SENATE PASSES RESOLUTION FOR ABS-CBNMANILA - The Senate adopted yesterday a resolution expressing the opinion ofthe chamber to allow ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries to continue operating withthe issuance of a provisional permit by the National TelecommunicationsCommission (NTC) until Congress decides on the network's application for therenewal of its 25-year franchise.The resolution was a consolidation of four similar measures filed over thelast several days after House leaders indicated that it was unlikely to passthe network's application before Congress goes on a break next week.What was initially put on the floor was Senate Concurrent Resolution 8authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Leader JuanMiguel Zubiri and Sens. Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, SherwinGatchalian, Lito Lapid and Joel Villanueva.However, a discussion ensued on the type of resolution that the chambershould pass. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon last month filed a jointresolution seeking to extend the franchise until 2022 and later, aconcurrent resolution seeking the same.A joint resolution, if passed by both the Senate and the House and signed bythe President, has the effect of law. A concurrent resolution passed by bothchambers expresses the sentiment of Congress.3K CHINESE SOLDIERS ON 'IMMERSION MISSION' IN PHILIPPINES?MANILA - Some 3,000 members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)may have entered the country as tourists or as workers in Philippineoffshore gaming operators (POGOs), senators warned yesterday.Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the committee on national defense andsecurity, said he received information from a source that 2,000 to 3,000 PLApersonnel are now in the country on "immersion missions" and for other stillunknown purposes.He, however, stressed the report has yet to be validated even as hedescribed his source as fairly reliable."The intelligence community should exert extra effort to gather informationin this regard," Lacson said.The PLA is China's armed forces and is considered the world's largestmilitary force.The senator issued the statement as the Blue Ribbon committee, chaired bySen. Richard Gordon, starts today an inquiry into the connection of thearrival of thousands of Chinese nationals in the country - mostly throughPOGOs - to the entry of $470 million in cash over the past several months.Administration critics have warned that the seemingly unrestrained entry ofChinese poses security risks.Lacson, Gordon and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier warnedthat China may have already begun taking advantage of what they consideredthe growing security void caused by President Duterte's termination of theVisiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the US.Gordon has not discounted the possibility that China has been sending agentsto the country, as most POGO workers are males of military age.The senator had expressed alarm over the influx of cash, in US dollars, thathe warned could be not only for money laundering purposes by criminalsyndicates but could also be used to fund espionage activities, buy arms oreven finance destabilization activities.PNP NEEDS GAMING REGULATORS' AID VS POGO-LINKED CRIMESThe Philippine National Police on Thursday said it needs help from gamingregulators to crack down on alleged crimes linked to gambling hubs mostlyrun by Chinese.Officers no longer need to get a search warrant from courts to raidPhilippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hubs if they are accompanied byrepresentatives of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, said PNPChief Gen. Archie Gamboa."Puwede kang magpasama actually ng Pagcor in the guise of implementing aregulatory function so iyong access mas madali," he told radio DZMM.     "Kailangan talaga ang coordination ng Pagcor," he added.A Senate inquiry is looking into issues hounding the POGO industry,including prostitution, kidnappings, and a bribery scheme for the illegalentry of workers.'DUTERTE MAY SUSPEND POGO OPERATIONS'MANILA - President Duterte is not ruling out suspending Philippine offshoregaming operators (POGOs) as the Senate and other agencies begininvestigating the reported ill effects of the industry on the country,including the rise in criminal activities like money laundering and humantrafficking.Asked how the Palace intends to deal with reports on POGO-related illegalactivities, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo yesterday said the ChiefExecutive won't tolerate corruption, particularly those that affect thegovernment on a large scale.Suspension or eventually shutting down POGO operations is one of the optionsthe President is considering - depending on the results of theinvestigations, Panelo said."That's how he does things.HONTIVEROS SPONSORS BILL SEEKING TO END CHILD MARRIAGESMANILA - Sen. Risa Hontiveros sponsored a bill seeking to end childmarriages in the Philippines for plenary approval.Hontiveros, chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, FamilyRelations and Gender Equality, sponsored Senate Bill 1373 or the "Girls notBrides Act."The senator said that the Philippines is the 12th country with the highestnumber of children below 18 married-an estimate of 726,000 children.Child marriage is defined as "any marriage entered into where one or bothparties are children as defined by the paragraph above and solemnized incivil or church proceedings, or in any recognized traditional, cultural orcustomary manner."The bill seeks to declare child marriage as a public crime and to declarechild marriage as void from the beginning.The proposed measure further read: "Child Marriage is an act of child abuseas it debases, degrades and demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity ofchildren under the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse,Exploitation and Discrimination Act,"The proposed measure seeks to punish those who arrange child marriage andofficiates child marriages with imprisonment of eight years to one day up toten years, and a minimum P40,000 fine.If an ascendant, stepparent or guardian fixes the child marriage, he or shewill face ten to 12 years of imprisonment and a fine of not less thanP50,000.Hontiveros stressed that child brides may be deprived of economicopportunities, as they may be out of school, and face greater risks ofsexually transmitted infections, domestic violence, abuse and exploitation.UNEMPLOYMENT STEADY, UNDEREMPLOYMENT FALLS IN JANUARYMANILA - Unemployment rate in the country remained steady in Januarycompared to the previous year while underemployment fell, official datareleased Thursday showed.The Philippines maintained a 5.3 unemployment rate in January with theestimated number of unemployed persons at 2.39 million from 2.28 millionfrom the previous year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)showed.Total employed persons rose to 42.65 million from 41.03 million during thesame comparable period, it said. The employment rate was stable at 94.7percent, the PSA said.Underemployment, or workers who expressed desire to have additional workhours, declined to 14.8 percent compared from 15.4 percent. The totalunderemployed persons was at 6.32 million from 6.33 million, the PSA said.'I CAN BE THE ALPHA THAT I AM': PIA WURTZBACH SPEAKS OF NEW ROMANCEMANILA - For the first time, Pia Wurtzbach spoke of her new romancefollowing her breakup with race car driver Marlon Stockinger."I've never talked about this before," the Miss Universe 2015 titleholderadmitted in an interview with Mega Magazine, where she appears as a March2020 cover girl.She went on to describe how she feels in her new relationship: "I'm happy,I'm inspired, I feel very empowered. I feel like I can be myself and I don'thave to water myself down. I can be my full self.""I can be my full Pia, 100% empowered Pia, fight mode all the time; I can bethe alpha that I am, all the time. I don't have to filter myself for anyoneanymore."Wurtzbach did not give further details - not even the name of the person sheis currently dating.But for the past months, she has been linked with Jeremy Jauncey, theglobetrotting founder and CEO of the creative agency Beautiful Destinations.The two have been sharing snaps from the same spots in New York andIndonesia, as noticed by their respective fans.Wurtzbach confirmed her breakup with Stockinger in December 2019 after beingin an on-and-off relationship for almost three years.ION PEREZ DEDICATES VOWS TO 'MY LOVER, MY BEST FRIEND' VICE GANDAMANILA - "My partner, my lover, my very best friend" - these were IonPerez's words to describe Vice Ganda, as he dedicated vows in a videocompiling their sweet moments on "It's Showtime."The noontime program saw the beginnings of their love story. Perez was apageant escort in the Miss Q&A segment, which Vice Ganda co-hosted. Theirplayful, "romantic" interactions on stage soon translated into real life,and by November 2018, they were officially a couple.On Instagram, Perez looked back at their shared moments on TV, from "kilig"to emotional exchanges. The montage is set to an audio track of wedding vowsfrom the US series "Grey's Anatomy."The lines are from the character Preston (Isaiah Washington), as he shareshis vows to Cristina (Sandra Oh).Part of the dialogue goes: "So of this I am sure: you are my partner, mylover, my very best friend, my heart. My heart beats for you. And on thisday, the day of our wedding, I promise you this: I promise you to lay myheart in the palm of your hands; I promise you me."Among the comments on the video is from Vice Ganda, who told Perez: "Angsaya. Ang sarap. Ang ganda. Salamat! I love you!""I love you very much," Perez replied.

NBA SCORES MARCH 3FINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Spurs 26-34    19    30    28    27    104team logo Hornets 21-40    36    22    18    27    103SCORING LEADERS    D. Murray SA21 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST    T. Rozier CHA20 PTS, 6 REB, 5 ASTFINAL/OT    1    2    3    4    OT    Tteam logo Nets 27-33    28    15    24    51    11    129team logo Celtics 41-19    33    23    28    34    2    120SCORING LEADERS    C. LeVert BKN51 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST    J. Brown BOS22 PTS, 5 REB, 3 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Clippers 42-19    38    21    30    20    109team logo Thunder 37-24    27    20    23    24    94SCORING LEADERS    K. Leonard LAC25 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST    D. Schroder OKC24 PTS, 2 REB, 0 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Timberwolves 18-42    28    44    37    30    139team logo Pelicans 26-35    31    37    43    23    134SCORING LEADERS    M. Beasley MIN28 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST    J. Holiday NO27 PTS, 10 REB, 12 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Raptors 43-18    30    31    26    36    123team logo Suns 24-38    39    29    18    28    114SCORING LEADERS    P. Siakam TOR33 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST    D. Booker PHO22 PTS, 4 REB, 10 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Warriors 14-48    26    23    33    34    116team logo Nuggets 41-20    25    33    23    19    100SCORING LEADERS    A. Wiggins GS22 PTS, 5 REB, 10 AST    P. Millsap DEN18 PTS, 9 REB, 3 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Wizards 22-38    23    26    46    31    126team logo Kings 27-34    39    37    19    38    133SCORING LEADERS    B. Beal WAS35 PTS, 2 REB, 8 AST    D. Fox SAC31 PTS, 3 REB, 1 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo 76ers 37-25    35    19    26    27    107team logo Lakers 47-13    28    37    31    24    120SCORING LEADERS    G. Robinson III PHI25 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST    A. Davis LAL37 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST