160,000 cops to be deployed for May 13 elections

May 2, 2019 | 8:49 pm

THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) has raised to 160,000 from 143,000 the number of police personnel that will be deployed for the May 13 midterm elections. PNP Spokesperson Col. Bernard M. Banac, in a press conference on Thursday, said this means that cops who are under administrative duties will also be given tasks related to securing the polls, including as contingency teams that will be deployed should there be violence in some areas. Meanwhile, with the prevailing election-related gun ban, the PNP reported that a total of 4,038 firearms have been voluntarily surrendered and confiscated as a result of PNP’s focused police operations from Jan. 13 to April 29, and 4,839 individuals have been arrested. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Iloilo City council calls on water distributors to waive minimum fee amid water shortage due to El Niño

May 2, 2019 | 8:47 pm

THE ILOILO Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) passed a resolution last April 30 calling on the city’s two water distributors to waive the minimum rate amid the prevailing water shortage due to El Niño, especially for consumers who are unable to fully draw the minimum 10-cubic meter (cu.m) supply per month.

Councilor R. Leone N. Gerochi, proponent of the resolution, said consumers should not be compelled to pay for the minimum 10 cu.m fee if the supplier cannot provide this.

“There are unforeseen circumstances that are happening which can greatly affect the supply of water. You cannot utilize the 10 cu.m simply because there is no water flowing so the customers should not be compelled to pay the minimum rate,” Mr. Gerochi said.

The two main water providers in the city are Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) and South Balibago Resources, Inc. (SBRI).

For the first 10 cu.m, MIWD charges between P200 to P640 for residential and government customers based on the meter size, while SBRI has a rate of P357.50.

“Climate change has brought extreme dry season in the city of Iloilo wherein the supply and distribution of water has been affected negatively. Many areas in Iloilo City which used to enjoy some slightly adequate water supply have suddenly been experiencing no water flow,” Mr. Gerochi said.

The councilor also said that the passage of the resolution is intended to encourage consumers to voice their concerns.

“We are encouraging the residents to air out their concerns so that they will not pay for the extra amount,” he said.

Mr. Gerochi acknowledged that the resolution could not readily compel the utilities to drop the minimum fee.

“This is the sentiment of the city council, it depends on them on how they will act on it,” he said. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

Iloilo strengthens ‘bike-friendly city’ campaign

May 2, 2019 | 8:46 pm

THE ILOILO City government, supported by the private sector, is holding the 6^th Iloilo Bike Festival from May 1 to 5 as it strengthens its campaign towards becoming a “bike-friendly city.” Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III, at the festival’s opening held at the Festive Walk Mall of Iloilo Business Park, said their goal is to further promote cycling as part of daily life and not just a weekend activity. He said projects are continuing to encourage the use of bicycles as a regular mode of transport while at the same time campaigning for the practice of road sharing. Two ordinances that ban bicycles in certain portions of Iloilo City, which were passed in 1982 and 1983, are up for repeal by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council). “This is a priority of my administration and my government,” Mr. Espinosa said, adding that his “dream” is to see Iloilo become like Amsterdam in The Netherlands, where the number of bicycles are higher than the population. “We will be saving nature at the same time,” he added. Iloilo City Sports Division head Moises Salomon Jr., for his part, stressed the health benefits of biking. He said, “We hope to promote biking because it can really help us maintain a healthy lifestyle.” — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

Marcos Bridge closure moved to May 11

May 2, 2019 | 8:45 pm

THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Thursday that the closure of the eastbound side of Marcos Bridge in Marikina City will be moved to May 11 from May 4. In a statement, MMDA said it decided to delay the closure following a coordination meeting with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its private contractor, and SM Marikina. The meeting and ocular inspection showed that the contractor is not yet fully prepared to push through with the Marcos Bridge rehabilitation project that would affect motorists, truckers, and commuters in the eastern part of Metro Manila. The private contractor was given a week to complete the necessary preparations to minimize inconvenience to motorists. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

New Hall of Justice in QC inaugurated

May 2, 2019 | 8:44 pm

A NEW Hall of Justice that can accommodate 52 court branches was inaugurated in Quezon City on Wednesday. In a statement, the Supreme Court said the building also has an “integrated data infrastructure for management of eCourts and rooms with video link equipment for family court hearings” as well as business center, day care center, library, office for the Philippine Judges Association, and a Department of Justice waiting area. The inauguration and blessing ceremony of the Quezon City Hall of Justice-Annex was led by Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin and Quezon City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista. Also present were QC Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Cecilyn E. Burgos-Villavert and Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, among others. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Zamboanga City residents warned not to gather, eat dead fish along boulevard as BFAR investigates fish kill incident

May 2, 2019 | 8:44 pm

THE ZAMBOANGA City government has advised the public not to gather and eat the thousands of dead rabbitfish, locally referred to as danggit, that were found floating in the waters and washed along the shore of R.T. Lim Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar also advised people not to swim in the area until the cause of the incident is determined and a clearance is issued by the local government. Representatives of the City Agriculture Office, Office Of The City Environment and Natural Resources, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources immediately went to the area on Wednesday to collect water and fish samples for testing. Ms. Salazar said the results were expected by Thursday, but updates were not yet available as of this posting. BFAR’s initial assessment is that the fish kill may have been caused by the dissolved oxygen level given the prevailing dry spell and the sudden downpour earlier this week.

Bangsmoro regional human rights investigator, driver shot dead

May 2, 2019 | 8:43 pm

AN INVESTIGATOR of the Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Archad Ayao, was shot dead in Cotabato City Tuesday while on board a motorcycle transport service known as habal-habal. The habal-habal driver, identified as Pio Orteza, was also shot and killed. The Cotabato City Police Office reported that the victims were traversing Don Ramon Rabago Street in Barangay Rosary Heights 4 when two unidentified gunmen, also on board a motorcycle, fired at them. Both were hit in the head and declared dead on arrival at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center. Two .45 caliber pistol cartridges were recovered at the crime scene. Police Corporal Reynante Mayo said the motive is still unknown, and, “We are still requesting CCTV footages from nearby establishments to help with our investigation.” Former RHRC head and current member of the Bangsamoro Parliament Laisa Masuhud-Alamia said, “I’m praying that Archad’s murder wouldn’t become just a part of police statistics.” Ms. Masuhud-Alamia recalled the murder of a humanitarian worker of the then ARMM, Betsy Yap, in Maguindanao last year, which remains unresolved. “Her (Ms. Yap’s) case continues to be unresolved. Just like Betsy, Archad was so young when he was killed. These are tragedies that are difficult to cope with,” she said. — Tajallih S. Basman

Nation at a Glance — (05/03/19)

May 2, 2019 | 8:40 pm

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

UAAP women’s volleyball Final Four this weekend

May 2, 2019 | 6:15 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

COMPETITION in women’s volleyball in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines enters the Final Four round this weekend with all the remaining teams engaging in marquee matches at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Top seeds Ateneo Lady Eagles face off with the fourth seeds Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws in one semifinal pairing while number-two team University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses collide with number three and defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers on the other.

Ateneo and UST, as the top two teams at the end of the elimination round, carry a twice-to-beat advantage over their opponents in the Final Four.

First to go off is Ateneo versus FEU on Saturday, May 4, at 4 p.m.

It is a rematch of last year’s semifinal encounter with the tables turned as the Lady Eagles now carry the twice-to-beat incentive.

In Season 80, FEU saw no need to use its twice-to-beat edge, eliminating Ateneo at the first instance to advance to the finals.

This time around, the Lady Eagles, under coach Oliver Almadro, vow to do better, armed with momentum built on a solid elimination round run that saw them losing just two matches out of 14, all at the hands of La Salle.

Leading the way for Ateneo is senior Kat Tolentino, the league’s fourth leading scorer with an average of 14.3 points per contest.

After her is Maddie Madayag (11.6 points), Ponggay Gaston (8.7 points) and Bea De Leon (8.1 points).

They have had the number of FEU this season, beating the latter in their two previous encounters — winning in five sets in the first round and in three in the second round.

Despite having no success against Ateneo so far this year, FEU remains bullish of their chances.

Graduating player Heather Guino-o is top-scoring for the Lady Tamaraws with an average of 12.8 points with support from Celine Domingo and Jerrili Malabanan.

FEU finished the elimination round with a 9-5 card.

Over at the other pairing, UST looks to take full advantage of the twice-to-beat it holds after pulling it from under La Salle.

In their one-game playoff on Wednesday to determine the second seed, UST played with more spirit and was steadier to cast aside the Lady Spikers in four sets, 25-14, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-19.

League leading scorer Sisi Rondina stepped up big time for the Tigresses, finishing with 29 points. She was ably supported by rookie Eya Laure with 17.

“We really wanted to win this game. We said to ourselves we have nothing to lose and that we just have to go for it and play,” said Rondina after their victory.

“But there is no relaxing right now. We will continue working and stay on the same page to achieve our goals,” she added.

La Salle rued the lost opportunity but is determined to make the most of what it is dealt entering the Final Four.

The Lady Spikers are hinging their season on the play of rookie Jolina Dela Cruz and veterans Des Cheng, Aduke Ogunsanya, May Luna and Michelle Cobb.

The two teams split their first two encounters in the elimination round.

The UST-La Salle semifinal tiff is on May 5.

Messi torments Liverpool with 600th Barcelona goal in 3-0 win

May 2, 2019 | 6:15 pm

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi put Barcelona on the verge of the Champions League final with a devastating double in a 3-0 home win over Liverpool in the first leg of their last-four clash on Wednesday, taking his goal tally for the Catalans to 600.

The Argentine’s milestone goal was a moment of brilliance as he curled a dazzling free kick into the top corner from distance to add gloss to a scoreline that did not reflect the balance of play.

Yet whereas Barcelona took their chances with clinical precision, Liverpool wasted a string of opportunities that fell their way.

Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez reminded the visitors of his superb finishing by opening the scoring in the 26^th minute of a tense and finely-balanced first half at the Nou Camp, darting between two Liverpool defenders to divert Jordi Alba’s cross into the net.

Barca captain Messi scored the all-important second goal of the night in the 75^th minute, chesting the ball down on the rebound and dribbling it over the line after Suarez had hammered the crossbar with a shot with his knee.

The Argentine then added to Barca’s already huge advantage to take into next Tuesday’s second leg at Anfield by smashing home his sizzling free kick in the 82^nd minute.

“Four goals would have been better than three but this is a very good result,” Messi told reporters.

“We know that the tie isn’t over, Anfield is a very difficult place to go but we’re happy with the super game we played tonight. They clearly wanted to score because an away goal means a lot but they didn’t and we have a great advantage.”

LITTLE MERCY
Liverpool, who were beaten 3-1 in last year’s final by Real Madrid, played far better than the scoreline suggested, carving out a number of clear chances but spurning them all.

Barca’s South American duo of Suarez and Messi showed little mercy whenever they sniffed out a chance and condemned Juergen Klopp’s side to their first defeat in any competition since January with some ruthless finishing.

Klopp praised his side’s performance but he was not optimistic about the likelihood of a miraculous turnaround.

“I was completely happy with how we played, we played between the lines, we had chances and caused them a lot of problems,” the German told a news conference.

“If you lose away it’s not a massive problem as long as you scored a goal but we didn’t score that goal and that makes things a lot harder. We have a chance because it’s football but we had a much bigger chance before tonight.”

Suarez spared little thought for his former employers following his eventful three-and-a-half-year stay on Merseyside, as he celebrated his opening strike with relish, racing behind the goal and wagging his finger at the delighted Barca fans.

GLORIOUS CHANCE
Sadio Mane squandered a glorious chance to level for the Premier League side later in the first half but scooped the ball over the bar, while James Milner and Mohamed Salah were both denied by Barca’s excellent Marc-Andre ter Stegen later on.

Klopp’s side had done an impressive job of shackling Barca’s all-time top scorer Messi, but there was little they could do when the Argentine pounced on the loose ball after Suarez had hit the crossbar.

Messi sparked further celebrations at a packed Nou Camp with another outstanding free kick, yet the drama in this blockbuster European encounter was far from over.

Liverpool again went agonisingly close to snatching an away goal as Barca’s Ivan Rakitic scrambled the ball off the goal line only to find the feet of Salah, who somehow smashed the rebound against the near post.

Barca could have seized an even bigger advantage in the tie with two golden chances as Liverpool tired that fell to substitute Ousmane Dembele, but the Frenchman missed the target the first time then shot straight into the hands of goalkeeper Alisson Becker. — Reuters

Hotshots go for 2-0 series lead over Beermen today

May 2, 2019 | 6:14 pm

HAVING DRAWN first blood in their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals series last time around, the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok look to double up on the San Miguel Beermen in Game Two today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Fashioned out a gutsy 99-94 victory in the series opener on Wednesday, the Hotshots try to continue rolling and move further closer to dethroning the Beermen as champions of the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association tournament.

In Game One, Magnolia banked on a total team effort on both ends of the court as it successfully overcame San Miguel, which got a monster game from reigning league most valuable player June Mar Fajardo.

Paul Lee led six players in double digits in scoring for the Hotshots with 18 points, followed by Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca with 17 apiece.

Jio Jalalon had 16 and Rafi Reavis and Justin Melton finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Magnolia stood firm down the stretch and continuously frustrated the charge of San Miguel in booking the win.

Mr. Fajardo showed the way for the Beermen with 35 points and 21 rebounds.

Alex Cabagnot, meanwhile, had 18 points with Arwind Santos tallying 13 points and 15 boards for San Miguel, which is out to claim a fifth straight All-Filipino title.

“We’ll just be ready for Game Two. I think San Miguel will make the adjustments after today. We, too, have to adjust especially our perimeter defense,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero after Game One.

“One win does not win a series. We have experienced being down in a series and there is still long way to go,” he added.

For the Beermen, they said they hope to play better in the next game, especially with their shooting percentage and shot selection, to improve their chances in games.

“We are lucky this is not a knockout game and we have a chance to adjust. Credit to Magnolia’s defense for making it tough for us tonight,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

“We will watch the tape and see what we can do for the next game,” he added.

Game Two of the finals is set for 7 p.m. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Filipina overcomes extreme weather to finish the 78o North Marathon

May 2, 2019 | 6:14 pm

BEATS extreme cold in marathon near North Pole. Filipina runner Joyette Jopson overcame all odds and conquered the grueling 42-kilometer 78° North Marathon held near the North Pole last April 16.

Jopson — triathlete, 2014 Ironman 70.3 Philippines Filipino Elite Champion and FWD Financial Wealth Officer — became the very first Filipina to run a marathon in the freezing temperature of Longyearbyen, Svalbard — a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Jopson and the FWD Team Asia runners ran amid a ruggedly icy terrain and freezing temperature. She finished the race with an impressive time of four hours, 10 minutes, and 59 seconds — good for third overall and first in the women’s group.

The lone Philippine representative in the marathon, Ms. Jopson joined other FWD runners from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand in the marathon sponsored by the global FWD group. Her participation, in turn, was sponsored by insurance firm FWD Philippines.

“The FWD Group had initially been supporting the world’s ‘coolest’ marathon at the North Pole, returning as title sponsor for the third year in a row,” says Peter Grimes, FWD Philippines President and CEO.

“The Marathon was cancelled at the last minute because of geopolitical tensions between the Russian and Ukrainian administrations regarding flight plans to the Pole,” Grimes adds.

Undeterred, FWD stepped in with the idea to create and organize its own marathon at Longyearbyen, which they called the 78° North Marathon, so that runners could still fulfill their ambitions to complete a marathon in sub-zero temperatures and extreme winter conditions while raising funds for their sponsored charities. FWD successfully arranged the marathon against the odds in three hectic days, inviting all registered North Pole Marathon runners to take part.