NO TRASLACION: MANILA CANCELS GRAND PROCESSION OF BLACK
NAZARENE IMAGE FOR 2021
MANILA The Manila city government and Quiapo Church have
agreed to cancel the grand procession of the image of the Black Nazarene in
January 2021 because of the pandemic, the city government said Friday.
It is the first time that the procession for the image of
the Black Nazarene, where millions of barefoot devotees take part yearly,
has been cancelled, the city government said in a statement.
Mayor Francisco Isko Moreno Domagoso said that public
health protocol must prevail over religious traditions because of the threat
posed by COVID-19.
"Nakikisuyo po ako, iwasan po muna natin ang mga parada at
prusisyon ngayong may pandemya dulot ng sakit na COVID-19. Maaari pong
mapahamak ang ating mga deboto, mailagay sila sa alanganin," Domagoso says.
Monsignor Hernando Coronel, Quiapo Church rector, said in
the same announcement that the more masses will be held for devotees.
He said that Traslacion 2021 will not include the grand
procession from Luneta to Quiapo Church, adding that while he is sad that it
has been cancelled, the public needs to follow safety protocol against
COVID-19.
"'Yung physical distancing, kailangan naka-faceshield,
naka-face mask, kasama ang regular monitoring ng body temperature, lahat
yun susundin natin. Hindi lamang ito sa loob ng simbahan, pati na rin sa
labas," Coronel said of the masses that will be held instead.
Domagoso this week said he would sign an executive order to
allow more people to go to church, to 30% of seating capacity from a more
restricted 10.
PHILIPPINE ECONOMY POISED TO RECOVER IN Q3 FROM 'ROCK
BOTTOM' Q2 FIGURES: BSP
MANILA - Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno
said the third quarter gross domestic product would be better than the "rock
bottom" second quarter figures after the reopened economy showed "positive
indicators."
Net inflow of foreign direct investments has grown since
May, unemployment improved in July, decline in exports eased and the
Philippine Peso remains one of the strongest currencies in Asia, Diokno told
ANC.
CHIEF JUSTICE PERALTA HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE
MANILA Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, for the second time
this year, holds a virtual press conference on Friday morning.
The Chief Justice Meets the Press event is themed SC:
Rising Above the Pandemic.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the SC has released
circulars to help decongest the cramped jails in the country. It has also
adopted teleconferenced hearings amid the enforcement of health protocol.
The SC Public Information Office said the press conference
also marks Peraltas first year as chief justice. Peralta is expected to
answer questions from reporters covering the Justice beat.
The Judiciary has been criticized following the case of
jailed activist Reina Mae Nasino, whose three month-old daughter passed away
while she was in government custody. Petitions for her temporary release,
including to see her dying baby daughter, were either rejected or unheeded
by the courts.
Fides Lim, spokesperson of advocacy group Kapatid, has
called on Peralta to be a "more active, humane" court.
The SC is also pressed to act on the 37 petitions
challenging the much feared anti-terrorism law, with the recent release of
its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
Peralta also sits as the chairperson of the SC Manila Bay
Advisory Committee, and he had recently asked the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources to submit a report on the effects of dolomite on
humans following the controversial "Manila Bay sands" project.
The press conference will go LIVE starting 9:00 a.m. on
Friday, October 23.
PACC EXEC: CONGRESSMEN INVOLVED IN DPWH GRAFT
MANILA Some lawmakers are conspiring with public works
personnel and project contractors to commit corruption, an official of
President Dutertes anti-corruption body said yesterday.
Commissioner Greco Belgica of the Presidential
Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said some lawmakers wield influence over
the implementation of local projects and the movement of district engineers.
DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) district
engineers are bullied by congressmen. They are involved in those projects,
Belgica told Radyo 5.
Thats the conspiracy there Congress, DPWH, contractors,
district engineers. District engineers are small employees. If you dismiss
them, fire them or move them to another post, they cant do anything.
Powerful people like a congressman really can assert influence so they can
be moved to another assignment, he said.
Belgica did not identify the lawmakers supposedly benefiting
from the anomalies in public works projects. He cited the need to centralize
operations in state agencies to enhance the monitoring against
irregularities.
You know there are 250 districts, so each one talks to a
congressman. Its not centralized, so there are problems in monitoring,
Belgica said.
HOUSE PROBE SOUGHT ON ABS-CBN BLOCKTIME DEAL
MANILA Despite its closure, ABS-CBN Corp.s ordeal may not
be over yet, as a congressman is calling for an investigation into the
resumption of its daily programming through a deal with the licensed
television station, ZOE Broadcasting Network.
New House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano has urged
the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) to look into ABS-CBNs blocktime agreement with ZOE for
possible legal and tax issues after its shows returned to free TV last Oct.
10.
There is a legal issue about it. Lets just see what will
happen there, the Abang Lingkod party-list congressman told reporters in a
virtual press conference last Wednesday.
Paduano, who now heads a 23-member bloc in the House of
Representatives, also hinted another congressional inquiry against the
former broadcast giant.
Let the NTC do the study or investigation on that matter.
Then NTC will recommend it to Congress, to the committee on franchise, and
the committee will act on it. We also have the responsibility and the right
to investigate it, he said, citing Congress oversight function.
Apart from legal matters surrounding the blocktime deal,
Paduano said there could also be a tax issue that the BIR should look into
since ZOE TV has a tax-exempt status being a religious broadcasting entity.
FOREIGNERS WITH INVESTOR VISAS ALLOWED IN PHILIPPINES
STARTING NOV. 1
MANILA - Foreigners with investors visa will be allowed to
enter the Philippines from Nov. 1, Malacañang said Friday, as authorities
sought to boost the pandemic-battered economy.
"Ang pupuwede lang po ay mga foreign nationals na merong
visa na in-issue ng Bureau of Immigration pursuant to Executive Order No.
226 or the Omnibus Investment Code as amended by RA 8756 'yung mga
investor's visa na tinatawag po no," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry
Roque.
"At kasama rin po dito ang mga foreign nationals na mayroong
4782 visa na in-issue ng Department of Justice, ang mga visa na inissue ng
Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, at ng Subic Bay
Metropolitan Authority," he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
They are required to pre-book accredited quarantine
facility, he said.
The Philippines is forecast to see a 6.9 percent economic
contraction this year, the World Bank has said, the biggest since the 1980s
and worse than the government's projected 5.5 percent decline.
It has been gradually reopening the economy to allow more
businesses to resume operations and more people to go back to work, but
partial restrictions in and around the capital Manila remain to keep the
virus spread in check.
THE REST
========
DOH REPORTS 1,664 ADDL COVID-19 CASES, TOTAL INFECTIONS
BREACH 363,000
MANILA The Philippines recorded 1,664 new coronavirus
infections on Thursday, bringing the nationwide caseload to 363,888, data
from the health department showed.
This marks the third straight day that the daily additional
cases counted fewer than 2,000. The last time this happened was on July 27
to 29, according to ABS-CBN Data Analytics.
Of the newly-reported cases, 1,526 or 92 percent occurred
within the last 2 weeks. The top regions with cases in the recent 14 days
were NCR (438), Region 4A (235) and Region 6 (170).
Cases of recoveries jumped by 843 over the previous day, the
Department of Health (DOH) said in its latest bulletin. The total number of
recoveries stood at 312,333.
The disease-causing virus, which first emerged in the
central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has claimed 38 more lives in
the Philippines. The death toll climbed to 6,783.
NATIONAL ID PILOT PREREGISTERS OVER 1 MILLION FILIPINOS
MANILA Over a million Filipinos have preregistered with
the Philippine Identification System barely eight days into the programs
pilot period, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on
Thursday.
Of the 1,058,546 cumulative preregistrations, 572,977 were
males while the balance of 485,569 were females. By age group, 39.7% of
registrants were young people aged 20 to 39 years old, while 37.9% were
40-59 years old.
The Duterte administration had started rolling out the
national ID program, a priority project, in 32 areas last October 12. As of
October 20, 28 of the 32 provinces were deemed on track to complete the
preregistration of mostly poor individuals and with no access to banks.
Preregistrations involved the personal visitations from
statistics personnel to gather personal data such as name, age, sex contact
number and addresses. This initial step will run from October 12 to December
30, and will overlap on actual registration in PhilSys centers, where
biometrics will be taken, beginning November 25.
PAGBABAKUNA KONTRA TIGDAS, POLIO SIMULA NA SA OKT. 26
MAYNILA - Aarangkada na ang pagbabakuna laban sa mga sakit
na tigdas at polio sa Lunes, Oktubre 26, ayon sa Department of Health.
Ito po ay sabayang measles-rubella, 'German measles, and
oral polio vaccine supplemental immunization activity sa mga rehiyon sa
Luzonexcept NCR, Region 4A and Region 3at lahat ng rehiyon sa Mindanao,
pahayag ni Dr. Wilda Silva, National Immunization Manager ng DOH.
Sa panayam sa TeleRadyo Biyernes, sinabi ni Silva na
nakatanggap sila ng request na dahil sa tumataas ang kaso ng COVID-19 at
kasalukuyang nasa ilalim ng modified general community quarantine pa rin ang
probinsya ng Lanao del Sur kaya maantala ng pagbabakuna sa lugar na ito ng
ilang linggo.
Ayon kay Silva, naantala ang kanilang programang pagbabakuna
dahil na rin sa COVID-19 pandemic.
Pareho naman po ang ating gagamitin na vaccinator at
rumeresponde sa COVID-19. Unfortunately, may mga health workers tayo na
naka-quarantine ngayon sa ibang lugar kaya naantala ang ating pagsasagawa ng
malawakang pagbakuna kontra tigdas, sabi niya.
Magkakaroon ng fixed posts ang DOH, gayundin ng temporary
sites para mailapit ang serbisyong pagbabakuna sa komunidad.
Wala po tayong door-to-door ngayon but instead, 'yung ating
temporary site 'yung ang sinasabi nating dadalhin 'yung ating kabataan
together with the parents doon sa itinalagang temporary sites, ayon kay
Silva.
COOLER SHOPPING: DTI EASES CONTROL MEASURES IN MALLS
MANILA Control measures enforced at malls and shopping
centers were relaxed beginning yesterday to allow more patrons to enjoy
their visit, encourage spending and spur economic activity, the Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Under Memorandum Circular 20-55, the DTI relaxed certain
control measures and now allows malls and commercial centers to set air
conditioning to cooler temperatures, provide free WiFi services for
customers, and hold sales and promo events.
Specifically, air-conditioning temperature can now be set
below 24 degrees Celsius while free WiFi service, which usually attracts
more customers, can be switched on.
In addition, the malls can hold sales promotion activities
and marketing events, but would have to ensure strict physical distancing is
observed and permits are secured from the DTI Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau.
Last week, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of
Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) decided to allow malls to conduct sale
events.
PRIVATE LABS TO CONDUCT SWAB TESTS FOR OFWS
MANILA As the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is still not
providing swab testing services for those who use their Philippine Health
Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth cards as payment guarantee, the Department of
Health (DOH) reported yesterday that at least seven private laboratories are
set to do the tests for returning overseas Filipino workers and other
affected sectors.
In a virtual briefing yesterday, Health Undersecretary Maria
Vergeire said the private laboratories have offered to help in addressing
the bottleneck in swab testing.
BREWING STORM SET TO ENTER PAR - PAGASA
MANILA - A low-pressure area (LPA) seen east of Mindanao is
expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) Friday, the
state weather bureau said.
The brewing storm was last spotted 1,145 kilometers east of
Mindanao as of 3 a.m., weather specialist Loriedin Dela Cruz.
The LPA is likely to develop into a tropical cyclone and may
become the country's 17th storm this year, she added.
Meanwhile, typhoon Pepito, which left the country Thursday,
was last seen 520 kilometers west of northern Luzon.
The typhoon's trough or extension will still bring cloudy
skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms over Batanes, Babuyan
Islands, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro and Palawan.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly
cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers due to localized
thunderstorms.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
LIZA SOBERANO UNFAZED BY MILITARY OFFICIAL'S STATEMENT,
'WILL CONTINUE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH'
MANILA Actress Liza Soberano will continue to express her
views despite being threatened by a top military official because of her
advocacy for women's rights, her camp said Friday.
Liza is not afraid of this statement from [Lt.] Gen.
Antonio Parlade [Jr.]. Though I must state we take note of the general's
advice, unsolicited as it may sound, the actress lawyer Juanito Lim Jr.
told ANCs Matters of Fact.
However, please know that Ms. Soberano will continue to
exercise her constitutionally-protected right to free speech and expression
without fear nor restrain from anyone.
Parlade of the National Task Force to End Local Communist
Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) drew flak after he warned the actress she would
end up getting killed if she continued supporting the womens group
Gabriela.
This, after Soberano participated in a webinar conducted by
Gabriela Youth about children and womens welfare.
Liza Soberano, there's still a chance to abdicate that
group. If you don't, you will suffer the same fate as Josephine Anne
Lapira, Parlade said in a statement.
Lapira, a UP Manila student, was killed in an encounter
between state forces and suspected members of New Peoples Army (NPA) in
Nasugbu, Batangas in November 2017.
Parlade made the same threat to Miss Universe 2018 Catriona
Gray and also alleged actress Angel Locsin was part of the underground
movement.
For Lim, his client has nothing to be afraid about.
As any civilian would feel, being red-tagged might cause
some sort of a chilling effect, but going to this particular situation with
Ms. Soberano, we feel that there's nothing to worry about as far as Liza is
concerned because as we have earlier stated she has not committed any
wrongdoing other than expressing her views, he said.
He also maintained the actress was not a member of Gabriela
nor any cause-oriented or left-leaning groups.
Liza remains apolitical, he said, adding his client is
neutral and not favoring any group.
Soberano, who was last seen in the ABS-CBN Teleserye Make
It With You, is currently in the US.
SPORTS
STREAKING ALASKA SENDS RAIN OR SHINE TO FIRST LOSS
Alaska Aces put an end to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
undefeated run, eking out a narrow 89-88 decision in their 2020 PBA
Philippine Cup tussle on Thursday night at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural
Center.
It was a third consecutive victory now for the Aces after
starting the conference at 0-2, while they sent Rain or Shine crashing to
its first-ever loss inside the bubble.
Both teams found it hard to create separation from each
other as no team led by double digits, with the Elasto Painters building
their largest advantage at seven points, 78-71, inside the six-minute mark
of the final canto.
But the lead dissipated as Alaska responded with a 14-2
surge for a quick turnaround as it held an 85-80 cushion with 1:43 to go
before proving steadier on both ends.
After the E-Painters hit back-to-back triples to close the
distance and forced Aces forward Jeron Teng to a turnover, Rey Nambatac
missed a three-pointer from way out before fouling Vic Manuel on the other
end.
The window was still open for Rain or Shine, though, as Beau
Belga went for a lay up to make it just an 89-88 game in the final seven
seconds, and Teng committed another turnover for the Aces.
But Nambatac failed to hit his mark once again, as Manuel
secured the board and eventually the win for Alaska.
Manuel, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarterincluding
Alaskas last six points, led all scorers with 18 points to go with seven
rebounds.
Teng provided an all-around game with 13 points, eight
rebounds and six assists, while Barkley Eboña and Abu Tratter each had 10
points for Alaska, which improved to 3-2.
Sidney Onwubere topscored for Rain or Shine with 16 points,
Javee Mocon produced 14 points, while Adrian Wong had 12 markers that went
for naught as they dropped to 3-1.
TNT STEAMROLLS BLACKWATER TO STAY PERFECT AT 5-0
TNT Tropang Giga rolled to its fifth straight win as it
trounced the Blackwater Elite, 109-96, in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup
Thursday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena in Pampanga.
As a result, the KaTropa reclaimed the solo top spot in the
team standings with a 5-0 win-loss record, as several TNT players stepped up
in the absence of leader Jayson Castro.
Playing without star guard Castrowho was sidelined after
feeling tightness in his right calfbarely affected the rampaging KaTropa,
who got off to a strong start and never let up, as the lead went as much as
21 points.
Roger Pogoy once again led the TNT offense, finishing with
20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Ray Parks
added 18 markers in the dominant victory.
Troy Rosario put up a double-double effort of 17 points and
12 rebounds, Poy Erram tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists,
while Simon Enciso had 16 points.
Don Trollano led Blackwater with 23 points, Mac Belo added
16 points and eight rebounds, while Mike Tolomia chipped in 12 markers in a
losing effort as the Elite absorbed their second straight defeat that
dropped them to 2-3.
INDICATORS
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a
single experiment can prove me wrong. - Albert Einstein
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