PHILIPPINES TO BORROW $300 MILLION FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE: DUTERTE

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said the Philippines will

borrow around $300 million to purchase a coronavirus vaccine.

Duterte issued the statement after Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced

that their experimental vaccine is more than 90 percent effective against

the deadly disease.

"Nandito na ang bakuna. It's being solved. Not good to assume there's a

black market for that. But (Finance Sec.) Sonny (Dominguez) says he can

borrow money... 300 million dollars. Malaki 'yan. So makapabili tayo. But I

think it would do us well to realize that unahin talaga nila mga tao nila,"

Duterte said in a public briefing.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first to release successful

data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The firms

said they have found no serious safety concerns so far and expect to seek US

authorization this November for emergency use of the vaccine.

"Hindi na talaga nakakatakot ang COVID. But sa ngayon, magbili ka mahal. But

as I have promised, gastos ng gobyerno itong bakuna para sa lahat ng

Pilipino. Kaya umpisahan natin sa mga mahirap," Duterte said.

Duterte in July said the Philippine military will be the "implementing arm"

of the country's coronavirus immunization program.

The Philippines earlier Tuesday registered 1,347 additional COVID-19 cases,

bringing the country's total number of infections to 399,749. The country

has 30,169 active infections, accounting for 7.5 percent of the total cases.

It has claimed 7,661 lives in the Philippines so far.

DUTERTE: 'KUNG GUSTO NINYONG MAGKAPERA, UMALIS KAYO SA GOBYERNO'

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday issued a fresh warning against

government employees and officials who are allegedly involved in corrupt

practices.

Duterte, in his weekly meeting with Cabinet officials, read names of

dismissed and suspended employees of the Bureau of Immigration and the

Department of Public Works and Highways.

He warned those facing charges that he can replace them anytime, especially

now that there are a lot of people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

Duterte, likewise, told them to just leave government service if they want

to earn money.

"Kung gusto ninyong magkapera, umalis na lang kayo sa gobyerno. Magnegosyo,

magnegosyo kayo sa labas," he said.

Duterte warned those who were suspended that he will make sure that get get

dismissed from the service next time they get involved in any misconduct.

"Lahat 'yung suspended, next time magkaroon kayo maski simple, or simple

neglect of duty or whatever, if it falls as a ground for dismissal,

papaalisin ko na kayo," he said, referring specifically to those he

personally appointed.

Duterte on Monday summoned to the Malacañang Palace around 40 Immigration

personnel, who were all suspended or facing charges due to the "pastillas"

scam, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Roque also said the President told said officers to swallow rolled wads of

cash.

The scam allegedly allows the illegal entry of Chinese nationals or the

departure of trafficked people at the airport. It is named after grease

money rolled up in paper, resembling the local milk candy.

BANKS, SWAMPED WITH UNPAID LOANS, ARE NOT LENDING

MANILA — Banks continued to hold back from lending as loans in their books

start to turn sour with the unwinding of regulatory relief extended to

customers battered by the pandemic.

Outstanding loans by big banks, net of their lending to each other, inched

up 2.8% year-on-year as of September, sustaining a weakening trend that

started last March. The latest data was also the worst performance since

June 2007’s 2.4% growth.

Lending is slowing down as banks, big or small, had to contend with a surge

in unpaid credit. Non-performing loans (NPL), or those unpaid at least 30

days past due date, soared 60.2% year-on-year to P364.67 billion last month.

That brought NPL to account to 3.4% of the entire loan books, the highest

since May 2013.

NPL increased as 60-day grace periods on loan payments under the Bayanihan

to Recover As One Act begin to taper off. That said, banks have also stepped

up defenses from potential NPL losses, increasing allowances for that

purpose to 91.75% of bad loans, albeit down from 107.4% in August.

In a statement Tuesday evening, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said

lenders are pulling back from doing their primary business of lending

because of “reduced tolerance for risk,” apart from a general weakness in

business and consumer sentiment as the economy remained mired into

recession.

Such statement is a recognition of the challenge ahead for BSP Governor

Benjamin Diokno who brought down interest rate to record-lows this year as

he took the cudgels from his former colleagues at the Duterte Cabinet

refusing to embark on a massive fiscal push to salvage the economy from

pandemic ruins.

The latest data showed BSP’s aggressive easing is not making any dent to

bring funds to consumers and businesses. While by central bank estimates

P1.7 trillion had been released to the economy by low rates and 200

basis-point cut in bank reserves, most funds have only gone to the bond and

stock markets— the latter rose to a 9-month high last Tuesday— and even back

to BSP through its bond and term deposit auctions which are consistently

swamped.

“From here, we can only expect downward trends in lending across most

sectors to fall, household into single digits soon and overall lending to

edge closer to zero with the economy in pandemic,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa,

senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, said in client note.

Patrick Ella, economist at Sun Life Canada (Philippines) Inc., agreed. “3Q

(Third quarter) looks bad and doesn’t indicate if the loan trend will change

as of now,” he said in a separate e-mail.

FIRST BATCH OF BLACKHAWKS FOR PAF ARRIVES

MANILA — The first batch of Sikorsky S70-i Blackhawk helicopters acquired by

the military for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) has arrived in the country.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed the delivery of the brand new

helicopters at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga, which were aboard an Antonov

heavy transport plane on Monday.

He added that a sixth was loaded on a ship that will arrive in the country

on Dec. 2 while the remaining 10 units are expected to be delivered within

the first quarter of 2021.

The defense department said the 16 helicopters, acquired from Polish company

PZL Mielec, were manufactured under license from Sikorsky USA and have a

contract price of $241.46 million.

Public Affairs Service chief Director Arsenio Andolong said the project was

procured through a government-to-government transaction with Poland.

“The Blackhawks will greatly boost the Armed Forces of the Philippines’

capability to conduct various operations, including combat missions,

humanitarian assistance and disaster response and help in the government’s

efforts against COVID-19,” he announced.

VICE PRESIDENT POLL PROTEST: SC WARNS ROBREDO, MARCOS

MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday warned the camps of Vice President

Leni Robredo and former senator Bongbong Marcos to refrain from publicly

discussing the latter’s election protest.

SC magistrates, sitting as members of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal

(PET), reminded both parties to follow the sub judice rule, which restricts

comments on matters pending in court.

The PET said media outlets are not the proper venues to litigate the case.

“The parties, their counsels and their agents are sternly warned that any

more violation of this order will be dealt with severely,” the SC Public

Information Office said.

The PET issued the warning a day after Marcos filed a motion before the high

court, seeking the inhibition of Associate Justice Marvic Leonen from the

case over alleged bias on the four-year-old electoral protest.

Marcos’ lawyer Vic Rodriguez said Leonen should not have accepted the job as

justice-in-charge of the case “out of delicadeza.”

The camp of Robredo slammed the petition and likened Marcos to a “spoiled

brat who cries when he doesn’t get candy.”

THE REST

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AMID CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, NEWLY-MINTED POLICE CHIEFS BARE FOCUS ON ILLEGAL

DRUGS

MANILA — The chiefs of the national police and Metro Manila's police

district formally took up their posts on Wednesday, their first days on the

job, and expressed their focus on illegal drugs for their terms.

Speaking in an interview aired over CNN Philippines late Tuesday night,

Police Gen. Debold Sinas, the newly-appointed chief of the Philippine

National Police, urged the public once more to "move on" from the many

issues raised against him in the past.

Sinas' appointment by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday drew outrage from

lawmakers, rights monitors and peasant groups and raised concerns over

impunity and possible suppression of dissent.

"I'm doing my job as a policeman...if you've done something wrong, you've

done something wrong. I have presented my accomplishments to the PNP, to the

people, to the president. I won't seek an extension or anything, my programs

are really anchored for six months," he said.

In his assumption remarks earlier Monday evening, Sinas also added that his

priority program would be to lead the PNP in the national campaign to End

Local Communist Armed Conflict and "the national crusade against crime,

illegal drugs, corruption, and terrorism."

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said that this agenda was set by no

less than Duterte himself.

DANAO NAMED NCRPO CHIEF

MANILA — Calabarzon police director Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. is the next

chief of the 27,000-strong National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO),

Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año announced yesterday.

Año confirmed that Danao will replace Gen. Debold Sinas, whom President

Duterte appointed as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Danao, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, is known

for his close ties with Duterte.

Danao had served as police chief of Davao City.

MORE TRADITIONAL JEEPNEYS BACK ON METRO MANILA ROADS

MANILA — At least 816 traditional jeepneys were allowed to resume operations

yesterday in 16 routes in Metro Manila, according to the Land Transportation

Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The routes approved by the LTFRB under Memorandum Circular 2020-071 are EDSA

Shaw Boulevard to E. Rodriguez/Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Avenue, EDSA Shaw

Central to Pateros, Dapitan to Pasay Rotonda, Del Pan to Guadalupe and

Divisoria to Pasay.

The rest are Divisoria to Punta, Libertad to QI in Quezon City, Malanday to

Pier South, Projects 2 and 3 to Remedios, Filinvest City in Alabang,

Muntinlupa, Kabihasnan to Sucat, Nichols to SM Mall of Asia and Sucat to

Fort Bonifacio in Taguig.

The LTFRB said jeepney operators need not secure special permits to operate,

but they are required to use downloadable quick response or QR codes.

Jeepney drivers must also implement health protocols to protect passengers

from COVID-19 such as wearing of face masks and regular disinfection of

their vehicles.

EXPLOSION, GUNSHOTS HEARD DURING BILIBID RIOT: DOJ

MANILA - An explosion and gunshots were heard at the national penitentiary

during the riot that left 4 prisoners dead last Monday, Justice Secretary

Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.

Guevarra earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to look into

the riots between gangs Sputnik and Commando at the New Bilibid Prison's

maximum security compound, the first of which began last month.

The four prisoners died due to gunshot wounds, Guevarra said. He clarified

that the incident left 62 injured, not 64 as the Bureau of Corrections

earlier reported.

"Ito ay talagang pinapa-imbestigahan ko nang husto kasi ako ay nagtataka ito

ay nangyari samantalang 'yan ay dapat naman secure na secure pero bakit

nakakapasok ang weapons d'yan," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"Mayroon pang sinasabing pagsabog ng IED (improvised explosive device).

Improvised 'to so nakakapasok sa loob 'yung mga element o ingredients para

sa paggawa."

The gunshots were "supposedly a distraction," said DOJ Undersecretary

Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, citing an initial report.

"While there was a commotion happening that the personnel were trying to

quell, they heard gunshots inside one of the facilities of the NBP," she

told ANC's Headstart.

Guevarra said the riots may have broken out due to several reasons such as

overcrowding and pandemic restrictions.

The national penitentiary currently houses 29,500 inmates, according to

Aglipay-Villar, nearly twice its maximum capacity of 18,000.

Additional custodial staff should be hired as the NBP's current ratio is one

jail guard to 60 prisoners, far from the ideal ratio of 1:7, Aglipay-Villar

said.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE PROSPECTS PUSH STOCKS TO NEAR 9-MONTH HIGH

The Philippine Stock Exchange index surged past 7,000-mark to close at

7,035.48 points on Tuesday in optimism that coronavirus vaccine may soon be

released.

All subindices were in green. The benchmark index's rise followed a

regional trend buoyed by announcements from BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. of

success in testing their vaccines under development.

PSEi's Tuesday close was the highest since Feb. 24's 7,187.44.

FIFTH STORM SINCE OCTOBER: TYPHOON-HIT PROVINCES BRACE FOR ULYSSES

Severe tropical storm Ulysses on Wednesday morning further strengthened and

is nearing typhoon category as it continued its approach towards Luzon, the

state weather bureau said.

The country's 21st storm was last spotted 135 kilometers north northeast of

Virac, Catanduanes as of 7 a.m., packing maximum sustained winds of 110 km

per hour near the center and 135 kph gusts while moving westward at 20 kph,

according to PAGASA.

Ulysses, expected to become a typhoon in 6 to 12 hours, will reach peak

intensity of 130-155 kph before landfall, the weather bureau said. It is

likely to weaken when it crosses the Sierra Madre mountain range but it's

expected to remain a typhoon while traversing the Luzon landmass, said

PAGASA.

PAGASA has raised tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) No. 2 over Metro

Manila and neighboring provinces. Due to the expected intensification of

Ulysses, the weather agency said TCWS No. 3 may be hoisted over several

provinces in Bicol region, Metro Manila and portions of Calabarzon and

Central Luzon once the tropical cyclone develops into a typhoon.

On Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday evening, heavy to intense with at

times torrential rains will prevail over Metro Manila, Camarines Norte,

Camarines Sur, Calabarzon Aurora, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan.

Moderate to heavy with at times intense rains will be experienced in the

Cordilleras, mainland Cagayan Valley, Catanduanes, Marinduque, the northern

portion of Mindoro Provinces, and the rest of Central Luzon while light to

moderate with at times heavy rains will prevail over the rest of Luzon and

Visayas.

Flooding, rain-induced landslides, and sediment-laden streamflow, like lahar

from nearby volcanoes, may occur during heavy or prolonged rainfall in

affected areas.

The Philippines may experience at least four more storms before the year

ends, PAGASA said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

LOOK: PIOLO PASCUAL JOINS GRETCHEN HO IN BIKE DONATION CAMPAIGN

MANILA -- Piolo Pascual has donated 200 bicycles in support of the "Donate A

Bike, Save A Job" campaign of host and athlete Gretchen Ho.

Half of the bicycles were awarded along with helmets and vests to applicants

in ABS-CBN's public service app Sharea.

Both Ho and Pascual were present during the turnover, which was held at

Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

In a Facebook post, Ho said Pascual was one of the first celebrities who

pledged to support the "Donate A Bike, Save A Job" initiative.

"Dahil sa kanyang pagiging siklista, alam ni Piolo ang halaga ng isang

bisikleta. Kaya naman, simula Day 1, siya na ang isa sa mga unang nag-pledge

na mag-donate sa bike drive na ito. Galing pa siyang Batangas nung Linggo,

pero talagang sinadya niya kami sa QC Circle," she said.

"Maraming salamat sa iyong suporta sa aming adbokasiya. Proud to be sharing

the same mission with you."

Ho added that the remaining 100 bicycles will be given to those affected by

super typhoon Rolly in Naga in the coming weeks.

Ho launched her "Donate A Bike, Save A Job" initiative last August to help

those struggling to get to work because of the risks brought about by the

novel coronavirus pandemic.

It was back in June when the host first donated bicycles to workers, as

documented in her vlog.

SPORTS

PBA SCORES NOV 10

TUE, NOV 10, 2020    Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    T

San Miguel Beermen    24    33    43    20    120

Batang Pier    30    17    29    23    99

Rain or Shine    13    30    24    13    80

TNT Tropang Giga    19    19    19    17    74

NBA APPROVES 2020-21 SEASON DEAL

NEW YORK -- The NBA's board of governors formally approved a deal for a

shortened 2020-2021 season on Tuesday, with the new campaign tipping off on

December 22.

An NBA statement said the league's board unanimously approved adjustments to

the current collective bargaining agreement, which has been impacted by the

Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement said the league would continue to negotiate with the National

Basketball Players Association on other aspects of the upcoming season.

Under a deal reached on Monday, the NBPA and the league agreed on each team

playing a 72-game schedule.

The agreement caps possible player salary reductions due to the pandemic to

no more than 20% and at that level spread over up to three seasons.

In the 2020-21 campaign, the salary cap level for clubs would be $109.140

million with a salary tax on clubs going above $132.627 million.

In future seasons, the salary cap and tax level would increase by 3-10% over

the prior season, with tax payments trimmed in proportion to income

decreases.

Free agency negotiations would start on November 20 with signings allowed

starting on November 22.

The December 22 start date means the NBA is able to retain its lucrative

slate of televised Christmas Day fixtures.

Starting in December also allows the league to complete the playoffs before

the rescheduled Olympics in mid-July, meaning the league's top players will

be available for selection in Tokyo.

The new season will tip off a little over two months after the conclusion of

the pandemic-interrupted 2019-2020 season.

The Los Angeles Lakers were crowned 2020 champions after the season resumed

in July following a four-month hiatus.

Although teams restarted the season in a single, secure "bubble" location in

Orlando, Florida, the upcoming season is expected to take place with teams

playing at their home venues.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.27

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder. –

Rumi