DUTERTE SLAMS DPWH CORRUPTION, BUT STILL TRUSTS VILLAR

MANILA — President Duterte’s trust and confidence in Public Works and

Highways Secretary Mark Villar remain despite the Chief Executive’s

expressing disappointment over reports of corruption in the DPWH mostly

involving project officers and contractors.

In his recorded televised address Wednesday night, Duterte said he had been

hearing reports of corruption in DPWH and urged the public to report them

through hotline 8888 and file complaints.

“The contractors… The first whiff… they will ask you once they smell…. This

is prevalent at the DPWH where project engineers and all, on road

right-of-way, there is massive corruption,” the President said.

Duterte indicated how money changes hands even before the start of a

project. “No construction starts without it,” he said.

He said payment of bribes is still being practiced in the awarding of

contracts or implementation of projects. He did not elaborate.

“If Congress would want really to know, the projects at the DPWH really have

some leeway for that… I do not know who… There are so many officials lined

up in the bureaucratic maze so I am not privy to that, even in medicine

(procurement) and all,” Duterte said.

HOUSE OUSTS CAYETANO AGAIN, THIS TIME AS CARETAKER OF CAMSUR DISTRICT

MANILA — The House of Representatives, now led by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco

(Marinduque), has ousted former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros)

yet again — this time as the caretaker of the first district of Camarines

Sur.

In place of Cayetano, the House elected Rep. Michael John Duavit (Rizal) as

the legislative caretaker of the district past 2 a.m. on Friday, a few

moments before the session was suspended.

Cayetano had been elected to serve as the district’s caretaker in September

following the death of the late Rep. Marissa Andaya, wife of former majority

leader Rolando Andaya.

Cayetano was ousted in an unprecedented session outside of Batasang Pambansa

by a majority of lawmakers who, just two weeks before, backed his continued

stay as speaker by rejecting his offer of resignation.

A day after his ouster and while lawmakers were ratifying the election of

Velasco as speaker, Cayetano said through a Facebook Live video that he is

tending his irrevocable resignation.

PHILIPPINES EYES SINOVAC TRIAL AS EARLY AS NOVEMBER

MANILA - Sinovac Biotech may start late-stage trials of its coronavirus

vaccine in the Philippines as early as next month, its food and drug agency

chief said on Thursday, after it hurdled the initial stage of the country's

screening process.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects to receive the Chinese drug

maker's formal application for phase three clinical trials within two weeks

and regulators will make a decision after their evaluation, FDA head Rolando

Enrique Domingo said.

Domingo told reporters a November trial start was "possible".

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte repeated on Wednesday that he preferred

that his country source its COVID-19 vaccines from either China or Russia.

He also said he wanted the entire population vaccinated and has previously

said he would not reopen schools until a vaccine was available.

A Sinovac spokesman confirmed that materials had been provided to the

Philippines in the hope of starting Phase 3 trials, but gave no timeframe.

SALARY HIKE OF GOV'T NURSES EYED IN 2021 PH BUDGET

MANILA - Government nurses may get a salary increase next year, once the

proposed special provision in the 2021 national budget for their

compensation adjustment is approved.

Misamis Occidental 2nd District Rep. Henry Oaminal made the proposal during

Thursday’s House plenary debates on the Department of Health’s proposed

budget for next year.

Under the proposal, the following salary grade adjustments will be

implemented:

Nurse 1- from SG 11 to SG 15

Nurse 2- from SG 15 to SG 17

Nurse 3- from SG 17 to SG 19

Nurse 4- from SG 19 to SG 20

Nurse 5- from SG 20 to SG 22

Nurse 6- from SG 22 to SG 24

Nurse 7- from SG 24 to SG 25

Based on the second tranche of the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, which

is scheduled to begin in January 2021, that would be equivalent to a minimum

wage of P33,575 to a maximum of P98,886 for government nurses.

The proposal came after groups of nurses decried the seeming “demotion” of

non entry-level government nurses under the Department of Budget and

Management circular that adjusted nurse positions along with the

implementation of salary hike for Nurse 1 position.

“The spirit of the law… is not only to upgrade the entry level salary of

nurse one, but it should affect the salary of higher positions such as nurse

2 to 7,” Oaminal said.

OFEL TRIGGERS FLOODS IN PHILIPPINES, HUNDREDS FLEE

MANILA – Tropical Depression Ofel unleashed floods and triggered minor

landslides in the Philippines, forcing hundreds of families to leave their

homes, a disaster agency official said Friday.

Some 22 areas in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon were flooded due to

heavy rains, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council

(NDRRMC) spokesperson Mark Timbal told Teleradyo.

Ofel, the 15th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year, caused power

outages in 7 municipalities in Mimaropa and Calabarzon, he added. Minor

landslides were also reported in the province of Marinduque.

Some 653 families or 2,459 individuals affected by the tropical depression

were evacuated, Timbal said.

To date, some 492 families remain in evacuation centers and are expected to

return to their respective homes as weather conditions improve, he added.

Preliminary reports reaching NDRMMC also pegged losses in the agricultural

sector at P1.7 million.

Timbal said they were also verifying reports of fatalities in Hermosa,

Bataan and Cebu.

As of Friday morning, Ofel is outside the Philippine area of responsibility

(PAR) and heading towards Vietnam, the state weather bureau said.

But due to the southwest monsoon or habagat, Mimaropa, Western Visayas,

Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro and Zamboanga Peninsula will

still have moderate with at times heavy rains, PAGASA said.

Meanwhile, cloudy skies with isolated light rains will be experienced over

Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region and Central

Luzon due to the northeasterly surface windflow.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have fair weather with

isolated rain showers.

RED CROSS SAYS OPEN TO SETTLEMENT AS PHILHEALTH DEBT MOUNTS

MANILA - The Philippine Red Cross is open to settling the outstanding bill

of state insurer PhilHealth for its COVID-19 testing, its corporate

secretary said Friday.

In a statement on Thursday, the non-profit organization said PhilHealth's

outstanding balance was at P930 million. It rose to P1.014 billion as of

Friday, said Red Cross Corporate Secretary Rodolfo Reyes.

PhilHealth last paid Red Cross on September 8, said Reyes.

"We’re open to settlement, we’re open to talks, we have not taken any hard

line positions, except ‘Please pay us.’ We hope it’s P930 (million)—we’re

going to press for that, of course, because that’s long overdue," he told

ANC's Headstart.

"But we’re willing to listen to them. Our hearts are not hardened. It’s just

that we have no choice at the moment because non-payment of that overdue

amount is severely impacting our operations," he said

Red Cross announced Thursday it is stopping its PhilHealth-funded COVID-19

testing, including specimen from overseas Filipino workers, those arriving

in seaports and airports, and from the mega swabbing facilities through

local governments.

"It’s not as if we’re stocking up this money to fill Red Cross’ coffers.

Umiikot ito, kailangang mabayaran 'yung test kits and reagents so that we

can continue to function. Aside from that we have to take care of other

disasters in case they come up," said Reyes.

He said Red Cross would like a "substantial portion" of the P930-million

bill paid, if not all.

"I think PhilHealth can pay, they just have to resolve some internal issues

on their own. I think they’re taking care of that," he said.

In an interview with Teleradyo, PhilHealth spokesperson Rey Baleña said the

delayed payment is part of the review that newly installed chief Dante

Gierran is conducting to check its partnership with Red Cross.

Gierran took over PhilHealth leadership after its former president, Ricardo

Morales, resigned at the height of allegations of corruption in the agency.

Morales and several officials were recommended to be prosecuted for

irregularities.

PCOO EXEC CITES 'TESTIMONIES' IN RED-TAGGING MAKABAYAN BLOC

A presidential communications official on Friday cited "testimonies of

supposed former rebels" to explain why she accused several lawmakers of

being high-ranking party members of the Communist Party of the

Philippines-New People's Army.

After being deferred in September, the deliberations of the House of

Representatives on the proposed 2021 budget of the Presidential

Communications Operations Office ended past midnight Friday.

But not after lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc again called out PCOO

Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy for accusing them of being high-ranking

members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National

Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

It was a resumption of the issue that earlier spurred the deferral of

debates on the PCOO's P1.587-billion budget.

Badoy, who refused to heed calls for her to apologize for so-called

'red-tagging', could only relay responses through budget sponsor Rep. Joet

Garcia.

Yet on the live-streamed feed of the hearing, she could be seen looking

directly at the Makabayan bloc members at what she dubbed before the hearing

as "my very public stoning".

ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro at one point raised her voice on

her repeated query if Badoy had first-hand knowledge behind her claims.

"I want a categorical answer, Mr. Speaker, ginoong sponsor, mula dito kay

Usec. Badoy. Mayroon ka bang personal knowledge doon sa sinasabi mo doon sa

Facebook account mo? Yes or no?" Castro said.

"Yes. Ito po ay mga sworn statements," Garcia replied, referring to

testimonies by supposed former rebels.

"Ito ay nanggaling sa nag-surrender na kadre. Doon po nakuha ang iba-ibang

impormasyon ukol dito...Ang lahat po ng mga statements o mga deklarasyon na

galing sa [National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflicts] ay

base po sa mga ebidensya na nanggaling sa iba-ibang ahensya ng ating

pamahalaan, ng gobyerno, at pati ho sa mga testimony, sa mga witness na

kanila pong nakakausap."

THE REST

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DOH RECORDS 2,261 ADD’L COVID-19 CASES; TOTAL INFECTIONS TOP 348,000

MANILA — The Philippines on Thursday reported 2,261 newly-confirmed

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, raising the nationwide caseload

to 348,698.

This was the 3rd straight day that newly announced cases counted fewer than

2,500, according to ABS-CBN Data Analytics.

Of the day's additional cases, 1,921 or 85 percent occurred within the last

2 weeks, according to the Department of Health (DOH). The top regions with

cases in the recent 14 days were NCR (456), Region 4A (398) and Region 8

(176).

Fourteen out of the more than 100 accredited testing laboratories failed to

submit their data on time, the health department said.

Cases of recoveries jumped by 385 over the previous day, according to the

health department's latest bulletin. The total number of recoveries stood at

294,161.

The country also recorded 50 additional fatalities from the respiratory

illness, taking the death toll to 6,497.

PH RESORTS GROUP REMAINS 'CONFIDENT' IN GAMING, HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

MANILA - PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc said Friday it was confident in the

country's gaming and hospitality industry due to the country's location and

target audience.

The group is planning to raise funds through a follow-on offer to fund its

gaming assets including a development in Cebu, group COO Angel Sueiro told

ANC.

TINGNAN: BUWAYANG MAY HABANG 17 TALAMPAKAN, NAHULI SA TAWI-TAWI

Nahuli ng mga mangingisda nitong Miyerkoles ang isang buwayang may 17.11

talampakan sa Taytay beach sa munisipalidad ng Simunul sa Tawi-tawi.

Ayon kay Bayan Patroller Krystian Mufti, namataan ng mga mangingisda na

pagala-gala ang buwaya sa naturang beach.

Maaari aniyang naligaw lamang ito.

"Siyempre, wala pong buwaya [na] tumitira sa area namin. Siguro, naligaw

lang po ['yong] buwaya," sabi niya.

Dinala na ang buwaya sa isang mini-mangrove forest sa munisipalidad at

maayos ang kalagayan nito, dagdag ni Mufti.

Kasama ng 17-talampakang buwaya sa naturang mini-mangrove forest ang isa

pang naligaw na buwaya doon noong 2017. May haba naman ito na 16 talampakan.

KARAPATAN: BJMP, COURT TOOK AWAY BABY RIVER'S FIGHTING CHANCE TO LIVE

MANILA — Rights alliance Karapatan blamed the administration of President

Rodrigo Duterte for the tragic death of three-month old Baby River, daughter

of jailed activist Reina Mae Nasino.

“Baby River’s death is on the Duterte government, especially when there have

been numerous occasions that agencies and government bodies could have acted

to avert this tragedy,” the group said in a statement on Friday morning.

The Palace has said that the baby's death is tragic but that "the president

cannot do anything, that is within the jurisdiction of our court." Officials

of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, an agency of the executive

branch, had blocked previous attempts by Nasino to be with her baby as well

as for furlough to attend the wake.

River is set to be laid to rest in the afternoon, at the Manila North

Cemetery. She died on October 9, without reuniting with her mother, who had

earlier asked the court to allow them to be together until Baby River was a

year old.

They also opposed the three-day continuous furlough the Manila court earlier

granted to Nasino citing lack of personnel, even though almost 50 prison and

police officers escorted the jailed activist to the funeral home on

Wednesday.

“All evidence clearly points to the fact that the Duterte government is

responsible for this grave injustice,” it added.

MALLS URGED TO KEEP THEIR UNPAID TENANTS RUNNING

MANILA — Mall and other space owners were asked on Thursday not to evict

stalls unable to pay their rent and instead extend relief to tenants

disproportionately battered by the pandemic.

“Sales have plunged to their worst in decades. There has been a cascade of

store closures and jobs losses,” Benedicto Yujuico, president of the

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said in a statement.

“While we understand all businesses are experiencing financial difficulties,

for MSMEs, these difficulties could be insurmountable…It is in this regard

that we are appealing to mall owners and commercial building landlords,”

Yujuico added.

Instead of dismantling stalls, PCCI, the country’s largest business group,

encouraged space owners and tenants to come to amicable terms in settling

past dues, one of which is computing rental costs on percentage of sales

“until such time that the situation normalizes.”

“This will give tenants breathing room to stay open, which will also benefit

the owners because an empty mall or center is worse than lower rental

income,” Yujuico explained.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

‘IYON TALAGA ANG PLAN’: KATHRYN AGREES WITH DANIEL ON GETTING MARRIED BEFORE

THEY TURN 30

MANILA — Kathryn Bernardo did not hesitate to answer whether she agreed with

her long-time boyfriend Daniel Padilla’s recent pronouncement about getting

married before they turn 30.

Padilla shared his personal timeline for settling down in a virtual

conference for his recent concert “Apollo,” saying he hopes to exchange vows

with Bernardo within five years.

A week later, it was Bernardo’s turn to get quizzed on the same topic, as

she and Padilla faced press members in the virtual media launch of “The

House Arrest of Us,” their digital movie series scheduled to premiere on

October 24 on KTX.ph and on October 25 on iWantTFC.

Asked for her reaction to Padilla’s statement, Bernardo answered: “Before

30? Yeah, iyon naman talaga ‘yung deal namin. May ilang panahon pa kami

before we turn 30.”

“Actually, iyon naman talaga ‘yung plan. Of course, agree,” she told ABS-CBN

News’ MJ Felipe on Wednesday. (See the 42:20 mark of the video below.)

Bernardo turned 24 in March, while Padilla turned 25 in April.

Regarded as the top “love team” of their generation and screen superstars

with a string of blockbuster hits to their name, “KathNiel” have been a

real-life couple for over eight years.

Their upcoming digital offering, “The House Arrest of Us,” happens to

feature them as characters set to be wed, but with the complication of their

respective families being at odds.

“Napag-uusapan naman namin ni DJ,” Bernardo said of marriage. “I think nasa

tamang age na kami para i-ready ang mga sarili namin ‘pag dumating tayo sa

punto na ‘yon.”

“Now, iyon ‘yung dahilan kung bakit kami nagtatrabaho. Lahat ng kailangan

i-ready. Kasi malaking step ‘yon. Pagdating doon, at least ready na kami,

and relax na lang,” she added, echoing Padilla’s earlier statement.

Padilla, who was seated beside Bernardo during the press event, was

noticeably all-smiles as his girlfriend shared their plans as a couple.

They then shared a laugh when Bernardo answered whether she agreed with

Padilla’s other statement — about becoming a father preferably as soon as

they get married.

“Siya ‘yung magbubuntis!” Bernardo quipped.

SPORTS

CAPERAL WAXES HOT AS GINEBRA DOWNS BLACKWATER

Prince Caperal waxed hot from beyond the arc to lift Ginebra past

Blackwater, 103-99, in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round on Thursday.

Caperal registered 24 points, making five of seven three point attempts, for

Ginebra’s second win in the bubble.

With 2:08 left in the fourth period, a KG Cañaleta triple trimmed Ginebra’s

lead, 96-92. A Scottie Thompson jumpshot gave Ginebra a comfortable lead

with 53 seconds remaining, 98-92.

Roi Sumang tried to extend the game with a triple at the 0:08 mark but a

freebie from Jared Dillinger sealed the deal for Ginebra.

Prior to the final showdown, Blackwater stormed Ginebra with a 39-point

performance to end the third quarter with a slim lead, 76-75, after trailing

for the majority of the first 24 minutes of action.

Don Trollano led Blackwater in scoring with 23 points. The Elite now has a

1-1 card.

Ginebra will play Meralco on Sunday while Blackwater will face NLEX on

Saturday.

Box scores:

Ginebra 103 -- Caperal 24, Pringle 17, Thompson 14, Chan 12, Aguilar 11,

Dillinger 9, Mariano 8, Tolentino 5, Devance 3, Tenorio 0.

Blackwater 99 -- Trollano 23, Belo 16, Sumang 14, Daquioag 11, Desiderio 7,

Tolomia 7, Golla 6, Canaleta 5, Magat 5, Dennison 5, Escoto 0, Salem 0.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.68

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, 'What!

You, too? I thought I was the only one'. - C. S. Lewis