DUTERTE TELLS REDS: DO NOT INTERCEPT CORONAVIRUS VACCINE DELIVERIES

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday appealed to members of the

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New

Peoples' Army (NPA), to ensure that it will not intercept any coronavirus

vaccine deliveries in the country.

Duterte made the appeal as the country prepares for the rollout of its

COVID-19 vaccination program.

"We might be issue this appeal, not a warning. I am appealing to the

Communist Party of the Philippines... the Communist Party of the Philippines

must guarantee that the vaccines, in the course of they're being transported

to areas where there are no city health officers or medical person, na huwag

ninyong galawin ang medisina (do not touch the medicines)," he said during

his weekly public briefing.

"Allow the vaccines to be transported freely and safely. I am asking you now

to observe that rule because that is for the Filipino people," Duterte

added, saying the CPP should follow the "rules of humanity."

He also told government officials not to hamper or obstruct the system of

vaccine transportation and delivery.

"May I just address myself to every government worker...do not delay or do

not hinder, do not obstruct the smooth flow na nakikita ninyo ngayon, from

the time of the arrival, to the time of clearance," he said.

"Ang trabaho lang ninyo sa Customs is magtingin. You have no business na

buksan-buksan 'yan. You are not allowed to do that. I am not allowing

anybody, anybody there sa airport na magbukas bukas," Duterte warned airport

and Bureau of Customs employees.

The Philippines is currently waiting for the first batch of COVID-19

vaccines from the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization.

As of Monday, the Philippines has a total of 538,995 COVID-19 cases, with

11,231 deaths, 499,772 recoveries, and 27,992 active cases.

FRENCH SUBMARINE PATROLS SOUTH CHINA SEA, LIKELY ANGERING BEIJING

PARIS, France — A French nuclear attack submarine was among two navy ships

that recently conducted a patrol through the South China Sea, its defense

minister announced, in a move likely to anger Beijing, which claims most of

the strategic waters as its territory.

The SNA Emeraude was accompanied by support ship BSAM Seine for the passage,

Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Twitter late Monday.

"This extraordinary patrol has just completed a passage in the South China

Sea. A striking proof of the capacity of our French Navy to deploy far away

and for a long time together with our Australian, American and Japanese

strategic partners," she tweeted along with a picture of the two vessels at

sea.

China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea while Taiwan, the

Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all also claim parts of the

region, believed to hold valuable oil and gas deposits.

US warships occasionally carry out "freedom of navigation" missions through

or close to waters claimed by Beijing to stress Washington's rejection of

those claims.

The USS John S. McCain last week sailed near islands in the South China Sea

claimed by Beijing and conducted a transit through the Taiwan Strait,

prompting a warning from China.

NATO member France has exclusive economic zones in the Pacific around its

overseas territories and has stressed the importance of defending freedom of

navigation in the region.

"Why such a mission? To enrich our knowledge of this area and affirm that

international law is the only rule that is valid, whatever the sea where we

sail," Parly tweeted.

DUTERTE: NO LICENSE FOR ABS-CBN EVEN IF CONGRESS GRANTS FRANCHISE

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte will not allow the National

Telecommunications Commission to issue broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp. even if

Congress grants it a legislative franchise.

The president, speaking at the weekly coronavirus task force, brought up

loans of the Lopez Group of Companies that the Development Bank of the

Philippines reportedly condoned in the 2000s. The DBP has submitted a

position paper to a House panel conducting hearings on the loans and said

that the bank did not do that.

It instead sold off the loans for P3.83 billion.

Duterte said he respects the legislative branch's power to grant franchises,

but said "I will not allow the NTC to give them the permit to operate."

The president said that "unless and until mabayaran ng mga Lopez ang mga

taxes nila (until the Lopezes pay theit taxes), I will ignore your franchise

and I will not give them the license to operate," before talking about the

DBP loans.

He said he might ask the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the supposed

loan condonation.

DBP president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Herbosa said in January

that the bank "takes the position that there is no loan condonation or

write-off involved in the non-performing loans (NPLs) and non-performing

assets (NPAs) covered by the banking transactions with DBP of the companies

controlled or affiliated with the Lopez family."

Herbosa said the bank sold its non-performing loans, including those of the

Lopez Group, Lehman Brothers Asian Investment Ltd. in 2006. He said LBAIL

was the highest bidder at the time.

"In effect, DBP relinquished effective control over the transferred NPAs

after it sold its NPAs without recourse for cash. DBP did not condone the

subject NPLs and did not pursue further collection because there was no

write-off involved in the NPLs of the Lopez Companies," he also said.

ABS-CBN went off the air in May last year and a House panel in July denied

the network's application for a new franchise. Lawmakers said the network

had unpaid taxes and labor issues despite testimony from government agencies

on those issues. House members also took issue with what they said was

biased reporting by the network's news unit.

The shutdown of ABS-CBN, which had earned Duterte's ire for alleged bias and

for failing to air his campaign ads for the 2010 elections, was described by

its supporters, journalists' groups and rights groups as an attack on press

freedom. The loss of its regional stations also meant loss of access to news

and information for remote areas of the country.

Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto (Batangas) has filed a bill at the House to give

ABS-CBN a new franchise while Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed a

separate bill at the Senate.

It is unclear how the bills will fare in Congress, which is dominated by

Duterte allies. Since the franchise is a proposed law, the president can

also veto it.

SC UPHOLDS DISMISSAL OF DE LIMA'S HABEAS DATA PLEA VS DUTERTE OVER HIS

REMARKS

MANILA — The Supreme Court has denied with finality Sen. Leila De Lima’s

petition for a writ of habeas data against President Rodrigo Duterte over

the chief executive’s sources of information on his verbal attacks against

her.

The SC en banc issued a resolution dated November 3 junking De Lima’s motion

for reconsideration to reverse the tribunal’s October 2019 ruling that also

dismissed the senator’s plea. Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Alfredo

Benjamin Caguioa dissented from the majority vote.

“The basic issues raised therein have been passed upon by this Court and no

substantial arguments were presented to warrant the reversal of the

questioned Resolution,” the en banc notice made public recently read.

De Lima had sought relief from the SC to compel Duterte to give her access

to information collected in the allegations thrown by the government against

her. She specifically cited statements from the president saying he “will

have to destroy her in public” and calling her an “immoral woman” with “a

very sordid personal and official life.”

In October 2019, the SC voted unanimously to dismiss De Lima’s petition,

citing Duterte’s immunity from suit as the incumbent president, which the

senator had assailed in her motion for reconsideration filed January 2020.

PALACE: SENIOR CITIZEN DUTERTE AMONG 1ST TO GET VACCINE

MANILA — President Duterte has said he would be among the last to receive a

COVID vaccine if there’s any left over, to give way to the poor and other

priority sectors.

Yesterday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that Duterte, being a

senior citizen, is expected to be one of the first to receive a COVID jab

once the government starts its inoculation program this month.

Roque said Duterte, who turns 76 next month, may have to get a COVID-19 shot

to boost the public’s confidence in vaccines.

“The President will enjoy priority because he is a senior citizen. Of

course, it is also important for him to be vaccinated to achieve vaccine

confidence. So we expect him to be one of the first. Whether it is done

publicly or privately will be his decision,” he added.

COMELEC SETS DEADLINE FOR PARTY-LIST REGISTRATION ON MARCH 31

MANILA - The deadline for registration of party-list organizations for the

2022 national elections is on March 31, a Commission on Elections official

said Tuesday.

"'Yung petition for registration ng partylist sana po 'yung mga totoong

party-list naman (we hope you're a real party-list)," Comelec commissioner

Rowena Guanzon told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"At ngayon para walang gulo-gulo, pagsubmit niyo ng list of nominees ninyo,

may proof of publication na kayo sa newspapers of national circulation."

Guanzon had been vocal for opposing nominees of the Duterte Youth

Party-list, whose primary candidate Ronald Cardema Jr was disqualified in

2019 for being overaged.

COMELEC CALLS ON 6.3 MILLION DELISTED VOTERS TO REGISTER

MANILA — Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon called on

voters who were delisted for failing to vote in the last two polls to

register again.

Guanzon, in an interview with TeleRadyo on Tuesday, said some 6.3 million

voters were “dropped from list” for failing to vote in either the 2016 and

2019 elections.

“We are calling on you to register. They did not vote in the last two

elections. They may have moved to a different country,” Guanzon said in

Filipino.

Under the Voter’s Registration Act, a registration may be deactivated if the

voter fails to cast his ballot in two successive regular elections.

Deactivation can also be done among those sentenced by the court to not less

than one year in prison; persons who have committed crimes involving

disloyalty to the government such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the

anti-subversion and firearms laws, and those declared by competent authority

to be insane. The law also holds that a voter may be deactivated if his

registration has been ordered excluded by the court and he has lost his

Filipino citizenship.

The Comelec earlier said that those who wish to reactivate their

registration should inform the Office of the Election Officer that they

failed to vote during the past two elections.

Guazon added that the delisted voters are on top of the 2.9 million

potential new voters who have turned 18 years old in time for the 2022

polls.

The poll commissioner reiterated that starting February 20, voter

registration will be from Tuesday until Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00

p.m. Disinfection of Comelec premises will be on Mondays.

The poll commissioner reminded those who wish to register to observe health

and safety protocols, such as wearing of face masks and face shields.

Guanzon also said they can bring their own pens.

Voter registration will continue until September 30.

THE REST

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NPA: COVID-19 VACCINES WILL GET HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR

The New People's Army will open a humanitarian corridor for the safe and

unimpeded passage of COVID-19 vaccines in guerilla base areas and zones.

Marco Valbuena, information officer of the Communist Party of the

Philippines, suggests that military vehicles should not transport the

vaccines.

"Using AFP to transport the vaccines will not encourage people to be

vaccinated especially in many areas in the countryside where people are

traumatized by military garrisoning of their communities and helicopter

gunships firing missiles," Valbuena says.

259 MANILA BARANGAYS COVID-19 FREE

MANILA — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno yesterday recognized 259 barangays for

being COVID-free in the past four months.

Of the figure, Moreno said 33 barangays are “grand slam winners” for

registering zero cases of COVID-19 for four consecutive months.

Each barangay received P100,000 in cash incentives.

Moreno also commended the other barangays which maintained a low number of

COVID-19 infections.

Meanwhile, Moreno approved yesterday the holding of limited face-to-face

classes at the Centro Escolar University School of Dentistry.

OVERSEAS VOTERS URGED: JOIN INTERNET VOTING TEST RUN

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday asked overseas

voters to participate in the test run of internet voting solutions that may

be adopted in next year’s polls.

Sonia Bea Wee-Lozada, director of the Comelec Office for Overseas Voting

(OFOV), said they hope that Filipinos abroad would take part in internet

voting solutions to be conducted by four election system providers.

These are Dominion Voting Systems, Indra, Smartmatic International and

Voatz.

“We are calling on registered overseas voters to sign up for the test run,”

Lozada said.

Lozada said those with active voter registration status are qualified to

participate in the test run.

Participants must have complete biometrics data, including photograph,

fingerprints and signature.

Interested participants are required to send signed consent forms together

with a copy of their passport or seafarer’s book to

overseasvoting@comelec.gov.ph until Feb. 12.

COP DIES OF COVID-19; 50 OTHERS INFECTED

MANILA — Another police officer has succumbed to COVID-19, bringing to 30

the total number of deaths in the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The fatality, a 32-year-old female non-commissioned officer, was assigned at

the Quezon City Police District, according to the PNP.

She died of acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 and

pneumonia.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the PNP reached 10,481 yesterday as 50 more

police personnel contracted the virus.

Most of the fresh cases came from the regional police offices, with Central

Visayas recording 14 while Cordillera posted 10.

The rest of the cases were recorded in Cagayan Valley and Calabarzon with

four each, Zamboanga Peninsula and Davao with three each, two each in Metro

Manila, Central Luzon and Bangsamoro, and one each in Eastern Visayas and

Northern Mindanao.

Total recoveries rose to 9,888 after 135 PNP personnel recovered from the

disease. There were 564 active cases.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT A JOKE': LIZA SOBERANO, NETIZENS SLAM POSTER OF MOVIE

'TILILING'

Liza Soberano has reacted to the recently released poster of the upcoming

movie “Tililing,” which seems to be presenting a stereotypical and

derogatory portrait of people with mental health problems.

In her Twitter page, the Kapamilya actress shared the movie poster while

expressing her disagreement.

“Really hoping that this movie will spread awareness and enlighten us on the

struggles of dealing with mental health. But the poster? It’s a no for me,”

she wrote.

“Mental health is NOT a joke. Stop the stigma,” she added.

Aside from Soberano, many other netizens were dismayed with the poster, with

some of them saying it could have been done in a more tasteful manner. Other

Twitter users have also labeled the poster and the title as "inappropriate"

and "disturbing."

Tililing is used as an insult to those someone who have mental health

illnesses (like aggresive type). Let's just say, yes, we should wait for the

film to be released and watch, but the title and poster itself are offensive

specially to those someone who have it — Barayl.IceBear~ (@BaraylU) February

7, 2021

In response to Soberano’s statement, “Tililing” director Darryl Yap

emphasized in a Facebook post that it is also the movie’s goal to spread

awareness about dealing with mental health.

“Sa iyo Miss Liza Soberano, ang iyong pag-asa na sana’y makapagbigay liwanag

ang aming pelikula sa pagpapalawak ng kaalaman sa pangkalusugang

pangkaisipan ay hindi masasayang,

HINDI KA NAMIN BIBIGUIN,” he said.

“Ang aking mga artista sa pelikulang ito ay nagdaan sa mga pagsubok na

nagpatatag din sa kanilang kalusugang pangkaisipan,” he said. “Sigurado

kaming hindi nila tatanggapin ang isang proyektong ikapapahamak ng kanilang

prinsipyo at pagkatao; Matatalino ang aking mga artista, at matapang ang

kanilang direktor.”

Yap said viewers will understand why the movie has such a title and poster

once they see the film.

“Kapag napanood niyo na po ang #Tililing ay mauunawaan ninyo bakit ito ang

titulo, bakit nakalabas ang kanilang dila; at bakit namin tinitindigan ang

kalidad at mensahe ng pelikula,” he said.

To end his post, Yap assured that he is one with mental health advocates in

their cause.

Produced by Viva Films, “Tililing” stars Gina Pareño, Baron Geisler, Candy

Pangilinan, Donnalyn Bartolome, Yumi Lacsamana, Cai Cortez and Chad Kinis.

ANGEL LOCSIN TELLS BEA ALONZO WHAT SHE DID TO PLEASE AN EX-BOYFRIEND

MANILA — Kapamilya actress Angel Locsin admitted that she once watched a

live football game to please her ex-boyfriend.

In Bea Alonzo’s YouTube channel, Angel and Bea played the game “Never Have I

Ever.”

“Hindi ko ginawa pero nanood ako, pumupunta ako sa football. Alam mo

hanggang ngayon hindi ko alam kung bakit ako pumapalakpak talaga,” Angel

said.

“Nu'ng una talaga nagpre-pretend ako pero hindi ko siya naiintindihan

talaga. Basta alam ko lang kapag goal. Pero basta kapag umiingay 'yung tao,

umiingay ka na rin. Para kang naalimpungatan, mamaya lang pumapalkpak ka na

rin,” she added.

Azkals player Phil Younghusband was known as Angel's former boyfriend. They

became a couple in 2012. The two were together for over a year.

Angel is now engaged to film producer Neil Arce while Phil already tied the

knot with model Margaret Hall last 2019.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES FEB 7

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Jazz 19-5    25    22    28    28    103

Pacers 12-12    20    27    21    27    95

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Mitchell UTA

27 PTS, 9 REB, 11 AST

    D. Sabonis IND

20 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Heat 9-14    25    35    22    27    109

Knicks 11-14    23    36    18    26    103

SCORING LEADERS

    B. Adebayo MIA

24 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST

    J. Randle NY

26 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Wizards 5-15    31    21    21    24    97

Hornets 11-13    34    35    33    17    119

SCORING LEADERS

    B. Beal WAS

31 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST

    T. Rozier CHA

26 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Celtics 12-10    19    30    19    23    91

Suns 13-9    27    25    24    24    100

SCORING LEADERS

    J. Tatum BOS

23 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST

    M. Bridges PHO

19 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

Kings 12-11    22    32    25    34    113

Clippers 17-8    24    27    29    30    110

SCORING LEADERS

    D. Fox SAC

36 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST

    L. Williams LAC

23 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.04

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

A single thread of hope is stronger than all the chains that bind you. -

Jeffrey Fry