Manila Standard - 2021 January 9 - Saturday

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DON’T TURN BLACK NAZARENE FEAST INTO ‘SUPERSPREADER’—POLICE

By Willie Casas

MANILA Police District (MPD) chief Police Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco on Friday warned devotees of the Feast of the Black Nazarene that they will be arrested if they violate pandemic safety protocols during the Traslacion, a yearly religious procession that health officials fear may turn into a COVID-19 superspreader event.

Police are on hand to enforce physical distancing, Francisco said, and if they do not follow, they will be arrested. Buses from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology would be deployed to serve as temporary detention facilities for violators.

The Department of Health also warned those planning to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene through the annual Next page

Devotees of the Black Nazarene start flocking to the Quiapo Church to hear Mass on eve of the religious feast as authorities have prohibited the holding of traslacion, the annual procession of the venerated image, to prevent the spread of the dreaded COVID-19.

Norman Cruz

PH on alert for 3 variants

Sulu under strict lockdown as new strain found in neighboring Sabah

By Willie Casas

T VOL. XXXIV • NO. 305 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JANUARY 8)

483,852 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

HE Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday it is now checking if three new COVID-19 variants, including the United Kingdom variant, have entered the Philippines.

“Right now we are monitoring three variants. This is the UK type variant, the South Africa variant and the variant identified in Malaysia,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said, speaking in Filipino during a virtual briefing Earlier reports said that a new variant

ACTIVE

9,364

8

DEATHS

NEW

449,330

285

RECOVERIES

and loss of taste.

Sinopharm is among the COVID-19

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo, the “most unsafe in the world.”

A report in Taiwan News on WednesWhile doctors reportedly joked about vaccine frontrunners. Its vaccine is alRio N. Araja and Joel E. Zurbano A TAIWANESE online news company said the COVID-19 vaccine of the Chinese company Sinopharm, with a list of 73 possible side effects, is being called

day quoted a Shanghai-based vaccine expert named Tao Lina, who said Sinopharm’s instruction manual listed 73 side effects or adverse reactions including high blood pressure, loss of vision,

the long disclaimer, Tao pointed out that because such side effects are listed on the manual, patients who experience adverse reactions won’t be able to sue the state-owned pharmaceutical firm.

ready in limited use in China, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. It also claims to have a 79 percent efficacy rate against COVID-19.

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‘Tame Trump’ vows to hand in presidency

NEW

House ready to do Cha-cha; Senate sets gab

DONALD Trump on Thursday (Friday in Manila) acknowledged his presidency was ending and promised a smooth transition to Joe Biden following a mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol now known to have left five people dead.

After two of his cabinet secretaries quit in protest following Wednesday’s mayhem, an unusually tame Trump condemned rioters who rampaged in his name through a congressional session that certified Biden’s victory, although he did not go so far as to congratulate or even say the name of his successor.

“This moment calls for healing and reconciliation,” Trump said in a video released on Twitter after a

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE House of Representatives is all set for Charter change debates on January 13.

Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin confirmed this Friday but assured the public the whole process of introducing amendments to the economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution would be transparent and would follow the legislative process.

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Sinopharm ‘most unsafe’ vaccine—Taiwan News; FDA wants proof

1,776 25,158 NEW

was found in Sabah, a territory claimed by both Malaysia and the Philippines.

This resulted in a strict lockdown for nearby Sulu province.

Vergeire said that the more than 300 samples that underwent gene sequencing

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Outgoing US President Donald Trump

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NBI joins probe into death of PAL flight attendant

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

PAG-ASA, ICONIC RAPTOR, DIES IN DAVAO CITY Story on A2

TESLA CEO MUSK NAMED WORLD’S RICHEST PERSON Story on B3

JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera who was found lifeless inside a hotel room in Makati City on New Year’s day.

In a department order dated January 7, Guevarra required the NBI to file appropriate charges against all persons who would be found liable for any illegal act that resulted in the death of Dacera, if the evidence warranted.

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P13-M DRUG HAUL. Party drugs are in great demand again according to the police which have seized over P12 million worth of assorted prohibited drugs during a raid in a residential subsidivision in Cainta. In a separate operation, Customs agents uncover ecstasy drugs valued at P1 million hidden in an air parcel at the Central Mail Exchange. PNP/BOC

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News

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

High court to hold mock Bar exam

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court will conduct mock Bar examinations involving 120 students divided in four testing sites on January 31, 2020 in preparation for the digitized Bar Examinations in November 2021.

er software, proctored both physically and virtually,” Leonen said.

“The goal of this exercise is to improve on procedures and technical specifications for the first-ever digital and localized Bar Examinations in November 2021,” he added.

The SC magistrate explained that pre-selected students will have to apply through the Supreme Court’s online portal, which will open starting January 12, 2021. The deadline for applications for the pilot bar examination will be on January 20, 2021.

“The examinees’ “grades” for the Pilot (Mock) Examinations will not be part of the actual Bar Examinations.

No merit or demerit shall be received by students who participate in the Pilot (Mock) Bar Examination should they later take the actual Bar Examinations,” Leonen explained.

According to Leonen, the procedure and timeline for this year’s Bar Examinations shall be announced soon after the conduct of the pilot mock Bar Examinations, but not later than February 14, 2021.

Pag-asa, iconic bird of prey, dies in Davao City DAVAO CITY—The Philippine Eagle Foundation announced Friday the death of beloved Philippine Eagle Pag-asa, recognized as an icon of the national bird whose birth in 1992 “heralded hope for the critically endangered species and the entire conservation mission.”

It would have turned 29 on Jan. 15.

In a statement, the PEF said Pag-asa succumbed to infections associated with Trichomoniasis and Aspergillosis, which are said to be fatal to raptors.

“Although treatment was done over a week ago, he continued to deteriorate and died at 8:03 p.m. on January 6,” the foundation said.

Pag-asa, the first ever Philippine Eagle bred and hatched in captivity using cooperative artificial insemination techniques following 14 years of research, was 28 years old.

In 2013 the PEF reached another milestone with Pag-asa with the birth of its only offspring, Mabuhay, who was also bred and hatched through artificial insemination.

“Even after he retired from breeding, Pag-asa lived his life as an icon of hope for Filipinos young and old, and was a constant inspiration to the people working tirelessly to save our National Bird from extinction.”

The Philippine Eagle, a giant bird of prey that can only be seen in four islands in the Philippines—Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao—is considered critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, with about only 400 pairs left in the wild.

More than 30 Philippine Eagles are under the PEF’s care in Barangay Malagos, Davao City.

In a Bar Bulletin No. 17, S. 2021, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, Court’s 2020/21 Bar Examinations chairperson, said that the high tribunal, in coordination with Philippine Association of Law Schools, The Asia Foundation and Ex-

amSoft, will hold Pilot (Mock) Bar Examinations in Baguio City, Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao as testing sites.

“The Pilot (Mock) Bar Examinations will be a small-scale simulation of the actual Bar Examinations using comput-

Sinopharm...

From A1

FDA okays Clover COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

Sinopharm’s vaccine was also reportedly used to inoculate members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), even though it has not obtained local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

The Taiwan News article said Tao works for the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention (SCDC) and that his post on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, was deleted by authorities.

The Chinese Embassy has yet to make a comment.

MKG Manufacturing Corp., which identifies itself as the distributor of Sinopharm in the Philippines, declined to comment.

Asked to comment on the report, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said, “If and when they submit an application for EUA [Emergency Use Authorization], all safety concerns will be closely looked into by our experts. As they do for all applications.”

Philippine Foundation for Vaccination’s Dr. Lulu Bravo also said it was necessary to look at the scientific data first.

“If there is no data, then conclusions cannot be made,” Bravo said.

“But safety is always a prime concern. No one will approve an unsafe vaccine,” Bravo said.

Bravo also warned against examining scientific data through online media reports because of the proliferation of fake news.

Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Pena said the public should trust the country’s drug regulator not to authorize the local use of any vaccine that is unsafe.

Among the other side effects mentioned in the manual posted on Weibo are pain, swelling and itching on the vaccination area. The manual also mentioned headache, fever, muscle pain, difficulty breathing, and diarrhea as common “systemic adverse reactions.”

Listed as “occasional” effects are anorexia and vomiting while “very rare” effects include asthma, tonsillitis, eye pain, vision loss, earache, high blood pressure, urinary incontinence and delayed menstruation.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), meanwhile, said the Gamaleya Institute from Russia is filing for emergency use authorization (EUA) for their COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines this week.

DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said Gamelya also withdrew its application for clinical trials in the Philippines because of the EUA application.

THE Food and Drug Administration approved on Friday Clover Biopharmaceuticals’ application for its COVID-19 vaccine trial in the Philippines.

This makes the Chinese company the second vaccine developer to receive approval for clinical trials in the country, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said.

The FDA had approved the application of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen last December 28.

Clinical trials are meant to check the safety and efficacy of vaccines on a

larger group of people.

To date, the FDA has received three clinical trial applications as assessed by the Department of Science and Technology’s Vaccines Expert Panel.

FDA is currently awaiting clarification on the third applicant, Sinovac Life Sciences, before green lighting its trial application.

“The FDA is currently awaiting response to clarifications for the proposed study on the Sinovac Life Sciences vaccine before issuing a decision on the application,” Domingo said.

Domingo also said they were now processing the approval of new coronavirus vaccines developed by PfizerBioNtech and AstraZeneca for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

He said that the decision of approval is “expected to be released within 21 calendar days upon filing of application.”

Domingo added that the EUA approval of Russian-developed Sputnik V was received on Thursday, but its manufacturers were “instructed to comply with lacking documents.” Willie Casas

PH...

From A1 for the UK variant “were just initial.”

The earlier batch of samples did not yield the UK variant or the South Africa variant that is said to affect vaccine efficacy.

“This is a continuing surveillance system that we have established already,” she said.

She said that the agency has coordinated with regional offices to source samples from Mindanao and the Visayas.

“We are appropriating funds to the Philippine genome center so that we can sustain this because this is important to our surveillance system,” she said.

Asked if the Philippines is also monitoring the variant from Nigeria, now being closely studied by scientists as COVID-19 cases in the country increased, Vergeire said it should show up if there are any.

According to a report on “State of the Nation” in GMA, the South Africa variant, dubbed as the 501Y.V2 variant, has been recorded in 10 countries.

This is different from the 1701V variant found in Malaysia and the P681H variant found in Nigeria. The Cluster 5 variant first found in minks, meanwhile, was seen in Denmark.

The D614G variant first recorded in China is the most widespread and dominant variant of COVID-19 across the globe.

Since the UK variant or the VOC 202012/01 was first detected in December, it has been found in 41 countries.

Some 191 countries and territories have recorded COVID-19 cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that although all viruses change, this does not mean an increase in the rate of transmission or their effects on victims.

Meanwhile, the DOH said the close contacts of a Filipina domestic helper in

Hong Kong, earlier tested positive for the UK variant of coronavirus, have already been swabbed for COVID-19 test and quarantined.

“In Solano, Cagayan [Valley] where she came from, we have gone to their close contacts and have obtained swabs for RT-PCR and specimens for genome sequencing... The specimens have already been sent to the Philippine Genome Center,” Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in Filipino.

“They are currently quarantined and being monitored,” she added.

The same actions were taken for the close contacts of the case in Metro Manila.

“She has a manning agency here.

We tracked all her close contacts. They were all swabbed,” Vergeire said.

Other “retroactive” contacts of the case since she arrived in Cagayan Valley, before leaving from Hong Kong again in December, are also being traced.

The exact date of her arrival in the country before flying out to Hong Kong has yet to be determined.

The results of the tests being run by the Philippine Genome Center for the close contacts of the case is expected to be out next week, according to Vergeire.

Health officials in Hong Kong first reported that a traveler from the Philippines tested positive for the new coronavirus UK variant on Tuesday.

The DOH later on said the case was a 30-year-old woman from Cagayan Valley who arrived in Metro Manila on Dec. 18 and underwent quarantine in observance of workplace protocols.

On December 19, she took an RTPCR test for COVID-19, which yielded a negative result. The traveler departed for Hong Kong on Dec. 22 and again underwent quarantine upon arrival.

The traveler took another swab test on Jan. 2 and tested positive for the coronavirus variant initially discovered in the United Kingdom.

Despite a claim from the Palace that “the worst is over,” Vergeire said the

public cannot afford to be complacent.

“I don’t think that this is the time for us to make conclusions at this point in our situation regarding this pandemic.

We know that there are many more factors and challenges we need to face,” Vergeire said.

“We are not out of the woods yet. The recent trends we see are not stable... really unstable. This is because of the effect of this decrease in the output of our laboratories,” she added.

On Thursday, Roque expressed optimism that 2021 will be a year of recovery for the Philippines.

“I think we have seen the worst and I think the entire government machinery agrees with this... So don’t worry, the worst is over – they say we’ve hit rock bottom and the only way to go is up,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also claimed that the curve has flattened.

“It’s flattened. We don’t know why.

I suspect it was the long and periodic lockdowns. It wasn’t science. But it took plenty of courage from those enforcing the lockdown because they had to be in the line of infection to keep as many of us in our places,” he said in a Twitter post.

In response, Vergeire said many factors affect the number of cases. One of the major factors, she said, was the decrease in laboratory output by as much as 30 percent during the holidays.

“Let us wait for about a week to two weeks so we can see if there really is an increase in cases because of the holidays,” she added.

The DOH logged on Friday 1,776 new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, bringing the total to 483,852 infections.

This did not include data from five laboratories that failed to submit on time.

The 1,776 new cases was the highest daily count last week.

With 285 additional recovered patients, there are now 449,330 total recoveries.

‘Tame Trump’...

From A1

without explicitly conceding and insisting he was “fighting to defend American democracy.”

Trump’s turnaround came as the two top Democrats in Congress urged his immediate removal, fearing damage he can still inflict in his less than two weeks left in the world’s most powerful job.

The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal piled on, calling for Trump “to take personal responsibility and resign.”

“It is best for everyone, himself included, if he goes away quietly,” said the newspaper, which is owned by conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Biden, who won seven million votes more than Trump in the November 3

election as well as a decisive edge in the vital state-by-state Electoral College, declined to address demands for Trump’s removal but accused him of an “all-out assault on the institutions of our democracy.”

“Yesterday, in my view, was one of the darkest days in the history of our nation,” Biden said at an event to introduce his nominee for attorney general, respected judge Merrick Garland, who if confirmed will quickly need to decide whether to prosecute Trump.

“They weren’t protesters,” Biden said. “They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists.”

“I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming but that isn’t true. We could see it coming.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows a majority of the cabinet to remove a president deemed unable to discharge his duties.

They threatened to impeach Trump for an unprecedented second time in the hopes that the Senate will oust him.

“This is an emergency of the highest magnitude,” Pelosi said, describing Trump as a “very dangerous person.”

“By inciting sedition, as he did yesterday, he must be removed from office,” she said. “While it’s only 13 days left, any day can be a horror show for America.” AFP

Garbin said Speaker Lord Allan Velasco gave a clear instruction that the constitutional amendments would focus only on the restrictive economic provisions of the 33-yearold Charter.

“The directive of Speaker Velasco is clear; that we need to confine our discussion (to the) economic provisions. At the end of the day, the Filipino people will have the power of ratification. They will be the one to ratify the amendments in a plebiscite,” Garbin said.

Under Resolution of Both Houses 2 authored by Velasco, the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” will be added to the restrictions set by the Constitution on ownership of franchises and public utilities.

This developed as Garbin defended the move of Congress to attend to Cha-cha proposals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garbin said Vice President Leni Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez was wrong in saying the chamber’s efforts at amending economic provisions in the Constitution was a waste of the people’s time and money.

“The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy has brought to light the need to amend the restrictive economic provisions of our 33-year-old Constitution that impede the inflow of funds and investments crucial to enable us recover from the havoc brought upon by this public health crisis,” Garbin said.

“And if we want to better position the Philippines, Charter change must happen now because our economy is still a long way from full recovery,” he added.

Garbin stressed his panel would treat the proposed measure to amend what he described as the stifling economic provisions just like any other bill taken up in the plenary -- “with fairness and transparency.”

Police also said persons not wearing footwear are also banned.

Police reminded devotees to wear face masks and face shields during the feast day and observe social distancing as preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.

Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Friday announced the suspension of classes in all levels, both in private and public schools, in the city on Jan. 9, Feast of the Black Nazarene.

Work in the city government’s offices is also suspended, Domagoso said.

On the other hand, the suspension of work in the national government offices and private companies holding offices in Manila is upon the discretion of the

management of their offices, Domagoso added.

Domagoso signed Executive Order No. 01 series of 2021, stating that “the suspension of classes will not only give the parents and students the time to participate in the religious activities, but will also give them full access to the use of internet and gadgets and follow activities at home and avoid crowding in churches.”

A liquor ban will be imposed from midnight on Jan. 9, the local government said.

Domagoso warned motorists against leaving any kind of vehicle in areas near and around Quiapo Church Saturday, saying these would be confiscated.

temporary suspension, a jarring shift of tone a day after a rally in which he encouraged thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol.

“We have just been through an intense election and emotions are high, but now tempers must be cooled and calm restored,” said Trump, standing before a lectern with the presidential seal.

“A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power,” he said.

“Serving as your president has been the honor of my lifetime,” Trump said,

NBI...

From A1 NBI OIC Director Eric Distor was also directed to submit a report to the Justice Secretary on the progress of the investigation within 10 days and periodically after.

Dacera, 23, died on January 1 following a New Year’s Eve celebration at a Makati hotel. Her family believes she was drugged and sexually abused.

Her friends, who were with her at the party, denied they raped and killed her, instead they claimed they cared for her until her final moments.

Guevarra earlier told the NBI to

assist the police in its investigation, and the new directive comes days ahead of a separate investigation to be conducted by prosecutors in Makati.

The Makati prosecutor’s office will start a preliminary investigation on January 13. At the end of this process, prosecutors will decide whether to file charges against the respondents in court.

Police have drawn criticism for what observers described as the sloppy probe of Dacera’s death on January 1, with the Makati City prosecutor ordering three suspects released over insufficient evidence for charges of rape with homicide, and setting the case for further investigation.

Don’t...

From A1 “Traslacion” on Saturday to instead celebrate at home or at their local parish to avoid turning the religious event into a COVID-19 “superspreader event”.

The Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) emphasized the need for the public to err on the side of caution in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) had earlier said people below 15 years old and over 65 years old are prohibited from attending the event.

Calls to remove Trump

House...

From A1

News IN BRIEF

asked a Muntinlupa court to dismiss one of the three allegedly trumped-up drug cases against her, citing the absence of evidence that would implicate her in the drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.

De Lima, through her legal counsels, filed her Demurrer to Evidence for Crimi-

nal Case 17-166 involving also co-accused Jose Adrian Dera on Jan. 7, saying the Prosecution failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“Considering the clear absence of evidence—there is even no evidence of an overt act, much less proof beyond reasonable doubt-proving her guilt for violation of Section 26(b) in relation to Section 5 and Section 3(jj) of Republic Act No. 9165

(R.A. 9165), Accused De Lima respectfully submits that this instant trumped-up charge against her has no merit and must be dismissed,” De Lima said.

“In view of the absence of evidence of guilt, it is needless to still proceed with the presentation of the defense’s evidence, and the Court and the Accused must both be spared from this travesty of justice.”

Ranking NPA leader Morales falls in QC AUTHORITIES arrested a ranking official of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Quezon City, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Debold Sinas said on Friday.

In a statement, Sinas said the suspect Allan Morales a.k.a. Joseph Erwin Rimando, Alvin Advincula, Budlat, and Dante Morales was arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), and the Joint Task Force-NCR along Sapphire St. in Barangay Payatas B around noon on Wednesday.

Sinas said the arrest of Morales is pursuant to the “intensified implementation of court processes against communist terrorist personalities wanted by the law for criminal cases”, is in support to Executive Order No. 70 creating the National Task Force to End Local

Despite presenting 21 witnesses and allegedly voluminous irrelevant documentary evidence in the case, De Lima maintained that the alleged conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading between her and Dera remained to be speculation.

“None of the prosecution witnesses admitted having personal knowledge of, much less personal involvement in, the alleged illegal drug trade,” she said.

SC limits lawyers in ‘terror’ hearing

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court will limit the number of lawyers allowed to attend the oral arguments on the anti-terrorism law this month in compliance with the strict health protocols being implemented by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Camp Crame motorpool fire kills 2 cops, hurts 2 TWO police officers died while two others were hurt in a fire that broke out inside the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame, Quezon City early Friday.

Citing a report submitted to PNP chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, national police spokesperson Brig.

Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said the fire razed the compound of the Transportation Maintenance Division (TMD) facility of the Logistics Support Service (LSS) at around 2 a.m.

Usana said Lt. Col. Daniel Vinluan, TMD deputy chief, heard a bursting sound and saw fire at the back of an armored vehicle parked in the vehicle shed.

He then alerted the duty officer to call the Camp Crame Base Fire Station while other LSS personnel on duty immediately responded using fire extinguishers while waiting for the firemen to arrive.

Four victims, identified as Lt. Victorio Esyulde and S/Sgt. Nichol Jamosmos from the Special Action Force (SAF), M/Sgt. Ormilon Amado from the Headquarters Support Service (HSS), and S/Sgt. Jesus Apil from the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM), were brought immediately to PNP General Hospital for treatment.

A3

De Lima asks Muntinlupa court to dismiss ‘trumped-up’ drug case

Marcos: Child sex abuse By Macon Ramos-Araneta to worsen with new strain OPPOSITION Senator Leila de Lima has SENATOR Imee Marcos has warned that the sexual abuse of children is likely to worsen, as fears of a new Covid-19 strain and a spike in infection rates after the Christmas holidays may extend strict community quarantines and keep children online for longer hours.

Marcos stressed the urgency of investigating the growing number of cases of sexual abuse since lockdowns began almost a year ago, filing Senate Resolution 604 on Thursday to follow up a similar measure she filed in August last year.

“The delay in face-to-face classes will continue to expose grade school and high school children to these local and foreign sexual predators lurking on the internet,” Marcos said.

“The problem may have already grown to involve not only individual perverts but organized crime syndicates,” Marcos added.

Nude photos and videos of students desperate to buy gadgets or pay internet bills for online learning reportedly sold for as low as Php150 during a “Christmas bundles” sale last year. Macon Ramos-Araneta

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NEW TRAINS. New Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa boards the new train on the Metro Trail Transit-3 line at the Ayala station on Friday. He traveled to North Avenue station with Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan, Chief-of-Staff and Assistant Secretary for procurement and project implementation Giovanni Lopez, Assistant Secretary for Railways Fidel Cruz, Assistant Secretary for Mindanao Projects Eymard Eje, MRT-3 General Manager Rodolfo J. Garcia, and MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael J. Capati. MRT Photo

Police seize P1m in ecstasy pills, P10m in drugs

By Joel E. Zurbano and Vito Barcelo GOVERNMENT agents intercepted another shipment of ecstasy pills worth P1 million smuggled from the Netherlands.

The parcel of 535 pieces of ecstasy sent by one “Post NL” and consigned to an individual living in Malate, Manila, was discovered at the Central Mail Exchange Center in Pasay City late last month.

Meanwhile, a high-value drug suspect was killed while PHP10 million worth of illegal drugs were seized in separate operations in Cainta, Rizal, and Manila, the

Philippine National Police said Friday.

PNP Chief Debold Sinas said the suspect was slain after engaging in a shootout with members of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group to escape arrest in an operation on Riverside Drive, Lawton, in Manila around 12:20 a.m.

Agents of the Bureau of Customs— Ninoy Aquino International Airport seized the shipment in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and NAIA—Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group.

The authorities placed the parcel under physical examination and discovered the pills.

Solons alarmed over rising food prices

By Maricel V. Cruz A PARTY-LIST group representing women on Friday expressed concern over the continuing increase in the prices of basic commodities as it reiterated its call for a P10,000 cash aid to people still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession.

As 2021 started, the Gabriela Women’s Party in a statement said the prices of vegetables, pork and other basic commodities marked sharp increases although the country was still in a state of emergency due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.

“Why are we still short of food supplies? The

Departments of Agriculture and of Trade and Industry should be held accountable for this anomalous situation, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said.

Brosas said recent reports indicated that the price of a kilo of eggplant rose to P180 from P140, while the price of squash more than doubled to P100 from P40. The price of chicken per kilo had soared from P200 to P220.

“These prices are unconscionable since millions of our countrymen are still out of work and government support has been lacking.

This is the main reason for the demand for a P10,000 cash aid in addition to an effective price freeze supposed to be implemented by the DTI,” Brosas said.

COSTLY VEGGIES. Buyers mill around vegetables at the Quinta market in Manila as their prices increased by as much as 50 percent a day before the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo. Arman Clemente

UP opens portal for first-year applicants

By Rio N. Araja THE University of the Philippines on Friday announced an application for first-year admission for the academic year 2021-2022 through its online portal to submit applications.

Before accessing the UP online admissions portal, applicants are enjoined to visit upcollegeadmissions.up.edu.ph for preparatory information and instructions as well as the latest announcements.

After the applicants have read the pertinent information on this website, they will be direct-

ed to the online application portal.

For safety reasons and in compliance with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ community quarantine guidelines, the UP Office of Admissions is implementing a “no walk-in policy.”

Instead, all applicants are encouraged to apply via the online portal.

“However, while UP encourages online accomplishment and submission, it is cognizant of technological limitations and will continue to coordinate with concerned high schools for alternative modes of submission,” the university said.

The latest apprehension brings to a total of 23,482 ecstasy tablets worth P42.2 million seized in 2020 by Customs NAIA, which has been active in intercepting illegal drugs both in passenger terminals and air parcels.

The contraband was immediately turned over to the PDEA for proper disposition and for the filing of criminal charges against the owner.

The series of drug smuggling prompted Customs-NAIA to intensify its campaign by subjecting more parcels to rigid document profiling, x-ray scanning and physical examinations.

In an advisory released on Friday, the high court said only eight lawyers tasked to present the arguments of the petitioners will be allowed to be present at the en banc session hall on January 19.

The advisory also said only one lawyer for each of the 37 petitions, if they are not among the eight presenters, will be allowed to attend.

On the other hand, Solicitor General Jose Calida, who represents the government, may bring only up to three lawyers with him.

The high court also required all attendees to present a negative COVID-19 RTC-PCR test result taken within 72 hours before the oral arguments.

The lawyers of the petitioners will have 45 minutes to present their arguments on the issues related to the constitutionality of the anti-terrorism law. The high court justices will ask their questions after the presentation of each side.

The oral arguments will be conducted six months after the first petitions were filed.

The magistrates will hear the petitioners and the government’s arguments on whether the legislation violates several constitutional rights.

Among the petitioners against Republic Act 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), are retired justices, lawmakers, activists, students, artists, journalists, labor groups and many others who raised concerns that the law could legitimize alleged state attacks against government critics and activists under the guise of an anti-terrorism campaign.

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

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SATURDAY, JANUIARY 9, 2021 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

RELIEF DISTRIBUTION. Acting Administrator Jeci Lapus (inset photo, right) of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) hands over relief goods and various essential items to Gabriel T. Tejerero, general manager of Virac Water District in Catanduanes, for distribution to families ravaged by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. Photo also shows LWUA officials (from left) SMD acting manager Rodney Peralta, head executive assistant Danilo Basilio, GM Soriano, and WSUDD manager Eileen de la Vega handing over the same to Frauline Soriano, general manager of Teresa Water District in Rizal. Facilitated through LWUA’s corporate social responsibility program called Buhay KYUT (Kalusugang Yaman Ugnay sa Tubig), grocery packs, bottled water, disinfectants, handwashing liquid, used clothing, face shields and IEC materials were given as well to Morong, Rizal and Camalig, Albay. The outreach operation was carried out in partnership with water districts in Teresa and Morong, Camalig, and Virac, some private organizations, the Philippine Water Works Association, Maynilad and the Philippine Water Partnership.

‘Buhay sa Gulay’ farm unveiled in SIlangan QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Friday partnered with Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones and Agriculture Secretary William Dar to develop a seven-hectare lot in Barangay Bagong Silangan into an urban vegetable farming site.

Dubbed “Buhay sa Gulay,” the project primarily aims to promote the importance of urban farming and empower urban dwellers to have an alternative source of income through producing and selling fresh vegetables.

“We are happy to finally launch our Buhay sa Gulay. Aside from providing 70 residents in New Greenland an alternative source of income, we also ensure that they find enjoyment in managing and producing products from their own farm,” Belmonte said.

Buhay sa Gulay in Barangay Bagong Silangan is the Department of Agrarian Reform’s second urban vegetable farming project with a local government unit, replicating the success of its urban faming project in Tondo, Manila.

Quezon City has also partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Bread Society International for the beneficiaries’ needed trainings and capacity building.

“This project is a huge help for our Quezon city residents, as this can provide them with an alternative source of income and food supply. We are positive that other cities in Metro Manila would replicate this project because this is a strategic solution to address issues of food production and sufficiency, and livelihood needs of Filipinos in urban communities,” Castriciones said.

Rio N. Araja

132 Caloocan workers get regularized

QC on lookout for new virus strain

By Jun David

UEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Friday ordered the city’s 142 barangays to stay vigilant against the new strain of the coronavirus amid recent reports that it has been detected in the country.

OVER 132 contractual and job order workers who have been serving Caloocan City for several years were given regular positions by Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan on Friday.

“We have given priority to City Hall employees who have been serving the people of Caloocan for over 30 and 20 years but are still not given permanent positions. Most of them are street sweepers, engineering and admin aides, and day care workers,” said Malapitan.

Apart from job orders and contractual workers given with permanent positions, more than 100 regular employees who have not been promoted for several years have been promoted under Mayor Oca’s ongoing program.

According to Human Resource and Management Office head Lorilei Del Carmen, despite the ongoing challenges posed by the government, the Mayor also wanted to pay attention to the regularization program.

“Me and the group of Day Care Workers who were given attention with our status as job orders are grateful. There were mayors who have been in the position but never noticed our hard work. It is only now in Mayor Oca’s term that we are given regular positions in the government,” said Ma. Isabel Clima who has been serving as a Day Care worker for over 31 years.

According to Mayor Oca, this is in gratitude for their long service and concern for Caloocan.

“There should be no politics in public service. With the number of years serving the people of Caloocan, they deserve to be regular employees of the City Government,” he said.

Previously, Malapitan assured the people of Caloocan they will receive Covid-19 vaccines for free this year after the City Government allocated an initial P125million fund for the jab.

“This is to augment the vaccine to be allocated to our city by the National Government. This is to ensure that if there is a shortage of national government allocation, we have a purchase ready, to ensure that every citizen of Caloocan can be vaccinated so as to ensure safety of all”, Mayor Oca said.

By Rio N. Araja

Q

She directed village officials to closely monitor residents arriving from abroad, especially those from at least 20 countries where the new virus strain

has spread — the United Kingdom, Middle East, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, Australia, and China, among others.

“Following the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure,’ we are now focused on stopping the new virus strain from spreading here,” Belmonte said.

She said the city plans to request hotels currently being used as quarantine facilities to give the city a list of names of city residents who are registered in their facilities.

The city government also wants to seek help from the Bureau of Quarantine in identifying its residents who are returning from other countries.

Joseph Juico, QC Task Force on COVID-19 head, assured residents

P1.5b aid for CL schools under ‘Brigada’ project

Vizcaya gov still opposes Didipio

By Jess Malabanan CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—About P1.5 billion worth of aid for the “new normal” education has been donated to different public schools in Central Luzon, a new concept of Brigada Eskwela focused on preparations and strengthening partnership engagement to ensure that learning continues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Local community and government stakeholders supported schools by providing technology and multimedia support in the form of computer packages such as desktops, laptops, printers, scanners, software, tablets, e-books and multimedia board as well as internet connectivity,” Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Director May B. Eclar said.

They also provided Learners’ and Teachers’ Support Packages including school supplies; wellness, health and nutrition supplies and programs; virtual trainings and skills development; and teaching and learning aids and devices.

“The success of bringing education to our 2.4 million public school learners in the region amidst this pandemic is a success we share with all our education partners and stakeholders. We were able to hurdle past the challenge of ensuring that education continues through their valuable support and commitment,” Eclar added.

the city government has consistently ramped up its contact tracing efforts, improved quarantine facilities and expanded testing capabilities.

“Prior to this report of a new strain, we have established a good strategy to improve surveillance, and control surges, upticks and possibly this new COVID-19 variant,” he said.

He vowed to continuously remind residents to strictly follow basic health protocols amid reports of increased transmission rate of the new variant through an intensified communication campaign.

STILL NO. Nueva Vizcaya Province Governor Carlos Padilla speaks in front of a collage of the Didipio mine being operated by OceanaGold Philippines Inc. and local protesters who have blocked entry to the gold-copper mine.

MMDA closing Ba. Barrio U-turn slot

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has decided to push through with the plan closing the Edsa U-turn slot situated near Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City beginning Monday.

“The U-turn slot located along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue in General Malvar / Bagong Barrio area shall be closed to vehicular traffic effective January 11, Monday, in line with the Department of Transportation’s EDSA Busway project,” the MMDA stated in advisory Friday.

Early last month, the MMDA canceled the closure of the U-turn slot upon the request of the Caloocan City government

to postpone the scheduled closure, saying the move will cause heavy traffic in the area during the holiday season.

Motorists are advised to take the following detour routes: From northbound going southbound, affected vehicles may take the Monumento Circle or those coming from Quezon City may also take Balintawak Cloverleaf.

To date, the MMDA has closed six U-turn slots to give way to the government’s Busway Project, which designates the innermost lane of Edsa as an exclusive lane for public utility buses (PUBs) traveling from Monumento, Caloocan to SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and vice versa.

BAYOMBONG—Nueva Vizcaya Governor Carlos Padilla on Friday reiterated his opposition to the renewal of the mining contract of OceanaGold Philippines Inc. in his province, saying even President Rodrigo Duterte expressed concern over the gold-copper mine’s resumption of operations.

“We strongly oppose the renewal of the FTAA (Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement) of OceanaGold.

We believe that the protection of the environment is more paramount than the interest of OGPI,” said Padilla in a text message.

“No less than President Duterte expressed this concern when he visited Cagayan Valley immediately after typhoon Ulysses,” he added.

The governor was responding to the November 7 press release of OGPI, saying the firm will soon finalize the renewal of its FTAA with concerned government offices.

OGPI’s 25-year contract with the Philippine government to develop and exploit the minerals in Didipio, Kasibu town expired June 20 last year.

Residents of Didipio, supported by the local governments from the barangay to the province, put barricades up in July 2019 to prevent the company from operating after its FTAA expired. The action was instrumental in forcing the company to halt its operation back in October.

Padilla also issued a cease and desist order against the company in June 2019.

OGPI refused to acknowledge the order and filed a petition before the local court to nullify the directive. On July 25, the local court upheld the order.

NV health workers to receive Bayanihan fund benefits

By Ben Moses Ebreo

RAFFLE WINNER. Sangguniang Bayan Mariveles officials (from left) Vice Mayor Lito Rubia, Councilor Tito Catipon, ABC President Jun Villapando and Councilor Ronald Arcenal, hand over the grand prize, a 55-inch TV, to the grand winner of Mariveleno Online Edition Weekends Giveaways on Friday. Butch Gunio

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya— Health workers here who are directly in contact with COVID-19 patients are expected to receive additional benefits through the national government’s Bayanihan 2 Fund.

Dr. Edwin Galapon, provincial health officer, said the Department of Health (DOH) has already approved the P15

million budget for the provincial government’s health workers.

“These benefits are on top of the regular hazard pay of our health workers.

These benefits will only be given to our health workers who are in direct contact with COVID-19 patients based on the guidelines of the DOH,” he said.

Galapon said the COVID-19 health workers will receive the monthly P5,000.00 Special Risk Allowance (SRA)

and P3,000 Active Hazard Duty Pay (AHDP) covering September 15 to December 15, 2020.

He said at least 703 health workers will receive the AHDP while the beneficiaries of the SRA will be determined based on the DOH guidelines.

“These benefits are expected to be released in our province this month since the DOH fund is already available for release,” Galapon said.

Opinion A fragile democracy THE world watched in shock and disbelief as supporters of President and defeated candidate Donald Trump stormed the Capitol where work leading to the proclamation of the president-elect Joe Biden on January 20 was ongoing. Rioters broke police lines, occupied, caused destruction, and defiled the US Capitol. Lawmakers had to stop work and seek shelter. Four people died as a result of the mayhem.

Prior to this, Trump has repeatedly stated that he would never concede because he claimed that the election had been rigged and that he had won. He has repeatedly egged his supporters to not accept the results and on the same day, before the crowd marched to the Capitol, Trump addressed them claiming that “We will never give up. We will never concede.”

He also said, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” and that “History is going to be made.” Unquestionably, it was Trump himself who angered and incited his supporters to break the law and cause trouble.

We need to work hard so our citizens are well-informed of the power of their vote.

The United States of America is considered by many as the paragon of democracy. It was unimaginable that such direct assault on their electoral and democratic processes could take place in America. President-elect Joe Biden was correct when he said in a tweet, “Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile. To preserve it requires people of good will, leaders with the courage to stand up, who are devoted not to pursuit of power and personal interest at any cost, but to the common good.”

This should also be a timely reminder to us, Filipinos. Democracy is fragile. It needs to be nurtured and defended not just by those in government positions but more importantly, by us, the people. Democracy can be taken away if the citizens are not vigilant. It can be destroyed if we become apathetic to political happenings.

It can be taken away if the people renege from our responsibility to be informed and involved.

As a people, we are not strangers to having our democratic system and institutions disrespected and destroyed because of vested interests of those in power. We lived through the Marcos dictatorship that shredded to pieces our democratic values, violated our human rights, prosecuted and killed political opponents, and plunged the country into poverty. We were brought

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

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down to our knees while the few in power lived like untouchable royalty, enriching themselves using stolen public monies.

The Filipino people managed to pick up the pieces by ousting the dictator and rebuilding our democratic institutions. But we wrongly pinned our hopes on the EDSA people power revolt. EDSA was not a cureall to the ills plaguing our nation through the years. We did not realize that simply ousting a dictator and installing a new leadership were not enough. We failed to guard our gains and take an active role in ensuring that those out to only protect their self-interest would not occupy important government positions. We did not sustain the initiative to develop a more mature, more discerning electorate. We allowed ourselves to be seriously divided.

Our country is again in serious trouble. Through the years after EDSA, many of our people lost faith in the families, groups, and parties that held positions post the revolt. In 2016, they wanted a candidate that was the complete opposite of the likes of the Aquinos, Roxases, and Arroyos. They trusted that doing so would be good for the country. Look where we are now.

While martial law has not been declared, we are virtually under a strongman rule put in power by 16 million Filipinos. Tens of thousands of Filipinos have died whether due to the war on drugs or COVID-19 pandemic.

Incompetence, corruption, and insensitivity to people’s needs are the marks of this administration. Disinformation and misinformation are everywhere. Grinding poverty affects millions of Filipinos many of whom are jobless and without any means of livelihood. The economy is at a standstill while the pandemic continues to ravage us. Reports say that as things stand, the Philippines will be the last country to recover from the pandemic in our region.

We should not let this happen.

We cannot afford to make more mistakes in nurturing and protecting our democracy because it affects the kind of governance the country will have in the future. It affects businesses, livelihoods, food security, our environment, our human rights, the social services deserved by our people. It affects everything about our lives.

Democracy is fragile. If ours is further weakened and gets even more destroyed, it is us, the people who will suffer more.

In 2022, we will again vote for a new administration. This is a golden opportunity for us to start regaining what we have lost.

WE MUST CHOOSE CORRECTLY. For this to happen, we need to work hard so our citizens are well-informed of the power of their vote.

From this point onward to 2022, we should nurture and protect what remains of our fragile democracy and make sure that the Filipino people and the country will recover with people in government who are more capable, have integrity, and who will work not for their self-interest but for the common good. @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

A compass for the New Year

FOR this column, I share Pope Francis Message for the celebration of the 54th World Day of Peace. This was issued on December 8 for an annual commemoration held every first of the New Year.

In his message, the Pope recalls ‘Laudato Si,’ the encyclical he issued five years ago. In that document, Francis highlighted the interconnectedness of creation. The encyclical also highlights our need to listen to the cry of the poor and, at the same time, to the cry of creation. According to the Pope, “Peace, justice and care for creation are three inherently connected questions, which cannot be separated in such a way as to be treated individually, lest we fall back into reductionism.”

In his new message, Pope Francis calls on “government leaders and those of international organizations, business leaders, scientists, communicators and educators, to take up these principles as a ‘compass’ capable of pointing out a common direction and ensuring ‘a more humane future’ in the process of globalization.” For Francis, such a compass enables us “to esteem the value and dignity of every person, to act together in solidarity for the common good, and to bring relief to those suffering from poverty, disease, slavery, armed conflicts, and discrimination.”

He continues: “I ask everyone to take this compass in hand and to become a

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

prophetic witness of the culture of care, working to overcome the many existing social inequalities. This can only come about through a widespread and meaningful involvement on the part of women, in the family and in every social, political and institutional sphere.

We would have a much better world this year if we heeded the Pope’s words.

“The compass of these social principles, so essential for the growth of a culture of care, also points to the need for relationships between nations to be inspired by fraternity, mutual respect, solidarity and the observance of international law. In this regard, we must recognize the need to defend and promote fundamental human rights, which are inalienable, universal and indivisible.”

Pope Francis emphasizes the urgent need to respect humanitarian law in a time of so many conflicts and wars” “Tragically, many regions and communities can no longer remember a time when they dwelt in security and peace. Numerous cities have become epicenters of insecurity: citizens struggle to maintain their normal routine in the face of indiscriminate attacks by explosives, artillery and small arms. Children are unable to study. Men and women cannot work to support their families. Famine is spreading in places where it was previously unknown. Peo-

Devotion amid the pandemic

T

ODAY, devotees of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila will hopefully not make the thick crowds of yore—given the health protocols which police will strictly implement to secure the route during the 22-hour Traslacion that began Friday night.

472,000 since March last year.

The implementation of the minimum health requirements gets to be particularly challenging, given reports on the latest strain of virus which, according to the World Health Organization, is stronger than the original coronavirus strain which had its epicenter in China’s Wuhan City.

The Lord would not deem their faith any weaker if devotees simply stayed home and prayed, this year.

The Traslación of the Black Nazarene—commemorating the “solemn transfer” of the image’s copy from San Nicolás de Tolentino in Intramuros to Quiapo—makes its way along the streets of Quiapo, with attendees reaching in past commemoration from hundreds of thousands to an exaggerated millions of devotees.

The National Capital Region Police office will deploy more than 27,000 policemen in the country’s capital city who will include members of the Special Action Force tasked to ensure peace and order and observance of the minimum health safety protocols amid the threat of the coronavirus which has killed more than 9,000 and infected more than

Officials have confirmed that police presence will be needed with their deployment in strategic areas in the capital —particularly from the bayside Luneta to Binondo, Santa Cruz and Quiapo.

The churches along the route, which include Sta. Cruz Church, San Sebastian Church, Nazarene Catholic School and the Quiapo Church, will have Masses celebrated during the Traslacion.

We join police authorities in calling

on the devotees to cooperate with them in implementing self-imposed discipline like wearing face masks and face shields as well as the observance of social distancing always and at all times.

For those who cannot attend the feast of the Black Nazarene, Quiapo Church Rector Monsignor Hernando Coronel has underscored that parishes in the Archdiocese of Manila will also have their own festival Mass today, at different schedules, to honor the Black Nazarene.

At the Quiapo Church, the fiesta Mass will be held at 4.30 am, with only 400 devotees accommodated per Mass.

Those unable to enter will wait for their turn to enter from nearby Villalobos street 30 minutes before the Mass, with 15 masses scheduled until midnight.

The pernicious pandemic watching with keen eyes, the devotees, we are persuaded, who will attend the Traslacion will be rigorously wary not only of their health and safety but of the health and safety of fellow devotees.

Moreover, we trust most devotees would be enlightened that the Lord would not demand of them to put themselves at risk, or that their faith is any weaker if they simply stayed home and prayed, this year.

Alliance with the US erased our national interest THE advent of the Trump administration saw the most abominable distortion in US foreign policy. Some say demagoguery has taken over diplomacy that observance of international law lorded by zealots could lead to their salvation.

Some say, this is symptomatic of increasing US insecurity. Trump, Pompeo and their cabal of white supremacists believe that such unconventional approach to imposing tariff is purposely done to blur US inability to compete in the free market, falsely accusing countries of violating the international property rights to secure advantage.

In other words, the US has resurrected the primeval political clichés of nationalism that saw the world plunged to two World Wars. The “America First” represents the meanest form of diplomacy. It is intended to steer the passion of nationalism until it solidifies to a doctrine of jingoism justifying aggression, invasion and economic blockade.

Take for instance the US policy of providing military aid to our armed forces.

One could see that there is in this US policy a veiled expression of wanting to dominate without the sentiment of ideological bonding. Notably, US military assistance is rather loaded with conditionalities and restrictions. There is forced sale using as their beachhead the military agreements which forced counple are being forced to take flight, leaving behind not only their homes but also their family history and their cultural roots.”

The results of these conflicts cannot be dismissed: Destruction and humanitarian crises. It is time for all men and women of good will to determine the roots of this violence and to figure out what we need to do so our hearts are converted and our ways of thinking changed so we can work collectively for true peace in solidarity and fraternity.

Education is one of the pillars of a more just and fraternal society. Thus Pope Francis calls for a process of education which begins in the family, extends to schools and universities—and the communications media.

Educators are called to pass on a system of values based on the recognition of the dignity of each person, each linguistic, ethnic and religious community and each people, as well as the fundamental rights arising from that recognition.

Finally, Pope Francis proposes: “The culture of care calls for a common, supportive and inclusive commitment to protecting and promoting the dignity and good of all, a willingness to show care and compassion, to work for reconciliation and healing, and to advance mutual respect and acceptance. As such, it represents a privileged path to peace. “In many parts

tries to enter into during the Cold War. The irony about this is the tendency to deny states the option to exercise their right as independent and sovereign states.

Often, the US dictates the kind of weapons based on what it sees as the defense requirements of that country. The whole system become odious and ludicrous, for often, countries are required to pay for their arms acquisition.

US military assistance agreement has become one-sided, for while US officials choose the armaments, it has become their license to prohibit us from acquiring weapons from other countries.

The situation has become ludicrous.

This exclusivity clause negates freedom and trust which are supposed to be the hallmark of our alliance with the US. In fact, the military assistance agreement we signed in 1946 was in exchange for their use of the bases, and became their venue to provide us with hand-me-down equipment paid under our allocated defense acquisition from the US. As one commented, the US, in reality, was making money in their supply of outdated weapons.

Our military assistance has become a farce, for while we acquire our equipment under the treaty, we are not free to acquire them from other countries to literally make a truism of the saying that “beggars cannot be choosers.” Many suspect US defense contractors and salesmen are making a killof the world, there is a need for paths of peace to heal open wounds. There is also a need for peacemakers, men and women prepared to work boldly and creatively to initiate processes of healing and renewed encounter.

“At a time like this, when the barque of humanity, tossed by the storm of the current crisis, struggles to advance towards a calmer and more serene horizon, the “rudder” of human dignity and the “compass” of fundamental social principles can enable us together to steer a sure course. As Christians, we should always look to Our Lady, Star of the Sea and Mother of Hope. May we work together to advance towards a new horizon of love and peace, of fraternity and solidarity, of mutual support and acceptance. May we never yield to the temptation to disregard others, especially those in greatest need, and to look the other way; instead, may we strive daily, in concrete and practical ways, “to form a community composed of brothers and sisters who accept and care for one another.””

All of us are called to follow this compass offered by Pope Francis. It will be a much better world and 2021 if we heeded that.

ing in the sale of military equipment. The President needs only to review the total amount of budget allocated for their acquisition. Almost 95 percent of our arms acquisition is directed to purchasing US arms which means we are practically subsidizing the US arms industry.

Even members of the US Congress have joined in the lobbying to block our purchase from other countries which is tantamount to interfering in our domestic affairs. They did not even consider that almost all of the weapons in our armouy are supplied by them. Besides, it is not for the US Congress to determine with whom the Philippines will purchase its arms requirements.

The situation has become ludicrous because the US is selling their weapons at a price higher than what is offered by other countries. There is no escape, for easily the US invokes our military agreement which prohibits us from purchasing weapons from other countries without the approval and/or permission of the US Defense Department or US Congress. Impliedly, this means the US Congress and the Defense Department stand as more powerful than our elected president.

In one report, it says the Philippines shunned the purchase of Russian-made Mi-171 helicopters. Instead, we opted to buy 16 US Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. which will cost us about $240 million. The reason given is that US President Trump signed a law punishing Russia for its 2014 annexation of Crimea, for its support of the Syrian government of Assad and suspected that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, an accusation Kremlin has denied.

This means, the Trump administration has overstretched the prohibition even if technically the ban should only apply to US corporations dealing with Russia, and not on the Philippines wishing to acquire helicopters from that country.

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EVERYMAN PHL-China build-fest resumes

by Herman Tiu Laurel

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China threatens sanctions vs US over Taiwan visit CHINA on Thursday warned the United States would pay a “heavy price” if its United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft made good on plans to travel to Taiwan next week.

Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its own territory and has vowed to seize it one day, by force if necessary.

Beijing opposes any diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and has pushed to keep it isolated on the world stage.

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has sent multiple senior officials to Taipei over the last year as he clashed with China on a host of issues such as trade, security and human rights.

Craft’s January 13-15 visit will come just a week before the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden and creates a fresh diplomatic headache for the incoming administration.

“The United States will pay a heavy price for its wrong action,” a statement from the Chinese mission to the UN said in response to the planned trip next week by Craft.

“China strongly urges the United States to stop its crazy provocation, stop creating new difficulties for China-US relations and the two countries’ cooperation in the United Nations, and stop going further on the wrong path.”

The American UN mission said Thursday evening that Craft would meet with Taiwanese officials and other members of the diplomatic community.

“During her trip, the Ambassador will reinforce the US government’s strong and ongoing support for Taiwan’s international space,” the American statement said. AFP

Sokor to Japan: Pay former sex slaves S EOUL—A South Korean court on Friday ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to 12 World War II sex slaves or their families, in an unprecedented ruling that prompted an immediate denunciation by Tokyo.

LOYAL SUPPOIRTERS. Supporters of US President Donald Trump, including member of the QAnon conspiracy group Jake Angeli, aka Yellowstone Wolf (enter), enter the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification. AFP

Turkey ready to normalize ties with France TURKEY is ready to normalize relations with France despite continued bilateral tensions over several issues, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.

He said he had had a “very constructive phone conversation” with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

“We agreed that we should work on a roadmap to normalise the relations,” Cavusoglu told reporters after a meeting with Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva in Lisbon.

Portugal has just taken over the EU’s rotating presidency.

“If France is sincere,” Turkey is ready

to normalise ties, he stressed.

The language was very different to that used by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month.

Turkey is embroiled in a series of disputes with France and its EU partners, from tensions in the eastern Mediterranean to the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The spat has risen to new levels in recent months as France has moved to crack down on Islamist extremism after several attacks on its soil.

Erdogan in December said he hoped France would get rid of President Emmanuel Macron as soon as possible.

6 dead, nearly 50,000 evacuated in ‘worst’ Malaysia floods

ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (O R M E C O, Inc.) ✉Brgy. Sta. Isabel, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro ☎043.288.7801 / 288.7802 / 288.7803 Fax No. 043.288.7804 E-mail: ormeco_coop@yahoo.com Website: www.ormeco-inc.com INVITATION TO BID 1.

ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (ORMECO, INC.), through its BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC), hereby intends to apply the sum of Thirty-Five Million Four Hundred Fifty-Three Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty Six Pesos (₱ 35,453,956.00), inclusive of all applicable taxes and fees, being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), for the procurement, supply, and delivery of materials/supplies/equipment for the Technical Services Department;

2.

ORMECO, INC. now calls for the submission of Letter of Intent by interested bidders thru email at ormeco.bac.official@ gmail.com. The list of the ORMECO, INC. Eligibility Requirements may be viewed at www.ormeco-inc.com, https:// web.facebook.com/OrmecoOGMOfficial, and may be requested through email ormeco_coop@yahoo.com, including the numbers listed above. An amount of two hundred fifty pesos (₱ 250.00) is required as Accreditation Fee;

3.

ORMECO, INC. now invites suppliers for the following: ITEM DESCRIPTION

I

Supply of Kilowatt Hour Meters Electronic Kwh meter, Single Phase, CLASS 100 – (6600 pcs) Meter Base Socket CL-100, 4 JAWS, 100 Amp.,600V – (6600 pcs) Electronic Kwh meter, Single Phase, CLASS 200, Form – (40 pcs) Meter Base Socket, Panel Type, CL-200, 4 JAWS, 200 Amp, 600V; (50 pcs); Meter Kwh, 3 Phase, CLASS 20, FM48A, Electronic Demand, KVARH with TOU – (20 pcs)

₱ 14,982,000.00

FUNDING SOURCE

III

Supply of Bulb spiral 60 watts (CFL) – (600 pcs), photo switch – (400 pcs), Fuse Links 2 amp – (1000 pcs), 3 amp – (1500 pcs), 4 amp – (1000 pcs), 5 amp – (700pcs), 6/8/10 amps – (500 pcs each) 12 amp – (600 pcs), 15/20/30/40 amp – (500 pcs each), Clamp hot line #2 - #4/0 ACSR – ( 500 pcs), #4/0 - 33/6 ACSR – (51 pcs), Electrical tape (big) – (5,000 pcs), Rubberize tape – (20 pcs), Service clevis #6 – (18,000 pcs), Insulator spool 1 3/8 – (18,000 pcs), Metal Screw #7x1 – (50 pcs), Tox #6 – (20 boxes), Bolt & Nut Stainless 3/16x1 – (2000 pcs)

₱ 3,069,472.00

₱ 5,000.00

IV

Supply of Bolt Machine 5/8x10” – (50 pcs), Bolt Machine 5/8x12” – (50 pcs), Nut Eye 5/8 Conventional – (500pcs), 15 KVA Transformers Pole Type CSP – (40 units), 25 KVA Transformers Pole Type CSP – (21 Units), 37.5 KVA Transformers Pole Type CSP Conventional –(10 Units), Fuse Cutouts & Arresters combination 15KV Class100 – (24 pcs)

₱ 5,639,250.00

₱ 10,000.00

₱ 25,000.00 5% Reinvestment Fund

(SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

5.

Online Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the NEA Memorandum NO. 2017-019: Revised Procurement Guidelines and Simplified Bidding Procedures for Electric Cooperatives, IRR-RA 10531 (2017); All video conferences shall be recorded in CD/DVD for reference and other purposes.

6.

The schedule of bidding activities is as follows:

SCHEDULE

Release of Invitation to Bid

9 January 2021 (Saturday)

Submission of Letter of Intent thru email / Availability of Bidding Documents

11 - 18 January 2021 Office Hours, at ORMECO, INC. Office (ormeco.bac.official@gmail.com)

2 February 2021 (Tuesday) at ORMECO, INC. Board Room

Notice is hereby given that GENNEXT LAND DEVELOPMENT, INC., with office address at Arbortowne Bldg., G/F 394 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a new developer of economic and low-cost housing project (Carmenchu BelAir) with a capacity of 299 economic and low-cost housing units on a non-pioneer status with project site located at Brgy. Matangtubig, Baliuag, Bulacan.

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

For Additional info please be guided in the following: (please refer to Online Bidding procedures) a.

Payment of bidding documents shall be deposited to BAC bank account (to be email by BAC secretariat). b.

Prospective bidders must submit to the BAC via email the scanned copy of validated bank deposit slip / screenshot of successful electronic fund transfer as proof of payment. c.

Scanned copy of Bidding Documents will be sent by the BAC secretariat upon validation that the payments are credited to the coop’s bank account. d.

ID number or link of the Online/Virtual conference will be provided by BAC secretariat

19 January 2021 (Tuesday) at ORMECO, INC. Board Room

9:00 am for Lot I & II 2:00 pm for Lot III & IV

(MS-JAN. 9, 2021)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that SHELTER SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION with office address at 12 Mother Ignacia Ave., Brgy. Paligsahan, Quezon City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as an Expanding Developer of Economic and Low-Cost housing project (Mabini Heights 2) with a capacity of 227 economic and low-cost housing units on a Non-Pioneer status with project site located at Brgys. Mabini & Rizal, Lipa City, Batangas.

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.

9:00 am for Lot I (MS-JAN. 9, 2021)

Deadline of Bid Submission (ormeco.bac. official@gmail.com), Opening and Evaluation of Bids (Online/Virtual)

3 February 2021 (Wednesday) at ORMECO, INC. Board Room

9:00 am for Lot II

4 February 2021 (Thursday) at ORMECO, INC. Board Room

9:00 am for Lot III

5 February 2021 (Friday) at ORMECO, INC. Board Room

9:00 am for Lot IV

Post-Qualification

8 - 9 February 2021 (Monday and Tuesday)

Approval through Board Resolution and Issuance of Notice of Award

Board Meeting for the Month of February 2021

Delivery Schedule

To be announced during the Pre-Bid Conference

7.

Only those who have bought the Bidding Documents shall be allowed to attend or participate during the Online/Virtual PreBidding Conference, where their presence is MANDATORY;

8.

All bids shall be opened and read in the presence of Bidders or their duly authorized representatives. All bids shall be accompanied by a scanned copy of validated bank deposit slip or screenshot of successful electronic fund transfer representing payment of bid bond equivalent to 2% of ABC.

9.

The winning bidder shall issue Performance Security in the form of Cash, Cashier’s Check, Manager’s Check, issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank, equivalent to five percent (5%) of the ABC; and

10.

ORMECO, INC. reserves the right to accept or reject any bids, declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO, INC. also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

Certified by:

Noted by:

(Sgd)VICENTE V. FERRERA Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)

(Sgd)ATTY. NORBERTO M. MENDOZA Head Of Procuring Entity (HOPE)

Many roads, including the main expressway that links the east coast states, have been closed.

The worst-hit state is Pahang, where around 27,000 people have been evacuated in recent days, according to the social welfare department.

In one village in the state cut off by floods, residents were evacuated in an excavator on Wednesday, while others were forced to swim through deep waters. AFP

IN BRIEF

Due to COVID-19, in compliance with the Community Quarantine (CQ), Online/Virtual Bidding Conferences will be conducted.

Stable internet connection is required to all prospective bidders during the conferences. BAC shall not be liable in any unexpected disruption due to poor/unstable signal which may cause loss of connection and inability of Bidders to engross with the conferences.

Online/Virtual Pre-Bid Conference

region on Friday, swelling the number of people abandoning their homes to more than 47,000, officials said.

“I have lost everything. The water has covered my roof,” 59-year-old factory worker Tan Kong Leng told AFP, tears filling his eyes.

Floods hit the region during the rainy season every year and regularly result in mass evacuations; but those in the affected areas say this year’s are the worst in decades.

N OTICE ₱ 11,763,234.00

ACTIVITIES

MENTAKAB, Malaysia—At least six people have died and nearly 50,000 evacuated in Malaysia after monsoon rains pounded the country’s east coast, authorities said Friday, causing what residents described as the worst flooding in half a century.

Authorities have stepped up rescue operations after locals complained they had to fend for themselves earlier this week.

Heavy rains continued to batter the

₱ 25,000.00

Supply of Duplex conductors # 6 - (300,200 mtrs), # 4 – (10,000 mtrs), # 2 – (3500 mtrs); Guy grip – (15,000 pcs), Connector Compression #2/0 ACSR YHD #150 – (18,200 pcs), Compression connector YPC2A8U #253– (60,562 pcs), 8mm Copper Wire Thin – (345 mtrs), 14mm – (165 mtrs), 22mm – (40 mtrs), 30 mm – (60 mtrs)

II

4.

COST OF BID DOCUMENTS (NONREFUNDABLE)

ABC (INCLUSIVE OF VAT)

LOT

“Macron is trouble for France. With Macron, France is passing through a very, very dangerous period,” the Turkish leader said then.

On Thursday Cavusoglu said France and Turkey had been working on “an action plan” to normalize bilateral ties.

He added that relations with the 27-nation European Union as a whole would benefit from a “better atmosphere”.

At their summit last month the EU leaders decided to draw up a list of Turkish targets for sanctions in response to Ankara’s prospecting for gas in Greek and Cypriot waters. AFP

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Japan should pay the victims 100 million won ($91,000) each.

It is the first civilian legal case in South Korea against Tokyo by wartime sex slaves for Japanese troops, who were euphemistically labelled “comfort women”.

The ruling comes despite a 1965 treaty between Seoul and Tokyo which declared claims between them and their nationals had been settled. Imperial Japan was responsible for the “comfort women” system, the court said in its verdict.

“The plaintiffs, who were in their late teens or early 20s, were subjected to repeated sexual exploitation,” it said.

“It amounted to an illegal act against humanity and the defendant has an obligation to compensate the victims for their mental suffering.”

Tokyo and Seoul are both major US allies, democracies and market economies, but their deepening rift will present incoming US president Joe Biden with an immediate foreign policy headache as he seeks to build a common front on China and nuclear-armed North Korea.

Ties between the neighbours are strained by Japan’s early-20th century colonial rule over Korea, which is still bitterly resented on the peninsula, and have plunged to their worst in years under South Korea’s centre-left President Moon Jae-in. AFP

(SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that MASINLOC POWER PARTNERS CO. LTD. is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as New Operator of 315MW Super Critical Pulverized Coal Thermal Power Plant (Unit 4) on a NonPioneer Status under Book I of Executive Order No. 226, otherwise known as the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987, as amended, with project site in Brgy. Bani, Masinloc, Zambales.

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.

RAQUEL B. ECHAGUE OIC-Director Resource-based Industries Service

(MS-JAN. 9, 2021)

M. Standard – Jan. 9, 2021

2020 ties 2016 as hottest year on record—EU study 2020 has tied 2016 as the hottest year on record, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Friday, keeping Earth on a global warming fast track that could devastate large swathes of humanity.

The six years since 2015 are the six warmest ever registered, as are 20 of the last 21, evidence of a persistent and deepening trend, the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported.

Last year’s record high -- a soaring 1.25 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels -- was all the more alarming because it came without the help of a periodic natural weather event known as an El Nino, which added up to two-tenths of a degree to the 2016 average, according NASA and Britain’s Met Office.

“It is quite clear that in the absence of El Nino and La Nina impacts on year-to-year temperatures, 2020 would be the warmest year on record,” Zeke Hausfather, director of climate and energy at the Breakthrough Institute in Oakland, California, told AFP. During an El Nino, which occurs every two to seven years, warm surface water in the tropical Pacific Ocean can boost global temperatures.

La Ninas—such as one currently underway—have the opposite cooling effect. AFP

Hungary extends partial lockdown to curb virus spread HUNGARY has extended partial lockdown measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus until February 1, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday.

The measures -- including a curfew between 8 pm and 5 am, a ban on gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing in public, and online tuition for high schools and universities -- were brought in as part of a state of emergency in place since November 11.

“The (government’s) operational taskforce has decided to extend the restrictions currently in place until February 1,” Orban said during a state media interview.

“As long as there are not enough vaccines, we will stick to the restrictions we have,” he said.

The prime minister said primary schools and kindergartens can remain open.

On Friday, Hungary reported 115 new deaths due to Covid-19, bringing the country’s overall death toll to 10,440, while the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals reached 5,297, with 372 on ventilators. AFP

Cleric linked to Bali bombing in 2002 released from prison A RADICAL cleric linked to the Bali nightclub bombings was freed from prison Friday, stirring grief and anger among victims nearly two decades after more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, who were killed in Indonesia’s worst terror attack.

Abu Bakar Bashir, 82, is seen as the spiritual leader of Islamist terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, which was responsible for the massive blasts that ripped through a pair of packed bars in October 2002.

The firebrand preacher was released after completing an unrelated jail term for helping fund militant training. But he has long been suspected of involvement in the horrific holiday island bombings, which came just a year after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

The bespectacled Bashir, who walks with a cane, left Gunung Sindur prison near the capital Jakarta in a van early Friday, arriving later in his hometown Solo city in Java where police in armored vehicles guarded his home.

Local authorities had warned against any mass gatherings by his supporters over coronavirus fears. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Business

B3

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Biden names final economic team choices WASHINGTON―US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled his picks for commerce secretary, labor secretary and small business administrator to fill his incoming economics team.

The transition named Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and former Obama official Isabel Guzman as nominees for the three positions, respectively.

“With two dozen cabinet nominees announced, President-elect Biden has put forward the most diverse cabinet in American history,” the Biden team said in a statement.

Biden had already revealed choices for part of his economic team in early December, composed mostly of women, minorities and those who had served under former president Barack Obama.

Most notable was former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary.

“They share my belief that the middle class built this country and that unions built the middle class,” Biden said of the group he has assembled, according to the statement.

The new officials’ priority will be “digging us out from the worst jobs crisis in nearly a century by supporting small businesses, dramatically increasing union density, and rebuilding the backbone of America―our middle class,” the transition’s statement said.

Last spring, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the worst financial crisis since 1929, with millions of Americans losing their jobs or seeing their hours cut.

If her nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Raimondo would take on business-government relations, handling issues such as trade wars instigated by outgoing President Donald Trump and how to regulate tech giants.

Walsh would be the first union leader to head the Department of Labor in 50 years, according to the Biden statement, and would take on such tasks as reviewing working conditions disrupted by the pandemic. AFP

Soaring COVID infections likely delayed hiring WASHINGTON―Hiring in the United States likely stalled at the end of 2020, economists say, as coronavirus infections soared and Washington lawmakers squabbled over a massive spending bill that was approved only at the last minute.

The Labor Department on Friday will release the December jobs report, the final report for a year that saw the US economy unraveled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to rage even as vaccines are being rolled out.

Business closures to stop the virus from spreading sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing in April from its record-low level, and though it has since decreased, the forecast among analysts is for little improvement from the 6.7 percent jobless rate reported in November.

“I think things have slowed down,” said William Spriggs, chief economist of the AFL-CIO trade union federation.

“We’ll continue to see what we saw in November, which is the bounceback is really grinding to a halt,” he told AFP. The report follows Labor Department data Thursday showing new applications for jobless benefits remained at a high level in the final week of the year.

“The underlying story here is clear.

A combination of COVID fear and state-mandated restrictions on activity in the services sector is squeezing businesses, and no real relief is likely until a sustained decline in pressure on hospitals emerges,” said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The US was gripped by twin crises in 2020: the pandemic and its economic fallout.

The seemingly unstoppable COVID-19 outbreak has infected more than 21.3 million people and killed nearly 362,000 as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Efforts to stop the virus by ordering many businesses to close or restrict activities caused massive layoffs beginning in March that moderated over the summer as those regulations were relaxed. AFP

BREXIT STICKING POINT.

French Seas Minister Annick Girardin (third from right) grabs a clam during a visit with representatives of the fishing industry in the harbor of Granville, north of France on January 7, 2021. In order to discuss the consequences of the Brexit agreement on activities of the fishing industry and the support mechanisms put in place by the Government, the Minister has met with local elected officials and visited several port infrastructures. AFP

Stocks advance to extend rally; GT Capital, PLDT up S TOCKS extended their rally Friday along with the rest of Asia following another recordbreaking performance on Wall Street as investors set their sights on a further huge US stimulus after Democrats took control of Congress.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 170.27 points, or 2.4 percent, to 7,289.88 on a value turnover of P11 billion. Gainers beat losers, 141 to 74, with 48 issues unchanged.

PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, surged 5.5 percent to P1,424, while Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, advanced 5 percent to P87.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group soared 7.2 percent to P579, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, rose 4.6 percent to P4.29.

The rest of Asian markets continued

to push higher Friday. All three indexes on Wall Street closed at records, with the Dow ending above 31,000 for the first time, and Asia picked up the baton.

Tokyo and Singapore each jumped more than two percent, while Mumbai, Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok all piled on more than one percent. There were also healthy gains in Sydney and Wellington, though Shanghai edged down.

Seoul climbed four percent, helped by a jump in Samsung after it reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, while car giant Hyundai rocketed 19.4 percent on the back of reports it was in talks with Apple for a joint project to manufacture self-driving electric vehicles.

Hong Kong was up more than one percent, but telecom giants fell again after MSCI said they would be removed from its benchmark indexes a day after having their New York shares delisted in response to a Trump administration call to bar Americans investing in them.

The prospect of another massive splurge in the world’s biggest economy helped divert attention from soaring COVID-19 infection and death rates that have forced governments to once

again lock down as they try to quickly roll out vaccinations.

After Wednesday’s extraordinary scenes in Washington that saw a pro-Donald Trump mob storm the Capitol complex, the president said he would allow for a smooth transition of power to Joe Biden and later called for “healing and reconciliation.”

While the violence shocked the world, investors brushed it off and analysts said Trump’s comments would provide a little more reassurance.

Traders are now looking forward to hearing what Democrats propose to do with their new powers, with expectations they will try to revive their titanic spending plans that were cast aside last year to push through a second stimulus with Republicans just before Christmas.

Among the first pieces of legislation could be a drive to increase the cash handout included in that rescue package from $600 to $2,000.

Observers also said earlier worries on trading floors that Democrats would try to hike taxes and pursue tighter regulations would likely disappear as lawmakers focus on eliminating the virus and reviving the economy. With AFP

PSEi January 8, 2021

TOP GAINERS LAST PRICE

% CHANGE CHANGE

1 2

BCP IS

18 0.166

6 0.03

50.00% 22.06%

3

SGP

300

52.2

21.07%

4

T

1.2

0.18

17.65%

5 6

PHA SUN

1.65 2.09

0.24 0.26

17.02% 14.21%

7

BKR

1.05

0.12

12.90%

8 9

SOC PBC

0.84 22.95

0.09 1.9

12.00% 9.03%

10

ORE

1.26

0.1

8.62%

TOP LOSERS LAST PRICE

% CHANGE CHANGE

1 2

OPM DWC

0.011 2.39

-0.001 -0.2

-8.33% -7.72%

3

PPC

5.14

-0.34

-6.20%

4 5

AR BMM

0.0035 73.75

-0.0002 -4.2

-5.41% -5.39%

6

CAB

54.9

-3.05

-5.26%

7

FJP

3.28

-0.16

-4.65%

8 9 10

MACAY FAF AB

8 0.67 7.49

-0.38 -0.03 -0.31

-4.53% -4.29% -3.97%

MOST ACTIVE 1

ACEN

VOLUME 215130900

VALUE (PHP) 1,584,403,981.00

2 3

DITO BPI

69530600 6610700

918,436,828.00 564,074,799.00

4 5

APL PHA

2368210000 286210000

467,648,790.00 443,869,540.00

6 7

SMPH BDO

9232000 3400800

369,755,885.00 367,229,587.00

8 9

GTCAP MBT

622270 6523900

350,459,840.00 318,062,055.00

10

ALI

6714900

276,612,200.00

France plans mass duck slaughter as bird flu hits foie gras

By Myriam Lemetayer PARIS―French producers of foie gras called Thursday for a mass preventive cull of ducks to try to halt the spread of a severe strain of bird flu that is ripping through poultry farms in the southwest of the country.

The highly pathogenic H5N8 virus was first detected in a bird in a pet shop on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in November before spreading to duck farms on the mainland in December.

Several European countries have reported cases of infection, five years after a major outbreak prompted the slaughter of millions of ducks in France.

“The virus is stronger than us. New clusters are constantly emerging,” the head of France’s CIFOQ federation of foie gras producers, Marie-Pierre Pe, told AFP. The number of outbreaks had now risen to 124, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday, adding that around 350,000 ducks had been slaughtered since December 24.

Earlier this week the government’s chief veterinary officer, Loic Evain, said over 200,000 ducks had already been slaughtered and that a further 400,000 birds were set to be culled, out of around 35 million reared each year.

He described the virus, which is not harmful to humans, as “very, very contagious.”

Officials in Belgium said Thursday they had culled three contaminated poultry flocks―one in Menin, in the west of the country, another in Dinant in the south and a third in Dixmude in western Flanders.

Belgium’s federal food safety agency AFSCA, which has ordered poultry own-

In this file photo taken on December 10, 2015, ducks roam in an outdoor enclosure in a farm in BenesseMaremne, southwestern France. Faced with an outbreak of the number of farms contaminated by bird flu in the southwest, foie gras professionals on January 7, 2021 urged the health authorities to carry out preventive culling of ducks on a larger scale.

AFP

ers to lock up their animals to avoid contamination, said that 20 cases of the virus had been found in wild birds.

Herve Dupouy, a French producer who heads the local poultry section of the FNSEA farmers federation in the Landes department, a bastion of the foie gras industry, said “the situation is out of control.”

He called on the state to cull all poultry flocks in the area and impose a twomonth production freeze.

“There’s no other solution,” he said.

So far the authorities have been culling all ducks and geese within a three-kilo-

meter radius of an infected flock. Freerange chickens and turkeys within that range have also been slaughtered.

CIFOQ said Thursday that government officials had shared plans to expand the culls over a wider area.

The bird flu clusters have been detected on poultry farms and in pet shops in the Landes department and the neighbouring Gers and Pyrenees-Atlantique departments.

Chinese market in jeopardy The head of France’s chamber of agriculture, Sebastien Windsor, called Wednesday for “radical measures” to

try to restore confidence in export markets such as China which announced this week it was suspending French poultry imports over the virus.

Producers of foie gras, a pate made from the livers of force-fed ducks or geese, fear a repeat of the devastation wrought by two previous waves of bird flu in the winters of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.

Over 25 million ducks were culled in the first outbreak, followed by 4.5 million the following year, causing a steep decline in foie gras production. AFP

Brash billionaire: Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk is world’s wealthiest person NEW YORK―Whether the topic is transforming the automobile or conquering the next frontier of space, Elon Musk has shown a knack for captivating an audience beyond investors and science geeks.

The brash Tesla CEO, now the world’s wealthiest person following the electric automaker’s meteoric rise, was the quintessential Silicon Valley disruptor―except he no longer lives in California.

The norm-shattering entrepreneur, who has more than 41 million followers on Twitter and a fortune now estimated at more than $180 billion, announced last month he had relocated to Texas and could not resist one last dig at the West Coast state.

“If a team has been winning for too long, they do tend to get a little complacent, a little entitled, and then they don’t win the championship anymore,” Musk said at a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal.

“California has been winning for a long time... and they are taking it for granted.”

On Thursday, Musk surpassed Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as the world’s wealthiest person.

“How strange,” Musk said on Twitter when informed of the distinction. “Well, back to work... “ Musk, 49, was born in South Africa and holds passports from the US and Canada after completing his studies in Ontario and the state

of Pennsylvania.

By 25, he had created Zip2, an online advertising platform, and was a millionaire by age 30 after selling the company to Compaq Computer in 1999.

He followed that success with the creation of the online bank, X.com, which was later merged into PayPal which eBay bought in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

But Musk has entered a new stratosphere over the last few years as Tesla has grown and come closer to achieving a mission he said is not purely economic.

Tesla’s success is very important for the future of the world,” Musk said in 2018. “It’s very important for all life on Earth.” AFP

Musk

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

B4

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

PSE INDEX CLOSING Friday, January 8, 2021

170.27 PTS. 7,289.88

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

25,127,713,782 191,242 11,056,711,658.34 141 74 48

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.0530

Japan

Yen

0.009634

0.4629

UK

Pound

1.356800

65.1983

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128977

6.1977

Switzerland

Franc

1.129816

54.2910

Canada

Dollar

0.788208

37.8758

Singapore

Dollar

0.754945

36.2774

Australia

Dollar

0.776800

37.3276

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655619

127.6105

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266581

12.8100

Brunei

Dollar

0.752106

36.1409

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.033333

1.6018

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.0835

Euro

Euro

1.227400

58.9803

Korea

Won

0.000914

0.0439

China

Yuan

0.154371

7.4180

India

Rupee

0.013620

0.6545

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.247831

11.9090

New Zealand

Dollar

0.725400

34.8576

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035675

1.7143 Source: BSP

Meralco bares P0.27 per kWH rate increase

Business Exports up by 3% in November, fastest expansion in 10 months

By Julito G. Rada

E

XPORTS rose 3 percent in November from a year ago as the government further eased quarantine restrictions and allowed establishments to operate at higher capacity.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the pace was the fastest growth in exports in 10 months, or since outbound shipments increased 9.4 percent in January before the government imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Exports fell as much as 49.9 percent in April at the height of the lockdown before gradually improving in the succeeding months. Exports rose 2.8 percent in September but fell 1.2 percent in October.

The PSA said merchandise exports amounted to $5.9 billion in November, up from $5.62 billion a year ago.

Seven of the 10 major commodity groups recorded annual increases led by refined copper, gold and coconut oil. Sales of electronic products grew 4.6 percent to $3.53 billion and accounted for 60.9 percent of the total exports in November.

Meanwhile, imports tumbled 18.9 percent in November to $7.52 billion from $9.28 billion a year ago, pulled down by lower shipments of transport equipment (-42.7 percent), in-

dustrial machinery and equipment (-32.6 percent); and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (-30.2 percent).

The value of imports registered a negative annual growth rate for 19 straight months since May 2019.

The higher exports and lower imports trimmed down the trade deficit in November to $1.73 billion, the smallest in five months. It was also lower than the $3.65 billion shortfall registered in November 2019.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said the pickup in November exports might have been driven by the strong outbound shipments to China and Taiwan, which bounced back sharply after the COVID-19 challenges in the first half of 2020.

Mapa said the decline in imports was due to the sharp pullback in economic activity, in particular the lower capital formation represented by the drop in durable equipment/machinery and raw materials used for construction.

“The current trend of modest gains in exports coupled with weakness in imports will likely continue for at least the first half of the year with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases likely to sap momentum from the recent pickup in global trade, leading to softer export growth,” Mapa said.

Combined exports in the first 11 months of 2020 reached $57.97 billion, down 11.1 percent from $65.18 billion in the same period in 2019. Total imports in the 11-month period also fell 24.5 percent to $77.63 billion from $102.88 billion a year ago.

By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. announced Friday an increase of P0.2744 per kilowatt-hour in the overall rate for a typical household to P8.7497 per kWh in January from P8.4753 per kWh in December.

The rate is equivalent to an increase of around P55 in the monthly bill of Meralco residential customers consuming an average of 200 kWh. Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said despite the increase, this month’s overall rate was still more than P0.70 per kWh lower than January 2020’s rate of P9.4523 per kWh. Meralco consumers experienced a series of power rate reductions in 2020 amounting to P1.39 per kWh for the entire year.

Zaldarriaga said mitigating this month’s rate increase was the inclusion of Energy Regulatory Commissionapproved adjustments for Meralco’s pass-through over/under-recoveries for the period January 2017 to December 2019.

The ERC, in an order released Dec. 29, directed Meralco to refund overrecoveries in transmission and other charges over a period of three months until fully refunded and to collect an under-recovery in the generation rate for 24 months until fully collected.

“The initial impact to residential customers is a net refund of around P0.1150 per kWh,” Zaldarriaga said.

He said the overall rate increase in January was driven by higher generation charges. The January generation charges amounted to P4.4574 per kWh, or P0.3058 higher than the December generation charge of P4.1516 per kWh. Zaldarriaga said the rates of Meralco’s power supply agreements and independent power producers increased

by P0.2723 and P0.2428 per kWh, respectively as Luzon’s peak demand in December decreased by 252 MW to 9,634 MW from 9,886 MW on cooler temperature and more non-working holidays compared to November.

The demand for power in Meralco’s franchise fell to its lowest level in December since the lifting of the enhanced community quarantine in May. The lower demand led to fixed costs from power suppliers being spread over lower energy volume, resulting in higher effective generation rates to consumers, according to Meralco.

CITY SAVINGS ASSISTANCE.

City Savings Bank Inc. mobilizes calamity-related assistance through various relief distributions and education recovery support initiatives to typhoon-affected areas in Regions 2, 3, NCR, 4A, 4B and 5. The bank distributed over 1,800 relief goods (rice, canned goods, water, vitamins, coffee) and hygiene kits (bath soap, toothpaste, toothbrush) as immediate aid. The bank also donated printers, inks and bond papers to assist in the replacement and reproduction of selflearning modules to 75 schools and divisions in Luzon.

Jollibee to open 28 stores in US, Canada in 2021 to foster growth

By Jenniffer B. Austria FASTFOOD chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Friday it plans to open 28 stores in North America this year in line with its goal to have 300 stores in the region by 2024.

It said the target was to open 19 stores in the United States and nine stores in Canada this year. The 2021 expansion will mark Jollibee’s largest addition to its North American store network.

Jollibee said despite the pandemic, it opened 16 stores in the two countries last year, including four in December.

It opened stores in San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Delano, California; and Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada last month.

Jollibee said it had 68 stores in North America as of end-2020, including 48 in the US and 14 in Canada.

The company said that while there were challenges across the restaurant industry, it persevered by focusing on off-premise channels apart from dine-in services.

Jollibee said it encouraged customers at the onset of the pandemic to experience the joy of Jollibee from the comfort and safety of their own homes via call ahead pick-up, take-out and drivethru. By April, Jollibee announced the launch of its nationwide delivery service via DoorDash.

“We have remained nimble and optimistic which has led Jollibee to defy expectations amidst an extremely difficult year and experience double-digit sales growth across North America,” said Maribeth Dela Cruz, president of Jollibee Group North America, Philippine brands.

“Make no mistake though. We would not be weathering these hard times without the support of our customers. They’ve showed up for us, and now we want to show up for them.

We’re incredibly grateful for the continued support we’ve received from across these regions and are thrilled to deliver a small spark of joy for them and their families,” Dela Cruz said.

IN BRIEF

ERC: 3rd party to audit past Meralco refunds

HELICOPTER DONATION. The MVP Group of Companies donates a helicopter and several logistics support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help in the country’s rescue and relief operations amid the destructive calamities that visit the country this year. MVP Group chairman Manuel Pangilinan (left) leads the ceremonial turnover of a helicopter from Pacific Global One, the aviation group of the MVP Group, after careful selection and assessment by the AFP’s trained pilots. Other items that were turned over were rescue boats and trucks from Metro Pacific Investments Foundation, PLDT-Smart Foundation, One Meralco Foundation and MetroPac Movers Inc.

New York-based Bow Wave Capital investing $175m in GCash operator

By Darwin G. Amojelar NEW York-based investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management is infusing more than $175 million into Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), the financial technology arm of Globe Telecom and the operator of mobile wallet GCash.

Mynt said it raised over $175 million in fresh capital from ASP Philippines LP, a limited partnership fund managed by Bow Wave Capital Management to spur the growth of financial inclusion and the digitization of payments and financial services in the Philippines.

It said the fresh capital would be issued in multiple tranches, with post-money valuation of the final tranches at close to $1 billion.

“This investment from Bow Wave is a validation of both what we have accomplished as well as the potential of GCash in unlocking digital services in the Philippines,” Mynt president and chief executive Martha Sazon said.

“The pandemic has acted as a catalyst

in highlighting the importance of digital finance in society today and with this investment from Bow Wave, we look forward to further living out our vision of finance for all, enabling democratized access to payment and financial services to every Filipino,” she said.

GCash helped Filipinos get through their daily lives by providing them with convenient, safe and secure digital payment options last year.

As more and more Filipinos turn to digital services, GCash recorded gross transaction value of over P1 trillion in 2020, spurred by services like online payments, bank cash-in and sending money.

GCash empowered over 33 million Filipinos with digital financial tools and services through its innovative mobile wallet.

Users have been able to maximize the use of their mobile wallets to transact physically and online, to purchase airtime load, to open deposit accounts, to save and invest in money market funds and to acquire insurance products.

AC Energy plans stock rights offer of 2.267b shares AC ENERGY Philippines said Friday it will conduct a stock rights offering from Jan. 18 to Jan. 22, subject to regulatory approval.

ACEN said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would issue 2,267,580,434 shares at P2.37 apiece.

The company initially set the offering period from Feb. 1 to 5 to ensure the widest dissemination and participation in the SRO. But given the imminent ex-rights date and record date of Jan. 8 and Jan. 13, respectively, AC Energy found it prudent o finalize the dates based on a regulatory approval that requires a January 2021 completion.

“The net proceeds will be used by the company to partially fund the development of its various power projects, inorganic growth opportunities as and when they arise, and its other general corporate requirements,” ACEN said.

The company said the SRO dates were subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange, would depend on market and other conditions and may be adjusted at the discretion of the ACEN and the joint lead underwriters.

ACEN and parent company AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. (formerly AC Energy Inc.) earlier signed an investment agreement with Arran Investment Pte Ltd., an affiliate of GIC Private Ltd. for a 17.5-percent ownership stake in ACEN for P20 billion.

The investment will be implemented through a combination of subscription to 4 billion primary shares (via a private placement) and purchase of secondary shares from AC Energy.

The completion of the subscription by the GIC affiliate to primary shares is subject to the satisfaction of agreed conditions precedent, which includes among others, the completion by ACEN of the SRO. Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Energy Regulatory Commission said Friday it engaged the services of an independent party to audit Manila Electric Co.’s refunds in the previous years.

ERC said in a statement Roxas Cruz Tagle and Co., an accounting and auditing firm, would look at whether the reported refunds of Meralco were fully accounted for, returned or credited to customers’ accounts.

ERC also ordered Meralco in previous years to refund the bill deposit, meter deposit and income tax that it collected from its customers.

“Our bids and awards committee has already completed its bidding process and has awarded the contract for the procurement of consulting services for the audit and verification of the Meralco refunds to the bidder that submitted the highest rated and responsive bid and which has also complied with all the legal, technical, and financial requirements for the said procurement project,” ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said in a statement. Alena Mae S. Flores

Century Pacific eyes 15% growth in 2021 CENTURY Pacific Food Inc., the country’s leading canned food manufacturer, said Friday it expects revenues to grow 10 percent to 15 percent this year as the company continues to expand business domestically while looking for more opportunities overseas.

CNPF executive vice president and chief operating officer Gregory Banzon said in a virtual press briefing while the company continued to expand its market in the country, it was also setting sights on various international markets to have a sustainable growth.

Among the overseas markets the company expects to have significant growth in terms of sales were North America, Asean and Australia.

It said the company was also making inroads in markets like Russia, Europe, Middle East, China, Singapore and Africa.

Banzon said that at the height of lockdowns implemented by various countries to curb the spread of COVID-19, the company was able to meet the surge in demand for canned tuna and canned meat products. Jenniffer B. Austria

E-commerce platform protects consumers LOCAL e-commerce platform VeMoBro said it is firming up security measures on its website to filter fake products and prevent scams on its online platform to support initiatives of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and the House of Representatives.

“Our goal as a 100-percent Filipino ecommerce platform is to protect online Pinoy sellers who are making an honest living on the internet. With e-commerce and online transactions booming amid the pandemic, we’ve seen a lot of fake products and scams that are damaging the trust between online merchants and consumers,” said VeMoBro co-founder and chief operating officer Rain Ibajo.

“We have to protect what’s authentic, especially if it’s Filipino-made. Our local enterprises that are making high-quality products and employing fellow Filipinos need our support more than ever,” she said.

VeMoBro employed fail-safe measures to protect consumers and sellers on its platform, she said. “Sellers go through a multi-step process, so we can make sure they are formally registered with the right government agencies and have the necessary permits. We are also meticulous with products being posted on our website because we understand how important it is to protect intellectual property,” Ibajo said.

Othel V. Campos

Sports

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

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

Harris shines as Nets snap 76ers’ 5-game winning streak

Brooklyn Nets’ Taurean Prince (left) hi-fives teammate Joe Harris during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. AFP

Tokyo games ‘safe and secure’ despite virus emergency

Cray’s Olympic bid rests on 4 tourneys

By Peter Atencio

TOKYO—Tokyo Olympics organizers insisted Friday that the coronaviruspostponed Games will still go ahead despite Japan declaring a state of emergency less than 200 days before the opening ceremony.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday announced the month-long measure covering the greater Tokyo area, taking effect from Friday, as the country battles a surge in infections.

Tokyo 2020 chiefs have already said that another postponement of the Games—set to begin on July 23—is out of the question.

And they insisted Friday that the emergency would not derail plans.

“This declaration of emergency offers an opportunity to get the Covid-19 situation under control and for Tokyo 2020 to plan for a safe and secure Games this summer, and we will proceed with the necessary preparations accordingly,” organisers said in a statement.

Suga said Thursday that Japan is committed to holding a “safe and secure” Olympics, and that he believes public mood will change when the country begins vaccinations, currently scheduled for late next month.

International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told the BBC he could not “be certain” the Games will go ahead, because “the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus.”

Japan’s government declared a month-long coronavirus state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area on Thursday as the capital reported another record surge in daily infections.

Prime Minister Suga described a “great sense of crisis” as he announced the measure, which begins Friday and is less strict than the harsh lockdowns seen elsewhere or even the country’s first virus emergency last spring.

It primarily targets restaurants and bars, which will be asked to stop serving alcohol by 7 p.m. and close an hour later.

Suga made a special appeal to young people to abide by the requests, saying that more than half of recent new infections in greater Tokyo were among the under-30s.

“Please act... in order to save precious lives of your parents, grandfathers, grandmothers and friends,” he said. AFP

SECOND STRINGER ARMAN D. ARMERO CALL this as a second coming, or a repeat performance, an anomaly even, but let me say that I am thankful that I am back as a sports columnist, with the same old title, thanks to Riera Mallari, sports ed of Manila Standard.

But before I got swayed by my emotions, let us dive into the topic at hand, which is summed up by the very title of today’s column (and hopefully, every week thereafter).

Yes, the pandemic, which crept its way into our consciousness way back in

F

OUR indoor meets in the next two months will determine if Rio de Janiero Olympics veteran Eric Cray can qualify again for the Olympics.

Cray, who is preparing to seek qualification in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, has restarted his bid by joining a series of outdoor meets in the United States.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field chief Philip Ella Juico said he has been informed by Cray of his bid in a phone conversation this week.

“I intend to get into race shape early to qualify,” said Cray in his talks with Juico.

On Jan. 24, Cray will be at the KMS Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama Metro Cross Plex, where a big number of elite athletes and Olympic aspirants are expected.

After that, Cray returns to Birmingham for the KMS Open on January 31.

“Cray’s outdoor schedule is pretty much tentative since many last-minute changes take place,” said Juico.

Cray’s campaign also includes plans to join the Prairie View A&M University Relays in Prairie, Texas.

After this, Cray will take part in the University of Texas-

C1

Eric Cray sets his sights on Tokyo Olympics.

El Paso Relays, if all goes according to plan.

“From thereon, anything can happen,” said Juico.

Cray did not see much action last season because of strict coronavirus lockdowns around Texas. But there were improvements in his speed during his first race in the 2020 outdoor season on February 13, 2020, when he came up with a personal best of 47.8 seconds in an indoor meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

LOS ANGELES—Joe Harris scored a team high 28 points as the short-handed Brooklyn Nets snapped the Philadelphia 76ers’ five-game NBA winning streak with a 122-109 victory on Thursday.

Caris LeVert scored 22 points and had 10 assists as the Nets revelled in the task of stopping the NBA’s hottest team despite missing their two best players Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Durant sat out due to COVID-19 protocols and Irving missed the game due to personal reasons.

Nets coach Steve Nash said before the contest that Irving’s absence came as a surprise to him and he was remained unsure of the exact issue.

Nash did say that Durant, who had to quarantine after possible COVID-19 exposure, could return on Sunday.

In the meantime, Harris got the job done, finishing two points shy of his career high as the Nets posted their second straight double-digit win after dropping four of five.

LeVert, who started in place of Irving, made the most of his opportunity. He scored 18 points by halftime as the Nets shot 45.4 percent and scored 35 points off 20 Philadelphia turnovers.

Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had quiet nights for the 76ers. Embiid scored 20 points on seven-of-14 shooting while Simmons had just 11 points.

Shake Milton started in place of injured Seth Curry and led the Sixers with 24 points and seven assists.

Tobias Harris added 17 points and rookie Tyrese Maxey finished with 16 points.

Meanwhile, 76ers guard Seth Curry returned a positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday as his team’s NBA clash with the Brooklyn Nets got underway, US media reported.

ESPN, citing unnamed league sources, said the 76ers would remain overnight in New York and begin contact tracing on Friday morning, along with a new round of testing.

The team did not immediately confirm a positive test.

Curry, brother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, sat out the 76ers’ loss to the Nets with a sore left ankle.

But he spent the first quarter of the game on the 76ers bench before departing the Barclays Center arena separately from the rest of the team.

However, Curry played Wednesday for the 76ers, scoring 28 points in a 141-136 victory over the Washington Wizards in Philadelphia. AFP

Athletes joining bubble undergo orientation TOKYO Olympics aspirants and their teammates from national teams of boxing, taekwondo and karate were given a virtual orientation by the Philippine Sports Commission yesterday on safety protocols set for the bubble training at Inspire Sports Academy.

“We called for this meeting to emphasize the safety protocols you will be needing for this Olympic training bubble. I am confident that we can all adjust to this, but know that your safety is paramount to the PSC,” said PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, who along with Chef de Mission Nonong Araneta led the online briefing.

“I just want to reiterate that your safety is paramount in this bubble training. I wish all of you the best for your qualifiers so that we can bring more glory to Philippine sports,” said CDM Araneta in his welcome speech.

Strict protocols crafted by the agency’s Medical Scientific Athletes Services Unit will be observed by the 46 athletes and coaches inside the bubble facility in Calumba, Laguna this month.

Filipino athletes are briefed online by PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, who along with Chef de Mission Nonong Araneta.

“Athletes will undergo a series of RTPCR testing. Prior to entry, upon entry, and several testings during the bubble training,” said MSAS Unit Head Dr. Randy Molo.

This is why he encouraged everyone

to restrict movement 14 days before entry, and restricted interactions 7 days prior to their entry in the bubble facility, “from today, everyone must reconsider all the places and people they will be interacting with.”

Delegates will be subjected to another round of RT-PCR tests inside the facility, and will be billeted in isolated rooms. Results are to be relayed by the COVID Enforcement Team, headed by MSAS’ Dr. Janis de Vera. “Athletes and coaches will be billeted in single and double occupancy rooms, with pickand-go scheme in food distribution all throughout the bubble,” said de Vera.

Philippine Sports Institute National Training Director Marc Velasco added that the MSAS Medical Unit, Rehabilitation Unit, Strength and Conditioning Unit, Sport Massage Unit, Sports Physiology, Sports Nutrition and Sports Psychology Unit will be available to serve the Olympic hopefuls via live and virtual consultations.

“The PSC is here for your needs as we work to keep the integrity of the bubble. Our boxing team is scheduled to arrive on January 15, with the Taekwondo and Karate teams on January 16 and 17 respectively. All travel orders are also being arranged by the agency,” added Velasco.

Sports and the pandemic (Part I) March, 2020, is an insidious, invasive affair, and still is, and has undoubtedly affected our way of life – from the way we work, and even to the way we play. It even changed us on how we deal with each other, that is, from a distance.

Sports, like other aspects of our lives, at first was at a loss on how to adapt, ride the tide of the new disease and even flourish amid the new challenges.

Infection, after all is real, and report of deaths in hospitals and elsewhere, especially among frontliners, did not help ease the anxiety that we all feel. The fear brought by the pandemic is also real, and could freeze us into inaction, even paralysis.

Thankfully, our athletes and sports organizations refuse to cower in fear, and in-

stead fought back, at least, to regain some measure of normalcy.

Yes, the masks, the face shields, the washing of the hands and disinfection have become the norm for practically most people, but all these did not deter our athletes from going on with their lives and to still stay relevant amid the crisis.

The Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, the sports governing bodies in the country, certainly tried their best to keep their organizations afloat despite the limitations of interaction between athletes and coaches, and between athletes and their audience.

Sports equals action, and the one missing component in sports competitions since the onslaught of the pandemic is

the crowd support for or against a certain team or athlete. Basketball, volleyball and boxing, for instance, need a crowd to get the adrenaline going, energize the athlete or a team, and electrify the stadium, not to mention that crowd equals more ticket sales for organizers.

Organizers, however, have found a way to somehow stay in the thick of the fight, and came up with a new concept—the bubble. The ‘bubble’ is an NBA concept where the teams play on but with certain number of limitations dictated by accepted health protocols. Thus ‘bubble’ games only have athletes, officials and organizers watching and supevising the games. In short, crowd support has become practically non-existent.

Other sports—and organizations—following the NBA example, has adopted the ‘bubble’ concept. The PBA, for instance, had its own bubble, as do other leagues.

Which brings us to another point. In the absence of the crowd and the limitations of physical contact, sports has relied on digital technology to get the message —and the action—across. With less tournaments, less live action, sports officials try to stay relevant with pocket, digital tournaments and discussions on how their organizations and their athletes cope with the times. (Next Friday: Part II of Sports and the pandemic) For reactions, email me at arman. armero@yahoo.com.

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Tech & Gadgets

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

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LG honored for best in tech, th design for 8 straight year

Microsoft PH recognized among HR Asia’s best companies

EING a trailblazer in technological innovation is a difficult task to accomplish. Consistently doing so for almost a decade is a feat. The Consumer Technology Association is recognizing LG Electronics for groundbreaking innovations in technology and design with a number of 2021 CES Innovation Awards.

Led by two Best of Innovation Awards for its LG OLED TV technology and LG InstaView Door-in-Door Refrigerator technology, LG will be receiving dozens of CES Innovation Awards, the most awards ever for LG. CES 2021 marks the eighth consecutive year that LG OLED TVs, sound bars, home appliances, premium smartphones and more have all received CES Innovation Awards, the official industry recognition for the most innovative products introduced at CES, the global stage for innovation.

For CES 2021, LG OLED TV technology is again being recognized with the CES Best of Innovation Award, this time in the gaming category. LG, the undisputed world leader in OLED TVs, has created an unrivaled home entertainment experience, delivering the deepest blacks, most realistic colors and an infinite contrast. For the first time, LG Home Appliances received the CES Best of Innovation Award distinction for the LG InstaView Door-in-Door Refrigerator technology pioneered by LG to let us-

CES 2021 marks the eighth consecutive year that LG OLED TVs, sound bars, home appliances, premium smartphones and more have all received CES Innovation Awards, the official industry recognition for the most innovative products introduced at CES

ers see inside while keeping food fresh, striking the perfect balance between form and function. The refrigerator is also equipped with the company’s innovative voice recognition technology so opening the door with arms full of groceries is just a voice command away.

CES 2021 Innovation Awards will go to new LG home appliances anchored by several LG InstaView Door-in-Door refrigerators, the WashTower™ singleunit laundry solution that takes up half the floor space while tackling ultra-large loads, the LG CordZeroThinQ Vacuum, and other laundry and air care solutions including PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier to be announced at CES. Leading LG’s multiple CES Innovation Awards for mobile devices is the

groundbreaking LG WING, the world’s first 5G swivel smartphone. Featuring a 6.8-inch P-OLED FullVision edge-toedge screen that swivels clockwise to rotate 90 degrees and reveal a second 3.9inch OLED display, the first smartphone in LG’s Explorer Project delivers a compelling, new multi-screen experience on the latest 5G networks. Also earning the CES 2021 Innovation Award is the LG VELVET, packed with a 6.8-inch OLED Cinematic FullVision display, versatile cameras and powerful 5G speeds at an exceptional value.

The CES Innovation Awards program is an annual CTA-produced competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 28 product categories. The pro-

gram recognizes honorees in a multitude of consumer technology product categories and distinguishes the highest rated in each. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers and more, reviewed submissions based on engineering qualities, aesthetic and design, functionality and consumer appeal.

For 2021, industry leaders and rising stars will come together virtually on January 11-14 to pioneer future innovation driving the ever-evolving tech industry.

The first all-digital CES 2021 will be a platform to launch products, engage with global brands and define the future of the industry, enabling the tech community to safely share ideas and introduce the products that will shape our future.

PayMaya powers cashless payments for civil registry documents at PSA

FASTER, SAFER PROCESSING OF CIVIL REGISTRY DOCUMENTS.

PayMaya is helping the Philippine Statistics Authority offer a safer and more convenient way to pay for civil registry documents at his head office in Quezon City through PayMaya QR, which allows Filipinos to simply scan a QR code at the counter to pay for PSA fees.

In photo is PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, Ph.D, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, paying for his documents using his PayMaya app.

FILIPINOS looking to secure civil registry documents from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) can now pay conveniently for their transactions as digital financial services leader, PayMaya, equips the agency with QR payments.

Beginning at the Civil Registration System (CRS) Central Outlet at East Avenue, Quezon City, PSA is now offering PayMaya QR as a safe and contactless payment method for its clients to secure civil registry documents such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, among others.

To pay for their documents, they only need to scan the PayMaya QR displayed at designated payment windows in the PSA CRS Central Outlet using the PayMaya app on their phones. PSA said it will offer the same convenient contactless payment facility from PayMaya in their other PSA CRS Outlets nationwide.

"With the availability of PayMaya QR as a payment method initially at the PSA CRS Central Outlet, there is now a faster and safer way for Filipinos to pay for their needed documents. This is especially critical at this time as we work to make our services more available to the public in a safer manner through contactless payments. We

look forward to offering this service to more outlets nationwide soon," said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, Ph.D, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

Soon, PayMaya will also be available as a payment method in the online channels of PSA, allowing account holders to pay for civil registry documents using only their mobile numbers linked to their PayMaya accounts. PayMaya is also enabling PSA to accept any credit, debit, and prepaid card for online transactions.

"We are excited to work with PSA in offering a seamless and contactless payment experience at their CRS Outlets. This will not only help improve their services but will also encourage Filipinos to access safer and more convenient digital financial services," added PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando Vea. Enabling digitalization of government PayMaya closed out 2020 with over 60 government partners both in the national and local levels, enabling their initiatives to digitally accept payments or disburse financial aid to their respective constituents. This is in line with its support to the government's thrust for faster, safer, and more efficient public service through digital and cashless transactions.

Businesses, for example, can easily pay

for fees with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Social Security System (SSS), and the PAG-IBIG Fund, among others, using their PayMaya accounts or via card payments.

Local government units such as the cities of Manila, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Caloocan, Quezon City, and Las Pinas, among others, have likewise tapped PayMaya for digital payment acceptance and also to help disburse financial aid to qualified beneficiaries in their areas, particularly during the start of the enhanced community quarantine.

These are all in support of the "Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act of 2018" and the Anti-Red Tape Act which seek to help streamline and provide better access to government services through the use of digital and cashless technologies.

Getting PayMaya and paying for government fees using the app is very easy.

Just download the PayMaya app at https:// official.paymaya.com/CAK1/425eb133 and register an account, to find out what it's like to go cashless with the fastest, safest, and most rewarding way to pay!

MICROSOFT Philippines was recently named one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2020’ by HR Asia. The organization was recognized for its performance in workplace excellence, human capital development, and outstanding employee engagement.

"This award means everything to us as an organization both globally, and here in the Philippines. We exist to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—a mission that only comes to life through our people," said Jan Philippe Tanchi, Human Resources Director of Microsoft Philippines. “We’re proud to receive this great distinction and are committed to continue providing our people with an inclusive workplace and community that lives up to our values, and empowers them to be their best, most authentic selves every day.”

HR Asia is one of the most recognizable and authoritative HR publications in the world. Their ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia’ awards is the largest program of its kind in Asia and is held annually across 11 markets throughout the region, including Cambodia, China, Hong-Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This year, the awarding ceremonies were conducted virtually for the first time on December 31, 2020 due to the pandemic. The event highlighted the extraordinary efforts of organizations that exemplified dedication to their employees, especially in what has been a year of uncertainty and unprecedented challenges.

"We must never forget the sacrifices by our own employees to keep the economy going. Since 2013 we have recognized companies that placed their employees front and center in everything they do. This year is no different. The recipients of this year's awards have shown not only are you the best companies to work for in Asia but more importantly, you are able to show empathy and care for your employees during the darkest moments of fear and uncertainty," said Datuk William Ng, Group Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Business Media International, the publisher of HR Asia.

The awards were judged by the affirmative answers of employees based on HR Asia's proprietary Total Engagement Assessment Model (TEAM), which surveys 1.5 million employees across Asia. TEAM uses a 5-point scoring scale from employee feedback based on the three areas of employee engagement: Collective Organization for Real Engagement (CORE)—culture and ethics, leadership and organization, and active initiative Self: Heart, Mind and Soul—emotional engagement (heart), intention & motivation (mind), and behavior & advocacy (soul) Group: Think, Feel and Do—collective consciousness (think), workplace sentiment (mind), and team dynamics (do)

Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank, UnionPay launch debit card for financially underserved CEBUANA Lhuillier Rural Bank, the banking arm of the Microfinancial Services giant, Cebuana Lhuillier and UnionPay International have teamed up to launch the Cebuana Lhuillier 24K card – a new Debit Card designed to empower unbanked and underbanked consumers in the Philippines to afford financial mobility for their day to day lives. As the first Debit Card that caters to the financially underserved market in the Philippines, the Cebuana Lhuillier 24K Card makes it easy and convenient for users to accumulate savings, withdraw cash and conduct digital payment locally and overseas via UnionPay’s network of over 52 million merchant outlets and 2.9 million ATMs located around the world.

The launch is also significant as Cebuana Lhuillier Rural Bank is the first bank under the UnionPay and BancNet collaboration. Back in 2017, UnionPay reached a chip card standard licensing cooperation with Asian Payment Network where BancNet – the only ATM switch network in The Philippines - was one of the participating local switch providers.

Jianbo Cai, President of CUP and Chairman of UPI said “Consumers have greater needs for secure and convenient payment services since COVID-19 broke out. This collaboration in card issuance stemmed from cooperation on technical specifications between UnionPay and regional partners, highlighting a new means for UnionPay’s business development in local markets. With its technological

strength and experience in areas including block chain, intelligent risk management and big data analytics, UnionPay is willing to expand the scope of cooperation and help facilitate the digital transformation of Cebuana Lhuillier, providing better service to users in support of financial inclusion in the Philippines.”

“We are pleased to partner with UnionPay, a leading global payment brand, to launch the Cebuana Lhuillier 24K card. With their extensive network and state-of-the-art payment technologies, we believe that consumers in the Philippines will benefit greatly from the ease and convenience of payments enabled by the debit card, this will, in turn, facilitate financial mobility for many Filipinos and overall, enhance their payment experience moving forward,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.

With the acceleration of digital payment adoption in the Philippines in recent months, the central bank has set a target of raising the share of electronic payments to 50 percent by 2023. In support of this e-payment push, Cebuana Lhullier Rural Bank has simplified the Cebuana Lhuillier 24K Card application with the electronic or online Know Your Customer (e-KYC) process to make it accessible to its more than 30 million clients. By enabling card application through any of Cebuana Lhuillier’s more than 2,500 branches located nationwide, Filipinos can easily open a bank account and apply for the card, at Cebuana Lhuillier branches, or online via the eCebuana app available on iOS

TIKTOK DONATION. TikTok has officially turned over its $150,000 donation to the Philippine National Red Cross in support of the organization's disaster relief efforts. This is part of TikTok's #TikTokTogetherPH initiative, where a total of $300,000 was committed to support select partner organizations with their typhoon relief programs, as well as a fundraising concert featuring top local artists and the app's content creators. In photo are Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Elizabeth Zavalla and Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard Gordon.

According to Philippine National Red Cross, the funds will be used for food, shelter and medical assistance for those who were affected by the recent typhoons. and the Google Play Store.

With the Debit Card in hand, users enjoy the ease and convenience of digital payments at popular merchants such as Ace Hardware, Baby Company, Duty Free Philippines, Homeworld, Kultura, Mercury Drug Corporation, Miniso, Our Home, Pet Express, SM Re-

tail which includes The SM Store, SM Markets and SM Appliance, Sports Central, Toy Kingdom, Watsons and many more. The Card will soon be enhanced with online payment features for users to leverage for e-commerce transactions, as well as UnionPay’s contactless payment feature - QuickPass.

Tech & Gadgets

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021

Big tech show aims for digital connections W

C3

ASHINGTON— Forced by the pandemic to go online, the massive annual gathering for the technology industry normally held in Las Vegas still wants to be a place for connections, even if virtual.

MediaTek selected for Wi-Fi Alliance’s 6E Certification Program

The scaled-down, digital-only Consumer Electronics Show will be heavily influenced by the global crisis, and will showcase new ways of delivering health care along with innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics, smart homes and cities, and other segments.

The January 11-14 event will go on without the glitzy spectacles and showy product unveilings which have in past years drawn tens of thousands of industry participants.

"We've been forced to adapt and we have," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association, which produces the show, adding that the new format "will illustrate how innovation paves the way for a brighter tomorrow."

The digital show may allow exhibitors, buyers and others to make better use of their time by connecting with the most relevant people, said Jean Foster, a senior vice president of the trade association.

"So we really built around the concept of people being able to interact with each other," she told AFP. Generating buzz Some unveilings which would normally draw crowds in Las Vegas are going ahead in the virtual space: Audi is set to launch its electric sports car, and LG will show off a large bendable display for gamers; other companies will be releasing gadgets adapted to superfast 5G wireless networks which are gaining traction.

But some analysts say the lack of inperson events has pushed many participants to the sidelines.

"You're not going to find cool things by stumbling on them," said Bob O'Donnell, analyst and consultant with Technalysis Research.

O'Donnell said companies looking to generate interest might wait or hold their own digital event to avoid getting lost in the mass of online presentations at the digital CES. Large multinational firms are likely to generate some buzz, according to O'Donnell, but "small companies will

MEDIATEK announced it has been selected to be on the test bed for Wi-Fi 6E, a new certification from Wi-Fi Alliance® for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ devices with 6GHz support.

MediaTek has both an access point wireless solution, MT7915-AP-AX, and a client-side wireless solution, MT7915STA-AX on the test bed.

These two test bed devices support unlicensed operation in the 6GHz and include many advanced Wi-Fi 6 features such as multiple resource unit (RU) sizes for optimal simultaneous OFDMA operation of multiple clients, along with other cuttingedge connectivity features.

“MediaTek has the broadest Wi-Fi portfolio and is the number one Wi-Fi supplier across broadband, retail routers, consumer electronics devices and gaming with its Wi-Fi solutions that power hundreds of millions of devices every year,” said Alan Hsu, Corporate Vice President at MediaTek. “With our access point and client-side solutions as part of the Wi-Fi 6E test bed for the product certification process, we look forward to helping our customers meet the latest connectivity requirements by bringing next generation connectivity features to the products consumers love.”

Over the years, MediaTek has worked closely with the Wi-Fi Alliance to ensure MediaTek’s connectivity portfolio supports the latest Wi-Fi features. Now, in addition to supporting the unlicensed 6GHz band, MediaTek’s portfolio of Wi-Fi 6 chipset solutions with Wi-Fi 6E functionality supports 1024-QAM and OFDMA for enhanced performance, target wake time (TWT) for longer battery life, WPA3 for the highest level of security, and multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) for higher capacity. Plus, MediaTek’s solutions support many of the optional Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ R1 features as well as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EASYMESH™ R2 features which has new traffic controls, improved security features, better spectrum optimization and more diagnostic capabilities.

MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 6E access point and client products are designed for a variety of market segments, including but not limited to: • Broadband products such as home gateways, access points, mesh nodes, and extenders • Retail devices including routers and repeaters • Consumer electronics like voice assistant devices (VAD), TVs and over-the-top (OTT) products including TV sticks • PC devices such as notebooks • 5G applications including smartphones, 5G MiFi and 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) devices • IoT applications for a wide variety of use cases.

Attendees walk through the Las Vegas Convention Center on the final day of the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Forced by the pandemic to go online, the massive annual gathering for the technology industry normally held in Las Vegas still wants to be a place for connections, even if virtual. AFP

suffer the most in this format."

Shapiro said organizers are evaluating the show for 2022 which will be digital in part "but we also plan to be physical in Las Vegas."

The all-digital CES had some 1,800 exhibitors registered by the end of December, down from 4,400 last year, and will also include an expanded lineup of keynote speeches from industry leaders and panel discussions about evolving lifestyles and technology.

An "anchor desk" with notable personalities will help steer people to key events and products.

Tech vs pandemic O'Donnell said CES is important because it showcases technology people have been using to get through the coronavirus pandemic.

"People have used technology to figure out ways to do things in ways they never thought would be possible before the pandemic," O'Donnell said.

The pandemic has shined a spotlight on digital health innovations including telehealth and remote patient monitor-

ing, in high demand with people reluctant or unable to visit their doctors.

But it has also highlighted growing interest in remote learning, streaming media and gaming for people stuck at home during the global health crisis.

"People are spending more time and money for things around the house," O'Donnell said, underscoring interest in connected exercise equipment and home appliances, for example.

Robin Murdoch, global software and platform leader for Accenture, said a major takeaway from the 2020 pandemic was that "the technology worked—our digital lives were enabled by social networks and cloud platforms."

Murdoch said the annual show is a key moment because it underscores the importance of technology for so many industries from automotive to health to consumer products.

"The show represents the convergence of industries," he said. "CES demonstrates the fact that technology now underpins all industries."

Cut your preparation time with Beko cooker's 3-in-1 feature COOKERS come in many shapes and sizes. The most expensive isn’t necessarily the best and the cheapest isn’t always the worst. What you need is a cooker that gets the job done, particularly during the holidays when you need to cook, bake and grill simultaneously.

Beko, Europe's No. 1 appliance brand, aims to empower Filipinos to live healthier lives and offer them convenience with products that utilize the latest innovations and technologies.

Beko Freestanding 60 c.m. Double Oven Electric Cooker is a 3-in1 with an induction electric cooker and two ovens with a grill. It helps you get your holiday cooking done in less time so you get to enjoy the celebrations with your loved ones.

You can cook and grill your favorite savory dishes while baking sweet treats for dessert to end the celebration with a high note.

The Beko BDC6C55X combines form and function with a classic look and its 3-in-1 functions to help you cook, grill and bake simultaneously.

The four heating zones let you cook several dishes at the same time while the large oven capacity of 69L will allow you to bake all the cookies, pies and cakes that you want to make for your loved ones. The Interior Oven Light will help you keep an eye on the food as it gets done.

The Beko BDC6C55X model comes in Stainless Steel so it will look good whatever your home's color scheme and look is.

"We are very happy to be part of the Filipino family's tradition of cooking and sharing good food during the holidays. The celebrations might be different this year because of the pandemic but the spirit of the season remains," said

Some of the products to be unveiled at the online show include wearables to keep track of medical conditions and other kinds of remote monitoring.

"Seniors are becoming increasingly isolated, whether living at home, in nursing facilities, or in assisted living communities—often a result of physical distancing during Covid," said Arthur Jue of the startup LiveFreely, which is showing its Buddy personal assistant app for Fitbit devices to allow families to keep tabs on seniors.

The show is also highlighting the need for new technologies to help people get care and share medical information, noted Bettina Experton, chief executive of the health technology firm Humetrix.

"The pandemic brings to light the need to have critical information at your fingertips whether you are a consumer or a public health organization," said Experton, whose firm will be showcasing at CES its applications that help manage health records and track risks from Covid-19 and other conditions. AFP

Globe readies Malacañang, Senate, Congress for 5G

Beko Freestanding 60cm Double Oven Electric Cooker BDC6C55X

Beko Pilipinas Country Manager Gurhan Gunal.

For more information, visit Beko Philippines’ Facebook page at facebook.com/bekoph.

GLOBE is planning to upgrade its infrastructure to further improve its indoor coverage solutions in several buildings in Malacañang Palace, Senate and the House of Representatives.

This will effectively expand coverage, increase capacity and activate state-of-the-art 5G technology at Kalayaan Hall, Mabini Hall and the Presidential Guest House in Malacanang; the Senate and GSIS buildings in the Senate; and in the Main, North, South, House of Representatives Annex, Ramon V. Mitra and the Legislative Library Buildings in the Lower House.

“These buildings house key branches of our government which in turn provide basic and immediate services to our nation. By upgrading our indoor solutions, our new system will increase and augment capacity and extend coverage to provide wider service access inside these offices. Moreover, these important government offices will be 5G ready so internet services will be much faster and better. These efforts will help our Chief Executive, his cabinet and our lawmakers to communicate and update executive and legislative efforts that

will best serve the people,” said Joel Agustin, Globe Senior Vice President for Program Delivery, Network Technical Group.

Globe has submitted its design and upgrade proposals to Malacanang, Senate and the House of Representatives. The proposals are expected to be finalized and approved within the month. Once the project takes off, the modernization efforts are scheduled to take at least eight to 16 weeks.

Globe has laid out a 3-pronged strategy for its network upgrades and expansion, which includes aggressive cell site builds; upgrading its cell sites to 4G/LTE using many different frequencies; and fast tracking the fiberization of Filipino homes nationwide.

Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically UNSDG No. 9 which emphasizes the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs. To learn more about Globe, visit www. globe.com.ph

Bridging the digital divide in education’s new normal FOUR years ago, Smart Communications, Inc. launched School-in-a-Bag (SIAB), a portable digital classroom designed to facilitate learning in basic education in remote areas without electricity, using mobile technology.

Unknowingly, it would become an essential solution for education to continue in the new normal.

Now more than ever before, as we rely on digital technology to continue communicating, doing business, and learning amid the restrictive environment of the global pandemic, the innovative learning kit has become a necessary tool.

Through various programs, the country’s largest integrated telco PLDT, its wireless arm, Smart, and other units have made possible the donation of 86 digital classroom kits to the Department of Education this school year.

A kit contains a laptop for the teacher, 20 tablets for students to access interactive applications even if offline, and a Smart LTE pocket WiFi which teachers can use to download additional content wherever there is power and connectivity.

As the 2020 schoolyear opened in October, PLDT turned over 15 kits in support of DepEd’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan.

In his remarks, PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V.

Pangilinan, said, “PLDT and Smart are one with DepEd in keeping teachers, students and the entire academic community connected. Accordingly, we have levelled up our efforts to provide tools, technology, and information during the pandemic.”

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones responded: “We look forward to the continuity of this tradition of partnership, generosity, and advice as we work together with PLDT and Smart to look for new ways of delivering education to teachers and students.”

The same month, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Educational Organization (UNESCO) acknowledged the SIAB and other projects under the #LearnSmart advocacy “as programs for effective distance learning” during its Mobile Learning Week.

Smart, the only Philippine company at the event, was represented by AVP for Community Partnerships Stephanie V. Orlino. “We asked ourselves: how may we provide access to technology and to inclusive quality education to our last-mile schools?," she said, referring to thousands of schools isolated from community centers.

"Our answer is the School-in-a-Bag,” she said, as she explained how programs like School-in-a-Bag and the Central Visayan Institute Foundation–Dynamic

Learning Program (CVIF-DLP) help ensure that learning continues in the new normal.

Since 2016, a total of 300 School-in-a-Bag units have reached 80,000 students and 2,000 teachers all over the country.

Part of SIAB donations were the fruit of joint efforts of broadband services provider PLDT Home, corporate business unit PLDT Enterprise, social outreach arm PLDT-Smart Foundation, Smart’s flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) division Smart Communities, Smart Prepaid’s virtual campus Smart University, and an employee fund-raising initiative called Smart Saturdays.

In September students who joined Smart University activities earned points to be able to donate tablets. As a result, a hundred tablets are now being deployed to deserving schools in Basilan, Bohol, La Union, Quezon, and Sarangani, as part of the SIAB kits. Another five kits are on their way to Bukidnon.

“Beyond our brand’s lifestyle offerings, we aim to continuously provide innovative solutions in education,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.

In July, Pangilinan also led the turnover of a SIAB donation to North Bay Boulevard North Elementary

PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan with DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships, and Project Management Service Tonisito Umali during the turnover of School-ina-Bag packages. Joining them virtually is DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones.

School in Navotas, Manila. The donation formed part of the $50,000 grant from Huawei Technologies Philippines, Inc. to the PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF).

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020

Motoring Hyundai ushers in 2021 with more business ideas

LEGO replicates

racetrack icon

T

HE LEGO Group reveals the latest model to line up on the grid, the LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF CORSE #51”. Having delivered prestigious wins for the Prancing Horse in the world’s toughest endurance races, the racetrack icon is replicated in minute detail to encapsulate the same unmistakeable Italian spirit as its real-life counterpart.

This racing car model is packed with authentic features and beautiful design elements making it a true expression of Ferrari’s endurance racer. The fierce looking model features front and rear suspension, aerodynamic curves, a V8 engine with moving pistons and a steering wheel emblazoned with the Prancing Horse badge to help the model truly come alive. Original race number, sponsor stickers and the authentic Tricolore paintjob add the perfect finish to this epic model.

Designed to help LEGO fans and those who love motor racing experience the thrills of life in the fast lane, this 48cm (19 in) long racing model is crafted from

1,677 LEGO Technic elements making it a rewarding and absorbing build for older builders aged 18+ who love endurance racing, motorsport and Ferrari cars.

Once complete, builders can take it out for a spin or proudly display it for spectators.

The LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” is now available from January 4th 2021 across LEGO Certified Stores in the Philippines, priced at PHP10,999.75 “Having the chance to recreate a Ferrari in LEGO Technic form is an absolute childhood dream come true,” says Lars Krogh Jensen, Designer, LEGO Technic.

“Ferrari is renowned for their truly incred-

ible vehicles so I knew I had to push the boundaries of the LEGO Technic system to do justice to the dominating racetrack idol. This model captures the sophisticated silhouettes of the iconic car while paying homage to its engineering powers to capture the true essence of the 488 GTE. The build is a great challenge for any fan who appreciates excellent design and is interested in learning more about the engineering and technology that goes into crafting such an impressive car.”

Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari Competizioni GT Official driver, commented: “When I was a kid I played quite often with LEGO bricks, so when I saw this reproduction of the Ferrari 488 GTE I was really impressed, especially considering some of the features they managed to replicate. I have to say that to see a LEGO Technic model of a car that I raced and carried my name on has made me very proud.”

The LEGOTechnic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” is the first LEGO Technic model to be designed with Ferrari and continues the more than 15 year-long partnership between the two brands.

F3 Asian Championship tweaks calendar SHANGHAI—The fourth season of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA will get underway on January 29 at the Dubai Autodrome after organizers tweaked the provisional calendar in light of prevailing entry requirements for the UAE. Around 23 entries are expected from nine teams, with driver announcements to follow in the coming days.

The opening round will be preceded by a pre-season test on January 27, and teams arriving from specified countries have been advised to enter Dubai 10 days prior the second round at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit on February 5-6, in order to comply with the city’s entry requirements.

The championship returns to Dubai for Rounds 3 and 4, before the season finale at Yas Marina on February 19-20. The revised provisional calendar is subject to approval by the FIA. Reigning champions BlackArts Racing, which won the 2020 driver and team titles with Dutchman Joey Alders, will enter three cars, while two-time team cham-

FASTLANE

pions Hitech Grand Prix also enters three cars plus a further two under Hitech Asia.

Pinnacle Motorsport, which ran championship runner-up Jack Doohan and Pietro Fittipaldi last season, returns with a threecar entry. Championship regular Absolute Racing is also back, this time with two cars after a successful season with Jamie Chadwick in 2020.

Abu Dhabi Racing made its championship debut at the Yas Marina Circuit last year when Khaled Al Qubaisi took all

FASTLANE Chevron kicks off Volunteer Week CHEVRON Philippines Inc., marketer of Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants, keeps volunteerism alive amid the COVID-19 pandemic with its recently held Project Binhi, an event aimed at empowering individuals and families through urban farming. Project Binhi kicked off Chevron’s first-ever virtual Volunteer Week, which annually unites Chevron volunteers to aid less-privileged communities. Chevron volunteers learned the importance of urban farming and keys to effective home gardening from partner HomeGrown Organics The virtual semi-

three Masters category wins. The team returns this year for a full season with a three-car entry as Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema, marking the series debut of reigning FIA F2, FIA F3, Formula Regional European and Italian F4 champions Prema Powerteam.

Also new to the championship are Evans GP, founded by former BlackArts Racing Team Manager Josh Evans, with three cars, while Motoscape and Mumbai Falcons each enter two cars.

Isuzu completes Orix Rental fleet

nar shed light on how urban farming can be a practical way to begin a sustainable lifestyle, harness planting skills, economize, ensure access to clean and safe food, and foster physical and mental wellness. To allow families to generate their own crops, Chevron also turned over gardening kits to the parents of selected students of Hulo Elementary School through the Rotary Club of Mandaluyong-Pasig-San Juan (RC ManPaSan)’s “Yaman sa Hardin Kontra COVID-19” project.

THE country’s leading assembler and distributor of brand-new trucks, Isuzu Philippines Corporation, turned over NSeries light duty truck to First PGMC Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of Nutriasia Inc. via Orix Rental Corporation to complete the fleet of 46 units.

The event was held at Isuzu Taytay dealership, which facilitated the sale of the 46 units comprising 21 units of NMR85, 13 units of NPR85, and 12 units of NQR75.

During the turnover, Assistant Division Head for Sales Hiroto Nakaguro praised the partnership between IPC and Orix Rental Corporation as the ideal example of how Isuzu vehicles transform the Fili-

WHAT better way to start it right than to set new goals. In business, that could mean setting loftier targets, improving operations, or shaping up your skills so you can hit more milestones. But do you have the solutions that will take you there?

Hyundai Trucks and Buses Philippines is ready to help with special deals from its New Year’s ReSolutions roster.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai commercial vehicles, understands the challenges that another year of combatting the pandemic brings. 2021 would remain vulnerable to economic disruptions, yet opportunities are opening up as well. To help cushion the impact of starting or reopening your business, Hyundai opens the year with cash discounts on its hard working commercial vehicle fleet. For light-duty trucks, P140,000 off on the HD65/65X cab and chassis and PhP280,000 off on the HD36L Maxculado cab and chassis; a PhP200,000 cash discount on the premium COUNTY to set your shuttle business on track; and, for those looking for massive, heavy-duty support for construction, logistics, or other heavy industries, a hefty PhP480,000 discount on the XCIENT dump truck and tractor (6- and 10-wheeler).

All this spells not just huge savings, but a wise investment in people movers that will get the job done.

maximum torque of 59 kg-m @ 1,400 rpm. All within a highly efficient engine operation that optimally churns generous power at minimal fuel consumption.

Servicing and maintenance for the HD65/65X also comes easy, thanks to the 50-degree tilting cab feature that provides quick and easy access to the engine compartment. Other routine maintenance checks involving fluid levels are effortless with the truck’s advanced integrated fuel filter that requires service at 20,000 km intervals, contributing to greater peace of mind and even greater savings for your operations.

Drive big possibilities Boasting of a robust design, highlighted by a striking and voluminous front grille, and bold, dynamic lines, the Hyundai XCIENT is a commanding presence on the road. Its strength of character is reinforced even more by the extensive application of Hyundai’s signature high-strength steel, contributing to structural integrity and durability whatever the road or load.

The XCIENT is built to take on tough jobs with its front and rear multi-leaf suspension system and its core Powertech engine (in the D6HA and D6CC for Xcient cargo trucks and Xcient 4x2 and 6x2 tractor heads). Engineered with Hyundai’s classleading technology, these direct-injection turbo-diesel engines produce higher power output for superior road performance no

Muscle up Built with high-capacity chassis and made even more durable with its new ladder frame that features heavier gauge steel, the HD36L Maxculado helps you muscle up any business that requires a good deal of heavy lifting.

This may be a light-duty truck, but its serious muscle and performance will give your operations a boost. The added stabilizer bar increases front-end rigidity and improves steering stability while the enhanced front suspension and shock absorber makes for uncompromised protection of vehicle and cargo. Volume capacity also gets a boost with a longer shuttle rear body. Now 11.8 feet (3600 mm) long, the extended wheelbase and longer cargo bed can accommodate an 11-foot rear deck, giving it a 1.7- ton payload capacity. Complementing the sturdy build is the new more fuel-efficient 2.5-liter diesel engine that gives 130ps power output and 26kg-m torque, further optimized by mating it to a six-speed transmission that delivers 53% more torque than its predecessor and makes for a more effortless drive.

Work hard and smart Engineered to make light work of heavy duties, the HD65/65X is a hardy vehicle built with heat-treated, web-strengthened, ultra-rigid super frame that make for the superior performance and safety of Hyundai HD trucks.

Whether fully loaded or empty, suspension resilience is optimized in the HD65/65X through the proven strength and stability of leaf springs with advanced shock-absorbing technology. When it comes to power, the HD65/65X does not disappoint with its Euro 4 D4GA directinjection diesel engine with turbocharger.

Mated to a 5-speed manual transmission system, this engine generates maximum power output of 150 ps @ 2,500 rpm and

matter the load and are Euro-4 compatible, which makes for smarter operational efficiency with improved fuel consumption and emissions. The D6HA delivers a maximum power output of 380 ps @ 2,000 rpm and maximum torque of 160 kg-m @ 1,200 rpm, while the D6CC churns out maximum power of 410 ps @ 1,900 rpm, and maximum torque: 188 kg-m @ 1,200 rpm—all ready to support the daily rigors of cargo or hauling.

Vehicle maintenance for the XCIENT is also a cinch, thanks to its cab’s tilt angle of 61 degrees and enlarged tilting cylinder that secures the volume of tilting pump reservoir. Protection applied to upper components helps prevent oil leakage, which saves you on undue costs from engine damage and hampered operations.

Count on countless ideas Specially designed for mass transport, the COUNTY mini-bus boasts a host of features that assures dependability, safety, and comfort.

Its body alone is as sturdy and as stable as it gets, thanks to greater rust-resistance from Hyundai’s standard seven-dip electrodeposition primer (EDP), or electrostatic immersion process, plus a stringent chassis durability test that ensures that it can handle a variety of road conditions.

The COUNTY also employs reassuring stopping power, as it’s equipped with Load-Sensing Proportioning Valve (LSPV) that adjusts brake pressure according to the weight distribution of passenger load, as well as 9+10 brake booster for even safer braking.

As for comfort and convenience, it is loaded with thoughtful amenities, like a swing-out type door for easy ingress and egress, semi-cloth upholstered seats for firm yet gentle support, deluxe cargo space to stow extra luggage, and nifty overhead shelves for handy storage.

pino spirit of entrepreneurship into a major economic force for the national growth. “Among the many reasons for IPC’s market dominance over the years, ability to meet customers’ ever-changing needs has always been a priority” he added.

According to Edward Dela Cruz, Na-

tional Sales Manager of First PGMC Enterprises, buying ‘brand new truck’ is the better option when it comes to peace of mind and safety of their employees. With a brand-new truck, you’ll know every bit of the vehicle’s history because you’ll be the one to make it and for corporate identity, he added.