DUTERTE INSISTS DAUGHTER SARA NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2022; SLAMS TRILLANES ANEW

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated Tuesday he is against the idea of daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, running for President in 2022, as he once again assailed long-time critic, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Duterte led a situation briefing on the impact of tropical storm, “Auring”, on Tuesday in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, when Governor Alexander Pimentel urged him to convince either Duterte-Carpio or longtime aide and now-Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go to replace him when his term ends.

“Inday Sara is not running. I have really really put my foot down. Naaawa ako sa anak ko. Ang pulitiko dito, kababuyan. Trillanes. Pati yung anak kong 16 years old, ginawa pa doong drug lord. Be careful of Trillanes, be careful of Trillanes,” Duterte said.

“Magbantay kayo, he will sell you to the devil; ‘pag yan nakaupo, patay. Ako, sabi ko sa mga Pilipino, ‘pag yan naging opisyal n’yo, di kayo… Walang hiya yan, sa totoo lang,” he alleged.

The Surigao del Sur governor, meanwhile, said there should be “continuity” in the counter-insurgency campaign.

“Personally, I’m very very worried kay your (Duterte’s) term will be ending, unya sayang ang achievement ginawa natin… ang dami na namin nagawa sa ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict), tinulungan ako ni Sen. Bong Go, marami kami napa-surrender (rebels), tapos ano na mangyayari sa amin ‘pag natapos na term mo?"

“Ang request namin, may continuity — isa sa administration magc-ontinue ng nagawa n’yo po, achievements. Kung iba presidente, tanggalin n’ya lahat yan. Kailangan may continuity kaya kumbinsihin natin si Inday Sara or si Sen. Bong Go,” Pimentel said.

Duterte-Carpio has denied eyeing the presidency in 2022, adding that should she decide to run for the highest post, it will not be earlier than 2034.

“I understand where they are coming from. I, too, am anxious where we are going as a nation. I am always grateful that I have their trust and confidence. I am pleading to them to please allow me to run for President [in] 2034, if at that time there is something I can do to help the country.”

Duterte-Carpio also advised the public not to contribute to groups staging fundraising activities in the name of her supposed 2022 presidential candidacy.

DUTERTE ACCUSES REDS OF KIDNAPPING CHILDREN

MANILA - In yet another tirade against Communist rebels, President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday accused members of the New People's Army (NPA) of kidnapping children.

In a briefing in storm-hit Surigao del Sur, Duterte accused the rebels of taking children away from their families and bringing them elsewhere.

"Itong mga NPA, kinukuha nila 'yung mga anak, dinadala nila sa ibang lugar. Kunin ninyo 'yung mga anak tapos isauli ninyo sa mga nanay at tatay because a child, a minor, should not be separated from the family home," he said.

Duterte also said there is no need for a search or arrest warrant as long as there are children that need to be rescued.

"Puntahan mo sa loob, kuhanin mo ang mga bata, at isauli mo at the earliest opportunity," he said.

Duterte, likewise, accused the NPA of collecting taxes from everyone for money to support themselves.

"'Yang mga bu*ng na 'yan, 'yang NPA, they are collecting taxes everywhere. Everywhere and anywhere. Kaya may pera. May pera talaga 'yan," he said.

Earlier this month, a group of Lumad students staying in the University of San Carlos were allegedly "rescued" after they were supposedly being indoctrinated with communist teaching.

Police have arrested 7 people, including 2 teachers and 2 village chiefs, for alleged kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

The Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas, however, said the children were neither kidnapped nor being indoctrinated.

The agency has launched an investigation into the supposed rescue operation of the 19 students, who are members of an indigenous people’s group in Davao del Norte.

LABOR DEPARTMENT OFFERS FILIPINO NURSES IN EXCHANGE FOR VACCINES FROM BRITAIN, GERMANY

MANILA - The Philippines will let thousands of its healthcare workers, mostly nurses, take up jobs in Britain and Germany if the two countries agree to donate much-needed coronavirus vaccines, a senior labor official said on Tuesday.

The Philippines, which has among Asia's highest number of coronavirus cases, has relaxed a ban on deploying its healthcare workers overseas, but still limits the number of medical professionals leaving the country to 5,000 a year.

Alice Visperas, director of the labor department's international affairs bureau, said the Philippines was open to lifting the cap in exchange for vaccines from Britain and Germany, which it would use to inoculate outbound workers and hundreds of thousands of Filipino repatriates.

Nurses are among the millions of Filipinos who work overseas, providing in excess of $30 billion a year in remittances vital to the country's economy.

"We are considering the request to lift the deployment cap, subject to agreement," Visperas told Reuters.

CSC REITERATES: CIVIL SERVANTS ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW

MANILA - The Civil Service Commission on Wednesday reminded government workers to obey the law, which include health standards set by authorities against COVID-19.

"Civil servants are not above the law. Like everyone else, public officials and employees are bound to obey the law, and that includes compliance to the standards set forth by the government authorities leading the battle against COVID-19," CSC commissioner Aileen Lizada said in a statement.

She was reacting to a recent disclosure made by a civil servant about using an unregistered product and the latter's plan of being a distributor of COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm.

Lizada did not name the civil servant in her statement but President Rodrigo Duterte's special envoy to China Ramon Tulfo disclosed this in his column on Manila Times.

"While the said civil servant is beyond the disciplinary authority of the CSC being a presidential appointee, it is incumbent upon him, as with any other civil servants, to act and conduct himself in a manner worthy of being called a public servant," she said.

Lizada said Republic Act 9711 or Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009 and Special Counterfeit Law (or RA 8203) requires product registration before medicines or products may be used within the country to protect the public from any harm.

She also said civil servants must act and conduct themselves according to the norms set by RA 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

"Two of the most important qualities enumerated, perhaps, are 'Commitment to Public Interest' and 'Professionalism' wherein public officials and employees, at all times, ought to uphold the public interest over and above their individual personal interests, and that they should perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skills," Lizada said.

State health regulator FDA said a license was required for drug distributors and the product must be authorized.

"The agreement to be a distributor of a product is between the individual or company and the manufacturer. That is a private contract," FDA director-general Eric Domingo said in a statement.

COVID-19 TEST AS TRAVEL REQUIREMENT UP TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: TOURISM DEP'T

MANILA - The Department of Tourism said Wednesday it would leave it up to local governments whether or not to require COVID-19 tests as a requirement for travelers.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government earlier said it was considering a proposal to remove COVID-19 testing as a requirement for travel.

The tourism agency only calls for uniformity among travel destinations' requirements, its chief Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

"Ang pabor kami is uniformity ng requirements. With regard to test before travel, we leave that actually to LGU (local government unit) kasi LGU ang nagdedesisyon (because they're the ones that decide)," she told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

HOUSE PROBE SOUGHT ON DEATH OF ANOTHER INFANT SEPARATED FROM JAILED MOM

MANILA — Members of the progressive Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives are calling on the chamber’s human rights panel to conduct an investigation into the death of another infant separated from her jailed mother.

The six-member bloc filed Tuesday a resolution urging the committee to investigate the death of one-month-old baby Carlen, daughter of detained peasant activist Nona Espinosa, who was accused of being a high-ranking official of the New People’s Army.

Baby Carlen died on February 14 due to an infection of the lungs and blood.

This was not the first time that an infant died away from their detained mother. Just four months earlier, Baby River died without reuniting with her mother, detained activist Reina Mae Nasino, sparking outrage from the public.

“The death of infant Carlen just months after the controversial death of baby River highlights the need to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation on the incident to bring justice to the victims of these tragic incidents and avoid further casualties and damages especially against the innocent,” the Makabayan bloc said.

Kapatid called on the Commission on Human Rights last week to investigate the death of Baby Carlen to see if the government is complying with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders, also known as the Bangkok Rules.

The Bangkok Rules state that “decisions to allow children to stay with their mothers in prison shall be based on the best interests of the children.”

VICO SOTTO NAMED 'ANTICORRUPTION CHAMPION' BY US STATE DEPARTMENT

MANILA - Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has been named by the US State Department as among the world's anticorruption champions.

Sotto is among a dozen individuals given the International Anticorruption Champions Award, which was launched by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to "recognize individuals who have demonstrated leadership, courage, and impact in preventing, exposing, and combating corruption."

The 31-year-old local chief executive "is a standard-bearer for a new generation of Philippine politicians who prioritize anticorruption and transparency initiatives in their election campaigns and in office," the agency said in a statement released Tuesday.

Sotto first entered public service as a city councilor in Pasig in 2016. He ran for mayor in the 2019 polls and dethroned the Eusebio family, which has held the Pasig mayoralty for nearly 3 decades.

On social media, Sotto has accumulated followers drawn to his fresh take on politics.

"The State Department continues to stand by citizens around the world calling for transparent, accountable governments. We proudly recognize these international champions of anticorruption and all those who have taken a stand against corruption," the US State Department said.

SINOVAC COVID-19 VACCINE SAFE FOR HEALTH WORKERS, ELDERLY, SAYS GM

MANILA - Although the company respects the Philippine regulator's recommendation, the general manager of Sinovac Biotech said Wednesday their COVID-19 vaccine is effective for health workers and the elderly.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, but said it is not recommended for health workers who may be exposed to patients with the disease.

"We respect any announcement made by any government and their decision. I think that would be the balancing of whether the benefit overweigh the risk because this approval is under an emergency, so the research is still ongoing," Sinovac Biotech General Manager Helen Yang told ANC's Headstart.

"I think more countries are sharing their view that the vaccine should be used on healthcare workers and elderlies. I think more data are coming out to be shared with the public," she said.

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PHILIPPINE ARMY ARRESTS SISTER, DAUGHTERS OF ABU SAYYAF LEADER IN SUICIDE BOMB PLOT

MANILA — The Philippine military said on Tuesday it had arrested a sister and three daughters of a slain leader of the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf, among a group of nine women it said were plotting suicide bomb attacks.

Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan, who heads the Western Command of the Philippine Armed Forces, said the joint operation had been conducted by troops and police in the southern province of Sulu with search warrants in the early hours of Friday.

“This led to the apprehension of nine female potential suicide bombers who are related to some of the notorious leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf Group,” said Vinluan.

Abu Sayyaf, which is based in Sulu, has carried out kidnappings, bomb attacks and piracy for decades. Since 2014, it has proclaimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

The military said in a statement the women arrested included a sister and three daughters of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, an Abu Sayyaf leader who died in July last year in a firefight with soldiers in Patikul, a town in Sulu.

The women were captured with bomb-making materials including non-electric blasting caps, nails, batteries, mobile phones, and a rough sketch of their plan, the military said.

The authorities view Sawadjaan as the mastermind of a suicide bomb attack by an Indonesian couple on a church in Sulu in Jan 2019, which killed more than 20 people and wounded more than 100, including civilians and soldiers.

MON TULFO ADMITS GETTING INOCULATED WITH SMUGGLED SINOPHARM SHOTS, EYES LOCAL DISTRIBUTORSHIP

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China Mon Tulfo nonchalantly admitted that he received smuggled Sinopharm shots last year along with other government officials. He insisted there is nothing improper with the chief executive asking samples of the unregistered vaccine.

In an interview with “The Chiefs” on One News Tuesday, Tulfo said others who were inoculated with the smuggled vaccines were “Cabinet-level” officials and a senator whose names he withheld. He said some members of the Presidential Security Group were also inoculated with the same vaccine.

“I don’t feel guilty about it,” he said when asked if government officials, including him, knowingly received smuggled goods.

The China-made vaccine has no authorization for emergency use in the Philippines. It has not even applied for such approval.

But the country’s Food and Drug Administration issued a “compassionate use license” for the president’s security detail to take 10,000 Sinopharm shots months after their unauthorized inoculation, which left health authorities surprised and the public enraged.

In a Manila Times column, Tulfo said he put Duterte on the phone with the “Sinopharm representative in the country” and requested for samples of the jab for him and his family. Malacañang said Duterte prefers the vaccine developed by Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company.

“I don’t find any irregularity there,” Tulfo said.

“We’re now given a choice. Which comes first: the lives of millions of Filipinos or propriety?” he added.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

JULIA BARRETTO’S NEXT BIG GOAL? BECOME A MOTHER

MANILA — Actress Julia Barretto had an instant answer when asked what she considers to be missing at the current stage of her life.

“A baby!” she said, drawing laughter from her sister Dani Barretto, who interviewed Julia in her latest YouTube vlog.

Barretto, who is turning 24 in March, clarified that she was being serious, saying, “I feel like I have a purpose in this world, and that purpose is to be a mother.”

“I don’t feel so fulfilled because [I don’t have a child yet],” she said.

A prior question laid out Barretto’s personal timeline for that milestone. In five years, she said, she hope to have a family of her own.

“That’s just really it. That is the perfect age,” she said, noting she will be 29 by then. “And I feel like if you want a lot of kids, you have to start early.”

Eyeing having four to five children, Barretto quipped, “I want a tribe! I want a bunch!”

While Barretto was open about wanting have a family of her own, she has made no mention of her would-be husband.

Barretto has decidedly kept mum on her “love life,” she previously admitted, while confirming she is “in love.”

“I’m learning now, I’ve become more private, but willing to share. But just not over-sharing, just to protect yourself,” she told her sister.

Persistent rumors have linked Barretto and her “Between Maybes” co-star Gerald Anderson romantically, although neither has gone on record to confirm the supposed relationship.

Coincidentally, Anderson similarly said, in a vlog released early this month, that he looks forward to becoming a father “soon,” and that he plans to get married in the near future.

Asked whether she is happy currently, Barretto said, “Very,” but clarified that the reason isn’t solely because of romance. She mentioned her family and career as examples of where she also draws happiness.

“Kailangan pang wala kang love life, malungkot ka na agad? Ano ba ‘yan! Iyon na lang ba ang basis ng happiness? Hindi ba puwedeng kahit walang love life, happy pa rin?” she said.

“I am very happy because I learned the two most important ingredients in life: contentment and gratitude.”

SPORTS

NBA SCORES FEB 22

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Bulls  14-16       29        25        46        20        120

Rockets  11-18  24        24        26        26        100

SCORING LEADERS

            C. White CHI

24 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST

            D. Nwaba HOU

22 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Grizzlies  13-14 13        23        26        30        92

Mavericks  14-15           26        28        27        21        102

SCORING LEADERS

            J. Morant MEM

22 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST

            T. Hardaway Jr. DAL

29 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Trail Blazers  18-12       26        28        17        29        100

Suns  20-10      32        31        37        32        132

SCORING LEADERS

            D. Lillard POR

24 PTS, 0 REB, 7 AST

            D. Booker PHO

34 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Heat  14-17       23        22        34        29        108

Thunder  12-19 21        33        23        17        94

SCORING LEADERS

            D. Robinson MIA

22 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST

            S. Gilgeous-Alexander OKC

27 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST

FINAL

           1          2          3          4          T

Hornets  14-16  35        32        23        20        110

Jazz  25-6         35        29        27        41        132

SCORING LEADERS

            L. Ball CHA

21 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST

            D. Mitchell UTA

23 PTS, 4 REB, 8 AST

FINAL/OT

           1          2          3          4          OT       T

Wizards  11-17  23        26        31        35        12        127

Lakers  22-10    33        30        23        29        9          124

SCORING LEADERS

            B. Beal WAS

33 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST

            L. James LAL

31 PTS, 9 REB, 13 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 48.64

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect; it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.