Manila Standard - 2021 March 11 - Thursday

Cops to stop display of affection in public Recto blasts move as ‘war on love, not on COVID’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Willie Casas

P

OLICE will now call out people holding hands, embracing, or kissing in public to help curb the continued rise of COVID-19.

In an interview in Camp Crame Wednesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas said they would call out people who engaged in public displays of affection (PDA) because national and local authorities were alarmed at the spike in COVID-19 cases.

“We cannot afford to lower our guard against the virus, especially at this point when the cure is already within reach,” he said—referring to vaccines that have begun to arrive.

The PNP directive covers everyone, not just couples, PNP spokesman Brig.

Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said.

The restriction is part of granular, localized moves that hope to stem the socalled spike in coronavirus cases without the government ordering a stricter lockdown such as an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which led to a steep dive for the economy.

Although most of the country is under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), measures implemented during the ECQ, such as longer Next page

VOL. XXXV • NO. 29 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

FREE AND WRAPPED UP. A couple walks casually along a street in Manila (above) even as workers in Barangay 351 Zone 35 in the city’s District III tape off a street to enforce lockdown rules implemented by the city government on Wednesday. Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso ordered a four-day lockdowndue to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the capital.

Arman Clemente and Norman Cruz

Hackers attack gov’t main website; EU welcomes probe on killings HACKERS under the group Cyber PH for Human Rights launched a symbolic cyberattack on the Gov.ph website on Wednesday to protest the killing of nine activists on March 7 and get President Rodrigo Duterte’s attention.

The attack left the main portal to the government’s website disabled for at least six hours, as the Gov.ph home

page was “down” until around 11 p.m.

This developed as the group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday said the police operations in Calabarzon that led to the arrests and deaths of activists showed the need for member countries of the United Nations to probe the “worsening” human rights situation in the Philippines.

HRW said the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should consider having a “rapid response unit” probe of the police operations.

Also, the European Union on Wednesday welcomed the government’s announcement that it will investigate the deaths of the nine individuals on so-called “Bloody Sunday.”

In a statement, the EU delegation in the country also recalled the country’s commitment before the UN Human Rights Council “to ensure accountability for human rights violations and abuses.”

“Reports on the use of excessive force against unarmed individuals and Next page

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM MARCH 10)

603,308 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

2,886 44,470 NEW

ACTIVE

12,545

17

546,293

221

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

NEW

QC suspects Brazil variant case, test up

By Rio N. Araja

but were eventually delayed due to lack of an indemnification law in the Philippines and also to logistical problems.

At least 1.12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac and AstraZeneca have been delivered to the

THE Quezon City government on Wednesday said the city has one COVID-19 variant that originated from Brazil.

At a virtual media briefing, Mayor Joy Belmonte said Quezon City has 18 cases of COVID-19 variants, of which 13 of them were of B.1.1.7 variant from the United Kingdom (UK variant), four of the B.1.351 variant from South Africa (South African variant) and one Brazilian variant.

“The way I see things are, the presence of these variants has

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MORE DOSES. A vaccinator ensures that no Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine will be left in the bottle as it is injected to hospital workers at the Southern Tagalog Regional Hospital in Bacoor,

Cavite on Wednesday. Meanwhile, policemen carry cold storage boxes containing the vaccine into the hospital (right). JR Josue

League of Cities New Covax supply: 117k doses of Pfizer vaccine raps mayor slay, demands justice

By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Maricel V. Cruz and Joel E. Zurbano

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) on Wednesday condemned the killing of Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo P. Aquino, saying the “cowardly act executed in broad daylight” was a “sobering call for vigilance and a cry for the restoration of absolute peace and order.”

“We demand swift and immediate justice for the orchestrated ambush of Mayor Aquino and we appeal to police authorities for a thorough investigation of his killing. We count on them to bring to justice the perpetrators of this dastardly act and seek all witnesses that may provide clarity on the unfortunate incident,” the league, which has 146 members, said.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to submit in 10 days a progress report on the status of its probe on the ambush in which Aquino was killed.

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arriving in the Philippines by April, according to National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon on Wednesday.

Dizon was referring to the Pfizer-BiSOME 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 that oNTech doses the government initially are part of the COVAX Facility will be announced to be arriving in February

Taal Watch: 51 tremors recorded; crater emits 5-meter high plumes ALERT Level 2 remained hoisted over Taal Volcano in Batangas on Wednesday morning as it continued to show increased unrest, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said.

Fifty-one volcanic earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, which in-

STILL RESTLESS. Actual photos of Taal Main Crater and the Taal Volcano Island taken at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday show smoke rising as high as five meters, as more tremors were recorded over the last 24 hours. Phivolcs photo

Queen: Royals saddened by racist claims Story on B3

clude tremors with durations of one to four minutes, it said.

The main crater showed steam-laden plumes reaching as high as five meters Next page

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

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SC to shut offices for disinfection

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court has ordered the suspension of works in various buildings and offices inside the Court’s compound along Padre Faura, Manila to pave the way for the a massive disinfection and sanitation of its offices as part of its preventive measures to stop the alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country and its new variants.

its scheduled continuation of the oral arguments on the 37 petitions seeking to declare the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 unconstitutional as some associate justices went on quarantine.

However, the SC did not say the reason the justices went on quarantine.

In order to allow the uninterrupted conduct of disinfection and sanitation, all offices would only operate with a skeleton staff even if work has been suspended at the SC. During this period of disinfection and sanitation, Peralta said they would allow committees with previously scheduled meetings to proceed, de-

pending on the discretion of the chairperson or head of the committee.

The memorandum also stated that urgent matters should be attended to by the concerned chiefs or heads of offices, who are expected to be reached at any time of the day.

They also expect on-duty personnel of the Medical and Dental Services, Security and Maintenance Divisions, Office of Administrative Services-Supreme Court to report for work.

Peralta also required all offices to maintain a skeleton force of 50 percent from March 15 to March 19 in order to maintain physical distancing of six feet.

In a two-page memorandum, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said the disinfection and sanitation started March 11.

“After consultation with the other Justices and chiefs of offices, more thorough disinfection, cleaning and

sanitation of the different buildings and offices of the Supreme Court is hereby ordered to be undertaken to minimize the possible spread of infection,” Peralta said.

The high court cancelled last Tuesday

Taal...

From A1

DOF: Parañaque PH’s 6th richest metropolis in ‘19

being emitted from vents.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Lipa is ready to open its doors to people who might be affected by the continued unrest of Taal.

“Because of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the situation is different now, unlike before that we can just feed them, we can accommodate them. But this time, we have to be careful also,” Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Commission director Fr. Jayson Siapco said in an interview over churchrun Radio Veritas.

He added that the different local government units in Batangas are looking for areas as evacuation sites if the situation of the volcano worsens.

Based on the last measurements taken, the temperature of the lake in the main crater went up to as high as 71.8 degrees Celsius on March 4 and the pH level reached 1.59 on Feb. 12.

“Ground deformation parameters from electronic tilt, continuous GPS and InSAR data analysis indicated a very slow and steady inflation and expansion of the Taal region since after the January 2020 eruption,” PHIVOLCS said.

The institute reminded the public that entry is strictly prohibited on Taal Volcano Island as sudden steamdriven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ash fall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas may occur.

PHIVOLCS also advised local government units to assess and strengthen their preparedness of barangays around the Taal Lake which were previously evacuated should the volcano show renewed unrest.

It also advised pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano since ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions may be hazardous to aircraft.

Siapco assured that once churches have been opened and other facilities as evacuation centers, strict implementation of health protocols will be in place to ensure the safety of all.

New Covax...

From A1 country so far. The Sinovac vaccines were donated by China while the AstraZeneca vaccines were also part of the WHO-led COVAX Facility.

Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines are given in two doses.

The Philippines has at least 1.7 million health workers and medical frontliners.

Dizon is confident that the 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be available to health workers by April.

The Philippine, which started its vaccine rollout on March 1, aims to vaccinate some 250,000 to 300,000 citizens against COVID-19 every day when the bulk of its vaccine supply arrives this

QC...

From A1 something to do with the increase of cases,” she said.

But the city’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit chief, Dr. Rolly Cruz, dialed back the statement about the Brazil variant, saying what they found might be different from the Brazil variant, according to the Department of Health.

Belmonte said it would take 10 days to find out if the sample sent to the Philippine Genome Center is a variant.

“The mindset that we would want to adopt here in Quezon City is an assumption that every case now is a variant. We will no longer wait for the (Philippine) Genome Center to tell if a case is a variant. We now treat every case we find as a variant,” she said.

Quezon City has reported 2,100 new active COVID-19 cases as of March 9, 8 p.m. of March 9.

It has now a total number of 34,591 with

THE Department of Finance has recognized Parañaque as the sixth richest city in the country in 2019, according to a report released by the DOF’s Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

BLGF executive director Niño Raymond Alvina said Parañaque earned P4.8 billion in local revenue generation in 2019.

The report revealed the top 10 provinces, cities and municipalities ranked

nationally in 2019. The selection was based on the performance areas of nominal locally sourced revenue, collection efficiency of LSR and year-onyear growth in LSR. Mayor Edwin Olivarez commended the city treasurer’s office, headed by Anthony Pulmano, for exceeding the collection target in 2019 and for the office’s excellent performance in tax collection for the past six years.

“Since my first term in office, Pulmano and his team has introduced several innovative business processing system and tax reform measures in which the city became top in terms of revenue collection,” Olivarez said.

Because of Pulmano’s exemplary performance in tax collection, Parañaque, from a sleepy town three decades ago, is now one of the richest cities in the Philippines, the mayor said.

Cops...

From A1 curfew hours, restrictions on parties and the sale of liquor, and quarantine passes to go to public markets are being rolled out once again by local governments.

On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) called on Metro Manila’s mayors to adopt uniform curfew hours across the 16 cities and one municipality of the region.

In a news release, the DILG said adopting uniform curfew hours would make it easier for the public to comply because people tend to live and work in different cities.

The DILG said it would leave it to the mayors to decide what hours the curfew would cover.

Despite the dramatic increase in new cases – active cases in the National Capital Region have doubled to over 7,700 in the last two weeks -- the Department of Health advised against describing the situation as a “surge.”

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during an online briefing that “cases of people going to the hospital [emergency rooms] are increasing, but we need scientific evidence to say there is really a surge.”

She said hospital bed capacity is still at a manageable level.

The DOH, however, expressed concern regarding the transmission of COVID-19 within families, urging those who have tested positive for the

disease to recuperate in a facility instead of at home if they live in close quarters with their family. “[T]he virus, especially the variants, are very transmissible and highly infectious, and that’s the reason they’re often seen in clusters in families and even in communities,” said Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega.

Hospitals are also seeing more cases of COVID-19 among children, a possible result of clustering in families.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, 27.2 percent or nearly a third of Metro Manila’s residents live in homes less than 20 square meters in size.

This makes social distancing when at home with a sick individual very difficult, especially if bathrooms are shared.

Usana said police officers do not have the time to ask persons if they are couples and are living in one house.

“If they are seen hugging or placing one’s hand on another’s shoulder and are very close to each other, (that is an) automatic violation,” he said.

Physical intimacy in public violates health and safety protocols set by the government, he added.

Usana said police officers will not arrest couples caught in public displays of affection, but would be given a warning on the first offense.

Succeeding offenses will be sanctioned based on existing ordinances of the local governments in which the violation took place.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto ridiculed the new PNP directive, calling it a “war on love, not

COVID-19.”

“If all acts of public display of affection are prohibited—harmless kisses, holding hands, hugs—then the rules border on the absurd,” he said.

“Communication is an important tool in fighting the pandemic. Words can move—and frighten—a nation. When you wield a loud microphone, don’t treat it like a police whistle you can blow anytime,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros rejected government plans to deploy military and police officials to arrest people who breach health protocols.

Hontiveros called out the militaristic approach to the pandemic, saying it is “a repeat of the mistakes of the past.”

During the world’s longest lockdown, she said police arrested 76,000 people for breaching protocols between March 2020 to July 2020, but this did not bring cases down.

“If we will deploy policemen, they should be giving out face masks, face shields, or reminding people about physical distancing and proper hand washing,” she said. “They should not be arresting [people] and abusing their powers.”

She said using uniformed personnel to enforce safety protocols was an ineffective and anti-poor strategy.

She cited the case of the five youths arrested in Laguna at the start of the lockdown who were detained together in a dog cage.

Others like Senators Christopher Go and Panfilo Lacson urged the public to cooperate with the authorities and to comply with health protocols.

year, an official said Wednesday.

The national government has said it aims to inoculate 50 to 70 million adults, or two-thirds of the country’s 110 million people this year to achieve what authorities described as herd immunity.

“We have a goal of inoculating of about 50 million Filipinos this year. To achieve that target we need to, for the remainder of the ear, especially when the bulk of the vaccine comes in, give roughly about 250,000 to 300,000 per day,” Secretary Vince Dizon told ANC’s Headstart.

The Philippines, which rolled out its vaccine program after the arrival of donated vaccines from Chinese maker Sinovac and Global Alliance COVAX Facility, has so far received more than

1.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for its health workers.

Of this, 600,000 were CoronaVac jabs and 500,000 doses were from AstraZeneca.

Vaccine baron Carlito Galvez Jr. is currently in India to secure 30 million doses of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which is an American brand but is manufactured in Serum Institute of India, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medicines.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran said the Philippines and Indian firm Bharat Biotech are in talks for a supply of at least 8 million coronavirus vaccines.

Kumaran said discussions were ongoing as Bharat Biotech awaits emergency use authorization for Covaxin, its COVID-19 vaccine, from the Philippine

Food and Drug Administration.

“There are ongoing conversations for a supply for Covaxin which can range anywhere from 8 million doses upwards. I don’t think we are in a position to be signing anything yet,” he said in an ANC interview.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joel Villanueva said the only way to revive the economy and restore jobs and opportunities, especially for workers and MSMEs was hinged on the immediate roll out of the vaccination program.

“It cannot be overemphasized that our essential workers---our economic frontliners---be next in the vaccination line after medical frontliners,” said Villanueva in reaction to the 2020 unemployment rate of 10.3 percent or about 4.5 million unemployed workers.

31,663 recovered cases and 858 deaths.

She said even though the national government has not said so, she thought the situation in Quezon City was “alarming” because the city’s positivity rate was at 9.3 percent.

As of Wednesday, 14 areas were under lockdown with the latest being parts of Barangay Central and Barangay Krus na Ligas.

She said quarantine classifications are already “obsolete” and no longer helpful.

“These different classifications for me are already obsolete. As you can see when we say general community quarantine, we are not really adhering to GCQ in its purest form, just the same as that of the modified GCQ. I find these classifications not very helpful anymore,” she said. “I would prefer to just use the word restrictions,.”

Meanwhile, the DOH has tallied 58 cases of the South African variant, and 118 cases of the UK variant in the Philippines.

In a post on the Johns Hopkins Hos-

pital website, two experts on SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, discuss what is known about these new variants.

Stuart Ray, M.D., vice chair of medicine for data integrity and analytics, of Johns Hopkins University, notes in hopkinsmedicine.org that one mutated version of the coronavirus was detected in southeastern England in September 2020.

That variant, now known as B.1.1.7, quickly became the most common version of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom, accounting for about 60% of new COVID-19 cases in December. It is now the predominant form of the coronavirus in some countries.

Different variants have emerged in Brazil, California and other areas.

A variant called B.1.351, which first appeared in South Africa, may have the ability to re-infect people who have recovered from earlier versions of the coronavirus. It might also be somewhat resistant to some of the coronavirus vaccines in development.

League...

From A1 Guevarra ordered the NBI to conduct an investigation on the shooting incident Monday afternoon in Calbayog, Samar that resulted in the death of the 59-year-old Aquino and five others.

Guevarra said he expects the NBI to file appropriate charges against all persons involved in the killings.

He said the NBI had to conduct a separate investigation because policemen were involved in the shooting.

NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said they would use their Samar District Office based in Catbalogan, Samar that is under the supervision of their Regional Office located in Tacloban City, which would be augmented by a forensic team from Manila.

Senator Francis Pangilinan called on the NBI to conduct an independent and exhaustive probe, syaing killings without prosecution would further em-

DOJ meeting aims to reduce use of ‘unnecessary force’

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice vowed Wednesday to hold a meeting with various law enforcement agencies to tackle “ways and means of avoiding the use of unnecessary force in the conduct of legitimate operations.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra stressed that the meeting with the officials of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines was necessary to address to prevent the use of unnecessary force in undertaking police operations.

Guevarra made the statement after the United Nations’ Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the deaths of nine persons suspected of ties with communist rebels in South Luzon provinces.

“We understand the concern of the UN-OHCHR. That is why the DOJ has ordered a thorough investigation of the incidents,” Guevarra said in a text message.

Guevarra assured that the deaths of nine persons would be investigated either by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or by the inter-agency task force on extra-judicial killings.

He has ordered the NBI to determine if the incidents would fall under the investigative jurisdiction of the Administrative Order 35 Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right of Life, Liberty and Security of Persons.

The committee is headed by the DOJ. The UN-OHCHR said in a statement: “We are appalled by the apparent arbitrary killing of nine activists in simultaneous police-military operations in Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal provinces surrounding Metro Manila in the Philippines in the early hours of Sunday morning.”

Hackers...

From A1 alleged irregularities in the law enforcement operations have raised concerns,” it added.

The EU delegation said ensuring liability should be “in accordance with due process under national courts of law and in full compliance with its international human rights obligations.”

The Europeans and the Philippines on February 5 discussed strengthening accountability and investigative measures during the meeting of the Sub-Committee on Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights under the EU-Philippines Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the union noted.

“The EU and the Philippines agreed on the need to acknowledge and to protect human rights defenders and enable their work in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,” the delegation said.

Cyber PH for Human Rights said in a statement: “In defense of human rights and justice, at 4 p.m., we have launched a cyberattack on the main website of the Philippine Government (www.gov.ph) through a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack.”

“This will have been the first and longest cyberattack on government cyber assets, exposing the weaknesses of the government’s IT system.”

“The cyberattack aims to send a message to President Duterte and his government, to stop the killing of unarmed civilians,” the group said. Joyce Pangco Panares, Willie Casas, Rio N. Araja, Maricel V. Cruz, and Rey E. Requejo bolden criminals.

“Why is the Philippine National Police (PNP) changing tune from an ambush to a shootout? Why were the police wearing bonnets and carrying heavy firearms? What could be the motive of the mayor and his aides in shooting at the police, if the claim of the PNP chief is to be believed?” Pangilinan said.

He said witnesses should also be guaranteed protection so they could freely narrate what they saw and help solve the case.

Pangilinan said the spate of killings in the country should not make the public feel desensitized to the violence and injustice happening.

“We are all shocked or distressed, but we should also feel outraged by the loss of lives,” he said.

He lamented that the PNP, the very institution supposed to protect and preserve law and order, are the ones allegedly at the helm of the controversial killings.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A3

Study: PH losing P62b yearly to illegal fishing

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Philippines has been losing approximately P62 billion annually to illegal fishing based on a study released by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Tuesday.

The study, which quantified illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Philippines showed that illegal fishing amounted to 27 to 40 percent of fish caught in 2019.

“Addressing IUU fishing remains an important Philippine government priority. USAID has worked with

BFAR for over three decades to promote sustainable fisheries. And we are pleased that this report will further strengthen government efforts to help prevent IUU here in one of the world’s most biodiverse marine sanctuaries,” said USAID Philippines mission director Lawrence Hardy II.

The study also found out that at least 30,000 or 30 percent of municipal vessels remain unregistered while commercial fishers do not report haul of up to 422,000 metric tons of fish each year.

These statistics show the vast impact IUU fishing has on the Philippines’ marine ecosystem, it said.

“Our strong resolve to prevent and put an end to IUU fishing in Philippine waters will not waiver, especially now that we are gaining momentum technology-wise. With the use of science and data, we are in the process of developing an IUU Fishing Index and Threat Assessment Tool, which will be adopted in the 12 Fisheries Management Areas,” said BFAR director Eduardo Gongona.

LAS PIÑAS ROLLOUT. Vice Mayor April Aguilar and DOH Undersecretary Maria Paz Corrales watch medical frontliners getting the jab as they lead the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Las Piñas City on Tuesday.

Opinion Opinion

uld be es. d. a Mae lk and tation y Jail

outgoing his strangled to November 16, in thetransgender process placing in Reina Speaker Mae’sdefended motherhis and fought a Filipino was court to either let the mother and her Adelle Chua, Editor might still be alive today. wife’s candidacies bothdaughter Taguig House jeopardy the complefor the right offorher and allowed totimely walknational-budget free after serving baby stay longer at Fabella Memorial Yet just a month ago, a convicted mst.daydesk@gmail.com seats with an argument that left the Filipi- tion that President Duterte desired. granddaughter to incredulous: remain together, five Alan years andwill10probably monthscome of Hospital, or let Reina Mae keep River her lawyer Josalee Deinla.

US serviceman who had beat and no people aghast and Though only In time, Peter sending and to they the his 10-year sentence, to inside the jail where they could be Reina Mae’s mother fought strangled a Filipino transgender was he and hisphotos wife were notletters estranged, to realize that his decision tohis notflight honor his THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 authoritiesdifferent nearly everywithweek bywith a Rep. presidential maintained residences, each freedom term-sharingeased agreement Velasco is provided with natal care facilities. for the right of her daughter and allowed to walk free after serving MARCH of them THURSDAY, residing in different parts11, of 2021 their pardon, the worst no decision pleading for her daughter’s release, less. he has made in his politThese pleadings were rejected. granddaughter to remain together, only five years and 10 months of city.

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That decision clearly displeased President of infantDuterte—the denied the same?

Branch beTo kept mother, said thewith greather consternation andDeinla. disgust her President broker of the agreefacilities inside the Manila City Jail but to no avail.

If a convicted killer could be of the Filipino people, Comelec accepted ment —who wanted nothing to stand in the Female Dormitory.

The hospital where Reina Mae shown some compassion and human the argument of Cayetano and approved way of timely approval by Congress of the Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali of the gave birth recommended the baby kindness, why were Reina Mae and his and his wife’s candidacy. Many cyni- General Appropriations Act for 2021.

Manila Regional Trial Court Branch be kept with her mother, said Deinla. her infant denied the same? out of their ears. cal Filipinos believed that the Duterte-apMore than that, in deciding to renege Strike 2 did for notAlanon his agreement with Rep. Velasco, Alan pointed Comelec commissioners has who been three his incredible want to offend the man years Peter alienated all sensible, right-thinking reneging the JulyFilipinos who now see him as power-hunearlier was the running mate ofon President THE word “strike” out of their ears.

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Allan Velasco.

Cayetano would be Speak“We w cept, ple Cayetano supposed be allies, notSpeaker enemies. but of er forface gunfi ghtsharing between elements of the Philipns wethey wastoelected House andDid the unusual crisis hasCongressional been “excellent.” would d the time comesagreement; for the agreement towas be notVelasco ofurgent starkwhen and from pitcher.

The batter issome said to have the 18th Congress’ first 15 weaknesses of our society as well. very baby separated from her jailed But the unfortunately compassion and grew more themonths baby In a to eer of the heard to attach any conditions to it. the two sides even had the chance to talk pine National Police and operatives was officially ratified last Tuesday at wereSports excellent. struck out. andtoVelasco have the 24 Speakership theare end, whether weat likethe it or not, Celebrity Plaza inWe con-only nee looking abide would by the conditions of hermeeting in“We of Repre-fulfilled.

There were people who were uneasy before mother despite pleas to keep the pair Inus mercy were not extended tostars.” motherselves was hospitalized on Sept. and disheartening reality. the Hall shootout? of In the Philippine Drug what of the House of RepreIf thethe Filipino people want a good this case, it was even more elabforhas the been remaining 21 months.

It was a sim-Quezon City trolled the spread ofAllan the disease,from her we deserve kind of government that ex-whatcondition last Monday, Lord . Mr. Cayabout the arrangement andEnforcement doubted that thethe Session stipulated upon when together shows that state authorities and child,” said Reina Mae’s lawyer, worsened.

Still, Reina Mae The death of a three-month-old From all indications, it would seem COVID-19 transmission remains the p row This demonstrates, beyond ample of the the kind striking-out concept, they ple sharing agreement; Cayetano was notVelasco was elected House Speaker and Agency on a Alan parking lot of ahonor shopping orate, solemn andPeter ceremonial because ke 2 called ambitious would it. Theysentatives. we have with of politicians we The quote, from a play by Oscar the time comes for the agreement to be especially when compared to richerBut unf think doing so is perfectly all right. was not allowed to see her baby. baby separated from her jailed primary goal, but we cannot let the situathatdoubt, the firefight was almost sponta- voteneed go no further than the career of the heard to attach any conditions to it. the legitimacy of Velasco’s mall along Commonwealth Avenue. the were President of the was aCay-any heLord will be, proven right.

As country turnover neared, into public office. was officially ratified lastmore Tuesday at hospifulfilled.

Wilde, seems a rather appropriate countries with modern tion paralyze the education of our youth.

Reina Mae Nasino, a human rights River died of pneumonia, just outgoing Speaker of the House of RepreThere were people who were uneasy mother despite pleas to keep the pair mercy w neous and instantaneous.

All these of ended witness the time, agreement.

A document etanoto started to signal he learned would notelection. Even Alan Peter Cayetano was Since that we that have Away very to good example of this isgiven what Session Hallsaid of thepresidential House of RepreInabout this case, itmonths was even more elabThe enrollment of children lies within describe lot, the tently discouraging fi gures, the Lasentatives, Alan Peterour Cayetano.

Mr. Caythe arrangement and doubted that thethe tals,” spokesman worker for Kadamay, says she didn’t over three old. together shows that state authorities and chil haring more forced to accept reality. course seem to point to a deepening honor the term-sharwas even signed.

So, it was not only a details because both social and the discretion of parents and children. just etano happened in Strike the Speakership row This demonstrates, beyond orate, solemn and Peter ceremonial because hasIfhad 1 and and Strike 2 called ambitious Alan would honor it.January Theysentatives. the court and COVID-19 pandemic the ecobor secretary compared the Harry Roque on Monday. ing agreement with mystery know she was pregnant when she On Tuesday, a court granted them traditional What happened in the camps of the think doing so is perfectly all right. why both operating units behandshake media that sealed deal which have the been busy digbetween Alan Peter Cayetano andhe Lord However, let me emphasize that educaPresident theAscountry was aCay-any doubt, the legitimacy of Velasco’s against him; another strike and will be,the were provenof right. turnover neared, Rep. Velasco. Marin-two bling could Alans also gave us an opportunity nomic devastation it has had wrought.

2021 numbers to those in October wasthe arrested last year, attributing Reina Mae three-day furlough toelection.Reina HisAlan basis of acomparison, haved way they did.

Other ques-herAllan Mae Nasino, human authorities This be the ging deeper into the real reasons lawmakwhy tion still holds prime importance in the It should ended witness Even Peter Cayetano wasrights of tostarted the agreement.

A document asVelasco. inthe baseball, out. not have etano toa signal that he would not duque’s cou- both operating elements went after each lives totions compare the contrasting leadership missed period to the stress of a nightattend the wake and funeral of her that come to mind are: Was it a This week, the Philippine Statis2020, when the country was at the course, was the United States, of children. worker for Kadamay, says she didn’t the way it did, if only the term-sharing forced to accept reality.

Strike 1 was honor the term-sharwas even signed.

So, it was not only a an ounce of human rst ofcountry his continues er was now beingstyles of the two House leaders. Former o saydecision AS THE grapAs time Congress continues discuss the I matter onpolice who gets or she credit raidtheintoglory which andagreement daughter—but that same day, called ing agreement with What tics Authority (PSA) reported know she was pregnant when tail-end onelater of the world’s was against honored without them that happened in the camps ofresponse the she by where the dismal other’s throats.

Considering thetoamount handshake thatofsealed the deal whichlongest accused of plotting decency and allowed etical rep- career.

Speaker Cayetano, asoperation? fartoas the Iwere cangovernsee, is it having with the doctrine COVID-19 pandemic, our 2021 I call on The of how the Cayetano, not Rep. Velasco.

Marinfor two abudget, successful Could other activists arrested. to fight Filipinos it out.

Thewere squabbling two Alans also gave us an opportunity prison officials tried to reduce the was arrested last year, attributing her ofple ammunition expended and long 4 million jobless in lockdowns. against the Speaker, the brain-dead and now deposed the This could be the educational system strives to carry on ment to because provide the necessary support political by the the Commisduque’s release. lawmak-to compare mother be consummate all of money?

Inprison all and these, the two camps into the last couthe contrasting leadership of beingthat lazyonly and in-the a medical examoperator inmodalities foundbetween length of her separation powers missed period to the stress ofhas a nightthe firefighteducation was, it isof January, with the unemployment Using thecompassionate same yardstick, JanTrump administration resulted an providing toa wonder students through to theBut alternative learning worst decision of his man’s a go-getter.

These traits are necessary sion on Elections er was now beingstyles of the sufficiently involved ple rate of weeks wasa embarrassing to say two House leaders.

Former it is possible that one agency is not enshe was in her first trimester.

What kind of justice system do we one bystander was reported to have been time police raid in which she anddead breastfeed her baby, various learning modalities.

The Departimplemented by the DepEd. While we hitting 16-year high. uary’s unemployment actually in more than half a million is a myth in this (Comelec) but by accused of plotting sharif one wants to go far and survive the in the thealternative work ofofthe tirely On dec political Certainly, it damaged the rep- career.

Speaker Cayetano, as far as I were can see,arrested. is forthcoming with its facts.

It the least.

The doctrine of the July 1, she gave birth to River, have that allows this to happen?

If the killed.

After the incident, heads ment of Education provided await for the development of a cure and two other activists the Filipino people, against the Speaker, matched the 8.7 percent in October Yet, Labor and Employment SecAmericans. make political jungle in this country.

River might still be ily’s home country.

Lower House, and of modular lacking learnleadershiprough of the House. the consummate political operator and could also beCOVID-19, that lowerwe echelon el- utation modes of education—the vaccine to this have to the both agencies promised a thorough and underweight at about 5.5 pounds. court and the authorities had an ounce during Silvestre the 2019 Bello III said theseparation of being lazyofandjobless inBut a medical examspokesman in prison found broklaunched qualities. To avert the agreed October 14 Lord Allan Velasco, on the oth2020—but of the powers number retary Considering that a congressman’s a go-getter.The ThesePalace traits are necessary crowed alive today. ing which involves thetodistribution of adapt toThe the new normal, and ifhigher we People’s areups ements are not telling their elections period. sufficiently involved impartial investigation get to the botNational Union of of human decency and allowed the shethat wastothe ingoher turnover of the Speakership, Cayetano nHouse that ofprinted er adapt hand,toisthe low and prefers to mythwas in lower, this people 3.8 ofmillion, “positive numbers” in the latestis a Philippines is not is only three years, farfirst andtrimester. survive the even in bre copies of self-learning modules,sud-to newkey normal, we cannot Not content with the term-sharin her theatbaby, work theif one wants the entire story.

For one, it looks liketheterm tom of the incident.

City. The suspended the Congressional sessionset Lawyers (NUPL) pleaded with mother to breastfeed River On July 1, she gave birth to splitoperate quietly.

He does not speak and denly the blended/online learning where aside the fact that students need to ing agreement in 2019 did not make rough political jungle in this country. back then because as Mr. Bello obPSA Labor Force Survey showed the top five, 10 or 20 in River, terms of Rive his brother Lino’s being the family’s home country.

Lower House, and of lacking leadership the operation was to. big.

This is because and hisshould to November 16, in the process placing in ss will more than he has When he was court to either let the mother and her might still be alive today. underweight at about 5.5 pounds. have been enough between two students will be able to attend classes continue learning. While the budget remuch sense.

Those involved in brokLord Allan Velasco, on the othcity’s mayor, Alan and his wife launched qualities.

To avert the agreed October 14 serves, the labor force grew by 1.6 that companies and employees are COVID-19 infections in the world. aliv uig Househonorable jeopardy the timely national-budget comple-mains the buy bust allegedly brought e two being nominated last at Monday, there There was via a signed baby stay longer Fabella Yet just month ago,Cayetano a convicted except thatpeople. classes are done radio, open for money amendments, I urgeMemorial our National Union of People’s their candidacies for twothe House of turnover of thea Speakership, sud-er hand,The ering the deal should havethe known that isMr. low key and prefers the Filipi-television, tion thator President Duterte desired. million. gaining confi dence with slowly Roque neglects totopoint out by the PNP team was P1 million, which e just was a lot of talk about bringing back online legislators to take document.

Hospital, or let Reina Mae keep River her lawyer Josalee Deinla.

US serviceman who had beat and Representatives seats of Taguig City.

The denly suspended the Congressional session Lawyers (NUPL) pleaded with the There must be human nature, being what it is, splitoperate quietly.

He does not speak s: Thoughplatforms.

In time, Alan Peter will probably come is now apparently missing or seemed This expansion, in itself, is nothreopening economy. thatto by World Health Organization into consideration in 15 and the lost glory of could the be former Speaker Cayetano sus- histhe dignity outgoing Speaker defended his will and hisshould to November 16, in thetransgender process placing inmore court inside the jail where they Reina Mae’s mother fought strangled a Filipino was ting three years for two Speakers than he has to.

When he was either let the mother and her nged, they When have been enough between two to realize that his decision to not honor deeper, underlying Since thesession beginthe quiet needs demeanor of the edto haveWhether been replaced wads of cut end wife’s ing to crow about, It being just baby minds his “The results the January 2021 (WHO) standards, thethere Philippines candidacies bothdaughter Taguig House jeopardy the timely national-budget complethe for about a month with eachpended up not satisfying either of the two nominated last at Monday, term-sharing agreement with Rep. Velasco isHouse. provided with natalby care facilities. for the right ofoffor her andhonorable allowed to walk free after serving people.

There washowever. a signed stay longer Fabella Memorial Let us remain ning of classes, we ucation sector, espepapers with some seats with anpolitical argument thatisleft the Filipition that President Duterte desired. ection newmixed leadership style real willmoney. serve October 6 for which in the light means were more Filipinosofwas whoaHospital, Labor Survey highly enreasons the PNPhad the highest num-her lawy rts of theirlast worststudents decision he has made in hisofpolit-and as shown inForce the drama we just loton of Monday talkorabout bringing back River document.

These pleadings were rejected. granddaughter to incredulous: remain together, only fivethere years andwill 10probably months let Reina Mae keep havethehappened seen teachers no people aghast and Though In time, Alan Peter come for what himItwell in the remaining months beis unusual forcially that those kind of buy bust witnessed. patient and last Monday and Tueswntstudents ical career, whose high point was his being became economically active when couraging with a 1.6 million inber of COVID-19 infections What can one really do in 15 the dignity and the lost glory of the When former Speaker Cayetano susLawyers also asked that Reina Mae sending photos and letters to the his 10-year sentence, his flight to and teachers alike and students belongPDEA encounter. inside the jail where they could be in Reina he and his wife were not estranged, they to realize that his decision to not honor his the 2022 we an willoperation have money to beelections, brought in fiolate the Phil-day, could bepolitical interpreted a fore selected asonly aplight major party’s as candidate or 21 months?

Thenearly agreement reminds House.

Whether hisnatal quiet demeanor considerate. pended thereached session for about apresidential month they theby age ofRep. 15 in January. crease in the country’s labor force, sharing their the Western Pacifi c and also thefor the ing in poor income be allowed to express breast milk and authorities every week freedom eased a maintained different residences, with each term-sharing agreement with Velasco is provided with care facilities. ce ntson to thepreemptive wait and for this country’s second-highest position.tounless strike, President took thesee. operation is big and intel- me of the ritual during every election last October 6 which in the light of and new leadership style will serve in adapting to these the families and those Viewed from and 1.4 million workers who had of them residing in different parts of their the worst no decision he another has made inperspective, his polithighest death toll from the disease, be given access to clean lactation pleading for her daughter’s release, pardon, less.

These pleadings were rejected. grandda That decision clearly displeased President of In his first speech as the House notice because the ligence credible. inIt far-flung is therefore safeI to of candidates new learning mo-move had the potenareas. signing an agreement for whatical him wellhigher in the remaining months behappened lastthere Monday and Tuescity.

Their argument sent he lawadded. students career, whose high killer point was his being that meant were 45.2 million regained employment,” than Japan or China. nd disgusttial President Duterte—the broker of the agreefacilities inside the Manila City Jail but to no avail.

If a convicted could be Lawyers also asked that Reina Mae sending really Speaker, he made some promises about of delaying the passage of the 2021 dalities.

I however, agree that the veneer of co- assume that the urge PNP the viewed the op- fair and legislators honesttoelections, only to violate Lately, could asonly be political interpreted a fore the 2022 elections, we will have scurrying the Family Code of the Phil-day, selected a major party’sas candidate cstake. acceptedgovernment ment —who wanted nothing to stand in theto Filipinos looking for employment in For the record, the PSA survey in Female Dormitory.

The hospital where Reina Mae shown some compassion and human Such offi cial optimism in the face change, service andfunds unity.

He has 21 be allowed to express breast milk and authorit budget.

He told the House pursuing education in the middle of the funnel adequate to education eration as something special because it. Why? Because candidate wants on to thepreemptive ippines and tonothe jurisprudence for this country’s second-highest position.to wait and see. strike, the President took operation seemsapproval to be disappearing. way of istimely bytheir Congress of theto reapproved but in months to fulfill these Wheth-of the ae and pandemic quite a challenging feat for Judge Marivic Balisi-Umali gave birth recommended the baby kindness, why were Reina M address existing andpromises. future problems January, up from 43.6 million in OcJanuary showed that the unemployno uncertain terms to get act toof our stark and disheartening realbe given access to clean lactation pleading meaning of the family home.

That decision clearly displeased President of they renewed their initial coordination end up being cheated.

In his first speech as the House notice because the move had the potenLet useducation try Appropriations to look at some Many cyniAct forincontro2021.stu- and bothGeneral and for learning activity is not gether erwhen hemake can pull Regional thema sustainable off and change the or hethan willproviders be forced to make his her infant denied the same?

Manila Trial Court Branch Ifment be kept her mother, said Deinla. great consternation and disgusttial of President Duterte—the broker of 2021 the agreetober 2020.

In both instances, 8.7 Speaker, per- facilities rate 8.7 percent inside the Manila Cityscene Jail inbut to n ity calls to mind the iconic weTo trythe towith goworsened deeper, it istonot really he made some promises about it expired. delaying the passage of the Duterte-apMore that, in deciding to renege vertible facts.

Both agencies from dentsmove. alike. With For one, internet services in quarantine. uired. porkThe barrel politics, whichAvenue the House is own that, he showed whoAlanwhile of the5.3 Filipino people, Comelec acceptedgovernment ment wanted to House stand in thechange, Female Dormitory. thatfrom simple because of awhat is ago. at stake. service andcomedy unity. Heclassic has 21The Life The h cent—who ofbudget. them did not nd the jobs. percent year rs did not on hisbeginning agreement with Velasco, the 1979 Henothing told fithe Commonwealth incident the very haveRep. been insisting provided by telecommunications comThe responsibility of supporting the we all known to live by, to something honorthe argument of Cayetano and approved way of timely approval bytheir Congress of themonths to the real Boss is.

He demonstrated that hree years Peter alienated all sensible, right-thinking Ambition and control of funds are but fulfill these promises.

WhethJudge Marivic Balisi-Umali of the edgave bi in no uncertain terms to get act towas not the fi rst case of law enforcement Still, there was no tamping down The national statistician, Dennis of Brian, in which a man crucifi panies intheir the doctrine country, many legitiyears of our children does solethat both operations were his and his wife’s candidacy. Many cyni- General Appropriations Act for 2021. orable able, would be something thatnotwe all so-called offorhim separation of education Presidentthe Filipinos who now see asthose power-huntwo of the many reasons why it is not er he can pull them off and change the gether or he will be forced to make his Manila Regional Trial Court Branch elements disagreeing on who should connow, have not been at par with of ly depend on the DepEd. As they say, it Mr. Bello’s optimism.

Mapa, said the jobless rate was the by the Romans advises in song thebe kept Based what hasJudicial already cal Filipinos believed that the Duterte-apMore than that, in deciding to renege them- mate. would like to see. powers between theon Executive, gry, overlyalso ambitious and who is anything easypointed to let go of power once acquired. pork barrel politics, which the House is ownon move.

With that, he showed who other countries.

Hence, many bewail the takes athe village to raise a do child.

Hence, duct operation but I not remember Comelec commissioners did not his agreement with Rep. Velasco, Alan been reported, it was clear that the PNP “We expect a better and more imhighest since 2005 when the govmain character who is on the cross ns of Alan,intermittent but trustworthy. agreement, as we or worse, the I aalso call onin our telecommunications the real Boss is. He that known to live by, to something honorwant to offend the man threeallyears situation recent past of a disagree- A gentlemen’s Peter alienated alldemonstrated sensible,performance right-thinking was there to1connection buy because money was g City had and Strike 2 have been calledcompanies proved employment in ernment adopted itswho current emnextbetosomething him to “always lack ofStrike reliable signal especially in far to immediately address exunderstand, means that two honorable able, would that we look all on the doctrine of him separation of earlier was the running mate of Presidentthe so-called Filipinos who now see as power-hunment ending in a deadly shootout. Part ty. And let against SpeakerEvidence Alan Peteristing brought fornow-former that purpose. the coming months with the vaccine ployment metrics.

The actual numbright side of life.” flung areas. internet problems and assertively and distinguished persons bind themwould like to see. powers between the Executive, Judicial Rodrigo Duterte. gry, overly ambitious and who is anything swho ex- sucCayetano.

Strike 3that andthe he will be coorout. Theexplore of the problem incanthe anti-drug camIToptions IS truethat what they say thatnecthe kind and Legislative branches is all a myth. hasSecondly, also come out PNP the remoteness of schools lead to the being made available and more FilberWith of Filipinos without jobsofrose We’d whistle along, too, if only the successful campaigns Alan,to There but trustworthy. ents. . The Filquestion is, what will The Honorable Gen-essary ofand we haveamount in this in country necis no such thing in this democratpaign ispolitics money.

The of telemoney dinated with the PDEA twice—the last from communities makes it difficult for drastic improvements his wife and his brother, Taguig City had Strike 1 and Strike 2priority have been called d of ipinos under the categories 4 million, from 2.4 million in Januour “crucifixion” were not so os comingbothtleman from Taguig City do for Strike 3? essarily reflects the character of our ic land of ours.

Look at the way the two circulating in the illegal drug trade is students andthe teachers to deliver the services in the country. when PNP requested for communications effectively become Cayetano City. And let against now-former SpeakerheAlan Peter end time was getting inoculated,” said in a painful—and so likely to result in ary 2020. society.

It is also equally true that the House leaders defer to the President. necessary modules.

This problem has I also call on the government to allow considerate of the possible troubles exso mind boggling that the temptation us not forget Alan’s sister, Pia, who suc- Cayetano. Strike 3 and he will be out. The IT IS true what they say that the kind t we an extension as proven by documents statement.

To put abypositive spin on these pa- Both actually by been existing for many years more death. we have in this country necinfrastructure bothreturned teachers andSenate. students. strengths and projects, weaknesses of always our pol-perienced of is, them that they Genwill is sometimes hard to resist.particularIt is cessfully to the The Filquestion whatadmitted will The Honorable osing obtained of politics a TV station. now. The lack of roads and educational lyanthe building of necessary andlawand Let us extend ournow support, instead of itics are essentially theroads strengths his orders. lot. 3? ipino people had Cayetanos coming follow tleman from TaguigThis City says do fora Strike s on existential problem not only for essarily reflects the character of our CCTV footage also showed some facilities in far-flung areas, especially in bridges in remote areas the provinces, pulling down these efforts. At the end weaknesses of ourinsociety asfor well.

In a very unusual Congressional soci- PDEA enforcement elements but also other society.

It is also equally true that the elements shouting trying to identiThe sea beckons the provinces, makes it all the more dif- to facilitate theend, delivery of educational day, what is important that we of meeting in Celebrity Sports Plaza in In the whether wegoes like ittoorthe not,of the hold selves to abide by the isconditions government offiand cials.

Credit strengths and weaknesses of our polfy themselves to the PNP elements —but ficult for teachers to reach their students. materials, goods, public services. overcome this pandemic without posing s we we deserve theresist kind but of government that what has been stipulated upon when Quezon City last Monday, Lord Allan itics are essentially the strengths and cials who can many do Apart from this, public reports circulate COVID-19 transmission remains This pandemic inevitably makes anfall detrimental and irreversible effects on the firefight continued.

Did the PDEAthe offi we have with the kind of politicians Velasco was elected House Speaker and the time comes the agreement weaknesses of our society as well. regarding blatant errors incoordinated the primary goal, but cannot let learnthe situa-impact learning and learnof theforpeople and soci-to be along to thethe way.

This ishabits the reason why wewethe well-being office withthe whom thewe PNP beckons vote into public office. was officially ratified last Tuesday atThe sea fulfilled. ing tion modules received by students. curve of see children.

While paralyze the education of youth.ing much as we can, we have to hold In the end, whether we like it or not, selves to sometimes corruption as problems the cause of ety. As inform the operating elements ofour PDEA A very good example of this is what the Session Hall of the House of RepreIn this case, it was even more elabWe are in the midst of an understandstill arise even a few months into The enrollment of children lies withinmay on to the thought of normalcy as we we deserve the kind of government that what has many problems.

Rolando Publisher that thedifficult PNP would operating that transmission the just happened the Speakership sentatives.

This demonstrates, solemn anddisease. ceremonial because COVID-19 that there are kind those went we aheadthe time ing the limited supplyremains of beyond vaccines, ablythe time.ofbe The prevention ofG. Estabillo the school year, let usin remain patient and row discretion parents and in children. awaitorate, the cure for this we have with the of who politicians gal Adviservicinity?

Let us hope that it will not be the goal, but weextent cannotof letexposure the situa- to If not, that wasManaging a monumenBlancoAlan Cabie Peter NightCayetano Editor Ramonchito L.let Tomeldan between and Lord the President of the country was a primary any doubt, the legitimacy of Velasco’s However, me emphasize thatEditor educa- Honor of into the public line and got vaccinated despitefulfilled. their risks and vote office. in this case.ItCity The anti-drug paralyze education of our youth.

Jimbo Owen Gulle Editor S. Eñano Associate Editors tal Chin failure the part ofimportance PDEA. Ifinitthe reason tionWong/Ray stillonholds prime Allan Velasco. should not havecamended witness to the agreement. A document tion election.

Eventhe Alan Peter Cayetano was not belonging in any priority In this COVID-19, the nature and A very good example of of thisthe is what The enrollment of children lies necessity within Lino M. Santos Chief Photographer JoyceofPangco Pañares News Editor join paign isway notitonly war with the drug children. did, lives why didn’t the PDEA simply the did, aif only the term-sharing forced to accept reality.

Rolando G. Estabillo just Publisher was even signed. So, it was not only a the sectors.

I am deeply disturbed at howorate, so of their jobs, and other predisposing happened in the Speakership row discretion of parents and children.

Adelle Chuafor Opinion Editor the lords but also within theFormer to grapranksChief of Justice law Reynato Aselements Congress continues to discuss S. Puno Board the PNP a joint operation? agreement was What happened in Managing thethem camps of the Honor ManilaStandard handshake thatMember sealed& Chief the Legal dealAdviser which Ramonchito can be accessed at: honored without them Blanco Cabie Night Editor L. let Tomeldan Editor the list could be circumvented to thethe Pres factors that render susceptible between Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord However, me emphasize that educaemic, our budget, I callcould on tohave the governmanilastandard.net enforcement agencies.

Regardless ONLINE having to fight it out. The squabbling Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager two Alans also gave us an opportunity That2021 way, the gunfight been Owen Gulle ofIt City Editor Chin S. Eñano Associate Editors tion still holds prime importance in the Jimbo Allan Velasco. should not have prejudice our health careended workerswitness t toWong/Ray COVID-19 infection.

Emil Jurado Emeritus, Editorial Board Monday

by Philippine StandardChairman carry onPublished ment toto Sunday provide theP.Manila necessary support of the eventual findings thelast NBI, Baldwin R. Felipe Head—Ad Solutions between the two camps of in the coutoJoyce compare the contrasting leadership Linothe M. way Santosit did, Chief Photographer Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Pangco Pañares News Editor avoided.

MEMBER lives of children. if only the term-sharing who have been actually working atwas even s through the alternative learning modalities Roxas,to corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone Philippine Press Institute there is something that the PNP and Adelle Chua Opinion Editor ple of weeks was embarrassing to say styles of the two House leaders.

Former Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager There must be deeper, underlying AS THE country continues to grapAs Congress continues to discuss the 832-5554, 832-5556,by 832-5558 all While we agreement was honored without them THE World Health Organization and e Depart-numbers implemented the(connecting DepEd. the frontlines for more than a yearhandshak The National Association departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. mustNewspapers immediately do. This is least.

Certainly, it damaged the repSpeaker Cayetano, fartoas the I cangovernsee, is ple with the doctrine COVID-19 budget, I callason ofthe Philippine The of the our reasons forCentral thethe encounter.

The www. most im-and PDEA lternative await a cure having toBoard fight itmention out. Thethe squabbling other prominent healthpandemic, agencies and 2021 Box 2933, Manilafor Postdevelopment Office, Manila. Website:of now, not to people who Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial educational system strives to carry on ment to provide the necessary utationtheir of the House. the consummate political operator and rules of engagement in As much as I support would manilastandard.net ular learnportant question all, is whywePDEA vaccine to thisofCOVID-19, have to to revise between the two camps incomplying the last cou-with health institutions around the world, in- to separation of powers have been patiently providing education to students through the alternative learning modalities Considering that a congressman’s a go-getter. These traits are necessary urban areas.

It is somebution of adapt an to the new normal, we are very crowded launched operation whenand theif PNP plethe of community weeks was embarrassing to say like totoget vaccinated cluding our ownmodalities.

Department Health, implemented quarantine and health various thefar DepEd. While the we is a learning myth in this TheofDepartonly agencies three years, the term-sharif one wants by go and survive modules, to adapt to the newearlier normal, we who cannot thingterm thatisboth cannot afford already coordinated and theprotocols least. Certainly, it damaged theinconverepTh even prior to the global distribution of in spite of the ment of Education provided alternative await for the development of a cure and understand I ng where set aside the fact the that operation students need ing agreement roughsoon, politicalIjungle in this country. again. in 2019 did not make COVID-19 country. utation of the House. in PDEA authorized that to happening modes of education—the modular learnvaccine to this COVID-19, we have to vaccines, have been stressnience to their livelihood and emsepa d classes continue learning. While the budget remuch sense. Those involved in brokLord AllantoVelasco, on the othwait.

Considering that aalarming congressman’s ing the which involves distribution of adapt have to the new normal, and if we are utmost needthe to give protection via radio, mains open for amendments, I urge our ployment. More is the fact is a m ering the deal should have known that ing er adapt hand,toisthe low key and prefers to term is only three years, the term-sharprinted copies of self-learning modules, to new normal, we cannot legislators to take our health care workers who have operate quietly. He does not speak that the World Health Organization human nature, being what it is, split- to and the blended/online learning where set aside the fact that students need to ing agreement in 2019 did not make into consideration manning theenough frontlines andclasses taking already gave a warning to pull out coun ting three years for two Speakers will been more than he hasWhile to. When he was should between two continue studentshave willbeen be able to attend learning. the budget remuch sense. Those involved in brokthe needs of the edof that COVID-19 patients the mains thethe Philippines from countries I cannot thethere current end up not satisfying either of the two care being nominated last Monday, honorable people. was via asince signed except classesThere are done radio, open foroveremphasize amendments, I urge our ering deal should havethe known that inet us remain ucation sector, espeWith this, health care was cluded in itsbeing global vaccine sharing limited the bringing COVID-19 as shown in the political drama we just pandemic a lot supply of talk of about television, began. or online legislators to back takevac- human document. cially those teachers nature, what it is, splitent and have been at theCayetano top of the list the platforms. into consideration witnessed. What can one really do in 15 workers dignity the lostand glory if the unauthorized vaccinations cines.

All and 17 regions all of 81 the prov- tingpool When former Speaker susand students belongthree years for two Speakers will should h Since the theamong begin- those the quiet needs of the edprioritized or 21 months? The agreement reminds worldwide his demeanor siderate. pended session for about a monthto House. continue. inces Whether in the country have recorded ing in poor income end up not satisfying either of the two honorabl Letlight us ofremain ning October of the classes, we ucation espeme of the ritual during every election receive and new leadership style will serve vaccine. families and those last 6 which in the We should expressdrama our gratitude COVID-19 cases, somesector, which have as shown in the political we just bydocumen have seen students cially those teachers in far-flung areas. I of candidates signing an agreement for what well in the remaining months bepatient and him happened Monday and Here in the last Philippines, weTueshave abiding What by the Hence, been hotspots for months now. witnessed. canprotocols. one really do in 15 let When and teachers alike andmany students belongurge the legislators givefair honest elections, to violate been fore the 2022 elections, we will have day, could only be interpreted as a repeatedly receiving that infortheand opinion on someonly proposed be a call foragreement vigilancereminds in the im-pended t We have roughly 1.7 million health or this 21 months?

The considerate. sharing their plight ing in poor income dle of the to funnel adequate funds to education it. Why?measure, Because no candidate wants to mation wait workers and see. who preemptive strike, President took from the the government since tocare and 90 percent of the every COVID-19 are regularly of the ritual during electionvac-last Octo in adapting to these families and those ex- meplementation g feat for to address existing and future problems monetary end up being cheated.

In his speech asand the areas.

House notice because the move had the potenlast ThemoIATF and the DOH posed tofirstsuspected new year. learning in far-flung I some fellow at the end of of cination candidatesprogram signing an for what hap of agreement the government. confi rmed for stu- and make learning a sustainable activity of the Iftime try that to gomy deeper, it is is notconreally have he made some promises about tial of been delaying the of the 2021 Speaker, dalities.

I agree thatpassage urge in thevarious legislators vocal about the national elections, only to violate the tablewe says opinion thehonest middle of a health crisis, es-day, cou COVID-19 patients health fairInand services while in quarantine. that simple because of what is at stake. COVID-19 change, service andfunds unity.toHe has 21 government budget. the House pursuing education inHe thetold middle of This the to funnel adequate Because candidate wants to preempti vaccination plan. ons comThe responsibility of supporting the stitutionally or legally not feasible. I pecially in thisnopandemic, our health care facilities.

This numbereducation may actual- it. Why? Ambition and control of funds are but months to fulfill these promises.

Whethpandemic is quite a challenging feat for to address existing and future problems in no uncertain terms to get their act toany years education of our children does not sole- want to learn what is and what is not up being cheated. includes giving priority to our health ly be higher than estimated, given that endcare notice be workers and other frontline both education providers for stuactivity two of the many reasons why it is not gether er hemake can learning pull thema sustainable off and change the or he will be forced and to make his and h those of ly depend on the DepEd. As they say, it legally If we try to with go deeper, it isactual not really tial of de care workers in COVID-19 hospitals feasible.”

The Ateneo Law personnel greater risk to barangay health workers may also be dentsmove. alike. With For one, services in quarantine. easy to let go of power once acquired. own pork barrel politics, which the House is that, internet heOther showed who while bewail the takes a village to raise a child. Hence, that simple because of what is at stake. and health facilities. priority School broke into a big grin and said, COVID-19 should be the first ones togovernm considered in the honorfar-fl provided by telecommunications The responsibility supporting theung FILIPINOS received their leA gentlemen’s agreement, as we all the to livefrontliners by, to of something orse, the I also callwho on our telecommunications real Boss is. He demonstratedcomthat known Ambition and control of funds are butlikein no unc groups include senior citizens, per“I like that.”

The rest, as the cliche be protected.

As much as I would communities.

Yet, the initial batches of panies in the country, for many years education of our children does not solegal education Ateneo deaddress Manilaexlly in far companies from to immediately understand, means that two honorable the so-called doctrine of separation of able, would be something that we all two of the many reasons why it is not gether or now, have notco-morbidities, been at par with frontline those of ly depend As they say, to it all with history. I became to get vaccinated soon, I understand vaccines are notDepEd. sufficient to cater isting internet University’s Lawproblems School and are assertively bound goes, andis distinguished personsa law bind stuthem- sons would likeon to the see. powers betweenHence, the Executive, Judicial easy to let go of power once acquired. other countries. many bewail the takes a village to raise a child.

Hence, personnel in essential sectors includ- these frontliners.

I have to wait, and I urge everyoneown mov f schools explore options that G. canBernas, lead to the nec- dent that very evening. to remember Joaquin S.J., A gentlemen’s agreement, as we all the real B intermittent connection or worse, the I also call on our telecommunications fficult for essary and drastic improvements in teleing uniformed personnel, and those Earlier I used the word “warm” to to patiently wait as well while, again, I laud the efforts of the government who passed away a week ago, as three lack of reliable signal especially in far companies to immediately address exunderstand, means that two honorable the so-ca eliver the communications services in the country. describe Joaquin G Bernas. Warm he in theareas. essential working sectors, and isting the necessary health protoin getting COVID-19 vaccines for the andobserving persons: as a warm human being, as a flung internet problems and assertively distinguished persons bind them- powers b blem has I also call on the government to allow was.considerate of not the possible troubles exindigent population.

These sectors But he was given to waste of cols to help prevent the spread of the public.

However, we need to strictly Secondly, the remoteness of schools explore options that can lead to the neclaw-school dean and asprojects, an authority on any years more infrastructure particularperienced both by teachers and students. have been pre-selected by health extime or to fl uffy talk.

Fr. Bernas was on disease.

These little ways are already comply with the priority list of the from communities makes it difficult for essary and drastic improvements in teleconstitutional law. ducational ly the building of necessary roads and Let us extend our support, instead of perts and health officials considerboth students and teachers to deliver the communications services in theby country. of arrogance, thethe truth a big help to the country. vaccines. I am saddened the fact ecially in First, bridges in remote in thethe provinces, pulling down these efforts.if At end Joaquin G. areas Bernas, hu- the borderline necessary modules. This problem has I also call on the government to allow considerate of the possible troubles exwas isarrogance more diffacilitate delivery of educational of thebut day,itwhat important born is thatof we mantobeing: Mythefi rst encounter with be told, actually been existing for many years more infrastructure projects, particularperienced both by teachers and students. students. materials, goods, and public services. overcome this pandemic without posing knowledge that he knew what he was one of the handful of lawyers of the now. The lack of roads and educational ly the building of necessary roads and Let us extend our support, instead of circulate This pandemic inevitably makes an doing detrimental and irreversible effects on and that people knew it.

Society oftoJesus’s Philippine provfacilities far-flung areas, especially bridges in remoteand areas in the provinces, pulling down these tinkering efforts. At thewith end the the learnimpact the learning habits and learnthe well-being of the people and soci- sors ill-considered dispassionate rational person that knew in that the man at the top wasina The sea beckons the provinces, makes it all the more dif- to facilitate the delivery of educational ince,ingwas in of hischildren.

Padre Faura office of the day, what is important is that we nts. curve While problems ety. As much as we can, we have to hold fair Basic Law. he was, he keptand hispublic political emotions overcome andfor considerate ficult teachers toperson. reach their students. materials, goods, services. this pandemic without posing the early partarise of an October eveninginto derstandmay still even a few months on to the thought of normalcy as we Sadly, and the irreversible last time I effects was with under control and never got intoan the detrimental Whether intentionally or otherwise; Apart from this, public reports circulate This pandemic inevitably makes on Fr. He was warm, ention of the school year,friend let us remain patient in 1974.

A close of mine whoand await the cure for this disease. wasofintheMay 2018, when my urge toto publicly manifest his learndisdain theBernas Joaquin G. the Bernas, lawyer, came impact regarding blatant the errors in the learnthe learning habits and well-being people and socithought that I belonged in law school jovial and decent. modules received students. of children. While problems ety.

As muchLaw as weSchool can, we have Ateneo classto hold went to andcurve loathing. to ing focus on, and to be by firmly associated ing had arranged for me to be interare in the midstlaw. of an mayJoaquin still arise even a few months into onhave to the thought normalcy as we lunch withof our beloved former with,WeConstitutional AsunderstandI Rolando sat and PublisherG. Bernas had the chance viewed by Fr. Bernas, who was then ably difficult The prevention ofG. Estabillo the year, the let usevils remain patient by andthe await this disease. deantheatcure theforhome within the Ateneo to school help undo wrought listened to himtime. in Constitutional law Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser

Opinion

A4

ayetano’s Strike 3 be? gunfight gentlemen’sThe agreement

EDITORIAL

What will Cayetano’s Strike 3 be?

EDITORIAL Inhuman and unjust A gentlemen’s agreement HEN is it right

W

to separate a mother from her infant?

Ensure support to education

ED

Inhuma The cross we bear

W

“W

HEN is it right to separate a mother from her infant?

A gentlemen’s agreement

A gentlem

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be accessed at: inManilaStandard the fi rst ofcan his two terms as Ateneo manilastandard.net ONLINE Law School dean. I had hoped that MEMBER his tone would be one of welcome Philippine Press Institute and encouragement, but that was not The National Association Newspapers the case.of Philippine No sooner had I begun to warm my seat than he leaned back in his swivel chair and asked: “Why do you want to become a lawyer? You’re already established as an economist.”

I had to come up with an answer quickly. “Fr. Bernas,” I began, “in my work in the Central Bank of the Philippines I am often asked to about

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Anita F. Grefal Law Treasury ManagercommuThe Ateneo School Baldwin R. Felipeto Head—Ad nity’s attitude the manSolutions from Baao, Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Managerof awe Camarines Sur was a mixture and affection.

Joaquin G. Bernas was no ivory-tower academic. He was a both-feet-onthe-ground master of the law. Having been a law student and a professor, he understood the needs and aspirations of the Ateneo Law School community.

Though he ran the Law School like a tight ship, still the students and profes-

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dictatorship when President Loyola campus where retired Jesuits class, I thought how Fr.Associate BernasEditors was Marcos Jimbo Owen Gulle City Editor Chin Wong/Rayof S. Eñano Aquino him as one of are housed and cared for. When we a match forPangco Harvard University in the Cory Lino M. Santos selected Chief Photographer Joyce Pañares News Editor got S. toPuno the residence, Fr. Bernas was the 50 members of the Commission well-received film “The Paper Adelle Chua OpinionChase.”

Editor Former Chief Justice Reynato Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser ManilaStandard can be accessed at: at the door,Treasury waiting for us. When my that would draft a Constitution to Anita Without a doubt, Joaquin G. Bernas’ONLINE manilastandard.net F. Grefal Manager Emil P.Manila Jurado Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine StandardChairman Emeritus, Editorial Board classmates unloading two-volume “Commentary on the Phil- replace the unratified 1973 Constitu-Baldwin R. Felipe were Head—Ad Solutions lunch stuff Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de MEMBER Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati Telephone from the cars, Fr. Bernas At aPress time when itchy political ippine Constitution” has City. become the tion.Philippine Institute Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Managercalled out in numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all The National Association are Newspapers once again trying to re- his typical half-joking tone, “Where’s Bible on (Editorial) Constitutional law for P.O.most fi ngers departments), 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. of Philippine Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. vise the 1986 Constitutional Commis- the whiskey?”

Filipino law students. manilastandard.net That’s the Joaquin G. Bernas I want Fr. Bernas first became Ateneo Law sion’s hard work, it is truly a pity that School dean during martial law and he Fr. Bernas is no longer around to im- to—and will always—remember: totally detested Ferdinand Marcos and press upon the would-be revisionists Warm, jovial, decent.

Vale, Fr. Bernas. his dictatorial regime. But, being the the significance and consequences of

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

SK officials should get monthly pay —Salceda

TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS.

Two barangays and two hotels – Malate Bayview Mansion and Hop Inn Hotel – in Manila will be put under lockdown for four days due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the nation’s capital city. Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso said the snap lockdown will last until March 14. Felino Santos

IN BRIEF 300 traffic personnel hired for Metro Manila THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has recruited 300 traffic personnel to strengthen its force managing congested main roads in the National Capital Region, especially along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

MMDA chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. said the new recruits will undergo a 15-day training, covering topics such as academic and non-academic traffic management, physical training, traffic rules and regulations, values formation, human rights, and personality development.

The first batch of trainees have undergone RT-PCR swab test and all have tested negative for COVID-19.

The MMDA also filled up vacant positions left by personnel who resigned or were terminated from work.

Majority of MMDA traffic enforcers are classified as job order employees. They receive P8,000 a month as starting salary but not entitled to benefits and hazard pay.

The agency is planning to give hazard pay and other incentives to traffic enforcers whose lives are at risk while on duty. Joel Zurbano

2,000 applicants take PNPA admission test CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Some 2,000 applicants took the college admission test of the Philippine National Police Academy held in various testing centers across Central Luzon recently.

“Police personnel of Nueva Ecija and Pampanga ensured the safety and protection of the 1,969 PNPA aspirants on March 7-8, 2021 by providing area security and traffic management and control at the examination centers,” said Lt. Colonel John Lopez Clark, city police chief.

Police personnel also made sure minimum health protocols were strictly observed by the applicants.

Applicants for the PNPA Cadetship Program must be a senior high school graduate; 18 to 22 years old on the date of appointment; and 5 feet and 4 inches in height for male and 5 feet and 2 inches for female. Jess Malabanan

PDEA Academy to rise in Tanay THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Wednesday signed a usufruct agreement with the Tanay municipal government for the use of a 10-hectare land where a forest park will be developed and the PDEA Academy will be built.

The accord was signed by PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva and Tanay Mayor Rex Manuel Tanjuatco Villanueva said the development of a forest park is a joint undertaking between Tanay and PDEA as contribution to the country’s National Greening Program, a massive forest-rehabilitation initiative of the government.

A portion of the land would also serve as a new home of the PDEA Academy, which for the longest time has been temporarily situated inside Camp General Mariano Castañeda in Silang, Cavite.

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House panel declares housing crisis in PH

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

COMMITTEE in the House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a resolution declaring a housing crisis in the country as it called on the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and other government agencies to mobilize resources to provide adequate housing to underserved families.

In a unanimous vote, the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, chaired by Rep. Francisco Benitez, approved House Substitute Resolution 1458.

The resolution, co-authored and spearheaded by Rep. Florida Robes of the lone district of San Jose Del Monte City, declared a housing crisis, citing the need to construct 6,796,920 housing units by 2022.

The housing industry, according to the resolution, is saddled by the rising urban

land prices and regulatory costs.

From July 2016 to June 2020, the resolution stated, the national government and the private sector constructed only 777,879 housing units.

The resolution cited the need to address the housing problem because of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the adverse impact of climate change threaten to displace families living in danger zones.

It also underscored the proliferation

of informal settlers in the country as a result of the failure to address the housing problem.

DHSUD data showed there are at least 1,898,993 informal settler families in the country, with 478,899 in the National Capital Region.

The resolution proposed 18 specific measures to address the housing crisis, including calling on the DHSUD to immediately undertake an inventory of idle government lands and to hasten their development and disposition for socialized housing in partnership with the private sector.

The House also likewise called on the Department of Finance and the Philippine Guarantee Corporation to develop a framework for a dynamic housing finance system to encourage private sector participation in the housing market.

Once approved by the body, the House will conduct oversight meetings on the resolution to make sure progress is being made in the housing sector.

CONNECTOR ROAD. Public

Works Secretary Mark Villar leads the inspection of the 3-lane Skyway Extension that connects the elevated Skyway to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) through the Alabang Viaduct.

Norman Cruz

2nd lowest passing rate for Shari’ah court Bar exams

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that only 71 or 10.86 percent of the 654 examinees hurdled the 2020 special bar examinations for the Shari’ah courts.

Court of Appeals Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, chairperson of the committee on the Shari’ah Bar Examinations, said the results “will go down in history as the second lowest passing percentage.”

Court records showed the lowest passing rate was logged in 1983, with only 14 examinees who passed or 7.69 percent of those who took the examinations.

The SC said the 10 examinees who topped the Shari’ah Bar Exams are as follows: Mohammad Hisham Mocsir, 87.075 percent; Ramayana Saidamen, 86.975 percent; Mohammad Mojib Marangit, 85.075 percent; Julamin Paglala, 84.625 percent; Ainah Pumbaya, 83.525 percent; Sittie Ainah Ali, 83.200

percent; Nasihah Mamarungas, 82.075 percent; Johari Abubacar, 82.025 percent; Raima Panandigan, 81.100 percent; and Nornisah Taha, 80.950 percent.

The 2020 examiners were lawyer Melchor Rey Sadain (Persons, Family Relations and Property), Dr. Asnawil Ronsing (Jurisprudence [Fiqh] and Customary Laws [Adat]); Dean Norhabib Bin Suod Barodi (Procedure in Shari’ah Courts), and Dr. Jamel Cayamodin (Succession, Wills/ Adjudication and Settlement of Estate).

Solon prods Senate on Agri-Agra bill A BILL that allows banks to expand assistance to the agriculture sector and make them comply with the Agri-Agra Law is still pending in the Senate more than a year after the House of Representatives passed the measure, the bill’s principal author said.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte called on the Senate to hasten its approval of the measure following reports that lending institutions have again fallen short of their loan compliance to the sector in 2020.

Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed the banking system was able to allocate only about 10 percent of its total loanable funds last year, way below the 25 percent mandated under the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.

Last year, Villafuerte said loans extended by banks for agriculture and agrarian reform slipped by 2.8 percent to only P713.6 billion from P733.92 billion in 2019.

House Bill 6134, or the proposed Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System Act, was promptly transmitted last year to the Senate, where a counterpart version of the measure remains pending.

“The banks can hardly comply with the provisions of the Agri-Agra law not because of the lack of funds to lend to the agriculture sector, but because the only way they can comply is through loans, which they are wary of extending because of the lack of creditworthy agriculture projects,” Villafuerte said.

Maricel V. Cruz

JAB FOR FUR BABIES.

The local government of Antipolo City conducts an antirabies mass vaccination in Brgy. San Luis.

Teddy Pelaez

A HOUSE leader on Wednesday pushed for a monthly honorarium for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) kagawad, the hiring of an SK Treasurer and Secretary, and more responsibilities and civil service standards for the SK. In his remarks to the Technical Working Group commissioned by the House committee on local government to craft the final version of the bill, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda “compensating SK officials sends a strong signal that the State expects the degree of professionalism and dedication it expects of other paid government officials. It signifies that the State takes seriously the work of the SK.” Salceda, chairperson of the House committee on ways and means, is the principal author of House Bill No. 1667 or the Expanded Sangguniang Kabataan Benefits Act. “In terms of demographic consistency, the Sangguniang Kabataan is the most representative level of government in a country whose median age is 23. That is why I am a believer in making the SK a stronger institution. Let’s invest in them, and also expect better work from them,” he said.

“The barangay system has, within itself, institutionally embedded dynamism in the form of the Sangguniang Kabataan.

Long maligned as a ‘breeding ground’ for traditional politics, the Sangguniang Kabataan is actually a potent instrument of governance, if we can strengthen it,” Salceda added.

Under Salceda’s bill, SK kagawad will receive half the salary of a barangay kagawad. This amounts to around P6,250 even as benefits may vary depending on the income classification of the barangay.

“Given this institutionalization in pay, we have to clarify our expectations of the SK. As we will be employing secretaries and treasurers for the SK, we must also impose standard auditing rules and procedures. Rules of ethical conduct for government officials must similarly apply to the SK,” Salceda said. Maricel V. Cruz

P10k subsidy for vulnerable families pushed A MINORITY leader in the House of Representatives on Wednesday pushed for a P10,000 subsidy for families economically affected by the lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This cash subsidy proposal, along with other economic measures, aim to help the Philippine economy recover and to strengthen our health care system,” Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said.

Zarate made the push as the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Tuesday that some 4 million Filipinos were unemployed in January 2021.

The figure was higher than the 3.8 million unemployed in October 2020 and the 2.4 million in January 2020.

Zarate said families and individuals ravely affected by the lockdowns and the pandemic badly need the cash subsidy “with rising inflation and millions of Filipinos losing their jobs.”

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte echoed Zarate’s proposal as he pushed for a third round of cash subsidies to poor and low-income households amid record job losses and faster food price hikes.

Villafuerte made another pitch for the Bangon Pamilyang Pilipino (BPP) assistance program which seeks to provide at least P10,000 in cash assistance each to vulnerable households. Maricel V. Cruz

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

TODAY

Republic of the Philippines COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS lntramuros, Manila IMPLEMENTING GUIDELINES ON THE PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER, PROMOTION, EXTENSION, OR RECALL OF OFFICERS OR MEMBERS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE CORPS IN RELATION TO THE 09 MAY 2022 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.

ABAS, S.M., Chairman GUANZON, M.R.A.V., Commissioner INTlNG, S.B., Commissioner CASQUEJO, M.S., Commissioner KHO, A.T.K.J., Commissioner FEROLINO-AMPOLOQUIO,A.P., Commissioner

secretariat based at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) home office tasked to assist the OFOV of the COMELEC. The DFA-OVS is also responsible for directing, coordinating, and overseeing the participation of the DFA in the implementation of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 2013.

b. Bye-mail. - Scanned copies of the written requests may also be sent via email to the OFOV’s official email address at overseasvoting@comelec.gov.ph

g. Promotion refers to the advancement of a career employee from one position to another with an increase in duties and responsibilities as authorized by law, and usually accompanied by an increase in salary. Promotion may be from one department or agency to another or from one organizational unit to another within the same department or agency.

SECTION 8. Requests Involving Officers and Personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to be Coursed Through the DFA-OVS. - Requests for approval of the transfer, promotion, extension or recall of officers or personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) who are members of the foreign service corps shall be coursed through the Overseas Voting Secretariat (OVS) of the DFA.

h. Recall refers to the return of officers or employees on assignment abroad back to the home office.

SECTION 9. Requests Involving Officers and Personnel of the Other Philippine Government Agencies with Regular and Service Attaches On Assignment Abroad. - Requests for approval of the transfer, promotion, extension, recall or movement of regular and service attaches of other Philippine government agencies shall be submitted by their respective government agencies, duly signed by their heads of agencies and/or appointing authorities.

i. Transfer is the movement of an employee from one position to another, or from one organizational unit to another in the same department or agency or from one department or agency to another. It may also refer to the movement of personnel from one Post to another pursuant to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ rotation plan as provided in Section 38 of the PHILIPPINE FOREIGN SERVICE ACT OF 19915.

Promulgated x-----------------------------------------------x

March 10, 2021

SECTION 2. Prohibited Acts and the Duration of the Prohibitions. - The following prohibited acts, when committed Prohibitions within the periods provided by law, shall be considered election offenses: PROHIBITED ACTS

RESOLUTION No. 10701 WHEREAS,, the last paragraph of Section 35 of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 20131, hereinafter referred to as “OVA of 2013”, contains a prohibition against the transfer, promotion, extension, recall or movement of members or officers of the foreign service corps for a certain period, specifically: “SEC. 35. Security Measures to Safeguard the Secrecy and Sanctity of Ballots. --- x x x No officer or member of the foreign service corps, including those belonging to attached agencies shall be transferred, promoted, extended, recalled or otherwise moved from his current post or position one (1) year before and three (3) months after the day of elections, except upon the approval of the Commission.”; WHEREAS, Section 36.6 of the same law, reiterates the same prohibition by penalizing the public officer or employee responsible for committing the prohibited act, to wit: “Sec. 36. Prohibited Acts. - In addition to the prohibited acts provided by law, it shall be unlawful: xxx 36.6. For any public officer or employee to cause the transfer, promotion, extension, recall of any member of the foreign service corps, including members of the attached agencies, or otherwise cause the movement of any such member from the current post or position one (1) year before and three (3) months after the day of elections, without securing the prior approval of the Commission.”; WHEREAS, the Office of Overseas Voting (OFOV), created by virtue of Section 30 of the OVA of 2013, is specifically tasked to oversee and supervise the effective implementation of the said law; IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the Commission En Banc, by virtue of the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE as amended2, the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 2013, and other pertinent election laws, rules and regulations, hereby RESOLVED to PROMULGATE the following rules to implement the provisions cited in the perambulatory clauses of this Resolution:

DURATION

INCLUSIVE DATES

(a) For any public officer or employee to One (1) year cause the transfer, promotion, extension, before and three (3) recall of any member of the foreign service corps, including members of the months after attached agencies, or otherwise cause the day of elections the movement of any such member from the current post or position. [Sec. 36.6, OVA of 2013]

09 May 2021 (Sun) to 07 August 2022 (Sun)

(c) Any government official who promotes or gives any increase of salary or remuneration or privilege to any government official or employee, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations.[Sec. 261 (g) (2), OEC, as amended]

Forty-five (45) days before a regular election

25 March 2022 (Fri) to 08 May 2022 (Sun)

For this purpose, the OFOV shall furnish the Law Department of the Commission with copies of approvals granted by the CIC of the OFOV to government agencies with officers or employees that are part of the foreign service corps.

(d) Any public official who makes or causes any transfer or detail whatever of any officer or employee in the civil service including public school teachers. [Sec. 261 (h), OEC, as amended]

Within the election period

09 January 2022 (Sun) to 08 June 2022 (Wed)

SECTION 12. Penalties. - The penalties imposed under Section 264 of the OEC, as amended, shall be imposed on any person found guilty of committing Section 36.6 of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 20136, which is imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than six (6) years, and shall not be subject to probation. In addition, the guilty party shall be sentenced to suffer perpetual disqualification to hold public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage7

SECTION 3. Exceptions to the Prohibited Acts. - In recognition of the varying circumstances necessitating movements of personnel to address the exigencies of public service, government agencies may submit written requests to the Commission on Elections for approval of human resource actions or personnel movements falling within the prohibited acts described in Section 2.

SECTION 4. Scope and Applicability of this Resolution.

- The procedures provided in this Resolution shall be limited to the implementation of the prohibited act described in Section 2 (a), pursuant to Sections 35 and 36.6 of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 2013, for the purpose of the 2022 National Election.

Specifically, this Resolution shall govern if the requests received from other Philippine government agencies meet all of the following conditions:

b. The personnel movement sought to be implemented is a transfer, promotion, extension, or recall as defined under Section 1 of this Resolution; and

b. Commission or “COMELEC” refers to the Commission on Elections.

c. The intended effectivity date of promotion, transfer, recall, or extension of service falls within the fifteen (15)-month duration of the prohibition, or from 09 May 2021 (Sun) to 07 August 2022 (Sun).

(2) Philippine Representatives of the Philippine Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia; (3) Officers and employees assigned to the Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECO) in Taiwan; (4) Labor attaches of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLOs), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); (5) Trade representatives or commercial attaches of the Philippine Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); (6) Defense and Armed Forces attaches, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); (7) Tourism attaches from the Department of Tourism (DOT); (8) Agricultural attaches Agriculture (DA); and

from

the

Department

of

(9) Police attaches from the Philippine National Police (PNP); and

SECTION 13. Implementing Office. - The Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) shall primarily be responsible for the implementation of this Resolution. Any reports of possible commission of the prohibited act described in Section 36.6 of the OVA 2013 and this Resolution shall be referred to the Law Department.

SECTION 14. Notice and Publication. - The COMELEC Secretary is directed to provide a copy of this Resolution to the Education and Information Department (EID) for publication in the two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation. The Information Technology Department shall likewise be furnished with a copy for posting on the COMELEC website.

SECTION 15. Dissemination of the Resolution. - In addition to publication, the Education and Information Department (EID), with the assistance of the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV), is also directed to furnish copies of this Resolution to government agencies with officials and personnel serving as members of the foreign service corps such as, but not limited to, the following agencies: a. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); b. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the relevant attached agencies; c. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the relevant attached agencies; d. Department of Tourism (DOT); e. Department of Agriculture (DA); f. Philippine National Police (PNP); g. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); h. Department of National Defense (DND); i. Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO); j. Commission on Filipinos Overseas; k. Social Security System (SSS); I. Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA); m. Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhiIHealth).

All other prohibited acts enumerated and described under Section 2 (b), (c) and (d) shall be the subject of another Resolution to be promulgated by the Commission at a later date.

SECTION 5. Procedures for Request for Authority to Transfer, Promote, Extend, Recall or Move Members of the Foreign Service Corps. - All requests for authority to transfer, promote, extend, recall or extend the service of members of the foreign service corps must: a. Be in writing and duly signed by the head of agency or its duly authorized representative;

SECTION 16. Effectivity of this Resolution. - This Resolution shall take effect within fifteen (15) days following its publication.

SO ORDERED.

b. Include specific details, such as: (i) the names of officers or personnel subject of the request; (ii) the type of personnel movement applicable to the persons on the list (transfer, recall, promotion, or extension); (iii) their current positions or job titles and their new positions or titles, in cases of promotion; (iv) their current posts or assignments and the new posts where they are to be assigned or transferred to, in cases of transfers and recall; (v) the length or period covered by the extension of service, if applicable; and (vi) the intended effective date of the transfer, promotion, recall, or extension, as the case may be. c. Specify the causes or reasons for the transfer, promotion, recall or extension of service; and d. Contain a certification issued by the requesting head of agency or authorized representative attesting to the fact that the officers or personnel subject of the request are not deputized by the Commission on Election to perform overseas voting registration or election duties.

SECTION 6. When to File Requests. - All written requests must be submitted to the OFOV at least ten (10) working days before the intended effectivity date of the transfer, promotion, extension or recall sought to be approved by the COMELEC.

(10) Other officials or employees representing various Philippine government agencies at Philippine Foreign Service Posts or other overseas locations.

SECTION 7. Where and How to File Requests. - All written requests shall be submitted to the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) through any of the following means:

e. Office for Overseas Voting or “OFOV”3 refers to the Office in the Commission on Elections tasked to oversee and supervise the effective implementation of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 2013.

a. By courier or postal service. - Written requests sent via courier or postal service must be addressed to:

f. Overseas Voting Secretariat or “OVS”4 refers to the

SECTION 11. Applicability of this Resolution to Requests for Approval of Transfer and Detail under Section 261 (h) of the Omnibus Election Code.- Considering that Section 261 (h) of the OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE likewise prohibits the transfer or detail of any officer or employee in the civil service within the shorter period of 09 January 2022 (Sun) to 08 June 2022 (Wed) falling within the fifteen (15)-month prohibition period of 09 May 2021 (Sun) to 07 August 2022 (Sun) as provided in Sections 35 and 36.6 of the OVERSEAS VOTING ACT OF 2013, approvals granted by the Commission through the CIC of the OFOV under this Resolution shall constitute the same approval required for the transfer or detail of members of the foreign service corps that are intended to take effect within 09 January 2022 (Sun) to 08 June 2022 (Wed).

25 March 2022 (Fri) to 08 May 2022 (Sun)

a. Commissioner-in-Charge or “CIC” shall refer to the Member of the Commission En Banc duly designated to oversee the operations of the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV).

(1) Philippine Representatives to Permanent Missions of the United Nations in New York and Geneva;

For this purpose, the Commission En Banc hereby delegates its authority to approve the aforementioned requests to the CIC of the OFOV.

Forty-five (45) days before a regular election

a. The officers or personnel subject of the promotion, transfer, recall, extension, or movement are members of the foreign service corps;

d. Members or Officers of the Foreign Service Corps (FSC) shall refer to chiefs of mission, career ministers, foreign service officers (FSO), foreign service staff officers (FSSO), foreign service staff employees, of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) who are assigned to serve in Posts abroad and in the home office, as well as regular and service attaches from other Philippine government agencies, such as, but not limited to, the following:

SECTION 10. Approval of Requests for Authority to Transfer, Promote, Extend, Recall Members of the Foreign Service Corps. - Upon receipt of the written requests, the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) shall evaluate them and submit the corresponding recommendations to the Commissioner-inCharge (CIC) of the OFOV. The CIC of the OFOV shall then take the appropriate action on the requests.

(b) Any head, official or appointing officer of a government office, agency or instrumentality, whether national or local, including government-owned or controlled corporations, who appoints or hires any new employee, whether provisional, temporary or casual, or creates and fills any new position.

[Sec. 261 (g) (1), OEC, as amended]

SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Resolution, the following terms are defined and understood as thus:

c. Extension refers to the extension of service for the purpose of completing the requisite years of government service under the GSIS law, or the extension of service of members of the foreign service corps abroad to address exigencies of public service.

Gen. Luna St. cor. A. Soriano Ave. Intramuros, Manila 1002

SHERIFF M. ABAS Chairman MA. ROWENA AMELIA V. GUANZON Commissioner

SOCORRO B. INTING Commissioner

MARLON S. CASQUEJO Commissioner

ANTONIO T. KHO, JR. Commissioner

AIMEE P. FEROLINO-AMPOLOQUIO Commissioner

CERTIFICATION APPROVED by the Commission En Banc on March 10, 2021 pursuant to COMELEC Resolution No. 10671, promulgated 09 June 2020, entitled “SUPPLEMENTAL RESOLUTION TO COMELEC RESOLUTION No. 9936 PROMULGATED 15 MARCH 2015 ENTITLED ‘RULE ON THE ENACTMENT AND PROMULGATION OF EXECUTIVE OR ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTIONS’ PROVIDING FOR OTHER FORMAT OF MEETINGS TO INCLUDE ONLINE MEETINGS APPLICABLE IN TIMES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE IMPOSITION OF COMMUNITY QUARANTINES AND SIMILAR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.”

ATTY. CONSUELO B. DIOLA Acting COMELEC Secretary 1 2

Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) Commission on Elections 7th Floor Palacio del Gobernador

3 4 5 6 7

Republic Act No. 9189, as amended by Republic Act No. 10590.

Batas Parnbansa Bilang 881, as amended.

Section 30, OVA of 201 3.

Section 31, ibid.

Republic Act No. 7157.

Last paragraph, Section 36, OVA of 201 3.

Section 264, OEC, as amended.

(MS-MARCH 11, 2021

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

News

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

Election fever starts via cases filed in Quezon

IN BRIEF Manila doles out food to 2 villages, hotels

By Maricel V. Cruz THE election fever has started and various anti-graft agencies are being swamped by complaints, real or imagined, from both sides of the political fence.

Case in point is the councilor of a Quezon town who called on Malacañang, through the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as the Ombudsman to admit a videotape as evidence on his complaint against a regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways showing the latter allegedly throwing cash in the air at a party.

Councilor Arkie Manuel Yulde of Lopez, Quezon, said the PACC and the Ombudsman should use the videotape in his complaint against the public works regional director whom he accused of giving away cash worth P2 to P3 million at a party allegedly hosted by him and his wife.

The catch? Yulde is an ally of a politician who is a perceived rival of a sitting legislator.

Yulde asked the Ombudsman to investigate Public Works Ilocos Region Director Ronnel Tan for alleged violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; RA 7160 or the Local Government Code; and grave misconduct.

The catch? Ronel Tan is the husband of Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan who is on the opposite side of the political group to which Yulde belongs.

“In support of the aforesaid allegations of fact, the undersigned hereby submits the video of the said acts,” Yulde said in his manifestation at the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday.

“The video clearly shows the respondent, in white shirt, tossing several cash into the air while the people scramble to pick them up,” Yulde said.

“The video with the pictures (screenshots) clearly show the couple, respondent and his Congresswoman-wife Helen Tan posing on stage.

“This evidence clearly proves the ostentatious display of wealth of the respondent,” he said.

HOUSING SUMMIT. House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco (left) fist-bumps San Francisco del Monte Mayor Arthur Robes after receiving

a plaque of appreciation during the Housing Summit at the city’s Bulacan Convention Center in Brgy. Sapang Palay Proper on Wednesday.

Reps. Francisco Benitez and Florida Robes, chairperson and vice chairperson of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, also attended along with Housing Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalade Jr., Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando, and mayors from the different towns in Bulacan. Manny Palmero

Mining firms claim 2 presidential awards T

HE awarding of the prestigious Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award to two mining companies under the umbrella of Nickel Asia Corp. is regarded as doubly special as it was conferred during the pandemic year.

Cagdianao Mining Corp., based in Valencia in the Dinagat Islands, and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. based in Bataraza in Palawan are this year’s proud PMIEA honorees presented with the “Presidential trophy” for outstanding initiatives in the pursuit of excellence in environmental management.

CMC and RTNMC are subsidiaries of NAC, the country’s largest nickel su plier.

According to the Mines and Geoscience Bureau, an agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the award is given to operating mines that have shown exemplary performance in

The PMIEA trophy depicts environmental excellence in every stage of mining operations.

It speaks of pro-people and pro-environment characteristics of the mining industry in sustaining wealth creation and improving the quality of life.

environmental enhancement and protection, safety and health, social development and corporate social responsibility.

“The award for 2020 is made more significant because of the unprecedented challenges posted by COVID-19. Our employees had to exert double efforts and had to sacrifice personal time in order to achieve our goals to ensure 100 percent implementation of our commitments to all our stakeholders in the mining communities,” said Arnilo C. Milaor, Resident Mine Manager at CMC. This is a back-to-back win for the Dinagat-based mining company which also collected the Presidential Award last year.

Cagdinao Mining’s commitment is to the tune of P55.5 million worth of Annual Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program and P47.3 million for the development of CMC’s host and neighboring communities through the company’s Social Development Management Programs for 2020 alone.

Davao as choco, cacao capital

COURTESY CALL. House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep Martin Romualdez (right)

WITH 22 affirmative votes, zero negative votes and one abstention, the Senate approved on third and final reading the bill declaring Davao City as the Chocolate Capital and Davao as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines.

Senator Cynthia Villar, head of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform and sponsor of Senate Bill 1741, said “the measure seeks to recognize Davao as the country’s biggest producer of cacao and its vital contribution in making the Philippines world-renowned and soughtafter by chocolate makers from the United States, Japan and Europe.”

In sponsoring the measure, Villar cited Philippine Statistics Authority data saying about 78.76 percent of the annual production of cacao in the Philippines comes from the Davao Region or Region XI composed of Davao del Sur, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro and Davao Occidental.

There are also more than 20,000 hectares of cacao farms in the region, and Davao City has the largest area.

Villar also noted that Davao City is

home to the Malagos Chocolate, which has won 28 international awards.

The brand was also designated as one of the 16 heirloom cacaos in the world by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund, which is an initiative of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association.

Villar also said that the bill was not intended to give any special financial assistance or privileges to the city and the region, and that the one-page bill would simply give recognition to the pioneering and outstanding collective contribution of the cacao farmers who are mostly small holder farmers supplying dry cacao beans to mostly small- to medium-scale enterprise processors and manufacturers locally and abroad.

Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, who hails from Davao and one of the co-authors of the bill, said the country was a key regional player in the global cacao industry.

He hopes that the proposed measures would help the cacao farmers as well as facilitate the development and further growth of the cacao industry. Macon Ramos-Araneta

warmly welcomes Daniel Aboitiz, Chief Commercial and Stakeholder Engagement Officer of Aboitiz Power, during the latter’s courtesy call at the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Ver Noveno

QC’s Joy tops mayors’ survey QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte again topped the survey on the performance of local chief executives in the National Capital Region followed by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso.

An independent, non-commissioned survey was conducted by RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc., and it did a direct thorough interview and engaged with 3,500 respondents who were asked to rate their respective mayors regarding their over-all job performance for the year 2020.

Belmonte received the highest approval rating among its residents at 86 percent. The ranking from second to the fifth top-performing NCR Mayors were Vico Sotto of Pasig (83 percent), Isko Moreno Domagoso of Manila (80 percent), Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela (76 percent) and Marcy Teodoro of Marikina (75 percent).

A7

The next were Lino Cayetano of Taguig (69 percent), Abigail Binay of Makati (68 percent), Toby Tiangco of Navotas (65 percent), Carmelita Abalos of Mandaluyong (58 percent), Francis Zamora of San Juan (55 percent) and Jaime Fresnedi of Muntinlupa (51 percent).

“Overall, almost all NCR Mayors’ approval ratings improved compared to the previous surveys. However, of the 17 NCR Mayors only 11 were given a passing rate by their constituents. The top 5 NCR Mayors are doing great a job. Not only that, they were able to maintain their rankings, but it also increased positively from +1 percent to +3 percent points and the highest gainer is Mayor Domagoso and Teodoro +3 percent.”

The six remaining cities and one municipality got low approval ratings. The lowest approval ratings were recorded by Pasay (33 percent), Malabon (35 percent) and Las Pinñas (37 percent).

SECURE MARKET. A market security guard checks for the color coded quarantine pass issued to market goers before they enter the Sangandaan Public Market in Caloocan City.

According to the local government, quarantine passes are once again required for going to supermarkets and wet markets in the city to control the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Manny Palmero

MANILA on Wednesday started the distribution of food boxes for two barangays and two hotels that were placed under lockdown due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the capital city.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said around 2,000 families from Barangay 351, which covers San Lazaro and Tayuman, and Barangays 699 and 725 in Malate, would receive the food boxes containing rice, canned goods and coffee.

“Many people are losing their jobs and businesses are shutting down, and hunger will be a huge impact on our city’s residents,” the mayor said in a statement.

“Many were saying ‘We will not die of COVID but we will die of hunger.’ We will make sure that no one in the city will go hungry,” Domagoso said.

The villages were placed under a fourday lockdown earlier this week after Barangay 351 logged 12 active cases while Barangay 725 recorded 14.

In Barangay 699,= the Malate Bayview Mansion, with 14 cases, and Hop Inn Hotel, with three cases, were also placed under lockdown because of the reported infections. Willie Casas

Licensing office open even on weekends AN OFFICIAL in Quezon City on Wednesday announced the daily opening, including weekends, of the Business Permits and Licensing Department starting March 21 until April 25 to accommodate all businesses that will claim the original copy of their business permits.

Margie Santos, BPLD chief, said the applicants who had a scheduled appointment to claim their business permits and clearances may drop by the releasing unit from Monday to Sunday anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

However, the department will be closed on April 4, Easter Sunday.

“This is extra service for all our city’s business owners. We want to make sure that there are no delays on our end especially with the issuance of their permits and clearances,” Santos said.

An applicant may also opt to request a digital copy of his or her permit via email at the records.bpld@quezoncity.gov.ph.

The electronic or e-copy, she added, would be honored, and that it could be used while the authenticated or printed copy was yet to be released. Rio N. Araja

Watershed advocates form group in Vizcaya BAYOMBONG, NUEVA VIZCAYA—As they embark to meet the multi-stakeholder Watershed Management Council of this province today, 35 people’s organizations held a workshop to craft a collective vision and strategic goals for their federation.

The federation, which is present in eight sub-watersheds draining to the Upper Magat River, was named Watershed Development Advocates or WADA. Both the DENR and the Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya have pushed for the establishment and empowerment of the WMC since 2018.

Ansel Cabrera, institutional development specialist at the central project management office of the Forestland Management Project of the DENR, facilitated the two-day workshop held Tuesday and Wednesday here.

Faster takedown of sexual abuse online sought

By Macon Ramos-Araneta INSTEAD of simply relying on users’ reports, social media sites should be able to immediately take down cases of sexual abuse and exploitation online, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Wednesday.

He said there should be a more proactive response rather than just rely on reports.

“The difficulty with reporting as was earlier manifested in some of the experiences, is that it would take several months. But if there is a proactive immediate takedown response from Google and all other media platforms, it would be better,” Pangilinan said.

Part of prevention, he says, is immediate takedown because it prevents the spread, prevent the potentially billions who would have access to that information that is private to one individual.

The Senate convened the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality to discuss several measures addressing online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and electronic violence against women.

Present in the hearing were representatives of the social media sites Facebook and Google, among others, who reported the safety measures in place on their websites to prevent OSAEC and E-VAW. Facebook, for its part, said it had removed 5.4 million pieces of child nudity and sexual exploitation from its platform, with 98.8 percent of it removed even before reporting.

Sports

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

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

Justin Quiban: I really hit it good.

Constantino grabs Eagle Ridge lead GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Harmie Constantino took charge with an early burst of birdies then bucked a faltering finish and Princess Superal’s late fightback to cling to a onestroke lead and closer to a dream debut in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge at the Aoki Harmie Constantino course here yesterday.

The rookie pro sustained her birdie-birdie finish Tuesday that kept her within a stroke off Superal, mastering Nos. 8 and 9 for the second straight day to surge ahead by two on a fiery 33 start. She bucked the heat and the wind and went fourunder with another pair of birdies from No. 14 against a bogey on the 12th but bogeyed the 18th again to settle for a 69.

But with a 142 total, the former Univ. of Georgia mainstay moved 18 holes away from marking her maiden Ladies Philippine Golf Tour campaign with a victory in new normal, five years after beating a crack international field, sans Superal, by eight to win the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Classic as an amateur.

“I holed in more putts today (yesterday) and played a little less aggressive, so I made less mistakes,” said Constantino, who, however, toned down expectations for a big finish.

“I’m here just to have fun,” she said.

But Superal, winner and runner-up in the twin ICTSI Riviera events late last year, is no mood for leisure play.

Failing to match Constantino’s hot start with a birdie-bogey frontside card, she fell farther back with another mishap on No. 10 but rebounded with birdies on No. 15 and 16 to card a 71.

The 2019 LPGT Order of Merit winner also closed out with a clutch par to cash in on her rival’s last-hole miscue to stay within at 143, guaranteeing a shootout for the top P72,000 purse in the 54-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Pauline del Rosario, who set an LPGT record by winning four titles in her rookie season in 2017, blew a one-under frontside card with a bogey on the 12th but her 72 and 146 earned her a spot in the championship f light and a crack at another victory after edging Superal by one in the other Riviera event.

Undermanned Makati falls to San Juan by 77 S

UBIC—Defending champion San Juan-Go for Gold was simply too much against extremely undermanned Makati as the Knights chalked up a 77-point,131-54 mauling of the Super Crunch to advance to the 2021 Chooksto-Go Lakan National Finals, Wednesday at the Subic Bay Gymnasium here.

San Juan will face the winner of the Southern division finals between Davao Occidental-Cocolife and Basilan-Jumbo Plastic.

Only five homegrown players from Makati made the bubble as issues with the management prevented other players to join, namely David Carlos, Edwin Asoro, Bhabap Sta. Maria, Carlo Lloren, and Kako Morales.

San Juan opened the game with a 15-0 start and never looked back. Bhabap Sta. Maria gave Makati its first basket at the 5:39 mark of the game.

“Sinabi ko sa mga players huwag tumingin kung sino ang kalaban namin. Ipinakita ng mga players na hindi sila nagrelax, nag-effort pa rin sila para makita

I STILL do not know what fate awaits me, but it now looks much brighter now than before.

This after the totally unexpected quadruple bypass heart surgery I underwent a week ago at the Makati Medical Center.

It turned my world upside down, but better days loom after I was discharged on Tuesday.

While lying down in bed at the hospital, I started pondering about life and what happened to me. For one, I could not do anything else, and since I have been writing about

GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Justin Quiban produced a stirring 10-stroke turnaround with a scorching sevenunder 65 yesterday, catching Michael Bibat at the helm in a day of changing fortunes halfway through the rich ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge at the Aoki course here.

As erstwhile leader Joenard Rates turned from awesome to awful and tumbled to joint sixth with a 76 after a 69, Quiban rebounded from a 75 Tuesday with a barrage of birdies in hot, windy conditions, including three straight to kick start his backside drive.

He did stumble with a couple of bogeys but the two-time champion in PGT Asia at Luisita in 2017 and in PGT Bacolod in 2018 negated them with six more birdies on Nos. 14, 17, 1, 3, 6 and 8 as he found his rhythm and touch lacking in his error-filled opening threeover card to move on top with Bibat at four-under 140.

“I really hit it good compared to yesterday (Tuesday)—off the tee, iron and wedge shots,” said Quiban, who tied for fifth and 11th in the two ICTSI Riviera events late last year.

While Quiban banked on a big rebound to fuel his title bid in the P2 million ICTSI-sponsored championship, Bibat played it steady with a second 70 to stay on course of ending a long spell after scoring a breakthrough at Rancho Palos Verdes in 2013.

“Patience is key here. The course is tough with the wind coupled with tough pin positions,” said Bibat, who broke a two-birdie, two-bogey card at the front and took the lead with birdies on Nos. 11, 14 and 16.

But he bogeyed the treacherous 18th for the second straight day, enabling Quiban to gain a piece of the lead, just a stroke of Richard Sinfuego and Zanieboy Gialon, who assembled 141s after a 66 and 69, respectively.

Miguel Tabuena checked a wobbly backside 37 with two birdies at the front, breaking par 71 and moving to joint fifth at 144. But four shots behind the joint leaders, the former two-time Philippine Open champion and former PGT Order of Merit titlist will need to go low in the last 36 holes to gain a stab at glory in this kickoff tournament of the 2021 season.

While Quiban regained nearly everything to seize control, Rates lost his, including the momentum of his threebirdie feat in the last five holes in the first round. He went without a birdie and made five bogeys in the first 15 holes, gaining a stroke just on the par-5 16th for a 76.

3 sportsmen get PSA Lifetime Achievement Award THREE very important persons considered among the pillars of Philippine sports will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the SMCPSA (Philippine Sportswriters Association) virtual Awards Night.

The late Ambassador and former San Miguel Corp. Chairman and CEO Eduardo ‘Danding’ Cojuangco, one-time Gintong Alay Project Director Jose A. Romasanta, and former PBA Commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios are the three new recipients of the special award to be handed out by the country’s oldest media organization in the March 27 event at the TV5 Media Center.

The three respected personalities join unanimous Athlete of the Year choice Yuka Saso in the short but compact list of awardees which will be recognized in the first-ever PSA virtual awards rite co-presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV, with 1-Pacman Partylist and Rain or Shine as major backers.

A year ago, pool legend Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award, joining a long and storied list of previous honorees that included the likes of Caloy Loyzaga, Virgilio ‘Baby’ Dalupan, Florencio Campomanes, Mauricio Martelino, Francisco Elizalde, Carlos Padilla, Filomeno ‘Boy Codinera, the 1973 Philip-

Eduardo Cojuangco

Jose Romasanta

pine men’s basketball team, among others.

Although known more as a businessman and political figure, Cojuangco was best remembered as a long-time supporter of Philippine basketball, designated as godfather of the Philippine men’s team during the time of the late President Marcos.

Under his watch, he put together the blueprint that gave rise to the Northern Consolidated Corp basketball program under the late great coach Ron Jacobs, and bannered by the country’s top amateur players and three naturalized cagers.

The program saw the resurgence of

Renauld Barrios

Philippine basketball in international campaigns which saw the country win the 1982 Asian Youth Championship at the Araneta Coliseum, the 1984 Asian Interclub Championship, 1985 Jones Cup and Southeast Asian Games, before culminating with a triumphant campaign in the 1985 FIBAAsia Championship, marking the last time the country topped the biennial cagefest.

Cojuangco was also the man behind the success of the San Miguel Corp. in the PBA which won the first league grand slam outside of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers in 1989. More championships were won later

when both Ginebra and Purefoods became part of the giant conglomerate.

The former Tarlac governor and congressman who run for the highest position in the country during the 1992 presidential elections as founder of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, later turned his attention in backing the De La Salle basketball program, which netted the school a pair of UAAP championship in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

He died due to a lingering illness in June of last year. He was 85.

Romasanta, meanwhile, has been a lifetime sportsman, a throwback to the days of the Gintong Alay Project where he was executive director shortly after the EDSA Revolution.

A long-time associate of former Philippine Olympic Committee president and House of Representative member Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco, the 76-year-old Romasanta also once held the position as POC vice-president and became head of various National Sports Associations such as softball, karatedo, and volleyball.

He was Chef De Mission of the Philippine delegation to the 2016 Rio De Janewiro Olympics that saw the country end a 20year medal drought after weighlifter Hidilyn Diaz bagged the silver in the women’s 53-kg weight division.

Life like a sports struggle

THE BOTTOM LINE LITO CINCO

na convincing win talaga,” said Knights head coach Randy Alcantara.

And as the game went on, the story for the Knights continued to brighten, while it was the opposite for Makati.

San Juan limited Makati to just six points in the second frame that led to a 64-17 halftime lead.

Ced Pelayo’s three pointer at the 4:38 mark of the fourth quarter gave San Juan its biggest lead of the match at 78, 119-41.

Mike Ayonayon tallied his first tripledouble in his storied MPBL career with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Knights.

San Juan main man John Wilson topscored with 22 markers on a very efficient 9-of-11 shooting clip, while Jhonard Clarito got 20

points and 13 boards in just 16 minutes.

Outlet passes were a friend of the Knights as they converted 51 fastbreak points while Makati only had seven.

They also made a whopping 48 assists in 58 made field goals.

The 77-point win by San Juan was a new league-record, surpassing the 53-point win of Bacoor against Parañaque on August 27, 2019, 109-56.

Edwin Asoro led the shorthanded Super Crunch with 21 points while Sta. Maria chipped in 14 markers.

San Juan awaits the winner of the Davao Occidental-Basilan knockout match which is set to take place on March 17 if the Steel net a negative RT-PCR test result.

The Scores: San Juan 131—Wilson 22, Clarito 20, Wamar 14, Ayonayon 10, Gabawan 9, Pelayo 9, Rodriguez 8, Buñag 8, Ubalde 8, Aquino 6, Isit 5, Reyes 4, Marquez 4, Tajonera 2, Estrella 2.

Makati 54—Asoro 21, Sta. Maria 14, Carlos 9, Morales 6, Lloren 4 Quarterscores: 38-11, 64-17, 94-36, 131-54.

Quiban ties Bibat at helm as Rates falls

sports for the last 42 years, I analyzed the situation as a sports struggle, both for individual athletes and teams alike.

Again, I turned to my often cited mantra of “Understand-Accept-Adjust” to be able to face life and the belief that for athletes and people in general, attitude and skills will be the major factors in success, with attitude the more important one.

When you experience not being able to poop or pee by yourself without help, that is a humbling experience indeed and it happened several times to me. Humility is something athletes need to learn.

That was also the time the feeling of helplessness was so great that the sense of hopelessness naturally followed, re-

sulting in bouts with depression. I went through the same thing.

Athletes who suffer major, possible career-ending injuries have gone through the same experience, and again this is where attitude trumps skills.

Just like the situation that I was forced to take, those small wobbly steps outside my room as part of the physical rehab the first few times, breathing hard all the time and feeling tired, too, and wanting to just quit and give up. This is another common experience of athletes under rehabilitation.

Determination is the attitude that will carry one over this psychological challenge as it did with me, using the motivation of seeing my only “apo” Livi in the

house once more.

And what about a team’s struggles? First for my family as they had to adjust to the current situation with my three kids taking turns being with me in the hospital, understanding and accepting their given roles as dictated by the situation.

Then, the team of doctors led by attending physician Dr. Paul Quetua and Dr. Mon Diaz, who did the actual operation. I look at them as the coaches and the team of nurses and orderlies, who took care of my daily needs including washing me after I poop. Special mention to Jude, AJ, AC, Joy, Christine, Rejoyce, among others, who did their work without qualms or hesitation. Hats off to these people, who did the spade work.

Lastly, in the dramatis personae cast of a sports struggle situation, the fans and the supporters, yes, the Lord allowed me to live, but did it through these people who offered the words of encouragement; the prayers, sharing inspiring similar stories like mine; and the sponsors, the people who provided the badly needed financial assistance to me and my family. They are too many to name and I believe they know, who they are and did not offer help to claim the credit they deserve. Thank you, people.

Now, I start working with another team from the hospital’s cardiac rehab and therapy section, another struggle by itself, but then after what I just went through, this should be a breeze.

Business PSE INDEX CLOSING Wednesday, March 10, 2021 41.49 PTS. 6,808.32

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

9,141,183,159 196,169 11,071,425,443.74 72 155 34

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5440

Japan

Yen

0.009220

0.4476

UK

Pound

1.389600

67.4567

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128853

6.2550

Switzerland

Franc

1.078167

52.3385

Canada

Dollar

0.791515

38.4233

Singapore

Dollar

0.744214

36.1271

Australia

Dollar

0.771100

37.4323

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654350

128.8528

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266588

12.9412

Brunei

Dollar

0.741455

35.9932

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.032531

1.5792

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2172

Euro

Euro

1.190200

57.7771

Korea

Won

0.000881

0.0428

China

Yuan

0.153648

7.4587

India

Rupee

0.013743

0.6671

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.243013

11.7968

New Zealand

Dollar

0.716700

34.7915

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035411

1.7190 Source: BSP

Petron incurred P11.4-b net loss last year as sales contracted 27%

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

B1

Foreign direct investments down 25% to $6.5b in 2020

By Julito G. Rada

N

ET inflows of foreign direct investments dropped 25 percent in 2020 to $6.5 billion from $8.7 billion in 2019 amid the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday.

“The disruptive impact of the pandemic on global supply chains and the weak business outlook adversely affected investor decisions in 2020,” the BSP said in a statement.

Data, however, showed the 2020 FDIs surpassed the target of $5.6 billion set by the government.

Non-residents’ net investments in

debt instruments declined by 22 percent to $4.1 billion in 2020 from $5.2 billion in 2019 while net equity capital investments dropped 35.7 percent to $1.5 billion from $2.3 billion.

The bulk of the equity capital placements came from Japan, the Netherlands, the United States and Singapore.

Capital infusions were directed mainly to manufacturing, real estate and financial and insurance industries, according to the BSP. Reinvestment of earnings declined 13.6 percent last year to $978 million from $1.1 billion in 2019.

The BSP said FDI net inflows in December also fell 63 percent to $509 million from $1.4 billion a year ago.

“The year-on-year decline in FDI in December 2020 was due mainly to base effects given significantly large inflows from net investments in equity capital and debt instruments in December 2019,” the BSP said.

It said non-residents’ net equity cap-

ital investments went down by 89.8 percent to $78 million in December from $766 million in the same month in 2019.

This was led by the 87.8-percent contraction in equity capital placements to $97 million from $800 million, which was tempered partly by the 42.9-percent drop in equity capital withdrawals to $20 million from $34 million.

Equity capital placements in December were sourced mostly from Japan, the United States, the Netherlands and Singapore and were channeled to manufacturing, real estate and financial and insurance industries.

The BSP statistics on FDI include investment by a non-resident direct investor in a resident enterprise, whose equity capital in the latter is at least 10 percent; and investment made by a non-resident subsidiary/associate in its resident direct investor. FDI can be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings and borrowings.

By Alena Mae S. Flores PETRON Corp. said Wednesday it incurred a net loss of P11.4 billion in 2020 from a net income of P2.3 billion in 2019, brought about by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the oil industry.

Consolidated sales volume fell 27 percent last year to 78.6 million barrels from 107 million barrels in 2019. Revenues declined 44 percent to P286 billion from P514.4 billion, reflecting the impact of the pandemic on Petron’s financial performance.

“We have been working hard to minimize the impact of the pandemic on our business and our performance in the second half of 2020 proves that we are moving in the right direction. We look forward to sustaining our recovery as we anticipate higher demand and a more stable industry situation with an end to this crisis finally in sight,” said Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang in a statement.

Petron posted a consolidated net income of P1.2 billion in the fourth quarter on increased volumes and inventory holding gains as prices began to rally towards yearend.

The company said, however, refining margins remained soft which challenged the economic viability of the Philippine operations.

Petron ended the fourth quarter with consolidated revenues of P69.6 billion, marking two straight quarters of growth, after experiencing a historic slump in the second quarter because of the pandemic’s economic impact.

Petron said the last quarter of the year registered a 46 percent improvement from the P47.7 billion reported in the second quarter, the oil firm’s hardest-hit period in 2020.

Consolidated sales volume in the fourth quarter reached 19.08 million barrels, up 6 percent from the second quarter sales of 17.9 million barrels despite the general community quarantine extension in key cities in the country and another conditional movement control order in Malaysia.

Filinvest’s REIT unit bullish, eyes P15b from initial public offering

By Jenniffer B. Austria CYBERZONE Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust owned by Filinvest Land Inc., plans to raise up to P15 billion from an initial public offering.

FLI said in a disclosure the stock exchange FLI and CPI will sell up to 1.79 billion shares, including the over-allotment option, at an price of P8.30 apiece. The shares represent at least a third of CPI’s outstanding capital stock.

The planned REIT IPO will enable FLI to unlock the value of its office leasing assets.

CPI owns and operates the office buildings in Northgate Cyberzone on a 10-hectare parcel of land at Filinvest City in Alabang.

It also leases a parcel of land measuring 2,831 square meters on EDSA on which it built a 5-story BPO building with a gross leasable area of 7,358 sq.m.

FLI said despite the pandemic, CPI’s office rental revenues increased by 16 percent to P2.46 billion in the first nine months of 2020.

Once registration papers are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CPI will be the third REIT in the Philippines.

DDMP REIT Inc. of DoubleDragon Properties Corp. priced its P14.7-billion IPO on Friday, while Ayala Landled AREIT Inc. last year raised P13.6 billion from its maiden share offering.

Other companies are looking to raise capital from the equities market this year despite the volatile trading conditions.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. maintained its bullish outlook on the local REIT market.

REITs enable investors to participate in lucrative property portfolio investments that provide a steady stream of dividend investment returns and prospects for capital appreciation.

IN BRIEF San Miguel food unit earns P22b

ELECTRIC BUS. Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno get on board the newly-launched BEST Bus, an electric bus project of GET Philippines in tandem with the Aboitiz Group and the city government of Manila to bring the power of electrified mobility to the city’s streets. BEST stands for Business for Environmentally Sustainable Transformation, which is an initiative advocating to “be green, be digital, and be kind” for the betterment of the community.

AC Energy and Singapore’s wealth fund set to conclude P11.88-b shares sale next week AC ENERGY Corp., the energy arm of Ayala Corp., said Wednesday it expects to conclude a P11.88-billion private placement by issuing 4 billion common shares to Arran Investment Pte. Ltd., an affiliate of GIC Private Ltd. of Singapore next week.

ACEN said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that based on the investment agreement it signed with parent firm AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. with Arran on Dec. 30, 2020, the company agreed to issue 4 billion common shares to Arran through a private placement.

Arran will subscribe to 4 billion common shares of ACEN at P2.97 per common share for an aggregate value P11.88 billion, with the agreement set to be executed on March 18.

“The private placement will enable ACEN to raise additional capital to fund its various developmental and operating projects, as well as potential acquisitions. The entry of Arran as an institutional investor will also strengthen ACEN’s investor base,”

the company said.

The private placement will reduce the public float of ACEN to 19.96 percent from 24.96 and will increase the foreign ownership level of the company to 21.75 percent from 1.31 percent.

ACEN said that after the completion of the private placement, the planned follow-on offering, the proposed property for shares swap between ACEN and ACEIC for the infusion by ACEIC of its international assets to ACEN, and the purchase of Arran of secondary shares from ACEIC, Arran would own 17.5 percent of ACEN. The subscription price was offered

by Arran pursuant to its binding offer in November last year.

“The value or consideration per share for the private placement was determined by Arran after conducting a due diligence exercise on ACEN’s existing business and potential. Arran valued the existing operating assets of ACEN as well as the various developmental projects in its pipeline,” ACEN said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

BEST PH BANK.

BDO Unibank Inc. and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. are recognized in the recent The Asset Triple A Country & Regional Awards. Among the prestigious accolades are the Best Bank in the Philippines for BDO in the country awards and the Best Local Currency Green Bond for BDO Capital in the regional awards. The Asset Triple A Country Awards 2020 recognizes Asian issuers and global institutional investors for excellence in banking, finance, treasury and the capital markets.

Congress to probe FDA on e-cigarette and HTP regulation A LAWMAKER vowed to pursue an investigation into the Food and Drug Administration’s alleged conflict of interest following what she described as “premature” issuance of regulations on vapor products and heated tobacco products without concluding meaningful public consultations and answering questions on its acceptance of foreign grants from lobby groups.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing deplored the issuance of Administrative Order No. 2020-0055 by the FDA, saying the agency had not yet completed the public consultations on the guidelines for the regulation of vapor products or e-cigarettes and HTPs. She said the FDA also failed to explain its side on allegations the agency received foreign grants from foreign anti-tobacco organizations.

The FDA signed the AO on Dec. 1, 2020 and made it available on its website on Jan. 4, 2021.

“It is premature and clearly done in bad faith,” Suansing said. “Despite the unfinished public consultation on the FDA’s draft guidelines and numerous unresolved matters raised by legislators and stakeholders alike, prompting all three lawmakers present to call for more hearings, the FDA, through the Department of Health, still proceeded to issue their regulations, without any prior notice or resolution. For whatever reason, it’s as if the valid concerns raised were deliberately ignored.”

The FDA conducted public consultations on Oct. 6 and 8, 2020 on its draft guidelines on the regulation of vapor products and HTPs, respectively.

The hearing on HTPs, attended by Suansing, Ilocos Sur Rep. Deogracias Savellano and Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian, was cut short after FDA officials refused to answer Suansing’s question on FDA’s receipt of private funding intended to implement antitobacco and anti-vaping polices from international private groups.

SAN Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. said Wednesday net income reached P22.4 billion in 2020, down 30 percent from P32.2 billion it earned in 2019 on lower revenues.

SMFB said consolidated revenues dropped 10 percent in 2020 to P279.3 billion from P310 billion in 2019.

The company said second-half results rebounded with consolidated revenues climbing 27 percent to P156.5 billion from P122.8 billion in the first half, while consolidated operating income jumped 94 percent to P22 billion from P11.4 billion in the first semester.

“While 2020 was extremely challenging, our businesses were able to pivot and deliver significant volume growth for the balance of the year. These encouraging results demonstrate the company’s resilience in the face of the global crisis and positions it for a strong and stable recovery,” SMFB president and chief executive Ramon Ang said.

Full-year profits were driven by beer business under San Miguel Brewery Inc., which posted volume growth in the second half following the lifting of liquor bans in various areas of the country. Jenniffer B. Austria

EDC’s profit falls 6.6% to P11.5b GEOTHERMAL power producer Energy Development Corp. said Wednesday it posted a 6.6-percent decline in net income in 2020 to P11.537 billion from P12.352 billion in 2019 on a 10-percent decline in revenues.

EDC said in a statement to Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. full-year revenues dropped 10.2 percent to P37.616 billion from P41.868 billion in 2019 on lower generation and prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

“One of the major reasons is lower prices, particularly WESM. Volume-wise, I think we were also affected. The demand last year was lower system-wide due to the pandemic/ lockdown,” said Erwin Avante, EDC vice president and head of corporate finance when sought for comment on the lower income this year.

EDC said it would continue to invest to ensure the reliability and performance of power projects this year. EDC said it is allocating capital expenditures of P16.98 billion this year, with 51 percent or P8.68 billion for acquisitions to support the operations and maintenance requirements of geothermal plants.

Alena Mae S. Flores

DBP raises $300m in global debt market STATE-RUN Development Bank of the Philippines said Wednesday it returned successfully to the international debt capital market this month with the refinancing of its 10-year $300-million bonds that were priced at tighter spreads over the United States Treasuries than when the notes were first offered to global investors in 2011.

JP Morgan, which was among the joint lead managers and bookrunners of the offering, reported to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III the bond refinancing tightened DBP’s spread over the US Treasuries to T10+97.5 basis points, from T10 + 225 bps in 2011.

The DBP raised $300 million from the global bond offering in 2011. The DBP refinanced the notes, which are set to mature on March 25 this year.

JP Morgan said DBP and the Philippine government were able to score “another big win” with the bond refinancing on March 2, “despite a volatile past week on the back of weaker equity markets and large US Treasury rate swings.” Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

|| THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks up slightly; DITO, MerryMart fall PSEi March 10, 2021

TOP GAINERS 1

MAXS

LAST PRICE 5.79

% CHANGE CHANGE 0.59 11.35%

2 3 4

LAND SPM DELM

1.08 2.38 9.29

0.11 0.18 0.59

11.34% 8.18% 6.78%

5 6 7

EVER TBGI ACEN

0.092 0.49 6.82

0.004 0.02 0.27

4.55% 4.26% 4.12%

8 9 10

AGI DNL PX

10.76 7.74 4.76

0.42 0.29 0.16

4.06% 3.89% 3.48%

S

TOCKS rose Wednesday but gains were capped by concerns over a spike in COVID-19 cases and the reimposition of longer curfew hours in parts of Metro Manila.

The Philippine Stock Exchange added 41.49 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,808.32 on a value turnover of P11.1 billion.

Losers, however, beat gainers, 155 to 72, with 34 issues unchanged.

AC Energy Corp., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., climbed 4.1 percent to P6.82, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, advanced 2.5

percent to P1,328.

DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major telecom company, however, sank 25 percent to P9, while MerryMart Consumer Corp., a super market chain owned by businessman Edgar Sia II, dropped 6.4 percent to P4.69.

The rest of Asian and European investors struggled to extend a global markets rally Wednesday on concerns over the prospect of soaring inflation and a hike in interest rates as the global economy explodes out of the coronavirus crisis.

With US President Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion handout-rich stimulus on the cusp of being passed, focus on trading floors for weeks has been on the impact of an expected spending splurge by the government and pent-up Americans

as they emerge from lockdowns with plenty of spare cash.

In reaction to that, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields have climbed in recent months to one-year highs as dealers sell up in expectation that higher inflation will eat into their returns.

This has fanned fears the Federal Reserve will have to begin winding back the ultra-loose monetary policies—including record low interest rates—that have been a key driver of the year-long equities rally.

Those worries were soothed Tuesday when a closely watched sale of new three-year US debt passed off without a hitch—helping push yields down— though focus is now on the auctions of 10- and 30-year Treasuries Wednesday and Thursday. Weak demand for seven-

Cathay Pacific books record loss, warns of long recovery

TOP LOSERS 1

DITO

LAST PRICE 9

% CHANGE CHANGE -3 -25.00%

2 3 4

SFIP APL LRW

1.78 0.165 1.45

-0.5 -0.045 -0.33

-21.93% -21.43% -18.54%

5 6 7 8 9 10

PHA BSC LODE PA C MRC

1.95 0.84 1.22 3.6 3.3 0.365

-0.44 -0.15 -0.21 -0.5 -0.44 -0.04

-18.41% -15.15% -14.69% -12.20% -11.76% -9.88%

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

DITO ICT APL ALI SM PHA AC MBT MM ACEN

VOLUME 403894300 4431420 2291810000 10421900 282025 127461000 355420 5555900 50781900 35290600

VALUE (PHP) 4120131138 568266702 429015300 387807830 293660310 276083770 274676840 263268680 250566330 241454712

Chinese factory prices increase as industries recover BEIJING, China—Factory prices in China rose in February at the fastest pace in more than two years, official data showed Wednesday, as the country’s vast industrial sector recovered from a coronavirus-induced slump.

The producer price index (PPI), which measures the cost of goods at the factory gate, rose 1.7 percent last month according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

China’s PPI had risen for the first time in a year in January, and February’s rate was the fastest since November 2018.

Analysts expect an increase in global commodity prices to lift inflation further in the world’s second-largest economy in the coming months.

NBS senior statistician Dong Lijuan said prices for petroleum-related industries continued to rise due to the sustained “upward trend of international crude oil prices.”

Dong added there was a rise in domestic demand and continued growth in international metal commodity prices as well, pushing up prices in metals industries.

“Manufacturing input costs have also been pushed higher by rising prices for electronics components, particularly semiconductors, as well as factors such as rising shipping costs due to container shortages,” IHS Markit Asia-Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas told AFP. Consumer prices, on the other hand, fell 0.2 percent in February, slightly less than analysts expected, dragged partly by food prices.

Pork prices were 14.9 percent lower than in the same period last year, when the cost of the staple meat soared after China’s herds were ravaged by African swine fever.

But it is unlikely the recent period of consumer price deflation will persist, said Capital Economics senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard, who added that the drop in food inflation was caused by shifts in timing of the Lunar New Year. AFP

year notes last week sparked a sharp sell-off across world markets.

The news provided a much-needed boost to Wall Street, where the techrich Nasdaq soared 3.7 percent, while the Dow and S&P 500 were also well in positive territory.

But Asia fluctuated through the day Wednesday.

There were gains in Hong Kong, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta but Tokyo was barely moved, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul all fell.

Cathay Pacific dropped almost two percent in Hong Kong at one after the troubled carrier announced a record US$2.8 billion loss last year as it was sideswiped by the impact of coronavirus. It later pared the losses. With AFP

STUDENT POVERTY. Volunteers prepare food supplies for students in need prior to a food distribution operation run by the Linkee Association that helps the most vulnerable people while fighting against food waste in Paris on March 9, 2021. AFP

Demise of financier Greensill sparks global jobs panic LONDON—The collapse of British finance firm Greensill has sparked panic and threatened 50,000 jobs, in particular at the sprawling steel empire of IndianBritish billionaire Sanjeev Gupta.

Greensill specialized in short-term corporate loans via a complex and opaque business model that ultimately sparked its declaration of insolvency on Monday.

The bankruptcy marks a major fall from grace for a company that won a key $1.5-billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank in 2019—and employs former British Prime Minister David Cameron as advisor.

Its demise has now created massive uncertainty for clients, who depended on its finance services to pay their bills and could now potentially default on payments and lead to further turmoil.

“For companies reliant on its service, the great scramble has begun to find other ways of covering the looming cavern in their finances,” said Susannah

Streeter, an analyst with financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Those investors who had bought the debt sold on the market are now staring at potentially big losses.”

Greensill’s failure has put 50,000 jobs at risk, both at the London-headquartered group and across its customer base.

One that could be hit hardest is Gupta’s GFG Alliance empire, which has 35,000 staff worldwide, including Britain where its Liberty Steel division employs 5,000 people.

Bloomberg news reported that Greensill had close links with Gupta, who told the financial news agency in October that it was the company’s biggest lender.

Sanjeev Gupta himself met for “productive” talks with trade unions in Britain on Tuesday, GFC said in a statement.

The company is seeking “additional working capital facilities to support the business” and continues “to work closely with the unions and our employees

to identify the most effective ways of supporting the business and preserving jobs.”

A Downing Street spokesman said the news “will be very worrying for employees,” adding the UK government was following the matter closely.

GFG also operates three large sites in France, comprising Ascoval steelworks, Hayange rail plant and an aluminium facility in Dunkirk.

“We are obviously afraid of a domino effect ... and the risks are high for jobs at the French sites,” said Stéphane Destugues, an official at French trade union CFDT. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday he was not worried about job losses at Ascoval and other industrial sites.

Greensill crashed Monday into administration, or the process whereby outside expertise is called upon to minimize job losses, amid mounting doubts over the value of its assets. AFP

HONG KONG, China—Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said Wednesday it suffered a record $2.8 billion loss last year as the coronavirus pandemic wiped out demand for travel—and the airline warned of a long road to recovery ahead.

Chairman Patrick Healy described 2020 as the “most challenging” in the airline’s 70-year history and said much will now depend on how effective and widespread global vaccination programs are.

“It is by no means clear how the pandemic and its impact will develop over the coming months,” he warned, saying the group expected passenger traffic to remain “well below” half of pre-pandemic levels throughout 2021.

The company’s losses were higher than estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.

Cathay racked up an attributable loss of HK$21.6 billion ($2.8 billion) for 2020, going deeper into the red as the year wore on.

Its second half losses clocked in at HK$11.8 billion, up from HK$9.9 billion in the first six months of the year when the pandemic first emerged.

Like all major airlines, Cathay Pacific has seen its business evaporate during the coronavirus pandemic but the Hong Kong carrier has had an especially torrid year because it has no domestic market to fall back on.

It also entered the pandemic in an already vulnerable position. When the coronavirus first emerged, Hong Kong had fallen into recession and Cathay Pacific in the red as months of huge and disruptive democracy protests in 2019 led to a plunge in customers, especially from the lucrative mainland Chinese market.

The airline also found itself punished by authorities in Beijing because some of its employees joined or voiced support for the protests. AFP

Reclusive Chinese tycoon Zhong Shanshan is now Asia’s richest person

By Helen Roxburgh With Danni Zhu BEIJING, China—Until recently, few people had even heard of the Chinese billionaire with a gruff reputation who built a fortune on China’s seemingly unquenchable demand for his ubiquitous red-capped bottled water.

But reclusive Zhong Shanshan has become Asia’s richest man following the stock listings last year of his Nongfu Spring mineral water and separate pharma company Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which has tapped into massive demand for COVID-19 test kits.

Zhong’s net worth has surged to $85 billion and made him the seventh-richest person on the planet, Hurun Report, a China-based compiler of “rich lists”, said last week.

Called a “lone wolf” by Chinese media for his rare public appearances and aversion to interviews, Zhong has achieved one of the fastest accumulations of wealth in history, according to Bloomberg.

He became the first Chinese entrepreneur to enter Hurun’s top-ten global rich list this year, leaping out of nowhere to put him hot on the heels of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and American investor Warren Buffett.

This photo taken on May 6, 2013 shows Zhong Shanshan, chairman of Nongfu Spring mineral water and a separate pharma company, gesturing during a speech at a press conference in Beijing. Until recently, few people had even heard of the Chinese billionaire with a gruff reputation who built a fortune on China’s seemingly unquenchable demand for his ubiquitous red-capped bottled water. AFP

Not bad for someone who dropped out of school at the age of 12 during the political upheaval of China’s 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, and whose later jobs included bricklayer, carpenter and news reporter, according to Chinese media.

Zhong founded Nongfu Spring in

1996 and still owns an 84-percent stake in the company which, according to market research firm Mintel, holds more than a quarter of the bottled water market in China, where many people avoid tap water over health concerns.

In contrast to charismatic Alibaba founder Jack Ma—who Zhong de-

throned as China’s richest man—little is known about Nongfu’s billionaire boss aside from his gruff image.

“I don’t have the habit of flattery in my personality,” he once told Chinese media in a rare interview.

“I don’t like to deal with people and have to drink,” he added, referring to a Chinese business culture that encourages excessive wining and dining to cement deals.

His fortunes have risen just as those of Chinese tech companies have slid.

Political scrutiny Ma is now worth a comparatively paltry $55 billion, according to Hurun, after government regulators launched an anti-monopoly investigation into his tech empire, which has pummeled Alibaba’s share price and left a massive IPO by financial arm Ant Group in limbo.

Although Alibaba and Nongfu are headquartered in the humming eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, Zhong is not a regular attendee at the city’s business events, one local entrepreneur told China Economic Weekly.

A former business partner told state media he once attended an industry conference with Zhong, who “went to the stage to give a speech, and offended everyone as soon as he opened his mouth,” without providing details of the offending words. AFP

World

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

B3

Queen vows to act on Harry-Meghan claims IN BRIEF L

ONDON—Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday responded to explosive racism claims from grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, voicing deep concern and sympathising with their troubles with royal life.

First jurors selected for Floyd murder trial

MINNEAPOLIS—The first jurors were selected on Tuesday in the high-profile trial of the white police officer accused of killing George Floyd, an African-American man whose death laid bare racial wounds in the United States and sparked “Black Lives Matter” protests across the globe.

Former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin is facing charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s May 25 death, which was captured by bystanders on smartphone video.

Jury selection had been scheduled to begin on Monday but was delayed for a day as prosecutors sought to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against the 44-year-old Chauvin.

A Minnesota court of appeals has not yet issued its ruling but Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, clearly impatient to get the landmark trial moving, decided to go ahead with jury selection anyway.

After hours of detailed questioning by the defense team and prosecutors, three jurors were selected on Tuesday for the 12-member panel that will decide Chauvin’s fate. AFP

Nicaragua volcano blankets areas in ash MANAGUA—The San Cristobal volcano, the highest in Nicaragua and one of its most active, spewed a cloud of ash Tuesday that blanketed the city of Chinandega and surrounding communities, a local journalist told AFP. The surprise eruption ejected a column of smoke and ash that was dumped as far as 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the volcano’s foot, Nicaragua journalist Carol Altamirano said.

“Everything is grey, the crops of rice, sesame, vegetable gardens and fruit trees and the cattle pasture is covered in ash,” said Altamirano.

The INETER territorial studies institute predicted less intense action in the coming days and no threat to residents.

The massive ash deposit lasted about 30 minutes, and deep rumbling from the volcano alarmed locals. Cars switched on their headlights as everything went dark.

Farmers in the area covered their water sources and moved their animals to safe places, while in the city people used umbrellas, caps and face masks to shield themselves from the ash rain, said the journalist. AFP

Hackers breach cams at banks, jails, Tesla SAN FRANCISCO—A US hacker collective on Tuesday claimed to have tapped into footage from 150,000 security cameras at banks, jails, schools, carmaker Tesla and other sites to expose “the surveillance state.”

Images captured from hacked surveillance video were posted on Twitter with an #OperationPanopticon hashtag.

“What if we just absolutely ended surveillance capitalism in two days?” a purported member of a group called APT69420 Arson Cats asked amid a string of tweeted images.

“This is the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg.”

The hacker group claimed to have ferreted out credentials of an high level administrator account at Silicon Valley firm Verkada, which runs a platform operating security systems online.

“We have disabled all internal administrator accounts to prevent any unauthorized access,” a Verkada spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

“Our internal security team and external security firm are investigating the scale and scope of this issue, and we have notified law enforcement.” AFP

BULLET FRAGMENT. A medical worker displays a rubber bullet, extracted from a resident, who was shot at as security force destroyed barricades erected by protesters against the military coup in Yangon on Tuesday. AFP

Myanmar authorities swoop in on railway station YANGON—Hundreds of soldiers and police swooped on a railway station in Yangon on Wednesday seeking to arrest workers on strike to protest against the military coup in Myanmar.

The country has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month, triggering daily protests around the country to demand the return of democracy.

Security forces have responded with an increasingly brutal crackdown involving tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets, as well as isolated incidents of live rounds.

Close to 2,000 people have been arrested and the death toll has climbed to more than 60.

Thousands of government workers across the country have been participating in a civil disobedience movement

aimed at choking the state’s institutions and paralysing the economy.

The movement has resulted in hospital disruptions, bank closures and empty ministry offices.

Hundreds of soldiers and police were deployed to Ma Hlwa Gone railway station and its staff housing compound early Wednesday morning where about 800 workers are participating in strike action.

“We are united,” railway workers chanted as authorities blocked off a road, according to a live feed on Facebook.

“Around 300 security personnel are blocking the road searching for the people who are involved in the civil disobedience movement,” a 32-year-old woman who lives at the site told AFP. “I escaped, but there were many left, I am worried about the remaining workers.

I just hope they don’t arrest the people, if they do it is troubling because they could beat and kill them.”

- Sarong arrests There was another heavy police presence in Yangon’s central San Chaung township Wednesday morning following tensions two nights ago in which security forces sealed off a block of streets, confining around 200 anti-coup protesters before searching apartments.

State media reported Wednesday the arrest of seven protesters in that area for hanging the pictures of a monk on female longyis or sarongs Monday morning.

Protesters have been hanging women’s longyis across streets to play on security forces’ fears of Myanmar traditions that say women’s lower parts and the garments that cover them can sap men’s power. AFP

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” she said in a statement.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”

Buckingham Palace has come under mounting pressure to respond to the claims made in an Oprah Winfrey interview first broadcast on Sunday, which triggered a crisis unseen since the 1990s.

It set off a whirl of speculation about the identity of the senior royal who asked how dark their child’s skin would be before he was born.

Meghan, whose mother is black and father is white, also spoke about how she had suicidal thoughts but failed to receive any support during her time in the royal family.

The explosive racism claim has reportedly left the palace in turmoil and scrambling how best to address it.

Prince Charles, Harry’s father and the heir to the throne, earlier ignored a question about what he made of the interview during a public appearance.

A YouGov poll of 4,656 people after the interview aired on British television on Monday indicated almost a third (32 percent) felt the couple was unfairly treated, the same proportion as those who thought the opposite.

- ‘Blowing up his family’ Harry and Meghan’s claims have brought global attention on one of Britain’s most prominent families.

Attempts have been made to draw in Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has himself been accused of racism. AFP

US, India, Japan, Aussies in joint talks WASHINGTON—US President Joe Biden will hold first-ever joint talks Friday with the leaders of Australia, India, and Japan, boosting an emerging four-way alliance often cast as a bulwark against China.

It will be one of the first summits, albeit in virtual format, for Biden, who has vowed to revive US alliances in the wake of the disarray of Donald Trump’s administration.

“That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance that we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday.

The meeting of the so-called “Quad” comes amid rising tensions with China, which is seen as flexing its muscle both in trade and security realms.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Biden was “taking this to another level.”

“It will be an historic moment in our region, and it sends a strong message to the region about our support for a sover-

eign, independent Indo-Pacific,” Morrison told reporters.

Both Psaki and India, which earlier announced the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the talks would take up climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic -- two key priorities for Biden.

“The leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The talks, also involving Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, will touch as well on promoting maritime security and “ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines” to fight Covid-19 in Asia, the Indian statement said.

- China’s growing assertiveness Japan said that Suga spoke separately Thursday to Modi and voiced alarm about China’s “unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea” as well as the status of rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. AFP

VICTORY SIGN. Opposition figure Lyubov Sobol, accused of trespassing and violence

after she rang the doorbell of the alleged agent from the Federal Security Service (FSB) that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said took part in his poisoning, gestures a V sign during a court hearing in Moscow on Wednesday. AFP

US virus relief plan crossing finish line Red Cross sees ‘glaring gap’in world vaccine rollout

IN SYNC. Attendants serve tea before the Closing Ceremony of the 4th Session of the

13th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.

Noel Celis/AFP

GENEVA—The Red Cross warned Wednesday of a glaring gap in the plans to roll out Covid-19 vaccines around the world, saying remote communities risked missing out.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is aiming to help vaccinate 500 million people against the disease.

The IFRC, which calls itself the world’s largest humanitarian network, is planning to throw its expertise into the distribution and acceptance of vaccines among some of the hardest-to-reach communities.

But it said that while the procurement of vaccines and delivery to airport hubs was crucial, “too little thought” had been given to the next step: how those doses would be distributed within countries, including the “last mile” in getting to those furthest away.

The Geneva-based federation said it needed 100 million Swiss francs ($111 million, 92.5 million euros) to fill the logistics gap between vaccines reaching airports in capital cities, and remote settlements. AFP

WASHINGTON—US President Joe Biden’s massive relief plan is on track to cross the finish line Wednesday with a final House vote, stimulating an economy digging out from the coronavirus pandemic and offering a lifeline for millions of families.

The $1.9 trillion package, broadly popular with Americans and approved by the Senate over the weekend, is expected to narrowly clear Congress days before a crucial deadline, culminating a weekslong negotiation over its cost and scope.

If it reaches his desk, Biden -- who made the American Rescue Plan his top legislative priority -- could sign the historic bill into law by week’s end.

But the plan that funds Covid vaccines, preserves unemployment benefits for millions, and sends relief checks of up to $1,400 to most Americans can afford very few Democratic defections.

All Republicans are in lockstep against the package, and Democrats enjoy the smallest majority in years in the 435-seat House of Representatives.

A Tuesday vote laying out the parameters of the next day’s action on the bill augured its narrow path to success. The tally was 219 to 210 in favor of proceeding, with no Republicans in support and one

Democrat joining the GOP in opposition.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said he was “110 percent” confident the bill will pass.

In an effort to drive home how this sweeping package helps the economy, Biden on Tuesday visited a business billed as Washington’s oldest hardware store, which has benefitted from the PayManila check Protection Program begun under Standard Donald Trump’s administration to help TODAY businesses stay afloat during the crisis.

“We’re going to continue this,” Biden said of the PPP as he chatted with store owner Mike Siegel.

The president took a jab at Trump, though, saying that “a lot LEGAL NOTICE of money went Notice is hereby given that the to people who estates of Spouses ELIGIO S. EGAÑA and ESTELITA shouldn’t have PATRICIO EGAÑA who gotten help” died intestate on March 18, 2018 and April 25, 2013, through the PPP respectively, have been extrabecause some judicially settled by and among their legitimate and sole heirs of the beneficias per Doc. No. 9719; Page ary companies No. 45; Book No. 619; Series were too large of 2021 of ATTY. REY C. LADAGA, a Notary Public for and therefore and in the Municipality of San not supposed to Jose, Occidental Mindoro. qualify. AFP (FEB. 25/MAR. 4 & 11, 2021)

Life

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

C4

HOUSEHOLD

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

HOMEOWNER TO-BE. Experts advise first-time home buyers to first equip themselves with knowledge of property investment and all the details they need to make an informed decision.

Experts share tips for buying a new home

By Monica Sanchez

H

OW would you know you’re ready to finally be a homeowner? Shopping for a new home, especially for first-timers, requires ample preparation and serious decision-making. It is, after all, a huge investment.

According to Singaporean proptech (property technology) solutions provider Ohmyhome, the first step in looking for a house to purchase is having the knowledge

of property investment.

“More than closing deals and selling properties, Ohmyhome prioritizes the housing experience of the customer,” said company co-founders Race and Rhonda Wong. “Before any purchase, we ensure that our clients are equipped with all the details they need to make an informed decision.”

Launched in the Philippines in September 2020, the property solutions provider enables simple, fast, and affordable property transactions through its do-it-yourself (DIY) platform, agent services, mortgage advisory, and more.

“Our DIY platform and services are able to relay technical information that potential homeowners will readily absorb and understand. Ohmyhome also gives its users a chance to look at properties for sale within their price range and preferred location, the potential appraisal of each property, and even the necessary renovations or hidden fees, if any,” added the co-founders.

Since the company’s inception, it has recorded 175,000 monthly active users.

More than 5,300 homes have transacted through the platform, which represents a combined value of over $1 billion.

Once equipped with essential information, next is ensuring there’s enough funds to finance it. Having a stable and reliable source of income is vital to purchasing a home and fulfilling a steady monetary obligation for months or years.

Insurer Axa Philippines recommends starting saving early and as much as

possible for this big-ticket investment.

“Initial expenses you have to consider are the reservation fee, down payment, and processing fees,” it says. “After you have made the purchase, other expenses may include monthly amortization (when you apply for a home loan), electricity and water connection fees, real estate tax, fire insurance, and a list of other one-time and recurring expenses.”

When putting down initial payment, Axa says 20 percent or more will increase a buyer’s chance of getting approved of a mortgage, “should you need it.”

Next step is deciding the type of home to buy. Ohmyhome says priorities should be the would-be residents’ lifestyles and preferences.

“Location, property type, price range, number of rooms, parking space—these

factors are either deal makers or dealbreakers. If you have sorted these out, you are one step closer to attaining your dream house.”

Axa seconds, saying “be clear on your non-negotiables such as the best location for you, square footage of the house, number of rooms you need, and the amenities you require.”

Finally, take advantage of tools and services available to streamline the process. For instance, the Ohmyhome website and app has an intuitive user interface that helps buyers find the right property without too much hassle.

Race and Rhonda say that “prospective home buyers must be able to access all pertinent details regarding their purchases and other essential information on the real estate market.”

Getting a real estate agent who will help in negotiating and closing the deal, Axa says, is beneficial for first-time buyers.

Also, having a property insurance to help protect home in the event of natural and unexpected disasters, the insurer adds, must be considered.

Take advantage of tools and services available to streamline the home-buying process.

Proptech solutions provider Ohmyhome, for instance, offers DIY platform and services for home buyers.

Industry-leading parental leave program launched AS PART of its commitment to driving positive changes in the space of equality and inclusion, consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble Philippines recently launched a new global parental leave program.

Dubbed Share the Care, it provides employees, who are welcoming children to their families, eight weeks of fully paid paternity leave, which is beyond the standard seven days mandated by the Philippine law.

P&G Philippines provides its employees—regardless of gender or martial status— eight weeks of fully paid paternity leave.

The parental leave program applies to all employees regardless of gender or marital status. Meanwhile, birth or adoptive mothers continue to receive the 105 calendar days of fully paid maternity leave, which has has been in practice at P&G since 2017, ahead of the 2019 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law. According to the company, the benefits of building equality into parental leave policy are far-reaching, citing research studies that show being at home with children for an extended period of time after birth can both strengthen the parent-child bond and have positive, long-lasting outcomes for child development, such as improved cognitive and emotional outcomes and physical health.

“Sharing the care has proven to have a positive impact on mothers, considering that when their spouse or partner also takes parental leave, partner involvement in childcare and housework increases, mothers return to work more easily, female employment is higher, and the earning gap is lower,” P&G said in a statement.

“P&G values equality and inclusion in the workplace, so we created Share The Care, our parental leave program that supports all P&G parents to have an equal opportunity to care for and bond with their children,” says Raffy Fajardo, P&G Philippines general manager.

“We want to lead the change in perception around parental roles, such as the outdated stereotype that women should be the sole, full-time caregiver in the early stages of a child’s life.

We believe that caring for home and family has no gender.”

PARENTING

Saab Magalona makes Pancho’s favorite breakfast omelette made with broccoli, kale, and yogurt.

How Saab Magalona gets Pancho to eat vegetables

FOR many parents, ensuring their kids get the right amount of nutritious vegetables in their diet is a daily challenge. It often requires a lot of feeding tricks and recipe tweaks.

Mother of two young boys, Saab Magalona has found the secret to getting her kids to eat their greens.

“Find what your kids love and work with it,” she said on one of her videos on YouTube.

Magalona’s firstborn, Pancho eats his vegetables first thing in the morning with his favorite breakfast omelette made with broccoli, kale, spinach, eggs, yogurt, and garlic.

In addition to preparing dishes her sons love, she also makes sure the cooking process is healthy and

provides the best flavor and nutrients.

She recommends slow-cooking garlic to get the best flavors and using vitamin-enriched cooking oil.

“I like that Pacific Sunrise is enriched with vitamins A and B, omega 6 and 9, plus it has 0 percent cholesterol and trans fat. Also, it is non-GMO so it is perfect for a healthy breakfast for my family.”

Pacific Sunrise cooking oil is a brand of Agri Pacific Corporation (under the Rebisco Group of Companies).

The 100-percent vegetable oil features a neutral and clean taste. It comes in 500-ml pouch at P52.50, 1-liter bottle at P97.50, and 2-liter pouch at P176.50 and is available at supermarkets and on Shopee and Lazada.

Georgina Wilson on raising a smart kid When model, businesswoman, and mother Georgina Wilson found that 90 percent of a child’s brain development happens in the first five years, she immediately adopted the necessary steps to help her son Archie.

“Five years can pass by so quickly, so I make sure that he has everything he needs to support his brain development,” she says.

She and husband Arthur have resolved to avoid overprotecting their son so they can further enhance his thinking skills and leadership capabilities. They explain things to him instead of sugarcoating the truth and telling him to do something with no questions asked.

“Children are so much smarter than we give them credit for. He’s learning at a much rapid pace at this age. For Archie to develop his thinking skills, I need to respect his intelligence. He can already process what’s going on when things are explained to him properly,” shares Wilson.

Because Archie is allowed to think for himself, he has grown to be a natural leader.“When he’s with his group of friends or during activities in

his online classes, Archie always steps up to lead the others.”

But Wilson also makes sure to limit the time her son spends in front of screens and encourages reading. She shares, “He’s very interested to know how things work. Currently, he’s interested in animals and trucks, and he dives deep into these subjects and learns everything he could.”

“I believe that every child can be smart and it’s up to us moms to give them the right nutrition and the right environment for learning,” she posits.

Apart from practicing her parenting strategies, Georgina Wilson ensures that Archie gets a balanced diet and has a healthy lifestyle. She also gives him the right milk that provides nutrients crucial for brain development.

“I recently looked up Alpha-Lipids, and these are proven to speed up brain connections up to 100 times faster. These are only found in Promil Gold Four. That’s when I knew I made the right choice,” enthused the “AlphaMom.” The milk also has DHA, choline, AA, and iron, among others.

Georgina Wilson encourages son Archie to learn and think for himself.