RESOLUTION TO IMPORT 300,000 MT OF SUGAR 'ILLEGAL': PALACE

MANILA — The resolution to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar signed on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. was "illegal" as Marcos did not convene any meeting with the Sugar Regulatory Administration, Malacañang said on Thursday.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian signed the resolution on behalf of the President, who also sits as agriculture secretary, but was not authorized to do so.

She added they were unaware the sugar order was uploaded on the SRA website.

"The President did not authorize the importation," Cruz-Angeles told reporters in a Palace briefing.

"Importations are a sensitive matter, particularly agricultural importations. Sugar is one such importation which we take great care with. It is a balancing act," the Palace official added.

When clarified whether the resolution was only an importation plan, Cruz-Angeles answered in the affirmative. Marcos is also against the importation of sugar as the country only imported last May, calling the need to import sugar as a "balancing act."

"It was a directive actually. It was verbally issued so that the President can make a determination later on whether or not the importation is actually warranted," she said.

Investigation is ongoing to determine whether the resolution was approved with "malice or negligence." Cruz-Angeles assured the key officials involved of due process.

"In such a case, if such findings are made then the only determination left will be how many heads are going to roll."

Authorities are still looking into whether the undersigned officials will be issued a preventive suspension order pending the result of the probe, she said.

NTC CHIEF SAYS ABS-CBN MUST CLEAR ‘VIOLATIONS’ FOR DEAL WITH TV5

MANILA — Moments after a landmark deal between ABS-CBN Corp. and TV5 Network Inc. was announced Thursday, the commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission came on state-run radio to say that the Lopez-led broadcaster has to clear unspecified violations before proceeding with its investment in the Pangilinan-led network.

By violations, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba was referencing those found by a House of Representatives panel in the 18th Congress which became the reasons for denying ABS-CBN’s application for a fresh franchise. The decision came despite several government agencies had cleared the broadcast giant of wrongdoing.

"Ang nakikita ko po na parang pong kailangan nating tingnan is mayroon po silang violations, so hindi po sila makakuha ng sarili nilang prangkisa, so ang ginagawa po nila is nasakay po sila dito sa TV5. Pero hanggang ngayon po, bitbit po nila ang kanilang mga violations," Cordoba said in an interview over Radyo Pilipinas.

Asked by the government radio anchor if ABS-CBN needed to address these violations first before continuing with its deal with TV5, Gamaliel answered in the affirmative.

He added that the next step of ABS-CBN and TV5 is for them to submit to the NTC their agreement and clearances from the telecommunications regulator, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Absent these clearances, Cordoba said the NTC will block the ABS-CBN and TV5 deal.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH PREVAILS, SAYS PALACE

The freedom of speech of every Filipino continues to prevail in the country, Malacañang said Thursday.

“The freedom of speech is prevailing in this country. It is guaranteed by the Constitution,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a Palace briefing.

She made the statement after a Palace reporter asked her “how much of a concern is disinformation to the Marcos administration.”

The reporter noted that some critics purportedly believed that the supposed disinformation helped “boost” the presidential campaign of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who enjoyed a landslide win in the May 9, 2022 elections.

Responding to the query, Cruz-Angeles said: “People can say that. People can talk about it. They can discuss these matters. But no such wrongdoing has been committed.”

‘COVID-19 CALAMITY DECISION SOON’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will consider the recommendations of the Department of Health (DOH) on whether to extend the COVID-19 state of calamity, which expires on Sept. 12, a Palace spokesperson said Thursday.

“It will depend on the recommendation of the DOH, but we will make the announcement when the time comes,” said Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, when asked if the state of calamity, declared by President Rodrigo Duterte, would be extended.

The state of calamity was first declared on March 16, 2020 and extended three times.

In his first State of the Nation Address on July 25, Marcos promised that he would no longer declare restrictive lockdowns even as COVID-19 cases increased.

Instead, he wants the government to ramp up its COVID-19 vaccination and booster drive to achieve its target of administering at least 23 million booster shots within his first 100 days in office.

Metro Manila and other parts of the country continue to be under Alert Level 1 until Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila may already have peaked, the OCTA Research Group said Friday.

In a TeleRadyo interview, Prof. Guido David said there is decreasing COVID-19 growth rate in Metro Manila.

“Yung nakikita namin na baka nag-peak na sa Metro Manila, hopefully tuloy-tuloy na yan pero sa Metro Manila and sa Iloilo and maybe a few other provinces pa lang yun. Kasi sa iba pang regions ay tumataas pa lang yung bilang ng kaso, hindi pa, wala pa sa peak,” he added.

The Philippines recorded 4,533 new COVID-19 cases, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed on Wednesday. Twenty-seven new deaths were also reported.

“Isa nating napansin dati, 0 deaths tayo, ngayon nasa 20s na yung death natin so, you know COVID is still here,” he stressed.

UNIONBANK FIRST UNIVERSAL BANK TO OFFER CRYPTO EXCHANGE VIA MOBILE APP

MANILA — UnionBank said it would become the first universal bank in the country to offer virtual asset exchange through its mobile banking app.

Select UnionBank users will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin directly from the app without the need for a third party wallet, the lender said in a statement.

"Blockchain is a technology that we think will power the future of banking. At the same time, we also recognize that cryptocurrency has been one of the services that a lot of customers are already looking for, especially the younger generation, and this demand was accelerated by the pandemic," UnionBank Digital Asset Markets and API Marketplace Group Head of Blockchain Center of Excellence Cathy Casas said.

The new feature will be rolled out to randomly pre-selected users, UnionBank said, with the goal of wider rollout "in the near future."

"Not only does this help us ensure that the Bank is more future-ready, we are also able to serve the needs of our customers who use cryptocurrencies," said Henry Aguda said, UnionBank Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, and Chief Transformation Officer.

"This is also one of the things that we are working on as we prepare our path towards entering the metaverse," he added.

So far, some digital banks such as Maya are offering virtual asset exchange on their platforms.

In April, UnionBank entered a partnership with NFT game Art of Dreams to expand its footprint in the metaverse. It also aims to launch a Metaverse Center of Excellence in the next few months, it said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas grants virtual asset service provider and virtual currency exchange licenses to eligible financial institutions.

COURT ORDERS NTC: STOP BLOCKING BULATLAT WEBSITE

MANILA — A Quezon City court yesterday ordered the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to stop blocking the website of alternative news organization bulatlat.com.

Judge Dolly Rose Bolante-Prado of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 306 granted the application for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction of Alipato Media Center Inc., which owns the online media outfit.

The court directed the NTC to refrain from enforcing its June 8 memorandum blocking the news website.

“The writ of preliminary injunction will remain effective until a final adjudication of the merits of the case has been made,” Prado said in a six-page resolution.

In the ruling, the judge said the requisites for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction were established.

In a post on Twitter, bulatlat.com lauded the court for upholding press freedom.

SPEAKER CITES MEDIA’S ROLE IN DEMOCRACY

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday said public officials should not shun the media, as it is a partner in nation-building.

“From day one in government, I have considered the Philippine media not as an adversary but a partner in nation-building,” he told officers of the United Print and Multimedia Group during their oath-taking at the House of Representatives in Quezon City Wednesday afternoon.

“Some say we in government should be wary of journalists, as the media usually focus on the negatives rather than report the positive. They say good news doesn’t make headlines.

My experience with Filipino journalists debunks this myth,” Romualdez said.

“Quite a number of journalists I have met are decent people and are responsible members of the profession. They report what they think are the burning issues of the day that deserve public attention,” he said.

Romualdez cited media practitioners covering the House of Representatives who, he said, “religiously report to the public the legislative measures being acted upon from the committee level to the plenary.”

“They are nosy, yes, but they are just doing their job. And they are helping us do our job, too. With their help, we galvanize popular support for measures that are needed to uplift the living condition of our people,” he said.

The Speaker revealed that he had been at the receiving end of negative media reports.

“Rather than being offended, I take them as an opportunity to explain my side to the public and expound on the issues involved. Media reports—be it positive or negative —give us, government officials, relevant and timely feedback from the public with regard to our official acts. They also provide us with a platform on issues that need (to be) discussed with a bigger public,” he stressed.

PHILIPPINE AIRPORTS TO BE ASSESSED BY US TRANSPORT SECURITY

MANILA -- Philippine airports will undergo a 7-day security assessment by the United States Transport Security Administration (US-TSA).

The US-TSA airport security assessments will observe security procedure as well as airlines with flights to and from the United States.

The US-TSA security assessment team paid a courtesy call with Transport Security Administrator Undersecretary Ma. O Aplasca, Manila International Airport Authority Acting General Manager Cesar Chiong, the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group and representatives of various airlines with direct or indirect flights to the United States.

The security assessments intend to strengthen collaboration among airport authorities and airlines.

Chiong said Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista ordered airport authorities to ensure a safe and secured airport with facilities that meet international standards.

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SC SETS NEW RULING ON COPYRIGHTED MUSIC

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the act of playing radio broadcasts with copyrighted music using loudspeakers (radio-over-loudspeakers) without a license from the copyright owner is considered an infringement of copyright.

With the decision, the SC granted the petition of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP) as it reversed and set aside the rulings handed down by both the trial courts and the Court of Appeals (CA), which denied the association’s right to collect license fees and/or royalties over copyrighted works of its member artists.

Instead, the high court ordered respondent Anrey, Inc. to pay the FILSCAP P10,000 as temperate damages for the unlicensed public performance of the copyrighted songs on FILSCAP’s repertoire.

The SC also ordered Anrey to pay P50,000 as attorney’s fees, plus interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from Sept. 8, 2009 until June 30, 2013, and thereafter, six percent per annum from July 1, 2013, until the finality of the high court’s judgment.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda, the SC ruled held that “a radio reception creates a performance separate from the broadcast, otherwise known as the doctrine of multiple performances, which provides that a radio (or television) transmission or broadcast can create multiple performances at once.”

“Thus, on whether the reception of a broadcast may be publicly performed, it is immaterial if the broadcasting station has been licensed by the copyright owner because the reception becomes a new public performance requiring separate protection,” the SC said.

SOLAR PANELS TO POWER MAKATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MANILA — Public schools in Makati will soon be powered by solar energy under the local government’s push for sustainable energy, Mayor Abby Binay announced yesterday.

Binay said they would be installing solar panels in all public schools as well as local government offices, which will cut down energy consumption and costs while pushing the city’s advocacy for lower greenhouse gas emissions.

“This is part of our initiatives to reduce carbon footprint and leave a greener and healthier environment for the next generation of Makatizens,” she said during the launching of the “Brigada Eskwela” at the Comembo Elementary School.

Binay said that with solar energy, the city can continue supplying electricity to schools and offices even during calamities.

The installation of solar panels will be done in batches, with the Comembo Elementary School as the pilot site.

Makati has 25 public elementary schools, 10 junior high schools and eight senior high schools.

Makati will also roll out electric buses next year as part of the P724-million public transportation master plan in partneship with the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Meanwhile, Binay thanked the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Rotary Club of Makati and the barangay councilors of Comembo for donating bicycles to the school.

NUMBER CODING BACK IN METRO MANILA, BUT COMMUTERS URGE MORE TRANSPORT OPTIONS

MANILA — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will again implement the number coding scheme in Metro Manila starting Monday, August 15, to limit cars on the road from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays except holidays.

The Metro Manila Council of the capital region's mayors, approved MMDA Resolution No. 22-14 outlining the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program amid the expected increase in the volume of vehicles in the NCR upon the resumption of face-to-face classes on August 22.

Under the scheme, vehicles with license plates ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesday, 7 and 8 on Thursday, 9 and 0 on Friday during the said coding hours.

The MMDA claimed that the re-implementation of the number coding scheme in the NCR will reduce traffic volume by twenty percent during peak hours.

"From August 15 to 17, we will start the dry run and will only remind motorists of the expanded number coding scheme. From August 18 onwards, the MMDA will start apprehending and will issue traffic violation tickets on ground and through our non-contact apprehension policy," Acting MMDA Chairman Engineer Carlo Dimayuga III said.

"Exempted from the UVVRP are public utility vehicles including tricycles, transport network vehicle services, motorcycles, garbage trucks, fuel trucks, marked government vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, marked media vehicles, and motor vehicles carrying essential and/or perishable goods."

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

LIZA SOBERANO JOINS COLE SPROUSE, KATHRYN NEWTON IN 'LISA FRANKENSTEIN'

MANILA -- Filipina actress Liza Soberano is joining American actors Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton in their upcoming movie “Lisa Frankenstein.”

Soberano shared a screengrab of a Deadline article about her first ever Hollywood film. "Ecstatic to be part of this film ?????," Soberano wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.

According to Deadline, Soberano, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, and Henry Eikenberry will star alongside Newton and Sprouse in "Lisa Frankenstein," which is the directorial debut of actor-filmmaker Zelda Williams.

"Set in 1989, Lisa Frankenstein follows an unpopular high school student (Newton) who accidentally re-animates a handsome Victorian corpse (Sprouse) during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams, using the broken tanning bed in her garage," Deadline said.

Early this week, speculations that Soberano will be joining the international film surfaced after the Filipina actress’ eagle-eyed supporters caught wind of an Instagram Story by JSLA Events’ Jessie Stafford where she reposted one of Newton’s posts on set before tagging Soberano, Transparent Arts and “Lisa Frankenstein” director Zelda Williams.

Soberano made headlines in May after it was revealed that she is now being managed by her contemporary James Reid, who is part of the US-based Transparent Arts group championing Asian-American talents.

Since her management switch went public, Soberano became more open about her decision to “take the first leap” to jumpstart a potential career in the United States.

SPORTS

PH SPORTS ICON LYDIA DE VEGA SUCCUMBS TO CANCER

Asia’s former sprint queen Lydia De Vega Mercado lost her battle to Stage 4 cancer on Thursday, her family announced.

De Vega Mercado’s daughter Stephanie, a former volleyball standout from De La Salle University, made the announcement on social media.

“On behalf of our family, it is with absolute grief that I announce the death of my mother, Lydia De Vega this evening, August 10, 2022, at the Makati Medical Center,” said Stephanie in a Facebook post. “She fought the very good fight and is now at peace.”

Nicknamed Diay, De Vega Mercado, who was born on Dec. 26, 1964, was 57.

It was also Stephanie, who broke the news to the public on July 21 that her mother was critically ill.

She said her mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and has been silently fighting the disease for the past four years.

As the disease progressed, her condition quickly worsened despite her many procedures, including brain surgery.

Financial support poured in from all sectors.

Mercado was the toast of Philippine athletics in the 1980s, having won the 100m and 200m gold medals in the Asian Athletics Championship in 1983 and 1987 and the 100m gold medal in the 1982 and 1986 Asian Games.

A product of Project Gintong Alay during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Mercado competed and won multiple medals in the Southeast Asian Games from 1981 to 1993.

She ruled the 100m and 200m runs in her farewell performance in Singapore in 1993.

Stephanie said wake details will be announced soon. “But for now, I would wholeheartedly appreciate your prayers for the soul of my mother.”

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. - Thomas Paine