Manila Standard - 2022 January 15 - Saturday

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SC resets Bar exams next month

By Rey E. Requejo

VOL. XXXV • NO. 334 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE Supreme Court decided Friday to reschedule the two-day 2020-2021 online bar examinations to February 4 (Friday) and February 6 (Sunday).

In a bar bulletin issued by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, chair of the bar examinations committee, the SC said

that as of January 14, some 16.8 percent of the 8,546 Bar examinees who have responded to an email sent by the Office of the Bar Chairperson were either positive for COVID-19; living with someone positive for COVID-19; or under quarantine due to a direct contact.

“They are at risk of not being able to Next page

DOH: Peak won’t happen yet PH cases at all-time high: 37,207; NCR, 50 other areas still Alert Level 3

By Willie Casas and Vito Barcelo

T

HE peak of the surge in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila isn’t going to happen soon, but the government said Alert Level 3 will be retained in the National Capital Region Next page (NCR) until the end of January.

‘Mystery’ enforcers to ride PUVs to ensure protocols

By Darwin Amojelar and Joel E. Zurbano

CURBS FOR THE UNVAXXED. Ahead of the implementation of the 'no vax, no ride' policy on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, unvaccinated people are already feeling the effect of the mobility curbs in Metro Manila as COVID-19 cases continue to soar. In Taguig City, a barangay marshall, standing next to a signage which bars unvaccinated individuals from entering, reminds market goers to observe health protocols. Manny Palmero

THE government will deploy plainclothes enforcers in public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ensure compliance with its “no vaccination, no ride” policy, which begins Monday.

“We will be deploying mystery passengers to ensure compliance with the policy even if there are no uniformed

enforcers around,” said Transportation Assistant Secretary Mark Steven Pastor, speaking in Filipino at an online briefing Friday.

Under a Department of Transportation (DOTr) order issued Jan. 11, access to public transportation is limited only to fully vaccinated individuals, who must show a valid vaccination card (physical or digital) and a government-issued ID with a photo and an address.

Next page

Travel ban on ‘Red list’ areas lifted

By Vito Barcelo THE government has lifted the ban on the entry of foreigners from “Red list” countries, provided that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and subject to additional protocols, Malacañang said.

Acting presidential spokesman and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said starting February 16, 2022, proof of full vaccination shall be made a requirement for entry of all foreign

nationals allowed to enter the Philippines.

He said travelers from “Red List” countries who were fully vaccinated would be required to do the following: Present a negative RT-PCR test 48 hours prior to departure; undergo a facility based quarantine and subjected to an RT-PCR COVID-19 test on the seventh day; and complete the rest of the 14-day quarantine at home if they tested negative in the RT-PCR test.

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HK bans transiting from 153 areas HONG Kong announced a ban on passengers from most of the world transiting through its airport on Friday.

Hong Kong's airport, in normal times one of the world's busiest aviation hubs, said arrivals who have spent time in any of those 153 countries in the previous three weeks will be banned from transiting from Sunday.

Arrivals from eight Group A coun-

tries – Australia, Canada, France, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Britain and the United States – are already banned entirely.

The move deepens Hong Kong's global isolation. Like mainland China, Hong Kong has maintained some of the world's harshest measures throughout the pandemic – including Next page

FAITH AND SCIENCE. Two women offer prayers before the image of the Black Nazarene in front of the closed gate of the St. Peter Parish: Shrine of Leaders along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Joey Razon

Symptomatic but no test yet is ‘COVID probable’ Vergeire: 7 day

3,129,512 37,207

265,509

52,815

81

2,811,188

9,027

(As of 4 PM, JANUARY 14)

By Willie Casas INDIVIDUALS with symptoms of coronavirus infection but have yet to be tested are now called "COVID-19 probable," the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday, as it recommended

prioritizing health workers, the elderly, and persons with comorbidities for testing.

With infections expected to rise until the second week of February, it is important to conduct confirmatory tests on these vulnerable sectors (A1 to A3)

to give them proper medicines as early as possible, DOH spokesperson and Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

"For A1 to A3, testing is recommended to be prioritized in situations where it can

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Public schools in NCR, Calabarzon cancel classes

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Department of Education–National Capital Region and Calabarzon on Friday suspended classes in public schools due to the rise in coronavirus infections in the

two regions.

For Metro Manila, both elementary and secondary public schools will have no classes from January 15 to 22.

For Calabarzon, the class suspension will take effect from January 17 to 29.

Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said private schools can also declare their own class suspensions for a maximum period of two weeks “subject to their conditions.”

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isolation period can be extended

By Willie Casas THE Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Friday that the quarantine and isolation period can be longer than the minimum required.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire’s statement was made after the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) urged the DOH to reconsider its new policy cutting the quarantine period for the general public as they do not have access to tightNext page fitting face masks.

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News

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Binay hits PhilHealth’s misleading info According to Binay, patients who would not want to stay in community isolation units (CIU) or health facilities and opted for home quarantine tried to avail themselves of PhilHealth's COVID-19 Home Isolation Benefit Packages (CHIBP) only to find out that there were only six listed accredited providers in the country.

She also pointed out that none of the

accredited providers were in the National Capital Region.

"This is a repeated deception. Our people are in a pitiful situation as they are hoping for this kind of help which they really cannot use," the senator said.

She appealed to Philhealth “not to give false hopes to our people. While they are already sick, they also felt like they were being scammed...They (PhilHealth) have

been promoting this for a year.”

PhilHealth has been promoting its CHIBP since August 2021 intended for members who were tested positive but choose to receive health support at home.

CHIBP is supposed to be available to patients who passed both clinical and social criteria in surge areas declared by the IATF. “Everything should have already been in place prior to its launching last year, otherwise, it seemed to be a big PR stunt-- the Home Isolation Benefit Package – only to make it appear that Philhealth has such a program for its members," Binay said.

The senator said she discovered the gaps in the CHIBP’s implementation this week when exploring the PhilHealth’s

DOH:...

made by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) in a Palace briefing.

The Metro Manila Council (MMC) earlier decided to retain the Alert Level 3 status for NCR, saying there were enough restrictions in place and only a slight increase in the region’s health care utilization rate (HCUR) despite the increasing number of COVID-19 infections.

Also under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 16 to 31 are, in Luzon: Baguio City, Ifugao and Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Dagupan City and Ilocos Sur in Region 1 (Ilocos); Santiago City and Cagayan in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley); Angeles City, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Olongapo City, Pampanga and Zambales in Region 3 (Central Luzon); Rizal, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Lucena City in Region 4-A (Calabarzon); Marinduque and Romblon in Region 4-B (Mimaropa); Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Naga City and Sorsogon in Region 5 (Bicol).

Areas in the Visayas under Alert Level 3 are Iloilo City, Iloilo province Negros Occidental and Guimaras in Region 6 (Western Visayas); Lapu-Lapu City, Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental in Region 7 (Central Visayas); Ormoc City, Biliran, Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar and Southern Leyte in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas).

In Mindanao, the areas under Alert Level 3 are Isabela City, Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Sur in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula); Bukidnon, Iligan City, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental in Region 10 (Northern

Mindanao); Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte in Region 11 (Davao region); General Santos City and South Cotabato in Region 12 (Soccsksargen); Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Norte in Caraga; and Lanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Placed under the less strict Alert Level 2 are Apayao, Batanes, Palawan, Puerto Princesa City, Masbate, Siquijor, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Under Alert Level 3, establishments or activities are allowed to operate or be undertaken at a maximum of 30 percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50 percent outdoor venue capacity, provided that all workers of the establishments are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Intrazonal and interzonal travel is still allowed. However, reasonable restrictions may be imposed by the LGUs, which should not be stricter as those prescribed under higher alert levels and subject to the oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of their respective regional IATF. Those below 18 years of age, and those belonging to the vulnerable population, will be allowed access to obtain essential goods and services, or for work in permitted industries and offices in accordance with existing labor laws, rules, and regulations.

Individual outdoor exercises will also be allowed for all ages regardless of comorbidities or vaccination status.

The independent OCTA Research

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Willie Casas

S

ENATOR Nancy Binay called out the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) Friday for misleading its members about the availability of its "home treatment" package for COVID-positive patients.

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In a Palace briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the peak in the current surge, most likely caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, could come as late as the second week of February, in contrast to some independent projections that it was already peaking or “close to peaking.”

“Cases will continue to increase, so let us all remain careful,” Vergeire said in Filipino as she urged all eligible people to get vaccinated.

Vergeire noted that more areas of the country have been placed under Alert Level 3 from Jan. 16 until Jan. 31 as cases increased there.

She said the growth in cases in these provinces would be similar to Metro Manila.

“That is what will happen to them,” she said. “There is a doubling time and the increase is really sudden.”

Vergeire said the government cannot prevent the spread of cases or confine the surge within NCR. In the previous surge caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, other regions of the country saw an increase in their cases two to three weeks after the NCR did. Thus, she said, the Department of Health (DOH) has already told hospitals in the regions to prepare for a surge.

Earlier, acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the NCR will remain under Alert Level 3 until the end of January.

Nograles announced this decision

Symptomatic...

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affect medical management,” she said during a virtual public briefing.

"Management both for those with symptoms who have been tested or have not been tested is the same, we will isolate or quarantine them if they have been exposed," Vergeire said.

Persons exposed to symptomatic individuals who have yet to be tested are urged to isolate and look out for symptoms within 14 days, she added.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III ruled out free mass testing for COVID-19 as it would cost the government around P1.4 billion per day and up to P42 billion per month to test just 5 percent of the population.

Citing a document in the medical journal Lancet, Duque said random mass testing of 5% of the population per week only had a risk reduction value of 2%.

“If 5% of the population, how many are we? 100 million, so 5 million per week divided by 7. That’s 700,000 tests per day. The average P2,000 per test.

700,000 times P2,000 per test, how much is that?” he told ANC. “That is P1.4 billion a day, that is P14 billion every ten days, that is P42 billion in one month,” he added.

Duque said this amid calls for free mass testing during the current surge in COVID-19 cases believed to be driven by

HK...

From A1

weeks-long quarantines, targeted lockdowns and mass testing.

The Chinese business hub ranks territories into categories based on how widespread their COVID-19 infections are, with 153 countries currently classified as Group A – from which arrivals must spend 21 days in quarantine.

The city is battling a small outbreak of the Omicron variant that began with returning Cathay Pacific flight crew who breached home-quarantine rules.

It has reimposed strict social distancing rules, including closing gyms and

Travel...

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Countries and/or areas under the “Red List” from January 16 to January 31 include: Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Canada; Curacao; French Guiana; Iceland; Malta; Mayotte; Mozambique; Mozambique; Puerto Rico; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; Spain and US Virgin Islands.

Meanwhile, the following countries

website to find out how members could avail themselves of the package.

"Why advertise and promote something which is not available in the first place? It's grossly misleading, unreliable and openly irresponsible. It's an institutional failure," Binay said.

Services under the home isolation package include home consultations for a minimum of 10 days, 24/7 daily monitoring of patients through teleconsultation, and provision of a home isolation kit which contains: 1L 70 percent alcohol, five pieces face mask, 1 thermometer, 1 pulse oximeter, drugs and medicines (18 pieces Paracetamol, 12 pieces Lagundi tablets or equivalent, six sachets oral rehydration salts, 10 pieces Ascorbic Acid, 10 pieces Vitamin D and zinc), and a consent form.

Group, meanwhile, said the NCR’s average daily attack rate (ADAR) has increased to 117.24 percent from the previous 111.8 percent.

Citing Department of Health (DOH) data, the independent research group said 17,069 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in NCR on January 13, the region's seven-day average at 16,599.

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

OCTA said the surge was in the early stages in some parts of the country but was accelerating in highly urbanized cities.

The Philippines logged 37,207 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, another record high, bringing the total number of cases to 3,129,512.

The previous highest daily case count reported was 34,021 on Thursday, Jan. 13.

The positivity rate went down to 47.3 percent from Thursday's 47.9 percent, based on test results of samples from 81,737 people on Jan. 12.

There were 81 new fatalities reported, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 52,815.

The DOH also reported 9,027 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 2,811,188.

There were 265,509 active cases, of which 8,325 were asymptomatic; 252,502 were mild; 2,913 were moderate; 1,469 were severe; and 300 were critical.

Nationwide, 46 percent of ICU beds, 47 percent of isolation beds, 48 percent of ward beds, and 19 percent of ventilators, are in use.

In Metro Manila, 55 percent of ICU beds, 55 percent of isolation beds, 67 percent of ward beds, and 26 percent of ventilators, are in use.

the Omicron variant.

Also, the government simplified rules for COVID-19 vaccination as the country battled its biggest surge in coronavirus infections. Walk-ins are now allowed at inoculation sites, said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

"Blood pressure monitoring is no longer necessary for health screening, unless the individual getting vaccinated has history or symptoms of hypertension and other considerations based on the clinical judgment of the doctor at the vaccination site," he said in a press briefing.

"You will no longer be required to show medical clearance or certification to get vaccinated," added Nograles, acting spokesman for Malacañang.

He said these documents will only be required for individuals with an autoimmune disease, HIV, and cancer, or if a patient is bedridden, underwent transplant, or is getting steroid treatments.

"There are vaccines, the requirements are looser, so do not hesitate, get vaccinated," Nograles said, addressing the public.

According to Duque, the budget to be earmarked for mass testing can be used for other projects.

“My God, I’d rather put that money for my healthcare worker benefits, for ayuda (cash aid) in communities that are doing granular lockdowns. That’s the way to put these huge sums of money to best use,” he said.

Pastor said the enforcers would be deployed at “strategic locations” to ensure compliance by transport workers and passengers. He added that the move would ensure that the people follow the rules even when no uniformed enforcers are around.

Transport and hospital groups expressed support for the government's new policy barring unvaccinated individuals from public transportation in Metro Manila.

Philippine Airlines (PAL), AirAsia Philippines, Light Rail Manila Corp.

(LRMC), Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), PAL Express, Liga ng mga Transportasyon at mga Operator sa Pilipinas (LTOP), Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAP), Pasang Masda as well as Senator Grace Poe and Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento supported the “no vaccination, no ride” policy.

They lauded Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade’s initiative in promoting safe travel as the country grapples with the surge of COVID-19 cases.

PAL said it would do its part to uphold the strictest safety and health standards and comply with the government's "no vaccination, no ride"

policy to further prevent the spread of coronavirus disease.

AirAsia cited its cooperation with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the DOTr on safety issues.

LRMC said it would begin requiring passengers to present vaccination cards when riding the train starting Monday.

“At LRT-1, we don’t allow the virus for a free ride. We remain committed to keeping LRT-1 safe for our passengers and our employees, said Duday de Sales, LRMC head of the Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality Department.

PHAP President Dr. Jose Rene de Grano said the unvaccinated are most likely to suffer severe COVID-19 infections and urged them to stay home to avoid catching the virus.

House committee chairman on transportation Sarmiento urged unvaccinated individuals to comply with the DOTr’s directive until COVID-19 cases in the NCR have dropped.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced it will start implementing the “no vaccination, no ride” policy at the Pasig River Ferry System on Monday.

The MMDA reminded ferry passengers to always bring their vaccination certificates or cards together with their identification cards every time they take a ferry ride.

halting restaurant dining after 6pm, and has said Cathay Pacific might face legal action.

Cathay Pacific is already flying only a fraction of its pre-pandemic routes and many of its long-haul flights transit through its home city.

Other airlines have dramatically scaled back routes to Hong Kong or started avoiding it altogether because of the quarantine rules.

But the global struggle to contain the hyper-contagious Omicron variant has only reinforced the territory's decision to stick to its zero-Covid strategy, Edward Yau, Hong Kong's secretary for commerce and economic development, said in an interview with the Financial Times.

"I think no one can give you a definite timeline" for lifting restrictions on international borders this year, he told the newspaper.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Friday night that anti-COVID measures would be extended by two weeks until after Lunar New Year – canceling fairs and muting a typically boisterous affair marked by large family gatherings and raucous celebrations.

It is not clear whether the transit suspension will impact the Winter Olympics in Beijing, with many athletes and officials expected to travel to China via Hong Kong in the coming days ahead of next month's opening of the Games.

The suspension was first reported by

Bloomberg News this week, citing sources who said it would not apply to diplomats, officials and athletes heading to the Olympics.

But the Hong Kong airport statement on Friday listed no exemptions for Olympic delegates and a spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for clarity.

Mainland China is battling its own coronavirus outbreaks in several cities, testing the "zero-COVID" strategy just weeks ahead of the Games, which will be held in a bubble that seals all participants off from the wider population.

About 13 million people in the historic city of Xi'an were sent into lockdown last month after the Delta variant was detected silently spreading. AFP

will be under the “Green list” during the same period: Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; British Virgin Islands; China; Côte d’Ivoire; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); The Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kosovo; Kyrgyzstan; Montserrat; Morocco; Niger; Oman; Pakistan; Paraguay; Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands); Saint Barthélemy; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sint Eustatius; Taiwan; Timor-Leste; and Uganda.

All other countries and territories not listed in either Red or Green are under the “Yellow list.”

Aside from this, Nograles said the government’s pandemic task force had decided to allow Filipinos from “Red list” countries to return to the Philippines without the need for Bayanihan flights but subject to quarantine.

Filipino travelers will be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before their departure,

and to undergo facility-based quarantine with an RT-PCR test taken on the seventh day.

The requirement for full vaccination against COVID-19 for foreigners, on the other hand, will not apply on the following: children aged below 18 years old, people medically unable to receive the vaccine as certified by a competent public health authority in the country or port of origin, and foreign diplomats and their qualified dependents/9E visa holders.

‘Mystery’...

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Vergeire:...

From A1

“We said in our policy, it’s a minimum of seven days, so maybe seven to 10 days, depending on the symptoms, depending on the situation in the area,” Vergeire said at a Palace briefing.

Under the new policy, the isolation period for fully vaccinated probable cases with symptoms, mild cases, and asymptomatic cases will be reduced from 10 days to seven days from the onset of symptoms or from the positive swab result.

The quarantine period for fully vaccinated close contact of a COVID-19 patient would be shortened to five days from the previous seven days.

Vergeire said the new policy provides uniformity and can be seen as a general principle.

Answering the concern of the group that infected individuals might still transmit the virus six to 10 days from onset of symptoms, Vergeire said the virus load drops within three to six days after infection.

“An infected person, specifically right now, especially if you are having the Omicron variant, it takes three to six days and then the virus load goes down,” she said.

She said compliance with minimum public health standards must still be followed amid the shortened isolation period.

“You still need to continue to practice your minimum public health standards and that includes wearing your face masks all the time. And that should be appropriately fitted,” she said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

SC...

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take the Bar Examinations if the original schedule of January 23 to 25, 2022 were to push through,” the High Court said.

“Also, given the current infection rate and quarantine situation of the Bar personnel, 16 of the 31 teams that will be deployed will be critically understaffed if the current schedule were maintained.

Considering these numbers, as well as the projections of the Court’s expert consultants on the progress of this current COVID-19 surge, the Supreme Court En Banc has unanimously decided that the Bar Examinations be rescheduled."

"All examinees will be advised to strictly undergo quarantine by January 20, 2022, Thursday,” it added.

There are 11,790 law graduates who are expected to take the online bar examinations.

The increase was attributed to the postponement of the 2020 bar examinations due to COVID-19 pandemic and the decision to hold the tests simultaneously with the 2021 law graduates.

The SC had decided to reduce the coverage and shorten the duration of the 2020-2021 online bar examinations.

Now, the two-day examinations – instead of the usual four successive Sundays – will cover four comprehensive sets unlike the traditional eight subjects.

The four sets are: 1. The Law Pertaining to the State and Its Relationship with Its Citizens (formerly Political Law, Labor Law, and Taxation Law), 2. Criminal Law, 3. The Law Pertaining to Private Personal and Commercial Relations (formerly Civil Law and Commercial Law), and 4. Procedure and Professional Ethics (formerly Remedial Law, Legal Ethics, and Practical Exercises).

The first two sets will be taken up on the first day of the examinations, while the other two sets will be on the second day.

Public...

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Earlier, the Commission on Higher Education said academic break had been imposed by 126 universities, mostly in Metro Manila and nearby Calabarzon region since the first week of January amid the surge of COVID-19 cases.

In Regional Memorandum 017, DepEd-NCR said the suspension of classes was done to ease the health burden caused by the surge of COVID-19 cases to the physical and mental well-being of school personnel and learners.

It added classes in the region will resume from January 24 to 29, but “only for asynchronous distance learning modalities.”

Learners are expected to use the midyear break scheduled on January 31 to February to comply with their learning output backlogs.

Teachers, on the other hand, are expected to attend their usual activities – in-service training and learning-related undertakings.

Learners must submit their learning outputs between February 7 and 12 through online platforms.

The second quarter examinations are scheduled for February 7 and 8.

“The lost contact days shall be compensated by mechanisms such as independent study, remediation, enhancement activities and other related teaching-learning interactions,” DepEd said.

On Wednesday, DepEd Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said the department cannot declare a national academic break as COVID-19 situations on the ground are different in every area. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

News

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

LOST CONTROL.

IN BRIEF

This undated handout photo received from the Balingasag police station on January 13 shows residents looking at the wreckage of a truck that overturned killing at least eleven people on board. The driver reportedly lost control after the brakes failed on a downhill section of a road in Balingasag, on the southern island of Mindanao.

(Photo by BALINGASAG POLICE STATION / AFP)

Marcos leads in Caloocan, survey says

By Rey E. Requejo IF THE elections were held today, the BBM-Sara UniTeam of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte will be the hands-down winners in vote-rich Caloocan City, according to the latest survey conducted by private polling firm Actual and Comprehensive Evaluators, Inc. The result of the survey in the three districts of Caloocan, with 5,164 respondents from all social classes and age groups, shows that Marcos is way ahead of the pack with a whopping 71 percent, while Leni Robredo and Isko Moreno were tied at a distant second with 10 percent each, Sen. Panfilo Lacson 5 percent, while Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 2 percent.

The result shows that seven out of ten voters prefer Marcos, Jr. over the other presidential aspirants, while at least 2 percent of the respondents were still undecided.

In the vice-presidential poll, Duterte garners 49 percent; Sen. Vicente Sotto III, 34 percent; Willie Ong, 9 percent; Sen. Francis Pangilinan, 4 percent; while 3 percent remain undecided.

Lawmaker seeks probe on Comelec ‘hacking’ REP. Elpidio Barzaga, Jr., vice-chair of the House Committee on Electoral Reforms and Suffrage on Friday sought a congressional investigation into the security of the computer system of the Commission on Elections Barzaga added thay the poll body should make sure that its computer system and data banks are secured so as not to compromise the integrity of the elections Barzaga filed House Resolution 2436 in response to a news report that a group of hackers was allegedly able to breach the servers of the Comelec and has downloaded more than 60 gigabytes of data including, among others, usernames and PINS of vote-counting machines (VCM). Maricel V. Cruz

Villar vows more bills for protected areas

NBI files raps vs. 17 cops in ‘Bloody Sunday’ arrests

M

URDER charges have been slapped against 17 members of the Philippine National PoliceCriminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNPCIDG) Region 4-A tagged in the deaths of couple Ariel and Ana Mariz Lemita-Evangelista while being served their warrants of arrest in Nasugbu, Batangas in March last year.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said in a statement on Friday that the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) filing was a result of months of evaluation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the inter-agency committee formed under Administrative Order No. 35 (AO 35).

Similar cases on March 7, 2021, are “also progressing towards actionable status,” the DOJ said, as there is “zero tolerance for impunity in the ranks of

Philippine law enforcement agencies”.

“These cases represent the important ongoing collective work of the DOJ, NBI, and the AO 35 SIT which manifests the Philippine government’s commitment to hold erring law enforcement officers and personnel accountable for any excessive actions in the field,” the DOJ statement read.

Seven others were killed in the Calabarzon Region under the same circumstances on the same day the activist

couple died.

The Inter-Agency Committee On Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of Persons (IAC) was created under AO 35 in 2012.

It serves as the government’s institutional machinery dedicated to the resolution of unsolved cases of political violence in the form of extra-legal killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty, and security of persons.

In a statement, the DOJ said it will “will now begin the preliminary investigation of the case in earnest, with all due consideration to the families of the victims and the constitutional rights of the alleged perpetrators.”

VAX CENTER IN NAVOTAS. Health workers continue to attend to individuals at a vaccination center in a government hospital in Navotas on Friday, January 14. The center is aiming to vaccinate 350 persons. Danny Pata

Isko bans mass gathering during Feast of Sto. Niňo

By Rey E. Requejo AS A vital measure to stop the surge of COVID-19 infection in Metro Manila and prevent possible deaths due to the virus, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday signed an executive order banning all mass gatherings during the Feast of Sto. Niňo that is celebrated every January 16.

“I just signed Executive Order No. 4 series of 2022. Due to the current crisis brought by the spread of the COVID-19 virus -- which is mainly attributed to close contact between and among individuals -- religious procession, street parties, stage shows, parades, palarong kalye or street games, ati-atihan and other forms of public gatherings are hereby strictly prohibited,” Moreno announced during

a press briefing at the Manila City Hall.

“This is one of the things we will do to continue to fight the growth of COVID-19 together and prevent our countrymen from dying,” Moreno said.

Moreno said the order affects 40 barangays in Pandacan, and almost 100 barangays in Tondo and reminded all barangay chiefs in the affected areas to strictly enforce the order.

Lawmakers pay tribute to Journal editor-in-chief Augusto ‘Gus’ Villanueva MAJORITY Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez on Friday honored the life and solid contribution to the media industry of veteran journalist and Journal Group of Publications editor-in-chief Augusto “Boss Gus” B. Vil-

DOJ eyes new probe into Pizarro murder THE Department of Justice has sought another investigation to determine the identities of the other suspects in the 2020 killing of retired Court of Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Normandie B. Pizarro.

In a statement, the DOJ said the recommendation for another probe was made by a panel of prosecutors that indicted Dr. Ramon Tayag Pangan for his alleged involvement in Pizarro’s death.

Pangan was charged with murder last Dec. 21, 2021 before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Capas, Tarlac, based on the complaint filed by Pizarro’s son, Normandie Jr., before the Special Task Force of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBISTF). Rey E. Requejo

THE Department of Agrarian Reform on Friday vowed to split 6,064 hectares of agricultural land in Sultan Kudarat into individual titles to benefit 2,342 farmer-beneficiaries.

“This project aims to strengthen their land tenure security, as well as, their rights to their property,” Secretary Bernie Cruz said.

The properties distributed under collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs) would be subdivided under the Project SPLIT or Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling. Rio N. Araja

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

By Maricel V. Cruz

SEN. Cynthia A. Villar has committed to pursue more legislation in the Senate to protect more forest lands and secure more protected areas (PAs) in the country. As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Villar led last January 11 the hearing on bills seeking to declare the Tugbo Natural Biotic Area in Masbate as a protected area, and to reclassify into agricultural land a portion of the Mangabul Forest Reserve in Bayambang, Pangasinan.

“The Tugbo Natural Biotic Area, under consideration today, is the seventh protected area we hope to pass within this 18th Congress,” said Villar during the hearing. Macon Ramos-Araneta

DAR to parcel land to 2.3k SK farmers

Lacson eyes help of execs under PNoy SOME Cabinet members and economic managers under the administration of the late President Noynoy Aquino can play a key role to help the country get back on its feet, said Partido Reporma standard-bearer Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Friday.

“The late President Aquino had his share of good, capable Cabinet members and economic managers from where a pool may be created to get the country back on its feet,” said Lacson.

Lacson noted that some of the former government executives have good track records in addressing the country’s problems.

He said among them are Rene Almendras, Rogelio Singson, Kim Henares, Johnny Santos, Sonny Coloma, and Arsi Balisacan, to name some of them.

Lacson has worked with members of the Aquino Cabinet, having served as Presidential Adviser for Rehabilitation and Recovery from late 2013 to early 2015.

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lanueva who passed away Friday.

“I join the loved ones and friends of Mr. Gus Villanueva in mourning his passing. A journalist par excellence.

Your passion and commitment to bring the truth to light are exceptional. We extend our condolences to his family and loved ones. May you find peace in

knowing that he is now back to the loving embrace of our Father,” Romualdez said in a statement.

“The vacuum you (Villanueva) left behind will never be filled by one particular person,” Romualdez added.

Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor said, “the death of Mr. Vil-

lanueva is a sad new to media industry that he served with utmost integrity and diligence.”

“We all grieve for losing him. My sympathies go out to the love of his life—her family, especially his children. Thank you for your service sir,” Defensor, a Quezon City mayoralty candidate, said.

Leni mum on DQ, wants to defeat Marcos again

By Rio N. Araja VICE President Leni Robredo wants to defeat ex-senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., instead of seeing him being disqualified in the presidential race in May 2022.

To defeat Marcos Jr. in the presidential race would end his “narrative” of election fraud in the vice presidential race in 2016, she said.

“I do not like to comment on the disqualification case (against him) but if you were to ask me, I would rather want that we defeat him in the election to put an end (to everything),” she told an interview over CNN Philippines.

“We really need to defeat him in the upcoming elections so that once and for all, we could stop the narrative that he has been pushing,” she said.

She said Marcos Jr. has repeatedly claimed on social media that he won in the 2016 polls, and that “I cheated him.”

World

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022 E-mail: mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Catholic bishop acquitted of raping nun multiple times

IN BLOW TO BIDEN’S POLICY FOR LARGE BUSINESSES

US High Court blocks vaccine mandate

T

HE US Supreme Court delivered a blow to President Joe Biden on Thursday (Friday Manila time), blocking his COVID vaccination-or-testing mandate for employees of large businesses.

At the same time, the nation’s highest court allowed a vaccination mandate for health care workers at facilities receiving federal funding.

Biden said he was “disappointed” in the nine-member court’s decision striking down his mandate for businesses with 100 employees or more to

vaccinate or test their workers for COVID-19.

“I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block commonsense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law,” Biden said in a statement.

The president welcomed the requirement that health care workers be vaccinated, saying it would affect some 10 million people working at facilities receiving federal funds and will “save lives.”

After months of public appeals to Americans to get vaccinated against COVID, which has killed more than 845,000 people in the United States, Biden announced in September that he was making vaccinations compulsory at large private companies.

Unvaccinated employees would have to present weekly negative tests and wear face masks while at work.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a federal agency, gave businesses until February 9 to be in compliance with the rules or face the possibility of fines.

But the Supreme Court’s six conservative justices ruled the mandate would represent a “significant encroachment into the lives—and health—of a vast number of employees.”

“Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,” they said. AFP

Nokor military fires ‘unidentified projectile’ again NORTH Korea has fired an unidentified projectile, South Korean and Japanese officials said Friday, the nuclear-armed country’s third suspected weapons test in just over a week.

“North Korea fires unidentified projectile eastward,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, without giving further details.

And Japan’s coastguard said it had detected “the launch from North Korea of what appears to be a ballistic missile or missiles at 14h55.”

A coast guard spokesman told AFP it was still analyzing where it fell and whether it was one object or multiple.

Despite international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, Pyongyang has already carried out two tests of what it said were hypersonic missiles this year, on January 5 and January 11.

After the second test, which was personally supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the United States imposed sanctions on five people linked to the country’s ballistic weapons program.

The move prompted accusations from a foreign ministry spokesman in Pyongyang that the US was “intentionally escalating” the situation.

If “the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take a stronger and certain reaction to it,” the spokesman said in comments carried by state news agency KCNA early Friday in North Korea. AFP

HOLY DIP. A Hindu pilgrim prays as she takes a dip at the confluence of Ganges and the Bay of Bengal during the Gangasagar Mela on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a day considered to be of great religious significance in Hindu mythology, at Sagar Island, around 150 kms south of Kolkata on January 14, 2022. AFP

A ROMAN Catholic bishop in India was acquitted Friday of raping a nun multiple times over two years.

While the Catholic church has been embroiled in a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, Franco Mulakkal was its first Indian priest to go on trial.

A court in the southern state of Kerala pronounced a single line verdict saying that it had found Mulakkal not guilty of the charges.

He had been accused of repeatedly raping the nun between 2014 and 2016 in Kerala while he was head of the Missionaries of Jesus order. He denied all the accusations.

The nun said she had approached the church several times and decided to go to the police when her pleas were ignored.

In 2018, she filed a complaint but police only started the investigation months later after five other nuns staged almost daily protests outside the high court.

The nuns had also written to the Vatican, asking it to intervene in the matter.

Their agitation made national headlines and split the tiny Christian minority in Hindu-majority India, where they make up 2.3 percent of the population according to census figures.

Kerala is considered the birthplace of Christianity in India, with the apostle Thomas believed to have landed there in AD 52.

The nuns came under heavy criticism within the church and the rare act of rebellion saw them targeted with a wave of threats and accusations.

Mulakkal was arrested in September 2018 and later granted bail. AFP

Bald ambitions: Sokor presidential bet pledges funding for hair loss PEOPLE with hair loss in South Korea should have their treatments covered by the state to prevent “discrimination,” the ruling party’s presidential candidate pledged Friday, in what critics called a bald

bid to pull ahead in neck-and-neck polls.

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung said he will expand government health insurance to cover treatments, potentially including

AUGUSTO ‘GUS’ VILLANUEVA, 83 IT IS with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Augusto “Gus” Buenaventura Villanueva this Friday, the 14th day of January, in the Year of our Lord 2022. He was 83 years old.

He is survived by his brother, Dr. Osmundo Villanueva, his children Dr. Armando and his wife Dr. Roella, and Antonette and her husband Edward, and grandchildren Brigitte Danielle, and Edward Brian.

Gus was married to the late Arlyne Magsaysay Romero.

The publisher and editor-in-chief of the Journal Group of Publications, Gus was considered the doyen of local sportswriters and a pillar of Philippine journalism.

While a student of the University of Santo Tomas College of Philosophy and Letters, Gus began as a sports scribe at the age of 17 with the Manila Times under sportswriter Ricky Llanos in 1955.

When martial law was declared in 1972, Gus was one of the founding editors of the broadsheet Times Journal that same year.

He is credited with creating the popular and pioneering English tabloid People’s Journal and sister publication People’s Tonight in 1978 and 1979, respectively.

When the Journal Group was sequestered by the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino in 1986, Gus and some other former employees organized the short-lived News Today as a rival tabloid.

Gus was a former Philippine Sportswriters Association President, and received the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He was also the media relations officer of the Philippine Olympic Committee and served as the media attaché of the Philippine

expensive hair transplants, if he wins in the March presidential election.

“I will expand universal health insurance to hair loss treatment drugs... and will also consider covering hair transplant for serious cases of hair loss,” he said in a Facebook post that garnered hundreds of likes in minutes.

Lee, a human rights lawyer turned politician, said people with hair loss issues face “daily discriminatory encounters... across age and gender groups.”

In a short, tongue-in-cheek video posted online Friday, Lee, who does not appear to have hair loss issues, is seen sweeping a hand over his neat black mane while promising to keep

hair on every voter’s head.

Many Koreans are using ineffective and potentially harmful over-the-counter remedies because expensive “cosmetic” hair loss treatments are currently excluded from insurance coverage, Lee said, explaining his new campaign pledge.

The issue affects up to one in five South Koreans, his campaign said, without giving details on how much they expected fulfilling the promise to cost the state.

The offer—which was first mooted last week—has prompted widespread public debate, with many voters coming out in favor. AFP

REMEMBRANCE FOR FALLEN HEROES. People

walk past electric candles from a vigil in Lafayette Park for nurses who died during the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, DC. AFP

delegation in the 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Summer Games.

“Tata” Gus was back at the helm of the Journal Group in 2004, and served as its publisher and editor-in-chief until his death.

Due to the present situation of the high number of COVID-19 cases, we, his family, choose to exercise caution for the health and safety of our relatives and friends. After his cremation, his remains will be kept at home until a date of inurnment is decided upon.

We ask for your fervent prayers for the repose of his soul. Let us commend him to our good Lord.

Eternal rest grant unto Augusto, O Lord, and may perpetual light upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

amanamanamana

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ­— 2 Timothy 4:7

Ukraine reports massive cyber attack on govt websites KIEV on Friday reported a massive cyber attack on key government websites as tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine escalated following several rounds of unsuccessful talks.

The education ministry said on Facebook that its website was down due to a “global (cyber) attack” that had taken place overnight.

Other websites that were down included that of the cabinet and the foreign and emergencies ministries.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The foreign ministry website temporarily displayed a message in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish that appeared to suggest

the attack was in response to Ukraine’s pro-Western stance.

“Ukrainians! All of your personal data .. have been deleted and are impossible to restore. All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst.”

“This is for your past, present and future. For Volyn, OUN, UPA, Galitsia, Polesye and for historical lands,” it said, referring to ultra-nationalist organizations and regions of Ukraine.

The education ministry said that authorities – including the SBU security service and cyber police – were working to address the issue.

The attack comes as tensions between Russia and the West soar over Ukraine, a strategic ex-Soviet country. AFP

New York apartment sells for $190m IN ONE of the priciest sales in New York real estate history, a four-bedroom penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park was purchased for $190 million, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The seller, scandal-tainted American billionaire Daniel Och, bought the apartment only two years ago for half the price at $93 million, according to the Journal.

The 9,800 square-foot (900 square-meter) apartment, located at 220 Central Park South in the heart of Manhattan, was one of the most expensive sales ever in New York, according to the Journal.

The paper said it went to an anonymous buyer.

A different unit in the same skyscraper was purchased in 2019 by American hedge fund manager Ken Griffin for $238 million – the highest amount ever paid for a private home in the United States, according to the paper.

Och, 61, has a net worth estimated by Forbes to be around $4.1 billion.

He founded the New York-based investment firm Och-Ziff Capital Management, which changed its name in September 2019 to Sculptor after a bribery scandal in which Och was directly implicated. AFP

Opinion When COVID-19 strikes families better than not having any contact at all.

Of particular concern to us are our two children, eleven and six years old. While the adults have been vaccinated and two have received their booster shots, the kids have not.

This is COVID-19, not any ordinary sickness.

Never have I worried about fever, cough, and colds. It is really a terrible time.

Understandably, a time will come when patience and being good natured about things will almost run out. The most mundane of things irritate me at times. But then, we know that our experience is “easy” compared with how hard this pandemic has hit others.

Out of curiosity and knowing that the data coming from the Department of Health (DOH) is far from accurate because of the small number of tests done, I did an informal survey on Twitter and Facebook on how many in my social media circle have remained COVID-19-free so far. The responses are overwhelming and saddening.

The big majority of the few hundreds who responded said that they themselves, close family members, close friends, or officemates were infected with the virus. Only a few said that they and their loved ones have remained free from COVID-19.

Too many of those who responded said that several members of their families had been infected. It was notable that among cases detected this January, more family members, at times entire families, have tested positive for the virus. Many attributed the spread to the Omicron variant and the fact that they went to see their families for the holidays. Children were also among those who got the virus. I think that this was also my family’s case.

There were those who were infected twice although all said that the second infection was mild. Most of the recent cases are mild, according to those who responded, and they attributed this to the vaccines they have received.

Not a few were still in grief for losing their loved ones to COVID-19. And while they grieve, the virus has attacked their families again.

Indeed, these are very trying times. My family’s experience is already difficult despite the fact that no one had to be hospitalized, we have doctors in the family, and we have everything we need. We can only imagine how those in poor communities, those without ready access to medical care and treatment, deal with this serious and life-threatening problem.

I do not envy the families and friends of those who needed, and presently need hospitalization. We can only hope that the patients recovered, or will recover, and that their loved ones will be able to cope.

There are no words that can be said to comfort those still grieving. We can only support them and hope that their healing time will not be too long. This experience with COVID-19 will not be forgotten especially when our own families are stricken. There are lessons to be learned and we must take them to heart.

COVID-19 has finally hit my immediate family big time. Five of us, including two children from three households, tested positive for the virus. Only three, including myself, were spared. The good thing is, we have two doctors in the family though one also tested positive. The second doctor, my daughter, already had her bout with the virus last year.

Those who are infected did not need hospitalization because their cases are mild. Thus, everyone needed to undergo isolation. Family members with COVID-19 are now well on their way to recovery and in a few days, all of us will finish our quarantine period.

We are among the lucky ones because while we are hit, not one is hospitalized. Our doctors see to it that we all have the medical care we need, and we do what needs to be done. We are able to procure the needed medicines and supplies, and we have adequate provisions for other basic items. While we go through quarantine, we have the physical space and more or less, the necessary facilities.

There are lessons to be learned and we must take them to heart.

Still, the experience is very far from pleasant. As the oldest in the family, I feel that my children are extra-protective of me during this pandemic. However, this time around, their reminders are more frequent and seemingly urgent. I feel the worry in their words, and this saddens me. Never in my life have I wanted to be a burden to anyone, especially my family.

Dealing with COVID-19 in the family, no matter how mild, is stressful. We need to be very careful especially in terms of always properly wearing well-fitted face masks, physical distancing, and ventilation. Constantly and patiently, everyone in my household is reminded how serious the situation is, the importance of strictly following protocols, what to do when deliveries are received, and how to sanitize and store the delivered items.

For someone like me who does not like to constantly tell people what to do, this is tiring.

The stress levels while isolating and dealing with COVID-19 is extraordinary. It is hard to sleep at night not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Finding out how everyone is doing daily, while hoping that the condition of those afflicted does not worsen and none of the others has developed symptoms, is worrisome.

It is most difficult to not be able to personally see, touch, and care for sick family members. We have to content ourselves with video calls, voice messages, and chats. Still, this is

@bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

COVID hits home

LIKE many, I thought of COVID-19 as something that happened to other people. I read and wrote about it, but always in the context of it happening to others. I often attached it to other issues like health or social justice or governance. COVID was a subject.

I tried not to get news of the virus get me down or make me anxious. I learned to “unplug” from time to time. Meanwhile, we at my household tried to balance fear with reasonability, making decisions and taking calculated risks whenever we had to (or wanted to) go out. Just recently, I suggested we should go for the family goal of not ever catching COVID-19.

But the virus caught up with us, as it did with many other families.

Three of my four kids tested positive. I myself developed a cough despite testing negative twice. As of this writing, the ordeal is not yet over. My two boys are still isolating with their older sister and her partner who also tested positive. Meanwhile, my other daughter and I are holed up at my apartment, taking care of the logistics like deliveries, food, medicine and other needs. It’s good that our units are in the same building albeit on different floors. A small wooden table at their door serves as our link.

I’ve had a chance to enumerate my takeaways from the past few days and I’d like to share them here.

First, it is good to imagine scenarios.

The phrase “Ano ang gagawin natin kapag

(What will we do if)….?” helped us immensely. It allowed us to anticipate different situations and, like a flowchart, manage developments. Often, if we are faced with an emergency, we cannot think clearly. It helps to know exactly what to do just in case A or B comes up. It lessens your sense of helplessness, and increases the likelihood of your making prudent decisions.

Second, find your distraction. People have come up with many ways to cope with the uncertainty of the past two years. But when COVID barges into your home, you have to have something to take your mind away from the constant unsettling feeling.

Catch up on your reading, watch movies or plays or shows, play an instrument. Tidy up or clean. Create something. Work – our jobs are sometimes a blessing that way.

Third, accept the fact that there are some things you can’t really know for certain.

For instance, how, when and where did the COVD transmission happen? Why is Person A sick and why has Person B remained healthy despite being both close contacts of the same person? What lies ahead? When will all this end?

Fourth, it is really easier to live with the idea of contracting the virus than of passing it on to someone. This is the basis of all our actions, and why we must isolate if we have symptoms even without the benefit of testing. We might be healthy and suffer only minor symptoms, but the next fellow may not be as lucky. This is basic courtesy and consideration – basic humanity, actually.

Fifth, everyone in the family has a role to play. If the cases are mild, chances are, your patients will also be looking for ways to get their minds off their situation. So delegate – if they can’t get out of the house, at least they can help source items or make online purchases. Keep track of expenses in a common file on Google Drive. Make grocery lists, plan meals and schedule med-

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

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EDITORIAL

F

Counting the days

ROM 14 days to 10 days to seven days. But there’s also the period of 21 days. Let’s get things clear.

The Department of Health has laid down new guidelines – implementation starting January 13 – regarding the health protocols, particularly isolation of COVID-19 positive individuals, following the surge of infections during the past few days post celebration of the New Year.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire has stressed the isolation of COVID-19 positive individuals with “symptoms, asymptomatic, and mild cases had been reduced to seven days from onset of symptoms if the person is fully vaccinated.”

A downgrade from the previous duration of 10 days and an even earlier number of 14 days after the health emergency

waved an unforgiving scythe of infections and deaths.

But 10 days isolation is retained for those partially vaccinated or unvaccinated, and those with moderate symptoms regardless of vaccination status.

Let’s remain very careful.

Vergeire, however, has told a forum that the isolation period has been retained to 21 days “for those with severe and critical disease, and those immunocompromised.”

Meanwhile, hospitals can shorten the isolation of their respective healthcare workers if necessary.

At the same time “testing of asymptomatic close contacts will also not be required unless symptoms will develop,” according to health authorities, but that individuals are being reminded to continue monitoring their symptoms, wearing their masks, and implementing minimum

public health standards for 14 days.

Vergeire has underlined that fully vaccinated healthcare workers who were exposed to a COVID-19 positive person – ”for the sake of uniformity, they will follow the five days quarantine similar to the general public.”

“We will also retain that hospital prevention and control committees can further shorten healthcare workers with boosters – their quarantine can be shortened weighing specific situations, risks, and benefits,” Vergeire has said.

We cannot over-emphasize the need for quarantine or isolation to protect our health and that of the community – whether people thus isolated have moderate symptoms, regardless of vaccination status.

But while there is a downgrade to X number of days, that should not be a reason to be insouciant with that devil-maycare attitude, in the mistaken belief that the virus is dying if it is not yet dead.

The danger still has an intimidating presence.

Concentrate on free trade and promote multilateralism OUR compliance to the intellectual property rights (IPR) indirectly diverts and/or retards our quest for free trade. That preoccupation pushed our economy backward and we spent time examining our products than expanding the horizon for free trade and in promoting multilateralism.

Our preoccupation with securing to protect IPRs, inventions and patents of other countries eat up most of our time and resources like our enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001 to secure the integrity of foreign currency. We attend to IPR than to our objective of securing our economic rights through free trade.

Concentrating on IPR has become a bane to our progress and development. The Philippines is deeply immersed in spending our resources and manpower to protecting IPR, forgetting the more serious business of expanding trade through multilateralism. Many anti-imperialist writers observe there is a pattern to mislead countries to giving preference to IPR with a threat of sanction for the slightest violation of the rule.

Should the government adhere to the demand of the Senate to secure the protection of our agricultural products, it means we are not ready for free trade.

At most we can only seek exception for our export, and usually this comes in with reciprocity like giving equal treatment to exports but the primary objective remains - that of reducing the cost of imports through the elimination of tariff.

Our farmers however can seek the “maximum” limit given under RCEP until the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could finally eliminate all tariffs like what our farmers have perennially been complaining about. We have to find ways to reduce the cost of our exports like providing subsidy, if allowed under the agreement, or plant other crops without violating the FTA.

We have to balance our exports to remain competitive. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an opportunity to change our economic endeavor. If joining RCEP could significantly increase our standard of living, maybe we can suggest to diversify in producing other goods that will command better price and measuring our GDP consequent to our membership with RCEP.

icine intakes. Anything to lessen the variables.

Sixth, realize that times may be hard, but these will not last forever. In a week or two, things are bound to improve – not just your patients’ symptoms, but your general outlook. Just try to make it today, and tomorrow will be another battle.

You have work piling up? That’s good – you can still work from home. You’re still able to communicate with your loved ones. Nobody is in the hospital when this same virus that they have has killed tens of thousands already in the past two years.

Be thankful you are just bored – it means you have the capacity and desire for doing more.

Finally, be reminded that other people are going through the same ordeal without the conveniences you enjoy. They cannot isolate in comfort as you can. For millions, isolation means not working and not having money for food.

And then you will realize why you have to speak up when you see something wrong, why you have to rail against injustice and incompetence and corruption, and why you have to vote and vote wisely in May. While we isolate, or quarantine as the case may be, let us take the opportunity to be silent and clear not just the clutter in our homes but that in our minds. It’s a tough opening for the year, sure, but it’s only the first month. We cannot control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we respond to our challenges and decrease the likelihood of their affecting us adversely.

Just because we are told that at least half of the population will get COVID does not mean we should drop the fight. Let us take even greater care to keep ourselves healthy so that we may be able to take care of those who truly need our help.

Just try to make it today, and tomorrow will be another battle.

Seventh, we can really make technology serve us. For example, even though the family cannot yet eat meals together like you used to, video calls can help recreate the feeling of eating together. Depending on the quality of your internet connection, you can still see each other and tell stories while eating. This was how my son and I got into a discussion on whether it was “appropriate” for a woman to send drinks to a man in a bar (guess which position I took). FaceTime is not quite the same as actual face time, but it’s a reasonable substitute.

Eighth, humor will save you. Don’t discount the power of a laugh over a silly episode – even if it means laughing at yourself.

I was stumped when I ordered bananas from the supermarket and got puso ng saging instead. Or when I was presented with a plastic doll (arms akimbo and with a crumpled face) that looked like me when I am stressed.

Ninth, continue to count your blessings.

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Anita F. Grefal

Baldwin R. Felipe

Edgar M. Valmorida

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

We have to balance our exports to remain competitive.

Current indicators show that we remain economically marginal with the rest of the ASEAN using our exports as ledger. Last year, RCEP countries represented 51 percent of Philippine exports, 68 percent of the country’s imports, and 58 percent of investments. This means we import most of our goods and have not attracted foreign investors as touted.

For instance, the diversification of our sugarlands to the production of other crops did not result in the collapse of our economy or hunger to the contractual sugar workers or “sacada”.

Instead, the introduction of land reform subsequently improved the livelihood of those workers through the production of other crops that commanded higher value. Most importantly, our diversification of crops eliminated the problem of insurgency proving that low income is the root cause of the problem.

Most of those who want to stick to agriculture as our main export are, in fact, landlords. Often, they reflect their interest on the land than the product.

Our membership with RCEP is in fact our

adellechua@gmail.com

agreement to achieve common progress through the mechanism of free trade. Accordingly, RCEP will be guided by the following principles: 1. RCEP will be consistent with WTO, including GATT, specifically Articles XXIV and V. 2. RCEP will provide members broader choice to improving the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs while recognizing the diverse participation of others. The concept of trading with other industrialized countries is to ensure that no member will be left out in the new trade arrangement.

3. RCEP will include provisions to facilitate trade and investment, enhance transparency and participation, and facilitate the engagement of global and regional supply chains.

4. RCEP will include other regional and extend special and differential treatment, plus additional flexibility to the least-developed ASEAN members, consistent to the applicability of the ASEAN+1 FTA. 5. ASEAN+1 FTAs will not detract the terms and conditions between and among the participating countries.

6. RCEP agreement will also have an open accession clause to enable the participation of any Asian FTA partner that did not participate after the completion of the negotiations.

7. Provisions for technical assistance and capacity building may be made available, building upon the ASEAN+1 FTAs, to developing and least-developed countries of RCEP to enable all parties to participate, implement their obligations and enjoy the benefits from RCEP. 8. Negotiations on trade, in services, investment and other areas will be conducted to ensure a comprehensive and balanced outcome.

RCEP is bound to change the concept of FTA. Beginning January 1, 2022, RCEP became the world’s largest trading bloc entered into by the majority of the 15 Asia-Pacific economies promising to reduce to zero-tariff nearly a third of the global economy. From January to November 2021, total imports and exports exceeded $1.7 trillion. rpkapunan@gmail.com Full version on www.manilastandard.net

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An open letter to Google, YouTube, and TikTok

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

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Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

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TODAY

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

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TODAY

(MS-JAN. 15, 2022)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

Business

AllHome opens two new stores in Metro Manila

By Jenniffer B. Austria

ALLHOME, the country’s pioneering one-stop full line home center owned by the Villar Group, opened two new stores in Metro Manila as it pursues expansion amid the pandemic.

The two stores are located at Worldwide Corporate Center along Shaw Blvd. in Mandaluyong City and at Evia Lifecenter Center in Las Pinas City.

“We are excited to continue pursuing our strategy of store expansion for AllHome, especially in Metro Manila. We continue to anticipate the country’s return to normal, and all economic signs point to the brisk recovery of the retail industry,” AllHome chairman Manuel Villar Jr. said. AllHome has 57 stores nationwide.

AllHome said foot traffic in its stores saw improvement over the 2020 level. It said foot traffic in November 2021 registered a 22-percent improvement over October, indicative of customers’ comfort level with in-store shopping and reflective of the continued opening up of the economy.

The company said its merchandise mix saw an improvement, with the share of soft categories continuing to increase.

AllHome said sales in the first three quarters of 2021 already surged past pre-pandemic levels in 2019, growing by 24 percent. It said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were up 27 percent while net income after tax grew 30 percent.

The stores feature seven product categories including hardware, construction, tiles and sanitary wares, furniture, appliances, linens and homewares.

Aside from in-store experience, AllHome allows shoppers to buy their home needs on the go, including via personal shopper, curbside pickup or online delivery.

“Our latest AllHome stores in our Worldwide Corporate Center is part of our initiative to close 2021 on a Manila strong note—one that expands AllStandard TODAY Home presence in Metro Manila and takes advantage of the re-opening economy and the increasing comfort level of shoppers to re-experience instore shopping,” AllHome vice chairman Camille Villar said.

Fitch sees peso-dollar rate falling to 51.80:$1

FITCH Solutions, a unit of Fitch Group, has lowered its peso-dollar average exchange rate forecast for 2022 to P51.80 from P51, saying the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ near-term dovish stance, loose fiscal policy and a worsening current account balance outlook will all weigh on the unit.

In a report Friday, Fitch Solutions also factored in the monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

“We at Fitch Solutions maintain our bearish stance on the Philippine peso but now expect the unit to trade even weaker as accommodative policy stances and a worsening current account weigh,” it said.

In 2021, it said the peso spot rate fell 5.8 percent against the US dollar, as the Philippine economy was hampered once again by COVID-19 outbreaks, resulting in policymakers continuing monetary and fiscal support.

“We had expected for further currency volatility and weakness in our last update in September and the unit has depreciated 1.9 percent against the US dollar since then, trading to the weaker end of our P49-P52/US dollar range as forecast,” it said. Julito G. Rada

Oil sites in Odette-hit areas are back—Shell

PAGCOR RECOGNITION. As the government’s partner in nation-building, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. goes out of its way to reach out to Filipinos who are in dire need of help. Whenever typhoons, fire, floods and other natural calamities strike, the agency ensures that immediate help is on the way. The state-owned firm garnered an “excellent” rating in the 2020 Corporate Governance Scorecard Assessment of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations.

GCG said PAGCOR has clear and strong lines of communication that allow the agency to respond quickly and efficiently to customer requirements and public needs to ensure consistent quality service.

November remittances increased 5.1% to $2.5b M and sea-based workers, which grew 6.3

By Julito G. Rada percent (or $1.968 billion from $1.852 billion) and 1.2 percent (to $534 million ONEY sent home from $527 million), respectively.

The November figures brought cash by overseas remittances in the first 11 months to Filipino workers $28.43 billion, up 5.2 percent from in November 2021 rose 5.1 $27.013 billion a year ago.

“The growth in cash remittances from percent to $2.502 billion the United States, Taiwan, and Malaysia from $2.379 billion a year contributed largely to the increase in reago, sustaining its resilience mittances in January-November 2021,” the BSP said. despite the prolonged The US in terms of country sources posted the highest share of overall reCOVID-19 pandemic, at 40.7 percent in the first 11 latest data from the Bangko mittances months of 2021, followed by Singapore, Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United KingThe BSP in a statement Friday at- dom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, tributed the higher cash remittances to Taiwan, Qatar, and South Korea. The the increase in receipts from land-based combined remittances from these top 10

countries accounted for 78.9 percent of the total during the period.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also rose 4.8 percent to $2.77 billion in November 2021 from $2.643 billion recorded in the same month a year ago.

This resulted in personal remittances of $31.586 billion from January to November 2021, up 5.3 percent from the $29.988 billion in the comparable period in 2020.

The increase in personal remittances in November was due to remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, which climbed 6.3 percent to $2.137 billion from $2.01 billion in the same month last year, and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year, which rose 1 percent to $581 million from 575 million a year ago.

Diokno: Structural reforms crucial to recovery

Diokno

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. reported that almost all of its sites affected by typhoon Odette are now operational.

“From an operational perspective, we are almost 100 percent in terms of sites being operational so if I just look at where we are today, only two sites suffered structural damage, one is in Lapu Lapu City and other one is in Iloilo,” newly-appointed Pilipinas Shell president Lorelie Quiambao Osial said.

Around 200 retail sites of Pilipinas Shell were affected by typhoon Odette, with the biggest impact in Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Southern Leyte, Agusan, Palawan and Panay.

“All our seven terminals are back on normal operations with healthy stock positions as well and I am quite proud how the team has really rallied and is quite agile and flexible that really made it possible to serve essential sectors right away,” Quiambao Osial said.

The oil company provided six million liters of fuel supply to various companies and institutions in many places like Cebu and Negros, including hospitals, malls, banks, telecommunications, power firms, water utilities and transportation companies. Alena Mae S. Flores

LGUs urged to extend permit renewal period

THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) called on local government units (LGUs) to extend the period of renewal of business permits and payment of real property tax until the end of the first quarter of 2022.

ARTA director general Jeremiah Belgica reiterated the importance of health and safety amid the surging number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines over the past few days.

“This is a time for us to approach situations with more compassion and sensitivity. With record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases being announced almost every day, we at ARTA believe it is only right to extend the period of renewal of business permits,” he said.

“Public health should be the government’s topmost priority right now. People traveling to city halls to renew their business permits and pay their real property tax would not help in curbing the spread of the virus,” he added.

The period of renewal of business permits starts from from January 3 to 20. LGU leaders have the power to extend the period.

Othel V. Campos

Candaba Viaduct upgrades to start February—NLEX

eign players by lowering the minimum paid-up YELLOW BLACK capital from around P125 million CYAN to P25 MAGENTA million.

Diokno also supported the amendments to the 80-year-old Public Service Act, which will allow foreign ownership of key economic secBy Darwin G.Amojelar tors and amendments to the Foreign Investments Act, which will encourage foreign proNLEX Corp. said Friday it will start fessionals to bring their practice, know-how the upgrading of the northbound porand technical expertise to the Philippines. tion of the five-kilometer Candaba Both bills are pending in Congress, with the Viaduct next month after completing revisions to the PSA still needing to go through the southbound portion of the bridge. bicameral proceedings. The amendments to the It said 13 priority link slabs that FIA are awaiting approval from the President. connect bridge deck spans would be “I am confident that with these game-changreplaced in about six months to proing reforms, we can achieve real change in the vide comfortable driving experience to lives of ordinary Filipinos through more and motorists traversing the vital road netbetter jobs and a more competitive economy,” Diokno said. Julito G. Rada work between Pampanga and Bulacan provinces.

“We always ensure to maintain our assets for the benefit of thousands of motorists plying our expressway.

Whether it is above the bridge or under the bridge, we keep on doing the upgrades for the Candaba Viaduct as we want motorists to continue having safe and comfortable travel,” said J. Luigi Bautista, president and general manager of NLEX. The upgrades for the Candaba Viaduct started in 2019 as part of the fouryear rehabilitation plan that aims to enhance its efficiency and safety. Last year, the tollway firm completed the link slab upgrade of the southbound segment which has since improved LANDBANK LOAN. Land Bank of the Philippines and the municipal government of Barili, Cebu safety and long-term serviceability of province sign a P200-million loan agreement to finance the construction of a modern public market that will support the livelihood of agricultural producers in the municipality. Signing the agreement the structure. are (from left) Barili municipal treasurer Gamaliel Riconalla, Mayor Julieto Flores, LandBank Cebu South Works on the northbound will reLending Center head and vice president Allan Bisnar and Barili Vice Mayor Luisito Ponsica. quire motorists to pass with care as a temporary steel Bailey bridge will be installed so cars, vans, small trucks and buses will be able to cross over the repair site. A counterflow lane at the southbound carriageway will be open ing energy demand.

By Alena Mae S. Flores for the vehicles and cargo trucks.

The joint venture will be coursed through Proper traffic management that inACE Exenor Inc., a company led by the Ayala BCE, the special purpose vehicle company Group, said Friday it signed shareholders and where ACE Exenor and Gen X Energy will cludes the deployment of patrol offisubscription agreements with power plant de- each own a 50-percent interest, subject to the cers and marshals and installation of veloper Batangas Clean Energy Inc. and Gen satisfaction of agreed conditions and execution directional traffic signs will be in place X Energy L.P. of Blackstone Inc. to build a of further definitive documents. to guide motorists. Traffic updates will 1,100-megawatt combined cycle power plant.

Gen X Energy is a portfolio company of also be available on the company’s ACE Exenor said in a disclosure to the Blackstone Inc., the world’s largest alternative various social media channels. stock exchange the agreements were signed asset manager.

The Candaba Viaduct is a reliable on Jan. 14.

ACE Exenor will subscribe to shares in BCE, link between Metro Manila and North ACE Exenor, Buendia Christiana Holdings subject to satisfaction of agreed conditions Corp., Red Holdings B.V., BCE and Gen X precedent and execution of definitive docuand Central Luzon. Several engineerEnergy signed an investment agreement in ments, including a shareholders’ agreement. ing studies were done and major reNovember to develop the combined cycle BCE will file an application for the increase pairs and maintenance works were power plant that will use natural gas or green in its authorized capital stock with the Securiimplemented to maximize its capacity hydrogen as fuel to meet the country’s grow- ties and Exchange Commission. and retain its good condition.

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said game-changing structural reforms are crucial to sustaining the recovery of the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic since the early part of 2020.

Diokno, speaking in the 25th membership meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila, expressed support for amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Public Service Act and Foreign Investments Act. “With or without crisis, we should continue to pursue structural reforms that would put the Philippines not just on the road to pre-crisis growth but on a sustainable path of development,” Diokno said.

The Retail Trade Liberalization Act or Republic Act 11595 was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte in December 2021. It aims to further open the country’s retail sector to for-

Ayala, Blackstone investing in 1,100-MW plant

(MS-JAN. 14 & 15, 2022)

IN BRIEF

Sports

Donaire PSA’s finest in December NONITO Donaire Jr. turned out to be the undisputed choice as the finest performer in the Philippine Sportswriters Association honor roll for the merry month of December.

Though there were shining moments in chess, karate and golf, boxing took the main spotlight with Donaire, 39, pulling off another breakthrough showing in Carson, California, to retain his stranglehold on the World Boxing Council bantamweight crown on December 11.

The Filipino-American puncher was a total badass as he took out mandatory challenger Reymart Gaballo with a wicked body shot in the fourth round.

It wasn’t all too sparkling for boxing as John Riel Casimero could not defend his World Boxing Organization bantam jewels after getting sick on the eve of the fight in Dubai where Jayson Mama faltered in winning the International Boxing Federation fly diadem.

Also, Robert Paradero was knocked out in an attempt to win the super World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight diadem in Phuket during the month, and Vic Saludar lost his WBA strap in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic three days before Christmas.

Woman’s Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna also made a lot of heads turn.

Frayna outplayed Shania Mae Mendoza to capture the National Women’s Chess Championships to solidify her status as the country’s top bet in women’s play.

Karate also provided some fireworks in the run-up to the last few days of 2021 as Junna Tsukii and Jamie Lim brought home silver medals from the AKF Asian Karate Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Tsukii bowed to hometown entry Moldir Zhangbyrbay in the -50 kilogram division, while Lim lost to Sarah Almeri of the United Arab Emirates in the -61 kilogram class.

Over at the fairways, Sam Dizon topped the girls division of the Singapore Junior Golf Championships at the Keppel Club.

On local front, Manila Southwoods ran away with the Fil Championships, while Time Cargo ruled the Am Championships at the FilAm Invitational at the Baguio Country Club.

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Puentevella optimistic Olympics in 2028 may include weightlifting

By Peter Atencio

T

HE sport of weightlifting can still be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella expressed optimism that the sport, along with boxing, will be included in the LA Olympiad.

“I am very optimistic about this. We are given about seven years. Maaayos din ito,” said Puentevella in an online sports forum, reacting to reports that weightlifting and boxing have been dropped from the LA Olympiad.

102kg and over-102kg for men and 49kg, 59kg, 71kg, 81kg and over81kg for women.

The changes took place a year ago when the IOC cut the quota of athletes from 196 in Tokyo 2020 to 120 for Paris 2024.

But the SWP, according to Puentevella is also pinning its hopes on its other bets Elreen Ando in the 59-kg division, and Vanessa Sarno and Kristel Macrohon, who are both in the 71-kg category.

The International Weighlifting Federation is meeting by month’s end and coming up with a final plan that it will send to the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC is set to meet and approve the IWF’s plans by the end of February.

Through the executive board, the

This could spell doom for the Philippines’ bid considering that weightlifting and boxing delivered the medals for the country in the recent Tokyo Olympics.

Superwoman weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz gave the Philippines its first gold medal in the Tokyo games, while boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam added a silver each, to go with a bronze from their teammate in Eumir Marcial.

In the 2004 Paris Olympics, there will be limited events in the sport of weightlifting, with Diaz’s -55kg category scrapped from the calendar.

Diaz, who is recovering from COVID-19, may have to move to another weight category if she is to see action in the Paris Olympiad, where there are only 10 weight classes, namely 61kg, 73kg, 89kg,

ted to protecting Australia’s borders, particularly in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hawke said in a statement.

He cited “health and good order grounds” for the decision and said “it was in the public interest to do so”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed the decision: “Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected.”

The visa cancellation effectively means the world’s number one tennis player would be barred from obtaining a new Australian visa for three years, except under exceptional circumstances.

But the Australian judge who blocked Djokovic’s deportation first time round, scheduled an emergency hearing late Friday, indicating the tennis ace will again challenge the decision.

IOC had earlier sought the removal of weightlifting from the games and decided to do so in 2028 following numerous corruption scandals and governance failings “that was largely centered around the longstanding problem of doping.”

Puentevella said that he will be sending his proposals to the meeting, which will discuss the future of the sport.

Puentevella added that the sport can be re-included in the program on the condition that “the IWF and its future leadership demonstrates its transition towards compliance and an effective change of culture.”

He said this can be done by addressing the incidence of doping in the sport to ensure the integrity, robustness and full independence of its anti-doping program, according to IOC guidelines.

PLDT names Pascua as volleyball head coach

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Top immigration lawyer, Christopher Levingston, said Djokovic could apply to the Federal Court for an injunction to stay the minister’s decision.

“Djokovic is extremely well-resourced and has a competent team

around him. He can either stay and fight or he can leave,” Levingston said.

The three-year bar on a new Australian visa for Djokovic could be waived if it was deemed to be in the public interest, he said. AFP

Vera happy to see ONE beef up heavyweight division

BRANDON VERA

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

Nonito Donaire is shown with his team after retaining his stranglehold on the World Boxing Council bantamweight crown following a win over mandatory challenger Reymart Gaballo. Jhay Otamias

Australia cancels Djokovic visa again MELBOURNE—Australia has cancelled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time in a sensational new attempt to deport the unvaccinated tennis superstar Friday.

The country’s conservative government, defeated once in the courts, invoked extraordinary executive powers to again rip up the 34-year-old Serbian’s visa on public interest grounds.

The move comes just three days before the Australian Open starts, putting Djokovic’s dream of a record 21st Grand Slam in serious doubt.

Djokovic, an avowed Covid-19 vaccine sceptic, is the tournament’s top seed and had been practising on the Melbourne Park courts just before Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s bombshell decision was announced.

The government is “firmly commit-

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

FORMER ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera is just happy to see the heavyweights finally getting the slice of the pie and earning their due respect in ONE Championship.

Though he no longer holds the belt on his shoulders, the dethroned titleholder couldn’t help but smile seeing more fighters emerge and stake their claim to the crown in the promotion.

“It’s a very beautiful thing to see,” he said. “I’m very proud, personally, to be a heavyweight representative of ONE Championship. The talent pool just keeps on growing here at ONE.” Vera held the ONE Heavyweight World Championship for over five years -- 1,982 days to be exact -- car-

rying the 120.1 kg weight class on his shoulders as he fought the likes of Paul “Typhoon” Cheng at ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS, Hideki “Shrek” Sekine at ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION, and Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS. He even challenged Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang for the ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship at ONE: CENTURY PART II back in October 2019 with the lack of able challengers to his throne.

But that narrative has changed now.

Russian mastodon Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin and Bulgarian brute Kirill Grishenko are set to face off

in the main event of ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE, with the winner taking home the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Championship.

And safe to say, Vera will be closely watching.

“Both of them are raging bulls.

Either of them would be an amazing interim champion,” he said, sharing that he sees a fairly even duel between the two before making his fearless forecast.

“I’m going to root for the kicker, Grishenko.”

Vera also admitted that he couldn’t help but feel excited to be the one facing off against these two contenders, obviously aware of the pedigrees of both Malykhin and Grishenko.

THE PLDT Home Fibr High Speed Hitters have named George Pascua as its new head coach for the 2022 Premier Volleyball League season.

And for Pascua, taking over the storied volleyball franchise is both a challenge and an honor.

“Happy and excited kasi napunta ako sa team na isa sa mga pioneer na teams na sa volleyball,” he said. “Masaya din ako na vina-value nila ‘yung players. “’Yung pagkuha nila sa akin, very unexpected. Hindi ko in-expect kasi marami silang ina-eye na head coach.

Kinausap nila ako sa kanilang mga plans at nagkaroon kami ng collaborations. Tapos tinawagan nila ako na ako na daw napili nila.”

Pascua replaces Roger Gorayeb, who has been with PLDT since 2013.

“It’s been a really good relationship between PLDT and Coach Roger,” said SMART and PLDT head of sports Jude Turcuato. “It wasn’t just because of the championships that he has won but he was also a father figure to the group with all his experiences. We are really grateful for those eight years.

Pascua is a three-time champion coach in the Philippine Superliga, steering to the 2014 Grand Prix and 2015 All-Filipino championships. He also guided Cignal to the 2017 Invitational championship.

In 2018, he had a one-year stint with Sta. Lucia as well.

He is also the current head coach of Far Eastern University’s women’s volleyball team -- a position he has held since 2017 -- and also an assistant coach for the Philippine Women’s National Volleyball Team.

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

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

Home/Design

Building a nation of homeowners S M Development Corporation (SMDC) remains committed to blazing trails in the Philippine real estate industry by creating sustainable developments that respond to the needs of Filipino homeowners and investors this new year.

“Building a nation of homeowners has always been our vision at SMDC,” said Jose Mari Banzon, president of SMDC. Engineered after SMDC’s award-winning business model, the company focuses on master planned mid-rise garden communities and house & lot developments.

Through a three-pronged approach on sustainability with environmental, economic, and social lens, SMDC has built its business with the purpose of providing affordable homes that minimize environmental impact.

Office market opportunities open post Typhoon Odette

By Winston Champ Luna and Kathlyn Atillo-Relatos

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE IN 2022. Housing developer Bria Homes used the Covid 19 pandemic period to transition to the digital domain, boosting its online presence and allowing virtual transactions to thrive. To date, Bria Homes’ strong digital connections ensure its prospective homebuyers’ safety as the latter explore the vast range of options the company offers. These include getting a glimpse of any of Bria Homes’ 50-plus residential projects from the security of their homes by immersing virtual tours.. On top of these, Bria continues to diversify and expand its property portfolio, especially as demand for vertical living rises. Primed to cater to the needs of mobile young professionals and starting families, these midrise condos offer co-living in elegant walk-up buildings where residents are encouraged to forge small, tightly knit communities.

Davao rising DAMOSA Land Inc. is driving local development through a portfolio of valuable innovations in Davao real estate.

“Now more than ever, the Davao region shows promise as a prime investment spot as it continues to grow higher than the country’s GDP even with pandemic-related adversities” said Cary Lagdameo, president of DLI (Inset photo).

Damosa Land’s residential business progressed with the construction of Ameria, the residential component of its agropolis township project Agriya, and the completion of Seawind, its sixtower mid-rise condominium that overlooks the Davao Gulf and Samal Island.

Early this year, Damosa Land launched Regus Felcris Centrale in Davao City and HQ Topaz, the rebranding of the companies’ first project in Regus Damosa Topaz Tower in 2016.

Damosa Land also boosted development of the Anflo Industrial Estate (AIE) with the addition of state-of-the-art cold storage facilities. The freezer rooms are expected to be able to accommodate more locators’ temperature-controlled requirements for products such as fish and seafood, meat, poultry, frozen food, and fresh produce.

CEBU CITY­—Amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Typhoon Odette, many outsourcing occupiers in Cebu continue to implement a workfrom-home setup.

Several provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao were severely affected by Typhoon Odette, including Cebu. The province dealt with power outages, damaged utility poles, and inoperative communication lines, while various establishments, including office buildings, heavily relied on power from generator sets, creating an artificial shortage on fuel.

“Plug-and-play” The Information Technology and Business Process Management (ITBPM) industry, which employs about 200,000 workers in Cebu in 2021, was likewise disrupted.

More than 70% of ITBPM companies had been implementing a WFH setup to protect their employees, which became more challenging after the typhoon left many residential communities heavily damaged.

The restoration of electricity, water, and telecommunication lines would possibly take months for some places. Since many IT-BPM locators generate revenue on a perseat and per-minute basis, these companies carried out business continuity plans (BCP) to immediately provide employees with a workspace that has Internet access and electricity. This resulted in high demand for fully fitted or “plug and play” spaces; occupiers searched for such options across Metro Cebu, while others flew their employees to unaffected cities, including Metro Manila.

Challenges, opportunities in Cebu office market Several “plug and play” office facilities were immediately leased out in the aftermath of Odette as locators raced to keep their operations running.

Colliers has observed that several ITBPM players have signed leases in

such facilities in the short-term or until electricity providers reenergize their employees’ respective areas.

Apart from high competition for fitted office spaces, there remain some challenges for certain occupiers whose “must-haves,” such as flexible lease terms, required area size/number of seats, and generator set capacity, are not yet being met.

Not all landlords provide Internet connection and air conditioning, which are integral to the tenants’ operations.

Social distancing still needs to be

and is still expected to increase given the forecasted upcoming supply, Colliers is optimistic that the abundance of new office buildings and PEZA-proclaimed spaces in Cebu will continue to attract IT-BPM locators and other occupiers to the province. As the largest outsourcing hub outside Metro Manila, Cebu remains a preferred business destination due to its competitiveness in terms of manpower, infrastructure, and cost of doing business.

Learnings from COVID-19, Typhoon Odette

observed and most occupiers need to follow a one-meter- or one-seat-apart setup in the workplace, which translates to a larger-sized office requirement and entails additional costs. All these challenges may cause delays in the implementation of BCPs. Well-positioned for recovery Despite these challenges, Colliers believes that the Cebu office market is well positioned for recovery. By the end of Q3 2021, Colliers recorded positive net take-up for three consecutive quarters, reflecting increased business confidence among occupiers.

While vacancy remains high at 22%

Colliers urges office landlords and seat-leasing providers to be adaptable in providing what tenants require such as operational telecommunications services, Internet connectivity, airconditioning, and amenities that ease the move-in process.

Colliers also urges lessors to be flexible with their offered commercial terms and lease durations during these extraordinary times. Additionally, Colliers encourages flexible workspace providers to gauge interest for fitted spaces in the market and create more plug-and-play facilities that capture the evolving needs of occupiers.

Tech & Gadgets

Google helps in PH rebuilding efforts after ‘Odette’ destruction A S PART of the ongoing recovery efforts for the survivors of Typhoon Odette (internationally known as Rai), Google and its employees are providing aid in line with its commitment to crisis response in the Philippines.

Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has made a grant of $150,000 that will go to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, an intermediary organization that specializes in distributing donations to nonprofits that work in the affected country or region.

Google.org has also set up an internal Giving campaign where Googlers from the Philippines and abroad are encouraged to donate and it will be matched by the company.

To date, more than $7,409 has already been donated. Once final, the funds will go to iVolunteer, an NGO that distributes donations to other nonprofits and matches volunteering opportunities between individuals and organizations.

Unless specified by the donor, iVolunteer will split the donations equally between Citizens Disaster Response Center and Solar Hope. Both organizations will use the funding to provide food, drinking water, medicines, clothing, solar power kits, face masks and alcohol among others for the affected families and communities.

“It is painful to ponder the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette to

Typhoon Odette victims express their thanks. (Citizens Disaster Response Center)

many families, communities, and livelihoods in Western Visayas just before Christmas. This is yet another challenge to our nation but our solidarity will always be stronger. We hope that through our response, we’re able to aid in the ongoing recovery efforts. Google is one with our kababayans in standing up again, starting anew, and hoping for better days ahead,” said Bernadette Nacario, Google Philippines Country Director.

YouTube is also part of ABS-CBN’s

fundraising activities dubbed as “Tulong-Tulong sa Pag-ahon: Isang Daan Sa Pagtutulungan,” that will run in 100 days from different groups within ABSCBN, starting with ABS-CBN shows and stars, with the goal of providing assistance to 100,000 affected families.

Some of the activities will run on ABSCBN’s YouTube channel and will use the YouTube donate button.

Google previously enabled similar employee-led donations campaigns in the Philippines, among which was a

matching initiative launched in November 2020 for the benefit of the survivors of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses. The campaign was able to generate a total of $100,000 in employee and corporate matching donations which went fully to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy for cash transfer programming, livelihood interventions prioritizing farming and fishery activities, enhanced health and hygiene support, and awareness for COVID-19 protection in the benefit of the affected communities.

2022 Samsung QLED, Lifestyle TVs honored SEOUL, Korea — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that its 2022 QLED and Lifestyle TVs have been recognized by leading global certification institutes for eye safety and color technology.

The news comes as the company announced its newest QLED and Lifestyle TVs at CES 2022.

The 2022 Samsung Lifestyle TVs won the ‘Eye Care’ Certification from Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (VDE) in Germany, one of Europe’s largest technical-scientific associations with more than 36,000 members. The certification applies to Samsung’s 2022 Lifestyle TV models including The Frame, The Serif and The Sero. The screens are evaluated on various categories, including ‘Safety’, ‘Gentle to the eyes’, flicker level, uniformity, and color fidelity.

The new Lifestyle TVs were assessed for safety from blue light emission and melatonin inhibition levels based on a light hazard classification method set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Samsung’s 2022 Lifestyle TVs satisfy the IEC’s standards for screen flickering, which can cause eye fatigue or headache for viewers. They were also recognized for excellence in color fidelity and picture quality uniformity, both elements of which contribute to eye comfort level while watching TV. Samsung’s 2022 Lifestyle TVs were

also verified as ‘Glare-Free’ by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a leading independent safety science company. UL’s verification validates the ‘Glare-Free’ claim by assessing the products against Unified Glare Rating (UGR) testing standard set by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). Samsung’s new Lifestyle TV models use a new Matte Display with anti-glare, antireflection and anti-fingerprint properties to deliver the optimal brightness and provide the best picture quality without glare.

• Reflected Glare, which determines whether the objects on a TV screen are visible even when external light is reflected on the surface • Discomfort Glare, which determines whether a TV screen is too bright • Disability Glare, which determines whether a TV screen is overly bright when watching TV in a dark room These glare assessments were calculated based on test results of watching TV in both 300 lux, which is equivalent to a brightly lit work area, and in 150 lux, which is usually the value for a dimly lit work area.

Additionally, Samsung’s all new 2022 QLED models received the world’s first ‘Pantone Validated’ certification from Pantone, the world-famous brand in the global color industry and creator of the Pantone Matching System (PMS).

Seokwoo Yong (left_, EVP and Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics and Raj Shah, Vice President at Marketing of Pantone

These models receiving this recognition from Pantone include all 20 newly released models - 15 QLED TVs in both 4K and 8K and five monitors.

Samsung’s 2022 QLED TV line-up was recognized for its accurate expression of 2,030 Pantone colors and newly added 110 skin tone shades.

“As TVs become more of an entertainment hub in the home, there’s an

increased demand for screens with toptier picture quality that minimize eye strain,” said Seokwoo Yong, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D Team, Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “This recognition from leading global institutes validates our technology that delivers best-in-class images along with the most comfortable watching experience.”

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

ABSI acquires HCX Technology Partners from Ayala Corp.

ASTI Business Services Inc. (ABSI) is proving to be a key player in the shared services industry just a year into its operations, with the recent acquisition of HCX Technology Partners Inc. from Ayala Corporation.

The move is expected to further expand and grow the company’s extensive portfolio of end-to-end solutions for human resources, customer experience, finance, IT and corporate services.

ABSI is a subsidiary of the Asticom Group of Companies (AGC), which is part of the Globe Group.

It offers managed services such as Business Service Outsourcing (BSO) and Information Technology (IT), and digital platform services like Customer Experience (CE) and Employee Engagement (EE) to help improve client business performance and internal culture of transformation.

On the other hand, HCX has provided human resources, customer relationship management, and digital solutions to its clients since 2016. With their complementary capabilities in the human resources and business solutions industries, ABSI and HCX are well-matched to deliver high-impact results to their growing clientele in the country.

“The integration of HCX’s HR and digital solutions technology with ABSI’s managed services will create a unique and better value proposition to our clients. We believe that a bigger vision and rapid growth can be achieved through the combined expertise and portfolios of both companies,” said Melissa Tecson, ABSI General Manager.

In its first year, ABSI now serves more than 20 clients from several industries including telecommunications, IT, banking, finance, logistics, and e-commerce. It also manages close to 1,500 people.

“With the acquisition of HCX, we envision an accelerated execution of our long-term strategy in delivering top-level results for our clients. We have also gained a fitting opportunity to expedite ABSI’s objective, which is to become the number one shared services center in the Philippines and in Asia by 2029,” said Mharicar Castillo-Reyes, President and CEO of Asticom Group of Companies.

By 2029, ABSI aims to penetrate a bigger market outside the Philippines.

For Asticom, the goal affirms its purpose to provide opportunities and improve Filipino lives through its diverse business portfolio.

Asticom is one with the Globe Group in supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development.

Globe is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributes to 10 UN SDGs. To learn more about ABSI, visit https://absi.ph/.

Brankas raises $20M from Insignia Ventures, Visa to expand Asia’s leading Open Finance platform THE Open Finance system and the comprehensive finance API platform stand to revolutionize the growth of the MSMEs in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically the Philippines.

Its forecasted trajectory of growth can be instrumental to finally providing financial access to the underserved and unrepresented market, which mainly consists of the millions of unbanked Filipinos.

Brankas, Southeast Asia’s leading Open Finance technology company and which has an office in the NCR, has positioned itself to accelerate this significant industry growth through the close of its $20m Series B investment round led by Insignia Ventures Partners with participation from Visa and existing investors Beenext and Integra Partners.

Todd Schweitzer, CEO of Brankas, emphasizes the immense possibilities of Open Finance especially in the region and which will also take root in the Philippines. He says, “Open Finance is about more than just payments or banking. Our work at Brankas building Southeast Asia’s next-generation financial services infrastructure has unlocked opportunities for new financial product development, in a region that has historically been dominated by large brick-and-mortar incumbents.

Thanks to our growing network of part-

ners and customers, we are continuously deepening our understanding of these opportunities and leading the development of solutions to open these doors for them here in Southeast Asia.”

“Brankas is the first in the region to launch banking-as-a-service APIs for account opening and credit card issuance.

In the Philippines, Brankas participated as the first approved financial API service provider in the country’s Open Finance pilot,” Schweitzer adds.

According to Samir Chaibi, Principal at Insignia Ventures Partners, “The Open Finance industry is powering the next generation of fintech services and Brankas is at the forefront of this movement in Southeast Asia. We are thrilled to partner with a team with a world-class API-driven infrastructure built across key Southeast Asian markets to serve the largest fintech players as they scale. We have also been impressed by Brankas’s approach to market development and their ability to launch and scale their products in a regulatory compliant manner, while ensuring that developers benefit from a reliable and stable source of banking and financial data and beyond.”

Visa also participated in the round, marking the global payment network’s commitment to the fast-developing Open

Finance ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

Brankas was selected as one of the five participants in Visa’s 2021 Accelerator Program and jointly developed with it a digital credit card issuance proposition using Visa’s data capabilities.

Brankas has worked with non-bank providers like remittance companies and e-wallets to offer Open Finance solutions that can reach previously untapped customer segments. It also serves companies that need financial data and embedded fintech services – from technology companies, traditional brick-and-mortar leaders with online channels, to financial institutions looking to provide a financial marketplace or embedded finance experience to their customers.

Across Philippine industries and use cases, Brankas offers a compliant, reliable, and secure system at scale to simplify the local complexities of building and operating fintech products and services. Their technology and services empower Philippine companies, especially MSMEs, to digitalize, boost and strengthen their ecommerce capabilities, and possibly reach new markets.

Meanwhile for fintech companies, Brankas is a bridge to critical data needs for verification or scoring processes that would have otherwise taken much longer

to develop and optimize for users. These use cases also extend beyond financial services, with companies in sectors like ecommerce also using their APIs to verify and secure payments on their platforms.

Schweitzer elaborates, “Those of us who are used to online payment see that it is a breeze and take that speed for granted. But a lot of important processes happen behind the scenes. Without them, the accounts won’t be verified and the orders will never come through.

Again not all Philippine companies have the platform to verify customer and their banking data, which are needed to allow an online sale. Brankas removes those limitations in order to allow data verification and online payment to continue seamlessly and safely as possible. Local companies will have more trust in dealing with their partners and customers, while customers can rest easy knowing that their data is protected and that their payments are secure.”

With this new

investment from Insignia Venture and Visa, Brankas is also expected to scale its network of more than 40 financial institutions and 100+ technology companies, expand its product menu of banking-as-a-service APIs serving customers across 6 markets in Asia, and double its staff across 17 countries. Schweitzer forecasts that the investment will help Brankas expand its customer acquisition, empowering Philippine companies in data security, online transactions, and e-commerce.

Schweitzer shares his outlook for Brankas: “2021 has been a breakout year for Brankas, enabling financial institutions and companies to partner in new ways and offering unprecedented choice and access for our Southeast Asian consumers. We are now even more primed to pioneer new products and use cases for the Philippines’ next generation of financial services.”

Todd Schweitzer, CEO of Brankas

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2022

Motoring

QC's Roosevelt Avenue now ‘Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue’ P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has just recently signed into law Republic Act No. 11608 which formally converts Quezon City’s Roosevelt Avenue into Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue, in honor of ‘Da King’.

Initially proposed through House Bill No. 7499, its original intention sought to rename Del Monte Avenue.

However - after much criticism and opposition from the National Historic Commission, various church groups, and even local residents within the area - an amendment was made by Senate President Vicente Sotto before the bill’s second reading which prompted Roosevelt Avenue - which happens to be where FPJ’s ancestral home is located along - to be the thoroughfare up for renaming

instead.

R.A. No. 11608 will take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and with it, corresponding orders and circulars are to be put into place by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) within 60 days from its implementation.

FPJ, whose birth name is Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, passed away last December of 2004. After slipping into comatose from a stroke which caused multiple organ failure and thrombosis, FPJ lost his life at 65 years old.

Poe was an action star for 48 years (1955-2003); his long and very successful career earned him the nickname ‘Da King’. In addition, he also wrote, directed, and produced several of the films he starred in - under the pseudonyms Ronwaldo Reyes and D’Lanor. A few months before his passing, FPJ ran for presidency in the 2004 Presidential Elections wherein he narrowly lost to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in controversial passion.

TVS Motor Co., BMW Motorrad expand pact for future tech, electric vehicles

TVS MOTOR Company and BMW Motorrad announced that they are extending and expanding their long-term partnership with the joint development of new platforms and future technologies, including Electric Vehicles. Based on this decision, TVS Motor Company’s scope will include the design and development of future BMW Motorrad products and delivering world-class quality, supply chain management, and industrialisation.

Under this enhanced cooperation, b o t h companies h a v e identified a range of products and technologies to deliver significant business benefits.

B M W Motorrad and TVS Motor Company will develop c o m m o n platforms by mutually tapping the emerging technologies in the future mobility space, keeping in mind the global requirements of customer segments in various markets.

Exclusive products for both companies will be developed on these common platforms, and the companies will retail their products globally. TVS Motor Company will continue to bring on board engineering prowess in design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities and provide best-in-class quality and economic advantage. The first product through this cooperation will be showcased in the next 24 months.

In April 2013, TVS Motor

NLEX announces 2022 expansion plans

Company and BMW Motorrad signed a long-term strategic partnership to manufacture sub-500cc motorcycles for the globe. This collaboration has resulted in three products on the 310cc platform: BMW G 310 R, BMW 310 GS, and TVS Motor Company’s TVS Apache RR 310.

With over 100,000 customers, the products have been well accepted in all the leading markets like the EU, USA, Japan, China and India.

In the Philippines, TVS offers a wide range of two-wheel and three-

Motorists enjoy the life benefits brought by the Expanded Subic Freeport Expressway.

wheel vehicles in more than 500 outlets nationwide. The brand has garnered tremendous support from Filipinos due to its customer centric approach as epitomized by the first in class “Service On Wheels” that ensures superior customer satisfaction and after sales support, as well as the wide availability of TVS spare parts in the country.

TVS Philippines offers affordable, quality two-wheelers like the RR310, NTORQ 125, Dazz, Max4R, Neo NX, RoxkZ and XL 100, and three Wheeler such as the TVS King Euro 4 and TVS Kargo Euro 4.

GAC Motor Philippines formally awarded a brand new GS8 4x2 Sport to Lazada 11.11. Biggest One-Day Sale grand raffle winner,

Mr. Sherwin Santos of Calamba, Laguna. Last November 10, 2021, GAC Motor Philippines launched its LazMall flagship store through Lazada’s signature 11.11 Super Show. To avail of car services and car reservation vouchers, and know more about GAC Motor Philippines’ LazMall Flagship Store, visit and follow www.lazada. com.ph/shop/gac-motor-philippines/.

IN SPITE of the challenges brought by the ongoing health crisis, the NLEX Corporation continued to deliver its commitment by helping decongest traffic and boost customer service through its infrastructure developments and enhancements.

In a statement addressed earlier this year, NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista reported the completion of 12 significant projects in the NLEX-SCTEX system in 2021 - all intended to improve travel safety and convenience of motorists.

Bautista also welcomed 2022 with optimism as he hints on even more projects to be delivered. “Continuous improvement will always be our

priority. And as the company ended 2021 on a positive note, we welcome 2022 with optimism as there are big-ticket projects to complete and commence this year,” Bautista noted.

Among the projects Bautista is referring to are the NLEX C5 Link Mindanao Avenue-Quirino Highway Section, the Candaba Third Viaduct, and NLEX Connector.

Set to start construction within the year is the new two-kilometer expressway section between the existing Mindanao Avenue toll plaza and Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City. This is part of the 11.5-kilometer NLEX C5 Link between Mindanao Avenue, Quirino Highway, Regalado Avenue,

Congressional Avenue and C.P. Garcia Avenue which aims to cut travel time between ends from the usual 45 minutes down to 10 minutes.

Also in the pipeline is the construction of the third bridge at Candaba Viaduct that will expand its capacity from three lanes to four lanes per direction, enhancing the mobility and safety of motorists.

The 8-kilometer NLEX Connector that passes through 5th Avenue/C3 Road, España Blvd., all the way to Sta. Mesa, Manila is targeted for completion this year. This elevated expressway will provide the supply chain and logistics sector with a more efficient route, bypassing busy roads such as EDSA and C5.

New Motolite Excel EFB - the perfect battery for “start-stop” vehicles MOTOLITE, a trusted brand that has been giving quality products and services to Filipino motorists since 1919, now offers a better-priced alternative to imported batteries specifically engineered for vehicles with auto startstop systems.

Keeping pace with the global advancement in the automotive battery industry, Motolite recently launched the Excel Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB).

Aside from “start-stop” vehicles, the Excel EFB can also be used to power ordinary vehicles, which can last up to 70 percent longer than other automotive batteries.

The release of the Excel EFB is part of Motolite’s commitment to providing car battery solutions of all types to Filipino motorists.

The Motolite Excel EFB is much more affordable than its imported counterparts, but still guarantees motorists optimum performance with its German technology and engineering suited for Philippine climate and road

conditions.

The Excel EFB is designed to have low-type plates that give more headspace for acid and keep the battery temperature lower, allowing a longer battery life. It also features enveloped positive plates to prevent deep discharges and thick cast positive plate grids for better resistance against corrosion. The batteries also feature

glass mat separators for an improved battery cycle, and full-bordered negative plate grids that make it less prone to internal short circuits.

For optimal balance between electrical capacity and endurance, it has a reformulated paste and a special electrolyte additive that prevents shorts due to deep discharges and slows down self-discharge. Another amazing feature of the Excel EFB is the optimized wire design that lowers electrical resistance and improves current distribution.

Aside from the more common leadacid batteries, Motolite has already introduced specialized batteries for diesel-powered vehicles that need long-lasting performance; Solar Master batteries for solar installations; the Sea Master batteries for marine vessels; as well as Truck Master industrial batteries for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses - among many others.

To see the complete line-up of Motolite batteries and its services, visit www. motolite.com.