‘TIME FOR A NEW SET OF LEADERS’: DUTERTE EXPLAINS DECISION TO ‘RETIRE FROM POLITICS’

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte said he will be retiring from politics after his term as president to "give way to a new set of leaders".

Duterte, who first announced on Saturday his decision to withdraw from the vice presidential race in the upcoming elections, said his decision is based on what people want.

"Last Saturday, respecting the will of the people, who after all placed me in the presidency several years ago, I announced my retirement from politics after my term as president," he said.

"I withdrew all my vice presidential bid for next year's election after giving serious thought on the sentiment of the Filipino people, expressed by different surveys, forums, caucuses and meetings."

He added that it is time for new leaders to step up, as he hopes for his projects and programs to continue in the next administration.

"It is time to give way to a new set of leaders who hopefully continue the reforms, projects and programs that this administration has pursued for the past few years," Duterte said.

"It is my hope that the new set of leaders will pursue a platform of government that will build on our gains in the area of fighting illegal drugs, criminality, corruption, terrorism and insurgency.

FILING OF COCS FOR 2022 ELECTIONS — DAY 5

MANILA - Witness the country's next top leaders submit their certificates of candidacy at the Commission on Elections.

The filing will run from October 1 to 8 at an outdoor tent of Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.

Belmonte-Sotto tandem in QC seeks reelection

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte will be asking her constituents for another term alongside Vice Mayor Gian Sotto to continue her projects and platform during a pandemic.

Belmonte and Sotto filed their certificates of candidacy at the local Comelec satellite office this morning under the banner of the local political party, Serbisyo ng Bayan, or SBP.

Velasco files COC for reelection

House Speaker Lord Allan Velaco files his certificate of candidacy for reelection as Marinduque representative in the 2022 elections.

Bongbong now chairs Duterte-allied Partido Federal ng Pilipinas

Ex-Sen. Bongbong Marcos takes oath as member of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, or PFP. It was formed in 2018 by Agrarian Reform John Castriciones and other allies of the Duterte administration.

Marcos was previously with Nacionalista Party.

Vic Rodriguez, his election lawyer, said Marcos is now “the chairman of the party.”

Jejomar Binay will try out his luck for senator

Jejomar Binay, the former vice president and defeated presidential candidate in 2016, will soon attempt to grab a seat at the senate.

He will be running under his old political party, the United Nationalist Alliance.

In a statement, UNA Secretary General JV Bautista says Binay's candidacy as part of a still incomplete senate slate is a "welcome" development the party is "very grateful" for.

"At the moment, nothing is finalized yet and UNA is still in talks with other organizations/political parties who share UNA's vision and platform of government," Bautista says.

Trillanes is here

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes has arrived at the Sofitel Harbor Garden Tent but it is not clear yet whether he will file a certificate of candidacy.

Trillanes earlier said he would file his COC for president on Friday, the last day of filing, if Vice President Leni Robredo will not run for president.

Another Marcos files COC for president

Maria Aurora Marcos, not related to the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, files her certificate of candidacy for president. She says she won’t withdraw even if Bongbong Marcos would run for president too.

Marcos ally Larry Gadon files COC for senator

Lawyer Larry Gadon, who has faced multiple disbarment complaints for his questionable conduct and remarks, just filed his certificate of candidacy for a senate seat.

At the end of the 4th day of filing of COCs, Comelec spokeserson James Jimenez said 20 persons have filed their candidacies for president, seven for vice president, 39 for senator and 48 for party-list.

AFTER ANNOUNCING RETIREMENT FROM POLITICS, DUTERTE SAYS HE WILL PREPARE DEFENSE FOR ICC PROBE

MANILA — After announcing that he is retiring from politics, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would go back to his hometown Davao and prepare his defense for the investigation of the International Criminal Court over his bloody “war on drugs.”

But even as Duterte said he is preparing for his defense, the Philippine president again asserted that the ICC has no jurisdiction over his person.

In a taped public address that aired late Monday night, Duterte said his ratings are going down because people want him to stop joining politics. “They want me to return to Davao City and wait. For those who keep yapping about the case, I will wait for you. I will prepare for my defense, that ICC thing,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Duterte on Saturday announced that he is retiring from politics. He made a similar statement in 2015, but he still ran for presidency in 2016 and won.

The president continued: “Huwag lang kayong magsinungaling. Kung totoo lang tutal may record naman. Huwag kayong mag-imbento na ‘yung namatay ng malaria diyan pati—ica-charge ninyo sa akin. Kalokohan na ‘yan.”

Duterte, however, asserted that the Philippines has a working justice system and the ICC “never acquired jurisdiction over [his] person.”

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber has approved the request of the Office of the Prosecutor to launch an investigation into Duterte and his men, who are accused of committing crimes against humanity over their bloody “war on drugs.”

INFLATION SLOWS TO 4.8 PERCENT IN SEPTEMBER

MANILA - Inflation slowed to 4.8 percent in September, the state statistics bureau said Tuesday.

This was lower compared to the 4.9 percent in August, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a virtual briefing.

The government's target range for the year is 2 to 4 percent, while the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' forecast was for inflation to range between 4.8 to 5.6 percent for the month.

The slower inflation for the month was due to slower increase in the transport index but prices could be driven upwards by supply-side factors linked to weather disruptions, global oil prospects, and the continued impact of the African swine fever, SP Gov. Benjamin Diokno said in a statement.

Inflation could remain elevated in the near term before decelerating to within the target by the end of the year, he said.

"The return of inflation to the target range is highly contingent on the successful implementation of these supply measures. The risks to the inflation outlook remain tilted towards the upside for the remaining months of 2021, but remain broadly balanced for 2022 and 2023," Diokno said.

The inflation outlook for 2021 was revised upward to 4.4 percent from 4.1 percent, 3.3 percent from 3.1 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent from 3.1 percent in 2023 as the economy continued to pick up, BSP Deputy Gov. Francisco Dakila has said.

The BSP has maintained the country's benchmark interest rate, used by banks to price loans, at 2 percent for almost a year now.

Diokno has said that monetary policy will remain accommodative to support economic recovery.

PHILIPPINES WILL ONLY HAVE 6 DIGITAL BANKS FOR NOW

MANILA — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will not be filling the last digital banking seat after applicants competing for the remaining slot failed to submit complete documents.

This leaves the Philippines with six digital banks — from the original plan of allowing seven players — during a three-year moratorium on new applications meant to assess the impact of the nascent industry on the local financial system, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said on Monday.

The central bank has awarded digital banking licenses to Overseas Filipino Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, UNObank, Union Digital Bank, GOtyme and Maya Bank.

“To be accurate, we approved six digital banks and it will remain six because the seventh slot, which was supposed to be competed among the nine additional applicants, it turned out the nine additional applicants failed to complete documentation,” Diokno said during a virtual forum hosted by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

“We kept it at six so we’ll be able to monitor and ensure there’s healthy competition,” he added.

FDA GRANTS LICENSE FOR ADDITIONAL COVID-19 DRUGS

MANILA—The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is addressing supply issues involving medicines used for the treatment of COVID-19.

FDA director-general Eric Domingo said the agency is looking for new suppliers of tocilizumab.

"Iyong tocilizumab, nagkaroon po tayo ng bagong mga equivalent products that have been approved by FDA. Ito po ’yung tocilizumab na galing sa Livzon, isa pong malaking factory ng biologics po ito sa China. At within the week ay hopefully madadagdagan po ang mai-import na gamot," Domingo said in a taped public briefing aired late Monday.

The FDA has also granted permits to other similar drugs used to treat COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the FDA warned against those who buy COVID-19 medicines online, adding that there are several online sellers who sell fake medicines or who just take the payment from their customers without delivering the actual medicines.

KOKO: CUSI FACTION RESERVING SLOT FOR PRESIDENTIAL BET TO OUTSIDER

MANILA — The PDP-Laban group led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi Jr. is reserving the slot for its presidential candidate for an “outsider,” the faction’s secret agenda on why it has yet to reveal its standard bearer for the 2022 elections, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said yesterday.

Pimentel, chairman of the PDP-Laban wing backing the presidential candidacy of Sen. Manny Pacquiao, said the fact that Cusi’s group could not reveal up to now or was not transparent about who their standard bearer is, means they are having trouble implementing their “secret agenda.”

“Up to now their candidate is a secret, most likely who is not a member… that’s our prediction six months ago. Up to now the presidential candidate position remains vacant,” said Pimentel, son and namesake of one of the founders of the 39-year-old party.

He said the presidential candidate of the Cusi faction would be revealed on or before Oct. 8, the last day of filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC).

However, the public must remain vigilant as candidate switching is still allowed up to Nov. 15, he said.

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PHILIPPINES TO BUY 100 MILLION COVID-19 SHOTS NEXT YEAR – GALVEZ

MANILA — The Philippines is planning to procure up to 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses next year, National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said yesterday.

“We will buy more or less 90 to 100 million doses,” Galvez said at a press briefing, noting that authorities are in talks with four drug manufacturers for the target procurement.

Galvez said the government would sign this week a contract with Johnson & Johnson for six million shots of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for delivery in January next year.

He said country has so far administered 46.2 million of the more than 77.4 million vaccine doses received by the country.

At least 21.7 million individuals or about 28 percent of the target population are now fully inoculated, said Galvez.

He added at least 50 percent of Filipinos would be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December.

The Philippine population is at least 109 million as of July 2021.

Meanwhile, the government will allocate 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for children aged 12 to 17.

The government would start vaccinating adolescents with comorbidities on Oct. 15.

BANGSAMORO, NOT DRUG WAR, IS DUTERTE ADMIN'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT: GUTOC

MANILA - The war on drugs could have been the Duterte administration's greatest achievement if not for the thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings linked to it, senatorial bet Samira Gutoc said Tuesday.

"Achievement--drugs could be but the deaths, EJKs are so astoundingly appalling. Sayang po eh. Yes peace and order in a way but the deaths from it are so warranting (of) questioning and investigation," she told ANC's Headstart.

"It was a shortcut process...mali talaga ang droga but ang pillars of justice system sana nilakasan."

The Moro civic leader eventually answered that the administration's greatest achievement was the Bangsamoro region.

"As a resident of Marawi, malaking bagay po na he (President Rodrigo Duterte) sealed it with a signature from a 20-year dialogue--Aquino and all these administrations who had these peace talks," she said.

"Maybe it’s the Bangsamoro law for me because yun ang alam ko eh. It affects 4 million people, nagkaroon ng (there came) respite, peace process and it will decrease insecurity and therefore bomb blast grenade advisories will lessen in the Philippines."

As for the administration's biggest failure, Gutoc cited the lack of readiness in crisis response.

"We know we’re a country of disasters and crises and medical infectious diseases. Lack of readiness is the biggest failure for me," she said.

Gutoc, who ran for senator under Liberal Party's Otso Diretso in 2019, said she sought permission through a letter to party chairperson Vice President Leni Robredo before transferring to Aksyon Demokratiko.

"I reached out to all major leaders po ng Liberal. Nagpaalam po ako. Hindi po ako ang taong walang utang na loob," she said.

2,774 FAMILIES AFFECTED BY NCR LOCKDOWNS

MANILA — Up to 2,774 families have been affected by granular lockdowns in Metro Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday, as it claimed that the easing of restrictions has not led to higher COVID-19 infections.

“As of Oct. 2, 2,774 families are covered by the lockdowns in Metro Manila to prevent its (COVID-19) spread. No barangays were placed on lockdown to make it very micro, which means the areas covered are really small,” MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos said, noting that granular lockdowns affected 397 households, 88 condominium units, nine buildings and 25 compounds.

“And I will say this, for the last two weeks, for the pilot experimentation, even if we reopened businesses, our health was not affected. We are doing well and I hope it will continue,” Abalos said.

The government has been implementing the pilot test for the new alert level system in Metro Manila since Sept. 16. It was supposed to end last Sept. 30 but it has been extended until Oct. 15.

Currently, NCR is under Alert Level 4, the second most stringent classification.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

KNOWLEDGE CHANNEL RETURNS TO DIGITAL TV ON WORLD TEACHERS' DAY

MANILA -- Knowledge Channel has returned to digital TV starting on World Teachers Day this Tuesday, October 5, via its partnership with the broadcast company BEAM.

The educational programs of Knowledge Channel are available again in Mega Manila, Baguio, Naga, Metro Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, and Zamboanga to help young Filipinos in their distance learning education this pandemic.

Viewers can access Knowledge Channel via BEAM DTT by simply doing a channel rescan on any digital TV box.

Dubbed as the "biggest classroom on-air," ETV-pioneer Knowledge Channel will now reach over 10 million Pinoy households, providing over 1,500 video lessons from Kinder to Grade 10 and the Alternative Learning System.

The programs are hosted by media personalities such as Robi Domingo, Enchong Dee and MayMay Entrata, and online educators Lyqa Maravilla and Peter Esperanza through digital, cable, and direct-to-home satellite TV.

Knowledge Channel will continue to bring quality learning to every Filipino child this school year 2021–2022. Educational shows are available daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Knowledge Channel on digital, cable, and direct-to-home satellite TV.

Meanwhile, video lessons for Grades 1 to 6 are also airing via A2Z weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.. Preschoolers and their parents can also enjoy viewing Knowledge Channel's educational shows, available for free on theAsianparent Philippines app.

Students and teachers can also join School at Home's array of interactive online programs on Kumu's SeenZone channel and Knowledge Channel's Facebook page, weekdays at 11 a.m.

The weekly lineup includes "Wikaharian Online World" every Monday, "Team Lyqa" every Tuesday, "Knowledge on the Go" and "MathDali's Math Talks" every Wednesday, "Money Lessons with FQ Mom and Sons" every Thursday, and "Art Smart with Teacher Precious" every Friday.

Through its "Stay at Home, Learn at Home" campaign launched last year, Knowledge Channel has allowed learners in over 7 million households to continue learning from home during the pandemic despite the cancellation of face-to-face classes via ABS-CBN TVplus, SKYdirect, and SKYcable.

It then shifted to its "School at Home" campaign to continue delivering its educational programs online as the non-renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise and cease-and-desist order issued to TVplus and SKYdirect narrowed down its reach. These online efforts garnered various milestones, including a 150,000 follower mark on Facebook and a Silver Button award from YouTube, and the Outstanding CSR Project in Education award in the 2021 League of Corporate Foundations CSR Guild Awards.

For more educational materials and latest updates on Knowledge Channel visit knowledgechannel.org

SPORTS

PBA: BPC frontrunner Calvin Abueva is also Player of the Week

MANILA -- The Magnolia Hotshots are reaping the fruits of their off-season trade for Calvin Abueva, as "The Beast" has emerged as one of the top stars in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup.

Abueva powered the Hotshots to the third seed in the elimination round, and into a sweep of Rain or Shine in their best-of-3 quarterfinals series. In Game 1 of their semis match-up against Meralco, Abueva bucked foul trouble to take charge in the fourth quarter, with Magnolia winning, 88-79.

His superb play earned for Abueva the PBA Player of the Week citation for the period of September 29 to October 3.

During that stretch, the 33-year-old forward averaged 16.5 points and 13.0 rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the floor.

Abueva was dominant in Magnolia's 96-86 closeout win against the Elasto Painters, as he put up 20 points and 19 rebounds in their Game 2 victory.

Three days later, the leading candidate for Best Player of the Conference sparked a 20-3 run in the fourth quarter against the Bolts. Abueva capped the game-changing run with a slam dunk in the final three minutes to put Magnolia firmly in control.

"Calvin adds toughness. 'Yung sistema kasi namin bagay na bagay sa kanya. That's why nung nakuha namin siya, hindi siya nahirapang mag-adjust. 'Yun kasi ang laro niya," Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said.

Apart from Abueva, others considered for the weekly honor were Magnolia teammates Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang, and the TNT Tropang GIGA trio of Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, and Jayson Castro.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The more things you do, the more you can do. - Lucille Ball