LOCSIN, BLINKEN VOW TO STRENGTHEN COUNTRIES' ALLIANCE

MANILA - The foreign secretaries of the Philippines and United States have

reaffirmed the need to work closely to strengthen the alliance between the

two countries.

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. expressed his

support for the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and underscored the need for

both sides to work together to sustain and strengthen the pact, as well as

the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which operationalized the MDT, the DFA

said in a statement yesterday.

"Great conversation. Will get a lot done soon," Locsin said in a post on

Twitter on Thursday, referring to his talk with his counterpart Secretary of

State Antony Blinken.

The Philippines and the US signed the MDT in 1951 with the commitment to

defend each other in the event of an armed attack. This is the Philippines'

only defense treaty of its kind with another country.

President Duterte unilaterally terminated the Philippines-US Visiting Forces

Agreement last year. The VFA allows Philippine and US troops to hold joint

exercises in the country.

Duterte, however, has suspended the termination process.

Meanwhile, a ranking congressman yesterday urged the Duterte administration

to reconsider its earlier decision to abrogate the VFA with the US amid

growing threat from China in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.

House national defense and security committee vice chairman Ruffy Biazon

said the new law passed by China allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign

vessels entering the disputed waters and demolish structures built by other

countries within its territorial claims requires a renewed alliance with the

US under newly elected President Joe Biden.

"The threat brought about by the new Chinese law authorizing the Chinese

Coast Guard to use weapons in West Philippine Sea should compel the

government to rethink the termination of the VFA," Biazon stressed in a post

on his Twitter account.

The US has reaffirmed its commitment to the MDT with the Philippine

government even as it continued to reject China's massive claims in the

South China Sea.

LAW TO STRENGTHEN AMLA SIGNED

MANILA - President Duterte signed yesterday into law Republic Act 11521,

which further strengthens the 20-year old Anti-Money Laundering Act, in

compliance with the call of the Paris-based watchdog Financial Action Task

Force for the government to review its policies against dirty money.

By signing the law, Duterte beat the Feb.1 deadline set by the FATF for

implementing changes in AMLA to make it at par with global standards.

Failure to comply would have put the country in the so-called gray list, a

situation that would directly affect efforts of the administration to attain

a "A" credit rating.

Duterte signed the measure nine days after the Senate and the House of

Representatives reconciled their respective versions of the measure on Jan.

20.

The new law expanded the list of persons and groups that would be subject to

monitoring to include real estate developers and brokers, offshore gaming

operators, as well as their service providers, supervised, accredited or

regulated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. or any government

agency.

It also defined covered transactions as those in cash or other equivalent

monetary instrument involving a total amount in excess of P500,000 within

one banking day, or single casino cash transaction involving an amount of

P5-million or its equivalent in any currency.

At the bicameral conference, the lawmakers also adopted the Senate's

proposal to impose financial sanctions against individuals involved in

financing terror acts.

NOGRALES SAYS PH BACK TO STATUS QUO AFTER BAN ON FOREIGN TRAVELERS ENDS JAN.

31

MANILA - The Philippines is reopening its doors to select foreign nationals

on February 1, 2021 after imposing a travel ban on travelers from countries

that have reported the COVID-19 variant first detected in the United

Kingdom, an official said Saturday.

"Ngayon po, sa February 1, ibabalik na natin sa status quo, 'yung dating

status quo bago pa tayo nagkaroon ng travel ban restrictions," said Cabinet

Secretary Karlo Nograles.

The ban on the entry of foreign travelers that started last December was

meant to stop the spread of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant. The

ban, which at its peak covered over 30 countries, will end on Jan. 31.

The Philippines detected it first patient with the new variant earlier this

month in a Filipino who had traveled back from Dubai.

Nograles, in an interview on TeleRadyo Saturday, said foreigners with

tourist visas are still not allowed.

Those who will be allowed to enter are foreign spouses of Philippine

nationals; foreign minor children and foreign children of Filipino

nationals; foreign parents of minor Filipino children; foreign seafarers;

accredited foreign government and international organization officials and

their dependents; foreign airline crew; those with valid long-term visas

such as the temporary resident visa, legal resident status visa, permanent

resident visa, and native born visa; foreign investors with valid visa,

those with pre-arranged employment visa and balikbayan traveling with their

spouse and dependent children.

He, however, said that the Bureau of Immigration has the exclusive

prerogative to decide on the waiver or recall of exclusion orders.

"Mayroon tayong bagong protocols ngayon na pagkapasok nila ay una dapat

mayroon silang pre-arranged quarantine facility. Seven days ang minimum

pre-booked niya. 'Pag pasok niya iche-check kung may sintomas siya," he

said.

Bookings must be made in an accredited isolation or quarantine hotel or

facility. The traveler must then undergo swabbing after 5 days from arrival.

"On day 6 upon arrival, doon siya isa-swab. Kung negative i-endorse natin

siya sa LGU na kaniyang destinasyon at doon po siya magpapatuloy ng strict

quarantine niya for additional days para makakumpleto niya 'yung 14 days,"

Nograles said.

CORONAVIRUS CASES AMONG MIGRANT FILIPINOS HIT 13,938 - DFA

MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday night logged 33 more

coronavirus infections among overseas Filipinos, bringing its caseload to

13,938.

Of these cases, 4,069 are marked by the agency as active or undergoing

treatment.

With 26 new recoveries, the number of migrant Filipinos who beat the virus

rose to 13,938.

But deaths hit 950 after the department received reports of five more

migrants succumbing to the disease.

CORRUPTION INDEX: PHILIPPINES SLIPS TO 115TH

MANILA - The Philippines dropped two spots in the 2020 Corruption Perception

Index (CPI) drawn up by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Tied with Moldova for 115th place out of 180 countries and territories

included in the report released before the weekend, the Philippines retained

its score of 34 out of 100, below the global average of 43.

The CPI uses a scale of 0 or "highly corrupt" to 100 or "very clean." The

Philippines ranked 113th in 2019.

"Efforts to control corruption in the Philippines appear mostly stagnant

since 2012," Transparency International said. "The government's response to

COVID-19 has been characterized by abusive enforcement and major violations

of human rights and media freedom."

President Duterte has been touting to eradicate corruption in the government

during his term. He had warned state employees involved in corruption to

expect dismissal and criminal charges.

Meanwhile, Denmark and New Zealand continued to top the CPI, both obtaining

scores of 88, a point increase from 2019.

Finland, Switzerland, Singapore and Sweden were tied at 3rd place with a

score of 85.

Meanwhile, Somalia and South Sudan, which obtained scores of 12, were deemed

the most corrupt, followed by Syria (14), Yemen (15) and Venezuela (15).

LTO UNDER FIRE FOR PRIVATIZING VEHICLE INSPECTION SERVICES

MANILA - The Land Transportation Office (LTO) defended the privatization of

motor vehicle inspection centers (PMVICs) following public backlash over the

new system required for car registration in the country.

LTO chief Edgar Galvante said all cars would need to undergo inspection

using the PMVIC equipment that can evaluate car performance and

roadworthiness.

"All vehicles that need to be registered have to go through the process to

determine whether registration will be renewed. Previously, there was a

policy that vehicles 15 years or older can no longer be registered. But now,

the basis (for renewal is the) roadworthiness of the vehicle rather than the

age," he said in Filipino over CNN Philippines.

He noted that certificates of roadworthiness would be issued to car owners

who pass the inspection, which will be presented to LTO for the renewal of

car registrations.

Galvante said the public needs to see the "reasonableness of the

inspections," claiming that this would help reduce injuries and deaths from

road crashes and accidents.

Fees for the inspection range between P1,500 to P1,800, which the public

said is too exorbitant and determined without consultation.

THE REST

========

PH LOGS 1,849 MORE COVID-19 CASES; TOTAL INFECTIONS AT 521,413

MANILA - The Department of Health on Friday reported 1,849 additional

COVID-19 cases, raising to 521,413 the total confirmed infections in the

Philippines.

This does not include data from 8 laboratories that failed to submit results

on time.

The DOH also reported 177 additional recovered patients. For the last 5

days, the new recoveries reported were below 200, according to the ABS-CBN

Data Analytics Team.

There were also 48 additional COVID-related deaths.

This is the first time in nearly a week that the number of additional deaths

was below 50, according to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

From January 23 to 28, the number of additional deaths ranged from 50 to 95.

With 475,765 total recoveries and 10,600 total fatalities, there are now

35,048 active cases or those with current infections in the country. This is

the highest number of active cases since November 14.

MANILA CANCELS ALL CHINESE NEW YEAR ACTIVITIES OVER COVID-19

MANILA - The city of Manila, home to the oldest Chinatown in the world, is

cancelling all Chinese New Year celebrations to avoid the further spread of

the coronavirus amid the specter of its new and potentially more infectious

variant.

Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno is prohibiting all street parties, stage

shows, parades, street games and dragon dances from February 11 to February

12.

"The activities during the New Year celebration, if not cancelled, can be

surely an easy medium of COVID-19 spread and transmission thereby

endangering the health, well-being and safety not only of residents but also

their visitors who will join them in the celebration," Moreno said in an

executive order issued Friday.

Moreno also ordered a ban on the use of firecrackers and directed the strict

implementation of an ordinance that prohibits drinking in public.

The local chief executive said that this was also to preserve the gains of

the city in controlling the spread of COVID-19.

LALAKING NAGBEBENTA NG PARTY DRUGS ARESTADO SA BUY-BUST SA MAKATI

MAYNILA - Arestado ang isang lalaki na nagbebenta umano ng mga droga sa

isang bar sa Makati.

Ang buy-bust operation ay nauwi rin sa pagsita sa mga nagpa-party na lumabag

sa health protocol.

Ayon kay Makati Police Chief Police Col. Harold Depositar, matagal na nilang

binabantayan ang suspek na dati na ring nakulong dahil sa droga.

Nagkasa sila ng buy-bust operation at dinala sila ng suspek sa isang bar sa

Barangay Poblacion sa Makati. Matapos ang bentahan, hinuli agad ang suspek.

Nakuha sa kaniya ang higit P50,000 na halaga ng kush o high grade marijuana.

May ilang ecstasy tablets din ang nasabat sa kaniya.

Ayon sa Makati Police, mga mayayaman ang target customer ng suspek dahil

mahal ang kush kumpara sa ordinaryong marijuana.

Posible rin umano na umiikot ang suspek sa iba't ibang high-end bar sa

lungsod para magtulak ng droga.

Pero bukod sa droga, napansin din ng awtoridad na siksikan sa loob ng bar at

maraming nag-iinuman at nagpa-party. Pasado hatinggabi na rin kaya may

paglabag din sa curfew at karamihan walang face mask o face shield.

Ayon kay Barangay Kagawad Conrado Vazquez, akala ng marami na dahil lumuwag

ang quarantine ay pwede na mag-party. Tuloy pa rin aniya ang pagronda ng

barangay para ma-check ang mga establisimyento sa lugar.

HPG CATCHES 10,079 DRIVERS IN 1-DAY DRIVE

MANILA - At least 10,079 motorists were apprehended for traffic violations

by Highway Patrol Group (HPG) police officers during a one-day nationwide

campaign on Thursday.

The HPG said 1,002 violators were given citation tickets for riding

motorcycles without helmets and 1,872 others for passenger overloading.

Among the other most common violations were disregarding traffic signs and

using cell phones while driving.

Sinas did not say how many violators were from Metro Manila.

"Traffic laws and regulations were made to be followed, because it can spell

the difference between life and death when violated," he said in a

statement.

The HPG also impounded 1,234 vehicles for various violations and confiscated

442 illegal accessories. Thirty-eight colorum public utility vehicles were

also impounded.

Four persons wanted for car theft were also arrested.

Sinas said the overall number of issued traffic citation tickets increased

by 49.5 percent compared to previous operations.

The PNP intensified its operations against car theft syndicates as the

government eased COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.

DACERA FAMILY SEEKS DNA TESTING OF PNP SPECIMENS

MANILA - The family of Christine Dacera is demanding that specimens used in

the second Philippine National Police (PNP) autopsy report - which declared

that the late flight attendant died of natural causes - be subjected to DNA

testing.

Lawyer Roger Reyes, who represents Dacera's mother Sharon, said in a press

briefing in Greenhills, San Juan yesterday that the family "decided to

insist on a DNA examination of all specimens" of Dacera's organs presented

by Lt. Col. Joseph Palermo of the PNP crime laboratory.

The medico-legal report Palermo prepared is "not worth reading or even

considering," according to Reyes, who alleged that Palermo "never examined

(Dacera's) body."

Reyes previously said the Dacera family did not give their consent for the

PNP to extract samples.

The second PNP report - which ruled out the possibility of homicide and

supported the first report drafted by the Southern Police District crime

laboratory that Dacera died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm - was published a

day after she was buried in General Santos City.

"If we need to exhume the body, let us exhume the body so we can compare the

DNA on her arms, her legs with the DNA on the alleged organs," Reyes said.

AFP BANS SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

MANILA - The Armed Forces of the Philippines has banned the use of

single-use plastic containers in all military camps nationwide and in all

the AFP's activities and events held elsewhere.

AFP chief Gen. Gilbert Gapay led the launch of the military's zero-plastic

campaign at Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.

The AFP-wide campaign is aimed towards an economically sustainable approach

in eliminating the consumption of single-use products in any offices or

units in the military, officials said.

"Switching to a more sustainable life is a gradual process that asks for

commitment and consistency, but it is more rewarding knowing that it would

do us all good, better even, in the end," Gapay said.

IATF OKS 'HOG LANES' TO CONTROL ASF SPREAD

MANILA - The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging

Infectious Diseases (IATF) has given assurance of unhampered transporting of

hog shipments from the Visayas and Mindanao to avert possible shortages of

pork and poultry due to the adverse impact of African swine fever (ASF) in

Metro Manila and greater Luzon.

Quoting IATF Resolution 92, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. yesterday

said the government had also designated as special hog lanes the country's

nautical highway and the Maharlika Highway in Luzon.

"The IATF, in its Resolution 97, also approved the recommendation of the

National Task Force Against COVID-19 Task Group on Food Security in ensuring

the unhampered passage of hog shipment from the Visayas and Mindanao, while

preventing the spread of the African swine fever and observing all

science-based precautionary and quarantine measures," Roque said.

He added that the IATF has directed the Departments of Agriculture (DA), the

Interior and Local Government and of Trade and Industry to jointly implement

the resolution.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'I DO THE JOB OF 10 PEOPLE': KC CONCEPCION SHARES CHALLENGES OF RUNNING OWN

BUSINESS

MANILA -- KC Concepcion took to social media to encourage her fellow solo

entrepreneurs as she opened up about the challenges of running a business,

especially given the pandemic.

The actress launched her own jewelry brand, Avec Moi, back in 2018.

In an Instagram post, Concepcion said she considers her home her studio,

workshop, and office.

"The entrepreneur life is not easy. It requires lots of faith, multitasking,

long hours, problem solving, creativity, attention to detail and the big

picture, listening to customers, an open mind, a grateful heart, a fighter's

spirit, and a monk's patience. Also, passion and practicality, how to

balance both is the challenge," she said.

"I do the job of 10 people for this 2-year old biz of mine (not counting

2020). Keep going, learning, building... and praying for the right mentors

to be disciplined and inspired by, and a tight team to grow with," she

added.

Avec Moi features jewelry designed by Concepcion herself. Last November, the

actress offered some of her handcrafted pieces to help raise funds for

typhoon relief efforts in the country.

Concepcion earlier said that Avec Moi serves as "an ode to Paris, the City

of Love, where I grew as a teen into my adult years."

SPORTS

NBA SCORES JAN 28

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Trail Blazers 9-8    32    18    27    24    101

Rockets 8-9    17    36    33    18    104

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Lillard POR

30 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST

    V. Oladipo HOU

25 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Lakers 14-6    31    27    20    14    92

Pistons 5-14    34    22    26    25    107

SCORING LEADERS

    K. Kuzma LAL

22 PTS, 10 REB, 0 AST

    B. Griffin DET

23 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Clippers 14-5    19    29    40    21    109

Heat 6-12    33    17    19    36    105

SCORING LEADERS

    N. Batum LAC

18 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST

    T. Herro MIA

19 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Warriors 10-9    29    18    24    22    93

Suns 9-8    36    16    33    29    114

SCORING LEADERS

    S. Curry GS

27 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST

    M. Bridges PHO

20 PTS, 1 REB, 5 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.08

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still. - Chinese

Proverb