MAHARLIKA FUND CLEARS SENATE HURDLE

MANILA — The bill seeking to create the Maharlika Investment Fund — touted by its advocates as a vehicle for economic progress and doubted by critics over potential abuses — passed the Senate on Wednesday with major changes, moving the contentious proposal closer to becoming a law.

Senate Bill No. 2020 received 19 votes in favor, one vote against and one abstention, giving the Maharlika fund’s more than four-month journey through the upper chamber’s legislative mill a sweet ending for its proponents.

Only Sen. Risa Hontiveros voted against the measure while her only colleague in the minority, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, was not present. Sen. Nancy Binay abstained from voting.

Apart from Pimentel, Sens. Francis Joseph "Chiz" Escudero and Maria Josefa Imelda "Imee" Marcos, the president's sister, were also absent. Both lawmakers warned against rushing to pass the bill.

The Senate immediately passed the measure on third reading after its approval on second reading without having to wait for at least three days in between, as it was certified as urgent by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

With the Senate's approval of the Maharlika fund bill, the ball is back with the House of Representatives, with senators hoping that it will adopt their version of the measure to hasten the enactment of the proposal.

But Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said a bicameral conference committee composed of members from both chambers of Congress will meet Wednesday at 11 a.m. to thresh out differences between the House and Senate versions.

Bicameral conference committee meetings are typically closed to the public and lawmakers may revive provisions that have been stripped from earlier iterations of a bill or introduce new ones that were never tackled in plenary.

The Maharlika fund was identified as a priority measure by the Marcos Jr. administration which it requested Congress to pass before the president’s State of the Nation Address in July.

PHILIPPINES, JAPAN, US EYE DEFENSE CHIEF TALKS IN JUNE

TOKYO—Japanese, U.S., Australian and Philippine defense ministers are planning to hold their first-ever quadrilateral talks in Singapore next month, a diplomatic source said Tuesday, amid China's growing maritime assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

The ministerial gathering would be held as Japan, the United States and Australia have been each bolstering their defense cooperation with the Philippines, while trying to showcase their collaboration as a group of four nations surrounding the Pacific.

The meeting by the United States and its three security allies in the Pacific would take place on the sidelines of the annual Asia Security Conference, known as Shangri-La Dialogue, scheduled for three days through June 4 in the Southeast Asian city-state.

The four ministers are likely to explore how to strengthen their security cooperation, with concern mounting over Beijing's increasing military presence in the South and East China seas -- one of the sources of Sino-U.S. tensions.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and their Australian and Philippine counterparts, Richard Marles and Carlito Galvez, are set to participate in the quadrilateral gathering.

The ministers are also certain to exchange views on a joint maritime patrol by vessels of the four countries in the South China Sea, home to some of the world's busiest sea lanes, aimed at deterring illicit activities there, according to the source.

Such a joint patrol could play a crucial role in monitoring and limiting the movements of the Chinese military.

On Thursday, Japan, the United States and the Philippines are expected to start joint drills involving their coast guards near Manila Bay, while planning to set up a trilateral framework that includes their national security advisers.

Bilateral defense ties among the four nations have also been beefed up, with Tokyo providing patrol vessels to Manila and exporting an air radar system to the armed forces of the Philippines.

LAKAS-CMD ALLIANCE AGREEMENTS TO BOOST MARCOS' PRIORITY BILLS: SOLON

MANILA—The alliance agreements signed by various political parties with the Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) on Monday reaffirm support not only for Speaker Martin Romualdez but also for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his legislative agenda, a House official said Tuesday.

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), National Unity Party (NUP), Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI), Partido Navoteño, and Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines (CDP) were those who signed their agreements reaffirming their support for Romualdez and Marcos Jr.

The parties inked the agreement amid persistent rumors of a coup against Speaker Martin Romualdez by former President and Pampanga 1st District Rep. Gloria Arroyo.

It also came after Vice President Sara Duterte bolted the Lakas-CMD when the House demoted Arroyo from senior deputy speaker to deputy speaker.

"We have to reiterate because as I have said earlier, we have to pass certain measures which (are) agreed in the Senate, the House, and the executive department in the (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council) that we have to accomplish," House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe told reporters.

Dalipe explained that it really was in support of the President's legislative agenda. The House already accomplished 33 of the 42 bills on the President's list of priority bills.

"It was a reiteration of the manifestation of support and cooperation because we in the House would like to work together, especially on the laws that were proposed to be passed and agreed in the LEDAC ... As a House, we have 300 plus members and we would want the House to be united, and we together with the other parties— the Lakas-CMD plus the other parties—reaffirmed that commitment of support to the House leadership and most especially to the House Speaker," he said.

TYPHOON BETTY LINGERS OVER BATANES; HABAGAT TO BRING RAINS OVER METRO MANILA

MANILA -- Typhoon Betty has weakened further while moving slowly over the sea east of Batanes, state weather bureau PAGASA said Wednesday.

In its latest tropical cyclone bulletin, state weather bureau PAGASA said Betty was last seen 320 km east of Itbayat, Batanes. It has maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gusts of up to 150 km/h.

It is slowly moving north northwestward.

Tropical cyclone wind signal no. 2 is still raised over Batanes.

Tropical cyclone wind signal no. 1, meanwhile, remains hoisted over:

Cagayan including Babuyan Islands

the northern and eastern portions of Isabela (Santo Tomas, Santa Maria, Quezon, San Mariano, Dinapigue, Delfin Albano, San Pablo, Ilagan City, Benito Soliven, Tumauini, Cabagan, Palanan, Quirino, Divilacan, Gamu, Maconacon, Naguilian, Mallig)

the eastern portion of Ilocos Norte (Piddig, Bangui, Vintar, Marcos, Pagudpud, Banna, Adams, Carasi, Dingras, Solsona, Dumalneg, Nueva Era)

Apayao

the northern portion of Kalinga (City of Tabuk, Balbalan, Pinukpuk, Rizal)

the northeastern portion of Abra (Tineg, Lacub, Malibcong)

PAGASA said Betty may slowly speed up northward over the waters east of Batanes on Wednesday through Thursday morning, although it may still wobble and turn north northeastward or north northwestward on Thiursday afternoon or evening.

It is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday evening or Friday early morning.

Metro Manila may experience rains starting Wednesday noon due to rains caused by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Betty, according to ABS-CBN resident meteorologist Ariel Rojas.

The rains may continue until the weekend, with flooding possible in low-lying areas, he added.

The rest of Luzon and Western Visayas may also face flash floods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains due to the habagat, PAGASA said.

DOF: IMF STUDY TO HELP GOV’T BOOST, MAX VAT BASE, COLLECT UP TO P539B

The Marcos administration is working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a study aimed at addressing the low value-added tax (VAT) efficiency in the country, the Finance Department said on Tuesday.

“We actually talked with the IMF and we asked them to conduct a study on where we can improve on broadening the tax base,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a press briefing in Malacañang when asked about government measures to tackle low VAT efficiency.

Citing a World Bank study, he said the policy gap or the supposed tax to be collected and what is actually collected could reach as high as P539 billion.

“Meaning, maybe we find areas where we can recover those too many exemptions. For example: one exemption is really the cooperatives – that’s right, there are a lot of people who don’t pay VAT because of the cooperatives. So, the IMF study will tell us how do we recover because 0.4, that’s really poor … poor performance,” he said.

With VAT being the best tax in the world, with 90 percent of the countries around the world imposing such tax, Diokno said, “it is in our interest to improve on the efficiency of the VAT.”

PANOORIN: 11 PINOY NA SIKLISTA SA KUWAIT INARARO NG SUV

KUWAIT - Labing-isang Pilipinong siklista sa Kuwait ang sugatan, puno ng galos at ang iba nagtamo ng bali sa iba-ibang bahagi ng kanilang katawan matapos umanong araruhin ng isang SUV ang grupo habang nagbibisikleta sa Arabian Gulf street, madaling-araw noong Biyernes, May 26.

Ayon sa mga biktima, humarurot ng takbo ang SUV matapos silang araruhin nito. Agad namang dumating ang mga otoridad at mga ambulansya sa lugar.

Pito ang isinugod sa Amiri Hospital at apat ang isinugod sa Mubarak Al Kabeer Hospital. Nakalabas din noong Biyernes ang walo, Samantala, tatlo naman ang malubhang nasugatan at nagpapagaling sa ospital.

Iniimbestigahan na ngayon ng Kuwaiti police ang pangyayari. Nagtalaga naman kaagad si Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Jose Cabrera III ng abugado para tutukan ang kaso.

Naghain na ng hit and run case ang abugado ng embahada laban sa suspek na ayon sa Ministry of Interior ay sumuko na.

NOW ACT-CIS REP, ERWIN TULFO IS FOURTH FAMILY MEMBER IN CONGRESS

MANILA — Former Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo on Tuesday took his oath of office as a member of the House of Representatives, making him the fourth member of the family that rose to fame as broadcasters and columnists with a seat in Congress.

The Commission on Elections last week dismissed the disqualification case against him, saying it did not have jurisdiction over the complaint because it was filed beyond the deadline for Petitions for Disqualification.

The petition, which raised issues with his alleged US citizenship and a 2008 conviction for libel, nine months past the proclamation of Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) as among the winners of the 2022 party-list elections.

Under the 1987 Constitution, public officers must be natural-born citizen of the Philippines. The Omnibus Election Code, meanwhile, disqualifies those "convicted for a crime involving moral turpitude," but only for five years from service of the sentence.

Tulfo replaced former Rep. Jeffrey Soriano — the party-list's third nominee, who resigned in February. ACT-CIS topped the party-list race in the 2022 elections with more than 2.1 million votes, giving it three seats at the House.

Rep. Edvic Yap and Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo — who is married to Sen. Raffy Tulfo, Erwin's brother — hold the other two ACT-CIS seats.

Another Tulfo — Raffy's son Ralph — represents Quezon City's 2nd Legislative District at the House.

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MAGNITUDE 4.9 QUAKE JOLTS INFANTA, QUEZON

MANILA — A magnitude 4.9 quake rocked Quezon province late Tuesday night, state seismologists said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake hit at 11:22 p.m., and it was traced to 14 kilometers north of Infanta town in Quezon.

The quake was felt in Manila and the cities of Makati, Quezon and San Juan where Phivolcs reported intensity II in the area.

Intensity II is classified as “slightly felt” according to the agency’s Earthquake Intensity Scale.

The bulletin said that instrumental intensity V was recorded in Polillo Quezon.

Aftershocks and damage are not expected, it added.

‘SCAM HUBS HIDING UNDER POGOS’

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday blasted the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for failing to monitor companies operating under its authority that commit crimes such as human trafficking and online scams.

“What is Pagcor doing?” Hontiveros said in yesterday’s hearing of her Senate committee on women. “Pagcor, as the regulator of POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators), should be actively looking into companies that they allow to operate in the country.”

She referred to a May 4 police raid on Sunvalley Clark Hub Corp. (SVCHC) in Clark, Pampanga, where more than 1,000 nationals from the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Taiwan, were allegedly forced to work on online scams.

Some 12 people were arrested in the raid, and the government is now repatriating the victims of human trafficking that were being forced to work there.

SVCHC has denied involvement in the illegal operations, saying it is a licensed locator inside the Clark Special Economic Zone.

“SVCHC, as a real estate company, is not in any way connected or involved in operating online gaming or call center services,” it said.

SVCHC noted that the Colorful and Leap Group identified by authorities as the “love scam” operator, is one of the sub-lessees of CGC Technologies, Inc. whose lease agreement with SVCHC is duly registered with Clark Development Corp.

Sunvalley said they have no knowledge of what’s going on inside the leased premises since they have no access to them.

CGC Technologies, Inc. said the company merely subleased its offices to Colorful and Leap Group, which originally presented itself as a gaming service provider.

Hontiveros has been pushing to ban POGO in the country.

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking confirmed during the Senate hearing that scam hubs do hide under a legal cover.

MAKATI RESUMES FREE MOVIES ON BIG SCREEN FOR SENIORS, PWDS

The Makati City government has announced the resumption of free movies project for and senior citizens registered under the city’s Blu Card program.

Beginning June 1, senior citizens who are Blu Card holders can again enjoy the privilege of watching free movies in theaters at the Glorietta, Greenbelt, and Circuit Makati.

Mayor Abigail Binay will lead the relaunch of the free movie offering at 10 a.m. tomorrow

in Glorietta 4 Cinema, with other local government officials and Ayala malls executives in attendance.

Binay said the elderly residents who are Blu Card members can again watch movies free of charge on the big screen in Glorietta, Greenbelt, and Circuit Makati cinemas three times a day for the first and second screenings.

The local government suspended the project in 2020 to protect the health of the elderly and ensure their safety at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The free movies benefit for the elderly started in 1997 with the passage of City Ordinance No. 97-085, appropriating P500,000 as the 25-percent share of the city in cinema admission costs for senior citizens.

The program was institutionalized three years later through City Ordinance No. 2001-035 granting the inclusion of appropriations in its annual budget for its continuous implementation in succeeding years.

In 2006, the perk was also granted to registered persons with disability (PWDs) of Makati through City Ordinance No. 2006-066.

City Ordinance No. 2012-099 also entitled Makati senior citizens who are Blu Card holders to a one-time P100,000 cash gift upon reaching 100 years old. The bonanza serves as a tribute for their significant contributions and role in the history and development of the city.

OIL SIPHONING OF ORIENTAL MINDORO SPILL NOW ON ITS LAST PHASE — PCG

The last phase of siphoning operations for the remaining oil off the waters of Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro began Sunday, three months after the massive spill from the sunken M/T Princess Empress, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

PCG Incident Management Team-Oriental Mindoro head Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla said the operations would last from 20-30 days, depending on the weather conditions and subsea progress.

“Once the oil removal is completed, we hope that the process will pave the way for the rehabilitation of affected areas and finally transition to the normalcy of lives of affected Mindoreños,” Tuvilla said.

The Dynamic Support Vessel Fire Opal was chartered by Malayan Towage and Salvage Corporation. It left Singapore on May 19 and arrived at Subic Freeport Zone on May 26 before starting operations in Oriental Mindoro.

M/T Princess Empress was loaded with 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil when it sank off Naujan on Feb. 28.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said about 120,000 to 240,000 liters of oil is expected to be extracted by DSV Fire Opal.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

LIZA SOBERANO, ENRIQUE GIL HAVE BROKEN UP, SAYS OGIE DIAZ

Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil have broken up, her former talent manager Ogie Diaz said.

In the May 30 episode of his vlog posted on YouTube, Ogie said he got the word about the supposed split based on Soberano's answers in her recent interviews that made the headlines.

"(Sa) mga nakaraang interviews ni Liza, never niyang binanggit si Enrique Gil," he said. "Tapos iyong parang hindi pa siya pabor sa mga pagtatatag ng love team, kaya nagkaroon ng agam-agam na baka nga wala na sila."

Liza isn't also seemingly posting about Enrique anymore, especially on his birthday last March 30.

Ogie claimed that his former talent's "choice" to pursue a career in Hollywood led to the breakup.

"Hindi ko alam kung pareho nilang gusto iyon, pero ang nakarating sa atin ay choice ni Liza na tutukan muna ang kanyang career programming," he said. "Kaya wala na raw (sila)."

Ogie, citing anonymous sources, said Enrique made efforts to make Liza stay but she, an "alpha girl," doesn't really want to anymore.

There was also an instance when Liza returned to the Philippines without the actor's knowledge.

"Sana hindi totoo na hiwalay na sila," said Ogie. "Kung meron mang gap... misunderstanding, (sana) ma-patch."

But if LizQuen is already over indeed, the talent manager is hoping that they remain friends if not civil with each other.

He also dismissed the idea that there was a third party in the relationship.

Ogie pointed out that neither Liza nor Enrique had confirmed or denied the breakup rumors. Their representatives have yet to issue a statement on the issue.

"Hindi natin alam kung ano iyong rason ng kanilang split up. Pero wala pa namang announcement, so iyon ang ating aabangan."

The LizQuen loveteam debuted in the teleserye Forevermore in 2014. Liza and Enrique were in a relationship for the past eight years, though they only went public about their status in 2019.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. - Viktor Frankl