Manila Standard - 2021 January 18 - Monday

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DISASTER PRONE. Bright red

lava flowed down the crater of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java in Indonesia shortly before erupting late Saturday. The volcanic eruption preceded a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island, toppling buildings like the Mitra Manakarra hospital building shown in an aerial photo taken on January 17, 2021. AFP

Volcano erupts in Indonesia as quake toll rises TORRENTIAL monsoon rains hampered the hunt Sunday for anyone still buried alive under buildings flattened by a powerful earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, after the huge tremor killed at least 73 and left thousands homeless. Excavators and cranes were deployed across the devastated seaside city of Mamuju, where buildings were reduced to a tangled mass of twisted metal and Next page

Senator wary of vaccine deal Fears corruption as Sinovac prices differ; House probes By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

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HARP differences in the quoted prices for the Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines and elsewhere seem to point to corruption, Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said Sunday, as the House of Representatives announced its own probe.

“The difference in prices of Sinovac vaccine at $5, $14 and $38 reminds me of an old story about how corruption is committed in three Southeast Asian countries--under the table, on the table, and including the table,” Lacson said. “Here, it may cost $38.50 (P1,847.25) per dose but is covered by a confidentiality disclosure agreement,” he said. While Sinovac’s product may cost as little as $5 per dose, Lacson said it may cost as much as a whopping $38 (more than P1,800) in the Philippines. A news article on Bangkok Post dated Jan. 16, 2021 - citing figures from the World Health Organization and from

PH revisits EUA as Norway bares Pfizer jab deaths

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the manufacturers - indicated the price of Sinovac was only $5 per dose. However, during the budget deliberations last November, the Department of Health provided the Senate committee on finance the data on the Sinovac price of P3,629.50 for two doses. From the Palace, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said while the actual price cannot be disclosed yet, Sinovac’s vaccine should cost only about P650 per dose, similar to its pricing in other countries. In a Dobol B sa News TV interview Sunday, Roque explained why the govNext page

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JANUARY 17)

500,577 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

By Willie Casas EMERGENCY use authorizations (EUAs) may be revised if a drug shows safety problems, the government said Sunday, even as the official in charge of procuring COVID-19 vaccines said authorities would be more cautious after Norway reported that 29 elderly people given the Pfizer vaccine died. Next page

1,895 24,691 NEW

ACTIVE

9,895

11

DEATHS

NEW

465,991 5,868 RECOVERIES

NEW

House vows to work double time on reform agenda By Rio N. Araja MAJORITY leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said Sunday the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, had vowed to continue to work double time in passing President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda and to pursue economic reforms to ensure a sustained campaign to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Thousands of devotees celebrate feast in Tondo By Willie Casas CATHOLIC devotees on Sunday celebrated the feast of the Sto. Nino amid strict implementation of health protocols. The devotees of the Child Jesus woke up early to celebrate His feast day, and were careful to observe the health protocols being implemented by the authorities. House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez

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Virus cases break half-million mark; health workers needed By Willie Casas and Rio Araja

partment of Health (DOH) reported 1,895 new cases, bringing the total COVID-19 infections in the Philippines breached the to 500,577 infections since the panhalf-million mark Sunday as the De- demic began.

LOCAL ROUNDUP

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DEVOTEES.

Thousands of Catholic devotees celebrate the Feast of the Sto. Nino (Holy Child Jesus) on Sunday Jan. 17, 2021 in Tondo district of Manila, observing social distancing and other protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Arman Clemente

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News

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

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DPWH engineer accused of corruption By Rey E. Requejo

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the filing of corruption charges against the district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Pasig City and four of his colleagues for allegedly receiving P4 million in “grease money” from the contractor of a P70- million public works project. Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Greco Belgica said the President had ordered the filing of the charges against Roberto “Bobby” Nicolas, district engineer of the department in Pasig City, and his four colleagues Tess Orquia, Melody Domiguez, Luisito Ponancio and Vilma Gomez. Nicolas, Orquia, Dominguez, Ponancio and Gomez will also be charged with violation of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards

for Public Officials and Employees” for allegedly receiving bribe money from the contractor of the project. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar confirmed the report, saying five more administrative cases would also be lodged against Nicolas and his alleged cohorts that would pave the way for their removal from the department. Villar has already suspended Nicolas and three other people except Gomez, who is now retired from public service.

PH revisits... From A1

Senator... From A1

In the wake of the Norwegian reports, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said an EUA is always subject to conditions that could be revised. In a radio interview, Domingo noted that investigation into the deaths of the Norwegian senior citizens was still ongoing, and that his agency would rely on reports from its counterpart in Norway and Pfizer-BioNTech. Assuming that the vaccine has adverse effects in this case, Domingo said that the FDA can indicate in the EUA that the product may not be used in the elderly and people with severe allergies. The FDA granted an EUA to the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech on Thursday. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Philippines will be more cautious in choosing the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to the elderly. Galvez said they would make sure what happened in Norway will not happen in the Philippines once the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program begins, adding that the goal is zero casualties. Galvez said that upon hearing the news, he reached out to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III about their plan for administering the vaccine to senior citizens in the Philippines. The government aims to inoculate 50 million to 70 million people this year, with priority given to health care workers and the elderly. Norway on Saturday expressed concern about the safety of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying medical conditions, after at least 29 of them died within days of receiving the shot, Bloomberg reported. The vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech was the only one available in Norway until Friday, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg. “Most people have experienced the expected side effects of the vaccine, such as nausea and vomiting, fever, local reactions at the injection site, and worsening of their underlying condition,” the agency said. The Canberra Times, meanwhile, said Australia is investigating reports Norwegian authorities are concerned about the safety of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is seeking additional information through the Therapeutic Goods Administration from the company and the Norwegian medical regulator. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has also tasked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to seek advice directly from the Norwegian government. Earlier, Pfizer tried to ease concerns in Europe about the slow deliveries of its vaccine. Several Nordic and Baltic countries described the situation as “unacceptable,” while Belgium’s vaccination strategy task force condemned a lack of consultation by Pfizer over the deliveries as “incomprehensible.” With AFP

ernment could still not reveal the exact price of Sinovac to the public. During the hearings of the Senate Committee of the Whole last week, Lacson also noted implementers of the vaccination program seemed to have a preference for privately owned Sinovac - which may fuel speculation that corruption is involved in the government’s dealings with Sinovac. While vaccine procurement is supposed to be done on a government-togovernment basis, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said he was dealing directly with an executive of Biotech Sinovac Ltd. based in Hong Kong. “Sinovac has a track record of bribery... why insist on dealing with them?” Lacson asked in an interview on radio dwIZ Saturday. “Considering all these, can we blame the lawmakers and even our countrymen [for expressing] suspicion [about] the government’s vaccination program?” Lacson added. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon reiterated on Sunday that as a matter of policy, the gold standard for choosing Covid-19 vaccines should be efficacy and safety, nothing else. “Smuggling of vaccines is a law enforcement issue, which should be separately addressed,” he said when sought for his comment on whether or not delays in procurement and inoculation will encourage more smuggling of vaccines. He emphasized the success of the vaccination program and the country’s economic recovery would depend on the country’s ability to inoculate at least 60 percent of the population. He pointed out the need for the government to address the people’s fear to get inoculated, and strengthen their confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines. Senator Francis Pangilinan said that aside from logistics in acquiring the vaccines and implementing the vaccination program, the bulk of the work of

House... From A1 He said Congress would work on the immediate approval of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE and the Amendments to Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act or AMLA of 2001 in the bicameral conference committee. “These [CREATE and AMLA amendments] are administration measures, which the Department of Finance classified as vital for our economic recovery program. We are going to harmonize immediately the differences between the Senate and the House

Volcano... From A1 chunks of concrete, including a hospital and the regional governor’s office. It was unclear how many people – dead or alive – could still be under the mountains of debris in the aftermath of Friday’s 6.2-magnitude quake, as scores of rescuers combed through the destruction, filling body bags with corpses. Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of nearly 270 million, has been hit by a series of natural disasters this week. Landslides sparked by torrential rains killed at least 32 on Java island, while dozens are dead or missing after severe flooding pounded another part of Sulawesi and Kalimantan, Indonesia’s section of Borneo. Volcano Mount Semeru shot a plume of ash and debris some 4.5 kilometers into the sky Saturday night as bright red lava flowed down from its crater. There were no reports of casualties. versions during the bicameral conferences,” Romualdez said. If enacted into law, he said, “the CREATE bill will definitely provide businesses, particularly micro- small, and medium enterprises with one of the largest economic stimulus measures in the country’s history to help them recover from the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” “The AMLA amendments, on the other hand, need to be passed before February for the Philippines to avoid being included in the Financial Action Task Force’s so-called gray list. This measure seeks to address the deficiencies in the anti-money laundering law and to implement regulations that will improve efforts to curb terrorist financing.

13th suspect in Dacera case to testify—NBI

Belgica said the P4 million handed down to the suspects personnel was an initial payment for its P20 million “Standard Operating Procedure” fee, for a guaranteed win in the bidding of a P70 Million steel parking project that the contractor was vying for. Belgica alleged that the P20 million was the amount of the “agreed” SOP between the DPWH-Pasig district engineers and contractors. Belgica’s basis for the alleged receipt of P4 million by Orquia and Gomez from the ‘representative’ of the contractor was based on “video footage” where the illegal transaction was captured. Belgica said the PACC video footage was “true” and “verified,” adding the contractor’s representative in the transaction was an “asset” of the PACC. He said Nicolas was allegedly part of

the illegal transaction even though he was not in the incident because the alleged crime took place in his office. The PACC commissioner also noted that Gomez was a former member of Nicolas’ staff, although he is now retired. He said the PACC had received many complaints regarding the allegation of corruption against Nicolas, but no solid and strong evidence was provided against him. However, Belgica said the video footage on the P4 million SOP was clear and convincing evidence against the alleged involvement of Nicolas and his accomplices in corruption in DPWH-Pasig City. Nine congressmen were mentioned in the PACC report implicating them to the alleged corruption at the DPWH that Duterte made public, although the PACC had no evidence against them.

the government is restoring confidence in vaccination. Pangilinan cited a Pulse Asia survey conducted late last year showing that nearly half or 47 percent of Filipinos do not want to get vaccinated. To convince half of the population who are unwilling to be vaccinated, he said the Philippines should not settle for a pwede na or passing efficacy and safety standards. He said scientific evidence should be the only basis for the use of vaccines on Filipinos. “While we appreciate the gesture, the donation of 500,000 Chinese vaccines should not pressure FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) and HTAC (Health Technology Assessment Council) to approve its use. Science, data, and the results of clinical trials should be the basis and not “political goodwill’,” he said. At the second hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole, senators asked the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to detail the vaccine roll-out plan after some government officials released conflicting information to the public. Pangilinan pointed out the different numbers of vaccines and the different vaccination schedules that have been bandied about. Pangilinan said he wants the Senate to receive a regular report on the vaccine roll-out effort, including the targets and the list of resources to be used for it. He said these should serve as key indicators of success or failure of the vaccine roll-out. On the separate vaccine roll-outs of local governments and the private sector, Pangilinan said best practices must be used as a template and basis for giving additional resources to government officials who know the reality on the ground. Pangilinan recalled the slow COVID response over the past 11 months, including delays in the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits. He advised Galvez to effectively engage with “the energetic and dynamic” local government units (LGUs) and the private sector, which could be his “army,”

given the dismal government performance in addressing the pandemic and its effects over the last 11 months. “I’d like you to be a general with an army. And I would like to avoid the delays experienced over the past year,” Panglinan added. The senator stressed the need for transparency and informing the people of important decisions regarding the vaccination program. Also on Sunday, Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, committee on health chairperson, said her panel would take up the cost of procured vaccines on Monday. She said the committee could inquire on the actual price of vaccines through an executive session since officials said they are bound by a confidentiality agreement with the manufacturers of the vaccines procured. Reports have come out that Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine is cheaper in Indonesia than its estimated and reported cost in the Philippines, her statement read. “It’s important that we learn whether the vaccines procured are as cost-efficient as they are safe and effective,” Tan said. “We would also like to inquire whether Filipinos will be afforded the opportunity to choose and purchase out-of-pocket their ...vaccines, and how much these will cost for those who would choose this option,” she added. The committee, prompted by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, scheduled the hearing to ensure that the multibillion-peso budget allocated for inoculation would be used to procure the most effective and safest vaccine against the virus. “The mass vaccination is a huge undertaking by the Executive Department. We hope to provide concerned government agencies a platform to present to the people their roadmap for this endeavor,” Tan said. “We will also determine, through this hearing, concrete legislative measures we can craft to ensure that the government succeeds in this program,” she added. The virtual hearing will include Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Galvez, and a list of health experts from the public and private sectors.

Police on Sunday deployed a K-9 unit of sniffer dogs to help in the search at a badly damaged hospital. “The rain poses risks because damaged buildings could collapse if it gets too heavy...and aftershocks could move them too,” said rescuer Octavianto. But moving debris too fast with heavy equipment could crush and kill any buried survivors. “All the victims we’ve found so far were dead,” said Octavianto, 37, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “It is most likely any more victims are already dead if 24 hours has passed,” he added. Most victims were found in Mamuju, but some were also recovered south of the city of 110,000 people in West Sulawesi province. Friday’s tremor triggered panic among residents of the island, which was hit by a 2018 quake-tsunami disaster that killed thousands. “We heard a roaring sound and the house started shaking,” said survivor

Jumardi, 50, from a shelter where he and six family members took refuge. “All I had in my mind was that I would die... Everyone was panicking.” Authorities have not given a figure for how many survivors have been rescued. A pair of young sisters plucked from under the mass of concrete and other debris were treated in hospital. Meanwhile, corpses were recovered from under a collapsed hospital, while five members of a family of eight were found dead in the crumpled remains of their home.

Doctors treated patients with broken limbs and other injuries at a makeshift medical center, set up outside the only hospital in Mamuju that survived relatively intact. Wawan, who was buried under his house until neighbours pulled him to freedom, initially didn’t want to go into a hospital to treat his broken foot, fearing another quake. AFP

THE Quezon City government will launch KyusiPass, a contact tracing application powered by SafePass, in a bid to boost its contact tracing efforts. Mayor Joy Belmonte said through KyusiPass, the city could keep track of who is visiting each establishment within its jurisdiction. “Currently, our businesses are requiring their guests to fill up health declaration forms. Through our KyusiPass, they will just tap their QR code onto the scanner and their information, including their name and mobile number, will automatically be sent to our servers handled by our City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU),” she said. An individual with a valid mobile number, who is residing, working or doing business in the city, is required to get a personal QR code so he or she can register by signing up on the SafePass website, SafePass Facebook chatbot and through SMS.

Thousand... From A1

A devotee who did not have a face shield was given one by the police so he could wear it and enter the church. The authorities also prevented minors from entering the church. One minor claimed he was of age but the authorities were not convinced. The minor eventually headed home with a relative, and only the mother was able to attend the Mass. Other minors were made to stay at J. Nolasco and Moriones while their parents headed for the church, according to Super Radyo dzBB. Those who could not be allowed inside the church due to the limit on the capacity for the areas under the general community quarantine heard Mass outside.

They followed the social distancing markers placed on the ground. After the first Mass, the devotees started arriving for the second Mass, which was set to start at 6 a.m. Meanwhile, at the Sto. Niño de Pandacan Parish, also in Manila, the devotees were given contact forms where they were to write their personal details as part of health protocols. Policemen from the Manila Police District Station 10 were in the area to provide security and ensure that no senior citizens above 65 years old and no minors below 15 were in the area. The first Mass started at 4:30 a.m. Five Masses were scheduled in the morning, and another five later in the evening.

In Manila, at the Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish, many attended the first Mass held at 4 a.m., according to a report by GMA’s Super Radyo dzBB. The Manila Police District reminded the devotees that the age restrictions set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases would be strictly implemented in Tondo and Pandacan, allowing only those aged 15 to 65 to attend mass services in honor of the feast of the Christ Child. The authorities strictly implemented the no face mask, no face shield, no entry policy.

Running low on food, supplies

By Willie Casas THE National Bureau of Investigation has completed its investigation on the 12 occupants of Room 2207, the room where flight attendant Christine Dacera was seen entering several times before her death. According to a report on “24 Oras Weekend,” the suspects underwent a polygraph or lie detector test. The answers they gave during questioning will be compared to the physical evidence obtained by investigators, such as the security camera footage. The 13th occupant of Room 2207, who was from Tacloban, will give his testimony on Monday. The report said the 13th suspect entered Room 2209, the room rented by Dacera and her friends, on the night of Dec. 31. Should the testimony of the 13th suspect be truthful, the NBI may recommend him to be turned into a state witness, the report said. Dacera was found lifeless in the bathtub of Room 2209 in the City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati, where she celebrated New Year’s Eve with her friends.

Local... From A1 The DOH reported 5,868 new recoveries, bringing the total number of patients who have recovered from the disease to 465,991, which is 93.1 percent of the total cases. The DOH also reported 11 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 9,895, which is 1.98 percent of the total cases. This left 24,691 active cases, which is 4.9 percent of the total number of cases.

Gordon: train dentists, medtechs

Senator Richard Gordon said he wants dentists, medical technicians, and even people without medical background to be trained to administer vaccinations the Philippines looks to start rolling out its immunization plan in February. Gordon made the proposal as he questioned the Department of Health’s capability to carry out the vaccination program with only 617,239 health care workers to participate in the campaign based on the department’s data. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III agreed with Gordon’s proposal, not only for COVID-19, but for other diseases, as well. Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said that the government aims to vaccinate 60 to 70 percent of Filipinos in three to five years. About P82.5 billion was allocated by the government for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines this year, of which, P70 billion will be sourced from foreign loans.

QC to launch KyusiPass

News Ask Visayas Electric firm for refund, ERC urged

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PAF planes grounded after Bukidnon crash

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EVEN people aboard a Philippine Air Force plane were killed after it crashed in Bukidnon.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Win Gatchalian told the Energy Regulatory Commission to demand a refund from the Visayan Electric Company if it can be proven their charges were unjustifiable. If it will be proven that a violation has been committed because of its high cost of electricity, Gatchalian said ERc should press for a refund. “It is the mandate of the ERC to protect the interest of the ng public especially if there were abuses,” Gatchalian said. He said the January 4, 2021 directive issued by the ERC to VECO demanding an explanation on the high cost of electricity specifically citing that from January to October 2020, the power purchases made from Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC) averaged at P35.3853 per kilowatt hour with generation rate spiking significantly high at P1,470.90 per kwh for the month of September last year. The senator also took note of Section 23 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act specifying that distribution utilities, VECO included, have the obligation to supply electricity in the least cost manner to its captive market. CPPC is just one of the four independent power producers supplying the energy requirements to VECO. The other three are Green Core Geothermal Inc., Cebu Energy Development Corporation and Therma Visayas Inc. whose power purchases averaged only at P5.5584 per kwh, P4.8922 per kw and P5.6821 per kh respectively, from January to October 2020. ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes Devanadera directed VECO to explain its high electricity rates last year and its perceived violation of Section 45 (b) of the EPIRA, which provides that “no participant in the electricity industry or any other person may engage in any anti-competitive behavior including, but not limited to, cross-subsidization, price or market manipulation, or other unfair trade practices”.

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FEAST OF STO. NIñO. Catholic devotees carry an image of the Infant Jesus during a mass offered for the feast of the Sto. Niño outside

the arch diocesan shrine of Sto Nino de Tondo in Moriones, Manila, on 17 January 2021. The Manila City government earlier announced that there would be no street parties, parades and other outdoor activities during the celebration of the Feast of the Santo Niño de Tondo and Pandacan on Jan. 16 and 17; including a curfew between midnight to 3am will be implemented, as part of their preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus. Norman Cruz

AFP leadership orders dismantling of NPA lairs ARMED Forces of the Philippines chiefof-staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay has ordered all his commanders to totally dismantle all remaining New People’s Army guerrilla fronts as the communist terrorists have been seriously weakened by government offensives. “All remaining communist guerrilla fronts shall be simultaneously addressed and defeated toward the end of 2021. I noticed a lot of these NPA units have been weakened so this is our target for all the Unified Commands,” he said in a statement late Saturday. Gapay also ordered all area command-

ers to set priority targets per quarter along with their task to expedite the clearing of identified focus areas to hasten the dismantling of remaining guerrilla fronts. A total of 54 so-called guerrilla fronts remains with nine other regional armed groups which were already decimated and on the brink of collapse. This came after the successful dismantling of 22 communist fighting and propaganda units. “Focused military operations shall be intensified in order to destroy the armed groups, taking advantage of our newly acquired game-changer assets,” Gapay said. In line with this, AFP units were tasked

to develop innovative employment of joint operations supported by enhanced and modernized intelligence gathering. To neutralize local terrorist groups, Gapay directed AFP units to further intensify focused military operations along with the conduct of “preventing and countering violent extremism” programs to avoid the radicalization and recruitment of vulnerable sectors and communities. “We have significantly decimated these groups such that we could target to catch up on our goals toward the end of the first semester of this year,” Gapay said. PNA

As a result, all PAF planes were ordered grounded and would undero inspection, according to PAF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Aristides Galang, who said that the masure is part of FAP’s standard operating procedure after incidents involving their aircrafts. “After ng insidente na ‘to, as an SOP, automatic po ‘yan, iga-ground po muna natin ‘yung mga aircraft. Hold muna po sa paglipad,” he said. One of PAF’s UH-1H helicopters crashed near Bukidnon’s Barangay Bulonay on Sunday after the aircrew attempted to crash-land the aircraft. The crew along with their three passengers—a soldier and two Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) militiamen—were killed. PAF said the helicopter, along with another UH-1H, was on a resupply mission for the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion when it crashed. 4th Infantry Division spokesperson Major Rodulfo Cordero Jr. said the chopper experienced “engine trouble,” although Galang said the cause of the incident is still not clear. “Sa ngayon po, hindi pa po natin masasabi kung ano po talaga ‘yung cause of incident” he said. “Hindi po malinaw po kasi kung ano ang report na binibigay sa atin kaya po tayo magpapadala ng magiimbestiga para malaman po natin kung ano po ang cause ng insidente,” he added. Galang said the helicopter that was involved in the crash is quite old. However, the PAF has been following maintenance procedures and conducting inspection before and after flights, he said.

Peralta reforms go on despite retirement By Rey E. Requejo CHIEF Justice Diosdado Peralta on Sunday said reforms being implemented in the judiciary and the remedial measures adopted by the Supreme Court to curb the spread of the corona virus would not be affected by his early retirement on March 27. Peralta saud that all the reform programs “are all envisioned to serve as longterm reforms for the judiciary.” Among the reforms undertaken by the SC at the start of Peralta’s term in late 2019 were the revisions of several rules of procedures and the creation of investigate bodies to probe on erring judiciary members and court personnel. The remedial measures adopted to contain the pandemic were the online filing of

cases and pleadings in courts, conduct of video conferencing to expedite hearing of cases, and the adoption of skeletal force and the four-day workweek in the courts. “I believe that my retirement from the Court will not adversely affect the implementation of these programs,” Peralta said. “These reforms were all created to make the administration of justice more effective, efficient and responsive,” he added. Peralta expressed confidence that these programs will serve as “blueprints and foundations” for the overall processes and linkages within the courts, “regardless of who is at the Judiciary’s helm.” Last December 1, Peralta told his colleagues of his intention to retire on March 27, 2021 or one year ahead of his mandatory retirement on March 27, 2022.

TIMELY RESPONSE. Firemen from the RAHA Volunteers Fire Department responded to a 2nd Alarm along a residential area in Barrio Visaya in Alabang Muntinlupa. The fire reached the fourth alarm before it was containd.

FOR BIKES ONLY. Traffic officers of the Task Force on Transport and Traffic Management ticketed motorists parked in designated bike lanes in the city. In accordance with City Ordinance 2636-2017 or the QC Road Safety Code, any type of vehicle or motorcycle may not block bike lanes.

DHSUD head vs land scammers By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development a special bidy to craft pro-active steps to go after realestate scamners. Secretary Eduardo del Rosario has tasked the body to craft pro-active steps to end the illicit activity in the housing industry. On Jan. 11, he signed Special Order No. 2021-002, creating a technical working group, headed by Undersecretary Meynardo Sabili, to institutionalize the department’s intensified drive against real-estate scammers through a joint memorandum agreement on anti-illegal real-estate practices. The TWH primarily aims to for-

mulate a joint memorandum circular among stakeholder-agencies for a whole-government approach to address the illegal activities in the real-estate sector; revisit all laws, rules and regulations relevant to the prevention and elimination of illegal real estate activities nationwide; assess ongoing public campaigns and actions taken against individuals or groups engaged in unlawful practices; undertake consultations with concerned government departments and agencies and other stakeholders, and find alternative solutions to address the problem. Last October, the housing czar ordered a nationwide crackdown against realestate scammers based on reports about such illegal activities

62 farmer-beneficiaries in Cadiz get land, told to be responsible By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Agrarian Reform has installed 62 farmer-beneficiaries in a 70-hectare land in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental in Eastern Visayas. The covered landholding is formerly owned by Asuncion Agricultural Corp. with title no. T-25408 covered by Lot No. 839, situated in Barangay Burgos. Myrna Omaliao, municipal agrarian re-

form program officer, said the activity was conducted through the process of land acquisition and ristribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. “Through its mandate, the DAR shall acquire public and private agricultural landholdings to be distributed to tenants, farmers, farmworkers, or other tillers who are qualified to become agrarian reform beneficiaries. These ARBs will be provided with titles in the form of certificates

of land ownership award covering one contiguous tract or several parcels of land cumulated up to a maximum of three hectares per ARB,” she said. The agency is also mandated to guarantee farmers’ land security, deliver social equity and provide them with the necessary productive resources needed to ensure their economic viability and productivity. “May the year 2021 bring you hope as you are now the owners of the land you

have been longing to acquire. Be responsible, take good care of it, and secure that it is free from abuse. Just abide by the laws for you to have a better life,” Omaliao said. Since Negros Occidental is still under the modified general community quarantine, the department conducted the ceremony observing the minimum health protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health.

Judiciary names 100 judges-at-large THE judiciary will be able to hasten the adjudication of several pending court cases with the appointment of 100 judgesat-large posts for 2021, said Sen. Sonny Angara. Angara said Congress allocated aaaditional funds for the judiciary under the 2021 national budget for the appointment of judges-at-large. The senator,who steered the early approval of the 2021 General Appropriations Act as chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Finance, said a total of P244.988 million was included in the budget of the judiciary for the implementation of Republic Act 11459 or the Judges-at-Large Act. Enacted on August 13, 2019, RA 11459 mandates the creation of judgesat-large posts for the regional and municipal trial courts in order to decongest the courts of its dockets. These appointed judges-at-large will have no permanent salas and may be assigned by the Supreme Court as acting or assisting judges to any RTC or MTC in the country “as public interest may require.” They are entitled to salaries, privileges, allowances, emoluments, benefits, rank and title of regular RTC and MTC judges.

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

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MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Third PH eagle found in Maitum in Sarangani ANOTHER Philippine Eagle, the third of its kind in a span of four years, was recently found and rescued in the hinterlands of Maitum town in Sarangani province as it was trapped in the thorny rattan vines while preying on a monkey. A team from the municipal government retrieved the eagle and relayed the rescue effort to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office for the proper handling of the eagle and eventual turnover to the Philippine Eagle Foundation in Davao City. The bird was found near Mt. Busa complex, a declared key biodiversity area and home to critically endangered, threatened, vulnerable and rare fowl species. The two previous eagles were found on January 2, 2017 and December 13, 2019 and were likewise turned over to the Foundation for rehabilitation. Environmental authorities attribute the frequent sightings of the country’s national bird in the mountain area to the healthy biodiversity of its forests, which also host endemic flora, fauna, and hardwood species.

RESCUED. This Philippine Eagle was found near the Mt. Busa complex, a declared key biodiversity area and home to critically endangered, threatened, vulnerable and rare fowl species.

QC readies 10 vaccination sites

Contest to honor Caloocan seniors

By Rio N. Araja

By Jun David

T

HE Quezon City government has identified 10 locations in its initial list of vaccination sites to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. “We have chosen those areas because these are strategic areas where people from the six districts can easily go to,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said. Meanwhile, Quezon City Rep. Pre-

cious Castelo on Sunday said the city’s four government-owned specialty hospitals will get P1.56 billion in additional funds this year. “More funding means the hospitals

can accommodate and treat more patients from Quezon City and Metro Manila, and from nearby provinces and even other parts of the country as well,” she said. The four specialty hospitals are the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) and Philippine Heart Center (PHC), all located on East Avenue and Quezon Avenue. Belmonte said: “We have already started to designate vaccination sites to be prepared anytime should there’ll be a vaccine. We have to plan ahead to assure

our people that we are doing everything to make these vaccines available as soon as possible.” The vaccination sites are the Project 6 tennnis court in District 1, Batasan Hills National High School and NGC covered court in District 2, Aguinaldo Elementary School in District 3, Dona Josefa Jara Martinez High School and Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School in District 4, Kaligayahan activity center and Fairview covered court in District 5, and Emilio Jacinto Elementary School and Culiat High School in District 6.

Alabel one-stop shop serves Sarangani folk THE Municipality of Alabel recently rolled out its annual one-stop shop to facilitate the renewal and application of new local business permits and licenses. Set at the town’s gymnasium, the integrated location includes offices under the local government such as the office of the mayor, engineering, planning and development, health, treasury, administrator, and environment and natural resources, as well as national line agencies such as the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, and the Department of Trade and Industry, among others. The bustling provincial capital, commercial and agro-industrial hub of Sarangani, Alabel has been implementing the one-stop-shop scheme to be a leading business-friendly and competitive municipality in southern Mindanao. It recently placed 14th in the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI) ranking of the National Competitiveness Council and the Department of Trade and Industry.

ONE STOP SHOP. Alabel has been implementing the one-stop-shop scheme to be a leading business-friendly and competitive municipality in southern Mindanao.

4 arrested with P700,000 in shabu in Pampanga raids Balanga leaders By Jess Malabanan CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Anti-illegal drugs operatives seized about P700,000 worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu during buy-bust operations in separate areas in Mexico, Pampanga and City of San Fernando over the weekend. Police BGen. Valeriano De Leon, director of the Central Luzon PNP, said four suspected shabu traffickers were arrested dur-

ing the drug sting operations at Barangay Lagundi, Mexico and in Bgy. Bulaon City of San Fernando. De Leon identified the suspects as Jose Marwan Dayrit, of Bgy Tabun, Mabalacat City; Clairem Yalung, Reynaldo Banag and Patrick Garcia, all residence of Bgy. Bulaon, City of San Fernando. Dayrit was the first to fall after he handed five sachets of shabu worth P374,000 to a poseur buyer. A caliber .38 revolver hand-

gun was also found in his possession when subjected to further checks. Follow-up operations led to the arrest of three others at Bgy. Bulaon in San Fernando where the suspects yielded P421,600 worth of shabu weighing about 62 grams. Also seized from the suspects were two Samsung cellular phones, a weighing scale, unlicensed motorcycle, and dusted money used in the buy bust.

BIRTHDAY THANKS. Former Speaker and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (center) hands out relief packs to around 100 Barangay Health Workers in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna as an expression of appreciation for their service. They also received cash assistance from the lawmakers that included Laguna 1st District Rep. Dan Fernandez (who was also celebrating his birthday), Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Raneo Abu, and Bulacan Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado. Roy Tomandao

vow to keep peace

BALANGA CITY—Mayor Francis Garcia and Vice Mayor Vianca Venzon-Gozon have vowed “no letup” in their peace and order drive in this city. The city leaders have activated the City Anti-Illegal Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) to cleanse the city of drug pushers and users. The mayor and vice mayor recently spearheaded the quarterly meeting of the council held at Dona Francisca covered court. Police Major Sonia M. Alvarez, chief of police, reported that Balanga Police Station is ranked first among the 223 police stations in the region for the months of October, November, and December. City Public Safety Office (CPSO) Operations Officer Jose Balana then presented the 1Patroller’s report and the roadclearing operations in the city. 1Patroller is an innovative peace and order program of the city where residents using smartphones can forward videos and photos of illegal or suspicious activities and other violations to city police and CPSO. Garcia also announced the city government will prioritize the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines which may happen in the third quarter of 2021 at the earliest. Butch Gunio

COUNCILOR Orvince Howard “ConVINCEd” A. Hernandez has announced a contest that will honor living married senior citizen couples in Caloocan City who have stayed together for four decades and are still going strong. The contest is open to all husband-andwife senior citizens who are bonafide residents of the city and are still happily living together for 40 years or more. “Let’s celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day by honoring our lolo and lola or nanay and tatay whose faithfulness to each other has stood the test of time through the years. Through this contest, let’s make them feel that we dearly love them. Let’s make the people know that here in Caloocan City, we are extremely proud of our senior citizens,” said Hernandez, president of the Sanggunian Kabataan Federation of Caloocan City. To join the contest, any grandchild or child should write the story of his or her senior citizen grandparents or parents and send it to Hernandez’s FB page “Vince Hernandez” or email it to office. vincehernandez@gmail.com. “Ikuwento n’yo ‘yung mga ‘kilig’ moment ng love story nila, kung paano sila nagkakilala at nagligawan, tampuhan at suyuan, ilan ang naging anak at apo nila, how they overcame challenges and all that. In other words, their love and life story as husband and wife,” he said.

New commander for Salaknib troops GAMU, Isabela—A new Salaknib Battalion Commander is set to lead the fight against insurgency in the Area of Operation of 95th Infantry Battalion, as Salaknib Startroopers welcome their newly installed Commanding Officer on January 16 at 95IB Headquarters in San Mariano, Isabela. Through the Change of Command ceremony that was presided over by MGen Laurence E. Mina PA, Commander of 5th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, LTC Gladiuz C. Calilan INF (GSC) formally relinquished his command to LTC Lemuel A. Baduya (INF) PA. LTC Calilan will sit as the Assistant Chief-of-Staff for Operations of the 5th Infantry Division, Philippine Army. LTC Baduya is the outgoing Deputy Chief of Operations Research Center of the Philippine Army. This is his first time to be assigned in Cagayan Valley Region. In his junior years in the service, he was deployed in Mindanao Region for almost nine years and in the Visayas for almost four years before his deployment at National Capital Region. He held different vital designations that contributed to the success of the Philippine Army throughout. LTC Baduya said that being chosen to lead the unit is a challenge and an opportunity for him to serve the people of Isabela. Brenda Jocson

Opinion The foundling HERS was a story straight out of the movies, or a telenovela, even a Disney tale. Supposedly, she was left abandoned in the pews of a church in Iloilo, taken cared of as an infant by a kind lady, and later adopted by Jesusa Sonora of Negrense parentage, also known as Susan Roces, the demure heroine of many a Tagalog movie. Susan was married to the “King of Filipino movies,” Fernando Poe Jr., better known as FPJ, but theirs was a childless marriage. So they adopted the infant and gave her a name, Grace, as in “grasya mula sa langit.” And so the foundling grew up amid wealth, even if she was a very private person, which is probably how the famous couple wanted their “unica hija” to be. The couple, though byword in movieland and known to practically every Filipino, were themselves reticent of the limelight, neither flaunting wealth nor fame, nor drawn into politics unlike FPJ’s friend, Joseph Ejercito, also known as Erap Estrada. The latter entered politics as mayor of tiny San Juan while continuing to make movies as actor and producer. He parlayed that political debut into national fame, becoming senator, thence vice-president, and president. Through all his political battles, his friend FPJ supported him as crowd-drawer in humongous public rallies.

How shall Grace Poe see her place in the political sun of 2022? But President Erap fell from grace, in a bloodless coup d’etat falsely called the second people power. His followers were still legion, and so, while he was imprisoned in hospital suite followed by his grand Tanay resthouse, he and a powerful businessman-politician prevailed on the legendary FPJ to run for president against the “usurper” they accused of “stealing” the presidency. Despite unprecedented popularity, FPJ lost that election of 2004, and the incumbent, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, daughter of a former president, won a controversial victory punctuated by a cheating “Hello Garci” scandal that almost lost her the presidency through another mutiny which failed. One tough lady is how Pres. GMA will be remembered. In the wake of the unexpected defeat, in part the result of FPJ’s failure to convince outlier Ping Lacson to withdraw his own presidential candidacy, and the loss of the INC vote to GMA, the “King” withdrew into self-imposed isolation from public sight, and seven months after the elections, he succumbed to an aneurysm. Paroxysms of public grief followed. Enter then the foundling. Already an American citizen, she returned for good to the Philippines when GMA’s term was about to end, and entered public service as Chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) as appointee of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III. She gave up her US passport and regained Filipino citizenship, a legal conundrum that was finally resolved in her favor by the Supreme Court in 2015, when she ran for President of the Republic. Prior to this, she jumped from MTRCB to getting elected senator of the realm in 2013, where she emerged Numero Uno. And in a country which gives immense value to those

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

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EDITORIAL

who top any contest, whether the bar examinations, or beauty contests, or the senatorial race, she instantly became “presidential material”. Pres. Aquino and his candidate for president in 2016, Mar Roxas, dangled the vice-presidential slot to Sen. Grace Poe. Not a bad career move for a first-term senator, but she dissed it and ran for president herself, along with friend and FPJ’s campaign spokesman in 2004, the articulate Sorsogon senator Chiz Escudero as her running mate. The tandem of Grace and Chiz was the toast of political tinseltown from the time they launched her candidacy at the UP Bahay Alumni in September. Alongside that political foray, ABS-CBN regurgitated a previous FPJ movie, Ang Probinsyano, into a telenovela with the hugely popular Coco Martin in the lead and doyenne Susan Roces as character actor. Their survey ratings hit the roof and by the start of the campaign in February 2016, the tandem was largely predicted to win the elections. But a mayor from the deep South who kept everybody in tenterhooks by denying his presidential run, slowly crept into the limelight, like a stealth aircraft with pre-computed trajectory. He shocked people with his foul language and unorthodox moves, but that attracted the populace more and more. By April of 2016, Rodrigo Roa Duterte was leading the surveys, after three presidential debates where his rapier-sharp remarks and rebuttals elevated him in the public esteem. His “Tapang at Malasakit” theme presaged an era where “Change is Coming”. The Grace-Chiz tandem in contrast presented a vision of apple pie and peach cream, saying all the good things about everything under the sun. Mar and Leni presented their version of the by-now discredited “Daang Matuwid.” Duterte won with almost 40 percent of the vote, with Aquino’s anointed, Mar Roxas a far second, Grace Poe third, Vice-President Jojo Binay fourth, and the feisty Senadora Miriam as tail-ender. Ironically, had Grace Poe accepted the Aquino-Roxas offer of the vice-presidency, she would have easily become vice-president. As it happened, another lady, the widow Leni Robredo, through winsome smiles and demure personality, squeaked past Bongbong Marcos to become Numero Dos. Flashback to 2004, when outlier Ping Lacson failed to accept the FPJ offer to be his second best, a combination that could have easily swept GMA out of Malacanang. But Grace Poe was still senator with three more years left in her first term. And when she ran for re-election, as an independent supportive of the popular Duterte, she placed a strong second, with the uber-wealthy Cynthia Villar topping the race and an obscure Bong Go an amazing third. Now all three of them are labelled “presidentiables.” Who among them will take the plunge and throw their hat into the ring? There is a “regla” in the presidential sweepstakes that so far has held fast— that one who runs for the presidency and vice-presidency, but loses, gets no second chance for the top elective posts in the benighted land. This is unlike the US of A where a Richard Nixon after losing to Jack Kennedy in 1960 became governor of California, and then tried once more and won the presidency, later to be disgraced into resigning by the Watergate scandal. But, there is always a first time. Her numbers are respectable, behind the presidential daughter, or statistically tied with the pugilist, the son, and Yorme. But these are early days. The political heat which normally should be on high by now, is still simmering low with Covid and the vaccine taking top spot in the public mind. How shall the foundling see her place in the political sun of 2022?

Magna Carta have evolved and must evolve. Over the years, the Philippines has adopted around six constitutions, not counting the US laws passed before the Commonwealth to govern the so-called Philippine Islands. The 1935 Constitution, in fact, originally provided for a unicameral legislature, only to be later on MODERN democracies, save for a few such as the United Kingdom and Israel, have adopted the convention of having a written constitution. Written constitutions provide the blueprint for a country’s political and economic order, summing up not only the mechanisms of governance, but also defining its accompanying social and legal arrangements. The first republican constitution in the country, the Malolos Constitution, was copied from the Spanish republican experiment. It is interesting to note that the most contentious issue during the Malolos Congress was the separation of Church and State. In fact, the amendment the original provision by which the Catholic Church would have been established as the country’s state religion was adopted, not by an overwhelming majority as many would assume, but by a mere single vote. Later on, when the Americans came to establish their own republican tradition, in an effort to dislodge the existing political elite with one that would be loyal to the new colonial establishment, a shift from the Spanish republicanism to the ways of American democracy was necessary. History would teach us that constitutions

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

At times political decisions must be made, not out of convenience or expediency, but out of conviction and clarity about what must be done for the greater good. amended to revert to the pre-Commonwealth bicameral system. The original draft of the 1973 Constitution created a pure parliamentary system with a Prime Minister serving as head of government, leaving the President with mere ceremonial functions. But before the 1973 Constitution could be even fully implemented, a series of constitutional amendments resulted in a shift to a semi-presidential system, with the President serving as an actual chief executive, with the assistance of a Prime Minister responsible for routine affairs of governance. Critics have opposed moves to change the

C

Choosing to be choosy

HOOSINESS comes to mind with the recent statement of the presidential spokesperson regarding the vaccines against the coronavirus.

“Meron po tayong karapatan para sa mabuting kalusugan pero hindi naman po pepwede na pihikan dahil napakaraming Pilipino na dapat turukan (We have a right to good health but we cannot be too picky because there are so many Filipinos who must be vaccinated),” said Secretary Harry Roque. His statement came amid concerns about the relatively higher price and relatively lower efficacy rate of the vaccine from Sinovac, which appears to be the government’s brand of choice. Sinovac is only one of several companies that have developed vaccines, but two doses of it would cost P3,629.50, according to the Office of Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee. The efficacy rates for Sinovac also vary: Tests in Turkey have yielded a 91-percent rate; tests in Brazil, meanwhile, a lower 78 percent. Some have pinned the efficacy rate to a low 50 percent. But most brands go for lower prices per two doses, and all of them have efficacy rates higher than Sinovac’s. For example, two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine would cost P610 and it is 70-percent effective. Two doses of Novovax would cost P366, even as there is no information yet on its efficacy. Two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine would cost P2,379. It

has an efficacy rate of 95 percent but it has to be stored at a temperature of negative 70 degrees Celsius.

What’s wrong with being picky? Two doses of Moderna’s would cost anywhere from P3,904 to P4,504. It has an efficacy rate of 95 percent and needs to be stored at negative 20 degrees Celsius. Gamaleya’s vaccines called Sputnik V would cost P1,220 for two doses and needs only to be stored at a regular refrigerator temperature. Efficacy rate is 92 percent. Finally, we could obtain vaccines from the COVAX Facility—a global effort to ensure rapid, fair and equitable access to whatever is left of the world supply by the richer economies—at a rate of P854. These estimates from the office of Senator Angara are adjusted for VAT and 10-percent inflation rate. Roque’s initial statement about Filipinos being picky elicited angry reactions from many sectors, such that other officials eventually said they were procuring vaccines from various providers. Well and good, if

this is the case, and if the primary consideration is the best possible deal for the government at the soonest possible time. We really need to start inoculating Filipinos now, even as we still have to embark on the difficult task of convincing the people that vaccination is good for them. Mr. Roque’s words, however, continue to rankle. What is wrong with being choosy? We are entitled to demand that our government choose the best vaccines because it’s our money, anyway, that it is spending. We would want our taxes to be spent prudently; saying otherwise would only fan speculation that somebody somewhere stands to make hefty profits. More importantly, we want vaccines that actually work, and would not cause harm. Filipinos have a tendency to be too accepting of what is being given them. Let us then take this matter of choosiness to a broader context. We should not be apologetic for being choosy. We should be discriminating—whether in the procurement of vaccines that would protect us against a deadly virus, or in selecting local and national officials to lead us. Later this year, national candidates will file their certificates of candidacy for the 2022 elections. The circus is about to begin, if it has not already done so. It is our hope that after everything we’ve seen during this pandemic, we would be more picky about the men and women we would elect to serve us. There is no such thing as being too picky—only being lazy and indifferent.

Vaccine facts vs. spins PUBLISHED reports on the 50-percent efficacy of the government-favored Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine has alarmed several lawmakers, patient groups, and health sector professionals, fueling a now raging issue in both mainstream and social media. Becoming immune from the COVID-19 vaccine is a matter of life and death. It’s a no brainer that people would prefer to be inoculated with vaccines with the highest efficacies such as AstraZeneca (70 percent), Moderna (94 percent), and Pfizer (95 percent). Another fact that will not deceive the public no matter what spin is thrown out to media is the high cost of the Chinese vaccine compared to the Western developers that have earned much higher efficacy ratings. According to studies disclosed by Sen. Sonny Angara, a dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine can inoculate five Filipinos at P610 per jab versus just one P3,629.50 Sinovac dose. Other alternatives are Johnson and Johnson’s at a low P480, the COVAX program with the World Health Organization is at P854, Novavax even cheaper at P366, and Pfizer’s at P2,379. Considering that the government has only P12.5 billion available cash for vaccine deployment, we don’t need to be a financial expert to see that this not a responsible management of our very limited resources. The government is poised to borrow P70 billion from bilateral partners, multi-lateral and domestic lenders to fill up the ‘unprogrammed appropriations’ (money the government does not have yet) to fill up the P82.5 billion budget for the government’s vaccination program. We, the taxpayers, will be paying for these gargantuan loans country’s constitution, citing that there is no need for constitutional reform, and that any attempt to do so would be tantamount to desecrating a sacrosanct constitutional order. But the truth is, constitutions are not cast in stone —for change is a necessary component for democracies to evolve and mature. Constitutional reform is once again in the news, due to the recent moves in the House of Representatives to push for amendments to the restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution. These provisions include (1) prohibition for foreigners to own land; (2) exclusion of foreigners to exploit the country’s natural resources; and (3) limitations on the inflow of foreign capital to public utilities. It is often said the “reactive” political atmosphere that was in place during the drafting of the current Constitution caused the inclusion of these protectionist economic provisions. As a result, foreign corporations can only own properties, exploit natural resources or invest in public utilities, if they have equity ownership within the maximum extent of no more than forty percent. Proponents of the amendments of the economic provisions believe that removing the said restrictions will allow for more foreign direct investments and help further the country’s economic growth. What is unfortunate though is that, similar to the mistakes made by the early proponents of charter change, constitutional reform is being put forward as a panacea to this country’s many political and economic ills. The inconvenient truth is that while amending the Con-

in the next decades. We’ve heard President Duterte and his spokesperson defending their pro-Chinese vaccine bias and even said that we, the people, should not be “picky” and should just accept the Sinovac shot because it’s the only available until June and even threatened that refusal will cause loss of one’s priority stature.

We must demand transparency. These issues, and the monopolistic approach of government was rightfully hit in recent Senate hearings. The clear message is that the administration’s “all of government” approach will illogically constrain outcomes from the dynamism and efficient resource mobilization capability inherent in an “all of society” effort powered by the private sector, local governments (LGUs), and civil society raring to initiate vaccination programs, without burdening government resources. Sen. Grace Poe together with many Senators from both sides of the majority and minority blocs have expressed wonderment, and suspicion of a hidden motivation behind the administration’s insistent endorsement of the Sinovac vaccine. Senator Poe said, “Questions still linger in the people’s minds as to why the government sealed an agreement with Sinovac when its not FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved.” “The Filipino people have every right to choose which vaccine to take, it is their money the government is spending to procure the precious doses,” Sen. Grace Poe said. Not without enraged reactions from every sector of society, the government re-spinned the narrative saying that LGUs can go ahead with their vaccine procurement and assured that a “fair mix” of safe vaccines will be purstitution may contribute to the country’s political and economic health, it is not a guarantee that the existing infirmities in our politics and economy would be resolved instantaneously. Constitutional change, rather, is a measure of a country’s political and socioeconomic maturity, and not the other way around. In fact, restricting the amendments to the economic provisions of the Constitution may do more harm than the good it intends to produce. With this chance to correct the economic restrictions, it would be counterproductive to miss the chance to introduce similar political reforms. After all, is it not that politics continue to be the determining factor in determining and sustaining economic growth? Certainly, a significant shift in the political system is long overdue. While a bicameral legislature must be retained, especially in a federal system, the time has come to restore the election of Senators by region, similar to the senatorial districts created by the Jones Act. The principle of enhanced local government autonomy as articulated in the Local Government Code could be steered in the direction of progressive political devolution leading towards a federal government set-up, thus allowing local government units a share in national revenues that is more equitable to its devolved functions. Finally, a semi-parliamentary system could help resolve not only the deadlocks between the executive and legislative branches of government—but more importantly enhance alignment and cooperation between the government and the majority in legislature. With a semi-par-

chased as soon as possible. Also announced was the first batch of 50,000 Sinovac vaccines arriving in February purchased at a “best friend forever” price but could not be disclosed citing a non-disclosure agreement. As taxpayers who will be burdened for the next twenty years, we have a right to know the details of this Sinovac purchase. Health advocacy groups CitizenWatch Philippines, Philippine Association of Patient Organizations, and HealthJustice Philippines issued a strong joint statement calling for fast, safe, and full vaccine deployment finding the government’s 4-year timeline too protracted. The coalition also called for a fair and equitable prioritization plan and emphasized that roll-out should first be in regions with the highest infection rates which are also the most productive economic drivers of the country. They urged the government to partner with the private sector which has continuously delivered effective anti-COVID initiatives. Recently recognized by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III are the continuing interventions of big business groups led by the Zobel brothers, Manuel V. Pangilinan, and Joey Concepcion in setting up the cold storage chain facilities required for the vaccines. The health groups further called for extensive information campaigns to neutralize dangerous and baseless misconceptions causing fears of vaccines resulting in more infections and deaths and derail economic recovery. As a consumer advocate and most of all, as a father, securing the health and well-being of family is THE PRIORITY. The vaccine is a proven weapon of science that for over two centuries of its history, has saved billions of lives from the world’s deadliest diseases. Ending the great suffering of this pandemic depends on how fast we achieve herd immunity. We must be vigilant and demand transparency. Heartless instigators of acts that will only serve corrupt agendas will not be tolerated. liamentary system, our country may finally get the chance to craft, pass and implement more relevant and responsive laws. Full version at www.manilastandard.net

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Armed man arrested near US Capitol A MAN with a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition has been arrested in Washington at a security checkpoint near the US Capitol, authorities said. Wesley Allen Beeler, of Virginia, had driven to a checkpoint on Friday evening and tried to use a phony credential to access the restricted area where President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated next week, according to a document filed in Washington, DC Superior Court. As officers checked against an authorized access list, one of them noticed decals on the back of Beeler’s pick-up truck that said “Assault Life,” with an image of a rifle, and another with the message: “If they come for your guns, give ‘em your bullets first.” Under questioning, Beeler told officers he had a Glock handgun in the vehicle. A search uncovered a loaded handgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells and a magazine for the gun, the court document said. Beeler was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, a police report said. Following his arrest, Beeler said it was “an honest mistake” and that he was a private security guard who got lost on his way to work near the Capitol. Washington is under a high state of alert ahead of Biden’s Wednesday inauguration, after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. Five people died in the assault, including a police officer. Security officials have warned that armed pro-Trump extremists, possibly carrying explosives, pose a threat to Washington as well as state capitals over the coming week. Thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington and streets have been blocked off downtown with concrete barriers. The National Mall, which is normally packed with people every four years for presidential inaugurations, has been declared off-limits at the request of the Secret Service, which ensures the security of the president. AFP

SHOICHI NIWA, THE CIVIL REGISTRAR OF QUEZON CITY, THE CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL and OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL, Respondents. x-------------------------------------x

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Days after suffering the ignominy of a second impeachment, Trump will skip his successor Joe Biden’s inauguration and depart early Wednesday for his Mar-aLago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Apparently, he plans to live there. There are also signs his adult children will decamp south to be near their father,

to put up a fight against those who do not want him around. But that’s only the beginning of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago woes. This week Palm Beach County officials issued the resort a warning over a New Year’s Eve party at which guests did not wear masks or observe social distancing rules. Trump’s son Don Jr had posted a video of the festivities showing people dancing to 1989 hit “Ice Ice Baby” by the rapper Vanilla Ice, who performed live. The county warned that any future violation of pandemic restrictions would mean a fine of $15,000. AFP

Kremlin enemy Navalny faces arrest in Russia

SP. PROC. CASE NO. R-QZN-20-05176-SP

ORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING A verified petition had been filed by the petitioner praying that considering that respondent SHOICHI NIWA, a Japanese National, is residing outside of the Philippines, an Order be issued allowing the publication of the petition in a newspaper of general circulation to serve as notice to respondent SHOICIHI NIWA to acquire jurisdiction over his person; and that after due notice and hearing, the petition be granted, and the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Quezon City, as well as the Civil Registrar General, National Statistics Office (now Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA), Manila, be directed to remove the name of the petitioner as “wife” in the Marriage Certificate (registry number 2005-3168) subject of this case. NOTICES IS HEREBY GIVEN that the petition will be heard by this Court on 19 JANUARY 2021 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning, in the Hall of Justice Building, Regional Trial Court, Branch 81, Quezon City, on which date, time and place, all persons concerned may appear and show cause, if any, why the aforesaid petition should not be granted. Let this Order and Notice of Hearing be published at the expense of the petitioner in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks and the same be posted at the bulletin boards of the Hall of Justice Buildig, Quezon City, at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 81, Quezon City, at the Office of the Local Civil Registry of Quezon City and at the Office of the Civil Registrar General Philippine Statistics Authority, Quezon City.

India hails ‘life saving’ vaccine INDIA’S COVID-19 vaccination drive had a successful start with more than 190,000 people receiving their first jabs and no one hospitalized for major side effects, the health ministry said, but reports emerged about concerns over the homegrown vaccine. Authorities have given emergencyuse approval for two vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca and the homegrown “Covaxin” which has yet to complete its Phase 3 trials – and plans to immunize some 300 million people in the country of 1.3 billion by July. Frontline workers such as hospital staff, people over 50 and those deemed to be at high risk due to pre-existing medical conditions are on the shortlist

to receive the vaccines. “We have got encouraging and satisfactory feedback results on the first day,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told his state counterparts on Saturday. “This vaccine will indeed be a ‘Sanjeevani’ (life saver)” in the fight against the virus, he added. The health ministry said “no case of post-vaccination hospitalization” had been reported, although local media said a security guard at the country’s top-ranked public hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, had developed an allergic reaction shortly after getting his shot. AFP

SO ORDERED.

ner

CITY,

Copy furnished: Atty. Leonel P. Cadiz Counsel for petitioner Nimfa Pornela y Sotomayor Petitioner Shoichi Niwa Respondent The QC Prosecutor The Solicitor General The QC Civil Registrar The Civil Registrar General, P.S.A. The Embassy of Japan thru D.F.A. (MStandard - Dec. 23, 30, 2020 & Jan. 2021) (MStandard-Dec. 23, 2020 / Jan 126, & 18, 2021)

FOR THE DEPARTED. People pray for victims around candles commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake at a park in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture on Jan. 17, 2021. AFP

Two Afghan women judges killed

Likewise, let copies of this Order and Notice of Hearing together with the petition and its annexes be served upon the Solicitor General, the Quezon City Prosecutor, and the Local Civil Registry of Quezon City, the Civil Registrar General, Philippine Statistics Authority, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines thru the Department of Foreign Affairs and to SHOICHI NIWA at his last known address , all a the expense of the petitioner. Given in Chambers this 29th day of September 2020 in Quezon City. (Sgd.) MADONNA C. ECHIVERRI Presiding Judge

21 2020)

who was cut off from Twitter and other social networks that were his megaphone after being widely accused of instigating the January 6 assault by his supporters on the US Capitol. Locals can already be heard whispering, angrily, “There goes the neighborhood.” They are not happy with the pros-

pect of Trump settling among them. Last month people in Palm Beach sent the city council a letter recalling that under a 1993 agreement, Mar-a-Lago was not zoned as a full-time residence. That letter, published by The Washington Post, states that use of the living quarters at the golf resort “shall be limited to a maximum of three (3) non-consecutive seven (7) day periods by any one member during the year.” The resort denies that the 1993 accord contains this restriction. The Post noted that the president already spends large amounts of time at the resort in violation of this rule, and he is expected

(MS-JAN. 11/18/25, 2021)

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RESIDENT Donald Trump will leave Washington in disgrace this week, destined for a warmer welcome in Florida, where some supporters are so gung-ho they recently wrote his name on the back of a fat, lumbering manatee.

NASA test of mega moon rocket engines cut short

____ ____ ____

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Trump eyes warmer Florida welcome P

ARCH KREMLIN foe Alexei Navalny returns to Russia from Germany on Sunday, facing imminent arrest after authorities warned they would detain him for violating a sentence over alleged fraud. The 44-year-old opposition leader is flying back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny fell violently ill on a flight over Siberia in August and was flown out to Berlin by medical aircraft in an induced coma. Western experts concluded he was poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve toxin Novichok. The Kremlin denied involvement and Russian investigators said there were no grounds to launch a probe into the attack. Berlin said Saturday it had responded to requests for legal assistance from Moscow and handed over transcripts of an interview conducted by German police with Navalny. Russia’s prison service (FSIN) is now saying Navalny may face jail time on arrival to Moscow for violating the terms ON GUARD. Virginia National Guard soldiers march across the east front of the US Capitol on their way to their guard posts on Jan. 16, of a 2014 suspended sentence he was 2021 in Washington, DC. After last week’s riots at the US Capitol Building, the FBI has warned of additional threats in the nation’s capital handed on fraud charges. and in all 50 states. According to reports, as many as 25,000 National Guard soldiers will be guarding the city as preparations are made for FSIN said it would be “obliged” to dethe inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th US President. AFP tain Navalny.YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA The anti-graft campaigner may also Manila Manila face criminal charges under a probe Standard EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT TODAY launched by Russian investigators late with WAIVER and SALE of RIGHTS last year who say he misappropriated Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late JUAN LLORCA ALIGADA, JR. has been extrajudicially over $4 million worth of donations. settled among his heirs WITH WAIVER AND SALE OF Navalny and his allies view these early shutdown but SLS program manNASA conducted a test firing of the astronauts back to the moon. RIGHTS consisting of: moves as attempts to prevent his return  One-half (1/2) Share of the following Real engines for its giant Space Launch SysDespite being cut short, NASA said ager John Honeycutt told reporters they Properties: and encouraged supporters to come meet tem (SLS) lunar rocket on Saturday but the test of the RS-25 engines had provid- had seen a flash in a thermal protection • TCT No. 140081 - City of Manila (Metro the opposition leader on Sunday evening Manila District No. I); they shut down earlier than planned, the ed valuable information for the planned blanket on one of the engines and were • House situated thereon – Tax Declaration No. when he lands in Moscow’s Vnukovo airanalyzing the data. space agency said. missions. AD-14806-00228 (Property Identification No. port. 117-14-806-001-039-B0001). “In my opinion the team accomThe “hot-fire” test at the Stennis “Saturday’s test was an important step As per Doc. No. 68; Page No. 15; Book No. I; More than 2,000 people said they are plished a lot today, we learned a lot Space Center in Mississippi was supforward to ensure that the core stage of Series of 2017 before Notary Public ATTY. LINA G. planning to go in a Facebook event. about the vehicle,” Honeycutt said. posed to last a little over eight minutes – the SLS rocket is ready for the Artemis FERNANDEZ. Groups opposed to Navalny are also NASA’s Artemis I mission to test the the time the engines would burn in flight I mission, and to carry crew on future planning to show up with a nationalist – but they shut down just over a minute missions,” said NASA administrator SLS and an unmanned Orion spacecraft REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES movement promising to welcome him is scheduled to take place before the end into the burn. Jim Bridenstine. REGIONALT RIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION with “zelyonka,” a bright green antisep“Teams are assessing the data to de“Although the engines did not fire for of 2021. BRANCH 81, QUEZON CITY tic solution that is commonly found in The following Artemis II mission in termine what caused the early shut- the full duration, the team successfully IN THE MATTER OF THE Russia. 2023 will take astronauts around the down, and will determine a path forworked through the countdown, ignited CANCELLATION /CORRECTION Navalny had previously been attacked OF ENTRY IN THE MARRIAGE ward,” NASA said in a statement. the engines, and gained valuable data to Moon but will not land. Artemis III will CERTIFICATE OF with the green dye that can take days to send astronauts, including the first womThe SLS rocket is intended to launch inform our path forward.” NIMFA PORNELA y Sotomayor, wash off. AFP the Artemis missions that will take US It is not yet known what caused the an, to the moon in 2024. AFP Petitioner.

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World

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD. Children play in the waves on a beach in Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand on Jan. 17, 2021. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

GUNMEN shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court during an early morning ambush in the country’s capital Sunday, officials said, as a wave of assassinations continues to rattle the nation. Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and government – especially in Kabul, where a new trend of targeted killings aimed at high-profile figures has sown fear in the restive city. The latest attack comes just two days after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the fewest in nearly two decades.

The attack on the judges happened as they were driving to their office in a court vehicle, said Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a spokesman for the Supreme Court. “Unfortunately, we have lost two women judges in today’s attack. Their driver is wounded,” Qaweem told AFP. There are more than 200 female judges working for the country’s top court, the spokesman added. Kabul police confirmed the attack. Afghanistan’s Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb ripped through a crowd of court employees, killing at least 20 and wounding 41. AFP

Business

B3

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

After dizzying roller coaster, what’s bitcoin really worth?

PSEi January 15, 2021

TOP GAINERS

By Joseph Sotinel LONDON―After the latest wild ride took the poster child of cryptocurrencies above $40,000 before a stomach-churning plunge, the million dollar question won’t go away: how much is bitcoin actually worth? The virtual currency barreled to new highs to rise more than 400 percent over the past year, before promptly sliding some 20 percent and then settling around $36,000. When it started life in 2009 as opensource software, bitcoin was essentially worth zero―though within a year it had reached the heady heights of eight cents. At today’s market rates, bloated by a surge in institutional demand, the digital unit’s market capitalization is worth some $670 billion with myriad other crypto coins such as ethereum lifting the sector nominally close to the trillion mark. Although that’s small potatoes compared to the $68 trillion or so swilling around world stock markets, it is nonetheless the sort of financial territory staked out by Wall Street tech royalty such as Google, Apple or Tesla. One tech site, AssetDash.com, notes that bitcoin is currently worth around as much as Facebook and a little more than Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba. Although deep-pocketed investors have recently become enthusiasts, crypto was in its early days the preserve of geeky amateur investors. It is the latter who have mainly suffered as an estimated four million of the roughly 19 million bitcoin units currently in circulation have been lost. “Lost” does not mean the coins have fallen down the back of the sofa or through a hole in a trouser pocket: they have been electronically zapped from the record, often because their owner has forgotten a password to coins hoarded on a USB stick. One US developer mislaid his password after storing 7,002 bitcoins on one such flash drive, forcing him to wave goodbye, on paper (or rather, the trading screen), to around $280 million. AFP

DUBAI EXPO 2020. Journalists visit the Sustainability Pavilion during a media tour at the Dubai Expo 2020, a week ahead of its public opening, in the United Arab Emirates, on January 16, 2021. The six-month world fair, a milestone for the emirate which has splashed out $8.2 billion on the eye-popping venue in the hope of boosting its soft power and resetting the economy, will now open its doors in October 2021. AFP

Traders eyeing catalysts to shore up stock market By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

HARE prices are expected to continue to consolidate between 7,000 and 7,300 points over the near term period as investors search for an additional motivation to put in more capital into the market.

Analysts said while the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) index briefly tested the 7,300-point level, investors were still waiting for more leads to support the rally above mark, including fourth-quarter earnings and the gross domestic product report. First Metro Investments Corp., meanwhile, expects the market to hit 7,800 to 8,100 points by the end of 2021. First Metro first vice president and

research head Cristina Ulang said in a press briefing over the weekend the domestic drivers for the market’s upside this year include the rollout of vaccine in the country, the re-acceleration of the growth of the economy, recovery in corporate earnings and the low interest rate and low inflation rate environment. Vote-related spending will likely start pouring in during the last quarter of 2021 leading to presidential election in 2022. Ulang also expects foreign funds to return to emerging markets like the Philippines as interest rates in United States and Europe remain low. First Metro’s stock picks for this year include SM Prime Holdings Inc., Robinsons Land Corp. GT Capital Holdings Inc., SM Investments Corp, AC Energy, AREIT Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., DMCI Holdings, Manila Electric Co. and Wilcon Depot Inc. Share prices last week traded mostly on sideways as market players moni-

% CHANGE CHANGE

1 2

AR TBGI

0.0051 0.55

0.0017 0.18

50.00% 48.65%

3

BSC

1.43

0.38

36.19%

4

SLI

2.57

0.57

28.50%

5 6

IS DWC

0.235 3.2

0.052 0.6

28.42% 23.08%

7

ECP

8.68

1.35

18.42%

8 9

PMPC PA

6.35 4.4

0.93 0.64

17.16% 17.02%

10

OPM

0.014

0.002

16.67%

TOP LOSERS LAST PRICE

% CHANGE CHANGE

1 2

PBC PHES

20.25 0.385

-2.25 -0.035

-10.00% -8.33%

3

ABSP

12.6

-1

-7.35%

4 5

VUL SHLPH

1.21 20.3

-0.09 -1.1

-6.92% -5.14%

6

SSI

1.5

-0.07

-4.46%

7

FERRO

4.29

-0.19

-4.24%

8 9 10

SUN SGI LC

2.26 1.16 0.166

-0.1 -0.05 -0.007

-4.24% -4.13% -4.05%

MOST ACTIVE 1

BSC

VOLUME 1262820000

VALUE (PHP) 1655558400

2 3

APL PHA

3841170000 216921000

1184746200 633257460

4 5

AR ACEN

135581000000 604074400 70328900 474304876

6 7

BDO DITO

3823540 24922200

429727058 300709256

8 9

TBGI SMPH

586660000 6409400

288697100 255475395

10

MRC

319677000

246420450

Australian winemaker makes her stride in heart of Burgundy

Stellantis is born as Peugeot, Fiat complete merger PARIS, France―The merger of France’s PSA and US-Italian rival Fiat Chrysler became official on Saturday, creating Stellantis, the world’s fourth-biggest automaker by volume. The long-awaited 50/50 tie-up, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is seen as crucial for the two groups to undertake the investment necessary to transition to clean car technology. The new company will bring together producers such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, each of which will continue under their own brand names. The 14 Stellantis brands will account for about nine percent of the global auto market. Together they produced eight million vehicles in 2019. Ranking behind global rivals such as Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota, Stellantis will be the fourthlargest automaker by volume and the third-largest by revenue, with a workforce of over 400,000. John Elkann, Fiat chairman and scion of Italy’s storied Agnelli family, will retain his role at Stellantis in what he has called “a challenging era.” “The coming decade will redefine mobility: we are intent on playing a leading role in building this new future,” Elkann said earlier this month after the shareholders gave their blessing to what he called the “historic merger.” On Monday the new group Stellantis, the name derived from the Latin verb “stello” meaning to brighten with stars, will launch on the Milan and Paris stock exchanges followed by its debut in the New York stock market the following day. In November PS chief Carlos Tavares warned that “only the most agile, with a Darwinian spirit, will surviv.e” On Tuesday Tavares, as Stellantis chief executive officer, will hold the new group’s first news conference, laying out the vision for the newly merged automaker. The challenges are many, to turn the range of vehicles to electric-power, to coax back into the new car market drivers who have switched to used cars or rentals, plus the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which is putting major dents into many industries. AFP

tored developments over the new variant of the coronavirus. The index last week fell by 51 points to close at 7,238. Sectoral indices were mostly in the negative, led by property (-2.4 percent), and industrial (-1.2 percent). The services and financial sectors rose 1.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. The average value turnover stood at P10.5 billion while net foreign selling amounted to P40 million. Foreign stock markets, meanwhile, struggled Friday as investors weighed a coronavirus vaccine delay against US President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion stimulus plan, which had already been largely priced in. Wall Street appeared unimpressed by the gigantic proposal, with all major indices dialing back further from the previous week’s record high closes as traders feared the incoming Democratic administration will hunt for revenue in the wallets of companies and consumers. With AFP

LAST PRICE

By Loic Vennin with Joseph Schmid BLIGNY-LES-BEAUNE, France―Jane Eyre readily admits that while working as a hairdresser in Melbourne over twenty years ago, “I probably drank more gin and tonic”―but a flair for coaxing topnotch wines from storied Burgundy vines has propelled her into the French wine firmament. “There’s nothing like making your own wine,” Eyre says while inspecting a glass of Savigny-les-Beaune premier cru aux Vergelesses, one of a half-dozen of her recent reds. French peers believe there’s nothing quite like her wines―this month Eyre became the first Australian, and the first woman, to win the Negociant of the Year award by the Revue du Vin de France, an insider’s guide to France’s finest bottles. The prestigious title recognizes the talent of a particular brand of winemaker― independent players who don’t own

Australian wine merchant Jane Eyre poses for a photograph as she holds a glass of wine, on January 11, 2021 in the Chateau de Bligny’s cellar in Bligny-les-Beaune. Eyre has won the La Revue des Vins de France 2021 Wine Merchant of the Year award. AFP

MAIKO DULOS

Green LiGht WHEN we think about the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the first thing that comes to mind is money. Well, it is not that all there is. Our Integral Human Development class was provided the opportunity to experience a virtual tour of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Museum. I am grateful to our speaker, Ms. Regina Cruz, and our professor, Ms. Pia Manalastas, for making the tour possible despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic. It was amazing to see how the Philippine peso’s aesthetics and value grew throughout the century. I was never artistic and did not pay much attention to the arts while I was growing up. Going to a museum is not even on the list of my recreational activities, so I was a bit concerned whether I would be able to appreciate the virtual museum tour. I was wrong. The virtual tour was really amazing and ignited my appreciation and knowledge not only of Philippine money but also timeless art pieces

vineyards but buy grapes from others to make their own. While the term translates as “merchant,” it has a distinctive meaning in Burgundy, where it’s effectively a license to buy grapes or bulk wine for production and resale, though often they end up as underwhelming, low-price tipples. For Eyre, who grew up in Gippsland, Victoria, on Australia’s southeast coast― where she now also makes a wine she imports to France―it was the easiest way to chase a dream sparked by a conversation she had while cutting a client’s hair. Soon after she quit her job and headed to France in 1998, where she helped with the harvest at the family-owned Domaine Chevrot, eventually working at other houses in Burgundy as well as in the Mosel region in Germany while also obtaining a wine-making degree back home. A few years later she landed at a vineyard owned by New Orleans native Chris Newman, becoming his assistant while also making her own wines on the side. AFP

Virtual museum trip that played an important part in the history of our country. I have the utmost admiration for our culture because of its richness and high sense of nationalism. What contributes to this are the works of our national artists such as Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo and Carlos “Botong” Francisco. Through their art, they demonstrated the richness of our culture and passed it down to the next generation. During the presentation, I was particularly amazed by “Spoliarium,” the painting of Juan Luna. It is a piece that speaks a powerful message and depicts that bloodied bodies of gladiators who fought the Roman oppressors. Looking at the painting, I felt many things. First, the oppression experienced by the Filipinos in the Spanish era; second, it reminded me of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, which portrays a story of the Filipinos not being able to regain their liberty and freedom. The virtual museum tour was not about just artworks but also the

wonderful history of the Philippine notes and coins. The Barilya, which we now called the Barya, was born in 1828. It is marked with the coat of arms of the Municipality of Manila. The first barilya is made of coarse brass and have an estimated value equivalent to one cent. The coins were also thin and light compared to the current coins. To some collectors, collecting notes and coins is considered an investment because, through time, it will become rare, and its value will increase. I realized from the virtual tour that the evolution of notes and coins records our country’s ideals and history as aesthetically shown in their design. Banknotes tell a story, but I realized I often overlook and take these everyday objects for granted. My biggest takeaway from the virtual tour is a renewed sense of patriotism. Art and banknotes play a significant role in our culture and history, making me proud to be a Filipino. As an aspiring Lasallian business

leader, I commit to consistently nourish my sense of patriotism by doing the following: 1. Visit museums more often to gain a deeper sense of understanding about our culture. I will invite my family and friends and go as often as we can; 2. Read more about the history of Philippine bank notes; 3. Support art exhibits by local artists; and 4. Buy local products and support Philippine tourism. My key takeaway from the session is that understanding our history and culture in a deeper sense will allow me to know what we should improve as a nation and me as an individual to help with our present situation. The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. This article is part of her blog for the course Integral Human Development. The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

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

B4

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

PSE INDEX CLOSING Friday, January 15, 2021

-34.69 PTS. 7,238.46

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

23,554,431,428 157,738 11,875,086,799.17 110 110 50

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.0670

Japan

Yen

0.009635

0.4631

UK

Pound

1.369100

65.8085

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128972

6.1993

Switzerland

Franc

1.126126

54.1295

Canada

Dollar

0.791452

38.0427

Singapore

Dollar

0.754945

36.2879

Australia

Dollar

0.777700

37.3817

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652801

127.5122

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266581

12.8137

Brunei

Dollar

0.752106

36.1515

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.033344

1.6027

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.0873

Euro

Euro

1.216000

58.4495

Korea

Won

0.000913

0.0439

China

Yuan

0.154416

7.4223

India

Rupee

0.013686

0.6578

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.247893

11.9155

New Zealand

Dollar

0.721000

34.6563

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035735

1.7177 Source: BSP

Customs raises P15.5b in tariff from 2.38m tons of imported rice

Business MRT-7 advances, expected to be completed by end-2021 By Darwin G. Amojelar

S

AN Miguel Corp.’s P69.3-billion mass rail transit linking North Ave. in Quezon City and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan province is 59.72-percent complete as of December last year, the Department of Transportation said over the weekend. The department said Metro Rail Transit Line 7, a 22-kilometer rail line which stretches from North Ave. to San Jose Del Monte with 14 stations, would trim down travel time to only 35 minutes from about two to three hours. “Once operational, the rail line is expected to serve 300,000 to 850,000 pas-

sengers daily, with sufficient room for capacity augmentation to accommodate the potential increase of the rail transit’s ridership in the future,” the agency said. It said the project was expected to be completed by the end of 2021. MRT-7 is being built by SMC Mass Rail Transit 7 Inc. under SMC’s infrastructure subsidiary San Miguel Holdings Inc. San Miguel tapped Hyundai Rotem and EEI consortium to build the line with stations at North Ave., Quezon Memorial Circle, University Ave., Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Ave., Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala and San Jose del Monte. San Miguel will also build a depot in San Jose del Monte that will house a control center, administrative offices, warehouse and facilities for train cars. The company earlier completed Skyway Stage 3 project―a 14.82-km, sixlane elevated expressway that extends the elevated toll road from Buendia to Balint-

awak and links the South Luzon Expressway to North Luzon Expressway. San Miguel is also proceeding with the construction of Skyway Stage 4―a 58.09km road from south of Metro Manila Skyway to Batasan Complex, Quezon City. Skyway Stage 1is a 9.3-km elevated road from Bicutan to the Makati central business district while Skyway Stage 2 is a 6.86-km expressway that consists of six lanes in the Bicutan-to-Sucat section and four lanes in the Sucat-to-Alabang section, with ramps leading to the South Luzon Expressway. The conglomerate is also developing the P734-billion Bulacan International Airport project which is targeted to be completed by 2025. The company operates the South Luzon Expressway, a 36-km toll road from Alabang to Sto. Tomas, Batangas. It also operates the NAIA Expressway Project, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway and the STAR Tollway―a 22.16-km toll road from Sto. Tomas to Lipa City, Batangas.

By Julito G. Rada THE Bureau of Customs collected P15.494 billion in revenues from 2.38 million metric tons of rice imported by private traders in 2020, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said over the weekend. Guerrero said in a recent Department of Finance executive committee meeting the BOC improved its valuation system for rice imports, raising the tariff value of the grain to 7 percent on average in 2020 compared to the previous year. Data showed the average tariffed value of rice increased to P20,320 per MT in 2020 from P18,980 in 2019, Guerrero said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III during the meeting. Guerrero said this improvement in valuation was the result of the BOC paying particular attention to the classification, quantity and weight of rice stocks imported by private traders under the Rice Tariffication Law. He also reported a significant increase of P301.5 million or 51.7 percent in revenues from rice imports in December, which amounted to P885.05 million, compared to P583.58 million in the same month in 2019. Revenues collected by BOC under the RTL reached P12.31 billion from 2.03 million MT of rice imports in 2019. Another P9.28 billion was collected from 1.1 million MT of rice imported prior to the March 2019 implementation of the RTL. All import duties collected from rice imports under the RTL go to the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. The RCEF is used to finance programs that aim to sharpen the competitiveness of rice growers by providing them access to farm machinery and equipment, high-yield seeds, cheap credit and skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques.

First Gen allots P6b to develop 120-MW hydro power project By Alena Mae S. Flores FIRST Gen Hydro Power Corp. of the Lopez Group is investing P6 billion to develop the 120-megawatt Aya pumped-storage project in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. FGHPC, the hydro arm of First Gen Corp., said in a report to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the proposed storage facility aimed to address the intermittent regulation of power in Luzon. “This will also provide technical capability in delivering ancillary services, which will allow for full-year operations of independent irrigation demands from the Pantabangan Reservoir,” it said. The project will have a maximum generation capacity of 120 MW from two units of 60-MW turbines. FGHPC in December 2019 received a hydropower service contract from the Department of Energy for the exclusive development of the project. FGHPC said Luzon’s growing demand for power placed a strain on the electricity grid and that the company was pursuing the project to partially address these demands and provide stability to support the utilization of renewable energy. The project will tap the Aya and Masiway reservoirs. The conventional pumped-storage plant will release water from the upper reservoir during peak hours and the same volume pumped during off-peak hours. “FGHPC intends to grow its portfolio in renewable energy and optimize the hydropower potential and benefits to the municipality of Pantabangan by developing the 120 MW Aya pumped-storage project,” it said. FGHPC said the Aya pumpedstorage project is aligned with the government energy policies and the National Renewable Energy Plan through its significant contribution to the Luzon Grid.

IN BRIEF Gov’t loses P1.2b on Malaya plant

UCPB’S DONATION. United Coconut Planters Bank turns over its donation to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban City as contribution to the government’s efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic. UCPB director Katrina Therese Lim-Dy (front row, second from right) turns over a P250,000 check to EVRMC’s Dr. Salvador Evardone at the medical facility. Witnessing the ceremony are UCPB Tacloban branch manager Edsel Gicana and EVRMC executives.

Gov’t secures P3.7-b grant from China Century Pacific to support infrastructure development maintains capex at P2b this year

THE Philippines and China signed Saturday an agreement on economic and technical cooperation that will provide the Philippines with a grant of 500 million renminbi (about $77.38 million or P3.72 billion) to support the implementation of infrastructure projects and other development initiatives of the Duterte administration. Undersecretary Mark Dennis Joven of the International Finance Group of the Department of Finance signed the agreement on behalf of the Philippines, while China International Development Cooperation Agency vice chairman Deng Boqing signed on behalf of the Chinese government. The signing was witnessed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and visiting China State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in ceremonies at the Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig City.

PRIORITY BILLS. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (left) highlights the legislative plans of the Department of Trade and Industry to cement closer collaboration with Navotas City Rep. John Reynald Tiangco, the new House committee on trade and industry chairman as they hold their first virtual meeting. Lopez requests for the assistance of Tiangco to prioritize the passage of the Revised Consumer Act of the Philippines; Expanded Price Act; One Town, One Product Philippines; and the Revised Warehouse Receipts Law still pending at the committee on appropriations.

The grant is intended to support livelihood projects, infrastructure facilities, feasibility studies for major projects and other projects to be mutually agreed upon by the parties. “Subject to further discussions between our two governments and depending on the requirements, this may possibly include support for COVID-19 related activities and response measures,” Joven said. The signing of the RMB-500 million accord brought to seven the number of grant agreements executed and signed with the Chinese government by the Duterte administration. It also brought the grant resources from the Chinese government to RMB3.25 billion ($496.97 million). The six grant agreements earlier signed with China amounted to RMB2.75 billion ($417.5 million) combined. Julito G. Rada

By Jenniffer B. Austria CENTURY Pacific Food Inc. said over the weekend it budgeted P2 billion in capital expenditures this year to expand production. CNPF executive vice president Gregory Banzon said in an interview the company would maintain its capital spending of P2 billion, the same level in 2020, to expand production and meet growing demand. Banzon said the company was expecting revenues to grow by low double-digits in 2021, slower than the 2020 level, on high base effect following robust sales last year with the implementation of the community quarantine that encouraged consumers to canned food products. CNPF, however, expects significant growth in sales overseas, especially in Russia, the Middle East, Africa, China, Europe and Singapore. It said the export business was expected to account for 26 percent of total revenues this year. Century Pacific has presence in 80 countries, with 85 distributors, 14 tollers including six major toll packers in the US, Europe, Brazil and the Middle East. It operates five major plants and holds offices in the US, China and Vietnam. It has also four warehouses. The company said there were also growth opportunities in the domestic market, particular with the introduction of UnMeat products―a vegan meat alternative. Banzon said the group was preparing to launch new products under the UnMeat brand in the next few months. CNPF is only selling the products to institutional customers including sister company Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc.,

THE government is losing around P1.2 billion annually from maintaining the 650-megawatt Malaya Thermal Power Plant in Pililla, Rizal, according to a report of the Department of Energy. The 37th Status Report on Republic Act No. 9136 titled Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 covering May to October 2020 showed Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. incurred an average annual net loss of P1.2 billion in maintaining the MTPP. “Based on the losses for the last 10 years [2010 to 2019], the average annual net loss of PSALM in maintaining MTPP is P1.2 billion,” the report said. MTTP was declared a “must run unit” in 2014, which means the power plant is required to run if needed by the grid. PSALM has yet to sell MTPP, one of the remaining big ticket power items up for privatization. Alena Mae S. Flores

60% of local firms eye cybersecurity MORE than 60 percent of Philippine companies consider cybersecurity as an extremely important component in the remote work setup, according to a study done by Cisco. “Cybersecurity has been a buzz word in the Philippines for years, but this pandemic has really pushed companies to take action within their own organizations,” Cisco Philippines managing director Karrie Ilagan said. “The good news is that the trademark Filipino resilience is also applicable to businesses in how they are able to adapt to the influx of new threats and challenges this pandemic brought in terms of cybersecurity. All they really need are the right tools and partner to make sure their efforts are worth it,” she said. Darwin G. Amojelar

PH food exporters urged to ship to US PHILIPPINE Trade and Investment Center-Los Angeles Trade Commissioner Eric Elnar encouraged Philippine food exporters to prepare readyto-eat food to the US, as preference for this consumer good is likely to surge while many US states continue to battle the pandemic. Elnar said many residents moved out of cities to rural areas because of work-from-home arrangements, and this would have a significant impact on the types of products they would consume. “The latest consumer trends here particularly are pertaining to the mainstream market. Ready-to-eat or readyto-cook food is now a growing trend because of the work-from-home scenario that we are in,” he said, citing as an example selling prepared bangus fillet to the Filipino market in the US. Othel V. Campos

Sports

Stakeholders want to restore ‘Field of Dreams’ to former glory THE move to restore the famed Philippines Smokey Mountain baseball field to its former glory is snowballing. Members of the community and neighboring areas are seeking help in fixing the condition of the field, where kids in the community can play baseball. Recently, use of the venue was taken over by the City of Manila According to officials of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, the areas was taken over by City Hall workers. And with no formal agreement with the community, turned it into a temporary holding area for impounded vehicles from around Manila. Since 2010, the non-government organizations, the Jaycees and International Little League Association of Manila have been developing the field for baseball activities for kids. “The community is appealing on the use of the field. And many of our stakeholders are helping out,” said PABA secretary general Pepe Munoz. Munoz said the community needs to work closely with the barangay and school authorities in order for the field to given the proper care it needs. Their appeal has already reached ears of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, according to supporters of the Smokey Mountain baseball community. The mayor said all the vehicles will be immediately removed and the field returned to the community, which has named it the “Field of Dreams.” Among those seeking help in restoring the field are members of the Smokey Mountain Senior League Softball Team that competed in the 2014 World Series in Sussex County, Delaware. Team Philippines, led by coach Manny Llave, made it to the semifinals, and his entire group of players are pitching in to help in the cause to put the field back in shape. Smokey Mountain is the depressed area in Tondo. It is a community built on top of what used to be a mountain of trash. The place is now a housing project for the urban communities in Tondo. Peter Atencio

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

MONDAY, JANUARY18, 2021

James Harden (13) and Kevin Durant (7) of the Brooklyn Nets give each other a ‘high five’ during the game against the Orlando Magic on at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. AFP

Durant, Harden team up to power Nets past Magic L

OS ANGELES, United States—Kevin Durant scored a season-high 42 points as the James Harden-era began for the Brooklyn Nets with a triple double and a 122-115 NBA victory over the struggling Orlando Magic on Saturday (Sunday Philippine time). The 31-year-old Harden finished with 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his debut with the Nets, who must wait to show off their Big Three of Harden, Durant and Kyrie Irving due to Irving’s absence for personal reasons. Harden scored his first points as a Net by nailing two free throws with six seconds left in the first quarter as the Nets took a 29-26 lead. “Early on, I felt like we all were overpassing, trying to make everybody comfortable,” Durant said, “Then he just got into his mode of being aggressive to score and that opened up the whole game for others.” Harden, who became the seventh player in history to record a triple double in their debut for a new club and the first to do so with a 30-plus scoring effort, slammed

the door on his way out of Houston after a four-team trade deal was completed. But he was clearly pleased with his new club on Saturday, which sees him reunited with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Durant. “It felt really good. Guys got after it,” Harden said. “I’ve got to stop turning the basketball over. That comes with chemistry. That comes with practice. “Getting a win in my first game here, it feels pretty good. We just have to keep it going.” As for his historic statistics—“I’m just happy we came away with a win,” he said. “Those stats don’t mean anything.” Despite winning the NBA scoring crown three times, Harden earned a reputation as an underachiever in the playoffs with the Rockets.

His tenure in Houston came to a head after a one-sided loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday when Harden blasted the team’s talent level. Even before that, Harden had demanded out of Houston after failing to deliver them a championship despite some impressive individual performances and being named the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player. Two days later after saying the Rockets were “just not good enough”, Harden was on his way to Brooklyn after being acquired in a blockbuster four-team trade that saw Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and a number of draft picks go to Houston. Harden was averaging 24.8 points, 10.4 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in eight games with the Rockets this season. Harden, who waited until late in the first quarter Saturday to score his first Nets points, looks forward to Irving’s return. “The sooner we can be on the court together, it’s going to be scary hours,” Harden said. AFP

New officials to assume leadership of PH volleyball By Peter Atencio THE top leadership of the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas will give way to a new set of leaders and a new body that will govern the sport in the country. LVPI president Peter Cayco said this now that polls which will decide the new officials that will head the national sports association of the sports will be held at the last week of the month. “Hindi na ako,” said Cayco, who assumed the leadership of the LVPI two years ago. The LVPI, which has been enjoying the provisional recognition of the Philippine Olympic Committee since its formation, will take part in polls that will be held tentatively on Jan. 25. The date was set following Saturday’s meeting among the top stakeholders of Philippine Volleyball at the EDSA Shangrila Hotel in Makati. Cayco said he will give way to either to Sports Vision Management Group president Ricky Palou or Asian Volleyball Confederation development and marketing official Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who are interested in the post. Palou and Suzara, along with Beach

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Volleyball Republic founder Charo Soriano, and LVPI secretary-general Ariel Paredes were present in the meeting organized and mediated by POC officials. Suzara represented Alliances of Philippine Volleyball Inc., and was in the meeting with Philippine Volleyball Federation secretary general Rustico “Otie” Camangian and Tony Boy Liao, one of the organizers of Sports Vision, which organizes the Premier Volleyball League. POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino presided over the gathering at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, with the polls set to take place at the East Ocean Seafoods Restaurant in Parañaque City. “OK naman ang meeting that was supervised by the POC. Ang sa akin lang, as long as everybody gets involved in the act and they do their share,” said Cayco. POC secretary General Atty. Ed Gastanes was around with membership and accreditation committee head Atty. Billy Sumagui and legal officer Atty. Wharton Chan. The LVPI will give way to a new name following the elections. There will be 13 positions at stake from the chairman, president and down

Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (second from right) and volleyball stakeholders (from left) Ariel Paredes, Ramon “Tats” Suzara and Rustico “Otie” Camangian stand together for unity.

to the members of the board. POC to supervise the staging of an elecLast August, the international volley- tion for recognized organization in the ball federation, FIVB, requested that the Philippines.

Tricycle driver upsets GM Laylo in PCAP rapid chess UNHERALDED Jake Tasi Tumaliuan, a 31-year-old tricycle driver from Tuguegarao City, is the new chess sensation as he spearheaded his team Cagayan Kings into a cliff-hanging 11-10 victory over heavy favorites Pasig Kings Pirates at the start of 2021 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Chess League on online tournament on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at the lichess platform. Tumaliuan upset Grandmaster Darwin Laylo in their rapid play match. “Panalo na ako sa game natalo pa. Che-checkmate ko na sana eh bumagsak oras ko. I thought may 3 seconds pa ako at s’ya (Jake Tasi Tumaliuan) naman ay 1 second,” said Laylo, a top player of multi-titled Philippine Army chess team and member of the National Team. Tumaliuan’s teammates—Emerson Aquio, Robert Mania and Jefferson Villarde—won their respective matches from boards five to seven to underscore the Kings Pirates’ strong showing in the blitz event. Aquio upset Italy-based National Master Exfelicos Bolico on board 5, Mania toppled Cromwell Sabado on board 6 while Tugade crushed Carl Espallardo on board 7. Little-Known Krizza Mae Failoga Biggayan halved the point with veteran World Chess Olympiad member Woman Fide Master Sherilly Cua on board 3. Pasig Kings Pirates’ two victories came courtesy of Italy based Grandmaster Roland Salvador and National Master Rudy Ibanez on board 2 and board 4 who beat Jojo Foz and Lamberto Arugay, respectively. Cagayan Kings Head Coach John Robert Bumatay had something to say to his team “Unang-una sa lahat labis ang tiwala namin sa Panginoon dahil hindi namin aakalain na matatalo namin ang Pasig City. May limang master sila, kami naman mga homegrown player po. Pero sa prayer, hard work at discipline nagawa namin ang pagka panalo na ito. Nais ko pasalamatan ang team owner namin na si Atty Joel Butuyan. Ang panalo na ito ay para sa pagkapanalo ng buong Cagayan,” said Coach Bumatay who is also the president of Cagayan Valley Chess Association. Earlier, Cagayan Kings bowed to Pasig Kings Pirates, 2-5, in their blitz encounter.

Bassino grabs third women’s giant slalom victory

Marta Bassino of Italy competes during the first run of the Audi FIS Women Alpine Skiing World Cup Giant Slalom race in Kranjska Gora. AFP

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia—Italian Marta Bassino dominated the World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora on Saturday (Sunday Philippine time) to beat France’s Tessa Worley by 0.80 seconds with Swiss skier Michelle Gisin a distant third On an icy slope, Bassino was fastest in the first run in 1min 4.15sec, with Gisin second and overall World Cup leader Petra Vlhova third. In the second run, Worley surged from fifth with the fastest time at 1:07.70 but skiing last on a fast deteriorating piste, Bassino was just 0.05sec slower as she recorded the second fastest time of the run. “It feels good to be on the podium with such a second run, fighting on a demanding

slope. I didn’t feel at my best but I went on the attack,” Worley told AFP. Bassino’s third victory in four giant slaloms this season allowed her to take the lead in the discipline from compatriot Federica Brignone, who was fifth. Bassino had already won the giant slaloms in Soelden in Austria in October and Courchevel in France in December. “I have won on three different types of races, on three different types of snow, and I am proud of that,” said Bassino before comparing herself to two retired Austrian skiing greats. “I saw Marcel Hirscher, Anna Veith, they were able to win on several types of slopes, I also managed to do it and it is incredible.”

American star, Mikaela Shiffrin, the only woman to have beaten Bassino in a giant slalom this season, finished sixth 2.18 behind. For Gisin it was her first top-three finish in a World Cup giant slalom and completed her set of podium placings in the four traditional disciplines. She gained 10 points in the overall standings on Vlhova, who was fourth, but the Slovenian still holds a commanding 114-point lead. Shiffrin, who won three consecutive overall titles from 2017-19 and was second to Brignone last year, is third, 224 points behind Vlhova. The races were initially set for Maribor, but were moved because of the lack of snow in the Slovenian town. AFP

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Sports

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Steele fires 61 to swipe lead at PGA Sony Open LOS ANGELES—Brendan Steele birdied three of the last four holes on the front and back nines to shoot a nine-under par 61 and seize a twostroke lead after Saturday’s third round of the PGA Sony Open. The 37-year-old American, last year’s Sony Open runner-up, finished 54 holes at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on 18-under 192 after a bogey-free round. “I feel like I’m swinging really well,” Steele said. “Course management is great. I feel like I’m doing well all around.” World number 114 Steele said he wants to play just as he did in last year’s final round even though he lost to Australian Cameron Smith. “I’d like to do the exact same thing again tomorrow and hopefully it’s good enough,” he said. South Korean-born American Kevin Na matched the low round of his career with a 61 to share second on 194 with Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who eagled the par-5 18th to leap over Americans Peter Malnati, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Stewart Cink and Charley Hoffman on 195. Steele seeks his fourth career PGA title after the 2011 Texas Open and the 2016 and 2017 Safeway Opens. Steele opened with a 19-foot birdie, birdied six and reeled off three in a row ending with an 11-footer at the par-4 10th. He sank a 15-foot birdie putt at 12, his longest birdie putt of the day from 17 feet at the par-3 17th and an eight-footer for birdie at the par-5 18th. “I usually play well coming off a break and I had a good time off with my family,” Steele said. “I get here and I’m very excited to play and about my game.” World number 38 Na chases a fifth PGA title after winning in 2011 and 2019 at Las Vegas, 2018 at Greenbrier and 2019 at Colonial. Na holed a birdie putt from just inside 44 feet at the par-3 fourth, eagled the par-5 ninth on an eight-foot putt, reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the par-3 11th and closed with a six-foot birdie putt. “I played fantastic,” Na said. “My ball striking was great. “If I can make some momentum putts tomorrow, I think I’ll be all right.” AFP

Top-ranked Tai pushes through to Thailand Open finals

American tennis player Serena Williams and her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. arrive before heading straight to quarantine for two weeks isolation ahead of her Australian Open warm up matches in Adelaide. AFP

No delay to Aussie Open th despite 4 COVID-19 case M

ELBOURNE—Australian Open chief Craig Tiley insisted Sunday the Grand Slam would begin as scheduled next month, while admitting it was “not a great situation” for the 47 players who have been confined to their hotel rooms. The tournament was thrown into disarray on Saturday when three people tested positive to Covid-19 on two of the 17 charter flights bringing players and their entourages to Melbourne and Adelaide. A fourth person, a member of a broadcast team on one of the same flights, from Los Angeles, tested positive Sunday. None were players, although one was Sylvain Bruneau, coach of Canada’s 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu. Another was also a coach, although they were not identified. Everyone on board was considered to be close contacts and ordered not to leave their hotel rooms for the 14-day mandatory quarantine period. It means 47 players will not be allowed out to train for five hours a day as previously agreed in the build-up to the opening Grand Slam of the year, which is due to start on February 8.

The likes of Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori and Angelique Kerber are believed to among those affected, badly impacting their preparations. “We always knew there would be significant risk with this pandemic, you can never tell,” Tiley told Channel Nine television. “But the Australian Open is going ahead and we will continue to do the best we possibly can to ensure those players that have what is not a great situation, one that is somewhat acceptable.” Organizers quashed rumours about a positive case on one of the two flights to Adelaide carrying some of the game’s biggest names. While most players touched down in Melbourne, superstars including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka instead flew into the South Australian city.

Risks made clear Several players, including Sorana Cirstea and Belinda Bencic, took to social media to complain about not being able to train, with some claiming they were not told about a hard lockdown if one person tested positive. “If they would have told us this rule before i would not play Australia,” tweeted Romania’s Cirstea, and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva agreed: “I would think twice before coming here,” she said. Tiley admitted it was hard, but said they were made aware of the risks. “We did make it very clear at the beginning, that’s why we had the player groups in cohorts, there was always a risk that someone would be positive and have to go into 14 days of isolation,” he said. “There was a risk on the plane that you would be a close contact, there was a risk that everyone could be a close contact.” Some players have already breached the strict lockdown rules by opening their doors. Victoria state COVID-19 quarantine commissioner Emma Cassar warned they faced fines of up to Aus$20,000 (US$15,300) and persistent offenders risked being sent to another hotel with a police officer stationed outside their door. AFP

BANGKOK—Top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying pushed through a challenging second set to clinch a 21-8, 23-21 victory against Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt and move into the finals of badminton’s Thailand Open. The Taiwanese player made a strong start, but Blichfeldt’s strong defence caused her problems. “In the second game, the speed of the shuttle was different down that end and I had to adapt to that,” said Tai. She said she would need to bring her A-game on Sunday when she faces Spain’s Carolina Marin, a former world number one, in the final. Earlier in the day, the Spaniard trounced South Korean teenager An Seyoung 21-16, 21-16. “I didn’t feel any negative situation for myself, and I think if I play like this, I’m so ready for tomorrow,” she said. Meanwhile, seven-seeded Angus Long of Hong Kong started off slow against Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, ranked second in the world in men’s singles, but won in a 17-21, 21-18, 2115 upset. Chou said he “lost control” by the third set. “I made some easy mistakes and that made me lose the second game. I just didn’t feel in control.” Ng will go up against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen on Sunday. The fourth seed beat Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 21-19, 13-21, 21-13. The Thailand Open is the first of three consecutive tournaments in Bangkok culminating in the World Tour Finals from January 27. Flown in a week before the start for quarantine and testing, the players are facing off in a bio-secure “bubble”, with no spectators allowed. The tournament has been overshadowed by the positive cases for Egyptian mixed doubles player Adham Hatem Elgamal, a German coach and a French staff member. Elgamal, who had to drop out on the first day and was moved to a hospital, took to Instagram on Saturday to raise doubts about his initial test results. He told AFP that since arriving at the hospital, subsequent tests had shown negative results. “They made a mistake, and I am paying for this mistake because I missed the tournament, and I am ok with this but I want to go back to Egypt,” Elgamal told AFP. AFP

Rodgers-led Packers, Bills advance in NFL playoffs

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers looks to pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Rams 32-18. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Green Bay Packers moved to within one win of the Super Bowl on Saturday with a 32-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Rodgers set up an NFC Championship game against either Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints as Green Bay subdued the Rams defense at a frigid Lambeau Field. Also advancing with a home triumph were the Buffalo Bills as Taron Johnson intercepted a Lamar Jackson pass and ran it back 101 yards for a touchdown in a 17-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills advanced to their first AFC Conference championship game since 1993, where they will face the winner of Sunday’s game between the Cleveland Browns and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. It was a deserved victory for the Packers, who dominated the divisional-round clash for long periods with a potent running and passing game before holding off a secondhalf Rams rally. “This feels really good right now,” said Rodgers, who finished with 296 passing yards from 23-of-36 to stay on course for a second Super Bowl appearance, 10 years after leading the Packers to his first Vince Lombardi trophy. The Packers were also buoyed by the

presence of fans at Lambeau for the first time this season due to Covid-19, with a socially distanced crowd of 8,456 roaring them on. “We have really missed that part of the experience,” Rodgers said. “So to run out of the tunnel tonight was unbelievable. “It’s hard to explain how much it means, having that energy from the crowd. But being able to play in front of them tonight was really special.” A third-quarter touchdown from Rams running back Cam Akers followed by a successful two-point conversion had cut Green Bay’s lead to seven points at 25-18 heading into the fourth quarter. Knockout blow But Rodgers delivered the knockout blow, hitting receiver Allen Lazard for a 58-yard touchdown to make it 32-18 and put the game out of reach. Green Bay had dominated the first half, moving the chains methodically and coming away with points on every possession in the first two quarters. Mason Crosby and Matt Gay exchanged early field goals for a 3-3 tie after one quarter. Rodgers tossed a one-yard pass to Davante Adams to put Green Bay up 10-3 up and the Packers quarterback then skipped into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to make it 16-3. The Rams rallied as quarterback Jared Goff upped the tempo before arrowing a four-yard

pass into Van Jefferson to make it 16-10. Rodgers, however, was not done. He made completions of 21 and 33 yards to set up another Crosby field goal for a 19-10 half-time lead. Green Bay started the second half on the front foot, with running back Aaron Jones rushing 60 yards to set up his own touchdown run for a 25-10 lead. With the Rams defense finally managing to make a stop, Akers’ touchdown and clever two-point conversion gave Los Angeles hope at 25-18. But on their next possession, Green Bay’s defense reasserted itself with a stop and Rodgers made a long touchdown pass to Lazard. The Packers will now host either Tampa Bay or New Orleans -- who play Sunday -- at Lambeau Field next weekend. At Buffalo, Johnson’s playoff record-long touchdown play was a turning point in the firstever post-season matchup between the clubs. Bills star Josh Allen won the battle between quarterbacks taken in the 2018 NFL Draft. Both were coming off the first playoff wins of their careers but while Allen showed off his electric arm and powerful running skills, Jackson struggled mightily and had to leave the game at the end of the third quarter with a possible concussion. On a cold and windy night, Allen threw for 206 yards and a touchdown. AFP

Youth esports program to open 2nd leg of NICL with DOTA 2 FOLLOWING the opening run of the National Interschool Cyber League, featuring Riot Games’ first-person shooter game Valorant, leading esports organization Mineski Philippines launched NICL’s second run of regional qualifiers last December 28, 2020. Showcasing game developer Valve’s multiplayer online battle arena PC game DOTA 2 this time, the next leg of NICL regional qualifiers is open to teams consisting of senior high school and college students aged 16-22. NICL is the banner program under Mineski Philippines’ Youth Esports

Program, formed in partnership with the Philippine Collegiate Champions League to support the grassroots development of esports amongst Filipino students and promote responsible gaming. “Over the years, gaming in the Philippines has evolved from its rep of casual hobby and is now being recognized worldwide as a legitimate sport. YEP, through NICL, strives to continuously redefine esports for students and schools and work with them to incorporate esports into their varsity programs,” said YEP Program Direc-

tor Marlon Marcelo. Marcelo added that through programs like NICL, YEP is providing students with a structured path towards a career in the ever-growing gaming industry. Proof of this is no other than Mineski Global CEO and Founder Ronald Robins, who made a name as a renowned professional DOTA player in early 200s, and went on to build Mineski, a chain of internet cafés that eventually evolved to be South East Asia’s biggest esports organization. “Competing in DOTA tournaments

has opened a lot of doors for me, and I want to recreate that for today’s youth by providing more accessible and more structured programs like YEP and NICL. Suffice to say, the second leg of NICL is very close to my heart, and I am inviting all eligible students to participate,” said Robins. To register to the NICL DOTA 2 Leg, interested participants can head on to YEP’s Facebook page provided that they adhere to the following guidelines: • All team members must be enrolled in SY 2020-21. • No team members must have

a failing grade. • Only one member of the team can be from a different school. Registration closes on January 29, 2021. The top four teams from the regional qualifiers will move on to the regional finals, where the prize pool of P30,000.00 is up for grabs. Regional finalists will then get a chance to win as much as P150,000 in the grand finals. For more information about Mineski, YEP, and its other programs, visit www.mineskiglobal.com/ or message them on yep@mineski.net.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

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Finding love in the drama ‘The Lost Recipe’ VERY WANG

F

NICKIE WANG

OR director Monti Parungao, The Lost Recipe, the fantasyromance series airing tonight on GMA News TV, is a delectable visual masterpiece. Also, it’s a small screen project that banks on the interesting characters that the actors play with so much dedication and panache. “When you don’t know the actors too well and when they play certain characters, you’d believe that they are the characters that they are playing. That’s how effective and dedicated they are in playing their roles. They opened themselves up to make their characters relevant and likable,” the television director told Manila Standard Entertainment in a virtual interview. Parungao had nothing but good words about the project even before the camera started rolling. It is the first locally produced daily primetime show on GMA News TV. “The moment I saw the script, I instantly got excited to tell the story. I just feel so lucky that it was me who they tapped to direct the series,” he said. “The script is well written in such a way that all the characters are likable. In fact, this is the story that doesn’t need a contravida. Lahat mamahalin mo. It’s an actor’s piece because every character requires the actor’s craft in telling the

ARIAS ALWIN IGNACIO ‘CONSPICUOUSLY silent’ is the proper phrase to describe the decision of the Metro Manila Film Festival top honchos to not disclose the official net income of the festival’s online incarnation. No numbers were presented as well as to how many were the international audiences who did view the films in competition. If we are to believe the social media postings from the most popular networks, no film can claim that it has the upper hand in the digital universe receiving so much love, strong word of mouth, and acclaim that was accepted and embrace wholeheartedly. What are the precious learning gems that we can unearth from this entertainment tradition that decided to go full throttle with their online quest? The answers to the query hopefully awaken us all, to respect tried and tested formulas, think of out of the box so that we may bring back the audiences in cinemas. The quarantine season makes it impossible for metro and mega-Manilans to troop to the cinema houses even if the majority are risking life and limb to earn a living now despite the situation we are all in. With a new strain of the virus entering the country and the vaccine, only those in MGCQ areas allowed access to cinemas in their respective areas. True, there are online audiences that did watch the motion picture offerings. However, if we are to believe the veracity of the unofficial gross income reports that this year’s roster of holiday viewing fare only earned P31million, loudly it screamed underperforming. For sure, the powers that be already identified the reasons why this box office outcome happened and it is pointless to rub salt on their wounds and egos. Even saying that their very arrogance and ambition are the culprits to this unsatisfying outcome is useless, too. The biggest learning gem, sex sells! And how? Proof of this, the center of Fan Girl’s promotion was anchored on the prosthetic enhanced phallus of its lead actor, Paulo Avelino. The results, of course, were diamonds. Not only was it this year’s festival money maker, but it was also awarded the top honors. What perplexes, those who raved about the supposedly Antoinette Jadaone’s best film work, refused to see its flaws and implausibility. Some even claimed that it was a “subtle” and “silent” protest against the political status quo. This conceit of course is questionable. Riding on this sex sells formula are two films, Anak ng Macho Dancer whose publicity angles are not only titillating but mind-boggling. Paglaki Ko Gusto Kong Maging Porn Star, on the other hand, is

story emotionally,” Parungao added. The Lost Recipe promises to charm viewers with its flavorful mix of love, comedy, and fantasy set in the picturesque Manila. It not only highlights Filipinos’ love for food but also takes viewers to the gastronomic journey of reaching for one’s dreams. “The intention of The Lost Recipe is similar to any other series, which is to tell a story that everyone can relate to. But the dynamics of our series, well, what’s new about the series is that it is the first local drama that is revolving around culinary, around food. You will get delighted not just because of the storytelling, it also trains the spotlight on food,” Parungao underscored. The latest GMA Public Affairs offering features the story of Harvey (Kelvin Miranda), a failed chef who gets the chance of a lifetime when he manages to travel back in time to steal a famous recipe and make it his own. While chasing his dream to build a culinary empire for his family, he meets Apple (Mikee Quinto), an aspiring chef who gets to work in his company. As GMA Artist Center stars, both Mikee and Kelvin have already made a niche for themselves in their previous projects. Together, the fast-rising actors are set to make hearts flutter in this series. Mikee looks forward for viewers to get to know Apple and Harvey. Even before beginning the taping for the series, Mikee has been exploring the kitchen herself, saying that cooking has helped her during the pandemic. “Being stuck at home because of the quarantine, a lot of time to explore the kitchen and cook. I find it therapeutic because you focus on cooking, you have no other thoughts, so I hope the pandemics I learned in this show can help. Kelvin and I are working together to best show the viewers the story of The Lost Recipe and hopefully, this series will somehow give hope and inspire people to dream, ”she shared.

Indulge in the new taste of Pinoy drama as GMA News TV proudly presents the fantasy-romance series ‘The Lost Recipe,’ which centers on the love triangle of Mikee Quintos (center), Kelvin Miranda (left), and Paul Salas.

The Lost Recipe is Kelvin’s first-ever lead role in a primetime series. A certified foodie, he shares that his role as Harvey is an unexpected blessing. “This is my first time doing this kind of project. Everything I did was serious so it was a big change for me from seriousness to romance and comedy. I am excited,” he said. Mikee has distinguished herself in the acting industry with her role as Lira in the sequel of the fantasy series Encantadia, which earned her the Best New Female TV Personality award in 2017 PMPC Star Awards for Television. She recently starred in the drama series The Gift and

Awakening: An MMFF 2020 afterthought

While ‘Fan Girl’ starring Charlie Dizon and Paulo Avelino was the most decorated MMFF 2020 film, the organizers of the annual fest failed to give the public the figures that will define the success of the movie that streamed online during the holidays. a sexy satire on the Filipinos fixation on Suarez The Healing Priest, romantic love how bold stars are made with a stellar of cosmopolitan adults in Tagpuan, and a cast that includes Alma Moreno, Ara bizarre love triangle of aging lovers in Isa Mina, Maui Taylor, and Rosanna Roces Pang Bahaghari did not have the power to playing themselves, acting as mentors to lure the spectators. bold star wannabes. Love, especially the one considered People long for comedies. Not the black as innocent like the experience of first comedies. Nada to the comedy of manners. romance, despite being of the same gender, Nay to comedies that only intellectuals was the best asset of The Boy Foretold By and critics crave for and understand. The Stars. The impressive box office standings With its eye candy pairing and honest of Mang Kepweng at Ang Lihim ng portrayals of Keann Johnson and Adrian Bandanang Itim headlined by Vhong Lindayag, and the manner how their Navarro and Pakboys: Takusa, which romance blossomed, reminded all of the starred seasoned comedians Andrew time when how young love, sweet love is E, Dennis Padilla, and Janno Gibbs indeed unforgettable. are proofs that the old fashioned way of The BL genre is here and there are many tickling the Pinoys funny bones will never pink stories that are waiting to be told and go out of style. seen for the public’s consumption and “Baduy” and “sumakit ang panga at education. tiyan mo dahil sa kabalastugan” are still Hello Stranger is reportedly eyeing a the most potent ingredients to woe Pinoy Valentine’s Day opening. The movie, which mass audiences. stars Tony Labrusca and JC Alcantara as For most of the online audiences, Xavier and Mico, makes history as the first the many diverse themes, plots, and Boys Love drama to be shown on the most production values they view from the romantic date of the year. international staples in Netflix, Amazon And yes, a good jolt and shrieking and Prime, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and other shouting because of horror cannot be internet platforms are the culprit as to missed. That is why The Missing made its why the dramas shown in this year’s line- presence felt. up, did not arouse the curiosities of the Now that we have enumerated the prospective watchers. learning gems from this year’s MMFF, An erring father portrayed seeking when things are back to “normal,” what forgiveness in Coming Home, a priest who type of Filipino films will bring the Pinoys performs modern-day miracles in Father out of their domestic cocoons?

was one of the leads in the well-loved drama series Onanay. She was also part of GMA Network’s Sherlock Jr., Sirkus, and Alyas Robin Hood. Meanwhile, Kelvin has received praises for his excellent acting skills in the first-ever Filipino Netflix Original, Dead Kids. He earned his first acting award at the 6th Urduja International Film Festival, winning the Best Actor honor for the indie movie “The Fate.” This year, he was named as Best Young Actor at the 7th Urduja Heritage Film Awards. Kelvin previously starred in various TV programs such as Madrasta, Contessa, and Kambal, Karibal. He also

bannered Beauty and the Hypebeast alongside Angel Guardian in the second installment of GMA’s digital short film series One Hugot Away. The Lost Recipe also stars Thea Tolentino, Paul Salas, Lucho Ayala, Maureen Larrazabal, Almira Muhlach, Sue Prado, Topper Fabregas, Ariella Arida, Phytos Ramirez, Prince Clemente, Anton Amoncio, Faye Lorenzo, and Crystal Paras. Taking on special roles in the series are Manilyn Reynes, Gabby Eigenmann, and Kim Rodriguez. Written by Erwin Caezar Bravo, the series airs weeknights at 8:00 p.m. on GMA News TV.

Celebrities reach out with 50 acts of kindness THE year 2020 has turned out to be a shining moment for UFC, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary as an essential part of the Filipino culinary experience. With deep gratitude for this major milestone, UFC chose to give back—to families in need— with their 50 Acts of Kindness campaign. As part of the event, UFC asked several celebrity endorsers to nominate families who have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic. Among the select celebrities were power couple Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli, who nominated 53-year-old Salvador R. Tiburcio as their beneficiary. Before the pandemic, Salvador had regular income as a maintenance man. When the government instituted measures to curb the spread of the virus, Salvador found himself stranded at home, unable to travel to his job site. Since then, Salvador has been making ends meet by doing freelance maintenance work around his apartment building. “My whole family is affected. They already have jobs but they are still affected by the situation today,” Salvador laments as he recalls the debilitating effects of the pandemic. Last Dec. 19 and 20, Salvador, along with five other families, received a Samasamang Sarap ng Pamilya bundle from UFC. The bundle came with a sari-sari store package that included brand-new signage as well as various NurtiAsia products and grocery items. They also received a bicycle with a basket for groceries and a laptop with pocket Wi-Fi. These gifts sought to give the beneficiaries the means to sustain their families in the new year. Another nominee of Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli was 47-year-old Myra B. Togalon. An experienced seamstress, Myra lost her sewing projects at schools when these shut down in response to the pandemic. With a husband, child, and a PWD sibling at home to support, Myra had to take on work as a cleaning lady around her neighborhood. The past year has left an unforgettable mark on Myra. "I will never forget this pandemic," said Myra. “There were a series

of tragedies, especially when my mother disappeared. There are a few of us in the house eating and then the two of us just crawled. " Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli’s third and last nominee was Rowel Seranias, a 32-year-old company tailor who’s been struggling to feed his family ever since the pandemic hit. The famed Guerrero siblings also participated in this campaign. Together they nominated 48-year-old Vilma Sedaya, the Guerrero family’s longtime laundry lady who also works at a local market. Award-winning chef Tatung Sarthou also helped with UFC’s 50 Acts of Kindness. He nominated 35-year-old Billy Ray A. Pascual, a cook who prepared and sold kimchi to help support his family when he lost his job during the pandemic. Chef Tatung also nominated 31-year-old April Sioson, a sales clerk who toils to support her child’s education. Salvador and his fellow beneficiaries could barely contain their joy upon receiving UFC’s Sama-samang Sarap ng Pamilya packages. They are profoundly grateful to UFC for sharing their goodies with them this holiday season, as well as providing them with a sustainable source of income for the new year. These beneficiaries’ heartwarming stories give us a glimpse of the intrepid Filipino spirit which shines through even in the darkest times. UFC honors and celebrates these people who continue to embody the meaning of sama-samang sarap ng pamilya every day.

Salvador Tiburcio has been working as a freelance maintenance man since he lost his job this past year.

Rowel Serenias used to be a company tailor before the pandemic hit.

Families in need were chosen by celebrity endorsers to receive a Samasamang Sarap ng Pamilya bundle

Life

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

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Pistachio

FOOD

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

Tablea

Filipino-made gelato serves a piece of Italy

Kapeng Barako

ITALIA IN LIPA. Filipino gelato brand Koibito’s serves customers at its branch in Lipa, Batangas authentic gelato made using the techniques its founder learned in Italy, and featuring local ingredients sourced directly from farmers. By Monica Sanchez

R

OGER Monsale was supposed to fly to the United States to fulfill his dream of becoming a pilot. But because his love for his now wife, Angelina, is stronger, he decided to stay in the Philippines and build a life in Lipa, Batangas. Staying here in the country opened another door for Monsale, a door that allowed him to pursue his other passion: Europe and gelato. He flew to Bologna in Italy to take a formal training in gelato-making. His search for the perfect and original recipe then led him to Venice, where he found a gelato flavor (Cremino, made with layers of hazelnut and salted caramel gelato with chocolate hazelnut ganache) that became the inspiration and benchmark for Koibito’s World of Gelato—Monsale’s very own gelato brand. Koibito’s—from the Japanese term of affection which Roger and Angeli call each other—offers “a little piece of

Italy” in every cup. To ensure each batch features the distinct texture of this frozen Italian dessert, Monsale makes them using the techniques he learned in Italy, but with local ingredients. The decision to use ingredients such as cashews sourced from Antipolo as well as tablea and local coffee fulfills Monsale’s advocacy to help Filipino farmers and serve farm-to-table gelato. Koibito’s offers a wide range of gelato flavors including Choco Hazelnut Bon Bons, Strawberry Cheesecake, Kapeng Barako, Batangas Tablea, Cashew Butter, Nocciola, Caramel Panna Cotta,

Roger Monsale flew to Italy to learn gelato-making and find the perfect and original recipe that he could bring to the Philippines.

Salted Caramel, Cookie Butter, Sweet also has no-sugar options in Pistachio Cream and Cherries, and Mango Sorbet and Giandujia flavors. (seasonal), among others. Koibito’s serves its gelato at its The Batangas-based gelato brand branch in The Outlets in Lipa. Its prod-

BITES Ube macapuno in your pie

The reign of ube continues, and this time, it has made its way into the flaky pie of Jollibee. The fast food giant launched last week its latest dessert offering—Ube Macapuno Pie, made with ube and coconut filling, enveloped in golden-crusted pie. A solo order is priced at P30. It also comes in 3 Pies To-Go for P89 and 6 Pies To-Go for P175. Ube Macapuno Pie is now available in Luzon and will roll out in Visayas and Mindanao on Feb 8. Order via the Jollibee Delivery app, JollibeeDelivery.com, #87000, GrabFood, foodpanda, or LalaFood. NY-Style Thin Crust Pizza in Pepperoni (left) and Hawaiian

Tasty thin crust pizza

Yellow Cab’s New York-style pizza got a thinner update, offering crisp and flavor in every bite with toppings on a lighter crust. The NY-Style Thin Crust Pizza is available on all 9”, 12”, and 15” Classic and Signature Edge-to-Edge Pizza flavors: Pepperoni, Hawaiian, BBQ Chicken, Garden Special, Manhattan Meatlovers, Roasted Garlic and Shrimp, #4 Cheese, and Patty Melt. Price starts at P249 for dine-in. It’s available at all Yellow Cab stores for dine-in, curbside pick-up, takeout, and delivery.

Put an onion ring on it

What’s better than an onion ring? Multiple onion rings bursting with flavors. From the chain that brings the fried chicken from Louisiana, comes the savory and spicy Cajun Rings, featuring crispy fry breaded onion rings with a hint of Cajun spice. Popeyes serves its onion rings ala carte or on the side of its chicken and burger meals. Get a free upgrade from Cajun Fries to Cajun Rings when ordering any Popeyes meal; or say “put a ring on it” to the crew at the counter to get a surprise when ordering it with U.S. Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Chicken French Quarter, Fish Burger, Shrimp Burger, or Chicken Burger. Cajun Rings is now available at Popeyes branches and for delivery via www.centraldelivery.ph or GrabFood. Cajun Rings

Ube Macapuno Pie

Cheesy dippers on discount

Nothing cheesy about this promo, except the bitesized creamy mozzarella dippers in Pizza Hut’s signature dough which is currently offered at 15 percent off. Customers can get the discount today until Feb. 9 when they order via www.pizzahut.com or the Pizza Hut mobile app. The pizza chain’s mobile app allows customers to place an order up to 14 days in advance and get access to other exclusive deals. Cheesy Bites Dippers starts at P399 for regular pizzas and P609 for large pizzas, and is available in all ala carte pizza flavors. Each order includes marinara dip for the mozzarella bites.

ucts are also available in Manila at Lipa Grill Makati in Chino Roces Avenue. It also delivers for free for orders placed through www.koibitos.com.

Japanese drinkware brews coffee outdoors

FRESHLY brewed coffee, straight from the pot into the cup is one of the gifts of staying indoors—a gift that a Japanese drinkware brand aims to give to those who are outdoors. Developed in Tokyo, Rivers drinkware features specialty coffee items such as drippers that allow users to brew coffee wherever sans electricity, as well as sustainable cups, travel-friendly mugs, and heavy duty jugs and tumblers, all featuring sleek, minimalist design. Among its unique products is the Micro Coffee Dripper, said to be the smallest coffee dripper in the world, which brews using a built-in filter made of polypropylene with stainless steel mesh for prolonged use without discoloration, a funnel structure that provides a stable drip, and a detachable silicone rubber holder that can be folded easily and stored in a cup. The Rivers Coffee Dripper Cave Reversible, on the other hand, can control the coffee’s taste and bring the acidity and bitterness closer to the drinker’s preference. The aforementioned products from Rivers are now available at Outdoors by SM, a concept store that carries over 30 brands made for adventure, travel, and urban needs. For those who want to shop personally, the store is located on the second level of SM Makati. Join its Viber community group (https://bit.ly/3dk7SH2) or contact its hotline at 0917-843-6176 to order online.

Rivers Coffee Dripper Cave Reversible has a foldable two-way silicone dripper.

Rivers Vacuum Flask Stout keeps beverages hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours.

Cheesy Bites Dippers

Brew on the go with Micro Coffee Dripper which uses a built-in filter with stainless steel mesh.