DUTERTE JOINS ASEAN SUMMIT AS CONFERENCE GOES ONLINE

MANILA-- President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday joined other world leaders in

the 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit as the

conference went online in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Philippine leader is expected to raise the South China Sea maritime

dispute and issues concerning the welfare of overseas Filipino workers in

the summit.

"Lahat ng mga important positions of national interest to the Philippines ay

kanyang ina-advance, kasama na dito ang nangyayari sa South China Sea and

migrant workers affairs," Presidential assistant on foreign affairs Robert

Borje said Thursday.

"The President will remain actively engaged with his counterparts to advance

the Philippines national interest in ASEAN and beyond," he added.

Friday's event is the first regular ASEAN Summit to be held online following

a special virtual conference last April where leaders discussed the region's

response to the pandemic.

This year's summit is chaired by Vietnam and is expected to adopt 10 outcome

documents on key areas of cooperation such as food security and supply chain

connectivity in terms of pandemic response, countering radicalization and

violent extremism.

"Their discussions will build on the agreements adopted during the Special

ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 held last April, seeking ways to facilitate the

ASEAN region's transition to the 'new normal' and post-pandemic recovery,"

Malacañang said in a statement.

CHINA'S PLANNED AIR ZONE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA ILLEGAL, VIOLATES INTERNATIONAL

LAW — LORENZANA

MANILA — China's reported plan to establish an air defense identification

zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, would

be illegal, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

The Defense chief agreed with the sentiments of a ranking United States

military official who said such move from Beijing would not only affect the

US but all nations in the region.

"First, an ADIZ by China over the entire South China Sea would arrogate unto

itself a vast sea considered to be a global commons that has been opened for

millennia to all for navigation and fishing," Lorenzana said in a statement

Thursday.

Lorenzana also pointed out that Beijing's plan would violate sovereign

rights of coastal states over their exclusive economic zones under the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China was a

signatory.

"[A] lot of countries will treat this ADIZ as illegal and violative of

international laws," Lorenzana said.

PHILIPPINES SETS MASS TRAVEL FOR STRANDED PASSENGERS BOUND FOR REGION 8

MANILA - The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is arranging

mass travel to bring passengers stranded due to the lockdown against the

spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) back to their home

provinces in Region 8.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the Philippine government will charter ships

to bring locally stranded individuals in Metro Manila back to the provinces.

"Ipunin na lang muna natin at ibubulto na lang ang paghatid sa kanila after

nitong suspension. More or less, gagamit tayo malaking barko para isang

hatiran at coordinated naman sa ating mga LGUs at handa sila sa pagtanggap,”

Año said in a TeleRadyo interview. Año said local chief executives in

Eastern Visayas have decided to suspend accepting returning stranded

residents because their quarantine facilities could no longer accommodate

them.

“Ang kailangan natin dito pagsambot ng LSI may kalalagyan din isolation

facilities,” he said.

The DILG chief also discouraged stranded passengers from going to the

airport or seaports without a confirmed travel date.

“Malalagay lang kayo sa inconvenience na kalagayan. At the same time, marami

rin tayong napeperwisyong mga kababayan samantalang meron naman tayong

action numbers at lahat naman kayo ay inililista natin at aabisuhin din kayo

kung merong biyahe,” he said.

Authorities are arranging mass transport on July 4 involving around 400

buses that were offered by Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Mayor Chavit Singson, and

will be complemented by ships.

“Malakihang hatiran ito,” he said. However, those bound for Region 8 won’t

be accommodated on this trip as the ban on stranded residents is until July

9.

“Hindi sila makakasama dito, gagawa na lang tayo ng ibang biyahe sa Region

8,” he said.

'IT'S EASY TO CRITICIZE': ARROYO PRAISES DUTERTE'S PERFORMANCE IN COVID-19

FIGHT

MANILA - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday praised

President Rodrigo Duterte's "willingness to take strong and swift actions"

amid criticisms being hurled at the latter for his supposed inability to

effectively fight the coronavirus outbreak in the Philippines.

Addressing lawmakers of the House Economic Affairs Committee, Arroyo said

Duterte undertakes necessary measures when needed, standing by governmentÂ’s

performance in the COVID-19 fight.

“The first case of COVID-19 was in November of 2019. Now, 7 months later,

the global picture for COVID-19 is emerging. As the results now show, I

think that we can hold our heads up high given our countryÂ’s performance,"

Arroyo said.

"As of June 24, we have 31,825 cases with 1,186 fatalities or a 3.7 percent

fatality ratio. In comparison, the United States has around 2,350,000 cases

with around 122,000 fatalities or a fatality ratio of nearly 5.2 percent.

"Globally there are around 8.5 million cases with around 450,000 fatalities

or a fatality ratio of 5.3 percent . To all those involved in our fight

against COVID-19, thank you for your service to the nation," she said.

Arroyo recalled her when she led the country during the 2003 SARS pandemic,

saying "it's easy to criticize when you are seated on the sidelines, but

when you are the actual gladiator in the arena, the perspective is very

different."

"From the perspective of someone who was heading our government during the

SARS crisis, I must say that I have nothing but the highest respect for all

of those in our government who are now battling in the arena, from President

Duterte, to Secretary Carlito Galvez of the Interagency Task Force, to

Health Secretary Francisco Duque, to each and every front liner in the

trenches and the checkpoints, many of whom have given their lives in this

fight," she said.

US REPORT: PHILIPPINES COMPLIES WITH ‘MINIMUM’ STANDARDS IN ELIMINATING

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

MANILA — The Philippines fully met the minimum standards in ending human

trafficking for the fifth straight year, the US State Department said in an

annual report released Friday.

“The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts

during the reporting period; therefore the Philippines remained on Tier 1,”

the State Department said. Those included in Tier 1 are nations whose

governments fully comply with US anti-human trafficking measures.

“These efforts included improving the coordination of services for returning

Filipino migrant workers who were victims of trafficking overseas;

convicting and punishing traffickers, including an official complicit in sex

trafficking and labor traffickers; increasing assistance to survivors who

provide testimony; and increasing the use of prosecution procedures that

reduce the potential for further harm to trafficking victims,” it said.

The State Department cited the conduct of 245 anti-trafficking coordinated

operations and investigation of 462 investigations, which resulted in the

arrest of 507 suspects.

The US State Department, however, noted the Philippines did not vigorously

probe and prosecute government officials accused of involvement in

trafficking crimes.

The government also failed to “consistently criminally prosecute fraudulent

recruiters and other labor traffickers, or increase support for specialized

protection and assistance services for child victims of cyber-facilitated

sex trafficking.”

It added that community reintegration services, including trauma-informed

care, employment training, and job placement for survivors also remained

“inadequate.”

According to Washington report, forced labor and sex trafficking of men,

women and children within the Philippines remains a “significant” problem.

UN EXPERTS: RIGHTS SITUATION IN PHILIPPINES REQUIRES 'ROBUST' INTERVENTION

BY UN

MANILA — Human rights experts once again called on the United Nation’s Human

Rights Council to establish an on-the ground international investigation

into human rights violations in the Philippines.

In a statement Thursday, the experts said the report of the UN Office of the

High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed their warnings that there are

widespread and systemic killings in the governmentÂ’s war on drugs, abuses

targeting farmers and indigenous peoples, and attempt to silence the press

and the opposition in the Philippines.

“Given the scale and seriousness of the human rights violations, we renew

our call on the Human Rights Council to establish an on-the-ground

independent, impartial investigation into the human rights violations in the

Philippines,” the experts said.

The Human Rights Council, which is made up of 47 UN member states, is an

inter-governmental body within the UN system responsible for addressing

situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

OSG MULLS APPEALING SC DISMISSAL OF PETITION VS ABS-CBN

MANILA — The Office of the Solicitor General said it will study filing an

appeal to overturn the Supreme CourtÂ’s dismissal of its quo warranto

petition against ABS-CBNÂ’s legislative franchise.

The SC, in an en banc session on June 23, junked Solicitor General Jose

CalidaÂ’s quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN Corp.Â’s now-expired franchise

for being moot.

The OSG said it has yet to receive a copy of the SC ruling, but it added:

“Once a copy of the decision has been obtained, the OSG will study the

filing of a motion for reconsideration, in necessary given the

constitutional issue on foreign ownership raised in the OSG petition,” it

said in a statement.

GOV'T SAID FILIPINOS ARE 'PASAWAY' AND VIOLATE QUARANTINE, BUT DATA SHOW

OTHERWISE

MANILA — In his latest speech, President Rodrigo Duterte blamed the rise in

coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases in Cebu City over what he called a

“complacent” populace.

The government response to a new COVID-19 epicenter was to bring Environment

Secretary Roy Cimatu, a former military man, and add more troops on the

ground to do one thing: enforce a more stringent lockdown.

Over the past three months, the Duterte administration has heavily relied on

containment measures and movement restrictions to try to arrest periodic

virus spikes. Local government units followed suit, shutting down entire

towns for a couple of days when cases rose. That would have been okay,

except that in days when infections increased, state officials were quick to

blame the citizenry.

Take presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for example. On the face of tough

Luzon lockdowns in April, Roque said: “Many Filipinos are disobedient and

because of that we have the highest number of COVID-19 cases in ASEAN.

That's shameful.”

“Stop being disobedient and stay at home,” he said at the time.

Data show Roque, as well as other government officials, were wrong to blame

the public. Mobility data from tech giant Google LLC showed that, in fact,

people were doing their part and staying at home. At the height of the Luzon

lockdown on April 10, Google mobility data recorded a 90% drop on people

visiting retail outlets, including malls, from the number recorded

pre-pandemic levels.

In contrast, movements in residential households in the same date saw a 43%

uptick during the same period.

THE REST

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SISTER MARY JOHN MANANZAN IS NOT 'LEADER FOR LIFE' OF A 'COMMUNIST

TERRORIST' GROUP

MANILA — "What does it take to be chairman emeritus [sic] of GABRIELA," the

National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict asked over the

weekend as it accused an activist nun of being in league with communist

rebels.

As it turns out, what it takes is helping found the group and leading it

"for more than two decades," which Sister Mary John Mananzan, OSB did.

The NTF ELCAC has been pushing the narrative that Mananzan has "close ties

to a communist terrorist group" and, according to a report by state-run

Philippine News Agency quoting task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, is

"putting forth an ideology of 'communism.'"

The allegations were made in response to Mananzan's criticism of the guilt

verdict in the cyber libel case against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa and former

Rappler researcher Reynaldo Santos Jr. and of the judge who issued the

decision.

ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS POSE CHALLENGE TO CEBU CITY CORONAVIRUS FIGHT: MAYOR

MANILA — Illegal settlements pose a big challenge to Cebu City's efforts to

contain the coronavirus outbreak, Mayor Edgardo Labella said Friday,

following a spike of the disease that prompted a return of the strictest

lockdown level there.

The city of about 1 million people so far confirmed 4,000 cases of the

disease. Illegal settlements in Barangay Mambaling accounted for 300 cases

of which 19 were still active, while Barangay Luz had for 200 cases, with 12

still active, said Labella.

"Isa talagang malaking problema, this was revealed to us by our barangay

captains... marami talagang squatters' area, informal settlers. Because of

government neglect for so many decades, napabayaan iyong housing program ng

mga tao dito," he told ABS-CBN News' TeleRadyo.

"Ang hirap talagang i-implement [ng coronavirus protocols] because ang

houses, ang nag-separate mga walls lang. Saka iyong mga tirahan nila, d'yan

na sila natutulog, d'yan na sila nagluluto... sa liit saka sikip," he added.

A first-term mayor elected last year, Labella said the coronavirus pandemic

halted his project to build 10 tenements for illegal settlers. The city so

far completed 3 buildings that can house 100 families each.

To contain the contagion, local officials suspended the passes that allowed

250,000 residents or about a fourth of its population to venture out of

their homes.

Authorities will release new passes with owners' name and address so

authorities can verify these, said Labella.

Police and military will also keep watch over 12 sitios with the most

COVID-19 cases, he said.

POE SEEKS HIGHER DATA ALLOWANCE FOR TEACHERS

MANILA - The government needs to increase the internet allowance of teachers

to help them shift to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic,

Senator Grace Poe said Friday.

The one-time stipend of P3,500 is not enough and educators need P1,500 more

per month, said Poe. This would cost roughly P1.3 billion for 857,000

teachers, she said.

"Their dedication and hard work to mold our youth should be matched by

crucial infrastructure to make learning effective," she told TeleRadyo's

Failon Ngayon.

As of June 24, only 40 percent of the country's 800,000 public school

teachers have been trained on the blended offline-online learning.

Classes in public schools are scheduled to open on Aug.24.

DUTERTE SON SEEKS TO REMOVE NINOY FROM AIRPORT NAME

DAVAO CITY – Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has filed a bill seeking to

change the name of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) ostensibly

to get rid of the bad image attached to the countryÂ’s leading airport and

give the facility a fresh start.

President DuterteÂ’s eldest son, together with Reps. Lord Allan Jay Velasco

(Marinduque) and Eric Go Yap (ACT-CIS), filed House Bill 7031 that seeks to

change the name of the countryÂ’s airport from NAIA to PPP or the Paliparang

Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.

Republic Act 6639, enacted on Dec. 10, 1987, renamed then Manila

International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International Airport during the

administration of then president Corazon Aquino.

Duterte explained that the proposed name is “more representative branding

for the international gateway of our country.”

“We want it to reflect the legacy of the Filipino people, our everyday

heroes. The name bears no color, no political agenda. It only signifies our

warmth as Filipinos in welcoming our own kababayans and foreign visitors,”

the presidential son stressed.

The three lawmakers agreed that “there is a need to identify the same as

belonging to the Philippines” and not to one person alone.

“The proposed name Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas is a name that clearly

represents the whole nation and brings pride to the Filipinos with the use

of the national language,” they said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

BEA ALONZO GREETS JOHN LLOYD CRUZ ON HIS BIRTHDAY

MANILA -- Actress Bea Alonzo took to social media to greet her long-time

onscreen partner John Lloyd Cruz a happy birthday. He turned 37 on

Wednesday, June 24.

Alonzo posted a photo of her and Cruz on Instagram Stories, as she greeted

him on his special day.

"Happy Birthday Idan! Hihintayin ko treat mo pagbalik mo!" Alonzo wrote in

her post.

The two, who started working in early 2000, starred in several hit dramas

including "Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay." They are also known for their

blockbuster films "One More Chance" and "A Second Chance."

The two recently made headlines when their Instagram Live conversation was

revealed as an experimental film by Antoinette Jadaone.

SPORTS

LIVERPOOL WIN PREMIER LEAGUE TO END 30-YEAR TITLE DROUGHT

London: Liverpool have won the Premier League 2019-20 season after a gap of

30 years. As Chelsea defeated Manchester City 2-1 on Friday at Stamford

Bridge means Liverpool have an unassailable 23-point lead over City with

seven games left in the competition.

In 1989-90 the Reds were last crowned as England's top-flight champions.

Christian Pulisic's goal had given Chelsea to lead before a wonderful Kevin

De Bruyne sparked hopes of a comeback, but Fernandinho's late red card led

to a coolly converted penalty to win the game - and gift Liverpool league

glory.

Liverpool had moved to the brink of their 19th title with a 4-0 battering of

Crystal Palace at Anfield on Wednesday.

Jurgen Klopp's side will now look to write even more history. They need 15

points from their remaining seven matches to set a new record points total

for a Premier League campaign, and can also become the first team to win

every single home game in a single season.

"You know it better than I do! Thirty years ago... 30 years ago... I was 23,

so I didn't think too much about winning a title with Liverpool, to be

honest! I had no skills for that! Thirty years later I am here and because

of the great staff I have, it is unbelievable. Tonight, you see them all

together. What Ray [Haughan] did organisational wise, what Mona [Nemmer] did

food-wise and with nutrition is amazing. What Korny [Andreas Kornmayer] did

on a fitness level, what Pep Lijnders did and put into this game, there is

so much of his soul in our game now in this short period. It is

unbelievable," Klopp told the club's official website after becoming

champions.

Liverpool will now play against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on July 3.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

ItÂ’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. ItÂ’s what we do

consistently. - Anthony Robbins