Manila Standard - 2021 November 6 - Saturday

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NCR inches back to normal

Loose mobility triggers traffic snarls, outdoor activities, brisk biz, minors out

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

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VOL. XXXV • NO. 264 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IFE in Metro Manila inched toward normalcy Friday as the government raised the allowable operating capacity of businesses, allowed minors to go to malls and approved limited face-toface classes in colleges under Alert Level 2 amid the steady decline in COVID-19 cases.

Guidelines published Thursday by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) allow several services and activities under Alert Level 2.

These include: • Intrazonal and interzonal movement or travel between areas with different alert levels. Local government units (LGUs) may impose reasonable restrictions, but these cannot be strict-

er than those in a higher alert level.

• Individual outdoor exercises for all ages, regardless of comorbidities or vaccination status.

The guidelines also allow venues for meetings, conferences and exhibitions; permitted venues for social events such as parties and wedding receptions; tourist attractions such as museums, parks and public gardens; amusement Next page

Face shield exit, other reopening moves up

By Willie Casas Under Alert Level 2, the allowed capacity inside churches as well as in public utility vehicles in Metro Manila has been increased to 70 percent. Devotees gather at the Plaza Miranda fronting the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila for the first Friday mass of November. (Inset) Heavy traffic flow can be seen on the northbound lane of Roxas Boulevard as the region shifts to a more relaxed community quarantine system.

Norman Cruz

2,797,986 2,376

37,377

44,085

260

2,716,524

2,109

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said it needs another week to study proposals to scrap the need to use face shields in more places as the government plans to reopen the economy further by allowing the entry of international tourists “in due time.”

The proposal to scrap the use of face shields was tackled during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFI) Thursday evening, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario

Vergeire said.

“The DOH asked for one more week to study this,” Vergeire said in Filipino.

The government previously required face shields in all public areas, making the Philippines the only country in the world with such a mandate.

In September, President Rodrigo Duterte said the covering was no longer required in open spaces and would only be required in areas that are crowded, closed and which would cause close contact.

A vaccine expert panel member favored the

By Willie Casas

By Willie Casas and Vito Barcelo THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday supported a proposal to make vaccinations against COVID-19 mandatory for specific at-risk sectors after vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez said he sees the need for all Filipinos to be vaccinated.

The Interior department, on the other hand, is planning to implement a "no vaccine, no ayuda" policy for beneficiaries of the 4Ps conditional cash transfer program. Next page

ALLIES PROD DUTERTE TO RUN FOR SENATE NEWS / A4Next page

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EX-DOJ CHIEF: NO BASIS TO JUNK MARCOS’ COC NEWS / A4

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DOH cautions tagging COVID ‘endemic’ in PH

Mandatory jab backed, ‘no vax, no ayuda’ eyed

(As of 4 PM, NOV. 5)

recommendations to make the wearing of face shields voluntary.

In an interview on Balitanghali, Dr. Rontgene Solante, who is also the head of the Adult Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine Unit at San Lazaro Hospital, said that it is good to give the public the option to wear the protective gear or not.

“Yes, I think we can approve that at this point when COVID-19 cases are decreasing and a lot of Filipinos are already vaccinated,” Solante said.

Wearing a face mask, however, is still

A mother comforts her daughter as the teenager receives her first dose of Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 at the Lucky Chinatown Mall in Divisoria, Manila on Friday, November 5, 2021. Danny Pata

THE Philippines must conduct a three- to five-year evaluation before declaring that COVID-19 has become endemic in the country, the Department of Health said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a media briefing, said the evaluation would be conducted with the World Health Organization.

"It's about three to five years of observations, of notations, of taking blood tests or taking swabs kung COVID 'yan [if it’s COVID] among the general population," Vergeire said.

Next page

Drivers ask: ‘Where is subsidy?’

By Joel E. Zurbano, Alena Mae S. Flores and Othel V. Campos A TRANSPORT group denounced Friday government officials who, they said, failed to fulfill their promise to provide a P1-billion fuel subsidy for public utility jeepney drivers hit badly by the present health crisis.

This emerged as industry sources said

consumers could heave a sigh of relief next week as the country's oil firms were set to implement a price rollback of not more than P1 per liter.

"Based on three-day trading, yes, it seems like there is a rollback," an industry source told reporters.

Orlando Marquez, president of Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas, lamented the non-release of the fuel subsidy.

Next page

PhilHealth: We owe hospitals P16b, not P20b EL SHADDAI CUTS TIES WITH BUHAY PARTY-LIST Next page

NEWS / A4

By Willie Casas

P16 billion -- and not P20 billion as claimed by the Private Hospitals AssociaSTATE-RUN Philippine Health Insur- tion of the Philippines.

PhilHealth vice president for corporate ance Corporation (PhilHealth) clarified Next page Friday it owed private hospitals around

Eastwood City welcomes the holiday season with a spectacle of giant lighted art sculptures handcrafted by world-class Filipino contemporary artist-designer Leeroy New. Norman Cruz

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News

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

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Senate orders ex-DBM exec’s arrest Lao was then the officer-in-charge of the Procurement Service of the DBM (PS-DBM) when the government procured alleged overpriced PPEs, face shields and face masks in 2020.

The one-page order signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation (Blue Rib-

bon) directed the arrest of Lao for his refusal to attend the hearings on October 5, 19, 28 and November 4, 2021.

Senator Francis Pangilinan asked the Blue Ribbon committee to cite Lao in contempt and be arrested. This was seconded by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

The order also tasked the Senatesergeant-at arms to carry out the arrest.

Gordon noted since Lao was no longer a government official, he was not covered by President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order which banned Cabinet officials and employees from attending the Senate hearings Senate Sergeantat-Arms retired Major General Rene

NCR...

arrangements.

Casinos, horse racing, cockfighting and the operation of cockpits, lottery and betting shops and other gaming establishments are still not allowed under Alert level 2, except if authorized by the IATF or the Office of the President.

The Department of Health (DOH) said children can now go to the malls. Alert Level 2, which is in effect until Nov. 21, removes the limit on going to select establishments like malls based on age and vaccination status, the DOH said.

In an advisory, Ayala Malls said it is allowing the entry of individuals 18 years old below, regardless of vaccination status, in compliance with the latest government guidelines.

Power Plant Mall’s latest guidelines also indicated that customers of any age are allowed to enter the mall.

Earlier this week, the Philippines began the vaccination of all children aged 12 to 17 in an expansion of its pediatric jab coverage against COVID-19. No vaccine, however, has been approved for younger children and toddlers.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced Friday that limited in-person classes in all degree programs have been allowed for up to 50 percent capacity in areas under Alert Level 2.

CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said the IATF gave the green light on Nov. 4 provided the schools follow these conditions: - The students, faculty, and employees must be vaccinated; - The local government is okay with it; and - Their facilities have been retrofitted and inspected.

De Vera said these limited in-person classes are likely to start in areas where the vaccination rate is high such as Metro Manila universities.

"So we ask everyone to get vaccinated so that we have now other options to open our classrooms and so that we can slowly bring back our students and get them to go to their schools," he said.

More than a hundred higher education institutions were previously allowed to resume face-to-face classes for medicine and allied health sciences.

In September, President Rodrigo Duterte approved its expansion for engineering and technology, hotel and restaurant management, tourism and travel management, marine engineering, and marine transportation courses.

The Palace reminded business owners to strictly enforce the “no vaccine, no entry” policy, to prevent the surge of COVID 19 cases.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque issued the statement after the National Capital Region (NCR) was placed under alert level 2 starting Nov. 4.

“If you will accept unvaccinated customers, COVID-19 will surely spread. If it happens, we will have to escalate alert levels again and you will have to close down again,” he said.

“To the businessmen, if you want to keep your businesses running, make sure to implement the ‘No vaccine, no entry’ policy,” he said.

Meanwhile, the official also warned the public against faking vaccine cards so they can enter establishments.

“If you are using a fake vaccine card, you are putting your lives at risk,” Roque said.

He said those caught with fake vaccine cards will face jail time.

On Thursday, an infectious diseases expert cautioned people not to eat or talk in mass transport vehicles to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread, as public transport has now been allowed to operate at 70 percent capacity.

"Wearing a face mask and at the same time not talking will decrease transmission in fact up to 95 percent," said Dr. Rontgene Solante in "24 Oras" report on Thursday.

The Philippines logged 2,376 new COVID-19 cases on Friday 2,376, bringing the total number of cases to 2,797,986.

There were 260 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 44,085.

The DOH also reported 2,109 new recoveries, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,716,524.

There were 37,377 active cases, of which 69 percent were mild, 5.4 percent were asymptomatic, 3.5 percent were critical, 8.2 percent were severe, and 13.94 were moderate.

The positivity rate was at 6.5 percent, based on test results of samples from 44,182 people on Nov. 3.

Nationwide, 43 percent of ICU beds, 33 percent of isolation beds, 27 percent of ward beds, and 29 percent of ventilators, were in use.

In Metro Manila, 37 percent of ICU beds, 28 percent of isolation beds, 27 percent of ward beds, and 26 percent of ventilators, were in use.

Also on Friday, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said that Christmas caroling is not banned in his city, but is not encouraged because this could be a super-spreader activity.

already endemic when in fact it's not,” said Vergeire.

Vergeire stressed that COVID-19 was still being studied across the globe.

"Let’s remember that there are still uncertainties and unknowns regarding COVID-19. We should consider that our evidence is not yet complete. We still have a lot of variants that we are still monitoring across the globe,” she said.

OCTA's David on Thursday said the National Capital Region had returned to its state before the surge in cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.

Vergeire, however, said the DOH could not yet say that NCR had reversed the surge of the Delta variant even though cases have gone down and become manageable.

The DOH recently reported 520 additional Delta cases, bringing the total to 5,331.

Cebu City on Thursday recorded 21 fresh infections, raising its tally of active cases to 275.

Vergeire said some parts of the country were still facing rising COVID-19 cases and admissions in hospitals.

Vergeire noted health authorities were able to contain at a "manageable level" the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country from the Delta variant. The health care system, she said, was also not overwhelmed.

Region and seven other urban areas were now classified as "low risk" for COVID-19, while Cebu City was now considered as "very low risk."

The seven other areas include Davao City, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal.

"We have reversed the Delta surge already in NCR. We were back to where we were before the surge in July. And the good

news is it's not just in the NCR," he told reporters.

The decline in cases could be attributed to wide vaccine coverage, the public's adherence to minimum public health standards, and the enforcement of lockdowns, David said.

Metro Manila is now averaging 493 cases per day, compared to its peak of 5,000 in the past months, Vergeire said.

The country is recording an average of 2,888 daily infections. In September, it logged over 20,000 cases amid the presence of the Delta variant.

The sprawling capital region, home to over 13 million people, eased to Alert Level 2 starting Friday amid decline in COVID-19 cases.

The alert level, which allows for greater mobility and higher capacity in businesses, will last until Nov. 21.

erators or franchise holders, but there is also a possibility that it will be given directly to the beneficiaries.

An industry source said another oil player confirmed the rollback, saying "yes, rollback for both products," referring to both diesel and gasoline.

"May not be more than P1 but higher than 50 centavos," the source said.

World oil prices softened this week after reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced plans to gradually increase production while demand has been affected by renewed spikes in covid cases and manufacturing problems in China.

On November 2, the oil companies implemented a price adjustment in domestic oil products.

Gasoline increased by P1.10 to P1.15 per liter but diesel and kerosene decreased by P0.35 to P0.40 per liter and P0.40 per liter, respectively.

These resulted in year-to-date adjustments to stand at a total net increase of P21.95 per liter for gasoline, P18.10 per liter for diesel and P15.74 per liter for kerosene.

Meanwhile, eight business groups urged presidential candidates and other politicians calling for the suspension of oil and electricity taxes to carefully reconsider their request.

“We understand the desire to bring relief to the public and offset rising inflation. However, instead of a blanket suspension or reduction in taxes, we urge them to consider tried and tested targeted measures to assist sectors and citizens who need it most,” the business groups. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

PhilHealth...

unit. We have put in facilities in our IT system,” Domingo said.

The issue of unpaid claims came to light after several private hospitals have warned that they may not renew their accreditations with PhilHealth next year due to the late payment of claims.

“We understand them, we hope the situation will not reach that. We have some hospitals who have declared they’re not disengaging,” Domingo said.

“Our president, Atty. Dante Gierran, has been talking with the president of [the] Private Hospitals Association [of the Philippines] Dr. [Jose] De Grano to iron out issues to make sure that the situation will not push through because in the end it will be our fellow Filipinos who will not benefit from that kind of arrangement,” she added.

She said Philhealth has already released P158 billion in claims since January 2020.

“There’s no problem with funds to pay the claims,” Domingo said.

PhilHealth, under its charter, is tasked to administer the National Health Insurance Program, which aims to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable, available, and accessible health care services for all citizens of the Philippines.

The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc (PHAPI) last week said some of its members might not renew their accreditation with PhilHealth because most claims for the treatment of COVID-19 patients last year remained unpaid.

The payment of some claims is delayed due to a shortage in PhilHealth's manpower, and errors and inconsistencies in hospitals' documents, Balena said.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

F

OR failing to attend four times the Senate hearings on the multi-billion peso COVID funds used to buy medical supplies, the Upper Chamber on Friday released a warrant of arrest against former Budget Undersecretary Christopher Lloyd Lao.

From A1

or theme parks; recreational venues such as internet cafes, billiard halls, amusement arcades and bowling alleys; and cinemas and movie houses to operate at 50 percent capacity indoors for fully vaccinated adults and minors (even if unvaccinated), and 70 percent capacity outdoors.

Limited face-to-face or in-person classes for basic education are subject to prior approval of the Office of the President.

In-person religious gatherings; gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19 and for the cremains of the COVID-19 deceased are also allowed.

Dine-in services in restaurants as well as services at personal care establishments such as barbershops, hair salons, and nail spas will be allowed subject to sector-specific guidelines from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Fitness studios, gyms, and venues for individual non-contact exercise and sports, are also allowed subject to DTI guidelines, and provided that patrons and workers wear face masks at all times, and that no group activities are conducted.

Film, music and television production, and activities in videoke and karaoke bars, clubs and concert halls will also be allowed, subject to guidelines.

Gatherings in residences with individuals not belonging to the same household are also now allowed.

Government work may operate at 50 percent of on-site capacity while applying work-from-home and other flexible work

DOH...

From A1

"We use certain criteria to declare that a virus is already endemic in an area. We cannot say it is endemic just because cases are going down,” she said.

Vergeire was reacting to the statement of OCTA Research's Dr. Guido David that Cebu City was “probably close” to the endemic stage.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, endemic refers to the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.

Vergeire advised caution when mentioning such things.

"Because the public may become complacent if they hear that the virus is

Drivers...

From A1

“They're just fooling us,” he said, adding the government was only good at issuing press releases.

Marquez said three weeks ago, his group met Transportation officials who promised the fuel subsidy.

Marquez said his group would push the petition for a 10-peso minimum jeepney fare hike in Metro Manila and other regions.

But the Department of Transportation is against it.

"I don't want an increase in jeepney fares because many people will be affected," said DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade.

He said stakeholders should continuously look for other ways to help struggling jeepney drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, the government approved the P1-billion fuel subsidy for public utility vehicle drivers amid rising prices of fuel.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Martin Delgra said the grant was for "legitimate qualified franchise holders and their drivers," most especially in the traditional public utility jeepney sector.

But he said there was no date when the subsidy would be released.

"This is pursuant [to] the Train Law, and the law is specific as to the recipient so PUJ sector will be the beneficiaries," he said.

The government initially planned to distribute the funds through the op-

From A1

affairs and spokesperson Shirley Domingo, in an interview on CNN Philippines, said majority of the claims pending with the state insurer are within the 60-day processing period -- which means payment is not delayed.

Domingo said PhilHealth “receives around 39,000 claims a day and we also pay several millions of claims a day.”

“We actually pay P2.5 billion in benefit payments for a week,” she said.

“Right now, P16 billion is what is in our offices now and not all of that are delayed claims because there are some still within the 60 days and some outside of the 60 days [processing period],” she added.

The PhilHealth official said “maybe around less than 50 percent are still beyond the 60 days.”

On Thursday, PhilHealth corporate communications senior manager Rey Balena said the unpaid claims would be settled before December.

PhilHealth will be releasing the second wave of its DCMP scheme or DebitCredit Payment Method to fast-track the processing of unpaid claims.

Under the DCPM, PhilHealth initially pays 60 percent of a hospital’s claim while the remaining 40 percent will be settled upon completion of pertinent requirements.

“Aside from the DCPM… we have instituted a lot of reforms in the way we process claims. One is, we are streamlining the number of steps in processing claims. Two, we have augmented our human resources in our claims processing

Samonte said his officers would serve the arrest order against Lao even if he was not in Metro Manila.

“If we receive it (arrest order), we will just prepare the administrative requirements, and even if he is out of town, we will serve and implement the arrest order,” said Samonte.

During the Senate panel's previous hearings, Lao said he went back to Davao City after he left his post in DBM. The Senate is investigating the transfer of P42 billion COVID-19 funds from the Department of Health to the PS-DBM during the time of Lao.

Mandatory...

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"We were discussing that for 4Ps, that would involve around 6 to 7 million of our kababayan. If they will not get vaccinated, we will not release their ayuda under 4Ps," Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said even as he acknowledged that a law must be passed to makevaccination mandatory.

"It's a disincentive. I think it can be justified and remember we are still under a national health emergency. In a public health emergency we have to make sure that everybody contributes to the containment of the spread of the virus. And a person who is non-vaccinated may be a potential spreader of COVID," he added.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Congress needs to pass a measure to make vaccination mandatory.

“But this [mandatory vaccination] is a last resort of the government because we want to achieve population protection,”she said in Filipino.

"Government has the authority because we are seeing that we will not achieve protection for the population if part of the population will not receive the vaccines," she added.

Vergeire made the remark in response to Galvez’s proposal to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory.

Should a law be passed requiring Filipinos to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, she said there must be consultations with various stakeholders to make the policy "more inclusive."

Vergeire said the law aims to address vaccination gaps in some sectors, "which are vulnerable and face people every day in their line of work."

Government data as of Thursday showed the Philippines had fully vaccinated over 28.7 million individuals while more than 33.7 million had received an initial dose.

While vaccine confidence in the country has "improved tremendously," Vergeire said there were still those who do not believe in getting the jab.

This, despite the agency's aggressive information campaign and some local government units giving incentives to fully vaccinated individuals, she said.

The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed a majority of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Based on face-to-face interviews, 64 percent said that they were willing to get vaccinated—of which, 25 percent and 10 percent have received their second and first doses respectively, while 23 percent said that they will surely get vaccinated and 6 percent will probably get vaccinated.

On the other hand, 19 percent say they are uncertain, and 18 percent say they are unwilling to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The latest percentage of those willing to get vaccinated is nine points above the 55 percent in June 2021. It is twice as high as 32 percent in May 2021, when SWS first surveyed the subject.

Also on Friday, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) said local government units need time to catch up with the national government's ramped-up COVID-19 vaccination goal.

Interviewed on radio dzBB, LPP president and Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. said many LGUs are used to receiving only a small allocation of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“The LGUs are still adjusting,” he said.

Velasco made the statement after Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje called out the supposed lack of urgency of some LGUs regarding vaccination.

Face...

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a must, as is maintaining physical distancing, he said.

The Palace, for its part, said the Philippines will reopen to international tourists “in due time.”

Palace spokesman Harry Roque said the government would study the experiences of other countries that have reopened their tourism activities.

The DOH, meanwhile, said the alert level system first tested in Metro Manila would be expanded nationwide by Dec. 1.

The government began the pilot rollout of the 5-level COVID-19 alert system and accompanying granular lockdowns in mid-September, before expanding it to several other areas in a bid to spur business activity.

“We have areas that will be part of the pilot implementation next week and then until the end of November. By Dec. 1, the whole population or the whole country will shift to this policy and we will start its full implementation,” Vergeire said.

News

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

Several areas report clustering of dengue cases

HORSEBACK IN TAGAYTAY.

Youngsters from Metro Manila enjoy horseback riding at a ranch in Tagaytay City. Residents from the National Capital Region (NCR) start to travel to nearby cities, following the declaration that the NCR has been place in the more relaxed Alert 2 Level which took effect on Friday. Danny Pata

By Willie Casas SEVERAL areas in the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon, Davao, and General Santos City are reporting a clustering of dengue cases, but there are no significant changes in the country’s cases, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a media briefing, said that though there were no significant changes to the country’s dengue cases, they had received reports of clustering in some areas. “[W]e also take note that some areas are reporting clustering of dengue. And these are in some parts of Metro Manila, some parts in Region IV-A, and there are also some parts in Davao, and also in General Santos,” she said.

Vergeire said the number of dengue cases recorded from January to October 2021 decreased to 59,481 from the 76,721 recorded in the same period last year.

In October, the Baguio City Health Service reported that dengue cases in the city had increased by 700 percent.

The DOH was coordinating with its regional offices on the matter, she said.

“Minomonitor natin lahat ito (we are closely monitoring these areas).

We already were able to coordinate with the regional offices so they can provide assistance to these LGUs,” she added.

Filipino nurses bound for the US increasing—solon

By Maricel V. Cruz A TOTAL of 5,957 Philippine-educated nurses seeking to practice their profession in America took the U.S. licensure examination for the first time from January to September this year, a party-list legislator revealed on Friday.

Rep. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan said the number is up 25 percent compared to the 4,758 Philippine nursing graduates that took the NCLEX for the first time in the same nine month period in 2020, based on figures from the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. The NCLEX, or National Council Licensure Examination, is usually the final step in America’s nurse licensure process.

“We expect a large number of Filipino nurses to aspire to move into America’s labor market in the months ahead because of the irresistible lure of high pay. In California, for instance, a registered nurse receives an average of $120,560 (P6.1 million) per year,” Defensor said.

“Right now, there are thousands of unfilled hospital nursing staff vacancies across America,” Defensor said.

Defensor cited the case of San Diego, California-based nursing agency Aya Healthcare, which has over 55,000 job openings for “travel nurses” needed to fill staffing gaps in more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals for periods of 13 to 26 weeks at a time.

Defensor has been urging Congress to pass House Bill 7933, which seeks to nearly double from P33,575 to P60,901 the starting monthly base pay of nurses employed in Philippine government hospitals.

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Digong admonishes Palawan power firms P RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he will issue an order expropriating the franchises of power providers in Palawan, noting that these firms failed to solve the province’s rotational power outages.

Duterte recalled how he previously threatened to seize franchise cooperatives during his visit to the province some “three years ago,” but they failed to keep their promise to address the problem.

“I was here three years ago, I confronted them about the sorry state of the energy situation. They wrote me a letter promising action that it will be improved. Until now, para tayong buang so kunin ko nalang (we’re like idiots, so I’m

just going to seize them),” he said in a speech in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

He added that since the franchises were merely granted to them, the government could take them “any time.”

Duterte said he will issue an order expropriating the power providers in Palawan by next week.

“We will take over and i-distribute na (and distribute). Wala (Nothing), you cannot claim ex-

clusivity. You cannot claim private interest because itong ilaw is impressed with public good. So pag ayaw ninyo (So if you don’t want), either you come to agree with us sa matter of compensation ninyo or I will order an expropriation and I will do it next week. I will issue the order,” he said.

He said it is best for power providers to let go rather than failing to “keep up with the progress.”

Duterte added that other parties can be tapped to resolve the province’s rotational power outages.

“You have to expand and energy must eternally expand. Otherwise, babagsak

‘AYUDA’ FOR SENIORS. A senior citizen shows his “ayuda.” Senior citizens in some barangays in the Plaza Noli area in Manila receive their allowances from the local government.

Norman Cruz

Castro: P1,500 internet allowance for teachers needed

By Maricel V. Cruz ASSISTANT Minority Leader France Castro on Friday urged Congress to allocate funds for the P1,500 monthly internet allowance for teachers.

Castro raised the call in the wake of the expiration of the DepEd 349 SIM cards that teachers use in their online classes.

Castro, the nominee of the party-list

group ACT-Teachers to the legislature, said the urgent passage of House Bill 7034 or the Internet Allowance for Public School Teachers Act and the funding for the P1500 monthly internet allowance for teachers in the 2022 national budget should be a priority owing to the blended distance learning.

“Teachers nationwide have struggled with various tasks requiring the use of information and communications

technology with a bulk of online tasks and a substantial need for digital access. Teachers still rely on their already measly salaries to get access to internet data,” Castro said.

The lawmaker added that “the DepEd 349 SIM cards that provided teachers with 34 gigabytes (GB) on monthly load only lasted for three months, many of these SIM cards will expire within the month.”

ang ekonomiya…Ibigay mo talaga sa may kaya. Yung cooperatives ay kung may pera kayo, bitawan na ninyo (Otherwise, the economy will collapse. Just give to those who can do the job. If you cooperatives have money, just let go),” he said.

He also urged concerned government agencies to address the power shortage situation in the province.

In 2018, Duterte gave power providers until the end of the year to solve the province’s power woes.

He said having brownouts of six to eight hours in the province was “unacceptable,” especially since there were others with the financial capability to address the power woes.

P28b Marines headquarters rising in Bataan

By Jess Malabanan MORONG, Bataan—Construction of the P28-billion Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) headquarters is in full swing after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and its partner agencies broke ground at the 100-hectare lot within the Bataan Technological Park here Thursday.

The first phase of the project costing P7.5 billion, considered as one of the major infrastructures under the Duterte administration, would be completed by 2024, the BCDA said in a statement.

The activity coincided with the 71st anniversar y celebration of the PMC, which highlighted the anticipated transfer of the PMC to its new home.

BCDA Officer-in-Charge Office of the President and CEO Atty.

Aristotle B. Batuhan, PMC Commandant MGen. Ariel Caculitan and Philippine Navy Vice Commander MGen. Nestor Herico joined the ground breaking rites.

CEB offers more flights as travel restrictions ease

By Joel E. Zurbano CEBU Pacific Air (CEB) on Friday announced it will operate more domestic flights after officials in 21 of its 33 local destinations have decided to accept tourists for leisure travel.

Among those accepting vacationing guests include the famous beach

destinations such as Boracay, Bohol, Camiguin, Coron (point-to-point bubble tourism), Cebu, Dumaguete, Puerto Princesa (bound for El Nido and San Vicente only), and Siargao; and destinations that boast of gastronomic adventures namely Clark, Manila, and Roxas.

“We are happy to share this update

with every Juan as we see more destinations in our country safely open up their borders. We firmly believe domestic tourism is the way to go – and we remain cautiously optimistic as we gradually ramp up our network to pave the way for domestic travel recovery,” said Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience.

Groundbreaking of Iloilo City housing project held

By Rio N. Araja

VAX FOR THE YOUNG. San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora lead the launch of the

city’s vaccination program to its young residents. The vaccination of minors was held at the FilOil Flying V Arena, following the government’s guidelines in vaccinating 12- to 17-year-old residents after an initial run at Cardinal Santos Medical Center recently. Manny Palmero

THE Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) has started a shelter project in Iloilo City.

Secretary Eduardo del Rosario recently spearheaded the rollout of another housing project in this fast-devel-

oping city.

He flew to Iloilo City for the groundbreaking of the Uswag lowrise residential building in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro.

Jointly undertaken by DHSUD, SM Development Corp. and the Iloilo City government, the project in-

tends to benefit local government employees.

He stressed the importance of pushing for the construction of vertical housing projects, noting that such an approach is the future of the national shelter industry, particularly in highly urbanized areas like Iloilo city.

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november 6, 2021

El Shaddai cuts ties with Buhay party-list over Atienza moves

By Maricel V. Cruz

SANTA’S TREE. A Santa Claus performer poses before the newly lit 30-foot Christmas Tree inside the Marriott hotel in Pasay City.

The five-star hotel starts its celebration of the Yuletide season with a pack of surprises for its customers.

Danny Pata

Agra: No basis to junk Marcos candidacy paper

By Rey E. Requejo THE petition filed to cancel the certificate of candidacy of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has no basis and is unlikely to move forward, former Justice Secretary and Ateneo Law School professor Alberto Agra said on Friday.

Agra stressed it was clearly stated in the Omnibus Election Code that Marcos was qualified and eligible to run for president in 2022 elections and had no shortcomings in his COC submission.

“It is stated in our Omnibus Election Code that (candidates) must not be convicted.

Other terms are provided in the law. The law provides that it must be sentenced, with a final judgment of imprisonment. What happened when I read the case— it does not apply to presidentiable BBM. He was not sentenced to imprisonment. He is guilty of paying a fine,” Agra said.

Clarifying that he is not a Marcos lawyer or supporter, Agra stressed that based on his analysis of the case, it appears that Marcos’ case is not tax evasion, but simply failure to file his income tax return.

The law states that to cancel the COC of any candidate, he or she must be found guilty and punished with more than 18 months of imprisonment and be convicted of a crime involving “moral turpitude.”

“Moral turpitude, if you are a bit rude, immoral, you really want to cheat or commit fraud. The question now is: is not filing an income tax return a crime involving moral turpitude? Of course not,” Agra said.

The last Justice Secretary under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also pointed out there is no final judgment in Marcos’ case because it has not yet reached the Supreme Court.

Pacquiao hits ‘pretentious, genius’ execs PROMDI presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao took potshots at the country’s leaders whom he called “pretentious and genius” amid the country’s poor condition.

“There are many pretentious leaders who are geniuses. But if you are a genius, why is the country suffering until now?” asked Pacquiao.

He noted that the country is spending more than what it’s earning. And these small earnings, he said, “cannot cover up our annual budget.”

The world boxing champ turned politician noted it is ironic that while the country’s budget has been increasing each year, the amount of revenues it generates is steadily declining.

“So, we resort to borrowing since we have huge spending despite the small earnings,” said Pacquiao who asserted it should be the other way around.

He related that the country’s approved national budget in 2021 was P4.2 trillion, but the government revenue was only pegged at P2.9 trillion.

He slammed corruption which is embedded in all levels of governance as behind the country’s budget gap.

Due to this, he wants to see all in jail the thieves and the corrupt for stealing from the nation’s coffers.

To address this dilemma, the senator believes the government should create a favorable business climate to allow domestic and foreign direct investments to flourish.

The government should also maximize the potential of its Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) as big revenue earners. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Allies prodding President to run for Senate—Palace

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is considering a run for senator in the 2022 elections, according to the Palace.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this Friday in a press briefing, adding that allies are prodding the Chief Executive to run for a seat in the upper chamber and are just waiting for the decision.

Roque reiterated the earlier pronouncement of Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who is gunning for Vice President in the May elections now, that Duterte is planning to run for the Senate.

“As Sen. Bong Go has said, he is considering it,” Roque said.

“The President has not ruled out the

possibility of seeking a senatorial seat in next year’s elections,” Go said, even if Duterte himself said last October 2 he has decided to retire from politics.

The PDP-Laban faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi first drafted Duterte as the ruling party’s candidate for vice president in the May polls next year.

However, Duterte backed out and instead let Go take his place and file his certificate of candidacy (COC) for vice president.

Meanwhile, conceding that changes might still occur in PDP-Laban’s roster of candidates for next year’s elections, Sen. Go maintained that he remains decided to run for vice president.

If there will be no changes after the November 15 deadline for the substitution of candidates, Go said Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa will still be the standard bearer of the PDP-Laban Cusi faction.

“If there will be changes someday, we will know it by November 15,” said Go, amid speculations that he or Dela Rosa could be replaced by other candidates.

While Davao Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio has been firm in her stand not to run for president, many are still hoping the President’s daughter will have a change of heart and vie for the presidency instead of pushing her re-election bid.

Also, Filipinos should brace for a “Singapore-like” progress if Dela Rosa will win the presidency, as he vowed to continue the programs of President Duterte.

“We might even be better than Singapore after six years,” said Dela Rosa, standard bearer of the Cusi PDPLaban faction.

“Filipino people will surely feel the positive impact and complete benefits of the programs of President Rodrigo Duterte if his term of office is succeeded by the ‘Bato’ administration,” assured Dela Rosa.

The name of the presidential daughter is also being floated as a possible running mate of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos in case he will replace Dela Rosa.

‘GRASS’ PARCELS. About

20 parcels containing dried marijuana leaves and weighing 2.7 kilos, with a street value of P324,000, are confiscated by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with the K9 unit and the cooperation of J&T Express due to their suspicious weight.

Jr Josue

Imus leaders back native son Ping for prez

By Macon Ramos-Araneta IMUS City in Cavite embraced its native son and Partido Reporma standard bearer Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday as local leaders led by Mayor Emmanuel “Manny” Maliksi endorsed his candidacy for president in the 2022 national elections.

Maliksi said Lacson, his “ninong” (godfather), was the hope the country was waiting for to combat corruption and poverty.

Lacson thanked Mayor Manny— the son of his dear friend and former

Cavite Governor Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi who died last February 24 and vowed to honor his fellow Imusenos with the “last chapter” of his more than 50 years in public service, including 18 as a senator.

The senator later received signatures of support for his candidacy from Maliksi and city councilors as he swore in new members of Partido Reporma in an induction ceremony.

Lacson also explained his Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) initiative, the centerpiece program of his presidential

candidacy for the 2022 national elections.

He said the BRAVE program would ensure funds from the national government to come down to even the remotest villages across the country.

This would allow even barangays in sixth-class municipalities to have funds to look forward to and to spend on their own development.

Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, stressed that local government units (LGUs) can be empowered to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Tingog sets meals in Hilongos vax drive THE Tingog Party-list group led by Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez took center stage during the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Hilongos, Leyte on Thursday after being awarded by the local government for championing the welfare and interests of the people.

Hilongos Mayor Albert Villahermosa hailed Tingog, represented by its nominee, actress-singer Karla Estrada for bringing social protection projects, programs, and services to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 to the community and his constituents.

Tingog partnered with the Department of Health (DoH) and Hilongos’ local government unit (LGU) led by Villahermosa in providing free meals for 1,000 persons who were given COVID-19 jabs at Brgy. Western Poblacion here.

During the event, Estrada, the proud mother of actor and recording artist Daniel Padilla, turned over 10 brand new wheelchairs to the physically impaired beneficiaries here

to boost their morale.

Villahermosa lauded Tingog’s unselfishness in providing the needed assistance to Hilongos as the pandemic continues to unleash its negative impact to the livelihood of the people.

“In grateful recognition of the meritorious service and generous support accorded to the municipality of Hilongos. In the successful conduct of the feeding program and the turnover of ten wheelchairs,” Villahermosa said in the certificate that Estrada received on behalf of Tingog Party-list.

Villahermosa also thanked the group for its support to Hilongos through the medical and burial assistance provided to them.

The mayor said Tingog will come back for the upcoming payout of cash-for-work program for displaced workers under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello III. Maricel V. Cruz

TINGOG AID. Hilongos Mayor Albert Villahermosa hails Tingog party-list group represented by its nominee, actress-singer Karla Estrada for bringing social protection projects, programs, and services to blunt the impact of COVID-19 to the community and his constituents.

THE influential Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai has severed ties with the pro-life Buhay Hayaang Yumabong Partylist (BUHAY) headed by vice presidential aspirant and Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza and Mel Robles.

Atienza and Robles are staunch supporters of Senator Manny Pacquiao and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., respectively.

This was revealed in a resignation letter tendered to Atienza and Robles by former Reps. Rene del Monte Velarde and Michael del Monte Velarde Jr., second nominee for the 18th Congress and secretary general of the pro-life party-list group, respectively.

The Velardes are sons of evangelist Mike Z. Velarde, servant leader and founder of El Shaddai Ministry.

Atienza, a vice presidential candidate as Pacquiao’s running mate, has yet to comment at press time.

“As a result of their discussion on the 4th of June 2021, Bro. Mike decided to sever his support, association, and all organizational links with Buhay Hayaang Yumabong Partylist,” the Velarde brothers said in the letter.

“And we, the undersigned, collectively resign as officers and members of BUHAY PL,” they added.

El Shaddai members Jose A. Descallar, Buhay chief auditor, along with Enrique Zunico, Sammy Vincente Sales, Dawn Melanie Diaz, and Jose Ponciano Malonzo, also signed the letter-- which was noted and signed by the elder Velarde.

With the mass resignation, El Shaddai ended its over two decades of partnership with BUHAY. The charismatic group’s support had ensured a series of election successes for the party-list organization that saw it winning seats in the House in each election it participated in.

In the letter, the Velarde group expressed its resentment over Atienza’s alleged refusal to honor an agreement he had with the El Shaddai leader in connection with the placement of Buhay nominees for the 2022 party-list election.

Isko in Cebu to kick off CV ‘listening tour’ AKSYON Demokratiko presidential candidate Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Friday held a dialog with the tourism sector in Cebu as part of his “listening tour” in the Central Visayas provinces as he prepares for his presidential campaign.

“I have come here to observe, listen, look at the Cebu experience and learn from it. And this is how it will be should I become president in 2022,” Moreno told a town hall meeting here of tourism workers in Moalboal, Cebu Province.

“All my decisions and plans of action will be determined by a thorough consultation with the people since the welfare of the people will be the heart of my presidency. People are important to my government,” he said.

Cebu Third District Rep. Pablo John “PJ” Garcia accompanied Moreno and his team as they went around the towns of Barili and Dumanjug before going to Moalboal, known for its world-class diving resorts and one of the biggest tourism areas badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

“I thank Deputy Speaker PJ Garcia for welcoming me here so I can learn first-hand how the tourism sector here in Moalboal was brought to its knees by the pandemic and how it rose up and got back to its feet so the workers can get back their jobs again and provide food for their families,” Moreno said.

Moreno praised the efforts made by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, sister of Rep. PJ, in slowly opening the tourism industry here, which was on standstill for almost a year.

Opinion The pink revolution: a campaign from the heart

IT COULD have been a fluke. When social media became an ocean of pink the days leading to Vice President Leni Robredo’s announcement that she is running for president, no one really knew how long the color pink would dominate our digital world.

The pink revolution we are seeing is not designed by Robredo’s people. Even the VP herself said that she just actually went with the flow when her daughters said that pink was the color chosen by her supporters. Before we knew it, Robredo, through a video, was already giving meaning to the color pink. She said that pink is the color of love and hope.

And that it is also the color of power.

This is a smart move as she has made the claim that there is hope, and love will enable the people’s power to effect change – a message that people need to hear especially at this time.

This will be hard to beat.

After VP Leni’s welcome announcement, people searched their cabinets for pink clothing items that they can use.

Pink shirts and clothes suddenly became in demand and some people remarked that for a time, pink shirts were out of stock from the big online sellers.

As it turned out, pink is here to stay as it continues to invade not just our digital, but also our real world. We now see pink ribbons tied on vehicles, trees, and gates of many homes. There are pink streamers and tarpaulins hanging on gates and doors. Pink stickers can be seen on many items such as bags, notebooks, mobile phones, etc. All these proclaim their active support for VP Leni Robredo.

When I travelled to Batangas recently, giant billboards of other candidates were very visible along the main roads. We mostly saw billboards of Lacson, Domagoso, and Go. We did not see any of Robredo. On TV, political advertisements of Lacson and Domagoso are frequently aired. As these billboards and television ads cost a lot of money, one cannot help but wonder where their huge campaign funds are coming from. How can these candidates afford to spend huge amounts even as the official campaign period is yet to start?

Contrast this with the volunteer-powered campaign of Robredo. Everybody knows that all the pink paraphernalia we see are designed, produced, and shared

by VP’s supporters. This is quite obvious because the only unifying themes of all these materials is the color pink and VP Robredo’s face. Designs, sizes, text, shades of pink, and types of materials vary because these are made by volun-

teers themselves. Many volunteers produce more than they will use and share their creations with others.

Even Leni Robredo’s campaign jingle was spearheaded by supporters. Now it is heard during caravans and events supporting her candidacy. This is “bayanihan” at its best.

One gauge for the big demand for VP Leni’s campaign materials is the fact that these are now carried by known online sellers. T-shirts, stickers, pink face masks, etc. with the Leni hashtags can now be bought online, and I heard that they are selling like hotcakes.

Instead of costly advertisements and giant billboards, Robredo volunteers embark on other activities. The pink caravan is one. Because the pink fever is contagious, we continue to witness pink caravans happening in various parts of the country and there is no sign that this is stopping anytime soon.

Along the routes of the caravans, people are unleashing their creativity in showing their support. We have seen homes and even small buildings draped in pink. People clad in pink were seen dancing along the roads, a gown maker brought out his/ her mannequins and lined them up clad in pink gowns as if in a parade or a beauty pageant. People line the streets clad in various shades of pink cheerfully waving home-made placards proclaiming their support for VP Robredo.

The pink revolution is turning out to be a festive and happy revolution propelled mainly by Filipinos from all walks of life who see hope in VP Leni’s leadership. #Pink Wednesday is also gaining ground. This is palpable even in online meetings and webinars. People wear their political color and pink is quite dominant. Some have even changed their backgrounds to the color. The fun thing is at times, even in live-selling of plants, people notice the prevalence of the color in various ways.

After November 15 when the final line-ups are known, the campaign will definitely heat up. While Robredo’s campaign may lack financial resources from traditional political sources, her campaign is powered by heart. The people’s hearts that will go beyond the call of duty, ready to sacrifice what they can for a better tomorrow.

Even as early as now, we see how people are offering their services for free.

We see friends and colleagues spending their own money to campaign for her. We see ordinary Filipinos crafting their own materials to support Robredo. Families who used to mind their own business now discuss politics and are trying to open other relatives’ eyes.

As what was said before, a campaign is successful when even children become aware of it. I recently accompanied my ten year-old granddaughter to an errand.

When she saw pink ribbons tied on trees, she quipped, “Mama, do you know that pink is for Leni?” This made my heart beat faster because I knew then that the pink revolution is succeeding.

The thing is, other candidates may have more money, but a campaign that emanates from people’s hearts will be hard to beat. This is what the pink revolution is about.

Acts of desperation

THEY just won’t stop. Even if they’re starting to look stupid.

We have heard all sorts of accusations against the man, including the most ridiculous one – that he’s not the real Bongbong as the real Bongbong was killed in London years ago. What else haven’t we heard from them?

Unfortunately for them, the people just won’t bite as the more they hit him, the more his quest for the presidency gets stronger. Like a rampaging herd of bulls, it seems he is now at the point he is already unstoppable.

In fact, Malou Tiquia of Publicus Asia avers former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has already acquired a Teflon-like personality that he is no longer affected whatever issue is thrown at him.

I beg to disagree with Ms. Tiquia, however. It is my belief that the people are now already rejecting the anti-Marcos narrative fed to them by the Yellows, forerunner of the Pinklaws, more than 35 years ago. And this started to manifest in 2010 when BBM first ran for a senatorial seat where his supposed teammates, candidates from the Left adopted by his party, the Nacionalista, actively campaigned against him.

Unable to stop, or even slow down his

surge, his opponents, again a coalition of supposed contradicting forces – the Oligarch-led Pinklaws and the Reds, have resorted to legal maneuverings, which ironically, is seen to be doomed from its very inception.

Early this week, they filed a threepage petition for disqualification which looks more of a rally manifesto being littered with anti-Marcos slogans, against BBM anchored on their distorted interpretation of the ruling on BBM’s case 25 years ago, claiming the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer of a crime involving moral turpitude.

The legal maneuvering seems doomed from the start.

Even former Justice Secretary and Ateneo Law School professor Alberto Agra says the petition filed to cancel BBM’s Certificate of Candidacy has no basis and is unlikely to move forward.

In a radio interview, Agra said it was clearly stated in the Omnibus Election Code that Marcos was qualified and had no shortcomings in his CoC submission.

The lawyer clarified that he is not Marcos’ lawyer or supporter, but based on his analysis of the case, it appears that Marcos’ case is not tax-evasion but simply failure to file his ITR. The law states that in order to cancel

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

B1

EDITORIAL

Focusing on children’s rights W

E JOIN the government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in seeking to address the needs of Filipino children and how they can be protected further as the National Children’s Month this year is celebrated in November.

other government agencies and organizations to celebrate the event, although activities will be held virtually.

The NCM, under an existing law, is an annual celebration that underlines the significance of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989.

discussed issues concerning children’s rights during the pandemic, attended by representatives from the DSWD, CWC, NYC, and other concerned agencies.

On Wednesday, the online kickoff ceremony of NCM was held and featured messages of support from children, youth leaders, national agency partners, and child rights supporters and advocates.

On all Saturdays of November, learning sessions with children will also be conducted by the CWC and Consuelo Foundation, which works on the prevention and treatment of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children, women, and their families.

On November 26, there will be culminating activities and awarding of winners of the NCM logo-making contest.

In line with children’s protection, we underscore efforts of the DSWD in emphasizing the need to address online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, especially during the pandemic wherein children are not allowed to go out of their homes.

Our children deserve nothing less.

Our children deserve nothing less.

Commemoration of the Children’s Month, themed “New Normal na Walang Iwanan: Karapatan ng Bawat Bata Ating Tutukan (No One is Left Behind Under the New Normal: Focus on Children’s Rights),” is timely as we stand together with all segments of the population, not the least the children, against this monstrous pandemic.

The celebration kicked off with Talakayang Makabata (Discussions on Children): The Virtual Press Conference on Tuesday and

The celebration comes at a time when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to affect children and adults as well.

We add our voice to the statement of the DSWD that they will pay attention to the difficulties experienced by children and how they can be protected while we mark their month.

The DSWD has partnered with the Council for the Welfare of Children, the National Youth Commission and

Hoping to make clowns of themselves THE underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) through its front organizations led by Fr. Christian Buenafe of the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, Fides Lim of Kapatid, Ma. Edeliza Hernandez of the Medical Action Group, Celia Lagman Sevilla of Families of Victims Involuntary Disappearance, Roland Vibal of Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, and Josephine Lascano of Balay Rehabilitation Center filed a petition before the Commission on Election (Comelec) last November 2, seeking to disqualify Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr. from participating in next year’s presidential election. They alleged ineligibility of BBM to run for public office claiming to have been convicted by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court in 1995 and allegedly affirmed by the Court of Appeals in 1997.

This column is at a loss whether to argue with these clowns turned ideological psychopaths or to ignore them altogether.

These loonies never raised that issue even as BBM furiously fought against the elements committed to deny him of his glaring victory except to manifest their malicious intent to prevent him from participating and winning in this coming election. There is no way we can argue with these loonies unless one indulges in a circus premised on an illogical proposition that can be categorized as one as certified lunatic. Nobody wrangles with an insane for that could only heighten his tantrum to go berserk.

One leader of the petitioners has already been identified as the wife of a Na-

the CoC of any candidate, he or she must be found guilty and punished with more than 18 months of imprisonment and be convicted of a crime involving ‘moral turpitude,’ which Agra says cannot qualify for the non-filing of ITR. Agra notes that the Supreme Court has already clarified the issue, where no less than Justice Antonio Carpio penned the decision in a similar case In that particular decision, the SC said that a crime concerning the filing of ITR would involve moral turpitude if there was fraud committed.

Incidentally, it was Carpio’s article in a national daily which apparently triggered the filing of the complaint.

According to Kilusang Bagong Lipunan senatorial bet, lawyer Larry Gadon, Carpio’s article published days before the petition was filed, “deliberately avoided the legal process that a decision of the lower courts is not final, and therefore once appealed and the conviction’ is overturned and set aside and deleted, then there is no conviction to speak of.”

“But frustrated Chief Justice Carpio still attached the word convicted until the end of his sloppily written article exposing his motive of besmirching the person of BBM,” Gadon says.

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Anita F. Grefal

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Edgar M. Valmorida

manding for the alleged loot of the “Marcos’ dictatorship,” they are assisted by the bankrupt US empire but adjusted to focus against China.

The tenor of the petition for disqualification is their insatiable demand for money but coyly justified as compensation. These ideological lunatics take their struggle with a corresponding monetary reward.

We are not questioning the legality or illegality of their cited decision which is phony or fictitious, but what is clear, BBM filed his Certificate of Candidacy with the Comelec when he ran and was elected vice governor, governor, congressman of Ilocos Norte, for senator and for vice president only to be defrauded of this demagogue now claiming to be omniscient. There could never be false and material misrepresentation in his application for candidacy, much that his filing is a precondition for the issuance of a certificate and has become routinary every time he runs for public office.

If petitioners truly believe they have a cause of action, there is no reason to unduly procrastinate their case. Suspicion is rife that these ideological loonies are sabotaging the presidential election. Unfortunately, times have changed; that their indolent President is no longer around and their insider-operator is on the run in the US. One can clearly draw that the petition has for its ultimate objective of preventing BBM from participating. The demagogue is nervous and ambivalent. She wants the vote of the communist terrorists but not to include in her official ticket, Neri Colmenares. They would not want to alienate the increasing number of people enlightened by the achievements of the former president and the performance of her son in public service.

tional Democratic Front (NDF) consultant who remains in jail. Technically, she should be dropped, notwithstanding that the petition is a piece of garbage, and already received their compensation for rebelling against the government. The subject matter is one and the same which is to extort from the Marcoses. These mercenaries are demanding payment for the alleged unpaid taxes that has fantastically reached P203.9 billion including interest, surcharges and other penalties.

What are these people doing?

Have these ideological rascals not reconciled that the amount is almost equivalent to surrendering to them the entire funds of government?

The government through that indolent and subservient administration already allocated more than P10 billion to pay these vagrant troublemakers numbering to about 11,103 when it approved R.A. No. 10368. One guy has the gall to run for president raising the slogan of preventing Marcos from winning. In fact, many of the claimants have received more than a million each which no hardworking wage earner could get. Some say, the amount exacted by these troublemakers already exceeded that given by the Japanese government as reparations for the destruction of the country during World War II. Nonetheless, we are tempted to ask because these loonies do not seem to understand that since 1986, and by miracle, convinced the gullible government installed by the most brutal and savaged empire to rule this planet, made them the enforcers of fascism given the new name of neoliberalism. I am saying this, for behind their alacrity of continually de-

As a former member of the Supreme Court, Gadon says Carpio should very well know “that until a case is decided by the SC, the lower court decision is not final and if overturned on Appeal, the decision is obliterated as if it does not exist and the final decision of the Supreme Court is the final and controlling decision.”

Add to it the fact that Carpio was a member of the SC when it decided BBM’s case in August 2009.

“It appears that Carpio is pretending to be dumb,” says Gadon.

But apparently sensing their petition for BBM’s disqualification is headed for the trash basket, his opponents bared they are now already readying another petition to DQ him, this time on the grounds that Court of Appeals erred in removing the prison term earlier meted by the Lower Court against BBM, saying the CA’s act was void ab initio, or void from the beginning, again advancing their own interpretation of the law.

BBM however remains unfazed. His lawyer, Vic Rodriguez, said Bongbong “is in his usual cool, calm, collected and cerebral self,” undaunted by petitions coming from the Pinklaws.

“We will file our answer, and, in the answer, all our legal arguments will be

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there,” said Rodriguez.

“Marcos is running for president and the support of the people every day is becoming more pronounced and in fact, the people answer for Bongbong Marcos and they’re the ones saying, leave Bongbong alone,” Rodriguez stressed.

Of course, it is now the people defending BBM. And that’s precisely the reason why the Pinklaws are resorting to desperate acts.

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Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Joyce Pangco Pañares News Editor

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Chinese citizen journalist jailed over virus reports ‘close to death’

PLACID WATERS. Fishermen row a makeshift raft at Turkayamjal lake on the outskirts of Hyderabad on November 5, 2021. AFP

A CITIZEN journalist jailed for her coverage of China’s initial response to COVID in Wuhan is close to death after going on hunger strike, her family said, prompting renewed calls from rights groups for her immediate release.

Zhang Zhan, 38, a former lawyer, traveled to Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the chaos at the pandemic’s epicenter, questioning authorities’ handling of the outbreak in her smartphone videos.

She was detained in May 2020 and sentenced in December to four years in jail for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”—a charge routinely used to suppress dissent.

She is now severely underweight and “may not live for much longer,” her brother Zhang Ju wrote last week on a Twitter account verified by people close to the matter.

Zhang has been on a hunger strike and was force-fed through nasal tubes, her legal team, which did not have information on her current condition, told

AFP earlier this year.

“She may not survive the coming cold winter,” Zhang Ju wrote, adding that he had urged his sister in letters to “take care of herself.”

“In her heart, it seems there is only God and her beliefs, with no care for anything else.”

Zhang Ju’s posts sparked fresh calls for his sister’s release, with Amnesty International urging the Chinese government Thursday to “release her immediately so that she can end her hunger strike and receive the appropriate medical treatment she desperately needs”.

Amnesty campaigner Gwen Lee said in a statement that Zhang’s detention was a “shameful attack on human rights.”

Someone close to the citizen journalist, who declined to be named, told AFP the family had asked to meet Zhang more than three weeks ago at the Shanghai women’s prison where she is being held but had not received a response. AFP

COP26 braces for protests over pledges Singapore urged T to spare mentally HOUSANDS of youth activists were preparing to descend on Glasgow on Friday to protest against what they say is a dangerous lack of action by leaders at the COP26 climate summit.

Demonstrations are expected across the Scottish city to highlight the disconnect between the glacial pace of emissions reductions and the climate emergency already swamping countries across the world.

Organizers of the Fridays for Future global strike movement said they expected large crowds at the planned three-hour protest during COP26 “Youth Day,” which will be attended by highprofile campaigners Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate.

“This UN Climate Summit, we’re once again seeing world leaders saying big words and big promises,” said Mitzi Joelle Tan, a climate justice activist from the Philippines.

“We need drastic carbon dioxide emission cuts, reparations from the Global North to the Global South to use for adaptation and to manage loss and damages, and we need to put an end to

the fossil fuel industry.”

Delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Glasgow to hammer out how to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rises to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

The UN-led process requires countries to commit to ever-increasing emissions cuts, and enjoins richer, historical emitters to help developing countries fund their energy transformations and deal with climate impacts.

Countries issued two additional pledges on Thursday to reduce their fossil fuel consumption.

Twenty nations including major financiers the United States and Canada

promised to end overseas fossil fuel funding by the end of 2022.

And over 40 countries pledged to phase out coal—the most polluting fossil fuel— although details were vague and a timeline for doing so was not disclosed.

Thunberg was unimpressed, tweeting: “This is no longer a climate conference.

This is a Global North greenwash festival.”

Experts say a commitment made during the high-level leaders summit at the start of COP26 by more than 100 nations to cut methane emissions by at least 30 percent this decade will have a real short-term impact on global heating. With AFP

Indonesia flash floods kill at least 8 INDONESIAN rescuers scrambled Friday to find survivors under mudswamped hillsides after flash floods on Java island killed at least eight people, the disaster agency said.

Torrential rains on Thursday unleashed flash floods in Malang and the highland city of Batu, inundating houses with mud and debris, while a wall of water destroyed local bridges.

Six people were pulled from the detritus alive, while rescuers found a half dozen bodies in Batu and two more victims in Malang.

On Friday, teams raced to find several more people unaccounted for in Batu, according to Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, as the dead were placed in body bags.

“Until now, we are still trying to find three people still missing,” the agency’s chairman Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Fatal landslides and flash floods are common across the Southeast Asian archipelago during the rainy season, which started in September.

The disasters are often caused by deforestation and poor mitigation planning, according to environmentalists.

Seven people were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential storms in Sumatra last month.

In April, more than 200 people were killed in a cluster of far-eastern islands in Indonesia and neighbouring Timor Leste as Tropical Cyclone Seroja turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees. AFP

PLANETARY DEFENSE. This artist’s illustration obtained from NASA on November 4, 2021 shows the DART spacecraft from

behind prior to impact at the Didymos binary system. In the 1998 Hollywood blockbuster ‘Armageddon,’ Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck race to save the Earth from being pulverized by an asteroid. While the Earth faces no such immediate danger, NASA plans to crash a spacecraft traveling at 15,000 miles per hour (24,000 kph) into an asteroid next year in a test of ‘planetary defense.’ AFP

disabled trafficker

SINGAPORE faced calls Friday not to hang a mentally disabled Malaysian man for trafficking a small amount of heroin into the city-state, with campaigners criticizing the planned execution as “despicable”.

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for transporting 43 grams—equivalent to about three tablespoons—of the drug into Singapore, and sentenced to death the following year.

After exhausting a series of legal challenges in the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest anti-narcotics laws, the 33-year-old is set to be hanged on Wednesday.

It will be the first execution since 2019 in Singapore, which maintains the death penalty is an effective deterrent against crime despite mounting pressure from rights groups for its abolition.

Supporters say that Nagaenthran has an IQ of just 69, a level that is recognized as an intellectual disability, and was struggling with an alcohol problem at the time of the crime.

“To hang a person convicted merely of carrying drugs, amid chilling testimony that he might not even fully understand what is happening to him, is despicable,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard from Amnesty International.

“We urge the authorities to immediately halt plans to execute Nagaenthran.” AFP

Dangerous stones: Myanmar jade traders squeezed between junta troops, rebels MYANMAR jade traders are running from junta troops and dodging rebel attacks to sell dwindling volumes of the green gemstone, as the billion-dollar industry loses its shine months on from the coup.

The Southeast Asian country has been mired in chaos since the February putsch, with the military trying to crush widespread democracy protests and the economy in crisis.

Fighting around the Hpakant jade mine in northern Kachin state – the largest in the world – has squeezed digging already hampered by the pandemic, cutting supplies of one of the country’s most lucrative exports.

Myanmar is the world’s biggest source of jade, with the industry largely driven by insatiable demand for the translucent gem from neighbouring China.

Most stones pass through the second city of Mandalay, home to the 23-meter high Kyauksein Pagoda, a Buddhist shrine built using thousands

of kilograms of the precious stone.

Now the complex is quiet, with just a handful of worshippers praying at its gleaming turquoise and red dome.

“Business is not good at all,” said one jade trader, who spent months trying to sell his stones on Mandalay’s roadsides as the pandemic and unrest closed its main jade market.

“Sometimes, people panic when soldiers come patrolling, and they run ... If one person runs, others start running. Then soldiers fire warning shots to control the situation.”

Two days later the market re-opened and authorities began collecting fees again – one of the many levied on the gem that finance both sides of a decades-long civil war between armed ethnic groups and the military.

It is “nearly impossible” to purchase Myanmar jade without providing money to the military and its allies, according to watchdog Global Witness.AFP

New Delhi wakes to thick blanket of post-Diwali toxic smog NEW Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog on Friday after an overnight barrage of firecrackers for the Hindu festival of Diwali in the Indian megacity, despite a ban on selling them.

At various hotspots, levels of harmful PM 2.5 particles topped 400 on average on the air quality index.

The figure is more than 15 times higher than the safe daily limit set by the World Health Organization.

India’s top court has banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the local government urged people to celebrate Diwali without them.

But many of the capital’s roughly 20 million residents still got hold of them, setting them off all over the city until the early hours of the morning for the annual Festival of Lights.

Firecracker smoke combines with industrial and vehicle emissions and farm fires to create a putrid grey-yellow soup that envelops Delhi and other Indian cities in winter.

Sandeep, a Delhi resident, told AFP on Friday he did not think the government was doing enough to counter the pollution challenge.

“I think a great deal (more)

needs to be done,” he said while on a morning walk at Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens.

“Not only are we coughing more, we are getting irritation in the throat and catching cold more easily.”

A 2020 report by Swiss organisation IQAir found 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities were in India, with Delhi ranked the most polluted capital globally.

The same year, the Lancet said 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019, including almost 17,500 in the capital. AFP

CARBON EMISSION. A factory chimney smokes at the industrial complex of Cubatao, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, which has committed itself during the COP26 to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, raising the target initially set at 43 percent. AFP

Business

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Indonesian economy grew 3.51% in 3rd quarter

PSEi November 5, 2021

TOP GAINERS

LAST %

PRICE CHANGE CHANGE 1 MJC 1.97 0.22 12.57% 2 DIZ 5.59 0.48 9.39% 3 BCOR 5.95 0.51 9.38% 4 OPMB 0.012 0.001 9.09% 5 RCB 21.5 1.7 8.59% 6 RLC 18.8 1.14 6.46% 7 MAC 6.22 0.37 6.32% 8 APL 0.085 0.005 6.25% 9 BLOOM 7.5 0.43 6.08% 10 BSC 0.7 0.04 6.06%

TOP LOSERS

1 ZHI 2 BKR 3 PA 4 SEVN 5 LR 6 MED 7 APVI

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE 0.178 -0.012 -6.32% 1.7 -0.11 -6.08% 3.1 -0.16 -4.91% 90.5 -3.45 -3.67% 1.5 -0.05 -3.23% 0.31 -0.01 -3.13% 18.1 -0.5 -2.69%

8 COSCO 5.16 -0.14 -2.64% 9 FNI 2.11 -0.05 -2.31% 10 CHI 6.78 -0.16 -2.31%

MOST ACTIVE

1 ICT 2 AEV 3 SMPH 4 GTCAP 5 ALLDY 6 AC 7 BDO 8 ACEN 9 ALI 10 BPI

VOLUME VALUE (PHP) 4,343,100 809,183,484 14,318,520 725,809,415 13,962,600 503,193,790 828,400 482,802,305 591,397,000 456,465,630 430,390 383,675,725 2,917,400 375,103,079 27,097,600 333,773,952 8,784,500 326,887,420 3,434,050 318,343,357

ALCOHOL BACK. People enjoy a drink in a bar with government approval to sell alcohol amid ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus-related restrictions in Bangkok on November 4, 2021. AFP

Stock market surges; ICTSI and GT Capital lead gainers

T

HE stock market surged Friday, boosted by a lowerthan-expected inflation rate in October and further easing of lockdown measures in the capital region.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 137.05 points, or 1.9 percent, to 7,340.77 on a value turnover of P9.4 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 137 to 67 , with 44 issues unchanged.

The inflation rate in October eased to a two-month low of 4.6 percent from 4.8 percent a month ago, pulled down mainly by lower annual increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. of tycoon Enrique Razon

Jr., the biggest port operator, advanced 5.2 percent to P187.30, while GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group climbed 4.6 percent to P585.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group rose 4.2 percent to P36, while grocery chain AllDay Marts Inc. of the Villar Group increased 4 percent to P0.77.

The rest of Asian markets were mixed Friday following the previous day’s gains, with eyes on the release of key US jobs data later in the day, while investors are also assessing the outlook for central bank monetary policy in the face of surging inflation.

Wall Street enjoyed another record, with tech firms the main beneficiaries as they are more susceptible to higher borrowing costs.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both chalked up new highs for a fifth straight day, though the Dow dipped.

However, Asian investors struggled to pick up the baton. Hong Kong led the selling, with traders keeping a nervous eye on developments in the

China Evergrande saga with a deadline Saturday for it to make an overdue payment on a bond.

Another hugely indebted property firm, Kaisa, suspended trading its shares in the city Friday as it battles to find cash to meet its own obligations.

Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, Jakarta and Seoul also fell.

There were gains in Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Taipei.

Equities around the world enjoyed a healthy run-up Thursday after the Federal Reserve finally announced its plan for tapering the vast bond-buying program that has provided crucial support since it was put in place at the start of the pandemic.

The news removed a lot of uncertainty about officials’ response to a spike in inflation that is expected to last a lot longer than previously thought, and follows moves in other countries to step back from their ultraeasy measures as the world economy recovers. With AFP

Historic Portsmouth port of UK weathers supply storm

By Veronique Dupont PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom—From backlogs in shipments to shortages of lorry drivers, Britain has been facing a worsening supply chain crisis sparked by Brexit and COVID. Resurgent demand from reopening global economies has created supply bottlenecks, while tougher immigration rules and bureaucracy for foreign workers have led to crippling staffing issues.

But the management at Portsmouth International Port say they are weathering the storm, stepping in to help ease congestion at bigger, snarled up deep-sea ports.

For the director of the port on England’s south coast, Mike Sellers, the situation is unprecedented in his decades-long career in the sector.

“I’ve been in the port industry for 30 years and I have never experienced such a perfect storm,” he told AFP against a mountainous backdrop of neatly stacked containers.

“It’s a combination of rare factors,” said Sellers, as vast cranes silently shifted containers between lorries and ships.

Portsmouth is weathering the crisis because operators are seeking to save time after unloading cargo at nearby Southampton or further east at Felixstowe and not taking on empty containers for the return voyage.

“Portsmouth has benefited from the logjam... by repatriating empty containers,” said Sellers, estimating that some 10,000 have been sent back to Asia via Europe.

“These would usually be loaded back onto the deep sea container ships. But due to vessels waiting to berth at the deep sea ports they are not filling them back up with empty containers to save time.”

‘Relief valve’ Portsmouth offers a “relief valve for supply chain issues in the short term” by helping cut waiting times at bigger ports, Sellers noted.

As a result, Portsmouth’s total freight is currently down by just 10 percent, compared with its pre-pandemic 2019 level.

Portsmouth processes smaller volumes of containers that have been transported over short distances.

The Scottish scallop trawler ‘Cornelis-Gert Jan’ leaves the northern French port of Le Havre after being granted permission by French port authorities on November 3, 2021, after being held for days amid a post-Brexit dispute over fishing rights between France and Great Britain. AFP

The global supply crunch and lorry driver shortage has been exacerbated by labor shortages in Britain, due to tighter entry requirements after its European Union departure.

Brexit, which took full effect on January 1 when Britain left the European customs union and single market, has also severely disrupted export and import activities to the bloc.

Consequently, there have been widespread shortfalls of everyday grocery items like bottled water, some meat products and fresh

fruit and vegetables.

Fears about a shortage of lorry drivers to deliver motor fuel recently led to a run on the pumps, causing several weeks of empty filling stations—and irate motorists.

According to Mark Simmonds, policy manager at the British Ports Association, the supply chain crisis has worsened since the start of the pandemic last year.

Sellers said there had been a slump in imports and exports from pre-Brexit levels, but he insisted “the logistics chain will sort itself out. AFP

Brazil opens international 5G tender, seeks $9-b worth of investment BRASILIA, Brazil—Brazil opened an international tender Thursday to build one of the world’s biggest 5G data networks, seeking $9 billion in investment for Latin America’s largest economy.

Calling it a “historic” moment, President Jair Bolsonaro opened the tender in Brasilia with a symbolic bang of the auctioneer’s hammer, kicking off bidding by 15 companies that officials said could last through Friday.

The final overall sum raised will be announced on Friday at the end of the tender, but Communications Minister Fabio Faria said the figure already reached 43.7 billion reais (S7.9 billion) by the end of Thursday.

“The first day of the tender was a success, it exceeded all expectations,” tweeted Faria.

The sprawling South American country is looking to leverage so-called fifth-generation mobile technology to accelerate the development of its in-

dustrial and agribusiness sectors—as well as bring super-fast internet to the cell phones of its 213 million people.

The tender is for the right to build and operate different “blocks” of the frequency spectrum for 20 years, as well as a separate network that will be reserved for government communications.

Bidding for the latter will exclude all equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, the target of US espionage accusations that have put Brazil in a bind, forcing it to navigate the tumultuous tech standoff between Beijing and Washington.

The world’s two biggest powers are also Brazil’s two largest trading partners, and the country has been under pressure from both sides over the ground rules for its 5G network, leading it to postpone the tender from early 2021 as initially scheduled.

The investments came from a number of bidders, foremost among them Telecom Italia’s local subsid-

iary, Tim; Spanish group Telefonica’s Brazilian unit; and Claro, owned by Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim’s America Movil.

“It is one of the largest 5G tenders in the world.

The potential is enormous,” industry specialist Christian Perrone of the Technology and Society Institute in Rio de Janeiro told AFP. The government is seeking total investments of 50 billion reais ($9 billion): 40 billion reais to build the 5G network—one of Latin America’s first—and 10 billion reais that it will pocket for frequency rights and use to boost connectivity for public schools.

The total of the awards announced Thursday was more than 7,000 million reais (about $1.27 billion) for spectrum rights, according to AFP calculations based on the sum of the regulator Anatel’s announcements, to which investments to create the infrastructure will be added. AFP

JAKARTA—Indonesia’s economy expanded again in the third quarter, official data showed Friday, thanks to a pick-up in exports but the rate slowed from the previous three months as the pandemic continued to take its toll.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy grew 3.51 percent on-year in July-September, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said, though that was well short of the previous three months’ 7.07-percent jump, which was the fastest pace in nearly two decades.

While mineral-rich Indonesia’s overseas shipments rose sharply, the hotel and transport sectors were among the worst hit, said BPS head Margo Yuwono, as national airline Garuda teeters on the edge of bankruptcy.

“Transportation was the most-affected sector because of declining mobility,” he told a press briefing.

But Yuwono pointed to better times ahead as more people get vaccinated and comply with health restrictions.

The latest figures come as the vast country of 270 million loosens COVID-19 restrictions, including in Jakarta, after daily cases and deaths dropped steadily from record highs in June.

Indonesia has reported 4.2 million cases and more than 143,000 deaths from the disease though official figures are widely believed to be an underestimate.

The country has never implemented a full lockdown but introduced restrictions in early July limiting travel and non-essential business activity.

Last year the economy shrunk 2.07 percent, marking its first recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The central bank in July cut its 2021 growth forecast to 3.5-4.3 percent because of spiking infections, from its previous estimate of 4.1-5.1 percent. AFP

Oil producers agree on slight output increase LONDON, United Kingdom—Major oil producers agreed Thursday to continue modestly raising output despite pressure from the United States and other big consumer nations to open up the taps much more decisively amid soaring prices.

The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their 10 allies reconfirmed a July decision to gradually step up production each month in a brief meeting via videoconference.

The powerful producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia in the so-called OPEC+ will add 400,000 barrels per day in December, they said.

The decision aimed “to ensure a stable and a balanced oil market, the efficient and secure supply to consumers,” the group said in a statement.

The OPEC+ nations also pledged “to continue to adopt a proactive and transparent approach which has provided stability to oil markets.”

OPEC+ slashed production steeply last year as the pandemic hit markets, but has eased output cuts this year as the global economy slowly recovers.

With prices for the benchmark WTI contract reaching $85 last week, the highest since 2014, US President Joe Biden appealed on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome over the weekend to OPEC to pump more.

The White House was disappointed with the OPEC+ decision, warning that the global economic recovery is being imperiled by a mismatch between supply and demand of oil.

“OPEC+ seems unwilling to use the capacity and power it has now at this critical moment of global recovery for countries around the world,” said a National Security Council spokesperson.

The official said Biden has called on his team to “be prepared to use all tools as needed” to ensure Americans to have access to affordable energy and gasoline at the pump.

That was seen as a pledge to use the US government’s oil stockpile to flood the market, which sent prices lower in London and New York.

“There are rumors all around the market about potential coordinated release of Strategic Petroleum Reserves, to combat higher oil prices,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital. AFP

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

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

Business

PSE INDEX CLOSING Friday, November 5, 2021

137.05 PTS. 7,340.77

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE

1,403,764,398 105,597 9,419,653,238.39

SMC DISINFECTION.

ADVANCES 137 DECLINES 67 UNCHANGED 44

Teams from San Miguel Foods’ Animal Health Care business are deployed to different barangays nationwide to conduct disinfection activities at public markets and other high-touch, high foot traffic areas, as part of an initiative to help limit the spread of harmful viruses, particularly COVID-19, as the economy gradually reopens.

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.5670

Japan

Yen

0.008791

0.4445

UK

Pound

1.350000

68.2655

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128488

6.4973

Switzerland

Franc

1.096011

55.4220

Canada

Dollar

0.802826

40.5965

Singapore

Dollar

0.740247

37.4321

Australia

Dollar

0.740000

37.4196

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653224

134.1656

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266624

13.4824

Brunei

Dollar

0.737518

37.2941

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.029940

1.5140

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.7687

Euro

Euro

1.155500

58.4302

Korea

Won

0.000843

0.0426

China

Yuan

0.156299

7.9036

India

Rupee

0.013429

0.6791

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.240848

12.1790

New Zealand

Dollar

0.710500

35.9279

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035876

1.8141 Source: BSP

Inflation slipped to 4.6% in October

By Julito G. Rada

I

NFLATION eased to a two-month low of 4.6 percent in October from 4.8 percent in September, pulled down by lower annual increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

The figure brought the average inflation from January to October to 4.5 percent, above the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the year. Inflation settled at 2.5 percent in October 2020.

Metrobank posted 46% profit growth in 1st nine months METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co. said Friday net income grew 46 percent to P16.1 billion in the first nine months from a year ago.

Earnings surged 131 percent to P4.4 billion in the third quarter, with proactive non-performing loan management, resulting in lower provisions.

Healthy fee and other income and controlled operating expense growth contributed to the positive earnings performance.

“Our strategy to build a stronger balance sheet has given us the capacity to withstand prolonged risks and also enabled us to implement strategies to optimize our operating performance in the medium term,” said Metrobank president Fabian Dee. “We will continue to help economic recovery as we see a gradual increase in lending activities, as businesses are more able to adapt to the pandemic,” said Dee. Total operating income reached P75.9 billion in the first nine months.

Net interest income continued to improve from the second quarter, as net interest margin started to stabilize at 3.4 percent. The sequential quarterly pick-up in corporate and credit card loans was also sustained.

Funding costs were stable, supported by a 13-percent growth in low-cost current account and savings account deposits as clients continued to park their excess liquidity with Metrobank. CASA ratio remained high at 74.9 percent.

Fees and other non-interest income rose by 20 percent to P15.2 billion in the first nine months, reflecting higher transaction volumes and cross selling initiatives. Operating costs were marginally up by 1 percent at P44.4 billion. These favorable trends mitigated the impact of weak trading income.

Provision expenses declined by 72 percent to P10.0 billion as Metrobank’s portfolio health improved, with NPL ratio further easing to 2.1 percent, well below the industry’s 4.5 percent in September 2021. Likewise, restructured loans ratio at 0.8 percent was much lower than the industry ratio of 3.1 percent. As such, NPL cover increased to 191 percent.

National statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing the main source of the downtrend of the October inflation was the slower annual increment registered in food and nonalcoholic beverages index at 5.3 percent, from 6.2 percent in September 2021.

Contributing to the softening of the overall inflation were the lower indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, at 9.8 percent; education, 0.7 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous good and services; 3.8 percent.

Inflation rates were higher in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.4 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, 2.5 percent; health, 3.2 percent; transport, 7.1 percent; and recreation and culture, 1.0 percent.

The October inflation was close to the lower bound of the forecast range of

4.5 percent to 5.3 percent for the month made by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The highest inflation recorded this year was 4.9 percent in August.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said Friday that inflation was expected to average above the target range in 2021 but would ease close to the midpoint of the target range in 2022 and 2023.

“The balance of risks to the inflation outlook remains on the upside for the remaining months of 2022, but continues to be broadly balanced for 2022 and 2023. The private sector’s inflation expectation is also consistent with inflation reverting back to the target by 2022,” Diokno said in a statement following the release of the inflation data.

“The BSP remains of the view that supply-side price pressures are best addressed by timely non-monetary interventions that

could ease domestic supply constraints.

In this regard, the national government is currently pursuing direct measures to enhance the availability of key goods, such as pork, rice and fish,” he said.

Diokno said the recent grant of fuel subsidies, amounting to P1 billion to affected public utility vehicle operators and the increased allowable ridership could help support the transport sector and help prevent second-round effects amid rising oil prices.

“The BSP stands ready to maintain its accommodative monetary stance for as long as necessary to support the economy’s sustained recovery to the extent that the inflation outlook would allow.

The BSP is also reviewing its assessment of the price environment ahead of the Nov. 18 monetary policy meeting,” Diokno said. With AFP

MODERN PUVS.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte rides and inspects one of the units of the Hyundai HD50S Modern PUV Class 2. Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai commercial vehicles, through authorized dealer Hyundai Trucks and Buses Commonwealth, turns over 32 units of the HD50S Modern PUV Class 2 to NOVADECI Transport Services Cooperative, concretizing the cooperative’s commitment to contribute to the nation’s ongoing agenda in bettering mass transport services for the commuting public.

THE trade deficit widened 76.3 percent in September to $4 billion from a shortfall of $2.26 billion a year ago, as the 24.8-percent growth in imports outpaced the 6.3-percent expansion in exports, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

It also swelled to $29.1 billion in the first nine months, compared to the $18-billion deficit a year earlier.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said the protracted run of outsized trade deficits would likely sap momentum from the overall GDP numbers in the near term.

“Unlike the recent capital formation

Tahweel Al Rajh opens digital remittance center

TAHWEEL Al Rajh, the remittance arm of Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank and a longtime partner of BDO Remit, opened its first digital remittance center to serve the roundthe-clock banking needs of its clients, including overseas Filipinos.

Unlike other remittance centers in the kingdom, Tahweel Al Rajhi’s digital remittance center—dubbed as Tahweel Villagio—is operational 24/7. It also provides clients access to digital channels like ATMs (both for withdrawals and cash deposits), kiosk machines with point-of-sale terminals, smart phones and laptops, and is installed with LEDs that play how-to guides to assist customers on how to use the aforementioned channels.

The opening of the digital remittance center also paved the way for the launch of Tahweel’s instant remittance service.

BDO senior vice president and remittance head Genie Gloria said Friday that overseas Filipinos could now send money to their beneficiaries in the Philippines using only their phone. “Beneficiaries can receive their remittance sent from Saudi in their Kabayan account, in real time, through this app,” Gloria said. Julito G. Rada

SEC stops accepting new online lenders

THE Securities and Exchange Commission declared a moratorium on the registration of new online lending platforms as it drafts new rules to stamp out abusive online practices.

It said in a statement the new rules would govern the licensing and registration of the OLPs of financing and lending companies.

“We are currently crafting new guidelines that will allow lending and financing companies to better address the needs of borrowers and, at the same time, plug loopholes that give rise to abusive and predatory practices,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said.

“We have seen the emergence of financial technology companies that engage in predatory lending, taking advantage of those struggling financially during the pandemic.

The Commission will work toward stamping out these abusive financing and lending companies that do nothing but bury borrowers in even more debt ,” Aquino said.

OLPs, which were registered with the SEC prior to the moratorium, may continue to operate and be used for online lending or financing. Jenniffer B. Austria

SM Prime supports climate-related reports

SM PRIME Holdings Inc. said Friday it recognizes the importance of transparency when it comes to climate-related risks and opportunities.

“Apart from investors’ emphasis in incorporating climate risk disclosures in their investing criteria, these also drive our business to adopt more sustainability initiatives related to climate change such as renewable energy, and champion promoting disaster resilience in the country. We support the TCFD in empowering stakeholders to make better decisions by promoting climate-related financial disclosures,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim. SM Prime targets to increase its demand for electricity sources from renewables by more than 50 percent across all business segments by end of 2022 in support of the Department of Energy’s goal of moving the country’s renewable energy supply component up to 35% by the end of the decade.

The company said in terms of disaster risk reduction and resilience, it was working hard to ensure its investments, people and communities across the country are disasterresilient.

Aboitiz Infra keen to join auction of PLDT’s cell sites

By Darwin G. Amojelar

September trade deficit widened to $4b as imports jumped 25%

By Julito G. Rada

IN BRIEF

boom from 2016-2018, surging imports for the 2021 episode are bloated partly by expensive oil and to some extent supported by the robust demand for our electronics. Meanwhile, other areas of the import portfolio such as capital goods and consumer imports have posted slowing growth, suggesting that the rebound in economic activity still has some space to accelerate,” Mapa said.

“The wider trade deficit and more importantly the movement of its components suggest that GDP momentum has improved but remains subdued and will need some time before a full recovery is made,” Mapa said.

Merchandise exports grew 6.3 percent in September to $6.68 billion, led

by increases in shipments of chemicals (up 55.4 percent), gold (44.3 percent) and copper cathodes (39.8 percent).

This brought the cumulative export earnings from January to September to $55.68 billion, or 18 percent higher than the export value earned a year earlier.

By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top export in September 2021 with total earnings of $3.82 billion. This accounted for 57.1 percent of the total exports during the period.

Meanwhile, imports climbed 24.8 percent in September to $10.67 billion, on the back of increases in the top 10 major commodity groups led by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials with a 117.4-percent increase.

ABOITIZ InfraCapital Inc. plans to submit a bid to acquire the cell sites of PLDT Inc., a top executive said Friday.

“Yes, as a matter of fact we are assessing the opportunity. We will actually be participating in the process,” Aboitiz Infra president and chief executive Cosette Canilao said in a virtual briefing when asked if the company would join the bidding for the sale of PLDT’s cell towers.

PLDT earlier said it would seek nonbinding bids on Nov. 9 for the sale of its cell sites.

PLDT president and chief executive Al Panlilio said 21 groups already showed interest to join the auction.

PLDT tapped UBS as financial adviser for the transaction.

Aboitiz InfraCapital formed in April this year a joint venture with leading global private market firm Partners Group, acting on behalf of its clients, to establish a telecommunications infrastructure platform called Unity Digital Infrastructure Inc. Through Unity, Aboitiz InfraCapital and Partners Group will build and operate telecommunication towers and supporting infrastructure across the country.

This supports the government’s vision to improve the country’s internet connectivity in local communities by increasing the number of cell sites of mobile network operators.

Malampaya shutdown will lead to higher generation charges in November—Meralco

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE electricity rates of Manila Electric Co. will likely go up in November as a result of the Malampaya maintenance shutdown that forced natural gas power plants to run on the more expensive liquid fuel.

“We are still waiting to complete receipt of all suppliers’ bills. However, it has been anticipated beforehand that the generation cost will be affected by the Malampaya shutdown,” Meralco head of utility eco-

nomics Lawrence Fernandez said.

The Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan, which supplies natural gas to power plants with a combined capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts, went on maintenance shutdown from Oct. 2 to 25.

Fernandez said the Ilijan and San Gabriel power plants were not able to operate because of non-availability of Malampaya gas.

“As a result, generation supply was reduced, leading to higher charges in the

WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market]. It may be recalled that there was one instance of ‘yellow alert’ last month and that the secondary price cap was triggered from Oct. 21 to 22,” Fernandez said.

The WESM is the trading floor of electricity where prices are driven by supply and demand.

“Also as a result of the Malampaya shutdown, the First Gas plants were asked to continue operations by utilizing liquid fuel. The latter costs around twice the cost

of using Malampaya gas. Thus, this will affect generation costs,” Fernandez said.

He said the Malampaya shutdown was extended for three days, meaning that First Gas had to continue to run on liquid fuel during the extension of the shutdown period.

Fernandez said that while they were still waiting for the bills of the other suppliers, the effect of the Malampaya shutdown would not likely be offset by other factors.

Sports

Manila, Davao Occidental nail contrasting FilBasket wins DAVAO Occidental Tigers-Cocolife and AICC Manila posted contrasting victories Thursday to remain at the helm in the FilBasket Subic Championship at the Subic gym.

Davao Occidental turned back the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors, 6866, while AICC Manila thumped 7A Primus, 117-108, to break the three-way tie and share the lead with identical 4-1 slates.

Aldwin Alday and Gab Dagangon finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Tigers, who rose from a two-point deficit in the 1:05 of the game to clinch the victory.

A jumper from John Wilson with 36 seconds left tied the game at 66-all before Billy Ray Robles completed two freethrows off a foul from Jeckster Alipan in the last three ticks sealed Davao’s win.

Pasig Sta. Lucia dropped to 1-3 despite Jerald Bautista and Cedrick Ablaza combining for 39 points.

Six players, meanwhile, scored in double f igures for AICC Manila, who bounced back from a 66-61 halftime def icit for the win.

Michael Mabulac and Jessie James Colado led with 23 and 17 points, Hesed Gabo added 15 points, Chris Bitoon and Michael Juico chipped in 12 points each, and Philip Manalang contributed 11 points for AICC Manila.

Joseph Marquez and Marc Paolo Javillonar teamed up with 35 points in a losing effort for 7A Primus, who slipped to 2-3.

In the other match, the Nueva Ecija Bespren outplayed the Muntinlupa Defenders, 96-91, to improve to 3-2.

Renz Palma posted 19 points, 11 rebounds and six steals while Mark Cruz had 18 points and 17 boards for Nueva Ecija, who lead by as many as 21 points late in the third period.

Muntinlupa absorbed its fourth straight loss despite Marvin Curitana’s 29-point output.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

THUNDER STRIKE. Shai GilgeousAlexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts to his three pointer during a 107-104 Oklahoma City Thunder win at Staples Center In Los Angeles, California. AFP

It’s final: Vietnam SEAG slated May 12-23, 2022

V

IETNAM’S national Olympic committee announced on its website that the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam will be held from May 12 to 23 next year.

The Games will open three days after the Philippines holds its national elections on May 9, 2022, and according to Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, majority of the athletes, coaches and officials on Team Philippines would be unable to cast their votes.

“This is one of those sacrifices of having to represent the country in an international competition,” said Tolentino, whose POC has already determined a 626-athlete delegation to the Vietnam games which will be played in the Hanoi main hub.

“The main bulk of the delegation will be leaving for Vietnam no less

than a week before the opening ceremony,” Tolentino said. “This is because our athletes need to acclimatize and get the feel of the competition venues, environment and weather.”

The weather in Hanoi gets hot in May with temperatures expected to reach 34 degrees Centigrade. Hanoi hosted the SEA Games for the first time in 2003 in a December schedule when the weather was wintry with temperatures dropping to 11 degrees Centigrade in he evening.

Vietnam originally scheduled the games from November 21 to December 2 last year, but was forced to post-

Football action returns with Copa Paulino Alcantara

By Peter Atencio AN evening game between Kaya FC and the Azkals Development Team will kick off football action this weekend in the Philippine Football Federation National Cup, also known as the Copa Paulino Alcantara.

The two teams are set to clash this Sunday at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite in a developmental tournament named after Filipino football legend Paulino Alcantara.

With lockdowns easing this week, the competition marks the return of football competition in the country, a year since the PFL staged its “bubble” tournament in 2020.

Officials of the PFF made assuranc-

es that the regular 2022 PFL season will push through in the first quarter next year.

“As much as we would have wanted to stage the (regular) PFL season, certain key conditions were not met, which forced us to defer the league season for next year,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta.

The Cup, which was originally set to see six clubs competing, will go on with five teams, after reigning PFL champion United City Football Club pulled out this week.

The five clubs that are competing are Stallion Laguna FC, Dynamic Herb Cebu FC, Kaya FC-Iloilo, Mendiola FC 1991, and the Azkals Development Team.

Group A will now have Stallions and

newcomer Dynamic Herb of Cebu.

Playing in Group B are Kaya, Mendiola, and ADT. The tournament will be done under a closed-circuit biomedical bubble.

“In its (regular season) place, the PFF will stage the Copa Paulino Alcantara.

We are one with the fans who miss football being played in the country during this pandemic,” added Araneta.

Organizers are making sure they comply with the Department of HealthPhilippine Sports Commission-Games and Amusements Board Joint Administrative Order 2021-0002.

The order requires clubs to arrange their own accommodation with provisions for health and safety protocols while inside their respective bubbles.

Mariano Araneta

Constantino extends reign at Aoki Harmie Constantino basks in ICTSI Aoki repeat

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GEN. TRIAS, Cavite— Harmie Constantino lost a four-stroke lead as she lost her rhythm and touch but pounced on Mafy Singson’s late mishap to hack out a onestroke victory despite a closing 75 in the ICTSI Aoki Classic at Eagle Ridge here yesterday.

Constantino survived a disastrous double-bogey on the par-4 No. 9, which Singson birdied that enabled the plucky amateur to pull within one, eventually forcing a tie as the former yielded a costly stroke on No. 14.

But the former national champion steeled herself up in the pressure-packed stretch, hitting clutch shots and pars then watching Singson flub a par-putt bid on the 17th to pull off the escape win and complete her back-to-back title run at one of Eagle Ridge’s four championship courses.

“I guess this course just suits my game, the way it was set up,” said Constantino, who stunned Princess Superal by two in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge, also at Aoki, last March to mark her pro debut before the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour took the first of two breaks due to the spike of coronavirus cases in NCR Plus.

“I actually had a rough day, it wasn’t what

I expected from myself. I thought I could’ve shot better,” added Constantino, who hit three birdies but fumbled with four other bogeys for a 38-37.

Constantino finished with a two-over 218, three strokes lower than her winning output over Superal but which proved enough to net her P112,500 and the momentum and confidence heading to the next LPGT stop at Highlands for the ICTSI Tagaytay Highlands Ladies Challenge on Nov. 10-12.

The organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. has also lined up another two-leg swing at Riviera after a week-long break, holding the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Challenge on Nov. 24-26 and the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship on Dec. 1-3 at the Couples and Langers courses.

Singson, who with fellow amateur Laurea Duque showed up the pros with 70 and 72, respectively, Wednesday, rued his late mishap but proud of her runner-up finish on a 219 total after a 74 that likewise netted her first low amateur honors in the circuit put up by ICTSI. “I played pretty clumsy but it was fun to be back on Tour,” said Singson, winner of the Fil-Am junior crown in Baguio in 2019, who flashed resiliency after dropping two strokes on No. 2. She shot three birdies against a bogey in the next eight holes but bogeyed two of the last seven.

Chihiro Ikeda, priming up for the Highlands sortie where she last reigned at the adjacent Midlands course in 2019, regained her touch a bit late, rattling off three straight birdies from No. 15 to save a 71 and snare third place 220, just two strokes behind Constantino. She took the runner-up prize worth P75,000.

Chanelle Avaricio, runner-up to Superal in the last two LPGT events at Sherwood and Eagle Ridge-Norman before the circuit went on another respite last July, also ran out of holes in her comeback bid, gunning down five birdies against two birdies in the last nine holes for the day’s best 70.

She settled for fourth at 221 and received P60,000.

Duque, who pulled to within two with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 for a running one-under card, reeled back with bogeys on the next two holes as she wound up with a 73 for fifth at 222.

Marvi Monsalve also rallied with a 73 to finish sixth at 224 while Sunshine Baraquiel faded with a 78 to tumble to eighth at 227 followed by Daniella Uy (76-229) and amateur Burberry Zhang (83-235).

Surging ahead by two with a second 70, Constantino threatened to pull away despite a two-birdie, two-bogey card after six holes as Singson fumbled with a double-bogey on the second hole.

pone because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hanoi will be the main hub with 11 other sub-venues.

Vietnam, the ANC said, has allocated a budget of around $69 million for these games, which are expected to attract close 20,000 participants, 7,000 of them athletes from 11 countries.

“With the dates set, our athletes, through their national sports associations, could now specifically program their training and peak at the right time in May,” Tolentino said.

The Philippines will compete in 39 of the 40 sports on the Vietnam games program.

PCSO Silver Cup, PSA race set Sunday at San Lazaro Park RACING fans are in for a treat this coming Sunday as the San Lazaro Business and Leisure Park plays host to the 2021 edition of the Philippine Racing Commission-Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office sponsored Silver Cup which carries with it a total purse of P4 million and the Philippine Sportswriters Association Cup. Expected to spearhead the charge for the 1750-meter distance and the P2.4-million top prize will be 2021 Philracom Chairman’s Cup winner Boss Emong (Dance City out of Chica Una) from the Edward Vincent Diokno stable which will be challenged by 2021 Commissioners’ Cup champ Super Swerte (Art Moderne out of Faster Tapper) owned by Leonardo “Sandy” Javier Jr. Also in the fold will be 2020 Presidential Gold Cup winner Pangalusian Island of Wilbert Tan (Chancellor/Dimples), back-to-back Sampaguita Stakes winner Princess Eowyn (Keep Laughing/Dona Carmela).

Not to be discounted are the comebacking 2017 Presidential Gold Cup Dewey Boulevard, 2019 Juvenile champion Union Bell, recent Hopeful Stakes winners Gusto Mucho and King Tiger, 2019 Philracom Cup champ Wonderland, 2018 Philracom Cup winner Great Wall and Sprint winner Son Also Rises.

The 2nd Leg of the Juvenile Stakes series will also be on tap with 1st Leg winner Gomezian (Sakima out of Hot Yoga) expected to come out as top favorite.

The Philracom-sponsored PSA Cup rounds up the three major events of the day. Expected to get the bettors’ fancy in the event is recent PCSO 3yo Maiden Stakes winner Mommy Caring(Striding Ahead out of On A Mission).

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor E-mail: jdlacsamana@gmail.com

Home/Design

Styler, clothing care from LG

L

G ELECTRONICS Philippines recently introduced LG Styler, a home wardrobe management appliance, to the local market.

LG brand ambassador Stephanie Zubiri (Shown here), showcased the different uses of Styler for individuals from all walks of life. Using its LG TrueSteam technology, clothes placed on moving hangers shake out wrinkles and unpleasant odors while the gentle dry cycle removes moisture. The heat pump drying reduces energy consumption by recycling heat inside Styler, and the

pants crease care creates a crisp creaseline, even without ironing.

Actor Victor Basa and Dr. Vicki Belo, founder and medical director of Belo Medical Group, shared their perspective on how the Styler helps them at home and at work. Basa claimed that prized menswear pieces such as a custom suit, Italian bespoke trousers, and heirloom barong didn’t need dry cleaning and came out with a mirror finish and sleek design.

Belo, loved the ease of use of the Styler. “It feels like I have a whole new wardrobe in my walk-in closet because I have a lot of delicate items that I wouldn’t wear as often, like couture dresses,” she said. “Now I can freshen

up all my dresses, including a variety of household items.”

The Styler can be controlled using a smartphone. The ThinQ app lets one operate, or monitor precious garments from anywhere.

“The LG Styler provides a fast and easy way of disinfecting your clothes, which is crucial in the time of COVID,” explained Seungjae Kim, LG Philippines’ managing director. “It helps keep you and your family safe. It is also a perfect addition to any household, whether you’re living alone or with a family.”

The LG Styler is available in LG flagship online stores at Lazada and Shopee.

‘Be creative’, real estate players urged LOCAL property players will have to do things which were previously only talked about before Covid 19, “but do these faster, more creatively, and do them now”, to capture demand beyond 2021.

This was the succinct advice of real estate analysts in a recent online round table discussion hosted by Colliers International Philippines.

While the analysts noted that residential projects in the luxury and mid-income segments are regarded as bright spots for the industry, as developers line up projects to capture recovery, these players will have to hunt up buyers more creatively using innovative payment schemes, promotional gimmicks, monitor completions in submarkets with high vacancies, explore opportunities in fringe locations, upgrade amenities and highlight health and safety most especially during these times; and highlight the advantages of living in a CBD, as opposed to “rurban” developments outside of major cities like Metro Manila.

“REVENGE” SHOPPING? The forum discussed a possible recovery from pandemic-induced disruptions starting next year as the economy further reopens, with the retail segment possibly benefitting from “revenge shopping” starting 2022 as mobility restrictions are eased, and as the country’s vaccination numbers further increase.

In its third quarter report issued last week, Colliers reported that outsourcing and traditional corporate occupiers continued to drive office

PREMIUM RESIDENCES IN KATIPUNAN

demand in Metro Manila, but said that absorption of office space would remain negative in 2021 with the influx of new supply.

“To further bolster demand growth, we recommend investors and buyers to take advantage of the attractive payment terms currently being offered in the market,” it added.

STEADY AS SHE COMES The property research firm pointed out that while data indicated a reduction of demand for residential developments in 2021, this did not mean sales completely stopped amid the pandemic.

In Metro In Metro Manila, supply remains steady despite the delay in the completion of condominiums and the stock in the metropolis is at 140,000, particularly from the central business districts (CBDs).

Bonifacio Global City has the lion’s share of the supply at 39,500, followed by the Bay Area at 28,700; Makati, 28,500; Ortigas Center, 18,700; Eastwood City, 9,600; Rockwell, 5,300; Alabang, 4,800; and Araneta Center, 4,500.

Developers were able to launch some 4,404 units in the pre-sales market in the first quarter of 2021, while take-up in the same period reached 5,358 units. New completion is expected to grow at 143 percent.

Of the first-quarter data, “midincome-to-luxury projects continued to dominate, accounting for 97 percent of launches and 98 percent of take-up,” Colliers noted.

“Higher-priced joint venture developments between local and foreign developers, which offer innovative facilities and amenities, is likely to help drive demand until the end of the year,” it continued.

MORE DISCERNING MARKET With a more discerning market on the horizon, property developers are faced with a challenge to be able to showcase its strengths in style and substance to appeal to investors willing to spend for design, aesthetics, and use.

“In our view, demand in both the preselling and secondary markets is likely to pick up on the back of an economic rebound, increase in vaccinations and further easing of mobility restrictions across the country,” said Colliers associate director Joey Bondoc.

“This confidence should also result in improved office space absorption in Metro Manila by the latter half of 2022 which should signal the gradual recovery of condominium rents and prices during the period,” he added.

Torre Lorenzo Loyola Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Torre Lorenzo Development Corporation (TLDC), recently topped off its Torre Lorenzo Loyola premium residences in Katipunan in Quezon City. The 35-storey residential development, across Ateneo de Manila University and a hop away from Miriam College and the University of the Philippines, is targeted for completion in 2023. At the ceremony were Tomas Lorenzo (4th from left), TLDC chief executive officer; (Left to right) Leo Pariñas, LPPA managing partner; Emmanuel Rapadas, chief finance officer; Lalaine Regino, chief strategy officer; Cathy Ko, chief operations officer; and Ricardo Jacinto, executive committee consultant.

Visit www.torrelorenzo.com, for more information.

MILLENNIAL, GEN Z CONDOS IN NOVALICHES

SMDC’s Trees Residences is an 8.3-hectare master-planned community in Novaliches, Quezon City, targeted at young people eyeing real estate investments. “We mean start up families (first time home buyers) or investors (unit for rentals),” said Catherine Reformado, associate director-research of Leechiu Property Consultants. “There are also younger millennials (below 30-years-old) who are buying for their own use, but mostly those within the price range of Php2 million-Php4 million.” Trees Residences is adjacent to malls, schools, and offices, and offers a resort-inspired amenity area with pools, lounges, and function rooms. “For young people, real estate is just one avenue to increase assets and generate income with sure capital appreciation, that’s why at an early stage in their career they save money to purchase a property,” Reformado explained.

Tech & Gadgets

F

XceptionalPinays empowered in vivo’s special campaign

OLLOWING the launch of The Next Imagery Master, the vivo X70, vivo once again showcases the “Joy of Humanity” with their special “Memories of Life” campaign. The campaign will run until November 10, 2021 through Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok, calling upon “Xceptional Pinays” to document their lives together. vivo will then compile footage gathered from across the globe to produce a documentary dedicated to our everyday life.

Xceptional Pinays

Filipinas, throughout the years, have shown exceptional ways in which they positively impact the lives of the people around them, especially those that matter the most to them. Women often take on their days living with strength, optimism, and an openness to experience life fully—the good, the bad, the ordinary, and the extraordinary. This exceptional perspective is one that vivo Philippines aims to zoom in on through the Xceptional Pinays video contest.

Xceptional Pinays can submit short videos of memories captured within five themes—Love, Care, Hope, Dream and Joy—and stand a chance to be featured in vivo’s global documentary which will include “Memories of Life” from all over the world. There are also more exciting prizes in store for those joining the campaign. vivo has witnessed and captured users' truest memories, the ups and downs and the joy and sorrow. It also provides

users with convenience and pleasure for their lives and accompanies them through every trivial matter in their lives.

This is indeed the most significant and valuable purpose of vivo smartphones and vivo is honored that its smartphones have become a part of its users’ lives.

As a longstanding pioneer in the industry, vivo brings joy to users all around the globe by lifting the standards of mobile photography and smartphone innovation with the X70.

This smartphone comes with lenses that are certified compliant with the ZEISS T* Coating to increase image clarity. In addition, the vivo X70 is equipped with a Gimbal Stabilizer to ease framing and enhance stabilization

for the ultimate user experience. The The “Memories of Life” video convivo X70 has received overwhelmingly test will run until November 10, 2021. positive support from smartphone The contest will be open to Xceptional users all over the world.

Pinays who want to tell their heartwarming stories.

How to participate Here is how to join the contest: Upload your Xceptional video and 5 in the “Memories of Life” friends to do the challenge video contest Memories are beautiful but they are Use the hashtags: #vivoMemofleeting and the best way to keep these riesofLife and #vivoXceptionalPinay stories intact is to capture and share Tag @vivo_philippines on Facethem. This is the inspiration behind vivo’s book, Instagram, and Tiktok “Memories of Life” campaign.

Submit your entry at https:// Through the “Memories of Life” fb.me/e/1CdyKxCdn before Novemcampaign, vivo encourages Filipinas ber 10, 2021. to record special events in their life— For more information on the vivo be it a short sentence, or a smile. Every “Memories of Life” competition and the simple yet unique story is a thread in the vivo X70, visit www.vivoglobal.ph and vivo’s social media pages. tapestry of memories from this era.

LG OLED: Maximize your home entertainment experience LG’s OLED TV technology has been heralded by the South Korean company as its best ever, setting a new standard for what TV can be. The next-generation OLED panel, combined with the computational power of the Alpha 9 Gen 4 processor, and millions of self-lit pixels takes your viewing experience to another level.

Aside from providing a brighter, sharper image, and an unparalleled viewing experience, LG pushes the envelope further with enticing value-added services. LG OLED TV gives its customers a 1-year warranty but adds another year to it, giving you additional peace of mind with your investment. It covers parts and labor should your unit need repair. No additional or hidden fees to stress you out. You may check out LG’s

Beeinfotech rolls out in-country AWS Outposts cloud solution BEEINFOTECH PH, operator of the country’s largest telco-neutral data center to date and provider of tailored colocation services, is now offering the AWS (Amazon Web Services) Outposts solution catering to large enterprises.

The solution enables them to run AWS cloud services locally within Beeinfotech PH’s “The HIVE” data center while also benefiting from its flexible hosting and telco-neutral services. The rollout follows Amazon’s recent cloud infrastructure investments in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), specifically in Japan and New Zealand, and increasing cloud footprint in the region.

AWS Outposts consists of racks that allow access to the entire AWS Cloud infrastructure. Enterprises processing real-time data, such as healthcare providers, telecommunications networks, and financial institutions, can locally run them to address latency and data sovereignty issues. Its usage is expected to boost the enterprise cloud capabilities of the Philippines, which has already been recognized as an APAC cloud spending leader, according to Cisco and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Globally, IDC forecasts that cloud infrastructure spending will grow 12% this year, amounting to $74.3 billion.

“As an enabler of digital transformation in the Philippines, our goal is to deliver worldclass solutions that bolster the technological capabilities of enterprises. The AWS Outposts offering is one such solution as it provides instant access to the AWS Cloud infrastructure,

one of the most comprehensive services used by enterprises around the world, to achieve digital transformation goals faster. We believe it’s the ideal time to implement the technology because of the availability of our telco-neutral facility and tailored data management solutions that can be configured to meet every requirement,” said Beeinfotech PH President and CEO Reynaldo Huergas.

Managing mission-critical solutions for large enterprises To fully meet their specific cloud workload requirements and other concerns, enterprises can subscribe to Beeinfotech PH’s AWS Outposts offering under either a Managed Service setup or private cloud setup.

Under Managed Services, enterprises don’t have to worry about costly upkeep tasks such as setup, administration, migration, and maintenance, leaving clients to only run their preferred AWS solution. Meanwhile, the private cloud setup provides enterprises more control in managing resources while only benefitting from select utilities within The HIVE. The HIVE has telco-neutral capabilities allowing it to connect the AWS racks to all telecommunication networks and switch between them for minimized downtime and uninterrupted connectivity when one goes down. The facility can also integrate the AWS Outposts racks to its Network Operations Center and Security Operations Center offerings that constantly monitor equipment performance and cyber threats to further ensure security and availability.

warranty support page for more service information.

Purchasing a new LG OLED TV also comes with a FREE LG Magic Remote that is valued at P2,990. This Magic Remote is a special remote like no other that lets you enjoy your OLED TV even more. With LG’s ThinQ technology, it gives you the ability to use commands with the AI Voice Assistant. It has an ergonomic design that has easy grip functionality. The contours of the remote are engineered to fit perfectly in your hand. The point and scroll feature let you use the Magic Remote like a computer mouse, letting you use a cursor to quickly search for content.

Preset hotkeys for popular programs such as Netflix are also available to get to your favorite

programs faster and easier. You can also use the LG Magic Remote on other selected LG TV models and soundbars. Spend less time navigating confusing menus and juggling multiple remotes, and more time enjoying your entertainment. You may visit the lg.com/ph support page to check for compatible models.

The OLED Roadshow Raffle Promo runs from October 15 to December 31, 2021. At stake for the grand prize is a Puricare 360, 2nd prize is a Front Load Washing Machine and the latest LG Tone Free FP9 Wireless Earbuds for the 3rd to 5th prizes. Visit one of the LG OLED Roadshow branches today to get your chance to win these premium LG products and lg.com/ ph/promotions for more details on the promo mechanics.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Globe: 4G LTE upgrades, 5G help drive PH mobile data use MORE Filipinos have embraced the digital lifestyle using connectivity for work, education, entertainment, health, socializing, banking, and online shopping. Ongoing network upgrades to 4G LTE coupled with efforts to expand 5G in the country are helping drive the adoption of mobile data by giving internet access to more people.

In Globe’s case, mobile data already accounted for 73 percent of its mobile revenues in the first half of 2021, from 69 percent in the same period last year.

Likewise, the company’s total mobile subscriber base grew by 2 percent to 81.7 million.

Globe said the figures are consistent with the recent study conducted

by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company in the UK, which said that total mobile services revenue in the Philippines would hit US$5.4 billion by 2026 from the expected US$4.1 billion this year. This represents a cumulative annual growth rate of 5.6 percent over the next five years due to the increasing adoption of mobile data.

“4G subscriptions will surpass 3G in 2021, driven by the ongoing 4G/ LTE network expansions and increase in the availability of 4G-enabled smartphones,” GlobalData telecom analyst Harika Damidi said.

4G LTE offers higher bandwidth and improved network responsiveness than 3G, which means lower latency, higher network capacity, backward compatibility, and future-proofing. On the other hand, 5G even provides faster connectivity and download speeds than 4G. It also offers ultra-low latency, greater bandwidth, superior network reliability, and the ability to connect to more devices.

“These latest findings are aligned with our efforts to bring first-world connectivity to more Filipinos to further enrich their digital lifestyle. We foresee this rapid digitization to continue beyond these pandemic times, thus our ongoing efforts to increase our 4G LTE footprint and expand our 5G network,” said Darius Delgado, Globe Head of Consumer Mobile Business.

To assure its customers of network consistency, Globe continuously invests in its network to carry the most advanced technologies like 4G LTE and 5G. For the first half of 2021, it installed at least 641 new cell towers in strategic locations all over the country and upgraded 8,175 mobile sites to 4G LTE. Meanwhile, it built 1,906 5G sites nationwide as of end-September, and laid down over one million high-speed broadband lines to date.

According to the same study, 5G services are expected to account for 22.5 percent of total mobile subscriptions by end-2026 in the Philippines. 5G technology’s improved performance and enhanced efficiency empower new user experiences and capabilities. It enables frontier technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Edge Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industrial IoT, and immersive learning.

Grab the HOT 11S for just P6,990 CONNECTING with family and friends worldwide this holiday season need not be expensive, thanks to emerging smartphone brand Infinix’s latest budget smartphone, HOT 11S. Infinix HOT 11S, which is in the below-P7,000 category, steps up your holiday experience with seamless gameplays, vivid get-together photos, and visually satisfying consumption of multimedia content.

Here are the top reasons why Infinix's HOT 11S is the best budget smartphone right now: 1. Long hours of high-octane gaming For a smartphone priced below P7,000, HOT 11S is surprisingly equipped

with an Octa-core dual-chip processor combined with a 4 GB RAM and 5000 mAh battery, allowing you to enjoy long hours of high-octane mobile games this holiday break.

HOT 11S’s hyper engine allows you to toggle with several applications all at once, especially for those who still have reports to finish at home during the season.

2. Wider, fluid screen for better multimedia viewing Getting glued on the HOT 11S screen - whether via countless game matches or through binge-watching - is made more pleasurable, as the phone’s 6.78-inch full HD display with a 90 Hz refresh rate is a gift to the eyes.

With a much more expansive and

fluid display, sharing the screen for movies and other multimedia content with your loved ones will now be possible with HOT 11S. Users can also enjoy a more realistic listening experience while playing games or watching movies with the upgraded external sound system. Browsing holiday videos on your social media feed, especially on Tiktok, is undoubtedly made more engaging with the HOT 11S. 3. 50MP camera takes clearer holiday photos Infinix is ensuring that users can enjoy top-notch mobile games while stepping up their social media visibility this holiday season with the HOT 11S. The phone’s 50MPrear camera and 8MP selfie camera ensure lucid holiday photos and videos that are worth sharing on your social media profiles. It unlocks the phone photography potential among the ranks of students, gamers, and young professionals who want to venture into taking fantastic snaps this Christmas.

Infinix HOT 11S, which retails for only P6,990, is exclusively available on Lazada: https://bit. ly/2Xta4tg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InfinixPhilippines/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinixphilippines/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ InfinixPH

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2021

Motoring

Autohub launches

Suzuki BGC Satellite

showroom A

Shown here are (from left) Jeff Lizardo, Suzuki Auto BGC General Manager; Wayne Tee Ten, Exec. Asst. to the President, Autohub Group; Jude Racadio, Suzuki Philippines (SPH) Auto Sales Manager; Keiichi Suzuki, VP and General Manager for Automobile, SPH; Willy Tee Ten, President, Autohub Group; Owee Cruz, VP-Fleet, Marketing, Autohub Group.

UTOHUB Group of Companies finally opened its newest dealership addition, the Suzuki Auto BGC Satellite.

The Suzuki Auto BGC showroom displaying the Jimny

Fulfilling the promise of Suzuki in uplifting the Filipino’s Way of Life combined with Autohub’s superb automotive experience, this partnership is long-awaited for both sides.

“It is with great pride and honor to finally have the SUZUKI Brand in the Autohub Group’s roster of automotive dealerships.

The Autohub Group shares Suzuki Philippines’ vision to be the preferred brand and the automotive group of choice.

Providing innovative solutions, quality and trendsetting products, and of course, reliable services for our clients so we can ensure the best interests and returns for all our stakeholders,” excitedly announced by Zoomhub Inc. (Suzuki Auto BGC) President Willy Tee Ten during the virtual launch.

Suzuki’s Vice President and General

Manager Automobile Division Mr. Keiichi Suzuki also shared his congratulatory words to the newly opened dealership.

“Let me be the first to extend Suzuki’s appreciation to Zoomhub Inc. (Suzuki Auto BGC) for your continued support in our efforts in making Suzuki products and services more widely accessible to our Filipino brothers and sisters. With this first dealership under your group, I firmly believe that this will go a long way because of your vast experience and at the same time with the strong support of our partners who are here with us now.”

The new Suzuki Auto BGC Satellite Showroom stands on a 629 square meter floor area with a 2-car display following Suzuki Philippines CI for sales and service reception. There are also two (2) dedicated service work bays with parts warehouse.

Since this is the first foray of the Suzuki Dealership in Taguig City, the premier business city in the metro, surely, you’d be seeing a lot of Swifts, S-Pressos, Jimnies & Vitaras all over the streets of the Global City and beyond.

Suzuki Auto BGC Satellite is located at Block 15 Rizal Drive, Crescent Park, West Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

For sales inquiries, please call 0917-8150762.

EVAP mounts 1st Eco-Run for EVs in PH

TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto spearheads the volunteers during the mangrove planting activity.

Toyota continues to take challenge of protecting the environment TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corporation continues its environmental conservation campaign as it recently conducted mangrove planting and coastal clean-up activities on its adopted 10-hectare National Greening Program Plantation in Lian, Batangas.

Seventy volunteers composed of TMP, Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO) – Calaca, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources (MENRO) – Lian, local government unit (LGU) of Lian and Lian Fisherfolk Association, Inc. planted a total of 20,000 mangrove propagules and were able to collect 50 kilograms of garbage from the coastline.

For TMP, planting mangroves is essential as it improves biodiversity, serves as a barrier against storm surges, provides livelihood for the locals and most of all, captures carbon dioxide ten times more than terrestrial trees.

The shoreline of Lian is part of the Verde Island Passage which is the Center of Marine Shorefish

Biodiversity in the World.

The mangrove planting and coastal clean-up activities are part of the All-Toyota Green Wave Project, a global environmental initiative which started in 2015. Through this project, Toyota aims to plant 11 million trees worldwide to help preserve the environment for future generations, in line with the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 Challenge no. 6: Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature.TMP, for its part, have planted a total of 36,900 propagules in both coastal and upland areas since the project started.

TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto, who spearheaded the activity, said, “Toyota’s new global vision is producing happiness for all. When we do these activities that bring positive impact to the community, then it makes sense for Toyota to continue our harmony with nature programs. We are sure that a healthy environment brings happiness to all.”

A NUMBER of electric vehicles will be showcased along a couple of major thoroughfares in Metro Manila this weekend.

The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines is organizing the first EV eco-run, ‘Accelerating the Switch to EV Charging,’ on Saturday.

The on-ground event will be mounted with the support of the association’s sub-group, EV Owners Society (EVOS), a startup community of EV owners in the country that was established in January 2021.

‘Accelerating the Switch to EV Charging’ will gather registered participants—EV owners in Metro Manila and nearby areas—for an driving tour that is aimed to demonstrate support to a proposed legislation (now lodged in the bicameral conference committee) promoting the use of EVs in the country.

The activity is also in line with the ongoing 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), wherein EVAP and the country are participating in. COP26— which commenced on October 31 to last until November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland—gathers parties from across the globe to “accelerate

Accelerating the Switch to EV Charging’ is set to further push the use of EVs in the country.

action towards the goals” of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

“EVAP is unrelentingly spearheading the push towards the use of EVs so the country could do its part in the rising international drive towards a greener planet,” said EVAP President Edmund Araga. “In our little way, we aim to stage a show of force to gain the backing of our honorable legislators so we could earn a major milestone in our proposed switch to air pollution-free and energy-efficient EVs.” Participants to the upcoming one-

day eco-run will drive along assigned routes to complete required activities.

There will be two loops that they can take—North Loop (40kph speed) running from Land Rover site in San Juan City going to UNIOIL EDSA Guadalupe station DOE Ave; South Loop (15kph speed) starting from Nissan Pasong Tamo Extension in Makati City site going to BYD (southwest corner Buendia/Dian St) Nissan Otis, and ending in UNIOIL Guadalupe station-DOE Avenue.

There are checkpoints assigned per station where participants are required to submit activity passports containing information from the registration form and a list of EV charging stations.

Those shall be stamped or signed by marshalls per station. Participants are also required to have their photos taken while holding plaque cards and picking a prize.

The eco-run is set to begin at any of the loops at 8 a.m. The time starts when a participant enters a station. All stations in a loop shall be completed along with the designated stamps/signatures in the activity passport (ideally 3 minutes per station for the physical activities). All participants meet up at Ford BGC at 10 a.m. for awarding and snacks.

Motolite gives Grab riders, drivers big discounts MOTOLITE has expanded its partnership with Grab to allow even the motorcycle delivery riders to enjoy discounts on their battery purchases.

According to the new agreement signed by Grab and Motolite, Grab drivers, or those who use four-wheel vehicles, will continue to get a 20% discount when they replace their batteries. Grab delivery riders, on the other hand, will be given a 10% discount.

Other Grab employees based in Metro Manila and San Fernando, Pampanga can also avail of the discount.

They must show their company ID or driver phone Grab app when they make their purchases.

Aside from the discount, they will enjoy a further reduction in the prices of

Motolite batteries if they would trade in their old batteries.

To avail of the discount, Grab drivers and riders only need to call Motolite’s ExpressHatid hotlines: (02) 8370- 6686 Metro Manila, 1-800-10-370-6686 Provincial Toll-Free, (0918) 843 6686 and ( 0917) 891 6686.

They can also download the Motolite Res-Q app on their smartphones and use it in ordering batteries. The Res-Q app can be downloaded via the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei App Gallery.

Aside from free delivery of Motolite batteries, the Res-Q app also offers emergency assistance for cases such as overheating, flat tires, and emergency refuels free to Motolite users.