Manila Standard - 2021 April 5 - Monday

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PH bares China ‘intention’ Defense chief says Beijing wants to occupy 'features' in WPS

By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz

EFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday accused Beijing of planning to occupy more "features" in the disputed South China Sea, in an escalating war of words over Chinese vessels in the waters.

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Consumers and vendors jostle for space at the Litex Market in Quezon City on Easter Sunday, unmindful of the need to observe social distancing with some ignoring health protocols such as wearing of face masks and face shields, a sharp contrast to that in Blumentritt market where security people enforce the safety measures amid the steady rise in cases of COVID-19 infections.

China claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea and has asserted its stance by building up small shoals and reefs into military bases with airstrips and port facilities.

Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have rival claims to the waters, which incorporate strategically crucial shipping

the area, saying their presence is unlawful.

China has refused, insisting they are fishing boats and are allowed to operate there.

Lorenzana said Sunday the vessels were there for other reasons.

"The continued presence of Chinese maritime militias in the area reveals their intent to further occupy features in the West Philippine Sea," he said. Next page

VOL. XXXV • NO. 49 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 MONDAY MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Pope urges rich nations to share vaccines with 3rd world countries

Pope Francis celebrates the Eucharist during Easter Mass on April 04, 2021 at St. Peter's Basilica. AFP

POPE Francis on Sunday called for vaccinations to be shared with the world's poorest countries, saying they were "an essential tool" in the fight against COVID-19.

"I urge the entire international community... to commit to overcoming delays in the distribution of vaccines and to facilitate their distribution, especially in the poorest countries," the head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics said in his Easter address.

In a separate video message to mark

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 4)

795,051 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

11,028 135,526 NEW

ACTIVE

13,425

2

DEATHS

lanes and could harbour oil and gas deposits.

A fleet of more than 200 Chinese ships that sparked a diplomatic row last month after parking at the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef off the Philippines is now scattered across the contested Spratly Islands.

Manila has called on Beijing to withdraw the "maritime militia" vessels from

NEW

646,100 41,205 NEW RECOVERIES

P23-b ayuda up for release Tuesday, says DILG

By Willie Casas, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon RamosAraneta RESIDENTS in Metro Manila and nearby provinces who are qualified for a government subsidy could receive cash aid of P1,000 per person as early as Tuesday, April 6, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Sunday.

In an interview on radio dzBB, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the Department of Finance said the Bureau of Treasury would release some

P22.9 billion in aid funds to local government units (LGUs) in the so-called NCR Plus today (Monday), enabling the LGUs to release the funds to those affected by the COVID-19 lockdown on Tuesday or Wednesday.

He said releasing the assistance in cash was faster than distributing basic commodities, which would require bidding, delivery and repacking.

The Department of Budget and Management said over 22.9 million low-income individuals will receive P1,000 under the dole program.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte welcomed the release of

funds, but said it was still important to pass a bill creating the Bangon Pamilyang Pilipino (BPP) program that would provide up to P10,000 per poor household.

“Such a stimulus package is needed to rejuvenate business confidence and consumer spending while the government sews up more vaccine deals... to purchase enough doses to hit its target of inoculati n g 1 0 0 p e rc e n t o f t h e country’s adult population of 70 million,” he said.

The Philippines logged 11,028 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing Next page

Oil, electricity price hikes loom

By Alena Mae S. Flores OIL prices are forecast to go up this week by as much as P0.60 per liter while the electricity prices in the franchise area of Manila will also likely go up in April due to higher demand.

“Expect fuel prices to go up next week (April 6 to 12). Diesel should increase by P0.60 per liter. Gasoline should increase

by P0.05 to P0.10 per liter,” Unioil Philippines said in its weekly price forecast.

Optimism over the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in the US that would drive economic recovery helped boost oil prices in the market.

The decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies of a gradual increase in quotas

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US warship found deep under PH Sea A US navy destroyer sunk during World War II and lying nearly 6,500 meters below sea level off the Philippines has been reached in the world's deepest shipwreck dive, an American exploration team said.

A crewed submersible filmed, photographed and surveyed the wreckage of the USS Johnston off

Samar Island during two eight-hour dives completed late last month, Texas-based undersea technology company Caladan Oceanic said.

The 115-meter-long ship was sunk on October 25, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf as US forces fought to liberate the Philippines— Next page

the 500-year anniversary of the first Mass on Philippine soil on Easter Sunday, the Pope told Filipinos not to lose faith even "in the midst of difficulties."

“Dear friends, I remember my visit to your country with great affection. I have not forgotten that final meeting with nearly seven million people. You are generous. You are abundant. You know how to celebrate the faith. Don’t lose that even in the midst of difficulties,” the pope said in the video sent on April 4.

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LOCAL ROUNDUP • DoTr scales down NCR rail operations • Courts remain closed • Erap moved to ICU THE Department of Transportation said over the weekend that rail operations in Metro Manila will be scaled down starting Monday as its personnel continue to undergo testing for COVID-19.

“We should not compromise the health, safety, and security of the traveling public and our working people. That is a non-negotiable position," Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said.

The management of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) said it will be operating on a limited scale with only 10 to 12 trains to be dispatched starting today (Monday).

The trains will be operating with a limited capacity of 372 passengers per train set or 124 passengers per car to comply with the predetermined number of passengers per station.

The LRT-2 line meanwhile will be dispatching five trains on its limited operations. Displaced passengers will be accommodated by bus routes 9 and 10.

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MRT TRACER. An MRT-3 employee installs QR codes on a train wagon, which will be used on Monday, April 5, 2021, for the soft launch of the contact tracing App TRAZE on the line. Passengers are required to scan the QR code three times on the MRT3: at their entry station, train coach boarding, and exit station. MRT and other state-run railways will resume downscaled operations today.

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Lorenzana pointed to China's seizure of the Philippine-claimed Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef as previous examples of them "brazenly violating" the country's sovereignty.

On Saturday, Lorenzana rejected China's claims that the boats parked at Julian Felipe Reef—and where dozens remained last week—had been seeking shelter from bad weather.

"I am no fool. The weather has been good so far, so they have no other reason to stay there," he said. "Get out of there."

The Chinese embassy in Manila called Lorenzana's statement "perplexing" and urged authorities to avoid "unprofessional remarks which may further fan irrational emotions.”

Beijing often invokes the so-called nine-dash line to justify its apparent historic rights over most of the South China Sea, and it has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared this assertion as without basis.

The Chinese Embassy issued the statement after Lorenzana on Saturday called for the withdrawal of the remaining Chinese ships off Julian Felipe Reef saying there is no reason for them to stay there.

He said China has done this before at Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, and at Panganiban Reef "brazenly violating Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights under international law."

News Lorenzana also branded as “appalling” the Chinese Embassy's disregard of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"Its nine-dash line claim is without any factual or legal basis. This, together with its so-called historical claim, was flatly and categorically rejected by the arbitral tribunal," he added.

Lorenzana said the Philippines’ claims stand on solid ground, while China’s does not.

"China should respect Philippine sovereignty over the Kalayaan Islands, and its sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone as defined by UNCLOS and affirmed by the arbitral award," he added.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS) earlier expressed concern about a Philippine Coast Guard report that around 220 Chinese fishing vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were sighted in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7 The reef is located about 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who had just returned from an official visit to China on April 2, said his department was contemplating a “demarche” or a formal protest presented through diplomatic channels following the Chinese embassy's statement that the reef was part of Chinese territory.

Locsin said the presence of Chinese

fishing vessels per se was not the problem.

“Coming and going fishing makes no claim of possession per se; it is only when Chinese embassy claimed the area as Chinese territory—as evidenced by the swarm—that it becomes problematic. Considering a demarche,” Locsin said on his Twitter account.

The Philippines earlier filed a diplomatic protest against China for the 220 Chinese militia vessels sighted moored in the Juan Felipe Reef.

China on Saturday slammed Lorenzana for demanding the Chinese vessels leave the reef, an area that Beijing claims as part of its Nansha Islands and a traditional fishing ground for its fishermen.

“The Niu’e Jiao is part of China’s Nansha Islands. The waters around Niu’e Jiao have been a traditional fishing ground for Chinese fishermen for many years. The Chinese fishermen have been fishing in the waters for their livelihood every year.

It is completely normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish in the waters and take shelter near the reef during rough sea conditions. Nobody has the right to make wanton remarks on such activities,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement posted at its Facebook account.

“The Chinese Embassy has taken note of the perplexing statement by Philippine Defense Secretary on Chinese fishing vessels around Niu’e Jiao in the South China Sea… The Niu’e Jiao is part of China’s Nansha Islands,” the statement

added.

The embassy issued the statement after Lorenzana demanded that China pull out the remaining Chinese vessels moored at Julian Felipe Reef to leave the area.

In the House, an administration congressman denounced the presence of the Chinese ships.

“An insult of the highest order, revolting and sickening," was how Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers described the claim of China over Julian Felipe reef and the rest of the West Philippine Sea. “For hundreds of years China never laid claim on these territories within the West Philippine Sea which are part of our exclusive economic zone and recognized by international bodies and many countries. Suddenly when Xi Jing Pin became their president, it was like magic that the entire West Philippine Sea became theirs," Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said.

“This method or process of annexation should never be countenanced, not by any self-respecting Philippine government nor any sovereign nation and international body for that matter,” Barbers said.

“Thousands upon thousands of Filipinos have died fighting for our sovereignty and freedom. It would be a sacrilege to them and to us living if we allow this affront to our dignity as a nation and as a people," he said.

Barbers also said the Philippine government must be able to affirm its sover-

eign rights against the Julian Felipe Reef which is 324 kilometers from the southern tip of Palawan province, thus well within the country’s 370-km exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"We should not have allowed a single pail of concrete or a piece of nail to touch our sacred land. Now that they have built complete concrete structures and encircled our territory with their militia ships, we should not and cannot simply keep quiet and allow a silent invasion to happen right under our noses. We owe it to our countrymen who made the ultimate sacrifice, for us to know the value of freedom,” Barbers added.

He commended Lorenzana for demanding the Chinese Ambassador to honor his word that the ships were there to seek shelter during the bad weather and would leave as the weather improved.

"It has been weeks that the weather is good yet they are all still there. I assure Secretary Lorenzana that I am with him in this fight.

We need other patriotic Filipinos like him so that no country can ever bully us again. I hope that the good Secretary is joined by the other members of the Cabinet in his stance against the donor of 800,000 doses of Sinovac”, Barbers said.

“Lastly, I want to tell our neighbor China that our land does not come cheap and is not for sale nor trade. It is not the equivalent of even millions of doses of Sinovac vaccines. We are not ceding any portion of our territory in exchange for the vaccines,” he said. AFP

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and habeas corpus, promulgation of judgments of acquittal, reliefs for those who may be arrested and detained during this period, and other related actions that may be filed in relation to measures imposed at the local or national levels to address the declared health emergency during this period), are suspended,” the Court said.

Ombudsman office shut for cleaning The Office of the Ombudsman has closed its operation from April 5 to April 8 to pave the way for disinfection.

"As a precautionary measure, the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City will be closed from 05 to 08 April 2021 to give way to the cleaning, disinfection and fogging of its work stations and premises to ensure the health of all concerned," its Twitter post.

Erap sedated, moved to ICU Former President Joseph Estrada, who tested positive for COVID-19, was moved to the ICU Sunday, his son, former Senator Jinggoy Estrada said in a post on Facebook.

"While he needed to be placed on high flow oxygen support, we are thankful that there has been no need to put him on a ventilator," the younger Estrada said.

"However, he is being sedated to lessen his anxiety which may affect his heart and aggravate his condition. Thus, he has been moved to the ICU for closer observation." Darwin Amojelar, Rey Requejo and Rio N. Araja

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LOCKDOWN BLUES. A sacristan walks past empty church pews during an Easter Sunday Mass at a church in Bulacan on April 4, 2021 after the government imposed stricter lockdown measures in Metro Manila and nearby provinces including Bulacan after a new surge in coronavirus infections. AFP

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the total number of cases to 795,051, as five laboratories were not able to submit their data on time, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.

Two new fatalities brought the death toll from COVID-19 to 13,425, which is 1.69 percent of the total cases..

The DOH also reported 41,205 new recoveries, the highest number since the pandemic began, pushing the total number of Filipinos who recovered from the disease to 646,100, which is 81.3 percent of the total.

Active cases stood at a high 135,526, which is 17 percent of the total cases. Of the active cases, 97.4 percent are mild; 1 percent are asymptomatic; 0.6 percent are critical; 0.6 percent are severe; and 0.36 percent are moderate.

The DOH also reported that, nationwide, 60 percent of the ICU beds are in use; 46 percent of the isolation beds are in use; 50 percent of the ward beds are in use; and 42 percent of the ventilators are being used.

In Metro Manila, 78 percent of the ICU beds are being used; 70 percent of the isolation beds are in use; 60 percent of the ward beds are in use; and 60 percent of the ventilators are being used..

On Saturday, the government extended the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed on the National Capital Region Plus, which covers Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, until April

Pope...

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“The pilgrim people of God in the Philippines” also know what it means to accompany Jesus along the way of the cross, the pope said.

He pointed to the many challenges that the people in the Philippines have faced in recent years with earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But, despite the pain and devastation, you were able to carry the cross and

11 amid the continued surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Earlier, the DOH and the OCTA Research Group separately recommended a one-week extension of the ECQ in order to address the rising number of cases.

Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, asked the Department of Health how it intended to manage the stress being put on Metro Manila's health care system as hospitals around the capital contend with overflow capacity and overstretched manpower.

Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee, said the government’s crisis managers should consider regrouping and have a “level-headed” assessment of its existing approaches by calling in experts to the discussion to map out a more effective response.

Lawmakers o said extensions lockdowns will only work if health care capacity and testing were expanded.

Lockdowns are imposed, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said, to buy time to prepare a stronger health care response.

“If there will be no changes in our health care capacity, we will merely be deferring new surges of infection for later.”

“We need to consider several force multipliers. First, our telemedicine facilities have to be widely accessible. Second, needed supplies for athome care have to be available and ready for door-to-door shipping to those in need. This may include everything from oxygen tanks to prescribed therapeutics.

Third, we must equip our isolation centers with treatment facilities so that they can be used in lieu of hospital

wards for mild and moderate cases.”

He said the House economic team is monitoring the utilization rates of isolation centers, saying that a recent survey of such facilities showed a utilization rate of government-built isolation centers “hovers just above 10 percent.”

“Covid-19 victims are isolated either at home or are in hospitals seeking treatment. We need to consider fully equipping our isolation centers so that they can also already serve as treatment centers for non-severe cases,” he said.

“Lockdown extensions without healthcare expansion will gradually choke the economy. So, if we will extend the lockdown for another round, we should make the extension worth the pain.”

Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said extending the ECQ will be useless unless DOH revises its approach to COVID control.

Like Salceda, Quimbo, a member of the House minority bloc, said: "Current policies are clearly not working. The number of new cases continue to increase on a daily basis and hospital beds are lacking in areas where the COVID surge is largest."

First, DOH needs an honest assessment of the situation, Quimbo said.

"They need to accept the fact that the numbers are rising and the numbers that we are seeing are not even reflective of reality because they failed to expand testing and tracing to an appropriate scale for disease control."

Second, she said a more localized lockdown needs to be implemented at the smallest possible unit – the household.

continue walking. You have suffered a lot, but you have also got up again, every time. Keep working, rebuilding, helping each other like good Cyrenians. Thank you also for the witness of strength and trust in God, who never abandons you,” Francis said.

"Thank you for your patience, for your always looking forward in the midst of difficulties and for walking continuously."

The Pope told Filipinos that they are accompanied by "two great saints"— San Pedro Calungsod and San Lorenzo Ruiz.

Fr. Pedro de Valderrama offered the

first Catholic Mass in the Philippines on Easter Sunday in 1521 on the island of Limasawa.

The Spanish priest had been a part of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition that first made contact with the Filipino natives on March 28, 1521.

Fr. Valderrama also celebrated the first baptism in the Philippines on the island of Cebu on April 14 of the same year.

Today, the Philippines has the third largest number of Catholics in the world.

An estimated 86 percent of the 108 million population of the Philippines is Catholic. AFP, CNA

LRT-1 will be dispatching 17 trains on its limited run. Affected passengers will be accommodated by buses running on Route 17 (Monumento-EDSA).

Meanwhile, the management of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) has announced that it will be suspending its operations until Thursday, April 8, 2020.

Courts remain closed The Supreme Court has extended the physical closure of all courts in the National Capital Region and the provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal until April 11 after the national government decided to prolong the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for one week starting today, April 5.

In Administrative Circular No. 152021, Acting Chief Justice Estela PerlasBernabe also directed that the offices of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) and the Sandiganbayan to maintain “a skeleton staff, as may be necessary, to attend to all urgent matters, including the payment of salaries, during this period.”

“All hearings in these courts during the said period, except on urgent matters (such as but not limited to petitions, motions and pleadings in relation to bail

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for the next three months also helped maintain oil price gains.

Last week, the oil companies cut pump prices by P1.20 per liter of gasoline, diesel by P1.30 per liter and kerosene by P1.35-P1.40 per liter effective March 28 to 30.

These resulted in the year-to-date adjustments to stand at a total net increase of P6.15 per liter of gasoline, P4.60 per liter of diesel and P3.50 per liter of kerosene.

Meanwhile, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the peak demand in Luzon increased in March amid the higher temperatures.

“Based on early initial projections, there may be a higher generation charge for the month of April due to observed increase in the WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices. Luzon peak demand increased by more than 900 megawatts in March due to warmer temperatures and large capacities on outage persisted, remaining in excess of 3,400 megawatts on the average,” Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco sources a portion of its supply from the WESM, the country’s trading floor of electricity.

Zaldarriaga said the daily Luzon Load-Weighted Average Price at the WESM reached P8 per kilowatt hour during the week of March 1 and P9/ per kWh during the week of March 15 compared to the daily LWAP of below P3 per kWh for most of February.

Zaldarriaga said March, however, marked the second straight month of downward adjustments for power rates as the overall rate for a typical household decreased by P0.3598 per kWh to P8.3195 from P8.6793 in February.

He said Meralco’s March rate was also the lowest since August 2017.

“Nevertheless, Meralco continues to encourage our customers to continue practicing energy efficiency initiatives at home to be ready in managing their consumption, as the summer season may bring an increase in residential electricity consumption by 10 percent to 40 percent versus the average consumption during the cool months of January and February,” Zaldarriaga said.

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then a US colony – from Japanese occupation.

Its location in the Philippine Sea was discovered in 2019 by another expedition group, but most of the wreckage was beyond the reach of their remotely-operated vehicle.

"Just completed the deepest wreck dive in history, to find the main wreckage of the destroyer USS Johnston," tweeted Caladan Oceanic founder Victor Vescovo, who piloted the submersible.

"We located the front 2/3 of the ship, upright and intact, at a depth of 6456 meters. Three of us across two dives surveyed the vessel and gave respects to her brave crew."

Only 141 of the ship's 327 crew survived, according to US Navy records.

The Caladan Oceanic-backed expedition found the bow, bridge and midsection intact with the hull number "557" still visible.

Two full five-inch gun turrets, twin torpedo racks and multiple gun mounts remain in place, it said.

Team navigator and historian Parks Stephenson said the wreck bore the damage inflicted during the intense surface battle 76 years ago.

"It took fire from the largest warship ever constructed – the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, and ferociously fought back," said Stephenson.

Sonar data, imagery and field notes collected during the dives would be turned over to the US Navy, Vescovo said. AFP

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MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

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Lawmakers push alternative COVID cure

By Maricel V. Cruz

DOLE brings home 500,000 migrant workers THE Labor department has repatriated more than half a million overseas Filipino workers who were displaced by the pandemic.

In a report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac said 502,581 OFW repatriates have been safely transported back to their home provinces after undergoing COVID tests and quarantine protocols in various hotels.

The latest batch of repatriates consisted of 1,471 OFWs who were sent home on Black Saturday.

A separate report of DOLE’s International Labor Affairs Bureau showed there were 645,071 OFWs affected by the pandemic, 627,576 of whom were displaced. ILAB Director Alice Visperas said 49,698 of those displaced OFWs had requested for repatriation while 75,297 opted to stay on site.

ILAB records also showed an increasing number of OFWs infected with the disease. As of April 4, ILAB recorded 17,495 confirmed cases among OFWs based on reports submitted by the 40 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in various parts of the world. Of this figure, 10,155 recovered with 938 deaths.

Bello said the government continues to provide assistance to displaced OFWs. “Our government will not renege on its commitment to provide the needed assistance to our OFWs. We will continue to assist them for as long as it takes,” Bello said.

So far, DOLE’s AKAP assistance has extended P5.043 billion to 497,122 OFWs, he said.

AKAP is a one-time cash assistance of $200 or P10,000 for each qualified affected/displaced OFW. DOLE also provides financial aid, food and medical aid to COVID -infected OFWs. It has extended a total of $1.93 million in cash assistance to 9,667 OFW Covid patients. Another $2.6 million in medical and food aid has been extended to 124,945 OFWs.

H

OUSE Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has urged the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to inform the public of options available to them in terms of prevention and treatment against the deadly virus as the numbers of COVID-19 infections continue to rise.

BASECO BAN. Policemen guard the Baseco Beach in Tondo, Manila which has been temporary closed as the city and the rest of Metro Manila remain under stricter lockdown in a move to prevent mass gathering of people and curb the spread of the COVID-19.

DepEd backs stricter measures on e-cigarettes THE Department of Education on Sunday expressed its full support for stricter measures to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or Electronic NonNicotine Delivery Systems, also known as e-cigarettes or “vapes.”

“On matters related to substance use prevention, education alone is not enough. In their classes, we teach our learners how to reject harmful substances. Outside these classes, we need policies and structures that will help reinforce our learners’ health-promoting choices, complementing what we teach them in school,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a news release on Sunday.

She issued the statement in support of the Senate public hearing on the provisions of the Vaporized Nicotine Products Regulation Act. The Senate hearing explored the

regulations on age restriction, online trade and product flavors, among other things.

Vapor products and heated tobacco products are already regulated under Republic Act 11467 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in January 2020.

Under RA 11467, selling vapor products and HTPs to people below 21 years old is prohibited. However, the pending bills in the Senate, similar to the substitute bill at the House of Representatives, intend to reduce the minimum age of restriction to 18.

“This a real concern for us in DepEd. Before the pandemic, the Philippine Pediatric Society had coordinated with us to explore the determinants of e-cigarette use among [Grades 7 to 9] learners [and the results showed] that 6.7 percent [of the 11,500 learners surveyed] have tried and are using e-cigarettes,”

Briones said.

The PPS survey results showed that the top reasons for using vape among learners are online accessibility (32 percent), varied flavors (22 percent) and the belief that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco (17 percent).

Banking on the survey results, Briones joined the calls of “fellow health champions” for discussions on tobacco product regulations to be led by the Senate Committee on Health led by Senator Christopher Go. “Especially now that we are in a pandemic, I appeal to our legislators to approach the issue from a health perspective. We are all first-hand witnesses of how any threat or attack to a country’s health system eventually affects every other sector of public life, from economics to education,” Briones said.

DHSUD creates decorum panel

By Rio N. Araja

BINONDO BLAZE. Several fire trucks deploy to battle a blaze that has engulfed a commercial area along Juan Luna in Binondo, Manila. Raha Volunteers also fielded its team which includes fire trucks and ambulances.

‘Hire more school counselors’

By Maricel V. Cruz

A PARTY-LIST legislator on Sunday urged Congress to “decisively address” the shortage of school guidance counselors whose services are needed to help students deal with a wide range of learning difficulties associated with COVID-19-era distance education.

“There’s no question many students are having a hard time coping with remote modular as well as online learning, mainly due to the lack of social interaction,” Rep. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan said.

“We need more guidance counselors to reach out and listen to students who may feel isolated and need encouragement to complete assigned tasks.”

The Department of Education has 5,398 authorized positions for guidance counselors. However, 80 percent or 4,302 of the positions remain vacant due to low pay, Defensor said.

“Congress should fix the

problem by bumping up the pay for the entry-level position of Guidance Counselor I by 53 percent, or by five notches, from Salary Grade 11 to SG 16,” Defensor said.

The minimum salary for SG 11 is P23,877, whereas that of SG 16 is P36,628, with both grades subject to two further annual upward adjustments under the Salary Standardization Law of 2019.

Defensor also wants the pay for the highest position of Guidance Services Specialist IV upgraded from SG 22 (P68,415) to SG 23 (P76,907).

Under existing guidelines, a school guidance counselor must at least be a licensed professional teacher with a master’s degree.

“Once we raise the pay grades, the DepEd will be able to attract more applicants for guidance counselors, including those from the ranks of qualified teachers laid off on account of the closure of hundreds of private schools,” Defensor said.

THE Department of Human Settlements and Human Development is promoting a sexual harassment-free workplace.

In compliance with the Civil Service Commission, housing czar Eduardo del Rosario has created a committee tasked to promote a sexual harassmentfree workplace and ensure proper decorum.

He issued a department order paving the way for the creation of the Committee on Decorum and Investigation both at its central and regional offices.

The CODI is created to handle sexual harassment cases as a measure to prevent sexual harassment cases within the department and promote ap-

propriate employee decorum in the workplace.

“The measure is part of DHSUD’s proactive efforts in promoting a sexual harassmentfree environment within the department. It also seeks to raise employees’ awareness on the downsides of such inappropriate acts,’’ Del Rosario said.

The department order serves as a reminder to all DHSUD employees that improper behavior toward others has no place in the department, he said.

The CODI, led by Assistant Secretary Avelino Tolentino III, is tasked to receive complaints of possible sexual harassment, investigate such cases and recommend proper disciplinary action against violators.

“With coronavirus cases surging and more people dying, regulators should find it necessary to look into the safety and efficacy of Ivermectin and other repurposed drugs for COVID-19,” Velasco said. “People have become desperate for a cure.

Fast-tracking clinical trials and processes to either grant Ivermectin an emergency use authority or conclusively declaring it unsafe will put the matter to rest.”

Velasco expressed belief that people need alternative remedies to COVID-19. “These are desperate times that call for a more proactive regulatory approach,” he said.

This developed as House Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera welcomed as an “initial victory” the recommendation for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lift the ban on the production of Ivermectin, which has been described by its proponents as a “fundamentally potent cure” for COVID-19.

“This could be a major step to recognizing Ivermectin as an inexpensive and effective alternative medicine for the deadly coronavirus disease,” Herrera said.

Originally intended for use by animals, Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug being used in many countries to prevent and treat COVID-19.

The FDA earlier ordered pharmaceutical firms to halt production of Ivermectin for human consumption as drug for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

But it was learned on Friday that two FDA food-drug regulation officers—Cristal Jule Dolendo and Michael Galang—have recommended to the FDA head office to lift the directive.

This came three days after the House of Representatives, upon the instructions of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, conducted a motu proprio investigation on the controversial FDA directive.

Herrera maintained that the humangrade Ivermectin is a cost-effective drug that could help dramatically reduce COVID-19 deaths.

“We were right all along that Ivermectin can be considered for our kababayans who have been looking for an affordable cure against COVID-19,” the Bagong Henerasyon lawmaker said.

Herrera thanked Velasco for paving the way for a congressional hearing that helped inform the public about treatment options for COVID-19.

She also thanked President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who, according to Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, had instructed FDA Director General Eric Domingo to fast-track the review on Ivermectin as potential cure for the coronavirus disease.

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News

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Isko inoculated with Sinovac after IATF nod

By Willie Casas MANILA City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso got vaccinated with Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday at the President Sergio Osmeña High School in Tondo.

Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan, who is also a doctor, administered the vaccine.

As of Sunday, about 41,692 individuals have been vaccinated by the Manila City government through its city health department.

Domagoso said he immediately had himself inoculated after President Rodrigo Duterte and the InterAgency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) allowed mayors in high-risk areas to get vaccinated.

The mayor was the first elected official of the city to receive the vaccine, having been placed under the A1 priority group of medical frontline workers.

“I made a commitment to the people of Manila that I would get the Sinovac vaccine. A lot of Filipinos have doubts about Sinovac, so as a matter of commitment, I got vaccinated with it,” Domagoso said.

The mayor likewise said “any vaccine is welcome in the country.

Whether it is Sinovac or any other brand, as long as it is approved by our regulatory bodies, we will use it.”

“If it is available then we will offer it to every Manileño and everyone else who wants to get vaccinated,” Domagoso told reporters in a press briefing.

He believes it was also “high time to get mayors vaccinated” as they have also been serving on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing mayors who were infected with the COVID-19.

Caloocan solon tests positive for coronavirus ANOTHER lawmaker, Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice, said Sunday he tested positive for COVID-19 after 8 days in quarantine.

Erice said he has “very mild symptoms” and that the district office would be temporarily closed due to “numerous cases among my staff members.”

“God’s grace shall bear us out of this pandemic. You can still message me though if you think I can do something for you my beloved constituents.

Please pray for each and everyone, stay home and keep safe. God bless Caloocan,” he said in a Facebook post.

Erice is the latest lawmaker to contract the disease after House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Negros Oriental 1st District Rep. Jocelyn SyLimkaichong, and Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor.

Two lawmakers have died of the coronavirus, Reps. Francisco Datol and Ma. Bernardita Ditas Ramos.

The House of Representatives earlier went on a 4-day lockdown owing to a surge in virus cases in the National Capital Region.

The surge prompted the government to impose enhanced community quarantine, the strictest in a 4-step level, in Metro Manila and nearby provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal from March 29 to April 11.

NEW COIN.

The new 20-peso coin at the obverse (left) features former President Manuel Quezon, with the ‘20 Piso’ mark written in baybayin. On the reverse side (right) shows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas logo, ‘Republika ng Pilipinas’ micro text, Malacañang Palace, and Nilad, a native flora in the Philippines.

Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

STALLED. Bikers are arrested by policemen from the Manila Police District-Plaza Miranda station in Quiapo, Manila for violation of Enhanced Quarantine Community (ECQ) protocols on Sunday. Under ECQ, only Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) are allowed to go out. Norman Cruz

Some govs, mayors move up in vax list

By Joyce Pañares

G

OVERNORS and mayors in areas considered as “high risk” will now be considered as frontliners and can get vaccinated immediately, National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said on Sunday.

“A letter request was sent by the League of Provinces signed by the President of the League of Provinces. The letter requested the President to consider having all governors and all local chief executives or mayors be considered as frontliners under category A1 to be allowed to be vaccinated,” he said.

“This request was endorsed by the President to the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of

Emerging Infectious Diseases) and the IATF on Saturday decided to initially allow mayors and governors in high risk and critical areas,” he said.

Of the 1,700 governors and mayors across the country, 400 are in high risk and critical areas, including those in the NCR Plus bubble, Dizon said.

“If this was war, they are our commanders in the frontlines. They need to be protected,” he added.

‘Make SMC boss Ang pandemic response czar’

By Rio N. Araja

The League of Cities of the Philippines also sent a separate letter to President Duterte seeking the inclusion of local chief executives in the top vaccine priority group.

“In the vaccination roll-out, city mayors visit the site physically, report to the city hall regularly, and are front and center in this fight against the pandemic,” said LCP president and Bacolod Mayor Bing Leonardia.

“Local chief executives are at great risk of exposure due to the magnitude of their work and thus need to be protected through vaccination immediately. It might also be prudent to inoculate the city mayors now rather than later to minimize the virus’ spread,” Leonardia added.

SAN JUAN JABS.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque prepares to inoculate 69-yearold senior citizen Charito Banal with the AstraZeneca anti-COVID-19 vaccine, as San Juan City Francis Zamora looks on at the San Juan Arena in San Juan City.

This simultaneous vaccination of the remaining healthcare workers and the first batch of senior citizens and those with comorbidities have been allowed by the IATF to speed up the vaccination process.

Manny Palmero

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte should appoint tycoon Ramon S. Ang as the pandemic response czar, Quezon City Councilor Bobby Castelo said on Sunday.

Castelo called on the President to appoint Ang, president of San Miguel Corp., saying he is capable to be the pandemic response czar.

“It is unbelievable, or at least difficult to believe, that after one year of lockdowns we are in a much worse situation than ever before,” the councilor said.

“The government needs a competent and experienced overall manager, coordinator, troubleshooter, and deep thinker for its disjointed war against COVID-19. Mr. Ramon S. Ang, or RSA to his family and friends, may fit the bill,” he added.

Castelo said Ang is known for his management expertise, track record, character and integrity, the very qualities of a leader needed to stem the tide of the worsening pandemic.

“He has no political motive but to help people. He has turned around struggling companies and made SMC into one of the most successful companies,” he added.

The councilor noted Ang has also donated billions of his own money to the campaign against COVID-19.

“He could galvanize the entire public and private sectors toward achieving normalization soonest. His extensive and expansive network abroad could likewise help us procure enough vaccines,” Castelo said.

He said there is an urgent need for an honest-to-goodness, sustained, and strict enforcement of health protocols and called on the public to comply with the letter and spirit of all COVID-19 containment measures.

Navotas passes 3 measures on masks, curfew to curb case surge

By Jun David THE City Government of Navotas has passed three ordinances imposing stricter safety measures to help curb the surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

City Ordinance No. 2021-19 states that a fine of P5,000 will be charged

to violators of the 10PM–5AM curfew hours, mandatory wearing of facemask, and 24-hour curfew for minors who are unable to present valid government identification (ID) cards.

The ordinance was passed following reports that violators gave falsified information to barangay enforcers, which prevented them from

being line-listed for free, mandatory swab test.

Navotas recently ruled that violators of safety protocols should get tested for COVID-19.

City Ordinance No. 2021-20, on the other hand, mandated the installation of impermeable transparent plastic or acetate barrier for the driver compartment

and in between rows of seats of public utility jeepney (PUJ) and the maintenance of such in good condition.

It further stated that installed barriers must be replaced when damaged or worn out.

Passenger load shall not also exceed 50% or half of the vehicle’s capacity, excluding the driver and conductor.

Lanao del Sur tightens entry protocols

By Nash B. Maulana MARAWI CITY—Provincial authorities have tightened protocols of entry to any part of Lanao del Sur for land, air and sea travelers.

This developed as reference medical bulletins of the Provincial InterAgency Task Force (IATF) of Lanao del Sur posted the highest number at 22 active Covid cases, as of 4 p.m. on April 2, officials said.

In a resolution, the Provincial IATF of Lanao del Sur adopts stricter measures for travellers to the province amid imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (plus) from

April 1-30, 2021.

Lanao del Sur Governor Bombit Adiong said the Province’s IATF Resolution No. 1 Series of 2021 takes effect Monday, April 5.

Adiong said Provincial IATF resolution “provides for New Travel Protocols for Travellers from all ports to routes of entry to the Province of Lanao del Sur, during the General Community Quarantine.”

Dr. Aleen Minalang, head of the Integrated Provincial health Office (IPHO), said the resolution notes that the Provincial IATF Bulletin has posted 22 active COVID-19 cases in a day in the province.

Opinion Tragedy

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

EDITORIAL

Essential qualities

NAKED baby’s head.

Flags are now flown at half mast all over THOUGHT Taiwan, and its president was in the hospital yesterday to comfort the injured and extend CHARLIE V. assistance to the families of victims.

MANALO *** ITH all the grave and somber things we have Meanwhile back home, we are terrified by the surging numbers of our coronavirus-inhad to deal with in the last few days—the AS WE write this article this Easter Sunday, fected kababayans. Where last year we were last year, actually—we find a bit of comic all of Taiwan is in mourning over the trage- appalled at a few thousands being added to dy that struck the Taroko Express train in the the victims, now we are seeing tens of thourelief and amusement in the Filipino staple, lugaw, THE FIFTH on-going and morning of Good Friday, with 51 confirmed sands reported each day in this or rice porridge. Photos surfaced as social media been a year dead, the worst train accident in at least four seemingly unending tragedy. It’s GOSPEL CROSSROADS and three weeks since government imposed a decades of Taiwan’s history. users extolled the virtues of the unassuming dish, and longest and Some 41 of the 186 injured are still in the series of lockdowns, the world’s JUDE declared that it was essential. How could it not be? to be no hospital, fighting for their J.A. lives. The train most stringent, and yet, there seems ACIDRE driver and his assistant, as well as two train end to the suffering, both in terms of lives DELA CRUZ conductors, perished, along with a French lost, bodies and minds affected in hospitals This was all in reaction to a video of a national and two American citizens. Four and elsewhere, and livelihoods shattered. barangay official waving a printed Those of us who mercifully did not exLugaw, lechon and bodies have yet to be identified. copy of the IATF guidelines while The ill-fated train of government-run perience the ravages of the Pacific War unlewd gestures pointing out to a delivery rider what Taiwan Railways Administration set off like our forebears have never experienced comprised “essential goods” during from Shulin station in New Taipei City at a tragedy as worse and as encompassing as an enhanced community quarantine.

7:16 Friday morning bound for Taitung this coronavirus pandemic.

Initially, the man was mistaken for a tention-seeking undersecretary at the Our health workersOPEN are on the verge of givin the southeastern tip of the island, with curfew violator. When he explained Department of the Interior and Local 488 passengers and four crew. Just about ing up, after more than a year of sleepless nights THOUGHTS when it was to enter a tunnel in mountain- and overworked bodies, let alone the stress that that he was waiting for an order of Government NAKED thought it witty to make to save, albeit many ous Hualien, a crane truck that slid down comes with tryingORLANDO lugaw that he would deliver to a cus- a distinction between lugaw (the dish) SO times THOUGHT the hill from a construction area less than with futility, the lives of compatriots. As we tomer, the barangay official began and lugaw (the vice president). He I SEE for their efforts, we take fifteen minutes earlier blocked the train’s keep praising themOXALES drew flak V. for his statements but none a condescending lecture about how CHARLIE path, too late for the driver to step on the note of the reality that they too are as human, guidelines allowed only the delivery of this has appeared to penetrate his LITO brakes. The smash-up happened at 9:28 and can only take too much sacrifice.

MANALO of essential items. People could live thick skin.

BANAYO Our hospital capacity is almost full, such a.m. Earlier, at 9:13 a.m., another train Last week, too, a photo of the Presiwithout lugaw, she insisted. Hence, it that we read and hear about tragic stories of sped past the same spot with no incident. dent blowing a birthday candle on top was not essential. people dying without being attended to, waitResponses from all sectors were of a cup of rice was posted by his duing in line, in tents or corridors, for medical Death can indeed quick. Immediately, the Inter-Agency tiful assistant. It was meant to show attention. Meanwhile, the poor who have lost jobs and livelihood are at their wit’s end tryTask for the Management ofTHE Emergoccur when one least FIFTHhow simply Mr. Duterte celebrated ing to survive on a day-to-day basis, awaiting ing Infectious Diseases confirmed his birthday during a difficult time. expects it.

GOSPEL Unfortunately for him, there was hand-outs from a government whose resources CROSSROADS that lugaw was, indeed, essential. are as well near depletion.

The pictures appeared on social me- another photo of a bigger part of JUDE *** J.A. table— there were several dishes, dia; families cooked or ordered lugaw ACIDRE the Still, we see bright spots among our local Death can indeed occur when one least and roast pig (lechon). to be in vogue.

Unfortunately, an atDELA CRUZ government leaders, especially in the national expects it.

It happened, quite ironically, on the long capital region, who tirelessly work day and weekend of the Tomb Sweeping holiday, night, marshalling resources and instituting which falls today. The day is similar to our systems to assist not only the testing and Undas, where families re-unite to clean the tracing, but now that they have in small tombs of their forebears and bond together doses arrived, the roll-out of life-saving preventive vaccines. to remember their dead. demic and for digital transformation.

As a Manila resident, I am gratified that I was Some of those who rode the ill-fated train Ayala Corporation Chairman Jaime AuOPEN were actually going on holiday, as Eastern able to register myself online in a few minutes gusto Zobel de Ayala highlighted the priTaiwan is a very scenic area, with plenty of here in Taiwan, thanks to the innovative system THOUGHTS vate sectors’ strength in resources, ingenubeaches side by side with beautiful cliffs introduced by our hard-working Yorme. It was ity, energy, and performance management ORLANDO and the amazing Taroko Gorge, a major truly a cinch, and after I posted the first photodiscipline as a crucial complement to govtourist attraction. I have taken trains along graph in my cellphone album, which had me in OXALES ernment for co-developing new ways to dethe same railway line twice before: One to sunglasses at some tourist spot in New Zealand, liver critical aid and other forms of support visit the awe-inspiring gorge and trek some my last foreign trip, I was advised by the app WE ARE again on Enhanced Community to stakeholders. of its less challenging mountain sides; and administrator that I was already listed as a poQuarantine (ECQ) mode. This is the secHe said, “If we will act in unison, work the other, along with other resident represen- tential recipient, and I may want to change my ond summer when most of us had to forego together, join forces and focus on some key tatives and ambassadors, to visit the many picture for easier identification. our traditional Holy Week break activities areas where we can all make a difference, I likewise saw those who received vacindigenous peoples clustered in different vilto dodge the now more virulent variants of there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that lages in Hualien and Taitung and learn about cines posting their “passport” and was pleasCOVID-19 that, according to the daily the private sector can be a massive generator the culture and traditions of the island’s in- antly surprised that in my Manila, we would briefings, is causing what is now the most of goodwill in our country and a solution to be given a computerized plastic passport digenous Austronesian race. alarming increase in daily infections in the many of our problems.”

Unlike the more industrially developed complete with a readable QR code that we region, along with the many gaps in the western side of Taiwan facing the South China can use anywhere. Some friends from neargovernment’s pandemic response.

Sea, the sparsely populated Hualien and Tai- by cities showed me cellphone shots of their Economic experts have warned that we The private tung counties face the mighty Pacific Ocean, hand-written paper “passport” attesting to the cannot afford an ECQ relapse as this will from whence the Portuguese first settled date of their jab and the health care worker sector has consistently definitely cause severe setbacks to our alwhen they colonized what they called Ilha who administered the shot to their arms. I ready weak economy. Comparative quarproven its value during Formosa. The tall mountains and river beds wonder how those paper certificates would terly Gross Domestic Product growth rate of Hualien are a major source of quarry ma- last inside their wallets even for a few months national emergencies.

(4th quarter 2020) with ASEAN neighbors terial as well as granite and marble, while the given our muggy and humid climate. shows our country lagging behind at -8.3 perNAKED Where did the less fortunate paper certifislopes of Taitung are a major agricultural procent. Doing much better are: Thailand (-4.2 ducer of fruits and vegetables, including the cation holders get theirs? You guessed right, THOUGHT percent), Singapore (-3.8 percent), Malaysia A notable initiative is the ongoing 5G exceptionally big and incomparably sweet in national government-owned and run hos(-3.4 percent), Indonesia (-2.2 percent), and Hackathon, so far, the biggest nationwide For shame. giant sher-ja or our atis, as big as CHARLIE a newborn pitals.

V. Malaysia (4.4 percent). programming competition organized by With daily COVID 19 infections hovering Globe Telecom in partnership with DLSU’s MANALO at around 10,000 new cases a day and ex- Animo Labs for students and professionals. It tended lockdowns striking another blow that aims to produce real-life solutions on how 5G will cause more economic displacement, the technologies will improve education, health country’s top industry leaders are rallying the care, livelihood, retail, manufacturing, private sector to unite and mobilize as a driving logistics, e-commerce, disaster risk mansuffering persecution from the hands of his force that will reverse this deep recession. agement, sustainability, asset and resource THE FIFTH very own people.

The recent virtual roundtable discussion management, and transportation.

Even Christ himself cried out in lament to GOSPEL organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute Expressing concerns in the quality of Philthe Father, in that familiar scene in the garden entitled, “The Private Sector as the Reliable ippine education, the chairman of the Makaof Gethsemane, when after saying to his disJUDE Partner for Economic Recovery” gathered the ti Business Club, Mr. Edgar Chua said, “If ciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow ACIDRE country’s biggest business groups who ex- our youth are not properly equipped and to the point of death” (Matt 26:38), he fells to pressed pointed insights on some problem- nourished, the sweet spot in reality will be a the ground and uttered in prayer, “My Father, atic gaps in the pandemic response initiatives sore spot as they will not be able to realize THESE past three days, Christians around if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. and how government should embrace the their full potential and support the country’s the world have recalled once more the sacred Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:38). inherent assets and capacities of the private development plan.” mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resur- Finally, hanging on the cross, Christ cries out in sector as a positive intervenor to fight the panrection. These holiest of days in the Christian pain, the very words of Psalm 22, “My God, my As an example, Philippine Chamber of calendar bring to mind the most defining God, why have you forsaken me?”

How many of us, these past days, have truth of our faith—that out of love for sinful man, Christ embraced death and won for us heard that someone they know has sucand uncertainty leads to firmer hope, it even what just happened in the last three days. cumbed to the coronavirus infection? How our salvation.OPEN becomes a sign that our faith is alive, because Instead, the disciples sent the women to This year’s Holy Week comes at a time many had to endure the difficulty of getting a doubt is part of the rhythm of faith. While our the tomb to perform the anointing that they THOUGHTS of pain and uncertainty as we continue to family member or friend admitted to a hospilament expresses true grief, sorrow, disappoint- omitted in the hastily done funeral. But when contend ORLANDO with the on-going coronavirus tal, and in the end having to frustratingly wait ment and regret over the sin and brokenness Mary Magdalene and the other women got pandemic. OXALES We are restricted not only from for hours before getting the needed medical that has plagued our world—so must it also there, all they found was an empty tomb. Then gathering in our churches for the familiar help? How many of our healthcare frontliners express hope. Our lament is more than just the they heard an angel speak to them, “He is not Holy Week liturgies and traditions, but more have to continue to work, despite knowing expression of sorrow or the venting of emotion. here. He is risen from the dead” (Matt 28:6). importantly by the sudden surge of coronavi- the risk of infecting themselves?

Lament talks to God about pain. It has a unique Imagine the joy that must fill their heart. Their rus cases in Metro Manila. purpose: Hope. It is an invitation to pour out our sorrow gave way to wonder. Their grief to joy.

Last week, many Filipinos took to social fears, frustrations, and sorrows for the purpose The hope in their lament did not disappoint.

Our prayers of lament media to air their grievances and express of helping us to renew our confidence in God. Easter is a reminder that even those things their frustration over the worsening situaWhile we come to God in lament, hurting over which seem to be the worst of tragedies are are acts of faith. tion—from sharing painful stories of loss how things are not the way they ought to be— not always what they seem. Its message is to venting their anger with the government. or how we want them to be—we do so trust- clear. It is a message of hope. Not hope in the In fact, it is not too difficult to discern the ing that he cares about our pain and will never sense that things will eventually work to our The Scriptures teach us that more than just tears behind the tweets, and the sighs beabandon us, and that we will find in him whole- favor, but the hope that puts trust in God’s an intellectual assent to the truths about God, hind the stories. ness, comfort and strength. plan. Hope in the fact that God always has a The Bible is full of similar cries for help. faith is about entrusting our entire selves to him.

Imagine the grief and disappointment that higher purpose. Hope in the fact that God uses These are the prayers of lament. More than That is why we turn to in thanksgiving in times the disciples must have experienced during pain and suffering and even death as a powera third of the psalms of David are laments. of blessings and goodness. In the same way the first Easter morning. Christ, whom they ful instrument of salvation.

The Book of Job, for example, beautifully when we feel his absence in our lives, when thought to be the Messiah that would liberate These are uncertain and unsettling times. narrates his anguish and grief over his expe- we are overcome by brokenness, suffering and their people from the Roman oppressors had Like that first Easter morning, we find ourselves rience of losing everyone and everything that doubt, we cry to God in prayer for strength and just died a criminal’s death. Jesus, who was locked in our homes. Many of our churches are he had. Jeremiah the prophet is believed to comfort, knowing deep inside us that our relatheir companion and friend and whom many still and empty, but our hope is alive—and in our have written the Book of Lamentations to de- tionship with him matters —that it matters to us of them readily abandoned out of worry and pain and doubt, we continue to bear witness to scribe his distress and confusion not only at in like manner that it matters to God. confusion, laid dead in the tomb. In their fear our faith in Christ, who died and rose again, so Far from being a failure of faith, our prayers seeing the destruction of the temple of Jeruand uncertainty, the disciples locked them- too can we hope in his saving love. salem and the exile of his nation, but at even of lament are acts of faith. When confusion selves in the Upper Room to make sense of Alleluia, Christ is risen! Happy Easter!

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO

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Nobody begrudges anybody the right to eat lechon or whatever one fancies, especially on one’s birthday.

What was objectionable was the obvious attempt to project an image different from reality. Much more damning was a separate video of the occasion that showed Mr. Duterte in an attempt to grope the house helper— something his spokesman has defended to the hilt, saying the President was characteristically playful, and, look, wasn’t his partner in fact there, as well, and thinking nothing of the act?

These “trending topics” mask the grim situation we are facing these days with regard to the virus and its devastating effects on health care, our educational system, and our economy. Now that the question of what qualifies as essential has arisen, we should answer that question individually. What are, after all, essential qualities we would like in our leaders, from the highest post to the most basic barangay unit? We want leaders who do not mindlessly implement rules without thinking about their rationale or practicability. We want those who are not petty.

Finally, we want those who do not pretend to be something other than they are, and who do not degrade their office through words and gestures common among those who do not know any better.

Rallying for a digitally revitalized recovery

Lament and hope

Commerce Inc. (PCCI) President, Amb. Benedicto Yujuico discussed how their Innovation Center is training the youth in technology to nurture a young and educated population that will have a competitive advantage to contribute to the national goal of ending poverty by 2040.

For his part, Stratbase ADRi Chairman Amb. Albert del Rosario sees this crisis as “an opportunity to overhaul the flawed structures of government bureaucracies to become a digitally revitalized ecosystem of efficient processes and well-managed resources.”

Neighboring economies and other developing nations are fast in realizing this and are way ahead in building state funded digital infrastructure to digitally enable their whole ecosystem.

More than a year into this pandemic, it should be obvious to both government and the private sector that the old manual, paper based, slow bureaucratic systems should be overhauled to more efficient, non-face to face, secure, and most of all, transparent solutions offered by digital technologies.

The exponential growth of online transactions will create a demand for more broadband services that can only be delivered with a robust and extensive digital infrastructure.

This will need the agility, high level of expertise, innovativeness, and developmental drive of private enterprises.

Stratbase ADRi President Dindo Manhit believes that the private sector is key in creating a more sustainable and inclusive economic recovery thru 8 strategic initiatives: 1) Address inequality and ensure livelihood by creating jobs, 2) Reduce the digital divide thru digital acceleration, 3) Address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 4) Help strengthen health system, 5) Push for public private collaboration driven by public interest, 6) Focus and advocate for stakeholder capitalism, 7) Create access to opportunity; quality education and social protection for all, and 8) Demand transparency and accountability in governance by encouraging an entrepreneurial state and smart local governments.

The private sector has consistently proven its value during national emergencies. Now, we need the private sector’s digital business agility to spearhead our transition to a digitally revitalized economy.

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO

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TODAY MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

7 AstraZeneca jab recipients die in UK T

HE UK medical regulator said that out of 30 people who suffered rare blood clots after receiving the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine, seven have died.

pended all use of the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which like the World Health Organization previously declared the AstraZen-

eca vaccine safe, is expected to announce updated advice on the issue on April 7.

It said Wednesday that there had been 62 cases worldwide of

cerebral venous sinus thromboThis figure did not include all sis, 44 of them in the European Germany’s cases, however.

Economic Area, which includes More than 9.2 million Astrathe European Union, Iceland, Zeneca jabs have been adminisLiechtenstein and Norway. tered in the region. AFP

The British acknowledgeBut MHRA chief executive ment of deaths comes as sev- Dr June Raine stressed that the eral European countries have benefits far outweighed any paused the use of the AstraZen- risks. “The public should coneca jab over a potential link to tinue to get their vaccine when blood clots. invited to do so,” she said.

The UK’s Medicines and Both the MHRA and European Healthcare products Regulatory Medicines Agency (EMA) say no Agency (MHRA) said in a state- causal link has yet been established ment Saturday that “Out of the between the blood clotting case and 30 reports up to and including 24 the AstraZeneca vaccine.

March, sadly 7 have died.”

But growing concerns have The reports of thrombosis, sub- prompted a number of countries mitted by medics or members of to pause rollout of the vaccine the public via a government web- or limit it to older people due to site, came after 18.1 million doses the relatively young age of those of the vaccine had been adminis- who suffered blood clots. tered in the country.

Netherlands on Friday halted Most of the cases (22) were a vaccinations with the AstraZeneca rare clotting condition called cer- jab for people under the age of 60 ebral venous sinus thrombosis. after five new cases among youngEight cases saw people suffer oth- er women, one of whom died. er types of thrombosis combined Germany has suspended the with low levels of blood platelets, use of the vaccine for those under which help blood clot.

60 after 31 cases of blood clots, There were no reports of most of them among younger and blood clots from the Pfizer-Bi- middle-aged women. oNTech vaccine, the UK regulaA number of other countries tor said, adding that “our thor- including France have imposed ough review into these reports a similar age restrictions, while is ongoing.”

Denmark and Norway have susCYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 214 MANDALUYONG CITY

2017, a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage was filed by the FIRST PARTY against the SECOND PARTY, where the Regional Trial Court of San Juan approved in its Pre-Trial Order a property settlent out of court, hereto attached as Annex “A”.

IN RE: PETITION FOR VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION OF ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY

3. PARTITION OF THE ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTIES: Notwithstanding the decision of the court, the parties hereto agree to the following partition of their absolute community of properties, to wit: The SECOND PARTY agrees to sell her share of the property (which consists of 1/2 of the property) located in MandaIuyong City and her shares in the properties (which consists of 1/14 of each of the properties) both located in San Juan and Cavite, to the FIRST PARTY in the whole amount of FIVE MILLION PESOS (PHP5,000,000.00), with both parties undertaking to sign all the documents relating to the sale including the submission of any requirements by any government agencies.

SP. PROC. NO. R-MND-21-00281-SP JOHN KENRICK CHUA and SHERYL CYD CHARISSE FRANCISCO-CHUA, Petitioners. x-----------------------------------------------------------x ORDER The above-captioned case was originally raffled to Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 278, Mandaluyong City on 08 February 2021.

On 09 February 2021, Hon. Jaime Fortunato A. Caringal, Presiding Judge of Branch 278, issued an Order unloading the case to the Office of the Clerk of Court, Mandaluyong City on the ground that his court has no jurisdiction over the case. Thus, the above-captioned case was re-raffled and received by this Branch on 11 February 2021.

In said Petition, Spouses John Kenrick Chua and Sheryl Cyd Charisse Francisco-Chua (Petitioners), jointly prayed that after due hearing, judgment be rendered decreeing the separation of their present and future properties.

Petitioners allege that they are both of legal age and were married on 18 December 2010. They did not execute any pre-nuptial agreement, thus, their property relations in the marriage is governed by the property regime of absolute community of property.

In 2017, petitioners started living separately from each other. Forming part of their absolute community of property are real properties covered under Transfer Certificate of Title Nos. 008-2013000404; 012-2014000467; and 0762015003447. To support the petition, Petitioners executed a duly notarized “Joint Agreement for the Voluntary Dissolution of Absolute Community of Property”.1 Petitioners pray that the said agreement be approved and confirmed by this Court and their property relations be converted to an absolute separation of property.

Petitioners further aver that there is no creditor or any interested person that may be affected by the separation of properties prayed for.

WHEREFORE, finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, let the same be set for hearing on 20 April 2021 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 214, Ground Floor, Hall of Justice Building, Maysilo Circle, Mandaluyong City for the initial hearing on the jurisdictional requirements.

Notice is hereby given that dissolution of the absolute community of property of petitioners-spouses shall be heard on the aforesaid date, time, and place. Creditors of either or both of the spouses and any or all persons having claims against petitioners-spouses may appear and file their claims.

Let this Order and Annex “C” attached hereto be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines to be determined by raffle pursuant to P.D. 1079 at Petitioners’ expense and be posted in the Court’s bulletin board for at least three (3) weeks before the scheduled hearing.

Further, let copy of this Order together with the petition and its annexes be served upon the Office of the Solicitor General and the Office of the City Prosecutor, Mandaluyong City.

Send notices to all parties concerned.

SO ORDERED. Mandaluyong City.

16 February 2021.

Decisions relating to the above stated properties which the FIRST PARTY shall administer will be respected by the SECOND PARTY. The guiding principle in every decision is what is for the best interest of the parties.

4. CHiLDREN: Even if they have no children of their own, the FIRST PARTY has treated KOLE CHAN as his son, who is still living with him.

Out of love and affection, the FIRST PARTY is willing to shoulder all his school and other living expenses until he finishes tertiary education.

There is no issue as to visitation, for the SECOND PARTY may visit her son at any time.

Both parties should not put any obstacle in the way of the restoration and maintenance of the love and affection between the son and the other party, or in the way of a reasonable and proper companionship between them, either by influencing the the son against the other or doing anything to estrange any of them from the other.

The parties agree to observe civility, courteousness and politeness in dealing with each other and shall not insult, malign or commit discourteous acts against each other and shall endeavor to cause their relatives to act similarly.

Activists color anti-coup Easter eggs ANTI-COUP demonstrators in Myanmar decorated boiled eggs on Easter Sunday in the latest protest as the military junta continues its brutal crackdown.

Myanmar has been gripped by severe turmoil since a February 1 coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Security forces have sought to quell a mass uprising with lethal force, with the death toll reaching 557 as of Saturday, according to local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

To coincide with Easter Sunday, scores of Myanmar protesters decorated eggs with political messages and left them on neighbour’s doorsteps and hanging in bags on front gates.

Pictures posted on social media showed eggs

IN BRIEF

adorned with Suu Kyi’s likeness and three-finger salutes – a symbol of the resistance – while others said “save our people” and “democracy.”

One Facebook group promoting the egg protest urged people to be respectful of Christian traditions on Easter Sunday.

Early bird protesters also hit the streets of Mandalay Sunday, some carrying flags and riding motorbikes.

Their demonstration comes even after four protesters were killed Saturday in the cities of Bago and Monywa.

At least 2,658 civilians are in detention across the country, according to AAPP. This weekend, Myanmar authorities issued arrest warrants for 40 celebrities – most of whom are in hiding. AFP

5. INDEBTEDNESS OF THE ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTIES Each of the party shall shoulder each of their indebtedness which had not redounded to the benefit of the community property.

Upon approval of the court and final dissolution of the absolute community property, the First Party and the Second Party respectively, shall be responsible for his or her own debts. The other party, in view of the decision, shall be freed from whatever indebtedness the other party had incurred even during the pendency of the marriage.

Copy furnished:

6. PRESENT PERSONAL PROPERTIES AND FUTURE PROPERTIES As to the personal property of each party, including bank deposits and securities, the same shall be considered the separate property of each of the party even though acquired during the marriage.

Office of the Solicitor General Makati City Office of the City Prosecutor Mandaluyong City Atty. Simonette E. Sibal-Pulido Vasquez Bretana & Sibal-Pulido No. 7, Sheridan Street, Highway Hills Mandaluyong City

7.1 This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties relating to the dissolution and liquidation of their community properties, as well as all matters affecting their property relationship, and shall supersede any other agreements which they may have executed in any jurisdiction, with respect to the maters contained herein.

7.2 This Agreement shall be binding on, and shall inure to the benefit of their heirs, executors, and administrators.

John Kenrick Chua (Petitioner) Unit F, Greenview Residences, 969 Schuyler St. Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City Sheryl Cyd Charisse Francisco-Chua (Petitioner) Tarzan’s House, Tuason Point, Barangay Catangnan, General Luna, Siargao Surigao del Norte, 8419 Office of the Clerk of Court Regional Trial Court Mandaluyong City

7.3 This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Republic of the Philippines.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties have executed this Agreement on the date and place written above.

Attached in the Petition as Annex “C-Petition”.

ANNEX “C” AGREEMENT ON THE PARTITION OF PROPERTIES AND SUPPORT OF THE SECOND PARTY’S CHILD KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

JOHN KENRICK CHUA Respondent

CYD CHARISSE FRANCISCO-CHUA Respondent

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Republic of the Philippines) MANDALUYONG CITY ) S.S.

This Agreement supersedes all previous agreement and is entered into on this JUNE 28, BEFFORE ME, a Notary Public for and in ______ ______________________________________ 2018 at the City of _____ by and between: ______________ personally appeared: JOHN KENRICK CHUA., of legal age, married, Filipino and with address at 233 Name Government ID J Abad Santos St., Little Baguio, San Juan Date/Place of Issue City, referred to as the “FIRST PARTY”.

John Kenrick Chua Sheryl Cyd Charisse Francisco-Chua -andSHERYL CYD CHARISSE FRANCISCOCHUA, likewise of legal age, Filipino and residing at Unit 1607 Lee Gardens, North Tower, Lee St., corner Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, and hereinafter referred to as the “SECOND PARTY”.

WITNESSETH 1. MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN: The parties are husband and wife. They were married on 18 December 2010 in Boracay, Malay, Aklan. They do not have children, although the SECOND PARTY has a child from her previous marriage, KOLE CHAN. 2. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE. On October

Known to me and to me known to be the same persons who executed the foregoing instrument and they acknowledged to me that the same is their own free and voluntary act and deed.

WITNESS MY HAND AND NOTARIAL SEAL this JUN 28, 2018 day of____ At ______ Philippines.

Doc. No. 315; Page No. 63; Book No. I Series of 2018 (MStandard - Mar. 22, 29 & Apr. 5, 2021)

Ingenuity chopper dropped on Mars NASA’s Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight, the US space agency said.

The ultra-light aircraft had been fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18.

“MarsHelicopter touchdown confirmed!” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted Saturday.

“Its 293 million mile (471 million kilometer) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the final drop of 4 inches (10 centimeter) from the rover’s belly to the surface of Mars today.

Next milestone? Survive the night.”

A photograph accompanying the tweet showed Perseverance had driven clear of the helicopter and its “airfield” after dropping to the surface. AFP

11 killed in China weekend bus crash

7. ENTIRE AGREEEMENT AND BINDING EFFECT:

(Sgd.) IMELDA L. PORTES-SAULOG Presiding Judge

1

In the meantime that the properties cannot be transferred, the FIRST PARTY shall administer the properties.

This combination photo shows eggs decorated with messages in support of protesters demonstrating against the military coup in Yangon on April 4, 2021. AFP

GOLDEN PARADE. A performer rides a two-horse chariot at the start of the parade of 22 ancient Egyptian royal mummies departing from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on April 3, 2021, on their way to their new resting place at the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) about seven kilometers south in historic Fustat (Old Cairo). Dubbed the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, the 18 kings and four queens will travel in order, oldest first, each aboard a separate float decorated in ancient Egyptian style. AFP

HK makes record 700kg cocaine bust HONG Kong police announced a recordbreaking 700 kilogram cocaine seizure on Sunday with officers suspecting the huge shipment was EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT smuggled into the OF ESTATE OF CRISPIN A. SUGUITAN city on speedboats.

Notice is hereby given that the intestate The bust is the estate of CRISPIN A. SUGUITAN, who died in Makati City on December largest in the ter12, 2006, consisting of parcel of land with building located at 330 Panay St., ritory in nearly a Pitogo, Makati City, covered by Original Certificate of Title No. 484 and residential decade and netted building covered by Tax Declaration No. some HK$930 milF01000469, is the subject of an ExtraJudicial Settlement made by late Crispin lion ($119.6 million) A. Suguitan’s heirs, namely Maria M. Suguitan, Marcelino M. Suguitan, Cristina worth of cocaine.

S. Pacheco, and Marlon M. Suguitan per Doc No. 20, Page No. 5, Book No. 1, Authorities say Series of 2021, of the Notarial Registry of Atty. Maria Angelica David, Notary Public the collapse of globfor and in the City of Pasig.

(MS-MAR. 22/ 29, APR. 5, 2021

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late HELMUT JOSEF STRUM WUZELA was settled via Affidavit of Self-Adjudication executed

by Lily Amor A. Wuzela before Atty. Noel C. Ducusin under Notary Public Doc. No. 259; Page No. 53; Book No. II; Series of 2020.

(MStandard-Mar. 22, 29 & Apr. 5, 2021)

al travel during the coronavirus pandemic has forced smugglers to make riskier bulk shipments instead of using drug mules travelling through airports.

Police said the bust was made on Friday when officers intercepted a man with a trolley in the Fo Tan industrial district and found 150 bricks of cocaine in cardboard boxes.

Another 492 bricks were later found in an industrial building and an apartment in the same district, leading to the arrest of two men aged 19 and 25.

“We believe (the drugs) were transported via long-range shipping to waters near Hong Kong from their source area in South America and then smuggled in by illegal speedboats,” senior superintendent Ng Kwok-cheung told reporters.

“We found a lot of water-proof bags that were still wet at the scene and all the cocaine bricks were carefully wrapped in plastic,” he added.

Police said Hong Kong’s previous record cocaine seizure was 649 kilograms discovered by customs in 2012. AFP

AT LEAST 11 people were killed after a truck collided with a passenger bus in eastern China over a busy holiday weekend, state media reported Sunday.

The truck drove through a barrier on a highway north of Shanghai in Jiangsu province and crashed into the bus around 1 a.m. local time Sunday (1700 GMT), the Xinhua news agency said.

As traffic piled up at the site of the crash, two other trucks were involved in a rear-end collision.

Nineteen people were injured and sent to the hospital, according to Xinhua.

Footage broadcast by local media showed the passenger bus overturned amid debris from the barrier. AFP

17 missing after boat collision RESCUERS were searching for 17 missing fishermen after two boats collided in waters off Indonesia’s West Java province, officials said Sunday.

A fishing ship hit a larger cargo vessel on Saturday evening off Indramayu regency, flipping the wooden boat’s 32 crew members into the water, said Bandung rescue agency spokeswoman Seni Wulandari.

“Some 15 survivors have been evacuated to the cargo vessel but the team is still searching for 17 other crew who went missing,” Wulandari told AFP on Sunday.

Those rescued sustained minor injuries from the accident and would be taken to a nearby hospital, she added. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Business

Extended ECQ to dampen trading this week—analysts A

By Jenniffer B. Austria

NALYSTS expect another lackluster trading at the stock market in another shortened trading week following the government’s decision to extend the implementation of stricter quarantine rules. Financial markets will be closed on Friday as the country celebrates Araw ng Kagitingan.

The government on Saturday announced a one-week extension of the enhanced community quarantine rules in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in a bid to curb the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.

BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the reinstallation

of mobility curbs would further delay the reopening of the economy.

Ravelas said the development could signal the market to test the 6,000-point to 6,300-point levels in the near term period.

“A break below the 6,000 levels will open the test of the 5,700 levels,” he added.

Analysts said investors were worried that the expected strong economic recovery this year would not be achieved because of the prolonged health crisis.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week dropped 1.6 percent to 6,443.09, while the broader All Shares Index fell 1.1 percent to 3,924.29.

Except for the industrial index which inched 0.2 percent higher, all other sectoral indices ended in the red led by property, which declined 2 percent, and mining and oil, which lost 1.8 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers by P2.15 billion during the three-day trading week, while the average daily value traded dropped to P6.15 billion from the previous

week’s average of P9 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were GMA Network Inc., which jumped 16 percent to P8.70, Filinvest Development Corp., which rose 6.4 percent to P8.67 and Century Pacific Food Inc., which climbed 5.2 percent to P18.48.

Weekly top price losers were Nickel Asia Corp., which dropped 6 percent to P5; DDMP REIT Inc., which declined 4 percent to P2.15; and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., which fell 3.5 percent to P44.40.

Tokyo’s Nikkei, meanwhile, led a rally in holiday-thinned trade in Asia on Friday following a record-breaking day on Wall Street with investors buoyed by Joe Biden’s huge new infrastructure spending plan and growing optimism over the economic recovery.

With most equity and commodity markets in the region closed for Easter, business was light but the mood remained decidedly upbeat ahead of the release of key US jobs data that is expected to confirm that the world’s top economy is getting back on its feet. With AFP

Logjam deepens at the world’s ports as virus strikes shipping

By Dan Martin and John Biers LIANYUNGANG, China— Towering cranes work overtime swinging containers from cargo vessels in the eastern Chinese port of Lianyungang, racing to keep ahead of a perfect storm unleashed by the pandemic that has created gridlock in global shipping.

As the huge containers were flung onto trucks with a thunderous clang, Shi Jiangang, a top official with Chinese shipping company Bondex Logistics, reflected on the backlog.

“It’s been a very great challenge,” he said.

The ship being offloaded was a South Korean vessel that normally also carries passengers but has been given over entirely to cargo. In the distance, a fleet of other vessels waited offshore.

Lianyungang is not alone.

The global shipping network that keeps food, energy and consumer goods circulating—and the world economy afloat—is facing its biggest stress test in memory.

Maritime trade came under the microscope after a Japaneseowned megaship ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking the busy channel for nearly a week.

It was refloated last week but the larger crisis remains, amid warnings that soaring freight costs could affect supplies of key goods or consumer prices.

The situation arose last year

Container ships sit idle in the the San Francisco Bay just outside of the Port of Oakland on March 26, 2021 in Oakland, California. As the global pandemic has fueled online shopping and international shipping to fulfill orders, metal shipping containers have become scarce and have caused log jams at ports around the globe. AFP

as the expanding pandemic jammed the sprawling, predictable patterns by which shipping containers are shared around the world’s ports.

When many countries began easing COVID-19 restrictions late last summer, a wave of pent-up demand from hunkereddown consumers bingeing on internet purchases delivered a shock to supply lines.

Exports from nations like China soared.

Port pile-up But since the end of 2020, vessels have piled up outside overburdened Western ports, leaving Asian exporters clamoring for the return of empty containers

needed for further shipments.

At Lianyungang-–China’s 10th-busiest port, according to the World Shipping Council–-desperate firms are pressing rail-cargo containers into maritime service, placing rush orders for new ones, and rerouting some shipping to other Chinese ports.

The price to ship a 40-foot container from Lianyungang to the United States has soared to more than $10,000, from the usual $2,000-$3,000, Shi said.

The situation is “putting pressure on everyone in the supply chain,” he said.

American consumer demand has been a key driver.

The Port of Los Angeles said last month that processed volume in February jumped 47 percent year-on-year, the strongest February in its 114-year history.

The number of empty containers stranded there has also soared.

An LA port official told AFP last week that more than two dozen ships were waiting to berth outside Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two busiest ports in the United States.

Normally there is no wait, but delays now average more than a week.

“We basically have a couple of weeks of work, but more ships come in every day,” another West Coast port official told AFP. Compounding the gridlock, many container vessels had been pulled from the market for refitting to meet carbon-reduction standards, while social distancing and occasional coronavirus clusters among dockworkers have also slowed processing.

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said recently the facility was focused on vaccinating port workers and pushing cargo through.

“It’s critical that we clear the backlog of cargo and return more certainty to the Pacific trade,” Seroka said.

Commodities information provider S&P Global Platts said vessels were also log-jammed in Singapore, the world’s busiest container transshipment port, and that sailing-schedule reliability was at a 10-year low. AFP

B3

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Egypt’s maritime authority clears Suez Canal backlog CAIRO, Egypt—Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority said Saturday that a shipping traffic jam caused by a giant container vessel getting stuck on the crucial waterway for almost a week has been cleared.

Traffic on the canal, a conduit for over 10 percent of world trade, had begun moving again on Monday evening after the 200,000-ton MV Ever Given was refloated with the help of international salvage experts.

“All the ships waiting in the waterway since the grounding of the... (MV) Ever Given have completed passage,” SCA chief Osama Rabie said in a statement by the canal authority.

The wedging of the Japaneseowned, Taiwanese-operated ship had created tailbacks to the north and south totaling over 420 ships, with billions of dollars-worth of cargo.

Rabie has acknowledged that the blockage, which began when the ship veered off course in a sandstorm, left Egypt’s international shipping and wider reputation on the line.

Egyptian authorities have presented the freeing of the mega-ship as a vindication of the country’s engineering and salvage capabilities.

Manila

Standard

TODAY

SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4 Series of 2021 TO

:

ALL SEC REGISTERED FINANCING COMPANIES AND LENDING COMPANIES

SUBJECT

:

AMENDMENT OF MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 16, SERIES OF 2018 OR THE GUIDELINES ON ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND COMBATING THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM FOR SEC COVERED INSTITUTIONS (“2018 AML/CFT GUIDELINES”) AND MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 29, SERIES OF 2020 OR THE 2020 GUIDELINES ON THE SUBMISSION AND MONITORING OF THE MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST PREVENTION PROGRAM (MTPP)

WHEREAS, the Commission as Supervising Authority is mandated to assist the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in supervising the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended (AMLA), the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act (TFPSA), and their respective Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), and other AMLC issuances; WHEREAS, the 2018 AML/CFT Guidelines and the 2020 Guidelines on the Submission and Monitoring of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Program (MTPP) were issued to guide SEC covered persons in complying with AML/CFT requirements and standards designed to protect the financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing and to ensure that the Philippines is not used as a money laundering site for the proceeds of any illegal activity; WHEREAS, financing companies and lending companies are financial institutions issued with the license or authority to operate by the Commission and are subject to its supervision and regulatory authority; WHEREAS, as financial institutions, there is a need to subject financing companies and lending companies to supervision and monitoring for AML/CFT purposes to ensure that such companies are not used for money laundering or terrorist financing; WHEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in the Commission under existing laws and as approved by the Commission En Banc, the following rules are hereby promulgated: SECTION 1. Section 1.2. of the 2018 AML/CFT Guidelines is amended to read as follows: “Section 1.2 Covered Persons – The term “covered persons shall refer to persons regulated by the Commission under the SRC, The Investment Houses Law, the Investment Company Act, the Financing Company Act of 1998, the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007, other laws and regulations implemented by the Commission, and the AMLA, as amended. The covered persons are as follows:

Accounting for the Human Resource “HOW can I help?” is the catchphrase from the television series New Amsterdam.

The series is about a medical director, Max Goodwin, who always finds ways to help his colleagues and patients. He inspired me to do my share as an accountant. I hope I will be a Max to help you understand how human resource should be treated literally and in quantitative terms in an organization.

Human resource has been referred to as an asset, and some even use the term human capital to emphasize that human resource is considered an investment. Conventionally, human resource is recorded as an expense, particularly as salaries expense, the amount that the employees receive every pay period.

But should human resource should be considered an asset, a capital or an expense in an organization? It cannot be all of the above. It is important to choose the exact classification to avoid double recording.

In accounting, a transaction is recorded through a journal entry by identifying first which accounts are affected. I will be using the company’s perspective in explaining the classification of human resources in financial statements.

Is human resource an asset? An asset can have two meanings. In accounting terms, an asset is something (tangible or intangible) that has an economic value owned and controlled by the company. An asset can also mean anything that a person or any entity possesses that makes it valuable and useful (i.e., a surgeon’s hands, Tina Turner’s legs, J Lo’s buttocks, a singer’s voice, an employee’s unique skill, and ability).

The three components (control, ownership and economic value) should be present to be classified as an asset. Does the company have control over an employee? No, though some may say yes but strictly speaking, individuals have their own free will. Upon hiring, does the company have ownership of the employee? No. Does a person have

VENUS BAUTISTA

GREEN LIGHT an economic value? Economic value means having a price tag wherein something can be bought and sold at any given time with an exact monetary value. Can you buy or sell an individual? Legally, we know the answer is no. But employees are more than all these things. But in terms of accounting, human resource do not qualify as an asset.

Can human resources be considered as capital? Before we answer this question, I would like to distinguish between assets and capital, two terms that are often used interchangeably. Assets are what a company owns. These assets would arise or come from 1) a contribution of the owner and 2) purchase of the company through payment of cash, or by incurring a liability. Capital is any contribution made by the owner(s) of the business. Here lie the confusion and similarity because what an owner contributes is usually in cash or tangible property.

Let us say you paid for your employees’ training to update and improve their skills that your company would benefit from. Would this be considered now as your investment, therefore an asset? Would you own this skill?

Would you be at liberty to use it any time and as long as you want? No, the skill would belong to the employee no matter how large the amount you put into acquiring the new skill. In your books, you paid for an expense.

Expenses are products or services that you use only for a particular (accounting) period.

You will use the employees’ skills only for each period; hence, it is treated as an expense.

Do we, therefore, accept the traditional way of recording human resources as part of operating expenses? Does the compensation

of the employees truly tell us the whole story of human resources?

I always associate accounting with simply telling the business’s story by journalizing what transpired in the business’s operations and summarizing them through the financial statements. Each employee’s story is told (but not limited) through the Salaries Expense and Trainings & Seminars Expense accounts. Training & Seminars Expense is what you pay for a particular service provider who gave your employees training, hence, classified as an expense.

If you think that your human resource is of a greater value than the amount of the salaries (expense) they are receiving, then compensation given to them should be adjusted and not the accounting books. You can also prepare a schedule (computation) for each employee regarding their actual contribution to the company.

I used the company’s perspective as to how the company should reflect human resources in the financial statements. But from the employees’ standpoint, human resources take on a different perspective. Will they consider human resources an asset, a capital or an expense? All of the above is not an option.

You need to choose just one. I can explain this angle and the impact of human resources on its valuation in a future article.

The author is a CPA and has vast experience in internal audit for SMEs. She is currently a part-time faculty of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. She finished both her Bachelor’s and MBA degree in the same university.

She can be reached at ma_sinamar_venus_ bautista@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

“Ninety-nine percent” of personnel who worked to refloat the giant vessel were Egyptian, according to Rabie.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged investment to ensure no repeat of the episode, and the SCA has called for new tugboats and dredgers are needed.

Maritime data company Lloyd’s List said the blockage had held up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.

The canal is economically vital to Egypt, which lost between $12 and $15 million in revenues for each day the waterway was closed, according to the canal authority.

Nearly 19,000 ships navigated the canal in 2020, working out an average of just over 50 per day, it says.

But the president and port authority have ruled out any further widening of the southern stretch of the canal where the boat became diagonally stuck.

Sisi oversaw an expansion of a northern section, which included widening an existing stretch and introducing a 35 kilometer parallel waterway, to much fanfare in 2014-15. AFP

1.2.1 x x x x 1.2.2 x x x x 1.2.3 x x x x 1.2.4 Financing Companies and Lending Companies 1.2.5 x x x x SECTION 2. All financing companies and lending companies subject to the supervision of the Commission are required to comply with Section 2, Rule 4 of the 2018 IRR of the AMLA and to register with the AMLC’s online reporting system pursuant to the AMLC Registration and Reporting Guidelines.

Financing companies and lending companies not yet registered with the AMLC are given a period of two (2) months from the effective date of this Circular to submit proof of such registration to the Anti-Money Laundering Division of the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (AMLD-EIPD) of the Commission.

SECTION 3. Financing companies and lending companies shall formulate and implement a comprehensive and risk-based Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Program (MTTP)1 that is compliant with the AMLA and the TFPSA and their respective IRR and other AMLC issuances and the 2018 AML/ CFT Guidelines, and designed according to their corporate structure and risk profile.

For those financing companies and lending companies who have not yet submitted their MTPPs, the MTPP shall be submitted to the AMLD-EIPD within two (2) months from the effective date of this Circular, in hard and soft copies, duly approved by the Board of Directors or by the country/regional/area head or its equivalent for local branches of foreign financing companies or lending companies.

SECTION 4. Financing and lending companies shall be subject to the AML/ CFT supervision of the Commission in accordance with MC No. 26, Series of 2020 and shall adopt and implement a risk based approach to AML/CFT. SECTION 5. Section 5 of the 2020 Guidelines on the Submission and Monitoring of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Program (MC No 29, Series of 2020) is hereby deleted.

SECTION 6. Failure to comply with this circular shall subject the financing companies and lending companies to the penalties provided under the 2018 AML/ CFT Guidelines.

SECTION 7. The AMLD-EIPD shall enforce and monitor compliance with this Circular in coordination with the other Operating Departments of the Commission and impose the applicable sanctions for any violation thereof as may be warranted.

SECTION 8. All rules, regulations, order, circulars and issuances of the Commission inconsistent with this Memorandum Circular are hereby amended and/or repealed accordingly.

SECTION 9. This Memorandum Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation and its posting in the Commission’s website.

Pasay City, Philippines, 30 March 2021.

For the Commission:

EMILIO B. AQUINO Chairperson

1

As prescribed in Chapter 4, Basic Principles and Policies to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, Memorandum Circular No. 16, Series of 2018 (2018 AML/CFT Guidelines (MS-APR. 5, 2021)

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

B4

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Business

PSE INDEX CLOSING Wednesday, March 31, 2021

-102.46 PTS. 6,443.09

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

2,035,249,380 107,283 6,499,001,578.87 97 113 50

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.466

Japan

Yen

0.009063

0.4392

UK

Pound

1.3739

66.5874

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128621

6.2337

Switzerland

Franc

1.061684

51.4556

Canada

Dollar

0.792016

38.3858

Singapore

Dollar

0.74195

35.9593

Australia

Dollar

0.7595

36.8099

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655267

128.6902

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

12.9232

Brunei

Dollar

0.739208

35.8265

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.03201

1.5514

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.1959

Euro

Euro

1.1718

56.7925

Korea

Won

0.000883

0.0428

China

Yuan

0.152151

7.3742

India

Rupee

0.013617

0.66

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.241022

11.6814

New Zealand

Dollar

0.6981

33.8341

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035159

1.704 Source: BSP

GT Capital hikes capital spending by 85% to P17b for ‘21 expansion

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty family said it earmarked between P17 billion and P19 billion for 2021 capital expenditures to fund expansion of banking, automotive and real estate businesses.

It said this year’s capital spending would be 85-percent higher than P9.17 billion it invested in 2020.

GT Capital said in a presentation during a recent analysts briefing it allotted P4.44 billion for property unit Federal Land Inc. for landbanking activities, retail and commercial development. Federal Land plans to launch three projects this year.

The group also budgeted P4 billion for Toyota Motor Philippines Inc. for its planned development of pre-delivery inspect facility.

The facility which has a preinspection and post-production installation capacity of 160,000 cars and 4,500 units stockyard capacity is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter.

The parent company will also spend P4.34 billion for land development in Cavite and acquisitions.

Banking arm Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. will spend between P3 billion and P5 billion for improvement of information technology system.

It said the balance would be pent by other units in insurance, dealership and financing.

GT Capital also reported that Federal Land signed an agreement with a strategic investor in October for the joint development of a 100-hectare property in Cavite City.

It is also in talks with three parties for the joint development of another 300-hectare property also in Cavite.

GT Capital;s net income fell by 68 percent in 2020 to P6.5 billion from P20.3 billion in 2019 on the effects of COVID-19 on the group’s businesses Core net income also dropped 53 percent to P7.4 billion from P15.8 billion in 2019 as consolidated revenues dropped 40 percent to P134.4 billion from P222.9 billion in 2019.

The group said it started seeing signs of improvement as net income in the fourth quarter surged by 378 percent to P3.3 billion from P500 million in the third quarter.

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines said Sunday it posted a net income of P63 million in 2020 on stronger financial performance in the fourth quarter and costcutting measures.

Phoenix said it posted a positive net income despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw demand and oil prices plunger worldwide. The company posted a profit of P1.494 billion in 2019.

ERC rejects FDC deal with Daneco

THE Energy Regulatory Commission denied the petition for provisional authority sought by Davao Del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. and FDC Misamis Power Corp. on their new electric power purchase agreement.

Daneco’s new power contract involves a 15-megawatt supply-agreement with FDCMPC, a Misamis Occidental-based power plant, for its baseload need.

“Daneco and FDCMPC were unable to clearly establish through their submitted documents the urgency and the necessity of the grant of a PA/IR for the 15-MW supply from the EPPA based on the submitted documents related to Daneco’s supply-demand scenario,” ERC said in a recent decision.

The Davao del Norte electric cooperative claimed its current power suppliers would not meet the needs of its consumers by 2021 because of supply deficit of 24 MW. The ERC said, however, that the data Daneco submitted did not sufficiently support its claims. Alena Mae S. Flores

SWAT Mobility offers safer transport

SM HYPERMARKET AWARD. SM Hypermarket receives the prestigious Philippine Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators for its Street Food Festival 2019 during the recent 18th Philippine Quill Awards. Attending the ceremonial slicing of the 8-foot SM Turon to kick-off the 2019 SM Hypermarket Streetfood Festival in SM Mall of Asia are (from left) Bulacan Lugaw Kitchen owner Joey Leonardo, Nestle Philippines customer manager Rafael Lagdameo, San Miguel Purefoods sales manager Niquee Guadalupe, Unilever Philippines customer business manager Sherwin Ang, Giant SM Turon creator and worldrenowned chef Boy Logro, SM Hypermarket senior vice president for merchandising Josie Tamayo, San Miguel Purefoods brand ambassador Alvin Patrimonio, SM Hypermarket president Arnold Daluz, SM Supermarket president Joey Mendoza, Gloria's Goto owner Rosemarie Marin and SM Markets mascot Cassie.

Bangko Sentral approves st 1 branchless digital bank T

By Julito G. Rada

HE Overseas Filipino Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-run Land Bank of the Philippines, secured a digital banking license from the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to become the first branchless digital-only bank in the country.

OFBank commenced its banking operations in June 2020 using a thrift bank license and received its digital banking license from the Monetary Board on March 25.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a statement over the weekend “this milestone in the country’s banking history not only fulfills President Duterte’s campaign pledge to create a bank that caters to overseas Filipinos, but will also help the Philippines leapfrog to the digital economy.”

“When President Duterte said he

would create a bank that would serve overseas-based Filipinos, he wanted a bank that would be trailblazer in terms of modernizing and expanding the scope of the services it offers to them,” Dominguez said.

OFBank was created under Executive Order 44 that was signed by President Duterte in September 2017.

The Philippine Postal Savings Bank was acquired by LandBank and converted into the OFBank to fulfill the EO’s provision on the need to establish a policy bank dedicated to

provide financial products and services tailored to the requirements of overseas Filipinos.

It was launched virtually on June 29, 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the Philippines’ first branchless and digital-centric government bank.

While fine-tuning its operations, systems and processes to enable its official transition into a digital bank, the OFBank operated as a thrift bank.

The BSP issued Circular 1105 on The Guidelines on the Establishment of Digital Banks in December 2020, clearing the way for the OFBank to apply for a license as a digital bank.

OFBank submitted a letter of intent on Jan. 20, 2021 to the Supervisory and Policy Research Department of the BSP signifying its interest to be a duly-licensed digital bank and followed it up with an application on Feb. 1 for the conversion of its thrift bank license into a digital bank license.

SAN MIGUEL FOOD AID. San Miguel Corp.’s food

donation program will put food on the tables of 184,000 poor families in and around Metro Manila who are facing difficulties amid heightened quarantine restrictions. The donations, made together with different local government units, consist of over 19,500 packs of ready-to-eat meals and about 86,400 pieces of canned goods, all produced

by San Miguel Foods. Initial donations were sent to Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

Faster COVID-19 vaccine rollout needed to jumpstart recovery THE government should accelerate the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to jumpstart economic recovery, a executive of BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender, said.

“The pandemic is a public health issue, and so everybody wants to reopen the economy. Everybody wants to get back to normal. But the main issue is controlling the COVID spread and accelerating the vaccine rollout. Unless we’re able to do these two top of mind and priority issues, then all of our dreams of getting back to normal will remain just a dream,” BDO Unibank chief investment officer Frederico Rafael Ocampo said in a recent television interview over CNN Philippines.

“What we have learned during the past year is when you have prolonged mobility

restrictions, especially when you have a total lockdown of the economy, it just creates a lot of unemployed people and we tend to worsen the problem,” he said.

“We have to contain COVID and we have to accelerate the delivery of vaccines and start rolling them out in a more aggressive way. The sooner we do that, then the better it will be for our recovery, our reopening of the Philippine economy,” Ocampo said.

According to OCTA Research, the number of COVID-19 cases is expected to continue to surge for the next couple of weeks despite the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ decision to place NCR Plus (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal) under a community quarantine bubble.

Under the ECQ bubble, travel to and from Metro Manila and the four adjacent provinces is not allowed unless deemed as essential.

The government decided to extend the enhanced community quarantine in the NCR-Plus bubble for another week starting April 5 to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Ocampo said to help jumpstart the economy, the recovery of micro, small and medium enterprises should be one of the priorities.

“The proposed ARISE [Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines] bill is still on the back burner. The longer we prolong the pain of the MSMEs, the more people will lose their jobs. The scarring could be permanent,” he said. Julito G. Rada

Phoenix Petroleum registered P63-million net income in 2020 on strong fourth-quarter sales

By Alena Mae S. Flores

IN BRIEF

“We have accelerated our structural transformation, reducing opex [operating expense] per liter by 32 percent. We delivered on our commitments and cut opex and capex [capital expenditures] similarly. We expect to continue to benefit from these operational improvements over time,” said Phoenix president and chief executive Henry Albert Fadullon in a statement.

Phoenix closed 2020 strong on the back of a 32-percent year-on-year growth in full-year volume and improving market

conditions as global oil prices recovered and economic activities picked up in the fourth quarter.

The company said efforts to rationalize opex and capex resulted in a combined 38 percent decline year-on-year.

It said improved working capital management, shorter cash cycle and refinancing initiatives strengthened its financial position with interest costs down by 28 percent and total borrowings lower from last year.

“It was a strong finish to a challenging

year. For this year, while vaccine developments are encouraging, the resurgence of the virus and the new rounds of lockdown may continue to dampen overall consumer confidence and industrial and commercial activities. Nevertheless, our desire for growth has not been diminished, and we will accelerate it by sweating our existing assets and keeping our sharp focus on cost discipline,” said Fadullon.

Full-year overseas volume, which more than doubled in 2020, thrived amid the pandemic, the company said.

SINGAPORE-BASED transport solution, SWAT Mobility, said efficient and safe commute can help curb the spread of COVID-19 without sacrificing business operations and economic gains.

Maria Theresa Busmente, SWAT Mobility’s business head for the Philippines, said through various stages of the quarantine, public transportation proved to be unreliable due to long wait times, reduced capacity and long walks. “Riding public transportation exposes ourselves to more health risks because of the long journeys and queuing up at terminals or crowded bus stops; careful distancing and testing measures at the office can be easily undone during the commute,” she said.

“That is why we encourage companies to provide corporate transportation services for their workforce that is safe, efficient, and sustainable,” she said.

“At SWAT Mobility, we work with fleet operators that provide safety checks such as temperature checking and hand sanitizers on board, not to mention enforcing safe distancing during trips,” Busmente said.

SWAT Mobility has a full suite of integrated systems designed to handle the complexities of an on-demand transport service.

Human rights action best way forward

EXPERT panelists who attended the recent The Economist Sustainability Week forum strongly maintained that as human rights issues occur across countries, supply chains and industries, the work of protecting and respecting human rights should take priority for individuals, corporations and governments alike.

“Collective action on human rights has to be the building block to whatever solution we agree on—it is always easier to solve a problem when everyone works together, said Chris Southworth, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce UK. It was found during the summit that the tobacco industry was not only excluded from the COVID-19 vaccination program of some governments but was also barred from collaborating with government agencies, NGOs and even agencies of the United Nations in pushing for the global human rights agenda.

“The best way to protect human rights is to follow the United Nation’s Guiding Principles framework which applies to both states and businesses,” said Suzanne Wise, senior vice president corporate affairs and communications of Japan Tobacco Inc.

DITO Telecom’s launch beset by technical issues DITO Telecommunity Corp.’s March 8 commercial launch brought to light some network limitations, including SIM card incompatibility, leading industry stakeholders to conclude that the third telco still has much work to do before it garners a bigger share of the consumer market.

The company disclosed during its launch that only a limited number of smart phones were compatible with its network services.

Dito chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago said while other phones that were not on Dito’s short list may still work with the telco’s network, Dito could not guarantee that users of other phone models would not experience technical issues as they were not tested for network compatibility.

“To protect the public, there may be technical issues that are unforeseen,” Santiago said.

Democracy.net.ph, an ICT advocacy group tasked by the Senate public services committee to assess Dito’s commercial launch, questioned why Dito chose to start the operations in the countryside where majority of consumers were not using smart phones.

“The feature phone market in the Philippines is still very high, especially used by classes D and E, or our kababayans that run on 2G frequency,” said Pierre Galla, engineer and co-founder of Democracy.net.ph.

“I’m surprised Dito Telecommunity restricted their list [of compatible phones],” he said.

Feature phones make use of lessadvanced systems, and would therefore not work with a Dito SIM card that by default runs on 4G or 5G systems.

Dito intentionally implemented such a strategy in an effort to offer more advanced services compared to the legacy systems of competitors Globe and PLDT. The locations chosen by Dito for the initial launch, however, did not match the said strategy as it chose to go online in the Visayas and Mindanao – where potential subscribers in many rural areas would not be able to buy smartphones for use with Dito SIM cards.

Sports Tavatanakit grabs 5-shot lead; Saso fades with 77

Yuka Saso of the Philippines tees off on the second hole during round three of the ANA Inspiration at the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. AFP

Red-hot Spieth seizes share of 54-hole lead at Texas Open LOS ANGELES—Jordan Spieth roared home with five birdies in his final seven holes on Saturday to shoot a five-under 67 grab a share of the lead with Matt Wallace heading into the final round of the Texas Open.

Spieth has won 11 times on the PGA Tour but is hoping to end a lengthy dry spell dating back over three years to the 2017 British Open.

His game has been trending in the right direction with the Masters looming at Augusta National next week.

The 27-year old American highlighted that with a stellar back nine to get to 12-under 204 and a tie with England’s four-time European Tour winner Wallace, who also shot a 67.

“I left the ball in the right spots when it was missed and really, I did a great job managing today,” he said.

Former winner Charley Hoffman shook off a slow start to the week at one of his favourite events on the Tour and was firmly in contention at San Antonio.

Hoffman fired a seven-under 65 for a 10-under total of 206.

Like Spieth, Hoffman caught fire on the back side at TPC San Antonio, with an eagle on No. 14 and three straight birdies to cap his round.

Cameron Tringale was alone in fourth place at eight under, while India’s Anirban Lahiri rounded out the top five after a 69 to reach seven-under, five shots off the lead.

The tournament returned this week after being cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is one of the longest running events on the Tour and was first held in 1922.

Texas native Spieth has three top four finishes in his last six starts and a win Sunday would be a confidencebooster for the Masters, which he won in 2015.

He had an uneventful front nine with one birdie and a bogey on No. 9 before kicking his game into high gear with a birdie on the par-four 12th. He then two-putted for birdie on the parfive 14th and drained a six foot putt on 15 to get to 10 under.

After a par on 16, Spieth made one of his best shots in the tournament on the 308-yard, par-four 17th. He hit his tee shot wide right, then perfectly executed a flop shot from just off a gravel path to within three feet of the pin to get to 11 under.

He tacked on another birdie on 18 with a 321 yard drive down the right side of the fairway then landed his approach in the middle of the green. He finished off the round with a tap in birdie and a big smile.

- Good nerves Playing alongside Spieth, Wallace kept pace with back-to-back birdies to close out his 67 round. He also tapped in for birdie on the final hole.

“Started off lovely,” said Wallace, who is looking for his first win in the United States. “I felt nervous, but that’s a good thing because I haven’t been in this situation in a while.” AFP

L

OS ANGELES—Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit is poised to make her first LPGA title a major triumph after firing a five-under par 67 Saturday for a five-shot lead at the ANA Inspiration.

The 21-year-old had seven birdies in her 67 at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, showing no sign of nerves as she built ruthlessly on her oneshot overnight lead.

The Philippines’ Yuka Saso, who entered the third day behind the leader by just five strokes, fumbled with a 5-over77 as she virtually kissed her bid for the title goodbye.

Saso, who is now 15 shots behind the leader, is in an eight-way logjam at 53rd spot.

Tavatanakit was five strokes in front of defending champion Lee Mi-rim of South Korea and American Ally Ewing.

Ewing climbed the leaderboard with a bogey-free six-under par 66 while Lee, who won the rescheduled 2020 edition last September, signed for a 68.

Chinese veteran Feng Shanshan, playing her first LPGA event in more than a year, carded an even par 72 for sole possession of third place on eight-under 208.

Former world number one Park In-bee of South Korea (70) and England’s Char-

ley Hull (71) shared fourth on 209.

Reigning world No. 1 Ko Jin-young of South Korea and former number one Lydia Ko of New Zealand were in a group on 210, along with Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn.

Patty said she would be focusing on how to improve on Sunday, not on her chance at a major title or the big names chasing her.

“You know, today I’m going to leave it behind,” she said of an impressive round that she opened with three straight birdies.

Patty rolled in a long birdie putt at the ninth to make the turn four-under for the day and drained another birdie bomb at 11 to push her lead to five shots for the first time.

She followed a bogey at the 12th with a four-foot birdie at 13 and made another long birdie putt at 15 to push her lead to six before giving a stroke back at 17 -where she was unable to get up and down for par from a greenside bunker.

“It’s a great day, acknowledged it, and it’s in the past now,” Patty said. “All I can

think about is what can I do tomorrow, what can I improve from today’s round?

“I was getting a little tired at the end.

What can I do to keep my energy level up throughout the day tomorrow? That’s going to be my goal.

“And just stay calm out there,” she said. “I feel like I did that pretty well.

Whatever the outcome is I’ll be really happy. It’s been a good week so far.”

- Quick start boosts Lee Birdie bursts on each side propelled Lee to her share of second on a hot day in the desert, with windy weather firming up the course.

“It was just tough today,” said Lee, who jump started her round with birdies at the second third and fourth, then rebounded from bogeys at seven and 13 with another three birdies at 14, 15 and 16.

Ewing also got going with an early birdie burst -- making the first three of her six birdies at the first three holes.

“I didn’t have an expectation, so I just took it one hole at a time and was able to get off to a really good start with three birdies to start the day,” she said.

“Then I just kept giving myself a lot of looks which I think is so important on this golf course.”

Ewing added birdies at 11, 15 and 18, and said her score could have been lower if a few more putts had dropped. AFP

Santiago confirms SEAG participation

By Lito Cinco

JAJA SANTIAGO

JAJA Santiago, fresh from a championship stint with Ageo Medics in the Japan Volleyball Cup tournament, will definitely suit up for the national women’s team in the coming Southeast Asian Games later this year in Vietnam.

Arguably the best Filipina volleyball player now, Santiago confirmed her participation to the Manila Standard.

“Definitely, lalaro po ako sa SEA Games, naayos na po namin ‘yung agreement even before I signed up with Ageo Medics. It was included in the contract that I will be allowed two weeks off to play in Vietnam. I will return to Japan in August,” said Santiago.

Santiago was sorely missed in the 2019 SEAG squad due to bureaucratic problems with the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas, the national sports association for the sport back then.

The women’ team finished 4th in the biennial meet.

The 25-year-old Santiago is also looking at reaching the finals when her team, Chery Tiggo, formerly Foton, plays in the Premier Volleyball League following the transfer of Philippine Superliga teams to the PVL. “I am not expecting to easily win the championship in the PVL, but definitely our team will work hard for it,” added Santiago, who will reunite with her sister Dindin Manabat.

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

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Ashleigh Barty of Australia poses with the winner’s trophy after defeating Bianca Andreescu of Canada during the final of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. AFP

Barty: I deserve No.1 rank MIAMI—Ashleigh Barty insisted she is a worthy world number one on Saturday after defeating Bianca Andreescu to retain her Miami Open crown.

The 24-year-old Australian star served notice of her determination to be a force this season with a 6-3, 4-0 victory as Andreescu retired with a foot injury in the second set.

Barty -- who had already been assured of holding on to her No.1 ranking before Saturday’s final -- has faced sniping from some players over her continued presence at top spot.

The Queenslander has benefited from a tweak into the way rankings are calculated which takes into account the disruption caused by last year’s pandemic shutdown.

However, Barty shrugged off the criticism on Saturday following her Miami win, rejecting a suggestion that her latest title “proved” she deserved her No.1 status.

“I never have to prove anything to anyone,” Barty said. “I know all the work that I do with my team behind the scenes.

“I know there has been a lot of talk about the ranking, but I didn’t play at all last year and I didn’t improve any of my points whatsoever.

“Yes, I didn’t drop, but I didn’t improve any. I didn’t play any at all. There were girls who had the chance to improve theirs, so I felt like I thoroughly deserve my spot at the top of the rankings.”

Barty, the 2019 French Open champion, has held the No.1 ranking since September of that year, despite skipping the rescheduled US and French Opens in 2020 to remain in Australia.

“The year we had in 2019 was incredible, incredible for us, and, you know, to be able to build on that now since the restart for us has been great,” Barty said.

“We come out here and do the best that we can regardless of what anyone is saying. So I never feel like I have to prove anything to anyone.”

Barty added that she was unfazed by critics who have suggested that Naomi Osaka -- winner of last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open -- was more deserving of No.1 status.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That’s absolutely fine. I can’t control what anyone else thinks or what anyone else says. I feel like we deserve to be top of the rankings,” she said. AFP

Folayang to prove there’s still plenty left in tank

By Peter Atencio WHEN Eduard Folayang takes on mixed martial arts fighter Choo Sung-hoon on April 29, the Team Lakay standout will keep in mind the lessons he learned in the past.

This time around, the 37-yearold Folayang, vows not to make the same mistakes that he did during his last two fights in the ONE Championship.

The 45-year-old Choo, who is also known as Yushihiro Akiyama, will be the more experienced fighter, although he has not fought in 14 months.

Folayang said his passion to be better than himself in previous

fights, is driving him to be at his best against Akiyama.

“I still have the passion to do the sport that I love. Nakita ko na ang mga pagkakamali ko na ayaw ko na maulit,” said Folayang.

Folayang is seeking redemption from his two straight setbacks, first at the hands of Peter Buist via a split decision in January last year.

After that, Folayang bowed to Antonio Caruso via unanimous decision last October in a loss that proved to be a wakeup call for the Baguio native.

“Sabi nila, matanda na ako.

Pero mas kilala ko ang sarili ko,” added Folayang, who has a 22-10

win-loss record.

Akiyama, a welterweight, will be going down to the lightweight division to confront Folayang in the ONE match.

An Asian Games gold medalist in judo, Akiyama last fought in February of 2020, and won against Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed in the “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”

During the bout, Akiyama knocked out Mohamed in three minutes and four seconds into the first round.

The fight was part of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 144th event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

C1

Eduard Folayang

C2

Sports

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Froome vows to regain top form after poor show PARIS—Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome says he believes he can recapture his best form after a difficult start to the year with his new team Israel Start-Up Nation.

Froome finished 81st at the Tour of Catalonia last week, almost an hour behind winner Adam Yates in a race dominated by his old team Ineos Grenadiers.

The 35-year-old British rider is still working his way back after being seriously injured in a high-speed crash in 2019 that threatened to end his career.

“From the outside, I can imagine people are writing me off, but that’s fine. I know where I’ve come from,” Froome said in his latest YouTube vlog.

“I had to teach myself how to walk again and I just need to keep that in perspective how far I’ve come in the past year.”

Froome won the Tour de France four times in five years from 2013 but was left out of the Ineos line-up for last year’s race, having missed the 2019 edition while spending months in rehabilitation.

He came 47th on his Israel Start-Up Nation debut at the UAE Tour in February, and again stated his wish for another crack at a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title.

After losing considerable ground on the opening stage of last month’s mountainous, week-long race in Catalonia, Froome shifted his focus to assisting team-mates Michael Woods and Daryl Impey.

“It was a great way to get intensity in the legs. You can train all you want but being in a peloton, racing full gas every day, there’s no substitute for that,” said Froome.

“It was great to get that work in the legs, and I definitely feel there’s a lot more work still to do.”

“I’m just missing race fitness - simple as that. I’ve got to put the hard miles in now, get my weight down and keep building on that intensity,” he continued.

“That takes months’ build-up, so I’m in that process.

“I’ve just got to work hard, get the race fitness back, and hopefully be back in the game.”

Froome is in Tenerife at the moment for more altitude training and is scheduled to return to racing at the Tour of the Alps (April 19-23) before competing in the Tour de Romandie. AFP

Embiid returns to power 76ers L

OS ANGELES—Joel Embiid scored 24 points in his return from a 10-game injury absence to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 122-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.

Embiid added eight rebounds and three blocks in his first game since suffering a bruised left knee during the 76ers 127-101 win over the Washington Wizards last month.

“It felt great,” said Embiid who played with his knee heavily bandaged.

“Just trying to get my rhythm back. I’m going to blame the brace I was wearing.

I just felt like I didn’t have my rhythm all game. It felt like I wasn’t smooth. I hate the brace.”

Tobias Harris scored a team high 32 points, Shake Milton and Ben Simmons each had 14 points and Seth Curry added 13 for the 76ers, who have won 12 of their last 15 contests.

The 76ers beat the Timberwolves for

the eighth consecutive time, shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent from the field.

Still head coach Doc Rivers wasn’t happy.

“We won the game, but I wasn’t thrilled how we played,” Rivers said.

“It was one of those sloppy, ugly games.

We had so many chances to put the game away, but we refused to do that tonight.”

Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 39 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost seven of their last nine games. Towns could have added to his totals but he fouled out of the game. Anthony Edwards chipped in 27 points.

- Doncic’s Mavericks beat Wizards -

THE COACH MIKE OCHOSA

Losing the sport spirit THE pandemic is taking too much from us. The time that it has stolen, the lives it has shortened, the opportunities that it has reduced are reshaping the future for everyone. Amongst all of us, although they are the most silent ones, it is the youth that may be most affected.

SPORTS IS AN INTEGRAL TOOL IN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT The shift to online learning and its peripheral adjustments has reduced any socializing activity close to nothing. Sports is one of them.

It is a fact that sports is a crucial factor of human life. Involvement in sports, or in more general terms, any experience

and they snapped Russell Westbrook’s consecutive triple double streak at four games.

Westbrook finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds as Washington also shot just five of 25 from beyond the arc.

With NBA-leading scorer Bradley Beal sidelined for a fourth straight game due to a hip contusion and Rui Hachimura out with a shoulder injury, the Wizards were without two of their top three scorers.

Also, Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, including six threes, as the Utah Jazz beat the Orlando Magic 137-91 in Salt Lake City.

Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points, while Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 15 as the Jazz won their ninth straight and 22nd in a row at home.

Utah set an NBA record with 18 three-pointers in the first half, surpassing the 2018 Golden State Warriors.

AFP

Japan swim star Seto takes aim at Phelps’ 400 IM record

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers grabs the rebound against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AFP

The Apprentice breaks viewership records in Asia “THE Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” premiered in Asia on Thursday, March 18, racking up an estimated 4 million viewers.

The show first aired on AXN, followed by additional free-to-air TV channels and digital platforms across the region.

Filmed in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic, “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” is a production marvel.

The show’s premiere smashed viewership records, beating out other top-rated reality competition premieres including “America’s Got Talent” Season 20, and “The Voice” Season 20, among others.

“The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” is the most-watched 2021 season premiere of all English-language reality series on TV in Asia by broadcast reach so far.

“When we came up with the concept for ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition,’ we knew immediately we had something special on our hands,” said ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, who also hosted the show.

“I am extremely grateful for the support

Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks used another solid defensive performance to hold their opponent to under 100 points for the second game in a row as they capped a five-game road trip with a 109-87 win over the Washington Wizards.

Luka Doncic finished with 26 points, Jalen Brunson came off the bench to score 19 as the Mavs posted their fourth straight win.

All five Maverick starters scored in double-figures, including Boban Marjanovic who tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds. Marjanovic was starting in place of Kristaps Porzingis, who was given the night off because Dallas was playing two straight days.

Tim Hardaway scored 16 points, making consecutive threes in the fourth quarter that gave the Mavericks a dominating 19 point lead which ended the Wizards comeback hopes.

Dallas held two Wizard starters Alex Len and Garrison Mathews scoreless

The Apprentice contestants, led by Filipino bets Louie Sangalang (2nd from left) and Lara Pearl Alvarez (3rd from left)

of all our passionate fans across Asia who tuned in, our production partner Refinery Media, our brand sponsors, and broadcast partners, as well as the entire team at ONE Championship for the hard work they put in. ‘The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition’ is not your grandfather’s ‘Apprentice,’ and I look forward to sharing this journey over the next 12 weeks.”

Check out the show’s broadcast viewerof competition, has proven to provide physical, mental and social benefits. If at all, just the fun one gets to have by being involved in sports should be enough. Anything that resembles the chance to compete and be involved in any person to person contests provide long lasting usefulness.

Sports is ingrained in government policies all over the world because of its significance to nation building. Participating in sports builds within each individual natural abilities related to goal setting, planning and strategy formulation and teamwork. Competition teaches one to face adversity and instills virtues of winning with grace and losing with dignity.

THE ABSENCE OF SPORTS One year into the pandemic, the country once again grimaces from the declaration of another lockdown. Effectively, sports, particularly at the grassroots level have exponentially been negatively affected.

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, two of the biggest college based leagues in the country cancelled all sports competition in March of 2020 and has extended the closure in 2021. This means that student athletes from high school to college have lost their chance to represent their schools in top level play for two years in a row.

Sports is fundamentally absent in schools as learning in front of a computer screen, at

ship highlights down below: Philippines ● Episode 1 broadcast reach exceeded the timeslot average on AXN in the Philippines by 60%, beating the Season 32 premiere of long-running American reality TV series “The Amazing Race.” (Timeslot average based on FY2020, Thu 8:50 p.m. slot.

Source: Nielsen) ● Episode 1 rating on TV5 outperformed home, on a chair or stool is now the norm.

Students who are away from classmates and friends are living each day practically alone.

The opportunity to associate, work with people, communicate and grow as an individual in a group is now gone.

Summertime, which is when most parents enroll their children in sporting activities, has ceased to exist two years in a row. If we as parents do not recognize the potential crisis and be complacent, the future generation may not be completely equipped with the demands of life.

Knowing the importance of sports, the lack of it and its ensuing effect on the youth is worrisome.

FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE It is challenge enough for parents to guide their children by merely conversing and talking to them. In this gadget and internetcentric virtual age, this becomes much more challenging. Without the benefit of sports experience may lead to missing several life lessons.

We cannot blame our circumstances. We can, however, do what we can knowing that a focused effort will go a long way as we prepare our children for the future.

Here are some tips to instill a measure of sports back into their lives.

1. Lay down the gadgets Establish a no-gadget time and replace it with physical games. The key is to make these physical games exciting enough for

the timeslot average by 57%.

(Timeslot average based on FY2020, Sat 11 p.m. slot. Source: Nielsen) Thailand ● The premiere episode on Amarin TV smashed records and emerged as the #1 talent contest program by reach and rating.

(Among all talent contest programs aired on Amarin TV from Aug 2020-Feb 2021. Source: Nielsen) Singapore ● The premiere episode on AXN in Singapore lifted the timeslot average TVR by 38%, with the average time spent spanning 34 minutes.

(Timeslot average based on FY2020 Thu 8:50 p.m. slot. Source: Gfk) Malaysia ● “The Apprentice” premiered on AXN as the #1-rated show for the day.

(All day on AXN Malaysia on 18 March 2021. Source: Nielsen) “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” invites 16 candidates handpicked from around the world to compete in a high-stakes competition involving business and physical challenges. The winner will receive a US$250,000 job offer to work directly under ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for a year as his protege in Singapore. them to let go of their gadgets.

The more fun playing is, the more time they will stay away from their gadget.

2. Organize your day together Planning is key to winning. Begin your mornings by waking up early and spending time to talk about the day. Include, in the planning sports activities that you and your child will be doing. Make it interesting so they look forward to it. Allow them to decide which games they want to play but make it a habit to always integrate it in the daily schedule.

3. Validate the importance of sports Children and games go hand in hand. As an adult, even if it feels counterintuitive, understand that you are doing it for your child’s future. Play games that are apt for the space you have, the interest of your child and of course it should be something familiar to you.

Relive and teach your childhood local games like patintero, sipa, luksong tinik, Chinese garter, or even jolens.

Teach them the value of strategy, or teamwork. Allow them to know how it feels to win and lose. Do all these by playing and genuinely enjoying the moments.

4. Enjoy watching sports There are athletic events that are now waking up and can be seen on TV networks. I am sure that not all of these sports would be interesting. However, tough times like these call for extra effort. It also should not matter if you have viewed it in the past or that you

TOKYO—Japanese swim star Daiya Seto has set his sights on claiming one of Michael Phelps’ world records at the upcoming Tokyo Games, after winning at his country’s Olympic trials on Saturday.

Seto finished the 400-metre individual medley in four minutes and 9.02 seconds at the Japanese national championships, held at the venue where the swimming events will be hosted this summer.

Seto’s time was well short of Phelps’ world benchmark of 4:03.84 -- which has stood since the 2008 Beijing Games -- but he is aiming to overhaul it when he hits his peak this summer.

“I’m aiming for the world record, but I want to get at least 4:04 at the Olympics,” said Seto.

“To get my time tonight with my body in the condition it’s in, I feel like I’m working towards the gold medal.”

While the nationals also double as Japan’s Olympic trials, Seto had already secured his 400 IM spot at the coronavirus-postponed Games after winning the world title in 2019.

Seto will be joined by Yuki Ikari, who finished second in a time of 4:11.88.

Seto returned to competition in February after being suspended from October to the end of last year for having an extramarital affair.

After being caught on camera with his girlfriend, he was banned from competitions and official training. He also quit as captain of Japan’s team and was dropped by a sponsor.

But the 26-year-old is looking to build up a head of steam at this week’s trials, where he will also compete in the 200 IM and the 200m butterfly.

Seto’s compatriot Kosuke Hagino will not defend his 400 IM Olympic title in Tokyo, after opting to focus on the 200 IM. “I didn’t have any pressure,” said Seto. “I had already qualified but I wasn’t thinking about that at all. I was thinking about what kind of performance I want to give in the summer.”

AFP

already know the outcome. The point is for them to see through you the substance that sports provide.

Lead them into watching endearing, interesting and inspiring moments.

LOVE THEM ENOUGH TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS FOR LIFE Whether they participate as an athlete, a weekend warrior or as a spectator, sports metaphors will resonate in their spirits. The learnings will rise up in times of need. Their experience will be remembered in moments when they most need it.

The future of our youth and our nation lies in the balance.

—oOo— Mike Ochosa is an avid sportsman. He has written for various broadsheets and on line publication providing his thoughts and insights on various sports. He is a freelance TV boxing analyst having sat ringside in 14 of Pacquiao’s fights and for various international sports networks as well. He was President of Punchout Boxing Club and is currently President and Program Director of Philippine Habagat Baseball.

Follow him on social media: Website: mikeochosa.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/coachmikeochosa/, IG:@coachmike.O Twitter account, https://twitter.com/mikeochosa

Entertainment ABS-CBN’s international-forward music label Tarsier Records builds up its artist roster by introducing new acts in its family through the campaign “Class of 2021.”

The lineup announcement for 2021 comes as the ABS-CBN Music label evolves from being the home of electronic dance music or EDM that catered to millennial-gen Z listeners in its first cycle to having a catalog shaped by its artists’ growth, the music they create, and the sound of today.

“We’ve definitely widened our view on the kind of music we support which I think is a good thing. All that really matters is does it have a vibe and do we think it will connect with our audiences, wherever they may be,” shared founder and label head of Tarsier Records Chris Lopez a.k.a. Moophs.

Reaffirming their ties with Tarsier Records and leading its vibrant, welcoming, and emerging “Class of 2021” are top Filipino talent and original signees such as Inigo Pascual, Kiana V, Sam Concepcion, Markus, Moophs, Subzylla, Edana, Kyler, YUZON, and Xela.

Other familiar names who will further shape the label this year are OPM greats KZ Tandingan and Bugoy Drilon, Chi and Gabs Gibbs of the musical duo GIBBS, former Boyband PH member Russell Reyes, TikTok viral content creator-singer-songwriter Zion Aguirre, and singer-songwriters SAB and Miguel

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

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CLASS OF 2021 Tarsier Records launches new acts to watch

Odron.

Meanwhile, some of the label’s best up-and-coming acts to watch out for are rapper Dotty (f.k.a. marc), R&B artists daze, Annette, and Gessie, Spotify Radar 2021 folk-gospel-neo-soul act allen&elle, Singapore-based Filipino artists Tonie

Enriquez and Dave Anounuevo, esteemed Asian DJ-producers Arthur Tan and Kaiyo, indie artist Recio, and youngest of the batch Ocean Crosby, a teenage guitar whiz & singer-songwriter.

Since its launch in 2017, Tarsier Records has been making milestones in the export

of Filipino talent on the world stage and the import of international music Filipino audiences—a feat which label head Moophs is proud of and hopes to continue in the future.

“My hope for the label is to continue to grow as a portal for the import and export

Soul singer KZ Tandingan joins Tarsier Records’ roster of newly-signed artists to promote its newest campaign “Class of 2021.”

of good music; a place where artists and fans from anywhere in the world can gather, collaborate, exchange ideas and help tell our collective story. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead,” he added.

Noel Comia Jr.’s coming of age THE first time I watched Noel Comia, Jr. in Thop Nazareno’s landmark Cinemalaya film in competition entry Kiko Boksingero, when he bagged the best actor trophy, it was so well-accepted and received and did not stir the hornet’s nest.

A movie channel made for local viewers

Q

UARANTINE measures VERY enforced due to the WANG pandemic brought about a surge in TV watching and online NICKIE streaming. And while almost WANG everyone is glued to their screens, GMA Network raises the bar in viewing experience by launching today I Heart Movies, a digital channel dedicated to all movie buffs.

“It’s a movie channel designed to suit the taste of the local audience,” GMA First Vice President for Program Management Jose Mari Abacan told Manila Standard Entertainment.

A fun and energetic channel for the young and young-at-heart, I Heart Movies gives movie enthusiasts a new way to celebrate their relationship with cinema from the comfort of their home.

From romance, drama, horror, action, to comedy, “I Heart Movies” offers a wide variety of free-to-air and all-time favorite Pinoy and foreign titles that will capture the viewers’ hearts and touch the lives of the audience.

The channel introduces four movie blocks – Timeless Telesine, Takilya

Throwback, Block Screening, and Pinoy Movie Date – each composed of movies for all ages.

Timeless Telesine presents various GMA Telesine stories that are engaging and top-notch quality movies that were made for television. Meanwhile, Takilya Throwback features local classics from the ‘70s to early 2000s. In Block Screening, hit foreign movies await viewers. Lastly, widely-followed contemporary Filipino movies will air on the Pinoy Movie Date block.

"We want to provide the Filipino audience a one-stop-shop, ‘freemium’ digital channel, which is readily accessible and offers a mix of foreign and local film features especially during this

GMA First Vice President for Program Management Jose Mari Abacan

period of the pandemic when viewers crave for entertaining content while in the convenience of their homes," said Abacan.

"We are now contending with a fickleminded audience. The pandemic has given birth to an abundance of content and through the advent of OTT platform services, viewers are now spoilt for choice; where to watch; and when to watch. By offering a more diverse lineup of movies, we hope to provide a free TV alternative for everyone," Abacan added.

Viewers can catch I Heart Movies' on Channel 5 in GMA Affordabox and GMA Now. It will also be available on other digital TV boxes. For more details, go to the official website on www. gmanetwork.com or visit I Heart Movie’s official social media accounts.

Teen actor Noel Comia, Jr. joins Maja Salvador in TV5’s newest primetime series ‘Niña Niño.’

Noel’s portrayal of the pre-pubescent boy who ached and desired to connect with his bioALWIN logical father, played IGNACIO splendidly as well by Yul Servo, was truthful, the longing for acceptance and love from a stranger-dad, you see in his eyes, was definitely forthright. And when the truth about his father’s irresponsibility was revealed to him, as an audience, one feels that the pain he experienced was too close to home, it made everyone tear up.

As Noel turns into a lanky, handsome 17-year-old teenager this May, he gives life to one of the lead characters in Niña Niño, opposite actress Maja Salvador in an inspirational prime time television offering.

“It feels exhilarating to have a lead role in a primetime TV program,” Noel declares. “It's another path that I've always dreamt of but never thought that I'd be able to experience this soon. To be honest, I feel kind of nervous as well–it’s so different from what I’ve been used to doing before.” Read full story on manilastandard.net

ARIAS

Rege-Jean Page not returning to ‘Bridgerton’ for season 2 BRITISH actor Rege-Jean Page will not return for the second season of record-breaking Regency romance Bridgerton, Netflix said Friday, prompting howls of despair from fans of the dashing Duke of Hastings.

The wildly popular series from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes puts a modern twist on the books about an upper-class family in early 19th-century England, including color-blind casting.

Page was a breakout star for the first season, but his character's storylines largely conclude in the opening volume of Julia Quinn's original books, which each follow a different sibling of the Bridgerton family. AFP Read full story on manilastandard.net

British actor RegeJean Page was a breakout star for the first season of record-breaking Regency romance ‘Bridgerton.’

Miguel Tanfelix, Kyline Alcantara deal with consequences of social media misuse in new sci-fi romance series TAKE part in the mysterious and intriguing story of a man whose life turns upside down as he gets a glimpse of the future in the second episode of GMA Network's groundbreaking drama series I Can See You: #Future.

The episode features the highlyanticipated reunion of two of the network's brightest stars - Miguel Tanfelix as Vinchie Torres, an aspiring segment producer who gains a supernatural ability to see the future through CCTV footage, and Kyline Alcantara as Lara Dacer, the woman who crosses paths with Vinchie and learns that the cause of her depression is somehow linked to him.

In relation to the theme of their episode, Miguel shares his stance on how social media can be beneficial in today’s society, “Ang edge ng pagiging artista, if you were to make a movement, may followers ka na agad. But hindi lang artista, anyone can start a movement. Just make sure na alamin mo muna ‘yung tama sa mali and make sure na may ginagawa ka rin for that movement. Hindi mo lang siya ginagawa

Miguel Tanfelix and Kyline Alcantara reunite in the second season of the top-rating miniseries ‘I Can See You: Future.’

for social media. Iba ‘yung nangyayari sa social media at iba rin sa totoong buhay.”

Following their several successful projects together, Kyline expresses that

she is delighted to be working with Miguel once more and teases fans on what to expect in the episode, “It’s fun to work with him again because we’re familiar naman sa

work etiquette ng isa’t isa. We’re happy na they appreciate the scenes that we had done together. Marami pa po silang aabangan.

Of course, dapat abangan nila not just the kilig scenes but ‘yung plot twist ng story.”

Playing an equally vital role is Aiko Melendez as Menchie Torres, Vinchie's loud but loving mother who gets caught up in several vices after her husband’s death.

Making this series exciting is the special participation of Gabby Eigenmann as Elvin Torres, Vinchie's kindhearted and noble father who works as a CCTV operator.

Completing the cast are Mikoy Morales as Royce, Lara's ex-boyfriend who falls victim to addiction; Dani PorterasAnalyn Fuentes, Lara's supportive and dependable best friend; Jmee Katanyag as Kakai, Menchie’s friend who loves to gossip and gamble; Francis Mata as Walter, Charlie’s strict but gullible boss.

Driven by his desire to go viral and to gain likes, social media addict and segment producer Vinchie (Miguel) records what seems to be a desperate robbery. After

getting his footage of the crime, Vinchie flees the scene without helping the struggling victim. Unbeknown to him, his father Elvin (Gabby) rushes to break the mugging and meets an unfortunate end. Several months later, while scanning through CCTV footage at work, Vinchie witnesses an incident from the future and attempts to save a mysterious woman named Lara (Kyline).

How will Vinchie's newfound ability to see the future through CCTV footage play a role in closing a painful chapter of his past and building his budding relationship with Lara?

I Can See You: #Future is a product of the visionary minds of GMA's highly-talented creative team: Creative Director Aloy Adlawan; Creative Consultant Agnes Gagelonia-Uligan; Headwriter Des GarbesSeverino; Concept Creator Kutz Enriquez, and brainstormer John Borgy Danao.

Catch the premiere of I Can See You: #Future - under the helm of esteemed director Dominic Zapata - tonight, right after First Yaya only on GMA-7.

Life

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

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FOOD

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Singapore teases travel-hungry Filipinos with Zi Char dishes

By Bernadette Lunas

W

HEN we travel again, our first stop will be familiar and safe destinations.

“Studies have shown that the first wave of travel for people will be domestic travel. In the next wave, when we open to international travel, people will start traveling in the neighboring countries,” said John Conceicao, executive director for Southeast Asia of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Basing their forecast on said studies, Singapore is expecting to welcome Filipinos on the day we can just up and leave the country and experience the world outside of our homes without worrying about catching a virulent disease.

“Safety will be attractive to travelers,” added Conceicao. “And Singapore has a reputation for being a safe destination and familiar to Filipinos.”

But since we here in the Pearl of the Orient cannot yet enjoy what The Lion City offers in its “Singapore Reimagined” campaign, STB is hyping Filipinos up as it

introduces Zi Char (tse - chah), a cooking style influenced by home-cooked food.

Zi Char, derived from the Hokkien words for cooking and frying, is based loosely on Chinese cooking peppered with Indian, Malay, and Peranakan influences. The cooking style covers a wide range of dishes, from humble prawn paste chicken and sambal kangkong to fancier crabs and oysters.

Popular fares include Seafood White Bee Hoon (similar to our traditional pancit bihon but wetter), Har Cheong Gai (shrimp paste chicken), Cereal Prawn, Coffee Pork Ribs, Chili Crab, and more.

“Filipino foodies are always game to try new dishes and flavors. We hope to appeal to their sense of adventure by introducing this unique cooking style and creative dishes from Singapore,” said Ruby Liu, STB area director for the Philippines.

HEARTY SPREAD. Singapore’s Zi Char-style of cooking covers a wide range of dishes, including (from left) Cereal Prawn, Chili Crab, Coffee Pork Ribs, and Har Cheong Gai.

Zi Char dishes are cooked to order and hearty, yet easy on the pocket.

STB is optimistic Zi Char will entice Pinoys who love to try new food and share them with loved ones, citing “trying new things” and “sharing experiences with family and friends” as another factors that will drive tourism post-pandemic.

Zi Char dishes, according to the tour-

ism board, are cooked to order and customized to one’s liking, and are hearty yet easy on the pocket.

STB has tapped Marvin Agustin to star in its web series where he will learn how to make popular Zi Char dishes from Singaporean chef Bjorn Shen. In

the series, entitled “Singapore Reimagined,” Agustin will make his reimagined dishes using ingredients easily found in the Philippines.

Also part of the Philippine campaign are husband-and-wife Yael and Karylle Yuzon and comedian Victor Anastacio.

SIP (RECIPES) Frozen Darjeeling Margarita Sun’s blazing, cocktail making.

This recipe makes use of one of TWG Tea’s handcrafted summer teabags, made with black tea with notes of green mango and delicious aroma reminiscent of lily of the valley.

Their smiles may be covered by face masks and shields, but the crew members at Jollibee, in its latest campaign video, are genuinely happy to serve.

Safety served daily FAST food giant Jollibee reaffirms its commitment to bringing joy to customers while ensuring their safety in a heartwarming campaign video.

Set to the classic Rey Valera song “Kumusta Ka,” the Safe at Alaga Ka video demonstrates Jollibee’s efforts in ensuring the welfare of its customers and its store teams through enhanced safety protocols, extra care in food preparation and handling, and its signature warm and friendly customer service.

In the video, the store team is seen diligently preparing to serve joy safely wearing complete PPE, disinfecting hightouch areas, and strictly following a safety checklist to ensure the team’s compliance.

The safety protocols such as proper physical distancing, cashless payments, and no-touch transactions are observed in all its distribution channels – whether for take-out, delivery, drive-thru, or order and pick up (accessible through the Jollibee App).

Food is prepared and handled with extra care. For takeout and drive-thru, speakers are installed and lapel microphones are used by the crew members to further minimize direct contact. All store team members are serving food with a smile under their face masks and face shields.

“The pandemic has really brought about changes in our lives.

While things are different, we remain committed to serving joy to our customers by strengthening our safety protocols and providing extra care through our Alagang Jollibee,” says Jollibee Philippines marketing head Francis Flores.

Flores continues, “Health and safety are our priority, and this is our promise not only to our customers, but to our hardworking and highly dedicated employees and store teams as well.”

The JFC Group has earlier announced that it is setting up a vaccination program to provide free vaccines for all its employees in the Philippines, and is also sourcing vaccines for their dependents, extended family, and household members. Careful food prepation, no-touch transactions, and cashless The free vaccination program is supported by communica- payments are some of the ways the fast food giant ensures safety of tion efforts, including webinars on vaccine education. its customers and staff.

Ingredients: 50ml 30ml

Darjeeling tea syrup unsweetened calamansi or lime juice fresh pink grapefruit juice crushed ice

Frozen Darjeeling Margarita

450ml of water at 95-degree Celsius for 4 minutes. Remove teabag then add 50g of sugar and stir until dissolved.

1 cup Pour all ingredients in the blender.

Blend for 20 seconds. Serve in a marProcedure: Infuse 1 Darjeeling Iced Teabag in tini glass 30ml

Avocado Banana Soy Smoothie Get both the anti-inflammatory benefits plus the essential vitamins and minerals from these two fruits, blended with plant-based dairy alternative, soy milk.

Ingredients: 1 cup 1 cup 1 tbsp.

1 cup 1 cup

sliced avocado sliced banana honey Vitasoy Plus Milky crushed ice

Avocado Banana Soy Smoothie

Procedure: Put all ingredients in a blender.

Blend for 30 seconds. Serve.

Pineapple Strawberry Smoothie A soy milk-based smoothie packed with protein, calcium, and vitamin C. Ingredients: 1 pc.

8 pcs.

1 ½ cup 3 tbsp.

1 cup

pineapple, chopped strawberries Vitasoy Plus Milky raw sugar crushed ice

Pineapple Strawberry Smoothie

Procedure: Put all ingredients in a blender.

Blend for 30 seconds. Serve.