HOUSE TO PRESS BUDGET REVISION TO HIKE FUNDS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES

The House of Representatives to the bicameral conference committee will push P77 billion in institutional amendments to the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget bill to augment the funds for education, health, transportation, and other critical social services, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Sunday.

Romualdez said he is confident the Senate contingent to the bicam budget meeting, set to resume today, would agree to the amendments.

“We really feel that these institutional amendments will redound to the benefit of the people. We will not make any mistakes if we put the welfare of the people first,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“And we are confident that the Senate and the House bicam members will see eye-to-eye on this. Our objectives are the same: to pass a people’s budget that reflects President Marcos Jr.’s eight-point economic agenda that will help the country bounce back from the pandemic,” the Speaker added.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, appropriations committee chairman, echoed Romualdez’s statements.

“Our amendments can speak for themselves. You can see that is indeed pro-people and pro-development as we prioritized health, education, and transportation. We are confident that if the Senate and the House approve these amendments, we can recover well from the pandemic in 2023,” Co said.

The institutional amendments are “ayuda” or aid programs that would directly benefit the people.

Among these are P12.5 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, P5.5 billion for the Department of Transportation for fuel subsidies, and P5 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment’s emergency work program for displaced workers.

“What we did was allocate more budget to pro-people programs without need to sacrifice our national programs and projects for job creation.

We are confident that there will be no contentions with our amendments here,” Co said.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, urged lawmakers to craft a national budget that “leaves no Filipino behind” and which focuses on investments in the regions and provinces, saying these will ultimately benefit the entire country.

GROUP RENEWS CALL FOR THOROUGH PROBE INTO EJKS AHEAD OF UN RIGHTS EXPERT'S VISIT

MANILA — A coalition of human rights advocates renewed its call for a transparent and thorough investigation into extrajudicial killings ahead of the planned visit of a United Nations special rapporteur next year.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines welcomed the invitation of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla to Morris Tidball-Binz to visit the country. Tidball-Binz is the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

"Tidball-Binz’s visit would be an important next step in the process of seeking justice for the thousands of victims of extrajudicial killings under the previous Duterte government, as well as the current Marcos government," ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy said in a statement Monday.

The UN expert is a medical doctor who specializes in forensic science, human rights, and humanitarian action.

Remulla said the invitation to Tidball-Binz is "more of a follow-up" to the capacity building under the United Nations Joint Programme.

According to government figures, over 6,000 suspected drug users or dealers, mostly impoverished Filipinos, have been killed in the government’s “war on drugs.” But rights organizations claim more than 30,000 have been killed since former President Rodrigo Duterte launched the campaign in 2016.

"Given this recent announcement, we reiterate our call to the Marcos administration for open, transparent, and thorough investigation of these crimes, and justice for all victims and their families," Murphy said.

"This means investigation and prosecution of all perpetrators of such crimes, and an end to the state of impunity which has allowed so many members of the police force to avoid prosecution so far," he added.

UN special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography, and other child sexual abuse material Mama Fatima Singhateh is scheduled to visit the Philippines from November 28 to December 8.

Meanwhile, special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan will visit the country next year.

SENATE BILL SEEKS TIGHTER MONITORING, INFO DRIVE ON DRUG OVERDOSES

MANILA — Sen. Lito Lapid has filed a bill to create a Drug Overdose Reporting and Awareness system that would require the Department of Health to publish information on nationwide drug overdose trends twice a year to keep track of overdoses, especially those that lead to deaths.

In filing Senate Bill No. 1498, Lapid argued that the information gathered on drug overdose will lead to better strategies to address the problem of overdoses.

"Whether the drug overdose is accidental or intentional, I believe we can handle its side effects and the danger to life that drug overdose can cause," he said, adding the DOH should also provide important information like how to help people who have overdosed and how to reach emergency services.

"Drug overdose should not be taken lightly because some of our compatriots have passed away because of it, so I am promoting adequate knowledge in relation to it," he also said.

If passed into law, the DOH will be required to issue overdose reports that will include, at a minimum, the following information:

Trends in drug overdose deaths;

Trends in emergency room utilization for the treatment of drug overdose;

Trends in utilization of pre-hospital and emergency services and the cost of emergency services utilization for drug overdose;

Suggested improvements in data collection; and

A description of education efforts and other interventions that would be effective in reducing the rate of drug overdose.

The health secretary will also issue yearly advisories to officials from the municipal to the provincial level on the prevalence of drug overdose incidents, trends in drug overdose incidents, and best practices and strategies for addressing drug overdose in their jurisdiction.

DOJ RULES BSP DEAL ON NATIONAL ID ‘LEGALLY INFIRM’

Amendments to a deal between the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to produce the Philippine Identification Cards (PhilID) are “legally infirm”—potentially delaying the distribution of the ID cards even further, a legal opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) released recently said.

The DOJ opinion disagreed with the proposal of BSP Governor Felipe Medalla to amend its memorandum of agreement with the PSA and its contract with AllCard, Inc. for the personalization of the PhilID card.

Although there is no legal action yet stopping the contract, court observers told the Standard the opinion could set back the production of the national IDs even further, with only 30 million of the 116 million ID cards slated for release this year.

The production and delivery of the cards was supposed to be done from 2021 to 2023, with a total budget of P3.48 billion.

Lawmakers last week scolded PSA officials over their supposed negligence in distributing the national IDs, which would replace the scores of government IDs currently required to legally identify a person in the country.

On June 10 this year, the PSA and BSP entered a memorandum for the production of 116 million pieces of cards for the period of four years to be used for the PhilIDs; and the provision, management and maintenance of the personalization equipment that will interface with the PSA System.

The PSA would then manage the PhilSys database and ensure the availability, confidentiality, integrity, accuracy, and readiness of the data that would be personalized in the BSP-produced and pre-personalized cards.

7.5 MILLION MERALCO CUSTOMERS TO BE AFFECTED BY TRO ON POWER DEAL: ERC

MANILA — About 7.5 million customers will be affected by the temporary relief on the power supply agreement between South Premier Power Corp. and Manila Electric Co., the state energy regulator said Monday.

According to Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta, customers of Meralco's franchise area in Metro Manila and adjacent areas will be exposed to higher electricity prices.

"We are talking about 7.5 million consumers that will be affected if and when the TRO (temporary restraining order) is implemented," she told ANC's "Headstart".

The Court of Appeals issued on November 24 a TRO on the PSA between SPPC, a subsidiary of listed conglomerate San Miguel Corp., and Meralco.

The request for a temporary relief stemmed from the ERC's decision in September rejecting the joint petition of SPPC and Meralco for a power rate hike.

The SMC has claimed that the Sual Coal and Ilijan Natural Gas power facilities of its energy arm SMC Global Power Holdings Corp had incurred losses of P15 billion since 2021 due to high coal prices.

But the regulatory body noted that the PSA is fixed in nature, and the grounds for increase cited by SPPC and Meralco were not among the exceptions that would allow for price adjustment.

Because of the fixed-price PSA of Meralco with SPPC, which covers 670 megawatts of supply, Dimalanta said consumers had been shielded from the volatility of prices from WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) and automatic fuel pass-through PSAs.

"Of course, what we want is to shield all consumers, not just Meralco consumers from the increase in prices," she said. "But if we are really going to face increase in prices, we want them to be based in law and based in the actual cost incurred."

The ERC joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's hope the appellate court would reconsider its decision.

"We continue to hope and we remain confident that the Court of Appeals will see the basis for our decision and recognize it as a valid decision," Dimalanta said.

TOURISM CHIEF SAYS DOT LOOKING AT SETTING UP MORE PARKS NATIONWIDE

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is looking at establishing more parks in the Philippines, noting their importance as public recreation facilities.

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, in a speech at the 1st Philippine Parks Congress, said “the department is committed to developing the said parks not only in Metro Manila but in the rest of the Philippines.”

“Parks are important because it allows us and our families to commune with nature, to spend quality time with each other, and to remind us that despite how busy life may get, we must always take time to relax, unwind, and spend time to be in touch with nature and commune with the Earth,” Frasco, quoted by an ABS-CBN News report, said.

The DOT has already been reaching out to local government units in park development across provinces, based on an earlier department directive.

Frasco said one of the DOT’s objectives “is to ensure that we are able to provide continued opportunities for tourism product development across the country by lending the expertise of the DOT as well as its attached agencies towards effort at educating and building capabilities of LGUs and private individuals that may be interested in partnering with us pursuant to our development of product, of tourism product portfolios.”

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MAGNITUDE 5.0 EARTHQUAKE HITS PARTS OF MINDANAO

MANILA — Some parts of the Caraga region in Mindanao were rocked by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake Sunday.

In its bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, struck at around 12:43 p.m.

Its epicenter was located off the coast northeast of Cortes town, Surigao del Sur, near the Philippine Trench.

Several areas in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Norte reportedly felt the quake:

- Intensity IV - Cortes, and Lanuza, Surigao del Sur

- Intensity III - Cagwait, Carrascal and Bayabas, Surigao del Sur

- Intensity II - Cantilan, Surigao del Sur

- Intensity I - Surigao City

Instrumental intensities were also recorded in the following areas:

- Intensity II - Tandag, Surigao del Sur

- Intensity I - Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte

While no damage was expected following the quake, Phivolcs cautioned residents in the affected areas to prepare for possible aftershocks.

NGCP SAYS LUZON GRID ON YELLOW, RED ALERT ON NOV. 28

MANILA - The National Grid Corp on Monday imposed a Yellow and Red Alert as reserves thin due to forced outages and limited plant capacities.

The Yellow Alert is in effect from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., the NGCP said in an advisory.

Meanwhile, Red Alert will be in effect from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., it added.

"Six (6) power plants are on forced outage, while three (3) others are running on derated capacities, for a total of 2,648MW unavailable to the grid," the NGCP said.

A yellow alert means that power reserves were below ideal levels while red alert indicates insufficient supply which can cause outages in select areas.

OIL FIRMS SLASH PUMP PRICES NOV. 29

MANILA - Prices of gasoline, kerosene and diesel will be reduced on Nov. 29, petroleum firms announced Monday.

The following price adjustments will take effect on Tuesday.

PILIPINAS SHELL

Gasoline P0.85 per liter rollback

Kerosene P2.65 per liter rollback

Diesel P3.95 per liter rollback

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

CHARO SANTOS, WAGI BILANG BEST ACTRESS SA THE EDDYS

MAYNILA -- Tinanghal na Best Actress si Charo Santos at Best Actor si Christian Bables sa katatapos lang na 5th The EDDYS (Entertainment Editors' Choice) ng Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd).

Nagwagi si Charo para sa pelikulang "Kun Maupay It Panahon" at si Christian para sa "Big Night."

Matagumpay ang idinaos na Gabi ng Parangal sa Metropolitan Theater (MET) kagabi, Nobyembre 27, kung saan itinampok na host si Boy Abunda habang ang singer-songwriter namang si Ice Seguerra ang direktor ng event na ibinalik ang kislap ng showbiz awards night pagkatapos ng halos tatlong taon dahil sa pandemya.

Big winner din sa The EDDYS Choice ang "On The Job: The Missing 8" na nakopo ang walong tropeo kabilang na ang Best Director para kay Erik Matti, Best Supporting Actress para kay Lotlot de Leon at Best Film (Reality Entertainment).

Bukod sa Best Actor, naiuwi rin ng "Big Night" ang Best Screenplay para kay Jun Robles Lana.

Nanalo namang Best Supporting Actor si Mon Confiado para sa pelikulang "Arisaka."

Ginawaran din ng Joe Quirino Memorial Award ang veteran ABS-CBN News at TV Patrol correspondent na si Mario Dumaual. Ang parangal ay inspired ni Quirino na naging entertanment institution sa larangan ng panulat at telebisyon.

Ginawaran din ng Isah V. Red humanitarian award si Roberta Lopez-Feliciano, managing director ng ABS-CBN Foundation Sagip Kapamilya. Si Red ay isa sa founders ng SPEEd na lupon ng mga entertainment editors na may iba’t ibang adbokasiya sa kawanggawa.

At tulad ng mga nakaraang taon, naging highlight ng Gabi ng Parangal ang pagbibigay ng 5th The EDDYS sa mga movie icons na sina Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, Phillip Salvador, Roi Vinzon, Alma Moreno, Elizabeth Oropesa, Helen Gamboa, Divina Valencia, at Sharon Cuneta. Sina Phillip, Roi, Alma at Divina lang ang nakarating sa awards night.

Narito ang kumpletong listahan ng mga nagwagi sa ika-5 edisyon ng The EDDYS:

Best Film: "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Director: Erik Matti para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Actor: Christian Bables for "Big Night"

Best Actress: Charo Santos for "Kun Maupay Man It Panahon"

Best Supporting Actor: Mon Confiado para sa "Arisaka"

Best Supporting Actress: Lotlot de Leon para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Screenplay: Jun Robles Lana para sa "Big Night"

Best Sound Design: Corinne de San Jose para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Musical Score: Erwin Romulo (On The Job: The Missing 8), Cesar Francis Concio (Love is Color Blind), Teresa Barrozo (Big Night)

Best Original Theme Song: "Maghihintay" mula sa "More Than Blue" (words, music and performance by Marion Aunor)

Best Visual Effects: Mothership para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Editing: Jay Halili para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Best Production Design: Whammy Alcazaren para sa "Kun Maupay Man It Panahon"

Best Cinematography: Neil Derrik Bion para sa "On The Job: The Missing 8"

Special Awards:

Joe Quirino Award: Mario Dumaual

Manny Pichel Award: Eric Ramos

Rising Producers' Circle: Rein Entertainment

Producer of the Year: Viva Films

Isah V. Red Humanitarian Award

Roberta Lopez-Feliciano, ABS-CBN Foundation Sagip Kapamilya

Gretchen Barretto

Kris Aquino

Alfred Vargas

Rikki Escusero-Catibog, Kapuso Foundation

Beautéderm Male and Female Faces of the Night: Sean de Guzman and Alexa Miro

SPORTS

MAGNOLIA DEF. MERALCO, 108-96 (PBA) NOVEMBER 27

Magnolia Timplados Hotshots (9-2) uses strong third quarter,47-23, to beat the Meralco Bolts (4-6), 108-96 to grab their 9th win in in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner's Cup on Sunday, November 27 at the PhilSports Arena.

Six Hotshots players finished in double figures with Paul Lee leading the way with 27 points including 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc along with 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 29 minutes of play.

Calvin Abueva with an all-around game of 17 points (6/16fg, 2/5 3pts, 3/4ft) to go with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and a block while Nicholas Rakocevic finished with a double-double of 16 points (7/24fg), game-high 20 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

The Scores:

MAGNOLIA 108 - Lee 27, Abueva 17, Rakocevic 16, Jalalon 12, Barroca 11, Sangalang 11, Dela Rosa 6, Ahanmisi 3, Reavis 2, Corpuz 2, Laput 1, Wong 0, Dionisio 0.

MERALCO 96 – McDaniels 32, Black 16, Quinto 14, Banchero 11, Johnson 9, Alamazan 8, Hodge 2, Caram 2, Pascual 2, Maliksi 0, Hugnatan 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0.

Quarters: 27-21, 46-51, 93-74, 108-96

GINEBRA DEF. NORTHPORT, 122-105 (PBA) NOVEMBER 27

Barangay Ginebra (8-3) uses strong 4th quarter to beat the NorthPort Batang Pier (6-6), 122-105 to grab their 8th win in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner's Cup on Sunday, November 27 at the PhilSports Arena.

Justin Brownlee was one assist shy of a triple-double of 31 points (11/15fg, 3/4 3pts, 6/7ft) along with 13 rebounds and 9 assists in 40 minutes of play as they remain in contention for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

Jamie Malonzo with a solid game of 26 points (9/18fg, 1/5 3pts, 5/6ft) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and game-high 5 blocks. Christian Standhardinger finshed with a double-double of 20 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists while Scottie Thompson with a near triple-double stats of 8 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and a steal.

The Scores:

GINEBRA 122 - Brownlee 31, Malonzo 26, Standhardinger 20, Gray 12, Thompson 8, Pringle 7, J Aguilar 7, Mariano 6, Tenorio 3, Pinto 2, R Aguilar 0, David 0.

NORTHPORT 105 – Tolentino 24, Ibeh 23, Bolick 22, Navarro 11, Chan 10, Ferrer 8, Balanza 4, Taha 3, Sumang 0, Caperal 0.

Quarters: 27-34, 63-63, 93-92, 122-105.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time. - Hubbard, Elbert