MAYORS RECOMMEND ALERT LEVEL 1 FOR NCR BEGINNING MARCH

MANILA - Metro Manila mayors have urged the inter-agency task force (IATF) to place the capital region under the loosest Alert Level 1 beginning March 1, as new COVID-19 cases continue to drop, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Wednesday.

A resolution was unanimously passed by the mayors in Metro Manila regarding the matter, said MMDA General Manager Romando Artes.

"Ang ibig sabihin po nito, minumunkahi po ng Metro Manila council sa IATF na ibaba na po o ide-escalate ang alert level status ng NCR sa Alert Level 1," Artes said in a press briefing.

Under Alert Level 1, intrazonal and interzonal travel would be allowed despite age and comorbidity, according to the Department of Health (DOH) website.

All establishments and activities, meanwhile, will be permitted to operate "full on-site or venue/seating capacity," the DOH said.

BIDEN SAYS RUSSIAN ‘INVASION’ OF UKRAINE IS ‘BEGINNING’

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Russia has begun to invade Ukraine but that there was still time for diplomacy to avoid the "worst case scenario" of a full-blown assault on the country.

"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," the US leader said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared plans to send troops deep into the Donbas region in southeast Ukraine.

"He's setting up a rationale to take more territory by force," Biden said in a nationwide address from the White House.

"And if we listened to his speech last night... he's setting up a rationale to go much further," Biden said.

Biden announced more sanctions targeting Russian finances and political elite, in hopes that the pressure will deter a wholesale invasion.

He said that the United States would continue to supply "defensive" weapons to Ukraine and deploy more US troops to reinforce NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

"There's no question that Russia is the aggressor, so we're clear-eyed about the challenges we're facing," Biden said.

Biden, meanwhile, announced the "first tranche" of sanctions against Russia, including steps to starve the country of financing, saying Moscow had started an invasion of Ukraine.

And Biden threatened tougher steps if Russia "continues its aggression."

"We're implementing sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt. That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western financing," Biden said.

"It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either."

The measures also target VEB, Russia's state development bank, and members of the country's "elites," the US leader said.

"They share the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies, and should share in the pain as well."

The announcement came after the European Union unveiled its own sanctions in a coordinated Western effort to pressure Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

OMICRON VARIANT NO MORE SEVERE THAN ORIGINAL STRAIN: WHO

The BA.2 variant of the omicron coronavirus strain is not more severe than the original, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Based on a sample of people from various countries, "we are not seeing a difference in severity of BA.1 compared to BA.2," Maria Van Kerkhove, a senior WHO official, said in an online question and answer session.

"So this is a similar level of severity as it relates to risk of hospitalization. And this is really important, because in many countries, they've had a substantial amount of circulation, both of BA.1 and BA.2," she said.

Van Kerkhove, who leads the technical side of the WHO's Covid-19 response team, was reporting the findings of a committee of experts tracking the evolution of the virus.

Their conclusions will come as a relief to countries such as Denmark, where the BA.2 variant of omicron has circulated widely.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) announced 1,019 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily tally so far this year, bringing the country's total to 3,654,284.

The positivity rate is at 6.4 percent, based on test results of samples from 18,177 people on Feb. 20, Sunday, according to the latest DOH bulletin.

NEARLY 70 DOMESTIC HELPERS IN HK LACK PLACE FOR HOME QUARANTINE AFTER CATCHING COVID-19 - NGO

The number of domestic helpers needing immediate help with home quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19 has ballooned from a handful to nearly 70 in less than a week, concern groups have revealed.

A coalition of 14 NGOs serving migrant workers' interests told the media on Tuesday they were trying to secure alternative accommodation for the workers, including university dormitories or religious retreat housing, but they were being frustrated by social-distancing rules and red tape.

HELP For Domestic Workers first received urgent calls from five domestic workers last Wednesday who had nowhere to serve their home quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. The number of requests had since jumped to 68, it said.

Fourteen workers were at risk of being homeless on Tuesday night as shelters were filling up quickly, according to the group's executive director, Manisha Wijesinghe.

At one shelter, 11 domestic workers were crammed into a single room, she said, emphasising the situation was "not ideal, especially if people were sick".

Most of the cases involved workers who had finished or terminated contracts and tested positive before departing Hong Kong, Wijesinghe said.

PathFinders chief executive officer Catherine Gurtin said that while donors have stepped forward to help many charities, the situation was changing rapidly.

PAST PRESIDENTS OF PHILIPPINE BAR ASSOCIATION BACK ROBREDO'S MALACAÑANG BID

MANILA — Past presidents of the Philippine Bar Association, the oldest voluntary organization of lawyers in the country, have endorsed the bid of presidential aspirant Leni Robredo who, they said, will return the people’s faith in the government.

Sixteen former presidents of PBA, in a statement, noted that the work of Robredo — a development worker and a human rights lawyer before she become a legislator — speaks of being in a “quest to reach those who have been left behind.”

“For decades, she has been the kind and noble face of the Legal Profession in the most neglected areas. She is the best reminder to our countrymen that the Rule of Law serves the people, not the other way around,” they said.

The lawyers said the next president of the country must inspire people to revive their trust in the government.

Without mentioning names, they continued: “A weary public will continue to question our Tax Laws if they feel their President will shirk from these responsibilities. But a leader who lives a life of transparency and service, will move people to contribute to the nation’s recovery.”

The PBA said they have full confidence of Robredo’s vow to bring back the Rule of Law in the country’s system.

“A rules-based order is the best guaranty of stability. A stable nation is best positioned to defend itself from foreign aggression. And our security interests in the West Philippine Sea are safe with someone like VP Leni,” they added.

EX-SEN. OSMEÑA WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR ISKO OVER STANCE ON ICC PROSECUTION OF DUTERTE

MANILA — Former Sen. Serge Osmeña said he withdrew his support for presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso after he declared he disagrees with the International Criminal Court prosecuting President Rodrigo Duterte.

The government has taken the position that the ICC, which the Philippines left in 2019, has no jurisdiction in the country and that domestic procedures for accountability for abuses exist and are functioning.

"That is precisely why we need the United Nations to investigate those people in our country who are doing things that are not good for the people," Osmeña told ANC’s "After the Fact."

Osmeña now backs Vice President Leni Robredo for president, whom he says is the “best qualified among all the candidates” for Malacañang.

ROBREDO TOPS CEAP SURVEY

MANILA — Vice President Leni Robredo topped a recent survey for presidential candidates conducted by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP).

Robredo garnered 52.75 percent or 1,624 preference votes, followed by former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who got 24.54 percent or 758 votes. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno ranked third with 9.61 percent or 297 votes while Sen. Panfilo Lacson was fourth placer with 3.53 percent or 109 votes.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao landed in the fifth spot with 0.87 percent or 27 votes and labor leader Leody de Guzman received 0.26 percent or eight votes.

CEAP said 8.61 percent of the respondents or 266 voted to abstain.

The Second 2022 National Election Pulse Google Survey conducted by the CEAP Research Unit from Jan. 24 to Feb. 4 used 3,089 respondents belonging to the voting age 18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55 and 56 and older.

Robredo got the highest number of votes in all the age groups, except among the students and alumni groups where Marcos was shown to have the upper hand.

For the vice presidential survey, Robredo’s running mate Sen. Francis Pangilinan also ranked number one with 30.37 percent or 938 preference votes. Marcos’ running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio was at close second with 26.84 percent or 829 votes.

According to CEAP, Robredo dominated in 11 regions while Marcos had the most votes in five regions. Pacquiao only led in one region.

The top 12 senatorial candidates in the CEAP survey are Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero with 1,728 votes; Sen. Risa Hontiveros, 1,569; human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, 1,563; Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, 1,229; Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, 1,216; Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, 1,117; Sen. Joel Villanueva, 1,065; Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, 1,043; Sen. Richard Gordon, 1,042; broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo with 947; former senator Antonio Trillanes IV with 857 and Sen. Leila de Lima with 822 votes.

‘MSMES TO BENEFIT WITH EITHER ROBREDO OR BBM’

MANILA — With micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) making up 99.5 percent of businesses and generating millions of jobs for Filipinos, the choice of the next president of the Philippines will be a crucial one for the country’s millions of small entrepreneurs.

Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said that former senator Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Leni Robredo have presented specific plans to benefit the country’s small enterprises.

“Judging from the platforms they have presented on Go Negosyo’s Kandidatalks forum, both of them understand and prioritize the development of the MSME sector,” he said.

In particular, Concepcion highlighted Marcos’ and Robredo’s plans for helping MSMEs gain easier access to capital.

“I am very hopeful that should either one become the next president of the Philippines, it will be good news for our small entrepreneurs,” he said.

TROLLEY SCHOOL HELPS PHILIPPINE CHILDREN KEEP STUDIES ON TRACK

TAGKAWAYAN - A brightly decorated wooden trolley rumbles down a little-used rail track in the southern Philippines carrying four young teachers, two on the front and two in the back pushing it along with their feet.

Kitted out with a whiteboard, colorful charts, and a stack of books, the tiny, mobile school slides along from village to village three times a week, bringing education to impoverished children near the city of Tagkawayan as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps schools shut in much of the Southeast Asian archipelago.

"It's important that we do this, especially now that there is a pandemic and the children cannot do face-to-face learning," Shaira Berdin, one of nine volunteers who operate the trolley, said in an interview as kids crouched in the grass by the railway track, thumbing through English books.

Tagkawayan is a town of about 54,000 people in Quezon province located nearly 176 km (110 miles) southeast of Manila.

Remote learners in the Philippines have been challenged by a lack of computers, phones and internet, along with uneven education quality. Some children have had to climb onto roofs to get data signals.

Pushing the trolley like a scooter, the volunteers teach math and reading to over 60 children as they go. They started their initiative in November and have collected learning materials from donations to use for their classes.

While stopped, the teachers lift the trolley off the tracks, allowing the use of the whiteboard for spelling lessons, and then move on to counting using flashcards. This also keeps the tracks free for other users.

"Most of these volunteers come from poor backgrounds. They've also experienced hardships in life, which is why they want to help children in need," said 26-year-old teacher Samboy de Leon Niala.

NO ‘MIDNIGHT’ APPOINTMENTS AT COMELEC

MANILA — President Duterte will select the officials to fill vacancies at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) before the appointment ban, his spokesman said yesterday.

“The President is mindful of the deadline, the legal and lawful deadline for the appointment of important appointees to the Comelec,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing.

The appointment ban will start 45 days before the May 9 elections.

Three positions were vacated by Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas and Commissioners Rowena Guanzon and Antonio Kho Jr., who retired this month.

Nograles on Monday said the candidates are undergoing “a stringent merit-based vetting process.”

Malacañang assured the public that the selection process of the new Comelec officials would be “transparent.”

THE REST

========

LOW LAB OUTPUT: PHILIPPINES POSTS 1,019 NEW COVID-19 CASES

MANILA — The number of new COVID-19 cases continue to decline, with yesterday’s tally nearly reaching three digits at only 1,019 cases, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed.

It was in Dec. 29, 2021 when the DOH last recorded a daily tally below 1,000 cases at 889 infections.

Based on DOH’s case bulletin, the number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped starting Feb. 18.

According to DOH, the 1,019 new cases brought the total cases in the country to 3,654,284.

All COVID-19 testing laboratories were operational on Feb. 20 but the agency said that five of them failed to submit their data.

PLDT SAYS BUILDING 100 MW DATA CENTER IN LAGUNA

MANILA - PLDT Inc is building a 100-MW data center located in a 5-hectare property in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The facility will be among the biggest in the space, it said.

Currently, Alibaba Cloud has opened its data center in the country with other hyper-scalers signifying interest to set up shop in the Philippines.

VICO: SORRY FOR CHAOS AT PASIG JOB DRIVE

MANILA — The Pasig City government apologized to the public yesterday after chaos broke out at the opening of applications for the government’s emergency employment program for disadvantaged informal sector workers.

Mayor Vico Sotto said the queue for applications to receive the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) at the Plaza Bonifacio and RAVE Senior Citizen’s Park was orderly at first, based on reports from the local peace and order department.

However, an applicant reportedly shouted that the queues would be sorted per barangay, which prompted confusion and disorderly queueing in Plaza Bonifacio.

At the RAVE Park, an applicant was said to have pushed the gates open, prompting other applicants to rush into the venue.

“Our peace and order officers and local police were in full force and quick to act, that’s why the situations in the two venues were pacified promptly. (The application is via) drop box and there are no interviews, that’s why the queues dissipated quickly despite being long,” Sotto said in a statement.

TUPAD is the Department of Labor and Employment’s emergency employment program for displaced or disadvantaged informal sector workers.

CALOOCAN DENIES SEARCHING FOR ANTI-MARCOS PROTESTERS

MANILA — The Caloocan City government yesterday denied searching for the protesters who held a rally during a caravan of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

On Twitter, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) cited a source from Malaria, Caloocan that the city government launched a search for the protesters, who heckled Marcos’ caravan in front of San Roque Cathedral last Saturday with “Never Again” streamers calling the dictator’s family thieves and protesting the family’s return to power.

“Protesters on the ‘UniTeam’ Caravan on Feb. 19 are now being searched by a local government unit in Caloocan City,” read CEGP’s tweet on Monday night.

The Caloocan city public information office denied the allegation and said there is “freedom of expression” in the city.

“Not true. The Caloocan local government unit believes in freedom of expression,” the public information office said in a statement.

DEPED GIVES PRIVATE SCHOOLS MORE TIME TO ASSESS, ADJUST FEES

MANILA — The education department has extended the application and consultation periods for private schools that want to adjust their tuition rates and other school fees which they will be charging in the school year 2022 to 2023.

The Department of Education (DepEd) said its decision will give private institutions with enough time to assess their fees for the upcoming school year.

"The deadline for consultation is extended from March 30 to June 30, 2022. The deadline for submission of application and documentary requirements is extended from May 15 to August 15, 2022," DepEd said in a Feb. 21 memorandum posted on its website.

The memorandum, signed by Education Secretary Leonor Briones, is a departure from an earlier department order issued in 1997 which says that rates consultations must be completed on or before March 30 of every school year, and that applications must be submitted no later than May 15.

DepEd said its regional directors are in charge of reviewing the adjustments in the increase of tuition and other school fees.

Institutions that wish to get in touch with the agency can reach out to its email address: private.education@deped.gov.ph.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

GEOFF EIGENMANN, MAYA FLORES ARE NOW MARRIED

MANILA -- Almost three years after their engagement, actor Geoff Eigenmann and singer Maya Flores finally tied the knot on Tuesday, February 22.

Photos from their intimate wedding were uploaded on social media by their family and guests.

The couple's Christian wedding was officiated by Pastor Bodie Cruz, the son of screen veteran Tirso Cruz III.

Eigenmann and Flores announced their engagement back in April 2019.

Their engagement comes over a year after they welcomed their first child, Arabella Simone, in September 2017. They welcomed their second child, Angus, in June 2019. The couple's third child, Penelope Rose was born in October 2020.

Currently, Eigenmann, the son of screen veterans Gina Alajar and Michael de Mesa, is one of the stars of ABS-CBN's hit series "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano."

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 51.45

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Three days of uninterrupted company in a vehicle will make you better acquainted with another, than one hour's conversation with him every day for three years. - Johann Kaspar Lavater