DUTERTE TO DECIDE ON ECQ TODAY

MANILA — President Duterte is expected to decide today on the fate of Metro

Manila and other coronavirus high-risk areas still under enhanced community

quarantine or ECQ.

The governmentÂ’s task force on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

pandemic is scheduled to meet to discuss whether to retain or relax the

restrictions in ECQ areas after May 15.

Metro Manila, home to more than 12 million people and contributor of more

than a third of the countryÂ’s gross domestic product, has been under ECQ

since March 17. The ECQ has been extended twice and is supposed to last

until May 15.

Aside from Metro Manila, other areas under ECQ until Friday are Central

Luzon except Aurora province, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal,

Quezon), Pangasinan, Benguet, Albay, Iloilo including Iloilo City, Cebu

including Cebu City, Bacolod City, Zamboanga City and Davao City.

“On Monday, we expect the President’s approval on what will happen to us on

May 16,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a televised press

briefing over the weekend.

Roque said members of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging

Infectious Diseases are expected to meet this morning to come up with a

final recommendation to Duterte.

“So it’s not true that all places in Metro Manila will shift to GCQ (general

community quarantine) and itÂ’s also not true that the entire Metro Manila

will remain under ECQ. LetÂ’s waitÂ… we expect the IATF to have a special

meeting in the morning,” the Palace spokesman said.

“In the afternoon, they will submit to the President the recommendation on

what will happen to the areas that are still under ECQ,” he added.

DUTERTE'S DECISION TO BE BASED ON 'TEST, TRACE, TREAT' STRATEGY

President Rodrigo Duterte's decision whether to extend the enhanced

community quarantine in Metro Manila or not will be based on the "test,

trace, treat" strategy, says COVID-19 response deputy chief implementor

Vince Dizon.

"Whatever the president decides, it will be based on recommendations of

experts such as DOH, private sector, academe and task force members," Dizon

tells CNN Philippines' "The Source."

Dizon further notes that the government is not yet contented with the 7,000

to 7,300 tests conducted daily as the goal is to increase capacity. He adds

that conducting 15,000 tests by Friday is doable.

EX-DICT CHIEF SALALIMA: NTC ORDER VOID, ABS-CBN CAN CONTINUE OPERATIONS

MANILA -- The National Telecommunications Commission's closure order against

ABS-CBN has no force of the law as it was void from the very beginning, a

former Duterte administration official said Sunday night.

In a Facebook post, former Department of Information and Communications

Technology (DICT) Secretary Rodolfo Salalima said the NTC violated ABS-CBN's

constitutional right to due process and NTC's own rules when it did not give

the media giant the chance to be notified and heard about a complaint

against its continued airing.

Salalima pointed out that ABS-CBN was not given a copy of any petition, nor

was a show cause order issued and a hearing conducted on the supposed

complaint against the media network.

He even asked if there was a petition or complaint at all.

"Was there a Petition or Complaint filed with the NTC questioning the

continued operation of ABS-CBN predicated on the expiry of its franchise? If

the Petition was dated and filed on May 5th with the NTC, then the CDO also

dated May 5, 2020 was clearly issued with precipitate haste and thus void

given the interval between the FILING of the Petition and the ISSUANCE of

the CDO - - both May 5, 2020," he said.

"If the Petition was filed before May 5th, or prior the expiration of the

ABS-CBNÂ’s franchise on May 5th, then the Petition is PREMATURE IN LAW and

thus there was NO CAUSE OF ACTION versus ABS-CBN as yet as at the filing

date of the Petition, if any. In consequence, the CDO is likewise void ab

initio. The Petition dated PRIOR to May 5, 2020, if any, because premature,

should have been dismissed outright," he explained.

The last day of ABS-CBN Corporation's franchise fell on May 4, a day before

the NTC issued the cease and desist order.

Salalima said the NTC denied ABS-CBN procedural due process "with supersonic

speed," in violation of the Constitution. Procedural due process refers to

the right to be informed of and to be heard on charges made and to undergo a

fair trial while substantive due process is based on law and facts.

Both are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights which prohibits the government

from depriving a person of life, liberty or property without due process of

law.

"Without due process, all decisions of courts and quasi-judicial bodies,

though arguably consistent with substantive statutory laws, are void ab

initio. (See Ang Tibay vs, CIR [1940]). They are of no force and effect in

law. This is true of the NTCÂ’s CDO in question," he explained.

AFTER DENNIS UY’S BUYOUT DENIAL, ABS-CBN SAYS NETWORK ‘NOT FOR SALE’

MANILA — Selling ABS-CBN Corp. is not an option, the broadcast network made

clear as the fight for the media giant shifts to keeping its frequencies

that allow it to air free TV and radio channels.

“ABS-CBN is not for sale,” said Kane Errol Choa, the network’s corporate

communications director, said in a text message Monday morning.

Philstar.com sought ChoaÂ’s comment the morning after Davao-based businessman

Dennis Uy issued a statement, saying his holding firm, Udenna Corp., has “no

intention to acquire ABS-CBN."

“Being in the business of broadcasting is not part of our corporate

direction,” Uy said in a statement issued Sunday evening.

PHILIPPINES NEEDS 'SIZABLE' NEW COVID-19 BUDGET FAST: NOMURA

MANILA -- The Philippines needs to deploy a "sizable" supplementary budget

fast to counter the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, an analyst

said Monday.

The country needs to catch up with its Southeast Asian peers in terms of

spending to preserve jobs, Nomura Southeast Asia economist Euben Paracuelles

told ANC's Market Edge.

PHILIPPINES NEEDS FRESH BUDGET FOR JOBS, 'NEW ECONOMY': BANGKO SENTRAL

MANILA -- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Monday

the Philippines would need a supplemental budget "very badly" to build the

new economy borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supplemental budget must focus on job creation and will be on top of

realignments to the 2020 national budget, which was spent on cash aid and

social services, Diokno said.

"Monetary policy is not the only game in town. We need a strong fiscal

stimulus, what gets in the way is the absence of a supplemental budget," he

told ANC's Market Edge.

Diokno cut the benchmark interest rate by 125 basis points so far this year,

100 of which was delivered during the lockdown. He slashed 200 basis points

off banks' reserve requirement ratio, with authority to cut it by another

200 points.

"We need a supplemental budget very badly and the focus should be on

job-creation activities, that should be the focus of the supplemental

budget," he said.

The Philippines needs to be "very careful" in the design of the new economy,

to provide support for sectors that will emerge and thrive in it, he said.

"We have to have an idea of how the new economy will look like. The economy

will change drastically. The new economy will be much, much different. It

has to be safer. It has to be better and it has to be tech savvy," he said.

Gross domestic product unexpectedly shrank by 0.2 percent in the January to

March period, with just 2 weeks spent under lockdown that is scheduled to

end on May 15.

The succeeding two quarters are expected to be worse before a rebound in the

last 3 months of the year, analysts said, with the Philippines headed for a

recession or at least 2 successive quarters of negative growth.

"We expect the economy to go deeper in the second quarter because of the

full effect of the lockdown," Diokno said.

Diokno debunked as "not likely" forecasts that the economy could contract by

up to 10 percent. "There will be a strong recovery in the fourth quarter,

assuming there's no second wave," he said.

The Bangko Sentral will gauge the effect of recent policy actions before

deciding on the deployment of the 200-point cut in the RRR or further

reductions in the overnight borrowing rate, he said.

'STRICT MEASURES ARE THE NEW NORMAL' UNDER GENERAL COMMUNITY QUARANTINE

MANILA — The enforcement arm of the country's COVID-19 task force is gearing

up for stricter implementation of quarantine rules even after enhanced

community quarantine is lifted in some areas.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious

Diseases (IATF-EID) is set to convene on Monday to discuss possible

scenarios post-May 15.

In a statement sent to reporters, Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, who

heads the Joint Task Force Corona Virus Shield (JTF CV Shield), said that

should the shift to GCQ in some areas still under the enhanced quarantine

take place, that would mean heightened police visibility.

While all quarantine control points would likely remain under GCQ, Eleazar

said, the procedure to pass through them will likely be eased to avoid

traffic buildup.

“Under GCQ, more establishments will be allowed to operate because our

economy will be partially opened. This means that more people would be

allowed to go out so our police visibility must be in these areas in order

to strictly implement the basic rules such as wearing of face masks and

physical distancing,” said Eleazar.

INSTEAD OF CEASE AND DESIST, NTC SHOULD'VE ISSUED SHOW CAUSE ON ABS-CBN:

EX-CHIEF JUSTICE

MANILA - Instead of issuing a cease and desist order, the National

Telecommunications Commission should have first asked ABS-CBN to explain why

it should be allowed to continue broadcasting when its franchise lapses, a

retired Chief Justice said on Sunday.

“The more prudent thing to do, and I hope I'm not being disrespectful to

them (NTC), is to first issue a show cause order,” retired Chief Justice

Reynato Puno said in an interview with ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

Puno said that if it were up to him, he would have issued a show cause order

first, as a cease and desist order is immediate and executory and does not

give ABS-CBN the chance to argue its case.

Puno served as Supreme Court Chief Justice from December 2006 to May 2010.

“Malaki pagkakaiba. Kung 'yan ang ginawa nila ay nabigyan ng pagkakataon ang

ABS-CBN na sabihin ang kanilang panig at gayun din siguro nabigyan ng

pagkakataon ang Kongreso na mag-intervene,” Puno said.

The former Chief Justice said a show cause order would have avoided problems

for ABS-CBN such as the possibility of the company having to lay off

thousands of workers.

THE REST

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CHURCH EYES INCREASING NUMBER OF HOLY MASS SERVICES DURING COVID-19 CRISIS

MANILA - Catholic churches in the Philippines will increase the number of

Holy Mass services to avoid the gathering of crowds if it is allowed to

reopen, a leader of the Catholic Church in the capital said Monday.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the apostolic administrator of Manila, urged

government to allow religious services to resume in areas under general

community quarantine as these were "essential" to strengthen the Filipino's

resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Kailangan ito para mapatatag ang ating mental, psychological, spiritual

resilience ngayon panahon na ito," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"Ang nakakalungkot ayon sa kanilang guidelines, mabubuksan na ang

restaurants, salon pero ang simbahan di pa binubuksan. Tinuturing ang

simbahan na kasama sa sinehan o mga concerts. Hindi ganyan ang serbisiyo ng

simbahan."

Pabillo said the Catholic Church has submitted guidelines to government's

inter-agency task force handling the pandemic and recommended the following:

-for churches to reopen at half-capacity

-implementation of physical distancing during religious services

-more Mass services to avoid gathering of crowds

-for priests to wear face masks

Pabillo said individual confirmations would be allowed, while christenings

may also be held during weekdays instead of only Sundays.

The elderly, meanwhile, are advised to attend Holy Mass online.

Malacañang had announced that religious gatherings would be allowed in areas

under relaxed lockdowns but later reversed its policy.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC PROPELS DIGITAL BANKING IN PHILIPPINES

MANILA - A surge in digital adoption is a "silver lining" of the coronavirus

pandemic as consumers turned to online channels for their banking needs,

Unionbank chairman Justo Ortiz said Monday.

Filipinos are ready for the digital shift and the government's national ID

is key to making that happen, Ortiz told ANC.

"The force that moves us from the inertia of the status quo is the silver

lining of this pandemic...The bigger story for me is that finally customers

are going to be ready to adapt to fourth industrial revolution," Ortiz said.

"I think what will spell the end of cash is the digital national ID. It

becomes a very crucial component," he said.

Bank should protect their systems from risks inherent to digital as more

consumers go on board, he said.

The government is committed to fast-track the implementation of the national

ID system, which can be used to distribute aid to millions of Filipinos,

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier said.

UNIVERSIDAD DE MANILA STUDENTS CALL TO END SEM, PASS ALL STUDENTS

Students of Universidad de Manila are petitioning Manila Mayor Isko Moreno

to suspend online graded requirements and pass nearly 8,000 students amid

the COVID-19 pandemic, Samahan Ng Progresibong Kabataan says in a release.

The university's student government is asking the mayor to make the health

and welfare of the city government's scholars a priority.

COTABATO CITY IMPLEMENTS WEEKLY 'NO MOVEMENT DAY'

COTABATO CITY — The streets of Cotabato City were empty on Sunday, the first

day of the enforcement of a weekly "no movement day" in the regional capital

as a coronavirus containment measure.

Only police patrol cars, military vehicles, and vehicles carrying medical

frontliners are allowed on the streets under an executive order issued last

week by Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi.

Guiani-Sayadi is the presiding chairperson of the inter-agency Cotabato City

disaster risk reduction and management council.

The 'no movement day' in Cotabato City on Sundays is meant to prevent the

spread of COVID-19 in the city.

The Cotabato City police, the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous

Region and personnel of the Philippine Marine Corps are in charge of

implementing the measure.

Volunteer barangay watchmen are also helping prevent villagers from leaving

their homes.

Zamboanga City earlier implemented a "total lockdown" on its streets every

Sunday.

LTFRB ALLOWS ONLY 29 BUS ROUTES ON EDSA

MANILA — From the previous 61 bus routes along EDSA, the Land

Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will allow only 29

routes for passenger buses along the major thoroughfare once the enhanced

community quarantine is lifted.

During a hearing by the House committee on transportation headed by Samar

Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento over the weekend, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra

said the board would shorten the routes to allow faster turn-around of buses

on EDSA.

Delgra said the bus route system would be implemented under the “new normal”

in time for Metro ManilaÂ’s transition to general community quarantine.

He said the traffic scheme would be implemented with the guidance of the

Department of Transportation (DOTr) headed by Secretary Arthur Tugade.

FIRST STORM OF 2020 BEARS DOWN ON PHILIPPINES AS COVID-19 RAGES

MANILA - The Philippines' first storm this year will bring rains over large

swaths of the country Monday as it struggles to contain the coronavirus

pandemic, the state weather bureau said.

Tropical depression Ambo was at 385 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del

Sur at 3 a.m., packing sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour and 55 kph

gusts, said PAGASA.

The storm's trough or extension on Monday will bring moderate to

occasionally heavy rains that might spawn floods and landslides in Mindanao,

said the weather agency.

Moving northwest at 10 kph, Ambo will reach Eastern Visayas by mid-week and

hit land in Bicol Region on Thursday or Friday, said PAGASA weather

forecaster Samuel Duran.

Severe thunderstorms on Monday might hit Metro Manila and the rest of the

country, added PAGASA.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

SINGER-ACTOR SONNY PARSONS OF HAGIBIS DIES AT 61

MANILA -- Singer-actor Sonny Parsons, best known as a member of the OPM

novelty macho group Hagibis in the '70s and '80s, passed on Sunday, May 10,

at 61 years old.

His son Jeff Parsons told ABS-CBN News that his father succumbed to

suspected heart attack due to heat stroke between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in

Tayabas, Quezon while on a charity drive with his motorcycle club, Law

Enforcers Riders Association of the Philippines (LERAP).

“We do not have complete details yet of his final moments," said the younger

Parsons who, as of this writing, is en route with his family from the

Parsons residence in Marikina to the Islamic Center in Taguig.

He said the family has yet to finalize ParsonsÂ’ burial arrangement following

Muslim tradition.

"He was a datu and we will see how to carry out his wish to be cremated," he

said.

At the height of their success, Parsons and Hagibis churned out “Katawan,”

“Legs” and other hit songs extolling Pinoy virility.

Parsons also transformed himself as an an action lead star in the '90s.

He was elected councilor of Marikina in the late '90s.

Parsons last performed with Hagibis at the Philippine Arena concert of

Imelda Papin and was slated to tour Australia this year.

SPORTS

KEVIN DURANT WON'T PLAY IF NBA RESUMES SEASON -- REPORT

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant will not play if the NBA restarts the

season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday.

The Nets are determined to let the four-time scoring champion rest until

next season rather than risk reinjuring his right Achilles tendon.

"Kevin Durant's not coming back to the Nets this year," Wojnarowski said

during "The Woj Pod" podcast. "That's not happening. ... They're not playing

him."

Earlier this month, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said he wouldn't

rule out Durant returning to the court if the league resumes the 2019-20

campaign. Play has been suspended since March 11 due to the coronavirus

crisis.

"He knows his body better than anybody," Marks told Newshub of New Zealand.

"Our performance team and training staff have done a tremendous job getting

him to this point, but I just don't know how coming out of this pandemic

will affect anybody, let alone Kevin."

Durant, 31, was injured during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals as a member of

the Golden State Warriors. He signed a four-year, $164 million deal with the

Nets as a free agent in July.

The 10-time All-Star forward was the league's Most Valuable Player in

2013-14 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was a two-time NBA

Finals MVP with the Warriors.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Men willingly believe what they wish. - Julius Caesar