HOUSE RESUMES DELIBERATIONS ON ECONOMIC CHA-CHA

MANILA — The House plenary resumed yesterday deliberations on proposed amendments to restrictive economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution and set them for approval possibly next week.

House constitutional amendments committee chair Alfredo Garbin Jr. said the chamber is expected to pass on second reading the proposed constitutional amendments in Resolution of Both House No. 2 (RBH2) next week.

“We still have seven interpellators and they will be given enough time. Our target for approval of RBH2 on second reading is next week, so that we will have enough time to have the voting and final reading before the adjournment on June 5,” he told House reporters in an interview via Zoom.

US CONGRESS OKS BILL TO TACKLE HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS

WASHINGTON - US Congress on Tuesday approved a bill aimed at combating hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans following a sharp rise in such incidents amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, which will be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law, will require the Justice Department to expedite the review of hate crimes and issue guidance aimed at raising awareness against such acts, while enhancing support to state and local law enforcement agencies responding to hate crimes.

"The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will strengthen our defenses" against attacks targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said prior to the vote at the chamber.

The United States has seen a rise in violent hate crimes and discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans, coinciding with the spread of the novel coronavirus first detected in China in late 2019.

Shocking footage of attacks on Asian people has circulated on social media from time to time and a shooting in the Atlanta area that killed 6 Asian women in March sparked demonstrations across the country against anti-Asian racism.

Over 6,600 incidences of anti-Asian and Pacific Islander discrimination and violence were reported during the year through March in all 50 states in the United States, Pelosi said, adding, "Hundreds more occur unreported in the shadows."

The bill passed the House with a vote of 364 to 62 on Tuesday following a Senate approval in April.

DUTERTE MULLS SELLING GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES TO RAISE COVID-19 FUNDS

MANILA — Bracing for “the worst” from the pandemic’s more infectious COVID-19 variants, President Duterte is mulling selling off government properties to raise funds to address a possibly bigger crisis.

Addressing Monday night’s government pandemic task force meeting, Duterte said the emergence of more transmissible COVID-19 variants from India, the United Kingdom and South Africa poses a more dangerous situation.

At the same time, there is no guarantee that the COVID-19 vaccines would arrive on time, he said.

“We will just have to prepare for the worst,” the President said. “We continue to prepare and we calibrate our preparedness in accordance with each propagation. If the new variants are approaching and many people are getting sick, then we will go full blast in making everything operational.”

Along this line, Duterte said he is ready to sell government properties to fund pandemic-related expenses.

“My statement that I would sell the properties of the government might come true because our funds are being spent,” he said in Filipino.

“We have spent maybe...on the final counting, almost a trillion, and there’s no... end in sight,” he added.

PH'S TOP DIPLOMAT ECHOES DUTERTE: ARBITRAL WIN VS CHINA 'MEANINGLESS FOR NOW'

MANILA — The Philippines' top diplomat on Tuesday echoed President Rodrigo Duterte's position that the country's arbitral win invalidating China's expansive claims in the South China Sea is "meaningless for now" because it cannot be enforced to regain possession.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. in a tweet said Duterte is also correct in insisting not to raise the award before the United Nations (UN) because "China has the votes."

"Duterte is completely correct. It is meaningless for now—for the purpose of retaking possession of what China took from us because we let it... And he is right not to take it to the UN where China has the votes, as the proud authors of the Arbitral Award keep insisting for purposes of the coming election campaign because they will be in the news," Locsin said in a series of tweets.

Locsin, previously the Philippines' permanent representative to the UN, said the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will “just turn our loss of possession into Chinese right.”

Still, Locsin expressed satisfaction with the award’s “abstraction” for rejecting China’s historic claim and defining maritime rights.

“The Arbitral Award was brilliant for its abstraction: merely defining what the maritime features—e.g. half the time submerged reefs—at issue generate in terms of maritime rights: ZERO. See the brilliance.”

“The Arbitral Tribunal trashed historic claim as a basis of right because history yields to law. Therefore, if China held on to and got more, the reefs would be within Philippine territory under UNCLOS. How then would access to them be possible if we denied passage through our territorial seas? No way,” he added.

Locsin reiterated Duterte will not withdraw the Philippine Navy from the West Philippine Sea and warned against the Chinese’s forced passage in the country’s waters, saying it will trigger the Philippines’ Mutual Defense Treaty with the US.

CHEAT SHEET: KEY ISSUES RAISED AT SC ORAL ARGUMENTS ON ANTI-TERRORISM LAW

MANILA — After nine settings in nearly four months, the Supreme Court on May 17 wrapped up the oral arguments on the 37 consolidated petitions against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Thirty-seven groups of petitioners are pinning their hopes on the 15 sitting justices to strike down the law, or parts of it, as unconstitutional for violating the protected freedoms of the Filipino people and due to its vague and overbroad provisions make it prone to abuse.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, in July, as the Philippines was grappling with the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite broad opposition to the bill.

The law has been in effect for ten months and has at least three ATA cases are pending in lower courts. Peace consultants have also since been designated as terrorists, while the red-tagging of progressives and dissenters continued as justices interpellated petitioners and government lawyers on the law.

THOUSANDS SCRAMBLE FOR PFIZER JABS IN MANILA

MANILA — Thousands of people swarmed at a vaccination site offering the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs in Manila yesterday, prompting police and the city government to enforce physical distancing protocols to prevent a super spreader event.

The residents lined up as early as midnight at the Manila Prince Hotel in Ermita, where 900 doses of Pfizer vaccine were offered by the city government to medical frontliners, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

At least 598 qualified beneficiaries received their first Pfizer dose as of yesterday noon, according to city hall.  

FROM 'ASSERT OUR RIGHTS' TO 'DON'T ANTAGONIZE': ENRILE FLIP-FLOPPED ON SCARBOROUGH ROW, SAYS JOURNALIST

MANILA - Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is flip-flopping on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, first asserting the country's sovereign rights against China in 2012 before backing down under President Duterte, a veteran journalist said Wednesday.

Speaking to ANC, Marites Vitug said Enrile backed President Benigno Aquino III during a July 2012 Cabinet meeting after Beijing took control of Scarborough Shoal.

"When I interviewed Enrile, he had a very lucid recollection of what happened in the Cabinet meeting. He said that PNoy asked them should we go bilateral with this dispute... or should we go international? Get the support of our allies and make it an international issue," she recalled.

"And Enrile answered, he said that, according to my interview with him, he said, 'Let us assert our rights, Mr. President without foregoing bilateral talks with China.'"

"At the end of Cabinet meeting, majority of those present agreed to internationalize the issue and Enrile was one of them. He was supportive of asserting the Philippine sovereign rights without foregoing bilateral relations or consultations with Beijing," she added.

Vitug, author of "Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won Its Maritime Case against China," said Enrile's current position is the exact opposite of what he asserted in 2012.

"It has softened compared to what he said that the Philippines should assert its sovereign rights. Now, Enrile told President [Rodrigo] Duterte that the Philippines should not antagonize China. It's opposite," she said.

"Because if you assert sovereign rights... it looks like an offensive or antagonistic position, which Enrile departed from in this talk with the President the other day."

On Monday, Enrile advised Duterte to keep a friendly approach towards Beijing and ignore those criticizing his stance on the West Philippine Sea dispute.

"Kailangan na friendly ang approach natin d’yan, hindi hard assertive and aggressive approach," Enrile told the President in a taped meeting.

5 YEARS TO HERD IMMUNITY? EXPERT BACKS 'BRANDLESS' VACCINATIONS, NCR PLUS PRIORITIZATION

MANILA - A public health expert is backing brandless vaccinations and prioritizing COVID-19 inoculations in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to achieve herd immunity in the economic hub.

Dr. Tony Leachon, former adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said that at the current rate of 75,000 to 80,000 daily vaccinations, the Philippines will take 5 years to vaccinate 70 percent of its population to achieve herd immunity.

"The best approach is to achieve the NCR Plus herd immunity first because this is the business epicenter and this would comprise also 70 percent of the cases," he told ANC's Headstart.

The Philippines also needs to ramp up its inoculation rate before the rainy season, Leachon added.

"I remember the surge was July and August last year. Baka maghahalo ang evacuation center from the vaccination center. So while it is summer, we have to speed up the vaccination... kasi pag nag-August na it will be really difficult," he said.

Government needs to construct or tap drugstores and malls for additional vaccination sites, he added.

Leachon also called on local governments not to announce what kind of vaccine its residents would get so that it can unload supplies of less popular brands from the warehouse.

THE REST

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PH LOGS 4,487 NEW COVID-19 CASES

MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday confirmed 4,487 additional COVID-19 cases, the lowest announced in more than 2 months, raising the country's cumulative total to over 1.154 million.

The country now has 1,154,388 total recorded infections, of which 4.5 percent or 52,291 are active.

The ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group (IRG) said Tuesday's newly reported cases is the lowest since March 17 this year, when the Department of Health (DOH) announced 4,387 new cases.

Those still battling the disease is considered also the fewest in more than 2 months or since Mar. 14, when 47,807 active cases were logged, according to the research unit.

The number of active cases reported previously has been adjusted for duplicate cases.

AC ENERGY SAYS BUILDING PHILIPPINES' LARGEST WIND FARM

MANILA - AC Energy Corporation has started construction of the 160-megawatt Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm, which it said is the biggest wind farm in the Philippines to date.

The new P11.4-billion wind farm located in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte will be the third wind development of AC Energy in the province, along with the NorthWind wind farm in Bangui and the North Luzon Renewables wind farm in Pagudpud.

AC Energy said it is targeting to complete the project by the fourth quarter of next year, and full-year operations in 2023.

“This project will further augment AC Energy’s generating capacity, following our recently completed solar farms and battery storage plants, and will contribute to the growth of our renewables share as we scale up our sustainable investments,” said AC Energy chief development officer Jose Maria Zabaleta.

The wind farm is being built with long-time partner UPC Renewables, and will use turbines from Siemens Gamesa, AC Energy said.

Once completed, the project will double AC Energy’s wind capacity in the country, and move it closer to its 2025 goal of achieving 5,000 MW of renewable energy target, AC Energy said in its disclosure to the stock market.

PHILIPPINES ABANDONS DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH GOAL IN DUTERTE'S FINAL YEAR

MANILA — The emergence of more infectious coronavirus variants and a brief return to tighter mobility restrictions put a damper on the Duterte administration’s optimistic economic outlook that originally included a double-digit growth target next year.

The last full-year growth under President Duterte is targeted to settle at 6-7% in 2021, slightly slower than the 6.5-7.5% seen last December. By next year, the middle of which would see a new government take office, the growth target is set at 7-9%, also down from an ambitious 8-10%.

Last year, the economy shrank a record 9.6% year-on-year.

Downgrades to the targets were expected after a disappointing 4.2% contraction in the first quarter that was worse than anticipated by observers. Even with marginally pessimistic assumptions, hitting the new goals appears easier said than done, as in the remaining three quarters of 2021 alone, the Philippines would have to grow an average of 10%, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

The economy would need to muster that growth while possibly see-sawing over lockdowns throughout the year if and when infections spike. The scale of prohibitions is not expected to exceed that of 2020, Chua said, hence they should allow for some activity to continue, although some losses could still be incurred.

VIRTUAL 'FIELD' TRIPS AIM TO COMPLEMENT LEARNING AMID COVID-19 CURBS

MANILA — As the pandemic forced schooling to go online, some groups also took to cyberspace what was usually a learning experience beyond classrooms — educational trips.

Before the health crisis hit, the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal had partnerships with more than 40 schools for reforestation activities and learning trips.

Some restrictions have been eased more than a year since in-person classes were halted but the reservation has yet to see school-aged children return for class trips.

"However, we do see a lot of interest in families wanting to bring out their young kids," said Billie Dumaliang, an advocacy officer and trustee of the Masungi Georeserve in an exchange with Philstar.com.

The foundation has since developed Masungi 360, a virtual platform for students with a keen interest on conservation. Its mission: draw local conservation education nearer to students to prevent future health crises.

"We envision a Filipino youth that is aware of our unique environmental challenges and actively participates in solutions in addressing these challenges," its website reads.

SELECT HOTELS REOPEN IN METRO MANILA

MANILA — Nearly 6,000 rooms in 13 rated hotels across Metro Manila were reopened for leisure bookings by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to restart the accommodation industry in the region.

The DOT yesterday announced that a total of 5,986 rooms in 13 hotels in Metro Manila are now allowed to take in recreational guests in line with the region’s downgrade to general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions.

Under the rules set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), specialized markets for tourism are permitted to resume their activities in GCQ areas as long as they comply with minimum health standards.

Aside from leisure hotels, outdoor attractions may now reopen to visitors at 30 percent capacity. Restaurants are also authorized to receive indoor dining at 20 percent capacity, while al fresco options may operate at 50 percent capacity.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

STUDY FINDS ASIANS LARGELY 'INVISIBLE' IN HOLLYWOOD'S TOP FILMS

LOS ANGELES — Aside from action star Dwayne Johnson’s hit movies, Hollywood’s most popular films have rarely featured Asians or Pacific Islanders in leading roles on the big screen, according to an academic study released on Tuesday.

The findings showed “an epidemic of invisibility” for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) in movies released from 2007 to 2019, said the study from researchers at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

They also said the under-representation and stereotypical portrayals may have contributed to recent incidents of violence and harassment against Asians in the United States.

About 7.1% of the U.S. population identifies as Asian or Pacific Islander. In the 1,300 top-grossing films during the study period, 3.4% of leads or co-leads were played by API actors, the researchers found.

Of 44 films with API actors in leading roles, 14 of them starred Johnson, the former wrestler known for the “Fast & Furious” and “Jumanji” films. Johnson’s mother is from the Pacific island of American Samoa.

Six movies featured a female API character in a lead role, the study said.

The report adds to research that has found under-representation of women, people of color and LGBTQ characters in movies and television. In response, Hollywood studios have pledged to increase the diversity of people in front of and behind the camera. Notable recent films included 2018 romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” and 2020 action film “Mulan,” both with large Asian casts.

While the study found the number of API characters lacking, the researchers also criticized the way many of them were portrayed.

Sixty-seven percent of API characters were shown as “the perpetual foreigner” with a non-American accent, were hyper-sexualized, subject to racial slurs or fell into another stereotype, the researchers said.

“Mass media is one factor that can contribute to aggression towards this community,” said Smith. “When portrayals erase, dehumanize, or otherwise demean the API community, the consequences can be dire. Without intention and intervention, the trends we observed will continue.”

The study was conducted by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative with sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen. It was funded by Amazon Studios and the UTA Foundation.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life. - Lee Iacocca