COMELEC MONITORS SOCIAL MEDIA SPENDING OF CANDIDATES

MANILA – The Commission on Elections on Monday said it is monitoring the social media spending of candidates, noting there is no law regulating election ads on social media.

"Sa social media titingnan lang natin kung magkano ang ginastos nila, yun lang. Wala silang limitasyon, sa dalas ng labas nila ng kanilang mga ads,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said in an interview on TeleRadyo.

“Hindi ito katulad ng pagkokontrol o pagre-regulate ng Comelec like halimbawa, sa broadcast advertising, kung saan ang mga kandidato ay meron limitadong dami ng minutong puwedeng ilabas na advertising. Walang ganoong batas kasi for social.”

“So kung ang pag-uusapan natin ay regulation of social, social media campaigning, kailangan muna natin first and foremost, kailangan natin ng batas,” he added.

Jimenez said they will be monitoring candidates’ spending on social media ads once the campaign period starts on February 8 for national candidates, and March 25 for local candidates.

Several campaign teams have been working to drive more engagements in the social media pages of several political aspirants months before election day, as physical campaigning is expected to be limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A campaign strategist, however, said that having a strong social media presence, even during a pandemic, does not guarantee an election victory.

As part of innovations to adapt to the pandemic, the Comelec Education and Information and Education Department (EID) is also planning to provide a platform for free livestreaming of e-rallies of national candidates.

Each presidential, vice-presidential and senatorial candidate and party-list organization shall be allotted e-rally time.

At the start of the election period, on January 9, 2022, the EID shall release a schedule of e-rally time slots; the slots shall be assigned at random, based on the results of a televised raffle on January 8, 2022.

Beginning February 6, 2022, two days before the official start of the campaign period, e-rallies shall be livestreamed every night on all Comelec official social media channels and accounts.

Three presidential and three vice presidential candidates with 10-minute slots, five senatorial bets with 3-minute slots, and 10 party-list candidates with 3-minute slots will be aired every night.

PHILIPPINES VACCINATES MORE THAN 1,500 MINORS VS COVID-19; 2 REPORT SIDE EFFECTS

MANILA – More than 1,500 children have been vaccinated against COVID-19, with 2 minors reporting side effects of allergy and hypertension, the Department of Health said Monday.

“We have a total of 1,509 children that were already vaccinated,” Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview on TeleRadyo.

“So ito naman po’y isang magandang pakita na ang talagang ating mga magulang tsaka yung ating mga kabataan ay talagang may kumpiyansa dito sa ating bakuna,” she added.

She also noted that only a few adverse reactions to the vaccines were reported to them.

“Itong nai-report naman sa atin ay dalawa ay about anxiety, anxiety-related, meron po isang nag-allergies pero pagkatapos ay natugunan agad at natapos din naman, at meron naman pong isa na parang nagkaroon ng pagtaas ng presyon, but after two hours nag-stabilize,” she explained.

Vergeire said they are now looking at ways to improve the vaccination process for minors before this is rolled out to vaccination centers in various local government units.

“Meron ho tayong nakalinya na, na gagawin natin na pagkatapos nitong mga nasa ospital na ginawa natin, we will be rolling out into our local government vaccination centers. So siguro po in two to three weeks titingnan natin kung puwede na po sa ibang lugar.”

The inoculation program will expand to 17 hospitals in Metro Manila beginning Oct. 22, according to the DOH.

COLMENARES WELCOMES PACQUIAO, LEODY DE GUZMAN ENDORSEMENT IN 2022 ELECTIONS

VP Leni camp eyes one more senatorial candidate

MANILA - Former partylist lawmaker Neri Colmenares on Sunday welcomed his inclusion in the senatorial slates of presidential aspirants Senator Manny Pacquiao and Leody de Guzman.

Colmenares made the remark after his non-inclusion in the 11-strong senatorial lineup of Vice President Leni Robredo, which her spokesman said has yet to be completed. Robredo is also eyeing the presidency in the May 2022 polls.

The Makabayan bloc chairman earlier said former senator Antonio Trillanes IV wanted him out of Robredo's Senate slate and that the bloc missed the chance of consulting with the presidential bet.

"This endorsement and expression of support for me and KMU Chairman Elmer Labog, is a sign that he recognizes the need for candidates in the Senate that will push for the legislative agenda of workers, the farmers and the marginalized sectors in our country today," Colmenares said of Pacquiao.

"The recognition and support of a presidential candidate, like Sen. Pacquiao, is very important for candidates like me who rely on the support of ordinary Filipinos in our campaign. We value such unconditional endorsement."

He also thanked labor leader de Guzman for his endorsement.

'SINS OF THE FATHER': RAFFY TULFO SAYS BONGBONG MARCOS SHOULD NOT APOLOGIZE

"Kasalanan nung tatay, bakit magiging kasalanan ng anak?"

Senatorial candidate Raffy Tulfo on Monday said he sees no need for presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to apologize after his family was accused of massive corruption while in power.

Speaking to ANC's Headstart, Tulfo said issues of ill-gotten wealth against the Marcos family should be left up to the courts.

He added that it would be unfair for him to dictate to the younger Marcos to apologize for the issues hurled against the Marcos family.

The Marcoses amassed an estimated $5 to $10 billion, or more than P500 billion, in ill-gotten wealth, based on the World Bank-United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Stolen Asset Recovery report.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government, the agency tasked with recovering billions of dollars plundered by Marcos and his allies, had recovered a total of P170 billion in the past 30 years.

"Kasalanan nung tatay, bakit magiging kasalanan ng anak? Why would he apologize for something that he did not do, na ang may kagagawan ay tatay niya? Opinyon ko yan," Tulfo said.

"Bakit yung kasalanan ng kamag-anak ipinapasa sa isang kamag-anak? Because I myself [have] been a victim of that. Just because nagkaroon ng isyu yung mga kapatid ko na kaapelyido ko, pati ako nadadamay. Dapat hindi ganun."

"Give the other relative na walang kinalaman sa kaso a chance na para maprove ang sarili niya."

In the interview, Tulfo confirmed that he was in talks with the Marcos camp to be included as a guest candidate but said he is still hammering out some issues.

"Pinag-uusapan pa yan ng grupo ko at grupo niya. Meron lang kaunting mga bagay-bagay na mukhang hindi pa muna kayang maging guest candidate ako for one reason or another. Pinaplantsa yan," he said.

Tulfo topped Pulse Asia's latest survey on the Filipinos' preferred senatorial candidates for the 2022 national elections. Tulfo led the list of preferred candidates with 55.2 percent backing among respondents.

TULFO REVEALS PACQUIAO ASKED HIM TO RUN AS HIS VP

MANILA - Broadcaster and senatorial aspirant Raffy Tulfo on Monday said the camp of Sen. Manny Pacquiao asked him to run as the lawmaker's vice president in the 2022 elections.

"It was the camp of Sen. Manny Pacquiao and I courteously turned it down," he told ANC's Headstart.

"Sinabi ko na napakabilis naman ata agad yun bang paglundag, vice president agad. Sabi ko, isa pa, hindi ko puwedeng banggain si Pangulong Duterte dahil siya’y kaibigan ko. Isa pa, nandiyan si Sen. Tito Sotto, di ko rin puwedeng banggain. Pumayag naman sila," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier accepted the nomination by a wing of the PDP-Laban Party, but it was his longtime aide, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, who filed his certificate of candidacy for vice president. Senate President Sotto, meanwhile, is the running mate of Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Pacquiao tapped Deputy Speaker and Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza to be his vice president.

Tulfo, who is gunning for a Senate seat, was included in Pacquiao's slate along with several senators up for reelection and former lawmakers seeking a comeback. The lineup also includes a labor leader and human rights lawyer.

The broadcaster said he also accepted the offer of presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson to be a guest candidate in his senatorial slate.

He added that he has also talked to presidential candidates Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, former senator Bongbong Marcos, and Vice President Leni Robredo.

"Yes, talked to him (Marcos). Pinag-uusapan pa yan ng grupo ko at grupo niya, meron lang bagay-bagay na hindi pa muna kaya maging guest candidate ako for one reason or another," he said.

QR CODE-POWERED UNIFIED LOGISTICS PASS SYSTEM COMING UP

MANILA — The government is coming up with a QR code-powered Unified Logistics Pass (ULP) system aimed at speeding up the issuance and validation of certificates of public convenience (CPCs) forlogistics firms and their vehicles.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it is collaborating yet again with the DEVCONNECT Philippines (DEVCON) group of developers led by technopreneur Winston Damarillo to further improve the ULP system.

DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña said they are confident in repeating the successful collaboration between the department and DEVCON for the Rapid Pass last year with the current effort to enhance the ULP with the installation of a unified quick response code or QR code feature that can be easily scanned by checkpoint inspectors.

The RapidPass system earlier developed by DEVCON and the DOST hastened the movement of Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR) and their vehicles also using QR code technology through police checkpoints during the lockdowns imposed last year.

The ULP is a mechanism to speed up the process for the issuance and validation of CPCs. Logistics companies may apply for the ULP upon application for a CPC which is issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Once approved, logistics companies shall be given the QR code which can be easily scanned by different government authorities, including ports and economic zones, thereby eliminating the need for Philippine Economic Zone Authority stickers and LGU passes, among others.

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PHILIPPINES CONFIRMS NEARLY 7K NEW COVID CASES, MORE THAN 10K NEW RECOVERIES

MANILA - The Philippines confirmed 6,913 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 2,720,368.

The Department of Health also reported 10,237 new recoveries, pushing the total number of Filipinos who recovered from the disease to 2,598,052.

This means that the country has a total of 81,641 active cases as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

Ninety five new deaths were also reported, bringing the country’s death toll from the disease to 40,675.

A group of doctors on Sunday said it was worried over Metro Manila's downgrade to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 as health workers have yet to breathe following the recent surge of virus cases.

The country is still struggling to ramp up its vaccine rollout. The government has said that it wants to inoculate over 77.1 million Filipinos by the end of the year.

23 CONFIRMED DEAD FROM 'MARING': NDRRMC

MANILA — Twenty-three people have been confirmed dead following the onslaught of severe tropical storm Maring in the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday.

In its latest situational report, the NDRRMC said landslides and flash floods triggered by Maring in Northern Luzon and Visayas reportedly caused 40 fatalities, of which 23 have been confirmed while 17 are still up for validation.

The reported casualties are from Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Palawan, and Benguet provinces.

Sixteen people are missing, the disaster agency reported, adding that it was also validating the case of 2 others.

The storm led to P2.17 billion worth of damage to agriculture and destroyed infrastructure worth P1.056 billion.

Maring damaged nearly 7,400 houses in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Cordillera Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and Caraga.

Some 284 road sections and 34 bridge sections were also affected by the storm, based on the report.

Four areas in the Ilocos region are still experiencing communication outage or issues.

The government has provided assistance worth P35 million to the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Mimaropa and Cordillera Region, according to the NDRRMC report.

METRO MANILA MAYORS TO CLARIFY RULES ON ALLOWING KIDS OUTDOORS

MANILA — Metro Manila mayors will soon release a resolution to establish clear guidelines on the government’s decision to allow minors outdoors, San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said yesterday.

Zamora, who earlier said he wants to maintain the age bracket allowed outdoors to those 18 to 65 years old, said the Metro Manila Council would be releasing the guidelines, which include the prohibition of 17-year-olds and below from heading to malls.

“So, where are kids allowed? They can go to outdoor areas to exercise. Should they need to buy food or medicine, that’s also allowed,” Zamora said in an interview aired over Teleradyo.

“Just so it could be clearer, the MMC will release guidelines formally very soon because last time, an agreement has already been reached,” he added.

Zamora explained that while kids are allowed to buy food, they are not allowed to avail themselves of dine-in services as it requires them to remove their masks and be in an environment filled with other people, which the Metro mayors believe would place them at high risk of infection.

“We will not yet allow that and that’s been agreed upon by the MMC,” he said.

Meanwhile, kids who have an employment status that allows their age can also head outdoors.

DENR ‘OVERWHELMED’ BY PUBLIC RECEPTION OF DOLOMITE BEACH

MANILA — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said yesterday it is overwhelmed by the “strong public reception” of the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach when it reopened over the weekend after quarantine restrictions were eased in the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3.

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the public, which made the reopening of the Manila Bay Dolomite Beach successful,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.

Cimatu maintained that health and safety protocols were strictly observed by the visitors, adding that DENR personnel and security marshals are manning the area.

The 140-meter beach area, which was reopened to the public on Saturday, comprises the Phase 1 of the DENR’s Manila Bay beach nourishment project.

Cimatu said aside from promoting positive mental health, the dolomite beach project also serves as another location for viewing the scenic Manila Bay sunset along the Baywalk.

“We will gradually expand the area accessible to the public for viewing in the coming weeks as we progress on with the completion of the project,” Cimatu said.

The dolomite beach briefly opened last July, with 120 visitors per batch allowed to stay for five minutes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

This time around, Cimatu said visitors may stay as long as they want but only 300 people are allowed in the area during the adjusted visiting hours from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cimatu said there is no need for people to be vaccinated to enter the premises, but wearing of face masks is mandatory while the use of face shield is optional.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

GINO ROQUE DEFENDS 'PASABUY' CO-STAR HEAVEN PERALEJO

MANILA -- Actor Gino Roque defended his "Pasabuy" leading lady Heaven Peralejo, saying she is totally the opposite of what some netizens are saying on social media.

"There are so many things people are saying online but you know I just want to say that I personally know Heaven. And I think I know Heaven better than most people who are commenting. She is totally the opposite of what people are saying. ...She is such a sweet, caring person. ...Working with Heaven is such a breeze to be honest," Roque said in Star Magic's Inside News.

Peralejo made headlines these past months for what appeared to be her short-lived relationship with actor Kiko Estrada.

For her part, Peralejo said she appreciates Roque as an actor and also as the series' producer.

"To be honest hindi ko naman alam na producer siya ng show. And na-appreciate ko 'yon kasi of course kapag nasa scene tayo you just want to see John -- John kasi 'yung name ni Gino. And before kami mag-take sometimes kinukuha siya ni Direk Xian (Lim) and nakikita ko na he is willing to learn," Peralejo said.

"And, I can say na he's very flexible as an actor and very easy to work with," the actress added.

Written and directed by Xian Lim, the quarantine-inspired series “Pasabuy” follows Anna (Peralejo), a young executive at a crossroads, and John (Roque), an aspiring musician, who cross paths at a beach resort and get stranded there when a lockdown is enforced.

Former "Pinoy Big Brother" housemates Ralph Malibunas, Ella Cayabyab and Gail Banawis are also part of the series.

The romantic comedy is streaming on WeTV Philippines.

SPORTS

TNT ELIMINATES SAN MIGUEL, 97-79, ADVANCES TO FINALS (PBA) SEMIS GAME 7

TNT Tropang GIGA uses strong second quarter to beat San Miguel Beermen, 97-79 in semis do-or-die game 7 in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

RR Pogoy led TNT with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting including 4 three-pointers along wth 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 38 minutes of play. Rookie Mikey Williams with a solid game of 20 points (5/14 FG, 3/7 3PT), 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Troy Rosario with a double-double game of 12 points and 12 rebounds while Kelly Williams had his own double-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 1 assist.

The Tropang GIGA will meet the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in a best-of-7 PBA finals.

The Scores:

TNT 97 - Pogoy 27, M. Williams 20, Rosario 12, K. Williams 11, Erram 9, Reyes 7, Castro 6, Heruela 3, Khobuntin 2, Exciminiano 0, Montalbo 0, Marcelo 0.

SAN MIGUEL 79 - Fajardo 22, Ross 15, Perez 11, Romeo 9, Santos 9, Pessumal 8, Cabagnot 3, Tautuaa 2, Lassiter 0, Zamar 0, Comboy 0, Gamalinda 0, Sena 0.

Quarters: 15-23, 45-36, 67-55, 97-79.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. - W. Somerset Maugham