US VOWS CONTINUED PRESENCE IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

MANILA — The US will continue to operate in the South China Sea (SCS) to ensure prosperity for all nations in the region, the United States Indo-Pacific Command said.

Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, noted during a presentation at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Thursday that many concerns in the region centered on the activities of China, which “quite often don’t match up with the words that come out of Beijing.”

He said China’s claims on the SCS “interfere with the well-being and prosperity of all nations in the region.”

“We view with concern (China’s) unlawful claim to the entire South China Sea — directly and negatively impacting all of the countries in the region, from their livelihood, whether it be with fishing or access to natural resources,” Aquilino said.

“Those are the things that lead me to believe that our execution of integrated deterrence has to occur now, and with a sense of urgency.”

He added that the 10 nations that border the SCS and many others depend on it for trade and that the prosperity of all depends on the continued free access to the waters there.

“It’s critically important for all nations. The unlawful claim to the entire South China Sea threatens all of that. When we talk about the South China Sea, understanding (its) importance is critical,” Aquilino said.

He gave assurance that the US is working with allies and partners in the region to reduce the tensions there.

COVID-19 CASES INCREASED BY 59 PCT ACROSS ALL AGE GROUPS: DOH

MANILA - COVID-19 cases have been rising across all age groups in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday as the country battles the spread of the more virulent Delta variant.

There is a 59 percent increase in COVID-19 cases across all age brackets between July 13 and 25, the DOH said in a statement.

"The highest increase was observed among the 30-39 age group and lowest among those 80 years old and above during the same period," it said.

The agency has yet to give details on how many COVID-19 cases were recorded for each age group.

"Dapat ay liwanagan natin na itong pagtaas ng kaso ay nararamdaman sa lahat ng grupo at hindi lang sa mga bata," said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

The DOH's statement comes as several groups clamor to include teens and children in the government's COVID-19 vaccination program after the Philippines' infection rate shot up to 20 percent due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

DUQUE BACKS VACCINATION OF MINORS VS COVID-19

MANILA - Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday said he supports proposals to vaccinate minors against COVID-19 as long as there is sufficient supply.

Duque, who also sits as chairman of the government's inter-agency task force against COVID-19, also said that there should be prioritization among the younger recipients.

"Supply permitting, I wouldn’t mind that we should already start vaccinating children, for as long as first, we prioritize which among the children. Those with comorbidities, of course let’s vaccinate them," he told ANC's Headstart.

"I would support it, supply permitting," Duque reiterated.

He cited a report by the University of the Philippines that it has 6 pediatric patients seen to have "very serious" infection, and 2 of these patients have comorbidities. UP administers and operates the Philippine General Hospital.

PGH Spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo last week that a newborn and 7 other children up to 15 years old are admitted at the hospital for COVID-19.

He said 6 of the 8 children are considered either severe or critical, with 3 of them intubated or on ventilator, while the others need some oxygen support.

The hospital was yet to receive the genome sequencing results of the children, which would identify if they had the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Minors are yet to be included in the government's priority recipients of COVID-19 vaccines, even as the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Pfizer's vaccine for those who are 12 to 17 years old.

The regulator is also reviewing the application of Sinovac to amend its emergency use authorization so that its COVID-19 vaccine can be used on children aged 3 to 17.

BOOSTER SHOTS FOR COVID-19 VACCINES 'AGAINST POLICY', SAYS PH HEALTH CHIEF

MANILA - Taking booster shots for COVID-19 vaccines would be against government policy, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Monday as he urged individuals with knowledge on this to come forward.

Duque, chairman of the inter-agency task force against COVID-19, said there is currently no recommendation from the country's vaccine expert panel or the all-experts group to have a supplementary inoculation.

He said these recommending bodies instead constantly advocate for ramping up vaccination among health workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), and individuals with comorbidities (A3).

"I hope that they can give me the report on this. You call us up…It’s against policy, it’s against IATF resolution because we have to have a 2-dose vaccination, we have to raise the coverage of our A1, A2, A3 and the rest of the groups," he told ANC's Headstart.

"Let’s get them to the highest possible coverage, at least 90 to 95 percent for A2. While we haven’t reached those figures yet, the talk about booster doses has no place at this point. So let’s prioritize," he said.

MORE AREAS UNDER ECQ

The province of Laguna and the cities of Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro will be placed on lockdown until the middle of August, Malacañang announces.

"President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to place Laguna, Iloilo City and Cagayan de Oro under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) beginning Aug. 6 until Aug. 15, 2021," presidential spokesman Harry Roque says in a statement.

Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro have been under the strictest quarantine classification since July 16.

DOST-FUNDED CLINICAL TRIALS ON VCO VS COVID-19 UNDERWAY

MANILA — Clinical trials on virgin coconut oil (VCO) as treatment for COVID-19 are well underway with the enrollment of 77 COVID-19 patients to participate in the study, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said yesterday.

DOST Undersecretary for research and development Rowena Cristina Guevara, who chairs the Task Group on Vaccine Evaluation and Selection, said the trial proper has started and the participants range from asymptomatic, mild and moderate to severe cases of COVID-19.

“A total of 77 patients have been enrolled to the study in which 39 were under the VCO group and 38 were under the group receiving standard care only,” Guevara told The STAR.

The study is being conducted by the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) and the DOST expects it to finish and release results by October or earlier.

The UP-PGH clinical trials on VCO had been given the green light by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June last year at the height of the pandemic lockdowns in the country. Recruitment and enrollment of participants, however, started only last November.

The R&D study is one of four funded by the DOST to back up claims of the medicinal benefits of VCO especially in curing COVID-19.

One study conducted by the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in Santa Rosa, Laguna on suspected and probable COVID-19 cases in the Santa Rosa Community Hospital and the Santa Rosa Quarantine Facility, was completed last December and successfully showed that the administration of meals mixed with VCO sped up the recovery of participant-patients by at least five days.

Another DOST-funded study led by professor Fabian Antonio Dayrit of the Ateneo de Manila University, done in partnership with Duke University-National University of Singapore (Duke-NUS), was also completed last year and showed that VCO was able to cure COVID-19 at low viral load.

Separate DOST-funded clinical trials on VCO conducted by the FNRI in Valenzuela City are ongoing as a follow-up to the Santa Rosa City study.

SINGIL SA KURYENTE TATAAS SA AGOSTO, AYON SA MERALCO

Inanunsiyo ngayong Lunes ng Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) na magkakaroon ng pagtaas sa singil sa kuryente para sa August billing.

Ayon sa Meralco, P0.0965 kada kilowatt hour (kwh) ang dagdag-singil bunsod ng pagsipa ng transmission charge.

Katumbas umano ito ng P19 dagdag sa mga kabahayang kumokonsumo ng 200 kwh, P29 sa konsumong 300 kwh, P39 sa konsumong 400 kwh, at P48 sa konsumong 500 kwh.

Ito na ang ika-5 sunod na buwang nagkaroon ng dagdag-singil sa kuryente.

Nauna nang inihayag ng Meralco na suspendido ang putulan ng kuryente sa mga lugar na nasa ilalim ng enhanced community quarantine at modified enhanced community quarantine.

PHILHEALTH DEBTS AFFECT SALARY OF HEALTH WORKERS, MEDICAL SUPPLIES: PRIVATE HOSPITALS

MANILA - Unpaid health claims of state insurer PhilHealth that run to billions of pesos may hamper the ability of private hospitals in treating COVID-19 patients, an official said Monday.

Dr. Jose Rene De Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc, said the delayed reimbursements would be used to cover the salaries of healthcare workers, medical equipment and supplies.

"Malaki ang epekto 'yan kasi siyempre ang private hospitals nagre-rely lang sa aming services, admission namin sa aming mga pasyente," he said.

"Pagka nawalan na nga ng pondo, siyempre maapektuhan po 'yung pangsuweldo, pambili ng supplies, pambayad sa oxygen," he added.

The Philippine Hospital Association had said that PhilHealth owed private and public medical facilities some P20 billion in COVID-19 claims.

De Grano said its members in the Visayas and Mindanao had yet to receive reimbursements from PhilHealth.

For his part, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said while he wanted PhilHealth to reimburse hospitals as soon as possible, he called on them to wait to ensure the funds that would be disbursed would be "legally defensible".

"They continue to do reconciliation of their figures because there seems to be a difference between what the hospitals are submitting versus what PhilHealth has established as payables to the private hospitals," he said in an interview on ANC's "Headstart"

"You see, PhilHealth is subject to COA auditing rules and regulations and it just simply wants to ensure that any taxpayer or contributor’s money that is paid to the hospitals as its partners has legal basis," he added.

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COMELEC EYES 10,000 MORE COUNTING MACHINES

MANILA — The Commission on Elections might use 10,000 more vote counting machines for the May 2022 national and local elections to lower the ratio of voters using each unit and establish more clustered precincts.

The poll body will hold a public bidding for the lease of the precinct-based Optical Mark Reader (OMR), Optical Scan (OPSCAN) System, or Voting/Counting Machine (VCM).

Its Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) noted P600,503,500 has already been approved for payment of the contract for the lease of OMR/OPSCAN Precinct Counter with SD Cards.

The procurement will include 10,000 pieces of Main SD Cards and 10,000 pieces of WORMABLE SD Cards.

“Bids received in excess of the ABC (approved budget for the contract) shall be automatically rejected at bid opening,” the SBAC announced.

DFA SUSPENDS ONLINE PASSPORT DELIVERY SERVICES

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs has suspended the services of courier service provider Quick Reliable Service, Inc. (QRS) following multiple complaints from passport applicants.

Several passport applicants who booked courier services online reported unsatisfactory performance of the courier service provider.

"The DFA apologizes for the shortcomings of QRS and requests the public’s understanding as it puts together alternative delivery options in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic," the DFA said in a statement released Sunday.

The agency said it "has instructed APO Production Unit, Inc., its end-to-end-passport process provider, to immediately cease using the passport delivery services of QRS."

Starting 6 a.m. Monday, online passport applicants may inquire on the status of their parcel through email via applicationstatus@passport.gov.ph or hotline +63 2 82343488, (press 1 for QRS concerns).

Meanwhile, onsite passport applicants who wish to avail of courier services on the day of filing their applications will not be affected by the termination of the services of QRS.

Logistics giant LBC will continue to provide its services to onsite passport applicants.

BANGSAMORO REGION GETS FIRST FEMALE REGIONAL PROSECUTOR

COTABATO CITY — Local communities were elated with the appointment of lawyer Rohairah Ampuan Lao as the first ever female regional prosecutor for five Muslim provinces grouped as an autonomous region.

Never has the national government designated a woman as regional prosecutor for predominantly Muslim provinces in the south since the dawn of Moro autonomy in the 1970s.

Lao’s appointment as regional state prosecutor (RSP) for the Bangsamoro region – signed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra – took effect last July 12.

Previously the provincial prosecutor for Maguindanao since February 2016, Lao took over from retired RSP Ramy Guiling.

She took her oath on July 23 as RSP for the 28-month-old Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that replaced the 29-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in February 2019.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MOVIE REVIEW: GAME SHARON CUNETA IS PERFECTLY CAST IN 'REVIRGINIZED'

Carmela (Sharon Cuneta) was undergoing an annulment case from her husband of 36 years. To escape from her misery, she joined her goddaughter Chesca (Abby Bautista) and her wacky friends Jen (Rose Van Ginkel), Liz (Marion Aunor) and Beverly (Jobelyn Manuel) on their way to Stranded, three nights of drunken abandon at the beach.

When they learn of Carmela's problem, the girls made it their project to make her recover her youthful verve or "revirginized," especially when she was smitten by tattoo artist Morph (Marco Gumabao).

The trailer of this new Sharon Cuneta film gained millions of views, especially for those shocking scenes of prim and proper Ate Shawie uttering profanity and graphic sexual terms. Yes, admittedly that aspect of the film is undeniably attention-getting, and really a great marketing strategy, as evidenced by the advanced ticket sales. There was not much more of that cute vulgarity from Cuneta anymore -- what you see in the trailer was it already. However, there was so much more substance for audiences to savor in the rest of the film.

Megastar Cuneta definitely grabbed this greasy bull of a character by the horns full on. Now that you've seen this film with her as Carmela, she was so right for the role such that it would be difficult to imagine any other actress in this role. She gamely fulfilled all the required shenanigans expected from a Darryl Yap heroine, and her goody-two-shoes reputation made the comedy all the more precious. Her cutest sequence for me would be that one she was talking to the baby tortoise as Morph caught her in a most mortifying situation.

As Morph, Marco Gumabao also gave this role all his carefree charm, especially in his passionate scenes of life-coaching and motivation. Odd couple as it may sound on paper, he and Cuneta did have screen chemistry, so you would actually root for Morph and Carmela to hook up as couple.

We see several famous names in the opening credits, but they were in short, practically cameo roles. Albert Martinez, Cristina Gonzales, Ogie Diaz and Rosanna Roces were only seen in the opening sequence, and Kylie Versoza was at the very end.

As shown in the trailer, there were several scenes of rave party on a beach with supposed teenagers (they look more like millennials) engaging in various activities of hedonistic inebriation. While chaotic and nihilistic events like these really happen, these scenes just went on a bit too long, too noisy for me. The young people here were shown to be rude and obscene, not exactly the company I'd imagine my Gen Z kids to be with. To be fair, Yap tried to balance this mischief with some responsible behavior the morning after.

Darryl Yap had been known for the controversies surrounding his brazen films rather than for his writing or directing. This time, I felt he had outdone himself with this screenplay that tackling such serious themes of teenage pregnancy, rocky marriage and deep regrets with sensible language that speaks clearly to his middle-aged audience, and meaningful metaphors of pawikan and butterflies to make his point.

Credits also to the production team for using three vintage Volkswagen vehicles and Dorina Pineda's "Bituing Walang Ningning" circa 1987 hair and dress for some amusing nostalgia.

SPORTS

IN TOKYO OLYMPICS, PINOY ATHLETES LIVE UP TO HYPE

MANILA—In the months leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, local sports officials were not shy about expressing their optimism about the Philippines' campaign.

Rep. Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino, the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), repeatedly made it known that he expected a "minimum of one gold medal." Another congressman, Mikee Romero, predicted a haul of two to five medals.

William "Butch" Ramirez, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), called this delegation the "most prepared" in the country's history of Olympic participation.

"We expect a return on investment, and it can be frustrating if they don't return with gold, or silver," Ramirez said, a week before the Summer Games officially opened.

There were no such frustrations, only celebrations, as Filipino athletes performed in historic fashion in the Tokyo Games. Nineteen Filipino athletes came to Tokyo to compete in the Olympics that had been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in their own way they gave the country something to cheer about for the past two weeks.

"This is the best," Tolentino said Sunday, after Team Philippines had concluded its campaign. "This is the best Olympics ng Philippines, the best ever Olympic team (of the) Philippines."

"Nalampasan natin lahat," he stressed.

The Philippines will head home with four medals -- a record haul for the nation. Before Tokyo 2020, the Philippines last won multiple medals in the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, with three bronzes. This time, Filipino athletes delivered a gold -- courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz -- two silvers from boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, and a bronze from another boxer, Eumir Marcial.

"Four out of 19, that's 21% (of our athletes)," said Tolentino. "Napakataas."

TOKYO OLYMPICS DECLARED CLOSED

Meanwhile, Fireworks light up the sky over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo, on Sunday. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach turned over the Olympic flag to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo who will be hosting the 2024 Summer Games in France.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar