PH MUST EDUCATE CITIZENS ON WEST PH SEA ARBITRAL VICTORY: GROUP

MANILA - Government should educate its citizens on the country's arbitral victory against China on the South China Sea and internationalize the development, a multi-sectoral group said Sunday.

The Citizens Alliance for Life and the Law (CALL) of the Sea has petitioned the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to include in the high school and college curriculum the 2016 arbitral award that invalidates China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, said Greg Atienza, executive director of Soul Philippines.

"Mahabang laban ito. The curriculum of our education should include these rights. Kung di natin alam ang karapatan natin, ano ang pinaglalaban natin?" he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

The world will mark on July 12 the fifth anniversary of the landmark award, which President Rodrigo Duterte shelved in favor of economic benefits from China. It is regarded as among the important legacies of former President Benigno Aquino III, who passed away last Thursday.

Atienza said lawmakers are also urged to pass the necessary legislation to globalize the exploration and development of the West Philippine Sea, the portion of the South China Sea over which the Philippines has sovereign rights.

The Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy are also enjoined to accompany fisherfolks so that they don't get chased away by Chinese vessels, he added.

The group was formed on June 22, two days before the death of Aquino, whose administration brought China to the arbitral tribunal.

Atienza said that on July 12, some 50 groups will gather online to start their "education campaign for the general citizenry."

The aim is to expand the "unified action to defend the West Philippine Sea", to include forming alliance with international counterparts "for the enforcement of the award."

A unit in the PBA is studying this as they plan to draft a blueprint for the enforcement and submit it to the next administration for its consideration.

"Sabi namin, kaya ng Pilipino na panindigan 'to at gumawa ng malalim na pagsasaliksik para makaroon ng blueprint para sa ating bansa para sa kinabukasan ng ating generation," Domingo said.

He lamented that many do not realize the imminence of China's threat to the country, putting Palawan at risk of becoming a territory already of China.

"Dapat pangalagaan natin 'yan at maging vigilant tayo, at ating i-address 'yan as soon as possible. We cannot wait any longer. We have to address this as soon as possible," he said.

DUTERTE DEFENDS DRUG WAR ANEW

MANILA — Facing a possible probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his bloody war on drugs, President Duterte said for the nth time that he was “protecting” the country when he launched the campaign that resulted in the killing of thousands of suspected drugs offenders and criminals.

“I’m protecting my country. It is my duty as President to protect and serve the people of the Republic of the Philippines. So in obedience to that mandate, that is how I interpret it, do not. If you want, do not,” he said.

“The drug problem is a never-ending one. But if you want to see how it can destroy a country, just look at Mexico, (Sinaloa). They are the ones who dictate who will run for governor in the local areas, who run for mayor. It’s narco-politics,” Duterte said at the launch of Lingkod Bayan advocacy support group on Friday at Camp Crame.

With top police officers in attendance, the President noted how illegal drugs continue to destroy many lives and families.

“There are shabus and they continue to number in billions until now. And the human rights are not even worried about how many children would still be destroyed and homes are, I said, rendered dysfunctional,” he said.

“This is the one side story of people said 7,000 killed. Well, that was – five years I started to declare war. But the other side is how many policemen and soldiers did I lose? Aplenty,” Duterte added.

As long as he is president, Duterte said the fight against illegal drugs would continue and that he would spare no one – even friends.

“Kaya nila sabihin na hindi lumalaban (They can always say they’re not fighting back),” he said, referring apparently to claim by critics that many of the drug suspects were summarily executed.

He stressed his campaign against crime and corruption will continue until the end of his term next year.

“Crime. Corruption. I only promise I will take care of criminality, drugs, corruption. And I will try to build infrastructure in the city that – those only that we can afford. Nandiyan naman lahat, nakita naman ‘yan. I have complied, actually,” Duterte said.

CHR RAISES PLIGHT OF STRANDED OFWS, HEALTHCARE WORKERS

MANILA — The government should allow overseas Filipinos to return home to their families and incentivize local healthcare workers to stay in the country by raising the standard for their compensation, the Commission on Human Rights said Saturday.

The Philippines recently extended the ban on travelers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates and Oman until June 30 as a precautionary measure against the more infectious Delta variant.

Filipinos covered by the repatriation efforts of the government are exempt from the prohibition provided they undergo quarantine and testing protocols but some overseas Filipino workers have urged that the ban be lifted, saying they have been stranded in their host countries for over a month.

The government also announced that it would not be deploying any more healthcare workers to countries restricting the entry of Filipinos.

"The CHR extends its solidarity to our migrants and OFWs who are stranded far away from home and their families," Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, CHR focal commissioner on migrant rights, said. "We recognize the plight of our migrant workers, who may grapple with the loss of their income, may experience fear and suffering as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and may suffer from the emotional distress of not seeing their families."

"While we understand that the ban on the return of OFWs was meant to prevent the possible spread of the new COVID-19 strain in the Philippines, the government should reconsider its imposition and allow Filipinos to come home to their families, even if it meant imposing stricter quarantine procedures upon their arrival in the country."

The CHR further urged the government to raise the standards of compensation for healthcare workers, to provide them with just wages and benefits, and to ensure the promotion and protection of their general well-being.

"Due to inadequate compensation and financing for the health sector in the country, HCWs are forced to seek employment abroad," Pimentel-Gana said.

"Migration should be a choice and not the only option for HCWs, and OFWs in general."

NCR PLUS 8 HERD IMMUNITY BY CHRISTMAS 'REASONABLE,' SAYS OCTA RESEARCH

MANILA - Metro Manila and 8 other key economic hubs will achieve herd immunity by Christmas if the Delta COVID-19 variant first detected in India does not spread locally, OCTA Research Group said Sunday.

The Philippines has so far reported 17 cases of the Delta variant, including 1 death. The country has yet to report community transmission of the said variant, said molecular biologist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, member of OCTA Research Group.

Government, meantime, has administered 8.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of June 22, with 2,246,897 individuals or 3.87 percent fully vaccinated out of its target 58 million.

"Given the numbers, our hope that we will reach herd immunity in NCR Plus 8 (National Capital Region Plus 8) by Christmas is reasonable. This does not take into effect the Delta variant," Austriaco told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

"The best vaccine is the vaccine offered to you today. Any protection is better than no protection."

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said it aims to vaccinate at least 108,000 people a day in Metro Manila, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Rizal, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao as more shots arrive.

It identified 10 more areas that are experiencing rise in COVID-19 infections, namely, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Baguio, Zamboanga, Dumaguete, Tuguegarao, General Santos, Naga, Legazpi, and Iloilo City, that will be included in the COVID-19 vaccination priority.

NO REPORTED CASES OF DELTA-PLUS VARIANT IN PH SO FAR, SAYS UP-NIH

MANILA—The more transmissible COVID-19 mutation Delta-plus variant has yet to be detected in the Philippines, the UP National Institutes of Health said on Saturday.

The Delta-plus variant, a new mutation of the highly transmissible Delta variant first detected in India, has yet to be classified as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

Experts have feared that it could trigger new waves of COVID-19 infections around the world.

UP-NIH Director Dr. Eva Maria Dela Paz said in a public briefing that the country's border control is working.

“Sa ngayon, ang kagandahan ay mukhang iyong atin pa pong measures ay nagiging epektibo. Tulad po ng nasabi ko for Delta variant, ang lahat po ng naitalang kaso ay from returning [or] incoming international travelers, wala pa po tayong local cases,” Dela Paz said.

AQUINO FAMILY AGAIN FORGOES STATE FUNERAL— THIS TIME, FOR PNOY

MANILA — The Aquino family again declined a state funeral, this time for the late former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who was laid to rest in military honors Saturday afternoon.

Aquino succumbed to renal failure as a result of diabetes. He died peacefully in his sleep, hours after he was rushed to hospital on Thursday, said his family.

Aquino's remains were inurned at the Manila Memorial Park, beside his parents, democracy icons Ninoy and Corazon Aquino, who herself was president from 1986 until 1992.

Nearly a decade ago, the Aquinos laid to rest their matriarch in August 2009, after refusing then President Gloria Arroyo's offer of a state funeral.

For Noynoy, Filipinos defied COVID-19 fears to line streets as the convoy bearing his flag-draped urn passed by following a funeral mass at the Ateneo de Manila University's Church of the Gesu.

Many flashed the "L" sign that stands for "Laban" or "Fight", the popular slogan of the EDSA peaceful revolt, and carried yellow ribbons and Aquino's posters.

Aquino's four sisters, nephews, nieces, and former cabinet members attended the inurnment rites, where the military rendered a 21-gun salute for the late leader.

His urn was placed in a tomb beside his mother's by youngest sister Kris Aquino at 1:44 p.m.

'AQUINO MAGIC' PART OF PHILIPPINE POLITICS, SAYS ANALYST AS 2022 POLLS NEAR

MANILA - The Cojuangco-Aquino political clan will continue to get voters' support as it has become an "element" of Philippine politics, an analyst said Sunday following the death of former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.

Filipino mourners clad in yellow and black on Saturday paid their final respects to Aquino, who passed away Thursday due to renal failure secondary to diabetes. The country's 15th president was laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

"Naobserbahan ko kahapon, talagang element na ng Philippine politics ang Aquino magic. Talagang pinapakita nito na ang Cojuangco-Aquino ay isang brand name sa Philippine politics na continuously magkakaroon 'yan ng constituency. Na-sustain na nila ito nang maraming dekada," UP political science professor Aries Arugay told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

The momentum of support for the Aquinos after the former president's death could be sustained until the upcoming election depending on how the opposition will try to use his legacy, Arugay said..

"Kung titingnan natin ang yumaong President Noynoy Aquino, may nire-represent siyang ideals na maaaring ilapat sa aspirasyon ng mga tao sa ngayon," he said.

"Kung magagamit ito sa kampanya, sa tingin ko ang kandidato na maaaring magmana, kailangan niya ilapat 'to sa kasulukayang sentimyento at aspirations ng mga botante."

The late president's youngest sister, actress Kris Aquino, can be a "powerful catalyst" for the opposition, Arugay added.

"Ang tindi ng impluwensiya niya sa politika. Short of running, she can also be a powerful catalyst for the opposition," he said.

The late former President was chairman emeritus of the Liberal Party.

DILG SAYS PNP SHOULD KEEP OUT OF POLITICS AS IT ORDERS DISMISSAL OF 6 COPS

MANILA — With the 2022 polls approaching, the Department of the Interior and Local Government reminded the Philippine National Police to stay away from politics as it dismissed from the service six police officers over the illegal arrest of a vice-mayor in 2017.

In a statement sent to reporters, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reminded the police force to remain non-partisan public servants.

“We have been saying this: No one is above the law. The dismissal of these cops is a warning to the entire PNP to be non-partisan especially during the election season,” he said.

A Napolcom investigation found that the six indeed committed grave misconduct and grave irregularities in the performance of their duties, according to the Interior chief.

The Napolcom also found their misdeeds to be election-related as then-vice mayor Garcia-Yulo was a political rival of then-Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña in the 2019 elections.

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PH REPORTS 6,871 NEW COVID-19 CASES; 92 MORE DEATHS

MANILA —The Philippines recorded 6,871 more COVID-19 infections on Saturday, pushing the country’s running tally to nearly 1.392 million.

The country now has 1,391,911 total novel coronavirus cases, of which 53,447 or 3.8 percent are considered active, based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) latest bulletin.

The positivity rate is at 11.9 percent, based on the results of 50,035 individuals who were screened for the virus on Thursday.

ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido pointed out that the positivity rate is below 13 percent for the 5th straight day.

There were also 92 new confirmed fatalities and 8,720 more recoveries.

The Philippines' death toll stood at 24,244 while recuperations increased to 1,314,220, or 94.4 percent of the cumulative total.

NOYNOY AQUINO'S EXES BERNADETTE SEMBRANO, KORINA SANCHEZ REMEMBER THE LATE EX-PRESIDENT

MANILA — Kapamilya broadcasters Bernadette Sembrano and Korina Sanchez remembered their common ex-boyfriend, former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

In her DZMM radio program, Bernadette said that Noynoy was a very simple man.

“At that time po kasi, congressman pa lang siya noon sa Tarlac. Simpleng simple lang. Meron siyang isang driver, isang bodyguard, pero madalas siya ang nagmamaneho ng sasakyan,” Bernadette said.

“Ayaw niyang umeeksena. Kapag may mga ganap sa okasyon, makikita mo 'yung awkwardness kapag siya ang nabibigyan ng attention. Hindi niya rin gusto na siya ang nakapronta,” she added.

The “TV Patrol” host said that Noynoy was more of her mom Cory than his sister Kris.

“Siguro kung ika-characterize natin 'yung kanyang pagkakatao, siguro 'yung pagiging maboka ni Senator Ninoy, nakuha siguro ni Kris Aquino. Si PNoy mas nakuha niya 'yung trait ng mama niya na parang ayaw na umeeksena, mas mahiyain. 'Yung mas vocal, 'yun 'yung mas Kris Aquino,” she said.

Sanchez, meanwhile, took to Instagram and paid respect to the former chief executive.

“Sad day. Gone too soon. Many presidents have come and gone. But PNOY I knew. Thank you for your friendship. Most of all, gratitude for service to our country. Godspeed. Bon voyage. Be happy in eternity with your parents, your fellow Filipino heroes,” she said.

In the latest episode of Philstar.com’s Slam Book, Korina said that she believed in second chances.

“Defends on the circumstance, but, yes I believe in second chances,” she said.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

PIA WURTZBACH THANKFUL FOR FRIENDSHIP WITH NOYNOY AQUINO

Echoing the sentiments of many Filipinos, beauty queen and actress Pia Wurtzbach honored the late President Noynoy Aquino, noting their "friendship" and his support during her Miss Universe journey.

“It’s really sad to hear about the passing of former President Noynoy Aquino,” Wurtzbach said on Instagram Stories.

“I will always be thankful for his friendship and support in my journey as Miss Universe.”

The Miss Universe 2015 also sent her deepest condolences to the Aquinos.

Aquino was rumored to have dated Wurtzbach in 2015.

After winning the Miss Universe-Philippines title, Wurtzbach was asked by Kris Aquino, PNoy’s youngest sister, if she had been dating her brother.

While Wurtzbach did not answer categorically, the beauty queen acknowledged that she had met and spoke with Aquino.

Wurtzbach also revealed late in 2015 that Aquino wished her good luck ahead of the Miss Universe pageant and even sent her flowers.

Aquino passed away on Thursday because of renal disease secondary to diabetes.

He was laid to rest Saturday afternoon at Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

SPORTS

REPORT: MCGREGOR'S AGENCY SUES PACQUIAO FOR $3.3M OVER BOTCHED MIKEY GARCIA FIGHT

MANILA — Sen. Manny Pacquiao is reportedly being sued by Paradigm Sports, a management agency the eight-division champion joined in February 2020.

The Athletic's Lance Pugmire reported Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) that the Los Angeles-based agency, who also manages UFC star Conor McGregor, is alleging Pacquiao had "breached an agreement" with them after signing to fight Errol Spence Jr.

Paradigm was reportedly "under the impression" that Pacquiao would sign a deal to fight Mikey Garcia — a bout that Paradigm had negotiated.

The suit includes damages worth a whopping $3.3 million, as well as a request for an injunction to stop Pacquiao-Spence from even happening.

The Filipino pug's signing with Paradigm came last year when a bout between Pacquiao and McGregor was in the works.

This idea went in up in smokes, however, when McGregor suffered a defeat against Dustin Poirier in the UFC.

This was when Garcia came into the picture.

In May, Garcia rued the stalled negotiations with him and Pacquiao's camp — this came about a week before the fight with Spence was announced

Pacquiao revealed in Noli Eala's Power & Play on Saturday that Garcia was indeed one of the final choices for his next opponent, including Terence Crawford.

Pacquiao's bout with Spence, if it pushes through despite the Paradigm suit, is slated for August 21 (August 22, Manila time) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

NBA SCORES JUNE 25

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

5 Hawks1-1       28        17        18        28        91

3 Bucks1-1       34        43        26        22        125

GAME 2: SERIES TIED 1-1, FISERV FORUM, MILWAUKEE, WI

SCORING LEADERS

T. Young ATL

15 PTS 2 REB 3 AST

G. Antetokounmpo MIL

25 PTS 9 REB 6 AST

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Neither despise, nor oppose, what thou dost not understand. - William Penn