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total to 425,918, as 10 laboratories failed to submit data, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.

The DOH also reported 30,047 active cases, which is 7.1 percent of the total cases.

NEW

NEW

A MEMBER of the House of Representatives lamented Friday what he described as “undue” cuts in the proposed infrastructure outlays for certain congressional districts under the Houseapproved version of the proposed 2021 national government budget.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, who is identified with former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, shared Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s observation on “noticeable” increase in the budget of legislators allied with Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, and cuts in those linked with his predecessor, Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano , in the budget bill.

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SSS okays pensioners’ 13th month pay THE Social Security System (SSS), through Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), has released its December pension and 13th month bonus amounting to P23.1 billion to Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and Operations Network (PESONet)

participating banks and other checkless disbursements channels to be credited to pensioners’ bank accounts starting December 1 but not later than December 4, 2020.

Likewise, SSS has also released around P2 billion for NON-PESONet

participating banks, which is expected to be disbursed to pensioners on December 4.

“We are happy to inform our pensioners that they will be receiving their 13th month bonus earlier than our usual Next page

WORLD ROUNDUP

India to produce 100m anti-virus doses – Russia

recent typhoons.

“The review panel is drafting the initial report. We lost a number of working days due to recent calamities, so we may be constrained to submit it in December. Kindly bear with us,” Guevar-

ONE of the developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine announced Friday that India-based drugmaker Hetero will produce over 100 million doses of the jab.

“Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, has agreed to produce in India over 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection -– Sputnik V,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement, adding that production was expected to start in early 2021.

Earlier this week, Russia said interim results from the Sputnik V clinical trials showed the vaccine was 95 percent effective, similar to other inter-

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GARIN’S GIMMICK? Parents and relatives of Dengvaxia victims flock to the Quezon City Hall of Justice to condemn the non-attendance of former Health Secretary Janette Garin who was indicted for the death of scores of children who had been injected with the anti-dengue vaccine. Manny Palmero

Drug war report out soon—DOJ

By Rey E. Requejo JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday the inter-agency panel tasked to review the anti-drug police operations might release an initial report past its November deadline due to

DEADLINE BEATER. Motorists form a long line to obtain RFID stickers at the Magallanes Skyway Ramp in Pasay City early Friday in a bid to meet the December 1 ultimatum for the cashless toll payments along the major expressways. Norman Cruz

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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Garin no-show at QC trial court

By Rio N. Araja

F

ORMER Health Secretary Janette Garin, one of the accused for the Dengvaxia- related deaths of two schoolchildren, failed to appear Friday before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for an arraignment.

According to Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta, Garin sent her lawyer to inform Branch 107 Judge Jose Bautista Jr. about her non-appearance in court due to “coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure.”

Only two of the 39 respondents —

Ma. Lourdes Santiago of the Food and Drug Administration and Dr. Rosalind Vianzon of the Department of Health — were arraigned.

Garin and the other respondents filed motions to quash, seeking the dismissal of the cases.

Local...

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PH clinches...

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Of the active cases, 84.3 percent are mild; 8.3 are asymptomatic; 4.7 percent are critical; 2.5 percent are severe; and 0.26 percent are moderate.

The DOH also reported 370 new recoveries, bringing to 387,616 the number of patients who have recovered from the disease.

The DOH on Thursday said that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is generally decreasing, especially in Metro Manila. However, it also saw some increases in other areas in the country.

coronavirus vaccine as part of the formal approval process for the drug to be rolled out by the end of the year.

AstraZeneca has completed Phase III clinical trials of its vaccine, the last stage before regulatory approval.

But under British rules, the government must also ask the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to green light the drug.

“We have formally asked the regulator to assess the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, to understand the data and determine whether it meets rigorous safety standards,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Britain has secured access to 100 million doses of the vaccine produced by the British drug manufacturer in partnership with the University of Oxford.

The department of health has said it expects 4 million doses of the shot to be ready for Britain by the end of the year and 40 million by the end of March 2021.

Earlier on Thursday, AstraZeneca said further research was needed on the vaccine, but the additional testing was unlikely to affect the approval process.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has shown an average 70 percent effectiveness.

But that rate jumped to 90 percent

PNP will enforce health protocols

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will strictly implement minimum health protocols in public places and other areas of convergence for the holiday season, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

PNP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana, said people would usually visit shopping centers and churches during the season as quarantine restrictions have been eased.

Still, he urged people to avoid crowded areas such as churches, malls, and flea markets or bazaars.

He added that police officers would have to be more visible in requiring people to observe minimum health protocols, such as social distancing and the wearing of masks and face shields.

Usana said the management of the churches should also ensure that health standards are being followed during their activities this Christmas season.

Hospitals complain of slow PhilHealth action

A group of private hospitals said Friday they were experiencing slow release of COVID-19 reimbursements from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

Dr. Jose Rene De Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc (PHAPI), said they were in talks with the state-run insurance firm to settle the unpaid claims.

De Grano made the statement after he was asked if they were experiencing delayed payments from PhilHealth like the Philippine Red Cross did.

In mid-October, the PRC suspended its COVID-19 testing of repatriated Filipinos due to the state insurer’s unpaid debt that, at the time, ran close to P1 billion.

On Oct. 27, PhilHealth made a partial payment to the PRC worth P500 million.

It then paid another P100 million in partial payment a few weeks later, prompting Red Cross to resume its COVID-19 testing services. Vito Barcelo and Willie Casas

Two communist...

From A1 the four soldiers allegedly kidnapped and detained by members of the New People’s Army in Quezon province for 75 days.

Casis testified that he saw the Tiamzons at the detention center where he and his fellow soldiers were held. He identified the two during trial.

The Tiamzons did not present evidence in their defense, and the court said they had not appeared since 2018.

The court found Casis’ testimony as “straightforward and categorical” despite efforts by the Tiamzons’ lawyers to assail its probative value, arguing that the witness did not say it was the two who captured and guarded the soldiers or arranged their release.

“It would appear from the narration of facts of the complainant that the present crime was perpetuated not by a single person but by an organization.

From the testimony of the complainant, the persons who actually abducted him admitted to being members of an organization, the New People’s Army,”

ahead of large scale clinical trials.

Currently the third and final phase of trials is underway, with some 40,000 volunteers involved in blind testing of national vaccine makers that have also the vaccine that uses two different hupublished test results showing efficacy man adenovirus vectors. rates of 90 percent and higher.

Stricter curbs Russia also announced that the SputMore than 23 million people will be nik V vaccine will be priced at $10 per dose on international markets, costing under the tightest restrictions once Engless than some other registered COV- land’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown ends next week, but London will escape ID-19 vaccines.

Russia was the first country to an- the toughest rules, the government said.

England will return to a regional tiered nounce the registration of a coronavirus vaccine in August – dubbed Sputnik V system when the national stay-at-home after the Soviet-era satellite – but did so order ends on December 2, and 23.3 mil-

World...

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Drug war...

From A1 ra said in a text message to reporters.

The Department of Justice leads a review panel of several government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to determine whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

Guevarra announced the formation of the panel weeks after the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, released a report finding “near impunity” for alleged extrajudicial killings committed in the Philippines.

Guevarra said the panel might be able to come out with an initial or partial report of its findings by the end of November.

Besides the DOJ, the Presidential Communications Operations Office, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat, the Presidential Management Staff, the Dangerous Drugs Board, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation are part of the panel.

The Commission on Human Rights serves as an independent monitoring body.

PAO was able to submit its comment.

Bautista gave the prosecution panel at least 10 days to file its comment.

According to the PAO chief, the court has all the full jurisdiction over the two counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide after the arraignment of Santiago and Vianzon.

The arraignment of those who have filed motions to quash may be set before Jan. 27, 2021.

Garin was alleged to have funneled P3 billion to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center for the procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines for the mass vac-

cination of schoolchildren.

Some 159 children died allegedly due to the vaccine.

In November 2017, Sanofi Pasteur Inc. issued an official statement posted on its website, admitting that “the analysis confirmed that Dengvaxia provides persistent protective benefit against dengue fever in those who had prior infection.

“For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a dengue infection.”

when an initial half-dose then a full dose was given, similar to that in rival vaccines in development by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

In the 2021 national budget bill approved by the Senate, P83 billion has been allocated for the purchase, storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines next year.

Some P8 billion of this will be under the Department of Health’s regular budget, while P54 billion will be set as unprogrammed appropriations.

A total of P21 billion has been appropriated for the storage, transportation and distribution costs of COVID-19 vaccines.

In the same budget bill, the Senate has allotted P10 billion for the social amelioration program (SAP), under the regular budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The SAP was first introduced under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act with an allocation of P200 billion. It covered the provision of P5,000 to P8,000 emergency cash subsidies to 18 million lowincome households affected by the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 lockdowns earlier this year.

Another P6 billion was allocated for cash assistance through the DSWD under the second Bayanihan law which was enacted in September.

Two months ago, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told senators there was

no budget allocation for SAP as it was not part of the National Expenditure Program.

Meanwhile, a congressional leader urged the government to prepare early for the storage and distribution of the much-awaited COVID-19 vaccine.

House Bill 8000 of Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo mandates that the state “shall amply prepare cold storage facilities for storing and safekeeping of COVID-19 vaccines in anticipation of their arrival and mass distribution to the Filipino people.”

The bill empowers the Department of Health to “urgently prepare for the provision” of such facilities “in accordance with specifications that are suitable for the safekeeping of the vaccines.”

Now that several drug companies have reported that their vaccines against the new coronavirus have an efficacy rate of 70 percent to 95 percent, Castelo said many countries are ramping up preparations for receiving and distributing vaccines to their people.

“Considering that our country is a populous nation and is an archipelago, a safe and effective mass distribution of the vaccine requires ample planning and preparation,” she said.

She said it is the intention of her bill to “provide sufficient and appropriate cold storage equipment and facilities” for the arrival and delivery of COVID-19 vaccination doses.

Ruiz said.

The Quezon City court said that the soldiers’ captors knew what to do and where to go from the moment they were kidnapped and that the place they were taken to was prepared and guarded.

“In the present case, the testimony of the complainant was able to establish conspiracy among members of the group that kidnapped and detained him,” Ruiz said, in his decision.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra lauded the successful prosecution of the Tiamzons, saying it is a victory for the DOJ. “I still have to read the entire decision. But it’s a victory for the prosecution,” Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.

The Tiamzons’ lawyers vowed to seek a reconsideration of the court’s decision.

Aside from the kidnapping and serious illegal detention cases, the Tiamzons were also among the accused in the murder case which stemmed from the discovery of a mass grave in Leyte containing suspected victims of communist purge during the 1980s.

The couple were arrested in 2014

in Barangay Zaragoza in Aloguinsan, Cebu by joint forces of the police and military.

The Tiamzons were released from detention in August 2016 to join the peace negotiations and participate as consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the political wing of the CPP. In 2017, the couple even met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang.

“The accused Benito Tiamzon and accused Wilma (Tiamzon) Austria were positively identified by the complainant (Casis) as one of the persons responsible for his kidnapping and illegal detention,” the judge said in an 18-page decision.

“The court finds no reason to disbelieve the testimony of complainant considering that his narration of facts was straightforward, categorical, and in accord with the natural course of things.

Accordingly, his testimony deserves full faith and credit,” he further said.

He said the complainant’s credibility was strengthened by the lack of denial from the accused.

The Tiamzons’ lawyer said the couple were unable to defend themselves in ourt because of threats on their lives.

Child abuse cases on the rise amidst virus pandemic THE incidence of violence against children, mostly by parents and caregivers, has dramatically increased globally during the COVID-19 pandemic as loss of income from lockdown measures have resulted in increased negative feelings and reduced psycho-social well-being in the household, according to a global research conducted by Save the Children.

The report titled “The Hidden Impact of COVID-19 on Child Protection and Well-Being” revealed that “the more household income that has been lost owing to COVID-19, the higher the reporting of violence in the home by both children and parents/ caregivers.”

At least one in six children reported violence at home during the pandemic.

This is mostly in the form of physical and verbal abuse. Also, one in five parents and caregivers similarly reported violence at home. The study was based on a survey of 31,683 parents and caregivers, and 13,477 children aged between 11-17 years old in 46 countries, including the Philippines.

Violence in the home setting is strongly linked with loss of household income.

For children whose families did not lose their source of income due to COVID-19, only five percent of them reported violence at home. Conversely, for children whose families lost their household income source, 19 percent of them reported violence and risk of violence in their homes.

Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines, said: “The result of the research study is alarming and compels us to listen to our children so we can come up with COVID-19 mitigating measures with a child-rights lens.”

“We call on the national and local governments to prioritize child protection within COVID-19 response plans, and put children’s rights at the core of national and local level infectious disease emergency preparedness plans.”

SSS okays...

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the coronavirus even after it receives approval from his own government.

“I’m telling you, I won’t take it (the vaccine),” he said in a video posted to social media on Thursday.

“It is my right.”

Brazil has recorded over 170,000 coronavirus deaths, according to an AFP tally, behind only the United States.

Bolsonaro faces criticism for his handling of the pandemic, which has included playing down the virus, opposing lockdown measures and relentBolsonaro rejects vaccine lessly promoting the drug hydroxychloBrazil president Jair Bolsonaro has roquine despite studies showing it is said he will not take a vaccine against ineffective against COVID-19. AFP

schedule, which is usually released every 7th of December. We have allocated P25.2 billion for their bonus, including their December pensions,” SSS President and CEO Aurora C. Ignacio said.

For pensioners with PESONet participating bank accounts, e-wallets such as PayMaya or cash pick-up arrangement via DBP Cash Padala through MLhuiller will receive their pensions in two batches.

The pensioners with contingency dates from 1st to 15th day of the month would receive their regular pensions and 13th-month pensions on December 1, while those with contingency dates from the 16th to the last day of the month will receive their regular and 13th month pensions on December 4.

However, those with advance 18-month pensions and accrued ACOPsuspended pensions will receive their 13th-month pensions on December 4 and December 16, respectively.

Ignacio also said that SSS earlier requested the non-PESONet participating banks to credit the December and 13th-month pensions to pensioners accounts, including those who availed of the advance 18-month pension, not later than December 4, while pensioners with accrued ACOP-suspended pensions will receive their 13th month pension on their contingency dates which will be credited starting December 3.

Moreover, SSS has also coordinated with the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) to prioritize the delivery of checks to the pensioners to enjoy their pension benefits before the holiday season.

House-endorsed General Appropriations Bill for three of the flagship projects in Bicol that were approved by the NEDA Board chaired by the President himself?” he stressed.

“I hope our senators would keep tabs on the actual allocations of all congressional districts in the would-be bicam (bicameral conference committee) talks by both chambers on the GAB for submission to the President, in light of suspicions that more unwarranted budget cuts are forthcoming as a way to increase the infrastructure outlays for the districts of representatives closely identified with the current House leadership,” he said.

Villafuerte said P182 million was cut

from the budget of the CamSur Expressway, which is a 15-kilometer (km), fourlane road with waterways, bike lanes and sidewalks that will serve as an alternate route for motorists going to the eastern and southern municipalities and of those going to Sorsogon and Albay.

Another P124 million was removed from the budget of the CamSur-Albay Diversion Road, which is a 61.90-km road project that will decongest the main road from the province to Albay, he said, and P80 million more was sliced off the budget for the PasacaoBalatan Tourism Highway, which is a 40.69-km, four-lane coastal road along the province’s west coast that will provide access to assorted tourism sites.

lion residents in the worst-hit areas are set to enter the “very high” alert level.

They include the major cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, with people there facing at least two weeks in the top tier.

The toughest restrictions – which were in place before the shutdown, but only for 8.6 million people – will compound difficulties for already struggling businesses, with hospitality and leisure facilities to remain closed.

CamSur solon...

From A1 Villafuerte confirmed that in CamSur,, for instance, a total P386 million was pruned from the House-approved allocations in the Department of Public Works and Highways under the proposed 2021 national budget for three of President Duterte’s flagship projects in Bicol that were greenlighted by the National Economic and Development Authority.

“If the current House leadership claims to be fully supportive of the Duterte administration, why has it slashed on the sly the DPWH outlays in the

News

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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Taiwan company eyes qualified Pinoy workers

By Vito Barcelo CLOSE to 800 vacancies in a leading semiconductor manufacturing company in Taiwan are open to qualified Filipino workers, an official said Friday.

Labor Attaché Fidel Macauyag of the Philippine Labor Office in Taichung, Taiwan, says Silicon Precision Industries Co. Ltd. or SPIL in Taichung City needs 779 additional workers in its factories.

“The vacancies are contained in the Job Orders of SPIL that were submitted to POLO-Taichung this week for verification”, Macauyag said.

SPIL is one of the leading providers of comprehensive semiconductor assembly and test services in the world.

Its products include advanced lead frame and substrate-based packages, which are widely used in computers, tablets, cellular phones, set-top boxes and LCD monitors.

SPIL also manufactures wearable devices, smart appliances, IoT, fingerprint sensors, smart cars, VR/AR, artificial intelligence, drones, smart speakers, digital cameras and video game consoles, among other things.

On Oct. 6, 2020, POLO-Taichung awarded a Plaque of Recognition to SPIL for employing more than 3,500 Filipino workers, with a free placement fee, monthly broker’s service fee, medical and other fees.

Macauyag said they were grateful to the company for its continuing preference for Filipinos to be part of its workforce.

He expressed hope for an early easing of the travel protocols and limitation on the number of inbound passengers in Taiwan so that the prospective Filipinos awaiting deployment in the Philippines may immediately work in Taiwan.

The POLO-Taichung advised interested applicants to apply at the following Philippine Recruitment Agencies: Grand Placement & General Services Corp.,

FIRE. The NIA Village fire reached the Task force Alpha in Quezon City.

COA adopting new technologies Rio N. Araja

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HE Commission on Audit is adopting innovative technologies and encouraging citizen participation to ensure the accountability of government officials in handling public funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said Friday.

COA Chairman Michael Aguinaldo said the COVID-19 pandemic brought about changes in the way government agencies function.

“State auditors adapted to such changes in a manner that, while there is a recog-

nition of a certain level of leniency since agencies need to be creative to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and economy in providing services, and, to ensure the safety of their personnel, the receipt from all sources and utilization of COVID-19

funds and other resources, in cash and in-kind, are still expected to be fully and properly accounted for,” Aguinaldo said during a webinar organized by Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute.

He discussed the topic “Ensuring Accountability through Public Participation and Innovative Audit Initiatives.”

He said amid the restrictions on faceto-face movements, the new environment had opened opportunities for more creative ways of performing the audit function.

“The COA developed an Audit Modernization Program to enhance its resilience in times of crises or emergency by

optimizing the use of science, technology and innovation,” Aguinaldo said.

The commission created the Task Force for Audit Modernization and began testing the use of artificial intelligence to detect statistical anomalies in transactions.

Project MIKA-EL or Machine Intelligence, Knowledge-based Audit, and Experience Learning is an artificial intelligence that is envisioned to work as an audit assistant going through volumes of government records and helping auditors sort and process available digital data for faster and more efficient examination and audit.

Test before boarding on airline

By Darwin G. Amojelar and Joel Zurbano

READY FOR CHRISTMAS. Workers from the Valenzuela City Hall put up a Christmas lantern along Mac-Arthur Highway in Valenzuela City.

Lawmaker slams late modules

By Maricel V. Cruz A MEMBER of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives on Friday chided the Department of Education for the late delivery of printed modules in the regions.

“The Department of Education is wasting the people’s money with the delayed delivery of modules in different regions,” Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said.

Castro, a member of the Makabayan Bloc, said the printing modules that would not be used by pupils who needed it most “are definitely a waste of precious resources of the Education department.”

“Techers had to work double time just

to compensate for the delay and slow delivery of modules from the Central Office.”

Citing reports from the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Castro said truckloads of central office modules were delivered in Region I schools last week. The delivery included printed modules for week 6 or earlier while the learners were now studying modules for weeks 8 to 10.

“We demand that the Duterte administration prioritize funds for education,” Castro said, adding the allegedly skewed priorities of the government were denying millions of Filipino youth of access to quality and accessible education amid the pandemic and the string of storms that rampaged in the country.

Official seeks BARMM roadmap THE proponents batting for the extension of the Bangsamoro transition period should present, in clear and attainable sets of goals, a roadmap of what they intend to accomplish if the transitory government is extended for another three years until 2025, an official said.

Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman issued the statement as he announced he was set to file a resolution in the House of Representatives asking the appropriate committee to conduct a midterm review, in aid of legislation, of the Bangsamoro transition.

On Friday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, in a hearing at the lower house, indicated that President Rodrigo Duterte was amenable

to the idea of a three-year extension.

“Giving us a roadmap of the three-year extension will help us understand the urgency or the need to extend the BARMM transition period. This should include timelines for short- and long-term projects and programs,” Hataman, a former governor of the now-defunct ARMM, said.

“But I think they cannot do this without an honest-to-goodness midterm review of gains, accomplishments and areas of improvements. Kaya gusto ko uli imungkahi sa Pangulo na magkaroon muna ng rebyu ang BARMM bago natin i-extend ang transition period. It is the only way we can assess what needs to be done and what we can do further.”

Agency mulled to help Boracay

CEBU Pacific said Friday said it will be implementing the Test Before Boarding or TBB to passengers at the airport just before their flight.

The Gokongwei-led airline said only passengers with negative antigen test results would be allowed to board.

Together with the local government of General Santos, and in coordination with the Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory, Cebu Pacific is set to pilot TBB on Dec. 3, 2020. for a two-week trial.

All its passengers flying from Manila to General Santos from Dec. 3 to 14 will be required to undergo TBB free-ofcharge during the pilot run.

This is in compliance with the executive order of General Santos. Passengers no longer need to take any other test before their flight.

“We welcome this development through Cebu Pacific, because it opens up more people to the idea of traveling again. We believe this will be a break-

through initiative as it will allow our residents to feel more secure and not be wary of arriving passengers from Manila,” Mayor Ronnel Rivera of General Santos City said.

Candice Iyog, vice president for Marketing and Customer Experience of Cebu pacific, said “Safety has always been our topmost priority and in this current environment, health is part of safety.”

“We look forward to the results of this pilot so we can pave the way for a more confident restart of non-essential travel and a standardization of requirements across all Philippine destinations. We would also like to laud General Santos City for piloting TBB with us.”

Passengers must fill out an electronic passenger information form (E-PIF) through ePIF for the Antigen test and preregister via http://tapat.gensantos.gov.h/ tapatsystem/registration/#details at least 24 hours before their flight. They must also secure a travel authority to be allowed entry into the city and check in online before going to the airport as part of Contactless Flight procedures.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta CITING the weak implementation of environment laws and the indifference to them by the people, Senator Cynthia Villar has pushed for the creation of the Boracay Island Development Authority or BIDA to sustain the island’s rehabilitation by the administration.

In filing Senate bill 1914 or an “Act Creating the Boracay Island Development Authority,” Villar noted that despite landmark laws such as RA 9003 or the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act” and RA 9275 or the “Philippine Clean Water Act,” the environment continued to suffer from degradation.

“Boracay Island, which is one of the best beaches in the world and considered a world-famous jewel of Philippine tourism, was not spared from environmental degradation,” said Villar as she sought the approval of her measure.

“Through the years, Boracay Island gained popularity and became a top tourism destination in the Philippines, thereby ushering in developments such as hotels, restaurants, bars and rental houses that were built over the island to provide accommodation for the growing number of tourists.”

But with the increasing number of tourists, it became unsustainable.

“The apathetic concern for the environment amid the thriving development on Boracay, along with the weak implementation of environment laws by authorities eventually led to the polluted Boracay Island then,” Villar said.

EXERCISE. The Western Command through Joint Task Force West and Joint Task Force Malampaya holds the Gas-Oil Platform Takedown Exercise 2020 at the Matinloc Platform in El Nido, Palawan, in order to test the readiness of the WESCOM Joint Task Forces and its partner agencies.

Five workers barred from leaving

By Vito Barcelo IMMIGRATION officials have barred five Filipino workers who tried to leave the country for lacking travel documents, an official said Friday.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the five were stopped from departing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for not having employment visas.

He says the rules require that departing workers must secure employment visas issued by the country where they were destined to work.

He said the possession of a valid over-

seas employment certificate from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration was not enough to allow a worker to leave if he did not have a working visa.

He said Filipino workers travelling on tourist visas were not permitted to leave under the revised guidelines on departure formalities for international passengers set by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

Earlier, Immigration’s travel control and enforcement unit reported that the five male passengers were intercepted at the NAIA 3 terminal on Nov. 21 before they could board their Emirates flight to Dubai.

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

SOLAR-POWERED. Allianz PNB Life President and CEO Alexander Grenz joins San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, City First Lady Keri Zamora, Vice Mayor Warren Villa, and city councilors during the solar-powered bike pit stop’s blessing and unveiling.

Angeles mayor: GMA to develop Clark further

By Jess Malabanan ANGELES CITY—Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. said former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will further develop the potential of the Clark Freeport Zone as a major growth corridor in Southeast Asia.

This was after President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Macapagal-Arroyo as Presidential Adviser on Clark Programs and Projects, a move widely welcomed

by Pampanga government officials and businessmen.

Lazatin said Macapagal-Arroyo during her presidency was behind the development of the growth corridor in Central Luzon comprising the international airport of the Clark Freeport Zone and the deep-sea port of Subic Freeport Zone.

“One of the lingering legacies of Macapagal-Arroyo was the SubicClark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) that linked the growth centers of Clark and Subic,” according to Lazatin.

Under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the Philippines government successfully negotiated an increased seat entitlement with various countries which enabled Clark International Airport to allow the entry of more local and foreign airlines.

IN LINE with its commitment to sustainable mobility, Allianz PNB Life, through its Ride Safe Movement, unveiled the country’s first solar-powered bike pit stop in San Juan.

“We commend San Juan for taking the lead in establishing biker-friendly areas and it is only fitting that we put up the Philippines’ first solar-powered bike pit stop here. Biking is not just an alternative but an imperative transport solution during these times when we are facing challenges in mobility. Through this pit stop and other safety infrastructure we have put in place in partnership with the city, we hope that more people will be encouraged to use bikes,” said Allianz PNB Life President and CEO Alexander Grenz.

San Juan is known for its Bike Safety campaign. It has been awarded as one of the Most Bike-Friendly Cities in Metro Manila by the Mobility Awards.

The city has designated bike lanes with corresponding safety infrastructure along its major thoroughfares. It has also deployed bike patrollers to ensure the safety of bikers and enforce the city’s strict quarantine protocols. In October, Allianz PNB Life became the exclusive Life Insurance Partner of its Bike Safety campaign.

“We’re very thankful that Allianz PNB Life has chosen the city of San Juan to be their partner for this very innovative, very progressive project,” San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said during the unveiling ceremonies.

QC opens shelter against abuse

By Rio N. Araja

T

HE Quezon City government has opened one of the first local government unit-run shelters for abused women, children, and LGBTs, serving as the highlight to the city’s commemoration of the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women.

Mayor Joy Belmonte led the opening of Bahay Kanlungan to serve as a temporary shelter for victim-survivors of gender-based violence and abuse.

Those admitted to the shelter shall be processed at the hospital-based QC Protection Center in Barangay Bahay Toro, and if needed, referred to the shelter for up to 12 weeks.

“Our protection center is offering various aids, such as medical assistance, legal assistance and counseling. Where could we take them if they feel they are no longer safe at home? That is the purpose of Bahay Kanlungan,” she said.

The facility has 60 beds dedicated for women, children, and lesbians, gays, bi-

sexuals, and transgenders. There is an activity area, reading hub and playing room for kids. The center will also have Wi-Fi and a learning area for children who need to attend online classes and a livelihood training center for women and LGBTs. “The shelter will play an important role during this pandemic,” Belmonte said.

“Based on data, there is an increase of 25 percent to 35 percent in domestic violence amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic since the victim and the abuser just stay under one house. Most often than not, the abuser is one’s partner, spouse or relative,” she cited.

Aside from the physical abuse, she said victims also experience emotional, economic, and financial abuse from their perpetrators.

Belmonte said abused women and children usually have no choice but to endure pain and suffering since they are economically dependent on the perpetrators.

“This is especially true during this pandemic as children are required to stay at home, and many women lost their livelihoods or were forced to stay home to tutor kids and care for the elderly,” she noted.

Private and government partners such as SPARK! Philippines and the Philippine Commission on Women have pledged to support the city’s initiative by providing livelihood for women in the shelter.

According to Belmonte, the city has further strengthened its QC Helpline 122 capabilities with its operators now trained to handle concerns of VAWC victims.

IN BRIEF 59 Pampanga police, civilians get COVID-19

‘HEPA B’ SCREENING. Ninia Torres, General Manager of A. Menarini Philippines, Inc., discusses the free Hepatitis B screening program in partnership with the City of Parañaque.

Free Hepatitis B screening program in Parañaque Autosweep listup THE local government of Paranaque led

by Mayor Edwin Olivarez and pharmaceutical company A. Menarini Philippines have partnered to offer city residents a free Hepatitis B screening program.

This comprehensive program will address the inadequacies of previous screening programs since it will include the importance of linkage to care by providing those with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection access to antiviral

Solar powered bicycle pit stop opens in S’Juan

medications as well as give proper education and information.

This endeavor, which is endorsed by the Hepatology Society of the Philippines and the Yellow Warriors Society of the Philippines, aims to help the citizens of Paranaque raise awareness on the disease, identify and treat patients with HBV and avoid its transmission.

A forum was held last November 25 to discuss proper screening, diagnosis, treat-

ment, and patient management as part of providing continuing medical education to local healthcare professionals.

Dr. Roberto De Guzman from the Hepatology Society of the Philippines provided a lay lecture on Hepatitis B, followed by a patient testimonial from Patrick Saburit, President of Yellow Warriors Society Philippines, aiming to provide better understanding of their fight against the disease.

Sarangani holds MunaTo e-Festival

E-FESTIVAL. This year’s MunaTo festivity is putting the spotlight on the new heroes—

health workers, essential service providers, public servants, and frontliners who are risking their lives to keep the citizens safe, says Sarangani Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon.

SARANGANI has the unique the distinction of being one of the country’s youngest provinces and at the same time, one of the oldest settlements of the 2,000-year old prehistoric man. This ancient allure and modern technology come together as it holds the 18th MunaTo Festival to mark the province’s 28th founding day.

Themed “MunaTo: Iba’t-Ibang Maskara, Bagong Kultura”, it will be unlike previous observances bursting with culture and color, as it will be held electronically online.

“This year’s festivity is putting the spotlight on the new heroes—health workers, essential service providers, public servants, and frontliners who are risking their lives to keep the citizens safe, says Sarangani governor Steve Chiongbian Solon.

He said that MunaTo 2020 is about helping each other and emphasizing health and safety protocols, essential goods and services, education, and obedience to that ensure the people’s wellbeing.

in Navotas slated

FOLLOWING the success of the drive thru Easytrip RFID installation, the City Government of Navotas has scheduled Autosweep registration on November 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The city partnered with San Miguel Corporation (SMC) to accommodate 1,000 vehicles of any class for Autosweep RFID tagging.

The event will be held at the Navotas Bus Terminal and will be run on a first come, first served basis.

“We invite all Navoteño motorists to take advantage of this opportunity. Get your Autosweep RFID sticker this Sunday and enjoy hassle-free transactions at our tollways,” Mayor Toby Tiangco said.

The Autosweep RFID allows cashless and contactless toll payments for motorists passing through the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), the Skyway System, NAIA Expressway, and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

Applicants must download and fill out the Autosweep Subscription Form and submit the same to the designated personnel at the venue. They must also pay P200 for the initial load.

Furthermore, they are advised to wear face mask and stay inside their vehicle during the RFID installation process, bring an exact amount for load payment, and use their own pen.

Tiangco also reminded the public that the southbound lane of C4 and R10--from the Navotas Bus Terminal to the Old Fishport Road--will be closed on the abovementioned date from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The northbound lane will be kept open and will temporarily become twoway. Jun David

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—About 59 personnel including civilian employees of the Pampanga Provincial Police Office have been contracted with coronavirus since the start with the pandemic, top police official in the province revealed over the weekend.

Police Colonel Andres Simbajon Jr., director of the PPO, said however only eight are active cases and are isolated in a quarantine center while the rest have recovered and went back on duty status.

“51 already recovered. No fatality recorded since the start of pandemic among PPO personnel,” said Simbajon adding that PPO is strictly monitoring those in isolation to ensure that they follow the 14-day quarantine because that is what the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases mandates,” Simbajon said.

To prevent further infection among their ranks, Simbajon reminded personnel to always ensure their safety while performing their duty by always observing basic standard protocols such as wearing of face mask, face shields, and practicing good hygiene.

“Aside from those, we also remind our people to avoid the 3Cs which include crowded places, confined spaces, and close contact setting, to lessen the risk of contracting the disease,” the official furthered. Jess Malabanan

P50-m PAGCOR fund goes to CCA building ANGELES CITY—A school building with 10 classrooms and two computer laboratories will be constructed at the City College of Angeles (CCA) as Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. received a P50-million check from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation on Tuesday.

The city mayor wants to ensure that the city is prepared for the return of face-toface classes.

“Isa sa mga tinututukang programa ng aking administrasyon ay ang patuloy na pagsusulong ng edukasyon. Sinisikap natin na bagamat may pandemya, tuloytuloy pa rin ang implementasyon ng mga programang pang-edukasyon, kabilang na rito ang pagpapaayos at pagpapagawa ng mga classrooms,” Lazatin said.

Despite pandemic, the enrollment at CCA increased from 2,481 students last year to 3,341 students this year.

Citing Lazatin’s vision of “No Angeleno children left behind” when it comes to education, Chief Adviser and Tactician Director IC Calaguas said the city government wanted to help CCA accommodate e city scholars should face-to-face classes resume next year. Butch Gunio

Opinion The love letters of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo

MY PREOCCUPATION with the writings of General and First President Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy continues. I have been intermittently going back to Hen. Miong’s unpublished writings after finishing my project with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the publication of “Talang Buhay ng Supremo And. Bonifacio sa Kabite.”

To my group TUKLAS’ (Tunay na Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas) pleasant surprise, the book has been receiving very good feedback. People say that they have acquired a better understanding of the context within which some important events during the Philippine revolution happened.

Some went as far as saying that they now better understand Gen. Aguinaldo, and that their opinion of him changed. Even just for these, I feel good with the decision to make public Gen. Aguinaldo’s handwritten manuscript bearing the same title.

He has become more human in my eyes.

Recently, I took a look at a very thick scrapbook of letters. The first page has a small brown envelope that bears the General’s handwriting that read, “Correspondencias entre Amorosos Con la Senta. Maria Agoncillo.” At the lower part he wrote, “Abierta 17, Jun. 1929.” Like a teenager, my heart skipped a beat in excitement because the thick scrapbook contained the exchange of love letters between Hen. Miong and Maria Agoncillo!

Gen. Aguinaldo was first married to a remarkable Caviteña, Hilaria del Rosario (February 17, 1877–March 6, 1921) on January 1, 1896. Coincidentally, this was also the day that Kawit’s Capitan Municipal then formally joined the Katipunan.

Hilaria was active in the revolution like Hen. Miong. She established the Hijas de la Revolucion (Daughters of the Revolucion) which eventually became the Asociación de la Cruz Roja (Red Cross Association).

Eventually, this became the Philippine National Red Cross. Thus, it can be said that Hilaria del Rosario-Aguinaldo was the founder of the PNRC. Because she was with Gen. Aguinaldo in many revolutionary undertakings, she was also being pursued. She was eventually captured by the Americans in 1900. The couple was reunited after Gen. Aguinaldo’s capture in 1901. The couple had five (5) children namely: Miguel Aguinaldo, Emilio Aguinaldo Jr., Maria Aguinaldo-Poblete, Carmen Aguinaldo-Melencio and Cristina Aguinaldo-Suntay.

Former Supreme Court Justice Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera was a granddaughter of Hilaria and Hen. Miong. Hilaria passed in March, 1921 of pulmonary tuberculosis.

It is public knowledge that Gen. Aguinaldo and Don. Felipe Agoncillo (the country’s first diplomat and husband of Marcela Mariño de Agoncillo, the maker of the first Philippine flag) worked closely during the revolution.

Aguinaldo entrusted F. Agoncillo with the important responsibility of seeking recognition for the Philippines’ independence from foreign countries. Felipe was a top lawyer and he held the General, a high school dropout, in high esteem. The two kept their close friendship beyond the revolution. Felipe often visited Kawit and Miong was reported to have visited Taal a number of times.

Maria Agoncillo (February 15, 1879May 29, 1963) was of the wealthy Agoncillo clan of Taal, Batangas. She was the niece of Felipe Agoncillo. Since Hen. Miong periodically visited Taal, it was natural that the two would meet.

The love letters kept by the General covered more than a decade, from June 1929 to November 1939. A cursory count indicates that there are more than 500 letters in the scrapbook. A good number of these were during the months leading to their wedding on July 14, 1930. Both were already advance in age then and they did not have children of their own.

The way Gen. Aguinaldo kept the scrapbook was very interesting. He arranged the letters chronologically. Some of his letters were even numbered while he noted the dates when he received the letters from Maria. The letters were glued (some together) to the scrapbook.

This created problems for me. Since it was Hen. Miong who did the numbering and notation, I am of the opinion that it was he, himself, who did the scrapbooking while they were still together. This in itself was a labor of love and spoke volumes about his affections for Maria.

She passed in May 1963, some nine months earlier than Miong’s own passing in 1964.

Virtually all the letters were written in Spanish with a sprinkling of few Tagalog sentences here and there. This is a problem for me because I almost failed my Spanish subjects back in the day in UP. This fact made me think about some anti-Aguinaldo modern historians who said that Gen. Aguinaldo did not know Spanish because he did not finish his education.

Still, like a giddy school girl, I attempted to read some of the letters and there were a lot of “kilig” moments even if I did not understand everything. The brave general who led and won battles, who faced the military might of Spain and America, was pleading with Maria to already agree to marry him! I could only say WOW. I was chuckling to myself saying, “isang Maria lang pala ang katapat ng magiting na Heneral. Pinahirapan siya ng husto.”

The letters show the romantic, vulnerable, and sentimental sides of the valiant revolutionary Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

He signed his letters as Miling but Maria adressed him as Mili.

There are letters that mention other big names and events during the revolution.

These stand out to me. I will be on the quest to fully understand what the General told Maria about the revolution. One would think that he would be open, direct, and candid. He would not need to be guarded because it was after all, Maria.

I am excited and thrilled to really work on the love letters. Towards what, I still do not know. For now, because of these, I see the General and First President as a romantic.

This makes him more human in my eyes. @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

Straight from the horse’s mouth precisely the activists.”

And that is on top of his declaration they don’t treat the NPAs as enemies.

Now, let’s get this straight. If Teddy is saying the activists serve as the recruitment ground of the NPAs, then where do we exactly find them? In the various activists’ organization—the leftist organizations.

NAKED THOUGHT CHARLIE V. MANALO IT SEEMS the legal Left is losing its battle on the issue of red-tagging.

Three weeks ago, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison issued a statement denying that he identified leftist organizations as commuTO THE nist fronts in a speech he delivered in 1988.

POINT But no less than a stalwart of the Makabayan bloc, former Rep. Teddy Casiño, has EMIL P. indirectly admitted that leftist organizations serve as a pool for recruitment for the unJURADO derground Left, including its armed component—the New People’s Army.

Actually, Sison’s denial appears to be dubious in itself for the simple reason that it took him all of 32 years to correct himself and blame the military establishment for allegedly splicing the video to make it appear he is betraying his comrades.

Anyway, back to Casiño. In the Senate hearing conducted early this week on the issue of red-tagging, the former solon was quoted saying “Their (NPA’s) first priority for recruitment would be

Here’s a piece of advice to our young people.

Now, if these leftist organizations are indeed the recruitment ground of the CPP and the NPA, then it would be safe to assume there are underground elements embedded in those organizations (Just how can you recruit if you’re from the outside?).

Ergo, if there are underground elements in those organizations, then it could easily suggest these groups serve as fronts for the underground Left. Which is basically the reason why Jose Pepe Goitia, secretary general of Liga Independencia Pilipinas, claims that these organizations, particularly the youth groups, echo the same seditious call of the underground Left.

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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EDITORIAL

New doctors

A

S THE country reels from the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected and killed thousands since the lockdown began in March, it is heartening to note that more than 3,500 new doctors, who will soon be licensed by the Professional Regulation Commission, will join others in the frontline battle against this deadly disease.

the calling—re certain to give the needed muscle to the continuing battle against this overwhelming health emergency which has affected various sectors of Philippine society.

They will rise to the challenge of the times.

We take particular note of this year’s board topnotchers, properly a mirror of inspiration for their peers and those in the younger years, like the board topnotcher Jomel Lapides, his family’s breadwinner who had to work night shifts as a nurse during the first three years of his medicine proper at the state-run Philippine General Hospital.

His story is a roman-fleuve, a legend as it were, which should be looked up to by others who are determined to suc-

We hold the flashlight of a pipe dream that most of these young and idealistic additions to the medical profession will find it in their hearts to rise to the challenge of the times and join their elders in the field in fighting this notoriously undesirable and despicable health concern.

These young medical professionals—3,538 starry-eyed and idealized summation to

ceed academically and eventually make good in the world post graduation.

He has notched a double honor, having copped first place nine years earlier in the nursing board, making his record in the medical board, with an 88.67 percent average as against his 88.40 percent average in the nursing board exams, a lionized and fairy-tale feat.

Another in the top five who should inspire younger medical aspirants is the record registered by Tiffany Uy, with an average of 88.08 percent, who broke the record of the highest grade point average at the University of the Philippines in 2015, and placed fifth in this year’s board exam.

Of course, the other topnotchers and the thousands of board passers carry the thoughts and spur lamp for those still in the academic corridors—with a sparkling lesson that the grit to succeed for one’s self, for one’s family, for one’s profession, and for one’s country cannot be denied to those who are unflinching and strong-minded, whatever head start notwithstanding.

Bring him to court SECTION 2, Article XI of the 1987 Constitution provides, “The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.”

The petition filed by Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. involves three causes of action: 1) The annulment of the proclamation of Robredo; 2) recount and revision of ballots in 36,465 protested clustered precincts; and 3) annulling the election results for vice president in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan on the ground of alleged terrorism; intimidation and harassment of voters as well as pre-shading of ballots in all of the 2,756 protested clustered precincts.

Ironically, the protest is centered in the Muslim-predominated provinces. The declared winner, being stooge of a Catholic front organization, is an insult to the inhabitants of the provinces because the organization that supports her is bigoted to the cause of the Church.

It is a simple petition for a recount, and should the allegation be proven, to annul the proclamation. The petitioner has already rested his case, which is the reason why BBM hastened to submit his petition for decision.

The Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) has the exclusive jurisdiction to decide the case. Section 3 of R.A. No. 1793 provides, to quote: “The Presidential ElecAccording to Goitia, while freedom of speech is guaranteed to all citizens and that opinions expressed by the country’s youth should be welcomed and even encouraged as part of the national conversation as they are integral to nation building, a call to oust the president comes dangerously close to inciting to sedition. This is so if, particularly, it is purely in response to propaganda and half-truths propagated on social media by less-than-ethical politicians looking for media advantage for the coming elections.

It proposes no real solutions to problems, real or imagined, about our government, Goitia says. Rather, it seems calculated and pushed by a minority out to regain power at all costs, which is exactly the program of the CPP and its armed component – the NPA. Rather than calling for an investigation to establish the facts in these problems, which should be the case in a democratic set up, Goitia claims the action proposed defies and defeats democratic ideals. The ouster solution being proffered by these organizations echo the same propaganda line of the underground Left.

So, who is red-tagging these leftist organizations? No one but themselves.

Casiño had laid the premises. The activists are bannering their underground coun-

toral Tribunal shall decide the contest within 20 months after it is filed, and within said period shall declare who among the parties has been elected, or, in the proper case, that none has been elected, and in case of a tie between the candidates for president or for vice-president involved in the contest, one of them shall be chosen President or Vice-President, as the case may be, by a majority vote of the members of the Congress in joint session assembled.”

Justice Leonen seems to think he is above the law.

If counted on the day the petition was filed, which was on June 29, 2016 including the day it was submitted for decision that allowed Justice Marvic Leonen to sleep on it for more than 11 months, the petition has effectively been pending for more than three years. This shameless presiding justice of the PET committed a betrayal of public trust, which for every second of the delay prejudices the right of the petitioner.

As one luminary would legally theorize the case, between what is constitutional and the law that was violated, common sense dictates that people will give priority to prevent a violation than in analyzing whether the action is unconstitutional which is presumptive.

Although the petition is for PET to decide the validity of the proclamation, the delay has transformed it to a continuing crime. Leonen already violated that law, and that violation persists to be rightly classified as obstruction of justice. It is no longer Robredo that is committing the offense against the petitioner and the people who voted for BBM but the justice himself, for he stands as the one personally committing and perpetuating the crime.

The malicious and premeditated delay terpart’s propaganda line and program.

They don’t treat the CPP and the NPA as enemies, which could be the reason why they celebrate their anniversaries. So, why accuse Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade of something they have been doing to themselves?

No amount of crocodile tears could deny the fact they are themselves to blame. There is one video even showing Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago gracing a cultural activity organized to commemorate the anniversary of Kabataang Makabayan, the underground organization of the youth.

Another photo circulating shows Elago sporting a hammer and sickle bandana over her head, hiking in a mountainous trail beside someone who appears to be an activist who had “gone missing” after being recruited at the age of 16.

It’s their words and action betraying them.

And now they’re saying they fear for their lives because they are being linked to the underground Left. I still can’t reconcile.

Anyway, let me end this article with a piece of advice from Goitia, “We call on our youth to participate in nation building. Talk to us about solutions. Abandon the false ideals whispered to you by those who desperately need your numbers to bolster

in rendering a decision can no longer be adjudged as a political act requiring the impeachment of a member of the Supreme Court but one of seeking to remove him by direct court action.

The continuing transgression by Leonen constitutes an open defiance of the law that cannot be tolerated to stretch his act to one of indefinite and continuing violation. His despicable act sets a bad example why a criminal case must be lodged against him.

If the crime constitutes a single act, that means it was immediately consummated, and is a valid ground for impeaching a bigoted justice under Section 2, Article XI. The validity in classifying betrayal of public trust as a continuing offense is predicated that the offense persists to prejudice the rights of the electorate whether or not they voted for or against BBM. The premeditated, malicious and contemptuous act of Leonen amounts to depriving the voters their right to know who rightly won in the 2016 election.

The mandate of the PET to decide the case within 20 months is warranted and justified because the offense continues to be violated by his malicious tantrum. In fact, this lazy justice has 82 pending cases under his sala. Strangely, he was quick to throw out the petition for him to inhibit filed by the petitioner and the Solicitor General because his ego was pricked.

He was appointed justice of the Supreme Court without him serving even as prosecutor or as municipal judge, and at one point he challenged the Solicitor General by threatening him of a “show cause” order for wanting him to disclose his SALN which is required by law.

As one lawyer commented, Leonen is far from being a legal scholar as projected by his patron. The Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional his “masterpiece” called Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain in October 2012. full version at www.manilastandard.net their rapidly diminishing support.

“Stay in school. Learn more. Learn better.

You will be better equipped to make meaningful change.

“And you will be within the bounds of the law.”

MORE OPINION ONLINE

(www.manilastandard.net)

Advent and informed hope

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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Germany posts one million virus infections

G

ERMANY, once a beacon of hope in Europe’s coronavirus nightmare, logged its one millionth case on Friday, as questions emerged over just how much protection is offered by one of the leading vaccine candidates.

Like much of the continent, Germany is battling a resurgence of a pandemic that shows little sign of retreating before the release of several leading inoculations.

But the developers of one of the jabs, British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, said Thursday that further research was needed after mixed results were produced in a late-stage trial.

The complication came as millions of Americans gathered for Thanksgiving in defiance of Covid-19 guidelines, despite the US registering a six-month high of more than 2,400 deaths.

Germany had largely contained the spread of the virus in the spring but has been hit hard by a second wave of infections.

Its Robert Koch Institute for disease control recorded more than 22,000 new daily cases on Friday, pushing the country’s total beyond the one million mark.

The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care nationwide has soared from just over 360 in early October to more than 3,500 last week.

Europe’s biggest economy has shuttered restaurants, bars, sporting facilities and cultural venues, though schools and shops remain open.

But the rules will be temporarily eased over Christmas and New Year to accommodate the celebrations, allowing meetings of up to 10 adults from December 23 to New Year’s Day. Many nations are pinning their hopes on a vaccine to end the misery, with two jabs on the cusp of approval by authorities after showing about 95 percent efficacy in trials.

But a third candidate by AstraZeneca faced uncertainty Friday after researchers accidentally discovered it performed best when a half dose is given followed by a full one, rather than two full doses.

The vaccine has nevertheless been submitted to Britain’s regulator for approval.

In the meantime much of the world faces a gloomy winter dampened by lockManila downs, economic anxiety and Standard devastating human loss.

TODAY US President-elect Joe Biden however offered a message of N OTICE hope on Thursday in a ThanksNotice is hereby given that COMMUNITIES giving video address that rallied TARLAC, INC. with office address at LGF Bldg. B, Americans to pull together to deEvia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City is applying for registration with the Board feat the outbreak. of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of “I know better days are comEconomic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the Preferred List-Mass Housing (Camella Nueva Ecija ing, I know how bright our fuTrails) with a capacity of 416 house and lot units on ture is. I know the 21st century a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. is going to be an American cenValle Cruz, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. tury,” he said.

Any person with valid objection/s on the aboveBiden said he normally travels mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the to the New England coast for a big date of this publication. family feast but would be staying home in Delaware this year for a (SGD) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA small get-together. AFP Director

HEALTH PROTOCOL. A school official checks the body temperature of students wearing facemasks as they enter a school amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Karachi on November 25, 2020. Intensive care units across Pakistan are nearing capacity as a second, deadlier wave of the coronavirus builds momentum and officials struggle to counter public indifference to the pandemic. AFP

Iranian diplomat on trial in Belgium for bomb plot AN IRANIAN diplomat went on trial in Belgium on Friday accused of plotting to bomb an Iranian opposition rally outside Paris, in a case that has stoked tensions with Tehran.

Assadollah Assadi, formerly based in Vienna, faces a 20-year prison term if convicted of being behind the attack thwarted in June 2018.

Assadi, 48, refused to appear in the dock, claiming immunity but, as he was arrested in Germany and his diplomatic accreditation was in Austria, Belgian prosecutors believe they have the right to proceed.

The trial was to continue with the lawyer, Dimitri de Beco, representing his client.

Three others are on trial: a BelgianIranian couple, Nasimeh Naami, 36, and Amir Saadouni, 40, accused of taking the bomb from him to plant at the opposition gathering; and Mehrdad Arefani, 57, a Belgium-based Iranian poet allegedly in frequent telephone contact with Assadi.

The three co-accused all appeared in court. They, too, face up to 20 years behind bars if found guilty.

All four are charged with attempting

to carry out a terrorist attack and taking er Maryam Rajavi were to attend. part in the activity of a terrorist group.

The day of the rally, Belgian police The case shines an uncomfortable intercepted Naami and Saadouni driving light on Tehran’s international activities from Antwerp with half a kilo of TATP just as it hopes for a thaw in relations explosives and a detonator in their car. with the West as US President Donald Assadi was arrested while he was Trump, who pulled Washington out of travelling through Germany where he the Iran nuclear deal, is due to leave had no immunity from prosecution, beoffice. ing outside the country of his diplomatic In June 2018, Belgian authorities posting. thwarted what they said was an attempt Arefani, who had lived in Belgium MAGENTA to smuggle explosives to France toCYAN at- for more thanYELLOW a decade, BLACK was arrested in tack a meeting of one of Iran’s exiled France in 2018 after Belgium issued a opposition movements which was at- European arrest warrant. tended by close Trump allies.

“We can’t imagine the scale of the Later that year, the French disaster averted,” said lawyer Georgesgovernment accused Iran’s intelligence Henri Beauthier, representing the NCRI, service of being behind the operation, along with French colleague William a charge the Islamic republic has Bourdon. furiously denied.

Outside the court, Bourdon declared: The National Council of Resistance “It’s an unprecedented, historic trial. in Iran (NCRI), which includes the It’s the first time that, symbolically, the People’s Mojahedin of Iran or (MEK), mullahs’ regime is in the dock and will organised its rally in Villepinte outside be judged through the case against its Paris for June 30, 2018. so-called diplomats.”

Several well-known international figCounsel representing those targeted ures—including Trump lawyer Rudy by the alleged attack say Arefani was Giuliani and former British officials as close to Assadi, said to be the architect well as Franco-Colombian former sena- of the plot, and point to an Austrian SIM tor Ingrid Betancourt—and NCRI lead- card found in his possession. AFP

Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

(MS-NOV. 28, 2020)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that COMMUNITIES TARLAC, INC. with office address at LGF Bldg. B, Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a New Developer of Economic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the Preferred List-Mass Housing (Camella Capas) with a capacity of 514 economic and low-cost units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. Dolores, Capas, Tarlac.

Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (MS-NOV. 28, 2020)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that COMMUNITIES TARLAC, INC. with office address at LGF Bldg. B, Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of Economic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the Preferred List-Mass Housing (Camella San Jose) with a capacity of 193 house and lot units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. Caanawan, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (MS-NOV.28, 2020)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that THE NEW APEC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION with office address at Unit 1603-1605 The Orient Square Bldg. F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a New Developer of Economic Housing Project (Sonoma Residences Ext. A) with a capacity of 691 economic housing units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (MS-NOV. 28, 2020)

IN BRIEF

Nigeria receives 600-year old artifact smuggled to the Netherlands NIGERIA has received a “priceless” terracotta head believed to be at least 600 years old which was smuggled to the Netherlands, the information minister said.

It was taken from southwestern city of Ile-Ife and smuggled through Ghana.

Dutch ambassador to Nigeria Harry Van Dijk on Thursday returned it to Information Minister Lai Mohammed in a ceremony in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

“The smuggler had obtained forged documents” to take it out of the country, Mohammed was quoted as saying in a statement.

Dutch customs intercepted it at Amsterdam airport and “alerted the.. Information and Heritage Inspectorate of the Netherlands to give an opinion,” the statement said.

Dutch officials then contacted their Nigerian counterparts, leading to the return of the “priceless and timeless” artefact, Mohammed said.

Hundreds of Nigerian artefacts, including Benin bronzes stolen during precolonial and colonial period, are in museums in Europe and the United States.

Mohammed said Nigeria would continue to seek their return. AFP

HK prison staff castigated for cutting dissident’s hair

‘BAD STUDENT’ RALLY. This photo taken with a tilt-shift lens shows protesters

dressed in dinosaur costumes—which pro-democracy activists said represents the older generation of Thai politicians—during a ‘Bad Student’ rally in Bangkok on November 21, 2020. AFP

Freed Australian-British academic back in Canberra after 2-yr ordeal AN AUSTRALIAN-BRITISH academic released after two years imprisoned in Iran on spying charges returned to Australia on Friday, local media reported.

Middle East scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert touched down at an airport in the capital Canberra, public broadcaster ABC said.

Her arrival took place away from public spotlight, with the Australian government saying the 33-year-old had requested privacy as she comes to terms with her ordeal.

She was released on Wednesday after what she called two “traumatic” years behind bars, in a swap for three Iranians linked to a botched Bangkok bomb plot.

A government jet flew into Canberra on Friday evening from an airbase on the country’s west coast, where it is believed Moore-Gilbert was transferred

from her initial flight out of the Middle East.

She was arrested by Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2018, after attending an academic conference in the holy city of Qom in central Iran.

She was later charged with espionage and sentenced to ten years in jail, allegations she has denied.

“I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions,” she said in a statement on her release, praising the “warm-hearted, generous and brave” Iranian people, despite what she called a “long and traumatic ordeal”.

Her release was secured as part of a prisoner swap for three men: Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, Mohammad Khazaei and wheelchair-bound Saeid Moradi, who blew off his own legs with homemade explosives. AFP

HONG KONG prison staff were wrong to cut off the locks of veteran dissident “Long Hair”, the city’s top court said Friday, in the second significant ruling against authorities this month.

The decision comes as pro-establishment voices call for an overhaul of the judiciary—something opponents fear could muzzle the Hong Kong legal system’s vaunted independence as Beijing cracks down on critics.

The ruling by the Court of Final Appeal is the culmination of a long legal battle by Leung Kwok-hung, 64, who served a brief jail sentence in 2014 linked to his protesting.

Better known by the sobriquet “Long Hair”, he is one of the city’s veteran dissidents, beginning his career campaigning against British colonial rule and later becoming a fierce critic of Beijing.

A panel of top judges unanimously ruled that Leung’s rights had been breached under sexual discrimination laws when his hair was cut in jail. AFP

Taiwan lawmakers hurl pig organs in protest OPPOSITION lawmakers hurled pig organs inside Taiwan’s parliament on Friday to protest the government’s decision to ease restrictions on pork imports from the United States.

Taiwan’s notoriously rambunctious legislature frequently sees chaotic clashes between rival lawmakers but Friday’s scuffles were particularly novel.

Lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang party dumped buckets of pork offal on the debating chamber floor and then proceeded to hurl intestines, hearts, liver and other organs at their rivals.

Taiwan’s government recently announced it would allow imports of US pork fed with the additive ractopamine from 1 January.

The supplement improves leanness but is banned in places like the European Union and China.

Officials in Washington have made it clear restrictions on US pork and beef imports are a key stumbling block to the US and Taiwan signing a trade deal. AFP

Business

B3

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks tumble; BPI, Aboitiz drop S TOP GAINERS PSEi November 27, 2020

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

MACAY LCB MBC ATN VLL LC MAHB WLCON PCOR DWC

LAST PRICE 8.99 0.154 13.2 1.03 4.75 0.156 2.16 18 4.27 1.82

CHANGE 1.08 0.014 1.2 0.08 0.35 0.011 0.15 1.2 0.26 0.11

% CHANGE 13.65% 10.00% 10.00% 8.42% 7.95% 7.59% 7.46% 7.14% 6.48% 6.43%

TOP LOSERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

IPM MFC JOH COAL BPI MED SM HI LSC AEV

LAST PRICE 4.35 731 4.99 0.31 83 0.34 970 3.93 0.98 42.2

CHANGE -0.5 -69 -0.43 -0.02 -5 -0.02 -55 -0.22 -0.05 -2.1

% CHANGE -10.31% -8.63% -7.93% -6.06% -5.68% -5.56% -5.37% -5.30% -4.85% -4.74%

TOCKS slumped Friday on continued profit taking, with investors worried over a frightening surge in virus infections across the United States and Europe, the Philippines’ two major trading partners.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index plunged 136.29 points, or 2 percent, to 6,791.46 on a value turnover of P27.6 billion. Gainers, however, beat losers, 129 to 75, with 50 issues unchanged after some investors picked up second-tier issues.

Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, fell 5.7 percent to P83, while SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group declined 5.4 percent to P970.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures of the Abotiz Group dropped 4.7 percent to P42.20, while unit Aboitiz Power Corp. dipped 4.4 percent to P25.75.

The rest of Asian markets maintained their upward momentum Friday, heading into the weekend on a strong note with investors continuing to take heart

from the prospect of vaccines being rolled out in the next few weeks.

With US markets closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, Asian markets were subdued in early trade but found their mojo as the day wore on.

Hong Kong extended its rally into a sixth day and Shanghai rose more than one percent, while there were also gains in Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta.

But Sydney dropped 0.5 percent after China said it would impose anti-dumping measures on Australian wine, in a further ramping up of tensions between the two countries.

Hopes are high that with at least three inoculations in the pipeline, life can begin to get back to normal next year and give a much-needed boost to the battered global economy.

News of the vaccine successes have sent stocks powering higher, led by airlines and other tourism-linked companies.

Adding to the upbeat mood are easing worries about US political uncertainty after Joe Biden’s election win and Donald Trump’s announcement Thursday that while he thinks the vote was rigged he will step aside if the

Electoral College hands him defeat next month.

However, the rally has been kept in check by a frightening surge in virus infections, with some other countries including Japan and South Korea now seeing spikes.

There are also worries about a further acceleration in the US after millions ignored official advice and traveled across the country to celebrate Thanksgiving, with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci saying he expected to see “a surge superimposed upon a surge” after the holiday.

The increase in new cases has forced governments to reimpose lockdowns and other economically painful containment measures that have raised concerns about the already stuttering recovery.

“Vaccine optimism continues to stir momentum going into December that could confront a slowing economy and liquidity difficulties,” said Ben Emons at Medley Global Advisors.

Investors were also given a slight jolt after British pharma giant AstraZeneca said its vaccine, one of the three preparing to be authorized, needed further research after questions emerged over how much protection it offers. With AFP

MOST ACTIVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

BPI RLC SMPH ALI BDO SM GLO HVN AC JGS

VOLUME 79,392,190 167,398,500 64,400,700 41,245,100 12,211,250 1,203,935 532,510 2,275,810 1,111,390 10,901,120

VALUE (PHP) 6,668,544,307.50 2,786,814,146.00 2,317,549,535.00 1,557,528,935.00 1,266,381,129.00 1,174,993,270.00 1,041,018,245.00 978,678,250.00 913,990,860.00 715,925,064.00

NO-AUDIENCE PARADE. The “Red Titan” balloon floats during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York November 26, 2020. Due to the pandemic Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will air nationwide as a television-only event with no audience. AFP

French ski lift ban baffles, angers mayors and winter resort owners PARIS—The French government on Thursday said winter sport resorts are free to open for the Christmas holiday season but ski lifts will have to remain shut, prompting bafflement from players in the sector over an “incomprehensible” decision.

President Emmanuel Macron warned Tuesday that coronavirus risks made it “impossible” to allow winter sports to resume quickly, adding he hoped that restrictions could be lifted in January.

France’s 350 ski resorts have been up in arms over the decision, saying the weeks around Christmas and New Year are crucial for their survival as they account for up to a quarter of their annual revenues.

Prime Minister Jean Castex said mountain holidays were still on the cards but downhill skiing—by far the most popular pastime for crowds of French and foreign skiers in Alpine and Pyrenees resorts—was effectively ruled out.

Hotels will be open with the national

lockdown due to be lifted on December 15. But in accordance with national guidelines, bars and restaurants will remain shut until January at the earliest.

“Naturally, everybody is free to travel to resorts to enjoy the clean air of our beautiful mountains, and the shops which will be open, although bars and restaurants won’t be,” Castex told a news conference.

“But all ski lifts and collective infrastructures will be closed to the public,” he said.

Cross-country skiing, sledding and snowshoe hikes are among snow activities that do not usually require mechanical lifts.

The decision “is totally incomprehensible” said Jean-Luc Boch, head of the Alpine mayors’ association ANMSM. “400 people on a Paris metro won’t get infected, but four people on a ski lift will?,” he asked.

“At least they should be upfront about wanting to kill off the resorts,” Boch said of the government. AFP

Former Berlin airport is vaccination center BERLIN—A large “Welcome” sign still hangs outside Berlin’s Tegel airport, which closed for good in November.

But thousands of people are soon expected to start walking through its doors again every day, once its Terminal C building has been refitted as a vaccination center against the novel coronavirus from mid-December.

Germany is hoping to ramp up its immunization drive in the first quarter of 2021 and is already laying the groundwork for 60 hubs across the country.

While Health Minister Jens Spahn insists that vaccination will not be compulsory, Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament on Thursday that vaccines represented “a light at the end of the tunnel” for Germany.

The country has seen case numbers

stabilize since leisure and sporting facilities and indoors dining were closed in early November, but the caseload remains high, with 22,268 new infections and 389 deaths reported on Thursday.

The winter will be tough, but “I believe that we will see significant progress next year,” Merkel said, describing vaccines as a sign of “hope.”

The federal government will be responsible for the purchase and delivery of the jabs, while the regional states will provide equipment and choose the locations for the vaccination centers.

At Tegel, “we will be vaccinating 3,000 to 4,000 people a day,” Albrecht Broemme, in charge of setting up the German capital’s vaccination centers, told AFP. AFP

China puts anti-dumping measures on Aussie wine BEIJING—China on Friday said it would impose anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine, the latest salvo in an increasingly terse standoff between the two that has worsened since Canberra called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

Beijing on several occasions used the threat of diminished access to its vast domestic market as a stick to beat Australia since flagging the probe and has suspended imports of some products including beef and timber.

In the latest blow, China’s commerce ministry announced wine importers will be forced to pay deposits of as 107-212 percent of the value of their goods at customs, saying the move was in response to “substantive harm caused to the relevant domestic wine industry.”

But Australia’s trade minister Simon Birmingham on Friday blasted the punitive measure as “grossly unfair, unwarranted, unjustified,” and called the dumping accusation “erroneous in fact and in substance.”

At a news conference, Birmingham said there was a “perception” that China was engaging in a “deliberate strategy, piling on pressure in a number of different sectors.”

Canberra would continue to raise with the World Trade Organization “our concerns about the number and cumulative effect of China’s trade sanctions against Australia,” he said.

China’s ministry of commerce said in August it would probe dumping—when a country sells goods in a country for less than it costs at home— throughout 2019, at the request of the Wine Industry Association of China.

Wine exports to China hit a record A$1.3 billion (US$900 million) last year, according to Australian government data, making it the biggest market by value for Australia.

The news sent shares in Treasury Wine Estates Limited—which owns the popular Penfolds brands—tumbling more than 11 percent before trade was halted.

China’s commerce ministry has complained Australian wines benefit from government subsidies that give them an advantage over Chinese products. AFP

COVID-19 dampens holiday cheer for small Black businesses

By Patrick Fallon with John Biers in New York LOS ANGELES—It’s been a rough year for Black-owned small businesses in the United States, and the latest surge in coronavirus cases suggests a festive season without much celebration.

“Black Friday” normally kicks off the holiday shopping season the morning after Thanksgiving. But rising coronavirus cases have prompted fresh restrictions in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

The new rules mean Hotville Chicken, a south Los Angeles restaurant specializing in “Nashvillestyle” spicy dishes, will have to shut its outdoor eating space after already closing the dining room.

“It’s going to hurt,” said owner Kim Prince, who expects the business should pull through with pickup and delivery.

Many stores like “One of a Kind Hats” are still open, but struggling.

“It’s really slow,” said owner Meeka Robinson Davis, who estimates sales of her custom-made hats are down about 70 percent because her cliental no longer needs items for church, weddings or other gatherings.

“Where are people going? They’re not going anywhere.”

At least three businesses on Davis’ block have shuttered as she turns to personal savings and grant funds to stay afloat.

Between March 1 and August 31, 163,735 businesses on Yelp closed across the US, with about 60 percent permanently shut, the website said in September.

Non-white businesses have been hit harder. An August Federal Reserve of New York paper said Black small businesses fell by 41 compared with a 17 percent drop in white-owned businesses.

Factors behind this difference include the more severe health toll of coronavirus among communities of

Founder and owner Joel Stallworth stands in his store, The Small Shop L.A., with “Lost In Los Angeles” podcast co-host and designer Chanelle Jones, in downtown Los Angeles, California, November 24, 2020. It’s been a rough year for Black-owned small businesses, and the latest surge in coronavirus cases suggests a festive season without much celebration. AFP

color and weaker banking relationships that positioned Black companies unfavorably for federal small business supports, according to the Fed paper.

“COVID-19 has exacerbated these issues and businesses in the hardest hit communities have witnessed huge disparities in access to federal relief funds and a higher rate of business closures,” said Claire Kramer Mills, assistant vice president at the New York Fed. E-commerce pivot Pinning down the total number of Los Angeles casualties is difficult, because some companies have relocated or scaled back to bare bones, said Joe Rouzan III, chief executive of the non-profit Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) in Los Angeles.

“Not until the dust settles with Covid will we see the full effect, but we know there’s going to be some serious damage,” he said. “When you look at Covid, we haven’t even peaked yet.”

Some companies have been able to

pivot their businesses through growing e-commerce sales.

Eso Won Books maintained online orders when the store shut in March, leading to reduced revenues that necessitated salary cuts, said co-owner James Fugate.

But the store received an unexpected burst of demand in June after author Ibram Kendi mentioned the shop in a radio interview in the wake of racial justice protests following the killing of George Floyd.

That prompted thousands of online orders as texts on antiracism and Black history rose on the best-seller list, boosting the bookstore that has been a fixture in the Black community for years.

Fugate said sales have ebbed somewhat since June but remain relatively high.

“It’s been an incredible summer for books you like to sell,” Fugate said, adding that he is “praying” for restaurants and other businesses that are under duress. AFP

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

B4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Business

PSE INDEX

Friday, NOVEMBER 27, 2020

-136.29 PTS. 6,791.46

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

4,516,781,147 153,712 27,647,302,340.11 129 75 50

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.1020

Japan

Yen

0.009592

0.4614

UK

Pound

1.336200

64.2739

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129019

6.2061

Switzerland

Franc

1.103631

53.0869

Canada

Dollar

0.768462

36.9646

Singapore

Dollar

0.747105

35.9372

Australia

Dollar

0.736100

35.4079

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652309

127.5814

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

12.8269

Brunei

Dollar

0.744325

35.8035

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.033058

1.5902

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.0968

Euro

Euro

1.191700

57.3232

Korea

Won

0.000905

0.0435

China

Yuan

0.152112

7.3169

India

Rupee

0.013544

0.6515

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.246002

11.8332

New Zealand

Dollar

0.700500

33.6955

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035089

1.6879 Source: BSP

Shell opens another oil terminal in Subic Bay

By Alena Mae S. Flores PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp., the country’s second largest oil company, said Friday it opened another import facility in Subic Bay to strengthen its supply chain in the northern parts of Luzon.

The company said in a statement the move would support government’s efforts to jumpstart the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We share government’s optimism and remain committed as the country’s partner in nation-building by leveraging our global expertise to strengthen our presence in the Philippines and bolstering supply ahead of Asia’s anticipated bounce-back in fuel demand,” said Pilipinas Shell president and chief executive Cesar Romero.

The Subic facility is Pilipinas Shell’s third medium range vessel-capable import terminal and can receive 54 million liters of finished products in one shipment.

This allows the company to maximize its efficiency and minimize transshipment costs.

It said the Subic facility completed a robust supply triangle that Pilipinas Shell created across the nation with the Tabangao refinery-turned-import terminal in Batangas and the North Mindanao Import Facility in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao.

Romero said the expanded fuel supply network underpinned the company’s thrust to expand its number of retail stations as it remained committed in the Philippines as a partner in nation-building “At Shell, we seek to further power progress in the Philippines by fueling economic growth through an efficient and reliable supply of world-class products,” Romero said.

The Subic facility, strategically located to enhance access to Regions I, II, III and the Cordillera Administrative Region, is an addition to Pilipinas Shell’s network of terminals and complements the two import terminals.

Pilipinas Shell started the transformation of its Tabangao oil refinery into a world-class full import facility from petroleum, re-investing at least P1 billion in the next few years in this project.

The company said the Tabangao facility would meet the demand not just in Metro Manila but also in Southern Luzon and Northern Visayas with its 263-million liter capacity.

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. is open to getting more local and foreign partners for the planned rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport complex, a top executive said Friday.

Megawide chairman and chief executive Edgar Saavedra said in a press briefing following the company’s P4.36-billion preferred shares offering at the Philippine Stock Exchange

Pag-IBIG defers hike in contribution rate Pag-IBIG Fund said it will defer the January 2021 increase of members’ monthly contributions in consideration of the plight of both workers and business owners during the pandemic.

Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the 11-member PagIBIG Fund Board of Trustees, said they approved the recommendation of the Pag-IBIG Fund management to delay the increase in the monthly contributions of its members from P100 to P150 in 2021, and move the implementation by one year to January 2022. The deferment also applies to the share of their employers.

“We know that many of our members and employers faced financial challenges in the last few months because of the effects brought about by the pandemic to the economy. After consulting with our stakeholders, we will no longer push through with the increase of the members’ monthly contributions next year. This is in line with the efforts of the administration of President Duterte to alleviate the financial burden of our fellow Filipinos and help businesses recover,” Del Rosario said.

Globe Telecom buys cloud service provider

BDO ASSISTANCE. BDO Foundation sends relief packs containing food, rice and drinking water to over 14,000 families in Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Quezon—provinces hit hardest by the typhoons ‘Quinta’, ‘Rolly’ and ‘Ulysses’. The corporate citizenship initiative is made possible by officers of BDO and BDO Network Bank branches who helped gather beneficiary information and identify barangays that needed assistance. BDO Remit—the remittance service brand of BDO Unibank—also waived the remittance fee on donations from overseas Filipinos coursed through different foundations.

Dominguez asks BIR to probe alleged rice import ‘dummies’

By Julito G. Rada

F

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Friday he asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs to help the Department of Agriculture in investigating the reported use of cooperatives by private traders as dummies for rice imports.

Dominguez issued the order during a recent executive committee meeting of the Department of Finance, following the DA’s decision to temporarily suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances to farmers’ cooperatives and irrigators’ associations for commercial purposes.

Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko said while cooperatives were not exempted from paying duties to import rice, they could be excluded from

paying the income tax on these imports if they were registered with the BIR as tax-exempt entities.

“There’s this question now as to why traders are using coops to import rice …. Let’s look into that because they might be using the tax advantage on rice imports,” Dominguez, a former agriculture secretary, told BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay and BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero during the meeting.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar issued Department Administrative Order (AO) No. 34 in October to suspend the SPSICs to coops and irrigators associations, effectively barring them from importing rice, after the DA received reports that these organizations had resorted to rice imports rather than carry out their purpose of procuring local rice from farmers.

Both the DOF and DA also received reports that the SPSICs issued to cooperatives were misused by traders to avoid legal responsibilities and evade the payment of the correct amount of import taxes.

Dar also directed the Bureau of Plant Industry to conduct an investigation and consult with affected stakeholders, “to come up with new policies and rules to avoid circumvention of the laws and to protect not only the farmers and their cooperatives from exploitation and abuse but [also] the welfare of all Filipinos.”

FARM DRONE. Artificial intelligence-driven drone revolutionizes Philippines’ rice farming as Bayer Crop Science completes a “drone seeding” demonstration in Paniqui, Tarlac that is significantly eliminating costly and time-consuming labor in rice planting. The technology demonstration in Barangay Sampot shows the success of using drone to broadcast rice seeds. Sabog tanim, or direct seeding, is a method of sowing rice seeds.

The drone seed spreading service fee is placed at only P3,000 per hectare for Bayer Arize farmer-customers. Labor cost for transplanting rice traditionally costs P11,000 to P13,000 a hectare.

Peso climbs to new four-year high as it nears 47:$1 territory THE peso on Friday climbed to a new four-year high near the 47-a-dollar boundary, bolstered by the improving equities market and narrowing trade deficit.

Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed that the peso closed at 48.06 a dollar on Friday, stronger than its 48.115 a dollar finish on Thursday. It was the local currency’s strongest level since it settled at 47.99 against the greenback on Sept. 23, 2016.

Volume turnover reached $783 million Friday, also up from $575 million Thursday.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said that amid the COVID-19 crisis, the peso remained stable and was one of the strongest cur-

rencies in the region.

“The strength of the Philippine peso is reflective of our sound macroeconomic fundamentals, which was achieved through years of resolute structural and economic reforms,” he said.

Diokno expressed optimism that the economy would recover in the coming months from the impact of natural calamities and the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

He said that as restrictions were slowly lifted and economic sectors gradually reopened, “the BSP expects the Philippine economy to bounce back and grow from 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2021 and 2022.”

“Indeed, we have been through diffi-

cult times. Yet, there are signs that the economy is on the road to recovery,” Diokno said in an online forum.

The economy contracted by 10 percent in the first three quarters amid the pandemic, following 21 years of uninterrupted growth.

Diokno mentioned some signs that pointed to economic recovery, including the stable inflation which remained within the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent and averaged 2.5 percent in the first 10 months.

He said even with the huge financing requirements to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the economy’s debt profile remained manageable.

Julito G. Rada

Megawide welcome to more foreign and local partners in NAIA rehabilitation project

By Jenniffer B. Austria

IN BRIEF

several local and foreign companies expressed interest in teaming up with the company for the expansion of the country’s main gateway.

“We are open for partnership either as financial investors or strategic local and foreign investors,” Saavedra said.

Saavedra said talks with potential partners could be finalized once the NAIA redevelopment was officially awarded to the company.

Megawide already tapped GMR In-

frastructure Limited of India as a partner in the project. Under the partnership, Megawide will hold a controlling 60-percent interest while GMR will retain 40 percent.

Under the updated unsolicited proposal for the NAIA rehabilitation plan, the consortium will spend P109 billion under a 25-year concession period. The company will construct the project in three phases such as the improvement of airside and terminals and the connection via bus rapid transit.

They will also build a new terminal, additional taxi lanes and an elevated railway.

Megawide expects to secure the government’s approval for the project before the end of the year while the Swiss Challenge would likely be completed by the first quarter of 2021.

Megawide raised P4.36 billion from Series 2A and Series 2B preferred shares offering, which were almost 1.5-times oversubscribed from the base offer of P3 billion.

GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Friday it acquired a US-based cloud managed service provider.

Globe said unit GTI Business Holdings Inc. completed the acquisition of the assets of USbased Cascadeo Corp. and Cascadeo Partners and Cascadeo’s Philippine subsidiary Cascadeo Inc. for $4 million, or P200 million.

“Despite facing many challenges this year, we were determined to be recognized as the country’s chief cloud collaborator,” Globe Business senior vice president Peter Maquera said.

“The pandemic only emphasized how critical digitalization is. In order to survive, companies have to respond with transformed ways of thinking and operating. For Globe, the uncertainties the world has faced pushed us to strengthen what we were always known for— being digital. This propelled us to go all-in on our partnership with Cascadeo so we can prepare companies for a future that embraces the Cloud,” he said.

Globe Business, the enterprise arm of Globe, has been working closely with Cascadeo to help enterprises remain competitive amid an evolving digital landscape.

Darwin G. Amojelar

PLDT, Smart affirm support for MSMEs PLDT Inc. and wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. continue to recognize the hard work of local entrepreneurs in helping keep the economy afloat amid the global COVID-19 crisis.

PLDT and Smart, at the invitation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the UN Global Compact Network Philippines, presented actionable solutions and policy recommendations at the GCNP-UNIDO Sustainability Summit 2020: Uniting Business to Support MSME Recovery and Resilience.

The virtual event highlighted the resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises that were the most impacted sector in the Philippines in this time of pandemic.

The 2020 Sustainability Summit followed PLDT and Smart’s participation in the organization’s exclusive Business Expert Group Meetings. PLDT-Smart chief sustainability officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla shared the group’s inputs valuable towards understanding the challenges in, and possible solutions to, the recovery and resilience-building of MSMEs amid the COVID-19 crisis.

AC Energy raises $300m from green dollar bond issue AC ENERGY and Infrastructure Corp., formerly AC Energy Inc., the energy platform of Ayala Corp., said Friday it issued US dollar-denominated senior perpetual fixed-for-life (nondeferrable) green bonds worth $300 million.

“We are very pleased to see the high level of investor confidence in AC Energy and the strong market response to our perpetual green bond, following our maiden green bond in 2019. We believe that this will power AC Energy in its pursuit to scale up renewable investments in the region as we continue the transition to a low carbon portfolio,” AC Energy president and chief executive Eric Francia said in a statement.

AC Energy said it would use the net proceeds from the bonds to fund a tender offer and $400-million senior perpetual fixed-for-life notes callable in December 2022, and the balance to finance eligible green energy projects.

The bonds carry a fixed coupon of 5.1 percent. The issue represents the first Philippine fixed-for-life perpetual bond offering since November 2019 and the first public green bond out of the Philippines in 2020.

The company-guaranteed bonds were issued by AC Energy Finance International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary, under a $2-billion medium term note program.

The bonds, listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd., were certified as ASEAN Green Bonds by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 18.

The bonds were priced at 5.1 percent which was 30 basis points tighter than initial price guidance.

The company said the final order book volume exceeded $1.3 billion, which made it 4.33-times oversubscribed, from a wide range of high quality investors.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Sports

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

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Hamilton focused despite achievement

Election Committee Chairman Atty. Teodoro Kalaw IV (left) and member Frank Elizalde declare Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino as POC president.

NFL MVP Jackson tests positive for coronavirus

LOS ANGELES—Baltimore Ravens star player Lamar Jackson has tested positive for the coronavirus, US media reported Thursday.

The 23-year-old quarterback’s positive test leaves the status of Baltimore’s Sunday game against unbeaten Pittsburgh in jeopardy, because this is the fourth consecutive day a Ravens’ player has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Ravens’ COVID-19 outbreak resulted in the league rescheduling the Ravens-Steelers game from Thursday to Sunday, but the latest news complicates the situation further.

The Ravens have yet to release any details about the latest test results for Jackson, who is the NFL’s reigning most valuable player.

The team officially has 10 players on the COVID-19 list, which indicates a player has tested positive or is considered a high-risk close contact with an infected person.

Coach John Harbaugh told players that they would not be allowed back to the team facility until Monday at the earliest in the interest of safety, said US sports broadcaster ESPN. If Jackson can’t play, the Ravens likely would turn to backup quarterback Robert Griffin, who has thrown just two passes this season, with one of those being an interception. Their other backup quarterback, Trace McSorley, is also on the COVID-19 list.

Meanwhile, DeShaun Watson threw for four touchdowns and 318 yards as the red-hot Houston Texans kept their playoff hopes alive with a 41-25 victory over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Thursday.

Will Fuller finished with two touchdown catches and a total of 171 yards, while defensive end JJ Watt returned an interception for a TD for the Texans, who have won three of their last four games.

“We wanted to show we can have an explosive offence and defense,” said Watson. “It was fun. We are ready to get home to have some celebrations.

“We plan on feeding off this. We got Indy next week and we are ready to go.”

The game was one of two played on US Thanksgiving, one of the most important days on the American gridiron calendar.

In the other matchup, Antonio Gibson ran for three touchdowns, and Washington moved into first place in the hapless NFC East Division with a 41-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. AFP

Bambol vows to do more with fresh 4-year mandate

By Peter Atencio

T

AGAYTAY Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino promised to do more for Philippine sports after getting a fresh mandate from his Philippine Olympic Committee peers.

The 56-year-old Tolentino was reelected POC president on Friday during the regular of elections of the Olympic body at the East Ocean Palace Restaurant, Aseana Complex in Parañaque.

The president of the national association for cycling (PhilCyling) received 30 votes following a turnout of 53 out 54 eligible voters.

“In more than one year, we have done a lot. What about four years with this team? Definitely, there will be a lot of surprises. My mission is to serve the athletes and the country. This is a full (4)-year term,” said Tolentino.

Tolentino’s rival for the presidency, archery chief Clint Aranas got 22 votes.

As soon as 43 votes were counted, with a majority of 27 going to Tolentino, Aranas rose from his corner table to shake Tolentino’s hand and offer him

his congratulations.

“It was a good fight. This is democracy and the electorate has spoken. We appreciate everybody, who participated,” said Aranas.

Tolentino believes that many things can be done for national athletes and Philippines when he assumes his term by Jan. 1.

After Ricky Vargas quit in June, 2019, Tolentino was elected the POC’s 12th president in September last year, assuming the remaining months of the boxing chief’s term.

The congressman of the eighth district of Cavite still got the majority after representatives from table tennis did not show up to vote. There were also two who abstained during the secret balloting that was done with strict observance of health and safety protocols.

Officials from the Philippine Badminton

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Association were the last to cast a ballot through secretary general Chris Quimpo, after hours of talks with ex-Philippine vice president Jejomar Binay, who arrived and observed the proceedings.

POC officials and the election body, headed by lawyer Teodoro Kalaw IV, noted that there are still unresolved leadership issues in the PBA. Ex-Negros Occidental congressman Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, who did not show up, is said to be the duly elected president of the PBA, but remains unconfirmed because their NSA election was held without a POC observer last year.

On the other hand, Binay was elected back in 2017.

Handball’s Steve Hontiveros stays on a chairman, beating triathlon’s Tom Carrasco, 28-25.

Two key officials in Tolentino’s ticket also got the nod during the polls.

The first was Al Panlilio, the president of Smart Communications and Chief Revenue Officer of PLDT, getting the post of first vice president. With a vote of 33 to 23, Panlilio eased out aspirant Philip Ella Juico of athletics.

MANAMA—Lewis Hamilton revealed on Thursday that he feels he has not yet processed the impact of his achievement in claiming a recordequalling seventh title to become F1’s most successful driver.

The 35-year-old Mercedes driver pulled level with Michael Schumacher when he secured his seventh title and his sixth in seven years with a momentous win at the Turkish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

He said, however, that he felt just as fired up to win the three seasonending races in the Middle East after ‘switching off’ and relaxing since that triumph.

“It’s in my DNA,” he told reporters.

“It’s how I’m wired. I just love that challenge. We’re coming into three races where the pressure is different, but the focus is too.

“It’s about getting the best performances out of these weekends, but it’s also how can we extract a little bit more?

“How can we learn more from these weekends, almost using them as test races, so that we can apply what we learn in these three particularly, and what we’ve learned this year, into next year’s car?”

Hamilton said he had used the respite from constant pressure to allow him to re-charge for the final races.“I’ve generally just switched off,” he said.

“It’s been really bad in the sense that I’ve got a lot of messages and I’m trying to catch up now.”

He also revealed that ‘the dream’ of racing for Ferrari “just wasn’t meant to be”.

Hamilton admitted he spoke to Ferrari president John Elkann last year, but never felt he was ready to leave Mercedes with whom he is expected to re-sign for the future before the end of this season.

“I was never close at all to leaving my team,” he said. “I think it’s only right that as drivers and as people when you’re looking at your next phases and committing to periods of time in your life, you have to analyse what your options are—and make sure you have done your due diligence and have the pros and cons. AFP

Tropang Giga advance to PBA finals

By Reuel Vidal

TNT Tropang Giga guard Ray Parks (1) puts the ball on the floor as he tries to drive past Phoenix Super LPG defender Jansen Rios. TNT beat Phoenix, 91-81, to advance to the Finals of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup. PBA

TOO much Ray Parks.

TNT built a slight edge, then leaned on a fourth-quarter explosion fueled by Parks to trounce Phoenix Super LPG, 91-81, yesterday, Friday, November 27 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena & Cultural Center Powered by Smart 5G. The Tropang Giga led by 9 points, 62-53, entering the fourth but detonated a 29-18 bomb to beat Phoenix and advance to the Finals of the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. Parks finished with another double-double of 26 points (with 15 points coming in the fourth quarter alone) and 10 rebounds to go with 6 assists and 1 steal to win Player of the Game honors.

“We just got to take pride in the moment.

Take advantage of the moment. These guys are who I play for (said Parks of his TNT teammates who all stood beside him during the postgame interview). This is my family,” said Parks.

“It’s tough playing against a great team like Phoenix. They are very well-coached. They’re tough as nails. We’re just thankful (for the win).

Everybody in the team played their part.”

Phoenix inched closer to the TNT lead late in the fourth but Parks drilled a three-pointer then

a pair of field goals to keep the Super LPG at bay. He padded the TNT advantage to 15 points, 82-67, with just 4:03 to go virtually sealing the outcome of the game.]

Phoenix do-it-all forward Calvin Abueva also had a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds to go with 6 assists and 3 blocks.

Parks outmuscled Abueva in a rebound battle inside the paint then followed up a missed shot to push TNT to an imposing 14-point, 70-56, advantage in the fourth.

Roger Pogoy would increase that advantage to 17 points, 75-58, after a three-pointer and a two-point field goal against two free throws by Chua with 7 minutes left to play.

Super LPG veteran guard Alex Mallari converted a layup to cap a 7-0 Phoenix run which cut the TNT advantage to 5 points, 20-25, at the end of the first quarter.

Phoenix big man Justin Chua scored on a layup but TNT veteran Jay Washington countered with a three-pointer to push TNT to a 6-point advantage at halftime, 40-34.

TNT got a surprise scoring lift from veteran big man Jay Washington and sniper Simon Enciso. Washington, a big body relied upon to grab rebounds and set picks and not necessarily points, added 11 markers to his tally. Enciso had 12 points.

Argentina bids final farewell to favorite son Maradona BUENOS AIRES—Huge crowds bade a grieffilled adieu Thursday to Argentina’s favorite son Diego Maradona before he was buried on the outskirts of the capital after a farewell that at times descended into chaos.

As darkness fell, the football legend was laid to rest after a ceremony attended by family and close friends in the leafy surrounds of the Bella Vista cemetery outside Buenos Aires.

One of the greatest footballers of all time, the World Cup winner died on Wednesday aged 60, sparking mourning around the world.

“I thought Diego was immortal, I thought he would never die on us. I feel a terrible sadness for a person who made us so, so happy,” said 63-yearold bus driver Antonio Avila outside the cemetery.

The peaceful farewell at the cemetery contrasted sharply with the sometimes raucous scenes of his send-off in Buenos Aires that seemed somehow in keeping with the player’s tumultuous life.

There, riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with stone-throwing fans that briefly threatened to mar a day of mourning for a beloved hero.

Thousands bid farewell Tens of thousands of people had queued from early morning to file past the star’s coffin, draped in the Argentine flag and the player’s No.10 jersey, at the presidential palace.

But as the day wore on, fans queuing outside the palace grew increasingly impatient, and some took over a courtyard inside, where they chanted slogans, forcing officials to move Maradona’s coffin to another room as a security precaution.

Despite an earlier announcement extending the lying-in-state by several hours, officials shut the doors, and riot police clashed with stone-throwing fans on streets around the palace, arresting several people.

Later, the hearse bearing Maradona’s flag-draped

coffin rolled through the gates of the presidency building and into the streets of Buenos Aires.

Fans crowded onto roadsides and highway bridges as the funeral cortege sped towards the western outskirts, surrounded by police outriders with sirens blaring.

Dozens of photographers and cameramen followed close behind on motorcycles.

Outrageous skill The outrageously skillful Maradona, widely remembered for his “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, died of a heart attack while recovering from brain surgery.

“He was the best in the world, we’re going to miss him and his death broke our souls,” said Diego Armando Cabral, a 29-year-old bricklayer in Buenos Aires who was named after the footballer.

Tributes poured in from around the world following the star’s death. AFP

Fans crowd next to the hearse carrying the late Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradona on its way from Casa Rosada presidential palace to the cemetery, in Buenos Aires. The Argentine football legend will be buried Thursday on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, a spokesman said. Maradona, who died of a heart attack Wednesday at the age of 60, will be laid to rest in the Jardin de Paz cemetery, where his parents were also buried, Sebastian Sanchi told AFP.

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Tech & Gadgets

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Kaspersky, Coalition Against Stalkerware: One year on in fight for digital privacy

T

O mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Kaspersky has introduced a special stalkerware and spyware detection tool—12 months on from the foundation of the Coalition Against Stalkerware.

Stalkerware enables someone to secretly spy on another person’s private life via a smart device, and is often used to facilitate violence against an intimate partner. The Coalition Against Stalkerware was founded in November last year in response to this growing threat.

With the purpose of fighting against technology facilitated abuse, the initiative aims to unite both organizations that work to combat domestic violence and the IT security community.

Within a year, the alliance has grown from ten founding partners into a large international working group.

Certo Software, ECHAP, the German Institute for Technology and Journalism (ITUJ e.V.), Traced Ltd, and WESNET have recently joined the Coalition, which now has 26 partners.

KEEPING TECHNOLOGY SAFE FOR ALL The Coalition considers stalkerware to be a growing problem that is, unfortunately, here to stay. In 2019, Kaspersky detected a 67% year-on-year increase of stalkerware usage on its users’ mobile devices at a global level. The number of stalkerware installations worldwide during the first 10 months of 2020 (from January to October) totaled more than 48,500, which is close to the total (almost 52,000 installations) observed over the same period in 2019. Although there is a slight decrease in numbers compared to last year, there is little reason to celebrate as there is still no indication that stalkerware is disappearing.

Kaspersky experts see incidents every day around the globe. It is important to stress that despite the risk that modern technologies can bring, survivors should not be discriminated against and should not stop using their devices. “We have to make sure that survivors have access to safe internet, safe phones and devices

The Coalition Against Stalkerware was founded in November last year in response to this growing threat. With the purpose of fighting against technology facilitated abuse, the initiative aims to unite both organizations that work to combat domestic violence and the IT security community.

so that they can stay connected, reach out for help and, most importantly, be empowered to make the best decisions for themselves,” emphasized Rachel Gibson, Senior Technology Safety Specialist at National Network to End Domestic Violence.

To help protect users against stalkerware, Félix Aimé, a security researcher in Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), has developed “TinyCheck”—a simple tool to detect stalkerware and spyware installed on smartphones and tablets, without making the perpetrator aware that such a check is being carried out.

“The idea came to me in a meeting while discussing the issue of stalkerware with a French women's rights non-profit organization. The group wanted to help people who suspect stalkerware is running on their devices, without having to install additional applications or conducting forensic analysis,” explains Félix Aimé.

This easy to use open-source tool relies on Raspberry Pi, a widely accessible platform. Using a regular Wi-Fi connection, TinyCheck scans a mobile device’s outgoing traffic and identifies interactions with known malicious sources, such as spyware-related servers. The aim of TinyCheck is to help non-profit organizations, like service providers, support survivors of domestic violence to protect these individuals and their privacy.

The first version of the open-source tool is available now at https://github. com/KasperskyLab/tinycheck.

ACTIVE AGAINST STALKERWARE “This is the first anniversary of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, and it has been quite a year in which we have learnt a lot. We now understand that stalkerware is not purely a technical problem. It’s not the IT part of the issue that is challenging, but the fact that we need to deal with the commercial avail-

ability of stalkerware, the lack of regulation around how it is being used and, perhaps the most difficult problem, the fact that violence against women and different forms of online abuse have been normalized,” comments Kristina Shingareva, Head of External Relations at Kaspersky.

“We can provide technical training on different forms of tech-enabled abuse for the NPOs, but it’s not enough – it should be complemented with a chapter focusing on and reflecting survivors’ psychological experiences,” adds Shingareva.

In line with the commitment to raise public awareness and educate service organizations about stalkerware, members of the Coalition have focused on public events and exchanging knowledge with experts. The most recent activities in the past few months included Kaspersky’s experts giving an online workshop at the annual conference of the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators (WWP EN) at the beginning of September.

Last month, Kaspersky and other Coalition members were grateful for the opportunity to partner with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations (UN) Women, in hosting an online event on the issue of stalkerware.

Similarly, on November 2, the UN’s Internet Governance Forum hosted a pre-event virtual session, in which a few members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware discussed the issue of stalkerware. This was done together with a representative from Europol’s European Cybercrime Center EC3 in order to identify ways to act together against this developing cyberthreat.

As October is also the month dedicated to raising awareness on cybersecurity in many countries, Kaspersky organized regional digital events aimed at users in the German speaking region of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in English speaking areas of North America. Kaspersky teamed up with well-known influencers, as well as experts in stalking prevention and combating digital abuse, to reach a wider public audience and inform them about tech-enabled abuse and stalkerware.

PasaJob app improves employee referral programs FILIPINO app PasaJob helps improve the system of employee referral hiring for companies through its tracking technology, automated payout process, and expanded reach.

“As the country’s first long-chain referral-based job platform, PasaJob aims to make the vetting process of referral hiring smoother with the help of technology and by easily making the credentials of both the candidate and their referrer accessible,” said PasaJob Founder and CEO Kristen Mariano.

Typically, referred applicants are informed of the job availability by word-of-mouth and monetary incentives are given to employee referrers manually. The pool of potential candidates is also limited to the employees’ social network, and excludes opportunities for former staff, suppliers, and other contacts who can vouch for a company’s reputability, since referral programs are only open to its personnel.

There have been a number of observed benefits that come from hiring referred workers such as onboarding PasaJob is the first and only long-chain referral-based high performance workers and longer job retention. By job platform in the Philippines. It improves on existing employee referral programs and serves as an additional partnering with PasaJob, companies can enjoy these benefits along with the advantages that the app’s platform hiring tool for companies looking for quality candidates. provides like amplifying a company’s referral program coverage, tracking an applicant’s referrer through its employers can crowdsource potential hires and verify long-chain mechanism, and automating the payout. if they have the right credentials. The app’s long-chain Because the app is available for anyone to download, method allows companies to view a referrer’s profile to

Mariwasa rolls out new product

MARIWASA Siam Ceramics, Inc., the no. 1 tile manufacturing company in the Philippines, recently released its new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Heavy Duty, formulated for big-sized, non-absorptive, and wall tile applications.

“The onset of the new decade marks the testament of Mariwasa’s commitment to be a complete home building solutions provider. Early this year, to complete our tiling solutions, we launched the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular, and we deemed it necessary to release another variant, this time catering to bigger tiles, which post common problems caused by wrong adhesive use and way of installation,” said Mariwasa President and SCG Country Director, Mr. Jakkrit Suwansilp.

In the Philippines, many residential owners and contractors choose to use sand-cement mortar to bond tiles during tile applications. This traditional practice has led to several setbacks that make it questionable in terms of costworthiness. Due to this, many professional tile setters now prefer and recommend the use of tile adhesive instead.

Choosing the right tile adhesive to avoid tile installation problems is the first step.

Tyler, the tile expert, recommends the following checklist to consider in choosing the right tile adhesive for your tile installation needs—fast and easy application; thick consistency; wall application; slip resistant; high adhesive strength; high tensile strength; prevents tile cracks and breakage; fits interior and exterior usage; and cost saving.

Making sure that its products adhere to the International Organization of Standardization and the Philippine National Standard, Mariwasa’s new Tile Adhesive is composed of

bonding material, filler aggregate, and polymer additive.

With the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular and Heavy Duty, you can be assured that it is fast and easy to apply, thereby saving precious time that a worker can use for other construction work. The adhesive's thick consistency, which is indicative of its bonding strength, is suitable for wall application with its slip resistant property, assuring that the tiles stay glued to their base for decades. Also, the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Regular and Heavy Duty's high adhesion strength prevents debonded tiles and high tensile strength can resist a lot of tension and allow the tile application to last long. This prevents tile cracks and breakage and saving money and effort for repairs in the future. Available in select home depots, tile stores, and hardwares nationwide.

To know more about the new Mariwasa Tile Adhesive Heavy Duty, visit mariwasa.com.

ensure that referred candidates and those that vouch for them are credible.

Now that the Philippine economy is starting to get back on its feet, more employers are seeking workers to restart their businesses. Whether these are for long-term or project based, PasaJob offers a helping hand for this undertaking especially since it can help companies lessen spending on recruitment efforts. Compared to fixed job posting rates, employers can set the price for the fees given to referrers of successfully hired applicants.

“While the country is recovering from the mass layoffs brought about by the pandemic, we want to inspire hope through PasaJob by supporting Filipino job seekers and employers alike as both parties can benefit from it,” said Mariano.

Even employed workers who aren’t actively seeking new jobs have something to gain from using the app. If their referred contact is successfully hired, they will receive a payout from the employer.

For companies and organizations interested in partnering with PasaJob and utilizing its job referral platform, please contact info@pasajob. com for inquiries. Meanwhile, job seekers and potential referrers can download the app from Google Play and the App Store.

PayMaya, Amazon.com team up for PH customers LOOKING to shop online for awesome deals on Black Friday this November?

Well, look no further—use your PayMaya to enjoy discounts at Amazon. com during this much-awaited annual shopping event.

When you shop on Amazon.com using your PayMaya virtual or physical card from 4 p.m. on November 27 to 3:59 p.m. on December 1, 2020, you can get a 15% discount of up to USD$25 on top of the amazing deals you can find on the site! All you have to do is enter your shipping address in the Philippines and use the discount code PYMY15 upon checkout for a minimum purchase of USD$50 (before taxes, shipping and fees).

PayMaya is the first Philippine eWallet to collaborate with Amazon. com, offering an even more rewarding experience to Filipino customers.

Whether you’re looking for a nifty new gadget to give to a loved one, or unique US products for yourself, you can already start adding these to your cart and enjoy additional discounts from PayMaya especially since the holidays are just around the corner.

“We’re happy to open up the wide range of products offered by Amazon. com to all Filipinos nationwide, along with exciting deals to give the best value for their money, while shopping from the comforts of their homes. This groundbreaking collaboration reinforces PayMaya's commitment to provide the best and most rewarding way to pay for all Filipinos, especially during this holiday season,” said Shailesh Baidwan, President of PayMaya.

To start shopping with these awesome deals, just go to http://pymy.co/ blackfriday2020. Getting a PayMaya account and taking advantage of this year’s Black Friday sales is easy. Just download the PayMaya app from the Google Playstore or App Store using this link: https://official.paymaya.com/ CAK1/425eb133 and sign up to find out what it’s like to shop with the fastest, safest, and most rewarding way to pay for anything online and in stores!

Remember, this Black Friday, don’t pay cash. PayMaya!

To find out about all the perks and rewards you can get through your PayMaya account, visit www. paymaya.com/deals or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, and government. Aside from providing payments acceptance for the largest e-Commerce and "everyday" merchants in the Philippines, PayMaya enables national and social services agencies, as well as local government units, with digital payments and disbursement services.

Give gift of Galaxy this Christmas SAMSUNG is bringing the holiday cheer with exciting discounts, freebies, and exclusive bundles on its Galaxy devices. By giving the gift of Galaxy, Filipinos can reconnect and create new experiences to make up for the missed moments this year.

Samsung is offering huge discounts on flagship devices to help customers reconnect with their loved ones through social media updates, video calls, and virtual parties.

The Galaxy Note10 series is discounted by up to P30,000. This multi-device is a powerhouse furnished with a bigger screen, a massive internal memory, and an S Pen that can control the smartphone with the flick of the wrist. The Galaxy Note10 is now reduced from P53,990 to P28,990, while the Galaxy Note10+ (256GB) is now priced at P30,990 from P60,990.

Lastly, the Galaxy Note10 Lite is now available for P26,990 from P29,990.

Samsung is also offering discounts of up to P19,000 for the Galaxy S20 series. This smartphone promises to change photography and videography with 8K video recording and cameras with up to 108MP. The Galaxy S20+ is now at

P36,990 from P55,990, while the Galaxy S20 Ultra is now available for P55,990 from P69,990.

The Korean tech brand will also extend price offs for its collection of stylish and innovative devices. The groundbreaking Galaxy Fold can be purchased for P65,990 from P109,990 while the Galaxy Z Flip is available for P55,990 from its original price of P79,990.

Lastly, content creators are treated with price downs of up to P2,000 on select Galaxy A-series smartphones.

The Galaxy A71 is now available for P20,990, while the Galaxy A51 is now priced at P15,990. In addition, the Galaxy A31, A21s, A20s, A11, and A01 Core can now be purchased at only P12,990, P9,990, P7,990, P6,490, and P4,990, respectively.

Discounts will also apply to select wearables. Loyalists who are part of the Samsung Members app will receive a P1,000 discount on the Galaxy Buds Live so they can catch up on the virtual concerts they missed these past months. To get their unique voucher code, members must simply click Redeem on the Galaxy Buds Live promo on the app. Customers who own any participating Galaxy device can register on the Samsung Members app and promo is valid until November 30, 2020.

Tech & Gadgets

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

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After a year, COVID-19 vaccines finally at hand 917Ventures launches venture incubation program in Southeast Asia 917VENTURES, the country’s largest corporate incubator, has launched a regional venture incubation program dedicated to giving prospective builders and other talents the opportunity to build successful businesses in the areas of e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, and adtech.

Called Velocity, the program seeks to gather the best innovators in Southeast Asia with an initial grant of up to $50,000 (roughly P2.4 million). Talents who manage to build a meaningful product with proven traction will continue in the venture development journey through a seed round, with the ultimate goal of spinning off as an independent entity. Up to 10 finalists will be selected to partake in this exclusive program.

“We have structured Velocity in a way that really puts talents first. We’re here to support and help venture builders create successful businesses that would progress on to ultimately becoming a standalone entity with bright growth prospects. We aim to support venture builders in their journey to realizing their dreams and thus, encourage interested parties to build their first unicorn with us,” said Vince Yamat, 917Ventures’ Managing Director.

Velocity provides 917Ventures’ resources and expertise in product development, go-to-market strategic design, lean operations, digital marketing, legal support, and a variety of other areas. 917Ventures has already shown a track record of nurturing innovations and building businesses, having invested in Mynt which operates GCash, the nation’s largest provider of mobile money services. It has also successfully managed AdSpark, and KonsultaMD, two companies making strides in the digital marketing and telehealth space, respectively.

The program is also fully supported and backed by Globe and the large ecosystem that it is a part of, including its parent company, Ayala Corporation.

Globe has already successfully built its own corporate venture capital firm, Kickstart Ventures, which invests in early- to early-growth stage tech startups globally.

The presence of Globe provides an unfair advantage that venture builders can unlock given Globe’s massive user base, distribution points nationwide, data, and resources. By joining the program, venture builders will have access to Globe’s resources including legal, finance, marketing and human resources.

They also have higher chances to scale under the four focus areas of e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, and adtech, as well as receive temporary employment from day one, close mentorship, networking opportunities for business optimization, and upskilling programs for personal development.

The program takes place over the course of three months. The first month will be geared towards helping chosen applicants build their minimally viable product while the following two months will focus on helping them take their solution to market, and refine their value proposition.

Velocity will accept applications for the first batch until January 4, 2021.

Application details may be found at https://velocity.917ventures.com/.

P

ARIS—Less than a year after an unknown coronavirus that has claimed 1.4 million lives began spreading across the globe, a number of highly promising COVID-19 vaccines are on the cusp of release.

Health authorities could give a green light for emergency use within weeks, which would mark the most rapid vaccine development for a pandemic in history— but many questions remain.

WHEN WILL A JAB BE AVAILABLE? After months without a visible breakthrough, everything sped up in November, when several pharmaceutical companies made encouraging preliminary announcements about the efficacy of their vaccines.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), charged with overseeing drug approval in the European Union, told AFP that it could approve the first Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the year, or early in 2021. France, Spain and Italy have all sketched out distribution plans on that basis.

Across the Atlantic, vaccination campaigns could start in the United States as early as mid-December, assuming the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves an accelerated timetable for rollout.

Chinese authorities have already begun jabbing highrisk patients, and in Russia two vaccines were validated for use even before the final phase of clinical trials had begun.

Researching, testing, approving, manufacturing and distributing a new vaccine usually takes a decade or longer.

The breakneck pace of development, resulting in halfa-dozen COVID-19 vaccines, saw an unprecedented blitzkrieg of public and private research backed by a huge sums of money and provisional orders for billions of doses.

But all parties involved insist that corners have not been cut.

The EU's regulatory agency, for example, acknowledged an effort "to speed up" the evaluation process, but insisted it was "ensuring the same high regulatory standards for quality, safety and efficacy" as for any other drug.

But this extraordinary achievement will not mean that a waiting world will be vaccinated right away.

"Initial supply of #COVID19 vaccines will be limited, so #healthworkers, older people and other atrisk populations will be prioritised," World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently tweeted.

The world's poorest countries, he warned, should not have to wait until wealthy ones that have reserved billions of doses are served.

"The urgency with which vaccines have been developed must be matched by the same urgency to distribute them fairly," he said, highlighting the risk that the poor and vulnerable will be "trampled in the stampede" to get inoculated.

WHICH VACCINE IS BEST? Too early to say. Since November 9, four drug makers have announced that their vaccines work, most of them more than 90 percent of the time.

The first to report Phase 3 results was the US-German collaboration between pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and

A health worker sorts blood samples for COVID-19 vaccination study at the Center for Pediatrics Infectology Studies where the pharmaceutical company Janssen, of Johnson & Johnson, is developing the phase 3 study of the vaccine in Cali, Colombia on November 26, 2020. The WHO has identified 48 "candidate vaccines" at the stage of clinical trials in humans by mid-November, but only 11 at the most advanced Phase 3 stage. The WHO has identified another 164 vaccine projects that are still in the pre-clinical phase of development. AFP

German biotech start-up BioNTech, followed by the US firm Moderna, a British partnership between AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Russia's state-run Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

But the rush for results in anticipation of a huge global market means the announcements were made by the companies themselves, and have yet to be backed up by publication in peer-reviewed journals, which can take months.

All the vaccines unveiled are near the end of so-called Phase 3 clinical trials, the final step in a process that tests safety and efficacy on tens of thousands of volunteers of different ages and ethnicities spread across the world.

Basically, the efficacy of a vaccine is determined by comparing the number of people who get sick with Covid-19 in a group of vaccinated volunteers compared to another group that receives a placebo instead of the active drug.

The threshold for releasing the findings—the number of people infected with COVID-19—was different in each case: 170 for Pfizer/BioNTech, 95 for Moderna, 131 for AstraZeneca/Oxford, and only 39 for the Gamaleya Institute.

Pfizer reported 95 percent efficacy, with only eight of the 170 COVID-19 patients coming from the vaccinated group.

For Moderna—with 94.5 percent efficacy—it was almost identical, while Gamaleya's Sputnik V vaccine reported 91.4 percent efficacy.

The calculations for AstraZeneca's two-dose vaccine were more complicated. Across two variants in the trials

with slightly different protocols, the drug worked 70 percent of the time.

But in a group whose first jab was a half-dose rather than a full one, the efficacy rate rose to 90 percent. The counterintuitive result—less vaccine conferring more protection— probably stemmed from different immune system responses, experts said.

Oxford revealed Wednesday that the dosage yielding 90 percent efficacy was the product of serendipity.

During an early phase of the trials, some volunteers initially received a half-dose in error, which Oxford attributed to a change "in the manufacturing process".

When the mistake was uncovered, the drug maker, in consultation with regulators, decided to administer the accidental procedure—a half-dose followed four weeks later by a full dose—to 3,000 of the subjects as part of the larger Phase 3 trials.

Across all the vaccines, success rate is not the only criterion in determining which vaccine will be adopted in different circumstances. Cost and logistics are also factors.

AstraZeneca's double jab, for example, is by far the least expensive, at about 2.5 euros ($3) per dose.

It also has a significant advantage when it comes to transport and storage. Moderna's vaccine must be kept at -20 degrees Celsius, while Pfizer's requires an even chillier -70C to remain viable. AstraZeneca's vaccine, by contrast, can be stored at the temperature of a normal fridge. AFP

Reward yourself with a vivo phone, perfect for your lifestyle this Christmas

because it is the thinnest 5G smartphone out there. So you don’t just get premium portability, but extreme connectivity as well.

FOR THE FASHION ICON, THE VIVO V20 Need a smartphone that can easily match your uber-stylish wardrobe? The vivo V20 comes in stunning color options – Midnight Jazz and Sunset Melody – that’s just as jawdropping as your OOTDs. And with its flagship level cameras – 64MP rear and 32MP front – all the details and colors of your outfits will definitely shine online.

FOR THE BINGE-WATCHER, THE VIVO Y30 A steady companion for most this year were TV shows and movies we would binge watch in our free time. With the holidays fast approaching, this activity will definitely be a hobby once again for many as they relax and unwind.

For this, you’ll need a smartphone like the vivo Y30, which not only sports a 6.47 inch HD+ display which will provide an optimal viewing experience, but is equipped with a 5000mAh battery and an eye protection feature which will allow you to binge watch all day without straining your eyes.

FOR THE POWER GAMER, THE VIVO Y20I Perhaps the fastest-rising and most popular activity this year, mobile gaming allowed for an escape from routines and even connected friends. For power gamers, get the vivo Y20i, a smartphone equipped with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor and 4GB RAM + up to 256GB ROM that enables a lag-free and powerful gaming performance. It also packs a 5000mAh battery that allows for all-day gaming.

FOR THOSE ON A BUDGET, THE VIVO Y11 If you’re one of those who prefer buying plenty of gifts rather than a one big reward for yourself, then add the vivo Y11 to your shopping cart. It’s an affordable smartphone packed with quality features like and AI dual camera that helps edit your photos for you, an AI selfie feature that enhances your already gorgeous face, and all-day use thanks to its 5000mAh battery.

So what are you waiting for? Reward yourself today with a vivo smartphone, available at Shopee, Lazada, and all vivo concept stores and kiosks nationwide.

To learn more, visit vivoglobal.ph

HOW will you remember 2020?

Five or ten years from now, most would remember it as the toughest year of their lives, others a year of introspection filled with plenty of realizations, and for some it may also be a year that they would simply like to forget altogether.

And while we have every right to do with our memories and experiences as we please, let’s not forget that 2020 isn’t over yet.

With Christmas, a season of hope and joy, fast approaching, there is still a chance for us to bank a happy memory for this year.

So after a year that mostly, and involuntarily, kept us on edge, why not end it in our own terms? How, you ask? Besides spending quality time with our families and attempting to pursue some interests we may have pushed to the side, a good way is to reward ourselves for a hard fought year.

If your budget permits, maybe get that piece of jewelry you’ve been holding off purchasing, or go on an online shopping spree. Better yet, why not get a smartphone that’s perfect for your lifestyle and enables you to explore your interests in time for the next normal? Here are some ideas: FOR THE NIGHT OWL, THE VIVO V20 SE For those who love staying up late and have an interest in snapping some photos at night, the vivo V20 SE could be the perfect smartphone for you. Its 32MP selfie equipped with a super night mode feature, can definitely capture all your best moments at your preferred time to explore.

What’s more is that it is equipped with a big 4100mAh battery, a 33W Flash Charge feature, and an ergonomically designed 7.83mm Ultra-thin body which can help power all your needs and provide you a comfortable hold all night long.

For the night owl, the vivo V20 SE FOR THE CREATIVE KID, THE VIVO V20 PRO Have a knack for exploring creativity? With its flagship level 64MP rear camera and 44MP front camera with eye autofocus technology, the vivo V20 Pro is your best bet to take stunning and creative photos that will definitely help you stand out on social media.

It’s also the perfect phone for creative kids who move around a lot not just because of the industry-leading auto focus technology, but

PLDT, Smart reaffirm support for MSMEs at sustainability summit THE country's largest integrated telco PLDT and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc continue to recognize the hard work of local entrepreneurs in helping keep the economy afloat amid the global COVID-19 crisis.

At the invitation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the UN Global Compact Network Philippines, PLDT and Smart presented actionable solutions and policy recommendations at the GCNP - UNIDO Sustainability Summit 2020: Uniting Business to Support MSME Recovery and Resilience.

The virtual event highlighted the resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who have been the most impacted sector in the Philippines in this time of pandemic.

The 2020 Sustainability Summit followed PLDT and Smart’s participation in the organization’s exclusive Business Expert Group Meetings. PLDT-Smart Chief Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla shared the Group’s inputs valuable towards understanding the challenges in, and possible solutions to, the recovery and resilience-building of MSMEs amid the COVID-19 crisis.

All Business Expert Group ambitions are

PLDT-Smart Chief Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla (top row, middle) with partners from the United Nations Global Compact Network Philippines anchored on the pillars of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships, and aligned with the Philippine Socio-Economic and Peace Building Framework of the United Na-

tions and the Philippine government.

Among the topics discussed by Cabal-Revilla was the GCNP’s goal to encourage and stimulate investments that will enable indus-

tries to contribute to the sustainable development agenda. "While large enterprises continue to struggle to adopt sustainability principles in their operations, MSMEs are even more challenged," Cabal-Revilla says.

"Future advocacy efforts and multistakeholder discourses can look at practices such as the unified multi-purpose lending program, a ladderized approach to MSME lending, sector-focused supply chain finance, and the BSP-initiated Credit Surety Fund Program, sustainability reporting, among others," she explained.

HELPING BUSINESSES RECOVER THROUGH STIMULUS PACKAGES The PLDT Group’s support for MSMEs amid the pandemic include the release of stimulus packages to help the sector get their businesses back on track. The offers are founded on connectivity solutions that feature PLDT Enterprise’s newest fiber broadband service BEYOND FIBER and wireless broadband Smart Biz LTE. BEYOND FIBER helps inspire MSMEs and local entrepreneurs to rise above the challenge of going beyond with digital ac-

celeration, while striving for financial recovery through affordable curated digital tools and wi-fi fit for enterprise—all anchored-on business-grade fiber.

Meanwhile, Biz LTE is Smart’s Fixed Wireless Broadband service and is perfect for small businesses—providing flexibility for use in stores and when on the go.

EMPOWERING HOME BUSINESSES NATIONWIDE To empower home-based entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic throughout the country, fixed broadband services provider PLDT Home recently launched the PLDT Home Biz Program. Beyond delivering strong and stable internet connection, free training sessions with celebrity online entrepreneurs and free online tools aim to equip these home-entrepreneurs with the necessary know-how needed to start an online business.

PLDT Home Biz also partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines for the DTI and OTOP Virtual Trade Expo 2020. With over 800 virtual exhibitors and over a thousand visitors in its first 4-day run last September, the country's first ever online national livelihood caravan served as the perfect venue for MSMEs to promote their products and services.

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Motoring

Hyundai IONIQ Electric takes charge at recent awards

IN TIME FOR XMAS RUSH

Toyota upgrades compact SUV T OYOTA Motor Philippines has released the 2021 update of its popular entrylevel SUV, the Toyota Rush.

Retailing in Toyota’s 70 dealerships across the country starting November 26, the refreshed Rush line-up offers the Rush E grade with improved seating capacity with 3 rows of seats now available. With this update, all Rush variants now come as 7-seater compact SUVs. One of the most well-received features of the G grade, the Reverse Camera, is also being made available to the E grade variants.

“We at Toyota continuously listen to the requests of our customers to make improvements in our cars. The Rush is a favorite family vehicle, and with the Filipino’s close-knit and often extended family, we added the third row to bring the joy of moving together to more members,” said Sherwin Chualim, First Vice President of TMP’s Vehicle Sales Operations.

“As our thrust of advancing mobility for all becomes more relevant especially at this time when safe transportation with social distancing is essential, we aim to provide more options to Filipino customers, and give them the best value,” he added.

The improved Rush 1.5 E retails at P1,023,000 for A/T, while its M/T variant

is available for P983,000. The top-grade Rush 1.5 G A/T meanwhile has an SRP of P1,100,000.

All variants of the Toyota Rush also retain the model’s most-wanted key features such as the high 220 mm ground clearance, 7-inch infotainment system, back sonar, plus safety features like 6 SRS airbags, anti-lock brake system, vehicle stability control, and more.

Introduced in the Philippines in 2018, the Toyota Rush has cemented its position as one of the best-selling nameplates in TMP’s stable. In 2019, TMP sold more than 15,000 units, making the Toyota Rush the best-selling entry SUV model that year.

Live Life on Safe Side In another move, Toyota revealed the Live Life on the Safe Side deals, allowing buyers a wide selection of flexible financing or discounts and freebies until Novembe 30, 2020 on well-loved Toyota models.

Savings of as much as P65,000 on a

THE first virtual C! Magazine awards saw the Hyundai IONIQ Electric charging to the top of the awards’ newest category – electric vehicles (EV) - keeping up with global trend for sustainable mobility and adding on to the string of honors that Ioniq has been receiving globally.

Hyundai IONIQ Electric bested other EVs from Chery, Porsche, and Jaguar during the virtual awards.

“We are happy that C!’ has added sustainable mobility to its honored criteria of affordability and usability,” responded HARI President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo. “Hyundai remains at the forefront of accelerating the world’s transition towards clean and sustainable mobility, introducing a new way of living and better journeys in the New Normal.

With IONIQ, affordability, sustainability, and style are combined to create cars that meet all our needs, with no compromise.”

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric, which was showcased in last year’s Manila Inter-

brand new Innova, or even P90,000 on a prev. gen Hiace Commuter are on offer. Savings on selected variants are also available for the New Vios, New Wigo, Corolla Altis, Avanza, Rush, and Hiace.

You may also choose to get Pay Low (allin packages) or Pay Light (low monthly plans) financing deals on these models.

For the month of November, Periodic Maintenance Service up to 20,000KMs is free when you purchase G, E, and XLE variants of the Vios, and customers also get 5-Year Extended Warranty and free 1 year comprehensive insurance. Customers of the Vios XE, or selected variants of the Wigo, Corolla Altis, Innova, Avanza, Fortuner, and Hiace are entitled to the free 1 year comprehensive insurance promo as well, while Corolla Altis, Rush, Innova, Fortuner, Hilux, and FMC Hiace customers also get free Periodic Maintenance Service up to 20,000KMs for participating variants of their preferred Toyota model.

For customers who want to trade-in their old vehicles for a new Toyota, up to P40,000 rebates which can be used on top of existing promos or to buy accessories are available for selected models and variants all month long.

Balloon Payment Plus, Toyota Financial Services PH’s new finance product which offers light monthly payments, Periodic Maintenance inclusion, and guaranteed resale value, is also offered for selected variants of the Vios, Corolla Cross, New Fortuner, and New Hilux.

TMP said it would also provide special support for Toyota customers who have sustained damage to their vehicles as a result of the recent typhoons.

national Autoshow, boasts zero emissions, smart aerodynamics, and sets the standard in electric drive technology. It has an estimated range of over 373 kilometers powered by a high-efficiency, high-power permanent magnet-type electric motor which produces 136 PS. It has all the bells and whistles including a multimedia information center, drive mode selector, electronic gear shift, six airbags, and 357 liter luggage capacity.

During the no-frills virtual awards ceremony, C! President, Founding Editor, and Editorial Director Kevin C. Limjoco reiterated the publication’s commitment to carry on with their instrumented testing procedures and conformity with current safety protocols. “This year and like every year before it, consumers are the king. Consumers have a lot more choices… We know what we want to buy and what’s important to us,” said Limjoco.

Last August, Hyundai launched the IONIQ as Hyundai Motor’s new dedicated

EV brand with the vision: You don’t drive electric. You live electric. IONIQ reinforces the company’s commitment to clean mobility and reflects its ongoing transformation as a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. IONIQ aims to offer customer centric EV experiences centered on connected lifestyle solutions in line with Hyundai’s vision of ‘Progress for Humanity’. Under IONIQ, Hyundai Motor plans to introduce three new dedicated EV models over the next four years with more innovative models to follow, including IONIQ 5, a midsized CUV, IONIQ 6, a sedan, and IONIQ 7, a large SUV. “With our full line-up of Hybrid/EV vehicles that fuse high-performance, technology and safety in bold packages, this award further inspires us to put Hyundai at the forefront of this exciting and innovative space. We believe that this is the future of the auto industry and Hyundai is set to take the next big step,” Agudo said.

Online MVIS should be open to all providers OPERATORS of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers or PMVIC’s are prodding the LTO sbe open to the idea of providers connecting to their Land Transportation Management System to send motor vehicle data even if they have different sets of equipment This is what Chito Cruz, owner of Autoreach, a certified PMVIC owner and operator, believes in order for the program to move faster into nationwide implementation. Cruz, who uses the equipment of Beissbarth from Germany, said there are a number of private motor vehicle inspection centers that acquired machines from other third party suppliers and these equipment are also good for inspecting cars and trucks for safety and reliability on the road.

Beissbarth is the official equipment supplier of the LTMS being used by the LTO to automate transactions within the agency. The system and the software of Beissbarth is compatible with the system of the LTMS as developed by LTO’s new IT provider Dermalog.

“It is easier to use Beissbarth products for the LTMS because their software is already compatible with that of the LTO LTMS. There is no more need for API’s (application programming interface) when using Beissbarth machines in motor vehicle inspection centers,” said Cruz.

The motor vehicle inspection center program was initiated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) after a series of bus and car accidents in 2017 caused the death of hundreds of commuters and passengers. A report to DOTr Secretary Art Tugade revealed that majority of the crashes were caused by poorly maintained and non-road worthy vehicles.

However, some PMVIC’s sourced their testing equipment from other suppliers creating an issue on whether they should be accepted into the system or not. These “third party” equipments require API’s or interfaces for their software to connect to the LTO’s LTMS. Gian Luigi Orzi of Beissbarth Germany said it is not an issue to have other systems connect with LTO’s structure. A simple interface program should solve the issue of PMVIC’s using other brands or products.

Brand-new Isuzu for Neoji Trucking IN A simple ceremony on November 19, representatives of the country’s leading truck manufacturer Isuzu Philippines Corporation(IPC), logistics and transport services firm Neoji Trucking Services, and Isuzu Cavite witnessed the formal turnover of a brand-new EXZ77N truck.

Receiving the symbolic key to the EXZ77N truck from Hiroto Nakaguro IPC Assistant Division Head for Sales was Neoji Trucking Services team Oliver Osias. Anoel Mark Salvador, Nelson Milana, Edwin Balaton, Joseph Raya, and Ian Panelo III, Isuzu Cavite, which facilitated Neoji’s first purchase of an Isuzu-branded Category V truck, was represented in the turnover by its Branch Manager Valance Mauricio. Afterwards, Isuzu Cavite’s Truck Elite team oriented Neoji officers and drivers to the worldclass features of the EXZ77N truck mode.

Neoji Trucking Services—the sister company of Philindo Express which is an accredited logistics partner for a well-known pharmaceutical giant since 2002 — is also set to become the pharmaceutical company’s transport partner.

The acquisition of its first EXZ77N truck adds power, efficiency, versatility and dependability to Neoji’s logistics portfolio, and would help them fulfill, and even exceed, the expectations of large-scale partners. During the ceremony, Neoji also

announced their acquisition of another brand-new EXZ77N truck this December.

The EXZ77N truck is perfectly adapted and made even more accessible for today’s business, transport and logistics climate. With its fuel-efficient 6UZ1TCG50 engine paired to the ZF16 speed multistage transmission, all developed under the Euro V Blue Power technology that maximizes power and torque output at a towing condition suited for hauling and travel without compromising fuel efficiency. These trucks are designed for long-haul comfort, equipped with stateof-the-art convenience such as air suspension seats ergonomically designed for absolute driving comfort, instrument clusters with highly visible multi-information display for better drive monitoring, and a semi-round driver panel for driving ease and high-end interior ambiance.

Hino, J&T Express forge partnership RECOGNIZING the importance of small to medium trucks in meeting the rising demand for online shopping and parcel delivery across the country, Hino Motors Philippines (HMP), the exclusive distributor of Hino trucks and buses in the Philippines, recently turned over seven units of the Hino 300 series to local courier service J&T Express Philippines.

The turnover ceremony, which was held at the courier’s Bagumbayan, Taguig warehouse, was graced by representatives

from Hino Motors Philippines, Hino Parañaque and J&T Express. Physical distancing and other health protocols were strictly observed during the event.

“We extend Total Support to local businesses such as J&T who not only respond to the growing demand for online shopping, but also keep the economy moving. The world hasn’t been the same since March.

But our mission of moving people and goods safely and responsibly, a commitment we had for the past 45 years, remains.

As we adapt to the new normal, we will be manufacturing more light to medium-duty trucks designed for home deliveries alongside heavy-duty trucks suitable for warehouse deliveries,” Hino Motors Philippines Chairman Vicente T. Mills Jr. said.

J&T Express Philippines has also ordered 20 units each of the light-duty XZU730L and XZU342LM, and 10 units of the medium-duty FG8J. The trucks are Euro 4-compliant with chassis dimensions and horsepower designed for deliveries.

The turnover ceremony was led by select representatives from Hino Motors Philippines, Hino Parañaque, and J&T Express.