Manila Standard - 2020 July 2 - Thursday

New virus threat noted in China Spread of swine flu strain (G4) to humans raises pandemic potential

By Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Department of Agriculture has raised alarm over another possible pandemic of a new flu strain similar to the 2009 swine flu.

What’s G4 virus? WHAT is the G4 virus? Why does it have “pandemic potential” as some scientists say? Simply put, it’s a new strain of the influenza or flu virus, it’s carried by pigs and can infect humans—much like its predecessor that caused the swine flu outbreak of 2009. Researchers call the virus G4 EA H1N1. It is descended from the H1N1 strain and can grow and multiply in the cells that line the human airways—much like the current novel coronavirus that has brought the world to its knees. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines swine flu as “a respiratory disease of pigs

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Dr. Ronnie Domingo, the department’s Bureau of Animal Industry officer in charge, said the country, through an inter-agency committee on zoonoses, was preparing action plans to fight the new swine flu named G4. According to experts from Chinese universities and China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, G4 is genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009, and that it has “all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans.” (see story below – Editors) “This influenza virus is known for being fickle. Its makeup changes. It (virus) mutates. That’s why we are monitoring it,” Domingo said. “This could be the virus they saw in China that mutates, spreads quickly and causes a disease,” he added.

PENSIVE. President

Rodrigo Duterte reviews a document during a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on Tuesday night. Presidential Photo

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WHO: PH faces crucial weeks

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 128 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

THE World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said the coming few weeks would be crucial for the Philippines as the organization had observed an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospital occupancy, as quarantine restrictions were eased in several areas in the country. Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, told

Rody ‘extremely sad’ over Jolo shooting, orders speedy probe

ABS-CBN that while they recognize the Philippine government’s hard work in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers show continuing infections. “In fact, the Philippines is one of the earliest countries to introduce a lockdown,” Kasai said, noting that this had prevented further infections and deaths. Next page

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM JULY 1)

38,511

By Vito Barcelo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to speed up its probe of the shooting incident in Jolo, Sulu in which police killed four Army troopers. Duterte gave the order as he grieved over the deaths of four military men, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a TV interview.

1,270

999 NEW

595 FRESH

4

DEATHS

NEW

10,438

205

RECOVERIES

NEW

BEREAVED. Philippine Army chief Brig.

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Gen. Gilbert Gapay looks over the coffin of one of four soldiers killed Monday in an encounter with police in Jolo, Sulu. On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to speed up its probe of the incident. Philippine Army photo

Hard lockdown Palace: Business outlets at NAIA to make room for passenger seats in Cebu City stranded 12k Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to make room for more seats is the government argument that passengers have PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s prefer- priority over businesses, Malacañang ence to remove restaurants at the Ninoy said Wednesday.

By Joel Zurbano and Macon Ramos-Araneta

By Joel E. Zurbano and Darwin G Amojelar THE government on Wednesday began operating the EDSA Busway project to complement the operations of Metro Railway Transit line 3 (MRT-3) and its bus augmentation program. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Danilo Lim said the interim operation of the EDSA Busway aims to help transport commuters in the National Capital Region amid the general community quarantine (GCQ) still being enforced to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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NEW OPTION. Buses stop at one of the EDSA Busway’s stations near Santolan in Quezon City on Wednesday. The system aims to cut travel time from the north to the south of Metro Manila to 45 minutes while the MRT-3 train line cannot yet run on full capacity owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Lino Santos

Presidential Spokesperson Harry try’s main gateway following reports of Roque made the remarks after the Pres- stranded passengers camping outside ident instructed Transportation Secre- while waiting for their flights. tary Arthur Tugade on Tuesday night to Roque said the President noticed get rid of some restaurants at the counNext page

EDSA Busway rolls out with 12 stop stations

By Rio N. Araja CEBU City has at least 12,000 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who are still not allowed to leave the place amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. Interviewed over GMA-7’s Unang Balita, beamed nationwide, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte to oversee the COVID-19 response in the Visayas, said “they are staying in their respective places where they live, in boarding houses and also with their relatives. But they cannot leave.” “Because of the enhanced community quarantine, they will have to undergo the process before we allow them (to leave) once the ECQ is lifted,” he added. But he stressed there was a “dramatic” improvement in people’s compliance to the lockdown’s guidelines. “Not all of them (Cebuanos) are stubborn. Many of them are complying compared to the initial days of the ECQ. There is a dramatic compliance (among the people). I just hope this kind of behavior would continue,” he said. “I believe the virus spread during mass gatherings,” he added. Next page

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Palace defers to NTC on ABS M

ALACAÑANG on Wednesday took a hands-off approach on ABS-CBN’s franchise as it deferred to the National Telecommunications Commission’s decision to shut down the operations of Channel 43 and its subsidiary, Sky Cable Corp.

as “alarming” said NTC’s order to ABS-CBN. She accused the NTC of limiting public access to relevant information during the COVID-10 pandemic and for adding to the number of unemployed people. Senator Sonny Angara also expressed dismay on the developments and slammed the NTC for its apparent “double standard.” Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ joint panel tasked to deliberate on bills on ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal conducted marathon hearings as the media network asserted it was paying the proper taxes and compliant with taxation laws. “ABS-CBN has paid its proper taxes every year contrary to the allegations.

There has not been a single year where ABS-CBN has paid zero taxes,” ABSCBN’s Group chief financial officer Ricardo Tan told the House committees on legislative franchises and good government and public accountability But the Labor department denounced the alleged attempts by the lawyers and officials of ABS-CBN to misrepresent its position to deceive members of the House of Representatives in its bid to gain congressional approval of a new franchise. Still, the Gabriela Women’s Party expressed support to ABS-CBN’s workers and the millions dependent on the network’s shows for news and entertainment. Vito Barcelo, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Maricel V. Cruz and Willie Casas

“We defer to the actions of the NTC because it is the administrative agency specifically created by law to deal with these matters,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque told CNN news TV. He said the issue of the network’s franchise was a matter that must be dealt with by the NTC, a quasi-judicial body. Earlier, NTC ordered ABS-CBN to immediately stop its digital TV transmission in Metro Manila using Channel 43, insisting this was covered by

the May 5 order to ABS-CBN to cease broadcast operations due to the lack of a congressional franchise. Roque made his statement even as Senator Francis Pangilinan asked the Supreme Court to intervene over the case. “We hope the Supreme Court steps on the brakes on this madness,” Pangilinan said. He said thousands of employees would lose their jobs and millions of viewers would lose their access to information. Senator Risa Hontiveros described

What’s G4... From A1

OFW remains in Saudi sent home by July 4

caused by type A influenza viruses that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Like human influenza viruses, there are different sub-types and strains of swine influenza viruses, the CDC noted. Chinese scientists found evidence of recent infection in people who worked in abattoirs and the swine industry in China when they looked at data from 2011 to 2018, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reported on its website. Current flu vaccines do not appear to protect against it, although they could be adapted to do so if needed. However, researchers are concerned it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person -- and trigger another global outbreak. While it is not an immediate problem, they say, it has “all the hallmarks” of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring. As it’s new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus, the BBC reported. Scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that measures to control the virus in pigs, and the close monitoring of swine industry workers, should be swiftly implemented. “Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus. Thus, systematic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza,” the study states. The 2009 swine flu outbreak was the last pandemic flu the world encountered. It was less deadly than initially feared, largely because many older people had some immunity to it – probably because of its similarity to other flu viruses that had circulated years before, scientists said. So far, the G4 strain hasn’t posed a big threat, but Prof. Kin-Chow Chang and colleagues who have been studying it told BBC health editor Michelle Roberts it is one to keep an eye on. Chang, who works at Nottingham University in the UK, said: “Right now we are distracted with coronavirus and rightly so. But we must not lose sight of potentially dangerous new viruses.” While this new virus is not an immediate problem, he said: “We should not ignore it.” Scientists collected more than 29,000 nasal swabs from slaughtered pigs and over 1,000 swabs or lung tissues from farmed pigs that had signs of respiratory disease.

THE Labor department said Wednesday it is looking to bring home on July 4 the remains of 274 Filipino workers who have died of COVID-19 and other ailments in Saudi Arabia. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they were doing everything so they could have all the bodies released. “We are doing our best to meet all the requirements such as health protocols, exit visas and the approval of the employers and the next of kin. We have to get all of these and try to bring them home by July 4,” Belo said. He also said they were seeking addi-

tional funds to help 500,000 displaced Filipino workers applying for cash assistance under its Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program. He says they have P700 million left form the program, but that will not be enough for the thousands of workers seeking financial aid. Under the program, a Filipino worker may apply for a one-time cash aid of P10,000. The remains in Saudi Arabia include 129 workers who succumbed to COVID-19 and 145 others who died of other causes. “By July 4, the remains of our belov-

ed kababayans should have been flown back to the Philippines; otherwise it will be the Saudi government that will bury our countrymen,” Bello said. He says the bodies, particularly those who died of COVID-19, will be sealed in body bags based on the standards set by the World Health Organization. The bodies will be brought to a crematorium once those arrive. Last week, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the repatriation of the remains in Saudi Arabia. Vito Barcelo

New virus... From A1

cise extreme precaution over the reports on the new swine flu. “Like many others, we were alarmed by the news that there was a newlydiscovered kind of swine flu in China which has the potential of becoming a pandemic,” said Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture. This early, he said the government should already prepare regarding the possibility this might spread. Due to this, he called for the setting up of a Philippine version of the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Pangilinan cited the need to boost our disaster and pandemic response, adding: “Our government was delayed and caught by surprise for several weeks before the COVID local transmission.” He noted that the government had not prepared for it and even wasted time. The senator said: “This should not be repeated. We should be prepared. We should be ready, We should act

fast. There should be decisive and clear plans which are science-based, which were thoroughly studied by experts.” Though it is yet to be proven if G4 can be passed from humans to humans, tests show that as many as 4.4 percent of the population in China appeared to also have been exposed. The senator also cautioned about the potential effects this might bring to the poultry industry. “We should also be prepared to support the poultry industry if it (should) spread and hit our livelihood,” said the senator. Like the past swine flu, he said “we need to cull thousands of pigs and ban pork from various areas.” The Philippines has been battling the most recent African Swine Fever, where as much as 69 outbreaks were observed in March of this year. Over 250,000 pigs have been culled locally since the outbreak was declared in August 2019.

Killed were Maj. Marvin Indammog, 39; Capt. Irwin Managuelod, 33; Sgt. Jaime Velasco, 38; and Cpl. Abdal Asula, 33. The four were tailing four terrorist suicide bombers when the shooting happened. Both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have already sought the help of the NBI regional office in Zamboanga to look into the case to ensure impartiality and eliminate any suspicion of undue influence. Duterte was “extremely sad” when he learned about the tragic incident,

Roque said. The President expressed hope that police and military would avoid a repeat of the incident under his watch, Roque added. “He said those with same ideology should not kill each other or get involved in an encounter. He said that should be the last misencounter under his term,” Roque said in Filipino. At least nine police officers who were part of a team that was reportedly involved in the killing of the four soldiers were relieved from their posts, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año announced on Tuesday. Año said the relieved policemen -Staff Sgt. Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Pat. Alkajal Mandangan, Pat. Rajiv Putalan,

Senior M/Sgt. Abdelzhimar Padjiri, M/ Sgt. Hanie U Baddiri, S/Sgt. Iskandar Susulan, S/Sgt. Ernisar Sappal, Cpl. Sulki Andaki, and Pat. Mohammad Nur Pasani -- were disarmed and placed under the custody of the Sulu police. He added that the investigation has to be completed first before determining whether the chief of the Jolo Municipal Police Station will be held liable under command responsibility. Roque said Duterte signified his intent to meet with the cops engaged in the fatal shooting. “The President asked Secretary Año to arrange a meeting with the nine cops involved in the killings of four Army personnel, including the major,” Roque said.

EDSA... From A1

bound-Loading only, Northbound-Unloading Only, MRT Quezon Avenue Station (Southbound-Loading only, Northbound-Unloading Only). Meanwhile, retaining the existing setup, buses will shift from using the median lanes with the partial operability of the busway section from Quezon Avenue all the way to Estrella in Makati. Upon exiting Estrella, buses will be allowed to pick-up or unload passengers at the following curbside stops from Buendia to the PITX: Buendia, Ayala (SouthboundUnloading Only, Northbound-Loading and Unloading), Magallanes, Evangelista/

Malibay, Taft Avenue (Southbound-Unloading Only, Northbound-Loading Only), Roxas Boulevard, Macapagal Avenue, SM Mall of Asia and PITX. Lim said 550 bus units were authorized to service the EDSA Busway. Bus operators committed to initially deploy 150 bus units starting today, he added. “This is in addition to the buses deployed under the MRT-3 Bus Augmentation Program. No fare increase shall be implemented,” he said. Buses will be using curbside stops until the needed bus stops (including lighting, fences, and canopies) are com-

pleted, and when the concrete barriers are placed on EDSA’s median lanes. The Department of Transportation has procured 36,000 concrete barriers for use on the EDSA Busway. Partial delivery of the barriers will start July 2 to 7 and are expected to be completed by September this year. To better assist commuters, the government will also be implementing a miniloop from Timog Avenue to Santolan. The Timog to Santolan mini loop will be serviced by shuttles or mini-buses and will be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers at designated curbside stops.

Nicolas that the Sinulog event was not supposed to have any crowd and instead should have just involved a procession of Señor Sto. Niño. Labella told ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo: “There are already many Special Action Force soldiers here, but the lockdown was still violated. That’s why the President said Visayans are hardheaded.” Duterte from June 16 placed the urban center under ECQ which limits economic activity to utility services, food, water and other essential sectors. He announced Tuesday night the city would remain under ECQ, the strictest of four lockdown levels, until July 15, which means going outside the homes is banned unless the purpose was to buy food or they

are authorized persons outside of residence. Cebu City has the highest COVID-19 tally in the country, with 4,639 cases as of Monday. Of this figure, 987 were tallied in the last 14 days, according to the health department. Meanwhile, Central Visayas police chief Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro on Wednesday said Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and his team would help in the contact tracing efforts of Cebu City. “Actually, we requested the help of my former boss and he is very much willing to train our people on the contact tracing. It will be based primarily on the cognitive interviewing techniques which most of our policemen are trained with,” Ferro told a press briefing.

The EDSA Busway covers stops from Monumento in Caloocan City to the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX). Buses from Monumento to Quezon Avenue will be using the following bus stops located on the curbside for the meantime to pick-up or unload passengers: Bagong Barrio, LRT Balintawak, Kaingin Road, LRT Muñoz Station, and MRT North Avenue Station (South-

Hard... From A1 Meanwhile, the local government unit of Cebu City is investigating two mass gatherings that allegedly violated protocols to contain the pandemic despite the imposed lockdown. Mayor Edgardo Labella said Wednesday he ordered the city attorney to look into a “disco” in Barangay Calamba on Monday night and a Sinulog dance presentation in Barangay Basak San Nicolas last weekend. The mayor did not give additional details about the disco, but said he was told by the village chief of Basak San

Earlier, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes called on the country’s hog raisers to report unusual hog deaths amid China’s reports of a new flu strain similar to the 2009 swine flu. “The Department of Agriculture through the BAI reminds the general public to report any unusual pig mortalities in your farm,” he told a previous virtual press briefing. Reyes advised hog raisers to coordinate with their municipal veterinarians should their pigs manifest any flu-like symptoms. Reports from scientists in China believed the new strain of virus could mutate further and potentially cause human-to-human transmission amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Meanwhile, Senator Francisco Pangilinan said the government should exer-

Rody... From A1

Palace:... From A1 there were not enough seats for passengers waiting for commercial flights. “The mandate of the President yesterday (Tuesday) was no one should be left sleeping outside just because there’s not enough space in the airport. If need be, get rid of the commercial establishments because the priority should be the passengers and not the businesses,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart. Roque said the President recognized the need for passengers to also buy food while waiting for their flights but noted

Living quarters for teachers at schools mulled HOUSING czar Eduardo del Rosario on Wednesday batted for the establishment of temporary living quarters for public school teachers inside campuses. He cited the need to build on-base temporary shelters for public school teachers, particularly in the far-flung areas, to address the issue of tutors spending so much time and money to go to their teaching posts. He suggested such initiative to Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate committee on housing and urban development, regarding Senate bills 660 and 934 calling for a housing program for public school teachers. Del Rosario made his statement even as an opposition leader on Wednesday voiced concern over the low enrollment in the public schools, which forced the Department of Education to extend the enrollment period. Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro denounced what she described as the “anti-poor” back-to-school policies of the department, saying that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such policies had created millions of out-of-school youth and leaving the poorest of the poor children behind. “The latest number of enrollees yesterday is still millions below the enrollment last year. These are alarming numbers,” Castro said. “Sending their children to school is becoming an additional burden for parents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents, especially those who lost their jobs due to the community quarantines, are already stressed with trying to figure out where they will get food for their next meal.” Del Rosario said the on-base temporary shelter units for the teachers could also provide a sense of security for them. Rio N. Araja, Maricel V. Cruz and Willie Casas

WHO:... From A1 The government earlier expressed displeasure over reports that the country seemed to have the fastest rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region, based on the WHO Western Pacific data. Kasai did not directly answer the question on how the Philippines is faring compared to other countries. – Willie Casas

COVID-19 cases to 38,000 The Philippines’ tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases topped 38,000 on Wednesday after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 999 more infections—595 “fresh” or newly validated and 404 reported late—bringing the total to 38,511. The death toll climbed to 1,270 with four new fatalities. Total recoveries rose to 10,438 after 205 more patients recovered from the respiratory disease. Among the fresh cases, 175 are from Metro Manila, 134 are from Region VII, while the remaining 286 are spread out across the country. Among the late cases, 131 are from Metro Manila, 57 are from Region VII, while the 216 other patients came from various areas nationwide. – Willie Casas

Japan offers Y50b loan The Japanese government will grant the Philippines a budget support loan of 50 billion yen or about P24 billion to bankroll the various government response efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The commitment came after Japanese Ambassador to Manila Haneda Koji and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. signed and exchanged notes to formalize what they described as “COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan.” PNA that seats at the NAIA were lacking. “As much as possible, he wants more seat capacity so that the passengers won’t have to leave the airport facilities and go outside to wait for their flights,” he said. Meanwhile, Roque said people stranded at airports were locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and not overseas Filipino workers who were immediately brought home to their respective provinces after undergoing quarantine and testing. He said both LSIs and OFWs were qualified to receive assistance until their flights were ready to leave. “The President’s order is to house them and to feed them and (Interior) Secretary (Eduardo) Año assured the President that ‘we are doing this’,” Roque said. With PNA

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SC dismisses suit vs IATF, Bayanihan Act

Rody urged to dig deeper into DA deal

THE Supreme Court has dismissed the petition challenging the constitutionality of Republic Act 11469, otherwise known as the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act”, which granted emergency powers to President Duterte, including the authority to realign budget due to the coronavirus pandemic. SC Public Information Office head Brian Keith Hosaka disclosed that the Court resolved to dismiss the petition during its en banc session on Tuesday. Hosaka said that the high tribunal dismissed the petition due to failure of the petition to show grave abuse of discretion committed by the respondents, which include the Inter-Agency Task Force, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. The petition was filed by lawyer Jaime Ibañez who argued that the Bayanihan To Heal One Act and the Presidential Proclamations No. 929 and 922 should be declared partly unconstitutional for undue delegation of legislative power. Proclamation No. 929 placed the country under an enhanced community quarantine in March while Proclamation No. 922 declares a state of public health emergency. Rey E. Requejo

By Rey E. Requejo

“R

ECEIPTS don’t lie.”

This was the response of a group of agriculture stakeholders after President Rodrigo Dutere declared the bidding for the alleged overpriced supply contracts of urea fertilizer as aboveboard. “Farmers themselves have provided us with receipts. Retailers have also given us their outlet prices. How can the Department of Agriculture refute these? Receipts do not lie,” said Rosendo So, chairman of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura

(SINAG). So appealed to the President to take a second hard look at the issue and to listen to the farmer-beneficiaries who have complained that the P1.8 billion in supply contracts awarded by the DA last month were overpriced. “You cannot invent the retail price because we have receipts to back these up. The winning bids were higher by as much as P150 per bag,” he said. “That would mean a difference of about P260 million, enough to buy at least 400,000 more bags of urea. During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, every peso counts, especially since the budget for these contracts comes from the

government’s emergency COVID-19 response fund,” So added. The Sinag leader pleaded President Duterte not to take the DA’s explanation as “gospel truth as the reality in the retail market shows that the DA’s P1,000 reference bid price per bag of urea fertilizer is too high and grossly disadvantageous to the government.” The P1.8 billion supply contracts were bagged by La Filipina Uy Gongco for Central Luzon at P995 per bag, Calabarzon at P990 per bag and Western Visayas at P995 per bag; and Atlas Fertilizer for Central Visayas at P900 per bag. Farmer groups said the average retail price of urea fertilizer in Central Luzon

was only at P850. In his report to Congress Monday, President Rodrigo Dutete ruled out any irregularities in the purchase of fertilizers. “As to the alleged overpricing in the procurement of urea fertilizer, the DA has reported that the centralized fertilizer bidding is above board, transparent, and has in fact brought urea prices down,” the President said in his June 29 report. “The DA has taken the necessary measures to enhance the system of fertilizer distribution, including geo tagging, posting of all recipients or beneficiaries, system digitization, and the institution of an integrity group (to monitor and observe),” Duterte said.

IN BRIEF Villar donates hospital equipment to LPGH TO further enhance the capabilities and responsiveness of Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in dealing with Covid-19, Senator Cynthia Villar donated over five units of hospital equipment to said hospital. Dr. Rodrigo Hao, the hospital’s Medical Director, received the equipment which included a passbox, biological freezer, biological refrigerator, autoclave sterilizer and ventilator. “Now, more than ever, it is crucial for our local hospitals to have the necessary equipment and facilities to cope with COVID-19 cases on top of their regular patients. The ongoing pandemic is putting so much pressure on hospitals and frontliners, we need to support and equip them,” said Villar, who has been supporting her home city’s hospital since she was a congresswoman. Macon Ramos-Araneta

DENR files cases vs Palawan police THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has filed several criminal and administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against relieved Puerto Princesa City, Palawan’s police director Col. Marion Balonglong in connection with the illegal arrest and maltreatment of eight agency employees last June 10. Balonglong is facing criminal charges of torture, unlawful arrest, slight physical injuries, obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders, and graft and corruption. The embattled police officer was also charged administratively for grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in violation of Republic Act 6317, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu earlier called for a swift resolution of the investigation but assured the Philippine National Police that DENR’s cordial and collaborative partnership with it would not change. Rio N. Araja

SENATE WAKE. Military officers acting as pallbearers carry the remains of former action star turned politicia he was received by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, incumbent senators

and Senate officials Wednesday, July 1, 2020. Revilla Sr. succumbed to heart failure last June 26 at the age of 93. Inset photo shows former Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. and family pose for posterity after the necrological service. Senate PRIB Photo

PAGCOR warns public vs online gambling, bingo PH laws to prevail By Julito G. Rada STATE-RUN Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has warned the public against certain persons who have been organizing illegal bingo games and internet/ online gambling and using Facebook to promote such illegal activities. According to the public warning, fraudsters are taking advantage of social media and the uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to scam the

public, steal financial information, and use stolen identity for illegal purposes. Pagcor warned the public not to patronize such schemes due to the risk of being scammed, falling prey to identity theft, and credit card fraud. Betting on such illegal gambling activities is also a crime, it said. The warning emphasized that no person or organization other than those licensed by Pagcor and other government agencies may operate gambling in the Philippines.

“It is illegal for any person or organization without a license to in any manner, directly or indirectly take part in any unauthorized gambling activities, including online, internet, or remote gambling,” it said. Pagcor reiterated its commitment to the prosecution of persons involved in such illegal activities because of the strong link between illegal gambling and organized crime who are also engaged in credit card fraud, identity theft, money laundering.

Probe courier service firm—Du30 PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has called for an investigation into courier service J&T Express over complaints on how its personnel handle packages as seen in a viral video on social media. In a public address late Tuesday night, Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the incident. He also asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to look into the courier service’s finances. “Iyong mga padala nawawala, tapos pagdating, pinapalitan. Wala nang laman (Packages are missing. When they arrive, they are replaced). I am not condemning you now. I am not also insinuating that you are liable or guilty of doing it. It would depend greatly on what is the result of the investigation,” the President said.

He urged the public to file complaints against J&T Express before the police stations. “‘Yung lahat naman na may reklamo (All those who have complaints), go to the nearest police agency. Sabihin ninyo, paturo kayo (Ask them to help you) then file the complaint there -- ang inyong affidavit, tapos tingnan ko (your affidavit and I’ll check it),” Duterte said. Should government agencies find the courier service liable for irresponsibly handling packages, he warned that it could be shut down. “Because of the so many complaints but I will close you down. Sigurado ‘yan, sasarahan talaga kita (That’s sure. I will have you closed down), whether you like it or not, after the CIDG and the NBI would finish their investigation and would point a liability sa inyo (towards you),” he said. PNA

Manila

NEW NORMAL. Philippine Constitution Association President and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez presides over the weekly meeting of the officers of the Philippine Constitution Association (PHILCONSA) through a virtual meeting using zoom. Ver Noveno

By Rio N. Araja

aboard a manually-powered tricycle( padyak) on July 1,2020. Many homeless individuals roam the streets to find places where they can stay for the day. They some of the most vulnerable to catch and spread the covid-19. JR Josue

THE collision between a Philippine fishing boat and a Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Occidental Mindoro last June 28 is “an issue of enforcement of Philippine laws,” Malacañang said on Wednesday. “Although it involves a collision where one of them is a foreign-flagged [cargo] ship, since it occurred in Philippine waters, it will be the Philippine courts that will determine both criminal and civil liability,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who is also a lawyer, said in an interview. Roque insisted the incident will be resolved under the country’s admiralty laws because it happened in Philippine territorial waters. At least 14 Filipinos went missing when their fishing boat, FV Liberty 5, collided with Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier vessel, MB Vienna Wood, on Sunday off the western coast of Mamburao town in Mindoro Occidental province. Roque said the incident would be investigated by the Maritime Industry Authority and the Philippine Coast Guard. “I think it is just controversial because it happened nearly within Philippine waters. This will be investigated by the MARINA, by the Coast Guard. And if there’s criminal responsibility, then the fiscal will make a preliminary investigation and file the criminal information report,” he said. Roque also explained that insofar as the damage is concerned, it will proceed as an admiralty case falling within the regional trial court of Mindoro. PNA REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Standard

Cops arrest EAMC hostage-taker

HOMELESS. A homeless man with his son and his pet dogs roam the streets of Manila

in ship collision case

POLICE on Wednesday arrested a 51-year-old security guard for taking hostage a doctor at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo, Quezon City Police District director, identified the suspect as Hilarion Achondo, a resident of 32 Milagrosa St., Project 8. Achondo is now detained at Camp Karingal’s Criminal Intelligence and Detection Unit (CIDU). At around 5:52 a.m. yesterday, Dr.

Russel Carandang was treating the injuries sustained by Achondo due to a motorcycle accident when the latter suddenly grabbed a syringe and pointed it at the physician. Reports said Carandang was also attending to some other patients when the incident took place. The hostage-taking caught the attention of several CIDU operatives, who were also at the hospital’s emergency room investigating a stabbing incident. After a few minutes of dialogue, Achondo released the doctor and threw the syringe away.

TODAY COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENT President Rodrigo to the Commission confirmation the ad following officers in Philippines:

Roa Duterte has submitted on Appointments (C.A.) for interim appointments of the the Armed Forces of the

Franco Nemesio M. Gacal, AFP-Lieutenant General; Edgard A. Arevalo, AFP, Fernyl G. Buca, AFP and Henry A. Robinson Jr., AFPMajor General; Nichols A. Driz, AFP- Rear Admiral, Armel S. Tolato, PN (M) (MNSA), Alex S. Rillera, PA (GSC), Teofilo R. Bailon, Jr., PAF (GSC) and Andrew D. Costelo, PA, (GSC)-Brigadier General; and Alfonso F. Torres, Jr., PN (MNSA)-Commodore The public may submit any information, written report, or sworn/notarized complaints or oppositions in thirty two (32) copies on the above appointments to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, D. Macapagal Blvd, Pasay City, Metro Manila. For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 8834-2713, 8831-1824, 8831-0527, 88329830, 8834-2706 and 8551-1989. 01 July 2020. HECTOR A. VILLACORTA Secretary (MS-JULY 2, 2020)

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LGUs

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Isko places 31 brgys. under 48-hour ECQ By Willie Casas

QC taps P700m for MSE biz recovery plan

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ANILA City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso has placed 31 barangays under a 48-hour hard lockdown.

By Rio N. Araja THE Quezon City council has approved a “sustainable” recovery plan and a wage relief program for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to help them bounce back from the adverse impacts of the community quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city government has earmarked P700 million for micro and small businesses under the “Kalingang QC Para sa Negosyo” program of the QC Small Business and Cooperatives Development and Promotions Office (SBCDPO) and Local Economic Investment Promotions Office (LEIPO). “This is a way to be able to help our small businesses recover. They have served to be a solid pillar of the city’s economy,” she said. “This program aims to help our micro and small entrepreneurs meet ongoing business costs by providing wage subsidies that can help keep their employees and business operations until they get back on their feet,” Belmonte added. Majority Floor Leader Franz Pumaren of District 3 pushed for an economic stimulus package that partially subsidizes the salaries of employees of qualified enterprises to help micro and small businesses weather the impact of COVID-19. Mona Celine Yap, SBCDPO chief, said eligible micro and small businesses shall receive wage subsidies from July to September. Those interested to apply may see the SBCDPO office from July 6 to July 20.

N. Vizcaya PNP unveils P23.6m PPO building By Ben Moses M. Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—The Philippine National Police (PNP) here has formally opened their new standard building worth P23.6 million within the Police Provincial Office (PPO) in this town. The 3-story building inauguration was led by Brig. Gen. Angelito Casimiro, PNP regional director for Cagayan Valley, Governor Carlos Padilla, and Provincial Board Member Flodemonte Gerdan. The new PNP Standard Building, which was started last February, will house all the offices of the PPO. At 90 percent complete, the building is the first model structure to be built in Cagayan Valley region through the PNPDPWH Convergence Program. “This building will enhance the productiveness and performance of our policemen to serve Novo Vizcayanos. Let us take good care of it,” Casimiro said. He said the new structure is more than just a building since it will be a place of development between the PNP and the community. Casimiro also said the building will highlight the growing partnership with the PNP’s various stakeholders. “With this new building, I will expect you to bring about more accomplishments,” he told policemen in the province. The building was constructed by the JANN Norris Construction and supervised by the PNP and DPWH.

CHURCH TOKEN. House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (left) receives a replica of the Sto. Nino church from Archbishop John Du as a token of appreciation during the Pontifical mass in celebration of the Sto. Nino Fiesta in Tacloban City. Photo courtesy Tim Canes

Makati shutters Skye bar-resto for health violation By Joel E. Zurbano THE Makati City government has shut down Skye Bar and Restaurant, where celebrity host KC Montero and at least 113 other individuals were arrested for violating health protocols. “On the orders of Mayor Abby Binay, we have closed down Skye Bar in Barangay Bel-Air for illegally operating and violating laws and protocols aimed to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said city chief legal officer Michael Camina. On June 28, police arrested Montero, the bar owner, and other guests, most of them foreigners, who were caught drinking liquor and ignoring social distancing

rules at the establishment. Charges have been filed before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office against those arrested for violating Executive Order No. 11, the Makati Revenue Code, and Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act). “We strongly remind owners of bars in Makati City that they are not allowed to operate under current IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) guidelines,” said Camina. Camina said the city government requires all business establishments to submit a Notice of Re-Opening to the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office within three days after reopening.

He added the notice may be submitted using Makati BPLO portal (bit.ly/MakatiBPLOReopening), the city’s website (www. makati.gov.ph), and the Makatizen App. “As we have repeatedly warned, we will not tolerate those who willfully put themselves and others in harm’s way by violating laws and protocols intended to curb the pandemic and promote a COVID-free city and nation,” Camina said. “We also call on law-abiding citizens to be vigilant and report to us, through hotline 168 or Makatizen App, any person or establishment violating the law so that they can be held liable and meted with the appropriate punishment as provided by the law,” he added.

On Tuesday night, Domagoso signed Executive Order No. 31 implementing an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in these barangays for purposes of disease surveillance, rapid risk assessment and testing operations “as the city’s response measures to the imminent danger posed by COVID-19.” The mayor issued the executive order upon the verification of the Manila Health Department (MHD) that the barangays concerned recorded more than three COVID-19 positive cases from June 15 to 29. The order will take effect from 12 a.m. of Saturday, July 4 until 11:59 pm of Sunday, July 5. “On 29 June 2020, the Manila Health Department issued a Certification verifying that there are a total of 147 number of COVID-19 positive cases in the said 31 barangays,” the executive order stated. The barangays to be placed under lockdown are as follows: District 1: Barangays 20, 41, 51, 56, 66, 96, 97, 101, 106, 116, 118, 120, 128 and 129. District 2: Barangays 163, 173, 180, 185 and 215. District 3: Barangays 275, 310, 343 and 380. District 5: Barangays 649, 724, 766, 775 and 811. District 6: Barangays 836, 846 and 847. Domagoso said residents of the 31 barangays shall be strictly confined to their residences and are prohibited from going outside their homes. However, the order exempts the following: health workers, military personnel, service workers (pharmacies, drug stores, and funeral homes), utility workers (energy, cable, internet, telecommunication companies, water, sanitation, and critical transport facilities including port operation), essential workers (goods delivery, food delivery, banking and money services), barangay officials, and media practitioners accredited by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and the InterAgency Task Force. “All other commercial, industrial, retail, institutional and other activities not mentioned in above exemptions in the said district shall be suspended within the specified period of ECQ,” the executive order stated.

CEMEX: Helping build communities amidst COVID-19 AS the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, CEMEX Philippines continues supporting, helping, and building communities. Through the CEMEX Philippines Foundation and the Social Development & Management Program (SDMP), the cement company enabled 10,000 families and 3,000 health workers across 30 different barangays to be equipped with essential items worth a total of P3M throughout the duration of the quarantine. Currently, 200 isolation suits (PPEs) and 500 face shields have been given to the Rizal local government unit (LGU), and 400 more isolation suits and 1000 more face shields have been turned over to Cebu LGU, which has seen an increasing rate of COVID-19 incidence recently. CEMEX has also previously donated relief items to Cebu and Rizal, with their own personnel delivering the goods in an

act of volunteerism. Community residents in the aforementioned areas have received sacks of rice grains, vitamin C capsules, canned goods, and even provision for drinking water; personal hygiene effects like hand soaps, ethyl alcohol, and sanitizing products have also been donated to healthcare centers in the locality. Likewise, CEMEX provided manpower support to ramp up the disinfection efforts of the local governments to help stop the further spread of COVID-19. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the welfare of communities through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and sustainability efforts. Extending efforts to further assist them during a pandemic is in line with CEMEX Philippines Foundation’s thrust to help Build a Safe and Healthy Citizenry and Build Communities.

Lower Bicutan areas put under 2-week quarantine A TWO-WEEK Modified Localized Quarantine (MLQ) was imposed in areas of Barangay Lower Bicutan in Taguig City where testing continues to find COVID-19 cases. The city government has decided to lift the strict lockdown status in Lower Bicutan’s Puroks 5 and 6, but placed selected areas under MLQ beginning today until July 15. The covered areas are:

• Dalampasigan Area in Purok 5 • Barangay Street, Purok 6-A; I. Reyes Street, Purok 6-B; K-9 Area, Purok 6-D; and Mauling Creek Area in Purok 6 Meanwhile, the city government has temporarily closed several establishments found not compliant to health standards set by members of the Safe City Task Force. “While it is not in the city govern-

ment’s best interest for businesses to be closed down, it must be clear to everyone that we will always value the lives of the residents of Taguig more than the revenue raised from the operations of non-compliant establishments,” said Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano. “Our primary duty as the local government is to protect and keep safe the people of Taguig.”

CEBU ASSIST. CEMEX Community Relations Officer Jill Nacar (right) delivers PPE isolation suits and facemasks to Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia’s chief of staff Atty. Frank Dinsay and staff Amor Sarmiento at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, to help the communities and frontliners fight COVID-19 in the province.

Opinion Watch what they do

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President Rodrigo Duterte has been at odds since it failed to air some of his paid political advertisements during the 2016 elections. In a statement, Sky Cable said some 1.5 million subscribers nationwide, including those in remote areas that do not receive television signals, will be deprived of access to the channels they carry that bring them news, information, education and entertainment. More than 4 million people subscribe to TVPlus.

The significance of the NTC’s actions has not been lost on free press advocates.

In doing so, the NTC said when ABSCBN’s legislative franchise expired on May 4, so did Sky Cable’s subsisting congressional franchise to install, operate or maintain a direct broadcast satellite service. The NTC’s new cease-and-desist order does not affect the company’s cable TV service—at least not yet. Still, the new move is significant, as it turns the screws on a company with which

The NTC order also directs Sky Cable to refund the subscribers to its direct-to-home satellite service. The industry regulator also ordered ABSCBN to cease and desist from operating digital television transmission through their TVPlus via Channel 43 in Metro Manila. The significance of the NTC’s actions has not been lost on free press advocates. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said Tuesday’s order deprived millions more Filipinos of their right to choose

DUTY CALLS

FLORENCIO FIANZA that was earlier reported. Whether two lanes will eventually be used, we will have to wait and see.

Solutions should not create bigger problems. The most important consideration for the DOTr and MMDA is apparently to declog EDSA and improve travel time. Together with this bus way project is the implementation of the old plan of prohibiting provincial buses from entering the Metro area. Buses coming from Southern Luzon must discharge passengers at the Paranaque integrated bus terminal while those coming from Northern Luzon will discharge passengers at the Valenzuela City terminal. In the minds of DOTr and MMDA planners, this will drastically reduce the number of buses plying EDSA and other roads of the Metro area thereby improving travel time and lessening congestion. This will indeed happen if trains can be connected to the terminals but because road transportation will still be used to pick the provincial passengers, this will require the same number of vehicles to ferry tens of thousands of passengers back to the Metro area which in the end will not improve or decongest traffic. I understand the objectives of DOTr

AT THE same time, we are an international community with an enduring vision­ —embodied in the United Nations Charter, which marks its 75th anniversary this year. That vision of a better future—based on the values of equality, mutual respect and international cooperation—has helped us to avoid a Third World War that would have had catastrophic consequences for life on our planet. Our shared challenge is to channel that collective spirit and rise to this moment of trial and test. The pandemic has laid bare severe and systemic inequalities both within and between countries and communities. More broadly, it has underscored the world’s fragilities—not just in the face of another health emergency, but in our faltering response to the climate crisis, lawlessness in cyberspace, and the risks of nuclear proliferation. People everywhere are losing trust in political establishments and institutions. The emergency is compounded by many other profound humanitarian crises: conflicts that are continuing or even intensifying; record numbers of people forced to flee their homes; swarms of locusts in Africa and South Asia; looming droughts in southern Africa and Central America; all amid a context of rising geopolitical tensions. In the face of these fragilities, world leaders need to be humble and recognize the vital importance of unity and solidarity. No one can predict what comes next, but I see two possible scenarios. First, the “optimistic” possibility. In this case, the world would muddle through. Countries in the global North would engineer a successful exit strategy. Developing countries would receive enough support and their demographic characteristics—namely, the youth of their people—would help contain the impact. And then perhaps a vaccine would appear in the next nine months or so, and would be distributed as a global public good, a “people’s vaccine” available and accessible to all. If this happens, and if the economy starts up progressively, we might move towards some kind of normality in two or three years. But there is also a second, bleaker scenario in which countries fail to coordinate their actions. New waves of the virus keep occurring. The situation in the developing world explodes. Work on the vaccine lags—or even if there is a vaccine relatively soon—it becomes the subject of fierce competition and countries with greater economic power gain access to it first, leaving others behind. In this scenario, we could also see greater movement toward fragmentation, populism and xenophobia. Each country could go it alone or in so-called coalitions of the willing to address some specific challenges. In the end, the world would fail to mobilize the kind of governance needed to address our shared challenges.

how they receive news and entertainment. “It is clear that the end goal of this administration is not only to shut down ABSCBN, but to send a message throughout the media industry that other news organizations may face the same fate unless they surrender their watchdog role… [that is] the critical and independent reportage that is an essential part of the media’s mission,” it said in a statement. “Watch what we do, not what we say,” was the famous advice that US President Richard Nixon’s first attorney general, John Mitchell, gave the press at the onset of the Nixon presidency in 1969. Mr. Duterte, through his mouthpiece at the Palace, constantly reminds us that he values and respects freedom of speech, but what have his people been doing? Only recently, a Manila court convicted a journalist who has been critical of the administration’s bloody war on drugs, of cyber libel—even though the offending article had been published before cyber libel was even a crime. Then Mr. Duterte’s solicitor general filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to nullify ABS-CBN’s franchise. The petition was rejected, but only after the NTC shut the network down—accomplishing what the President’s hatchet man, the solicitor-general, hoped to do and silencing yet another independent voice in an increasingly bleak media landscape.

and MMDA. Having tried everything on EDSA, DOTr/MMDA now wants to try a radical solution, perhaps along the lines of desperate situations needing desperate solutions. But why set up essentially another train service along EDSA when there is already one? If this is the intention, why not extend the EDSA line further to Monumento in Caloocan and the North Avenue line to Commonwealth Avenue and beyond to make the trip longer and avoid frequent stops? As to the problem of bus entrances, a major planner of the program was quoted in a media report that the bus entrances will be transferred to the left side of the bus. I hope this report is not accurate because this cannot be done if the bus is left hand driven. Declogging EDSA to improve travel time is a commendable objective but the chosen solution unfortunately is not what we call the best solution because it might indeed solve part of the problem but will also create other problems. And in this case probably a much bigger problem. Passengers getting off at both the North and South integrated terminals will have to take one or two additional trips before reaching their final destination. This would be an added burden to the riding public. This project was first proposed about 23 years ago but was discontinued because it was impractical. If two inner lanes will eventually be used, the constriction of the three remaining lanes will slow travel time instead of improving it and there will be more accidents if a lane is reduced to 2.8 meters like an ancient Roman road. In the end, whatever benefits that will be gained will be negated by the new problems created. The planners should perhaps review the overall objectives and modify their solutions.

The road to rural development OVERSIGHT

DANILO SUAREZ AMONG the many things we learned and realized during this pandemic is the importance of infrastructure development, particularly the development of the road networks in provinces and far-flung areas. The benefits of investing on rural road networks are far-reaching, literally and figuratively. Aside from improving mobility of people and goods, extensive road networks in provinces provide faster and easier delivery of public services, especially health. Quezon Province has been dubbed

as the gateway to the south, with only roughly 90-kilometer distance from Manila. The scenic highways of Quezon are well-known to those who have been traveling from Manila to southern Luzon and Visayas, and vice versa. However, the long and wearying journey to reach ports has always been its downside. Thankfully, the opening of the San Andres port significantly reduced travel time from Manila to Masbate and other parts of Visayas. Apart from that, it can be recalled that last year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started construction of the South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 (SLEX-TR4) that will cut travel time from Manila to Batangas and Quezon by as much as three (3) hours. Once completed, travelers and tourists

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Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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from Manila may reach Lucena, Quezon in just an hour.

Improving our road networks and highways will significantly enhance accessibility of distant areas. To augment this great development, the province of Quezon proposes the construction of a new four-lane superhighway connecting the SLEX-TR-4 in Lucena to the San Andres port. The San Andres port caters to both cargo and passengers going to Masbate and other

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

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

By António Guterres

Senator Binay vs. DOTr SENATOR Nancy Binay and the Department of Transportation are at loggerheads. This is all because of the DOTr /MMDA bus way project which involves converting the two innermost lanes of EDSA to bus lanes. The idea is to provide what DOTr calls a seamless and an uninterrupted travel from origin to destination. Beginning from North Avenue, the buses upon reaching Taft Avenue will execute a U-Turn and return to where they originated without stopping. According to DOTr/MMDA calculations, travel time will greatly improve thereby allowing for more trips, which will in turn benefit commuters. Senator Nancy Binay for her part is saying that the plan is not only impractical but unsafe. For instance, since we drive on the right side of the road in this country, passengers boarding and exiting the buses in the middle of the road will not only endanger themselves but will also disrupt traffic. As currently engineered it is not easy for elderly people and those with disabilities to go to the inner road to board the bus safely. This being the case, it would better to just take the MRT which is simpler. It seems that the DOTr did not like that Senator Binay has chosen to attack the project in the media instead of simply writing DOTr to voice her concern and objections. Setting aside both arguments in the meantime, let us try to look at both sides of the story. The issue of safety raised by the senator is a valid concern. Passengers of all types of vehicles in this country normally board from the sidewalk and also exit on the sidewalk. In this program however, passengers will have to do it on the middle of a busy road. Right now, the MMDA have already installed barriers on the inner most lane of EDSA to ensure that the buses operate as planned instead of two lanes

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A global wake-up call

EDITORIAL

OT content with shutting down ABSCBN’s free radio and TV operations, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday ordered the company’s subsidiary Sky Cable Corp. to close channels that air on its digital TVPlus service and to stop its direct-to-home satellite transmission.

Adelle Chua, Editor

islands in the Visayas such as Samar and Leyte. The port, however, is around 130 kilometers away from Quezon’s capital. From Lucena, if you travel by car, it will take around four hours to reach the port. This new superhighway will then shorten the distance by half and will likewise lessen travel time to two hours. With this and the TR-4 project, it will only take at least three hours to reach San Andres port and board a RoRo. This is a very promising project. Aside from benefitting travelers and motorists, the new highway opens more opportunities for trade, investments, and progress to the rest of Quezon. It will foster improvement in the service of public utilities in municipalities traversed by this highway by making these areas more accessible. This may also effect lower prices of goods and services as transportation costs will be reduced. Moreover, this has a domino effect of benefitting other provinces as well, with the increase in the volume of travelers

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

The result may well be a global depression that could last at least five or seven years before a new normal emerges, the nature of which is impossible to predict. It is very difficult to know if we are moving in one direction or the other. We must work for the best and prepare for the worst. The pandemic, as horrible as it is, must be a wake-up call that prompts all political leaders to understand that our assumptions and approaches have to change, and that division is a danger to everyone. This understanding could lead people to recognize that the only way to address global fragilities is through much more robust mechanisms of global governance with international cooperation. After all, we cannot simply return to the systems that gave rise to the current crisis. We need to build back better with more sustainable, inclusive, gender-equal societies and economies.

From COVID-19 to climate disruption, from racial injustice to rising inequalities, we are a world in turmoil. In doing so, we must reimagine the way nations cooperate. Today’s multilateralism lacks scale, ambition and teeth—and some of the instruments that do have teeth show little or no appetite to bite, as we have seen in the difficulties faced by the Security Council. We need a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations and its agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, regional organizations such as the African Union and European Union, trade organizations and others work together more closely and effectively. We also need a more inclusive multilateralism. Governments today are far from the only players in terms of politics and power. Civil society, the business community, local authorities, cities and regional governments are assuming more and more leadership roles in today’s world. This, in turn, will help lead to an effective multilateralism with the mechanisms it needs to make global governance work where it is needed. A new, networked, inclusive, effective multilateralism, based on the enduring values of the United Nations Charter, could snap us out of our sleepwalking state and stop the slide towards ever greater danger. Political leaders around the world need to heed this wake-up call and come together to address the world’s fragilities, strengthen our capacity for global governance, give teeth to multilateral institutions, and draw from the power of unity and solidarity to overcome the biggest test of our times. António Guterres is the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

and expeditious delivery of goods. Necessarily, ports have to be rehabilitated and improved to accommodate larger volumes of people and cargo. Road networks in other provinces shall also be expanded to adapt to these developments. All in all, this will serve as an impetus for inclusive rural growth. After the COVID-19 pandemic, I urge the government to revisit such infrastructure programs to spur economic recovery of the nation. For many years, this golden age of infrastructure through the Build, Build, Build program has been the springboard for national economic development. Improving our road networks and highways will significantly enhance accessibility of distant areas that will be beneficial not only to the government but to the residents and the public as well, especially in this time of emergency. This will strengthen not only trade and commerce but also the health and security of our people for all time.

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

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

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World

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

At handover anniversary, HK in glare of new law HONG KONG―Hong Kong marked the 23rd anniversary of its handover to China on Wednesday under the glare of a new national security law imposed by Beijing, with protests banned and the city’s cherished freedoms looking increasingly fragile. The commemorations came a day after China passed a sweeping security law for the city, a historic move decried by many Western governments as an unprecedented assault on the finance hub’s liberties and autonomy. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, a proBeijing appointee, hailed the law as the “most important development” since the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997 as she attended a traditional flag-raising ceremony. But opprobrium poured in from critics and western governments—led by Washington—over fears the law will usher in a new era of mainland-style political repression.

Under a deal ahead of the handover authoritarian China guaranteed Hong Kong civil liberties—as well as judicial and legislative autonomy—until 2047 in a deal known as “One Country, Two Systems”. “(China) promised 50 years of freedom to the Hong Kong people, and gave them only 23,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said as he promised unspecified countermeasures. Hong Kong activists have called on people to defy a ban on protests and march through the city’s main island on Wednesday afternoon. But it is unclear whether residents will heed that call given the risks posed by the new security law—which came into effect overnight—and increasingly aggressive police tactics towards even peaceful gatherings in recent months. Police fanned out across the city’s main island on Wednesday morning, frequently conducting stop and searches. AFP

NEW LAW. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam holds a copy of the new national security law during a press conference at the government headquarters in Hong Kong on July 1, on the 23rd anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain to China. Hong Kong police made their first arrest on July 1 under Beijing’s new national security law as the city greeted the anniversary of its handover to China with protests banned and its cherished freedoms looking increasingly fragile. AFP

EU bars US visitors over virus fears ASHINGTON ― The European Union reopened its borders Wednesday to visitors from 15 countries­—but not the virus-stricken United States, where a top health official warned the country is headed in the “wrong direction” as cases spike in multiple states.

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US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci said that the United States could see 100,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, and several US states imposed 14-day quarantines on travelers from other states. Also in the US, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced he will not hold rallies during the outbreak, a move that is in stark contrast with President Donald Trump, who has already held large campaign gatherings. The 77-year-old former vice president delivered a blistering critique of his November opponent’s handling of the virus, saying the Republican presi-

dent had “failed” the country. “This is the most unusual campaign I think in modern history,” Biden said. “I’m going to follow the doc’s orders -- not just for me but for the country -and that means that I am not going to be holding rallies.” In Brussels, the EU finalized the list of countries whose health situation was deemed safe enough to allow residents to enter the bloc starting on Wednesday. Notably excluded were Russia and Brazil, as well as the United States, whose daily death toll passed 1,000 Tuesday for the first time since June 10. The countries that made it onto the

EU’s list are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Japan, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay. Travelers from China, where the virus first emerged late last year, will be allowed on the condition that Beijing reciprocates and opens the door to EU residents. The border relaxation, to be reviewed in two weeks and left to member states to implement, is a bid to help rescue the continent’s battered tourism sector, which has been choked by a ban on non-essential travel in place since midMarch. But with some 10.4 million known infections worldwide, the pandemic is “not even close to being over,” the World Health Organization has warned. - ‘Very disturbing’ In Washington, Fauci, a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force, warned Congress that “clearly we are not in total control right now.” “I would not be surprised if it goes

Merkel stakes legacy, Germany takes EU reins

SHIELD UP. A

student of the Makkasan Phitthaya Manila Standard government TODAY primary school wears a face shield as he leaves the school canteen in Bangkok on July 1, as schools reopened after being temporarily closed due to the threat of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. AFP

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Estate of the Late Ricardo Ko Ching also known as Richard Ching was extrajudicially settled among his heirs with waiver of rights on March 10, 2020 as per Doc. No. 384 Page 78, Book VIII, Series of 2020 under Notary Public Atty. Rodmel L. Bautista of Makati City.

up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.” Alarming spikes in Texas and Florida are driving the national total of new cases to over 40,000 per day, and they need to be tamped down quickly to avoid dangerous surges elsewhere in the country, Fauci stressed. Texas alone reported 6,975 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, its highest tally yet. “I’m very concerned and I’m not satisfied with what’s going on, because we’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said. The pandemic has claimed some 127,000 American lives so far and more than 508,000 around the globe. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican who chairs the Senate panel, urged Trump to end the politicization of maskwearing by putting on one himself. “The president has plenty of admirers, they would follow his lead,” Alexander said. “It would help end this political debate.” AFP

IN BRIEF China dismisses HK law critics

BEIJING ― China on Wednesday slammed international criticism over a controversial new national security law for Hong Kong, saying other countries should keep quiet. Western governments and critics have warned the new law will curb the city’s freedoms and undermine the “One Country, Two Systems” policy meant to protect freedoms unseen on the mainland. But Beijing officials rebuffed the criticism of the law at a press conference. “What’s this got to do with you?” said Zhang Xiaoming of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council. “It’s none of your business”. Officials insisted there had been wide consultation with members of Hong Kong society and hit back at criticism it was undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy. “If what we want is one country, one system, it would have been simple,” Zhang said. “We are completely able to impose the criminal law, the criminal procedure and the national security law and other national laws on Hong Kong. “Why would we need to put so much effort into formulating a national security law tailor-made for Hong Kong?” AFP

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Aussies revamp defenses amid China tensions

BRISBANE―Australia announced an assertive new defence strategy Wednesday, beefing up its long-range strike capabilities and cyber-warfare efforts amid escalating tensions with China. Prime Minister Scott Morrison earmarked Aus$270 billion ($185 billion) for new and upgraded defence capabilities over the next decade —a nearly 40 percent increase—saying the defence force would significantly shift its focus to LEGAL NOTICE projecting military power across the Indo-Pacific. EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF THE INTESTATE ESTATE OF THE DECEASED “We must face the reality RIZALINO BALTAZAR FAVILA, JR. WITH GENERAL that we have moved into a WAIVERS OF SHARES/RIGHTS BY ALEX FRANCIS FLORES FAVILA AND ERIC MARCO FLORES FAVILA new and less benign strategic era,” Morrison said in a Notice is hereby given that the legal heirs of the late Rizalino Baltazar Favila, Jr. (the “Decedent”), major policy speech, eyeing who died intestate on April 17, 2019 at Taguig City, have executed a DEED OF EXTRAJUDICIAL the end of unquestioned US SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH GENERAL hegemony and the rise of an WAIVER OF SHARES/RIGHTS. The parties, being increasingly assertive China. all of legal age, hereby adjudicate unto themselves the properties left by the decedent. As per Doc No. “Even as we stare down 20; Page No. 3, Book No. 35; Series of 2020; under the COVID pandemic at Notary Public of Atty. Melchor J. Manalo. home, we need to also prepare for a post-COVID NOTICE OF LOSS world that is poorer, that is Notice is given that Manila Bulletin Stock Certificates more dangerous and that is Nos. 89-0011 for 230,500 shares, 89-0030 for 44,800 more disorderly.” shares, 89-0053 for 15,926 shares, 89-0075 for 27,405 Australia’s government shares, 89-0118 for 112,586 shares and DV0018 for has committed to spend141,349 shares issued in favor of Ricardo Ching also known as Richard Ching was declared lost by his heirs ing at least two percent of in an Affidavit of Loss recorded in the notarial register GDP on defence—as US of Atty. Rodmel Bautista of Makati City as Doc. No. President Donald Trump 388, Page No.79, Book No. VIII, Series of 2020. If no has angrily demanded of adverse claim is made within one (1) year from the last allies—and plans to spend publication of this Notice, the right to make such clam almost 40 percent more on shall be barred and the Corporation shall issue new weapons systems over the certificates in lieu of the lost certificates. last defence review in 2016. (MS-JULY 2, 9 & 16, 2020)

(MS-JULY 2, 9 & 16, 2020)

(MS-JULY 2, 9 & 16, 2020)

The country will acquire a more powerful strike capability that can hit targets thousands of kilometres from Australia, starting with the United States’ AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. It will also invest in newer platforms like drones, and boost research into hypersonic and direct energy weapons like lasers. Middle power While acknowledging the nation of 25 million people cannot match its rivals in the region —China officially plans to spend $178 billion on defence in 2020 alone—Morrison framed Australia as a regional power committed to an “open, sovereign Indo-Pacific, free from coercion and hegemony”. Though Morrison said Australia remains prepared to send troops further afield “where it is in our national interest to do so”, he underscored that could come at the cost of the country’s ability to respond to threats from and in its own backyard. Australia has fought alongside the United States in every major war of the last century, often in areas far from its shores. The announcement marks a significant shift in Australia’s defence posture and will be widely seen as an effort to counter Beijing’s growing influence in the region. As part of the strategic pivot, the Australian Defence Force will focus on building “stronger deterrence capabilities” to raise the cost for any would-be aggressor and concentrate on the immediate region over operations further afield, he said. It also follows Morrison’s “Pacific Step-Up” policy—announced in 2018 to rebuild support among regional allies drifting toward Beijing— which has seen his government ramp up diplomatic engagement and offer greater financial aid to its developing neighbours. AFP

FRANKFURT AM MAIN—Germany takes over the European Union’s sixmonth presidency Wednesday, with outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel staking her legacy on a massive economic recovery plan to help the bloc cope with the coronavirus fallout. Merkel’s last major role on the international stage comes as the 27-member club faces its deepest recession since World War II, triggered by a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people globally. The crisis has galvanised Europe’s most powerful leader who, with just over a year left in her final term, has ditched her usual wait-and-see approach to call for “extraordinary measures” to weather the storm. “Europe’s future is our future,” Merkel said Monday as she stood beside French President Emmanuel Macron to push for a 750-billion-euro ($843 billion) coronavirus recovery fund. The proposed fund would controversially be financed through shared EU borrowing and marks a stunning U-turn for Germany after years of opposition to debt pooling. The EU’s rotating presidency is Merkel’s “last chance” to make her mark as one of Europe’s great leaders, Der Spiegel weekly wrote, adding that it was time for Germany to shoulder more responsibility as the bloc’s biggest nation and top economy. “For years the chancellor put off dealing with the chronic problems of the EU and the euro. Now, towards the end of her political career, she has the opportunity to make up for past mistakes,” Spiegel wrote. There will be no shortage of challenges to tackle in the months ahead. Post-Brexit negotiations, a more assertive China, rocky transatlantic ties, climate change and the conflicts in Libya and Syria will all be jostling for attention, even if the pandemic promises to dominate the agenda. - ‘Extraordinary solidarity’ Germany kicked off its EU custodianship by projecting the words “Together for Europe’s recovery” onto Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate late Tuesday. AFP

Taiwan readies welcome for HK

TAIPEI ― Taiwan on Wednesday opened a new office to deal with Hong Kongers wanting to move to the island after Beijing passed a sweeping security law for the city. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen had pledged a humanitarian “action plan” after Chinese authorities announced the proposed law—which was passed on Tuesday. The Taiwan-Hong Kong Office for Exchanges and Services in Taipei will, among other tasks, handle applications from Hong Kongers seeking to stay in Taiwan for “political reasons”. “This is an important landmark for the government to further realise its support for Hong Kong’s democracy and freedom,” Chen Ming-tong, chairman of Taiwan’s top China policy body, told reporters. “The whole world needs to be concerned” about the law, Chen said. Around 5,000 Hong Kongers moved to Taiwan last year as the city was shaken by massive anti-government protests. They included activists seeking sanctuary and others looking to pursue a new life in Taiwan -- considered one of Asia’s most progressive democracies. Taiwan’s government said it will cover “necessary expenses” for those who come to the island for political reasons because their freedom and safety are under threat.AFP

Israel poised for ‘Bank’ takeover

JERUSALEM ― Israelis were awaiting word Wednesday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his prospective plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, a move that risks inflaming regional tensions. His coalition has set July 1 as the date from which it can begin implementing US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposal, which paves the way for annexations of Jewish West Bank settlements. But hours before Netanyahu’s self-imposed kick-off date, signs pointed against a major policy announcement, with the prime minister and his allies indicating dramatic action was not imminent. The Palestinians have rejected the Trump plan, but say they are willing to discuss alternatives with the Israelis. “We are not going to sit at a negotiating table where the annexation or the Trump plan are proposed,” senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat told AFP on Tuesday. “It is not a plan, but a project to legitimise the occupation” of Palestinian territories, he said. After occupying the West Bank and other Palestinian territories in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel annexed Arab east Jerusalem.AFP

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Manila Standard TODAY

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THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks end flat; Jollibee, URC up S PSEi July 1, 2020 TOP GAINERS

TOP LOSERS

TOCKS closed virtually flat Wednesday, with the benchmark index erasing early losses on select buying as investors weighed the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to keep Metro Manila under general community quarantine.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added just 1.99 points, or 0.03 percent, to 6,209.71 on a value turnover of P15.6 billion. Losers, however, edged gainers, 98 to 95, with 47 issues unchanged. Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fastfood chain, rose 2.7 percent to P143.80, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, climbed 2.2 percent to P132.90. First Gen Corp., a major energy producer and owned by the Lopez Group, added 2 percent to P25, but International ContainerTerminal Services Inc., the

biggest port operated and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., fell 2.3 percent to P100.10. Markets mostly rose in Asia on Wednesday as investors looked past spiking coronavirus infections and warnings of a US surge in the disease, with eyes on the economic recovery as countries press ahead with the easing of lockdowns. Shanghai gained 1.4 percent with investors taking heart from the easing of some recently reimposed lockdowns as hopes grew that a recent outbreak in Beijing had been brought under control. Mumbai also rose more than one percent, while Sydney and Singapore both put on 0.6 percent. Taipei was also higher. Tokyo shed 0.8 percent after a closely watched Bank of Japan survey showed that confidence among the country’s biggest manufacturers had hit its lowest level since 2009 during the global financial crisis. There were also losses in Seoul, Jakarta, Bangkok and Wellington. Traders took their lead from another

rally on Wall Street, which was lifted by a forecast-beating jump in US consumer confidence, while eyes were also on the release later this week of key jobs data out of Washington. And while equities are considered unlikely to kick on unless there is a major vaccine breakthrough, analysts said the trillions of dollars in government and central bank support continues to provide a boost. In the United States, Donald Trump’s top virus expert warned Congress that new daily cases could more than double unless officials step up efforts to control the pandemic. “Clearly, we are not in total control right now,” Anthony Fauci said. “I would not be surprised if it goes up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.” He warned that a jump in infections in Texas and Florida was driving the daily national total to more than 40,000, and they need to be tamped down quickly to avoid dangerous surges elsewhere in the country, adding that the final death toll could be “very disturbing.” With AFP

MOST ACTIVE

A woman enjoys Athens cityscape on sunset on June 29, 2020 as tourists traveling to Greece will be required from July 1 to complete an online questionnaire 48 hours in advance to determine whether they need to be tested for coronavirus on arrival. AFP

Greece reopens islands to flights from select nations to save tourism season By Chantal Valery CORFU, Greece―Greece prepared to welcome tourist flights to its island destinations on Wednesday for the first time in months, as it raced to salvage a tourism season shredded by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 flights from other EU nations and a select group of non-EU countries are expected at 14 regional airports including Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes and Crete, airport operator Fraport said. Flights from Britain, one of its most lucrative travel markets, are not due to restart until July 15 at the earliest, in line with EU recommendations. The same applies to the United States, Russia, Turkey and Sweden. Greece halted most flights three months ago as part of restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus, but the measures have seen the sector’s revenues plummet. All Greek airports are now receiving international flights and the ports of Patras

and Igoumentsa will again receive ferries from Italy. Fourteen non-EU countries―including Australia, Canada, Japan and Uruguay― have been deemed safe enough for visitors to be allowed back. But travelers from China, where the virus first emerged late last year, will be allowed to enter only if Beijing reciprocates and opens the door to EU residents. Travelers will be given scannable bar codes after they fill out a questionnaire with personal details such as their country of origin and the countries they have travelled through in the last 15 days. Those who are tested will be told to isolate at the address provided on the questionnaire while waiting for the results. “It will be a very difficult tourism season. We will do the best we can,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the cabinet this week. Greece, which has a relatively low coronavirus death toll under 200, has launched a promotional campaign to revive

tourism, which accounts for a quarter of its gross domestic product. The country hopes to reassure potential travelers as well as Greeks, who fear a resurgence of the pandemic with the return of tourists. Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis on Tuesday signed an agreement with German tour giant TUI aiming to bring in some 1.5 million tourists―50 percent of the number the agent brought to Greece in 2019. “We’re trying to save the season,” Amelia Vlachou, a jewellery shop owner on Corfu, told AFP. “Of course it doesn’t compare with previous years when we had lots of people.” According to Bank of Greece figures, the country in 2019 had more than 34 million visitors who spent over 18 billion euros. Operators say a realistic revenue goal this year is up to five billion euros. On land border crossings, travelers from Albania, North Macedonia and Turkey are only allowed in for emergency reasons or by special permission. AFP

Poll: Business confidence in Japan lowest since ‘09 crisis TOKYO―Confidence among major Japanese manufacturers has plunged to its worst level since the global financial crisis, a key survey showed Wednesday, as the coronavirus dries up global demand. The Bank of Japan’s June Tankan business survey―a quarterly poll of about 10,000 companies―showed a reading of minus 34 among big manufacturers, the lowest since June 2009 when worldwide financial shocks hammered the planet’s third-largest economy. It was the biggest quarterly drop since early that year, and even worse than analysts had feared after the index turned negative in March. “These figures show that companies believe it will take a long time for the economy to recover,” Yoshikiyo Shimamine, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, told AFP. The coronavirus has hit Japan less hard than many advanced nations, with fewer than 1,000 deaths and about 19,000 cases. Nevertheless, the contagion has taken a bitter economic toll, knocking the country into its first recession since 2015. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has passed two record stimulus packages worth nearly $2 trillion to cushion the impact, including handing out 100,000 yen ($925) to every man, woman and child in Japan. Unemployment is rising, albeit to a rate that would make most countries jealous. Data released on Tuesday showed the jobless level rose from 2.6 percent to 2.9 percent. The low unemployment figure reflects a shrinking workforce given Japan’s rapidly aging population, 28 percent of which is 65 or over. Analysts said millions of people―especially women―had simply left the workforce during the pandemic to care for families. Millions are also on furlough, meaning that the unemployment data may be considerably less rosy than it looks, said Shimamine. “One estimate says the jobless rate is actually 11 percent if you incorporate those on furlough,” he told AFP. Japan was struggling with the effects of natural disasters and a hike in consumption tax even before the pandemic crippled the global economy. AFP

Manila

Manila Standard TO TODAY:: ALL ALL STOCKHOLDERS STOCKHOLDERS TO TODAY

FROM FROM

THE CORPORATE CORPORATE SECRETARY SECRETARY :: THE

DATE DATE

June 22, 22, 2020 2020 :: June

SUBJECT :: ANNUAL ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ STOCKHOLDERS’ SUBJECT MEETING OF OF HEALTHSERV HEALTHSERV LOS LOS MEETING BANOS, INC. BANOS, INC. NOTICE IS IS HEREBY HEREBY GIVEN GIVEN that that the the Annual Annual NOTICE Stockholders’ Meeting Meeting of of Healthserv Healthserv Los Los Banos, Banos, Stockholders’ Inc. will be held only by remote communication Inc. will be held only by remote communication through an an online online meeting meeting platform platform on on through Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2:00PM. Wednesday, July 22, 2020, at 2:00PM. As provided provided for for in in the the by-laws, by-laws, only only stockholders stockholders As of record as of June 22, 2020 will be entitled to to of record as of June 22, 2020 will be entitled notice, attend and vote at this meeting. notice, attend and vote at this meeting. Copies of of the the Minutes Minutes of of the the 2019 2019 Annual Annual Copies Stockholders’ Meeting and other Board Materials Stockholders’ Meeting and other Board Materials shall be be uploaded uploaded in in the the hospital’s hospital’s website website or or may may shall be requested requested from from the the stockholder stockholder relations relations officer, officer, be Ms. Dhang Apalla or Ms. Janine Pamulaklakin Ms. Dhang Apalla or Ms. Janine Pamulaklakin through their their email: email: fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph through or jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph or jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph Shareholders who who choose choose to to participate participate by by Shareholders designating a proxy or remote communication designating a proxy or remote communication must deliver deliver aa duly duly accomplished accomplished and and signed signed must proxy letter letter and and notice notice to to participate participate through through proxy remote communication through the stockholder remote communication through the stockholder relations officer, officer, Ms. Ms. Dhang Dhang Apalla Apalla or or Ms. Ms. Janine Janine relations Pamulaklakin at fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph or Pamulaklakin at fzapalla@healthserv.com.ph or jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph at at least least five five jppamulaklakin@healthserv.com.ph (5) days before the scheduled meeting. (5) days before the scheduled meeting. (Original Sgd.) Sgd.) (Original ATTY. GARNEY M. CANDELARIA ATTY. GARNEY M. CANDELARIA Corporate Secretary Corporate Secretary (MS-JULY 1 & 2, 2020) (MS-JULY 1 & 2, 2020)

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THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

PSE INDEX CLOSING Wednesday, July 1, 2020

1.99 PTS. 6,209.71

TOTAL VOLUME 1,451,783,907 TOTAL TRADES 124,888 TOTAL VALUE 15,659,777,214.25 ADVANCES 95 DECLINES 98 UNCHANGED 47

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

49.7900

Japan

Yen

0.009264

0.4613

UK

Pound

1.240200

61.7496

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129026

6.4242

Switzerland

Franc

1.055855

52.5710

Canada

Dollar

0.736865

36.6885

Singapore

Dollar

0.717618

35.7302

Australia

Dollar

0.690000

34.3551

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

132.069

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266624

13.2752

Brunei

Dollar

0.715052

35.6024

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.032373

1.6119

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.5564

Euro

Euro

1.123400

55.9341

Korea

Won

0.000834

0.0415

China

Yuan

0.141543

7.0474

India

Rupee

0.013238

0.6591

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233536

11.6278

New Zealand

Dollar

0.645300

32.1295

Taiwan

Dollar

0.034021

1.6939 Source: BSP

PSE’s income dipped 71% to P50.6m in Q1

Business

Bangko Sentral to issue securities in 3rd quarter T By Julito G. Rada

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas plans to issue securities in the third quarter after all the requirements and infrastructure needed to support the undertaking are in place, Governor Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday.

The BSP and the Bureau of the Treasury signed on July 1 an agreemen to link the BSP’s Monetary Operations System and the BTr’s National Registry of Scripless Securities. The signatories were Diokno and National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III was also present during the signing. Diokno said in a virtual briefing the BSP charter does not impose limits on the volume of the issuance of the securities. “But the BSP will consider market preference and the prevailing liquidity conditions,” he said. The initial amount of issuance will be based on the BSP’s liquidity forecast, beginning with relatively small auction volume to make sure counterparties will be familiarized before scaling up going forward. It said the volume and tenor would be announced in

advance, just like what is done in the term deposit facility auction. When asked on the frequency of the securities issuance, Diokno said it would depend on the market appetite and liquidity conditions. “The BSP and the Bureau of the Treasury will coordinate regularly so that there will be no overlapping in terms of schedule,” Diokno said. Diokno said the priority will be given to the borrowing needs of the national government and the BSP “will not compete with the government.” He said the objective of the BSP securities issuance was different from the securities issued by the government whose primary purpose is to raise funds to be used for the spending requirements of the state. “The BSP securities issuance aims to manage the liquidity in the financial system to support the monetary policy transmission,” Diokno said. He said the market reception of the planned issuance so far was generally positive. The connectivity of the BSP’s MOS to the BTr’s NRoSS is an integral part of the process for the issuance of BSP securities. The MOS is a web-based electronic platform that enables counterparties to participate in the BSP’s peso liquidity facilities.

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. said Wednesday first-quarter net income fell by 71 percent to P50.62 million from P175 million in the same period last year as the coronavirus pandemic slowed down trading activities and put several fund-raising plans on hold. Operating revenues were flat at P295 million in the first quarter as trading-related fees decreased 1.2 percent. “The COVID-19 pandemic definitely affected our revenues for the quarter. Investors opted to be liquid and hold on to cash, hence, the slowdown in trading activity particularly during the enhanced community quarantine period in Metro Manila and Luzon. Issuers also opted to put on hold fund-raising plans,” said PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon. Monzon said while the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slightly recovered from the steep decline in the first quarter, investors remained cautious about the market amid the uncertainties from the pandemic. The PSEi reached an intra-day low of 4,039.15 on March 19 as the government imposed lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .Since then, the market has recovered and is currently trading above 6,000 level. “In terms of trading, we noted brisk trading activity in June. We hope this will be sustained in the coming months. But overall, we think that investors will remain cautious as uncertainties from COVID-19 remain. They are also waiting for second quarter numbers of listed firms for a more concrete picture on how the pandemic impacted operations and consequently, revenues of companies,” Monzon said. Monzon said meeting the target of P200 billion in fund-raising activities from the equity market would be challenging as most companies would likely reduce their capital expenditures and defer their expansion plans for the rest of the year to preserve cash and maintain liquidity.

IN BRIEF

Phoenix diversifies petroleum business PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines said it is diversifying its core petroleum operations and repositioning its portfolio towards high-growth, high-margin businesses as it shifts the new normal. It said it embarked on a consumer experience-focused growth strategy over the past three years targeting the underserved, convenience needs of customers beyond fuel, which led to investments in liquefied petroleum gas and FamilyMart. “At the center of our efforts is our customer. By understanding their customer journey and experience, we are able to see their underserved needs and try to fill these through our expanding retail portfolio that is now beyond fuels. With the changes in purchasing behavior post-pandemic, we are complementing these retail offers with digital initiatives that in turn multiply the footprint exponentially,” Phoenix president Henry Albert Fadullon said. Phoenix generates around 45 percent of domestic revenues from retail fuels and from other higher margin products such LPG, convenience retailing and payments. Alena Mae S. Flores

Megawide to sell P5-b preferred shares MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. plans to raise up to P5 billion from the issuance of preferred shares. Megawide said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday its board of directors approved the issuance of up to 50 million preferred shares by way of public offering. “The book-building process is still ongoing and maximum amount we can raise is up to P5 billion. Coupon will be finalized during the book building process,” an official from Megawide said. Maximum price is P100 per preferred share. Megawide said during its recent stockholders meeting it planned to build a stable revenue stream over the medium to long-term period by entering new segments and tripling the capacity of its pre-cast facility. “In 2019, external sales accounted for 40 percent of our pre-cast business and contributed significantly to our construction revenues. Moving forward, we aim to triple our pre-cast capacity to expand its application to infrastructure and housing developments and potentially generate more external sales,” Megawide chairman Edgar Saavedra said. Jenniffer B. Austria

MerryMart posts 50% profit growth NEWLY-LISTED grocery chain MerryMart Consumer Corp. said Wednesday net income in the first quarter rose 50 percent from a year ago on the back of a double-digit growth in revenues. MerryMart said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-quarter net income climbed to P8.35 million from P5.55 million in the same period last year. Revenues jumped 40 percent to P794.91 million from P568.65 million a year ago. “This behavior-altering COVID-19 pandemic has made the MerryMart team realize the benefit of being light and nimble in dealing with this once in a generation global pandemic,” MerryMart chairman Edgar Sia II. “Being a new player in the industry, it will not have to face the major issue of reconfiguring a big complex structure because MerryMart as actually just started to build its foundation, and has the flexibility to mold its expansion masterplan according to the new normal that we all continue to decipher as we move forward,” Sia said. Jenniffer B. Austria

J&T Express vows to cooperate in probe

Prioritizing health. BDO Remit In coordination with BDO Foundation turns over hundreds of bags of hygiene kits to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange for distribution to overseas Filipinos. The repatriated overseas Filipinos, who have already tested negative in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests and completed their required quarantine period, are transported back to their home provinces.

DOT expects tourism establishments to reopen shortly By Othel V. Campos THE Department of Tourism expects more tourism establishments to reopen soon as local government units outside Metro Manila and Cebu began easing travel restrictions as they transition to modified general community quarantine. Only DOT-accredited accommodation and establishments with a certificate of authority to operate, however, can reopen, as the safety of guests and locals remains the priority of the department. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said many areas outside Metro Manila were on their way to achieving MGCQ status. These areas are allowed to open up travel and leisure services provided that tourism businesses open at a maximum of 50 percent of their operational capacity. Under MGCQ, LGUs have a crucial role to determine the most appropriate time in reopening their respective desti-

nations, sites, attractions and enterprises to tourists. Boracay Island reopened on June 16 when the provincial government of Aklan and the LGU of Malay mutually agreed to only allow travelers from Western Visayas to visit the island. The Tourism Department said its regional offices would meet with the concerned government units and local stakeholders soon. “The anticipated resumption of business operations will bring about many opportunities for our kababayans, but we would like to remind our tourism stakeholders that the implementation of health protocols in the new normal should always be a priority because it is only by ensuring the safety of our guests can we regain the confidence of our traveling public,” said Romulo-Puyat. The tourism industry contributed 12.7 percent to the gross domestic product in 2019. Tourism-related employment accounted for about 5.7 million jobs last

year. “The revenues that we stand to gain are only secondary to the more important characteristic of tourism, which is the industry’s employment generation component. `The resumption of tourism operations will spur not only the recovery of the tourism industry but also the recovery of our nation. The revival of tourism is tantamount to the revival of communities that heavily relied on tourism to thrive,” Romulo-Puyat said. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed that the coronavirus pandemic would lead to massive losses in the world’s tourism sector which was placed at a standstill for nearly four months. The losses will rise significantly, dealing a huge blow to the global economy, if the break in international tourism lasts for a longer period, the report said. It said this could have a significant impact on employment and wages, particularly in economies heavily dependent on tourism.

BOP registered surplus of $2.4b in May

FEEDING SEAFARERS. Maritime workers who are camping out at North Harbor in Manila and bound for their respective provinces receive regular meals and cash assistance from San Miguel Corp. after company president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang learned about their plight. Over 1,500 meals were prepared for them at Better World Tondo as of July 1.

THE country’s balance of payments posted a surplus of $2.43 billion in May, about 2.6 times higher than the $9280 million surplus recorded a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday. It said the surplus in May reflected mainly the inflows arising from the national government’s foreign currency deposits with the BSP and the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad. “These inflows were partially offset by the foreign currency withdrawals that the national government made to pay its foreign currency debt obligations during the month in review,” it said. This brought total BOP surplus in the first five months to $4.03 billion, compared to the $5.19-billion surplus in the same period last year. “The current BOP surplus was supported mainly by foreign borrowings by the government in April and May, coupled with lower merchandise trade deficit and by sustained net inflows of personal remittances from overseas Filipino work-

ers,” the BSP said. These inflows fully negated the impact of lower trade in services receipts, the net foreign portfolio investment outflows and lower foreign direct investments inflows, it said. The BOP position also reflected record gross international reserves of $93.29 billion as of end-May 2020. “At this level, the reserves represent an external liquidity buffer which can cushion the domestic economy against external shocks,” the BSP said. The BOP summarizes the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world, with a surplus indicating that foreign exchange receipts exceed payments. Persistent surpluses help build up the GIR, an ample supply of which supports the peso against the US dollar and keep domestic inflation at bay. The BSP earlier downgraded the projection for full-year balance of payments position to $600 million (0.2 percent of GDP) from an earlier forecast of $2.9 billion surplus (0.7 percent of GDP). Julito G. Rada

J&T Express Philippines said Wednesday it will cooperate in any investigation by the government over the viral video of mishandling parcels and other consumer complaints. “We appreciate the concern expressed by the President towards our customers’ welfare as well as the well-being of our many partners and employees,” J&T Express Philippines vice president Zoe Chi said. “Furthermore, we will cooperate with the government in any investigation that it will conduct. We are committed to improving our services for the benefit of the public,” she said. J&T Express’ statement came after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an investigation about the viral video of mishandled parcels and other complaints. Dutere ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate J&T. He also asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue to look at the finances of the logistics firm. Darwin G. Amojelar

PH signs P24-b loan with Japan to fight virus THE Philippines and Japan on Wednesday signed an agreement for a 50-billion yen (around P24-billion) loan to help in the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 and provide economic relief to Filipinos affected by the global health crisis. Given the Philippines’ urgent need for budgetary support to address the COVID-19 emergency, the loan was processed in less than a month, the quickest ever secured under Japan’s official development assistance package and in keeping with the “fast and sure” approach adopted by the two countries since 2017. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, on behalf of the Philippines, and Japan International Cooperation Agency chief representative Eigo Azukizawa, representing the government of Japan, signed the agreement for the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan on Wednesday afternoon. “I am sure we shall soon prevail over this emergency. We will return to our growth path and recover our economic momentum. What will be unchanged is the deep friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” Dominguez said. Ambassador Haneda said the emergency support loan was a part of Japan’s assistance package for developing economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are glad that we are the first donor-country to be able to offer such a loan to the Philippines. The strong ties between Japan and the Philippines, particularly on the economic front have been tried and true for many decades,” Haneda said. He said the government of Japan has “high hopes that this loan will be instrumental in helping jumpstart the Philippine economy and running [its] fast-paced recovery.” Julito G. Rada

Juventus keeps Lazio at bay with Genoa stroll ROME—Juventus maintained their four-point lead at the top of Serie A on Tuesday after strolling to a 3-1 win at Genoa that keeps chasers Lazio at bay despite their comeback triumph at Torino. Three stunning individual goals from Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo and Douglas Costa downed relegation-threatened Genoa and kept Maurizio Sarri on course to deliver Juve’s ninth straight league title in his first season as coach. Andrea Pinamonti pulled one back with 14 minutes left for the struggling hosts, who stay just one point above the drop zone and third-frombottom Lecce, who host Genoa’s local rivals Sampdoria on Wednesday. Pinamonti’s strike was the first goal Juve have conceded since losing at Lyon in late February, but it wasn’t enough to stop the champions from cruising to their sixth straight league win. “It was a good team effort and we scored three brilliant goals,” said Sarri. “The team have recovered well after the disappointment of losing the Italian Cup final, it was only a matter of time.” The victory at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris showcased the firepower Sarri has at his disposal, with Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin making five saves in the goalless first half as Juve pushed early to win the match. Dybala put his side in the lead in the 50th minute with a beautiful finish following a snaking dribble, a strike that set the tone for the rest of the match. Ronaldo, who had looked off the pace following the league’s restart from the coronavirus shutdown, showed that he was back to his best seven minutes later when he charged towards goal before letting off a rocket of a shot that Perin could only grasp at as it fired into the net. That settled the result, but substitute Costa then made his own case for goal of the match when he collected the ball towards the right side of the area and unleashed a curling, dipping shot that again left Perin bewildered. “They (Dybala and Ronaldo) have learned to look for each other more often,” Sarri said of a blossoming partnership. They have realised that by benefitting from each other, both reap the rewards. It’s something I have noticed in training too.” AFP

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

CELEBRATION. Juventus’ Argentine forward Paulo Dybala celebrates after opening the scoring during the Italian Serie A football match Genoa vs Juventus played behind closed doors at the Luigi-Ferraris stadium in Genoa, as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. AFP

13 boxers tested again as preventive measure By Peter Atencio

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HIRTEEN members of the national boxing team have returned to Manila yesterday from their training camp in Baguio City to undergo further tests for the presence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Officials of the Philippine Sports Commission said the tests are being done as a preventive measure. While one of the athletes, a national boxer, got a positive result while undergoing rapid testing, a second exam done through swabbing yielded a negative outcome. The boxers will be brought to the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which is currently a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients. “Everybody tested negative. So there’s no one positive,” said National Training Director Marc Velasco, who is monitoring the tests done on national athletes.

The government sports agency is planning to send many national athletes back to their home provinces as the PSC finalizes plans for venues that are under its care to undergo disinfection. The disinfection procedures on athletes’ quarters and facilities are being done in preparation for their return to outdoor training, said Velasco. There are around 35 athletes that are being cared for by the PSC at the moment, including 22 that are still housed at the Philsports Pasig venue after getting stranded by travel restrictions because of the lockdown. The 22 have already undergone

COVID-19 tests. Among the boxers who went down to Manila are Carlo Paalam (light flyweight, 49 kg), Rogen Ladon (flyweight, 52 kg), Ian Clark Bautista (bantamweight, 56 kg) , Charly Suarez (lightweight, 60 kg), James Palicte (light welterweight, 64 kg), Joel Bacho (welterweight, 69 kg) and John Tupas-Marvin (light heavyweight, 81 kg). In the women’s side, it’s Josie Gabuco (light flyweight, 48 kg), Irish Magno (flyweight, 48 kg), Aira Villegas (bantamweight, 54 kg), Nesthy Petecio (featherweight, 57 kg) and Risa Pasuit (lightweight, 60 kg). Meanwhile, Commissioner Ramon Fernandez heaved a sigh of relief on the outcome of the tests done on athletes in Baguio. “The athlete was negative on the second test, which was more accurate. But all the athletes will be tested again for a second time,” added Fernandez.

Warrix is AFF Suzuki Cup ‘20 official match ball, kit supplier SINGAPORE—Sportifive announced on Wednesday that Warrix, one of Asia’s leading sports apparel brands, has been appointed the official football supplier of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020. This is the first time that Warrix is partnering with South East Asia’s illustrious football championship and underscores the company’s ambition to distinguish its brand in one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Under the terms of the agreement, Warrix will be the Official Match Ball Supplier for all matches of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 and will supply the ball boy kits and referee kits throughout the event. It will also produce apparels, bibs and captain armbands for the tournament. As an official football supplier of the region’s most highly-anticipated football tournament, Warrix can look forward to receiving unprecedented levels of exposure and engagement opportunities with football fans across the region. The War-

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rix logo will be prominently displayed on multiple platforms, including the official tournament website, event backdrops, in-stadia TV commercials and other official tournament print collaterals. The brand will also have the opportunity to display its ball and products at the event, and organise fan activities and promotions around the matches. In addition, the partnership grants Warrix the rights to use the official tournament logo across its marketing platforms Scheduled from November to December, the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 will once again unite as well as sell co-branded merchandise the passion of football fans in the whole region and products during the tournament. “We have continuously strived for in- lar sports in the region,” said Wisan apparel and equipment will greatly novation in our products using the latest Wanasaksrisakul, Managing Director, enhance the tournament experience for players, volunteers, officials and technology as we believe in providing Warrix Sport Co., Ltd. Malcolm Thorpe, Managing Direc- fans, and elevate the tournament to a quality sportswear and equipment to enhance athlete performance across all tor, South East Asia at SPORTFIVE, new level.” Warrix previously supported the sporting levels. Having sponsored various said: “The AFF Suzuki Cup is the national football teams and major foot- most important showcase of South East Myanmar Football Federation at the ball clubs in South East Asia, this latest Asia’s greatest football talents, and we MFF Warrix Futsal Open Cup held in partnership with the AFF Suzuki Cup are delighted to facilitate this strategic Mandalay last year and was most recently further underlines our commitment to partnership with Warrix. We are con- the Official Sportwear for the 2020 Burigrow and develop one of the most popu- fident that Warrix’s high-quality sport ram Marathon in Thailand.

6th US PGA Tour player tests positive for COVID-19 NEW YORK—American Chad Campbell is the sixth US PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19 as the tour heads into the fourth week of its restart after a threemonth shutdown. The tour said in a statement that Campbell had withdrawn from this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, where he was the first alternate, after he tested positive as part of the pre-tournament screening process. Campbell, a four-time tour winner, missed the cut at the first tournament since the coronavirus shutdown ended at Colonial three weeks ago and hadn’t played since. He will now enter self-isolation per tour guidelines and must be cleared medically before he can compete again. “While the positive test result is unnerving, I am incredibly grateful to be asymptomatic and feel physically well, and my thoughts are with anyone dealing with COVID, directly or indirectly,” Campbell said in a statement released through the tour. On Monday, American Harris English tested positive and withdrew from the Detroit tournament. Like Campbell, English did not play last week in Connecticut. South African Dylan Frittelli is also in self-isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus, before he was to have flown Sunday on a PGA player charger to Detroit from the Travelers Championship. Nick Watney was the first PGA Tour player to test positive since the restart at the Heritage tournament two weeks ago. Fellow Americans Cameron Champ and Denny McCarthy tested positive last week at Connecticut, where two caddies also tested positive. The PGA Tour also announced on Wednesday that three players on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour tested positive prior to this week’s TPC Colorado Championship. AFP

How ONE stars have adapted during COVID-19 pandemic Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje ‘Gravity’ Eustaquio

EVEN before COVID-19 caused the current economic crisis, former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio was already working on ways to secure his financial future. And so far, his plan has paid dividends. Eustaquio has kept himself busy outside of the Circle by purchasing, restoring, and selling cars. He does it more as a hobby, but it still earns him a decent living. “It’s a big help, at least during this pandemic where the fight industry was truly hit. I still have means to provide for my family on a daily basis, like getting food and other services,” Eustaquio said. “At the same time, it’s a good hobby to have, fixing cars and selling them. I find joy in seeing my clients satisfied.”

While “Gravity” focuses on the car business, others are staying afloat using their martial arts skills. ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, for example, continues to offer personal training sessions but in a manner fitting to these times. The 24-year-old partnered with Flexbox, an on-demand personal training service that features him as a celebrity trainer. “This is good,” Pacio said. “It’s added income for us while we’re waiting for our next fight.” “It’s also a good opportunity to interact with fans, help them stay fit and healthy to boost their immune system during the pandemic.”

Fellow strawweight Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan echoes similar sentiments, believing that if they will not adapt to the “new normal,” they may be surpassed. “I think the next trend here will be online training sessions,” Catalan said. “Social distancing is still a must these days, especially since there’s no vaccine yet. It won’t be an easy adjustment, and of course it’s different training in the gym physically—but we all need to adjust now to train and even get some revenue.” ONE returns to action with ONE: NO SURRENDER, a closed-door, audiencefree show set for July 31 in Bangkok, Thailand. Catch it for free by downloading the ONE Super App.

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Sports

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

Silver: NBA has no risk-free way to play, but bubble safest

3 NBA Pelican players test positive for coronavirus

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EW YORK—NBA commissioner Adam Silver says there are no risk-free options to finishing the season in a coronavirus pandemic but the league’s bubble plan is the safest, most responsible way.

NEW YORK—The NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans have had three players test positive for COVID-19 while three members of the Denver Nuggets organization also contracted the virus, according to ESPN reports Tuesday. David Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, said three players have tested positive but would not identify them. The players are self-isolating and being tested daily, hoping to return to the club following two days of negative tests. The Nuggets have closed their practice facility after members of their planned 35-person delegation to the season restart bubble tested positive for COVID-19. The Nuggets shut down the facility on Saturday after two people from among the players, staff and coaches tested positive for the coronavirus and another person has tested positive since then, according to the report, which cited unnamed sources. The club will reopen the facility based on the results of ongoing testing for workouts under COVID-19 safety guidelines before the team departs for Orlando on July 7. Denver All-Star center Nikola Jokic tested positive in Serbia, sources told ESPN, and Nuggets coach Michael Malone told a Denver television station that he had contracted the virus in March but didn’t know until he was tested for antibodies in May. At 43-22, the Nuggets were third in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers when the season was shut down March 11 after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. Players began reporting to facilities last Tuesday to start testing protocols ahead of going to Orlando for the resumption of the campaign starting July 30. The Nuggets closure news came on the same day the Brooklyn Nets reopened their facility after positive tests by Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan. AFP

In a Time 100 online talk Tuesday, Silver addressed the NBA’s restart plan, with 22 teams playing games without spectators in Orlando under quarantine starting July 30, and said NBA relations with China have improved since last year. The league shut down the 201920 season on March 11 after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 with five weeks remaining in the regular season. Plentif ul testing and contact t racing within the bubble should help the NBA contain positive tests within an isolated Disney World campus even as COVID-19 positives spike in Florida, Silver said. “If cases are isolated, that’s one thing,” Silver said. “But if we had a lot of cases, we’re going to stop. “We are left with no choice but to learn to live with this virus. No options are risk-free right now.” NBA team owners and players hope to limit the financial damage of playing without spectators in seclusion by televising eight seeding games per team in the bubble plus a normal two-month playoff run. “We’re looking to find the right balance between health and safety on one hand and economic necessity on the other,” Silver said. “And what we think is we’ve found what makes sense for the NBA and that is a safe and responsible way to play. “Our best understanding of this virus is that it’s not going away anytime soon so we feel we have to find a way to move forward and this is our way.” Last October, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for protesters in Hong Kong, drawing criticism for the league in China and creating a rift between the nation and the NBA. Silver says he feels relations have improved, but notes different systems of government produce different ways

Crowd sourcing: Baseball’s A’s tout cardboard cutouts for fans SAN FRANCISCO—The Oakland Athletics are offering fans a chance to be part of the action at the Coliseum this Major League Baseball season, despite a coronavirus ban on spectators. With Major League Baseball aiming to open a shortened season in July, the Athletics announced their “Coliseum Cutouts” program on Tuesday—with fans able to send in photos of themselves to be made into cardboard cutouts to be placed in the stands—for a fee. Costs for the cutouts are $49 for A’s Access members, $89 for general fans or $129 to be placed in the Foul Ball Zone. “If a cutout in the Foul Ball Zone gets hit with a foul ball, we will send the ball to that fan!” the team wrote on its website. “Plus, with every purchase of a cutout, you’ll also receive two complimentary tickets to our first exhibition game at the Coliseum during the 2021 season.” Proceeds from the cutouts will benefit the A’s community fund,’ the team said. The team said the cutouts will be authenticated and “recognized by MLB as official ‘virtual fans.’” Fans can collect their cutouts at the end of the regular season, although the Athletics noted that the virtual versions may show some weather wear and tear. Across the bay in San Francisco, the Giants are also planning for proxy fans. The Giants told their season ticket holders they could submit photos for cutouts which would be placed as close to their season ticket seats as possible. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is healthy and will be ready to hit and pitch when Major League Baseball’s delayed 2020 training camps open, Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler confirmed Tuesday. AFP

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media during a press conference at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NBA commissioner Adam Silver and players’ union president Chris Paul said the goal of the NBA restart will be to promote social justice and combat systemic racism. NBA and National Basketball Players Association leaders agreed that the planned resumption in Orlando of a 2019-20 campaign halted in March by the coronavirus pandemic must address the league’s role in combating issues facing the black community. AFP

of doing things. “Hopefully we can find mutual respect for each other,” Silver said. “Our games are (back) on Tencent. We have continued a dialogue with the Chinese, with our business partners there, with certain government officials, and we’re going to keep at it.” Silver said it was a “complete coincidence” that the New Orleans Pelicans, powered by rookie Zion Williamson, have the easiest schedule among the bubble teams in a bid to get the last West playoff spot—and what would be a TVfriendly likely playoff series against the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.

Teams were scheduled against other bubble teams remaining on their schedule at the time the season was shut down. “Zion is an incredible player because of his skill level, not because of the marketing behind him, and I think LeBron is hoping to win another championship,” Silver said. “That’s what makes the game so exciting.” ‘The Longest Season’ The NBA Finals would finish in midOctober, just under a year from when the regular season tipped off. “It will be the longest season in history, maybe for any league,” said Silver. The NBA plans to have new

camera angles and microphones on players and some sort of crowd noise to add atmosphere. “I’m curious to see how the presentation is going to be,” Silver said. “We want crowd noise but we don’t want just somebody to turn a knob. We want to find new ways to engage the fans.” He did have some concerns about players trash talking each other with no crowd noise to keep television viewers from hearing profanity. “There have got to be some limits on the language. (Players) may have to adapt,” Silver said. “In all seriousness, we may have to put some sort of delay on.” AFP

Wolff: Reliability key in shortened Formula 1 season PARIS—Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says reliability will be “fundamental” in deciding who emerges on top in the shortened Formula One season, with less margin for error due to the lighter schedule following the coronavirus lockdown. Originally scheduled for 22 grands prix, only eight tightly-controlled races have so far been confirmed with the season to get underway in Austria behind closed doors over the next two weekends. Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and his rivals will hit the circuit on Friday for the first time since Barcelona testing in February, and Wolff warns they will need to hit the ground running. “This new calendar and the coronavirus throw new challenges at us,” said the 48-year-old Mercedes team principal. The original opening race in Australia was cancelled at the last-minute after five crew members were quarantined when displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19. “Reliability is going to be a fundamental part of the first races. The cars have come out of the containers straight from Australia,” Wolff said. “There is not a lot of time to run

Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen steers his car in front of Red Bull’s French driver Pierre Gasly during the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix in Spielberg. Seven months after they last competed in earnest, the Formula One circus will push a post-lockdown ‘re-set’ button to open the 2020 season in Austria on July 4. AFP

them and we will be using every session to learn. “So a reduced race calendar is a challenge for everybody.” Mercedes also launched their innovative dual axis steering, which can

widen or narrow the distance between the front wheels. Mercedes will be wary of a slow start, however, after their drivers managed just fifth and eighth in 2019 at the Red Bull Ring following a rare

double retirement the year before. Ferrari’s cars are the only ones not to have beaten their 2019 times in 2020 testing. “We’re not favourites, that’s for sure,” said the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Every mistake punished Team Haas chief Gunther Steiner also said it would be crucial not to make any early mistakes. “That is one of the things that we focus on, not to make mistakes,” he said. “Every mistake you make counts more because you have got less opportunities to make up for it. “No mistakes will not happen, but that is what we focus on to keep consistent.” Steiner said Haas had nothing new to match Mercedes’ dual axel, but suggested innovations could be sometimes problematic. “That’s part of why we decided we are not going to develop big upgrades or anything. Because every time you make an upgrade, it takes time to learn about it and how to use it,” the Italian added. “Having not only fewer races, but in a short space of time, one of the most important things is not to make mistakes at any time.” AFP

Alonso unveils car for Indy 500, Triple Crown run

Toyota’s Spanish driver Fernando Alonso drives his car after the suspension of the race due to strong winds during the Stage 10 of the Dakar 2020 between Haradh and Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia. Two-time Formula One champion Alonso is excited about his chances at the Indianapolis 500 after Arrow McLaren unveiled his car on June 30, 2020, for the August 23 race. AFP

WASHINGTON—Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso of Spain is excited about his chances at the Indianapolis 500 after Arrow McLaren unveiled his car Tuesday for the August 23 race. Alonso seeks a victory at the famed 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval to complete a Motorsport Triple Crown sweep that also includes wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monaco Grand Prix races. Only British racer Graham Hill has won all three. Alonso won at

Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 and at Monaco in 2006 and 2007. “We unveiled and I saw the car for the Indy 500. I love the car,” Alonso said in a social media video. “I think it’s going to look even better on track.” Alonso, who turns 39 in July, led for 27 laps at Indy in 2017 before his engine failed with 21 laps remaining and he settled for 24th place. Last year, Alonso failed to qualify for the 33-car field. “I cannot wait to jump in the car

again,” Alonso said. The coronavirus pandemic forced postponement of the 104th edition of IndyCar’s namesake race from May 24. “The Indy 500, it’s probably the biggest race in the world,” Alonso said. “Coming back there to race against all the drivers, they are an amazing talented field. Hopefully we’ll see some fans as well.” Speedway officials said they plan to have spectators up to 50% of capacity in the facility’s approximately 250,000 seats. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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JAKE ZYRUS’ message of LOVE

Jake is currently promoting ‘Love Even If,’ a single released during the Pride Month.

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INGER Jake Zyrus counters negative vibes and uncertainties with a message of love in celebration of Pride Month through the release of the single “Love Even If” under Star Music.

“With all the negativities around, love is the modest contribution one can offer. Don’t get tired of loving even if it hurts or becomes difficult. Everybody loves you and will remember great things about you anyway when you’re gone,” Jake said. “Love Even If,” now part of Spotify’s Bahaghari playlist, was self-penned by Jake, together with Trisha Denise and ABS-CBN’s creative director Jonathan Manalo. It is one of the tracks in Jake’s Evolution album out last year. The singer-songwriter also talked about the release of an upcoming single “Miss You In The Moonlight.” “I’ve been experimenting with different genres due to the transition of my voice and this is the first jazz pop music that

True blue Kapuso COMEDY concert queen AiAi delas Alas is now a true blue Kapuso after she recently inked a five-year contract with the network’s JOSEPH PETER talent management arm, GONZALES GMA Artist Center. “I didn’t have second thoughts signing up with GMAAC,” she avers. “For me, it is payback time to the station that gave me the opportunity to appear on television. If you can still remember, my first big break was in the weekly musical variety show R.S.V.P., in the early 90s. There, my character Cheenie La Chika became popular.” Apart from R.S.V.P. the 55-year-old comedienne also appeared in other hit shows on GMA-7. She became a co-host in the noontime shows Lunch Date (1991 to 1993), and SST: Salo-Salo Together (1994 to 1995) .

SHTICKS

AiAi Delas Alas further cemented her Kapuso roots as she signs a 5-year contract with GMA Artist Center.

She also starred in the sitcom 1 For 3 along with Vic Sotto and Rosanna Roces before she moved to ABS-CBN sometime in 1998. “Then, as everybody knows, I came back to the Kapuso fold in 2015 until now,” she says. The topnotch comedienne feels proud that she signed a management contract with GMAAC. “This is where my career as an entertainer really started. It is also very timely that they are celebrating their 70th anniversary. That’s why my signing up with their talent management agency is a fitting tribute to the network which first saw my potential,” she states. “I’ve been in the ‘biz for thirty years already and I have plans to semi-retire. That’s why I decided to come back to my original home where I began my career as an entertainer and which had a huge contribution to what I am now,” she ends. *** In a recent online interview, Pia Wurtzbach revealed that she has no communication with Bea Alonzo who can be considered her contemporary in showbiz. Both of them were products of Star Magic. While Bea was part of Batch 10, Pia was with Batch 11. They also happened to work in the now-defunct teen drama series, K2BU, along with Shaina Magdayao and Angeline Aguilar. “Of course, it’s understandable that we lost communication since we trekked different paths since then. She honed her craft and became a premiere actress while I concentrated on becoming a beauty queen,” she says. According to the Miss Universe 2015 winner, the last time she saw Bea was at the 2019 Star Magic Ball. “But it was very brief—I didn’t get to come close to say ‘Hi!’ to her, although I would like to greet and speak to her and reconnect again if she’s up to it.” Pia belie the rumors saying she’s jealous of Bea of what she has achieved in her acting career. “When I joined Binibining Pilipinas, I haven’t thought of acting anymore. It’s more like, I’ve already resigned to that fact. One more thing, it’s been a long time. I had a different focus,” she clarifies. “I think it all started when my life story was featured in Maalaala Mo Kaya in 2017 where Liza Soberano gave life to my character. I guess people got the impression that I was jealous or mad at her, but of course, it’s not true!” According to Pia, she has no reason to feel that way. “Everyone knows how good an actress Bea is. She’s really good. I can’t compete in that department. Anyway, I also had a different but wonderful journey in the field of beauty pageants,” she ends.

OPM, PAMI, labor group appeal ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal in Congress THE Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), Professional Artists Managers, Inc. (PAMI) and labor center Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) asked lawmakers to consider the livelihood of affected workers and grant the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN during the House panel hearing held on June 30. OPM president Ogie Alcasid said the group enjoined ABSCBN in its plea for a renewed franchise as the network has been instrumental for many local artists to achieve their potential and help alleviate their families’ lives through its various programs and platforms. “ABS-CBN provides music platforms to help local singers and songwriters to showcase their created content,” he said. Professional Artist Managers, Inc. (PAMI) president June Rufino also sought the Congress’ consideration of the livelihood of its members and their families. “It is our humble plea to the honorable franchise committee to find it in your hearts and consciousness the future of over 5,000 families who are dependent and hopeful for your affirmative decision on the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN,” Rufino urged. “Without the production employment from ABS-CBN, a significant number of taxpaying Filipino artists will be burdened by their subsequent loss of income,” she added. Meanwhile, ABS-CBN COO for broadcast Cory Vidanes shared how the network’s workers continue to support the company’s fight to renewal amid the fears of losing their jobs. “Ang mga Kapamilya namin ay puno ng pangamba at takot para sa kinabukasan nila at ng kanilang pamilya. Pero patuloy po sila na nagdadasal, sumusuporta, at umaasa na marenew ang aming franchise para po makasigurado sa kinabukasan ng kanilang mga pamilya,” she said. In the same hearing, Sentro proposed to include pro-worker provisions in the network’s franchise renewal and expressed that the threat of retrenchment among the affected workers is inhumane.

“Naniniwala po kami na dapat natin itong ituloy para pagusapan din ang kapakananan ng mga kasalukuyang empleyado ng ABS-CBN Corporation. Ang magkaroon ng aabot sa 11,000 na manggagawa na humaharap sa pangamba sa kanilang kabuhayan sa gitna ng isang pandemya, sa aming pananaw, ay isang immoral, hindi makatao, at simpleng maling pangayayari,” Sentro campaign officer Benjamin Miguel Alvero said.

OPM president Ogie Alcasid

I will release because this is the genre that I know which fits my voice and I’m most comfortable with,” Jake revealed. The new song, composed by Gab Tagadtad and also produced by Jonathan, talks about someone having difficulties of going through a break up he caused and elicits feelings of regret and hopes for a second chance. Meanwhile, a documentary based on Jake’s life recently triumphed in this year’s US International Film and Video Festival. The video, titled Jake and Charice, received the Gold Camera award for the documentary under the social issues category of the global award-giving body. It takes viewers on the Kapamilya singer’s journey from being known as Charice—the first Asian artist to have a Billboard top 10 hit—to coming out as a transgender man now known as Jake Zyrus. The video documented his life-changing decision, the new challenges he faced, and his courage towards finding his own voice. Jake and Charice was produced by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and Documentary Japan in association with NHK Enterprises, and co-produced by ABS-CBN. It premiered in Japan in November 2019.

Playing it by ear

MyTunes music magazine will feature the author’s band The Pub Forties on its maiden issue, with their single ‘Next Big Thing’ among songs that passed through a chord picker’s ear.

IF YOU are a Filipino musician or a music enthusiast, chances are you’re used to hearing or uttering yourself the words cifra and oido - two words likely to be misspelled or mispronounced. Their usage though, at least to us Filipinos, is as clear as the cloudless sky. In street parlance, musicians will ask coplayers, “paki-cifra ng kantang ito” to imply that the track needed to be learned every note, or as heard on the master version. On the other hand, unstudied musicians will claim themselves to be oido (pronounced as wee-do) to denote their nature to play by ear. Since many of us neither went to formal music school nor read musical notations, yet known for being musically-inclined, we are a nation of oidos. These two oft-used words pop up quite a lot in my recent conversations with Ronnie Vivar, a veteran music scribe associated with good ol’ songhits where readers get to enjoy printed lyrics of songs of their favorite artists, with corresponding guitar chords. As content creator, he, partnered with a graphics expert and helped by a host of consultants in the music industry, is coming out with MyTunes music magazine that promises “chord-accurate songs based on original audio material.” He said, “From the intro to its finality, we got it covered. From current to recurrent music, we will have it.” Somehow he had to dig through to establish his point, expressing, “We’ve

had enough of hastily commissioned cifra jobs in the past. It’s really disappointing when you try to strum a song and YUGEL the chord placements LOSORATA are faulty and the chords themselves are wrong or off-key.” Ronnie noted he’s particular with what he calls “the skeleton of the whole song,” further commenting, “I hate cifra efforts na hindi mo na alam saan ka pupunta after a stanza, or chorus, or bridge, or adlib. I am correcting those mistakes in this song magazine.” True to his word, Ronnie asked for the lyrics of my band The Pub Forties’ digital single “Next Big Thing,” which he said he intended to feature in the song magazine’s upcoming first issue. He picked the correct chords as I wrote it and properly placed them up to the final lyric. Sharp ears! MyTunes is described as a “coffee table book-type digital songhits.” It will contain what for Ronnie are old reliables like chord charts, guitar guides, and informative articles. He implied that the project hopes to apply the lessons of the past when, in his words, “the medium became just another conduit for press release material rather than a reliable source for music and guitar play.” He added that “some handlers meddled in editorial affairs it compromised content.” Well, sounds like Ronnie is playing it by ear in this “new normal” with an eye for ground-breaking progression.

Kathryn finds partner to help perform at her best GATORADE Ion takes a step further into promoting important hydration reminder to all Filipinos by officially welcoming Kathryn Bernardo to its ranks as its newest brand ambassador in a catch-up session on Instagram Live on June 20. “I’m so happy and very honored to be the newest endorser for Gatorade Ion,” said Bernardo. “I believe hydration is very important for anyone, especially in a warm country like the Philippines where everyone is always on-the-go. Gatorade Ion is the best way to help us avoid the dangers of being dehydrated. It is in citrus quench in flavor, which makes it so refreshing on a hot day. It’s my new favorite go-to drink, I swear.” “We’re really excited to have Kathryn aboard for Gatorade Ion,” said IC Sta. Maria, PepsiCo Philippines Marketing Manager for Hydration. “Regular hydration every day is a must, and with her lifestyle, Kathryn is the ideal person to promote the benefits of staying hydrated.” The catch-up session with Bernardo, hosted by her good friend and fellow

Kathryn Bernardo is the face of Gatorade Ion’s hydration campaign.

celebrity Robi Domingo, revealed that she had taken advantage of the quarantine to pursue new activities, such as baking, watching K-dramas, and learning to play the piano, just to name a few. And she also even gave a special message to boyfriend Daniel Padilla, who takes care of Bernardo and her family during the quarantine by bringing them goods and groceries. “Hindi enough ang thank you. Grabe lang yung alaga niya [sa aming lahat]. Hindi siya nagkulang—siya talaga yung nagse-set ng bar. I’m really thankful.”

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE

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THE BEST FOR HER GIRLS.

Mom of two Andi Manzano does her best to choose better options, such as organic food, for her daughters. (Photo from @ andimanzano / Instagram)

HOUSEHOLD

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020

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ADIO jockey and mom of two Andi Manzano started adapting to an organic lifestyle when she and husband GP Reyes had their first daughter, Olivia.

She mostly did her own research and listened to other moms on how to live healthier. She asked her fellow moms for their recommendations and drew inspiration from seeing the transition that they have made. Going organic, for the 33-year-old mommy, means she had to know what she serves on the table—the process, and how it is free from chemical pesticides, antibiotics, and added sugars. “I started looking at labels, the food sources, etc.,” she shared. “It gives you peace of mind knowing that whatever you ate, drank, or put in your body comes from the ground and [has] no chemicals.” Manzano slowly started adding more greens and fruits on her plate and had a conscious effort of looking for healthier options to serve at home. “I would get organic peanut butter instead of what was on the shelves and if we could make it from scratch, then the better,” she shared. Because she believes kids see what grownups do, Manzano strives

Andi Manzano on choosing organic for her kids to lead by example. “In order for Olivia to eat more vegetables and fruits, we had to show her that we, her parents, love eating them too.” While eating more greens is a good start, she knows going organic is not just limited to changing the family’s diet. For Manzano, gradually integrating naturally made products into the household can also make a huge difference in reducing the amount of toxins and chemicals in the environment. For example, using handmade soaps instead of the bottled ones, or using citronella plants as natural mosquito repellants are simple ways to lessen chemicals and integrate more nature into the household. But before she became the mom that she is today, Manzano has admittedly always thought that going organic was beyond their budget and that organic products would be difficult to find. Later on, she found out that the prices of organic products

were not much of a difference compared to the commercial ones. She also discovered there are several businesses that sell organic produce. Manzano reveals she doesn’t exclusively serve organic food to her family, however, she chooses organic when it comes to her eldest daughter’s milk. After doing a thorough research and consulting fellow moms, she discovered Promil Organic. Made by Wyeth Nutrition, Promil Organic is made with 100 percent organic milk sourced from certified organic dairy farms. It is certified organic by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines Inspection and Services, Inc., and is the only organic formula milk in the Philippines intended for preschoolers aged 3 and above that contains DHA and AA—important nutrients that help support children’s brain development.

SHOPPING

Where did Filipinos spend their money while in quarantine Andi and her daughter Olivia

7-11 day extended for two weeks THIS year’s July 11 celebration of convenience store 7-Eleven is happening for two weeks, with big sale and exclusive deals available from July 1 to 14. “We prepared our big 7-Eleven birthday week with our customers in mind,” says Jose Victor Paterno, president and chief executive of Philippine Seven Corporation. “Giving promos and discounts on basic essentials—it’s our own little way to help consumers save during this time.” From July 1 to July 14, soaps, deodorant, detergents, batteries, and other select essentials are offered 30 percent off. Prices of select chocolate, biscuit, cookie, juice, and other

snack brands are slashed by 30 percent as well. Come July 7 to 11, discount goes up to 50 percent. Meanwhile on July 9-11, every purchase of one-piece Crunch Time Fried Chicken comes with a free 12 oz. Gulp. On July 6-11, every purchase of Crunch Time Crunch Carrier six-piece chicken via CLiQQ app will get free onepiece fried chicken. Customers can opt for a cashless payment method via CLiQQ app or GCash, available in all 7-Eleven stores. For the complete list of sale items, go to www.7-eleven.com.ph/ whatsnew/711-day-2020.

FILIPINOS who shopped online during the quarantine spent their money on vitamins, personal hygiene products, and items intended to make staying at home more comfortable. Online rewards platform ShopBack revealed that in May this year, while most parts of the country was under enhanced community quarantine, consumers who used its service ordered a total of 2.1 million items or P1 billion worth of products from partner merchants. Majority of ShopBack transactions was a list of daily essentials such as rubbing alcohol, vitamins and supplements, mom and baby products, and home furniture and appliances. Food deliveries and grocery orders came in second alongside home disinfecting products. According to ShopBack, food and grocery transactions have increased in quantity as well as order value. Compared to 2019 data, the average order value has increased by about 30 percent and still continues to increase month on month. ShopBack rewards users who shop or book

purchases through the program with varying percentage of rebates. It was first launched in Singapore in 2014, and has since expanded to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and here in the Philippines. “Filipino consumers are very smart and constantly looking for the best deals and delivery opportunities. At ShopBack, we always aim to provide the best value for money to our users and help them earn their money back when they spend online,” ShopBack Philippines country manager Prashant Kala said in a statement. Last month, a total of P9.9 million of cashback was given back to ShopBack users. Bigger savings are in store during its 5th anniversary celebration this July.

Pottery Barn, West Elm now available online HOME furnishing items from Williams Sonoma brands Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm can now be ordered online. Shoppers at Rustans.com can purchase

Haven 2-Piece Terminal Chaise Sectional Special promos on purchases of Crunch Time, City Blends, and other 7-Eleven products are available on July 1-14. Ava Dinner Bowl

table settings, entertaining sets, and from Pottery Barn Kids, and dining and handcrafted glazed stoneware from bar tools from West Elm, and have them Pottery Barn; pillows, sheets, and quilts delivered straight to their doorsteps.