PALACE: ECQ ONLY WAY TO CURB CORONAVIRUS SPREAD IN CEBU CITY

MANILA -- Placing Cebu City under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) again

is meant to curb the widespread transmission of COVID-19 in the major

Visayan city, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Only Cebu City, which was previously under general community quarantine,

will be under ECQ until June 30 to control the spread of the disease,

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

"Kung hindi po natin ma-contain ang pagkalat ng sakit sa Cebu City, malaki

po ang posibilidad na baka kumalat muli sa iba't ibang parte ng Visayas,"

Roque told reporters.

Talisay City, also in Cebu province, was placed under modified enhanced

community quarantine until the end of the month.

The government's inter-agency task force (IATF) on pandemic response

considered the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in the city which is

currently less than 7 days, and the high utilization of critical care

facilities in Cebu City, Roque said.

"Wala na po tayong alternatibo. Wala pang vaccine, wala pang gamot so

tanggapin na lang po natin na ito lang po ang tanging pamamaraan para

malabanan natin ang COVID-19," Roque said.

Some 76 percent of villages in Cebu City or 61 of the 80 barangays have

active cases of COVID-19. Thirteen of these are considered "worst-hit"

barangays by the Department of Health.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said Tuesday he planned to appeal the city's

classification to help its economy recover from the pandemic.

Labella attributed the spike in COVID-19 cases to 3 months of massive

testing.

"Kailangan talagang we can go back to general quarantine because kawawa ang

business natin dito. We will make the necessary adjustments and eventually,

in a few days, we will make the necessary appeal," he told ABS-CBN's

TeleRadyo.

STEROID BREAKTHROUGH RAISES VIRUS HOPES, DESPITE CHINA OUTBREAK

LONDON, United Kingdom — Britain will start giving seriously ill coronavirus

patients a basic steroid treatment hailed as a breakthrough to help reduce

the global pandemic's death toll even as worrying new outbreaks surfaced in

China and elsewhere.

An "extremely severe" cluster of cases in Beijing cast doubt over efforts to

get the virus under control although Tuesday's news from Britain came as a

boost after months of grim statistics.

Researchers led by a team from the University of Oxford administered the

widely available steroid dexamethasone to more than 2,000 severely ill

COVID-19 patients.

Among those who could only breathe with the help of a ventilator,

dexamethasone reduced deaths by 35 percent.

"Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in

COVID-19. This is an extremely welcome result," said Peter Horby, professor

of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Nuffield Department of Medicine,

University of Oxford.

"Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to

save lives worldwide."

Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock said patients would start to receive

the drug immediately.

"This is great news and I congratulate the Government of the UK, the

University of Oxford, and the many hospitals and patients in the UK who have

contributed to this lifesaving scientific breakthrough," WHO head Tedros

Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

NEW RECOVERIES IN PH REACH ANOTHER RECORD-HIGH AT 301; TOTAL CASES AT 26,781

MANILA — The Philippines logged another record-high number of new recovered

COVID-19 patients in a single day at 301 on Tuesday, according to the

Department of Health, as the total infections climb to 26,781.

It is the 7th straight day that new recoveries have been more than 150. The

total recoveries stood at 6,552.

The DOH reported 364 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which, 249 are

“fresh" while 115 are “late.”

Fresh cases refer to those whose test results were released within the last

3 days, while late cases are those whose results were released four days ago

or more.

Of the fresh cases, 128 are from Metro Manila, 56 are from Region 7 (Central

Visayas), and 65 are from other regions or do not have location information.

POGOS TO STAY SHUT UNLESS TAXES ARE FULLY PAID: BIR

MANILA -- Unless they pay their tax liabilities full, offshore gaming firms

or POGOs should not be allowed to reopen, the Bureau of Internal Revenue

said Wednesday.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp ordered Philippines Offshore Gaming

Operations to settle all tax dues first before restarting under virus

quarantines.

"Meron naman gustong mag comply, magbayad, kaya lang sabi namin dapat medyo

makumpleto ang kanilang dapat bayaran sa BIR at sa PAGCOR," said Bureau of

Internal Revenue deputy commissioner Arnel Guballa.

Asked by Teleradyo's Ted Failon if no POGO was operating yet due to

liabilities, Guballa answered in the affirmative.

The offshore firms that employ mostly Chinese nationals should pay all tax

obligations up to March 2020, pay the salaries of 31,600 Filipino workers

during the coronavirus suspension and a "guarantee fee" to the government

before they can reopen, PAGCOR earlier said.

The BIR and POGO lawyers are in a "stalemate" on the issue of franchise tax,

or 5 percent of gaming revenues, as POGOs claim that their clients are

overseas.

"Yung franchise tax ang sabi po kasi ng abogado, foreign kami, offshore

kami, walang jurisdiction ang Pilipinas...Yung batas kasi natin hindi siya

ganon klarong klaro kaya naging issue ito," Guballa said.

Guballa said the Justice Department has not been approached yet to clarify

the matter.

Several lawmakers are pushing for investigations on POGOs due to alleged

labor, tax issues and crimes in their communities.

DOJ: 198 USERS REPORTED 300 'CLONED' FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS

MANILA — The Department of Justice received close to 200 reports from social

media users on their duplicate and empty Facebook accounts.

DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete told reporters on Wednesday that they

received “198 reports involving over 300 accounts” as of June 15.

“The contents of the accounts have already been preserved upon the request

of our law enforcers,” the DOJ spokesperson also said.

Perete last week explained that preservation of data is important so that

these may be included should the affected social media users opt to file a

complaint later.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered an investigation after several

activists and students reported finding their “cloned” Facebook accounts.

The surge of these dummy accounts came amid growing dissent on the

Anti-Terrorism Bill both on social media and on the ground—days after a

protest was held at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Perete said that an inter-agency task force consisting of officials from the

National Privacy Commission, Department of Information Communications and

Technology was created to look in to the issue.

“Investigation is currently ongoing,” he added.

The privacy commission said last weekend that it will meet with officials of

Facebook Philippines on Tuesday, June 16.

Perete, however, said the department has no word yet on whether the meeting

pushed through.

TAXMAN AFTER NETFLIX, AMAZON, NOT SMALL ONLINE SELLERS: BIR

MANILA -- The Philippines' effort to tax digital services will focus on the

likes of Netflix, Amazon and Alibaba, not small online sellers, a revenue

official said Wednesday.

A Bureau of Internal Revenue order for online sellers to register was not

aimed at small businesses, Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel Guballa

told Teleradyo.

Online sellers earning less than P250,000 a year are exempted from income

tax, while those earning less than P3 million annually need not pay value

added tax, Guballa said.

"Ang gusto talagang habulin ng BIR ay yung malalaking merchants or sellers

sa online kagaya ng Netflix, Amazon, Alibaba...Doon po talaga kami papunta

sa malalaki, hindi po sa mga kababayan natin na maliliit," Guballa said.

"Ang gusto lang po namin malaman, makita ang data ng total population na

engaged sa online selling, kahit maliliit pero not necessarily we will tax

the marginal income players," he said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier said the government was

exploring "viable ways" to tax all forms of digital commerce.

All online sellers in the country were mandated to register their businesses

and pay taxes for past transactions before July 31.

DOH WARNS VS DENGUE OUTBREAKS

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday appealed to the public to

be vigilant to avoid contracting the mosquito-borne disease dengue.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the start of the rainy season

might lead to a surge in dengue cases.

“We should not let this happen as we are still confronted with the COVID-19

(coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. We should all be vigilant,” Vergeire

said in a press briefing.

Based on the latest dengue surveillance report of the DOH. A tota of 50,169

cases were recorded from Jan. 1 to May 30. The figure is 46 percent lower

than the 92,808 cases recorded during the same period last year.

The death toll due to dengue so far this year is 173 compared to 452 last

year.

Data shows most of the cases were from Central Visayas and Central Luzon

with 8,807 and 7,011, respectively.

DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau director Napoleon Arevalo urged

the public to observe the so-called 4S Strategy to prevent the spread of the

disease.

4-S stands for search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; employ

self-protection measures, such as wearing of long pants and long sleeved

shirts, and daily use of mosquito repellent; seek early consultation, and

support fogging and spraying only in hotspot areas.Arevalo said the public

should also adhere to the 4 oÂ’clock habit, which encourages communities to

do massive cleanup of their houses and neighborhood at 4 p.m. everyday.

“The general community quarantine is a good opportunity for everyone to

clean their homes inside and out,” he said.

THE REST

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DEPED PROBES ‘GRADUATION’ MASK-SHARING IN CAMARINES NORTE

MANILA — The Department of Education is investigating an incident where

students from a public elementary school in Daet, Camarines Norte apparently

shared a single face mask during a graduation pictorial.

The DepEd said its office in the Bicol region has started a fact-finding

investigation and asked for a written explanation from the person involved

in the incident, which was described as “a breach of minimum health

standards and social distancing protocols.”

“We take this matter seriously and will have a firm and rectifying action to

prevent further breach in the future,” the DepEd said in a statement.

“The local DepEd COVID-19 Task Force will actively monitor the health of the

learners concerned through the regional office,” the agency added.

Several students from a school in Camarines Norte's Daet town were caught on

video last week sharing a face mask while having their photos taken in what

seemed like a graduation ceremony.

The video was uploaded on social media and caught the attention of concerned

netizens.

The education department reiterated that graduation and moving-up rites

requiring face-to-face interaction are postponed until further notice.

Schools and community learning centers planning to hold virtual rites and

other similar activities must first seek the approval of the school division

superintendents, the DepEd said.

Activities that require face-to-face interaction and are allowed under the

guidelines of the Department of Health and Inter-Agency Task Force on

Emerging Infectious Diseases must strictly comply with health and safety

protocols, according to the agency.

Traditional graduation rites, seen as a form of mass gathering, have been

postponed to avoid exposing students, parents and school personnel to the

risk of contracting the new coronavirus disease.

PAL TO OFFER ‘DISTANCING SEATS’

MANILA — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be offering “distancing

seats” starting next month in a move to encourage more people to fly again

despite the threat posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

pandemic.

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said all PAL and PAL Express flights would

have the so-called distancing seats starting July 1.

She said PALÂ’s premium economy cabin class would have purely distancing

seats, while the PAL and PALEx economy cabin class would have a mix of

regular and distancing seats.

In the social distancing sections, an aisle or middle seat will be left

empty in defined rows per aircraft.

Villaluna said a distancing seat is not an added fee or travel extra.

She said it is a new product included in specific fare classes such as

economy flex and premium economy class.

“This new product is PAL’s way of providing peace of mind,” Villaluna said.

However, Villaluna assured the public that existing safety measures are

adequate to protect passengers inflight even without the distancing seats.

She said these measures include intensive cabin cleaning and disinfection,

cabin crew wearing protective equipment, a HEPA filtration system that

purifies cabin air and simplified food service to minimize customer and crew

contact, among others.

PAL said passengers could reserve a distancing seat if they book on premium

economy fare or economy flex fare for a PAL or PALex flight scheduled from

July 1 onwards.

EX-KAPAMILYA BROADCASTER JAY SONZA CRITICIZES ABS-CBN SHOWS' AIRING ON CABLE

TV

MANILA — Former Kapamilya broadcaster Jay Sonza criticized the airing of

ABS-CBN shows on cable TV.

In his Facebook account, Sonza said ABS-CBN continued to "fool" Filipinos by

saying that they are back on air.

“Patuloy sa panlalansi at panlilinlang ang abs cbn network sa pagsasabing

babalik na sila sa ere ngayon. They are merely content provider of their own

illegal cable and telecoms business. They will now offer it free to local

cable providers to entice them and later charge these providers for

subscription,” Sonza wrote.

“Ang katotohanan - Hindi sila umeere (not on the air) sa himpapawid o sa TV

na may antenna. Sila ay lalabas sa kanilang sariling illegal skycable

channel 2 o KBO-TV plus na binansagang nilang kapamilya CABLE channel (may

bayad/bumili ka TV plus o kbo/pakabit ka ng skycable o skydirect),” he

added.

Sonza claimed that the Kapamilya network will eventually give up after three

months because they cannot earn back what they have been spending now.

“Pabayaan na natin silang lokohin ang sarili nila. After 3 months susuko rin

iyan dahil tiyak hindi sasapat ang kikitain nila sa gagastusin nila."

In another post, Sonza compared the network to a once mighty bird that is

now begging to broadcast in local cable channels.

MANILA ALLOWS DINE-IN SERVICES

MANILA — The Manila city government on Monday allowed the opening of

restaurants but only at 30 percent capacity.

Mayor Isko Moreno called on restaurants to start offering dine-in services

provided they comply with minimum health protocols to curb the spread of

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Permit and licensing office chief Levi Facundo warned restaurant operators

to use thermal scanners and ensure their employees wear face masks.

He also said the sink used by employees must be separate from that used by

customers and that restaurants must assign an employee to monitor social

distancing and table spacing.

Facundo warned that establishments that will not comply with health

protocols face closure.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

TYCOON AND KINGMAKER DANDING COJUANGCO DIES

MANILA -- Tycoon Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, whose influence in business

and politics spanned decades, has died. He was 85.

San Miguel Corp, where Cojuangco was chairman and CEO for 22 years,

announced his passing in a disclosure to the stock exchange. Several sources

confirmed his death to ABS-CBN News before the official statement.

"San Miguel Corp announces the passing of its Chairman and Chief Executive

Office Mr. Eduardo M. Conjuanco, Jr on the evening of June 16, 2020," the

company told the stock exchange.

Cojuangco helped build San Miguel into one of the Philippines' largest and

most diversified conglomerates from its beer brewer roots. It has stakes in

infrastructure, power and food

He also chaired the National People's Coalition party, which consistently

fields candidates in local and national races since its founding in the

1990s.

Cojuangco ran for president in 1992 but lost to Fidel Ramos. His running

mate at that time, Joseph Estrada, became Ramos' vice president.

Government prosecutors have accused Cojuangco of illegally amassing his

fortune during the Marcos years. He was never convicted nor sent to jail.

In 2018, Cojuangco's niece, television host Kris Aquino said she did not

believe that her uncle had a hand in the 1983 assassination of her father,

Sen. Beningo "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

Cojuangco is a cousin of the martyred senator's wife, former President

Corazon Aquino.

SPORTS

DETAILS OF NBA RETURN IRONED OUT

MANILA — The full picture of the return of the 2019-20 NBA season is slowly

revealing itself to the players and to the basketball-hungry public.

In a series of tweets, Shams Charania of the Athletic and Stadium reported

details of the resumption of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)-halted season.

NBA teams have reportedly already received visuals and workout arrangements

of the Orlando venue, as well as schedules to be followed during game days.

Strict time limits set on activities following a finished game such as team

meetings and media availability.

Teams will also be limited to a 35-person traveling party including players,

athletic trainers, strength/conditioning coach, equipment manager and team

security official.

A player's private personal trainer, massage therapist and security may also

be included.

Additionally, players will be afforded a number of amenities in the NBA

Orlando campus, like a players-only lounge for entertainment.

Barbers, mannicurists and pedicurists will also be available as needed.

Cagers will also be allowed to attend other games when their schedule

permits.

Meanwhile, sanctions will be metted on anyone who leaves the Orlando campus

without prior approval.

Per Charania, this includes a self-quarantine and enhanced testing for the

novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Despite the laid out plans, some players are still skeptical about the

return due to various concerns.

The NBA has since notified their players that they may choose not to play in

the 2019-20 season.

A player must notify his team by June 24 (June 25, Manila time) if he will

not be joining the return.

Some players who opt out, called "protected players" and "excused players" —

those who are believed to be at higher risk for sever illness from COVID-19

— will not have their saliries reduced should they choose not to return.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 50.07

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Today the real test of power is not the capacity to make war but capacity to

prevent it. - Anne O'Hare McCormick