UKRAINE WARNS RUSSIA TO 'STORM' KYIV AS WEST SANCTIONS PUTIN
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Russian troops would attempt to take the capital Kyiv before dawn, as Western nations announced personal sanctions targeting Vladimir Putin.
Russian leader Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a new Cold War in Europe.
After Ukrainian forces fought Russian troops advancing on the capital Friday, not long after midnight Zelensky warned the nation to stay on its guard.
"This night will be more difficult than the day. Many cities of our state are under attack," he said in a video address.
"Special attention on Kyiv –- we cannot lose the capital," he added.
"I am turning to our defenders, male and female, on all fronts: this night the enemy will use all the forces it has to crush our defence in a treacherous, harsh and inhumane way," he said.
"Tonight they will attempt a storming" of the capital, he added in an apparent reference to Kyiv.
The United States, Canada, Britain and the European Union announced further sanctions against Russia on Friday, including against Putin himself and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russia said the sanctions against the pair were "a demonstration of the complete impotence of the foreign policy" of the West.
"We have reached the line after which the point of no return begins," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Moscow also vetoed -- as expected -- a UN Security Council resolution that deplored "in the strongest terms" Russia's invasion, while China, Indian and the United Arab Emirates abstained.
DFA: SOME PINOYS WITH FAMILIES IN UKRAINE CONCERNED THEY’D BE FORCIBLY REPATRIATED
MANILA—The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that many Filipinos were still reluctant to fly out of Ukraine, despite Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.
DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo that 181 out of an estimated 300 Filipinos have been accounted in Ukraine.
Even those among the more than 40 Filipinos in the eastern city of Lviv have not decided to avail of repatriation, apparently hoping the war between Ukraine and Russia would be resolved quickly.
"We are encouraging them to please reach out to our people on the ground," Arriola said. "Sana magdecide na po sila kung gusto nilang umuwi, pwede na po. Habang kaya pa po namin mag-stay sa Lviv."
She added that some Filipinos did not want to come into contact with the DFA staff out of fear they would be forcibly brought back to the Philippines. Others hesitated to go home because they have Ukrainian spouses and even children, while some were domestic workers chose to go with their employers.
The undersecretary acknowledged that even the enforcement of mandatory evacuations may not be enough.
"Marami po talaga tayong kababayan na ayaw din talaga umuwi kahit nagbobombahan na," she said. "Nakita po natin ’yan sa Syria. Until now madaming Filipino pa din doon. Kahit sa Libya po."
Arriola called on Filipinos to reach out to the DFA through Philippine ambassadors in Ukraine, as well as the OFW Help Facebook page.
DUTERTE VOWS CLEAN, FAIR #HALALAN2022 UNDER HIS WATCH; WARNS BETS VS FEAR-MONGERING
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte vowed Friday that he would protect every Filipino's right to vote this coming May by ensuring a fair and honest elections.
Duterte, in an interview on state television PTV, said he would treat friends and foes equally by staying "neutral." The President earlier ruled out backing any candidate for the country's top post.
"Pati si Lorenzana, nag-usap kami kahapon na talagang diretsahan. That this election under me would be walang takutan, vote-buying pero hindi mo man matago yan. Itong takutan, patayan, tapos puwersahin mo sarili mo," the chief executive said in an interview special with PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar.
He added that he also asked law enforcement authorities to uphold the Constitution in "producing a clean and honest elections," warning politicians who would plan otherwise.
"Gusto mong maging mayor ka, maging governor, na gusto mo dito banda walang election, you create an artificial scenery there na maging yung environment will not be conducive for a fair and honest elections, maghanap ka ng ibang presidente 'wag sa panahon ko," he said.
"I will be neutral and the military and the police will see to it that the Constitution, the mandated by the Constitution upon their shoulders, will produce a clean and honest elections."
The chief executive last year said he would call on the military to ensure that the rule of law would be implemented in the upcoming polls.
The Philippine National Police in late January, meanwhile, vowed to arrest those threatening or harassing journalists this May elections.
Violence and cheating tactics have marred past elections in some areas in the Philippines.
In 2018, data from the Philippine National Police showed the number of politically motivated killings doubled compared to 2017 as the 2018 election period drew nearer.
DUTERTE SAYS NOT YET ENDORSING SUCCESSOR IN #HALALAN2022
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he is not yet backing any candidate for the country's top post in the upcoming elections, unless there is a "compelling reason" that would urge him to do so.
In an interview aired on state TV, Duterte, whose daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is running for vice president, said he would like to stay neutral as much as possible.
"I may or I may not but preferably, I would like to stay neutral. Ibig sabihin wala akong susuportahan na kandidato. Unless there will be a compelling reason for me to go out or tell the people what it is," the chief executive told Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar.
"I'd like to bide my time, I am not in a hurry," he added.
Duterte noted that if "the interest of the people is at stake," he would be "forced" to give a name.
"Until now I have yet to decide whether or not to support a candidate. At this time nobody is in my mind actually."
DUTERTE APPROVAL STILL NEEDED FOR SHIFT TO LEVEL 1
MANILA — Even as Metro Manila meets the parameters for a shift to Alert Level 1, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said President Duterte’s approval is still needed for the de-escalation of alert level status in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Of course the approval of the President is needed because it is a major shift, from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 1. So we still haven’t really finalized. We will know by Monday and the President may announce if he will approve or not the metrics for deescalation,” he said during the EDSA commemoration day rites yesterday.
The head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said that even if parameters are met, the readiness of local officials should still be gauged if they are prepared to combat another surge in transmission.
He noted that the inter-agency task force is finalizing metrics for the downgrading of NCR to Alert Level 1, and will depend on data analytics if these are met.
The proposal will then be brought to Duterte for approval.
SARA NOT ATTENDING CNN, COMELEC DEBATES
MANILA — Vice Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is not attending the debates organized by CNN Philippines and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), her spokesperson said yesterday.
Duterte and running mate for president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be skipping the CNN debates this weekend. The vice presidential debates are slated today and that for presidential candidates tomorrow.
Mayor Christina Frasco of Laloan, Cebu also denied the announcement made by Comelec spokesman James Jimenez that included Duterte-Carpio as among the candidates participating in the vice presidential debate on March 20.
Frasco said that Mayor Duterte has not even received an invitation from the Comelec, amid its “public announcement of her confirmation to attend the event.”?“Be that as it may, whether or not there is an invitation, Sara Duterte will not be attending the debate,” Frasco stressed.
Jimenez had announced that all vice presidential candidates – except for Deputy Speaker and Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza who is due for surgery on March 20 – have confirmed participation in the Comelec debate.
Marcos also denied confirming participation in the Comelec’s presidential debate scheduled on March 19.
The denial was issued by Marcos’ camp after Jimenez announced that all 10 candidates for president would join the first of its Halalan 2022 debates.
OVER 100 JESUITS BACK ROBREDO-KIKO
MANILA — Over 100 members of the religious order Society of Jesus have endorsed the tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis Pangilinan in the upcoming elections.
“We believe that VP Leni and Senator Kiko display the least self-interest and are the most capable and morally credible to promote truth and social justice, protect our democratic principles and freedoms and pursue our vision for our nation,” the Jesuits said in a statement.
“Using the lens of the Catholic social teaching and following the call of Pope Francis to be politically responsible in view of human dignity and the common good, we issue this statement not as the position of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus or the institutions we serve in, but as an expressed of our hopes for our people and of our personal discernment about the forthcoming national and local elections,” they added.
Among the signatories were Ateneo de Manila University president Roberto Yap, former Ateneo de Manila president Jose Ramon Villarin, Ateneo de Cagayan-Xavier University president Mars Tan and Ateneo de Naga University’s Roberto Exequiel Rivera.
THE REST
========
PHILIPPINES POSITIVITY RATE NEARING WHO-RECOMMENDED LEVEL
MANILA — The country’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases went down to 5.6 percent yesterday, the lowest this year, based on data from the Department of Health (DOH).
This is near the five-percent standard of the World Health Organization to indicate that a country can still manage its COVID-19 cases.
Based on the Feb. 25 case bulletin of DOH, the positivity rate was pegged at 5.6 percent of the 28,039 swab samples tested.
According to DOH, there were 1,671 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the overall tally to 3,658,892 infections. Of this, 55,140 cases are active.
There were 59 fatalities, raising the death toll to 56,224 while the number of recoveries reached 3,547,528 due to 1,586 COVID-19 patients who recovered.
The bulletin showed of the active cases, 49,988 are mild while 2,784 are moderate. A total of 1,424 cases are considered severe and 299 in critical condition.
SC TO PURSUE DIGITALIZED FORMAT IN FUTURE BAR EXAMS
MANILA — The Supreme Court will continue the digitalized format in future Bar examinations, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said, adding it is a “long overdue innovation.”
The first digital and localized Bar examinations took place this month after a nearly two-year wait due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To sustain the momentum of this digital shift, the Court will pursue the conduct of all succeeding Bar Examinations in a computerized format, a long innovation, to align with our strategic plan’s drive towards running all of the judiciary’s adjudicative and administrative systems digitally,” Gesmundo was quoted as saying in a Supreme Court release.
“Thus, I earnestly enlist the Legal Education Board, the Philippine Association of Law Schools, and our esteemed law deans to adopt the necessary changes in policies and methodologies as the Court fully transitions to this new platform for administering the Bar Examinations,” he added.
The chief justice suggested a complementary remodeling of pedagogical tools to maximize the students’ use of technology in their learning and to equip them with adaptive skills that will prepare them not only for a digitized test, but also the digital world.
ENCOUNTER? LUMAD SCHOOLS NETWORK SAY MILITARY ‘MASSACRE’ KILLED 5 IN DAVAO DE ORO
MANILA — A network supporting schools for the Lumad refuted the military’s claim that it had an encounter Thursday with communist rebels in New Bataan, Davao de Oro which resulted in the deaths of five, including two volunteer teachers.
Save our Schools Network said locals in the area denied that there was an encounter there between the military and members of the New People’s Army on that day.
Communist Party of the Philippines information officer Marco Valbuena also said in a tweet that the local NPA unit there also denied that there was an encounter between them and the military.
“What the AFP claims as an ‘encounter’ is in fact a massacre of civilians in the area. And in its attempt to justify these gruesome killings, the armed forces once again twist the truth to play into their narrative as they have done many times before,” SOS said Friday in a statement.
The military claimed troops killed five in an encounter late Thursday, identifying three of them as Gelejurain Ngujo II, Chad Booc and a certain Daday.
SOS said Ngujo and Booc are volunteer teachers at Lumad schools.
Booc was one of the seven arrested in February in a police raid on the retreat house of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City where Lumads and their teachers were temporarily taking shelter.
Police accused them of kidnapping, child exploitation and human trafficking — complaints which were later dismissed by the provincial prosecutor of Davao del Norte for lack of jurisdiction, insufficiency of evidence and lack of probable cause.
Booc was also among the dozens who questioned the much-feared anti-terrorism law before the Supreme Court.
For Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, 1001st Infantry Brigade commander, Booc’s killing proves that Lumad schools have become breeding grounds for communist rebels — a claim that has long been propagated by state forces and repeatedly refuted by students and teachers of these educational institutions.
“The AFP must have been incredibly desperate to exact revenge for its failed narrative of painting out Chad Booc as a child trafficker nor the Lumad schools being breeding grounds of NPA rebels,” SOS said.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
ELLEN ADARNA, DEREK RAMSAY FLY TO AFRICA FOR HONEYMOON
MANILA -- Ellen Adarna and Derek Ramsay are finally having their honeymoon in Africa, three months after tying the knot.
Joining them in their trip is Modesto Elias, Adarna's son with former boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz.
Adarna and Ramsay have been sharing photos and videos in their respective Instagram pages as they expressed excitement over their honeymoon.
In a recent Q&A she conducted on Instagram, Adarna opened up about her plans of having a baby with Ramsay.
"When we are both ready, dai, it will happen. Chill," she said in response to a fan.
Ramsay, for his part, earlier said he wants to have a child with Adarna "probably next year."
The celebrity couple tied the knot in Bagac, Bataan last November, nine months after they confirmed their relationship to the public.
Ramsay proposed to Adarna in March 2021, just days before reaching the second month of their relationship.
SPORTS
NBA SCORES FEB 24
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Cavaliers35-24 33 22 27 21 103
Pistons14-45 27 25 28 26 106
LITTLE CAESARS ARENA, DETROIT, MI
SCORING LEADERS
L. Markkanen CLE
22 PTS 6 REB 1 AST
H. Diallo DET
21 PTS 6 REB 1 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Celtics35-26 35 32 30 32 129
Nets31-29 22 30 22 32 106
BARCLAYS CENTER, BROOKLYN, NY
SCORING LEADERS
J. Tatum BOS
30 PTS 7 REB 4 AST
S. Curry BKN
22 PTS 7 REB 1 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Hawks28-31 19 31 32 26 108
Bulls39-21 24 28 30 30 112
UNITED CENTER, CHICAGO, IL
SCORING LEADERS
B. Bogdanovic ATL
27 PTS 5 REB 3 AST
D. DeRozan CHI
37 PTS 6 REB 3 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Grizzlies41-20 31 25 27 31 114
Timberwolves32-28 21 32 31 35 119
TARGET CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS, MN
SCORING LEADERS
Z. Williams MEM
21 PTS 4 REB 1 AST
D. Russell MIN
37 PTS 2 REB 9 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Suns49-10 31 17 37 39 124
Thunder18-41 14 31 32 27 104
PAYCOM CENTER, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
SCORING LEADERS
D. Booker PHO
25 PTS 5 REB 12 AST
S. Gilgeous-Alexander OKC
32 PTS 2 REB 5 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Nuggets34-25 35 28 29 36 128
Kings22-39 25 33 29 23 110
GOLDEN 1 CENTER, SACRAMENTO, CA
SCORING LEADERS
W. Barton DEN
31 PTS 5 REB 3 AST
D. Sabonis SAC
33 PTS 14 REB 5 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Warriors43-17 31 39 30 32 132
Trail Blazers25-35 32 25 16 22 95
MODA CENTER AT THE ROSE QUARTER, PORTLAND, OR
SCORING LEADERS
S. Curry GS
18 PTS 5 REB 14 AST
A. Simons POR
24 PTS 3 REB 3 AST
RUSSIA STRIPPED OF MAJOR SPORTS EVENTS, AS INVASION OF UKRAINE INTENSIFIES
As Russian forces moved deeper into Ukraine on Friday, sports bodies moved quickly to strip Russia of events, with St Petersburg losing the Champions League final while the Formula One Grand Prix will not be held in Sochi.
Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin, with an estimated 100,000 people fleeing as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities.
European football governing body UEFA decided to relocate the Champions League final -- club football's showpiece event -- to the Stade de France in Paris after receiving support from French President Emmanuel Macron.
The decision was met with regret by the Kremlin but welcomed by UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
"Russia must not be allowed to exploit sporting and cultural events on the world stage to legitimize its unprovoked, premeditated and needless attack against a sovereign democratic state," Dorries said.
Formula One, motorsport's governing body FIA and the teams discussed the situation and came to the conclusion that it was "impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances".
The race, which joined the calendar in 2014, was scheduled for Sept. 25 at Sochi's Olympic Park. On Thursday, both former champion Sebastian Vettel and reigning champion Max Verstappen said it was "wrong" to race in Russia.
After Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic refused to play World Cup qualifiers in Russia, UEFA said home games of Ukrainian and Russian club and national teams competing in UEFA competitions would be played at neutral venues.
That could affect Spartak Moscow's chances in the Europa League after they were drawn with German side RB Leipzig. The Russian team had the advantage of being seeded for the draw but will now have to play the second leg at a neutral venue.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged international sports federations to either move or cancel sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus.
INDICATORS
FOREX $1 = P 51.34
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people. - Abraham Joshua Heschel
Comments (0)