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Sara lists 3 pillars of service Faith in God, love of country, care for family to mark her VP stint

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 124 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

By Rey E. Requejo, Rio N. Araja and Vince Lopez

V

ICE President-elect Sara DuterteCarpio vowed to be guided by three priorities—God, country, and family—in serving the Filipino people as the country's second-highest elected official.

“One of the most important lessons I have learned as I navigate life and the same thing that I believe we should ponder upon as one country united in our determination to overcome our difficulties and achieve our aspirations —is that we should commit to heart the priorities of God, country, and family,” she said as she took her oath as the 15th Vice President before Supreme Court Associate

INAUGURAL. Outgoing Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio takes her oath as the country's 15th Vice President at San Pedro Square on June 19, 2022. (Inset) She was joined on stage by (from left) Sen. Imee Marcos; her parents Elizabeth Zimmerman and President Rodrigo Duterte; and Presidentelect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., his wife Liza, and son and Ilocos Norte Rep.-elect Sandro. Marcos Jr. was welcomed in Davao City by House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

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Festive mood renders inauguration as hometown, family event SAN Pedro Square turned into a veritable fiesta as Davao City's favorite daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, took her oath as the country's 15th vice president on Sunday.

Inday Sara, wearing a “classic with a twist” emerald Filipiniana gown by designer Silverio Anglacer, delivered the shortest inaugural speech—all of about

12 minutes—to cap the festive occasion.

The audience came from all walks of life—from political big guns led by President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former president Gloria MacapagalArroyo, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, and incumbent and elected lawmakers to ordinary Dabawenyos who have seen Inday Sara's growth as a politician in her

hometown, having served as Davao City mayor since 2016 and from 2010 to 2013.

Green—her campaign color as the running-mate of Marcos Jr. under the UniTeam banner—was also the dominant shade for the dresses of most of the attendees, including that of her mother, Elizabeth Zimmerman, and Marcos Jr.'s wife, Liza.

The program was preceded by an hour-long thanksgiving mass celebrated at the San Pedro Cathedral by Archbishop Romulo Valles, who reminded Inday Sara that being able to serve the country was a “gift” and an “extraordinary chance.”

“As we know, these needs can be clouded, can be obscured, can be distorted or hidden for many reasons like fake news

and vested interests. The needs can be overwhelming to the point of making us feel small and inadequate. During these moments, may you have the sharp eyes of the eagle–never to miss the ever abiding presence of Jesus in our needs and trust that He will be working through you,” Valles said.

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Bongbong hailed as ‘nation’s father’ by 3 sons Incoming economic team optimistic to hurdle humps

By Rey E. Requejo

PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday received Father’s Day greetings from his three sons who expressed their gratitude to the country’s incoming “Father of the nation.”

In a vlog, Sandro, Simon, and Vincent Marcos recalled the best advice that their father gave them. To eldest son Sandro, it was “Bawalpikon” (Don't be onionskinned.)

For Simon, he said it was to “always be objective.”

Vincent, the youngest, said it was to

“never hate anyone.”

“You’ve been an amazing Pops to us.

I hope and I’m pretty sure that you’ll be an amazing Pops to the country. We’ll be with you every step of the way and we’ll be supporting you every step of the way.

We’ll all be here for you,” Simon said.

Agreeing with Simon, Sandro said he believes that the President-elect will “make a fantastic President of our country.”

“I want to wish you the best of luck in what's to come. I know you’ve prepared all your life and you’ve spent a significant amount of time making sure that you

are ready for the problems our country faces,” he said.

Vincent, for his part, admitted that he is excited to see his father’s plan go into action as he begins his term on June 30, to replace outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Throughout the craziness of everything, you always manage to make time and spend time with us. I’ll always be grateful for having such a great father, and I know the Filipino people are lucky to have you as their new President. I’m so excited to see your plans and all the help Next page

By Rey E. Requejo THE incoming economic team of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday declared that the new administration will face multiple challenges when it assumes office on June 30, but “strong fundamentals and bright macroeconomic prospects provide room for optimism.”

“We have all heard encouraging statements from the incoming economic

managers led by outgoing Bangko Sentral governor and incoming Finance chief, Benjamin Diokno, that our new administration will be taking off from sound economic fundamentals,” Marcos said, referring to a briefing he received from his economic team.

“It will not be an easy road ahead, but we are not without the necessary wherewithal and elbow room to manage the challenges,” he added.

Filipino lawyer shot in the head in US SC downgrades ex-PNP chief’s

JOHN ALBERT LAYLO

A FILIPINO lawyer was shot in the head in Philadelphia while on his way to the airport, the Philippine Consulate General in New York said Sunday.

The victim, identified as John Albert Laylo, was with his mother to catch their flight to Chicago when their car was fired upon with six bullets.

One of six bullets struck Laylo, 36, in the head.

His mother suffered slight injuries due to glass fragments and was taken to a hospital.

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dismissal to suspension sans pay

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has partially granted the appeal of the disgraced former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima who was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2015 for grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and serious dishonesty.

In a decision made public June 15, 2022, the Court ordered that instead

of dismissal from the service, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals, the penalty imposed on Purisima was reduced to a one-year suspension without pay.

The Court, through Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, ruled to restore all Purisima’s “rights, emoluments, Next page

ALAN PURISIMA

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News

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Festive...

Filipino...

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The University of Mindanao Chorale rendered the national anthem and the city’s hymn, “Tayo’y Dabawenyo” during the inaugural ceremony, followed by an ecumenical prayer by Fr. Emmanuel Gonzaga, a Catholic, Aleem Mohammed Pasigan, a Muslim, and Datu Rodolfo Mande, a Matigsalug.

Before Inday Sara took her oath, Filipino rapper Andrew E. and Njel de Mesa performed a musical number.

She was flanked by her mother, Elizabeth, and her father, outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, as she was sworn into office by Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.

The strong-willed presidential daughter, outgoing Davao City mayor, and mother of three, bared she once dreamed of becoming a doctor. Fate, however, had other plans.

"My life is a testament to the power of a God, whom we know by many names. My younger self was consumed by a dream to become a doctor. I pursued a pathway that I thought could help me realize that dream, but I was directed toward another way. And now I am a lawyer,” she said.

"When I committed myself to governance and public service, I was also determined to finish three consecutive terms as mayor. That will not happen anymore. I am now the vice president-elect,” she added.

Sara...

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Justice Ramon Paul Hernando at San Pedro Square in Davao City on Sunday.

“The voice of 32.2 million Filipinos was loud and clear—with the message to serve our motherland. And this message has been reiterated in my oath: to consecrate myself to the service of the nation.”

“Ako po si Inday Sara. [I am Inday Sara.] A proud Dabawenya. A proud Mindanawon. Hindi ako ang pinakamagaling, o pinakamatalinong tao sa Pilipinas at sa mundo—ngunit walang makakatalo sa tibay ng puso ko bilang isang Filipino. [I am not be best or the most intelligent person in the Philippines and in the world, but no one can defeat the strength of my heart as a Filipino],” she added.

Duterte-Carpio, whose inauguration coincided with the birthday of national hero Jose Rizal, cited his life and works as having taught her that "selflessness and sacrifice could change our country's

Bongbong...

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you’ve wanted to give finally come into action for the good of the country and its people,” he said.

As preparations get underway for Marcos's inauguration, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is considering the Philippine Arena as an ideal area where a large LED screen can be set up to allow more supporters to witness the ceremony.

"If the Philippine Arena were used as a

Incoming...

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Among challenges that the Marcos administration will have to deal with are the government’s COVID-19 exit strategy, soaring oil prices, accelerating inflation, the effects of the war in Ukraine, and a looming worldwide food crisis.

While COVID-19 stalled the Philippines’ momentum from prepandemic annual growth by at least 6-percent, “now we have bounced back and returned to our robust growth path,” Diokno had said, in a speech in Manila on

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benefits, and privileges removed by, and forfeited in, the assailed Ombudsman Consolidated Decision dated June 25, 2015.”

Purisima’s dismissal stemmed from the PNP’s implementation of the P100 million courier service contract signed in 2011 with Werfast Documentation Agency, Inc. (Werfast) for the delivery of firearms licenses.

Besides dismissal from the service, the Ombudsman also ordered the forfeiture of Purisima’s retirement benefits, cancellation of eligibility, bar from taking civil service examinations and perpetual disqualification from re-employment in government service.

This prompted Purisima to file an appeal before the appellate court seeking to overturn the anti-graft body’s ruling.

However, the CA, in a decision dated May 12, 2017, dismissed his petition. He

fate and shape our children's future.”

"May his memory light up the fire within us to become patriots. The bravery of Rizal completes the fabric of our identity as Filipinos," she added.

She likewise thanked the guests and the public who witnessed the event for taking time to celebrate with her on Father’s Day. “Today, our children are facing a very complex future, one that is rife with conflict and uncertainties. Some of these challenges include the winding cycle of poverty, the trauma of broken families, the life-long baggage because of irresponsible and bad parenting, the abandonment issues due to an absentee parent, the anguish of gender confusion and discrimination, the destruction brought about by drugs, the lure of easy money in criminality, cases of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, the failure to identify and speak up against different kinds of abuses, the life altering effects of teenage pregnancy, the detrimental effects of illiteracy, the emotional injury of bullying, unstable mental wellness, recruitment

to support terrorism, misinformation in the internet—and the list could be endless,” she said.

“A strong, loving, happy family sets down all the basic foundations essential in the development and growth of a child. At home, parentshave the duty to teach children the values of integrity, discipline, respect, and compassion for others. And we should never forget that it is the duty of each Filipino family to emphasize that education begins at home,” she added.

President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for his part, expressed confidence that his Vice President will do a great job in serving the Filipino people.

"I'm so proud of her, so proud of her.

She's going to be great, she'll do a great job. I know it," Marcos said.

Sen. Imee Marcos, for her part, said the Dutertes "can count on" the Marcos clan "for life."

"The Dutertes can count on us.

Davao can count on us, and Mindanao will always be a priority as it was during my father's time. That will not change," she said.

"We are the Solid North because we are Ilocanos, but we are also the Solid South because we will work with and are allies with the Dutertes for life,” she added.

House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez likewise congratulated Duterte-Carpio on her inauguration.

“By her victory, she has done her father, President Duterte, her family and her constituents proud. It’s just apt that she wants to begin her term as Vice President in her home city,” said Romualdez, who is also president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.

“More importantly, the victory of Mayor Sara and President-electFerdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. is the triumph of the more than 31 million Filipinos who shared their message of unity for the country and their aspiration of a better life for our people.”

“I have seen up close the synergy between them, their limitless energy, dynamism, dedication to their job and their compassion, and I have no doubt that they will succeed,” Romualdez added.

Elmer Cato, the Philippines’ Consul General in New York, clarified earlier reports that Laylo died from his head wound.

He said Laylo is still alive and on life support.

Laylo’s sister, Althea, said in a separate tweet: "We were told he only had less than 5% chance of surviving.

But now, miracles are starting to happen.

He squeezed my mom’s hand 3 times and started mildly breathing on his own.

Thank you so much for the prayers and I am begging you all to please keep praying. He was undergoing a test to confirm if he is brain dead, but he responded. He will be having another test in an hour, please stand with us in prayer.

Miracles are real.”

His mother, Leah, said in a Facebook post: "Just want to make clear my son is still ALIVE & hanging on!!! What ever news you heard or read it’s all false!!!! Just wait for my post! Ako ang tunay na nakaka alam ng lahat!!! Let’s storm heaven with prayers! Nothing is impossible with God! Claiming miracles to happen!"

Incoming Department of Migrant Workers secretary Susan Ople, who was also erroneously informed that Laylo has died, asked for prayers that the young lawyer may survive.

Fox 29 reported that at least seven shootings early Saturday morning in Philadelphia left five injured and two dead, including “a 36-year-old [who] was killed after being shot multiple times throughout his body, according to police.

He was found on Lancaster Avenue around 1:30 a.m.”

The incident was reported by Ople to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. “We are also in touch with police authorities in Philadelphia who informed us that the case is being investigated and that no arrests have been made so far. We call on authorities to bring the perpetrator of this crime to justice," Cato said.

Cato's deputy, Armand Talbo, went to the hospital and met with Laylo's mother and other relatives.

"I was able to talk to her and assured her of DFA and Philippine Consulate's support," Cato said.

In previous interviews, Cato always reminded Filipinos in the US to stay vigilant as hate crimes against Asians are getting more frequent.

Several Filipinos in New York have been attacked for no reason, some pushed down the stairs of subway stations or hit with hard objects.

Forbes.com reported on June 10 that 22 mass shootings already took place in the US this year.

remote viewing area, it could accommodate around 70,000 inside and another 100,000 outside, particularly in the front area of the arena," said Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, PNP director for operations.

De Leon said they are now coordinating with the camp of Marcos on their proposal to use the Philippine Arena in Bulacan as one of the viewing areas, along with other strategic places that can accommodate a large number of people.

"If viewing areas were set up in these areas, then they could greatly reduce the number of people at the National Museum in Manila, which can only accommodate a

limited number of people," De Leon said.

He said based on the initial assessment, only about 1,200 people will be allowed at the National Museum.

De Leon said they are currently coordinating with the management and owners of the large LED televisions along Edsa and other parts of the country to accommodate the live streaming of Marco’s inauguration as the country’s 17th President.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said all systems are in place to secure the inauguration of Marcos.

In a statement on Saturday night,

NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Felipe Natividad said final security preparation had been laid down and finalized to ensure success and zero casualty and any untoward incident.

“We have not monitored any threat ahead as of this moment but we are continuously and closely monitoring and coordinating with our counterparts,” Natividad said.

He said several road closures, the 1-kilometer radius of the National Museum will be declared a no-fly zone for drones and aircraft, while several ports and waterways near the establishment have also been inspected.

Natividad said a gun ban will be imposed from 6 a.m. on June 27 to 6 a.m. on July 1, adding only police and military and other law enforcers who are performing official duties in prescribed uniforms will be authorized to carry firearms.

Motorists are advised to take alternate routes as heavy traffic will be expected, particularly on roads leading to and from the National Museum.

Backpacks also not be allowed in all VIP areas to ensure the safety of everyone.

At least 6,000 police officers will be deployed for Marcos’ inauguration.

June 13.

“The International Monetary Fund shares the view about the Philippines' favorable economic prospects vis-à-vis its peers. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF projects the Philippines to post the fastest growth in the region this year at 6.5 percent.”

Diokno said the Philippines' economy is outperforming those of its neighbors, growing by 8.3-percent in the first quarter of 2022, exceeding those of Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand.

He noted broad-based expansion in the first quarter of 2022, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing growing by 0.2

percent; industry by 10.4 percent; and services by 8.6 percent.

Still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, the manufacturing sector is also performing aggressively with the S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index reaching 54.1 percent in May this year—the highest in over four years.

Consumer and business confidence are on an upswing: consumer sentiment is seen to hit 30.4 percent for the next 12 months, while the business confidence index is expected to hit 69.8 percent for the same period after rising to 59.7 percent in the second quarter of 2022.

The Philippines’ foreign direct

investments, which came to $10.5 billion in 2021, are also on the rise in the first two months of the year.

Gross international reserves (GIR) as of end-April 2022 stood at $106.8 billion, equivalent to 9.4 months' worth of imports, three times more than the minimum standard of three months that the central bank has to maintain.

Household consumption increased by 10.1 percent, while government consumption grew by 3.6 percent; exports and imports also improved with 10.3 percent and 15.6 percent expansion, respectively.

Employment has significantly improved, with 1.5 million jobs created

from February to March this year, from an unprecedented 17.6-percent unemployment rate at the height of lockdowns in April 2020.

While massive spending was necessary as part of the government's pandemic response, which resulted in higher debtto-GDP ratio of about 63.5 percent, Diokno said he is confident debt will go down to 60.4-percent in 2024, two years into the Marcos administration.

“It is worth emphasizing that our current level of debt-to-GDP ratio is well below the figure for other economies, some of which have debts over 100-percent or even 200-percent of their GDP,” Diokno said.

then filed an appeal before the Supreme Court.

The Court still found Purisima guilty of gross neglect of duty, however.

Court records showed that on May 25, 2011, Werfast proposed to the PNP an online computerized renewal system and courier delivery service of firearms licenses. The letter proposal with a copy of a draft memorandum of agreement (MOA) was addressed to then PNP Chief General Raul M. Bacalzo.

On Aug. 24, 2011, Bacalzo approved the signing of the MOA. Two months after Purisima was designated PNP acting chief, he received a memorandum dated Feb. 12, 2013 from Director Gil Meneses of the Civil Security Group (CSG) on the delivery of renewed firearms licenses.

The Meneses memorandum stated that upon implementation of “Oplan Katok” (PNP’s house-to-house visitation to check firearms licenses), licensees visited were found to be unknown and/or not living in the addresses listed in the PNP’s

management information system.

Thus, the memorandum recommended the mandatory delivery of firearms licenses to the registered addresses through Werfast. The memorandum was approved by Purisima on Feb. 17, 2013.

But the PNP received numerous complaints against Werfast. An anonymous complaint alleged that Purisima, his friends and cohorts siphoned millions of pesos from the mandatory delivery fees paid by gun owners by entering into a MOA with Werfast on May 25, 2011 despite the latter being incorporated only on Aug. 10, 2011.

In March 2014, the PNP terminated its contract with Werfast for gross inefficiency.

On April 16, 2014, complainant Glenn Gerard C. Ricafranca filed an affidavit before the OMB. He alleged that the MOA with Werfast was entered into without public bidding, that Werfast had not yet been issued its Certificate of Incorporation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that Werfast was not authorized by the Department of

Transportation and Communication to deliver mails or parcels to the public.

Ricafranca also alleged that numerous firearms licensees complained of delay in the delivery, lack of official receipts, inaccessibility ofthe Werfast website, useless tracking option, and service fees which were more expensive that those charged by other courier service firms.

Based on FFIB-MOLEO’s probe and recommendation, the OMB, on June 25, 2015, found Purisima guilty and was ordered dismissed from the service with accessory penalties.

In affirming with modification the CA’s decision, the SC said that Purisima could have suspended the contract with Werfast “when it became apparent that Werfast was incapable of properly handling the delivery of firearm licenses.”

“Instead, he allowed the problems to persist for another eight months before he terminated the contract with Werfast on the ground of gross inefficiency,” the Court said.

“From the foregoing, the Court rules that

petitioner is liable for Gross Neglect of Duty or Gross Negligence. Gross Neglect of Duty or Gross Negligence refers to negligence characterized by the want of even slight care, acting or omitting to act in a situation where there is a duty to act, not inadvertently but willfully and intentionally, with a conscious indifference to consequences, insofar as other persons may be affected,” it said.

The court also noted that while gross neglect of duty or gross negligence is considered a grave offense punishable by dismissal on the first offense, this is not automatically imposed.

In several cases, the Court appreciated various mitigating circumstances, such as length of service, unblemished record, among other things, and thus, imposed a lower penalty on the erring public official or employee.

It clarified, however, that in the case of Purisima, “reinstatement is no longer possible because petitioner already resigned as PNP Chief during the pendency of his preventive suspension case” before the Court of Appeals.

PLAY TIME. Children romp with doves by the fountain at Fort Santiago as people enjoy the open air and various musical and cultural presentations during the three-day Rizal Art Fair 2022 in celebration of the national hero's 161st birth anniversary. Diana B. Noche

News

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEPE! Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna leads the flag-raising ceremony at the Rizal monument in Luneta Park to mark the 161st birthday of Dr. Jose Rizal on Sunday, June 19, 2022. Danny Pata

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Grab PH seeks P20 fare hike as fuel prices to go up anew

By Darwin G. Amojelar

‘3 banks freeze Okada accounts’

By Jenniffer B. Austria

T

HREE banks have reportedly frozen the accounts of casino and entertainment facility Okada Manila following an ongoing intra-corporate dispute.

In a statement, Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI) legal counsel Estrella Elamparo said BDO Unibank Inc., Asia United Bank, and Union Bank of the Philippines have decided to freeze the accounts of Okada Manila.

Elamparo said the current situation could put not only the growth and sustainability plans of Okada Manila at risk but

also the salaries of its employees.

TRLEI said BDO required the company, led by Hajime Takuda, Byron Yip, and the newly-constituted board led by Kazuo Okada, Antonio Cojuangco, and Dindo Espeleta to sign an agreement to distribute the salaries of Okada Manila employees.

“Despite being on the right side of the

law, the legitimate board of TRLEI decided to draft and sign the agreement, understanding the welfare of the employees is at stake. However, the camp of Kazuo Okada was not keen on signing the agreement, imposing unreasonable conditions,” Elamparo said.

TRLEI said the current situation has forced the banks to file interpleader cases, asking the court to require both parties to interplead between themselves.

While Okada Manila may use the “cage money” or the revenues generated from operations of the casino and hotel to pay the salaries of its employees, Elamparo said those funds can

only go so far and are expected to run dry soon. ”We expect Manila Okada’s funds to dwindle in the coming weeks, putting not only guests at the losing end, but at the same time putting at risk its over 5,000 employees, many of whom rely on their salaries to meet their daily needs,” Elamparo said.

TRLEI said its majority shareholder, Tiger Resorts Asia Ltd. (TRAL), also forwarded to relevant agencies and partners a certification that puts on record that it does not recognize Kazuo Okada or any of his appointed board members as new management.

SC junks suit vs. reelection of termed-out lawmakers

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has junked a petition seeking to compel the Commission on Elections to strictly enforce the term limits on elective officials, particularly those in Congress, and to declare as unconstitutional the reelection of termedout senators and congressmen.

In an 18-page en banc decision penned

by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC ruled that contrary to the assertion of the petitioners, what the Constitution clearly prohibits is the reelection for more than two or three consecutive terms of senators and members of the House of Representatives.

The high court cited its ruling in Socrates vs. Commission on Elections, which held that what the Constitution prohibits is the “immediate reelection” for a fourth term following three

GRAB Philippines is seeking a P20 increase in its base fare amid skyrocketing fuel prices and to entice more drivers to join the platform.

Prices of diesel, gas, and kerosene are expected to increase next week, due to petroleum supply concerns amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The cost of diesel is seen going up between P2.40 and P2.70 per liter, while kerosene prices could increase from P1.60 to P2 per liter starting on Tuesday.

Gasoline prices, meanwhile, could increase between 0.30 to P0.60 per liter, according to industry sources.

Ronald Roda, Grab PH senior director for operations and strategy, told reporters over the weekend that the company recently filed a petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to adjust the base fare by P20.

“So what we’re asking for now, look, in the interest of time and for the driver community, please just give us a P20 base fare increase.

That is computed as nothing but covering for the gas of driver-partners for the day,” Roda said.

The LTFRB has set a P40 base fare for ride-hailing services.

“We had to do it not for us but because our drivers are asking for it. We did it for our drivers,” Roda said.

“It’s been difficult now. This industry was very badly affected during the pandemic because of the shutdowns.

A lot of cars got repossessed by the banks. So we’ve been trying to do is get back supply,” he added.

HELPING HAND. Some 600 families who lost their homes to a fire in Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City two weeks ago received food packs from the Naval Reserve Center-Eastern Visayas on Sunday, June 19, 2022. “We are your navy. We will help anytime and anywhere within our means,” said NRCen-EV commander Cdr. James Francis Lugtu. NRCen-EV, along with Philippine Navy Reservists and ROTC cadets rolled out the feeding program and distributed food packs from Rise Against Hunger led by its executive director, Jomar Fleras, and Simply Share Foundation led by its executive director, Pamela Baricuatro. The food packs were repacked Saturday at the NRCen-EV headquarters, with the help of representatives from AXA Philippines.

consecutive terms for members of the House or a third term following two consecutive terms for senators.

“Clearly, the prohibition and term limit refers to consecutive terms. While the provisions do not textually provide the terms ‘hibernation, hiatus, or rest period,’ the usage of the word ‘consecutive’ indicates that the term limit and prohibition only apply to reelection for an immediately subsequent term. The interpretation of petitioners is an extra-textual reading of the Constitution,” the SC said.

The petitioners, composed of a group of lawyers and private individuals led

by Vladimir Alarique Cabigao, argued that Sections 4 and 7, Article VI of the Constitution barred senators from serving more than two consecutive terms while the members of the House of Representatives cannot serve for more than three consecutive terms.

DOJ junks case PH seeks to deep diplomatic relations with Ireland, Algeria vs. matriarch of Yanson family THE Department of Justice dismissed as hearsay with inadmissible evidence the complaint affidavits filed by lawyer Sigfrid A. Fortun against the Yanson matriarch and her two children in connection with the management of Rural Transit Mindanao Inc. (RTMI), Bachelor Express Inc. (BEI) and Mindanao Star Bus Transport Inc. (MSBTI).

In a resolution dated April 27, 2022, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Philip L. dela Cruz denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Fortun challenging the DOJ Resolution dated October 18, 2021 on the perjury, falsification of public documents and qualified theft filed against Olivia V. Yanson and other respondents.

Fortun represented four Yanson siblings – Roy V. Yanson, Emily V. Yanson, Ma. Lourdes Celina Yanson-Lopez and Ricardo V. Yanson Jr. Aside from Olivia, other respondents in the case filed by Fortun include Ginnette Y. Dumancas, Leo Rey V. Yanson, Anita G. Chua, Daniel Nicolas Golez, Rey Ardo and Charles M. Dumancas.

“Since the very complaint-affidavit executed by Attorney-in-Fact Atty. Sigfrid A. Fortun suffers from an inherent legal flaw or infirmity: hearsay and therefore inadmissible in evidence, there is no need to pass upon the other grounds raised by the former in his motion for reconsideration as the same adverse verdict must necessarily be rendered on said other arguments that are anchored on the same defective complaint-affidavit,” the DOJ said in its resolution of the motion for reconsideration.

THE Philippines has agreed to explore cooperation with Ireland in the fields of education, culture, agriculture and maritime ties, as well as to reinvigorate bilateral ties with Algeria.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Irish Ambassador to the Philippines William Carlos discussed possible cooperation in various fields.

The Department of Foreign Affairs official and the Irish envoy both af-

firmed the commitment to work “towards further cultivating the growing relationship between the Philippines and Ireland.”

The two officials discussed matters and opportunities to further their trade and cooperation in the fields of education, culture, agriculture, and maritime.

During the meeting, Carlos also praised “the warmth and friendliness of Filipinos.”

He also acknowledged the important role played by Filipino healthcare workers in helping Ireland cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Irish ambassador was joined by Deputy Head of Mission Brian McCrohan in his visit to the DFA. Meanwhile, the Philippines and Algeria are planning to conduct regular high-level visits and bilateral consultations to strengthen their ties.

Lazaro and Algerian Vice Minister for Western Sahara and the Maghreb Countries Amar Belani reviewed the two countries’ status of relations.

They outlined a plan to conduct regular high-level visits and exchanges and the signing of cooperative legal frameworks, such as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on bilateral consultations between the two countries. Rey Requejo

Batangas bettor wins P5.9-m lotto jackpot

BURNT. A fire razes a warehouse in Quirino Avenue in Parañaque City on Sunday, June 19, 2022. Avito Dalan

A LONE bettor from Batangas bagged the P5.94 million jackpot prize in Saturday night’s Lotto 6/42 draw.

In an advisory Sunday, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said the lucky bettor guessed the winning combination of 08-15-11-23-36-33.

The ticket was purchased in Taal, Batangas.

The bettor can claim the check at the PCSO main office in Mandaluyong City upon presentation of the winning ticket and two identification cards.

Lotto winnings of over P10,000 shall be subject to a 20-percent tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law. Prizes not claimed within a year shall be forfeited.

This is the third straight day and the fourth time this month that a sole bettor bagged the jackpot prize of the government’s lottery games.

A bettor in Malabon became an instant millionaire after guessing the right six-digit combination of the Mega Lotto 6/45 draw on June 17, winning the P103-million jackpot, while another bettor from Cavite bagged the P9.4-million jackpot of the Lotto 6/42 draw on June 16.

Over 120,000 health workers yet to receive COVID-19 pay

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MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

News

By Willie Casas

O

VER 120,000 healthcare workers, as well as other personnel involved in the country’s pandemic response, have not yet received their One COVID-19 Allowance (OCA), a top official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Sunday.

DOH Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega, during an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, said that 400,000 out of the 526,727 healthcare workers were already provided with the OCA by the national government.

His statement was made after Private Hospitals Association Philippines (PHAPI) president Dr. Jose de Grano said on Thursday that the majority of the private hospitals have not yet received their OCA, despite the DOH and the Department of Budget and Management telling otherwise.

The DOH is now coordinating with PHAPI regarding the list of hospitals whose health workers have not yet received their OCA, Vega said.

“We discussed yesterday if president Rene de Grano can provide the list of hospitals that have not yet received their OCA so we could coordinate with them and give them a response. He approved,” Vega said.

The DBM has allocated a P7.92 billion budget for the COVID-19 allow-

ance of public and private healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers.

Of this amount, P4.5 billion is for the benefits of 100,313 plantilla workers of the DOH in public hospitals, offices, and rehabilitation centers including those in military and state university hospitals.

Meanwhile, the remaining P3.42 billion will be for 426,414 health workers who are stationed in local government units and private health facilities, among others.

Vega said those identified as being at high risk for the viral disease will be given P9,000; P6,000 for medium risk; and P3,000 for low risk.

Vega also assured that health workers who have not yet received their COVID-19 allowance will do so under the incoming administration.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier signed into law a measure mandating continuous benefits to all healthcare workers in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and other future public health emergencies.

PREPARATIONS FOR BBM. DPWH workers clean the surroundings of the National Museum in preparation for the proclamation of President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on June 30. Norman Cruz

Variant-specific vax more effective, expert says AN INFECTIOUS disease expert said on Sunday that a variant-specific vaccine should be given as a booster dose for the general population as it may be more effective against the more transmissible Omicron variant.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Dr. Rontgene Solante, who is also a Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) member, pointed out that the booster uptake among the general population is still low.

Solante stressed that the first booster shot is vital for everyone to protect themselves against COVID-19, considering that the efficacy of the primary vaccine series wanes after a few months.

“If we are going to give booster shots to the general public, let’s just

He said the booster shots being given now are still effective against Omicron.

Recent data from National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) showed that 14,704,514 individuals have received their first booster shots, while 648,555 have received the second booster dose.

Currently, the second booster shot could only be given only to frontline healthcare workers, senior citizens, and immunocompromised individuals.

Health workers and the elderly can take their second booster shot four months after their first booster dose, while immunocompromised individuals have to wait for three months after their first booster shot.

Willie Casas

More than 70m Pinoys fully vaccinated, COVID task force says

Robredo plans to take action vs. fake news AFTER her term ends on June 30, Vice President Leni Robredo is considering taking legal actions against individuals spreading fake news on social media.

GMA News reported that Robredo’s spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez in the Vice-President’s weekly radio program said “in the coming weeks and months, we will launch a major initiative to address and combat the proliferation of fake news and lies on social media. It is clear that this kind of trend is detrimental to our democracy and the public discourse.”

“It is being discussed among groups of lawyers to file a lawsuit against those who continue spreading disinformation, and also possibly against those platforms that host such materials like the social media platforms that we currently have,” Gutierrez, quoted in the report, said.

The lawyer further said Robredo’s camp is not doing this “solely for Robredo.”

Gutierrez also cited reports saying that Robredo was the number one target of disinformation on social media before the May 9 polls and that her presidential race rival, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., was the top beneficiary of such false news.

“This is also for the welfare of our entire country and society. We need to bring out the truth. Our discussions must be based on facts and data, and not on fake news,” the lawyer said.

The Vice President earlier confirmed that her team was looking into alleged irregularities reported during the conduct of the 2022 elections.

The Office of Vice President meawhile will conduct a final general assembly on June 27, days before she steps down from office Vice President-elect Sara Duterte has been invited to attend the Gutierrez said the assembly might be held at the Quezon City Reception House, which is the current headquarters of the OVP.

wait for the variant-specific vaccines that can give higher protection against the Omicron rather than giving them 1st generation vaccines that may give them less protection against the Omicron infection,” he said.

In January, Moderna announced that it started clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

A month after, Dr. Mario Jiz of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, however, cited a study showing there is no significant difference in the protection offered by the Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine and the Moderna Omicronspecific booster dose against Omicron.

MANILA BAYANI. The DENR conferred the “Manila Bayani Award” to Villar SIPAG, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, and her son Senator-elect Mark Villar during the celebration of the Philippine Environment Month. The award was given due to their steadfast commitment and tireless efforts in protecting Manila Bay.

MORE than 70 million people in the Philippines have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Saturday.

Citing the latest report from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) last Friday, Galvez said that the country has fully vaccinated 70,005,247 people, accounting for 77.78 percent of the target population.

The development comes more than a year after the Philippines started is COVID-19 vaccination rollout program in March 2021.

According to Galvez, this is a “testament of the administration’s commitment to vaccinate as many Filipinos as possible to protect them” from the coronavirus.

“Nagpapasalamat ang NTF sa lahat ng ating health workers, volunteers, at mga kababayang nagtulong-tulong para mas marami tayong mabakunahan at maprotektahan laban sa COVID-19 (The National Task Force thanks our health workers, volunteers, and fellowmen who helped to make sure that we vaccinate and protect more and

more Filipinos from COVID-19.),” Galvez said.

“This is our parting gift to the next administration. We hope that our new leaders will also prioritize our vaccination program and continue to build an immunity wall among our people,” he added.

The Duterte administration ends on June 30.

As of Friday, the Philippines has administered more than 153 million vaccine doses, the government said, with almost 74.9 million individuals receiving at least one dose.

More than 14,7. million people have taken their first booster shots, while 648,555 have received the second booster dose, the DOH said.

Among the minors, some 3.2 million children aged 5-11, and nearly 9.5 million aged 12-17 have their complete doses.

Galvez said that the country’s high vaccination rate, along with the continued compliance wiht health protocols, can prevent another surge in COVID-19 infections. Willie Casas

Tulfo urges several agencies to improve assistance to distressed OFWs

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR-ELECT Raffy Tulfo on Sunday asked the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Philippine Overseas Labor and Office (POLO) to improve their services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“Among the matters, I will scrutinize as the incoming Chair of the Senate Committee on OFWs are the operations of the Philippine Overseas Labor Officers around the world and the efficiency and fairness of passport processing at the DFA,” Tulfo said.

Tulfo noted they have received many

complaints and reports recently on distressed OFWs awaiting POLO action while they stay in shelters.

He cited a case involving 49 female OFWs at the POLO shelter in Riyadh.

He said they been at the shelter for five to six months. Tulfo said some of the OFWswere abandoned by their employers, while some employers brought them to the shelter.

He also mentioned OFWs with expired contracts were abused, while others have not received their salaries.

“I have asked the POLO and OWWA in Riyadh to make sure these 49 OFWs are back home here in the Philippines by the end of June,” he said.

“We will vigilantly check on the status of Filipinos stranded overseas, their food, personal hygiene needs, and living conditions in the shelters.,” he added.

According to Tulfo, they want swift action on the passports or travel documents of OFWs who want to be repatriated.

“We seek to end their suffering overseas and bring them all back to their families,” he said.

Tulfo added that OFWs who are victims of abuse should have separate facilities where social services can be given.

“Separate them from the others be-

cause of the sensitive nature of their circumstances. Yes, this will entail an additional budget which I will push for in the Senate. Renting facilities and hiring social workers would be prioritized in the Middle East,” he said, adding that he will “respect” the judicial process of an OFW’s host country.

“But there must be ample legal support. If the POLO needs a contingent of legal staff then solutions should be applied,” Tulfo said.

He related that all passport processing costs and repatriation expenses should be fully-subsidized or charged against the repatriation funds of the DFA and POLOs.

Party-list lawmaker bats for two-tier tax on salty food

By Rio N. Araja

MAHARLIKA EAGLES. Members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles-Philippine Eagles, founded in 1979, gather for the group’s general meeting. Alfredo Cabral Jr., president of the Dragon Maharlika Eagles Club presided over the organization’s General Monthly Meeting to discuss transparency and membership.

BARANGAY Health Workers partylist Rep. Angelica Natasha Co is batting for a two-tier tax on low sodium and high sodium food and drinks to bring down high health-care costs from too much consumption of salty food.

She, however, said dried fish or the Filipinos’ well-loved “tuyo” and even dried meat must be tax-exempt and must be under the regulation of the local government unit.

She urged the Department of Finance to come up with better tax administration and an incentivized combination of non-tax and tax to encourage producers of processed foods to shift to low sodium products.

She said the revenues to be generated should be an additional funding for the implementation of the Universal Health-Care Act. “It has been a long time since sweetened products have been taxed under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that took effect in January 2018. That has been over four years ago. With the tax on sweetened products, which helps fund our country’s health programs, not only are there more funds for health now, but new products that are natural juices or with no-sugar added have flooded the consumer market. Consumers have been choosing low sugar over high sugar,” she said.

“I am confident of the same kind of

effects when we have this tax on sodium in foods and drinks. However, for foods, like dried fish and dried meats, the solution is not taxation but authorizing local government units to give incentives to the makers of dried fish and dried meats to make their products less salty. Part of the solution is mandating the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Health and Department of Agriculture to jointly develop food standards on salt content of dried fish and dried meats,” the party-list lawmaker added.

She fears that there could an increase in the incidence of cardiovascular ailment and kidney disorder due to high sodium food intake.

Opinion For cancer patients and their families

189 out of every 100,000 Filipinos are stricken with cancer while four Filipinos die of cancer every hour...alarming figures that gave impetus for legislators to unanimously pass the NICCA into law but its implementation is proving to be an even greater challenge as cancer stakeholders are now frustrated with bureaucratic delays

Any law without appropriate funding betrays the stakeholders targeted by the legislation. The financial costs associated with cancer are often overwhelming.

According to a 2015 study by the Philippine Cancer Society, approximately 80 percent of Filipino families cannot afford to fund basic medical care.

In a separate 2017 finding, most cancer patients still cover more than half of their total bill (54.3 percent), with government contributions and local government unit contributions at about 13 percent of the total health bill.

The Philippine National Health Accounts and the National Statistical Coordination Board estimate social insurance contributions at only 8 percent.

During a recent forum on cancer care funding, Dr. Marife Yap, Senior Technical Adviser of international research group Thinkwell said, “Cancer care is catastrophic. If you get hit, not only does it devastate you because of the possibility of dying sooner, it devastates you financially.

“You would want to catch it early and you do everything possible to do so, but that’s going to eat up a lot of your money, your livelihood.”

To respectfully echo the appeal of all cancer stakeholders to the Department of Budget Management and the Department of Health – we strongly seek the immediate approval and execution of the Joint Memorandum Circular to activate the Cancer Assistance Fund.

‘The power of cannabis’: Japan embraces CBD despite drug taboo

By Katie Forster and Tomohiro Osaki WITH its zero-tolerance cannabis laws, deep social stigma against the drug and moves to tighten rules on consumption, Japan is no stoner’s paradise.

But you wouldn’t guess it watching Ai Takahashi and her friends twerking, bodyrolling and lighting up to the weed anthem “Young, Wild & Free” at a tiny, packed club in Tokyo.

What they’re smoking isn’t illegal marijuana, but a joint containing cannabidiol (CBD)—a non-intoxicating component of cannabis that has become trendy worldwide and is fast catching on in Japan.

“When I was a child, I was taught at school and everywhere else that marijuana is an absolute no-no, and that’s what I believed too,” Takahashi told AFP. “But being a huge reggae fan, I had a chance to smoke it when I traveled to places where it’s legal.”

The 33-year-old dancer later became interested in CBD, which is legal in Japan if extracted from the plant’s seeds or fullygrown stems, but not other parts like the leaves.

It is sold in vapes, drinks and sweets at specialist cafes, health stores, and even a shop in Tokyo’s main airport.

When Takahashi encouraged her mother, who was struggling with depression, to try CBD, it made a big difference, she said.

“That’s when I became convinced of the power of cannabis.”

Japan’s CBD industry had an estimated value of $59 million in 2019, up from $3 million in 2015, says Tokyo-based research firm Visiongraph.

And the government is discussing approving medicines derived from marijuana, already used in many countries to treat conditions like severe epilepsy.

But despite its budding interest in the plant’s health benefits, the country is not getting softer on illegal use, with cannabis arrests hitting records each year.

‘Don’t smoke outside’ It’s a curious contrast that has led Norihiko Hayashi, who sells products containing cannabinoids like CBD and CBN in sleek black and silver packaging, to advise discretion.

“It’s legal, but we ask customers to enjoy it at home. Don’t smoke it outside on the street,” the 37-year-old said.

Hayashi thinks Japan could eventually legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

But recreational? “Never. Not in more than 100 years. Maybe I’ll already be dead.”

A growing number of countries from Canada to South Africa and most recently Thailand are taking a more relaxed approach to weed.

But drug use remains taboo in Japan, where celebrities caught using narcotics of any description are shunned by their fans and employers.

Just 1.4 percent of people say they have tried marijuana, compared to more than 40 percent in France and around half in the United States.

Even so, cannabis-related arrests have been rising for nearly a decade to a record 5,482 last year, with most offenders in their teens or 20s.

“The internet is awash with false information saying cannabis isn’t harmful or addictive,” health ministry official Masashi Yamane told AFP. The ministry warns that intoxicating sub-

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a fact how we had to push hard and must now once again push on in Congress and respectfully remind our legislators that, as mandated by the NICCA, the CAF should be a permanent line item in the GAA. Now that Congress will soon start deliberations for the 2023 national budget, the budget for the CAF is just labeled as a “special appropriations fund” which means that funds for cancer programs are not assured and can easily be diverted by the DOH, a violation of the NICCA that for the third year is happening again.

WHEN the National Integrated Cancer Control Act and the Universal Health Care Act were signed into law more than three years ago, Filipino cancer patients were given a bright spark of hope that, after a long advocacy campaign, government support for a responsive, equitable, and accessible cancer care will soon be realized.

Internationally recognized as one of the most comprehensive cancer assistance laws, this landmark legislation, adequate funding and therefore its envisioned impact remains unrealized as cancer stakeholders are still struggling to push for implementation being bogged down by bureaucratic resistance.

World Health Organization data posted in February 2022 says, “Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths.”

But an important point of the report is that “Many cancers can be cured if detected early and treated effectively.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2020 data on the causes of deaths in the Philippines say that cancer is the second cause of mortality.

According to a study by the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Genetics, National Institutes of Health, 189 out of every 100,000 Filipinos are stricken with cancer while four Filipinos die of cancer every hour or 96 cancer patients every day.

These are the alarming figures that gave impetus for legislators to unanimously pass the NICCA into law but its implementation is proving to be an even greater challenge as cancer stakeholders are now frustrated with bureaucratic delays.

In a formal letter by members of the National Integrated Cancer Control Council which is mandated as the policy-making, planning and coordinating body on cancer control attached with the Department of Health, the council aired its urgent appeal to President Duterte and DOH Secretary Duque to immediately direct the Department of Budget and Management and DOH to expedite the issuance of their Joint Memorandum Circular creating and operationalizing the Cancer Assistance Fund.

The Memorandum Circular has been approved by the DOH but, as of this writing, is still pending with the DBM. The NICCA Council points out the continuous delay of this Memorandum Circular is blocking the activation of the Cancer Assistance Fund which patients should already be accessing for diagnosis and active treatment.

Furthermore, the implementation of the guidelines stated in the joint memorandum circular will supplement the inadequacy of existing PhilHealth coverage and Malasakit funds to address increasing cancer requirements.

Another critical issue is that the cancer budget is again not a separate line item as it was in the General Appropriations Act in the two previous budget cycles.

Being an active proponent as convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines working with the Cancer Coalition of the Philippines, I know for

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

‘We’re done with peace talks’

W

E’RE not quite sure if we understood what incoming National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos really meant when she said recently that she is “done with peace talks” with communist rebels.

That’s because, in the same breath, she said they should be invited “to be part of change.”

Maybe she was referring to formal peace talks that have been held abroad, brokered by the Norwegian government in its last round, that went pffft because the talking was going on at the negotiating table while the two sides were lunging at each other’s throats out in the battlefield seemingly with unmitigated glee.

But the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) was established precisely as a response to the futility of formal peace talks without a bilateral ceasefire in place.

The rationale was to seek out armed rebels in the far-flung areas and convince them to surrender their firearms and return to the mainstream of society in exchange for livelihood and housing assistance for their families.

The Task Force boasts of having convinced thousands of NPA rebels and sympathizers to return to the fold of the law.

But didn’t the military also boast of having whittled down the number of NPA rebels to just a few thousands through relentless offensive operations against them?

The Task Force boasts of having convinced thousands of NPA rebels and sympathizers to return to the fold of the law The problem with ignoring the national leadership of the CPP-NPA-NDF and dealing only with local cadres and commanders is that the latter move only under central guidance, or instructions from above.

If the local cadres and commanders move on their own, they take a big risk of finding themselves facing the business end of an AK-47 assault rifle from higher organs and their own comrades-in-arms.

The retired UP professor said that the two sides have already reached agreement on “certain things.”

As far as we know, the only agreement reached

as far back as the 1990s was the JASIG, or Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees for rebels taking part in the peace process.

But it appears that only the aliases of rebels and not their real names have been reflected in documents pertaining to JASIG. Again, if we’re not mistaken, the two sides in the 2016 peace talks discussed drafts of an agreement on social and economic reforms.

But no agreement was reached at all on substantive issues, because the NDF draft contained outlandish demands, short of calling for a coalition government.

Carlos is therefore mistaken in saying that the two sides have already reached agreement on “certain things.” If they did, it’s not about social and economic reforms, electoral and political reforms, and cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces that comprise the substantive phase of a comprehensive peace agreement.

In other words, it’s back to square one as far as formal peace talks are concerned, and we’ve not moved an inch in reaching agreement on addressing the fundamental causes of the armed conflict.

Carlos is entirely correct, however, in saying that Red-tagging is counter-productive and does not lead to an atmosphere conducive to a durable peace in this country.

The new administration should work towards what might be called an “inclusive peace” that involves government, the private sector and civil society in finding lasting solutions to poverty and social injustice that breed rebellion.

Apology not enough ONE can understand the anguish the parents of Jose Antonio Sanvicente Jr. when a video of his totally irresponsible driving incident two weeks ago went viral. The video was also widely shown on television and became the big story the following week.

Days passed, during which one would expect the police to have immediately arrested the erring driver of a vehicle whose ownership was easy to trace.

But no, the police tweedled, and virtually did little other than to admit they had already identified the driver.

Ten days after, Junior went to police headquarters along with parents and a lawyer. He apologized, saying he was rattled, panicked, confused, such that he ran over the security guard after he had bumped the poor guy.

His mother tearfully pleaded for public understanding, and kissed the hand of an approaching PNP chief, whose desire to be so appointed awaits the act of the incoming president.

That “mano po” again went viral, eliciting various negative reactions, considering the 10 days of hiding Junior Sanvicente did before he voluntarily appeared.

Strangely, the police did not detain Junior, stating that no charges were filed, and therefore, no warrant for his arrest authorized them to do so.

The “modus” unravels. After the hit-andrun incident, wealthy parents called a lawyer, who must have advised them and their junior to bide sweet time.

“Aregluhin na lang natin yung biktima,” the lawyer must have counseled. Meanwhile, an entire week passed, so no arrest warrant was issued.

That’s standard practice among the rich after they commit wrongdoings against a poor individual. But what about the police institution? Were they also pressured, and if so, by whom? Or were they persuaded in a “friendly” manner?

Meanwhile, as SP Tito Sotto wondered, “what is happening to our country?”, and protested the obvious disconnect between law and order for the rich versus the common man.

Where and when in these benighted isles can the common man get a fair shake, let alone justice from those sworn to do so?

It means consumption of marijuana is technically legal in Japan, although possession is punishable by up to five years in jail stances like THC, found in cannabis, could compromise learning ability and muscle control as well as potentially increase the risk of mental illness.

‘Draconian’ To tackle the issue, authorities are looking

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

These are not ordinary government functionaries; they are even high party officials in the socialist regime.

Here in the Philippines, several senators refused to sign the Blue Ribbon Committee report on the Pharmally scandal, so that the same could be taken up in plenary.

Not a case of “with reservations,” but outright refusal to sign. In other words, “kill” the committee report of a worthy senator who recently got an overdose of presidential rage, which may have caused his failure to be re-elected.

The “mastermind” was never detained.

His protectors or confreres in high or low public office neither. And two underlings of the Chinese mastermind were released from detention after several months.

And nobody expects anybody to be tried before the courts of law. *** Which reminds me of the fertilizer scandal in 2004 that made the Department of Agriculture outdo the DPWH as the “gold standard” in bureaucratic corruption.

The supposed mastermind has been ex-

onerated by the Sandiganbayan, while up to the present, several DA regional directors who merely followed orders from the top to download the funds to LGUs are still fending off a multitude of charges, their retirement pensions gone to lawyers’ fees, and a few have already died. *** The Commission on Audit dunned the Nayong Pilipino Foundation for having misspent hundreds of millions of money supposed to be in escrow because a lease of national government property entrusted to it by a former president in the Entertainment City was deemed improper by Pres. Duterte.

The lessee had already paid advance rentals to Nayong Pilipino for a long-term lease contract signed and “perfected” over property between the Okada and Solaire casino hotels.

Meanwhile, as construction could not proceed and the questioned lease remains in limbo, officials of the obsolete and useless government agency attached to the Tourism department quietly spent hundreds of millions in what COA deems unwarranted and questionable expenses.

While nobody was looking, and the case seems to have been forgotten, some “bright” guys made hay.

Truth is, Nayong Pilipino should be abolished, and properties assigned to it, such as in the Entertainment City and in the Clark Ecozone, entrusted to other agencies with a real reason to exist and a useful mandate to perform. *** I cannot understand why some rabid supporters of the pink legion and their Santa Leni till now refuse to bring down the pink parols that festoon the front of their houses or business establishments. They probably will keep these Christmas ornaments until the next holiday season.

A bakeshop which we used to patronize for their cakes and pastries still has the store and adjoining property festooned with those pink lanterns.

Enough na; tama na.

Even that bastion of yellow fever, St. Scholastica’s College run by Benedictine sisters has finally removed at end-May the hundreds of pink lanterns that adorned their entire fence from one block to the next.

Olats na, guys! Accept reality, and move on, hopefully forward.

into closing a loophole originally meant to stop farmers from being arrested for inhaling psychoactive smoke when growing hemp for items like rope.

It means consumption of marijuana is technically legal in Japan, although possession is punishable by up to five years in jail.

This rises to seven years and a possible fine of up to two million yen (P795,000 at current exchange rate) if it’s to sell for profit, with stricter sentences for growing or smuggling.

Japan’s Cannabis Control Act was introduced in 1948, during the post-war US occupation.

The United States “saw marijuana as a problem and a threat, even though consumption was really limited and very much stigmatized,” said Miriam Kingsberg Kadia, a University of Colorado history professor who studies narcotics in Japan.

So “these draconian drug laws against a drug that wasn’t really a problem remained

on the books,” she told AFP. The rules have ensnared stars including Beatle Paul McCartney, who spent nine days in detention in Japan in 1980 after cannabis was found in his baggage.

But the country is not an outlier in Asia, where tough penalties for drug use are the norm, although Thailand now allows users to possess and grow cannabis under complicated new guidelines that still outlaw recreational use.

And while Japan could allow cannabis-derived medicines as soon as this year, there’s little sign that politicians or the public back further relaxation of the rules.

“Marijuana is seen as something favored by outlaws,” said Ryudai Nemoto, a 21-yearold employee at a CBD shop in Ibaraki near Tokyo.

“I personally don’t see it that way, knowing there are people who gravitate towards it for medical and health reasons, but that’s not how general society views it.”AFP

*** In Vietnam, meanwhile, authorities filed charges of corruption and grand larceny against the mayor of the capital, Hanoi, and the Minister of Health, among other officials, for grossly and unlawfully overpricing the purchase and distribution of pandemic supplies.

Jose Antonio Sanvicente Jr.’s mother tearfully pleaded for public understanding, and kissed the hand of an approaching PNP chief, whose desire to be so appointed awaits the act of the incoming president

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MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Sri Lanka troops open fire to quell riots at fuel station SRI Lanka’s military opened fire to contain rioting at a fuel station, officials said Sunday as unprecedented queues for petrol and diesel were seen across the bankrupt country.

Troops fired in Visuvamadu, 365 kilometers (228 miles) north of Colombo, on Saturday night as their guard point was pelted with stones, army spokesman Nilantha Premaratne said.

“A group of 20 to 30 people pelted stones and damaged an army truck,” Premaratne told AFP. Police said four civilians and three soldiers were wounded when the army opened fire for the first time to quell unrest linked to the worsening economic crisis.

As the pump ran out of petrol, motorists began to protest and the situation escalated into a clash with troops, police said.

Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since independence, with the country unable to find dollars to

import essentials, including food, fuel and medicines.

The nation’s 22 million population has been enduring acute shortages and long queues for scarce supplies while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has for months resisted calls to step down over mismanagement.

Sri Lanka has deployed armed police and troops to guard fuel stations.

A motorist was shot dead by police in April at the central town of Rambukkana when a clash erupted over the distribution of rationed petrol and diesel.

Police said clashes involving motorists erupted at three locations over the weekend. At least six constables were wounded in one clash while seven motorists were arrested.

The government declared a twoweek shutdown of state institutions and schools in a bid to reduce commuting and conserve depleting fuel stocks in the impoverished nation. AFP

ANTI-RIOT. A member of the Sri Lankan security personnel stands guard at a Ceylon Petroleum Corporation fuel station in Colombo on June 19, 2022. AFP

ZELENSKY VOWS TO RETAKE SOUTHERN FRONTLINE

NATO warns of long war in Ukraine

P

RESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Sunday that his forces “will not give away the south to anyone” after his first visit to the southern frontline, as NATO’s chief warned the war in Ukraine could last “for years.”

Making a rare trip outside Kyiv, where he is based for security reasons, Zelensky traveled to the hold-out Black Sea city of Mykolaiv and visited troops nearby and in the neighbouring Odessa region for the first time since the Russian invasion.

“We will not give away the south to

anyone, we will return everything that’s ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe,” he said in a video posted on Telegram as he made his way back to Kyiv.

He said he talked with troops and police during his visit.

“Their mood is confident, and looking into their eyes it is obvious that they

all do not doubt our victory,” he said.

While Zelensky remained defiant, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that “we must be prepared for this to last for years.”

Speaking to German daily newspaper Bild, Stoltenberg said “We must not weaken in our support of Ukraine, even if the costs are high – not only in terms of military support but also because of rising energy and food prices.”

Russian forces have directed their firepower at the east and south of Ukraine in recent weeks since failing in their bid to take the capital Kyiv after the lightning February 24 invasion.

“The losses are significant. Many houses were destroyed, civilian logistics were disrupted, there are many social issues,” Zelensky said.

“I have commissioned to make assistance to people who have lost loved ones more systemic. We will definitely restore everything that was destroyed. Russia does not have as many missiles as our people have the desire to live.”

Mykolaiv is a key target for Russia as it lies on the way to the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa.

Zelensky surveyed the city’s badly damaged regional administration build-

Macron’s second term on the line in final round of parliamentary polls FRANCE began voting Sunday in the final round of parliamentary elections, with centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s coalition looking to hold off a challenge from a newly formed leftwing alliance.

Forecasters predict a re-run of last week’s low turnout at polling stations, which opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and will close at 8:00 pm.

The vote will be decisive for Macron’s second-term agenda following his re-election in April, with the 44-year-old needing a majority in order to push through promised tax cuts and welfare reform and raise the retirement age.

Projections from polling firms suggest his “Together” coalition is on course to be the biggest party in the next National Assembly, but possibly short of the 289 seats needed for a majority.

New left-wing coalition NUPES is

Indian plane makes safe landing after engine caught fire

hoping to spring a surprise, with the red-green collective promising to block Macron’s agenda after uniting behind 70-year-old figurehead Jean-Luc Melenchon.

“The vote is extremely open and it would be improper to say that things are settled one way or the other,” Melenchon told reporters Friday during a final campaign stop in Paris.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is also eyeing major gains for her National Rally party, which had just eight seats in the outgoing parliament.

Macron was left disappointed by results last weekend after a first round of voting saw Together and NUPES finish neck-and-neck on around 26 percent.

Surging inflation, lacklustre campaigning from newly named Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, and Macron’s abrasive personality were all seen as reasons for the under-performance. AFP

A NEW Delhi-bound flight carrying 185 passengers made an emergency landing on Sunday in the eastern Indian city of Patna, after its left engine caught fire while in flight, officials said.

The passengers aboard the domestic flight, operated by commercial carrier SpiceJet, were evacuated safely once the pilot returned to Patna airport shortly after take-off.

“The flight returned to Patna airport after locals (on the ground) noticed a fire on the left wing of the aircraft and informed airport officials,” district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told reporters.

“All 185 passengers were safely deboarded. Reason for the fire is a technical glitch. The engineering team is analysing,” Singh added.

A passenger told reporters that there was a lot of noise heard on board the plane in the first 15 minutes after take-off.

“The pilot announced there was some problem and that we would be going back to Patna.... it was quite scary,” said Pacifica, who gave only one name.

A bird hitting the engine may have sparked the fire, local news broadcaster NDTV quoted aviation sources as saying.

The no-frills SpiceJet airline has been in the news in recent weeks, with aviation authorities imposing a fine of one million Indian rupees (about $12,830) for training its Boeing 737 MAX pilots on a faulty simulator. AFP

Islamic State claims attack on Sikh temple

WILDFIRE. A firefighter operates at the site of a wildfire in Pumarejo de Tera near Zamora, northern Spain. Firefighters continued to fight against multiple fires in Spain, one of which ravaged nearly 20,000 hectares of land, on the last day of an extreme heat wave which crushed the country, with peaks at 43 degrees. AFP

New HK officials include 4 under US sanctions BEIJING on Sunday appointed a new Hong Kong administration that includes four senior officials under US sanctions its incoming leader has decried as an attempt to “bully” China.

The United States hit 11 Hong Kong and Beijing officials with sanctions two years ago after a sweeping national security law was imposed to snuff out dissent in the semi-autonomous city following the massive, sometimes violent democracy protests of 2019.

Seven were members of the Hong Kong government, and four will continue in the new administration, in-

PROTEST.

A person holds up a poster depicting WikiLeaks founder, Australian Julian Assange, reading ‘heroic journalist.

Freedom for Julian Assange,’ during a protest outside the UK embassy in Mexico City, on June 18, 2022, after the UK government approved his extradition to the United States. AFP

ing and met officials in what appeared to be a basement where he handed out awards to soldiers, in a video released by his office.

Soldiers in Mykolaiv meanwhile were trying to keep their pre-war routines alive, with one saying he would not give up his vegan diet on the frontlines.

Oleksandr Zhuhan said he had received a package from a network of volunteers to keep up his plant-based diet.

“There was pate and vegan sausages, hummus, soya milk... and all this for free,” the 37-year-old drama teacher said happily. AFP

cluding leader-in-waiting John Lee, security minister Chris Tang, mainland affairs minister Erick Tsang and newly appointed chief secretary for administration Eric Chan.

The other three sanctioned were retired police chief Steven Lo, outgoing city leader Carrie Lam and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, who will be replaced.

Under the sanctions, Lam has said she was forced to receive her salary in cash due to banking restrictions.

Introducing his new cabinet to reporters Sunday, Lee said he “scoffed at the so-called sanctions” and paid them no attention.

“Some countries of bullies tried to intimidate (Hong Kong) officials with measures like sanctions, especially after their plots to sabotage our national security failed because of the measures we deployed,” Lee said.

“This made us more determined in continuing to discharge our duties of defending national security.”

Sunday’s appointment of 26 principal officials comes less than two weeks before the new government assumes office on July 1, the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s transfer from British to Chinese rule and halfway point of the “One Country, Two Systems” political model. AFP

THE Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan that killed one community member and a Taliban fighter, saying it was retaliation for insults against the Prophet Mohammed.

Protests in several Muslim countries were sparked by a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party comments earlier this month about the relationship between the prophet and his youngest wife.

In a message posted on its Amaq propaganda site, the Islamic State (IS) group said Saturday’s attack targeted Hindus and Sikhs and the “apostates” who protected them in “an act of support for the Messenger of Allah.”

IS said one of its fighters “penetrated a temple for Hindu and Sikh polytheists in Kabul, after killing its guard, and opened fire on the pagans inside with his machine gun and hand grenades.”

Two were killed and at least seven others wounded in the raid.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the attackers lobbed at least one grenade when they entered the temple, setting off a blaze.

The attack follows a visit by an Indian delegation to Kabul to discuss the distribution of humanitarian aid from India to Afghanistan.

Afghan and Indian media reports said the delegation discussed with Taliban officials the possibility of reopening the Indian embassy, which shut after the Islamists seized power in August last year. AFP

WHO drops endemic, non-endemic country distinction for monkeypox THE World Health Organization says it has removed the distinction between endemic and non-endemic countries in its data on monkeypox to better unify the response to the virus.

Until the past few months, monkeypox had generally been confined to Western and Central Africa but is now present in several continents.

“We are removing the distinction between endemic and non-endemic countries, reporting on countries together where possible, to reflect the unified response that is needed,” the WHO said in its outbreak situation update dated June 17 but sent to the media on Saturday.

Between January 1 and June 15,

2,103 confirmed cases, a probable case and one death have been reported to the WHO in 42 countries, it said.

The Geneva-based UN health agency is due on June 23 to hold an emergency meeting to determine whether to classify the global monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.

The designation is the highest alarm the UN agency can sound.

The majority—84 percent—of confirmed cases are from the European region, followed by the Americas, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean region and Western Pacific region.

WHO believes the actual number of cases is likely higher. AFP

Business

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MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stock market trading to remain volatile T TOP GAINERS contributing to investors’ concerns.

“The week’s close at 6,331.56 signals the bears are in control. Further RADING at the decline towards the 6,000 to 6,300 levPhilippine Stock els is probable in the near term,” BDO Exchange is expected Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said. to remain volatile, with The benchmark Philippine Stock Exthe index nearing the bear change index will enter the bear market market, amid lingering fears once it drops to 6,041.76.

A bear market condition happens over slowing economy, when a stock index declines by 20 perrising inflation and cent or more recent highs over a sustained period on pessimism and prevailtightening interest rates.

Analysts said the depreciation of the ing negative investor sentiment.

The US S&P 500 Index last week peso against the US dollar and the rising COVID-19 cases in the country were entered bear territory as inflation fears

By Jenniffer B. Austria

continued to mount.

Analysts said, however, the market’s recent decline could provide investors opportunity for bargain hunting as many stocks significantly dropped from recent highs.

The PSEi plunged by 3.04 percent last week to close at 6,331.56, while the broader all-shares index retreated 3.33 percent to 3,394.95. All sub-indices ended in the red, with services declining by 4.34 percent; holding firms, 3.98 percent; industrial, 3.22 percent; property, 2.55 percent; mining and oil, 2.3 percent; and financials, 1.24 percent.

Foreign investors turned into net sellers last week by P3.6 billion. The av-

erage daily trade value reached P7.86 billion, up from the previous week’s average of P5.5 billion.

The top gainers last week were Emperador Inc. which advanced 5.3 percent to P17.90; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which picked up 4.7 percent to P35.70; and Bank of the Philippine Islands which rose 2.4 percent to P94.80.

Heavy losers included Wilcon Depot Inc., which declined 15.3 percent to P23.30; Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc., which fell 13.5 percent to P20.15; and Megaworld Corp., which lost 13.1 percent to P2.26. With AFP

Store workers in Maryland vote to establish first US Apple union SAN FRANCISCO, United States— A majority of employees at a US Apple store have voted to form the tech giant’s first union, in the wake of similar unionization drives at Starbucks and Amazon locations.

Of the 110 employees at the Towson, Maryland shop, 65 voted in favor and 33 against, according to a live count broadcast Saturday by the federal agency overseeing the vote.

The vote comes after a group of employees called AppleCORE (Coalition of Organized Retail Employees) campaigned for unionization, demanding a say in deciding on wages, hours and safety measures.

“We did it Towson! We won our union vote! Thanks to all who worked so hard and all who supported! Now we celebrate... Tomorrow we keep organizing,” AppleCORE tweeted.

Saturday’s result means that the shop’s employees, who have been voting since Wednesday, should form their own branch of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, once the agency has certified the results.

Saturday’s vote result follows several symbolic victories—including among workers for giants such as Amazon and Starbucks—by the country’s unions, on the decline for decades, to which President Joe Biden has lent his support.

It was not the first time employees at an Apple store have tried to unionize, but it was the first attempt that resulted in a vote.

Apple’s director of distribution and human resources, Deirdre O’Brien, visited the shop in May to address employees.

“I want to start out by saying it’s your right to join a union, but it’s equally your right not to join a union,” O’Brien said, according to audio published by Vice. AFP

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IRAN INFLATION. Iranians shop at the Tajrish Bazaar market in the capital Tehran on June 15, 2022. Iran has been wrestling with rampant price growth for years, exceeding 30 percent annually every year since 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund. AFP

Companies in China teeter under zero-COVID pressure BEIJING, China—Fiona Shi lost her job twice during the pandemic—first, in 2020 when Covid ravaged the travel industry, and then this year as China’s strict virus controls hammered businesses in the world’s number two economy.

China is the last major economy welded to a zero-Covid strategy – putting firms and workers at risk of snap lockdowns, freezing activity in the services sector and tangling supply chains crucial for factories to sell their goods.

As the country battles its worst outbreak since 2020, its urban jobless rate has surged to the highest level in two years and the pain is being felt by both blue- and white-collar workers.

“Many places say they are not recruiting people aged above 35,” said Shi, 38, who pointed to the difficulty of returning to entry-level positions after managerial roles.

She worked in a management role in the hospitality industry in 2020 when the coronavirus brought nearly all travel to a halt as governments imposed social distancing and movement restrictions.

Two years later, the Beijinger found herself in the same position after losing her job at a multinational firm.

“The pandemic has also made it harder... many places have frozen headcounts,” she told AFP. “I’m really anxious.”

Months of unpredictable Covid restrictions—including snap lockdowns and severe travel curbs—have hit dozens of cities from business hub Shanghai to the northern breadbasket province of Jilin.

An American Chamber of Commerce survey released this week showed that almost all respondents cut their revenue projections, while in a separate study

Lacking tourism workers, Croatia recruits abroad

By Lajla Veselica ROVINJ, Croatia—Tourists are flocking back to Croatia after the pandemic decimated its vital travel industry, except the Adriatic nation has a problem: it lacks workers to cater to the legions of visitors.

Faced with a chronic shortage of tourism workers, Croatia is recruiting people in neighboring Balkan countries and as far as Asia to fill the gap.

It is a problem that other top tourist destinations in Europe— France, Spain and Greece—have also experienced since the lifting of COVID restrictions.

But it is an issue that Croatia—famous for its idyllic coast line dotted with more than 1,000 islands and islets—already struggled with for years and has worsened since the pandemic.

The tourism industry could be short of 10,000 workers this year, according to official estimates.

“The situation is alarming,” said Stanislav Briskoski, owner of a restaurant in the tourist hotspot of Rovinj, in northern Istria peninsula, and head of Istria caterers and tourism workers guild.

Croatia is primed for a tourism rebound: it has already hosted nearly three million visitors in the first five months of the year, nearly triple the number from last year, which bodes well for the peak summer season in July and August.

The country of 3.8 million people greeted a record 21 million visitors in 2019.

“The desire for travel is big... tourists will come,” the head of the Croat tourism association, Veljko Ostojic, said.

Tourism is a major source of

PSEi June 17, 2022

11 percent of European firms said they would downsize their China operations because of Covid measures.

Domestic firms have also been tightening their purse strings.

Ride-hailing platform Caocao Chuxing has let go of staff, with Chinese media reports pegging the proportion at 40 percent.

Some staff at e-commerce giant Alibaba were also reportedly asked to leave, according to state outlet Legal Daily.

Grim situation The imposition of restrictions to stamp out Covid outbreaks this year has intensified pressure on firms already grappling with a slowdown in the economy and regulatory crackdowns on sectors including property and tech.

Bai, 27, told AFP she was laid off by a US tech company that was preparing to end its business in China. AFP

revenue for Croatia, accounting for one-fifth of its economy.

Ostojic said the industry could break its 2019 record, unless the war in Ukraine escalates.

But the sector needs workers.

‘Once in lifetime opportunity’ Since Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, more than 250,000 Croats have left the country seeking a better life in Germany, Austria or Ireland.

More recently, COVID lockdowns forced catering and tourism employees to look for jobs in other sectors, where they eventually stayed, having better wages and better working hours.

Last year, Croatia lifted quotas for foreign workers hailing mostly from its non-EU Balkan neighbors as well as Asia.

By June, it issued more than 51,000 work permits for foreign nationals, mostly in the construction sector, followed by catering

and tourism.

It was almost double compared with the same period in 2021 and some 100,000 permits are expected to be issued this year.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to work here, in Europe,” James Pepito, a gardener at Mon Perin camping, near Rovinj, told AFP. The 32-year-old Filipino, who worked in Oman and Qatar before arriving in Croatia two years ago, hopes to stay for another year.

“I have a good experience, that’s why I’m still here in Croatia,” he said, praising the wages, weather and good colleagues.

Pinoy 385, an employment agency for Filipinos, has found job for Pepito and some 1,700 other people, with another 500 expected to be hired by the end of the year to work as assistant cooks, maids, waiters and bakers. AFP

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VOLUME VALUE (PHP) 150,875,400 5,689,299,910 2,935,060 561,890,244

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10,137,100 2,905,920 427,270

282,565,990 277,915,555 272,883,890

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242,723,485

HR practice and the pandemic: Insights on people for people “WHAT a time to be in HR!” conveyed to organizational leaders and senior I was often greeted with management whose support that remark by colleagues was instrumental for HR to and friends who know put people’s welfare front MICHAEL ANGELO of my human resource and center. management practice at As HR suddenly became E. MALICSI the height of the pandemic. an ‘all-important’ and the Having witnessed this ‘most essential’ unit of every first-hand in their own company, HR managers and organizations, they were practitioners must not only aware of how daunting it was to be in HR under bask in the renewed significance of their roles, such turbulent and precarious circumstances. but also realize insights and uphold lessons on Oh, what a time indeed! I therefore cannot help people management. I was recently asked by a being pensive as I recall the colossal breadth and chief HR officer what one thing I would like to depth of taking care of people in organizations change about HR, in light of the pandemic. during what could have been the biggest crisis It goes without saying that the terrain has already of our lifetimes. I hope I can be allowed to put changed. I would like to reframe the question HR practitioners in the same gallant league of instead as “What would I like HR to continue medical and health care workers, first responders, doing amid the changing landscape?” My answer teachers and all essential service personnel who is that HR must remain a champion of clarity ensured that our way of life carried on. against obscurity, consistency over disparity and In their own right, HR professionals have also compassion above adversity. Ultimately, HR emerged to be heroes on the ground. With the should continue to advocate people’s well-being absence of a blueprint to navigate the workplace and embrace their evolving needs while balancing under a pandemic, they persisted to guide the goals of their organization. people and companies through volatility. Most importantly, they worked hard for the safety and Michael Angelo ‘Mike’ Malicsi is Head of protection of employees specifically through People Experience and HR Business Partner the implementation of testing, treatment and at Goldilocks. He is a part-time lecturer at the vaccination.

Department of Management and Organization, My fellow HR practitioners may agree with Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business, De me about those times when we were tested to La Salle University, where he teaches strategic the limit and pushed to the wall. I know that human resource management and organizational they would agree with me when I say that communication. He is an Australia Awards when we did our jobs and did them well, we alumnus and a graduate of Monash University helped other employees perform their jobs and in Melbourne. Mike is the founding convenor preserve their livelihoods despite the struggle of Australia Alumni Communities Philippines, a and the blur. network of Australia-educated Filipinos. He can That is why I am taking this opportunity to be contacted at michael.malicsi@dlsu.edu.ph. pay tribute to all HR practitioners who soldiered The views expressed above are the author’s and on with their selflessness and commitment so that their organizations and people could keep do not necessarily reflect the official position of running. At the same time, gratitude should be DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

Green Light

Tourists walk in the tourist hotspot of Rovinj, on the west coast of the Istrian peninsula, on June 11, 2022. Tourists are flocking back to Croatia after the pandemic decimated its vital travel industry, except the Adriatic nation has a problem: it lacks workers to cater to the legions of visitors, and is recruiting people in neighboring Balkan countries and as far as Asia to fill the gap. AFP

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

B4

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

IN BRIEF

PLDT Global signs deal with Reloadly

PLDT Global said it teamed up with Reloadly, an international airtime top-up and digital goods solution, to give businesses and developer teams plug-and-play access to PLDT Global network.

It said that under the partnership, digital businesses can integrate seamlessly to the PLDT Global network all over the world through Reloadly APIs, supporting the growing demand from the global developer community for innovative airtime solutions for the fintech, NGO, cryptocurrency, e-commerce and customer rewards industries.

Reloadly said it shares PLDT Global’s mission to transform the lives of clients globally, accelerating the deployment of high-speed data networks, closing the digital divide in the countries where it operates by deploying digital highways for millions of people who today are taking advantage of the new digital economy.

Acting as an airtime aggregator, Reloadly provides the world’s first dedicated platform for connecting to the global mobile network.

Within the platform is a growing toolkit of airtime software, including Reloadly’s airtime API, widget, plugin, SDK, GitHub projects and more, as well as a vast multilingual library of developer documentation to build opensource airtime solutions. Darwin G. Amojelar

Cagayan de Oro hotel gets incentives from BOI THE Board of Investments approved the application for registration of Grand City Hotels Inc. which is modernizing the New Dawn Pensionne House in Cagayan De Oro City.

The modernization project, with an investment cost of P36.89 million, qualified as a tourism project for complying with the requirements Republic Act No. 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009 and Tourism Related Facilities of the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan of RA 11534.

The facility will revitalize its features with efficient technologies that will reduce carbon footprints and is expected to start its operations by June this year. The renovated inn is a modern, comfortable, yet highlyaffordable home that was conceptualized for the convenience, comfort and safety of guests from business executives to families and tourists.

“This project is a testament to what we are doing to make the Philippine economy modern and greener. I am optimistic about what else will come for the country this year and beyond, as we have already made inroads to attract more investments. We will make it happen in the Philippines,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

Teleperformance recruits in provinces TELEPERFORMANCE Philippines, a global leader in outsourced customer and citizen experience management and advanced related services, said it is bringing the TP Cloud Campus Jeepney on a roadshow across Luzon to promote work-at-home career opportunities through its Cloud Campus solution.

Cloud Campus Jeepney is Teleperformance’s innovative approach to job recruitment where TP brings work-at-home jobs to the provinces, tapping the Philippines’ vast countryside talent pool.

The Cloud Campus Jeepney is touring key locations in Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan.

The Jeepney will continue its roadshow in Urdaneta, Pangasinan from June 18 to 20. Its next stop is Tarlac from June 24 to 25 before heading to its last stop in Pampanga from June 28 to 30. It will be making its last Luzon stop in Batangas from July 6 to 8.

The TP Cloud Campus Jeepney motorcade was also held around Laoag and San Nicolas, where TP launched their first Cloud Campus hub in Ilocos Norte. As the company’s 23rd business site, TP Cloud Campus Ilocos Norte will open more jobs for residents of the Ilocos region that will allow them to “work wherever they live and live wherever they love”.

Business DOE declares green energy auction of 2,000 MW a success

By Alena Mae S. Flores

T

HE Green Energy Auction Program involving the auction of 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy was a success, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said over the weekend.

Cusi said the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Bids Evaluation and Awards Committee conducted the first GEAP auction round on Friday.

Twenty-four qualified bidders participated in the auction through an electronic platform. Eight companies bid for solar; eight for wind; seven for run-of-river hydro; and one for biomass capacity.

The GEAP sets the benchmark for the future auction rounds as the resulting green energy tariff will reflect the value of electricity, according to the DOE. Cusi said the first green energy auction, “is a significant step in encouraging more power generation investments in renewable energy, while protecting the interest of Filipino consumers—a testament to the country’s commitment to developing indigenous and clean sources of energy at competitive prices”.

He said GEAP showed the common aspiration of energy stakeholders to inject more renewables as the country moves towards more sustainable supply sources to meet electricity demand.

The DOE auctioned 900 MW solar capacity for Luzon, 260 MW for Visayas and 100 MW for Mindanao. For wind, DOE auctioned 360 MW for Luzon and

20 MW for Visayas. It also auctioned 80 MW of hydro capacity for Luzon and 50 MW for Mindanao.

The agency bid out 60 MW of biomass capacity for Luzon, 120 MW for Visayas and 50 MW for Mindanao.

The Energy Regulatory Commission earlier set the Green Energy Auction Reserve for solar at P3.6779 per kilowatt-hour, wind at P6.0584 per kWh, biomass at P5.0797 per kWh and runof-river at P5.4913 per kWh. All qualified bidders placed their bid capacity and price offers through the electronic bidding platform operated by the DOE. The GEA committee will then rank the bids from the lowest to the highest and stack the offers to the respective technologies. The DOE, through the committee, plans to declare the winning bidders this month.

CLARK VISITOR. US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava visits the FedEx Clark Gateway in her trip to the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone to highlight the United States’ support for economic development in the region. Variava went to the FedEx Clark Gateway, the U.S. shipping and logistics company’s major investment in Clark Freeport. The 17,000-square-meter facility supports the Philippines’ growing e-commerce demand and small-and-medium-sized industries that are helping drive the country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. FedEx employs hundreds of Filipinos at the facility and plans to expand operations further in the coming years.

Outgoing DTI chief asks next gov’t to set annual FDI goal at over $9.1b

By Othel V. Campos OUTGOING Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez encouraged the incoming administration to sustain and level-up annual foreign direct investments at $9.1 billion or more.

“There’s a big improvement in our annual FDI. This signified great confidence in the current administration. FDI grew almost thrice since the past administration,” Lopez said over the weekend.

The Department of Trade and Industry said that from sixth place in previous years, the Philippines now ranks 4th highest in Southeast Asia in terms of FDI generation.

It identified several investment leads

that will be passed on to the next administration including a proposed drone system manufacturing; investments in electric vehicle infrastructures; manufacturing of green batteries for EVs; leads in shipbuilding as the Philippines concluded the negotiations for the takeover by Cerberus of the Hanjin Shipyard in Subic and another investment by OCEA shipyard; and new IT and business process management investments.

The DTI also met with New Yorkbased Anthem Inc. during the Philippine investment mission to the US in May 2020. Anthem is an American insurance firm interested to set-up its ITBPM operations in the Philippines.

“It is important that we keep and

DELIVERY MILESTONE.

Cebu Pacific reaches another delivery milestone as it safely transports over 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses across the country.

CEB has safely airlifted life-saving vaccines to 31 provinces since March 2021. All vaccines were stored in containers with the established temperature limit to ensure that doses are preserved until arrival at the designated stations. CEB also attained 100-percent vaccination rate for active flying crew through its own employee vaccination program, JG Summit COVID Protect, and various partnerships with local government units.

expand the number of investors in the country. More investments mean faster economic recovery,” Lopez said.

He said several leather goods and wearable manufacturers also relocated to the Philippines amid geopolitical uncertainties spurred by the RussiaUkraine war.

Lopez underscored the presence of state-of-the-art facilities in designated economic zones for wearables and apparels that could be helpful in supporting these companies to increase loads and accept more offers for export.

Among the famous brands manufactured in the Philippines are Coach and Louis Vuitton products and well-known sports brands.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Friday, June 17, 2022

-61.45 PTS. 6,331.56

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TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP)

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Currency

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United States

Dollar

1.000000

53.3720

Japan

Yen

0.007559

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Pound

1.235500

65.9411

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127395

6.7993

Switzerland

Franc

1.035090

55.2448

Canada

Dollar

0.772260

41.2171

Singapore

Dollar

0.722961

38.5859

Australia

Dollar

0.704700

37.6112

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653153

141.6041

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266525

14.2250

Brunei

Dollar

0.720357

38.4469

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028592

1.5260

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

14.5325

Euro

Euro

1.055400

56.3288

Korea

Won

0.000777

0.0415

China

Yuan

0.149165

7.9612

India

Rupee

0.012829

0.6847

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.227273

12.1300

New Zealand

Dollar

0.635800

33.9339

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033658

1.7964 Source: BSP

Foreign debt hits $109.8b on higher infra borrowings

By Julito G. Rada THE country’s foreign debt climbed by 3.1 percent or $3.3 billion in the first quarter to $109.8 billion from $106.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 as the government borrowed more to fund infrastructure projects and COVID-19 response efforts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said over the weekend.

Foreign or external debt refers to all types of borrowings by Philippine residents from non-residents.

Data showed that on a year-on-year basis, the country’s debt stock went up by $12.7 billion, driven by net availments of $16.4 billion, largely by the government ($12 billion) and prior periods’ adjustments of $3.2 billion.

Bangko Sentral Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a statement the rise in the debt level in the first quarter from the fourth quarter was due to net availments of $3.5 billion, mainly by the national government and private non-banks.

“The national government raised $2.3 billion from official creditors to fund its COVID-19 pandemic response programs and infrastructure projects as well as $2.3 billion from the issuance of global bonds under its 2022 Commercial Borrowings Program,” Diokno said.

The issuance included the debut of the government’s sustainability bond which aims to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.

Non-bank private sector borrowers sought external credit amounting to $995 million to augment their working capital and finance their projects.

The BSP said the prior periods’ adjustments of $1.7 billion also contributed to the increase in the debt stock, while the transfer of Philippine debt papers issued offshore from non-residents to residents of $1 billion and negative foreign exchange revaluation of $841 million tempered the rise in the debt stock.

Diokno said external debt, despite the increase, remained manageable as the country recorded a 27.5-percent external-debt-to-GDP ratio as of endMarch 2022. The ratio, a solvency indicator, remained one of the lowest in the ASEAN region.

Maynilad underscores measures to control Laguna Lake’s algal bloom WEST zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. said over the weekend it took active steps to manage the impact of the algal bloom episode in Laguna Lake on water production.

Laguna Lake is the primary raw water source of the company’s Putatan Water Treatment Plants.

The water firm ordered the immediate dosing of treatment chemicals to control algal build-up, the utilization of a silt curtain to minimize algae intrusion into Maynilad’s treatment facilities and an immediate clean-up of the dissolved air flotation treatment process of the PWTPs. It said that as a medium and longterm intervention to address the raw water quality issues in Laguna Lake, the company would dredge the portion of the lake encompassed by its silt cur-

tain and install several units of ultrasonic algae control equipment around the PWTPs. A similar algal bloom in Laguna Lake in June 2019 also affected Maynilad’s water production. The firm noted that the maximum algal biocount, that time, reached 13,230 counts per milliliter.

The company said that while it invested in additional treatment technology to address algae proliferation, it was still constrained to reduce production, as the algal biocount in June this year reached an unprecedented peak of 72,722 counts/mL. Algal blooms arise from shifts in the nutrient balance of the lake water resulting from chemical, industrial and agricultural wastes or leachates.

Othel V. Campos

Grid operator asks ERC to approve P9.5-b transmission line connecting Camarines Sur and Catanduanes NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines is seeking the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission for the P9.5 billion Camarines Sur-Catanduanes Interconnection Project.

The proposed project involves the laying down of submarine cables and the installation of overhead transmission lines.

“The interconnection will support the load growth and power demand needed by the Catanduanes Island, thereby pushing the socio-economic development through

the government’s economic plans and programs for the island in the near and long term,” NGCP said in a regulatory filing.

NGCP said it also plans to construct the Naga-Presentacion 230 kV transmission line and four 69 kV transmission lines. It also consists of the construction of six 69 kV substations.

NGCP cited data showing that Catanduanes’s peak demand reached 15 megawatts in 2020, while the total contracted supply in the same year was

only 10.18 MW. “The existing generating plants in Catanduanes Island cannot accommodate and keep up with the growing demand of electricity, in which case, loads need to be curtailed in order to provide continuous albeit insufficient service to its electricity customers,” NGCP said.

It said this scenario is also prevalent in the other islands of the Philippines, stunting economic growth in these areas.

“The implementation of a long-term

solution for a reliable and competitive power supply must commence as early as possible. Considering that NGCP needs 48 months to fully complete the CCIP, the implementation must commence immediately. Thus, the prayer for the issuance of provisional authority,” the company said.

“Considering that planning, site development, righ-of-way concerns and construction of the transmission facilities would take several years to develop

and complete, it is critical for NGCP to align its project development with the expected demand by acting immediately and address issues early through undertaking the proposed project,” it said.

NGCP was granted the franchise to operate, manage and maintain and engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through a high-voltage backbone system of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities. Alena Mae S. Flores

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

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Belgium turns back Bulgaria in 5-set thriller BELGIUM outlasted Bulgaria, 2522, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 17-15, in a thrilling five-setter to cap its Volleyball Nations League Quezon City campaign on a high note Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Britt Herbots followed up her 33-point explosion against Poland Saturday with a 26-point outing to help Belgium remain outside the relegation zone with its second straight victory—and third overall in eight matches.

With captain Celine Van Gestel leaving the match early due to a right ankle injury, Herbots, egged on by an appreciative Filipino crowd at the Big Dome, had to carry her team back.

“The win is also for her,” said Herbots on Van Gestel. “We know Bulgaria is really a good team. They have good attackers. They dig a lot.”

Herbots was unstoppable in the deciding set, delivering back-toback kills to put the Belgians ahead, 16-15, before Silke Van Avermaet produced the match-winner.

“Fifth set was really tough because we were down four or five points. We came back and fought back. I’m very happy and very proud,” said Herbots, who tallied team-highs three blocks, 12 digs and seven receptions.

Van Avermaet added 13 points and nine digs, while Marlies Janssens chipped in 10 points and five digs for the Belgians.

Boosted by its back-to-back victories, Belgium hopes to carry this momentum heading into Week 3 in Calgary, as the victory also kept its hopes alive of making it to the eight-team Finals next month in Ankara, Turkey.

The Bulgarians fell to 2-6 slate.

Maria Yordanova led the Bulgarians with 19 points, including two blocks, while Nasya Dimitrova and Silvana Chausheva each had 14 markers.

The loss negated Chausheva’s nine-block effort.

The event has Mikasa, Ganten, Gerflor and Senoh as global sponsors and global suppliers, PLDT Home as presenting partner, Rebisco, MG Philippines, TOP Speed Insurance, Asics and Maynilad as official sponsors, Havas Ortega, The Look Company, Summit Outdoor Media, The Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Marketing Media Ventures, Strong Media Advertising Solutions. 91.5 Win Radio, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, City of Taguig, Quezon City and F2 Logistics as official suppliers.

Players from Belgium celebrate a point against Bulgaria in their Volleyball Nations League game Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Yulo captures 3rd gold at Asian tilt, secures 5 slots in FIG world tourney

By Peter Atencio

F

Carlos Yulo

ILIPINO star Carlos Yulo won’t be competing in just one or two events in the coming World Championships in Liverpool.

The 22-year-old Yulo grabbed two more gold medals on the final night of 9th Senior Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar.

His show of confidence on the floor yielded Yulo first-place finishes in the vault and and the parallel bars in the men’s division, upping his total medal winnings to three golds and a silver and rewarding him five slots to the FIG Artistic World Championships in Liverpool from October 29 to November 6.

Yulo earlier took the gold in the floor exercises, a day after he settled for a silver medal in the men’s all-around. He placed fourth in the rings late Friday evening finals.

All the podium-finishers, including the fourth and fifth-placers, have made qualification to the world meet.

The 4’11” Yulo upstaged Hansol Kim of South Korea and Japan’s Shiga Tachibana for the gold with a combined execution and difficulty score of 14.884 points in the men’s vault, where he is the reigning world champion.

Later, Yulo finished with 15.167 points ahead of China’s Dehang Yin and Japan’s Tsuyoshi Hsaegawa in the parallel bar finals.

According to Yulo, competing in Doha proved to be a fortunate experience for him, since he won his first-ever world championship medal by claiming the bronze in the floor exercises in Qatar back in 2018.

“Doha is my favourite venue. I like this city, it’s the venue where I had won my maiden World Championships medal in 2018,” said Yulo in a statement.

Yulo, who is based in Tokyo Japan for

PhilCycling National Championships for Road begin Tuesday CLOSE to 600 riders across different categories and events registered for the PhilCycling National Championships for Road 2022 that hits the road on Tuesday (June 21) with Tagaytay City as main hub.

PhilCycling and Philippine Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino wasn’t surprised of the big turnout as cycling became a necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic

when public transport was restricted.

Because of the sheer number of entries, the PhilCycling will stage elimination heats in the Men Under-23 category, which drew the biggest number of entries at 198 riders.

Four elimination heats consisting of a five-lap race each around the Tagaytay City Centrum will determine the 60 cyclists—15 from each heat—who will advance further in the championships.

Fuel Masters prove steady in clutch, notch 2nd win THE Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters showed grace under pressure in the final moments and escaped with a 106-102 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

RJ Jazul drilled in 25 points, including a decisive triple in the last 33 seconds that carried the Fuel Masters to a 106-100 lead en route to their second win in four outings, a fitting followup to their 97-74 smothering of Terrafirma Dyip.

Jazul’s trey came as an answer to Rey Nambatac’s three points in the last 49 seconds that allowed the Elasto Painters to threaten at 100-103.

The Fuel Masters’ defense, though, limited ROS to just one more possession and one more attempt off Gabe Norwood in the 30-second mark for the final count.

Coach Topex Robinson said their 98-109 loss to the Meralco Bolts on June 11 proved to be a wake-up to the team.

“We just kept our composure. We know we cannot pull away with the lead. So we focused on making stops,” said Robinson.

Nambatac fired a game-high 27 points for the Elasto Painters, while Beau Belga added 15.

The Elasto Painters slipped behind in the standings with their 1-2 slate. Peter Atencio

The criterium races will kick off the four-day championships co-presented

by Standard Insurance, MVP Sports Foundation and Smart starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the individual time trial races will be staged from Nasugbu in nearby Batangas to the Praying Hands monument finish on Isaac Tolentino Avenue. The road races (massed start) are scheduled for Thursday (wom-

en) and Friday (men).

Races will be in Men and Women Elite, Under 23, Juniors (17-18) and Youth (16-under) in the championships staged in cooperation with Tagaytay City Mayor Agnes Tolentino, Eighth District of Cavite, Province of Cavite and the First District of Batangas as well as the municipalities of Laurel, Agoncillo and Talisay and the local Philippine National Police commands.

Matthew Wright of the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters drives to the basket.

training, has improved since then.

He went on to successfully defend his floor exercise crown in 2019. And after a yearlong layoff before of the pandemic, Yulo returned to the World Championships with the vault and the parallel bars golds in 2021.

Hasegawa scored 14.7 points in second place, while Yin tallied 14.7.

In the men’s horizontal bars, Jinseong Yun of Korea claimed the gold with 14.167, with Chaopan Lin of China taking the silver with 14.167 and Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan in third (14.133).

In the women’s balance beam, Wu Ran of China took the gold with 14.633 points, while Arisa Kasahara (Japan) placed second with 13.833, and Zhang Jin of China in third with 13.700

Chua named PBA scribes’ Executive of Year Awardee THE man behind another Barangay Ginebra title romp in the PBA Governors’ Cup will be recognized with one of the major honors in the 2022 PBA Press Corps Awards Night tomorrow at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center.

Team governor Alfrancis Chua is the recipient of the season’s Danny Floro Executive of the Year following the work he did with the Kings during the recently concluded Season 46, which saw the franchise win the import-laden conference for the fourth time in the last five years.

This marks the second time the Ginebra executive will receive the award named after the late amiable Crispa Redmanizers team manager and owner Danny Floro.

Chua, who is also San Miguel Corporation sports director, first won the plum in 2018.

He now joins the likes of SMC president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang, First Pacific Company Ltd. managing director and chief executive officer Manny V. Pangilinan, current PBA chairman Ricky Vargas, Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu, the late commissioner Jun Bernardino, and former RFM franchise team manager Elmer Yanga as among the two-time recipients of the award handed out by the men and women regularly covering the PBA beat.

Hampered by injuries to key players Joe Devance, Aljon Mariano, Jared Dillinger, and later on Japeth Aguilar, the Kings found their title retention bid in jeopardy after ending up seeded no. 6 heading to the playoffs of the season-ending meet.

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Sports

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick share US Open lead as The County Club bares teeth B

ROOKLINE—England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and American Will Zalatoris, each chasing his first major title, shared the lead after Saturday’s third round of the US Open as brisk wind and brutal rough tormented golf’s top stars.

Will Zalatoris of The United States lets go of his club as he plays his second shot on the eighth hole. AFP

Abarrientos to play for Hyundai in Korean league

Fitzpatrick birdied three of the last five holes at The Country Club but a closing bogey left him level with Zalatoris, last month’s PGA Championship runner-up, on fourunder par 206, one ahead of defending champion Jon Rahm after 54 holes.

“I knew it was going to play hard and I just needed to stay patient,” Zalatoris said. “I knew if I make an early bogey or two, don’t change the game plan, don’t try to get extra aggressive because that’s how you make a

mess of it.”

Zalatoris, also last year’s Masters runner-up, fired a three-under 67 while Fitzpatrick, the 2013 US Amateur winner at The Country Club, fired a 68.

“Wind was really strong. It made it tough,” Fitzpatrick said. “You had to be switched on with the way you were hitting it, where you were missing it, and I think that was why it was a great challenge. Really happy with my score.”

The Country Club bared its teeth in formidable conditions to humble world number two Rahm, four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa among others.

“It was one of the toughest days on a

golf course I’ve had in a long time,” McIlroy said after a 73.

Fitzpatrick can match Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the US Amateur and Open on the same course, Nicklaus doing it at Pebble Beach.

“It gives me an edge,” the Briton said.

“To come back here and play so well again, it gives me growing confidence round by round.”

Fitzpatrick found a bunker at 18 and missed a 21-foot par putt while Zalatoris escaped a bunker to five feet and parred 18.

“This place is a beast,” Zalatoris said.

“It was brutal.”

Spaniard Rahm stumbled with early bogeys, one at the par-5 eighth after his tee shot landed behind a tree, but birdied the par-5 14th, sank a 29-foot birdie putt at 15 and birdied 17 only for the unrelenting course to strike again.

At 18, Rahm found a fairway bunker and blasted his second shot into thick grass that batted it back into the sand. His third was a “fried egg” into a greenside bunker and he blasted out and two-putted for 71. AFP

By Peter Atencio FAR Eastern University standout Rhon Jay Abarrientos is set to skip his final years with the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball competitions.

The nephew of Philippine basketball great Johnny Abarrientos got the eye of the Korean Basketball League club team Ulsan Hyundai Mobis, while the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team is in Korea playing a series of tuneup games with the Korean national quintet.

The Ulsan Hyundai Mobis is in talks with Abarrientos, and is preparing to sign him up for the 2022-2023 season of the KBL. According to reports from the Korean community, Abarrientos is finalizing an Asian Quarter player contract in the league that will allow him to play in the KBL for two years.

Hyundai executives reportedly took notice of Abarrientos after Gilas’ second tuneup game with Team Korea.

Abarrientos was impressive after scoring 11 points, which included three three-pointers in the first half.

They noted that in the fourth quarter, Team Korea barely held the lead with Abarrientos leading Gilas on the floor.

After he shot two three-pointers, he and Dwight Ramos took charge for the Philippine team in the final minutes.

Another Korean team is also looking at William Navarro, who has reportedly been approached for a contract with Seoul Samsung.

Earlier this week, Daegu Korea Gas Corporation reinforced its roster when it signed up Ateneo Blue Eagle cager Sam Josef Belangel to a two-year contract.

The 22-year old Belangel, who still has two playing years left with the Blue Eagles, is in Korea with the Gilas, but did not see action because of an injury.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SERIES. Runners of various shapes and sizes, including costumes, answer the starting gun in the 5K run at the Rizal Park yesterday, marking the start of the inaugural ASICS Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Manila, which culminates in a first-ever local night racing around the streets and landmarks of Manila for the 21K and 42K events.

Nueva Ecija, Batangas extend run NUEVA Ecija and Batangas continued to tread the clean road in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season presented by Extreme on Saturday at the Caloocan Sports Complex.

The star-studded Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards gave the Quezon City Capitals a rude welcome, 93-77, while the Batangas City Embassy Chill thwarted the Bacolod Bingo Plus, 72-66, for their fifth straight wins and a share of top spot in the 22-team tournament.

Also with a 5-0 card is the idle Sarangani Marlins.

Juneric Baloria provided instant offense when he was fielded by Coach Cholo Villanueva as Batangas pierced the tight defense put up

by Bacolod, which tasted defeat for the first time in five starts.

Donning a face shield to protect a still healing broken nose, Baloria made 9 points in just 9 minutes and 31 seconds of play to complement the 18-point, 8-rebound controibution of Cedrick Ablaza and the 15-point output of Levi Hernandez.

Bacolod drew 16 points and 9 rebounds from Edrian Lao, 16 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds from Alwyn Alday and 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists from Richard Albo.

As predicted, Nueva Ecija overpowered Quezon City, the last team to play this season and is still wanting in cohesion.

Michael Juico led the Rice Vanguards with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and got ample help from Bobby Balucanag, Pamboy Raymundo, Jay Collado, Jonathan Uyloan, Will McAloney and JR Taganas.

Balucanag contributed 11 points and 5 rebounds, Raymundo chipped in 10 points and 5 assists, Collado posted 9 points and 10 rebounds and Jonathan Uyloan added 9 points.

McAloney and Taganas have 7 points and 8 rebounds each for Nueva Ecija, which also drew 6 points from Top Gun John Bryon Villarias.

Nueva Ecija sealed the outcome with still 3:09 left as it zoomed

Avalanche bury Lightning to take 2-0 lead in Stanley Cup Final LOS ANGELES—Valeri Nichushkin and Cale Makar scored two goals apiece as the Colorado Avalanche thrashed the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-0 on Saturday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NHL Stanley Cup Final.

The two-time defending champion Lightning, who rallied from 2-0 down to beat the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference final, struggled all night in the face of Colorado’s devastating speed and skill.

Nichushkin put the Avalanche ahead at 2:54 of the first period with a powerplay goal, redirecting Andre Burakovksy’s pass past Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Colorado doubled the score at 7:55 of the first, The Avs offense barrelling through the Tampa Bay’s defense and defenseman Josh Manson putting a slapshot from the right face-off circle over the shoulder of Vasilevskiy.

Less than 10 minutes into the first the Avs had a 15-1 shot advantage.

Burakovsky, who scored the game-

winner in overtime in game one, made it 3-0 at 13:52 of the first on a rebound of a Mikka Rantanen’s shot.

Colorado became just the third team in the history of the Stanley Cup Final to score at least three first-period goals in each of the first two games, joining the 1981 New York Islanders and the 1936 Detroit Red Wings.

Tampa Bay had more success slowing the Avalanche to start the second, but they struggled to build any offensive momentum.

A Tampa Bay turnover behind the net opened the door for a fourth Avalanche goal, Nichushkin making it 4-0.

Ten minutes later Vasilevskiy came up with a massive save of a Nichushkin shot, but Darren Helm beat him on a breakaway at 16:26 of the second to send it to the second intermission with the Avalanche up 5-0.

Colorado continued to pour it on in the third as Makar scored a short-handed goal and a power-play goal to push the lead to 7-0. AFP

British jockey Jim Crowley riding Baaeed celebrates after winning the Queen Anne stakes on the first day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet, in Ascot, west of London. AFP

Valeri Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche scores a goal on Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game 2 of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena. AFP

British racing battles to get new spectators to saddle up PARIS—The packed stands at Epsom and Royal Ascot are just the images a sport wants beamed worldwide but away from the prestigious meetings racing faces a challenging time in attracting new spectators.

Worryingly for the ‘Sport of Kings’ the crown seemed to have lost a bit of its lustre with disappointing crowds for both the York and Chester festivals in May with high quality racing spread over several days.

At Chester attendance over the four days was 35,000, down 35% on the 53,500 that were at the corresponding fixture in 2019.

Ordinary midweek meetings are suffering too as racing like other sports and entertainment venues battle to attract footfall with the public ever more wary of spending money due to a cost of living crisis.

Rod Street, CEO of Great British Racing (GBR) which is the sport’s central promotional and marketing body tasked with increasing engagement with and participation in horse racing, told AFP the decline in attendances is a concern.

“The cost-of-living crisis is certainly a factor,” he said.

“Also following two years of extended lockdown periods (due to Covid-19), every sporting, leisure and entertainment offering is competing at once.

“We also believe that, after two years, people have got out of the habit.

“As ever, it is rarely one factor that affects the trend but rather several.”

Street had laid out at the beginning of the year in GBR’s manifesto they would target the 25-34 age group, though he concedes delivering the killer argument to persuade them to come racing is not easy.

“It is a considerable challenge,” he said.

“Our consumer research informs us that the 25-34 year-old market demonstrates the best opportunity for growth, as this demographic consistently expresses an appetite to consider racegoing.

“Consideration is the stage that follows awareness and precedes purchase, so this insight is important. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

‘Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow spin-off in early development—reports A GAME of Thrones sequel focused on the fan-favorite, impossible-to-kill character Jon Snow is in early development at HBO, according to Hollywood trade reports.

Kit Harington – whose stoic warrior Snow was last seen banished from Westeros in the Thrones finale – is attached to star if the spin-off series goes ahead, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety said, citing anonymous sources.

HBO declined to comment, and Harington’s representatives did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Kit Harington as Jon Snow in ‘Game of Thrones’

W

ITH a plethora of movies and series under her belt, Ruffa Mae Quinto is a veteran comedienne that rose to the top of the entertainment industry.

Who can ever forget her iconic taglines, “Todo na ‘to” and “Let’s go, go, go!”

Her wit, humor, and energy made her a pillar of Philippine entertainment as audiences enjoyed watching her perform on stage or screen.

In 2020, however, she moved to the United States with her husband, Trevor Magallanes, and their young daughter, Athena. Despite her initial excitement about moving overseas, she felt homesick and found herself longing for the Philippines, especially her career.

Now, Ruffa Mae is back in the Philippines and ready to take on another role in showbiz. An opportunity came knocking at her door after she knocked on it. She landed a pivotal role in the GTV’s upcoming first family sitcom Tols.

During the media conference of Tols, Ruffa Mae disclosed that while in America, she believed that there was more to her than washing dishes, serving her husband, and looking after their child. After all, she was an actress before she became a mother and wife. Luckily, her husband isn’t one to hinder her aspirations in life.

“Pangarap din ng asawa ko matuto si Athena magsalita ng Tagalog. Supportive siya sa career ko kasi doon talaga ang strength ko. Kaya ako umuwi rito dahil gusto rin talaga niya mag-showbiz uli ako,” Ruffa Mae said, explaining what also inspired her to return to the Philippines aside from mourning the loss of her brother.

In Tols, Ruffa Mae plays Barbara “Barbie” Magaspac, the mother of handsome triplets played by Kelvin Miranda (Uno), Shaun Salvador (Dos), and Abdul Raman (Third). Together, they will try to keep Tols’ Barbershop and Salon, the business they inherited from their late grandfather, afloat.

Starring alongside Ruffa Mae and the three young actors is Betong Sumaya. He worked with Ruffa Mae before in GMA’s longest-running gag show Bubble Gang, making them comfortable with each other.

Betong considers Ruffa Mae as a good foundation for the sitcom because she gives off good vibes and can drive the story towards a humorous approach that combines both the comedy from early and present generations.

Tols is directed by Monti Parungao.

He realized the lack of Filipino sitcoms nowadays and wanted to bring them back for Filipino viewers to enjoy. During the media conference, Parungao shared he drew inspiration from the hit 1980’s

ALWIN IGNACIO DULL and dreary are adjectives that cannot describe Stanley Gajete and his news reporting. The CNN correspondent arouses the curiosity of the news-loving block with his happy-hued coordinated outfits that make everyone stop, watch, and listen, “As a young boy who grew up in San Pablo, to report the news, has always been a dream of mine,” the congenial and charming gentleman begins. “When our English class assignments were about news writing and reporting it in front of the class, it excited me.”

“My dad Juan Gajete, Sr. and I, read news items as our bonding time. His being an AB English graduate, was of course most helpful to me especially when it comes to matters of grammar, spelling, and syntax.”

The Communication Arts major in Broadcast Journalism from the University of the Philippines recollects his Peyups days: “It was a tough environment.

When I entered UP, I was this wide-eyed teenager from San Pablo Laguna who

Snow – who was revealed to be Aegon Targaryen, a potential heir to the Iron Throne – left Westeros in exile, and headed for the icy and wild North.

His character had already been brought back from death after being betrayed earlier in the show’s run.

News of the possible spin-off drew mixed reactions from fans online, with some delighted to see more of arguably the standout character from Thrones, and others questioning the logic of picking up from the original show’s disappointing finale. AFP

Ruffa Mae makes showbiz comeback in GTV’s first family sitcom

By Patricia Taculao

ARIAS

If the show gets a green light, it would be the latest in a rapidly expanding television universe based on George RR Martin’s fantasy novels.

Three live-action prequel series are already in the works – including House of the Dragon, which hits screens this August – as well as three animated prequels.

But the purported Jon Snow series would be the first to be set after the events of the smash hit Game of Thrones, which bowed out with a deeply divisive final season in 2019.

While several major characters died,

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Malta eagerly anticipates Sieg potentially returning to the café

Secrets unmasked

‘Ang Babae Sa Likod ng Face Mask’

new episode

Sieg finds himself searching for Malta online

Ruffa Mae Quinto is back in the Philippines to pursue her showbiz career starting with 'Tols'

Betong Sumaya reunites with Ruffa Mae in 'Tols'

Abdul Raman plays Third, who his brothers consider as the most gentlemanly among the three

Shaun Salvador, who plays Dos, posing on the set of 'Tols'

Philippine sitcom Palibhasa Lalake.

Parungao also emphasized that there’s a lot to learn from Tols, especially when it comes to family.

Abdul, Shaun, and Kelvin admitted that they also watched the sitcom. It helped them get a better grasp of how they can drive their characters and the story forward. The three young actors

also shared that, at times, they pick up some of the mannerisms of the sitcom’s star-studded cast.

Joining the cast of Tols are Olive Mae from the Pinoy girl group CALISTA, Rolando Inocencio, Arkin Del Rosario, and Raymond Mabute.

Tols airs its premiere episode on June 25 at 7:00 p.m. on GMA.

Stanley Gajete’s news color palette CNN correspondent Stanley Gajete wears coordinated outfits to capture the attention of his audience

thought I was the best. Hindi pala. Ang daming mas mahusay. My university life in general humbled me. It put my feet firmly on the ground. What made me survive college was my determination to realize my dream of being a broadcast journalist.”

“Some of my classmates, ang media experiences and exposure, ang dami na. It dawned upon me that I should not compare myself to them and it was foolish to be daunted by who they were and their associations. Looking back, my

childhood dream was the fuel to keep me going. Laban talaga,” he admits.

To broadcast journalism fledglings, Gajete is a firm believer that one must always know what to do during difficult situations.

“I know you may find this a cliché, that burning passion, dapat hindi nakahiwalay sa profession, Calling ang pagiging journalist.”

“It is a calling to serve the people through storytelling. I love talking and listening to people. It is them who inspire me, their stories. My news report is my way of providing the people who watch the newscast answers to different problems and situations they face.”

Gajete’s broadcast journalism credits include being a correspondent of The Voice of America (International news edition), Washington D.C., U.S.A., worked for Kyodo News English- Japan’s leading wire news agency as a reporter, mobile journalist of One News- English Channel, and project manager of Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

According to Gajete, his CNN Philippines audition was not a walk in the park. Apart from a written examination,

Kelvin Miranda is Uno, who he describes as 'maginoo pero medyo bastos'

there were three sets of interviews wherein his knowledge of international and local current events and politics was put to a test.

Forward to the present and the reason behind the color-matching outfit, he comes clean: “It was my cameraman who directed me before who suggested that I wear color-matching outfits. It was not planned. He believed that if I will look like everyone else, my face covered with a mask, I will just be like every other reporter. Before I even start my story, people will get their remotes, and switch to another program. It worked because it helped my stories. Marami ang natuwa na I look pleasant when I deliver and present the news.”

The fact that his followers now guess what will be his color choice for the day makes him happy.

“The guessing the color of my outfit is a pleasant surprise. When the news viewers see me, umpisa pa lang pansin na agad kaya they give me their time, they listen and find the value of the story I reported. Now it goes beyond what I wear.”

“I do not treat myself as a celebrity, journalist ako. To me, news reporting is not just my profession. It is a vocation. I want people to listen to facts. Learn from them,” he concludes.

AFTER a highly successful premiere on the Puregold Channel, romantic-comedy series Ang Babae Sa Likod ng Face Mask continues to excite in its upcoming second episode as interesting developments unravel in the life of its lead characters.

The premiere garnered thousands of views online as romcom fans flocked to see the budding romance between Herlene Budol’s Malta and Joseph Marco’s Sieg. In the premiere, we got to know Malta, a young woman who is labeled “hipon.” Malta works at a local café to help pay the mounting household bills and support her mother, a struggling vlogger named Madam Baby, played by Mickey Ferriols.

While working at the café, Malta runs into Sieg, a handsome young man who is smarting from a recent breakup.

Enchanted by Malta’s beautiful eyes, Sieg is immediately smitten.

Viewers excitedly gushed about the new series, noting the strong chemistry between the duo. Marife Dayro wrote, “Grabeee, lakas maka-good vibes at kilig much sa tambalang Herlene Budol at Joseph Marco!”

Other fans chimed in, complimenting the perfect pairing of Herlene and Joseph.

“Ganda ng chemistry nila bagay na bagay sila, luv it!” Mark Anthony Agustin commented.

The wonderful performance of Herlene – and those of the rest of the cast – stood out. “Grabe ang galing galing na ni Hipon when it comes sa acting, at ang ganda ganda na din niya,” an obviously thrilled Jamaica Surtido noted. Meanwhile, viewer Chiarina Mosquito praised the entire cast by writing, “Yayy!! I super love Herlene and all the cast. Bravo ang gagaling nila. Nakakatanggal ng stress, nakakatuwa panoorin.”

However, one sentiment clearly stood out as viewers expressed their support for Ang Babae Sa Likod ng Face Mask. As Michelle Bernardo put it on YouTube, “Can’t wait for the next episode!”

Follow the latest development in Malta and Sieg’s love story in the latest episodes of Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask on the official YouTube Puregold Channel every Saturday, 7:00 p.m.

For more updates, like @puregold. shopping on Facebook, follow @puregold_ ph on Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to Puregold Channel on YouTube.

CHARO SANTOS joins ‘FPJ’s Ang probinsyano’ SEASONED actress Charo Santos has recently joined the cast of the toprating series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.

On Friday, June 17, Santos was introduced as Ramona, a Katipunera who will help Cardo (Coco Martin) in his relentless pursuit to restore justice in the country. In a preview shown on Thursday, Santos’s character appears to provide shelter for Task Force Agila, President Oscar Hidalgo (Rowell Santiago), and Aurora (Sharon Cuneta).

FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano airs on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, and TV5.

Charo Santos takes on the role of Ramona in ‘FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’

Life

Nickie Wang, Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant E-mail: lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com

C4

MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2022

Fly more frequently to Singapore from Manila or Cebu CEBU Pacific (CEB) continues to boost its international network as it ramps up flights to Singapore from two of its largest hubs, Manila and Cebu.

CEB doubles its daily frequency between Manila and Singapore on July 1 as it adds a morning schedule option for travelers. Flight 5J 813 is scheduled to depart Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 5:35 a.m., and is set to arrive at Changi Airport at 9:20 a.m.

Its return flight, 5J 814, is scheduled to leave Singapore at 10:15 a.m., and arrive in Manila at 2:00 p.m.

On July 15, CEB intends to restart its flights between Cebu and Singapore, beginning with a three times weekly frequency (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Flight 5J 547 is scheduled to depart Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 at 11:05 p.m., and is set to arrive at Changi Airport by 3:00 a.m. the following day. Its return flight, 5J 548, with flights every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, is scheduled to leave Singapore at 4:00 a.m., and arrive in Manila at 8:05 a.m.

“We are delighted to continue ramping up our international flight frequen-

cies, not only in Manila, but also in Cebu. We know majority of the traveling public has been looking forward to travel internationally again, especially since a lot of countries have eased their restrictions. We continue to work towards the expansion of our international network while we maintain operating over 100 percent of our pre-pandemic domestic capacity,” said Xander Lao, CEB Chief Commercial Officer.

Fully vaccinated travelers flying to Singapore are no longer required to submit a pre-departure COVID 19 test.

Enjoy the beauty of Singapore by flying there from two of it’s largest hubs in the Philippines, Manila and Cebu

They must instead present their proof of full vaccination (VaxCertPH or BOQ Yellow Card), and fill out a Singapore Arrival card three days before arrival.

For more information, passengers may refer to CEB Travel reminders page for the latest updates and complete travel guidelines to their destination.

CEB continues to offer its guaranteed low fares to stimulate travel across its flight network. It continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, while it operates with a 100 fully vaccinated crew, 95 percent of whom have been boosted – all to ensure every Juan flies safely and conveniently on Cebu Pacific.

Culinary attractions Hilton Manila’s Port Bar celebrates the iconic Western pub culture

Hilton Manila opens new bar offering pub favorites, brews, signature sips HILTON Manila recently launched Port Bar, a celebration of the iconic Western pub culture, featuring an innovative blend of local flavors and produce. The pub will also offer an exclusive beverage selection and live musical entertainment in the evenings.

“We want to provide our patrons with an alternative, casual dining experience at Port Bar where they can simply unwind, share drinks, and indulge in sumptuous meals with friends and family,” shares John Lucas, Hotel General Manager, adding, “from listening to your favorite tunes, enjoying a round of drinks after a hard day at work, or catching the latest sports matches, Port Bar is poised to be the newest, favorite watering hole this side of Metro Manila.”

A delectable Lamington makes Fun and friendfor an ideal dessert ly, Port Bar presents guests with an a la carte service that is casual but attentive, with menu highlights such as: The Signature Port Cheeseburger, Rustic Paddle Sourdough Pizzas that pay tribute to Melbourne’s Lygon Street, and Tamnavulin Whiskey Aged Ribeye Steak, among others.

The Port comfortably seats up to 50 guests, with social distancing guidelines observed, including the 10-seater bar counter area. It also offers a pool table, two flat screen TVs airing the latest sports games to complement the different cocktail mixes, and ice cold draft beer menu offerings.

Hilton Manila observes stringent health and safety measures in line with local government guidelines and Hilton’s own CleanStay initiative and holds the Department of Tourism “Safety Seal”.

I JUST read in the papers the other day about the incoming Tourism Secretary’s pronouncements that she will give priority to the promotion of food tourism here in the country.

As if to comply with such marching orders, two of the metro’s popular hotels immediately staged their respective food festivals, in celebration of our Independence Day, highlighting many of our country’s delectable recipes.

Diamond Hotel Philippines

The hotel invited guests to “rediscover the flavors of the archipelago” but what got me excited was that The mini-Boodle served in banana leaves containing Lechon, Piyanggang Manok, Seafood Kare-Kare, and Adlay Rice the food festival featured culinary masterpieces of my friend, restaurateur, best-selling cookbook author, More information may be obtained through (02) YouTuber, and, most of all, co-Cebuano, the multi- 8528-3000 or through www.diamondhotel.com awarded celebrity Chef Tatung Sarthou.

Conrad Manila His way of celebrating nationwide unity, as The hotel launched its “Flavors of the Philfostered by the results of the recent national elections, Chef Tatung chose culinary treasures ippines” food promo with a lot of fanfare. The from the country’s different regions, like Pako entrance to Brasserie on 3 had a big arch made Salad, Tuna Kinilaw, and Sinuglaw, for appetiz- of native materials with a Filipino band right ers. Guests could choose from these soup dishes beside it, playing well-loved local ditties, proto warm up: Sinampalukang Manok, Papaitan viding a festive welcome for guests as they Soup, or Beef Hinalang. The array of main dish- entered the venue. A group performed some es beckoned: Pancit Pusit, Callos, Balbacua, native dances in the dining area, much to the Pinaggang, Beef Kulma, Lechon Belly Roll, delight of guests who were more than happy to and Roast Beef Adobo. Of course, capping the have, finally, broken free from years of quarmeal was a choice of either Browa, Torta Bisaya, antine restrictions and could now converse with each other face-to-face.

Leche Flan, Buko Pie, and others.

The amiable General The nice part about Manager Linda Pecthis food fest was that YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE oraro, resplendent in a Chef Tatung came up native Baro’t Saya, inwith a Menu Cycle, for RESTAURANT CUSTOMER: Waiter, I’d vited Launch Day guests variety every day, highlike a bottle of wine. to discover the rich and lighting delicious repWAITER: What year, sir? unique culinary artistry resentations from the CUSTOMER: Well, I’d like it right now. of the different regions different regions. As an of the country.

The added come-on, guests month-long food festival who spend P5000 or more get a chance to win two round-trip Cebu celebrates the diverse gourmet tradition and her- The popular Pancit Pusit, one of the main attractions of itage of our country through the signature dishes Corniche’s lunch and dinner buffet Pacific tickets to any local destination.

Chef Tatung is an advocate of simple, practical from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Executive Chef Warren Brown and Executive with the use of a plate, instead of a butcher’s knife. and doable recipes that empower anyone to cook Flavors of the Philippines is available daily for with confidence. He has spawned a huge fan base Sous Chef Patricia Mesina proudly declared with his cookbooks, all bannering in their titles that they used nothing but sustainably-sourced lunch and dinner at the hotel’s award-winning “simpol,” the Cebuano pronunciation of the Eng- and organic local ingredients. The appetizer was all-day dining restaurant, Brasserie on 3, until lish word “simple,” which is the perfect descrip- Sinuglaw, which had Pork Belly, Mixed Seafood the end of the month. Of course, Conrad Manila tion of the recipes he puts out. His books have Ceviche, Crispy Chicken Skin, and Tuna Inasal continues to impose stringent health and safety garnered several World Gourmand Awards and Skewers. The soup was Balbacua, a slow-cooked measures in line with local government guidehe can also hold his own among the best chefs in beef stew rich in collagen. The main course was lines and Hilton’s own CleanStay initiatives. the world, having led the Philippine delegation to a mini-Boodle in banana leaves which had Lechon, Piyanggang Manok, Seafood Kare-Kare, More information on this sumptuous food festhe 2017 Madrid Fusion Congress in Spain. tival may be obtained from (02) 8833-9999 or Although Diamond Hotel Philippines’ Food- and Adlai Rice.

The finale was a unique Clear Gulaman Sago through conradmanila@conradhotels.com.

Fest ended on Independence Day, the hotel’s fashionable General Manager, Vanessa Suatengco, and Biko Turon. The interesting highlight of the For feedback, I’m declared that they will have several other excit- luncheon feast was when Chef Brown displayed the proper way of carving the cochinillo (small lechon) at bobzozobrado@gmail.com ing food promotions throughout the year.

For inquiries and reservations, please call +63 917 826 6442, send an email to MNLPH_F&Binquiries@ hilton.com, or visit https://www.hiltonmanila.com.

Follow @hiltonmanila on Facebook and Instagram for more updates.

Conrad Manila General Manager Linda Pecoraro, resplendent in her baro’t saya Indulge in Port Bar’s savory plant-based burger without counting calories

The multi-awarded, restaurateur, cookbook author, and celebrity Chef Tatung Sarthou

Diamond Hotel Philippines General Manager Vanessa Suatengco

Conrad Manila’s Executive Chef Warren Brown (left) and Executive Sous Chef Patricia Mesina