Manila Standard - 2022 February 5 - Saturday

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Govt lifts travel risk categories No more color-coded countries, quarantine for fully-vaxxed inbound travelers

By Vito Barcelo and Joel E. Zurbano

HE government has suspended its COVID-19 risk classification for inbound travelers, allowing all fully-vaccinated returning Filipinos and even foreigners traveling for business and leisure to enter without need to undergo facility-based quarantine starting February 10.

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VOL. XXXV • NO. 355 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

OUT AND ABOUT.

People crowd a street filled with stores as they shop in Manila on February 4, 2022 after authorities relaxed its COVID-19 rules. AFP

Duque says no stopping of jabs for kids amid case vs. it 3rd nationwide Makati to give children candy for being ‘shot’

In a joint statement, the Department of Health and the National Task Force against coronavirus disease 2019 (NTF-COVID-19) said they recognize the parents' right THE government said the vaccination of to file a case and they will wait for the legal children aged 5 to 11 will push through process to take its course. on Feb. 7 despite a pending case before a "However, as far as the national govQuezon City lower court. ernment is concerned, we remain stead-

By Rio N. Araja and Willie Casas

fast in our commitment to protect all sectors of society, which include children and other vulnerable groups," the statement read.

"As such, we will proceed with the vaccination rollout."

The QC regional trial court has set a Next page

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Makati City government announced on Friday it will give free chocolate candy bars to children aged 5-11 who get their COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Mayor Abigail Binay said the local government will hand out premium chocolate products to each child after he or she is vaccinated.

“The sweet treat is meant to reward them and, at the same time, make them happy,” she said.

Binay said the city will soon start the vaccination rollout for the said age group at SM Makati and Nemesio I. Yabut Elementary School (NIYES). She said the venues will serve as the exclusive vaccination sites for 5 to 11-year-olds.

The “no walk-in” policy will be strictly implemented, she added.

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RODY DEFENDS CUSI, MALAMPAYA DEAL NEWS / A2

vax drive sched on Feb. 10 to 11 THE third run of the "Bayanihan, Bakunahan," a massive government COVID-19 vaccination drive, is set on February 10 and 11, the Department of Health announced Friday.

Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the staging of this drive sought to increase the vaccination coverage in areas where the inoculation rate was low, especially among senior citizens.

"It should be nationwide but we will Next page

3,594,002 KID-FRIENDLY. Cartoon characters and balloons dot the San Juan FilOil arena in preparation for the vaccination of children 5 to 11 years old on Monday, February 7, 2022. Manny Palmero

8,564

151,389

54,214

46

3,388,399 10,474 (As of 4 PM, FEBRUARY 4)

HOPEFULS. Bar examinees line up as they enter the examination center at De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila. The Supreme Court on Friday said a total of 11,378 out of 11,790 law graduates who paid their registration fees showed up during the first day of the two-day online 2020-2021 bar examinations being conducted in 31 testing centers nationwide. The second day of the online examinations will be on Sunday, Feb. 6. Danny Pata

DOH lists 9 Mindanao provinces Palace: Duterte as ‘critical risk’ in COVID-19 cases okay now, gets

new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 3,594,002.

The Department of Health said the provinces from the Davao region – Davao NINE provinces in Mindanao have de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, been identified as under "critical risk" Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental – classification, the Department of Health and Soccksargen – South Cotabato, said Friday as the country logged 8,564 Next page

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Willie Casas

DOJ, BAP ink cybersecurity pact THE Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Departmentof Justice have signed an agreement to work together in raising cybersecurity awareness and curbing cybercrimes in

the country.

BAP president Jose Arnulfo Veloso and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra signed the memorandum of understanding at a virtual ceremony Friday. Next page

cleared by docs

By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is now out of danger and far from getting the deadly COVID 19 virus after his doctors gave the Chief Executive a clean bill of health, Malacañang said Friday.

Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said that the President is healthy for his age despite his recent exposure to a COVID-positive staff.

“President Duterte is okay and is as Next page

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News

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Rody defends Cusi, Malampaya deal

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte yesterday defended Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and asked senators to respect the Malampaya deal.

"I view with grave concern an apparent effort at the Senate to put in bad light recent developments involving the Malampaya gas field," Duterte said in a statement issued Friday evening.

"This casts undue, undeserved, and unwarranted aspersion on the part of

some of our key government officials.

This is grossly unfair to them and to the public."

The Senate earlier sent its resolution to the Office of the Ombudsman calling for the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Cusi and other Department of Energy ex-

ecutives over the sale of Malampaya Consortium shares.

"I have seen the report on the sale and purchase of the stock of Chevron Malampaya LLC. Based on this, I am convinced that this was a private transaction between private entities that must be respected," Duterte said.

"I am likewise convinced that, in this case, the national interest has been protected and the rights of the government remain intact."

Duterte said transactions such as

Govt...

for COVID-19 treatment costs from reputable insurers, with a minimum coverage of USD35,000 (around P1.7 million) for the duration of their stay in the Philippines, obtained before arrival.

"Visa-free foreign nationals who fail to fully comply with the conditions and requisites shall be denied admission into the country and shall be subject to the appropriate exclusion proceedings," acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said.

The new guidelines, approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), will take effect Feb. 10 at 12:01 a.m.

Nograles said fully vaccinated Filipinos only need to present a negative result of an RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure from the country of origin. Upon arrival, they will no longer be required to undergo facility-based quarantine but must self-monitor for any COVID-19 symptoms for seven days.

They will be required to report to the local government unit of destina-

tion if they show symptoms.

Nograles said Filipinos who have recovered from COVID-19 but still get a positive RT-PCR test result may still enter the country, provided that they present the following documents: • Positive RT-PCR test taken not earlier than 10 days but not later than 30 days prior to departure from the country of origin • Positive RT-PCR test result taken within 48 hours prior to departure • A medical certificate issued by a licensed physician stating that the Filipino traveler completed mandatory isolation period for COVID-19, is no longer infectious, and has been allowed free movement and travel.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) hopes that the number of tourists in the country will see a gradual increase with the reopening of borders.

Commissioner Jaime Morente said he is looking at a steady increase in the number of tourists after almost two years of restrictions due to the pandemic.

The Bureau’s Airport Operations Division recorded a massive drop of

arrivals in 2021, as compared to the year 2020.

“Last year we saw only 1.4 million arrivals, which is significantly lower than the 3.6 million in 2020. The numbers were dismal because pre-pandemic we were hitting 16.9 million arrivals,” Morente said.

The BI also reported that tourist extension applications dropped 53 percent in 2021.

The BI’s Tourist Visa Section (TVS) only processed a total of 111,781 applications for extension of stay of tourists, which was 53 percent lower than the 240,276 similar applications the office received in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Friday increased its maximum international passenger inbound capacity to 5,000.

The Civil Aeronautics Board reminded all airlines to ensure strict compliance with the applicable entry requirements and protocols for all its international arriving passengers under relevant IATF resolutions and policies.

said she would represent the two parents personally.

“I will be the one to represent the plaintiffs on Feb. 8,” she told the Manila Standard.

The hearing will tackle the petition for a temporary restraining order to stop the DOH implementation of the directive issued by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, she said.

Almelor and Samonte earlier filed an extremely urgent petition for certiorari, prohibition, declaratory relief, and injunction.

Acosta hit Duque, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire and those from the Department of Health’s Public Health Services Team over Duque’s issuance of Department Memorandum No. 2022-0041 last Jan. 24.

Under the order, Duque designated the Department of Social Welfare and Development or its city or municipal counterparts to act as a substitute parent or guardian of a “willing” child whose parent or guardian refuses to have the child inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Almelor, who himself is fully vaccinated with Moderna mRNA, said he fears for the life of his son should he allow the boy’s vaccination with the DOH’s waiver on liability in case of a serious illness, permanent disability or death.

Samonte claimed her son is suffering a lifetime series of seizures based on medical findings after receiving the “experimental” Dengvaxia vaccine in 2017.

Acosta said Department Memorandum No, 2022-0041 is “unconstitutional and contrary to law.”

“It was issued in grave abuse of discretion, encroaching upon the power of the legislature to enact laws reflecting policies of the government, such as mandatory vaccination, and the power of the courts to suspend or deprive parents or guardians of parental authority over their children,” she said.

“This is forced COVID-19 vaccination,” she said.

Acosta said Republic Act No. 11525 or the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 reveals red flags that the vaccines are experimental in nature and serious adverse effects may occur, and that public officials and employees, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and other persons and entities responsible for the mass vaccination program are immune from suit and liability.

Acosta, Almelor and Samonte, however, clarified they are not anti-vaccines, saying they prefer a protein-based vaccine against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Dr. Antonio Pascual, head of the COVID-19 vaccination team at the Philippine Heart Center, said adverse effects from the vaccine are rare.

“There have been a lot of studies, especially abroad, in the US, to say that these adverse reactions are rare and do not really count as to be considered of concern in this vaccination,” said Pascual.

Makati...

Makati residents are already fully vaccinated, while the city has already administered 123,696 booster shots.

The Taguig City government is also now preparing for its COVID-19 vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 years old who are residing or studying in the city.

The city's public information office said the vaccination will start on Feb. 7 at the SMX Convention Center at SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City and the Lakeshore Vaccination Hub in Bicutan.

Taguig has a total of 9,519 preregistered 5 to 11 years old ready for vaccination as of Jan.28, 2022.

Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano urged parents to register and book their children for vaccination through trace. taguig.gov.ph.

As of Feb. 4, Taguig has already vaccinated 851,105 individuals or 96 percent of the total population.

Of the number, 788,650 individuals or 89 percent of the total population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

A total of 1,797,487 jabs have already been administered across Taguig’s vaccination hubs.

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The new order for more relaxed quarantine protocols covers all inbound passengers after the risk classifications "green," "yellow," and "red" countries were suspended.

The government previously cut short the quarantine period for travelers from green and yellow countries but barred from entering those coming from areas listed under as red risk.

Travelers who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated should show a negative RTPCR test result taken 48 hours before departure. They will also be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day from the date of arrival, and will be required to undergo home quarantine until the 14th day.

All inbound foreign travelers are required to have travel insurance

Duque...

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Feb. 8 hearing on the petition filed by two parents who oppose a DOH policy that allows the state to authorize the vaccination of children over the objections of their parents.

The two parents, Dominic Almelor, a former broadcaster and father of a 7-yearold boy, and Girlie Samonte, mother of two boys aged 7 and 9, are being represented by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

The DOH and NTF said the rollout for young children was the result of careful study by health experts and has been approved in many countries, including the United States.

The agencies noted that no adverse events were recorded among the over 9 million minors aged 12 to 17 years old who have been vaccinated with at least one dose, since their vaccination rollout began in October 2021.

"In the Philippines, we have already recorded over 100,000 pre-registrations for the vaccination rollout for children aged 5 to 11. This number signifies the willingness and confidence of parents to have their children vaccinated against the deadly virus," their statement read.

They also pointed out that "parental consent forms are required for all minors" who will be vaccinated, and that extra measures have been taken to ensure their safety.

They said the vaccines that will be used for the 5 to 11 years old are reformulated, meaning the dosage is lower compared to those given to the older age groups.

"Vaccinating them is crucial to achieve our goal of protecting all members of the Filipino family -- children, adults, and senior citizens. This will enable us to continue the safe reopening of schools and other public spaces, as well as ensure the full economic recovery of our nation," they said.

The program, which will start with a pilot run in Metro Manila, will be rolled out nationwide on Feb.14, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, head of the National Vaccination Operations Center, said.

Some 780,000 Pfizer jabs for children aged 5 to 11 were scheduled to arrive yesterday after a third party logistics partner failed to load it onto a plane Thursday.

Another batch of some 780,000 doses of Pfizer's vaccine is set to be delivered on Feb. 9, Cabotaje added.

Some 160,000 children, including 100,000 in Metro Manila, have so far registered for vaccination, she said.

The DOH earlier held town hall meetings where health care workers explained to parents that benefits of the vaccine outweigh its risks, Cabotaje said.

For her part, PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, who stirred controversy recently by admitting she has not been vaccinated against COVID-19,

household staff on Sunday, Jan. 30.

From A1 He got tested the next day, Jan. 31, which turned out to be negative. healthy as any healthy individual at The President has also already his age would be,” he said. finished his quarantine, Nograles Nograles said Duterte was last said. exposed to the COVID-positive He said that Duterte went to the

Palace:...

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The city chief executive urged parents of children in the said age group to have them vaccinated against COVID-19.

“They are among the vulnerable sectors that can suffer serious complications if they get infected,” she said.

She said parents can register their children online and wait for notification on their schedule before going to the vaccination site.

This is to avoid unnecessary travel for their children, she added.

Registration can be accomplished through covid19vaccine.safemakati. com.

Binay also encouraged everyone to take their booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure optimal protection against the new variants of the virus.

“The city has opened the booster registration for everyone who wishes to get vaccinated in the city. All they have to do is register in our portal then go to the nearest vaccination site,” she said.

As of Jan. 21, 2022, some 488,858

DOH...

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Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani -- were classified as critical risk.

The independent OCTA Research Group, on the other hand, said 13 provinces had registered positive one-week growth rates of new COVID-19 cases.

OCTA Fellow Guido David identified the provinces Bukidnon, Camiguin, Cotabato, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Guimaras, Maguindanao, Sarangani, Siquijor, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga del Norte.

"Very high growth rates were still observed in Davao Occidental and Camiguin. Cases are trending downward in the rest of the country," said David.

He said Davao Occidental posted the highest positivity rate at 85 percent, followed by Camiguin at 78 percent, and Tawi-Tawi at 33 percent.

The Philippines overall is classified as having moderate risk for COVID-19 cases, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Bangsomoro region are under moderate risk case classification, while Bicol region is considered as low risk for virus infection, Vergeire said.

Visayas and the rest of Mindanao are under high risk case classification, she added.

The country had an average of 13,629 daily cases the previous week, 45 percent lower than the 24,151 infections tallied Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan for his “routine medical check-up.”

"So upon assessment of the President's physician, the considered date of last exposure of the President to a positive COVID case was Friday, January 28, 2022. While there is one

the Malampaya deal should be left in the "capable hands of the business sector.”

"Let us respect their business decisions while we protect our national interests," he said, adding he will not allow the project "to be jeopardized and embroiled in the political antics of some members of the Senate."

"Let me reiterate: Energy Secretary Cusi has my full trust and confidence and shall remain at the helm of the department he heads," Duterte said.

a week before, according to DOH data presented by Vergeire.

Only Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Bicol regions have a negative 2-week growth rate, the DOH spokesperson said.

"Other regions have a positive 2-week growth rate, which means cases are still increasing. It might be positive but it's low because the rise in infections is slowing down especially in the Visayas, while it is shifting in Mindanao," she said.

David said the average daily attack rate was tagged as high risk in Bukidnon, Camiguin, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Sarangani, and South Cotabato.

The ADAR in the remaining seven provinces was at moderate risk, according to OCTA Research’s data.

ADAR is the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 individuals.

Of the 8,564 reported cases on Friday, at least 6,560 (77 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days from January 22 to February 4, 2022.

The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were National Capital Region (Metro Manila) with 907 or 14 percent, Region 6 (Western Visayas) with 782 or 12 percent, and Region 11 (Southern Mindanao) with 753 or 11 percent.

The DOH also reported 46 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 54,214.

The DOH also reported 10,474 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 3,388,399.

Active cases stood at 151,389 active cases, of which 6,522 are asymptomatic; 139,940 are mild; 3,107 are moderate; 1,500 are severe; and 320 are critical. household staff who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, January 30, 2022, upon the physician's assessment, this is not considered as an exposure of the President per se because he is not a close contact as per the circumstances," Nograles said.

WHO sees pause, even pandemic end for Europe THE World Health Organization on Thursday offered Europe hope of a "long period of tranquility" and even "enduring peace" in the war on coronavirus, with a growing list of nations lifting almost all COVID curbs.

WHO Europe director Hans Kluge spoke of "a ceasefire that could bring us enduring peace," with high vaccination rates, the milder Omicron variant and the end of winter in sight.

"This context leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility," he told reporters.

This was "not to say that (the pandemic) is now all over," but "there is a singular opportunity to take control of the transmission," he added.

"Even with a more virulent variant (than Omicron) it is possible to respond to new variants that will inevitably emerge – without re-installing the kind of disruptive measures we needed before," Kluge said.

He cautioned that the optimistic scenario required countries to pursue vaccination campaigns and surveillance to detect new variants.

Sweden joined the move towards scrapping most coronavirus restrictions, setting February 9 as the date with the pandemic entering a "whole new phase."

Stockholm will end its 11:00 pm closing for bars and restaurants, and limits on crowd numbers.

Vaccine passes for indoor events will go and face masks will no longer be recommended on crowded public transport.

"The pandemic is not over, but we are entering a whole new phase," Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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prioritize the areas that need an additional boost to increase their vaccination coverage," she said in a Laging Handa briefing.

"We are doing it on February 10 and 11 nationwide to encourage those who have yet to receive their first dose as well as boosters. It's important to ramp up our vaccination for A2 and A3 priority groups," she added.

Since the rollout last year, Cabotaje said only 60 to 70 percent of senior citizens have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The first three-day massive vaccination drive from November 29 to December 3 last year was hailed as a success, wherein about 9.9 million people were inoculated.

More than 7.4 million doses, meanwhile, were administered during its second run from December 15 to 17 despite the challenges posed by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

Nationwide, some 59,389,080 people have already completed their vaccine doses, while over 60 million are waiting for their second shots.

A total of 7,704,701 have also received their booster shots as of February 2.

DOJ...

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Under the accord, BAP will organize public awareness information campaigns, events, and activities, including free learning sessions, with the DOJ to share insights on the latest trends and development on cybersecurity.

“Today’s signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Department of Justice represents the strengthening of the partnership between our two institutions in promoting cybersecurity,” Veloso said in his remarks during the signing ceremony.

“It is, in its intent and purposes, an alliance between an entire industry and the government in the common goal of protecting the banking public in cyberspace,” the BAP chief said.

For his part, Justice chief Guevarra said the MOU between the DOJ and BAP “will establish a solid framework and promote a genuine atmosphere of collaboration and alliance through an effective and efficient partnership meant to at least minimize, if not totally prevent, cybercrime and cyberrelated offenses nationwide.”

“Through this MOU, both parties are assured to be kept abreast of the latest developments in cybersecurity to better protect the banking industry and the general public from fraudulent activities in cyberspace. This, we believe, will help strengthen the banking industry’s resilience and the government’s capability to protect the public against cyber attacks,” Guevarra said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

News

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2022

EYES ON THE TARGET.

IN BRIEF Party-list sponsors new bldg in Palawan ANG Probinsyano Party-List on Tuesday led the groundbreaking ceremony for a multi-purpose building that the group sponsored and set to be constructed in Barangay Antipuluan in Narra, Palawan.

The said facility measures 600 square meters with a basketball court. It will serve as a venue for barangay events, as well as other extracurricular activities, and will also be utilized as an evacuation center in case of calamities.

The building is expected to be finished in six months, according to Lorlaine Desamito, Department of Public Works and Highways representative.

Residents of Barangay Antipuluan expressed excitement over the construction of the multi-purpose building, calling it a dream come true.

“It has long been our dream to have a venue for get-togethers and celebrations. It also has a covered court, where we can play basketball, a favorite pastime of Filipinos),” said Albert Verano, a fisherman from Barangay Antipuluan.

Padilla says he’ll focus on cooperatives ACTOR Robin Padillla, who will run as senator in the May elections said he will focus on “strengthening the Cooperative Development Authority.”

“Let’s increase (CDA) funding and expand its programs and services so as to help cooperatives, especially agricultural cooperatives),” he said.

He also said he will focus on how to “strengthen the relationship and collaboration of government agencies led by the CDA with the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies so that we have a whole of government approach in meeting the needs of agricultural cooperatives).”

He said one solution is to “craft a comprehensive plan on how to strengthen agricultural cooperatives.”

The Armor Division personnel of the Philippine Army conducted a capability demo of their armored assets including the M113A2 armored personnel carrier armed with a remote control weapon system and 50-caliber guns at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac on Friday, February 4.

Danny Pata

Senate seeks charges vs. Cusi

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

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HE Senate resolution which sought to file administrative and criminal charges against Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and other Department of Energy (DOE) was transmitted Friday to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Cusi said he is “ready to face any and all charges” and “explain the actions” of the DOE. “Once again, for the record, I assure everyone that I am ready to face any and all charges brought against me in the proper forum. I am prepared to explain and prove that all of the actions of the Department of Energy regarding the sale and

transfer of shares of Malampaya are legal, aboveboard and in accordance with the powers and mandate of the department,” Cusi in a statement said.

Together with his lawyers, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate committee on energy, brought the resolution to the Ombudsman.

The resolution showed that the charg-

es were in relation to the sale of the 45-percent stake of Chevron Malampaya LLC in the Malampaya gas field worth $565-million to UC Malampaya. The said resolution was based on Gatchalian’s privilege speech which enumerated the violations of Cusi and 11 other energy officials.

Gatchalian said the energy officials committed gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct in violation of the Administrative Code of 1987 and violated Section 3 (e) and 3(j) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. According to Cusi, “it is unfortunate that, in the course of the Committee hearings, Senator Gatchalian had cho-

sen to lend his ear to those adversarial business interests. It was obvious in these hearings that Senator Gatchalian has sought to undermine the DOE’s ability to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the proposal covering the said sale of shares.”

The charges stemmed from approving and recommending the approval of the Chevron PhilippinesUC Malampaya transaction despite the lack of financial qualification of UC Malampaya, its non-compliance with the required documents under DC 2007, and the violation by the DOE of its own circular, Department Circular 2007-04-0003.

COA sees no irregularities in QC audit

Salceda sees enactment of proposed CDC

By Maricel V. Cruz

By Maricel V. Cruz ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said he anticipates the enactment of the proposed Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Act, a priority legislation in the 2020 State of the Nation Address of President Duterte.

Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means, made the statement as the Senate has begun its plenary discussion on the measure.

“We have time. The consensus in the scientific community is that we need a stronger framework for dealing with epidemics, which the CDC hopes to respond to,” Salceda said.

The Senate plenary began tackling SB 2505, the Senate’s version of the measure, this week, when the committee report was sponsored in the Senate floor.

“President Duterte cited this measure as a priority in his two most recent SONAs, so I am hoping we can have the measure certified. I will work with Senate Health Chairperson Senator Bong Go to request a certification of urgency,” Salceda said.

The Department of Health (DOH) also recently reiterated its support for the bill.

Salceda was the first author of the base version of the bill, which he filed on January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic spread in the Philippines.

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NOW WITH THE OMBUDSMAN. The Senate Secretariat-Records Service holds the Senate transmittal letter on the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi et. Al. over the controversial Malampaya deal, while Senator Win Gatchalian carries the Energy Committee chair’s report. Manny Palmero

Govt urged to address needs of rare disease patients THE government should institutionalize its support for rare disease (RD) patients in the country, a think tank said.

In a forum, Stratbase ADR Institute in partnership with UHC Watch and Philippine Society for Orphan Disorders also said solutions and commitments to address the six-year delay in the implementation and funding requirements of the Rare Disease Law. The forum urged the need to institutionalize the government’s support to

RD patients primarily through annual allocations in the General Appropriations Act and progressive execution of assistance and treatment programs.

“The pressures on the Philippine health system consequent to the ongoing pandemic has caused life-endangering disruptions to non-COVID 19 patients and punctuates the urgency to expand our healthcare coverage with adequate and well-managed resources to respond to the rising medical needs of the public,” Professor Dindo Manhit, president

of Stratbase ADRi, said.

Alvin Manalansan, co-convenor of the advocacy group UHC Watch, said the sustained institutionalization of this line item in the national budget is key to obtaining tangible, measurable results.

“We should expand the coverage of the law so that more types of diseases can be covered, and so that more patients will get the chance to access needed services like diagnosis, treatment or maintenance,” he added.

THE Commission on Audit (COA) said it was not investigating nor reprimanding the Quezon City government, but merely requesting pending documentation to complete its yearend audit.

The COA also said that the Quezon City government has completed its documents for the year 2020, in line with the P479 million payment for the city’s procurement of relief packs and that the documents were in full compliance with audit standards, and no irregularities were f lagged.

It also issued a COA certification for the local government. “With this COA certification, I hope we can finally put these ridiculous accusations to rest,” noted As mentioned previously, this was a sad attempt to turn very old news into fake news, and unfortunately, even the COA had to be involved in this nonsense,” Pia Morato, the spokesperson of Mayor Joy Belmonte. “ Anakalusugan party-list nominee and Quezon City mayoralty candidate Mike Defensor earlier claimed that the commission was “investigating” the LGU for questionable purchases.

Out of the P479 million, Defensor said the Quezon City government spent P385 million on food packs, P84.7 million on rice and plastic bags, and P9.4 million on noodles.

‘Fisheries should comply with court’s decision’

By Rey E. Requejo THE Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has strongly advised the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Telecommunications Commission to comply with the ruling of the Malabon City regional trial

court that declared its controversial Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266, which requires fishing boats to install Vessel Monitoring and Electronic Reporting Systems (VMS), as void and unconstitutional.

In a legal opinion sent to BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona, Solicitor General

Jose Calida told the BFAR and NTC to comply with the June 1, 2021 decision of Malabon City RTC, Branch 170, declaring FAO No. 266 series of 2020 as issued by the Department of Agriculture through the BFAR as null and void for being unconstitutional and contrary to the provisions of the Fisheries Code.

DAR orders land distribution for Marawi farmers

By Rio N. Araja

CASH FOR WORK. The Cavite local government has given jobs to those who lost their

work during the pandemic, Among those who were given jobs are street sweepers in Barangay Sampaloc 1 in Dasmariñas City, Cavite under the government’s ‘Tupad Program.’ JR Josue

SECRETARY Bernie Cruz of the Department of Agrarian Reform on Friday ordered the agency’s field operations in Northern Mindanao to immediately complete the survey activities at Camp Keithley in Marawi City, identify those

to be affected, and distribute the lands to the identified farmer-beneficiaries in the area.

“The distribution of idle governmentowned lands is a top priority following the issuance by President Rodrigo Duterte of Executive Order No. 75, series of 2019,” he said.

Camp Keithley is the jumpstart activity of the agency to immediately distribute the area to qualified farmers under EO No. 75.

It is a former United States military base built during the start of the Philippine-American War in the early part of the 20th century.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

Ping: As prexy, PH to be better after term ends

By Macon Ramos-Araneta PARTIDO Reporma presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Friday Filipinos should vote for him as he assured them that when he steps down from office, the Philippines would be in a much better place than when he was elected.

“This is my promise. Towards the end of my term as President, there should be no doubt in the mind of every Filipino that we are better off than when we started; that our people trust their government much better than ever before,” said the veteran legislator and public servant.

“To the Filipino people, when the dust settled in the war zone and all programs and platforms were heard, I sincerely hope that I was able to present myself as the leader we need: competent, qualified, and with the wealth of experience,” he added.

In his opening statement at the “Panata sa Bayan: the KBP Presidential Candidates’ Forum,” Lacson related that one of the lessons he learned in his half a century public service as a soldier, policeman and lawmaker is not to go into war unprepared.

As a candidate for president, he said it is clear in his mind that our enemies are the pandemic, poverty, unemployment, hug debts, hunger, challenged education and the most hurtful -- the rampant corruption or wastage of public funds since the 1950s.

“For the longest time, we have witnessed how corruption, the worst form of thievery, destroys our nation -- denying our people their livelihood, health, education, equal opportunity, and worst, the future of our next generation,” he added.

When he gets elected, Lacson said he will give the people a government whom they can depend and trust- this is my vow to our people.

Despite looming P13-t debt, Isko to push projects WITH the specter of inheriting an estimated P13-trillion debt, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Friday said that if elected president, he will finance his ambitious projects under his 10-point Economic Agenda though an effective, efficient and prudent management of government resources under an open, transparent and inclusive administration.

“The thing is we must continue to pursue, we really need to encourage our countrymen to continue to dream and have hope that these dreams will come true, which is having a prudent and efficient management, which we also did in Manila City,” Moreno said during the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas Presidential Candidates Forum.

The 47-year-old presidential aspirant pointed out that when he became mayor of Manila, the city’s financial status is also in the red, but still managed to bring the Philippine capital into what it is now through good governance.

“When I entered Manila, there was no money, literally zero. But through good governance, through effective, efficient governance, we have come up.

Then there was the pandemic, everything we promised the people of Manila, happened. The ten -year promise happened in the two years that were still in the pandemic,” Moreno added.

Moreno’s impressive infrastructure projects in the Philippine capital include six vertical housing projects for informal settlers that are 15 to 20 floors high, like Tondominium and Binondominium, with some having swimming pools and fitness centers.

Then there are the three modern public-school buildings being built that are 10 floors high, each outfitted with around 200 airconditioned classrooms, basketball courts, gyms, and roof decks. Rey E. Requejo

VP Leni: Last man standing in ‘22 elections is a woman

By Rio N. Araja

V

ICE President Leni Robredo on Friday reiterated her belief “the last man standing is still a woman” in the 2022 presidential elections.

Robredo took part in the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Presidential Forum with four other presidential candidates – labor leader Ka Leody de Guzman, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso.

Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos declined to participate.

In a statement, Robredo apologized for her bad internet connectivity during the forum.

“The fault is all mine,” she said.

When asked why the people should vote her, Robredo replied: “True leadership is stepping up or showing up whether there is

an election or none, whether one is a candidate or not.”

“I have been sincere and consistent in serving the people, not by promises but by deeds. I have always been told that I am weak because I was a woman but I have never backed out from any challenges, such as the Marawi siege, problem on drugs, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, typhoons and COVID-19 pandemic,” she told the forum.

“If I am needed, I will be there,” the Vice President said.

The presidential candidate said she is offering a sincere, dedicated, honest, committed, and diligent governance to the voters.

“I will never fool you, steal from you, leave you behind, or abandon you. I am very much ready to face the challenges to be a President,” she said.

“Now in 2022, the last man standing will still be a woman,” Robredo added.

Meanwhile, Robredo said she does not oppose a background check for all public servants because this is part of ensuring transparency in government.

“Dapat talaga ginagawa ang background check, hindi lamang sa mga aspirants pero lahat na public officials. Kasi ang public office is a public trust,” Robredo said at the “Panata Sa Bayan: The KBP Presidential Forum” on Friday.

She made the statement in response to a question posed by panelist Elmar Acol.

The veteran journalist wanted to know Robredo’s take on President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement that he will divulge the names of presidential candidates involved in corruption.

UniTeam adopts Gringo in its Senate slate THE UniTeam has adopted veteran legislator former senator and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gringo Honasan as the 11th member of its senatorial ticket.

“We are pleased that he is now part of our senatorial slate. We believe that Sen. Gringo will accomplish a lot in the Senate, coming up with laws that will help ensure better lives for our countrymen,” Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. said.

Meanwhile, the UniTeam of Marcos and running mate Sara “Inday” Duterte has assured residents of Davao del Norte that among its top priorities is the creation of Banana Research and Development Center.

This would maintain the country’s top position in the global trade and also wipe out banana fungus known as Panama disease or fusarium wilt that has been a problem in the province for several years now.

In a recent dialogue with local officials of Davao del Norte headed by Gov. Roy Catalan, Vice Gov. Oyo Uy, and Rep. Antonio Lagdameo of Davao del Norte 2nd District, Marcos was asked by local officials how he can help the banana industry in the province.

Honasan, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, had a colorful career in the military before he entered politics in 1995 when he won a seat in the Senate, where he served from 1995 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2019.

COOKING BAGNET AND PINAKBET.

Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos tries his hand at cooking with Korina SanchezRoxas (right) on Rated Korina’s Presidentiables Special. The shoot of the program coincided with the KBP presidentiables forum on Friday morning, according to the official page of Rated Korina.

PROGRAM LAUNCH.

UniTeam campaign manager and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez introduces the Sara Para sa Barangay program during the gathering of community and sectoral leaders from Leyte province at Pacific Point in Tacloban City.

Ver Noveno

As senator, Honasan authored and coauthored the Clean Air Act of 1999, Clean Water Act, the National Security Policy, Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act of 2009, the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms Law (CARPER), among others.

Honasan also chaired significant committees in the Upper Chamber, such as the Committee on National Defense and Security, and Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Honasan as Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology after his term ended in 2019.

Rey E. Requejo

ARE YOU THE ONE? Presidential

candidates (clockwise from top left) labor leader Leody De Guzman, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Vice President Leni Robredo, and Senator Manny Pacquiao hold up their “Panata sa Bayan” certificates following the televised KBP Presidential Forum on Friday. Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not attend the event.

Money stops when campaign starts—Manny PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Sen. Manny Pacquiao yesterday assured he will stop giving out cash when the official election campaign period begins on Feb. 8.

“Now that the (official) campaign period begins, I will stop handing out (cash). We will follow the Comelec,” said Pacquiao.

He asserted he did not violate any law when he gave out money during his preelection campaign.

Pacquiao admitted that he took advantage of handing out cash while the campaign period has not yet started.

“It’s not yet officially election season, I am not yet covered by the law, that’s why I am taking advantage of it,” he said.

However, the world boxing champion reiterated he has been giving out cash donation to the poor for several years now, even before he joined politics.

According to Pacquiao, the money came from his personal finances. He maintained that it should not be construed as influencing people to vote for him on May 9, Based on the 2020 summary of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of senators, Pacquiao is the country’s second richest senator.

Pacquiao, who reported a net worth of P3.18 billion in 2020, is known to hand out P1,000 to P2,000 per person, aside from food pack items during his out-oftown sorties.

Meanwhile, if elected as President, Pacquiao on Friday said the country’s non-tax revenue income should be increased to provide funds for the government and help ease poverty.

He said generating more non-tax revenues would lessen the need to impose more taxes to fund government programs. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Leody plans to meet NPA demands PRESIDENTIAL aspirant and labor leader Leody de Guzman said he plans to end the decades-long insurgency problem in the country by meeting the demands of the New People’s Army (NPA), specifically on land reform and social injustices.

“My solution is to address the demands of the NPA which are stipulated in their documents. I believe that their demands are just, specifically on land reform,” he said in Filipino during the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas presidential forum.

De Guzman mentioned how the past presidents failed to implement the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform in the country, then reiterated his promise to push for a genuine agrarian reform program.

At the same time, De Guzman said the NPA is fighting the government due to the social injustices where the rich are favored while the poor are subject to oppression.

“As long as we tolerate this justice system, we cannot stop the people from taking up arms. That’s why in my view, if we give what they are asking for, the NPA will no longer have reasons to rebel against the government,” he said.

Beyond the problem in land reform and social justice, De Guzman said the urge of the communist rebels to go against the government is rooted on the “historical problem” which was left unresolved up until today.

“Their rebellion has deep roots. They fight the government because of historical problems. That’s why we need to address it. Once we are ablet o address it, they will automatically drop their arms,” he said.

De Guzman also nixed the mandatory military service which was earlier proposed by vice presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Lakas launches ‘Sara para sa Barangay’ tack

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) and local leaders of Region 8 on Friday launched the “Sara para sa Barangay” initiative in the Visayas, to make the BBM-Sara UniTeam’s advocacy for the development of barangays around the country be strongly felt by the Filipino people, especially the masses.

Lakas-CMD President Martin G. Romualdez, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, Tingog nominee Jude Acidre, and other community leaders made this assurance.

They said Lakas-CMD vice presi-

dential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and her running mate, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr., would establish a powerful connection with communities from different barangays in Eastern Visayas and the entire country to help address their concerns with dispatch.

Under the BBM-Sara UniTeam, House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Romualdez declared that not a single barangay should be left out in the country’s development and that services should be made readily available to every villager.

Meanwhile, for Duterte, the Mahalin

Natin ang Pilipinas Ride (MNPR) has also become a journey to her roots.

Since MNPR kicked off on February 1, the caravan has already passed by the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, Leyte, and Eastern Samar.

The ride, which will last for 28 days, Duterte said is her way to inform the people about her advocacy for patriotism.

“Mayor Duterte’s master plan makes no distinction of any barangay. She believes that progress and development must be encompassing and make every village an integral part of the country in pursuing development,” said Romualdez.

Opinion Know thy candidates FORUMS involving presidential candidates are good so the voters are assisted in choosing who among the candidates are worthy of their votes.

As far as the candidates are concerned, they should show up for these. Choosing to not participate in these forums raises a red flag in terms of the candidates’ sincerity in running for office, readiness to take on the responsibilities attached to the highest position of the land, and their capacity to face difficult issues hounding the country.

The recently concluded Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) Presidential Forum was an eye-opener for many. The format was not perfect. For one thing, the time limits for candidates’ answers should have been separate from the time limits for those asking the questions. The long questions took away precious seconds from the candidates’ answers that resulted in candidates being cut-off due to time constraints. Still, the forum managed to reveal aspects of the candidates otherwise unknown to a good number of voters.

The format was not perfect, but still it gave us much insight into the job applicants.

Five (5) candidates showed up for the forum: Leody de Guzman, Isko Domagoso, Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquiao, and Vice-President Leni Robredo. The dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. declined allegedly due to conflict in schedules despite reports that invitations were sent out in December.

The biggest disappointment to me turned out to be Ka Leody de Guzman. Perhaps I expected much from him because after all, he is a long-time activist and has direct experience in dealing with major problems faced by ordinary Filipinos, particularly, workers. By now, he and his group should have developed a progressive platform of government. After all, he is running for the highest position in the land. His readiness should not be in question. However, his answers were mostly motherhood statements bordering on sloganeering.

Ka Leody should learn to be concrete in his answers. As president, he will not be leading and speaking in rallies to agitate people. He will head the entire government bureaucracy and lead the country and people to hopefully, a better situation especially since we are coming from this pandemic that devastated our economy.

Ka Leody is full of idealism but very short on concrete plans.

Manny Pacquiao may have good intentions but he obviously lacks the knowledge and experience still. His nervousness at the start of the forum showed. He could use help from a good team in terms of understanding issues and governance. His visual aids did not help as well.

Pacman should learn that being president is not all about charity. If he becomes president, he cannot just give money, houses, etc. away like what he does with his own money. He will take charge of the people’s money and that is a huge responsibility.

WHEN he arrived at the front line as a volunteer to fight Russian-backed separatists in 2014, Pavlo Dolynskiy found Ukraine’s army in a desperate state.

Kyiv had just lost the Crimean peninsula to Moscow without a shot being fired and its regular forces — eaten away by years of neglect and corruption — couldn’t cope with the spiralling conflict in the east of the country.

“The army had reached the point where it couldn’t stand up to the enemy,” Dolynskiy, who now works at a veterans association, told AFP. Soldiers struggled to get uniforms and boots, they had antiquated Soviet-era weapons, equipment often malfunctioned and the army relied on a ragtag mix of volunteers to plug the gaps.

“It really was in a lamentable condition,” he said.

But now, as tensions soar over a massive Russian military buildup on its border, Ukraine’s armed forces present a far tougher prospect.

Battle-hardened by nearly eight years of a simmering war that has claimed over 13,000 lives, the military has undergone reforms and been bolstered by Western arms and training.

“Eight years ago, the Ukrainian army did not exist. It was only on paper, and did not have the potential to fight,” said Mykola Beleskov, a defense analyst at the National Institute for Strategic Studies in Kyiv.

“Now they are the best armed forces that Ukraine has had in thirty years of independence.

The best prepared and the best trained.”

Pacman should learn that while good governance should provide adequate basic services to the people, it should likewise create an enabling environment and encourage people to work and be productive instead of being dependent on dole. If all he wants is to do charity work, then he should just create a foundation for this. He need not be president.

Lastly, his optics remain to be that of a boxer.

He and his team should start balancing this image with that of a statesman.

The “best in optics award” goes to Domagoso. Isko’s appearance during the forum was that of a respectable, credible guy, believable as president. That is, if we only go by appearance. Moreover, yorme has mastered the art of being populist on many issues. He can say a lot without really saying much. He is also good with motherhood statements that may be music to some people’s ears.

His three years as Manila mayor is not enough to prepare him for the presidency. Manila is not the Philippines much like Davao City is not the Philippines. He is not ready. Hilaw pa talaga.

That Isko sees no problem with his pocketing of the millions of pesos of excess campaign contributions when he ran for mayor puts a big question mark on his ethics as a politician.

Lacson also exuded the air of a confident and veteran politician, which he is. He obviously knows things but his being a fugitive from justice for heinous crimes he was accused of will always haunt him. “Kuratong Baleleng” and the Dacer-Corbito cases are HUGE red flags.

Journalist Ed Lingao’s question on whether Lacson’s going into hiding from the authorities was a precedent put Lacson on the spot. It was, indeed, a precedent for those who might be in the same situation this candidate was in. Parang sinabi na rin niya na kapag ikaw ay kinasuhan, magtago ka na lang. This is not a good example any which way you look at it.

It was unfortunate that VP Robredo’s internet connection during the forum was very bad.

Reports said that she was on her way to deliver housing assistance to victims of calamities.

She had to do this before the official start of the campaign period because this will then become a prohibited act. Her team persuaded her to skip other commitments but the VP insisted on fulfilling them all. So, she borrowed an office near the airport to be able to join the forum.

Still, the VP delivered. Her responses were clear and concrete. These were obviously borne out of decades of on-the-ground experience.

Robredo knows what to do should she become president because she has already been doing many of these things.

What I liked the most were her answers on the question on political dynasties, rule on substitution of candidates, political party reforms, and turncoatism. These are very important issues that people should understand. VP Leni should have the opportunity to explain these further.

It is worrying that Pacman, Yorme, and Lacson see nothing wrong with giving money away, pocketing excess campaign contributions as personal funds, and being a fugitive from justice respectively. Assuming for the sake of argument that what they did were within the bounds of the law, these acts were morally and ethically questionable.

Lastly, nobody really missed the dictator’s son.

There should be more of these forums, and ideally, these should be done in the vernacular to be better accessible to many of our voters. We should know the candidates better. @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

Drones, anti-tank missiles The conflict has forced Ukraine’s pro-Western leadership to try to turn their depleted Soviet legacy forces into a more modern military aligned closer to NATO standards.

Ukraine’s defense budget has tripled over the past decade in US dollar terms to around $4.2 billion in 2021 and reforms have looked to tackle rampant corruption and improve command and control.

Ukraine understands that its military remains massively outgunned and outmanned by Moscow’s vastly superior armed forces.

The US has provided some $2.5 billion in military aid since 2014 and training from NATO allies — including also Canada and Britain — has helped bolster battle readiness.

As part of the modernisation drive, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky this week signed a decree to add an extra 100,000 personnel to the armed forces over the next three years — taking its total to some 360,000.

The authorities have pledged to ramp up wages for those serving and professionalize the army by ending conscription by 2024.

A crucial addition has also been the influx of

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EDITORIAL

After eight years of war, Ukraine’s army a tougher prospect

By Max Delany

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Unprecedented, not unfamiliar

M

ANY things are different about the Bar examinations happening today.

The two-day test, which began Friday – no longer the four-consecutive-Sundays big event complete with cheering and bar ops – combines the examinees from 2020 and 2021, all 11, 378 as of initial count.

The test has been postponed three times due to virus surges.

This is also the first time the exam takers will be allowed to use their laptops in any of the 31 testing sites.

A main feature of the Bar is the negative COVID test requirement for examinees.

It is easy to get distracted by the nov-

elty of the safety protocols and the immense logistical planning for this event.

Imagine the ordeal of a law graduate when, after hurdling law school and preparing for the exam for more than a year, suddenly tests positive for the virus or for some reason cannot take the exam.

The same old ills, challenges, difficulties, temptations and dilemmas await them for the rest of their professional lives.

Then as now, however, and whatever form it takes, one of the most difficult ex-

aminations remains to be about reverence for the law and the quest to give justice to every person.

Lawyers could be revered or reviled in our society, for their power to ensure rightness and fairness in society, but for others, for their uncanny ability to bend the rules or find loopholes to suit their own, or their clients’ interests.

Those taking the Bar this weekend should remember that they may be living in unprecedented times because of the pandemic, but when they do hurdle this test, the same old ills, challenges, difficulties, temptations and dilemmas await them for the rest of their professional lives.

Then and now, and under any external disruption, may these future lawyers have social justice and the rule of law at the core of their practice.

Russia’s demand to decolonize Europe MANY judged Russian President Vladimir Putin as a political realist for seeking to scuttle NATO’s eastward advance. Many tend to analyze the demand on the basis of plain security consideration. They react to the tension as part of the geo-political contest between the US and Russia.

Not one of the analysts came to conclude that Russia’s demand is merely confined to stopping NATO from advancing eastward; to stop recruiting the former Soviet Republics, Ukraine and Georgia, to join the alliance; for NATO to dismantle its military infrastructure in eastern Europe like the missile bases in Poland, Romania, and Lithuania; and to remove the stockpile of nuclear weapons in Germany and Turkey.

In short, Russia is demanding the decolonization of the whole of Europe. Maybe the demands would serve to destroy the meticulously arranged security architecture but the core and substance behind this is the complete decolonization of Europe.

We are saying this for it seems the victory of the US and the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany resulted in the imperialistic colonization of Western Europe. This became most apparent after the Cold War ended which saw the implosion of the Soviet Union and the subsequent dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the members of the Soviet bloc were enticed to join NATO. After defeating Germany, the US tried to retouch its image and role in history by presenting itself as the sole liberator of Europe, ignoring that it was the Soviet Union that paid the highest price to defeat Nazi Germany. The US played the role of liberator but arrogantly imposing its will to shape policy and interest in Europe. American imperialism foreign weaponry that has bolstered the military’s Soviet-era stockpile.

Ukraine has purchased Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drones — which proved pivotal in the 2020 Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia — and received shipments of anti-tank missiles from the US and Britain.

“Its forces probably are stronger than they have been for a long time,” said Sam Cranny-Evans, a research analyst at the RUSI think tank in London.

“Nonetheless, there are key deficiencies in Ukraine that have not been addressed.”

He pointed to its limited air defense systems, lack of assets able to carry out long-range strikes and doubts over its reconnaissance capabilities.

Ukraine’s airforce and navy also remain weak points.

Kyiv lost an estimated 70 percent of its vessels when Russia seized the strategic Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea, a recent report from the US Congressional Research Service said.

British minesweepers are on their way but more ambitious plans to rebuild are hampered by severe budget constraints as the economy struggles.

And graft remains a problem draining those tight resources.

“It is widely recognized that Ukraine’s path forward regarding reforms and building appropriate military capabilities is predicated upon eliminating corruption in its defense sector,” said an analysis from defense intelligence agency Janes.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, insisted to journalists Thursday that the military “have taken a big step forward since 2014 — we increased our combat capacity

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was insidious because the US exploited to the hilt the members of the alliance through diplomatic machination to ease out the role of the Soviet Union by raising the fear of communist engulfment.

The US was able to justify the setting up of a formidable alliance to protect Western Europe. The Cold War came about in 1949 after wartime US president Franklin Roosevelt was succeeded by Harry Truman. Truman wasted no time to impose the policy of containing of the Soviet Union. The concept of limited war was made part of the US policy that incidentally generated enormous profit in what US president Eisenhower would term as “military-industrial complex” with US

NATO members are only allowed to manufacture and purchase arms for defensive purposes. arm industries having power and influence to shape US foreign policy over Europe.

Without containing Europe, the US would have far more difficulty building NATO. US policy makers realize that colonizing Europe is different from colonizing underdeveloped countries. An economically rehabilitated Europe could easily allow American investors to recoup their capital, much that Europeans have the skill, talent and industry to rebuild their industrial infrastructure. Likewise, the US did not allow defeated Germany to pay compensation for that would be anachronistic to their concept of building a strong alliance for Europe.

The US was able to accumulate capital surplus, the country not having been devastated in WWII. Thus, to make the colonization of Europe palatable, the US has to impose financial and monetary changes to firmly dominate and control the economies and ability to repel an invasion.”

But he still listed a raft of hardware his troops require: anti-sniper gear, anti-tank weapons, air defense systems, anti-drone systems, reconnaissance systems.

“We are working on this and we have agreements in place to try to improve all this,” he said.

Outgunned, outmanned After years of conflict, Ukraine’s forces are combat-experienced and highly motivated.

There are also hundreds of thousands of people in the reserves and volunteer fighters have been brought under government control.

Civilians too are preparing, with survival courses becoming increasingly popular among Ukrainians worried about a possible Russian attack.

Despite the improvements, Ukraine understands that its military remains massively outgunned and outmanned by Moscow’s vastly superior armed forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pumped vast sums into turning his own creaking military into a well-equipped modern outfit able to impose the Kremlin’s goals in global hotspots like Syria.

Analysts said Ukraine would struggle if Moscow unleashed its missiles and aircraft in a major bombardment of critical infrastructure.

“It is no secret that the Russian army is bigger and stronger,” said analyst Beleskov.

But, he insisted, if there was a major invasion and Russia tried to hold territory then Ukraine’s forces could still turn it into a costly “war of attrition” — especially if Western arms kept flowing in.

“Let’s say it would be hard for us, very hard, but it would not be easy for the other side. It would not be easy for the Russians.” AFP

by unilaterally pegging the value of its own currency. Through the Bretton Woods Agreement signed in 1946, the US was able to peg the value of the US dollar at $32 per ounce of gold. The US practically dictated the value of world exports, and facilitated economic dominance of Europe and of the whole world.

To prevent the eruption of financial imbalance, the US launched the so-called “Marshall Plan” to sustain the rehabilitation of Western Europe. Countries in Eastern Europe that were liberated by the Soviet Union were excluded. The same can be said of countries occupied by Japan. Instead, the US demanded from Japan reparations for the damage it caused to the economies of Asia like the Philippines.

Economically rehabilitating Europe and forming a strong defensive shield against the Soviet Union became the foundation for the stability of Europe under the tutelage of US imperialism. The fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 compelled the US to redraw NATO to one of open-ended membership. The end of the Cold War saw the implosion of the Soviet Union viz, an opportunity for the US to recruit the former members of the Warsaw Pact and states of the former Soviet Republic.

The US did not dismantle NATO as promised by US State Secretary James Baker, not for the reason it would imperil the entire security infrastructure of NATO but could expose the whole agenda of the imperialistic designs of the US and now free to penetrate Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asian regions. Demanding the US to withdraw would be asking them to decolonize in the region, and not that it could endanger the security of the Western Europe and the US. Colonizing Europe under the protective mantle of an alliance became the US’s most plausible justification to remain in Europe.

This explains, for instance, why the US is against the building of Nord Stream 2 because that could make Europe dependent on Russia on energy, specifically natural gas. It has even embarked on a policy of deindustrializing the former Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia. It was against the idea of France to build an independent defense force for Europe is not so much that it could resurrect the specter of war in Europe but the orchestrated fear that Russia was about to gobble up Europe and deny its military-industrial complex of enormous revenue it has been raking in from the sale of weapons.

The US has to inculcate into the people of Europe that NATO is an alliance primarily intended to secure their freedom. For that, member-countries must pay for their defense like asking member-countries to pay for the stay of US bases in Europe. Today, members of NATO are obligated to contribute at least 2 percent of their GDP to the alliance. rpkapunan@gmail.com Full version on www.manilastandard.net

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

India’s ‘underreported’ COVID-19 death toll crosses 500,000 cases INDIA’S official death toll from COVID-19 crossed 500,000 on Friday, even as many experts flag underreporting of cases across the country.

The daily update from the country’s federal health ministry showed the number of fatalities reaching 500,055, up 1,072 in the previous 24 hours.

Total infections stood at 41.9 million, according to the statistics, second only to the United States.

Case numbers have jumped in recent weeks due to the highly infectious Omicron strain but rates have slowed in recent days and the health ministry last wek said there were indications of a plateau in virus cases in several parts of the country.

Experts said the Omicron wave would not cause many deaths or hospitalisations, but several states imposed

RUNNING DRY.

The Los Angeles River flows beneath the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement project in Los Angeles, California. As climate change makes droughts more frequent and severe, concerns are growing among environmentalists that the 51-mile river could dry up.

AFP

restrictions on movement and have only now started easing them.

Many analysts believe India actually reached the 500,000-death mark last year when it was hit by a devastating spike in cases due to the Delta variant that brought its health care system close to collapse.

The wave saw at least 200,000 deaths as hospitals ran out of oxygen and patients scrambled desperately to source medicines.

A study by a US research group last year suggested that anywhere between 3.4 million and 4.7 million people had died.

For months now, several states have been reconciling their death toll and adding “backlog” deaths as India’s Supreme Court ordered state authorities to provide compensation to families. AFP

BUT EXPERTS SAY NEW VARIANT WITH 500 MUTATIONS ‘NO CAUSE FOR ALARM’

‘Highly virulent’ HIV strain discovered

O

XFORD researchers announced Thursday the discovery of a highly virulent strain of HIV that has been lurking in the Netherlands for decades, but because of the effectiveness of modern treatments, is “no cause for alarm.”

Their analysis, published Thursday in the journal “Science,” showed that patients infected with what they call the “VB variant” had 3.5 to 5.5 times higher levels of the virus in their blood than those infected with other variants,

as well as a more rapidly fading immune system.

However, the study also found that after starting treatment, individuals with the VB variant had similar immune system recovery and survival to

individuals with other HIV variants.

“There’s no cause for alarm with this new viral variant,” said Oxford epidemiologist Chris Wymant, the lead author on the paper, in an interview with AFP. The variant likely arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the Netherlands, according to the researchers, but began to decline around 2010.

Since modern interventions still seem to work on the variant, the research team believes that widespread HIV treatment in the Netherlands did not contribute to the virus’s evolution, and that early de-

tection and treatment are paramount.

“Our findings emphasize the importance of World Health Organization guidance that individuals at risk of acquiring HIV have access to regular testing to allow early diagnosis, followed by immediate treatment,” said co-author Christophe Fraser, also an Oxford researcher, in a press release announcing the findings.

The work also supports the theory that viruses can evolve to become more virulent, a widely-hypothesized idea for which few real-world examples have been found. AFP

HK activist jailed ahead of planned protest vs. Olympics

A VETERAN Hong Kong activist was arrested for “incitement to subversion” on Friday ahead of a planned protest against Beijing’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, hours before the opening ceremony was due to kick off.

China has embarked on a crackdown in Hong Kong following massive and at times violent pro-democracy protests, imposing a sweeping national security law that criminalNORTH Korea sent “warm congratulaized much dissent.

BEFORE tions” Friday to ally China ahead of the Wen Wei Po, a newspaper that anTHE SHOOTING opening of the Beijing Winter Olymswers to Beijing’s Liaison Office in pics, a message analysts said likely STARTED. Hong Kong, said Koo Sze-yiu was This screen grab taken signals it will stop test-firing missiles arrested on Friday morning by nafrom Minneapolis Police during the event. tional security police.

Department body camera Pyongyang conducted an unpreceA senior police source confirmed footage and made dented seven weapons tests in January, to AFP that Koo had been detained available by Minneapolis including launching its most powerful for “incitement to subversion” and authorities on February 3, missile since 2017 as it hinted it could that four others had been taken in to 2022 shows police pointing restart long-range and nuclear testing. assist with their investigation. their guns at Amir Locke The sabre-rattling raised tensions on The arrest comes days after Hong as he lies on a sofa under the Korean peninsula and forced BeiKong journalists received a media a blanket before being jing – Pyongyang’s main diplomatic invitation bearing Koo’s name sayshot by policemen who ally and economic benefactor – to block ing he was planning to protest on were serving a search a US push for new UN sanctions over Friday outside Beijing’s Liaison Ofwarrant. Minneapolis Police the barrage. fice in Hong Kong ahead of the start Department. AFP North Korea is barred from competing of the Olympics. at the Beijing Games, which have been “Many political activists and clouded by human rights and coronavirus Hong Kong citizens have been jailed concerns and subject to a diplomatic boyand cannot spend Lunar New Year cott by Washington and its allies. with their families because of abuses On Friday, state media in North of Hong Kong’s national security Korea reported leader Kim Jong Un CHINA’S President Xi Jinping is poised Putin’s jet touched down in the Chi- saying in a report on Friday. law,” read the invitation, dated Janu“warmly congratulated” China’s Presiary 31. for his first face-to-face meeting with a nese capital on Friday afternoon, state “As good friends and politicians who dent Xi Jinping on successfully open“The central government is only world leader in nearly two years when broadcaster CCTV reported. share many common views on solving ing the Beijing Winter Olympics “deconcerned with hosting the Winter he hosts Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with He will meet with Xi before their na- world problems, we have always mainspite the worldwide health crisis and Olympics to BLACK whitewash the situaCYAN MAGENTA YELLOW the pair drawing closer as tensions grow tions release a joint statement reflecting tained close communication.” unprecedented severe circumstances.” tion, and does not care about miscarwith the West. their “common views” on security and China’s state-run Xinhua news agenManila “The Olympic torch flaring up in riages of justice in Hong Kong,” it Standard Xi has not left China since January other issues, a top Kremlin adviser said cy also carried an article from Putin on TODAY Beijing clearly proves that no difficulty said. AFP 2020, when the country was grap- at a Wednesday press briefing.

Thursday in which the Russian leader and challenge can ever prevent the Chipling with its initial Covid-19 outThe two strongmen will then attend painted a portrait of two neighbors with nese people from vigorously advancbreak and locked down the central the Olympic opening ceremony in the increasingly shared global goals. ing,” Kim’s message said, according to city of Wuhan where the virus was evening.

“Foreign policy coordination between state-run KCNA. first detected.

Spiralling tensions with the West Russia and China is based on close and North Korea’s string of sanctionsHe is now readying to meet more than have bolstered ties between the world’s coinciding approaches to solving global busting weapons tests in January would 20 leaders as Beijing kicks off a Winter largest nation and its most populous, and regional issues,” Putin wrote. have made Beijing “very uncomfortOlympics it hopes will be a soft-power and Putin was the first foreign leader to He also hit out at US-led Western dipable,” Cheong Seong-chang of the Centriumph and shift focus away from a confirm his presence at the Olympics. lomatic boycotts of the Beijing OlymPANAMANIAN authorities anter for North Korea Studies at Sejong build-up blighted by a diplomatic boy“I have known President Xi Jinping pics that were sparked by China’s huInstitute told AFP. AFP nounced Thursday that as part of an cott and Covid fears. for a long time,” CCTV quoted Putin as man rights record. AFP operation to disrupt a sex trafficking ring, 10 children were rescued and three people in Panama and Costa Rica were arrested.

NOTICE “The victims in this case range Notice is hereby given that between the ages of four and 16 and SERVEQUEST, INC., (Owner/ Developer), has filed with Department with the reclassification from BP 220 the people involved are close rela(Economic) to PD 957 (Medium Cost) THE United Nations has demanded the Taliban provide information on condominium units at MILLE CASE tives” of the minors, said Emeldo RESIDENCES PHASE 1 (Bldg. Due Tre two more women activists allegedly detained by the group this week – Quattro and Cinque) located at Summit Marquez, a senior Panamanian prosCircle Road, Purok 1, Brgy. Bayanan, bringing to four the number missing this year.

Muntinlupa City. The project was issued ecutor.

Provisional Certificate of Registration No. 136 and License to Sell No. 220 both Since returning to power in August the Taliban have cracked down on He explained that the relatives dated on December 01, 2021. dissent by forcefully dispersing women’s rallies, detaining critics and “facilitated” the shipment of the SERVEQUEST, INC. has issued an Affidavit of Undertaking dated September beating local journalists covering protests.

29, 2021 to submit an Accredited children from the town of Baru, 525 Socialized Housing Compliance pursuant The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to DHSUD Department Order No. 003, kilometers (326 miles) southwest of Series of 2021, as its compliance to said late on Thursday it had sought “urgent information” on the reported Sect8 0f the Republic Act (RA) No. Panama City, to the Costa Rican bor7279, as amended by RA No. 10884. detentions of two more women activists by the Taliban in Kabul this That within the first half of the time of der, to be sexually exploited. completion of the main project the owner/ week. developer of the main project shall In a statement, the Panamanian secure the Certificate of Registration and “UN repeats its call for all ‘disappeared’ women activists & relatives License to Sell of the Socialized Housing Condominium Project within the project prosecutor’s office confirmed that to be released,” it said on Twitter. located at Summit Circle Road, Purok 1, Brgy. Bayanan, Muntinlupa City and the number of children rescued was US special envoy to Afghanistan Rina Amiri also called on the Taliban its accreditation as compliance project without need of notice or demand from ten. to respect women’s rights.

DHSUD regional office.

Panamanian police in Baru as well All papers relative thereto shall upon “If the Taliban seek legitimacy from the Afghan people & the world, request and payment of processing as Costa Rican authorities in the borfee be available for inspection during they must respect Afghans’ human rights – especially for women,” she business hours by any person having der towns of Barrio San Jorge and legal interest thereon. said on Twitter.

Absent any legal impediment the aboveLaurel worked together to dismantle UNAMA did not reveal the names of the two women activists missing cited project is deemed cancelled and a cancellation in evidence thereof shall the sex trafficking ring and make the this week, but another rights advocate told AFP that Zahra Mohammadi forthwith be issued after five (5) days from the last publication. arrests. and Mursal Ayar had been arrested by the Taliban.

Quezon City, Metro Manila, Feb. 03, “Zahra, a dentist, used to work in a clinic. She has been arrested along Marquez said the detainees can 2022. with her father,” the activist said, asking AFP not to reveal her name. face prison sentences ranging from MASKED UP BUT NOT SILENCED. Tibetan Youth Congress Ayar was arrested on Wednesday after a male colleague asked her for her 20 to 30 years. AFP (TYC) activists shout slogans during a protest against the 2022 Beijing address so he could come to hand over her salary, the activist said. AFP Winter Olympics, in New Delhi on February 4, 2022. AFP

Nokor Olympics line may signal missile tests halt

Xi to meet Putin as tensions increase with West

10 kids rescued in sex ring raid

Republic of the Philippines Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Kagawaran ng Pananahanang Pantao at Pagpapaunlad ng Kalunsuran National Capital Region

(MS-FEB. 5 & 12, 2022)

UN demands Taliban provide info on 2 more missing women activists

Business PSEi February 4, 2022

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4.68 1.68 0.19 1.4 0.02 0.63 0.08 0.33 0.18 0.08

32.68% 24.67% 10.86% 9.66% 8.85% 8.48% 8.00% 6.67% 6.41% 6.25%

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stock market advances; Nickel Asia tops gainers T HE stock market climbed Friday on easing inflation rate in January and in step with the rest of Asia.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 73.58 points, or 1 percent, to 7,456.35 on a value turnover of P8.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 110 to 80, with, with 54 issues unchanged.

Inflation dropped to a 15-month low of 3 percent from 3.2 percent a month ago, pulled down mainly by lower increases in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Nickel Asia Corp., the biggest nickel miner, surged 5.8 percent to P6.34, while Security Bank Corp., the eighth largest lender in terms of assets, advanced 3 percent to P114.70.

Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which is building what is being touted as

the biggest solar farm in Southeast Asia, however, sank 6.8 percent to P2.06 on profit taking, while fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. fell 5.4 percent to P28.

The rest of Asian markets rose Friday as a surge in Hong Kong on its first day back from a break helped overcome a sharp drop on Wall Street, while forecastbeating earnings from Amazon added to the positive mood ahead of the weekend.

Hong Kong led the way, rising more than three percent as investors in the city returned from a three-day Lunar New Year break. Tech giants and market heavyweights including Alibaba and Tencent were among the key drivers of the gains, while financials such as HSBC also enjoyed some much-needed buying.

“It’s clearly a rebound to catch up with the world, but we need to see how Hong Kong can navigate global volatility from here on,” Joshua Crabb, at Robeco Hong Kong, said.

Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore,

Bangkok and Jakarta were also up.

Wellington and Mumbai dipped, while Shanghai and Taipei were still closed for holidays.

However, a surprisingly hawkish tilt from the European Central Bank added fuel to fears about the removal of pandemic-era stimulus.

All eyes are now on the release later in the day of US jobs data, which is often used as a guide for possible Federal Reserve policy decisions, before next week’s eagerly awaited inflation report.

With the jobs market well on the recovery track as the economy reopens, the central bank has said it feels it has enough room to begin raising interest rates from March to fight soaring inflation, which is sitting at a four-decade high.

But while the outlook for growth remains upbeat, investors are having to recalibrate to adjust to the end of the era of cheap cash, which has helped fan a two-year rally that has pushed markets to record or multi-year highs. With AFP

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NEW RATE HIKE. Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Ben Broadbent (from left), Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, Chief Press Officer Sebastian Walsh and Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking Dave Ramsden attend the Monetary Policy Report Press Conference at The Bank of England in the City of London on February 3, 2022. The Bank of England on Thursday lifted its main interest rate for the second time in a row in a bid to tackle decades-high inflation. AFP

Oil everywhere: Ecuador Amazonians seethe over new spill

By Paola Lopez PUERTO MADEROS, Ecuador—There is oil in the water, on the rocks and in the sand where children normally play on the banks of the Coca River in Ecuador.

Residents of Puerto Maderos make no effort to hide their anger at the latest crude spill to hit the Ecuadoran Amazon.

“This damage is not for a month, two months... it will be 20 years” before things return to normal, said Bolivia Buenano, a merchant from the area some 120 kilometers (75 miles) from where the spill occurred.

Buenano joined a cleanup crew put together by oil transport company OCP, whose pipeline was responsible for the leak, to bring some relief to the community of 700odd people.

No one can “bathe normally in the river, nor drink from here, there is no fish, there is nothing,” she exclaimed while scrubbing a polluted containment buoy.

Buenano complained about a lack of state investment in the Amazon provinces, which hold much of the country’s oil wealth but are most affected by industrial disasters such as this one.

‘Like a waterfall’ On Friday, almost 6,300 barrels of oil leaked into an environmental reserve in Ecuador’s east, when heavy rains caused a

Workers clean the oil residues of the spill at the Coca river in Puerto Maderos village, Sucumbios province, Ecuador on February 1, 2022. An oil spill in eastern Ecuador has reached a nature reserve and polluted a river that supplies water to indigenous communities, according to the country’s environmental ministry. AFP

boulder to fall on a pipeline.

Cesar Benalcazar was one of several people who rushed to the scene to stem the flow of oil.

“We tried to stop the crude from reaching the river, but the slope made it descend like a waterfall,” said Benalcazar, 24.

OCP has said more than 84 percent of the crude has been recovered.

But not before about 21,000 square meters (226,000 square feet) of the CayambeCoca nature reserve were polluted and crude flowed into the Coca River—one of the largest in the Ecuadoran Amazon and an important source for many riverbank communities.

Rains and currents spread the stain for many miles.

“We are tired because this is not a normal life. Nature is not healthy, it is contaminated,” said Buenano.

“And this will continue as long as the pipeline and the crude oil network continue.”

In 2020, a mudslide damaged pipelines that spilled about 15,000 barrels of oil into three Amazon basin rivers, affecting several communities.

Biggest export Crude petroleum is Ecuador’s biggest export product.

Between January and November 2021, the country extracted 494,000 barrels per day.

Buenano and the rest of the cleanup team

mutter indignantly while filling containers with polluted sand, which they stacked together for removal later.

“We are the forgotten of God,” said Rosa Capinoa, leader of the Fecunae Indigenous organization visiting the affected areas.

“I know this is not something that can be fixed overnight, it will take a long time.

Looking at this natural disaster is very painful,” she told AFP. “The oil leaves here, and we as communities do not share in the profit. All we get is a water bottle, water tanks,” added Capinoa in response to OCP delivering drinking water to affected populations.

According to Ecuador’s environment ministry, Friday’s spill occurred within the Cayambe-Coca reserve of some 403,000 hectares, home to a vast collection of animals and plants.

From there, it spread to the Coca River.

“We feel quite outraged because we experience this every two or three years,” said Romel Buenano, a 35-year-old farmer in Puerto Maderos, who is not related to Bolivia Buenano.

The 2020 disaster, he said, put an end to fishing for some time, and killed animals on the islets of the Coca.

“It is not that with the cleaning, the pollution is over,” he told AFP. AFP

IMF says it is ‘ready’ to aid Sri Lanka —if asked WASHINGTON, United States— The International Monetary Fund is ready to discuss “options” with Sri Lanka if the government asks for financial support, its mission chief for the island told AFP on Thursday.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disastrous impact on Sri Lanka’s economy, which has been deprived of its tourism bonanza while workers’ remittances from abroad have fallen sharply.

“While the IMF has not received a request for financial support from Sri Lanka, the staff stands ready to discuss options if requested,” mission chief Masahiro Nozaki said in a written statement to AFP. On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s finance minister announced the country had sought advice from the fund and was considering seeking an international bailout.

This “referred to an ongoing technical assistance mission by the IMF,” Nozaki said Thursday.

“The mission aims to strengthen the Macro Fiscal Unit at the Ministry of Finance and focuses on training staff at the Unit, as part of our capacity development activities,” he added.

“The mission is being conducted virtually until February 9,” he said.

The IMF continues to “closely monitor economic and policy developments in Sri Lanka,” Nozaki added.

He said a fund team had visited Colombo in December last year as part of the annual bilateral discussions to review economic developments and policies.

A board meeting will be held at the end of February to review the latest economic data from the country.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka was handed temporary relief from energy shortages and rolling blackouts on Wednesday with a $500-million loan from India to finance urgent oil purchases for the cash-strapped nation.

The island’s economic woes have left thermal power generators unable to keep the lights on and disrupted transport networks, as traders run desperately low on foreign currency to fund imports. AFP

Facebook slump reignites talk over luring new crowd PARIS, France―Facebook announced on Thursday that its daily user numbers had fallen for the first time in its history, reopening the debate around its problem with attracting new, younger subscribers.

The firm’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was in no doubt who was to blame.

“People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,” he told investors, according to US media.

TikTok has continued its soaring growth, particularly among younger audiences attracted by its user-friendly controls and upbeat content of mostly very short, self-made videos.

“TikTok from the beginning has focused on a younger audience―the style of the content, the music, the dancing,” says Flavilla Fongang, who runs London-based branding agency 3 Colours Rule.

“Their moment has really come in the pandemic, where people were desperately looking for ways to stay connected.”

In the same time period, Facebook―whose parent company has been renamed Meta―has been battling regulatory issues, negative headlines around bullying and disinformation, and on Wednesday faced a huge slide in its share price.

That said, Facebook remains the world’s most popular social media network by far.

It lost one million daily users in the last quarter of last year but still has almost 1.9 billion, figures that dwarf every other platform. AFP

Repsol of Spain vows to clean up Peru’s costly crude leak by March CALLAO, Peru—Spanish energy giant Repsol on Thursday vowed to finish by March cleaning up a devastating oil spill that has polluted beaches and killed wildlife.

Almost 12,000 barrels of crude spilled into the sea off Peru on January 15 as a tanker unloaded oil at a Repsol owned refinery.

“We expect that if the weather allows us then, in mid-March” the cleaning of beaches and islands off the coast will be completed, Repsol’s environmental security director Jose Terol told reporters.

However, he warned that it would take a little longer to finish cleaning cliffs and rocks that are difficult to access.

“By mid-February, there will already be no more slicks in the sea. In an optimistic scenario, work on the difficult to access areas will be finished by the end of March,” said Terol.

Peru’s government described the spill—which Repsol blamed on freak waves caused by a volcanic eruption more than 10,000 kilometers away near Tonga—as an “ecological disaster.”

The oil slick has been dragged by ocean currents about 140 kilometers north of the refinery, prosecutors said, causing the death of an undetermined number of fish and seabirds.

Peru has demanded compensation from Repsol, and the energy giant faces a potential $34.5-million fine, the Environment Ministry has said. AFP

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

B4

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

Business

NEW UNIVERSAL BANK. The Monetary Board of

the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved the upgrade of the commercial banking license of Philippine Bank of Communications to a universal bank, subject to regulatory requirements. The license upgrade provides additional capabilities for PBCOM to invest in non-allied enterprises and allows the bank to expand product and service offerings.

Attending the ceremony are (from left) PBCOM vice chairman Leonardo Dayao, executive committee chairman Lucio Co, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier, PBCOM chairman Eric Recto, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, PBCOM president and chief executive Patricia May Siy, independent director Bienvenido Laguesma and board adviser Robert Juanchito Dispo.

I

NFLATION rate in January eased to a 15-month low of 3 percent from 3.2 percent in December, on slower increases in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

The latest inflation figure, based on base year 2018, was lower than 3.7 percent registered in the same month last year and was also the slowest since November 2020. The PSA rebases the inflation series every six years. Starting January, the inflation series was rebased to 2018 from 2012 to ensure that inflation captures the most relevant basket of goods and services which better reflect

the consumption pattern of the average Filipino household.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the latest inflation was consistent with expectations that it would decelerate further in the coming months, reverting back to the target range of 2 percnt to 4 percent over the policy horizon.

“Given a manageable inflation outlook, the BSP sees ample scope to keep a patient hand on its various policy levers, while keeping an eye on potential risks to inflation and the financial system. The BSP stands ready to respond to emerging developments in keeping with its primary mandate to promote price and financial stability conducive to sustainable economic growth,” the BSP said.

It said the Monetary Board would review its assessment of the inflation outlook along with the latest gross domestic product data in its monetary policy meeting on Feb. 17.

Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua cited the importance of stabilizing livestock stock to keep infla-

tion rate manageable.

“While we move for the extension of Executive Order Nos. 133 and 134 to increase local supply and ensure regular unloading of stocks, we also call for the timely passage of the proposed Livestock Development and Competitiveness bill to boost the productivity of the livestock sector and value chain,” he said.

Among the major provisions of the LDC bill is the updating of the corn industry roadmap, along with the establishment of competitiveness enhancement funds for the components of the livestock value chain. Chua said this could cover corn farmers. As corn is used as animal feeds for livestock, poultry, and fish, this could also help address fish inflation, which remained elevated at 6.2 percent in January.

“We are taking a more proactive approach in promoting the development and competitiveness of corn. We are doing this to help ease prices of sources of protein such as meat and fish, which are

still among the top drivers of our country’s overall inflation,” Chua said.

The PSA said the slowdown in the overall inflation was mainly due to the slower annual increase in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.5 percent in January from 5.1 percent in December 2021.

Contributing to the downtrend was the lower annual increments registered in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.6 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 4.5 percent; health, 3.1 percent; recreation, sport and culture, 1.5 percent; education services, 0.6 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services, 3.0 percent.

Annual increases were higher in the indices of clothing and footwear, 2.0 percent; furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 2.4 percent; transport, 7.0 percent; information and communication, 0.7 percent; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.2 percent.

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Converge ICT eyes resilient network to counter calamities

Friday, February 4, 2022

73.58 PTS. 7,456.35

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES

1,748,877,756 98,682

TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP)

8,640,461,633.91

ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

110 80 54

F oreign E xchange R ate

By Darwin G. Amojelar CONVERGE ICT Solutions Inc. said Friday it is installing a new technology to further protect its nationwide fiber network from natural calamities, following the challenges in restoration brought about by the devastation of Typhoon Odette.

“We’ve had a lot of hard-earned lessons from super typhoon Odette, particularly on ‘disaster-proofing’ the network. With downed poles and infrastructure still a problem in Cebu today, there are challenges in restoring connection. We want to make sure that we will be better prepared in the face of future calamities,” Converge ICT chief executive Dennis Anthony Uy said.

The company said that as the fiber lines are connected through electric poles, and some streets are still impassable, last-mile connection to the homes of subscribers were difficult to establish. It said while Converge’s own network equipment is ready for service, the infrastructure of utility companies needed to connect subscribers’ homes is still being repaired.

Converge said it plans to use micro-trenching technology to put key connectivity elements underground, doing away with the need to rely on poles which are prone to damage during typhoons.

“In the face of increasing risks brought about by climate change, we will ensure that we establish resilient connectivity by using the latest technology to put our fiber infrastructure underground where it will not be exposed to various elements that can damage the network,” Uy said.

“We look forward to working with local and national government agencies to ensure that we can roll out more underground cables at the soonest possible time,” he said.

The company said given the reliance of the network on third-party power suppliers, it secured additional power generation sets and fuel storage to make its network self-sufficient. The company deployed satellite phones for the use of the network restoration teams.

Kia PH reports 76% growth in auto sales KIA Philippines reported a 76-percent increase in vehicle sales last year to 3,748 units from 1,659 units in 2020 on strong demand for its subcompact crossover model.

“Our teams are inspired by our refreshed vision to equip Filipinos with everything they need to move towards a brighter, bolder future,” said Kia Philippines president Manny Aligada.

The brand’s substantial growth was fueled by record sales of flagship model Stonic, followed by Soluto and K2500.

Kia Stonic was introduced to the local market in October 2020 and quickly became the top-selling model for the automotive company. Kia Stonic covered 37 percent of total sales.

The model targets the young adults market with its sleek and spacious built. The striking, stylish exterior of the vehicle is accentuated by two-tone body colors and the iconic “tiger nose” grille while its flexible interior can accommodate up to 325 liters of cargo. Its 1.4-liter dual CVVT petrol engine has a maximum power output of 100ps and maximum torque of 132Nm. Kia Soluto accounted for 21 percent of the company’s total sales, while commercial vehicle K2500 accounted for 17 percent of total sales.

Othel V. Campos

Figaro plans to add 41 stores this year

Inflation drops to 15-month low of 3%

By Julito G. Rada

IN BRIEF

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022

VACCINATION SUPPORTER. Rose Pharmacy, the leading drugstore chain in Visayas and Mindanao, shows support to the government’s Resbakuna sa Botika Program in Cebu City. The program is the latest vaccination drive spearheaded by the National Task Force Against COVID-19’s National Vaccination Operations Center. Joining the launching of the program are (from left) Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. drugstore segment group general manager Christine Tueres, Rose Pharmacy procurement manager Abigail Tolentino, deputy general manager Michael So, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas Undersecretary Anthony Gerald Gonzales, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and testing czar Vince Dizon.

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

51.0410

Japan

Yen

0.008699

0.4440

UK

Pound

1.360300

69.4311

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128325

6.5498

Switzerland

Franc

1.087311

55.4974

Canada

Dollar

0.788892

40.2658

Singapore

Dollar

0.744214

37.9854

Australia

Dollar

0.714000

36.4433

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652872

135.4052

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266553

13.6051

Brunei

Dollar

0.741455

37.8446

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.030175

1.5402

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

13.8978

Euro

Euro

1.144200

58.4011

Korea

Won

0.000834

0.0426

China

Yuan

0.157011

8.0140

India

Rupee

0.013398

0.6838

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.239120

12.2049

New Zealand

Dollar

0.665800

33.9831

Taiwan

Dollar

0.036006

1.8378 Source: BSP

Monde Nissin, Emperador to join 30-company stock market index MONDE Nissin Corp. and Emperador Inc. are set to join the 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index, in place of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. This is based on the latest PSEi recomposition that will take effect on Feb. 14, 2022, Philippine Stock Exchange president and chief executive Ramon Monzon said in a memorandum Friday.

PSEi is the basket of the most traded, most liquid and well-capitalized listed companies in the country.

The PSEi consists of top firms in terms of liquidity and market capitalization. These companies also have a free

float level of at least 15 percent of outstanding shares. Relevant financial criteria and eligibility for early inclusion are also considered by the PSE in the index review.

Monde Nissin was listed on stock exchange last year and was the country’s bigges initial public offering. As of Friday, Monde Nissin has a market capitalization of P287.4 billion.

Emperador has a market capitalization of P377.67 billion, as its share price jumped last year after the liquid firm announced plans to conduct secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

“The index review allows us to maintain a roster of companies that best represents the entire market. The last two reviews saw the entry of newly listed companies in the PSEi as large issuances readily meet our criteria and are deemed qualified for inclusion by other index providers,” Monzon said.

Except for the financials index, all other sector indices will have changes in their composition.

EEI Corp. and MONDE will be added, while Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. and SFA Semicon Philippines Corp. will be removed from the industrial index. Jenniffer B. Austria

NEWLY-LISTED restaurant chain Figaro Coffee Group Inc. said Friday it plans to add 41 stores this year in preparation for the further reopening of the economy.

Figaro said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would open 29 Angel’s Pizza outlets, the group’s leading revenue driver for the past couple of years.

It also plans to open six The Figaro Group Express multi-brand outlets, five Figaro Coffee shops and one Tien Ma’s Taiwanese restaurant.

Figaro said that with the continuous rollout of vaccinations, it sees a strong rebound in the food and beverage industry in 2022 as the easing restrictions will boost dine-in sales. Sales from delivery service will also remain strong, it said.

“Yes, we are optimistic that the economy will further improve this year with the alert levels coming down and vaccination drives by the government continuing with strength. We look forward to people going about their daily lives outside gradually and in a safe manner,” said Figaro chairman Justin Liu. Jenniffer B. Austria

Cirtek gets top rating on P2-b debt paper

SEMICONDUCTOR firm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. said it received a credit rating of PRS A (corp.) from Philippine Rating Services Corp.

Cirtek said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the assignment of the credit rating was in relation to its planned P2-billion issuance of commercial paper to repay maturing obligations and finance working capital.

A company rated PRS A (corp.) has an above average capacity to meet financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates.

PhilRatings said, however, the company is somewhat more susceptible to adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions than higher-rated corporates.

PhilRatings considered Cirtek’s established track record in the industry, strong customer base of well-established global companies and improved profitability.

The ratings firm also noted the ability of the management team to navigate the group through economic cycles, crises and industry challenges.

Jenniffer B. Austria

8990 Holdings plans to raise P26.5b from sale of 1.4b shares

By Jenniffer B. Austria MASS housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. said Friday it plans to raise up to P26.5 billion from the sale of 1.4 billion commons shares held by major shareholders.

A registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that 8990 Holdings would sell up to 1.4 billion shares at a price of P18.99 apiece.

The maximum price is 63 percent higher than the stock’s closing of P11.88 per share Friday. About 1.250 billion offer shares are held by shareholders TPG Rafter Holdings Ltd., Pasir Salak Investments Limited and iHoldings Inc. TPG Rafter is one of the world’s largest private equity firms, while Pasir Salak is a special purpose vehicle of Malaysia’s state investor Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

TPG and Pasir, which own 8.61-percent stake each, are exiting 8990 Holdings after being strategic investors since 2014.

The company also said was issuing up to 450 million in primary shares to iHoldings to replace the stocks it will sell as part of the follow-on offering.

Net proceeds from the tranche amounting to P8.2 billion will be used to repay obligations to seven banks.

The developer said up to 70 percent of the offer shares would be sold to foreign investors, while the balance of 30 percent would be allocated to domestic investors and local trading participants.

The company hired BofA Securities and JP Morgan as the joint global coordinators and book runners for the offering, and China Bank Capital and PNB Capital and Investments Corp. as the joint domestic leader underwriters and book runners for the transactions.

‘Colorum’ vehicles take over routes in north, central Luzon from legitimate bus firms COLORUM vehicles, or public transport vehicles operating without a franchise that include private vans and cars, took over the routes in the northern and central parts of Luzon from legitimate bus companies, adversely affecting the commercial viability of their fleets.

Bus companies blamed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and Land Transportation Office for their financial woes.

The two agencies did not recognize an earlier court ruling stopping the imple-

mentation an earlier directive from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The IATF earlier ordered all provincial buses in the northern and central Luzon routes to use a single centralized terminal in the town of Bocaue in Bulacan.

Vincent Rondaris, president of the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus ng Pilipinas, urged the IATF to allow bus operators to use their private terminals in Metro Manila instead of the designated

centralized terminals.

The failure of the LTFRB and LTO to acknowledge the court injunction has prompted law enforcers to arrest bus drivers plying the provincial routes, compounding the financial problems of operators and triggering the proliferation of unauthorized private vehicles to replace the legitimate provincial buses.

Judge Caridad Walse-Lutero of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City in 2020 granted a writ of preliminary injunction against LTFRB Memorandum Circulars

Nos. 2019-031 and MMDA Regulation No. 19-002, which designated central bus terminals in Bocaue, Bulacan; Parañaque City; and Sta Rosa, Laguna.

The Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus Sa Pilipinas Inc. composed of provincial bus firms sought the injunction, while other bus firms joined the petition separately.

Provincial bus firms claimed that because of the stringent conditions, only 10 percent of their bus fleets could go out and operate, adding they are now losing money.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

Suns’ Booker, Paul named NBA All-Star reserve cagers

ALL-STAR RESERVES. Chris Paul hi-fives Phoenix teammate Devin Booker during the game they lost 124-115 to the Atlanta Hawks at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Suns’ duo, however, were named NBA All-Star reserves on Thursday, giving the leagueleading Suns two players in the midseason showcase.

Ramos, 5 other Gilas players coming back for PH 5 duties

By Peter Atencio

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IX young players, who played when the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team was still under head coach Tab Baldwin, are coming back.

Dwight Ramos, who is now playing with Toyama Grouses in the Japanese tournament B.League, is one of the returnees.

He arrived Friday night and is set to rejoin Gilas, which is now coached by Chot Reyes and reinforced by stalwarts of the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Giga.

Ramos left Japan after the Grouses played against the Shimane Susanoo Magic on Wednesday and is expected to report for duty in time for Saturday’s scheduled scrimmages, as soon as he gets his clearance to enter the practice bubble of Gilas.

His Gilas teammates Angelo Kouame, Tzaddy Rangel, William Navarro, JD Tungcab, Javi de Liano have already joined the training camp, which is now run by Reyes and his coaching staff.

PSC’s ‘Rise Up’ series presents ‘Tagasanay ng Isport’ awardee THE Philippine Sports Commission presents Gintong Gawad 2021 ‘Tagasanay ng Isport’ awardee Amihan Reyes-Fenis in the latest webisode of Rise Up Shape Up on February 5.

Coach Reyes-Fenis served as a FIG Brevet International Judge for rhythmic gymnastics.

She also trains winning gymnasts in both national and international competitions and has been recognized as an outstanding coach in 2011 Palarong Pambansa.

Reyes-Fenis rose to the top of the academic ranks, serving as Master Teacher, Department Chair, and eventually DepEd Principal in various public schools in the province of Rizal.

The PSC supports the hard work and efforts of sports coaches nationwide as partners in training, developing, and nurturing athletes to their full potential.

“The presence of inspiring women in grassroots sports help in PSC’s work with local communities in developing sports excellence and producing topperforming national athletes,” said PSC Women in Sports oversight Commissioner Celia H. Kiram said.

The ‘Tagasanay ng Isport sa Komunidad’ award is conferred to a coach and teacher, whose efforts and initiatives open doors of hope and opportunities for every child to excel in sports and life.

GINTONG GAWAD is a national awards platform to celebrate and pay tribute to ground-breaking, inspiring, notable, timeless, outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of women and sports at the grassroots level.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio confirmed the presence of the said players following a meeting with Philippine Basketball Association chairman Ricky Vargas and commissioner Willie Marcial.

“These are the players available and Dwight Ramos is set to arrive tonight (Friday) and join them tomorrow. We’ll have to identify who in the TNT team will complement these players,” said Panlilio.

The SBP chief was informed by Vargas and Marcial that the PBA opens on Feb. 11 and will adjust without TNT on its schedule when the February window of the FIBA World 2023 gets going at the Smart Araneta Coliseum starting Feb. 24.

Reyes was reappointed as head coach of the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team

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last Feb. 1, replacing Baldwin.

The SBP chief said they found no substance in rumors that the former coach had been acting as agent for Gilas players in their stints abroad for club teams.

Discussions are now ongoing if Reyes will become the SBP’s Gilas program director, too.

“Let’s just give a chance (for Reyes) to coach the February window first,” said Panlilio, who added Reyes is being considered for the job since he will be running the national team’s activities through programs that he will craft.

Gilas plays South Korea on Feb. 24, India on Feb. 25 and New Zealand on Feb. 27.

The next window will start in June, with the Philippines facing India on the 30th and New Zealand on July 3.

Reyes will now have two jobs, first with TNT Tropang Giga and the other one with the national team

Dwight Ramos

LOS ANGELES—Veteran point guard Chris Paul and Phoenix teammate Devin Booker were named NBA All-Star reserves on Thursday, giving the league-leading Suns two players in the midseason showcase.

None of the Suns were selected in fan and player voting for All-Star starters, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James the leading vote-getter from the West and installed as a team captain opposite Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.

Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were also selected as reserves in voting by NBA coaches, with the remaining reserves from the West Luka Doncic of Dallas, KarlAnthony Towns of Minnesota and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was named from the East—his first All-Star nod will give Cleveland one player in the game they host on February 20.

Other reserves from the East are Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn’s James Harden, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Toronto’s Fred VanVleet, Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton.

James and Durant will draft their teams from the eligible pool of players and they are not required to draft based on conference affiliation or position.

It’s not clear if either James or Durant will play in the game. Durant is sidelined by a sprained left knee ligament while James has missed four straight games with a swollen knee.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks, fueled by 43 points from Trae Young, halted the Phoenix Suns’ 11-game NBA winning streak on Thursday with a 124-115 victory over the top team in the league.

Young, who was a game-time decision to play after being sidelined by a shoulder injury, made six of Atlanta’s 20 three-pointers, his last basket from beyond the arc ending a 6-0 Suns scoring run and putting Atlanta up 122-113 with 37.7 seconds remaining.

NCAA Season 97 opening pushed back to late March THE opening of season 97 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association has been pushed back further.

Originally set for March 5, the league’s opening will now be held in the final week of March after government COVID-19 restrictions in Metro Manila have dropped to the less strict Alert Level 2 starting Feb. 1.

Host College of St. Benilde is now seeking the advise and clearance from the Commission on Higher Education in its bid to get several exemptions from the current guidelines concerning the restrictions imposed on sporting events.

If their plans are approved, the league could hold basketball and volleyball events with no audience.

If proposals are turned down, the league could

once again be limited to online events.

So far, there are four sports events that are on tap for the coming season, namely basketball, volleyball, chess and taekwondo, which will have online competitions in poomsae and speed kicking.

The NCAA Management Committee and its network partner GMA are now discussing broadcast arrangements. Peter Atencio

Miller takes break from training to rest sore muscles YANQING, CHINA—Asa Miller on Friday took a break from training, thanked Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz for her message of motivation and focused on the opening ceremony, where he’ll be carrying the country’s colors in his second straight Winter Olympics.

After three straight days of two-hour training sessions—alternating on the giant slalom and slalom of men’s alpine skiing— it was a day to rest his muscles and mindset for the two events he’ll be competing in on February 13 and 16.

“We decided to take today off, some rest for his sore muscles,” Miller’s father Kelly said from the Yanqing Olympic Village before they boarded a bus for the two-hour bus trip to the National Stadium, also called the iconic “The Bird’s Nest,” which also hosted the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics 14 years ago.

“Rest days are just as important as training days,” said the 21-year-old Miller, who will be marching ahead of the small Philippine delegation in the parade of nations during the opening ceremony that starts at 8 p.m. and is expected to finish before 10 p.m.

“While skiing comes in short bursts of energy, it’s extremely taxing on muscles and I’m choosing to let my body heal to

POC president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino observes the curling competitions at the National Aquatics Center, also known as The Water Cube, ahead of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday.

hopefully alleviate some of the small pains I’m experiencing currently,” said the Economics major at the Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Philippine Olympic Committee presi-

dent Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Chef de Mission Bones Floro, Philippine Ski and Snowboard Federation President Jim Apelar will join Miller in in the parade. The Philippines walks into the

80,000-seat stadium at No. 69 among 91 participating nations.

“It’s good that we started with the slalom skis,” said Miller, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission, led by chairman William “Butch” Ramirez for supporting his campaign here. “We’re starting to adjust to the snow and it’s different from where I normally ski, but it’s all good.”

Alpine skiing, one of 15 disciplines on the Games program, will be held at the National Alpine Skiing Centre on the slopes of Xiaohaituo Mountain.

The Millers said they will decide on Saturday morning whether to return to the mountain or strategize on the game plan on Saturday.

“We’ll decide on how Asa feels later,” Kelly Miller said.

It wasn’t immediately known how many fans will be allowed at “The Bird’s Nest” for the opening ceremony, although organizers announced that 150,000 spectators will be invited to attend the events in two of the three clusters of venues in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. The alpine skiing and sliding sports in Yanqing will be held without fans.

Plans to sell tickets to international visitors were also scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

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

Home/Design

Future-proofing the office market

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Going green takes on rosier hue

ETRO Manila’s office market is a far cry from what it was just three years ago. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, many pundits had described the market as landlord-driven exemplified by tight supply and a large pool of occupiers willing to fork over a premium for high-quality office space, especially in established business districts such as the Makati CBD and Bonifacio Global City.

Colliers’ Q4 2019 property market report showed that vacancy in Metro Manila dropped even further to 4.3% from 5.0% posted a quarter earlier. Office space absorption was also particularly strong in Quezon City, the Bay Area, Alabang, and areas in the southern part of Metro Manila, where buildings completed in Q4 2019 were fully leased.

Altered landscape Covid-19 pandemic significantly altered Metro Manila’s office landscape. With many companies shuttering and the flight of POGO players, a good number of commercial buildings suddenly found themselves losing tenants.

Bustling business districts are now shells of their former selves, empty and practically devoid of activities. Companies nowadays are finding ways to ask their workers to return to the office, while many others are considering implementing permanent flexible-work setup.

Office landlords are now finding themselves with a dilemma: how to market their products to a more discerning pool of prospective tenants.

Light at the end of the tunnel But Colliers’ third quarter 2021 data shows that although vacancy continues to rise, it is now at a slower pace. While it retains its vacancy forecast of 15.6% for 2021 as pre-commitment among upcoming buildings remains muted, outsourcing and traditional corporate occupiers (companies in various sectors, such as legal, engineering and construction, government agencies, and flexible workspace operators) offer an opportunity and will continue to drive office demand in Metro Manila, according to Joey Roi Bondoc, Colliers associate director and head of research.

“Over the next 12 months, the improvement in vaccination rates, relaxation of mobility restrictions, and rise in business confidence should buoy office space absorption,” Bondoc opined. “The availability of options in prime locations and attractive rents should enable occupiers to move from non-core to core locations.”

These options include more green and sustainable office buildings.

Rise of green buildings Landlords must now look for creative ways to bag that next big lease transaction, one of which is to get green building certification for their properties.

Aside from affording them the appropriate credentials to satisfy their ESG

The availability of more green certification systems means that there is at least one standard available for any building developer.

The most commonly used in the Philippines are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) of USGBC, which awar ds

(Environmental, Social, and Governance) standards, many occupiers attribute the growing importance of green and sustainable buildings to staff productivity and health.

According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), employees who work in LEED-certified buildings are happier, healthier, and more productive than employees in conventional, non-LEED buildings. In this same survey, workers were found to favor companies that are value-oriented, take stances on important issues like sustainability, and do their part for making a positive difference in the world.

Lower maintenance costs Another study conducted by the USGBC shows that “LEED buildings have reported almost 20 percent lower maintenance costs than typical commercial buildings, while green building retrofits typically decrease operation costs by almost 10 percent in just one year.”

While green buildings in the past meant higher premium because of unavailability of technology and a small pool of green construction professionals, things have gradually improved over the last decade.

Green technology vendors are multiplying fast, driving fair competition and pricing transparency.

It also helps that many governments are taking a proactive stance in fostering a business environment that puts sustainability high on its agenda. The Philippine Green Building Code aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by boosting energy efficiency in building design, construction, and operation. It sets the minimum green standard related to energy efficiency, water and wastewater management, solid waste management, site sustainability, and indoor environmental quality.

four levels of certification: certified, silver, gold, and platinum; WELL, which, like LEED, awards silver, gold, or platinum status, but focuses more the impact buildings can have on humans’ health and well-being; Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE), which aims to empower emerging markets to scale up resource-efficient buildings; and local initiative Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE), conceptualized by the Philippine Green Building Council. The latter certifies that a building is in compliance with local environmental laws and is in line with the programs of the national and local governments.

What the future holds One of the upcoming commercial buildings to exemplify commitment to green and sustainable development is the Makati Commerce Tower. LEED Gold-certified (aspiring for Platinum), this next-generation Grade A office tower along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue just recently held its topping-off ceremony.

Bondoc noted that more companies in the Philippines are now looking for sustainable and healthy work environments that will provide confidence for their employees to return to workplaces, an important consideration in a post-Covid-19 world.

“As we welcome workers back to the office after the pandemic, we might as well do so on the promise that their health and well-being will be promoted, if not actively protected,” he pointed out. “One way to do that is to house them in sustainable and green buildings.

The partner-homeowners from Villa Umami are now part of the more than 383,000 families who were provided with secured homes through the CMP. Since its inception in 1988, the program has released more than P19.1 billion in loan assistance to finance over 3,000 housing projects across the country.

SHFC Mega Manila I operations vice president Elsa Juliana Calimlim; board of directors member Ronald Barcena; Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Usec. Albert dela Cruz, Sr.; and Vice Mayor Maria Sheila “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan led the ceremony (Inset).

CAMELLA KICK-OFF. Real estate brand Camella recently held an online seller’s kick-off event billed “2022% charged”. The gathering was attended by over 1,600 brokers and property specialists, representing various realty companies across the country. During the event, incentive packages and commission schemes, as well as training programs, were announced. Cash prizes were given away to lucky attendees. Vista Land’s chief operating officer, Jerylle Luz C. Quismundo revealed promising ventures and partnerships, including a nationwide expansion of house and lot developments, new condominium projects, and launch of commercial establishments. Camella is the subsidiary catering to the mid-market segment of property developer Vista Land.

Sampaloc housing OVER thirty families from Sampaloc, Manila will soon settle into their new homes following the turnover of units at the Villa Umami Homeowners’ Association, Inc., a socialized onsite resettlement project of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) for low-income households. Built under the agency’s Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the three-story building is composed of 12 units per floor, each measuring about 35sqm.

Each family will pay approximately P3,500 per month for a maximum of 30 years.

Lending a helping hand THE Property Management Offices (PMO) of RLC Residences’ Cebubased projects recently undertook relief initiatives intended for its homeowners and property employees affected by Super typhoon Odette.

The storm struck many parts of Visayas and Mindanao last December 2021.

Located in one of the most affected provinces, Azalea Place and AmiSa Private Residences in Cebu suffered damages from the typhoon’s onslaught, significantly affecting the development and the lives of its residents and employees.

Through the help of Universal Robina Corporation, food, drinking water, and rubbing alcohol supplies were provided as part of the relief packs distributed. Cebu

Pacific ensured that relief supplies would safely reach the province.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, through Cebu Pacific, supplied supply the diesel needed for the properties’ generator sets. RLC Residences vowed to continue helping those affected by the storm.

The developer waived all penalties and interests incurred for late payments starting December 16, 2021, to January 31, 2022. This initiative is offered to property buyers in typhoon-stricken areas, including Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Surigao, Siargao, Iloilo, Samar, Leyte, and Palawan. One of the daily meetings conducted at AmiSa Private Residences is shown in photo.

AT THE CENTER OF WHAT MATTERS

SMDC’s Light 2 Residences in the EDSA-Mandaluyong area, is a development that values having the right connections. For starters, it has a direct link to the EDSA-Boni MRT-3 Station. It is also close to a future station of the planned Mega Manila Subway that will traverse Quezon City to Parañaque, and will provide access to the country’s international airports.

The property is minutes away from dining establishments, commercial centers, and businesses in the Ortigas Central Business District. This provides connectivity to economic and lifestyle opportunities within walkable distances.

Light 2 Residences will also be equipped with fiber internet technology. Finally, Light 2 Residences will have its own mall, which will complement the already existing Light Mall.

Tech & Gadgets

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

vivo V23’s innovative photochromic design sure to delight, impress

HIS 2022, vivo makes a splash in the new year with the much-awaited launch of the V23 series that’s bound to be next “it” phone for influencers, style leaders, and content creators—the selfie set—with its revolutionary photochromic design and outstanding performance. Head on to https:// www.vivoglobal.ph/v23-prelaunch/ to know more about vivo’s latest series smartphone.

The vivo V23 Series includes a photochromic technology that allows the smartphone to change in color when exposed to UV light.

Taking selfie phones to the next level, the V23 features an impressive 50 MP Front Camera for amazing detail coupled with an 8 MP Dual Front Vlog Camera—go ahead, strike a pose, day or night! It’s custom JNV chip assures of images that are brighter and more beautiful while videos look more natural and crisp-clear.

Delighting design

Like you and your ever-changing hues, the V23 series is first in its class to feature a stunning color changing glass process that instantly changes color when exposed to UV light—shifting in intensity and shades; in mood and feel. A real game changer!

Capture your life’s best moments

Be it for vlogging, or selfies, the V23 series is there to provide users with a powerful device that brings out the artistic filmmaker and keen-eyed photographer in you.

For those who love taking selfies with the gang, its 8MP Super Wide-Angle Camera allows for portrait shoots like never before, ensuring no one is left out in the frame. The V23 series’ custom JNV chip is also equipped with the highestpixel sensor in the industry that allows its user to take poster-level selfies, where even the finest of

details are captured distinctively.

Attuned to your lifestyle

In keeping with today’s active consumer lifestyles, the V23 series is designed to be the perfect partner on the go with its Dual 5G Standby and VoNR. Users can also enjoy freedom and power in their hands with its 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM

Zero compromises with upgraded Infinix ZERO X Pro EVEN if you have great smartphone features, not being able to store all the media and install all the apps you need is frustrating if there’s not enough storage.

Not a problem with the upgraded Infinix ZERO X Pro. Whether you're into photography, videography, or gaming, here’s what you can do with its 256 GB of storage: 1.

Enjoy more detailed photos. ZERO X Pro’s 108MP primary camera with image stabilization captures treasured moments in greater detail.

Known as Infinix’s moon shot camera, ZERO X Pro has a 60x hybrid zoom lens that shoots scenic views from a distance. It even captures the moon on a serene evening using its unique Super Moon Mode feature. Shoot as many high-resolution pictures as you want.

2. Install and update games, no matter the file size. In mobile gaming, we are only as good as our tools. ZERO X Pro’s flagship MediaTek Helio G95, with 8GB RAM, 120Hz refresh rate, and 256GB storage, ensures top performance, apps upgradeability, and smoother gameplay.

3.

Worry less about your storage. While we can do many fancy things with our phones, it boils down to if they can handle all the different aspects of our day-to-day grind. Infinix ZERO X Pro’s upgraded storage is up to the task, whether for school, work, or play.

Available for only P15,990, there are no compromises with the Infinix ZERO X Pro 256GB. To learn more about Infinix ZERO X Pro, visit www.infinixmobility. com/ph/ or follow: Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/ InfinixPhilippines/ Instagram: h t t p s : / / w w w.

ROM) instagram.com/ 256GB ( o r P X infi nixphilippines/ O R E Z Infinix Twitter: https://twitter.com/InfinixPH

with 4GB RAM Extended 2.0—allowing for more files, more videos, and more high-definition movies to be stored with no loss in performance. The Extended RAM also enables users to run multiple apps at once, at consistently fast speeds.

As Gen Z’s embrace more immersive and connected experiences that’s enabled through tech-

nology, their authentic selves easily shine through.

With the style and power that the vivo V23 series provides, they can now share their life’s most exciting moments to the world!

For more updates about the V23 Series, visit vivo Philippines’ official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels.

Golden Haven pushes for further digitalization GOLDEN Haven Memorial Park, a highly trusted developer that offers the finest death care services in the country, implements stringent health protocols at its serenely beautiful memorial parks as its part help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Filipino families are thus assured of a safe and wholesome environment each time they visit their dearly departed in their final resting places.

However, with mobility still being restricted in most parts of the country, Golden Haven vows to ensure the wellbeing of their customers, stakeholders, and employees by pushing for further digitalization in 2022.

To start with, Golden Haven accepts digital payments for local and international bills through partner banks BDO, Unionbank, PNB, Security Bank, RCBC, and Metrobank.

To help their clients adhere to health protocols, Golden Haven also spurs their customers to alternatively remit their payments through e-wallets such as All Easy, GCash, and PayMaya— with new payment partners coming this year.

Golden Haven has also extended its world-class service to its sellers and sales agents by launching the country’s first and only seller’s app made for a memorial park service provider. The app was created to help sellers access resources

and to check their sales commissions.

Constantly innovating to stay ahead in the field, industry leader Golden Haven recently launched their latest service offering, Flexihaven, which allows customers to use their purchase in any of more than 30 Golden Haven Memorial Parks all over the country.

Furthermore, Flexihaven enables customers to take advantage of the excellent investments on offer at Golden Haven. Prospective property seekers can come in at a low cost—with no risks involved—but with a proven high

return on their investments.

In fact, Golden Haven’s investors and clients can expect top-notch touchpoints all throughout their customer experience lifecycle in 2022. The company will stay updated on different social media sites to offer quick access to information on their new offerings all year round.

These days, even as Filipinos look forward to better times ahead, Golden Haven affirms a promise made: “We are here with you and your loved ones through the most trying of times.”

Golden Haven has also launched the country’s first and only seller’s app made for a memorial park service provider.

33 vulnerabilities found in data transfer protocol for wearable devices KASPERSKY experts have discovered that the most commonly used protocol for transferring data from wearable devices used for remote patient monitoring contained 33 vulnerabilities, including 19 “critical vulnerabilities” in 2021 alone. This is 10 more critical vulnerabilities than in 2020, and many of them remain unpatched. Some of these vulnerabilities give attackers the potential to intercept data being sent online from the device.

The ongoing pandemic has led to a rapid digitalization of the healthcare sector. With hospitals and healthcare staff overwhelmed, and many people quarantined at home, organizations have been forced to rethink how patient care is delivered. In fact, recent Kaspersky research found that 91% of global healthcare providers have implemented telehealth capabilities. However, this rapid digitalization has created new security risks, especially when it comes to patient data.

Part of telehealth includes remote patient monitoring, which is done using so-called wearable devices and monitors. These include gadgets that can continuously or at intervals track a patient's health indicators, such as cardiac activity.

The MQTT protocol is the most common protocol for transmitting data from wearable devices and sensors because it’s easy and convenient. That’s why it can be found not only in wearable devices, but also in almost any smart gadget. Unfortunately, when using MQTT, authentication is completely optional and rarely includes encryption. This makes MQTT highly susceptible to Man in the Middle Attacks (when attackers can place themselves between “two parties” while they communicate), meaning any data transferred over the internet could potentially be stolen.

When it comes to wearable devices, that information could include highly sensitive medical data, personal information, and even a person’s movements.

Since 2014, 90 vulnerabilities in MQTT have been discovered, including critical, many of which remain unpatched to this day. In 2021, there were 33 newly discovered vulnerabilities, including 18 critical ones—10 more than in 2020. All of these vulnerabilities put patients at risk of having their data stolen.

Kaspersky researchers found vulnerabilities not only in the MQTT protocol but also in one of the most popular platforms

Number of vulnerabilities found in the MQTT protocol, 2014-2021 for wearable devices: the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wearable platform. There have been more than 400 vulnerabilities found since the platform was launched; not all have been patched, including some from 2020.

It’s worth noting that most wearable de-

vices track both your health data and your location and movements. This opens up the possibility of not just stealing data but also potentially stalking.

“The pandemic has led to a sharp growth in the telehealth market, and this doesn’t just

involve communicating with your doctor via video software. We’re talking about a whole range of complex, rapidly evolving technologies and products, including specialized applications, wearable devices, implantable sensors, and cloud-based databases. However, many hospitals are still using untested thirdparty services to store patient data, and vulnerabilities in healthcare wearable devices and sensors remain open. Before implementing such devices, learn as much as you can about their level of security to keep the data of your company and your patients safe,” comments Maria Namestnikova, Head of the Russian Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky.

To keep patient data safe, Kaspersky recommends that healthcare providers: • Check the security of the application or device suggested by the hospital or medical organization • Minimize the data transferred by telehealth apps if possible (e.g. don’t let the device send the location data if it’s not needed) • Change passwords from default ones and use encryption if the device offers this

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022

Motoring

The All-New Honda CB500F: The new big bike in town E

NTHU S I A S T S w h o a r e into a mor e “naked” bike s t y l i ng w i l l s u r e l y b e i mpr essed as this new str eet a n d h i g h w a y l e g a l r o a d ster possesses a stunningly sp o rt y l o o k a n d p e r f o r m a n c e . Additionally, its 789mm sea t h e i g h t m a k e s i t s u i t a b l e a nd comf or table f or F ilipi n o ri d e rs l o o k i n g f o r a b i g b ike they can take f or onr o a d t o u ri n g, o r a s a n a l t e r n a tive vehicle f or commuting.

Its liquid-cooled, 4-stroke DOHC parallel twin, 471cc engine is euro 5 emission compliant and has an outstand- 41mm SFF-BP Up-Side Down Front ing maximum power output of 35KW Fork provides excellent control and at 8,500rpm and maximum torque of feeling when turning and braking 43.2Nm at 6,500rpm. Additional- from high speeds. 296mm Dual Disc l y, t h i s b i k e g o e s a b o v e a n d b e y o n d F r o n t B r a k e a n d F o u r P i s t o n N i s s i n the expectations of sports bike rid- Radial Mount Caliper deliver strong ers when it comes to a n d p r o g r e s s i v e b r a k i n g p o w e r, agile hankeeping the rider safe. Lightdling. weight Wheels and Swing A Showa arm deliv-

er excellent running performance.

Slipper/Assist clutch lightens up the clutch lever effort by 45 percent, but automatically locks up tight when released.

W h a t ’s m o r e , i t h a s a d v a n c e d t e c h nology safety features that add conf i d e n c e t o t h e r i d e r. T h e 2 - c h a n n e l Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) aids the rider in braking under less than ideal conditions a n d t h e E m e rgency Stop Signal (ESS) notifies the vehicle behind by flashing the hazard lamp at high speed when the r i d er suddenly

brakes.

To m a t c h t h e t o p - n o t c h e n g i n e p o w e r, H o n d a m a d e t h i s b i k e e v e n m o r e remarkable with its pleasing aesthetics that are made for every bike fanatic. The All-New CB500F has a sharp, more compact look that displays an aggressive and seductive sports naked-bike image. It has all LED lighting, a negative display LCD meter t h a t o p t i m i z e s e f f i c i e n c y, p r e v e n t i n g engine drain.

Whether you’re a city racer hungry for an adrenaline rush or a country cruiser in love with beautiful outskirt adventures, this sports bike is for you.

Now available at all Honda Flagship Stores Nationwide with a suggested retail price of PHP354,000.00

Prime Quest Transport Solutions launches Euro UD truck range UD TRUCKS recently unveiled a new Euro 5 range for the well-established Quester (heavy-duty) and Croner (medium-duty) trucks. The upgrade also boasts enhanced features that will improve uptime, enhance efficiency, and optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), all while lowering the vehicle’s environmental impact and retaining benefits from previous models.

This latest launch bolsters UD Trucks’ Better Life purpose – to be better for logistics, the planet, people, and business. Better Life drives the integration of sustainability across all of the company’s operations and processes to realize lower environmental impact, higher customer satisfaction, higher profitability, and a better place for people to work and live.

As the first truck manufacturer to introduce Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology in 2004, UD Trucks’ new Euro 5 range features

SCR technology to significantly boost environmental protection and fuel economy. With these benefits, SCR technology is proven to be more reliable when compared to other emission control technologies for reducing NOx emissions.

Aside from featuring a Euro 5 system with SCR technology, the new range of Quester and Croner also features a new instrument cluster with real-time fuel coaching. This enhancement provides drivers with immediate and specific feedback on driving techniques that are more fuel efficient.

The new Euro 5 range of heavy-duty Quester and medium-duty Croner will be rolled out in key growth markets – across Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America – from October 2021 onwards.

Welcome Year of the Tiger with GAC Motor PH's 'Roar Out Deals' TO WELCOME the Year of the Tiger, GAC Motor Philippines is here to serve its Roar Out Deals new year promo to allow its customers to start the year with a brand-new GAC vehicle.

Customers may choose from any of the GAC Motor vehicles on offer and may enjoy a low all-in downpayment, or

as much as Php 290,000 discount, as well as free three (3) months amortization when they avail of the GS3, GS4, GA4, GN6, GS8, or the GN8.

It also comes with a fiveyear warranty or first 150,000 kms (whichever comes first), a one (1) year LTO Registration and Chattel Mortgage, and a free one (1) year Com-

prehensive Insurance with Acts of Nature through selected bank partners. Customers who will avail of the promo are still subject to bank approval.

To know more about the Roar Out Deals promo, visit a GAC Motor Philippines dealership near you or go to gacmotorph.com.