GOV'T ADOPTS 10-POINT POLICY AGENDA FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM COVID-19 PANDEMIC

MANILA - The Duterte administration has adopted a 10-point policy agenda meant to accelerate and sustain the country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

EO No. 166, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, March 21 but only made public by Malacañang on Wednesday, laid down the Philippine government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, as recommended by the economic development cluster:

1. Strengthen healthcare capacity

2. Accelerate and expand the vaccination program

3. Further reopen the economy and expand public transport capacity

4. Resume face-to-face learning

5. Reduce restrictions on domestic travel and standardize local government unit (LGU) requirements

6. Relax requirements for international travel

7. Accelerate digital transformation through legislative measures

8. Provide for enhanced and flexible emergency measures through legislation

9. Shift the focus of decision-making and government reporting to more useful and empowering metrics

10. Medium-term preparation for pandemic resilience.

“The State hereby adopts the 10-point policy agenda to sustain and accelerate economic recovery, and to drive broad-based expansions across various productive sectors, in the midst of challenges brought about by the continued persistence of COVID-19,” the order reads.

It also directs government agencies, offices, including government-owned and controlled corporations, and state universities and colleges to make sure that the measures and programs would adhere with the principles.

Duterte directed the COVID-19 task forces to ensure the proper implementation of the 10-point policy, while the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) was tasked to monitor the compliance of concerned agencies and periodically report to the President.

In a statement on Thursday, Presidential Communications Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar confirmed that the President has signed the EO No. 166.

Andanar clarified that the order is part of the country’s efforts to prepare for the new normal.

DUTERTE ISSUES EO LIMITING BILLBOARD SIZE

MANILA — President Duterte has signed an executive order regulating out-of-home advertising signs and billboards, citing the environmental impact of such structures.

In signing EO 165, Duterte said: “Unregulated advertising signs and billboards pose traffic distractions and hazards, constitute threats to public safety and contribute to environmental degradation and urban blight due to their inappropriate location, site glare, size, structural configuration and uncontrolled height limit.”

The EO was signed by the President on March 21.

Duterte also cited the need to “harmonize national and local rules and regulations as part of the strategies on ease of doing business, and in facilitating self-regulation within the advertising industry.”

Duterte, meanwhile, ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to streamline and establish an online platform for permitting and licensing applications and procedures of advertising signs and billboards. A manual application system may still be maintained based on the streamlined applications and procedures.

SARA REJECTS ‘ROSA,’ SAYS MARCOS IS HER ONLY PRESIDENT

QUEZON — For UniTeam vice presidential bet Sara Duterte, her only president is Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., as campaigns to pair her with a different running-mate starts.

In a statement on Wednesday, Duterte, the Davao City mayor, said she wishes to see her with a different running-mate “as a sign of confidence in me as a leader, and for that I am truly, deeply touched and honored.”

But the UniTeam bet stressed she is “a person, a woman, a leader who values commitment and word of honor.”

“I am running for the position of vice president and my president is Bongbong Marcos,” she added.

Marcos, Duterte and their UniTeam slate wooed voters in the provinces of Cavite and Quezon on Tuesday and Wednesday. In both days, they attracted tens of thousands of supporters in grand rallies that culminated each day of sorties.

LACSON QUITS PARTIDO REPORMA TO RUN AS INDEPENDENT

MANILA — Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Thursday said he resigned as chairman of his political party because it decided to support one of his rivals for the presidency.

Lacson, however, said he would not withdraw from the presidential race.

In a statement, Lacson said Partido Reporma president Pantaleon Alvarez informed him on Wednesday that their slate in Davao Del Norte, led by party secretary-general and Governor Edwin Jubahib, "has decided to endorse another presidential candidate."

Lacson since he joined Partido Reporma "at the behest of these top-tier officials", he believed it was "only decent and proper—consistent with my time-honored uncompromising principles" to leave the party.

He did not say which presidential contender the party was supporting instead.

But Vice President Leni Robredo, who is running for president, is scheduled to meet with Jubahib at the Davao del Norte provincial capitol later Thursday.

Lacson said his resignation from Partido Reporma "effectively makes me an independent candidate."

"No matter what, maski ano pang ang mangyari, harangan man ng sibat, hindi kami aatras," he said in a press conference.

"I assure you that I will be your leader and supporter in our shared convictions and aspirations," he added.

Some 3 months ahead of the May 2022 polls, Lacson has lagged in surveys for the presidency. He scored the backing of 2 percent of likely voters in a Feb. 18-23, 2022 poll by Pulse Asia.

Robredo in the same survey was a distant second to former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. He scored 60 percent, while she got 15 percent of the support of likely voters.

THE PHILIPPINES RANKED 2ND HAPPIEST COUNTRY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

MANILA — World Happiness Report announced that the Philippines is the second happiest country in Southeast Asia this year.

Garnering a score of 5.904, the country overall ranked 60th out of 146 countries.

The report measures happiness “based on life evaluations as the more stable measure of the quality of people's lives.”

According to the report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Singapore ranked 1st in the Southeast Asia region, ranking 27th overall with a score of 6.480.

“The most remarkable change seen during COVID-19 has been the global upsurge in benevolence in 2021. This benevolence has provided notable support for the life evaluations of givers, receivers, and observers, who have been gratified to see their community’s readiness to reach out to help each other in times of need,” the report read.

“In every global region, there have been large increases in the proportion of people who give money to charity, help strangers, and do voluntary work in every global region," it said.

The future of happiness will depend on the pandemic situation and the scale of military conflict, it added.

Finland remains the happiest country in the world for the fifth straight year with a score of 7.821. Afghanistan, meanwhile, is at the bottom with a score of 2.404.

NO PROMISES BUT SUAREZ BANKS ON UNITEAM WIN FOR RELEASE OF MARCOS-ERA COCO LEVY

QUEZON — Quezon Gov. Danilo Suarez is pinning his hopes on presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s win for coconut farmers in the province to receive what they were promised under the former senator's father.

Suarez hosted a mini-rally at the Tiaong Convention Center for Marcos, his running-mate Sara Duterte-Carpio and the rest of the UniTeam on early Tuesday morning, with some saying they got to the venue at 4 a.m., around five hours before Marcos was set to address them.

Like in 2016, Suarez is backing Marcos’ bid although the latter lost to Vice President Leni Robredo then. The governor said that, this time, he "can feel the sympathy of the people... I can feel the gut, the feeling of my province mates."

Suarez wants to help catapult Marcos to Malacañang.

"We just want to see his assurance because we are a coconut-producing province that they will help us to support coco levy. Return to farmers the money that was ordered by the Supreme Court, it will not go anywhere except to the coconut farmers," he told reporters after the event.

But has Marcos made any promise to give the coconut farmers receive their dues because of his father’s scheme?

There are none so far, Suarez admitted. "I haven’t asked him yet," he added.

The governor also admitted he would need help from lawmakers for the money to be distributed. "Well, restoring it back to the farmers is an effort that has to be done in the Congress. I need the support of the senator, that is why I am telling senatorial candidates, ‘help us revert back the coco levy," he added.

But will Marcos support a move that will essentially admit that his father did the coconut farmers wrong?

Suarez denied there was ever a scam. “Maling-mali talaga ‘yung sinasabi natin na the coco levy was taken advantage [of] by the crony of Marcos,” he insisted.

The governor of the province where most people are coconut farmers said their money was never stolen.

"It was there, it earned interest. What we cannot implement is the ruling of the Supreme Court during the time of the Yellows that it should be reverted back to the coconut farmers," he added.

BACKED BY SUAREZ ANEW, MARCOS COURTS VOTERS IN QUEZON WHERE HE LOST IN 2016

QUEZON — Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday courted voters of Quezon province, where he lost to Vice President Leni Robredo by more than 171,000 votes in 2016.

Like in the last national elections, Marcos is mounting a campaign—this time to the Palace — with the backing of the Suarez clan of the province that has more than one million voters.

In the morning, Marcos, his running-mate Sara Duterte and UniTeam senators held a supposed mini rally at the Tiaong Convention Center early morning, but as the presidential aspirant remarked, it did not look like a “mini” rally at all.

The convention center was packed, and some supporters had to stay outside the venue because all seats were already taken.

Later Wednesday, the UniTeam again packed another indoor venue: the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

Aside from his staple unity campaign speech, Marcos pitched platforms for the citizens of Quezon: Help Micro Small Medium Enterprises; boost agriculture; ensure that tables are filled and everyone has jobs; strengthen the tourism industry; continue the flagship Duterte program of “Build, Build, Build,” including digital infrastructure, and lower electricity rates.

But ultimately, Marcos stuck to his campaign pitch that this is the time for the Filipino people to unite.

PACQUIAO BARNSTORMS MARCOS BAILIWICK

PROMDI standard bearer Sen. Manny Pacquiao barnstormed Isabela province, Wednesday, even though the area is a known bailiwick of one of his opponents in the May elections, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.

Isabela province has more than 1.1 million voters, and is also part of the so-called "Solid North," or areas that are known for giving solid support to fellow "Ilocanos."

Isabela's voting record in the 2016 elections gave its native Jejomar Binay 372,371 (52%) of its more than 700,000 votes in the presidential race, with fellow candidates Grace Poe and Rodrigo Duterte lagging behind.

Marcos, another Ilokano, received 516,926 (74.72%) votes as against Leni Robredo's 85,317 (12.77%) in the vice presidential race that year.

Pacquiao, at the sidelines of his motorcade and campaign rally in Echague, said he still visited Isabela on the belief that voters now really study the records of every candidate.

"Ang akin lang ay democratic country naman tayo. At ang lahat ay malaya pumili ng kandidato nila. Alam ko hindi naman lahat doon kay BBM. Mayroon naman talagang naghahangad ng tunay na pagbabago, hindi naghahangad para sa isang traditional government. Hindi natin gusto yan," Pacquiao said.

And even though he's inside a Marcos territory, Pacquiao still issued this reminder to Ilocano voters.

"Ang atin lang ay' wag tayo mamimili ng tutulungan natin. Bakit, ngayon lang ba sila pumasok sa pulitika? Pag ngayon lang pumasok sa pulitika, ang akin lang, hindi ako nakikipag-away sa kaniya. Kumbaga, matagal naman na panahon, ang hinihiling ko lang sa taumbayan, si MP, pagbigyan n'yo ng pagkakataon at makita niyo ang kaibahan sa ilang dekadang lumipas," Pacquiao said.

The retired boxing champ also used the occasion to lash at PDP-Laban members who are following Energy Secretary and faction president Alfonso Cusi's order to support Marcos.

"Sorry to say this but, nagiging talagang unang-una trapo. Pangalawa, hindi siguro nagi-isip na nabuo itong partido na ito laban sa pamumuno ni Ferdinand Marcos," he said.

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PHILIPPINES RECORDS 407 NEW COVID-19 CASES, 282 NEW DEATHS

MANILA - The Philippines recorded 407 additional COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, based on the government's tracker.

Of the fresh infections, 123 are from Metro Manila.

The country's total cases climbed to 3,675,384, of which 44,597 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 282 new deaths due to the disease, raising the total to 58,563

PHILIPPINES TO DEPLOY 500 HOTEL WORKERS TO ISRAEL RIGHT BEFORE HOLY WEEK

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is working with Israel to send over 500 Filipino hotel workers as they anticipate the peak of tourist arrivals in the Holy Land.

The DFA said Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog Alberto met with the Israel Hotel Association last week for the deployment of Filipino hotel workers to Israel by the first week of April, right before holy week.

“As Israel reopens its tourism industry, allows the entry of both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers, and eases its travel and health restrictions, its hotel sector will require a full workforce to cater to the expected influx of tourists to the Holy Land,” the department said in a statement.

DEPED TO TAKE OVER SAFETY SEAL ISSUANCE FOR SCHOOLS

MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) will be the issuing authority for the Safety Seal for all schools that will follow its guidelines on holding face-to-face (F2F) classes.

All schools that have passed the safety assessment tool are eligible for the Safety Seal, often a requirement of local government units, according to DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma.

At a recent press briefing, Garma said the agency is also finalizing the guidelines under its joint memorandum circular with the Department of Health (DOH) that were adjusted in response to learning from the F2F pilot study.

“Accordingly, our guidelines on limited F2F are being finalized because we have already adjusted some policies and regulations to be more relevant to the current situation and at the same time, it’s not static, but dynamic to whatever situation that might arise insofar as COVID-19 is concerned,” he added.

The DepEd official noted that a draft has been submitted and is awaiting the signature of the DepEd and DOH secretaries.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

ERICH GONZALES MARRIES BUSINESSMAN BOYFRIEND

MANILA — Kapamilya actress Erich Gonzales tied the knot with businessman Mateo Lorenzo in an intimate church ceremony earlier today.

In a now deleted Instagram story of Andre de Leon Lorenzo, the groom's relative, it can be seen that Erich and Mateo were facing the altar.

The wedding ceremony took place in St. James the Great Parish in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

It can be recalled that their marriage banns were posted in the same church which trended on social media last February.

The couple were silent about their relationship since they began dating in 2017.

"I think it's for the best,” Erich told a fan in a Q&A vlog in 2019.

"I want to protect something so precious to me, something beautiful. I don't want to ruin it so sa akin na lang iyon," she added.

SPORTS

MAGNOLIA DEF. MERALCO, 94-80 (PBA SEMIS GAME 1) MARCH 23

Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots uses strong second half to beat Meralco Bolts, 94-80 in game 1 of the 2021-2022 PBA Governors' Cup Semifinals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Mike Harris led the Hotshots with a double-double performance of game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting along with 16 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal in 41 minutes of play. Jio Jalalon with a solid game of 15 points (6/12 FG, 1/1 3PT, 2/3 FT), 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva added 13 points and 12 points, repectively.

Chris Banchero paced Meralco with team-high 16 points while Bong Quinto added 13 points. Bolts import Tony Bishop finished with 10 points on 5-of-19 shooting (5/13 2PT, 0/6 3PT).

The Scores:

MAGNOLIA 94 – Harris 26, Jalalon 15, Lee 13, Abueva 12, Barroca 9, Dionisio 7, Dela Rosa 6, Wong 5, Sangalang 1, Brill 0, Corpuz 0, Reavis 0.

MERALCO 80 – Banchero 16, Quinto 13, Bishop 10, Newsome 8, Maliksi 7, Black 7, Baclao 6, Hodge 5, Almazan 4, Caram 2, Hugnatan 2, Jose 0.

Quarters: 12-22, 35-43, 64-56, 94-80.

GINEBRA DEF. NLEX, 95-86 (PBA SEMIS GAME 1) MARCH 23

Barangay Ginebra uses strong second half to beat NLEX Road Warriors, 95-86 in game 1 of the 2021-2022 PBA Governors' Cup Semifinals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings with a double-double performance of 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting including three 3-pointers along with 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 1 assist in 42 minutes of play. Veteran guard LA Tenorio with a solid game of 19 points (8/13 FG, 2/5 3PT), 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Scottie Thompson finished with another double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Scores:

GINEBRA 95 – Brownlee 27, Tenorio 19, Thompson 15, Tolentino 11, Standhardinger 10, Chan 7, J. Aguilar 4, Pinto 2, Caperal 0, Enriquez 0, Onwubere 0.

NLEX 86 – Clark 30, Alas 17, Semerad 8, Quinahan 8, Trollano 6, Paniamogan 5, Nieto 4, Rosales 3, Chua 3, Varilla 2, Ighalo 0.

Quarters: 23-29, 43-45, 70-64, 95-86.

NBA SCORES MAR 22

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

Warriors47-25   17        21        36        16        90

Magic20-53       25        21        19        29        94

AMWAY CENTER, ORLANDO, FL

SCORING LEADERS

J. Poole GS

26 PTS 2 REB 6 AST

W. Carter Jr. ORL

19 PTS 8 REB

BOX SCORE    RECAP

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

Hawks36-36      30        34        23        30        117

Knicks30-42      34        24        31        22        111

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK, NY

SCORING LEADERS

T. Young ATL

45 PTS 1 REB 8 AST

R. Barrett NY

30 PTS 13 REB 3 AST

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

Bulls42-30         20        23        26        29        98

Bucks45-27       33        26        32        35        126

FISERV FORUM, MILWAUKEE, WI

SCORING LEADERS

N. Vucevic CHI

22 PTS 7 REB 2 AST

J. Holiday MIL

27 PTS 7 AST

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

Clippers36-38    27        34        27        27        115

Nuggets43-30   37        35        27        28        127

BALL ARENA, DENVER, CO

SCORING LEADERS

T. Mann LAC

24 PTS 8 REB 4 AST

N. Jokic DEN

30 PTS 14 REB 6 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 52.39

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry. - Albert Einstein