PROJECT ARK VOWS TO HELP IN CEBU COVID-19 RESPONSE

MANILA - The business community through the Go Negosyo Project Antibody

Rapid test Kit (ARK) initiative and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (CCCI) have vowed to help the provincial government mitigate the

increasing cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Cebu,

presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey

Concepcion said yesterday.

Concepcion had a virtual meeting yesterday with chief implementor of the

National Task Force on COVID-19 Carlito Galvez Jr., Environment and Natural

Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu, CCCI president Felix Tagium and Go Negosyo

mentor and CCCI past president Virgilio Espeleta along with different

conglomerates and business chambers to discuss the situation in the

province.

"Controlling the health situations well will allow us to control and avoid

letting go of people and save jobs and livelihood, especially for the MSMEs

(micro, small and medium enterprises) who are struggling right now. Cebu

will definitely rise above this challenge," Concepcion said.

He said the private sector is committed to work together to help the

province of Cebu.

Galvez said it is important for the private sector and the government to

work together to check the spread of the disease in Cebu.

"In all this, we need people's self-awareness and discipline to protect

themselves and the people around them," he added.

Project ARK, an initiative which seeks to ramp up testing in the country

through rapid test kits and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, is

supported by conglomerates as well as various companies, business

organizations and associations across the country.

DUTERTE: METRO MANILA, OTHER CITIES STAY UNDER GCQ

MANILA -- Prevailing community quarantine protocols in urban hubs Cebu City

and Metro Manila will extend until July 15, President Rodrigo Duterte

announced Tuesday.

Metro Manila will remain under general community quarantine while Cebu City

will remain under enhanced community quarantine.

Aside from Metro Manila, the provinces of Benguet, Cavite, Rizal, Leyte and

Southern Leyte, and the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Ormoc are also

under general community quarantine.

Talisay City, which was formally under modified enhanced community

quarantine, has been placed under general community quarantine, along with

the towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion.

The rest of Cebu province has been placed under modified general community

quarantine.

The rest of the country is now under low-risk modified general community

quarantine.

COVID-19 CASES IN PHILIPPINES CLIMB TO 37,514

The Department of Health reported 1,080 new cases of the coronavirus

disease, which brings the total number of COVID-19 infections in the

Philippines to 37,514.

277 patients have recovered while 11 died from the deadly virus.

PHILIPPINES ON GUARD AGAINST NEW POTENTIAL PANDEMIC FROM CHINA

MANILA - The Philippines is monitoring a new type of swine flu from China

which researchers fear could trigger another pandemic, an official from the

Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.

The new swine flu named G4 is genetically descended from the H1N1 strain

that caused a pandemic in 2009. It possesses "all the essential hallmarks of

being highly adapted to infect humans," said scientists at Chinese

universities and China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Philippine inter-agency committee on zoonoses or diseases that jump from

animals to humans will meet to prepare for G4, said Dr. Ronnie Domingo,

officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Animal Industry.

GROUPS URGE UN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO DELIVER 'STRONG' RESOLUTION ON PHILIPPINES

MANILA - Rights groups both in the Philippines and abroad called on the

47-member state United Nations Human Rights Council to take further action

on the human rights situation in the country.

This, after UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet presented to the council's

44th session Tuesday her office's report on the Philippines, which

highlighted the "grave" human rights violations-including extrajudicial

killings-under the government's war on drugs and the vilification of

dissent.

In a joint statement, Karapatan and international monitor CIVICUS said

Bachelet's report underscored that the country's "once-vibrant and open

tradition of civil society activism is under serious threat."

Days before the council opened its session, the Philippines was added to

CIVICUS Monitor's watchlist of countries that have seen a "rapid decline" in

fundamental democratic freedoms in recent months.

"We call on the members of this council to follow up with action and deliver

a strong resolution which delivers the accountability measures that are so

urgently needed, and demonstrates that council members are committed to

upholding respect for and protection of human rights," Karapatan and Civicus

said.

"No country is above scrutiny, nor should they be above law," they added.

Amnesty International said the report's finding that extrajudicial

executions in the country are "widespread and systematic" fits the

organization's conclusions that the killings "amount to crimes against

humanity."

It urged the Human Rights Council to conduct an independent and impartial

investigation into the human rights violations in the Philippines.

Non-governmental organization IBON International, for its part, called on

the council to adopt the UN report and implement the report's

recommendations.

NTC ORDERS ABS-CBN TO STOP TVPLUS IN METRO MANILA

MANILA - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered television

giant ABS-CBN to stop operating digital television transmission through

their TV Plus via Channel 43 in Metro Manila.

The order is the second blow that the NTC dealt the embattled network on

Tuesday, following a separate order asking ABS-CBN subsidiary Sky Cable to

shutdown its direct broadcast satellite service, Sky Direct.

In its latest order, the NTC argued that ABS-CBN's TV Plus was included in

the list of radio and TV stations it had ordered shut in its May 5 order.

The commission said it issued the alias cease and desist order after it

monitored digital TV transmission on Channel 43. The programs monitored were

Cine Mo! Yey!, DZMM Teleradyo, and KBO pay-per-view.

The order follows NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba's vow to halt ABS-CBN's

airing of programs on Channel 43 amid the network's bid for a fresh 25-year

franchise.

Embattled media giant ABS-CBN Corp. on Tuesday announced that it will comply

with the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) cease-and-desist

order (CDO) against the operation of its digital television transmission, TV

Plus, via Channel 43 in Metro Manila.

ABS-CBN noted that it has a pending petition before the Supreme Court

questioning the NTC's May 5 order and "hopes that such petition will be

resolved soon in its favor so that it can resume broadcasting on both analog

and digital platforms in the service of the Filipino."

At least 10 bills on ABS-CBN's franchise grant are pending at the House of

Representatives. Hearings on this matter are currently ongoing at the lower

chamber.

NUJP: LATEST STOP ORDER VS ABS-CBN DEPRIVES 11 MILLION FILIPINOS OF NEWS,

INFORMATION

MANILA - The latest stop order to shutdown ABS-CBN's affiliates deprives

millions of Filipinos of news when information is most vital and would save

lives in the middle of a pandemic, said the National Union of Journalists of

the Philippines.

"This effectively deprives millions more Filipinos-an estimated 11 million

homes according to ABS-CBN CEO Carlo Katigbak-of their right to know and to

choose how to access their news, information and entertainment," NUJP said

in a statement Tuesday.

As the House of Representatives continues its winding hearings on ABS-CBN's

franchise bills, the NTC issued another CDO on Tuesday afternoon. This time,

the commission wanted Sky Cable Corp.'s Direct broadcast, an ABS-CBN

affiliate, and the network's digital terrestrial television in Metro Manila,

which covers the TVPlus service to go off air.

After its primetime night newscast TV Patrol, ABS-CBN was again forced to

shut its operations and black screens again greeted its audiences-a repeat

of the evening of May 5 when the network first complied with the telecoms

regulator's CDO.

NTC's latest order is also in line with the Duterte administration's efforts

to silence the media network, said the journalists' group.

"It is clear that the end goal of this administration is not only to shut

down ABS-CBN but to send a message throughout the media industry that other

news organizations may face the same fate unless they surrender their

watchdog role, the critical and independent reportage that is an essential

part of the media's mission," NUJP added.

"This must not go unchallenged," NUJP said as it called on news

organizations in the country to demand to stop the "persecution" of ABS-CBN.

The journalists' group called on the public to "raise your voices and let it

be known that the Filipino will not stand idly by as they run roughshod over

our rights and liberties."

CONTRACTUAL LABOR LEGAL, BUT ABS-CBN READY TO REVIEW WORKER BENEFITS AND

POLICIES

MANILA - Faced with alleged labor violations, ABS-CBN Corp said that it is

ready to re-examine its employee benefits and the disparity in worker

regularization, the company said at a hearing Tuesday.

At Tuesday afternoon's continuation of the House hearing on the legislative

franchise of ABS-CBN Corp., lawmakers and labor groups called for more

equitable working conditions and labor policies in both ABS-CBN Corp. and

the broadcast industry at large, pointing to the prevalent disproportion in

workers' benefits and regularization.

Asked if the company is willing to introduce reforms in the absence of new

laws, ABS-CBN Corp. CEO Carlo Katigbak said: "More than anything else, our

people are the most responsible for the success of ABS-CBN. We at all times

put their welfare ahead of everything and we are willing to review which

positions in the company deserve to be regular and hopefully to gradually

implement these changes over time."

"For those positions that cannot be regularized, our goal is to make sure

that project employees and regular ones at some point in time have an

identical set of benefits. That principle is what has given rise to the

constant increase in the number of non-statutory benefits that we give to

our employees," Katigbak added.

The company's alleged violations of labor laws are among the reasons raised

by detractors on why the broadcast giant, which employs over 11,000

Filipinos, should not be given a new legislative franchise to operate.

According to Katigbak, 6,705 of its employees are regularized, while 2,208

project employees and independent contractors stood at 2,158.

Labor Undersecretary Ana Dione said that "there was never an instance" that

having program employees or independent contractors was deemed illegal.

THE REST

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'NAGTATRABAHO 'YUNG TAO': DUTERTE DEFENDS DUQUE ANEW OVER COVID-19 PANDEMIC

HANDLING

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte late Tuesday night defended Health

Secretary Francisco Duque III anew amid criticism on the government's

handling of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.

In a streamed public address, the President said he would not have appointed

Duque as head of the health department if he was incompetent.

"Nakita ko to si Secretary Duque in the many meeting we had. Nakita ko

siyang nagtatrabaho. Nagtatrabaho 'yung tao," Duterte said.

He said no country was prepared to deal with the pandemic, which he claims

comes once in a century.

"Hindi natin akalain in 2 days time after warning given by the WHO (World

Health Organization), it is a virulent, fast-moving microbe and we were all

advised to take precautions," he added.

The Office of the Ombudsman has launched in investigation on alleged lapses

in the health department's response to the crisis.

4 SUNDALO NAPATAY NG MGA PULIS SA 'ENGKWENTRO' SA SULU

MAYNILA - Apat na sundalo ang nasawi matapos nilang makaengkwentro umano ang

ilang pulis sa bayan ng Jolo, Sulu nitong Lunes.

Ayon kay Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, kumander ng Western Mindanao Command,

mula ang apat na sundalo sa 11th infantry Division ng Philippine Army at may

official mission sa Sitio Marina, Barangay Walled City sa naturang bayan.

Malabo pa aniya ang mga report na nakararating sa kanya kung bakit humantong

sa barilan ang insidente.

Sa police report mula sa police regional office sa Bangsamoro Region, sinita

umano sa checkpoint ang SUV lulan ang mga nasawi na hindi nakauniporme

ngunit nagpakilalang mga sundalo.

Pinapunta sila sa Jolo Municipal Police Station para sa beripikasyon.

Gayunman, hindi raw sumunod ang mga ito at pinatakbo ang van patungo sa

direksyon ng Barangay San Raymundo kaya nagpaputok ang mga pulis.

Dagdag sa report, hinabol ang mga ito ng pulisya pero bumaba ang mga sakay

ng SUV at itinutok umano ang kanilang mga baril sa mga pulis.

Patay ang apat na may ranggong major, captain, sarhento, at corporal.

Kabilang sa mga nasawi ay dalawang military officer mula sa intelligence

unit ng Army.

Pinaiimbestigahan na ni Sobejana ang insidente sa National Bureau of

Investigation.

"We don't want any escalation of hostilities out of the incident. Our

interest is to know the facts and justice is given" ani Sobejana.

Tinawag ni Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana na "very unfortunate incident"

ang nangyari ngunit hindi pa nagbigay ng karagdagang komento dahil hindi pa

umano kumpleto ang natatanggap niyang report sa insidente.

Samantala, nagpaabot ng pakikiramay ang pamunuan ng Philippine National

Police sa pamilya ng mga namatay sa "misencounter" sa Sulu.

"The PNP leadership extends its deepest condolences to the family and

colleagues of two Philippine Army officers and two enlisted men who died in

the unfortunate incident of a misencounter with PNP personnel in Jolo, Sulu

this afternoon,"pahayag ng PNP.

Ipinag-utos na rin ng PNP na mananatili muna sa kanilang mga quarters ang

lahat ng sangkot sa insidente, partikular na ang mga miyembro ng Jolo

Municipal Police Station.

Nagkasundo ang AFP at PNP na pamunuan ng NBI Regional Office sa Zamboanga

City ang imbestigasyon sa insidente.

NBI, POLICE, BIR TOLD TO LOOK INTO COURIER SERVICE IN VIRAL VIDEO

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte said he will have the police and the

National Bureau of Investigation look into a courier service over complaints

on how they handle cargo.

He said he will also have the Bureau of Internal Revenue look into the

finances of J&T Express, the courier company whose employees were seen

throwing packages into a truck in a now viral video.

"I will really close you down if after the [Criminal Investigation and

Detection Group] and NBI finish their investigation and point the liability

at you," he said in Filipino.

He said he had received numerous complaints of "lost cargo or cargo that you

replaced (with something else)."

In an online statement that it has since deleted, J&T Express warned the

public against uploading "malicious posts" and "resolved cases."

"We are monitoring all platforms available and will take necessary actions

legally. We highly encourage the public to practice their freedom of speech

responsibly, and with the right thinking," it also said. The courier service

said it can address customers' concerns through its hotlines and social

media accounts.

The company has already taken responsibility over a video that showed its

personnel throwing packages into a truck with seeming abandon.

It said that that was an isolated case and that it would sanction the

personnel handling the cargo in the video. "We ... follow strict protocols

in handling the shipments and ensure that these are handled with proper

care," it said then.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

STARS TURN EMOTIONAL DUE TO ANXIETY OVER ABS-CBN FRANCHISE RENEWAL

MANILA - Kapamilya celebrities tried to hold back tears and admitted to

breaking down due to ABS-CBN shutdown as well as for missing their old lives

that were put into hold due to novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

pandemic.

In a virtual press conference of her show "Paano Kita Mapapasalamatan," Judy

Ann Santos said she misses the real taping setup, most expecially her

friends, cast and crew.

"Alam mo siguro 'yung mga kaibigan namin, 'yung makapagpasalamat talaga sa

kanila. Alam mo 'yung realization na pag natapos talaga lahat ng ito at

pwede ko nang yakapin ang mga mahal ko sa buhay, every single time na

makikita ko sila, yayakapin ko at magpapasalamat ako ng bonggang bongga kasi

hindi mo na talaga alam ang mangyayari sa kinabukasan," she said while

wiping tears.

"I miss my friends, I miss my team, I miss everyone. Namimiss kong

makipag-interact sa actual set. Namimiss kong tumawa, namimiss kong

magpa-Starbucks para sa lahat. 'Yung 'pag gusto mong maging happy ang ibang

tao, magpapabili ako ng pagkain, gusto kong binubusog ang team ko," she

added.

In a separate media teleconference with Philstar.com and other press, "Love

Thy Woman" actresses also became emotional.

"I feel grateful because I'm alive, my family's together, I breathe fresh

air. I feel grateful na nakakain kami, walang nagkakasakit sa'min. I thank

the Lord," Ruffa Gutierrez said.

"First time na nagbreak down ako nu'ng nag-shutdown ang ABS - bilib na bilib

ako sa lahat ng mga taga-ABS," she added.

"Kahit anong tests lahat malalampasan," Zsa Zsa Padilla positively said.

Sunshine Cruz, on the other hand, said that she realized that she's blessed

because her loved ones are all safe despite the pandemic.

"Blessed ako kasi lahat ng mahal sa buhay ko, very healthy. At tama,

nakakain kami sa oras ng mga anak ko... Ngayon ko na-realize ang mga

mahahaling sapatos, bag, 'di mahalaga. Ngayon ko naramadaman na mahal ako ng

pamilya ko. Ang dami lang talagang ipagpasamalamat. Dapat lang maging

thankful ka, small or big blessings man ang dumating."

Yam Concepcion also broke into tears, saying: "Honestly, I'm a little lost."

"'Di ba sa movies lang ito nangyayari? But thankful ako na buhay ako, na

healthy ang family ko at may communication pa rin. Walang trabaho ng three

months but very appreciative ang pamilya satin," a teary-eyed Eula Valdez

said.

SPORTS

FOOTBALL: MESSI SCORES 700TH GOAL BUT ATLETICO DRAW HURTS BARCA'S TITLE

HOPES

MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi scored his 700th career goal but Barcelona

suffered a blow to their La Liga title hopes after a 2-2 draw with Atletico

Madrid on Tuesday (June 30).

Messi chipped in a penalty to reach another astonishing milestone at Camp

Nou but twice Atletico hit back with spot-kicks of their own, Saul Niguez

converting both after Barca took an early lead through Diego Costa's

own-goal.

The result gives Real Madrid the chance to move four points clear at the top

of the table if they can overcome Getafe at home on Wednesday, a formidable

lead with five games left.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 49.83

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn. - Arnold

Schwarzenegger