Manila Standard - 2021 December 4 - Saturday

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DOH: Be merry, but no party Advises employers to hold virtual X'mas gathering instead, to be safe

By Willie Casas

IN-PERSON PARTIES: Only fully vaxxed Open space area No buffet dishes Wear face mask Social distancing

· · · · ·

T

HE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday advised companies to only have virtual parties this Christmas, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still here despite a decline in cases.

“I know this is the second Christmas that we are celebrating in a different way, but I hope we can make these kinds of sacrifices to further prevent infections in the community and in our population,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in Filipino.

The move is largely in reaction to the threat of the dangerous Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Regional Office said Friday had been found in

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VOL. XXXV • NO. 292 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TONDO LIGHTS. People take selfies in front of the three-storey residential building adorn with colorful lights along Sta. Maria Street in Moriones, Tondo, Manila. Danny Pata

More countries PH cases on a steady decline, NCR now ‘very low risk’ detect Omicron, ByMacon Willie Casas and Ramos-Araneta stricter curbs set

By Willie Casas THE Manila-based World Health Organization's Western Pacific Regional Office said Friday the latest global health challenge COVID-19 variant named Omicron had been found in at least four areas in the region.

WHO said the areas were Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, WHO Regional Emergency Director Dr. Babatunde Olowokure said in a virtual press conference, warning there were likely more places in the region where Omicron was already present.

Meanwhile, local government units may impose stricter measures in their areas amid the threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the head of the League of Provinces of Next page the Philippines said Friday.

2,833,878 544

14,977

48,987

235

2,769,914

734

PHILIPPINES on Friday reported just 544 new cases of COVID-19 and 14,977 active cases—the first time in 18 months that it fell below 15,000, data from the Department of

Health showed.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila can already be classified as “very low risk” for COVID-19, the independent OCTA Research Group said on Friday.

“Based on our metrics, the National Capital Region is now classified as very low risk. The figure compares the numbers

this week versus the same week last year," OCTA fellow Guido David said on Twitter.

The last time the number of active COVID-19 cases fell below 15,000 was on June 4, 2020 when the country recorded 14,996 active cases, the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group said, citing DOH data adjusted for duplicate and reclassified cases.

Gov't adapts new testing protocols for int'l arrivals DOJ, BSP join

By Vito Barcelo and Willie Casas WITH the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Malacañang said on Friday the National Task Force Against COVID-19 Task Group focused on returning overseas Filipinos must submit

positive COVID-19 results from November 1 onwards to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for immediate genome sequencing.

Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said Friday this was provided under Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution 152, which also tasks the Interior department to enjoin local government

units to find active cases and immediately flag clusters or increasing cases, as well as immediately submit eligible samples for sequencing.

"This is to further strengthen active case finding and healthcare system capacity," Nograles said.

At the same time, the government’s Next page

Food producers seek SRP revisit, oil price cut seen

By Othel V. Campos

NEWS / A2

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BOOSTER SHOTS. Health workers give Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccines to the residents of Tondo at Isabelo Delos Reyes Elementary School in Tondo, while Health Secretary Francisco Duque III joins Dasmariñas City Mayor Jennifer A. Barzaga and DOHCalabarzon Regional Director Ariel I. Valencia at Ugnayang La Salle in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Norman Cruz and Joey Razon

(As of 4 PM, DEC. 3)

RESSA ALLOWED TO RECEIVE NOBEL

The 544 new cases marked the 10th consecutive day the country recorded less than 1,000 new infections and is the third lowest figure so far this year, following 425 fresh infections on Tuesday and 500 on Wednesday.

But COVID-related deaths rose by 235,

RELIEF GOODS. The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) led by its President, Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong, distributes tons of relief goods including vitamins and medical kits to 47 barangays, provinces, fire volunteers, and other associations as aid to the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and other calamities. Danny Pata

THE Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc., the country’s largest food industry association, has urged the Department of Trade of Industry to revisit the suggested retail prices (SRPs) of basic necessities amidst the ongoing economic recovery initiatives.

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forces to catch web scammers

By Othel V. Campos THE Department of Justice, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and eight more government agencies have joined efforts to catch the perpetrators behind smishing scams that victimize Filipinos into dubious investment schemes and work-from-home jobs.

“We desire to assist victims of cybercrime to the fullest and bring the culprits to justice,’’ said Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) executive director Cezar Mancao during the creation of the technical working group against ICTenabled scams and fraud.

The group includes the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, the National Security Council, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

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News

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

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Ressa allowed to travel for Nobel The appellate court made the ruling after it denied the opposition of the Office of the Solicitor General, which claimed that Ressa is a “flight risk.”

“Considering that Ressa has proved that her intended travel is necessary and urgent, and she is not a flight risk, there is no rea-

son to deny the Urgent Motion to Travel Abroad,” the CA’s Special Seventh Division said, in a resolution penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Fiel Macaraig.

Associate Justices Ruben Reynaldo G. Roxas and Raymond Reynold R. Lauigan of the CA’s special seventh division con-

curred with the ruling.

The CA is reviewing the conviction of Ressa in 2020 on cybercrime. With the pendency of the review, Ressa had to ask the CA permission to travel abroad.

The appellate court granted Ressa’s travel period from December 8 to 13, 2021, and only for the purpose of attending the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, and participating in the events specifically mentioned in the attached confirmation and invitation letter.

“Ressa should return to the Philippines from Boston, USA, on Dec. 2, 2021, and inform this Court within 24 hours from

DOH:...

Presbitero Velasco, who leads the League of Provinces of the Philippines, said.

LGUs have the power to impose “reasonable regulations” to protect their constituents from COVID-19, Velasco added (see story below – Editors).

If the parties are held in person, Vergeire said, only fully vaccinated employees should be allowed to attend and they should be held in an open space, with people wearing face masks and keeping their distance.

“And please, do not serve buffet dishes.

We can have plated dishes so there won’t be a congregation when you get food from the buffet table and also for sharing of food,” she added.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had announced earlier that in-person parties are allowed in areas under Alert Level 2 as long as health protocols are observed and only 50 percent of the venue capacity is occupied.

The safety seal of establishments that violate these rules will be revoked, and the business permits suspended, the DILG warned.

Vergeire, meanwhile, also reminded Filipinos returning from overseas to get tested for

COVID-19 before leaving for the Philippines.

With the threat of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) imposed new testing and quarantine protocols for travelers arriving from countries that are not on the red list (related story below – Editors).

Also on Friday, the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship, Joey Concepcion, said he now supported keeping Metro Manila under Alert Level 2 for the remainder of the year, after pushing to ease quarantine restrictions.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will allow the deployment of police officers near their residences for the holiday season.

In a statement on Friday, NCRPO chief, Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said this complies with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos' promise to let police officers spend more time with their families during the holidays by working at the nearest police station from their homes.

"Whatever our CPNP (Philippine National Police chief) will say regarding

this, guaranteed that we shall support and make it happen without compromising our task to keep Metro Manila safe and secure during the celebration of Christmas season and other holidays ahead," Danao said.

Carlos has already directed the Directorate for Personnel and Records Management to come up with a plan on how to effectively implement the measure.

The work-near-home policy for police officers during the holiday season started during the term of then PNP chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa to boost the morale of police officers nationwide and put an end to the sad scene of their children waiting in vain for their parents to come home on Christmas Eve. "I myself experienced this. And I have accepted this as a matter of lifestyle which only uniformed servicemen will understand. I am grateful for my children for their sympathy but it sure is better if I was blessed with the chance to come home to them as most fathers do on Christmas Eve. This is what I wanted my men to experience, and this is what I wanted them to do," Danao said.

The reproduction number—which refers to the number of people that one patient can infect-- was 0.36 this year, down from 0.94 in 2020. A reproduction number below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

The daily attack rate per 100,000 fell to 0.97 this year from 2.94 last year. The positivity rate was down to 1.2 percent in 2021 from 3.9 percent in 2020.

There were also dramatic decreases in the number of hospital beds occupied and ICU bed occupancy.

There was also an improvement in the average number of tests — 18,875 in 2021 up from 18,189 in 2020.

The COVID-19 positivity rate was at 1.8 percent. The country's total COVID-19 tests were 32,908 conducted on December 1.

The Philippines' positivity rate is still within World Health Organization's target of below 5 percent.

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH),

meanwhile, said the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients has decreased to 54, representing only 15 percent of the hospital's 350 beds dedicated to confirmed cases.

“Right now, the lowest number we have gotten for almost more than ayear,” said PGH spokesman Dr. Jonas del Rosario.

Rosario said most of the patients were moderate cases with less than 10 being admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit.

“I was told for the last two days, we have not admitted anybody with COVID. Our numbers are really going down… Maybe in the next few days or weeks, we will be down to the 20s,” he said.

Del Rosario said this may be attributed to the herd immunity achieved in the NCR after it achieved a high vaccination rate.

Even though PGH is already opening its doors to non-COVID patients, Rosario assured the public that it is prepared for the Omicron variant should it enter the country.

The Omicron variant, which has at least

50 mutations, is possibly more transmissible due to the difference in its spike protein from the original coronavirus.

“We’re always on this alert level because we have learned our lessons,” he said.

Del Rosario called on the government to prioritize manpower in the 2022 budget.

“Give the benefits to the frontliners. You know, we might have all the equipment, we might have all the rooms… if we do not have the people to man the hospitals then we’re still limited to the number of patients we can take care of,” he said.

Del Rosario also urged the government to increase the salaries of nurses, paramedical professions, and doctors to “slow down the tide of people leaving the country.”

Rosario earlier said about 15 PGH nurses went for opportunities abroad.

He also called for the creation of a dedicated hospital for future pandemics.

(See full story online at manilastandard.net)

was first announced by South Africa on November 24 and was blamed for the increase in cases in the region.

The new variant of concern, first detected in South Africa, has been found in all six global regions covered by the WHO. "The geographic distribution is quite likely pretty wide already," Olowokure said, adding early data suggested Omicron was more transmissible than other COVID-19 variants.

Meanwhile, there is no data yet to say it causes more severe illness or is more resistant to existing vaccines.

But Olowokure noted there was also no information yet showing that public health measures in place were ineffective against the new variant.

Case surge The possibility of a case surge due to the new COVID-19 Omicron variant "is not that high," fellows from the OCTA Research Group said.

While the Omicron variant "appears to be spreading faster" than earlier COVID-19 strains, vaccinated people who contract this type of coronavirus "are only showing mild symptoms at worse," OCTA Research fellow Guido David said in an online press conference.

"Even if we experience an increase in cases, it will not be as bad as our experience with the delta or the alpha or the beta," he said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Gov’t...

COVID-19 task force has approved new testing and quarantine protocols for arriving international passengers from countries, territories, and jurisdictions in the “green” and “yellow” list effective December 3.

The green list is composed of countries, territories, and jurisdictions with low risk of COVID-19 infection while the yellow list is composed of destinations with moderate risk of COVID-19 infection.

The Philippines has placed Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Switzerland under the “red” list effective November 28 until December 15.

In a separate media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 253 travelers from South Africa, three from Burkina Faso, and 541 from Egypt arrived in the country from November 15 to November 29.

“Each of these countries had a traveler who tested positive for COVID-19. One out of the 253 from South Africa, one out of the 541 from Egypt, and one of the three from Burkina Faso,” Vergeire said.

“So, all of these -- as long as their CT (COVID testing) values are appropriate -- we will send them to the Philippine Genome Center for whole-genome sequencing,” she said.

Vergeire said the DOH was still processing the batch that would be subject to genome sequencing for the week.

“Results might be tonight or tomorrow,” she said.

In a statement, Malacanang said the IATF ordered that fully-vaccinated travelers would still be required to have a negative RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Upon arrival in the Philippines, they shall undergo facility-based quarantine with an RT-PCR test taken on the 5th day, with the date of arrival being the first day.

Regardless of a negative result, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine up to the 14th day from the date of arrival.

In the case of individuals who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated, they shall be required to present a negative RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Upon arrival in the Philippines, they shall undergo facility-based quarantine with an RTPCR test done on the seventh day, with the date of arrival being the first day. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

were jarred by the spread of the COVID-19 variant Omicron, the reason for a decline in the demand for petrol.

In a statement, the Chamber of Food Manufacturers noticed the prices set by the DTI for basic necessities and prime commodities under the SRP bulletin have been unchanged since August 2021.

Moreover, the last release of the SRP bulletin in basic commodities was published last September 2019.

The group alleged that local food manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the increasing demand especially with the upcoming Christmas season.

Manufacturers said the current SRP, some of which are set below the purchase prices of retailers such as supermarkets, had them face experienced damaging constraints in their operations.

“There is a need to regularly update the SRPs of basic commodities to help food manufacturers recover from the losses due to the pandemic,” said PCFMI 1st Vice President and Chairperson for Legislative Committee Helen Grace Baisa.

Under Republic Act 7581, also known as the Price Act, the national government is mandated to ensure the availability of basic necessities and prime commodities at reasonable prices especially during emergency situations.

Food manufacturers, however, bore the brunt of the outdated price ceilings at the expense of prices being artificially lower than the market rates, PCFMI said.

The food chamber, with more than 100 members, is composed of companies engaged in canned goods, ready-to-eat

meals production, baked goods, dairy, coffee, and noodles production, among others.

“We believe that a whole-of-nation approach is necessary to provide the public with access to affordable food and that businesses are assured of government support in facing unprecedented disruptions in the food industry,” Baisa said.

The group noted that food supply chains have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as nations try to sustain the spread of the virus, prompting pivotal shifts in demand and exposing logistical bottlenecks.

“As more Filipinos are able to consume more this coming holiday season, we trust that DTI will give equal importance to the voice of the food industry to ensure business stability,” Baisa said.

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Court of Appeals on Friday granted the plea of Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa for permission to travel to Oslo, Norway from December 8 to 13 to personally receive her Nobel Peace Prize for 2021.

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at least four areas in the region (see story below—Editors).

The WHO announcement coincided with a report from the Department of Health that three travelers who arrived in the Philippines, who flew in from South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Egypt, had tested positive for COVID-19, and the government was hastening its genome sequencing to determine the variant.

Elsewhere, the United States and Australia announced their first locally transmitted cases of the Omicron variant as authorities worldwide rushed Friday to stem the spread of the heavily mutated strain of COVID-19.

The WHO has said it could take weeks to determine whether Omicron is more transmissible and whether it causes more severe infections—as well as how effective current treatments and vaccines are against it. (See related story on B2 – Editors) Local government units may also impose stricter measures in their areas amid the threat of Omicron, Marinduque Governor

PH...

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the highest in 2 weeks or since Nov. 19 when 277 deaths were announced, according to ABS-CBN IRG. The nationwide total now stands at 48,987 fatalities.

The DOH also announced 734 more recoveries, raising the total number to 2,769,914.

The active cases are just 0.5 percent of the country's 2,833,878 cumulative infections, based on the latest DOH bulletin.

Meanwhile, Guido showed a table posted on Twitter which marked an improvement in numbers in the Nov. 26 to Dec. 2 period this year compared to the same period last year.

OCTA said the average new COVID-19 cases per day was only 138 from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, 2021, compared to 416 during the same period last year.

More...

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Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco said LGUs have the power to impose “reasonable regulations” to protect their constituents from COVID-19.

“So, the LGUs have the power to impose reasonable regulations, especially on the entry of people to their territories,” he said on ANC's Rundown.

“We issue executive orders to impose additional safeguards so with respect to foreign travelers, there would be some more safeguards, like possibly they’ll be required to undergo the RT-PCR testing, and that they be subjected to medical assessment or examination upon arrival in the territory of the particular LGU." “We also prescribe that they be confined to their hotels or lodging places when they are in the LGU. Sometimes we closely monitor their activities, and we tell them that if they experience symptoms. Then they are required to report the same to our doctors,” the former Supreme Court justice said.

Velasco said these restrictions may be imposed on top of the testing and quarantine guidelines for arriving international passengers released by the national government on Thursday.

The B.1.1.529 or the Omicron variant

Food...

From A1

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Companies Association said a “big time” rollback in petroleum prices was expected with the threat of the latest COVID-19 variant Omicron, first detected in South Africa.

IPCA President Noel Soriano said if suppliers and refiners would see a decline in demand, the selling price would be impacted, with industry sources saying more than P2 per liter had been chopped off from the price of imported gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.

If this pushed through, this would be the fourth rollback in recent weeks.

Industry sources said many countries

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such return. (Ressa had earlier been allowed to travel to the US.),” the CA said.

“Subject to her compliance with the second condition above-mentioned, the previous cash bond in the amount of P500,000 under Official Receipt No.10074925 shall be applied as travel bond for purposes of her travel to Oslo, Norway on Dec. 8, 2021 until Dec. 13, 2021. Ressa shall advise this Court in writing of her return to the country within 24 hours from arrival on Dec. 13, 2021,” the appellate court added.

The other Nobel Peace laureate is Russian journalist Dimitry Muratov. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Booster shots for adults 18 up rolled out—DOH

By Willie Casas, Vito Barcelo and Joel Zurbano THE Philippines on Friday rolled out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for adults 18 years and older.

Health Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said those eligible for a booster shot are individuals who have received their second dose at least 6 months ago or the single-dose Janssen vaccine at least three months ago.

More than eight million Filipinos out of a nine-million target were vaccinated against COVID-19 in a mass immunization drive made more urgent by the threat of the newly discovered Omicron coronavirus variant, the Department of Health said on Friday.

More than 90 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered by the government since the country’s vaccination drive started, while nearly half of its target population have been fully vaccinated, Malacanang added.

Meanwhile, the DOH expects the completed recommendations of the World Health Organization-Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on COVID-19 booster shots to be released by December 7.

(See full story online at manilastandard. net)

Gov’t salvages Pfizer doses via added shelf life

THE government was able to make use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses close to expiry date after its shelf life was extended for another three months, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Pfizer submitted to the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data that the vaccine’s shelf life can be extended from six months to nine months.

“So we were able to use up some of the Pfizer doses na meron tayo na set to expire, na-extend ng three months,” she said in a briefing.

Vergeire said the agency is hoping other vaccine manufacturers would follow suit.

“And that’s what we are expecting also, we’re looking if the other vaccine manufacturers also can follow suit and apply with FDA, as well, based on their studies if their shelf life for the specific vaccines can also be extended,” she said.

The DOH was also studying the possibility of extending the expiry dates of some COVID-19 vaccines in order to allow various areas to use up their existing inventory.

Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said authorities are "finalizing" the report on expiring COVID-19 shots.

"We are looking at where these vaccines are and the reasons that they were not jabbed,” said Cabotaje, chairperson of the National Vaccination Operations Center.

Willie Casas (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

DOJ,...

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The group was created at an online meeting called by the NPC to prevent what Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro called a potential “privacy disaster.”

An example of smishing was when Globe Telecom reportedly sent 1.55 million messages through its network, from Nov. 11 to Nov. 21, 2021, alone.

Millions of ordinary Filipinos are targeted by smishing and text spam.

Many of them may have fallen prey to the scams.

The inter-agency group will set up a hub that will centralize complaints, including those filed with other agencies.

The CICC is developing an app and a web portal where victims can report a scam through a hotline and dedicated website.

Telcos are expected to cooperate by blocking the messages.

Globe Telecom has so far blocked 1 billion messages since January. In addition, Smart Communications has blocked at least 60 web domains linked to the scam.

Mancao said the CICC would employ a triage system and refer cases to appropriate agencies for action while the DOJ Office of Cybercrime offered to facilitate coordination with international agencies to fight against global syndicates.

Meanwhile, the NPC will summon five data aggregators that were being eyed as possible conduits behind the surge in smishing and text spams over the last few weeks.

The BSP financial supervision sector agreed to strengthen fraud management among financial institutions as it also welcomed the centralization of complaints under one portal.

B The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Friday warned the public against text messages offering bogus employment opportunities.

In an advisory, POEA chief Bernard Olalia cautioned against SMS (short message service) phishing, or smishing, in the guise of offering jobs but whose real purpose is to get personal information. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

News

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

SUSPECTED PRIEST KILLER. Local

politician Ricardo Dorado, suspected in the 2011 murder of Italian Catholic missionary Fausto Tentorio, sits inside a police vehicle as he is transferred from the town of Arakan in North Cotabato province to the Kidapawan town jail following his arrest earlier in the week in Mindanao on Dec 3. This undated handout file picture released by The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions on October 17, 2011 shows Italian Catholic priest Fausto Tentorio at an undisclosed location in the southern Philippines (inset photo).

Ferdinandh Cabrera / AFP

IN BRIEF ‘Recall Xiaomi phones with dead boot issue’ A CONGRESSIONAL leader on Friday called on Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer, to issue a product recall on their phone models with recurring dead boot issues.

Dead boot happens when a phone handset cannot be powered on nor be detected when connected to a personal computer. Experts say this is due to damages in the phone’s boot area.

Consumers have been complaining about dead boot issues on Redmi 9T and Poco M3, both Xiaomi phone models.

Deputy Majority Leader and Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles of Rizal said: “Xiaomi’s steps to address the issue are not just too late but also too inconvenient. The dead boot issue has been happening for months and what they are offering are just repair or replacement with the same model. This means several days if not weeks of phone owners not being able to use their units.” Maricel V. Cruz

US donates $26m medical aid to Davao THE United States government, through the US Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense on Friday delivered P26.4 million ($528,000) worth of medical supplies and resources to bolster Davao City’s COVID-19 response efforts.

US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava handed over 10 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, four COVID-19 vaccine cold storage units, and other medical equipment and supplies to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio at the launch of Davao City’s community-based COVID-19 response.

“As a friend, partner, and ally, the United States is one with you in fighting COVID-19 and facilitating long-term initiatives that ensure health, peace, and prosperity in the southern Philippines,” CDA Variava said. Rey E. Requejo

DOJ to present additional evidence in Ongpin case

By Rey E. Requejo

A

REGIONAL trial court in San Fernando City, La Union has granted the appeal of the Department of Justice’s prosecutors to present additional evidence starting Dec. 7 to convince it to reverse its earlier ruling that dismissed the charges of illegal possession of cocaine filed against Julian Roberto Ongpin.

“The presentation of the evidence on the motion is set on Dec. 7,” Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento said when sought for updates on the case.

It can be recalled that last Nov. 15, the RTC dismissed the charges against Ongpin, son of businessman and former trade and industry minister Roberto Ongpin, due to the authorities’ failure to follow strictly the guidelines set in the law in the custody of seized illegal drugs.

This prompted the DOJ prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration and sought for hearing on the motion with a plea to present additional evidence. Judge Romeo Agacita Jr. set the hearing on the motion for reconsideration on yesterday, December 3.

Ongpin’s case arose from the 12.6 grams of cocaine, a prohibit drug, found by the police inside a San Juan, La Union hotel room where he and the late artist Breanna “Bree” Jonson checked in last Sept. 17.

Court records showed that in the morning of Sep 18, Jonson was found “unconscious” and died thereafter. Ongpin became a person of interest in Jonson’s death.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), on orders of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, started a probe.

In dismissing the case, Judge Agacita ruled that the police-

AMID the continued threats of violent extrem ism and terrorism in many parts of the Philippines, hundreds of young leaders representing indigenous groups, Christian and Muslim communities, and other backgrounds mobilized on Saturday in a powerful showcase of peace through the Panaghiusa Grand Peace Conference held at the Tagum City Historical and Cultural Center.

Funded by the European Union (EU) and supported by the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF), the non-profit organization KristiyanoIslam Peace Library (KRIS), and the local government of Tagum City, the Grand Conference is the culminating activity of the Extremely Together Philippines - Panaghiusa (ET Philippines) program which aims to prevent violent extremism and promote peace through youth leadership in the Philippines.

“Violent extremism is like a pandemic that we can cure through unity and education. This is why we are working to educate, empower, and inspire young people to become peacebuilders who can strengthen the resistance of their fellow youth against terrorism,” shared Paula Gendrano, co-

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YOUTH FOR PEACE.

Hundreds of young Christian, Muslims, and tribal leaders convene at the EU-funded peace conference in Tagum City.

3.

THE leader and four members of the terrorist group Daulah Islamiya (DI) were killed in a clash against the military in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Thursday.

A report from the Philippine Army identified the leader as Asim Karinda alias “Abu Azim.”

Azim reportedly replaced Salahudin Hasan, the former leader of DI, who killed in October in another clash in Damablac, Talayan, Maguindanao.

Azim is said to be trained bombmaker.

Major General Juvymax Uy, commander of the Joint Task Force Central and 6th Infantry Division confirmed Azim’s death. Four other members of DI were also confirmed killed in the Mamasapano encounter.

The military further said the clash with Azim took place around 1:30am on Thursday, and lasted for an hour.

After the clash, military personnel said the body of Azim and four others were recovered.

There were no casualties on the military side.

Last December 1, another highranking leader of DI was also killed in an encounter. The leader was identified as alias “Adsam.”

Military reports said hundreds of members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and DI surrendered since January.

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project lead of ET Philippines.

“With our Grand Conference, we are celebrating the accomplishments of the ET Philippines program since we launched in 2020. This is a milestone we’re sharing with our partner youth leaders from Tagum City, Zamboanga City, Marawi City, Luzon, and other areas where we’ve held our activities. At the same time, it is a call to action to strengthen the unified efforts of young Filipinos towards peace as we face the challenges of the pandemic, poverty, inequality, and more,” she added.

Reaching over 150 youth representatives from diverse backgrounds from Tagum City and Davao del Norte in the physical conference and nearly 1,000 more young leaders through Zoom and Facebook Live, the Panaghiusa Grand Conference featured stunning cultural performances from the Tagum-based Dilaab youth dance crew, presentations from members of ET Philippines from all over the Philippines, and expert discussions led by Kabataan Party-List Rep. Sarah Elago, Leonard Faustino of Global Peace Foundation, and One Young World Ambassador Amor Paredes.

Daulah leader killed in clash with AFP in Maguindanao

men who arrested Julian failed to comply with the provisions of Section 21 of Republic Act No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Section 21 of RA 9165 imposes a Manila ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC strict compliance with the chain of Standard (ORMECO) TODAY Brgy. Sta. Isabel, custody of the seized illegal drugs.

Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro 043.288.7801 / 288.7802 / 288.7803 Fax No. 043.288.7804 • E-mail: ormeco_coop@yahoo.com • Website: www.ormeco-inc.com It requires that “the seized dangerINVITATION TO BID ous drugs must be inventoried and ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (ORMECO, INC.), through photographed immediately after its BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC), hereby intends to apply the sum of Three Million Nine Hundred Nine Thousand Three Hundred Eighty-Twoand 80/100Pesos seizure or confiscation; the physical Only (₱3,909,382.80)funded by General Fundinclusive of all applicable taxes and inventory and photographing must fees, being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), for the procurement, supply, and delivery of materials/supplies/equipment. be done in the presence of the accused or his/her representative or 1. ORMECO, INC. now calls for the submission of Letter of Intentbyinterested bidders thru email at ormeco.bac.official@gmail.com.The list of the ORMECO, counsel, an elected public official, a INC. Eligibility Requirements may be viewed at www.ormeco-inc.com,https:// web.facebook.com/OrmecoOGMOfficial, and may be requested through email representative from the media, and ormeco_coop@yahoo.com, including the numbers listed above. An amount of a representative from the Departtwo hundred fifty pesos (₱ 250.00) is required as Accreditation Fee; ment of Justice (DOJ), all of whom 2. ORMECO, INC. now invites suppliers for the following: shall be required to sign the copies COST OF BID ABC DOCUMENTS FUNDING of the inventory and be given a copy LOT ITEM DESCRIPTION (INCLUSIVE OF (NONSOURCE VAT) of the same; and the seized drugs REFUNDABLE) I Supply of Security Agency ₱3,202,432.80 ₱5,000.00 must be turned over to a forensic Bolt,Double Arming,5/8 x laboratory within 24 hours from 16”,with nut and washer – (200pcs.), Eyenut,5/8 confiscation for examination.”

II

EU-funded peace conference draws hundreds of Christian, Muslim leaders

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCEMENT President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (CA) for the confirmation of the ad interim appointments of the following Generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), namely: To the rank of LIEUTENANT GENERAL: 1. ALFREDO V. ROSARIO JR. 2. ROBERT C. DAUZ To the rank of MAJOR GENERAL: 3. NOLASCO A. MEMPIN 4. ROY M. GALIDO 5. GERARDO P. CATINDOY To the rank of BRIGADIER GENERAL: 6. EDUARDO B. GUBAT 7. YEGOR REY P. BARROQUILLO JR. 8. ARVIN R. LAGAMON 9. ARMAND M. AREVALO 10. EUGENIO C. BOQUIO The public may submit any information, written report, or sworn/notarized complaints or oppositions to the above ad interim appointments in seven (7) copies to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, D. Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 8834-2713, 8831-1824, 8831-0527, 8832-9830, 88342706 and 8551-1989.

3 December 2021.

a.

Payment of bidding documents shall be deposited to BAC bank account (to be emailed by BAC secretariat).

b.

Prospective bidders must submit to the BAC via email the scanned copy of validated bank deposit slip / screenshot of successful electronic fund transfer as proof of payment.

c.

Scanned copy of Bidding Documents will be sent by the BAC secretariat upon validation that the payments are credited to the coop’s bank account.

d.

ID number or link of the Online/Virtual conference will be provided by BAC secretariat

4.

Online Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the NEA Memorandum NO. 2017-019: Revised Procurement Guidelines and Simplified Bidding Procedures for Electric Cooperatives, IRR-RA 10531 (2017); All video conferences shall be recorded in CD/DVD for reference and other purposes.

5.

The schedule of bidding activities is as follows:

ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE Release of Invitation to Bid 4December 2021 (Saturday) Submission of Letter of Intent thru email / 5-11December 2021 OfficeHours,at ORMECO, INC. Availability of Bidding Office (ormeco.bac.official@gmail.com) Documents 9:00 am for Lot I Online/Virtual Pre-Bid 13December 2021 (Monday) at Conference ORMECO, INC. Board Room 1:00 pm for Lot II Deadline of Bid 9:00 am for Submission (ormeco.bac. 27December 2021 (Monday) at Lot I official@gmail.com), ORMECO, INC. Board Room 1:00 pm for Opening and Evaluation of Lot II Bids (Online/Virtual) Post-Qualification 28December 2021 Approval through Board Resolution and Issuance Board Meeting for the Month of December 2021 of Notice of Award Signing of Contract After Issuance of Notice of Award Delivery Schedule To be announced during the Pre-Bid Conference 6.

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

7.

All bids shall be opened and read in the presence of Bidders or their duly authorized representatives. All bids shall be accompanied by a scanned copy of validated bank deposit slip or screenshot of successful electronic fund transfer representing payment of bid bond equivalent to 2% of ABC.

8.

The winning bidder shall issue Performance Securityin the form of Cash, Cashier’s Check, Manager’s Check, issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank, equivalent to five percent (5%)of the Contract Price; and

9.

ORMECO, INC. reserves the right to accept or reject any bids, declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO, INC. also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

Certified by:

HECTOR A. VILLACORTA Secretary (MS-DEC. 4, 2021)

(SGD) LINA C. YUMANG Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)

Noted by: (SGD) ATTY. NORBERTO M. MENDOZA Head Of Procuring Entity (HOPE)

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

Tulfo hails ‘unmatched’ Lacson-Sotto track record

News

SEEKING DIVINE PROVIDENCE. Jesus The Annointed One Church Leader Bishop Arthur Gonzales prays over presidential aspirant Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos (lower right) and his running mate, Lakas-CMD chairperson and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (lower left) in Batangas City. Joining them is House Majority Leader and Lakas-Party president Martin Romualdez (upper right). Ver Noveno

By Macon Ramos-Araneta POPULAR broadcaster Raffy Tulfo endorsed Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to lead the country, saying the tandem’s track record was unmatched among candidates for the 2022 national elections.

“There is no doubt that they have the best track record in the Senate. That’s unquestionable, no one can contest that,” said Tulfo, who is a guest candidate of Partido Reporma for senator, during the “Online Kumustahan” leg at the General Trias Sports Park.

“It’s an honor for me to be among the guest candidates of Partido Reporma, of Senator Ping and Tito Sen Sotto, because they are two veteran public servants,” he added.

Tulfo said a government system run by corrupt leaders is the real cause of Filipinos’ suffering.

Lacson and Sotto have vowed to erase this system under their administration if they emerge victorious as president and vice president in the May 9, 2022 polls.

Lacson successfully removed “kotong” (bribe-seeking) cops during his stint as Philippine National Police chief.

He said his accomplishment in the PNP could be replicated in other branches of the government in the next six years once he is voted as the next leader of the country.

Meanwhile, Lacson said he would offer assistance to Filipino seafarers and the local shipping industry in making sure their vessels are seaworthy and not outdated.

“I think it’s ironic that while we enjoy the headway in terms of seafaring, our facilities like ships are aging. I think we should work along the line of offering some financial package or assistance to our shipping industry,” he said during a virtual forum with representatives of the shipping industry.

Isko to continue gains of Rody’s infra programs

BBM CAMP: LET PETITIONERS DO DUE DILIGENCE

‘Marcos failed to pay fines in non-filing of ITR case’ P RESIDENTIAL candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. not only failed to file his income tax returns in the 1980s, he also has yet to pay the fines imposed by the court, petitioners seeking his disqualification said.

Theodere Te, lawyer of the group of Martial Law victims seeking to cancel Marcos’ certificate of candidacy for president, issued the statement after the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 105 said there is no record on their file on Marcos’ “compliance of payment or satisfaction” on the decision of the said court in 1995, as well as the Court of Appeals verdict in 1997.

“Among these documents is a Certification issued by the Acting Presiding Judge that Mr. Marcos Jr. has not satisfied the judgment of the court in these cases,” Te said after the petitioners updated their case on Friday.

The camp of the former senator declined to give a categorical answer on the substan-

tive aspect of the petition.

Marcos spokesman Vic Rodriguez said it is up to the petitioners to “do their [due] diligence].”

“We will not supply them with whatever is missing,” Rodriguez said.

In his own answer to the Comelec filed last month through his lawyer, Estelito Mendoza, Marcos said the CA’s first order was “unclear.”

“It does not specify the particular deficiency income tax which the appellant is required to pay with interest at the rate until fully paid. What is clear is that defendant BBM is ordered to pay a fine,” said Mendoza’s answer for Marcos.

BACK FOR THE BLUR RIBBON.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology officers from the Pasay City Jail escort Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executives Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong for the continuation of the virtual inquiry of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the 2020 Commission on Audit related to the utilization of the Department of Health budget.

By Rey E. Requejo SETTING aside politics, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso vowed to build on the gains of the Duterte administration and continue projects that are beneficial to the people should he be elected president in 2022.

“We will all do those. Those people have already paid the people’s tax. So, why don’t we continue? ” said Moreno, who is the Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer.

“So you can hope that everything that President Duterte has done and is doing, I will continue. Should I not continue because of credit? That is not necessary,” Moreno said in an audience with Mabalacat, Pampanga local officials led by Mayor Crisostomo Garbo.

Moreno said he would also embark on his own Build, Build, Build program to build more hospitals, more housing, more publicschool buildings, more business, and more jobs. Similar to that in Manila, he said the school buildings, housing and hospitals would all be modernized.

“All projects under ‘Build, Build, Build,’ we will continue them. But I also have my own version of ‘Build, Build, Build.’ We will extend it to include ‘Build, Build, Build’ on housing, on schools, on hospitals. As well as to Build for business and to Build for jobs,” Moreno said.

In the two and a half years that he has been mayor of Manila, Moreno was able to construct almost simultaneously several mass housing projects which include the well-known Basecommunity, where the units have been turned over to its occupants last July; the soon-to-be-finished Tondominium 1 and 2 as well as Binondominium 1 and 2; and the Pedro Gil and San Sebastian Residences which are both under construction.

The group of Martial Law victims said Marcos was convicted for his failure to file his income tax returns. The tax cases were decided on July 27, 1995 by the QC RTC and by the Court of Appeals in its decision on October 31, 1997.

Earlier, the camp of Marcos said there is no basis for the cancellation of his COC since the former senator had not been convicted of an offense carrying a penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office.

Meanwhile, lawyers from the Ateneo Law School have offered their free legal services for Marcos’ presidential campaign to guard his vote and assure him of victory in the 2022 national polls.

The lawyers, who are also members of the Fraternal Order of Utopia, visited the office of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) Secretary General retired Gen. Thompson Lantion at BBM headquarters in Mandaluyong City Thursday afternoon.

Defensor bill gives PWDs 20% toll discount ANAKALUSUGAN party-list Rep. Michael Defensor has filed a bill seeking to grant the country’s 1.5 million persons with disabilities (PWDs) a 20 percent discount on the tollway fees collected by skyways and expressways.

Defensor, who is running for Quezon City mayor in the 2022 elections, filed House Bill No. 10558 on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Dec. 3 of every year is observed globally to promote the rights and welfare of individuals with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments.

Under Defensor’s bill, PWDs “shall be entitled to a 20 percent discount on the toll fees of skyways and expressways whose fees are paid through radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) or similar devices.”

In availing of the discount, the motor vehicle using the skyway or expressway must be registered in the name of the PWD, who shall present and submit a copy of his or her PWD ID card to the tollway operator when applying for an RFID tag.

“Our measure, once enacted, will give greater meaning to the mandate of the 1987 Constitution for the State to prior-

itize the needs of vulnerable Filipinos,” Defensor said.

HB 10558 requires the Department of Transportation’s Toll Regulatory Board to issue the implementing rules to enforce the discount.

The bill seeks to amend the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons that grants them a wide range of benefits and privileges, including a 20 percent discount and exemption from the valueadded tax on the sale of certain goods and services.

At present, PWDs already enjoy a 20 percent discount on public transport fares, including light rail transit rides.

IN BRIEF QC passes measure on HIV/AIDS care COINCIDING with the World AIDS Day, Quezon City councilors on Friday passed on third reading a comprehensive meansure to address sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS cases.

District 1 Councilor Lena Marie Juico authored the measure adopting and localizing Republic Act No. 11166 or the Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act. The ordinance also aims to strengthen the city’s mechanisms in the delivery of treatment and care services to People Living with HIV (PLHIV), and reinforce cooperation among stakeholders to eradicate stigma and discrimination surrounding the epidemic.

Under the measure, the Quezon City STI, HIV, AND AIDS Council (QCSAC) was reorganized.

“The QCSAC may, as necessary, invite to its meetings and activities, other government agencies, NGOs, and experts, who have the relevant expertise that may be useful to accomplish its functions,” the measure read.

The council shall be responsible for developing, reviewing, and ensuring the implementation of the comprehensive STI, HIV, AIDS prevention and control action plan. Rio N. Araja

Tiangco approves tax amnesty amid COVID MAYOR Toby Tiangco has approved a General Pandemic Amnesty Program for Navotas City.

Under the ordinance, penalties, interests, surcharges and any other additional fees incurred from January 2020 – December 2021 on all unpaid local taxes, regulatory fees and service charges will be waived as long as taxpayers settle their accounts from January to June 30, 2022.

“Many of our constituents suffered financial instability because of the pandemic. Now that they are trying to get back on their feet and earn a living, we want to provide them an easy way to pay their dues without adding to their financial burden,” Tiangco said.

The pandemic amnesty program is open to all delinquent accounts related to business permit and taxes, as well as real property taxes, including idle lands within the territorial jurisdiction of Navotas, and transfers of real property ownership. Jun David

Pampanga cops hold ‘fundemic’ shootfest BACOLOR, Pampanga – A series of gunburst echoed in surrounding communities here signaling the start of two-day “funshoot” held at the Bacolor Shooting Range hosted by the Pampanga Police Advisory Group in Barangay Cabetican Friday.

Gun enthusiasts from different police offices, military and members of different gun clubs participated in the first ever Advisory Council sponsored shootfest, also known as the “fundemic” shoot, said Police Colonel Robin ‘King’ Sarmiento, acting director of the Pampanga Provincial Police Office.

“This activity was made possible through the auspices of the Pampanga Provincial Office Advisory Group in which the objective is to raise funds on our behalf,” said Sarmiento during the shootfest event.

He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has a policy that medical bills shall be paid by a cop using his own personal fund and then file for a reimbursement, said Sarmiento as he assured immediate reimbursement of all medical expenses. Jess Malabanan

‘Recall IATF resolutions on mandatory vax’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Risa Hontiveros has urged the recall of an Inter- Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) resolutions directing the mandatory vaccination in workplaces, saying it is not only unacceptable but also violative of existing laws.

She said it is clear from labor laws that it is illegal to hold the salaries of employees without their consent.

“This should not be allowed since a

one-day delay in the pay of a laborer would amount to hunger for his or her family,” she said.

The IATF has released Resolution 149, which states that in areas where vaccine supplies are sufficient, establishments and employers in the public and private sector must require their on-site employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

IATF Reso. No. 148-B, on the other hand, provides that workers who are still unvaccinated may not be terminated but will be required to undergo RT-PCR tests regularly

at their own expense for purposes of on-site work.

The re-electionist senator said the government, the employers and employee associations should encourage workers to get their jabs instead of punishing them.

“IATF’s resolution defies the DOLE Advisory on the no vaccine, no work policy,” Hontiveros said.

Before coming out with similar resolutions, the senator recommended that IATF should thoroughly study and conduct consultations with the affected sectors first

PLAYGROUND. A boy tries out an outdoor obstacle course at the newly- opened ecolinear park in Pasay City. Avito Dalan

Opinion Advent in tumultuous times much less to acknowledge the abiding presence of God in our lives.

But now that things are what they are, we are forced by necessity to pause and reexamine God’s presence in our lives.

We ponder how fragile and precarious life is and that everything around us is vanity. This realization is such an invaluable present from God and a great opportunity to cultivate a better relationship with Him and our neighbors.

What is, then, the best way to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord?

Christ consistently calls on each and every one to radiate love and charity, and this consists of giving ourselves more to others, whether by means of words or in deed, in whatever situation or form.

Whether driving on the road, in the workplace or even when we get to meet people who contradict us, or are disrespectful or disagree with us, in the political arena or otherwise. In situations like these, Christ teaches us to respond, not with hatred and anger, but with respect, charity, and love.

Taking sides is an unsettling trend in our country nowadays, especially during this election season. Our political affiliations and a myriad of other social issues have never been so divisive.

We are often confused about which side to take. But if we take the side of Christ, we will never go astray. For Christ consistently teaches us to be on the side of love and charity especially to the poor and the downtrodden.

Talking about the poor, nothing is more compelling than Christ’s exhortation in Matthew 22 – We are to “love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.” Or the biblical passage wherein he describes the actions of those who are welcome in the kingdom of the Father – “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

In his message for the 5th World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis said that the face of God revealed by Jesus is that of the Father concerned for and close to the poor. In everything, Jesus teaches us that poverty is not the result of fate, but a concrete sign pointing to his presence among us. We do not find him when and where we want, but see him in the lives of the poor.

Jesus tells us that in order to prepare for his coming we must love and practice charity, mostly to the needy among us. Being poor need not only be expressed in terms of material want.

The poor are also the lonely, sick, abandoned, neglected, and persecuted. Only by giving ourselves more to them can we truly say that we are one with Jesus and are prepared to welcome him this Advent season.

THE Second Sunday of Advent will be on December 5, Sunday. After a tumultuous year, the Gospel reading for this day teaches us how to prepare ourselves to welcome the coming of Jesus.

In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we again meet John the Baptist preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins. John comes before the Lord to prepare the way for the Messiah, just as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Indeed, the message of John the Baptist to prepare the path for the coming of the Lord resonates and rings loudly in these times we find ourselves in.

How do we welcome Jesus in this season of Joy when there is so much affliction around?

As I have said, this is a chaotic year in more ways than one, mostly because of COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen many afflicted with all sorts of sicknesses – physical, mental, emotional and economic. Many must be wondering, how do we welcome Jesus in this season of Joy when there is so much affliction around? Few among us may realize it, but the circumstances of this Advent season put us in a most unique way to welcome Jesus and an opportune time to savor the promise of salvation.

The present times evoke an image of an army desperate to fend off its enemies from all sides. In the darkest hours. when everything seems to be lost, a messenger comes from nowhere bearing most welcome tidings. And that good news is that a great king with his legions is on the way to relieve the besieged fort. There is a promise of victory over the enemies. The coming of Jesus this season is that promise of salvation to us who are the besieged. With the forthcoming salvation, it is but fitting for the defenders to prepare a kingly welcome to the one who gives hope and salvation. or all the tribulations we encountered in the past and we encounter in the present, we pause and ponder the abundance of the good things that God has bestowed upon and has done for us. When times were more “normal,” we only had time to focus on our to-do lists, and to devote our time and efforts to ourselves, without regard for others,

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Diverse doubts: How vaccine scepticism takes root GOVERNMENTS and scientists around the world are championing vaccination as the way to end the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yet while large swathes of the global population remain unvaccinated because of a lack of access, other people who can get their jabs are choosing not to.

French sociologist Jerome Gaillaguet, who has spent years speaking to those who choose not to vaccinate, told AFP their reasons can be diverse and surprising. His answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

It’s primarily doubt.

Is there an anti-vax phenomenon?

The influence of a loosely-defined activist anti-vaccine movement cannot be discounted but it has to be separated from hesitation.

The way the media frames it you get the impression that there is an anti-vax phenomenon that is widespread with people firmly opposed to vaccination.

Those movements exist and are highly visible and noisy on social media.

But the reality is not at all the same: it’s doubt.

The vast majority of people are feeling real hesitation or even indifference and there are as many reasons behind the hesitation as there are states of mind.

As soon as you start talking to people you realize that doubt comes from experience and it comes in many different

forms.

And when you start to follow people over time, you can see how things can evolve.

Media buzz around a controversy will change attitudes, and I’ve also seen people change their minds after becoming parents.

You also find a huge amount of defiance among people with bad experiences with healthcare.

For example, some people may hesitate if they have gone to doctors who minimize their problems while failing to offer any solutions.

Have you seen attitudes change?

One woman I talked to was about 60 years old, we met in 2017 and she was pretty hesitant about vaccines.

When she was younger she worked as a pharmaceutical salesperson who sold medicines to doctors.

She came to the conclusion that lab profits were far more important than people’s health and eventually she got sick of that life and left everything behind to open a pizzeria.

Yet a year into the pandemic she went to get vaccinated without hesitation because she had been in constant contact with customers and had seen many people get sick or die.

She made friends with a nurse who worked in a hospital that was greatly affected.

It can also work the other way.

One person when I first met her was pretty mistrustful. Then, over the course of a few years, the issue kind of disappeared from the media.

She began to have friends and ac-

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

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EDITORIAL

Go get the jab T

HE World Health Organizationdesignated coronavirus variant named Omicron suggests, say African scientists now busy in their laboratories in that race to find a defensive bar against it, a high rate of reinfection of people who had the coronavirus.

This is the rationale for our call on those who have not received any vaccine provided by the government, through the local government units, to take advantage of the three-day nationwide second round of anti-COVID-19 vaccination drive starting December 15.

The heavily mutated variant is feared by scientists to be the most contagious yet, and is thus far the dominant form of the deadly coronavirus in South Africa. It is spreading fast across 25 countries in six continents, including Canada and the United States which have each detected one case entering their respective borders.

In the Philippines, one, a returning Filipino migrant worker from South Africa before news of the Omicron discovery was disclosed, is being closely monitored by health authorities.

More than 7.6 million individuals were inoculated during the first round under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Days which ended early this month, with the government aiming to fully vaccinate 54 million by yearend to achieve population protection against the virus.

Disease experts say it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than the previously identified Delta variant but the number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant.

There is no more reason not to.

Experts say it will soon be in every populated corner on earth.

That could mean that a world already battered by two years of pandemic – and up to recent weeks has been hoping for recovery – may be headed for another wave of cases.

A past coronavirus infection appears to give little immunity to the new Omicron variant rippling across the globe, South African scientists have warned, potentially tearing away one layer of defense that humanity has won slowly and at cosmic cost.

At home, there has been a positive ring in the demonstrated willingness of thus far non-vaccinated residents in the different regions.

The reluctant portion of the population, whatever their reason for staying away from vaccination centers, should take note of the government’s second round – as we prepare for greater mobility during the holidays.

Go get the jab. There is no more reason not to.

Resolving the overlapping claims in the Ayungin Shoal TO RESOLVE the overlapping claims over some of the islands in the South China Sea (SCS), particularly the boundaries that separate China and the Philippines, it is suggested that the two countries re-examine the records prior to the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1896 by the representatives of Spain and the United States.

This is important because many of the islands, islets, shoals and reefs are located close to the Philippines.

First, the Treaty of Paris is the only document represented today by the US and Spain.

Second, even if China existed as a state, Spain and the US did not invite China to sign the Treaty though the demarcation affected the waters in the SCS. Third, many of the states that have claims in the SCS have yet to achieve independence.

Philippines’ claim in the SCS is by virtue of a successor-in-interest of the US, being a former colony that was granted independence in 1946.

Fourth, countries littoral to the SCS base their claim on historic rights like the claim of Vietnam over the Paracel islands. The same can be said of the return of the Spratly Islands to China under the Peace Treaty in San Francisco.

Fifth, the claim by Malaysia in the SCS is by virtue of the formation of the Malaysian federation, which included North Borneo and Sarawak. Malaysia’s access to the SCS came after the Federation of Malaysia was created on September 16, 1963.

Sixth, the UN Convention on the law of the Seas (UNCLOS) came to force in 1994. China ratified the Convention in May 1996. The US, to this day, has refused to ratify the UNCLOS despite the fact that the territorial sea has modified the concept of exclusive economic zone particularly on the proprietary and use of minerals within the county’s 200-mile EEZ. The concept of exclusive economic

zone should not be confused with special economic zone. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 UNCLOS, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.

It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles from the coast of the state in question. It is also referred to as a maritime continental margin and may include the continental shelf.

quaintances with children and she had friends who were doctors and a grandfather at home and she began to think about getting the flu vaccine to protect him.

She began to think: “I was young and rebellious but I can see that risks linked to vaccination are very rare.”

But then the vaccine became mandatory to get a health pass and she completely turned again.

She said: “I do not accept being told what to do.”

Is the health pass counter-productive?

In the short and middle term, the health pass [in France] helped force people who were hesitant to get vaccinated

by restricting their day-to-day lives.

Of course it did: we were telling them they would no longer be able to travel or go to a restaurant.

But we replaced the health concerns with social concerns.

We took people out of a situation where they had to think in terms of pandemic risks — like whether someone close to them might be fragile, whether they could get sick or whether they might be at high risk.

Acting like these questions did not enter into it when they concern a huge part of the population does nothing to solve the problem of trust in vaccination. AFP

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Anita F. Grefal

Baldwin R. Felipe

Edgar M. Valmorida

EEZ is different from SEZ.

ippines claims that the shoal is part of its continental shelf, while parts of the Spratly group of islands, where Second Thomas Shoal lies, are claimed by China, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. In 2014, the Chinese government asked the Philippines to remove the grounded ship.

In November 2021, Chinese Coast Guard vessels used water cannons and blocked two Philippine supply boats, preventing the delivery of essential supplies to the Philippine marine forces stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is right that the “Ayungin Shoal is ours, it being within exclusive economic zone, about 184 KM from our baseline.”

China’s claim of the nine-dash line was first published by the Republic of China government (Taiwan) on 1 December 1947. Two of the dashes in the Gulf of Tonkin were later removed at the behest of Premier Zhou Enlai after a treaty with Vietnam, reducing the total to nine. However, the reduction to nine is not recognized by the ROC government, and still uses the eleven-dash line.

A tenth dash to the east of Taiwan island was added in 2013 by the PRC, extending it into the East China Sea. On 12 July 2016, an arbitral tribunal concluded that China’s historic-rights claim over the maritime areas (as opposed to land territories and territorial waters) inside the nine-dash line has no lawful effect if it exceeds what is entitled to under the UNCLOS. “... Rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties.”

The ruling effectively invalidated the nine-dash line and China’s claims over the South China Sea. The ruling was rejected by both the PRC and ROC governments.

The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200-nautical mile limit.

The difference between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone is that the first confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the second is merely a “sovereign right” which refers to the coastal state’s rights below the surface of the sea. The surface waters, as can be seen in the map, are international waters.

On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) concluded that Second Thomas Shoal is, in its natural condition, exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide and, accordingly low-tide elevations that do not generate an entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.

Second Thomas Shoal is claimed by the Philippines and China. The Philippine Navy maintains a presence of less than a dozen navy personnel on the 100 m (330 ft) long Second World War US-built Philippine Navy landing craft BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), which was Full version on www.manilastandard. deliberately run aground at the shoal net in 1999 in response to the Chinese reclamation of Mischief Reef. The Phil-

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PAPAL MASS. Pope

Francis celebrates Mass at Nicosia’s main football stadium, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, on December 3. Pope Francis spoke to thousands of Catholics at an open-air mass in Cyprus, the second day of a visit to the divided island that has focused heavily on the plight of migrants. AFP

Pope Francis gives open-air Mass, meets Catholics on visit to Cyprus NICOSIA — Pope Francis was set to speak to thousands of Catholics at an open-air mass in Cyprus on Friday, the second day of a visit to the divided island that has focused heavily on the plight of migrants.

As a gesture of solidarity to those fleeing poverty and conflict, the 84-year-old pontiff was expected to offer 50 migrants now in Cyprus a chance for a new life in Italy, the president of the host country said.

Many of the 7,000 faithful expected at Nicosia’s main football stadium will be overseas workers from the Philippines and South Asia who make up a large proportion of the 25,000 Catholics in mainly Greek-Orthodox Cyprus.

Ahead of the mass, the pope visited the Holy Archbishopric of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus in Nicosia, seeking to improve historically difficult relations between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.

“Where our relations are concerned,

history has opened broad furrows between us, but the Holy Spirit desires that with humility and respect we once more draw close to one another,” he said in an address to Orthodox clerics, including Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Cyprus.

Elena Shentsova, an Orthodox Christian originally from Ukraine, said she woke up early to see the pope.

“I’m Orthodox and I hope he will spread a message of dialogue between the different religions, to be all more close,” the 42-year-old told AFP. The pope will later hold an ecumenical prayer service with migrants from dozens of nations at Nicosia’s Church of the Holy Cross, located near the UN-patrolled “Green Line” that splits the country.

Francis -- on his 35th international trip since becoming pope in 2013 -- is the second Catholic pontiff to visit Cyprus after Benedict XVI went in 2010. He travels on to Greece on Saturday morning. AFP

Omicron variant spreads in US, Australia Hiroshima flame W offered for Pearl ASHINGTON — The United States and Australia announced their first locally transmitted cases of the Omicron variant as authorities worldwide rushed Friday to stem the spread of the heavily mutated strain of Covid-19.

whether Omicron is more transmissible and whether it causes more severe infections — as well as how effective current treatments and vaccines are against it.

But the new variant, first reported

by South Africa, has already cast the world’s recovery into doubt, with the EU health agency warning it could cause more than half of Europe’s Covid cases in the next few months.

More than two dozen governments have now detected cases of the variant — including India, one of the countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A preliminary study by South African The World Health Organization has said it could take weeks to determine researchers suggests the strain is three

times more likely to cause reinfections compared to the Delta or Beta strains.

Ten cases have so far been confirmed in the United States, including five in New York announced Thursday, one in Los Angeles county, and one in Hawaii.

The Hawaii case and one in Minnesota both involved residents with no recent international travel history — signaling the strain is already circulating inside the country.

“This is a case of community spread,” the Hawaii Health Department said.

The cases were reported as US President Joe Biden outlined his plans to battle Covid-19 during the winter, with

new testing requirements for travelers and a surge in vaccination efforts.

“It’s a plan that I think should unite us,” he said.

All incoming travelers will need to test negative within a day before their flights, and rapid tests that currently cost $25 will be covered by insurance and distributed free to the uninsured.

Australia on Friday, too, reported three students had tested positive for the variant.

The cases, detected in the country’s largest city of Sydney, come despite a sweeping ban on non-citizens entering the country and restrictions on flights from southern Africa. AFP

Euro council to jab Turkey over activist STRASBOURG, France — The Council of Europe said Friday it will launch disciplinary action against Turkey for refusing to free prominent activist Manila and philanthropist Osman Standard Kavala, triggering a procedure used TODAY only once before in the organisation’s history.

The pan-European rights body’s committee of ministers agreed the move over Turkey’s repeated refusal to comply with a 2019 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights to release Kavala from prison, it said in a statement.

It comes as concern grows over rights abuses in Turkey, particularly after the failed 2016 coup, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly personally targeted Kavala in speeches.

“By failing to ensure the applicant’s immediate release, the committee considers that Turkey is refusing to abide by the court’s final judgement in this case,” the COE said in a statement.

The Turkish foreign ministry had urged the COE on Thursday not to begin the action “out of respect for the ongoing judicial process,” warning that the procedure would be “interference” in its domestic affairs.

This is only the second time the COE has used its so-called infringement proceedings against one of its 47 member states, the first occasion being a 2017 action against Azerbaijan over its refusal to release a dissident. AFP

TOKYO — The family of a famed Hiroshima atomic bomb victim is fundraising to take a flame burning since the wartime attack to Pearl Harbor to light a peace monument, they said Friday.

The “flame of peace” is said to have been taken from the smoldering ruins of Hiroshima after the world’s first nuclear attack. It was kept alive first in a private home before being moved to a peace tower in Japan’s MACRON Fukuoka in 1968.

Now, the family of Sadako Sasaki, MEETS ‘MBZ’.

French President who died at 12 of radiation-induced Emmanuel Macron leukemia a decade after the attack, (left) is greeted by wants the flame to be taken to the Abu Dhabi’s Crown site of the deadly Japanese attack to Prince Mohammed promote peace. bin Zayed al-Nahyan “We want this plan to be a symbol at the Dubai Expo of peace after Japan and the United on the first day of States, once enemies, have overhis Gulf tour on YELLOW BLACK come their hatred,” Sasaki’s brother December 3. AFPCYAN MAGENTA Masahiro Sasaki told AFP. A majority of Americans “still support the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and their reaction to our calls for ‘no more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki’ is ‘you attacked Pearl Harbor,’ but we have to overcome the hatred,” the 80-year-old said.

He is soliciting private donations in Japan and the US to transport the flame next summer and are discussing a site for the monument with authorities in Hawaii. AFP

Lebanese minister who sparked Gulf row with fiery comments on Yemen to resign BEIRUT — Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi was expected to resign Friday, almost six weeks after comments he made on Yemen sparked a row with Gulf countries that has crippled the government.

A senior official told AFP that Kordahi “called President Michel Aoun last night to inform him of his decision to resign” on Friday.

Kordahi, a well-known TV presenter before he was appointed information minister in September, is holding a press conference at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).

His resignation has been on the table for weeks and is expected to help unlock a political and diplomatic crisis that has crippled Lebanon’s fledgling cabinet since October.

The expected breakthrough coincided with a visit to the Gulf by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has spearheaded international ef-

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The public is informed that, pursuant to the Memorandum from the Executive Secretary dated 26 November 2013 with the subject “Abolition of the Philippine Forest Corporation (PFC)”, PFC is hereby abolished and its assets shall be liquidated to settle its outstanding liabilities in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

Accordingly, all creditors or any interest individual or entity which has a claim against PFC may file a Notice of Claim on or before December 31, 2021, addressed to: Attention:

Harbor memorial

USEC. ANALIZA REBUELTA-TEH Acting President/Caretaker – PFC Office of the Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change DENR, Visayas Ave., Quezon City

All Notices of Claim filed after December 31, 2021 shall no longer be included and acted upon in the on-going liquidation proceedings.

(MS-NOV. 27 & DEC. 4, 2021)

forts to help Lebanon out of its worst ever economic crisis.

Macron started his two-day tour in Abu Dhabi but was also due to visit Qatar, which Michel Aoun also visited recently, and Saudi Arabia.

Kordahi criticised the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen during an interview which was recorded before he became minister but was aired on Lebanese TV after he joined the cabinet.

His remarks angered Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, which responded by recalling their ambassadors from Beirut.

The move was a blow to Lebanon, whose government was only formed in September after a 13-month deadlock and was expected to undertake major reforms to rescue the country from a devastating economic crisis. AFP

COLD HARD CASH. This handout picture released by Panama’s

National Police press office shows police personnel counting seized US dollar bills in Colon on December 2. Panamanian authorities seized a record $10 million in drug trafficking cash from an alleged criminal group linked to Colombia’s Clan del Golfo cartel, the Attorney General’s Office announced. AFP

Vietnam cops smash $3.8-billion cryptocurrency gambling ring HO CHI MINH CITY — Vietnamese police have smashed a huge cryptocurrency ring worth around $3.8 billion, state media said Friday, as authorities battle rampant illegal gambling in the country.

Fifty-nine people were detained in southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City, accused of luring players through social media to place bets online, according to the city police’s official newspaper.

The gambling ring is reportedly the biggest ever uncovered by Vietnamese police.

State media said players were instructed to buy a cryptocurrency wallet and convert

their money into one of two digital currencies, Ethereum or USDT — also known as Tether — before placing bets on Swiftonline.live and Nagaclubs.com.

To entice new players, the detainees posted pictures on social networks showing off their fancy cars, expensive houses, and extravagant parties.

To sway the more cautious, scammers also offered players insurance packages, with the promise of a refund if they did not win after six games.

However, during periods when there were a large number of players, the ring leaders crashed the websites in order to

steal money from the digital wallets and avoid detection by police.

Officers confiscated 55 laptops and desktops, 39 mobile phones and seven luxury cars from the gang in Ho Chi Minh City.

State media said the gang had also established large-scale gambling networks in many other provinces and cities across the country.

Vietnam’s communist government has started loosening its grip on domestic gambling, allowing Vietnamese to bet in casinos and opening up some sports betting. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Business Dominguez orders 3 GFIs to comply with new reporting rules

By Julito G. Rada FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has ordered the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to fully comply with the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) 4 in reporting their social benefit liabilities for stability and transparency purposes.

SBLs represent the social institutions’ net legal obligation to pay specific, guaranteed amounts of money or benefits to their policyholders, which include both actual claims and the required reserve for future claims.

Dominguez said in an online briefing on Friday the implementation of the directive will start with the 2020 financial reports of the SSS, the GSIS, and PhilHealth, which will show a combined total liability of P9.94 trillion after full compliance with the PFRS 4.

Dominguez said there was no need for the public to be alarmed about the huge liabilities because GSIS, SSS, and PhilHealth are financially sound and can meet their obligations to their respective members.

He said the adoption of PFRS 4 would ensure the accurate and transparent reporting of both the incomes and liabilities of the three agencies.

“This directive is in line with the Duterte administration’s efforts to ensure that the financial reports of GSIs [government social institutions] are transparent and based on facts.” Dominguez, the concurrent chairman of the Social Security Commission, said.

This new directive, he said, was merely a change in accounting policy in terms of recording the SBLs of the government social institutions, as required under PFRS 4.

Booking and reporting the SBLs in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles do not affect the GSIs’ cash flow and funding situation.

He said government social institutions had not been properly reporting their liabilities in their financial statements for 15 years. As a result, they have been overstating their income and understating their liabilities for years for financial accounting purposes.

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSALM prepares auction of big Pampanga property

By Alena Mae S. Flores

S

TATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.

(PSALM) has asked interested parties the join the public bidding for the sale of a large real estate property in Brgy. Lagundi, Mexico, Pampanga.

PSALM said in a statement Friday the property, estimated at 50,447 square meters, has a minimum bid price of P741,327,000.

PSALM set the deadline for the submission of bids for the property on January 20, 2:00 p.m., which will be followed immediately by the opening of the submitted bids.

The property consists of one lot covered by a clean title. It includes warehouse structures and other land improvements.

The agency said the property is suitable for commercial land development and is highly accessible through the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway, MacArthur Highway and Jose Abad Santos Avenue, and the soon-to-be operational ManilaClark Railway System.

“The new owner may redevelop the area for wholesale and retail stores, shops, and supermarkets. The property can also be utilized as site for Battery Energy Storage Systems given its close proximity to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines Mexico Substation,” PSALM said.

The bidding will be conducted at the PSALM’s office at the 24th Floor, Vertis North Corporate Center 1, North Avenue, Quezon City. A virtual platform will be provided for those who cannot attend in person.

The sale of the Mexico property will be on an “as-is, where-is” basis and will require a one-time full payment from the winning bidder.

PSALM set a pre-bid conference on

December 16 at 2:00 p.m. to provide an opportunity for prospective bidders to raise questions and seek clarification pertinent to the terms of the sale.

PSALM earlier bid out its Limay property in Bataan after receiving the highest bid price of P1.023 billion from Panasia Energy Inc. The Panasia offer was four times the minimum bid price approved by the PSALM board at P250,425,045.

“We are very pleased with the result of the privatization process for the Limay asset. This shows that doing a genuine competitive public bidding truly provides a clear advantage for the government,” PSALM president and chief executive officer Irene Besido Garcia said earlier.

“The bid of P1,023,159,332 is substantially much higher than the market valuation. This is a major boost for PSALM’s efforts to raise privatization proceeds, which will be utilized for the payment of the liabilities that PSALM absorbed from National Power Corp.,” said Garcia.

IN BRIEF

Aboitiz Power to start solar plant construction

ABOITIZ Power Corp. is set to start construction of a 94-megawatt solar project in Cayanga, Bugallon, Pangasinan as part of its renewable energy expansion program.

“For our 94-MW (DC) solar project in Cayanga, Bugallon, Pangasinan, the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) tendering process is in final stages and the target notice to proceed is in the first week of December 2021,” Aboitiz Power president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio said during the DOE Investment Forum.

The solar project is expected to be commercially operational by the fourth quarter of 2022, he said.

Rubio said Aboitiz Power also recently completed the commissioning of two wind met masts in Pangasinan for a possible project in the area.

“Through these met masts, we are currently gathering resource data such as the temperature, wind speed, and wind direction, among others. This is to estimate energy production and understand the suitability of the site. We expect to complete met masts for three more sites this year,” Rubio said. Alena Mae S. Flores

SBCorp, Alaska sign STAPLES agreement

SMALL Business Corp. (SBCorp) signed an agreement with Alaska Milk Corp. for collaborative efforts to implement the Sustaining Trade and Access to Primary Food and Link to Enterprises (STAPLES) program.

Under STAPLES, micro, small and medium enterprises of fast-moving consumer goods companies such as Alaska can gain access to collateral and interest-free loans from SBCorp to fund their working capital requirements.

“DTI, as led by Secretary Ramon Lopez, would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Alaska Milk Corporation for opening its doors to the STAPLES Program. This partnership with SBCorp could not have come at a better time and we are very positive that it will impact the MSME players in the food supply chain affected by the pandemic,” said DTI Undersecretary for regional operations and acting chair of SBCorp Blesila Lantayona.

STAPLES aims to prevent closure of business operations of MSME retail outlets, especially the small community retailers commonly known as “sari-sari” stores.

Othel V. Campos

Sin taxes sustaining health care program

ARTHALAND’S SHARE LISTING. Arthaland Corp. lists its Series D preferred shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The company will use the P3 billion it raised from its follow-on offering to redeem the Series B preferred shares it issued in 2016.

Attending the bell-ringing ceremony are (front row, from left) Arthaland vice president and head of marketing Ma. Angelina Magsanoc, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran (second row, from left), Arthaland senior vice president and head of strategic funding and investments Sheryll Verano and PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon.

LODESTAR INVESTMENT HOLDINGS CORPORATION NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING Please be informed that the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of Lodestar Investment Holdings Corporation (“Lodestar”) shall be held and conducted virtually via secure online meeting platform on Tuesday, 28 December 2021, at 10:00 A.M., for the following purposes: AGENDA 1. Call to Order.

2. Determination of Quorum.

3. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Stockholders’ Annual Meeting of December 9, 2020.

4. Approval 2020 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statement.

5. Ratification of the Acts, Resolutions and Proceeding of the Board of Directors, Corporate Officers and Management up December 9, 2020 to December 27, 2021.

6. Election of the Board of Directors and Independent Directors 7. Appointment of Independent Auditors 8. Other matters 9. Adjournment The record date for stockholders entitled to notice and vote at the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting is set on November 29, 2021.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the welfare and safety of our stockholders, the 2021 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of Lodestar will be conducted virtually. Stockholders of Record may attend/participate via proxy, remote communication, or vote in absentia. For the detailed registration and voting procedures, please visit https://www.lodestarholdings.com. ph and refer to the “Guidelines for Participation via Remote Communication and Voting in Absentia and through Proxy.”

Stockholders who wish to participate in the meeting via remote communication and to vote in absentia should notify the Office of the Corporate Secretary through a Letter of Intent to be sent via e-mail to ilodestar@yahoo.com on or before December 22, 2021. Validated stockholders will be provided access to the live streaming of the meeting and can cast their votes in absentia on or before December 22, 2021 through Lodestar’s secure online voting facility. All votes cast shall be subject to validation.

Lodestar is not soliciting for proxies. Stockholders who are unable to join the meeting but wish to vote on items in the Agenda by proxy must submit their duly accomplished proxy forms via email to ilodestar@yahoo.com, not later than December 22, 2021.

Stockholders of Record may send their inquiries and comments to the Management Report and other items in the Agenda to ilodestar@yahoo.com on or before December 22, 2021.

The Definitive Information Statement containing the attendance/voting (via remote communication) and election procedures, along with the Notice, Agenda, Proxy, Management Report, SEC Form 17-A, and other information related to the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting can be accessed at https://www. lodestarholdings.com.ph (SGD.) ARLENE MENDOZA WILKERSON Corporate Secretary (MS-DEC. 3 & 4, 2021)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sy’s SM Markets introduces smaller store format

By Jenniffer B. Austria SM Markets Inc. of the Sy Group said Friday it launched a smaller store format for Savemore to accelerate store expansion.

Savemore Express, a smaller store format with less than 1,500 square meters in floor area, offers basic essentials to customers. SM Markets said it already opened nine Savemore Express stores mostly located in commercial areas in Albay, Valenzuela and Bulacan.

It said another eights stores would open next year to cater to more communities.

“Similar to how our other formats came to be, we are always finding ways to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. This has been more so during the pandemic, with the heightened need for safety and practicality and as people relied on local neighborhood stores for their food and other essentials,” Savemore Market president Genevieve Manalad said.

“We assume that these habits will remain even beyond the pandemic and Savemore Express was conceived to support this emerging shopping trend,” Manalad said.

The new Savemore Express format will have the weekly grocery needs of communities and offer an expanded line of fresh merchandise.

These include commonly used produce, frozen meat, poultry and a selection of prepared or ready-to-cook products from bestselling local brands and basic and essential food, personal care and household products.

SM Markets, the umbrella brand for SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and Savemore, said it had over 1,500 stores that as of end-September, including 206 Savemore, 9 Savemore Express, 60 SM Supermarket, 53 SM Hypermarket and 1,201 Alfamart outlets.

SM Market is a part of SM Retail Inc., the retail arm of conglomerate SM Investments Corp.

Applying valuable lessons learned about how new local community needs continue on even after the pandemic, Savemore branches out to a new retail format, Savemore Express. With a regular Savemore store typically covering 1,500 to 2,500 square meters in floor area, the new format’s smaller size makes it more versatile in delivering basic essentials to customers. There are now nine Savemore Express stores mostly located in commercial areas in Albay, Valenzuela and Bulacan.

Savemore Market president Genevieve Manalad said the plan is to open eight more Savemore Express stores to cater to more communities in 2022.

Unionbank in talks with Citibank; SBC retains rating UNION Bank of the Philippines confirmed Friday it is in talks with Citigroup Inc. to acquire the latter’s consumer and retail banking businesses in the Philippines.

“The bank is still in discussions with Citigroup Inc. and no definitive agreement has been signed.

Further disclosures will be made when warranted,” Unionbank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The banking unit of the Aboitiz Group made the disclosure to clarify reports tit was acquiring Citibank’s consumer and retail unit in the country.

Citigroup earlier announced plans to exit from 13 markets, including the Philippines, to focus on management and institutional businesses.

Meanwhile, debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service affirmed on Friday the investment grade or “Baa2” long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit and senior unsecured ratings of Security

Bank Corp., reflecting the bank’s strong capital that mitigates its elevated asset risks amid the pandemic.

“The affirmation of Security Bank’s ratings reflects the bank’s strong and above-average capital position that offsets its elevated asset risks; average profitability; modest funding structure, reflecting its moderate deposit franchise as a medium-size bank in Philippines; and adequate liquidity,” Moody’s said in a report.

It said Security Bank’s tangible common equity to adjusted risk-weighted assets ratio would remain above 17 percent in the next 12 to 18 months as its internal capital generation would keep pace with moderate loan growth.

The TCE ratio increased to 20 percent as of end-2020 from 15.3 percent in 2019 due to a contraction in loans and significant decline in the bank’s holdings of investment securities in 2020.

Julito G. Rada

THE government is still confident revenues from the co-called sin products will continue to support government’s fiscal policy to sustain the proposed Universal Healthcare Program despite a move to impose at least a 12 percent excise tax on digital transactions.

The government has sustained tax collections from sin products despite the pandemic. Collections in 2021 were just slightly down from the previous year, said Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department executive director Novel Bangsal in a webinar organized by the Center for Local Governance and Professional Development Inc. Friday.

Taxes, specifically from tobacco and related products and from alcoholic beverages, fell to P260 billion in 2020 from P273.3 billion in 2019 despite lockdowns, alcohol bans, an unemployment rate peaking at 10.3 percent and the 7.9 percent drop in household consumption. Othel V. Campos

Globe borrows P15b from banks to finance capex

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Friday it borrowed P15 billion from two local banks to fund capital expenditures and refinance debt.

The telecom unit of Ayala Group said it signed term loan facilities with BDO Unibank Inc. and Land Bank of the Philippines for P10 billion and P5 billion, respectively.

“The loans shall be used to finance the company’s capital expenditures, debt refinancing and for general corporate requirements,” the company said.

Globe invested a record P65.4 billion as of end-September, surpassing last year’s full-year investment of P60.3 billion. About 84 percent of the capex investment went to data network builds to address and elevate mobile and internet experience for a greater number of Filipinos.

The company’s total capex this year would amount to P76 billion, higher than P50 billion last year.

It said that as part of its campaign to deliver first-world connectivity to Filipinos, it sustained its network build momentum with 1,080 new cell sites, upgrading at least 12,900 sites including both 4G LTE and 5G and installing over 1 million fiber-to-the-home lines which surpassed this year’s full-year target.

Globe reported a net income of P18 billion from January to September, up 13 percent from P15.9 billion in the same period last year.

Core net income hit P18.3 billion, up by 17 percent from P15.6 billion last year as consolidated service revenues amounted to P113.6 billion, beating last year’s revenues by 4 percent and 3 percent higher than the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Go for Gold advances to finals’ match LIPA City—Lloyd Josafat shone as Go for Gold-Air Force clinched the first finals berth with a 26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19 conquest of Global Remit in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League on Friday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center.

Josafat, a University of the East middle blocker, came through with four blocks and three service aces for 15 points.

“My mindset is to be ready. Every game, my coach will tell me to be prepared,” said Josafat, who entered the match in the second set. “I need to be focused in blockings, in attacks.”

Aguilas mentor Dante Alinsunurin was happy the way Josafat responded in the one-hour, 52-minute match.

“He (Josafat) gave us energy inside the court,” said Alinsunurin, whose squad remained unbeaten in three matches in the tournament that has Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.

With the win, Go for Gold got the chance to earn the bragging rights the first-ever Champions League men’s winners and to represent the country in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Urmia, Iran, from May 15 to 22, 2022.

“Our team manager (Ramil Ranario) really wants us to win the title for us to compete in the Asian Club,” said Alinusunurin, who also handled Rebisco-Philippines in the continental club tournament held in Nakhon, Ratchasima, Thailand, last October.

John Vic de Guzman led the Aguilas with 16 points, Kim Malabunga had 10 points and Rueben Inaudito also scored 10 points to go with eight digs.

Setter Kim Dayadante tossed in 29 excellent sets and matched Josafat’s four blocks, while libero Ricky Marcos tallied 16 receptions and 15 receptions.

The loss negated Joeven dela Vega’s 23-point effort for Global Remit, which failed to sustain its opening set win as Go for Gold stepped up its game in the second set. Joshua Zareno and Alex Disquitado added 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

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Casugay leads PH’s bid to make Olympic surfing

By Peter Atencio

L

ONG-BOARD specialist Roger Casugay will lead the country’s bid to qualify a Filipino surfer in the 2024 Olympics.

Casugay, who won one of the Philippines’ two surfing gold medals in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, is being tapped to represent the country in the coming qualifiers.

United Philippine Surfing Association president Dr. Raul Canlas said this after last week’s general meeting of the world governing body, International Surfing Association.

“Si Roger ang pambato natin for now.

We are working on the that. We have two, three years,” said Canlas in an

online interview on People’s Conversation hosted by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Surfing won’t be held in France, unlike the rest of the events to be staged in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It will instead be held in the South Pacific island of Tahiti, according to Canlas.

So far, a Paris 2024 delegation has already visited Tahiti as part of a technical review.

Sports officials have done an ocular visit after the International Olympic Committee confirmed the inclusion of four additional sports on the Paris 2024 program.

Surfing was included on the program, along with break dancing, skateboarding and sport climbing.

Tahiti was selected by Paris 2024 as its preferred venue for surfing competition back in 2019.

Canlas said one of their sports officials, Luke Landrigan, is spearheading the selection process for young surfers who can join the qualifiers, which also include short board events.

For now, international meets have yet to be scheduled, since many countries are still in the process of adhering to their health and safety protocols on Roger Casugay COVID-19.

Uy coasts to 5-stroke breakthrough Riviera win SILANG, Cavite—Daniella Uy, who had toiled for a great deal of time just to even earn a crack at a first Ladies Philippine Golf Tour crown, claimed her maiden triumph in easy fashion, beating Chihiro Ikeda by five strokes on a closing 74 in the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship here yesterday.

Not even a cluster of bogeys after a birdie-birdie run from No. 3 could stymie Uy’s march to the podium as Ikeda and the rest failed to mount a major challenge, all succumbing to the buffeting wind and tricky greens of Langer, enabling the former Junior World champion to cruise to the trouble-fee victory and finally join the elite group of winners in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “I’m super happy,” said Uy after holing out with four pars for a 36-38 to end a long quest for a pro diadem worth P116,250. “It was my first win in seven years and I’m looking forward for more (wins).”

With a 220 total at the hazard-laden par-71 layout, Uy clinched the crown in the other half of the twoleg Riviera swing following Chanelle Avaricio’s equally imposing maiden triumph (seven strokes) at the Couples course last week.

Ikeda, three shots behind after 36 holes, tried to put the pressure on Uy with a birdie on the first hole but bogeyed the next two and the latter countered with back-to-back birdies from No. 3 and went up by six, a lead that was never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Ikeda fumbled with six bogeys and ended up with a 76 but still finished at second for the third straight tournament with a 225 and received P82,500 while

Daniella Uy exults in her ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship triumph,

Avaricio likewise wound up with a bogey-riddled fiveover card to place third with a 227 worth P67,500.

Harmie Constantino, who had looked forward to scoring her third triumph in her maiden pro season after storming ahead by three with a 70 in the first round, hardly recovered from a disastrous 81 with a 77 as she settled for fourth at 228. The back-to-back Eagle Ridge-Aoki legs winner pocketed P60,000.

Mafy Singson shared the spotlight by completing an incredible comeback to win the low amateur honors for the fourth straight time, carding a second straight 76 for a 237 and frustrating erstwhile frontrunner Arnie Taguines, who skied to a birdie-less 87 marred by four double bogeys and a triple bogey.

Singson placed sixth overall behind Gretchen Villacencio, who shot a 75 for a 235, while Taguines wound up with a 242 total for ninth behind No. 8 and Highlands leg winner Sunshine Baraquiel, who pooled a 239 after a day’s best 72, and seventh placer Marvi Monsalve, who limped with an 84 for 238.

“Though I didn’t play that well this week, I was still grateful that I was able to win the low amateur trophy,” said Singson, who fell by seven behind Taguines with an 85 start and still stood six shots behind with 18 holes left to play.

But she toughened up in the final round, making the turn with a decent one-over 36 while watching Taguines crumble with a 43.

“I could’ve finished better but bogeyed the last three holes,” added Singson, who bested Taguines by five despite her faltering finish.

Suarez’s search for world title continues

By Randy Caluag

Charly Suarez and Delmar Pellio both make weight for their 10-round super-featherweight bout.

UNLIKE most professional boxers in their 30s, Charly Suarez is just getting started. And stronger.

The three-time Southeast Asian Games champion will continue his journey towards his world championship goal in the professional ranks.

The 33-year-old Olympian aims to get his streak going when he takes on another unbeaten fighter in Delmar Pellio in a 10-round super-featherweight dubbed the “Ultimate Knockout Challenge” boxing card on Saturday at the Elorde Sports Complex in Paranaque City. “‘Yan naman ang ultimate goal ko ang world championship. Kaya every fight is an opportunity for me to improve my record,” said Suarez, who owns a streak of eight wins, 6 by knockout.

Pellio is unbeaten in nine appearances in the ring, four coming by stoppage.

What makes Suarez the more favored boxer and unique? He had vast international exposure during his amateur days and owns a unique training regimen that makes him a complete fighter. He also intends to continue representing the Philippines as a national boxer in the Vietnam SEA Games and hopefully, the Asian Games both slated for next year.

He has been competing in blue-chip tournaments since 2006 and has won gold medals in the 2009 (Laos), 2011 and 2019 editions of the SEA Games. He bagged the silver in the 2009 Incheon Asian Games and also qualified in the 2016 Rio Olympics, although he lost his first bout via close decision.

“Every fight para sa akin is an education. Matalo

man o manalo, may natutunan ako. But I intend to keep my record improving para sa goal ko na world title,” vowed Suarez.

Pellio, on the other hand, started competing in 2017.

Suarez’s training regimen also included outdoor activities to relax his mind before going into another set of hard training.

“Enduro Factory has opened my eyes as to how life’s adventures aren’t just in a boxing ring, but in going out and spending time in the great outdoors,” added Suarez.

He also consults Brawner’s Holistic Therapy as “every time I get to finish a session with them it makes me feel I could go another 10 rounds.”

A victory today will put Suarez closer to a regional crown and hopefully, next would be a crack at a world title.

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021

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

By Alena Mae Flores

R

EAL estate projects nominated to the Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards 2021 will undergo meticulous scrutiny by experts of various disciplines, according to Dr. Reghis M. Romero II , president of the Philippine chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), the event organizer.

Speaking as chairman of the board of judges, Dr. Romero II (Shown here at a FIABCI event in 2019), said the judging was made tough by the criteria essentially adopted by FIABCI-Ph from FIABCI-World’s Prix d’Excellence, acclaimed as the “Oscars” of the global real estate industry.

Targeting the Prix d’Excellence “The judging basically entails assessment of excellence in all of the disciplines involved in the project, from conceptualization and planning all the way to completion and sale – thus encompassing both natural and social sciences, or from the various facets of engineering, material science and architecture to arts and humanities, economics, finance and marketing,” Dr. Romero II explained.

He also cited the need for adopting FIABCI-World’s judging criteria as strategic so as to enhance the chances of the would-be awardees to also win global distinctions in Prix d’Excellence.

“Since the winners of our Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards automatically become eligible for participation in Prix d’Excellence, we have to make sure that they will also pass its criteria with flying colors,” Dr. Romero II stressed.

“Thus, our board of judges comprises prominent personalities who are icons in their respective fields,” Dr. Romero II pointed out.

The board includes vice president for corporate sales Anthony L. Maglunsod of the Pag-IBIG Fund, president Dr. Winston Conrado B. Padojinog of the University of Asia and the Pacific, author and professor Arch. Manuel Maximo LC Noche of the University of Santo Tomas College of Architecture, chief executive officer David Leechiu

Home/Design

Properties for excellence awards face tough review by RE experts

of Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. and trustee at the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines, FIABCIPh trustee and president Emmanuel V. Rausa of E.V. Rausa Realty, Dr. Eduardo G. Ong of the Philippine

Federation of Real Estate Service Professionals and past chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service, president Dr. Yu Kee Su of the FIABCI International Finance and Prix d’Excellence committees,

and president Budiarsa Sastrawinata of FIABCI-Indonesia and chairman and chief executive officer of the Ciputra Group of Companies.

“And to help out in facilitating the needs of the judging process are, of

course, our FIABCI-Ph chairman Architect Nestor S. Mangio, and chairman emeritus Florentino Dulalia Jr., the first and only Filipino to ever become FIABCI-World president (for the period 2020-2021),” Dr. Romero II added.

The need for international judges like Yu Kee Su and Budiarsa Sastrawinata is imperative to ensure, not only objectivity, but also accurate and comprehensive adherence to Prix d’Excellence criteria.

Fierce competition “This requirement or challenge is especially true as the country’s top developers are fiercely competing in various categories,” Dr. Romero II pointed out.

Dr. Romero II was referring to the projects of Robinsons Land Corp. of the Gokongweis, Avida Land Corp. of the Ayalas, Vista Land of the Villars, and Megaworld Corp. of Andrew Tan. Also in the thick of the competition are the projects of Pueblo de Oro Development Corp of the diversified investment conglomerate ICCP Group, multi-project developer Arthaland Corp., Central Luzon giant Hausland Development Corp., NCR-South Luzon property kingpin Cathay Land of the Cathay Group of John K.C. Ng, and even the provincial government of Bulacan, among many others, all vying for one or several of the 16 project categories up for grabs.

The 16 categories are high-rise, mid-rise and low-rise residential, environmental (rehabilitation/ conservation), heritage (restoration), master plan, hotel, convention, industrial, office, public infrastructure/amenities, resort, retail, rural, specialized, and sustainable development.

“Supporting the awards are FIABCIWorld’s membership of 48 national and multinational chapters, 90 professional associations, 95 public and private academic institutions, over 2,300 regular members, and around a million associate members in more than 70 countries across the globe, including ANC and the Daily Tribune as media partners,” Dr. Romero II said.

Spotlighting Marikina

OWNING a condominium unit in Metro Manila is a dream of many young urban professionals and startup families.

Yet, these properties are also often regarded as expensive, deterring some home-seekers from buying one.

But there are reasonably-priced real estate developments in the metropolis that are specifically designed for those who wish for upgraded suburban living and access to modern conveniences.

Urban planners are seeing a rise in the demand for affordable properties in strategic locations such as Marikina City, as economic activities in the country resume slowly.

Ideal living environment “Marikina City offers an ideal living environment. Its proximity to Quezon City and Pasig City makes it easy for residents to go around the metro for work, school, or entertainment once life returns to normal,” said Gilbert Berba, urban planning head of real estate developer Federal Land, Inc. “At the same time, it is detached from the hectic pace of its neighboring cities and close enough to the natural and manmade attractions of Rizal, Laguna, and Quezon for a quick getaway,” he added.

Nearby are IT centers, a thriving manufacturing industry, several well-known shopping malls, and popular food hubs within the city itself. Prestigious educational institutions such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and Miriam College are also in close by.

Master-planned communities Federal Land is already seeing the escalating demand for properties in Marikina City and has already put up master-

MOVING ART. Housing technology expert, Tostem, recently unveiled its newest products, Atis, a collection of windows and doors anchored on the beauty of simplicity.

Created with artistic and minimal design, Atis offers top of the line security together with a unique aesthetic for every home. All the hardware is concealed: you won’t see any caps and screws, yet its technology, quality, performance, and design all work well. Atis doors are simple yet functional, with all machinery hidden in the frame, even door stoppers.

With Atis, Tostem unveils windows and doors that go beyond Japanese industrial standards. Tostem is part of the Lixil portfolio. Lixil is the maker of pioneering water and housing products. To learn more, visit: https://www.tostem.com/en/aboutus/ planned communities that would cater to the needs of the price-conscious

market.

“We are seeing a growing demand for reasonably-priced condominium units outside of densely populated areas but are still within Metro Manila, and this trend is expected to continue,” added Berba.

Siena Tower in Marquinton Drive, along Sumulong Highway, is part of the master-planned community complete with shopping centers, office spaces, and amenities.

“Our aim for this development is not only to provide Filipinos with the option of living in a master-planned community at a price that suits their budget, but also to enable them to live their lives in such a way that is ready for the post-pandemic world, one that is close to economic activities and their needs,” said Berba.

Siena Towers is set to launch its second building soon.

This gives interested buyers the chance to avail the lower introductory price, discounts and flexible payment terms.

FUTURE OF WORK. Software company Sprout Solutions recently launched the country’s first people platform designed for the future of work. Sprout offers solutions for HR functions such as timekeeping, payroll and benefits, employee engagement, mental wellness, financial benefits, performance management and continuous learning, and even recruitment. These help local companies manage the shift towards digital offices during the pandemic, also strengthening the migration towards remote work and ‘workations’ in the next normal. A hybrid workplace is a flexible business model that supports a distributed workforce of inoffice and remote employees. To find out how to start bringing the office to the coasts of Boracay and Palawan or the cool climates of Baguio and Tagaytay, visit the Sprout Solutions site at www.sprout.ph

HOME MAKEOVER. DMCI Homes recently partnered with real estate broker, Presello Realty Group Inc., to produce a series of home makeover online videos that demonstrate quality homebuilding and construction management. Dubbed the amazing home makeover project, the four-part online series will showcase how DMCI Homes’ inhouse team of expert builders work together to transform a worn-down three-storey house in Mahogany Place 1 Subdivision in Acacia Estates, Taguig City into a charming, contemporary family home. The Amazing Home Makeover Project will be shown in Presello’s YouTube channel as well as DMCI Homes’ official social media platforms. At the launch, held at the Mulberry Place in Acacia Estates, were (from left to right): Presello Realty Group Inc. co-founder Marvin Sim; DMCI Homes vice president for architectural and interior design Rina Soriano; Presello host Julia Richards; and DMCI Homes corporate communications manager Carlo Gahol.

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Tech & Gadgets

Manila

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Agri drones sustainable

By James Emmanuel Santua

A

GRICULTURE directions in the context of the third world have what is called agriculture 3.0, which is basically mechanizing farm operations from land preparation to post harvest and high value crops through the use of machinery. But now, there's agriculture 4.0, where drones are being used for crop protection.

In an interview with the Manila Standard, an agricultural engineer and a former Chief Science Research Specialist of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) in Rodolfo Estigoy said that there's a possibility that the labor force can be limited to other agricultural operations through modernization, including automation and digitalization.

Drones can be used in agriculture in a variety of ways, including crop protection, management of pests, plant diseases, and other pest organisms that harm crop production.

Fertilizer Application

“The drone resembles a little

Drones can be used in agriculture in a variety of ways, including crop protection, management of pests, plant diseases, and other pest organisms that harm crop production. (Photo from fao.org)

aircraft, allowing you to place a container for fertilizer treatment.

Because it saves time, energy, and labor, it can spread fertilizer more efficiently on the farm. It's more efficient than what is traditionally done,” said Estigoy.

Pesticide and Fungicide

According to Estigoy, drones can also be used in plantation crops such as banana production.

For example in Davao, they use a small airplane to apply fungicides to keep the bananas from getting sick. He explained that drones can be utilized, too.

Denouncing online trolls, fighting disinformation FILIPINOS have a moral duty to counter disinformation because it threatens democracy by hampering people’s ability to make enlightened decisions for their lives and the future of our nation.

Transparency and governance advocates agreed on this during the fifth and last session of Pilipinas Conference 2021, titled Recovering Philippine Democracy Beyond 2022, and organized by Stratbase ADR Institute on November 26.

“We should learn from the damaging lessons of these times,” said Professor Dindo Manhit, President of Stratbase ADR Institute. “We need to collectively expose and denounce trolls.”

Dean Ronald Mendoza of the Ateneo School of Government said the root of our deep troubles lies in the different forms of inequality affecting politics, economics and society, and that inequality in power has its roots in inequality of wealth.

“Political concentration of power leads to economic concentration because it doesn't really change the status quo, in fact politicians tend to benefit from the status quo,” he said. “That economic concentration then leads to an inequality in opportunities and vulnerabilities to being knocked down the income ladder again and again.”

How, then, can we break free from this trap? Inclusion is the answer, Dr. Mendoza said. “Several key elements include strong social protection, regulation of dynasties, and finally, improving competition in the economy, such as opening up sectors which have been heavily regulated and protected.”

“Filipinos have to reclaim the development narrative, which we have lost, and which is the reason populists are able to take and maintain power,” Mendoza said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Francisco Magno, Trustee & Program Convenor, Stratbase ADR Institute and Professor of Political Science, De La Salle University, said citizens are more than voters—they can be actively engaged in between elections. “Participation is a mechanism – is a process for fostering transparency and accountability, so when we discuss participation, it has to be considered in the context of how it actually promotes transparency and accountability,” he said.

He talked about The People’s Council, the Citizen Satisfaction Index System, and other tools to ensure that the people actively participate in running and monitoring the affairs of government.

Zy-Za Nadine Suzara, Executive Director of the Institute for Leadership, Empowerment, & Democracy (iLEAD), said that the 2022 budget is ill equipped to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is a need to recast the 2022 proposed budget towards an inclusive recovery. The priorities, proposed by the People’s Budget Coalition, are these: there should be boost in funding for the healthcare system, there should be support for workers and small businesses, there should be aid and social protection not only during lockdowns but also help people recovery from the financial impact of the pandemic to them, there should also be safe and humane public transportation in the new normal,” Suzara said.

(MS-DEC. 4, 2021)

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Crop Condition Sensor

There are also drones used for sensors which can determine the agronomic conditions of crops or the field conditions of what you plant. It will know if it needs to irrigate, fertilize, or how much growth the crop has.

Drones will be able to do all the intervention needed for a good yield which means that labor, time and energy will be reduced.

Estigoy said the sole translation of drone utilization, like mechanization, is lower production costs, because including machines in

operational farming reduces the cost of labor, which is the most expensive and intense part of our production system.

“Aside from the capacity to increase yield, machines also have the power to cut production losses and costs,” he added When asked about drone sustainability for farming, Estigoy said, “Yes, it can be sustainable because it’s the way now. There seems to be no difference when we look at those technologies that are unique and have become part of life later on.”

State-of-the-art Optical Chain Owndays opens in Okada FROM Japan to the Philippines, optical chain OWNDAYS opens its 56th store in Okada, which happens to be the world’s only Japanese-owned integrated resort.

These two valuable brands team up to provide a unique optical experience to their customers.

OWNDAYS boasts of its simple and quick price system. The price of the frame is already inclusive

of ultra-thin and multi-coated lenses regardless of the grade at no additional charges. Prices are very flexible and can accommodate your budget as it ranges from P1,990 to P6,990.

What sets OWNDAYS apart is that it has wide stock lens option and uses state-of-the-art machines operated by skilled and reliable opticians so you can get your eyeglasses in as fast as 20 minutes.

Consumers can also choose from more than 1,500 styles of high-quality frames from basic and conservative to more fashionable and stylish looks.

One can be sure that accurate prescription lens will be provided as you will be checked by licensed and trained optometrists.

All the eyeglasses displayed in the shops are original brands that have been planned, designed and, manufactured

by OWNDAYS. They have a variety of unique brands ready to meet the diversified needs of men and women of all ages.

Central to OWNDAYS is quality, ensurOwndays offers wide stock lens option and uses state-of-the- ing each piece passes the strict standards art machines operated by skilled and reliable opticians so you followed by the global brand. Owndays, simple, quick, valuable. can get your eyeglasses in as fast as 20 minutes.

METAEDU 21: Accelerating growth of Education Technology TAIPEI—Taiwan’s Industrial Development Bureau, international research institutions, educators, global the administrative agency of the Ministry of Economic venture capital companies, and learning technology Affairs of Taiwan, in collaboration with the Institute for professionals from all around the world.

Taiwan stands on a new international stage and Information Industry (and Digital Education Institute, organized the METAEDU 21, a series of hybrid events event visitors walked away with valuable insights and actionable takeaways. spanning from 1 November to 5 November.

Shaped around 3 major themes—Innovative DiffuAccelerated the growth of education technology (EdTech), webinars and seminars delivered by experi- sion, Talent Cultivation, and Ecosystem Integration— the inaugural annual event focuses on accelerating the enced practitioners formed the lineup of the event.

EdTech ecosystem in Southeast Asia by providing an COVID-19 EdTech Boom: open and collaborative platform.

Changing the face of EdTech The five-day-event was held and receiving much The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered the way we live, work, learn, and play. While it has unde- attention especially the first day HolonIQ online forum niably presented unique challenges that we had to—or talked about 2021 Taiwan EdTech 50, the 2021 marhave yet to—overcome, the pandemic has also cata- ket research report and featured the sharing of awardwinning companies on their business ideas and future lyzed an unprecedented EdTech boom.

According to the 2021 Taiwan EdTech Industry Sur- development plans. HolonIQ is the world's leading imvey Report, the total output value of EdTech in Taiwan pact intelligence platform. They helped several EdTech amounted to 16.4 billion U.S. dollars. Compared to 2020, event in Middle East, Africa, Asia, and this is the first the overall output value saw annual growth of 220.9%. time helping Taiwan to have the Taiwan 50 EdTech and Specifically, the pandemic has fuelled the growth in de- giving the award acknowledgement. On the 2nd day mand for teaching hardware, which in itself accounted for the physical event ceremony giving the Taiwan EdTech more than 80% of the total output value. teaching soft- 50 awards and the Eduathon—EdTech hackathon live ware, communication products, cloud video, and learning competition. The new EdTech Proof of Concept explatforms, and teaching assistive devices, among other perience zone that is jointly opened by Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam was also unveiled. deployment requirements.

This stark growth not only points to the pandemic-driven EdTech boom but also cements Taiwan’s key position in the global information and communications supply chain amidst the pandemic.

Riding the wave to accelerate the growth of EdTech METAEDU 21’s slogan— “Tomorrow We Together”—embodies the need for continued collaborations between industry players and stakeholders to accelerate the growth of EdTech.

The event saw active participation from government METAEDU 21 discussed Education Technologies with themes focused agencies of various countries, on Innovative Diffusion, Talent Cultivation, and Ecosystem Integration.