Manila Standard - 2021 April 10 - Saturday by Manila Standard

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PH, US tackle China moves

Top envoys reaffirm mutual defense pact, take on Asian hate crime By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz

OP Philippine and US diplomats discussed the swarming of Chinese militia vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s defense obligation to its oldest military ally in Asia.

Blinken gave this assurance during a phone conversation with his counterpart Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Friday. “Substantive conversation today

CHINA DIGGING UP MATERIALS FROM PH, SAYS GROUP

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with my Philippine counterpart, [Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr.], discussing our concerns with People’s Republic of China militia vessels in the South Next page

VOL. XXXV • NO. 54 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Claimants

Map indicates areas where countries are staking their claim in the vast expanse of South China Sea/West Philippines Sea. (Inset) A screen grab from the video showing a Chinese patrol vessel, a Houbei Type 22 fast attack craft, approaching a Filipino vessel with an ABS-CBN news team on board in the West Philippine Sea Thursday, April 8, 2021.

Filipino boat Deaths, active cases pile up but OCTA pushes MECQ chased by Sinos; AFP sets probe By Willie Casas

THE Philippines on Friday logged a record high of 401 deaths in a single day due to COVID-19 as active cases shot up to 178,351, also a record high. As cases continued to increase, the OCTA Research Group said the government should impose a two-week modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to “sustain the gains” made over the previous weeks if the ECQ imposed on NCR Plus cannot be sustained. Prof. Ranjit Rye of OCTA said the COVID-19 situation in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal —called NCR Plus — is “not yet ideal

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday it was investigating a report that Chinese military boats pursued a civilian vessel carrying Filipino journalists in the disputed South China Sea. A television crew from ABS-CBN was traveling to Second Thomas Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands on Thursday when their vessel was allegedly chased by a Chinese Coast Guard boat and two attack craft. Tensions over the resource-rich sea have spiked in recent weeks after hundreds of Chinese vessels were detected at the Julian Felipe (Whitsun Reef), which is also in the Spratly archipelago.

MODERN DAY HEROES. As the

nation marked the Day of Valor, frontline workers such as doctors, nurses and their kind, and even soldiers, cops and local officials including village watchmen could be considered heroes of the modern day given their sacrifices and bravery in the war against COVID-19, an unseen yet deadly enemy.

Specialist eases fears of vax-induced blood clot : Rare case By Willie Casas AN INFECTIOUS disease specialist and member of the Philippines’ vaccine expert panel has sought to allay fears after the Philippines stopped the

use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine following rare cases of blood clots reported abroad. Dr. Rontgene Solante said the suspension of the UK-made jab, once hailed as a milestone in the fight against the pan-

FRANCE APPROVES MIXED VACCINE DOSES

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demic, was only temporary. “This is part of the process when we approved the EUA for this vaccine. If there are safety signals, our local experts will have to review it so we can determine if it’s not unsafe in our vaccination,” Solante

Teamwork makes House productive – Romualdez

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 9)

840,554 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

12,225 178,351 NEW

ACTIVE

14,520

401

647,683

946

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

‘Special permit for ivermectin per patient only’ By Willie Casas

told Teleradyo’s “Sakto.” The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine obtained regulatory approval in the Philippines on January 28 but has been recently hit with safety concerns abroad. Next page

FORMER Health Secretary Dr. Paulyn Ubial on Friday said the Food and Drug Administration’s compassionate use permit for anti-parasitic drug iver ivermectin should be issued per patient. In an interview with Balitanghali, Ubial ex explained the permit issued to the hospital did not give them “blanket author authorNext page

By Maricel V. Cruz MAJORITY Leader Martin Romualdez said Friday his House col-leagues’ demonstration of teamwork as well as the efficient and professional help provided by the legislative staff enabled the 18th Next page

Rody hails frontline workers as soldiers of war on COVID By Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz and Willie Casas PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte paid tribute Friday to the country’s “selfless and dedicated” COVID-19 pandemic frontliners who likened Next page

Prince Philip of UK passes away at 99 BRITAIN’S Prince Philip, a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth II’s side for decades, died Friday at age 99, Buckingham Palace announced. Next page

News

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH, US... From A1 China Sea and our efforts to combat anti-Asian hate and violence,” Blinken posted on Twitter. In a separate statement, US State Department spokesman Ned Price disclosed that during the talks, Blinken “reaffirmed the applicability of the 1951 US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty to the South China Sea.” “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin, Jr. Both expressed their shared concerns with the massing of PRC maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, including at Whitsun Reef, and reiterated their calls on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to abide by the 2016 arbitration ruling issued pursuant to the Law of the Sea Convention,” the US State Department spokesman said. Price was referring to the July 2016 Arbitral Award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines that invalidated China’s expansive nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. China refused to recognize the arbitral ruling. “We will always stand by our allies and stand up for the rules-based international order,” Price said. He stressed that an armed attack against the Philippine military, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea, “will trigger our obligations under US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.”

The MDT, a deal signed by Manila and Washington in 1952, provides that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either the Philippines or the US would be dangerous and that they would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with their constitutional processes. The two top diplomats also discussed the rising anti-Asian hate attacks in the United States and what the Biden administration was doing to combat them. A series of anti-Asian attacks has recently been reported in the US, including the latest incident involving a 65-year-old Filipino-American woman in New York. Locsin on Friday clarified that only an armed attack on a Philippine public vessel can trigger the United States obligations under the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty. “Wrong vessel. MDT triggered only by an attack on a PH public vessel,” Locsin posted on his Twitter account. Locsin made the statement following reports that armed Chinese ships chased away a Filipino vessel carrying a news crew in the West Philippine Sea. A public vessel refers to a vessel owned or bareboat chartered and operated by the Philippine government. The Armed Forces of the Philippines, under the direction of the Department of National Defense, said it would investigate the incident, which prompted Locsin to urge the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to immediately agree on the adoption of the proposed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea “whereby all parties, China included, accept restraints.” “As China coordinator, the Philip-

pines insists on ASEAN cooperation and no dilly-dallying which is what’s happening. Covid is no excuse,” Locsin said. Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel on Friday called for joint naval war games between the Philippines and the United States and the signing a new “Manila Declaration” strongly renewing the allegiance of the two countries to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). “We should have another Manila Declaration, considering China’s plan to occupy more areas in the West Philippine Sea that are clearly within our 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone,” Pimentel, House strategic intelligence committee chairman, said. Ten years ago, the Philippines and the US signed the Manila Declaration, which reaffirmed their commitment to the treaty that binds the two countries to support and defend each other militarily. The 2011 declaration was signed by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the deck of the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald docked in Manila. Pimentel, a backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), also pushed for the conduct of joint naval exercises between the Philippines and the US “to improve coordination between our warships.” “We should have annual training maneuvers to enhance the capabilities of our new Rizal class guided missile frigates and AW159 Wildcat naval choppers,” Pimentel said.

“The regular drills will also heighten the maritime domain awareness of our naval commanders as well as the interoperability of our combat ships,” Pimentel said. US President Joseph Biden, in his first major foreign policy speech in February, called America’s alliances around the world its “greatest asset” and vowed to stand shoulder to shoulder with partners. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III had also reiterated America’s commitment to the 70-year-old MDT and the VFA in an introductory phone conversation with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. On Friday, the South China Morning Post reported that the US has stepped up its military presence in the South China Sea, reportedly sending an amphibious assault vessel to the disputed waters amid heightened tensions in the region. Satellite data showed that the USS Makin Island amphibious-ready group (ARG) travelled through the Strait of Malacca into the contentious waters from late on Wednesday until the early hours of Thursday, the Post said, quoting the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative. The group included amphibious assault ship the USS Makin Island and the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego, the think tank said. Sailors on the USS Makin Island were conducting “a live-fire training exercise”, the US Indo-Pacific Command tweeted on Thursday, along with a hashtag calling for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Specialist... From A1

Filipino... From A1

Europe’s medicines regulator said it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients of the shot, although the vaccine’s advantages still outweighed its risks. Some countries reported isolated cases of bleeding, blood clots and a low platelet count in millions of adults who received the shot. Solante said those who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine without experiencing any adverse effect would continue to receive the shot. There will also be ample time for the review of the vaccine before the schedule of the second dose, he added.

China, which claims almost the entirety of the sea, has refused repeated appeals by the Philippines to withdraw the vessels, which Manila says unlawfully entered its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “The AFP expresses concern over the report of an alleged harassment by Chinese PLA Navy vessels and a Chinese Coast Guard vessel as reported by a team of journalist(s) on board a watercraft within our EEZ,” said Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “Through the AFP’s Western Command, we are conducting investigation and verifications to establish what transpired.” ABS-CBN said the vessel carrying its TV crew was asked by a Chinese Coast Guard boat to identify itself. The Filipino boat turned around and the Chinese vessel gave chase, it said. “CCG 5101 slowed down and turned away after an hour to the relief of the Filipino crew, who by this time had been following a straight path back to mainland Palawan,” ABS-CBN reported. “However, two smaller, faster vessels emerged in the horizon, apparently giving chase to the Filipino boat,” it said. “Within minutes, the unique shape and design of the Houbei Type 22 missile fast attack craft became visible. The two missile-capable boats resumed the chase.” Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., whose department vowed recently to lodge a daily diplomatic protest until China withdraws its vessels from Philippine waters, said the report was “worrisome.” “It seems — please verify — AB-

SCBN crew weren’t in a boat they hired (inviting risk) but in a passenger boat,” Locsin said on Twitter. “Now that’s a whole other banana; the state is sworn to protect the Philippine public. And you don’t give chase; you use your bullhorn to warn off.” In a phone call on Friday, Locsin and his US counterpart Antony Blinken expressed concern over the presence of Chinese “maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea, including at Whitsun Reef” according to the US State Department readout. The United States reminded China on Wednesday of Washington’s treaty obligations to the Philippines in the event of an attack in the waters. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday the United States should “stop sowing discord” and allow regional countries to settle “their differences between themselves”. Arevalo said the AFP has already made representations with the ABSCBN news reporter involved to provide them with raw footage or photographs of the incident to help the military establish the circumstances and document the incident. While he understands journalists’ desire to keep the public informed, Arevalo also urged them to exercise prudence in the performance of their jobs. Arevalo added that the AFP has accommodated members of the media in military ships and aircraft to do their coverage so they can be protected while in the practice of their profession. Malacanang was mum on the incident. Asked to comment on the incident, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told reporters to pose their questions to the Foreign Affairs and Defense departments. According to a report from the ABS

CBN news, the Chinese Navy deployed two missile attack craft to chase down a Filipino vessel in the West Philippine Sea Thursday. It was the first recorded use of Chinese military vessels against civilians since the West Philippine Sea controversy began. The news team aboard was traveling across various reefs and shoals in the West Philippine Sea close to the mainland of Palawan to see where Filipino fishermen have moved their livelihood after Chinese vessels occupied their former fishing grounds.. The civilian vessel was four miles from the entrance of Ayungin Shoal which is inside the country’s exclusive economic zone when a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel chased them. The Chinese ship followed the Filipino ship on its path home to mainland Palawan for an hour, getting so close that bow number 5101 was visible to the naked eye. The vice chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on national defense on Friday condemned the harassment of a Filipino civilian vessel in Philippine waters by Chinese forces, calling the incident unacceptable. Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon said he would be filing a resolution next week “to express the sense of House in protesting and condemning the harassment of Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.” “This disrespect of Filipinos on the eve of the country’s commemoration of The Day of Valor is unacceptable,” he added. Biazon said the “manifest bullying” by the Chinese Coast Guard and Navy was “the height of Chinese arrogance and hypocrisy” since they always call on other nations to practice respect and promote peace in those waters. With AFP

by the then DOH Secretary Juan Flavier, stating the guidelines on issuing compassionate special permit for restricted use of unregistered drug and device product or preparation. “Definitely, yes. It actually started with Administrative Order 4. I think that was in 1992 or 1993, issued by Secretary Flavier. It was amended last year by [DOH] Secretary [Francisco] Duque,” Garin told CNN Philippines when asked if FDA could be held liable over its decision. “It’s very clear in the guidelines.. the issuance of CSP for ivermectin is way beyond what is bounded in that...” she added. In a related development, the effectivity of anti-parasitic drug ivermectin in treating COVID-19 is not backed by data, an

infectious disease expert said on Friday. “Ivermectin is very popular in South America where it is used for worms. A lot of countries started it using it out of desperation. Clearly, the controlled data, the data studies that are coming out really don’t show that it’s working,” Dr. Edsel Salvana told ANC. “Early data showed that maybe it works in a Petri dish, maybe it works in certain subsets of patients, but when they did the big clinical trials with proper controls for any kind of bias, it turns out it doesn’t work,” Salvana said. Several groups continue to advocate for its use. However, the World Health Organization has warned against the use of ivermectin in patients with COVID-19

except for clinical trials because of inconclusive evidence. The UN health agency’s recommendation followed the European Medicines Agency’s warning against the drug. The US Food and Drug Administration has also said it was not recommended for COVID-19 treatment. In a separate message to reporters, Garin said a CSP was being granted to a specialized institution or a specialty society, adding there must be an ongoing Phase 3A trial in other countries or the country of origin before a CSP would be granted. “It should also be clear if the CSP is for a clinical trial, who is the principal investigator, who are the subjects and what are the scientific basis of such and what does the trial intend to achieve/answer,” she said.

Congress to surpass the performance of past congresses in terms of productivity and number of legislative measures approved. Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines College of Law, made the statement in response to queries from graduating students of the University of Mindanao College of Law about his role as House Majority Leader in ensuring the swift approval of President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda during the Abogadong Dabawenyo Kapihan via Zoom. Based on official records, Romualdez recalled the 18th Congress exceeded the record of the 17th Congress for the First Regular Session in terms of the total approved measures and total bills processed. Records bared that the number of approved measures during the First. Regular Session in the 18th Congress is 34 percent higher than the 290 approved measures in the previous Congress for the same period. On the other hand, the total measures processed for the same period was also higher by 31 percent compared with the 1,247 measures processed in the 17th Congress.

in us a greater sense of patriotism and solidarity during these trying times,” he said. The President also honored the country’s fallen soldiers “whose sacrifice became the bedrock of our resolve to uphold our most cherished liberties.” The valor of our forebears, which was exhibited during the defense of Bataan almost eight decades ago, has left an indelible mark in our history and shaped our indomitable spirit to rise after every fall,” he added. “May this awareness resonate among us as we strive to become worthy heirs to the nation that they fought and bled for,” Duterte said. April 9 marks The Philippines’s 79th Day of Valor, honoring Filipino

and American soldiers who fought in Bataan during World War II. In the House of Representatives, Speaker Lord Alan Velasco honored the heroism of Filipino troops who fought the Japanese invaders tenaciously in Bataan and Corregidor during World War II. “We are one with the nation as we commemorate Araw ng Kagitingan, or Day of Valor, to honor the heroism of our kababayan who bravely and selflessly fought for peace during World War II. This grateful country will forever be indebted to their supreme sacrifice in defense of the motherland so that we and future generations of Filipinos may live in freedom,” Velasco said in a statement.

Blood clots

Cases of rare blood clots were reported among recipients younger than 60 years old and usually occurred two weeks after the vaccination. “Let’s assure the public that if you received the first dose and you got past the second week, it seems like you are safe from the complications reported in other countries,” he said. The Philippines on Thursday suspended the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for those 60 years old and younger due to reports of rare blood clots in some individuals who received the product abroad. The Philippines received 565,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX Facility. It is the second vaccine brand delivered to the Philippines, after China’s Sinovac, the rollout of both had already commenced. With AFP

‘Special... From A1 ity” to use ivermectin on other patients. “The compassionate use application is per patient, and it is commonly issued to a hospital because the consideration is for every patient. It is not a blanket authority,” she said. But Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, a former Department of health Secretary, said the Food and Drug Administration could be held liable for granting “compassionate use” of anti-parasitic drug ivermectin against COVID-19 to a certain hospital. In a television interview, Garin mentioned Administrative Order 4, issued

Prince... From A1 The death of the Duke of Edinburgh is a profound loss for the 94-year-old monarch, who once described him as her “strength and stay all these years.” The outspoken former navy commander devoted much of his life as the queen’s consort to charity work – but was notorious for numerous gaffes, many deemed downright offensive. He was admitted to hospital on February 16, 2021, and went home after a month during which he was treated for a pre-existing heart condition and an infection. Announcing his passing, BBC television played the national anthem over a

picture of Philip in his prime, dressed in military dress uniform Philip, who was by the queen’s side for nearly eight decades, retired from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96. His death came just months before his 100th birthday in June – an event typically marked in Britain with a congratulatory message from the queen, who is now Britain’s longest-serving monarch. The couple, who celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in November, had been living largely in isolation at Windsor Castle, west of London, because their advanced age put them at heightened risk from COVID-19. Philip and the queen received their first vaccinations against the virus in January. AFP

Rody... From A1 them as the soldiers who fought for the country’s freedom in his Araw ng Kagitingan message. Duterte also called on all Filipinos to exhibit a “greater sense of patriotism and solidarity,” especially now that the country was still grappling with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “As we continue to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, we take a moment to honor the fortitude displayed by our selfless and dedicated frontliners whose unrelenting commitment in this fight reflects the heroism of the warriors of Bataan that continues to inspire

Deaths,... From A1 for opening up.” Rye said the reproduction number of the coronavirus remains above 1. This means each COVID-19 case can still infect more than one other person, and the average number of daily new cases continues to be “very high.” Malacañang earlier said it was unlikely that the ECQ would be extended past April 11. The Department of Health said that the loosening of restrictions will be gradual, with MECQ imposed first instead of jumping straight to general community quarantine, a less stringent classification that allows more economic activity. The government’s inter-agency COVID-19 task force will meet on Saturday to discuss the quarantine restrictions over NCR Plus. On Friday, the DOH logged 12,225 new COVID-19 cases, bringing total infections to 840,554. The new fatalities brought the COVID-19 death toll to 14,520, which was 1.73 percent of all infections. The DOH also reported 946 patients recently recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 647,683, which was 77.1 percent of the total. Active cases represented 21.2 percent of the total cases. Of the active cases, 97.5 percent were mild; 1.4 percent were asymptomatic; 0.4 percent were critical; 0.5 percent were severe; and 0.27 percent were moderate. A total of 10 laboratories were not able to submit their data on time. Nationwide, 63 percent of the ICU beds are in use; 50 percent of the isolation beds are in use; 50 percent of the ward beds are in use; and 46 percent of the ventilators are being used. In Metro Manila, 80 percent of the ICU beds are in use; 72 of the isolation beds are in use; 58 percent of the ward beds are in use; and 60 percent of the ventilators are being used. Hospitals in the capital region continue to be overwhelmed with fresh COVID-19 admissions, despite nearly two weeks under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which was imposed in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan. The government is also distributing modular tents to struggling hospitals and re-deploying health workers from regions where virus transmission rates are low. World Health Organization Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe earlier told the government to focus and improve its virus response amid the spike of infections, and that it should not solely depend on COVID-19 vaccines.

Teamwork... From A1

News

SATURDAY, APRIL 10 , 2021

Complaints against court staff sent to high court By Rey E. Requejo The Department of Justice-led Task Force Against Corruption has also received complaints of corruption involving court personnel, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday. He says the 274 complaints received by the DOJ-TFAC include allegations of corruption against some court personnel that the task force has already forwarded to the Supreme Court for action, particularly its newly activated Judicial Integrity Board that has exclusive jurisdiction over the corruption cases against court personnel. “The last time I checked, it was less than five [complaints] and involved low-ranking court personnel only. I suppose people generally know where to complain if the persons involved are judges or justices,” Guevarra said when asked if some of the complaints involved justices and judges. Last year, the high court activated its JIB, which, together with the Corruption Prevention and Investigation Office, was created in 2018 to probe the so-called misfits in the judiciary. The JIB is led by retired SC Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr. as its chairperson with retired SC Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval Gutierrez as vice chairperson. “The JIB can receive administrative complaints or disciplinary actions against either the Presiding Justices and Associate Justices of the appellate courts and Judges of the lower courts, as well as act on complaints or referrals as provided for in Rule 140 of the Rules of Court…” the high court said. The JIB has exclusive jurisdiction over administrative complaints against Court officials with salary Grades 30 and 31, excluding those that are not within the jurisdiction of the JIB regardless of the gravity of the offense; first and second level court judges, including Shari’a District and Circuit Court judges charged with serious charges under Rule 140 of the Rules of Court; and court officials and or employees, with salary Grades 27 to 29 regardless of the gravity of the violation of the ‘Code of Conduct for Court Personnel,’ and of the Civil Service Law and Rules.”

HELP FROM THE HEART. While on patrol, officials of the Philippine Coast Guard Cavite give aid to 33 fishermen they encountered in the province’s waters on April 8.

Monitoring of hog importation urged By Macon Ramos-Araneta

O GUARD against profiteering in the billion-peso pork importation, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Thursday he will file a resolution for the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food to strictly monitor the implementation of Executive Order 128.

“ASF [African Swine Fever] is the root cause of this pork at ang pinaka-ugat nitong shortage. Therefore, pork importation is a stop-gap measure. Pero hindi tayo dapat maging adik sa pag-import ng karne,” said the former food security secretary.

Pangilinan was responding to media queries regarding President Rodrigo Duterte’s EO 128, which he signed Wednesday night, lowering the tariff rates for imported pork to address the pork shortage following the culling of hogs infected

with African swine fever. He made his statement even as Senator Imee Marcos castigated the Department of Agriculture for allegedly crippling the government’s ability to raise muchneeded revenue to cope with the double onslaught of the ASF and Covid-19. She accused the department of giving Duterte “questionable advice” that led to his signing Executive Order 128 on Wednesday, which increases pork import volumes and lowers the tariffs at the same time in a bid to reverse a supply shortage caused by the ASF. “Aren’t we looking for more funding? Where is the much touted whole-of-government approach?” said.

Pangilinan considered as critical a State of Calamity declaration because, he said, that was how to provide meaningful interventions to support local hog raisers. The resolution that Pangilinan is set to file soon will call on the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food “to monitor and exercise its oversight functions over the importation of pork under EO 128.” “We will work to ensure that the importation of a million kilos of pork will not be abused,” Pangilinan said. He spearheaded the call of the Senate for the swift declaration of a State of Calamity that would provide the Department of Agriculture the much needed funds to cushion the effects of the ASF.

Law urged on nuisance candidates By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

DISINFECTION. Officials of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office conduct disinfection and fogging at the Benigno Aquino Elementary School at the Baseco Compound in Port Area, Manila, on Friday. Norman Cruz

WITH only five months before the filing of Certificates of Candidacy for those seeking an elective position in the 2022 national elections, a House leader has asked Congress to prioritize the approval of a bill that would provide a P100,000 fine on nuisance candidates and those conspiring with them for the malicious filing of candidacies during elections. Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, in filing his House Bill 91 two years ago, hopes that Congress could amend the Omnibus Election Code in time for the 2022 presidential elections. Sarmiento has also filed House Bill 92 that would disqualify people convicted of corruption from holding public office, even while an appeal is still pending. Meanwhile, more than a year ahead of the 2022 polls, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has pushed anew for a

COVID opens teens Women of Malabon honored for city’s progress to abuse: PopCom By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE negative impacts of the pandemic on health and wellbeing have spread far and wide among members of the Philippine population, and its adverse effects have crept to the level of Filipino adolescents, according to the Commission on Population and Development’s executive director. Speaking before a global audience at the recent ECOSOC Youth Forum on the occasion of World Health Day, Undersecretary for Population and Development Juan Antonio Perez III said the Philippines, as a country currently under community quarantines, had witnessed the health crisis greatly bearing down on young people’s sexual and reproductive health. In the forum, POPCOM’s head cited numbers from the 2020 study of the University of the Philippines and the United Nations Population Fund, which revealed a 42-percent increase in unintended pregnancies and a 67-percent hike in unmet needs for family planning among Filipino women. From these numbers, he said, more than one out of 10 were still in their teens. “These adolescents have no decisionmaking power, economic independence and autonomy and are considered by many countries as powerless; they face greater risks of repeat pregnancies, and are vulnerable to gender-based violence as well as intergenerational poverty during, and as a result, of their early childbearing,” said Perez of the sector of Philippine society susceptible to the scourge of Covid-19.

THE role of women in Malabon’s progress and transformation was acknowledged during the “Women’s Congress” held by Malabon Gender and Development Center to end this year’s celebration of Women’s Month. Malabon Mayor Lenlen Oreta and District II Councilor Enzo Oreta gave messages of support to the Malabon women.

Lenlen Oreta, who joined the celebration through a short message, emphasized the role of every woman in the betterment of the city. Oreta said she was happy there’s a Women’s Congress where the significant role and contribution of women in the development of Malabon were recognized. Councilor Oreta, chairperson on Women, Family and PWD, encouraged

everyone to rally behind these women and their contribution in attaining progress for the City. “Itong Women’s Congress ay isa ding pagbibigay-pugay sa inyong walang-kapantay na paglilingkod sa inyong kapwa. Lagi pong tandaan na basta’t sama-sama at tulong-tulong, kaya nateng ipagpatuloy ang pag-asenso ng Kababaihang Malabonian.” Enzo Oreta said.

DENR acts on oil spill By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has taken steps to ease the impact of an oil spill off the town of Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, on April 3. “In incidents such as these, our goal is to always protect the ecosystem, the biodiversity it hosts and the people in the area,” Secretary Roy Cimatu said. He says the agency’s Environmental Management Bureau in Region 10 has been working in coordination with the local government of Jasaan and the Philippine Coast Guard to prevent further contamination of the coastal communities. The oil spill resulted from the sinking of the m/vs Racal IV that was docked in a shipyard in the coastal town of Jasaan for five years.

FREE BREAKFAST. Some 93 families or 364 individuals among the fire victims in Dasmariñas Cavite, are given free breakfast from the women’s and children’s protection desk of the Dasmariñas City police. JR Josue

tax exemption on the honoraria, travel allowance and other benefits granted to poll workers, especially the teachers, officials and personnel of the Department of Education. Senate Bill 1193, which Gatchalian filed in 2019, seeks to further amend Section 32 of Republic Act 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, so that poll workers could receive the full amount of their honoraria, travel allowance and other benefits. The proposed measure also seeks to exclude poll workers’ honoraria and allowances from the gross income. A five percent tax is currently imposed on the poll workers’ election honoraria. Sarmiento says the use of nuisance candidates has become a practice by some unscrupulous politicians as part of their ploy to undermine their political rivals. One prevalent modus is to field candidates with full names or surnames that are identical to those of their rivals.

News

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

Full-capacity hospitals add to death toll By Allison Jackson and Cecil Morella ANGELO Barrera’s father struggled to breathe from Covid-19 as he was driven around the Philippine capital in search of a hospital bed. After five hours he got on a waitlist, but died before he could get inside. More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overstretched hospitals and sent the national capital region into lockdown. Long queues at emergency rooms have forced people to drive from one health facility to the next in search of treatment, in a situation described by a hospital official as a “nightmare”. “They went to eight hospitals physically -- it was full capacity everywhere,” said Barrera, who called an additional 20 medical centers during his father’s ordeal last month. The 61-year-old pastor, who had no pre-existing conditions, suddenly collapsed after suffering mild symptoms of the disease for about 10 days. “Admission was full, ER was full and even the waitlist for the ER was full. Some hospitals had told us they had 40 patients waiting to get into the ER,” said Barrera. Eventually, at around 4:00 am, a large private hospital added him to its waitlist for the intensive care unit. He was on a stretcher and hooked up to an oxygen tank in the patient dropoff area outside the packed emergency room when he died, said Barrera, who declined to name his father. “Even though we know the ICU isn’t miraculously going to save him it was still our best shot.” A Covid-19 referral hotline set up during the pandemic to direct the sick to the appropriate hospital has been swamped, unable to handle the hundreds of calls a day to the service. Many have turned to social media to crowdsource information on facilities still accepting patients -- and vent their frustration at the hospital bottlenecks. AFP

’China digging up WPS materials’ A By Rio N. Araja

GROUP of environmentalists on Friday accused China of using the Philippines’ earth materials in reclamation and infrastructure projects in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

ECQ AID. San Juan City

Mayor Francis M. Zamora hands money to elderly women as he leads the first batch of payouts of the ECQ Cash Assistance or ‘ayuda’ at Brgy St. Joseph in San Juan City on Thursday, while a Taguig City worker counts thousand-peso bills for a senior recipient at the Tipas Elementary School in Barangay Ligid Tipas as former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano oversee the distribution (inset). Manny Palmero and Norman Cruz

2k informal workers to be tapped as contact tracers AN ADDITIONAL 2,000 informal sector workers and those who have been displaced by the coronavirus pandemic will be hired through the government’s emergency employment program, a labor official said on Friday. Lawyer Ma. Karina Trayvilla, director of the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), said the possible beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program has been increased to 14,000. “As to the numbers of beneficiar-

ies, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III initially said it is 12,000 for 30 days work. But it increased on Wednesday with an additional 2,000,” she said in a Laging Handa briefing. Trayvilla, meanwhile, said some of the workers might be employed for a longer period based on the request of some local government units. In other developments: - Former Speaker and Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano has appealed to the leadership of the House of Representatives to hold a hearing on the proposed 10K Ayuda Bill so that available funds can be allocated to provide P10,000 in

assistance to each family nationwide. “Why don’t we hold a hearing now so we can look for the money? If we were able to find P500 billion for Bayanihan 1 in the 2020 budget, why wouldn’t we be able to find funds in the 2021 budget which is even bigger?” Cayetano told a radio interview. - The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday stressed that “every centavo” of its P9-billion fund for the establishment of makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients is “accounted for and are available for the public to access.” Willie Casas, Maricel V. Cruz and Vito Barcelo

At a virtual media conference, Villardo Abueme, Homonhon Environmental Rescuers Organization (HERO) president, said China is using earth materials sourced from dredging and mining activities in different parts of the country are reportedly being used in the reclamation and infrastructure projects of China off Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea. He cited the unabated dredging, extraction of sand and filling materials from as far as Cagayan to McArthur, Leyte in the Visayas that continue to destroy the country’s natural resources. “It is very environmentally destructive, unsustainable and deprived local contractors from quality and affordable sand, gravel, aggregates and filling materials,” Abuema said. “This is actually worse than invasion. Literally they are taking Philippine soil out of the country, leaving poor villages, mostly farm communities to pay for the environmental backlash brought by the unsustainable and very destructive extractive activity,” he added. According to HERO, “pillagers of environment” are operating in the Davao region, Central Mindanao, Northern Luzon, and other areas in the Visayas. Abueme urged Senator Risa Hontiveros to investigate and stop the destructive trade. Camilo de Guzman, KALikha University of the Philippines-Diliman chairperson, asserted that “the West Philippine Sea is ours.” “And no aggression from China can say otherwise. We are not for sale, and we will not watch silently while our fisher folks are being driven out of their fishing grounds further into poverty and hunger, especially during a pandemic,” he said. Amid China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea and intrusion of Chinese vessels in the waters off the Julian Felipe Reef, KALikha UP Diliman is set to hold an online forum to discuss various forms of aggression and their implications on national sovereignty.

Cebu Pacific brings jabs to six cities By Joel E. Zurbano

MAYOR’S FIRST. Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian (right) receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday at the People’s Park Amphitheater. Gatchalian called on Valenzuelanos to register at www.valtrace.appcase.net to book their COVID-19 vaccination date, as the VCVax team will now vaccinate persons with comorbidities or A3 in the priority list. Jun David

CEBU Pacific Air (CEB) on Friday assured it will continue assisting the government in bringing vaccine shipments to the Visayas and Mindanao to protect the people in the regions from the deadly coronavirus disease. From April 6 to 9, CEB airlifted about 77,800 doses to six cities in the country -- to Bacolod on April 6; Zamboanga, Tacloban, and Cotabato on April 7; Puerto Princesa on April 8, and Tuguegarao on Friday. CEB aircraft transported around 53,000 doses to Zamboanga and Tuguegarao last month. This week’s batch of consecutive shipments consisted of 7,200 doses to Bacolod, 14,400 doses each to Tacloban and Zamboanga, 34,800 doses to Cotabato, 1,000 doses to Puerto Princesa,

and 6,000 doses to Tuguegarao. “We are glad to actively take part in this national endeavor. These deliveries pave way to the timely and successful rollout of our country’s vaccination program, and we are thankful for our partners’ trust in Cebu Pacific,” said Xander Lao, CEB’s chief strategy officer. All vaccines, upon receipt at the CEB Cargo Warehouse, were kept in a refrigerated storage container, complete with cooling systems to ensure that the condition of the vaccines is preserved up until arrival at the designated destinations. “We look forward to carrying more of these much-needed vaccines to aid in the country’s fight against COVID-19,” said Lao. To date, CEB has already flown a total of 130,800 doses across the Philippines since March 2021.

11,881 Manilans Joy: QC taps city buildings for isolation get jab in 1 day By Willie Casas MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso reported that a total of 11,881 residents were vaccinated on April 8) in the rollout that was done simultaneously in 18 designated sites by the city government, under the direct supervision of Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan, who is also a doctor. Normally, Domagoso said the total vaccinations per day would reach over 8,000. He said the city of Manila has set another record, exceeding its own, in terms of number of residents vaccinated in just one day and remains to lead as the city in the entire nation with the greatest number of those vaccinated so far. Of the 11,881 vaccinated in one day last Thursday, 5,607 were given as first dose for seniors; 3,913 as first dose for persons aged 18 to 59 with comorbidities and 2,361 also as first dose for medical workers. The grand total of persons vaccinated since the program began last month has now reached 63,346 covering medical and health frontliners, senior citizens and those aged 18 to 59 with comorbidities.

TO address the high number of COVID-19 cases and the full capacity of hospitals, the Quezon City government has started identifying existing buildings that can be transformed into isolation facilities. Mayor Joy Belmonte said local government infrastructure, public school buildings, and even dormitories are currently being considered, evaluated, and retrofitted into isolation or quarantine facilities to help reduce the coronavirus transmission in communities, as well as decongest emergency rooms and other hospital facilities. “This is the fastest way to decongest our hospitals while also mitigating further spread in the barangays. Since asymptomatic or those with mild symptoms do not need extensive medical care, they can be admitted in these facilities until their full recovery,” she said.

Medical workers would also be assigned to closely monitor the patients. The City Architect’s Office, Office of the Secretary to the Mayor and City Health Department are continuously evaluating possible isolation sites to complete the target of 1,000 new beds. Other buildings would also be used as quarters of health-care workers. According to Belmonte, three buildings at the Quezon City University shall be reopened as isolation and quarantine facilities. In partnership with the Philippine Red Cross, Philippine Medical Association and Department of Public Works and Highways, the city government would transform the Kamia Residence Hall at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus to a 282-bed facility to cater to COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. Rio N. Araja

PULILAN’S PARTNER. The Pulilan local government unit has inoculated 494 individuals recently at SM Center Pulilan as one of its official vaccination site partners. Around 600 persons are scheduled to be vaccinated on April 14 and 16. Likewise, community vaccination of select barangays is scheduled to take place at SM Center Pulilan in the coming weeks. Jun David

UP, DLSU brains invent COVID-19 vaccine queue calculator By Ronald O. Reyes

A UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) engineer and a De La Salle University (DLSU) researcher have invented a coronavirus disease vaccine queue calculator to help Filipinos “see if the national vaccination plan is being followed.” “As the Philippines begins its Covid-19 vaccinations… a question still lingers in

millions of minds like mine – How far in the queue am I? I tried searching for an answer but ended up building a tool that calculates it instead,” said Kenneth Alambra, a civil engineer from the UPLos Baños. “Since there are around 110 million people in the Philippines, not everybody can get vaccinated immediately. It raises a whole load of new questions: Who will be

first in the queue to get the vaccine? When are you likely to be offered it? How far are we away from the finish line?” he asked. Alambra, together with his researcher friend Reina Sagnip from DLSU-Manila, created the Philippine VaccineQueue Calculator for the Omni Calculator Project, based on the national priority list released by the government. “We created this calculator to deliver

all the answers to all these crucial questions. The Vaccine Queue Calculator for the Philippines will estimate for you how many people are ahead of you in the queue to get a Covid vaccine in the Philippines. It also predicts how long you might have to wait to get your vaccine doses. Using our tool, you’ll have a better idea of when you can expect to get vaccinated,” said Alambra.

Opinion A suffering, grieving nation I HAVE lost count of the number of times I have sent messages of condolences to friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and other illnesses that could not be attended to. I am finding it more and more difficult to send notes of encouragement to friends with family members battling this deadly virus. Our health system is ill-prepared for this pandemic, and our healthcare workers are more than overburdened and exhausted. Hospitals are full and hospital beds are premium commodities now. Patients stay in tents outside of hospitals because they have nowhere else to go. Medicines for COVID-19 are not only super-expensive, they have also begun disappearing.

Not even the assurance-throughselﬁe that the country still has a president is helping. Government has once again proven its incompetence in dealing with this problem despite the presence of several czars in our midst, and the sticks-that-get-bigger-by-theday carried by the Health Secretary as he goes around the metro. Not even the assurance-through-selfie that the country still has a president is helping. The feeling of being abandoned by government during this most challenging time is pervasive. As expressed by many, we are now left to our own devices. “Matira ang matibay,” because it looks like we cannot expect anything from government but posturing, ever-changing guidelines that have become hard to follow and understand, delays in action, and even more delays. Filipinos are grieving. Filipinos are desperate. Social media has become a huge obituary. Facebook and Twitter are full of posts of people in grief over the loss of family, sometimes, several family members. I cannot imagine being in their shoes, yet, there is no assurance that I or you will not get the virus despite all the precautions we and our family members are doing. Not a few are furious and blame this administration for their loss. They feel that their loved ones could have had better chances of surviving if only government is responsible enough and truly cares for Filipinos. Many others vent their anger and frustration because of the extreme difficulty in finding care for their suffering loved ones. Gone are those days when it was fun to banter with friends online. Social media has become a funeral of sorts. COVID-19 ravages entire families and it gets nearer and nearer to us. Three houses away from ours, a friend’s entire family is

recuperating and their house remains on lockdown. While it is a welcome development that they are now over the worst, it still feels sad knowing that they are alone in dealing with this horror. People die in their homes without being seen by doctors. People die ALONE, without any of their loved ones around. Those left behind cannot even properly mourn and honor their dead. How do we deal with the fact that one of our people, Lyle Parreño, who chose to self-isolate in his car because he was COVID-19 positive, died? Knowing that hospitals are full, and perhaps because he wanted to keep his family safe, he decided to suffer alone in his car. He was found almost dead and passed shortly after. Can anything be sadder? In this age of modern science and all, can there be a more miserable death? Only those without any conscience will not be troubled by Parreño’s passing. Beyond COVID-19, many also die of other serious illnesses. And this is because we neither have the facilities nor the human resources to treat them. A good number of my friend’s relatives passed because of stroke, heart, and other diseases. Their families all failed to find hospitals to admit them in time. I will not be surprised if the number of those who passed during this period is more than double the government count. Shame on this government’s ineptitude! Beyond the big numbers of Filipinos contracting the virus, let us not forget that more and more Filipinos are losing jobs as businesses are forced to close shop. The re-imposition of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces means that more people are unable to go to work OR find ways to at least earn some. I know for a fact that families are going hungry. In poor communities, people are trying to survive with only rice and whatever they can find. I have heard of families rationing the rice among family members with either “asin” or “patis” to add taste. It is also common to borrow money from usurers to tide them over. As one mother said, they are already neck-deep in debt and they do not know where they will get the money to pay these off. Those of us who are “lucky” are not really worry-free. Any news of a family member having the slightest of fever or cough is enough to make us panic and think of the worst. An exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, the testing, and waiting for the test results make us doubly scared. We constantly monitor everyone to make sure that they are all right. Going out for the most important of errands makes us anxious to the point that we no longer find joy in things that used to be fun. This is the worst time of my entire life, and I am sure the same is true for many Filipinos. Yet, we cannot afford to give up in defeat. Amidst the grief and desperation, we must remain steadfast in keeping safe and making sure to hold accountable those whose irresponsibility and incompetence brought us to where we are now. @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

A crime against humanity AS OF Thursday, April 8, 2021, the country has recorded 14,119 deaths related to COVID-19. Filipinos are growing weary and frustrated on how the government, particularly the Department of Health has been responding, and are resorting to alternative medicines or off-label medications either for prevention or treatment against the dreaded coronavirus. And those include ivermectin, an originally anti-parasitic drug and Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine used for treatment of flu. Unfortunately, DoH Secretary Francisco Duque and the Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo, citing a handful of studies including the position of the World Health Organization, have refused to allow these drugs to be used against COVID-19 and have appeared to push for Remdesivir, a very expensive drug, which ironically, the WHO has refused to recommend for use in COVID-19 patients. Making matters worse, both the DoH and the FDA have issued warnings against doctors prescribing ivermectin to their patients, threatening them of having their licenses revoked. The funny thing is every time the DoH and the FDA are confronted regarding their warning, they are quick to clarify their warning is for those doctors prescribing veterinary-grade ivermectin to their patients. This makes me wonder: who are the really stupid ones -- the doctors or those at the helm of the DoH and FDA themselves?

Who in their right mind would prescribe veterinary-grade drugs to their patients? And yet, those fools over the two agencies still refuse to clarify their statement. Last Thursday, they issued a compassionate permit for the drug for one hospital, but that is not enough. A compassionate permit applies only to one patient who’s already tested positive, applying for such. But what about those who, relying on scientific studies conducted in that regard, believe the said drug could be used to prevent infection? A presentation by Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor, citing studies from FLCCC, show that of the 48 clinical trials, 25 of which are randomized controlled trials, involving 375 scientists, and 15,580 patients, 89 percent improvement in 12 prophylaxis trials; 79 percent improvement in 16 early treatment trials; 50 percent improvement in 20 late treatment trials; 76 percent improvement in 18 mortality results; and 65 percent improvement in 25 randomized controlled trials. So why the continued refusal? Why the warning? A visibly frustrated Defensor exclaimed:” Eh kung sila ang kasuhan ko?” Just recently, the Philippine National Police has joined the fray, and acting most probably on the recommendation of the DoH and the FDA, warning everyone against the sale and use of the “wonder drug,” prompting House Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera and 1-Pacman Rep. Eric Pineda to both condemn PNP’s threat. Herrera stressed ivermectin is not an illegal drug, thus, no one can ban its use. “It is our right to take care of ourselves as we fit it,” Herrera avers. “How can ivermectin be illegal when compounding laboratories are actually allowed to produce and sell it?” she asks.

Adelle Chua, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

EDITORIAL

Fearless frontliners

HE coronavirus pandemic has allowed to surface an honorable breed of valorous, if daredevil, Filipinos: The intrepid and lionhearted although often unsung who keep bouncing back from blocks of stress and depression as they stand up to the claws of the unappeasable virus.

COVID-19 has become today’s supervillain, but it has not checked our real-life heroes from doing their job. personal care aides, health care service workers like housekeepers and cooks as well as those who pick up the trash. Going to work during this COVID-19 pandemic—now for 13 months of various stages of lockdown in this country— has placed frontline workers under immense and unprecedented pressure, putting their physical, mental and social well-being at risk. Exposure to excessive stress for prolonged periods can have many harmful consequences on the emotional and mental well-being of frontline workers. Undoubtedly this intemperate scenario, which has infected and killed in both an aggregate hundreds of thousands, the scores of thousands of recoveries not-

Verily, COVID-19 has become today’s super-villain, but it has not checked our real-life heroes from doing their job and tirelessly working to find ways to combat the threat and eventually beat the invisible archenemy. They are the medical practitioners— laboratory scientists, doctors, nurses, medical technologists, vascular specialists, internists, cardiologists, among others—as well as health care support workers such as orderlies and phlebotomists, direct care workers like home health and

BACKBENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN MANY are speculating whether the US has the budget to sustain the cost for the long-delayed rehabilitation of America’s infrastructure. It was announced it will cost the Biden administration a whopping $2 trillion to undertake the repairs of the country’s mostly aging infrastructure. As observed, the US economy is saddled with great contradictions. It is deeply mired in debt that it cannot just do all things at the same time. Some say the problem is for the US economy to undergo some kind of economic metamorphoses, similar to what China did to overcome the obstacle inherent in the US system. One must remember that the greatest enemy of the US is the contradiction from within its own system. The US is hampered in what Marx says “internal contradictions” – that the interest of the various pressure groups could stymie most of its objectives. Russia has reduced its defense budget and for that the US enjoyed the status of being the only superpower in the world. Russia’s defense budget is much lower than China’s, Saudi Arabia’s, India’s and France’s, but its nuclear arsenal has not been diminished to recklessly allow others to attack it. The end of the Cold War allowed Putin to redirect its budget to improve Russia’s standard of living. Russia today is much more prosperous than it was during the socialist era. On the other hand, the US cannot unshackle itself from the arms race. It is trapped in a con game initiated by the military industrial complex and financiers from Wall Street. It cost the US around $5.8 trillion, and involved itself in numerous and countless wars that contributed to its own financial ruin. Since the decoupling of the dollar from the gold standard and measuring its economy on

While Domingo, according to Herrera, has assured her that what they were prohibiting is the use of veterinary-grade ivermectin, which obviously the doctors would not dispense to their patients, the PNP directive would only result in confusion and apprehension among the people.

Why the continued refusal? Why the warning? Pineda, for his part, stands firm on his position that the FDA cannot prohibit the sale and use of ivermectin, as the same drug has been approved as a parasitic drug as there is no law that makes the sale or use of ivermectin illegal, so there would be no ground to arrest anyone who will use this drug. “In fact, it has been allowed to be used for several years already in the Philippines. The FDA is also allowing the compassionate use of ivermectin for Covid-19, which should only be prescribed by a medical doctor. However, due to the current popularity of the drug, and with the danger of humans taking the animal grade Ivermectin, which could have adverse effects — we must prevent scrupulous products from penetrating the market and getting

withstanding, can lead—in fact it has—to burnout. It has triggered the onset of common mental disorders like depression and anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. This has also resulted in frequent absence from work or reduced productivity while at work, or worst loss of jobs— and millions are, as at this date, off employment—and has increased the risk, although there are no immediate documents and studies as yet, where suicide flirts with frontline workers, particularly health care workers. In the backdrop of COVID-19, this may mean compromised quality and safety of care, breach of protocols and guidelines, increased risk of infections, and compromised capacity of the health system and emergency response teams. These frontline workers have not been flustered by the bullets in Bataan, which gave rise to the Filipino heroes during the Second World War, thousands of essential frontline Filipino workers—millions to include those overseas who are Filipino by blood—continue to do their jobs during the pitiless pandemic. We express our gratitude to them while we execute a sharp salute.

Can the US compete? the strength of its GPD, the value of the dollar has since skyrocketed. Lenders are resorting to various forms of currency manipulation like the legalization of usury, the unbridled printing of the dollar to adjust the interest rate, demanding payment based on the current value of the dollar and to the imposition of miscellaneous fees and penalties for violation of the anti-money laundering law.

The greatest enemy of the US is the contradiction from within its own system. The US, in effect, erased all jurisprudence; hence resorted to arresting persons anywhere in the world should it deem to have violated its currency as in the case of the daughter and top executive of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. Questions have been raised much that the transaction took place in Hong Kong, and she was merely in transit to Mexico when arrested in Canada at the behest of US authorities. Americans maintain the thought that the high cost of labour would forever favor China; that China will remain beholden to US investors taking advantage of the unjust valuation of the currency that kept wages low. They forgot that wealth is created through production, and once China perfects their production, the system would unavoidably rear its own contradictions to control, monopolize and dictate the price to their own advantage. The US relied solely on the principle of finance: that China would be dependent on capital anchored on the misplaced application of Friedman’s monetary theory. The theory believes the US dollar will remain high ignoring the indubitable Marxist truth into the hands of unsuspecting victims who are only desperate to prevent being infected with COVID-19,” Pineda explains. Instead of banning or restricting the sale of ivermectin, FDA should ensure the availability of the human-grade version of the drug to COVID-19 infected patients, provided that the administration of the same is supervised by a doctor to ensure that the product they are taking comes from a legitimate source – from a compounder that has been approved by the FDA, and that failure to do so will result into the possibility of fake products flooding the market. DoH and FDA have to act fast and resolve the issue. Cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines have reached record highs, the body bags are piling up and yet Duque and Domingo still refuse to budge on the clamor to allow widescale use of ivermectin. The more delay they cause, the more lives are put at stake. The blood of those who perished from this pandemic are oozing from their hands. And maybe Defensor should make good his statement – haul them to court for committing one of the worst crimes this century – a crime against humanity. The doctors, after all, are allowed to do and prescribe what they believe are good for their patients and this is embodied in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration, a part of it reads: “In the treatment of a patient, where proven prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic methods do not exist or have been ineffective, the physician, with informed consent from

that it is production that creates wealth. How the capitalist system could sell more remains their key to prosperity. Since 1978, the US has practiced the habit of consigning production to China. Most Americans never thought China would surpass their economy and compete with them in all aspects of industry. Americans have a simplistic view of economics; that letting China do the production and selling them above cost through their conceived system of currency adjustment; they think they could still earn them the much needed profit margin. As this system operated, it was China that effectively and continually created wealth through production. The US acted mostly as a salesman for Chinese-manufactured goods. As the cycle continues, China gradually accumulated wealth that today, it holds so much reserve to generate fear and envy to American policy makers. The wealth that China has produced allowed it to transform its economy to lift nearly 800 million from poverty. As said, Americans focused on the value of its currency like the mercantilists during the Spanish era who relied wholly on gold and not on goods produced by the workers from other countries. They held on that theory to keep high the value of their currency, unmindful that they are in fact paying to deplete their own reserves for imports needed for their own consumption. As the US riles against China for the widening trade deficit, it continues to consign production to that country. Some treat this unorthodox trade arrangement as just some kind of mechanical nuance that could not pull down the overall standard of living of their people. This thinking is being re-enforced by the belief that it is their economy that controls and adjusts the value of the currency, and wage is the least of their worries. Full version on www.manilastandard.net the patient, must be free to use unproven or new prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic measures, if in the physician’s judgement it offers hope of saving life, reestablishing health or alleviating suffering.” Both Duque and Domingo are preventing the doctors from exercising these rights at the expense of the people’s lives.

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Crisis of faith during a pandemic

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World

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

France approves mixing vaccine doses F

RANCE on Friday said residents under 55 years old who received a first injection of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should be given a jab from a different producer for their second dose, a ruling affecting more than 500,000 people. France’s national health authority HAS last month said the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to those aged 55 and over because of reports of potentially deadly blood clots in a very small number of those younger people vaccinated. Officials in France initially said that those given the AstraZeneca jab in a first dose should go ahead with the second jab even if aged under 55. But the HAS said that those aged under 55 who had been given the AstraZeneca as their first dose would now get the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine as their second course. France has been injecting health workers as a priority group meaning that many younger people have already received the AstraZeneca jab. Some 533,000 people are affected by the decision, the HAS said. They include Health Minister Olivier Veran, a neurologist aged 41, who was given the JAB SITE. A picture taken on April 9, 2021 shows a general view of a COVID-19 vaccination center set up at the exhibition hall as part of the operation titled “5,000 vaccines in one day, at AstraZeneca vaccine live on television on one place” in the French southeastern city of Nice. AFP February 8. “It is completely consistent to say that we do not recommend the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 55 years of age while we learn more,” the minister told RTL. “Therefore, if you have received a first inMYANMAR’S junta refused on Friday details and timings for her trip have not when security forces broke up protest The protest movement has sought jection and are under 55 years old, you will to let a UN envoy visit the country, debeen confirmed. barricades in the city of Bago, 65 kilomto disrupt the military’s ability to run be offered another vaccine 12 weeks after the spite mounting international efforts for UN officials say Burgener wants eters northeast of Yangon. the country by encouraging key public first injection.” a diplomatic solution to the post-coup to travel to Myanmar for face-to-face Local media reports said the fighting workers such as doctors and railway Europe’s medicines regulator said this crisis. meetings with the generals, but a junta continued during the day, and the death staff to stay at home. week the AstraZeneca vaccine could cause The UN’s special envoy for Myan- spokesman ruled it out. toll could be higher. Zaw Min Tun, the military spokesman, very rare blood clots among some recipients, mar, Christine Schraner Burgener, is on “We have not permitted this. We also UN rights officials say the military is accused medical staff of “killing people prompting several countries to scale up rea tour of Asian countries aimed at chart- have no plan to allow it at this moment,” making increasing use of heavy weap- in cold blood” by refusing to work. strictions on the jab. ing a path out of the turmoil engulfing spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP. onry including rocket-propelled and “Now the public hospitals cannot Several clinical trials are looking at the efthe country. At least 614 civilians have been killed fragmentation grenades, heavy machine function because health workers are ficacy of combining two types of vaccine. It comes amid growing international in the military’s crackdown on protests guns and snipers. breaking their ethics,” he told reporters. “Based on previous studies which combine concern at events in Myanmar, rocked and nearly 3,000 arrested, according to The military insists it is responding The violent response to protests has different vaccine types, a combination of the by daily protests since the military oust- the Assistance Association for Political proportionately to what it says are vio- drawn intense international criticism and AZ and Pfizer vaccines is likely to be safe but ed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Prisoners, a local monitoring group. lent protesters. on Thursday Washington imposed anit’s important that this is tested in the context seized power on February 1. There was more bloodshed on Friday, At a news conference in the capital other set of sanctions, this time on Myof a clinical vaccine trial,” said Helen Fletcher, Burgener starts her trip in Thailand with rescue workers reporting at least Naypyidaw, officers displayed guns they anmar’s state gem company, as it seeks to professor of Immunology at the London School and will also visit China, though exact four people killed in the early morning said were seized from demonstrators. deprive the junta of income. AFP of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. AFP

Myanmar junta refuses United Nations envoy visit

Egyptologists uncover largest ‘lost golden city’ under the sands

LOST CITY. The ancient city uncovered near Luxor is the “largest” ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age during the reign of

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have uncovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor that they say is the “largest” ever found in Egypt and dates back to a golden age of the pharaohs 3,000 years ago. Famed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of the “lost golden city,” saying the site was uncovered near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings. “The Egyptian mission under Dr. Zahi Hawass found the city that was lost under the sands,” the excavation team said in a statement Thursday. “The city is 3,000 years old, dates to the reign of Amenhotep III, and continued to be used by Tutankhamun and Ay.” The team called the find “the largest”

ancient city ever uncovered in Egypt. Betsy Bryan, professor of Egyptian art and archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, said the find was the “second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun” nearly a century ago, according to the team’s statement. Items of jewelry have been unearthed, along with coloured pottery vessels, scarab beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III. “Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,” said Hawass, a former antiquities minister. The team began excavations in September 2020, between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor, some 500 kilometers south of Cairo. AFP

Amenhotep III, 3,000 years ago. AFP

Sri Lanka seeks $17m over oil tanker spill SRI LANKA on Friday lodged a claim for $17.38 million with the Greek owners of an oil tanker that caught fire and left a spill stretching 40 kilometers off the South Asian island. The New Diamond vessel was travelling from Kuwait to India with 270,000 tons of crude oil on board in September when a fire broke out as it passed Sri Lanka’s east coast. The crude being carried as cargo was unaffected by the blaze but some of the tanker’s fuel leaked into the Indian Ocean. Its skipper was in October fined $65,000 for causing the spill and failing to inform local officials of the environmental damage left behind. Authorities are now seeking compensation from Greek firm Porto Emporios Shipping Inc for the damage. “The Attorney-General forwarded the marine pollution claim for 3,423 million rupees ($17.38 million) to lawyers of the owners of MT New Diamond in respect of the oil spill caused in September,” the office of Sri Lanka’s state prosecutor said in a statement. Officials said about 400 to 480 tons of fuel had leaked from the Panamanian-registered ship. Firefighters led by India’s coastguard as well as the Indian and Sri Lankan navies succeeded in putting out the blaze before the vessel was towed to the United Arab Emirates. Porto Emporios paid Sri Lanka $2.38 million for extinguishing the fire. AFP

Thunberg to skip COP26 SWEDISH climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said Friday she plans to skip the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November, saying the uneven rollout of COVID-19 vaccine campaigns would mean countries could not participate on even terms. The 18-year-old activist deplored that by November richer countries would be vaccinating young healthy people “very often at the expense of people in risk groups in other parts of the world.” “With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution I will not attend the COP26 conference if the development continues as it is now,” Thunberg told AFP. Thunberg, confirming a BBC report, said the conference should be

postponed “if everyone could not attend in the same terms.” The conference has already been postponed once as it was originally planned for November 2020. However, the campaigner said she did not rule out reversing her decision if vaccine access improved. “Of course I would love to attend the COP26. But not unless everyone can take part on the same terms,” Thunberg said. Thunberg, who began campaigning against climate change in 2018 at the age of 15, has earned Amnesty International’s top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel. AFP

UP IN THE AIR. A picture taken on April 9, 2021 in Saignelegier shows a horse being

airlifted during a test by Swiss army forces on hoisting horses with a helicopter. The scientific project, carried out by the Vetsuisse faculty of veterinary medicine and the Swiss army veterinary service, aims at transporting and rapidly evacuating injured horses to a medical veterinary infrastructure. AFP

New cyclone barrels toward disaster-struck Indonesia A NEW cyclone was barrelling toward Indonesia and threatened to spark more floods and landslides, authorities warned Friday, as the archipelago reeled from a storm that killed more than 200 people, including victims in neighbouring East Timor. Tropical cyclone Odette was set to dump torrential rains on south Sumatra

and other parts of the country including central Java and holiday island Bali. While the new storm was not expected to be as destructive as cyclone Seroja, which pounded eastern Indonesia this week, the national weather agency said it had the potential to do serious damage. “Everybody should remain alert for

the potential of strong winds and heavy rains... as well as floods and landslides,” said weather agency head Dwikorita Karnawati. Cyclone Seroja, one of the most powerful storms to hit the region in years, turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees, sending thousands fleeing to shelters amid

widespread blackouts. The threat of a new storm came as President Joko Widodo arrived in hardhit Lembata island Friday. “I would like to express deepest condolences to the victims,” the leader, better known as Jokowi, said from the disaster zone. “I hope their souls will be accepted by God.” AFP

Business Higher China factory gate prices raising inflation fears BEIJING, China—Chinese factory prices hit a more than two-year high in March, data showed Friday, highlighting the country’s strong recovery but feeding concerns it could filter through to the global economy just as central banks battle to maintain ultra-loose monetary policies and low interest rates. Having largely navigated the pandemic crisis early last year, the Asian powerhouse has enjoyed months of improvement across the board and was the only major economy to expand in 2020. And now the rollout of vaccines in major markets is gathering pace, demand for China’s goods continues to rise, putting upward pressure on prices in the world’s biggest exporter. China’s producer price index (PPI), which measures the cost of goods at the factory gate, expanded a forecastbeating 4.4 percent on-year last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The figure was “due to factors such as rising international commodity prices” including crude oil and iron ore, and boosted by an “increase in domestic industrial production and investment demand,” said NBS senior statistician Dong Lijuan. Analysts had expected the rise in PPI given the low base of comparison last year, when lockdowns and strict movement controls were imposed to stamp out COVID-19. Observers said that with China the leading exporter in the world, the rises could cause a headache for global central banks, which are already trying to temper worries that an expected surge in economic activity this year will fan inflation and force them to wind back their accommodative monetary policies. AFP

Effort to create 1st Amazon labor union imperiled SAN FRANCISCO—The effort to create the first labor union at Amazon appeared headed for defeat, with votes against the move far outstripping those in favor when counting of ballots was paused late Thursday. The tally stood at 1,100 votes of ‘No’ to the idea of forming a labor union in Alabama, versus 463 votes supporting the proposal when National Labor Relations Board officials halted for the evening. Counting was to resume Friday morning. About 55 percent of the more than 5,800 workers at an Amazon warehouse in the city of Bessemer cast ballots, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. A simple majority will determine the outcome. The RWDSU appeared to be girding for a loss, its president Stuart Appelbaum putting out a statement accusing Amazon of taking advantage “of a broken system.” “We will be calling on the labor board to hold Amazon accountable for its illegal and egregious behavior during the campaign,” Appelbaum said. Counting that was due to begin last week was delayed due to questions regarding whether all of the 3,215 ballots were eligible to be included in the tally. The labor board is overseeing the count, which comes at the end of a contentious unionization campaign which has drawn national attention and the involvement of numerous political figures and activists. A bruising months-long battle has sparked intense debate over workplace conditions at Amazon, which has more than 800,000 US employees. Unions and political leaders have argued that Amazon employees face constant pressure and monitoring, with little job protection, highlighting the need for collective bargaining. Amazon has argued that most of its workers don’t want or need a union and that it already provides more than most other employers, with a minimum $15 hourly wage and other benefits. AFP

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Markets mostly down but optimism remains

ONG KONG, China—Most Asian markets retreated Friday as traders took their foot off the pedal ahead of a much-anticipated earnings season, while an increasingly confident mood on trading floors has analysts predicting the global equities rally still has legs. While some countries are having trouble with their vaccine programs and a pick-up in infections, there is a general feeling that governments will get a better hold on the crisis and allow economies to reopen, even if a little later than previously hoped. Wall Street provided another strong lead, with the S&P 500 chalking up a second successive record and the Nasdaq piling on more than one percent as tech shares regained their mojo, having suffered recent selling. Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell again repeated his mantra that the bank

would stand fast in its pledge to keep borrowing costs at record lows for as long as needed to support recovery in the world’s top economy. While last week’s blockbuster jobs report was welcome, he said the “recovery remains uneven and incomplete” and he wanted to see more of those before he was happy progress was being made. Analysts said an unexpected rise in jobless claims last week backed up Powell’s stance. There remains a concern that the forecast strong recovery, the reopening

of the economy, President Joe Biden’s vast spending sprees, and the rollout of vaccines will fan inflation to a point that the Fed will be forced to lift rates earlier than it intends. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries—a gauge of future rates—edged down as Powell spoke, though they remained around a one-year high. Hong Kong and Shanghai dropped as traders kept tabs on China-US relations after Washington restricted trade with top Chinese supercomputing centers on security grounds, while lawmakers unveiled legislation to solidify ties with Taiwan and pressure Beijing over alleged theft of intellectual property. Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington were also lower, though there were gains in Tokyo, Bangkok and Jakarta. Data Friday showed Chinese producer prices rose at their fastest pace in more than two years owing to a jump in the cost of commodities. With AFP

DEBT REFORM. An

activist dressed as Argentina’s Evita Peron takes part with others in a rally calling for debt reform during the virtual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, outside of IMF headquarters in Washington, DC on April 8, 2021. Warning that the recovery from the pandemic is not over, the IMF on Thursday called on policymakers to continue to spend money to shore up the global economy and ensure no country is left behind. AFP

PSEi April 8, 2021

TOP GAINERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

JOH CEI CA SGP LRW OV OPMB OPM FPI COAL

LAST PRICE 5.73 0.147 58.5 380 2.31 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.275 0.31

CHANGE 0.93 0.016 5.5 35 0.21 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.02 0.02

% CHANGE 19.38% 12.21% 10.38% 10.14% 10.00% 8.33% 8.33% 8.33% 7.84% 6.90%

TOP LOSERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

PPC VVT ALHI ALCO APL FGENG LAND GTPPA LCB ACE

LAST PRICE 5.23 13.8 8 0.67 0.21 106.5 2.61 1000 0.134 1.99

CHANGE -0.44 -1 -0.4 -0.03 -0.009 -4.2 -0.1 -38 -0.005 -0.07

% CHANGE -7.76% -6.76% -4.76% -4.29% -4.11% -3.79% -3.69% -3.66% -3.60% -3.40%

MOST ACTIVE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

ALI BDO SM URC MBT DITO ACEN BPI PGOLD TEL

VOLUME 10989900 3401250 240380 1390580 3902500 15204300 21592900 1875290 3841300 115185

VALUE (PHP) 379894055 346001758 234490305 196288234 174862865 166330658 164990946 157231516 145443200 144350020

French wine growers light small fires as frost threatens harvest By Arnaud Richard LYON—French winemakers have lit thousands of small fires to ward off frost which is set to badly hit this year’s production, according to industry experts, The vineyard fires have caused a layer of smog in the southeast of the country, local authorities reported Thursday. The practice of lighting fires or candles near vines or fruit trees to prevent the formation of frost is a long-standing technique used in early spring when the first green shoots are vulnerable to the cold. Whole hillsides look as if they are ablaze, creating a striking visual effect, with winemakers scrambling this week as temperatures plunged to below freezing, particularly in the fertile Rhone valley in southeast France. The frost which has hit a large proportion of French vineyards in recent days is “one of the most serious in recent decades” and will cut production of the year, the CNIV national winemakers’ association warned. “We already know that we will have a very low harvest in 2021,” said Jean-Marie Barillere, head of the Comite Europeen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV), a European wine trade group. The frost has “affected 80 percent of French vineyards,” he said. “Arborists

A winegrower from the Daniel-Etienne Defaix wine estate lights anti-frost candles in their vineyard near Chablis, Burgundy, on April 7, 2021 as temperatures fall below zero degrees celsius during the night. AFP

and wine growers have just suffered a dark week.” Barillere said it would take around ten days for the profession to accurately assess the state of their grapevines and estimate the damage. Air pollution warning Regional air quality monitoring body Atmo Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes issued a warning about the fireinduced fine-particle pollution in the southeast region which includes the city of Lyon where a layer of smog was visible on Thursday. “It happens almost every year when there is a frost, but this time

it’s massive,” director Marie-Blanche Personnaz told AFP of the pollution. She said farmers were “entirely within their rights” to light fires to save their livelihoods, “but we perhaps need to work on the problem and find other solutions when the (frost) phenomenon is significant.” Some winegrowers use wind machines to keep frost from setting in. Others use water sprinklers, allowing a fine coating hitting sub-zero temperatures as the ice acts like a miniigloo. This year’s two-night cold snap could be particularly damaging for

winemakers and other fruit farmers because the freezing temperatures came after a week of unseasonably warm weather. Christophe Gratadour, an industry specialist, said that the central Loire area and the Rhone region had been affected. “All sectors have been hit but it’s still too early to measure the effects,” he told AFP. ‘I used a flamethrower’ In the wine heartland around Bordeaux, producers’ body CIVB warned that it was “certain the spring frost will severely affect the harvesting volumes in 2021.” Winegrowers and farmers told AFP of their desperation as they inspected the damage on Thursday morning after a second night of trying to keep the ice at bay. “We worked on the main hillside and burned straw bales and piles of wood to try to save what we could,” winemaker Remy Nodin from SaintPeray in the Ardeche region of southeast France told AFP. “The aim was to create a blanket of smoke so that when the sun came up it didn’t burn the vines because of the humidity,” he added. “We watered, we heated, nothing worked,” said Stephane Leyronas, a kiwi grower, in the nearby Aubenas area. “I used a flamethrower and lit more than 700 small fires which didn’t even last the night,” he added. AFP

IMF asks policymakers to increase funding to safeguard global economy WASHINGTON—Warning that the recovery from the pandemic crisis is not yet over, the IMF on Thursday called on policymakers to continue to spend money to shore up the global economy and ensure no one is left behind. Without that aid, and additional financing from both the fund and the World Bank, developing nations and the poor in many countries could struggle to rebound from the downturn caused by COVID-19, the International Monetary Fund said at the conclusion of its spring meeting. Continued support is needed to “mitigate and heal economic scars,” IMF managing director Kristalina

Georgieva told reporters. “We want to make sure everybody has a fair shot to a better life.” That means accelerating access to vaccines and taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the crisis to invest in green technology, which can create good paying jobs and address climate change. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the call, urging “significant” new spending to ensure a solid rebound from the damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the economic outlook has “improved significantly,” especially due to substantial government support,

“the job is not yet done, given high uncertainty and the risk of permanent scarring,” Yellen said. “I urge major economies to not just avoid removing support too early, but to strive to provide significant amounts of new fiscal support to secure a robust recovery,” she said. The IMF now projects global growth of six percent this year after the 3.3-percent contraction last year, and credited the $16 trillion in global public spending during the pandemic with keeping the worst peacetime recession in a century from being three times as severe. Yellen highlighted the $1.9-trillion

US aid package President Joe Biden signed last month, as well as his proposal announced last week to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure and jobs. Yellen said that with stimulus already boosting the recovery from the pandemic shutdowns, the US economy “could reach full employment as soon as next year,” but many developing countries do not have similar resources to support their economies. Georgieva warned about a “dangerous divergence” in low-income countries’ prospects compared to rich nations, which could worsen if advanced economies like the United States raise interest rates sooner than expected. AFP

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, April 8, 2021

-106.54 PTS. 6,545.17

Total Volume Total Trades Total Value

3,522,363,149 102,921 5,015,647,627.22

Advances Declines

89 110

Unchanged

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5760

Japan

Yen

0.009106

0.4423

Pound

1.374300

66.7580

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128451

6.2396

Switzerland

Franc

1.075963

52.2660

Canada

Dollar

0.792959

38.5188

Singapore

Dollar

0.745823

36.2291

Australia

Dollar

0.760900

36.9615

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655408

128.9891

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

12.9533

Brunei

Dollar

0.743052

36.0945

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.031918

1.5504

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2259

Euro

1.187100

57.6646

Korea

Won

0.000894

0.0434

China

Yuan

0.152823

7.4235

India

Rupee

0.013450

0.6533

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.242131

11.7618

New Zealand

Dollar

0.700900

34.0469

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035190

1.7094 Source: BSP

Grab Holdings to create $275-m fund for partners

Business Petron planning to spend P11b to upgrade refinery operations By Alena Mae S. Flores

ETRON Corp., the country’s largest oil company, plans to upgrade its 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Bataan province that will cost P11 billion until 2024.

Petron said in a report to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources it would undertake the Petron Refinery Special Projects that involves using cleaner technologies and de-logging pier traffic. It aims to provide the shift to cleaner technology in production of steam and power requirements by replacing old fuel oil-fired boilers and alleviating product pier utilization and traffic through the construction of new transfer facilities. The main facilities of the project will be two circulating fluidized bed boilers and two 22-megawatt back pressure turbo generators. Petron said the new capacity and design are mainly based on the four CFBs currently operating at the refinery. “This CFB technology is a highly efficient process for steam production, while also being versatile enough to handle various solid fuel properties,” the company said. The generators, however, are designed to produce more steam for power production.

The Petron refinery is capable of processing 180,000 barrels per day by converting all negative margin fuel oil into highmargin products such as gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals. Petron, with this facility, enhanced the country’s supply security and lessened the country’s dependence on highercosting imported fuel products. The refinery is currently on economic shutdown because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with resumption eyed in the next few months when demand goes up. Petron registered the Bataan refinery as an economic zone enterprise with the Authority of the Freeport of Bataan as part of ways to improve its financial situation. FAB-registered enterprises are entitled to avail of fiscal incentives under Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 or Omnibus Investment Code of 1987. Petron announced last week plans to issue US-dollar senior perpetual capital securities as part of its capital raising program. The company did not disclose how much it was planning to raise but said in its preliminary offering circular that net proceeds from the issue of the securities “will be applied by the company for the repayment of indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.” Petron incurred a net loss of P11.4 billion in 2020, coming from the 2019 net income of P2.3 billion, brought about by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the oil industry.

By Darwin G. Amojelar GRAB Holdings said Friday it plans to create a $275-million endowment fund to support programs that will have lasting impact on the quality of life of its drivers, delivery and merchant-partners and the broader community of Southeast Asia. Grab said it would seed the fund with $50 million in cash and $200 million in expected value of Grab shares. Grab Group chief executive and co-founder Anthony Tan, co-founder Tan Hooi Ling and president Ming Maa also pledged a combined $25 million in personal contribution of Grab shares (expected value). This brings the total initial fund size to $275 million. “Since our founding, Grab has been dedicated to our mission of creating economic empowerment for everyone in Southeast Asia. The GrabForGood Fund will be a key pillar of our efforts to uplift Grab partners and our broader community, and represents a meaningful next step in our long-term commitment to Southeast Asia,” Tan said. “The GrabForGood Fund will commence immediate work on meeting the urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines, where it’s not easily available. Over time, we’re planning to introduce other programs that will provide the foundation for social and economic mobility, and give more people access to opportunities to upgrade and improve their lives,” he said. Tan said the fund would support a mix of programs aimed at delivering long-term social and environmental impact, including in areas such as education, financial support for underserved communities and environmental issues. A “Fund Advisory Board” will be formed to give Grab partners and the broader Southeast Asia community strong representation in providing feedback and recommendations over how the funds will be spent. As an immediate commitment, Grab allocated up to $20 million in cash from the fund to fully subsidize the cost of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine administration of eligible drivers and delivery-partners who are not covered by a national vaccination program.

MERALCO’S AWARD.

Manila Electric Co.’s Advisory hosted by vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga (left) wins a Quill excellence award for customer relations communications in the 18th Quill Awards with its innovative approach of educating customers on power rates, energy efficiency and safety with the use of animated digital materials and social media. Meralco is one of the year’s top winners, bagging 13 excellence awards and 17 merit awards across 13 different categories.

CEB VACCINE DELIVERY.

Cebu Pacific continues to safely fly lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines to assist in the country’s distribution program. From April 6 to 9, the low-cost airline flew about 77,800 doses to six cities in the Philippines, specifically to Bacolod on April 6, to Zamboanga, Tacloban and Cotabato on April 7, to Puerto Princesa on April 8 and to Tuguegarao on April 9.

Delays in approval of feed-in-tariff rates may deplete fund of renewable suppliers NATIONAL Transmission Corp. has warned that the delay in the approval of the feed-in tariff allowance rates may lead to the depletion of the FIT-All fund. “We have challenges that point to regulatory delays that also prioritize the consumer welfare over the welfare of suppliers. We are therefore in search of how to balance the competing challenges and needs of consumers and suppliers,” TransCo president Melvin Matibag said in a statement. Matibag cited a need to stabilize the FIT-All fund to minimize—if not eliminate—delays by exploring the possibility of tapping the RE Trust Fund as provided for by Section 28 of the Renewable Energy Law, where the RE Trust Fund would be collected and managed by the Department of Energy to enhance greater use of RE resources. TransCo said it would also ask the DOE to be granted access to the RETF of the RE Law for the sustainable administration of the FIT-All Fund, which sup-

ports RE development. The company is also exploring the possible use of corporate funds as fund administrator, subject to interest-charges in compliance with government rules for the use of GOCC funds, and the Development Partners Green Fund, where the corporation will pursue donation fund and zero-interest global hreen funds of development partners of the United Nation Framework Convention for Climate Change. TransCo was assigned to assume the role of FIT-All Fund Administrator under ERC Resolution No. 15, Series of 2012, dated Nov. 19, 2012. TransCo was tasked with the establishment, management, administration and disbursement/settlement (through the trustee bank) of the FIT-All Fund for the benefit of FIT-eligible RE developers. As administrator, TransCo is tasked to file the rate application before the ERC for the annual FIT-All rate determination. Alena Mae S. Flores

Honda Cars ends imports and sale of Jazz, variants By Othel V. Campos HONDA Cars Philippines Inc., Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, announced Friday it will stop the importation and sale of subcompact car Honda Jazz in the country. “The Jazz has been a remarkable nameplate in the Philippine market for around 13 years. However, as we continue to put an emphasis on meeting market demands, we have thoroughly studied the necessity of the models in our current model lineup,” said HCPI president Masahiko Nakamura. “After careful consideration, we would like to formally announce the discontinuation of Jazz and all its variants, in order for us to shift our focus and resources to our current and upcoming models,” he said. The Jazz, which was introduced in the Philippine market in July 2004, was launched as an exciting and innovative vehicle in HCPI’s vehicle line-up. Since its initial arrival in the country, the subcompact car has been one of HCPI’s more popular models, selling over 25,000 units to date. Despite its small body, the Jazz is known for its interior spaciousness, versatility, style and performance. It is also noted for its one-box or monospace design. The Jazz is a favorite among young Filipino owners for its configurable seats that Honda calls “Magic Seats” which fold in several ways to accommodate cargo in varying shapes and sizes and cargo volume competitive to larger vehicles. Known in other parts of the world as Honda Fit, the Jazz shares the same small car platform as the City, Airwave, first generation Mobilio and Freed.

PDIC’s deposit insurance fund climbed to P216b in fourth quarter By Julito G. Rada STATE-RUN deposit insurer Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday the Deposit Insurance Fund climbed to P216.85 billion as of the fourth quarter of 2020, DIF represents PDIC’s overall capacity to respond to insurance calls amid bank failures. PDIC said it also settled 100 percent of the 7,072 valid deposit insurance claims within its target turnaround time for banks ordered closed in 2020. The prompt settlement of deposit insurance claims provides affected depositors the needed relief. PDIC president Roberto Tan said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III the DIF posted a double-digit growth of 10.3 percent or P20.33 billion from its 2019 level of P196.52 billion. “The increase resulted in an adequacy level of 6.91 percent in terms of ratio of the DIF to the banking system’s estimated total insured deposits. The ratio was above the minimum target of 5.5 percent for 2020,” Tan said. He said that PDIC would endeavor to maintain adequate DIF cover at prudential level. Dominguez said PDIC’s record of performance was marked by the prudential management of the deposit insurance fund and the prompt settlement of deposit insurance claims. The DIF consisted of reserves for insurance losses of P193.64 billion, retained earnings of P20.21 billion, and permanent insurance fund of P3.0 billion. The World Bank said earlier that reimbursing depositors after bank failures would contribute to the stability of a financial system and build public confidence in a deposit insurance system. It said deposit insurers should have operational readiness to act quickly after a bank failure.

IN BRIEF GFNI eyes 6m tons of nickel shipments GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc., the country’s second-largest nickel producer, said Friday it expects nickel shipments to reach 6 million wet metric tons in 2021. GFNI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange operating unit Platinum Group Metals Corp. commenced shipment of nickel ore to customers in China. “We are confident in hitting this year’s target, weather permitting, with the opening of CAGA 1 next month which is expected to boost capacity by 10 percent,” said GFNI president Dante Bravo. The nickel miner also expects 70 percent of its sales to be low-grade nickel ore and 30 percent, medium-grade nickel ore. The group programmed $5 million for 2021 capital expenditures. It earlier reported that PGMC’s mine area has proven and probable ore reserves of 59.45 million WMT. Jenniffer B. Austria

PH external liability fell to P140.7b in Q3 THE country’s net external liability position narrowed to P140.7 billion in the third quarter of 2020 from P1.5 trillion recorded in the same period in 2019, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday. “The 90.8-percent improvement in the country’s net debtor position against the rest of the world is due to the 8-percent expansion in the domestic economy’s external financial assets to P10.8 trillion from P10 trillion, along with the 5.2-percent contraction in its external financial liabilities to P11 trillion from P11.6 trillion,” the BSP said in a statement. It said the household sector recorded the highest net financial asset position at P9 trillion, or 21.4 percent higher than P7.4 trillion in the third quarter of 2019. “The sector’s net claims were largely against the other depository corporations and other financial corporations. The claims against the ODCs and OFCs were in the form of deposits, equity and investment fund shares and insurance, pension and standardized guarantee schemes, respectively,” the BSP said. The net financial asset position of both the BSP and other financial corporations declined to P681.8 billion from P697.4 billion and P176.6 billion from P709.5 billion, respectively. Julito G. Rada

Milk tea chain bares vaccination program FREDLEY Group of Companies, which runs Macao Imperial Tea, the largest milk tea chain in the Philippines, announced its plan to vaccinate employees for free. “This initiative by the company is not just for its employees, but to also encourage and inspire other SMEs to consider doing the same effort for their workers,” Fredley Group and Macao Imperial Tea founder and chief executive Avin Ong said. Ong said the vaccination would not be mandatory and would follow the guidelines issued by the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment. He said that apart from giving free vaccines to employees, the company would also extend assistance to their employees’ household members by sourcing vaccines for them. “Leave no one behind. Our employees’ safety in and out of our workplaces has always been of utmost priority” Ong said. The vaccination program will include employees from the Fredley Group, Macao Imperial Tea, New York Fries and Dips, Nabe Japanese Izakaya + Hot Pot, Mitasu Yakiniku, Hosaku International Buffet, Liang Crispy Roll, Café Kitsuné and Maison Kitsuné.

Motoring Hyundai D2D: Expert service at your doorstep

ES, YOU need to #StayHome but your Hyundai car must always be in tiptop shape for scheduled trips, and most especially for emergencies. Let Hyundai do the heavy lifting for your service and maintenance needs in a safe and convenient way. With @YourService, you can book online your regular preventive maintenance service (PMS). What’s more, you have the option to avail of Hyundai’s Dealer-to-your-Door (D2D) Home Service and Pick-up and Delivery service. D2D Home Service has our on-call service mobile teams perform minor PMS repairs, covering 1K & 5K, 5K Series, and 10K Series right in the comfort of home, while the D2D Pick-up and Delivery service will have them pick up your car, bring it to the service workshop, and deliver it back to you as good as new. Even better, you can still take advantage of Hyundai’s ongoing Back on Trax in TwentyOne PMS promo. Book for D2D Pick-up and Delivery for your regular PMS from March 15 to April 10, 2021 and get 21% discount on PMS labor, 21% discount on PMS parts, a FREE 21-point checkup, and FREE car wash. Hyundai@YourService and D2D are among the many innovations that Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) thoughtfully conceived to meet the present-day need for safe and contactless operations. A year ago today, the Hyundai Guidelines for Protection and Safety (GPS) broke into the market as Hyundai Philippines’ pioneer design for New Normal dealership operations. Under it, Hyundai ARMOR--Active Response, Management, Operations, and Resumption program which reinvents HARI’s After Sales’ award-winning “Right Here, Right Care” promise to New Normal times.

Isuzu continues strategic dealer expansion ISUZU Philippines Corporation (IPC), the country’s leader in the commercial vehicle segment, expands its market reach nationwide by opening its Isuzu Tagum dealership. Isuzu Tagum’s official opening was marked on March 10 that gathered top officers of Isuzu Tagum, Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc headed by its President, Walter Alvarez and its Managing Director Edward Bangayan. In his welcome remarks, IPC President Hajime Koso lauded the perseverance of Image Motors Davao Del Norte Inc, to see Isuzu Tagum through to its completion despite the unusual challenges in 2020. “We know this has not been an easy decision to open a dealership at this very challenging situation, but you kept to our schedule amidst the delay due to the different community quarantines,” Koso stressed. Koso added that the opportunity to grow the Isuzu brand in the region and serve a rapidly growing customer base inspired the team to work through the challenges. “Tagum has emerged into a booming city with a strong economic development brought by different businesses citywide. It has become inevitable for IPC to set foot here, so that we can cater to more customers in the region,” Koso explained. Isuzu Tagum is strategically located at Barangay Canocotan, along the road that connects to the three major road network systems—the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, the DavaoMati-Agusan Road, and the Davao-Bukidnon Road—that links the city to other major destinations in the region and to the rest of Mindanao. The Isuzu Tagum dealership is hard to miss, with its expansive 5,000-sqm facility that not only features the latest Isuzu Outlet Standard (IOS) showroom design, but also its large service shop that can cater to 9 light commercial vehicles and 4 trucks all at the same time. During the online event, Isuzu Tagum officers offered a virtual tour of the dealership’s facilities, showroom, and service bays. “Isuzu Tagum demonstrates our dedication and commitment to create tailored transport solutions that make the greatest difference to individuals and businesses anywhere in the Philippines,” Koso concluded. Isuzu Tagum now joins IPC’s network of 46 dealerships nationwide, offering world-class vehicles, and exceptional after-sales services.

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

Hyundai’s New Normal After Sales car service and maintenance get things done through the summer months and all ‘year round.

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

ROM applications in agriculture to the education sector, the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development launched on Thursday nine new projects on artiﬁcial intelligence research and development aimed at spurring growth in this emerging industry in the Philippines.

Tech & Gadgets

9 research/development projects on AI launched

In a virtual launch, DOST PCIEERD unveiled the AI projects to be undertaken by the DOST-Advanced Technology Science Institute, University of the Philippines Mindanao, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines-Los Baños and Caraga State University. “AI is one of our priority areas as it truly can boost the country and usher us to the fourth industrial revolution. As a powerful agent for good, AI can disrupt traditional processes and provide solutions and opportunities that Filipinos can maximize,” said DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Parinigit.

Autonomous vehicles that help the society

The Autonomous Societally Inspired Mission Oriented Vehicles (ASIMOV) Program, composed of two component projects, will be implemented by DOSTASTI and UPMin. It will take on the challenge of developing AI-enhanced, mission-driven robots working autonomously or with humans to help address the society’s needs. In its initial phase, it will focus on laying the groundwork by developing and innovating these key functional modules of intelligent mobile robots: sensing, actuation, control, navigation, and communications. UPMin will handle the Harmonized Aerial Watch and Knowledge-based Survey (HAWKS) Project, the aerial component of the ASIMOV program and will primarily conduct R&D towards the development of core technologies necessary for autonomous drone deployment. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be developed for easy monitoring, object detection, and mapping, with minimal human control. While DOST-ASTI's is the Robot for Optimized and Autonomous Mission-

Enhancement Response (ROAMER) Project. It will develop prototypes of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) that will help increase productivity of different industries in the country, especially agriculture. Techs under Project ROAMER are envisioned to monitor, survey, and map agricultural farms for better decisionmaking and management. These robots will initially be tested in realistic emulated surroundings and eventually evaluated in actual environments. They will be used as learning platforms for building effective ﬁeld-ready robots during the later phases of the ASIMOV Program.

AI for efﬁcient processing of available big data

UPMin will also spearhead the Philippine Sky Artiﬁcial Intelligence Program (SkAI-Pinas). Its main research component is the Automated Labeling Machine – Large-Scale Initiative (ALaM-LSI),

which will be conducted in partnership with the DOST-ASTI once again. SkAI-Pinas aims to bridge the gap between the availability of massive remote sensing data in the country and address the lack of a sustainable technology-based framework that will facilitate their widespread processing systematically and effectively. It is comprised of an AI knowledgebase, including experts, protocol, and an AI repository for models and labeled images to accelerate the workﬂows of remote sensing applications and ﬁll the gaps in past and present remote sensing projects. Through the ALaM-LSI Project, AI-based techniques are planned to be utilized to enable the development and deployment of relevant applications and services for Filipinos. Tremor sensors to monitor the struc-

tural health of infrastructures DLSU intends to develop a low-cost, wireless structural health monitoring system with visualization through the Intelligent Structural Health Monitoring via Mesh of Tremor Sensors (meSHM) Project. The system will be made up of less than 50 sensors, will utilize internet of things (IoT) technology and mesh networks, and can be installed in buildings, bridges, or metro rail systems. The system will be pilot tested in the cities of Biñan and Sta. Rosa, Laguna before large-scale deployment within cities in Metro Manila. Once fully developed, the meSHM team will work on the commercialization of the system for it to be used by different infrastructure stakeholders such as realproperty owners, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), local government units (LGUs), and city engineers.

Intel launches most advanced Performance Data Center Platform INTEL recently launched its most advanced, highest performance data center platform optimized to power the industry’s broadest range of workloads—from the cloud to the network to the intelligent edge. New 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (code-named “Ice Lake”) are the foundation of Intel’s data center platform, enabling customers to capitalize on some of the most significant business opportunities today by leveraging the power of AI. New 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver a significant performance increase compared with the prior generation, with an average 46% improvement on popular data center workloads. The processors also add new and enhanced platform capabilities including Intel SGX for built-in security, and Intel Crypto Acceleration and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration. These new capabilities, combined with Intel’s broad portfolio of Intel® Select Solutions and Intel® Market Ready Solutions, enable customers to accelerate deployments across cloud, AI, enterprise, HPC, networking, security and edge applications. “Our 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform is the most flexible and performant in our history, designed to handle the diversity of workloads from the cloud to the network to the edge,” said Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Platforms Group at Intel. “Intel is uniquely positioned with the architecture, design and manufacturing to deliver the breadth of intelligent silicon and solutions our customers demand.”

Shopee rallies Filipinos to aid affected communities thru Shopee Bayanihan

VIVO Y1 NOW IN PHILIPPINES. With a vibrant HD display and high-performing processor for perfect gaming and entertainment, this value-for-money smartphone is available in select vivo stores in Bicol and Mindanao. Follow vivo Philippines on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ vivo.philippines), Twitter and Instagram for more details.

SHOPEE, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, gives back to the Filipino community during this time of need by providing an easier way to support its 49 partner charity organizations through Shopee Bayanihan. Users can donate safely and conveniently to help the underprivileged through various charity institutions on Shopee including Kaya Natin Movement, Philippine Red Cross, and Virlanie Foundation. Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, said, “Shopee is fully committed to utilizing our platform for the greater good. As the nation continues to adapt to the current situation, it is essential for us to step up and support the communities struggling to stay aﬂoat. Every one of us has a role to play during this period, and we will do what we can to help different sectors and local communities tide through this challenge by allowing in-app donations.” Under Shopee Bayanihan, Shopee offered a digital package for frontliners, provided funds for online sellers through the Seller Support Package, and donated transistor radios to students in rural areas to help them continue with their studie There are two ways users can donate: Purchasing Donation Vouchers Here are the steps to give via donation

Users can donate easily to Shopee’s partner organizations such as World Vision, Caritas Manila, and Habitat for Humanity via the Shopee app

vouchers: • Search for the partner foundation you want to donate to. • Select the donation voucher you wish to purchase and add it to your cart. • Complete the purchase by paying through card payment, online banking, or ShopeePay. • Receive the conﬁrmation of your donation through a push notiﬁcation. • You can also visit https://shopee.ph/m/ shopee-bayanihan and https://shopee.ph/m/ pamaskong-pambata to view the organizations you can donate to.

Donations via ShopeePay* Here are the steps to donate via ShopeePay: • Go to your ShopeePay wallet action bar and tap “Scan”. • Scan the QR code displayed on the partner’s social media account. • Input the amount you wish to donate and tap “Conﬁrm”. • Enter your 6-digit ShopeePay PIN. • You will receive a conﬁrmation of your donation. • Download Shopee for free on the App Store or Google Play Store.

Proptech platform Ohmyhome thrives in property market for 1st quarter of 2021 WHEN Ohmyhome decided to enter the Philippine real estate industry, it had a vision: “To help property dwellers simplify their home transaction processes and enjoy savings.” The property solutions platform has since relentlessly pursued this goal, racking up various milestones since its launch in the country in September 2020. To date, Ohmyhome’s Philippine team has grown to include a team of highly skilled business and tech professionals, all primed to develop and deliver top-tier property services to clients. In the Ohmyhome application and website, customers can now ﬁnd over 1,300 listings in its DIY platform and more than 40,000 units worth of property from over 140 real estate developments. The latter comprise select projects from Ohmyhome’s developer-partners such as Vistaland International Marketing Inc., Suntrust Properties, Avida Land, and Honeycomb Builders Inc. which came on board in 2020, and SM Development Corporation, and Bria Homes which signed up this year. Ohmyhome has also closed both local and overseas sales, with happy customers commending how Ohmyhome has indeed

shown that buying and selling property can be simple, efficient, and hassle-free. A complete cross-border property platform A leading proptech company in Singapore and Malaysia, Ohmyhome was founded in 2016 to be a one-stop shop that takes care of customers’ propertyrelated needs—from buy, sell and rent, to mortgage and legal, and to relocations and renovations. Offering its free-for-use DIY platform and reliable agent services, Ohmyhome garnered success in its first two markets— Singapore and Malaysia—because of its fast transactions (an average of 42 days versus the previous average of 132 days) and for its user-centric and data-driven approach in product development, where its tools, content, and features are tailored to the needs of customers. The first cross-border property platform to offer housing services in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Ohmyhome has gained strong traction in its markets, with over 7,000 properties, over 8,000 transacted services, and over 4,000 five-star customer testimonials.

Ohmyhome app

Consumer-driven data, research, and feedback afﬁrm Ohmyhome’s stellar performance, which has inspired it to further improve its services. For instance, the property platform has upgraded its Philippine app and website to include a properties page that has a better ‘search’ function. The app and website also allows easier

navigation for ﬁnding the perfect property, enabling users to ﬁlter by developer or area. Also, Ohmyhome’s suggested categories now include RFO (ready-foroccupancy) units, pre-selling units, price ranges, price segments, family-friendly properties, and amenities. Ohmyhome likewise recently rolled out its ‘Buying From Overseas’ page, which assists prospective buyers based abroad in purchasing property in the Philippines. This includes a Buyer’s Guide, which has easy-to-follow instructions for overseas buyers and investors, and curated content that contains resources and listings for potential customers. Finally, the proptech platform recently launched its exclusive in-app feature called ‘ShoutOut’, which reverses the home-searching behavior and makes it possible for buyers and tenants to post their property requirements. Sellers and property owners can then respond if their properties meet the criteria. Feeling the pulse of the Philippine market Since its launch, Ohmyhome has collected data on local consumer behavior on

real estate. With the global health crisis resetting the landscape of work and learning, customers now look at the home as more than just a haven for the family. Professionals and families with children look for dwellings that are conducive to ‘Work from home’ modes and to remote learning. Over the past months, Ohmyhome has likewise found that Filipino property seekers are looking for affordable housing for enduse in the P1 to 5 million and P5 to 10 million price segments. Thirty-three percent of the inquiries are for projects with compelling promos and pricing schemes. Given the current context, Filipinos also cite the following top considerations when purchasing a home: location (accessibility to work and proximity to essential locations such as banks, healthcare, and commercial establishments), budget (ﬂexible payment methods, affordability, possibility of home loans), and quality (developer/brand reputation, good customer service, and trustworthy agents). Additional factors are available amenities, competent property management, safety and security, and reliable connectivity such as Wi-Fi.

Tech & Gadgets Filipino parents urged to keep an eye on children’s internet habits IN LIGHT of the pandemic lockdown anniversary and heavy use of the internet these days, Kaspersky strongly recommends Filipino parents to continue monitoring their children’s online habits proactively. Learning, socializing and even entertainment have gone virtual since March last year and may have been the norm for Filipino children. However, the cybersecurity company believes children will never be 100 percent safe online and parents have a big role to play to help keep them secure. “It’s easy for Filipino parents to feel conﬁdent knowing that they’ve been physically with their children at home 24/7 for one year already. We’re all too familiar with the daily routine of most families these days—parents work online while children study virtually at the same time. But I want to remind my fellow parents that we can never rely on our children’s judgement and we can never be sure what is on the other side of the screen, too,” said Mary Grace Sotayco, Territory Manager for the Philippines at Kaspersky. In Kaspersky’s latest data for the Philippines, it shows that FIlipino children are very much into social media messaging (43.09%), watching videos and listening to music (34.75%), and playing computer gaming titles (14.37%). These data were collected anonymously from devices of Filipino users installed with Kaspersky solutions, who willingly opt in to have their data on Kaspersky Security Network (KSN). Apart from video conferencing platforms used by schools, messaging functions from social media applications are now the main tools for communication among peers. Streaming content, both in video and audio format have become the most in-demand entertainment source. The eSports industry was boosted by the current conditions since traditional live sports events were cancelled left and right. Interest for computer games were consistently lower in the third and fourth quarter of 2020 compared to Q3 & Q4 2019, except in the month of December, on which a 6.69% increase in the month of December 2020 (30.12%) was observed compared to the 23.43% of December 2019. Meanwhile, from the data collected by Kaspersky, an apparent increase in Filipino kids Ecommerce activity in the third quarter of 2020, were monitored compared to Q3 2019. On the same per quarter data, there has been a decrease in the overall interest among Filipino children for weapons and in news compared to 2020 and 2019.

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

Smart boosts typhoon-prone areas’ resilience with solar power P LDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. has installed solar-powered generators in communities in the Bicol region that often ﬁnd themselves in the path of severe weather disturbances.

Among the recipients of the project are Labo, Camarines Norte; Garchitorena, Camarines Sur; Siruma, Camarines Sur; Cabusao, Camarines Sur; Brgy. Misibis, Tiwi, Albay; Cawayan High School, Manito, Albay; Brgy. Buyo, Virac, Catanduanes; Brgy. Tubaon, Virac, Catanduanes; Pilar, Sorsogon and Sorsogon City - City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. Smart tapped affiliate company Meralco’s renewable energy arm, Spectrum, to deploy solar-powered generators with a capacity of 550Wp in these locations complemented by batteries that have a total capacity of 1.2kWh. The system can light up 30 5-watt LED lamps for eight hours daily, or power as many as eight desk fans. “This initiative highlights our core value of ‘malasakit’ and commitment to help provide the needs of communities where we serve. We aim to be one of the pillars that support our fellow Filipinos especially in times of disaster,” said Alex Caeg, Senior Vice-President & Head of Consumer Sales Group at PLDT and Smart. Having a solar powered system also means that LGUs and disaster response teams can charge communication devices such as two-way radios, flashlights, and other rescue devices even if there are widespread power outages in their areas. “Over the years, we have seen the importance of alternative power

The solar-powered system can light up 30 5-watt LED lamps for 8 hours daily.

sources in times of disaster. This project is a long-term solution that aims to boost the resilience of these communities in the face of natural calamities and the resulting power supply interruptions,” said John Palanca, Smart First Vice-President and Regional Head of Consumer Sales Group. The project also complements Smart’s 'Libreng Tawag' (free calls) stations that the company often deploys in heavily impacted areas. But some areas aren’t waiting for typhoon season to put the system to good use. In the town of Pilar, Sorsogon, the generators are being used in the municipality’s vaccination drive. “We are using the system to power up laptops and other devices of our rural health workers who are currently running vaccination efforts in our facility,” added Arnol Lista, who is the town’s Mu-

nicipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer. “This is helpful in disaster response. During typhoons, we need to constantly communicate with affected communities so we can assess the situation and find out what the challenges are in getting to these areas before deploying responders,” said Luisito Mendoza, OIC of Sorsogon City’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. Both officials agree that going green is also practical. “The system saves us money because we no longer have to spend on gasoline or diesel to power our generators,” said Mendoza. “Before, we used to rely on generators that run on fossil fuel and they could be costly. But now, we can harness the sun to provide us with electricity,” explained Lista.

Last year, Typhoons Quinta, Rolly and Ulysses battered the Bicol region sending more than 50,000 families to evacuation centers after leaving a trail of destruction. The tropical cyclones amounted to some three billion pesos worth of damage across the region. At one point, Catanduanes was cut off from the rest of the country after Super Typhoon Rolly downed vital telecommunication installations. All these efforts are in line with the commitment of Smart and its parent firm, PLDT, to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly the 9th UN SDG on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, through building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation.

Make fascinating content with new SAMSUNG Galaxy A32 Escape with Samsung’s

Galaxy A32

SAMSUNG continues to provide everyone with the means to create awesome content with the launch of the Galaxy A32. The latest device is packed with innovations at a price within reach, proving that a powerful smartphone can be enjoyed by all. Starting April 9, the Galaxy A32 can be purchased in Awesome Black or Awesome White for P13,990 SRP. The smartphone is available at the Samsung Online Store, Lazada, Shopee, and the online platforms of MemoXpress and Abenson. Customers who purchase the Galaxy A32 from April 9 to 18 online will receive a free Samsung 10,000mAh battery pack worth P1,299. Aside from the Galaxy A32, Samsung recently launched innovative products in the A-series lineup like the Galaxy A72, A52, and A52 5G. Those who purchase the new Galaxy devices online can get exciting promos such as: Free VIU membership for 1 year until December 31 upon registration through the Samsung Members App. Samsung users who receive targeted emails until April 30 can enjoy

vouchers with up to P3,000 off on the new A-series smartphones. For a seamless Galaxy Ecosystem, those who purchase the new Galaxy A-series can enjoy a P1,500 discount on the Galaxy Buds Live or Galaxy Buds+ and a P3,000 off on the Galaxy WatchActive 2 until April 26. A P300 discount also awaits consumers on participating accessories. A powerful mid-range smartphone for content creation and consumption The Galaxy A32 is a tool for entertainment, whether it’s through streaming movies and TV shows, playing mobile games, or staying in touch with loved ones. Its advanced 7nm Octa-Core processor and 90Hz refresh rate provide a smoother experience, perfect for streaming, playing games, and using multiple apps. The Galaxy A32 can also keep up with the busiest creator with its 5,000mAh battery life. Its AI power saving feature adjusts to usage habits to optimize power. Meanwhile, the 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED screen offers a wide range of colors for an exceptional viewing experience. The feature is

complemented by the Eye Comfort Shield and Eye Care Display that gives off 43% Less Harmful Blue Light than the conventional LCD. The Galaxy A32 is also perfect for content creators looking to step up their game. The smartphone has a versatile Quad Camera with a 64MP main that pushes the limits of one’s creativity. It includes a 5MP Macro lens, 8MP Ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree ﬁeld of view, and a 5MP Depth Camera. Videos can also be shot in 4K UHD video quality for more vivid details. The camera setup also features AR Emoji, My Filters, and Scene Optimizer. It also supports Hyperlapse, Night Mode, Slow-mo, Panorama, and Pro Mode for creators who want to experiment with their content. Its 20MP front camera also lets Gen Z capture picture-perfect selﬁes. To know more about the new Samsung Galaxy A32, visit www.samsung.com/ph/smartphones/galaxy-a/.

TV, soundbar bundles

THIS summer, we have just the ticket you need to take a virtual vacation, jam at concerts, and explore new worlds in the comfort of your home, courtesy of the Samsung Summer’s on Us promo. From April 1 to June 30, 2021, get a Samsung Crystal UHD TV and Soundbar bundle for as low as P29,999 when purchased via straight card or cash payment. See new sights from around the world right at home in wonderful 4K resolution, and get an even more immersive audio experience by pairing the TV with an equally powerful soundbar. With Samsung’s Smart TV features, get ready to have endless content to explore on Netﬂix, Viu, YouTube, and more! Samsung’s TV and Soundbar bundle offers are available in participating Samsung Authorized dealers nationwide. Don’t miss out on great home entertainment for less this summer, and escape the heat without stepping out! For more information on this promo and the bundles available, visit www.samsung.com/ph/.

Pure air with LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, new line of air conditioners LG PHILIPPINES has finally launched one of their most eagerly awaited Air Solutions products in the country. In a recent installment of the South Korean technology giant’s popular livestream event, long time LG Brand Ambassador James Deakin hosted the launch that was simulcast through Lazada and Facebook. The self-purifying mask, which was introduced and went viral a year ago, is one of the most coveted techwear pieces worldwide. The PuriCare™ Wearable Air Purifier, together with its case, is offered alongside LG’s line of air conditioners which also feature UVnano technology. UVnano is LG’s newest innovation that revolutionizes personal protection. This technology uses ultraviolet light to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria. The PuriCare™ Wearable Air Purifier’s charging case uses UVnano to clean the mask while its charging, while the new air conditioners uses ultraviolet light to sterilize the fan to prevent 99.99% of germs from adhering to its surface. This process makes the air blown through the unit that much purer, safer, and fresher. The LG PuriCare™ Wearable Air Purifier is your personal all-in solution for clean air. It provides thorough air protection with HEPA filters that filter out 99% of harm-

LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier

ful particles for clean, fresh air. It has a Safety Certificate from the Korean Institute of Public Safety (KIPS), while virus removal, bacteria filtration, and pollen allergen removal performance was verified through an internal test conducted under the observation of TUV Rheinland Korea. The wearable air purifier has also been certified by

the Korean Asthma Allergy Foundation (KAF) for the effective removal of allergens, and the National Radio Research Agency (EMF) for electromagnetic compatibility. The Respiratory Sensor detects the cycle and volume of the wearer’s breathing, whereas DUAL Inverter Fans adjust the dual three-speed fans accordingly. Its seamless, organic design fits and seals to your face to minimize air leakage around the nose and chin, comfortable for everyday wear while minimizing air leakage. The material is made of medical-grade silicone. The design also makes it possible to wear the unit comfortably for hours on end. A separate charging case is also available. It can remove up to 99.99% of bacteria in 30 minutes using UVnano technology, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. It also supports the use of the LG ThinQ app. With your smartphone, you can check usage history and the status of UVnano mode, Drying mode, and filter life with LG ThinQ. The LG PuriCare™ Wearable Air Purifier, together with its charging case, is the best way to be assured of clean air while on the go. When you’re just staying at home however, your best option for clean, pure air is LG’s new air condi-

tioners that utilize the new Aircare Complete system, which is a multi-step filtration process with UVnano to reduce allergens and harmful bacteria to ensure the cleanliness of the air you breathe together with your family and loved ones. The first step of the process is the Safe Plus Pre-Filter, which traps big dust particles and remove 99.9% bacteria from the start. Next is the Ultra-Fine Dust (HAF) filter that collects Particulate Matter (PM) 1.0 ultra-fine dust that is combined with (-) ion from Ion diffuser. After that is the Allergy Filter that reduces allergens with a filter for healthier air followed by the UVnano technology to keep your fan 99.99% bacteria-free for a cleaner breeze. The end result is clean, pure air in your home all day every day. Another upcoming product to look out for is the LG PuriCare™ 360. A lot of air purifiers are available in the market right now but what makes LG’s special is because it is tested and certified by the British Allergy Foundation (BAF), Korea Air Cleaning Association (CA), and Korea Asthma & Allergy Association (KAF). PuriCare™ air purifiers remove over 90% of airborne allergens. It has a unique purification method that promotes 360 degrees of clean air delivery, including areas low to the ground where infants and toddlers can reap the rewards.

Sports

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

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2021

Ancajas fights Rodriguez after more than a year of waiting By Jessica Luna

Because there are no more races to join, earn points and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, Mary Joy Tabal has decided to shift her preparations elsewhere.

GAB clarifies professional tag of players By Randy Caluag THE Games and Amusement Board has issued a clarification on the ‘professional tag’ of players taking part in a tournament sanctioned by the government agency for professional sports. GAB chairman Baham Mitra said: “An amateur athlete who is issued a special guest license shall not be deemed to be a professional by his mere participation in professional sports competitions. So, there is no need to declare him as an ex-pro.” Earlier, Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League commissioner Kenneth Duremdez warned that players who will take part in the inaugural Chooks-to-Go VisMin Super Cup will be declared professionals and therefore be subjected to limitations set by the league. Under MPBL rules, teams are limited to only seven ex-pros in the lineup and only five allowed to play per game. In a way, the GAB is seeking exemption for student athletes or amateurs from the said policy by the MPBL, a league founded by boxing icon Senator Manny Pacquiao. “If a player from the NCAA or AFP, or national team gets this special license from GAB, he will not automatically qualify as a professional athlete,” Mitra added. “As the agency mandated by law to regulate and supervise professional sports in the Philippines, these are the policies we need to uphold and implement to avoid confusion.” Mitra said four players from the different school-based teams have applied for and were given Special Guest Licences by the GAB. In a report, Tiebreakertimes mentioned Arellano University’s Jordan Sta. Ana, Rich Guinitaran, CJ Pamaran, and Shane Menina as the student players, who got their special guests licenses from the GAB. Their move was reportedly approved by the management committee, said Arellano athletic director Peter Cayco as per Tiebreakertimes report.

Tabal gives up Olympic goal, sets eyes on SEAG By Peter Atencio

EBUANO runner Mary Joy Tabal has given up her quest to earn a qualifying slot to the Tokyo Olympics.

That’s because all the qualification events that Tabal had planned to join last year and early this year have all been called off. Because there are no more races to join, earn points and qualify for the quadrennial meet this July, the 31-year-old Tabal has decided to shift her preparations elsewhere. The Busay-based Tabal will now just concentrate on her stint in the coming 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. “Ni-let go ko na siya (Tokyo Olympics). So focused na lang ako sa SEA Games this year,” said Tabal, who has been training in the outskirts of Cebu City.

Because COVID-19 cases in Cebu City have gone down, Tabal is slowly beginning to shift her training activities to an outdoor setting. “Nakaka-frustrate iyung 2020. Grabe ‘yung mga goals ko. All-in talaga ako for the Tokyo Olympics,” said Tabal. But everything changed when travel restrictions and lockdowns stretched from days into weeks and months. “I thought this pandemic will only last for a few weeks. Tapos, naging one year. Nothing to expect na,” said Tabal. The 4’11” Tabal was the first female Filipino marathon runner to qualify for the Olympics when she made it to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

To qualify for Rio, Tabal submitted a time of 2:43:29 in the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in 2016. Tabal then placed 124th at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Among the races that Tabal hoped to join to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics was the 2021 Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon in the first week of February. After this, she was supposed to join the Seoul International Marathon in the second week of March. The Tokyo Marathon, also scheduled in March, was supposed to be another qualifier, but it was reset for October. Tabal will still participate in the Tokyo Marathon as part of her preparations for the SEA Games. It has been 15 months since Tabal joined a road race. The last time she did, Tabal settled for runner-up honors to Christine Hallasgo in the 2019 SEA Games marathon.

AFTER waiting for more than a year, reigning International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin “The Pretty Boy” Ancajas said he will leave it all on the ring when he takes on Mexican challenger Jonathan Javier Rodriguez on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The 12-round fight of the two has been postponed twice, first on November 2, 2019 in Los Angeles because of visa issues, and the second one on April 11 in Las Vegas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I understand how frustrating the situation is right now. But it’s also frustrating for everybody, so I have to be ready,” said the 29-year-old Ancajas on Friday during an online news conference organized by the promoting Premier Boxing Champions on Showtime. “We worked so hard and prepared so well since we’ve been waiting for this fight to happen for more than a year,” added the Panabo, Davao del Norte native, who has a record of 32-1-2 winloss-draw record with 22 knockouts. The Filipino champ expects Rodriguez (22-1 record with 16 knockouts) to fight aggressively. “He [Rodriguez] is really determined to dethrone me, but I am really ready for my ninth title defense,” Ancajas vowed. Supported by the Big Boss Cement owner Gilbert Cruz, Ancajas wants to fight next either former world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez of Nicaragua or ex-world champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand. He also expressed interest in a world title unification bout against Mexican World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council super flyweight world titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada or Japanese World Boxing Organization champion Kazuto Ioka. But he has to hurdle Rodriguez first. “I have to focus very well first against Rodriguez. I can’t set him aside,” said Ancajas. Meanwhile, unbeaten Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo (21-0 record with 14 knockouts) fights American Pablo Cruz (21-3 record with six knockouts) in a 10-round non-title featherweight undercard bout. The main event, held under Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions, is between Russian welterweight Sergey Lipinets and American Jaron Ennis, with the other welterweight war between Eimantas Stanionis of Lithuania and Thomas Dulorme of Puerto Rico a 12-round bout.

Work continues for SEAG prep despite challenges “DESPITE many uncertainties, the national team can be certain that we are working very hard to make sure they are prepared to defend our title,” said Southeast Asian Games Chef de Mission and Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Ramon Fernandez as he led Team Philippine’s working group meeting held Friday. Top of the agenda was training prospects of the national team as several sports face challenges on venues to hold their own safe training camps. The SEAG CDM informed the group that the PSC board is open to partnering with local government units which would be willing to “adopt” teams to train in their areas. The idea is based on the successful “bubble” training of the fencing and archery teams in Ormoc and Dumaguete respectively. National Training Director Marc

Velasco said this is a good option to take since a training set-up like the one held for the Olympic-bound teams would not be feasible. “We are talking of almost a thousand athletes so putting them in one bubble would not be viable,” Velasco explained. Before the secretariat could proceed with training preparations though, an approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases must be obtained. Fernandez assured that they have been working on getting this approval but have been delayed with the recent developments in rising cases. Deputies Chef de Mission Pearl Managuelod and Atty. Al Agra, Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary General Karen Caballero, PSC Doctor Janis Ann de Vera, PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr., joined Fernandez and Velasco in the said meeting.

Shown here are PSC Secretariat Head Liza Ner, PSC PCO Head Malyn Bamba, SEAG CDM and PSC Commissioner Mon Fernandez, Dra. Janis Ann de Vera, PSC Exec. Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, DCDM Pearl Managuelod, DCDM Atty. Al Agra, National Training Director Marc Velasco and POC Secretary General Karen Caballero.

Relive UAAP Season 82 with official yearbook

The Ateneo Blue Eagles celebrate their title triumph.

THE 82nd season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines may have not gotten a proper send-off due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but the memories still live on. Season 82 host Ateneo launched an interactive yearbook to celebrate each moment, Friday morning. The first-of-its-kind UAAP yearbook can be accessed through Shift Interactive’s website (http://shiftinteractive.com /dev/uaap _digital_ book/digital-book/). “The year 2020 turned out to be a year like no other. Not only did it affect student-athletes, coaches, and the staff of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, but the rest of high school, collegiate, and professional sports. Needless to say, it was an unprecedented time for the entire world,” said UAAP Season 82 President Emmanuel

Fernandez of Ateneo. “For Season 82 of the UAAP, what started out as an exciting season turned out to be the shortest one in recent history. However, it will also be remembered for the amazing performances displayed by our most promising student-athletes,” he continued. “They did give their All For More in each and every game, and for both the graduating students and the undergrads, it is plain to see that there’s even more that they can give of themselves in the years to come. After all, the students of Season 82 know more than any other batch that because they had less time to play, the passion in their hearts can only keep burning.” Videos and galleries from each UAAP event beginning with the opening ceremony which took place on September 1, 2019 up to the last game

day of the season on March 9,2020 are collated in the book. Also featured are the activities done by the eight member schools to help out the affected communities of the pandemic. Also in the yearbook are features on the UAAP student-athletes that represented the country in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, a list of all the top performers for the season, and a tribute to the studentathletes who were not able to play in their respective events. “May you enjoy the stories that each page tells as a testimony to what our best student-athletes have achieved and will continue to achieve,” continued Fernandez. “With you, we are one in hoping that All For More transcends last year’s theme, but becomes a way forward for the future — one that we can all celebrate together.”