Manila Standard - 2021 February 9 - Tuesday

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(Story on A4) RODY PLEADS FOR END TO PORK HOLIDAY, ASSURES TRADERS OF GOV'T AID

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

NO PORK. A man walks beside a row of closed meat stalls at Trabajo Market in Sampaloc, Manila on Monday, while at the Barangka Market in Mandaluyong City, people fall in line to buy the limited stocks of the local butcher. Many meat vendors joined the 'pork holiday' on Monday, refusing to sell fresh meat as the government starts imposing a price ceiling on meat products. Norman Cruz

MALACAÑANG has appealed to pork traders in Metro Manila to reconsider their “pork holiday” protest against the price ceiling on the meat products, assuring them the government aid will be enough for them to survive.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government hoped the pork retailers would continue to sell their products as it offered transport subsidy and financial aid to local vendors.

“We heard there are two groups that declared a pork holiday. On the part of the retailers, they will not sell products because the price ceiling is too low,” Roque said in a televised press briefing.

The pork holiday was held on the first day of implementation of the price ceiling ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte in response to a request from the Department of Agriculture.

However, the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (ProPork) and the Next page

‘I’ll block ABS-CBN franchise’ PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said he would not allow the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to give ABS-CBN a license to operate even if the media giant is given a new broadcast franchise

by Congress.

Duterte said ABS-CBN should first settle its unpaid obligations, even as the Lopez family behind the television network already said it has no outstanding loans with the government-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as the Next page President hinted before.

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 336 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Mass vaccination next week Palace says initial doses arriving Feb. 15, Duterte among first to get jab

By Vito Barcelo, Willie Casas and Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE Philippines is 100 percent ready for the arrival of the first COVID-19 vaccines next week and will need only a day or two after that to ramp up its vaccination drive, the Palace said Monday.

“Our country is well prepared for our vaccination drive to begin Feb. 15,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in an online briefing. "It's just a matter of when the plane carrying the Pfizer vaccines will actually land in NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport).”

The first batch of vaccines will come from the COVAX Facility, which seeks to ensure equitable distribution of CO-

VID-19 vaccines.

Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte would be among the first to receive the vaccine because he is a senior citizen, but his family will not be given the same priority.

“It is important that he gets vaccinated to boost the confidence of the public,” Roque said, adding the government is 100 percent ready for the vaccination program.

Roque said Duterte's family would not

Du30 asks rebels not to hamper vaccine deliveries in rural areas

MYANMAR PROTESTS. A man waves a red flag as protesters gather to

demonstrate against the February 1 military coup in Myanmar in downtown in Yangon on Monday. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday it is prepared to evacuate Filipinos in Myanmar if the situation deteriorates there. AFP

DFA: No sea code pact without US

By Rey E. Requejo FOREIGN Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Monday the Philippines objected to efforts to block Western powers, including the United States, from having access to the hotly contested South China Sea under a Code of Conduct be-

ing formulated by China and Southeast Asian states.

"Here is the non-negotiable: The COC will never exclude a Western power, well the United States, from the area because that's part of our national defense, it's the MDT," Locsin said, in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

Next page

By Maricel V. Cruz

Next page

guarantee that the vaccines, in the course of their being transported to areas where there are no city health officers or medical personnel, do not touch the medicines," the President said.

"Allow the vaccines to be transported freely and safely. I am asking you now to observe that rule because that is for the Filipino people," Duterte added.

He said the CPP should follow the "rules of humanity."

As he told the communists not to intercept the deliveries, the President told government officials not to hamper or

7TH HEAVEN. Quarterback Tom

Brady lifts the Vince Lombardi Trophy after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida on Sunday.

It was the 7th Super Bowl ring for Brady, who outplayed younger counterpart Patrick Mahomes (middle photo, being tackled by No. 45) and the Kansas City Chiefs and helped his Bucs teammates dance in a confetti shower on their own home field. AFP

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COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM FEB. 8)

538,995 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

1,690 27,992 NEW

ACTIVE

11,231

52

499,772

23

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

NEW

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Magalong stays Brady now immortal as tracing czar after Super Bowl win till sub is found TAMPA, Florida—If Tom Brady didn't already occupy a seat at the top table of North American sport's greatest icons, he will now be pulling up a chair.

The 43-year-old quårterback authored another implausible chapter to his ageNext page

Palace won’t back Velasco’s economic stimulus package THE Palace on Monday backed away from supporting a P420-billion stimulus package proposed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, saying the 2021 national budget and the Bayanihan 2 law would be enough to see the country through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We appreciate the policy initiatives of Speaker Velasco but our position has been consistent that there is enough fiscal stimulus in our annual budget and we will be implementing Bayanihan 2,” Roque said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“But of course, we appreciate the

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night appealed to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New Peoples' Army (NPA), to allow the free and safe transport of coronavirus vaccine deliveries across the country starting this month.

Duterte made the appeal on his weekly televised address as the country prepares to roll out its COVID-19 vaccination program.

"We might issue this appeal, not a warning. I am appealing to the Communist Party of the Philippines... (it) must

be included in the priority list unless they have co-morbidities.

“The COVAX Facility said in its letter that it will be made available, it will come to us by mid-February. We expect that they will give us notice two to three days before they load the vaccines in the airplane so we can prepare for fetching them at the airport,” Roque added.

BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday said he would remain as the country's contact tracing czar until the government finds a replacement following his "irrevocable resignation" over a socialite's viral party that violated pandemic guidelines.

“My work continues because I was asked to hold over the position last week.

I met with Secretary Vince Dizon (testing czar) and talked to Secretary Charlie Galvez (chief implementer of COVID-19 National Task Force) over the phone and our agreement is to hold over while they are looking for a replacement," Magalong said.

The tracing czar said he hopes to increase the number of contact tracers on a par with the headcount during the last quarter of 2020.

"The issue is in the encoding, that's why budgetary costing has a big impact.

But local officials are finding ways to add more contact tracers. If only we could hire again all the contact tracers last quarter of last year,” he said.

Magalong last month tendered his "irrevocable" resignation from being the country's contact tracing czar following his attendance at a party in his city where COVID-19 protocols were violated.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

VFA fate up before end of Feb. F Locsin said he was limiting the issues that both parties would tackle that would pave the way for a possible agreement.

“I am narrowing down the issues and

soon we will meet in the last week of February and iron out whatever differences we have and come to an agreement,” Locsin said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.

Locsin did not provide details on the issues that are the subject of the talks.

He also did not provide details as to the venue and level of the meeting.

In February last year, Duterte ordered the abrogation of the VFA, which allows American soldiers to regularly train with their Filipino counterparts in the country, after the US cancelled the visa of his close aide and former police chief now senator Ronald Dela Rosa.

The US did not specify the reason for revoking Dela Rosa’s visa, but many believed that it was due to his involvement in Duterte's deadly war on drugs, which killed at least 6,000.

Mass...

areas will be almost half of the Philippine population,” Guido David from the Octa Research Group said.

“The advantage of that we have some of the more modern health facilities here and we have a local government system that is well structured,” he added.

The national government aims to vaccinate 70 percent of the country’s population to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19.

However, David said this cannot be done in a year as there will be several things to consider such as transportation, storage, distribution, and keeping track of those vaccinated.

“That is... a little optimistic, I believe. I think maybe we can’t get 70 million in one year because there will

be [a] logistic nightmares to consider,” David said.

Also on Monday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the Philippines will also explore the use of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was found to be 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19, according to results published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Locsin said Galvez had also asked his department to “engage more” with India, whose Bharat Biotech last month submitted its emergency use application to the Food and Drug Administration for its COVID-19 vaccine.

In other developments: • Health care professionals on Monday urged the public, especially the private

sector, to follow the government’s prioritization list for the rollout of coronavirus vaccines to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable groups. The Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) made the call amid reports that several local government units and private companies have secured doses of COVID-19 vaccines. “Let’s not try to jump the line,” Dr. Antonio Dans said at a news conference. “Vaccination should not be done according to the capacity to pay, but according to exposure, risk, need, and capacity,” Dans said.

• A panel in the House of Representatives has approved a consolidated substitute bill that would exempt COVID-19 vaccines from duties and value added tax.

are building up cases. We are doing a surveillance,” Dar said in a briefing Monday, but did not say which groups were being monitored.

Duterte's executive order sets a price cap for kasim and pigue at P270 per kilo, P300 for liempo, and P160 for dressed chicken per kilo. The price cap will last for 60 days.

While some pork retailers plan to protest the price cap, the Palace has also backed the proposed consumption of meat alternatives.

“On the part of consumers, they have an advocacy to consume alternative protein sources. We support the advocacy of alternative pork sources,” Roque said.

The cap price was requested by the DA due to soaring pork prices caused by the African Swine Fever (ASF) problem and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The government will source pork from areas not hit by the ASF and pointed out that South Cotabato-based culling groups can supply 10,000 heads of hogs weekly for Metro Manila alone,” he said.

“The government will ship these products and distribute them in the market, so we won’t be short of supply. The price of hog from South Cotabato is around P145 per kilo,” he added.

Also, the government has provided subsidy in the transport cost of hog shipments from other parts of the country.

He said they would provide P21 per kilo for hogs from Mindanao, P15 per kilo from Visayas, and P10 per kilo from those from ASF-free areas in Luzon.

In a related development, President Duterte already approved "in principle" increasing the minimum access volume for pork, the Department of Agriculture said Monday, as the government scrambles to keep prices at manageable levels.

Dar said consultations were ongoing on the proposal to increase the volume of pork that might be imported at lower tariffs, given the low supply amid the outbreak of the ASF in the country.

Dar earlier said the DA was planning

to triple the MAV this year to 162,000 metric tons from 54,000 metric tons previously, along with the price ceiling implemented on pork and chicken prices effective February 8, 2021.

Several retailers joined the pork holiday on Monday, as they said the limits set by the government were too low for them to be able to make profits.

The DA earlier blamed the storms and typhoons in the last quarter of 2020 and the ASF outbreak for the recent spike in prices of agricultural goods such as pork and chicken, among others.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto urged trade, agriculture, transportation, and police officials to jointly or on their own conduct a “field audit” on transportation issues that delay the movement of food products and make them more expensive.

Among the “road obstructions” that must be removed, Recto said, were the unnecessary “permanent and pop-up checkpoints” run by many local and national agencies.

At that time, Duterte blasted the company, formerly known as Benpres, over its supposed outstanding debt with the state-owned lender.

"I will not name the person, but 'yung mga company nila noon -- Benpres and about six other companies -- may utang sila sa DBP. At ang utang nila, umabot ng... to finance this... pera ng tao, gagamitin nila to finance their business pero kanila 'yung kita," Duterte said four years ago.

The holdings firm owns major shareholdings in television network ABS-CBN and in the power, property, and telecommunications sectors.

In July last year, an overwhelming majority of the House committee on legislative franchises ruled against the renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise renewal.

DAF:..

duct or COC, with an agreement reached in November 2018 for both sides to finalize the document within three years, starting from 2019.

The Philippines, which is committed to having a code of conduct, currently heads the code of conduct talks as country coordinator for ASEAN and China.

The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea aims to prevent conflicting territorial claims in the vast potentiallyoil rich region from erupting into a fullblown confrontation or worse, an economically devastating major conflict.

"We are to the fullest extent, we're gonna push for the COC," Locsin emphasized.

Locsin added that the Philippines is working to reduce the draft document to eight pages before it steps down as country coordinator this year.

But China, which considers the sea disputes a purely Asian issue, is opposed to any foreign intervention, particularly from the US. With AFP

By Rey E. Requejo

OREIGN Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Monday the Philippines and the United States would meet before the end of February to discuss the fate of the US-PH Visiting Forces Agreement, which was suspended by President Rodrigo Duterte last year.

From A1

Roque said last week that the Philippines is set to receive 117,000 doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech from the World Health Organization (WHO)led COVAX Facility.

The government has identified the priority population in its COVID 19 vaccination program, starting with frontline health workers and senior citizens.

University of the Philippines researchers tracking the pandemic said 70 percent of Metro Manila’s population could be vaccinated against COVD-19 this year.

“I think the total population in three

Rody...

From A1

United Broilers Association (UBRA) had warned the Department of Agriculture (DA) last year the local meat industry was on the decline owing to unabated importation.

"We had been asking that [meat] importation be removed since the demand is low, that’s why we have our current situation. We had met with (Agriculture) Secretary William Dar last June to ask for help,” said Gregorio San Diego, chairman of UBRA, in a statement Monday.

"Importation and smuggling are what’s causing this crisis,” said Nicanor Briones ng ProPork, noting that the Philippines loses P10 billion yearly in pork smuggling alone.

The agriculture department said Monday it was "building up cases" against those who deliberately pushed up the prices of pork.

“In this chapter of the price ceiling, we

’I’ll...

From A1

"Congress is planning to restore the franchise. Wala akong problem kung i-restore ninyo (lawmakers), but I will not allow them to operate. I will not allow the NTC to grant them the permit to operate," Duterte said.

"Unless and until the Lopezes pay their taxes, I will ignore your franchise and I will not give them the license to operate," he added in his weekly televised address.

“That’s foolishness, it’s like giving them a prize for committing criminal acts,” the President said.

Lopez Holdings Corp., which owns ABS-CBN, said as early as 2017 that it had no outstanding loans with the DBP or other government financial institutions.

Magalong...

From A1

Forgers of COVID-19 test results face arrest The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday issued a stern warning to individuals faking reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests as it directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) “to prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law”.

"The DILG directs the PNP to arrest and prosecute individuals who are forging their RT-PCR tests,” said DILG officer-in-charge and Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr. “This is a crime and is punishable under our law. We are also warning those people planning to fake their test certifications. Don't do it or else you'll go to jail,” he said.

Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases provides for penalties of P20,000 but not more than P50,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months, or both fine and impris-

onment, at the discretion of the court, for tampering with records relating to notifiable diseases.

22 with UK variant recover, DOH says Twenty-two of the 25 cases infected with the new B.1.1.7 variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country have already recovered, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire added that one has died while two cases remain active.

The DOH previously identified the fatality as an 84-year-old male from La Trinidad, Benguet who had no known history of travel or contact with a COVID-19 case. The fatality’s 15-year-old female relative was also found to have the new variant.

The B.1.1.7 strain, initially discovered in the United Kingdom, was also detected in Bontoc, Mountain Province residents and in several returning overseas Filipinos.

Vergeire said the Philippine Genome Center is expected to sequence 720 samples this week to detect other cases of the UK variant.

Willie Casas and Rey E. Requejo

"May I just address myself to every government worker... do not delay or do From A1 not hinder, do not obstruct the smooth flow (of vaccine deliveries) that you see obstruct the system of vaccine transporta- now, from the time of the arrival to the tion and delivery. time of clearance," Duterte said.

Du30...

From A1

Locsin was referring to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States that binds America to defend its long-time Asian ally from external attack.

Even US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines against any armed attack in the South China Sea amid China's new law authorizing its coast guard to shoot foreign vessels in the disputed waters it claims nearly in its entirety.

Locsin said America's continuing presence in the South China Sea would ensure "balance of power" in the region.

"To begin with, there is the freedom of open seas," he said.

In August 2018, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China agreed to a single draft of the code of con-

But Manila suspended the VFA's termination process on June 1, citing “political and other developments in the region.”

Then in November last year, Duterte decided to extend for another six months the suspension of the pact’s termination amid lingering tensions in the disputed South China Sea. According to Locsin, the President’s decision would enable both sides “to find a more enhanced, mutually beneficial, mutually agreeable, and more effective and lasting arrangement on how to move forward in our mutual defense.”

filing of Bayanihan 3, and if we really fall short, then we will of course resort to Bayanihan 3. But for now let’s see what will happen when we implement the 2021 budget and Bayanihan 2,” he added.

Velasco, who drafted Bayanihan 3 with Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, said Bayanihan 3 will help drive economic growth, which declined by 9.5 percent in 2020, the largest drop since 1946.

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the committee of ways and means in the House, said Congress has enough time to pass economic amendments to the Constitution in time for a plebiscite that can be held alongside the 2022 elections.

It also has time to pass some of the remaining tax reform measures still pending, he added.

These include measures that affect agriculture, education, health, the social safety net, and other bills designed to speed the recovery of the economy that

was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said Charter change efforts at the House at this time were a "waste of time and energy."

He said the apparent hesitation among many Filipinos to get inoculated against COVID-19, as reflected in opinion surveys and even admitted by key government officials, proves that the time and energy to be wasted on Charter change should be spent instead on helping the government carry out a nationwide public information drive to persuade adults to take part in the upcoming mass vaccination program.

“Why don’t they ask local officials if they still have time to tell people about Cha-Cha while they are too busy with measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in their communities and convincing people to get vaccinated to fight the disease?

The House leadership seems out of touch with reality and should come to their senses and spend their time and energy instead on helping encourage people to get vaccinated instead of conducting plenary debates about the highly divisive issue of constitutional reform,” Villafuerte said.

"Your job in the [Bureau of] Customs is to look. You have no business opening the vaccine packages. You are not allowed to do that. I am not allowing anybody, anybody who works in the airport, to open any vaccine deliveries,” the Presi-

dent stressed.

The Philippines is awaiting the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization, expected to arrive next week.

Jimbo Gulle

Palace...

From A1

CHR blasts use of Anti-Terror law to scare scribe

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Human Rights condemned Monday the use of Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to threaten to sue a journalist over a story on the supposed military abuse of two Aetas in Zambales.

“CHR condemns any attempt to use laws to curtail rights, as we are equally vigilant against assertions of freedoms that infringe upon the rights of others,” lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said.

“We reiterate that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2020 has stressed concerns over ‘what appears to be ‘a pattern of intimidation’ of independent news sources,’ further aggravated by practices of red tagging and filing of legal cases against journalists,” the CHR said.

Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. threatened to file charges against Inquirer.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas for coming out with a story about the torture of two Aetas by the military.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana defended Parlade Jr. from criticisms over the latter’s statement against a journalist.

“This is a very thin line between freedom of speech and doing the other way like the other side or the terrorists,” Lorenzana said in an interview on CNNPhilippines.

S. Africa halts AstraZeneca jab over concerns GENEVA—South Africa suspended the start of its AstraZeneca inoculation programme over concerns the shot does not work on a new variant, with WHO experts due to meet Monday to discuss the vaccine already facing questions about its efficacy for over-65s.

A trial showed the vaccine provides only "minimal" protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 caused by the variant first detected in South Africa, a setback to the global fight against the pandemic as many poorer nations are relying on the logistical advantages offered by the AstraZeneca shot.

Africa's hardest-hit nation was due to start its campaign in the coming days with a million AstraZeneca doses, but the government decided to hold off considering the results from the trial conducted by the University of Witatersrand in Johannesburg.

"It's a temporary issue that we have to hold on AstraZeneca until we figure out these issues," Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told reporters on Sunday. AFP

Brady...

From A1

defying career on Sunday, winning a record seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stunned the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.

It was a victory that elevated Brady alongside names like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Babe Ruth or Serena Williams -- the rare, once-in-a generation athletes whose achievements are expected to stretch long into the future.

Sunday's victory in Tampa saw Brady improve a slew of records he already owned, putting them even further out of reach.

At 43 years and 188 days old, Brady is the oldest man ever to play in a Super Bowl, let alone win it.

His seventh Super Bowl victory means he has now won more Vince Lombardi Trophies than every team in the league.

Brady's fifth Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award is two more than his nearest rival, boyhood idol Joe Montana.

And the victory with the Buccaneers means he is only the second quarterback to take two different teams to a Super Bowl title.

True to form, Brady brushed off questions about where he ranks Sunday's victory in his catalogue of success.

"I haven't had time to think about that," Brady said. "We've been blessed.

It's been a great year."

Other athletes and commentators were in no doubt about Sunday's masterpiece, with some describing it as the greatest achievement of his career.

"It's unbelievable... it's unreal," was the verdict of Williams, speaking after her first-round victory at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

"I just was watching as much as I could," Williams added.

'The Greatest'?

Former NFL wide receiver and television pundit Donte Stallworth compared Brady's seven championships to Michael Jordan's six NBA titles. AFP

News

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

A3

IN BRIEF Imee: PH should ban FB ‘adoption’ pages SENATOR Imee Marcos said Monday the Philippine government should exact a commitment from Facebook Philippines to ban illegal adoption pages.

In objecting to a Facebook adoption of babies, Marcos said it was a form of human trafficking.

She said local citizens would be used as decoys to cross borders, as was the case in other countries, to evade detection by law enforcers.

According to Marcos, the Bureau of Immigration must immediately strengthen border controls, especially when outbound travel involves children no matter what age.

“Who knows if these children up for adoption won’t fall into the hands of pedophiles?” she said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

Immigration revenue drops to P5.9b in ‘20 THE Bureau of Immigration said it still managed to collect nearly P5.9 billion in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said last year’s total revenue from immigration fees was P5.88 billion, 36.1-percent less than the record income of P9.3 billion that the bureau posted in 2019.

“We anticipated our revenues to decrease due to the pandemic,” said Morente.

“With more foreign nationals going out of the country than going in, we were able to collect less revenue from visa applications.” Vito Barcelo

Agents nab 2 who try to claim Ecstasy pack CUSTOMS and anti-narcotics agents arrested two claimants of a smuggled shipment of the party drug Ecstasy during a controlled delivery operation in Davao City.

Operatives from the CustomsNinoy Aquino International Airport, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group arrested Christian Sulla and Kenneth Cajoles in Elrio Vista Village after claiming the shipment worth more than P830,000.

The parcel shipments arrived at the Central Main Exchange Center in Pasay City and were found containing 494 pieces of tablets.

Joel E. Zurbano

NEW LAKAS MEMBERS. House Majority Leader and Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) Party President Martin Romualdez (second from left), with Deputy Majority Leader Rep.Wilter Sharky Palma (left) and Misamis Oriental Rep. Christian Unabia (right), administers the party oath to former Laguna Board Member Neil Andrew Nocon (third from left), Ingrid Almeda (3rd from right) and Robert Almeda (2nd from right) as the new members of the Party. Ver Noveno

SC grants ex-CJ Corona’s retirement pay via ruling T

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Supreme Court has granted the plea of the family of ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona for the release of his retirement benefits and allowances after ruling that his ouster by the Senate—sitting as an Impeachment Tribunal—as chief magistrate in 2012 did not disqualify him and his widow from receiving them.

In an en banc decision dated January 12, the high court granted the request of Corona’s widow, Maria Cristina, to release the retirement benefits equivalent to a five-year lump sum of the salary and allowances he was receiving at the time of his removal on May 29, 2012.

“Chief Justice Renato Corona is hereby declared entitled to retirement benefits and other allowances under

Republic Act No. 9946 equivalent to a five-year lump sum of the salary and allowances he was receiving at the time of his removal by impeachment on May 29, 2012,” the high court ruled.

After the impeachment hearing, 20 senators, representing at least twothirds of all members of the Senate, found Corona guilty of the charge that he failed to declare his Statement of As-

sets, Liabilities and Net Worth, an impeachable offense, in May 2012.

Corona later faced several charges including tax evasion, perjury and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees as well as a forfeiture case.

However, these cases were terminated upon his death due to cardiac arrest on April 29, 2016.

“The effects of a judgment on an impeachment complaint extends no further than to removal from office and disqualification from holding any public office,” the high court ruled in granting the plea of Corona’s widow.

The decision written by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando also said “an impeached public officer whose civil, criminal or administrative liability was not judicially established may be considered involuntarily retired from service.

GUTTED.

A fire engulfs a block of houses on Sarmiento St. in Brgy. Nova Proper, Quezon City on Sunday night, which reached the third alarm. The blaze left about 60 families homeless, according to the RAHA Volunteers Fire Department.

Rody creates Nat’l Amnesty Commission PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order creating the National Amnesty Commission to boost the peace efforts, Malacañang says.

The seven-member commission will process the applications for amnesty and determine those who are eligible “in connection with the recent amnesty proclamations pending concurrence of Congress,” according to Palace spokesman Harry Roque.

“This is a step towards peace in which we will offer the hand of peace to some groups so they can return to normal and peaceful lives,” Roque said.

“We offered the hand of peace to some groups so they could return to a normal and peaceful life,” he said but did not identify the groups.

The NAC will have seven members, including a chairperson and two regular members that the President will appoint, Roque said. Vito Barcelo

SMASHED.

A Toyota truck crushes concrete barriers and a steel gate at a building along EDSA in Munoz, Quezon City early Monday.

Investigators say the driver fell asleep on the wheel, leading to the accident.

Norman Cruz

Philconsa marks 34th year with Charter lesson

By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE of Representatives Majority Leader Martin G. Romualdez and other members of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) on Monday night commemorated the 34th anniversary of the ratification of the 1987 Constitution by learning of the constitutional economic reforms being initiated by the chamber.

Philconsa is the oldest and most respectable association of legal luminaries in the country, which has been existing for almost 60 years.

Among the notable leaders of Philconsa are retired Court of Appeals Justice Manuel Lazaro as chairman, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno as President Emeritus, and other legal luminaries.

Lazaro delivered the Constitution Day Message and Rita Linda Jimeno, Philconsa vice president for constitutional reforms, moderated the open forum.

Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, was the guest of honor and speaker of the event and explained in detail the proposed amendments to the Constitution.

In his speech before Philconsa officials and members, Garbin underscored the importance to pursue amendments to the Constitution to make it more responsive to the changing times.

“A constitution, no matter how well-written, would ultimately need changes to adopt to the needs of the times. An attempt to change a provision in a constitution is not an attack against the constitution but merely giving life to one of its key provisions, one of its key characteristics, which is the ability to adapt to change,” Garbin told Philconsa members headed by Romualdez, president of the group.

Recto: LTO creating ‘lucrative downstream industry’ with new fees

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

MANY new fees imposed by the Land Transportation Office, some with dubious legality, are creating a “lucrative downstream industry” as a result of their privatized implementation, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.

Recto says the Motor Vehicle Inspec-

tion System creates an P8-billion annual industry, and the mandatory enrollment in driving schools as a prerequisite in taking a driver’s license test has the potential of earning P7.5 billion a year for their owners.

“These are only two out of the many, Recto said.

“It is unfair and premature to call these ‘money heist’ ventures, because as I have

said, the objectives are laudable but the implementation is far from lovable.”

He cited the case of the new rules in securing student permits and licenses for first-time drivers, which now require them to be a graduate of a theoretical and practical driving class from either private driving schools or in-house classes that the LTO holds.

“The problem is there are only a few LTOs, so most are funneled to private driving academies, which have been mushrooming ever since the order was issued,” Recto said.

He says the law cited by the LTO’s MC 2019-2176—making mandatory the submission of driving school certificate—does not call for such.

LIPI reiterates support to ATA legality LIGA Independencia Pilipinas Inc. against The Law of Nations. The State (LIPI) on Monday reiterated its full shall uphold the basic rights and funsupport to the implementation of the damental liberties of the people as enAnti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, shrined in the Constitution,” he said. which continues to be argued at the At the last oral argument, Goitia said Supreme Court. it has become increasingly clear that the “We reiterate, when the Anti-Terrorpetitioners against the law “have gone to ism law was made, Congress and the Exthe Supreme Court with little more than ecutive branches considered the rights of a hope and a prayer.” the people. This is stated in the declara- LIPI Secretary“Not having any actual case, they are General Jose tion of policy of the law,” Jose Antonio Antonio Goitia in effect asking the high court for an ad“Ka Pep” Goitia, LIPI Secretary-Genervisory opinion. This is barred by law and al, said in a statement. the constitution,” he said.

“It is the policy of the State to protect life, liberty Goitia said one of the justices stated that Article and property from terrorism, to condemn terrorism 1, Section 8 of the Constitution specifies that courts as inimical and dangerous to the national security may act upon any grave abuse of discretion by any of the country and to welfare of the people, and governmental branch but “does not license this court to make terrorism a crime against humanity and to issue advisory opinion.” Jimbo Gulle

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

A4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

IN BRIEF QC nabs over 600 bike lane violators THE Quezon City government has apprehended 616 motorists or drivers of automobiles who have overtaken and/or were illegally parked in road lanes intended for bicycles in the first two months of 2021.

According to the Bike Lane Apprehension Report submitted to Mayor Joy Belmonte, 524 violators were caught and fined from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, while 94 violators were apprehended from Feb. 1 to Feb. 6.

“Gusto nating igiit sa publiko na ang bike lanes ay para sa mga bike lang.

Kung kayo ay naka-motor o gumagamit ng sasakyan, hindi kayo pwede sa loob ng bike lane,” Belmonte said.

“Bike lanes are designed to put the safety of cyclists first. If you run over or obstruct their lane then that puts them in danger and defeats the very purpose of our bike lane,” she added. Rio N. Araja

Only half of QC folk willing to get vaccine QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday said only half of city residents surveyed would want to receive vaccination for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Out of 74,793 residents asked in a poll conducted by the city government, only 37,899 or 50.7 percent are willing to get jabs against COVID-19, she said.

About 10,819 residents did not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, while 26,725 residents were undecided.

“Many are still willing to be vaccinated here in Quezon City. We still need to convince those undecided,” Belmonte said. Rio N. Araja

NEW RAJAH. Manila Mayor Fracisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso receives a digital portrait of himself as ‘Makabagong Rajah’ painted by Muslim youth leader and artist Wallid Weynne Mohammad during Monday’s flag ceremony at the Kartilyan ng Katipunan in Manila. Norman Cruz

Isko awards 259 virus-free Manila villages

By Willie Casas MANILA City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso awarded Monday the certificates for the 259 barangays with no new COVID-19 cases for the months of December and January.

“Today, the barangays of Manila have shown it to the country that it can be done, that a barangay can be a COVID-free barangay,” Domagoso said during the f lag raising ceremony.

“On behalf of the people of Manila, on behalf of the city government of Manila, maraming salamat sa bawat isa sa inyo,” he added.

Out of that number, 32 barangays recorded no new COVID-19 cases from both September 2020 to October 2020 and December 2020 to January 2021.

The barangays where the MHD reported no new COVID-19 cases for two months are as follows: District 1 barangays — 3, 8, 30, 44, 83, 126, 127, 143, 145, 2, 6, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 42, 47, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 63, 65, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 80, 88, 89, 93, 102, 103, 111, 119, 133, 135, 140, 141, 142.

District 2 barangays — 188, 240, 243, 244, 149, 150, 154, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 174, 178, 186, 187, 190, 191, 193, 195, 201, 202-A, 207, 208, 214, 222, 223, 226, 235, 236, 237, 238, 240, 241, 242, 245, 247, 248, 249, 251, 253, 257, 255, 264, 265, 266, 267.

Makati buys 42 bio freezers

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Makati City government has acquired 42 biomedical refrigerators and laboratory freezers to ensure proper and safe storage of COVID-19 vaccines.

The local government will be spending P1 billion for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines for residents, non-resident workers, and business owners in the city.

Mayor Abigail Binay had signed

an agreement for the purchase of one million doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and is currently negotiating with other pharmaceutical companies.

“As we wait for the vaccines to arrive,

the city government is preparing the vaccination sites, vaccine depots, and other logistic needs for cold chain management. I assure everyone that we are doing our best to achieve a 100 percent vaccination rate in Makati,” said Binay.

She said the refrigerators and freezers will be housed in a vaccine depot being built at the City Hall quadrangle.

Binay said the Makati Health Department (MHD) targets to finish the preparation of the site next week.

Last Thursday, the city chief ex-

ecutive led the inspection of the city’s COVID-19 vaccination simulation exercise at the Makati Coliseum.

Residents and non-residents who work in Makati who will be vaccinated will undergo online registration, counseling, screening, vaccination, and post-vaccination monitoring.

Binay said the Makati Coliseum will cater to the first batch of medical frontliners (public and private) and uniformed personnel who will be inoculated once the vaccines are available.

Pasay: P30k indemnity if jab makes you sick PASAY City Mayor Imelda Rubiano on Monday assured her constituents they will receive P30,000 indemnification pay if they get sick after getting vaccinated for the coronavirus.

Although confident in the efficacy of the vaccines the local government bought against COVID-19, Rubiano said she is leaving nothing to chance

and has allotted an indemnification fund for residents.

Rubiano said they have long been helping and indemnifying residents who might suffer unwanted injuries arising from the city government’s various health and immunization campaigns.

“We have been doing this in our city for a long time to provide com-

petent assistance to our residents.

During the time of Mayor Toni Calixto under the Take Care, I Care program where we provide assistance to those affected,” she said.

Former mayor Calixto is the elder brother of Rubiano and the current Pasay City congressman.

Joel E. Zurbano

BRAVE ENFORCER. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas gives a Mayor’s Citation to PSTMO Traffic Enforcer Eduardo Chan Alavanzas Jr. (center) for his bravery after saving the life of a child having a convulsion on February 2. Seeing the kid’s mother struggling after their tricycle broke down, he volunteered to bring them to the hospital using his motorcycle. Arnold Almacen/Iloilo City Mayor’s Office

P3,000 gratuity pay for Taguig workers THE Taguig City government has started distributing the P3,000 Gratuity Pay to its Contract of Service (COS) and Job Order (JO) employees for their government service amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The gratuity pay was granted to COS and JO workers based on their length of service in the city.

COS and JO workers who rendered service for two months to less than three months received P1,000, while those who have rendered service for three months or more received P2,000, and those who have rendered service for four months or more received P3,000.

As COS and JO workers do not have

employee-employer relationships, the benefits regular employees such as Government Service Insurance System, PAG-IBIG, and other incentives are not available to them.

Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said the local government recognizes the integral role of more than 5,000 JO and COS workers in the effective implementation of programs, projects, and activities of the city.

“Our COS and JO employees played a huge part in the implementation of our programs, projects, and activities. Lalo na sa kasagsagan ng 2020 kung kailan talagang naging agresibo ang pag-prevent at pagsuppress ng COVID-19 sa lungsod,” said Cayetano. Joel E. Zurbano

PROMOTIONS. To

help alleviate the impact of the pandemic on its employees, some 200 employees of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila were granted promotions or security of tenure by the administration.

Employees took a new oath of office on February 3 for their promoted or reclassified positions led by PLM President Emmanuel Leyco, who also thanked members of the school community.

Bugkalot: NCIP officer neglecting duty BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Bugkalot tribe in this province has asked Governor Carlos Padilla to intervene concerning an officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples here who they claimed has been neglecting his duty to at least 11 tribal groups in the province.

In a letter received by Padilla on February 3, 2021, some 42 leaders of the Bugkalot tribe have signed a petition asking Padilla and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board)

to call the attention of lawyer Roderick Iquin, officer in charge of the NCIP-Nueva Vizcaya provincial office, for not attending to the needs of the indigenous peoples in the province.

The Bugkalot leaders also asked Padilla to let Iquin explain and shed light on the issuance of a Certificate of Non-Overlap by the NCIP Region 2 office in favor and prioritizing OceanaGold Philippines Inc.’s renewal of its mining license than protecting the rights of the IPs. Brenda Jocson

Opinion Hell breaks loose in Marawi

THE following are excerpts from the book

by Carmela S. Fonbuena “Marawi Siege: Stories from the Frontlines” chronicling the battle for the City of Marawi that involved the largest military operation of the Philippine Armed Forces in recent memory. The book weaves the events before, during and after the battle, and gives an account of the heroism of the soldiers on the ground, interviews with some jihadists who survived, and hostages and residents who had to run for their lives.

The siege begins at 2:18 pm 23 May 2017.

Here are excerpts from a most engaging book on the 2017 siege.

“At the corner of the street, a group of elite soldiers in full battle gear dismounted from three vans. Two boys on the narrow strip stopped dribbling their basketball, frozen as they stared at the troops. Soldiers were a common sight in Marawi City, which hosts Kampo Ranao . . . But it was likely the children’s first time to see troops from the Light Reaction Regiment (LRR). Each one, from the commander to the lowest-ranking soldier, wore a helmet and tactical vest.

Each one carried a special rifle and other equipment they would rather not divulge.

The company commander went by the name ‘Azalea.’ Azalea’s team had been in Marawi for more than a month. As Lanao del Sur was increasingly becoming a concern, they were deployed to hunt down followers of the international jihadist organization Islamic State. They raided in April a Maute Group training camp in Piagapo, a town neighboring Marawi City, killing two militant leaders and at least three foreign fighters they coddled.

“The raid involved around a hundred soldiers. If this was like previous raids Azalea’s team had led, the soldiers estimated they would be back in Kampo Ranao in two hours. Azalea scanned the narrow street to search for the safe house that matched the description he was provided. He was told it was a blue apartment-type house with a black gate. But there was no blue house and there was no black gate. The house in the middle of the street looked like a safe house. The snipers took their positions and assaulters prepared to barge in. On Azalea’s signal, a small explosion forced the gate

wide open. Soldiers rushed into the house, parting laundry hanging on overlapping clothes lines, as they made their way to the first floor. The guns were on the floor, but there was no living soul in the room. They moved towards the second floor, a kitchen and that’s when heavy exchange of gunfire ensued.

“Bodies crashed to the floor. The enemies threw an improvised grenade; shrapnel ricocheted off the walls and ceiling.

“The military had been hunting down Hapilon for decades in his lairs in the island of Basilan, far away from Marawi City. He was an original member of the country’s most violent and most enduring terrorist armed group, the Abu Sayyaf Group. It was formed in the 1990’s by Middle East trained scholar Abdujarak Janjalani, a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), once leading separatist organization in Mindanao that signed in 1996 a landmark final peace agreement that would thrust founder Nur Misuari to become governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).”

Fonbuena describes the first battle in a way that the reader can visualize and hear what happened that day: “One, two, three, four, five more assaulters rushed into the safe house. The exchange of gunfire grew louder. Two soldiers lay dead on the floor. A soldier rushed out of the safe house, carrying a colleague on his shoulder.

Many were wounded. It was clear that the enemies were prepared for the raid. While one group of soldiers exchanged gunfire with the occupants of the safe house, another moved to gather their casualties at a designated collection point in an adjacent house.

“The situation escalated around 4 p.m., when the neighbors started sniping at troops. Watching the enemies exchange gunfire with the armored vehicles, Azalea was stunned by their grit. ‘They were very daring,’ he said. Troops couldn’t pull out the bodies of two dead soldiers from the safe house because of the heavy volume of gunfire.

“They couldn’t move the armored vehicle anymore. Azalea requested for another one to evacuate the casualties. When the request seemed to be taking long, he snapped over the radio. He couldn’t understand why the armored vehicle had not arrived. Was there a mission more important than theirs?

“Buddy, it’s not just us. Other troops are also engaged,” he was told on the radio.

From the safe house, Azalea and his men had been hearing gunshots and explosions erupting elsewhere in the city. “‘We weren’t the priority mission anymore. Something bigger was going on,’ said Azalea.

“Hell has come to Marawi, a city as iconic and beautiful as our most important cities. The siege has begun.”

Website: tonylavina.com Facebook: deantonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

Drone law in Hungary stifles reporting, journalists say

By Peter Murphy WHEN Hungarian journalist Gabi Horn was called in by police last October about her investigative news site’s drone footage of a business tycoon’s estate, at first she thought a corruption probe had been opened.

“It turned out instead we had been reported for suspected ‘illegal acquisition of data’,” said Horn, 53, who works for the Atlatszo.hu outlet.

While that criminal case was eventually dropped by prosecutors, it came as a new law was adopted that Horn is convinced is aimed at hindering such investigations.

The government says the new regulation on aerial drones, in force since January 1, protects privacy and sets safety standards.

But it also punishes the publication of drone footage of property without the owner’s permission with up to one year in jail.

“That makes it harder for journalists to investigate suspected misuse of public money and EU funds,” Horn told AFP at Atlatszo’s office in Budapest.

The law adds to press freedom and corruption concerns that have dogged hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government since it came to power in 2010.

In 2019 the Reporters Without Borders watchdog described the degree of media control in Hungary as “unprecedented in an EU country”.

Corruption monitor Transparency International meanwhile relegated Hungary in its latest annual index to joint bottom place in the EU alongside Romania and Bulgaria.

Budapest dismisses both organisations’ reports, as they are part-funded by the liberal US billionaire George Soros, who the anti-immigration Orban has long accused of leading “pro-migration” forces.

A small share of Atlatszo’s funding also

comes from the Hungarian-born Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

‘Shocking scale’ Using drones has become more valuable for journalists as “we almost never get answers through official channels”, according to Horn, whose site published several reports with drone footage last year, including on the estates of Orban’s father and son-in-law.

“When you stand outside a gated luxury ranch you don’t see much, whereas drones can show everyday people the shocking scale of how well the powerful live, the images tell a thousand words,” she said.

Horn was questioned by police after an article she wrote with drone footage of premises owned by Lorinc Meszaros, a childhood friend and close associate of Orban.

Meszaros is now the richest man in Hungary, with an estimated net worth of 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion) according to Forbes, mainly thanks to his companies regularly winning government and EUfunded public procurement contracts.

One month after Horn’s interrogation, the drone legislation was sent to parliament -dominated by Orban’s ruling party Fidesz -- and approved in December.

Horn believes the timing was not a coincidence, and that the law “targets curious reporters”.

While she doesn’t expect judges to jail journalists -- as Horn argues the drones are used to verify information of public interest not to invade privacy -- she says the law could deter media from using drones.

“We will continue, but the prospect of stressful criminal procedures is daunting,” she said.

The Innovation and Technology Ministry (ITM) behind the law says it follows an EU directive from 2018 aimed at unifying drone

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

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EDITORIAL

W

Annal inspection

HAT about a drilling device excited the President’s spokesman so much last week that he waxed poetic about the legacy his boss would leave behind?

Is it not, after all, the free flow of ideas—often in conflict with each other—that can move a democratic society forward?

“Presidents will come and go, but in the annals of Philippine history, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will be remembered for the renaissance of infrastructure,” the presidential spokesman Harry Roque crowed at the presentation of the first tunnel boring machine needed for the Metro Manila Subway, which will become the country’s first underground rail system when it is completed in 2026.

Perhaps feeling futuristic, Mr. Roque went even further, saying the President would also be remembered “for beating COVID-19” and for “all the social legislation that he so shepherded, including Universal Health Care and Free Tuition in State Colleges and Universities.”

Of course, the Palace spokesman could not resist taking a shot at the President’s “many critics” who “will not stop until they regain power.”

“Let today’s event be recorded in the annals of Philippine history as another first of the Duterte administration. And to his

critics, I have only this to say: Manigas kayong lahat (Drop dead),” he said.

Now, the construction of the country’s first subway system at a cost of P393 billion is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but does it truly signal a renaissance of infrastructure that was first promised when the President took office and launched his P8.4-trillion “Build, Build, Build” program?

Two-and-a-half years after that program was launched, the government revised its flagship projects as some of them ran into engineering or cost problems.

The new list consists of 100 infrastructure projects, only a little over half of which will be completed by the time Duterte steps down in 2022.

The new price tag is lower, at P4.3 trillion, and the list now contains several existing projects that were begun by

previous administrations.

Of course, in comparison with the immediate past administration, this still might be seen as a renaissance of sorts, if only a modest one.

What is completely immodest is Mr. Roque’s claim that the President will be remembered for beating COVID-19—surely an overly optimistic prediction amid the ongoing pandemic and as health authorities grapple with a more transmissible variant of the disease that has reached our shores, and as vaccination has yet to begin.

Will historians remember President Duterte for “beating COVID-19” or will they recall that troublesome Lowy Institute study that ranked the effectiveness of the Philippine response to the coronavirus pandemic at No. 79 out of 98 countries?

Finally, Mr. Roque says the President’s critics will not stop until they regain power as if there is something inherently wrong or evil about what is surely an integral part of a healthy, functioning democracy.

Is it not, after all, the free flow of ideas— often in conflict with each other—that can move a democratic society forward? That out of healthy debate will spring the best solutions to our country’s many problems?

And isn’t it the goal of all opposition groups to become, by virtue of elections, the next party in power? Why should they drop dead for that?

‘Independent Republic of Diliman’ Now I wouldn’t mind how many Party Branches and Groups operate inside UP, provided they’re a peaceable lot. Unfortunately, that same Party also runs the violent NPA. A provincial UP campus like Los Baños is not only a recruiting ground, but also provides R&R for the guerrillas and even sanctuary to shelter after military encounters. So if you think that the violent guerrillas and the “peaceful” activists don’t talk to each other, you must be smokin’ some mighty weed.

I’VE been through four UP graduations (from grade school to grad school).

Nonetheless, I’ve held off commenting on the controversy surrounding previous agreements by the authorities to, among other things, give prior notice to officials of the University of the Philippines before entering its campuses.

In part, it’s because I still can’t believe that the half-joking, half-boastful references to an “independent Diliman republic” that enlivened my immature years are now being taken with dead seriousness by succeeding generations whose sense of humor has been extinguished by their conceit.

It’s also because, the last time I checked, none of the UP campuses had decamped away from their locations solidly within Philippine borders. Nor, for that matter, are UP students and faculty giving back the huge government subsidies that make their stay possible, courtesy of the same taxpayers who also pay our soldiers and policemen to maintain peace and order and defend the Republic.

So, whence this overweening selfimportance? *** Some clues might be found in the position taken in UP’s defense by the Philippine Bar Association, an august lawyers’ group whose first president was no less than the late CJ Jose Abad Santos. To cite just two of their claims: The PBA says no evidence has been offered that UP is “a hotbed of CPP-NPA recruitment” other than “isolated incidents” of UP students joining these groups. But as a matter of fact, the evidence is mountainous, going all the way back to 1968 when Jose Maria Sison founded his Communist Party with a central committee, virtually all of whom were recruited from UP. rules across the bloc.

The ITM did not respond to questions sent

by AFP. According to Monika Richlach, a media and data protection lawyer, “press freedom in many cases outweighs the private sphere”.

“It’s a mistake that this is not reflected in the drone law,” she told AFP. ‘Stricter than China’ Other users including hobby and commercial drone pilots have also blasted the new rules, saying they go well beyond the EU guidelines.

The EU recommended a lower weight threshold for drone registration of 250 grammes (about nine ounces), but Hungary set this at 120 grammes, and has brought in mandatory pilot training and registration of all drones with cameras regardless of weight.

A permit from the authorities is also required 30 days before flying as well as permission from the owner of properties underneath a drone flight.

“It’s stricter than in China,” said Balazs

Whence this overweening self-importance?

The PBA also asks how one can voice dissent under pain of surveillance and detention. But the same might be said of any other citizen outside UP, and nobody today is complaining of being suppressed.

Why should the UP community feel entitled to some higher degree of solicitude? Why should our law enforcers put on an extra set of kid’s gloves for them? *** The answer to that question might be found in an online tirade I came across from one Atty. Eric Mallonga against the Anti-Terror Law (ATL), under which auspices the authorities sought to abrogate the UP agreements in the first place.

The good attorney accused the ATL of “encouraging UNEDUCATED… and IDIOTIC…police and military officers to derogate…JUS COGENS.” The latter pertains to laws that need not even be written down because they cover “horrendous crimes” such as “slavery, torture, genocide, death penalty on minors, and other crimes against humanity.” It’s obvious what kind of criminal this guy considers Duterte to be.

I looked up Mallonga and found his educational credentials impeccable: Ateneo, UP, even the University of London!

He obviously thinks this entitles him to look down on our men and women in uniform as a lower class of people. For all I know, he Kaplar, a photographer who returned home from China after 15 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“China requires a simple one-off registration, you put a QR code on the drone and off you fly,” he said.

According to Zoltan Helmeczi, manager of a shop in Budapest selling drones from Chinese brand DJI, few of Hungary’s estimated 10,000 drone users adhered to the previous looser rules.

“Regulation is needed, but this is too much,” said Helmeczi.

Customers including hobby drone pilots, videographers, and social media influencers helped his business grow quickly from its opening in 2018.

But first the pandemic and now the drone law have hit sales, says the 41-year-old.

“It is a technology of the future that should be encouraged not held back, but many people will be put off now,” he told AFP in his showroom, full of stock but empty of customers. AFP

might even dismiss my Harvard degree as a “second-rate, trying-hard copycat” from a mere former colony of the Brits.

This is the same kind of intellectual snobbery underlying the proposition that the business of teaching and learning is so God-almighty important that the academic freedom protecting it should also extend even to illegal activities on campus, and should take priority over less worthy pursuits like the unimpeded enforcement of the law.

Fortunately for us ordinary mortals, the Supreme Court seems inclined to take the reasonable view that they shouldn’t be dragged into a case where there isn’t even an actual crime to begin with. Even if they agree with Mallonga that an exception might be made for “self-evident crimes against humanity” like slavery and death penalty to minors, good luck to him with trying to prove that. *** In today’s Gospel (Mk 7: 1-13), the Pharisees and scribes—learned people all—take issue with Jesus’ disciples not washing their hands before eating— something that uneducated people might forget to do. Jesus rebukes them: “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!”

The rebuke reminds us that Jesus came into this world to remake it and everything in it—including religious law and tradition—after His own image and example. When in doubt about the choices we have to make, it’s simple enough for us to first ask: “What would Jesus have done?” Or more precisely, for Catholics in today’s disordered world: “What would Jesus, speaking through the Magisterium of the Church that He founded, have me do?”

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@ yahoo.com.

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Myanmar generals issue stern warning vs. protests HK internet radio host charged with ‘seditious’content A HONG Kong internet radio host was charged on Monday under a little-used colonial-era sedition law that authorities have begun to wield against Beijing’s critics.

Officers from the police’s national security department charged 52-year-old Wan Yiusing with four counts of “seditious intent,” according to a court document.

It is the second time the sedition law has been applied since Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China as police use an expanded suite of legal powers to pursue dissidents following huge and often violent democracy protests in 2019.

The charges stem from the content of four online radio shows Wan hosted last year.

According to the charge sheet, police accused Wan of trying to “bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments in his programmes as well as “excite inhabitants” to break the law.

The content of the allegedly seditious shows is not known. But Wan—better known by his DJ name “Giggs”—has hosted programmes discussing antigovernment demonstrations and calling for donations to support young Hong Kongers who have fled to nearby Taiwan.

Hong Kong’s sedition law is separate to a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the city last summer.

It dates back to the mid-19th century during British colonial rule.

The law remained on the books after the handover to China but was never used in a city that had enjoyed political freedoms unseen on the Chinese mainland.

But after 2019’s democracy protests, prosecutors dusted it off.

Last September, another pro-democracy radio host, Tam Tak-chi, became the first person to be charged with sedition since the handover.

He faces five counts of sedition and is currently in custody awaiting trial.

Tam’s upcoming trial will be a legal test for how sedition sits with the freedoms of speech supposedly guaranteed by Hong Kong’s mini-constitution and its bill of rights.

It will also be closely monitored by those concerned that Hong Kong’s place as a regional bastion of press freedom could be over.

Beijing’s national security law has begun peeling back many liberties.

It has quashed protests and effectively outlawed a host of peaceful political views, including advocating for independence, greater autonomy or full democracy in Hong Kong.

Wan was previously arrested on a national security charge last year, one of more than 100 dissidents investigated under the new powers since they came into force in June.

At the time, the police’s national security department said they suspected Wan had illegally processed funds to support people or organisations that advocate secessionist activities—a potential reference to donations for Hong Kongers in Taiwan.

He has yet to be charged with a national security offence. AFP

T

HE junta has so far refrained from using deadly force to quell the demonstrations sweeping most of the country, but with pressure building riot police fired water cannon in an attempt to disperse thousands gathered on a highway in Naypyidaw.

The military last week detained Suu Kyi and dozens of other members of her National League for Democracy party, ending a decade of civilian rule and triggering widespread international condemnation.

In the face of an increasingly bold wave of defiance rippling across the country, state broadcaster MRTV warned that opposition to the military takeover was unlawful and signalled a potential crackdown.

“Action must be taken according to the law with effective steps against offences which disturb, prevent and destroy the state’s stability, public safety and the rule of law,” said a statement read by an an-

nouncer on the channel.

Tens of thousands of people rallied over the weekend in the first major outpourings of opposition, and the movement built on Monday with bigger protests in key locations across the country, as well as the start of a nationwide strike.

In Yangon, the nation’s commercial capital, massive throngs spilt onto the city’s main roads, immobilising traffic across the city and dwarfing the previous day’s crowds.

“Down with military dictatorship” and “release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and arrested people”, the protesters chanted, flashing the three-finger salute that has come to sym-

bolise their movement as car horns were honked in support.

Calls for a nationwide strike had gathered momentum over the weekend, with textile workers, civil servants and railway employees walking off the job in the commercial hub.

“This is a work day, but we aren’t going to work even if our salary will be cut,” one protester, 28-year-old garment factory worker Hnin Thazin, told AFP. Construction worker Chit Min, 18, joined the Yangon rally saying his loyalty to Suu Kyi outweighed immediate concerns about his financial situation.

“I am jobless now for a week because of the military coup, and I am worried for my survival,” he told AFP. Similarly large crowds marched in Mandalay, the second-largest city and former seat of the country’s precolonial monarchy, many clutching photos of Suu Kyi and wav-

IN BRIEF Seoul launches COVID-19 test for cats, dogs and other pets

FACE-0FF. Protesters face off phalanx of riot police during a demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw on February 8, 2021. AFP

Huthi rebels resume offensive vs. Yemen gov’t YEMEN’S Iran-backed Huthi rebels have resumed an offensive to seize the government’s last northern stronghold of Marib, a government source said Monday, with dozens of casualties on both sides.

New clashes between pro-government forces—backed by a Saudi-led military coalition—and the rebels erupted after weeks of relative calm in the oil-rich and strategic region.

A government source told AFP that the Huthis had brought in reinforcements during that time.

“Fighting took place about 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Marib,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“At least 20 government fighters were killed and 28 others injured,” he said, adding that many rebels also died but no accurate count was available.

The Huthis have since 2014 held the capital Sanaa which lies just 120 kilometres (75 miles) away and are mounting a fierce campaign to take Marib.

In the past 24 hours, government forces repelled “five at-

tacks”, the source said, a day after three pro-government fighters were killed and four injured in a missile attack on their camp in Marib.

The US State Department said Friday it had formally notified Congress of its intention to revoke a terrorist designation against the rebels, which had been announced at the end of former president Donald Trump’s administration.

The delisting move came a day after Trump’s successor Joe Biden announced an end to US support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen.

Humanitarian groups were deeply opposed to the terrorist designation, saying it jeopardised their operations in a country where the majority of people rely on aid, and that they have no choice but to deal with the Huthis, who control much of the north.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a military coalition since 2015 to support the internationally recognised government in a war that the United Nations says has resulted in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. AFP

NOTICE OF DISOLUTION Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of MIRAGE RESOURCES & HOLDINGS CORPORATION. (hereinafter referred to as the “CORPORATION”) in a Meeting of the Board of Directors held on 16 June 2020, approved shortening of the term of the Corporation for which the Corporation is to exist to a period up to 31 December 2020, which resolution was duly ratified by the affirmative vote of the stockholders owning and representing at least two-thirds (2/3) of the outstanding capital stock of the CORPORATION at the stockholders’ meeting held on the same day.

By: The Board of Directors (SGD.) UY PATRICK KOK TIONG CHUA (SGD.) JOLLY L. TING (SGD.) PHILIP CUAZON (SGD.) BENNIE B. CUASON (SGD.) ONG LIAN KUAY REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) ) S.S. DIRECTORS’ CERTIFICATE WE, the undersigned members of the Board of Directors and the Corporate Secretary of MIRAGE RESOURCES & HOLDINGS CORPORATION, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines and currently under the process of dissolution, with registered address at Gloriamaris Shark’s Fin Restaurant, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City, do hereby certify: 1. The attached Articles of Incorporation is a true and correct copy of the Articles of Incorporation of MIRAGE RESOURCES & HOLDINGS CORPORATION as amended by at least a majority vote of its Board of Directors at a Meeting held on 16 June 2020 via teleconference, and duly ratified by the affirmative vote of the stockholders of the Corporation owning and representing at least 2/3 of the outstanding capital stock of the Corporation at the Stockholders’ Meeting held on the same day.

2. The Fourth Article of the Articles of Incorporation was amended in order to shorten the term for which the Corporation is to exist to a period up to 31 December 2020, as follows: “FOURTH: That the term for which the Corporation is to exist is until December 31, 2020”.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands this ___ day of ________ 2020, at ________________, Philippines.

(SGD.) UY PATRICK KOK TIONG CHUA (SGD.) JOLLY L. TING Chairman/Director President/Director TIN: 104-202-204 TIN:104-130-646 (SGD.) BENNIE B. CUASON Director TIN: 107-230-448

(SGD.) PHILIP CUAZON Asst. Trea./ Director TIN: 112-165-750

(SGD.) ONG LIAN KUAY Treasurer TIN: 132-424-438

Attested to by: (SGD.) RICHARD V. GARCIA .

Corporate Secretary TIN: 271-456-011 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE me this 15th day of January 2021 at San Juan City, affiants exhibiting to me the following: Name Gov’t Issued ID/Date and Place Issued Uy Patrick Kok Tiong Chua Driv. Lic No. N09-76-028752 with validity date 01/06/2022 Jolly Ting Passport# P0500417B with validity date 01/31/2029 Philip Cuazon OSCA#072224 issued date 12/1998 place issued Makati Bennie B. Cuazon Driv. Lic. No. N14-65-0011988 with validity date 01/22/2022 Ong Lian Kuay PSCA#01781 issued date 07/10/2012 place issued Quezon City Richard V. Garcia Driv. Lic. N03-07-025524 with validity date Dec. 7, 2023 Doc. No. 350 Page No. 71 Book No. XVM Series off 2020/2021

ing the red flags of her NLD party.

Police attempted to disperse thousands of people gathered on a highway in Naypyidaw, where Suu Kyi is believed to be detained.

Water cannon was fired into the crowd, injuring at least two demonstrators, according to a photographer on the scene.

Huge rallies were also reported across much of the country, from Muse on the Chinese border to the southern cities of Dawei and Hpa-an.

State of emergency Myanmar’s generals staged their putsch by detaining Suu Kyi, 75, and other top NLD leaders in pre-dawn raids.

The generals justified the coup by claiming fraud in last November’s elections, which the NLD won in a landslide.

The junta proclaimed a one-year state of emergency, and promised to hold fresh elections after that, without offering any precise timeframe. AFP

(SGD.) ATTY. VIRGINIA B. PINAROC Notary Public Pasig, San Juan, Pateros Until December 31, 2022 IBP Lifetime No. 016289 PTR No. 1474486, Jan. 4,2021,San Juan City MCLE No. 08 (2021-2022); TIN No. 100-112-489 No. 10 Eisenhower St., San Juan City

(MS-JAN. 26/ FEB. 2/9, 2021)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

DISINFECTION. In this file photo taken on August 13, 2018 Medical workers disinfect the coffin of a deceased unconfirmed Ebola patient inside an Ebola Treatment Centre run by The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) on August 13, 2018, in Beni. A woman died of the Ebola virus disease in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on February 7, 2021, Congolese Health Minister Eteni Longondo announced, noting the “resurgence” of the disease in the country. AFP

PET cats and dogs with a fever, cough or breathing difficulties will be offered coronavirus tests if they have been exposed to carriers, the Seoul metropolitan government said Monday.

The programme in the sprawling South Korean capital comes weeks after the country reported its first case of Covid-19 infection in an animal, involving a kitten.

“Starting today, the Seoul metropolitan government will offer coronavirus tests for pet dogs and cats,” Park Yoomi, a Seoul city official handling disease control, told reporters.

Tests will be limited to pets that show symptoms—including fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and runny noses —after coming into contact with humans who have tested positive, she added.

The test will be conducted near the animal’s home by a team of health workers including a veterinarian, Park said.

Animals that test positive will be required to be kept isolated at home for 14 days, but where owners have the virus their pets will be sent to separate kennels or catteries—human patients in South Korea are generally confined in central quarantine facilities if they do not need hospital treatment.

Around the world several animals—including dogs and cats—have tested positive for the coronavirus, which has killed more than two million people worldwide.

At least two gorillas at California’s San Diego Zoo tested positive for the virus last month, believed to have been transmitted from an asymptomatic zoo worker. AFP

18 dead, 200 missing after Indian glacier disaster EIGHTEEN people were confirmed dead on Monday and at least 200 others were missing after a devastating flash flood in India thought to have been caused by a chunk of glacier breaking off.

The resulting wall of water and debris barrelled down a tight valley in India’s Himalayan north on Sunday morning, destroying bridges, roads and hitting two hydroelectric power plants.

“There was a cloud of dust as the water went by. The ground shook like an earthquake,” local inhabitant Om Agarwal told Indian TV. The Uttarakhand state government said on Monday 18 bodies have been recovered, and chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said at least 200 people were still unaccounted for.

Most of those missing were working at the two power plants. Some were trapped in two tunnels cut off by the floods and by mud and rocks.

“If this incident happened in the evening, after work hours, the situation wouldn’t have been this bad as labourers and workers in and around the work sites would have been at home,” Rawat told reporters.

Twelve people were rescued from one of the tunnels on Sunday but 25-35 more were still trapped in the second one, state disaster relief official Piyoosh Rautela told AFP. With the main road washed away, paramilitary rescuers had to scale down a hillside on ropes to reach the entrance. Emergency workers were using heavy machinery to remove tonnes of rocks. AFP

Haitian opposition names judge as transitional president HAITIAN opposition parties named a top judge as interim leader overnight Sunday, the latest attempt to oust President Jovenel Moise, whose term they say has expired.

In a video statement sent to AFP, Judge Joseph Mecene Jean-Louis, 72, said he “accepted the choice of the opposition and civil society, to serve (his) country as interim president for the transition.”

Moise has been governing without any checks on his power for the past year and says he remains president until February 7, 2022— an interpretation of the constitution

rejected by the opposition, which has led to protests asserting his term has ended.

The political crisis intensified on Sunday, when authorities said they had foiled an attempt to murder Moise and overthrow the government.

But the opposition said Moise could not claim to have suffered a coup attempt because his presidential term had expired.

“We are waiting for Jovenel Moise to leave the National Palace (the president’s official residence) so that we can get on with installing Mr Mecene Jean-Louis,” opposition figure Andre

Michel told AFP. Former senator Youri Latortue said overnight Sunday that the transition period was expected to last around 24 months.

“There’s a two-year roadmap laid out, with the establishing of a national conference, the setting out of a new constitution and the holding of elections,” he said.

The dispute over when the president’s term ends stems from Moise’s original election: he was voted into office in a poll subsequently canceled after allegations of fraud, and then elected again a year later, in 2016. AFP

Business

B3

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Brent rises above $60 on expectations of recovery

PSEi February 8, 2021

TOP GAINERS 1 2

FEU PRMX

LAST PRICE 668 1.49

% CHANGE CHANGE 118 21.45% 0.18 13.74%

3

DWC

5

0.5

11.11%

4 5 6

IS PHN IPO

0.2 10.88 8.75

0.018 0.88 0.7

9.89% 8.80% 8.70%

7

SSP

1.59

0.11

7.43%

8 9 10

DITO LMG SLI

15.62 4.98 2.34

1.08 0.3 0.14

7.43% 6.41% 6.36%

BIGGEST HOLIDAY.

Passengers arrive at the Beijing West railway station in Beijing on February 8, 2021, ahead the biggest holiday of the year, the Lunar New Year, which ushers in the Year of the Ox on February 12. AFP

TOP LOSERS 1 2

SFIP CIP

LAST PRICE 1.5 149

% CHANGE CHANGE -0.24 -13.79% -21 -12.35%

3

MAB

0.01

-0.001

-9.09%

4 5 6

MA MG AR

0.01 0.41 0.0053

-0.001 -0.04 -0.0005

-9.09% -8.89% -8.62%

7 8 9 10

UPM KPH SOC LSC

0.011 5.25 0.77 1

-0.001 -0.43 -0.04 -0.05

-8.33% -7.57% -4.94% -4.76%

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

DITO ACEN CNVRG APL EAGLE AR MM BSC ALI BDO

VOLUME 57992900 21139700 8478300 418520000 6266700 11877000000 9156600 50890000 1278500 442770

VALUE (PHP) 881771890.00 156623215.00 148695722.00 84976560.00 83983460.00 63513300.00 63464959.00 55297790.00 50988220.00 48055417.00

US transit systems seeking light at end of pandemic tunnel WASHINGTON―It’s rush hour Tuesday morning on the Washington Metro. A rail car, which a year ago would have been packed with seated and standing commuters, has just four passengers.

Ridership in the US capital’s Metro system in December was down 85.5 percent compared with a year earlier.

And the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority sees little recovery in the coming two years, projecting just one-third of pre-pandemic usage.

To adapt, WMATA proposed a doomsday scenario of cutting rail service frequency to every 30 minutes, closing stations, limiting buses and laying off employees. For the moment that plan is on hold.

The dire situation is echoed in transit systems across the United States, amid a pandemic which has kept many people working from home or traveling by other means.

The pandemic “has taken a huge toll on the budgets of the transit agencies,” said Paul Skoutelas, president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), noting that some systems have seen ridership collapse by as much as 90 percent.

“Certainly the largest cities get the biggest attention because of how large their transit networks are and the number of people they carry,” Skoutelas said.

“But it’s really throughout the country, and it’s agencies and cities of all sizes.”

APTA said ridership fell an average of 76 percent from pre-pandemic levels in mid-2020, presenting a crisis for the sector seen as an important part of the economy in cities that need mass transport to shuttle residents and reduce traffic pollution.

The situation presents a huge dilemma for policymakers.

In cities like Washington, downtown business districts are largely abandoned. Across the US, about 17 million people are receiving unemployment insurance. AFP

Stock market up slightly; DITO, AC Energy advance T HE stock market virtually closed flat Monday, as investors weighed rising inflation and the possible move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on policy rates in a meeting later this week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 5.30 points, or 0.08 percent, to 7,024.48 on a value turnover of just P2.8 billion. Losers edged gainers, 98 to 93, with 38 issues unchanged.

DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major mobile phone company, advanced 7.4 percent to P15.62, while Nickel Asia Corp., the biggest nickel miner, climbed 6 percent to P5.67.

AC Energy Corp., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., rose 3.6 percent to P7.48, while Converge Information And Communications Technology Solutions Inc., a fiber internet service provider,

gained 3.4 percent at P17.78.

Meanwhile, hopes that US lawmakers would pass President Joe Biden’s huge stimulus package helped push Asian markets higher again Monday, while Brent oil broke $60 as traders were also cheered by falling coronavirus infection rates and vaccine rollouts.

After a rout at the end of January, the global rally across equities appeared to be back on track, despite concerns that valuations may have become a little too frothy.

A well-below-forecast jobs report out of the United States ramped up expectations that Congress would pass Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending bill in the next few weeks.

Figures showed the economy created less than half the jobs than expected last month, which analysts said reinforced the need for a new, big rescue package to go alongside the Federal Reserve’s ultra-loose monetary policy.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Sunday that the US job market was “stalling” and might not recover

for years without support. But she told CNN that if the spending package was passed, “we would get back to full employment next year.”

Axi strategist Stephen Innes said: “The US January employment report is nearly perfect from a market point of view as it will justify full-throttle stimulus from both monetary and fiscal concerns.

“For President Biden in particular, payrolls make quite a big difference, providing the justification he needs to go full steam ahead towards $1.9 trillion. Unquestionably... there will be a growing belief that he could get relatively close to that number through reconciliation.”

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended on a positive note, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 clocking up new records, and Asia followed suit to extend last week’s strong gains.

Tokyo led the advance, putting on more than two percent to sit at levels not seen in three decades, while Shanghai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Jakarta all climbed around one percent. With AFP

SoftBank says net profit soared to $11.1b in Q3

In this file photograph taken on June 12, 2020, a customer (left) takes a photograph of a waiter at the terrace of the 18th Century Cafe Florian in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, which re-opened after being closed for three months during the country’s lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection. AFP

Venice still magical as tourist-free carnival kicks off

By Brigitte Hagemann VENICE, Italy―Sumptuously-dressed couples promenaded around St Mark’s Square in the swirling fog as Venice kicked off its celebrated carnival this weekend―without the usual crowds of tourists, absent due to the pandemic.

“It’s totally surreal,” said 47-year-old carnival-goer Chiara Ragazzon, an office worker.

“What hits me most is the silence.

You’ve always been able to hear music during the carnival, people having fun.

But Venice in the fog―it’s still a magical place.”

Ragazzon and her husband had ventured into Venice from their home around 50 kilometers (30 miles) away.

Italy relaxed its coronavirus restrictions on Monday, allowing greater freedoms in most regions.

Venice is among the areas now under a lower-risk “yellow” category―but residents are still not allowed to travel outside the region.

A short walk from St Mark’s Square, Hamid Seddighi, dressed in paintsplattered overalls, was making a carnival mask in his workshop, moulding and smoothing it with delicate precision.

HONG KONG, China—Brent oil prices Monday shot past $60 a barrel for the first time in more than a year Monday with investors growing increasingly optimistic about demand as the global economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

The commodity climbed 1.26 percent to $60.19 a barrel—its highest since January last year—as asset markets rallied on the back of vaccine rollouts, slowing virus infections and hopes that President Joe Biden’s huge stimulus proposal will be passed by US lawmakers.

Crude has been on the rise for weeks as Biden pushes his $1.9-trillion rescue package, which includes big cash handouts and a hike in the minimum wage.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that if the spending package was passed in its entirety, “we would get back to full employment next year.”

Adding to the upbeat mood is data showing new infection rates, with last week seeing the lowest since October, while governments begin to get to grips with inoculations. Hopes for the long-term outlook overshadowed figures showing a rise in US inventories.

“Oil traders ignore the sidelines’ spare capacity and continue to take an optimistic view of the US reopening narrative as vaccination protocols should continue to flatten the curve and with the gale-force stimulus tailwinds supporting a spring break reopening, (it’s) providing rocket-fueled optimism for the oil market,” said Axi strategist Stephen Innes.

“WTI and Brent crude oil hit their highest levels since February last year on continued worries about supply coupled with a belief the world economy is going to improve this year, and therefore demand for oil will rise,” said David Madden at CMC Markets UK. AFP

His store, Ca’ de Sol, sells masks made from papier mache, lace and iron, bedecked with Swarovski crystals.

But his creations have been piling up without takers.

The pandemic has pushed his revenues down 70 percent―mainly due to the lack of foreign tourists, his main clientele.

“It was love at first sight for me and these masks,” said the 63-year-old, who moved to Italy from Iran.

“I’ve been making them for 35 years.

But it’s tragic―I have only sold two for the carnival.”

Venice for the Venetians?

Pre-pandemic, the carnival brought some 70 million euros ($84 million) to Venice’s coffers, according to City Hall, with more than half a million tourists flooding in.

The local artisans’ association has launched a discount campaign to encourage residents to take part in this year’s festivities in the absence of foreign visitors.

“Venice carnival―masked... and with masks,” runs their slogan, a nod to the ubiquity of face-coverings both festive and protective.

Despite the gloom, the association’s director Gianni De Checchi sees an op-

portunity for residents to reclaim a city where over tourism has brought with it a slew of negative effects, from pollution to rocketing rents.

“It’s an opportunity for Venetians to re-appropriate and rediscover their town,” he said.

“For the past 25 years, mass tourism has unravelled the socio-economic fabric of central Venice. And in a way, it has led the carnival astray.”

‘Fun in the middle of COVID’ Venice authorities were forced to cut short last year’s carnival when the pandemic took hold. This year it is moving some of the celebrations online, with videos showing Venetians in full carnival regalia.

“It’s a way of reinvigorating the ties which bind us to the millions of people who love Venice,” said Simone Venturini, deputy mayor for tourism.

A stately dance on the Rialto bridge, performed by a group of carnival-lovers in baroque costumes, is among the scenes that have been filmed.

“We wanted to show that Venice is not a dead city―that we can have fun even in the middle of COVID,” said one of the dancers, Armando Bala, decked out in a red velvet frock coat and a curled white wig. AFP

TOKYO, Japan―SoftBank Group on Monday said net profit rocketed to $11.1 billion in the third quarter as stock rallies and asset sales helped it solidify its recovery.

Net profit for October-December hit 1,171.9 billion yen, more than 21 times higher than the 55.0 billion yen reported a year earlier, the conglomerate said.

Despite the results, it said it would not provide “forecasts of consolidated results of operations as they are difficult to project due to numerous uncertainties affecting earnings.”

But the economic crisis that has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic has worked largely in SoftBank’s favor, with rallies in tech stocks it owns and rising valuations for firms in its portfolio suited to the era, including food delivery.

SoftBank reported a nearly $9-billion net loss in the previous full fiscal year, but has quickly returned to the black.

Founder Masayoshi Son, who has transformed the telecoms company into an investment and tech behemoth, has battled critics of his commitment to sometimes-troubled start-ups, and brushed aside doubts over a massive asset sale program.

SoftBank has stakes in some of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups through its $100-billion Vision Fund.

And Son has consistently backed the firm’s worth, insisting its stock has been undervalued and its fundamentals remain strong despite wobbles including over office-sharing start-up WeWork.

Government stimulus designed to combat the economic effects of the pandemic have helped bolster stock markets, to SoftBank’s benefit, said Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

The firm and its SoftBank Vision Fund “took full advantage of monetary easing,” he told AFP before the results were released. AFP

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

B4

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

IN BRIEF

SMC rationalizes Monterey business

SAN Miguel Corp.’s food unit San Miguel Foods plans to transfer its nationwide hog inventory and facilities to local raisers to allow them to supply the requirements of their respective regions and help strengthen biosecurity practices among smallholder farmers.

“We want to provide our local piggery businesses a chance to thrive in these trying times, and encourage more smallholder farmers to grow this industry locally and responsibly,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang. The conglomerate said that as bans on the transportation of pork and pork products remained in place across the country because of the African Swine Fever, Monterey, a national player, found the situation challenging, which made it decide to shift gears and transfer inventories to local raisers.

“This is one way to stabilize the supply of affordable pork in the country. More importantly, it will help boost the local hog raising industry. They can run this business at a lower cost, making it more sustainable. This also opens the doors for more Filipinos to become agri-entrepreneurs,” Ang said.

Citicore to provide solar power in AFAB

Business

Local airline industry loses P60 billion amid pandemic

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Airline Carriers Association of the Philippines said Monday losses of the local airline industry last year likely reached P60 billion amid the pandemic.

ACAP executive director and vice president Roberto Lim said travel traffic in 2020 was just 16 percent of preCOVID level in 2019 while cargo traffic was not enough to offset the losses.

“The industry suffered P47-billion loss as of September 2020. If we extrapolate this, it could easily reach P60 billion as of end-December. These are just local carriers,” Lim said during the virtual forum “Tapatan sa Aristocrat.”

He said cargo traffic was also 33 percent of the 2019 level for AirAsia, Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines.

Lim said neighboring countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand

CITICORE Power Inc. said Monday it will provide clean and reliable energy to locators inside the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan in Mariveles, Bataan.

AFAB teamed up with Citicore to develop a solar rooftop project with total capacity of 6.64 megawatts that can generate electricity of 6,554 gigawatt-hours annually.

The solar panels will be installed across 14 buildings inside AFAB which is now investing in energy efficient buildings by harnessing the power of the sun as an alternative solution to maintain a sustainable environment.

“We are happy to welcome AFAB to our solar family and joining us in pushing Philippine’s goal of attaining solar revolution,” Citicore president Oliver Tan said in a statement.

The solar project will have an equivalent of more than 9,000 tons of carbon footprint reduction yearly. The installation is part of the overall sustainability strategy of AFAB. Alena Mae S. Flores

FINANCIAL EDUCATION. The Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BDO Foundation and the Fish Right Program of the US Agency for International Development launch a partnership on the financial education of fishers across the country. Signing the agreement for financial education of fisherfolks are (top, from left) Agriculture Secretary William Dar, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito (bottom, from left)) PATH Foundation Philippines Inc. president and chairman Dr. Angel Alcala and Silliman University president Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann.

Globe Telecom erects 39 new cell columns

GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Monday it installed 39 new cell towers in underserved areas in Mindanao, North Luzon, South Luzon and the Visayas.

The newly-installed cell towers in 23 provinces and one city will further improve the call, SMS and data experience of more than 100,000 Globe customers as demand for connectivity continues to rise especially in areas where many households depend on the internet for work from home and distance learning requirements, it said.

“This is just the start because Globe recognizes the value of connectivity as the rest of the country continues to cope with the demands of the new normal. Our aggressive network builds and investments in areas that matter to us, where our customers need the service they deserve, will continue in 2021,” said Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program delivery.

“Our rollouts in previously underserved areas will set the stage for more builds as we reach out to more far-flung areas in the country,” he said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

bounced back to 40 percent to 70 percent of traffic. He said the Philippines should observe and adopt what these countries did to recover from losses caused by the pandemic in order to rebound to 40 percent to 50 percent of the pre-pandemic level.

“Even at 40 percent, which is already a challenge, there are many factors at play to reach this much—confidence on the vaccine, confidence of passengers on the airline and confidence on the LGUs,” he said.

An industry position paper submitted to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases recom-

mended a unified, single category of travelers that would render the travel processes simple for carriers.

The ISTF has four classification of travelers, all with different set of protocols—authorized persons outside the Philippines, locally-stranded individual, returning overseas Filipinos and tourists.

“Why do we have four categories of travelers in the domestic scene? There should only be one and this will make the regulations simple. It is also easier for the airline to deal with one type of domestic travel. We are dealing within the territory of the Philippines, and not the requirements of a foreign country,” Lim said.

He said travelers were confused on how to deal with so many requirements and protocols.

Lim said that despite the challenges, the three major carriers would be strong enough to withstand the challenges until 2021.

Meralco announces electricity rate reduction in February

By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER rates will decrease P0.0704 per kilowatt-hour in February, translating into a P14 reduction in the monthly bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh, Manila Electric Co. said Monday.

Meralco said power rates declined to P8.6793 per kWh in February from P8.7497 per kWh in January. It was also P0.1830 per kWh lower than the February 2020 rate of P8.8623 per kWh. “The main driver of this reduction is mainly the generation cost,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

The February generation charge

amounted to P4.4152 per kWh, or P0.0422 lower than the January generation charge of P4.4574 per kWh. Meralco said this month’s generation charge was also lower than last year’s rate of P4.5090 per kWh. “The reduction in generation charge this month is due to lower fixed charges from the power supply agreements,” Zaldarriaga said.

Charges from Meralco’s independent power producers rose P0.2103 per kWh on lower average plant dispatch, higher Malampaya natural gas prices because of the quarterly repricing and the peso depreciation against the US dollar.

Meralco said rates from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity, also increased by P0.9577 per kWh because of higher average plant capacity on outage in the Luzon grid.

Meralco sourced a bulk of its power requirements from PSAs amounting to 53.4 percent, IPPs at 39.5 percent and the WESM at 7.1 percent.

Meralco said the February rate includes the adjustments in the company’s pass-through over/under-recoveries for the period January 2017 to December 2019 as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

BSP expected to keep interest rates at record low in Thursday’s meeting

By Julito G. Rada THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is expected to keep the policy rate at record low 2 percent in its first meeting for the year Thursday as it keeps an eye on the impact of its 200-basis-point cut in interest rate last year, a financial intelligence company said Monday.

“The Philippines’ central bank is expected to keep its key policy rate unchanged at 2 percent at its February meeting. A surprise 25-basis point rate cut was announced in November 2020, as the economy grappled with the demand shock from the intense COVID-19 outbreak and natural calamities that hit the economy,” Moody’s Analytics, which operates independently of the Moody’s Investors Service credit rating agency, said in a report.

It said the health crisis worsened since then. The economy contracted by 9.5 percent in 2020, the worst since the government started collecting GDP data in 1946.

“But with rate cuts worth 200 basis points and a liquidity injection already delivered, the central bank has limited options but to wait for the returns from

expansionary monetary policy to materialize in 2021, once local restrictions are fully relaxed,” Moody’s Analytics said.

Inflation in January accelerated to a two-year high of 4.2 percent from 3.5 percent in December 2020 because of the uptick in food prices and transport costs, breaching in the process the 2 percent to 4 percent inflation target band set by the BSP for the year.

The January print was faster than 2.9 percent a year ago. It was also the fastest inflation rate in two years since it hit 4.4 percent in January 2019.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said despite the uptick in consumer prices, it was still consistent with the BSP’s assessment of a transitory increase in inflation in the first half.

He said the average inflation would likely settle within the 2 percent to 4 percent target range over the policy horizon. He said the uptrend in inflation was “temporary”.

“The Monetary Board will consider recent price developments, particularly in global commodity markets, along with the fourth-quarter 2020 GDP outturn in its assessment of the monetary policy stance in its meeting on Feb. 11, 2020,” Diokno said.

PSE INDEX

Monday, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

5.30 PTS. 7,024.48

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

13,794,477,841 52,067 2,799,412,800.27 93 98 38

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.0900

Japan

Yen

0.009494

0.4566

UK

Pound

1.372200

65.9891

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128994

6.2033

Switzerland

Franc

1.112223

53.4868

Canada

Dollar

0.784068

37.7058

Singapore

Dollar

0.749513

36.0441

Australia

Dollar

0.766800

36.8754

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653012

127.5833

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266603

12.8209

Brunei

Dollar

0.746714

35.9095

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.033267

1.5998

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

13.0932

Euro

Euro

1.204000

57.9004

Korea

Won

0.000895

0.0430

China

Yuan

0.154646

7.4369

India

Rupee

0.013734

0.6605

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.245821

11.8215

New Zealand

Dollar

0.718700

34.5623

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035735

1.7185 Source: BSP

Fruitas goes into bakery business, plans to initially open five stores

By Jenniffer B. Austria FRUITAS Holdings Inc., the country’s leading food and beverage kiosk operator, is venturing into the bakery business.

Fruitas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monday it plans to initially open five stand-alone Babot’s Panaderya stores that will offer freshly baked pandesal and other bread products.

“Pan de sal is a staple in Filipinos’ daily diet. Our entry into the bakery business is a natural step to achieve our vision of having every Filipino household consume at least one Fruitas product every day. At the same time, freshly baked bread is a perfect addition to our community stores,” Fruitas president and chief executive Lester Yu said.

Fruitas decided to enter the bakery business to serve the demand of customers for freshly baked bread, he said.

The group said the local bread market could be worth P200 billion yearly. Data showed bread sales increased 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020 at the height of the lockdown.

Fruitas bread products will initially become available to consumers through community stores, CocoDelivery and soon through Babot’s Panaderya.

The company said it would also explore the sale of bread products in some of its kiosks and selected institutional customers.

Fruitas is leveraging off the baking expertise and capacity of Negril Trading Inc., which houses its De Original Jamaican Pattie brand.

The company said it would have minimum capital expenditure for this latest venture. It is building on its track record of providing Filipinos fresh and high-quality alternatives for fruit juices, soy-based products, ice cream and milk.

The company began adjusting to the realities of the distribution challenges in March 2020 brought by the pandemic and subsequent quarantines with the purchase of CocoDelivery.

Fruitas targets to double to store network to 2,000 through aggressive store rollout and acquisitions over the next five years.

SIKA ENDORSER.

Sika Philippines, manufacturer of construction materials such as waterproofing, sealants, building finishing, flooring, concrete repair and refurbishment solutions signs legendary basketball player Alvin Patrimonio (left) as the 2021 full Sika brand ambassador for brands like Parex, Lanko, Davco and Sika. Sika general manager Christophe Lejeune and Patrimonio hold a remote signing of the contract to seal the deal.

Salceda asks gov’t to focus on ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ against ‘stagflation’ ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Monday the government should speed up its agriculture program, particularly ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ and release special cash aid to farmers, hog raisers and livestock producers to counter “stagflation” that threatens the country.

Salceda, who was among the first to warn of the possible crisis early this year, said the country “is not there yet” but advised government to act fast using the “inflation tool kit” to save the economy.

Stagflation or stagnant economic output and rising inflation can be avoided

with quick but right government actions focused on the agriculture sector, the lawmaker said. He said there is a need to move fast on the vaccine rollout to hasten economic recovery.

“I don’t think we’re in a stagflation just yet. You have to remember that low growth in the country is not due to some cyclical reasons or some commodity shock, but because of COVID-19 alone.

We have to accelerate the vaccine rollout for sure so we can return to more normal levels of output,” he said.

“With the economy still in recession and millions of Filipinos still looking for jobs, the recent spike in inflation in Janu-

ary sounded off an alarm for a possible stagflation,” Salceda said.

Stagflation involves both stagnation [economic contraction and unemployment] and inflation. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported a 9.5-percent gross domestic product contraction in 2020 and 4.2 percent inflation in January, up from 3.5 percent in December.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas set an inflation target of 2 percent to 4 percent for 2021 to 2022, but economists said a relative price shock in an important sector, such as food, could spill over to other sectors and become a problem of general inflation.

Bucs upset error-prone Chiefs in Super Bowl TAMPA—Tom Brady sealed his place in the pantheon of America’s greatest sporting icons on Sunday, winning a record seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the error-strewn Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.

The 43-year-old Brady—who became the oldest man to play in the Super Bowl —etched another remarkable chapter in his 21-year career as the Buccaneers shattered the Chiefs’ dreams of back-to-back NFL championships.

Brady - who only joined the Buccaneers last year after two decades with the New England Patriots, delivered a vintage display with three touchdowns —21 from 29 completions and no interceptions at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.

“I’m so proud of all these guys,” said Brady, named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player for the fifth time.

“Everything we dealt with all year ... but the team had a lot of confidence, we came together at the right time,” added Brady, who confirmed he plans to extend his career next season.

“We’re coming back. You know that,” Brady said.

It was a miserable night for the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, seen by many as the likeliest pretender to Brady’s throne.

Mahomes, 25, was roughed up repeatedly by a relentless Buccaneers defense, sacked three times and intercepted twice, and failed to register a touchdown as the Chiefs’ vaunted offense failed to fire.

Instead the night belonged to the Buccaneers and Brady, who added another incredible feat to his extensive catalogue of achievements by leading his new franchise to the Vince Lombardi trophy after a tumultuous season played under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m not putting any comparisons,” Brady said when asked to rank his achievement.

“Being down here and experiencing it with this group of guys is amazing. This team is world champions forever and you can’t take it away from us.”

Chiefs pay penalty The expected Super Bowl classic never materialised in front of a reduced capacity crowd of 25,000 fans that included 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers invited as guests by the NFL. The Buccaneers raced into a 21-6 first half lead with two touchdowns from Brady’s old Patriots team-mate Rob Gronkwowski and a third from Antonio Brown.

Running back Leonard Fournette rushed for a fourth early in the third quarter as the Bucs comfortably closed out a win that saw head coach Bruce Arians become the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl.

“This really belongs to our coaching staff and our players,” Arians said afterwards.

“You guys won this thing. You came together as band of brothers and made this happen.”

The Chiefs were left to rue a disastrously indisciplined first half display that saw them give up repeated penalties that cost 95 yards.

The Chiefs were never in the game after taking the lead with a 49-yard Harrison Butker field goal, with the Bucs defense pressuring Mahomes from the outset.

The Buccaneers sparked into life on their third drive as Brady cleverly began varying play, using Fournette to pick up a quick first down before hitting receiver Brown for a 16-yard gain.

A further long gain from Cameron Brate and a Fournette rush put the Buccaneers deep in Chiefs territory, and Brady picked out an unmarked Gronkowski to put the Bucs 7-3 up after Ryan Succop’s extra point.

After another Chiefs punt, the Bucs were soon back threatening the red zone. This time however Kansas City pulled off a huge goal-line stand to deny running back Ronald Jones from one yard. AFP

Sports

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

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Ryan Jensen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with his child after his team defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9. AFP

It’s final: World volleyball body gives nod to PNVFI

T

HE Philippines is officially back in the good graces of the International Volleyball Federation after its members unanimously voted for the affiliation of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Inc. late Sunday evening.

A total of 155 national federations out of a possible 190 votes approved the FIVB’s recognition of the PNVFI during the third and last day of the international federation’s world congress that was conducted online.

The FIVB also sought its members’ votes on the PNVFI’s elections last January 25 that was managed by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

“Do you recognize the elections of the PNVFI last January 25?” the FIVB asked its members. The result was 151 yes, five no, 16 abstained and 18 said they did not receive the question.

In the same agendum, the FIVB also asked the house’s decision on the expulsion of the Philippine Volleyball Federation as an affiliate of the IF and got 138 yes votes, 16 no votes, 15 abstain and 22 did not receive the question.

“The entire PNVF Board wishes to thank the FIVB and all the confederations for the overwhelming support during the 37th Congress,” PNVFI president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said. “We now proudly banner the honor and the responsibility of being affiliated to both the international federation and the Asian Volleyball Confederation.”

Suzara thanked FIVB President Dr. Ary Graça and AVC President Rita Subowo for the inspiring quality of leadership.

“Thank you to POC President Bambol Tolentino and Secretary General Edwin Gastanes for initiating an inclusive and unifying approach to the elections,” Suzara added. “Now, our work begins to fulfil our singular commitment to all stakeholders. At PNVF, we serve volleyball.”

Besides Suzara, the other officials of the PNVFI are Arnel Hajan (vice president), Ariel Paredes (chairman) Donaldo Caringal (secretary general), Rod Roque (treasurer), Yul Benosa (auditor) and board members Ricky Palou, Tony Boy Liao, Karl Chan, Charo Soriano, Carmela Gamboa, Fr. Vic Calvo and Atty. Wharton Chan.

Catalan explains importance of self-defense FORMER ONE World Title challenger and wushu champion Rene “The Challenger” Catalan of the Philippines is considered one of the pillars of modern-day Filipino mixed martial arts.

The 42-year-old veteran has been around the block and then some, having started martial arts at a very young age.

Catalan has been practicing martial arts all his life. Today, he’s one of ONE Championship’s most talented strawweight competitors.

He knows exactly how important a role martial arts plays in our society, especially for self-defense purposes. In this day and age, Catalan says the knowledge of self-defense is something everyone should have, and he encourages people to take up martial arts to learn.

“Well I think martial arts is really a great thing to learn not just for self-defense, but first and foremost, to lead a healthier lifestyle.

It’s also self-defense, against disease and sickness, because your immune system is fortified,” said Catalan, highlighting martial arts fitness as a great way to become a healthier person.

“But yes, martial arts empowers you with the knowledge of self-defense, which allows you to protect yourself and those around you from physical threat.”

Catalan iterates how important martial arts is, especially for women, in today’s society that often poses many dangers for those who don’t have the ability to protect themselves from physical attacks.

“Self-defense is basic knowledge everyone should have access to. You should be able to protect yourself when needed. It’s your responsibility. You have the power to change your situation. You have the power to fight for your life. In these times, I can’t stress enough how important that is, especially for women who are often the target of attacks,” said Catalan.

“Martial arts teaches you how to end conflict quickly and effectively, doing so with very minimal damage to all parties involved. It can bring a fast and decisive end to any volatile situation.”

However, Catalan stresses that having hand-to-hand com-

Catalan

bat skills also comes with a huge responsibility not to use that knowledge with the wrong agenda. “The Challenger” says that every martial artist should be humble enough to know the power they possess.

Catantan shows worth for Penn State

By Peter Atencio FILIPINA recruit Samantha Catantan and the Penn State women’s fencing team won two duals and dropped one team match yesterday (Sunday in the United States) on Day 2 of the Ohio State Invitational.

The Nittany Lions, who are the defending champions in the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1, came up with two victories over Ohio State and Northwestern, while their loss came at the hands of Notre Dame.

On the other hand, Penn’s men’s squad ended the day empty handed, dropping their duals with Notre Dame and Ohio State, according to results released on the University’s official website.

The Penn State women’s team first got past rival Ohio State, 16-11, behind performances from Ukraine bet Kateryna Chorniy and Axelle Wasiak, who is from Belgium.

The 18-year-old Catantan, who won a bronze medal in the recent 30th Southeast Asian Games, was fielded in against Northwestern in the 12th round, and the Nittany Lions went on to pick up their second win of the day.

Catantan, who is from Quezon City, swept her three encounters for a 3-0 record.

She backed up Chorniy and Wasiak, who came up with back-to-back sweeps, for 3-0 slates each.

At the end of the two-day invitational, the Penn State men’s team’s record was 2-3 and the women’s slate was 4-2.

The Nittany Lions return to action on February 21 when they go to Philadelphia for another dual meet series hosted by Temple University.

Catantan got off to great start in her stint with Penn State University women’s fencing team, debuting with a 7-2 win-loss record in her debut in the women’s foil event.

Catantan’s teammate, Lodovica Bicego, who is from Vicenza, Italy, was also impressive with her 3-0 performance against North Carolina.

Catantan’s win contributed to the Nittany Lions’ 15-12 beating of Duke and their 15-12 triumph over North Carolina, 19-8.

Their only loss of the day also came in Round 1 against Notre Dame, 7-20.

Catantan left for the United States last December to accept a scholarship with Penn State, which was offered to her in 2019.

Top prospect Malonzo sees a bit of himself in Norwood, Wright

By Rey Joble

Jamie Malonzo

SEEING himself in versatile, athletic player Gabe Norwood and streak shooter Matthew Wright would certainly put Jamie Malonzo in a better position in the coming PBA Rookie Draft.

Like Norwood, a two-time PBA champion, a former slam dunk champion, a many-time All-Star and a national team member many times before, Malonzo also possesses some of the physique and qualities of the PBA veteran star.

“He’s of my similar body type, so I see a little bit of me in him. He likes to dunk as well.

So, I definitely see some of my game in him,” Malonzo said.

Malonzo plays the big guard, small forward

and power forward positions and at 6’6”, his size and athleticism would certainly give him an edge among the PBA Rookie Draft hopefuls.

He had a solid run playing for La Salle during the team’s one-and-done season in 2019 and his exposure in the PBA D-League with Marinerong Pilipino and Mighty Sports team in the Dubai International Tournament gave him a taste of what Philippine basketball is all about.

But it’s not just the size and athleticism that makes Malonzo a logical choice for a team looking for a game changer as he also had a decent shot from the perimeter. It’s not surprising why he picked Wright as one of those PBA stars whom he can pattern his game after.

“I definitely like Matthew Wright’s style of play.

He’s definitely a shooter. It’s something I’m taking

pride as well, being able to shoot the basketball,” he added.

On March 14, Malonzo’s name is expected to be called early in the Draft as any among Terrafirma Dyip, NorthPort and NLEX, teams which will have the first three picks in the first round, are likely to select this versatile, athletic player and make him a part of the team’s future.

Malonzo is excited on Draft Day and although he’s still in the US continuously working his game through personal training, he can’t wait on the prospect of his name being called up early.

“All of these, the top (PBA) pick ideas and UAAP, stuff we talked about are about more than a year now, the top pick is in the works right now and I’m excited it’s finally coming,” he added.

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Sports

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

Mitchell lifts league-leading Jazz over Pacers, 103-95

Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz attempts to block Aaron Holiday of the Indiana Pacers as he dribbles down the court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. AFP

Japan pledges safe Olympics

T

OKYO—Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he’d probably support a cancellation.

“Even without the coronavirus pandemic, the Olympics as a mass gathering fosters all sorts of infectious diseases,” Hamada, a professor at Tokyo Medical University, told AFP. With less than six months until the pandemic-postponed Games, organizers say they’re confident the event will be safe.

But some medical experts aren’t so sure, and think cancellation is safer.

“I do understand the athletes’ sentiments,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain’s University of Southampton.

“But I think from... the global public health point of view, there’s nothing about the Olympics that makes any sense whatsoever right now.”

Olympic officials have started outlining virus safety measures, from pre-arrival health monitoring to regular testing in Japan, and limitations on how long athletes will stay at the Olympic Village.

“It is the mantra of all of us—the Games

have to be safe,” Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi said last week.

Organizers point to the success of other sports events during the pandemic, but experts note the Games will be on an entirely different scale.

The numbers are formidable: 26,000 beds in the Olympic Village alone, around 12,000 accredited media, and participants from around 200 countries.

“Even if they’ve been vaccinated, there may be certain variants that have certain resistance to the vaccine,” warned Head.

“Mixing of people from so many different countries will simply accelerate the likelihood of new variants emerging.”

Foreign fans ‘inconceivable’ Hassan Vally, an associate professor of public health at Australia’s La Trobe University, said he was sure “that anything that can be done to reduce the risk is being done.”

“But you can’t reduce the risk completely,” said Vally, who has worked on

virus policy.

“If you have your public health lens on, this is doing everything that we don’t want to be doing right now.”

Organizers are waiting until spring to make some key decisions, including whether to limit or bar spectators from events—something health experts consider necessary.

“It is inconceivable to let spectators in from all around the world,” Hamada said, adding that having any spectators would involve “significant risks.”

Head said organizers should be reducing the number of people involved with the Games to the absolute minimum.

“It wouldn’t eliminate the risk, but it would reduce it,” he said.

The global rollout of virus vaccines has raised hopes for the Games, with some countries saying they plan to vaccinate athletes before the summer.

Japan and the International Olympic Committee have not made vaccination a precondition for Olympic participation.

Public health expert Koji Wada warned it was unlikely all the athletes and the Japanese public will be vaccinated before the Games.

“Vaccines are a tool to protect yourself, not others,” added Wada, a professor at

the International University of Health and Welfare in Otawara who has advised Japan’s government on the pandemic.

“You should not look to the vaccines as an answer to this.”

‘Concrete plans’ He advised organizers to consider whether some contact sports might be too risky in a pandemic.

“Maybe surfing and table tennis are okay. But judo seems difficult.”

But others see ways the Games can work in its full capacity.

“With frequent testing, and athletes and staff limiting their movement and staying in bubbles, and everyone watching it on television, that is a possibility that I can imagine now,” said Hamada.

Vally said he too expects the Games to go ahead, but that organisers should assume there will be virus cases.

“There’s no way the Games will go by without some drama along the way to do with the virus, it’s a matter of how that is responded to that’s going to be the biggest challenge.”

For now, Hamada said, organisers need to “show concrete plans” for a safe Games.

“If after all that, it’s better to cancel it, then we must cancel it.” AFP

Serena, Osaka pay homage to Venus after win MELBOURNE—Naomi Osaka said Venus Williams had an “aura” and Serena hailed her ageless sister as “such an inspiration” after the 40-year-old powered into the Australian Open second round Monday.

Williams, who played her first Australian Open in 1998, battled past fellow veteran Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena in her 88th Grand Slam to ensure she lived to fight another day.

World number three Osaka, who also comfortably won, said the seven-time Grand Slam winner had long been a hero and she was amazed at her longevity.

“Ironically I actually interact with Venus more (than Serena),” she said after sweeping past Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-2.

“For me, I feel like I do talk about Serena a lot, but Venus is sort of the reason why Serena is where she is.”

“Of course, I always love to pay homage to her,” she added. I feel like whenever I see her, it’s really amazing just to watch how much she loves tennis.

“I see her smiling so much nowadays, so it’s really nice to see. She just has this aura of loving the sport and this infectious energy. I hope that I can learn a lot from her.”

Asked why she still had so much passion for playing

tennis, Venus replied: “I like my job. This is Job A. “I think that no matter what happens to you in life, you always hold your head up high, you give a hundred million percent,” she added.

“That’s what I do every single day. That’s something that I can be proud of.”

Sister Serena, who crushed Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1 in the first round at Melbourne Park as she aims for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title, has spent the past few weeks with Venus as her hitting partner.

“She’s such an inspiration because she never gets frustrated about her situation, health-wise. She’s always looking on the bright side. Then she works so hard. Yeah, she’s been great,” she said.

Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren’s disease in 2011, a condition which leaves her weakened. She took up a vegan diet to stay competitive and combat the illness.

“It was so good to train with her. It was so good every day,” added Serena.

“It’s also very inspiring because she still pushes me on a level that no one’s able to push me, so it was incredibly helpful.” AFP

Fire and hammer FREE THROW SHOOTER NATHANIEL DELA CRUZ LOSING all the time brings us to a fork on the road, and the signpost reads: what will I become?

One path leads to disheartenment. The other path leads to learning.

Many follow the path of disheartenment because, believe it or not, it is the easier of the two roads to take. It is easy to wallow in despair, to make sense of things by blaming and making excuses. It is easier to be angry, frustrated, and hopeless because we feel relieved of the burden of responsibility meant for shoulders with the strength and commitment to carry it. It is easy to set sights on new goals and refuse any more challenges on the account of a broken, bleeding heart.

It is easier to let the fire flicker and sputter,

to watch it gasp and die and disappear, and forget about it as if it has never existed, and accept the embrace of a dark night that will hide you from the world that has witnessed your failure over and over again. Lemonades from lemons still taste sour.

On the other hand, those who walk the path of learning will suffer, it is guaranteed. But it is a suffering that offers the prospect of being rewarded. What the reward is and when it will be gifted—all of these questions answer to the hands that sculpt our destiny, in concert with what we seek to carve. The path of learning is a path of suffering because it is salt to the fresh, open wound of losing, but it is the same salt that will give flavor to the meat and chocolate one gets to enjoy once the losing stops and the winning begins.

The path of learning is a path of suffering because it demands genuine and complete humility, after humiliation, and that is when the salt truly stings. From humility comes the accounting of one’s own mistakes, and this is never easy—to accept shortcomings, to acknowledge insufficiency,

WASHINGTON—Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, passed off 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds to spark the NBA-best Utah Jazz to their fourth straight victory on Sunday, beating Indiana 103-95.

Mitchell matched a career high in assists but just missed a triple double as Utah won for the 15th time in 16 games while the Pacers lost for the fifth time in six starts.

“My mind wasn’t really on that at the end of the day,” Mitchell said of a triple double. “I’m just trying to go out there and find ways to impact the game.”

The Jazz, who improved to 19-5 with the road triumph, also had 18 points from Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic, 16 points and 16 rebounds from French center Rudy Gobert and 17 points off the bench by guard Jordan Clarkson.

“There were times we were tired, there were times we had to dig deep but we did it collectively and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said.

Indiana fell to 12-12 with a third consecutive loss despite 20 points by Lithuanian forward Domantas Sabonis, who fouled out in the fourth quarter after hitting only 7-of-19 from the floor thanks to Gobert’s good defense.

“My goal is to make sure they don’t score,” Gobert said. “It’s on me to make sure they take the toughest shot possible and if they make it, they make it.”

De’Aaron Fox scored 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting to spark the Sacramento Kings to their fourth consecutive triumph, a 113-110 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Lou Williams and Nicolas Batum missed tying 3-point attempts in the dying seconds and Kings guard Buddy Hield added the last of his 22 points on two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to seal the win by Sacramento (12-11).

Williams had 23 points off the bench to lead the Clippers (17-8) while Kawhi Leonard had 20 and 10 rebounds.

Miami center Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead six double-digit scorers for the Heat in a 109-103 triumph at New York.

Jimmy Butler added 17 points for Miami (9-14) despite 3-of-11 shooting, going 11-of-12 at the free throw line. Julius Randle had game highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause for the Knicks (11-14).

Multiple media reports Sunday said the Detroit Pistons traded veteran guard Derrick Rose—second in scoring among NBA reserves—to the Knicks, where he will reunite with coach Tom Thibodeau after the two were paired previously in Chicago and Minnesota. AFP

Murray fumes, blames British tennis center for COVID case

Japan’s Naomi Osaka serves against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. AFP

to admit failure in being the best version of one’s self when you are utterly and totally convinced you have given all you’ve got during the contest for the sake of winning.

The path of learning will show you the folly of the notion of equal reward for giving everything you’ve got—it is hubris, a Quixotic expedition, especially when your faculty is near-bare and your arsenal little and lacking, like throwing a pebble at a raging tidal wave hoping to deter the water from coming any closer, shouting at a roaring water that cannot even hear you.

The path of learning will show you that you can learn how to build a seawall, and one or two or twenty bricks do not make a seawall strong enough to shield you from storms. Until the time you are formidable, it is only then that you can say you have given everything you’ve got, that you came to fight with the best version of yourself, and should you lose again to the storm and its allies, remember that the path of learning is a long road of suffering not everyone is meant to endure.

I watch the Chicago Bulls this season lose matches—most of them, games they could’ve won. I watch them head to the locker room with bowed heads and shrunken shoulders.

People say it does not matter if you win by one point or 30 points—a win is a win. Similarly, it does not matter if you lost by a point or 30 points—a loss is a loss. I disagree. While I think all games lost offer the defeated valuable lesson on how to forge a stronger sword for the war, losing close matches teaches you how to sharpen a sturdy sword just in time for the next battle. And for me, that is a big difference.

I hope the Chicago Bulls realize that. I know they are ready to fight, I just hope they are prepared to suffer. Every blacksmith knows that the strongest swords are those built to endure, those that suffered hammer and fire. Without endurance, the lessons of war are lost among those whose strength can only accommodate disheartenment, and I refuse to believe this is Chicago Bulls.

Losing by one point is a win if in the past you can’t even make it a close game. Steps or strides make no matter, if the goal is simply to move forward, not leap.

I wish the Chicago Bulls this wisdom, not to be pedantic but to inspire hope when it is easy to succumb to hopelessness. I wish them fortitude and perseverance. Above all else, I wish them good fortune in the wars to come.

MELBOURNE—Former world number one Andy Murray says he’s furious at missing the Australian Open and believes he became infected with Covid-19 at the National Tennis Centre in London.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, a five-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, was unable to travel to Australia after recording a positive test over the Christmas period.

Murray revealed he was “pretty ill” and had passed the virus onto his wife Kim and their three young children.

“I was pissed off that I missed the tournament and wasn’t able to go to Australia from a personal perspective,” he told British media from Italy, where he is instead preparing for his return at a second-tier Challenger event.

“But then the wider, more important point is that it’s not just about a tennis tournament when I am going back and giving the virus to all of my family and infecting them. I care about that a lot.”

The former Wimbledon and US Open champion said he was convinced he picked up the virus at the National Tennis Centre, raising questions about Covid protocols at a facility where most of Britain’s elite tennis players trained during the pandemic.

“I couldn’t pick it up anywhere else because I hadn’t left my house or the NTC for 10 weeks, and then there were some positive cases there,” said Murray.

“I certainly couldn’t have picked it up from my family because they were all negative.”

British number one Dan Evans, who won the Murray River Open in Melbourne on Sunday, said he had been nervous about visiting the centre before leaving for Australia.

“I mean, it was—obviously the virus got into the centre somehow,” he said. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

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Four date movies at SM drive-in cinema

SM Drive-in Cinema at the Mall of Asia screens four romantic movies to celebrate love month.

W

ITH Valentine's Day around the corner, SM Cinema invites cinemagoers to Love under the Stars from Feb. 12 to 14 at the SM Mall of Asia - Concert Grounds.

Enjoy a unique romantic evening with your loved ones with the screening of four romantic films including Five Feet Apart, The Girl In The Orange Dress, I Still Believe, and Belle Douleur.

Moviegoers will also be treated with free heart-shaped balloons and showcase their proposal of endless love on the

SHTICKS JOSEPH PETER GONZALES AT THE story conference of Kontrabida, the first big-screen project where superstar Nora Aunor is playing antagonist admitted that she looks forward to working with Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos if the opportunity presented itself.

“If meron offer, I’d be glad to do it,” the superstar said.

Many are still hopeful until now that she and perennial arch-rival would co-star in one movie once again. Their last bigscreen project T-Bird at Ako in 1982.

“It’s no problem with me. If it’s okay with my kumare, then go. I believe this will be good for the showbiz industry,” Nora added.

Meanwhile, Nora Aunor is elated over her first protagonist role.

La Aunor admitted that she feels so elated when the movie Kontrabida to be directed by Adolf Alix, Jr. and produced

by Godfather Productions was offered to her.

“I am so happy and I can’t explain how I feel. For one, I’ll be working with some fellow actors who I wasn’t able to collaborate with for a long time now.

I’m also excited with the fact that I’ll be handled once again by Direk Adolf and that our producer, Joed Serrano gave me a chance to do a movie under his film outfit,” she avers.

Considering her stellar stature in which she’s always the female lead in every project she appears in, many think if she

Superstar Nora Aunor

larger than life outdoor screen.

In Five Feet Apart, a pair of teenagers with cystic fibrosis meet in a hospital and fall in love, though their diseases mean they must avoid physical contact. Starring Cole Spouse and Haley Lu Richardson and directed by Justin Baldoni, this romantic drama movie makes us realize “When Life Keeps You Apart, Fight For Every Inch.” (Movie Showing on Feb. 12 and 14 at 6:00 p.m.)

I Still Believe is a romantic drama movie based on the life of chart-topping singer Jeremy Camp and his remarkable journey of love and loss that proves there is always hope in midst of tragedy.

Directed by Erwin Brothers and starring KJ Apa and Brit Robertson, this movie

is from the same creative team who conceptualized the blockbuster movie A Walk to Remember and Five Feet Apart.

(Movie showing on Feb. 13 at 6:00 p.m., and on Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m.)

The Girl In the Orange Dress follows the story of a regular girl Anna (Jessy Mendiola) who wakes up nearly naked beside immensely popular actor Rye (Jericho Rosales) one morning inside a hotel suite. As a picture of Rye and Anna, whose face is hidden and is only identifiable by the distinctly orange dress the night before, start to spread online, the two figure out how to escape from the hotel that by then is being stormed by rabid fans and persistent reporters, all very eager to know the girl Rye had spent the night with. (Movie showing on Feb. 12 at

8:30 p.m.)

Belle Douleur follows the story of 45-year-old Liz (Mylene Dizon) who is dealing with the death of her mother and is at odds about dealing with her grief and loneliness. Along comes Josh (Kit Thompson), an antique dealer in his twenties who takes a liking to her and the pair embark on an exciting and intense relationship. (Movie Showing on Feb. 13 at 8:30 p.m.)

All tickets must be purchased online in advance. Each ticket costs P350 per person, and this already includes a Snack Time bundle consisting of bottled water, regular-sized popcorn, and beef franks sandwich. Food concessions will be available on-site. To encourage contactless transactions, guests can scan

the QR code at the SM Cinema Drive-in to see the menu. A mobile number will be given which guests can contact to place their order.

The venue can accommodate 106 vehicles per screening, and individuals ages between 15 and 65 will be admitted in accordance with IATF Guidelines and Safety Protocols. For #SafAndFunMovieWatching, viewers will also be asked to stay inside their vehicles with their masks on and practice social distancing all throughout the duration of the film screening.

Book your safe and romantic getaway this Valentine's Season with your special someone at www.smtickets.com.

Purchase your tickets in advance to ensure an uninterrupted viewing experience.

Nora looks KathNiel’s ‘The House Arrest of Us’ rules Netflix PH forward to working with Vilma

had reservations in accepting the role.

“Nope, I didn’t have second thoughts in committing to the project considering that I’ll share the screen with other veteran acting stalwarts. Actually, I’m nervous because some of them I already got the chance to work with him in films and teleseryes. They’re award-winning actors,” she avered alluding to her co-stars Jaclyn Jose, Bembol Roco, and Rosanna Roces.

As the title of the movie suggests, the one and only superstar will breathe life to a villain.

“Yes, and this is the first and last time that I will portray something like this. This won’t happen again,” she asserted.

Since she’ll be a villain in the movie, it’s interesting to know if she would allow being slapped by a younger actress in some of the scenes.

“For me, that’s nothing. I’ll just follow what the director wants. It’s okay if I get slapped. I’ve also slapped many of my fellow actors before, right?”

Ate Guy pointed out that in order to come up with a good movie the value of the contravida is the same as that of the lead.

“If there’s no villain, the lead star will be useless. The viewers might get tired along the way if it’s the lead star they just get to see all the time. The contravida provides conflict which makes the story more interesting. This also holds true in real life, right? There should be an opposition,” she ended. *** According to Claudine Barretto, her sister Gretchen Barretto is no longer keen on returning to showbiz.

“She just wants to concentrate on being a businesswoman. She’s very busy at this point. Especially now that her daughter Dominique has come back, there are several projects she is currently planning on,” Claudine revealed.

“My sister reports to the office from 1:00-8:00 p.m.. She really works there. That’s where her focus is. So right now, it’s impossible for her to squeeze in time in making a movie. But if ever I’ll have a YouTube channel, she’s willing to appear as guest.”

The younger Barretto is set to do a potboiler under Borracho Films, something that Gretchen is happy about.

“Oh, yes! The moment I broke the good news to her, she was teary-eyed and said, ‘Oh my God! I’m so happy!’ She even suggested that I would need her bus. Who knows, she might give it to me eventually?

She really has no interest in doing showbiz anymore.”

ABS-CBN Films’ groundbreaking digital movie series The House Arrest Of Us starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla currently holds the number one spot in Netflix Philippines’ top ten mostwatched content in the country.

The series, which debuted on Netflix last week Monday, instantly won the hearts of Netflix viewers for its relatable, amusing, and heartwarming story about a newly engaged couple.

It delves into the challenges Quencess (Kathryn) and Korics (Daniel) must face as they make their engagement official via the Filipino tradition “pamamanhikan,” only to find their families quarantined under one roof due because of a pandemic.

The popular romantic dramedy series also stars Ruffa Gutierrez, Herbert Bautista, Dennis Padilla, Arlene Muhlach, Gardo Versoza, Alora Sasam, Riva Quenery, Anthony Jennings, and Hyubs Azarcon.

Directed by Richard Arellano, the 13-episode program had its premiere last October 2020 on ktx.ph. The series also dropped weekly new episodes on ABSCBN’s streaming service iWantTFC. The House Arrest Of Us lead stars— collectively known as KathNiel—have an immense following not just in the Philippines but across Southeast Asia.

They were named Favorite Foreign TV Actress and Actor in the Blue Star Award – Face of the Year Awards in Vietnam in 2016 and 2018 for the popularity of their

shows Got to Believe and Pangako Sa’Yo, respectively.

KathNiel’s Pangako Sa’Yo drama series also aired in Indonesia, Peru, and Dominican Republic.

Kathryn and Daniel are just some of the Kapamilya artists who are making waves here and abroad as ABS-CBN continues to champion Filipino talent on the world stage.

Apart from The House Arrest of Us,

the KathNiel-starrer Barcelona: A Love Untold, Crazy Beautiful You, Can’t Help Falling In Love, Must Be Love, She’s Dating the Gangster, and The Hows of Us, all produced by ABS-CBN Films, are now available for streaming on Netflix.

ABS-CBN continues to produce programs and movies that are popular for their heartfelt stories, steadily capturing viewers across other territories.

Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla starrer ‘The House Arrest of Us,’ a 13-episode series, tops Netflix Philippines’ list of trending titles.

‘KMJS’ dominates social media, TV ratings WITH stories that continue to inspire during a most challenging year, the Filipinos’ Sunday viewing habit, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), is also the number 1 TV program based on Nielsen Phils.’ NUTAM Ratings for 2020.

This is the second year in a row that KMJS topped the Jessica Soho’s ‘KMJS’ remains to be the highestrated television program nationwide based on AGB Nielsen’s viewership data for 2019 and 2020.

nationwide urban ratings with an average People rating of 20.6 percent from January to December 2020. The program’s online videos have 1.7 billion views while its official Facebook Page has 21 million followers.

KMJS and its topics also trend on Twitter, weekly.

But more than these metrics, KMJS is most proud of helping uplift the Filipino spirit during this pandemic - through stories that showcased the heroism and generosity of our health workers, frontliners, and ordinary Filipinos doing their best to survive while helping others too.

At the onset of the community quarantine, KMJS was one of the few local television programs that immediately aired fresh episodes to provide relevant information on COVID-19 and its effects on the lives of Filipinos here, and abroad.

Every week since June last year, the program has been extending “ayuda” or financial help to viewers in need. KMJS stories about Filipinos going through very tough times have also generated substantial donations that go directly to those in need.

“2020 may have been a most difficult year but it has also been a most remarkable one,” Jessica Soho, the program’s host, and GMA News and Public Affairs pillar said.

“We saw the best in us during this crisis. It is a privilege to share the stories of Filipinos who shine through during this darkest of times. Our heartfelt thanks to our viewers who have made us their favorite kakuwentuhan and weekly family bonding time,” Soho carried on.

As the longest-running news magazine program in the country, KMJS was recently elevated to the Hall of Fame by the Catholic Mass Media Awards. It has also won a Peabody award and a Bronze Medal in the New York International Film and TV Awards.

For the third consecutive year, it has also been judged Philippine National Winner in Infotainment category by the Asian Academy Creative Awards in 2020.

Life

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

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HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

Medical resort nurtures love, heals broken hearts FOR A HEALTHY HEART. Medical resort The Farm in Lipa, Batangas offers holistic a treatment that restores harmony in couples and a treament that heals emotional pain due to broken heart.

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O OTHER month in the year that fiercely celebrates matters of the heart more than February.

It is, after all, the month Valentine’s Day fall.

An eco-luxury wellness resort in Lipa City, Batangas offers unique holistic treatments for couples celebrating the occasion and “singles” dealing with a broken heart.

The Farm at San Benito’s “Vitality of the Hearts” is an award-winning four-hour couple’s treatment designed to cleanse the body of negative energy and restore vitality. It starts with acupuncture to release energy blocks, followed by a traditional Filipino couple’s treatment called “Hilot Kasuyo”

romantic jungle setup.

Individuals dealing with emotional pain from a broken heart are, meanwhile, offered the custom-made “How to Heal a Broken Heart” treatment.

According to The Farm, a team of wellness experts will heal the person’s emotional state, rejuvenate their body and soul, and create positive path towards release and contentment. The treatment focuses on the areas of harmonizing flow, empress facial rejuvenation, hilot haplos Filipino indulging scrub, and rose petal body wrap.

The programs are conducted by health experts, medical doctors, and highly experienced hospitality professionals.

The programs in the wellness resort are conducted by health experts, medical doctors, and highly experienced hospitality professionals.

Guests will receive the trademark service-from-the-heart for a relaxing and that strengthens the body’s bio-energy After the rejuvenating treatment, course vegan or a three-course sea- rejuvenating stay. Call 8884-8074 or fields, eliminating tiredness, fatigue, lovers can bask on a “Dinner Under food menu with two glasses of wine 0918-8848080 to contact the Batangas and disharmony. the Stars” which comes with a five- at the resort’s Pesce Restaurant in a medical resort.

Forest Foundation showcases nature-inspired crafts

According to Harvard University’s Center on Developing Child, problem-solving abilities, emotional maturity, and communication are developed and formed through brain connections made during the first five years of a person.

Studies highlight the importance of first 5 years in children’s brain development THE phase wherein the brain cell connections are more flexible and receptive to the influence of life experiences occurs in the first five years of a person’s life.

In an article published by First Things First, a publicly funded source on early childhood, it says 90 percent of brain growth happens before kindergarten.

The first few years are crucial for making the synapses, or connections, between the brain cells (neurons) as most brain processes during this period will have an impact on the developing brain.

Billions of brain cells send electrical signals to communicate to each other.

These connections form circuits and become the basic foundation of brain architecture. Circuits and connections multiply at a fast phase and are strength-

ened through repeated use.

According to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, the early years provide the “building blocks” for successful “architecture of the brain.” The higher-level abilities that come later in life, such as problem-solving, emotional maturity, and communication, the center says, are developed and formed through brain connections made during the first five years.

In addition to positive daily experiences and care, studies also show that in the first five years, nutrition plays a crucial role in brain development.

Sarah E. Cusick, Ph.D., and Michael K. Georgieff, MD state that among the factors that influence early brain development, three stand out as having

particularly intense effects: provision of optimal nutrition including brain food, presence of strong social support and/or secure attachment, and the reduction of toxic stress and inflammation.

Proper nutrition helps regulate brain development. Brain boosting food items include milk, eggs, fish, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, citrus fruits, and berries. For infants, the most accessible source is milk with phospholipids.

Development and behavioral pediatricians recommend parents to be proactive in finding the right information, tools, counseling, and planning; taking advantage of the window of opportunity to help in the child’s early life brain connections which have a lasting effect on a child’s ability to learn and succeed.

Stroke on spotlight in upcoming webinar

TO HELP the public become more aware of the dangers of stroke, its prevention and the importance of getting emergency help, Angels Initiative and Stroke Society of the Philippines on Feb. 11 are staging a webinar on the basic information about the disease.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and in the Philippines. If not treated in a timely manner, a stroke can have emotional, physical, or even fatal consequences.

“Stroke 101: Knowing the basics of stroke is a way of loving oneself” will feature neurologists Dr. Romulo Esagunde and Dr. Maria Socorro Sarfati ‘Stroke 101’ speakers Dr. Romulo Esagunde and Dr. Maria Socorro Sarfati who will help shed light on what stroke is, its types and symptoms, what one their loved ones are experiencing the Philippines’ official Facebook page at 7:00 p.m. The event is open to the pubcan do to minimize its risk factors, and signs of stroke.

It will air on Stroke Society of the lic. It will be hosted by Boy Abunda. what a person must do when they or

NONPROFIT Forest Foundation Philippines features locally made products from its grantees in Bukidnon, Palawan, and Samar. The organization provides grants to groups and individuals that empower people to protect and conserve our forests.

B u k i d o n’s coffee – Kape Hu Mapayag Coffee is made of beans harvested from Mt Kitanglad. Together with Philippine Coffee Kape Hu Mapayag coffee Alliance, it is powder and beans produced by Kitanglad Guard Volunteers, an association of volunteers from 28 villages on the foot of Mt. Kitanglad who are leading the protection of the mountain range. It’s available on Coffee -kape hu Mapayag Facebook page.

Palawan’s virgin coconut oil – Social enterprise Brooke’s Brooke’s Point Coco ProdBounty ucts Producers virgin Cooperative, in coconut partnership with oil Bayan Academy, offers FDA-approved premium virgin coconut oil made through cold-press method to retain enzymes such as lauric acid and other immune-building nutrients. In addition to VCO, the cooperative, which provides livelihood to the farmers of the indigenous Pala’wan tribe, produces and manufactures other coconut-derived products that promote health. The VCO is available at Wild Bounty’s online shop.

Palawan’s honey – Nagkakaisang Tribu ng P a l a w a n’s (NATRIPAL) honey is hand-harvested from trees in the forests Wildwood wild of Palawan istropical honey land. Together with Bayan Academy, NATRIPAL, an indigenous peoples organization fed-

erated by 63 local associations, works with indigenous communities towards the recognition of their rights, natural resource management, and establishment of sustainable livelihood enterprises by collecting wild Apis dorsata honey and producing high-quality crafts made of rattan and other forest materials. The honey is available at Wild Bounty.

Samar’s woven mats – The 34 weavers that comprise the Old San Agustin Tikog Workers Association in Basey seek to emWoven mats power women through their livelihood, which aside from generating income, helps in preserving the traditional way of weaving native products.

Life Stories cards by forest advocates – Where To Next? launches the second deck of Life Stories in collaboration with Forest Life Stories Cards for Foundation.

Conversations It contains 63 questions that aim to reveal more about a person and their surroundings. A portion of the proceeds from the deck will fund the livelihood projects of Aeta communities in Yangil and Botolan in Zambales, and will be used to support reforestation and education efforts in the areas.

Journal by forest advocates – Forest Ref lections

by Cynthia B a u z o n Arre, in par tnership with Forest Foundation, is a Forest Reflections journal planner and workbook that promotes mindfulness through nature immersion, art therapy, and writing.