INFLATION QUICKENS FURTHER TO 5.4 PERCENT IN MAY

MANILA - Inflation further accelerated in May as oil and other commodity prices remained elevated, government data released Tuesday showed.

The consumer price index rose 5.4 percent for the month, faster than the 4.9 percent in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

The figure is within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' projected range of of 5 to 5.8 percent inflation for the month. This was much higher than the government target range of 2 to 4 percent.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport are among the biggest contributors to the month's inflation, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a press briefing.

Inflation is likely to remain elevated in the coming months as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has an impact on global crude oil prices, persists, analysts have said.

For the whole of 2022, inflation is likely to average 4.6 percent before falling within the target range by 2023, the BSP said.

The BSP earlier hiked the benchmark interest rate to 2.25 percent from 2 percent for the first time in over 3 years to temper inflation.

DUTERTE TELLS FILIPINOS TO 'COME TO TERMS WITH REALITY', SUPPORT INCOMING ADMINISTRATION

MANILA - Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night urged Filipinos to accept the results of the recent elections and support the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"'Yung payo ko sa lahat, and I hope everybody would come to terms with the reality that we have a new government, and I urge my, kayo, Filipino, to rally behind and support the new leaders," Duterte said in a taped public briefing.

He also said he wants the next administration to be successful.

"We want the next administration successful. We must all be united in confronting the issues ahead of us. We have no room for politicking or actions that are divisive to the country," Duterte said.

"Nagsalita na ang tao, may mga leader tayo. And me, wala na ako. I will say nothing. Ang ayaw ko, baka may maiwan pa, namumulitika pa rin, or just plain criticize itong bagong administrasyon. You do not do that," he added.

Duterte urged everyone to support Marcos Jr. and respect the choice of the majority.

"President-elect Marcos would need the help and cooperation of everybody. We must give it to him. That's democracy and that is how we operate. 'Pag nagsalita na 'yung taong bayan kung sino 'yung mga lider na gusto nila, sunod tayo. Iwasan ninyo ang politika at lahat noong mga kaibigan ko, nagsuporta sa akin, we rally behind the elected leaders of our country," he said.

DUTERTE URGES POLICE, MILITARY TO CONTINUE WAR VS DRUGS

MANILA - Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the military and the police to continue the fight against illegal drugs in the country.

Duterte, whose infamous war on drugs is the subject of a suspended inquiry by the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity, said he is worried about the persistence of the illegal drug trade despite his administration's crackdown.

"That is what worries me, kasi mukhang, even despite of my warning, lalo pang lumalaki tuloy ang naembargo na nakuha ng pulis...Despite of my dire warnings, ang droga lumalaro laro pa rin. Paano 'to?" he said in a public briefing aired late Monday.

"'Yun ang worry ko. As an outgoing president, I'm scared because of the penchant really of people to do drugs because of the money," Duterte added.

Duterte was referring to the suspected shabu worth at least P12 billion seized by authorities in March.

The several blocks of alleged high-value shabu were recovered in sealed sacks with Chinese markings, while 10 men inside the vans were arrested.

The authorities said 600 Chinese teabags were used to contain the contraband, which weighed 1.5 metric tons in total.

According to Duterte, it is good that the military and the police are still working against illegal drugs, despite rogue personnel within their ranks.

"Mabuti na lang that our institutions are there, really. I still trust the police. Mayroong mga scalawags, mayroon din namang nasa droga, pero few of them. And yet the police have to police its own ranks," he said.

"I would like to encourage the PNP to remember their country, irrespective of kaming mga leaders, kung sino, dumadaan lang naman kami. We are just a passing scene sa ating national, sa history natin," Duterte added.

'TIGIL-PASADA POSIBLE SA GITNA NG PUBLIC TRANSPORT MODERNIZATION'

MAYNILA—Posible magkaroon ng tigil pasada ang mga driver at operator sa gitna ng public transport modernization, ayon sa isang transport group.

Ayon kay Juliet de Jesus, managing director ng Samahan Ng Mga Transport Operators Ng Pilipinas, isa sa kahilingan ng mga bus operator na ibalik ang dating mga ruta ng city buses.

Aniya, ang mga pasahero ang nagsasakripisyo dahil sa ginawang rationalization ng ruta ng mga bus. Hindi umano kinunsulta ang grupo nila sa isinagawang rationalization.

Ayon kay De Jesus, marami nang naging utang ang mga operator dahil sa ipinatupad na public transport modernization ng DOTR.

Saad naman ni Robert “Ka Obet” Martin, presidente ng Pasang Masda, hindi solusyon ang tigil-pasada sa problema ng transportasyon.

Umaasa sila na sa susunod na administrason ay maiintindihan ang problema ng mga operator.

ISIS REGIONAL SPOX KILLED IN MAGUINDANAO – STATE TV

MANILA — A man who is supposedly the spokesperson of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in East Asia was killed Monday afternoon by the military in an operation in Maguindanao, state television reported.

Aside from being a spokesperson, Abu Huzaifah — identified in other reports as Abdulfatah Omar Alimuden — was also supposedly in charge of financial transactions of the Daulah Islamiyah – Philippines to ISIS central.

Reports did not provide any other details on the death of Alimuden.

According to Washington-based online news magazine The Diplomat, the so-called East Asia province of ISIS spans Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

This ISIS branch is led by Abu Zacharia, who is also known as Jer Mimbantas and Faharudin Hadji Satar, the chief of the ISIS-inspired Maute group that laid siege to the city of Marawi in 2017.

MARCOS RECEIVES ASEAN, ITALY ENVOYS

MANILA — President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday received the third batch of ambassadors from various countries who affirmed their support for his incoming administration.

Paying their courtesy calls on Marcos at his headquarters in Mandaluyong City yesterday were Ambassadors Johariah Wahab of Brunei Darussalam and Marco Clemente of Italy.

Wahab also paid her courtesy visit to Marcos as one of the representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Joining Wahab were Thailand Chargé d’ Affaires Thawat Sumitmor as well as Ambassadors Songkane Luangmuninthone of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Phan Peuv of Cambodia, Agus Widjojo of Indonesia, Gerard Ho of Singapore and Hoang Huy Chung of Vietnam.

The visits were closed to the press. But in a briefing afterwards, press secretary-designate Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos and Clemente discussed four areas of cooperation – political, economic, person-to-person cooperation and COVID pandemic recovery.

“On the political aspect, the ambassador noted that this is the 75th year of Italian-Philippine diplomatic relations. On the economic front, they talked about possible cooperation in infrastructure projects. They also talked about COVID and cooperation on learning about COVID responses and opening up the economy,” Angeles said.

“On person-to-person cooperation, the ambassador noted his appreciation of the Filipino community in Italy. He also (revealed) his plan to bring the Inter Milan football club here on an inter-campus project to benefit children in need and to promote football,” Angeles added.

Angeles said she has yet to get details about the meeting between Marcos and Brunei’s Wahab.

But in a post on his official Twitter account, Marcos said he and Wahab discussed various areas of collaboration especially in the field of health, labor, education and culture.

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PHILIPPINES REPORTS 599 SEVERE, CRITICAL COVID-19 CASES

MANILA - The Philippines' health department said Monday 599 or 11.1 percent of COVID-19 patients in hospitals were in severe and critical condition.

The figure is lower than the previous week's 679 severe and critical patients who comprised 12.3 percent of COVID-19 hospital admissions at the time.

This is the highest number of new severe and critical cases in 5 weeks or since the week of April 25 to May 1, when the country reported zero new severe and critical cases, according to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, citing DOH data.

A total of 386 or 14.7 percent of 2,632 intensive care unit (ICU) beds for COVID-19 patients were occupied as of Sunday, the Department of Health said in its latest bulletin.

MGA GASOLINAHAN DINAGSA MULI DAHIL SA PANIBAGONG OIL PRICE HIKE

MAYNILA—Hindi inalintana ng ilang motorista ang mahabang pila sa isang gasolinahan sa Alabang Zapote Road sa Las Pinas City, Lunes ng gabi.

Halos dalawang oras nagtyagang pumila ang mga motorista ilang oras bago ipatupad kanina ang malakihang taas presyo sa petrolyo.

Ang iba sa kanila ay dumayo lang talaga dito dahil mas mura raw ng ilang piso ang kanilang singil kumpara sa ibang gasolinahan.

Ganon din ang sitwasyon sa gas station sa Doña Soledad sa Parañaque. Halos hating gabi na pero umapaw pa rin ang mga sasakyan sa kalsada.

Ayon sa mga motorista, tiniis nila ang mahabang pila dahil importante makatipid ngayong nagmamahal na rin ang presyo ng ibang pangunahing bilihin.

Paliwanag nila, malaki na ang pinagbago kanilang pamumuhay ngayong taon dahil sa sunod-sunod na pagsirit ng presyo ng krudo.

COURT JUNKS NAPOLES BID TO DISMISS ‘PORK’ CASE

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has denied the petition of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles to have the court dismiss the graft complaint filed against her in connection with the alleged misuse of P12 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of a lawmaker in 2005.

In an eight-page resolution promulgated on June 2, the anti-graft court’s Second Division dismissed for lack of merit Napoles’ motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence.

Sandiganbayan justices affirmed the sufficiency of evidence against Napoles in the graft case involving the PDAF of reelected Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali during his term as congressman in 2005.

The court also denied similar motions filed by former Department of Agriculture Central Luzon regional director Renato Manantan, former DA regional accountant Narcisa Maningding as well as private respondents Anita Tansipek and Corazon Bautista, president and collector, respectively, of the non-government organization Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi Inc. (SMPGI).

A demurrer to evidence would have allowed Napoles to seek the dismissal of the graft complaint filed against her without presenting her defense

In denying their respective motions, the Second Division said Napoles and her co-accused merely made a general statement that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to prove their guilt in graft and malversation cases, without providing “any reasons or explanation on how they arrived at such conclusion to warrant the dismissal of the charges.”

The Second Division maintained that ombudsman prosecutors were able to present sufficient evidence against Napoles and the other accused.

The Sandiganbayan had dismissed the graft and malversation cases filed against Umali.

DENR CONFIRMS SIGHTINGS OF ‘MISSING’ PHILIPPINE EAGLE

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The celebration of Philippine Eagle Week has renewed hope in Central Luzon following sightings of a raptor that has been missing following its release in the forests of Aurora.

The celebration of Philippine Eagle Week runs from June 4 to 10.

Based on the monitoring of the conservation and development division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the eagle named Agawid could still be alive, but could not be located as its radio transmitter could have malfunctioned, Lorie Gene Cruz-Gaba, DENR-Central Luzon information officer, said.

Alfredo Collado, provincial and environment and natural resources officer of DENR-Aurora, told The STAR that there has been no conclusive report on whether Agawid is still alive or has died.

Collado said there were sightings of a Philippine Eagle on Mt. Mangan in Dipaculao town.

In June 2016, a farmer found a Philippine Eagle trapped in a snare for monkeys at the Aurora Memorial National Park (AMNP).

The eagle, later named Agawid, was nurtured back to health and released in the forests of the AMNP in October 2017.

DUTERTE PARDONS OUSTED NORTHERN SAMAR MAYOR

TACLOBAN CITY — President Duterte has pardoned a former municipal mayor in Northern Samar, who was ousted last year for nepotism.

Former Gamay town mayor Timoteo Capoquian was found guilty of violating Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code for appointing his sister Raquel as chief of the Gamay Water District in 2018.

The law prohibits appointments in government positions of relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of an appointing authority.

Duterte on May 23 granted Capoquian absolute pardon.

With the pardon, Capoquian’s lawyer said the former mayor could now return to politics and recover his retirement benefits.

Capoquian thanked Duterte for taking notice of his case and for allowing him to return to his normal life.

During the May 9 elections, Raquel and her running mate won as mayor and vice mayor of Gamay, respectively.

The Supreme Court in 2019 promulgated a ruling that dismissed Capoquian from service as town mayor.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the SC order and installed Vice Mayor Clarita Gomba as mayor.

The DILG also swore in Councilor Cyril Costuna as vice mayor.

400 GUN BAN VIOLATORS ARRESTED IN CENTRAL LUZON

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — A total of 400 gun ban violators have been arrested in Central Luzon since the Commission on Elections imposed the ban from Jan. 9 to June 5.

Aside from the arrests, police seized 328 assorted firearms and 2,319 deadly weapons and explosives, according to Brig. Gen. Mathew Baccay, Central Luzon police director.

“We will continue conducting regular checkpoints even after the end of the election period to maintain peace and order in the region,” he said.

The election period will end tomorrow.

Baccay urged the public to cooperate with police officers manning the checkpoint to avoid problems.

UNIONBANK WARNS AGAINST PHISHING SCHEME THROUGH TEXT MESSAGES

MANILA — The Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines cautioned its clients of a phishing scheme spread through text messages as it reminded its clients that its official communications would never ask users to access links of any kind.

In an advisory posted to their official Twitter, the bank said that its Cybersecurity unit was taking steps to monitor and investigate the text messages, screenshots of which are now circulating social media.

"Watch out for this Phishing message. DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS and NEVER PROVIDE your personal information such as your password or OTP to anyone," the bank's advisory reads.

"UnionBank will not ask you to click on links nor ask you to provide these information via call, email or SMS," it also said.

Users on social media reported receiving the text message over the weekend, with some accounts going viral on Twitter.

According to the bank, the scam messages read: "Good day! Your UnionBank account has been flagged for fraudulent transaction. Your account will be disabled in 24 hours."

The message then directs users to "verify" their accounts through a TinyURL link. TinyURL is a service used to shorten links.

The link in question has since been taken down. "The TinyURL (UBVerify2) you visited was used by its creator in violation of our terms of use. TinyURL has a strict no abuse policy and we apologize for the intrusion this user has caused you," the page now reads.

"If you received spam, please note that TinyURL did not send this spam and we do not operate any email lists. We can not remove you from spammer's database as we have no association with spammers, but instead we recommend you use spam filtering software," TinyURL also says.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

'HAPPY AKO': PAULO AVELINO ASKED ABOUT STATUS WITH JANINE GUTIERREZ

MANILA – After working with Janine Gutierrez in two acting projects, Paulo Avelino admitted that they are lot closer to each other now.

“I discovered a lot kay Janine also in terms of her family and everyone she would make kuwento. I think I got to know her better,” Avelino told Push during the special screening of their movie “Ngayon Kaya” last week.

“Actually pag-lock-in nga mas nagkakausap kami kasi halos araw-araw kayo sa set. 'Pag break wala rin akong makakasama kung 'di sila. Sabay sabay din kumain lahat. 'Yung biyahe abroad parang less pa kami nagkikita more than sa lock-in (laughs),” he added.

Since they forged a special bond, Avelino declared he is happy with the current status of his friendship with Gutierrez.

“Happy ako na any time na gusto ko ng kausap puwede kong tawagan si Janine, puwede ko siyang imbitahan kumain or magkape. Siguro what I like about her is 'yung madali siyang patawanin,” he said.

Professionally, however, Avelino shared that he and Gutierrez will be going on separate ways for now.

Nonetheless, he hopes to work with the actress again in the future.

“Nag-e-enjoy naman kaming magkatrabaho at sana magkatrabaho ulit kami. At kanya kanyang project muna. May gagawin si Janine na bagong project kasama si Zanjoe (Marudo) sa ABS-CBN. Ako naman babalik muna ako sa pagiging tambay ko,” he said laughing.

“Ngayon Kaya” is the long-delayed film starring Gutierrez and Avelino that is finally set for release two years after it was unveiled.

The forthcoming theatrical run of the movie interestingly comes amid speculation surrounding Gutierrez and Avelino’s real-life relationship.

The two, who went on to co-star in the since-concluded ABS-CBN teleserye “Marry Me, Marry You,” have becoming increasingly open about their rumored romance, by sharing snaps of each other on social media with sweet captions.

“Ngayon Kaya” is also an apt title for the long-time friends, who share the same talent manager and had once gone out on a date, before their respective relationships which later on ended.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES JUNE 5

Next game will resume on 9th June

FINAL

1          2          3          4          T

2 Celtics1-1     30        20        14        24        88

3 Warriors1-1  31        21        35        20        107

GAME 2: SERIES TIED 1-1, CHASE CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

SCORING LEADERS

J. Tatum BOS

28 PTS 6 REB 3 AST

S. Curry GS

29 PTS 6 REB 4 AST

INDICATORS

FOREX $1 = P 52.86

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful. - Barbara Bloom