PH NOVEMBER INFLATION QUICKENS TO 21-MONTH HIGH ON HIGHER FOOD PRICES

MANILA - Philippine inflation quickened in November to a 21-month high

driven by higher food prices caused by destructive storms and typhoons which

ravaged the country, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.

The consumer price index rose at a faster annual pace of 3.3 percent last

month, its highest since February 2019.

This was beyond the 2.4 to 3.2 percent range forecast by the Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas' Department of Economic Research for the month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation doubled in November from October.

The BSP think tank earlier said that the impact of storms and typhoons on

prices of rice and agricultural products, and higher domestic oil prices

contributed to upward price pressures, while lower electricity rates and the

appreciation of the peso likely helped offset it.

Core inflation which strips out volatile food and fuel items, came in at 3.2

percent.

Inflation averaged 2.6 percent in the January-November period, still below

the midpoint of the official 2 to 4 percent target range for the year.

On Thursday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said the

central bank's policy action would remain data-driven.

"Nonetheless, inflation is expected to settle within the government’s target

range of 3.0 percent plus or minus 1.0 percent for 2020-2022 as the impact

of supply disruptions due to recent typhoons is expected to be largely

transitory," BSP said in a statement.

'I DON'T CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS,' DUTERTE SAYS, URGING COPS TO 'SHOOT

FIRST'

MANILA — It's been made clear countless times in the past: the president

does not care about human rights, despite claiming to abide by the 1987

Constitution.

At a speech in Cavite on Thursday at an event celebrating the destruction of

P7 billion worth of narcotics, President Rodrigo Duterte made the statement

as explicitly as he could, urging officers of the law to shoot first, and

worry about human rights later.

"All addicts have guns. If there's even a hint of wrongdoing, any overt act,

even if you don't see a gun, just go ahead and shoot him," he said in

Filipino. "You should go first, because you might be shot. Shoot him first,

because he will really draw his gun on you, and you will die."

"Human rights, you are preoccupied with the lives of the criminals and drug

pushers. As mayor and as president, I have to protect every man, woma, and

child from the dangers of drugs. The game is killing...I say to the human

rights, I don't give a shit with you. My order is still the same. Because I

am angry," he added.

Duterte has often slammed the criticisms of rights groups, and statements

encouraging police to shoot first are nothing new. Earlier in the

coronavirus pandemic, he also urged law enforcement personnel to "shoot

dead" any quarantine violators, especially those linked to left-leaning

groups critical of his administration.

MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION COVID DEATHS AS NATIONS PLAN FOR VACCINE

WASHINGTON - The world passed the grim milestone of 1.5 million coronavirus

deaths on Thursday, as several nations planned to deliver much hoped-for

vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions.

US President-elect Joe Biden said that on his first day in office he would

ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days to help reduce transmission of the

virus that is again surging in the country with the world's highest number

of deaths and infections.

"I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask --

not forever," Biden said in excerpts of an interview to be broadcast on CNN

later Thursday.

But even as the latest positive news about a vaccine was announced, with the

Moderna candidate showing it confers immunity for at least three months,

several countries marked new COVID-19 records.

The US, for instance, posted an all-time high of more than 210,000 new cases

in a 24-hour stretch to Thursday evening, meanwhile notching more than 2,900

deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

To build trust in vaccines after they are approved, the 78-year-old Biden

said he was willing to be vaccinated in public -- following up on similar

commitments from former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill

Clinton.

Biden also used the interview to say he had asked the government's top

infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci to join his COVID team and serve

as a chief medical adviser.

IATF REQUIRES ALL ESTABLISHMENTS TO ADOPT STAY SAFE CONTACT-TRACING APP

MANILA — The inter-agency task force leading the country's COVID-19 fight is

requiring all establishments to adopt the Stay Safe application and its QR

Code, to consolidate data on who interacted with novel coronavirus patients,

Malacañang said Friday.

The IATF, which met Thursday, approved the recommendation of the Office of

the Cabinet Secretariat to "implement the Safety Seal Certification Program

in addition to StaySafe.ph," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

The requirements to secure a Safety Seal "include the adoption of the Stay

Safe application and the generation of its QR Code to be displayed in all

entrances," he said in a statement.

"All establishments, such as government offices, private companies, hotels

and business establishments and public transportation units are thus

required to adopt the Safety Seal," he added.

The Stay Safe app is free for download and does not require mobile prepaid

load to function, COVID-19 testing czar Vince Dizon earlier said.

With the app, users can just take a photo of the QR codes in malls, banks,

restaurants, trains and buses, instead of manually filling up

contact-tracing sheets, he said.

The app will allow users to be easily notified by authorities if a person

they had close contact with in these places tests positive for the novel

coronavirus, Dizon said.

StaySafe will "build public confidence to use these facilities and help rev

up the economy," he told ANC.

DUTERTE: 'GROSS INJUSTICE' IF LOW-INCOME NATIONS HAVE NO ACCESS TO COVID-19

VACCINE

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte renewed his call for universal access to

coronavirus vaccines, once available, as the Philippines scrambles to secure

supplies of these critical products to help end one of Southeast Asia’s

worst outbreaks.

In his second appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, Duterte

said it would be a “gross injustice” if low-income nations would be left

behind in gaining access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.

“If any country is excluded by reason of poverty or strategic unimportance,

this gross injustice will haunt the world for a long time,” Duterte said in

a recorded message early Friday morning.

“We cannot let this happen. No one is safe unless everyone is safe,” he

added.

The president also stressed that critical services and products must be made

accessible to the most vulnerable and they should be given priority.

He affirmed the country’s commitment to mechanisms such as the COVAX

Facility, which the Philippines joined. The COVAX facility aims to ensure

fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Duterte also called on UN member states to strengthen the capacity of their

health systems as nations reopen economy.

GMA PUBLIC AFFAIRS SAYS IT WILL NO LONGER ASK TO USE PHOTOS, VIDEOS FOR FREE

MANILA — GMA’s public affairs arm said Friday that it will no longer ask for

free photos and videos for use in its programs following backlash on social

media stemming from complaints about its practices.

“Our immediate action is to put a stop to the practice of our teams

requesting for use of photos and videos without compensation, particularly

requesting interview subjects to shoot video for us for free,” GMA Public

Affairs said in a statement.

While it confirmed that some of their programs ask for permission to air

third-party material for free, it said that “a good number” of their

programs provide financial incentives to those who contribute footage.

The use of contributed content, often unpaid, is not exclusive to GMA as

newsrooms stretch resources — including their individual journalists and

news producers — for their output.

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PHILIPPINES SAYS SEMINARS, TRAININGS PARTIALLY ALLOWED IN GCQ AREAS

MANILA — Workshops, trainings, seminars and other related events will be

partially allowed in areas under general community quarantine, Malacañang

said Friday, as authorities loosened coronavirus curbs to open up the

economy.

The inter-agency task force leading the country's COVID-19 response, allowed

the following events to be held in GCQ areas, with venues to be filled up to

30 percent of their capacity, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Workshops

Trainings

Seminars

Congresses

Conferences

Board meetings

Colloquia

Conclaves

Symposia

Consumer trade shows

Permitted venues include restaurants, in general, restaurants attached to

hotels, ballrooms and function halls within hotels, venues within hotel

premises, and mall atria, Roque said in a statement.

The IATF, which met Thursday, directed the tourism and trade departments to

issue guidelines on this, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila and 7 other areas under GCQ

until year-end. Only select businesses are permitted to full operate under

this quarantine status.

SEARCH CAME BEFORE WARRANT: LAWYER SAYS SEARCH OF ECHANIS HOME 'ILLEGAL'

MANILA - The lawyer of peasant community organizer Amanda Echanis on Friday

accused state forces of illegally searching the house she was staying,

noting that the search warrant was served after soldiers had already driven

her out of the house and ransacked her home for hours.

Laywer Jobert Pahilga, founding member of National Union of People's Lawyers

(NUPL), said they would file countercharges against the police and military

who conducted the operation at 3 a.m.

"Alas 3 pa lang ng madaling araw, may mga military na pumunta sa bahay kung

saan siya tumutuloy. Binulabog sila, ginising. Ang nandoon sa bahay 'yung

mag-asawa na may-ari ng bahay, 4 na menor de edad na bata, si Amanda at yung

kanyang bagong silang na sanggol," he told Teleradyo.

"Pinalabas sila ng bahay, humalughog ang military. At about 7:30, dumating

'yung barangay kasama yung CIDG at pinakita na 'yung search warrant and then

nag conduct sila ng search sa loob ng bahay at nakita daw 'yung M-16

armalite rifle kasama 'yung mga bala at granada sa isang kwarto."

Echanis and her month-old child were staying in Baggao, Cagayan when the

raid happened at 3 a.m..

Her arrest coincided with the raid of the house of Anakpawis Cagayan Valley

chairman Isabelo "Buteng" Adviento in Cagayan.

Echanis has been charged with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and

explosives. She is currently detained in Camp Marcelo Adduru in Cagayan

Valley with her baby boy.

She is the youngest daughter of Anakpawis leader Randy Echanis, who was

killed inside his home in Novaliches, Quezon City in August. His slay

remains unsolved.

Pahilga questioned the twin searches done at Echanis' home. "So there was

first an invalid, illegal search that was conducted [by the military] before

the supposed legal search by the CIDG," he said.

He claimed the guns and ammo were planted since charges of possession of

illegal firearms and explosives are non-bailable.

'ABSURD' TO TAG MAKABAYAN AS COMMUNIST FRONT DUE TO DEATH OF LAWMAKER'S

DAUGHTER - ZARATE

MANILA - Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said Friday it is "absurd" to

conclude that the Makabayan bloc is a legal front of the communist

insurgency movement after a lawmaker's daughter was killed in a military

encounter with rebels.

Jevilyn Cullamat, daughter of Rep. Eufemia Cullamat of Bayan Muna, was a

medic to the New People's Army when she was killed in a clash in Surigao del

Sur.

Zarate criticized the "obsession" to link Makabayan and its elected

lawmakers to the armed movement, which he said, purports that because they

did not condemn the NPA, then they must be a front for it.

This way of thinking is absurd, because "you are being demonized,

criminalized even, for your belief," he said.

"Yung leap of logic sa conclusion nila, very absurd…Ang kanilang logic, anak

ka ni Cong. Cullamat, therefore, si Cong. Cullamat supports the NPA.

Therefore, ang organization ni Cong. Cullamat is a front of the CPP-NPA, and

therefore, all of them are terrorists. That is very absurd," Zarate told

ANC's Headstart.

"Kung meron mang napatunayan ito, itong insidenteng ito, it’s the fact that

there are still individuals, mga kababayan natin na pinili ang ganitong

opsyon dahil di sila nasasapatan sa pagbibigay ng solusyon sa kanilang mga

hinaing, sa problema ng ating bayan," he said.

Although government forces may see these rebels as "enemies of the state,"

Zarate believes it is his duty as a lawmaker to find solutions to the causes

they are fighting for.

QUIAPO CHURCH, MAGSASAGAWA NG SIMBANG GABI SA BONIFACIO SHRINE

MAYNILA - Naghahanda na ang Quiapo Church sa pagsasagawa ng Misa de Gallo

pero hindi sa mismong simbahan nito.

Hindi sa simbahan gaganapin ang Simbang Gabi ngayong taon at inaasahan itong

gagawin sa may Bonifacio Shrine.

Tanging 300 devotees lang din ang pwedeng pumasok sa Bonifacio Shrine para

makilahok sa Misa de Gallo.

Panawagan ng simbahan sa senior citizens at mga batang gusto pa ring

makapagsimba na mag online mass na lamang para sa kanilang kaligtasan.

HIGIT 800 KILO NG UNDOCUMENTED FROZEN MEAT KINUMPISKA SA BACOOR

MAYNILA - Kinumpiska ang tinatayang 860 kilo ng undocumented frozen meat sa

Bacoor City, Cavite nitong Miyerkules.

Nakasakay sa isang reefer van ang kahon-kahon na mga frozen na baboy at beef

na dumaan sa inspeksyon ng mga tauhan ng National Meat Inspection Service

(NMIS) Region 4A at ng Bacoor City Veterinary Service Office - Meat

Inspection Team.

Nagsasagawa noon ang grupo ng routine inspection ng madaling-araw sa

Aguinaldo Highway.

Ayon kay Bacoor City meat inspector James San Gabriel, hindi nadeklara sa

dalang certificate of meat inspection ng van ang 35 sa 40 mga kahon.

May ilan sa mga karne na ni-rebox pero hindi nalagyan ng sticker ng NMIS.

Bukod pa rito, wala ring accreditation sa NMIS ang mismong reefer van.

ARMY DRIVES BIFF AWAY FROM DATU PIANG, MAGUINDANAO

MAGUINDANAO — Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters attacked an

Army detachment, shot houses and burned a police car in the center of Datu

Piang town late Thursday night, sending villagers running for their lives.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said

Friday that soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, managed to drive the BIFF

bandits away after a heavy exchange of gunfire.

"Authorities are on top of the situation. Normalcy in the area was restored

after our troops flushed them out," Uy said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

ANOTHER BEST ACTOR AWARD IN THE OFFING FOR JOHN ARCILLA AS HEALING PRIEST

FR. SUAREZ

MANILA -- John Arcilla laughs at how people address him now as “Father

Heneral”, with the release of his much-awaited title role movie “Suarez, The

Healing Priest” for the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

According to early feedback from previews of the movie, it’s another

potential best actor award-winning performance for Arcilla, more famous for

his acclaimed 2015 “Heneral Luna” opus.

“Wow pang best actor ba? Whew, mahirap maniguro," Arcilla told ABS-CBN News

during his noon break Thursday on the set of “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” in

Malvar, Batangas.

The actor already considers a big personal achievement that he was chosen to

portray Fr. Fernando Suarez who led a fruitful but controversial Catholic

healing ministry.

“Pero kung karapat-dapat ako ma-consider na best actor, hindi lang ako ang

magiging masaya kung 'di mismong si Father Suarez. Kung anoman ang ginawa ko

ay iniaalay ko sa kanya!” he said.

Among the most touching scenes of Arcilla were his character’s interaction

with a young child and beggar woman he healed; and how he played out the

controversies that hounded Suarez’s ministry.

Arcilla was able to finish the movie before Suarez passed on at 53 years old

last February 2020. Suarez also oversaw the recording of its theme song,

“Yakapin Mo Ako” with director-composer Joven Tan.

Suarez is also featured in the finale of the movie, reciting his prayers,

which Tan said is a powerful image from beyond that can heal movie-viewers.

Arcilla also believes in the miracle of prayers. “Lalo na ngayong pandemya

kung saan kailangan ng matibay na faith, so I think our film is very timely.

I believe our film can heal. People’s faith will heal them. It may lead to

physical and emotional healing. 'Yung healing, hindi lang sakit sa katawan.

Minsan nga 'yung mga anxiety pa ang pinanggagalingan ng mga sakit sa

altapresyon o sa puso," he said.

Arcilla also spoke of his own personal transformation doing the movie.

“Lalong lumalim ang aking pagmamahal at paggalang sa mga taong naninindigan

para sa kanilang pananampalataya. Bumalik ang aking paggalang at

pananampalataya sa doktrinang aking kinagisnan,” he said.

That epiphany alone already makes Arcilla a winner.

Aside from Arcilla, the movie stars Jin Macapagal as the young Father

Suarez, Marlo Mortel, Troy Montero, Rita Avila, Jairus Aquino, Alice Dixson,

Dante Rivero and other artists.

Advanced online ticket selling for “Suarez, The Healing Priest” will start

December 7, midnight at www.upstream.ph

Arcilla also made a personal appeal to the public to support the online

showing for the first time of the MMFF which will showcase nine other

movies.

“Sana ma-encourage ang lahat na i-patronize ang ganitong platform. Sana

ma-boost pa ang audience natin, suportahan natin ang pelikulang Pilipino!”

he said.

SPORTS

PBA: THOMPSON, GINEBRA WARY OF TROPANG GIGA SIDE AVOIDING 3-0 HOLE

Despite enjoying a 2-0 series lead in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup finals,

Scottie Thompson said Barangay Ginebra cannot afford to sleep on TNT Tropang

Giga.

Proof was Roger Pogoy's play in Game 2 of the best-of-7 series, where he

exploded for 38 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting.

"Lights out si Pogoy (sa Game 2). So tingnan natin kung ano ang magiging

adjustment namin sa kanya sa defense," Thompson said in an article posted on

the PBA website.

Ginebra had to gut out a Game 2 victory, in which Thompson, LA Tenorio, and

Japeth Aguilar struggled from the field.

The Kings only managed to take control in the final 30 seconds when Thompson

scored a dagger 3 that gave Ginebra an 87-85 lead.

Ginebra held on to take a 92-90 win.

Besides Pogoy, Thompson said Ginebra was wary of other TNT shooters.

Parks, down with a strained left calf in Game 2, could be back in the active

roster by Friday's Game 3.

"So mas tough game (talaga) sa Game 3," said Thompson.

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.04

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Destroying is a necessary function in life. Everything has its season, and

all things eventually lose their effectiveness and die. - Margaret J.

Wheatley