CONSTITUTION FRAMERS, RIGHTS DEFENDERS, JOURNALISTS CHALLENGE ANTI-TERRORISM

ACT

MANILA - A group of veteran journalists, lawmakers, human rights defenders

and Constitution framers is the newest to challenge the anti-terror law,

which they described as a "clear and imminent danger to free speech."

Journalists and columnists led by Ma. Ceres Doyo, Jo-Ann Maglipon, Maria

Ressa, and John Nery, senators Leila de Lima and Francis Pangilinan,

Constitution framers Florangel Rosario-Braid and Edmundo Garcia and other

former lawmakers challenged the anti-terrorism measure by filing through

email on Wednesday a petition with a plea for a temporary restraining order

to stop the implementation of the law.

Petitioners Chel Diokno, Erin Tañada and Rep. Kit Belmonte of the Free Legal

Assistance Group (FLAG) physically filed their petition with the Supreme

Court Thursday morning. FLAG also acts as petitioners' counsel.

Retired Supreme Court justices, Antonio Carpio and Conchita

Carpio-Morales—also former chief graft-buster—led the 11th group of

petitioners asking the tribunal to strike down the much-feared

Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020 as unconstitutional. They are joined by the

University of the Philippines College of Law.

They asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order of a status quo

ante order to restrain the implementation of the law, and urge the conduct

of oral arguments. They also prayed to declare the entire Republic Act 11479

as unconstitutional.

Named as respondents are the government officials who are part of the

Anti-Terrorism Council led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and the

council itself, as well as Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado and the National

Intelligence Coordinating Agency.

In the group's 73-page petition, petitioners claimed the Anti-Terrorism Act

(ATA) poses a "clear and imminent danger to free speech."

"By its very architecture, the ATA is a weapon against constitutionally

protected speech and speech-related conduct. To begin with, it creates the

new speech crime of Inciting to Terrorism (Section 9, ATA) and then ties

this to a new definition of the crime of terrorism. This new definition of

terrorism, found in Section 4 of the ATA, is breathtakingly vague and

overbroad," the petition said.

At least 3 more groups are expected to file new petitions Thursday: the

National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, a group of Muslims and a

youth group, raising to 15 the total number of petitions against the

Anti-Terrorism Act.

'DUE PROCESS. BAWAL JUDGMENTAL!': SOTTO SAYS ABS-CBN PROPERTY

'CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED' VS GOVT TAKEOVER

MANILA - Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday criticized several

lawmakers' alleged plan to take over ABS-CBN's properties after the network

was denied a broadcast franchise.

The 1987 Constitution gives "weight" to private possessions, Sotto said in a

tweet.

"Takeover ABS-CBN property? Private property is constitutionally protected.

Possession is given weight," he said.

Last week, several lawmakers who voted to kill ABS-CBN's franchise renewal

bid at the House of Representatives insisted that the government can take

over the broadcasting company's assets in its Quezon City headquarters,

since the network allegedly holds questionable land titles.

In a Zoom meeting streamed on Facebook last week, House Deputy Speaker

Rodante Marcoleta, Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla and

Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor discussed how former ABS-CBN cameraman

Journalie Payonan and his colleagues can operate the network's facilities

should the government succeed in seizing the assets.

"There is a venue, the courts, and there is due process. Bawal judgmental!

(People can't pass their own judgment!)" Sotto said.

Despite the video recording, Defensor said their group was not planning to

take over ABS-CBN.

The lawmakers who discussed the possible seizure of ABS-CBN's assets and

proposed imposition of a nearly P2-trillion fine against the network were

among the 70 lawmakers who voted against the renewal of the former media

giant's franchise earlier this month despite being cleared by regulatory

agencies of any violation.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange last Monday, ABS-CBN said

it had "no knowledge of any proceedings that impose fines or penalties or

claims against" its Quezon City property.

LOCSIN: ABS-CBN TAKEOVER TRESPASSING, THEFT

MANILA — Trespassers at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City could be “shot”

under the law as the act of taking over the networkÂ’s property and equipment

is “trespassing” and “theft,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.

warned yesterday.

The envisioned takeover is said to be part of a plan being pushed by Deputy

Speaker Rodante Marcoleta and other congressmen who killed the networkÂ’s

application for a new broadcast franchise.

The plan to take over ABS-CBNÂ’s compound and facilities emerged at a Zoom

meeting among Marcoleta, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, Deputy

Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla, Tingog Sinirangan party-list Rep.

Yedda Romualdez and Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and included a fine of nearly

P2 trillion, after junking the franchise and triggering the layoff of 11,000

employees.

“Technically speaking that’s trespassing and theft and under the law you can

shoot trespassers, I’m almost sure of that,” Locsin warned in a post on his

official Twitter account.

PHILIPPINES EYES USE OF COVID-19 ANTIGEN TESTS TO BOOST TESTING CAPACITY

MANILA — The Philippines is eyeing the use of a coronavirus diagnostic test

that can provide results in minutes to help authorities ramp up the

countryÂ’s testing capacity, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.

Nograles said the governmentÂ’s inter-agency task force on coronavirus

response recently discussed the use of antigen tests. A technical working

group was tasked to draft protocols on the use of such diagnostic tests.

Antigen tests quickly detect fragments of proteins found on or within the

virus by testing samples collected from the nasal cavity using swabs,

according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The co-chairperson of the IATF said antigen tests can yield results in 30

minutes.

“If that antigen testing will be approved and the protocols will be approved

by IATF, that will help ramp up and increase ‘yung testing natin per day,”

Nograles said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

IATF CO-CHAIR: 'UNFAIR' TO SAY GOV'T FAILED IN COVID-19 FIGHT, PH IN 'GOOD

PLACE'

MANILA — The Philippines is in a "good place" in its coronavirus fight

compared to more developed countries and it is "unfair" for critics to say

that the government had failed to address the health crisis, an official

said Thursday.

The country would have had 1.3 million cases of COVID-19 if the inter-agency

task force on the coronavirus response did not roll out quarantine measures

in March, said the body's co-chairperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

"The fact that that had not yet happened, or hadn't happened, shows that the

IATF acted and the President acted with dispatch. Mabilis ang action natin

(We acted fast)," he told ANC.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Wednesday that the task force

had "failed" given that COVID-19 cases in the country had surpassed the

70,000-mark and "the only solution we see today is the continuous and

repeated lockdowns."

"That's an unfair assessment of the work that the IATF has done," Nograles

said.

The lockdown allowed the Philippines to lower its COVID-19 fatality rate and

boost its health care capacity, including procuring more hospital beds,

undertaking more tests, and deploying safety gear for frontliners, he said.

In the US and other developed countries in Latin America, Europe and Africa,

"community transmission has skyrocketed, deaths are so high, the number of

cases are so high, their health capacities are overwhelmed," said Nograles.

"Compared to these countries we're in a good place. Of course, there will be

other countries who have done better, and we benchmark with those countries,

and we try our best to match them," the Palace official said.

Local lockdown levels are based on a "scientific, mathematic model" that

takes into account the epidemiological curve, health capacity, and economic,

social and security factors, he said.

"Hindi ito haka-haka or gut feel lamang," he said.

Nograles said he expects President Rodrigo Duterte to talk about the health

crisis in his penultimate State of the Nation Address on Monday.

SONA: DUTERTE TO UNVEIL COVID-19 RECOVERY MAP

MANILA — President Duterte is expected to unveil a pandemic recovery roadmap

during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Malacañang said

yesterday.

Duterte will deliver his penultimate SONA on Monday as the government finds

ways to revive the economy, which is reeling from lockdowns due to COVID-19.

More than 70,000 people have been infected by the virus, which some

economists said has dragged the Philippines into a recession in the first

half of the year.

“I think there’s no other problem as big as COVID right now, and you can

imagine that the upcoming State of the Nation Address will discuss this

pandemic in much detail,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque told CNN

Philippines.

“But I think the difference will be, he will be presenting now a roadmap for

recovery, which actually, if youÂ’ve noticed, the economic team has not

unveiled yet. And I think the reason is they want to unveil it during the

SONA itself and in many fora after the SONA,” he added.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Duterte would deliver his address in a

chamber separate from lawmakers and guests.

“He will be addressing the nation from the same podium, but for the safety

of all the members of Congress and the employees of the House, he will

deliver his SONA in a chamber that will not be filled by the legislators,

officials and dignitaries that usually attend this function,” Nograles said

during a pre-SONA forum yesterday.

“Many of us will notice the changes but the importance of the speech will

not change... Such a report is more important now, more than ever, as the

government works to chart a safe course for our country as it navigates

through unfamiliar and uncertain times,” he added.

THE REST

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5.2 million families hungry: PH records highest hunger incidence since 2014,

says SWS

MANILA - Some 5.2 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger

in the past 3 months as the country battled the COVID-19 pandemic, the

highest since 2014, an independent Social Weather Stations survey showed

Wednesday.

Of 1,555 adult Filipinos surveyed, 20.9 percent said they experienced

"hunger due to lack of food to eat," up from the 16.7 percent recorded in

May.

The figure is the highest recorded since September 2014, when 22 percent of

respondents- equivalent to 4.8 million families- reported experiencing

hunger, SWS said.

In the July survey, 15.8 percent or 3.9 million families said they

experienced moderate hunger or "only once or a few times" in the last 3

months, while 5.1 percent or 1.3 million families said they experienced

severe hunger or "often or always" in the same period.

The study found hunger was highest in Visayas at 27.2 percent (1.3 million

families), where it increased by 12.6 percent from the last survey.

It was followed by Mindanao at 24.2 percent (1.4 million families), Balance

Luzon at 17.8 percent (2 million families) and Metro Manila at 16.3 percent

(546,000 families).

The incidence of hunger rose among families of non-elementary graduate

respondents to 35.6 percent from 21.1 percent, SWS said.

It was followed by households of junior high school graduates at 20.9

percent, and college graduates at 8.9 percent, the pollster added.

The survey was conducted from July 3 to 6 using mobile and computer-assisted

telephone interviewing and had a sampling error margin of ±2 percent for

national percentages.

Malacañang on Wednesday said the survey shows the importance of reopening

the economy following nearly 3 months of strict lockdown.

DOJ: 476 INMATES DIED IN FIRST HALF OF 2020 SENATORS WANT BUCOR CHIEF OUT

MANILA — Since the start of the year, an average of two inmates have died

daily in prison facilities nationwide under the Bureau of Corrections

(BuCor), for a total of 476 fatalities as of July 19, Justice Secretary

Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.

Based on data provided by the BuCor, the prisoners died of various ailments,

including coronavirus disease 2019.

Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon yesterday said BuCor

Director General Gerald Bantag should submit a report on the deaths recorded

at the NBP and to take a leave of absence.?Senate Minority Leader Franklin

Drilon, for his part, said suspicions that something is “amiss” do not merit

the continued stay of Bantag in his post.

BUCOR OFFICIALS IGNORED THE CALLS.

Of the 476 fatalities, 21 succumbed toCOVID-19 – three from the Correctional

Institution for Women (CIW) and the other 18 from the New Bilibid Prison

(NBP) in Muntinlupa.

Of the 21 persons deprived of liberty or PDLs, nine were linked to the

illegal drug trade in the NBP, which prompted the National Bureau of

Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe on their deaths. Another 24 were

suspected to have died of COVID.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution seeking a Senate probe into the

deaths of nine high-profile drug inmates in the NBP allegedly due to COVID.

Hontiveros said BuCor earlier confirmed that among those who died from COVID

were drug convict Sebastian, along with other inmates Boratong, Benjamin

Marcelo, Zhang Zhu Li, Jimmy Kinsing Hung, Francis Go, Jimmy Yang, Eugene

Chua and Ryan Ong.

“It is baffling how COVID-19 was able to wipe out several drug lords with

one blow,” said Hontiveros,

DILG SEEKS CLARIFICATION ON ARREST OF QUARANTINE VIOLATORS

MANILA — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is

seeking clarification from Malacañang on President DuterteÂ’s directive to

arrest health protocol violators amid the congestion in jail facilities

nationwide.

DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that they would need to

clarify the directive with the Palace, after Duterte said he does not have

any qualms about arresting individuals who flout quarantine measures meant

to address the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to clarify from MalacañangÂ… does this mean, will we jail them.

Because we have a problem with our detention facilities,” he said in an

interview on One NewsÂ’ The Chiefs.

The President directed the DILG to ensure that police and local officials

will enforce quarantine protocols, including wearing of face masks in public

and practicing physical distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaya said the difference between arrest and apprehension needs to be made

clear, the latter only having sanctions or fines instead of detention.

The Philippine Nationa Police (PNP) has accosted tens of thousands of

individuals over alleged quarantine violations since the outbreak of the

pandemic in March, most of whom were warned or fined.

The DILG is talking with local executives to harmonize local ordinances on

quarantine violations, amid the varying sanctions imposed by different local

government units.

Malaya said they are eyeing community service for violators instead of

bringing them to cramped detention cells that could possibly further expose

them to the coronavirus.

ILOILO CITY STILL ACCEPTING RETURNING RESIDENTS FROM MANILA: MAYOR

Iloilo City is accepting residents returning from Metro Manila, even after

it temporarily closed its border to those from neighboring Bacolod City to

prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, an official said

Thursday.

Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas said he closed the city's Bacolod border from 5

p.m. Wednesday to 12 noon Thursday after online reports of a spike in

COVID-19 cases there.

The regional task force had given Treñas an update on the Bacolod situation,

he said.

"Ibinigay sa amin ang actual situation, hindi naman nakakatakot," he told

ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

Iloilo City, he said, "never closed the port" to locally stranded

individuals.

"Mga residente natin iyan... We have to allow them to go home because they

have been away for so long," said Treñas.

Returning residents are quarantined "right away", said the mayor.

As of Wednesday, Iloilo City had 16 active cases of COVID-19, he said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'MOVIE TOGETHER PLEASE?' FANS PLEAD AS ALDEN, BEA SPARK 'KILIG' IN PHOTO

SHOOT

MANILA -- It was back in February when Alden Richards shared that it has

always been his dream to work with Kapamilya star Bea Alonzo.

And it appears, judging from the positive online response to their photo

shoot, it's not going to be that difficult to imagine them starring in a

successful movie together.

This week, the two dropped a couple of photos for a campaign they shot for a

haircare brand.

One of those showed them having a fun time challenging each other to a stare

contest, prompting "kilig" comments from their fans and calls for them to

share the screen as a love team.

Last February, the two stars were spotted at an airport in Thailand, drawing

speculation about whether they were working on a movie.

Richards is a talent of a rival network, but he has already shown his

willingness to collaborate with Kapamilya artists, agreeing to star in the

smash hit "Hello, Love, Goodbye" with Kathryn Bernardo.

SPORTS

DENVER ROOKIE BOL BOL SHINES AS NBA SCRIMMAGES START

Denver rookie Bol Bol made his debut for the Nuggets in a scrimmage against

the Washington Wizards, ahead of the NBA's official restart at the Walt

Disney World Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The 20-year-old Bol, who stands at 7-foot-2, was drafted by the Nuggets in

the second round of the 2019 Rookie Draft, but did not play in the regular

season due to a foot injury.

The son of NBA legend Manute Bol, he put up 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six

blocks in the Nuggets' 89-82 win over the Wizards.

Denver All-Star Nikola Jokic had 16 points, seven rebounds, and seven

assists in the win.

Rookie Rui Hachimura led the Wizards with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Orlando Magic were the first teams to take

the court in a scrimmage, with the Clippers seizing a 99-90 victory.

The 40-minute scrimmage marked the first NBA action since the league

suspended play in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All teams will play

three scrimmages before the official restart of the season on July 30.

Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George suited up for the Clippers, but it was

Lou Williams who led the team in scoring with 22 points. Nikola Vucevic had

18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for the Magic.

In another game, the New Orleans Pelicans routed the Brooklyn Nets, 99-68,

despite missing rookie star Zion Williamson. Brandon Ingram put up 12 points

in the win.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 49.37

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Men fail much oftener from want of perseverance than from want of talent. -

William Cobbett