Manila Standard - 2021 March 12 - Friday

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PH-MADE VACCINE EYED TO WEAN AWAY FROM FOREIGN MAKE; P50M ON OFFER

By Vito Barcelo

THE Philippines plans to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines in a bid to reduce dependence on imported vaccines, presidential spokesman Harry Roque

said Thursday.

In a press briefing, Roque said that Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Pena already recommended the establishment of the Institute of Vaccinology, the

first in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte offered a reward of P50 million to Filipino scientists who can develop a vaccine COVID-19 in April last year.

“The Philippines is at a point where

it needs to think about its own capability to produce its own COVID vaccine,” Roque said.

He added, however, that the country is already contributing to the worldwide effort to come up with a treatment for

COVID-19.

Roque noted that the country continues to actively participate in the clinical trial for the use of lagundi (Vitex negundo or Chinese chaste tree), tawaNext page

UNDER CONTROL. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, after placing several barangays and two hotels in the city under lockdown due to the rising number of COVID-19 infections, orders the distribution of food packs to affected residents on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Norman Cruz

WORLD ROUNDUP

• 6 EU states stop AstraZeneca use • UK strain 64% deadlier—study HEALTH authorities from Denmark and Norway said Thursday they were temporarily suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after some patients developed blood clots since receiving the jab.

The move comes “following reports of serious cases of blood clots among people vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine,” the Danish Health Authority said in a statement.

But it cautiously added that “it has not been determined, at the time being, that there is a link between the vaccine and the blood clots.”

VOL. XXXV • NO. 30 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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Reopen economy soon—Rody But first, reimpose curfew, say Metro mayors; PNP checkpoints return

By Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta

C

HECKPOINTS will be back on the roads and a two-week curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be reimposed as part of efforts to stem the rise of COVID-19 cases even as President Rodrigo Dutere vowed to reopen the economy in a matter of weeks.

Duterte said the country “cannot forever be in the strict protocols” despite logging in 3,749 new COVID-19 infections Thursday – the highest in a day since September last year – bringing the total number of cases to 607,048.

“This is the devil and the deep blue

sea for us, but I have to reopen the economy. I have given a timetable of just weeks,” the President said during the inauguration of the Port Operations Building in Dumaguete City.

“People are hungry. They have to Next page

• Hospitals tend to own workers • PNP chief Sinas tests positive

By Willie Casas

“We have a significant number of our residents from anesthesia and surgery and just for precaution, we have to put them on quarantine so that’s pretty much two weeks of not being able to work,” Del Rosario said. Most of the employees who tested positive were asymptomatic, Del Rosario added.

LOCAL ROUNDUP

THE operations of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) have been affected by several of its health workers’ coming down with COVID-19. At least 40 PGH employees are still undergoing quarantine.

PGH spokesman Dr. Jonas del Rosario said the most affected were nonCOVID operations.

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COVID-19 PH

QUAKE DRILL. The multisectoral Simultaneous Earthquake Drill for the first quarter of the year goes as planned nationwide with private and government employees including members of the Mandaluyong Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office taking part. The government says the quarterly drill is intended to prepare the public for earthquake-related disasters.

NBI goes after ‘hacktivists’ vs. gov’t main portal

By Willie Casas

(DDoS) attack on the state’s main on- rights violations. line portal, Gov.PH, even as the group “This new form of protest is now THE National Bureau of Investiga- CyberPH for Human Rights vowed to upon us. Mr. Duterte and his governtion said it would unmask the hackers launch more cyberattacks to protest the ment should watch out for more,” the behind a distributed denial of service killings of activists and other human Next page

21gunshots finished off Calbayog mayor—son

TAAL WATCH

AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM MARCH 4)

587,704

CALBAYOG City Mayor Ronald Aquino was shot at least 21 times, his eldest son Mark said Thursday, with witnesses saying seven gunmen shot repeatedly at the mayor’s van to make sure he was dead.

Speaking to ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo, the younger Aquino confirmed his father was on his way to his son’s birthday celebration when he was slain by law enforcers with high-powered firearms in Barangay Lonoy last Monday.

A Philippine National Police report earlier said the assailants were members of the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

3,045 40,074 NEW

ACTIVE

12,423

19

535,207

178

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

THE Philippine Coast Guard yesterday warned residents not to go to Taal Volcano Island, which has been declared a no man’s land due to its increasing unrest.

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NEW

NEW

DANGER ZONE. Six residents of Balete, Batangas were arrested by the Philippine Coast Guard after doing a

Facebook Live streaming right inside the crater lake. Interviewed by the authorities, three of them were found to be minors. PCG Sub-Station Talisay reminded residents and tourists that Taal Island, being a permanent danger zone, should be avoided. #CoastGuardPH

JAPAN MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF TSUNAMI

Story on A3

BUFFET JOINS $100-B CLUB Story on B2

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Probe into Sunday slays endorsed by DOJ chief

By Rey Requejo

THE Department of Justice has endorsed the investigation of the deaths of the nine activists as a result of Sunday’s police-military operations in Calabarzon to the Administrative Order 35 Task Force for extra-judicial killings.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there exists sufficient basis for the AO 35 Task Force on EJKs to probe the deaths Next page

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News

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A YEAR AFTER PANDEMIC

‘No clear path to normality’ T

HE world on Thursday marked one year since the coronavirus threat was declared a pandemic, with vaccinations offering hope but much of humanity still enduring highly restricted lives and no clear path back to normality.

on March 11 last year as infection numbers were beginning to explode across Asia and Europe.

About 4,600 deaths had been officially recorded around the world at the time.

But with the United States only just starting to feel the direct impacts of the pandemic, then-president Donald Trump played down the threat.

“The virus will not have a chance against us,” Trump told the nation.

Under his chaotic leadership, the United States would become the hardest-hit nation: the American death toll today stands at more than 528,000.

The only defenses to the contagious virus one year ago appeared to be face masks and stopping people from interacting.

Global aviation came to a standstill and governments imposed deeply unpopular restrictions, forcing billions of fearful people into some form of lockdown.

“We are on a war footing,” Corinne Krencker, the head of a hospital network in eastern France told AFP on March 11 last year, as patient and death numbers began to surge.

At the same time, governments and scientists launched the race to create vaccines – research and development that would take place at an unprecedented, breakneck pace.

Today, several shots are being rolled out, including those developed in the United States, Germany, China, Russia and India.

More than 300 million vaccine doses have been administered in 140 countries, according to an AFP count.

The global vaccine rollout has also exposed power and wealth divides.

Rich nations have surged ahead with their mass vaccination programs, while billions in poorer nations are still waiting to receive shots. AFP

ical distancing in jails.

The League of Provinces, meanwhile, asked the national government to allow COVID-19 testing for travelers at the point of entry of their provinces, saying pre-travel testing could be risky.

In an interview with radio dzBB, LPP president and Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. said the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) already turned down their request but they are appealing the decision. He said the tests could be conducted at seaports and airports.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Genome Center said none of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is dominant in the Philippines yet.

As of March 5, the country has logged about 118 cases infected with the B.1.1.7 or the UK variant and 58 with B.1.351 or the South African variant.

From over 3,000 genome sequences conducted since January this year, the “most frequently observed” was not a variant but a lineage called B.1.1.63 or the Hong Kong lineage, comprising about 24 percent of the total samples it collected, said PCG Health Program Director Dr. Eva Cutiongco-dela Paz. She said it is inconclusive yet if this lineage was the reason for the continuing spike of COVID-19 cases in the country.

She added that the PGC has not detected the Brazilian P.1 variant yet.

Also on Thursday, the former spe-

cial adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, Dr. Tony Leachon. said granular lockdowns are useless in the absence of massive testing, organized and sustainable contact tracing, and isolation and quarantine facilities.

He said the high transmission rate now is not solely due to social mobility or lack of compliance with health protocols but due to the lack of “an agile response” to the new variants of the coronavirus.

He also cited the slow release of results of genomic centers making contact tracing difficult.

He branded as “scary” the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases and dismissed the pronouncement of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that the government’s response to the pandemic is excellent.

Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, lamented the slow pace at which vaccines were being administered.

At the current pace of administering 3,887 vaccine doses daily, the government might not fulfill the President’s promise of life returning to normal by 2023, Villanueva said.

“There’s a need to accelerate vaccine rollout because our economic recovery and the return of jobs lost to the pandemic depend on it,” said Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee.

“If this is the pace of vaccination, it will take about 44 years to hit our target of 50 million to 70 million of our people [vaccinated].”

Group, and Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit.

In a related development, a political ally of Aquino believes the mayor was killed by rogue members of the Philippine National Police.

“There are pieces of evidence, there are facts that can’t be denied. So sad to note that the father of the city of Calbayog was slain or murdered by rogue elements of the Philippine National Police,” Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento told ANC. He also maintained the incident was an ambush. The PNP initially claimed it was a shootout that began after Aquino’s group fired at the tailing police vehicle.

“I’m hoping that justice will be given to him. Again, this is a well-planned thing. For me, this is still an ambush,” Sarmiento said.

According to Aquino’s son, a witness

revealed that his father’s van was rammed from behind. Seven assailants from two vehicles – a Hilux and an Everest – then disembarked and strafed the van.

Aquino said locals had spotted one of the vehicles used by the gunmen going back and forth in the area several times at least a week before the shooting.

He said on the day of the shooting, one of the vehicles was staying on one end of the bridge while another group was waiting on the other end.

Aquino said it was impossible for his father’s security detail to have shot at the law enforcers since they were the first to be shot while inside the vehicle.

He said it was his father who shot at the assailants, according to his personal aide who was also inside the van and survived the incident.

He said that after the shooting, one of the assailants then looked inside the van and said: “Okay na, patay na.”

Police have formed a special investigation task group to probe the incident that left six people dead, including Aquino.

The other fatalities were identified as Aquino’s close-in security detail Police Senior Sgt. Rodio Sario; his driver Dennis Abayon; Police Capt. Joselito Tabada; Police Senior Sgt. Romeo Laoyon; and Clint John Paul Yauder, a civilian.

Rep. Sarmiento has filed a resolution urging the committee on public order and safety in the House of Representatives to investigate the incident.

“In this case, how can people not judge what happened to our mayor? They were not in proper uniform. They were not in proper vehicles. Why do you have to clandestine (sic) your vehicles? Why do you have to wear bonnets, in this case?

Why do you have to bring firearms, highpowered firearms at that, if the intention is just to inspect?” he said.

Sarmiento also bared the incident was politically motivated.

“The people in Calbayog know the reason behind this. This is about politics. There are rogue elements [of PNP] that allowed themselves to be used by politicians,” he said.

carrying out legitimate dissent,” Guevarra said, in a text message to reporters.

AO No. 35 created the inter-agency task force to investigate cases involving extra-legal killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations to the rights to life, liberty and security of persons.

The Philippine National Police insisted that the operations against suspected communist rebels in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas

and Rizal were legitimate and covered by search warrants. The police also said those who died fought back against authorities.

But the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier said it was “appalled” by the “apparently simultaneous arbitrary killings” of activists.

Guevarra said he also plans to meet with law enforcement agencies “to discuss ways and means of avoiding the

use of unnecessary force in the conduct of legitimate operations.”

Malacañang on Thursday vowed to look into allegations that Army officers were blocking the release of the remains of the slain activists to their relatives.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement after rights group Karapatan said at least 20 soldiers were “physically preventing” the relatives from claiming the victims’ bodies.

The enormity of the continuing global challenge was reflected in a stark warning by the International Council of Nurses that an exodus is looming of healthcare workers traumatized by the pandemic.

“They reach a point where they’ve given everything they can,” ICN chief executive Howard Catton told reporters.

While restrictions are easing in many parts of the world, hotspots persist such as Brazil, which on Wednesday reported a record 2,286 deaths in a single day as more contagious new variants fuel a surge there.

“It took a long time for the politicians to act... We are paying for it, the poor people,” said Adilson Menezes, 40, out-

side a hospital in Brazil’s biggest city Sao Paulo, where all non-essential businesses are closed to help fight the virus.

On the economic front, the US Congress passed one of its biggest stimulus efforts ever – a $1.9 trillion package that President Joe Biden said would give struggling American families a “fighting chance.”

Since first emerging in China at the end of 2019, the coronavirus has killed more than 2.6 million people and forced unprecedented curbs on movement that eviscerated economies.

The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic

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group said as it slammed the killing of nine militants in what police claimed was a legitimate operation endorsed by search warrants on March 7.

NBI-Cybercrime Division chief Victor Lorenzo said it was working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to go after the hackers.

“In 2012, there were massive attacks on government websites and we addressed those by arresting a very notorious hacker at that time so the attacks subsided on government websites. This is going to be our approach also,” Lorenzo said.

He noted there were also attacks last year, like the Office of the Solicitor General’s online job application system (career.osg.gov.ph) that was defaced in December.

“There were previous attacks in 2020 and we’ve been monitoring their activities and we are confident we will address the issue and could identify those behind these attacks,” Lorenzo said.

The DICT, he said, has identified sources of the attacks and would provide the NBI with details.

The NBI also said the hackers claimed they managed an “exfiltration of certain databases” but this has yet to be proven.

“They could easily claim that. But sometimes they say that to brag,” Lorenzo said. “One of the motives in hacking websites or defacing websites or doing these DdoS attacks is for bragging purposes or, of course, plain and simple hacktivism.”

work to eat, to survive,” he added.

The number of daily cases in recent weeks has been higher than those reported in January and February, mainly because of the spread in the National Capital Region. This prompted authorities to impose snap lockdowns as well as measures such as checkpoints and a uniform curfew.

Metro Manila mayors on Thursday evening agreed to implement uniform curfew hours starting Monday from 10 p.m. tp 5 a.m., Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos said.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana, for his part, said they will tap the Special Action Force commandos to man the checkpoints, which will be focused on areas experiencing COVID-19 spikes.

The announcement followed police warnings against public displays of affection by couples, family members and friends in what critics said was a military response to a public health problem.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government, which oversees the PNP, said police issued warnings to nearly 50,000 people nationwide for violating health protocols in the first week of March. However, arrests have been kept at a minimum to ensure phys-

Taal...

From A1 “We call on residents and tourists to follow regulations regarding the condition of the Taal Volcano for their safety from possible damage caused by its rising ‘alert level,’” PCG said in a statement.

The Coast Guard reiterated its warning after six residents were apprehended for visiting the area to do a Facebook livestream.

Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 2 as several volcanic tremor episodes have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

Probe...

From A1 of the victims because they belonged to cause-oriented groups advocating legitimate grievances.

“The DOJ will endorse the investigation to the AO 35 committee, as there is sufficient evidence that the victims were members of the cause-oriented groups

PH-made...

From A1 tawa (Euphorbia hirta or asthma-plant), and virgin coconut oil as a supplementary treatment for COVID-19.

Roque said that the Philippines is also participating in the trials for the effectiveness of convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Convalescent plasma is the transfusion of blood plasma from someone who recovered from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Filipino pharmaceutical firm Glovax Biotech has partnered with a Korean vaccine manufacturer to produce the EuCorVac-19 in the Philip-

21 gunshots...

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pines, should the government purchase 40 million doses of its vaccine.

Glovax is in talks with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments for the possible investment for a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine production facility.

For his part, India’s Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran said the country will receive 30 million doses of the Indian-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine from the American company Novavax in the second quarter or early in the third quarter, once the agreements are signed.

He said discussions between Indian officials and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez are already underway, but said it was “pretty much a done deal.”

tonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg – have also suspended the use of vaccines from this batch, which was sent to 17 European countries and con“We are pausing the AstraZeneca vac- sisting of one million jabs. Denmark cination in Norway. We are waiting for has however suspended the use of all of more information to see if there is a link its AstraZeneca supply. between the vaccine and this blood clot UK strain 64% deadlier case,” said Geir Bukholm, the director of The coronavirus strain that first emerged infection prevention and control at Norin Britain and is now spreading internaway’s National Institute of Health Austria announced on Monday that it tionally is 64 percent more deadly than had suspended the use of a batch of As- pre-existing strains, according to a study traZeneca vaccines after a 49-year-old published Wednesday that confirms earlier nurse died of “severe blood coagulation advice to the British government.

British authorities, who had already problems” days after receiving an antiwarned the variant was significantly more COVID shot.

Four other European countries – Es- transmissible, in January said it was also

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BFAR moves to curb prices of galunggong THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is looking at the scales to lower prices of Blue Mackerel Scad or Shortfin Scad or galunggong, dubbed as the “poor man’s fish,” which have risen to as high as P240 per kilogram.

Data from the price monitoring of the Department of Agriculture show that current prices of galunggong – both local and imported – are at P240 per kilogram as of March 10, 2021.

The prices compare with the average price of P190.43 per kilogram for local and P200 per kilogram for the imported as of March 10, 2020.

Prices of galunggong for both periods were way above the P140 per kilogram suggested retail price for the imported variety set by the DA in November last year, amid increases in prices of agricultural goods.

“Galunggong prices are still high but we expect that within the month the prices would go down because open season is just starting in northern Palawan as well as Zamboanga,” an unidentified representative from BFAR and who did not identify himself – which observers found to be off track – said in a congressional hearing.

The representative also noted that the supplies from the open season would be complemented by imports, which were likely to bring down prices to the range of P160-P180 per kilogram.

The BFAR is mandated to take responsibility for the development, improvement, management, and conservation of the country’s fishery and aquatic resources.

Local...

From A1 Meanwhile, in the East Avenue Medical Center, at least 20 medical staff have tested positive for the respiratory illness.

San Lazaro ICUs at full capacity

Health care workers at the San Lazaro Hospital are now taking measures to take care of COVID-19 patients after their intensive care units (ICUs) reached full capacity.

On the other hand, the COVID-19 ward is still far from full despite the 30 percent increase in the coronavirus cases in the hospital.

“We have to place the patient near the nurses’ station and we just have to put monitors,” San Lazaro Hospital spokesperson Dr. Rontgene Solante said.

“Our intensive care unit is already full because most of those admitted are having either severe or critical COVID,” he added.

Sinas tests positive

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas tested positive for COVID-19.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Ildebrandi Usana said Sinas immediately returned to Manila from Mindoro when he learned of his swab test result.

Sinas, he said, is asymptomatic and has volunteered to be confined at the Kiangan treatment facility in Camp Crame.

More funds needed for OFW hotel stays

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has asked Congress for P10 billion more to cover costs of returning Filipino migrant workers, the agency’s administrator Hans Cacdac, said Thursday.

Returning workers now stay in quarantine hotels between seven and nine days, Cacdac said, because the Department of Health has recommended that travelers from abroad be tested after the sixth day of their quarantine.

Cacdac said funds for these hotel stays would be good until about May or June.

believed to be up to 40 percent more deadly, based on a number of studies in the UK. Simon Clarke, Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading, said the increased lethality added to its faster spread meant that “this version of the virus presents a substantial challenge to healthcare systems and policy makers.”

Pfizer 97% effective

Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine offers more protection than earlier thought with effectiveness in preventing symptomatic disease reaching 97 percent, according to real-world evidence published Thursday by the pharmaceutical companies. AFP

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FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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Japan marks decade since tsunami disaster

J

APAN fell silent on Thursday to mark 10 years since the worst natural disaster in the country’s living memory: a powerful earthquake, deadly tsunami and nuclear meltdown that traumatized a nation.

A minute’s silence was observed across the country at 2:46 p.m. local time (0546 GMT), the precise moment a 9.0 magnitude quake hit off the northeast coast on March 11, 2011.

Around 18,500 people were killed or left missing in the disaster, most of them claimed by the towering waves triggered by one of the strongest quakes ever recorded.

The ensuing nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

blanketed nearby areas with radiation, rendering some towns uninhabitable for years and displacing tens of thousands of residents.

Speaking at a ceremony in Tokyo’s national theatre, Emperor Naruhito said the “unforgettable memory of the tragedy” persisted a decade on.

“Many of those afflicted, in spite of their having suffered from unimaginably enormous damage, have overcome numerous hardships by

helping one another,” he added.

The annual memorial event was held before a smaller audience than usual, with the capital and nearby areas currently under a virus state of emergency.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the challenges faced by survivors had been compounded by the pandemic and natural disasters, including a recent strong quake in the region, classified as an aftershock of the 2011 tremor.

But he said Japan had always “overcome every crisis with courage and hope.”

Private and public commemorations were seen across Japan as bereaved local residents laid flowers at graves and placed letters to missing family members into the sea. AFP

People release dove-shaped balloons into the sky to mourn earthquake and tsunami victims in Natori, Miyagi prefecture on March 11, 2021, the 10th anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake which triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster that has killed over 18,000 people in Japan. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

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FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

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12m women lost contraception access

S

tended pregnancies.

“COVID has wrought havoc on the women and girls of the world. But the poorest and the most vulnerable now are seeing the most dire consequences,” UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem told AFP. She said data suggested “that in wealthier countries, fewer babies are being born, whereas in developing countries – more babies, lack of access to contraceptive services.”

OME 12 million women may have lost access to contraception due to pandemic health disruptions, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency said Thursday, warning that the poorest and most vulnerable were the hardest hit.

UNFPA, based on 115 low-and-mid- family planning services for around three dle-income countries, found that a loss of months had likely led to 1.4 million unin-

Lockdowns, fears of contagion and travel to health facilities led to fears over access to family planning when the virus began to spread globally last year, while global supply chain disruption has also posed a challenge.

UNFPA said that recent evidence suggested there were concentrated declines in family planning services in April and May, but that many countries were able to

Six killed in growing Myanmar violence SIX protesters were killed in Myanmar on Thursday as the United Nations condemned the growing violence against anti-coup demonstrations.

International pressure has been building steadily since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering daily protests across the country.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested and the death toll has climbed to more than 60 in the post-coup crackdown.

In central Myanmar’s Myaing township, six people were killed on Thursday as security forces cracked down on a protest.

“Six men were shot dead while eight people were wounded — with one man in critical condition,” a rescue worker told AFP. A witness told AFP five of them were shot in the head.

The UN Security Council unanimously agreed on a statement Wednesday condemning the Myanmar military’s use of violence against peaceful protesters.

It was the second time in just over a month that the council’s 15 members, including China—a traditional ally of Myanmar’s generals—made a rare show of unity over the crisis. AFP

restore access after that.

Its new projections used anonymous Google Mobility data for grocery stores and pharmacies as a proxy for access to essential services.

They suggested that 12 million women may have been unable to access family planning because of the pandemic, although its estimates were a broad range from four million to 23 million. AFP

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

TERMS OF REFERENCE

REQUIREMENT

1

Type of Contract

Interim Power Supply

2

Guaranteed Dependable Capacity (GDC)

15 MW

3

Contracted Energy

Take and Pay

4

Contract Duration

The PSA shall take effect for a period of sixteen (16) months commencing on its Commercial Operations on May5, 2021 to August 28,2022 subject for extension, if needed, or unless earlier terminated in accordance with the provisions of the PSA.

5

Commercial Operation Period

May 5, 2021 to August 28,2022 Dispatch Schedule according to the requirements of the ORMECO, Inc Period Location Guaranteed Dependable Capacity. (GDC) MW Contracted Energy Type of Contract

6

May 5, 2021 to August 28,2022 Calapan 5 56,000,000 (14 hrs by 25 days for 16 mos.)

Mid-Merit

Schedule of Delivery

Bansud 5 March 16, 2022 – August 28,2022 Roxas 5 9,940,000 (14 hrsfor 142 days) Mid-Merit The Winning Bidder shall specify the formula for the computation of Contract Price, excluding delivery charges at plant site, unbundled to the components as shown in Table 2 below: Tariff Component Monthly Rate

THE COST OF WAR. A Syrian child poses atop a stack of neutralized shells at a metal scrapyard on the outskirts of Maaret Misrin town in the northwestern Idlib province, on March 10, 2021. “This 10-year war has cost Syria’s young people their childhoods,” Save the Children’s regional director Jeremy Stoner said.

“Protracted conflict has led to fear and pessimism about children’s ability to build their lives in a country scarred by war.” AFP

US warship transits Taiwan Strait amid China ‘threat’ A US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the American navy said Thursday, a day after a top US commander warned of the threat to Taiwan of a Chinese invasion within the next six years.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Finn conducted a routine transit yesterday through the waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, the US Seventh Fleet said.

The third such voyage since President Joe Biden took office “demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” it said in a statement.

US warships periodically conduct navigation exercises in the strait, often triggering angry responses from Beijing, which claims Taiwan and surrounding waters as its own territory.

The US and many other countries view the route as international waters open to all.

The latest transit came the same day Beijing accused Admiral Philip Davidson, the top US military officer in Asia-Pacific, of attempting to “hype up” China’s military threat.

At a Senate committee hearing a day earlier, Davidson warned the US was losing its military edge to China in the Pacific and gave a stark assessment that he believed an invasion of Taiwan by Beijing could be imminent.

“I worry that they’re (China) accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order... by 2050,” Davidson said.

“Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before that. And I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years,” he added.

Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as part of its territory awaiting to be reunified, by force if necessary.

President Xi Jinping has become the most bellicose leader since Mao, describing the seizure of Taiwan as “inevitable.”

Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, who views the island as “already independent” and not part of its “one China.” AFP

HK gang gets 3-yr jail term for stealing 600 toilet rolls KNIFE-WIELDING men who stole hundreds of toilet rolls during panic-buying shortages in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong were jailed for more than three years on Thursday.

The three were each sentenced to 40 months in prison over the armed robbery in February last year in which some 600 toilet rolls were taken, Mingpao newspaper reported.

Toilet rolls became hot property in densely packed Hong Kong when the coronavirus first spread from central China and hit the finance hub.

Panic-buying set in with supermarket shelves cleared of many household essentials as well as staple foods.

Supermarkets were unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues across the city and packets of toilet rolls being snapped up within minutes of opening.

Photos posted online showed some people proudly stuffing their cramped city apartments with packets of hoarded toilet rolls.

During the robbery, the three men admitted to using a knife to threaten a delivery driver outside a major supermarket chain in the working-class district of Mongkok.

They made off with 50 packets of toilet paper worth around $220 but were soon tracked down by police.

Mingpao reported that the gang of three admitted to the robbery, apologized to the delivery driver and paid for the toilet rolls they made off with.

The paper quoted the trial judge as saying the crime was premeditated and deserved a custodial sentence. AFP

True Cost of Generation Rate Php/kWh

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

The Management (President, CEO, Power Plant Manager) have background in Electric Power Industry

•

Submit organizational structure and qualifications of technical staff.

•

Any lease agreement that will affect the delivery of supply should not be beyond the cooperation period under the PSA.

7

Tariff Structure

8

Outage Allowance per Plant

(MS-MAR. 12, 2021)

ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (O R M E C O, Inc.) ✉Brgy. Sta. Isabel, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro ☎043.288.7801 / 288.7802 / 288.7803 Fax No. 043.288.7804 E-mail: ormeco_coop@yahoo.com Website: www.ormeco-inc.com INVITATION TO BID - COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS 15MW Interim Power Supply 1.

In compliance with the jurisdictional requirements of the Department of Energy (DOE) as per Circular No. DC-2018-02-0003 and upon receipt of the issued Notice to Proceed (NTP) dated 24 February 2021, the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ORMECO, Inc.) Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC) hereby publish this Invitation to Bid, to conduct a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of a 15MW Interim Power Supply;

2.

ORMECO, Inc. TPBAC now calls for the submission of Letter of Intent (LOI) by any and all interested bidders through email address ormeco.inc.tpbac@gmail.com. The list of ORMECO, Inc. Eligibility Requirements may be viewed and downloaded at https://www. facebook.com/Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc, www.ormeco-inc.com, and may be requested also through email ormeco_coop@yahoo.com, including the numbers listed above;

3.

Due to COVID-19 and in compliance with the Community Quarantine (CQ), Online/Virtual Bidding Conferences will be conducted. Stable internet connection is required to all prospective bidders during the conferences. TPBAC shall not be liable in any unexpected disruption due to poor/unstable signal which may cause loss of connection and inability of Bidders to engross with the conference;

c)

Variable Operation and Maintenance Php/kWh

d)

Fuel Fee

e)

Lube oil

B. C. D.

Payment of bidding documents, in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos Only (Php 25,000.00), shall be deposited to TPBAC Bank Account (to be emailed by the TPBAC Secretariat); Prospective bidders must submit to the TPBAC via email the scanned copy of validated bank deposit slip/screenshot of successful electronic fund transfer as proof of payment; Scanned copy of Bidding Documents will be sent by the TPBAC Secretariat upon validation that the payments are credited to the coop’s bank account; ID number or link of the Online/Virtual Conference will be provided by TPBAC Secretariat;

The schedule of activities are as follows: ACTIVITIES

Publication of Invitation

Submission of Letter of Intent (LOI) and Eligibility Documents Online / Virtual Pre-Bidding Conference Issuance of Bid Bulletin and Final Instruction to Bidders

DATE & TIME

March 05, 2021: Friday March 12, 2021: Friday

March 05, 2021: Friday, 0800H to 1700H to March 26, 2021: Friday, 0800H to 1700H March 27, 2021: Saturday, 0900H March 28, 2021: Sunday

March 29, 2021 to April 04, 2021: Monday to Sunday, Deadline of Submission and April 05, 2021: Monday, Start of Opening of Bids 1000H Bid Evaluation April 06, 2021: Tuesday, Post-Qualification and April 07-09, 2021: Wednesday Detailed Evaluation of Bids to Friday, Confirmation of Board of April 10, 2021: Saturday, Directors Issuance of Notice of Award April 10, 2021: Saturday, to Winning Bidder Due Diligence

VENUE Local TV Networks and Local Radio Stations Website: www.ormeco-inc.com https://www.facebook.com/ OrientalMindoroElectricCooperativeInc, NEA Website: https://www.nea.gov.ph DOE Website: https://www.doe.gov.ph LGU Bulletin Boards, & ORMECO, Inc. Offices ORMECO, INC. Office of the General Manager ORMECO, INC. Board Room

•

11

Replacement Power

12

Currency

• Replacement power rate should not be higher than the latest ERC approved generation tariff for same or similar technology in the area.

• Replacement power shall be the main obligation of the supplier. But in the event of failure by the supplier to provide the contracted capacity, the supplier shall be allowed to source the replacement power at its own expense and with corresponding payment of damages in favor to ORMECO, Inc. Philippine Peso

13

Regulatory Approvals

14

Dispatch by Utility (Off Grid)

ORMECO, Inc. shall have the right to Dispatch the Power Plant up to its Dependable Capacity following the System Operator Dispatch protocol.

15

Source of Power

Gen Sets (Diesel, high speed)

16

Plant Capacity

N-1 contingency

17

Technical Specifications

ORMECO, Inc. requires technical specifications of generator set/s which are useful during the actual plant operation.

18

Take-off structure

The connection point should be in 13.8-kV distribution line

19

Technical Capability / Qualification

Technical capability / qualification of technical staff and organization structure are required

ORMECO, INC. Board Room

• 20

Eligibility Documents

• •

ORMECO, INC. Board Room ORMECO, INC. Board Room

•

ORMECO, INC. Board Room

21

Nomination Protocol

22

Application Process with the ERC

ORMECO, INC. Board Room

7.

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

8.

The Bidders are expected to know the changes and/or amendments on the Bidding Documents as recorded in the minutes of the pre-bid conference and the Supplemental/Bid Bulletin. Sending of Bid Offers shall be discussed during the pre-bid conference;

9.

The ORMECO, INC. TPBAC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, waive defect(s) or informality(ies) therein, or accept any bid or offer which it may consider most advantageous and beneficial to ORMECO, Inc. without any liabilities. It also reserves the right to declare failure of CSP, or not award the PSA at any time prior to PSA award in accordance with the DOE Circular No. DC2018-02-003, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidders. declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO, INC. also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

Approved for release:

• • • •

23

24

Penalties

Grounds for Termination

• • • • •

SGD. ENGR. MICHAEL O. GUICO TPBAC Chairman 25

Noted by: SGD. ATTY. NORBERTO M. MENDOZA Project Supervisor / Acting General Manager (MS-MAR. 12, 2021)

ORMECO, Inc. and the IPPs shall jointly establish plans for operating the power plant during Force Majeure. Such plans shall include recovery from a local or widespread electrical blackout. The IPP shall comply with the Emergency procedures and provide contingency plan if a force majeure occurs.

Force Majeure events as defined in the ITB.

• ORMECO, Inc. and the Winning Bidder shall file with the ERC the joint application for the approval of the PSA in 15 calendar days after Notice of Award, including the application for the availment of UCME subsidy.

• Winning Bidder shall make the necessary adjustments in accordance with the directives of the ERC. Any downward adjustment in the rates shall not be a ground for the termination of the contract and ORMECO, Inc. shall not shoulder the incremental difference.

ORMECO, INC. Board Room ORMECO, INC. Board Room

Php/kWh

None

Force Majeure

For additional information, please be guided of the following “Online Bidding Procedures”: A.

6.

Fixed Operation and Maintenance Php/kWh

ORMECO, Inc. TPBAC now invites suppliers for the following:

Procurement of a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) for the mid-merit load requirement of the Province of Oriental Mindoro Commercial Operations Date May 5, 2021 to August 28, 2022 Contract Duration The PSA shall take effect for a period of sixteen (16) months commencing on its Commercial Operations on May 5, 2021 to August 28,2022 subject for extension, if needed, or unless earlier terminated in accordance with the provisions of the PSA. Guaranteed Dependable Capacity (GDC) 15 Mega Watts Plant Type / source of power Gen Sets (Diesel, high speed)

5.

b)

•

Brief description

4.

Capital Recovery Fee Php/kWh

Php/kWh • No indexation or escalation on Capital Recovery Fee (CRF).

• Fixed and Variable Operation and Maintenance Fees (FOMF and VOMF) shall consider the economic movement in the Philippines. Both should be multiplied by the ratio of the current-to-base Philippine Consumer Price Index (PH CPI). The values to be used should be referenced to those as published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for all commodity group. The base PH CPI to be used is _____(February 2021).

• Additionally, VOMF shall be indexed by the current-to-base foreign exchange (ForEx) rate. The values to be used should be referenced to those as published by the BangkoSentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The base ForEx rate to be used is $1 = PhP____________, as of28 March 2021.

• Fossil fuel is passed-on charge based on actual market price but limited to guaranteed fuel consumption rate of 0.275 liter per kWh. • Lube Oil is based on local market price of but limited to Lube Oil guaranteed fuel consumption rate of 0.001 liter per kWh. • For the Interim Power Supply, the rate shall not be higher than the latest ERCapproved generation tariff for same or similar technology in the area.

• The ORMECO, Inc shall not be required to make payments for the capacity that is unavailable and shall be computed in pro rata to the dispatchable capacity

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS •

a)

Environmental Compliance Certificate

The Management (President, CEO, Power Plant Manager) have background in Electric Power Industry Submit organizational structure and qualifications of technical staff.

Any lease agreement that will affect the delivery of supply should not be beyond the cooperation period under the PSA. With-binding year-ahead, month-ahead, week-ahead, and day-ahead nominations; ORMECO, Inc. may revise the nominations due to unscheduled outages.

Joint filing of Application for Approval of PSA and UCME Subsidy Availment Winning Bidder will shoulder filing and publication costs The Winning Bidder shall be penalized (monetary, etc.) in cases of the following events and circumstances; 1.

Delay in Commercial Operation Date (COD); 2.

Failure to deliver of contracted capacity; 3.

Failure of provision of replacement power; and Other violations under the resulting PSA. Event of default; Non-occurrence of Commercial Operation Date; and Expiration of cooperation period.

The winning bidder must secure Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the DENR within three (3) months upon approval of contract. The failureof winning bidder to secure the ECC within the three-month period shall be considered an event of default.

(MS-MAR. 12, 2021)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

News

Call to pass bill to avert agriculture smuggling

By Maricel V. Cruz A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Thursday appealed to Congress for the immediate enactment of a bill that amends Republic Act 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariffication Act, to avert agricultural smuggling and improve trade facilitation.

Rep. Sharon Garin of AAMBIS-OWA, vice chairperson of the House committee on ways and means, made the call as the committee continues its motu proprio investigation on the reported rampant smuggling of agricultural products.

Garin highlighted the role of the Bureau of Customs during the discussion even as she sounded alarm over the staggering discrepancies between declared importations of trade partners and the records held by the BOC. The members of the committee concurred that it is necessary to review and streamline the procedure of importation of agricultural products through enhanced coordination with the Bureau.

As the principal author of House Bill 5548 and a key proponent of CMTA, Garin said that amendments are necessary to further improve the country’s international standing.

“It is to be noted that since 2017, the country’s institutional arrangement and cooperation rating plateaued at 55.56 percent from 2017 to 2019. Should the bill be passed into law, the country’s rating is expected to progress.”

She said the bill’s enactment will improve trade facilitation and assist the government in revenue collection.

Provisions on the simplification and clear definition of some processes in the customs clearance of imported goods have also been incorporated in the bill.

In addition, stricter administrative sanctions, specifically on the supervision and regulation of third parties, are also being proposed to curb corruption and improve the efficiency of the Bureau, added Garin.

Pope to receive Pinoy painting for 500 years of Christianity A PAINTING by a Filipino artist will be given to Pope Francis for the celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines.

In a report on Thursday, the church-run Radio Veritas quoted Fr. Ricky Gente, chaplain of the Filipino community in Rome, as saying the masterpiece of Ryan Carreon Aragon would be given as a gift to the Pope who will lead the Holy Mass for the Philippines’ Christianity quincentennial celebration this weekend.

The Mass will be held at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican at 10 a.m. on Sunday (5 p.m. Manila time).

It added that Aragon’s painting was among the entries for the Quincentennial Painting Competition.

In the painting, Magellan is seen giving the statue of the Sto. Niño to Hara Humanay or Doña Juana for accepting the Christian faith after being baptized by the missionaries.

At the same time, the Center of Filipino Chaplaincy urged overseas Filipino workers in Rome and other countries to participate in the Mass through livestreaming since only 100 people are allowed in the Basilica.

Pope Francis will be joined by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, Vicar of the pontiff in Rome.

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

FIRST DOSE.

Dr. Doris Mariebel D. Camagay, director of the Clinical Division, Family and Community Medicine Specialist, receives the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Ospital ng Makati.

SC upholds Arroyo acquittal in NBN-ZTE

By Rey E. Requejo

right against double jeopardy under Article III, Section 21 of the Constitution.

HE Supreme Court has upheld the Sandiganbayan’s “A cursory examination of the petition acquittal of former President Gloria Macapagalreadily reveals that in essence, petitioner the Sandiganbayan’s evaluation Arroyo in connection with the graft cases filed against excoriates and assessment of the evidence presented her over the alleged $329-million anomalous National by the prosecution. Petitioner bemoans the ‘gross misapprehension of the facts and Broadband Network deal with the Chinese telecom firm the evidence on record which led to the Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment International grant of the demurrer in favor of GMA,” the high court said.

Investment Limited.

“However, a writ of certiorari can only correct errors of jurisdiction or those In a resolution released recently, the dismissal of the graft cases filed against involving the commission of grave abuse high court’s Third Division ruled that her for graft. of discretion, not those which call for The high court said the petition the evaluation of evidence and factual the Office of the Special Prosecutor wrongly assailed the resolutions of the for certiorari under Rule 65 of the findings.

Sandiganbayan issued on August 8, 2016, Rules of Civil Procedure filed by the Accordingly, we cannot condone prosecution to seek the reversal of the this specious approach at stretching the and November 7, 2016, which granted Mrs. Arroyo’s Sandiganbayan’s resolutions would allowable limits of questioning a judgment demurrer to evidence that resulted in the violate Mrs. Arroyo’s constitutional of acquittal.”

T

400 SEEDLINGS PLANTED. A total

of 400 mangrove seedlings were planted during the marine environmental protection initiative of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary 904th Squadron at a mangrove forest in Sorsogon Rompeolas, Sorsogon City.

Representatives from the Universal Peace Federation, Women’s Federation for World Peace, Youth and Students for Peace, SK Federation Sorsogon Chapter also joined the activity.

ERC urged to review power rate-setting mechanism

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Thursday urged the Energy Regulatory Commission to review its power rate-setting mechanism, saying its complex and ambiguous nature leads to questionable over-recoveries, making it ‘consumer unfriendly’.

The statement came after Manila Electric Company slashed its power rates for a second straight month in March, factoring in the approved refunds ordered by the power regulator.

Hontiveros said while the P13-billion Meralco refund to consumers is good news to welcome, the decision of ERC to grant Meralco’s petition “obscures the original sin” that created the problem of overrecovery, if not fraud, in the power industry.

That original sin, the senator pointed out, was the rate-setting methodology called Performance-Based Regulation that the Commission adopted in early 2000, replacing the old but tested Return on Rate Base method.

The PBR is assailed by consumer groups

as “too complex to understand” and by the Supreme Court for “transferring wealth from electricity consumers to utilities’ shareholders.”

She said consumer groups have long been demanding to return to the old RORB the rate-setting mechanism because the ERC cannot explain why the weighted average cost of capital of a utility like Meralco reached 15.50 percent. This is more than the 12 percent return imposed by the law for public utilities,” Hontiveros said.

‘Educate teenagers on pregnancies’

INSPECTION. Public Works Secretary Mark Villar leads the inspections of the 7-kilometer new segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway Subsection 5 (Silang East), Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Loop Interchange on Thursday.

AMID the rising cases of teenage pregnancies in the country, a female legislator has cited the need to fill in the gaps in policies by integrating comprehensive sexuality education in the academic curriculum to educate teenagers on healthy and responsible sexuality.

“Apparently, the community-based education and information campaign, and even the curriculum in formal education is lacking. I think we really need to integrate that in our curriculum—a comprehensive sexuality education,” Rep. Maria Lourdes AcostaAlba of Bukidnon, chairperson of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, said in a news forum.

“I think our adolescents and teenagers should be made aware of how to be sexually healthy and responsible. They have to have a sexuality na safe, responsible and healthy and to really drum it up sa kanila tungkol sa mga

risky behaviors when you engage in early sex and how this will have a detrimental effect on their future.”

Meanwhile, proponents and stakeholders on adolescents’ sexual reproductive health in the Philippines and Indonesia are advancing the knowledge of Muslim youth on the subject with the recent launch of the Comprehensive Gender and Health Education for Youth Module.

After three years of preparation, consultations and field testing, the Commission on Population and Development, along with Indonesia’s Ministry of the State Secretariat and the National Population and Family Planning Board, and the United Nations Population Fund, all working under the South-South and Triangular Cooperation on population, family planning, adolescent reproductive health and gender mainstreaming, jointly released the module on February 24, 2021. Maricel V. Cruz

IN BRIEF Isko, envoy discuss building Korea Town MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and South Korea Ambassador to the Philippines Kim Inchul recently met to talk about establishing a “Korea Town” in Manila’s Malate district.

In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, the Manila LGU Information Office said Domagoso was upbeat about strengthening the good relationship of Manila with South Korea.

“Manila City Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso expressed his intent to strengthen the capital city’s relations with South Korea by establishing ‘Korea Town’ in Malate,” according to the Manila PIO. “The matter was discussed on March 10 when South Korean Ambassador Kim Inchul paid a courtesy call on Mayor Domagoso,” said the PIO. Kim is the 32nd foreign envoy who has paid a courtesy call on the mayor since July 2019.

Domagoso was quoted in a tweet as saying to the Korean envoy that the city was honored to extend any help to realize the plan. Willie Casas

Bill to penalize PUV drivers caught racing DRIVERS of public utility buses and jeepneys who race against each other to compete for passengers will soon face imprisonment and a fine under a bill passed by the House of Representatives.

House Bill 8916, which the House approved on second reading, prohibits illegal drag racing. Final third reading approval is scheduled next week.

Assistant Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo, author of the bill, says it is not uncommon to see PUV drivers, especially those in Metro Manila, “to race against each other in a contest to pick up passengers.”

“This atrocious practice has resulted in the senseless and totally preventable death of a number of PUV riders and bystanders,” she said.

She said drag racing “does not have a place in our society and a law is needed to ban it.” Maricel V. Cruz

Foreigners warned not to submit fake papers THE Bureau of Immigration has reiterated its earlier warning to foreign nationals not to attempt to submit fake entry exemption documents to its different ports of entry.

BI Commissioner Morente issued the warning given that some classes of foreign nationals may be allowed to enter the country upon presentation of entry exemption documents secured from the Philippine posts abroad.

“Unscrupulous individuals may attempt to falsify such documents,” said Morente.

“We are warning you not to as we will be able to easily verify the authenticity of such papers.”

The requirement, said the BI, was implemented following an Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases resolution revising the travel restrictions for inbound aliens.

In October, the BI released a similar warning after intercepting an alien seafarer attempting to enter the country using a falsified document.

Vito Barcelo

News IN BRIEF Rocket attacks on Saudi ‘unjustified, inhumane’

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

NCR cities tweak COVID protocols

By Joel E. Zurbano, Rio N. Araja, and Willie Casas

THE Philippine government has condemned what it described as “unjustified and inhumane” missile attacks on certain facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia.

“The Philippine Government strongly condemns the recent attacks directed against Saudi Arabia. The repeated attacks targeting civilian facilities and installations are unjustified and inhumane,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The DFA called on all parties “to exercise restraint and settle their differences amicably in order to avoid further loss of lives and property.”

No Filipino was reported injured during the recent drone attack on Ras Tanura Port, one of the world’s largest oil shipping ports, as well as in the attempted missile strike at the Aramco complex in Dharan, which houses workers and their families from all over the world. Rey E. Requejo

C

ITIES in Metro Manila are recalibrating their strategies in enforcing health protocols in the wake of increasing active cases of the coronavirus disease in the National Capital Region.

DFA pushes Usec. Arriola for IOM deputy director THE Philippines has endorsed the appointment of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola as deputy director general for Management and Reform of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Arriola, who currently heads the Department of Foreign Affairs Migrant Workers’ Affairs office, is known as an accomplished migration management practitioner and human rights specialist.

She also advocates for change management and ethical and decent work within the department that are anchored on core IOM operational characteristics of agility, transparency, and accountability, DFA said in a statement.

“Since joining the government, Arriola is known to be a results-oriented leader, besides being fast, responsive, and dynamic in dealing with concerns relative to migration and other IOM issues,” it said, citing her expertise in handling institutional challenges and reformation.

Rey E. Requejo

A7

NEW REGISTRANTS. New voters for the May 2022 elections troop to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Camarin, Caloocan City on Thursday to register. Voter’s registration will run until Sept. 30, 2021. Ben Briones

Give Pinoys what they really need: cash aid—Binay FORMER Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday criticized the government anew for not giving the people what they really need amid the coronavirus disease pandemic – financial assistance.

“A year after the lockdown, the government wants the people to go back to jobs that no longer exist. Government wants people to spend money they do not have,” said Binay.

Binay said despite the high unemployment rate and rising food prices, the administration of President Rodri-

go Duterte has no intention to give the people much-needed cash assistance, especially the poor and those greatly affected by the outbreak.

“It’s not because the government does not have the funds. They can easily source the money from infrastructure projects of legislators, or from the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict), but they refuse to do so,” he said.

On March 16, 2020, President Duterte placed the entire island of Lu-

zon on lockdown in a bid to stop the spread or local transmission of the deadly COVID-19, which reportedly originated from Wuhan, China.

The government described the first lockdown rule as “enhanced community quarantine” or ECQ that included strict home quarantine for all households, a suspension of public transportation, the regulation of food and essential health services, and the heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce the quarantine.

Joel E. Zurbano

In the City of Makati, Mayor Abigail Binay warned service industry operators and their clients that the city government will bring down the full force of the law on violators of city ordinances and safety protocols against COVID-19.

In Paranaque City, the local government came up with a new regulation amending the curfew hours, its policy allowing persons outside residences, and measures for social gatherings.

Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, who chairs the Metro Manila Council, said the city government started implementing new curfew hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., while persons allowed to go outside residences are those aged 15 to 65 years old.

In Quezon City, which posted a nearly 200-percent increase in new COVID-19, cases in one month, Mayor Joy Belmonte started consultations with barangays, commercial establishments, and the Church to get suggestions on additional restrictions that should be implemented.

In Manila, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced that the first day of the lockdown in three barangays that registered a high number of COVID-19 cases had been successful and orderly.

This as Domagoso warned private quarantine facilities to make sure they function like those being run by the government or they will be dealt with accordingly.

In Taguig City, Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano convened the Safe City Task Force and other key officials on Monday and discussed additional measures to further prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

‘Cha-cha plenary talks show wisdom of RBH 2 proposals’

By Maricel V. Cruz PROPOSALS to insert the phrase “un less otherwise provided by law” in the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution would empower Congress to assess and evaluate prevailing economic factors before determining the wisdom of opening certain sectors of the economy.

Ako-Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., the chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Constitutional Amendments, made the statement on Thursday as the chamber continues its deliberations on the proposed Charter Change being pushed by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

“At present, the way the Constitution’s economic provisions are phrased, there is no leeway in matters such as foreign equity restrictions,” Garbin said.

“Right now, there can be no debate on this as the restrictions are mandated by the law of the land; it is a dead end, so to speak,” he explained.

“With RBH 2 (Resolution of Both Houses 2), we will insert a door, but we will not automatically open it for foreign investors; we will simply allow them to knock––and it is up to us in Congress to let them in if we believe this is to our benefit,” said Garbin during Wednesday’s plenary deliberations on Charter Change.

Garbin thanked his House colleagues for raising issues about the wisdom of easing the economic provisions of the 1987 Charter, particularly the pros and cons of liberalizing the economy.

“We welcome the points raised by our esteemed colleagues from the Makabayan Bloc and my kababayan Manong Edcel [Lagman] regarding FDI (foreign direct investments) and economic liberalization. It is good for the country to hear their viewpoints as well as those propounded by our resident economists, Manong Joey (Salceda) and Rep. Stella Quimbo,” said the solon.

SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 LAGUNA (SAN PEDRO CITY)

TUESDAY TO WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 – 17, 2021 QUEZON CITY (LAGING HANDA)

BETWEEN 1:00PM AND 6:00PM – PORTIONS OF CIRCUIT SAN PEDRO 425WH Portion of Bato-Bato St. from Father Masi St. to and including Sapphire, Alexandrite, Garnet and Zircon Sts. in Adelina Complex Subd. Phase I-A, Bgy. San Antonio.

Portion of Marbella St. from near Father Masi St. to and including Adelina Complex Subd. Phases I & I-B and Elnor Homes; Petron Gas Station, McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee and Petron Service Station - SLEX South Bound km 29 in Bgy. San Antonio.

BETWEEN 11:00PM (TUE., 03/16/21) AND 5:00AM (WED., 03/17/21) – PORTION OF CIRCUIT STA. MESA 58F – QUEZON CITY 45VA Portion of Sct. Santiago St. from Timog Ave. to and including Bright Family Condo Residences and Torre Venezia Suites.

REASON: Upgrading of facilities in Adelina Complex Subd. Phase I, Bgy. San Antonio, San Pedro City, Laguna.

BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTIONS OF CIRCUIT SAN PABLO 45WJ Portion of Bgys. Bagong Niing and Sampaga including Godyo River Poultry Farm.

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021 BULACAN (GUIGUINTO)

BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT STA. MARIA 436YU Portion of Catindig St. from MacArthur Highway in Bgy. Poblacion to and including Remarville Homes 2 and Sitio Tabon in Bgy. Malis.

REASON: Line reconductoring works along Sct. Santiago St. in Bgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 QUEZON PROVINCE (SAN ANTONIO)

REASON: Replacement of rotten and badly leaning wood poles in Bgys.

Bagong Niing and Sampaga in San Antonio, Quezon Province.

PARAÑAQUE CITY (DON BOSCO) BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT BF-PARAÑAQUE 425WU Along Conglomerate Road from Levitown Ave. to and including Camella Homes Classic Subd., Levitown Phase 9 Subd., Levitown Villas Subd., INA Executive Homes and Maharlika Homes.

House to work with DHSUD to cut 6.7m housing backlog

REASON: Relocation of facilities affected by DOTr – PNR construction along Catindig St. in Bgy. Poblacion, Guiguinto, Bulacan.

BETWEEN 8:00AM AND 11:00AM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT GARDNER 53GG Perpetual Village, Purok 6C, Purok 10, Purok 11, Purok 13 SDH and Sitio Sto. Niño in Bgy. South Daang Hari, Taguig City.

Purok 6 Tramo in Bgy. Sucat, Muntinlupa City.

REASON: Replacement of rotten poles along Conglomerate Road in Levitown Villas Subd., Bgy. Don Bosco, Parañaque City.

THE House Committee on Housing and Urban Development has vowed to work together with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and other government agencies to address the 6.7 million housing backlog in the country.

The House committee vice chairperson, Rep. Florida Robes of San Jose Del Monte City, gave the assurance during a housing summit Wednesday at the San Jose Del Monte Convention Center in Bulacan.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco attended the summit along with Housing Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr., and House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Francisco Benitez.

The Benitez committee earlier adopted a resolution declaring a housing crisis in the Philippines.

Robes, who headed the Technical Working Group on the housing crisis resolution, said she had been tasked to ensure its implementation through coordination with the DHSUD and the NHA. “This is an ambitious goal I know because it is not easy especially now that we have the pandemic, but we have housing officials who are passionate about their work and are very much willing to work together to fulfill their mandate of providing decent and affordable housing to all underserved Filipino families,” she said.

In a substitute resolution to HR 1458, the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development declared a housing crisis and listed at least 18 proposals to address the housing crisis.

Benitez said his committee will do its share to help the DHSUD perform its duties and has given Robes the task to follow up on the proposed 18 measures listed in the resolution to make sure that the housing backlog is addressed.

Velasco, during the event, said the House of Representatives is committed to help address the housing backlog, which is why the Lower House passed the on-site, in-city or near-city housing bill under HB 8248. Maricel V. Cruz

REASON: Retirement of facilities along South Daang Hari Road in Bgy. South Daang Hari, Taguig City.

BETWEEN 11:00PM (THU., 03/18/21) AND 3:00AM (FRI., 03/19/21) – PORTIONS OF CIRCUIT BOLBOC 322ZV Portion of Libjo – Dumuclay Barangay Roads from Batangas – Tabangao – Lobo Road to and including Bgys. Talumpok Silangan, Talumpok Kanluran, Conde Itaas, Conde Labak, Dumuclay, Haligue Kanluran, Haligue Silangan, Kumba, Libjo, Mahabang Dahilig, Malalim, Maruclap, San Isidro, San Miguel, Santo Domingo, Sirang Lupa, Sto. Niño, Talahib Pandayan and Talahib Payapa.

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021 TAGUIG CITY; AND MUNTINLUPA CITY

LAGUNA (LOS BAÑOS)

BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT LOS BAÑOS 35WT Portion of El Danda St. from Lopez Ave. to and including Diamond Ext. St. in Umali Subd.; Trace College and Trace Aquatics Center in Bgy. Batong Malake.

REASON: Replacement of pole, reconstruction of facilities and line reconductoring works in Bgy. Batong Malake, Los Baños, Laguna.

CALOOCAN CITY (POBLACION) BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT MALABON 412YD Portion of Lakas Ng Mahihirap St. from A. Mabini St. to and including Libis Talisay, 1st – 5th and Gen. Luna Sts. REASON: Replacement of facilities and other maintenance works along Lakas Ng Mahihirap St. in Bgy. Poblacion, Caloocan City.

THURSDAY TO FRIDAY, MARCH 18 – 19, 2021 BATANGAS PROVINCE (BATANGAS CITY)

REASON: Reconstruction of primary lines along Batangas – Tabangao – Lobo Road in Bgys. Libjo and San Isidro in Batangas City, Batangas Province.

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021 CALOOCAN CITY BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTIONS OF CIRCUIT GRACE PARK 416RD Portion of Paz St. from Monserbat St. to near Loreto St. REASON: Replacement of pole and installation of facilities along Paz St. in Caloocan City.

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 CAVITE (GEN. TRIAS CITY) BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT ABUBOT 38XZ Kaia Homes in Bgy. Pasong Kawayan 2.

REASON: Line reconstruction works in Kaia Homes, Bgy. Pasong Kawayan 2, Gen. Trias City, Cavite.

A8

Sports

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

Harmie Constantino: I felt pretty good—starting my first pro tournament with a win.

Eala twin-kill fuels Penn to Division 1 tennis victory

By Peter Atencio MIKO Eala scored a pair of victories as he and his teammates powered the Penn State University Nittany Lions to their second straight conference win in the Division 1 action of the US Big Ten Intercollegiate tennis competitions.

The elder brother of teen sensation Alexandra Eala, Miko made his mark both in the singles and the doubles for the Nittany Lions, who pulled off a 6-1 triumph over the Purdue Boilermakers at their home court in University Park, Pennsylvania.

This comes a day after their 4-3 beating of the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

The Nittany Lions now have a 2-3 win-loss record.

According to the team’s official website, the freshmen duo of Eala and British partner Sam Bossem clinched their first doubles victory, 6-4, over Perdue’s Sebastian Welch and Mateo Julio to hand their team the first point.

The pair of Tim Ruetzel and Charl Morgan then played an unfinished match against Milledge Cossu and Michal Wozniak, 4-all.

Then, another point came Penn State’s way when Christos Antonopoulos and Alp Sentay stopped the tandem of Sebastian Welch and Mateo Julio, 6-1.

In the first singles, Mateo Julio kept Purdue from getting shut out when he defeated Antonopoulos, 6-3, 6-2.

After that, Bora Sengul won over Sebastian Welch, 7-6 (6), 6-2, and Eala (PSU) downed Wozniak, 7-5, 7-6 (2), to add more points for Penn State.

Morgan, Ruetzel and Bossem gave Penn State its last three singles points.

“Everybody had to step up today.

Sam Bossem got to play today and it was great to see him get his first college win. It was great to get our first doubles point. We really needed that and came out with great energy,” said head coach Jeff Zinn in a statement.

The Nittany Lions will have two road encounters against Michigan and Michigan State this weekend.

US NCAA standout fit for Tropang Giga

By Rey Joble

I

S TNT looking for Jayson “The Blur” Castro’s heir apparent?

If that’s the direction the Tropang Giga is going to undertake, then taking in Mikey Williams, a US NCAA Division 1 player and former D-League veteran, will be the logical choice for the fourth overall pick in the coming PBA Rookie Draft.

Williams had a sensational season playing for Cal State Fullerton and had a stint with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, not to mention his impressive stint in the Philippines while playing for Mighty Sports in the Dubai International Tournament and the William Jones Cup in Taipei and the General Santos City Warriors in the MPBL. The 6’2” combo guard could be an ideal selection at No. 4 as the Tropang Giga prepare for their future with life after Castro, one of the best guards the franchise ever had and became a part of the

Mikey Williams

team’s six championship teams.

Now 34, Castro is still a force to reckon with, averaging 18.44 points and 5.11 assists per game, but there were times that he was forced to play extended minutes.

In last year’s bubble tournament, he averaged 26.70 minutes per game and even skipped two games in the elimination round.

Having a player in the mold of Williams will certainly beef up the guard rotation as the team will have a player who can immediately make an impact in the backcourt, especially now that the future of disgruntled player Ray Parks looks uncertain.

Not just one but “two Williams” are better for TNT, which also welcomed the return of Kelly Williams in their roster to add more muscle to the front court of the squad that will be anchored by big men Poy Erram and Troy Rosario.

TNT board governor and current league chairman Ricky Vargas indicated in a text message that securing the No. 4 pick was part of the franchise’s rebuilding plans.

Constantino wins pro golf debut, foils Superal GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Rookie Harmie Constantino proved clutch as she birdied No. 13 for a crucial two-shot swing then matched Princess Superal’s birdie on the 16th to claim the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge crown by two on a closing 73 at the Aoki course here yesterday.

Constantino blew a two-stroke lead with back-to-back bogeys from No. 11 but recovered her bearing and touch to birdie the par-4 13th, which Superal bogeyed that led to a 74, enabling the former to regain a two-stroke cushion, which she used as springboard to mark her pro debut with a resounding victory.

“I felt pretty good – starting my first pro tournament with a win,” said Constantino, who actually nailed a win on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour as an amateur when she fashioned out a nine-stroke triumph at Mt. Malarayat in 2016.

‘But I really didn’t expect anything here. I’m here to have fun and enjoy the day,” added the former Univ. of Georgia standout, who pocketed the top P72,000 purse on a 54-hole total of 215 that included rounds of 73 and 69.

She hiked her lead to two at the turn despite a 37 marked by three birdies but marred by two bogeys and a double-bogey on No. 8 and dropped to joint lead with those early backside bogeys.

Superal put the pressure on Constantino with a birdie on the first hole to draw level but reeled back with bogeys on Nos. 5, 7 and 8 on missed hits and missed greens although she forced an all-square match again as Constantino faltered on Nos. 11 and 12.

But the 2019 LPGT Order of Merit champion uncharacteristically cracked under pressure against her rookie rival, yielding a costly stroke on No. 13.

And though she made some late charge with a birdie on the 16, Constantino just shook off the threat and matched that feat.

Superal wound up with a two-over card and a 217 and settled for a second straight runner-up finish after ruling the Riviera Couples leg last November and losing the Pauline del Rosario at Riviera Langer.

Del Rosario, who pulled to within four after 36 holes, remained in the hunt with frontside 36 but faded with a double-bogey mishap on No. 13 and a bogey on the 16th. She finished with a 75 for third at 221.

Chanelle Avaricio turned in a 75 for fourth at 228 while Daniella Uy struggled with an 80 for sixth at 230 followed by amateur Laurea Duque (82-235), Marvi Monsalve (81-245), Sunshine Baraquiel (85-247), Cyna Rodriguez (84-247), Gretchen Villacencio (79-247) and Pamela Mariano (83-248).

National volleyball team coaches named THE Philippine National Volleyball Federation appointed Arthur “Odjie” Mamon and Dante Alinsunurin as the national women’s and men’s volleyball coaches, respectively, according to PNVF President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Also appointed were national beach volleyball coaches Rhovyl Verayo (men) and Paul John Doloiras (women).

“After careful and stringent delibera-

tion and evaluation, the federation selected coaches Odjie and Dante, both of who brings with them impressive and credible credentials,” Suzara said.

The coaches will primarily focus on the country’s campaign in the Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games where the men’s team hopes to improve on its silver from the 2019 SEA Games and the women’s team targeting a podium finish.

Volleyball federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara (center) and secretary general Don Caringal (second from left) join newly-appointed national coaches (from left) Paul John Doloiras (women’s beach volleyball), Arthur “Odjie” Mamon (women’s volleyball), Dante Alinsunurin (men’s volleyball) and Rhovyl Verayo (men’s beach volleyball) in posing for unity.

The National Team Commission headed by Tonyboy Liao and National Coaches Commission under Jerry Yee made the recommendation to the PNVF board on the composition of the national coaching staff.

Assisting Mamon are Grace Antigua and former Ateneo de Manila University coach Tai Bundit of Thailand.

Alinsunurin, who coached the country to that silver medal in the Philippine SEA Games two years ago, have Ariel dela Cruz and Sherwin Meneses as assistants.

“Our appointed coaches will do whatever it takes to assemble the best ever team in the SEA Games with their vast coaching experience even during this situation,” Suzara said. So we’re confident Volleyball Philippines is in good hands.”

“It’s a call to duty for the national colors and you can’t decline once the country asks for your service,” said Mamon, who owns a 24-year coaching experience highlighted by women’s bronze medal finishes in the Kuala Lumpur 2001 (head coach) and Hanoi 2003 (assistant coach) SEA

Games.

“Everybody is affected by the pandemic, but we are hoping to maintain our finish in the last SEA Games,” said Alinsunurin, who also coaches National University men’s team. “We have to work really, really hard if we want to win a gold medal.”

Verayo, on the other hand, expressed confidence over the beach volleyball players’ mindset and physical condition despite the pandemic.

“We’ll do everything to get a gold because our program is improving,” said Verayo, who will be assisted on the bench

by Jason Gabales and Reycarl Dimaculangan.

Dolairas, meanwhile, said they are looking beyond the bronze medal Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons clinched in the last SEA Games.

“We are all affected by the pandemic so we’re focusing on the conditioning of the players,” Dolairas said. “We will do our best to improve slowly every game until SEA Games.”

Quiban hangs tough despite late mishap GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Justin Quiban stumbled in blustery finish and holed out with a double-bogey for a 73, enabling a slew of others, including fancied Miguel Tabuena, to close in that all but set the stage for a wild finish in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge here yesterday.

Dispatching erstwhile co-leader Michael Bibat with birdies on Nos. 13 and 16 to seize firm control, Quiban went 3-up over his nearest pursuers heading to the par-4 18th. But he missed a couple of shots while battling the gusts and ended up yielding two strokes on Aoki layout’s tough finishing par-4 hole.

But his one-over card, which came after he vaulted into a share of the lead with

Bibat with a 65 Wednesday, still proved enough to keep him on top of the leaderboard as he assembled a 213 and closer to a third career victory after a breakthrough at PGT Asia at Luisita in 2017 and a dominant win in PGT Bacolod in 2018.

“I didn’t drive quite well and hit (irons) not so well either,” rued Quiban who described his 37-36 round that featured three birdies and two bogeys as mediocre. “But at least I was able to go up-and-down in some holes that minimized the damage.”

But his late miscue guaranteed a slambang finish to the P2 million event kicking off the 2021 Philippine Golf Tour season sponsored by ICTSI as Tabuena moved into

strong contention on two late birdies for a 70, one of the two best scores in scorching, punishing day at one of Eagle Ridge’s four championship courses.

Tabuena, who failed to figure in the two Riviera events late last year, birdied Nos. 14 and 16 and tied Zanieboy Gialon, who also birdied the 16th, for a 73, at 214 while Richard Sinfuego also rallied late with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to save a 74 for a 215, just two strokes off Quiban.

“Considering the wind, I think I played pretty solid although I could’ve played more aggressive off the tee which I might do tomorrow (today),” said Tabuena, who also gained strokes on Nos. 1 and 12 to off-

set his bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13.

“I like where I’m at and think I have a big chance tomorrow (today),” added the former two-time Philippine Open champion, who hinted at going on an attack mode in the final 18 holes of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., saying: “I might be a little more aggressive to give myself more chances.”

Steady in challenging conditions with back-to-back 70s, Bibat stayed at even par after 10 holes but failed to recover from a bogey on the par-5 11th, yielding more strokes on Nos. 13 and 14 before holing out with a bogey on the 18th for the third straight day.

Justin Quiban’s double-bogey for a 73 still proved enough to keep him on top of the leaderboard.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, March 11, 2021

-89.14 PTS. 6,719.18

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

5,048,893,268 171,375 8,578,796,223.24 120 112 39

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas •THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5640

Japan

Yen

0.009227

0.4481

UK

Pound

1.393400

67.6691

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128846

6.2573

Switzerland

Franc

1.075847

52.2474

Canada

Dollar

0.792581

38.4909

Singapore

Dollar

0.744380

36.1501

Australia

Dollar

0.773400

37.5594

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654280

128.9025

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266631

12.9487

Brunei

Dollar

0.741620

36.0160

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.032552

1.5809

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2226

Euro

Euro

1.192900

57.9320

Korea

Won

0.000880

0.0427

China

Yuan

0.153697

7.4641

India

Rupee

0.013751

0.6678

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.242424

11.7731

New Zealand

Dollar

0.719500

34.9418

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035398

1.7191 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF Forex reserves rose to $109b in February THE country’s gross international reserves climbed to $109.08 billion as of end-February from $108.67 billion in January, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Thursday.

Diokno said in a statement the increase in the reserves level reflected inflows from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad.

“These inflows were partly offset, however, by the revaluation adjustments from the BSP’s gold holdings due to the decrease in the price of gold in the international market and foreign currency withdrawals of the national government from its deposits in the BSP to pay its foreign currency debt obligations,” Diokno said.

He said the February GIR represented an adequate external liquidity buffer, which could help cushion the domestic economy against external shocks. This buffer was equivalent to 11.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

It was also about 9.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.4 times based on residual maturity.

The GIR hit a record-high of $110.12 billion in December 2020. Julito G. Rada

1

APL

0.208

0.043

26.06%

2 3 4

PHA DAVIN DITO

2.45 3.7 10.5

0.5 0.55 1.5

25.64% 17.46% 16.67%

5 6 7

BSC MARC MAH

0.97 1.35 2.52

0.13 0.15 0.27

15.48% 12.50% 12.00%

8 9 10

MM SFIP MFIN

5.2 1.97 2.8

0.51 0.19 0.27

10.87% 10.67% 10.67%

Business TOP LOSERS

San Miguel books P21.87-b profit, to issue P50-b bonds 1

CAB

LAST PRICE 56.55

2 3 4

BC FJPB LAND

2.72 3.3 1

5 KEP 6 PRIM

By Jenniffer B. Austria 7 I

D

% CHANGE CHANGE -8.45 -13.00% -0.28 -0.3 -0.08

-9.33% -8.33% -7.41%

2.8 -0.2 -6.67% 3.06 net -0.19 -5.85% income in the second half. from 2019. Net sales also dipped 24 perSales in the second half also improved cent to P107.9 billion.

1.4 -0.08 -5.41%

by 6 percent to P373 billion from P352.8 IVERSIFIED 8 AEV 40 billion -2 in the-4.76% first semester. conglomerate San “While it has not been a good year 9 BHI 0.075 -0.003 -3.85% for all businesses and our economy Miguel 10Corp. said AB 7.7 overall, -0.3 we’re -3.75%encouraged by the susThursday it plans to raise tained recoveries that our businesses showed in the second half. There are up to P50 billion from so many challenges ahead—and the issuance of fixed-rate still a lot of uncertainty. But we believe VOLUME VALUE (PHP) our economic recovery is underway as bonds.

MOST ACTIVE

the vaccine rollout gathers pace,” San 1 DITO 325534000 3204434383 San Miguel said its board of directors Miguel president and chief operating 2 to APL 510943410 Ang said. approved the filing of up P50 billion2675590000 officer Ramon in bond-shelf registration, with an initial “We 332199080 will continue to stay focused 3 PHA 149565000 issuance of P20 billion and an oversub- on gaining performance improvements 4 ALI billion.8163900 299022365 scription option for another P10 in this new normal while pursuing iniThe conglomerate said it posted a net tiatives 271755650 that generate jobs and deliver 5 SM 263775 income of P21.87 billion in 2020, down tangible assets to fuel our economy’s MMin 2019 as47312000 55 percent from P48.57 6billion growth,”235341780 he said. the economy plunged into recession amid conglomerate’s food and beer 7 BDO 2045510The 214952411 the pandemic. subsidiary posted a 31-percent decline 8 BPI Net sales fell 29 percent in 2020 to2299010 in net 187887282.5 income in 2020 to P22.4 bilP725.8 billion from P1 trillion in 2019. lion, as net sales dropped 10 percent to ACEN to re-22457900 154624257 The company said it9 managed P297.3 billion. verse its P4-billion net loss the first half75160 The beer 10 in GLO 147894520 business booked a net income of 2020 as it posted a robust P25.8-billion of P17.45 billion, down by 36 percent

Food business registered a 17-percent drop in net income to P2.8 billion as net sales slipped by 3 percent to P135 billion.

The group’s packaging business booked a 73-percent slide in income from operations to P961 million from P3.6 billion in 2019.

Petron Corp. ended in the red with a net loss of P11.4 billion in 2020, a turnaround from the P2.3-billion net income in 2019 as net sales shrank by 44 percent to P286 billion.

SMC Infrastructure posted a 78-percent decline in income from operations to P2.57 billion. SMC Infrastructure opened Skyway Stage 3 to the public in January, cutting travel time from the South Luzon Expressway in Alabang to North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak to 30 minutes.

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. declared a 31-percent increase in net income in 2020 to P18.87 billion from P14.36 billion in 2019. Net sales, however, declined by 15 percent to P115 billion from P136 billion in 2019.

Four groups interested in Malaya power plant POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said Thursday it is optimistic of selling the 650-megawatt Malaya Thermal Power Plant and its underlying land in Pililla, Rizal after four companies attended the pre-negotiation conference.

PSALM said Sta. Clara International Corp., VBB Trucking Trading and Consultancy Services Inc., Fort Pilar Energy Inc. and AC Energy Philippines Inc. participated in the pre-negotiation conference on March 9 as part of the third round of negotiated sale process for the Malaya power assets.

The pre-negotiation conference provided the interested parties an opportunity to clarify any issues they may have on the provisions of the negotiated sale.

“We welcome the inputs and comments from the interested parties on the terms of the negotiated sale process. Their active participation in the pre-negotiation conference makes us very optimistic that they will participate in the Offer Submission Deadline this coming April,” said PSALM president and chief executive Irene Besido-Garcia in a statement. Alena Mae S. Flores

Emperador reports record P8-b earnings LIQUOR company Emperador Inc. said Thursday net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company rose 18 percent to a record P8 billion in 2020 on the back of strong international sales.

Emperador said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the 2020 revenues reached P52.6 billion, up 2 percent from P51.6 billion in 2019.

The world’s largest brandy company said global footprint and iconic brand portfolio enabled the company to navigate through the challenges of 2020.

“The resilience of the company shows the strength of our business coupled with the strength of our whisky and brandy portfolio across the globe resulting in stability and growth amid the challenges,” said Emperador president Winston Co. “The company also took the opportunity to streamline efficiencies to enable the company to be nimble and effective in the markets. 2020 has set a new path and platform for our future growth,” Co said. Jenniffer B. Austria

USAID ASSISTANCE. The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development, and the Department of Education sign a new, five-year bilateral assistance agreement valued at more than P4.8 billion ($100 million) to improve basic education outcomes in the Philippines. Through the agreement, USAID and DepEd continue and deepen their commitment to help children and out-of-school youth acquire the education and skills they need to succeed.

CONVERGE ICT Solutions Inc. said Thursday net income jumped 74 percent in 2020 as broadband subscribers exceeded 1 million.

The company said net income amounted to P3.38 billion last year from P1.94 billion in 2019.

It said fourth-quarter net income reached P1.9 billion, up 110 percent from P571 million in the same period in 2019.

Converge’s consolidated revenues grew by more than 71 percent to P15.65 billion last year from P9.13 billion in 2019.

Revenues from residential business doubled to P12.62 billion in 2020 from P6.35 billion in 2019, driven by a 96-percent yearon-year growth in subscriber base coupled with an improvement in residential average revenue per user.

Converge ICT had 1.038 million residential subscribers as of end-December, while the company deployed about 1.5 million new fiber-to-home ports.

“Converge has built a fiber network that’s

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

B1

Automotive sales fell 12% to 26,230 units in February

By Othel V. Campos VEHICLE sales in February dropped 12.2 percent from a year ago, but showed signs of recovery from the previous month, two industry groups said Thursday.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report sales were on a rebound coming from a tragic pandemic year of 2020.

Member companies of the two industry groups sold 26,230 vehicles in February, down from 29,790 units delivered in the same month last year.

CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez, however, said the February sales represented a 12-percent improvement from 23,380 units sold in January 2021, driven by positive growths across all categories.

Gutierrez said the Asian utility vehicle category grew by nearly 29.7 percent to 4,045 units from 3,118 units, while the light truck category posted a 23.4-percent growth to 412 units from 333 units in January.

Both categories of heavy-duty trucks and buses also recorded double-digit growth of 19.4 percent and 39.2 percent, respectively, to 289 and 103 units.

Overall commercial vehicle sales grew by 14 percent to 18,331 units from 15,085 units on a monthly basis.

Sales of passenger cars also increased by 8.28 percent to 7,899 units from 7,295 units in January 2021, the two industry groups said.

Meanwhile, total vehicle sales in the first two months fell by 7.3 percent to 49,610 units from 53,513 units in the same period last year.

Passenger car sales increased 3.8 percent to 15,194 units from 14,636 units a year ago, while commercial vehicle went down by 11.5 percent to 34,417 units from 38,877 units.

Gutierrez said the automotive industry was worried over the impact of the provisional safeguard duties on imported vehicles on sales in the coming months.

Ayala’s earnings Singapore’s Redco opts out of Makati subway project declined by 51% to P17.1b in 2020 REDCO Transit Development Pte. Ltd. of Singapore withdrew its proposal to acquire shares in Makati City Subway Inc. from Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc. and Hong Kong Binjiang Industrial Limited, the Philippine Competition Commission said Thursday.

The PCC said in a statement the concerned parties agreed to terminate the proposed acquisition on March 9, 2021.

The PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office said the parties withdrew their notification of the transaction which was undergoing merger review. It said the parties informed MAO that they decided not to pursue the transaction and to terminate the share purchase agreement over circumstances relating to COVID-19 pandemic.

It said businesses have full discretion to decide on their strategies and operations as they see fit, within the bounds of the law.

MAO said it carries out its functions in a

Converge ICT’s income jumps 75% to P3.38b

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor

ready to serve the expected sustained demand for quality high-speed broadband,” Converge chief executive Dennis Anthony Uy said.

“Our dream is to provide the majority of Filipinos with world-class internet services through our fiber network,” he said.

The company is spending P20 billion this year, up from last year’s P16 billion.

The 2021 capex will be used for the expansion of its backbone and the deployment of additional FTTH ports to reach about 35 percent of household in the Philippines by December 2021.

“We expect that strong demand for reliable high-speed broadband will result in continuous growth of our residential subscriber base to approximately 1.6-1.7 million by the end of 2021,” Uy said.

“Similarly, we believe that enterprise represents a significant growth opportunity for Converge, and we plan to further penetrate this segment,” he said.

Uy said Converge was on track to reach its mid-term goal of 55-percent nationwide household coverage by 2025.

non-discriminatory manner in accordance with the statutory timelines and regulatory requirements in merger reviews, and this transaction was no exemption.

The office said it accommodated the parties throughout the notification process, including the conduct of multiple consultations and the grant of their several requests for extensions equivalent to 127 days, since they filed their notification with the PCC in September 2020.

“As the country’s antitrust authority, the PCC is mandated to review mergers and acquisitions to ensure that they do not pose competition or monopoly concerns in the market. The MAO respects the parties’ decision to withdraw, modify, or re-file their agreements, and stands ready for future notifications on this transaction,” the PCC said.

Philippine Infradev, the local proponent of the $3.7-billion Makati City Subway Project, earlier reported that

Makati City Subway Inc. agreed to the mutual termination of MSCI’s share purchase agreement with Hong Kong Binjiang Industrial Limited.

“It has been almost 1 year since the transactions contemplated in the agreement were submitted to the Philippine Competition Commission for approval, and to date, the same are still pending review,” the company said.

“The effectivity of the transactions contemplated in the agreement, specifically the release of funds earmarked by HK Binjiang, were conditioned on the PCC’s approval of the transactions,” it said.

MSCI signed an investment agreement HK Binjiang in February 2020.

Under the agreement, HK Binjiang will acquire a 35-percent direct investment in MCSI by purchasing 15 million common shares for $30 million, payable within 10 business days from effectivity of the agreement. Othel V. Campos

DURIAN EXPORTS.

The Philippines’ first shipment of frozen durian from Davao City arrives in Australia. The initial shipment of two varieties of durian called Puyat and Duyaya in whole pieces with shell and a tasting sampler pack arrived at the Port of Melbourne on March 2, made possible

by Melbournebased Aus Asia Produce Pty Ltd., which specializes in importing and distributing exotic tropical fruits, Asian vegetables, herbs and other products.

CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. said Thursday net income dropped 51 percent in 2020 to P17.1 billion from a year ago, as the pandemic affected the operations of core banking and real estate businesses.

Excluding divestment gains from education and power booked in 2019, the impact of the reclassification of Manila Water Company Inc. as asset and significant loan loss provisions for banking unit, core net income softened 16 percent to P26 billion last year.

Real estate unit Ayala Land Inc. registered a 74-percent decline in a net income to P8.7 billion as mobility restrictions impacted on mall revenues and residential sales.

Net profit of Bank of the Philippine Islands also fell 26 percent to P21.4 billion on the back of P28 billion in loan loss provisions it booked in anticipation of an increase in non-performing loans levels. The provision was five times higher than the P5.6 billion it allocated in 2019.

Globe Telecom’s net income contracted 16 percent to P18.6 billion driven by a moderate decline in gross service revenues, higher depreciation expenses from continued network investments and higher non-operating expenses.

Power generating firm AC Energy recorded a net income of P6.2 billion, down from P24.5 billion in 2019, which included gains from the partial divestment of thermal assets.

AC Industrials narrowed its net loss to P1.8 billion in 2020 from P2.4 billion in 2019 on improved results of manufacturing businesses.

Manila Water’s net income decreased 18 percent to P4.5 billion in 2020 because of a one-off recognition for additional estimates for probable losses and lower contributions from domestic subsidiaries.

The conglomerate programmed P196 billion in group capital expenditures for 2021, including P11.5 billion under the parent company to support the emerging businesses in its portfolio.

Jenniffer B. Austria

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Business

Standard

B2

TODAYMARCH 12, 2021 FRIDAY, extrastory2000@gmail.com

Facebook halts undersea cable linking California and Hong Kong SAN FRANCISCO—Facebook has decided to halt its efforts to build a transPacific undersea cable that would have connected California and Hong Kong, due to tensions between the United States and China.

“Due to ongoing concerns from the US government about direct communication links between the United States and Hong Kong, we have decided to withdraw our FCC application,” a Facebook spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday, referring to the Federal Communications Commission.

“We look forward to working with all the parties to reconfigure the system to meet the concerns of the US government,” the spokesperson added.

The social networking giant and several telecom companies filed their first construction permit in 2018, to connect two sites in California to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The project was supposed to facilitate communications through fiber optics capable of carrying large volumes of data with very low waiting times.

But Washington resisted, because of perceived potential national security risks regarding China, which has tightened its control over Hong Kong.

In June, the US Department of Justice recommended that a trans-Pacific undersea cable proposed by Google and Facebook bypass Hong Kong.

The cable, named the Pacific Light Cable Network, was originally intended to link the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The Hong Kong landing station “would expose US communications traffic to collection” by Beijing, the department said.

The FCC gave Google permission in April 2020 to operate the link between North America and Taiwan. AFP

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that BRIA HOMES, INC. (Formerly: CASA REGALIA, INCORPORATED) with office address at LGF Bldg. B, Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a New Developer of Economic and Low-Cost Housing Project under the preferred List - Mass Housing (Bria Homes Alaminos-Pangasinan) with a capacity of 794 house and lot units on a Non-Pioneer status, with project site located at Brgy. San Vicente and Cabatuan, Alaminos City, Pangasinan.

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

(MS-MAR. 12, 2021)

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

Stocks drop; JG Summit, Globe slip

T

HE stock market fell Thursday on profit taking and rising COVID-19 cases in the country, after some areas in Metro Manila resorted to granular lockdowns to contain the infection.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 89.14 points, 1.3 percent, to 6,719.18 on a value turnover of P8.6 billion. Gainers, however, beat losers, 120 to 112, with 39 issues unchanged.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group declined 3.4 percent to P62.70, while SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group was down 2.6 percent to P1,030.

Globe Telecom Inc., the second-biggest mobile phone company, shed 2.5 percent to P1,968, but DITO CME Holdings Inc., the third major telecommunications firm, rallied 16.7 percent to P10.50.

The rest of Asian and European markets ticked higher Thursday as inflation concerns eased, allowing investors to focus on the global recovery and

progress in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Investors were given a positive lead from Wall Street, where the Dow ended at a new record, helped by news that Joe Biden’s stimulus had cleared its last hurdle in Congress, as expected, meaning he can sign it into law before the weekend, pumping almost $2 trillion into the economy.

Asian markets were positive Thursday, taking their lead from Wall Street, as well as a third straight record in Frankfurt and a one-year high for Paris.

Hong Kong rose more than one percent with Taipei, Shanghai jumped more than two percent and Seoul 1.9 percent. Tokyo, Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok also rose, while Sydney was barely moved.

Hopes for an improvement in China-US relations were also given a lift by news that top Washington and Beijing officials will meet for their first talks next week.

Fears that a strong rebound in world growth this year will cause a surge in inflation that forces the Federal Reserve and other central banks to wind back their ultra-loose monetary policies—including record-low interest rates—have fueled a sell-off

across risk assets in recent months.

But data Wednesday showing US prices rose slightly less than expected in February soothed those concerns, with the main diver of the increases being food and energy costs.

That came as a closely watched auction of benchmark US 10-year Treasuries went off without any problems with the notes selling at a yield broadly in line with expectations.

Worries about a surge in inflation have lifted US yields to around one-year highs, while a weak sale of seven-year bonds sparked a stock market sell-off.

Yields rise as prices fall.

“For now there is nothing for the inflationistas to ring the alarm, while at the same time it provides the Fed plenty of breathing space” ahead of its meeting next week, said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.

The inflation data “suggests the music will keep playing for some time, with the Fed not even close to pondering the option of watering down the punchbowl.”

He said the consumer price index will naturally jump next month owing to the low base effect from last year. With AFP

LA now cleared to reopen indoor dining, theaters from weekend

COVID RELIEF PLAN. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (center, left) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hold the signed American Rescue Plan Act after the House Chamber voted on the final revised legislation of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan, at the US Capitol on March 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. The US Congress on Wednesday passed Joe Biden’s enormous economic relief package, delivering a resounding victory for the US president and a desperately needed injection of cash to millions of families and businesses enduring the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that PRIMA CASA LAND & HOUSES INC. (FORMERLY: LUMINA HOMES, INC.) with office address at LGF Bldg. B, Evia Lifestyle Center, Daang Hari, Almanza Dos, Las Piñas, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as a New Developer of Economic and LowCost Housing Project [Lumina Legazpi (Main)] with a capacity of 542 economic and low-cost housing units on a non-pioneer status, with project site located at Bgy. Maslog, Legazpi City.

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

(SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (MS-MAR. 12, 2021)

Forbes says Warren Buffett net worth climbs over $100b WASHINGTON—US businessman Warren Buffett on Wednesday joined the small circle of executives worth more than $100 billion, which also includes Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates, Forbes magazine reported.

The share price of his company Berkshire Hathaway reached a record level Wednesday, pushing his fortune to $100.3 billion—the first time that his net worth has crossed the $100-billion threshold.

Buffett, 90, known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” is one of the most successful and respected executives of all time, but his fortune has never before reached such a peak, with investors in recent years betting on the values of the technology sector.

According to Forbes, the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns more than 60 companies, including US insurance

agency Geico and battery maker Duracell.

Buffett is a generous donor, having given more than $41 billion, mainly to the Gates Foundation and his children’s foundations, Forbes said.

In 2010, Buffett and Gates launched the “Giving Pledge,” which called on billionaires to commit to giving at least half of their wealth to charitable organizations.

According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking, only four other executives have a higher net worth than Buffett: Amazon founder Bezos ($179.6 billion), Tesla CEO Musk ($165.1 billion), LVMH group director Arnault ($158.5 billion) and Microsoft cofounder Gates ($125.6 billion).

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is in sixth place, with an estimated fortune of $96.7 billion. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles and southern California will be allowed to partially reopen indoor dining and movie theaters from this weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, as the region hit key health criteria.

Slammed by a brutal COVID-19 pandemic winter spike, California has seen a rapid decline in infection rates in recent weeks as a vaccination rollout has delivered at least one dose to nearly a fifth of residents.

A goal of delivering two million doses to the state’s most vulnerable communities is set to be achieved Friday, triggering a loosening of the “tier” system that determines how counties can reopen at different rates.

“Southern California, you will be a beneficiary of this,” said Newsom, on a tour of a mobile vaccination site.

“Specifically, L.A. will be a big beneficiary of this new metric that likely will be met on Friday. And moving through the weekend and into next week, you will see more activity, more loosening of the tiers.”

The change would allow indoor dining and movie theaters to operate at reduced capacities, and also confirms that theme parks will be allowed to reopen at limited capacity from April 1.

But Los Angeles County and neighboring Orange County— where Disneyland is located—can still choose to enforce stricter restrictions than the state mandates.

And Disney CEO Bob Chapek said this week that the world’s second biggest theme park will not be able to reopen until late April, in order to recall staff and train them in pandemic safety measures.

To date, California has suffered 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 and 54,500 deaths—the most of any US state by both metrics, but partly explained by its massive population. AFP

IN FASHION

Customers wait in front of a fashion store in Munich, southern Germany, on March 10, 2021, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

B3

No Rome ‘Spinning’ with Charli XCX, The 1975 NO ROME has teamed up with Charli XCX and The 1975 for the new song “Spinning,” which the Filipino pop artists produced with George Daniel and The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.

The track is a slice of pure, joyful, escapist pop that is testament to No Rome’s inimitable talent and endless musical ability. It is accompanied by a 7" pink vinyl pressing featuring a remix of the track by A.G. Cook.

The single follows a series of releases that have seen the Filipino pop star collaborate with Beabadoobee, Jay Som, Bearface, and Dijon, seamlessly managing to incorporate each artist’s unique style with his own.

To accompany “Spinning,” No Rome has also collaborated with Japanese artist Hideyuki Tanaka and designer Samuel Burgess - Johnson to create a visual world around the release, complete with animated characters for each artist and a psychedelic universe for them to inhabit.

Additionally, No Rome, Charli XCX and The 1975 have teamed up with NFT platform Foundation to auction original artworks designed by Hideyuki Tanaka & Samuel Burgess-Johnson and raise money for three different charities of the artists choosing.

No Rome will donate a portion of profits to Right Start, Charli to Girls Make

Beats, and Matty to One Tree Planted.

The artworks are available to view now and bidding begins at 7:00 p.m. GMT / 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT on Friday via https://foundation.app/norome_ charlixcx_the1975.

With the release of “Spinning,” the flood of support No Rome has seen over the last 12 months from BBC Radio 1, Apple Music 1, Vogue, The Face, High Snobiety, NME, The Guardian, DIY, Complex, Hypebeast, The Fader and Paper Mag to name a few, is only set to continue. With his highly anticipated debut album due for release later this year, 2021 is set to be No Rome’s best year yet.

Filipino pop artist No Rome collaborates with international music acts Charli XCX and The 1975 for the new single ‘Spinning.’

A tale of two bands

The EDDYS Film Icons 2018 awardees (from right) Maricel Soriano, Nora Aunor, Charo Santos-Concio and Eddie Garcia with SPEEd President Ian Fariñas and Joseph Sonora, receiving the award on behalf of Susan Roces.

4 EDDYS to stream on FDCP Channel T th

HE Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd) and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) join forces anew for the fourth edition of The EDDYS (Entertainment Editors’ Choice) unfolding virtually on March 22.

For the third time, the FDCP through its chairperson and CEO Liza Diño gives full support to the editors’ group and its annual film awards.

The 4th EDDYS goes virtual this year, premiering on FDCP’s fdcpchannel. ph website and streamed on various platforms including the SPEEd Facebook Page and SPEEd members’ own pages and YouTube Channels.

The FDCP Channel is “an exclusive, FDCP-managed platform that lets audiences enjoy quality local and international content online.”

Accessible worldwide, the FDCP Channel will stream The EDDYS 4, which also gives recognition to topcalibre work aired on various platforms during the time of the pandemic.

There will be 14 categories covering work released in 2020, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor.

Aside from the FDCP, also supporting the 4th edition of the Entertainment Editors’ Choice are Toktok (major sponsor), San Miguel Corp., Tiger Crackers, Smart Shot and Rep. Niña

Taduran of the Partylist ACT-CIS. Juancho Robles, managing partner of Chan Robles & Company, CPAs, once again takes on the auditing duties that had kept The Eddys’ integrity intact since the beginning.

On Monday, March 15, The EDDYS will release the list of nominees in the acting and technical categories.

As a special highlight, the 4th EDDYS will launch the Isah V. Red (IVR) Award in honor and memory of SPEEd’s founding president, Isah V. Red. "This recognition is given to individuals like him — a dynamic and spirited renaissance man with a deep love for God, country and community — who beyond the realm of entertainment has so enriched and made a difference in the lives of many, in his most colorful, gregarious and inimitable way," SPEEd president Ian Fariñas said.

The first recipients of the IVR award are Senator Bong Revilla Jr., Angel Locsin, Kim Chiu, Ramon Ang, Rei Anicoche-Tan and Claire de LeonPapa for their humanitarian efforts

toward alleviating conditions of people adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another much-awaited part in this edition is the 2021 EDDYS Icon awards, to be conferred on entertainment personalities Gloria Sevilla, Ronaldo Valdez, Pilar Pilapil, Boots AnsonRodrigo, Gina Pareño, Dante Rivero, Tommy Abuel, Caridad Sanchez, Joel Lamangan, and Ricky Lee. Meanwhile, the EDDYS special awardees have been named as the following: TV-radio host-columnist Lolit Solis for the Joe Quirino Award; entertainment columnist Mario Bautista for the Manny Pichel Award Blacksheep Productions for the Rising Producers’ Circle; and The IdeaFirst Company as Producer of the Year.

Also, posthumous recognition will be given to Peque Gallaga, Tony Mabesa, Menggie Cobarrubias, Ramon Revilla, Sr., and Tony Ferrer.

SPEEd, through these uncertain times that changed the landscape of entertainment in various ways, believes that giving recognition to the best works of the year is one way to uplift filmmakers, producers, writers, actors and all those involved in creating quality Filipino film works that both entertain and inspire audiences across the country and the world.

SPEEd is a group of entertainment editors of major broadsheets and tabloids in the Philippines.

KTX to stream biggest local concerts, movies STREAMING platform KTX.PH continues to usher in the biggest and most awaited online events this year with concerts and movie premieres from top-notch artists including Sarah Geronimo, Ogie Alcasid, Ian Veneracion, Ez Mil, Coco Martin, Angelica Panganiban, and more.

Sarah Geronimo’s most awaited digital concert Tala: The Film Concert takes centerstage on March 27. While premium tickets have been sold out, regular tickets, which are priced at P1,500 each, are still available for purchase.

The collaboration between OPM royalty and singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid and dramatic actor Ian Veneracion finally happens on March 26, 8:00 p.m. with Virtually Yours, KilaboTitos.

Meanwhile, US-based Filipino rapper EZ Mil who made the global television debut of his single, “Panalo” in ASAP Natin ‘To is also staging a virtual concert on April 18.

Also to watch out for are movie premieres led by Coco Martin and Angelica Panganiban's Love or Money today. Watch out for Janine Gutierrez and JC Santos’ Dito At Doon, plus comedy films Ayuda Babes and Soul Sistahs.

KTX brings another night of nostalgia with ‘90s OPM band Neocolours reuniting for a virtual show. Filipinos all over the world should also await special shows like Himig Handog 11th Edition, and Euphoria Reunion.

In just eight months being as an online events platform, KTX.PH has become the leading digital events portal, hosting different

record-breaking digital concerts like Daniel Padilla's Apollo, and Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez's Freedom, fan conference of Thai Superstars Bright and Win,, debut launch of up and coming P-Pop group BGYO and many more.

Apart from the sold-out concerts, conferences, and launches, it also paved the way to premiere Star Cinema and Black Sheep movies as well as MMFF 2020 favorites.

Last year, the platform also became the live streaming platform of South Korea’s The Fact Music Awards 2020 and has hosted both local and international pageants --- Miss Universe Philippines 2020 and Miss Earth 2020.

ABS-CBN Film Restoration also found a home in them to air the restored and Radio Romance, remastered classics Tinimbang Ng Langit, Soltero, and Inagaw Mo Ang Lahat Sa Akin,, to name a few.

Buying tickets on the website was also made easy as they offer a wide array of payment options for Credit Cards, e-wallets like GCASH, Grab Pay, Online Banking, and over-the-counter local and non-local banks like Dragon Pay. Presented by PLDT, ‘Freedom,’ produced

by ABS-CBN Events and IME, is Regine Velasquez’s biggest digital concert.

TWO groups that released their latest digital songs on the same date, Feb. 19, also had parallel paths leading to it. Both Unit 406 and The Sundown forged partnerships bound to change their fortunes forever.

Unit 406 had a good reason to feel upbeat about “Kung Ang Puso,” which is their first under their new label MCA Music. For one, MCA is an acronym synonymous with what an established record label is. The fact that management service is part of the deal ensured them that more is at stake, and therefore, extra efforts to push their cause can be expected.

How they will be managed should not be their main concern, though. Besides, they have strong material to bank on. A properly executed label support is always a good friend of a fine song. In the case of “Kung Ang Puso,” its strength as a sentimental rock definitely fits into the unceasing crave of Pinoy listeners for something called hugot – that overused term yet never outdated.

“Signing with MCA was a natural choice for us because it complements our direction and vision as a group,” said the band’s drummer Tim Sison.

Keyboardist TJ Hollon seconded, “MCA will open new doors for Unit 406 when it comes to our music, while, on the technical side, it will allow for more consistency and efficiency when it comes to our projects.”

The group has been active for five years and enjoyed a decent amount of success, acknowledged by various awardgiving bodies, and with some of their singles used in movies and TV shows.

That includes “Kahit Na Anong Sabihin Ng Iba” – the theme song of the series Hello Stranger.

Other singles that YUGEL won listeners’ acclaim LOSORATA are “Tanghaling Tapat,” “Mandirigma,” and "Gusto Ko Lamang Sa Buhay.”

Gab Tagadtad, the band’s chief songwriter, stated, “When I write for Unit 406, I imagine us playing on stage and I start from there hangang mabuo 'yung song.”

Completing the band’s lineup are vocalist-guitarist Chen Pangan and bassist Ash Vanguardia.

Interestingly, the Cebu-based act The Sundown got their biggest break yet by way of a partnership with a major rock figure in Raimund Marasigan. The guy needs no introduction, having been associated with as many bands as you can recall.

Don’t Forget Tonight, released under Island Records Philippines, is described as “a hard-edged, hooky and guitar-driven song.” I couldn’t agree less. It excites me further to hear some melodic 80s feel.

The band is composed of vocalist Aaron Domingo, guitarists Gino Rosales and Vincent James Eco, drummer Alden Panes, and bassist Luigi Balazo.

“Raimund is someone we look up to and respect. It was quite a privilege to have him produce the song,” Gino noted.

The pandemic forced the collaboration to be pulled off via the power of the Internet. But listening closely to the song, one may think the Eraserheads drummer was in the same room with the band.

Raimund recalled, “The band felt something was missing in the song so together we tried to figure it out.”

Bands Unit 406 (‘Kung Ang Puso’) and The Sundown (‘Don't Forget Tonight’) both released their latest singles last Feb. 19, and partnered with MCA Music, and Raimund Marasigan, respectively.

Leading broadcast company wins Silver Anvil for COVID-19 Response campaign GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) was conferred a Silver Anvil at the recently concluded 56th Anvil Awards’ Gabi ng Parangal.

The winning entry “Buong Puso Para sa Pilipino: GMA Network's COVID-19 Response,” which encompassed the network's overall response through an integrated communications strategy, was recognized under the “Specialized Public Relations Program - COVIDrelated PR programs with tools” category.

Adapting the Kapuso Network’s 70th anniversary tagline “Buong Puso Para sa Pilipino,” the campaign was a collection of GMA’s efforts on air, online, and onground geared towards Filipinos here and abroad, as well as its own workforce during such challenging times.

These executions were conceptualized and carried out by various GMA groups: Administration; Corporate Affairs and Communications; Engineering; Entertainment; GMA Artist Center; GMA Kapuso Foundation; Human Resources; Information and Communications Technology; International; News and Public Affairs; Radio; Regional; Post-Production; and Program Support.

Amidst the pandemic, the Kapuso Network stayed true to its commitment of providing Serbisyong Totoo. This included the continuous delivery of the much-needed news and information across its on air and online platforms. Part of GMA’s campaign

as well was its line-up of documentaries, specials, and entertainment programs that presented compelling stories and relevant content.

GMA also reached out to different communities across the country to provide essential aid to frontliners and Filipino families in need.

Further proving how the company values its people as its best assets, the “Buong Puso Para sa Pilipino: GMA Network's COVID-19 Response” incorporated various initiatives towards the Network’s workforce.

Organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), the Anvil Awards is considered as the top awards program for public relations in the country, honoring the most outstanding relations programs, tools, and practitioners.

‘Buong Puso Para sa Pilipino’ campaign was a collection of GMA’s efforts on air, online, and on-ground geared towards Filipinos here and abroad, as well as its own workforce during such challenging times.

Life

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

B4

TRAVEL & LEISURE

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021

T

RASLACION, moryonan, piña weaving, boat building. The Philippines is rich in traditions, rituals, and practices—some popular, others relatively unknown—that form part of our country and its people.

They are called intangible cultural heritage or ICH.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines ICH to include “traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.”

Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts and other material objects are part of tangible cultural heritage.

Select Philippine ICH are featured in 10 video documentaries produced by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), as part of International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia Pacific Region’s (ICHCAP) video documentation project implemented since 2015.

The ICH elements featured are the use of mud in traditional Ifugao textile dyeing (“Using Mud as Mordant in the Traditional Dyeing Process of the Ifugao of Northern Luzon”); piña weaving of Aklan (“Piña: The Pineapple Textile of Aklan, Western Visayas”); the traslacion procession of the Black Nazarene image of Quiapo, Manila (“Poong Nazareno: The Traslacion of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila”); the moryonan Lenten penitential ritual in Marinduque (“Moryonan: A Lenten Tradition in Marinduque Island”); the craft of making moryonan masks (“Mukha ng Moryonan: Mask Making for Moryonan Lenten Tradition of Marinduque”); The giant Christmas lantern tradition of San Fernando, Pampanga (“Parul Sampernandu: The Giant Christmas Lantern Tradition of San Fernando City, Pampanga”); the feast of Our Lady Peñafrancia of Naga City, Bicol Region

PRESERVING HERITAGE.

Ten documentaries featuring the country’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) aim to document and provide valuable information on these elements in danger of vanishing. In photo is the elaborate ritual buklog of the Subanen people of Zamboanga Peninsula.

(Photo by Roel Hoang Manipon)

Philippine intangible cultural heritage in the spotlight (“Ina: Our Lady of Peñafrancia”); the buklog ritual of the Subanen of the Zamboanga Peninsula (“Buklog: The Ritual System of the Subanen of Zamboanga Peninsula”); the igal of the Sama people of Tawi-Tawi (“Igal: Traditional Dance of the Sama of Tawi-Tawi”); and

Moryon mask maker Alexander Luna in Mogpog, Marinduque. (Photo by Roel Hoang Manipon)

the boat building practices of the Sama people of Tawi-Tawi (“Lepa and Other Watercrafts: Boat Building Traditions of the Sama of Tawi-Tawi”).

The documentaries attempt to provide valuable information on and hope to generate a deeper understanding on

Ifugao weavers gather mud to be used in traditional textile dyeing in Amganad, Banaue, Ifugao. (Photo by Mac Dillera for NCCA)

the threatened heritage and provide valuable information. Productions spanned from 2018 to 2020. “The more an ICH element is in danger of vanishing, the more it presents challenges, especially in terms of accessibility,” reveals journalist and researcher Roel Hoang Ma-

The traslacion ritual and procession of the image of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila. (Photo by Ronnie Santiago-NCCA)

nipon, the main writer of documentaries and the director and co-director of several of them.

“But the more efforts must be made in their documentation,” Manipon continues. “The video documentation presents a lifeline to these elements and will present the only connection for many people to these precious aspects of culture and identity.”

In the Asia Pacific region, ICHCAP notes the number of cultural traditions of communities in danger of vanishing is gradually increasing because of many factors.

Manipon says that while ICH elements “are some of the most impactful factors in shaping civilization and culture,” ones that “yield invaluable insights into many aspects of social relationships and human development, they are also ephemeral and highly mutable, depending mostly on memory, dedication, and community for its preservation and continuity. Especially now with the rapid growth of urbanization and globalization, ICH elements, especially the traditional ones, are in danger of vanishing and/or alteration.”

Hence, the importance of high quality documentation is highlighted.

“Modern technology provides a way to safeguard these ICH elements, enabling us to document them, intensify awareness, and make them more accessible through audio-visual means.”

“The video documentaries make the unfamiliar familiar,” says Mindanao culture expert Nestor T. Horfilla, who served as consultant.

The documentaries, which run for an average of 27 minutes, can be viewed in two versions, one in English (with English subtitles) and the other with Korean subtitles, on ICHCAP’s official YouTube channel.

Mother goddess

and gardens. But it must I HAVE always been have been the room décurious about the name cor’s relaxing earth hues, “Nuwa,” what it meant matched with splashes of and why a hotel would be orange and gold, that made named such. we want to stay indoors Wikipedia has come up most of the time, to just with a very interesting tale, take things easy, and to pointing to the name as liberate myself from that that of the mother goddess piece of cloth perennially of Chinese mythology who covering my smile from created humanity because the rest of humanity. she was lonely. She shaped In fact, during this weekend leisure yellow clay into people and these became the wealthy and noble members of society. escapade, I left my room only twice—to She also mass-produced the rest of human- load on sinful calories from the Cantonese ity by dragging a string across mud. This specialties at the hotel’s Crystal Dragon explains why, in ancient China, the nobil- restaurant, and to luxuriate in the touch of ity felt more important and special, because magic fingers kneading my tired muscles they were touched by Nuwa’s own hands at the hotel’s spa. And who says heaven can’t be found on earth? and were not made out of mud.

Small wonder the hotel won two Five After learning that, among the three hotels annexed to the City of Dreams, Nuwa Stars in this year’s Forbes Travel Guide Awards, for the Manila is the hotel and for its most luxurious spa. The award and the most came right afexpensive, the YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE ter this five-star more I got inFINE—The word a woman uses to end an property was terested to find argument with her husband, when she is named one of out what it has convinced that she is right and that he the first hotels to offer. But should just shut up. in the world my very busy to achieve schedule then the Sharecare and the ensuHealth Security ing year-long pandemic quarantine restrictions prevented VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide cerme from finding out what magical mundane tification, a comprehensive facility verification for compliance with expert-validated pleasure the hotel could offer me.

Last week, I finally had the chance to best practices on health and safety protocols.

Lawrence Ho, chairman and chief executreat myself to a leisurely weekend at one of Nuwa Manila’s de luxe rooms. As ex- tive officer of Melco, the owning company pected, it was another restful, stress-free, of Nuwa Manila, expressed his sincere appreciation for the prestigious recognition and pleasurable breather for me!

I had an elegantly styled room that has a which, he says, is a testament to the commagnificent view of the hotel’s inviting pool pany’s commitment to excellence. It also

The luxurious design of Nuwa Manila’s lobby made me feel I was entering the world of the sublime.

The inviting interiors of the Crystal Dragon restaurant.

The guest room’s mellow earth hues, together with its complete facilities and equipment, guarantee guests a restful stay.

The vitality pool at the hotel’s spa.

confirms Melco’s contribution in pushing boundaries to provide the most memorable and exciting experiences for its guests.

The two stars earned by the hotel contribute to the collective total of 97 stars raked in by Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s portfolio of integrated resort properties in Macau and Manila, now branded as the integrated resort with the most five-star rating in Asia. Nuwa Manila has maintained its five-star rating for the fourth consecutive year and its spa, for the second consecutive year since it opened.

City of Dreams Manila property president Geoff Andres says this much valued recognition of Nuwa Manila and its spa inspires his team of guest service professionals to continuously outdo themselves in setting the benchmark for luxury and guest safety. It also brings them pride to be the driving force behind this achievement, especially during these very challenging times for the tourism industry.

After my pleasurable and relaxing weekend at Nuwa Manila, highlighted by its culinary offerings and that heavenly magical

The Nuwa Manila pools, set in the grand garden promenade of City of Dreams Manila.

rubdown, I must admit that a gratifying feeling of nobility crept all over me. Did I become one of those handcrafted in ancient China by Nuwa, the mother goddess? Not exactly. But I am now happily assured that, any time I feel weighed down by the burden of day-to-day life in this pandemic, I can easily have my delightful “transformation to nobility” in the luxurious comforts of the mother goddess, Nuwa Manila.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com.