‘STILL NO DUTERTE ENDORSEMENT FOR PRESIDENT’
MANILA — President Duterte will not endorse any presidential candidate unless there is a “compelling reason” for him to do so, acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said yesterday.
Andanar made the statement days after Duterte said voters could pick any Ilocano they want to install in Malacañang.
During the inauguration of a farmer’s market in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, a known bailiwick of presidential aspirant Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte told his audience that they may choose which Ilocano leader they want to put in the Palace. He did not mention any presidential candidate.
Duterte made the remark after noting that a majority of his Cabinet men are Ilocanos.
“The President has repeatedly said that he does not support any presidential candidate unless there is a compelling reason. And if you recall the interview we had with the President, he clearly said – he may or he may not. So let us wait for the decision of our President,” Andanar said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Whatever the President said in Ilocos, you know the President, he likes to play with words and he loves to horse around,” he added.
FOLLOWING SC ORDER, COMELEC SUSPENDS ‘OPLAN BAKLAS’ IN PRIVATE AREAS
MANILA — The Commission on Elections on Wednesday afternoon said the removal of election materials in private areas has been put on stop following the order from the Supreme Court.
In a briefing, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that during the en banc meeting of the Commission, “it was agreed that, of course, the Comelec will honor the TRO issued by the SC.”
Prior to the briefing, the SC Public Information Office shared a copy of the TRO it issued, following the petition of supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo to temporarily stop the implementation of parts of Resolution No. 10730. News5 reported that Comelec has received the order before 2:00 p.m.
SC spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka earlier said that the TRO will be deemed effective “upon actual receipt of the order by the person or persons being restrained,” following the Rules of Court.
Jimenez said: “We will continue with our ‘baklas’ operations in public spaces as it is required by law. However, as far as ‘baklas’ in private places, that is held in abeyance in deference to the court.”
The SC also gave the Comelec a non-extendible period of 10 days to file its comment on the petition.
Jimenez said that the Comelec is still “looking to see who will draft comment,” noting that the Office of the Solicitor General has had taken contrary position to the poll body.
PAF GETS 2 ATTACK HELICOPTERS FROM TURKEY
MANILA — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) yesterday received two new T-129 attack helicopters acquired by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from Turkey.
The aircraft arrived shortly after midnight yesterday at Clark Air Base in Pampanga on two A400M transport aircraft of the Turkish Air Force.
PAF spokesman Col. Maynard Mariano said a total of six T-129 attack helicopters were acquired by the government from Turkish Aerospace Industries in line with the AFP modernization program.
Mariano said the contract price for the helicopters totaled P13,727,248,240, including logistics support and training of PAF pilots and crew in Turkey.
The 15th Strike Wing of the PAF will operate the helicopters, which will be utilized for air support to ground troops and armed surveillance as well as reconnaissance operations, according to Mariano.
PHILIPPINES, FRANCE DISCUSS POSSIBLE JOINT PATROLS IN EEZS
MANILA — The Philippines and France are looking into the possibility of holding joint patrols in their exclusive economic zones to develop interoperability.
Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey, joint commander of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific (ALPACI), discussed this possibility with his Filipino counterparts during his two-day working visit in Manila on March 7 and 8, the French Embassy said in a statement.
"We are under the same threat of natural disasters in our overseas territories. The second domain is the protection of our exclusive economic zone. We share the same necessity to protect our resources in our EEZs against threats such as illegal fishing," Rey said.
The French and Filipino defense officials talked about ways to highlight France's commitment to a free, safe and open Indo-Pacific.
The French Embassy said the officials also affirmed their willingness to expand bilateral operations between both forces, particularly in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
OPPOSITION CANDIDATE YOON SUK YEOL WINS SOUTH KOREAN ELECTION
SEOUL, South Korea — A conservative former prosecutor declared victory in South Korea’s presidential election on Thursday after his liberal ruling party rival conceded defeat in a bitter battle in the politically divided nation.
With around 98 percent of the ballots counted as of 4 a.m. (2 p.m. Wednesday Eastern), People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk Yeol won 48.59 percent of the votes, narrowly edging liberal rival Lee Jae-myung, who garnered 47.80 percent.
Yoon thanked his supporters outside his home in the capital, Seoul, after what he described as a “long night.”
He spoke shortly after Lee conceded defeat during a news conference at the campaign office of his Democratic Party, where he congratulated Yoon and called for him to heal the country’s divisions.
Yoon will take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th-largest economy, which is now grappling with stark income inequalities and soaring personal debt and facing growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea.
The tentative turnout was 77.1 percent after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
3-DAY VACCINATION STARTS TODAY
MANILA — The fourth phase of the National Vaccination Days (NVD) starts today with senior citizens and adolescents aged 12 to 17 as top priorities, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
According to DOH, a total of 1.8 million peolple have been targeted for inoculation during the NVD-4 from March 10 to 12.
“The targets that were set for NVD-4 are more contextualized, in consideration of areas with low vaccination rates and coverage,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Vergeire noted the targets are the individuals due for second doses, senior citizens and adolescents.
She added the DOH, Department of Labor and Employment and Civil Service Commission are working to “cover and excuse employees and workers from absences if they are slated to be vaccinated in NVD4.”
GOOGLE LAUNCHES SEARCH TRENDS PHILIPPINES ELECTIONS PAGE AHEAD OF POLLS
MANILA - Google said it has launched a Search trends elections page as Filipinos turn to the internet for information on candidates participating in the May 2022 polls.
The tool makes it easier for journalists and the media to find top queries, topics and most-searched presidential and vice presidential candidates running in the elections, Google said in a statement.
The page also includes data on the top policy issues search in each part of the country including agriculture, economy, education and tourism, among others, the tech giant said.
In a statement, Google Philippines said the Google Trends Philippines Election page is not a poll or survey and does not reflect voting intentions.
"It merely reflects people’s search interest about particular topics at a local level over a period of time. A spike in a particular search query does not reflect that a candidate is somehow “popular” or “winning”," Google said.
All charts from the page are easily embeddable and will continue to be updated even when placed in a website, Google said.
ELEAZAR TO GOVERNMENT: CONSIDER STATE OF ECONOMIC EMERGENCY
MANILA — Former PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the national government should seriously consider declaring a state of economic emergency, explaining that it could empower the local government units (LGUs) to act on their own to assist their constituents who are now suffering the brunt of the series of major oil price hikes.
Eleazar, who is running for senator in the May elections under Partido Reporma, said the state of economic emergency also serves as an assurance for quick and appropriate assistance to the affected sectors at the local level amid the continuous delay in the distribution of fuel subsidy for the transport and agriculture sectors.
“A state of economic emergency is already a necessity if another big-time oil price hike happens next week, and especially if there is still no assurance that oil prices will stabilize in the coming months,” said Eleazar.
“To shield the people from the immediate impacts of expected increases in basic goods and services should be a top priority, especially that we are still recovering from the adverse effects of the pandemic,” he added.
The Philippine government has allotted P2.5 billion for the fuel subsidy for drivers of mass transport vehicles and operators and P500 million for farmers and fishers to help them amid the impact of the price hikes on their livelihood.
DEPED REVIVES PRIVATE EDUCATION OFFICE
MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) has revived an office that will handle the department's mandate to regulate and supervise private education and also provide technical and financial assistance to private schools.
The Private Education Office will be housed at the DepEd's Central Office on Meralco Avenue in Pasig City.
"The PEO is created to take the lead in all matters pertaining to private education lodged in the CO pursuant to the DepEd mandate of reasonable supervision and regulation," a department order issued on March 8, read.
Private schools have been hit by lower enrollment during the pandemic as education was done by module or online as well as by changes brought about by the shift to the K-12 curriculum.
DepEd noted that through the years, there has been no dedicated unit or personnel in the central office to help the education secretary with matters related to private education.
THE REST
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PH RECORDS 580 NEW COVID-19 CASES, SECOND LOWEST THIS YEAR
MANILA - The Philippines recorded 580 additional COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the second lowest daily tally so far this year, based on the government's tracker.
Of the fresh infections, 137 are from Metro Manila.
The country's total cases climbed to 3,669,283, of which, 47,471 are active. ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team head Edson Guido said the number of active infections is the lowest since Jan. 5.
The Department of Health also logged 110 new deaths due to the disease, raising the total to 57,182.
The DOH this week stopped releasing daily COVID-19 bulletins as it seeks to "change how people perceive and how people look at the situation" two years into the pandemic.
WITH INCLUSION IN SERVICE CONTRACTING, JEEPNEY GROUP AGREES TO SET ASIDE CALL FOR FARE HIKE
MANILA — Transport groups have suspended their calls for a fare hike to offset the effects of the fuel crisis brought on by the Russia-Ukraine war, saying they will forgo higher fares to help commuters.
This comes after a number of groups that filed the original petitions before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said that they requested a meeting with Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
In an interview aired over ANC’s "Rundown" earlier Thursday morning, Pasang Masda president Obet Martin said that the national government will instead double the fuel subsidy to P5-billion while traditional public utility jeepneys would officially be included in the service contracting program of the Department of Transportation.
"Traditional jeeps were included in the service contracting, the free rides that will start next week or the other week. This is a big help to drivers," he said in Filipino.
"Tugade appealed for us not to raise our fares. It will affect our recovery from the coronavirus. We agreed to park our call for a pay hike," he also said.
As a result, jeepney drivers will now receive P13,000 in fuel subsidy from P6,500.
6 PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITIES RECEIVE P12 MILLION IN EU GRANTS
MANILA —The European Union awarded 215,000 euros or P12.1 million in grants to six Philippine universities that place access to justice for women and girls at the center of their clinical legal education programs.
The recipients of the grant are Adamson University in Manila, Father Saturnino Urios University in Agusan del Norte, St. Louis University in Baguio City, University of San Carlos in Cebu, University of the Visayas in Cebu and West Visayas State University in Iloilo.
The EU’s Governance in Justice Program or (GOJUST) aims to support the government’s efforts to improve access to justice for all.
A virtual signing ceremony for the grant was held on Tuesday to coincide with the celebration of International Women’s Day.
BAGUIO LIFTS DAILY TOURIST CAP
BAGUIO CITY — There is no more limit to the number of tourists allowed to enter this city.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong lifted the daily tourist cap to allow them to determine the threshold of visitor arrivals without sacrificing the welfare of residents and visitors.
“This is the concept of our recovery. We will again engage with the private and business sectors for us to be able to create that enabling environment. We need to help them recover as we transition to the new normal,” he said.
Magalong said residents and visitors should continue to observe minimum health protocols, such as wearing face masks and practicing good physical hygiene.
ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE
IVANA ALAWI, GERALD ANDERSON, SAM MILBY START TAPING 'A FAMILY AFFAIR'
MANILA – Locked-in tapings for the upcoming ABS-CBN series “A Family Affair” have started with the cast led by Ivana Alawi, Gerald Anderson, Sam Milby, Jake Ejercito and Jameson Blake now filming in Masbate.
On March 3, the Facebook page of Why Masbate Philippines shared photos of the cast arriving in the province.
Alawi herself has also shared a photo by the beach, probably during a taping break.
In the caption, she wrote “BRB” (be right back) before using a heart emoji and a video camera, indicating that they have started filming.
A project involving Alawi, Anderson and Milby was first teased in December 2021, during ABS-CBN’s Christmas special, where the three of them performed together.
Last month, Anderson and Milby, both A-list leading men of ABS-CBN, confirmed that they are set to star in a drama series titled “A Family Affair.”
Separate reels introducing them at the media event teased their upcoming projects. Both included “A Family Affair,” with the title stylized to include what appears to be a drop of blood, hinting at its theme.
During the media conference, Anderson referred to Milby as his onscreen “kuya,” in an apparent indication of their roles in the series.
At the time, Alawi announced through Instagram that she is set to return to acting via an ABS-CBN teleserye, prompting speculation that her leading men in the series would be Anderson and Milby.
Aside from Milby, Anderson, Ejercito and Blake, the full cast of “A Family Affair” has yet to be revealed.
SPORTS
TNT DEF. TERRAFIRMA, 127-107 (PBA) MARCH 9
TNT Tropang Giga (6-4) defeated TerraFirma Dyip (2-9), 127-107 to claim their sixth win and to secure the quarterfinals seat in the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Aaron Fuller led TNT with a double-doube performance of 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting along with 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks and 1 assist in 36 minutes of play. Mikey Williams with a solid game of 16 points (7/20 FG, 2/10 3PT), 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Jayson Castro and Kib Montalbo added 15 points and 12 points, respectively.
The Scores:
TNT 127 – Fuller 24, M. Williams 16, Castro 15, Montalbo 12, Erram 12, Rosario 9, Pogoy 8, K. Williams 8, Reyes 7, Khobuntin 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Marcelo 3, Cruz 0, Heruela 0, Alejandro 0, Banal 0.
TERRAFIRMA 107 – Hester 30, Daquioag 19, Munzon 16, Calvo 9, Batiller 9 Cahilig 8, Go 5, Pascual 4, Ramos 4, Balagasay 3, Camson 0.
Quarters: 30-23, 61-53, 90-77, 127-107
BLACKWATER DEF. MAGNOLIA, 101-100 (PBA) MARCH 9
After losing 29 consecutive games since the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, the Blackwater Bossing (1-10) are finally winners again after defeating the No.1 Magnolia Hotshots (9-2) to claim their 1st victory in the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Shawn Glover led Blackwater in scoring with 33 points (9/15 FG, 1/1 3PT, 14/14 FT), 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and a block. Rey Suerte finished with 16 points (5/10 FG, 6/7 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while veteran guard Jvee Casio with a solid game of 12 points including three 3-pointers along with four assists and three rebounds.
As per SPIN.ph, Blackwater coach Ariel Vanguardia said: “Sana it came earlier in the season, Pero it’s really a process eh. My mistake as a coach is we want to make a lot of changes right away and get the pieces that you like and get the players that you like. Too many changes. Too many injuries. There were games that we could have won that could have turned the season for us. But now, the monkey is off our back.”
The Scores:
BLACKWATER 101 – Glover 33, Suerte 16, Paras 12, Casio 12, Eboña 8, Desiderio 8, McCarthy 6, Ayonayon 6, Melton 0, Washington 0, Amer 0, Amboludto 0.
MAGNOLIA 100 – Barroca 27, Harris 21, Dionisio 14, Lee 12, Wong 7, Reavis 5, Sangalang 5, Dela Rosa 4, Brill 3, Ahanmisi 2, Corpuz 0, Escoto 0.
Quarters: 16-21, 48-45, 71-66, 101-100
NBA SCORES MAR 8
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Nets33-33 34 35 31 32 132
Hornets32-34 20 23 41 37 121
SPECTRUM CENTER, CHARLOTTE, NC
SCORING LEADERS
K. Irving BKN
50 PTS 3 REB 6 AST
M. Bridges CHA
30 PTS 3 REB 3 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Cavaliers38-27 32 31 27 37 127
Pacers22-45 24 39 35 26 124
GAINBRIDGE FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, IN
SCORING LEADERS
D. Garland CLE
41 PTS 5 REB 13 AST
T. Haliburton IND
25 PTS 4 REB 9 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Suns52-13 28 25 26 23 102
Magic16-50 22 21 28 28 99
AMWAY CENTER, ORLANDO, FL
SCORING LEADERS
D. Ayton PHO
21 PTS 19 REB 1 AST
W. Carter Jr. ORL
20 PTS 12 REB
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Pelicans27-38 34 24 26 27 111
Grizzlies45-22 44 33 35 20 132
FEDEXFORUM, MEMPHIS, TN
SCORING LEADERS
C. McCollum NO
32 PTS 6 REB 11 AST
J. Morant MEM
24 PTS 8 REB 8 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Bucks41-25 39 37 29 37 142
Thunder20-45 34 31 28 22 115
PAYCOM CENTER, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
SCORING LEADERS
G. Antetokounmpo MIL
39 PTS 7 REB 7 AST
S. Gilgeous-Alexander OKC
33 PTS 8 REB 14 AST
FINAL
1 2 3 4 T
Clippers34-33 21 15 25 36 97
Warriors44-22 21 33 32 26 112
CHASE CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA
SCORING LEADERS
N. Batum LAC
17 PTS 6 REB 1 AST
J. Kuminga GS
21 PTS 6 REB 6 AST
INDICATORS
FOREX $1 = P 52.23
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. - Jalal ad-Din Rumi
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