43 PHILHEALTH OFFICIALS RESIGN, RETIRE AMID ALLEGED ANOMALIES

MANILA - The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) on Thursday said

a total of 43 senior officers have either tendered their courtesy

resignation or retired from service.

In a statement, PhilHealth said 43 officers responded to a Sept. 30 memo

issued by PhilHealth President and CEO Atty. Dante Gieran, which directed

all senior officers from Salary Grade 26 and above to tender their courtesy

resignation.

Of the 43 officials, 27 tendered their courtesy resignation. Six officials

are from regional offices while 21 are from the central office.

Sixteen other officials are retiring, with 10 from the central office and 6

from the regional offices.

A Senate panel in September recommended the filing of criminal charges

against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, chairman of the PhilHealth

board, and several former and incumbent officials of the insurer over

alleged anomalies.

Whistleblowers told lawmakers that several PhilHealth officials allegedly

pocketed P15 billion in state funds, and approved the request of overpriced

projects and fund release to supposedly favored hospitals.

DUTERTE THINKS HOUSE WRONG TO SUSPEND SESSION AS 2021 BUDGET HANGS: CABSEC

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte thinks it was wrong for the House of

Representatives to suspend its session this week without first passing the

2021 national budget that includes funds for the coronavirus pandemic,

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Friday.

The House on Tuesday heeded Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano's motion to pass the

budget on second reading and suspend session until the middle of November

days before he was supposed to hand over House leadership to Marinduque Rep.

Lord Allan Velasco per a term-sharing agreement.

While the Senate can hold deliberations during the Oct. 17 to Nov. 16

Congress break, senators cannot tackle the bill in plenary as long as it is

not yet passed on third and final reading by the House.

“I think that’s the message of the President: that it (session suspension)

shouldn’t have happened because they should have stuck with the calendar,”

Nograles told CNN Philippines, referring to the President's address Thursday

night.

The House “cannot presume" that there will be no politicking or any other

development that could delay the budget when it resumes session in November,

he said.

“Any slight delay on that will have a cascading effect… What if something

else happens?” said Nograles. “Why take a chance, when you can already pass

the budget now, as prescribed by the legislative calendar?”

He urged the House to “convene and begin again budget deliberations and pass

the budget before the break.”

Congress will take another break on Dec. 14 for the holidays.

'NADENGGOY TAYONG DALAWA': VELASCO SAYS DUTERTE FELT FOOLED BY CAYETANO MOVE

TO STAY

MANILA - Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco said Friday President Rodrigo

Duterte told him they were both "fooled" when Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano

made moves to stay at his post despite a term-sharing deal with Velasco.

Cayetano took the plenary floor last Wednesday after an initial meeting with

Duterte about the term-sharing deal with Velasco.

The current House leader offered to step down, but his colleagues rejected

this move in a nominal vote.

Velasco met with Duterte privately the following Monday, and the President

was visibly enraged, said the lawmaker.

"Kitang kita ko 'yung galit ng Pangulo. Sabi sa akin ni Pangulo, ‘Lord,

hindi lang ikaw ang napahiya dito, tayong dalawa.’ Actually, the President

used the word ‘Lord, nadenggoy tayong dalawa," he told ANC's Headstart.

Velasco said in the Sept. 29 meeting at Malacañang, Duterte asked Cayetano

to resign on Oct. 14 and they shook on it.

"Sabi niya kay Speaker Cayetano, ‘Alan, ok na. Oct. 14, you will resign. You

will announce that on Oct. 14 you are resigning because you abide by the

gentleman’s agreement.’ After that, nag-shake sila ng hands," he said.

UN RIGHT'S BODY RESOLUTION 'SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS' BUT CHANCE FOR GOV'T TO

IMPROVE: CHR

MANILA - The resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council

on the human rights situation in the Philippines fell short of expectations,

the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Friday.

“I’m quite hopeful about this resolution but it really falls short of

expectations of the human rights community,” said Commissioner Karen

Gomez-Dumpit.

In an interview on ANC on Friday, Dumpit said there is still room for

improvement.

“This resolution actually provides a chance for the government to show its

sincerity, to show that it can demonstrate efforts towards accountability,

particularly here in the Philippines,” said Dumpit.

The UNHRC on Wednesday adopted a resolution that would provide technical

cooperation and capacity-building for promotion and protection of human

rights in the Philippines.

But rights groups say it falls short of launching an independent

international probe into the human rights situation in the country.

The resolution requested the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to the Philippines for

“domestic investigative and accountability measures, data gathering on

alleged police violations, civic space and engagement with civil society and

the Commission on Human Rights, national mechanism for reporting and

follow-up, counter-terrorism legislation and human rights-based approaches

to drug control.”

When asked if the UN body is giving the Duterte government too many chances

given the number of killings recorded, Dumpit said this is how the human

rights council works.

“This is a multi-lateral body. It is a state-led body so that chance is

being offered to them and if you will take note o the technical cooperation,

at the end of it, the operational paragraph says that the high commissioner

will report orally one year after and this is something that we are

anticipating,” she said.

'SACRIFICIAL LAMB': PROPOSAL TO DEFER 13TH MONTH PAY CASTIGATED

MANILA - Labor groups on Friday denounced a proposal to allow distressed

small and medium enterprises to defer payment of 13th month pay to their

workers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to Teleradyo, Kilusang Mayong Uno chairperson Elmer Labog urged the

government to bail out businesses still struggling to stay afloat as a

result of the crisis.

"Mali na gawing sacrificial lamb ang mga manggagawa lalo pa't gipit ngayon

at marami ang nangangailangan ng pondo," he said.

He said the government could subsidize the 13th month pay, which is a

twelfth of a worker's basic salary and should be given not later than Dec.

24 of every year.

"Kailagan talagang i-release ito lalo't bahagi ito ng tinatawag na pagtugon

do'n sa emergencies sa ilalim na COVID-19 pandemic," Labog said.

The labor group leader warned that letting companies to defer its payout of

13th month of their workers would be exploited.

"Unang-una 'pag sinabi mong deferred o exempted, marami ang magsasamantala

diyan eh. Wala pa ngang pandemya marami na kaming natatanggap na reklamo sa

bayaran ng 13th month pay," he said.

For his part, Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson Christian Lloyd Magsoy

said deferment of 13th month pay would become a major burden to workers as

Christmas draws nearer.

"Bahagi 'yan ng mga benepisyo na dapat makukuha ng mga manggagawa na hindi

dapat ipinagkakait sa kanila," he said.

In a virtual briefing Thursday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said

they were mulling a proposal for distressed small and medium enterprises

(SMEs) to be exempted or defer payment of the bonus to their workers.

CAYETANO APOLOGIZES TO SOTTO

MANILA — Senate President Vicente Sotto III has accepted the apology of

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano over his blaming the Senate for any delay in the

passage of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year.

“Accepted (the apology) and I said we will do our best to work on the time

we have as the Senate always does,” Sotto said yesterday.

He said Cayetano relayed his apology in a phone call. Sotto said the Speaker

vowed to transmit the General Appropriations Bill 1 (GAB1) by Nov. 5, or

three weeks behind the original schedule of Oct. 15 due to the House’s

suspension of session until Nov. 16.

“Yes, he called. He promised to submit by Nov. 5 their proposed copies of

the different budget books, therefore the GAB, which they will approve on

third reading. I said that will help us, especially our finance chairman,”

Sotto said.

Cayetano admitted calling Sotto to apologize. “I called up the Senate

President and I asked him to extend to the whole Senate that I apologize if

it came across that I am criticizing or passing the blame to the Senate if

there is a delay,” he said in a Facebook post.

He clarified that it’s not his intention to blame the Senate. “It is because

some believe that we will not be able to forward the bill to the Senate and

they won’t be able to start on Nov. 17, one day after the Nov. 16 schedule,”

he said.

‘WE ARE NOT PERFECT’: DEPED EXPECTS MINIMAL ERRORS IN FUTURE TV EPISODES

MANILA – The Department of Education said Thursday it expects errors in

future episodes in its educational TV shows, albeit minimal, saying the

production team was “not perfect.”

DepEd earlier drew flak after social media users noticed that a

teacher-broadcaster on DepEd TV had taught the wrong solution for a math

equation in an episode that aired last Tuesday.

Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua said there would be errors in future

episodes because the production team, with less than 200 workers, was tasked

to create around 130 to 220 episodes per week in just a short amount of

time.

If the public is looking for “perfect episodes, give us so much time,”

Pascua told reporters in a virtual briefing.

“This is not even the last time that there will be errors. There will always

be errors, I assure you, because we are not perfect,” he said.

“We have been here for just 4 or 5 months. We are not really journalists and

broadcasters in this line of work. Our teachers are still being trained to

be teacher-broadcaster,” he added.

Pascua explained that there are over 40 steps in the production of a DepEd

TV episode, which included quality assurance from subject-matter experts.

The department has also sought the help of additional subject experts and

volunteers from other sectors for quality assurance, said Pascua.

PALACE BACKS ONLINE CIVIL SERVICE EXAM

MANILA — Malacañang yesterday expressed support for the proposal to hold

civil service examinations online, citing the need to continue normal

activities despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is considering holding online civil

service examinations as the government limits social gatherings to contain

COVID-19.

The commission has informed its examination recruitment and placement office

about the proposal, according to CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada.

“I think it’s part of the new normal,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque

said at a press briefing.

“We cannot wait for a vaccine or a medicine before we go back to our normal

lives. I think the technology is there and we have to use it especially now

that we are looking for several people who can work for the government and

many have lost their jobs because of COVID-19,” he added.

Roque said holding an online civil service exam is doable despite the

pandemic. He noted that President Duterte has ordered local governments to

fast-track the processing of documents for the construction of

telecommunication towers.

“If we need to call the attention of telecoms companies, we would do that,”

the Palace spokesman said.

THE REST

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PHILIPPINES' COVID-19 CASES TOP 331,000, DEATH TOLL HITS 6,000

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 331,869

after the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,363 new daily

infections on Thursday.

The DOH said the number of recoveries also rose to 274,318 after 697 more

patients recovered. Meanwhile, 144 more patients died from the viral

disease, bringing the death toll to 6,069.

The Philippines' capital Metro Manila topped the regions in the country with

the highest number of 858 daily cases on Thursday.

The DOH said over 3.76 million people have been tested so far in the country

with a population of about 109 million.

A team of experts from the University of the Philippines said the number of

COVID-19 cases in the Philippines was on a downward trend compared to the

almost 4,000 new cases per day during the last week of August

"The number of cases in the Philippines has been decreasing, and currently

at less around 2,500 new cases per day (based on case reports)," the

research team said in a report dated on Tuesday.

RIOT BREAKS OUT IN BILIBID; BUCOR CONFIRMS FATALITIES

A riot broke out between rival gangs inside New Bilibid Prison before dawn

Friday, a Bureau of Corrections official has confirmed.

BuCor Spokesman Gabriel Chaglag said the riot broke out in one quadrant of

the prison at around 2:30 a.m. but was quickly quelled by prison authorities

before it could escalate.

"Nagpang-abot po 'yung dalawang grupo, yung Sputnik at Commando. Meron pong

mga casualties at nasugatan. Hindi pa natin masabi kung ilan 'yung namatay

at ilan sugatan," he said in an ABS-CBN TeleRadyo interview.

"Meron talagang namatay, hindi lang natin ma-confirm ilan sila."

He said that unlike a regular jail, the New Bilibid Prison is "like a

barangay" with a population of 18,000. He said prison guards do not monitor

inmates on a 24/7 basis.

He said the situation has been contained and an investigation is ongoing.

MANILA BANS KARAOKE, VIDEOKE SESSIONS

MANILA — The Manila city government has banned videoke and karaoke sessions

to prevent loud noises that will distract students attending online classes.

Mayor Isko Moreno signed on Tuesday night Ordinance No. 8688, which

prohibits the use of karaoke and videoke machines as well as other

sound-producing devices from Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Moreno said he approved the ordinance in response to complaints of parents

and students whose online classes are disrupted by the noise.

Moreno said he has received complaints from parents of students, who were

distracted by neighbors using karaokes since classes in public schools

opened on Monday.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MMFF 2020 TO PUSH THROUGH ONLINE

MANILA — The 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is pushing through

online, as the film industry continues to grapple with the effects of the

coronavirus pandemic.

The change was announced Thursday by committee spokesperson Noel Ferrer on

Facebook.

According to Ferrer, a “worldwide streaming service” will partner with MMFF

to bring this year’s entries to computer and phone screens within and

outside the Philippines.

Traditionally, the festival opens on Christmas Day.

“Dahil sa online distribution, mas maraming Pilipino ang makakapanood ng mga

pelikula,” Ferrer wrote. “Pero isang major na kunsiderasyon ang pag-iwas sa

piracy na natugunan naman ng magiging partner ng MMFF at i-aannounce sa mga

darating na araw!”

Due to challenges to filming amid the pandemic, the MMFF has also moved the

deadline of finished film submissions from October 15 to November 15.

Finished films based on approved scripts, meanwhile, can still be submitted

until November 30, from the original deadline of October 31, according to

Ferrer.

“This will give producers and filmmakers more time na puliduhin pa ang

kanilang mga entries,” he said.

Entries to the 46th MMFF so far announced are “Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama

Susan,” “Magikland,” “The Super Praybeyt Benjamin,” and “The Exorcism of My

Siszums.”

Previously, another popular film festival, Cinemalaya, held its 2020 edition

through digital streaming for the first time, also due to the restrictions

of the pandemic.

'I APOLOGIZE TO MY EX-BOYFRIENDS': DATING BAN TRAINED SANDARA PARK FOR

CONTACT-FREE DATING IN PANDEMIC

MANILA — K-pop star Sandara Park says she has been social distancing long

before the COVID-19 health crisis.

Sandara or Dara, a member of girl group 2NE1, opened up during the Tuesday

airing of KBS Joy's "Love's Intervention" about her years-long dating ban as

a trainee and idol.

“I had a non-face-to-face relationship even before COVID-19,” she was quoted

as saying in Korean in a report by Naver TV.

“As a trainee, I was scolded for being in a relationship and had my cell

phone taken away by my manager. Even after debuting, there was a ban on

dating for five years.”

The 35-year-old said she obeyed the ban instead of secretly dating like

other idols.

“Only recently, I decided to have an active relationship. All I needed was

the will. I take this opportunity to apologize to my ex-boyfriends.”

SPORTS

NBA: BANGED-UP HEAT NOT ABOUT TO LAY DOWN TO LAKERS

The Miami Heat may not have history on their side as they try to claw their

way back from the brink of elimination in the NBA Finals but on Thursday the

team said they were not ready to roll over against the favored Los Angeles

Lakers.

Trailing the Lakers 3-1 in best-of-seven NBA Finals, the Heat on Friday face

an elimination game for the first time in the 2020 postseason, which is

being played entirely at Disney World in Florida to limit the risk from

COVID-19.

"We're competing for a title, and it's the first team to four wins," said

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "There's a lot of different narratives out there.

We don't give a (expletive) what everybody else thinks.

"This is everything that we wanted this year, an opportunity to fight for,

compete for a title, and that hasn't changed at all through these first

games."

Only one team has successfully rallied from 3-1 down in the NBA Finals, and

it happened in 2016 when LeBron James, now with the Lakers, led the

Cleveland Cavaliers back from the brink to beat the defending champion

Golden State Warriors.

Making things more difficult for Miami is that they are a banged-up unit.

Guard Goran Dragic, who hasn't played since the first half of Game One, is

doubtful for Game Five as he deals with a torn left plantar fascia and

All-Star forward Bam Adebayo is limited because of a neck injury.

Jimmy Butler, who recorded just the third 40-point triple-double in NBA

Finals history in his team's Game Three win, is ready for the challenge that

awaits.

"I've got to rebound the basketball better. I have to get my guys involved

in a numerous amount of ways, and then I've got to really lock down on the

defensive end," said Butler.

"I've got to be able to guard everybody. I've got to be in the paint and be

able to close out in the perimeter. I've got to be able to do a lot more.

"I've got to be able to set the tone from the jump, play with the most

energy I've ever played with for these next three games, and win. That's

what I've got to do: Win."

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.35

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Each man should frame life so that at some future hour fact and his dreaming

meet. - Victor Hugo