DUTERTE TO DELIVER FINAL SONA AS PANDEMIC, POVERTY STALK FILIPINOS

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte, whose 6-year term ends in June next year, will deliver his final State of the Nation Address on Monday, as the Philippines struggles to stop one of Asia's worst COVID-19 outbreaks that has dragged millions into unemployment and poverty.

Duterte is set to identify his remaining legislative agenda for his last year in office in his sixth SONA, as protesters prepared to defy bad weather and they rally near the venue.

The President's final SONA comes as authorities scramble to contain local transmission of the more infectious Delta COVID-19 variant.

Filipinos will most like to hear Duterte discuss jobs and the economy in his final SONA, according to a survey released on Monday by Pulse Asia.

Other issues on top of Filipinos' mid include measures to control inflation, plans to expedite the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program, increasing workers’ pay, improving the educational system, preventing further Chinese incursion into the West Philippine Sea, and fighting government corruption, said the pollster.

Duterte, 76, is not eligible to run for a second term. But he has repeatedly said over the past few weeks that he was considering running for vice president in 2022 to avail of immunity from lawsuits by political opponents.

PH DETECTS 55 MORE DELTA VARIANT CASES; TOTAL NOW AT 119

MANILA - The Philippines has detected 55 additional cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant, bringing the case load for the highly transmissible variant to 119.

The variant, first detected in India, is seen as responsible for the collapse of the healthcare system in the densely-populated nation, along with the uptick in cases in other Asian countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.

In a statement, the Department of Health (DOH) said 37 of the additional cases are local cases, while 17 are returning overseas Filipinos (ROF). The DOH is also still verifying if one case is a returning overseas Filipino or a local case.

Of the local cases, 14 are from Calabarzon, 8 are from Northern Mindanao, 6 had indicated addresses in the National Capital Region, 6 are from Central Luzon, 2 are from Davao Region and one case is from the Ilocos Region.

One of the cases died while 54 have been tagged recovered.

With the confirmation of the local transmission, authorities have resorted to placing Metro Manila and other Luzon areas under stricter general community quarantine (GCQ) measures for a week as an effort to curb the virus spread.

PROTESTS HELD IN NEW YORK AHEAD OF DUTERTE'S FINAL SONA

Ahead of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's sixth and final State of the Nation (SONA) address, dozens of protesters gathered in what they called the "People's SONA" at the Philippine Consulate in New York City on Sunday.

Community organizers from across the Northeast coast came together to call out Duterte for what they said are his failed war on drugs and weak handling of the pandemic.They demanded an end to the Duterte regime through his resignation or the 2022 elections.

SENATE TO PRIORITIZE PASSAGE OF ECONOMIC MEASURES, CREATION OF OFW DEPARTMENT

MANILA — The Senate of the 18th Congress on Monday opened its third regular session with 14 of its members physically present and another eight attending through video conference.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III delivered a speech emphasizing the Senate's commitment to funding the government's pandemic response, assisting families, industries, and sectors hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis, overseas Filipino workers, and disaster preparedness.

Later in the afternoon, Sotto will lead senators to the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City where President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his final State of the Nation Address.

'COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC': DUTERTE FAILED TO DELIVER ON CAMPAIGN PROMISES - RESEARCH FELLOW

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte failed to deliver on his campaign promises of solving crime, corruption and the illegal drug trade in the country, a research fellow at the Ateneo School of Government said Monday.

In his study "Duterte at 5: The Duterte Administration By The Numbers," Dr. Edilberto de Jesus said the chief executive made promises that were "completely unrealistic."

"As we can see, from his own assessment, the legacy agenda that he has placed priority on has not been fulfilled," told ANC's "Rundown".

"It was not credible that you would have all of these long-standing problems of the country resolved within 6 or 7 months," said de Jesus, a former education secretary.

"I think it's important to hold politicians accountable to what they promised during their campaign period as we will be facing another campaign period shortly."

Duterte is set to deliver his final report to the nation late Monday afternoon.

'GOOD JOB': SPEAKER VELASCO RATES DUTERTE ADMIN'S PERFORMANCE AN 8

MANILA - House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Monday gave a rating of 8 out of 10 to the Duterte administration, saying that while no administration is perfect, the Philippines is in a better place than others during the pandemic.

"No administration is perfect. We see that the administration right now came or entered during the pandemic, which no one was expecting, which caught each and every administration in different countries off-guard," he told ANC's Headstart.

Velasco said the administration "tried to do a lot" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, "but there is still a lot of criticism." However, comparing the situation in the country to that in Malaysia and Indonesia where there is a spike in cases due to the Delta variant, he said "we’re actually at a better place."

"At the end of the day, the pandemic really hurt us a lot. No one was ready for it and because of that I cannot give the administration a perfect grade…But looking at where the Philippines is right now, I guess they’re doing a really good job," he said.

He said most criticisms are only given on "hindsight" because "we really don't know how to handle a pandemic." He added, although the lockdowns imposed are often criticized, these actually "kept the surge of infections at bay."

Velasco said to be better prepared for another pandemic, he is looking to work on laws creating the Philippines' institute for virology and a center for disease control in the final months of President Rodrigo Duterte's term.

PHILIPPINES 'CANNOT AFFORD' ANOTHER 6 YEARS UNDER DUTERTE: SENATOR

MANILA - The Philippines "cannot afford" another 6 years of President Rodrigo Duterte's leadership through his daughter, an opposition senator said Monday.

Duterte, who is set to present his final State of the Nation Address later Monday, has expressed intention to run as vice president in next year's elections. His daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, initially said she will not run for president but has since expressed openness to running for the country's top post.

"The next 6 years will be critical, it will determine probably the next 20 years. We cannot afford another 6 years under this administration, another 6 years of daily killings, strongman iron-fist policies, subservience to China," Senator Francis Pangilinan told ANC's Headstart.

"Do you expect real change from the last 5 years to the next 5 years kung Duterte-Duterte ang mangyayari? Nasa tao na yun, sila ang magpapasya."

PHILIPPINES NEEDS TO BEEF UP GENOME SEQUENCING FOR TIMELY COVID-19 DATA: LAWMAKERS

MANILA - There should be more facilities capable of genome sequencing in the Philippines in order to provide timely COVID-19 data which would prompt appropriate containment measures, lawmakers said Monday.

In the Philippines, there is only 1 facility capable of doing genome sequencing, Sen. Edgardo "Sonny" Angara told ANC.

"We’d like to decentralize that going forward, something in the Visayas, something in Mindanao. So we don’t have to keep sending samples and by the time the data gets here it’s no longer timely data," Angara said.

Genome sequencing enables scientists to identify COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 and monitor how it changes into variants, according to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said he would file a bill to expand genome sequencing in the country.

"I’d like to file a bill also, decentralizing the genome centers, since this will not be the last pandemic," he said.

DUTERTE ADMIN'S JOB CREATION LOWEST AMONG PRESIDENTS AFTER MARCOS: THINK-TANK

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte will leave behind a legacy of a weak economy and lowest job creation among administrations after Martial Law if he would not acknowledge this in his final year, a think-tank said Monday.

The Philippine economy was slowing down under the Duterte administration even before the pandemic hit, said Sonny Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation.

"Tingin namin ang legacy niya ay walang kapantay na bilang ng walang trabaho sa Pilipinas...Unfortunately tuloy-tuloy na pagkalat ng virus, may 1 taon pa para iwasto pero kung 'di aaminin ang problema di tayo makakakita ng karampatang solusyon," Africa told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"Bago pa man ang pandemya, bumabagal ang ekonomiya. Kulang ang kita ng mga Pilipino, kulang ang trabaho. Medyo natakpan lang ng pagtama ng pandemya."

Jobs created under Duterte's leadership averaged 313,000 annually versus the previous administration's average of 827,000, according to Africa.

"'Yung pinakapagkukunan ng trabaho--agrikultura, lokal na industriya, 'di binibigyan ng suporta, yung pondo ng gobyerno ginastos pa abroad para sa Build Build Build," he said.

"May magagawa pa sana ang administrasyon, ang nakakalungkot sa katapusan ng kanyang termino, Build Build Build pa rin ang sagot. Hindi siya uubra lalo ngayong tumama ang pandemya."

Government also underspent its stimulus packages Bayanihan 1 and 2, Africa said.

"Sa aming pagkuwenta, 18 milyong Pilipino ay walang ipon sa ganitong panahon. Gobyerno sana ang pumuno doon. Grabe ang pagtitipid ng pamahaalaan," he said.

"Maliit na masyado ang budget ng Bayanihan 1 at Bayanihan 2, di pa ginastos lahat. Tinipid pa."

Millions have gone jobless since March 15, 2020, the first day of the government-imposed lockdown on the National Capital Region to curb the spread of the dreaded respiratory disease. The pandemic is also expected to reverse gains on poverty reduction, with thousands of families forced to embrace the uncertain, "new normal" future.

DUTERTE, DOMINGUEZ DENY GOVERNMENT UNDERSPENT BAYANIHAN FUNDS

MANILA — The Duterte administration has denied underspending funds intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left more than 27,000 people dead in the Philippines and dragged its economy into a recession.

During a meeting with key officials last Saturday, President Duterte asked Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to react to the claim of Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III that there was underspending in the Bayanihan funds. Bayanihan is a law that allocated funds for the government’s pandemic response.

Citing data from the budget department, Dominguez told Duterte that the government has already released P660 billion.

“What they are referring to as ‘underspending’ is P6 billion or one percent of the total,” the finance chief said.

“The Department of Budget (and Management) and ourselves are going to each  department to see where the P6 billion is. But Mr. President, this is one percent problem... In relation to what we have released of 660 billion, this is one percent, okay, and we are sure that it will be released,” he added.

Dominguez said economic managers are asking each department “to really spend the money.”

Duterte then chided Congress for supposedly not listening to Dominguez when he was explaining how state funds are used.

“The problem is, you know, one thing very wrong with Congress is that they are not listening when you are talking. So it would be better to give it a little shout. That’s true. In Bisaya, it’s called tira-pasagad or shooting aimlessly. Tell them that one percent,” the President said.

“The criticism is always on the executive department, and we execute the laws. So when they say that you are not spending the money correctly because there is underspending, and it turns out it’s only one percent... I’d like to tell Congress now that when Secretary Dominguez is talking to you, please listen,” he added.

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EDUCATION SECTOR SEES MORE SUBSIDIES, SHRINKING FREEDOM FOR STUDENTS

MANILA — The Duterte administration saw the passage of the free college tuition law — a landmark law that made tertiary education more accessible to poor Filipinos — but its years have also been marked by the challenge of learning during the pandemic and a youth sector increasingly vocal and critical of government policies.

Education workers gave the president a dismal rating as he is set to deliver his last State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 26.

Some 36% of 1,080 respondents in a survey by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers gave the president a “poor” score, while 24% said his performance was “unsatisfactory”, the teachers' group said.

Per the nationwide poll, Duterte failed to deliver on campaign promises like hiking teachers' salaries.

"The state of the education sector only grew worse in the last five years," said Raymond Basilio, ACT secretary general. "Education access and quality continue to suffer due to severely lacking funds [and] more students are denied their right to education."

The pandemic forced classes for over 25 million Filipino students to be carried out in their homes.

It was similar to situations across the globe but a striking difference is how some countries are slowly returning to classrooms while the Philippines waits for even pilot testing on how face-to-face learning might be done safely.

The Philippines fared poorly in international assessments on education, highlighting underspending and lack of resources that has characterized the sector even prior to the Duterte presidency.

JOBS ARE TOP OF MIND FOR FILIPINOS ON EVE OF DUTERTE'S FINAL SONA: PULSE ASIA

Jobs and livelihoods are top of mind for most Filipinos when asked which issue they want President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss in his last State of the Nation Address, results of the latest Pulse Asia survey showed Monday.

The survey, conducted last June 7-16, 2021, showed "Creating more jobs or livelihood" as the top issue for Filipinos at 38 percent, followed by "Improving the national economy" at 35 percent, and "Controlling inflation" at 33 percent.

Unemployment ballooned to 17.7 percent in April 2020, during the height of the strictest lockdown or Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, government data showed.

Last April, the Asian Development Bank also said the pandemic could leave a lasting impact on employment in the Philippines as job creation has shifted to less stable and lower-quality jobs.

According to the survey, other top concerns for Filipinos include "Plans to expedite COVID-19 vaccination" at 31 percent, "Increasing the pay of workers" (26 percent), "Improving the educational system" (26 percent), "Taking action vs Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea" (25 percent), "Fighting graft and corruption in government" (24 percent) and peace in the country (20 percent).

Charter change is the least mentioned issue among survey respondents at 7 percent.

RAINS TO PERSIST ON DUTERTE'S FINAL SONA: PAGASA

MANILA - Rains will persist due to the habagat (southwest monsoon) as President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his final State of the Nation Address on Monday, the state weather bureau said.

Metro Manila, Abra, Benguet, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, and Batangas are expected to experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms, PAGASA weather forecaster Chris Perez said.

The rest of the country will experience cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, PAGASA added.

PAGASA is monitoring 2 tropical cyclones outside the Philippine area of responsibility which have no direct effect on the country but will enhance the southwest monsoon, Perez said.

"Other than these 2 tropical cyclones wala na tayong ibang nakikita o minomonitor na bagyo (we're not monitoring other storms)," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

"Alam ko may mga kumakalat na balita tungkol sa isang supertyphoon...Iwasan din po natin magkalat ng balita sa social media from unverified sources para maiwasan ang unwanted panic nating mga kababayan."

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'I LOVE YOU FOREVER', MATTEO GUIDICELLI TELLS WIFE SARAH ON HER 33RD BIRTHDAY

MANILA - Sarah Geronimo turned 33 on Sunday and her husband, actor Matteo Guidicelli, took to social media to share his birthday greetings for her.

On his Instagram page, Guidicelli shared a photo of them together, captioned: “Happy birthday my wife! Blessed to be beside a strong, beautiful, powerful, superwoman!”

“Thank you for all the love. I love you forever,” he said.

As of writing, Guidicelli used the couple shot he posted for Geronimo’s birthday as his profile picture on Instagram.

This is Geronimo’s second birthday as a married woman.

They got married in February 2020 after being a couple for six years.

SPORTS

OLYMPICS: MARGIE DIDAL QUALIFIES FOR FINALS OF WOMEN'S STREET

Filipina skater Margielyn Didal is through to the finals of the women's street event after placing 7th in the preliminaries at the Tokyo Olympics.

Didal was the life of the party during the qualifying round at the Ariake Skate Park on Monday morning, where she competed with 19 of the best skaters in the world.

Only the Top 8 advanced to the finals.

PAALAM OUTHUSTLES IRISH FOE AS FILIPINO PUGS GO 3-0 IN OLYMPICS

MANILA – It's a 3-0 start for our Philippine boxing team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Carlo Paalam, the latest to debut out of the four Filipino pugs in Tokyo, took a split decision win over Irish foe Brendan Irvine in the Men's Flyweight Round of 32 on Monday.

Paalam dominated the first round with all judges scoring it in favor of the Filipino, 10-9.

It was a little bit more competitive in the second round with Irvine getting the nod of two judges to cut into Paalam's lead.

But three judges once again scored the bout in favor of the Filipino, 10-9, to give him the victory.

The final scores were two 30-29s and two 29-28s in favor of Paalam while Irvine got one judge picking him, 29-28.

Another Filipino pug in Nesthy Petecio sees action later today in Women's Featherweight, going up against top seed Lin Yu-Thing in the Round of 16.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed... Great necessities call our great virtues. - Abigail Adams