DAYS AFTER ABS-CBN SHUTDOWN, DUTERTE CELEBRATES ‘DISMANTLING THE OLIGARCHY’

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday tagged the Ayalas and Lopezes

as the bedrock of oligarchy in the Philippines that he claimed to have

dismantled, citing alleged violations by companies owned by the family

conglomerates.

The PresidentÂ’s statement was contained in the unaired portion of his July

13 speech in Jolo, Sulu, an audio file of which was obtained by media.

"Pero sa totoo lang (The truth is), I am extremely proud of myself. And I do

not want to share that with anybody. I do not want anybody saying,

whispering, 'Proud ako sa iyo' (I'm proud of you). Gusto ko, ako lang, ako

lang ang proud, that I dismantled the bedrock, yung pinaka-poste ng

oligarchy sa Pilipinas. Talagang inupakan ko," Duterte said.

"At nakatikim talaga ng mura na hindi talaga akalain. Yan, lahat, Ayala, si

Lopez. Nagsulat ng apology. Sila ang minura ko, sila pa ang nag-apologize,"

he added.

A taped video of his Jolo speech that was broadcast Tuesday morning on

state-run PTV4, as well as an official transcript of it did not contain

these remarks.

"Without declaring martial law, sinira ko ‘yung mga tao na humahawak sa

ekonomiya at umiipit at hindi nagbabayad," Duterte said in the aired taped

speech, without naming names.

The PresidentÂ’s tirade came 3 days after a House of Representatives

committee voted against a new ABS-CBN franchise, fulfilling Duterte's

earlier threats against the network.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing Tuesday noon

that Duterte was referring in his taped speech to “Lucio Tan, Manny

Pangilinan, and the (Zobel de) Ayala clan” and not to the Lopezes of media

giant ABS-CBN.

On Wednesday, Roque said the President remains neutral "because the Lopezes

are still up and about."

"The Lopezes have not been dismantled. They have other businesses - First

Gen, real estate," he said in an ANC Headstart interview.

In the unaired portion of his speech, Duterte said the pressure he exerted

against those he perceived as oligarchs stemmed from his anger over what

they have done to the nation.

He said he would not grant a concession to oligarch-owned businesses even if

it is legal.

"By the next 2 years, I will not give any concession at all, however legal

ang kanilang application (their application is)," he said.

"Ngayon, after 2 years, 'pag paalis ako, 'pag wala pang nangyari, alis ako,

at least nakita na ninyo, bahala na kayo. Bahala na kayo," he said.

While the Palace has called the vote a "decision of [the] Filipino people,"

findings from a Social Weather Station survey suggest that four out of five

Filipinos support ABS-CBN's franchise bid while over half of Filipinos saw

the bid's denial as a blow to press freedom in the country.

The House panel's decision has been slammed by Vice President Leni Robredo,

some senators, rights groups and media workers, who saw it as an assault on

press freedom and democracy.

SC CONSOLIDATES ANTI-TERROR ACT PETITIONS

MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday announced that it would

consolidate all the eight petitions questioning the constitutionality of the

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said the four latest petitions involving

Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 “have also been

consolidated together with the four earlier petitions consolidated last

week.”

The SC decided to merge the four new petitions filed by former Office of the

Government Corporate Counsel chief Rudolph Philip Jurado; the Center for

Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR); Christian Monsod and Felicitas Arroyo,

two framers of the 1987 Constitution, with the Ateneo Human Rights Center;

and Sanlakas with the first four petitions.

The first four petitions were filed by civil leaders and lawyers led by

Howard Calleja and former Department of Education (DepEd) secretary Bro.

Armin Luistro, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the group of Far Eastern University

(FEU) College of Law Dean Melencio Sta. Maria Jr. and FEU law professors and

the Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives.

President Duterte was named respondents in three of the petitions – those

filed by the Makabayan bloc, CTUHR and Sanlakas.

Aside from Duterte, named respondents in all or some of the eight petitions

filed were Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) chairman Executive Secretary

Salvador Medialdea and its members.

The SC had given the respondents in the four latest petitions 10 days to

file their comments to the Court.

RELAXING METRO MANILA QUARANTINE 'OUT OF THE QUESTION': ROQUE

MANILA — Downgrading the pandemic lockdown of some 12 million people Metro

Manila is "out of the question", Malacañang said Wednesday, as cases of the

novel coronavirus disease continued to spike.

Cases of COVID-19 in the region take 7 to 9 days to double, which "warrants

the existing GCQ" or general community quarantine, said Presidential

Spokesperson Harry Roque.

The intensive care units at some hospitals have "filled up", he added.

"Easing up of restrictions is out of the question. It was never considered,

never agreed upon with the Metro Manila mayors because of the data," he told

ANC.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday will likely announce fresh community

quarantine classifications, Malacañang earlier said.

Metro Manila has been under GCQ since June 1. This lockdown, the third most

lenient in a 4-step scale, allows the reopening of about 75 percent of the

economy.

Palace: Some areas to go back to stricter lockdown

MANILA — Some areas will go back to a stricter pandemic lockdown, Malacañang

said Wednesday as cases of the novel coronavirus continued to shoot up.

Several areas will return to general community quarantine or GCQ from

modified GCQ, said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, hours ahead of

President Rodrigo Duterte's announcement of fresh lockdown classifications.

Four cities and 1 province earlier appealed their lockdown level, said

Roque. He did not say whether or not these are the areas that would go back

to GCQ.

"But by and large, the Philippines will be under MGCQ, overwhelming," he

told ANC. "I guess you can say we have reigned in the COVID threat to the

extent that can open up to 75 percent of the economy."

The government "in the coming few days... might even consider declaring some

areas under the new normal," he said.

Roque in the same interview said relaxing the lockdown of 12 million people

in Metro Manila was "out of the question."

The health department on Tuesday reported 634 additional COVID-19 cases in

the Philippines, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 57,545.

DTI, BIR: ONLINE BARTER NOT TAXABLE SO LONG AS NOT A BUSINESS

MANILA — Online barter of goods is not illegal, and not subject to taxes, so

long as transactions are personal in nature and not conducted to earn a

living, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez clarified on Wednesday.

“For local barter trade, there is no clear prohibition. But these are still

subject to regulation, must be registered and subject to tax if again being

done in the course of trade or business. As a regular business,” Lopez said

in a text message.

“However, personal transactions not in the course of trade and business are

not covered by registration requirements,” he added.

Sought for more details, Arnel Guballa, deputy commissioner at the Bureau of

Internal Revenue (BIR), said in a text message barter trade is not subject

to taxes “if there is no recognized gain.” He did not elaborate when asked.

The clarifications came after Lopez was heavily criticized in social media

for saying the trade department will run after online barter, transactions

where instead of money, people purchase goods and services by exchanging

items.

117,000 OFWS NEED REPATRIATION — DFA

MANILA — The national government has so far repatriated 50,000 overseas

Filipino workers (OFWs) and is set to repatriate the remaining 117,000, an

official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) told the House of

Representatives yesterday.

Sarah Lou Arriola, Undersecretary for migrant workers affairs of the DFA,

told the House public accounts committee headed by Rep. Mike Defensor that

they can carry out the repatriation “with the assistance of other government

agencies.”

At the same time, she also announced that there will be two consecutive

Philippine Airlines flights to Qatar this month – on July 17 and 19 – to

ferry OFWs with confirmed PAL tickets. The latter flight will be a chartered

one.

“We’re also working on another chartered flight before the end of the

month,” Arriola told Defensor and vice-chairman Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado,

whose committee has been conducting a probe on the repatriation of thousands

of stranded OFWs.

The DFA official said each PAL plane can carry about 350 passengers.

Arriola also disclosed that Vietnam has finally allowed PAL to fetch about

80 stranded OFWs in Vietnam on July 25. “That is the final date. And yes,

they’re coming home very soon,” she told the lawmakers.

'THE STATE CAN ISOLATE' CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS EVEN IF THEY PREFER HOME

QUARANTINE: PALACE

MANILA — The government "can isolate" coronavirus patients with mild or no

symptoms, even if they prefer to go on home quarantine, Malacañang said

Thursday.

Home quarantine is only allowed if a patient has his or her own room with an

attached restroom, and they do not share the house with someone who has

commorbidities, senior citizens or pregnant women, who are vulnerable to

COVID-19, said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.

Those who do not satisfy these criteria should go to government isolation

facilities, where they will have their own air-conditioned rooms with free

meals and WiFi, he said.

"That's the only way we can contain community transmission of the virus," he

told ANC. "Sentido comon—it's a very communicable disease and if they refuse

to be isolated, the state of course can isolate them."

The state's "inherent police power of the state" and "promotion of public

health" serve as legal basis for this, he said.

"'Pag merong dapat i-quarantine, puwede iyang kuhanin ng gobyerno (when

someone needs to be quarantined, the government can get them). Let's not

make a big issue out of it," Roque said.

ABS-CBN SHUTDOWN ALSO HAS 'CHILLING EFFECT' ON CREATIVE WRITERS:

SCREENWRITER

MANILA - The shutdown of ABS-CBN also has a chilling effect on creative

writers, a former official of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) said

Wednesday following his resignation from government.

Screenwriter Jerry Gracio, who also writes for the network, made public his

resignation on Monday, saying he can no longer "serve a fascist government."

"Kung may chilling effect sa press, tingin ko may ganun ding epekto sa mga

manunulat, kasi magiging maingat sila sa depiction ng kung anong

nangyayari," he told ANC.

"Nauulit ang nangyayari sa panahon ni Rizal na kailangang i-ban ang Noli (Me

Tangere) at (El) Filibusterismo at kailangan mag-ingat ang mga manunulat."

"Mag-iingat ka sa kung ano ang isusulat mo. Last time natandaan natin

sinasabi ni Cong. (Jesus Crispin) Remulla tungkol creative writers sa

ABS-CBN dahil palagi daw dinedepict ang politiko bilang masasama."

Teleseryes or TV series depict what the Filipinos desire, Gracio said.

"Bakit hanggang ngayon buhay si Cardo? Kasi hanggang ngayon naghahanap tayo

ng pulis na hindi maglilingkod sa makapangyarihan kung hindi maglilingkod sa

taumbayan," he said.

Gracio said he had campaigned for President Rodrigo Duterte but quit his

post, which he assumed during the previous administration, when the latter

was seated into office in 2016 following the supposed extrajudicial killings

under the drug war.

"Hindi ko na matatanggap ang patuloy na pagsikil sa ating mga karapatan, ang

pinakahuli ay ang pagpapasara sa ABS-CBN," he said.

PUBLIC TOLD TO REPORT NEIGHBORS WITH COVID-19 AS COPS PREPARE TO GO

HOUSE-TO-HOUSE

MANILA — Police are set to conduct house-to-house operations to find

COVID-19 patients under home quarantine and transfer them to isolation

facilities, Interior and Local Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday.

This comes as police enforcement of health protocols against the coronavirus

takes a page straight out of the PNP's 2018 'anti-tambay' campaign, with

police looking at intensified "discipline-based ordinances" and bans on

loitering, drinking, and smoking as "tools" to clamp down on quarantine

violators as the agency's focus shifts to the barangay level.

"What we're going to do now is that with the help of our local governments

and the Philippine National Police, we'll be going house by house and we'll

be bringing positive [cases] to our COVID-19 facilities," Año said in

Filipino at an online press briefing.

“To our countrymen, if you know a neighbor who is COVID-19 positive and

hiding, please report them to us. This is a law, RA 11332,” Año added.

The Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public

Health Concern Act requires "reporting of a condition to local or state

health authorities, as required for notifiable diseases, epidemics or public

health events of public health concern".

The law has also been used as justification to arrest people for holding

protests or fo going on outreach programs during the quarantine.

THE REST

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ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ENDS TODAY

MANILA — Parents have until today to enroll their children in public schools

for the upcoming school year that would begin on Aug. 24, the Department of

Education (DepEd) said yesterday.

Public school students may be enrolled remotely through text message, phone

call or social media or through designated drop boxes in schools or barangay

halls, according to DepEd.

As of yesterday, a total of 19,888,067 students have expressed their intent

to enroll in public and private schools next school year, which is expected

to forgo face-to-face classes due to the pandemic.

More than 18.8 million students have enrolled in public schools. Private

schools only have a little over a million enrollees so far.

The DepEd said the total number of enrollees accounts for 71 percent of the

more than 27 million students in basic education last year and 90.5 percent

of the projected 21.97 million enrollment next school year.

PGH SAYS CAN NO LONGER ACCEPT CRITICALLY ILL CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS

The Philippine General Hospital said Wednesday it could no longer accept

critically ill coronavirus patients from other health facilities because its

beds were almost full.

The PGH currently has 196 patients with COVID-19 who occupy about 93 percent

of the 210 beds allocated for the respiratory disease, said hospital

spokesperson Dr. Jonas Del Rosario.

About 90 percent of beds at the intensive care unit are also occupied. The

remaining beds there are reserved for those currently confined at the

hospital in case their condition worsens, he said.

"Hindi po kami makatanggap ngayon ng mga critically ill na galing sa ibang

ospital," he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

The state-run hospital still accepts COVID-19 patients with moderate

symptoms, while those with mild symptoms are referred to other hospitals,

Del Rosario said.

PANDEMIC CZAR MARK VILLAR TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS DISEASE

MANILA - Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said Wednesday he

has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Villar made the announcement on his social media page, a day after he was

named isolation czar who will lead the government's efforts in putting up

quarantine facilities across the country as COVID-19 cases rise.

Villar in March underwent self-isolation after being exposed to an infected

person and later tested negative for the virus.

ONLY 30% OF 6,000 JEEPNEYS RESUME ROUTES – GROUP

MANILA — Less than 30 percent of 6,000 jeepneys allowed by the government to

ply 49 routes in Metro Manila have been able to resume operations after

public transport was suspended in March, a transport group said on Monday.

The figure means that fewer than 1,800 jeepney drivers are on the road.

The Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) said many jeepney

drivers have remained idle since the government approved the return of

public utility jeepneys on July 3.

Majority of jeepney drivers found the guidelines set by the Land

Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for their return

difficult, chief of which was the voluntary surrender of their franchise,

ACTO president Efren de Luna said.

“What’s painful is that surrendering our franchise – no one would really do

that because if we do, we wouldnÂ’t be operators but rather individuals

dreaming of having a livelihood,” De Luna said in an interview aired over

Teleradyo on Monday.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'THEY ALL WANT TO BE ON TOP OF THE UNIVERSE': GLORIA DIAZ ON RECEIVING

INDECENT PROPOSALS EVEN AT 69

MANILA — Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz did not hold back when asked to

react about alleged indecent proposals among beauty queens following recent

news about Filipina beauty titlists experiencing such as seen in a

documentary that went viral during enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

In Channel News Asia’s investigative program “Undercover Asia,” Bb.

Pilipinas-World 2008 Janina San Miguel revealed that she received lucrative

offers in exchange for sexual favors.

“Noong nandoon na kami, sinabi na 3 million (pesos) for a one-night stand.

‘Yung 25 million (pesos), gagawin ka niyang girlfriend, bibigyan ka niya ng

car, condo, resort, lahat,” San Miguel said in the interview.

“Ayun na nga yung maduming kalakaran nila. Andami talagang gustong maging

girlfriend or wife ang isang beauty queen."

Diaz, in an online press conference Tuesday for her new iWant series "Beauty

Queens," told Philstar.com in an interview that while she thinks that it is

SOP (standard operating procedure) for beauty contests to ban indecent

proposals, these still happen.

"I think that's actually SOP (standard operating procedure) I think in a

beauty contest. Talagang maraming DOM (dirty old men) around," Diaz bared.

"In fact, I'd be surprised kung walang DOM or young men, or whatever. And

there's always indecent proposals. It's all over."

According to her, it is up to the contestant on whether or not they would be

insulted by the proposal.

"Most of the beauty contestants almost expect it and when they're around,

it's okay. It doesn't insult me. I don't feel pressured. I just enjoy the

attention and I go on with it. I mean, it's not mind-boggling or anything.

Hindi ka naman binabastos eh. At walang pilitan, 'di ba?"

She also revealed that she receives such proposals even at her age now, 69.

"There are a lot of indecent proposals and even at my age, they all want to

be on top of the universe," she quipped.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that. That's the usual Filipino

type of a guy. They always try, nothing to be lost."

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your

nights without a want and a grief. But rather when these things girdle your

life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound. – Kahlil Gibran