Manila Standard - 2021 August 13 - Friday

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Duterte tells Duque: Explain

COVID fund ‘deficiencies’ trigger renewed calls for DOH chief’s ouster

By Vito Barcelo, Rio N. Araja, Rey E. Requejo, Willie Casas, Joel E. Zurbano and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Some of the items under the DOH’s P67.32-b COVID funds flagged by COA

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to answer the Commission on Audit’s (COA) report after the state auditor flagged the Department of Health (DOH) for not complying with existing laws and regulations in managing some P67.323 billion in COVID-19 response funds.

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P42.41 billion transferred to procurement or implementing partner agencies without a memorandum of agreement or supporting documents

P5.038 billion contracts that lacked documentation

P1.41 billion donations in kind not properly accounted for P98.40 million cash advances and petty cash P539.29 million payment to health workers that did not comply with rules on allowances, resulting in payment to unqualified recipients, overpayment and payment during periods not covered by ECQ

VOL. XXXV • NO. 179 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

ECQ extension eyed; cases surge by 12,439

By Willie Casas, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

Kazakhstan

METRO Manila mayors are considering extending the two-week lockdown as new COVID-19 cases rose to a four-month high of 12,439 on Thursday, but they were getting pushback from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which called for an easing of restrictions after Aug. 20.

The country logged 12,439 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the second straight day that new infections were above the 12,000 mark.

There were 165 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 29,539.

The Department of Health (DOH) also reported 6,090 recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 1,583,161.

There were 87,663 active cases, the highest recorded since April 24.

Of the active cases, 95.3 percent were mild, 1.2 percent were asymptomatic, 0.9 percent

Turkey

Russia

163,000+ cases

119,500+ cases 3,650+ deaths

Columbia

1,070+ deaths

Brazil

218,500+ cases 6,140+ deaths

191,900+ cases 790+ deaths

Japan

Argentina

77,300+ cases 98,000+ cases 1,040+ deaths

Iran

S. Africa

262,100+ cases 3,450+ deaths

70,200+ cases 2,350+ deaths

Iraq

67,800+ cases

Vietnam

India

Sri Lanka

France

194,000+ cases

786,599+ cases 3,780+ deaths

Mexico

820+ deaths

267,300+ cases 3,420+ deaths

Britain

US

156,000+ cases 5,520+ deaths

2,160+ deaths

Bangladesh

76,800+ cases 6,900+ deaths 1,760+ deaths

Indonesia

216,800+ cases 11,560+ deaths

Thailand

cases Myanmar 144,600+ 1,290+ deaths 1,750+ deaths

Morocco

66,900+ cases

Philippines 68,200+ cases 1,140+ deaths

Malaysia

137,400+ cases 1,510+ deaths

Spain

119,500+ cases

Tunisia

810+ deaths

Countries

with highest COVID-19 new cases and deaths (Aug. 5-11) Manila Standard Infographics / Source: AFP

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DTI puts off Low-income families in ECQ areas assured of P3.78-b aid plan to raise retail prices

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

By Othel V. Campos and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE government has deferred the impending hike on the suggested retail price (SRP) of some basic necessities as the country faces another surge of COVID-19 cases while in the midst of strict observance of another enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said there was no way the government would allow any price hikes that would further burden a country that stands to lose billions of pesos during the two-week lockdown from August 6 to 20.

“We decided to postpone the issuance of the LOPEZ SRP. Definitely, no price movements during the ECQ period,” he said.

The Consumer Protection Group of the DTI has also advised manufacturers and consumers that prices of basic necessities will continue to be at current levels, until the final days of the ECQ. The DTI was poised to release a new set of SRP following a two-year moratorium on price hikes due to the pandemic.

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PREGNANT WOMEN GET JAB PRIORITY NEWS / A2

DND VERIFYING CHINESE SHIP NEAR PANATAG NEWS / A4

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the release of funds worth P3.78 billion for low-income house-

holds in areas under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), an official from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Thursday.

In a message to reporters, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said

this includes P2.72 billion for Laguna and HP700 million for Bataan.

These two provinces were placed under the strictest quarantine status on Aug. 6 and 8, respectively.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region (NCR) will also receive a

P368 million supplemental budget for the financial assistance.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año earlier sought a supplemental budget of P278 million to ensure that all qualified recipients in the NCR will Next page

DAY 2.

On the second day of government’s distribution of cash aid (ayuda), a senior citizen receives her share of the financial assistance at the Benigno Aquino Elementary school in the depressed area of Baseco, Tondo, Manila, on August 12, 2021. Norman Cruz

1,700,363 12,439

87,663

29,539

165

1,583,161

6,090

(As of 4 PM, August 12)

7.1 quake jolts Davao; Taal acts up again

By Rio N. Araja A MAGNITUDE 7.1 earthquake jolted Davao Oriental at 1:46 a.m. Thursday.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake’s epicenter was located 75 kilometers east of Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental. Of tectonic origin, the tremor was at a depth of 39 kilometers.

In Luzon, the Taal Volcano Network recorded at least 141 volcanic earthquakes, including 121 volcanic tremor events, in Taal Volcano, Batangas. Two strong volcanic tremor events were recorded at 4:36 a.m. and 6:53 a.m. at ML 2.6 and ML 4.1, respectively, and felt at Intensity 2.

According to Phivolcs director Renato Solidum Jr., there was no damage reported after the earthquake in Mindanao.

Intensity 5 was felt in Davao Oriental’s Governor Generoso, City of Mati, Baganga and Lupon; Davao del Norte’s Tagum City, Panabo City, Carmen and Nabunturan; and Sarangani’s General Santos City, Alabel and Malungon.

Davao City; Davao del Sur’s Kiblawan; South Cotabato’s Koronadal City, Tampakan, Tupi and Polomolok; Sarangani’s Glan, Malapatan and Kiamba, and Davao de Oro’s Monkayo experienced intensity 4.

Intensity 3 was felt over Cotabato’s Kabacan, and Agusan del Sur’s Bayugan, Next page

File photo shows Taal Volcano emitting smoke after a phreatic eruption in July.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

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Pregnant women get jab priority

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) has included pregnant women among priority groups for vaccination against COVID-19.

In a statement Thursday, DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they would be revising their existing guidelines to indicate that pregnant women were now part of the Expanded A3 group.

“Based on the recommendations of our experts, COVID-19 vaccines are generally safe for pregnant women and getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is actively recommended during the second or third trimester,” she said.

“High risk pregnant women in their first trimester may also be vaccinated provided that benefits and risks have

been fully explained and upon securing medical clearance from their doctor,” she said.

Vergeire said the only vaccine that should not be given to pregnant women would be Gamaleya’s Sputnik V. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier recommended that pregnant women should get the vaccine after a new analysis found no increased risk of miscarriage.

According the US CDC, miscarriage rates after vaccination were similar to what were expected.

In other developments:

ECQ...

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Duterte...

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were critical, 1.5 percent were severe, and 1.08 percent were moderate.

Nationwide, 69 percent of ICU beds, 57 percent of isolation beds, 60 percent of ward beds, and 49 percent of ventilators, were in use.

In Metro Manila, 68 percent of ICU beds, 59 percent of isolation beds, 62 percent of ward beds, and 52 percent of ventilators, were in use.

“As cases continue to increase, we remind everyone to continue to follow minimum public health standards.

When you experience symptoms, immediately isolate and contact your Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams,” the DOH said.

The Metro Manila Council (MMC), composed of the mayors of Metro Manila’s 16 cities and one municipality, will study the data before deciding on whether to extend the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that expires Aug. 20.

Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, the MMC chairman, said the mayors will meet with the DOH and other experts about four days before the ECQ’s supposed last day.

“We will look at data because all Metro Manila mayors are deciding based on the health data presented,” Olivarez said in an interview during the launch of the Nayong Pilipino drive-through vaccination center in Parañaque City on Thursday.

“If we will see a reduction in cases, gradually our quarantine will be lowered but definitely it will not be a GCQ (a general community quarantine). That’s why we will look at the data,” he said in Filipino.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said it is still premature to discuss the extension of ECQ in Metro Manila given the absence of data at this point.

In an interview on Wednesday, Duque said health authorities must have to collect sufficient data within the ECQ period.

“Our basis is consistently the fresh data and the recommendation of analytics. We look at the data everyday to see how fast the COVID virus is spreading,” he said.

Duque said transmission must be measured through the two-week growth metric and average daily attack rate.

The risk to the population that is susceptible to COVID-19 will also be considered, he added.

“In the absence of these data, we cannot, at this point, say there’s a possibility for ECQ to be extended,” Duque said.

The DTI, on the other hand, wants the National Capital Region (NCR) placed under a less stringent form of quarantine when the two-week ECQ expires on August 20.

The move, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez on Thursday,

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the instruction was to answer the COA’s observations, and emphasized that there are no sacred cows in the Duterte administration.

The COA audit earlier revealed initial deficiencies involving public funds amounting to P66.287 billion.

The state auditors also disclosed additional deficiencies involving COVID-19 funds amounting to P1.036 billion through a continuous audit.

The COA added that the over P67 billion funds that “remained idle” at the end of 2020 did not translate into “muchneeded health supplies, equipment and services” that could have benefited both health workers and the public during the pandemic.

“We don’t take the observation lightly.

The finding is heavy. We expect a comprehensive and clear answer from Secretary Duque,” Roque added.

Meanwhile, Roque assured the public that the President will never hesitate to take action against corrupt practices.

The Palace official said that the Health chief is ready and will answer each of the COA’s findings because it’s the agency’s mandate to be accountable on funds that it uses.

The Office of the Ombudsman, meanwhile, said it would await the completion of the audit process before taking action.

A statement from Ombudsman Samuel Martires said COA wanted to avoid filing a case based on preliminary audit findings only to have to withdraw it, as happened in 2018 with the case against former Caloocan City mayor Enrico Echiverri.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, on the other hand, said a resident ombudsman might be detailed to the DOH following findings by the Commission on Audit of alleged questionable and inefficient use of P67-billion of COVID-19 response funds last year.

Guevarra said, however, that the plan to assign Justice Department prosecutors and COA auditors as deputized ombudsmen would require the concurrence of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit.

Duque on Thursday said his track record would show his good service in the government, amid calls for him to resign, as he stressed that President Rodrigo Duterte wants him to stay.

“It’s up to the President. Ever since, he doesn’t want me to quit,” Duque said in Filipino.

In a report on GMA News, Duque said Duterte had chosen him to lead the DOH because of his prior experiences in serving the government.

“President Duterte was the one who appointed me. I was at peace in my province when he asked me if I could serve under his administration,” Duque said in Filipino.

“He knew that I’ve served before. I became Health Secretary, I led the Civil Service Commission as well as the Government Service Insurance System. He knew

7.1 quake...

From A1 while Cagayan de Oro City; Sarangani’s Maasim; and Cotabato’s Arakan and Banisilan had intensity 2.

On the other hand, activity at Taal’s main crater was dominated by upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in its lake which generated plumes 1,500 meters tall that drifted to the northeast and southwest.

Sulfur dioxide emission averaged 3,004 tons per day as of Wednesday.

Alert level 2 (increased unrest) now prevails over Taal Volcano.

“The Department of Science and Technology-Phivolcs reminds the public that at alert level 2, sudden steam- or gas-driven explosions, volcanic earth-

quakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within and around Taal Volcano Island,” Phivolcs said.

Meanwhile, Mount Pinatubo’s alert level status is now at Level 0 (normal), after five months from being under alert Level 1 (low-level unrest).

Phivolcs said observational parameters have returned to baseline levels and the volcano has returned to a period of quiescence.

Earthquake activity has been declining since July 1, with a total of 104 volcanic quakes or an average of 2 to 3 quakes per day until August 11.

“This is a significant decrease compared to the period from January 28 to June 30 when earthquake activity averaged 12-13 events a day,” Phivolcs said.

* More than 12 million Filipinos were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while over 26.1 million doses have been administered as of August 11, 2021.

In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque expressed confidence that more Filipinos would be willing to be vaccinated to address the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Philippines has received around 39.5 million doses of mixed coronavirus vaccines, allowing the government to expand the vaccination to essential workers. * The Food and Drug Administration said the inoculation of children would depend on how fast the government could obtain supply of Pfizer vaccines and administer jabs to high-risk people.

FDA director general Eric Domingo said Pfizer was the only approved brand of COVID-19 vaccine for use in children in the country now.

Domingo also said a study was need-

ed first before the government could push through with its plan to use AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a second dose for Sputnik V. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said AstraZeneca doses might be used as a second dose if the second component of Sputnik V fails to arrive in the country. * The Philippines has approved an emergency use authorization for the Hayat-Vax vaccine against COVID-19, the FDA announced.

Domingo said the vaccine was approved for use on individuals aged 18 and above.

The FDA chief added that Hayat-Vax was “identical” to the Chinese-made Sinopharm jab.

Hayat-Vax is the product of a joint venture between Sinopharm and the Abu Dhabi-based company Group 42, with UAE saying the vaccine showed 86 percent efficacy in its trials.

how I perform my duties,” Duque said.

“I hope my track record will be remembered. I have served well,” he added.

Duque issued his statement after Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Eufemia Cullamat asked him to step down over the deficiencies in the use of P67.32 billion in COVID-19 funds, as flagged by COA. This is not the first time that calls were made for Duque to resign as Health secretary. He was urged to resign amid the rising COVID-19 infections as well as the alleged corruption hounding the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), where he sits as exofficio chairman.

But President Duterte has consistently defended Duque and refused to sack him.

Some lawmakers have been urging Duque to resign due to alleged corruption within the DOH despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duque insisted there was no corruption in his agency as every centavo of its budget was being used for the welfare of Filipinos, especially health workers, in this health crisis.

In its annual report for 2020, state auditors said the deficiencies were mainly caused by non-compliance with laws, rules, and regulations.

According to COA, a total of P42.41 billion intended for the DOH’s COVID-19 response was transferred to procurement or implementing partner agencies without a memorandum of agreement and other supporting documents.

It added that a total of P11.89 billion had remained unobligated as of Dec. 31 last year.

Duque said the DOH is already addressing the concerns raised by the COA and said they had until Sept. 30 to do so.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon called for a Senate inquiry into the deficiencies and poor handling by the DOH of about P67.32 billion funds meant to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We should investigate the Department of Health’s handling of COVID-19 funds.

The deluge of deficiencies that the Commission of Audit findings uncovered are alarming and disturbing,” Drilon said.

“It is imperative that we examine closely the DOH’s use of billions of pesos in COVID-19 response funds given the findings of the COA and the corruption allegations that hounded the agency’s procurement of various COVID-19 equipment and supplies,” Drilon said.

“We heard of corruption allegations involving the purchase of PPEs and test kits and these corruption allegations have remained unanswered and unsolved,” he added.

Citing the COA report, Drilon said the Senate should particularly look into the P3.97 billion worth of contracts and projects with procedural deficiencies in the procurement process and lacking documentation.

“This is where unscrupulous individuals or syndicates in the government dip their sticky fingers. We must examine this especially given the corruption allegations that involved the purchase of various COVID-19 equipment and supplies,” Drilon added.

“Who was involved in these purchases?

Which agency made the procurement?

Where are these people now? Are they still in the government?” he asked.

Drilon said Duque’s ineptitude is sabotaging the government response to the pandemic.

“While we see a shortage of beds, PPEs, ventilators, oxygen tanks, the DOH incurred P24.64 billion in unobligated funds that could have augmented our medical resources and paid on time the risk allowance of our medical frontliners,” Drilon said.

Sen. Leila M. de Lima Said the latest COA findings reveal that the lackluster performance of this government in its pandemic response is to blame for the challenges we encountered.

But Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said while he was shocked by the COA findings, he is not keen on investigating them.

“We are reviewing it. You know, I don’t want to investigate in the midst of a pandemic because we will lose focus on... the disease,” said Gordon in an interview over CNN. “But if we have to investigate, we have to do it very, very fast and if they don’t want to cooperate, it will take very long. I don’t want to waste time. I don’t want the doctors, the people running the system to be going out to investigations when they need to be at work,” he added.

“But if we see that what is happening is really bad, then we will have to investigate and heads will roll,” he added.

Senator Grace Poe said the DOH had a lot of explaining to do and said she supported a Senate probe.

“We expect the Senate investigation will help correct these deficiencies, seek accountability and ensure future funds are better managed,” Poe said.

“Instead of being utilized to support and boost the country’s pandemic response, the funds either remained idle or were not properly and immediately used for their purpose,” she said in her resolution seeking for an inquiry.

Sen. Joel Villanueva said the DOH should identify and address its procurement and supply chain choke points that seem to be the subject of the latest COA findings of “deficiencies” in the management of some P67 billion in COVID-19 funds in 2020.

Villanueva said no matter how much funds Congress allotted for the country’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is useless if agencies such as the DOH never get to implement or realize the objectives set forth by such allocations.

“When procurement is choked by inefficiencies, a COVID-19 patient struggling to breathe dies down the line,” Villanueva said.

Former vice president Jejomar Binay also weighed in.

“The effort and sacrifice of our medical frontliners go to waste. They are being led in this uphill battle against a deadly virus by an inefficient and incompetent Health secretary,” Binay said in a statement.

LFromow-income...

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protocols are being observed.

Each qualified resident in ECQ areas will receive cash assistance of P1,000 each or up to a maximum of P4,000 per family.

The Makati City government on Thursday announced it has already given out 52 percent of the state-funded P511.98 million cash assistance to 233,679 qualified residents on the first day of distribution.

Mayor Abigail Binay said the distribution was made via electronic cash transfer to avoid mass gatherings and to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We wanted to make the distribution of cash aid contactless and convenient.

We are glad that we achieved a 52-percent utilization rate in just one day, without the long queues and crowds that would have put everyone at risk of getting infected with COVID,” she said.

receive the national government’s financial assistance.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier released an initial P10.8 billion for the grant of cash aid to qualified recipients in Metro Manila, which is under ECQ from Aug. 6 to 20.

Local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila started the cash aid distribution on Wednesday. Under the guidelines on aid distribution set by the DILG, Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of National Defense, they have 15 days to complete the aid distribution process and must ensure that health and safety

P200m alloted to Media Hub in Visayas THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved funding for the construction of another state-of- the-art media facility that will boost the capacity of government media in Visayas.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Thursday said the DBM has approved the allocation of P200 million for the construction of the Visayas Media Hub. “We are happy that the President finally approved this shortly after our success in constructing the Mindanao Media Hub, the largest government media facility outside of Metro Manila, and the largest in the country to date, which is under the Duterte administration,” he said.

The Visayas Media Hub will start its construction soon within the 3,000-square meter property of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Andanar said such an initiative would level the field in terms of allocating programs and projects in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“In my department I can say that we have a level playing field in fixing radio stations, TV stations, and now we have the Visayas Media Hub that will basically become the biggest media facility in the Visayas,” he said.

A Government Communications Academy is also expected to rise in Manolo Fortich Bukidnon soon.

DTI...

From A1 Manufacturers have petitioned for a 3 to 5 percent increase in SRP starting the month of August.

In a recent meeting, manufacturers complained that the price of tin cans went up by 60 percent while pet bottle packaging also increased by 37 percent. Prices of herring, used to make sardines, rose by 14 percent, meat by 10 percent and mechanically-deboned meat by 87 percent.

The DTI has already approved price increases for consumer goods such as milk and sardines. It is still assessing pricing requests for canned meat, instant noodle, coffee, creamer and condiments.

The Department previously announced that basic necessities will now be sold based on the September 30, 2019 SRP list, following the lifting of the 2-month moratorium on increases.

The basic necessities were placed under automatic price control at their prevailing prices due to the outbreak of African Swine Fever. The price freeze lasted 60 days, from May 10, 2021 till July 9, 2021.

The products under basic necessities include canned sardines in tomato sauce, luncheon meat, meatloaf, beef loaf, corned beef, processed milk, coffee, bread, locally manufactured instant noodles, salt, detergent soap/ laundry soap, toilet soap, bottled water, candle, and condiments such as vinegar, soy sauce, and fish sauce.

The DTI reiterated its warning on non-compliance lest erring establishments shall be charged of illegal price manipulation, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel. Based on the Price Act, those found engaging in illegal price manipulation will be subject to imprisonment for a period of not less than 5 years but no more than 15 years, and will be required to pay fines of not less than P5,000 to P2 million.

Public transport is also back at 85 percent to ensure the movement of essential workers, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said.

In Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte issued guidelines for the proper conduct of humanitarian services and distribution of financial aid, in order to ensure that public health protocols are observed and that peace and order is maintained.

She said handing-out donations in kind, such as food and household supplies, should be done in a strictly doorto-door manner.

Donor groups must be composed of only five individuals who must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and should be accompanied by five representatives from the city government, police or barangay.

Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, renewed his appeal for the use of digital technology to make the distribution of government subsidies easier and safer.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

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Online traders warned against data misuse

By Othel Campos

‘BARANGAY-NIHAN’. Philippine National Police Chief

Guillermo Eleazar (right) and Brig. Gen. Leo Francisco lead the distribution of food packs to residents of a barangay in Baseco, Tondo district of Manila during the PNP Barangay-nihan Food Bank activity set up by MPD Station 13 commander Co. Robert Domingo. Food packs and other donations are a timely gesture since Metro Manila and nearby cities have been placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status from August 6 to 20, which restricts movement of people. Norman Cruz

PNP steps up campaign vs. cyber crimes, sues 87

A

T LEAST 121 charges have been filed against 87individuals for illegal acts ranging from spreading disinformation on the Internet to illegal online sale of medical supplies, according to the Philippine National Police.

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said that apart from enforcing health and safety protocols, police continue to go after evil people who are making a profit and taking advantage of our fellowmen in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eleazar said based on the data from March 9, 2020 to August 9, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) have filed 87 criminal complaints against 52 persons for spreading fake news; three online scam complaints against two persons; and 31 criminal com-

DICT adopts mobile app for vax certification JUST two weeks after the World Health Organization finalized the guidance and accompanying technical specifications for vaccination certificates, the portal and mobile app for issuing vaccination certificates to fully vaccinated citizens in the Philippines called the “VaxCertPH” is up and running and ready to go live nationwide in the coming two weeks.

“Even prior to WHO’s issuance of the standards for vaccination certificates, the DICT has already been working on the VaxCertPH in coordination with the DOH. With the new guidelines, we will continue to improve upon the current system to comply with worldwide standards, “ DICT Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” B. Honasan II said.

Under the Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates: Vaccination Status — Technical Specifications and Implementation Guidance issued on 27 July 2021, the WHO proposed the use of digital vaccination certificates, which documents a person’s current vaccination status, as a mechanism through which a person’s COVID-19-related health data can be digitally documented via an electronic certificate for use in continuity of care or as proof of vaccination for purposes other than health care.

The Philippines’ VaxCertPH developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology for the Department of Health relies on the data submitted by local government units through the Vaccine Information Management System (VIMS). Thus, VaxCertPH is highly reliant on the quality of data collected in the VIMS.

plaints against 26 persons for online profiteering, overpricing, hoarding and unauthorized selling of medical supplies in the different prosecutor’s offices nationwide.

The PNP has intensified its monitoring of cyber crimes as most people are working from home while students are attending online classes as movement restrictions have been in place due to the pandemic.

Eleazar pointed out that based on reports from the CIDG and the ACG, there has been an increase in incidents of persons spreading disinformation about the pandemic on

social media.

They were specifically charged with Unlawful Use of Means of Publication and Unlawful Utterances under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as amended to include Online Libel; violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Anti-Cybercrime Law; and violation of Presidential Decree No. 90, which makes rumor-mongering and spreading false information as unlawful.

“We are appealing to the public to be discerning and wary of fake news. This is also a stern warning to all individuals or groups spreading false information on various social media platforms. We will go after you and will not hesitate to put you behind bars,” said Eleazar.

The CIDG and the ACG also filed three criminal complaints against two alleged online scammers; and 31 criminal complaints

P3-M ECSTASY.

Combined operatives of the Customs Bureau, PDEACordillera and NAIA task group arrested the claimant of 1,783 tablets of ecstasy (party drug) concealed in bed sheets with an estimated street value of P3,031,100.00 during a controlled delivery operation in Baguio City on August 12, 2021.

against 26 alleged online profiteers, hoarders, and unauthorized sellers of medical supplies.

Seized from the unauthorized online sellers were gallons of disinfectant, vitamin C capsules, forehead thermometers, face masks, and several liters of isopropyl alcohol.

Eleazar also reminded food delivery riders to strictly observe minimum public health safety standards and quarantine protocols.

This came after the PNP received reports that some delivery riders are either wearing face masks improperly or smoking while waiting for their clients’ orders at restaurants.

“I have ordered all chiefs of police and station commanders to coordinate with their local government units and managers of business establishments to tighten their coronavirus disease 2019 protocols,” Eleazar said in a statement.

THE National Privacy Commission has warned all online merchants or sellers against the unauthorized disclosure/processing and improper disposal of their customers’ personal data, which are prohibited acts under the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Instances of alleged bogus online sellers in Cebu have been brought to the attention of the commission where online sellers allegedly sent items to individuals who did not purchase them.

These sellers may have acquired the individuals’ personal data through misuse, malicious disclosure, or improper disposal of information, the NPC said.

“We call on owners and operators of online stores to adopt best data privacy practices and to always observe compliance with the Data Privacy Act. The lack of security and privacy practices compromises your customers’ personal data, which can only lead to your loss. Consumer trust, your income, and your reputation will suffer when unauthorized disclosure of personal data happens,” said Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro.

Online stores are required to employ reasonable and appropriate organizational, physical and technical security measures, the same way physical stores are mandated to perform.

Section 25 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the DPA states that security measures must be intended to prevent “accidental or unlawful destruction, alteration, and disclosure, as well as against any other unlawful processing” of personal data.

Mail claimant arrested for P3-m ecstasy

By Joel Zurbano AUTHORITIES seized more than P3 million worth of shipment of a prohibited party drug and arrested its claimant during a controlled delivery operation in Baguio City on Thursday.

Customs agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport went to Baguio City and arrested Elisa Millare who claimed the package containing 1,783 tablets of ecstasy at the mail station in Baguio around 12:30 p.m.

The bureau conducted the controlled delivery operation with the help of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group resulting in the claimant’s arrest.

The shipment arrived at the Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in Pasay City on July 13 from Neuss, Germany and was misdeclared as bed sheet, children’s pencil, and a pair of shoes, a clear case of technical smuggling.

Prior to the entrapment operation, Customs placed the shipment under profiling and examination. The authorities discovered the bed sheets where the illegal drugs with estimated street value of P3,031,100.00 are concealed.

The claimant will be charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 also known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Sections 1400 and 1401 in relation to Section 119 of RA 10863 also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

PDEA agent missing in Pampanga THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has created a task force to find an agent who went missing in Pampanga.

Director general Wilkins Villanueva signed an agency order creating Task Force Fesway, a 24-man intelligence and investigation team, to expedite the search for the anti-drug operative, agent I Merton Fesway.

“We will not stop until we find Fesway, 38, of Samoki, Bontoc in Mt. Province. He has gone missing since June 25 and is believed to be a victim of abduction.

He is assigned at the PDEA Regional Office III in Angeles, Pampanga.

Based on the initial investigation, Fesway was supposed to meet a confidential informant when he disappeared. Rio N. Araja

DOLE to employers: Avoid ‘no vax, no work’ policy EMPLOYERS who will impose sanctions on their personnel for failure to get vaccinated will be liable for illegal suspension or illegal termination of an employee, the Labor department said on Thursday.

This “no vaccine, no work” policy is discriminatory, Labor Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez said during the Palace Laging Handa briefing.

Likewise, the Labor official assured the

public that an advisory has been issued stating that COVID-19 vaccines for employees are for free.

Benavidez said employers have the responsibility to promote vaccine confidence among their employees to help the country reach herd immunity against COVID-19.

The government is eyeing to fully vaccinate 76.3 million people or 70% of the

population by the end of the year to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 DOLE however has yet to receive complaints regarding the ‘no vaccine, no work policy’ allegedly being implemented by some companies.

“We have not yet received a formal complaint or complaint. What we get are reports, but no companies are named,” Benavidez said.

LOOSE FIREARMS. Tamano Kamaong Mamalapat,

a former rebel who became a leader of a private armed group, was presented along with his four colleagues who handed over 50 caliber Barrett rifle to local government officials and Maj. General Albert Ignatius Ferro of the PNP--Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. Col. Tom Tuzon regional chief of CIDG-BAR (2nd right witnesses the ceremonial turn-over in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. Mark Navales

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Isko elected as Aksyon party chief

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vito Barcelo MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso was elected president of Aksyon Demokratiko during its general membership meeting Tuesday night, the political party said in a statement Thursday.

Domagoso, who signed his oath as party member last August 5, thanked and welcomed the party members’ decision to elect him as the president.

The mayor said the party had several meetings before he was accepted into Aksyon Demokratiko.

“I am glad that many of their advocacies are aligned with my local party, Asenso Manileno,” noted Domagoso.

Meanwhile, Malacañang is keeping its distance from the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) nomination of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and President Rodrigo Duterte for President and Vice President in the 2022 national elections.

In a virtual press conference, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque declined to comment on the possible Go-Duterte team up under PDP-Laban, saying it’s up for the party to decide and not the Palace.

“When it comes to issues concerning political parties, they have their respective spokespersons. So, I would let the spokespersons of PDPLaban and Hugpong ng Pagbabago respond to that,” Roque said.

According to the Manila mayor, Aksyon would prioritize the programs for the minimum basic needs, specifically, the projects on housing, job creation, food security, education, and health.

Home gardening thriving during pandemic—Villar EVEN before the coronavirus pandemic, which has afforded people to spend more time in the comforts of their home, Senator Cynthia A. Villar has been leading the campaign on vegetable gardening while enticing people to grow their own food.

“Home gardening is essential because of its contribution to food security and self-provision – a buffer against high food prices,” noted Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food.

Through the Villar SIPAG, the senator has been distributing seeds and organic fertilizers all over the country.

The senator is on the frontline of pushing gardening and composting -turning kitchen and garden wastes into organic fertilizers.

“I’ve always advocated home gardening as a strategy for food security and for the alleviation of nutrient deficiency.

It is a big help for families to have direct access to healthier food and fresh vegetables. They don’t have to buy them in the market. They can even earn from it,” said Villar.

Aside from seedlings, the senator has been distributing free organic fertilizer made from kitchen and garden wastes.

Villar SIPAG has 108 composting facilities, 68 in Las Piñas and Bacoor, and 50 through the Vistaland communities all over the Philippines.

They were distributed to LGUs, congressional districts, private individuals, homeowners’ associations and organizations, private and public schools, and farmers through their cooperatives and associations. Macon Ramos-Araneta

BEFORE AND AFTER. Fire volunteers respond to a fire on third alarm that hit the public market of Teresa, Rizal, on Wednesday night, then later sift through the rubble as stall owners recover what is left of their merchandise. Arson investigators are still checking the cause of the fire that razed an estimated P4.8 million worth of merchandise and property. Norman Cruz and Ryan Eduard Benaid for PonD News Asia

Chinese ship near Panatag, DND to verify—Lorenzana

T

HE government is verifying reports of the alleged presence of a Chinese research ship spotted near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday.

In a statement, Lorenzana said the Department of National Defense will act after maritime patrols in the area are done.

“Rest assured that the AFP, through the Northern Luzon Command, undertakes regular domain awareness operations and provides all the necessary support to the Philippine Coast Guard and other agencies to secure and implement our laws in our territorial waters and the EEZ,” he said.

This developed as according to a report by Simularity, a company that

specializes in geospatial analysis and provides satellite data imagery, there is “significant” evidence that occupied reefs in Spratly Islands are being damaged by “excess nutrients.”

The image-rich report, released Thursday, also said reefs in Spratly Islands that have no human activity have “less chlorophyll-A than occupied reefs.”

It said Union Banks’ reefs “have more reef degrading macroalgae than similar reefs which are not occupied.”

Harmful chlorophyll-A blooms are

created when raw sewage is dumped into the waters.

In July, Simularity reported that human waste and sewage from hundreds of Chinese ships anchored in the South China Sea and parts of the West Philippine Sea are causing massive marine damage to the resourcerich waters.

According to the company’s July report, Chinese ships have been dumping raw sewage every day for several years on reefs, creating harmful chlorophyllA blooms in the waters.

The Philippine government said it would verify Simularity’s report on waste dumping in the West Philippine Sea. The new report mentions Johnson South Reef and Hughes Reef, which are occupied by China, and Landsowne Reef, which is occupied by Vietnam.

DISINFECTION. The local government of Dasmarinas, Cavite conducts a massive disinfection of its City Hall Building due to some employees testing positive for COVID-19 during the week. The LGU ordered a one-day suspension of work on Thursday to protect the government employees against the virus. JR Josue

By Willie Casas THE Department of Health on Thursday condemned a video featuring University of the Philippines School of Medicine Professor and leading pharmacologist Dr. Romeo Quijano, who alleged that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe.

“The DOH condemns health professionals who have been spreading false information regarding life-saving interventions such as COVID-19 vaccines.

It is especially irresponsible as the country continues to face the threat of the more infectious Delta variant,” the department said in a statement.

“There is a growing amount of real-world evidence globally which has consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines have led to significant reductions in hospitalizations and deaths among vaccinated individuals.

Moreover, despite increases in COVID-19 cases in these countries, the same rate of increase is NOT seen in hospitalizations and deaths,” it added.

“It is likewise irresponsible for media outlets to allow such professionals to use their platforms to spread baseless information that stands to harm Filipinos, especially those who are in the process of deciding to get vaccinated,” the DOH said.

Quijano also wrote a series of blog articles entitled “Quijano Series: Beware the Vaccine for COVID-19.”

Pope taps Cuevas to lead Zamboanga archdiocese Legislator lauds POPE Francis has named Auxiliary Bishop Moises Cuevas of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga as its apostolic administrator “sede plena.”

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website reported that the appointment was made on Aug. 11 but was only made public on Thursday.

The archdiocese said as administrator, the 47-year-old Cuevas will have “all the powers and duties of a diocesan bishop.”

The Pope usually names an apostolic administrator when a see is vacant or “sede vacante,” but “sede plena” is a term used to signify that a see is still occupied by a bishop.

Archbishop Romulo de la Cruz will continue to be the head of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga while he is recovering from a stroke.

Administrators “sede plena” only serve in their role until a newly chosen diocesan bishop takes possession of the diocese. This type of administrator is

commonly an auxiliary bishop of the diocese, a priest serving as the vicar general of the diocese, or the ordinary of a neighboring diocese.

Cuevas was born in Cuenca, Batangas, and was ordained as priest for the Zamboanga archdiocese in 2000.

Twenty years later, the pontiff appointed him as auxiliary bishop on March 19, 2020.

He was ordained to episcopacy and was officially installed five months after or on Aug. 24, 2020.

Galing Pook Awards sees higher standards THE application of the best practices in responding to the challenges of the pandemic especially in providing the needs of the people amid the various levels of community quarantines is going to set the bar higher in the search for this year’s ten outstanding programs in local governance or the 2021 Galing Pook Awards.

Mel Senen Sarmiento, the former Interior Secretary and Galing Pook Foundation Chairperson, said the ability of local chief executives to adapt to the “new normal” and implement innovative programs and services that make life easier for their constituents, who are struggling because of the pandemic, will be the primary barometer in determining this year’s top LGUs. Sarmiento said that Galing Pook Awards took a hiatus last year because

DOH hits video of UP professor vs. COVID jabs

of the pandemic. With the theme “GobyerNEW: Magagaling na Programa mula sa Magagaling na Pook,” it was relaunched in June to honor local government units that exemplified adaptiveness, innovation, resiliency, and excellence.

He noted that despite its hiatus, this year’s Galing Pook Awards received 200 nominations, the highest since its inception in 1993. The application was closed last June 30, and the awarding ceremony is set in October.

Sarmiento thanked the officers of the Galing Pook Foundation, SM Prime, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Local Government Academy for supporting the awards, as he noted that the pandemic truly tested the leadership qualities of the country’s local government executives.

MODEL POLICEMEN. Ayala Foundation President Ruel Maranan (center) hands a plaque to one of the 18 police awardees at the Pulis Magiting X Pilipinong Magiting awarding ceremony at the National Capital Region Police Office. Given simultaneously in six regions, the awards are a project spearheaded by Ayala Foundation in partnership with the Philippine National Police with the support of Chooks-to-Go and GCash.

gender-sensitive COVID database

By Maricel V. Cruz RIZAL 2nd District Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles on Thursday lauded the launching of a “gender-sensitive” COVID-19 database, saying this could help local governments tailor-fit their response to the pandemic.

Citing the need to “draw genderspecific insights based on COVID-19 epidemiological and socio-economic data,” the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), an agency under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), recently announced the creation of the COVID-19 Cases Monitor (CCMon) Database.

The NRCP said the “health, social, and economic risk brought about by the COVID-19 disease have associated gender-specific aspects, such as the role of gender in the healthcare system, sex-dependent health vulnerabilities of individuals, and gender-related occupational hazards.”

“This database could provide local governments with deeper insight into the pandemic from a gender-specific angle. This could help localities ensure that there are no disparities in their pandemic response,” Nograles said.

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CIRCULAR

No.: 2021-005 Date: July 22, 2021

TO

:

All Heads of Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations, Government Financial Institutions, Government Instrumentalities with Corporate Powers/Government Corporate Entities, and their Subsidiaries and Water Districts, Heads of Finance/ Comptrollership/Financial Management Services, Chief Accountants/Heads of Accounting Units, Budget Officers/ Heads of Budget Units; Commission on Audit (COA) Assistant Commissioners, Directors, Auditors; and All Others Concerned

SUBJECT

:

Conversion from the Revised Chart of Accounts (RCA) for Government Corporations (GCs) under COA Circular No. 2015010 dated December 01, 2015, as amended by COA Circular No. 2016-006 dated December 29, 2016, to the updated RCA for GCs (2019) prescribed under COA Circular No. 2020-002 dated January 28, 2020, and relevant accounting policies and guidelines in the implementation thereof

1.0

Rationale/Purpose This Circular is issued to: 1.1

1.2

2.0

This Circular shall be adopted for all funds of GCs, except for Special Accounts in the General Fund (SAGF) maintained by GCs which are covered by COA Circular No. 2020-001 dated January 8, 2020 prescribing Volume III-Revised Chart of Accounts (Updated 2019) to replace Volume III-The Revised Chart of Accounts (Updated 2015) of the Government Accounting Manual for National Government Agencies.

General Guidelines and Procedures on the Conversion of Accounts 3.1

3.2

4.0

provide accounting guidelines on the implementation of the updated RCA for GCs (2019) prescribed under COA Circular No. 2020-002 dated January 28, 2020.

Coverage 2.1

3.0

provide guidelines and procedures on the conversion from the RCA for GCs prescribed under COA Circular No. 2015-010 dated December 01, 2015, as amended by COA Circular No. 2016-006 dated December 29, 2016, to the updated RCA for GCs (2019) for use by GCs, which consist of GovernmentOwned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Government Financial Institutions (GFIs), Government Instrumentalities with Corporate Powers (GICPs)/Government Corporate Entities (GCEs) and their Subsidiaries, and Water Districts prescribed under COA Circular No. 2020-002 dated January 28, 2020; and

All GCs classified as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs), now Commercial Public Sector Entities (CPSEs), and Non-GBEs, now NonCPSEs1, under COA Circular No. 2015-003 dated April 16, 20152, shall make the conversion of accounts for their opening financial statements (FS), as follows: 3.1.1

For CPSEs based on the statement of financial position as at December 31, 2019; statement of comprehensive income, statement of cash flows and statement of changes in equity for the year ended December 31, 2019; and

3.1.2

For Non-CPSEs based on the statement of financial position as at December 31, 2019, statement of financial performance, statement of cash flows, and statement of changes in net assets/equity for the year ended December 31, 2019.

3.3

To facilitate recognition of 2020 transactions in the books of accounts using the updated RCA (2019), account balances covering the transactions from January 1, 2020 up to the date of the latest trial balance shall also be converted, if accounts are not yet converted in accordance with the updated RCA for GCs (2019).

3.4

The Chief Accountants/Heads of Accounting Units shall ensure that careful analyses of the affected General Ledger (GL) and Subsidiary Ledger (SL) accounts are properly made before the conversion.

3.5

The Chief Accountants/Heads of Accounting Units shall be guided by the Matrix on the Conversion of Accounts from the RCA for GCs, as amended, to the updated RCA for GCs (2019), attached as Annex A.

4.1

All GCs shall continue the maintenance of separate set of books of accounts by fund (i.e. Corporate Fund, Trust Fund, Special Account, Foreign Assisted Project Fund, Prize Fund, Charity Fund, etc.) as prescribed under Item 5.1 of COA Circular No. 2016-006.

4.2

Balances of existing books of accounts as at December 31, 2019 and the latest Trial Balance shall be analyzed to determine the affected accounts to be converted.

4.3

A Journal Entry Voucher (JEV) to recognize the conversion of affected accounts shall be prepared as illustrated in Annexes B.1 and B.2 (sample conversion entries as a result of implementation of Philippine Financial Reporting Standard (PFRS) 9 and 15).

4.4

A JEV to recognize the conversion of accounts based on the Trial Balance covering the transactions from January 1, 2020 up to the date of the latest trial balance shall also be prepared, if accounts are not yet converted in accordance with the updated RCA for GCs (2019).

4.5

Copies of the JEVs on the conversion of affected accounts and other supporting documents, together with the year-end FS and other financial reports/schedules as prescribed under COA Circular No. 2017-004 dated December 13, 2017 shall be furnished to the COA Auditor concerned and the Government Accountancy Sector (GAS), COA, separately within the reglementary period.

4.6

The use of the following new and existing accounts for the implementation of PFRS 9–Financial Instruments and PFRS 15–Revenue from Contracts with Customers effective January 1, 2019 shall be governed by policies set forth therein per COA Resolution No. 2019-006 dated March 27, 2019:

Code

Covering PFRS

Contracts Receivable

10301310

PFRS 15

Allowance for Impairment-Contracts Receivable

10301312

PFRS 15

Construction in Progress-Construction Contracts

10498010

PFRS 15

Progress Billings

10498011

PFRS 15

Financial Assets Designated at Fair Value Through Surplus/Profit or Deficit/Loss

10201020

PFRS 9

Investment Securities at Amortized Cost

10212010

PFRS 9

Financial Assets at Fair Value Through Other Comprehensive Income

10213010

PFRS 9

Other Unearned Revenue/Income

20502990

PFRS 15

Applicable accounts under the Financial Assets-Held to Maturity and Loans and Receivable Accounts submajor accounts

All accounts under sub-major account groups 10202 and 10301

PFRS 9

Unrealized Gain/(Loss) from Changes in the Fair Value of Financial Instruments

30501020

PFRS 9

Responsibility

Saving Clause Any clarification or request for assistance on the implementation of this Circular or cases not covered in this Circular shall be referred to this Commission through the GAS, for appropriate action.

Repealing Clause All issuances inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

8.0

digenous population feared more vulnerable to coronavirus.

“I ask all our Aboriginal community as well to please stay at home, come forward for a test if you have symptoms and of course please get vaccinated with any available vaccine as soon as you can,” New South Wales Health’s Marianne Gale said.

In Sydney, the epicenter of the outbreak, almost 6,500 cases and 36 deaths have been recorded since a cluster emerged in mid-June.

The city is expected to spend at least nine weeks under stay-at-home orders, with several hotspot suburbs placed under harsher restrictions Thursday.

Australia won global praise for its successful coronavirus response in the early stages of the pandemic, and most of the country was enjoying few restrictions by late 2020.

But a glacial vaccination rollout has been no match for the Delta variant, leaving cities and towns reliant on repeated lockdowns as they attempt to stamp out the virus. AFP

Khmer Rouge leader to appeal genocide case

CAR GRAVEYARD. Aerial photo shows vehicles damaged by floods at a parking lot in

Zhengzhou in China’s central Henan province. The region is rebuilding after the deadliest floods in a decade wreaked havoc across the province mid-July, killing over 300 people and damaging thousands of cars and buildings. At least 238,000 damaged vehicles have been sent to car ‘graveyards,’ head of Henan’s insurance regulator Ma Chao told state broadcaster CCTV. AFP

Ex K-pop star Seungri jailed for 3 years overseas gambling at luxurious caDISGRACED former K-pop sinos in Las Vegas involving illicit star Seungri was convicted of foreign exchange transactions. arranging prostitution and other “It is hard to see the defendant charges stemming from a sex was not aware of financial payments and drugs scandal and jailed for paid to the women for sex,” judge three years Thursday by a military Hwang Min-je was cited as saying. court, reports said.

“It appears that he carried out sysThe 30-year-old singer from tematic sexual prostitution.” popular boyband BIGBANG, who Seungri had changed his testimoretired from showbusiness as the Seungri ny under police questioning and in scandal mounted and later enlisted court, he added, and “lacked credin the military, was found guilty on all nine counts against him, according to multiple ibility.”

The singer was also ordered to pay $1 million media reports.

BIGBANG enjoyed widespread fame follow- in restitution.

The investigation into the scandal surrounding ing its 2006 debut and Seungri – real name Lee Seung-hyun – went on to become a successful him uncovered a spate of allegations against other musicians and personnel at YG Entertainment – businessman.

Manila He was convicted of arranging sex services Seungri’s former agency and one of the biggest Standard TODAY for potential investors in his business, as well as K-pop management firms. AFP EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT of ESTATE with WAIVER of RIGHTS Manila

The Chief Accountants/Heads of Accounting Units and Budget Officers/Heads of Budget Units of GCs and other officers concerned of all entities covered by this Circular shall be responsible for the proper conversion of the accounts and the submission of copies of the JEV, FS, and reports to the COA Auditor concerned and the GAS, COA.

7.0

About 400,000 people in the nation’s political hub will be under stay-at-home orders from 5:00 pm local time, joining millions more already under lockdown in Australia’s southeast.

“This is the most serious public health risk that we are faced in the territory this year.

Really, since the beginning of the pandemic,” Australian Capital Territory chief minister Andrew Barr said.

He added the COVID-positive person had been in the community while infectious.

Authorities also appealed to residents to avoid panic buying, as stores began to fill with maskless shoppers shortly after the announcement.

“There is no need for panic buying. And our key message to people is please be patient, be kind with one another, and be thoughtful,” said the capital’s health minister Rachel Stephens-Smith.

Canberra has not been in lockdown since a nationwide shutdown in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.

After months of pursuing a “Covid zero” strategy, Australia is struggling to contain multiple outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

More than 10 million people in the country’s biggest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, are currently in lockdown as authorities try to bring case numbers down.

Much of western New South Wales state was also placed under lockdown late Wednesday, amid concerns for a sizable In-

Specific Accounting Policies and Guidelines

Account

6.0

USTRALIA’S capital Canberra was ordered into a seven-day lockdown Thursday, after a single COVID-19 case was detected in the city that has largely avoided virus restrictions.

This Commission shall issue a separate COA Circular amending COA Circular No. 2015-003 dated April 16, 2015 prescribing the classification of all GCs and other entities/instrumentalities with corporate powers as GBEs or Non-GBEs for the purpose of determining the applicable financial reporting framework in the preparation of their FSs and prescribing guidelines therefor.

Title

5.0

Canberra under lockdown after single virus case A

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Standard CARMENCITA LENTEJAS-CASTAÑOS has been extra-

judicially TODAY settled among her heirs WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS consisting of: • ½ share of land covered by TCT No. 27013 – Barrio Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City; • ½ share of land covered by TCT No. 27014 – Barrio Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City; • 1/7 undivided portion of land covered by TCT No. T-6758 – Sagcahan, Tacloban City; • 1/7 undivided portion of land covered by TCT No. T-35922 – Mun. of Jaro, Prov. of Leyte.

As per Doc. No. 306; Page No. 63; Book No. 10; Series of 2019 before Notary Public ATTY. ALEX BLAISE J. CUNANAN; and Doc. No. 435; Page No. 87; Book No. 51; Series of 2021 before Notary Public ATTY. EDGARDO Y. RAAGAS.

(MS-AUG 6/13/20, 2021)

Transitory Provision Accounts that have not been converted due to issues which are not yet settled as of conversion date shall be converted to the most appropriate account in the updated RCA for GCs (2019) until a supplemental circular or clarification is issued.

A disclosure shall be provided in the Notes to FS for those accounts that are yet to be converted to the proper account.

JOB HIRING

Effective Date This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

HOTEL CONSULTANT This position is for a Hotel Consultant with the following responsibilities: •

MICHAEL G. AGUINALDO Chairperson

ROLAND C. PONDOC Commissioner ATTACHMENTS: Annex A – Conversion of Accounts from the Revised Chart of Accounts for Government Corporations prescribed under COA Circular No. 2015-010 dated December 1, 2015, as amended, to the updated Revised Chart of Accounts for Government Corporations (2019) Annex B.1 – Sample Conversion Entry as a result of implementation of PFRS 9 Annex B.2 – Sample Conversion Entry as a result of implementation of PFRS 15 Note: Annexes A, B.1 and B.2 of the Circular may be accessed in the COA website @ www.coa. gov.ph 1 COA Resolution No. 2020-013 dated January 31, 2020, Renaming Government Business Entities (GBEs) and Non-Government Business Entities (Non-GBEs) into Commercial Public Sector Entities (CPSEs) and Non-Commercial Public Sector Entities (Non-CPSEs) pursuant to the 2018 Edition of the Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements (HIPSAP) Published by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).

2 COA Circular No. 2015-003 dated April 16, 2015, Classification of all Government Corporations and other entities/instrumentalities with corporate powers as Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) or Non-GBEs for the purpose of determining the applicable Financial Reporting Framework in the preparation of their Financial Statements and Prescribing Guidelines therefor.

(MS-AUG. 13, 2021)

Provides professional advice and source of information for the strategic business of a full-service property and supports the leadership and management of the property.

•

Evaluates all aspects of the operation, including guest and employee satisfaction, human resources, financial performance, sales and revenue generation and return on investment.

•

Proposes and assists in developing business marketing strategies for competitive advantage.

•

Provides the leadership expertise support that ensures the effective and efficient operation of the hotel, including, but not limited to, the quality and legal defensibility of services provided, and the achievement of stated operational goals and profitability objectives.

This position requires the following qualifications: • A Master’s Degree in Business or Hotel Management.

•

At least 12 years of experience in the management operations, sales and marketing, or other related professional areas.

•

Exposure to International Hotels.

For interested candidates, you may submit your application to: hotelcareers@ robinsonsland.com Use the subject line HC-TWMSP-NAME You may also contact: Alida H. Ferranco at 09988403600

THE last surviving senior Khmer Rouge leader will next week begin an appeal against his life imprisonment for his role in the genocide committed by the regime in Cambodia more than four decades ago.

The Khmer Rouge, led by “Brother Number 1” Pol Pot, left some two million Cambodians dead from overwork, starvation and mass executions from 1975-79.

The regime’s former head of state Khieu Samphan, 90, will on Monday challenge his 2018 conviction for genocide against ethnic minority Vietnamese.

He was convicted alongside “Brother Number 2” Nuon Chea and jailed for life for genocide and a litany of other crimes, including forced marriages and rapes.

The pair were previously handed life sentences by the UN-backed court in 2014 for crimes against humanity over the violent forced evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975, when Khmer Rouge troops drove the population of the capital into the countryside.

Nuon Chea died in 2019, leaving Khieu Samphan the sole surviving Khmer Rouge leader to challenge the landmark ruling.

Khieu Samphan’s defence team has asked the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to overturn the judgment.

“We will ask the court to acquit Khieu Samphan of the genocide,” his lawyer Kong Sam Onn told AFP Thursday.

Tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said the hearing would take place from Monday to Thursday and due to COVID-19 curbs, Khieu Samphan and his defense team will sit in a separate room from the judges who will be in the main courtroom. AFP

IN BRIEF 8 feared dead in Russia chopper crash A HELICOPTER carrying tourists on a volcano sightseeing trip in Russia’s far east crashed into a lake on Thursday, leaving eight people feared dead and two others in serious condition, rescuers and local officials said.

The Mi-8 helicopter carrying 16 people came down in a nature reserve on the mountainous Kamchatka peninsula, the local government said in a statement.

“Eight people were rescued, two of them are in serious condition,” senior Kamchatka regional government official Alexander Zabolichenko said in a statement.

The helicopter was carrying three crew members and 13 passengers, all of them tourists, the government added.

Forty rescuers and divers were dispatched to the scene.

Unnamed medical sources told TASS that the remaining eight were feared dead, but their fate was not immediately confirmed.

According to rescuers quoted by TASS, the helicopter sank after the crash and was lying at a depth of 100 meters in Lake Kuril. AFP

Rocket attacks on Israel ‘war crimes’ DEADLY rocket and mortar fire on Israeli cities by Palestinian militant groups during a May conflict in and around Gaza constituted war crimes, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

The New York-based rights group analysed attacks from Gaza that resulted in the deaths of 12 Israeli civilians and injuries to dozens more.

Rockets that misfired or fell short also killed or wounded “an undetermined number of Palestinians in Gaza,” the group said, with at least seven Palestinian civilians killed.

The rockets were fired during an 11-day conflict that saw Israel pound Gaza with air strikes as militants in the blockaded enclave fired more than 4,000 rockets towards Israel.

Israeli strikes killed some 260 people in Gaza, including militants, while munitions from Gaza killed 13 people in Israel, including a soldier.

The report comes a day after the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA condemned “the existence and potential use by Palestinian armed groups” of tunnels under its schools in Gaza, saying they placed pupils and staff “at risk.” AFP

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Market slumps; AC Energy retreats

Hackers remit part of record stolen crypto SAN FRANCISCO—A firm specializing in transferring cryptocurrency said that hackers have given back $260 million worth of digital loot from a record haul.

Poly Network fired off a tweet Wednesday saying hackers had returned $260 million worth of the digital assets taken in a heist a day earlier valued at $613 million.

Polygon had urged the thieves to return the stolen fortune and provided online addresses for transfers.

“Seven minutes prior to sending the first transaction returning some of the funds, the hacker created a token called ‘The hacker is ready to surrender’ and sent this token to the designated Polygon address,” digital asset research firm The Block said in a post at its website.

One of the touted features of cryptocurrency is that blockchain transactions are public, even if the people behind them are not.

Poly Network had put out a plea for the stolen Ethereum, BinanceChain and OxPolygon tokens to be shunned by traders running “wallets” for storing cryptocurrency.

“The amount of money you hacked is the biggest one in the defi history,” Poly Network said in a tweeted message to the thieves, using a reference to decentralized finance involving cryptocurrency.

“The money you stole are from tens of thousands of crypto community members.”

The return of some of the digital loot came as the thieves were tracked by “white hat hackers” who use their software skills for good.

The heist also sparked debate about whether it would be fair to let the hackers keep some of the loot as reward for uncovering a Poly Network weakness that could have been even more costly.

Open source developers alliance BinomialPool in a tweeted exchange proposed a bounty of 5 percent to 10 percent for pulling off such crypto-hacks. AFP

T

HE stock market sank Thursday over rising COVID-19 cases in the country that could slow down recovery after a robust economic performance in the second quarter.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 110.29 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,556.57 on a value turnover of P18.2 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 133 to 66, with 51 issues unchanged.

AC Energy Corp., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., dropped 4.3 percent to P8.82, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest shopping mall operator, fell 4.1 percent to P33.55.

Emperador Inc. of business tycoon Andrew Tan, the largest liquor maker, declined 3.9 percent to P12.24, while DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major mobile phone company, retreated 3.3 percent to P7.83.

Asian markets, meanwhile, mostly fell Thursday after Chinese authorities unveiled plans to tighten regulation across multiple sectors over the coming years, weeks after it hit stocks by cracking down on a range of industries including tech firms.

Hong Kong and Shanghai fell, though OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley said the reason the losses were not so steep even after the latest news from China may be because “investors are being more accepting of the ‘new normal.”

Tokyo, Seoul, Wellington and Taipei also fell though there were gains in Syd-

ney, Singapore, Mumbai and Jakarta.

The weak showing came despite a record lead from Wall Street, as traders assessed US figures showing a drop in inflation that eased some pressure on the Federal Reserve to start winding down its ultra-loose monetary policy soon.

Stocks had a largely positive start to the week after a recent run of pressure caused by concerns about the fast-spreading Delta variant as well as traders taking a breather after a long-running rally.

China’s crackdowns have also had a detrimental impact, and investors continue to keep an eye on Beijing for any new developments.

On Wednesday the country’s State Council signaled the government’s push to regulate sweeping parts of the economy would continue over the next five years. With AFP

TOP GAINERS 1 2 3

LC OPM MA

LAST PRICE 0.151 0.012 0.012

CHANGE 0.014 0.001 0.001

% CHANGE 10.22% 9.09% 9.09%

4 5 6

MFIN LCB GERI

2.96 0.153 0.88

0.24 0.012 0.06

8.82% 8.51% 7.32%

7 8 9 10

NI CROWN AB ECP

1.34 1.76 6.65 5.44

0.09 0.11 0.35 0.28

7.20% 6.67% 5.56% 5.43%

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

LRW APL MWP2A EVER BHI ALCO ALLHC GPH KPH TECH

restrictions on travel in the city center to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. AFP

bottlenecks persist.

Gross domestic product had fallen 1.6 percent in the first three months of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) added in a statement.

“Today’s figures show that our economy is on the mend showing strong signs of recovery,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said in a separate statement.

Total UK output however remains 4.4 percent lower compared with before the coronavirus pandemic, or final quarter of 2019.

The ONS, providing also its latest monthly data, said the UK economy grew 1.0 percent in June, before England lifted nearly all lockdown restrictions from July.

Markets are looking closely at both growth and inflation data as nations emerge from lockdowns following vaccine rollouts.

Analysts warn that strong price rises could force central banks to hike interest rates sooner than expected, hindering the recovery.

Pressure eased Wednesday however after official data showed US inflation had cooled slightly.

The outlook could be bumpy, analysts warn, as the government next month ends its furlough scheme that has kept millions of Britons in work during the pandemic.

And while the Bank of England last week maintained its forecast for the UK economy to rebound 7.5 percent this year, returning to its pre-pandemic level, it had forecast a 5.0-percent rebound in the second quarter. AFP

LAST PRICE 0.6 0.116 96.1 0.33 0.105 0.69 3.98 13.96 5.2 4.83

CHANGE -0.08 -0.014 -11.3 -0.03 -0.008 -0.05 -0.28 -0.96 -0.28 -0.26

% CHANGE -11.76% -10.77% -10.52% -8.33% -7.08% -6.76% -6.57% -6.43% -5.11% -5.11%

MOST ACTIVE

JAKARTA PAUSES. Motorists sit in traffic leading into downtown Jakarta on August 12, 2021, after the government lifted

British economy rebounded by 4.8% in second quarter on easing lockdown LONDON—Britain’s economy rebounded 4.8 percent in the second quarter as the government began relaxing lockdown restrictions, official data showed Thursday.

The strong growth recovery was fueled by consumer spending, while the government continued to provide massive financial support by for example paying the bulk of private sector wages.

But the rebound faces challenges as a jobs protection program is set to end in September and global supply chain

PSEi August 12, 2021

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

ACEN CNVRG EMP FILRT TEL MONDE SMPH GLO ALI LTG

VOLUME 86122300 21720600 28168300 29690200 159090 11926900 5421900 85930 5168500 12358700

VALUE (PHP) 771797352 584406780 346509608 209204150 200403085 197124950 183626420 173272225 173032170 117646773

China partly shuts world’s 3rd busiest port after infection

TRAIN STRIKE.

Freight wagons stand at the railroad freight terminal in Kornwestheim near Stuttgart, southern Germany, on August 11, 2021 during a strike of train drivers. German train drivers went on strike over wages, dealing a blow to summer holiday makers and adding to logistics and supply problems already plaguing the industry. Only one in four longdistance trains will be in service on August 11 and 12. AFP

BEIJING, China—Authorities in China have suspended operations at a terminal in the world’s third busiest cargo port after a worker was infected with the coronavirus.

The closure of a key terminal at the Ningbo-Zhoushan port on the east coast, which handled almost 1.2 billion tons in 2020, reflects China’s determination to squash its worst coronavirus outbreak in months no matter the economic costs.

The worker at the port’s Meishan terminal tested positive for coronavirus Wednesday, Ningbo city officials said.

The company “immediately stopped production work and closed the port area,” as soon as the infection was detected, Jiang Yipeng, the CEO of Meidong Container Terminal, which operates the Meishan zone, said.

The worker had been fully vaccinated and it remains unclear how they became infected.

Meishan terminal is a newly built area of the expanded port and is its second mega-terminal, with capacity for 10 million containers, state media reported.

Almost 2,000 front-line workers at Ningbo-Zhoushan port have been placed under “closed management”— effectively unable to leave the port—as a result of the infection, Chinese media reported.

Chinese port workers are routinely tested for COVID. The latest closure threatens further disruption to the stretched global shipping network, which worsened after a typhoon hit China’s east coast last month. AFP

Drink and drive: Biogas from whisky waste powers Scottish trucks

By Stuart Graham DUFFTOWN, United Kingdom—It has fueled rain-soaked Highlanders for centuries, but now a distillery in northeast Scotland has found another use for whisky—to power lorries.

In a warehouse at the bottom end of The Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, draff—one of the by-products of whisky making—is tipped out of the back of a truck into a steaming pile.

The soaked barley grains will be combined with a yellow, beer-like liquid called pot ale, another residue of the distilling process, before an anaerobic digester is added to produce a low-carbon biogas.

The gas, which is primarily methane,

is stored in tanks in a yard around the corner, where specially adapted trucks can refuel.

“The process involves taking our waste products—pot ale and draff— from the distilleries and turning that into gas that can then fuel vehicles,” distillery site manager Kirsty Dagnan told AFP. “So we now have vehicles that can transport our goods and our spirits around the country using a renewable source that is ultra-low carbon.”

Fueling stations have been installed at the distillery and the biogas is now powering converted trucks that handle the transportation of the spirit at all stages of its production, Dagnan said.

Each truck that uses the new biofuel

will save around 250 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere, she added.

‘Compelling choice’ Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University in 2010 announced they had developed a biofuel using the spent grains and liquid from the copper stills.

It was hailed at the time by environmental campaigners for being made without causing damage to forests and wildlife.

“Whisky-powered cars could help Scotland avoid having to use those forest-trashing biofuels” such as palm oil, said WWF’s then Scotland director, Richard Dixon.

According to William Grant & Sons, the distillery’s parent company, biogas

significantly reduces carbon dioxide and other more harmful emissions compared to diesel.

The process is widely used, but is the first time it is being used by a distillery to power its trucks.

So far, three have been adapted to use the biogas.

They will transport Glenfiddich’s spirit from production at the Dufftown facility on Speyside, northwest of Aberdeen, to separate bottling and packaging sites in central and western Scotland.

The company plans to expand the technology to all its 20 trucks and eventually to roll it out to the rest of the industry.

“When you take into account the cost of purchasing the truck and then running it and maintaining over its life and

the cost of the fuel, actually it’s a very similar cost to do that for biogas as it is for diesel,” said Stuart Watts, director of the company’s distilleries.

“This makes a compelling choice for companies such as ourselves to use the biogas truck rather than the traditional diesel truck.”

At the refueling yard, a truck driver cautiously presses the nozzle into his gas tank.

It takes roughly the same amount of time to refuel as it would to fill up with diesel and the range of a journey is similar, he says.

With the tank filled up, the nozzle hisses as the driver removes it from his tank and he heads out into the Highlands under rain. AFP

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

B4 FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

BSP maintains borrowing rate at record low 2%

By Julito G. Rada THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, on Thursday maintained the overnight borrowing rate at a record-low of 2 percent to support economic growth amid the global pandemic.

BSP Governor and MB Chairman Benjamin Diokno said in an online briefing the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also kept at 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

“On balance, the Monetary Board is of the view that the expected path of inflation and downside risks to domestic economic growth warrant keeping monetary policy settings unchanged,” Diokno said.

He said latest inflation forecasts shifted marginally higher, reflecting the recent increase in global commodity prices and the depreciation of the peso.

The average inflation is seen to settle slightly above the upper end of the target band of 2 percent to 4 percent in 2021.

He said with the continued and timely implementation of non-monetary initiatives and reforms to mitigate supply-side pressures on meat and other food prices, inflation is projected to ease towards the midpoint of the target range in 2022 and 2023.

Meanwhile, inflation expectations remain firmly aligned with the baseline projection path, according to the Bangko Sentral.

“At the same time, the risks to the inflation outlook remain broadly balanced over the policy horizon. The uptick in international commodity prices due to improving global demand amid lingering supply-chain bottlenecks could lend upside pressures to inflation,” said Diokno.

“However, downside risks to the inflation outlook are also seen from the spread of more contagious coronavirus variants. In particular, delays in the lifting of containment measures could further dampen prospects for global growth and domestic demand,” he said.

Partial operations of LRT Cavite line seen in 1st quarter

By Darwin G Amojelar LIGHT Rail Manila Corp. said Thursday said it expects the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension project to start partial operations by the first quarter of 2022.

LRMC said Phase 1 of the 11.7-kilometer LRT-1 Cavite Extension project was 60-percent complete, with girder now covering the entire stretch of Dr. Santos Station to Pacific Ave. near Asiaworld Station.

It said that since the start of civil works in September 2019, construction was in full swing despite the limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

LRMC, along with Bouygues Travaux Publics as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, uses a special engineering method that allows faster execution and minimal effect on the groundlevel traffic.

Recent construction activities included the launching of pi-girders through above-ground launcher along CAVITEX near Paranaque Bridge.

The installation of pi-girders will continue along Pacific Ave. which will require closure of both northbound and southbound carriageways from Aug. 16 to 19 at 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

“The viaduct of LRT-1 extension is targeted to be completed by the end of December 2021, while the electromechanical works are set to begin in January 2022,” LRMC said.

Phase 1 covers 7 kilometers of the 11-km. LRT-1 Cavite Extension, including the Redemptorist Station, MIA Station, Asiaworld Station, Ninoy Aquino Station and Dr. Santos Station.

The remaining stations between Las Piñas and Niog are scheduled to become fully-operational by 2022.

Business JG Summit, Alliance Global and Ayala post huge profits

By Jenniffer B. Austria

C

ONGLOMERATES Ayala Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc. and JG Summit Holdings Inc. posted a sharp rebound in corporate earnings in the first half from a year ago, but expressed concern over the new challenges linked to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Ayala Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday net income grew 31 percent in the first six months to P10.4 billion from a low base in the same period last year when Metro Manila was placed under the most stringent quarantine status.

First-half revenues also rose 24 percent to P122 billion, supported by the strong performance of property, telecommunication, power generation and manufacturing businesses.

“Our first-semester results show recovery in the business environment compared to last year. However, increasing infections from the Delta

variant present new challenges,” Ayala president and chief executive Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

AGI, the holding company of businessman Andrew, said first-half net jumped 124 percent to P8.5 billion from P3.8 billion in the same period last year, boosted by diversified revenue streams.

It said consolidated revenues increased 16 percent in the first six months to P71 billion compared to last year’s P61.4 billion.

“All of our business segments here and abroad managed to sustain the quarterly growth trajectory we have been experiencing since the third quar-

ter of 2020, indicating the extent of pentup consumer spending across the globe, capped only by the prevailing restrictions in those areas to curb the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant,” AGI chief executive Kevin Tan said.

JG Summit, the listed holding company of the Gokongwei Group, reported a net income of P936.7 million in the first half, a turnaround from a P720-million net loss it registered in the same period last year.

The conglomerate attributed the positive first-half performance to strong volumes and higher margins in JG Summit Petrochemicals Group and sustained net income contribution from its property business which offset the continued weak performance of its air transportation business.

“Despite the lingering impact of the pandemic, we have successfully kept our food and banking revenues stable while we continue to exhibit strong recovery on businesses that had been more severely affected by the first enhanced community quarantine in the second quarter last year, namely real estate and petrochemicals,” JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei said.

‘YOGA CHALLENGE.’ An associate of Sitel Eton participates in ‘Be Your Best Yoga Pose Challenge.’ Sitel Group, a global leader in end-to-end customer experience products and solutions, encourages its global roster of employees to get fit for a good cause. Bringing back the highly successful Step Forward, Give Back Challenge, Sitel Group presented employees with a united global fitness challenge for the chance to donate $15,000 to World Learning, a global organization focused on making high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education programs available worldwide.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, August 12, 2021

-110.29 PTS. 6,556.57

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

4,160,255,881 82,575 18,226,498,378.79 66 133 51

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.4110

Japan

Yen

0.009057

0.4566

UK

Pound

1.387100

69.9251

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128555

6.4806

Switzerland

Franc

1.085541

54.7232

Canada

Dollar

0.799616

40.3094

Singapore

Dollar

0.737409

37.1735

Australia

Dollar

0.737300

37.1680

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655337

133.8582

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

13.4422

Brunei

Dollar

0.734700

37.0370

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.029994

1.5120

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.7255

Euro

Euro

1.174300

59.1976

Korea

Won

0.000867

0.0437

China

Yuan

0.154345

7.7807

India

Rupee

0.013467

0.6789

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.235960

11.8950

New Zealand

Dollar

0.704300

35.5045

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035987

1.8141 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

Converge’s first-half profit surged to P3.2b

CONVERGE ICT Solutions Inc. said Thursday net income rose more than double in the first half from a year ago, boosted by higher subscriber base and lower corporate income tax.

The country’s only pure-play high-speed fixed broadband operator said net profit reached P3.25 billion in the January-June period, higher than P1.25 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues grew by 81.5 percent to P11.78 billion from P6.49 billion on strong and continued subscriber take-up during the period. Revenues from residential business more than doubled to P10.21 billion in the first half from P4.97 billion in the same period last year, driven by an 85-percent year-on-year growth in subscriber base and 7-percent increase in residential average monthly revenue per user.

Enterprise revenues grew slightly by 3.8 percent to P1.56 billion from P1.51 billion, mostly from the growth in small and medium enterprise customer base. Residential subscribers reached 1,355,079 as of June from 731,563 a year earlier.

Darwin G. Amojelar

PH current account likely to weaken

FITCH Solutions, a unit of Fitch Ratings, on Thursday warned the Philippines it could face challenges managing its current account deficit over the long term, as domestic goods demand recovers from the pandemic shock.

“A lack of a strong manufacturing base and growing energy needs will weigh on the goods balance, while constraints around growing service exports will see the current account flip to a deficit of 3.0 percent of GDP [gross domestic product] by 2030,” it said.

Fitch Solutions said policy makers should manage the economy’s external financing needs over the long term, with a need for foreign direct investment over ‘hot money’ inflows for economic stability.

“We at Fitch Solutions forecast the Philippines current account balance to shift to a widening deficit over the coming years,” it said.

“As the economy gradually climbs back to pre-pandemic output levels in 2022, we anticipate the current account to slip back into deficit,” it said.

Monde Nissin sees increased revenues

BSP amends FX regulations to support digital payments THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said Thursday it amended the foreign exchange rules to ease access to foreign exchange for trade and non-trade current account transactions and support digital payment transactions.

It said in a statement it approved further amendments to FX regulations to promote greater ease in the use of FX resources of the banking system and further streamline or simplify procedures and documentary requirements for FX transactions.

“The FX reforms also intend to facilitate digital payments/electronic transactions, support the infrastructure development projects/programs of the national government, and help

further deepen the domestic capital market,” it said.

The major FX reforms include allowing the sale of foreign exchange by banks without prior BSP approval for the following FX transactions involving: e-commerce market participants to support digital payments/electronic transactions; offsetting of payables with receivables between/among residents for various FX transactions, and residents with non-residents for their trade and non-trade current account transactions.

Such FX transactions also include living allowance/medical expenses of dependents abroad, among other nontrade current account transactions; importation of goods with services covered by engineering, procurement and

construction contracts; and payment of fees prior to registration provided that the foreign loans are duly reported to the BSP. Also included are FX derivatives transactions to be entered into by nonbank government entities without prior BSP approval; and use of peso receipts relating to trade transactions to fund peso deposit accounts of non-residents, among others.

“These reforms are part of the BSP’s commitment to maintain an FX regulatory framework that is responsive to the needs of a dynamic and expanding Philippine economy,” the MB said.

The BSP said banks were expected to continue to implement safe and sound practices amid the continuing liberalization of FX rules. Julito G. Rada

FOOD producer Monde Nissin Corp. said Thursday it expects revenues to grow by mid-single digit this year as businesses continue to regain momentum despite the pandemic.

Monde Nissin chief financial officer Jesse Teo said in a virtual press briefing full-year net income would post a margin decline as the company continued to spend on marketing and product development to boost brand awareness.

The company implemented a price increase for noodles and biscuits in June.

Monde Nissin chief executive Henry Soesanto said the price increases should partly alleviate the pressure on gross margins.

He said the company was mindful of the difficult circumstances of consumers. “The recently-announced stringent quarantine in the National Capital Region and some other parts of the country will be difficult for many,” he said.

Monde Nissin said unaudited core net income declined 12.9 percent in the first half to P4.3 billion from the same period last year because of investments in product development. Jenniffer B. Austria

Meralco, 2 other groups eye 20-hectare Paco lot

By Alena Mae S. Flores THREE companies including Manila Electric Co. expressed interest to participate in the sale of the Paco-Manila property of state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

PSALM said Meralco, Simon Agribusiness and Philman Corporate Distribution Corp. attended the pre-negotiation conference for the third round of negotiated sale process for the PacoManila property on Aug. 10.

The conference, held virtually, ensured that the interested parties were well-acquainted with the refinements of the sale provisions, including the requirements and the process involved in PSALM’s negotiated sale process.

The Paco-Manila property is located in Isla de Provisor, Manila. It consists of eight lots with an indicative area of 20,975 square meters. PSALM set the minimum offer price at P527,087,552.

The bid submission deadline for the real property asset was set on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m.

“We are very optimistic that we can privatize this Paco-Manila property very soon. We will continue to try to sell this asset because we need to use the proceeds for payment of PSALM’s financial obligations,” said PSALM president and chief executive Irene Besido-Garcia in a statement.

PSALM said it would use proceeds from the sales of all assets to settle maturing obligations and minimize borrowings.

PSALM is tasked to manage the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp. as mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

PSALM earlier said it collected P653.218 billion, out of the P911.040 billion proceeds, from National Power Corp.’s sale of power generation and transmission assets as of end-March 2021.

RENEWABLE ENERGY FINANCING. BDO Unibank Inc. supports initiatives with economic, environmental and social benefit, such as its financing of significant renewable energy projects in wind, geothermal, mini-hydro, biomass and solar energy.

Sports

No backdown on four-week quarantine for Aussie athletes SYDNEY—Australian state officials defended their decision Thursday to force some Olympic athletes to quarantine for four weeks, as one high-profile sports star branded the move “disgusting” and another “embarrassing”.

All overseas travellers, including the nearly 500-strong Australian team, must spend 14 days in isolation at a designated hotel or special outback camp on arrival in the country, under strict coronavirus rules.

The South Australian government is also insisting that those heading back to the state from Sydney must repeat the two-week quarantine.

The Australian Olympic Committee slammed the move as “cruel”, but South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said it was necessary.

“It is tough, we feel for these athletes, but every person coming in from Sydney is required to do 14 days,” he told reporters.

“We’ve got to be prudent in South Australia. It’s tough but the Delta variant is a killer.”

He pointed out that the state’s most recent seven-day lockdown —which ended on July 27—was prompted by a resident returning from New South Wales.

There are 56 athletes expected back in South Australia with 16 already undergoing quarantine in Sydney, which is currently in a lockdown to try and stem a Delta variant outbreak.

The entire Australian team, who won 17 gold medals and 46 in total, are fully vaccinated and were tested for Covid-19 almost daily in Japan.

Adelaide’s Belinda White, a member of Australia’s Olympic softball team, will be one of the first impacted after completing her Sydney stint this week.

Softball Australia chief David Pryles said he was worried about her mental health, noting that she had already been away from friends and family since June 1.

“To force Belinda to undergo an extra 14 days by herself upon returning to her hometown of Adelaide frankly gives us concern for the mental well-being of our returning Olympian,” he said.

‘Embarrassed’ Several notable Australian sportspeople weighed in on the controversy with cricket star Glenn Maxwell tweeting: “This is actually disgusting,” while tennis’ Luke Saville, who played singles and doubles in Tokyo, said he was “embarrassed to be a South Aussie”.

Adelaide rower Molly Goodman claimed she was only informed about the extra quarantine requirement “probably two days ago at the most”. AFP

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

C1

Manny Pacquiao fixes his head gear during training. Wendell Alinea

Pacman says right-handed opponent not a problem L

OS ANGELES—Philippines star Manny Pacquiao said Wednesday the “only danger” in switching foes for next week’s world welterweight boxing title bout will be going from a southpaw foe to a right-handed opponent.

The 42-year-old Filipino Senator puts on his gloves August 21 in Las Vegas to face Cuban Yordenis Ugas after American Errol Spence Jr. was forced out of the fight Tuesday due to a left eye injury.

Instead of facing unbeaten southpaw Spence for the WBC and IBF titles he holds, Pacquiao will fight for the WBA

crown he once held against Ugas, a righthander who had planned to defend the crown on the undercard.

“The only danger for this fight is the change in stance,” Pacquiao said. “Both Spence and Ugas are aggressive fighters, which I like.”

The stance switch won’t cause a training issue, Pacquiao said.

“I always consider myself a bipartisan boxer. I am happy to fight either righthanded or southpaw fighters,” he said.

“It’s no problem for me at all to switch the styles I’m going to face.”

Ugas, 26-4 with 12 knockouts, was handed the WBA crown in January after eight-division champion Pacquiao, 62-7 with two drawn and 39 knockouts, was stripped of the title for inactivity.

Pacquiao has not fought since taking the WBA belt from American Keith Thurman by split decision in July 2019.

“Ugas is a champion because they gave him my belt. Now, we have to settle it inside of the ring,” Pacquiao said.

“In the end, I want to win the belts.

I’m so excited for this championship fight and I don’t care if I’m the challenger or champion coming into it.

We’ll see who is the champion.”

Ugas knows the last-minute switch has created the biggest fight of his career, what could be his greatest triumph if he can pull off an upset.

“I’m fighting for my legacy,” Ugas said. “This is the most important fight of my life.

“I’m well aware that Pacquiao is the favorite. But at the same time, I’m a champion. I’ve faced so many strong opponents to get to where I am. I have full confidence in myself and my ability to get a victory.” AFP

2 psychologists to join Paralympians Pinay judokas

By Peter Atencio Ernie Gawilan

THE Philippines’ six Paralympians headed for the Tokyo Paralympic Games won’t be alone in their campaign as two sports psychologists will join them on their trip to Japan on Aug. 22 in order to help the differently-abled athletes perform better.

For added motivation, the Paralympians have been listening to inspirational talks from Tokyo Olympics gold winner weightlifter, silver medalist boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, and bronze achiever Eumir Marcial.

To help them enjoy their participation, the Philippine Sports Commission tripled the allowances that they will get for the duration of their campaign in the 13-day Paralympics that begins on Aug. 24.

“Katatapos lang ng Olympics at nagtagumpay sila para sa bayan. Hopefully, masusugan ito ng mga ambag ng ating mga para athletes,” said Philippine Para Games chef de mission Francisco Diaz.

The Philippine para delegation is composed of swimmer Gary Bejino, an amputee who lost his right arm and leg at age seven after being electrocuted. With them are right arm amputee Allain Ganapin (taekwondo), Jerold Magliwan and Janette Acevedo (athletics) and Ernie Gawilan (swimming).

Polio survivor Achele Guion will once again join the Philippine delegation. Guion was the last to join after she was given an slot via the Bipartite Commission Invitation Allocation Method. The allocation, according to the rules, is not based on ranking or performance in competi-

tion and is given to athletes who did not have a chance to qualify through the regular route.

Motivational talks with Diaz, Petecio, Paalam and Marcial have been going on for days with the six para athletes.

Gymnastics’ star Carlo Yulo and skateboarder Margielyn Didal have also joined in to help the differentlyabled athletes get a feel of what’s ahead of them.

To help the athletes get mentally prepared for the respective events, sports psychologists Marcus Manalo, who helped keep the Filipino boxers sharp and motivated during the Olympiad will take care of the male athletes.

Dr. Marissa Guinto, an associate professor and research director at the University of the Philippines, will be around to take care of the mental well-being of the female athletes.

PSC chairman William Ramirez, speaking to the national delegation on Zoom yesterday, surprised delegation members by tripling their travel allowance.

From P50,000, the PSC has approved an added P100,000 more, bringing their total travel allowance to P150,000 when they leave for Japan next week.

“Just enjoy the game. Iyung pagpunta niyo doon, kasama niyo ang 11-million Filipinos na ating mga kababayan,” said Ramirez.

According to reports, the Tokyo Paralympics will most likely have no spectators, just like the Olympics, as coronavirus cases continues to rise in Japan.

For one, the Tokyo metropolitan area is still under a COVID-19 state of emergency.

Angels ground Flying Titans, bag bronze ILOCOS NORTE—Petro Gazz, a bit startled facing a rival with a disparate starting roster, readjusted quickly and walloped Choco Mucho, 25-20, 25-18, 25-21, to clinch third place honors in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio Civic and Cultural Center in Bacarra here yesterday.

Myla Pablo sustained her crisp-hitting ways, firing away 14 attack points for a 16-point output while Gretchel Soltones, Seth Rodriguez and Ces Molina backed her up with seven, six and five points, respectively, that proved enough to topple a team that came into the match sans two its key players.

The fourth-seeded Angels thus swept their best-of-three series for third following their four-set victory

Wednesday that saw Choco Mucho’s skipper Maddie Madayag limp out of the game due to knee injury.

“It’s all worth the sacrifices and hard work of the players and as a team — from our bubble training then in the one month that we’ve been here. It’s a different kind of challenge—mentally and emotionally,” said Petro Gazz coach Arnold Laniog, whose wards blew a 2-1 set lead in the opener of their semis series with the Creamline Cool Smashers, who went on to steal Game One before winning the next to advance.

Counterpart Oliver Almadro, meanwhile, opted to keep top hitter Kat Tolentino and middle blocker Bea de Leon out of the court and fielded in his two other starters—spiker Ponggay Gaston and setter Deanna Wong

—later in the third when the Angels were already on the verge of wrapping up their bronze medal effort in the country’s inaugural pro volley league.

Without its stars, Choco Mucho had to lean on Caitlyn Viray, Necole Ebuen, May Angustia, Shannel Palec and Kim Gequillana, who combined for 33 points with Gaston sneaking in two hits in her limited stint in the one-hour, 19-minute encounter.

Though the Flying Ttians had kept it close majority of the match, the Angels proved to be more solid and a lot cohesive, finishing with 41 attack points, five block points and five aces. Choco Mucho had 32 spikes, four blocks and one ace.

The Petro Gazz Angels celebrate their bronze medal finish after sweeping the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.

in PSC’s Rise Up Shape Up

FILIPINA judokas will take centerstage in the upcoming webisode of the Philippine Sports Commission’s Rise Up Shape Up this Saturday.

Judoka Nicole Habierto, who topped the Seniors White category of the 7th Women’s Martial Arts Festival, will lead the episode at 10:30 a.m. along with Marq Gabrielle Padilla, Louiza Talaue, Erin Unice Nacida, and Zoey Itliong.

They will talk about their winning takedowns and share their sporting journey to success in the recent Women’s Martial Arts Festival.

Padilla bagged the gold medal in the Seniors Colored Category while Talaue showcased her gold-winning prowess in the Cadet class, as well as Nacida and Itliong for the Kids’ division.

“The remarkable performance of these young judokas exhibit women empowerment more than ever, especially in a male-dominated field,” said PSC oversight Commissioner in Women in Sports Celia H. Kiram.

Commissioner Kiram is confident in these athletes and hoping to see more female practitioners in the field of sports who will soon carry the Philippine tricolors in the different multisport arenas in the world.

Kiram also acknowledged the victories of our national female athletes like weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who took home the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the Philippines, and boxing silver medalist Nesthy Petecio in the recently concluded 2020+1 Tokyo Olympic Games where the country made a historic and best-ever Olympic performance with 1-gold, 2-silver, and 1 bronze medals.

“Aside from Hidilyn and Nesthy, we have these five young judokas showing us that girls and women can in sports. I look forward to having more young girls and women joining the field of sports because it is a field where women can excel as well,” said the lady Commissioner.

Kiram will also share a short history of judo in her K-Isport segment.

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Sports

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Paris goes crazy over new hero Messi

P

ARIS—Lionel Messi set his sights on more Champions League glory after being unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Wednesday as hundreds of fans gathered outside the club’s stadium hoping to see their new idol.

Knicks sign Walker NEW YORK—The New York Knicks said Wednesday that city native Kemba Walker is headed back to the Big Apple, confirming they signed the All-Star guard.

“We are beyond thrilled to bring native New Yorker Kemba Walker back to the city he’s proud to call home,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in an official statement.

“He’s a tremendous talent whose skill and leadership will be a huge addition to our organization. We’ve already seen how well he performs on The Garden stage and can’t wait to witness it on a nightly basis in front of his family, friends and the best fans in the league.”

Walker’s somewhat convoluted move to New York has been in the works for a while.

He averaged 19.3 points per game for the Boston Celtics last season, but was traded to Oklahoma City in June in a deal that sent Al Horford to Boston.

But earlier this month, it was reported that Walker would leave the Thunder without ever playing a game for them and sign with the Knicks after finalizing a contract buyout in which, US media reported, Walker gave up $20 million of the $73 million left on his contract.

Terms of his deal with the Knicks were not released, but New York sports broadcaster SNY reported he had a two-year deal that will pay him $8.7 million in the first year and $9.1 million in the second. AFP

The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar was presented to media from all over the world at a news conference at the Parc des Princes after arriving in the French capital the previous day and penning a two-year contract with the option of a third season.

PSG quickly emerged as the favourites to sign Messi following the shock of his departure last week from Barcelona and he arrives eyeing a fifth Champions League, with the most recent of his four victories with his old club coming in 2015.

“I have said many times that my dream is to win another Champions League and I think I am in the ideal place to have that chance and to do it,” Messi told reporters inside a packed auditorium, with the audience including his wife Antonella, their children, and his father and agent, Jorge.

Messi and Barcelona were knocked out of

the Champions League last season by PSG, who went on to reach the semi-finals following their run to the final in 2020.

“Sometimes you can have the best team in the world and not win. That’s football,” Messi, who won 35 trophies in total with Barca, added as he prepares to team up with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Paris.

“We know how difficult the Champions League is but Paris know that too— they have come very close in recent years but it is a competition in which the best teams take part and the best team doesn’t always win.”

Messi-mania PSG are reportedly paying 35 million euros ($41 million) a year to Messi, who will wear the number 30 jersey— disbelieving fans were already queueing up outside the club’s different shops in the capital on Wednesday morning to buy the shirt with his name and number on the back.

Messi was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Paris on Tuesday, greeting supporters at the airport and then waving from the balcony of the

plush hotel where he is staying near the Champs Elysees.

On Wednesday, he appeared unfazed as he emerged, immaculately turned out, to talk to media, although he did seem slightly uneasy at times, not least when one member of the audience started chanting his name.

Unlike when Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed for PSG in 2012 there was no glitzy unveiling in front of the Eiffel Tower, but Messi was photographed on the pitch before greeting the supporters who had waited at the stadium entrance, watching his press conference on a big screen.

“I had to come here with my young children,” said one supporter, called Wesley.

“They don’t know about everything Messi has done in his career but I hope they will remember this for a long time because Messi coming to PSG is crazy stuff.”

“I’m very proud to present Leo Messi as a PSG player,” said Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of the Qatar-owned outfit, earlier. “It is an amazing and historic day for the club, for the football world.” AFP

Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi salutes supporters gathered outside the Parc des Princes stadium after his first official press conference as PSG player in Paris. The 34-year-old superstar signed a two-year deal with PSG, with the option of an additional year, he will wear the number 30 in Paris, the number he had when he began his professional career at Spain’s Barca football club. AFP

Nadal doubtful for US Open WASHINGTON—Rafael Nadal withdrew from the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, organizers said, just a day after his withdrawal from the Toronto tournament had already cast doubt on his fitness for the US Open.

The 35-year-old Spanish star has been suffering from a left foot injury since his semi-final exit at the hands of Novak Djokovic at the French Open in June.

Nadal, level with Djokovic and Roger Federer on a men’s record 20 Grand Slams, is hoping to be fit for an assault on a fifth US Open title when the final Grand Slam of the year starts on August 30.

World number four Nadal’s withdrawal means that none of the “Big Three” will compete again before the New York fortnight.

Top-ranked Djokovic, seeking to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam at the US Open, withdrew from Cincinnati on Monday, saying he needed more recovery time after the Tokyo Olympics.

Djokovic, 34, could become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four major titles in one year.

But he missed a chance at a “Golden Slam” after losing to Alexander Zverev in an Olympic semi-final.

“I am taking a bit longer to recover and recuperate after quite a taxing journey from Australia to Tokyo,” Djokovic posted on social media.

“Sadly, that means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincinnati this year so I’ll turn my focus and attention to US Open and spend some more time with family. See you in New York soon!”

Federer, who turned 40 on Sunday, withdrew from Toronto and Cincinnati last Thursday, adding to fitness fears around the Swiss legend for the US Open.

Federer, whose most recent Slam crown came at the 2018 Australian Open, reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals but skipped the Tokyo Olympics due to a knee injury.

Federer, who has not played at the US Open since reaching the 2019 quarter-finals, has played five events this year. He underwent two right knee operations in 2020 following the Australian Open. AFP

Zhang respects Folayang but thinks he’s the ‘better fighter’ CHINESE mixed martial arts veteran and ONE Championship debutant “The Warrior” Zhang Lipeng has high hopes in joining the world’s largest martial arts organization. The 31-year-old former TUF: China winner will be making his debut in the Circle this week.

Zhang faces multiple-time former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang at ONE: BATTLEGROUND II, a tape-delayed event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore which airs on Friday, 13 August.

“I’m very happy to join ONE Championship,” Zhang told ONE Championship during the virtual media day. “ I always [have thought] that ONE is the best promotion in the combat sports world. If I want to try to prove that I am the best in China, the best in my division, I have to join a promotion as high level as ONE Championship and compete with all the highest level fighters.”

Zhang was last seen in action in September of 2019, winning a submission against Mohammad Naeemi at a KLF event. Since then, the Chinese fighter has put a pause on his career due to several factors. Now, he’s ready to climb back into the cage and resume his climb to the top.

“The Warrior” doesn’t believe his time away has taken any edge off his game. The 31-year-old fully expects to pick up right where he left off. In order to reach the upper echelon of a stacked ONE lightweight division, however, he has to get past Folayang, one of the most celebrated veterans in the promotion.

“I haven’t stopped training for a day over the last two years. So I don’t think my conditioning or my fighting skills have lost anything. [The layoff] doesn’t affect me a lot,” Zhang said.

“When I first heard that I would face Folayang, I felt very happy, felt very honored. He’s a veteran in this game.

And I’m fully prepared for him. I know he’s a tough guy with a tough style. He has a Sanda background and I’m fully prepared for this guy.”

“I’ve been watching him fight for a long time. I have to say this without any disrespect, I think I’m better at grappling, striking game, BJJ, everywhere.

I think I’m a more technical fighter than him,” he added.

If and when he defeats Folayang, Zhang already has his eyes set on challenging another veteran of the sport, and another former ONE World Champion.

“I would say Shinya Aoki. I have actually been a fan of his for a long time and I have been watching him fight for a very long time in ONE Championship. It’s my honor and my dream to fight with him one day in ONE Championship,” Zhang said.

In the co-main event of ONE: BATTLEGROUND II, former ONE Straw-

weight World Champion and current arts contender Alex “Little Rock” Silva #5-ranked strawweight mixed martial takes on China’s Miao Li Tao.

Yankees face White Sox on cinematic ‘Field of Dreams’

In this file photo taken on July 04, 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (center) hits the ball amid the famous corn fields in Dyersville, Iowa. Major League Baseball reality meets cinematic magic, when the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox play on the “Field of Dreams” at Dyersville, Iowa. The rural setting is where the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed. The sports fantasy starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster became an iconic picture about the American pastime. Since then, the site has become a popular tourist attraction, a ballpark built adjacent to a cornfield in Iowa. AFP

NEW YORK—Major League Baseball reality meets cinematic magic on Thursday when the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox play on the “Field of Dreams” at Dyersville, Iowa.

The rural setting is where the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed. The sports fantasy starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster became an iconic picture about the American pastime.

Since then, the site has become a popular tourist attraction, a ballpark built adjacent to a cornfield in Iowa.

MLB had hoped to stage a game there last year but the event was pushed back a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now the Yankees and White Sox will turn the fantasy of elite ballplayers competing on Midwest farmland into reality, although it will be current stars rather than icons from a bygone era mystically exiting a cornfield.

“I’m excited,” White Sox All-Star closing relief pitcher Liam Hendriks said. “It’s not every day you get a chance to be the first major league game in a state. It’s kind of cool.

“I’m excited about running through the cornfields, because who wouldn’t be? I want to be able to walk on the set and sit in those wooden bleachers and walk through the corn onto the actual field.”

Costner and other actors from the film are expected to attend the game, which will be played on a specially built 8,000-seat ballpark to meet MLB specifications.

The right-field wall will have a window to show the cornfield beyond and there is a path south from the park through the cornstalks to the actual Field of Dreams movie site.

“It’s a great idea,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

“A huge movie in American history and certainly especially when it comes to our national pastime... there’s absolute excitement.

“I’m sure there will be some nostalgia.

There will be some of that realization of something you’ve seen for a lot of your life, and looking forward to that, driving up on it.”

‘Really cool’ Yankees 30-year-old southpaw starting pitcher Andrew Heaney hadn’t even been

born when the movie debuted but is excited at the chance to be part of a special MLB moment.

“It’s going to be really cool,” Heaney said. “Never been there, never seen it— seen the movie, but I don’t think I’ve ever played baseball in Iowa, or I don’t think I’ve gotten to play in any of the special events games for MLB either, so that’ll be fun.”

Boone has been involved with several such unique contests, including the Yankees facing arch rival Boston at London in a two-game series in 2019 and a 2016 contest that was the first MLB regular-season game on an active military base at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

“These one-off, cool event games, I think have been really exciting for our game and certainly for myself getting to experience them at different levels has been really neat,” Boone said.

At 67-47, the White Sox lead the American League Central division while the Yankees, 62-51, are two games behind Boston for the last wildcard playoff berth. AFP

Entertainment VERY WANG

D

NICKIE WANG

ARRYL Yap has a new comedy movie that everyone is talking about not only because it is top-billed by Megastar Sharon Cuneta but for the sole reason that it presents a character mainstream cinema doesn’t usually tackle.

ETON CONCEPCION PAGEANT veteran Beatriz “Zea” Awatin was supposed to join the Miss World Philippines 2021 pageant, but ended up being the country’s representative in Miss Progress International 2021 pageant to be held in Puglia, Italy.

Hand-picked by a beauty camp, the 26-year-old sales manager did not pass up on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Zea, as she is fondly called, is a Cum Laude graduate in BA International Studies at San Beda Alabang and currently finishing a Master’s Degree in International Relations at De La Salle University.

The 5-foot-7 Miss PAASCU 2013 1st runner-up is a Community Service Awardee in 2016 and won the Hong Kong Model United Nations Best Position Paper. She was a delegate in various international events such as the Global Youth Summit 2014, Jenesys Japan 2014, Philippine Model Congress 2014 and Asean Tourism Forum 2016.

An active donor of Project Pearls, Zea was a participant of CNN PH feature “Workout for a Cause 2020” - A donation drive of fitness enthusiasts for the benefit of the poor children of NPO, PROJECT

In 'Revirginized,' Megastar Sharon Cuneta gives life to Carmela, a character that's 'very, very different from all the other roles' she played before.

Zea Awatin vies for PH’s 2nd crown at Miss Progress International PEARLS (Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love, Smiles).

Now on its 8th year, Miss Progress International Pageant 2021, to be held from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, features more than thirty contestants from all over the world. It aims to provide a platform for the promotion of health, human rights, the environment, and cultural integration.

Zea, who is training under the Kagandahang Flores Camp in preparation for the pageant will aim to become the second Filipina to win the Miss Progress International title after Jedaver Pancho Opingo’s win in 2017. *** Miss Bikini Philippines, Miss Fit Philippines beauties at major national beauty pageants ProMedia, headed by CEO Paul Izon Reyes, announced the return of Miss Bikini Philippines 2021 and Miss Fit

Zea Awatin wears the Philippine sash at the Miss Progress International 2021 happening in Puglia, Italy.

From left: Elda Louise Aznar, Natasha Jung, Chara Alex Lim, Shanon Tampon, Chelsea Fernandez, Louise Theunis, Anita Rose Gomez, and Sheika Calapatia.

Philippines 2021 pageants, happening live on the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year.

Miss Bikini Philippines 2020 Chelsea Fernandez (Reyna ng Aliwan 2018 and Miss Philippines-Water 2019) graced the media launching hosted by GMA-7’s The Clash Season 3 finalist Eygee de Vera.

Read full story on manilastandard.net

GMA Network introduces newly promoted officers

Head of Human Resources Development Department (HRDD) Atty. Gerrome Y. Apolona has been appointed as First Vice President

FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Darryl Yap reveals real inspiration of Carmela in ‘Revirginized’

In the movie, Sharon plays the youhave-never-seen-before character named Carmela. Distraught from her recentlydecided annulment, she loiters at a sari-sari store, dazed and confused. She accidentally meets her goddaughter and her friends who are buying tons of alcohol at the store before they head out to a beach party. Wanting to escape from her reality, Carmela blackmails her goddaughter that she would snitch her to her mom if she doesn’t bring her to the beach party.

Trying hard to be young and wild and with all the awkwardness, Carmela will try to party hard and even have a one night stand with Morph (Marco Gumabao), the hunk young man who owns the venue of the beach party, and also a tattoo artist.

Morph will, later on, confess to Carmela that he has fallen for her the moment he saw her peeing and talking to baby turtles by the seaside.

PAGEANT CONCEPT

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

GMA Network announces another set of newly promoted executives from various groups such as Human Resources Development, Radio Operations, and Finance and ICT. Head of Human Resources Development Department (HRDD) Atty.

Gerrome Y. Apolona has been appointed as First Vice President. Apolona's group is responsible for the efficient management of the Kapuso workforce. Also through HRDD, the network has instituted a training and development program anchored in valuing employees as the network’s best asset.

Under his leadership, the HRDD played a vital role especially at the onset of the pandemic to enable the network to quickly adapt to the new normal through different work arrangements and safety precautions to ensure the safety of all employees. Apolona has been a Kapuso since 2009.

Similarly, Glenn F. Allona is now the

First Vice President for Radio Operations Group. As head of operations, Allona develops strategies, implements action plans and manages the day-to day business of GMA Radio. With more than two decades of industry experience, he oversees the branding and nationwide programming of AM and FM radio stations resulting in higher ratings and profitability.

During his tenure as Vice President, his team launched the highly successful ‘Dobol B sa News TV’, now titled ‘Dobol B TV’, which provided radio news content to TV viewers through the simulcast of Super Radyo DZBB on GTV. Further, the Network’s flagship AM and FM stations Super Radyo DZBB 594 and Barangay LS 97.1 have been consistently No.1 in Mega Manila.

Meanwhile, GMA also appointed two new Vice Presidents in the Finance and ICT Group. Read full story on manilastandard.net

Sharon Cuneta in a scene with Marco Gumabao

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In the midst of the noise and chaos of the beach party, Carmela will understand the youth of today’s generation and she will finally realize her self-worth and will start to dream again for herself.

“Carmela is a decent person. Her character has a deeper meaning compared to what the audience thought based on what they saw in the trailer. I hope that they watch the movie and really understand the message that we wanted to convey,” the Megastar told Manila Standard Entertainment.

Meanwhile, the young and prolific director of the film revealed the real inspiration behind the intriguing character that tags Sharon as an ultimate MILF. “The inspiration of Carmela is really Sharon Cuneta. I have the ambition to work with her. I wanted to give the public the most shocking Sharon Cuneta. That was the goal,” Darryl stated.

“My intention here is to tell the world that my mom is a Sharonian and to make the millennials and the Gen Z realize who Sharon Cuneta is and why she’s the megastar, and why she’s still relevant. I wanted to tell a story not of Carmela but of Sharon who is actually an actress for all ages,” the director added.

Darryl was so proud of the film he called it the project that will define his career as a director.

“I want to create a film that will be remembered throughout the rest of my career. I apologized to the other artists I have worked with but Revirginized is my most important film at the moment,” he asserted.

According to Viva, Revirginized is the No. 1 pre-sold film on ktx.ph. It’s also the first Philippine film this year to have a theatrical release in the US and Canada starting Aug. 13. It will also be shown on Cignal PPV on Aug. 27.

Netizens clamor for ‘GVBoys’ second season PUREGOLD Channel officially breaks new ground with its newest online series GVBoys as it is now a certified smash hit amassing three million consolidated viewership on Facebook and YouTube where it is streaming brand new episodes for free every Saturday evenings since its premiere on July 10.

Puregold Channel is conceptualized by Puregold Price Club Inc. to provide the public a free source of entertainment that they could all enjoy in the privacy and safety of their homes.

Directed by veteran film and toprating TV director Don Cuaresma with a script written by Sherwin Buenvenida and Joaquin Acosta, GVBoys is a comedy series that stars Jerome Ponce, Dave Bornea, and Nikko Natividad with Wilma Doesnt, Elsa Droga, and Carmi Martin.

‘GVBoys’ has an endearing cast that includes Jerome Ponce, Nikko Natividad, Dave Bornea, Wilma Doesnt, Elsa Droga and Carmi Martin.

GVBoys revolves around the adventures and misadventures of Jawo (Ponce), Zeus (Bornea), and Dax (Natividad) in the hopes of raising money to redeem their boarding house owned by Aling Pearly (Martin) from a debt incurred from her old frenemie Loisa (Doesn’t).

The on-going run of GVBoys upped the subscribers of Puregold Channel on YouTube while the hilarious scenes of the series are now favorite trending materials amongst TikTokers with netizens clamoring for a second season mid-way through the hit comedy series.

“We feel so honored that netizens are really having a blast laughing with the GVBoys,” says Dave Bornea.

“The series has not yet reached its conclusion and yet we have been receiving a lot of positive comments and requests for a second season.

Right now, we do not know if Puregold Channel will greenlight a second season but I am really hoping that the management does because this is really one of the most fun series that I ever did,” he adds.

On the series’ 6th episode streaming this August 14, Jawo’s weeksary date with Loisa turns sour; Dax leads the GVBoys in putting up a sexy car wash business; Zeus reminds the group of a valuable lesson on honesty; Aling Pearly and Kathryn B venture into a sideline; and Loisa gets a chilling phone.

“We have three more episodes left and it only becomes crazier,” says Wilma Doesnt. “We are all stressed enough as it is and we should all reward ourselves with a major dose of good vibes.”

A must watch Erik Matti film

DIRECTOR Erik Matti shows just how tricky the world of relationships, connections, and intimacies are in today’s society in his new film, A Girl and A Guy. Only available on GMovies in partnership with UPSTREAM as its official ticketing and streaming platforms in the Philippines, A Girl and A Guy is the first UPSTREAM Original movie since the VOD platform's introduction last year.

The film stars Alexa Miro as Fiona, a gregarious, ambitious advertising production staff member who is determined, by hook or by crook, to achieve fame as a filmmaker; and Raf, a laid-back and introspective marketing associate whose deep thoughts about the present keep him from planning his future. The contrast in their personalities, coupled with the intricacies of dating in digital times, promises a compelling and memorable love story.

The film is also Director Erik Matti’s 'A Girl and A Guy' gives viewers an in-depth look at the dynamics at play in the oftentimes messy and complicated arena of young love and modern dating.

first major film after some time, and heralds a true return to form for the veteran filmmaker, whose signature gritty and realistic style has always grabbed the attention of the audience and auteurs alike.

“We're happy to bring to the millennials one of the hottest Filipino-made films.

This is also a good opportunity for our audiences to show support to our local films and talents,” said Janis Racpan, Director for Business Development and Marketing at Globe Telecom.

A Girl and A Guy features an ensemble cast including Pau Benitez, Candice Ramos, Rosh Barman, Sarah Holmes, and Carlo Tarobal. Also joining them are Emilio Francisco, Chloe Reyes, Roeder Camanag, Donna Cariaga, Marina Benipayo, and Shaun Salvador.

A Girl and A Guy is rated R-18. Tickets are available on GMovies at only P210 pesos.

Stranded at airports

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

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2021

Life

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OME of you might think that it may be premature for me to write about things that may happen to travelers when global tourism starts grinding again. Bear with TRAVEL & LEISURE me. I am actually itching for international borders to reopen so DESTINATION WITHIN THE JOURNEY. A tourist destination in itself, Changi Airport’s Jewel takes pride in its 140-feet waterfall, the tallest indoor waterfall in the world, as well as its that leisure travel can resume. other charming spots such as (inset) Canopy Park.

Writing about these things is my way of convincing myself that, in spite of this seemingly unending series of travel restrictions, the day will soon come when we can get on with our lives again!

So, let me talk about something that most, if not all, travelers have experienced.

When stranded at an airport, what do you usually do? Delayed departures, misconnecting and canceled flights cause this unwanted situation, but it is no reason to run amok. Just keep calm and immediately ask the airline’s gate agent for information. They usually offer an alternative flight or route, or complimentary accommodations at an airport hotel, or complimentary meals.

Please remember to be nice. If you are already cranky, at least be polite. There is no reason to start a shouting match with the airline reps. It is not their fault, and they are just as troubled as you are.

Most of the time, the cause of the delay or cancellation is something that ensures the safety of your flight.

If the wait is manageable and you don’t have to leave the terminal, find ways to

keep yourself busy. A male friend told me made me enjoy waiting at these airport a pleasure haven for children. What other he looks at passing pedestrian traffic en terminals will also reopen. country in the world has an airport that route to the boarding gates and tallies the Changi Airport in Singapore tops my could very well be classified as a tourist number of shapely ladies against that of list. Aside from its humongous size, its destination in itself? plus-sized women. He tells me the latter’s modern design and facilities certainly I’m sure international travelers are hapnumbers always reign supreme! make you want to stay longer. For start- py that Hong Kong moved its airport 23 A female friend told me she makes ers, it has the tallest indoor waterfall in years ago from the very tight Kai Tak aira mental story out of every port right in the center of the person—a couple and a famcity to the massive Chek Lap ily that passes by her and Kok airport on reclaimed land YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE entertains herself with such 18 miles from the city. The Have you heard about this new restaurant called Karma? self-scripted, self-produced, terminal now has much more There’s no menu. You get what you deserve. self-directed telenovela. I’m space and, because Hong Kong is known for its cuisine, sure you also have your own travelers now have a wide arinteresting way of enduring the world, perfect for photo ops. The ray of choices for Chinese specialties. the delay.

The last time my flight got delayed in If you’re not as creative as my two beautiful blooms in the patches of orfriends and would rather take a leisurely chid gardens all over the terminal are Hong Kong, I wanted the waiting time stroll inside the terminal, let me share more than enough to mesmerize any to last longer as I enjoyed the many culinary options at hand. Of course, duty with you a list of some airports I’ve jaded traveler. been to where I wished I had more time I also like the other garden that has free shopping was another reason why to spend in them. I’m not saying that you the kaleidoscope of butterflies (easily a I wanted to stay longer. I have a weakshould look forward to a flight delay thousand of them) dancing around. Be- ness for colognes, so you can imagine so you could enjoy these airports, but ing there made me feel “celestial”. Changi me, lost in time, dazzled by the many they certainly made my wait a breeze! even has a swimming pool on the rooftop, fragrant brands on display.

If you enjoy beer and are on a EuroHopefully, when leisure travel goes full a couple of 24-hour cinemas, and a huge swing, all the interesting features that X-Box gaming area which, definitely, is pean trip, I’m sure you won’t mind be-

Disciples of the yeast-fermented malt enjoy the presence of an onsite brewery, Airbräu, at the Munich Airport terminal.

This huge supermarket, Migros, inside the Zurich Airport terminal is your best source of Swiss delights to bring home to family and friends.

ing stranded at Munich Airport. It has an onsite brewery which dispenses your favorite brew at standard prices, with live music to boot, bringing your drinking pleasure to a higher level! And, if you want to practice your 9-hole swing, the airport has a mini-golf course. For those who prefer some privacy, the terminal rents out cabins by the hour, each containing a bed, a writing desk, and a state-of-the-art music system.

But, if your flight delay happens at Zurich Airport, don’t fret. The terminal offers a wide selection of dining venues. If you also enjoy shopping like I do, you won’t mind the long wait at Zurich because the airport has a huge supermarket. Of course, Swiss chocolates and Swiss cheese topped my shopping list. And, if you also have a sweet tooth, you’ll be glad to find inside the terminal, the famous Sprüngli Café which sells those heavenly macarons, which are small, airy, sweet temptations filled with light cream made of natural ingredients. Yum! As far as US airports are concerned, I enjoyed waiting at Portland Airport mainly because of the huge Nike outlet in the terminal, where items are priced the same as those at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton (in the outskirts of Portland). There is also a wide display of handmade goods to bring home to friends and relatives, a sampling of java coffee, and a tasting room for local whiskies.

So, when leisure travel springs back to life, and you find yourself having to wait at any of these airports, have fun instead of letting your negative emotions tie you up in a knot. Because a PERFECT MOMENT seldom comes, just take the MOMENT and make it PERFECT. For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

Filarts releases 6th art book featuring Asian artists

THE Filipinas Institute for the Advancement of Arts and Culture (Filarts), founded by publisher and artist Roy Espinosa, launches a coffee table book that explores the cultural identity of 60 Asian visual artists.

Filarts launches its sixth coffee table book, ’Contemporary Art by Asian Artists’.

Titled “Contemporary Art by Asian Artists”, it features artworks from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. The artists involved articulated to a large degree the cultural identity of their nations.

Espinosa, himself a revered visual artist and international art exhibit organizer,

was able to make the artists work for a common purpose despite the pandemic.

“The fluidity by which they address personal issues, societal concerns, and global discourses through the use of visual imagery and textual iconography is emblematic of a heuristic understanding of the role of art as an ever-evolving agency of change,” he shared.

Serving as content editor is writer and National Museum art researcher Ben-Oliver Matias, who worked with co-authors Vanessa Tan Gana and Ruth C. Espinosa.

Filarts advocates the development and advancement of Filipino art by providing the platform from which to navigate the country’s culture and identity. It previously published art books, namely, “Different Strokes 1” (2015), “Different Strokes 2-Watercolor Magic” (2016), “Art Saturday” (2017), “Grupo Kwad” (2017), and “Palettes Feast of Colors” (2017).

It publishes Filipino Artists magazine and South East Asian Artists magazine, and spearheads collaborative art exhibitions to create intercultural exchange between the Philippines and other countries.

“Filarts’ sixth coffee table book also showcases a paradigmatic immersion on depicting universal theme unbounded by geographic border, social status, or race. A multi-faceted approach is shared across time and space by these uniquely talented visual artists as they present a united front in the promulgation of culture through the arts.”

The art book retails at P4,500. For book copy orders and special discounts, call 0921-479-9189.

MOA Art Land, a 3D art installation by Singaporean artist Ben Qwek located at Central Atrium of Mall of Asia.

3D anamorphic illusion brings the beach to the mall PASAY-based SM Mall of Asia tapped Singaporean artist Ben Qwek to recreate the summer sun and the beach fun at the mall through a large 3D anamorphic art.

The MOA Art Land, which opened on June 10 at Central Atrium, lets mall-goers take fun photos with the beach ball and sand castle, and on the banana boat, dive boat, float, and lounge chair illustrated on the floor.

Qwek, the artist who created the huge installation, specializes in illustration and 3D anamorphic art.

He has worked and collaborated with Unilever, Singapore Tourism Board, Nickelodeon, Canon, and many more.

Before Metro Manila was once again put on ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) on August 6, the 3D art land allowed a maximum of 20 persons in the area, where they could stay no longer than 15 minutes. Only one customer, wearing face mask and face shield, could have their photo taken per spot.

Take a splash from the dive board, balance on the beach ball, and ride on the floaters.