CHINESE COAST GUARD VESSELS SHADOW PH NAVY WARSHIP NEAR MISCHIEF REEF: PH COAST GUARD

MANILA - Two Chinese Coast Guard vessels and two Chinese Maritime Militia "fishing vessels/boats" shadowed a Philippine warship near Mischief Reef in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard reported.

PCG Spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo said in a message the Philippine Navy warship BRP Andres Bonifacio ( PS - 17 ) was “monitored and tailed” by the Chinese vessels while the former was conducting a “patrol and search mission” within the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive zone.

According to Balilo, the “Chinese Maritime Militia fishing vessels/boats even conducted an intercept course towards the Philippine Navy warship.”

In 2016, the international arbitral tribunal ruled that China’s “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea was invalid and that it does not have historic rights over the disputed area.

China, however, continues to disregard the verdict. More vessels affiliated with China continue to appear off the Philippines’ west coast, increasing tension between the two countries.

Chinese ships cruising in the disputed region have often been reported shadowing, intercepting, or harassing Philippine fishing vessels.

Meanwhile in a statement Commander Ariel Coloma, Chief PAO of WESCOM said, that navy vessels are doing regular patrols in the WPS as mandated.

“Our vessels are actually conducting regular sovereignty and maritime patrols in the WPS. The presence of PN and PCG vessels right now in those areas is part of their mandated tasks. As regards activity or mission of BRP Malapascua, may I refer you to the PCG," he said.

ZAMBALES FISHERMEN SEEK MARCOS HELP IN DEMANDING COMPENSATION FROM CHINESE VESSEL

MANILA - Fishermen from Masinloc, Zambales asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday to help them get compensation after a Chinese ship damaged their equipment in the West Philippine Sea.

Leonardo Cuaresma, president of the New Masinloc Fisherman’s Association, said their group wanted to bring the incident to the President's attention.

Cuaresma was referring to the January 17, 2023 incident where a Chinese coal hauler ship HC Glory Hong Kong dragged and broke the rope attached to the base of a Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) owned by the fishermen's association.

“Malayo pa ang barko, sinenyasan na ng mga mangingisda na lumihis kasi nakatumbok ito sa kanila. Sa kasamaang palad po ay hindi lumihis ang barko at nakaladkad nito ang payao po namin hanggang sa ito ay maputol. Ayon sa mga kasamahang mangingisda, kung hindi nila naalis ang pagkakatali, malamang sila ay nakaladkad ng barko,” Cuaresma said during the online show The West Philippine Sea CATCH.

He added that according to fishermen who witnessed the incident, the Chinese ship's crew didn't do anything when the FAD was caught.

“Walang ginawa ang mga tripulante ng mga barko habang nakakaladkad nito, hanggang sa tuluyang ito ay maputol.”

The fishermen said they sought the assistance of the Coast Guard and Bureau of Customs to “mediate” and have an audience with the captain of HC Glory Hong Kong to “explain their side," and seek compensation for the damage incurred.

UN RAPPORTEUR ON EJK TO VISIT PH TO 'HELP CAPACITATE' DOCTORS: DOJ

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sunday said a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur is scheduled to visit the Philippines as a forensic pathologist, and not in his capacity as a rapporteur on extra-judicial killings.

In a statement, the DOJ said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla personally invited forensic expert and UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial summary or arbitrary executions Morris Tidball-Binz, who will be in the country from Feb. 6 to 9.

However, the department clarified that Tidball-Binz is not coming to the country as a special rapporteur on EJK, but as an "expert in the field of forensic pathology."

"I invited Dr. Tidball-Binz because his work speaks for itself. His missions and projects had an immeasurable impact on the countries he has helped. He has provided closure for families and victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. We are hoping for the same when he visits the Philippines," Remulla said.

DOJ also noted that Remulla invited Tidball-Binz to the Philippines when they met in Geneva, Switzerland last November to attend the Universal Peer Review, a month after Remulla presented contrasting views on the country's human rights situation before the UN Human Rights Council.

Referring to the accomplishments of Tidall-Binz, Remulla said: "This will pave the way for forensic pathologists and enhance their practice to achieve international standard practices. Dr. Tidball-Binz's visit will help us identify the intricacies of wrongful death tragedies."

"He is coming in his capacity as an expert in the field to help capacitate our current doctors. We need more capable doctors in our country to assist our law enforcement agencies in their work. This is an enormous step towards that goal," the Justice official explained.

Tidball-Binz's visit comes 2 weeks after the International Criminal Court (ICC) moved to resume its investigation of the Duterte administration's drug war and the Davao Death Squad killings.

CAGAYAN GOVERNOR OPPOSES EXPANDED US ACCESS TO PHILIPPINE MILITARY BASES

MANILA — The governor of Cagayan province is opposing the national government’s move to expand the United States' access to Philippine military bases as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

Manila and Washington last week announced a deal give US troops access to another 4 bases in the face of China's military rise. Authorities have yet to announce the locations, but reports said Cagayan -- which faces China, Taiwan and the Korean peninsula -- was being considered as a possible site.

Speaking to TeleRadyo, Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said he believed residents of his province do not want conflict with any of the Philippines' neighbors.

“Anything foreign forces ay hindi po welcome sa atin (is not welcome here). This is my personal opinion 'no, I still have to consult our people at least. Pero sa tingin ko ay tama po (but I think this is right),” he said.

“And lalong-lalo na kung ito ay para sa away lang ng ibang bansa. Hindi po namin kaaway ang any of our neighbors -- not Taiwan, not China, not Japan, not Korea. Para sa amin po, hindi po namin sila kaaway.”

Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez told reporters the location of the new sites would be made public after local communities and officials had been consulted.

Mamba said the presence of foreign troops could hurt the Philippines’ relationship with China.

“Sa akin po ang ganda din ng relationship natin with China... Sila po yung tumutulong sa amin dito, nagpapadala ng pagkain… And we have a lot of Chinese, from the Chinese business people dito,” the governor said.

GOV'T URGED TO RAMP UP INFRA MAINTENANCE, REHAB

The Philippines must ramp up the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure projects and not just focus on new construction to be at par with its peers, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc (AMCHAM) Infrastructure and Logistics Committee Co-Chair Engr. Rynor Jamandre said on Monday.

In order to keep infrastructure in top shape, Jamandre said the Philippines must welcome private and foreign investors.

"There should be a well coordinated construction, maintenance and rehab of projects. It’s not enough that we build. Construction is good but maintenance and rehab is lagging," he said.

Transport and other major projects are beneficial since they are seen to generate jobs. But Jamandre stressed there should also be equitable use of capital.

"Make sure that choice of infrastructure are creating long term jobs and reduce poverty," he said.

Developments should also be brought to the provinces to decongest Metro Manila, he added.

"A lot of the infrastructure should go to the country side because the only way to decongest Metro Manila is to actually get those infrastructure available in the provinces so we don’t have to pull in those human resources in Metro Manila," Jamandre said.

Although surging inflation has caused a slowdown in the construction sector, Jamandre said there are some advantages.

"The inflation in material costs slowed down construction. But I will preach that doing construction during recession year has its own advantages. Construction can sustain a portion of the demand to get the supply chain growing," he said.

"A lot of contractors are out of jobs, so you can negotiate better construction contract," he added.

LOWEST COVID CASES LOGGED IN 1,052 DAYS

The Department of Health on Sunday logged just 36 new COVID-19 cases across the country, the smallest tally in 1,052 days and the sixth straight day there have been fewer than 200 new cases reported.

It was the lowest daily total since 13 were reported on March 20, 2020— two years, 10 months, and 16 days ago near the start of the pandemic.

Active cases have also decreased to 9,378, the lowest in 218 days since 9,105 active cases were reported on July 2 last year.

The new cases bring the country’s caseload to 4,073,826, according to the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker. Total recoveries increased by 217 cases to 3,998,597, and the death toll rose by 12 to 65,851.

The region with the greatest number of new cases over the last fortnight is Metro Manila with 614 cases, followed by Calabarzon with 268; Region XI with 175; Region VI with 151; and Region III with 138.

Independent monitoring group OCTA Research said the country’s positivity rate—the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested—dropped to 1.8% on Friday.

MINING TAKES STAR ROLE IN LAST LEG OF DENR'S NATIONWIDE CONSULTATIONS

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Mining became one of the major topics in the final leg of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ multi-stakeholder dialogue in Mindanao last week, with mining companies sharing how they have been managing the environmental and social aspects of their operations.

As police broke up the human wall of anti-mining residents of Sibuyan Island in Romblon in Luzon, the mining industry took the stage at at the Limketkai Luxe Hotel in Cagayan de Oro last Friday and spoke about what they said was responsible mining.

Rocky Dimaculangan, vice president for communications of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, said the association’s members have adopted the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard that was developed by the Mining Association of Canada in 2004.

TSM requires mining firms to annually assess their facilities’ performance in key areas such as tailings management, community outreach, safety and health, biodiversity conservation, crisis management, and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management.

"The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines is in tune with the times and our members are ready to contribute our share to meet the global demand for green technologies through sustainable mining practices," added Dimaculangan, who is also the national coordinator for TSM.

Mark Vincent Junel Felias, officer-in-charge of community relations and development department of Taganito Mining Corp., noted that mining persists "because it is able to provide meaningful and tangible support not only to national interests and agenda, but also towards the needs of many remote communities where life may be different and difficult."

TMC is a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp., which operates in Claver, Surigao del Norte.

Jasmin Dansigan Goriano, a member of the Mansaka indigenous peoples community in Davao De Oro, said their partnership with Apex Mining Co., Inc. "has given us the opportunity to have a better life."

She added the firm has made community livelihood opportunities, and access to healthcare and education available.

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BPI POSTS P39.6 BILLION NET INCOME IN 2022; UP BY 66 PERCENT

MANILA - The Bank of the Philippine Islands said it ended 2022 with a full year net income of P39.6 billion, up 66 percent compared to the previous year due to strong loan growth and lower provisions, among others.

Excluding the impact of the one-off gain from the property sale in the second quarter, net income stood at P35.9 billion or up 50.2 percent, the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

In the fourth quarter, BPI said its net income reached P9.1 billion, higher by 41.4 percent year-on-year and down 10.3 percent quarter-on-quarter.

BPI said it generated a record P118.5 billion in revenues, up by 21.7 percent.

As of Dec. 31, 2022, total loans stood at P1.7 trillion, higher by 15.3 percent led by growth in the credit card, corporate or SME and auto portfolios, the bank said.

Several banks have reported a notable increase in lending activities as the economy continues to reopen and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ONION, GARLIC HOARDERS FACE RAPS

The government will go after unscrupulous traders and hoarders of onion and garlic, whose days are numbered, House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said Sunday.

“We received information that these people are hoarding onion, and more recently even garlic, to create an artificial scarcity in supply and induce price increases,” he said. “This is economic sabotage.”

Despite the ongoing harvest season and the entry of imported onions, retail prices remain high, Romualdez said.

He said he has already instructed the House committee on agriculture and food, chaired by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, to conduct an investigation and, if warranted by evidence, to recommend the filing of criminal charges against the people behind the scheme.

The House panel will also consider recommending to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the “calibrated importation” of onion and garlic to force these hoarders to unload their stocks and drive prices down.

This importation, however, should not in any way prejudice the welfare of local farmers, he said.

“It is very important to ensure that any importation should consist of such quantity and be done well ahead of the harvest season to avoid any adverse effect on the livelihood of our local farmers,” he said.

PRICES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS TO GO DOWN BY AS MUCH AS P3 ON TUESDAY, FEB. 7

MANILA — Diesel prices will be reduced by as much as P3 per liter as oil firms on Monday announced a price rollback for petroleum products.

The following adjustments will take effect on Feb. 7:

PILIPINAS SHELL

Gasoline P2.10 per liter rollback

Kerosene P2.30 per liter rollback

Diesel P3 per liter rollback

SEAOIL

Gasoline P2.10 per liter rollback

Kerosene P2.30 per liter rollback

Diesel P3 per liter rollback

PETROGAZZ

• Gasoline P2.10 per liter rollback

• Diesel P3 per liter rollback

OVER 200 QUEZON CITY COUPLES EXCHANGE VOWS

MANILA — The Quezon City government has started its annual mass wedding program in time for the month of love, February.

Mayor Joy Belmonte solemnized the wedding of more than 200 couples from the city’s Districts 3 and 4 over the weekend.

For District 3, the mass wedding or kasalang bayan themed “Konsistent na Pag-ibig (consistent love)” was held at the Quezon City Hall’s Risen Garden.

The marriages of 115 couples were solemnized by Belmonte, with District 3 Rep. Franz Pumaren also attending the ceremony.

All the couples received gift bags from the offices of Belmonte and Pumaren.

For District 4, a total of 111 couples tied the knot in a ceremony at the Amoranto Sports Complex.

Accompanying Belmonte during the event were District 4 Councilor Egay Yap, Business Permits and Licensing Department head Ma. Margarita Santos and District 4 coordinator Yolly Lacsamana as the representative of Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.

The newlyweds also received gift bags from the office of Yap.

The annual mass weddings are part of the city government’s Valentine celebration.

“Love has no limits. Love is universal. Love wins, always,” Belmonte said in a tweet as she announced that her office, in coordination with the QC Gender and Development Council, is organizing a commitment ceremony for the LGBTQIA+ couples.

The city government said the initiative is part of its commitment to promote a gender-fair city “where LGBT community is treated with respect and equality.”

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

DEREK RAMSAY ASKS ELLEN ADARNA TO MARRY HIM AGAIN ON THEIR 2ND ANNIVERSARY

MANILA -- Ellen Adarna and Derek Ramsay marked their second anniversary as a couple last February 4.

On Instagram, Ramsay shared his anniversary message for Adarna, asking her to marry him again.

"2 years strong with my X girlfriend. Dai @maria.elena.adarna pls Marry me again" Ramsay wrote.

Adarna also shared her message to Ramsay to mark their special day as she posted a throwback photo of them.

"2 years ex boyfriend. This photo is from 2 years ago today… I still remember clearly when you told me 'I love you.' I love you too!" she wrote.

Adarna and Ramsay became a couple on February 2021 after just weeks of dating. Nine months after confirming their relationship to the public, the two got married on November 11, the same year.

SPORTS

SAN MIGUEL DEF. MAGNOLIA, 100-98

San Miguel Beermen (4-0) uses strong third quarter to escape past the Magnolia Timplados Hotshots (0-3), 100-98 to grab their fourth straight win in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Sunday, February 5 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Cameron Clark led the Beermen in scoring with 19 points, ten rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. Marcio Lassiter with a solid game of 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc along with four rebounds, four assists and one block while June Mar Fajardo had a double-double performance of 16 points, ten rebounds and a block in 32 minutes of play.

The Scores:

SAN MIGUEL 100 - Clark 19, Lassiter 18, Perez 17, Fajardo 16, Cruz 13, Enciso 12, Brondial 3, Manuel 2, Bulanadi 0, Tautuaa 0.

MAGNOLIA 98 – Lee 19, Jalalon 17, Barroca 13, McCree 13, Abueva 11, Laput 9, Escoto 9, Dela Rosa 4, Wong 3, Corpuz 0, Reavis 0, Mendoza 0.

Quarters: 26-29, 47-51, 79-70, 100-98

GINEBRA DEF. RAIN OR SHINE, 116-108

Barangay Ginebra (1-0) uses strong fourth quarter to beat the winless Rain or Shine (0-4), 116-108 and grab their first win in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup on Sunday, February 5 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings balanced attack with a huge triple-double of 29 points (11/17fg, 2/7 3pts, 5/6ft) to go with ten rebounds and eleven assists in 43 minutes of play. Japeth Aguilar with a solid game of 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field to go with one rebound, one assist and a steal while Scottie Thompson added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Scores:

GINEBRA 116 - Brownlee 29, J Aguilar 18, Thompson 15, Malonzo 14, Pringle 14, Pinto 12, Gray 7, Standhardinger 4, Tenorio 3, Mariano 0.

RAIN OR SHINE 108 – Qualls 23, Belga 21, Nambatac 18, Yap 11, Santillan 7, Torres 7, Mamuyac 6, Borboran 5, Demusis 4, Asistio 4, Norwood 2, Ponferada 0.

Quarters: 28-21, 50-45, 80-81, 116-108

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. - Carlos Castaneda