SPUTNIK V COVID-19 VACCINE DELIVERY POSTPONED - PALACE
MANILA – The supposed delivery to the Philippines of 15,000 Sputnik V COVID-19 shots from Russia on Wednesday will be postponed, Malacañang confirmed.
Sources earlier told ABS-CBN News that 15,000 shots of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V were not loaded on a Qatar Air commercial flight that was scheduled to arrive in the Philippines by by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque said "logistical challenges resulted in the delay of the arrival of 15000 trial order of Sputnik V." He did not expound on these challenges.
Vaccine "czar" Carlito Galvez "has taken steps to address these challenges and aims to receive the initial order of the Russian [vaccine] in the month of May instead," Roque said in a statement.
Airline sources said the vaccines are tentatively scheduled to be loaded on board another Qatar Air flight from Moscow to Doha, Qatar with a continuity flight to Manila that will arrive around 11 p.m. Saturday.
The Department of Health said the first batch of Sputnik V jabs would be used for simulation or practice. The remaining 480,000 Sputnik V doses will arrive by the end of April, it said.
PHILIPPINE ECONOMY SEEN TO GROW BY 4.5 PERCENT 'OR HIGHER' IN 2021: ADB
MANILA – The Philippine economy is foreseen to grow by at least 4.5 percent this year and 5.5 percent in 2022, according to an Asian Development Bank report released Wednesday.
Public spending on infrastructure and social assistance, better pandemic response, substantial progress in vaccination rollout and a steady recovery in global economy will boost growth this year and the next, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2021.
Household spending, exports and remittances are also expected to grow this year, ADB Philippines Country Director Kelly Bird told reporters in a virtual briefing.
"This does tell us the economy is on recovery…We’re confident that growth will be 4.5 percent or higher," Bird said.
The Manila-based lender, however, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic “can pose risks to growth prospects" such as the emergence of new variants, global vaccine supply shortage as well as extended local quarantines.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by -9.6 percent in 2020, its worst since the end of the World War 2, after imposing one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns.
“Our 4.5 percent growth forecast is at the lower end of economists’ estimates, so there are upsides to this projection,” Bird said.
“Priority should be given to addressing the scarring effects of the pandemic on private sector employment. Programs supporting workers and firms impacted by labor market adjustments and reforms to boost productivity growth and investment will help counter the negative effects of the pandemic on employment over the medium term," he added.
Addressing employment impact and boosting productivity and investments could offset the negative effect, the ADB said in a statement.
5 CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS STILL IN WEST PH SEA, TASK FORCE SAYS
MANILA - Five Chinese Coast Guard vessels have remained in the country's territorial waters, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said Wednesday.
Latest patrols conducted by maritime authorities from April 15 to 22 showed that 3 Chinese vessels were still inside Bajo de Masinloc, a shoal off Zambales, the NTF-WPS said in a statement.
The task force also confirmed "the continued illegal presence" of 2 Chinese vessels in the waters of Kalayaan in Palawan and Ayungin Shoal, respectively.
"These incursions are under review for the possible filing of appropriate diplomatic actions," the NTF-WPS said.
"We remind all stakeholders in the region of their respective commitments made in the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and underscore the importance of diplomacy and sincere discussion in exploring areas of cooperation especially on marine environmental protection in the area, lest we risk denying present and future generations the right to a healthy and sustainable environment," the task force added.
The NTF-WPS also reported there were no direct incidents between the Chinese Coast Guard and Filipino fishermen in the Philippine waters for the past 3 weeks.
CHINA ASKS PHILIPPINES TO STOP ACTIVITIES, EXERCISES IN WEST PHILIPPINE SEA
MANILA — China reasserted its claim of sovereignty over islets and land features in the West Philippine Sea and asked Manila to stop its activities in the resource-rich waters.
“China enjoys sovereignty over Nansha (Spratly) Islands including Zhongye (Pag-Asa) Island and Zhongsha Islands, including Huangyan Island (Panatag Shoal) and their adjacent waters, and exercises jurisdiction in relevant waters,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on Monday.
Wang’s statement was in response to a question on what China thinks of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) conducting drills in the West Philippine Sea.
“We urge the relevant side to respect China’s sovereignty and rights and interests, and stop actions complicating the situation and escalating disputes,” Wang added.
The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have yet to comment on China’s latest statement.
SC OKS CASH AID TO COURT PERSONNEL HOSPITALIZED, DIED DUE TO COVID-19
MANILA — The Supreme Court has approved financial aid to court judges and employees who were hospitalized and died due to COVID-19, the Office of the Court Administrator said.
Court Administrator Midas Marquez on April 27 issued circular 51-2021 addressing judges and personnel of first and level courts on the approval of financial assistance to those who were hospitalized and those who died due to the coronavirus diseases since March 2020 “until the current pandemic ends.”
“Considering that there are judges and court personnel of the first and second level courts who contracted COVID-19 while in the performance of their functions, there is a need to help them defray their hospitalization expenses incurred in treating COVID-19 infection,” Marquez said.
First level courts are Municipal and Metropolitan Trial Courts, while the second level are those Regional Trial Courts.
The court administrator added that Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, with the concurrence of SC’s full court, has approved the grant of financial aid for employees who contracted COVID-19 and required inpatient care or hospital confinement.
PHILIPPINES TO BAN TRAVELERS FROM INDIA OVER HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VARIANT
MANILA — The Philippines will ban travelers coming from India to prevent the spread of a new variant blamed for a huge surge in cases in the South Asian nation, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Travelers coming from India or those with travel history to that country within the last 14 days before arrival will be banned from entering the Philippines from April 29 to May 14, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.
Nearby Cambodia also announced a similar ban, effective Thursday, to also cover people who have been to India as far back as three weeks. Both Cambodia and the Philippines have seen big jumps in case numbers in recent weeks.
MARIA RESSA WINS UN PRESS PRIZE
PARIS, France — The UN's cultural agency on Tuesday awarded its annual press freedom prize to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa whose reporting has made her a target of her country's judiciary and online hate campaigns.
Ressa, a former Asia lead investigative reporter for US network CNN and head of domestic network ABS-CBN News, now manages the news website Rappler whose reporting has attracted the wrath of Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte.
She has been involved in many international initiatives to promote press freedom, and arrested several times "for alleged crimes related to the exercise of her profession", UNESCO said.
She has also been subject to a sustained campaign of gendered online abuse, threats, and harassment, the agency said in a statement.
At one point she received an average of over 90 hateful messages an hour on Facebook, it said.
"Maria Ressa's unerring fight for freedom of expression is an example for many journalists around the world," jury chair Marilu Mastrogiovanni said in the statement.
"Her case is emblematic of global trends that represent a real threat to press freedom, and therefore to democracy," Mastrogiovanni said.
SOME MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS, OFWS TO GET COVID-19 VACCINE ON LABOR DAY
MANILA — Some minimum wage workers and overseas Filipino workers under the fourth priority group will get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Labor Day, Malacañang announced.
This is after the government’s pandemic task force approved the Department of Labor and Employment’s request for 5,000 vaccine doses to be used in a “symbolic inoculation ceremony” on May 1.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the labor department has been directed to create a masterlist to ensure the equitable representation of the labor sector during the ceremony.
The workers who would be chosen to participate in the ceremony would effectively be the first people under the fourth priority group to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The government has not yet released guidelines on the inoculation of people under priority group A4, which it targets to begin vaccinating by June.
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METRO MANILA MAYORS BACK MECQ FLEX, WANT SHORTER CURFEW FROM 10 P.M. TO 4 A.M.
MANILA - Metro Manila mayors have agreed to implement a "flexible modified enhanced community quarantine" (MECQ Flex) after April 30 and adjust curfew hours to "give a breathing spell" for businesses, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Benhur Abalos said Wednesday.
Under the "MECQ Flex," curfew hours would be adjusted to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Abalos told ANC's Headstart.
"If you go to the mall, sarado ka na siguro around 6 o 7 [p.m.]. At least with 10 p.m., ang operating hours nila maski hanggang 8-9," he said.
"It will give a breathing spell sa mga negosyo (for businesses)," he said.
Under the "MECQ Flex," local governments would find a "middle ground" to " have the same ECQ but [with] more businesses and more activities," Abalos said.
"You still maintain border control. You maintain the mobility of the people," he said.
"Kasi if it's automatically GCQ, labas pasok na agad e," he said, referring to the travel of people in and out of the capital region.
Metro Manila mayors are still waiting for the Department of Trade and Industry's list of businesses and activities that may be allowed under the new quarantine policy, Abalos said.
COURT ORDERS SANDRA CAM’S ARREST
Over Masbate vice mayor’s slay
MANILA — A Manila court yesterday issued warrants for the arrest of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board member Sandra Cam, her son and five others in connection with the murder of a vice mayor in Masbate whose family clashed with hers in the 2019 elections.
Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 42 Judge Dinnah Aguila-Topacio found probable cause to order the arrest of Cam and her co-accused with no right to bail after examining the complaint, resolution of the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors and other supporting documents.
Also ordered arrested were Cam’s son Marco Martin and alleged gunmen Nelson Cambaya, Junel Gomez, Bradford Solis, Juanito de Luna and Rigo de la Cruz.
Last year, the National Bureau of Investigation filed before the DOJ charges of murder and frustrated murder against them over the killing of then Masbate vice mayor Charlie Yuson III.
Yuson was shot dead while having breakfast in an eatery in Sampaloc, Manila on Oct. 10, 2019. His companion, Alberto Alforte IV, was wounded in the attack.
Yuson’s wife, Lalaine, accused Cam of masterminding his death.
Lalaine claimed that the gunmen were previously spotted in Cam’s resort in Masbate.
Cam had denied any involvement in Yuson’s death.
Cam and Yuson were political rivals. The PCSO official’s son lost to Yuson’s son, Charmax Jan, for mayor of Batuan, Masbate in 2019.
25 KALINGA HEALTH WORKERS GET COVID-19 AFTER VACCINATION
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan — Twenty-five employees of the Kalinga Provincial Hospital in Tabuk City, who had received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, were found infected with the virus on Monday.
In its social media advisory, the management of the hospital said it would accommodate only “extreme emergency cases” until further notice.
Hospital officials said they lack the needed manpower to attend to more patients.
Last Friday, 13 hospital workers were found infected, prompting the hospital to limit admission for non-COVID patients.
LOOK: 'SUPERMOON' RISES ABOVE PHILIPPINE SKIES
MANILA — A full moon emerged in Philippine skies on Tuesday evening, appearing bigger and brighter than usual.
The first "supermoon" of the year appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the usual full moon, according to PAGASA.
The phenomenon was spotted in different parts of the capital region, Bulacan, Isabela, and Laguna.
It was also sighted in different parts of Visayas, particularly in Cebu and Iloilo.
PAGASA earlier said that the moon is expected to reach its closest point with the Earth at around 11 p.m.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
OSCARS 2021: 'NOMADLAND' REVIEW
A widow in her 60s named Fern (Frances McDormand) lost her home in the town of Empire during the recession in the late 2000s. She decided to go on her van (which she called Vanguard) to hit on the road and live the life of a nomad in the American West. She went from town to town getting whatever job she could get (in Amazon, beet farm, etc.) to earn a living. She met different people along the way and talked to them about their families, their jobs, their illnesses, and their lives in general.
This acclaimed film written, directed, edited and produced by Chloe Zhao was a meditative journey into slices of real life in America's heartland. Zhao just wisely allowed real-life modern-day nomads to tell their own stories, documentary style. Gritty McDormand blended right in with the others, giving a performance so restrained but honest, with her heart out on her sleeve.
This quiet film may not not for everyone as there was no real plot, but the seemingly pointless, rambling nature of "Nomadland" had its own charm. The non-actors around McDormand and David Straithairn (playing David, a nomad who reconnected with his family) had been chosen well, remarkable in their ability to deliver lines without being self-conscious.
A lot of scenes only had gentle music or even stark silence accompanying the images onscreen, but they were nonetheless magnetic and poetic.
This review was originally published in the author's blog, "Fred Said."
VETERAN ACTION DIRECTOR TOTO NATIVIDAD DIES AT 63
MANILA -- Veteran director Toto Natividad, known for his action movies spanning the careers of Eddie Garcia to Coco Martin, died Tuesday at Green City Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga due to COVID-19 complications.
Luz Naraga, Natividad’s partner for 17 years, told ABS-CBN News that the director passed on at 10:15 a.m. He was 63.
“Napakasakit sa akin," Naraga said, recalling the time Natividad was rushed to the San Fernando hospital last April 20. "Umabot pa siya ng isang linggo.”
At the time of his death, Natividad served as barangay captain at North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) Kaunlaran, Navotas City.
“Napakabait niyang tao, cool lang siya hindi marunong magalit," Naraga said. “Napakasipag, siya mismo ang personal na tumutulong at umaalay sa barangay namin.”
Natividad is best remembered for scores of action movies he directed and co-directed in the 1990s that headlined the likes of Garcia, Rudy Fernandez, Cesar Montano, Edu Manzano, Victor Neri, Ian Veneracion and others. The list of films include “Waway,” “Ang Siga at ang Sosyal,” “Ping Lacson Story,” “Moises Arcanghel,” “Wangbu,” “Walang Kokontra” and many other titles.
At the turn of the century, he also helmed ABS-CBN teleseryes like “Galema,” “Dugong Buhay” and Martin’s “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.” He also worked with Dingdong Dantes in GMA7’s “Cain at Abel.”
Vivian Velez, head of the Film Academy of the Philippines, told ABS-CBN News that she is “shocked and numbed” by the sudden passing of a movie industry pillar like Natividad due to the pandemic.
The Directors Guild of the Philippines (DGPI) headed by Paolo Villaluna also paid tribute to him as a respected filmmaker and one of the founders of the guild.
The family of Natividad has yet to finalize funeral arrangements for him at St. Peter Chapels in La Loma after his cremation.
SPORTS
NBA SCORES APRIL 26
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Celtics 32-29 23 29 36 16 104
Hornets 30-30 33 30 37 25 125
SCORING LEADERS
J. Brown BOS
20 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST
D. Graham CHA
24 PTS, 2 REB, 9 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Suns 42-18 32 29 31 27 119
Nets 41-20 27 32 38 31 128
SCORING LEADERS
D. Booker PHO
36 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST
K. Irving BKN
34 PTS, 6 REB, 12 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Grizzlies 31-28 23 35 32 30 120
Trail Blazers 32-28 20 27 31 35 113
SCORING LEADERS
J. Morant MEM
28 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST
C. McCollum POR
27 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Cavaliers 21-39 32 28 33 17 110
Wizards 27-33 27 36 24 32 119
SCORING LEADERS
D. Garland CLE
28 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST
B. Beal WAS
33 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Bucks 37-23 29 22 27 26 104
Hawks 34-27 26 17 27 41 111
SCORING LEADERS
G. Antetokounmpo MIL
31 PTS, 14 REB, 4 AST
B. Bogdanovic ATL
32 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Pacers 29-31 36 26 41 28 131
Magic 18-42 25 32 20 35 112
SCORING LEADERS
M. Brogdon IND
24 PTS, 8 REB, 9 AST
D. Bacon ORL
20 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Kings 24-36 39 26 27 21 113
Warriors 31-30 32 31 31 23 117
SCORING LEADERS
B. Hield SAC
25 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST
S. Curry GS
37 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST
INDICATORS
FOREX $1 = P 48.38
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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