Manila Standard - 2021 December 10 - Friday

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on A4) Palace condemns murder (Story EDITORIAL: BEYOND CONDEMNATION (Story on B1) of Manila Standard journo

By Ronald Reyes, Vito Barcelo and Rio N. Araja MALACAÑANG has ordered the Presidential Task Force on Media Security to immediately investigate the killing Tuesday of newsman Jesus “Jess” Malabanan as the Philippine National Police and the Commission on Human Rights gear up for separate but parallel investigation.

“We condemn in the strongest possible

JESUS MALABANAN

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VOL. XXXV • NO. 298 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SC upholds legality of Anti-Terrorism Act But declares two main provisions as unconstitutional

By Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

HE Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of the AntiTerrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, except for its two most assailed provisions, in what critics called a “devastating blow” to human rights and democracy.”

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In an advisory released by the Court’s Public Information Office, the 15-member bench declared as unconstitutional two provisions in the Republic Act No. 11479, which has been the subject of 37 petitions before the Supreme Court.

Voting 12-3 in an en banc session on Dec. 7, the Next page

Critics fear govt can order arrest without warrant terror suspects

By Rey E. Requejo THE petitioners against the Anti-Terror Act said the striking down of a "killer caveat" in the law was an “important win for the protection of civil liberties” but said the Supreme Court upheld “the draconian powers of the Anti-Terrorism Council that arrests, harasses, and murders with zero regard of your legal standing."

The Anti-Terrorism Council, comprised of members of Duterte's Cabinet, can order the warrantless arrest of anyone they deem a terrorist.

Suspects can be detained for up to 24 days without charge.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of rights group Karapatan, said other sections of the law remained "largely vague and susceptible to subjective interpretations and therefore, abuse."

Senatorial candidate and former Partylist Rep. Neri Colmenares, said the Court decision “corrects the erroneous and dangerous view of the law’s proponents that equate activism with terrorism.”

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Members of the human rights group Karapatan hold a protest in front of the Supreme Court on Thursday, December 9, 2021, insisting on the dumping of the entire Anti-Terrorism Act. The Supreme Court has declared the law as constitutional even as it struck down two provisions by a vote of 12-3. Danny Pata

Omicron spreads to 57 countries but PH spared thus far Duque: Herd immunity not full protection

By Willie Casas

AS THE Omicron variant of COVID-19 spread to 57 countries, health officials here said they have not found it yet among 48 samples that underwent whole genome sequencing on Dec. 8.

The samples were taken from 12 returning Filipinos and 36 local cases from areas with high-risk average daily attack rates and case clusters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier said the Omicron coronavirus variant is now present in

By Vito Barcelo and Joel E. Zurbano THE 23 cities that have fully vaccinated over 70 percent of their target populations may have achieved the desired vaccine coverage, but Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday “they have yet to achieve absolute protection from COVID-19."

He said herd immunity should involve the whole country achieving the target vaccination coverage.

“In terms of absolute protection, it’s not, because there are areas that can be visited by individuals from areas with low vaccine coverage, so they can still be infected,” Duque said.

The Interior Department has identified the following cities as having achieved herd immunity in Metro Manila: San Juan City; Mandaluyong

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2,835,996 562

12,169

49,936

176

2,773,891

882

(As of 4 PM, DECEMBER 9)

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CHRISTMAS SPLENDOR. Christmas is always a time for evoking Yuletide cheer for the Arevalo family with the American Colonial-period house bedecked in decorations and festive lights. The house once served as the city hall of Baguio under Mayor Isidro Siapno in 1945. Dave Leprozo

China to West: Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ opens amid tensions You will pay for Duterte to renew Games boycott plea for ‘peaceful CHINA warned Western nations on Thursday that they would "pay the price" for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a French minister said they would not be joining the US-backed effort.

Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by Next page

President Joe Biden, who took office amid the biggest US political crisis in decades, hosts representatives of more than 100 countries for a democracy summit Thursday that is drawing fire from China and Russia.

The event, held by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic, is billed by the White House as US leadership in an existential struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies or dictatorships.

"Make no mistake, we're at a moment of democratic reckoning," said Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary of State for Ci-

vilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

"It's no secret that democracies around the world are facing increasing challenges from new and novel threats. Countries in virtually every region of the world have experienced degrees of democratic backsliding."

The summit, running Thursday and Friday, will feature opening remarks from Biden at the White House and is set to gather representatives from some 100 governments, as well as NGOs, private Next page

polls’ at global gab PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will renew his appeal for "peaceful" conduct of the Philippines’ 2022 national and local elections in the upcoming Summit for Democracy, a Palace official said Thursday.

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Color of the year for '22: Veri Peri THE New Jersey-based worldwide color authority Pantone has unveiled Very Peri, a periwinkle hue that the company says combines the steady tranquility of blue with an energetic infusion of red, as the color of the year for 2022.

It is the first time the company, headquartered in Carlstadt, New Next page

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‘Expanded in-person classes in Jan.’ T

Interviewed on ANC, DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said after the pilot implementation this December, more grade levels and longer class hours would be considered.

“This will happen by the early part of next year. We are optimistic that we could start the expansion phase by

January,” he said.

In the pilot face-to-classes, only Kindergarten to Grade 3 as well as Senior High School students are participating.

So far, a total 272 public schools and 18 private schools have been conducting face-to-face classes in the country under

the pilot implementation, according to Garma.

“We are doing the pilot precisely because we want to learn from this.

This will serve as the basis for our recommendation to the Office of the President if ever we’re going to expand this next year,” he added.

During a hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education & Culture on face-to-face classes, Garma said the DepEd accelerated the expansion of the face-to-face classes, adding DepEd would come up with a five-week report on pilot face-to-face

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rorism,” the OSG said in a statement.

With the law in place, the OSG assured the public that “our resolve to win this war must remain steadfast and unwavering.”ADVERTISEMENT “As the OSG had pointed out before the Supreme Court, the fight against terrorism is a continuing struggle that our nation cannot afford to lose. The degree of unity, then, that its citizens can muster is the final determinant of whether our beloved country will emerge as the victor or the vanquished,” it added.

The High Court left most of the controversial law intact, including provisions that allow the state to make warrantless arrests and to detain suspects for 24 days even without charges, as long as they are authorized by the ATC, which is composed of Cabinet officials.

The Court also left intact the power of the state to conduct surveillance of designated and suspected terrorists for 90 days, compared to the 60-day period allowed by the repealed Human Security Act of 2007.

After oral arguments, the justices deliberated and ruled on the controversial law on Tuesday, but the details were released on Thursday after a thorough review of the votes cast by the justices. The full decision and separate opinions have yet to be released.

Petitioners against the law said it challenges at least 15 fundamental rights under the 1987 Constitution: 1. freedom of speech and expression; 2. freedom of religion; 3. freedom of assembly; 4. freedom of association; 5. freedom of the press; 6.

the due process of law; 7. freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; 8. right to privacy; 9. right to travel; 10. right to bail; 11. presumption of innocence; 12. freedom of information; 13. right against ex post facto laws and bills of attainder; 14. right against torture and incommunicado detention and 15. academic freedom.

“The Supreme Court missed the opportunity to defend the Filipino people's human rights and democracy,"said Akbayan party-list nominee Percival Cendaña, who said the whole law should have been overturned.

The government must not "terrorize the public in order to address terrorism," he said. "You don't defeat terrorism by terrorizing the people and stifling their rights. The answer to non-state terrorism is not state terrorism.”

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the Court failed to fully uphold and protect due process, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.

“The entire law should have been voided,” he said.

He said the ATA’s definition of terrorism should have been thrown out for being “grossly vague” because it allows the government to target conscientious dissenters and critics of the administration.

Lagman added that upholding the power of the state to detain terror suspects for 24 days without a warrant is “a blatant violation of the Constitution, which mandates that only the courts can order the detention of a suspect through the issuance of a warrant of arrest."

"Under the Constitution, during extraordinarily precarious times when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, a person apprehended must be released, if there are no charges filed against him in court, upon the expiration of three day’s detention," he said.

"When a suspect is unlawfully detained outside of the court’s jurisdiction, coerced confessions and torture are bound to be committed by police authorities in violation of the Bill of Rights," he added.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro added: “Much of what is left in the law is still abhorrent to the Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said the definition of terrorism can be used to punish acts of legitimate dissent.

“Let me remind those who will implement this law that the Anti-Terror Law does not give you the license to suppress dissent and trample on fundamental rights,” she said.

She said the law is not an excuse to oppress and kill ordinary Filipinos.

"The Senate can and will use its oversight functions to protect Filipinos from state-sanctioned abuses and misdeeds,” she added.

Akbayan’s Cendaña said the Supreme Court’s decision was a "devastating blow" for human rights, a day before the country marks International Human Rights Day. The group said while it recognizes that terrorism is a serious threat that needs to be addressed, the Duterte administration should not use it against the ordinary citizens.

Renato Reyes, secretary general of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the decision recognized that activism is not terrorism.

“This is a partial victory for petitioners as protests and advocacy are not acts of terror, period,” Reyes said.

Law professors, who were among those who assailed the constitutionality of the RA 11479, considered the high court’s ruling striking down the qualifier as a “victory for human rights and civil liberties.”

Lawyer Theodore Te, who served as spokesperson of the Supreme Court, asked why only the qualifier was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court while the rest of section 4 was affirmed. Te said the SC ruling on this matter is unclear.

"I'd be curious to read the reasoning of the Court on that portion and why it is not applicable to the main provision on

section 4 because if the Court considered the last portion of that qualifier to the proviso, “intended to cause…, " it's also the language of the main provision in section 4. So I'd be curious to see how they distinguish. But as of now, it's hard to say,” Te said, in a virtual interview.

Te’s organization, the Free Legal Assistance Group, considered this aspect of the ruling an “important win” for the protection of civil liberties but said uncertainty remains.

“For an ordinary person as you put it, his fears are still the same, the chilling effect we say as to the exercise of rights could still be there. The definition still remains unclear. It is still not clear what the definition covers,” he added.

Te also said it is unclear why the second mode of designating terrorists which would use as basis the criteria laid down under a United Nations Security Council resolution, was declared unconstitutional, while the first one, adopting entirely the UNSC’s list was not.

Under section 25 of the Anti-Terrorism

Act, designation of terrorists and terrorist groups could come in three ways: The Anti-Terrorism Council can automatically adopt the United Nations Security Council’s consolidated list of designated individuals or groups; the ATC may adopt the UNSC’s criteria in processing requests for designation by other jurisdictions or supranational jurisdictions; and the ATC may make its own designations.

“We don’t know the reason and the advisory does not tell us the reason for striking it down as unconstitutional and how the first part of that provision could remain constitutional when the second part was unconstitutional. So it’s really hard to speculate on that,” Te said.

Petitioners have assailed the entire section on designation for being contrary to the constitutional provision that only a judge may issue a warrant of arrest based on a personal determination of probable cause.

In addition, they claimed violation of the right to due process because the designated groups or individuals are not informed of the basis for their designation

and neither are they given the opportunity to address the allegations until after they have been designated through a process called delisting.

Delisting was only included in the implementing rules and regulations of the law.

As a consequence of the designation, the assets of designated individuals and groups can be frozen “without delay” by the Anti-Money Laundering Council and they can still be subject to the courtsanctioned procedure of proscription where the Court of Appeals can declare them as terrorists.

A key question is on the authority of the Anti-Terrorism Council, composed of members of the Executive to designate terrorists, which they argue, should be a judicial function.

Defending the ATA during the oral arguments at the Supreme Court early this year, lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor General said designation is an executive and administrative function similar to what prosecutors do. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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57 countries, as South Korea reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases.

The WHO warned that the rate of hospitalization resulting from infection is likely to rise.

"Even if the severity is equal or potentially even lower than for Delta variant, it is expected that hospitalizations will increase if more people become infected and that there will be a time lag between an increase in the incidence of cases and an increase in the incidence of deaths," it said.

In an interview with the AFP news agency on Tuesday, the WHO's Director of Health Emergencies Michael Ryan said it was "highly unlikely" that the new variant dodged vaccine protections entirely.

However, he cautioned against drawing full-fledged conclusions from preliminary data.

The Philippines logged 562 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total case count to 2,835,996.

There were 176 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 49,936.

The Department of Health also reported 882 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 2,835,996.

There were 12,169 active cases, of which 851 were asymptomatic; 4,838 mild; 3,857 moderate; 2,177 severe; and 446 critical.

The positivity rate was at 1.6 percent, based on test results of samples from 33,295 people tested on Dec. 7.

Nationwide, 26 percent of ICU beds, 24 percent of isolation beds, 13 percent of ward beds, and 14 percent of ventilators, were in use.

In Metro Manila, 29 percent of ICU beds, 21 percent of isolation beds, 19 percent of ward beds, and 17 percent of ventilators, were in use.

Undersecretary Robert Borje, Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs, said Duterte’s intervention in the US-organized summit would tackle not just what has been done insofar as democracy is concerned, but also ongoing efforts to guarantee its continuation.

“Another important component here is we know the President’s term is ending. And in the context of democracy, a democracy cannot be strong if there's no peaceful and regular transfer of power.

And I think this will figure very strongly and very prominently in the speech of the President,” Borje said in an interview over state-run PTV-4.

For Duterte, the country could not be truly democratic unless Filipinos had the opportunity to choose the country’s next leaders through elections that are “peaceful, honest, free, and credible," Borje said “It's an admission on the part of the President, and maybe re-affirmation of his strong belief, that it is his responsibility first and foremost as President, he will make sure there is a peaceful transition, because without it, we cannot be called a democracy. This means we are authoritarian. If our elections are not peaceful, honest, free, and credible, it calls into question the integrity of the electoral process and our democracy,” he added.

Despite challenges, he said Duterte would reiterate his continuing commitment to the promotion of democracy and its core values.

“What the President is saying is that the Philippines is democratic, Filipinos are democracy-loving people. We value democracy.

We may continue to have challenges as a democracy, but we're firmly committed to democratic values. And that's always been his message as President of the Philippines,” he said.

(See full story online at manilastandard.net)

businesses, philanthropic organizations and legislatures.

But the fact that Biden continues to face a shocking challenge to US democratic norms from Donald Trump and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election provides a troubling backdrop for the summit.

And even before summit attendees could meet, tensions erupted simply over who should be on – and off – the list.

China and Russia, which Biden sees as champions of the autocracies camp, were pointedly left out, something they say is stoking an ideological "rift."

"No country has the right to judge the world's vast and varied political landscape by a single yardstick," wrote ambassadors Anatoly Antonov of Russia and Qin Gang of China in a joint essay last month.

Further prickling Chinese sensibilities, the Biden administration has invited Taiwan – the democratically ruled island that mainland China considers part of its territory, albeit not yet under its control.

On Monday, the Biden administration also announced it would not send US government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February in protest

at human rights abuses, including "genocide" against the Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang.

Australia, Britain and Canada have joined the diplomatic boycott, although the countries' athletes will still compete.

Again, Russia joined China in criticizing the decision.

Deciding when other countries should be excluded from the summit for human rights abuses or vote rigging hasn't been any less fraught.

For example, Pakistan and the Philippines are in, while EU member Hungary's nationalist government is out. Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro is invited, while the leader of NATO member Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been shunned.

Bruce Jentleson, who teaches political science at Duke University, said the summit was "never a good idea."

"Our problems here are much worse than in any other Western democracy. We had our Capitol building attacked, an attempted coup. We haven’t seen that happen in Paris, or at the Bundestag, or at the EU headquarters in Brussels," he said.

"If we want to compete, we've got to do our best and that is really more up to us within the country than somehow getting 100 leaders together and saying, 'We like democracy.'" AFP

HE Department of Education (DepEd) hopes the limited face-to-face classes will move to its “expansion phase” by January 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said Thursday.

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justices struck down a part of Section 4 of the law for being too broad and violative of freedom of expression.

It referred to the part that said a protest, advocacy or dissent could be considered terrorism if it is intended to cause death or physical harm to a person, to endanger a person's life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.

By a vote of 9-6, the justices also declared as unconstitutional a provision that allows the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) appointed by the President to adopt requests by other agencies, including international organizations, to designate individuals and groups as terrorists.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, however, expressed optimism that the Supreme Court decision would still enable government forces to run after terrorists.

“I’ll be very happy to see a judgment that will operationalize the Anti-Terrorism Act against its true targets,” Guevarra said, when asked to comment on the SC decision.

“I’d rather wait to see the main decision,” he added.

The Office of the Solicitor welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision which upheld almost all provisions of the law.

“This affirmation is, indeed, a recognition of the Philippines’ paramount need for a dynamic law that will defend our citizens against the baleful impacts of ter-

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terms the tragic murder of Malabanan in Calbayog City,” Cabinet Secretary and acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement, adding the PTFoMS was now looking into the incident that happened in Calbayog City.

"It likewise urges everyone with information to come forward to authorities and cooperate with law enforcers in order

classes after its implementation by the end of December.

He said the parameters in the evaluation included compliance to health standards, learning outcome, structures in schools, dynamics on behavior, awareness of community, among others.

The assessment and recommendation will be presented in January.

On Monday, the DepEd said that classroom availability must be put to consideration when students from all grade levels return to schools to conduct limited face-to-face classes amid the pandemic.

to immediately bring Mr. Malabanan's killers to justice," Nograles added.

Malabanan, 58, was a correspondent for the Manila Standard in the Central Luzon region, and an officer/member of the Pampanga Press Club.

He was the 22nd journalist slain during the Duterte administration.

“We condole with the family, loved ones, and colleagues of Mr. Malabanan and assure them that the government will exert all efforts to ensure that those responsible are caught, charged, and

Duque:...

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City; Pateros; Marikina City; Taguig City; Pasay City; Las Piñas City; Parañaque City; Manila; Muntinlupa City; Makati City; Valenzuela City; Quezon City; Navotas City; Pasig City; Malabon City; and Caloocan City.

Outside the National Capital Region, the following cities achieved their target population for vaccination: Baguio City; Angeles City; Iloilo City; Lapu-Lapu City; Mandaue City; Davao City.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the government and the private sector to "work harder" in the second round of COVID-19 mass vaccination drive to counter the threat of the Omicron variant.

The President encouraged everyone to work harder to reach every unvaccinated Filipino “so that we can give them the protection they need to stay in good health.”

The government targets to vaccinate at least 7 million Filipinos in the second phase of the "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" program from Dec. 15 to 17, according to acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles.

"As we launch the second phase of the Bayanihan, Bakunahan, let us demonstrate the same enthusiasm, cooperation, and resolve that made the first phase a success," Duterte said in a message read by Nograles.

“The highly successful first phase of Bayanihan Bakunahan has not only brought us closer to our goal of population protection against COVID-19. It has also demonstrated what remarkable feats we can achieve if we are united and working in solidarity,” read the President’s message.

"We honor your heroism," Duterte told frontliners, government workers, private partners, and the general public who participated in the event. "We sincerely acknowledge all your efforts in helping the government overcome this pandemic.” (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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widespread rights abuses by China and what it sees as a "genocide" against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

Australia, Britain and Canada followed suit in a flurry of diplomatic bonhomie on Wednesday.

The boycott stopped short of not sending athletes to the February Games but nonetheless infuriated Beijing, which hinted at retaliation on Thursday.

"The US, Australia, Britain and Canada's use of the Olympic platform for political manipulation is unpopular and self-isolating, and they will inevitably pay the price for their wrongdoing," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

Soon afterwards Beijing received welcome news from Paris, as Education and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France will not join the boycott.

"We need to be careful about the link between sports and politics," Blanquer said during an interview with RMC radio and BFM television, adding France would carry on condemning human rights violations in China.

"Sports is a world apart that needs to be protected from political interference.

If not, things can get out of control and it could end up killing all of the competitions," he said.

Blanquer will not travel to the Chinese capital, he said, but junior sports minister Roxana Maracineanu will represent the French government. AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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Jersey, has manufactured a color instead of delving into its pre-existing archive, a decision seen as an important element of this year's selection process.

"It was really important for us to come up with a new color, because we have a very new vision of the world now," said Pantone Color Institute's Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman.

The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic design, fashioj design, product design, printing and manufacturing and supporting the management of color from design to production, in physical and digital formats, among coated and uncoated materials, cotton, polyester, nylon and plastics. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) convicted for this crime,” the Palace official added.

Undersecretary Joel Sy Egco of PTFoMS said he would personally oversee the investigation into the killing of Malabanan, whom he described as a "personal friend."“This cowardly killing in the midst of a pandemic is truly unforgivable. We will get to the bottom of this and will stop at nothing in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this despicable crime,” Egco said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Binay: Provide basic needs of sectors badly hit by pandemic

House passes SIM card bill on 3rd reading

By Maricel V. Cruz

By Joel E. Zurbano SENATORIAL aspirant Jejomar Binay on Thursday said if he is elected, he will prioritize giving the basic needs of sectors severely affected by the present health crisis brought by the novel coronavirus disease.

Binay said the government needs to inspire confidence in the economy and it needs to encourage people to begin spending again.

“That could take some time, especially when you have over three million out of work, seven million underemployed, and millions of families still mired in poverty,” he said.

Binay said the people cannot be expected to spend because whatever little money they have goes to basic necessities, and the emergence of new variants further complicates any longterm program for economic and social recovery.

“I propose a sustained program to increase the spending power of those severely affected by the pandemic: poor families, the elderly and other vulnerable sectors, unemployed and underemployed workers, and small entrepreneurs,” the former vice president said.

He said this can be done through cash aid, food subsidies, free medical care including medicines, interest-free loans, income tax breaks, and other forms of government assistance to ease the burdens until they recover and the economy bounces back.

“Needless to state, this would require a shift in budget priorities to address the people’s social needs during the pandemic,” he added.

Binay had criticized the government anew for not giving what the people really need amid the pandemic.

IN BRIEF BI arrests Japanese fugitive in Manila The Bureau of Immigration arrested a Japanese national wanted by authorities in Tokyo for arranging a fake marriage between a compatriot and a Filipina so that the latter could acquire a residence visa in Japan.

The Japanese, identified as 63-year-old Hiratsuka Masakazu, was arrested along Nicanor Padilla St., San Miguel, Manila by the BI’s fugitive search unit (FSU), BI commissioner Jaime Morente said.

Masakazu was arrested by the FSU, in coordination with Japanese authorities, the National Bureau of Investigation Special Action Unit (NBI-SAU), and the Mendiola Police Community Precinct, on the strength of a warrant of deportation following a summary deportation order that the BI board of commissioners issued against the Japanese for being an undesirable alien.

He was also ordered deported for being an undocumented alien as his passport was already cancelled by the Japanese government.

According to BI-FSU acting chief Rendel Ryan Sy, Masakazu is the subject of an arrest warrant issued last April by the Tokyo summary court where he was charged with making false entries in a notarized deed of marriage.

Japanese authorities alleged that sometime in November 2011, Masakazu conspired with other accomplices in faking the marriage of a Japanese man to a Filipina to enable the latter to obtain a long-term immigrant visa in Japan. Vito Barcelo

Warehouse execs question CIDG raid OFFICIALS and employees of Sunjoy Tower in Binondo, Manila have called on the Philippine National Police and its Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to look into a raid by CIDG-National Capital Region operatives on the warehouse tower, which they said was done without a search warrant.

In a statement, the Sunjoy officers and staff said operatives of the CIDGNCR, headed by Police Major Merben Bryan L. Lago, entered the tower on Wednesday to confiscate bulk stocks of Wawang Katol, which allegedly does not have a permit from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

While the Sunjoy staff did not question the seizure of the stocks of the mosquito coil brand, they said they were “terrified” by the behavior of the CIDG-NCR group, who were all fully armed yet could not present a search warrant.

They said that at around 1:45 p.m., the police operatives entered the building, accompanied by an informant who pointed out the whereabouts of the alleged illegal products.

The Sunjoy guards initially stopped the CIDG group from entering the building to find out what their purpose was. The operatives reportedly said they did not need to present a search warrant because it was a follow-up operation. Jun David

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FLU VAX. The Philippine Coast Guard has received 4,000 shots of flu vaccine from Zuellig Pharma on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Eduardo Fabricante personally received the donation.

PH to contribute P10m to UN emergency fund T

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Philippines will contribute $200,000 or about P10 million to the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), a humanitarian fund for people in emergency situations, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Thursday.

Locsin made the intent to contribute on Wednesday, Dec. 8, during the CERF pledging event organized by the United Nations.

CERF is a humanitarian fund administered by the UN for people in emergency situations.

“For the last 20 months, humanity has endured a crisis of a scale in pain, loss, and economic destruction never seen in our lifetime. COVID has taken more than 5 million lives and the grim reaping goes

on. Tens of millions of people, already vulnerable without the pandemic, have been so pounded from all sides that only a lifeline decides if they live or die. The Central Emergency Relief Fund is such a lifeline,” Locsin said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs secretary pointed out that the CERF served that function for the Philippines when it was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

“It also tided over tens of thousands of Filipinos after jihadists took Marawi. It is

the speediest and most flexible funding mechanism in the UN or anywhere else,” he added.

Locsin also encouraged others to contribute to the CERF as he made the country’s pledge.

The Philippines has been a recipient of the CERF since its inception in 2006.

The Philippines was recently selected as a pilot for the implementation of CERF Anticipatory Action (AA) for Tropical Cyclone with an allotted $7.5 million for a possible activation of the AA framework.

In his opening remarks, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres stated that 2021 has been one of the most difficult years for humanitarian actors but CERF has stepped up to the challenge.

In 2020, the CERF helped close to 69 million people—twice as many as the year before.

THE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the bill that requires the registration of subscriber identification modules or SIM cards.

The chamber approved the measure House Bill 5793 or the SIM Card Registration Act in the wake of complaints that criminals, scammers, hackers and other suspicious persons have been using prepaid sims in plying their nefarious trade.

Rep. Manny Lopez of Manila, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development and one of the bill’s authors, said the measure will serve as a deterrent for the commission of crimes particularly those involving acts of terrorism and acts aimed at propagating fear, panic, confusion, and even false information.

The bill requires sim vendors to record the names and addresses of their buyers.

“Without a law requiring the disclosure of personal information prior to purchasing a SIM Card, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for government authorities to prosecute criminal acts arising from the use of mobile phones, as there are very limited means to identify the perpetrator,” Lopez said in a statement.

“With the passage of the said House Bill, we now have the means to track and know the identity of persons who, through the use of their mobile phones, commit illegal acts,” he added.

According to the National Privacy Commission, the country may harness the benefits of the proposed SIM Card Registration Act by enabling SMEs engaged in e-commerce and engendering consumer trust in a fastgrowing identity-linked digital services society.

The NPC said the mandatory SIMcard registration will succeed only under a framework of guaranteed privacy protection for mobile users.

Anakalusugan party-list seeks expanded VAT-free medicines THE Anakalusugan party-list has urged the government to expand the list of VAT-exempt medicines and drugs as out-of-pocket health expenditure of Filipinos rose by P18.98 billion last year compared to the total in 2019, driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While we welcome the move of President Rodrigo Duterte to set a price cap for more drugs for the leading causes of morbidity in the country, we believe that removing the 12 percent VAT on other drugs and medicines will benefit our kababayan more,” said Anakalusugan nominee Ray Reyes.

The party-list has been at the forefront of the fight to make all maintenance medicines and drugs VAT-free even before it won a seat at the House of Representatives in 2019.

At present, only maintenance medicines for diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol are covered by the VAT-exempt privilege.

Duterte on Tuesday signed Executive Order No. 155 which sets the maximum retail price for 34 drug molecules and 71 drug formulas used for analgesic, anti-asthma, antibiot-

ics, anti-diabetic, and immunosuppressant drugs, among others.

“By removing the VAT on these drugs, you lower the out of pocket expenditure of Filipinos who are already burdened by the pandemic. With millions of Filipinos who lost their jobs or are underemployed, every peso that our kababayan can save is important,” the Anakalusugan party-list nominee said.

“Especially in the context of the ongoing public health crisis, it is the Constitutional mandate of the state to adopt a comprehensive approach to health development and to make essential goods and health services available to all people at an affordable cost,” Reyes added.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed healthcare spending in the country increased by nearly 13 percent to a record high of P896 billion in 2020 from P796 billion in 2019.

Household out-of-pocket payment stood at P400 billion or 44.7 percent of the total.

This meant that on the average, every Filipino spent P8,216 for healthcare goods and services last year, 10.7 percent higher than the P7,422 in 2019.

NOT JUST FOR TRAINS. In a bid to make commuting more convenient, the Light Rail Manila Corporation launched the pilot implementation of LRT-1 merchants as a new channel for beep payment and loading services. Danny Pata

HAND TO MOUTH EXISTENCE.

A rag vendor eats his meal along the South Super Highway in Manila on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

Danny Pata

Solon urges gov’t to hasten EUA of coronavirus drugs A LEGISLATOR from the Bicol region on Thursday called on the Food and Drug Administration to hasten its emergency use approval for retrovirals for COVID-19, such as molnupiravir.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, said restoring normalcy to the economy “will now depend on how quickly and easily we can treat this disease, not necessarily on preventing every infection.”

“COVID-19 will almost certainly be a seasonal disease, if the experts are correct. The way to deal with this is to make COVID-19 an extremely curable, very normal disease with cheap at-home treatment,” Salceda said.

“Recently, the economic managers have said that the approach must now shift from pandemic to endemic. That involves a shift from mobility restrictions that try to completely prevent any infection, to an approach that treats COVID-19 as a very normal, as normal as getting a flu.”

“That involves making sure that we have the retrovirals, the treatment pills, widely available for use,” he added.

Salceda added that “recent retrovirals

have been ‘gamechangers’ to use the Health Department’s own declarations, even when the EUAs have not yet been granted.”

“I expect more retrovirals to be developed as the other companies try to get in on the action.”

Meanwhile, Salceda also called on the Senate to approve the charter of the Virology Institute of the Philippines, a presidential priority with a budget in the GAA 2022, and which was also principally authored by Salceda.

“I am calling on the Senate to approve the charter of the VIP. This is an urgent measure identified by President Duterte, along with the creation of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,” Salceda said.

“Having a Virology Institute ensures that we are ready for human pandemics.

It will also help us develop and manufacture retrovirals and antivirals of our own,” Salceda added.

The campus of the VIP will be established in New Clark City. The measure was identified as a priority by President Duterte in his 2021 State of the Nation Address. Maricel V. Cruz

‘Anti-kotong day’ every day under us—Lacson-Sotto

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE tandem of presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson and his running mate Senate President Vicente Sotto III yesterday said “every day is anti-kotong day” and vowed no let-up in their anticorruption drive if they are chosen by the people following the 2022 national elections.

The duo committed to be relentless in their pursuit to eliminate corruption in government as the world observed International Anti-Corruption Day on Thursday (December 9).

They underscored this message in a virtual meeting with journalists during their weekly “Meet the Press” forum, noting that Filipinos must still consider corruption an election issue when they choose the next set of leaders to steer the nation forward.

“We always maintain that one of the biggest problems in our country is corruption and we should really look into it.

When our people make a choice on who they will vote for, they must always keep in mind those who can solve the issue or problem of corruption in our country,” said Lacson, who is running under Partido Reporma.

He reminded Filipinos that “corruption kills,” especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when the nation had to contend with the Pharmally scandal — one of the worst examples of large-scale corruption involving billions worth of public funds that could have been used for better projects.

The presidential bet said people must continue to express strong indignation over such stories because the issue of corruption is no laughing matter. He reiterated that Filipinos must never allow corruption scandals to be normalized across all sectors of society.

He said the Pharmally issue is infuriating, “but we can only express our anger, sometimes we would rather laugh at it.

And to me, it is a bad sign when we just laugh at the problems that hound us where the issue of corruption is involved.”

“When we keep laughing at it, that means we have accepted it. But as long as the people remain angry over these problems, we have hope, and that is what we will be focusing on: corrupt officials will never get past the Lacson-Sotto administration,” he said.

Due to this, Lacson noted every day must be considered ‘Anti-Kotong Day’ in the Philippines as long as the culture of corruption persists.

Pacquiao backs Charter change, federalism shift CONVINCED that the best way to attend to the needs of the people and uplift their living conditions is by bringing services directly to them, presidential aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao will back Charter change if elected in next year’s elections.

“To get rid of corruption in the government, we will push for federalism and strengthen our local autonomy,” he said during a sideline interview during a sortie in Payatas, Quezon City on Thursday.

The boxing legend also took potshots at “pretentious, genius politicians” who were bringing nothing but misery to the people.

“I believe in leaders who do not bring down our country. People are suffering because of our huge debts and spending instead of our earnings,” he said.

The senator pointed out there is a need to amend the Constitution and make it attuned with the times and the needs of the country as well as the citizenry.

Under a federal government, power is divided between the central government and local state governments, Pacquiao noted. Each state shall be empowered to handle their own laws, finances, development plans, health, education, and infrastructure, among others.

Currently, the Philippines is under a unitary form of government with power and authority vested in the central government.

A federal setup creates opportunities for local governments to manage their own economy and chart their own destinies, the senator said. Giving these local government units power over their own resources will help boost regional development, he added Macon Ramos-Araneta

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 E-mail: mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

CAVITE SORTIE. The tandem of Uniteam presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and vice presidential hopeful Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte raise each other’s hands in front of an estimated 15,000 supporters during a sortie in Bacoor City, Cavite. Ver Noveno

Comelec stalls party-list raffle amid appeals to SC T HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday postponed its scheduled raffle to determine the ballot placement of party-list groups in the 2022 national elections at the last minute, citing potential appeals before the Supreme Court (SC).

In a statement, Comelec said the electronic raffle set on Dec. 10 would be moved to Dec. 14 “in order for the party-list groups... to have the opportunity to secure a status quo ante order from the Supreme Court.”

The poll body was pertaining to 107 party-list groups whose registration

it rejected with finality, disqualifying them from joining the raffle and the May 9, 2022 elections.

One of the rejected party-lists set to file an appeal before the SC is Nurses United, but the group has yet to receive a copy of the en banc resolution rejecting their motion for reconsideration.

If the high court grants a rejected party-list’s plea for status quo ante order in time, the group may join Tuesday’s raffle.

A status quo ante order would prevent the Comelec from excluding in the raffle those party-list groups with either pending incidents or whose motions for reconsideration were rejected by the en banc.

The final list of party-list groups qualified to join the virtual raffle was released only on December 4, or six days before the original December 10 raffle.

A total of 166 groups were already allowed to join the virtual raffle, based on Comelec resolutions 10735 and 10735-S. Some 152 of them were tagged as registered, while 14 had pending incidents.

The December 14 activity is the first where representatives of party-list groups will be allowed to witness the raffle only virtually in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a resolution made public last Month, Comelec issued its rules on the conduct of the raffle, which will be done virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “[T]he commission deems it proper to introduce the use of online platforms, and mechanisms in conducting the raffle to ensure the safety of all concerned against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the resolution stated.

FLUVIAL MESSAGE.

Small-scale fishers hold streamers while some HOLD placards calling on Vice President Leni Robredo’s attention to fisheries issues during a fluvial parade at the Bulungan Fish Market in Parañaque City on Thursday. The coalition of artisanal fishers held coordinated actions in different fishery communities in time for the 2022 International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture declared by the United Nations.

Norman Cruz

Villars share stage with Marcos-Duterte Uniteam in Cavite

By Maricel V. Cruz NACIONALISTA Party matriarch Sen. Cynthia Villar and her son, former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, shared the stage Thursday with Uniteam presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and vice presidential hopeful Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte during a rally in Cavite, where the leading duo introduced Mark Villar as their senatorial candidate.

The presence of the Villars in the UniTeam event at the Nomo Mall parking

in Bacoor was the first since the Marcos and Duterte tandem started boosting their winning chances in next year’s polls.

It was observed that Sen. Villar’s dress had the UniTeam colors, red and green.

“I present to you Sec. Mark Villar who is running for the Senate. Let us vote for him,” Marcos said in his speech, adding that Villar has a proven track record as one of the hardworking Cabinet secretaries of President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte behind the government’s Build, Build, Build program.

Marcos, standard-bearer of the Par-

tido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), also introduced former presidential spokesman Harry Roque of People’s Reform Party (PRP) and ex-Senator Jinggoy Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) as UniTeam‘s senatorial bets during the event organized by the Revilla family led

by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. For her part, Duterte, vice presidential aspirant of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), also named Villar, Roque and Estrada as her presidential candidates.

Robredo: No stifling freedom of expression

STOOL, NOT STUMP. Aksyon Demokratiko presidential aspirant and Manila

City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso stands on a stool as he dialogues with residents of Catmon and Tonsuya villages at the Malabon People’s Parks on Thursday. Norman Cruz

ANY legislation on anti-terrorism should not stifle freedom of expression and legitimate dissent, Vice President Leni Robredo said Thursday, after the Supreme Court declared two provisions of the AntiTerrorism Law as unconstitutional.

“We remain steadfast in our position: Any Anti-Terrorism legislation must truly address the root causes of terrorism and should not be used as a pretext to stifle freedom of expression or legitimate dissent,” Robredo, who is running for President in the 2022 elections, said in a statement.

“We are hopeful that the rest of these concerns will be substantially resolved in the full decision,” the Vice President added (See related story on A1 – Editors).

The Supreme Court said that Section 4 of the ATL qualifying dissent is “overboard and violative of the [right to] freedom of expression.”

The High Court, however, is yet to explain why Section 25 of Paragraph 2 of the ATL is illegal.

Provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 that the Supreme Court struck down include the one in Section 4, which deleted the qualifier that stating dissent is not considered terrorism which are not intended to cause death or serious physical harm to a person, to endanger a person’s life, or to create a serious risk to public safety.

The magistrates also noted Paragraph 2 of Section 25, which states that a request for designation by other jurisdictions or countries may be adopted by the AntiTerrorism Council under the Executive department.

Meanwhile, Robredo will hold a press conference today at the Quezon City Reception House. The Vice President Robredo will discuss the details of her Hanapbuhay Para sa Lahat plan, which lays out her agenda for jobs creation and livelihood for Filipinos.

Previously, the mood was festive at the opening of the Leni-Kiko Campaign Headquarters in Brgy. Alfonso in Concepcion, Tarlac, on Wednesday.

IN BRIEF

Isko denies being ‘secret candidate’

AKSYON Demokratiko presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday said his decision to vote for President Rodrigo Duterte as senator and adopt him as his party’s 4th senatorial candidate in 2022 elections is based on his conviction and should not be construed as a sign of him being the administration’s “secret candidate.”

“I am a candidate for Aksyon Demokratiko. While it is true that we heard that Senator Bong Go withdrew (from the presidential race), when I was asked about the Senate slate for President Duterte, I will vote personally because of his achievements that are beneficial here in Manila, ”Moreno told DZRH in an interview.

“Then I was asked if I would include him on the slate or be adopted as a guest candidate, I said I’ll be honored and humbled if the President will join (our slate). But what I said is, I don’t want to lead the President or PDP-Laban for that matter. In fairness to them, there is no such thing,” Moreno clarified.

Moreno first made his personal position on President Duterte’s senatorial bid known in an ambush interview in LapuLapu City, Cebu last Monday.

Aksyon Demokratiko Party chairperson Ernest Ramel issued a statement supporting the position taken by their party president and standard bearer.

“We stand by the pronouncement of our Party President and standard-bearer.

Aksyon has taken a centrist and objective stand on many issues and is not an opposition party per se. We believe that there are current administration policies and programs worth continuing while there are some that can be improved, discontinued, or rectified. Add to that, Aksyon is willing to work with anyone that supports Mayor Isko’s Bilis Kilos programs,” Ramel said.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domaogoso yesterday exhorted the public to support the city government’s efforts to help small businesses and create job opportunities as well.Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

PRP, Hugpong seal election alliance

THE People’s Reform Party (PRP) and the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago Party have formalized their political alliance for the May 2022 national and local elections.

PRP, a national political party founded by the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, is headed by her husband, Narciso “Jun” Santiago Jr. Hugpong, a Region XI political party chaired by former Davao City Mayor and now vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte, is headed by Claude Bautista, the party president.

The 2022 Alliance Agreement, a renewal of their political alliance in the 2019 elections, was signed by Santiago and Bautista.

Former Defense Secretary and Tarlac Rep. Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro, a PRP senatorial candidate who witnessed the signing of the alliance agreement, vowed to fully support all candidates of the alliance, both in national and local elections.

The two political parties said they both seek a peaceful and democratic way of life for their constituencies, where freedom is upheld, and the rule of law is upheld, among others.

Santiago said the PRP principles are “reflections of the strong political stance and extraordinary qualities” of the late senator and founder who was fondly called “ Inday Miriam” by Ilonggos.

Similarly, Duterte, also known as “Inday Sara,” possessed the same qualities, Santiago said.

Santiago said the shared objectives and vision paved the way for the forging of the alliance, and paved the way for the unity, strength, and continued positive change for the country.

These two groups adopted Duterte as their vice presidential candidate and will support the candidacies of the presidential and senatorial candidates whose line-up will be selected by Duterte and the alliance.

Opinion Violence against women and children HUMAN Rights Day is observed every 10th day of December of each year. This day commemorates the release of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR is significant because it is an affirmation of the rights of a human being, such as liberty and equality, and the inalienability of a person’s rights without distinction for race, color, sex, language, religion, and political opinion, among others.

To this end, the Philippines, through the “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children” (VAWC) Act of 2004, exerts its efforts to address violence committed against women and children. This is in keeping with the fundamental freedoms declared under the Constitution, the UDHR, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Section 2).

There are many kinds of abuse.

What is violence against women and children? It is an act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary socialization between two individuals in a business or social context is not a dating relationship (Section 3).

It may be committed by a former partner whose relationship with the victim has ended, but with whom he has a common child. It may also be committed against the woman’s child whether legitimate or illegitimate. It also includes situations wherein the parties live as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or where they are romantically involved over time and on a continuing basis (Section 3).

The violence may result in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering, and may also encompass economic abuse, threats of violence, battery, assault, coercion, harassment, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty (Section 3). Sexual violence may be committed against a woman or her child. It includes, but is not limited to, rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, or treating a woman or her child as a sexual object (Section 3(a)A). \ Sexual violence may also include making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking

the sexual parts of the victim’s body, or causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, or physical or other harm.

Prostituting a woman or child is also within the definition of sexual violence (Section 3(a)A).

Republic Act No. 9262 also includes psychological violence. These are acts or omissions causing or are likely to cause the victim mental or emotional suffering, such as intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse and marital infidelity, among others. It includes causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of the family to which the victim belongs (Section 3(a)C).

Included as well is economic abuse or violence, which refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent on the other party. This includes the withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity (Section 3(a)D). Deprivation or the threat of deprivation of financial resources includes the deprivation to the use and enjoyment of the properties owned in common, such as condominium units or cars.

A kind of violence is “stalking,” which is an intentional act committed by a person who, knowingly and without lawful justification follows the woman or her child, or places the woman or her child under surveillance directly or indirectly, or a combination of the two (Section 3[d]). A child is someone who is below eighteen (18) years of age, or someone who is older but is incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610 (Section 3[h]).

The crime of VAWC may also be committed by: (a) threatening to deprive or actually depriving the woman or her child of custody to their family; (b) inflicting or threatening to inflict physical harm on oneself for the purpose of controlling the actions or decisions of the woman or child; (c) peering in the window or lingering outside the residence of the woman or her child; or (d) destroying the property and personal belongings or inflicting harm to the animals or pets of the woman or her child (Section 5).

The person committing VAWC under R.A. 9262 can be held civilly or criminally liable. The Regional Trial Court (RTC) designated as a Family Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases of violence against women and their children under this law. In the absence of such a court in the place where the offense was committed, the case shall be filed in the RTC where the crime or any of its elements was committed at the option of the complainant (Section 7).

Full version on www.manilastandard.net

in the person of would-be Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. BBM did not just cheat on his taxes or fail to file ITRs; the BIR prosecuted him for failing to file income tax returns for the years when he was governor of Ilocos Norte and he was convicted by the RTC (Regional Trial Court) for violation of the National Internal Revenue Code and meted the penalty of imprisonment and payment of delinquency fines. The conviction was upheld by the CA (Court of Appeals).

This country’s tax delinquents are finding perfect support for their perverse attitude.

Under normal circumstances BBM should have served his sentence immediately, considering that the CA decision was a final judgement. But not only did President Marcos’s son and namesake fail to serve the sentence, he also was allowed to launch candidacies for the Senate and the Vice-Presidency of the Philippines.

His candidacies were clear violations of his father’s PD (Presidential Decree) No. 1994, the penalty for violation of which tax law “among others, includes the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from

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EDITORIAL

Hello, BBM, goodbye, tax compliance

A DECISION by the Comelec (Commision on Elections) and the courts to allow Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - BBM to his supporters - to run for the presidency of the Philippines in the May 2022 election has implications that go far beyond the ability of a citizen to exercise his constitutional right to seek election to a public office. The most consequential of these implications is the decision’s impact on the future viability of this country’s fiscal system, which depends mainly on the performance of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue).

The answer most usually given by tax delinquents - Filipino who cheat on their taxes or fail to file ITRs (income tax returns) altogether - the question “Why don’t you comply with your tax obligations?” is that they are simply emulating the example of many wealthy and powerful individuals. They ask why they should religiously comply with their tax obligations when many wealthy and powerful individuals are able to get away with their tax delinquency.

This country’s tax delinquents are finding perfect support for their perverse attitude

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

H

Beyond condemnation

OW much safer could one get than being home and watching television with your wife?

sought its help regarding his security.

Apparently, not much help was given.

Are we just supposed to cower and practice selfrestraint in the hopes of not ruffling some violent feathers?

Apparently not safe enough, as the case of Manila Standard, Bandera and Reuters correspondent Jesus “Jess” Malabanan found out. The veteran journalist died instantly from a head shot after being hit at close range in his home in Calbayog, Western Samar early Wednesday evening.

Predictably, numerous groups and personalities released statements of strong condemnation. The Pampanga Press Club, for instance, was one of the first to call on the Philippine National Police to swiftly hunt down Malabanan’s killers and ensure that justice is served.

The Commission on Human Rights also launched an investigation into the shooting and condemned the attack on a media practitioner. “Without bringing the perpetrators to account, this episode of violence further worsens the climate of impunity and affects the freedom of the press to conduct their work without fear,” said the commission’s spokesperson, Jacqueline Ann de Guia.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security said in a statement that in 2017, Malabanan

The same task force is now looking at the killing of Malabanan, according to Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles who also condemned the murder “in the strongest possible terms.”

We, too, condemn the killing of Jess, a dear friend and one of our own – but also the climate of impunity, the short attention span, the slow pace of justice, the lip service of bodies whose task it is to keep journalists safe, and all other factors enabling this travesty to be committed over and over again against members of our profession.

What do all these condemnations amount to? Jess is not the first – he is the 22nd journalist to have been killed during this administration – and he certainly won’t be the last.

Are we just supposed to cower

and practice self-restraint in the hopes of not ruffling some violent feathers?

Last year, the Philippines improved two notches in the Global Impunity Index by the Committee to Protect Journalists. We moved from the fifth most dangerous to the seventh most dangerous, primarily because of the 2019 convictions in the Ampatuan case. We retained our seventh place this year.

But if for some perverse reason some people think that the job is done and that they can now high-five each other for this marginal movement, then they are wrong – and sick.

We continue to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Let that sink in.

Investigations should continue and perpetrators – and masterminds – should be hauled off to jail. But we should also address the environment that emboldens them to silence media workers just because they do not like what is being written about them.

They should be made to understand that they will be found, arrested, tried, convicted and punished – with absolute certainty.

Without this guarantee, they will continue to play god over those who make a living by bringing the news to the people.

Father Damaso is campaigning for Robredo FATHER Damaso, the villanous friar in Dr. Jose Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere, is hardly fictional. Rizal’s infamous, randy Spanish priest who enjoyed political power in his ecclesiastical territory is alive and kicking in the Philippines today. Today’s Father Damaso, however, is no longer a Spaniard but a Filipino. And unlike Rizal’s villain, the contemporary Father Damaso is almost everywhere in the country.

During the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines, Spanish friars assigned to the Philippine Islands were rotten to the core. They were foul-mouthed, lewd, lustful and lascivious, and took advantage of the gullible young women in their parishes.

Because the Spanish colonial authorities enforced the union of church and state in the Philippine Islands, those prurient friars wielded nearly absolute political power and immense religious influence in their jurisdictions.

No wonder the Filipino revolutionaries hated them. Rizal made them the villains in his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and Marcelo del Pilar wrote a parody of The Lord’s Prayer where the stealing, cheating and foul language of the Spanish friars are memorialized. Del Pilar’s version is available online.

After Spain lost its colonial hold on the Philippine Islands in 1898, the United States, as the new colonial overseer of the archipelago, institutionalized the separation of church and state. Under the Americans, the likes of Father Damaso and his cohorts, the salacious Father Salvi and the libidinous Father Camorra, among others, in the Philippine Islands lost their power and influence. Those who chose to remain in the Islands were confined to saying masses, and running Catholic schools.

In 1956, Congress enacted Republic Act No. 1425, which mandated the inclusion of Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere and

El Filibusterismo in the curricula of all public and private schools, colleges and universities. Politicians supported by the Catholic church opposed the bill that initiated Republic Act No. 1425, but they failed.

I remember that during my time in a Jesuit-run Catholic high school, the priests made sure that only their censored versions of Noli and Fili were read by their students.

Later on, I also found out hat the nuns of Catholic high schools for girls practiced the same kind of censorship.

Father Damaso and his kind reacquired immense political clout when President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino seized power in February 1986. Because Jaime Cardinal Sin, who was then the archbishop of Manila, had a pivotal role in the so-called 1986 EDSA Revolution, Aquino became a virtual lackey of the cardinal. Sin became a regular feature in Aquino’s Malacañang, and a de facto union of church and state was in force in the Philippines.

As a consequence, friars held many government posts under Mrs. Aquino. Friars meddled in legislation and unofficially screened candidates for public office. Even the film censorship body had a friar. I am told that the friar was such a cheapskate that he brought home with him the newspapers in that government office for him to read in his own sweet time.

In 1996, Cardinal Sin told the Catholic faithful not to watch The Priest, a British

film about a homosexual man of the cloth, then playing in the cinemas. The cardinal’s ban backfired because the film became a box office sensation in Metro Manila.

During the time of President Gloria Arroyo, Cardinal Sin used hurting language against the film censors chief over the public exhibition of Sutla, a local movie that purportedly had nudity. It turned out that the permit for the film was issued not by Tiongson, but by his predecessor, Armida Siguion-Reyna, when the latter was the censors boss.

Father Damaso and his fellow friars returned to power under President Noynoy Aquino. A member of the religious establishment was Noynoy’s education secretary. At that time, the Department of Education published public school textbooks that had endless factual and grammatical errors.

When President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, the friars lost their power anew. Since then, the friars have been continuously criticizing the President for flimsy and imaginary reasons. Even Aquino’s education secretary publicly campaigned against Duterte’s senatorial candidates in 2019.

It has been almost six years since Father Damaso and his sidekicks lost political power. They want it back.

For the friars, their return to power is possible only if the over-ambitious Leni Robredo is elected president in 2022.

That’s because Robredo has not bothered to hide her subservience to the Catholic church because she considers the friars as her supporters. A Robredo presidency means the de facto return of the union of church and state.

Suffice it to say that there is no such thing as a Catholic vote. Moreover, Father Damaso et al. do not have any credibility in this day and age. Robredo is better off without any endorsement from Father Damaso, Father Salvi, Father Camorra and their kind.

holding any public office….. in case of conviction of a crime penalized under the NIRC.” The pricey lawyers hired by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have been unable to deny (1) his conviction by final judgement of violation of the National Internal Revenue Code and PD No. 1994 and (2) his failure to fulfill the penalties meted out to him by the courts.

The BBM lawyers had no choice: these were documented facts.

Yet the nation is currently facing the spectacle of a convicted tax development insisting that he is - in the words of the OEC

(Omnibus Election Code) - “eligible for the office you seek to be elected to.” In so doing, he made a false “material representation” in his COC (certificate of candidacy), which nine opposing petitioners want the Comelec to cancel.

I really don’t know how the Comelec and the courts will reason their way out of not disqualifying BBM. What I do know is that the credibility of the government’s pay-yourright-taxes campaign hangs in the balance.

In the face of the relentlessly growing needs of the Philippine economy - for jobs, social services, infrastructure and debt service - a

decision to allow Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to get away with his tax delinquency would deliver a death blow to the government’s tax compliance program.

Thereafter, Filipinos who do not comply with their tax obligations will always justify their actions by pointing to the outcome of the disqualification/COC cancellation petitions.

If the Comelec and the courts decide in favor of Mr. Marcos, the government might as well forget about tax compliance. It will be a case of hello, BBM, goodbye, tax compliance.

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

She is better off without any endorsement from any of the Catholic priests.

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Head—Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares

Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Jimbo Owen Gulle City Editor Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Lino M. Santos Chief Photographer

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Record number of journalists jailed this year at 293—CPJ THE number of journalists jailed around the world hit a new record in 2021, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday, with China and Myanmar having put a quarter of the 293 media workers behind bars.

In its annual report, the CPJ listed 50 journalists imprisoned in China, 26 in Burma, 25 in Egypt, 23 in Vietnam and 19 in Belarus.

Adding those jailed in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, the CPJ said a total of 293 journalists were in prison worldwide as of December 1 – up from 280 the year before.

“This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world,” said Joel Simon, executive director of the group.

“Imprisoning journalists for reporting

the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime,” he said in a statement.

For 40 years, the CPJ has denounced journalists being murdered, imprisoned, censored, physically hurt and threatened.

“It’s distressing to see many countries on the list year after year, but it is especially horrifying that Myanmar and Ethiopia have so brutally slammed the door on press freedom.”

The association also counted 24 journalists killed around the world this year.

Mexico “remained the Western hemisphere’s deadliest country for journalists, with three murdered for their reporting and the motives for six other killings under investigation,” the CPJ said.

India was also high on the list, with four journalists killed this year. AFP

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

NOTICE OF LOSS

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE ST. JOHN COLLEGES STOCK CERTIFICATE NOS. F-886 (36 share), C-1011 (18 shares), F-1001 (49 shares), C-1381 (23 shares), F-1117 (172 shares), C-1862 (82 shares), F-1152 (51 shares), C-1998 (24 shares), C-2231 (2067 shares) ISSUED TO ALBERTO ALCASID RIVERA HAVE BEEN REPORTED MISSING, PER AFFIDAVIT OF LOSS DATED NOV. 4, 2021 AND RECORDED AS DOC. NO. 315, PAGE NO. 64, BOOK NO. 6, SEREIES OF 2021 OF NOTARY PUBLIC AARON S. TOLENTINO OF PARAÑAQUE CITY, METRO MANILA. (MS-NOV. 26, DEC. 3 & 10, 2021)

15 DAYS TO GO. Tourists walk near the illuminated Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center in New York City on December 8, 2021. AFP

HK media mogul, 2 others convicted over protest vigil

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AILED Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was among three democracy campaigners convicted on Thursday for taking part in a banned Tiananmen vigil as the prosecution of multiple activists came to a conclusion.

Lai, the 74-year-old owner of the nowshuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty of unlawful assembly charges alongside former journalist Gwyneth Ho and prominent rights lawyer Chow Hangtung.

Authorities had charged more than two dozen pro-democracy politicians and activ-

ists over a vigil last year, which commemorated the victims of Beijing’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 despite a police ban.

The trio were the only ones Jimmy Lai to contest their charges in court, meaning they were the last to receive their verdict.

They argued they went to light candles in a personal capacity and had not “incited” others to join an outlawed rally.

At one point, Chow, a trained barrister who represented herself in court, likened her

Disabled models break taboos in Ivory Coast

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES TARIFF COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE IMPOSITION OF ANTI-DUMPING DUTY AGAINST IMPORTATIONS OF ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT TYPE 1 AND BLENDED CEMENT TYPE 1P FROM VIET NAM (AHTN 2017 Heading Nos. 2523.29.90 and 2523.90.00) FOR: ANTI-DUMPING MEASURE TCI (AD) No. AD-2021-OCCementVN Republic Cement & Building Materials, Inc., CEMEX - Solid Cement Corporation /Apo Cement Corporation, and Holcim Philippines Inc., Petitioners.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

NOTICE OF FORMAL INVESTIGATION AND PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE Pursuant to Section 711 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act), which adopted the provisions of RA No. 8752 (Anti-Dumping Act of CYAN YELLOW BLACK on 09 1999), notice is hereby given thatMAGENTA the Tariff Commission (TC) commenced December 2021 its Formal Investigation on the merits of imposing a definitive antidumping duty against importations of Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 (AHTN 2017 Heading No. 2523.29.90) and Blended Type 1P (AHTN 2017 Heading No. 2523.90.00) from Viet Nam, following receipt of a request from the Secretary of Trade and Industry and the complete case records.

All interested parties, including those on record in the preliminary investigation by the Department of Trade and Industry, are required to appear at a Preliminary Conference which will be held on 20 December 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (via Videoconferencing through Microsoft Teams). Matters for discussion include the timelines, nature of investigation, appearance of counsel and parties, number of witnesses, notification, accessibility of documents and public file, confidentiality of documents, submission of position paper/s and memoranda, conduct of inspection and verification of data, schedules of public hearings and other activities, and other topics that may aid in the prompt disposition of the case.

Interested parties are required to register their participation to the Preliminary Conference until 16 December 2021, using the registration link posted on the Commission’s website http://tariffcommission.gov.ph/ or by scanning the QR Code provided.

For inquiries, please contact Director Ma. Lourdes M. Saluta, Head of the TC Task Force for this case, at email addresses TC.Assist@mail.tariffcommission.gov.ph and Records@tariffcommission.gov.ph.

Issued this 9th day of December 2021, at Quezon City, Metro Manila.

(MS-DEC. 10, 2021)

MARILOU P. MENDOZA Chairperson

actions to “tank man” – the figure who famously stood in front of a Chinese tank during the Tiananmen crackdown and became an icon.

But District Court judge Amanda Woodcock dismissed those arguments as “frankly nonsensical” and convicted them of charges including inciting and taking part in an unauthorized assembly.

“The reality was, any intention to come out and participate in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park that night was an act of defiance and protest against the police,” Woodcock ruled.

Amnesty International described the verdicts as the latest “attack on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly” in Hong Kong and said authorities had criminalized a “peaceful, socially distanced vigil.” AFP

Beijing approves 1st COVID drug emergency OK

TWENTY models with disabilities have taken to the catwalk in Ivory Coast in a ground-breaking assault on taboo and stigma.

Decked out in a red CHINA’S drug authority has granted suit, traditional Sahelian emergency approval for the counboubou robes, multitry’s first specialized treatment colored African bogolan against COVID-19, found in clinical prints and a blue tunic trials to significantly reduce hospiwith printed motifs, talisations and deaths among highthe models showed off CYAN MAGENTA risk patients.YELLOW BLACK the latest creations of The move comes as regulators Abidjan designers in an around the world give the green light event dubbed “Strong to treatments – particularly for highand Beautiful Together.” risk groups – amid worries over the Grace Beho had her new Omicron variant. right forearm amputated China is also grappling with a after a road accident. growing number of studies that show Six months ago, she its vaccines have lower efficacy rates created the Mougnan than many of those made overseas.

Foundation, an organizaIn an official notice published tion set up to improve the Wednesday, China’s National Mediquality of life for disabled cal Products Administration said it Ivorian women. Its name FASHION BREAKTHROUGH. One of the models with has granted “emergency approval” means “moving forward disabilities on the catwalk in Abidjan Sia. AFP for a monoclonal antibody treatment. despite difficulties” in the A monoclonal antibody is a type “Even in a situation of disability, we can go beGuere language of westof protein that attaches to the spike yond ourselves and do many things,” she said. ern Ivory Coast. protein of the coronavirus, reducing “Overcoming disability is about ac“I think that the women who are going to be its ability to enter the body’s cells. cepting yourself – the way people look at watching us and who do not yet have confiThe treatment involves a combidence in themselves... are going to assert them- you and criticize you will not affect who nation of two drugs, administered you are,” she said. selves and show themselves to the world as through injections, and can be used A model called Sylvia, dressed in a greenthey are,” she said as she stepped off the stage. to treat certain cases that are at risk and-white dress, opened the show, coming Leslie Antsere, who suffers from neurofiof progressing in severity, the drug bromatosis, a genetic disease which can cause down the catwalk on crutches by the side of a authority said. swimming pool in front of an enthusiastic audidisfiguring tumors, said she was delighted to It was co-developed by Tsinghua take part in an event that had stopped her ence in a hotel in the Ivorian economic capital.

University, the Third People’s HosThe event took place on December 3 – the from “feeling ashamed.” pital of Shenzhen and Brii BiosciThe MC at the fashion show, Nelly Aka, was UN’s International Day of Persons with Disences.

AFP abilities.

AFP sporting high heels despite a foot disability.

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF SKYLITE DYNAMICS INC Notice is hereby given that the resolution dissolving the corporation as of July 1, 2016 was adopted by the affirmative vote of the stockholders owning at least two thirds (2/3) of the total outstanding capital stock or at least two thirds (2/3) of the members of the corporation at a meeting held on May 5, 2016 at the principal office. A balance sheet showing that no creditors thereof will be affected by such dissolution has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All persons having claims against the corporation are requested to present the same at its principal office at 152 Sto. Domingo St., Brgy Manresa, Quezon City, for immediate settlement.

This announcement will serve as notice to all parties concerned of the legal dissolution of the said corporation.

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES. (Sgd) Karen Tui Corporate Secretary (MS-DEC. 3/10/17, 2021)

US solons vote to punish China over Uyghur THE US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation restricting imports from China’s Xinjiang region over its treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority, as tensions continue to escalate between Washington and Beijing.

Members of the House voted 428-1 to pass the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act,” which requires corporations to prove “with clear and convincing evidence” that any goods imported from the region were not made using forced labor.

“Right now, Beijing is orchestrating a brutal and accelerating campaign of repression against the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers ahead of the vote.

“In Xinjiang, across China, millions are enduring outrageous human rights abuses: from mass surveillance and disciplinary policing; to mass torture including solitary

confinement and forced sterilizations; intimidation of journalists and activists who is have dared to expose the truth.”

She added: “And, the government of China’s exploitation of forced labor reaches across the oceans to our shores and across the world.”

The US Senate has previously approved a similar measure and the two will now need reconciling.

The bill will then need to be signed into law by President Joe Biden and it was unclear whether it had White House support.

The vote comes shortly after the White House announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics over what it termed China’s “genocide” of the Uyghur minority and other human rights abuses, a move that drew a harsh rebuke from Beijing. AFP CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

of the Philippines GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM GSIS Building, Financial Center, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 1308

Stocks surge; RCBC and BDO lead advances

T

HE stock market climbed Thursday along with the rest of Asia following another strong lead from Wall Street as Omicron coronavirus variant fears lessened.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced 87.62 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,234.92 on a value turnover of P8.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 108 to 90, with 45 issues unchanged.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. of the Yuchengco Group, the eight biggest lender in terms of assets, jumped 8 percent to P20.30, while conglomerate Ayala Corp. of the Ayala Group rose 5.8 percent to P876.

Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan surged 5 percent to P11.86, while BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group, the largest bank, increased 4.1 percent to P124.90.

The rest of Asian stocks made broad gains in Thursday trade. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 1.08 percent at the close, though Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.47 percent to end at 28,725.47.

After a rollercoaster ride since Omicron first emerged last month, investors are now optimistic about the outlook in the run-up to Christmas.

Drugmakers BioNTech and Pfizer have said a third shot of their vaccine is effective at guarding against the new strain.

“Comments from pharmaceutical heavyweights that boosters were the answer kept the omi-

cron-is-mild trade alive,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst with OANDA. Patrick J. O’Hare at Briefing. com said the emerging information about the variant was likely to turn the market’s focus back to the shift in monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve.

“After all, if Omicron isn’t going to be the pernicious force some first thought it could be, then economic activity should continue to run at a pretty healthy recovery pace that makes it clear the Fed’s policy rate should not be hanging out much longer at the zero bound,” he said.

Ahead of a Fed policy meeting next week, investors will be focused on Friday’s US consumer price index data as the central bank has signaled its concern about rising inflation, which could lead to multiple rate hikes next year.

“We are looking to potentially have a rise in volatility even if the market continues higher around those events next week,” said Frances Stacy, Optimal Capital portfolio strategist, on Bloomberg Television.

“Many of the catalysts that gave us this boom out of COVID are slowing. And then you have the Fed potentially tapering into a decelerating economy.” With AFP

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

18. The declared highest/winning bidder shall submit within fourteen (14) calendar days from the bid date the following documents:

1. Sale of GSIS Investment Properties – Retail Units (IP-RUs) shall be through competitive public bidding.

a. If the winning bidder is an individual,

2. Acceptance of Purchase Offers shall start on the scheduled bidding date and time.

1. duly accomplished Personal Profile (with attached recent two (2) pieces of 2x2 ID pictures of the winning bidder) 2. a photocopy of two (2) valid IDs (at least one should be a government-issued ID)

3. Dropping of bid envelopes will be on the date of bidding from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM only. Opening of Bids will immediately follow. Late bid envelopes will not be accepted.

b. If the winning bidder is a corporate entity or partnership, 4. The sale IP-RUs is on an “as-is, where-is” basis. Interested bidders are enjoined to personally inspect the GSIS IP-RUs for sale.

1. duly accomplished Company/Corporate Profile 2. Registration Certificate from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 3. Articles of Incorporation (if a corporation), Articles of Partnership (if partnership), General Information Sheet, and By-Laws duly certified by the SEC 4. Current Mayor’s Permit issued by the city or municipality where the principal place of business of the winning bidder is located

“As-Is, Where-Is” is defined as the present physical condition of the retail unit that GSIS is selling and the buyer is buying, “with all attendant faults, if any,” whether or not immediately apparent and without any express or implied warranty. The buyer takes this condition at his or her own risk, without recourse against the GSIS as to their condition. This includes knowledge by the buyer of the presence of occupants in the retail unit being purchased.

5. Strictly “One bidder, One specific property” only. It means that a bidder cannot submit two (2) or more bids for one property. A bidder may submit one bid each for as many properties he/she wants to buy, as long as he/she posts the required 10% bid deposit of the total bid price for each property. The bidder must present a valid government-issued ID upon registration on the date of public bidding.

c. If the winning bidder is a cooperative.

1. duly accomplished Company/Corporate Profile 2. Cooperative Development Authority Registration or any proof of such registration 3. Current Mayor’s Permit issued by the city or municipality where the principal place of business of the winning bidder is located.

6. A downloadable bid form shall be properly accomplished with the following data:

A vendor packages potatoes at a market in Shenyang in China’s northeastern Liaoning province on December 9, 2021. Consumer inflation in China picked up to its highest level in over a year in November. AFP

China’s November consumer inflation rose on higher pork, vegetable prices BEIJING, China—Consumer inflation in China picked up to its highest level in over a year in November, official data showed Thursday, bolstered by an uptick in pork prices as seasonal demand spiked.

The consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of retail inflation, came in at 2.3 percent on-year according to the National Bureau of Statistics—slightly below expectations but still the highest since August 2020.

Rising food prices were a key factor, with the cost of pork—a staple meat in the world’s second-biggest economy—hit by “growth in seasonal consumption demand and a short-term tight supply of fat pigs,” NBS senior statistician Dong Lijuan said.

On a monthly basis, pork prices rose 12.2 percent, Dong added.

Disruptions to vegetable harvests due to bad weather added to food inflation, said Capital Economics’ senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard.

In an earlier report, he noted that people appear to have started stocking up on pork for the winter, adding that “there are signs that the pork supply is no longer improving too.”

China’s CPI has been driven up in recent years by pork prices after African swine fever ravaged stocks, and officials worked to bring costs down.

Factory inflation, however, eased from a 26-year high in November, the latest data showed, with the producer price index (PPI) edging down to 12.9 percent. AFP

A. Date of Bidding B. Name of the bidder C. The exact address of the property you are interested to bid D. Transfer Certificate of Title No. E. Mode of Payment F. Amount of bid (in numbers and words) G. Signature of the bidder/representative 7. All participating bidders shall insert the following documents in a bid envelope:

19. Failure of the declared winning bidder to comply with the terms and conditions of sale stated in the NOAS shall automatically forfeit the declared winning bidder’s 10% deposit.

20. In case the highest/winning bidder fails to comply with the requirements within the specified time, the said NOAS shall be deemed automatically revoked and the highest/winning bidder shall be informed in writing. The second highest bidder, if any, shall be informed in writing if he/she is still interested to acquire the property.

If still interested, he/she must remit the required non-refundable 10% deposit within three (3) working days after receipt of notice from GSIS.

1. Properly accomplished bid form; 2. Manager’s Check is payable to Government Service Insurance System representing the deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid-Offer plus 12% VAT, if applicable.

3. Special Power of Attorney (SPA), if the bidder is being represented by another person.

21. GSIS reserves the right to waive any formality or to reject any or all bids received.

The list of properties available for sale may be updated without prior notice.

22. For bidding inquiries, you may call the Real Property Accounts Management Department (RPAMD) at trunk line numbers (02) 8479-3600, and (02) 7976-4900 local numbers 3228, 3374, and 3396 or send an email at gsiscstrpamd@gsis.gov. ph.

4. Two (2) proofs of occupancy, if the bidder is the occupant of the subject property: a. Barangay certificate that the bidder is occupying or residing in the subject property; and

HEALTH PROTOCOLS UNDER NEW NORMAL 1.

Only the participating bidder shall enter the bidding room.

2.

The bidder must properly wear a facemask and face shield at any time.

3.

Social distancing must be strictly observed.

4.

Bringing of ballpen is encouraged.

5.

Please follow the health and safety protocols on and off the GSIS premises.

6.

Additional health and safety measures shall be published on the GSIS website page once the IATF issues additional or new guidelines.

1.

Please register at the Registration Area between 8:30 AM and 9:30 A.M.

2.

Present the sealed Bid Envelope upon registration.

b. Valid Government Issued ID indicating the address of the subject property, or c. Latest Billing Statement under the Bidder’s Name indicating the address of the subject property.

8. The following information shall be written outside the sealed bid envelope (mailing envelope).

GUIDE FOR BIDDERS

9. The bid offer must offer must not be lower than the Minimum Acceptable Offer.

Offer It shall be written in words and figures. Should there be a difference in the amount in words and figures, the amount in words shall prevail.

• Ensure that you have read and follow the General Guidelines; • Ensure that the Bid form is properly accomplished and it must not have erasures; and • Ensure that the Bid envelope contains complete documents as mentioned above;

10. Pursuant to Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10963 otherwise known as the Tax Reform Act for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, the selling price of the GSIS properties above PhP2 million shall be subject to 12% Value-Added Tax (VAT).

11. Bidders’ deposit equivalent to at least 10% of the Bid-Offer plus the 12% VAT, if applicable, shall be in the form of a Manager’s Check payable to Government Service Insurance System, and shall be paid not later than 3:00 P.M. on the day of the bidding.

3.

Review the contents of the bid envelope before sealing and dropping it in the Bid Box.

4.

Only participating bidder is allowed to drop the sealed bid envelope in the Bid Box.

12. The 90% balance of the bid amount plus 12% VAT shall be paid either in cash or in Manager’s Check within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of NOAS, without the privilege of extension.

5.

Any change in or retrieval of the bid envelop shall not be allowed once the sealed envelope has been dropped in the Bid Box.

6.

Opening of Bids will commence at 10:00 A.M.

Sample Computation: Bid Amount is PhP2,610,000.00

NZ set to phase out tobacco sales WELLINGTON, New Zealand— New Zealand announced plans Thursday to effectively ban smoking by progressively lifting the age at which tobacco products can be bought, in a “world-first” bid that means today’s young teens will never be able to buy cigarettes legally.

New Zealand currently outlaws tobacco sales to under-18s and Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said that from 2027, the age ban would increase by one year annually to keep the cohort smoke free.

“We want to make sure people never start smoking... as they age,

they and future generations will never be able to legally purchase tobacco, because the truth is there is no safe age to start smoking,” she said.

She added that the government would also legislate to restrict where tobacco is sold and only allow products with low nicotine levels into the market, to reduce the prospects of people becoming addicted.

Verrall said the measures maintained New Zealand’s role as a global trailblazer in restricting tobacco, with actions such as banning cigarette sponsorship of sports in 1990 and banning smoking from bars in 2004. AFP

Deposit - (10% of PhP2,610,000.00) + 12% = PhP 261,000.00 + 31,320.00 = PhP292,320.00 Balance - (90% of PhP2,610,000.00) + 12% = PhP2,349,000.00 + 281,880.00 = PhP2,630,880.00

13. Full settlement of the winning bid price either in CASH or MANAGER’S CHECK shall be payable within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of Notice of Approval of Sale, without the privilege of extension.

14. The current tenant or occupant or his duly authorized representative through a valid Special Power of Attorney (SPA) has the right to match the offer of the declared highest bidder, provided that: a. he/she participated in actual bidding, and b. inserted the two (2) proofs of occupancy in his/her bid envelope as indicated in number 11.4 above.

15. If the occupant will exercise his/her Right to Match the offer of the declared highest bidder, he/she shall adjust his/her initial deposit equivalent to the 10% of the bid amount of the declared highest bidder, and pay the adjusted deposit on the day of bidding in cash.

16. A Notice of Approval of Sale (NOAS) shall be issued in favor of the declared winning bidder after the bidding.

17. The bid envelope of the non-winning bidder/s shall be immediately returned once the public bidding has been adjourned.

(MS-DEC. 9/10/11, 2021)

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

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

Smart gets USTDA grant to deploy 5G to 96% of PH

By Darwin G. Amojelar SMART Communications Inc. said Thursday it secured a training grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to deploy 5G services to 96 percent of the country’s population.

“We are grateful to USTDA for their training assistance in this undertaking between Smart and Cisco.

A well-trained technical team is vital to the success of our overall digital transformation, which will enable us to elevate the experience of our customers,” said Al Panlilio, president and chief executive of PLDT and Smart Communications.

“Our people must be trained and prepared to make full use of the power of these transformative new technologies,” he said.

USTDA made the award to support Smart’s investment in equipment and services from Cisco Systems Inc. “This grant demonstrates USTDA’s commitment to supporting cuttingedge information and communications technology infrastructure in the Philippines, while promoting innovative solutions from U.S. companies,” said USTDA acting director Vinai Thummalapally.

“We are proud to partner with Smart and Cisco on this project, which will strengthen digital connectivity and bring faster, higher quality, and more affordable digital services to the people of the Philippines,” Thummalapall said.

USTDA’s training grant will help Smart, a subsidiary of the Philippines’ largest, fully integrated telecommunications company PLDT Inc., deliver better cloud-based products and services to customers across the Philippines.

This grant builds on previous USTDA assistance that is advancing PLDT and Smart’s efforts to modernize the company’s national fiber optic network and prepare the Philippines for the transition to 5G. “We are excited to witness the continuous development of the Philippines’ digital infrastructure through projects such as this one,” said US chargé d’affaires ad interim Heather Variava.

ARTA to prepare localized reporting on doing business

By Othel V. Campos THE Anti-Red Tape Authority said Thursday it will carry on with the World Bank’s program on Ease of Doing Business in 2022, after the Department of Trade and Industry approved the creation of the Philippine EODB Reporting System.

“Moving forward, rather than looking at the discontinuation of the World Bank’s EODB, we at ARTA saw this as an opportunity to further take action to monitor and ensure that all necessary and appropriate are well implemented,” said ARTA deputy director-general Ernesto Perez during the EODB Summit.

The localized version of the WB’s EODB will be chaired by the DTI, with support from the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Finance and two private sector representatives.

A joint memorandum order was drafted and routed to concerned agencies for final comment. Perez said the draft JMC is set for signing soon.

The JMC will be guided by the principles of good regulatory principles that will be complemented by the report card survey.

“We are not going to start with the 10 indicators. We’ll probably choose indicators like starting a business, trading across borders and dealing with construction permits. These are the initial three, and also maybe registering property. These are critical indicators that really need focus. Then, maybe after a year or so, we will expand these indicators,” Perez said.

Starting with Quezon City as pilot testing area, the EODB Report will be expanded to other cities like Manila, Parañaque, Pasig, Valenzuela and cities outside Metro Manila.

Business Diokno expects economy th to grow 7% in 4 quarter

By Julito G. Rada

B

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Thursday he expects the full-year economic growth to exceed the target range of 4 percent to 5 percent, with the gross domestic product expanding by about 7 percent in the fourth quarter.

“The revised GDP forecast this year is 4 to 5 percent... It will be likely more than 5 percent for the full year. We already grew by 4.9 percent in the first three quarters,” Diokno said in an online briefing.

Diokno said based on the easing of quarantine restrictions, faster pace of COVID-19 vaccination rollout, increased mobility and more economic

activities from October to December, the “fourth quarter [GDP growth] maybe around 7 percent.”

The economy expanded 7.1 percent in the third quarter, a turnaround from the 11.6-percent contraction a year ago that was pulled down by the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Industry and services contributed to the expansion, growing by 7.9 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively.

The third-quarter expansion was, however, slower compared to the revised 12-percent growth in the second quarter. This brought the year-to-date average GDP growth to 4.9 percent, near the upper end of the target range.

Diokno said the conditions contributing to supply chain issues might diminish as some economies returned gradually to their pre-pandemic phase.

“Amid a challenging global economic environment, the BSP shall continue to be vigilant in monitoring the potential inflationary risks that may arise from supply shortages while providing the appropriate policy support to help en-

sure a sustainable path to economic recovery,” he said.

Diokno said the multidimensional disruptions in global supply chains reverberated among both advanced economies and their trading partners, as input linkages in global value chains created mechanisms in the transmission of price and output shocks.

Global supply chain refers to the cross-border organization of activities to produce and distribute goods and services.

Diokno said that in the case of the Philippines, the backward linkages of local industries to global value chains suggested that disrupted cross-border flows of production inputs could temper output capacity in the near term.

Domestic businesses continued to report contracting output and higher input prices as transportation constraints and delays had an effect on suppliers’ delivery performance, according to reports published by the Philippine Institute for Supply Management and IHS Markit.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, December 9, 2021 87.62 PTS. 7,234.92

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES

1,865,372,017 117,530

TOTAL VALUE ADVANCES

8,614,211,453.12 108

DECLINES UNCHANGED

90 45

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

50.3030

Japan

Yen

0.008798

0.4426

UK

Pound

1.321300

66.4654

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128248

6.4513

Switzerland

Franc

1.086602

54.6593

Canada

Dollar

0.790451

39.7621

Singapore

Dollar

0.734970

36.9712

Australia

Dollar

0.717100

36.0723

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652590

133.4332

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266596

13.4106

Brunei

Dollar

0.732279

36.8358

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.029886

1.5034

UAE

Dirham

0.272279

13.6965

Euro

Euro

1.134300

57.0587

Korea

Won

0.000851

0.0428

China

Yuan

0.157634

7.9295

India

Rupee

0.013270

0.6675

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.236798

11.9116

New Zealand

Dollar

0.680800

34.2463

Taiwan

Dollar

0.036076

1.8147 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF Neobank Tonik says deposits surpass P5b TONIK, the country’s first digital-only neobank, said Thursday it has surpassed P5 billion (around $100 million) in consumer deposits as it continues to blaze a trail in the local banking industry.

Tonik said in a statement the deposits built up in just eight months of the neobank’s launch of commercial operations and came on the heels of Tonik’s prior achievement of another first in the banking history in the Philippines by securing P1 billion ($20 million) in consumer deposits within a month of going live in March.

Greg Krasnov, Tonik chief executive and founder, said Tonik’s deposit achievement was supported by unique, accessible, flexible, and inclusive products, including industry-leading deposit interest rates of up to 6 percent per annum for time deposits, and unique saving features such as Solo Stash and Group Stash products that can earn up to 4 percent and 4.5 percent per annum, respectively.

“We built Tonik to accelerate financial inclusion to more Filipinos, who deserve to have the fully-digital ease and convenience in their banking experience,” Krasnov said.

Julito G. Rada

8990 CEO: Landbank worth P165b in sales

OUTSTANDING BATANGUEÑOS. The provincial government of Batangas awards Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno (fourth from left) the Dangal ng Batangan sa Pananalapi ng Bayan during the province’s 440th anniversary. The Dangal ng Batangan is awarded to outstanding Batangueños who contributed to the political, economic and cultural development of Batangas. Diokno calls on Batangueños to heed the call of duty and take up the challenge to contribute not just to the province’s continued growth, but participate in the worthy cause of national development. This year’s Dangal ng Batangan awardees are Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, Dr. Bernardo Villegas and Senator Christopher Lawrence Go.

Bank of Commerce aims to raise P4b from initial public offering

By Jenniffer B. Austria BANK of Commerce, the banking unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., plans to raise up to P4 billion from an initial public offering next year as part of its application to become a universal bank.

The bank filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to 280.6 million common shares, with an over-allotment option for another 42.09 million shares at an offer price of P12.50 each.

The bank use the net proceeds from the offering to fund lending activities, acquisition of investment securities and capital expenditures that include the upgrading of automated teller machines and core banking system.

BOC said it would conduct the IPO as part of a universal banking license application. “With a universal banking license, the bank will have more opportunities to generate and warehouse interest bearing assets like marketable securities, generate more fee-based income and manage risk of securities underwritten and held for trading,” the bank said.

BOC, one of the country’s fast-growing commercial banks, has been in operations since 1963.

San Miguel bought into the bank in 2008 and became a majority stakeholder through the combined voting stake of San Miguel Corp. Retirement Fund, San Miguel Properties Inc. and SMC Equivest.

Bank of Commerce had 140 branches and 257 ATMs strategically located na-

tionwide as of end-September.

The bank registered a net income of P625.7 million in the first three quarters, up 26.3 percent from P495.3 million in the same period last year.

This was driven by 7.21-percent in net interest income to P3.99 billion on lower funding cost as interests declined.

Total assets grew 14.25 percent to P195.3 billion with the purchase of investment securities at amortized cost, which accounted for 20.17 percent of the total.

Gross loan portfolio also increased 3.79 percent to P75.9 billion from P73.1 billion.

BOC hired BDO Capital and Investments Corp., ChinaBank Capital, Philippine Commercial Capital Inc. and PNB Capital as the joint issue managers and underwriters for the IPO.

MASS housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. said its current landbank has the potential to deliver P165-billion worth of sales over the next seven to 10 years.

8990 Holdings president and chief executive officer Anthony Vincent Sotto said in a statement the company plans to roll out 78,352 housing units from its landbank of 670.91 hectares located across the country.

“While we continue to acquire landbank, it is very encouraging to know that with just our current landbank we can expect to see sustainable growth for 8990 as we project an estimated P165 billion in sales,” Sotto said.

Luzon, says Sotto, is expected to bring the most sales with P93 billion, followed by Visayas with P67 billion and Mindanao with P5 billion.

The housing developer has delivered 81,700 units from 65 projects. It also has 52,240 housing units under construction with an estimated sales value of P95 billion.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Casecnan turns over 165-MW plant to gov’t CE CASECNAN Water and Energy Company Inc. (CEWEC) recently turned over the 165-megawatt combined irrigation and power generation facility to the government.

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. president Irene Garcia confirmed the turnover. The facility is now 40 percent owned by the agency and 60 percent held by the National Irrigation Administration.

CEWEC, the local unit of CalEnergy International, earlier operated the facility through an independent power producer Build-Operate-Transfer contract with NIA. The contract expired this month.

The Casecnan facility is a “run-ofriver” type of plant with very limited impounding area. The water from the reservoir flows into the plant’s powerhouse, down to the Pantabangan lake and into the irrigation channels.

PSALM has lined up the Casecnan power facility as one of the big-ticket power projects for privatization in 2022. NIA will continue its mandate of irrigating farmlands despite the privatization of the power component of the facility. Alena Mae S. Flores

Factory output increased by 24.7% in October FACTORY output rose 24.7 percent in October from a year ago on higher production of fabricated metal products, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show Thursday.

The growth in the volume of product index in October this year was slower than the 123.1-percent increase in September, but marked a reversal of the 25.4-percent decline registered in October 2020.

The PSA said the increase in VOPI was brought about by the positive growth rates of 14 industry divisions, led by the manufacture of fabricated metal products with a 176.6-percent growth. The remaining eight industry divisions recorded decreases, led by manufacture of tobacco products with a contraction of 58.6 percent.

Data showed the value of production index also continued to increase, but at a slower rate of 24.8 percent in October compared with the 122.5-percent rise in September.

The PSA said that based on responding establishments, the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sec-

tor improved to 67.0 percent in October from 66.6 percent in September. Twenty of 22 industry divisions reported more than 50-percent average capacity utilization rate.

The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity (90 percent to 100 percent) was 20.5 percent of the total number of responding establishments.

Meanwhile, the total foreign investments approved by investment promotion agencies in the third quarter reached P16.82 billion, down by 45.8 percent from P31.03 billion in the same quarter of 2020.

These investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

The foreign investment commitments in the third quarter were driven by investments from Japan which accounted for 66.4 percent of the total, followed by the Netherlands (9.2 percent) and British Virgin Islands.

GADGETS FOR ALL. Eastern Communications continues its support for the education sector through the holiday season as the company pledges over P228,000 worth of support for Gadgets For All, a charitable program supported by the Synergeia Foundation Inc. that gathers laptops, desktops and smartphones to be given to students and teachers for free for their distance learning needs. Officials of Eastern Communications and Sygergeia Foundation hold a virtual donation turnover ceremony for the benefit of 67 families.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

Spot in PH team, P200k up for grabs in chessfest

Terrafirma Dyip’s Antonio Hester eludes the defense of Phoenix’s Paul Harris in a PBA Governors’ Cup game at the Ynares Center in Pasig City.

Fuel Masters recover from 17-point deficit to stun Dyip

By Peter Atencio

M

ATTHEW Wright vowed to do better for the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters this conference and the vow began in a 103-100 Fuel Masters’ victory over the Terrafirma Dyip on Thursday in their opening game in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup. The 6’4” Wright struck with 13 points in the fourth period as he helped turn things around for the Fuel Masters when action ended at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

“This (team) is going to go as far as I can take ‘em. I can’t have a confidence just like I had in the last conference when I was struggling, and I let my emotions get the best of me,”

said Wright.

The Fil-Canadian Wright came into picture just in time to carry the Fuel Masters to a big comeback from as much as 17 points at 50-67.

The 30-year-old Wright went on to tally 17 points and 10 assists behind import Paul Harris, who showed the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

The setback somehow spoiled the debut of Alex Cabagnot with the Dyip.

Cabagnot, formerly from San Miguel Beer, finished with 12 points for Dyip, which got 28 points from import Antonio Hester.

“We just kept on

playing. We just kept on grinding it out with them,” said Fuel Masters’ coach Topex Robinson.

Wright’s heroics included two threepointers during a huge 23-4 fourthquarter blast that gave the Fuel Masters the lead for good.

The Fuel Masters extricated themselves from a 67-77 deficit at the end of the third quarter, with Hester leading the Dyip’s charge with eight points in the period.

It was Cabagnot’s turnover with 3.3 seconds left that kept Terrafirma from taking a decent shot at a gamewinner or tying basket while trailing, 102-100.

Roxas 5 arrests 2-game slide in VisMin Super Cup

Bobby Mandreza of the Roxas Vanguards fakes a shot.

PAGADIAN, ZAMfor their squad to hold BOANGA DEL SUR on to the victory.

Games on Friday -- Roxas scored a cruThe Vanguards 4 pm - Zamboanga Sibugay Anak cial 79-70 victory over Mindanao Warriors vs Basilan BRT nailed 26 points in Basilan BRT, to snap the third period while Peace Riders 6:30 pm - Globalport-MisOr its two-game skid in limiting the Peace Valientes vs Roxas Vanguards the Chooks-to-Go PilRiders to 15 to turn a ipinas VisMin Super 40-36 affair to a 66-51 Cup Mindanao Chaladvantage. lenge at the Pagadian City Gymnasium “Ang game plan namin talaga ay here, Thursday. dumepensa, noong nawala ‘yun nakaThe Vanguards improved to 6-5 in a habol ang Basilan kaya bumalik lang three-way tie for third place with Paga- kami sa depensa,” said Roxas head dian and Zamboanga Sibugay. However, coach Alvin Grey. they are at the bottom of the logjam for Abanto delivered a monster perforlosing all their outings against the other mance for the Vanguards with 20 points two squads. on a hot 10-of-14 shooting to go with 18 Trailing by a whopping 19 points early rebounds, and four blocks. in the fourth quarter, the Peace Riders Martinez had his best game for Roxas crawled back to the game with a 15-2 blast with 17 points, while Marlon Monte added to slash the gap to just six, 72-66, with 10 points of his own.

3:22 to go.

They played without one of their key But James Martinez, Marlon Monte, and players in Embons Bonleon who is day-toNick Abanto’s buckets kept Roxas afloat day with a minor injury.

2 PH lifters bow out in world tourney

Elien Perez

FILIPINA lifter Elien Perez and Mary Flor Diaz gave it their best efforts in the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships on Wednesday evening at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex in Tashkent.

But both still fell short, with Perez, who is on her third straight stint in the world meet’s -49 kilogram division, settling for seventh out of 13 competitors.

Perez came up with a total of 166 kilograms.

The Bohol-native’s initial lift at 73 kgs was clean, but her attempt at 77 didn’t fall through.

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Then, Perez went for 93 kgs in the clean and jerk, which she passed, but her attempt at 97 failed.

Diaz, a cousin of Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, did not finish in the women’s 45kg after failing all her lifts in the snatch.

She had no-lifts on three attempts of 65kg, before successfully lifting 77kg and 80kg in the clean and jerk.

She submitted another ‘no-lift’ in her final attempt of 83kg.

So far, Thailand claimed the golds in the two weight divisions, with Thunya Sukcahroen and Surodchana Khambao finishing with 172 kgs and 191 in the 49-kg and 45-kg sections, respectively.

Sukcharoen also went home with the snatch gold and the clean and jerk silver with 77 and 95 kgs, respectively. Peter Atencio

A SPOT in the national team seeing action in the 2023 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and a cash pot of more than P200,000 will be up for grabs in the 2021 Philippine National Chess Championship that was unfurled Thursday at the Solea Hotel and Resort in Mactan, Cebu.

Grandmasters Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo were the woodpushers to watch out for in the single-round robin tournament, to be participated in by 10 of the country’s top masters, including International Masters Ronald Dableo, Paulo Bersamina, Daniel Quizon and Jem Garcia.

Also seeing action are IMs Ricky de Guzman, John Marvin Miciano, Michael Concio, Jr., and Joel Pimentel, Allan Pason and Woman GM Janelle Mae Frayna.

The 59-year-old Antonio will be gunning for his 14th title, while the 41-yearold Laylo his fourth.

Aside from a slot to the AIMAG set in Bangkok and Chonburi, Thailand in 2023, a champion’s purse worth P80,000 plus P50,000 and P25,000 for the second and third placers, respectively, will be up for grabs, according to NCFP CEO GM Jayson Gonzales.

Antonio and Laylo were battling Bersamina and Dableo, respectively, at press time. Other pairings pitted Pimentel against Pason, de Guzman with Concio, Garcia versus Frayna and Miciano with Quizon.

The six-day event is bankrolled by PSC chair Butch Ramirez, NCFP president Butch Pichay, POC president Bambol Tolentino, Chess Movement, Inc. chair Dr. Ariel Potot, PCSO vice chair and general manager Royina Garma and Atty. Roel Canobas.

Obstacle Course Racing in PSC’s Rise Up webisode THE Philippine Sports Commission puts the spotlight on obstacle course racing—now a competitive sport being played globally—in a dedicated episode of Rise Up Shape Up streamed on December 11.

The special webisode titled “No Obstacle is Unbeatable,” will be headlined by coaches and sports development specialists to expound on obstacle course racing as a competitive sport and deepen our insights on how sports can help people overcome life’s obstacles.

“Competing means you have to beat and win over opponents.

It is a lesson that we can apply to real-world obstacles. We need to overcome and survive obstacles in life to come out strong and win in life,” PSC Women in Sports oversight Commissioner Celia Kiram said.

“We needed sports to show us how we can be strong physically, mentally, and emotionally to conquer hurdles and problems,” added Kiram, who will also share a brief and interesting trivia on OCR in “K-Isport” segment.

Coach Patricia Puzon, who currently serves as the founding director and coach of MAC’s CrankIt Tennis Academy in Australia, will open the episode on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m.

Puzon will be joined by Karen Tanchanco-Caballero, President of the Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Federation Inc., and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Philippine Olympic Committee, Nerza del Rosario-Manalastas, former Philippine Dragonboat national team co-captain, Marry Ann Crisostomo, Far Eastern University wellness and recreation specialist, and Dr. Ligaya Gina Sarmiento, Director of the Sports Development and Management Office of Tarlac State University.

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Sports

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

Bach insists on neutrality in face of boycotts LAUSANNE, Switzerland—IOC president Thomas Bach insisted on Wednesday that he was staying politically neutral in the face of diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Olympics and concerns over tennis player Peng Shuai.

Addressing a virtual press conference at the end of the second day of the IOC Executive Board meeting, Bach talked about the “success” of the delayed Tokyo Games in July and August, but then faced questions centred on China, which hosts the Winter Games in February.

Bach spoke on a day when Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada followed the United States and announced diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Games because of concerns over China’s human rights record.

He insisted the important point was “the participation of the athletes in the Olympic Games”.

“We welcome the support for their Olympic team all these governments have been emphasising this is giving the athletes certainty and this is what the IOC is about.”

“The presence of government officials is a purely political decision by each government,” he said.

“You will hear the same comment from us for every political decision from any government. We have been concerned with the athletes. We welcome that they can participate that they are supported by their national governments. The rest is politics and our political neutrality applies.”

“If we were to start to take political sides, we would never get the 205 or 206 national committees to Olympic Games this would be the politicisation of the Olympic Games and this would be the end of the Olympic Games.”

Bach said the IOC would ensure human rights were observed at the Games.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that everything related to the Olympics includes respect for the human rights of all the participants and freedom of press,” he said.

The IOC has been following a strategy of “quiet diplomacy” in the case of Chinese tennis player Peng who disappeared for three weeks after she made sexual assault accusations on social media against a former top Communist Party politician. Despite two IOC video calls, there are continuing doubts about whether she is at liberty. AFP

NBA All-Star voting tips off on Dec. 25, ends Jan. 22

Activists rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, California, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to concerns over China’s human rights record. AFP

Western diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics widens

L

ONDON—Britain, Canada and Australia on Wednesday joined the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February, prompted by what the Western allies argue are widespread rights abuses by China.

Britain will not send ministers to the Winter Games in the Chinese capital, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, as discord over a slew of issues strains relations between Beijing and London to the most serious extent since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

These include the persecution on prodemocracy groups in Hong Kong, a former British colony, and human rights abuses against Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.

As with the other boycotting countries, Johnson confirmed athletes would still attend, saying: “I do not think that sporting boycotts are sensible.”

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canadian officials too would skip the Games, saying his government is “extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government”.

Earlier Wednesday, Australia announced its officials would not attend.

The countries’ decisions follow the

US announcement on Monday of its diplomatic boycott, over what Washington termed China’s “genocide” of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang and other rights abuses.

Beijing warned the United States would “pay the price”, while it accused Canberra of “political posturing and selfish games” and “blindly following” Washington.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China had never intended to invite Australian officials to the Games, adding: “Whether they come or not, nobody cares.”

‘Crucial step’ Rights groups have backed the moves, with Human Rights Watch’s China director Sophie Richardson calling it a “crucial step toward challenging the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities”.

Campaigners say that at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking,

mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in “re-education camps” in Xinjiang, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.

Beijing has defended the camps as vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach insisted on Wednesday that he was staying politically neutral on the matter, while insisting the important point was “the participation of the athletes in the Olympic Games”.

Cooling relations All four of the Western countries have seen relations with Beijing cool dramatically in recent years.

Britain has criticized China for its creeping authoritarianism in Hong Kong and last year angered Beijing by blocking Chinese giant Huawei’s involvement in its 5G broadband roll-out, after Washington raised spying concerns.

Canada’s relations with China meanwhile hit a low over the December 2018 arrest in Vancouver on a US warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and Beijing’s detention of two Canadian nationals in response.

All three were released and repatriated in September. AFP

NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot, the Official Watch and Official Timekeeper of the NBA, will tip off on Saturday, Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. ET and conclude on Saturday night, Jan. 22 at midnight ET, giving fans the opportunity to vote for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game starters via the NBA App, NBA.com and Twitter.

The 71st NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. Cleveland is hosting NBA All-Star 2022, which will celebrate the league’s 75th Anniversary Season. Cleveland last hosted NBA All-Star in 1997, when the NBA commemorated its 50th anniversary.

Throughout the four-week voting period, fans may submit one full ballot each day via the NBA App and NBA.com, as well as vote for up to 10 unique players per day on Twitter. All current NBA players will be available for selection. Five “2-for-1 Days” will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Dec. 25, Jan. 7, Jan. 13, Jan. 17 and Jan. 20 through the NBA App, NBA. com and Twitter voting platforms.

The first 2-for-1 Day on Christmas Day will be from 11 a.m. ET until midnight ET. The next four “2-for1 Days” will be designated from 12:01 a.m. ET – midnight ET. NBA players and media will continue to join fans in selecting the NBA All-Star Game starters. Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each. Players and media will be able to complete one ballot, featuring three frontcourt players and two guards from both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference.

Fan voting updates will be shared on Thursday, Jan. 6, Thursday, Jan. 13 and Thursday, Jan. 20.

TNT will reveal the NBA AllStar Game starters, including the two team captains, on Thursday, Jan. 27 during TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax. TNT will also announce the reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, on Thursday, Feb. 3 during TNT NBA Tip-Off.

De la Noche, Iraya make FIVB beach volleyball history in Phuket THE Philippines made history in the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships after rising stars Jayrack De la Noche and Alexander Iraya rallied from a set down to beat Estonia’s Karmo Saviauk and Kaur Erik Kais, 16-21, 21-15, 15-12, at the end of the pool rounds on Thursday in Phuket, Thailand.

After two tough losses, De la Noche and Iraya showed steely resolve in beating Saviauk and Kais to give the country its firstever win in any world championship-level beach volleyball competition.

The Philippines had a chance to secure a spot in the Round of 24 after Australia’s

Jack Pearse and Lucas Josefsen outlasted Thailand’s Narakorn Chumaphai and Veerayut Sopati, 17-21, 21-17, 15-7.

The Filipinos were actually tied with the Thais with a 1-2 win-loss record and were also level in points with four, but Narakorn and Veerayut clinched the third and last round-of-24 slot in Pool H by virtue of superior set ratio—4-4 to 2-5.

Estonia joined Australia in the knockout stage.

De la Noche and Iraya were very much in the game in the second set before losing to Narakorn and Veerayut, 15-21, 19-21, on opening day and put up a gallant stand in the opening set before dropping a 20-22,

9-21 decision to Pearse and Josefsen.

The Negrense pair will also compete in the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships slated December 14 to 19 also in Phuket.

Currently ranked No. 351 in the world, De la Noche and Iraya made a historic run to the quarterfinals of the Fourth Asian U21 Championships in Nakhon Pathom last July.

The Filipinos were fielded in the tournament by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Rebisco, Asics and Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Jayrack De la Noche and Alexander Iraya Cayetano.

Verstappen is ‘natural’ born heir to Hamilton’s throne PARIS—From the moment that Max Verstappen joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2014, there was an inevitability that he would one day find himself battling it out to be Formula One world champion.

He missed an opportunity in Saudi Arabia last weekend, first when he slammed into the wall during qualifying and then when his aggressive tactics against Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton during the race led to him having to give up the lead and take a five-second penalty.

But the 24-year-old has another chance this weekend in Abu Dhabi.

The arch rivals head into the season finale level on points but Verstappen has a slight advantage, having won nine races to Hamilton’s eight.

If they both crash out of the race, Verstappen will become the first Dutchman to win the title. Such an outcome is not off the books given the way Verstappen has wrangled with Hamilton on the track.

At Silverstone, Verstappen ended up in the crash barriers; at Monza he crash-landed his Red Bull on top of the Mercedes. In Saudi Arabia, Hamilton crunched into the

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (left) and Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton compete in the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah. AFP

back of the Red Bull after Verstappen braked to let him pass.

The incidents on the track have led to a war of words off it. The Dutchman has labelled the seven-time world champion a

“stupid idiot” while Hamilton accused the young pretender of being “over the limit” in Jeddah.

Not once, though, has Verstappen taken a step back or wilted under the pressure.

“He seems to deal with the pressure better than other people,” said two-time world champion Fernando Alonso earlier in the season.

Racing pedigree Verstappen is used to the spotlight, the pressure and, with already 20 years already on the track, is experienced beyond his years as a racing driver.

According to his father Jos Verstappen, who raced in over a hundred Grand Prix between 1994 and 2003, Max first clambered into a go-kart when he was four and a half years old.

“He was keen, watching all my races, he knew what was going on. He was brought up with racing,” Jos told the official F1 podcast Beyond the Grid in 2019.

“I never had to tell him racing lines, he knew.”

His father was not the only influence on his early racing career; his mother is Belgian ex-kart driver champion Sophie Kumpen.

Her uncle competed in motocross and rally, and her cousin Anthony Kumpen raced NASCAR in the United States.

Titles followed and the teenage Ver-

stappen made the step up to Formula Three, winning 10 races in his debut season when he finished third in the championship which was won by Esteban Ocon, a year his senior and now with the F1 Alpine team.

Verstappen would almost certainly have gone on to win the Formula Three title but after one season he made the step up to the biggest stage.

After taking part in practice at the 2014 Japanese GP, he made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso at the Australian GP in 2015.

- ‘Exciting driver’ Aged just 17 years, 166 days, he was the youngest ever driver in the sport -- and still had not passed his regular driving test.

“For me it was never about age,” said Jos. “It was so natural what he was doing. pressive. Max is an exciting driver. He’s much better than me.”

That first season saw him take his first points and get involved in his first scrap. A shunt on Romain Grosjean in Monaco saw Verstappen labelled “dangerous” by Williams driver Felipe Massa but he went on to land the FIA’s Rookie of the Year title. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

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Korean heartthrobs Lee Dong Wook and Wi Ha Jun are ‘Bad and Crazy’ IT’S A date with a Hallyu’s dashing duo when Bad and Crazy debuts on Dec. 17 on iQiyi and iQ.com at 9:50 p.m. simulcast with Korea, globally across 191 territories.

The iQiyi’s Original Korean drama stars Lee Dong Wook (Tale of the Nine Tailed, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God), and Wi Ha Jun (Squid Game, 18 Again, Something in the Rain) with Han Ji Eun (Lovestruck in the City, Be Melodramatic), and Cha Hak Yeon (Mine, Children of Nobody).

The latest trailers reveal Lee stars as Ryu Su Yeol, a consequentialist police inspector looking to get

ahead in life. After meeting Wi Ha Joon’s crazy ‘K’ - whose origin is yet unknown - Lee’s life descends into chaos, from being beaten up, getting into fights, surviving an explosion, to clinging to the open rear door of a speeding truck. Even with life and limb at stake, Lee and Wi are still smiling and giving each other high-fives in a love-hate relationship that promises to enthrall viewers.

In the trailers, Lee’s enviable physique takes the spotlight as he’s seen relaxing in a sauna with just a towel, the tranquil only lasted for a while when a helmet-clad Wi suddenly bursts in. Wi dishes out a beating, splashes hot water on Lee, and even forces

him on a terrifying motorcycle ride.

Lee Dong Wook could not help but yell, “You really are a madman!” However, in moments of crisis, Lee and Wi seem to enjoy great chemistry fighting side by side, revealing a ‘bromance’ that ties them together.

Bad and Crazy is a heroic drama that follows capable but bad cop Ryu Su Yeol regaining his humanity after meeting the righteous but crazy ‘K’. The iQiyi Original K-series premieres on Dec. 17, with new episodes simulcast with Korea on Fridays and Saturdays.

A scene from upcoming South Korean television series ‘Bad and Crazy’

Kim Domingo’s ultimate wish

Kim Domingo will be headlining this Saturday’s episode of ‘Wish Ko Lang.’

S

HE was once named the country’s “Ultimate Pantasya ng Bayan,” earning the moniker after flooding the web with her photos wearing economically challenged clothing, skimpy bikinis, and lingerie.

But when Kim Domingo announced that she’s taking a time off from being too daring, some of her fans seemed became uninterested in her.

“I noticed that on social media, a lot of people started unfollowing me when I decided to tone it down,” the 26-yearold Kapuso actress admitted. “Pero ganun talaga, we can’t please everyone, especially those who expect that I will be sexy all the time.”

Little did many people know, Kim wanted to transition from a sexy star to a serious actress even citing Jaclyn Jose as one of her inspirations.

“I wish people would appreciate me with my acting skill as well. My dream is really to be a serious actress. And I hope I would be given the chance to showcase that side of me,” she said.

In terms of acting, Kim is headlining this Saturday’s episode of Wish Ko Lang. Entitled “Lihim ng Punerarya,” the story

is part of “Pasko ng Pag-asa: The Wish Ko Lang Christmas Specials” airing this whole month of December.

The story features love and forgiveness between a mother and daughter portrayed by Kim and Lotlot de Leon.

Kim shared how grateful she is to be part of Wish Ko Lang’s month-long line-up that features female actresses as lead stars.

“I’m so thankful that this December, I’m able to do another Wish Ko Lang episode at puro kami babae na bibida,” she said, adding that she is also honored to be working with veteran actors such as Lotlot.

“I felt kind of pressured doing scenes with her but still thankful ako na nabigyan ako ng chance na maka-work siya,” Kim revealed.

In the story, Ashley (Kim) went to jail for being a scammer.

She did it to provide for herself and her mother, Rose (Lotlot), who is volatile and timid.

Ever since her father died, Ashley has been the breadwinner of the family. So when she was imprisoned, she was full of guilt because she left her mother helpless.

Soon, Ashley gets out of jail. She is excited about her release because it’s the Christmas season and she wants to spend the holidays with her mother.

Unfortunately, she discovers that Rose went to the province and that now has been living with another man, Gary (Adrian). Ashley is shocked when she learns that her mother lives in the funeral home owned by Gary. From the moment she laid eyes on him, Ashley finds something off with Gary. She is determined to convince Rose to live with her again. But Rose does not trust Ashley, saying that she is just going back to her illegal means of making money that will land Ashley in jail and leave Rose alone once more. This is when Ashley starts to unfold the mysteries behind Gary and his funeral home. Unfortunately, Gary catches her telling Rose about this. Can Ashley save her mother from Gary’s hands? Will she get to reconcile with her this Christmas?

Kim said that the story teaches us that what goes around comes around.

Joining Kim and Lotlot for “Lihim ng Punerarya” are Adrian Alandy, Chanel Latorre, Charlize Ruth, and Limuel Huet. With fresh episodes airing every Saturday at 4:00 p.m., Wish Ko Lang, hosted by Vicky Morales, features stories that spark hope and inspiration among viewers.

Catch the next episodes of “Pasko ng Pag-asa: The Wish Ko Lang Christmas Specials” namely “The Affair” airing on Dec. 18 and headlined by Jean Garcia, and “Gayuma” airing on Dec. 25 and bannered by Max Collins.

Beauty queens and kings get fabulous smiles

Pageant kings showing of their fabularized smiles

DO YOU have a smile that can light up the whole town? We dream about having that great smile that could help change our lives.

Today, millions of people will not hesitate to shell out a lot of money just to obtain one. We see celebrities, social media influencers, beauty queens, etc., looking extremely attractive with their perfect white veneer teeth which they consider as an investment.

Fast-becoming a trusted name in aesthetic dentistry in the city is Fabularized Smile clinic owned and headed by Dr. Chad Fabular, a 30-year-old Davaoeño and graduate of Smile Design Course in Dubai and Dental Cosmetics training in California, USA. A Dentistry graduate of Davao Medical School, he is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and completed a post-grad course and training for advanced Cosmetic Dentistry at New York University.

Fabularized Smile is now the clinic to go in the Metro to as endorsed by beauty title-holders that include Reina

Hispanoamericana 2021 3rd runner-up Emmanuelle Vera, Miss Asia-Pacific International 2018 Sharifa Akeel Mangudadatu, and Mutya Pilipinas Asia Pacific 2019 Klysa Castro.

It has partnered with a major beauty training camp and PEPPS’ Misters of Filipinas pageant with its newly crowned Man of the World Philippines 2021 Nadim Elzein getting a confidently beautiful and fabulous smile.

“The chance to improve a person’s cognizance of themselves and to be able to build an affirmative influence on their daily lives are our essential motivational tools in doing what we do.

Smiles aren’t just for teeth, they are for people too,” Fabularized Smile’s working motto.

Satisfied clients are steadily increasing after getting excellent dental cosmetics service at Dr. Fabular’s clinic which opened one in Quezon City located at 27 Scout Rallos, Tomas Morato. It’s a dental

clinic where you will find a congenial atmosphere with a skilled and highly trained team equipped with state-of-the art dental technology to swiftly provide safe and quality dental care and treatment that fit your needs.

Treatments offered include Emax Veneers and crowns, Laser Gingival Trimming, Cercon Full Mouth Bridge, Bacterial reduction and gum trimming with Diode Laser which treats Ill-fitting, overbuilt protruding bridge causing gingival irritation.

••• Reina ng Tahanan 1st runner-up vies at Mrs. Philippines International 2021 A wild card finalist of It’s Showtime “Reina ng Tahanan - Ang Pinakatatanging Ina,” a talent contest for mothers where she ended up as first runner up, Leona Luisa Andersen now sets her eyes on taking the Mrs. Philippines International 2021 crown.

Andersen, daughter of a Filipina caregiver and Danish businessman, was born and raised in Alberta, Canada but settled in the country for good with her family.

The 27-yearold mother from Olongapo City, graduated with a degree in BS Psychology and has a license in Basic Life Support and First Aid. Read full story on manilastandard.net Leona Luisa Andersen

Philippines’ Beatrice Gomez tipped to win Miss Universe crown MISS Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez has emerged as one of the frontrunners in the 70th Miss Universe Competition that will air live from Eilat, Israel on Monday (Dec. 13) on A2Z channel 11 starting at 7:30 a.m.

Beatrice made it on the “First Hot Picks” list of leading beauty pageant website Missosology, ranking number eight among candidates that have shown their prowess early, according to the website’s core group of correspondents and experts.

Since arriving in Israel, the Cebuana beauty has dazzled pageant fans with her beauty and unique personality.

In a recent report by Dyan Castillejo for TV Patrol, Beatrice revealed that she looks up to reigning Miss Universe Andrea Meza of Mexico when it comes to her approach to the competition.

“All of the girls last year were equally gorgeous and intelligent but if there’s one thing that I learned from Ms. Andrea Meza was that she was just being herself. She was not trying so hard. And it is very important to be who you are,” she shared.

Also predicted to make a run for the crown are delegates from Japan, Chile, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, India, Colombia, and this year’s heavy favorite Paraguay.

Once again, ABS-CBN partners 2021 Miss Universe Philippines Beatrice Luigi Gomez with Miss Universe to bring the most beautiful day in the universe to Filipinos. They can watch and support Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez in her quest to become the fifth Filipino winner in the prestigious event live on A2Z channel 11 with a sameday replay at 11:00 p.m.

Revolutionizing online live viewing experience MOBILE services provider Smart Communications, Inc. is pulling out all the stops to give Filipinos access to highly anticipated international events featuring Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Jonas Brothers, and your favorite K-Pop stars ENHYPEN, TXT, aespa, ATEEZ, and more with the back-to-back livestreaming of iHeart Jingle Ball and the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) tomorrow, Dec. 11.

Catch these exclusive livestreams on Smart’s GigaPlay App with the annual iHeart Radio Jingle Ball Tour at 7:00 a.m. and MAMA at 3:00 p.m. through your Smart-connected device.

“A couple of months ago, the GigaPlay App was just a dream, so you can just imagine how happy we South Korean boy band ENHYPEN are to give our customers exclusive access to some of the world’s most anticipated live events. And we’re just starting. If you can’t travel to see the concerts and experience events physically, then we bring them to you digitally—right at your fingertips,” said Jane J. Basas, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business at Smart.

From New York to Seoul in one day Watch the biggest music acts including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Jonas Brothers, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, Saweetie, AJR, Kane Brown, Tate Mcrae, Bazzi, and Dixie D’Amelo as they heat up New York city’s Madison Square Garden with their performances of their hits as well as some Dua Lipa renditions of beloved holiday tunes.

Later in the day, see who among the hottest K-Pop Ed artists will take home this year’s biggest awards at the Sheeran 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards straight from Seoul, South Korea.

Catch Wanna One, aespa, Ateez, Brave Girls, Enhypen, INI, and more. Global superstar Ed Sheeran will have a special performance as well.

Expect other big groups to drop by and perform during this year’s Mnet ceremonies.

Start watching at 3 p.m. for the red carpet arrivals before the main show kicks off at 5:00 p.m. Korean celebrities Song Joong Ki, Rain, Ahn Bo Hyun, Lee Sun Bin, Yeo Jin Goo, Lee Do Hyun, and Choi Si Won among others will also join the program as presenters.

Don’t miss all the exclusive live and on-demand shows and content on GigaPlay! Download the app now on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or click on this link: smrt.ph/gigaplay.

Life

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

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Jolo, also born into a showbiz family, appeared in the 2016 film ‘Tatay Kong Sexy.’

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021

Jolo Estrada

Jolo with his family during Christmas

‘Blessing and a curse’

Jolo Estrada on being born into a political clan

By Nickie Wang

I

S SUCCESS a matter of fate? Does successfully achieving your goals in the material world depend on what family name you carry?

SNAPSHOTS Holiday hugs at SM Mall of Asia

Jolo Estrada came from a prominent clan known both in showbiz and political scenes. His last name can easily tell you that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and as a child, he had all the best things.

He is the grandchild of former president and movie icon Joseph Estrada.

His father? Senatorial aspirant Jinggoy Estrada.

But Jolo wishes to accomplish success through his own hard work.

He wanted to be recognized for the efforts he puts into the things he does.

“I consider being born into a political and showbiz family both a blessing and a curse,” the young Estrada told Manila Standard in an interview.

“It’s a blessing because you already have the leverage. Apo yan ni Erap, anak yan ni Jinngoy, he comes from a prominent bloodline. But it’s also a curse because everyone watches your every move. You don’t have privacy. And at the same time, people have high expectations of you,”

A GIANT teddy bear topiary surrounded by blooming poinsettias hugs a stack of red Christmas balls to celebrate the love and joy Christmas brings at the SM Mall of Asia Atrium. Inspired by a classic European English labyrinth garden, the mall’s Christmas centerpiece has picturesque winding paths that filled with poinsettias flower beds, huge bear-shaped topiaries, and timeless giant Nutcracker figures.

It is highlighted by a 60-foot giant Christmas tree dazzling with gold Christmas balls and berries accented with 40,000 color-changing A giant bear topiary adds holiday cheer to the SM Mall of Asia Atrium.

LED lights.

•••

Skal International marks 40th year AT THE Skal International Makati’s 40th Founding Anniversary Celebration event in partnership with TPB, PAGCOR, PAL, Ralph Wines and Spirits, and Heritage Hotel, nine students who are officers of League of Tourism Students of the Philippine (LTSP), NCR Chapter, were inducted as Young Skal members.

Shown in photo, Skal President Jaime J. Bautista (left) inductied LTSP VP External Alexander Peer A. Kortenjan of LPU Manila, School Representative Jose Fernando T. Pambago of Adamson

University, Regional Representative Honee Grace A. Parayaoan of LPU Manila, School Representative May Ann E. Santos of San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation Inc., Board Member Francine Jayne R. Marcelo of Manila Tytana Colleges, Board Member Rose Anne O. Gamao of Jose Rizal University, Auditor Mary Krystle B. Mascariña of Treston International College, Board Member Yna Beatrice T. Ejertima of Treston International College and President John Paul T. Dacuycuy of Manila Tytana Colleges.

Key attendees of the 40th Anniversary celebration of Skal International Makati Christmas with the stars

he carried on.

Given its cons, this doesn’t hinder the young Estrada from carving his own path. At 26, he has already established himself as an entrepreneur. He owns a bar and a fitness gym. And early this year, he signed with talent manager Leo V. Dominguez, who’s helping him map a career in showbiz.

Although he has appeared in a film before, Tatay Kong Sexy (2016) with his dad and actress Maja Salvador, it’s only now that he’s dipping his toes completely in showbiz.

On Sunday, Jolo makes his first dramatic appearance on television via Regal Studio Presents, and it’s just one of the projects that he’s going to do with the production outfit as confirmed by Roselle Monteverde.

“We worked with him in the film Seasons with Lovi Poe, and we saw his potential that’s why we have lined up a few projects for him.

In his first TV project, he portrayed his character very well,” the Regal executive said.

In Regal Studio Presents: Ethan’s Return, Jolo shares the screen with young actor Joaquin Domagoso, the son of Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

“It’s so funny that he didn’t know that I’m Erap’s grandchild. During our break from taping I told him, ‘Hey, I know your dad. He’s a very nice guy.’ And he asked me, ‘How do you know my dad?’ It was one of my co-actors who told him that I’m Jinggoy’s son. And that’s the only point

that he realized that our families have history,” Jolo shared.

“But you know, that’s all in the past. JD is such a nice guy and very easy to work with. We had a great time on set,” he added.

As showbiz beckons, a career in politics could also be in the horizon. It’s the trend, as we all know.

“Well, I’m from a political family. And now I’m trying to be an actor. I’m not closing my doors. I can’t really tell what the future holds for me. But at the moment, I want to focus on my showbiz career and my other businesses,” he stated.

“I want to be a better actor. I may not reach the superstar status of my grandfather, but I’m doing my best to be good at acting. I think that should be the foundation,” Jolo said.

How the Estradas spend Christmas “It’s a family affair,” Jolo exclaimed.

Like every Filipino family, the Estradas traditionally spend Christmas together for a night of playing games and exchanging stories over “some booze.”

“On Christmas Eve, we normally go to Lolo Erap’s house for Noche Buena. We do the normal stuff, we open gifts after eating then karaoke till 3:00 a.m. Then, on the 25th, it’s Christmas lunch with the entire clan. But the pandemic change that,” Jolo shared.

Before the pandemic, Dec. 25 was a family reunion for the Estradas. Everyone was present, all accounted for.

“We’re a big family. We’re around 200 people gathering on Christmas Day. But since the pandemic, we just do it virtually,” Jolo said adding that just like last year, the Estradas will just do a zoom party.

Christmas with the stars JOIN Ortigas Malls as it celebrates Christmas with a star-studded cast for a meaningful cause.

Christmas with the Stars is an online fundraising concert on Dec. 1, 7:00 p.m. on ktx.ph for the benefit of the Independent Production Workers Group (IPWG).

The online concert is headlined by Ogie Alcasid and Ian Veneracion, along with the country’s best OPM artists such as Gary Valenciano, Regine VelasquezAlcasid, Martin Nievera, Jose Mari Chan, Lani Misalucha, The Company, Dingdong Avanzado, Noel Cabangon, Christian Bautista, Aicelle Santos, Ryan Cayabyab Singers, Lara Maigue,

Gian Magdangal, Poppert Bernadas, Moira Lacambra, Krystle, Ryan Cayabyab, and more.

Ticket is free for every single or accumulated purchase receipt of P1,000 from any establishment of Ortigas Malls until today. Donations of P800 to 1,000 ‘Christmas with the Star’ is an online fundraising concert on can also be exchanged Dec. 1, 7:00 p.m. for a ticket.

Visit ortigasmalls. hills Mall, Tiendesitas, Estancia, and Incom to claim your ticket. Check out Green- dustria Facebook pages for more details.

ACPACI partners with SM Foundation, PAMA, RC of San Juan North in gift-giving activity THE Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry (ACPACI) partnered with SM Foundation, Philippine Association of Management Accountants (PAMA), and the Rotary Club of San Juan North to bring ACPACI’s gift-giving project this holiday demonstrates the joy to the young residents of organization’s concern for the children.

White Cross Orphanage.

Located along Santolan “Christmas is for everyone. But it alRoad in San Juan City, White Cross ways brings to mind children,” she said.

Orphanage is a child-caring institution “We are grateful there are organizations accredited by the Department of Social taking care of these homeless children Welfare and Development. like White Cross.”

The early Christmas-giving activity Gorospe also thanked SM Foundation, of ACPACI was spearheaded by its Di- PAMA and the Rotary Club of San Juan rector for Social Involvement Florencia North for their donations and SMFI coGorospe. ordinators Albert Uy, Dalfhen Samson, According to Gorospe, the choice of and Roland Sagun for helping pack the White Cross Orphanage as the benefi- SMFI and ACPACI donated items. ciary of ACPACI’s CSR project this yuleThe gifts for the young residents of tide season demonstrates the organiza- White Cross consisted of toiletries, vition’s concern for the children. tamins and medicines, biscuits and can-

dies, milk and food, and school supplies. These were turned over to White Cross Executive Director Mely Reluya.

With Gorospe during the giftgiving were ACPACI President Walter Abella, ACPACI Chairperson for Social Involvement Noel Ang, PAMA President Lolita Tang, and representatives from the Rotary Club of San Juan North.

White Cross Orphanage provides temporary shelter for children aged 0-6 years who are children of unwed mothers, indigent families, tuberculosis patients, mentally or physically incapacitated parents, prisoners, or victims of incest or rape.

At present, there are 62 children staying in the institution waiting for adoption. They are provided with medical assistance, educational care, and financial support to help them in their early years.