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Marcos signs laws to improve gov’t procurement system, curb online scams | Luisa Cabato | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 12:12:11 PST | President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) and the New Government Procurement Act during simple rites held Saturday morning at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace. Among those who witnessed the event were Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Senate President Chiz Escudero
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. signs into law the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) and the New Government Procurement Act during simple rites held Saturday morning at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace. Among those who witnessed the event were Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Senate President Chiz Escudero
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).
In a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace on Saturday, July 20, Marcos signed the NGPA or Republic Act 12009, which is a harmonized version of Senate Bill No. 2593 and House Bill No. 9648, that aims to address loopholes in the current government procurement system for a more economical and responsive process.
READ: New gov’t procurement bill will ensure transparency, efficiency – Angara
“The NGPA streamlines the procurement process from three months to just 60 days by standardizing procurement forms and institutionalizing electronic procurement,” Marcos said in his speech.
One of the significant features of the NGPA is the provision of 11 new modalities of procurement that will give government agencies greater flexibility in choosing ways to procure goods and services.
Moreover, the new law introduces the “Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid,” which evaluates both the qualitative and economic value of a proposal, as opposed to the current practice of selecting the “Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bid.”
On the other hand, AFASA or RA No. 12010, intends to protect Filipinos from online scams.
“This new law mandates financial institutions to implement necessary safeguards to protect our citizens’ accounts. It will protect our people from falling prey to perpetrators who target their banks and e-wallet accounts,” Marcos said.
“This is essential in this time as cybercriminals use technology to defraud fellow Filipinos — causing not only personal economic loss through them but also a loss of trust in financial institutions,” he added.
The Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council led by Marcos tagged the two laws as priority measures.
READ: House adopts Senate-approved Anti-Financial Account Scamming bill
In a separate statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it welcomes the passage of AFASA.
“We express our full support for the new anti-financial account scamming law. This will help us strengthen consumer protection and foster trust and confidence in the Philippine financial system,” said BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr.
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AFASA authorizes the BSP to investigate cases that violate the law, apply for cybercrime warrants and orders, and request assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police in the investigation of cases.
It also allows the BSP to examine and investigate bank accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts that are involved in prohibited acts.
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Baguio’s famed bakehouse and cafe Rebel is now open in Maginhawa, QC | No author found | 2024-04-11T06:52:49+00:00 | Rebel Bakehouse is one of those new dining establishments that make going up to Baguio an even more exciting trip. Barely a two-year-old business that started as a cloud bakery, Rebel has become synonymous with freshly baked and inventive pastries that are worth the hike up north.
[READ: 5 out-of-Manila bakeries worth the trip]
Luckily for Rebel fans in Manila, they’ve been doing pop-ups and collaborations with establishments like The Curator and Yardstick—their pop-up at Greenbelt 3 lasts until June. Then there’s the commissary in Maginhawa, which began as a way to smoothly deliver croissants and other laminated pastries to the doors of Manila faithfuls but has now evolved into a retail space with limited seating.
[READ: At the Rebel and Yardstick pop-up, coffee and croissants are in rebellious form]
A post shared by Jayrene (@jabberjayrene)
Located at 189 Maginhawa St., Quezon City, this Rebel Bakehouse branch is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. But best come early as their pastries sell out fast. Don’t be like me who came at 1 p.m.(!) to see the last of their leche flan danish go to the customer before me. Sad, I know.
Other than pastries, they have a pretty decent coffee menu for those who want to pair their buttery bakes with a drink. My go-to non-caffeinated drink is the chai latte but on that scorching afternoon, it was a relief to find a chai tonic on the menu which turned out to be a good summery, fizzy choice.
And if you can’t muster the energy in this blazing summer to commute to Quezon City to get your hands on Rebel bakes, you can always call them for delivery or to pre-order—the best way to get ahead of some pastry-hungry Rebel fans, if you ask me.
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Tropical Depression Butchoy exits PAR – Pagasa | Luisa Cabato | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 11:51:01 PST | Tropical Depression Butchoy leaves the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday, July 20, 2024, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). GRAPHICS BY INQUIRER
Tropical Depression Butchoy leaves the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday, July 20, 2024, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). GRAPHICS BY INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depression Butchoy has now left the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Based on Pagasa’s 11 a.m. advisory, Butchoy was located 565 kilometers (km) west of Iba, Zambales, as of 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 20.
READ: Pagasa: Butchoy and Carina boost southwest monsoon, rain likely
The state weather agency said Butchoy maintained its strength with maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness reaching up to 70 kph. It was moving west-northwest at a slower pace of 10 kph.
Tropical Depression Butchoy leaves the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday, July 20, 2024, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). Pagasa weather satellite image
Tropical Depression Carina, meanwhile, was still within the PAR as of Saturday mid-morning, according to the latest Pagasa weather bulletin.
READ: Pagasa: 2 LPAs off Batangas, Catandauanes now TDs Butchoy, Carina
Carina was last observed 510 km east-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, keep[ing its maximum sustained winds of 55 kph and gustiness of up to 70 kph, moving west-northwest at a steady pace of 30 kph, the state weather service added.
Despite the two tropical depressions, Pagasa did not raise any topical cyclone wind signals over any part of the country as both weather systems were not anticipated to make landfall.
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Maris Racal sorry after ‘may edad na beki’ remark on Vice Ganda | Anne Pasajol | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 11:51:49 PST | Maris Racal and Vice Ganda. Image: Instagram/@mariesteller, @praybeytbenjamin
Maris Racal and Vice Ganda. Image: Instagram/@mariesteller, @praybeytbenjamin
Maris Racal and Vice Ganda had an amusing exchange after a 2022 clip of the actress describing the latter as “may edad na beki” resurfaced on social media.
Racal, alongside actress Jai Agpangan and content creator Kyo Quijano, took on the “Pipilahan o Di Pipilahan” challenge in May 2022, as seen in a vlog shared on Racal’s YouTube channel.
Vice Ganda was among the celebrities mentioned in the vlog, and the three all responded “Pipilahan.” Explaining her answer, Racal said, “Feeling ko ang ganda niyang maging ate.”
“Gusto ko may Vice Ganda sa buhay ko. Feeling ko kasi iga-guide niya ako kung ano mang problema ko. Iba talaga ‘pag ano, ‘pag may edad na na beki. Parang grabe talaga, iba ‘yung growth niya,” she continued.
Vice Ganda apparently just learned of this, reposting on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, July 18, a clip from Racal’s vlog shared in 2022.
“Hoyyyy talaga ba, Maris????? ‘MAY EDAD NA NA BEKI’?!!!! Talaga lang ha!!!!!” the “It’s Showtime” host said in the caption.
Hoyyyy talaga ba @MissMarisRacal ????? “MAY EDAD NA NA BEKI?!!!!”!!!! Talaga lang ha!!!!! https://t.co/A9YagZcz39
— jose marie viceral (@vicegandako) July 18, 2024
Racal, curious over why the two-year-old clip resurfaced, then replied, “HOY SINONG NAGHALUNGKAT NITOOOOOOO???? SORRY MEME!!!! Love youuuu.”
HOY SINONG NAGHALUNGKAT NITOOOOOOO???? 😭😭😭
SORRY MEME!!!! Love youuuu https://t.co/bpZC7juehl
— Maris Racal (@MissMarisRacal) July 19, 2024
Meanwhile, Racal earlier made headlines after she confirmed her breakup with her longtime boyfriend, musician Rico Blanco.
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Marcos administers oath to ‘good friend’ Angara as DepEd chief | Luisa Cabato | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 10:44:30 PST | Sonny Angara takes oath as the new secretary of the Department of Education before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos at the Palace on Friday, July 19. (Photo courtesy of Presidential Communications Office)
Sonny Angara takes oath as the new secretary of the Department of Education before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos at the Palace on Friday, July 19. (Photo courtesy of Presidential Communications Office)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially installed his “good friend” Sonny Angara as the new education secretary to lead the Department of Education (DepEd).
The oath-taking ceremony took place at the Palace on Friday, July 19, exactly a month after Vice President Sara Duterte quit the Marcos administration’s Cabinet.
“I have just administered the oath to our good friend here, Secretary Sonny Angara, for his new position in the Department of Education. That formalizes his taking on the position of Secretary for DepEd,” Marcos said during the event.
READ: Sara Duterte turns over DepEd chief post to Sonny Angara
Marcos also expressed optimism about his appointment of Angara as DepEd chief.
“We have had some discussions before he took his oath to give ourselves a good idea of what we think needs to be done. I know Sonny knows what is important and I know how that he knows how to get these things done, and so I’m very very optimistic for DepEd,” he noted.
Angara, a just-resigned senator, thanked Marcos for trusting him to lead such an important government department.
“Mr. President, I know how much you value education, much as every Filipino family does. I look forward to working very closely with you in the coming days and months for the needed reforms in our educational system, for the benefit of our young learners, for the benefit of future generations,” he said.
READ: Sara Duterte to skip Marcos’ Sona, names self ‘designated survivor’
Vice President Duterte resigned as education secretary in June and officially handed over the DepEd leadership to Angara on Thursday, July 18.
Following the turnover ceremony at the DepEd central office in Pasig City, Duterte was asked by reporters if her resignation from the Cabinet was related to her rift with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
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“No,” she replied.
“The first lady has nothing to do with my job working with President Marcos,” she added in Filipino.
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A chance to slow down is this La Union cafe’s best product | No author found | 2024-07-20T00:00:02+00:00 | At the northern terminus of TPLEX in Rosario, La Union, a cafe has opened at the foot of a mountain lush with teak trees. A Slow Life Coffee’s owners Iya Forbes and her mother Emma Flores built the cafe as a reminder for people to do just that—slow down and enjoy life.
The cafe’s entrance opens up to a spacious terrace with a view of trees making you forget that you were right by Pugo-Rosario Road, a main artery leading up to Benguet. The soffits and ceiling cladding of the cafe are all made of teak wood—timber from the felled trees that were put to good use—adding to the sense of place.
The furniture, a mix of Ishinomaki Laboratory pieces and custom designs also in teak wood, was in collaboration with Lamana. There’s a quietude and stillness here that make a quaint coffee shop like A Slow Life Coffee a perfect fit.
A photographer by profession, Iya took to coffee during the pandemic when jobs were few and unsteady—an escape and a way to keep her hands busy.
“Pre-pandemic, coffee was a driver for me to productivity. During the pandemic, specialty coffee became more mindful for me and I needed to be more engaged. I just wanted something tactile. Coffee created a space for me to just be and breathe. Specialty coffee also has a sensory aspect where it allows me to taste different things. That was exciting for me.”
Before plans of opening a cafe, her mother Emma, a devout Catholic, purchased the sprawling land on the mountain with a spiritual goal in mind. “I have this devotion to God the Father and I was really inspired to put up a traditional chapel on top of the mountain,” she says.
During the preparation of the steep land for building and paving roads that would lead up to the chapel, she noticed the workers choosing the same place on the grounds to set up their makeshift hammocks to rest. “This spot was beautiful. I asked them why they liked this certain spot and they said that it was because it was cool and presko. I also started coming to this spot during lunchtime with a thermos of coffee. Since Iya always wanted a coffee shop, I thought this might be the best place for it,” recalls Emma.
Original plans for a cafe were very modest. Iya thought of a coffee cart at first. This idea was thwarted by her mother who thought a cart wouldn’t be seen with all the trees around. Now the cafe is spread out onto three levels—clean restrooms on the lower level, the cafe and terrace on the main, and an air-conditioned area on the second level. You can also enjoy coffee on the balcony shelves while facing the view.
“I’ve had impostor syndrome for the longest time. Who am I? I’m just a photographer. I’m not in the F&B industry. I’m not trained in specialty coffee, although I’ve been taking sensory classes for specialty classes, not barista classes,” Iya reveals. She also had the opportunity to visit coffee farmers in Benguet to see where coffee comes from and how they are processed.
Iya can be seen behind the bar churning out orders such as the spiced chocolate and orange-infused cream drink called Rosario Sunset or a mocktail of cranberry juice, sage, mint, and espresso called The Cranny Colada.
Currently, there is a limited pastry collection all from people Iya looks up to. “The croissants are from Rebel Bakehouse. I like their brand and how they approach things. As for cakes, we have three suppliers of cakes, three friends. This is all really an excuse to collaborate with friends,” she laughs.
“The first one is Gng. Bukid, a lola in Makati. We carry her cheesecake and also a different cake each week. We also have Sadie’s and cookies from Crema & Cream.”
The counter is full of small Pokemon toys and knick-knacks that Iya loves. A Slow Life Coffee’s branding also incorporates illustrations from Iya’s friends that feature a snail and a girl. “I’ve always been a proponent for childlike wonder even if you’re an adult. That’s why the toys are there.”
The shop’s charm attracted TikTokers immediately after opening in May. Although social media can be an effective tool for marketing your business, it can also bring an unexpected shock to your small team. For a time, the coffee shop was swarmed with cars lined outside waiting for their chance to experience the cafe’s ambience. Every seat and bench was occupied and the orders were piled so much that they ran out of buzzers to give to customers.
“I vividly remember that. I would tell the customer that they would have to wait 45 minutes for their order and they would be willing to wait. We’re not part of a gentrified area in La Union so we had to train baristas from the ground up,” Iya explains.
Her mother adds, “It wasn’t Iya’s vision of a calming cafe.”
That said, they have learned to control the crowd and the number of people entering so that everyone gets to experience an enjoyable time at A Slow Life Coffee as intended. Its sudden popularity illustrates how people crave for spaces that are in touch with nature and its environment. It’s a conducive place to really just sit, breathe in the fresh air, and take it slow.
“I remember those times in my like ‘depressive’ state during the pandemic, it was also caused by thoughts like, ‘I have no value because I’m not productive.’ So I think coffee was such a blessing to me because I realigned my gaze and it reminded me to have some space. So A Slow Life Coffee is more of a reminder or sort of an advocacy to slow down and breathe,” Iya shares.
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Pagasa: Butchoy and Carina boost southwest monsoon, rain likely | Luisa Cabato | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 10:08:05 PST | The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) says the southwest monsoon, locally called habagat, which is being enhanced by Tropical Depressions Butchoy and Carina, will bring cloudy skies, rain, and thunderstorms to many provinces nationwide on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Pagasa)
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) says the southwest monsoon, locally called habagat, which is being enhanced by Tropical Depressions Butchoy and Carina, will bring cloudy skies, rain, and thunderstorms to many provinces nationwide on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Pagasa)
MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Depressions Butchoy and Carina were enhancing the southwest monsoon, which is expected to bring cloudy skies, rain, and thunderstorms to many provinces nationwide.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the boosted southwest monsoon, locally called habagat, will affect Antique, Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Zambales, Bataan, Mimaropa in Luzon, as well as parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
Localized thunderstorms, meanwhile, will cause slightly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms in Metro Manila and the rest of the country, according to Pagasa.
READ: Pagasa: 2 LPAs off Batangas, Catandauanes now TDs Butchoy, Carina
On Tropical Depression Butchoy, the state weather agency said its center was last located 545 kilometers (km) west of Subic Bay. Butchoy was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 km per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 70 kph and continued to move outside of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) in a westward-northwestward direction at a speed of 20 kph.
“Inaasahan natin na for the next 24 hours, or bukas madaling araw ng Linggo, ay ‘yung magiging location na ni Butchoy ay 910 km kanluran ng Central Luzon. Nasa labas na si Butchoy ng ating PAR by then,” said Pagasa weather specialist Daniel James Villamil.
(We expect that within the next 24 hours, or by early Sunday morning, Butchoy’s location will be 910 km west of Central Luzon. By then, Butchoy will be outside our PAR.)
He added that Butchoy may also reach the tropical storm category by Sunday, July 21.
READ: Pagasa says Lakas is a fake super typhoon: It doesn’t exist
As for Tropical Depression Carina, Pagasa said it was last seen 625 km east-northeast of Virac, Catanduanes. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph with gustiness of up to 70 kph, and moving northwest at a speed of 30 kph.
“For the next three to five days, may kalayuan po itong track nitong bagyong Carina sa bansa. Sa ngayon wala pang nakataas na tropical cyclone wind signal, ngunit hindi natin tinatanggal ‘yung posibilidad na magtaas tayo ng signal one sa mga susunod na araw sa areas ng extrement Northern Luzon at eastern section ng Northern Luzon area,” said Villamil.
(For the next three to five days, the track of Typhoon Carina is expected to be far from the country. As of now, no tropical cyclone wind signal is raised, but we do not rule out the possibility of raising signal one in the coming days for areas in extreme Northern Luzon and the eastern section of Northern Luzon.)
He likewise said that Carina may also reach the tropical storm category within the next 24 hours and the typhoon category by Monday, July 22.
Both tropical depressions remain less likely to bring heavy rainfall in the next three days, Villamil added.
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Pagasa did not raise any gale warning alert over any of the country’s seaboards despite the presence of Butchoy and Carina, but it warned of moderate to rough coastal conditions due to the southwest monsoon.
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Nadia Montenegro confirms child with Baron Geisler: ‘My story to tell’ | Jessica Ann Evangelista | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 10:08:46 PST | Baron Geisler and Nadia Montenegro. Image: Instagram/@baron.geisler, @officialnadiam
Baron Geisler and Nadia Montenegro. Image: Instagram/@baron.geisler, @officialnadiam
Nadia Montenegro hoped to “put an end to the open secret,” as she officially confirmed Baron Geisler as the father of her 17-year-old daughter, Sophia, stressing that it was her story to tell.
Sitting down on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” on Friday, July 19, Montenegro came unfiltered as she stressed that “no one has the right to tell her story” even after “someone” revealed it 17 years ago, apparently referring to Geisler.
“I’ve already admitted that. Yes,” she revealed. “Sophia is turning 18 in August. And that’s why I’m here; it’s not for views, not to trend, because that’s one thing I hate, but to put an exclamation on everything.”
“17 years ago, may isiniwalat ang isang tao tungkol sa buhay ko na, I don’t think anybody has the right. Kasi noong time na ‘yun, inaayos ko lahat. Hindi man lang kinonsider [na] 17 years ago, kung ano ang pinagdadaanan ko, ng mga anak ko, kung ano ang puwedeng mawala sa akin. Itong sinasabi ko ngayon na ako’y nagka-anak,” she said, adding that it’s happening again as people feastered on her story following Geisler’s recent interview.
Montenegro stressed that it is her “mistake,” as her daughter doesn’t deserve to constantly get dragged into the issue.
“This is my mistake. Kung nagkamali man ako. I don’t want to even call it a mistake. Sophia is one of the most beautiful girls you can ever meet. Not just sa mukha niya, pati puso niya. This child has been through so much that she does not deserve,” she expressed.
The “Ang Probinsiyano” actress revealed that her daughter and Geisler have always been in contact with each other through social media.
“Pinangakuan siya na ‘Sige magkikita tayo ng isang beses, pero walang makakaalam.’ Tito Boy, sila ang magkausap, hindi ako nakialam,” she shared. “They were always in contact, Tito Boy. From social media, but never, like, you know, na, ‘[hidden],’ walang gano’n. It was just, ‘I’m okay.’ Walang gano’n (pagkikita).”
Montenegro then justified the reason she tried to detach her daughter from her real father.
“Huwag nating kalimutan na, bakit ba tumagal nang ganito? Tito Boy, unlimited chances for someone to change. Give me a reason na ipaharap kita sa kaniya nang sober ka. The drunk messages. The drunk text to my daughter. You think that would help her?” she stressed.
The 52-year-old actress underscored that Geisler spoke about her daughter in an interview without even asking their permission, which led to Sophia’s being bullied.
“You came out in an interview all of a sudden without even asking us? Even if you didn’t mention my name, sa tingin mo hindi kami nabulabog? Did you even think for a while what would happen to your daughter?” she said, apparently addressing Geisler.
“She was bullied. Someone all of a sudden just posted on the student council page a picture of Baron in jail. ‘Kaninong tatay ito?,'” shared the actress. “Kailangan ko pa bang ikuwento kung ano ang pinagdaanan namin just to keep our peace? This is my life. This is my children’s lives. This is my story, Tito Boy; no one has the right to tell my story.”
Montenegro affirmed that she doesn’t need a spokesperson to explain her mistakes.
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“I’ve always owned my mistakes, but let me say, kung ano ang pagkakamali ko, hindi ikaw, hindi ko kailangan ng spokesperson,” she stressed. “I want this to end because my daughter’s turning 18 soon, and she does not need to come out of this world and answer questions for her mother.”
The “Sandakot na Bala” actress also shared that her late husband, Boy Asistio, knew about Geisler being the father of Sophia, and that hey had a closure before he died.
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The Medical City and DOT launches groundbreaking partnership to position PH as global medical tourism destination | No author found | 2024-07-19T23:00:34+00:00 | The Medical City (TMC), a premier healthcare brand, and the Department of Tourism (DOT) have officially entered into a historic partnership aimed at positioning the Philippines as a top destination for health and wellness. The partnership was formalized during the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing on July 17 at Grand Hyatt Manila.
Since 2008, TMC has been a DOT-accredited hospital, consistently maintaining this status and underscoring its long-term commitment to excellence in medical tourism. With a network of hospitals serving close to 20,000 international patients yearly, TMC stands as a leader in the field.
DOT identifies TMC as a standout partner in its pursuit of providing a holistic medical tourism program to international patients. To date, TMC serves patients from countries such as the mainland USA, Guam, Korea, China, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The MOA signing marked the first public-private collaboration of its kind, setting a new standard for the Philippines’ medical sector.
Comprehensive Services and Personalized Care for Medical Tourists
TMC Ortigas, a Joint Commission International (JCI) approved facility, is a trusted hospital for international patients in the Philippines. It offers advanced medical technology and personalized care. It’s a preferred destination for medical tourists seeking high-quality healthcare, with easily accessible locations nationwide and competitive pricing, making it a cost-effective option.
TMC’s International Patient Concierge Services streamline all international patient transactions, providing seamless medical travel coordination, accommodation assistance, and airport meet-and-greet services for medical and non-medical travelers. Recognizing the significance of international patient care, TMC has dedicated Korean and Japanese helpdesks to offer specialized support, ensuring minimal language barriers for a smooth healthcare experience.
Discover Your Wellness Series
At the same event, DOT and TMC launched the ‘Discover Your Wellness’ series as part of ‘Love the Philippines’ campaign, under its medical tourism arm. The project will highlight the unique blend of world-class healthcare, breathtaking tourist attractions, and vibrant cultural experiences available in the country.
TMC strongly emphasizes wellness, aligning with the DOT’s vision to promote holistic wellness experiences in the Philippines. The collaboration highlights the country’s diverse wellness offerings with TMC’s facilities and personalized healthcare services.
Discover Your Wellness series will be available on TMC’s digital channels and DOT-identified platforms, ensuring it reaches a wide audience of potential medical tourists who seek high-quality healthcare at an affordable cost. More details will about the series will be posted soon on TMC’s Facebook Page.
Making The Philippines as a Choice Medical Tourism Destination
“The Medical City is honored to collaborate with the DOT to showcase the Philippines as a top global medical tourism destination” stated Dr. Eugenio Jose F. Ramos, President and CEO of The Medical City. “This partnership underscores our vision to delivering world-class healthcare accessible to a wider audience, blending exceptional medical care with the unique offerings of the Philippines.”
DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco also highlighted the partnership’s importance: “We are blessed to be partnering with The Medical City in our government’s efforts to expand the medical tourism portfolio of the country. Together, we will emphasize advantages of choosing the Philippines for medical care where patients can expect world-class healthcare services, complimented by our hospitality and beautiful landscapes.”
The collaboration with DOT highlights TMC’s distinction in the healthcare sector. TMC remains committed to lead the way by providing a holistic patient experience by integrating advanced medical technologies, comprehensive care programs, and a patient-centric approach, ensuring each service meets the needs and expectations of every patient.
ADVT.
This article is brought to you by The Medical City.
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BFAR says shellfishes from Bataan are now safe to eat | Jun A. Malig | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:47:50 PST | MABALACAT CITY — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said shellfishes from Bataan are now safe for consumption.
This developed as the BFAR lifted the warning it issued Wednesday along Bataan’s coastal waters due to the presence of gymnodinium catenatum, the microorganism that causes toxic red tide and paralytic shellfish poisoning.
High concentration of gymnodinium catenatum usually produce toxic red tides or the turning of sea water into reddish color.
In a shellfish bulletin Friday, July 19, the BFAR national office said all types of shellfishes and acetes sp. or “alamang” from the coastal waters of Bataan province’s Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Hermosa, Orani, Abucay, and Samal towns, and Balanga City are now safe to eat.
“To safeguard human lives, we are issuing this warning as a precautionary advice to the public to refrain from gathering, selling and eating all types of shellfishes and Acetes spp. locally known as ‘Alamang’ from (the mentioned localities of) Bataan to avoid possible shellfish poisoning,” the agency said in an previous statement.
READ: BFAR raises red tide alert in some coastal areas in Visayas, Mindanao
In a Facebook post on the evening of July 19, the BFAR Central Luzon said it was glad to announce that the coastal waters of Bataan are now “safe from red tide.”
“After three consecutive analysis, the same shellfishes and water samples no longer have the organism that causes red tide,” it said, adding that it will continue to monitor Bataan’s coastal waters to ensure the safety of the public.
According to the BFAR, fish, squid, crab and shrimp from areas with red tide are still safe to eat if they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and if all their entrails are removed.
Currently, the agency noted that most of the coastal waters of the country are free from toxic red tide, including the coastal waters of Pampanga and Bulacan in Central Luzon.
The BFAR, however, said the only areas still affected by toxic red tide are Honda Bay in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Dauis and Tagbilaran in Bohol; San Benito in Surigao del Norte; and Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur.
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BSP grants Islamic banking window license to 2 firms | Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral @ipcigaral | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 07:15:27 PST | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (File photo / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (File photo / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had given licenses to two companies to open Islamic banking windows (IBW) in the Philippines amid a strong regulatory push to develop a vibrant Islamic banking ecosystem in the country.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event hosted by the Chamber of Thrift Banks, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said the central bank approved the applications of MayBank Philippines and another company to establish their own IBWs. Fonacier declined to name the other firm.
READ: Regulatory push seen attracting interest in PH Islamic banking
An IBW license allows conventional financial institutions to conduct Islamic banking operations by setting up a subsidiary that offers Shari’ah-compliant financing.
“It’s already approved for both,” said Fonacier, head of the BSP’s financial supervision sector, which is mainly responsible for the regulation of banks.
Prior to the approvals, there were only two players in the Islamic banking sector: Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines and the Islamic branch of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Bank Inc.
In 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11439 which mandates the BSP to exercise regulatory powers and supervision over the operations of Islamic banks.
Islamic banking, as defined in RA 11439, refers to a banking business with objectives and operations that do not involve interest (riba) that is prohibited by the Islamic or Shari’ah Law, and which conducts its business following the principles of the Shari’ah.
READ: Maybank Philippines eyeing Islamic banking license from BSP
The lack of a legal framework and necessary infrastructure in the past had hampered the development of a dynamic Islamic banking ecosystem in the Philippines, where the Muslim population accounts for about 10 percent of Filipinos.
BSP data showed that 29 percent of the cities and municipalities in the Philippines remain unbanked, with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) being the most unbanked region.
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Islamic banking and finance can promote inclusive finance by making it available to groups that avoid using existing conventional banking facilities due to their faith. It can also be attractive to non-Muslims, particularly investors within or outside the Philippines who may be looking for new asset classes, instruments, and products to diversify their portfolios.
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TikTok Shop empowers entrepreneurs at National MSME Summit 2024 | INQUIRER.net | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:19:09 PST | In celebration of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Week, TikTok Shop participated in the National MSME Summit 2024, organized by Go Negosyo in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Themed “Innovate to Elevate: Empowering MSMEs for Sustainable Growth,” the summit underscored the pivotal role of digitalization in enhancing competitiveness and fostering sustainable growth among Filipino MSMEs. The event gathered industry leaders, government officials, and entrepreneurs to explore innovative strategies to empower MSMEs in the Philippines.
(from left) Joey Concepcion, Founder of Go Negosyo; Undersecretary Ma. Cristina Roque of the DTI-MSME Development Group; and Jonah Ople, Category Lead for Fashion, TikTok Shop
“We are thrilled to partner with TikTok Shop to accelerate the growth of Filipino MSMEs in the digital sphere,” said Joey Concepcion, Founder of Go Negosyo. “Through TikTok Shop’s Shoppertainment format, which seamlessly integrates content and commerce, MSMEs are able to reach a nationwide audience to build and grow their business. Together with TikTok Shop, we aim to provide mentorship, share insights, and empower Filipino entrepreneurs to scale and grow their businesses, leading to the growth of a diverse and inclusive Filipino e-commerce industry.”
TikTok Shop actively contributed to the summit through engaging panel sessions. Jonah Ople, Category Lead for Fashion, TikTok Shop, participated as a panelist discussing emerging market trends and the pros and cons of traditional versus online market platforms.
“TikTok Shop is a unique platform where MSMEs can combine marketing and sales efforts seamlessly. Through our ACE Framework—Assortment, Content, and Empowerment—we help businesses optimize their engagement strategies and drive sales. Our goal is to turn engagement into revenue while providing a compelling shopping experience for users,” Ople emphasized.
(from left) Jonah Ople, Category Lead for Fashion, TikTok Shop; James Afante, TikTok Content Creator and TikTok Shop Philippines record holder; and Jonah Sison Ramos, CEO of Dear Face and TikTok Shop seller
Meanwhile, James Afante, TikTok Content Creator and TikTok Shop Philippines Record Holder, and Jonah Sison Ramos, CEO of Dear Face and TikTok Shop seller, shared insights on content creation and entrepreneurship, emphasizing strategies for crafting compelling content to drive business growth.
“We are a nation of over 7,600 islands, and through digitalization, our MSMEs can showcase and sell their products and services nationwide,” expressed Undersecretary Ma. Cristina Roque of the DTI-MSME Development Group. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with TikTok Shop to champion our beloved Filipino MSMEs in the digital business landscape.”
Emphasizing digitalization’s transformative impact, TikTok Shop remains dedicated to providing innovative tools and strategic partnerships aimed at empowering MSMEs for sustained growth and success in the digital era, fostering economic empowerment and inclusive growth nationwide.
ADVT.
This article is brought to you by TikTok Shop.
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DTI takes the lead in journey towards safer PH eCommerce landscape | INQUIRER.net BrandRoom | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 08:00:20 PST | Online shopping has brought a lot of convenience into consumers’ lives. It has also created a more competitive business landscape, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. In 2023, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) registered an unprecedented 984,330 business names, marking a 5-percent increase compared to the previous year. Notably, 18,153 of these registrations were categorized under the “Retail Sale via Internet” business activity.
However, in typical fashion surrounding financial transactions, scammers have found new ways to also take advantage of online transactions–and such fraudulent activities affect Filipinos’ trust in electronic commerce (e-commerce).
DTI leads interagency signing of Internet Transactions Act guidelines
Fears of being scammed online, however, should start to dwindle with the implementation of Republic Act No. 11967 or the Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (ITA), which was signed into law on 05 December 2023. This comprehensive legal framework is designed to build trust among online consumers, online merchants, e-retailers, e-marketplaces, and digital platforms engaging in e-commerce. The law likewise encourages fair competition, creating an environment where the benefits of the digital economy are accessible to all.
Among the highlights of the ITA is the creation of the E-Commerce Bureau (ECB), which is tasked to see to its effective implementation. The ECB is mandated to primarily collect relevant data from digital platforms and online merchants for policy and program; ensure compliance with the enrolment requirements under the law; refer, track, and ensure the speedy resolution of online consumer complaints; and develop consumer education and information programs.
The DTI through its newly established Digital Services Office (DSO) will implement the Online Negosyo Program (ONP). The ONP, which was developed by the E-Commerce Bureau, is an upgraded version of the Oplan TLC (Training, Learning, & Capacity Building) program, which offers comprehensive training modules to scale up digital literacy and leverage different e-commerce platforms. A key feature of the ONP is its strategic partnership with large companies, which are designed to empower smaller partners, contractors, and subcontractors within their supply chains with essential digital skills and tools. The ONP aims to improve the capacity of enterprises to expand their access to digital technologies and new markets through e-commerce, increase the use of e-payments, and enhance linkages with logistics supply chains.
To ensure ONP’s relevance and effectiveness, the DTI has partnered with Hapinoy, Thames International, and Bayan Academy, as well as other government agencies.
Aside from the creation of the ECB, the ITA outlines Codes of Conduct for both online businesses and consumers. For entrepreneurs, the key points include:
Consumers, on the other hand, are educated on responsible online shopping practices, through these reminders:
“This legislation is a crucial step toward building a more inclusive and dynamic e-commerce landscape in the country,” said DTI Secretary Fred Pascual. “It reduces barriers to entry and lowers operating costs for businesses, particularly for MSMEs, and has enabled businesses to compete on a level playing field with large enterprises, accessing markets that were previously beyond their reach.”
DTI emphasizes the responsibilities of e-marketplaces under the Internet Transactions Act
The ITA adds to the comprehensive efforts of the DTI to integrate digital technologies geared toward improving MSMEs’ competitiveness and scalability, allowing them access to skilled resources and a wider market while keeping costs down and increasing productivity. Included in the DTI’s initiatives is the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE) program which actively encourages online micro-entrepreneurs to register their businesses as BMBE to take advantage of the income tax exemption and other benefits offered by the government, especially in light of Revenue Regulations No. 16-2023 issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
This requires electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) and digital financial service providers (DFSP) to withhold income tax of 1% on 1/2 of the gross remittances to online sellers/merchants. However, businesses that are duly exempt (such as those covered by RA9178 or the BMBEs Act of 2002) or with a gross remittance below P500,000 per year, may be exempted from this withholding tax.
The DTI has also launched its E-Commerce Philippines 2028 Roadmap, a strategic blueprint that outlines 13 key strategies and 28 deliverables aimed at stimulating both domestic and cross-border e-commerce. It places a strong emphasis on inclusivity, ensuring that the benefits of e-commerce reach all sectors of society, including the youth, women, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens.
ADVT.
This article is brought to you by DTI through Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement inaugurates P12.8B Cebu plant | Alden M. Monzon @AldenMonzonINQ | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 08:13:22 PST | Cebu map | Inquirer.net photo
Cebu map | Inquirer.net photo
The Philippine unit of Japan-based firm Taiheiyo Cement inaugurated a new production plant in Cebu, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Friday.
The DTI said the Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc. ‘s (TCPI) new P12.8 billion facility that was unveiled on Thursday will boost cement production in the country and reduce the nation’s reliance on imports.
“Taiheiyo’s new plant in San Fernando, Cebu will bolster the Philippines’ cement production by 3 million tons annually, reducing our reliance on imports,” Trade secretary Alfredo Pascual said in a statement.
“This investment aligns perfectly with our government’s ‘Build Better More’ infrastructure program,” he added.
READ: Japanese firm to build P3.9-B cement terminal in Batangas
The DTI also said that the new plant features advanced kiln renewal technology which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10 percent through decreased energy consumption and a lower clinker factor.
“We commend TCPI for setting a new standard for environmentally responsible manufacturing in the cement industry. This advanced technology is set to reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly,” Pascua said.
According to the DTI, TCPI has invested significantly in related projects, including P 3.1 billion for its jetty and marine belt conveyor project, another P1.4 billion for the company’s port area, and P 3.7 billion for its Luzon distribution terminal Project.
The government agency also highlighted Japan as a major catalyst for economic growth, with the East Asian country having provided over $13 billion in grants and low-interest loans through their Official Development Assistance (ODA) program.
READ: Yokohama, Minebeamitsumi commit P7.4 billion in new PH investments
“Japan is a vital partner to the Philippines. It is our second-largest trading partner and third-largest source of foreign investment,” Pascual said.
Further, the DTI said that the inauguration of Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc.’s advanced manufacturing facility highlights the Philippine government’s commitment to sustainable development and industrial growth under the Build Better More program.
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“To sustain this momentum, our country is committed to improving our business environment by enhancing the ease of doing business. We are streamlining and digitalizing institutional and regulatory requirements to improve speed and overall ease of doing business, especially for strategic investments,” said Pascual.
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DTI suspends online sale of vape products | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:48:00 PST | INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual on Friday issued an order suspending the sale, advertising and distribution of vape products online, a move that tightened government regulation of an industry long opposed by the health community.
“This is a temporary suspension until the e-marketplaces are able to convince us of their compliance with their obligations under Republic Act No. 11900, or the vape law, and other laws and related issuances,” Pascual told reporters during a roundtable discussion in Makati.
The head of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the order was prompted mainly by the need to prevent the sale of vape products to minors and ensure that those being sold online meet the safety standards set by law.
READ: DOH backs Finance chief’s proposal to ban disposable vapes
The directive, contained in the four-page Department Order No. 24-03, takes effect immediately, he said.
Vape companies and e-market operators should submit a sworn certification of their full compliance with the vape law to be allowed to resume sales, he added.
Undersecretary Amanda Marie Nograles of the DTI’s Consumer Affairs and Legal Services Group said the agency had secured the commitment of two e-market operators to delist vape sellers from their platforms following a meeting on June 27.
“They signified that to us through official letters and communication. But this is necessary because, what about the others?” Nograles said.
On June 14, the DTI said it had monitored close to 90,000 companies, including those operating online, engaged in the vape business.
Of these, 526 had been issued show-cause orders while 284 had been given notices of violation by the DTI for various offenses, such as selling vapes within a hundred meters from a school, playground or places frequented by minors, using ads or “flavors” designed to appeal to minors, or not posting minimum-age signages at the store.
At least P32.76 million worth of vape products have been confiscated so far by the DTI this year, mostly for being offered for sale without proper certifications, like the Philippine Standard mark and the Import Commodity Clearance sticker.
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Last month, the department ordered the mandatory certification of vape products in compliance with the Vape Act, which lapsed into law in July 2022. —Alden M. Monzon
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‘Walang Gutom’: 300,000 more families getting food stamps | Kathleen de Villa | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:46:00 PST | ENSURING THE NEXT MEAL The electronic transfer card card issued to the “Walang Gutom” program beneficiaries is loaded with a monthly food stipend of P3,000 and can be used at government-run Kadiwa outlets or partner stores designated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.—MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
ENSURING THE NEXT MEAL The electronic transfer card card issued to the “Walang Gutom” program beneficiaries is loaded with a monthly food stipend of P3,000 and can be used at government-run Kadiwa outlets or partner stores designated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.—MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has begun the scaled-up implementation of its food stamp program, with around 300,000 households targeted to receive the monthly stipend this year.
The ceremonial launch of the full rollout of the “Walang Gutom (no hunger) 2027: Food Provision through Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program (Food Stamp)” was held in Leyte province on Thursday.
The kickoff was simultaneously held in nine other provinces—Isabela, Camarines Sur, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Maguindanao and Surigao del Norte.
Social Welfare Undersecretary Eduardo Punay on Friday said the program hoped to reach as much as 1 million “food-poor” families by 2027.
To reach this target, another 300,000 households will be issued stamps in 2025, and then 400,000 more in 2026, Punay told the Inquirer.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the DSWD said around 1.4 million households in the country may be considered food-poor.
READ: Gov’t food stamp program in full blast by July
The PSA figure was used by the DSWD as basis for targeting 1 million food stamp recipients nationwide in the next three years.
The poverty-alleviation program’s six-month pilot run, which started in July last year, had 50 families as initial beneficiaries who were chosen in five areas: Tondo district in Manila, San Mariano town in Isabela province, Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, Garchitorena town in Camarines Sur, and Parang town in Maguindanao. It was was initially funded through a $3-million grant from Asian Development Bank.
For its full implementation, a funding of P1.89 billion for 2024 has been set aside, the DSWD earlier said.
The program seeks to reduce the incidence of malnutrition and hunger in low-income households or those with earnings below P8,000 per month.
At the time of the program’s launch, the prevailing monthly food threshold set by the PSA for a family of five was P8,379. This means that a household member is considered food poor if he or she spends below P55.86 on meals per day, at P18.62 per meal.
In December that same year, the PSA’s updated food threshold for a family of the same size rose to P9,550 per month. To be food poor now is to have a meal worth below P21, or a budget of just P63.67 for all the day’s meals.
An electronic transfer card loaded monthly with P3,000 worth of food credits are provided to families, which they can use to buy high-nutrition food items from the DSWD’s partner merchants.
The beneficiaries may not use the card to purchase so-called sin products, such as liquor and cigarettes.
The DSWD maintained that the food stamp project was “not a dole-out program” since its beneficiaries have to meet two conditions to avoid being delisted.
First, they must attend nutrition education sessions once a month to “foster positive behavioral change” while learning to prepare “healthy, yet tasty” meals.
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Second, they must participate in “employment promotion activities” at government job fairs or classes conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
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Risa to Guo: Just face Senate, get off Facebook | Marlon Ramos | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:44:26 PST | Alice Guo —RICHARD A. REYES | Risa Hontiveros —SENATE PRIB
Alice Guo —RICHARD A. REYES | Risa Hontiveros —SENATE PRIB
Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Friday lashed back at Alice Guo after the suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, took to social media accusing her and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian of digging up her background and alleged ties to a raided online gaming hub just to advance their political careers.
“You have lied about your connections with Pogos (Philippine offshore gaming operators). You have lied about your identity and every time you log in on Facebook, you invent new things,” Hontiveros said, addressing Guo who now faces arrest for repeatedly snubbing recent Senate hearings on the Pogo industry.
READ: Alice Guo may have left PH using Chinese passport – Gatchalian
“So sadly for you, your frequent use of social media is not equivalent to your attendance in the Senate,” the senator said in a statement.
The Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms has yet to locate Guo, members of her family and several others since the chamber issued a warrant for their arrest on July 10.
In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Guo said she was “deeply concerned about and keep questioning why” Hontiveros, Gatchalian and state agencies “seem fixated on me.”
She reiterated that it was “baseless” to link her to Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the company whose sprawling Pogo complex at the back of Guo’s office was built on a property that she formerly owned.
“If they have evidence against me, I am ready to face them in a fair trial and at (the) proper forum,” said Guo, who faces a complaint in the Department of Justice for qualified human trafficking and money laundering, among other crimes.
“Respectfully, I do not wish to be used by anyone to boost their political ambitions,” she added. “I am being accused of all sorts of things because I am currently at the center of public attention.”
The National Bureau of Investigation earlier said Guo’s fingerprints matched with those of one Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese citizen who the senators believed was the mayor’s real identity.
Hontiveros on Friday dismissed Guo’s post, saying the mayor should just face the Senate inquiry instead.
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“Don’t worry. We’re not fixated on you. We’re just allergic to liars,” she said. “How can you have peace of mind if you always avoid questions? You must have forgotten that you were summoned because you are at the center of the abuses committed by Pogos, which you allowed to flourish with your influence as mayor.”
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Edcom: ‘Learning Camp’ failed since it’s voluntary | Kathleen de Villa | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:42:00 PST | The Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) on Friday proposed making the National Learning Camp (NLC) program in public schools mandatory, finding its recent three-week implementation ineffective in improving the skills of its target students.
Based on its assessment of the second NLC implementation, which ran from July 1 to July 19, Edcom said the program “failed to achieve its intended outcomes.”
It noted that the very students who needed to improve their competencies were the ones who skipped the three-week sessions held during the school break.
READ: DepEd unveils National Learning Camp for interactive education
“Despite the claim of addressing learning-loss recovery, there has been no clear evidence of improvement of education targets,” said the commission, whose members visited some schools that held NLC sessions.
Edcom is an advisory body tasked to review the country’s education policies following the dismal test results of Filipino students that have consistently placed them at the bottom rung of international rankings in English, math and science proficiency.
“Our previous consultations … show that because participation is voluntary, some learners who were supposed to be in intervention camps do not participate,” Edcom 2 Executive Director Karol Yee said in a statement issued by the commission. “This is just among the other factors why learning camps are not as effective,” Yee added.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the Edcom 2 chair, agreed that attendance in the learning camps must be made compulsory for students who need to catch up.
Teachers at Tinajeros National High School in Malabon City, which conducted NLC sessions, echoed the Edcom proposal, saying many students allowed to advance to the next grade level were actually still behind in learning competencies.
“One major solution we are seeing is to make the learning camp mandatory so that the skills of [students] that were not developed in the previous grade level will be sharpened,” the Edcom statement quoted one of the teachers as saying.
Rep. Francisco Benitez, one of the commissioners, said the NLC “cannot be the only way. Because two weeks do not solve the (learning) loss. The interventions need to be done every day during the school year.”
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Marcos distributes almost P500-M aid in Northern Luzon | Julie M. Aurelio | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:40:00 PST | President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of the Presidential Communications Office
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday visited two provinces in Northern Luzon and turned over almost half a billion pesos in cash aid to farmers and fisherfolk hit by El Niño earlier this year.
The President also made stops at Ilocos Norte, his home province, to inaugurate a small reservoir irrigation project and a rice processing facility for farmers.
“Your government will not stop in implementing projects and programs that seek to improve the lives of our farmers and fishermen, the heroes of the day. I only ask that we cooperate and help each other so that we will attain our aspirations,” he said.
READ: Marcos distributes P288.41 million in cash aid to Visayas LGUs
In Pangasinan, the President also distributed certificates of condonation with release of mortgages to around 64,241 agrarian reform beneficiaries whose P3.68 billion worth of loans were condoned as mandated in Republic Act No. 11953, or the Agrarian Emancipation Act.
“These certificates are the fulfillment of our promise to erase the debts of our agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President said 3,558 land reform beneficiaries from the Ilocos region will be exempted from paying P50.56 million in debt while 60,683 beneficiaries in the Cordillera, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon regions would no longer have to pay their loans worth P3.175 billion.
Mr. Marcos said the damage to the agriculture sector reached P1.24 billion in the Cordillera Administrative Region and P559 million in the Ilocos region.
He first visited Luna, Apayao, to turn over aid and farm outputs to El Niño-affected farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region, as well as P264.2 million in cash aid from Malacañang to the region’s six provinces.
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Cruise passengers allowed 14-day stay sans visas – DOJ | Jacob Lazaro | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:38:00 PST | FILE PHOTO: Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. Photo from DOJ’s Facebook page / Boying Remulla
FILE PHOTO: Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. Photo from DOJ’s Facebook page / Boying Remulla
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has just launched a program aimed to help boost the local cruise industry by allowing eligible foreign nationals to enter the Philippines without visa.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla, in a statement on Friday, said the DOJ was ecstatic to share the Cruise Visa Waiver Program (CVWP), which the department assured to be a key factor in augmenting the country’s tourism as a whole.
“The justice system is never a hindrance for progress and should always be made accessible, and at times flexible, to promote economic growth,” Remulla said.
The program, which was launched on July 16, is being implemented in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“There is no doubt that this project will lead to greater heights in the future, not just making the Philippines a top cruise destination but making our country the top tourist destination in the world,” he added.
This has been a welcome development since the Philippines won the Asia’s Best Cruise Destination award at the World Cruise Awards in 2023.
READ: DOJ: Cruise visa waiver will be key factor in boosting tourism
The CVWP was implemented through Immigration Memorandum Circular No. 2024-001 that was approved by Remulla last March.
Besides being nonconvertible and nonextendable, the CVWP is only valid for a maximum of 14-day stay in the Philippines. It also requires foreign visitors to arrive from and depart on the same cruise ship.
The DOJ, DOT and BI made it clear the CVWP is only available to tourists who have no intention of deviating from their original itinerary upon application.
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DA: Rice prices down P7 by August | Jordeene B. Lagare, Thony Rose F. Lesaca | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:36:00 PST | CHEAPER RICE A Kadiwa Center in Quezon City displays rice sold at P29 per kilogram. —LYN RILLON
CHEAPER RICE A Kadiwa Center in Quezon City displays rice sold at P29 per kilogram. —LYN RILLON
Retail prices of rice in public markets are expected to decline by up to P7 a kilo in early August after the government cut the duties on imported rice, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“Based on the initial computation of the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), retail prices will be lower by P6 to P7 [per kilogram],” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.
De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson, said consumers will feel the price reduction by the first week of August even though some rice shipments levied with lower tariffs have already entered the country.
“The volume of imported rice that arrived in the country is not that huge in quantity … but within July, some of it [would already have] been released and reached the markets,” he told reporters.
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) issued a total of 302 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) covering 264,316.50 metric tons of imported rice as of July 11.
However, De Mesa cited government data in saying that 35,594 MT of imported rice reached the archipelago, much lower than the 157,111.75 MT recorded by the BPI in the same month a year before.
Between January and this month, the volume of imported rice totaled 2.37 million MT.
All rice imports are subject to a 15-percent duty levied by the government by virtue of Executive Order No. 62 signed by President Marcos last month. The slashed tariffs took effect on July 5.
The President issued the EO effective until 2028 to ensure continued supply of essential food products at affordable prices.
As of Friday, locally produced regular milled rice was priced from P45 to P50 per kg, higher than P36 to P44 per kg a year ago, based on the DA’s price monitoring.
Local well-milled rice ranged from P45 to P55 per kg compared with P40 to P49 per kg.
Imported regular milled rice was sold from P47 to P49 per kg, but it was not available last year.
Meanwhile, imported well-milled rice retailed from P51 to P55 per kg as opposed to P40 to P48 per kg.
Meanwhile, De Mesa said the DA is targeting to expand further the coverage of its “Program 29” aimed at selling subsidized rice by November this year.
READ: Traders see drop in rice prices next month
“This is a long-term plan of the DA to extend the implementation of our P29 program,” he said.
As of this writing, the initiative is now being implemented in Bacoor, Cavite, and San Pedro City in Laguna.
The DA earlier decided to implement this undertaking for a longer period to gather critical information.
“What we are studying is how much the NFA (National Food Authority) will spend, farm-gate prices and everything else without allotting too much provisions for the subsidies. But these are social costs that the government has to bear, especially since this is for vulnerable sectors,” he said.
Under the program, eligible beneficiaries can buy up to 10 kilos of rice a month for P29 per kg.
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The vulnerable sector is pegged at 6.9 million households, or around 34 million Filipinos, which include senior citizens, single parents, persons with disabilities and poor folk under the conditional cash transfer scheme.
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Pass 2 women’s bills already, House lawmaker prods Senate | Krixia Subingsubing | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:34:00 PST | A House lawmaker on Friday urged the Senate to pass its own versions of two pending women’s rights bills as the 19th Congress is set to reconvene on July 22.
In a statement, Deputy Minority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera said that the House of Representatives was “ready to meet their respective contingents” for House Bills No. 4479 and 8009, which have been transmitted to the upper chamber since last year.
HB 4479 is an antidiscrimination in the workplace bill seeking to amend the Labor Code, while HB 8009 expands the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act, or Republic Act No. 9262 by including many provisions to hold accountable those who use electronic ways to commit their crimes against women.
Both were approved for final reading at the lower chamber in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and are awaiting their Senate versions so the two chambers can meet in bicameral conference.
Herrera said the two bills were “sterling examples of the convergence and strong support in the House for women.”
“There is mutual respect between the House majority and minority especially on the most pressing social issues HB 4479 and HB 8009 represent,” Herrera said. “I am optimistic HB 4479, HB 8009 and their Senate versions will be enacted into law within the next few months.”
READ: 10,000 QC men commit to eliminate violence against women
Currently, the Philippines leads Asia as the most gender-equal country based on the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index Report by the World Economic Forum.
Nevertheless, the same index showed that the Philippines now ranked 25th among 146 in terms of closing the gender gap—a far cry from its sixth placing when the report was first launched in 2006.
The index grades four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment. While it got a perfect score in gender parity in educational attainment, it was among the lowest performers in the Health and Survival subindex.
The report also notes that women have “restricted rights” when it comes to the right to divorce.
The report’s broader conclusions find that while worldwide gender inequality had narrowed marginally over the past year, it is now estimated to take 134 years—or five generations—to close the global gender gap.
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PH banks, airlines not spared from global Microsoft outage | Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:32:00 PST | RIPPLE EFFECT Passengers crowd departure counters at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday, as a major outage wrought havoc on computer systems worldwide, grounding flights in the United States, derailing television broadcasts in the United Kingdom and impacting telecommunications in Australia. —AFP
RIPPLE EFFECT Passengers crowd departure counters at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Friday, as a major outage wrought havoc on computer systems worldwide, grounding flights in the United States, derailing television broadcasts in the United Kingdom and impacting telecommunications in Australia. —AFP
The Philippines was not spared from disruptions caused by a massive outage on Friday that hit Microsoft users worldwide, affecting banking activities and airline companies in the country.
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines said its digital channels had been restored after being hit by the outage that also caused major business disruptions in the United States, Australia and Singapore, among other countries.
Metrobank advised its clients of a “slowdown or temporary unavailability” of some of its online services, while UnionBank of the Philippines said its customer service hotline, “some” branch services and online credit card transactions were temporarily unavailable.
Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) also issued an advisory on the outage, which led to “longer wait times in our branches and contact center.”
BPI said its customers may continue to experience delays in the crediting of such transactions as bills payments and interbank money transfers.
But “[r]est assured that this issue should not be a cause for concern,” the bank said, adding that its branches and services “remain available.”
Apart from banks, the crash also affected the operations of local airlines, with budget carrier Cebu Pacific saying in an advisory that its staff would “handle affected passengers manually, potentially causing delays.”
AirAsia said the outage caused “unexpected rebooting of machines, leading to some operational disruptions related to check-in processes, self check-in kiosks and navigating the AirAsia MOVE app.”
But flag carrier Philippine Airlines said it did not experience these issues.
The Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), operator of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), said it mobilized additional manpower to manage extended queues at check-in counters.
By 4 p.m. Friday, international carriers at Naia were unaffected, Miaa said.
Major airlines in the United States – American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines – grounded flights, while other carriers and airports around the world reported delays and disruptions.
Health-care services were also hit by system problems. In Britain, booking systems used by doctors were offline, according to multiple reports by medical officials, while Sky News, one of the country’s major news broadcasters, was off air, apologizing for being unable to transmit live.
Soccer club Manchester United said it had to postpone a scheduled release of tickets.
Microsoft’s cloud unit Azure said it was aware of the issue that impacted virtual machines running Windows OS, while the CrowdStrike Falcon agent was getting stuck in a “restarting state.” “We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
According to an alert sent by CrowdStrike to its clients and reviewed by Reuters, the company’s “Falcon Sensor” software is causing Microsoft Windows to crash and display a blue screen, known informally as the “Blue Screen of Death.”
The alert, which was sent at 5:30 GMT on Friday, also shared a manual workaround to rectify the issue.
Over half of Fortune 500 companies use CrowdStrike software, the US company said in a promotional video this year.
There was no information to suggest the outage was a cybersecurity incident, Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said in a post on X.
A British government source also told Reuters there was nothing to suggest foul play.
“The world grinding to a halt because of a global IT meltdown shows the dark side to technology,” AJ Bell investment analyst Dan Coatsworth said.
READ: ‘Large-scale’ IT outage hits companies worldwide
“The severity of the problem boils down to how long it lasts. A few hours’ disruption is unhelpful but not a catastrophe. Prolonged disruption is another matter,” he said.
Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer of cybersecurity firm Tenable, noted that “while the issue is associated with Windows systems, it does not appear to be an issue with Microsoft Windows, but rather, security software installed on millions of Windows computers worldwide.”
“Because this is a security software, it requires a higher level of privileges to the underlying operating system, so a bad or faulty security update can result in a catastrophic impact.”
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“This event is unprecedented and the ramifications of it are still developing,” he added. —WITH REPORTS FROM MEG J. ADONIS, TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD AND REUTERS
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CA finds Dumlao guilty of Korean’s slay at Crame | Jacob Lazaro | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:30:00 PST | Rafael Dumlao III and Jee Ick-joo. FILE PHOTO
Rafael Dumlao III and Jee Ick-joo. FILE PHOTO
The Court of Appeals (CA) has reversed the decision of an Angeles City court to acquit the mastermind of the gruesome murder of a Korean businessman in the early days of the Duterte administration’s drug war in 2016 after finding that the trial was a “sham” and an “apparent mockery” of the justice system, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
The Supreme Court said that dismissed Police Supt. Rafael Dumlao III was found guilty by the CA as a co-conspirator in the kidnapping and killing of Jee Ick-joo, who was strangled to death, cremated and his ashes flushed down a toilet.
READ: WHAT WENT BEFORE: Jee Ick-joo slaying
The CA’s June 26 ruling on a petition by state prosecutors to overturn his acquittal came a little more than a year after Dumlao was exonerated by Angeles City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 60 on June 6, 2023.
The CA sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, or 20 to 40 years in prison, without parole, and was ordered to pay Jee’s family P350,000 in damages for kidnapping with homicide.
For kidnapping and serious illegal detention, he received another reclusion perpetua and ordered to pay Jee’s heirs P225,000 in damages, plus imprisonment for 30 to 35 years for carjacking.
“The Court of Appeals ruled that the proceedings before the RTC were a sham and an apparent mockery of the judicial process such that Dumlao’s acquittal was a foregone conclusion and in total disregard of the evidence,” the high court said in a statement.
“The Court of Appeals held that the RTC reached a conclusion that clearly contradicted the testimonies of witnesses, rendering the prosecution’s presentation of evidence inutile and blatantly abusing its discretion to a point so grave as to deprive it of its very power to dispense justice,” it said.
The high court said that an acquittal is usually final to avoid double jeopardy, but there is an exception to this general rule in cases of “grave abuse of discretion,” which the CA found in the Dumlao trial.
“This is strictly limited to instances where there is a violation of the prosecution’s right to due process, such as being denied the opportunity to present evidence, when the trial is a sham, or when there is a mistrial that renders the judgment of acquittal void,” it said.
The appellate court found that the RTC abused its discretion by its “gross misapprehension of the facts” in acquitting the ex-narc.
The CA did not alter the RTC’s decision and sentence on Dumlao’s coaccused, SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and Jerry Omlang, a former errand boy for the National Bureau of Investigation.
The two men, who had identified Dumlao as the mastermind, were also convicted of abducting Marissa Marquicho, Jee’s house helper, and carjacking the Korean businessman’s vehicle.
Sta. Isabel and Omlang were sentenced by the Angeles RTC to two counts of reclusion perpetua without parole for kidnapping with homicide and kidnapping with serious illegal detention, and another 20 to 25 years for carjacking.
Another accused in the case, SPO4 Roy Villegas, became a state witness.
On Oct. 8, 2016, Jee was kidnapped by police officers led by Sta. Isabel at his residence in Friendship Subdivision in Angeles, under the guise of an antidrug operation.
According to Villegas who testified against Sta. Isabel, Jee’s body was cremated in Caloocan City, and the ashes were flushed down a toilet.
The CA said the cremation was done in a funeral parlor owned by Gerardo Santiago, who was charged as an accomplice. Santiago died in 2020.Dumlao was then head of a special investigation unit of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, which was disbanded after Jee’s killing was exposed.
A Department of Justice inquiry found that Jee was strangled inside his own car as it was parked in Camp Crame, Philippine National Police headquarters, hours after he was kidnapped.
Jee was reportedly a victim of the “tokhang for ransom scheme” where rogue police officers arrest individuals on drug-related charges and later extort money from them or their families in exchange for freedom.
Then President Rodrigo Duterte temporarily suspended his war on drugs after learning that it was being used as a cover for other crimes.
In February 2017, then PNP chief now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said a “Korean mafia” preying on rich Koreans in the Philippines might have been involved in Jee’s murder.
But the chief of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group, Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao, said two weeks later that their investigation supposedly showed that a Filipino crime syndicate, not the Korean mafia, killed Jee because he defied its attempts at extortion and encouraged other Korean and Chinese businessmen in the country to do the same.
It was revealed during the trial that Jee’s wife allegedly made a partial payment of P5 million of a total P8 million ransom demanded by his abductors. The trial court found no direct evidence linking any of the accused to the ransom demand.
Kidnapping for ransom and homicide charges for the abduction and killing of Jee were later brought against Dumlao, Sta. Isabel, Omlang and Villegas, who was later removed as a respondent for testifying against the others.In 2018, Dumlao was found guilty by the PNP for the administrative offense of grave misconduct for his involvement in the killing of Jee, resulting in his dismissal.
In 2019, Dumlao was allowed by the Angeles RTC to post bail after prosecutors supposedly failed to prove that the evidence of his guilt was strong. The court also reasoned that Dumlao’s actions, as relayed by witnesses, could not be considered an act of conspiring to kill the victim.
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The PNP spokesperson did not immediately respond to the Inquirer’s request for comment. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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PBA looking at six Commissioner’s Cup games in Hong Kong | Jonas Terrado | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:25:00 PST | PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The possible participation of Hong Kong Eastern as a guest team in the midseason PBA Commissioner’s Cup later this year could include the staging of games in the former British colony.
Details of the meeting between PBA and Eastern officials were revealed Thursday, including plans to have six games in Hong Kong split in December and January.
“The proposal is to play three home games over a week in December and the other three over a week in January,” the PBA said in a press release sent to media members. “Two PBA teams may play in the first game of a doubleheader.”
Hong Kong will tap the Kai Tak Sports Park as the venue for its home matches.
Initial discussions between the two parties were revealed by Hong Kong media and PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, who’s hoping to add Eastern to spice up the league’s second conference.
This came about after Marcial and San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua met with Hong Kong Eastern chairperson Frankie Yau, sporting director Tony Wong, team manager Oliver Lee and East Asia Super League (EASL) CEO Henry Kerins and EASL Philippine head Banjo Albano.
The 2022-2023 season saw the participation of the defunct Bay Area Dragons, who made it all the way to the Finals under the tutelage of Australia national team coach Brian Goorjian, but lost to Barangay Ginebra in seven games.
Eastern is one of the most successful clubs in Hong Kong. It has a history of participation in the Asean Basketball League and Fiba club competitions.
The Commissioner’s Cup is pegged for a late-November or early-December start, with each team playing 12 games if Hong Kong and the PBA come to terms.
It’s likely that the midseason tilt will have a one-import rule with unlimited height since Hong Kong does play under such conditions, although the PBA had said its member teams may be allowed to field two imports if a guest squad participates.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer will play in Group A of the EASL’s second home-and-away season which starts in October while Meralco was placed in Group B.
San Miguel is grouped alongside Japan’s B.League champion Hiroshima Dragonflies, South Korea’s Suwon KT Sonicboom and Taiwan’s Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.
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Meralco will face Korean Basketball League champion Busan KCC Egis, Taiwan’s P. League+ winner New Taipei Kings and Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings.
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US talent-shopping key to sustaining Gilas gains | Denison Rey A. Dalupang | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:15:00 PST | Gilas Pilipinas boys against Team USA in the 2024 Fiba U17 World Cup Round of 16. -FIBA PHOTO
Gilas Pilipinas boys against Team USA in the 2024 Fiba U17 World Cup Round of 16. -FIBA PHOTO
Hoping to be a fixture on the world youth stage, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has embarked on a quest to reel in more talent.
Executive director Erika Dy and former national coach Norman Black, who now serves as the national federation’s lead for talent identification, are currently in the United States to meet with Filipino-American groups to discuss recruitment.
The initiative comes on the heels of the Philippines’ campaign in the U17 World Cup held in Turkey, where it competed against traditional powerhouses, including eventual champion Team USA.
Dy and Black were joined by Gilas mainstay Jamie Malonzo, former National team skipper and now Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jimmy Alapag along with former PBA stars Ali Peek, Rob Reyes, and Harvey Carey.
READ: Gilas boys lose to USA by 96, bow out of Fiba U17 World Cup
“It’s a real process that goes throughout the year. We only see the end result which is the Gilas team. But there is a lot of stuff going on with the youth teams,” Cone said.
“The [U-17] World Cup just finished in Turkey. That team was good. They just really lacked size. They need to go out and find guys that can compete [on] the world stage that are bigger. And that’s what Norman and Erika are looking to do,” said Cone.
The young Filipino squad that competed in Istanbul, clipped by the injury of top gun Kieffer Alas, wound up winless.
“The key is that she is trying to get younger players to get their passports by the age of 16. And that needs to be communicated to the communities,” Cone said of Dy and the venture. “She is basically looking for jewels in the rough that she can pluck out and continue the future of the program.”
READ: Gilas Youth gets tough draw for 2024 Fiba U17 World Cup
Another youth squad, meanwhile, is looking to turn in better results in the Asia Cup Seaba Qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which got going on Friday.
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The U18 crew, starred by former Letran high school ace and Finals Most Valuable Player Andy Gemao, will try to defend the crown to send the Philippines back to the main tournament that will be staged in Amman, Jordan, in September.
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TNT future still rosy even without early PBA Draft pick | Denison Rey A. Dalupang | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:20:00 PST | TNT Tropang Giga’s Henry Galinato in the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES
TNT Tropang Giga’s Henry Galinato in the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES
TNT was unable to snag a talent early in last Sunday’s PBA Rookie Draft, an offshoot of a move the team pulled out months before which coach Chot Reyes surely hopes would still make his Tropang Giga better in the years to come.
“It’s really the product of a decision we made when we traded for a player who was eventually Henry Galinato,” the decorated mentor told the Inquirer, referring to the 6-foot-6 former University of the Philippines Maroon who was selected 15th overall by Yeng Guiao and the Elasto Painters in last year’s Draft.
Galinato finding his way to TNT was a deal that happened hours before last year’s Draft. It meant TNT giving up Dave Marcelo and its first round pick to the Elasto Painters next year.
“Taking a look at the class this year, if we were [still picking at] No. 7 (the pick TNT gave up), I don’t think we’d be able to land someone better than Henry,” he went on.
TNT lost the chance to draft midway through the first round of this year’s annual selection after sending that pick away for Blackwater’s Rey Nambatac, a former cornerstone of Rain or Shine and a previous member of the national youth team who, coincidentally, was also the seventh overall pick in the 2017 pool.
Reyes, though, was able to snag point guard Jared Brown in the third round, the 31st overall pick in the proceedings. The Elasto Painters, with talents like Justine Baltazar, Dave Ildefonso, and Jonnel Policarpio already secured by other teams, eventually used this year’s seventh pick on 6-foot-4 Caelan Tiongson, a 32-year-old Filipino-American who saw Division I action in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association before plying his trade overseas. He is now playing for the Strong Group Athletics selection currently competing in the Jones Cup in Taiwan.
TNT also missed out on a chance to select in the second round of the draft after it dealt away that pick to Converge, which the telco club eventually used to select big man Pao Javillonar (19th overall).
“Overall, [we are] still all good. Those are decisions we have to live with,” Reyes said with a shrug and a smile.
However, he was noticeably candid when asked who TNT would’ve taken if the traditional powerhouse had a chance to pick early in what many regarded as a top-heavy draft class.
“Kai Ballungay,” Reyes said, referring to the Ateneo swingman who won a championship with Tab Baldwin in the UAAP of the Philippines during the 2021 season.
“That’s exactly what we don’t have now—a shooting big,” he added of the Filipino-American prospect, taken at No. 4 by the NorthPort franchise.
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New Cordillera autonomy bill under study | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:10:56 PST | President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said proposals to redeclare the Cordillera Administrative Region an autonomous region faces constitutional and legal questions that should be answered first.
The President gave the commitment in an interview with reporters in Apayao province. “We will look at that proposal, we will study it carefully,” he said on Friday.
There was a bill filed in the House of Representatives in 2022, but questions were raised because of the failure of plebiscites in 1990 and 1998.
READ: Review of Cordillera autonomy funding sought
“Now the legal question is, can we do it again or does the Constitution say it can only be done for a limited number of times?” Mr. Marcos said. —JULIE M. AURELIO
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CA raps NEA for ‘abuse of discretion’ in Benguet utility leadership row | Vincent Cabreza | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:06:00 PST | REMEMBERING Employees of Benguet Electric Cooperative stage a peace march on Oct. 20, 2023, to commemorate the armed takeover of their Baguio building on Oct. 18, 2021, after the utility’s officials and workforce rejected the designation by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) of a former Malacañang official as their manager. The employees took back their building two days later. A recent Court of Appeals ruling concludes that the NEA exceeded its authority in 2021. —VINCENT CABREZA
REMEMBERING Employees of Benguet Electric Cooperative stage a peace march on Oct. 20, 2023, to commemorate the armed takeover of their Baguio building on Oct. 18, 2021, after the utility’s officials and workforce rejected the designation by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) of a former Malacañang official as their manager. The employees took back their building two days later. A recent Court of Appeals ruling concludes that the NEA exceeded its authority in 2021. —VINCENT CABREZA
BAGUIO CITY – The Court of Appeals (CA) has ruled that the National Electrification Administration’s Board of Administrators (NEA BOA) should not have tampered with the leadership of the electric utility in Benguet province and this city and abused its authority by doing so.
The rebuke was made in a July 9 decision of the CA’s Fifth Division, which nullified the NEA resolutions and directives that led to the appointment of lawyer Ana Maria Rafael, the former assistant secretary of Malacañang’s communications office under the Duterte administration, as manager of Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) despite questions on her eligibility, which escalated into widespread protests involving the utility’s employees and member-consumers.
“[The] NEA BOA committed grave abuse of discretion … [and] exceeded its authority by appointing Rafael, a power that should have been exercised by the Beneco BOD (board of directors) itself. Corollary, the appointment of Rafael by the NEA BOA is null and void,” the CA said in a ruling penned by Associate Justice Jaime Fortunato Caringal.
READ: NEA ends leadership row at Benguet power co-op
The CA ruling addressed the challenges to the designation of Rafael filed by then Beneco manager Melchor Licoben and by the seven board members of the utility at that time, led by lawyer Esteban Somngi, after the NEA insisted on its authority to appoint the former Malacañang official and even stormed the Beneco office in a failed attempt to install her in office.
Licoben had joined Beneco’s BOD, its employees and the cooperative’s member-consumers in resisting Rafael’s designation, which led to a three-year leadership standoff.
The row drew national attention on Oct. 18, 2021, when NEA officials ordered armed policemen to take over Beneco’s main building in Baguio before dawn purportedly to allow Rafael to take over. But Beneco’s employees and consumers, resorting to a “people’s power” response, marched and took back control of the Beneco building on Oct. 20.
But before the CA ruling was issued, the standoff ended in January last year when NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda, in a bid to end the dispute, fired all of Beneco’s feuding officials, including the members of the Beneco BOD and Rafael herself for “poor performance.”
The new selection process for Beneco manager ordered by Almeda resulted to the reappointment of Licoben in November last year. This month, Beneco members elected their new BOD.
The CA took note that Licoben was reappointed as Beneco’s manager in November 2023 and that the parties concerned in the petition had failed to notify the court of that development.
However, it stressed, “Our better judgment calls us not to dismiss [the petitions] on the ground of mootness as the courts are allowed to decide a question that is otherwise moot if it is capable of repetition, yet evading review.”
The CA said it has to address the matter because “questions as to whether NEA or Beneco’s board has the power to appoint their manager will arise each time the NEA BOA directly appoints an applicant to the position, yet evade review, owing to the simple expedient that the NEA BOA may later on recall the appointed official.”
The court also addressed the NEA’s 90-day suspension of Somngi and directors Jeffred Acop, Mike Maspil, Peter Busaing, Jonathan Obar, Josephine Tuling and Robert Valentin for issuing the resolution that rejected Rafael’s Sept. 1, 2021, appointment.
“Considering that the appointment of Rafael is tainted with grave abuse of discretion, [the board members] could not have committed a violation by allegedly disregarding the NEA rules when they rejected her appointment. As such, the assailed order which preventively suspended the petitioners was likewise issued with grave abuse of discretion,” the CA said.
“To borrow the petitioner’s words, the NEA BOA ‘virtually treat[ed] the Beneco BOD as its rubber stamp in favor of Rafael.’ What is worse is that when the Beneco BOD did not follow as instructed, the NEA BOA issued the assailed resolution and directly appointed Rafael as Beneco’s [general manager],” it said.
Licoben had earlier complained that the NEA nominated and appointed Rafael as general manager although she had no electrical or mechanical engineering degree, nor a mandated five-year supervisory experience running an electric cooperative as required by law.
He continued running Beneco’s day-to-day operations during the feud, although the Beneco workforce lost access to the utility’s bank accounts, which were frozen at the behest of the NEA.
Rafael opened her own Beneco office but could not enter the premises of all Beneco facilities until her termination last year.
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Beneco has sued its banks for alleged unauthorized withdrawals from it accounts that have not been returned or properly accounted for as of Friday. INQ
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Military declares Zamboanga Peninsula ‘NPA-free’ | Leah D. Agonoy | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:04:00 PST | GUERRILLAS NO MORE Top Army officials in Zamboanga Peninsula lead the program on Friday at the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division in Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, marking the surrender of the last three active New People’s Army rebels operating in the region, identified as (from left) Alberto Lumamba, Niel Baron and Judith Ayas. —LEAH AGONOY
GUERRILLAS NO MORE Top Army officials in Zamboanga Peninsula lead the program on Friday at the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division in Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, marking the surrender of the last three active New People’s Army rebels operating in the region, identified as (from left) Alberto Lumamba, Niel Baron and Judith Ayas. —LEAH AGONOY
KUTA SANG-AN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR – The Army on Friday declared the entire Zamboanga Peninsula region as freed of the presence of communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
This followed the surrender last week of three guerrillas who were described by Maj. Gen. Gabriel Viray III, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, as the last remaining holdouts of the communist rebellion in the region.
The regionwide declaration came three years after the province of Zamboanga del Sur was cited as NPA-free in 2021.
Viray presented the three former guerrillas to the public on Friday and identified them as Niel Baron alias “Jundy,” 28; his wife Judith Ayas, alias “Crismae” and “Jeepey,” 26; and Alberto Lumamba, alias “Jack” and “Joven,” 35.
He said the three used to be the NPA’s Guerrilla Front BBC or “Big Beautiful Country” that operated in the adjoining mountains of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental provinces.
READ: Informer gets P1-million bounty for tip on NPA in Zamboanga del Sur
After the front was dismantled, the three joined the remaining forces of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee, Viray said.
Baron, who used to be a squad leader, brought along an M16A1 rifle with ammunition; Ayas turned in an M1911 .45-caliber pistol with ammunition; and Lumamba an M16 rifle with ammunition.
Baron had been a guerrilla for 12 years and currently faces four criminal charges, mostly attempted murder. Ayas was with the NPA for seven years and has 10 criminal cases. Lumamba, who used to be a commanding officer of a guerrilla unit, has been a rebel for 13 years and has four cases for attempted murder.
Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu said the legal cluster of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict as well as the provincial government’s lawyers were ready to assist the three former rebels with their pending criminal cases filed in various courts in Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
The provincial government will aid in their transition to civilian life by providing them opportunities for education and skills training, apart from immediate financial assistance, he added.
Lt. Col. Terence Ylanan, commanding officer of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, said the three could also avail of the amnesty offered by the government and the military will help in their application.
In Cagayan de Oro City, the Army command covering the Caraga region and parts of Northern Mindanao has said that its anti-insurgency campaign had “achieved significant operational successes” in the past three months.
Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) and Joint Task Force Diamond, said these achievements further chipped off the already weakened combat capacity of the NPA in the two regions.
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During a recent command conference, it was shown that from April 1 to June 30, government troops engaged in 17 armed encounters with the guerrillas operating in north eastern and north central Mindanao, resulting in the “neutralization” of 45 rebels and seizure of 56 firearms, said Lt. Col. Francisco Garello Jr., 4ID public affairs chief.
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Pagasa: 2 LPAs off Batangas, Catandauanes now TDs Butchoy, Carina | John Eric Mendoza | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 06:36:20 PST | The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) says the two low pressure areas (LPAs) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) developed into Tropical Depression Butchoy and Carina on Friday night (July 19, 2024). GRAPHICS BY INQUIRER
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) says the two low pressure areas (LPAs) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) developed into Tropical Depression Butchoy and Carina on Friday night (July 19, 2024). GRAPHICS BY INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — The two low pressure areas (LPAs) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) developed into tropical depressions on Friday night, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
In a bulletin issued at 11 p.m. on July 19, the state weather agency said Tropical Depression Butchoy was last spotted 535 kilometers west of Tanauan City, Batangas, while Tropical Depression Carina was last located 780 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes.
Pagasa said Butchoy was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center with gustiness of up to 70 kph, while Carina was carrying maximum sustained winds of 45 kph with gustiness of up to 55 kph.
READ: Pagasa: Widespread rain in PH Friday due to 2 LPAs
Butchoy is “unlikely to directly affect the country within the next three days,” according to Pagasa.
Carina “will generally have a mainly offshore path over the next five days and remain far from the Philippine landmass,” it added.
READ: Pagasa says Lakas is a fake super typhoon: It doesn’t exist
While both may not hit land, the two weather systems are expected to intensify over the weekend.
Pagasa said Butchoy may develop into a tropical storm category on Saturday although it will leave PAR on the same day.
Pagasa also said Carina is seen to slowly intensify and become tropical storm by Sunday and further strengthen to reach the typhoon category on Tuesday, July 23.
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Visayas floods subside; evacuees return home | Joey Gabieta, Nestle Semilla-Dakay | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:02:00 PST | SUBMERGED ROAD Residents brave the strong flood current that submerged the road in Barangay Rizal, Palompon, Leyte, on Thursday, July 18, following a heavy downpour caused by a low pressure area. —Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Rizal
SUBMERGED ROAD Residents brave the strong flood current that submerged the road in Barangay Rizal, Palompon, Leyte, on Thursday, July 18, following a heavy downpour caused by a low pressure area. —Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Rizal
TACLOBAN CITY – Families that were evacuated due to widespread floods brought on by heavy rains in the Visayas this week have returned home, disaster response officials said.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Eastern Visayas said the flooding only had minimal impact on the different communities in the region while disaster teams have also not recorded any major damages due to the flood.
Families from the towns of Isabel and Matag-ob and the city of Baybay in Leyte went back to their respective communities after the floodwaters subsided on Thursday, according to their respective disaster risk reduction management offices (DRRMO).
Roads have also been cleared in Barangay Mahayag in Merida, Leyte, and in Barangay Cagmanipes Sur, Tinambacan District, in Calbayog City, Samar, after landslides affected these areas, reports from these DRRMO said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Biliran, through its station commander, Lt. Albert Asis, said they had also lifted the no sailing advisory issued on Thursday morning after the weather condition had improved.
READ: Bangsamoro folk told to brace for more floods
The PCG-Biliran earlier halted sea travel between Maripipi to Kawayan and Maripipi to Naval due to the bad weather.
In Daanbantayan town along the northern tip of Cebu province, the 41 families composed of 200 individuals who were evacuated on Wednesday have returned home.
According to the town’s DRRMO head Obet Tancawan, the evacuees were from different areas in the city, including Barangays Agujo, Bitoon, Maya, Pajo, Poblacion, Talisay and Tapilon.
In Bantayan town, one of the three municipalities on Bantayan Island in north Cebu, over 400 households were affected by the flood in Barangays Kampingganon, Guiwanon and Kabangbang.
Bantayan Mayor Arthur Despi said he requested the municipal council to approve the “flood control budget” to provide a preliminary solution to the flooding in the town.
Mayor Francis Salimbangon of Tabogon, also in northern Cebu, said he has directed disaster teams and the local police to check all areas that were flooded and start the clearing and cleaning operations.
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“Please be careful to avoid any untoward incidents. Keep safe,” he said.
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Maharlika ready to start investing | Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:30:00 PST | The country’s first sovereign wealth fund is poised to make its first investment—most likely in renewable energy—after fund manager Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) finally approved its investment and risk management framework.
During its 12th Board Meeting on July 18 presided by Finance Secretary and MIC Chair Ralph Recto, the board approved the MIC’s founding principles and framework encapsulating its overall mission, governance structure and high-level investment approach for 2024 to 2028.
READ: Maharlika finalizes investment, risk management framework
“The framework specifically outlines the detailed policies, strategies and risk management practices guiding the MIC’s investment decision-making and portfolio management. As mandated by Republic Act No. 11954, the framework is a prerequisite for the MIC before proceeding with its investments,” the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement on Friday.
The country’s first sovereign wealth fund is prioritizing energy projects, for which it wants to raise some $1 billion. It also wants to invest in infrastructure and agriculture.
The fund that is “designed to advance the Philippines’ long-term development goals” likewise plans to invest in the agro-industries industry, particularly in coconut oil mills and refineries.
The DOF also said that following the approval of MIC’s membership in the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), it can begin engaging with investors and gain access to a global network of experts.
READ: Maharlika gets P 22.2-B fund for first-year investments
The IFSWF is an organization of global sovereign funds with over 50 members. It aims to implement the Santiago Principles, designed to promote good governance, accountability, transparency and prudent investment practices.
“The IFSWF Membership grants the Philippines access to a range of privileges, such as international recognition, networking and peer learning opportunities,” the DOF said.
MIC President and CEO Rafael Jose Consing, Jr., stressed that with the membership, the MIC is entitled to participate in the IFSWF Annual General Meeting to be held in Oman, Muscat, from Nov. 3 to Nov. 6.
“The meeting will engage IFSWF members and financial leaders around the world in private networking sessions to discuss key global topics impacting investors today,” the DOF added. In addition, the Board approved the MIC Board Protocol, which covers the procedures for conducting Board of Directors meetings, in accordance with RA 11954, its revised implementing rules and regulations, and general principles of good corporate governance.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the law establishing the country’s sovereign wealth fund or the Maharlika Investment Fund last July 2023.
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MIC has an authorized capital stock of P500 billion and its initial capital of P125 billion came from contributions from the national government, which chipped in P50 billion, the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, which contributed P50 billion, with the Development Bank of the Philippines putting in the balance of P25 billion.
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Imminent rate cuts driving PH firms to bond market | Meg J. Adonis | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:26:00 PST | Domestic bond listings this year may still reach P400 billion—the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.’s (PDEx) original target—following much optimism from companies ahead of an anticipated interest rate cut.
PDEx president and CEO Antonino Nakpil told reporters on Thursday that while they had initially projected a shortage in listings on the bond exchange, they now had “quite a lot” of offerings starting to line up.
So far, the PDEx has seen P177.14 billion worth of domestic bond listings this year from more than 10 offerings. The bond exchange’s target for the year is roughly double last year’s total listings worth P209.33 billion.
According to Nakpil, companies were initially reluctant to issue bonds due to the high interest rate environment.
READ: ‘Hot money’ trickled back to local stock, bond markets in May
High interest rates are typically not favorable to bond issuers, as these result in lower bond prices. On the other hand, low interest rates mean higher prices for issuers.
But the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ sentiments on a potential rate cut in August is driving optimism among companies planning to tap the debt market to raise funds, the PDEx chief said.
Nakpil cited the P6-billion bond listing of Ayala Land Inc. as among the examples of companies that deliberately waited until the second half of the year to issue bonds in time for a rate cut.
“If [interest rates] are already falling, then more will come in to list [bonds],” he said, adding that corporations may also come in with bonds that have longer maturity dates.
Longer bond tenors usually allow issuers to lock in lower interest rates—therefore a more favorable borrowing cost—for a longer period. This also signals that bondholders are confident in the issuer’s capacity to repay the debt.
READ: BIZ BUZZ: Retail ‘sukuk’ bond sale?
Sy family-led BDO Unibank Inc. is among the companies that will issue bonds this month. The country’s largest bank is set to list P5 billion worth of sustainability-linked bonds on the PDEx on July 24 after shortening its offer date due to strong demand from retail and institutional investors.
Meanwhile, Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has started its P5-billion bond issuance, with listing set on Aug. 9.
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Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., led by billionaire Ramon Ang, also listed P20 billion worth of bonds last month as part of its P50-billion bond program meant to retire an existing dollar-denominated debt obligation and fund the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
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DOE: No total ban on developing coal plants in PH | Jordeene B. Lagare | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:22:00 PST | There is no total ban on developing coal-fired power plants in the Philippines, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
In a statement, the DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau clarified a moratorium made in 2020 that disallowed the construction of greenfield or new coal-fired power projects to reduce carbon emissions and transition the country into more environment-friendly fuels.
READ: Coal-fired generators still Philippines’ top source of electricity
It said the ban excluded existing and operational coal-fired power generation facilities that have already made commitments for expansion.
Indicative power projects with substantial accomplishments, particularly those with signed and notarized land acquisition or lease agreements, approved permits or resolutions from local government units and the Regional Development Council where the power plants will be located, are also exempt from the moratorium.
The DOE would have to issue a certification that a project is not covered by the moratorium at the request of the project proponent after conducting a thorough review and verification.
“Several proponents of coal-fired power projects have requested the DOE’s confirmation on noncoverage and these were ministerially issued after verification,” it added.
The power bureau issued a clarification following “allegations of arbitrariness” in providing such certifications. It described such allegations as “unfounded.”
READ: PH defends coal use in power mix
“Diversification of energy sources is critical to energy security. Unfortunately, we get pilloried for favoring solar and wind over coal and get charged for favoring coal over renewable energy. This leaves us with a reassuring feeling that we are getting the damn thing right,” the statement read, quoting Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.
He previously said the DOE would retain a healthy mix of fuel sources to fill a supply gap usually experienced during the power-hungry summer months. A total of 4,000 megawatts through a combination of renewable energy and conventional power plants is expected to go online this year, he said.
As of 2023, coal-fired power plants remained the leading source of energy in the country with a share of 43.9 percent. Renewable energy facilities followed with a 29.7-percent share.
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Despite the continued dominance of coal plants, the government is targeting to raise the renewable energy share in the power mix to 35 percent by 2030, then increasing it to 50 percent by 2040.
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BPI promises 6.2% yield for fresh green bonds | Meg J. Adonis | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:20:00 PST | Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has set an interest rate of 6.2 percent per annum for its latest bond offering worth P5 billion.
The Ayala-led bank on Friday said it would also increase the offer in case of strong demand.
The thematic bonds, which BPI called Sustainable, Environmental and Equitable Development (SEED) bonds, will be issued at par value and paid quarterly. Those interested to buy the so-called green bonds would need to cough up an initial amount of P500,000, then pay increments of P100,000 thereafter for additional investments.
READ: BPI posted H1 record profit of P30.6B
If investors were to buy BPI’s offer before the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cuts rates, they would be able to “enjoy above-market rates,” according to Francis Ferdinand Subido, senior research analyst at AP Securities Inc.
“They could also see some capital appreciation in the price of their bonds in the event that they try to sell it before maturity,” he said.
The BSP’s key rate currently stands at 6.5 percent, but the Monetary Board is projected to cut the policy rate by a total of 50 basis points this year.
The bonds, due in one and a half years, will be offered until Aug. 2. Listing on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) is scheduled on Aug. 9.
“BPI will use the end proceeds of the offer to finance or refinance new or existing eligible green and/or social projects as designed under, and consistent with, BPI’s Sustainable Funding Framework,” the bank said in a statement.
READ: BPI taps COL Financial for funds distribution
Under the framework, the proceeds must be exclusively used to support sustainability-related projects, such as renewable energy power plants.
BPI Capital Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank were tapped as the joint lead arrangers and selling agents for the offer.
The latest issuance is the third tranche in BPI’s P100-billion bond program approved in May 2022.
The first tranche worth P20.3 billion was issued in January last year, while the second tranche worth P5 billion was issued in October.
PDEx expects P400 billion in domestic bond listings this year amid prospects of interest rate cuts that could mean higher bond prices for issuers.
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So far, PDEx has seen P177.14 billion worth of bond listings.
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PXP Energy finds dismal gas site in Palawan, drops project | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:16:00 PST | Pangilinan-led PXP Energy Corp. has relinquished a contract to harness oil and gas resources in an offshore area northwest of Palawan after assessing it had no potential for further exploration.
The Department of Energy (DOE) approved the request of PXP Energy and its consortium partners The Philodrill Corp. and state-run Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. “to surrender” Service Contract (SC) No. 74 (Linapacan), which they held for almost 11 years but found “no drillable prospects.”
The area is situated in shallow waters northwest of Palawan covering 4,268 square kilometers. According to the DOE, it is found in the country’s “territorial waters.”
READ: PXP Energy poised to raise stake in oil and gas prospect
“This will not have a material impact on PXP’s 2024 financial statements,” said the listed firm, which also holds other service contracts that are under force majeure due to disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
As the operator, PXP Energy holds a 70 percent interest in SC 74. Philodrill owns a 25-percent stake while PNOC-EC holds the remaining 5 percent.
Aside from surrendering the petroleum block to the DOE, the firms agreed to dissolve their joint venture and operating agreement once remaining obligations are met.
In a letter, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla ordered the consortium “to abandon the contract area and restore all sites that may have been affected by any petroleum operations.”
The DOE said it would focus on exploration projects in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao before assessing what to do next with SC 74.
READ: PXP net loss down to P2.6B on better output, sales
Lotilla also ordered the entities to settle a scholarship pledge made by the partners amounting to $55,000 under the DOE’s Energy Iskolar ng Bayan Program.
“The DOE is currently finalizing the renewal of its memorandum of agreement with Palawan State University, the intended beneficiary of scholarship commitment under SC No. 74,” he added.
PXP Energy also holds SC 72 located in the West Philippine Sea, near the Malampaya gas field.
It also operates SC 40 (North Cebu Block) in the Visayan Basin covering the northern part of Cebu Island and the adjacent offshore areas in the Central Tañon Strait and Visayan Sea and SC 75 in northwest Palawan with an area of 6,160 kms.
Both SC 72 and SC 75 are currently suspended due to the sea dispute.
PXP’s move to drop SC 74 also comes on the heels of an unusual movement in its share prices last July 17, which the local bourse had flagged.
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“Neither is the company aware of the existence of, nor does it possess, any undisclosed information that may have influenced the price of the company’s shares,” PXP had said. —Jordeene B. Lagare
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PSEI nears 6,800 on earnings data | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:14:00 PST | The local bourse nearly breached the 6,800 barrier on the last trading day of the week as excited investors awaited more first-semester earnings results.
By the closing bell on Friday, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed by 1.29 percent, or 86.68 points, to 6,791.69, its highest since April 4.
Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index added 0.69 percent, or 24.97 points, to 3,627.83.
READ: PSEi closes slightly below 6,800 mark; peso stays flat
A total of 587.69 million shares worth P6.84 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth P1.44 billion, stock exchange data showed.
Apart from strong foreign buying, the bourse was lifted by traders who were energized by the record earnings reported by Zobel family-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), according to Philstocks Financial Inc.
BPI’s earnings in the first half of the year reached P30.6 billion, up by 21.5 percent on higher revenues.
Banks led the gainers with a 2.53-percent increase as Sy family-led BDO Unibank Inc., the top-traded stock, rallied by 4.42 percent to P148.80 each.
READ: BPI posted H1 record profit of P30.6B
It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 2.42 percent to P31.70; BPI, up 1.43 percent to P127.80; SM Investments Corp., up 1 percent to P911; and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., up 2.19 percent to P70 per share.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up 1.51 percent to P30.25; Ayala Corp., up 1.19 percent to P597; Bloomberry Resorts Corp., down 1.68 percent to P8.76; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 1.87 percent to P369.80; and Universal Robina Corp., up 1.09 percent to P120.30.
There were 96 gainers against 75 losers, while 65 companies were unchanged at closing. —Meg J. Adonis
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Gov’t fund utilization hits 99% | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 05:12:00 PST | INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
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The government agencies’ cash utilization rate stood at 99 percent in the first half of the year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Friday.
The DBM said that national agencies and local governments, as well as state-owned corporations were able to use P2.23 trillion out of P2.25 trillion worth of notices of cash allocations (NCAs) issued as of the end of June.
To compare, this was a notch higher from 98 percent utilization rate in the same period last year when government agencies used P2.01 trillion out of P2.05 trillion NCAs issued.
READ: Budget utilization rate at 94% as of Oct, says DBM
Unused cash allocations amounted to P21.92 billion in June, lower than P46.43 billion that government agencies failed to use last year.
An NCA refers to quarterly authority given by the DBM to agencies to withdraw money from the Treasury to fund their programs and spending requirements.
Last month, the budget department asked government agencies who are underspending to come up with their plans to further increase their fund utilization rate. —MARIEDEL IRISH U. CATILOGO
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Maynilad eyes more supply with P686-M raw water basin | Philippine Daily Inquirer | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:10:00 PST | Maynilad Water Services Inc. has set aside more than P686 million for the development of a raw water reservoir designed to beef up supply for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS) western service zone.
The MWSS concessionaire said in a statement on Friday it was repurposing the four existing sludge lagoons at the La Mesa Compound in Quezon City, which used to serve as disposal site for the sludge produced by the water treatment process.
The company is aiming to complete by the fourth quarter of 2025 what would be its sole reservoir for raw water. It is designed to be six meters deep and capable of storing about 200 million liters of raw water.
READ: Maynilad ready to go public in early 2025
Maynilad has 38 other reservoirs, but all of these are used for treated water. According to its website, Maynilad’s reservoirs have a total holding capacity of over 751.5 million liters of potable water.
Meanwhile, the new facility is intended to augment supply of water coming from the Angat-Ipo Dam system through the Novaliches/La Mesa Portal declines due to lack of rains or reduced allocations.
“Since our La Mesa Treatment Plant rehabilitation program already included the construction of new sludge treatment facilities, the existing sludge lagoons could be put to better use as a storage site for raw water,” said Ronaldo Padua, head of supply operations at Maynilad.
“By repurposing the lagoons, we can maximize the value of the site and help address our need for increased water storage,” he added.
Likewise, the planned facility can serve as a “settlement basin”—where particles in the raw water could sink to the bottom of the reservoir—to help make the supply entering the treatment plant less turbid or cloudy with sediment.
“This reservoir will not only increase our water storage capacity but also help us sustain water service even during challenging periods of high turbidity and reduced water inflows from Angat and Ipo Dams,” said Randolph Estrellado chief operating officer of Maynilad.
The company holds a 25-year legislative franchise covering the “West Zone” service area of Metro Manila and the province of Cavite. — Jordeene B. Lagare
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Astrolabio set for WBC bantamweight title challenge vs Nakatani | Rommel Fuertes Jr. | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 01:59:49 PST | Vincent Astrolabio during the weigh-in for his WBC bantamweight title against Junto Nakatani. –WENDELL ALINEA
Vincent Astrolabio during the weigh-in for his WBC bantamweight title against Junto Nakatani. –WENDELL ALINEA
MANILA, Philippines—It’s all engines go for Filipino boxer Vincent Astrolabio as he challenges Junto Nakatani for the WBC bantamweight title on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.
Astrolabio made weight on Friday, tipping the scales at 117.5 pounds with Nakatani coming in at 117.25 pounds.
Astrolabio faces a tall order as he challenges Nakatani for the strap. The Japanese fighter remains undefeated with an impressive record of 27-0 with 20 knockouts to his name.
The Filipino boxer, meanwhile, looks to finally take home a belt after losing his first title shot to Jason Moloney via majority decision last year.
“We are in good condition, and we have prepared for this. We didn’t come here to lose. We’ve done all our training, and we will bring the belt home to the Philippines,” said Astrolabio’s trainer Nonoy Neri during the pre-fight press conference.
Astrolabio punched his ticket for a date with Nakatani when he defeated Navapon Khaikanha last year via TKO.
Astrolabio and Nakatani clash in the 12-round main event on Saturday at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
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Miss World Philippines 2024 is Krishnah Gravidez from Baguio | Armin P. Adina | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:14:18 PST | Miss World Philippines 2024 Krishnah Gravidez. Screengrab from Miss World Philippines
Krishnah Gravidez from Baguio was crowned Miss World Philippines 2024 in ceremonies held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Friday, July 19, besting 32 other aspirants for the crown.
Gravidez inherited the title from Gwendolyne Fourniol, who was proclaimed Miss World Philippines in the national pageant’s previous staging two years ago. The new winner is also the first queen to wear the new “Rays of Hope” crown from Oro China Jewelry.
Also on hand to crown the new queen was reigning Miss World Krystyne Pyszkova, who flew all the way from the Czech Republic to attend the staging of the national competition, and witness the coronation of the Filipino delegate who will try to inherit her international title at the global contest.
Michelle Arceo crowned her Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas successor, Dia Mate from Cavite, while the Miss Philippines Tourism title went to Patricia Bianca Tapia from Batangas City.
Another crown was added to the roster of prizes initially announced, the Face of Beauty International Philippines title that went to Jeanne Isabelle Bilasano from Bicol. She will represent the country in the Face of Beauty International pageant in Taiwan in September.
A new title — Miss Multinational Philippines — was likewise announced, and the award went to Nikhisa Buenafe of Pangasinan. She will compete in India later this year.
Jasmine Urquico Omay from Tarlac was proclaimed as First Princess, while Sophia Bianca Santos from Pampanga completed the winners’ circle as Second Princess.
Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
The national pageant organization did not hold a competition in 2023 because Fourniol had to wait for more than a year before she could compete in the 71st Miss World contest, that the international organizers kept on postponing.
Gravidez will represent the Philippines in the 72nd Miss World pageant, and try to become the second Filipino woman to win the crown, following Megan Young who won in 2013.
She won the Miss Charm Philippines 2023 title staged by the Miss Universe Philippines organization, but she withdrew from the global pageant last June to be able to join Miss World Philippines. Her decision eventually paid off after she aced many of the pre-pageant events, and even reaped several special awards during the coronation night.
Meanwhile, Mate will compete in the 33rd Reina Hispanoamericana pageant, and attempt a second victory for the Philippines. Teresista Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez became the first Filipino woman to win the crown in 2017.
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2 soldiers hurt during clash with rebels in Northern Samar | Joey Gabieta | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 01:38:07 PST | INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
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TACLOBAN CITY – Two soldiers were wounded after engaging alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in an encounter in Barangay Bonifacio, Gamay town, Northern Samar province at about 6:50 a.m. on Friday, July 19.
Corporal Donadillo and Private Resco sustained grazed wounds on their heads during the 30-minute firefight, according to a report from the Philippine Army.
Both soldiers are now in stable condition at an undisclosed hospital.
READ: Soldier slain in a clash with NPAs in Samar
The soldiers, belonging to the 52nd Infantry Battalion, were conducting a security operation in the area when they encountered around 30 rebels.
Government forces were able to recover the rebels’ camp in Barangay Bonifacio, along with two high-powered firearms.
In Southern Leyte, government forces recovered a cache of firearms suspected to belong to NPA members.
The firearms, which included an M1 Garand rifle, one MK2 fragmentation hand grenade, and assorted ammunition of different calibers, were discovered by members of the 14th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Silao Bato, Barangay Kahupian, Sogod, Southern Leyte, on Sunday, July 14.
Brigadier General Noel Vestuir, the commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, said civilians from the village provided information leading to the discovery and recovery of the firearms buried in the area./###
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16 rescued from capsized boat off Zamboanga City | Julie S. Alipala | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 01:34:43 PST | Sixteen persons were rescued Friday morning, July 19 from the waters of Tumalutab Island, Zamboanga City. Fourteen of the 16 are city hall employees and two members of the Zamboanga City Police Office. Photo contributed by 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company
Sixteen persons were rescued Friday morning, July 19 from the waters of Tumalutab Island, Zamboanga City. Fourteen of the 16 are city hall employees and two members of the Zamboanga City Police Office. Photo contributed by 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – Fourteen local government employees and two police officers were hauled to safety on Friday morning, July 19, after the boat they were on capsized off Tumalutab Island, some 40 kilometers away from the mainland.
Jomer Abunawas, village chief of Tumalutab, said they received reports that a speedboat capsized midsea as “the water got into the vessel.”
Abunawas said all the 16 persons on board were safe but a number of them were brought to a hospital due to minor injuries.
In a statement issued by the communication team of Zamboanga City Hall, a team of government employees and police officers was heading for Tumalutab around 9:30 a.m. Friday to conduct an assessment and evaluation of the island barangays in relation to the Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangays (SGLGB).
Vic Larato, one of the communications team members, said the boat failed to land on the shore as it was low tide at the time, thus the passengers had to transfer to a smaller boat that would ferry them to the Tumalutab port.
Sixteen persons were rescued Friday morning, July 19 from the waters of Tumalutab Island, Zamboanga City. Fourteen of the 16 are city hall employees and two members of the Zamboanga City Police Office. Photo contributed by 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company
Unfortunately, the speedboat tilted to its side and subsequently capsized. The passengers were immediately rescued by local fishermen nearby.
Rescued Major Roland Arriola Jr., PMSgt. Reagan Gregorio, Angelique Catis, Airreen Atilano, Rolan Bantoto, Cristy Del Rosario, Arnold Amrille, Karen Boniao, Airizza Flores, Albert Ebol, Ma. Lahksmi Loon, Nikka Enopia, Calve Dela Gracia, Deolito Baldiza, Angie Centillas and Patricia Ann Soria.
READ: 1 dead, 4 rescued as fishing boat capsizes off Zamboanga City
After they were rescued by the Tumalutab fishermen, the responding team from the 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company (ZCMFC-seaborne) secured them and brought them to the 2nd ZCMFC headquarters in Baliwasan village where they were subjected to medical assessment by the emergency response team from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
The city offices included in the team are the City Planning and Development Office, City Administrator’s Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Office of City Environment and Natural Resources, City Health Office, City Human Resource and Management Office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, City Treasurer’s Office, City Accountant’s Office, Barangay Affairs Division and Business Permits and Licensing Division under the Office of the City Mayor.
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Miss World Philippines: Top 10 bets named; Baguio’s Krishnah Gravidez reaps awards | Anne Pasajol | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 00:52:26 PST | Manila’s Gabrielle Lantzer, Baguio’s Krishnah Gravidez and Bicol’s Isabelle Bilasano. Image: @gmbl22, @krishnahgravidez, @isabellebils
Delegates from Manila, Baguio and Bicol were among those who made it to the Top 10 of the Miss World Philippines 2024 coronation night, held on Friday, July 19.
The candidates who continued their pageant journey are the following:
Prior to the Top 10 announcement, the delegates had a casual interview with hosts Billy Crawford and reigning Universal Woman Maria Gigante; flaunted their curves in their cutout one-piece in the swimsuit competition; and served looks in the evening gown competition while accompanied by a performance from the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra.
Meanwhile, Baguio’s Krishnah Gravidez reaped most of the special awards. Here are the special awardees:
The competition initially had 33 delegates vying to inherit the crown from Miss World Philippines reigning queen Gwendolyne Fourniol.
Other titles which will be awarded at the coronation night are the Miss Philippines Tourism and the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas.
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Why the Muhlachs prefer a sitcom over reality show | Marinel Cruz | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 00:15:00 PST | Aga Muhlach (left) and Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach in “Da Pers Family” —PHOTOS FROM TV5/ YOUTUBE
Aga Muhlach (left) and Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach in “Da Pers Family” —PHOTOS FROM TV5/ YOUTUBE
“Da Pers Family,” according to its lead star Aga Muhlach, is the closest thing that fans of the Muhlach family can get to seeing what they’re like in real life.
After all, the characters they are portraying in the sitcom also assume the names of Aga, his wife Charlene Gonzales, and children Atasha and Andres.
Aga offers this explanation as to why he would rather do a sitcom than be part of a reality show: “My training is old-school. My private life has always been that, private. To come up with a reality show would feel intrusive. Even on social media, I’m not really that active. But, of course, I’ve thought about that, too. That’s why we purposely gave the characters our names, so that people can identify with them.”
While Aga said he is not totally against the idea of eventually appearing in a reality show with his family, this is what they can offer at the moment, especially since the twins are just starting to learn everything about acting and show business. “We’re taking it slow. We don’t know yet where this sitcom will lead us. It’s possible that we’d enjoy working together so much, or that they (the twins) would sharpen their acting chops so quickly through the show, that we would eventually think of doing a reality show. We’re open to all options,” he explained.
Charlene agreed, adding: “Our family has its private and public sides. We enjoy the private side very much. This is why it’s nice that we are able to make this new sitcom together. I consider it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This will be the first and last time that you will see our family in one project.”
“Da Pers Family” follows the story of the Persival family and The Bake Haus of You, a struggling business owned by Aga and Charlene’s characters. Conflict starts brewing when Aga’s former best friend (Roderick Paulate) tries to drive them out of business. This brings the Persivals even closer as they work on saving the family-owned bakery.
Aga admitted that working with his family on the set was difficult, especially because he would keep thinking of their “normal scene” at home. “No matter how active we are in this industry, we forget everything when we’re at home. My kids, even my wife—since she’s been relatively inactive for some time—I would watch over them. It’s hard because even I feel very conscious. This is my world, this is what I know best. Sometimes, I would notice something and would like to teach the kids on the spot, but I can’t keep doing that because I also want them to experience things. At the same time, I don’t want them to fail, too,” he began.
Aga said he would always remind the twins that show biz is not all glitz and glamour, that it also requires hard work. “It’s not easy. This is why I didn’t force them to try acting. They decided that they wanted to work in this industry,” he pointed out. “I watch closely when they’re taping. When they throw their lines, in my mind, I’d say, ‘Don’t make mistakes!’ It’s like that for me. I know they’re both good. But as their dad, I can’t help but feel nervous.”
Andres and Atasha Muhlach
Andres said it helped that he already got to work with his family shooting TV commercials before. “It’s still a new experience being on set. The dynamics now are different. We have lines to deliver. At the start, I felt a little nervous but as the taping days went by, it got better for me,” Andres said.
“I was nervous because I didn’t want to mess it up or cause delays. In the end, it was actually so much fun. My first scene was with Andres, and we’re best friends, so it was easy, and then it was with the parents,” said Atasha, who paused to look at her dad and tell him: “Your gaze, it’s so intense!”
Charlene said that, on the set, she and Aga would make sure to treat their children as coactors. “We mentioned to them that, once we’re on the set, and our director gives instructions, we all follow. With regard to how they want to portray their roles, we give them that space. We only give pointers when they ask for help,” she began.
Charlene added that as parents, they decided to raise the twins to be very independent. “At a young age, we already respected their decisions. They did their end of the deal—they finished school and have now reached a certain age when they can already decide what to do with their lives. The best thing that Aga and I can do is to let them fly.”
When asked how the twins were adjusting to all the attention, especially Andres who has been officially working for only a month, Aga said: “Atasha does ‘Eat Bulaga,’ but not Andres. He is not really aware of what you are telling us now—that girls are going crazy over him online. This is because he doesn’t really go out much. He just plays golf, basketball and works out. He just spends time with friends, and we live close to the sea. Atasha also has her own thing—that’s her world now. As for Andres, we’re not telling him anything.”
“These are only his first few steps,” said Charlene.
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“Da Pers Family,” directed by Danni Caparas, airs at 7:15 p.m. every Sunday starting July 21 on TV5, with catchup airings on Sari-Sari Channel, Mondays at 7 p.m.
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John Estrada and Priscilla Meirelles’ domestic front has turned into battlefront | Dolly Anne Carvajal | Sat, 20 Jul 2024 00:10:00 PST | John Estrada (left) and Priscilla Meirelles —CONTRIBUTED photo
John Estrada (left) and Priscilla Meirelles —CONTRIBUTED photo
Since John Estrada and his wife, beauty queen Priscilla Meirelles, are close friends of mine, I feel sad that their domestic front has turned into a battlefront once again. Last April 2023, their marital woes were the buzz du jour, just as it is now, but they were able to patch things up.
During John’s 50th birthday bash in June last year, he even paid tribute to Pri in his “thank you” speech. When the fab couple came to my nth debut last September, they seemed like honeymooners all over again.
What sparked the controversy about the couple anew was Pri’s comment on John’s Instagram post, “Looking very divorced, Mr. Estrada” and her tagging his alleged companion in Boracay, Lily Hallman.
John clarified via his IG stories that he is not in a relationship with Lily or any other woman. He also said that he and Pri agreed to go on a mutual break. In her IG stories, Pri fired back by refuting John’s statement on their mutual agreement regarding separation. She emphasized that they are still married.
Amid the social media circus, I reached out to both of them. But out of respect for our friendship, I am not at liberty to divulge their messages to me. Suffice it to say that, as long as one of them wants to save their marriage badly enough, it can still happen.
Now that Pri is back home in Brazil with their daughter, Anechka, may their time apart make the Estradas see what they really had together.
As John and Pri are embroiled in yet another controversy, I suddenly miss our fun bonding moments in “Boradise” and in their cozy home. What a laugh trip the three of us had when Pri described the crazy ways she tried to cure John’s extreme snoring, which were all in vain, and how she mistook him for a stalker when he started making the moves on her.
Hopefully, those memories (and more) will serve as a reminder of what kept them together and urge them to keep on loving so it will stop hurting.
Since I grew up in show biz, I hardly get starstruck by actors. But with athletes, I turn into a fan girl. Just like when I met fencer Maxine Esteban, who will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 23-year-old charmer ranks 27th in the world, based on the latest list released by the International Fencing Federation. Although a Filipina by birth, Maxine will represent Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) in the Olympics. She would rather not dwell on the unfair treatment she got locally, which led her to join a foreign fencing team.
Maxine Esteban —MAXINE ESTEBAN/ INSTAGRAM
“This is for Ivory Coast, the country that embraced me, believed in me and supported me all the way, and for the Philippines, the country my heart will always be proud of,” she beamed.
Maxine’s show biz faves are Daniel Padilla and Marian Rivera. I teased her, “What If Daniel courts you?” She shot back, “I’m already taken.”
Although our Olympian will be waving a different flag, it’s the Pinay in Maxine who is going to make her shine to the max.
Ara Mina —NICE PRINT
Ara Mina lived up to the title of her 30th show biz anniversary concert, “All of Me.” She really gave her blood, sweat and tears to each number. Ara’s soulful renditions reminded the audience that before she became an actress, she was a chanteuse first.
Her duets with Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid and Bong Revilla added spice to the show. But the highlight was Ara’s duet with her unica hija, Mandy. The Taylor Swift medley that she performed with her sis, Cristine Reyes, provided the show’s millennial vibe.
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After three decades, that “Mina girl” remains to be a goldmine.
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Miss World Philippines 2024: Baguio, Cavite, Batangas bets among Top 20 finalists | Anne Pasajol | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:33:26 PST | Baguio’s Krishnah Gravidez, Cavite’s Dia Mate, and Batangas’ Patricia Bianca Tapia. Image: Instagram/@krishnahgravidez, @diaxmate, biancatapia
Miss World Philippines 2024 has named its Top 20 finalists at the coronation night held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, July 19.
The candidates who advanced to the next round are the following:
Fast track challenges winners, who were also part of the Top 20 finalists, are the following:
Other awards given are as follows:
The competition, which initially saw 33 delegates, opened with P-pop boy group Bilib’s song and dance performance of their songs “Kabanata” and “Say Whatcha Wanna Say.” The bets then paraded their beauty, grooving to the live performance of The Juans’ “Atin Ang Mundo.”
Reigning Miss World Krystyna Pyszkova, who arrived in the Philippines last July 17, was in attendance at the finals event as part of the board of judges.
Also among the judges were Kirk Bondad, Tracy Maureen Perez, Sunshine Cruz, Laura Lehmann, and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) undersecretary Pinky Romualdez.
Singer JK Labajo was present as well as part of the audience, as rumored girlfriend Mate was one of the candidates.
The candidates are vying to be the successor of Miss World Philippines reigning queen Gwendolyne Fourniol. Other titles that will be awarded at the coronation night are the Miss Philippines Tourism and the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas.
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NTC urged to enforce SIM Registration law to curb text scams | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:17:02 PST | MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Friday to enforce the SIM Registration law to fight text scams nationwide.
According to Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco, chair of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology, a thorough implementation of the law will ensure that authorities will be able to prevent scam incidents.
READ: SIM card registration: A step-by-step guide
“With the strict implementation of this law, we can gain momentum in both preventing and apprehending individuals or organized syndicates involved in text scams,” Tiangco was quoted as saying in a statement.
Tiangco added that other stakeholders should also be engaged in the fight against cybercrime.
READ: SIM registration ‘not silver bullet’ vs text scams, says NTC
“I always stress the importance of a proactive approach in effectively dealing with cybercrimes. It requires a multi-stakeholder effort, and by properly implementing the SIM Registration Act, we can gain headway in protecting Filipinos from fraudulent acts designed to obtain their personal information or, worse, use their identity for financial gain,” he added.
The SIM Registration law was approved in 2022.
READ: Mobile race neck and neck post-SIM registration
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Paulo Avelino has some lofty career goals you may not know about | No author found | 2017-02-20T10:42:02+00:00 | 2015. What a time to be alive, friends.
I can’t recall any recent year, none at all, when local mainstream entertainment was in such a boom. Yes, fads come and go, and something or other has always struck the Filipino’s collective fancy. From the masa to the bourgeois and beyond (which either unironically profess their love—or at the very least, tolerance—of the trendy or hide in some closet of class division) there’s always been something that takes over for a certain length of time. The usual few months, two to three, give or take.
I’ve just never experienced anything as powerful as 2015. The latter half, to be precise. The sheer force of its back-to-back hits is overwhelming and amazing. We have the sui generis love team AlDub (which had just climaxed earlier today, as I write this, in a monumental “Eat Bulaga!” event in the Philippine Arena, which even rivals the gatherings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, who owns the place), the second biggest onscreen item du jour in James Reid and Nadine Lustre (care of “On the Wings of Love”), and the country’s latest cinematic triumph “Heneral Luna,” which had just run in theaters for a staggering six weeks.
Paulo Avelino, like many of his peers in showbiz, knows what that’s like. The one thing the Philippine fandom seems to do a lot better than any other fandom in the world is that it’s great at making each player look like a bigger star than he or she really is, within the context of the product. Paulo’s Gregorio del Pilar in “Luna” was so well-received, thanks to both the film’s own merits and his own good looks, and this acclaim so amplified by social media that there was really no choice but to give the del Pilar movie the green light. (How could they not, anyway, when they set the sequel up with a mid-credits scene worthy of a Marvel movie?)
Like the Boy General, Paulo seems unfazed by the frenzy that’s arose all around him. The politics in “Luna,” he notes, is the same not only as in the politics of the present but as well as in the politics of show business. He is out here to do his job which, like del Pilar, is something he is also steadfast and passionate about. What we have before us, then, is a man who is cool in speech, relaxed even as he’s calculating and strategizing, and unassumingly self-aware, after having weathered the unforgiving jungle that is his profession.
Yeah.
Luna?
Well, I actually didn’t expect it to be talked about by a lot of people. I expected worse. Didn’t really expect it to be such a huge hit, ‘Heneral Luna.’ When it was first offered to me—I auditioned for the role of Gregorio del Pilar, [director] Jerrold [Tarog] made me read a love letter. I think it’s to Cora, one of del Pilar’s girlfriends. They said that if this does well, we might—there’s a big possibility that we’ll do a sequel showcasing del Pilar. So, there.
But I can’t really tell if it really made a big impact on my career because I rarely check social media. I rarely talk to people about it; if I talk to people about it, I talk about the film, the story, history. Well, coming from management I heard it made a big impact.
Well, it took a year to finally finish the script, almost a year to shoot, and another year for post-production. So everyone had high hopes that the film would make it; if not, it would spark something in the hearts of Filipinos.
A little.
—del Pilar?
Well I knew chaotic, and there were a lot of sides, a lot of stories, a lot of books written about certain instances during Luna’s time, which might—or might not—be real. So it’s really hard to tell because no one’s alive to tell the story anymore. But yeah, it’s interesting, it’s interesting! It’s interesting how they tackle the role, they tackle the story. They didn’t really show a typical hero, a typical superhero like one of our historical figures, like a textbook or grade-school book explanation. But once you get to dig a little more, it’s not that glamorous. You realize it’s pretty much the same thing over and over, that’s still happening to this day.
Kind of, kind of, yes. Well, some, [were] maybe [made] for cinematic purposes. there were stories also that were circulating about Luna stealing a lump of money or treasure. But you know, as I’ve said, it’s not something—we couldn’t really tell if it’s true or not. So we might as well concentrate on what Luna really is, and how he was: He was a brilliant general, he was hot-tempered, and… he loved his country.
For the other characters, you know, all of us were given a brief summary of who our characters were. One thing I like about Jerrold is that he gives us freedom to express or be the character without basing it on our history. Giving your own personal take on it.
A bit.
To prepare for this? I read around two or three books. One was by Nick Joaquin, “A Question of Heroes,” and the other one was your typical history book.
Yeah, it did, it did. Because, you know, as I’ve said earlier, social relevance. It’s the same thing, you know? A hundred years ago or more, may technology lang ngayon, but the same thing’s happening. Not just in politics, but in our daily lives, with work… everything!
Yeah, a little. It is. It’s like I said, not just in politics, but also in work. On our side, too.
Well, not really. You know, sometimes, in our line of work, the fame is getting in the way of… how do you call it? Your artistry? What you really wanna do.
—they make memes?
Everything!
Not really, but you know, I really find it funny. And creative, also. But you know, I think these memes also helped our film a lot to spread the word and make people know that “Luna’s” out. It’s a nice film. It’s interesting.
Not really, not really. I don’t think so, you know. For sure, the people who made it, made it for fun. And also, as I’ve said earlier, it drew attention. They helped the film get popular, in a way.
…
It is! It is. But…
I’m not sure. (laughs) Yeah. You can print it.
Yeah, that last part. It’s happening. But it would take a few more years.
Research, finalizing the script would take a year, plus pre-prod, shooting’s another year, post-prod is a year, so in three years, maybe. Hopefully.
For this, it’s script and pre-production. It’s a long process—you have to get your facts straight, you have to make it well-written, you have to give it a certain appeal that wouldn’t feel like your boring history class, and preparing. Preparing for the scenes, the shots, getting everyone’s schedule all together.
With del Pilar? It was probably his—he obviously loved his country, he always respected his higher-ups.
No, because del Pilar was really a handsome guy, the way it was explained in books or in pictures. The funny thing about del Pilar, he had a girlfriend in every town! Yeah, man! Every town he goes, the places he visits or he gets assigned to. So lover boy, in a way. Charming. He was really a charming guy. So… I don’t know if I’m that charming, if you could compare my charm to del Pilar, but I think it worked!
You know… it helps the film, but at the end of the day, the film is the film, and the film would always be true to its message.
Yes. As much as I appreciate their help—in a way they have also been part of my career, from the start until now, and those who are… how do you say it, new to it, I guess—sometimes they get too attached, and sometimes they forget that we’re also like them. We also get hurt, we fall in love, we fall out of love, we do crappy stuff, we make a lot of mistakes in this life. And sometimes they act or they talk or they, like on social media, tweet or message you like they own you. Or they’re giving you a command. Which is, sometimes, up to some point it’s entertaining, but sometimes they get too attached. At the end of the day, they start bashing you, for example, if you don’t end up with your love team, or you date someone else, or you just do something stupid.
Not really. A little, that’s one of the things. But you know, like now, my Instagram account, it’s more of me, actually, than my Twitter account. Because on Twitter, I use it to promote; I do sometimes on Instagram, but on Instagram, it’s just black and white.
On the news? Hmmm… what is it? You know, I think it’s when people start degrading you because of your social status. Me, I’ve always been not really a happy-go-lucky, but a person of today. Of now. So it’s not like you have any plans or you don’t really see yourself succeeding in life, but I’d like to cherish the moment, enjoy the moment, just live life for what it is. What you see now, what’s around you. At the same time naman, I also plan things; like now I got into writing again, so hopefully I finish a script.
Yeah. Songs, poems.
Not really. It’s like… I can’t explain it. I really can’t.
It’s not. You know, I don’t really give a damn about money or fame. I’m doing all of this because I like what I’m doing. I love acting. I’m in love with my craft. I just wanna do so many things in the future. There’s so many characters out there I haven’t done, so many scripts floating around, waiting to be produced. Those things excite me. I can’t wait to just do another project, to just be someone else.
I have a lot of friends on the indie side of cinema in the Philippines. Once in a while, they send me scripts and they ask me if I wanna do it, producers send scripts. Sometimes it’s not really about the character. Sometimes it’s a really beautiful story, whether you’re support or you’re one of the cast, or you’re just part of it. You’ll be proud that you did those [projects].
Yeah, there is. I don’t wanna talk about mainstream, but in the mainstream, [I’m more known for] teleseryes… but I’m lucky that it’s not that stereotypical, the stuff I do. But there is a stereotype.
Yeah. I’m past those days. It’s nice to have a fit and healthy body, but I’d really like people to see me as an actor.
There’s a lot. Joaquin Phoenix, Benicio del Toro, I like… I can’t remember the name, but it’s at the top of my head. I have a portrait of their faces in my mind. Eddie Redmayne is one. Johnny Depp, in a way, some of his films. I’m really bad with names, but I have a portrait of their faces. This guy in “Leon: The Professional?” Would you be familiar with that?
The bad guy, I forgot his name. But there’s a lot.
Yeah.
I would!
I have… I try. I try my best.
Well, most of the time kasi I do projects in between. My projects overlap. So you can’t change your look that much. Like your hair, your physique.
Kind of, kind of. But you know, that side, I also see it as a different character. I’m a different character for this, for TV, for mainstream films. At the end of the day, I still enjoy, I still learn a lot whether it’s mainstream or indie.
Now? Now perhaps, for a role, I wanna do something really anorexic, like ‘The Machinist.’ It’s always been a dream role.
Yeah, of course. But someday, someday. Before I turn 30.
No.
Yeah, I’m not really in the business for the race. For the race to fame, the rat race, however you want to call it. I’m here because I really love what I’m doing.
Well, we have our own reasons. If that’s their reason, that’s their drive to stay in the business, to be in the business. I see nothing wrong about it. But at the end of the day… yeah. I might say something bad. (laughs)
You know, I rarely filter my words, but sometimes kasi you say something and people think it’s directed towards them or towards someone they know, when it really isn’t. So I just don’t want any drama, I don’t want to start a Twitter war, an Instagram war, a war with anyone in the industry. I’m just here to do what I want.
I try to maintain and keep a certain privacy but yeah, it’s not much. In this business, you can’t hide yourself totally.
Not really, not really. I matured in this business, I learned a lot, I met so many people. It kinda shaped the way I see things. How I am now.
Yes, yes. Same thing with everyone. We’re just on TV. We’re just in cinemas. We’re just on print. It’s the same thing with everyone. We have to sacrifice something along the way, at work, or in life to get something, or to let go of something. There’s always something you need to sacrifice.
…Shit. Maybe the one thing they don’t understand about me is my true character is so far away from what they see on screen.
I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
You know, I wouldn’t say I want showbiz to go back in time, in the ’70s and ’80s; then, we were doing so many beautiful films, and we didn’t really care about—well, they did care about the box office and earning—but, you know, sometimes even if their films are really dark, it’s really different. Even if it’s not a love story, people watch. That’s what I’d like the industry to evolve into again. Being fearless. Doing a TV show where you wouldn’t really think about ratings. It’s like everyone across the globe is doing beautiful TV shows, TV series; Netflix has their TV series that are beautiful as well. I’d like to see the Philippine industry evolve into that. You’re always after quality.
In a way.
It’s slowly happening.
Well, that was a game-changer. Nobody expected it to earn more than a hundred million. But it did. It just didn’t earn more than a hundred, it earned more than two hundred. And I’m really happy. People take time to watch these kinds of films that are beautiful. And hopefully in the future, more people would too.
Hmm… I really don’t know. Maybe in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, or even, hopefully, a hundred years from now, I want people to know me because I have a very interesting filmography. Very interesting films.
Not really, not really. I really want to have a beautiful filmography.
This story originally appeared on the November 2015 issue.
Photos by Ralph Mendoza, styling by Jed Gregorio, grooming by Sylvina Lopez
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Call center agent arrested for alleged rape, extortion of teen | John Eric Mendoza | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:38:54 PST | MANILA, Philippines — A call center agent was arrested by Parañaque City police on Friday for the alleged rape and extortion of a teenager he met on a dating app.
At around 1:30 a.m., authorities arrested the 25-year-old man only identified as Edward, according to Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.
Abalos, in an ambush interview at about 3:00 a.m. on Facebook live, said the 19-year-old female student met the suspect through an online dating application.
The Southern Police District (SPD), in another statement on Friday, said: “After establishing contact, the suspect allegedly raped the victim and subsequently demanded large sums of money in exchange for not posting sensitive photographs of her online.
“Upon receipt of the information, SPD SOU (special operations unit) orchestrated an entrapment operation, in collaboration with the victim and her father that later led to the suspect’s apprehension,” the SPD further said.
The suspect is now under the custody of authorities.
Abalos said the phone of the suspect was seized, adding that the phone contained other videos of naked people.
“They will all be contacted, all of these are under investigation,” Abalos said in Filipino of those in the videos.
READ: CHR launches probe after cops’ alleged rape, extortion of two women in Cebu City
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Metro Manila police on full alert for Sona 2024 | John Eric Mendoza | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:27:25 PST | MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will be on full alert for the upcoming State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday, July 22.
“[For now], we are on heightened alert such that on Sunday, we will be on full alert,” said Metro Manila police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. in an ambush interview on Friday at the Quezon City Police District headquarters during the send-off ceremony of security personnel for the upcoming Sona.
However, Nartatez said they have not monitored any threats on the Sona so far.
The President delivers the Sona annually, usually every last Monday of July, to report the government’s achievements under his or her administration, unveil its agenda, and ask Congress to pass priority measures.
The official noted that more or less 2,000 VIPs like government officials and diplomats, among other dignitaries, will be at the lower chamber’s headquarters, while about 8,000 people are also expected to join the demonstrations during the Sona.
Nartatez said the total number of police and government security elements deployed to secure Sona is now at 23,000 after being augmented by another thousand personnel.
Of this number, Nartatez said 8,000 personnel will be assigned to Commonwealth Avenue and IBP Road, where pro-government and progressive groups are expected to hold their demonstrations.
A gun ban will only be enforced in Metro Manila starting Saturday, he said earlier.
READ: PNP: Metro Manila gun ban starts Saturday ahead of Sona 2024
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LIST: Canceled flights from July 19 to 20 due to Microsoft outage | Luisa Cabato | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 20:38:47 PST | MANILA, Philippines — Several Cebu Pacific flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday, July 19 to 20, were canceled due to technical issues related to the global outage of technology giant Microsoft.
In a Facebook post, local carrier Cebu Pacific said that the following flights will not push through as of 7 p.m. on July 19:
READ: Cebu Pacific, global airlines hit by Microsoft outage
The following flights scheduled for July 20 were also canceled:
“This is a developing situation, and some flight changes may take place in the coming days. Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights via https://www.cebupacificair.com/flight-status,” the post read.
Affected passengers were advised not to proceed to the airport at this time to avoid congestion.
READ: ‘Large-scale’ IT outage hits companies worldwide
Furthermore, Cebu Pacific said it is offering flexible options, including free rebooking and travel funds, to passengers who wish to postpone their flights scheduled up to July 21, 2024.
“Cebu Pacific will send notifications to affected passengers once the systems are working and will provide the options available. We are working closely with our teams to mitigate disruptions to our operations and will provide regular updates as the situation progresses,” it added.
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LOOK: Congestion at Davao Int’l Airport due to global Microsoft outage | Luisa Cabato | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:22:22 PST | The volume of passengers at Davao International Airport Passenger Terminal Building is already starting to build up after the system of Cebu Pacific was affected by a global outage of technology giant Microsoft on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Caap)
The volume of passengers at Davao International Airport Passenger Terminal Building is already starting to build up after the system of Cebu Pacific was affected by a global outage of technology giant Microsoft on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Caap)
MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) is preparing for the surge of passengers waiting at airports due to a global outage of technology giant Microsoft on Friday.
In a statement, Caap said there is already congestion of passengers at the Davao International Airport Passenger Terminal Building as of 6 p.m. after the system of budget carrier Cebu Pacific was affected by the incident.
READ: Cebu Pacific, global airlines hit by Microsoft outage
It said that two flights were already canceled while some were delayed.
“Caap is activating irregular operations protocols and closely coordinating with the airlines, Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group, and Office for Transportation Security,” it said.
Airport personnel are also adding more seats for passengers, and staff at the Malasakit Help Desk and medical teams are on standby in the departure area, the aviation authority added.
READ: ‘Large-scale’ IT outage hits companies worldwide
In a separate statement, the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) said that the global outage has affected the systems of budget carriers Cebu Pacific and AirAsia.
International carriers in the Philippines, on the other hand, remain unaffected as of 4 p.m.
READ: DMW must ensure OFWs won’t lose jobs after air traffic system glitch, says solon
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Speaking sneaker is like speaking ‘conyo’ but without the judgment | No author found | 2020-08-25T04:55:50+00:00 | While most of us struggle to look for opportunities to earn from home, it really isn’t impossible for us to dispose of some personal possessions we no longer use. Say, for example, our sneakers. Disposing shoes because we can’t use them as much as we’d like to (thank you for the great service and the extended lockdown, DOH) is usually enough of a reason.
Add factors like collecting dust and, at rare times, housing insects, make us cross the line and decide that indeed, those babies have got to go. No matter how much we love those shoes. Let’s be real, we’re just looking to make our homes more work-friendly to make us productive at the very least.
But we can also view it from the perspective of giving them to someone who most likely needs it more. Doing so may even help preserve the shoes’ actual lifespan. I mean, leaving sneakers unused for a long time can lead to some disconcerting news. Like ‘expiring shoe glue and an entire falling apart sequence’ kind of bad news. It might sound like a breakup but that’s just how the cookie crumbles or in this case, the sole crumbles.
Marie Kondo said it best that if it doesn’t ‘spark joy’ then maybe you should give it away or better yet, sell it. But selling isn’t really the easiest thing to do especially when online selling groups filled with sneakerheads and resellers use ‘sneaker terminologies’ that can have you double-guessing.
Luckily, we were able to gather some terms that can help you sell that shoe faster, or just strike a conversation with a fellow sneaker enthusiast.
Beaters would often refer to a pair that’s been ‘beat up’ from use. Not only are they mad comfy ‘cause they are already broken in, but some pairs actually show more character with all the wear and tear. With the aged trend going right now, seeing beaters sell isn’t a rare sight.
This stands for Buy It Now. It’s an amount offered by a seller whenever a buyer just wants to skip the bidding shenanigans and go straight to taking the pair home.
BNDS stands for ‘Brand new dead stock.’ In the simplest terms, this means the pair hasn’t been used at all. Literally fresh from the box or even from delivery.
Colorway is another term used for color patterns seen on the shoe. Most of the time we get shoes of the same model that are differentiated through the specific color pairing done with each release. While some colorways focus on specific shades, there are some sneakers that base colorway names from their real-life inspiration. Chunky Dunkys, anyone?
In sneaker dictionaries, DS is a term that means ‘Deadstock.’ This label has also caused confusion to the community as some define it as Deadstock, which means it is new and has never been used or dead stock, meaning it hasn’t been used in a long time, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is new. Use it at your own risk, b.
Some people use this to describe pieces that cost more than an arm but in essence, grails refer to pairs you’ve been looking for for so long, regardless of the price.
OG None is used to describe a pair that is being sold bare. Without the stuff that originally came with it like the box, shoelaces, and, at times, pins. Yup, it is what it is.
PADS stands for ‘Pass as Dead Stock,’ while VNDS stands for ‘Very Near Dead Stock.’ While the two are spelled differently, they both mean the same thing. They are almost brand new, which means they’ve only been worn a handful of times. With utmost care that is.
Samples are straightforward. These are usually pairs that are either pre-released or prototypes of certain releases. They’re generally more coveted than your average release due to some pairs rocking never before seen colorways or even different materials, making these limited pairs worth the extra bucks.
Read more:
Sec. Duque and the flattened―no, bent―curve: A thrilling saga
We’ll get to see a new Studio Ghibli film this 2020
So someone tried to take A$AP Rocky’s shoe during his Manila show
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Independent publisher community calls out local book fair event for implementing ‘unfair’ rule | Xianna Bengo | 2024-07-18T12:06:18+00:00 | Featured
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An independent publisher community called out the organizer of Manila International Book Fair for setting limits on author book signings.
In a statement released by The Indie Publishers Collab PH (TIPC) on their Facebook page, they stated that they received an email from the organizer of MIBF, Primetrade, which reads, “Please be informed that we will implement that author book signings are not allowed inside the booths for those who reserved 15 booths and below to avoid disturbance to the other exhibitors.”
TIPC pointed out that the rule is unfair because it discriminates against small publishers like them, who can barely afford the space allocated for the event.
“Author signings at the booth draw the readers and boost book sales, aside from providing the readers opportunities to interact with the authors,” they continued.
The publisher community also mentioned that this rule “was arbitrarily imposed just two months before the MIBF, without prior consultation with the exhibitors.”
They feel disheartened by this development, especially considering their support for Primetrade and MIBF during the challenging times of COVID-19, when all parties were grappling with significant hardships.
“With this policy of banning author signings inside the booth for exhibitors who reserved for 15 booths or less, the message is clear: MIBF is partial to only the big ones.”
“Primetrade should not favor only one party over the other for the simple reason of ‘avoiding disturbance to other exhibitors’. For the sake of invigorating the small presses and developing readers, Primetrade should bring back author signings in the booth, regardless of how many – whether the exhibitor availed just one or less than 15 booths,” they concluded their statement.
Social media users took to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many expressing disappointment over the outcome.
It remains to be seen whether Primetrade and the Manila International Book Fair will address the grievances raised by The Indie Publishers Collab PH and the broader community.
As social media buzzes with disappointment and calls for equity, the hope for a fair resolution that supports all publishers, regardless of size, continues to resonate among authors, readers, and independent publishers alike. It is crucial for the organizers to recognize the value of inclusivity and take steps to foster a more supportive and balanced environment for everyone involved.
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Court of Appeals reverses Dumlao’s acquittal in Jee Ick Joo case | Tetch Torres-Tupas | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:38:18 PST | The family, friends, and employees of murdered Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo as well as the members of the Korean community in the Philippines attend a memorial service in his honor at the Philippine National Police Camp Crame headquarters on Feb. 6, 2017. (PHOTO BY JODEE AGONCILLO / INQUIRER)
The family, friends, and employees of murdered Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo as well as the members of the Korean community in the Philippines attend a memorial service in his honor at the Philippine National Police Camp Crame headquarters on Feb. 6, 2017. (PHOTO BY JODEE AGONCILLO / INQUIRER)
MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has reversed the acquittal of Superintendent Rafael Dumlao for the death of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.
In a decision by the Court of Appeals’ 13th Division, it granted the appeal filed by the government to nullify the ruling of the Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 60.
Dumlao, formerly from the defunct Philippine National Police-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG) masterminded the kidnapping and killing of Jee, together with Police Chief Master Sergeant Ricky Sta. Isabel, Police Executive Master Sergeant Roy Villegas, and Jerry Omlang.
WHAT WENT BEFORE: Jee Ick-joo slaying
Jee was abducted from his house in Pampanga, together with his house help Marisa Dawis Morquicho in 2016. Morquicho was released a day after her abduction, while Jee was taken inside Camp Crame, where he was strangled to death.
Villegas became a state witness, while Sta. Isabel and Omlang were convicted by the Pampanga Court. However, Dumlao was acquitted.
READ: Why court acquitted the ‘brains’ behind Korean businessman’s slay
The government questioned the decision before the Court of Appeals.
In granting the appeal, the CA said the RTC “gravely abused its discretion by gross misapprehension of facts when it rendered its joint decision.”
Describing the RTC proceedings as a “sham” and an “apparent mockery of the judicial process,” the CA said Dumlao’s acquittal “was a foregone conclusion and in total disregard of the evidence.”
“The RTC reached a conclusion that clearly contradicted the testimonies of witnesses, rendering the prosecution’s presentation of evidence inutile and blatantly abusing its discretion to a point so grave as to deprive it of its very power to dispense justice,” the CA said.
As a general rule, a judgment of acquittal is usually final and cannot be appealed by the prosecution to avoid double jeopardy.
However, as an exception, an acquittal may be challenged without violating the Constitution in cases of grave abuse of discretion.
“In the present case, the dismissal or judgment of acquittal is void and thus does not result in double jeopardy,” the CA said.
Dumlao was meted with a penalty of up to 40 years imprisonment (reclusion perpetua) without the eligibility of parole plus P350,000 for the special complex crime of kidnapping with homicide for Jee’s death.
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He was also meted with a penalty of reclusion perpetual plus P225,000 in damages for kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Morquicho and another 35 years imprisonment for carnapping.
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Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka’s first-ever jeepney ride in Manila captivates social media | Xianna Bengo | 2024-07-18T10:20:51+00:00 | Featured
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Stand-up comedian Atsuko Okatsuka made the most out of her time in Manila by riding a jeepney for the first time during her visit in the country.
In an Instagram post, the comedian shared a video of her experience riding the vehicle. “What’s up guys. I’m in a Jeepney. That’s pretty much their public transportation. A bus,” she wrote.
“You ever been in a bus where the windows are all open whole? You ever been in a bus there’s a hole in the back? Welcome to the Philippines,” she continued.
She compared the jeepney to a roller coaster that is more than just a ride and said, “This is like a roller coaster except it gets you to work. Come on. How fun is that?”
The comedian also made a friend along the way as she talked to a passenger who gave a seal of approval that they are now indeed friends.
Filipinos on social media took to the comments to share a warm welcome to her visiting the country.
One user wrote, “When you said “its safe” i cried laughing, welcome to the PH🔥🔥🔥”
Another user wrote, “ You say, “Para po” when you want the jeep to top. 🙌😂 Enjoy @atsukocomedy”
A third user wrote, “Thank you @atsukocomedy for showing love to our “king of the streets.” They are currently on the verge of being phased out due to the govt’s modernization program that Jeepney drivers can’t afford. I hope you also join us in our struggle keep them. #NoToJeepneyPhaseout”
Okatsuka recently held her sold-out “Full Grown Tour” here in the country last July 13 and 14 at the Samsung Hall at SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City.
The comedian made her stand-up debut on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” She was named Variety’s “Top 10 Comics to Watch” in 2022 and most known for her stand-up special “The Intruder.”
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Influencer criticizes BINI members for wearing masks and hats in public, gets mixed reactions | Allysa Fernandez | 2024-07-18T10:17:55+00:00 | Featured
POP! is INQUIRER.net’s premier pop culture channel, delivering the latest news in the realm of pop culture, internet culture, social issues, and everything fun, weird, and wired. It is also home to POP! Sessions and POP! Hangout,
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Members of the popular Filipino girl group BINI found themselves at the center of online criticism for wearing face masks upon arriving at an airport. The critique was initiated by a Facebook user, whose post quickly went viral and sparked a wide range of reactions from the online community.
In his Facebook post, he expressed his disapproval of BINI members wearing face masks, suggesting that the girl group was attempting to hide their identities from the public. Moreno compared BINI and the renowned singer Sarah Geronimo, praising Geronimo for her openness and humility in public spaces despite her two-decade-long career in the entertainment industry.
Moreno’s post emphasized Geronimo’s multifaceted talent—dancing, singing, acting, and modeling—while emphasizing her continued humility and willingness to engage with fans. He pointed out that Geronimo never acts like a ‘Disney princess’ in public spaces such as airports or events and expressed hope that BINI would follow her example.
However, Moreno’s criticism did not sit well with BINI’s dedicated fanbase, known as Blooms. Fans swiftly came to the group’s defense, arguing that the members of BINI have every right to protect their privacy, especially in public places like airports. They emphasized that wearing face masks is a reasonable measure for privacy, security, and safety of health.
One member of BINI, Colet, seemingly aware of the issue, posted selfies with a mask on.
here hehe pogi diba pic.twitter.com/2mY1kV0yn5
— C O L E T (@bini_colet) July 16, 2024
Blooms argued that the members of BINI, like any other individuals, should be allowed to safeguard their privacy without facing public backlash. They pointed out that Moreno’s expectations were unrealistic and that public figures, despite their fame, deserve personal boundaries.
Moreno, in response to the backlash, asserted that public figures have a narrower right to privacy compared to ordinary citizens, citing several court decisions to back up his claim. He argued that if BINI members wish to avoid public scrutiny, they should consider resigning from their positions in the entertainment industry.
Despite his criticism, Moreno clarified that he is a fan of BINI and that his remarks were aimed at what he perceived as excessive attempts by the group to conceal themselves, rather than a direct attack on the members themselves.
The controversy also gave rise to humor and lighthearted reactions from social media users. One tweet humorously noted, “Only in the P-pop industry do you see netizens getting annoyed because idols are wearing face masks and shades, and P-pop idols playfully teasing back. We love you @bini_colet.” Another tweet playfully suggested, “Suggest raw po kayo kung ano susuotin para sa mga Gensan Blooms 😂 Hirap na hirap po silang mag decide 😂 [Please suggest what they should wear for the Gensan Blooms 😂 They’re having a hard time deciding 😂].” Additionally, a fan humorously proposed, “Shoutout sa brands ng mask, cap, and shades, kunin nyo na as brand ambassador ang girls namin hehe [Shoutout to the brands of masks, caps, and shades, hire our girls as brand ambassadors hehe].”
The incident underscores the ongoing debate about the balance between public figures’ privacy and their responsibilities to their fans. While Tio Moreno’s post highlighted a traditional expectation of celebrity openness, BINI’s fans rallied to defend their idols’ right to personal privacy and security measures. The humorous responses from netizens further illustrate the diverse reactions to such controversies in the digital age.
As the debate continues, it remains evident that the relationship between public figures and their privacy is a nuanced and evolving discourse, reflective of broader societal changes in the era of social media.
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Escudero: Pogo investigations show ‘negligence’ of gov’t agencies | Dianne Sampang | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:07:53 PST | MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Friday took a jab at several government agencies, saying that the investigations on illegal Pogos show their “negligence.”
In a press conference, Escudero mentioned government agencies that are responsible for granting working permits and assessing the identities of the Chinese citizens involved in Pogo activities.
“Itong mga imbestigasyon sa Pogo, pinapakita ang kapalpakan ng ahensya ng pamahalaan. Pangunahin na dyan, nabanggit ko no’ng nakaraan, ang Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Paano nga ba nakakapagproduce ng birth certificates na hindi naman pala totoo ang nakalagay doon?” Escudero said.
(These investigations on Pogo show the failure of government agencies. Primarily is the Philippine Statistics Authority. How are birth certificates produced when the information is incorrect?)
He expressed that the fake birth certificate schemes should be stopped, highlighting the document’s importance in securing government identification cards.
“Tiyakin na may second balance tayo sa PSA. Sa panahon ng AI, walang dahilan para hindi nila matunton at mapigilan ang pamemeke sa loob ng ahensya nila mismo,” he noted.
(Make sure that we have a second balance in PSA. In the age of AI, there is no reason for them not to locate and stop the fraud inside their agency.)
Senators on Tuesday called on concerned state agencies to probe the reports of 1,200 Chinese who allegedly obtained Filipino citizenships by securing fake birth certificates. Suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo was believed to have allegedly acquired her Filipino citizenship illegally through late registration of her birth certificate.
Escudero also mentioned the instances of Chinese nationals who have been “illegal aliens” in the country.
“Pangalawa ay ang Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID). Bakit? Sa dinami-rami ng illegal na Pogo na naraid, karamihan ng mga nahuhuling Chinese nationals na nandoon ay illegal aliens na. Pumasok bilang mga turista, walang hawak na work permit. Kung mayroon man ay expired na. Bakit tila wala silang kaalam-alam o ginagawa kaugnay nito?” he said.
(Second is the BID. Why? In the many raids on illegal Pogos, most of the Chinese nationals apprehended are illegal aliens. They entered as tourists and don’t have work permits, or if they do, they’re expired. Why do they seem unaware or inactive regarding this?)
Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS party-list Representative Erwin Tulfo filed House Resolution No. 1771 that seeks to probe the possible abuse of the two programs offered to foreign nationals, namely the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV) and the Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV).
Tulfo received reports that foreign nationals, most of them Chinese, were using the SRRV, despite being aged 35 to 50, to stay in the country and eventually work for Pogos even though they were ordinary employees.
READ: Probe into reported abuse of special visa programs pushed
Lastly, Escudero noted the “disjoint” between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration.
“Lahat ng iniissue nilang visa sa iba’t bang konsulado sa iba’t ibang parte ng bansa, kabilang na ang China, ay puro tourist visa. Bagaman ang intensyon ay magtrabaho dito, at ang ginagawa ay magpaconvert na lang ng visa dito sa pamamagitan ng BID,” Escudero said.
(All the visas issued in different consulates in different parts of the country, including China, are mostly tourist visas. While the intention is to work here, what they do is convert visas through BID.)
Escudero also shared that there is no information sharing between the DFA and BID on the number of visas they have issued. He also questioned the accuracy of data on issued tourist visas submitted to the Department of Tourism.
“Dapat ba nating ihiwalay ‘yong tourist arrivals na binibilang natin at ‘yong magtatrabaho na nagpaconvert ng working visa para mas accurate, para naman mas tama, mas angkop ang datos at pagpaplano natin?”
(Should we separate the tourist arrivals and the ones who converted for working visas for more accurate and appropriate data and planning?)
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the submission of “blatantly fake” documents by visa applicants is the number one problem of Philippine consular officers in China.
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READ: DFA to tighten rules for Chinese seeking tourist visa
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Parts of EDSA Santolan flyover partially closed for 2 weekends | Philippine News Agency | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 20:00:11 PST | (Infographics courtesy of DPWH-NCR)
(Infographics courtesy of DPWH-NCR)
MANILA, Philippines – Portions of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) – Santolan Flyover northbound (lane by lane) in Quezon City will be partially closed for two weekends.
In a social media post, the Department of Public Works and Highways – National Capital Region (DPWH-NCR) said overlaying of asphalt will start 11 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. on July 22, and 11 p.m. on July 26 until 5 a.m. on July 29.
All repair activities will be conducted during nighttime to prevent traffic congestion.
The DPWH said the removal of existing asphalt pavement by rotomilling (pulverizing existing asphalt) shall be done first, lane by lane, until the full width of the pavement is completed. Asphalt overlay will follow.
Meanwhile, the DPWH – Metro Manila II District Engineering Office will conduct road repairs along EDSA southbound lane in Makati City starting 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Saturday and from 10 p.m. on July 26 until 5 a.m. on July 28.
Motorists are advised to use alternative routes or adjacent lanes.
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Globe, Smart block scam numbers amid unabated spam messages | Philippine News Agency | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:43:51 PST | (PNA file)
(PNA file)
MANILA, Philippines – The amount of blocked SMS (short messaging service or text) messages decreased by almost half in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, Globe Telecom Inc. (Globe) reported Friday.
In a statement, Globe said a total of 2,740,012 bank-related spams and scam messages were blocked from January to June 2024 through anti-fraud measures and collaborations with major financial institutions.
The figure is 43.56 percent less than the 4,855,199 messages blocked in the same period last year.
“This underscores the effectiveness of Globe’s proactive strategies and robust partnerships with the country’s major banks and financial institutions,” it said.
The reduction in scam messages, it said, came after the company’s anti-fraud agreements with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) encompassing 45 major banks and various persons in the finance sector.
“These collaborations have enabled vigorous and timely data and intelligence-sharing, aligning efforts to prevent and investigate fraud more effectively,” it said.
Meanwhile, Smart Communications blacklisted at least 615,788 mobile numbers tied to illicit and fraudulent activities, including spamming and SMShing scams in the first six months of this year.
The numbers include fraudulently registered subscriber identity module (SIM) cards purged through Smart’s validation process of all registrations.
Globe operates a 24/7 security operations center that filters out unwanted messages, including app-to-person and person-to-person SMS from international and domestic sources.
“Globe has allocated approximately US20 million to enhance its spam and scam SMS detection and blocking systems to prevent fraudulent messages from reaching consumers,” it said.
It called on mobile users to remain vigilant against emerging scams, especially those that evade cellular networks and are instead using chat apps and fake cell towers that can send messages without having to go through their networks.
Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act that mandates the registration of newly bought SIM cards before activation was signed in October 2022.
Public telecommunication companies are likewise required to submit a verified list of their authorized dealers and agents nationwide to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), to be updated quarterly.
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For the next 11 months or until September 2023, the NTC still received more than 45,000 complaints on text scams.
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Manila LGU says it’s ‘doing its part to reduce risk’ amid Forbes report | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:59:11 PST | MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Manila said on Friday that it is “doing its part” to keep citizens and tourists in the city safe.
According to the Manila Public Information Office (PIO), its authorities, such as the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) and its Police Department, are functioning as they should.
READ: Water service interruptions set in NCR, Rizal from July 18-24
“The City of Manila is doing its part to reduce risks within its borders, not just for high net worth tourists, but for everyone in the city, especially resident Manileños. We ask the national government agencies and stakeholders to make all of Metro Manila a livable and safe metropolis,” the PIO said in a statement.
The PIO issued this statement after a recently published Forbes Advisor report saying that Manila was the fifth riskiest city in the world out of 60 cities.
Manila also had a score of 91.49 out of 100, where a lower score indicates a safer city while a higher score indicates a riskier city.
READ: Study to look into ‘overlapping’ jeepney routes, other issues
“The City of Manila also has a modestly robust DRRMO able to respond to disasters. Our DRRMO is capable of responding to all kinds of disasters of responding to all kinds of disasters,” the PIO continued.
“The Manila Police District is quite mindful of its mission to keep everyone safe in the city, and they have performed well. But we keep reminding them there is always room for improvement, and they should outpace and stay ahead of the criminals,” it added.
READ: Villar, 15 other PH tycoons land on Forbes’ 2024 billionaires list
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Flights suspended at Berlin airport due to ‘technical problem’ | Agence France-Presse | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:38:00 PST | (FILES) A Microsoft logo is pictured during the presentation of the Xbox One in Shanghai on July 30, 2014. A major outage wrought havoc on global computer systems on July 19, 2024, grounding flights in the United States, derailing television broadcasts in the UK and impacting telecommunications in Australia. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP)
(FILES) A Microsoft logo is pictured during the presentation of the Xbox One in Shanghai on July 30, 2014. A major outage wrought havoc on global computer systems on July 19, 2024, grounding flights in the United States, derailing television broadcasts in the UK and impacting telecommunications in Australia. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP)
Flights were suspended at Berlin Brandenburg airport in Germany on Friday morning due to a “technical problem,” a spokeswoman told AFP as several countries reported massive IT disturbances.
“There are delays to check-in and flight operations had to be cancelled until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT),” the spokeswoman said, adding however that she could not say when they would resume.
READ: Cebu Pacific, international airlines hit by global Microsoft outage
A large-scale outage also wrought havoc on IT systems across Australia on Friday, with the country’s national broadcaster, its largest international airport, and a major telecommunications company reporting issues.
The disruption ahead of the first weekend of the school holidays in Berlin came as US tech giant Microsoft said it was taking “mitigation actions” after service issues.
The UK’s biggest rail operator also warned of possible train cancellations due to IT issues on Friday morning.
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PVL: Coach Shaq happy to have MJ Perez on his side this time | Lance Agcaoili | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:30:58 PST | Cignal HD Spikers import MJ Perez in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Cignal HD Spikers import MJ Perez in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — From being rivals in their previous Finals duels, Cignal coach Shaq Delos Santos is grateful to have MJ Perez on his side five years after the Venezuelan’s last stint in Manila.
Perez, a former import of F2 Logistics, used to be a thorn in Delos Santos’ side in Petron in the 2017 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix. Their rivalry continued for the next two years in the defunct league but the veteran coach earned back-to-back championships to get back at the import and her ex-club.
Now Perez is leading Delos Santos and the HD Spikers’ campaign to return to the PVL Reinforced Conference finals kicked off by a huge 25-18, 25-21, 25-16 win over Choco Mucho on Thursday at Philsports Arena.
SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024
“I’ve always known how tough she is to play against. We’re so lucky and really appreciate that she accepted our offer to play for Cignal. We know she will have a huge impact and be a great help to us,” said Delos Santos after their first Pool B win. ”
Hopefully, we can maximize her strengths and also maximize the local players so everything balances out.”
Perez delivered 22 points and eight excellent receptions on her PVL debut, relishing her comeback in Manila and her first team-up with Delos Santos and team captain Molina.
“I’m very happy because this was really a team effort. It’s cool to be back in the Philippines and feel all the atmosphere and all the fans supporting. It is so nice to be back,” she said.
READ: PVL: Cignal dominates Choco Mucho in their Reinforced opener
As Cignal seeks to rise from missing the Final Four in the All-Filipino Conference and losing to the Reinforced finals two years ago, Perez offers her experience and leadership to the team, which will miss Jovelyn Gonzaga and Alas Pilipinas players Vanie Gandler and Dawn Macandili-Catindig.
“It’s very nice to be in a new team with new and young players. I feel happy because I can help them with my experience. Of course, I have good friends in the other teams, my former teammates, but it’s really nice to come to a team who appreciates my work,” Perez said. “I know there’s more to come because this is just the beginning and we will keep working for it.”
Perez also lauded the setting skills of playmaker Gel Cayuna, who had 15 excellent sets and seven points in their first pairing as setter-spiker.
“We have been working a lot, especially with our connection between setter and me. She’s very open. She’s very flexible. It’s good that we have communication all the time so we can get this confidence in the game,” she said.
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Cignal guns for win No.2 in Pool B against ZUS Coffee on Tuesday next week.
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It’s ‘mala’ in Manila | No author found | 2024-03-29T21:00:52+00:00 | Around a year before the pandemic, John Derrick Tin was on a routine business trip in mainland China to source shoes for his Philippine business. His food budget was limited, but he also didn’t want to scrimp on a good, healthy meal.
Some years back, Jeff Li, born and raised in Binondo, Manila, was also sourcing Chinese anik-anik for his novelty goods business targeting college students and had just landed somewhere in Guangzhou. It was a damp, cold, rainy night and Li was tired from the flight, hungry, and on a budget.
In both instances, Tin and Li found comfort, satiation, and quite literally a new direction in a humble street food known as malatang.
Today, Tin runs Souper Hot Malatang, based in Cubao and with a newly-opened branch in Maginhawa, and Li runs Sichu Malatang, headquartered in Pasay but now in places like Eastwood and BGC. Both businesses opened on the cusp of the pandemic and have not only survived but are thriving.
Beyond a food trend, malatang might just become the next Filipinized staple much like unli samgyeopsal, P99 ramen, and tapsi house biryani.
What most Filipinos know as Chinese food is heavily derived from Southern Chinese food. And travelers who’ve been to China, and analogous places like Taiwan or Singapore, might notice close resonances between our dishes and theirs: sotanghon, mami, lugaw, albeit named differently.
Given China’s vastness both geographically and culturally (it’s been said that China is more continent than country), there’s much more to explore, from robust northern flavors where sorghum competes with rice as the staple crop all the way to distinct spices gifted by Central China’s terroir.
Malatang isn’t actually new, it’s been around for a while but was marketed mostly to the current wave of mainland Chinese migrants living and working in Metro Manila, with restaurants in Makati and Pasay with barely any English or Filipino signage. Aside from Sichu and Souper Hot, No.1 Malatang is another recently opened malatang restaurant catering more to Filipinos.
Malatang transliterated means “numb spicy hot” (麻辣燙), based on the word “mala,” which has no direct English translation but is based on the words for “spicy” (ma) and “hot” (la) as mala sauce has Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili as its base ingredients.
English sources have yet to settle on the dish’s definitive origin, but it’s safe to say that malatang can be traced to at least 100 years ago by the Yangtze, when intrepid street food vendors designed recipes catering to boatmen and dockside workers hustling through cold and damp conditions.
Malatang soon dispersed to all of China and recently, the northern city of Tianshui trended for its malatang, seeing a spike in local tourism. Today, the dish has since been embraced, largely in part to the diaspora, in places like Australia and Canada and is also a mainstream comfort food in Korea.
Malatang can also describe the store concept.
A malatang restaurant is pretty straightforward. Diners pick up tongs and a tray and choose from a selection of fresh ingredients, which are then weighed at the counter and charged by the gram, much like a Manila Mongolian bowl restaurant, before choosing a broth.
Some restaurants, like Sichu, offer only one broth but many side dishes, like egg fried rice or skewers. Other restaurants, like Souper Hot and No.1 forego these in favor of a wider selection of soup bases: green chili, vegetarian, white beef bone, and satay, to name a few.
In either case, the malatang experience sits well with our Filipino penchant for customizing our meals, which Doreen Fernandez documented in an essay titled “Sawsawan.” It was through multiple visits when I learned which soup base pairs best with which set of ingredients depending on what I want that day.
Such a setup caters to a diverse diner pool: Vegetarians and others on a diet, those looking for a finisher to a heavier meal, or refueling athletes seeking a bowl for two.
Tin notes that “the pillars of a malatang restaurant are such: affordability, quick service, and healthiness.” In contrast to a hot pot restaurant where diners sit, chat, and wait for their custom soup to finish cooking in front of them, the crew in a malatang restaurant will cook individual trays in the kitchen area in constantly-heated vats containing the soup, perfect for solo diners.
Among the current crop of restaurants, Souper Hot happens to be the most affordable, dividing its selections between “value” (P0.6/gram) and “premium” (P1.2/gram, which happens to be the base rate in Sichu and No.1) and Tin shares how many customers, some who visit daily, are actually staff from other restaurants in Cubao, or company and private drivers.
The minimum price for a bowl here is P99.00 as of press time.
Like their mainland counterparts, Tin and Li start cooking the broth a night before the restaurant opens.
Tin shares that his broth takes a total of 12 hours’ preparation before serving, with the beef bone broth in particular needing five hours for the first boil in order to remove scum and impurities. Li meanwhile reveals that “each branch of Sichu has at least one Sichuan chef.”
Tin developed his broth selections after training in China. He then notes how “hot pot broth tends to be lighter, and the meats served tend to be more savory, using heavy ingredients like beef, goat, or pork. Malatang in contrast has lighter meat like chicken or seafood while the broths are more intense.”
Nonetheless, to cater to Filipino diners, both Li and Tin include beef and pork, cured, marinated, or plain salted as options in their restaurants.
Li shares that his recipe uses at least 20 herbs and spices. Tin meanwhile puts his baseline count at 30 ingredients. Both reveal that their recipes adhere more to the mainland Chinese flavor profile.
Understandably, restaurateurs factor in their clientele’s palate no matter what cuisine they’re bringing in, be it Greek, Thai, or any other tradition that detours from the staple sweet-and-salty that Filipinos love.
That said, it’s quite a business risk to stick to truly authentic flavors especially if these don’t often jive well with the Filipino palate. Yet malatang seems to have struck a chord. I have yet to visit central China or try Korean malatang, but both Tin and Li tell me that Chinese and Korean visitors approve.
Tin leaves out sugar, soy sauce, and salt, aside from Chinese condiments, for Filipino diners.
While their respective malatang recipes have notable differences despite both being grounded in crushed Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili, Tin and Li return to that initial experience of comfort in food as a driving force.
Malatang may be that once-every-trend dish that doesn’t need to compromise on its authenticity to win the hearts—and tongues—of Filipino diners. It’s possible that as it becomes more mainstream, Filipinized versions may eventually follow, but for now, something’s brewing, and it might just be the next welcome addition to our multicultural, go-to comfort foods.
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Quitting corporate for the farm life: Business is blooming at this ‘bukidscape’ | No author found | 2023-05-26T09:59:46+00:00 | There is nothing quite like the sight of flora in full, spellbinding bloom. Rows of multicolored blossoms blending into the kaleidoscopic scene—it’s enough to make any tourist swoon.
This is probably why the lavender fields of Provence hold such prominence in collective memory. East Asia’s cherry blossoms alone have inspired countless festivals, celebrations, and global tourism campaigns. The Netherlands’ tulip farms are nothing short of iconic; the list goes on.
While there are popular flower farms sprinkled across the archipelago, too, none are like Bukid Amara, where the ‘bukidscape’ is inspired by National Artist for Visual Arts Fernando Amorsolo’s renderings of the Philippine idyll.
Your first few minutes within the farm’s premises is a welcome assault to the senses: fresh, cool air, the cacophony of birds mingling with the soft pit-pattering of Lucban’s characteristic rain showers, and the colors—you can’t miss them. Lots filled with gloxinias, sunflowers, marigolds, and African daisies, whose velvety flowers catch dew in the morning. Fluffy stalks of celosia and blue salvia dancing in the wind. A sprinkling of local wildflowers just by the fish pond—haven for the wild lukot or stingless bees that buzz through the foothills of Mt. Banahaw.
If you’re lucky, the mystical mountain makes an appearance when skies clear. Sightings of Mt. Banahaw towering over the Bukid Amara may be as quick as the clouds passing by, but they are glorious nonetheless.
“We created a farmscape or ‘bukidscape’ na mala-Amorsolo ang dating. Mayroon kang Mt. Banahaw sa likod, andyan ang mga kubo, ang palayan at mga bulaklak. We plant depending on the season. We can play around with the [flowers’] color palette, depending on the mood we’re going for,” Michael Caballes says.
There are about 50 to 60 varieties of shockingly vibrant flowers blooming in Bukid Amara at any given time and to add to the multisensory experience, some of them are lovely on the palate; edible flowers like angelonias, zinnias, begonias, and cosmos. It’s a flower fiesta, all day, year-round.
“This is our office,” beams Caballes, who established Bukid Amara in 2018. The 2.7-hectare site is a showcase for many groundbreaking offerings unique to Bukid Amara. It is a showroom for what a future in precision farming and smart agriculture can look like.
Among Bukid Amara’s laudable features are farm tourism or agritourism areas dedicated to Instagrammable flower fields, edible flowers, and high-value crops like melons. This encourages visitors to not only visit for the sake of tours and photo ops but also to engage in valuable interactions and activities on the farm such as melon tasting, which can quickly turn into a jam-packed learning session with Bukid Amara’s in-house agriculturists.
Then, there are the farm’s provisions for precision farming or smart agriculture with the latest innovations on full display: greenhouses equipped with cloud-based automatic dosing systems, an admirable aquaponics setup, areas for urban farming, and more. All these are in line with Caballes’ eagerness to give back to the community by way of agricultural advancement, knowledge exchange, skillset building, and hands-on training.
If a visit to Bukid Amara inspires farmers and agriculturists to progress in their respective fields and make contributions to the industry, then the farm will have served its purpose. If it awakens farming interest in individuals and groups yet to dabble in agriculture, all the better. Because even as a corporate man in agriculture, Caballes knew that food security has to be everyone’s business.
Up until 2018, for 21 years, Caballes—an agriculturist by profession—dealt with the hustle and bustle of Quezon City on a daily basis as a corporate executive of a popular seed company. Now, he enjoys his days as chief farmer of Bukid Amara, where he employs a full-time staff of 16 people and counting.
No doubt his career at the office was rewarding but as is usually the case with high-stress nine-to-fives, it came with life-bending pressure. About two years prior to moving back to his hometown in Majayjay, Laguna, Caballes and his wife decided it was time to map out their early retirement. They had a good run with the corporate scene but a change of pace was essential to the life they envisioned for themselves long-term. They figured it was time to “live the change” they wanted—and the best time to start was now.
So, the Caballeses traded their office routine in Quezon City for more manual labor in Quezon Province, where the first order of business was to build Bukid Amara in Lucban. Interestingly enough, the daily drive to Bukid Amara from their home in Majayjay only takes a consistent 25 minutes—far less than the time they’d spend stuck on the road in Quezon City in rush hour.
“In a company, it’s never-ending growth and it is financially rewarding, but there are times when the spirit suffers. The health suffers. The mind suffers,” Caballes says as he recounts the peak of his corporate career. When he was not in his office in Quezon City, Caballes would visit different farms across the Philippines promoting his company’s seeds. The industry, while cutthroat, provided the best experience and background for envisioning and eventually establishing Bukid Amaya. Interacting with various farms here and abroad sharpened Caballes’ nose for figuring out what farmers need to thrive and succeed.
“That was 21 years of my city life. After five years of living here [near Bukid Amara], we don’t want to go back to Manila anymore. Here, we focus more on health and family.” Of course, beyond this, Caballes’ daily focus is the farm.
To ensure the farm’s success, Caballes carries out Bukid Amara’s establishment in three tiers; there are plans for short-, mid-, and long-term. Long-term plans include a living museum of Philippine endemic fruit and flowering trees—yet another project that will add dimension to the farm’s already colorful palette.
Now, the farm is at mid-term growth and in all stages of its development, one thing stands out: Caballes’ drive to keep sharing—technology, know-how, skill sets, wisdom. For the agriculturist, it’s about time farmers break the cycle and culture of turfing in the industry.
“There’s no secret in farming. Everything can be learned. Everything can be taught. Some people would like to keep certain knowledge, systems, and tools to themselves but it’s not right. In order for the industry to grow and thrive, you have to share. Since you don’t want to share, we’ll share. Nobody in the Philippines wants to share this technology? We’re willing to,” says Caballes, who is also a Go Negosyo mentor.
In line with this advocacy, aside from making the business run smoothly through various revenue streams, Caballes dedicates a portion of Bukid Amara to capability training, skills development, and market linking and matching. These offerings are for farmers and practically anyone who would like to contribute to the modernization of agriculture in the Philippines.
Not only is Bukid Amara fertile ground for all of the crops and blooms it grows and harvests, it is also abundant in opportunities. Here, there is ample hands-on training for farmers and agriculturists, exposure to technology and key players in the business, and a mentor like Caballes who is on legacy mode. What he knows, he’d like to pass on.
“At the moment, one of the missions of Bukid Amara is to help however we can to contribute to the modernization of agriculture through capability building. That’s why we’re aspiring to be one of the leading learning sites for precision farming or smart agriculture, where we employ modern technology, data analytics, AI, and the Internet of Things into farming,” Caballes explains.
Bukid Amara is now a learning site accredited by the Agricultural Training Institute and supported by the Department of Science and Technology. The farm constantly collaborates with the Department of Tourism, Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and farmers associations within the communities Caballes works with.
Bukid Amara also acts as a learning hub and testing ground for students of universities whose programs focus on agricultural advancements: University of the Philippines Los Baños, Batangas State University, Laguna State University, and Southern Luzon State University, among others. They’re eyeing partnerships and accreditation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority next.
While Caballes believes in empowering Filipinos all over to advocate for food security in ways most convenient for them (such as urban gardening and patronizing local products), he acknowledges that the farmer’s life isn’t an easy one. “Agriculture is not just cultivating the land. That’s just one part of the job,” he quips. And this is one thing they constantly teach at Bukid Amara: That farming is a multifaceted occupation that will force you to wear many hats and make many mistakes. In any farm, there is endless value in learning by doing and in showing up every single day despite factors out of your control.
“At the learning site, we don’t do training by slideshows. We do it through actual practice. You come over, you see what we do, we show you how to do it realistically and practically. We teach you the risk factors. We’re not going to sugarcoat. We tell you what you can expect,” says Caballes, who stresses that these expectations include problems you will encounter, troubles you can expect, crises you will mitigate.
At the end of the tunnel, though, comes light in the form of advancements and precision farming solutions—which ties back to one of Bukid Amara’s major pillars. Caballes calls out to budding farmers, agriculturists, and future generations and challenges them to help the Philippines catch up to Asian neighbors who are decades ahead in agricultural systems and practices. Amusement and disappointment furrow along Caballes’ brows when he shares that some of the farming equipment still in use in the Philippines today are already museum pieces in other countries.
“With the technology now, ang agrikultura, naka-app na. We have the technology. We can do it. We can teach you how to use it, too.”
But somewhere between Philippine agriculture’s former glory and the future we hope for it to have, Lucban’s incessant rain brings Caballes back to the present. Right now, he is a farmer worrying about his flowers and crops.
“We are always at the mercy of the climate. Habang nag-uusap tayo, my mind is set on those flowers I put up because I know matutunaw ’yan bukas. Habang tayo nag-uusap, at the back of my mind are my petunias. I know this rain will destroy it. Then I wouldn’t have a showcase,” Caballes says as he looks out onto Bukid Amara’s flower fields, now glistening with rainwater.
“This is what it is to be a farmer. It’s a wholehearted commitment.”
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Filipino languages, dialects, and a sense of identity | No author found | 2022-08-05T05:37:22+00:00 | Growing up, there was always a debate about whether or not Bisaya was a language or a dialect. I distinctly remember one of my grade school teachers telling me that Bisaya is a dialect when I insisted it was a language—which it is. This debate doesn’t just apply to Bisaya, though. It applies to every spoken language in the Philippines that isn’t Filipino or Tagalog.
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In the dictionary, language is defined as a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.” Dialect is defined as “regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language.”
It’s easy to see where the confusion comes from.
What people who confuse dialect and language usually latch onto is the regional bit. As an archipelagic country composed of 17 regions with a national language, it can be easy to dismiss anything but the national language as dialects.
Something we have to remember though is that another main difference between languages and dialects is its origin. A dialect stems from a language, just with its own regional flair. Take the English language for example. People from Los Angeles and New York speak the same language, but there are considerable differences in their speech.
Their accents, the words they use, and where they are geographically contribute to how they speak english. Those are dialects.
Bisaya, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Ilocano—those are languages. There’s even a school of thought that posits that Bisaya is its own language family because of the number of its variations.
Is Bisaya a language? No. It is a language family consisting of languages spoken in the Visayas and northern Mindanao. Bisayan languages include Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Karay-a, and Surigaonon, among others. Cebuano is colloquially known as 'Bisaya.'
These languages have their own distinct set of words, grammatical rules, and manner of usage. They aren’t just the regional variety of Filipino, they’re a language of their own.
Following this logic, it would be more accurate to say that Cebuano and the Bisaya spoken in Cagayan de Oro are dialects, because they all stem from Bisaya. People from Cebu and Cagayan de Oro can still understand each other, but there are a few differences.
In contrast, if you put someone who only speaks Tagalog and someone who speaks only Ilonggo in one room, they’ll be hard-pressed to understand one another. That’s because they speak two different, distinct, separate languages.
The language versus dialect debate goes much deeper than you’d think. As a Cebuano living in Manila, I’ve had my fair share of language versus dialect debates. The people I’ve met that see other local languages as dialects tend to treat it as “lesser than” or even inferior to Filipino or Tagalog. “‘Di yan wika, dialect lang ‘yan,” or “Oh you speak Bisaya! That’s just a dialect though, right?” they usually said to me.
This is a shared experience with other transplants. Most of the people I’ve met from provinces who speak languages other than Tagalog or Filipino usually get that comment at least once or twice from native Tagalog speakers. Usually, it’s just annoying. But sometimes, it feels like they’re looking down on my cultural identity as someone not from here. Or worse, feeling like they’re looking down on me just because I’m a “probinsyano.”
It’s important to mention that dialects aren’t inferior to languages. There shouldn’t even be this sort of ranking to begin with. As with different types of social norms, no language is better than the other. So why would we treat dialects differently?
Having different dialects and languages across the country—and even the world—are expressions of culture. It is neither good nor bad, but recognizing and respecting differences can make for better communication. And when you find someone who speaks the same dialect, you establish a mark of kinship.
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Those distinctions also form identity. For instance, Cebuanos are known to cut their words short. Instead of saying “kadyot lang,” like people in other Bisaya-speaking areas do when we ask people to wait, we abbreviate it by saying “‘dyot lang.” Words like “inday” and “dodong,” become “dai” and “dong.” The list goes on. Unlike our compatriots from Cagayan de Oro who leisurely savor every syllable of the word, we prefer cutting things down to its bare essentials—without losing meaning.
My personal theory on these abbreviations is that they stem from Cebu being a big, fast-paced city. There’s not much time to enjoy the art of speaking complete versions of the word because there’s much else to do. Again, it’s not a good thing or a bad thing, it just is.
While we’re all connected under the same flag and by the same national language, we must also embrace what makes us different.
Language and dialects are expressions of identity. In a country of over 7,000 islands, diversity is not difficult to find. While we’re all connected under the same flag and by the same national language, we must also embrace what makes us different. Each region and each ethnic group have their own sets of practices, experiences, and of course, language.
There’s value in embracing what makes us different and sharing it with everyone else. It makes us collectively richer and allows us to understand, even without speaking.
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Arci Muñoz reflects on fans bashing her for idolizing BTS: ‘It’s strange’ | Jessica Ann Evangelista | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:11:08 PST | Arci Muñoz | Image: Instagram/@ramonathornes
Arci Muñoz | Image: Instagram/@ramonathornes
Arci Muñoz reflected on the time she was bashed for being a fangirl of K-pop sensation BTS, saying that “it’s strange” that people made an issue out of it.
Sitting down on “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” on Thursday, July 18, the actress was asked about her feelings about being criticized for her fangirl endeavors.
“It’s strange that people, you know, parang, of course they’re going to talk na siyempre kung anong gusto nilang sabihin (they will say what they want to say). They already have a perception of you in their heads, so kung hindi mo ma-achieve ‘yun sa naiisip nila, may issue ka (if you don’t achieve the vision of you they have in their heads, you are at fault),” she said.
Muñoz underscored that she’s trying not to mind the negative comments.
“Ewan ko po (I don’t know). During that time, I was just really—they’re my source of happiness. Basta as long as I’m happy. I know myself more than anyone else,” she said.
In 2020, the “StarStruck” alumna drew flak from Filo-Armys (Philippine-based BTS fans) after she documented her visit to BTS Jin’s favorite restaurant and narrated her experience: “Paboritong restaurant ni Jin (Jin’s favorite restaurant). Waaah! Super sasaeng mode. Sorry, sorry, not sorry!”
Sasaeng, in Korean, pertains to an obsessive fan who tends to invade the privacy of Korean idols or other public figures in the entertainment industry, which sometimes involves stalking.
In 2022, Muñoz attended the seven-piece K-Pop boyband’s “Permission to Dance” concert at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, not just once, but twice.
At the moment, BTS is on hiatus as the members fulfill their mandatory military service. They are expected to continue their group activities in 2025.
Member Jin recently completed his service, being the first member to do so, while RM, Jimin, V, Jungkook, J-Hope, and Suga are all still on active duty.
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MMDA aims to fully repair Malabon-Navotas River floodgate by August | Luisa Cabato | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:21:48 PST | MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is eyeing the full repair and operations of the damaged Malabon-Navotas River navigational gate by next month, said MMDA acting chairman Don Artes on Friday.
The floodgate was damaged last June after a barge forcefully passed through the channel, resulting in flooding in some areas.
READ: LPA brings flood, landslides in parts of Visayas
In a press conference, Artes said that the Department of Public Works and Highways will complete the dredging activity of the river in the portion of the navigational gate on August 2.
It will be followed by the fabrication and installation of the necessary pieces for the repairs from August 3 to 16, and resumption to full operations the following day.
“The repairs will be done while the navigational gate is in an open position and during low tide so that flooding will be minimized,” said Artes.
He noted that this timeline might still change depending on weather conditions.
READ: MMDA: Contractor to fund new solutions for viral wheelchair ramp
“Weather conditions and water current are factors in the immediate repair of the gate. We are keeping our fingers crossed that there will be no weather disturbance or unusual current while repairs are ongoing,” Artes said.
Navotas representative Tobias “Toby” Tiangco, who was also present at the press conference, said a P299 million budget has been allotted for the rehabilitation of the navigational gate.
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Trans Filipinos are the protagonists in these 6 films | No author found | 2020-10-20T12:29:13+00:00 | With the addition of indie film “Lingua Franca” to Netflix Philippines, queer indie films are reaching a wider audience than ever but admittedly Philippine cinema still has a long way to go. The growing love for queer media (despite many still casting cisgender leads for queer roles) is a start, on top of the few rare gems placing the spotlight on transgender Filipinos.
After President Rodrigo Duterte granted “absolute pardon” to US Marine Joseph Pemberton, this documentary is more relevant than ever. “Call Her Ganda” follows the story of Jennifer Laude, told through three women heavily invested in the case: the Laude family’s lawyer Virgie Suarez, trans investigative journalist Meredith Talusan, and Jennifer’s mother herself, Julita.
In the Philippines, too many films with queer characters turn to slapstick comedy for recall. An entry at both the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival and 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival, “Die Beautiful” explores more than just the flamboyance portrayed in its trailer. Trisha (played by Paolo Ballesteros) dies right after she achieves her life-long dream of winning a pageant, and her best friend Barbs tries to give her the wake she deserves, turning Trisha into her favorite celebrities through makeup transformations. The film is a visual narrative of Trisha’s life from childhood till death, tackling her experiences with friendship, coming out, family, and queer stereotypes.
An entry at the 2018 Cinema One Originals Film Festival, this dramedy follows a middle-aged transgender sex worker (played by trans woman Iyah Mina, who won Best Actress for this role) whose sister just died, leaving behind her transgender daughter. She now has to take her orphaned niece under her wing, unexpectedly assuming the role of a mother while balancing things between her job and her long-time boyfriend.
Many queer films are unafraid to take the controversial route, and this is one of them. Amanda and Barbie are sex workers navigating the red-light district of Burgos, and each of them have their own story to tell. Where many would look at the characters’ job or gender identity, this film seeks to portray the harsh realities they face.
Rarely do we see films about transgender people, even rarer are queer films with actual trans actors as leads. This Cinemalaya docu-like narrative focuses on the cosmetics industry, particularly the DIY kind. Mimi Juareza plays Dorina, who made a career out of helping fellow transgender people achieve the body they desire by injecting homemade collagen, which is not only illegal but also does more harm than good on the body. This eye-opening film is a stark reality check through the eyes of the protagonist, who’s both a victim and an enabler of the illegal trade.
“Señorita” is the first feature film of Isabel Sandoval, the director and writer behind “Lingua Franca.” Sandoval plays Donna, a trans sex worker who wants to quit the trade. To break away from her past, she goes back to her hometown to look after her son (who thinks she’s his aunt), only to find out that the mayor’s corrupt ties somehow involve her. At its most basic, it’s a political drama told through characters helpless against the powers-that-be.
Read more:
Why ‘Lingua Franca’ coming to Netflix PH is so, so important
7 relatable Filipino coming-of-age films for young LGBTQ+ people
Watch 10 LGBTQ+ films where nobody dies
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Why performing with Dingdong Avanzado is special for SB19’s Pablo | Hannah Mallorca | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:48:34 PST | Pablo of SB19. Image: Handout photo
Pablo of SB19. Image: Handout photo
SB19’s Pablo admitted that he was shocked upon finding out that he was given the opportunity to perform with Dingdong Avanzado. Not only is he familiar with Avanzado’s music, but also his parents are huge fans of the artist.
“Special siya kasi paborito siya ng magulang ko… Sa totoo lang, ‘yung songs ni Sir Dingdong, pamilyar po ako sa lahat. Idol po ng tatay ko si Dingdong,” Pablo told reporters on the sidelines of his rehearsal with Avanzado.
“Tapos ‘yung kanta niyang ‘Basta’t Kasama Kita,’ theme song po nila ng nanay ko. ‘Yung nanay ko, mahilig mag-karaoke and madalas niyang kinakanta ang mga kanta ni Sir Dingdong,” he continued.
(It’s special because he’s the favorite of my parents. To be honest, I’m familiar with all of Sir Dingdong’s songs. My father considers Dingdong as his idol. The song “Basta’t Kasama Kita” is my parents’ theme song. My mother loves to do karaoke and she always sings Sir Dingdong’s songs.)
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Knowing how much his parents admire Avanzado, Pablo considers their performance on Friday, July 19, as an honor. He admitted that it’s normal for him to sometimes be nervous before a performance, but this opportunity made him more tense.
“Quadruple times na-multiply ‘yung kaba ko kasi kasama ko si Sir Dingdong Avanzado. Kung mag-isa lang ako, siguro normal kabahan pero kakayanin,” he said. “Pero habang nagrerehearse kami, kinakabahan ako. Nanginginig ang mga kamay ko dahil mataas ang respect ko for him.”
(My nervousness multiplied quadruple times because I will perform with Sir Dingdong Avanzado. Perhaps, if I’m alone, I’ll be nervous but I’ll manage. But while we were rehearsing, I was really nervous. My hands were shaking because I have so much respect for him.)
The SB19 leader also admitted that it came to the point where he had to ask his road manager why he was chosen. For him, he enjoys singing and composing, but he considered his music to lean towards rap.
“To be able to sing beside him, I’m very honored. Nagpapasalamat ako for the opportunity na ipakita ang skills ko as an individual who can sing (I’m thankful for the opportunity to show my skills as an individual who can sing),” he continued.
Despite this, Pablo hopes they will have another chance to share the stage. He also thanked Avanzado for being helpful behind the scenes, saying the veteran singer would give the SB19 member “instructions” but also allowed him to show his skills.
“While we’re rehearsing, he has given me instructions on how I can improve. He was very collaborative. He allowed me to do adlibs or other things. It’s more of how to practice professionalism,” he shared.
In a July interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Dingdong Avanzado revealed that he has always been a fan of SB19. He also considers Pablo to be his “bias” or favorite member.
When asked how he stays humble amid SB19’s massive success, Pablo shared that he makes it a point to remember how the group started.
“Ang journey namin ay hindi madali. Nadaanan namin ang hirap, ‘yung sama-sama kayong natulog sa sahig, gan’un. Nag-share kayo ng food kasi hindi naman kayo well-off. Alam ko ang gan’ung feeling,” he said.
(Our journey was not easy. We’ve been through a lot. We experienced sleeping together on the floor, things like that. We shared food because we weren’t well-off. I know how it feels.)
Aside from this, Pablo stressed that while SB19 has reached its goal of promoting P-pop, he is aware that everything has a timeline. This, among other reminders, allows him to keep his feet on the ground.
“Now na naaabot na namin ang goal namin, aware kami na hindi kami palaging nandito. Nan’dun lang palagi. Kailangan mong alalahanin ang sarili mo na kung saan ka nagsimula, kung saan ka nanggaling,” he said.
(Now that we’ve reached our goal, we’re aware we won’t always be at this stage. We always make it a point to do that. You have to remind yourself where you started.)
Pablo also pointed out that hardships only increase as time goes by. This serves as a reminder to always prepare oneself and one’s mindset for what can happen.
“Laging sinasabi na walang madali sa umpisa. Sa kalaunan, magiging madali ‘yun. Pero hindi totoo ‘yun. Kung mahirap ngayon, mas magiging mahirap sa susunod. Kapag may gusto kang bagay, dapat i-prepare mo sarili mo and ang mindset mo na hindi talaga siya magiging madali all throughout,” he said.
(People always say that it’s hard at first, but it will be easy as time passes by. But it’s not true. If it’s hard now, it will be harder in the days to come. If you want something, you have to prepare yourself and your mindset that things will never be easy.)
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Nevertheless, Pablo believes in the beauty of focusing on your goals and the people who will always have his back. “Kapag na-achieve mo na ang goal mo, magkakaroon ka ng panibagong goal.”
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“It just gets harder,” he continued. “Pero as long as you love what you’re doing and you’re happy — and kasama mo ang mga taong sumusuporta sa’yo — okay ‘yun.”
(When you achieve your goal, you will have a new one. It just gets harder. But as long as you love what you’re doing, you’re happy, and you’re with the people who truly support you, it will be okay.)
The SB19 member is tapped as one of the guest performers in Avanzado’s “The Original Prince of Pop” show on July 19. Also part of the show are Jessa Zaragoza, Jayda Avazado, Randy Santiago, Khimo, Marielle Montellano, JM de la Cerna, and LA Santos.
Pablo is the second SB19 member to debut as a soloist with “La Luna” in January 2022. He also released the songs “Determinado,” “Akala,” and “Edsa,” the first of the two done with his brother Josue.
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PBA: Ginebra trades rookie draft picks to Terrafirma | Rommel Fuertes Jr. | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:47:23 PST | Ginebra PBA rookie draft pick Didat Hanapi. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Ginebra PBA rookie draft pick Didat Hanapi. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Ginebra traded away its PBA Rookie draft selections Didat Hanapi and Paolo Hernandez to Terrafirma for a future second-round draft pick from Dyip.
The PBA approved the trade on Tuesday.
The trade came just a week after another Ginebra-Terrafirma trade that brought Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle to the Dyip for Stephen Holt and Isaac Go in a Gin Kings’ move to get “younger.”
READ: PBA: Ginebra needed ‘to get younger’ says Cone after trading away vets
Also included in that trade was Terrafirma’s third overall pick which turned out to be RJ Abarrientos.
Hernandez and Hanapi were both instrumental cogs for Mapua and Adamson last year, respectively.
The rookie-guard tandem will be joining Dyip’s ensemble of rookies from this year’s draft in Mark Nonoy, CJ Catapusan and Peter Alfaro.
READ: PBA: Ginebra just couldn’t pass up on ’elite’ RJ Abarrientos
As of writing, the Gin Kings only have two rookies en route to the next PBA season with Abarrientos and Paul Garcia from Ateneo.
Ginebra has been making moves since the conclusion of the Rookie Draft as they also shipped Sidney Onwubere to Northport for big man Ben Adamos.
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Vice Ganda removes wig for ‘EXpecially For You’ participant with alopecia | Anne Pasajol | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 18:27:20 PST | Vice Ganda and “EXpecially For You” searcher April. Image: screengrab from Facebook/It’s Showtime
Vice Ganda and “EXpecially For You” searcher April. Image: screengrab from Facebook/It’s Showtime
Vice Ganda brought netizens to tears after he removed his wig on “It’s Showtime,” aiming to boost the confidence of an “EXpecially For You” participant diagnosed with alopecia.
Alopecia, as defined by WebMD, is “an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to fall out, often in clumps the size and shape of a quarter.”
During the noontime show’s July 19 episode, “EXpecially For You” searcher April became emotional as she opened up why she was wearing a wig and a bandana.
“May alopecia po ako. Wala po akong hair; naka-wig lang po ako. Nagkakaroon din po ako ng insecurity na baka mas deserve niya nga po ‘yung ibang babae na hindi siya pahihirapan pa,” April said, referring to her ex-boyfriend Andrei who was with her in the segment.
Vice Ganda, being someone who also had insecurities about his hair, affirmed how hard and painful it is for April and those with the same condition as her. Nevertheless, the comedian reminded April that her ability to love is so much bigger than her insecurities.
The comedian, who was already in tears as well, also assured April that she will find a love that is accepting and that she deserves. Vice Ganda then noted that he was able to show himself without a wig to his fellow hosts because they accept and love him.
“Kung gusto niyo naman [makita], kaya ko naman,” he said as he started to remove his wig. “Tanggap nila (madlang people) ako no. Hindi ako nangingimi—kung makakatulong ito para makakuha ng kahit katiting na kumpyansa si April, why not?”
“Ang tagal na panahon na takot na takot ako na magpakita nang walang wig. Nasa punto na ako na wala na akong [pakialam],” he continued. “Meron nang taong mahal na mahal ako kahit wala akong wig. Hindi na rin ako affected do’n sa mga pangit na pangit sa akin ‘pag walang wig… May wig o wala, may nagmamahal dito no. May wig o wala, may tumatanggap dito.”
Both Vice Ganda and April burst into tears once again as they reached each other and shared a tight hug. The comedian’s fellow hosts afterward ran to him to hug and tell him that they love him.
“‘Wag kang magmadali. In your time,” the TV host told April while comforting her. “This is not for me [but] for people like you.”
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“Kung makakapagbigay ako sa inyo ng kahit katiting lang na lakas, hindi ko ipagdadamot ‘yon,” he reiterated.
The actor host likewise posted about the encounter on his Facebook account.
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784 inmates released from June 11 to July 18 — BuCor | Tetch Torres-Tupas | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:34:12 PST | MANILA, Philippines — A total of 784 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) or inmates have been released from June 11 to July 18 from penal institutions under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
Of the 784, 468 have expired maximum sentences, 165 were acquitted, 122 were paroled, 24 were granted probation, and five were granted Executive Clemency.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has administrative supervision under BuCor and has been taking measures to decongest the jails.
BuCor Director Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said, “We honor Mandela because the BuCor is guided by the standard Mandela rules on how to treat PDLs with dignity.”
“Mandela, who was also incarcerated during his time, was a great man, a great leader, and a great person who was able to forgive and forget, move on and take his country to greater heights,” Catapang added.
South African Ambassador to the Philippines Bartinah Tombizodwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe then shared her experience of being an activist in prison in her home country, telling the PDLs, “Prison is not a good place, so you should not come back.”
She also added that a PDL must know how to move on and have a positive mind to be able to rejoin society.
With the release of the 784 PLDs, 15,143 PDLs have now regained their freedom since the start of the Marcos administration.
The government plans to turn the 350-hectare NBP complex into a government center, open park, and mixed-use land.
Catapang earlier said the transfer of the Bilibid inmates is a “stop-gap” measure to alleviate overcrowding in the national penitentiary while the agency waits for funding for the construction of regional correctional facilities as part of its medium and long-term development and modernization plan.
READ: 985 inmates released from prison
The NBP and BuCor’s six other operating prison and penal farms hold over 50,000 inmates, although their total capacity is only around 12,000, or an average congestion rate of 310 percent.
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The national penitentiary alone currently holds 25,886 inmates, although originally it only had a 6,000 capacity when it was built.
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Metro Manila police chief balks at ‘overkill’ tag on Sona preparations | John Eric Mendoza | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:50:51 PST | Highlights: Sona 2024
TIGHT SECURITY / JULY 25, 2016 Members of the PNP anti-riot squad with their shield and trancheons take up position outside the House of Representatives along IBP Road in Quezon City prior to the State of the Nation Address. (INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — The deployment of police and government security forces for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) is not an “overkill,” according to Metro Manila police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.
Nartatez made the reaction to the remark of Bayan Secretary Mong Palatino, who said over Brigada News FM station that the preparations and deployment of the Philippine National Police constitute an “overkill.”
“They are the only ones saying that,” Nartatez said when asked to react on Palatino’s observation.
The police official made the statement in an ambush interview in Quezon City Police District headquarters, where a send-off ceremony was held for police and security personnel assigned for Sona preparations.
“For us, we are fully utilizing our resources,” Nartatez maintained.
“We are ensuring that the delivery of the Sona of our President should be seamless, smooth and very peaceful,” the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) pointed out.
READ: PNP: Metro Manila gun ban starts Saturday ahead of Sona 2024
The official also noted that more or less 2,000 VIPs like government officials and diplomats will be at the House of representatives for the Sona.
Meanwhile, about 8,000 people are expected to join the demonstrations outside the Batasang Pambansa.
READ: Coalition of Duterte supporters to hold rally in Manila during Sona
Nartatez said the total number of police and government security elements deployed to secure Sona is now at 23,000 after being augmented by another thousand personnel.
Of this number, 8,000 law enforcers will be assigned to Commonwealth Avenue and IBP Road, where pro-government and progressive groups are expected to hold their demonstrations.
The NCRPO is now on heightened alert and will be on full alert on Sunday or during the eve of Sona.
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PNP has yet to monitor any threats to the Sona of Marcos.
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Kyline Alcantara attends opening event of Kobe Paras’ tattoo shop | Anne Pasajol | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:55:21 PST | Kyline Alcantara and Kobe Paras. Image: Instagram/@itskylinealcantara, @_kokoparas
Kyline Alcantara and Kobe Paras. Image: Instagram/@itskylinealcantara, @_kokoparas
Kobe Paras launched a new tattoo shop business, and actress Kyline Alcantara showed her support for him by attending its opening party.
The actress shared a carousel on her Instagram page on Friday, July 19, which includes a photo from Paras’ tattoo studio. Paras then left a white heart emoji on Alcantara’s comments section and reposted the snap via his Instagram page.
A post shared by Kyline Alcantara (@itskylinealcantara)
In a succeeding post, Paras also showed a photo of a woman whose face cannot be seen petting a dog while at the tattoo shop.
It was not immediately known if it was Alcantara, although the basketball player also captioned it with a white heart and an earth emoji.
Image: Instagram/@itskylinealcantara
Image: Instagram/@_kokoparas
Image: Instagram/@_kokoparas
Prior to this, the pair was seen holding each other’s hands in public and was also spotted together at the birthday party of fellow celebrity Keiko Nakajima’s son.
Alcantara and Kobe, the youngest son of actor-comedian Benjie Paras and actress Jacki Forster, first sparked dating rumors in May.
When asked in a recent interview about her reaction to the dating rumors, Alcantara said, “Oh! I don’t know, actually.”
“Yes, I am single. Single life is great! Totoo ‘yung sinasabi nila na masarap talaga maging single,” she added.
Despite their frequent public outings, the two have yet to confirm the real score between them as of this writing.
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De Lima says she won’t run in 2025 elections | Dianne Sampang | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:50:19 PST | MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Leila de Lima announced on Friday that she will not seek any public office in the 2025 elections.
In an interview with Teleradyo, she said that she is firm with her decision despite others encouraging her to run for a seat in the Senate again.
“Marami pa po akong priorities. Marami pa po akong inaasikaso sa buhay ko. Tumutulong po ako sa mga adbokasiya. Tumutulong po ako sa partido sa Liberal Party at sa kanyang sectoral wing na Mamamayang Liberal,” she said.
(I have many priorities. I have so many things to do. I help with advocacies. I help with the Liberal Party and its sectoral wing, Mamamayang Liberal.)
Before de Lima announced her plans for the 2025 elections, Senator Risa Hontiveros and Senate President Francis Escudero both hoped that she would run again as senator.
The former senator sought reelection in the 2022 national elections but failed to secure a seat.
READ: Risa Hontiveros hopes de Lima would vie for Senate seat in 2025
Following the recent 2025 senatorial survey of OCTA Research, de Lima, spokesperson of the Liberal Party, said that the party’s opposition bets still have an “uphill” battle in the upcoming midterm elections.
“It’s really frustrating na we are offering really, very qualified candidates. We are offering competent ones, truly intelligent, hardworking, with good track record and the character, the integrity is intact. But you know, medyo uphill pa ang laban (it’s kind of an uphill battle), at least based on the surveys,” she added.
Furthermore, De Lima said there is still no final announcement on the official slate of the opposition for the senatorial elections.
In 2017, de Lima was arrested and detained for the criminal charges filed by the Duterte administration. Last June, she was acquitted of all the charges, including three raps on illegal drugs.
READ: De Lima bares what’s next for her after acquittal
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Pagasa forecasts rain for Metro Manila on Monday, July 22 | Dianne Sampang | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:57:35 PST | MANILA, Philippines — A 100 percent chance of rain is forecast in Metro Manila on Monday, July 22, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported on Friday.
According to the state weather bureau, the rain will possibly be caused by the southwest monsoon or the two low-pressure areas (LPA) monitored inside the Philippine area of responsibility.
The first LPA was spotted at 135 kilometers west-southwest of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro while the second LPA was located 880 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas.
In an early morning bulletin, Pagasa reported that the two LPAs would bring widespread rain showers to the country on Friday.
READ: Pagasa: Widespread rain in PH Friday due to 2 LPAs
The weather outlook for Monday in Metro Manila was posted at 8:00 a.m. on Friday and will be valid until 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.
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Reah Mae Tocmo’s family still waiting for justice one year later | eares | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:27:41 PST | Rochie Tocmo Poblacion and her family remember their loved one, Reah Mae Tocmo, during her first death anniversary on Wednesday, July 17. | Cheche Tomo Poblacion FB Photo
Rochie Tocmo Poblacion and her family remember their loved one, Reah Mae Tocmo, during her first death anniversary on Wednesday, July 17. | Cheche Tomo Poblacion FB Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Tocmo family continues to wait for the conclusion of the trial against the man responsible for the death of their loved one, Reah Mae, a year after her passing.
Reah Mae was 19 years old when she left her home in Davao de Norte and came to Cebu to work in order to help her family.
In a tragic turn of events, her lifeless body was discovered stuffed inside an abandoned box in Brgy. Tisay, Cebu City.
READ MORE:
TIMELINE: The tragic ending of Reah Mae Tocmo
Woman found dead inside box in Cebu was 19-year-old from Davao del Norte
Dead woman, tied and wrapped, found inside a box in Tisa, Cebu
On Tuesday, July 17, her family members commemorated her first death anniversary.
Reah Mae’s older sister, Rochie Tocmo Poblacion, shared photos of their family visiting the girl’s grave on her social media page.
After the visit, friends and family shared a small banquet as they remembered their loved one.
In her post, Rochie said that the tragedy is still fresh in their minds and that she deeply misses her youngest sister.
While a whole year has already passed since the killing, her family is still waiting for the day that justice will finally be served for their Reah Mae’s death.
READ MORE:
Simeon Gabutero enters not guilt plea
Gabutero reiterates: I killed Reah Mae Tocmo, I was not forced to admit it
Israeli embassy in PH condoles with family of dead beauty queen, BF
The primary suspect, Simeo Gabutero, was arrested by law enforcers during the investigation and eventually charged with murder.
On September 5, he was transferred to the Cebu City Jail in Brgy. Kalunasan, Cebu City.
Despite his earlier confessions in front of the media, Gabutero recanted and entered a not guilty plea during the arraignment of his murder case on Feb. 20.
As of this writing, the case against him is still pending in court.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that while it was now out of their control, they were always ready to make an appearance in court if they would be summoned.
In spite of Gabutero’s not guilty plea, Rafter assured that they did everything they could to make sure that the case would lead to him being convicted.
“We assure an airtight case sa pagfile nato. We have the complete testimonial evidence. We have the forensic evidence. We have the documentary evidence pud…Sa amoang side, gipaningkamotan gyud namo to nga whatever his plea was, mopadayon gyud ang kaso,” she said.
(We assure an airtight case in filing it. We have the complete testimonial evidence. We have the forensic evidence. We also have the documentary evidence…on our side, we will work hard and whatever his plea was, we will continue with the case.)
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Army: 45 NPA fighters ‘neutralized’ in 3 months in 2 Mindanao regions | Leah D. Agonoy | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:23:27 PST | New People’s Army (NPA) | INQUIRER.net file photo
New People’s Army (NPA) | INQUIRER.net file photo
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The regional Army command in this city has said that its anti-insurgency campaign had “achieved significant operational successes” in the past three months.
These achievements further chipped off the already weakened combat capacity of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in two regions of Mindanao, Major General Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) and Joint Task Force Diamond, said.
A recent command conference showed that for the period April 1 to June 30, government troops were engaged in 17 armed encounters with the guerrillas, 12 of them with members of the NPA’s North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), and five with those of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC).
The clash with NEMRC forces resulted in the “neutralization” of 17 rebels and seizure of 28 firearms, while that of NCMRC “neutralized” 28 rebels and seizure of 28 guns, said Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Garello Jr., 4ID public affairs chief.
The command conference of the 4ID, Garello added, reviewed recent achievements, assessed challenges, and strategized future operations of its units in parts of Northern Mindanao and the entire Caraga region.
“I am immensely proud of the credibility and strength displayed by the members and team leaders of the Joint Task Force Diamond. Their dedication and professionalism are vital to our continued success and service to the nation. Commanders must start their missions with dignity and end them with pride, never settling for less,” Cuerpo said.
Meanwhile, the 4ID’s Reserve Command hosted a 4-day Signal Operations and Leadership Development Training with Guam and Hawaii National Guards (GUNG/HING) as part of the State Partnership Program (SPP) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with Guam and Hawaii.
The SPP activities are designed to equip and provide participants with knowledge and skills in personnel management, personnel readiness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations to strengthen the country’s reserve force.
Forty regular and reservist officers and non-commissioned officers from the Philippine Army, Air Force, Navy, and Technical and Administrative Services took part in the training graced by Major General Joel Alejandro Nacnac, AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree Affairs.
Captain Kuramitsu Iwanaga of the US Army, Officer in Charge of the GUNG Training Staff, represented the Guam National Guard.
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Binay open to conciliation with Cayetano under new ethics rules | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:43:11 PST | MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay said on Friday that she would be willing to submit to the new rules that the Senate Ethics Committee may set after she filed an ethics complaint against Senator Alan Cayetano.
READ: Nancy Binay-Alan Cayetano conciliation meeting in the offing
“If a conciliation meeting is part of the process to officially tackle the ethics case that I filed against Sen. Cayetano, then I am willing to submit to the new rules adopted by the Committee. Kung iyon ang kailangan unahin bilang bahagi ng proseso, susunod po tayo,” Binay said in a statement.
(If that is what needs to be done as part of the process, we will follow.)
“Sa usapin ng pag-aayos, sino ba naman ako para magsara ng pintuan? Likas po sa pagiging Kristiyano ang maging mapagpatawad,” she added.
(On the topic of conciliation, who am I to close the door? Forgiving is in the nature of being a Christian.)
The dispute between Binay and Cayetano stemmed from a recent Senate hearing probing the New Senate Building being constructed in Taguig City.
The two argued over the expense of the building, with Cayetano saying that it was marked at P23 billion while Binay insisted it was only at P21 billion.
The heated debate then caused Binay to walk out of the room, and several days later, she filed an ethics complaint against Cayetano.
READ: Binay, Cayetano trade barbs at Senate hearing
Cayetano likewise added that he was also open to reconciling with Binay, but said that the probe must continue.
Senate ethics panel head Senator Francis Tolentino then said that there would be a conciliation meeting between the two.
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READ: Total cost of New Senate Palace now at P29B?
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DOJ: Cruise visa waiver will be key factor in boosting tourism | Philippine News Agency | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:55:39 PST | PNA FILE PHOTO
PNA FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) is optimistic that the simplified visa processing for cruise visitors crafted by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will boost tourism in the country.
In a statement Friday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Cruise Visa Waiver program “will definitely be a key factor in boosting the country’s tourism economy.”
The Cruise Visa Waiver Program seeks to provide cruise ship tourists an accessible, secure and efficient entry process to the Philippines, and was implemented by virtue of Immigration Memorandum Circular No. 2024-001 which was approved by Remulla on March 14, 2024.
In collaboration with the BI and the Department of Tourism (DOT), the program was successfully launched at the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Authority (TIEZA) in Pasay City last July 16.
“The justice system is never a hindrance for progress and should always be made accessible, and at times flexible, to promote economic growth. There is no doubt that this project will lead to greater heights in the future, not just making the Philippines a top cruise destination but making our country the Top Tourist Destination in the world,” Remulla said.
“We are inviting our friends across the globe to come visit the Philippines and see for themselves the wonders of our nature, people and culture then, tell the whole world about it.”
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Cocopea ‘ready’ to work together with new DepEd chief Angara | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 16:38:26 PST | MANILA, Philippines — An association of private schools said it will be ready to assist the Department of Education (DepEd) as former Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara assumed the Education secretary post on Friday.
According to the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea), various challenges in the country’s education need to be addressed.
READ: Angara resigns from Senate to take DepEd chief post
“The Philippine education system faces complex challenges, including access to quality education, public-private complementarity, technological integration, and improving educational infrastructure. These issues require our immediate attention and collective response,” the Cocopea said in a letter released on its Facebook page on Friday.
It added that it will work with the DepEd on resolving those challenges.
“Under your leadership, we are excited to engage in constructive dialogue with the Department of Education. […] We are ready to share our collective expertise and resources as we work together in the spirit of an all-of-society approach,” Cocopea added.
READ: Angara ‘open’ to lead DepEd if post offered to him
Angara was one of the recommendations that the Cocopea made in a letter that they sent to the Office of the President on July 1.
He succeeded Vice President Sara Duterte, who tendered her resignation as Education secretary last June 19.
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Mavy Legaspi buys second luxury car at 23 | Anne Pasajol | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:44:41 PST | Mavy Legaspi. Image: Instagram/@mavylegaspi
Mavy Legaspi. Image: Instagram/@mavylegaspi
Mavy Legaspi wowed fans and celebrities alike after he shared his newly purchased BMW car, which is already his second luxury vehicle.
The 23-year-old actor gave a glimpse of his car from when he bought it and after it was customized, as seen on his Instagram page on Wednesday, July 17.
“It all starts with a dream,” he said in the caption.
A post shared by Maverick Legaspi (@mavylegaspi)
Among those who complimented Legaspi’s vehicle via the comments section were fellow actors Aiko Melendez, Dominic Ochoa, Kaye Abad, Nocco Racino and EA Guzman.
“So happy for you, inaanak. You deserve it. Mabait kang bata kaya blessed ka,” Melendez said.
Image: Instagram/@mavylegaspi
Image: Instagram/@mavylegaspi
Image: Instagram/@mavylegaspi
Legaspi’s first luxury car is a Mercedes-Benz which he bought as a gift to himself on his 20th birthday. At the time, he said he had been eyeing the vehicle since he was 16, and that it was his dream to own such.
Legaspi further revealed that it was somehow a “rebellious move” because his mom, actress Carmina Villarroel, did not want him to drive.
“So when I bought it, umiyak ako actually,” he said in an exclusive interview with Philippine Entertainment Portal in 2021. “I think that was the gift na sinabi ko for the first time na I want to give myself something.”
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3 suspected sex offenders captured in Tarlac | Jun A. Malig | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:32:04 PST | INQUIRER FILES
INQUIRER FILES
MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga — Thress suspected sex offenders were arrested in Tarlac province during manhunt operations on Wednesday.
The Tarlac provincial police said in a statement Friday that one of the detainees was a 23-year-old male facing charges of sexual assault.
Tarlac City Family Court Branch 11 Judge Joefferson Toribio issued the arrest warrant against the suspect with a recommended bail of P200,000.
Also in Tarlac City, policemen arrested a 53-year-old man after the same court issued a warrant against him for the crimes of rape and acts of lasciviousness. A bail of P400,000 was recommended for the suspect’s temporary liberty.
The third suspect, a 48-year-old man, was also arrested in Tarlac City by policemen armed with a warrant for two counts of acts of lasciviousness.
Judge Toribio also issued a warrant against the suspect with a recommended bail of P400,000.
The three suspected sex offenders were detained and will be presented to the court. INQ
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MMDA: Contractor to fund new solutions for viral wheelchair ramp | Luisa Cabato | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:19:12 PST | According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, they are considering installing a “wheelchair platform” along the viral wheelchair ramp connected to a footbridge at an Edsa busway station in Quezon City. However, this might take too much space and might impede the entire flow of the ramp. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)
According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, they are considering installing a “wheelchair platform” along the viral wheelchair ramp connected to a footbridge at an Edsa busway station in Quezon City. However, this might take too much space and might impede the entire flow of the ramp. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)
MANILA, Philippines — The contractor of the viral wheelchair ramp connected to a footbridge at an Edsa busway station in Quezon City will implement an alternative solution to address public safety concerns, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) acting chairman Don Artes said on Friday.
He also noted that the costs will be fully shouldered by the contractor, and the government will not spend any funds on it.
READ: Drawing flak for steep Edsa ramp, MMDA personnel to assist PWDs
“Mayroon na po kaming mga alternatibo na mga gagawin…Unang-una po dyan ‘yung paglalagay ng ‘wheelchair platform’ kung saan pwedeng isakay ‘yung wheelchair diyan po sa platform na ‘yan,” said Artes in a press conference.
(We already have some alternatives that we will implement. First is the installation of a wheelchair platform that wheelchair users can use.)
However, he admitted that a wheelchair platform along the ramp would take up too much space and might impede the entire flow of the ramp.
The MMDA said it is likely to put a “wheelchair lift” on the footbridge where wheelchair users will be lifted and lowered to ground level. (Photo courtesy of Luisa Cabato)
Another option that the MMDA is considering is installing a wheelchair lift to directly transport wheelchair users from ground level to the footbridge and vice versa.
“‘Yung isa pa naming tinitignan ay ‘yung ‘wheelchair lift.’ More likely ito ‘yung ii-implement natin diyan. From the footbridge isasakay po ‘yung naka wheelchair at ibababa na po siya doon sa ground level,” said Artes.
(Another option we are considering is a wheelchair lift. This is more likely what we will implement. From the footbridge, the wheelchair user can be lifted or lowered to ground level.)
When asked how long it would take for these to be operational, Artes said they might be ready in a month.
READ: MMDA chief defends ramp design at Edsa busway station: It’s not wrong
The viral wheelchair ramp drew criticisms from netizens as it seemed too steep and dangerous for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
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The MMDA said in a statement on Thursday that it would deploy personnel to assist PWDs who will have difficulty using the ramp.
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Zubiri expects inflation, food prices, wages, Pogos to be in Sona speech | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 13:42:17 PST | Highlights: Sona 2024
Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri (second from right)(File photo from Bibo Nueva España / Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri outlined on Friday the topics that he expects to come up in the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
According to Zubiri, among the topics that he would like to hear from the president’s speech are the administration’s moves against inflation and actions to reduce food prices.
READ: What happens on Sona Day besides the President’s speech?
“In his third State of the Nation Address this coming Monday, I look forward to listening to the President’s plan on bringing down inflation and the high cost of goods, particularly rice, to ensure that economic growth benefits every working-class Filipino,” Zubiri said in a statement.
The senator also wants to hear about increases in the salary of minimum wage workers to help them in their daily needs.
“Isa rin sa mga isyung nais nating matalakay ng Pangulo ay ang pagtataas ng arawang sahod ng ating mga minimum wage earners na mas nagdurusa dahil sa pagtaas ng inflation,” the lawmaker said.
(Another issue that we wish for the president to discuss is the increase in the daily wage of our minimum wage earners who suffer more because of the rising inflation.)
“The wage increases of late are not enough to help Filipinos cope with rising prices of goods,” he observed.
Zubiri likewise said there should be a resolution on what is to be done to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
He cited various issues such as the alleged illegal activities found by authorities inside Pogo hubs.
READ: What will Marcos discuss in his 3rd Sona? Political analyst weighs in
“The industry has been plagued by criminal activities, and the social costs far outweigh the revenues,” Zubiri said.
“It is time for a clear policy on POGOs, whether it involves an immediate ban or a phased transition to other industries for affected workers,” he added.
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Marcos will deliver his third Sona before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Monday, July 22.
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Hontiveros to Alice Guo: Facebook posts don’t replace Senate hearings | Dianne Sampang | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:09:28 PST | MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday slammed suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo for having more Facebook posts than her attendance at Senate hearings.
“Hindi katumbas ng attendance mo sa Senado ang maya’t-maya mong pagso-social media,” the senator said in a statement. “Attendance before the Senate hearings is adherence to the rule of law,” she added.
(Your social media postings do not equal your Senate hearing attendance.)
This came after Guo posted a statement on Thursday saying that she regrets not being able to attend the last two Senate hearings “due to severe exhaustion and trauma.”
The Senate issued an arrest order against Guo and seven others for skipping the July 10 hearing of the committee on women into the illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) in Tarlac.
Based on the arrest order, the suspended mayor’s non-attendance in the Senate hearings “delayed, impeded and obstructed” the investigations on reports of human trafficking, physical torture and violence, and serious illegal detention done by illegal Pogos.
READ: Arrest Alice Guo, others – Senate
Citing Guo’s remark on prioritizing her health and peace of mind to properly address the legal issues against her, Hontiveros said that she will not achieve peace of mind if she keeps avoiding questions thrown at her.
Guo also denied in her statement the accusations of her involvement in Pogo-related crimes, but Hontiveros dismissed Guo’s denial as a lie.
“Nagsinungaling ka tungkol sa tungkol sa koneksyon mo sa Pogo, nagsinungaling ka tungkol sa pagkatao mo, at kada log-in mo sa Facebook, may bago ka na namang iniimbento,” said Hontiveros.
(You lied about your connection to Pogo. You lied about your identity and every time you log in to Facebook, you have new lies.)
Last Friday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that several billions of pesos entered the bank accounts of the suspended mayor in a span of three years. The Court of Appeals also ordered the freezing of her and other individuals’ assets allegedly involved in illegal Pogos.
An initial investigation conducted by the Senate panel on women chaired by Hontiveros found that Guo was associated with Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, a Pogo that took over Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated.
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Hongsheng was raided in February 2023, and then it was replaced by Zun Yuan in the same location. It was raided again in March 2024 for charges of alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention.
READ: The peculiar case of Alice Guo
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PH posts $155-M balance of payments deficit in June | Philippine News Agency | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:42:46 PST | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo
MANILA – The country’s balance of payments (BOP) position recorded a lower deficit in June this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Data released by the BSP on Friday showed that the BOP in June posted a deficit of US$155 million, down from the US$606 million deficit in June 2023.
“The BOP deficit in June 2024 reflected outflows arising mainly from the National Government’s (NG) payments of its foreign currency debt obligations,” the BSP said.
The BOP is a summary of the economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world for a specific period.
READ: PH trade deficit hit 5-mo widest at $4.76 billion in April
The overall position can be in surplus, deficit or balance.
For the first half of the year, the BSP said preliminary data showed that the BOP position registered a surplus of US$1.4 billion, lower than the US$2.3 billion surplus recorded in January to June 2023.
The BSP said the cumulative BOP surplus reflected mainly the narrowing trade in goods deficit alongside the continued net inflows from personal remittances, trade in services, net foreign direct investments, net foreign borrowings by the NG, and net foreign portfolio investments.
Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the trade deficit for January-May 2024 reached US$20.6 billion, down from the US$23.7 billion deficit posted in January-May 2023.
The BSP, meanwhile, said the gross international reserves (GIR) level increased to US$105.2 billion as of end-June 2024 from US$105.0 billion as of end-May 2024.
“The latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the BSP said.
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It is also about six times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 3.8 times based on residual maturity.
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Jones Cup: Strong Group moves to 6-0 after blowing past Japan U22 | Rommel Fuertes Jr. | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:49:03 PST | Strong Group Athletics’ Derrick Fenner during a Jones Cup game against Japan U22. –SGA PHOTO
Strong Group Athletics’ Derrick Fenner during a Jones Cup game against Japan U22. –SGA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Strong Group Athletics remained perfect after clobbering Japan Under-22 national team, 92-79, in the 43rd William Jones Cup at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan on Friday.
The Philippine side played without Ange Kouame, Rhenz Abando and Tajuan Agee.
“We need to win this to assure us of the chance to play for the championship against Chinese Taipei on Sunday,” wrote coach Charles Tiu on X just minutes before their game.
SCHEDULE: Strong Group Athletics at Jones Cup 2024
“A bit undermanned without Agee (who’s in the ER for his sickness), Abando’s swollen hand and Ange with a swollen knee.”
Strong Group Athletics moved to two wins away from sweeping the competition and winning the Jones Cup crown.
The win also came just a day after Tiu’s team prevailed over Future Sports-USA, 112-90.
READ: Jones Cup: Strong Group pulls away to beat USA’s Future Sports
Chris McCullough once again lead SGA with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Derrick Fenner also helped the cause with 17 points while Jordan Heading scored 11.
Hiyuu Ozawa’s 17-point outburst was for naught as Japan U22 dropped to 3-3 in the competition.
Up next for SGA is Chinese Taipei-B on Saturday at 5 pm at the same venue.
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Gwendolyne Fourniol, Michelle Arceo on who they want to crown as successors | Armin P. Adina | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 15:10:19 PST | Reigning Miss World Philippines Gwendolyne Fourniol and Reina Hispanoamericana Segunda Finalista (second runner-up) Michelle Arceo. Image: INQUIRER.net/Armin P. Adina
New queens will be crowned at the 2024 Miss World Philippines pageant’s coronation show tonight, and a couple of the reigning queens have shared with INQUIRER.net who they want to inherit their respective national titles.
Gwendolyne Fourniol will finally get to relinquish her Miss World Philippines title two years since winning the crown in 2022, and after qualifying for several fast-track events at the 71st Miss World pageant held in India in March.
“I want a woman who is empowered, who is also empowering those around her, and will never forget that even after she is crowned, or even if she isn’t crowned,” the French-Filipino lass from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, said in an interview.
“Of course, it’s generations of legacy that I’ll be passing on, and I want someone who is well-rounded, someone who has all the abilities, someone who can take that responsibility, not just for herself, but for the community that is around her,” she added.
Fourniol has been hand-on in providing assistance to the ERDA (Educational Research and Development Assistance) Foundation, the same organization that helped send her mother to school as a young girl. “Until now I’m still helping them, and even celebrating my birthdays with them,” she shared.
Arceo earned her Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title at the 2023 Miss Grand International pageant. She is set to relinquish her national title to her successor, who will be chosen from the roster of 2024 Miss World Philippines delegates.
She finished as second runner-up in the 2023 Reina Hispanoamericana pageant held in Bolivia in January, the third Filipino woman to crack the winners’ circle after Teresita Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez won the international crown in 2017.
Arceo said she hopes the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas title will go to a lady with personality. “Because I think that’s super-super important when they venture off to Bolivia. Latinos really love that spunk and fire,” she explained.
“I wanna see a girl who’s passionate about everything that she does, with her walk, the way that she performs, and the way that she speaks. It should really embody that of our Spanish roots and Spanish culture,” she added.
Another prize is at stake in the national pageant, the Miss Philippines Tourism title whose previous recipients were Glyssa Perez, Trisha Martinez, and Herlene Nicole Budol.
Thirty-three ladies are competing in this year’s Miss World Philippines pageant. The winners will be crowned at the culmination of the final show to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City tonight, July 19.
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Magnitude 5 earthquake jolts in Sultan Kudarat | Adrian Parungao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:45:10 PST | Sultan Kudarat. (INQUIRER files)
Sultan Kudarat. (INQUIRER files)
MANILA, Philippines — A magnitude five earthquake struck the waters off Sultan Kudarat, the state seismology bureau said on Friday.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the earthquake’s epicenter was located west of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat.
READ: Earthquake of 4.6 magnitude hits Surigao del Sur town – Phivolcs
It had a depth of focus of four kilometers.
Phivolcs said while no damage was expected, aftershocks were possible.
READ: Phivolcs: No tsunami threat in PH after magnitude 7.4 Chile quake
As of writing, the agency has not released the data on the intensities felt in the surrounding areas.
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Japanese gymnast out of Paris Olympics for smoking, drinking | Agence France-Presse | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:57:39 PST | FILE–Japan’s Shoko Miyata competes on the balance beam during the women’s qualifying session the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. She has been pulled from Japan’s Paris Olympics team. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
FILE–Japan’s Shoko Miyata competes on the balance beam during the women’s qualifying session the 52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. She has been pulled from Japan’s Paris Olympics team. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Teenage gymnast Shoko Miyata has been pulled from Japan’s team for the Paris Olympics after being caught smoking and drinking, officials said Friday.
The 19-year-old, a world bronze medallist and captain of Japan’s women’s gymnastics team for the Paris Olmpics, was sent home from their training camp in Monaco and admitted she had violated their code of conduct.
“With her confirmation and after discussions on all sides, it has been decided that she will withdraw from the Olympics,” Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA) secretary general Kenji Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo.
Nishimura said the association had been told that Miyata was seen smoking in a private setting in Tokyo some time at the end of June or beginning of July. She also reportedly drank alcohol in a room at Japan’s national training center.
Smoking and drinking are both illegal under the age of 20 in Japan.
Nishimura said it was not clear whether Miyata was at a party or drinking alone.
READ: Japanese gymnast Hatakeda quits at 21 over injury, pandemic
“Being a member of the Japan national gymnastics team is a position where you have high demands on you all the time,” said JGA chairman Tadashi Fujita.
Fujita said that Miyata was already back in Japan after leaving the team’s camp and that the JGA would give her support.
Nishimura said she had “looked exhausted” at the camp in Monaco.
“She understands the importance of the rules and she looked sincere in facing up to her behavior,” he said. “It has been tough for her but she has talked openly and honestly about it.”
Miyata won bronze in the balance beam at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool.
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She won the all-around title at Japan’s national championships earlier this year.
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Maharlika finalizes investment, risk management framework | Philippine News Agency | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:57:30 PST | STOCK / FILES
STOCK / FILES
MANILA — The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) has finalized its investment and risk management framework and also secured a membership in the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), giving it authority to begin engaging with investors and gain access to tap global network of experts.
In a statement on Friday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the framework was approved during the 12th MIC Board meeting presided by Finance Secretary and MIC chairperson Ralph Recto on July 18, 2024.
READ: Consing: Maharlika seen to boost economic growth, reduce poverty
The investment and risk management (I&RM) framework outlines the detailed policies, strategies, and risk management practices that will guide MIC’s investment-decision making and portfolio management approach for 2024 to 2028.
The framework is a prerequisite for the MIC before proceeding with its investments.
The DOF said that during the meeting, the MIC also approved the MIC Board Protocol, which covers the procedures for conducting Board of Directors meetings, in accordance with Republic Act 11954, its revised implementing rules and regulations, and general principles of good corporate governance.
The DOF, meanwhile, said the MIC’s membership in the IFSWF grants the Philippines access to a range of privileges, such as international recognition, networking, and peer learning opportunities.
READ: OSG told: Maharlika Investment Fund an ‘injustice’
The IFSWF is an international organization setting governance standards for sovereign wealth funds around the world.
“The acceptance of the MIC’s application on July 11, 2024 was based on its willingness to endorse, on a voluntary basis, the Santiago Principles, which pertain to the generally accepted principles and practices to ensure the effective operations of sovereign wealth funds globally,” the DOF said.
President and CEO Rafael Jose Consing Jr. said that with the membership, the MIC is entitled to participate in the IFSWF Annual General Meeting to be held in Oman, Muscat from Nov. 3 to 6, 2024.
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The meeting will engage IFSWF members and financial leaders around the world in private networking sessions to discuss key global topics impacting investors.
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SB19’s Justin explores ‘unrequited love’ in new song ‘kaibigan’ | Jessica Ann Evangelista | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:45:15 PST | Justin of SB19 | Image: Sony Music
Justin of SB19 | Image: Sony Music
Justin of SB19 delves into the depths of friendship and the pain of finding yourself stuck in a “one-sided love” in his new solo song, “kaibigan.”
Released at midnight on July 19, Justin delivered a track that showcases the unfiltered frustration of expressing one’s true feelings to a friend who doesn’t feel the same way you do, as their eyes are already set on someone who’s also close to you.
Justin’s music video for “kaibigan,” highlights the cinematic approach of how the narrator deals with his anguish about being part of a “love triangle.”
“To be honest, the music video is very easy to digest. And that’s what I want, for people to relate to it and feel the story of the music and the music video,” the singer said in a press release.
The SB19 member wanted to offer a “personal twist” to his song given the coming-of-age movies he has seen that deal with the same theme.
A post shared by Justin De Dios (@jahdedios)
“There’s no actual or specific inspiration behind the song. I wrote this tune from the perspective of an observer and wanderer: a person who enjoys movies with coming-of-age slant,” he shared.
Talking about the picturesque music video, given that he organized the flow and conceptualized the vision, Justin didn’t want to take all the credit to himself, as he said that it was a collaborative effort from his team.
“For the direction of the MV, other than the rough storyboard, we make sure the producer knows the story behind it and what feeling we want to convey. I even sent movies and not just music video pegs for them to really understand what we wanted to achieve,” explained the singer.
The music video for “kaibigan” features theater actress Nicole Omillio, who recently made headlines as Basha on the stage adaptation of the hit movie “One More Chance,” and RJ Cruz of alternative pop band The Juans.
Meanwhile, SB19 recently made history as the first P-pop group to bag the Favorite Asian Act plum at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2024.
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Marcos on VP Duterte not rejoining Cabinet: ‘That’s her decision’ | Zacarian Sarao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:26:25 PST | MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seems to respect Vice President Sara Duterte’s decision to no longer rejoin his Cabinet after leaving her post as education secretary.
It was on the sidelines of the turnover ceremony at the headquarters of the Department of Education on Thursday when Duterte stated that she has no interest in serving the Marcos’ Cabinet again.
READ: VP Duterte: I will no longer serve in another Marcos Cabinet post
“Eh, that’s her decision,” Marcos responded to reporters asking him in a chance interview in Apayao what he thought about Duterte’s remark.
Duterte resigned as education secretary last June 19, effectively leaving Marcos’ Cabinet, and was then replaced by Senator Sonny Angara.
The Vice President then recently announced that she won’t be attending Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address on July 22, appointing herself as a “designated survivor,” a term that refers to an official, in the presidential line of succession, intentionally kept away from gatherings to ensure a replacement for the President in the event of a mass casualty incident.
While Duterte’s comment drew the ire of some lawmakers and the public alike, she defended it and accused critics of “missing the point.”
READ: VP Duterte on her ‘designated survivor’ remark: ‘Not a joke’
She refused, however, to further explain what she meant by the “designated survivor” tag.
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De Lima: Sona not just for ‘supposed accomplishments’ but ‘problems’ too | Dianne Sampang | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 13:14:59 PST | Highlights: Sona 2024
Former Senator Leila de Lima answers questions from the media in an ambush interview on Monday, June 24, 2024, after the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court acquitted her in the last drug-related case filed by the Duterte administration. (File photo from INQUIRER.net/RYAN LEAGOGO)
MANILA, Philippines — The people want President Ferdinand Marcos to deliver the ‘real’ State of the Nation Address (Sona) where the country’s pressing issues will be discussed alongside its accomplishments, former Senator Leila De Lima said on Friday.
In an interview with Teleradyo, de Lima expressed that real and genuine reports are what make up the Sona.
“Hindi lang ‘yong mga supposed accomplishments ang nire-report, kung hindi ‘yong mga problema. Importante kung ano ‘yung magiging solusyon,” she said.
(Supposed accomplishments are not just reported, but also the problems. It is important to know what the solutions will be.)
De Lima listed down the economic issues that the Filipinos are facing such as the soaring inflation, the lack of fulfillment of the P20-per-kilo-of-rice campaign promise, the low wages and unemployment.
“May mga ipinangako po na mga bagay bagay na talaga namang natatandaan ng taong bayan pero hindi nila nakita na nangyari katulad na lang ng mga presyo. Pangunahing concern ‘yan,” she noted.
(There have been promises that the people remember, but they failed to see them happen, just like the prices [of basic goods]. That’s the main concern.)
According to the latest ‘Ulat ng Bayan’ survey released by Pulse Asia last Friday, controlling inflation is regarded as an urgent national concern by the majority of Filipinos.
On the other hand, based on the record of Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), June 2024 inflation rate was marked at 3.7 percent, with slower increases in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
PSA also identified the main contributors to the inflation as food and non-alcoholic beverages.
READ: Filipinos want to know gov’t steps on inflation
Under the ‘Program 29’ of the administration, rice is sold at P29 per kilo in select Kadiwa stores for eligible beneficiaries.
They include senior citizens, solo parents and members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
De Lima also listed low wages and unemployment as top concerns of Filipinos.
Meanwhile, the P35 increase in minimum wage from P610 to P645 in the National Capital Region is regarded as an “insult” by labor groups.
They pointed to its ineligibility to sustain a minimum wage worker’s daily economic needs.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported there were 2.11 million jobless Filipinos in May, slightly higher than the record of 2.01 million jobless Filipinos in April.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa attributed this situation to the increase in the country’s labor force.
He said agriculture and forestry registered the highest number of job losses annually, translating to 1.02 million jobs.
Meanwhile, de Lima has an observation on how the administration handles the territorial dispute with China.
“Unlike sa previous administration, mas nagiging assertive ngayon ‘yung BBM administration. Pero ano pa ba ang pwede dahil wala pa ring katapusan ang pangbu-bully sa atin ng China?” she asked.
(Unlike the past administration, the BBM administration has become more assertive now. But what else can be done because China’s bullying against us has not stopped?)
She emphasized that forming alliances with more countries can get China off our territories, adding that diplomatic and legal means should be exhausted.
The Philippines has conducted joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea with the United States, Australia and France amid China’s aggressive and coercive actions in the area.
On the other hand, at least 26 countries have also reaffirmed their support for the 2016 Arbitral Award favoring the Philippines’ claims over the West Philippine Sea during Stratbase’s conference last July 12.
READ: West PH Sea: Majority of Pinoys believe PH must form alliances – survey
De Lima also backed former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s recommendation on the filing of another case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
“Takot ang China sa legal cases kasi alam nila na wala silang kalaban-laban. Alam nila na tayo ang nasa tama,” she said.
(China is scared of legal cases because they know they have no defense. They know we are right.)
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When asked what she grade she can give to the Marcos administration, de Lima answered that she wanted to have a “complete” and “more thorough” assessment of the performance after Marcos delivers his Sona.
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BOC repegs first-half results to P455.8 billion | Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:19:30 PST | Bureau of Customs (BOC) | FILE PHOTO
Bureau of Customs (BOC) | FILE PHOTO
The Bureau of Customs corrected downward its preliminary revenue collection result for the first semester to P455.8 billion, which is still higher — by 2.98 percent higher — than its target of P442.6 billion.
However, the updated figure is lower by P253 million compared to the P456.05 billion revenues that the BoC reported earlier this month.
The agency’s full-year revenue goal is to ring up a total of P939 billion.
READ: BOC surpasses mid-year revenue target by P22.6-B
According to BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, the corrected first-half data included collections from 8,816 cases of smuggled cigarettes amounting to P595.22 million while capture from illegal agricultural products amounted to P100 million in the first six months.
The BOC also recorded 204 apprehensions of various commodities which includes counterfeit goods, general merchandise, cigarettes/tobacco, illegal drugs, and other products alongside with the fuel marking program amounting to P41.58 billion.
The fuel marking program involves the injecting of chemical identifiers into tax-paid oil products after the taxes are paid on refined and imported gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.
READ: PH adopts global ‘passport for goods’
The agency attributed the revenue growth to the improved valuation methods and the ongoing digitization and modernization of its systems.
“The Bureau of Customs remains committed to improving operational efficiency, transparency, and revenue generation through innovative practices and strategic partnerships,” Rubio said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto expressed support for the BoC’s efforts in revenue collection, anti-smuggling efforts, and digital transformation initiatives.
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Marcos ‘fine tuning’ Sona 2024 speech | Zacarian Sarao | Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:00:40 PST | Highlights: Sona 2024
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez join President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as he delivers his second State of the Nation Address in Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City last July 24, 2023.
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Friday said he is already “fine-tuning” his speech as he wants to tackle a lot of issues in his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, July 22.
“Tuloy tuloy pero yung kabuuan ng speech ko, tapos na. Fine-tuning na lang ang ginagawa namin,” Marcos told reporters in a chance interview in Apayao.
(I have already prepared my speech. I’m just fine-tuning it.)
“Aayusin namin yan lahat bukas at saka hanggang Linggo para maging handa sa Sona sa Lunes,” he added.
(We will finalize it tomorrow and on Sunday to be ready for Monday.)
The Palace earlier announced that state-owned Radio Television Malacañang will once again direct Marcos’ Sona.
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