DUTERTE VISITS SULU AFTER TWIN BLASTS

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday visited Jolo town in Sulu,

nearly a week after twin explosions left at least 15 dead and scores

wounded, Malacañang confirmed.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte visited Jolo, condoled

with some of the victims of the latest blast, and conferred with the Mayor.

"He is expected back in Manila tonight," Roque said in a message.

The President had been staying in his hometown Davao City, even before the

Abu Sayyaf Group allegedly perpetrated the bombings last Monday. Officials

said he was "safe" and in a "good condition" following the incident.

Malacañang earlier said Duterte would consider the proposal of law enforcers

to place the southern province under martial rule but the Philippine Army

has since dropped the recommendation.

The military earlier identified as suspects behind the attacks the

Indonesian widow of the first Filipino suicide bomber and the wife of an Abu

Sayyaf leader.

AFTER JOLO BLASTS, DUTERTE SAYS FIGHTING IS ROAD TO PEACE FOR NOW

MANILA-- The Philippines will fight for peace, for now, President Rodrigo

Duterte said Sunday following twin attacks in the southern Philippines that

left at least 15 people dead.

The 75-year-old leader knelt and kissed the ground of the blast site in

Jolo, Sulu for soldiers and Filipinos whose lives were "snuffed out for no

reason at all." He also offered flowers and led the candle-lighting

ceremony.

Duterte said last week's attacks "will only further strengthen our resolve

to crush the lawless elements behind this cowardly act," noting that the

government will fight.

"If we cannot really agree then we fight. And we fight hard hanggang

magkaubusan na. Maybe by that time, pag ubos na ang lahat, wala nang gyera,"

he said in an address to state troops.

"In the meantime, we fight. I cannot offer anything. I have a mandate. I

donÂ’t only order, but impose duties," he added.

The first leader from Mindanao, Duterte said peace will be a subject of

discussion "in God's time."

"In GodÂ’s time, we will talk about peace. If it is hatred, it cannot be

stopped anymore. It is an impossible dream. It is an unreachable star. But

it behooves upon us even as leaders, even to try, to talk, even as we wage

war," he said.

He also urged the military to "think about peace" even as they wage war

against state enemies.

"May dalawang taon pa ako hindi ko alam kung ano magawa ko pa talaga. When

you go on fighting, may galit na yan, may sugat sa puso, it would take more

than a generation to do this," he said in his address to soldiers in Jolo,

Sulu.

"I hope one of my children can do something of this Moro and Christian

problem," he added.

ZAMBOANGA REGION FACES BOMB THREAT FROM SULU ATTACKERS: MAYOR

MANILA — Zamboanga region is facing a security threat from the alleged

mastermind of a deadly double bombing in neighboring Sulu province and his 2

conspirators, a mayor said Monday.

Abu Sayyaf bomb expert Mundi Sawadjaan, the alleged brains behind the Aug.

24 blasts in the Jolo town plaza, reportedly attempted to escape or has

succeeded in leaving Sulu with 2 Indonesians, said Zamboanga City Mayor

Maria Isabelle Climaco, who did not give additional details.

“May banta po dito sa Region 9. Hindi po namin alam exactly kung saan within

the region, pero alerted na rin po ang governors natin,” said Climaco, who

is chairperson of the Peace and Order Council in Zamboanga region.

A military official earlier said Sawadjaan was the brains behind the Jolo

blasts that killed at least 15 people and another double bombing at a

cathedral in the southern town, where 21 died.

Zamboanga authorities have set up checkpoints and will put up photos of

Sawadjaan and his conspirators, Climaco told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

'FIGHT, IF NECESSARY,' VP ROBREDO TELLS FILIPINOS ON HEROESÂ’ DAY

MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo urged Filipinos on National Heroes Day

to "fight, if necessary" for the country despite fear and uncertainty during

the coronavirus pandemic.

Monday’s national holiday honors those “who struggled, fought, sacrificed

for our nation; who spoke truth to power and braved death or persecution;

who exhibited courage, and in so doing, helped chart our destiny as a

people,” said Robredo.

“We honor not one or a few names, but the countless others who were, or

continue to be, animated by the same imperatives that drive us in times of

crisis: Love those beyond your immediate circle; expand these circles to go

beyond family or friends; care for the community, care for the country,” the

Vice President said in a statement.

“Do this, despite fear and uncertainty. Fight, if necessary; do not shrink

from struggle or sacrifice. Be kind and be brave,” she added.

As the country faces the COVID-19 crisis, “the spirit of our heroes lives”

among medical professionals, community leaders, government workers, those

from the uniformed services, volunteers, and “the common Filipino ready and

willing to expand the reach of their compassion,” Robredo said.

“May the courage of our heroes continue to inspire us, as we once again face

difficult times,” she said.

National Heroes Day marks the anniversary of the 1896 Cry of Pugad Lawin,

the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonizers.

DUTERTE HONORS COVID-19 FRONTLINERS ON NATIONAL HEROES' DAY

MANILA-- President Rodrigo Duterte honored Monday Filipinos in the front

lines of the country's COVID-19 pandemic fight as the Philippines marked

National Heroes' Day.

Duterte paid tribute to frontliners for their heroism in risking their lives

as the pandemic upended society.

"Today, we honor not only the valor of our forebears who fought for our

mother landÂ’s freedom, but also the heroism of those who risked their lives,

fighting a different kind of enemy," the President said in a message.

"Present-day challenges posed by the current public health crisis has given

rise to modern-day heroes: the countless Filipino frontliners here and

abroad who are battling the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.

Despite implementing the longest and strictest lockdowns in the region, the

Philippines has the highest number of total COVID-19 cases in Southeast

Asia. As of Sunday, the Philippines has reported 217,396 confirmed COVID-19

cases since the start of the pandemic.

The President also expressed hopes that Filipinos would be inspired by the

bravery of Filipino heroes as he urged the public to "become everyday heroes

as we pursue a better future for everyone."

A day before National Heroes' Day, the President visited state troops in

Jolo, Sulu, and condoled with families of victims of twin blasts that rocked

the town last week.

HOUSE PANEL APPROVES BILL REGULATING SALE OF VAPES, E-CIGARETTES

MANILA - The House of Representatives Committee of Trade and Industry has

approved a bill regulating the manufacture, sale and distribution of vapes,

e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery

systems, a lawmaker said Monday.

The committee approved the measure which is expected to curb the illegal

selling of vapes and e-cigarettes and other heated tobacco products to

minors, Committee chair and Valenzuela 1st District Rep. Wes Gatchalian said

in a statement.

Based on the committees estimates, there were about 800 "backyard stores,"

he said.

Under the proposed measure only those aged 18 years old and above shall be

allowed to purchase, sell and use such products. Flavors that lure minors

shall also be limited, Gatchalian said.

Retailers, including online sales, will be mandated to verify the age of

buyers using valid IDs with photograph and date of birth.

“We would like to emphasize that this bill will serve to regulate, and not

ban, the sale of these products,” Gatchalian said.

The electric devices used in vapes and e-cigarettes will be regulated by

the Department of Trade and Industry and to ensure that they comply with

electrical safety standards, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte in November last year banned the use of vapes and

e-cigarettes in public after reports of illnesses related to heated tobacco

products and the illegal sale to minors.

Following Duterte's orders, several lawmakers have moved to pass measures

meant to "highly regulate" the use of vaping.

CSC HAS 'EXPRESS, DELAY LANES' FOR PHILHEALTH CASES: OFFICIAL

MANILA -- An official of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) claimed Monday

it had "express and delay lanes" for administrative cases against officials

of state medical insurer PhilHealth, which is battling allegations of

corruption and mismanagement.

CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said her office found a "pattern" in its

initial examination of "a variety of cases" against PhilHealth officials,

including grave misconduct, oppression, and questionable assignments and

employee promotion.

"Mayroong express lane, mayroong delay lane... Hindi ko alam kung paborable

sa mga kilala nila sa loob kasi kaya ho nilang patulugin ang kaso nang one

year or 15 months," she told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

"May mga tao na mabilis ang pag-resolve ng cases nila. Hindi ko alam kung

kakilala. May mga tao rin na ang bagal ng pag-resolve ng cases," she added.

Some PhilHealth officials had cases that were repeatedly dismissed, said

Lizada, without identifying them.

The CSC central office in several instances also took jurisdiction of cases

that regional offices were investigating, or transferred investigations to

the provinces, even when it shouldn't have, she claimed.

A lawyer who used to work for PhilHealth is now with CSC and is tasked with

resolving cases involving the insurer, said Lizada. She did not say who.

LACSON URGES PASSING OF 'DESIGNATED SURVIVOR' BILL

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ping Lacson called for the passage of a bill

which seeks to extend the presidential line of succession beyond the top

four government officials.

"To avert a potential constitutional crisis and leadership vacuum, the

process to pass a 'Designated Survivor' measure guaranteeing the continuity

and stability of operations in government should be started immediately," he

said on Monday.

The current line of presidential succession under the 1987 Constitution only

includes the vice president, the Senate president, and the House speaker, in

respective order.

Further advocating for the measure, Lacson cited "recent events involving

'exceptional circumstances' such as terrorism [which] illustrate the need to

address soonest the limitations of the 1987 Constitution's current provision

on the line of succession."

"A constitutional crisis is possible if all four top elected officials, God

forbid, die in one event such as the [State of the Nation Address] due to a

terrorist attack in the Batasang Pambansa, or any occasion where the

President and all three officials in the line of constitutional succession

are present," he said.

THE REST

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DOH LISTS 22,000 NEW COVID-19 RECOVERIES

MANILA, Philippines — For its latest tally update Sunday, the Department of

Health added 4,284 new coronavirus cases and 22,319 new recoveries on the

166th day since the first implementation of enhanced community quarantine.

There are 56,473 patients who are still infected with the coronavirus when

factoring in the 3,520 total deaths and 157,403 total recoveries after 102

additional deaths were added in the department's latest case bulletin.

Over 25 million have transmitted the new pathogen around the world, claiming

846,000 lives. On the other hand, 17 million have recovered.

BANGKO SENTRAL TO LAUNCH DIGITAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT PERA ON SEPT. 8

MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday it would launch the

Digital Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) this September to

encourage Filipinos to save for additional retirement benefits.

The program aims to encourage Filipinos to invest in a voluntary retirement

account that can be a source of supplementary benefit on top of the

state-sponsored retirement program using just mobile phones and other

devices, Gov. Benjamin Diokno said in a statement.

“The digital PERA will allow Filipinos to invest in PERA investment products

anytime, anywhere using only their mobile phones and other devices. This is

firmly in line with the BSPÂ’s thrust to foster digitalization in the

financial system and to bring the BSP closer to the people.”

With the program, Filipinos can invest in long-term retirement saving

products while enjoying certain tax incentives, the BSP said.

Digital PERA, which is set to officially launch on Sept. 8, is a project in

collaboration with the Trust Officer Association of the Philippines, the BSP

said.

The central bank has been advocating for the use of digital platforms to

improve financial literacy and engagement in other financial services such

as investments.

The BSP earlier launched the National Retail Payment System, which includes

PesoNet and InstaPay with the goal of increasing the use of digital payments

in the country.

Both services proved to be useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has also supported the Bureau of Treasury's move to tap fintech players

in launching Bonds.ph where Filipinos can invest in bonds using a mobile app

for as low as P5,000.

METRO MANILA MAYORS WANT GCQ TO STAY, BUT WITH SHORTER CURFEW HOURS

The 17 mayors of Metro Manila do not recommend the easing of its pandemic

lockdown and will instead implement shorter curfew hours, their

representative said Monday.

None of the local chief executives recommend moving the region under a

modified general community quarantine during their meeting with 6 Cabinet

officials on Sunday night, said Metro Manila MayorsÂ’ Council chairman Edwin

Olivarez.

“Talaga pong GCQ [ang inirekomenda namin] to maintain iyong ating health

protocol, para magkaroon po tayo ng strict compliance sa ating pagsusuot ng

face shield, face mask,” said Olivarez, mayor of Parañaque.

From Sept. 1, curfew hours will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., instead of

starting at 8 p.m., he said.

“Para makahinga naman po nang kaunti iyong atin pong mga hanapbuhay,”

Olivarez told ABS-CBNÂ’s TeleRadyo.

Lockdowns will be limited to coronavirus-stricken buildings, streets or

sitios, instead of whole barangays, he added.

‘FILIPINO’ ADDED AS ETHNICITY CHOICE IN US CENSUS

MANILA, Philippines — For the first time in the history of the United States

census, “Filipino” is included as a choice on questions pertaining to a

respondentÂ’s ethnicity.

The inclusion of Filipino as a choice is a recognition of the sizeable

presence of Filipinos in the US, according to the Philippine consulate

general in Honolulu, which encouraged the Filipino community to participate

in the census.

The consulate said it has provided support to the Filipino Complete Count

Committee Hawaii in the FCCCÂ’s efforts to disseminate information on the

census. Consulate representatives joined a Zoom meeting of the FCCC for the

census on Aug. 24.

The consulate said the Filipino communities in the US, particularly in

Hawaii, stand to greatly benefit from participating in the census.

AÑO: NEW PNP CHIEF NAMED THIS WEEK

MANILA, Philippines — The new head of the Philippine National Police will be

announced this week ahead of PNP chief Gen. Archie GamboaÂ’s retirement,

Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said yesterday.

“There’s no information on who will be replacing Gamboa. But maybe it will

be announced tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday,” Año told reporters.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the retirement honors and change

of command ceremony for Gamboa have been set.

Gamboa is scheduled to retire from the police service when he turns 56

during his birthday on Sept. 2.

HONTIVEROS BATS FOR PROBE INTO 'MASS IMPORTATION' OF PPES

MANILA - Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday urged the Senate to investigate the

status of the "Bayanihan PPE Project," a government-led effort to boost the

local manufacturing of personal protective equipment for health workers

combating the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the

country.

Of the 57.6 million PPEs produced locally, the national government only

bought 10 million, Hontiveros said in her Senate Resolution No. 506.

"Our COVID-19 response budget can afford to supply more frontliners with

more medical-grade equipment if we procure locally," she said in a

statement.

"We have the supply, we have the quality, and we have the funds -- bakit

patuloy pa ang mass importation natin? (Why do we continue with mass

importation?)" she said.

It is "questionable" why the national government allegedly favored "costlier

imports from countries like China," Hontiveros said.

NATIONAL ID PRE-REGISTRATION EYED IN OCTOBER

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) may start

the pre-registration process for the National ID System in October in

preparation for mass registration, according to acting Socioeconomic

Planning Secretary Karl Chua.

PSA piloted the door-to-door pre-registration process for the Philippine

Identification System (PhilSys) in July with the goal of shortening the

amount of time to be spent in registration centers.

Under this system, names, ages and other demographic information will be

collected from homes while biometric information such as fingerprints, iris

scans and front-facing photographs will be captured during the appointment

date at registration systems.

“Starting October, we can start the house-to-house pre-registration. There

will be an appointment system in which you will only go to registration

centers for the biometrics,” said Chua in an interview with dzBB last

Saturday.

This is meant to abide by social distancing requirements and minimize the

number of people that will queue in registration centers.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

DANIEL PADILLA, NAGPASALAMAT KAY MOIRA DELA TORRE MATAPOS MANALO SA AWIT

AWARDS

MAYNILA -- Nagpasalamat ang aktor at mang-aawit na si Daniel Padilla kay

Moira dela Torre matapos umani ng parangal mula sa Awit Awards 2020 ang

awitin nila na "Mabagal."

Ang awit ay nilikha ni Dan Martel Simon Tañedo.

"Maraming salamat sa Awit Awards at sa lahat ng sumuporta. (Moira) salamat

at binigyan mo kami ni Dan ng oras at pagkakataon. Mabuhay ang #OPM," ani

Daniel.

Nanalo ang "Mabagal": ng Favorite Record of the Year, Favorite Music Video

of the Year at Favorite Collaboration Performance award.

Humakot din ng parangal ang "Mabagal" sa Himig Handog noong nakaraang taon.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES AUG 30

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

team logo 3 Celtics 1-0    39    20    29    24    112

team logo 2 Raptors 0-1    23    19    31    21    94

GAME 1: BOS LEADS 1-0

SCORING LEADERS

    M. Smart BOS

21 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST

    K. Lowry TOR

17 PTS, 6 REB, 8 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

team logo 2 Clippers 4-2    29    28    28    26    111

team logo 7 Mavericks 2-4    34    17    23    23    97

GAME 6: LAC WINS 4-2

SCORING LEADERS

K. Leonard LAC

33 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST

L. Doncic DAL

38 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

team logo 3 Nuggets 3-3    30    31    27    31    119

team logo 6 Jazz 3-3    36    20    23    28    107

GAME 6: SERIES TIED 3-3

SCORING LEADERS

    J. Murray DEN

50 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST

    D. Mitchell UTA

44 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Take time to come home to yourself every day. - Robin Casarjean