Issuu

Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net

DUTERTE LIFTS 9-YEAR BAN ON MINING DEALS; GROUP CHEERS DECISION Rody tells nation: Don’t lose hope; gov’t has the solution By Joyce Pangco Pañares PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has rallied Filipinos not to lose hope as COVID-19 cases continue to surge and vaccine supply remains tight, assuring the public that the government is not inutile

VOL. XXXV • NO. 60 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

in addressing virus-related concerns. “Do not be afraid. Government is working. Government is busy doing everything, not nothing. Government is trying to get things to fix all of us. You might think we do not have any solution – Next page

‘China marks all over SCS’ Online news service bares Chinese massive claims on disputed areas

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rio N. Araja

HINA has registered trademarks over hundreds of land features scattered throughout the South China Sea, a move opposed by other claimants to the disputed waters, BenarNews, a Washington-based online news service, reported Thursday.

BenarNews said records show that Sansha City – which is responsible for administering China’s claims in the South China Sea – filed thousands of domestic trademark applications covering 281 specific rocks, reefs, shoals and other contested features as well as entire regions of the South China Sea. Each of these trademarks is composed of the feature’s name in stylized Chinese calligraphy and

is categorized under one of 45 international trademark classes, which cover everything from musical instruments to legal services. Many also include an English transliteration of the feature’s name and an illustrated logo that offers a colorful view of the feature as seen from above. Next page

SEA PATROL. These handout photos were taken on April 14, 2021 and received from the Philippine Coast Guard on April 15 after holding maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea, where several Chinese maritime assets still lingered at Whitsun Reef (Julian Felipe reef) in the Spratly Islands. PCG personnel aboard rubber boats and displaying a Philippine flag, patrolled the area using BRP Cabra (MRRV-4409), joined by two smaller boats from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources that were manned by BFAR personnel. The area is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, a huge part of which is being claimed by China despite a July 2015 UN tribunal ruling voiding the Chinese claim. PCG/AFP

Clinton, ex-DFA chief worry over PH becoming China subject By Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo

FORMER US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is worried that the Philippines will become a vassal state of China. In an exclusive interview with the online news service Rappler, Clinton said

there was a real danger that the Philippines would find itself increasingly unable to act without Chinese approval, no matter who is in charge of the government. “I worry about the Philippines becoming basically a subject of China through financial investments, through the buying of influence, through the un-

dermining of institutions,” Clinton told Rappler. “I think that there’s a real danger that, left unchecked, the Philippines – no matter who the leader is – would find itself increasingly unable to act without Chinese approval. I don’t think that’s the kind of future that the Philippines would like.” “I think if you care about the future of the Philippines, about the independence of the Philippines… then you need friends and the US, I hope, is the premier friend to stand with you and protect you against further incursions by

COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE

Joint PH-US military exercises now include training on how to fend off an attack from a third party once the Mutual Defense Treaty is invoked, Balikatan exercise director Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said. the Chinese to basically dominate Filipino society,” she continued. “I mean, I think that’s what you want. And I hope that’s what the Biden administration will be able to achieve.” Next page

JAPAN PM ALL SET FOR BIDEN GAB

Story on A2

(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 15)

904,285 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

11,429 183,527 NEW

ACTIVE

15,594

148

705,164

856

DEATHS

RECOVERIES

NEW

Duterte lifts nine-year ban on new mining deals By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has lifted a moratorium on new mineral agreements, allowing the government to enter into new mineral agreements, provided that these would comply with the country’s mining laws, Malacanang said.

By Othel V. Campos

• FDA: AstraZeneca gets go-ahead • 2 Miss U pageant bets test positive THE Philippines can continue using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after experts reviewed it amid blood clot reports, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. “I wrote to Health Secretary Francisco Duque to tell him, to reiterate that the benefit outweighs risk and we

try to contribute to socio-economic growth has been removed,” COMP said in a statement. “We welcome the lifting of the moratorium on new mining projects – in place for nearly nine years – in this time of great national difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the miners group said.

P180b foregone during two-week ECQ, says Lopez

LOCAL ROUNDUP

By Willie Casas and Rey E. Requejo

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of mining, mineral quarrying and processing companies in the country, cheered the lifting of the nine-year ban on new mining projects through Executive Order No. 130 signed on April 14. “A major roadblock to the huge potential of the Philippine mining indus-

should continue using the vaccine,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said during a Palace briefing. Domingo said the World Health Organization, Vaccine Expert Panel, and the adverse events committee were “unanimous” in saying that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s overall benefit outweighed the known and potential risks. “Here in the Philippines, our adverse Next page

PENDING the findings of a study on the effects of the latest lockdown to the economy, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said initial estimates from lost business opportunities during the two-week ECQ period amounted to at least 1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) or about P180 billion. He said an ongoing survey would determine the actual losses during the lockdown period and another survey which would be launched soon, would assess the impact of modified ECQ to the economy. Citing pre-lockdown figures, Lopez said the number of closed businesses went down to 4.6 percent, but the numbers were expected to scale up as restriction measures forced companies to temporarily close or, for many, permanently halt

ROMUALDEZ TAKES OATH AS PCG AUXILLIARY COMMODORE

Story on A4

News

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Japan PM all set for Biden gab J

APAN’S prime minister Yoshihide Suga heads to Washington before the weekend to become the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with US President Joe Biden, with concerns about China topping the agenda.

Suga will be hoping to renew the allimportant alliance with Washington after the Trump era, as well as compare notes on an increasingly assertive Beijing. The trip comes after two top US officials visited Japan in March, and following a summit of leaders from the Quad alliance – a grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia and India. The theme of all the diplomatic activity has been clear: signalling a united front to Beijing at a time of growing concern about its military stance and human rights issues.

In Tokyo, Suga’s trip is seen as “a sign that the United States puts top priority on East Asia in its diplomacy,” said Kunihiko Miyake, president of Japan’s Foreign Policy Institute think-tank. “It means Washington now shares Japan’s concerns about a dramatic change in the strategic environment in East Asia over the past decade,” said Miyake, a former foreign ministry official. Japan has been increasingly vocal about China’s maritime expansion and military build-up, publicly protesting the presence of Chinese vessels around disputed islets known as the Senkaku

Clinton,... From A1

‘China... From A1

Former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert Del Rosario on Thursday shared Clinton’s concern that the Philippines could become a subject of China if Manila fails to stand up to Beijing’s “duplicity” and bullying. “In our opinion, Secretary Clinton is absolutely correct in expressing her fear that the Philippines could become a subject of China. To the last Filipino, under the leadership of (Foreign Affairs) Secretary (Teodoro) Locsin and (Defense) Secretary (Delfin) Lorenzana, we must finally stand up to Beijing’s duplicity and being a bully,” Del Rosario said. Before the recent disagreement over the swarming of Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, the Duterte administration has refrained from confronting China over their territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea in the hopes of obtaining Chinese loans and investments. Since Duterte assumed office in 2016, China has provided the Philippines with loans mostly tied to the administration’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program. China was also the first country to donate COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. A policy think tank, meanwhile, cautioned officials against deceptive rhetoric and behavior of China intended to hide its real intention of expansionism in the South China Sea. Prof. Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ADRi), said recent developments in the West Philippine Sea, particularly the swarming of Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea by Chinese militia vessels clearly showed China’s expansionist ambition. “The persistent and deliberate swarming maneuverings of their maritime militia vessels in Philippine waters reveals China’s expansionist ambitions and renders false their pronouncements to safeguard peace and stability in the region,” Manhit said. “They continue to instigate deceptive rhetoric and acts that undermine the precepts of peaceful resolution and stability in the region,” he added. The ADRi also underscored that the Philippines has “every right to exercise its sovereignty over these waters.” “We have the right to patrol, protect, and harness its resources as established by international law and the 2016 arbitral ruling,” Manhit said. When President Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016, he became friendly with China as part of his rapprochement policy with China, but to the point of almost burning bridges with the Philippines’ long-time ally, the United States, Manhit said. Manhit lamented that Duterte appeared to have also been convinced of China’s argument that the territorial dispute issue should be resolved bilaterally, which paved the way for the sidelining of the Philippine’s legal victory before a United Nations tribunal in the case it filed against China.

The depiction of features appears to predate China’s massive campaign of land reclamation in the Paracel and Spratly islands, which kicked off in 2014, BenarNews said. Julian Ku, a professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, said these trademarks could potentially help the Chinese government wield lawsuits to advance its position in the disputes. The party-list group Bayan Muna denounced the trademark registrations as yet another blatant assault on the sovereignty of the Philippines and the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which declared that China has no historic rights over the waters of the West Philippine Sea and the islands within it. “We trust that other nations would respect the decision of the Permanent Court and reject any efforts to register the same trademarks under their respective jurisdictions,” Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said in a statement to Manila Standard. “Let the Chinese government and the people behind these trademarks fool themselves over their illegitimate claims. The Court’s decision is clear – the West Philippine Sea is ours. No Chinese trademark can overturn that ruling,” he added. Gaite said this “lawfare” or the mis-

Rody... From A1 we have solutions,” he said in a televised address to the nation Thursday night. “We are not without means. We are not really at a total loss as to what to do. We know what to do. There are just so many noisy people. Everybody wants to be heard but the problem is there is no time to hear everyone. We do not have that luxury of time,” the President added. Duterte, however, admitted that the forecast remains bleak until the majority of Filipinos are inoculated. “Before it gets better, we have to go through the worst of times...Un-

Duterte... From A1 In the House of Representatives, the chair of the committee on ways and means said Duterte’s order lifting the nine-year ban on granting new mining agreements to maximize government revenues and stir economic growth was a “welcome news.” Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said the establishment of new mining agreements will pave the way for the country’s bid for competitiveness in the electric vehicle and renewable energy battery sector, as well as the country’s long-term economic recovery. “We are currently in a mineral boom, and metallic resources that we have in abundance, like gold and silver, are at elevated prices. Because there has been much monetary expansion all over the world, investors want to hedge their bets on some store of value. Gold has been the first choice for that, historically.” According to EO 130, “The Government may enter into new mineral agreements, subject to compliance with the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations. “The mining industry can support various government projects such as the Build, Build, Build Program by providing raw materials for the construction and development of other countries; and the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program, by increasing employment opportunities in remote rural areas where there are mining activities thereby stimulating countryside development,” the EO said. til now, the industrialized countries, those who have are not really ready to let go of their stock of vaccines... There is no sufficient supply to inoculate the world so this will last long. Many more will die.” “Much to our sadness, the stock coming in is barely enough to inoculate health workers...When will we have the sufficient stock to vaccinate the people? I really do not know, nobody knows,” he added. Duterte said in a worst-case scenario, he can use the state’s police powers to take over the operations of hotels to ensure that there are enough beds for COVID-19 patients, but clarified that this is not a desirable option.

by Tokyo and the Diaoyu by Beijing. Meanwhile, relations between Taiwan and the United States are “stronger than ever,” an envoy for Biden said Thursday during a visit to the democratic island as it faces increasingly hostile moves by China. Former senator Christopher Dodd and former deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg were asked by Biden to travel to Taipei this week, in the first such delegation since the new US administration came to power. “I can say with confidence the US partnership with Taiwan is stronger than ever,” Dodd said as he met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday morning. A joint statement from Biden and Suga is expected to restate that the To-

kyo-administered islands are protected under the Japan-US security treaty. It could also reference concerns over human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The two sides may struggle to agree on some other areas, however, said Kyoji Yanagisawa, president of the International Geopolitics Institute Japan, with Tokyo favouring a more cautious tone than Washington. “The impact of intensifying USChina tension on Japan, a neighbour of China, will be significant in both national security and economic terms,” Yanagisawa said. “Japan needs to think about how it will be able to mediate between the US and China,” he told AFP. Recent lower-level talks have called for “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

use of legal systems and principles against the Philippines is but a desperate attempt by China to solidify its dubious “Nine-Dash Line” claim over the West Philippine Sea. “Even the registration as a trademark is equally dubious. According to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, “a trademark is a word, a group of words, sign, symbol, logo or a combination thereof that identifies and differentiates the source of the goods or services of one entity from those of others.” How this can apply to physical features and islands is a big question mark,” Gaite said. Nonetheless, Gaite called on the government to intensify its assertions of the Philippines territorial integrity and to act more decisively in addressing Chinese military presence in Philippine waters. “It must reverse its exaggeratedly chummy and disconcertingly submissive diplomatic policy towards China and start standing up for Philippine sovereignty,” he said. A group of environmentalists, meanwhile, lambasted China for illegally taking fish from Philippine waters “every single day.” Villardo Abueme, Homonhon Environmental Rescue Organization (HERO) president, said the Philippines could face a fish shortage as Chinese fishing vessels remain in the West Philippine Seas’ Spratlys Islands to catch 240,000 kilos of fish from Philippine waters every day.

He said China’s overfishing as being “worse than invasion” and urged the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to look into the matter. The Chinese fishermen have been overfishing (and) depleting our marine resources. They even sell their catch to our fishermen at a higher price,” he said. “This is actually worse than invasion. Our fishermen have nothing to eat. They are now getting hungry because of these Chinese (fishermen),” he added. Citing the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea, Abueme said the ships found around the Union Banks and Pag-asa Islands were about 60 meters in length, and that each ship could catch at least one ton of fish every day. The task force sighted 240 Chinese vessels at the West Philippine Sea during its latest sovereignty patrols on April 11. Some 136 Chinese vessels were spotted at Burgos Reef; nine others at Julian Felipe Reef; 65, in Chigua Reef; six in Panganiban Reef; three vessels in Zamora Reef; four near Pag-asa Island; one near Likas Island; five near Kota Island, and 11 in Ayungin Shoal. Abueme earlier said that earth materials from dredging and mining in different parts of the country, such as quality and affordable sand, gravel, aggregates and filling materials, were being used by China to build a reclamation and military infrastructure at the West Philippine Sea.

The moratorium had been imposed while the government worked on legislation to boost the state’s share of mining revenues in one of the world’s top producers of nickel, copper and gold. Under a tax reform law that took effect in 2018, the excise tax on minerals, mineral products and quarry resources has been doubled to 4 percent. The executive order also directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to formulate the terms and conditions in the new mineral agreements in order to maximise government revenues. The DENR is also tasked with strictly implementing rules on mine safety and environmental policies with the lifting of the ban. Duterte permitted new mining deals, believing this will usher “significant economic benefits” to the country. “Mining projects that will be allowed to operate following this development will provide additional government revenues in the form of taxes and fees, royalty fees, and increase in export value, as well as employment opportunities for thousands of Filipinos, especially those in rural areas,” COMP said. Meanwhile, the Philippine Nickel Industry Association welcomed the amendment of Section 4 of the Executive Order 79, S. 2012 and appreciated the government’s recognition of the industry’s role in economic recovery and development. “PNIA has always maintained the industry’s contribution to countryside development by providing employment opportunities and livelihood, and ensuring the sustainability of our host communities.

We remain steadfast in our thrust to adhere to the highest safety standards in our operations and to deliver beyond compliance on environmental safety and protection.” Given the President’s order, Salceda said the Philippines should now develop a plan to aggressively play a role in developing inputs to electric vehicles using its mineral resources. “In the past, renewable energy was not always relied upon because of fluctuations in supply. When there’s no wind, there is little wind-powered energy supply. Solar energy requires consistent sunlight, and so on,” he added. With powerful battery technology, driven by nickel and cobalt—another Philippine product—renewable energy can be stored better, so that fluctuations are managed, the lawmaker said. “In other words, we now have the power and the prospects to create millions of jobs in renewable energy, battery manufacturing, sustainable mining, and related sectors. This will be a key driver of economic recovery postCOVID, but we have to be very wise with our policies,” Salceda said. Over the next 10 years, the House leader added, some 1.3 million jobs await the country in nickel-related industries. “The world appears to see that this is the future. Top nickel buyer and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is already larger in market cap than all other major car manufacturers combined. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are also rising. Nickel will be very big, and as one of the world’s largest producers of nickel, we will be very important, if we will be wise,” he said.

P180b... From A1

businesses will be deeply impacted by the shifting quarantine schedule. We remain as open as possible to help those who are in need of financial assistance. We continue to offer soft loan programs to small businesses as we carefully trudge through the pandemic. We hope that the businesses allowed to operate during MECQ will help in increase the number of active workers in the labor force,” he added. The government has allowed low-risk sectors and activities 50 percent operating capacity in the MECQ. Among the activities allowed are supermarkets, groceries, pharmaceuticals, drug stores, markets, hardware, banks, medical clinics and hospitals, and utilities like electricity, water and

operations due to insufficient capital and lack of consumer demand. “As we move on to ease restrictions from MECQ to general community quarantine, we are expecting to find employment for an estimated 1 million Filipinos who lost their livelihood in the last two weeks. Based on a labor survey, about 1.5 million workers lost their jobs and 500,000 of them are estimated to find or have found work during the MECQ when the government relaxed restrictions on some sectors and industries,” he said. “It is given that many industries and

PLLO chief Sitoy dies, 85 PRESIDENTIAL Legislative Liaison Office head Sec. Adelino Sitoy passed away Thursday. He was 85. President Rodrigo Duterte interrupted the report of his Cabinet members during his address to the public Thursday evening after receiving a text message on Sitoy’s death. “He is the second Cabinet member to die. First was Danny Lim, then now Sec. Sitoy of PLLO,” Duterte said before asking for a minute of silence for the late Cabinet official. Lim passed away of cardiac arrest over a week after contracting COVID-19 in January. Sitoy, a lawyer by profession, was a former dean of the College of Law of the University of Cebu and served as assistant city fiscal of Cebu City and Toledo City. He was appointed PLLO head in September 2016.

Local... From A1 events committee has not seen similar cases but in Europe and other parts of the world, it was seen that it is very rare,” said Domingo The rare blood clots occurred in about one out of one million recipients, he said. Over a million people in the Philippines have received either the Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccine as of April 13. Last week, the Philippines temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccine on people younger than 60 upon the recommendation of the FDA as a precautionary measure following reports of rare blood clots in recipients abroad.

New cases

The Philippines recorded 11,429 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the country’s total cases to over 900,000, as coronavirus-related fatalities counted over a hundred each day for exactly a week. The country now has a total of 904,285 cases. The DOH also reported total recoveries were at 705,164 with 856 new ones, while the death toll hit 15,594 with 148 new fatalities.

Vaccine deployment

The United States Agency for International Development will provide P170 million ($3.5 million) to support the Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law made the announcement on the new assistance during a visit to a vaccination site in Caloocan City with Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, USAID Philippines Mission Director Lawrence Hardy II, and other US and Philippine officials. This new assistance, which brings total US government support for the country’s COVID-19 response to nearly P1.3 billion ($27 million), will strengthen vaccine delivery efforts.

Antigen kits

The Office of Civil Defense said that it had distributed 97,000 rapid antigen kits it has procured to 45 hospitals, local government units, and agencies in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal. OCD spokesperson Mark Cashean Timbal said Resolution 108 of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFEID) authorized the OCD to utilize its quick response fund to procure an initial 500,000 pieces of antigen test kits. The procured Abbott Panbio COVID-19 Ag rapid antigen test devices, which were delivered in two batches, are stored in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Fill-finish facilities

The Philippines will possibly have its own fill-finish facilities for vaccine manufacturing by 2022, an official from the Department of Science and Technology said Thursday. telecommunications. Lopez also warned households to practice strict social decorum and refrain from promoting or attending gatherings. “Unless the reason for going out of our houses is an essential errand, I implore everyone to stay at home. The new variants are highly-contagious. It will be prudent to just remain in the safety of our homes especially for members of the family who are not allowed to go out of the confines of their residences,” Lopez said. He expressed optimism that the country might soon achieve herd immunity as the government pursues talks with 4 new vaccine suppliers that are said to be nearing the conclusion of their clinical trials.

News Leaders praised for resolutions By Maricel V. Cruz

MAJORITY Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Thursday praised his colleagues after two committees at the House of Representatives approved the committee reports on four concurrent resolutions granting amnesty to members of four rebel groups. Romualdez thanked the House committees on justice and on national defense and security, led by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso III and Iloilo Rep. Raul Tupas, respectively, and its members for “performing their tasks commendably and with distinction” to deliver President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to grant amnesty to various rebel groups. “I thank my fellow House members for their exemplary work ethic. Their willingness to adopt technological tools allowed us to work non-stop even during our break and the lockdown,” said Romualdez, one of the principal authors of four concurrent resolutions aimed at ensuring the country’s peace and stability. “As the joint committees approve the committee reports for the House Concurrent Resolutions 12, 13 14 and 15, we have taken firm steps in concretizing the peace agenda. We have affirmed the peace process and expressed support to the government’s effort in attaining a just and hopefully sustainable peace for the Filipino people,” Tupas said. Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Romualdez and House Minority Leader and Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano have filed the four concurrent resolutions. House Concurrent Resolutions 12, 13, 14 and 15, respectively, support the grant of amnesty to members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/ Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade and the Communist Terrorist Group.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

‘More benefits for poll workers’ T STATUE MATERIALS. Confiscated firearms and scrap iron make up Lapu-Lapu’s statue built and donated by visual artist Ram Mallari to Camp Karingal to be displayed in front of the National Police Headquarter in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Bangsamoro opens 55 classrooms for learners By Nash Maulana THE Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education has opened 55 new classrooms for young Sama learners in 24 schools of the lone Tawi-Tawi Schools Division. MBHTE Minister Mohaguer Iqbal, who led the turnover ceremonies, said the completion of the new classrooms came much earlier and was supposed to be unveiled for the opening of the coming school year. But because the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had

become the favorite target of keyboard critics on social media, the turnover was made a lot earlier, he said. The MBHTE funded the P73,978,858.97 cost of 55 new classrooms undertaken through its School Building Program-Project Management Office, Iqbal said. A series of turnover rites took place last week in Tawi-Tawi to ensure sustainability in terms of management of the newly-built school buildings. He said subsidized under the 2018 Basic Educational Facilities Fund, the school building projects were constructed in compliance with the 12-Point Priority

Areas of the MBHTE, which includes the “accessibility of essential school facilities and a safe space for learning and development.” The turnover completed school projects comprised of one-story, five-classroom to Danglong ES and Lt. Ladja Indanan ES; one-story, four-classroom to Sama Kasulutan ES, Kamagong PS and Likud Tabawan ES; one-story, three-classroom to Kasulutan PS and Luuk Banca ES; one-story, two-classroom to Aliakbar PS, Karungdong CFES, Nalil ES, Paniongan ES, Panglima Biteng ES, Sallangan ES, Sapa ES, Putat PS,

HE Department of Education (DepEd) reached out to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to provide additional compensation and benefits to poll workers for the upcoming 2022 National and Local Elections.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones, in her letter to Comelec Chairman Sheriff M. Abas dated February 15, noted that the situation under the pandemic prompted the request for increased honoraria for the teaching and non-teaching personnel who will serve during the election. “We recognize that there is a need for higher compensation for the teachers because the risk of the COVID-19 is still here. We also made sure that the requested amount or rates prescribed are just and reasonable,” Briones said. Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo and DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua discussed the proposed increase in the honoraria of teachers during election time and other election-related matters as early as February 8 this year. The discussions led to the formalization of DepEd’s position through Secretary Briones’ letter to Comelec, after internal discussions spearheaded by the Office of Undersecretary for Administration, along with the Bureau of Human Resources and Organizational Development (BHROD) and the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS), among others. Based on the proposal of the Department, the recommended compensation for the Chairperson of Electoral Boards is P9.000 while the members of the board will have P8,000.

Footwear, rice donated to City of San Fernando By Jess Malabanan CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Tons of footwear and 5,000 sacks of well-milled rice were donated to the provincial government by a private firm engaged in hazardous wastes collection and disposal services in Central Luzon. Joel Mapiles, head of the Provincial Information Office, said the goods will form part of the provincial government aid to its constituents who were economically displaced by the household lockdown due to the sudden surge of coronavirus cases in Pampanga. “A good-hearted businessman Robert Gaza, owner of the DiGaMa, hazardous and solid wastes disposal services with business address in Porac town, brought four truckloads of rice and assorted footwear as a donation to the people of the province,” said Mapiles while citing other business groups who had come forward to donate and pledge their support to Governor Dennis Pineda’s health programs. Gaza, a businessman who

has ventured in the aquaculture industry in Guagua, Pampanga, says the donation is part of the company’s sustained corporate social responsibility not only in Pampanga but also in other provinces within Central Luzon. “Tutulungan ng DiGaMa ang mga naapektuhan ng lockdown sa abot ng aming munting makakaya,” said gaza over the phone. The donation was received by the Provincial Administrator lawyer Charlie Chua during simple rites at the Capitol grounds Tuesday. The event was witnessed by other provincial officials and department heads. Mapile said the governor and vice governor Lilia Pineda and Provincial Board Members expressed their thanks for the kind-heartedness demonstrated by different business groups to the people of Pampanga. DiGaMa Wastes Disposal Services is the only solid waste management company in Central Luzon accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Agency to launch online consultation on COVID-19 By Rio N. Araja TO FURTHER help the marginalized sector, the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor is launching an online medical consultation called “E-Tanong mo kay DOK!” for free health and medical interventions, especially about the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman and chief executive Alvin Feliciano said the online consultation could be availed through Facebook messenger, wherein any urban poor could send their messages, questions and other concerns via @PCUPOfficial Facebook page. The agency’s resident physician, Henefina dela Cruz, is

available to reply. Feliciano, however, gave the assurance to protect all personal information about the patients. “Most of our countrymen today, especially those severely affected by the pandemic, cannot afford to have a proper check-up or even consult a doctor. Most of the hospitals and quarantine facilities are also fully occupied,” he said. “This program is also part of our office’s ongoing action to extend support to medical frontliners who are continuously fighting against COVID-19 and to deliver medical attention to our compatriots who would want to consult about their illness.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021 LAGUNA (ALAMINOS) BETWEEN 1:00AM AND 5:00AM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT SAN PABLO II 423WJ Portion of Maharlika Highway from near Ningning Catering Services & Rental Services to and including E. G. Compound in Bgy. San Benito. REASON: Line reconstruction work along Maharlika Highway in Bgy. San Benito, Alaminos, Laguna.

QUEZON CITY (COMMONWEALTH) BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT NOVALICHES 49YJ Portion of Doña Juliana St. and Peter Ave. from near La Brea Subd. Entrance to and including Damside and Lamesa Drives in Doña Nicasia Homes. REASON: Installation of facilities along Doña Juliana St. in Doña Nicasia Homes, Bgy. Commonwealth, Quezon City.

CAVITE (BACOOR CITY AND KAWIT) BETWEEN 9:30AM AND 2:30PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT BACOOR 424WX Portion of Gen. Tirona Highway from Meralco – Bacoor substation along Aguinaldo Highway to Gen. Evangelista St. including Patricia Executive Village in Bgys. Habay I & II and Mabolo I & III in Bacoor City. Portion of Daang Bakal St. from Gen. Tirona Highway to and including Gahak Road, Tramo, Aroma, Bautista and Binakayan Sts.; Sunset Meadow Subd. and Fatima Compound; and Binakayan Public Market in Bgys. Gahak, Marulas and Tramo-Bantayan in Kawit. Portion of Congbalay Road from Gen. Tirona Highway in Bgy. Balsahan-Bisita to and including Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park, Covelandia Island, DENR Bldg., Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School and Child Development & Guidance Center; Bgys. Pulvorista, Congbalay-Legaspi, Samala-Marquez and Binakayan-Aplaya; and portion of Bgy. Binakayan-Kanluran I in Kawit. REASON: Replacement of facilities and reconstruction of primary line in Bgys. TramoBantayan and Pulvorista in Kawit, Cavite.

THURSDAY TO FRIDAY, APRIL 22 - 23, 2021 MALABON CITY (POTRERO) AND CALOOCAN CITY BETWEEN 11:00PM AND 11:30PM (THU., 04/22/21) AND THEN BETWEEN 1:30AM AND 2:00AM (FRI., 04/23/21) – PORTION OF CIRCUIT MALABON 57YD Portion of Bisig Ng Kabataan St. from Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) to and including Cayabyab, Dizon, Esguerra, Guia, Icasiano, Marcos, Tajan and Ursua Sts. in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. Portion of Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) from near A. P. Aquino St. to NLEX Harbor Link including City Environmental Management Office (CEMO) in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. Portion of Samson Road (C-4 Road) from NLEX Harbor Link to Malonzo St. including Caimito Road; Newdickson Paper Products Mfg., Unicenter Building, STI College Caloocan, University of the East Caloocan, Caloocan Post Office and Caloocan Fire Station in Caloocan City. Portion of UE Tech St. from Samson Road (C-4 Road) to and including Dunwoody, Boston Tech, Drexel Tech, Brixton Tech, London Tech, Greer Tech and Chicago Tech Sts.; Hwa Chong Buddhist Temple, Buena Park & Sports Complex and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in University Hills Subd., Caloocan City. Portion of Chicago Tech and UE Tech Sts. from Edison Tech St. to and including North Polytech and Alabama Sts. in University Hills Subd., Bgy. Potrero, Malabon City. BETWEEN 11:00PM (THU., 04/22/21) AND 2:00AM (FRI., 04/23/21) – PORTION OF CIRCUIT MALABON 57YD Portion of M. H. Del Pilar St. from Sitio 1 to Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) including Villa Maria and Lakas Ng Marami Sts.; SM Sangandaan and Iglesia Ni Cristo – Lokal Ng Sangandaan in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. Portion of Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) from V. Delos Reyes St. to M. H. Del Pilar St. including PLDT and Philippine National Bank (PNB) in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. Portion of A. Mabini St. from Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) to Security Bank in Sangandaan, Caloocan City. REASON: Relocation of facilities affected by footbridge construction along Gen. San Miguel St. (C-4 Road) corner M. H. Del Pilar St. in Sangandaan, Caloocan City.

MUNTINLUPA CITY (ALABANG)

BETWEEN 11:00PM (TUE., 04/20/21) AND 4:00AM (WED., 04/21/21) – PORTION OF CIRCUIT DOLORES 424XM Portion of San Jose St. from Angono – Binangonan National Highway (Manila East Road) to and including Grand View Homes 1 Subd. and Montevilla Subd. in Bgy. Bilibiran.

BETWEEN 11:30PM (THU., 04/22/21) AND 4:30AM (FRI., 04/23/21) – PORTION OF CIRCUIT FILINVEST 425FIL Portion of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) – West Service Road from SLEX Alabang Exit Tollgate to Alabang – Zapote Road including Amore Hotel Manila, South Station Transport Terminal and Muntinlupa Public Market. Portion of Alabang – Zapote Road from South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) – West Service Road to and including South Station Green Bldg. and KFC restaurant.

REASON: Line reconstruction work along Angono – Binangonan National Highway (Manila East Road) in Bgy. Bilibiran, Binangonan, Rizal Province.

REASON: Replacement and relocation of facilities affected by CITRA Skyway Project in Bgy. Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 QUEZON CITY (HOLY SPIRIT)

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 LAGUNA (STA. ROSA CITY)

TUESDAY TO WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 - 21, 2021 RIZAL PROVINCE (BINANGONAN)

BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT DILIMAN 434VU Portion of Magre Ave. from near Ilang-Ilang St. to and including Torrance, Artesia and Norwalk Sts. in Magre Subd. REASON: Installation of facilities along Magre Ave. in Magre Subd., Bgy. Holy Spirit, Quezon City.

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021 RIZAL PROVINCE (TAYTAY) BETWEEN 10:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT DOLORES 47XM Portion of Roma St. from Siena St. to and including Gondola, Via Benito, Basilica, Capri and Serdena Sts. in San Francisco Village, Bgy. Muzon. Namajai Compound, Sitio Gulod and Sitio Isang Lahi in Bgy. Muzon. REASON: Line reconstruction work along Roma St. in San Francisco Village, Bgy. Muzon, Taytay, Rizal Province.

BETWEEN 12:01AM AND 5:00AM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT BALIBAGO 45XV Portion of Rizal Blvd. from Sta. Rosa – Cabuyao National Highway (Manila South Road) to near PNR Rail Road Tracks including Tram Plaza and Jose Zavalla Elementary School; Amar Subd., St. Francis Homes 14 Subd., Ang Bagong Sta. Rosa Village, Don Jose Zavalla Subd., Eastdrive Village, Espiritu Compound, Ma. Jesusa Village, Metroville I Subd., St. Francis Homes 8 Subd., Villa Mercedes Subd. and Honorville Subd. and Sitio Masiit in Bgys. Balibago, Pooc and Labas. Portion of Felix Reyes St. from Sta. Rosa – Cabuyao National Highway (Manila South Road) to and including CMB Aguirre Bldg. and 7-Eleven Store in Sta. Rosa City proper. REASON: Line reconductoring work, replacement of poles, and installation of additional lightning protection devices along Rizal Blvd. in Bgys. Balibago, Pook and Labas in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021 RIZAL PROVINCE (TAYTAY) BETWEEN 10:00AM AND 3:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT CAINTA 46XG Portion of N. Pascual St. (Sampaguita Lane) from Gumamela St. to near Ortigas Ave. Ext. including Sampaguita St. in Gregoria Heights Subd., Bgy. San Isidro. REASON: Replacement of rotten poles along N. Pascual St. (Sampaguita Lane) in Gregoria Heights Subd., Bgy. San Isidro, Taytay, Rizal Province.

SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 LAGUNA (CALAMBA CITY) BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 2:00PM – PORTION OF CIRCUIT CIPP 323CIP OGRI Bldg. along Tagaytay Ridge Drive in Carmelray Industrial Park II, Bgy. Punta. REASON: Maintenance work inside Carmelray Industrial Park II, Bgy. Punta, Calamba City, Laguna.

News

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

Gov’t tracing app finally rolling out THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it is set to roll out the StaySafe.ph digital contact tracing application nationwide in May. “By next month, we will roll out this in the entire country. We will start with government employees and we in the DILG already tried to register to StaySafe. The Philippine National Police has started its rollout among personnel Wednesday,” DILG Officer in Charge Undersecretary Bernardo Florece said in a virtual Palace briefing. Florece said the app is an effective tool for contact tracing nationwide to ensure consistent and unified contact tracing reporting. Meanwhile, he said the hiring of an additional 4,754 contact tracers will help boost Metro Manila’s current pool of 10,097 contact tracers. However, Florece said this is still short of the ideal number of contact tracers which is 17,000, following the ideal ratio of one contact tracer for every 800 population. He said the government is accepting new applicants for contact tracers to boost the country’s contact tracing efforts. He said the StaySafe.Ph app will make it easier for government authorities and medical experts to keep track of the cases all over the country and carry out decisive actions to stem the rapid transmission of coronavirus.

Congress urges recall of pork EO T By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

HE SENATE Committee of the Whole (COW) on Thursday adopted a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to recall “botcha” (double-dead meat) policies on pork importation, which could potentially spell the death of the local hog industry.

As local hog raisers cry for help in fear that imported pork will flood the market soon, the Senate COW adopted the resolution authored by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, which called on the President to withdraw his Executive Order No. 128.

EO 128 provides for the temporary modification of the rates of import duty for fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of swine, and to recall the recommendation to increase the Minimum Access Volume of pork imports. The Senate asserted that “the power

to fix tariff rates and import quotas falls within the realm of the power of taxation, a power which is within the sole province of the legislature under the Constitution.” “The setting of the MAV and the power to set the tariff rates is a delegated power, which may be withdrawn or terminated by Congress through a joint resolution,” Drilon stressed. In the House of Representatives, a party-list lawmaker joined calls for the lifting of EO 128, which lowered tariff rates for pork imports from 40 percent down to five percent, saying such a move will kill the local hog industry. Rep. Eddie Villanueva of Citizens Battle Against Corruption said: “The lowering of pork imports tariff in this period of

pandemic and when our local hog industry is in ‘critical’ if not dying condition due to African swine fever is not only shocking but at the same time unbelievable.” Villanueva, the Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness, said allowing more pork imports to flood the market would kill the livelihood of Filipino hog raisers. “It is surely never the most apt policy to enforce, it is devoid of any serious concern for our local pork producers,” he added. As the hearing resumed yesterday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said they invited new resource persons to get “sensible and clear answers” to the pressing questions raised during the previous COW hearing.

Isko defends, Binay blasts fresh dolomite By Willie Casas MANILA Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso defended on Thursday the pouring of a new coat of dolomite sand in a portion of the Manila Bay, saying that projects of the government should continue despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “Life must go on. Things must move on the way we wanted it,” Domagoso said in an interview on CNN Philippines. However, former Vice President Jejomar Binay disagreed, saying: “With thousands infected and dying from COVID-19, and over 4 million out of work and needing ayuda, government is wasting millions on a fake dolomite ‘beach.’” “Some people in government have lost not only their compassion and sense of priorities but their common sense,” he added. Still, Domagoso said: “We must continue to move on. The country must move because economically we’re hurt… All other things in the government in terms of visions, aspirations, future development for midterm and long term must be done.”

BUSY BEES. Laborers of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) are busy working on top of the railway tracks along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on Thursday. Once operational, the 14-station MRT-7 is projected to serve 300,000 to 850,000 passengers daily, with sufficient room for capacity augmentation to accommodate the potential increase in the rail transit’s ridership in the future. Robert Oswald P. Alfiler

Romualdez now PCG commodore, vows to boost Coast Guard By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Thursday assured the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that Congress has been working closely with Malacañang to identify sources of funds needed to boost its personnel, naval and air assets, and establish the Philippine Coast Guard Academy to further promote professionalism in its ranks. Romualdez said this as he took his oath as Commodore in the PCG Auxiliary as Coast Guard Commandant Admiral George Ursabia Jr. donned the lawmaker’s rank during the ceremony held at Cape Santiago

LOCALIZED LOCKDOWN. A police officer guards the localized lockdown at the

main gate of Manunggal Cluster 5 compound in Brgy. Tatalon, Quezon City due to several residents affected by Covid-19 there. Manny Palmero

Caloocan leads in cash aid distribution By Jun David

ABOUT 161,617 Caloocan beneficiaries have already received their financial assistance from April 7 to April 14 by the City Government. According to the Caloocan City Social Welfare and Development Department (CCSWD), Caloocan is one of the leading local government units in distributing financial assistance despite being one of the country’s largest cities. Caloocan has 188 total barangays and also holds the country’s largest village, Barangay 176, in terms of land area and population. “Under Mayor Oca Malapitan’s directive, we are trying to reach or if we can afford to finish the distribution before the 15-day deadline,” CCSWD Action Of-

ficer Roberto Quizon said. According to Quizon, the City Government has worked with USSC, a money remittance company, to accelerate the financial aid distribution system. It has even used the talent and capabilities of several students at the University of Caloocan City, who served as paymasters for each payout venue. About 368,925 families in Caloocan are set to receive financial assistance from a list from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which has assigned the City Government to distribute it. “For the beneficiaries who have not yet received a text message for the schedule of receiving the financial assistance, please wait for it. In a few days, your barangays will be included in the scheduled distribution,” Quizon assured.

Lighthouse in Calatagan, Batangas. “For several months now, I have been in constant dialogue with the top officials of the Philippine Coast Guard ably led by our Commandant, Admiral George Ursabia Jr., to determine what more can be done to improve the service capability of our organization and to uplift the working condition of our uniformed personnel,” Romualdez said “This is in line with the directive of our Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Duterte, to ensure that the Philippine Coast Guard is in top shape to carry out its primary task of enforcing laws within our territorial waters,” Romualdez said.

The Leyte solon, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution (Philconsa) and the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), stressed that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has been supportive of the proposals to improve the PCG. The event also celebrated the 38th founding anniversary of the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog (CGDSTL) with the theme “CGDSTL: 38 years of Selfless and Dedicated Service, Soaring High with Greater Humility and Compassion.” The PCG also unveiled the historical marker of the Cafe Santiago Lighthouse, and signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between CGDSTL and the local

Taguig pushes online list-up

Pasay seeks more time for ‘ayuda’

TAGUIG City Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano on Thursday reiterated to residents to register online with the city’s mobile application to secure their vaccination against the coronavirus disease. The local government is using the Taguig Registry for Assessment and City Engagements (TRACE) App as registration tool and for other services the city offers like health benefits and social services. Cayetano said the city continues its vaccination rollout to all health workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities, and assured that the vaccination process is guided with strict compliance and protocols especially to the vulnerable sectors. “The city continues to vaccinate those who are in categories A1, A2, at A3. We prioritize them because they are the most vulnerable sector. These are the most vulnerable sectors that if infected, there are high chances that they will experience severe symptoms,” Cayetano said. On Wednesday, Cayetano announced they started operating the city’s 6th and 7th vaccination sites in line with its vaccination program. The city government opened the 4th Community Vaccine Center in Western Bicutan National High School in Barangay Western Bicutan and the 3rd Mega Vaccination Hub in Samsung Hall, SM Aura at the Bonifacio Global City. The new venues will complement the existing two Mega Vaccination Hubs at the Lakeshore area and Vista Mall Parking Building, as well as the three Community Vaccine Centers at RP Cruz Elementary School, Maharlika Elementary School, and EM’s Signal Village Elementary School. Joel Zurbano

By Joel E. Zurbano PASAY City Mayor Imelda Rubiano has asked the Department of Interior and Local Government to give them more time to distribute the cash assistance for families affected by the community quarantine. The DILG gave local government units 15 days to complete the distribution. But according to Rubiano, they could not beat the deadline because the city government wanted to ensure that only legitimate beneficiaries would receive the allotted financial assistance. Pasay earlier received P348 million in cash aid, which will be distributed to more than 123,000 individual beneficiaries. Rubiano said they received the fund from the national government late Monday afternoon and immediately started posting the names of beneficiaries that

government led by Calatagan Mayor Peter Oliver Palacio on the restoration of the lighthouse. Romualdez commended the PSG for performing their duties and responsibilities for the nation. He cited the PCGA’s support in the timely delivery of essential goods and services during national emergencies, including recent disasters and the national lockdown due to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. “It is a great honor to stand before you today as I formally join the ranks of the gallant men and women of the Philippine Coast Guard,” he said.

same night. Of the amount, only 10 percent has been distributed so far, equivalent to some 4,000 individuals. The city chief executive assured that all listed beneficiaries will receive their “ayuda” even as there will be a second batch of the distribution. She said they were also trying to include those that were waitlisted in the previous handing out of assistance. “We try to include if we can afford those others who have not received in the past and those individuals with disability,” she said. To avoid chaos and confusion, the city government allows only the head of the family to receive the money and on behalf of all beneficiaries in one household to avoid overcrowding in distribution areas.

GOOD SAMARITAN. Tricycle drivers take goods for free at the installed community pantry on a bamboo cart along Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. Unidentified Good Samaritans installed the pantry to help drivers living in the community endure the coronavirus pandemic. Manny Palmero

World

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

Manila

Standard

TODAY

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Ex-world leaders urge US: Waive vax property rules S

OME 170 former country leaders and Nobel prize laureates have called on the US to waive intellectual property rules for COVID-19 vaccines to give poorer countries faster access to inoculations.

In an open letter to President Joe Biden published late Wednesday, the group said it was “gravely concerned by the very slow progress” in scaling up global vaccine access and inoculation in low- and middle-income countries. While vaccination rollout in the United States and many wealthier countries was bringing hope to their citizens, “for the majority of the world that same hope is yet to be seen”, said the signatories who include Nobel winners Muhammad Yunus, Joseph Stiglitz and Mohamed El Baradei and former world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Francois Hollande and Gordon Brown. The group said it was “encouraged” that the Biden administration was considering a temporary waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, as proposed by South Africa and India. Such a waiver would be “a vital and necessary step to bringing an end to this pandemic” as it would expand global manufacturing capacity, “unhindered by industry monopolies that are driving the dire supply shortages blocking vaccine access.” Full protection of intellectual property and monopolies would negatively impact efforts to vaccinate the world and be self-defeating for the US, the group said in the letter coordinated by the People’s Vaccine Alliance which groups organisations and activists campaigning for an end to property rights and patents for vaccines. “Were the virus left to roam the world, and even if vaccinated, people in the US would continue to be exposed to new viral variants,” they said. AFP

SOLITARY FIGURE. US President Joe Biden walks through Arlington National cemetery to honor fallen veterans of the Afghan conflict in Virginia on April 14, 2021. PBiden announced it’s “time to end” America’s longest war with the unconditional withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, where they have spent two decades in a bloody, largely fruitless battle against the Taliban. AFP

India logs record 200,000 cases in 24 hrs INDIA’S daily coronavirus caseload has doubled in ten days, with more than 200,000 new infections logged Thursday as authorities grapple with shortages of vaccines, treatments and hospital beds. Having let its guard down with mass religious festivals, political rallies and crowds at cricket matches, India is experiencing a huge second wave, with almost two million fresh infections this month alone. This week, it overtook Brazil to become the country with the second-highest number of cases worldwide. In the past day it also recorded over a thousand deaths, health ministry data showed, taking its total to 175,000, although on a per capita basis India is far behind many other countries. After a lockdown a year ago caused widespread misery and one of the sharpest downturns of any major economy, the central government is desperate to avoid a hugely unpopular second shutdown.

But many states are tightening the screws, in particular Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai, which this week introduced tougher restrictions for its 125 million people. This has prompted many migrant workers to flee Mumbai and other cities in the state, in scenes reminiscent of the exodus from Indian towns and cities a year ago when the government halted all activity almost overnight. Hospitals around India are now struggling to cope, running short of beds, oxygen and coronavirus medicines like remdesivir. The government on Wednesday postponed high school exams for 15 to 18-year-olds, which were to be held in May and June, amid the resurgence of the virus. India’s drive to vaccinate its 1.3 billion people has also hit obstacles, with just 114 million shots administered so far and stocks running low, according to local authorities. AFP

IN BRIEF US sanctions loom on Russia over hacking

MASKED MERKEL. German Chancellor Angela Merkel adjusts her mask as she speaks during a press

conference following talks via video conference with Germany’s state premiers on the extension of the current lockdown, at the Chancellery in Berlin on March 23, 2021. Germany will enter a strict shutdown for five days over Easter in a bid to halt soaring coronavirus infection rates, Merkel said, after marathon talks with regional leaders. AFP

NZ trials ‘early warning’ virus app

(MS-APRIL 16, 2021)

NEW Zealand border workers on Thursday began trialling a monitoring app designed to detect coronavirus before the user develops any noticeable symptoms, in what is believed to be a world first. The app, “elarm,” connects to wearable devices such as fitness trackers and smart watches, using artificial intelligence to check variables such as heart rate and temperature for tell-tale signs of COVID-19. The developer, New Zealand based Datamine, claims it can detect the virus with 90 percent accuracy up to three days before the appearance of symptoms such as coughing, breathing difficulties and fatigue. The health department said it could provide a vital early warning for workers at the border who face the most risk of exposure to the virus, now virtually only seen in arriving international travelers. “If the elarm app lives up to its potential, it might provide early notification to our critical border workforce if they’re becoming unwell,” deputy health director Shayne Hunter said. “That means they can take appropriate action such as self-isolating and being tested for COV-

ID-19.” New Zealand has been largely successful in containing the virus, with just 26 deaths in a population of five million. The few community cases that have occurred have generally been linked to border workers who were exposed to the virus via incoming travellers undergoing quarantine. Hunter said about 500 border workers would take part in a month-long trial of the app. The technology uses artificial intelligence to establish a health baseline for each user, then alerts them if there are physiological changes consistent with COVID-19. The government said the privacy of the border workers was guaranteed and only they would have access to their own health data. Elarm is already available to individuals for a monthly subscription and some firms such as US mining giant Newcrest have made it available to their employees. However, the New Zealand trial is believed to be the first time a government has used it at the border, which is widely viewed as the frontline in containing the virus. AFP

THE United States will announce sanctions against Russia in retaliation for alleged election interference and hacking, American media reported. Tensions have escalated between the two countries in recent months over a raft of issues, most recently over Russia amassing troops on its border with Ukraine. The sanctions will affect more than 30 Russian entities and will include expelling more than 10 Russians from the United States, including diplomats, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. The diplomats will be targeted as punishment over allegations, denied by Russia, that it offered to pay militants in Afghanistan to kill American military personnel, the newspaper said. The executive order will also expand an existing ban on US banks trading in Russian government debt. Washington is also set to formally accuse Russian intelligence of carrying out the SolarWinds hack that targeted more than 100 US companies and 18,000 government and private computer networks. AFP

No uniforms for royals at Prince Philip’s funeral THE British royals are all to wear civilian clothing at Prince Philip’s funeral to avoid awkwardness over which princes are entitled to military uniform, British media reported Thursday. The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last Friday, will be buried on Saturday at Windsor Castle, west of London, with just 30 mourners, most of them close family. Queen Elizabeth II is understood to have decided that all the royals will wear civilian clothing, The Sun tabloid and other media reported. The funeral would otherwise have emphasized former British Army captain Prince Harry’s loss of honorary military titles after his shock departure from royal life last year. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was stripped of his military titles after stepping away from senior royal duties and moving to California with his wife, Meghan. While Harry – the Queen’s grandson – did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, he is only allowed to wear a suit with service medals. Another potential row comes in the shape of the monarch’s second son Prince Andrew, a former Royal Navy helicopter pilot who saw action in the 1982 Falklands War. AFP

Business PSEi April 15, 2021

TOP GAINERS 1 2 3

APL PLC PX

LAST PRICE 0.235 0.47 5.14

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

ORE CA UPM MARC FNI OV OPM

1.01 62.45 0.0096 1.34 2.71 0.013 0.013

% CHANGE CHANGE 0.033 16.34% 0.055 13.25% 0.57 12.47% 0.11 6.45 0.0009 0.12 0.21 0.001 0.001

12.22% 11.52% 10.34% 9.84% 8.40% 8.33% 8.33%

TOP LOSERS 1 2 3 4

LAND CDC CAB LODE

LAST PRICE 2.14 1.02 63.95 1.1

5 6 7 8 9 10

DWC AB LRW EVER MG MM

3.73 10 2.1 0.13 0.34 5.16

CHANGE -0.19 -0.08 -4.05 -0.06

% CHANGE -8.15% -7.27% -5.96% -5.17%

-0.2 -0.5 -0.1 -0.006 -0.015 -0.21

-5.09% -4.76% -4.55% -4.41% -4.23% -3.91%

MOST ACTIVE 1 2

APL ALI

VOLUME 2416600000 12635900

VALUE (PHP) 537554010 425522845

3 4 5 6 7

BDO MEG SMPH ACEN TEL

2244560 67289000 6105400 24712500 128195

232800566 228018590 220715005 178997023 161962065

8 9 10

AC ICT URC

207690 1167870 1107240

158319730 147606108 143325441

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks rise in last-minute buying; SM Prime climbs

HE stock market rose slightly Thursday for the second day in lastminute buying, with many investors still cautious amid rising cases of COVID-19. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 16.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,539.96 on a value turnover of P5.4 billion. Gainers edged losers, 103 to 100, with 46 issues unchanged. Miner Apollo Global Capital Inc. jumped 16.3 percent to P0.235, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. climbed 2.2 percent to P36.50. Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, fell 3.7 percent to P3.35, while AC Energy Corp., a unit of Ayala Corp., dropped 2.8 percent to P7.18. The rest of markets in Asia were

3 US banks booked big earnings in 1st quarter

world markets are struggling to push any higher without any new major catalysts, with the latest round of corporate reporting now the main focus. Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in the pandemic crisis as infections in some countries rise and after vaccine programs were dealt a blow by blood clot concerns over the Johnson & Johnson jab as well as that from AstraZeneca. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Wellington were all down while Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei rose. But Patrik Schowitz at JP Morgan Asset Management warned he was less upbeat about regional equities, which he said were dominated by growth and tech firms. Those sectors have come under pressure of late owing to expectations that interest rates will rise as the world economy rebounds. With AFP

mixed on Thursday as investors put the brakes on a recent rally that has some worried valuations may have run a little too high. The underwhelming performance followed a tepid lead from Wall Street, where only the Dow managed to eke out a gain despite blowout profits at top banks that gave a healthy start to the much-anticipated earnings season. Observers also said the Chinese central bank’s moves to keep a lid on liquidity in the financial system as it tries to control debt issuance showed Beijing was happy enough with its recovery that it was pulling back on last year’s stimulus measures. “The expectation in the market is that the central bank will gradually tighten its liquidity as it seeks policy normalization after the pandemic,” Zhang Gang of Central China Securities, said. After hitting a series of records or multi-year highs in recent months,

NEW YORK—Profits soared in the first quarter at three US banking giants thanks to an improving macroeconomic backdrop that has reduced the need to set aside funds for bad loans. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo each notched earnings at least four times higher than the same three-month period of 2020, boosted in part by releasing funds that had been held in reserve in anticipation of a big pandemic downturn. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs also had a blowout quarter in Wall Street trading and due to deals connected to companies going public. Bank CEOs offered a heady outlook on the expected boom-like conditions in the coming months, but cautioned that there were challenges ahead as pent-up demand for goods, services and experiences drives activity. “We think we’re going to have very robust economic growth in the second half of 2021 and into 2022,” Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said on a conference call with analysts. The downside of that scenario is the chance for a big jump in inflation that prompts aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary supply, Solomon said. That outcome is “not obvious in the near-term,” Solomon said. “But it’s a risk issue markets will have to continue to watch.” At JPMorgan Chase, earnings came in at $14.3 billion, about five times the level from the prior year. The result included $5.2 billion from releases of funds set aside earlier in the pandemic due to fears of bad loans. Revenues of $33.2 billion were up 14 percent. JPMorgan, the largest US bank by assets, turned in an especially strong performance in corporate and investment banking, thanks to gains in advisory fees and a big increase in commissions tied to trading in financial markets. AFP

ALITALIA DEMAND. An

employee of national airline Alitalia with the company’s logo painted on her palm takes part in a demonstration of about 1,000 Alitalia employees at Largo Santa Susanna near Italy’s Ministry for Economic Development on April 14, 2021 in Rome, to demand the support of the Italian state to bail out the airline in great financial difficulty and protest against the EU which delays, according to them, its rescue. The former flag carrier, which has not turned a profit since 2002, has been under statecontrolled administration for almost four years, and the coronavirus pandemic has aggravated its preexisting problems. AFP

Specialist architects putting Argentine wine on another map some of her signature works such as the Salentein, O. Fournier and Diamandes cellars. What one sees “is a great knowledge of design, of architecture, culture, climate and of the landscape,” Paul Nakazawa, a professor of architecture at Harvard University, told AFP. “Few architects in the world have the depth and the breadth of this knowledge.” ‘Killka’ Framed by the majestic Andes and set on plains of xerophyte vegetation in the Uco Valley, the Salentein Bodega links a wine cellar, chapel and visitor center along a 1.5-kilometer axis on 2,000 hectares of vineyards irrigated by the thawing snow-capped peaks. Built in the style of a Greek cross, the site looks like a temple inspired by renaissance churches. The winery produces Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as the signa-

By Maria Lorente

ture Malbec. For the facade of the visitor center, the architects used an ancient technique known as cyclopean masonry, using sand and stones taken from the surrounding earth. The visitor center is called Killka, which means “entrance” in the Quechua language that is still widely spoken among Andean people. It includes an art gallery and restaurant, and is included in the Phaidon Atlas of 21st century world architecture. The Bormida & Yanzon studio describes its approach to projects as “phenomenology.” That’s “architecture understood as a phenomenon that is perceived in the journey through its spaces,” said Bormida. “The sensations generated by light, textures, scale and aromas, sounds... These are experiences that build in the mind of every visitor a comprehensive image of the work.” AFP

MENDOZA, Argentina―The Argentine province of Mendoza is synonymous with Malbec wine, but what’s not so well known is that it has become a reference for wine cellar architecture. In the arid climate at the foothills of the Andes mountain range, architects Eliana Bormida and Mario Yanzon have worked on more than 40 projects that conducted a “deep” dialogue with the Andean surroundings. At the end of the 1990s, winegrowers in Mendoza decided “to make wines that could compete on international markets and they called us to decorate their wine cellars,” Bormida told AFP. “We never imagined that a decade later it would produce a boom. This group stimulated us to make wine cellars that were not just a place to produce good wine, but also to receive visitors.” The fame of the Manila Bormida & Yanzon NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS studio has even ex- Standard TODAY MAY 14, 2021 tended beyond ArNotice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of JG SUMMIT HOLDINGS, INC. (the gentina to take on “Corporation”) will be held on May 14, 2021 at 11 :30 a.m. In light of current conditions and in support of the efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, stockholders may only attend the annual meeting of the Corporation via remote projects in Bolivia, communication. Uruguay, Mexico, Stockholders may view the livestream of the Meeting and download the Information Statement at the following web Portugal and Russia. addresses: ‘Landscape architecture’ Architects such as Herzog and de Meuron, Frank Ghery, Santiago Calatrava, Philippe Mazieres or Zaha Hadid may be better known but very few have made a name from specializing exclusively in wine cellars. The Agenda for the meeting is as follows: The cellars are con1. Proof of notice of the meeting and existence of a quorum. 2. Reading and approval of the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders held on May 14, 2020. verted from “produc3. Reading and approval of the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Stockholders held on October 20, 2020. tion places to centers 4. Presentation of annual report and approval of the financial statements for the preceding year. 5. Election of Board of Directors. of Mendocenean wine 6. Appointment of External Auditor. 7. Ratification of the acts of the Board of Directors and its committees, officers and management. growing interpreta8. Consideration of such other matters as may properly come during the meeting. tion, which is why we 9. Adjournment. started to develop the Stockholders may cast their votes on or before May 7, 2021 on all matters requiring approval by: (a) accomplishing concept of a landscape and submitting the proxy form; or (b) voting in absentia. architecture that looks Proxies shall be sent via email to corporate.secretarv@jgsummit.ph or hard copies to the Office of the Corporate not only to design Secretary, 40F Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue cor. Poveda Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Validation of proxies shall be held on May 11, 2021. We are not soliciting proxies. good buildings but The procedures for attending the meeting via remote communication, submission of proxies, and for voting in also to speak deeply absentia are explained in the Information Statement. with the landscape of Only stockholders of record of the Company as of April 5, 2021 shall be entitled to vote. snowy mountains,” said Bormida. By Authority of the Chairman “Landscape architecture” is the name MARIA CELIA H. FERNANDEZ-ESTAVILLO of a book Bormida Corporate Secretary wrote to describe (MS-APRIL 16 & 17, 2021)

Picture taken at the constant 12°C nine-meter underground cellar of Salentein, a winery in the Uco Valley, Tupungato Department, in the Argentine province of Mendoza, on April 1, 2021. The winery was designed by the Mendoza-based Bormida & Yanzon studio, which specializes in wine architecture and has built more than 30 wineries since 1988, many of which have received national and international awards. CYANAFP MAGENTA YELLOW

Manila

Standard

UNIVERSAL ROBINA CORPORATION

TODAY NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS MAY 13, 2021 11:00 A.M.

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of UNIVERSAL ROBINA CORPORATION (the “Company”) will be held on May 13, 2021 at 11 :00 AM. In light of current conditions and in support of the efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, stockholders may only attend the meetings via remote communication. Stockholders may view the livestream of the Meeting and download the Information Statement at the following web addresses:

The Agenda for the Meeting is as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Proof of notice of the meeting and existence of a quorum. Reading and approval of the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders held on May 14, 2020. Approval to amend Article Second of the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation in order to include additional clauses in the Corporation’s primary and secondary purposes. Presentation of annual report and approval of the financial statements for the preceding year. Election of Board of Directors. Appointment of External Auditor. Ratification of the acts of the Board of Directors and its committees, officers, and management. Consideration of such other matters as may properly come during the meeting. Adjournment.

Stockholders may cast their votes on or before May 6, 2021 on all matters requiring approval by: (a) accomplishing and submitting the proxy form; or (b) voting in absentia. Proxies shall be sent via email to corporate.secretary@urc.com.ph or hard copies to the Office of the Corporate Secretary, 40F Robinsons Equitable Tower, ADB Avenue cor. Poveda Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Validation of proxies shall be held on May 10, 2021. We are not soliciting proxies. The procedures for attending the meeting via remote communication, submission of proxies, and for voting in absentia are explained in the Information Statement. Only stockholders of record of the Company as of April 5, 2021 shall be entitled to vote. By Authority of the Chairman

(MS-APRIL 15 & 16, 2021)

MARIA CELIA H. FERNANDEZ-ESTAVILLO Corporate Secretary

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

B4 FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

Remittances increased 5.1% to $2.477b in February—BSP By Julito G. Rada CASH remittances from Filipinos working overseas increased 5.1 percent in February to $2.477 billion from $2.358 billion a year ago, despite the lingering impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Thursday. Data showed remittances from land-based workers climbed 7.8 percent to $1.982 billion, while those of sea-based workers decreased 4.6 percent to $495 million. The figures brought cash remittances in the first two months to $5.08 billion, up 1.5 percent from $5.006 billion in the same period last year. “The growth in cash remittances for January to February 2021 emanated mainly from the United States, Malaysia and Singapore,” the BSP said. The United States posted the highest share to overall remittances at 41 percent in the two-month period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Malaysia, Taiwan and Qatar. The combined remittances from these countries accounted for 78.3 percent of total cash remittances. Meanwhile, personal remittances, which include non-cash items, rose 5.3 percent in February to $2.761 billion from $2.623 billion in the same month last year. “The increase in personal remittances was attributed to the 7.8-percent growth in remittances from landbased workers with work contracts of one year or more to $2.152 billion from $1.997 billion in February 2020,” the BSP said. Remittances from sea-based workers and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year declined by 4.6 percent to $540 million from $566 million a year ago. The BSP said personal remittances reached $5.655 billion in the first two months, up 1.6 percent from $5.566 billion a year earlier.

Bloombery defers completion date of QC casino-hotel By Jenniffer B. Austria BLOOMBERRY Resorts Corp., the owner and operator of Solaire Resorts and Casino, said Thursday the target completion of its casino project in Quezon City would be deferred to 2023 because of the pandemic. Bloomberry chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon Jr. said during the annual stockholders’ meeting the construction of Solaire North in Quezon City suffered from delays amid the lockdown implemented last year and the recent mobility restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Despite tough construction conditions, we look forward to delivering a high-quality product by 2023, in time for a potential strong economic recovery that usually follows a crisis and the return of international travel and tourism,” Razon said. Solaire North was originally scheduled for completion by 2022. The 40-story integrated hotel and casino sits on a 1.5-hectare lot in Vertis North. Meanwhile, Razon expects the road to recovery to be a “rocky one”. “The further easing of quarantine restrictions and the implementation of travel bubbles within the region will be indispensable to our near- term recovery, both of which are dependent on achieving herd immunity against the virus through the inoculation of a large portion of our population,” Razon said. Bloomberry posted a net loss of P8.3 billion in 2020, a significant turnaround from P9.9-billion net profit in 2019 as Solaire was closed for six months in 2020. The company managed to re-open at very limited capacity in September, but the recent lockdown affected the company’s gaming operations again this year. Bloomberry’s consolidated gross gaming revenue reached P22.7 billion in 2020, down by 62 percent from P60.4 billion in 2019. “Our properties in both the Philippines and South Korea were hit by the pandemic, with the former operating at limited capacity, and the latter still closed as of today,” Razon said.

Business Gov’t bares plan to shut old Mindanao coal power plants By Alena Mae S. Flores

he government plans to acquire coal-fired power plants in Mindanao, especially the older power projects, with the aim of shutting them down once the Agus-Pulangi hydro power plants run at higher capacity, to increase renewable energy usage in the region, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Thursday.

“We have a very unique situation in Mindanao, where we have sufficient power at this point in time, where we have a very large hydro system that has not been maintained and is producing well below its capacity,” Dominguez said during a virtual economic briefing of the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. titled “PH-US at 75: Strengthening Ties through Sustainable Recovery.” “So, together with the Department of Energy we have developed a plan to first improve the generating capacity of

the Agus river system. As we do that, we are also studying the possibility of setting up a fund to acquire all the coal power plants in Mindanao, with the idea of shutting them down as the energy delivery of the Agus river increases,” Dominguez said. The government plans to rehabilitate the Agus-Pulangi hydro power plants prior to its privatization. The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 excluded the privatization of the Agus-Pulangi power plants for 10

years. The law also prohibits the government from engaging in power generation. Domingo said the shift to renewable energy in Mindanao “will require long term and low cost funds” and they were working with the Asian Development Bank to study the actual of the concept. He said the idea was to make Mindanao powered by at least 90-percent renewable energy sources. Renewable energy accounts for only 30 percent of Mindanao’s generation mix. “You have to remember also that it is in the Sarangani province in Mindanao where we have the highest number of sunlight days in the Philippines, and together with that and the Agus river project, we will probably be able to significantly reduce the operations of the older coal-fired power plants,” Dominguez said. “But again we are studying the economics of it, and we should be able to come up with a model by sometime in the third quarter of this year,” he said.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, April 15, 2021

16.75 PTS. 6,539.96

Total Volume Total Trades Total Value

4,303,593,561 87,037 5,423,161,227.46

Advances Declines

103 100

Unchanged

F oreign e xchange r ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

48.5000

Japan

Yen

0.009181

0.4453

Pound

1.378200

66.8427

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128771

6.2454

Switzerland

Franc

1.083893

52.5688

Canada

Dollar

0.798850

38.7442

Singapore

Dollar

0.748727

36.3133

Australia

Dollar

0.772100

37.4469

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655619

128.7975

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266660

12.9330

Brunei

Dollar

0.745935

36.1778

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.031756

1.5402

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

13.2052

Euro

1.198000

58.1030

Korea

Won

0.000896

0.0435

China

Yuan

0.153128

7.4267

India

Rupee

0.013324

0.6462

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.242307

11.7519

New Zealand

Dollar

0.713600

34.6096

Taiwan

Dollar

0.035230

1.7087 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF PH agriculture contributes P6.1t

THE agriculture and food sector contributes P6.1 trillion to the Philippine economy annually and employs 18 million Filipinos, representing the immense impact of the sector. The data is among the findings revealed in Oxford Economics’ latest report “The Economic Impact of the Agri-Food Sector in South East Asia”. Oxford said the agri-food sector in the Philippines made a gross domestic product contribution of P6.1 trillion in 2019, which marked a 16 percent increase from 2015. The sector was also responsible for 42.7 percent of the entire workforce with 18 million jobs, making it the single most critical source of employment in the economy. The sector also contributed a total of P829.5 billion in tax revenues The report also revealed disruptions to the sector coming from the COVID-19 pandemic that saw a 4-percent contraction in 2020, or a P262.1 billion drop in its GDP contribution. However, the scale of the impact was considerably smaller than what the economy endured as a whole, highlighting the essential nature of agri-food production and distribution, the report noted. Othel V. Campos

ICTSI keeps capital spending at $250m

CEB’S VACCINE DELIVERIES. Cebu Pacific continues to airlift much-needed COVID-19 vaccines to different cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. The airline safely delivered 91,200 doses (38,400 for Tacloban, 28,800 for Cotabato and 24,000 for Zamboanga) on April 14, 2021 as part of the government’s vaccination program that prioritize various groups across the country.

INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. is keeping its $250-million capital expenditures this year amid the global pandemic. “The group’s capital expenditure budget for 2021 is approximately $250 million. This will be used for the completion of the expansion project at the MICT in the Philippines, the ongoing terminal expansion in Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo, the new expansion project in Australia and equipment acquisition and upgrades for various maintenance requirements,” ICTSI chairman and president Enrique Razon Jr. said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting. This year’s capex is 30 percent higher than $198.7 million in 2020. Razon also said its port terminals in Brazil were “actually performing quite resiliently and stable” despite the higher cases of COVID-19 cases. “The situation in Brazil is very tough... in spite the critical situation in Brazil, the business is performing quite steadily and well. This is a sign of our business resilient there,” he said. Darwin G. Amojelar

US chamber asks PH to exploit increased China tariffs

Phoenix rolls out new LPG product line

By Othel V. Campos THE US Chamber of Commerce asked the Philippines to maximize the advantages offered by the higher tariff imposed by the US on Chinese goods. US Chamber of Commerce director for Southeast Asia Program Javiera Gallardo said the Philippines recorded a significant increase in travel goods exports to the US, including computer accessories and power cords since the imposition of additional duties on Chinese exports to the US. “However, the data shows that the Philippines has yet to fully maximize the advantages brought by the section 301 tariffs. We found out in our study that the Philippines has an average tariff advantage of 19 percent over Chinese exports coming to the US,” she said Thursday at the a virtual economic briefing “PH-US at 75: Strengthening

Ties through Sustainable Recovery.” Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants power to the US Trade Representative to investigate and take action to enforce US rights under trade agreements, especially to certain foreign trade. This law was used by the Trump administration to impose retaliatory tariff of an additional 25 percent on a number of Chinese goods entering US territories since 2018. Gallardo said there were no indications yet that the Biden-Harris administration would lift the tariffs anytime soon. She said the US Chamber of Commerce would soon share a study on the impact of Section 301 tariffs on China and its effect on neighbors in the ASEAN region. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the

US consistently ranked among the top three trading partners and top 10 sources of foreign direct investments in 2020. It was also the fourth main input source with semiconductors and integrated circuits as top products traded. “The US accounted for a third of the total foreign pledges. Investments from the US saw substantial growth from 2019, amid a general downward trend. We are proud that many US companies including those in the Fortune 500 have found their home in the Philippines, and we hope that many companies would look to us, as they diversify and reconfigure their supply chains,” he said. He thanked the US government for supporting global and regional initiatives to scale up vaccine production and distribution of vaccines throughout the COVAX facilities.

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines Inc. said Thursday it is introducing a new liquefied petroleum gas product line, making available LPG in small canisters that will lower the entry barrier for low-income consumers during the pandemic. It said the Phoenix SUPER LPG canister format aimed not only to make the cooking fuel more affordable for Filipinos but also to enhance household safety, as it encouraged users to move away from traditional wood, kerosene, charcoal fuel or single-use butane canisters. The move seeks to sustain the growth of Phoenix’s market share in the domestic LPG segment, which has proven to be a bright spot despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with cooking fuel deemed an essential by Filipino consumers, according to Phoenix president and chief executive Henry Albert Fadullon. “In line with our value propositions of safety, affordability and reliability, our new LPG canister continues to delight Filipino homeowners and help them discover our promise of ‘Sarap Pala Magluto,’” Fadullon said. The new product, with a capacity of 200 grams of fuel, can provide up to two hours of cooking time depending on its use. Alena Mae S. Flores

BSP reinforces ‘know-your-employee’ rules for banks

LANDBANK LOAN. Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. general manager Ferdinand Canastra (center) and Land Bank of the Philippines Davao del Sur lending center head and department manager Arnel Caalim (left) lead the P350-million loan signing to enhance electric services in Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental. Joining them are (from second left) DASURECO finance services manager Alejandra Rosario, LandBank account officer Christian Harvey Wong and account assistant Ralph Rhester Encabo.

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said Thursday it strengthened the “knowyour-employee” policies and practices and tightened controls related to confirmation of deposit accounts as part of the operational risk management system of supervised financial institutions. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, who is also the board chairman, said in a statement the issuance was part of the commitment of the BSP to “continue to raise the bar on corporate governance and risk management systems to protect the integrity of the financial system.” “Aligning BSP regulations with international best practices on KYE procedures is just half the battle. The other half depends on the strength of oversight of the board of directors of BSP-supervised financial institutions in implementing these policies,” Diokno said. Under the new rules, financial institutions are required to adopt a risk-focused screening process which considers sensitivities of certain positions that may re-

quire more stringent procedures. Adequate understanding of a candidate’s personal background and character, conflict of interest and propensity to commit fraud or irregularity will be considered in the recruitment process. The revised rules also emphasize the use of BSP records as part of the screening process of BSFIs. The issuance highlights the importance of continuing assessment of employees’ fitness and propriety to perform the responsibilities required of the position. BSFIs are expected to leverage on existing controls, available reports, and other relevant information to facilitate the assessment. The new policy also identified certain behaviors that serve as red flags warranting further scrutiny as part of personnel’s performance evaluation. The guidelines include the requirement for the head office of BSP-supervised financial institutions to act on requests for confirmation of accounts from their clients or depositors. Julito G. Rada

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

Vietnam SEA Games to host 10 esports tilts

Yuka Saso of the Philippines walks off the ninth green following the first round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii. AFP

Sixers win battle for top spot in East; Luka hits clutch winner LOS ANGELES—Joel Embiid finished with 39 points as the Philadelphia 76ers won the battle for first place in the Eastern Conference, holding on to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 123-117 on Wednesday. Philadelphia, who are seeking their first NBA championship since 1983, are looking to earn the top seed and home court advantage in the postseason and Wednesday’s win gives them the upper hand, at least for now, over the second-place Nets. The 76ers improved to 38-17 on the season, just one game ahead of Brooklyn at 37-18. Embiid also shot 13-of-29 from the floor and pulled down 13 rebounds as the 76ers saw their 22-point lead slashed to just three in the fourth. Tobias Harris added 26 points and Ben Simmons finished with 17 points, nine assists and three steals for the Sixers, who won their third straight. Shake Milton had 15 points. The depleted Nets played without offensive star James Harden, who is recovering from a strained hamstring, and Kevin Durant who sits out when the team has games on back-to-back nights. Durant had eight turnovers in his last game, a one-sided 126-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 37 points and nine assists while Landry Shamet added 17 points and Jeff Green had 15. Bruce Brown scored 14, and DeAndre Jordan finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Irving was a late addition to the lineup after he took time off for “personal reasons.” The Nets have been playing with all or a portion of their “Big Three” out for most of the season but they are hoping that everyone gets healthy for the postseason. With the Sixers up by double digits in the second half, Embiid was hoping to have an early night and rest for the fourth quarter. But the Nets had other plans, making a late run to cut a 22-point lead to just three. “The last three games I sat out the fourth and I thought it would be the same. We made a bunch of mistakes and turned the ball over. It can happen,” said Embiid. Elsewhere, Luka Doncic delivered another clutch game winner, sinking an off-balance three pointer to beat the buzzer and lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. AFP

PH’s Saso grabs share of LPGA lead in Hawaii

OS ANGELES—Yuka Saso and Brittany Altomare shared the lead in the opening round of the LPGA Lotte Championship on Wednesday, ﬁnishing atop a tight leaderboard that also includes Canadian Brooke Henderson in search of her third straight title. Saso, a 19-year-old from the Philippines who made history for her country with double Asian Games golf gold in 2018, was first in the clubhouse on eightunder par 64, racing home with four of her eight birdies at her last four holes. American Altomare followed with an even more impressive surge, stringing together seven straight birdies after the turn on the way to nine birdies and a bogey for an eight-under total. Saso, a two-time winner on the Japan LPGA tour, said there was no real secret to her success at Kapolei Golf Club in Oahu, Hawaii. “I made some good putts, had good up and downs, my driving was very consistent today,” said Saso, who is playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption. Saso knows the going could be tougher when she tees off in the afternoon on Fri-

day, when the wind is likely to be more of a factor. “Back nine the wind did get stronger than this morning,” said Saso, who opened with a birdie on 10 and added birdies at 17 and 18 and the fourth before reeling off birdies at six, seven, eight and nine. “I think I just have to be careful with my drives, keep it in the fairway as much as possible, and trust the process.” Nelly Korda teed off in the afternoon group and made a charge up the leaderboard to finish one back of the leaders at seven under 65. Henderson shot a fourunder 68 to sit just four strokes back of Altomare and Saso. Altomare, ranked 52nd in the world and in search of her first LPGA Tour win, opened with a birdie at the 10th and was one-under at the turn after a birdie at 14 and a bogey at 15.

She then birdied seven straight from the first through the seventh before finishing with back-to-back pars. Like Nelly Korda, South Korean Ryu So-yeon and American Ally Ewing were on seven-under, each with seven birdies in bogey-free rounds. Korda finished with eight birdies and nine pars. Her only blemish was a bogey on the par-three fifth. One shot back is Stacy Lewis, who shot a six-under 66. World number three Kim Sei-young of South Korea, who won the tournament in 2015, fired a 67 and was tied with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, American Jessica Korda, Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow, Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling, South Korean Lee Mi-hyang and amateur Rose Zhang. Henderson and China’s Lily Muni He lead a pack of golfers all tied at four under. Henderson has a chance to become the first LPGA player to earn a threepeat since South Korea’s Park In-bee at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship from 2013 to 2015. AFP

VisMin Super Cup bans Siquijor Mystics for life By Peter Atencio THE entire Siquijor Mystics’ team, from coaching staff to the players, was banished for life from the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup on Thursday for throwing its Wednesday game against the ARQ BuildersLapu Lapu City in Alcantara, Cebu. The league suspended Joshua Alcober, Ryan Buenafe, Jojo Tangcay, Jan Penaflor, Gene Bellaza, Michael Calomot, Frederick Rodriguez, Jopet Quiro, Isagani Gooc, Miguel Castellano, Juan Aspiras, Peter Buenafe and Michael Sereno, together with head coach Joel Palapal and his staff following an investigation done by the technical committee. “We assure everyone that this incident is an isolated case, a stern warning to all the teams that we will not tolerate this kind of action,” said Chief Operations Officer Rocky Chan, who later apologized in a Facebook live statement at the end of an early morning meeting. The organizers also penalized Rendell Senining, an ARQ Builders’ wingman, who attempted left- and right-handed free throws in one trip to the line. Senining was suspended for the rest of the season and handed a P15,000 fine.

Senining’s teammates Vincent Tangkay, Reed Juntilla, Monbert Arong, Dawn Ochea, and Ferdinand Lusdoc, along with head coach Francis Auquico, were suspended for the rest of the first round, with the players fined P15,000. Auquico was slapped a P30,000 fine, along with assistant coaches Jerry Abuyabor, Alex Cainglet, John Carlo Nuyles, Hamilton Tundag, and Roger Justin Potpot. Chan warned of severe penalties in the future as a warning to the five remaining Visayas teams and the 10 squads in the Mindanao leg. Next time, erring teams will not only be punished with banishment, they will also be fined P1 million as well. The controversial game was marred by air-balled free throws, botched fastbreak attempts, and mind-boggling turnovers. Both squads also attempted and missed an unusual number of free throws as Siquijor missed all 10 of their free-throw attempts, while allowing Lapu-Lapu to attempt 19 in 20 minutes of action. The Games and Amusements Board was separately probing the incident. Meanwhile, Chooks-to-Go president Ronald Mascariñas expressed his disappointment at what transpired during the game. In a letter sent to the league’s Chief Op-

Ronald Mascariñas

erations Officer Rocky Chan, Mascariñas said that the game was a humiliation to the integrity of the league. Chooks-to-Go decided to sponsor the league only a day before the Visayas Leg of the professional basketball league tipped off last April 9. “As Title Sponsor of the Inaugural Conference of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI)

TEN titles will be at stake in the esports competitions of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. Emphasis on indoor events were made by organizers in their effort to ensure the safety of participants in terms of social security and order, fire prevention and control, health care, and fighting the pandemic during the biennial meet. Organizers have given their nod on the proposal of the Vietnam Recreational and Electronic Sport Association for this year’s games, according to reports. This means that there will be four categories than what was offered when the sport made its debut at the 2019 Games in the Philippines. One of the new events to be played is a League of Legends tournament on the personal computer platform, along with men’s and women’s Wild Rift competitions on mobile. Other mobile tournaments to be played include Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor and Free Fire, and individual and team contests in PUBG Mobile. FIFA Online 4 will also be featured on the PC platform along with CrossFire. Among the titles played back in 2019 was DOTA 2 on the PC platform. The Philippines led the medal standings with three golds, one silver and a bronze during the SEAG’s last staging. The Philippines figured prominently in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, with the group of Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon, Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel, Allan Sancio, “Lusty” Castromayor, Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Carlito “Ribo” Ribo Jr., Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas clinching the gold. Meanwhile, chef de mission Ramon Fernandez said they are awaiting word from organizers in Vietnam on their decision over additional sports that will be played during the meet. Fernandez said the Philippine Olympic Committee is seeking information on the status of the games. So far, Fernandez said the date for submission of entries have been pushed back. Peter Atencio and its flagship brand Chooks-to-Go gave the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup our full support because of our shared advocacy for Philippine basketball. However, we have witnessed with deeply disturbing concern how the quality and integrity of the games in the league have plunged steeply in just a week’s run,” opened Mascariñas’ letter. “We just saw the obvious lack of passion and determination to play their best and win among the players in the match today between professional teams from Siquijor and Lapu-Lapu City. The level of performance on both sides was deplorable beyond belief and, unless explained otherwise, amounts to a willful lack of professionalism. And this is only, to say the least,” the sports patron who has backed other regional leagues like the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and National Basketball League-Pilipinas continued. “As a result, unflattering speculations are now circulating among viewers about the motives for such wanton neglect of all known rules and standards on professional basketball games the public has come to expect, and demand. To be blunt, suspicions of game-fixing, illegal activities, and a deliberate effort to defraud the league’s fans, patrons and supporters are now gaining currency. Unless strong action is taken, the damage the aforementioned match is causing to the image of Philippine basketball would be incalculable. To the league, it may be fatal.”

vivo Y20s [G] gives better mobile games experience

The latest vivo smartphone delivers top-notch gaming features enhancing player performance

IT IS a common misconception that mobile games are bad for one’s health. With the explosion of gaming during quarantine, many mobile users have experienced its benefits, starting with treating it as a fun distraction from all the pandemic stress. There are many discovered health benefits of playing mobile games including helping people overcome anxiety and an improved mental memory. With proper self-regulation and a powerful gaming smartphone like the vivo Y20s [G], with its maximized speed and long-lasting battery, online games can help players conquer real-life challenges. Here, we highlight how mobile games may actually be good for players. Gives that sense of being ‘in control’ to combat anxiety In a moment when people have less control on the outcome of events, mobile gamers feel em-

powered by dominating a challenge that’s literally in the palm of their hands. In a study published on the US National Library of Medicine, researchers observed games minimize exhaustion caused by stresses in the real world by giving players an environment where they have more control of things. In fact, gamification is an increasingly used technique to ensure the effectiveness of wellness apps used to fight anxiety and depression. Mobile games boost brain power Granting you’ve chosen the right games, they actually help in keeping your brain engaged by improving spatial awareness and in boosting memory. In particular, playing games is a good exercise to make the human brain remember things better. A study by neurobiologists at the University of California- Irvine (UCI) found 3D video games boost

the formation of memories. Global Positioning System or GPS-centered mobile games, on the other hand, are effective in improving spatial awareness. Knowing your surroundings would be enhanced further by using smartphones that have accurate positioning service, like the vivo Y20s [G] that has an excellent positioning system through the MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor. Improves problem-solving skills As life in the time of the pandemic becomes more complex, it would be good to get a fun problemsolving coach. With the richness of the challenges in games, problem-solving skills are harnessed with the desire to win. Chilean health researchers concluded in a study that since most games are episodic, they teach human brains to not stop until the challenge is completed or the problem solved.

Sports

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

PSC, POC seek local government’s support THE Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee have agreed to seek the help of local government units in the preparation of Team Philippines for the 31st Southeast Asian Games to be held in Vietnam. With the aim of defending or landing a top-three finish in the biennial meet, the national team faces a big challenge ahead. POC president Congressman Abraham Tolentino opened the meeting with questions on the budget. “What if the P200 million allocated budget falls short?,” Tolentino asked. Following the projected expenses, half of will go towards the actual participation of the nearly 700-man delegation. After discussions, the group arrived at an agreement to formally seek the help of LGUs willing to “adopt” teams and sponsor some aspects of their training, like venue, meals, and billeting. “Baka may gusto mag-ninong muna sa ating mga atletea, we are very open to this,” said PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez, who is also the Chef de Mission to the SEAG. Tolentino, digging from his extensive experience as an LGU chief, reminded the group that it is imperative to have the Department of Interior and Local Government issue a directive on the “godfather-LGU program.” Tolentino, for his part, has also committed to adopt the sports of cycling and skateboarding in his district. “The joint secretariat for the SEAG is carefully working on the SEAG plan,” said Fernandez. Targeting July 1 as the start of training, Fernandez said: “we still have time to talk to the LGUs.” Joining Tolentino and Fernandez in the meeting were POC secretary-general Atty. Edwin Gastanes, POC deputy secretary-general Karen Caballero, PSC Executive Director Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr., PSC Deputy Executive Directors Queenie Evangelista and Merlita Ibay and PSC National Training Director Marc Velasco.

Virus could force Olympics cancellation

OKYO—A senior Japanese politician said cancelling the Tokyo Olympics over the coronavirus remains a possibility on Thursday, as a surge in cases renews concerns about the Games with less than 100 days to go. Toshiro Nikai, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s number two, said the Olympics must be cancelled “without hesitation” if the virus situation is too severe. A year after their historic postponement, the 2020 Olympics remain beset by pandemic problems, with parts of the torch relay forced behind closed doors and public support consistently low. Organizers and Olympic officials insist the Games will go ahead safely, but Nikai said Thursday that all options were on the table. “We need to make a decision depending on the situation at the time,” he told the private TBS television network. “We need to cancel it without hesitation if they’re no longer possible,” added Nikai, who is the LDP’s secretary general. Asked if he considered cancellation an option, Nikai said: “Yes of course.”

“If infection spreads because of the Olympics, I don’t know what the Olympics is for.” He added however that he sees the Games as an “opportunity”, and it was “important for Japan to foster excitement with support from the public”. “We definitely want to make a success. In order to do so, there are various issues to solve. It’s important to solve them one by one.” The comments were quickly dismissed by an unnamed LDP official who told the Jiji news agency: “The Games will not be cancelled.” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said she had “been told that the comment meant it is an option”. “I take it as a message of strong encouragement that we contain the coronavirus by all means.”

Nikai’s remarks come with fresh worries in Japan about what experts have called a fourth wave of infections. Record numbers of cases have been reported in Osaka in recent days, and the government has been forced to authorise new restrictions just weeks after lifting a virus state of emergency. The surge has already forced the Olympic torch relay off public roads in Osaka, and a city in western Japan also announced Wednesday that it would cancel the public event. ‘Neither safe nor secure’ Compounding the problem is the comparatively slow rollout of the vaccine in Japan, which has so far only approved the Pfizer/BioNTech version. Around 1.1 million people in the country of 126 million have received a first dose of vaccine so far, with the rollout only expanding to the elderly this week. Despite the problems, Olympic organizers insist the Games can be held safely and have released virus rulebooks to allay public fears. Athletes will not be required to quar-

antine or be vaccinated, but will have to limit movements and be tested regularly. Overseas fans are barred from attending, with a decision on domestic spectators limits expected later this month. However many fans are allowed to attend, the atmosphere will be markedly different from Games past, with cheering strictly banned. Organizers note that sporting events are continuing in Japan, including some international fixtures like the World Team Trophy figure skating, which opens in Osaka Thursday. But opinion polls show a majority of Japanese favour postponing or cancelling of the Games, with those in support hovering below 30 percent. Medical professionals have also warned the Games are a risky prospect, with four experts writing in the British Medical Journal this week urging plans for the event “be reconsidered as a matter of urgency”. “International mass gathering events such as Tokyo 2020 are still neither safe nor secure,” they wrote. AFP

Eala sets new personal best of 662nd in WTA rankings

President of the mission for the Tokyo Olympics, Michel Vion takes part in a videoconference meeting for start of the 100-day countdown for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, in Aubervilliers, on the outskirts of Paris. AFP

Lee’s dominant run extended at ‘ONE On TNT II’ THERE’S no stopping Christian “The Warrior” Lee from cementing his status as ONE Championship’s most dominant World Champion after yet another impressive performance. The ONE Lightweight World Champion made short work of #3-ranked contender Timofey Nastyukhin in the main event of the previously-recorded “ONE on TNT II,” which aired on Thursday, April 15. Lee needed less than 90 seconds to finish the hard-hitting Russian, as he proved that he’s got power in his hands as well. With Nastyukhin coming forward for a right hook, Lee ducked and countered with a short left hook that wobbled the challenger and allowed Lee to rain down one uncontested punch after another. More than 10 punches later, referee Mohammad Sulaiman had no choice but to stop the bout, giving Lee another impressive stoppage victory, this time at the 1:13 mark of the first round. “He’s a dangerous opponent. He likes to go in there and he likes to go for a knockout. Our game plan was to capitalize on that. Speed and accuracy

Christian Lee

beats power—that’s what happened tonight,” Lee told Mitch Chilson after the match. “This is something that my dad and my brother and I were drilling over and over just now in the back room.

We were planning on ducking those punches, countering and going for the takedown. Thankfully, the punch landed clean, and I was able to secure the finish right there.” It was an emotional win for Lee, who

shared why he was so motivated to win the match—he wanted to welcome his daughter into the world as a World Champion dad. “I couldn’t have asked for a better story, really. I trained for 10 really hard weeks leading up to this match. This was the most important fight of my life,” Lee said. “Very soon, I’m gonna become a father, so this fight is dedicated to my baby girl and my wife, Katie, back at home. It’s very hard to go away and leave them, but later this month we’ll be having our first baby, so this fight was for them.” In the co-main event, ONE Kickboxing Atomweight World Champion Janet “JT” Todd impressed anew in Muay Thai after scoring a third-round TKO win over Anne “Ninjaline” Line Hogstad. It was a well-placed left kick to the liver that sent Hogstad down, as the referee counted her out to give Todd her second-straight win in the sport. With the victory, becoming a two-sport World Champion is certainly on the American’s radar. Catch all the ONE Championship action by downloading the ONE Super App.

FILIPINA tennis sensation and Globe ambassador Alex Eala continues to improve in the Women’s Tennis Association’s ranking after jumping 53 notches en route to setting another career milestone. The 15-year-old Rafa Nadal Academy scholar is now ranked 662nd in the latest WTA results, an impressive achievement from her previous career best 715th last week. Eala’s impressive run in her first-ever W60 category tournament in Bellinzona, Switzerland has helped her a lot in getting valuable ranking points. Eala beat Margot Yerolymos of France in the first round in straight sets,7-6 (6), 6-2 and eked out a come from behind 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-0 over 12th seed Laura Ioana Paar of Spain to get into the third round of the tournament. The Filipina ace, however, fell to local bet Simona Waltert in the battle for a spot in the quarterfinals, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6. Eala’s three opponents enjoy higher rankings and are more experienced than her but nonetheless gave them all a good game. And despite the loss in Bellinzona, Eala remains optimistic and positive that she will only get better and tougher in the coming tournaments. Eala has been a Globe ambassador since 2013. She copped her first professional singles title last January and has since shown great composure and maturity against older and higher-ranked opponents in her recent tournaments in Miami and in Switzerland.

Predator League draws 15M views; PH’s TNC one of 4 champs ESPORTS players from 17 regions battled intensely over six days to bring the Asia-Pacific Predator League 2020/21 Grand Final to a thrilling conclusion. The online tournament was covered by several channels, altogether amassing more than 15 million views. This year, the finals were divided into four subtournaments: two for Dota 2 and two for PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS. The four winning teams will share a prize pool of $240,000 and receive the coveted Predator shields. Dota 2 Highlights The Predator League 2020/21 Dota 2 Asia lower bracket final saw Team Veteran, a team representing Myanmar, grind their way past The Council from Bangladesh. They capitalized on connectivity problems of The Council, as their midlaner L3N was disconnected throughout the match. This forced J1N to toggle between two mechanicallycentric heroes namely Visage and Chen. Team Veteran’s victory brought them to the grand final where they fought IMG, a team repre-

senting Mongolia. IMG were considered favorites given their undefeated streak and the leadership of Ravdan “Hustla” Narmandakh. However, Team Veteran stood their ground, kicked off by Kalay99’s Pangolier play during game one and a surprise wombo combo in the 29th minute of game three. On the other hand, the Predator League 2020/21 Dota 2 APAC lower bracket final saw TNC Predator breeze their way past BOOM Esports from Indonesia. TNC Predator proceeded to the grand finale, facing their fellow representatives Neon Esports, who had pummeled them in a previous matchup. In their grudge match, TNC outclassed and outplayed Neon, sweeping them in most teamfights. Marvin “Boomy” Rushton’s shotcalling and drafting prowess decided the series. PUBG Highlights As for the PUBG Asia sub-tournament, three representatives from South Korea took center stage, but ultimately it was DWG-KIA who came out on top thanks to their second place finishes in rounds 11 and 12 as well as GPS Ghibli’s downfall. DWG-KIA’s calculated decision to weaken GPS Ghibli by bombarding them after

the parachute drop in round 11 and Ghibli’s massive vehicular disaster in round 12 sealed the victory. Overall, DGW-KIA earned 142 points after 12 rounds in Erangel and Miramar. Their efforts yielded $37,500. GPS Ghibli’s performance led to 122 points and a second-place finish, securing $15,000. In third place, Danawa E-sports rallied to a chicken dinner victory in round 12, giving them $7,500. Meanwhile in the PUBG APAC sub-tournament, Eagle 365 from Indonesia steamrolled the scene as they comfortably dominated the top spot with their 125-point tally. Besides the Predator League trophy, they also brought home $37,500. The second and third seed spots were attained by Cerberus and “No.1” of Vietnam, respectively. Cerberus capitalized on ArkAngel’s unexpected performance by securing a chicken dinner victory in round 10 and a fourth-place finish in round 12, giving them 104 points. They finished second, bagTNC Predator team ging USD 15,000. But the biggest storyline came from “No.1,” dinner victory in round 11 and a second-place finish in who miraculously ascended from the eighth seed round 12. Their clutch performance produced 97 points, a to a third-place finish as they garnered a chicken third-place finish, and $7,500.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

Mobile digital TV receiver that everyone’s talking about VIEWERS across the country are thrilled to use GMA Network’s innovative device GMA Now as the plugand-play dongle has been getting rave reviews since its official launch last February. GMA Now is a mobile digital TV receiver that allows Android smartphone users to watch the live broadcast of Kapuso channels for free. Via the GMA Now app, catch the latest shows airing on GMA, GTV, Heart of Asia, Hallypop, DepEd TV, and newest digital channel I Heart Movies as well as other free-to-air channels available in the area without requiring internet connection. While online, GMA Now users also enjoy exclusive interactive features where they can create groups and chat with their family and friends while watching TV via Groupee Chat, re-watch well-loved Kapuso shows on GMA Videos-On-Demand, and join

fun quizzes on Interactive Promos for a chance to win prizes. Users from various platforms like Lazada and Shopee gladly shared their experience on the network’s gamechanging entertainment device. Several tech reviewers on YouTube also gave GMA Now a big thumbs up and referred to GMA Now as a “tiny device that’s not to be underestimated”. They lauded how easy it was to set up and its user-friendly interface with no hidden charges. They also mentioned that GMA Now can be used even on budget smartphones, that it does not consume much phone battery, and that it can be used to get the latest news, especially during emergencies and power outages. With GMA Now continuously widening its coverage, it is now available in portions of Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Abra, Ilocos Sur, Baguio City, Pangasinan,

Batangas, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. For only P649 with no monthly fees, watch TV on-the-go for free and enjoy ex-

clusive interactive features. It can be purchased via the official GMA Store on Lazada and Shopee or visit your nearest tech and gadget stores.

Multimedia star Alden Richards is the face of GMA Now, a plug-and-play dongle that allows Android smartphone users to watch the live broadcast of Kapuso channels for free.

Star Magic Workshop prides itself as the industry’s best R

AHYAN Carlos believes that stars are made and not born. He said, someone’s acting ability can be honed, and a person can improve through repeated tasks.

Rahyan Carlos, head of Star Magic Artist Training and Workshops

Carlos with Star Magic online workshoppers

Star Magic Workshops pride Charlie Dizon in scene from the acclaimed film ‘Fan Girl.’

Carlos has been the head of the Star

Magic Artist Training and Workshops for 13 years now. He had witnessed how virtually unknown talents became respected names in the industry by undergoing training at Star Magic. “Look at Charlie. In 2013, when she started in our acting workshops, she almost gave up, she wanted to go home. But look at her now,” Carlos told the members of entertainment press and the blogging community in a virtual presser held Wednesday. Charlie Dizon, who recently won the Best Actress plum at the 4th Entertainment Editors’ Choice or EDDYS for her role in Fan Girl, in turn agreed to Carlos underscoring the importance of continuous learning process. “As much as possible, when I have new projects, I want to go through an

acting workshop. Nangangalawang din kasi ang mga artista. Workshops allow us to be on our toes and more prepared for the roles assigned to us,” Dizon said. When the pandemic shut down the country, Rahyan Carlos, did not waste time in studying and finding ways to transpose all workshops and training for the actors. “Here in star magic we always find ways, innovative ways to reach out to people in terms of training them in the performing arts in the ever-changing times. That’s why one month into the lockdown last year, we had already studied to transpose everything through online,” Carlos shared. “And this year, we are excited to offer everybody, all over the world, what to expect and what we can give in terms of training them in acting, voice, dance, and even conversational Tagalog. We are offering you the kind of training we give our Star

Magic actors,” he carried on. Even if after the network’s shutdown happened last year, this did not dampen the spirit of Carlos to stop training actors. In fact, he and his teachers held all workshops online via zoom. In June 2020, Star Magic had a soft launch of all workshops online. “We had 250 students all over the world during the pandemic from 22 participating countries such as England, London, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Florence Italy, Virginia, New York, L.A., Guam, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, France, New Jersey, Dubai, Qatar and Canada. We had live and recorded online recitals and culminating activities of all our workshops and people were so entertained and cheered for their loved ones who participated in the online training,” said Carlos stated. Last October 2020, Star Magic Workshops also launched its first ever online workshop for participants in Canada in partnership with A.M.P. (Artist Movement Production), a group of Filipinos who provide education and training services in various aspects of the performing arts. The workshop was done in Canada EST time and the vernacular used was english since some of the Filipino participants were born and raised in Canada. Canada has the largest Filipino ethnic community and market for the performing arts. 40 participants graduated from the soft launch of the intensive workshop last year and it was a success. This year, after renewing his contract with ABS-CBN Star Magic as the Head of Artist Training and Workshops, Carlos will launch all online workshops for Acting, Dance, Voice and Tagalog. Carlos is the only certified Chubbuck Technique acting teacher behind the training of some of the most soughtafter and award-winning actors of today such as Christian Bables, Coco Martin, Julia Barretto, Jake Cuenca, Anna Luna, EJ Falcon, Alora Sasam, Ynna Asistio, Roco Nacino, Sandino Martin, Arjo Atayde, Paulo Avelino, Joshua Garcia, and Charlie Dizon.

Celebrities customize vehicles Tuned In Style JOHN Lopez, owner and president of car service company Tuned In Style, has established himself in the field of vehicle customization by employing his technical background and expertise using the latest technology. His colorful clientele includes really famous celebrities. Back in 2013, actress Gretchen Barretto commissioned his company to customize a full-sized bus and design it like a business class Emirates. She took the customized vehicle to her shoots. Before long, inquiries and referrals from other celebrities poured in. No one wants the same design so it made Tuned In Style’s work challenging and more exciting. Soon enough, Lopez and his team immediately saw themselves servicing vans of actor Coco Martin, comedian-TV host Vice Ganda, and seasoned actor Albert Martinez. Coco Martin’s Inkas Sentry is a bullet-proof armored personnel carrier equipped with a privacy partition and power seats with leg rest. The airconditioning works even when the engine’s off so the actor can rest inside during taping breaks. Maja Salvador’s Ford Transit has four captain seats, a TV, and ambient lighting while Vice Ganda’s Volkswagen Crafter, similarly with four captain seats and a TV, has a partition and a comfort room. Romantic celebrity partners Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo also got a Volkswagen Crafter in black, furnished with a shower and a bed.

John Lopez, owner and president of car service company Tuned In Style, with actor Daniel Padilla (right).

Maja Salvador’s Ford Transit (left) and Kathryn Bernardo’s Volkswagen Crafter The creatively energetic car designer also refurbished Albert Martinez’s Ford E150 that was flown in from the US. Always leaning his designs to the taste of the customers, Lopez said he recently worked with singer Angeline Quinto, actress Ryza Cenon, and actor Christian Bables. Interestingly, Tuned In Style is among the few business entities that benefited from the

new normal. He said, “Inquiries now are somewhat larger compared before the pandemic started. Maybe it’s because of the limitation in air travel which prompted them to do road travel both for leisure and business.” But while Tuned In Style speeds up to match its fast-increasing number of patrons, it still carefully kept its foot on the brakes by providing help and support to its employees. “We have to provide for our employees which covers a large amount as an added compensation to

suffice in their daily needs,” Lopez expressed. “We also follow strict safety protocols for disinfection and frequent swab testing of our employees.” Currently doing its transactions via virtual meetings or specially arranged appointments, Tuned In Style makes sure to offer its services to industries in need of, like designing a swab testing van for Maxicare, or customizing mobile salons and optical shops. With 32 ongoing van customization projects, Tuned In Style is no doubt on a high gear complementing its three warehouses, and one showroom called Primera Klasse located in Quezon Ave. The road to triumph stretches as it aims to branch out in the Visayas and Mind-

K-Pop superstar Kang Daniel returned with his new album ‘Yellow.’

Kang Daniel returns with final chapter of ‘Color Series’ K-POP superstar Kang Daniel returned with his new album Yellow on April 13. The record marked the third and final chapter of his COLOR series, which began in February last year. His chart-topping single “Paranoia” made Kang Daniel’s debut on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Charts as a soloist, as well as ranking first in 10 countries and charting in over 26 regions on iTunes. The music video garnered more than 20 million views in just under four days on YouTube, a personal best for Kang Daniel and 20 times faster than last year’s “Who U Are.” Yellow is expected to pick up from where “Paranoia” left off, exploring a more serious, introspective side of the artist. The EP release will continue to touch on a difficult period in the young artist’s career and his process to find resolution in his darkest moments, discovering the silver lining between conflict and pain. Antidote the album’s title song, was revealed as an alternative R&B track where Kang Daniel, once again participated as a lyricist. Rock elements have been hinted at providing a glimpse into Kang Daniel’s evolution as an artist. Antidote writers include Jonathan Hoskins, credited under artists such as Partynextdoor and Alec Benjamin as well as K-pop mainstays, Anthony Pavel and MZMC. The mix comes at the hands of Denis Kosiak, whose notable works include Khalid, Zayn, and Conan Gray. His album will be available on all streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify.

Online star Ludwig Ahgren holds new record on Twitch Ludwig Ahgren has 2.65 million followers, according to TwitchTracker, which ranked him the third most popular streamer on the Amazonowned platform.

A TWITCH star held a new record for subscribers on Wednesday after winning fans with a monthlong live stream at the Amazon-owned platform popular with video game players. Ludwig Ahgren had more than 283,000 subscriptions in what TwitchTracker website ranked as an alltime high, topping well-known Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. “Since I started streaming—Prince Phillip died—The Suez Canal got blocked and unblocked—(YouTuber) David Dobrik made two apology videos—Jesus of Nazareth died and then rose from the dead,” Ahgren quipped in a tweet before his 31 days of continuous live streaming ended late Tuesday. Ahgren launched what he referred to as a subscription marathon in mid-March, originally promising to add a bit of time to the stream for each subscription. As his stunt became a sensation, Ahgren set a definite stop time for fear that the Twitch community would keep his stream alive indefinitely, according to US media. During the streaming binge, sometimes Ahgren was not in view or off sleeping. AFP

Life

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

TRAVEL & LEISURE

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

REVIEW By Neil Doloricon

HE history of the Philippines is marked with trade-offs with colonizers and the big imperial powers like the US. The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, for instance, was an agreement between colonial Spanish Governor-General Primo de Rivera and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, who represented the Filipino revolutionaries, for a negotiated surrender of the revolutionaries in exchange for amnesty and a monetary indemnity of P400,000 in December of 1897. In 1898, after Aguinaldo was hoodwinked by American officials into thinking that they were not interested in the Philippine Islands, there came the Treaty of Paris under which the US bought the country from Spain for $20 million. It officially ended the SpanishAmerican War, but then led to the Philippine-American War. During “the bloody blundering business” — as one documentary film described the Philippine-American War — Filipinos suffered from the killing spree of American soldiers trying to keep their hold on their newfound colony. In contemporary times, artist Pete Jimenez made a remarkable artistic statement by describing his installation works as “Islands for Sale.” These are 1960s boats made from decommissioned rescue boats of the Philippine Navy — outworn, dysfunctional vessels from the military point of view that were supposed to be disposed of in a junkyard. Mind you, these were donations from the US, which, in many cases, the American military already considered as junk. But they gave them away to allies like the Philippines as part of the Mutual Defense Pact. Jimenez describes these boats with metaphorical passion as islands, their usefulness expired mainly due to obsolescence. Jimenez, who is a very resourceful artist, cut the eight boats into halves, placing some of them right side up and some upside down. They look like submerged boats, giving you the feeling of seeing the aftermath of a war, where things are scattered all over. At the same time, you can think of them as representing the contested Spratly Islands floating in the sea. China, the emerging power, has been friendly to some Philippine presidents, like Gloria Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte.

ISLANDS FOR SALE:

A statement from scrap SINKING OR FLOATING. Pete Jimenez mounts ‘Islands for Sale,’ an exhibit at the Ateneo Art Gallery featuring decommissioned boats of the Philippine Navy cut into halves to look like submerged boats or floating islands.

Arroyo has been accused of selling out to Chinese officials through the ZTE deal, which became a big scandal during her presidency. Among others, she was also accused of conspiring with Chinese officials to go on a joint exploration of contested islands in the West Philippine Sea, despite these being in our exclusive economic zone. But public opinion against this fell on Arroyo’s deaf ears. Despite winning the case against Chinese intrusion into our exclusive economic zone during the time of President Noynoy Aquino, the Philippines now faces a China that has been working secretly on putting up their military installations on our islands. This has caused public alarm as the intrusion has come closer to home. President Duterte compounded the problem by being too cautious about not provoking the Chinese government into taking an adversarial stance, fearing that it might trigger punitive action. People suspect that our sovereignty will be sold out to the Chinese due to our government’s passiveness on the issue. Jimenez has been a garbage hunter, if you will, for decades now. As the cliché goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” While randomly selecting used materials from junkyards, he has to have a gut feel on which items to

‘[Jimenez] gave new life to scrap material by reconfiguring their creative potential into a platform for expressing a political opinion.’

Virtual art fest presents

series of workshops

LEARN a new craft every weekend in April and May with the help of artists leading the workshops at the SM Stationery Virtual Art Fest 2021. The virtual festival, which started on Easter Sunday and runs until May 30, features traditional visual art forms like brush calligraphy, watercolor, and abstract painting, as well as contemporary expressions like doodle sketching and pop arts and crafts. Upcoming workshops include Glue Drawn Art using Elmer’s Glue, led by preschool teacher Jillian Dungo (April 17); Slime Art (April 18); Design Your Own Tumbler using Sharpie markers, led by calligrapher Kylee Tabil (April 24); and Getting Crafty, led by professional art teacher Aimee Fadriguela using Prismacolor Colored Pencils in designing canis-

ters and bookmarks (April 25). May workshops are Ball pen Sketching (May 1); Creative Journaling (May 2); Word Art (May 8); Design Your Own Flower Pot (May 9); Urban Sketching 101 with inks and watercolor brush pens (May 15); Expressive Botanical Sketching (May 16); Intro to Brush Calligraphy Workshop (May 22); Face Shield Decoration Workshop and Do-It-Yourself Popsicle Sticks Lantern Workshop (May 23); Abstract Art Marbling (May 29); and Fancify Your Letters (May 30). To join, buy the art fest workshop kits at smstationery.com.ph or in select SM Stationery branches, register online, and wait for the confirmation email and the password to the Zoom session which will be sent three days prior to the schedule of the workshop.

choose — although a creative mind like his no doubt already have an idea on how to tackle a plethora of things that can be used to interplay with each other to depict a huge creative concept. The discovery of materials came before the formulation of the concept. I would think this was the case in the Jimenez installation at the Ateneo Art Gallery. He gave new life to scrap material by reconfiguring their creative potential into a platform of expressing a political opinion. Incidentally, the donated rescue boats were supposed to be used for military defense operations, but their usefulness was overturned by their obsolescence. We just hope that there were no accidents like drowning during their use as rescue

boats, just like what happened to Huey helicopters donated by US Army to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which were like flying coffins due to many accidents while they were in operation. “Islands for Sale” as a thematic expression is very timely. Just recently, some 200 Chinese ships bearing militia visited the West Philippine Sea. The question is: Were there trade-offs? Were these islands already sold by the government to China? By allowing the ships on our exclusive economic zones, we have practically allowed China to invade the Philippines without it firing a single shot. Pete Jimenez — who’s known for his satirical approach to many of his assemblage and sculptural oeuvres out of found

‘Kumikita ka pa ba?’ THESE days, this question has become the buzzword among us, tourism industry stakeholders, what with the industry in hibernation for over a year now. But not to be defeated by this pandemic, we have been keeping busy with webinars and fora, designed to upgrade our skills and to equip us when facing the challenges and demands of the new reality. Although we’re ready for the global reopening of our industry, which we hope will be very soon, the fact remains that we have had zero income since the pandemic set in more than a year ago. Thus, we have been asking this question to each other every time we get into a visual huddle during the webinars and fora that we attend. Since we, the Board of Trustees of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), feel that our tourism stakeholders have been “webinar’d” more than enough, we thought it best to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and address the core issue that has plagued our industry through these very challenging months – what else can we do to make money? So, instead of another webinar or forum on trends or new tools of the trade, etc., we decided to offer our members a more compelling topic, a lifeline to carry them through these financially challenging times, while awaiting the resumption of travel. We themed our First Business Assembly (how we call our General Membership Meeting): “Kumikita Ka Pa Ba? Kita Tayo. Sana All.” It looked like we did the right thing because the event scored the maximum Zoom attendance. We had four speakers from other industries, and they shared with our members easy-as-pie business opportunities for alternative income. These speakers represent enterprises that have been operating and have been making money in spite of the various levels of quarantine caused by the pandemic. Mario Ramon Ludena is the domestic dales region head for Mindanao of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies. He invited our members to earn extra revenues by being a part of the Cebuana Lhuillier network, known countrywide not only for its pawning services but also for its cash remittance facilities. He said that our members’ existing of-

A few days before the event, we sent our members another attractive reminder, to be sure they won’t miss this opportunity for alternative income.

fices can serve as remittance facilities for their clients who will then be able to receive cash from or send cash to any part of the country, considering Cebuana Lhuillier’s 2,500 branches and 26,000 participating outlets covering the archipelago. For such service, our members can earn the corresponding transaction fees. Various types of arrangements are available, and details may be obtained from mrludena@pjlhuillier.com. Next on the spotlight was my eldest son, Juan Carlos, his Daddy’s pride and a financial advisor of PRU Life UK who recently won the company’s National Achiever’s Award. He highlighted why our members could easily succeed if they join him as part-time financial advisors – they already have the clients who depend on them for advice, be it on travel or on any other aspect which makes their lives better. For convincing only one person a week to invest only P100 per day on life insurance, the financial advisor could earn as much as P65,000 a month in commissions. Who would say NO to that? And if the advisor’s productivity continues, he/ she is entitled to a bonanza of incentives, e.g., as many as eight bonuses a year, allexpenses-paid domestic and international holidays, free accommodations in de luxe hotels, electronic gadgets, etc. Additional details of this attractive invitation are available through plukcarlos.zozobrado@gmail.com or 0920-932-7602. The sales master of Atomy Philippines, Meriam Ildefonso, spoke next. This South Korean company is an online shopping mall for essential household goods and a distribution hub for top quality sk-

YOUR WEEKEND CHUCKLE A pen canister (left) and bookmarks designed using Prismacolor Colored Pencils.

materials from junkyards — has come up with a very timely installation in these troubled times amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This would stir up discussions and draw support in protesting the virtual sellout of our sovereignty by our leaders, who have made a mockery of its patriotic duty to defend the country from invaders. By the way, it’s not only the West Philippine Sea that has been grabbed by the Chinese, foreign investors are now allowed to own land and water properties in the country, courtesy of the Congress of the Philippines. The whole Philippine Islands are now for sale. Pete Jimenez has done his share in fulfilling his duties not only as a citizen but as an artist to make a difference.

GUY (to a lady sitting next to him): Nice perfume! Which one is it? I want to give one to my wife. LADY: Don’t give it to her. Some idiot will find an excuse to talk to her!

incare products. Its six million agents in 15 countries bring in revenues from the company’s most popular products – its top-of-the-line health supplement and a multi-awarded top cosmetic brand in South Korea. The company, also a merchandise curator offering directly to the consumers only top-quality brands, wants our members to help promote the many attractive products in its portfolio. Ildefonso may be reached through meriamildefonso@ gmail.com or 0915-448-4012. Capping the list of stellar speakers was our very own Trustee, Simon Ang, who is also sales manager of Giana Deli which specializes in sumptuous, but healthy snacks. These past months, any Tom, Dick, and Harry have offered all kinds of food items online, but Giana Deli is different. It offers snacks made from chicken meat, which is a welcome treat for those who suffer from various forms of comorbidities. Our members were invited to earn extra money by becoming resellers of these products, as they are very easy to market because they have become the favorite of health-conscious families. Get more details through gianadeli888@gmail.com or 0927-511-6530. So, while our industry is still gasping for survival, waiting for the tourism machinery to start grinding globally once again, we have to continue finding ways to keep going. Discovering sources of alternative income can make that happen. Besides, we’ve been hibernating for more than a year now. Sometimes, we just have to start something new and enjoy the magic, the excitement of these new beginnings, especially of financially rewarding endeavors. So, when those of us in the tourism industry ask each other the banner question again, we can proudly answer with a resounding YES! Sana all. For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com.