DUTERTE'S VIRUS DEFENSE FACES TEST AS PHILIPPINES LOCKDOWN EASES

MANILA -- Wearing face masks, millions in the Philippine capital will emerge

from one of the world's longest virus lockdowns on Monday in a test of how

well President Rodrigo Duterte built the country's pandemic response.

For the first time in over 2 months, train, taxi, ride-share cars and some

buses will resume operations and office work in some sectors will return

under a new normal that requires minimum to no physical contact.

The enhanced community quarantine or ECQ shut the capital region that

accounts for a third of gross domestic product, causing the economy to

shrink for the first time in 22 years. Some 22 million jobs were lost

temporarily or permanently, officials said.

"This is his biggest gamble yet because whatever happens, it's on him,"

University of Santo Tomas Political Science Professor Dennis Coronacion told

ABS-CBN News.

The 75-year-old leader eased restrictions despite logging the biggest number

of daily cases last week, which was due to the resolution of testing

backlogs.

"Lahat na ito po ay ginagawa namin (We are doing all of this), believe me,

because the interest of the nation calls for it, demands for it actually,"

Duterte said in his public address prior to the shift from modified ECQ to

general community quarantine or GCQ.

Nearly all sectors, except for entertainment and leisure, are allowed to

operate in GCQ areas. The GCQ is a step above the "new normal," with only

minimum health standards required.

Duterte is betting on his COVID-19 policies to strike a balance between

public health and the economy, Coronacion said.

FRESH COVID-19 CASES IN PHILIPPINES 'GOING DOWN': GOV'T SPECIAL ADVISER

MANILA - The number of fresh cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines is

decreasing, one of the government's special advisers on the virus said

Monday as the country's urban hubs began to ease lockdowns.

Metro Manila, Davao City, and Cebu City on Monday began to shift into a

looser lockdown or general community quarantine in a bid to reboot the

contracting economy.

"ItÂ’s time to test our setup, our system if it will be indeed able to indeed

handle the next wave if it does happen," said Ted Herbosa, who also serves

as the executive vice president of the University of the Philippines.

"We didnÂ’t waste the time we were in quarantine. We were able to catch up in

terms of laboratories. We started with 3 in February, now we have about 37

and several gene expert laboratories," he added, noting that some 74

laboratories are pending for accreditation from the Department of Health.

The Philippines has "some control" in the virus transmission as its doubling

time is now at 10 to 12 days versus 2 days in the beginning of the pandemic,

Herbosa said.

"We really are in the deceleration of the curve, but I don't know if we are

just plateauing because the other number we look at is the time varying

reproductive number. I think thatÂ’s hovering around 1. We want that number

to be really low," he said.

The DOH's "dumping of backlog" or the so-called late cases should be added

on the dates when the tests were done, Herbosa added.

The agency in the past week made new classification for new cases: fresh

cases were test results released within the last 3 days, while late cases

are results released 4 or more days ago.

"Fresh cases are really going down. The cases have gone down to a single

digit. In fact there was a day there were only 5 new confirmed cases a day.

At least with the removal of what we call late cases that the trend had been

continuing. It was only the dumping of the backlog that caused confusion,"

he said.

"We will do some cleaning up. We will help DOH clean up the data so the

public and the decision makers who will use this data--the more accurate,

real-time the data is, the decisions will be more robust."

The Philippines still needs to increase its testing as it has yet to reach

the ideal 30,000 tests daily, Herbosa said.

It should also conduct "meticulous contact tracing," he added, citing

Vietnam, where it was done up to the third level of the patient's contacts.

SOLICITOR GENERAL CALIDA FINALLY ATTENDS ABS-CBN FRANCHISE HEARING

MANILA — Solicitor General Jose Calida, who had challenged ABS-CBN Corp

before the high court and regulators, joined Monday the resumption of House

committee hearings on the proposed fresh franchise for the broadcaster after

he faced a warning for possible contempt charges.

Calida had skipped previous Congress hearings on bills that sought to give

ABS-CBN a new 25-year license to operate following the May 4 expiration of

its franchise, which regulators cited to force the network off air.

He and National Telecommunications Commission Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba

will join the proceedings through teleconferencing on Zoom, according to a

roll call of participants.

They will be asked to explain why they should not be held in contempt for

skipping the hearings, House committee on legislative franchises chairman

Franz Alvarez and good government committee chairman Jonathan Sy-Alvarado

said in the previous hearing.

The NTC in March told lawmakers it would let the country's top broadcaster

operate provisionally beyond the May 4 expiration of its license, while

bills for its franchise renewal were still pending in Congress.

However, Calida warned NTC officials that they could face graft charges if

they gave ABS-CBN a provisional permit. The regulator on May 5 forced

ABS-CBN off air due to its expired license.

Calida in February asked the Supreme Court to nullify ABS-CBN's franchise

due to alleged legal issues like foreign ownership and illegal pay-per-view.

The country's largest media and entertainment company has denied Calida's

allegations in various fora.

The Solicitor General last week denied that he meddled with the NTC's

decision.

CAB TO AIRLINES: CANCEL DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

MANILA— The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has advised airline companies to

cancel the resumption of their flights starting today.

In an advisory dated May 30, CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla

disclosed that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases

(IATF) has yet to approve the routes for domestic services proposed by

airlines for the resumption of domestic operations this week.

The CAB also ordered airline companies to stop selling tickets for the

period.

Arcilla did not respond when sought for clarification on the advisory.

CAB chief legal officer Wyrlou Samodio also declined to comment, but said

“we still have to wait (for) the decision of the IATF.”

Some local carriers have been working closely with the government agencies

concerned before announcing their scheduled flights.

CABÂ’s decision came after Western Visayas officials asked the IATF to keep

air and sea travel in the region closed beyond May 31, as a deterrent

against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

They are asking that only overseas Filipino workers, local stranded

individuals and cargo be allowed into the province.

SOLO LUNCH, TEMPERATURE CHECKS: NEW NORMAL PROTOCOLS FOR THE WORKPLACE

Millions of Filipino workers who returned to work on Monday would have to

follow new protocols to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

These measures include frequent handwashing, staying at least one meter

apart from co-workers and refraining from eating lunch together, said Labor

Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay.

Those with a temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius will be barred from

entering the workplace. They will be asked to rest for 5 minutes before

repeating the temperature check. If their temperature does not go down,

their office must coordinate with health officers, she said.

Workers should also fill out a checklist of their possible exposure to the

virus, and should be provided with face masks and disinfectant, the cost of

which cannot be deducted from their salary, said Tutay.

Employers can pursue disciplinary action against workers who will refuse to

report for work even if they are provided with shuttle services and lodging

near the office, she said.

"Pamantayan pa rin po natin iyong health and safety ng ating mga manggagawa

kaya kailangan pong mag-comply sila sa lahat ng workplace measure para

ma-prevent po natin at ma-control iyong pagkalat ng COVID-19," Tutay said.

'KUNG DI LALABAS, GUGUTUMIN': WARY COMMUTERS VENTURE OUT AS METRO MANILA

LOCKDOWN EASES

MANILA — Metro Manila on Monday further eased its coronavirus lockdown, with

mask-wearing workers returning to their jobs on board trains that carried

only about a tenth of their capacity, long lines for buses, and iconic

jeepneys still barred from roads.

Along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, some commuters who left their

homes at 4 a.m. were still waiting 2 hours later for buses, only 300 of

which were allowed to ply the roads on the first day of the region's general

community quarantine or GCQ.

This forced some commuters like security guard Nelson Motos to walk from

Commonwealth to JP Rizal Avenue in Makati.

"Takot talaga pero wala magagawa. Kailangan kumayod," he told ABS-CBN News.

President Rodrigo Duterte pushed through with easing one of the world's

toughest and longest lockdowns, despite the highest daily spike in

coronavirus cases logged on Thursday.

Trains, point-to-point buses, taxis, almost 26,000 ride-hailing cars,

shuttle services and bicycles will be allowed to operate on a limited

capacity from June 1 to 21, the first phase of public transport resumption,

authorities said.

Tricycles will be allowed subject to the approval of local government units

while provincial buses are still barred from entering Metro Manila, the

Department of Transportation said.

For the second phase that will run from June 22 to June 30, public utility

buses, modern jeepneys and UV express vans will be allowed to operate, the

agency said.

At the MRT-3, the capital's busiest railway, trains that can ferry 1,200

people will only carry 153 passengers or about 13 percent of its capacity,

said authorities.

Passengers had their temperatures checked and were told to stay one meter

apart as MRT operations resumed at 5:30 a.m. Trains will be regularly

disinfected and run faster at 40 kph, from the previous 30 kph, said the

transportation department.

A plastic barrier separated passengers from drivers of buses and taxis.

Protocols for public transit also included the mandatory wearing of face

masks, use of cashless payments, availability of alcohol and sanitizers in

PUVs, disinfection facilities in terminals, and contact tracing, the

transportation department earlier said.

Random checkpoints will inspect private cars that should carry a maximum of

4 people, said Joint Task Force COVID Shield Commander police Lt.Gen.

Guillermo Eleazar.

Motorcycle backrides are still barred, even for couples and policemen, he

told DZMM.

Authorities are still discussing rules for jeepneys that typically cram in

10 to 16 commuters sitting knee-to-knee on twin benches that make it

difficult to enforce social distancing measures, Interior Secretary Eduardo

Año said Thursday.

"Baka nga ang mangyayari d'yan, later on iyong mga jeepney natin magiging

mga delivery vehicles na lang. Ang iba ay dadalhin sa probinsya," he added.

THE REST

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400K POOR FAMILIES TRANSITION TO RELAXED QUARANTINE SANS AID

MANILA— Metro Manila and neighboring areas are easing quarantine controls on

Monday with about 400,000 poor households nationwide still waiting for

much-delayed government cash handouts.

WhatÂ’s more, the slow-moving distribution of first tranche of the

P205-billion social amelioration program is pushing back the second tranche

of assistance, which was originally set to be disbursed at the start of May.

The cash aid program is mandated under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act

which is set to expire on June 24.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which is

spearheading the program, had all the reasons for the delay— from difficulty

in reaching beneficiaries in far-flung areas to delayed liquidation of aid

by cities and municipalities which, in turn, supposedly prevented DSWD‘s

timely check on recipients if they qualified for assistance in the first

place.

“We hope to complete validation of first tranche beneficiaries so we could

proceed with the payout of the second tranche,” DSWD Director Irene Dumlao

said in a Viber message to reporters last Friday.

As of Thursday, the latest period on which data is available as of this

posting, P99.3 billion of the first P100-billion aid was disbursed to 17.6

million families. The target beneficiaries was set at 17.96 million.

DEPED BRACES FOR REMOTE ENROLLMENT

MANILA— The Department of Education (DepEd) is all set to hold the

first-ever remote enrollment starting today, looking out for the safety of

teachers as well as learners while ensuring that all children would be

enrolled for school year 2020-2021.

DepEd says the remote enrollment will do away with parents and school

children having to go to their respective schools to enroll, and allows the

education department to comply with the physical distancing and health

standards set by the Department of Health (DOH and the Inter-Agency Task

Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Under the remote enrollment system, instead of parents and students going to

schools, class advisers from the previous school year will contact the

parents and do the enrollment of the individual students.

DepEd said that parents or guardians of the learners can also contact the

class advisers of their children, to ensure the enrollment of their child on

the contact numbers provided by the individual public school for the

enrollment process.

DepEd said it has designated an enrollment focal person to receive calls and

answer queries of parents of kindergarten pupils, transferees, Balik-Aral,

and Alternative Learning System learners in each public school.

DepEd field offices will come out with the contact information of schools in

their jurisdiction.

For queries and clarifications regarding enrollment and other initiatives of

DepEd for the upcoming school year, please call (02) 8636-1663; (02)

8633-1942; 0919-456-0027; 0995-921-8461; or email action@deped.gov.ph.

The public can also visit www.deped.gov.ph/obe-be for frequently asked

questions about SY 2020-2021.

SUNOG SUMIKLAB MALAPIT SA KALAYAAN AVENUE

MAYNILA - Sumiklab ang sunog sa isang residential area malapit sa Kalayaan

Avenue sa Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Makati nitong Lunes, unang araw ng general

community quarantine sa Metro Manila.

Umabot ito sa ikalawang alarma, ang ikalawa sa pinakamababang lebel, bago

ideklarang kontrolado alas-7:52 ng umaga.

Walang naiulat na nasaktan sa insidente.

Inaalam pa ng mga awtoridad ang sanhi ng sunog.

783 MURDERS RECORDED DURING QUARANTINE

MANILA— The Philippine National Police (PNP) has documented 783 murder cases

or an average of 10 killings a day in the country during the community

quarantine.

Records show that the murders occurred from March 17 to May 30 when the

government imposed strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the

coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Although this would translate to about 10 people killed daily during the

past 75 days, this is still lower by 39.31 percent when compared to the

1,290 murders documented from Jan. 2 to March 16 when restrictions were not

yet imposed.

The PNP also recorded 211 homicide cases or about two incidents a day during

the quarantine period. This is about 31.27 percent lower compared to 307

cases recorded before the lockdown.

But Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for operations, claimed

that the presence of police checkpoints and imposition of curfew have

contributed to the decrease in crimes during the community quarantine.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

CRUZ COUSINS UNITE: GENEVA, SUNSHINE, DONNA TO TREAT FANS WITH COLLABORATION

MANILA – Celebrity cousins Geneva, Sunshine and Donna Cruz are set to have a

musical collaboration much to the delight of their avid followers.

This was announced by the three on their respective Instagram pages.

“Thanks cousin Donna for granting our wish, Sunshine and I are so excited

for this collaboration,” said Geneva.

“And because you are requesting for her, pagbibigyan nya tayo,” Sunshine

added.

As for Donna, she wrote: “Sobrang namiss ko mga pinsan ko! Excited na din

ako. Love you both.”

Meanwhile, Geneva shared that they have also talked to their other celebrity

cousin Sheryl who will be joining them next in a different collaboration.

Just last week, Geneva and Sunshine did a duet of “Tell Him” by Celine Dion

and Barbra Streisand.

SPORTS

PLAN OF ACTION LAID DOWN

MANILA— PBA teams are ready to take baby steps towards a gradual return to

the basketball world as the government eases quarantine restrictions in

Metro Manila.

For reigning Philippine Cup five-peat champion San Miguel Beer, the initial

move is to make sure everyone in the team is healthy and COVID-19-free.

“Our first step so far is for the team to have a swab test courtesy of our

kind-hearted big boss RSA (Ramon S. Ang),” SMB team manager Gee Abanilla

told The STAR.

“We’ve been tested negative for COVID-19 as of yesterday’s result, and now

we are aggressively reminding each team member to be extra vigilant in

observing safety measures to prevent any unnecessary exposure to the virus,”

he added.

Abanilla said the Beermen have also taken steps just in case the

Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) will eventually allow some form of training.

“I’ve communicated with the village association president of the venue where

we practice at so as not to have problems just in case closed-door team

practices are eventually allowed,” he said. “And I’ve spoken to our team

doctor and PTÂ’s already and weÂ’ve crafted some safety guidelines and

protocols that could be used in due time.”

The Meralco Bolts are similarly charting their resumption plans.

“With the health, safety and well-being of the Meralco Bolts as foremost

priority, weÂ’re taking necessary steps to resume supervised training,

individual non-contact work-outs, subject to government approval, and with

safety measures and strict protocols in place,” Bolts team manager Paolo

Trillo informed The STAR.

“There is no definite timeline as we continue to assess and await government

clearance.”

Trillo also shared that the Bolts are scheduled for their testing today.

Ultimately, the teams will be implementing their return-to-practice plans

with guidance from the PBA and government authorities.

“We are awaiting whatever policies and guidelines PBA will mandate on its

teams. They have a meeting this Wednesday. We’ll take it from there,”

PhoenixÂ’ Paolo Bugia said in a message to The STAR.

“There are still some questions that need to be answered when it comes to

minimizing the risk of every team member and the public; that is why we are

keenly waiting for further development from the PBA as well as our

government to further modify and improve our plan of action,” said Abanilla.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest, that it leaves your arms

too full to embrace the present. - Jan Glidewell