Manila Standard - 2022 January 12 - Wednesday

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(Story on A4) ALLEGED COMELEC HACKING WORRIES PALACE, PRESIDENTIAL BETS (Story on A4)

‘OVER HALF OF EUROPE TO CATCH OMICRON’ NEWS / A2

PRISON BRAWL LEAVES 6 DEAD, 33 INJURED IN CALOOCAN JAIL NEWS / A3

VOL. XXXV • NO. 331 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NCR facing ‘severe outbreak’ OCTA notes region’s average daily cases at 89.42 percent, PH at ‘critical risk’

By Willie Casas

I

NDEPENDENT researchers said Metro Manila was experiencing a “severe outbreak” of COVID-19 as the Philippines breached the 3-million mark in coronavirus infections Tuesday, with health officials reporting 28,007 new cases and warning that the country was now at “critical risk” for the respiratory disease.

The independent OCTA Research Group said the COVID-19 average daily attack rate (ADAR) in the National Next page

DOH declares Omicron new dominant strain

By Willie Casas

UNVAXXED, MORE VAX. The Gising Maharlika Freedom Fighters unfold signs as they protest at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Tuesday. The group believes that vaccination will not stop the spread of COVID-19 and vaccination is not the solution for it.

Meanwhile, residents of Manila line up for their vaccines and boosters outside the Ramon Magsaysay High School along España Avenue, as Metro Manila was in the grip of a “severe outbreak” of the coronavirus. Danny Pata and Norman Cruz

HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Omicron coronavirus is now the dominant COVID-19 variant in the Philippines, based on the latest whole genome sequencing run.

On Jan. 3, 29 out of the 48 samples tested were of the Omicron variant, while 18 were of the Delta variant.

“This is already the dominant variant, whereas before it was the Delta. Sixty percent of all the

sequence runs showed the Omicron variant,” he said.

Duque said the average daily reported cases went up by 690 percent from January 4 to 10, with an average daily increase of 20,481 cases.

It was relatively lower compared to the 726 percent increase recorded from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3.

The numbers meant the whole Philippines is at a critical risk classification for COVID-19.

Besides the National Capital Region, Regions 4A and Region 3 were at critical

risk, while Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 2, 1, 6, 5, 7, 4B and 11 were at high risk.

Duque also said there was an increase in the hospital, intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation utilization rates nationwide.

Forty percent of hospital beds nationwide are being used for COVID-19 cases, while 38 percent of intensive care units are occupied. Seventeen percent of mechanical ventilation is also being used.

“Most of the regions saw an increase in these three categories, and that's why Next page

Palace pleads to 30m unvaxxed to get jabs to avert hospital crisis

By Vito Barcelo and Willie Casas

risk of infection and severe illness.

At a press briefing, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles urged those who have not yet received their jabs to get THE Palace said Tuesday there are still inoculated.

28 million to 30 million Filipinos not He added that having 3 million vaccinated against COVID-19, including unvaccinated senior citizens leaves a 3 million senior citizens, who are most at Next page

DTI limits sales, caps prices of drugs on a purchase cap to prevent artificial shortage and a possible escalation in pricing effective yesterday (Tuesday).

Given the magnitude of daily COVID THE Department of Trade and Industry, cases that has breached the 30,000 mark in coordination with the Department of Monday, the DTI decided to limit the Next page Health, placed popular branded medicines

By Othel V. Campos, Willie Casas and Joel E. Zurbano

RANDOM TESTING. A passenger of the Light Railway Transit at the EDSA-Taft station undergoes COVID-19 antigen testing on Tuesday. Six of 48 passengers on the Manila Metro Rail Transit System tested positive for the coronavirus as the Department of Transportation held random antigen tests on consenting MRT and LRT passengers due to spikes of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila.

Danny Pata

Gov’t eyes perks for people under home quarantine

Nograles: Polls won’t hamper nat’l vax drive

By Willie Casas

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE government will discuss health packages and incentives for people who are on home quarantine due to COVID-19 this week, Malacañang said Tuesday, as the Philippines logged record coronavirus infections.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles told a press briefing: “During the meeting this Thursday, that will be one of our topics: Next page

COVID CLEANUP. Manila Police District Station 2 and Barangay fire volunteers conduct clean-up and flushing operation along Padre Rada Street near the Santo Niño de Tondo Parish in Divisoria, Tondo, Manila, on Tuesday. The parish closed the church to prevent mass gatherings ahead of the Feast of the Child Jesus on Jan. 15 and 16.

Norman Cruz

MALACAÑANG gave assurances Tuesday the country’s national vaccination drive would not be hampered despite the upcoming May 2022 national and local elections.

This after National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer Next page

3,026,473 28,007

181,016

52,511

219

2,792,946

4,471

(As of 4 PM, JANUARY 11)

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Half of Europe to catch Omicron’ C The highly transmissible variant has ripped through countries at breakneck pace, forcing governments to impose fresh measures and scramble to roll out booster shots.

Europe has been at the epicenter of alarming new outbreaks—hospital admissions and deaths are creeping up as well—and the World Health Organization

said Tuesday Omicron could infect half of all people in the region at current infection rates.

"The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasts that more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks," said Hans Kluge, regional director for WHO's European office.

The WHO's European region covers 53 countries and territories including several in Central Asia, and Kluge said 50 of them had Omicron cases.

Kluge confirmed that Omicron is more transmissible than previous variants, but stressed "approved vaccines do continue to provide good protection against severe disease and death, including for Omicron."

The warning bell came exactly two years after the first person died of a virus only later identified as COVID-19—a 61-year-old man in Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected.

Since January 11, 2020, known fatalities in the pandemic have soared to nearly 5.5 million.

NCR..

trend slowed down slightly,” he added.

Reproduction rate refers to the number of people who are infected by one case.

A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

The health care utilization rate also rose to 57 percent this recent week as compared to the 27 percent from the previous week.

Intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy shot up from 29 percent in the Dec. 28 to Jan. 3 period, to 52 percent in the Jan. 4 to 10 period.

“Hospital bed occupancy increased to 57 percent and is likely to exceed 70 percent next week,” David said.

Overall, "NCR is classified as very high risk,” he said.

Based on the Department of Health (DOH) Monday COVID-19 bulletin, 52 percent of the 1,100 ICU beds and 67 percent of the 4,800 ward beds in the NCR were in use.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of the 4,700 isolation beds and 25 percent of the 1,000 ventilators in the NCR were in use.

DOH Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega also said the NCR currently has 6,595 health care workers all under quarantine because of COVID-19.

During a televised Palace briefing Tuesday, Vega said 7.2 percent of the 91,838 health care workers in NCR are in isolation.

“What hospitals do now, especially the bigger centers, is they close other services to redeploy the [healthcare workers] to areas needing assistance for Covid,” he said.

During President Rodrigo Duterte’s

public address Monday night, Duque said the country was at a critical risk classification with an increase of 690 percent in the seven-day average daily reporting cases.

Based on the results of whole genome sequencing, he added, 60 percent of samples sequenced were positive for the Omicron variant, replacing Delta as the dominant variant.

Despite the rise in daily cases, he said, the number of severe and critical cases remained lower than they were during the previous peak in September 2021, he said.

Amid the surge in cases, Philippine officials vowed to accelerate vaccination of eligible individuals.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government plans to fully vaccinate 90 million Filipinos against COVID-19.

The Philippines has currently vaccinated 52 million people, the government said Tuesday.

Galvez also said the government still needs to purchase 70 million doses for boosters and 26 million doses of vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 years old.

The Philippines logged 28,007 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday, the third highest daily count, bringing the country's tally to 3,026,473.

The positivity rate was at 44.5 percent, based on test results of samples from 58,409 people on Jan. 9, Sunday, according to the DOH’s latest case bulletin.

There were 181,016 active cases, of which 5,521 were asymptomatic; 170,873 were mild; 2,863 were moderate; 1,464 were severe; and 295 were critical.

This was the highest active case count since the 184,088 infections on Sept. 18, 2021.

There were 219 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 52,511.

The DOH also reported 4,471 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 2,792,946.

Nationwide, 41 percent of ICU beds, 44 percent of isolation beds, 41 percent of ward beds, and 18 percent of ventilators, were in use.

In Metro Manila, 54 percent of ICU beds, 60 percent of isolation beds, 64 percent of ward beds, and 27 percent of ventilators, were in use.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said actual numbers may be even higher than what the data shows.

"I can really say honestly that it is just a fraction of what we see among cases in the country because we already know a lot of people are using antigen tests and the submission of these are incomplete," Vergeire said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.

Despite Omicron being said to be less severe than Delta, Vergeire emphasized that the public should not take the new variant for granted. She said it can still overwhelm the country's health care system as there are still a lot of unvaccinated or partiallyvaccinated people.

Meanwhile, Jomar Rebajante of the University of the Philippines Pandemic Response Team said the country may go back to its pre-Omicron levels

by March. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

unvaccinated from going to public places, saying this was for the common good and to protect people from further infections.

Nograles issued the statement in response to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's remark that she is not in favor of restricting the movement of the unvaccinated.

She and her running mate, former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said people who remain unvaccinated should not be discriminated against and have the freedom to choose.

"We respect the opinion of Mayor Sara, but the President is trying to protect the unvaccinated because we see the data that when you are unvaccinated, there is a higher chance of you getting infected with

severe or critical COVID-19," Nograles said.

The President ordered barangay captains nationwide to restrict the movement of those unvaccinated amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Duterte earlier said he will arrest unvaccinated individuals outside their homes, but Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano clarified that they will just be escorted back to their homes as a general rule and arresting is the last resort for uncooperative individuals.

Año added that unvaccinated people are generally compliant with the government's directive to limit their movements to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

“At present, we see that our countrymen are following the regulations,” Año said in Filipino in his virtual report to the President.

Because of rising number of infections in the country, several local governments, particularly in Metro Manila, imposed restrictions on unvaccinated individuals.

Citing health experts, Nograles said unvaccinated individuals are at a higher risk of experiencing critical COVID-19 symptoms or death.

The Department of Health (DOH) said more than 80 percent of patients with COVID-19 admitted in hospitals have not been vaccinated against the illness. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Department of Health for compassionate special permit for Bexovid, the generic and more affordable version of Pfizer's anti-COVID-19 Paxlovid.

According to FDA director general Dr. Oscar Gutierrez, the less expensive anti-viral would be distributed to government hospitals.

“Since this is generic, this would be less expensive compared to Paxlovid," Gutierrez reported in President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo assured consumers of a stable supply of medicines, despite the rising surge in infection and the burgeoning demand for therapeutic drugs.

“There is no shortage. We just want supply in retail stores to meet the demand. Deliveries need to catch up with demand. Deliveries are now being expedited,” she said.

In the joint memorandum circular signed by the DTI and DOH Tuesday, retailers were enjoined to limit the sale, and consumers to limit the purchase, of the medicines cited in the JMC. Specifically, the purchase of overthe-counter drugs like paracetamol was limited to 20 tablets per individual and maximum of 60 tablets per household while paracetamol in suspension form was limited to 5 units per individual and 10 units per household. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Gov’t... first of all, the package, health package that we can offer for those who undergo home isolation. And PhilHealth should be part of this discussion, and of course, the healthcare provider that’s accredited by PhilHealth.”

Nograles, acting spokesman for Malacañang, said the labor department should also clarify regulations for workers who call in sick and need to go on quarantine.

Asked if the government had enough funds for the possible health package, Nograles said the government was working on a new budget right now.

The Philippines logged 33,169 new coronavirus infections on Monday, bringing the overall tally close to 3 million as the Omicron variant takes its toll, with the overpopulated capital Manila and surrounding provinces the worst hit.

The healthcare system is at risk of being overwhelmed, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told ANC news channel, calling on symptomatic people to immediately isolate and get tested.

In related developments, the Department of Health said it would propose to the Inter-Agency Task Force a shortened quarantine period of five days for individuals who will test positive for COVID-19 but are fully vaccinated and

asymptomatic.

During a Malacañang briefing, DOH Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said that amid the threat of the Omicron variant, the department will ask the IATF to expand the shortening of isolation to those who have completed their primary vaccine doses and tested positive for COVID-19 but does not experience any symptoms, just like for the healthcare workers.

The IATF on Friday approved a shortened isolation and quarantine period for fully vaccinated health workers infected with or exposed to COVID-19 to five days.

This was decided after hospitals raised concerns about being short staffed amid rising COVID-19 infections.

Vega backed the IATF resolution, saying that it has basis and has peerreviewed data coming from the United States and Europe.

He noted that 93 percent of the healthcare workers were already vaccinated and that in a way, they were “protected against the virus, especially the Omicron, for hospitalization and even death.”

He explained that if people were fully vaccinated, the viral load would be “very low” especially if they were asymptomatic and could thus no longer transmit the virus to others by the fifth day. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

coordination between national and local governments to ensure that vaccination and other government services will remain operational.

He also acknowledged that some LGU officials are also running for reelection.

Nograles said the Department of the Interior and Local Government would have to ensure that LGUs continue to deliver vaccination services and remain “neutral” carrying out their duties.

“We will make sure that vaccination and our Covid response is not politicized and that everybody stays and remains neutral especially in administering vaccines, they should not favor anyone).

And we will make sure that the targets are met,” he said.

As of January 10, 52.8 million individuals had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Philippines aims to vaccinate 90 million by June.

2-week health break The Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines reiterated the call for the implementation of a two-week “health break” in areas placed under Level 3 by the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

This is after a quick survey conducted

by ACT’s NCR union chapter revealed that 55.1 percent of teacher respondents in the region are experiencing flu symptoms amid the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

On the same day that the Department of Health recorded the highest daily count of new infections at 33,169, the ACT NCR Union surveyed a total of 7,448 public school teachers to gather their current health situation.

The most common symptoms experienced by teacher-respondents were colds (46.6 percent) and coughs (44.5 percent).

Interns’ safety Due to the spike in COVID-19 cases, medical students, different medical and allied health councils, organizations, and individuals, strongly appeal to prioritize their health and safety and uphold previously released guidelines on this matter. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

OPENHAGEN, Denmark—More than half of people in Europe are projected to catch Omicron in the next two months, the WHO said Tuesday, as millions in China faced fresh lockdowns on the two-year anniversary of the world's first COVID-19 death.

From A1

Capital Region (NCR) has increased to 89.42 percent, up from only 12.71 percent from Dec. 28, 2021 to Jan. 3, 2022. It then increased more than seven times in the Jan. 4 to 10 period.

“The average daily attack rate increased to 89.42, which is above the COVID Act Now threshold for a severe outbreak,” OCTA fellow Guido David said, referring to an independent US-based pandemic data analysis group.

ADAR pertains to the average number of new cases in a period per 100,000 people.

Of the 28,007 cases recorded yesterday, the Department of Health said 18,629 came from Metro Manila, which enjoyed bustling Christmas and New Year holidays as people freely entered malls and restaurants and families gathered for parties and reunions after nearly two years of isolation.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday night said the Philippines has been classified as a critical risk for COVID-19 amid the sudden spike of infections believed to be driven by the Omicron variant.

Duque also said Omicron has already surpassed Delta as the dominant variant in the country based on the latest whole genome sequencing.

The seven-day positivity rate in the NCR, meanwhile, increased to 48 percent, David said.

“The reproduction number decreased to 5.22 from 5.65, which indicates the

Palace...

From A1

significant portion of the most vulnerable population without protection against the coronavirus, which could threaten hospital capacity.

“We are appealing to our senior citizens and their loved ones, for yourselves and for your families, please get vaccinated,” Nograles said.

"All vaccines work, regardless of the brand," Nograles said, adding that they greatly reduce the likelihood of severe illness or death.

At the same time, Nograles defended President Duterte’s orders to restrict the

DTI...

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purchases of medicines lest there could be an actual shortage of drugs in the next few days.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies gave their assurance that there was enough inventory to serve the needs of the general public. United Laboratories, Inc. confirmed it has as much as 2 months’ worth of inventory of in-demand medicines on hand.

Also, authorities seized P30 million worth of counterfeit medicines like paracetamol and other drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients during a raid in Paranaque City. The raid conducted by the Bureau of Customs came amid the public’s struggle to access over-thecounter drugs.

In other developments, the government is coordinating with other drug manufacturers to expand the emergency use authorization of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines for pediatric vaccination.

National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer, Secretary, Carlito Galvez Jr., said they are eyeing the use of other brands of coronavirus jabs for the younger population.

The Food and Drug Administration has also granted the application of the

Nograles:...

From A1

and vaccine czar, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., expressed concern that the upcoming elections could have an impact on the daily vaccination output since local government units (LGUs) would be preoccupied as the election campaign kicks off next month.

“Of course, what we in the national government will do is make sure that our work will not be hampered, we will continue to focus on that,” Acting Presidential Spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a Palace press briefing.

Nograles emphasized the need for

From A1

China largely tamed its initial outbreak with a mix of lockdowns, border closures and mass testing, but flare-ups in some major cities are testing that Zero COVID-19 strategy just weeks before the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The city of Anyang in Henan province on Monday night told its five million residents to not leave their homes or drive cars on the roads, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

Last week, the one million people in Yuzhou—also a city in Henan—were told to stay at home. Xi'an, home to 13 million people, is in its third week of lockdown. AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Boy killed, 6 hurt as bomb blows up bus in Cotabato

By Nash B. Maulana COTABATO CITY—A five-year old boy was killed and seven others were wounded, including an infant, when a suspected pre-detonated bomb exploded mid-road inside a transit bus in Aleosan, Cotabato, authorities said Tuesday.

In between sobs, the father of Benjamin Solaiman said the five-yearold died hours later, and was immediately discharged from the Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC) here for burial, in keeping with Muslim tradition of burying the dead within 24 hours.

Police said a Mindanao Star Bus unit, driven by Hubabib Michael Sochaysing, 36, of Davao City, was traversing the Aleosan section of the Cotabato-Davao national highway when a loud explosion was heard from inside the transit PUB at around 8:15 a.m.

Initial investigation revealed that a bomb had been probably placed underneath the second rearmost seat.

Usually, a floor heating up is often unnoticed at foot sole level, from a rising temperature generated by the engine running at high speed and frequency, just below the rearmost seat, the police explained. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Koreans top list of fugitive aliens captured by BI KOREANS topped the list of foreign fugitives nabbed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) operatives, which arrested a total of 85 runaways wanted in their homeland in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the total, 55 were South Koreans, followed by 8 Americans, 7 Chinese, 3 Japanese, and 3 Taiwanese.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said: “Despite the pandemic, our operatives remain alert and continue our investigations against these illegal aliens, who think they can evade justice by hiding in our country. We will do everything in our power to arrest them, deport them, and ensure they are never able to return here.”

He said the fugitives were arrested in numerous operations conducted by members of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), which served warrants to the arrested aliens.

Headed by unit chief Rendel Ryan Sy, the FSU is tasked with arresting fugitives from justice. Information about the fugitives’ cases often come from foreign governments, as well as intelligence groups such as the Interpol. Vito Barcelo (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

DOH...

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we are reminding hospitals to prioritize moderate, severe and critical cases, and coordinate with the One Hospital Command Center for the mild and asymptomatic patients so they can be referred to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, and if they pass the requirements, they might even be allowed to self-isolate at home,” Duque said.

Duque said that compared to previous surges, there were fewer severe and critical cases.

Of the 8,569 total hospital admissions as of Jan. 9, 636 or 7 percent were severe, while 271 or 3 percent were critical cases.

Duque said this showed that vaccination was effective in preventing severe and critical illness due to COVID-19.

Duque said the Philippines so far has had four surges, excluding the current one.

The DOH on Tuesday reminded the public not to dismiss the Omicron variant as a mild disease and said the Delta variant was still circulating.

"We're not calling Omicron mild. It is milder than Delta. Delta is three times more likely to land you in the hospital compared with Omicron, but Omicron can still land you in the hospital," said Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the DOH Technical Advisory Group.

The DOH said the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant as it has 30 mutations on the spike protein, which allows it to invade cells.

"The more transmissible it is, the more that it affects our health care system as well and we're seeing that right now with the affectation of our health care workers," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

It is important for the elderly and other vulnerable sectors to get tested and consult a doctor so they can be given antivirals that "further decrease their hospitalization," Salvana said. (See full story online at manilastandard. net)

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Court submission deadline extended

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Supreme Court (SC) has extended until February 1, 2022 the filing of required pleadings and other court submissions which will fall due this month of January in all courts – from the SC down to the lowest courts.

In a circular, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo stressed that the Court was prompted to extend the filing until February 1 due to the alarming number of COVID-19 infections and the effects of super typhoon ‘Odette.’

The Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City meanwhile is closed to the public until Jan. 19 due to the “disturbing” increase in the number of its employees infected with COVID-19.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires issued a memorandum circular, citing the official reports from the Office’s Safety and Health Committee.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines also sought for the extension within which to file the pertinent pleading before the courts.

The SC had earlier ordered all courts in areas under Alert Level 3 with heightened restrictions to operate only on skele-

ton force starting today, Monday, Jan. 10.

Trial courts were allowed to hold hearings via video conferencing on urgent matters.

Ombudsman Martires said there is a need to strictly implement isolation and quarantine protocol orders, and to arrest the transmission of infection among workers.

“All offices of the Ombudsman in Quezon City will be closed until Jan. 19, 2022 unless otherwise directed, effective Jan. 20, 2022, a skeleton workforce shall report daily at the Public Assistance Bureau, Central Records Division, CREMEB-Luzon, CREMEBMOLEO, OSP Records Office, Finance and Management Information Office, General Administrative Office, Management Information System Service and the Human Resource and Management

Division,” the memo read.

Martires directed all department heads to ensure that the reporting employees have no COVID-19 symptoms, have negative RT-PCR or antigen testing results (if the testing was undertaken), and were not exposed to a COVID-19 infected person within 10 days prior to reporting to office.

The official time of the skeletal workforce from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and that employees not included in the listings shall continue to work from home permissible under the civil service rules, he cited.

There would be no filing of pleadings, motions, affidavits and other relevant documents before all offices of the O budsman central office, he noted, saying the period of filing begin to run on Jan. 20.

With Rio Araja

Caloocan City prison brawl leaves 6 dead SIX inmates were killed and 33 wounded during a fight in an overcrowded jail in the Philippines, authorities said Tuesday, in the second such incident in as many weeks.

The deadly brawl happened Monday between rival gangs at Caloocan City Jail in the National Capital Region, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology spokesman Xavier Solda said.

An investigation was under way into the cause of the violence that Solda said started as a fight between two inmates before others joined the fray. It is not clear what weapons were used.

A ban on family visits since the start of the pandemic may have been a factor, Solda said.

“It’s been almost two years that we don’t have physical visitation in our facilities because of the Covid-19, so we can’t set aside the angle that this could be one of the reasons why others joined in the fight between the two PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),” Solda told AFP. Security has been beefed up to maintain order in the facility, he added.

Violence is common in Philippine jails where inadequate infrastructure and a slow-moving and overburdened judicial system means cells are sometimes filled to five times their capacity.

About 1,900 inmates were squeezed into Caloocan City Jail that is designed for fewer than 200, Solda said.

The latest incident comes after a fight at New Bilibid Prison in the capital on January 2 left three inmates dead and 14 wounded.

Improvised guns and bladed weapons were used in the clash at the nation’s biggest prison. AFP.

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IN BRIEF Pharmally exec released for humanitarian reasons PHARMALLY Pharmaceutical Corp. executive Twinkle Dargani was allowed to end her Senate detention Tuesday for humanitarian considerations.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III ordered the release following the appeal of Dargani’s mother, Deepa Chainani, who said she was concerned over her daughter’s deteriorating mental health.

Dargani, who was also diagnosed with COVID-19 but with just mild symptoms, was turned over by the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms to her mother past midnight.

She has been detained since November 2021, along with her brother, Mohit, for their failure to turn over documents needed in an inquiry on alleged overpriced medical supplies purchased by the government.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Richard Gordon, Majority Leader Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Minority Leader Senator Franklin Drilon agreed with the release order.

Gordon, in a letter to Sotto on Monday, said he will abide by the decision but suggested that Dargani be placed under house arrest.

SC dismisses case vs. former SBMA exec

JAIL RIOT. Six inmates were confirmed dead while 33 others were injured after a riot at the Caloocan City Jail yesterday. BJMP Chief Jail Director Allan Iral has ordered the BJMP NCR leadership to expedite the return to normalcy of the situation. (Photos courtesy of BJMP) Manila

Cops nab 3 suspects, seize P61m shabu

By Joel E. Zurbano POLICE busted three suspected drug dealers and seized nine kilos of shabu worth more than P61 million Monday night in Taguig City.

Arrested were Christian Ely Caliwag Desiderio, 19, and Jericho Rayos Torres, 19,

DRIVE-THRU VAX. Drive-thru vaccination is currently underway at the SM North EDSA carpark and SM Fairview multilevel parking area as part of the city’s ongoing #QCProtekTODO vaccination program. The drive-thru vaccination will run for three days from Monday to Wednesday. Motorists are encouraged to register with QC Vax Easy Plus to get vaccinated. Manny Palmero

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TODAY

both residents of Barangay Wawa, Taguig; and John Andree Galura Santos, 22, of Kalayaan Street, Barangay Ususan, also in Taguig.

The authorities conducted the buy-bust operation along Block 20 in Barangay Sta Ana Prudence around 9:30 p.m. One of the police operatives disguised as a buyer and was able to negotiate with the suspects resulting in their arrest.

Seized from the suspects were P61.2 million worth of shabu, 10 bundles of boodle money, and two mobile phones.

The suspects are now detained and will be charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Two months ago, police also arrested in Taguig City two suspected drug dealers and seized eight kilos of shabu worth P54.5 million.

Arrested in an entrapment operation were Marisa Omar Asi, 34, and Muslimin Taudil Kamid, 32, both residents of Barangay Maharlika, Taguig City.

Operatives of the Southern Police District - Drug Enforcement Unit led by Lt. Col. Renante Galang and men from the District Mobile Force Battalion conducted the buy-bust operation at Block 128 Lot 4 in Barangay Maharlika.

All suspects are believed to be members of a drug syndicate operating in south Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

The National Police vowed that the government’s crackdown on drug dealing in the country will continue with the goal of catching traffickers.

PAGCOR earmarks P100m for evacuation center projects THE year 2022 came with a bang for two towns in Benguet after they received P100 million funding from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for the construction of Multi-Purpose Evacuation Centers (MPECs).

The towns of Buguias and Mankayan, which became the latest beneficiaries of PAGCOR’s MPEC Project, each received P25 million during the project’s groundbreaking ceremonies on January 6, 2022. The amount represented the first tranche of the P50 million grant for the two-story MPEC projects which will soon rise in Barangay Bangao, Buguias, and Barangay Tabio in Mankayan.

Barangay Captain Linda Tagubasi of Bangao, Buguias expressed her gratitude to PAGCOR because through the MPEC project, their barangay will no longer need to pay rent whenever they need a large space for community ac-

tivities. Also, they need not worry about lack of temporary shelters for displaced families whenever calamities arrive.

Meanwhile, the local chief executives of Buguias and Mankayan expressed their gratitude to PAGCOR for the MPEC project grant.

“It is welcome news that we will soon have a P50 million-worth evacuation center in partnership with PAGCOR in our municipality, which is the northernmost part of the province of Benguet,” said Mankayan Mayor Atty. Frenzel Ayong.

Buguias Mayor Ruben Tinda-an also thanked PAGCOR for making such a project possible. “I am very elated that at the start of the year, here comes the approval of PAGCOR for this huge project that can our municipality. We wish to extend our full gratitude to PAGCOR including those who have facilitated this project.

Manila

Standard

TODAY ANNOUNCEMENT

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (CA) for the confirmation of the ad interim appointments of the following Generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), namely: To the rank of MAJOR GENERAL: 1. CAMILO Z. LIGAYO 2. ERIC E. NICANOR 3. ALEX S. RILLERA To the rank of BRIGADIER GENERAL: 4. LEANDRO V. ABELEDA III The public may submit any information, written report, or sworn/ notarized complaints or oppositions to the above ad interim appointments in seven (7) copies to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, D. Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 8834-2713, 8831-1824, 8831-0527, 8832-9830, 8834-2706 and 8551-1989.

11 January 2022.

(MS-JAN. 12, 2022)

HECTOR A. VILLACORTA Secretary

(MS-JAN. 12, 2021)

THE Supreme Court First Division has set aside and declared as invalid and without legal effect the 90-day suspension slapped in August 2012 against Stefani Saño, former Senior Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

The 14-page decision affirmed Saño’s argument that he was deprived of due process when former SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto V. Garcia suspended him for 90 days for his alleged misconduct in connection to the questionable shipment of 420,000 bags of Indian rice on April 2, 2012.

“The favorable decision of the Supreme Court brings joy not only to me but also to my family, colleagues, and friends who all suffered because of the unjust and atrocious treatment I got from certain officials of a previous administration of the SBMA. We all feel relieved with this vindication,” Saño said.

The former SBMA executive also said: “The emphasis is on due process.

This is a constitutional right which cannot be violated by anyone.”

A4

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

IN BRIEF Hataman: Allow 200k to cast vote DEPUTY Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman is calling on the Commission on Elections to seriously reexamine its decision disallowing over 200,000 voters in North Cotabato from participating in the local elections this coming May. The poll body on January 3 barred over 200,000 voters in 63 Special Geographic Areas (SGA) in North Cotabato from voting for candidates in the local elections and only allowed them to vote for those running in national positions.

These 63 SGAs form part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), but have yet to be reconstituted to their respective local governments under the Bangsamoro Organic Law. “Until they are formally part of BARMM, the status quo must prevail and they must be allowed to vote for the local elections in North Cotabato.

Otherwise, we will have a situation where they are not represented in government,” said Hataman, former governor of the now-defunct ARMM.

Extend deadline for property tax SENATOR Nancy Binay yesterday appealed to local government units to extend the deadline for payment of real property tax and business permits to avoid the influx of taxpayers amid the exponential surge of the Omicron variant.

She urged LGUs in the National Capital Region and in areas where COVID-19 case surges are reported to consider the move of the City Government of Manila to extend the deadline for payment of business permits until March 31.

“Given the current spike in COVID-19 cases, the extension of deadlines will help to reduce the movement of people,” she added.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

News

BREAKING GROUND. PAGCOR and Mankayan officials headed by Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Ramon Stephen Villaflor (front row, 3rd from left) and Mankayan Mayor Frenzel Ayong (front row, 4th from left) lead the groundbreaking of the two-storey PAGCOR-funded MPEC in Sitio Bayoyo, Barangay Tabio in Benguet.

Hacking worries Palace, prexy bets

By Vito Barcelo, Rey Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

M

ALACAÑANG and at least four presidential candidates on Tuesday expressed concern over the alleged hacking of the servers of the Commission on Elections, an allegation that the poll body immediately denied.

“We will await any update to be pronounced by the Comelec regarding this.

Of course, we are concerned,” acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez on Monday said while the poll body is probing the allegations of a data breach, the information that was reportedly stolen by hackers does not

exist yet in their systems.

“The configuration files – which includes usernames and PINs – have not yet been completed. This calls into question the veracity of the hacking claim,” Jimenez said.

The Manila Bulletin article claimed hackers were able to download files that included, among others, usernames and PINs of vote-counting ma-

chines (VCMs).

At least four presidential aspirants – Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. – have raised concern over the reported hacking.

“We ask the Commission to immediately take steps to ensure that this, or any other similar incident would not affect the integrity of the May 2022 elections,” Robredo said in a joint statement she issued with her running mate, Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

“We have to know if the Comelec has a plan in case our automated polling system is compromised,” Pacquiao said.

‘Observe health guides strictly in evacuation sites’

Tourism crucial to PH economic recovery—Leni

By Rey E. Requejo

By Rio N. Araja PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo held an online meeting with stakeholders in the tourism sector where she underscored tourism as an industry essential to the country’s economic recovery.

The meeting, called Usapang Turismo Kasama si Leni, was attended by representatives from 63 tourism organizations and companies.

“In the context of the Philippines, tourism is an essential industry because many communities are dependent on it,” Robredo said.

The event, organized by the Turismo para kay Leni and the Robredo People’s Council (RPC), had 332 participants over Zoom and more than 13,000 views on Facebook.

It is the ordinary people working in the industry who need help the most especially after the pandemic had practically put tourism to a halt, the Vice President said.

“When the flights were canceled and lockdowns were imposed, how many lives were also put to a halt?” the Vice President said.

Lacson called on Comelec to allow an independent third party to look into the alleged online attack of its system.

“The Comelec should clarify the veracity of the hacking incident and be forthright with its findings. More importantly, it should be open to letting experts and related stakeholders help strengthen the security system, including our cybersecurity experts and those of other aspirants. Only through transparency and accountability can we guarantee the integrity of the upcoming elections,” Lacson said.

Pacquiao said Congress should exercise its oversight powers in relation to Republic Act 8436 or the Automated Election Law.

SPOT CHECK. Members of the Manila Police District Station 3 check registration forms and vaccine cards from passing motorists as they set up a Commission on Elections checkpoint in front of the Manila North Cemetery in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Monday evening as the gun ban took effect. Norman Cruz

Lacson honors father with public transport program

By Macon Ramos-Araneta WHILE reiterating that he is in favor of regularizing drivers and conductors of public transport so they can get a steady income, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson could not help but reminisce about how his own father raised their family out of his earnings as a jeepney driver in their home province of Cavite.

“That’s the job that provided for us and

helped send me and my siblings through school,” Lacson said proudly of the profession of his father, Buenaventura.

He said regularizing public transport workers is a great way to ensure they have regular salaries, give more opportunities to their families—especially in educating their children—and protect the commuting public in case of accidents.

“Because if they are regularized, they are easier to identify. Because again, if they are contractual, wasn’t

in the practice back in the day that drivers had 10 licenses? So that if they get caught or have an accident, they can just throw away one and they would still have (other) licenses to use,” he explained.

The Partido Reporma chief’s father inspired him to fight crime on the streets, particularly the “kotong” (bribery) practice used by rogue cops, who often victimized the elder Lacson while plying his usual Cavite-to-Manila route.

WORRIED by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in most parts of the country, presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio have called on local officials in areas devastated by Typhoon Odette to ensure that health protocols are being strictly observed in evacuation centers where thousands of victims are temporarily staying.

The call was made after the country’s health department reported a record number of new cases in the past days with the more transmissible Omicron variant now considered the dominant strain.

“Let us not increase their (victims’) suffering. We must make sure that Covid cannot enter the evacuation centers, it is a bigger problem when it happens,” the UniTeam said in a statement.

The tandem also called on local government units to regularly disinfect temporary shelters and provide all necessary health and hygiene kits, hand wash soaps, alcohols and face masks.

“It is important that apart from being in good condition, they must also ensure that they are safe with Covid19.

The health protocols implemented by the government must be followed especially now that the number of cases of the virus continues to rise.”

Ong: Manila’s COVID response a model for LGUs

By Rey E. Requejo DR. WILLIE Ong, running mate of presidential candidate Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, said Manila City’s pandemic response can serve as a model for other local officials amid the new surge in COVID-19 cases, particu-

larly in the National Capital Region.

“I feel we will have another wave.

Hopefully, milder or less than [the] Omicron [wave],” Ong said in a Facebook live post.

He likened the Omicron wave to a typhoon, adding that he hoped it would be the last to hit the country.

“But I am getting ready for even stronger [waves]. I am getting ready for an Ondoy [level] pandemic. That should be it,” he added.

Ong earlier called on national and local officials to immediately buy lifesaving antiviral drugs such as Molnupiravir and Paxlovid.

‘Give 1-month political ad spend to Odette-hit areas’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta OUTRAGE. Members of the militant group Bayan Muna hold a silent protest to denounce the murder of one of its leaders, Manny Asuncion, during the first hearing on his case 10 months after the so-called Bloody Sunday raid that left nine activists dead. At least 17 policemen and one agent of Criminal Investigation and Detection have been indicted for Asuncion’s killing in Dasmariñas, Cavite on March 7, 2021. Danny Pata

SENATE Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday called on his fellow candidates in the upcoming 2022 elections a month’s worth of their political advertisement spending to the survivors of Typhoon Odette.

“I am appealing to my fellow candidates, whether for national or local posts, to do the same,” said Zubiri.

The senator has been going to provinces struck by Odette, personally delivering rice, groceries, water, face masks, and tents, purchased using personal funds he had originally intended for his advertis-

ing budget as a re-electionist.

“I know that advertising is a huge part of everyone’s campaign right now, given the limited movement imposed by the ongoing pandemic, but these concerns are nothing compared to how our people are hungry and homeless in Visayas and Mindanao. They need all the help that we can give,” he said.

Opinion Who really won in CamSur’s congressional contest?

A YEAR after Cory Aquino assumed the presidency in the aftermath of the 1986 People Power at EDSA, she created the Presidential Commission on Government Reorganization (PCGR) to streamline the bureaucracy that had by then grown too big and unwieldy during the martial law era and therefore resistant to reforms.

We were recruited as staff of that adhoc body for less than a year. We worked under the overall leadership of banking whiz Luis Villafuerte Sr., whose political career spanned five decades, serving as legislator for 17 years and governor for another 15 years. In 2019, he ran for congressman in the third district of Camarines Sur. He lost in the counting, but as it turns out, pending official confirmation, he actually won by a slim margin.

While he passed on in September last year at 86, his family wants to set the record straight: that he prevailed over his closest rival in his last electoral battle.

The HRET should correct the grave injustice and uphold the true will of the voters.

The Villafuerte family says that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) already completed in early December its manual revision or recount of the physical or actual ballots in the contested congressional fight in Camsur’s 3rd district between the late Villafuerte Sr. and former Naga Vice Mayor Gabriel Bordado Jr. While Bordado was declared the winner in the 2019 elections, HRET insiders disclosed that a manual recount of the physical ballots in 25 percent of the protested cluster precincts conducted Dec. 6-15 last year by the panel showed that Villafuerte actually won over the sitting congressman by 776 votes: Villafuerte getting 94,830 votes against Bordado’s 94,054 votes.

With less than six months left in the 18th Congress, Camarines Sur voters want the House that resumes work on Monday (January 17) to declare the legitimate representative of the third district in the remaining months of the Duterte administration.

The HRET consists of nine members: three Justices of the Supreme Court and six members of Congress. It is chaired by the most senior justice in the panel—Justice Marvic Leonen.

The HRET can immediately decide on this poll protest in favor of the real winner on the basis of the just-concluded manual recount, since the Supreme Court itself had ruled in two similar cases— Torres vs House of Representatives and Garin in 2001 and Batul vs Bayton and Commission on Elections in 2004 —that the official ballots comprise the “primary,” “best evidence” or “most conclusive evidence” of the voters’ will.

It is important to point out that Bordado did not file a counter protest. He did not seek a recount by the HRET of other clustered precincts other than those listed by Villafuerte.

Hence, CamSur voters feel there is nothing left for the HRET to do but declare the late congressman-governor as the winner in the May 2019 balloting.

Although Villafuerte passed away last September, the HRET should correct the grave injustice and uphold the true will of the voters of Camarines Sur by declaring the legitimate winner and designating a caretaker representative for the third district to serve for the last six months of the 18th Congress.

The timeline of events since after the May 2019 local elections shows that Villafuerte filed his election protest on July 12 that same year. Bordado did not file any counter-protest to question the results in other precincts.

The province’s third congressional district is made up of Naga City and seven municipalities that comprise a combined 186 barangays and 304,431 registered voters in the 2019 polls.

Based on the Statement of Votes by the Comelec, Bordado garnered 102,929 votes as against Villafuerte’s 81,269 votes and Sulpicio Roco’s 31,446 votes. Based on 100 percent of the clustered precincts in Naga and the 7 municipalities, the presumptive margin of Bordado over Villafuerte was 21,660 votes.

Villafuerte questioned the poll results in three municipalities—Calabanga, Bombon and Canaman—and, in accordance with the HRET’s rules on revision, only 25 percent of the protested clustered precincts were to be subjected to a manual recount. Eventually, the ballots in 100 clustered precincts (75 in Calabanga, 15 in Bombon and 10 in Canaman) were the subject of HRET’s revision move.

According to HRET sources, the manual recount of the ballots in the 100 clustered precincts took place from December 6 to 15, and the results showed that Villafuerte’s total recovery after the revision was 22,436 votes while Bordado lost his 21,660-vote lead— hence leaving Villafuerte with a final margin of 776 votes against Bordado.

Based on the results of the Dec. 6-15 HRET manual recount, Villafuerte racked up 94,830 votes against Bordado’s 94,054 votes—or a margin of 776 votes.

In fact, 696 fake ballots, or those without the official watermark, with Bordado votes, were found in the ballot boxes and objected to by the Villafuerte camp during the manual recount, which means that the actual recovery or vote gain of Villafuerte was 23,132 votes in just the 25 percent of protested clustered precincts. ernhil@yahoo.com

Everyman

Stay in, sit tight as COVID sweeps the country

By Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH DR. Alfredo R. A. “Alran” Bengzon, who was President Corazon Aquino’s health secretary, knew he had inherited a corrupted and underfunded health system from the older Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Alran would have to start by literally cleaning out the Aegean stables that was the Department of Health (DOH) as he found it. Regional directors were most affected, as he fired seven, retained three, and promoted one before he even started to pay attention to the people’s health.

The former secretary recognized health as a human right, but he had his priorities.

He viewed the Filipino population as being divided among the “well;” “worried, but well;” and the “unwell.” His policies and programs were focused on keeping people well (preventive health programs on immunization, for one) and taking care of the unwell (the Generics Law was meant to make medicines more affordable, since it constitutes 60 percent to 80 percent of the cost of health care).

As one of the first doctors with a Master of Business Administration degree, Alran set his priorities for the meager budget of the DOH by setting up a management structure that reduced his supervisory load from 40 to seven. His pragmatic position on the decentralization of health services under the Local Government Code would be his undoing when he ran for a Senate seat in 1992.

Today, with the coronavirus disease sweeping the country, it is important to get our priorities right and dig in with the basics of health-resource management as Sec. Alran did.

Taking care of the unwell At near 50 percent positivity with COVID-19, health managers at all levels can presume that everyone with flu-like symp-

toms has been infected with COVID-19 (most likely), or with influenza (less likely).

Nine out of 10 patients do not need hospital care and need symptomatic relief.

It would also be senseless to have them all tested, since the National Capital Region-Plus (or NCR-Plus, with the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna) is now a COVID-19-transmission hotspot (areas with high effective transmission), so why overload laboratories with tests that are costly, while the money could go to symptomatic treatment? Is it so we can know the numbers, which can only lead to the “worried well” being more worried?

Filipinos belong to either the “unwell” or the “worried well.”

Most regions in the country may well be in NCR-Plus’ current hotspot situation within the next month. The DOH no longer has direct supervision over local health systems, but it can set a treatment policy that any health provider can follow with any COVID patient that all health professionals and workers, including the barangay health workers (BHWs), need to pay attention to: One Influenza-Like Illness Station in every barangay – led by a midwife or nurse to assess everyone with symptoms, triage to the health center the moderate and severely ill, and isolate all “symptomatics” at home or isolation facilities for 10 to 14 days, dependent on their vaccine status (longer if “unvaccinated;” or, lock in all those who are unwell). Those over 55 years of age can be prioritized for testing, as well as those with comorbidities.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

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EDITORIAL

Abominations

T

HERE are many things that by themselves are undesirable in ordinary circumstances. During a pandemic, especially in the middle of a severe outbreak like that currently being experienced in Metro Manila, these undesirables become simply abominable.

They all have to deal with taking advantage of other people’s fear, ignorance, confusion, and any other vulnerability for their own gain.

For instance, with the recent dearth of over-the-counter medicines for the relief of flulike symptoms, some ingenious individuals have been able to source these scarce items and sell them at steep premiums.

Home-based antigen kits, the more economical—albeit less accurate— alternative to the gold-standard RTPCR method, or even antigen tests conducted in some clinics, have also seen a sharp increase in prices, if they are even available at all.

Some local governments offer

up with the funds to get themselves tested at their own expense do so, but not without risk of procuring these items from unknown sellers who may or may not give them counterfeit goods.

Another form of exploiting these difficult times is the spreading of lies—about political adversaries, about supposed new mutations of the virus. This is a time when people are particularly susceptible to the things they read online just because they are in no condition to go to other sources to verify.

Manipulators of information and spreaders of fakery are perhaps too bored or too evil to inflict their malicious acts on an exhausted public.

Crises bring out the best and the worst in people. Let us not allow a momentary bout with illness to make us less resistant to and more permissive of these transgressions.

What kind of human beings take advantage of other people’s fear, confusion, ignorance and other vulnerabilities? free testing, but given the surge in demand these days, the timesensitive tests cannot be conducted when they are most needed; the registration and scheduling alone takes days.

Desperate, those who can come

Beware of Omicron IN THE end, nearly all of us will get COVID-19.

The COVID-19 mutation called Omicron has proved more infectious and more pernicious than its Delta predecessor.

On Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, the number of Philippine COVID cases due to Omicron reached 33,169—the highest toll in one day since COVID erupted in Manila in March 2020. That is 27 percent higher than the previous record daily high of 26,218 cases reported on Sept. 11, 2021, and the highest since we reached a low of 107 cases on Dec. 23, 2021.

Monday’s record 33,169 one day volume of cases brought total active cases to 157,526—the highest since we began the third wave of the COVID virus since March 2020.

During the first wave, the highest active cases numbered 203,748 on April 17, 2021. During the second wave, the highest active cases totalled 182,001 on Sept. 12, 2021. The fact that active cases have not exceeded the two previous record numbers of active cases in the first and second waves could mean that indeed, Omicron could be a mild form of the virus and that it is easy to be cured from it.

However, the fact that Omicron has exceeded the two previous high daily numbers of the first wave (15,280 on April 2, 2021) and the second wave (26,202 on Sept.

11, 2021) means Omicron indeed is very infectious—as much as five to seven times they say, as the Delta variant.

Because of Omicron, many cities and places in the world are in physical and virtual lockdown. Japan has closed its borders. Australia too. Austria locked down early in January. French President Macron wants to piss off the unvaccinated. China is testing entire cities for Omicron. Many trains are banned from entering the capital, Beijing.

For most of the world’s unvaccinated, life is becoming miserable. Nobody wants them. The most notable anti-vaccine pariah is current tennis No. 1 and Australian open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Having been previously infected, he does not want to be vaccinated. Except for a judge, Australia wants nothing to do with Djokovic.

BHWs conducting daily health visits – to check on symptoms of those in isolation, and report adverse events LGU health centers as COVID triage facilities, and overall health-care providers – health centers led by health officers to set up areas accepting referred patients from barangays to higher-level facilities for appropriate care, and a regular area for other types of health care.

Caring for the unwell TRIAGING patients through the health system for necessary care means sending patients to hospitals only when they need it. The One Hospital System needs to decentralize to the provinces and cities with hospitals. Private hospitals should also respond to referrals from the decentralized system (as was intended under

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Anita F. Grefal

Baldwin R. Felipe

Edgar M. Valmorida

Washington. Peak transmissions could be in mid-January with over 35 million infections being registered worldwide in a day.

The virus having run out of victims and hosts will thus die a natural death. COVID will be as common as common cold, so the so-called scientific theory goes, as propounded by Father Austriaco, a molecular microbiologist and a professor of biology and theology in the US. The pandemic becomes endemic—a natural happening that most people won’t mind unless they themselves are infected.

So now, there will be three means of achieving immunity from COVID—natural immunity due to previous infection, vaccination, and boosters (preferably once every six months).

“If you are vaccinated and boosted, you should not be terrified. You should be prudent,” advises Father Austriaco. “It causes milder disease because, although it is able to infect the nose and throat of patients more efficiently, it struggles to infect their lungs,” the jolly priest added during a Jan. 5 town hall by GoNegosyo.

The problem is that the latest mutation of the COVID-19 virus, the Omicron does not want to play ball. It keeps infecting those three kinds of people –those with previous infection, those with vaccines, and those with boosters. They call these cases breakthrough infections and Omicron is very good at it.

“The Omicron variant is a sobering reminder that the immunity you do have – whether due to natural infection, vaccine, or vaccine booster- is not unassailable,” says Dr. JoAnn Jose, an infectious disease specialist at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in the US. She says that a variant with the right combination of mutations can overcome immunity.

Still, Father Austriaco insists, “Omicron is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”

“We [need to] live our full lives,” he says. *** In a personal note: May I greet happy birthday, this Jan. 11, to my second child and second daughter, Ivy Lopez Cabaltica. She is an Ateneo-educated lawyer and married to another Ateneo-educated lawyer, Benedict Cabaltica, who is also a CPA. California-based, they have three wonderful kids, my apos, Enzo, Gio, and Audrey.

I love you, anak.

That most of us will get COVID could be both bad and good.

Bad because having so many people getting sick at the same time will overwhelm clinics, hospitals, and doctors and nurses who themselves are getting sick.

With the health system overwhelmed, there will be a crisis. A crisis will force the government to do the easiest, and worst, a total lockdown, where anything and anyone that should move, will be forced to stop moving. That will paralyze the economy.

Economic paralysis means P49 billion stolen daily by COVID. Most businesses must shut down. Millions must be laid off.

It could be good or bad.

Good because Omicron is basically mild—if you get sick, you won’t get serious and you probably won’t die. Good because being infected means an opportunity to have natural immunity. Having so many people sick means as many people acquiring immunity from COVID due to prior infection.

“Most Omicron cases will be mild, thus eliminating the need for stringent lockdowns,” says Filipino scientist Nicanor R. Austriaco Jr., who is also a Dominican priest. In Father Austriaco’s mind, Omicron is not at all undesirable. It can be good for mankind. Omicron, after all, is a clever virus.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been infected with COVID for the second time. The Mexican leader had previously taken a cavalier attitude toward COVID and taken three doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. His advice to Mexicans: If you have colds, you have COVID. The Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease may cause around three billion infections across the world in the next two months, a research report has predicted.

“That would mean as many infections as were seen in the first two years of the pandemic,” reported Hindustan Times on Dec. 23, 2021, citing a report released that day by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent global health research center at the University of the Universal Health Care Law).

Mayors and governors need to support their local health systems so that hospitals do not get overwhelmed.

COVID 19 patients with the now-dominant Omicron variant who are critical do not all need the higher-end care that was seen with the Delta variant, so the lower-level hospitals can take on more of the load, leaving the most severe cases for the higher-end hospitals.

Assure and vaccinate all THE message on minimum-health protocols needs to be continuously promoted by all agencies and organizations, public and private. As people go about on their necessary tasks, the proper role for enforcers is to provide assistance—not enforce compliance.

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

biznewsasia@gmial.com The vaccination program needs to be stepped up and continued, eventually as part of the regular service of health facilities. It cannot be sustained as a national program.

Going after the unvaccinated is a complete waste of health resources, and cannot be imposed on a health system that is already overburdened. The messages need to be: “Stay in if you are unwell.”

“Sit tight with protocols in place if you are among the ‘worried well.’”

Undersecretary Juan Antonio “Doc Jeepy” Perez III is the executive director of the Commission on Population and Development, or POPCOM. For comments and reactions, e-mail juan.perez@popcom.gov.ph

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares

Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

China fights Omicron spread; 5 million in city locked down GOING HOME.

Children are escorted from school in Hong Kong on January 11, as the city announced the suspension of all kindergarten and primary schools until after the Lunar New Year in early February following an Omicron variant coronavirus outbreak. AFP

BEIJING—Five million residents of a central Chinese city started home confinement Tuesday in a new lockdown to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to state media.

Beijing is on high alert for new outbreaks as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics next month, sticking to a “zero-Covid” strategy of targeted lockdowns, border restrictions and lengthy quarantines.

While those measures have kept the number of new cases far lower than virus hotspots in the United States and Europe, Beijing is currently battling local flare-ups in multiple cities.

The fast-spreading Omicron strain presents a fresh challenge, with two cases in Anyang—the newly locked down city in Henan province—linked to a growing infection cluster in the northern metropolis of Tianjin, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) away.

Authorities in Anyang announced the lockdown late Monday, issuing a no-

tice ordering residents not to leave their homes or drive cars on the roads, state news agency Xinhua reported.

All non-essential businesses have been closed and a mass-testing drive has been launched “to respond to the severe epidemic control situation and strictly prevent the spread of the Omicron virus outbreak”, Xinhua reported.

There were 58 new local infections reported in Anyang, state broadcaster CCTV said Tuesday, bringing the city’s total caseload to 84 since Saturday.

It was not immediately clear whether the new cases were tied to the Omicron variant.

The city had already restricted outbound travel, which local officials said was to “ensure that the outbreak does not spill over into outside areas”.

At least three cities in Henan are battling emerging outbreaks, with provincial capital Zhengzhou closing schools and kindergartens, and stopping restaurants from accepting dine-in customers. AFP

AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SOAR

Japan extends strict border measures T OKYO—Japan will extend measures barring almost all new foreign arrivals until the end of February and reopen mass-vaccination centres as it battles an Omicron-fuelled coronavirus surge, the government said Tuesday.

“We will keep the current border ering the national interest,” Japanese control policy until the end of February Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told rewhile taking necessary measures from porters. a humanitarian viewpoint and considLocal media said there would be

some new exemptions for members of Japanese families as well as students studying in Japan but there were no immediate details from officials.

The government will also reopen large-scale vaccination centers run by the Self-Defense Forces and ask local governments to reopen their own massinoculation sites to accelerate booster shots, Kishida said.

Japan has imposed strict border-con-

‘Deltacron’ just a result of lab error—experts PARIS—Experts said Monday that an alleged hybrid coronavirus mutation dubbed “Deltacron” reportedly discovered in a Cyprus lab is most likely the result of a lab contamination, and not a new worrying variant.

Cypriot media reported the discovery Saturday, describing it as having “the genetic background of the Delta variant along with some of the mutations of Omicron”.

While it is possible for coronaviruses to genetically combine, it is rare, and scientists analyzing the discovery of so-called “Deltacron” say it is unlikely.

“The Cypriot ‘Deltacron’ sequences reported by several large media outlets look to be quite clearly contamination,” Tom Peacock, a virologist with the infectious diseases department at Imperial College London, tweeted over the weekend.

Jeffrey Barrett, the head of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at Britain’s Wellcome Sanger Institute, said the alleged mutations are located on a part of the genome that is vulnerable to error in certain sequencing procedures.

“This is almost certainly not a biological recombinant of the Delta and Omicron lineages,” he said Monday.

Scientists are eager to battle a deluge of disinformation about Covid-19, much of it circulating online.

Last week, unverified reports emerged of a “flurona” or “flurone” virus circulating—a combination of the flu and the coronavirus—which the World Health Organization (WHO) dismissed Monday. AFP

trol measures, such as quarantine and frequent testing, on those entering the country from abroad.

But despite those efforts, the Omicron variant has been circulating locally and Japan is seeing a sharp rise in virus cases.

“Even though the Omicron strain is said to have a low ratio of serious cases, if the number of infections surges, the number of serious cases will increase and put pressure on the medical system,”

COVID CHAT.

Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou (right) and Health Minister Daniel Salinas are seen during a press conference on the spike of COVID-19 cases in the Latin American country in Montevideo on January 10. AFP

Nokor fires 2nd suspected missile in less than a week SEOUL—North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, ratcheting up tensions less than a week after Pyongyang reported testing a hypersonic missile.

The early-morning launch came as the UN Security Council met in New York to discuss last week’s test of what Pyongyang called a hypersonic missile, although Seoul has cast doubt on that claim.

After an emergency meeting, South Korea’s national security council expressed “strong regret over the launch”, according to a statement from the president’s office.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio

Kishida told reporters that it was “extremely regrettable that North Korea continues to launch missiles”.

There were no immediate reports of damage to Japanese aircraft or vessels, according to government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno. “(The suspected missile) is estimated to have flown approximately up to 700 kilometres and landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone,” he said.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had been fired from land at around 7:27 am local time (2227 GMT on Monday).

Pyongyang’s second test in a week came after six countries, including the United States and Japan, urged North

Korea Monday to cease “destabilising actions” ahead of a UN Security Council closed-door meeting.

France, Britain, Ireland and Albania joined the call for North Korea to “engage in meaningful dialogue towards our shared goal of complete denuclearization”.

Analysts said Pyongyang had likely planned the latest launch to coincide with the UN meeting.

“North Korea continues testing to diversify its nuclear arsenal, but it timed the launch on the day of the UNSC meeting to maximise its political impact,” Shin Beom-chul, a researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, told AFP. AFP

Kishida said, calling for the public to remain vigilant.

The government has already approved new virus restrictions for three regions, and US forces in Japan have barred troops from non-essential off-base trips for two weeks after clusters of cases emerged in the military and surrounding communities.

Overall, Japan’s infection rate remains comparatively low, with 8,249 cases reported nationwide on Sunday. AFP

Russia-led troops leaving Kazakhstan in 2 days–Tokayev NUR-SULTAN—Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Tuesday that a contingent of Russialed forces would begin leaving the troubled Central Asian country in two days, with the pullout to take no more than 10 days.

“The main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed,” Tokayev said, referring to troops of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“In two days a phased withdrawal of the CSTO united peacekeeping contingent will begin. The withdrawal process of the contingent will take no more than 10 days,” he said, addressing the government and parliament in a videoconference call broadcast live.

The CSTO mission of more than 2,000 troops was dispatched at the peak of the crisis last week, after armed clashes between government opponents and security forces and a looting spree rendered parts of the largest city Almaty almost unrecognizable.

Tokayev also appeared to have further bolstered his position, backing acting prime minister Alikhan Smailov to take on the job permanently—a nomination that won the unanimous support of lawmakers Tuesday.

Kazakhstan has framed last week’s unrest that grew out of a peaceful protest against an energy price hike in the west of the country and left dozens dead as a coup attempt assisted by foreign terrorists, but the crisis has also laid bare infighting at the very top of the government. AFP

UN: $5b aid needed for Afghanistan to avert ‘catastrophe’ stan, while a further $623 million was required to support the millions of Afghans sheltering beyond its borders.

The UN said 22 million people inside Afghanistan and a further 5.7 million displaced Afghans in five neighbouring countries needed vital relief this year.

“A full-blown humanitarian catastrophe looms. My message is urgent: don’t shut the door on the people of AfManila ghanistan,” said UN aid chief MarPUBLIC NOTICE Standard tin Griffiths.

This is to TODAY inform the general public that the following “Help us scale up and stave off personnel are NO LONGER CONNECTED with wide-spread hunger, disease, malE-GMP International Corporation, POEA license no.

POEA-161-LB-091019-R located at 803 General nutrition and ultimately death.”

Malvar Street, Malate.

Since the Taliban hardline Is1. EMMA ELAMPARO DE OCAMPO - HR/ADMIN MANAGER lamist movement seized control 2. GINA TAGLE TAGLE - ACCOUNTING STAFF of Afghanistan in mid-August, the country has plunged into financial Any transaction entered by them on the Company’s behalf shall not be honored. chaos, with inflation and unemployment surging.

This publication is in compliance with POEA Rules and Regulations.

Washington has frozen billions of dollars of the country’s assets, while aid supplies have been heav-

GENEVA—The United Nations said Tuesday it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022 to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and offer the ravaged country a future after 40 years of suffering.

In its biggest-ever single-country appeal, the UN said $4.4 billion (3.9 billion euros) was needed within Afghani-

(MS-JAN. 12, 2021)

ily disrupted.

Afghanistan also suffered its worst drought in decades in 2021.

Without the aid package, “there won’t be a future”, Griffiths told reporters in Geneva.

Griffiths said the appeal, if funded, would help aid agencies ramp up the delivery of food and agriculture support, health services, malnutrition treatment, emergency shelters, access to water and sanitation, protection, and education.

An estimated 4.7 million people will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2022, including 1.1 million children with severe acute malnutrition.

Griffiths said that without humanitarian aid, distress, deaths, hunger, and further mass displacement would follow, “robbing the people of Afghanistan of the hope that their country will be their home and support, now and in the near term”.AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

DAIRY OPERATION. A farm worker (left) tries to lead a Holstein Friesian calf at a daily farm in Blang Bintang, Aceh province, Indonesia on January 11. AFP

Business

B3

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Asian-owned shipbuilders in Germany file for bankruptcy

PSEi January 11, 2022

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COAL STOCKPILE. Piles of coal are seen transported on barges in Samarinda, East Kalimantan on Jan. 11. Indonesia, the world’s top exporter of thermal coal, said it would ease a ban on exports of the fuel that it imposed to head off looming blackouts. Fourteen ships loaded with coal and destined for overseas markets would be allowed to leave Indonesia, Coordinating Minister Luhut said in a statement. But all other barges with coal for export should divert their cargo to power stations in need of supply, the statement said, adding that the government will re-evaluate exports on Wednesday. The January 1 ban on shipments of coal used in power generation threw the market into disarray. AFP

Stock market declines as era of cheap cash draws to a close

S

TOCKS retreated Tuesday as investors grew increasingly concerned about the Federal Reserve’s plans to wind back its financial support measures and lift interest rates within months.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, lost 54 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 7,085.69 as all subsectors ended in the red.

The broader all-share index declined 24 points, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 3,775.46 on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 105 to 82, while 43 issues were unchanged.

Four of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. which climbed 3.1 percent to P1.33 and Globe Telecom Inc. which gained 1.9 percent to P3,300.00.

While the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant plays on nerves, traders are now coming to terms with the imminent end to the pandemic era of ultra-cheap cash, which helped the economic recovery and fanned a global rally for nearly two years.

A pick-up in consumer activity, surging wages, supply chain snarls and rising energy costs are combining to push inflation in several countries to highs not seen for a generation, ramping up pressure on central bankers to act before it gets out of control.

Several countries have already started hiking borrowing costs but all eyes are on the US Federal Reserve as it tees up its first move, with commentators predicting that to come in March, after it has finished winding in its bond-buying program. That could be followed by two or three more by the end of the year, they say.

In remarks released ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, boss Jerome Powell said the bank

was ready to act.

“We will use our tools to support the economy and a strong labor market and to prevent higher inflation from becoming entrenched,” his opening statement said.

“We can begin to see that the postpandemic economy is likely to be different in some respects. The pursuit of our goals will need to take these differences into account.”

Data on Friday showed fewer jobs than expected were created in December but there were plenty of openings and wages soared, suggesting further upward pressure on prices is likely.

Traders are now cautiously awaiting the release of US inflation figures on Wednesday, which could play a major role in the Fed’s thinking.

OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley said: “Given how cautious the (policy board) has been over the past two years, to the point of appearing snail-like, I am struggling to see them hitting the panic button right now. With AFP

FRANKFURT, Germany—Asian tourism and casinos giant Genting’s shipbuilding subsidiaries in Germany filed for bankruptcy Monday, which one union leader described as a “dark day” for the country’s dockyards.

With travel still severely restricted during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in Asia, the company has seen demand for huge cruise ships or luxury mega-yachts dwindle.

MV Werften on the Baltic Sea coast and Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven on the North Sea coast declared themselves insolvent, local courts told AFP. The larger subsidiary MV Werften took the step after failing to secure funding for the completion of the “Global One” mega-liner, already 80 percent of the way through construction, according to the company.

Designed to carry close to 10,000 passengers, the huge ship had been due to leave the shipyard in 2021 – but the pandemic has knocked the company’s timetable off course and crimped its budget.

Around 600 million euros ($680 million) is necessary to finance the completion of the vessel, for which the shipbuilder has been seeking support from the government.

The decision to declare bankruptcy came after lengthy discussions with officials in which the two sides “clearly have not found common ground”, a spokesman for MV Werften said shortly before the filing was made.

The state asked MV Werften’s owners Genting to put forward 10 percent of the capital, government coordinator for the maritime economy Claudia Mueller said in a press conference.

“On this issue there was no agreement between Genting and the federal government,” Mueller said.

‘Dark day’ The “Global One” sits in Wismar, one of MV Werften’s three shipyards along the Baltic coast of former eastern state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where it employs around 2,000 people.

The collapse of one of the biggest employers in the region poses an early challenge for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s newly formed government. AFP

Transitions IN THIS second week of 2022, the Omicron-driven COVID-19 wave continues to surge across the globe. In the Philippine regions affected by typhoon Odette (international name Rai), worry about COVID-19 is compounded by the storm’s aftereffects. Over three weeks after the typhoon hit on Dec. 16, power has not yet been fully restored in affected areas and many of those affected continue to struggle for bare necessities.

It is a week fraught with worry. But it is also a week tinged with hope. Across the country, we look to the future. Booster doses of the vaccine, which will help protect against Omicron, are being administered. If the news is to be believed, vaccines for younger children and infants are months away from becoming available. Power is slowly being restored in typhoon-affected areas. And for those involved in campaigns, preparations begin for the 2022 elections.

This week, we talk about transitions.

Pandemic It seems impossible to talk about the prevailing mood without talking about the COVID-19 epidemic. As the 2021 Christmas season neared, it seemed the virus had decided to give the country a break. New cases fell to a few hundreds a day and active cases fell below 10 thousand.

Even as the first few cases of Omicron were detected in incoming, quarantined travelers in early December, new cases remained low throughout December. This was not to last. By Dec. 29, daily new cases doubled from the previous day’s 421 to 889. Fast forward to this week.

On Jan. 10, total Philippine active COVID-19 cases hit 157,526, a four-fold increase from last Monday’s 24,992 and a whopping 15-fold increase over total active cases two weeks ago of 9,579.

While these numbers seem frightening, we need to look beyond them. We need to remember that the focus of our fight against this disease is two-fold: prevention and mitigation. Our health protocols of masking, social distancing, isolation, and quarantine are meant to prevent the spread of infection. However, just as important, and perhaps even more so, is to prevent the severe presentations of the disease.

Let’s look at those numbers again and remove mild and asymptomatic cases. Active moderate cases have dropped from 3,339 on Dec. 27 to 2,858 on Jan. 10. Active severe cases dropped from 1,777 on Dec. 27 to 1,461 on Jan. 10.

Active critical cases dropped from 374 on Dec. 27 to 301 on Jan. 10.

Now, before we rejoice, we must remember that there is a time lag from onset of the disease to progression to moderate, severe or critical. We must still work on controlling the spread of infection. But there seems to be room for cautious optimism that, first, the vaccines are preventing severe forms of the disease and second, that Omicron is far less deadly than Delta, as the experience of other countries such as South Africa and the UK seems to show.

Re-entry 2020, the first year of the pandemic was a year of uncer-

tainty. It was a year of ups and downs and many of us were in a holding pattern, essentially in a mode of “observe and adjust.” 2021, the second year of the pandemic, while still full of volatility, also came with more information as well as more tools. In the medical area, vaccines and treatments became available. In our personal lives as well as at work, we learned to adjust. We learned to work from home and shop from home. As the vaccine became available, economies gradually opened. Even in the wake of the rude shock of the Delta variant, countries began the slow path to recovery. Schools opened for face-to-face classes and people began to travel.

As 2022 begins, we are faced with a new variant, one much more infectious though less deadly. Countries around the world are once again instituting mobility restrictions.

But a few things have changed since 2020. We now have more information and tools at hand for dealing with the virus. More importantly, we have emerged from the near paralysis and panic of the early days of the pandemic.

We are now far less focused on worry and more focused on what can be done. We have begun to transition.

Transition Transitions have been the theme of the pandemic for many of us. Businesses pivoted. Community markets emerged. Across the world, we began to focus more on health and peace of mind. The home, for so long just a place to sleep and perhaps recover during the weekend, became the center of our lives. We began to care about out gardens and homes. We discovered or rediscovered the joys of cooking, baking, and gardening. Released from the daily commute and the tyranny of the 8-hour day, we reconnected with family, friends, and more importantly our inner selves. Prevented from going out to malls, we rediscovered the joys of nature, either while walking or biking.

Many of the personal stories from 2021 are stories of change and transition, of embracing the future. While 2020 was about postponements, from business openings to weddings, 2021 was about ceasing the moment. It was a year for choosing to live our life. It was a year when we decided that the epidemic was not a reason to put our lives on hold.

In a very real way, 2021 was year of quiet triumph. It was the year we took our lives back.

My personal story is both the same and different. I ceased the moment in 2020, opting for early retirement by the end of the year. In many ways, my 2021 was a year of dealing with the unfinished. But it was also very much a year of choice. For the first time in a very long time, I was free of the confines of a job. This freedom of choice is a heady thing, a grace and a temptation.

As we begin 2022 and face Omicron, I will do what everyone must. I will look at the choices before me and choose the one that leads to a better future. Have a great week everyone.

Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr. com.

Cubans queue to buy food outside a store in Havana.

Spending up to eight hours standing still, sometimes under a scorching sun, without a public bathroom or water to drink, and, to top it all, with the latent tension of being able to return home with an empty backpack. AFP

Cubans queue for hours ‘just to be able to eat’ HAVANA, Cuba—Cubans are no strangers to queuing for everything from bread to toothpaste, often standing for hours under a blazing sun with no access to a toilet or drinking water, and always with the fear of leaving empty-handed.

It is a daily ordeal Cubans have endured for about 60 years of communist rule, now worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, a steep economic downturn and tightened US sanctions.

“I spent almost all night here just to buy something. It is not easy, it is a big sacrifice just to be able to eat,” shopper Edelvis Miranda, 47, told AFP at a market in Havana last week.

The homemaker had taken her place in the queue at about 1:00 am, and finally left around 11 hours later, just before noon.

“It was worth it, because I found everything. Now some rest, and then back to the queue again,” she said on her way home with two liters of oil, two packets of chicken, some minced meat and detergent.

Cuba recorded an official inflation rate of 70 percent in 2021, when the economy recovered a modest two percent after an 11-percent drop in 2020, signaling the nation’s worst economic crisis in almost three decades.

With government reserves dwindling, food imports – some $2 billion worth per year before the pandemic struck – had to be drastically cut back in the country of 11.2 million.

Last May, the government said imports, which normally cover 80 percent of the island’s needs, were at their lowest level since 2009.

‘Undignified’ The shortages affect everyone; even the well-heeled have to contend with long lines, though they often pay other people to hold their place.

Those who can come armed with snacks, water, coffee or a wooden bench to sit on.

Often, police are at hand to keep order in queues that stretch down several street blocks.

At a market in the capital, an announcement comes an hour before opening time that there are five products available for the day -- an unusual bounty that sends a ripple of excitement through a line of about 400 hopeful shoppers.

But then, the let-down. Only 250 of them can get in.

“This is undignified,” grumbled Rolando Lopez, a 66-year-old pensioner who was not among the lucky ones.

A few dozen among the luckless quickly form a queue for the next day’s shopping, designating night “guards” to ensure no one loses their place.

“It is the daily struggle of the Cuban.

What else can you do?” asked housewife Maria Rosabal, 55.

Reduced to nothing Some stores in Cuba nowadays accept only foreign currency. But US dollars are no longer legal tender and can only be obtained on the black market.

These stores are better stocked than peso-based ones, but few Cubans can afford to frequent them.

It is common for shops to have only two or three products at a given time, or none. Sometimes, people queue not knowing what, if any, product they will be able to buy that day. AFP

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

November trade deficit climbed to record $4.71b

By Julito G. Rada THE country incurred a record trade deficit of $4.71 billion in November 2021, as the 36.8-percent growth in imports outpaced the 6.6-percent expansion in exports, the Philippines Statistics Authority said Tuesday.

Data showed that the trade deficit in November 2021 went up by 119.5 percent year-on-year, faster than the 96.2-percent increase in October.

This brought the total trade deficit in the first 11 months of 2021 to $37.9 billion, also wider than the $22.14-billion trade gap registered a year ago. In 2020, the trade deficit reached $24.597 billion.

The PSA said merchandise exports grew 6.6 percent in November to $6.27 billion, led by the increased shipments of coconut oil (up 95.0 percent), electronic equipment and parts (33.9 percent) and chemicals (31.8 percent).

Exports in the first 11 months of 2021 reached $68.37 billion, up by 15.2 percent from the same period in 2020.

Meanwhile, imports climbed 36.8 percent in November to $10.98 billion, on higher demand for medicinal and pharmaceutical products (up 231.1 percent), mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (141.2 percent) and cereals and cereal preparations (132.4 percent).

The cumulative import value from January to November amounted to $106.30 billion, up 30.4 percent from the import value of $81.51 billion in the same period in 2020.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the increased foreign direct investments and infrastructure spending in preparation for the May 2022 elections could have led to faster growth in imports and wider trade deficit.

“Still near record low interest rates could have also encouraged more borrowings/fund-raising activities as long-term interest rates have already gone up from record levels posted in the latter part of 2020 and earlier in 2021, leading to increased investments and importation activities that entail new investments and expansion projects,” Ricafort said.

Some LGUs seen unprepared for devolved services THE architects of the devolution system transferring basic state services and facilities from the national government to local government units may have the best of intentions, but the move could be fraught with serious oversights and end up with undesired results, according to economic experts.

A policy expert raised this concern during a recent half-day webinar that tackled two relatively new laws on excise taxation in the country, including Republic Act No. 11346 and RA 11467.

The discussions were organized by the Center for Local Governance & Professional Development Inc. with a view to “raising awareness and further creating public value for several societal issues and concerns.”

Prof. Alex Magno, a prominent columnist and professor, acted as moderator of the event.

Novel Bangsal, executive director of the budget and tax research bureau of the House of Representatives, expressed apprehensions that some LGUs might not be ready to handle additional responsibilities as an offshoot of the decentralization process.

He said assigning basic but vital government services to “ill-equipped” LGUs might not be a good idea.

This is held extremely significant in light of the so-called Mandanas-Garcia 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court which is set to take effect this year and is expected to exacerbate the problem.

The SC decision is meant to “lessen the fiscal impact of having to transfer more financial resources to the LGUs and the national government has started to identify spending responsibilities for select devolved mandates to be transferred back to local governments.”

The World Bank noted that some LGUs “have started to raise concerns regarding their financial and technical capacity to absorb re-devolved mandates, while maintaining full autonomy in planning and managing the additional resources coming from the MandanasGarcia ruling”.

Business Cavite accepts consortium’s $10.9-b int’l airport proposal

By Darwin G. Amojelar

S

PIA Development Consortium, which consists of major local and foreign conglomerates, secured an original proponent status from the provincial government of Cavite to develop a $10.9-billion international airport in Sangley Point.

The grant of the OPS gives the consortium, which is composed of Cavitex Holdings Inc., Yuchengco Group, MacroAsia Corp. and their foreign partners, the right to directly negotiate the final terms and conditions of the joint venture with the province and the right to match the best counter proposal that may be received during the 60-day mandatory competitive or Swiss Challenge process.

Cavite Governor Juanito Victor Remulla issued the certificate of acceptance to the consortium on Jan. 7. He said the, “acceptance of the unsolicited proposal is a clear sign of the province’s commitment to deliver this nationally significant and legacy project to the

Filipino people”.

“We are very glad and hopeful that this consortium made up of reputable domestic and well-known global development and investment companies will help us successfully complete the project,” he said.

The consortium submitted the unsolicited proposal in November to form a joint venture with Cavite province for the SPIA project. The provincial government previously declared a second failed bidding after no bids were received for the airport project in October.

The long-delayed Sangley Airport project is envisioned as a fully modernized, world-class and green airport that

is designed to meet an anticipated increase in demand for air transport in the next 30 to 40 years, and as operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport are eventually phased out to allow for a development of the site and its surrounding areas.

The consortium said in a statement that as soon as the project is awarded, they are ready to transform Sangley airport into a premium gateway that can provide an alternative to the congested NAIA, thereby significantly boosting economic growth and enhancing the local tourism and aviation industries.

It said the Sangley Point International Airport project is needed as a complementary airport to NAIA given post-pandemic requirements, and help accelerate government initiatives for economic recovery.

After final planning, design and financial closing, the work would immediately begin with the construction of a 4.6-kilometer connector road from Kawit Interchange of Cavitex leading to Sangley, with the time of completion estimated at two years, the consortium said.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Tuesday, January 11, 2022

-54.98 PTS. 7,085.69

TOTAL VOLUME 877,974,293 TOTAL TRADES 78,501 TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP) 6,913,115,733.04 ADVANCES 82 DECLINES 105 UNCHANGED 43

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2022

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

51.3470

Japan

Yen

0.008681

0.4457

UK

Pound

1.357800

69.7190

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128282

6.5869

Switzerland

Franc

1.078516

55.3786

Canada

Dollar

0.788768

40.5009

Singapore

Dollar

0.737354

37.8609

Australia

Dollar

0.716800

36.8055

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652590

136.2025

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266418

13.6798

Brunei

Dollar

0.734646

37.7219

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.029762

1.5282

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.9811

Euro

Euro

1.132800

58.1659

Korea

Won

0.000835

0.0429

China

Yuan

0.156818

8.0521

India

Rupee

0.013510

0.6937

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.238209

12.2313

New Zealand

Dollar

0.675500

34.6849

Taiwan

Dollar

0.036159

1.8567 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

First Metro predicts 7% growth in 2022 FIRST Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, said Tuesday it expects the Philippine economy to grow by 6 percent to 7 percent in 2022, driven by the industry and services sectors.

First Metro president Jose Patricio Dumlao said in an online economic briefing he was expecting the prospects of the economy to be brighter this year, after nearly two years of grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year, the Philippine economy rebounded from a deep recession, registering a 4.9-percent growth in the first three quarters of the year. This growth momentum likely spilled over in the fourth quarter given further economic reopening and easing mobility restrictions,” Dumlao said.

“Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic, and Omicron sparking the third wave of infections, we are still optimistic that Philippine growth will further accelerate and get back on its trajectory of 6-7 percent in 2022,” Dumlao said.

He said economic growth would also be driven by sustained domestic demand, easing inflation, election expenditures and accelerated government spending on infrastructure projects.

Julito G. Rada

PH ranks 9th globally in IP innovation ranking THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines climbed to 9th place in the World Trademark Review’s 2021 IP Office Innovation Ranking from 24th spot in 2020, making the Philippines the only developing country to have an IP office in the top 10 of 60 offices ranked worldwide.

IPOPHL made what the WTR dubbed “an impressive rise,” which also put it ahead of the IP offices of Japan and the US. The office enjoys its spot along with Spain and Switzerland.

“The good news delivered by the WTR report demonstrates IPOPHL’s adoption of innovations to cope with the pandemic and ensure we can continue to serve the public,” said IPOPHL directorgeneral Rowel Barba.

IPOPHL, amid the pandemic, fast-tracked improvements to protocols to allow services online, such as end-to-end registration, mediation, filing of IP violation complaints and other office actions.

IPOPHL also launched its Business Intelligence v2.0 online platform, which incorporates cuttingedge machine learning/artificial intelligence to improve its big data analytics capabilities.

Othel V. Campos

SCB DONATION. Standard Chartered Bank donates to health workers and first responders in the municipality of Pateros. SCB corporate affairs, brand and marketing head Mai Sangalang (third from left) together with (from left) Save the Children corporate partnerships manager Natalia Tabal, Humanitarian Response manager Jerome Balinton, Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III and other municipal representatives lead the turnover of P500,000 worth of donation. Standard Chartered is the oldest international bank in the country celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

Power producers ask gov’t to lift tariff on imported coal

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. on Tuesday asked the government to consider removing import tariff for other coal sources to ease the impact of Indonesia’s ban on coal exports.

“We hope that the Philippine government will prioritize parallel discussions with its Indonesian counterparts regarding the issue and explore alternative measures, such as the removal of import tariff for other coal sources,” PIPPA said in a statement.

Indonesia, on Dec. 31, 2022, announced the banned coal exports amid concerns that a lower supply of coal at domestic power plants could lead to

brownouts.

PIPPA, said, the coal export ban would have a short-term effect on the Philippine coal supply and it remained optimistic that the ban would be eventually lifted.

The group also assured the public that its member generators are compliant with the 30-day inventory levels set by the Department of Energy.

“PIPPA gencos [generation companies] intend to continuously serve the Philippine electricity demand amidst this temporary hurdle and hope that this will not extend beyond the first quarter of 2022,” PIPPA said.

“Given that it is our business to produce electricity, it is also in our best interest to continue operations even

during the duration of the coal export ban in Indonesia,” it said.

PIPPA said it would also look for alternative coal sources to enable their plants to generate electricity.

The Philippines sourced 2.3 million metric tons monthly from Indonesia to fuel the country’s coal-fired power plants, according to DOE. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier asked Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Afirin Tasrif to lift the coal export ban.

Cusi stressed the healthy economic cooperation between the Philippines and Indonesia and that Indonesia’s recent policy would be “detrimental to economies that [currently] rely on coal-fired power generation systems like the Philippines.”

Chamber of Mines assists Odette victims LARGE-SCALE mining companies rushed to communities near and far from their areas of operation to help victims of Typhoon Odette.

Nickel Asia Corp. affiliate Taganito HPAL Corp. distributed food packs and rice to families and evacuees from barangays Urbiztondo and Taganito and construction materials to 3,600 families from the firm’s host town of Claver in Surigao del Norte. Partial data provided by Mines and Geosciences Bureau Caraga regional director Larry Heradez showed that THPAL’s contribution alone cost P13 million.

Philex Mining Corp. gave financial assistance to the Philippine Disaster Resiliency Foundation and the One Meralco Foundation for use in the MVP Group Tulong Kapatid Odette response efforts. Part of the assistance would be for the purchase of shelter and building materials for local government units in Surigao del Norte.

The company also conducted an employees’ donation drive and offered generator set at its Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. project site in Barangay Timamana, Tubod, also in Surigao del Norte, for free charging of mobile phones and other communications devices.”

“Member-firms of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines also provide many unquantifiable efforts that are equally valuable in times of disaster, such as the quick response of emergency response teams, the use of company equipment in the clearing efforts and manpower resources,” said COMP chairman Mike Toledo.

“These are our employees who were at the scenes to help the communities, like doctors who did the rounds and brought first-aid kits in affected barangays,” he said.

Experts expect vape bill to cut down PH smoking rate THE approval of the so-called Vape Bill will accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence in the Philippines in the same way that the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand address the problem by adopting tobacco harm reduction measures, according to two international public health experts.

Dr. Riccardo Polosa, professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Catania in Italy and honorary professor of Medicine at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, lauded the House and Representatives and the Senate for approving the Vaporized Nicotine Products bill.

“The VNP bill is a step in the right direction,” Dr. Polosa said in a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

“With this law, the Philippines will join the ranks of the UK, New Zealand and other countries that have included tobacco harm reduction as part of their state policy. As like the above-mentioned countries, the VPN bill is expected to accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence in the Philippines, too,” he said.

Clive Bates, Director at Counterfactual Consulting Limited in Abuja, Nigeria and London, supported this, saying that “vaporized nicotine is much lower risk to health than cigarette smoking” and that there is little direct evidence of harm to health arising from nicotine vaping or HTPs. The Senate overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill No. 2239—its version of the VNP Bill—on third and final reading on Dec. 16, 2021, while the House of Representatives approved its own version— House Bill No. 9007 on third and final reading on May 25, 2021. Both bills aim to regulate the manufacture, sale and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products which, according to scientific studies, are less harmful than combustible cigarettes.

Dr. Polosa visited the Philippines in 2016 and testified during a public hearing of the House. He also talked about THR to academicians, doctors and policymakers. In his visit, he highlighted the need for risk-proportionate regulation for much less harmful nicotine delivery products such as electronic cigarettes and HTPs.

CARMEN COPPER’S ASSISTANCE. Scholars of Cebu-based mining firm Carmen Copper Corp. volunteer to help in the repacking of goods to be extended as relief aid to communities affected by typhoon Odette (Rai) which hit the Visayas and Mindanao on Dec. 16, 2021. To further help prepare its communities in Toledo City for the oncoming weather disturbance, Carmen Copper posted relevant typhoon advisories on social media. While Typhoon Odette battered Cebu province, Carmen Copper employees crossed the streets amid toppled posts and uprooted trees to deliver food packs. When the storm subsided, Carmen Copper prioritized food and water provisions for its communities.

Sports

Dolphins, Vikings, Bears fire coaches LOS ANGELES—The Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings all fired their head coaches on Monday just one day after the close of the 2021-22 NFL regular season.

The Dolphins sacked Brian Flores, the Vikings let Mike Zimmer go, and the Bears fired Matt Nagy with both teams looking for new direction after missing the playoffs.

“I made a decision today to part ways with Brian Flores,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said Monday.

“After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins.

“I believe we have a talented young roster in place and have the opportunity to be much better in 2022. I want to thank Brian for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best in his future.”

In three seasons, Flores had 24 wins and posted a 9-8 record in 2021 but the former New England Patriots defensive coordinator never made the playoffs. He had no prior experience as a head coach before joining the Dolphins.

Nagy’s fate was sealed as the Bears struggled through a 6-11 season that ended with a loss at Minnesota on Sunday. Bears general manager Ryan Pace is also stepping down.

The Bears have not won in the postseason since the 2010 team advanced to the NFC championship game.

The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman after eight seasons, making the moves after a season-ending 31-17 win over the Bears.

The Vikings finished with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for a second straight season The Detroit Lions also fired offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. Detroit was one of the worst teams in the NFL with a 3-13-1 record. AFP

PSC chairman William Ramirez

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

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Ramirez: PSC to foot Obiena’s surgery bill

By Peter Atencio

A

N undisclosed amount of money has been prepared by the Philippine Sports Commission for world no.

6 pole vaulter EJ Obiena, who is now in Germany to seek treatment for a minor knee injury.

In an appearance at the PSA Forum’s online edition, PSC chairman William Ramirez said the government sports body has approved Obiena’s request for humanitarian reasons.

“EJ Obiena needs help for his medical procedure. We approved an amount to take care of his surgery,” said Ramirez during Tuesday’s weekly online PSA Forum.

He also announced in the forum that the PSC is also working on awarding him the cash incentive for setting a new Asian record of 5.93 meters in ruling the Golden Roof Challenge in September 2021, eclipsing the 29-year-old mark of Ka-

zakhstan’s Igor Potapovich set in Dijon, France in 1992.

Ramirez disclosed that Patafa Chairman, Deputy House Speaker Rufus Rodriguez has signified that they were willing to certify Obiena’s request so that the athlete can receive the money directly as soon as possible.

“We are thankful to Deputy Speaker Rodriguez in agreeing to our request on certification regarding the financial assistance to Obiena. In these extraordinary times, we are willing to bypass normal procedure,” he said in the program backed by the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., San Miguel Corp., Milo, Ame-

lie Hotel, Braska Restaurant and with Prime Edge as its new webcast and social media partner.

Obiena hurt his knee again during training and was diagnosed by doctors with a “small meniscus tear.”

He has asked for assistance through one of his main supporters in James Lafferty.

The setback came as Obiena continues with his plan to compete at the Init Indoor Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Jan. 28.

The minor operation will be done at the Southwest German Center for Sports Traumatology in Stuttgart, according to Lafferty in a statement on Twitter.

According to reports, Dr. Dimitr-Alexander Jontschew, a recognized specialist in orthopedic surgery and medical director of the facility will perform the procedure.

National Training Director Marc Velasco is coordinating with Dr. Randy Molo of the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine to help find ways to get in Turn to C2

AGAINST THE ELEMENTS. France’s biker Adrien Van Beveren powers his Yamaha during the Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between al-Dawadimi and Wadi Ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia.

AFP

Georgia snaps 41-year drought with title run LOS ANGELES—Stetson Bennett carried the offense as the University of Georgia captured its first US college football national title in 41 years with a 33-18 win over Alabama in front of a crowd of 68,300.

Quarterback Bennett threw for 224 yards, completing 17 of 26 passes and had no interceptions as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half to beat the No. 1 ranked University of Alabama.

“People said we weren’t conditioned enough and that pissed a lot of people off,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

“Before the game today we burned the boats and we came up fighting. This is a special moment for this team.”

It was Georgia’s first college championship since 1980, when they were led by freshman Herschel Walker.

Bennett connected with Adonai Mitchell on a 40-yard touchdown with just over eight minutes left and with Brock Bowers with 3:33 to go for a 15yard score to make it 26-18 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana.

Kelee Ringo intercepted a pass by Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and returned it 79 yards for the touchdown with a minute left in the fourth.

The showdown was a rematch from last month when Alabama took down the then-No.1 Bulldogs 41-24.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was seeking his seventh national title at Alabama and eighth overall.

“They deserved it. We were the only team to beat them (last month) but we just couldn’t finish it tonight,” said Saban.

The Bulldogs lost to Alabama in the 2017 title game.

Embiid helps Sixers nail 7th straight win LOS ANGELES—Joel Embiid had 31 points and eight rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers won their seventh straight game with a 111-91 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Embiid recorded his seventh straight 30-point game. He also had six assists and made all 13 of his free throws in front of a crowd of 13,600 at Toyota Center arena in Houston.

Embiid is the second NBA player in history to score exactly 31 points in four straight games. Bob McAdoo did it for the Buffalo Braves in 1973.

Embiid entered Monday’s contest as the sixth highest scorer in the league, averaging 26.8 points per game.

Philadelphia has the longest winning streak in the Eastern Conference and the secondlongest one in the league behind the Memphis Grizzlies who have won nine straight.

Elsewhere, LaMelo Ball scored 23 points as the Charlotte Hornets swept back-to-back

games against the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks with a 103-99 win.

Ball capped his performance with the eventual winning basket on a floater with 15 seconds left in the fourth for the Hornets, who also beat the Bucks 114-106 on Saturday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for the struggling Bucks, who have lost four of their last five games.

Milwaukee committed their 20th turnover after Ball’s go-ahead basket. On the next possession Miles Bridges sank a pair of gameclinching free throws.

Ball scooted to his left, shooting across his body as he was falling away to break the tie.

“That is a highly difficult shot, but he makes it look effortless,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “Melo has that uncanny ability to be going 100 mph, get off-balance and still be poised when he raises up.

“That’s tough to do for a player who has been in the league 15 years, let alone a guy who has been in the league two years.”

Terry Rozier delivered 27 points, Bridges finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Gordon Hayward tallied 14 points as the Hornets won despite shooting just 13-of-44 shooting from three-point range.

Khris Middleton helped pace the Bucks offense with 27 points and a game-high 11 assists. Jordan Nwora added 18 points and Wesley Matthews had 13 points.

“You are definitely concerned anytime you lose four out of five,” Middleton said. “And you never want to lose two in a row.

“You understand what the circumstances are (with players being out) and you never want to use that as an excuse. We understand what we’re going through and everybody is going through. But we still have to go out there and compete.”

In Detroit, rookie Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 29 points and the Detroit Pistons rallied from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Utah Jazz 126-116. AFP

Dejounte Murray of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball against Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AFP

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Sports

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

Japanese gymnastics’ icon Kohei retires at 33 TOKYO—Two-time Olympic gymnastics all-around champion Kohei Uchimura has retired aged 33, his management said Tuesday, ending the career of one of the sport’s alltime greats.

Uchimura claimed gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games, won the Olympic team title with Japan in Rio and was crowned all-around world champion six times.

But he suffered disappointment in his Olympic swansong, falling off the horizontal bar and failing to reach the final at last year’s Tokyo Games.

Uchimura’s final competition was at the world championships last Octoer in Kitakyushu, the city where he was born.

He finished sixth in the horizontal bar final but was given a rapturous reception by the home crowd after sticking a textbook landing from his dismount.

He told AFP after that event that he would take time to consider his next move, but acknowledged there was “a new generation emerging” in gymnastics.

Revered in Japan, Uchimura was also a crowd favourite because of his easy-going personality and love of chocolate.

At the Rio Games in 2016 he made headlines by racking up a 500,000 yen ($4,500) phone bill playing Pokemon Go. But he was strictly business when it came to competition, winning silver in the all-around and team events in his Olympic debut in 2008.

He then became the first man in 44 years to win back-to-back Olympic all-around golds, in 2012 and 2016, and also claimed the world title every year in between.

But shoulder injuries began to take their toll and in 2019 he described his chances of appearing at the Tokyo Games as “a fairytale”.

He took radical action by dropping every event but the horizontal bar, and went on to book his place at his home Olympics. AFP

Australian government mulls cancelling Novak’s visa again M

ELBOURNE — Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic trained at the Australian Open venue Tuesday in search of a record 21st Grand Slam but his dream hung in the balance as the government pondered cancelling his visa, again.

The world number one had scored a surprise courtroom victory the day before, overturning the Australian government’s decision to cancel his visa on Covid-19 vaccination grounds.

But the immigration minister said he may annul Djokovic’s visa once more.

The unvaccinated 34-year-old Serbian ace says he is now determined to stay in Melbourne and compete in the Australian Open, which starts in six days.

“I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the

Fans look at an image of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open at the Melbourne Park tennis centre in Melbourne. AFP

amazing fans,” Djokovic said on Instagram Monday.

Wearing a t-shirt and shorts, he limbered up in a gym on Tuesday accompanied by coach Goran Ivanisevic before heading to center court, AFP journalists saw.

Television cameras filmed him from helicopters as he played.

Djokovic, a nine-time Australian Open champion, jetted into the country six days ago carrying a medical exemption from vaccination due to a positive coronavirus test on December 16 last year.

After overnight questioning at Melbourne airport, border officials decided the exemption was not valid, cancelled his visa and transferred him to a detention centre pending deportation.

“I am not vaccinated,” Djokovic had told the border official, according to a transcript released by the court.

‘Biggest victory’ He expressed bewilderment that his exemption, approved by two medical panels in Australia, was not accepted.

The limited number of foreigners allowed into Australia must be fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption.

The government insists that a recent infection does not count as an exemption.

Federal circuit court judge Anthony Kelly dramatically reversed the visa decision Monday, ordering the cancellation be “quashed”, that the player be released immediately and that the government pay his legal costs.

The government had surrendered after conceding that Djokovic’s airport interview was “unreasonable” because the player had not been given the promised time to respond.

It was “the biggest victory in his career, bigger than all his Grand Slams”, his mother Dijana said at a press conference in Belgrade.

“Truth and justice came to the light. I would like to thank the justice system of Australia,” said his brother Djordje.

Much of Australia’s media said Tuesday doubts had emerged over the accuracy of Djokovic’s travel declaration, reportedly filled out before he flew in from Spain.

A copy of his declaration showed a tick in the box to confirm he had not and would not travel in the 14 days before landing in Australia on January 5. AFP

Sports stars who share Djokovic’s COVID-19 vax skepticism PARIS—Novak Djokovic’s skepticism over the COVID-19 vaccine is shared by other sports stars.

AFP Sport picks out five of those: Aaron Rodgers The Green Bay Packers legend and Super Bowl winning quarterback has been a leading voice against vaccination.

The 38-year-old has cast himself in the role of a victim of a “woke mob” and “cancel culture” following criticism when he tested positive.

Prior to that he had said he was “immunized” having sought alternative treatment. Rodgers claimed two of the vaccines contained an unspecified ingredient he was allergic to and refused to take the other after hearing of “multiple people” complaining of “adverse events”.

Rodgers counted the cost of his stance and his attack on those criticising him when an American health care company cut ties with him last November having taken a dim view of his remarks.

Joshua Kimmich Rodgers got a mild dose of coronavirus and still refused to be vaccinated

Aaron Rodgers

Kyrie Irving

but German midfielder Kimmich was not so fortunate when he contracted it in late November.

The 26-year-old Bayern Munich star suffered lung damage that ruled him out of action till January.

He had sparked fury when he revealed in October he was against being vaccinated due to “fears and concerns”.

“I thought I could protect myself from the virus if I stuck to all the rules and

Joshua Kimmich

tested regularly,” he said.

Stranger still was that in 2020 he and team-mate Leon Goretzka founded the initiative “We kick Corona” by donating money to support vaccination campaigns and charitable projects.

He has, however, finally booked a vaccination appointment admitting “it would have been better to do it earlier”.

Bryson DeChambeau The normally muscle-bound 2020 US

Bryson DeChambeau

Open champion looked leaner after he returned following a bout of covid which cost him his place at last year’s Olympics in Tokyo.

The 28-year-old golfer revealed he had lost 10lbs (4.5 kilos) due to the virus. However, he insisted that experiencing it had made him no more enthusiastic to be vaccinated.

“The vaccine doesn’t necessarily prevent it from happening,” he told Ameri-

Ramirez:...

From C1

touch with Obiena.

Ramirez bared that the process of mediation between Obiena and the PATAFA has started, and with help coming from the Philippine Dispute Resolutions Center, Inc, through executive director Arleo Magtibay Jr. and Edmund Tan. “We will resolve this dispute with compromises. Mediation is not easy.

It is difficult and even treacherous,” said Ramirez.

Obiena and his mother federation have been at odds over the pole vaulter’s liquidation documents. But a meeting between all parties concerned is expect to happen soon.

Ramirez stressed that “mediation is the only option” to all the parties involved, which is why that he had tapped the help of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. led by President Atty. Edmundo Tan and Executive Director Arlee Matibay Jr. in settling the dispute.

“Should all parties agree, I, PSC executive director Atty. Guillermo Iroy Jr. and the PDRCI hope to resolve this dispute,” Ramirez said, warning that failure to do so might have a detrimental effect on the P515 million it had received from Congress for the international meets of athletes this year.

“We are grateful to Congress, especially to our senators who agreed to allot P515 million to the PSC for international competition such as the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games. But if this conflict is not solve we might give this up and asked the Office of the President to give it elsewhere,” he said.

“We spending billions on our athletes and yet we are still in a pandemic and millions of Filipinos without food and shelter because of Typhoon Odette. I will tell the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea to give the money to those in need and concentrate on grassroots sport that we have overlooked,” Ramirez said. can media in August.

“I’m young enough, I’d rather give it (the vaccine) to people who need it. I don’t need it. I’m a healthy, young individual that will continue to work on my health.”

Dechambeau—both of whose parents have been vaccinated—said he would contemplate doing so if he felt the vaccine met his standards.

Kyrie Irving The Brooklyn Nets NBA star has been welcomed back into the fold after spending the first two months of the season sidelined due to his refusal to be vaccinated.

The 29-year-old point guard said his much criticized decision was not because he was anti-vaccination, it was simply a personal choice.

“I am doing what’s best for me,” he said in October.

“I know the consequences here, and if it means that I’m judged and demonized for that, that’s just what it is, that’s the role I play.”

Even with his return Irving—who won the NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016—can only play a role on the road because, as long as he remains unvaccinated, he cannot play home games due to New York’s vaccine mandates. AFP

Converge launches video game in upgraded VISION Xperience Box IN July 2021, Converge ICT Solutions proved that they are more than just an internet service provider by launching a new add-on service, called the VISION Xperience Box in partnership with Pacific Kabelnet, which allowed its subscribers to enjoy multi-genre TV programs and shows in the comfort of their homes.

In December 2021, Converge stayed committed to letting Filipinos experience better through the newest feature of the VISION Xperience Box: a family game called “Conrad’s Happy City”.

With the intention of setting industrydriving meaningful initiatives for its subscribers, Converge ICT is the first ISP to introduce an online branded game.

With more people and families staying at home, casual games have become a critical entertainment experience. From the usual games in their personal computers to downloading

different apps on their mobile, casual and competitive games have paved its way into the daily routine of Gen Zs, millennials, and even late adopters, like parents, to the gaming era.

Brought to life by mgames, Mineski Global’s social gaming platform with over 200 exclusive casual games, Converge elevates its VISION Xperience Box by introducing its own game, Conrad’s Happy City. In the game, Converge’s Mascot Conrad has a mission to keep the city happy, one internet connection at a time! As Conrad jumps over communities, each sad gray house turns into a vibrant and happy home powered

by Converge FiberX internet connectivity— saving households from bad internet experience.

Through the Vision Xperience Box and Converge FiberX, families can bond more with each other without investing on expensive game consoles as Converge can bring the real experience of playing

video games on the big screen. Enabled

by Wi-Fi or bluetooth, the box does not require connectivity to any cable wires and can easily be connected to a mouse, gamepad, keypad, and other devices. As

the new year comes, families can maximize their bonding sessions and enjoy turbocharged internet speeds, making their gaming session seamless.

Aside from the newly added feature,

Vision customers can enjoy rewards and incentives as they play the game.

Players with the best scores in the leaderboard may enjoy Converge limited edition merchandise.

How to avail the vision xperience box?

Converge customers can enjoy playing this game and watching their favorite shows and movies for as low as P99/month for 65 channels and P299/ month for 82 channels. This easy-toset-up service comes with reliable security features and enhanced artificial intelligence that provides quick, oneclick access to channels, Google apps, online games, and OTT apps like HBO Go, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Spotify. Meanwhile, Converge subscribers with an existing Vision Xperience Box do not need to purchase another box to play the game—an automatic gaming feature software upgrade will be notified on your screen.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

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Zack Tabudlo, James Reid captivate listeners with ‘Hatdog’

Zack Tabudlo (left) and James Reid

RISING singer-songwriter and record producer Zack Tabudlo is starting the year right with a high-profile collaboration featuring James Reid. The pair teams up on a soulful pop ditty written, mastered, mixed, and produced by Zack Tabudlo himself.

Entitled “Hatdog,” its swoon-worthy chorus and sterling guitar work are highlighted by the duo’s impressive vocals while showcasing their undeniable talent to tackle an emotionally captivating song.

According to the breakout record-

ing artist, “Hatdog” is all about loving and waiting for the right person despite the other camp’s hesitation to give in.

‘It bis about giving reassurance, love, and support to the person who has mixed feelings for you. You are there for them no matter the situation is even if it will hurt in the long run,” Zack said.

Prior to their team-up, both Zack and James have worked together on the music video of the former’s hit single “Para Sa Mga Ex,” off his critically acclaimed 2021 album, Episode. It was the first time they’d talked in person. Upon meeting, both Zack and James clicked,

Slice-of-life films start the year through online screenings TO WELCOME the new year with concern, coming-ofage films will be screened online on Wednesdays of January, hosted by The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

Each 90-minute movie was meticulously selected to guide the audiences to identify their current status and acknowledge their various emotions, to move forward to attain a more fulfilling life.

The line-up is headlined by Saint Oniisan (Saint Young Men) (2012), a Japanese comedy by animator and director Noriko Takao. An adaptation of the hit manga series written and illustrated by Hikaru Nakamura, it follows roommates Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha as they explore and experience, appreciate and understand modern life while on vacation in Tokyo. It is on view today.

Hintayan ng Langit (Heaven’s Waiting) (2018) by Filipino cinematographer Dan Villegas introduces an overstaying soul in purgatory, who is set to cross over and give her space to her recently-deceased ex-boyfriend.

Starred by veteran and award-winning Gina Pareño and the late Eddie Garcia, the film unravels the pains and regrets of two reunited ex-lovers. It is slated on Jan. 19.

Ride Your Wave (2019), directed by Japanese screenwriter and animator Maasaki Yuasa, follows the heartfelt journey of the fearless surf-loving college student Hinako.

The romantic-drama delves on one’s inner purpose, justice and joy as she navigates her life after she tragically lost her boyfriend, the young firefighter Minato. It is set to be showcased on Jan. 26.

The free and public online screenings will be conducted via Zoom every 12:00 noon on the scheduled dates.

Interested participants may register through https:// forms.gle/PWJF45YR6sBW7xra9. For more information, email mcad@benilde.edu.ph.

‘Saint Oniisan (Saint Young Men)’ is a Japanese comedy by animator and director Noriko Takao.

‘Hintayan ng Langit’ by Filipino cinematographer Dan Villegas

‘Ride Your Wave’ by Japanese screenwriter and animator Maasaki Yuasa

became friends, and decided to collaborate on a music project.

“James was just very chill to work,” the artist with Spotify’s moststreamed song in the Philippines last year, revealed.

“He was very open to ideas. He really has an edge with singing as well.

The character in his voice pushes out the uniqueness of how it sounds, which makes it very different from what we hear from singers and artists nowadays.

He has his own thing,” the 20-year-old artist went on.

Zack finished writing “Hatdog” in 30

minutes and made James listen to it in his studio. The Careless CEO and On The Wings Of Love actor immediately loved the track, and decided to finish recording his part in four hours’ time. The rest, as they say, is history.

“We were supposed to just hangout to kind of talk about what song and style and everything else we should do,” Zack shared. “But we ended up finishing the material. I’m happy James came along and added magic to the song.”

“Hatdog” is out now on streaming platforms worldwide via Island Records Philippines.

The cast of ‘First Lady’

(From left) Mark Herras, Rhian Ramos, Benjamin Alves, and Kris Bernal in ‘Artikulo 247’

The cast of ‘Prima Donnas’ (from left) Sofia Pablo, Jillian Ward, and Althea Ablan

Xian Lim and Glaiza De Castro play a married couple in the upcoming romantic comedy series ‘False Positive.’

Leading network unveils explosive 2022 lineup

R

OMANCE, drama, suspense, action. These are the best words to describe GMA Network’s lineup of shows for 2022. And while we are still stuck in the middle of a pandemic, might as well escape to the lands where characters are captivating, brave, colorful, in love, and not affected by COVID-19.

Setting the pace for the New Year is GMA News and Public Affairs’ year-end special, Year of the Superhero. It aired on Jan. 1 with Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera giving a rundown of the inspiring stories behind some of the most heroic moments of 2021.

Prima Donnas return on Jan. 17 with its stellar cast Starring Jillian Ward, Althea Ablan, and Sofia Pablo with Katrina Halili, Wendell Ramos, James Blanco, Benjie Paras, Elijah Alejo, Will Ashley, Vince Crisostomo, Bruce Roeland, Allen Ansay, Sheryl Cruz, Chanda Romero, and Aiko Melendez.

Jo Berry stars in her own series, the afternoon drama Little Princess, which premiered on Jan. 10. The series also features Rodjun Cruz and Juancho Trivino. It follows the story of a little person who dreams of becoming a businesswoman despite growing up in a poor family. Completing the cast are Angelika Dela Cruz, Geneva Cruz, Chuckie Dreyfus, Therese Malvar, Lander Vera Perez, Gabrielle Hahn, Kaloy Tingcungco, and Jestoni Alarcon.

GMA Afternoon Prime likewise offers the riveting legal drama series Artikulo 247 airing on Feb. 14. Top-billed by Rhian Ramos, Benjamin Alves, Kris Bernal, and Mark Herras, the series powerfully portrays the journey of a woman as she fearfully moves on from the consequences of her past entanglement with her boss and his wife.

Other upcoming shows to look forward to

on GMA Afternoon Prime are: The Fake Life, a story of a man who realizes he is not living the life he thought he had; Raising Mamay, a tale of a young woman who takes care of her scornful mother stricken with brain regression; Apoy sa Langit, an advocacy-driven series that showcases an unusual story of betrayal involving money and family affairs; Abot Kamay na Pangarap, follows the story of an impoverished but smart girl as she copes with the changes that will test her love, skills, family ideals, and attainment of her dreams; and Frozen Love, a story about the daughter of an ice resurfacer machine driver at an ice-skating rink who gets a chance to be part of a figure skating team when one of the members gets injured. Her dream is tested when the injured member comes back with a vengeance, taking back everything she’s lost resulting in one of the biggest rivalries on and off the ice.

Also set to rope in viewers are: Return to Paradise, a story about two college students who are marooned on an island and fall in love. When they are rescued, their fighting parents cause major conflicts in their relationship; Underage, a television re-telling of the Regal Entertainment movie classic of three country girls whose lives were turned upside down when they transfer to the city; Heaven In My Heart, a heartwarming series about two strangers who have learned to love each other as mother and child, even if they’re not related by blood; and Nakarehas Na Puso, a tale about an ex-convict mother who successfully returned to her family using a different identity in hopes of mending their broken lives.

Leading the stellar lineup of weekend game and variety shows are Family Feud and the muchawaited Philippine franchise of the SBS Korea Original Running Man Philippines.

A new breed of talented artists who can make beautiful music together are also set to be discovered in the innovative singing contest Sing For Hearts. The Best Ka!, meanwhile features Guinness World Records ‘Best of the Best’ in terms of talent, looks, and more.

Also on weekends, get ready for an action-packed

Jessica Soho will host the Presidential Interviews for the 2022 presidential candidates.

adventure as the top-rating family fantasy drama Agimat ng Agila Season 2 returns with more intense and exciting scenes headlined by no less than Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr. Also returning to the series is the stellar roster of cast headlined by Sanya Lopez as special guest, Elizabeth Oropesa, and Benjie Paras together with new cast members Gardo Verzosa, Betong Sumaya, Kim de Leon, Shanelle Agustin, and newest Kapuso and Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Rabiya Mateo.

The Kapuso Network is also keeping it good with new 2022 program offerings on its second free-to-air channel GTV. Be inspired to spread kindness in the primetime series Sweet Sixteen, which tells the story of Abigail, a spoiled brat who will be cursed by a beggar whom she wronged to learn values in a span of ninety 90 days in exchange for her normal life.

Be in awe with the mini-drama series Heart of an Angel that will showcase a man’s encounter with angels that walk and live amongst us.

Cooking has never been this exciting with the upcoming show One Knife Only. Filled with genuine fun and adventure, the program will embody the sense of community that Pinoys are known for.

GMA Heart of Asia proudly brings an exciting line-up of well-loved Asianovelas including My Husband in Law, Now We Are Breaking Up, Yumi’s Cells, The Wolf, Man of Vengeance, Prophecy of Love, The Merciless Judge, The Witch’s Diner, and The Penthouse 3. Read full story on manilastandard.net

‘Sing Galing’ opens year with wildcard edition TV5 rings in the New Year with more fun and surprises with Sing Galing’s wildcard edition: Sing Galing Sing Back-Bakan.

Recently debuted on Jan. 3, the new edition of the singing show features familiar faces from previous episodes who have left unforgettable impressions among the viewers. Introduced as “Team Balik,” the most talked about and well-supported contestants who were not able to join “Team Galing” last year but were able to leave a fond memory among the show’s panel, are coming back for the title.

Each episode follows the accustomed three-round format: Randomising: Pang-Sing-Galingan; Hula-Oke Jukebosses Edition; and the final round,

Duel-Oke Face-Off Edition.

Among four contestants per level, one will be hailed as the “Team Balik Bida-Oke Star of the Night” who will immediately move forward to the next stage of Sing Back-Bakan, for an everyday nonstop Duelo-han.

With the New Year comes new wildcard opportunities for contestants Rachel Cardenas of Caloocan, Arjay Cabael of Batangas, Bly Peña of Valenzuela, Zarmine Pusta of Davao De Oro, Joyce Yadao of Manila, Vincent Guim of Sorsogon, Auriz Llorenz of Camarines Sur, Myca Capili of Laguna, Carl Ganaden of Tarlac, Diadelyn Tano of Quezon Province, Jamal Africa of Lucena, Rowel Soliven of Ilocos Sur, JR Navarro of Baguio, Gia Gonzales of Cavite, Joan

Odeh of Novaliches, Wilson Baylon of Rizal, Camille Peralta of Bulacan, Dennis Narag of Cagayan Valley, Des Delagado of Pangasinan, Kent Datu of Davao Del Norte, Aria Angcon of Cebu, Cris Cerbito of Valenzuela, Dave Ballesteros, and Musica Reyes of Cavite, to fill the last three remaining slots in “Team Galing.”

All three finalists from Team Balik will advance to the semi-finals to compete with the current Team Galing members.

Who will complete Team Galing’s final three slots? Watch on as the Sing Back-Bakan gets tougher and more exciting week after week.

Sing Galing airs every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. on TV5.

TV5’s ‘Sing Galing’ features familiar faces from previous episodes who left unforgettable impressions.

Life

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

ART AND CULTURE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022

How a Pinoy artist took over Toronto with his vibrant art

Billboards displayed at the Cadillac Fairview Toronto Eaton Centre designed by Zante

By Patricia Taculao

C

ANADA is famous for various attractions such as Niagara Falls, Quebec City, and for being home to celebrities like Ryan Gosling, Drake, Ryan Reynolds, and more. But what some people don’t know is that many establishments in the northern country house the vivid artwork of young Filipino artist Jason Zante.

Zante is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist specializing in illustration artwork with a background in graphic design. Throughout his career, he has created artwork for clients such as Canadian singer Justin Bieber and wellknown institutions like the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, Cadillac Fairview Toronto Eaton Centre, Deciem, Neo Stock Exchange, and Canadian Tire Jumpstart.

Like many of us, Zante started with a dream. When he lived in the Philippines as a child, he found himself always immersed in the arts. He shared that by the time he was three or four years old, he already knew that he wanted to become an artist.

“Ever since then, I’ve always stuck to that decision, and everything that I did revolve around creating,” he said.

It also helped Zante that his family in

Libacao, Aklan always supported him in his artistic endeavors and pushed him to pursue a career in the arts. He then began refining his skills by studying the arts at OCAD University, the largest and most comprehensive art, design, and media university in Canada.

As he was given more exposure to the different platforms for art, Zante became well-versed in graphic design.

Eventually, he landed a job as a creative designer in King & Bay, a custom clothing brand in Toronto.

Despite being taught about art in a foreign land, Zante’s work deeply focuses on themes such as ethereal beauty, everyday leisure, and most importantly, Philippine landscape and culture. These are what made the Filipino artist wellknown in Canada.

In 2019, he was invited by Justin Bieber to showcase his artwork for his char-

ity auction even in Los Angeles. But before that, the Canadian singer bought two of Zante’s artworks, which are currently displayed in his home in Toronto.

During the past summer, Zante collaborated with the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto for a large-scale mural for their South of France, Mediterraneanthemed patio called D’azur. Another large-scale project that the Filipino artist worked on is a series of art billboards for Cadillac Fairview Toronto Eaton Centre, an iconic mall landmark in Toronto.

“Since then, I’ve been busy with so many art-related projects. I am very grateful for all of the opportunities that I have been blessed with,” Zante said.

Toronto-based Filipino artist Jason Zante

Tips for Filipino artists

Zante isn’t the only artist who dreams of making it big in the industry. Others also hope to share their talents with the world. Zante has a few tips to help make their journey towards success easier.

First, he advises them to create work that they’re passionate about. After that, they should also learn to promote their art form because they never know who they can attract with their talent.

“Learn how to operate aspects of your art business as soon as possible

importantly, have fun while you are achieving every goal,” he said.

Pursuing his passion has paved the way for Zante to achieve his goal of creating art. And because he enjoys making art that honors the vibrancy and his culture as a Filipino, notable personalities and institutions have recognized his talent.

But there’s still a long road ahead for Zante’s career. When you’re in Canada, keep your eyes peeled for Zante’s works in the places mentioned. You can also check out www.jasonzante.com to get updates on his recent works.

and ensure that you have a social media presence and a website,” Zante added.

Since being an artist is a career that requires a lot of creativity, burning out can become a common scenario. One way to prevent this from happening, according to Zante, is to take a mental health break.

“As artists, we need to have a rejuvenated and calm mind to create. Most

Canadian singer Justin Bieber with Zante during the former’s charity auction

Zante collaborated with the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto for a large-scale mural in D’azur.

Zante honors his Filipino heritage in his vibrant works.

Remembering Manong Frankie “SUMARAMPITINGKA met ngamin.”

It’s an Ilocano phrase I would often hear from National Artist F. Sionil Jose whenever he would ask me if I’m already married and I would answer not yet. I would just laugh with him whenever he’d say that phrase, which roughly translates to “Lumandi ka rin kasi.”

I would jokingly reply to him, “Awwan met ngarud iti masayyet (Wala nga pong malandi eh).”

I first met Manong Frankie, as he was fondly called by his friends, when I joined an outreach program organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Rosales, Pangasinan. That was in 2011, way back when I was still a newbie reporter covering the art and culture beat.

Back then, I was already familiar with his name, having taken Philippine literature classes in college, where his

GLAZING LIFE

BY GLAIZA LEE

works were required reading. But that was the first time I met him in person.

The event was the staging of Pragres, a musical based on the late National Artist’s short stories inspired by his experiences while working as a consultant in a government office.

Tanghalang Pilipino restaged and performed it at SM Rosales.

The author (rightmost) with Manong Frankie and Manang Tessie

After the show, I interviewed him for the article I would be writing, and we talked about corruption in the Philippines and the Philippine literary scene.

He would ask about me, and he was delighted to find out that I was from San Quintin, a neighboring town of Rosales.

He then invited me and Raul Asis to join him on a tour around Rosales, his hometown. While driving around, he would point to an old structure or an old street and tell us they were the inspirations for his Rosales Saga novels.

He even talked about how he wooed his wife, Manang Tessie, with bukayo.

That time, I thought it would be just a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was just a newbie writer who has yet to make a name for herself. How could a National Artist even remember me?

But I was wrong. A year later, I met Manong Frankie again in an event. He saw me and motioned for me to come near him. He asked how I was, and told me that a young girl from San Quintin interviewed him a few weeks ago. She looked like you, he said. I told him it was actually my sister. She did interview Manong Frankie for her school project.

***

Months passed by. Life as a reporter went on. There was one time when I covered a fashion event by Freeway, where they highlighted fashion pieces inspired by NA F. Sionil’s works.

I wrote the article and didn’t think much about it until I received a package weeks after the Freeway story was

National Artist F. Sionil Jose

published. The package contained a book, The Feet of Juan Bacnang (with dedication), and a letter chastising me for not telling him about the article I wrote (“I would not know about it if not for one of my readers sending me a copy”) and inviting me to a trip to Binalonan that weekend.

And yes, I did go on that trip. How could I say no to a great opportunity?

A day before the trip, I stayed at Manong Frankie’s house. During dinner, he shared stories about the Japanese Occupation, his experiences as a writer, and his hopes for young writers like me. He gave me pieces of advice on the importance of learning and understanding history (“Young people should read their history.”), on writing (“You should try writing fiction.

They are food for the soul.”), on career (“Don’t stay longer than necessary on a job. You need to constantly move so

you won’t get stagnant.”) Those pieces of wisdom remain with me.

***

Another year had passed. I left my previous newspaper job and ventured out to other endeavors. Lots of things have happened.

At times, I would bump into Manong Frankie, and he would kindly ask how I was doing and remind me to keep in touch and visit his bookstore, Solidaridad, in Ermita (“but you should call first,” he’d say).

A certain sadness enveloped me upon hearing that he passed on. I regretted that I didn’t visit him as often as I would like. I would treasure those inspiring interactions and Ilocano conversations we had (even though my Ilocano is a little bit rusty).

Manong Frankie, you will be missed.