Manila Standard - 2021 April 9 - Friday

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PH OPTIONS OPEN; US WARNS CHINA THE Defense department said Thursday it was keeping “all our options open” as Washington warned Beijing against increasing aggressive moves in the region amid the presence of Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef – part of the country’s exclusive economic zone – and other parts of the West Philippine Sea.

“As the situation (in the South China Sea) evolves, we keep all our options open in managing the situation, including leveraging our partnerships with other nations such as the United States,” Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong said Thursday.

The United States earlier reminded China of Washington’s obligations to

its treaty partners.

“An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

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A photo from Philippine authorities shows Chinese vessels anchored at Whitsun Reef (Julian Felipe Reef) in March 2021 amid rising tensions. AFP

DAY OF VALOR: WW2 VETS BATTLING VIRUS PANDEMIC VOL. XXXV • NO. 53 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE 79th anniversary of the Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor is marked today at the Dambana ng Kagitingan at the Mt. Samat National Shrine overlooking the scenic Manila Bay in the town of Pilar in the Bataan Peninsula.

The theme for this year’s observance is “Kagitingan ay Gawing Gabay, Pandemya ay Mapagtatagumpayan,” with nearly 3,000 surviving veterans, many past the century mark, wiping mist

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DOH suspends AstraZeneca for people below 60; jab rollout suffers delay

By Willie Casas and Othel V. Campos

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HE Department of Health (DOH) suspended Thursday the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab for people under 60 after reports of blood clots overseas, in a setback for the country’s already slow vaccine rollout.

The announcement comes amid a record surge in coronavirus infections that has forced more than 24 million people in the capital and surrounding provinces into a lockdown.

Several European countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine for younger populations after it was earlier banned outright in several places over blood clot scares.

The EU’s medicines regulator said Wednesday blood clots should be listed as rare side effects of the jab, but the benefits continue to outweigh the risks.

“While we have not seen such incidents in the country, the FDA has recommended to temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine for persons below 60

The use of AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19 is temporarily suspended in the Philippines. AFP

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LIFESAVER. A medical worker checks a truckload of oxygen tanks delivered at the Sta Ana Hospital in Manila on April 8, 2021.

Oxygen tanks can help save lives but Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire says that the equipment when being used at home needs ‘appropriate’ level of oxygen base suited to the condition of a patient.

Norman Cruz

FDA gives in to lawmakers, OKs ivermectin for ‘compassionate use’

By Willie Casas and Maricel V. Cruz

THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an application for “compassionate use” of anti-parasitic drug ivermectin on humans

with COVID-19, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said on Thursday.

“The special permit for compassionate use of ivermectin on humans has been granted because we know that this is an investigational product against COVID-19. A hospital applied for such a permit and it was granted today,” Domingo

said in Filipino at an online briefing.

Ivermectin was earlier only allowed for use on animals.

Despite the compassionate use authorization, the distribution of ivermectin as part of treatment for COVID-19 is still prohibited, Domingo said.

Domingo said only the hospital that

Indonesia detects new variant, Health dep’t on the look-out

By Willie Casas THE Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring a new variant of coronavirus that has been discovered in Indonesia that has the ability to evade natural immunity from previous COVID-19 infection and to reduce protection offered by current vaccines, but said this strain has not been detected in the Philippines yet.

“As far as they know, as far as their data will show, from

the different genome sequencing that we have done already, we have not seen anything like this yet,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

On Tuesday, Indonesia reported its first case of the variant, which contains the E484K mutation first found in South Africa and Brazil and is nicknamed “Eek” by scientists— due to “its apparent ability to evade natural immunity from previous COVID-19 infection and to reduce Next page

has the permit for ivermectin’s compassionate use for humans will be allowed to import the drug through a licensed importer.

Domingo has earlier clarified that such a compassionate use permit is different from the pending application of two local Next page

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 8)

828,366 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

9,216 167,279 NEW

ACTIVE

14,119

60

646,968

598

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

NEW

Rody ‘fit and healthy,’ Palace insists

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

TRIBUTE TO HEROES. Images of Marcela Agoncillo and Delfina de Natividad, who made the Philippine Flag during the Filipino revolution against Spain, are painted on two old water tanks in Barangay Soccoro in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte did not attend Thursday’s Cabinet meeting held via Zoom, a day after he canceled his scheduled public address “Talk to the People” for the second time this week.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, however, said the Chief Executive, who turned 76 last week, remains “fit and healthy” despite his age.

Duterte was supposed to give a public address last Monday but it was moved to Wednesday and then again to next week.

“We thank the Filipino people for voicing their concern and wishing the Chief Executive’s strength and good health during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Roque said in a statement.

The Palace official said the supposed public address was canceled after several members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) tested Next page

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FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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From A1 years old as we await results of the review being done by our local experts, as well as the official guidance of the WHO,” FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said.

The Philippines has received around 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far -- the majority from China’s Sinovac.

It also got 525,600 AstraZeneca doses through the COVAX program, most of which have been administered already, according to official data.

The country expects another 3 million AstraZeneca doses in the coming months.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s government has been skewered by critics over its handling of the pandemic and efforts to secure vaccines.

The 2.5 million doses received so far represent a fraction of the shots Manila has been negotiating with seven manufacturers to secure.

The bulk of the supply is not expected until later this year.

But the challenge is not limited to stock.

Low public confidence in vaccines remains after the country became the first to deploy the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia in 2016.

A botched rollout led to claims that several dozen children had died from the jab, and a recent survey showed about 60 percent of the population were unwilling to be inoculated against COVID-19.

“I want to emphasize that this temporary suspension does not mean that the vaccine is unsafe or ineffective -- it just means that we are taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of every Filipino,” Domingo said in the statement.

The World Health Organization’s Western Pacific office on Wednesday backed the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the region.

“Available data do not suggest any overall increase in the clotting conditions in the vaccinated population as

Day...

From A1 in their eyes as they recall today the bloody exchange of bullets between them and Japanese troops.

Solemn ceremonial rites will be conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with the national anthems of the Philippines, United States of America, and Japan to be sonorously played in honor of the heroes of World War II. Wreath-offerors will be led by Bataan Provincial Governor Albert Garcia, 2nd District of Bataan Representative Jose Enrique III Garcia, 1st District of Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman, and Pilar Mayor Carlos Pizarro Jr. Of the 151,824 Filipinos who fought during World War 2, there are 2,952, who are still alive as of Thursday, 279 of whom are over the century mark, including the oldest, who is 112 years old.

The oldest veteran is Sgt. Malomalo P. Salag, who turned 112. He was born on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1909.

This is reflected in the records of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office headed by Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina based in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on the eve of the 79th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan on Friday.

Other war veterans past 100 are Sergeants Alangadi Mauna, 111; Monera Paday, 111; Macaalang Ditanto, 111; Concepcion De Guzman, 109; Rafaela Vicente, 108; Mamangco Mangara, 108; Martin Maguiwe, 107; Pedro C. Torres, 106; and Jose Quilatan, Sr. 106.

There are 269 other veterans who are over 100 to 105 years old, who are still living. With Ben Cal

Rody...

From A1 positive for COVID-19.

Roque said Duterte had no plan to hide anything about his health.

The Chief Executive, he said, remained “very transparent” when it came to the real status of his health.

Filipinos took to social media on Wednesday night with their speculations on reasons for the absence of the President from the public eye, making the #NasaanAngPangulo trending on Twitter.

“The President regularly undergoes swab tests and so far, he is negative based on his last swab test,” according to Roque, adding it was during the Holy Week that the President took his swab test that turned out to be negative.

This was also confirmed by Senator Christopher Go, a close associate of Duterte.

But despite the negative result of his

compared to the general population,” Socorro Escalante, WHO essential medicines coordinator, told reporters.

The European Medicines Agency examined 86 blood clotting cases, 18 of which were fatal, out of around 25 million people in Europe who received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of the cases were in women aged under 60.

The DOH adopted the FDA recommendation to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca vaccines for people aged below 60 years old.

Domingo said that those who were given AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines have yet to report a side effect of having a blood clot or a reduced platelet count.

Domingo said that with the country’s almost a million doses of AstraZeneca expected to be delivered next month, there is time for a comprehensive scrutiny.

“We almost used up our AstraZeneca supply. The next batch of AstraZeneca is expected to be delivered a month from now. That will give us the time to study the evidence and come up with new guidelines,” he said.

Based on the original FDA evaluation, AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is good for people 18 years old and above and has an efficacy rate of 70 percent after the first dose—a rating that increases after the second dose is administered four to 12 weeks afterward.

The DOH and FDA assured the public that experts are carefully reviewing information pertinent to this new development to craft appropriate recommendations on the vaccine’s use.

To date, the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee(NAEFIC) has not received any local reports of such side effects.

Nonetheless, the DOH and FDA are carefully monitoring the rollout of vaccines to identify and appropriately manage any possible adverse events, the two agencies said.

The National Task Force on COVID-19 and the DOH emphasized that vaccination is safe and free, and urged senior citizens and persons with co-morbidities

to receive the available vaccines that their local governments acquire.

A day after approving the use of China’s Sinovac vaccine for the elderly, the FDA said the efficacy rate of the jab on senior citizens is at least 51 percent, but added that it should not be given to those with acute illness and uncontrolled hypertension.

“Based on what we saw on Phase 1 and Phase 2 and some Phase 3 (human) clinical trials in other countries, the efficacy rate [of Sinovac on seniors] is at 51 percent to 52 percent,” Domingo said.

“We [also] have 700 health workers aged 60 and above who got Sinovac because they signed a waiver, and the adverse events we saw were the usual,” he added.

“We can say the benefits outweigh the risk. That is why the DOH requested us to revise our recommendation, and also because we do not have other available vaccine brands alongside the high transmission rate,” Domingo noted.

However, he said that the use of Sinovac on elderly still has limitations.

“This is not for those who have acute illness, uncontrolled hypertension, or hypertensive emergency.”

Based on FDA evaluation, Sinovac’s efficacy rate on clinically healthy individuals ranges from 65 percent to 91 percent.

Sinovac’s efficacy rate on health workers, however, is only at 50.4 percent, but he said 50 percent is a good enough threshold.

“The acceptable level for the World Health Organization (WHO) is 50 percent,” he pointed out.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced that the city of Manila on Thursday began inoculating senior citizens with China-made vaccine Sinovac.

Domagoso said the use of the said vaccine came about after the FDA reconsidered the recommendation of experts, the current situation of high COVID-19 transmission and the limited supply of vaccines.

Previously, only AstraZeneca was allowed to be given to senior citizens.

As of Wednesday, a total of 52,084 frontline workers, senior citizens and individuals with co-morbidities under the A1, A2 and A3 categories have so far been inoculated since the vaccination program of the city of Manila took off in the first week of March.

Meanwhile, Domingo said the Chinese firm Sinopharm has no pending application for emergency use authorization (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Domingo said this a day after the Presidential Security Group, whose members were inoculated with Sinopharm jab, disclosed that at least 126 of PSG’s members got infected with COVID-19, and 45 are still on the active case list.

In December last year, President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that members of the PSG were inoculated with Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine smuggled into the country.

PSG Chief Jesus Durante III later confirmed the President’s information, saying that the security group members inoculated themselves with Sinopharm.

Lawmakers have called for investigation on PSG members getting smuggled COVID-19 vaccines, but President Duterte said in a public address that the PSG should not cooperate with such a probe.

It was only in February this year that the FDA granted a compassionate use permit for 10,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine for the use of PSG members.

Also on Thursday, Glovax Biotech Corp. said it was in talks with the MVP Group of Companies to supply COVID-19 vaccines to Smart Telecommunications, Manila Electric Company, MPIC Hospitals and PayMaya. “We have started talks since 2020 and we intend to supply these private companies of our COVID-19 vaccines since the government is already allowing the private sector to get their own supply,” said Glovax founder and CEO Giovanni Alingog.

Glovax has recently secured about 40 million doses of the EuCorVac-19 which was developed in the US and produced in Korea by its technology partner Eubiologics Co. Ltd. With AFP

In Metro Manila, 81 percent of the ICU beds are in use; 73 percent of the isolation beds are in use; 60 percent of the ward beds are in use; and 60 percent protection offered by current vaccines.” of the ventilators are being used.

Vergeire said there was no recent geTest 50k daily in NCR nome sequencing done by the PhilipFormer special adviser to the Napine Genome Center (PGC) following a tional Task Force against COVID-19 contamination of its machines.

For this week, the PGC will run a to- Dr. Tony Leachon said on Thursday tal of 1,500 samples through two of its that the government must test an avermachines to produce the latest genome age of 50,000 people in Metro Manila, as there are more than 150,000 active sequencing data.

So far, the variants of concern are the COVID-19 cases in the country.

“We’re not ramping up on the testing, B.1.1.7, the South Africa variant, and the P.3 variant which is still under in- We only average 30,000 instead of 50,000 up to 100,000 because we are in a pandemvestigation, Vergeire said.

On Tuesday, the PGC said that vari- ic,” Leachon said in an ANC interview.

“But our base is ... 156,000 active casants were in at least 9.9 percent of 4,000 es. So we must be doing at least 50,000 samples it has processed.

The Philippines logged 9,216 new testing in the NCR,” Leachon said.

This was his statement after National COVID-19 cases Thursday, ringing the total number of infections to 828,366, Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy as active cases logged another record- chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon on Tuesday rejected the high at 167,279, the DOH reported.

Active cases stood at 167,279, the renewed calls for mass testing.

Dizon said the government cannot highest recorded in a day since the start of the pandemic. It accounts for 20.2 test the entire population of 110 million Filipinos. percent of the total cases.

Citing an International Monetary The previous highest record of active Fund study, Leachon said mass testing cases was 165,715 on April 3.

Of the active cases, 97.6 percent are should cover 20 percent of the populamild; 1.2 percent are asymptomatic; 0.5 tion but currently, the Philippines only percent are critical; 0.5 percent are se- tested 8.79 percent since January 2020.

“You put money where your mouth is vere; and 0.29 percent are moderate.

The DOH also reported 60 new fatal- and you have to concentrate on the hot ities, bringing the death toll to 14,119, spot area,” he said. which is 1.7 percent of the total.

PHA pushes for antigen The DOH said 598 persons recently approval recovered, bringing the total recoverMeanwhile, the Philippine Hospital ies to 646,968, which is 78.1 percent Association (PHA) asked the government of the total.

The DOH also reported that, nation- to approve the commercial distribution of wide, 63 percent of the ICU beds are in rapid antigen test kits for COVID-19 as use; 50 percent of the isolation beds are hospitals find themselves overwhelmed in use; 51 percent of the ward beds are by a fresh surge in infections.

Dr. Jaime Almora, President of PHA, in use; and 45 percent of the ventilators said allowing more people to test themare being used.

selves for COVID-19 could help slow the spread of the virus.

“If we empower the people to do the examination on themselves… then the self information that they have on their COVID status can be used by them to know how to isolate or to prevent the disease from spreading,” Almora said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

Almora pointed out that rapid antigen tests have proven effective and have a high sensitivity rate.

What makes COVID-19 tests expensive is “the cost of the manpower that performs those examinations” and the personal protective equipment that health workers need to wear, he said.

“If you remove [those] from the equation… then the cost of the kit alone should be affordable to the people,” he said.

“If only the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) would approve commercial distribution so that people can buy them like buying pregnancy tests, because it is as easy as doing a pregnancy test, and people will be taught how to do self collection of specimens,” he added.

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latest swab test results aside, Go said the President could not leave things to chance.

“There’s nothing to worry but we cannot take chances. We cannot risk it though the President wants to go out,” said Go, Duterte’s former presidential aide.

In related developments, Duterte’s high approval and trust ratings show that Filipinos are “generally happy” with his leadership, Malacañang said Thursday.

Roque made this remark in response to the first quarter poll of PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. which rated the performance of top government officials.

Duterte remains to be the top government official with the highest approval and trust rating at 65 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

Roque expressed gratitude to the public for making Duterte “the most approved and the most trusted national public official in the country.”

“The latest survey results send a

PH...

From A1 “We share the concerns of our Philippine allies regarding the continued reported massing of PRC maritime militia near the Whitsun Reef,” Price said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

At the same time, Washington called on Beijing to abide by the 2016 arbitral tribunal award, as it reiterated its “strong support” for the Philippines.

Andolong said this proved the strength of the alliance and mutual commitment of the Philippines and the US to promote the rules-based international order.

“The US admonition to China against the use of force on Philippine public vessels and aircraft, which are performing their constitutional mandate to protect and defend Philippine rights in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, is an additional affirmation of the long-standing partnership between our

FDA...

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The DOH said Thursday it is redeploying 136 doctors and nurses from other regions to seven DOH hospitals, two specialty hospitals and one regional hospital in Metro Manila to augment the health care workers in the National Capital Region. The redeployed health care workers will be assigned in NCR to provide additional support for COVID-19 response.

The first batch of redeployed workers consisting of 42 doctors and nurses from Regions I, IV and V were assigned to East Avenue Medical Center and Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City, and Amang Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Marikina City.

manufacturers seeking for a certificate of product registration for ivermectin.

A compassionate use permit only allows legal administration of the drug in the country but is not an endorsement of its safety and efficacy from the FDA. A certificate of product registration, on the other hand, will allow manufacturers to sell the drug commercially and is an FDA guarantee that the drug is safe and effective.

Several lawmakers and even doctors are pushing for prescribing ivermectin on COVID-19 patients, citing anecdotal experiences.

The FDA, however, maintained that ivermectin should be registered with FDA first before prescribing it to humans.

Meanwhile, health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon urged the FDA to take a strong stand on the use of ivermectin as a treatment drug for COVID-19.

“The FDA as the highest regulatory agency should be strong in that regard,” Leachon said in an interview with ANC. Leachon, former special adviser to the National Task Force against COVID-19, acknowledged FDA’s clear message on ivermectin’s safety and efficacy issues for human use as more studies are needed before it can be proven useful in treating COVID-19 cases.

He likewise backed calls to ban pharmacies from compounding ivermectin for human use, saying this will create a black market for this product.

Leachon added that accountability is not assured if compounding of ivermectin for human use will be allowed in the country especially during a health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

He further appealed to politicians to “stay out of the health issues” and leave the matter to the FDA. “You created the FDA and you have to trust them. We have to adhere to the legalities of the issues and the other thing is morality,” he said.

Before the FDA’s announcement on Thursday, the Department of Health warned that dispensing of ivermectin for human use as well as its promotion violate Republic Act 9711 or the FDA Act of 2009.

This was their statement when asked about the possible liabilities of some lawmakers who are advocating for ivermectin.

On Monday, Anakalusugan partylist Representative Mike Defensor announced that he would distribute ivermectin to treat patients infected with COVID-19 in Quezon City even if the medicine is still unregistered for human use.

Lawmakers who advocate the use of ivermectin as alternative treatment for COVID-19 patients on Thursday hailed as a “step in the right direction” the decision of the FDA’s grant of a compassionate special permit for ivermectin’s use.

“We are glad that the FDA is finally taking a step in the right direction as people desperately seek a cure for COVID-19 in the wake of surge in new cases and rising death toll,” House Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera said.

Herrera of Bagong Henerasyon party-list group lawmaker expressed hope this latest development would soon prompt the FDA to grant an emergency use authorization for ivermectin as COVID-19 drug, using as basis the “encouraging” results of clinical trials conducted in Australia, Japan, Panama and United States.

Defensor shared Herrera’s view, saying the move of the FDA “is a step forward in combating the dreaded disease and in helping our people address this pandemic.”

two countries,” Andolong said.

“Both parties are committed to undertake their obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty so that neither stands alone in these issues involving the two states’ inherent right of selfdefense, individually and collectively.

We remain committed to protecting and defending our national interests while upholding the security and stability in the region through a peaceful and rulesbased approach,” he added.

More than 200 Chinese boats were first spotted on March 7 at Julian Felipe Reef.

China, which claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea, has refused weeks of appeals by the Philippines to withdraw the vessels, which Manila says unlawfully entered its exclusive economic zone.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier promised a barrage of diplomatic protests against China for “every day of delay” in withdrawing their ships from Julian Felipe Reef.

Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry

disclosed that its 44 vessels would not permanently stay at the Julian Felipe Reef as it dismissed Philippines’ “negative influence” on the matter.

“I believe I’ve just made it very clear.

China has no such plan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in his daily briefing on April 6, Tuesday after a reporter asked if the Chinese vessels would maintain a permanent presence at the Julian Felipe Reef.

The spokesperson also denied claims that the vessels were manned by maritime militia, saying it showed “malicious intent.”

“It is a customary practice running over a thousand years for Chinese fishing boats to work and shelter in relevant waters. I don’t know why relevant sides refer to the Chinese fishermen as ‘maritime militia.’ It shows malicious intent driven by ulterior motives,” he said.

“It is completely normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish in the waters and take shelter during rough sea conditions,” Lijian added. AFP

DOH redeploys 136 doctors, nurses to Metro Manila

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Lawmaker and other officials charged

By Rey E. Requejo

Updates urged on projects for Bayanihan

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HE JUSTICE department-led Task Force Against Corruption said Thursday it had filed criminal charges against a member of the House of Representatives, some personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways and officials of a local government unit.

By Maricel V. Cruz A LAWMAKER on Thursday asked the government to give updates on the projects supposed to have been funded under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2 to contain the prolonged pandemic.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte specifically called on the Department of Health, the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Infectious Diseases and the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to report to Congress the status of projects ostensibly funded by the Congress under Bayanihan 2, such as those for the establishment of temporary treatment and monitoring facilities and the procurement of personal protective equipment, face masks and other medical supplies necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“These offices owe it to the public and to legislators to account for the funds that were set aside last year by the Congress under Bayanihan 2 to beef up the country’s healthcare capacity, especially now when the alarming surge in COVID-19 infections threatens to overwhelm both our medical frontliners and healthcare infrastructure,” he said.

“We urge these offices to report to the Congress the status of these funds, which is mandated under Bayanihan 2 or Republic Act 11494. With the extension of the validity of the available Bayanihan 2 appropriations under RA 11519, these offices should take the initiative to continue reporting on what have been accomplished thus far with the COVID-related budgetary outlays,” said Villafuerte who principally authored both the Bayanihan 1 (RA 11469) and Bayanihan 2 laws as well as RA 11519 extending the validity of Bayanihan 2 appropriations until June 30 this year.

FIRE IN CAVITE. Firefighters carry an LPG tank from a burning bunkhouse on Wednesday afternoon in Barangay Sta. Cruz in Dasmariñas, Cavite, on April 7. Up to 220 families lost their homes in the fire that reached the second alarm at 3:40 pm and was declared out at 6:30 pm. JR Josue

CHR probes secret jail facility in Cebu

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Human Rights on Thursday raised concern over an alleged detention, rape and torture of two women in a secret detention facility in Cebu.

Despite the filing of criminal charges, the CHR in Region 7 has launched an independent investigation into whether a secret jail exists inside the police premises and if there are other human rights violations being committed there.

The regional body is already in constant coordination with the complainants and working together with the Philippine National Police’s Integrity Monitoring and Enhancement Group Visayas Field Unit to ensure the safety of the former detainees.

“Moreover, we welcome the commitment and cooperation of the deputy director for operations of Cebu City Police Office saying that they shall not condone any abuse of authority and welcome the CHR’s investigation as part of their internal cleansing,” spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said.

Despite the prohibition under the Constitution 1987 and Anti-Torture Act of 2009 on the use of secret detention facilities, “CHR has noted through its investigations around the country that such illegal practice persists in places of detention where cases of torture and other ill-treatment are likely to take place,” she said.

“Women in particular are most vulnerable to different forms of violence in

places of deprivation of liberty as a means of coercion to elicit confessions, to humiliate and dehumanize them or merely to use the opportunity of their absolute powerlessness.”

As the lead agency in the interim national preventive mechanism, the CHR is consistently recommending measures to combat all forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment inside prisons.

“We also urge the government to publicly acknowledge and condemn the persistence of torture and other ill-treatment, and ensures prompt, impartial, thorough and effective investigations into all reports of these violations committed by the police and other state agents,” De Guia said.

Concern over teen pregnancies

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

DISPOSAL. A total of 48 Improvised Explosive Devices fabricated using round bars and PVC pipes mixed with explosive substances that were recovered by units under the 10th Infantry Division were safely detonated at an isolated quarry site in Purok 5, Barangay Singkatulan, Makilala, North Cotabato on April 6.

WHILE Republic Act 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 mandates age and development-appropriate reproductive health education, a March study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies reveals the lack of adequate materials and accessible teacher training for its effective implementation.

For Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, this should prompt the Department of Education to address these gaps, especially as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to increase the number of teenage mothers nationwide.

In a recent news report, the Commission on Population and Development revealed the 46.43-percent spike in the number of teenage pregnancies in the Cordilleras, warning that lockdown meas-

ures could exacerbate the surge in teenage pregnancy in the country. In 2020, there were 2,422 babies born to teenage parents in the Cordilleras from 1,654 in 2019.

On a national scale, the pregnancies among minors aged 15 and below was up by 7 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The DepEd had issued DO 31 s. 2018 to guide the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education. The PIDS study pointed out, however, that when it comes to RPRH education, “there is an apparent lack of qualified manpower, facilities, training, instructional materials, coordination and monitoring system.”

The PIDS’ focus group discussions with teachers of different subject groups revealed that the training on CSE curriculum integration was so far inadequate and inaccessible.

Clear plan urged on COVID-19

By Maricel V. Cruz FORMER Speaker and Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged the Duterte administration to come up with a clear battle plan against the COVID-19 crisis, saying the government lacks foresight to win the battle against the pandemic.

He says the most effective strategy in fighting the COVID-19 crisis is the combination of direct stimulus, economic stimulus and a post-pandemic roadmap.

Cayetano says the virus needs to be handled with foresight.

“It has to be anticipated. If this were boxing, we would have to have a heavy 1-2-3 combination,” Cayetano said at the sidelines of the city government’s second round of distribution of emergency cash

subsidy to 2,500 residents of Taguig.

He says directly providing people with cash aid will get the country’s economy back up and running while a larger economic stimulus with various financing strategies is in the pipeline.

The third most important action of the national government, Cayetano says, is to have a “blueprint” that will outline its vision for the Philippines in the next few years, particularly its concrete plans for the different sectors.

He says such predictability will allow businesses and enterprises to identify where to invest next.

“Every citizen should know what COVID is, how to fight it and what the battle plan is... We shouldn’t be waiting for things to happen and be told ‘Sorry, we were caught by surprise,” Cayetano said.

OPERATION. The PNP-HPG and LTFRB conduct an anti-colorum operation on top

of its traffic laws and health protocols enforcement in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

Among the three vehicles impounded on Thursday were two illegal shuttle vans and one jeepney without a special permi

House committee okays proposed Science for Change Act

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Science and Technology has approved the proposed Science for Change Act, which is now pending in the chamber’s Committee on Appropriations.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, Committee on Ways and Means chairman and the bill’s principal author, says the

reform embodied in the measure will help ensure that there will be “a conducive ecosystem for scientific and technological development in the country.”

He says global wealth has become increasingly built on technological advancement.

“I want the Philippines to become the leading hub for research and development in the region, the way it used to be. Leading research agencies like the International

Rice Research Institute, leading tech manufacturers like Texas Instruments and others used to see the Philippines as the place to be in the region. We can do it again,” Salceda said.

“One problem is we did not pay enough attention and resources over the years to Science and Technology. Among the largest Asean economies, only Indonesia spends less than we do as a share of its GDP on re-

search and development. We spend around 0.16 percent of our GDP on research and development. Vietnam spends nearly three times that at 0.44 percent. Singapore takes the lead among all ASEAN countries at 2 percent of GDP on R&D. It seems economic development is highly correlated with research spending, and for good reason, because knowledge builds the wealth of nations,” he said in a statement.

Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar made the disclosure even as she said the TFAC received a total of 274 complaints, but since many of the complaints received had the same subject as those that had been previously received by the task force, “the accurate number of complaints actually filed with TFAC is 180.”

“Two complaints filed with the TFAC have already been found to be sufficient in form and substance, and were endorsed to the Office of the Ombudsman,” Villar said in a text message to reporters.

She says one of the cases involves “a Representative in Congress and the DPWH on the favoring of certain contractors.”

The other case involves “irregularities in the purchase of land by a municipality.”

She did not identify the lawmaker or the local officials accused of involvement in corruption before the antigraft body.

“The cases have just been referred to the Ombudsman and we have not received any update whether they have commenced the investigation, so I won’t be able to give those details yet,” she said.

Villar said some of the complaints were being evaluated by the Complaints Evaluation Committee.

“Those which have already been evaluated by the CEC have been referred to the Assistant Secretaries, to the Undersecretaries or to the Secretary for review or further action,” she said.

“A total of 69 complaints “have been referred to other TFAC members and appropriate agencies for comment/action.”

The TFAC was formed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Oct. 27, 2020. He ordered Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to have the DOJ lead a task force to investigate corruption in the government until the end of his term in June 2022.

Aside from the DOJ, the task force is composed of representatives from the National Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, the Presidential AntiCorruption Commission, the National Prosecution Service, the DOJ’s Office of Cybercrime and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

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News

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

Nominations Arguments on Anti-Terror Law to continue virtually after ECQ open for vacant High Court post

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Judicial and Bar Council is now accepting nominations and applications for the position of Supreme Court associate justice.

The post was vacated by Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who was promoted by President Rodrigo Duterte as the country’s 27th Chief Justice last April 5.

Gesmundo succeeded Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, who optionally retired last March 27, one year ahead of his mandatory retirement age of 70 on March 27, 2022.

In an advisory, the JBC said interested applicants have until May 10 to visit their website (jbc.judiciary.gov.ph/) and apply online through their application scheduler.

After filling up the application, they would receive a computer-generated letter of intent in their email addresses and are required to submit the complete and accurate digitized versions of their letter of intent and documentary requirements via email, sent to orsn.jbc@judiciary. gov.ph on their selected date and time of appointment in the online application scheduler.

Gesmundo took his oath of office before Acting Chief Justice Estela PerlasBernabe last April 5. Rey E. Requejo

ORAL arguments on the petitions asking the Supreme Court to declare Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as unconstitutional will continue virtually after the government lifts the enhanced community quarantine being implemented in the National Capital Region.

In an advisory, the Supreme Courts said the succeeding oral arguments will

be conducted via videoconferencing, which also allows the public to hear it live via audio streaming.

“In view of the physical closure of the Court and the need for the gradual reopening of activities thereafter, you are hereby informed, per instruction of the honorable Supreme Court, that the next schedule for oral arguments shall be two weeks after the lifting of the ECQ in the National Capital Judicial Region, which may be April 27, May 4 and May 11,” the

high court through Clerk of Court Marife Lomibao-Cuevas said.

“The technical details and the rules for the videoconferenced oral arguments pro hac vice [applicable only to this case] shall be promulgated as soon as the Court En Banc is able to convene,” it added.

The high court earlier announced that the next hearing would take place two weeks after the lifting of the ECQ in Metro Manila, or as early as April 27.

Solons dismayed by pork tariff cut

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

A

congressional leader on Thursday asked President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his decision to lower import duties on pork meat from 40 percent to 15 percent for out-quota pork, and from 30 percent to five percent for in-quota pork imports.

Joy worried over cash aid deadline

By Rio N. Araja

QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday expressed alarm over the 15-day deadline set for the local government unit to distribute cash aid to its residents, considering the city’s population of over 3 million.

Belmonte raised concern on how to maintain social distancing in the distribution of aid should the city government rush to finish the payout.

“The size of our population has not been taken into consideration. I just hope the national government would consider this,” she said.

The mayor said they would issue stubs to beneficiaries to limit the number to 2,000 per day.

The city government is guided by the list from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Belmonte said.

She urged those not on the list to bring up their concern before the grievance committee of their respective barangays.

About 800,000 families in Quezon City will benefit from the financial assistance given by the national government to those affected by the enhanced community quarantine in the “National Capital Region Plus” area.

The SC previously allowed a limited number of lawyers from both parties to physically attend the session in compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols.

The SC has so far conducted four days of oral arguments, with Solicitor General Jose Calida expected to begin his defense of the controversial anti-terrorism law in the next session that will be presided over by newly appointed Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

PRICE CAP. A meat vendor assures customers his chicken and pork products are fresh and within the budget of consumers at his meat stall at Kabayan Market, Phase 4, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City on Thursday. Despite the suggestions of some stakeholders, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the price ceiling on pork and chicken products in Metro Manila will remain in effect until April 8, as prescribed by Executive Order 124. Ben Briones

Taguig opens 4th, 5th vaccination sites in city TAGUIG City continues to strengthen its vaccination program as it opened its 4th and 5th vaccination sites in Maharlika Elementary School in Barangay Maharlika and EM’s Signal Village Elementary School in Barangay Central Signal on Wednesday.

These additional community vaccination centers complement the two existing Mega Vaccination Hubs at the Lakeshore area in Barangay Lower Bicutan, and Vista Mall Parking Building in Barangay Calzada, and the first community vaccination center in RP Cruz Elementary School in Barangay New Lower Bicutan.

The city started vaccinating on March

31 those who belong in COVID-19 Vaccine Priority List categories A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (non-senior adults with comorbidities). It has also started giving the 2nd dose to those belonging to the A1 category (medical frontliners).

Taguig will continue to inoculate Taguigeños until supplies from the national government last.

Taguig expects its orders of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, Covovax, Covaxin, and Moderna to arrive by the third quarter of the year.

It will open more vaccination hubs to get all these vaccines to the arms of its residents.

“Vaccination is one of the main components to contain the virus and move forward to the new normal. Despite the case surges and being under the ECQ guideline, Taguig is pushing all its efforts to strengthen our science-based and expert-approved initiatives,” Mayor Lino Cayetano said.

All Taguig residents are encouraged to register in TRACE Taguig for their vaccination schedule.

The city government started vaccinating senior citizens and persons with comorbidities last March 31. It has also started giving the second dose of vaccine to medical frontliners. oel E. Zurbano

Caloocan, Navotas resume cash aid

By Jun David THE distribution of ECQ cash assistance in the cities of Caloocan and Navotas from the national government continued Thursday.

According to Caloocan Mayor Oca Malapitan, the city government continued to expedite the distribution of this aid from the national government for families affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).

“In the next few days, we will increase our payout sites in various barangays so that it will reach the beneficiaries as soon as possible,” Malapitan said.

Meanwhile, house-to-house distribution of food packs from the funds and initiative of the Caloocan City Government is still ongoing.

Under the mayor’s directive, this aid is targeted to reach all families throughout

ISOLATION FACILITIES. The new

COVID-19 Isolation Facilities at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal in South Harbor, Manila and the Port of Capinpin in Orion, Bataan are unveiled to the public on Thursday. These transport hubs were initially converted to quarantine facilities last year, mainly to serve repatriated seafarers, and will be operational on Friday.

the city.

“I know that almost all of us are affected by the re-implementation of ECQ. We want to reach out to all citizens as much as we can, we are distributing the aid to every household, this is from our local government, “said Malapitan.

Meanwhile, 4,627 families with a total of 10,988 family members were given financial assistance by the Navotas City government.

Up to P10.988 million was distributed

by Navotas from the national government.

According to Mayor Toby Tiangco, the distribution of cash aid is now at Brgy. Bagumbayan – North. He also reminded Navotenos to follow the health protocols when and practice social distancing in going to the payout venues.

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee, said while he agrees that action is needed to lower meat inflation, he believes lowering pork tariffs will harm the domestic industry while benefiting primarily importers and traders.

“The price differential between imported pork at around P190 after duties, and the domestic price of around P300400 a kilo is enough incentive to import. What we need to do is ensure that imports that come in are safe, and that the application process for the in-quota tariff rate is not tedious or expensive,” said Salceda, whose committee also oversees tariff matters.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday said both senators and local hog raisers “will be utterly, utterly disappointed” by the pork tariff cut recently ordered by the President.

“That is bad news!” Sotto said in a message to reporters when sought for comment on the lowered pork tariff rates.

He said the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork could have been raised without lowering the tariff.

“The reason they are giving for the lowering of taxes is not acceptable.

There must be something else. That’s what we want to find out on Monday,” pointed out Sotto.

The Senate Committee of the Whole will open on Monday its investigation into the “tongpats” (kickback) scheme on pork imports.

“It’s naïve to think that traders will sell at lower prices just because imports are priced more cheaply. They are already pocketing up to 110% in gross margins. What would stop them from just taking more?” Salceda added.

“We already know what happens when we do these adjustments. Domestic industry suffers at a higher rate than the price level goes down. We saw that with rice tariffication, where farmers took a bigger price cut for their produce than the average consumer saved in rice prices,” he said.

“While I support the overall policy of easing trade to lower consumer prices, we should have precautions to help domestic industry,” Salceda remarked.

In an accompanying note citing his objection to the lowering of pork tariffs, Salceda said that the government stands to lose P1.9 billion in revenues from the lowering of tariffs, revenues that he says could be used to develop the local industry instead.

First 1,800 Parañaque residents receive ‘ayuda’

By Joel E. Zurbano THE first batch of beneficiaries in Paranaque City on Wednesday got their financial assistance given by the national government to areas covered by the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

At least 1,800 residents received their respective P1,000 “ayuda” during the first cash payout in Barangay Vitalez.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the qualified beneficiaries are those who belong to low-income households and vulnerable sectors initially identified in the database of the city hall.

The local government used the existing databases from last year’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) 1, 2, and waitlisted, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and other

identified beneficiaries per barangay in around 155,000 households in the city.

“We would like to express its sincerest gratitude to the national government for this timely and needed cash assistance for our constituents. This complemented our collective efforts to provide public service in this time of pandemic.” Olivarez said.

Social Worker and Development Secretary Rolando commended the city government for immediately responding to this directive and upholding the objectives of the Duterte administration to cascade the much-needed assistance to each affected sector.

In April last year, Parañaque was one of the pilot local government units for the distribution of the emergency subsidies under the government’s SAP, and

this year’s cash aid run.

City business permit and licensing office chief Melanie Malaya announced the creation of a grievance and appeals committee who shall act and respond to any irregularities in the distribution or concerns from the beneficiaries.

Upon the orders of Olivarez, Malaya said a barangay and city-level grievance team has been formed led by the City Social Welfare and Development Office, Social Services Office, City Legal Office, and Data Protection Officer to oversee the distribution of the cash assistance.

She said the schedule for the remaining 15 barangays will commence in the next few days to meet the 15-day deadline set by the national government to finish the distribution of the cash assistance.

CHOKEPOINTS. Police officers check the identification cards of motorcycle riders at a

checkpoint along Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City on Thursday. Authorities remind that delivery of all kinds of food items is allowed 24/7, but non-essential travel is still prohibited in the National Capital Region and four nearby provinces until April 11.

Opinion BP 22 for newbies

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FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

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EDITORIAL

While this may appear to be an advantage for them, they were constrained to shoulder the cost of litigation. To some of them, this was an unnecessary expense which will have an impact on the final amount of their monetary recovery.

To minimize the cost of litigation, BATAS Pambansa (BP) 22 is the law lenders and financial lending institutions that penalizes the making, drawing and learned to prepare their own demand letissuance of insufficiently funded checks. ters and affidavit-complaints to be filed A check is a draft drawn upon a bank with the Office of the Prosecutor. They and payable on demand, signed by the also learned that hiring private prosecumaker or drawer, containing an uncon- tors was not necessary since BP 22 cases ditional promise to pay a certain sum in were prosecuted in court by government money to the order of the payee (Bar- prosecutors.

The knowledge of the workings of the ron’s Law Dictionary).

To be liable for a violation of BP 22, legal system emboldened these lenders the following essential elements, as to file countless BP 22 cases which unparaphrased, must be present: (1) the fortunately resulted in the clogging of making, drawing, and issuance of any the court dockets. This led the Supreme check for value; (2) the knowledge of Court to revisit its policy towards BP 22 the maker, drawer, or issuer that at the cases in keeping with the original intent time of issuance he does not have suf- of the law.

In the Revised Rules of Criminal Proficient funds in or credit with the drawcedure (as amended ee bank; and (3) the December 1, 2000), subsequent dishonor the filing of BP 22 of the check by the cases shall include drawee bank for inIt is clear that the correspondsufficiency of funds BP 22 cases are ing civil action. or credit (San Mateo The same Rules v. People, March treated differently also provide that 6, 2013, G.R. No. from ordinary “[U]pon filing of 200090). the aforesaid joint Under the law, offenses. criminal and civthe prima facie evil actions, the ofidence of insuffifended party shall ciency of funds will arise if the drawee bank refuses to pay pay in full the filing fees based on the or honor the check within ninety (90) amount of the check involved, which days from the date of the check, unless shall be considered as the actual damthe maker pays the holder of the check ages claimed” (Section 1(b), Rule 111, the amount due, or makes arrangements Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure).

It is clear that BP 22 cases are treated for payment in full by the drawee bank within five (5) banking days after receiv- differently from ordinary offenses. In ing notice that the check was dishonored ordinary offenses there are no filing fees for actual damages as a direct result of (Section 2, BP 22).

If the maker or drawer fails to pay the the commission of the crime. This is to amount due despite receiving the notice send a clear message that complainants of dishonor, he or she shall be liable for a in BP 22 cases will have to think twice violation of BP 22. If the check is drawn before filing cases in court since they by a corporation or company, the person will be obliged to pay filing fees based or persons who signed for and in behalf on the value of the check.

If the complaint also seeks to recover of the corporation or company shall be liquidated, moral, nominal, temperate or liable (Section 1, BP 22).

When a check becomes stale, or exemplary damages, the offended party in other words was not presented for shall pay additional filing fees based on payment within a reasonable time, the the amounts alleged therein. However, if maker or drawer will not be liable for the amounts are not so alleged but are a violation of BP 22. Nevertheless, the subsequently awarded by the court, the unpaid amount may still be recovered filing fees shall constitute a first lien on by the obligee or lender through a civil the judgment (Section 1(b), Rule 111, action, or the obligor or debtor may re- Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure).

Another action taken by the Supreme place the stale check subject to the conCourt was to lay a rule of preference in sent of the obligee or lender.

Before the year 2000, the practice of the application of the penalties provided drawing and issuing bad checks was for in BP 22 but not to remove imprissomehow deterred by the threat of im- onment as an alternative penalty. Thus, prisonment of the erring maker, drawer, where the circumstances of both the or issuer under BP 22. The certainty of offense and the offender clearly indiarrest after determination of probable cate good faith or a clear mistake of fact cause, the rigors of trial, and possibili- without taint of negligence, the imposity of conviction were enough reasons to tion of a fine alone should be considered as the more appropriate penalty (Adminpay or honor the value of the checks.

Further exploiting the fear, lenders istrative Circular 13-2001). required borrowers to issue postdated full version on www.manilastandard.net checks as security for debt obligations.

Arrest these pranksters

T

Delayed recovery expansion this year, however, is deceptive. The growth will be measured on a low base. With the deep drop in economic activities in 2019 as a result of strict lockdown measures and restricted mobility, the 6.9-percent growth estimate of the IMF will not be enough to recover the big contraction last year.

HE Philippines will surely recover this year from a deep economic slump in 2020. But the rebound will not be enough to bring the economy back to its prepandemic levels.

The latest projections from the International Monetary Fund show a 6.9-percent growth this year considering an expected recovery in the global economy. The IMF was upbeat on its Philippine outlook despite the imposition of tighter lockdown measures in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces for two weeks. The country’s gross domestic product contracted 9.5 percent in 2020, the worst since the end of World War 2.

The Philippines per IMF’s assumptions will outpace the growth rates of its its peers in Southeast Asia. It expects Indonesia to expand 4.3 percent and Thailand to grow 2.6 percent. Vietnam’s economy will expand 6.5 percent while that of Malaysia will grow 6.5 percent.

The Philippines’ projected economic

Dealing efficiently with COVID-19 without locking down the economy is the recipe for quick recovery.

The IMF, while expecting a reversal from last year’s economic slump, has conceded that the recovery will hinge on several factors. In particular, the Fund warned that the recent spike in virus infections could pose a “significant down-

side risk,” noting that “tightening quarantine measures could dampen economic activity.”

The Philippines’ economic recovery will also depend on the pace of the vaccine rollout program. The World Bank is aware of the Filipinos’ skepticism about available COVID vaccines and the government’s capacity to implement a largescale vaccination.

The Philippines is in a similar predicament with Europe, which experienced second and third waves of COVID-19 cases. Europe, according to the IMF, may return to pre-pandemic levels in mid-2022 yet. China’s economy, in contrast, has already reached the pre-pandemic level, while the US is expected to do so this year.

The delayed economic recovery for the Philippines, meanwhile, is not entirely a bad development. Authorities know that the economy can quickly expand once consumer spending and confidence are restored. Dealing efficiently with COVID-19 without locking down the economy is the recipe for quick recovery.

The reality of being China’s neighbor CITIZEN BAROK LOUIS ‘BAROK’ BIRAOGO THE Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan began his historic voyage to the Pacific in search of spices for the European market.

His arrival in the Philippines in 1521 was accidental -- he wasn’t searching for land to conquer; he was searching for spices.

Once Magellan planted the Spanish flag on Philippine soil, and after converting the natives to Christianity, it became a different story altogether. Spanish soldiers, civilians and clergy eventually arrived and made the Philippines a territory of Spain.

To state the obvious, Spain exploited the natural resources of its new territorial conquest. With a few exceptions, the Spaniards made serfs of the natives.

As far as Spain was concerned, the Philippines happened to be along Magellan’s way to the land of spices and had to be colonized.

Fast forward to 1898, during the Spanish-American War. After losing to the United States, Spain sued for peace and ceded its territories in the Caribbean and in the Pacific to the United States through the Treaty of Paris. That treaty converted the Philippines to a territorial possession of the United States.

Although the Treaty of Paris ceded the Philippines to the United States, it was evident that America never really planned to annex the archipelago.

Then US President William McKinley had to consult the almanacs just to find out where the islands are located. He even said he “consulted” God about what to do about America’s new territorial acquisition, and that God told him to take over the archipelago.

The reality, however, was that the Philippines happened to be in the center of the

IT DOES not even make sense to ask just how helpful the government cash aid of P1,000 for individuals or P4,000 for low-income households is with the extended Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the NCR-Plus area.

We might see a slightly lower rate of increase in COVID-19 cases reported but more Filipinos have been rendered jobless and more are experiencing extreme poverty.

To be able to somehow earn a living, quite a number of people have resorted to food delivery service which is allowed by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) guidelines. This is an essential economic activity under ECQ. These so-called food delivery partners, riders, or bikers, have in fact provided a

vital type of public service since the Luzon-wide lockdown last year.

It has offered us the option of ordering food instead of us having to go out to the public market or grocery stores and cook our meals, as well as avoid exposure to crowds and risk infection.

They put themselves at risk of contracting the virus in the course of performing their jobs.

Unfortunately, we have some kababayan who have no appreciation of the valuable service that food delivery workers do.

And such unscrupulous individuals who cannot think of better things to do, particularly during curfew hours, have the propensity to pull prank orders.

I have been receiving more and more complaints from food delivery riders over prank orders or “fake bookings” made online to various fast-food establishments, and they end up paying for the undelivered food supposedly paid cash on delivery.

Riders told me pranksters use spare phone numbers but never show up at the

given delivery address and would not respond to the rider’s phone calls, anymore.

In some sinister schemes, multiple fake bookings are made to several fast-food or restaurants, and two or three food delivery riders end up meeting at the bogus customer address.

This is devastating for these poor wage-earners who normally have to pay for the food out of their own pockets or “e-wallet” which they have to maintain.

In case of no-show incidents, some riders get reimbursements after reporting the canceled order. The rest do not.

One food delivery rider was recently victimized by a prank order. He told me he had to sacrifice the money he has been saving for the joint birthday celebration of

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Adelle Chua, Editor

Spanish-American War, and the archipelago’s annexation by the United States was an inevitable consequence of America’s new status as a world power.

To put it plainly, the Philippines fell under Spanish dominion and then later under American colonial authority whether the Filipinos liked it or not. Filipinos went to war against Spain, and ended up becoming an American colony.

If the Philippines goes to war against China, history will only repeat itself.

The grim reality, therefore, is that the Philippines was and is not a powerful nation in terms of military and naval might, and this fact makes it inevitable for the Philippines to be at the receiving end of the aggressive behavior of powerful countries adjacent to it, or interested in its strategic location in South East Asia.

In the middle part of the 20th century, China was a backward state. It already had a powerful army, but it was an economic poorhouse. Back then, the communist country’s priorities was to invade Taiwan and to keep the Americans out of communist North Korea.

China today is a rich and powerful country run by a ruthless, totalitarian, communist regime. It has the money and the military resources to wage a war of conquest in the South China Sea. That explains its brazen decision to expand maritime territory. It also explains why China has intruded into the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines in violation of international law.

The communist government in Beijing does not really honor friendship. Vietnam

The scheme is devastating for poor wage-earners who normally have to pay for the food out of their own pockets. his two children.

“Napaiyak na lang ako sa tabi ng daan, sir. Biruin nyong pinag-tyagaan ko ipunin yung pera para makapag-pansit man lang kami. Naipang-abono ko pa dahil sa nan-

Again, who’s in charge?

was China’s ally in America’s anti-communist war in Indo-China (1959-1975) but Beijing still seized the Paracel Islands near Hanoi which are claimed by Vietnam.

China professes to be a good friend of the Philippines, but it currently occupies islets and shoals in the South China Sea that belong to the Philippines under the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea treaty which is part of international law.

More importantly, while the Philippine claim to the maritime area was recognized a few years ago by a United Nations arbitration tribunal, China refuses to recognize the ruling.

China’s expansionist activities in the South China Sea are, of course, an affront to Philippine sovereignty. That reality notwithstanding, what can the Philippines do about it?

The comical troika of anti-administration personalities composed of ex-Supreme Court Justices Antonio Carpio and Conchita Carpio-Morales, and ex-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario are correct in insisting that China’s presence in Philippine maritime territory violates international law.

Unfortunately, based on the way they have been criticizing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, it looks like they want the Philippines to go to war against China, a war which the Philippines cannot win.

If the Philippines goes to war against China, history will only repeat itself. We may end up a territorial possession of China. How the United States will take that is currently a matter of speculation. We cannot let our country’s future depend on speculation.

Until and unless we have a practical solution, outside of war, to China’s maritime aggression in Philippine territory, it is best that we keep mum about our plans and strategies in the meantime, with the optimism that Beijing will, one day, regret its bullying, much like Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan did at the close of World War II. loloko,” Manong said.

It is about time that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) cyber-crime units seriously went after these online pranksters who place false orders for food delivery.

I know that the PNP and NBI authorities are totally capable of tracking down these heartless culprits and make them pay for their acts of “economic sabotage.”

Food delivery workers chose to take on a decent job to shell out a few hundred pesos for their families under these extremely difficult times.

Rain or shine, they render services that are as important as those other frontliners provide.

Ramon Ang’s big dreams

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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Aid flows into cyclone-hit Indonesia as death toll rises I

NDONESIAN navy ships packed with aid arrived Thursday in a cyclone-ravaged section of the archipelago, as the death toll from the disaster rose to nearly 180 people, including dozens killed in neighboring East Timor.

Local authorities declared a state of emergency for East Nusa Tenggara – among Indonesia’s poorest provinces and the epicenter of the disaster – until early May. Torrential rains from Tropical Cyclone Seroja, one of the most destructive storms to hit the region in years, turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees, sending thousands fleeing to shelters amid widespread power blackouts.

Some weighed abandoning their disaster-struck hometowns for good.

“I don’t want to stay here any longer even though I was born in this village,” said Emirensiana Wua, 51, a resident of hard-hit Lembata island.

“It’s scary. There’s nothing left. It was all destroyed.”

The cyclone is now headed for Australia where authorities urged holidaymakers to evacuate a stretch of the country’s western coastline before it hits landfall late Sunday or early Monday.

In Indonesia, the navy vessels docked at Lembata and Adonara islands with a hospital ship that was also en route to the ravaged area, where thousands have been left homeless and dozens are still missing.

The storm on Sunday swept buildings in some villages down a mountainside and to the shore of the ocean on Lembata.

The navy vessels are packed with food, including rice and noodles, as well as blankets and other materials for some of the region’s more than 20,000 evacuees.

“Another ship will arrive later today carrying military personnel who will be deployed to help people in the aftermath of the disaster,” Kompiang Aribawa, a regional naval base chief, said earlier Thursday.

A cargo plane left Jakarta for the disaster-struck region with about 100,000 face masks, COVID-19 test kits, as well as prepared food and blankets for survivors, Indonesia’s disaster agency chief said earlier.

At least 140 people have been listed as dead in Indonesia.

Another 37 were killed in East Timor – a tiny half-island nation of 1.3 million sandwiched between Indonesia and Australia that is officially known as Timor-Leste.

More than 70 people are still listed as missing, with disaster agency officials deploying sniffer dogs to search mountains of debris for bodies – and any survivors.

Rescuers have spent the past few days using diggers and shovels to extract mud-covered corpses from the debris.

Hospitals, bridges and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm. AFP

PARTY’S OVER. People wait outside a nightclub for their turn to have a swab sample taken at a mobile testing unit, during a campaign to contain the spread of a COVID-19 cluster traced to entertainment venues, at a testing center in Thonglor in Bangkok on April 8, 2021. Bangkok said it will close for two weeks 196 entertainment venues linked to the new cluster of more than 100 people who tested positive. AFP

Embassy standoff: #MilkTeaAlliance movement gets own Twitter emoji Junta kicks out ambassador to UK BRITAIN on Thursday condemned “bullying” by the Myanmar junta after the country’s ambassador to London was ousted in an extraordinary diplomatic coup after calling for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Diplomats loyal to the Myanmar military authorities seized control of the embassy on Wednesday, leaving ambassador Kyaw Zwar Minn locked out in the street.

The ambassador said the defense attache had taken over the mission in “a kind of coup” two months after the military seized power in Myanmar.

Daily protests demanding a return of democracy have rocked the country and brought a brutal response from the armed forces, with almost 600 civilians killed according to a local monitoring group.

The coup prompted several high-profile diplomatic defections, including the country’sManila ambassador to the United Nations.

The junta recalled Kyaw Zwar Minn last Standard TODAY month after he issued a statement urging them to release Suu Kyi and deposed civilian President Win Myint.

British foreign minister Dominic Raab tweeted his support for the ambassador.

“We condemn the bullying actions of the Myanmar military regime in London yesterday, and I pay tribute to Kyaw Zwar Minn for his courage,” Raab wrote.

“The UK continues to call for an end to the coup and the appalling violence, and a swift restoration of democracy.”

Protesters gathered outside the mission on Wednesday evening with the ousted ambassador, who told the Daily Telegraph that “when I left the embassy, they stormed inside the embassy and took it.” AFP

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that SOUTH PACIFIC INC., with office address at 16th Floor Strata 100 Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) for Bulk Marketing and Refilling of Petroleum Products [San Simon North Hub LPG Terminal - Three (3) LPG Storage Tank with a total capacity of 300 MT] under the Special Laws - Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act “RA 8479”, with project site at Brgy.

San Isidro, San Simon, Pampanga.

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

(SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director Infrastucture and Services Industries Service (MS-APRIL 9, 2021)

A Milk Tea Alliance poster by artist Sina Wittayawiroj posted on Twitter has gone viral on social media.

TWITTER has launched an emoji to spotlight Virginia first US southern the “#MilkTeaAlliance” online protest movestate to legalize pot use ment that has forged links between pro-democVIRGINIA became the first southern US racy activists across Asia, the social media giant state to approve the use of small amounts said Thursday. of marijuana for personal use.

The alliance – named for the shared love of The state Senate and House of Delsugary tea drinks across Hong Kong, Thailand egates voted to allow adults to possess and Taiwan – emerged last year in an expression marijuana as of July 1, in a measure of cross-border solidarity and shared fear of auapproved despite fierce opposition by thoritarian China.

Republican lawmakers.

The campaign gained steam at a time when Democratic Governor Ralph Hong Kong was emerging from months of proNortham in a statement said his state democracy protests and urban youth in Bangkok had “made history as the first state in the South to legalize the simple possesand other Thai cities were beginning their own sion of marijuana.” street confrontations with authorities, demand“Marijuana laws were explicitly deing reform to the country’s military-drafted consigned to target communities of color, stitution and other rights. and Black Virginians are disproportionIt has since spread to Myanmar – where tea ately likely to be stopped, charged, and with condensed milk is a staple breakfast acconvicted,” he said. companiment – after a coup ousted the country’s “Today, Virginia took a critical step civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February, to right these wrongs and restore justice sparking a mass uprising. to those harmed by decades of over“To celebrate the first anniversary of the criminalization.”

Several other US states, including #MilkTeaAlliance, we designed an emoji feaNew York and Colorado, have apturing 3 different types of milk tea colours from CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW proved similar measures,BLACK but Virginia regions where the Alliance first formed online,” is the first to do so in the socially and Twitter said on Wednesday. politically conservative US south. AFP The image appears in any tweet featuring the hashtag in English, Thai, Korean, and several other Asian languages. AFP Monk rescued from

China weighs carrots and sticks to vaccinate millions TICKETS to tourist attractions, shopping coupons, and report cards naming and shaming stores where staff haven’t been vaccinated: China is veering from compulsion to persuasion in its bid to inoculate its population from COVID-19.

The country has administered around 140 million doses – most people will require two shots – since vaccinations began last year and aims to fully inoculate 40 percent of its 1.4 billion people

by June.

But many in China have been slow to sign up for jabs, feeling they are no longer at risk of catching the virus as the country has largely brought domestic outbreaks under control.

China reported just 11 domestically transmitted cases on Thursday, while life has returned largely to normal in most parts of the country, where most malls, nightclubs and amusement parks have been open for a year.

Keen to meet vaccination goals, local officials have had to get

IN BRIEF

creative.

Walls across the narrow alleys of Beijing’s Xicheng district are now plastered with green, yellow and red signs, indicating the vaccination rate of people working and living in roadside

stores and courtyard homes.

“I feel it’s a little strange,” said Wang Ying, a barista at a cafe that had received a red sign right by its door – the lowest grade of less than 40 percent vaccination. AFP

AVANT-GARDE. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s ‘My Soul Blooms Forever (2019)’ on display during the KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature Media Preview at the New York Botanical Garden. AFP

flooded Thai cave

RESCUE divers have freed a meditating Buddhist monk from a flooded Thai cave in scenes that echoed the highprofile 2018 rescue of a trapped boys’ football team.

Manas Kemgoh, 46, was on a pilgrimage when he entered the Phra Sai Ngam cave in Phitsanulok province, in the country’s north, on Saturday to meditate.

The monk, wearing only simple brown robes, was trapped inside the cave by severe flooding, until rescuers were able to reach him.

“The rescue foundation was informed on (Tuesday)... by an abbot that a monk was missing and he suspected he had gone into a cave to meditate,” rescue worker Weerapong Jaighum told AFP on Thursday.

A team of divers were dispatched on Tuesday, but quickly ran into trouble.

“A lot of stalactites inside the cave made it difficult for divers’ rescue operation,” he said, adding that heavy rainfall eventually forced them to abandon the search.

On Wednesday, they mounted a second rescue operation, involving 100 people.

A small team reached the monk and wrapped him in a foil survival blanket to keep him warm while they checked his state of health. AFP

Business US inflation stable—Fed members WASHINGTON—Most US central bankers viewed inflation as stable, but some are becoming more vocal about fears the COVID-19 pandemic will push prices higher, according to minutes of last month’s Federal Reserve meeting released on Wednesday.

Fed officials also expressed concern the pandemic was constraining the American labor force.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) took no major action at the March 16-17 meeting, keeping its benchmark lending rate at zero to help the economy recover from the business disruptions and mass layoffs caused byCOVID-19.

While warning the recovery was incomplete, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the rebound has been faster than expected thanks to relief measures approved by Congress, including the

STILL CLOSED.

$1.9-trillion American Rescue Plan enacted last month.

However, the massive spending has raised fears inflation will increase as the world’s largest economy reopens, which sparked a selloff in bonds and some rocky trading sessions on Wall Street.

The FOMC meeting minutes showed most central bankers saw inflation as under control, with the risks “broadly balanced,” but there was a split on the fear prices could spike.

“Several remarked that supply disruptions and strong demand could push up price inflation more than anticipated,” the minutes said.

But, “Several participants commented that the factors that had contributed to low inflation during the previous expansion could again exert more downward pressure on inflation than expected.” AFP

A policeman on motorcycle patrols along closed entertainment and tourist businesses in Bangkok on April 8, 2021 while Thailand remains closed to international tourists due to the COVID-19 coronavirus for over a year. AFP

Market ends three-day rally; SM Investments, MPIC drop

T

HE stock market sank Thursday as investors opted to cash in on their gains after a three-day rally that sent the benchmark index past 6,500 points.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 106.54 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,545.17 on a value turnover of P5 billion.

Losers beat gainers, 110 to 89, with 54 issues unchanged.

SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group fell 3.3 percent to P965, while unit SM Prime Holdings Inc., the biggest mall operator, declined 3.4 percent to P35.60.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, dropped

2.4 percent to P4.05, but Universal Robina Corp. of the Gokongwei Group, the largest snack food maker, rose 1.4 percent to P142.

The rest of Asian markets mostly rose Thursday with traders keeping tabs on the progress of US President Joe Biden’s huge infrastructure plan, while also taking heart from Federal Reserve meeting minutes reinforcing its intention to keep rates at record lows for an extended period.

Hong Kong, Sydney and Wellington all piled on more than one percent, while there were also gains in Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok, though Tokyo and Singapore fell.

The broad gains came after yet another record for the S&P 500 on Wall Street, helped by a general mood of optimism that the world economy is on course for a strong recovery as vaccines are rolled out.

Biden was out Wednesday pushing his $2.25-trillion roads-and-bridges plans, warning it was a make-or-break moment to ensure the United States “can lead the world as it has historically done.”

The prospect of another giant spending splurge, coming soon after the passage of his $1.9-trillion stimulus, has added to expectations the country is on course for blockbuster growth.

However, analysts said the president faced a battle to get an agreement on the plan, which calls for a hike in corporate taxes to pay for it, with even some Democrats opposed to a big rise.

While his party will only need a simple majority to get it through the Senate, “there is no guarantee this latest fiscal proposal can get up without either being softened in terms of the proposed tax rises and/or without some Republican support,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill. With AFP

PSEi April 8, 2021

TOP GAINERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

JOH CEI CA SGP LRW OV OPMB OPM FPI COAL

LAST PRICE 5.73 0.147 58.5 380 2.31 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.275 0.31

CHANGE 0.93 0.016 5.5 35 0.21 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.02 0.02

% CHANGE 19.38% 12.21% 10.38% 10.14% 10.00% 8.33% 8.33% 8.33% 7.84% 6.90%

TOP LOSERS LAST PRICE

% CHANGE CHANGE

1 2

PPC VVT

5.23 13.8

-0.44 -1

-7.76% -6.76%

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

ALHI ALCO APL FGENG LAND GTPPA LCB ACE

8 0.67 0.21 106.5 2.61 1000 0.134 1.99

-0.4 -0.03 -0.009 -4.2 -0.1 -38 -0.005 -0.07

-4.76% -4.29% -4.11% -3.79% -3.69% -3.66% -3.60% -3.40%

MOST ACTIVE 1 2 3 4 5 6

ALI BDO SM URC MBT DITO

VOLUME 10989900 3401250 240380 1390580 3902500 15204300

VALUE (PHP) 379894055 346001758 234490305 196288234 174862865 166330658

7 8

ACEN BPI

21592900 1875290

164990946 157231516

9 10

PGOLD TEL

3841300 115185

145443200 144350020

ARRIVAL FROM SUEZ CANAL. A photograph taken on April 7, 2021 shows the MSC Rifaya container ship arriving at the Rotterdam port from the Suez Canal, following its blockage. AFP

Tax target Amazon now leads reform drive WASHINGTON—A longtime lightning rod for critics of corporate tax avoidance, Amazon now wants to lead the way on reform.

Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos this week endorsed a higher corporate tax to help fund infrastructure as part of a “balanced solution that maintains or enhances US competitiveness.”

The move by Amazon comes after years of criticism by activists who claim it pays little or no corporate taxes.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, an advocacy group, Amazon had an effective 9.4-percent federal income tax rate last year on profits of $20 billion after two years of paying no taxes.

The low rate is partly explained by the Trump-backed 2017 reform which cut business taxes. But Amazon also benefitted from “depreciation breaks” on its investments and on stock options, according to the institute.

President Joe Biden, who is proposing a $2-trillion infrastructure program funded in part by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, last month singled out Amazon as an example of corporate tax avoidance.

Biden referred to a 2019 study showing many of “the biggest companies in the world, including Amazon... pay not a single, solitary penny of federal income tax,” the president said.

Amazon has defended its policies, engaging in heated debated with political leaders at times, saying that its investments offset taxes as intended by the tax code.

“We pay every penny we owe. Congress designed tax laws to encourage companies to reinvest in the American economy,” Amazon tweeted in response to a 2019 comment from Biden as a candidate.

B3

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Amazon noted that its tax provision from last year—the closest approximation to federal taxes paid—was $1.7 billion, and that it paid billions more in payroll taxes, customs duties and state and local taxes.

Daniel Shaviro, a New York University law professor and taxation specialist, said Amazon and other firms often use “aggressive tax planning” and can sometimes outmaneuver authorities, but mostly are just taking advantage of what the law allows.

“You can put the blame on the political system,” Shaviro said.

The Amazon news comes amid a debate on harmonizing international tax rates for multinational firms to limit shifting of profits, and with increased scrutiny on big firms that use loopholes to cut their taxes.

According to ITEP, at least 55 profitable, large US firms paid no federal income taxes in 2020, including food conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, delivery giant FedEx and sportswear maker Nike.

“Corporate tax dodging hurts ordinary Americans by reducing resources for health care, road repair and other essentials,” said a recent blog post by ITEP executive director Amy Hanauer.

Lilian Faulhaber, a Georgetown University tax law professor, said the tax code is constantly being pressured as companies take advantage of incentives designed to spur growth, sometimes going beyond what was envisioned.

With tax changes being implemented in various US states and around the world, “I think the tide is starting to turn and it there may be more pressure on these companies than there has been for a while to pay more in taxes,” she said. AFP

Support grows for raising taxes to fund recovery bid

WASHINGTON—The IMF and United States on Wednesday gave a boost to the international campaign to raise taxes on wealthy firms that have done well during the pandemic in order to finance recovery efforts.

The renewed support for tax changes comes as G20 finance ministers said they would continue work on a minimum corporate tax aimed at undermining the use of tax havens internationally, with a deal possible by July.

The plan also has the support of France and Germany but US President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday took the first step by announcing it intended to raise domestic corporate taxes and clamp down on loopholes to ensure US companies making huge profits, at home or overseas, pay a minimum amount to the government.

“Destructive tax competition will only end when enough major economies stop undercutting one another and agree to a global minimum tax,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Yellen this week also said she wants the G20 to reach a global agreement on taxation to prevent firms from evading levies by establishing headquarters in countries with lower rates—a practice prevalent among tech companies.

The IMF backs that idea and also argues that higher taxes on wealthy firms and individuals, even if temporary, could finance policies needed to ensure recovery from the pandemic.

“The IMF has been calling for a minimum, global corporate income tax rate as a way to interrupt the race to the bottom in corporate income taxation,” said Vitor Gaspar, head of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department.

US President Joe Biden last week announced plans to raise corporate taxes to pay for a massive $2-trillion infrastructure and jobs program.

The US proposal “is in the context of an effort at the global level to combat tax avoidance and evasion and to make sure that large multilateral, multinational corporations pay their fair share in taxation,” Gaspar told reporters during the fund’s spring meetings.

The powerful US Chamber of Commerce, however, expressed opposition to raising taxes, saying it would “hurt American businesses and cost American jobs.”

Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe on Tuesday also expressed “reservations” over the global proposal. AFP

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

B4 FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

April power rate set to increase P0.087 per kWH, says Meralco

By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co. said Wednesday power rates will increase

by P0.0872 per kilowatt-hour to P8.4067 per kWh in April from P8.3195 per kWh in March because of higher charges at the electricity spot market.

Meralco vice president and spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around P17 in the monthly bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh. “This month’s overall rate is still P0.5884 per kWh lower than last year’s rate of P8.9951 per kWh,” Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco’s generation charge reached P4.5370 per kWh in April, or P0.1621 higher than last month’s P4.3749 per kWh, pushed up by charges at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity.

WESM prices increased P2.5991 per kWh in April on tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid. Meralco sourced about 11 percent of its supply requirements from the WESM last month.

Meralco said peak demand in Luzon increased by almost 1,000 megawatts in March as a result of warmer temperature while unavailable capacity from power plant outages remained above 3,400 MW. WESM operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines said prices went up in March on higher frequency of unplanned generator outages and increased demand.

WESM prices averaged P4.16 per kWh last month, compared to P2.22 per kWh in February.

“From the original planned daily outage capacity of 996 MW for the month, the average generator outage capacity increased to 2,575 MW. As a consequence, the clearing of diesel power plants in the spot market also increased,” IEMOP said.

Gov’t infuses P53b worth of capital in LandBank and DBP THE Duterte administration infused a combined P53.3 billion into state-run lenders Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines over a five-year period, larger than the combined capital infusions from all administrations since the two banks were established, the Department of Finance said Thursday.

Data from LandBank showed it received P38.79 billion in capital infusion under the Duterte presidency as of Feb. 28, 2021, which accounted for 72.11 percent of the total paid-up capital of the bank.

DBP president Emmanuel Herbosa, meanwhile, said the bank received P14.5 billion in capital infusion under the Duterte administration.

“LandBank’s paid-up capital of P1.8 billion in 1992 grew at a slow phase, as the past administrations did not inject capital into the bank but was instead issued stock dividends. It was only during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III that the government infused capital into LandBank in the amount of P3.03 billion,” the DoF said.

From 1992 to 2010, the government did not infuse additional capital into LandBank but its paid-up capital still increased from P1.8 billion to P11.97 billion with the issuance of stock dividends.

LandBank issued stock dividends worth P5.6 billion during the administration of then- President Fidel Ramos; P1.6 billion during the term of President Joseph Estrada; and P2.97 billion during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It said that since President Duterte took over in 2016, the government invested P38.79 billion in LandBank, of which P27.5 billion was infused in February 2021, in line with the provisions of Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) to support wholesale banking services and extend low-interest rate loans to sectors severely affected by the economic shock of COVID-19. Julito G. Rada

Business February imports rose 2.7% to end 22-month downtrend

By Julito G. Rada

I

MPORTS rose 2.7 percent in February from a year ago to end a 22-month downtrend on higher purchases of electrical machinery and telecommunication equipment, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Wednesday.

Data showed imports reached $7.6 billion in February, up from $7.4 billion registered in the same month last year, despite the prolonged coronavirus pandemic.

“The value of imports in February 2021 registered a positive annual growth rate after registering a downward trend from May 2019 to January 2021,” the PSA said.

Imports fell 12.1 percent in January and 7.3 percent in February 2020.

“The annual increment of imported goods in February 2021 was due to the

increase in seven of the top 10 major commodity groups which was led by telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery [23.2 percent]. This was followed by other food and live animals [13.7 percent]; and plastics in primary and non-primary forms [8.8 percent],” the PSA said.

Total imports in the first two months declined 5.6 percent to $16 billion from $16.96 billion a year ago. Most imported goods were electronic products with an import value of $2.12 billion or 27.9 percent of total imports. This was followed by transport equipment, valued at $759.29 million.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said the rebound in imports might be “more a result of base effects rather than a true recovery for the sector with the economy still stuck in recession amidst an ongoing 12-month lockdown with daily COVID-19 infections spiking in March.”

“Inbound shipment of goods and services will continue to expand in the coming months, benefiting from a favorable base and with manufacturers replenishing depleted inventories. And although we’ve seen growth in raw materials and

capital goods, overall investment activity in the Philippines remains soft with corporates and households postponing expansion activities until the economic outlook improves,” Mapa said.

Meanwhile, exports continued to show signs of recovery. Data showed that export sales fell 2.3 percent in February, representing an improvement from the 4.8-percent drop in January.

The cumulative export earnings from January to February amounted to $10.83 billion, down by 3.6 percent from a year earier.

“Exports may face some challenges in the near term with global trade expected to take a hit after select countries reinstate lockdowns to deal with spiking COVID-19 cases in their areas. Despite these trends, we expect the trade deficit to remain modest compared to pre-COVID-19 averages which should translate to a current account surplus and near-term support for the peso,” Mapa said.

Factory production, however, remained sluggish in February. The PSA said the volume of production index shrank 43.6 percent in February, faster than the 12-percent decrease in January.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, April 8, 2021

-106.54 PTS. 6,545.17

Total Volume Total Trades Total Value

3,522,363,149 102,921 5,015,647,627.22

Advances Declines

89 110

Unchanged

54

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5760

Japan

Yen

0.009106

0.4423

UK

Pound

1.374300

66.7580

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128451

6.2396

Switzerland

Franc

1.075963

52.2660

Canada

Dollar

0.792959

38.5188

Singapore

Dollar

0.745823

36.2291

Australia

Dollar

0.760900

36.9615

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655408

128.9891

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

12.9533

Brunei

Dollar

0.743052

36.0945

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.031918

1.5504

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2259

Euro

Euro

1.187100

57.6646

Korea

Won

0.000894

0.0434

China

Yuan

0.152823

7.4235

India

Rupee

0.013450

0.6533

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.242131

11.7618

New Zealand

Dollar

0.700900

34.0469

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035190

1.7094 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

PSA revises 2020 GDP drop to -9.6% THE Philippine Statistics Authority on Thursday announced the downward revision of the 2020 gross domestic product contraction to a deeper 9.6 percent from the previous estimate of 9.5 percent.

It said the GDP in the fourth quarter maintained its growth rate of -8.3 percent, while the annual growth rate of GDP for 2020 was revised downward from -9.5 percent to -9.6 percent.

The previous estimate of a 9.5-percent contraction in 2020 was the worst on record, since the government started collecting economic data by the end of World War 2.

The PSA released the revised estimates of the National Accounts of the Philippines for years 2019 and 2020.

Acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said the changes were “due to the latest full-year data. We always update as needed if new data are available.”

Julito G. Rada

Cirtek integrates ESG in operations

PAYMAYA PAYMENT. Marikina City residents and businesses can now pay online for real property and other business taxes using their PayMaya account or credit, debit or prepaid cards as PayMaya powers the online portal of the city through PayMaya Checkut. Attending the signing of the memorandum of agreement are Marikina business owner Lito Lopez, Development Bank of the Philippines Marikina branch head Julie Se, Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro (third from left), PayMaya Enterprise senior manager Tisha Quinitio, businessman Tony Andres and Vice Mayor Marion Andres.

Gatchalian to mortgage Manila hotel for reclamation project

By Jenniffer B. Austria ACESITE (Phils) Hotel Corp. of the Gatchalian family plans to mortgage Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino to raise P8 billion and fund a major reclamation project in Manila Bay. Acesite said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the mortgage of the hotel and casino project, its main asset and formerly known as Manila Pavilion Hotel, was required by creditors of the proposed reclamation project.

The 22-story hotel with 493 rooms occupies a large piece of land along UN Ave. in Ermita, Manila. It was gutted by fire in March 2018.

The company said it would conduct a special stockholders meeting in June to secure shareholders’ approval for the proposed mortgage of Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino.

Acesite is developing the 318-hectare Manila Waterfront City reclamation project in partnership with Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc. and the city government of Manila. Acesite is a 55.49-percent owned

by Waterfront Philippines Inc. The Philippine Competition Commission approved last month the proposed joint venture between Manila and Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc. to reclaim 318 hectares of Manila Bay and develop it into a mixed-used project.

Once developed, the project will include a central business district, a gateway, a marina, a waterfront and entertainment, health and education hubs. It also aims to decongest Manila and boost business opportunities in the city.

The PCC said it approved the joint venture because it would not result in the

substantial lessening of competition in the market for commercial and residential real estate development in the city.

Waterfront will spend for and build the reclamation project, while Manila will contribute rights over municipal waters where the project will be developed.

MWC is envisioned to be the future central business district of Manila with commercial, institutional, office, retail and residential components.

Acesite said to partially finance the project, the third-party mortgage of the Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino was required by the creditors of the project.

Acesite said that in return, unit Acesite Realty Inc. would have the option to purchase one hectare of land at the MWC at a 50-percent discount from the price first offered by WMPDI to the public when the reclaimed land is made available for sale.

CIRTEK Holdings Philippines Corp. said it embarked on programs to integrate environmental, social and good governance principles in it way of doing business.

“We believe that these ESG programs amplify Cirtek’s core values of excellence, integrity, innovation and sustainability,” Cirtek vice chairman Jorge Aguilar said in a statement.

For its environmental program, Cirtek employees converted a previously idle land located the back of its office building into a garden. Cirtek employees planted various types of vegetable seedlings with the high expectation that they would later reap a bountiful harvest of green, leafy vegetables.

“The year 2021 promises a surprising, increased growth in the semiconductor and wireless, broad band business segment of Cirtek, fueled perhaps by the shortage of semiconductor chips worldwide, the positive outlook of the end of the pandemic crisis and the return of customer demand on various commodities including electronics parts for automotive application,” Cirtek said. Jenniffer B. Austria

Metrobank garners top awards from PDS LIVING up to longstanding tradition of excellence and leadership in the industry, Metrobank Financial Markets Sector has once again proven that their expertise continue to contribute significantly to the growth of the Philippine financial markets.

Metrobank was bestowed several prestigious awards by the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. at the PDS Annual Awards, including the highly sought-after Cesar E.A. Virata Award for Best Securities House in the Banking category. This is the eighth consecutive year that Metrobank received the worthy distinction.

The PDS Annual Awards give recognition to industry leaders and market movers whose performance and leadership further the sustainable growth and development of Philippine financial markets.

“While it is the for the eighth time that we were given this honor, we are as proud as the first, because the award recognizes the fruit of Metrobank’s commitment and dedication to the securities market despite these trying times,” said Fernand Antonio Tansingco, senior executive vice president and head of the financial market sector of Metrobank.

Metrobank also brought home awards for being the Top Dealing Participant for Corporate Securities, Top Brokering Participant-Retail Transactions, and Top Fixed Income Dealing Participant.

BDO, American Express team up to support SMEs BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender in terms of assets controlled by the Sy family, said Thursday it teamed up with American Express to bring the latter’s Shop Small movement in the country to support local businesses badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Together with BDO, we are bringing Shop Small to the Philippines to lend our support to local businesses. They are such an important part of our lives, and they have been particularly affected by the pandemic,” Sanjiv Malhotra, vice president and general manager of global network services, Southeast Asia and South Pacific of the American Express, said in a statement Wednesday.

“We want to play our part to support them and we hope our Shop Small movement encourages everyone to support their local businesses,” Malhotra said.

Started in 2010 in the United States, American Express’ Shop Small is a movement to celebrate the contributions local businesses make to their communities and the economy, and to encourage shoppers to support them.

Since then, it has been introduced in countries around the world including Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and Japan.

Ma. Nannette Regala, BDO senior vice president and consumer banking marketing head, said Shop Small is one of the ways BDO can support local businesses in the country.

“With this initiative, we’re encouraging Filipino shoppers to do their share and help small and medium enterprises bounce back. Every spend can help make a difference,” she said.

To encourage shoppers to show their support for local businesses, BDO and American Express are launching a special Shop Small offer of 5x Rewards for purchases made at participating Shop Small merchants using BDO-issued American Express Cards from March 15 to June 30, 2021.

With over 1,000 merchant locations, ranging from retail shops, restaurants and specialty stores, reward points earned can be used to redeem a reward of choice from a selection of gift certificates, gadgets, appliance, air miles and more. Julito G. Rada

MAYNILAD SUPPORT. West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. provides hydration support for COVID-19 medical front-liners amid the reimplementation of the enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region. The water company donated 14,000 pieces of bottled water and meals to 42 private and public hospitals in Metro Manila, including Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center, Manila Doctors Hospital, De Los Santos Medical Center, Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital, Lourdes Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital of Malolos.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

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PH Sports Commission to launch Zumbarangay

Sports In this file photo a tow truck recovers the vehicle driven by golfer Tiger Woods in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on February 23, 2021, after a rollover accident. Woods (inset) was driving at nearly double the 45 mph speed limit when he crashed in California in February, Los Angeles County’s sheriff said on April 7, 2021. Woods’s SUV flew off the road at up to 87 miles (140 kilometers) an hour and flipped several times during the accident in Ranchos Palos Verdes, leaving the 45-year-old, 15-time major champion with a shattered right leg. AFP

Woods crash due to unsafe driving speed up to 87 mph

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OS ANGELES—Tiger Woods was driving at an “unsafe” speed nearly double the 45 mph limit when he crashed in California in February, Los Angeles County’s sheriff said Wednesday.

The serious leg injuries sustained by Woods have raised fears for the future of his astonishing career.

The star, whose 82 US PGA titles are level with Sam Snead for the all-time win record, won the 2019 Masters for his first major title in 11 years to complete an astonishing comeback after multiple back surgeries.

Following the crash on February 23, he underwent hours of surgery to repair his shattered lower right leg and ankle, which included the insertion of a rod into his shinbone and screws and pins to stabilize the joint.

He is recovering at his home in Florida and will not compete in this year’s Masters, which begins Thursday.

‘Hazardous’ Woods was in the Los Angeles area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club, and was driving a courtesy car on the morning of the crash.

Powers dismissed claims Woods had

been observed driving erratically earlier that morning, telling reporters that video surveillance footage showed the golfer travelling at normal, safe speeds at the beginning of his journey.

Sheriff Villanueva described the stretch of road as “hazardous,” with multiple people approaching it with way too much speed for the conditions” due to the road’s design.

The district supervisor was planning to introduce traffic control measures to reduce speeds, he said.

Woods has previously been involved in infamous driving incidents.

In November 2009, he smashed his car into a tree and a fire hydrant outside his luxury Florida home, sparking a series of scandalous revelations that doomed his marriage and put his game in freefall.

In May 2017, he was arrested near his home for being asleep at the wheel of his car in a traffic lane. Woods said he had taken prescription drugs and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. AFP

THE Philippine Sports Commission will launch a nationwide exercise campaign called the Zumbarangay Pilipinas with an original Filipino workout song “Igalaw Galaw Ating Katawan” on Saturday.

“Once we get motivated to move our bodies, exercising can make a big difference; it changes our mood,” explained PSC Chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez.

The sports agency aims to underline the importance of physical fitness, especially in these trying times of the pandemic.

The Zumbaranggay Pilipinas project is a contest of a solo dance performance done either at home or in an open space.

Participants have to record their original d a n c e exercise moves, form and style to the beat of “Igalaw PSC chairman William Galaw Ating ‘Butch’ Ramirez Katawan” which may be downloaded in the agency’s website at psc.gov.ph or its social media pages.

Workout music has a therapeutic ability to treat physical, psychological, emotional, and mental issues such as depression and anxiety.

This project is being organized under the “Women in Sports” program of the Commission supervised by the Office of Commissioner Celia Kiram.

“This contest is PSC’s campaign to raise awareness on the value of solo dance fitness workouts. We designed this to provide a recreational activity for women and girls given the alarming increase in the number of cases whose well-being has been negatively affected by the pandemic,” said Kiram.

Woods’s SUV was travelling at up to 87 miles (140 kilometers) an hour before it flew off the road and flipped several times during the accident in Ranchos Palos Verdes, leaving the 15-time major champion with a shattered right leg.

“The primary causal factor for this traffic collision was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway,” said Alex Villanueva.

“Estimated speeds at the first area of impact were 84 to 87 miles per hour.”

There were “no signs of impairment,” or evidence of any “distracted driving,” and Woods voluntarily allowed the results of the investigation to be made public, officials said.

Woods, 45, may have inadvertently

hit the gas instead of the brakes upon losing control, Captain James Powers said, although Woods himself does not recall the incident.

Both officials said the golfer had not been given any special treatment, and that he was not cited for speeding because there were no witnesses or police present at the time. Woods will not face criminal charges.

The crash would have been investigated further “if there was a significant injury or fatality” and had involved another person, said Powers.

Investigators did not check Woods phone or test his bloodwork because there was “no evidence of any impairment or intoxication,” Powers told a press conference.

French Open delayed a week so more fans can attend

Tough set-up not prompted by Johnson’s record victory

PARIS—The French Open was on Thursday delayed by a week to May 30-June 13 in the hope that heightened Covid-19 restrictions in France will have eased by then to allow the maximum number of fans to attend the event.

The French tennis federation (FFT) said the decision had been made in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement last month that “a schedule to progressively get cultural and sporting events back up and running would be set up from mid-May onwards, subject to the improvement of the health situation”.

FFT president Gilles Moretton said the week’s delay “will give the health situation more time to improve and should optimise our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland-Garros”.

“For the fans, the players and the atmosphere, the presence of spectators is vital for our tournament, the spring’s most important international sporting event,” Moretton added.

The qualifying rounds will now be held on May 24-28, followed by the main draw from May 30 to June 13.

Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open, said in a statement that the decision had no impact on its planned start date of June 28.

Ugo Valensi, executive director of the Grand Slam Board, added: “These remain extremely challenging times for communities around the world, and, while there is optimism for the future, it is clear that this pandemic is very much still with us.

“The Grand Slams represent the most significant spotlights for our sport and so we will do everything possible to ensure they can be staged successfully.

“Further to consultation, the decision by the FFT to postpone Roland-Garros by a week in order to enhance the likelihood of the tournament taking place successfully is therefore fully supported by the Grand Slam Board.” AFP

AUGUSTA—Augusta National didn’t create firm and fast conditions for this week’s Masters because topranked Dustin Johnson went 20-under par to shatter the course record last year on a rain-softened layout.

But club chairman Fred Ridley isn’t complaining about the difficult conditions set to greet golfers when the year’s first major championship tees off Thursday morning.

“We have the golf course where we want it. It’s playing firm and fast,” Ridley said. “Our goal is to maintain it for the week.”

A world-class field of 88 golfers made final preparations Wednesday on the eve of the 85th Masters, the lightning-quick course a very different test from last November’s Covid-delayed event dominated by Johnson.

“That really had nothing to do with the way the golf course is playing right now,” Ridley said.

“The course is in the best condition that I’ve ever seen it in the 20 years I’ve been a member.”

Johnson will try to become the first repeat winner since Tiger Woods in 2002 while four-time major champion Rory McIlroy seeks a win to complete a career Grand Slam.

Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters winner, practiced with 12th-ranked McIlroy on Wednesday and both marveled at the speed of the greens on the par-72 layout.

“Rory said it five times—‘Have you ever seen the greens like this on Wednesday,’—and five times in a row I said no,” Couples said.

“If it stays like this, I mean, honestly a 70 or 71 will be a heck of a score.”

Dustin Johnson of the United States lines up a putt on the eighth green during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. AFP

Players worked on putts, chips and driving as well before the chase for the green jacket begins.

“The faster greens have a little more pace to them,” 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada said.

“You really have to think. Those landing areas shrink down when the greens get firmer like this and the precision shotmaking is heightened.”

Such shots will elicit roars from a limited number of spectators allowed under COVID-19 safety protocols after last year’s Masters was played without fans due to the virus.

“Bad shots are punished a little more and the good shots are rewarded because the areas on the green are so

small,” Australian Marc Leishman said.

“The more you know the course, the bigger advantage it is. When it’s like this, there are places that you have to put a big red X in your yardage book and make sure you don’t hit it there.”

Italy’s Francesco Molinari, the 54-hole leader in 2019 before losing to Woods, is in uncharted territory.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen it this fast and firm already,” Molinari said. “We’ll see. I’m as ready as I can be.”

Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, this year will join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as honorary starters, hitting the ceremonial tee shots to begin the tournament on Thursday morning.

Even crazier?

There’s a chance of thundershowers on Friday that could soften course conditions, one likely reason the course has been so firm so soon.

“If the rain doesn’t come, then it will be really fun,” sixth-ranked Xander Schauffele said. “It has the potential to be even crazier.

“I think every guy who plays professional (golf) is a little bit of a masochist, so I’m here for the torture,” Schauffele said, “and my caddie and I will do our best if it gets really tough.”

Absent for the challenge is five-time Masters winner Woods, who suffered serious leg injuries in a one-car crash in February. California authorities said Wednesday the accident was caused by excessive speed.

“I was deeply saddened when I learned of Tiger’s tragic car accident,” Ridley said. “Tiger Woods is one of the greatest competitors in the history of all sports. AFP

Kane wants to fight ONE heavyweight champ Vera

By Peter Atencio A FIGHT against Filipino American Brandon Vera is in the wish list of heavyweight fighter Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.

The Senegalese wrestling star called out Vera moments after defeating by technical knockout in the first round kickboxing veteran Patrick “Big Swiss” Schmid on Thursday.

“I have no problem. I can meet anyone,” said Kane after beating Schmid, a replacement fighter in the first preliminary bout of ONE on TNT I on Thursday inside the cage at the Singapore indoor stadium.

The 29-year-old Kane found an opportunity to pull of the win when he kneeled next to Schmid after the latter went down on the floor as he kept on throwing punches.

Relentless with his blows, Kane stopped after referee Mohamad Sulaiman halted the contest at 1:48 of Round 1.

“I will accept any fight they give me,” said Kane, who had ONE heavyweight world champion Vera in mind after pulling off his third consecutive victory.

So far, Vera is reeling from his loss to ONE light heavyweight world title holder Aung La N Sang via TKO in the 3:23 of the second round during the ONE Championship Century II in October, 2019. Vera’s heavyweight crown was not at stake in the said fight.

Kane quickly took control and unleashed a barrage of crosses, hooks and uppercuts.

His punches connected moments after Schmid took the first round in a very cautious manner.

And Kane has been on a roll since his first fight with Sofiane Boukichou back in 2019 in Senegal.

Brandon Vera

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Sports

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

Suns burn Jazz in OT; Durant returns, lift Nets LOS ANGELES—Devin Booker did the heavy lifting offensively, scoring 35 points as the Phoenix Suns edged the Utah Jazz 117-113 in overtime in a Western Conference showdown between the two best teams in the NBA. The Suns not only won their seventh straight game, but the nail-biting victory gives them an important psychological edge over the Jazz as the pandemic-shortened 72game NBA season nears the final stretch.

“It came down to perseverance,” said Booker of the thrilling match that lived up to its pre-game billing. “We had the right approach. It wasn’t a pretty win but anytime you can beat a team like that it is a good.”

The second place Suns improved to 3614 and cut the Jazz’s lead atop the Western Conference to one and a half games. Both teams came into the contest having won nine of their last 10.

Chris Paul had 29 points and nine assists and Deandre Ayton finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, who picked up their second win in two meetings with the Jazz this season.

Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 41 points for the Jazz. Mitchell forced the overtime with a key three pointer late in regulation in front of the crowd of 5,100 at PHX Arena.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert chipped in 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost two in a row on the road.

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 17 points in his timely return from injury absence as the Brooklyn Nets clobbered the New Orleans Pelicans 139-111 in New York.

It was a perfect shooting night for Durant whose return came after star point guard James Harden went out with a hamstring injury.

Durant liked being thrown into the game after starting the night on the Nets bench.

“It worked out. I wasn’t trying to ease into the game,” said Durant, who came off the bench for just the second time in his career. “I knew exactly how I needed to approach it.”

Durant shot five of five from the field, five of five from the free throw line and two of two from beyond the arc as he was one of seven Brooklyn players to reach double figures in front of the pandemic-limited crowd of 1,700 at Barclays Center arena.

He had missed the past 23 games with a left hamstring injury and hadn’t played since February 13. The Nets were 19-4 while he was out.

“It was nice to have him back. It has

Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz lays on the court during the second half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Jazz 117-113 in overtime. AFP

been a long absence. He had a big smile Zion streak ends “We got dominated at both ends of on his face,” said Nets coach Steve Nash.

The Pelicans dug a huge hole by being the floor. Totally dominated,” Pelicans Harden is expected to be out for at least outscored 43-26 in the second quarter as coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Our de10 days with his hamstring issue. the Nets cruised from there. fense was absurd.” AFP

US Olympic athletes detail anti-Asian racism English Premier League, UFC, F1 live on SKYcable SKYcable gives sports fans a chance to work up a sweat this April with blazing hot global sporting events.

Catch the action in Europe’s biggest top-flight leagues as football icons Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin de Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, and more vie for the top prize in their respective competitions in the ongoing season of the English Premier League on Premier Football, and in Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1, and Italy’s Serie A all on beIN Sports.

Buckle up for high-octane races featuring motorsport idols such as Johann Zarco and Lewis Hamilton in MotoGP and Formula 1. Don’t miss the Portugal MotoGP and the Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from April 16 to 18, both on FOX Sports.

Prepare for an intense back-and-forth smashing action in the world’s highstakes tennis tournaments this summer on Premier Tennis with the Monte Carlo Masters from April 12 to 18 and the WTA Billie Jean King Cup Finals from April 29 to May 8.

Spend tee time at home with your favorite international golfers, including Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, as SKYcable brings you all the swinging drama in the Masters Tournament from April 9 to 12 on FOX Sports.

And don’t miss out on some hardhitting MMA action inside the octagon as Jorge Masvidal and welterweight champion Kamaru Usman go head-tohead once more for the coveted belt in the main event of UFC 261 this April 25 on FOX Sports.

SKYcable subscribers can avail of FOX Sports, beIN Sports, Premier Football, Premier Tennis, and more via Select for as low as P100 per month. Visit mysky.com.ph/addchannels for more details.

Not yet on SKYcable? Subscribe now at mysky.com.ph.

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OS ANGELES—Asian-American athletes hoping to represent the United States at this year’s Olympics shared personal stories of racist abuse on Wednesday, vowing to use their platforms to raise awareness in the fight against discrimination.

The United States has seen a surge in anti-Asian violence in the past year, which activists have attributed to the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly characterised Covid-19 as the “China virus”.

Speaking at a Team USA media event, South Korea-born gymnast Yul Moldauer and Sakura Kokumai, a female karate exponent who is of Japanese heritage, both detailed recent experiences of anti-Asian racism.

Moldauer, who was adopted by a family in Colorado as a one-year-old,

said he had dealt with racist jokes and stereotypes throughout his life, usually opting to “just push it away.”

The 24-year-old said he his recent experience of racism occurred while out driving his car. “Last month I was driving and a lady cut me off,” he said. “And at the lights she pulled up and yelled at me ‘Go back to China’.

“When I heard those words I laughed and shrugged at it,” Moldauer added.

“Because at the end of the day my job is to represent this country no matter what.

“If an individual feels like they need to harass me or say something, I’m just going to push it away. Because there are so many other great Americans that I get to represent.”

The 28-year-old Kokumai, who will be competing in an Olympics for the first time as karate makes its Olympic debut, meanwhile choked up as she described being racially abused last week.

“I was training at the park and a man started to verbally harass me,” Kokumai said. “I was kind of shocked by it.

I was still processing it at the time and laughed it off as there was no point escalating the situation.

“There were racial slurs at the end of the incident. I’m still a little bit emotional about it.”

Kokumai and Moldauer’s remarks come just days after US Olympic snowboard champion Chloe Kim revealed last week she receives racist abuse via

social media on a daily basis.

Moldauer meanwhile said he planned to use his profile to draw attention to anti-Asian violence in the United States.

“With the platform I have I’m definitely going to use it,” he said. “It’s who I am and who I want to be. I’m not trying to get anyone to say sorry or pity me, I’m just trying to raise awareness.”

Kokumai said her experience did not compare to violent assaults against Asians which have recently made national headlines in the US. “People are getting hit, people are getting slashed and people are getting killed,” Kokumai said.

“We are being targeted and the violence and the harassment is real.

“I want to raise awareness that this can happen to anybody. We need to be there for each other and protect each other.” AFP

Ryzen to the challenge: Dell unleashes new gaming laptops

By Vivian Lien, VP of Product Management, Alienware and Dell Gaming HALO 3. The Orange Box. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. And Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. What do all these things have in common besides being epic timepieces? These gaming relics all made their red-carpet debut in 2007, like Alienware’s last AMD-based laptop, the Aurora mALX. Fast forward 14 years to present day, and game experiences have evolved quite a bit. Powering today’s blockbuster games requires serious performance and very few know what that requires better than our friends at AMD and NVIDIA. Today, we start a new chapter with AMD announcing not one but two new gaming laptops -- introducing the redesigned Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 and Dell G15 Ryzen Edition, both outfitted with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptop GPUs. And to complement, we’re unveiling a new suite of Dell Gaming monitors to complete your battle stations.

Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 Unrivaled visuals, high performance, and sleek design: the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 represents the holy trinity of mobile PC gaming.

The new m15 combines cutting-edge technologies and new design features to deliver an uncompromised visual experience. Offering Alienware’s fastest displays on a 15inch notebook ever, gamers can select up to QHD 240Hz or FHD 360Hz panels to deliver smooth gameplay. And as the first Legend 2.0-based Alienware notebook, gamers will be drawn closer into the gameplay thanks to a new design feature called Dark Core, which darkens the interior shade

Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 Video

of the laptop to minimize distractions and keep your head in the game. All this visual goodness is powered by highperformance technologies, including: • Up to AMD Ryzen 5000 H-Series Mobile Processors and NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 30 Series Laptop GPUs • User-upgradeable 3200Mhz DDR4 memory for the first time on an Alienware 15-inch notebook • First Alienware notebook finished with the new SilkySmooth High-Endurance paint formula engineered for increased stain-resistance and premium surface feel Finally, we can’t leave out the “cherry” on top – an optional ultra-low profile mechanical keyboard co-developed with Cherry MX that creates a distinctive typing experience and supports per-key RGB lighting. The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 is available in the U.S. with select configurations on April 20 starting at $2229.99.

Dell G15 Ryzen Edition Dell is helping to bring AAA gameplay to the masses with the new 15-inch Dell G15 Ryzen Edition.

On the outside, it boasts a new look in a sleek form factor that

sports a two-sided, narrow-bezel screen, and uses low VOC waterborne paint. On the inside, the new G15 is outfitted with an Alienware-inspired thermal design to maximize airflow for optimal cooling and heat dissipation. The complete makeover is fully furnished with game-ready features, including: • Up to AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptop GPUs and user-upgradeable 3200Mhz DDR4 memory • “Game Shift,” a functional key unique to G Series which instantly cranks up cooling performance for intense gaming sessions • 20Hz or 165Hz panels, with a 360Hz display coming later this spring; all featuring low-blue-light display hardware In addition to the Dell G15 Ryzen Edition available in the U.S. on May 4, starting at $899.99 USD, a new Dell G15 with 10th Gen Intel Core processors will also become available in the U.S. on April 13, starting at $899.99 USD. Dell Gaming Monitors We’re also introducing four new Dell Gaming displays with options suited for framerate-demanding multiplayer combat to expansive open-world RPGs and high-octane racing games.

• The Dell 25 Gaming Monitor (S2522HG) with blazing 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, makes it ideal for aspiring competitive gamers where every frame counts.

And with Fast IPS technology, this monitor provides consistency and clarity at all angles. The Dell 25 Gaming Monitor features both NVIDIA® G-SYNC® Compatible certification and AMD FreeSync™ Premium technology for smooth, stutter-free visuals. Available in the US on May 27.

Vaccination of Japanese Olympic athletes sparks criticism TOKYO—Japan is considering prioritizing its Olympic athletes for coronavirus vaccines, aiming to get them innoculated before the pandemicpostponed Tokyo Games open on July 23, local media said Thursday.

Japan’s government denied any such plan was being considered, but said it would be “closely watching discussions” about protecting athletes’ health.

The reported move sparked criticism online, with one Japanese Twitter user demanding: “Give it to my granny first!”

Japan’s vaccine rollout is moving slowly, with just one million first doses given so far to medical workers since jabs began in February.

Older people will start receiving doses only from next week, and so far Japan has approved only the Pfizer vaccine.

A date has not yet been set for vaccinating the broader population, but the government is now considering giving Japanese athletes both shots by late June, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unnamed government sources.

Private broadcaster Nippon TV and other media also reported the plan, with some pointing out that the proposed timeline would mean healthy young athletes would finish their inoculations before some of Japan’s elderly.

Top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said there was “no fact in the claim that the government is studying such a plan and the

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games logo is seen in Tokyo. AFP

government has no intention of discussing it at this point.”

But he told reporters the government would be “closely watching discussions on athletes’ health issues” among Olympic officials, the Tokyo Games organisers and host city Tokyo.

Online, the reports were met with criticism, with one Japanese Twitter user calling on “all the athletes to come out and say they won’t do this.”

“Will you thank the old and sick people who died because their vaccines were late for giving their lives for the Olympics?” asked another.

Japan has seen a comparatively small virus outbreak, with just over 9,200 deaths since the pandemic began.

But infections have spiked recently in several parts of the country, including Osaka in western Japan, which has decided to bar the Olympic torch relay from public roads in the prefecture.

Polling shows a majority of Japanese want to see the Games cancelled or postponed further, though support for holding it this year has increased slightly, hovering below 30 percent.

IOC President Thomas Bach has said vaccination is not a requirement for athletes competing at the Tokyo Games, but that Olympic officials will encourage participants to get the jab.

The IOC plans to offer vaccines secured from China to athletes in countries without access. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

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How Youtube saved Brave Girls’ K-pop career

Just like the Brave Girls, scores of groups largely made up of teenagers are launched every year hoping to make it big on the K-pop scene, but most acts quickly disappear.

MEMBERS of Brave Girls were losing courage just weeks ago, on the verge of breaking up and abandoning their dreams of K-pop stardom after years of going nowhere.

Then a pseudonymous YouTuber called Viditor uploaded a compilation of them performing on South Korean army bases -- and saved their careers.

"Rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'/I am

waiting for you/Babe just only you," they chant, as wildly enthusiastic uniformed conscripts dance and wave glow-sticks.

It went viral and struck millions of chords across the country.

Less than a month later the song reached number one in South Korea and topped the Billboard K-pop 100 in the US, four years after it

was originally released -- with their popularity reinforced by their story of struggle against the odds.

The fan-led ascent is a reversal of the usual K-pop model, where bands are usually assembled, trained intensively, and launched by record companies, whose marketing and promotion are crucial to their success. AFP Red full story on manilastandard.net

Why is Ruru feeling deeply honored and ecstatic these days?

VERY WANG ‘Cursed in Love’ is a Japanese series based on the comic ‘Something's Wrong With Us’ by Natsumi Ando.

Animax, Gem expand audience reach with Cignal and TrueID Philippines FANS of Japanese entertainment in the Philippines will now be able to watch Animax and GEM on more screens. KC Global Media Asia, the network that owns and operates Asian content leaders Animax, GEM, and ONE along with leading English general entertainment channel AXN, launches Animax on TrueID Philippines and GEM on Cignal.

Avani Bhanchawat, Vice President and Head of Revenue at KC Global Media Asia, says “The Philippines is home to an established, continuously growing fan base for Japanese dramas, and the demand for anime in the country is among the highest anywhere in the world.”

“There is an undeniable appetite for Japanese content in the Philippines, and KC Global Media Asia is delighted to add GEM to our offering on Cignal and equally excited to bring Animax to the TrueID platform, to show our commitment to bringing quality Japanese entertainment to even more Filipino viewers,” Bhanchawat adds.

While Animax has been available in the Philippines for nearly two decades, its launch on TrueID Philippines makes history as the channel’s content becomes available for the first time on an AVOD or Advertising-based Video on Demand service. Fans will now be able to stream full anime episodes completely for free on the TrueID platform, an offshoot of Thailand’s leading digital lifestyle app and a new player in the Philippine market.

Animax continues to be the leading destination for anime across a variety of genres and the home to well-loved classics and blockbuster content distributed within the same day of their telecast in Japan. Among the many hit programs available on TrueID Philippines this April are fan favorites The Seven Deadly Sins -Imperial Wrath of the Gods-, One Punch Man and Cells at Work!.

Meanwhile, subscribers of Cignal Postpaid Plan 290 and up and Prepaid Load 300 and up can look forward to the best of Japanese entertainment hitting their screens following the much-awaited launch of GEM on the country’s premier Direct-To-Home satellite provider. Viewers can now watch GEM on Ch 173 on Cignal.

GEM, the youngest in KC Global Media Asia’s network of channels, offers an expanded roster of freshrun and exclusive dramas as well as variety entertainment shows from leading Japanese studios. This includes select primetime dramas airing close to their broadcast in Japan.

This April, fans are in for a treat with the premiere of new drama series Nemesis starring Sho Sakurai of ARASHI and Suzu Hirose on April 17, Saturdays at 8:40 p.m., within the same week of airing in Japan, and Cursed in Love starring Ryusei Yokohama and Minami Hamabe on April 13, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:45 p.m.. GEM’s very first original co-production with Kansai TV Budget Trip in Japan, premiering April 27, Tuesdays at 7:50 p.m., is also sure to delight viewers nationwide.

Behind the debut single by singersongwriter Jam Quijano is this stylish artwork that says a lot about his song's character.

NICKIE WANG

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Here comes the bribe

FTER successfully starring in I Can See You miniseries, actor Ruru Madrid has another reason to be grateful for.

The 23-year-old screen star, who is gearing up for the upcoming television series Lolong opposite Shaira Diaz and Arra San Agustin, was warmly welcomed by the leading lifestyle and beauty brand Beautéderm to its growing roster of A-list celebrity brand ambassadors.

“I am deeply honored and feel ecstatic now that I am officially part of Beautéderm’s amazing family of brand ambassadors,” the All Out Sundays mainstay shares in an Instagram post.

“Ruru is a very welcome addition to the Beautéderm family,” says Beautéderm President and CEO Rhea Anicoche-Tan. “Ruru is one of GMA7’s premier leading men and he is an extremely gifted actor. He also has a very strong and potent online reach

The young actor with Beautederm’s Rhea Anicoche-Tan

After starring in a series of top-rating television shows, Ruru Madrid is gearing up for another big primetime drama.

which is perfect for Beautéderm.

What amazed me about him more is his professionalism and kindness.

Working with him is such a breeze and a complete joy. Surely, this is the start of a wonderful partnership.”

Ruru has been in the business for almost a decade now and he has starred in a string of top-rating series, the most recent of which were The Gift (GMA-7) and The Lost Recipe (GTV).

“It’s such a privilege and an honor to finally be a part of the Beautéderm family,” says Ruru. “I am grateful to Ms. Rei Tan for trusting me to be one of her brand ambassadors and I cannot wait for all the exciting things that we will do together.”

Ruru’s personal Beautéderm favorites are the grooming essentials from the brand’s Spruce & Dash collection namely: Beau Charcoal Soap, Lad Hair Pomade, Hugh Shaving Cream, Charcoal Charmer Face Mask, and Brawn Anti-perspirant White Spray – amazing products that are part of the young actor’s daily

regimen.

“Beautéderm’s Spruce & Dash collection is perfect for my very active lifestyle. I’m always on the go and I’m always busy at work so I have to make sure that I look and feel my best every time I face other people. The entire Spruce & Dash collection gives me that extra boost of confidence that I need especially when I am having a long day,” Ruru shares.

The young actor added that he starts his day with a refreshing shower with Beau Charcoal Soap, a clean shave with Hugh Shaving Cream, a sprits of Brawn for long-lasting freshness, and caps it off with grooming by styling my hair with Lad. “I reward myself with a hot bath at the end of the day with Beau and Charcoal Charmer to remove excess dirt from my face,” he ends.

For news and updates on Beautéderm and Ruru Madrid follow @beautédermcorporation on Instagram, like Beautéderm on Facebook, and subscribe to Beautéderm TV on YouTube.

EVERY once in a while, a new song comes out deserving of recognition regardless of who sings it. This is what “Bribe My Heart” brings to the table, with its lush arrangement and emotive tenor singing carrying the track.

The song, written and sung by one Jam Quijano, has the making of a hit in this age of song streaming and lyric video viewing.

Listen to it as it is now available on digital stores beginning today.

The plaintive opening offers a strong imagery that well introduces the mood of the track, especially with the words “I saw the colors fade from her face.”

By the time the first chorus ends, it’s likely you’re already hooked. The words are honest poetry, passionately sung: “So go now it’s high time/ Draw the blinds and say goodbye/ I know now I can’t bribe my heart/ To fake something real and feel what I used to feel.”

“The song is based on my observation of people interacting with each other. It is about letting someone down as carefully as possible.

It is a last act of kindness,” shared Quijano.

When one looks at the people behind the recording, one won’t be surprised why it caresses with a strong punch. Record producer is topnotch songwriter-frontman Ebe Dancel, while mixing and mastering were handled by the notable Dante Tanedo at Wild Grass Studios.

Released under Widescope Entertainment, the record was supervised by seasoned label executive Neil Gregorio, with backup musicians including famed session bass player Rommel Dela Cruz, guitarist John Apura, drummer Paolo Manuel, pianist Jesper Mercado, violinist Chino David, and cellist Ted Amper.

Quijano played acoustic guitar himself.

Widescope, a company established in 2004, started its operation as a music and entertainment label last August, with bossa nova queen Sitti leading its roster of acts, established and new.

Not that much can be said about the singer-songwriter behind the track. Those who knew more about him have praised his ability to seamlessly meld his lyricism and melody-making to his tenor vocals as he writes songs in his own words “about life, tragedy, and everything in between.”

To stream and download the song, just click: https://orcd.co/jamquijanobribemyheart

Dan Villegas tapped for U.S. series shot in the Philippines THE talent of Dan Villegas will be featured in the upcoming episode of the ABS-CBN and Electric Entertainment production Almost Paradise.

The award-winning director of films like Changing Partners and English Only, Please and well-loved television series On The Wings of Love and Sino Ang May Sala? Mea Culpa shared his experience working on this Hollywoodcaliber show, the first American TV series to be shot entirely in the Philippines.

“I accepted this project because I’m a fan of producers—Electric Entertainment.

Plus, to get the opportunity to show off one’s ability on an international stage is always a welcome opportunity. The workflow is different from what I’m used to, but it was a learning experience for me,” he said.

Villegas is the director of “Pistol Whip,” the fourth episode of the crime drama series that is now bringing light and joy to Filipino families every weekend via Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live, and iWantTFC. Before debuting on Philippine TV last March 21, Almost Paradise was aired on WGN America in the United States in 2020.

Topbilled by Hollywood actor Christian Kane, the show features a Filipino cast led by

Award-winning filmmaker Dan Villegas directs the fourth episode of ‘Almost Paradise.’

Direk Dan with the stars and crew of ‘Almost Paradise’ including Nonie Buencamino, Ketchup Eusebio, and Boom Labrusca.

Nonie Buencamino, Art Acuna, Samantha Richelle, Angeli Bayani, and Ces Quesada with guest appearances by other well-known actors like Zsa Zsa Padilla, Raymond Bagatsing, and Zaijian Jaranilla.

In “Pistol Whip,” Villegas directed a mix of Filipino and foreign actors in another action-packed episode of the series. Here, former secret agent Alex Walker (Christian) meets an actor during a bar brawl. Desperate to earn rent money,

Alex accepts his offer to become a stunt man in a reality TV show about sunken World War II battlegrounds. As our hero dives into his “role” underwater, he also gets entangled in Kai’s (Samantha) investigation about a vlogger who went missing while scuba diving.

According to Villegas, who has also made a name as producer and cinematographer, working with the foreign cast, and the Electric Entertainment team led by big-time

Hollywood producer Dean Devlin, was both exciting and humbling.

“They were very professional and disciplined. I would love to collaborate with them again in the future,” he shared.

Asked about his Filipino crew and cast, which included guest stars Annicka Dolonius, Ketchup Eusebio, Maritina Romulo, Bettina Magsaysay, Mariella Laurel, and Boom Labrusca, he said, “The cast were great. Filipino talent is global.”

Villegas is among the four Filipino directors of Almost Paradise together with Francis Dela Torre, Hannah Espia, and Irene Villamor. Check out his work on episode 4 “Pistol Whip,” written

by Calvin Sloan, this Sunday (April 11), 8:45 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, Kapamilya Online Live, and iWantTFC.

Life

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

C4

TRAVEL & LEISURE

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021

The Philippines ‘chosen’ town The municipality of Pinili in Ilocos Norte leveled up from 5th class to 3rd class in 2008. (Photo from Municipaility of Pinili-Engineering Office/Facebook)

BOOK REVIEW

A shrine in Pinili built in honor of Revolutionary Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay who became the first head of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. (Photo from IFI Page Gallery/Facebook)

The desire of readers to learn the evolution process of the town becomes a journey in itself as well.

Cabie has integrated Pinili’s cream of the crop’s obra maestra that include his own literary outputs.

These give a more colorful picture of what Pinili has to offer to its outside world.

Not to flatter, but honestly, I must say that I see no weaknesses in the content and the organization and chronological presentation of the historical data in the book.

By Maria Teresa GB Beñas, Ph. D.

W

RITING local history is never an easy task. It takes a lot of patience, knowledge, and skills in taking advantage of every bit of opportunity and resources to gather and organize historical facts and details.

The welcome arc greeting guests entering Pinili.

Moreover, it entails creativity in the chronological presentations in order to break the monotony of enumerating the litany of events and people.

True to its meaning, Pinili, an Ilokano word, means “the chosen.”

The prologue of Honor Blanco Cabie’s Pili Metamorphoses Into Motion conditions the mindset of the reader on its emphasis that Pinili is the chosen town. This keeps the reader turning the pages uncontrollably, because the chronological presentation of events draws interest on Pinili’s evolution amid adversities.

Part 1 depicts the culture of the people of Pinili and their fighting stance influenced by the prowess and determination of the Revolutionary Catholic priest Gregorio L. Aglipay.

His utter rejection of the colonizers who enslaved the people resulted in the establishment of Aglipayanism or the

Iglesia Filipina Independiente launched through the able leadership of Don Isabelo de los Reyes, Sr., a layman and husband of famous Ilocano poet Leona Florentino.

Part 2 relates the drama that transpired during the years of preparation for the township status of Pinili.

The different barangays forming Pinili used to be part of the municipalities of Badoc, Batac, and Paoay.

It was made an independent town on January 1, 1920 by virtue of Executive Order No. 92 signed by then GovernorGeneral Francis Burton Harrison on December 20, 1919.

The succeeding parts of the book, Parts 3 and 4 narrate more struggles encountered by Pinili as a municipality.

The challenges include the Japanese occupation until their rehabilitation from the devastation caused by World War II and the Martial Law regime.

WHEN I received an invitation from my friend Joebert Opulencia, president of Orientours USA, to the fifth edition of their virtual Kapihan Sa New York, I was surprised because I didn’t know there is this US-based series of online chats about our country, and excited, as I was curious to find out what their discussion would be all about.

Naturally, I made sure I calendar’d the event and woke up early to be ready for its 8:00 a.m. kick-off.

This edition was hosted by the FilAm Press Club of New York, with representatives from the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut), in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General, our Department of Tourism, Philippine Airlines, and Orientours Co. Ltd. The discussion centered on my favorite topic, Filipino cuisine, and had a stellar list of food mavens known for their culinary wizardry.

Clang Garcia is a popular curator of gastronomic experiences, a heritage food mapper, and has championed efforts to promote the Philippines as a culinary destination. Her Food Holidays, which is a heritage food guide cum cookbook, was awarded as one of the Best in the World in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

She points to the USA as one of the prime markets for Philippine culinary tourism because there are a lot of second-generation Fil-Am chefs and

Clang Garcia’s signature dish is the Kinalamsian sa Buko, a sinigang that uses calamansi juice, local vegetables, patis, fresh spices, and tiger prawns simmered in fresh coconut water.

An enormous transformation was initiated by their lady mayor, Anunciacion D. Pagdilao in 2001.

The municipality of Pinili leveled up from 5th class to 3rd class in 2008.

With consistent and dedicated efforts of the successors of Mayor Pagdilao, Pinili had reaped honors as one of the country’s “most” in many aspects of development endeavors such as the Clean and Green Program implementation; Poverty Reduction; Population Management; Good Governance and many more awards.

The book did not limit its presentation of Pinili’s historical events before its christening as a town, during its life and beyond. It likewise contains the works of its own children that contribute to the honor and glory of its name.

Strengths and weaknesses

The historical data presented in the

Chicken Adobo in Gata is the signature dish at Amy Besa’s very popular Purple Yam restaurant in Brooklyn, New York.

Kapihan sa New York

Chef Gaita’s kinilaw has made waves and tickled the palate of the members of the UNWTO of which she is an Ambassador for Gastronomy Tourism.

restaurateurs trying to trace their culinary roots and, along the way, showcasing our heirloom dishes to their family, friends, and customers. I agree with what she said about food being a marriage of tangible (the food) and intangible (the rituals) cultural heritage that gives people and places identity.

Her knack for learning new things led her to discover new cooking techniques

Amy Besa’s Buko Ube Halaya Pie is a bestseller at the Purple Yam in Malate. She uses the soft and the bit firmer stage of the coconut meat, and the fragrant and the deep purple variety of ube.

in the provinces. She told us about Plantsadong Lamang Lupa, a healthy and delicious snack made with root crop wrapped in banana leaves and cooked by using an old-fashioned Filipino clothes iron. She also narrated how she discovered a very delicious Spiced Shrimp Cake in Romblon, which pleased her no end because her advocacy includes the empowerment of local communities

Recommendation

book are wellfounded and organized. This is attributed to the fact that the author has the advantage of procuring both firsthand and secondary information from the local folks and officials since he hails from the municipality under study.

While history as a subject is boring to many readers, the book is exquisitely presented that it is able to arouse the interest of readers because of his creative craftsmanship. through its culinary offerings.

Amy Besa is a very familiar name among the Fil-Am foodies in New York.

She and her husband published an awardwinning book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens, and introduced lumpia and adobo to New Yorkers through their Cendrillon restaurant in the city’s Soho district. This later closed as the couple opened the now-famous Purple Yam in Brooklyn.

She pointed out something quite remarkable, about how we, Filipinos, leave our mark in the things we cook: When we borrow a foreign recipe, the resulting dish becomes “Filipino.” She further compared Filipino food cooked here in the country with those cooked

by Filipino immigrants in the US, and those cooked by Fil-Ams born in the US. Although based on the same recipe, the resulting dish made by each group has its own identity and uniqueness.

I was happy to see that Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Verna Buensuceso was also a panelist.

She cited facts and figures important to us in the industry: The United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) declaration that Gastronomic Tourism is an emerging phenomenon is backed up by the fact that 53 percent of tourists could be considered culinary travelers. In fact, seven out of 10 travelers put a lot of importance on its culinary offerings when choosing a destination. This is why the DOT has set up a lot of food-related events, the most popular of which is the Kain Na caravan, staged in partnership with Ayala Malls, which showcases the unique and mouthwatering culinary delights of the different regions in the country.

These festivals are also designed to promote farm tourism which, because of the new reality’s clamor for outdoor experiences, has led to new discoveries.

One of these is a tour in Sasmuan, Pampanga, where travelers are taken to a mangrove of Pagatpat trees. The fruit of these trees are used by the locals to relieve

History allows us to know our past and appreciate our present that guides us in defining our destiny/future.

This book, Pinili Metamorphoses Into Motion, is a must-read item especially now that the Philippines is commemorating the 500 years of Christianity in our country.

The reader could appreciate the turn of events and understand the people’s contribution to the successes of the more than 100 Philippine revolts against the Spanish conquistadores and other foreign nations that attempted to colonize our dear native land.

(Dr. Maritess Beñas, former manager of the Philippine Information Agency, is a columnist of Abraham Journal, a local paper in Abra, and an online executive officer of Empowered Consumerism.) sprain and its fermented juice is believed to be a potent cure for hemorrhages.

The lively event ended with the talk of the very popular Margarita “Gaita” Fores who is currently UNWTO’s Ambassador for Gastronomy Tourism and was Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016. She credits the success of her culinary career to the months she spent in Italy, undergoing intensive training in that country’s cuisine.

This explains why the menus offered in her restaurants are Italian inspired.

She showed us the wealth of fresh produce and seafood available daily in our markets here in the country, especially at the Farmers Market in Cubao. She has, in fact, taken guests there, on a market tour, and ended in a hearty meal consisting of items they saw during the tour. She hopes to reach out to the world with our cuisine with the help of the government; she was, in fact, one of the prime movers of the highly successful Madrid Fusion, where the best Filipino chefs had the chance to interact with the best chefs from Europe.

Chef Gaita teased everyone’s taste buds with a demo of her version of the common kinilaw, using nothing but fresh ingredients—tanigue (Filipino mackerel), ginger, green mangoes, chives, red onions, finger pepper, salt, sugar, and vinegar, capped with some crunchy corn and whole chilis. Yum! Excuse me, while I make a rush order for this and the other items pictured on this page! Thank you, Joebert for this blazing move to highlight another facet of Filipino brilliance!

YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE: WIFE: I hate that beggar.

HUSBAND: Why? WIFE: Yesterday, I gave him food. Today he gave me a book on “How To Cook.”

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