Manila Standard - 2023 July 20 - Thursday

Rody, Bato told: Limit travel

Remulla:

PH to ‘stop engaging’ with ICC despite probe

By Rey E. Requejo, Charles Dantes and Macon Ramos-Araneta

FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte, who initiated a bloody war on drugs that killed thousands of suspects during his term, should stay away from countries where the International Criminal Court (ICC) has influence, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Wednesday.

Remulla said the same holds true for Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who led the war on drugs when he was Duterte’s national police chief.

Both are subjects of an ICC investigation triggered by charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed under Duterte’s leadership.

Remulla also said the Philippines will stop engaging with the ICC as he will advise the Office of the Solicitor General to stop engaging with the court.

“They are citizens of the republic who also need our protection so we

need to tell them,” Remulla said, as he pointed out that countries to be avoided are those in Europe.

On ICC’s prosecutors, the Justice chief said in Filipino: “We don’t need them in our country. We don’t want them coming over here. And they shouldn’t try coming over because what they’ll do is the usurpation of the authority of the Philippine government.”

NEDA says initial Maharlika funds not part of 2024 national budget

By Charles Dantes, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

NATIONAL Economic and Develop

ment Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ar

senio Balisacan on Wednesday assured

the public that the signing of the Maharlika Investment Fund will not affect the 2024 national budget.

In a briefing in Malacañang, Balisacan said that the money put in the sovereign wealth fund are idle funds

and not funds included in the P5.77-trillion national budget.

“And what the fund is trying to do is to put those into more productive, higher-yielding instruments so that you can earn more from those funds,” the

President wants list of gov’t land good for housing

By Charles Dantes

NEDA secretary said. He added that the Maharlika fund will allow the country to decrease its reliance on debt. Asked about the selection of its board

SC upholds dismissal of forfeiture case vs. Marcoses

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal by the Sandiganbayan of the P1.05 billion civil forfeiture case filed against the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., former First Lady Imelda Marcos, and several of their cronies

Duterte

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered all government agencies to identify national and local government lands suitable for the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program (4PH), which he declared as his administration’s flagship housing program.

“The inventory of lands shall include government-owned idle lands or lands that have not been used for the purposes for which they have been originally reserved or set aside for at least 10 years and on which no improvements have been made by the owner as certified by the concerned LGU, pursuant to Section 8, Paragraph 2 of Republic Act No. 7279 (or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992), as amended, and Sections 5.II (d) and 24 of RA No. 11201 (the law that created the Department

PBBM okays P170-b pitch to rehab NAIA

By Charles Dantes and Darwin G. Amojelar

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a P170-billion proposal to rehabilitate and expand the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Wednesday.

who allegedly acted as their dummies in acquiring expensive artworks, clothes, jewelry, and properties here and abroad, including franchises to operate tourist duty-free shops.

In a 25-page decision penned by Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario that was made public on July 19, the SC First Di-

confirmed for

By Maricel V. Cruz and Joel Zurbano

FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte will attend the State of the Nation Ad-

(SONA) of President Ferdinand

SONA;

vision dismissed for lack of merit the petition for review filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

The PCGG was seeking the reversal of the Sandiganbayan’s decision issued on September 25, 2019, dismissing the

MMDA

Marcos Jr. on July 24. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco confirmed this Wednesday, adding Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte will also attend

the event.

“He has confirmed attendance, as well as his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte,” Velasco said. But Velasco has yet to disclose what

The project is one of three additional infrastructure projects the President approved as part of the administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, Balisacan said. Balisacan said that the proposed NAIA rehabilitation project, which will be undertaken through a publicprivate partnership, aims to improve

would be the sitting arrangement for the past Presidents and incumbent officials such as the Vice President.

“We would need clearance from the

Brawner named next AFP chief

By Charles Dantes

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos has named Army chief Lt.General Romeo Brawner as the next chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Outgoing AFP General Andres Centino, on the other hand, will be appointed presidential adviser on the West Philippine Sea.

“Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner will be the next Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and will take the place of General Andres Centino who was re-appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the said

President...

From A1

of Human Settlements and Urban Development),” the President said in Executive Order No. 34.

Earlier this month, Mr. Marcos reaffirmed his commitment to build one million houses yearly.

One of the main indicators of the increasing number of shelter availability is the spike in the number of new PagIBIG Fund members and increased interest from the people to buy new homes, the President said.

All of these things are indicative, Mr. Marcos said, of the continued take-up of new shelters and that there is a market for real estate in the country.

Under EO No. 34, the DHSUD will be the lead implementing agency of the 4PH. It was likewise tasked to recommend to the President, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the issuance of proclamations declaring public lands as alienable and disposable for housing and human settlement purposes.

National government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities, including GOCCs, as well as LGUs, must conduct an inventory of the lands they own and administer.

The Land Registration Authority was directed to assist these agencies in the preparation of their respective inventories by providing a list of titles registered in the names of said agencies.

A complete list shall be submitted to the DHSUD within 60 days from the issuance of the President’s order.

“Subject to limitations under applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the DHSUD shall acquire ownership and/or administration of the identified lands of concerned agencies, for housing and human settlement purposes, and shall carry out the immediate development of the aforementioned lands,” the EO added.

Based on the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the country’s housing need estimates have accumulated to 6.8 million from 2017 to 2022.

PBBM...

From A1

the annual airport capacity from 35 million to at least 62 million passengers and enhance air traffic movement and overall passenger experience.

The project is expected to begin in 2024.

Meanwhile, Balisacan said the P267-billion unsolicited offer of the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC) was considered closed after the NEDA Board approved a solicited mode for the project.

“Now that the solicited proposal has been approved, we are now saying it’s open for competitive bidding so the unsolicited proposal is de facto already closed,” Balisacan said.

He encouraged those with unsolicited proposals to participate in the bidding.

Calls to rehabilitate NAIA became more urgent after the Jan. 1 incident where nearly 300 flights to and from Manila, with over 56,000 passengers, were either canceled, diverted, or delayed due to a technical glitch.

In May, more than 40 flights to and from Manila were either delayed or canceled due to a power outage that hit the NAIA Terminal 3.

Another project is the Samar Pacific Coastal Road II Project, which will cost about P7.48 billion.

The 15-kilometer project includes the construction of two marine bridges, the Laoang II Bridge and Calomoton Bridge, and improving existing roads between Laong Island and mainland Samar Island.

It is expected to boost the province’s connectivity and economic growth.

The third project to receive approval is the upgrade and expansion of Laguindingan International Airport Project in Misamis Oriental.

post earlier this year,” Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said.

Brawner graduated No. 2 in the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao” Class of 1989 and served in the military in various capacities for 34 years now.

He also served as the commandant of PMA and worked as commander of the 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division, supervising the unit’s combat opera-

tions that led to the decisive neutralization of Jorge Madlos or “Ka Oris,” the commander of the National Operations Command of the New People’s Army.

“He exemplified the highest levels of excellence in his military schoolings, topping his classes in the Special Forces Operations Course, Intelligence Officer Course and the AFP Comptrollership Course,” Garafil said.

Brawner has acquired three Master’s Degrees: Masters in Information Management from the Ateneo de Manila University; Masters in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and from the European School of Management,

IN BRIEF

High Court suspends ex-Press Sec. 6 mos.

Oxford, United Kingdom; and Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College (USAWC).

He also received numerous awards and recognitions, including The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers (TOPS) in 2013 by the Metrobank Foundation and Rotary Club of Makati, and the Lapu-Lapu Award by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for his valuable contributions to the neutralization of Abu Dar, the last of the original leaders of the Maute-ISIS faction.

Brawner was also conferred the Legion of Merit – Degree of Commander in recognition of his exceptionally meritorious service as the commanding general of the Philippine Army.

Mendoza tapped to lead LTO; COA flags permit tack

By Rio Araja

PRESIDENT

Ferdinand R. Marcos

Jr. has designated 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1 – UTAK) chairperson Vigor Mendoza II as the new head of the Land Transportation Office, Malacañang announced Wednesday. Mendoza will serve as LTO chief, with the rank of Assistant Secretary, based on the list of appointments re -

Rody,...

From A1

“We’ll all have a problem with that. If they do, they’re defying our law and our legal system,” he told reporters at a press conference at the DOJ offices.

On July 18, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber denied the Philippines’ appeal to stop the probe on Duterte’s war on drugs. With the denial, ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor can resume the probe, order the indictment, and recommend the issuance of arrest warrants.

At least 6,200 suspects were killed in police operations based on government records under the controversial war on drugs. Human rights groups, however, said the actual death toll could be from 12,000 to 30,000.

In a statement, the DOJ expressed its “deep disappointment and strong disagreement with the recent ruling.”

“The principle of complementarity enshrined in the Rome Statute, recognizes the primary jurisdiction of national courts to prosecute crimes and ensures that the ICC only intervenes when national authorities are unable or unwilling to do so,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ said that the two dissenting ICC judges “highlight the errors in the majority decision.”

“These dissenting Justices rightly recognized the Philippines’ commitment to upholding the rule of law and maintaining an independent and effective legal system,” it also said.

“Their dissenting opinions underscore

NEDA...

From A1

members, Balisacan said that there is a need to define and develop the guidelines.

He added that those guidelines should be publicly accessible to ensure transparency.

The Maharlika Investment Fund bill was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 18.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11954, the MIF would be used to invest in a wide range of assets, including foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and high-impact infrastructure projects for the attainment of sustainable development.

RA 11954 also establishes the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which will serve as the investment body re -

SC...

From A1

expanded complaint against the Marcoses and the Tantoco family, namely Bienvenido R. Tantoco Jr., Dominador R. Santiago, Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr., Gliceria R. Tantoco, and Maria Lourdes TantocoPineda for insufficiency of evidence.

The SC also sustained the November 20, 2019 resolution of the Sandiganbayan which denied the motion for reconsideration of the PCGG.

“In order to consider petitioner’s evidence as sufficient to prove the allegations of its expanded complaint, the Court has

leased by the Presidential Communications Office on its official Facebook page.

Mendoza, a lawyer, served as a congressman representing the transportation sector under the 1-UTAK party-list group. He replaces Jose Arturo Tugade, who resigned due to his disagreements with the Department of Transportation, LTO’s mother agency. Meanwhile, the Commission on Au-

the existence of a legitimate difference of legal interpretation, casting doubts on the majority’s ruling,” it added.

The DOJ said it was committed “to the pursuit of justice and accountability.”

“We will continue to work diligently to address any credible allegations of human rights violations within our jurisdiction. Our justice system stands ready to ensure a fair and impartial investigation, prosecution, and appropriate punishment for any proven crimes,” it said.

The DOJ also said it is committed to “the well-being and support of all victims affected by the drug war.”

“We encourage individuals who have evidence or witnesses related to the drug war to contact our dedicated task force or reach out to our local offices,” it said.

“The Department of Justice will treat all information with the utmost confidentiality and will take appropriate actions based on the evidence provided,” the DOJ said.

Duterte shrugged off the ICC decision, said his former spokesperson and onetime human rights lawyer Harry Roque.

Roque added that Duterte has maintained his stance that he be questioned only by Philippine courts and Filipino judges because the Philippines is a sovereign state.

“He has time and again said that because of this, he will face all his accusers anytime but before Philippine courts and before Filipino judges only,” he added.

Roque cited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s previous statement that the country will not cooperate with the ICC which he said has no legal right to conduct any investigation in the Philippines

sponsible for the overall governance and management of the MIF.

The MIC is expected to have at least P75 billion in paid-up capital this year, with P50 billion sourced from the Land Bank of the Philippines and P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines. Balisacan said the MIF could be tapped for the implementation of any of the 194 high-impact infrastructure projects approved by the NEDA Board chaired by Marcos.

The MIC, he added, would be the one to decide, taking into consideration the risk capital and the rate of returns “because the rate of returns across these projects may vary.”

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, meanwhile, hailed President Marcos’ decision to insulate Maharlika Investment Fund’s handling from politics, saying it is a prudent move that augurs well for the success of the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund.

to perform many leaps of logic, engage in presumptions, and create inferences based on other inferences in order to bridge the gaps in the evidence adduced.”

“In the face of such gaps; petitioner’s allegations in its expanded complaint are reduced to mere speculations, insinuations, and conjectures,” the SC said.

“Thus, while it is truly disappointing that nothing has come of this case despite the lapse of 36 years spent in litigation, the Court agrees with the Sandiganbayan that petitioner’s evidence is insufficient to support the allegations of its Expanded Complaint by a preponderance of evidence,” it added. The SC said that while the PCGG sub-

THE Supreme Court (SC) has suspended former Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles from the practice of law for six months and reprimanded another lawyer.

The tribunal’s third division, in an 11page resolution published online on July 18 and promulgated March 27, said it found Angeles and lawyer Amed G. Paglinawan guilty of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility.

The complaint had been filed by another lawyer, Roderick E. Manzano, against Cruz-Angeles and Paglinawan claiming that the two used “grossly abusive, offensive and improper language” in a pleading filed in a case before the Quezon City metropolitan trial court.

LTFRB hits ‘fake’ jeep phaseout info

dit flagged the LTO for the issuance of permits to 189 out of 285 driving school applicants despite deficiencies in their documentary requirements in 2022.

In an audit report, the Commission cited 66 percent of the total number of driving school applicants in Metro Manila, Cordillera Autonomous Region, Central Luzon, Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen transmitted incomplete or invalid documents.

due to the country’s withdrawal from Rome Statute in 2018.

Duterte had pulled the country out of the ICC when it announced it would investigate his drug war.

Earlier, ICC Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said three out of five judges rejected the country’s appeals.

“It is rejected by the appeals chamber by majority and the impugned decision is therefore confirmed,” said the presiding judge.

Former senator Leila de Lima, detained on drug charges filed by the Duterte administration, said she welcomed the ICC’s decision to dismiss the Philippines’ appeal and push through with its investigation.

“This is the last attempt of the Philippine government to go to the aid of those responsible for the murder of thousands of Filipinos in Duterte’s drug war,” she said.

“From hereon, the OTP will soon come out with specific indictments, together with the issuance of arrest warrants, hopefully before the end of the year. By that time, the accused can no longer be represented and aided by the Philippine government but instead have to face the ICC on their own.

“This is justice falling hard on Duterte and his cohorts as they find their world getting smaller, especially once the BBM Administration decides not to actively resist ICC efforts to arrest them here in the Philippines. Now it is Duterte’s time to answer for his crimes against God and the Filipino people. Soon it will also be his moment to plead for mercy, once his world gets as small as the ICC prison cell that is already waiting for him in The Hague.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Marcos said he rejected proposals for him or the secretary of Finance to chair the MIF, saying that it must be run by competent and independent financial managers to insulate it from political interference.

“President Marcos’ demand for MIF investment decisions and management to be predicated solely on sound financial and business practices manifests his resolve to ensure the fund is adequately safeguarded and would grow to achieve its purpose,” said Romualdez, who is one of the principal authors of the House version of the bill creating the MIF.

“It is a prudent move on the part of the President that would bolster its potential to achieve its purpose of mobilizing additional funds without the need for additional borrowings or taxes to accelerate the implementation of flagship infrastructure projects meant to sustain the country’s robust growth,” he added.

mitted numerous pieces of evidence, many were excluded because they were not disclosed during the discovery process.

It noted only 11 exhibits and four testimonies were admitted as evidence.

But after evaluation by the anti-graft court of the remaining admissible evidence, it concluded that such pieces of evidence were either insufficient to prove the allegations of the expanded complaint, or were unrelated to the facts sought to be proved by the PCGG.

Apart from failing to prove the allegation that the Tantocos were dummies of the Marcoses, the High Court said the PCGG failed to prove that five percent of the franchise tax paid by the Duty

NOT all old and traditional jeepneys will be stopped from plying the streets after the Dec. 31 deadline for joining a cooperative or corporation under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, the government clarified Wednesday.

At a news conference in Quezon City, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said phasing out all old jeeps “is fake information.”

She noted that “disinformation” had spread that all iconic jeepneys would be banned from the roads starting Jan. 1, 2024. Rio N. Araja

DOH reminds public of PWD work rights

THE Department of Health reminded the public of the inclusivity of people with disabilities (PWDs) during its launch of National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week. Dr. Melaco Peña III, President of the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine, addressed the issue of discrimination against individuals with disability, particularly during employment.

“We put into mind the magna carta of the rights of the disabled wherein they are given equal access and opportunity to education, employment, health, and future plans of making a livelihood,” he said.

Peña reminded the event that physical rehabilitation is only one aspect of inclusivity and may be done at home for individuals who cannot afford rehabilitation medicine and treatment. Gabriellea B. Pariño

Duterte...

From A1

two. If you noticed, we clear the seat plan with the VIP, ask them if they are comfortable sitting beside each other. Sometimes, we have to adjust,” Velasco explained.

“For some reason, they want to sit beside their wife or husband, or they want a caregiver nearby. We have accommodated these types of requests.

[We consider] the sentiments of all types of guests,” he added.

Velasco cited former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has expressed preference to sit in the VIP section of the House gallery during Mr. Marcos’ SONA.

He said Arroyo may sit in the plenary as an incumbent House member “but we were told that she preferred to be seated at the center.”

Arroyo is also a deputy speaker of the House.

Asked if she would indeed sit in the VIP section, Arroyo said, “Yes, as I do every SONA.”

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has released its traffic management plan to be enforced during the July 24 SONA.

Free Shops were given to Mrs. Marcos.

The PCGG filed the forfeiture case in 1987 to recover assets and properties from the Marcos family and their alleged cronies, composed of P609.27 million in shares of stocks and P443.05 million in real properties.

The expanded complaint also alleged that the Tantocos acted as dummies of the Marcoses in acquiring franchises to operate tourist duty-free shops at international airports, hotels, and commercial centers.

“Clearly, these documents are insufficient to prove that respondents concealed illegally obtained assets, or amassed ill-gotten wealth,” the SC said.

CELBERITY LEADS CLEANUP

DRIVE. Actress, environmentalist and United Nations Ambassador of Goodwill Antoinette Taus (left) leads a cleanup initiative at The Las Piñas–Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), also known as the Las Piñas–Parañaque Wetland Park, spearheaded by Planet CORA (Communities Organized for Resource Allocation) and Uniqlo. Danny Pata

LRMC rolls out first of 20 new, state-of-the-art trains on LRT-1

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC)) on Wednesday rolled out the first of its brand new fourth generation trains along the LRT Line 1 seen to deliver a “modern, efficient, and world-class railway transport system in the country.”

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. presided at the inauguration rites for the new coaches that went through a series of safety checks, inspections, trial runs, and acceptance tests following their arrival from Spain and Mexico in January 2021.

The new trains were manufactured by Mitsubishi Corp, and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrorcarriles (CAF) of Spain.

The state-of-the art trains with a capacity of 1,388 passengers at four coaches per trip beef up the existing three generation fleet of LRT 1 serving the Roosevelt, Quezon City-Baclaran,

Parañaque City route.

“LRMC has remained steadfast in upgrading commuter experience and committed to our mission of delivering safe and efficient transport since we took over the operations in 2015. Today marks another significant milestone in modernizing our train infrastructure with the inauguration of our first new Generation-4 trains,” LRMC president and chief executive officer Juan Alfonso said.

“This is a testament of private-public partnership (PPP successfully working for the Filipino people. Our brand-new

Manolo on DFA’s 125th anniversary: ‘Greatest achievements yet to come’

By Rey E. Requejo

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will do more in the coming years as it celebrated its 125th anniversary committed to the realization of the Marcos administration’s “independent foreign policy.”

In a series of activities at the Heroes Hall of Malacañang, which served as venue for the agency’s anniversary celebrations, Manalo thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also attended the event, for sharing the historic venue because it was “truly meaningful.”

“The Department of Foreign Affairs has always taken its duty to the first Asian Republic with the deep sense of honor and responsibility. Through the years, Philippine diplomacy has accomplished legacies that every Filipino should be proud of,” Manalo said in his speech.

“And I tell my colleagues in DFA my conviction that our greatest accomplishments have yet to come,” he added.

In thanking Marcos for his leadership as the chief architect of the coun-

try’s foreign policy, Manalo stressed the need to “build on the wealth of Philippine diplomatic accomplishments and as a responsible, constructive, engaged, and peaceful regional and international actor while we sustain the trajectory for our rising status in the community of nations.”

He promised that at “any given time and hour,” DFA officials and staff commit to accomplishing the Marcos administration’s foreign policy and eightpoint economic agenda.

“Rest assured that the department, as one of the first departments of the birth of our Republic, will continue to be driven by patriotism, passion, and national pride as we shape our nation and as our nation helps shape the world around us towards peace, prosperity, humanity, and justice,” Manalo said.

He also recalled that the DFA was one of the first government departments established in the country, with Apolinario Mabini being its first secretary. Manalo said he was honored that Mabini’s descendant, Fredrick Mabini, was present to grace the event.

trains signal hope and give our Filipino commuters something positive to look forward to in their next LRT-1 commute,” he added.

Starting 20 July 2023, LRT-1 will deploy one Gen-4 train set which will be used for the main line to serve commuters daily.

The deployment will follow the progressive handover of DOT and LRTA to LRMC and the capacity requirement of the system, with one new Gen-4 train set added to the main line every week until December 2023.

Currently, there are 20 4th Generation train sets already in the Philippines, and the remaining 10 train sets are still expected to arrive from Mexico between November 2023 and February 2024. Complete deployment of the 30 train sets on the main line is expected by 04 2024 when the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project opens.

RCBC LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE BANKING PLATFORM. Yuchengcoled Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. launches its cutting-edge digital banking platform, RCBC Pulz, designed to power up user’s financial vitality through speed and efficiency with state-of-the-art technology and hyper-personalized interactions. Gracing the launch are (from left) RCBC Credit Cards president and CEO Arniel Ong, RCBC executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer Lito Villanueva, House of Investments Inc. president Lorenzo Tan, RCBC chairperson Helen Yuchengco-Dee, RCBC president and CEO Eugene Acevedo, Malayan Insurance president and CEO Paolo Abay, and Sun Life Grepa Financial Inc. president Richard Lim. The launch is held at Marquis Mall in Bonifacio Global City. Norman Cruz

DOH, CHED ink order to ‘better serve’ nurses, healthcare workers IN BRIEF

Solon seeks wider info drive on breast cancer

TAGAYTAY City Rep. Aniela Bianca Tolentino has called for a broader information dissemination campaign on breast cancer prevention, saying deaths from the dreaded disease among women continue to increase in the country. Tolentino, a staunch women’s health advocate, made the call during the recent launch of the “Breastie Bestie” health caravan, a principal component of a breast cancer awareness program that she initiated in Cavite.

She said the program seeks to ensure public awareness about breast cancer. Family members are also enjoined to learn more about the disease for better prevention effort.

“Based on medical resources, the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer are key to saving lives of women from this disease. Through the Breastie Bestie program, we want our Filipino women to be aware that while advances in medical science have made treatment readily available, early discovery of breast cancer remains the key prescription to saving more lives,” said Tolentino, vice chair of the House committee on science and technology. Maricel V. Cruz

DOH admits shortage of drug facilities in PH

THE Department of Health (DOH) has admitted that the country lacks drug treatment and rehabilitation centers (TRCs), as well as doctors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers providing services in these facilities.

During the launch of a DOH training program in addiction in its TRC-Bicutan branch, Dr. Alfonso Villaroman said there were around 1.3 million drug users recorded in the Philippines in 2019 and of which, but only one percent of them were considered as drug dependents.

At present, there are only 32 government TRCs nationwide.

Villaroman said each facility has around 100 beds, translating to accommodation an estimated 3,200 patients.

“Probably less than 10,000 ang kailangan ipasok sa rehabilitation center [people need to be placed in rehabilitation centers]. Ang general problem natin [our general problem is]—where do we put all of them?” he asked.

Section 75 of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, states that the national government, through its appropriate agencies, “shall give priority funding for the increase of subsidy to existing government drug rehabilitation centers, and shall establish at least one drug rehabilitation center in each province, depending on the availability of funds.”

PCG gets first VTOL drone from UN agency

THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) received a Hybrid Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Drone from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in a turnover ceremony at the PCG headquarters in Manila.

According to Dodeca’s Research and Development Team that prototyped the donation, it was the very first hybrid VTOL drone built by Filipinos, to be owned and operated by the Philippine government to enhance the country’s monitoring capabilities, ensuring safe coasts and shorelines.

PCG chief Admiral Artemio Abu, thanked the UNODC for the donation that will be utilized by the Coast Guard Aviation Force (CGAF) in conducting surveillance missions.

“We look forward to continuing this partnership as we work together to navigate the future of maritime law enforcement,” Admiral Abu said. Vince Lopez

By Gabriellea B. Pariño

THE Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) have joined forces in their commitment to better serve Filipino nurses and other healthcare workers. Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and CHED chairman Prospero De Vera III signed a joint administrative order (JAO) in a ceremony held in Parañaque City to establish the new implementing guidelines for the Nurse Workforce Complementation and Upskilling Program.

“This program serves as an embodiment of our commitment to all our healthcare workers, especially to our dear nurses, in providing them with the services and benefits that they truly deserve,” Herbosa said.

He assured the public that the DOH

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and CHED chairman Prospero De Vera III

prioritizes the welfare of health workers in line with the agency’s eight-point action agenda as they work to achieve Universal Healthcare (UHC) in the

country.

The order aims to set the guidelines and mechanisms that will facilitate hiring and upskilling of underboard nursing graduates as Clinical Care Associates (CCAs) in both public and private hospitals as augmentation to the health workforce and in preparation for the Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination (PNLE), according to the DOH.

“This will aid in the further fulfillment of the UHC promise wherein every Filipino’s life is important in the formation of a new Philippines,” Herbosa added.

The alliance between the two agencies was among the many steps to resolve the nurse-related crisis faced by the Health Department.

Herbosa earlier proposed the hiring of unlicensed nurses as a temporary

measure to address the nurse shortage problem in the country, adding that only graduates who scored 70 to 74 percent in the licensure exams would qualify under the setup.

For his part, De Vera said CHED would see to the direct hiring of nursing graduates, especially those with exit credentials, in privately owned healthcare facilities.

The DOH has reported that more than half of Filipino nurses, estimated at some 316,400 have migrated to other countries.

Meanwhile, 175,900 nurses currently serve in the private and public health institutions within the country, 19 percent of whom were underemployed, unemployed or working in other sectors such as business or information technology.

San Beda Alabang picked as Supreme Court headquarters for 2023 Bar examinations

THE San Beda College Alabang (SBCA) in Muntinlupa City will be the national headquarters of the Supreme Court (SC) for the 2023 online and regionalized Bar examinations set on Sept. 17, 20, and 24.

This came after SBCA and the SC signed an agreement on the matter, represented by Rector-President Fr. Gerardo Ma. De Villa and en banc clerk of court Marife Lomibao Cuevas.

Witnesses in the contract signing were SC Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, chairperson of the 2023 Bar examinations committee, and SBCA College of Law Dean Ulpiano Sarmiento III.

There will be 14 local testing centers (LTCs) for the 2023 Bar exams. In the National Capital Region, the LTCs will be at the San Beda University, Manila; University of Santo Tomas, Manila; SBCA; University of the Philippines,

Quezon City; Manila Adventist College, Pasay City; and University of the Philippines, Bonifacio Global City.

In Luzon, the LTCs will be at the Saint Louis University in Baguio City; Cagayan State University, Tuguegarao City; and University of Nueva Caceres, Naga City.

In the Visayas, University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City, University of San Carlos also in Cebu City, and Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation in Tacloban City will be the LTCs.

There will be two LTCs in Mindanao —one at the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City and the other at the Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City.

Instead of eight subjects, the 2023 Bar exams will only have six core subjects. Rey E. Requejo

A CONSENSUS was forged during a forum on the issue of water sustainability among representatives of the government, stakeholders the private sector that a whole-of-society approach was crucial to address the country’s water crisis.

The agreement arose amid discussions

dubbed “Philippine Water Management

Agenda: Ensuring Sustainability and Security” organized by the the think tank Stratbase ADR Institute, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Business for Environmental Stew-

ardship (PBEST). During the forum, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said that the government alone cannot address water concerns.

“By addressing water related challenges comprehensively, [it] will require us to unlock the potential for transformative change across all sectors of society, and this should include the most vulnerable… Maintaining our watersheds plays a significant role in ensuring that a robust quantity and appropriate quality of water is available for our youth. For these efforts, we

have also now partnered with the private sector and will continue to do so as we recognize that the government cannot do this alone. Everyone’s contribution is required and deeply appreciated,” Loyzaga explained.

She also cited the importance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order No. 22 issued last April creating the Water Resources Management Office under the DENR and harmonizes government efforts in water management, which used to be handled by numerous separate and fragmented agencies.

“This is the first time, I believe, that

we have a DPWH Secretary that has also reached out to the DENR and to the other related water agencies to work together with them. This type of convergence ways of work are really where the secret is in terms of acceleration and what we can achieve. Secretary Bonoan has in fact invited us to be part of the technical advising and management of these different projects, and this opens the door for collaboration between the water related agencies and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways),” Loyzaga said.

Forum forges accord on whole-of-society approaches crucial to overcome PH’s persistent water crisis

FISHERMEN’S RALLY. Fisherfolk stage a protest rally in front of the Department of Environment and Natural  Resources in Quezon City to dramatize their grievances against reclamation, quarrying, and sand mining along 30,000 hectares of shorelines in Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite provinces, as well as Metro Manila, saying such activities, along with pollution, gravely threaten their sources of livelihood and very existence. Manny Palmero

PER PAHAYAG SURVEY

32% of Pinoys not in favor of NAIA privatization

THE privatization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) garnered the least approval among Filipinos, according to a survey.

The PAHAYAG 2023-Q2 survey conducted nationwide presented several pressing national issues which were assessed for their level of approval among the Filipino populace.

Notable findings include the privatization of NAIA, which garnered the least approval at 32%, followed closely by the proposition to limit nonworking holidays to 10 per year at 34%.

The introduction of the Maharlika Investment Fund obtained a 39% approval rating, with Southern Luzon exhibiting the least approval at 33% and among the 60+ age group at 30%.

House leader hails Marcos admin on healthcare vision

By Maricel V. Cruz

AKO Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, chair of the House of Representatives committee on appropriations on Wednesday expressed support for the “visionary plans” of the current Marcos administration to revolutionize the country’s healthcare system.

“The legacy projects initiated by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. have remained stagnant for far too long, with minimal development over the years,” Co said.

“I fully support President Bongbong Marcos’ commitment to continue and enhance these projects, as they hold tre-

mendous potential to improve healthcare services for our people,” he added.

He also commended Congress under the leadership of Speaker Martin G. Romualdez for providing substantial budget allocations to facilitate the muchneeded improvements for the existing “Legacy Projects.”

Co was referring to the initiative of the Romualdez-led House to secure an initial appropriation of 500 million pesos for each specialty hospital through the collaborative efforts of Congress.

These funds will be dedicated to the development of Legacy Specialty Hospitals, such as NKTI the National Kidney

and Transplant Institute(NKTI), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), and Western Visayas State University (WVSU), as well as the establishment of the Philippine Cancer Center.

“As the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, I am proud to be part of the collective effort to secure the necessary funding for the revitalization of these crucial healthcare facilities. This demonstrates our commitment to providing quality medical services to the Filipino people.” Co stated.

“It is a sobering reality that we all fall ill and ultimately face our mortality,” he added.

Authorities arrest high-ranking Communist

By Vince Lopez

THE Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested a highranking leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s ArmyNational Democratic Front (CPP-NPANDF) in Isabela.

In a statement Wednesday, CIDG director Police MGen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said the suspect Romeo Cudal, 66, alias “Ramon Daniel Luis /Ka Mon/Ka Paoy/ Ka Nick/Ka Rito/Ka Noni,” was arrested in Barangay Andres Bonifacio, Diffun, Quirino province on July 16.

Cudal is wanted by the Ilagan City, Isabela Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 for kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges issued in March 2018.

The suspect has also a bounty of

PHP750,000 under joint orders from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of National Defense.

“The accused Cudal is included in the CIDG’s priority target list as Top 4 wanted person who belongs to the CPPNPA’s Komiteng Probinsiya Isabela (Isabela Provincial Committee), Komiteng Rehiyon Cagayan Valley(Cagayan Valley Regional Committee) and Top 10 in KLG-QNV/RSDG, KR-CV command.

We also learned that he was designated as the finance/economic officer of the Central Front and Secretary of SPP-GANI, Southern Front,” Caramat said. Pending the return of the warrant to the issuing court, the accused remains in the custody of the Diffun Municipal Police Station in the province of Quirino.

Moreover, the shift to a parliamentary government received a 37% approval rating, while the establishment of a federal government had the approval rate of 43%. Mindanao voters support the transition to a federal government at 51%.

COVID-19-related policies also garnered significant attention. The revival of the mandatory facemask policy in all public spaces received a 44% approval rating, while the government mandate to complete two booster shots against COVID-19 had a slightly higher approval rating of 48%.

Notably, NCR voters expressed heightened concern regarding COVID-19, with 55% approving of the mandatory facemask policy and 62% in favor of

Party leader in Isabela

the government’s mandate for two booster shots.

The proposed new curriculum, which allows students the option to enroll in two additional years of pre-university education to better prepare for college, obtained a 45% approval rating.

The importation of agricultural products to alleviate soaring retail prices also received a 45% approval rating. In both cases, Visayas exhibited higher approval rates, with 53% and 54% respectively, along with high income households expressing approval rates of 51%.

The PAHAYAG 2023 Second Quarter Survey (PQ2) is an independent and non- commissioned survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. between 7-12 June 2023. It is a nationwide purposive survey with 1,500 respondents randomly drawn from a market research panel of over 200,000 Filipinos maintained by PureSpectrum, a US-based panel marketplace with a multinational presence with respondents, and distributed across five geographical areas: National Capital Region (NCR), North Central Luzon (NCL), South Luzon (SL), Visayas (Vis), and Mindanao (Min). Only registered Filipino voters were included in the sample, ensuring that the results accurately represent the sentiments of the voting population.

IN BRIEF

BI: Visa extension process shortened

APPLYING for a visa extension at the Bureau of Immigration will only take 10 to 15 minutes from the previous one-day processing, according to an immigration official.

“The Philippine Visa extension application process normally takes one day to one week from the date of submission of documents in person, but with the new system, a foreigner wishing to extend his stay in the country will only take 2 minutes, but because one has to queue for payment, it will take a total of 15 minutes,” BI Visa extension chief Raymond Remigio said.

He said that Chinese nationals topped the list of foreign visitors that usually apply for a visa extension followed by Koreans. The rest came from European countries. Vito Barcelo

Mayor Belmonte vows to address water woes

Honest cabbie praised for returning wallet with P30k cash

By Joel E. Zurbano

AIRPORT authorities in General Santos on

Wednesday praised an honest taxi driver after he returned the P30,000 cash owned by an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) he picked up at the airport.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines - General Santos International Airport Manager Joel Gavina commended Anselmo

Dutaro Rodemio, an airport-accredited taxi driver, who returned a lost wallet containing the cash money and bank cards of his passenger, Robert Cutamora Laurel.

Laurel arrived at the airport via Philippine Airlines flight PR 453 from Manila to General Santos around 11:30 am on July 10 and boarded the taxi driven by Rodemio.

When he saw the wallet in his taxi, Rodemio immediately drove back to

where he transported Laurel to return the lost valuables.

“Mr. Laurel expressed his gratitude to Mr. Rodemio and rewarded him with cash for his display of honesty. General Santos Airport Manager Gavina shared that the value of honesty is still indeed surfacing among airport workers, which include accredited airport taxi drivers,” said CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio.

“During the courtesy visit of Mr. Laurel and Mr. Rodemio at the office of General Santos Airport Manager, the former again expressed his appreciation to Mr. Rodemio, and gave him another cash reward,” he added. Apolonio said the honest taxi driver is set to be given recognition during CAAP - General Santos Airport’s flag raising ceremony Monday next week.

Miriam College to host UNESCO confab

By

Rex Arcadio

R. San Diego II

MIRIAM College in Quezon City will host the 22nd UNESCO-Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education (APNIEVE) Philippines National Convention from July 20 to July 22.

Peace, human rights, democracy, gender equity, and sustainable development issues will take center stage during the event, which will be conducted onsite and online, organizers said.

The convention is also expected to draw community development agencies, educators, guidance counselors, and other members of the academe from both public and private schools.

According to Ma. Lourdes Quisumbing-Baybay, UNESCO-APNIEVE Philippines president, the conference is inspired by the UNESCO International Day of Education theme, “Investing in People, Prioritizing Education and Values towards

a Sustainable Future.”

APNIEVE’s network in the Philippines receives support from the Philippines National Commission for UNESCO, to conduct a series of teacher training workshops to enhance the competencies of teachers in values education. APNIEVE – Philippines promote inter-cultural understanding, peace, human rights, and sustainable development through acquiring skills for valuing processes, building broad support for peace education, and training various groups of educators in the Philippines.

Referencing the UNESCO’s advocacy, Baybay pointed out that education must be prioritized to accelerate progress towards all the SDGs against the backdrop of a global recession, growing inequalities, and the climate crisis as 2023 marks the mid-point since the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for people, planet, and prosperity, with a set of 17 interlocked goals.

THE Quezon City government is set to implement various initiatives to save water amid the scheduled water service interruption to affect several of its barangays.

Mayor Joy Belmonte instructed city engineer Dale Perral to install and operate rain harvesting systems on city-owned buildings, including schools.

“This system can store up to 6,000 liters of rainwater, which can be used for various purposes,” she said.

Numerous city villages will experience daily water service interruptions of up to 11 hours starting Wednesday due to the decrease in the water level of Angat Dam in Bulacan.

Perral said the city government also has ongoing and upcoming retention basin projects that could help store up to 200,000 gallons of water. Rio N. Araja

10 towns in Zambales get P6.99b for infra

TEN towns that comprise the Second Legislative District of Zambales received P6.99 billion in allocations in just one year for infrastructure projects like floodcontrol dikes and roads.

Representative Doris Maniquiz, in her “Ulat sa Pangalawang Distrito ng Zambales” on Monday, said the one-year budget was double the infrastructure allocation received by the Second District in the last eight years.

The bulk of the allocations, or P4.46 billion, went to 59 flood-control structures and road dikes designed to protect lowlying areas threatened by perennial flooding, as well as lahar surges during heavy rains, she said.

“These are not your ordinary kind of dikes that simply hold back water,” Maniquiz pointed out. “These are roaddikes that residents will also use to access their farms and other remote areas, as well as to transport local products safely and efficiently.” Butch Gunio

SHOW OF SUPPORT. Leaders of di erent transport groups and cooperatives join hands to show support for the government’s jeep modernization and assured the public amid a looming transport strike. Manny Palmero

LIFE-SAVING DRILLS. Members of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management O ce (MDRRMO) conduct a demonstration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the MDRRMO static display exhibit of search and rescue equipment inside the National Museum in Manila. Norman Cruz

SPEAKER’S SALUTES. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez gives a token of appreciation to South Korea’s new Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-Hwa during a courtesy call at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City on Wednesday. Inset shows Speaker Romualdez, Bureau of Fire Protection Chief Louie Puracan Bureau of Fire Protection  Chief Superintendent Rico Neil Kwan Tiu salute during a passing review at the BFP National Headquarters in Agham Road, Quezon City. Ver Noveno

HERE we go again.

So our suspicion this craze over logos was really part of a grand plan, a re-branding, was true after all. It started with LOVE… which we thought was part of the usual practice in the DoT where a new secretary wanted to “own” his or her tourism slogan.

Turns out the first attempt at adopting a new slogan began with a BBM-initialed slogan. But many criticized the plan as plain “sip-sip.”

Then DDB proposed a concept where a tourist was enticing her friend, supposedly a “David,” to see and experience the beautiful Philippine islands, through a “letter” which she signs off as Love, the Philippines.

But DoT decided to remove the comma, and out came LOVE the Philippines, first shown in Cambodia, as revealed by Indonesia’s tourism minister.

Will Bagong Pilipinas succeed in uniting us all towards a common aspiration of what Duterte simplified as ‘a more comfortable life’ for the present generation, and a secure and progressive future for our next generations?

Then, on a big event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the elevation of tourism into Cabinet status, the grand reveal came out.

Giddy about the “successful” event, many in media failed to notice the borrowed screen shots, until someone in DoT uploaded the video, which caught the eye of blogger Sass Rogando Sasot, a diehard Duterte supporter.

What DDB presented as a “mood board,” intended for internal consumption by the client and not as final product, was shown for country and world to marvel at.

Thus, the embarrassment.

Followed soon enough, while embarrassment over LOVE was still in the air, gaming regulator cum practitioner Pagcor came out with its own rebranding, through a new red and blue logo that did away with the green and yellow logo where green hand symbols were catching a ray of yellow good fortune, quite symbolic really.

Once again, everyone and his mother rightfully bashed the new logo, its copy-cat design lifted from the University of Delft in the Netherlands with the light blue color now changed to the favorite red and blue of the former and current president.

I submitted my Monday article early Saturday morning, and missed the “mother of all brands” which was unveiled later in the day.

Later I was informed by a very reliable source that in both LOVE and the Pagcor/Delft logo, the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano was involved in the concept and production stages. Now comes “Bagong Pilipinas,” with a soccer ball-stylized red and blue intertwining stripes that suggest unity, and the flag’s yellow sun and stars on top.

According to the official release from PCO, the Bagong Pilipinas logo features three red stripes that represent post-war agricultural and rural development, the post-colonial period, and the current metropolitan development, but you would need to strain your brains to see the connection.

“The two blue stripes represent future goals: a progressive Philippines that leverages technological advancement in pursuing sustainable industrial development,” the press release further says.

Red, blue and yellow, the colors of the flag.

Without the yellow, it would not be unity, n’e c’est pas?

Unity, battle cry of the last campaign, is the only message that ordinary folks will understand out of the soccer ball stripes of red and blue plus the yellow sun.

Which has already been achieved among politicians for in this land of turncoats where every official. save for a handful, revolves around the fount of favors --- the presidency and whoever sits on its throne.

So will the nascent opposition, likely the diehard Dutertistas, adopt the color green, which after all is Inday Sara’s favorite color?

But the not so big reveal that is Bagong Pilipinas seems too much a redux of the post-EDSAvilified Bagong Lipunan, emblazoned everywhere as the battle cry of the martial law administration, complete with a Felipe Padilla de Leon-composed march and the lyrics:

“May bagong silang, May bago nang buhay, Bagong bansa, bagong galaw, Sa bagong lipunan. Magbabago ang lahat, tungo sa pag-unlad, at ating itanghal, bagong lipunan!”

So let us parody that promise of “everything’s turning out roses” in today’s milieu:

“May bago nang buhay” where inflation rules, and food is getting more and more scarce, with “bagong galaw” referring to increased importation of food to counter the inflation.

“Magbabago ang lahat, tungo sa pag-unlad” with the Maharlika Investment Fund being the key to progress towards a New Society, rather, a New Philippines!

How cute!

ES Lucas Bersamin directed every agency of government through Memorandum Circular 24 dated 03 July (prior to Pagcor’s logo mutation) but released only last Friday, to adopt the new “government brand of governance and leadership… focused on implementing an all-inclusive plan for economic and social transformation.”

The press office, recognizing adverse public opinion over the Pagcor and DoT “fiascoes,” assures us no public money was used in the rebranding. Labor of love?

But the bean counters, and who won’t be in a

Job creation

or to have a new job with longer hours of work.

But wait. This is no time for complacency, according to the President himself.

country bedeviled by a P14.1 trillion debt (and counting), high food prices and food insecurity, sluggish economic growth with a huge trade imbalance, and the prospect of being caught in the theater of war between two hegemons, will surely recoil at the next part of the memorandum.

“All national government agencies and instrumentalities, including GOCCs and SUCs, shall adopt the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ logo and incorporate the same in their letterheads, websites, official social media accounts, and other documents and instruments pertaining to flagship programs of the government,” the Malacañang memorandum said.

For a cash-strapped nation, burdened with an ever-ballooning military pension system that would lead to fiscal collapse, and pork-hungry legislators appropriating for their graft-riddled pet projects almost a trillion pesos of the national budget, that directive for new letterheads, website designs, signages, and every other adaptation of “Bagong Pilipinas” will cost hundreds of millions, tong-pats excluded.

Soon, if they had not yet commissioned TVJ or Tape, maybe the musically-gifted Larry Gadon, or whoever Paul Soriano decides upon, there could also be a new anthem for Bagong Lipunan’s rebrand. Are our leaders trying to salve the realities of high inflation, low wages, and under-employment through new logos, re-branding and artsy-fartsy, New Society-like illusions of forthcoming “greatness?”

Can optics and slogans thwart hunger, the progressives in Congress ask?

FVR gave us aspirations of “Philippines 2000” as his economic reforms began, but his term ended in 1998, when President Erap’s battlecry “Para sa Mahirap” electrified the lumpen.

Successor GMA promised a “Strong Republic” which fell on the shoals of a Hello Garci scandal and monumental corruption, thus paving the way for Cory’s son, Noynoy, who became PNoy as president brandishing “Daang Matuwid.”

One does not credit President Duterte with any purposive re-branding, and associates “Tokhang” with Bato de la Rosa who became a senator on its recall, something human rights champions accuse the previous government of violations.

The “malasakit” in our campaign tag for Mayor Duterte as “Tapang at Malasakit” was later effectively used by Senator Bong Go, who put up hundreds of Malasakit health centers for the needy.

“Build, Build,Build!” was not national branding. It merely emphasized the need to catch up on our woeful infrastructure, and Duterte delivered massively on that. In fact, many of the projects President Marcos Jr. inaugurated in his first year were initiated by the past government.

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. captured the presidency by a crafty, well-executed revision of the yellow-reviled history of his father’s authoritarian rule, sweetened by his later clarion call for “pagkakaisa,” which captured the electorate’s dislike for the toxicity engendered by the politics of conflict. Now he seeks to institutionalize both the rewriting of history in their family’s favor, this time through a remake of Bagong Lipunan into Bagong Pilipinas, while the logo visually tries to repeat his campaign theme of unity. Will Bagong Pilipinas succeed in uniting us all towards a common aspiration of what Duterte simplified as “a more comfortable life” for the present generation, and a secure and progressive future for our next generations?

Hopefully.

But only, as Mayor Benjie Magalong of Baguio City and others suggest, if we can excise the culture of corruption and greed institutionalized by years and years of the unbridled practice of rent-seeking by the economic oligarchs and selfaggrandizement of our political leaders.

By Melandrew T. Velasco

FOR the past days we have witnessed how heavy downpours have affected our daily lives.

Many areas in the metropolis were flooded, and once more the importance of trees comes to mind.

Flood mitigation after all, is among the many functions of trees particularly the protection of critical watersheds.

I am reminded of former President Fidel V. Ramos who said “too much water during the rainy season and too little water during summer has become our sad fate of yearly cycles of inundation and drought.” We have to join hands and ensure there is sufficient water supply when and where it is needed. Unfortunately despite the heavy rains, mild El Nino has also set in. The Million Trees Foundation, Inc. (MTFI) recognizes reforestation as a means to ensure sustainable water supply.

It is committed to build on the gains of the Annual Million Trees Challenge (AMTC) program started by MWSS and the green revolution of planting trees includes in the coming years other critical watersheds throughout the country as beneficiaries of AMTC.

It also supports the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program that aims to reforest denuded areas in the country through the AMTC.

In the website of the National Greening Program of DENR, as of August 12, 2022 a total of 1,829,867, 211 seedlings have been planted in two million hectares of land since 2011 under the National Greening Program and Enhanced National Greening Program. DENR targets to reforest another two million hectares.

In my previous article, I wrote about the AMTC awards and the partnerships MTFI has forged with both government and private entities.

That’s the latest from the labor force survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, with the agency reporting that the unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in May from six percent in the same period last year. On the other hand, the underemployment rate improved to 11.7 percent from 14.5 percent in May last year, which is equivalent to one million fewer underemployed persons.

The government defines the unemployed to include all persons who are 15 years old and over, and are reported as without work and currently available for work and seeking work. It also covers those who are not seeking work due to being tired or the belief that no work is available, a temporary illness, bad weather and a decision to wait for a possible job rehire or recall.

Underemployed persons, meanwhile, are employed persons who have expressed the desire to have an additional hour of work in their present job or to have an additional job,

The latest figures indicate unemployment and underemployment hitting their second lowest rates since 2005, which should give our economic managers ample reason to believe they are putting in place the right policies and programs to further open up the economy.

The impending motorcycle fines

IF WE look at the sales figures for vehicles, we will find out that motorcycle and scooter sales are almost six times more than car sales. For 2022, motorcycles sales topped 1.56 million and, for 2023, the projection is 2.607 which will break the all-time high of 2.5 million. If we compare this to the projected car sales for 2023 of only 340,000 vehicles, we have to assume that motorcycles will continue to compete with cars for road space which will affect traffic management.

The move of MMDA to penalize motorcycle riders with a fine for using flyovers as shelters when it rains is therefore understandable. But whether this is the best solution for MMDA to take is another matter. We have to bear in mind that cycle riders have as much right to use the road as any car owner. At first glance, the problem may be pretty straight forward.

Motorcycle riders who shelter under bridges and overpasses either to put on their rain wears then move on or wait for the rain to stop are lingering too long, posing danger to themselves and other motorists. But let us look at what is happening on the ground when it rains. A short heavy downpour in the Metro area would be enough to paralyze traffic.

In such a situation, where could the riders realistically go especially when there is flash flooding which is a very common occurrence?

The problem may not be as simple as the MMDA is thinking. Metro Manila motorists are well aware of the problems that rain causes to the precarious traffic situation in the National Capital Region. This is why when it rains, all motorists adjust to the situation. This being the case, MMDA should be more tolerant and not appear to be targeting the motorcycle riders only because there are in fact also other problems that need attention when it rains. It seems what the MMDA want riders to do is

that if they have to stop at flyovers, they must not linger. They should just put their rain wears on and be on their way.

In the Metro area, it is a common sight for riders to use flyovers, bridges and the areas under the rail lines of MRT3, 2 and 1 to keep themselves dry or to put their rain wears on if they have before proceeding to their destinations.

This should not be a problem if everyone is using a car but since everyone cannot afford to buy cars, the motorcycle is like a halfway house.

MMDA must know that motorcycle driving in a heavy downpour could be dangerous

People buy it before transitioning to cars.

It stands to reason that they should perhaps be given a little more consideration because rain is the worst enemy of all motorcycle riders.

What should be evident to the MMDA or the government as a whole is that a lot more studies should be made to address the problems brought about by the millions of motorcycles being added to our roads every year because of their impact to traffic management. The problem may seem so mundane but it is a serious issue that deserves looking into by the government.

In the case of the National Capital Region, riders use every available space they can find during a downpour in order to put on their raincoats, wait out the rain or try to remain dry.

Gasoline stations is another place where riders congregate.

If the riders are in EDSA the favorite place are the emergency areas under the MRT3 tracks and

He wants the government to fix the “complicated” systems in the bureaucracy to enhance job generation and provide the labor force with quality jobs that would allow them to live decent and productive lives.

“We need to have economic activity so our countrymen will have jobs. It will not happen just because we stated it. We really need to do a lot of things,” he said.

These include introducing new policies that would speed up digitalization and allow the labor force to acquire new skills to make the Philippines a more investor-friendly place, not just for foreigners but also for local entrepreneurs.

Creating an environment conducive for both foreign and local investors also means fixing the way government departments are run, and facilitating the ease of doing business in the country.

That is the marching order given by the President to Economic Planning Secretary and concurrent NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan, on whose shoulders rest the awesome responsibility to implement “game-changing” reforms that will improve the country’s business investment climate and help sustain labor market gains, including high-quality job creation in partnership with the private sector.

of course, the flyovers. The bus stopovers in the malls like Mega Mall and SM north are also being used at times. These tell us the government should do a lot more to help these people instead of simply being punitive.

They cannot just be treated the way MMDA wants it because there is also a legitimate public health issue involved.

Indeed, with MMDA bringing this issue to the fore, it has gotten itself a constructive problem that it has to find a better solution.

MMDA must know that motorcycle driving in a heavy downpour could be dangerous. A lot of things can happen in a chaotic traffic situation if visibility is impaired.

One important consideration here is the prevention of serious traffic accidents from happening in order not to worsen the traffic situation.

This projected plan of the MMDA that will go into effect on August 1 is an example of the piece mill way of the government in tackling problems.

MMDA should view this as an opportunity to take the lead as far as the Metro area is concerned and come up with a comprehensive set of rules for motorcycle operation in the NCR.

This is because there are motorcycle riders who behave as if they are exempted from traffic laws. Proof of this is the high number of traffic deaths of motorcycle riders involved in traffic accidents.

But with regard to lingering too long when using flyovers as shelters when it rains, the MMDA should accompany its August 1 plan with ameliorating actions so as not to appear as cruel and uncaring to the plight of motorcycle riders. In situations like this, it is sometimes better to be more constructive than simply being punitive.

Joining hands for sufficient water supply

Among these partners are MTFI’s institutional partners: San Miguel Corporation, Manila Water, Maynilad, and Sta. Clara International.

Manila Water has been an institutional partner of MTFI since 2021 with an annual endowment of P1-million. It has planted 1,382,114 trees under its Watershed Reforestation Project started in 1995. For 2022, it has planted 88,000 trees at the La Mesa watersheds.

From 2017-2022, Manila Water has been recognized as a dependable stakeholder partner of the AMTC with 150,000 committed trees to be planted for CY 2023. It established and implemented best practices that foster sustainable forests and/or communitybased reforestation program, serving as the model for other communities or organizations.

Like Manila Water, Maynilad has been an institutional partner of MTFI since 2021 with the same annual P1-million support and a stakeholder partner of AMTC since 2017.

Its Plant for Life Watershed Reforestation Project earlier initiated in 2007 recently achieved its 1 million trees planted on December 29 last year. In 2022, Maynilad planted 82,051 trees at the La Mesa, Ipo, and Manila Bay watersheds. It pledged to plant 215,000 trees for CY 2023. As an institutional partner, Santa Clara International took care of the ground preparations for the construction of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center.

It deployed heavy equipment for the purpose.

As a stakeholder partner, it has planted thousands of fire trees in Morong, Bataan.

Another institutional partner is San Miguel Corporation (SMC) which is the major donor of MTFI with an annual P5-million endowment to support the various programs, projects and operations of MTFI.

In the last four years, SMC has planted and

nurtured more than five million new trees and mangroves from 2019 to 2022 under its multiyear, nationwide forestation and carbon capture program as part of San Miguel Corporation Global Power’s (SMCGP) Project 747 covering 5,000,116 upland and mangrove trees across 1,500 hectares of land in seven provinces.

SMC has been an institutional partner of MTFI since the latter’s establishment in 2021.

Through the initiative of its President and CEO Mr. Ramon S. Ang, SMC provided initial funding for the construction of the Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center.

The nursery and eco learning center is essential in carrying out the programs of MTFI. Located at the La Mesa Watershed, it is the first project of MTFI in the five-hectare land leased by government to the Foundation.

The eco learning center hosts the MTFI satellite office and has available space for environment-related seminars and workshops particularly the SMC Multi Purpose Center or more popularly known as Eddie’s Green Barn to honor the memory of former President Ramos.

A coffee shop and souvenir shop are also situated in the leased area as well as kiosks for each institutional partner where their respective environment conservation and protection advocacies are highlighted.

SMC’s advocacy for environment protection goes beyond reforestation.

It is also actively involved in river clean-up and rehabilitation with the Tullahan-Tinajeros river system and Pasig River among the beneficiaries of the initiative.

In his message during the AMTC Awarding Ceremony and Pledging Session, RSA commended former MWSS Administrator and Chairman Gen Reynaldo V. Velasco (ret), MWSS Administrator Bobby Cleofas and MTFI together with fellow advocates on environment protection.

While tree-planting is just one of the courses of action in environment protection, there is no debate about its importance.

Trees play a vital role in the water cycle and help improve water quality as they filter pollutants and sediments. With the AMTC, a community built on a commitment for a greener and stronger future has been established with the Million Trees Foundation carrying on the torch for the green revolution of planting trees to protect critical watersheds.

“This opportunity is an avenue for us to further show our value of “malasakit” – Malasakit Para sa Kalikasan,” RSA said.

MTFI partners have committed to plant over a million more trees this year. It is not far-fetched to achieve MTFI’s goal of 10 million more trees planted by 2030.

Let us do our share of environmental responsibility and work together to build a greener country, a greener world.

(The author is president and executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-profit group advocating tree planting and watershed protection. He is also a book writer and publisher of biographical and coffee-table books.)

THE good news is that both unemployment and underemployment rates are going down.

Wang: ‘Impossible to contain’ China WORLD

BEIJING—China’s

top diplomat Wang Yi told Henry Kissinger on Wednesday it is “impossible to contain or encircle” China, hailing the former US secretary of state’s role in opening up relations between the two powers.

“China’s development has a strong endogenous momentum and inevitable historical logic, and it is impossible to try to transform China, and it is even more impossible to encircle and contain China,” Wang told the 100-year-old Kissinger in a meeting in Beijing, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Kissinger, then US national security adviser, secretly flew to Beijing in July 1971 on a mission to establish relations with communist China.

That trip set the stage for a landmark visit by president Richard Nixon, who sought both to shake up the Cold War and enlist help ending the Vietnam War.

Washington’s overtures to an isolated Beijing contributed to China’s rise to become a manufacturing powerhouse and the world’s largest economy after the United States.

Since leaving office, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kissinger has grown wealthy advising businesses on China

—and has warned against a hawkish turn in US policy.

Hailing China’s “friendship established with old friends,” Wang on Wednesday praised Kissinger’s “historic contributions to the ice-breaking development of China-US relations.”

“China’s policy towards the United States maintains a high degree of continuity, and follows the fundamental guidelines proposed by President Xi Jinping, which are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation,” Wang added.

North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles

SEOUL—North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, hours after an American nuclear-armed submarine made its first South Korean port call in decades.

The launch was reported by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), according to Yonhap, who said they were fired early Wednesday from the Sunan area in Pyongyang, and flew some 550 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan’s defense ministry also recorded the launches. “We are analyzing details, but we estimated that they have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, east of the Korean Peninsula,” it said in a tweet.

The launches are the latest in a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang, and come as Seoul and Washington ramp up defence cooperation in the face of soaring tensions with the North.

Circular”) prescribing the conduct of Ancillary Services Competitive Selection Process (“AS-CSP”); in relation to the Ancillary Services - Cost Recovery Mechanism (“AS-CRM”) promulgated by the Energy Regulatory Commission in its Decision dated 3 October 2007 in ERC Case No. 2006-049RC. THE PARTIES

2. Applicant NGCP is a corporation created and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with office address at NGCP Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It holds a congressional franchise granted under Republic Act No. 9511,2 and is authorized to engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through high-voltage back-bone systems of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities, and for other purposes. The NGCP is authorized to conduct activities necessary to support the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system.

3. Applicant SNAP-BI is a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal place of business at Binga Hydro Electric Power Plant, Brgy. Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet Province.

3.1. SNAP-BI is the owner and operator of the Binga Hydroelectric Power Plant, with a rated capacity of 140MW continuous output at 60Hz, including required ancillaries and spare parts, located in Brgy. Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet (the Generation Facility”), which was certified and accredited by the NGCP as capable of providing Contingency Reserve and Dispatchable Reserve.

4. NGCP and SNAP-BI may be served with orders, notices, pleadings and other legal processes through their respective counsels at the addresses indicated below.

ANTECEDENT FACTS

5. Republic Act No. 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (“EPIRA”), provides that it is the responsibility of NGCP to ensure and maintain the reliability, adequacy, security, stability and integrity of the nationwide electrical grid in accordance with the performance standards for its operations and maintenance, as set forth in the Philippine Grid Code (“PGC”),3 adopted and promulgated by the Honorable Commission, and to adequately serve generation companies, distribution utilities and suppliers requiring transmission service and/or ancillary services (“AS”

with the post-qualification requirements.

17. On 12 April 2023, the TPBAC issued and submitted to the NGCP’s Board of Directors its Resolution and Evaluation Report on the conduct of the CSP17 indicating SNAPBI as one of the winning bidders. The TPBAC’s Evaluation Report was thereafter confirmed by the NGCP’s Board of Directors through a resolution dated 18 April 2023.18 18. On 18 April 2023, the TPBAC issued a Notice of Award in favor of SNAP-BI,19 informing the latter that it is to be awarded with

“These three guidelines are fundamental and long-term, and they are also the right way for China and the United States, two big countries, to get along with each other,” China’s top diplomat said. AFP CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

The JCS condemned the launches as “acts of significant provocation” and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

On Tuesday, they held the first Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in Seoul and announced an American nuclear submarine was making a port visit to Busan for the first time since 1981. AFP

Accordingly, SNAP-BI submits one (1) copy of said documents in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the document stamped with the word “Confidential”. ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

31. It is a declared policy of the State to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electric power. 21 To this end, there is a need to comply with the system requirements for AS to ensure grid system security and reliability. As mentioned above, NGCP has the mandate to procure the required AS. However, the Honorable Commission must first approve the contract before the same can be implemented.

32. As the demand for power in Luzon increases, the requirements of the system likewise increases. Ensuring the integrity of the system is essential to protect the interests of the public. The absence of system reliability and stability will certainly discourage investments and growth.

33. Applicants respectfully submit that the immediate approval of the ASPA by this Honorable Commission is a necessity to maintain the present reliability and security of the Grid. In support of these allegations, NGCP submits a copy of the Judicial Affidavit of Ms. Lisaflor B. Kater,22 which is attached to this Application.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, Applicants respectfully pray that the Honorable

Commission:

1. Immediately ISSUE a provisional authority to implement the subject ASPA executed on 02 May 2023; and

2. APPROVE, after notice and hearing, the subject ASP A.

3. ISSUE an Order treating Annexes “A”, “H”, “I”, “K”, “L”, “M”, “N”, “Q”,

Any interested stakeholder may submit its comments and/or clarifications at least (1) calendar day prior to the scheduled initial virtual hearing, via electronic mail (e-mail) at docket@erc.ph and copy furnish the Legal Service through legal@erc.ph. The Commission shall give priority to the stakeholders who have duly submitted their respective comments and/or clarifications, to discuss the same and propound questions during the course of the expository presentation.

Moreover, any person who has an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission via e-mail at docket@erc.ph. and copy furnishing the Legal Service through legal@erc.ph, a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) calendar days prior to the date of the initial virtual hearing and must follow the requirements under Rule 9 of the ERC Revised Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicate therein the docket number and title of the case, and state the following:

1) The petitioner’s name, mailing address, and e-mail address;

2) The nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and

3) A statement of the relief desired.

Likewise, all other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the case may file through e-mail at docket@erc.ph. and copy furnish the Legal Service through legal@erc.ph, their Opposition or Comment thereon at least five (5) calendar days prior to the initial virtual hearing. Rule 9 of the ERC Revised Rules of Practice and Procedure shall govern. No particular form of Opposition or Comment is required, but the document, letter, or writing should contain the following:

1) The name, mailing address, and e-mail address of such person;

2) A concise statement of the Opposition or Comment; and

3) The grounds relied upon.

All interested parties filing their Petition to Intervene, Opposition or Comment are required to submit the hard copies thereof through personal service, registered mail or ordinary mail/ private courier, within five (5) working days from the date that the same were electronically submitted, as reflected in the acknowledgment receipt e-mail sent by the Commission. Any of the persons mentioned in the preceding paragraphs may access the copy of the Joint Application through the Commission’s official website at www.erc.gov.ph

DOE supports Prime Infra-First Gen gas supply strategy to reduce prices

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE proposed gas aggregation strategy of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. of businessman Enrique Razon Jr. and First Gen Corp. of the Lopez family won the support of the Department of Energy.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a TV interview the proposal could help cushion the impact of a surge in prices of liquefied natural gas brought about by the Ukraine-Russia war.

Lotilla said natural gas from the Malampaya gas field could be aggregated with imported LNG to help address the war’s impact on the Philippine power sector which already saw the completion of two LNG facilities.

“That’s what we are trying to prevent from happening in terms of spikes in the price of imported LNG and the plan is to blend the lower price of Malampa-

ya natural gas with the imported LNG so that we can soften the impact or the volatilities of imported LNG,” Lotilla said in his One News interview.

“By 2026 or 2025, if we are lucky, there will be more LNG supply coming on stream globally and therefore the expectation is that prices of LNG will soften as well,” he said.

Prime Infra and First Gen are in talks to develop a gas aggregation framework to make it possible to blend declining volumes of indigenous Malampaya gas with imported LNG.

The framework would provide the lowest cost possible for consumers and bring these benefits, namely enhanced energy security and competitive market for power generation and complement ongoing commercial development of new indigenous natural gas fields.

First Gen is developing an integrated LNG and regasification terminal at its complex in Batangas City.

FINANCIAL RELIEF. Land Bank of the Philippines extends financial support to a Davao del Sur-based electric cooperative to provide financial relief to over 230,000 households and consumers from Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental in paying their electricity bills incurred during the dry season. LandBank senior vice president Charlotte Conde (fifth from right), together with other bank officials, pay a courtesy visit to DASURECO board president Al Castillon (sixth from right) and general manager Jerry Morastil (fourth from right) to express the Bank’s continued support to the cooperative.

ADB sees fastest growth in PH among Southeast Asian nations

By Darwin G. Amojelar and Jenniffer B. Austria

THE Asian Development Bank kept its economic growth forecast for the Philippines this year and next on the back of robust investment and private consumption.

The Manila-based multilateral lender said in its Asian Development Outlook July Update the Philippine economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, would likely grow by 6 percent in 2023 and 6.2 percent in 2024.

Standard TODAY

Its 2023 growth forecast for the Philippines is the fastest among major Southeast Asian economies. The ADB sees Vietnam growing 5.8 percent; Indonesia, 4.8 percent; Malaysia, 4.7 percent; Thailand, 3.7 percent and Singapore, 1.5 percent in 2023.

The ADB also expects the Philippines to expand 6.2 percent in 2024, the same assumption for Vietnam.

Meanwhile, First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, is banking on robust consumer and infrastructure spending to help the economy grow by 6.1 percent this year.

FMIC president Jose Patricio Dumlao said in a virtual press briefing Wednesday that despite the persistent global uncertainty and volatility, the economy would remain resilient because of its strong fundamentals.

“Amid a challenging global environment, the Philippine economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience.

In the first quarter of this year, we achieved robust growth of 6.4 percent, outperforming our peers in the region. This is a testament to the strength of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals,” Dumlao said.

“We continue to be optimistic, and we believe that the GDP will expand by 6.1 percent this year, as we expect strong domestic demand to remain a key driver of growth. This positive momentum will be supported by prudent fiscal management, heightened infrastruc-

NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING

DEAR STOCKHOLDERS:

Please be informed that the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting of Allied Care Experts (ACE) Dumaguete Doctors Inc. will be held on August 10, 2023 (Thursday) at 8:00 o’clock in the morning, via Zoom Webinar, to ensure the safety of our stockholders who will be attending the meeting. For the conduct of the Webinar, please register on or before August 10, 2023, through the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_6mrzMcL8TT-loF4DAQjOXg

The link will provide you the process for the registration. You will receive a confirmation email once you have successfully registered in the platform, including the details and procedures in the conduct of the meeting. Voting will be done via the online tool which you can access once you have logged in to the Webinar.

The meeting shall be recorded (visual and audio) for future reference.

The Agenda:

I. Call to Order

II. Invocation

III. Determination of Quorum

IV. Welcome Message from the Chairman of the Board

V. Reading and Approval of the Minutes of the Y2022 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting

VI. Approval of the Y2022 Audited Financial Statement

VII. President’s Report

VIII. Ratification of the Acts and Proceedings of the Board of Directors, Officers, and Management of the Corporation

IX. Election of the Board of Directors for 2023-2024

X. Appointment of External Auditor for the year 2023

XI. Amendment of Article III of the Articles of Incorporation

XII. Other Matters

XIII. Adjournment

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on July 21, 2023 (Friday) shall be entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting. If you cannot personally attend the meeting, you may opt to send your proxy to attend in your behalf. Kindly submit your duly executed proxy form with the undersigned, via email at acedumaguetedoctors@yahoo.com. ph not later than August 9, 2023, but preferably by August 7, 2023, to enable your proxy to register in the Zoom Webinar. A sample proxy form is posted at the Corporation’s website for your reference.

[NOTE: Management is not soliciting proxies.]

The Information Statement and Management Report and SEC Form 17-A are available at the Corporation’s website at www. acedumaguetedoctors.com

You may contact the undersigned via email at acedumaguetedoctors@ yahoo.com.ph or at telephone number: (035) 523 5957 if you have inquiries/concerns regarding the meeting.

Very Truly Yours

Corporate Secretary Marietta T. Samoy

IN BRIEF

Emperador expanding Scotland whisky distillery

EMPERADOR Inc., a liquor manufacturer led by billionaire Andrew Tan, said Wednesday it is expanding its Scotland distillery to meet the growing demand for whisky worldwide.

ture spending, and enhanced business and consumer confidence,” he said.

UA&P economist Victor Abola, who also presented his macroeconomic outlook, said the Philippines would likely be “insulated by the negative developments overseas primarily due to easing inflation rate, strong consumer spending aggressive infrastructure spending and strengthening of the peso against the dollar.”

“There is a lot of room for optimism. The clouds are less dark in Philippines. We tend to be a bit more unplugged to the movements in US and global economy,” Abola said.

ADB also maintained its growth outlook for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific at 4.8 percent this year, as robust domestic demand continues to support the region’s recovery. However, it downgraded Southeast Asia’s growth prospects from 4.7 percent to 4.6 percent in 2023 and from 5.0 percent to 4.9 percent in 2024, reflecting weaker global demand for manufactured exports.

Emperador said in a disclosure to the stock exchange subsidiary Whyte and Mackay would double the size of its whisky maturation complex in its Invergordon distillery from 45.4 hectares to 92 hectares.

This will create space for an additional 1.5 million casks of maturing whisky in the coming decades, it said.

“This expansion is part of Emperador’s continuing efforts to strengthen our production in response to growing demands for single malt whisky in various markets worldwide. We want to address the scarcity of aged liquids globally, and this will allow us to strengthen and support a core segment of our business,” Emperador president Winston Co said.

Whyte and Mackay is the world’s fifth largest Scotch Whisky producer that owns four leading single malt whisky brands.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Visitor arrivals reached 3m as of July 19—DOT

INTERNATIONAL visitor arrivals in the Philippines reached 3 million as of July 19, 2023, the Department of Tourism said Wednesday.

“We are glad to report that in roughly seven months, we have already achieved the 3 million international visitor arrivals mark, reflecting continued robust recovery and the gains of the Marcos administration towards the resurgence of Philippine tourism, ” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.

Data showed that of the total, 91.36 percent or 2,740,802 were foreign tourists and 8.64 percent or 259,277 were overseas Filipinos.

South Korea delivered almost a quarter of the total number of international visitors for the Philippines with 741,658 or about 24.72 percent. It was followed by the US with 550,569 tourists or 18.35 percent; Australia with 146,062 or 4.87 percent; Japan with 143,227 or 4.77 percent; and Canada with 132,018 or 4.4 percent. Other top sources of foreign visitors were mainland China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

SUPPLY AGREEMENT. Aboitiz Power Corp.’s retail electricity entities Adventenergy Inc. and AP

Renewables Inc. sign a power supply agreement with Nexif Ratch Energy Investments Pte. Ltd. for the supply of clean solar energy. The electricity supply will be sourced from the 74-megawatt-peak solar project of Nexif Ratch in Calabanga, Camarines Sur once it is completed by the second quarter of 2024. Signing the agreement are (from left) AboitizPower senior vice president Sandro Aboitiz, Calabanga Renewable Energy president Nicolo Subido and AboitizPower first vice president James Yu.

PAL unfazed by United Airlines’ transpacific route

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PHILIPPINE Airlines is unfazed by the planned entry of United Airlines in the Manila to San Francisco market.

“Philippine Airlines welcomes additional competition on transpacific routes, a sign of the strength and vitality of the air travel market between the Philippines and the United States,” the airline unit of tycoon Lucio Tan said in a statement.

“PAL has always embraced healthy competition among different players across our network,” it said.

PAL operates 37 weekly flights on US routes, including double daily flights to Los Angeles, daily flights each to San Francisco and Guam and several weekly flights to New York and Honolulu.

“Our efforts have helped boost tourism, facilitate stronger PH-US economic ties and

serve Balikbayan families, business travelers and trade flows in recent decades. We remain committed to those efforts to serve North America,” PAL said.

United Airlines announced Wednesday that it would start new daily nonstop service from Manila to San Francisco in October this year.

The first westbound flight from SFO to Manila will depart on Oct. 29, 2023.

The new flight, still subject to government approval, will be the airline’s first trans-Pacific service from Manila since it started its operations in the country in 1982.

“We are excited to launch the new nonstop service from Manila to San Francisco to meet strong requests from our customers on both sides of the Pacific,” United Airlines’ regional director of sales for Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia Wally Dias said.

The DOT said inbound tourism receipts surged 502 percent in the first half to P212.46 billion from P35.29 billion a year ago. Othel V. Campos

Cebu Pacific ranks third among strongest PH brands CEBU Pacific ranked third among the strongest brands in the Philippines for 2023, according to a study by a London-based brand valuation consultancy firm.

CEB received a Brand Strength Index score of 81.0, corresponding to a rating of AAA-, based on the Brand Finance’s 2023 report on the most valuable and strongest Filipino brands.

CEB also placed 20th among the Philippines’ most valuable brands this year—the first time the airline made it in the list—with a brand value worth $194 million.

“We are humbled and honored to be named among the strongest and most valuable brands in the Philippines. This affirms our commitment to making air travel more affordable and accessible for every kind of Juan,” said CEB chief marketing and customer experience officer Candice Iyog.

Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy firm, published the annual list of the most valuable and strongest brands following a survey of over 100,000 respondents worldwide to assess their perception of more than 4,000 brands.

Gov’t looks at initial 2,400 MW of nuclear capacity in 12 years

THE Department of Energy is looking at an initial 2,400 megawatts of nuclear capacity to support the growth of the sector by 2035.

The proposal is part of the agency’s Philippine Energy Plan 2023 to 2050 which is expected to be completed this year.

Under the plan, eight units of 150-MW small modular reactors are expected to be put in place by 2032 and an additional 1,200 MW of nuclear capacity by 2035.

DOE director for energy policy and planning bureau Michael Sinocruz said they could not say yet the exact nuclear capacity that would be included in the plan.

“We are running our numbers in terms of reliability and cost. Right now, we don’t have a fixed number in terms of capacity. We will have a firm capacity to be included in the mix in the succeeding PH energy plan once we have a law establishing an independent atomic energy regulatory commission which is still pending in the Congress now,” Sinocruz said in a recent forum organized by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Sinocruz said the government remained open to rehabilitating the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

“We are not yet abandoning the possible

rehabilitation of the BNPP, but we need to do a feasibility study whether we can rehab the BNPP at a reasonable cost, whether rehabilitation of BNPP is cost effective to us,” he said.

“We need to commission, so there are several proposals that we received for the conduct of the feasibility study for the BNPP,” he said.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla earlier said the Philippines might have a nuclear facility up and running “within the decade.”

“Within the decade, I am sure that we can be on, or we can place ourselves on track for that,” Lotilla said. Alena Mae S. Flores

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

PH now 98% ready to host World Cup of Basketball

By Peter Atencio

THE Philippines is nearly a hundred percent ready to stage of the 2023 FIBA World Cup for Basketball.

Officials involved in the Joint Management Committee of the FIBA World Cup Local Organizing Committee said this on Wednesday following an interagency meeting with the Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

FIBAWC Chief Implementor Ramon “Tats” Suzara said they are 98 percent ready for the games, which will be hosted by multiple nations for the first time in its history.

“The two percent are the finishing touches. And these are about the tables and chairs and displays inside the venues. The venue staff at the Araneta Coliseum, MOA Arena and the Philippine Arena are ready,” said Suzara.

World Cup champion Aranas wants to be a national athlete

By Randy Caluag

MORE popularly known by his nickname Dodong Diamond, James Aranas is one of the most feared cue artists in the local billiards circuit. He has won countless local tournaments and lost some, but not after “killing some giants” along the way.

But his recent World Cup victory in Spain has suddenly put him on the elite list of the new generation of billiards masters, like his World Cup partner and long-time friend Johann Chua and Carlo Biado. His luck continued as he extended his

win streak in a week’s span, winning the Bandung 10 Ball Open against some of Asia’s best, including Chua.

“If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up yet. I ended up winning this event. Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings I am receiving right now. I can

Creamline takes on F2, Cignal faces PLDT in semis

CREAMLINE and F2 Logistics face-off in a much-awaited duel of teams teeming with talents even as Cignal and PLDT tangle in an equally engaging clash kicking off the semifinal round of the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig today (Thursday).

The top elims finishers slug it out at 6:30 p.m. in a match tipped to draw in the crowds eager to watch the teams crowing with firepower and pride with the Cool Smashers all primed for their title-retention drive with a solid crew that anchored their sweep of Pool A.

But the Cargo Movers, who topped Pool B, are raring to prove their worth with a roster reinforced by three top rookies who are out to level up against an experienced Creamline side in what promises to be a drawn out battle not only of power but also of strategies and mental toughness.

Expect Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses and counterpart Regine Diego to go to their main players in a bid to gain the needed momentum and confidence, guaranteeing a highly-charged duel among Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Alyssa Valdez, Ced Domingo and Jia De Guzman and Kim Dy, Majoy Baron, Ivy Lacsina, Aby Maraño, Myla Pablo and Kim Domingo.

Bench support will also be crucial with Kyle Negrito, Risa Sato, Pangs Panaga and Bernadette Pons ready to provide support for Creamline and F2 Logistics expecting to draw big games from Ara Galang and rookies Jolina dela Cruz, Mars Alba and Jovelyn Fernandez.

Stamina will also come into play as all four teams are coming into the semis exhausted following a grueling campaign in the elims that produced a number of five-set results.

In fact, PLDT went through a two-hour, 42-minute grind to outlast Chery Tiggo in five sets late Tuesday and clinch the last semis slot in a match marked by a record 45-minute battle in the fourth set.

get used to this and I will keep thanking you and all the people that helped me get where I am now and where I’m going,” said the 31-year-old Davaoeno.

But there’s one thing that remains a dream for Aranas.

“Ang pangarap ko po talaga is maging national athlete. Gusto kong dalhin ang bandera ng Pilipinas tuwing lalaban ako,” said Aranas in his talk with members of the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

Aranas said he is just waiting for the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines to hold a national tryout so that he could participate.

“Whatever it takes po, gagawin ko

talagang makapasok sa national team,” he added.

Aranas has long been competing as a professional shortly after playing together with Chua in their elementary days in Baesa, Quezon City.

“Actually si James, ready hinog na hinog na ‘yan for national team. Sana magkaroon na ng qualifying para magkasama na din kami,” said Chua, a national team member for several years now.

The World Cup pair will compete again in the coming $100,000 Sharks International 9-Ball Open slated on July 24 to 29 at the Sharks Arena along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

The tournament will serve as qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, will qualify alongside the tournament’s host France.

Teams coming from 16 out of the 32 countries, which will come to the Philippines in the third week of August, will have a chance for some sort of meetups for fans that organizers will allow before action gets going on Aug. 25.

“We will surprise everyone. This will really be a world-class basketball event,” said Joint Management Committee head John Lucas.

Before the featured matchup between the Philippines and the Dominican Republic on August 25, the opening ceremonies are expected to be crowd-drawer, featuring performances from The Dawn, Ben & Ben, and Sarah Geronimo.

The facilities inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, and Philsports Complex in Pasig, will serve a training facilities for the players, many of whom are professional players from the NBA and are playing for their respective national teams.

Filipinas’ FIFA World Cup bid gets boost

A GOOD scorer has rejoined the Philippine National Women’s Football Team in time for its first game in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Australia and New Zealand.

Midfielder Quinley Quezada is expected to play a major role for the Filipinas, who are just a few days away from their first game.

The Filipinas have landed in New Zealand landed July 11 and are in a training camp.

“Moving forward, we need to work on how we possess the ball—once we win it, how can we get forward, how can we create more scoring opportunities? I think we just need to work on our possession phase. That’s what we’re looking to do in our upcoming tuneup matches,” said after the 26-year-old Quezada joined the practices last week.

The Filipinas recently absorbed

a 1-5 loss to Sweden in their closeddoor friendly that served as one of the team’s final warmup games before the start of the World Cup stint on Friday against Switzerland.

“It was a great learning experience. Sweden is very good and highly ranked. They’re a great squad. Right now we’re using that time to see how we do against tough opposition. I think right now our defense is really, really strong,” added Quezada on Zoom after the game.

Quezada plays as a forward for Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian Women’s Super League.

The Rosemead, California-born Quezada there has seen growth in the team since they have started camp. But the coaching staff, led by Allen Stajcic believes that there are things that they need to improve on. Peter Atencio

JACKIE Buntan is hungry for revenge as she tries to take the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship from Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell at ONE Fight Night 14 on September 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

It’s a chance for redemption for the Fil-Am fighter after losing to Sundell for the inaugural Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World last year, as she got outpointed by the lanky Swede at ONE 156: Eersel vs Sadikovic.

Now a year wiser, Buntan is motivated to prove that she belongs among the marquee as

she will be part of a heavy allfemale quadruple main event with three world championships up for grabs. Reeling off the decision loss to Sundell, Buntan rebounded in a big way, starting with her impressive three-round drubbing of Amber Kitchen in front of her relatives and friends in the Philippines late last year. She then showed up in her home country, knocking out Diandra Martin in the first round to claim the first KO win in her ONE career.

Buntan and Sundell beef up a historic night for ONE which puts the spotlight on the amazing

female athletes in the promotion. In the main event, ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix Champion Stamp Fairtex tangles with Ham “Hamzzang” Seo Hee for the ONE Interim Atomweight World Title. Grappling star Danielle Kelly and Asian Games gold medallist Jessa Khan are also set to meet for the inaugural ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Championship, while ONE Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan and Nat “Wondergirl” Jaroonsak lock horns in a Special Rules Striking Match.

James Aranas is a World Cup champion, but he still isn’t a part of the Philippine national billiards team.

Midfielder Quinley Quezada in action

Paris Olympics organizer sees tough year

PARIS— The chief organizer of the Paris Olympics Tony Estanguet admitted on Tuesday that the 12 months until the opening ceremony would be “difficult”.

Estanguet said though that there was no need to sound the alarm on the key issues of transport and security, despite several days of rioting and looting that rocked France this month.

“We know that the last year will be decisive, it won’t be simple... it will be a crazy year, a difficult year.

as the one-year--to-go date of July 26 approaches fast.

LEGAL BASES

Section 26 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 14451 provides that the authority and powers of the Commission on Audit (COA) shall extend to, among others, the examination, audit, and settlement of all debts and claims of any sort due from or owing to the Government or any of its subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. Pursuant to this mandate, the law confers upon the COA the jurisdiction to adjudicate or settle all types of money claims against the government.

Further, Section 1, Rule VIII, of the 2009 Revised Rules of Procedure of the COA (RRPC), as amended, provides that the Commission Proper (CP) has original jurisdiction over money claims against the Government, except payment of just compensation based on a court judgment in expropriation proceedings.

The money claims that are filed before this Commission are classified and distinguished into two types.2 The first type covers money claims originally brought before the COA, and refers only to liquidated claims and quantum meruit cases. The second type of money claims refers to those which arise from a final and executory judgment of a court or arbitral body.

In view of the increasing number of money claims brought before this Commission, there is a need to provide updated and comprehensive guidelines that encompass the procedures and documentation requirements in the filing and adjudication of the various types of money claims for the guidance of the offices concerned and the claimants.

2.0 PURPOSE

This Circular is issued to prescribe the guidelines, procedures and requirements in filing petitions for money claims before this Commission, as well as the disposition thereof, pursuant to its authority and powers as provided under Section 26 of PD No. 1445.

3.0 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms when used in this Circular shall be construed to mean as follows:

a) Money claim - a demand for payment of a sum of money, reimbursement or compensation arising from law, or contract due from or owing to a government agency.

b) Petitioner - the party who submits a money claim to the Commission Proper or to the Cluster/Regional Director, in case of money claims not exceeding P100,000.00.

c) Respondent - the government agency against whom a claim is directed.

d) Government agency or agency of the government or agency - any department, bureau or office of the National Government, or any of its branches and instrumentalities or any local government unit, as well as any government-owned or controlled corporation, including its subsidiaries, or other self-governing board or commission of the government.

e) Liquidated claim - a claim that can be determined or is readily determinable from vouchers, invoices, and such other papers within reach of accounting officers.3

f) Unbooked obligation - refers to prior year’s obligation incurred by a government agency, which at the time incurred, was covered by an appropriation, but due to some deficiencies or causes, was not taken up in the registries as a proper charge to that year’s appropriation or was not taken up as accounts payable at year-end. The term unbooked obligation shall not include prior years’ unpaid authorized personnel benefits which are mandatory in nature.4

g) Quantum meruit -literally meaning as much as he deserves. Under this principle, a person may recover a reasonable value of the thing he delivered or the service he rendered. The principles also acts as a device to prevent undue enrichment based on the equitable postulate that it is unjust for a person to retain benefit without paying for it. The principle of quantum meruit is predicated on equity. 5

h) Real party-in-interest - is the party who stands to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit, or the party entitled to the avails of the suit. Unless otherwise authorized by law or these Rules, every action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real party in interest.6 A money claim, like any other action, must be instituted by the real party-ininterest.7

4.0 PROCEDURES BEFORE THE COMMISSION PROPER

a) Filing of Petition -A claimant for money against the Government, whose claim is cognizable by the Commission Proper, may file a petition directly with the Office of the Commission Secretary in accordance with the following:

i. Caption - The party seeking relief shall be referred to as “Petitioner” and the government agency against whom a claim is directed shall be referred to as “Respondent.”

ii. Contents of Petition - The petition shall be verified and shall contain the personal circumstances or juridical personality of the petitioner, a concise statement of the ultimate facts constituting the cause of action, a citation of the law and jurisprudence upon which the petition is based and the relief sought. The petition shall be accompanied by certified true copies of documents referred to therein and other relevant supporting papers. The Commission Secretary or his duly authorized representative, upon receipt of the petition, shall check the form of the petition and its attachments. If the petition is found to be deficient in form or in its attached documents, the Commission Secretary or his duly authorized representative shall return the petition with a written advice regarding the deficiencies found in the petition. The filing fee paid shall still be considered in the subsequent refiling of the petition.

iii. Proof of Service - Proof of service of the petition on the respondent shall be attached to the petition.

b) Docket and Assignment Number - Upon the filing of the petition, the Office of the Commission Secretary, after having determined compliance with the requirements set forth in this Circular, shall docket the same and assign to it a case number in accordance with Section 6, Rule IX of the RRPC

(15) days from receipt thereof.

d) Answer - Within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the Order, the respondent shall file with the Commission Secretary an answer to the petition together with the proof of service thereof to the petitioner. The answer shall be accompanied by certified true copies of documents referred to therein together with other supporting papers. The answer shall (a) point out insufficiencies or inaccuracies in the petitioner’s statement of facts and issues and (b) state the reasons why the petition should be denied or dismissed or granted. In case the respondent fails to file an answer within fifteen (15) days or within an extended period previously granted by the Commission Secretary, the petition shall be decided based on the allegations therein and the comment and recommendation of the concerned COA offices.

e) Reply - Petitioner may file a reply, copy furnished the respondent, within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the answer.

f) Comment by Concerned Offices- Except for court-adjudicated claims within five (5) days from receipt of the complete records of the case including the answer of the respondent and other parties in interest, the Commission Secretary shall refer the records to the concerned Director in the Central or Regional Office who shall, within fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof, submit their comment and recommendation to the Commission Secretary. The IS-day period may be extended upon request, subject to approval of the Commission Secretary.

g) Referral to the Commission Proper Adjudication Sector (CPAS) of Money Claims filed with the CP - After receipt of the comment and recommendation from the Director concerned, the Commission Secretary shall refer the case to the concerned Claims and Adjudication Office (CAO) (National, Local or Corporate) of the CPAS for evaluation and preparation of a draft decision to be submitted to the CP through the Commission Secretary.

h) Preparation and Rendition of Decision - Within thirty (30) days from receipt of the complete documents necessary for the full adjudication of the claim, the concerned CAO of the CPAS shall prepare a decision for deliberation and approval of the CP. If in the process of preparing the decision the concerned CAO Director finds that a complete adjudication of the case cannot be made due to insufficiency of documents or information submitted, he/she may issue an Order requiring the submission of the document or information from the parties, concerned COA offices, or other government or non-governmental entities.

5.0 PROCEDURES BEFORE THE CLUSTER DIRECTOR (CD)/ REGIONAL DIRECTOR (RD)

a) Money claims involving amounts not exceeding P100,000.00 shall be filed before the Office of the CDIRD who exercises audit jurisdiction over the government agency or instrumentality against which the money claim is directed.8

In case of money claims directed against a government agency under the audit jurisdiction of the CD but located outside the National Capital Region, the petition may be filed with the Office of the RD where the Respondent is located. The RD shall order the Audit Team Leader (ATL)/Supervising Auditor (SA)/ Regional Supervising Auditor (RSA) to submit comment and recommendation and, thereafter, forward the records of the case to the CD.

b) The following guidelines and procedures shall be observed by the Office of the CDIRD:

a) The Office of the CDIRD shall act in place of the Commission Secretary. Upon receipt of the petition, after having determined compliance with the requirements, the Office of the CD/RD shall docket the same and assign to it a docket number.

b) The CD/RD shall issue an Order requiring Respondent to answer the petition within fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof.

c) Within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the said Order, the Respondent shall file with the Office of the CDIRD an answer to the petition.

d) The Petitioner may file a reply, copy furnished the Respondent, within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the answer.

e) Within five (5) days from receipt of the complete records of the case including the answer of the Respondent or other parties in interest, the CDIRD shall refer the records to the ATL/SA/RSA, except for court/quasijudicial bodies adjudicated claims, who shall, within fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof, submit their comment and recommendation to the Office of the CDIRD.

f) The CDIRD shall render his decision on the case within thirty (30) days after submission of the complete documents necessary for evaluation and decision. If in the process of preparing the decision the concerned CDIRD finds that a complete adjudication of the case cannot be made due to insufficiency of documents or information submitted, the concerned Director may issue an Order requiring the submission of the document or information from the parties, concerned COA offices, or other government or non-governmental entities.

g) The CDIRD shall not entertain a motion for reconsideration of his/her decision. Any such motion shall be returned to the movant without action and with the advice that an appeal be filed instead to the CP pursuant to Rule VII of the 2009 RRPC.

6.0 PLEADINGS, MODE OF FILING AND FILING FEE

a) Form of Pleadings - The petition, answer, reply and comments in connection with a money claim shall contain a caption setting forth the name and address of the COA, the title of the case, the docket number and the description of the pleading. It shall be printed or typewritten doublespaced on legal-size bond paper.

b) Number of Copies - Every petition, answer, reply and other papers required in connection with a money claim filed before the CP, through the Commission Secretary, or before the CDIRD shall be made in five

Despite the violence that flared in France after a 17-year-old was shot dead by police at a traffic stop, Estanguet said the issue of security was in hand.

“But we have to stay calm,” he said at a press conference in Paris credited officials have been allocated, for example.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Tuesday he was sure the Paris Olympics would take place “in a peaceful environment”, even though much of the trouble flared in parts of the French capital where Games events will take place next year.

Bach told reporters in a media roundtable that the IOC sympathised with those affected by the violence,

“At the same time we can note that these riots were not related to the Olympic Games in any respect,” he said.

“We can feel the great support of the French people for these Olympic Games. So we are very confident that the Games can and will happen in a peaceful environment,” Bach added.

In Paris, Estanguet said the issue of transport, which the French national spending watchdog has frequently warned is a concern, “is heading in the right direction”.

“That gives me a lot of satisfaction, even if we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.

Estanguet said the first two phases of ticket sales -- criticised at times for prices that reached nearly 700 euros ($775) for athletics sessions -- had yielded one billion euros out of a target of 1.4 billion euros.

The organizing committee was shaken last month when police raided its offices and the homes of two officials, Chief Executive Officer Etienne Thobois and Edouard Donnelly, the executive director of operations.

Prosecutors are investigating the contracts awarded for the Games and potential conflicts of interest.

Estanguet said he had “no new information” and that he and his colleagues were continuing to cooperate with investigators.

The contracts for bus transport for competitors and ac- CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

The Paris Olympics open on July 26, 2024 and run until August 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8. AFP

a) Proof of payment of the filing fee and legal research fee, i.e., copy of the original receipt. Any petition without the required or with insufficient filing fee shall be returned to the party concerned for compliance with such requirement.11

b) Certification from the concerned government agency of the nonpayment of the money claim.12 The certification shall include a breakdown of the total amount claimed. In case of refusal by the government agency to issue said certification, the Petitioner should instead attach the duly received letter-request for the issuance of a certification and an affidavit stating therein that, despite reasonable time, the agency officials did not issue the said certification.

c) Verification and Certification against forum shopping by the Petitioner or the duly authorized representative. 14

d) Answer of the Respondent to the petition accompanied by certified true copies of documents referred to therein together with other supporting papers, including the breakdown and computations of the amount being claimed. 15

e) Comments and recommendation of the ATL/SAIRSA and CDIRD concerned on the money claim. Unless necessary for a judicious disposition of the claim, this requirement shall not apply to courtadjudicated claims.

f) If Petitioner is represented by an attorney-in-fact, a duly notarized Special Power of Attorney specifically authorizing the agent to file the money claim.

g) If Petitioner is a corporation, a duly notarized Secretary’s Certificate and/or Board Resolution specifically authorizing the representative of the corporation to file the money claim.16

7.2 Specific Requirements:

a) Money Claims Based on Final and Executory Judicial Decisions/ Decisions of Quasi-Judicial Bodies or Tribunals (except payment of just compensation based on a court judgment in expropriation proceedings) i. Copy of the final court decision and entry of judgment duly authenticated by the authorized court officer. 17 ii. Authenticated copies of decisions/orders/judgments rendered by the lower courts, quasi-judicial bodies or tribunals in case the final decision is in the exercise of appellate jurisdiction of the court whose judgment is being executed.18 iii. In the case of a money claim filed pursuant to or on the basis of a final and executory decision/order/judgment of a quasijudicial body or tribunal, authenticated copy of such decision/judgment/ order.

b) Money Claims Involving Unbooked/Unfunded Obligations

9.0

Omar Larupay of the Iloilo United Royals

HOME ARE THE CHAMPS. The triumphant members of the Gilas Pilipinas Women’s National U16 Team are shown at the airport following their title romp in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2023-Division B in Amman, Jordan. The team beat Iran, 83-60, on Sunday to claim the crown and in the process was promoted to the tougher Division A.

Big stars to light up the Skydome

Missed your favorite Korean actress, Lee Sung Kyung last weekend at the Skydome? Don’t fret because from July until November, Skydome is packed with exciting activities as big acts light up the local concert scene.

A series of unforgettable events kicks off with Mr. Big's bittersweet farewell on August 9. The hard rock supergroup has sold over four million albums worldwide and will perform their chart-topping hits like "To Be With You" and "Just Take My Heart."

Lakorn fans will be thrilled to know that Tor Thanapob Leeratanakachron, popularly known as Tor Thanapob, will grace the Skydome on August 13 for his first fan meeting in Manila. He is loved by the Filipinos as Gabriel in The Last Promise, Roy/Mico in Man of Vengeance, and Anton in Switch

Thai actor and ‘Midnight Museum’ star Tor

Thanapob

On September 9, Thailand's hit band, Tilly Birds

will make their first-ever appearance in front of their Filipino fans. The indie rock trio composed of lead vocalist Anuroth Ketlekha (Third), guitarist Nutdanai Chuchat (Billy), and drummer Thuwanon Tantiwattanaworakul (Milo), are known for hit songs such as “Same Page,” “Just Being Friendly,” and “Until Then.”

Mark your calendars for September 21 when three iconic Bay Area thrash metal bands Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel unite for the Bay Strikes Back Tour in Manila, offering some headbangin' music.

Against the Current, the American pop-rock band will bring their Nightmares and Daydreams 2023 world tour to the Philippines on October 8. Expect to sing your heart out to their popular hits like "blindfold," "Teenagers," and "Wildfire." Silverstein, the Canadian band, will rock your Hal-

loween night on October 31. Prepare for an unforgetta ble performance featuring their notable songs such as "Discovering The Waterfront," "Hear Me Out," "My Heroine," and the iconic "Smile In Your Sleep."

To cap off the series of fantastic concerts, American rock band Saosin will take you on a trip down memory lane with their Asia Tour 2023 Live in Manila on November 3 and 4. Join Anthony Green, Beau Burchell, Chris Sorenson, Alex Rodriguez as they perform all their albums and hits live, inviting Filipino emo and posthardcore rock fans for a special two-night show. Secure your tickets via SM Tickets outlets nationwide or online thru www.smtickets.com Visit www.smsupermalls.com or follow SMSupermalls

More foreign music acts coming to PH for must-see concerts with Thailand’s Win Metawin Janella Salvador stars in film shot in Hong Kong

By Angelica Villanueva

THE Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has always supported the in-town production of films from different parts of the world, to spread the city’s unique culture and appealing experiences to global audiences. Among them, the HKTB is supporting the production of a new Asian romantic film Under Parallel Skies, starring Thai actor Win Metawin and the Filipino actress Janella Salvador.

Produced by 28 Squared Studios and co-produced with Two Infinity Entertainment, the film is directed by decorated Filipino filmmaker Sigrid Bernardo

The official announcement was made through a post by 28 Squared Studios on Instagram. The production company is owned by Richard Juan, who will also join Win and Janella in the movie.

“We are excited to announce to you guys that we will be teaming up for the upcoming movie under Parallel Skies,” said Win.

Under Parallel Skies marks Win's debut in the international film industry and his collaboration with a Filipino artist for the first time

Last month, during his first solo fan meeting held at New Frontier Theater, Win expressed his hopes in working with Filipina actress and It’s Showtime host Anne Curtis Win rose to fame when he starred as Tine in the Thai hit BL series, 2gether The Series, with fellow actor Bright Vachirawit. The 24-yearold actor is currently working on his thriller series, Enigma

Meanwhile, Janella is known for portraying notable characters such as Nikki in Be Careful With My Heart and Emma in The Killer Bride

On the other hand, in a tweet shared by Official BrightWin Philippines, it seemed that Win might be working on a global brand which it said to be later revealed. Fans became more excited about what he is up to when he liked the post hinting at a new endorsement from him.

'Barbie' marketing blitz hits fever pitch

HOLLYWOOD A-listers have been walking red carpets in hot pink, glitter is back, and companies from The Gap to Burger King are doing rosecolored collaborations: Barbie mania is everywhere as the hotly anticipated film hits theaters worldwide.

Toy maker Mattel, who first unveiled the iconic doll in 1959, has reached about 100 licensing agreements for everything from roller skates to toothbrushes in connection to director Greta Gerwig's summer flick.

Of course, Barbie is big in the beauty world too – lipsticks, blushes, and mirrors all bear the famous logo.

"In the 30 years that I have been tracking and analyzing box offices and trends, I've never quite seen anything like this before," said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore.

"Barbie is tailor-made for marketing," he said. "It's perfect because Barbie is a toy, it's already a product, and beyond that, it's a lifestyle and a color."

The movie, which stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as boyfriend Ken, has been hyped as one of the biggest blockbusters of the season, with numerous premieres held around the globe ahead of Friday's debut in US theaters.

Of course, that promotion blitz has been curtailed at the 11th hour, with Hollywood actors now on strike over pay and other conditions. But the list of corporate partners is sure to keep the buzz going.

Microsoft, Forever 21, Ulta Beauty, Hot Wheels, Chevrolet, and even Progressive insurance are among the companies looking to cash in on Bar-

bie mania. The influential color company Pantone even has a shade to match the zeitgeist: 219C is officially Barbie Pink.

Mattel has even reached a deal with rival toy giant Hasbro, which will release a Barbie version of the classic board game Monopoly in the fall. In exchange, Mattel will showcase "Transformers" on its Uno card game in connection with a Hasbro film release. AFP

Fashion brand Forever 21 brings Barbie fashion in the real world with Forever 21 x Barbie exclusive capsule

Classical crossover group dazzles the music scene

SOMETIMES it's a good sign if a group is formed by impulse rather than via tradition where teenage friends experience it all together from garage jams to concert venues. When remarkable individual talents make way for a strong ensemble, it's a case of the right ingredients falling into place for a good recipe. Such is the scenario that resulted in FilTrio, a new classical crossover group based in Los Angeles whose members are all immersed in the Filipino-American community of performers, artists, and creatives. While each member has his separate journey before becoming a professional act, their intertwined destinies led to the fine mix. Someone saw it coming. The troika, composed of Lyndon Apostol, Kenneth Laurente, and Cristiani Rebada, recorded and put out their version of "O Holy Night" to celebrate Christmas and their group's formal birth. That came after Starlink Promotions, anchored by the beloved-sometimes-controversial Fil-Am singer Garth Garcia, initiated the idea that they perform as a guest trio for the renowned Jed Madela in a previous California concert.

"We instantly clicked, drawn together by our shared passion for classical, musical theatre, and OPM repertoire. Singing together at various events, we formed a strong bond, supporting fellow artists and organizations within the community," expressed the multi-talented Apostol whom I witnessed direct a fashion show at the Scientology Auditorium in North Hollywood.

Fil-Trio did their first concert at the same venue last April, where they were joined by Discovery Philippines second placer Leeana, rising star Savannah Blandino, and The Voice Kids PH alumna Claire Geonzon They are slated to participate at the

Vocal Champs Live in L.A tomorrow (Friday, July 20) that will feature top Filipino singers Kyla, KZ Tandingan, and Yeng Constantino

(Fri

Come August 11, they will also be on hand at Madela's 20th Anniversary concert billed Timeless Twenty So far, their lone record has given listeners a bright idea of what the group is offering. Their follow-up, titled "A Moment Like This," and set to be released in music streaming platforms by Starlink Music, will take the public deeper into their sense of synergy. Laurente, who has quite carved a name for himself with already six singles to his name, elaborated on their musicality: "Fil-Trio's sound is all about combining operatic and classical techniques with a unique twist. We love pushing boundaries and exploring pop and rock fusion, which gives our music an incredible variety of styles."

Rebada's classical training from Silliman University, Apostol's Broadway experience (having played roles including that of Chino from West Side Story and

Minsik Lee from Comfort Women, and Laurente's background as a soloist and member of various choirs (in particular, the Saint John Bosco Chorale Makati which toured Canada and Singapore) came together well to imbue their overall appeal with dynamism and confidence.

"It's clear that classical music still has a special place in people's hearts even in today's diverse music landscape," said Rebada. "We're thrilled to see the love and support for our genre, and it only fuels our confidence to continue delivering."

Stressing the importance of merging authentic talents in an era where artists are somewhat forced to upstage others to get ahead, like in reality TV contests, or on social media where more often the merely daring beats the quietly skilled, Apostol noted, “Fil-Trio’s strength comes from the fact that each member individually stands as their own artist. We happen to enjoy the art we make and we hope to do so as we grow together.”

That is short of saying we’re bound to see a tight group created overnight for a good reason, and may actually last long.

Thai phenomenal star Win Metawin of the ‘2gether The Series’ fame

Shot in Hong Kong, Kapamilya actress Janella Salvador and Thai actor Win Metawin team up in the upcoming romatic film

From left: Fil-Trio members Lyndon Apostol, Kenneth Laurente, and Cristiani Rebada for

By Angelique Sampayan

summer glow Embracing all year round

TAKING care of your skin is essential, especially in regions with a tropical climate and intense heat. Among all the skincare practices, applying sunscreen stands out as a paramount step. The importance of sunscreen cannot be overstated, and it has become a non-negotiable part of the skincare routine for many individuals..

Enter QUICKFX, the local beauty brand behind the cult-favorite Pimple Eraser Line that took the beauty industry by storm with its innovative products championing effective ingredients that deliver fast results, at affordable price points.

Through a QUICKFX SunGlo Weekend held at Patio by Balai Norte in La Union last month, QUICKFX officially launched its two brand new sunscreens – the Vita Sunscreen and Super UV Sun Spray – and its fruit antioxidant-powered line, the QUICKFX Glo Smoothies range.

According to the QUICKFX brand team, Frances Jabeguero, Mari Barretto-Syquia, and Angeline Agustin, they are committed to creating products that help protect, brighten, and hydrate the skin of all types for that ultimate summer glow. Lightweight and fast-absorbing, the QUICKFX Vita Sun promises

3x sun care action with its SPF 50 PA+++ ingredient. The best part? It also has Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Niacinamide, Avocado, and Chamomile Extracts making it a formula worth trying.

For sunscreen touch-ups throughout the day, the Super UV Sun Spray will do the trick. This spray format sunscreen also promises SPF 50 PA+++ and is formulated with Vitamin E, Sunflower Oil, Niacinamide, and Green Tea Extract. These sun-protecting products ensure a smooth finish while being comfortable to wear, all without break-

ing the bank. The Vita Sunscreen is priced at P499 with 200mL, while the Super UV Sun Spray is priced at P399 for a 150mL aerosol can.

QUICKFX takes pride that these products are reef-safe, kid-safe, and sweat-proof, and are guaranteed to have no white cast once absorbed by the skin.

But the party doesn’t just end there. During the two-day activities, QUICKFX also launched its Glo Smoothies line, an exciting addition to its array of products, harnessing the benefits of fruit-powered antioxidants designed to be like a detoxify-

Caring beyond beauty

Wellness brand spreads smiles and positive impact

A LEADING health, wellness, and beauty retailer brand continues to demonstrate its unwavering dedication to improving the health and wellness of communities throughout the Philippines.

The mission not only paved the way for giving back smiles to 60 beneficiaries, all children with cleft palate condition but also a more meaningful experience for its employees who volunteered and took part in this endeavor.

In a recent collaboration, Watsons joined forces with Operation Smile Philippines (OSP) to conduct a medical mission in Cauayan, Isabela - marking their second initiative of the year.

A total of 35 Watsons employees left their official tasks momentarily and joined the Isabela OSP mission. Truly, it was one extraordinary experience that left a lasting impression on every- one.

Pharmacy Manager Ellyrose Simplina of Watsons Isabela talks about her experience of being a part of the mission, “As a volunteer for OSP Mission, it is very rewarding. Especially when we see the smiles of the patients and the parents after a successful operation gives happiness to our hearts and gives us a sense of purpose. Indeed you can find happiness by helping others.”

The mission also helped in making the team effort best work together and how they can be hands-on in taking care of the beneficiaries. The volunteers helped in different aspects such as doing the final screening of the patients, interviewing parents, filling up the patient records,, and even postoperative hygiene care to assist the patients properly and make the process easier.

“My experience as a volunteer of the OSP mission taught me empathy, compassion, and teamwork.

Working with people whom you have never met before can be intimidating at times but it helped

me strengthen my communication skills and to see the smile of each patient makes it valuable and rewarding,” pharmacist Sabrina Faye Reyes shared her Isabela mission experience.

“We are delighted to witness the profound impact of our partnership with Operation Smile Philippines. Through this collaboration, we are not only transforming lives but also reaffirming our commitment to employee volunteerism and making a positive difference in the communities we serve”, said Sharon Decapia, Marketing AVP of Watsons Philippines.

Watsons takes great pride in sharing this humbling and inspiring experience with its entire team. This partnership in the Philippines exemplifies A.S. Watson’s global commitment to bringing 10,000 perfect smiles in collaboration with Operation Smile. With two successful medical missions completed this year, Watsons has plans to organize an additional medical mission in the coming months, with a mission in

QUICKFX treats selected members of the media to a quick weekend getaway in La Union ing fruit smoothie for the face.

This new line makes its debut with two pioneering products – the Brightening Serum Cleanser and the Ultra Brightening Serum, both made from advanced technology in South Korea.

The former product, a gentle face cleanser, features a delicious blend of Watermelon and Peach Extracts, Niacinamide, and Ascorbic Acid, designed to brighten the skin for as early as seven days.

With its hydrating serum formula, the QUICKFX Glo Smoothing Brightening Serum Cleanser is guaranteed to clean the skin without leaving it dry.

Another latest innovation is the Ultra Brightening Serum which is formulated with a cocktail of Watermelon and Peach Extracts, Niacinamide, and Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, a powerful ingredient that brightens dull

and tired-looking skin, minimizes the appearance of pores, and controls sebum production. This serum also aims to help prevent acne and wrinkles.

The Glo Smoothies products also come in very budget-friendly packs, with the Brightening Serum Cleanser priced at P299 for 100mL, while the Ultra Brightening Serum comes in two sizes: the 10g QUICKFX iconic sachet format priced at P109, and in 40mL for the full size, priced at P399.

The brand’s official launch of its latest products became more interesting to media invites through various activities including an indoor YinYang yoga class spearheaded by Coach Sha Casuga, a brand-initiated coastal cleanup, and a surfing class led by Marven Abat of The La Union Surf Club.

Grab your QUICKFX Vita Sunscreen, Super UV Sunspray, and Glo Smoothie products exclusively in Watsons stores nationwide. You may also shop these new releases on the Watsons App or on Watsons Stores via ShoppeeMall or LazMall.

SkinStation Elite houses state-of-the-art facilities that offer cutting-edge treatments

Skincare Sanctuary

SkinStation celebrates successful launch of its premium members-exclusive skincare hub

SKINSTATION, a leading skin clinic with an extensive network of 102 branches across the country, celebrates the successful launch of its latest venture, SkinStation Elite. Drawing on its remarkable achievement as the nation’s foremost provider of Painless Diode Laser Hair Removal, boasting an impressive fleet of over 100 diode laser machines and having catered to more than 900,000 delighted patients, SkinStation Elite elevates the skincare experience. It does so by offering state-of-the-art facilities and cuttingedge treatments in an opulent, members-exclusive environment, conveniently situated on the 2nd Floor, High Street South Corporate Plaza Tower 1, 26th St cor 9th Ave, BGC, Taguig City. Fred C. Reyes, founder and chairman of SkinStation, emphasizes the role of family in ensuring business sustainability. “At SkinStation, family is integral. Working alongside my sons, we strive to provide exceptional skincare solutions. Our vision for SkinStation Elite is to craft a tailored, exclusive skincare journey for our valued members.”

SkinStation Elite redefines skincare by combining high-end treatments with cuttingedge aesthetic technology. Be it the Pico Laser treatment for correcting pigmentation and age spots, or the Radio Frequency Fractional Machine for skin rejuvenation and tightening, SkinStation Elite embodies a hub of innovative skincare solutions.

Complementing these advanced treatments, the facility also introduces the stateof-the-art Skin Analyzer. Reyes explains, “Our Skin Analyzer facilitates a data-driven approach to skincare, enabling us to customize treatments to each client’s unique needs.”

Gerard Reyes, CEO of SkinStation, reaffirms the company’s loyalty toward its clientele. “With SkinStation Elite, we intend to acknowledge our devoted customers by presenting them with an exclusive sanctuary that encapsulates premium skincare treatments.”

Beyond advanced treatments, the SkinStation Elite experience extends to an environment that encapsulates comfort, privacy, and exclusivity. Members can unwind in the lounge with complimentary snacks and drinks while enjoying the privacy offered by the enclosed treatment rooms.

Francis Reyes, the company’s managing director, emphasizes their dedication to integrity. “Our business practices reflect our core values of prioritizing the genuine needs of our customers over mere sales increments.”

The triumph of SkinStation, owing to its trailblazing Painless Diode Laser Hair Removal and comprehensive client base, has set the stage for this upscale expansion. Dr. Almira Kaye Cuadra Reyes, medical director at SkinStation, underscores the continuous training of their team. “Our doctors, therapists, and staff keep abreast with the latest skincare technologies. With SkinStation Elite, we aim to elevate our services, all while ensuring the utmost comfort and privacy.”

SkinStation Elite enriches the pre-existing membership program by providing members with enhanced exclusivity and priority access to its state-of-the-art facilities and treatments. Don’t miss out on experiencing the elevated skincare journey. Sign up now for just P1,000 and join the exclusive SkinStation Elite membership.

For more information, visit www.skinstation.ph.

Sunscreen reduces our body’s overall UV exposure and lowers risk of skin cancer and sun damage

The QUICKFX Vita Sun promises three times sun care action while giving a lightweight feel

During its SunGlo Weekend, QUICKFX introduces two brand new sunscreens and its Glo Smoothies line

Watsons conducts Operation Smile in Isabela as part of its mission in promoting health and wellness in communities in the country