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Sol-Gen threatens libel case vs Trillanes

SOLICITOR-GENERAL Jose C. Calida, in a statement on Thursday, threatened to file a libel case against opposition Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV unless the senator apologizes for claiming that Mr. Calida “stole” his amnesty application form at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters.
Mr. Trillanes’s amnesty in 2011 was revoked last month by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572, which claimed, among others, that Mr. Trillanes did not file an Official Amnesty Application Form and did not acknowledge guilt for the crimes of rebellion and coup d’etat in connection with the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny and 2007 Mania Peninsula Siege.
In his statement, Mr. Calida said “The putschist Mr. Trillanes ranted to the media yesterday that I ‘stole’ his amnesty application document. In effect, Mr. Trillanes maliciously branded me as a thief, which I’m not.”
“Unless Mr. Trillanes expresses his sincere apology for calling me a thief, I shall be constrained to file a criminal case for libel plus damages against him,” Mr. Calida also said.
In a press briefing on Sept. 26, Mr. Trillanes claimed that Mr. Calida either kept or destroyed his amnesty application form.
“Maliwanag dito, kung meron mang nagtago o nagsira ng mga application documents ko, itong si Mr. Calida. Tapos gagamitin nila ‘yan to revoke my amnesty (It is clear, if there is someone who kept or destroyed my application documents, it is Mr. Calida. Then they will use that to revoke my amnesty),” he said.
Mr. Calida, in his statement, said, “I have never entered the offices of the J1 or the Personnel Division of the AFP at Camp Aguinaldo so how could I ‘steal’ documents kept there?”
He was referring to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, whose custodian, Lt. Col. Thea Joan N. Andrade, “issued a Certification that there is no available copy of Trillanes’ application for amnesty,” Mr. Calida said.
Mr. Duterte as well as Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana had earlier cited Mr. Calida for doing “research” on Mr. Trillanes.
Mr. Trillanes, for his part, said Mr. Calida is “in no position to demand anything.”
“Alam niya ang katotohanan (He knows the truth). Alam ng buong Pilipinas, at this point, ang katotohanan. At ganun na lang ‘yun. (The whole Philippines, at this point, knows the truth. That’s it.) Kung ano man ang plano niyang gawin (Whatever he plans to do), I expect the worst out of him. So he can do whatever he wants,” the senator said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

DFA to shorten passport processing

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will shorten the waiting time for passport releases to 12 working days from the original 15 for regular processing and six working days from seven for express processing in Metro Manila, starting Oct. 1.
For DFA Consular offices outside Metro Manila, the waiting time will be reduced to 12 working days from the original 20 for regular processing and to seven working days from 10 for express processing.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said the DFA is also working to reduce the waiting time for passport applications filed at the Philippine Embassies and Consulates around the world. The processing currently takes as long as two months, according to DFA.
“We made a promise to the President and to our kababayan that we will work hard to give them fast, efficient, and secure passport services,” Mr. Cayetano said in a statement from New York.
The DFA has also shortened the waiting time of passport applicants in securing online appointment slots to two weeks to one month compared to the average of two to three months last year.
“From the 9,500 passports that were being processed daily in May last year, we have increased our capacity to almost 20,000 passports a day. We endeavor to increase to number to 30,000 by the end of the year,” Mr. Cayetano said.

State of calamity declared in Ompong-hit regions

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has declared a state of calamity in Regions I, II, III, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) due to “widespread destruction, substantial damage and deaths” caused by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut).
Mr. Duterte and Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea signed Proclamation No. 593 last Tuesday, Sept. 25, declaring a state of calamity in the said regions.
The President’s proclamation said the declaration of a state of calamity was recommended by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
“The declaration of a state of calamity will hasten the rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector, including any international humanitarian assistance,” the Proclamation read.
It added that the “declaration will provide basis for price control measures which can mitigate the economic impact to affected populations, and effectively provide the national government, as well as local government units (LGUs), ample latitude in the utilization of funds for recovery and rehabilitation efforts, on one hand, and delivery of basic needs and services, on the other.”
The Proclamation also directs all departments and other concerned government agencies “to implement and execute rescue, recovery, relief and rehabilitation work in accordance with pertinent operational plans and directives; provide or augment the basic services and facilities of affected LGUs; and undertake all necessary measures to ensure peace and order in the affected areas, as may be necessary.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Determined

Members of the search, rescue and retrieval operations at the landslide site in Barangay Ucab, Itogon, Benguet, in this photo taken on Sept. 26, day 11 after the calamity, express their determination to locate all the victims. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, 14 are still listed as missing while 84 bodies have been retrieved. The Office of Civil Defense in Cordillera, in a Facebook post, said the 500 responders and volunteers at the site are “physically worn out but still emotionally and mentally strong.” In the whole Cordillera Administrative Region, 111 have been confirmed dead and 22 still missing, including those in Baguio City, provinces of Kalinga and Mt. Province, and other parts of Benguet.

W. Visayas tourism frontliners learn Mandarin as DoT sees 1.5M Chinese visitors in 2019

FRONTLINERS of the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas (DoT-6) are undergoing training in Mandarin language as the region anticipates up to 300,000 Chinese visitors next year out of the 1.5 million expected nationwide. DoT-6 Regional Director Helen J. Catalbas said that in 2017, about 100,000 Chinese visited the region, which includes the popular Boracay Island. Ms. Catalbas said they have started the training of tour guides from Aklan, the province under which Boracay belongs. “It will be followed by training of guides from lloilo and Bacolod,” she added. The tourism official also said that they are in talks with several tour operators for possible chartered flights from China to Iloilo, specificially from the cities of Guangzhou and Xiamen, which are closer to the Philippines. Existing flights between Iloilo and Hongkong as well as Iloilo-Singapore are “getting stronger” in terms of passenger load, she added. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

NBI-7 making the rounds to check on rice hoarding

A TOP official of the National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas (NBI)-7) has confirmed that they are going around the region to investigate possible rice hoarding. NBI-7 Acting Regional Director Dominador D. Cimafranca said they started the investigation last week, which primarily covers warehouses of rice traders and distributors in Cebu province as well as those of the National Food Authority (NFA). “I cannot say (yet if it is positive that there is rice hoarding in Cebu) the inspection is ongoing,” Mr. Cimafranca said on Wednesday. The probe, he added, was ordered by the NBI central office. The Freeman sought comments from the NFA-7 and its organization of legitimate distributors, but none responded. — The Freeman

Ex-BoC officer Guban detained for contempt

A JOINT panel in the House of Representatives on Thursday cited for contempt former customs intelligence officer Jimmy S. Guban over conflicting statements during the inquiry on large-scale smuggling of illegal drugs in the country. The House committee on dangerous drugs and good government, and the committee on public accountability pressed Mr. Guban for engaging in the “consignees for hire” practice after he admitted the company SMYD Trading had given him commission worth “P10,000 or P15,000.” Mr. Guban argued it had been a long accepted practice in the Bureau of Customs (BoC), which Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña denied. “The use of other consignees other than that of the bureau is not allowed, and they can be criminally liable,” Mr. Lapeña told the joint panel.—Charmaine A. Tadalan

DoE gears up for geothermal energy exploration in Davao Oriental

THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) is undertaking a study on the potential of the Mati-Lupon-Tarragona geothermal field in Davao Oriental, officials announced on Sept. 25 during an information forum held in the provincial capital, Mati City. The Davao Oriental provincial government, in a statement, said the identified area covers the villages of Buso in Mati. Cabagayan in Tarragona town, and Don Mariano Marcos in Lupon. DoE Science Research Specialist II Joel Miguel said the study, which already started in other areas in 2017 and is targeted for completion by 2021, is intended not just to look into Mati-Lupon-Tarragona’s potential energy source, but also to update the national database and identify areas for geothermal development. Mr. Miguel sought the support of local government officials in getting community cooperation during the assessment and exploration activities. Atty. Marissa P. Cerezo, assistant director of the DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau, allayed fears that geothermal energy explorations trigger earthquakes. “There is no scientific basis for that,” she said, explaining that digging for the exploration is just like “a scratch under the earth.” “Epicenters of earthquakes are hundreds of kilometers below,” she added. Ms. Cerezo also explained that if the areas of study do not prove to be feasible for power generation, these sources can still be tapped for other uses such as for agriculture and tourism, among others. Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang welcomed the exploration saying he hopes that the province would be able to contribute in power generation for economic growth.

Street food, bazaar opens Sept. 29 ahead of Zamboanga’s Hermosa Festival

THE SMOKE Out Zamboanga and Grand Midnight Sale along RT Lim Boulevard starts on Saturday, Sept. 29, to kick off Zamboanga City’s annual Hermosa Festival. The Smoke Out features grilled food and other local delicacies while the Midnight Sale offers various goods at discounted prices. The Hermosa Festival, a fiesta in honor of the city’s patron saint, the Virgen del Pilar, will open on Oct. 1 with various activities lined up. One of these is the first travel and tour exposition on Oct. 5-7, intended to showcase the city’s prime destinations. City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez said the expo, dubbed as Exposicion de Viajes en Zamboanga, will be participated in by shipping companies, airlines, and travel and tour agencies from around the country. “These selected travel and tour agencies will have a business to business scheme with their local counterpart in the city to ensure the availability of the suppliers,” Ms. Hernandez said. “We are also preparing the ‘pocket information’ for the different travel and tour agencies,” she added. Among the tourism sites that will be promoted are the pink-sand Sta. Cruz Island, the 11 islands tour, and different restaurants in the city’s downtown that are preparing Arabian, Malaysian, and Spanish cuisines. — Albert F. Arcilla

NCAA: Games with playoff implications set for today

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE LETRAN KNIGHTS, Perpetual Help Altas, and College of St. Benilde Blazers, teams that have solid shot at landing a spot in the Final Four in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are featured in the triple-header set for today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Letran (9-4), currently at third place, takes on the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the last game of the day in seniors play at 4 p.m. Preceding it are Perpetual Help (8-5) at 12 noon against the Mapua Cardinals and St. Benilde (8-5) versus the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals at 2 p.m.
Winning their last two games which has helped their push for the playoffs, the Knights are looking to continue its charge forward with a win over the already-eliminated Bombers (2-12).
Muralla-based Letran’s most recent win came over EAC on Tuesday, 91-82, where it showed steady composure and aggressiveness throughout the match to lord it over the Generals.
It was a big win for the Knights, allowing it to stay ahead of their closest pursuers in the Altas and Blazers.
“This was a good win for us. It kept us ahead by at least one game of our closest pursuers. But we should not be complacent, we still have to work and prepare for our next game,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa following their win over EAC.
Perpetual Help, for its part, has racked three straight victories to will themselves back in the playoff picture.
Prior to this latest win streak of theirs, the Altas dropped three in a row.
Now back in the groove, Perpetual Help is out to win four straight at the expense of Mapua (4-9), who is coming off a loss in their last game.
The Altas won over JRU, 85-73, last time around, which had them leading from wire-to-wire.
Altas coach Frankie Lim said they have put themselves in a good position and must now seize the moment and take it to another level.
“I think we are in good shape. I told the players the opportunity [for a Final Four spot] is already presenting itself to them and they just have to embrace it,” Mr. Lim said.
The Blazers, meanwhile, have slowed down a bit, losing two straight before getting back on the winning track in their last game against the Arellano Chiefs, 89-73.
Fil-Am rookie Justin Gutang fired 23 points and spiked it with five boards, six assists and three steals to lead St. Benilde in the win.
Facing the Blazers today are the Generals (2-11), who are already eliminated from the race and have lost seven straight matches.

Ancajas has chance to make statement in Barrios fight

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
FOR the sixth time Filipino world champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas will defend his International Boxing Federation super flyweight title, taking on Mexican Alejandro Santiago Barrios in a championship clash on Sept. 29 (Manila time) at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
It will be the third title defense for the Davao del Norte native in 2018 and viewed by one local fight analyst as a chance for the reigning IBF super flyweight champion to make a statement as to his caliber as a champion.
“If we look closely at one Jerwin Ancajas, his impressive skill set speaks for itself. As he performs in the ring, an avid observer of the sport can truly state that he is among the elite of his division. But as a champion, there is an asterisk at the moment because he stands as an untested champion based on the caliber of his opponents in his past title defenses,” said fight analyst Nissi Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“It is worth noting that he has yet to face big names, which can define his career and produce marquee moments like his predecessors in boxing,” he added.
Prior to Mr. Barrios, Mr. Ancajas defeated all his opponents by stoppage save for the last one, against compatriot Jonas Sultan in May this year, which he won by unanimous decision.
Despite emerging with a win, Mr. Ancajas’ victory over Mr. Sultan was received lukewarmly by not a few, who felt he could have performed far better and had a more fiery result.
Coming from where he is, Mr. Icasiano said Mr. Ancajas (30-1-1) has a grand chance in the Barrios fight to prove his doubters wrong, more so since he is boasts of a better skills set.
“In terms of skill level between Jerwin Ancajas and Alejandro Santiago Barrios, the difference is day and night. This is the reason why Jerwin has the chance to make a statement win, given the poor reception and passive response in his bout with Jonas Sultan,” Mr. Icasiano said.
Pressed on how he would call the fight, Mr. Icasiano is giving the edge to the Filipino and sees the fight coming to a close early.
“In terms of experience, Jerwin has already the edge. In the last 18 matches of Alejandro Santiago Barrios, he only fought two quality boxers (Antonio Nieves and Jose Martinez) in the Latin American region, which both resulted into anticlimactic draws. Moreover, I don’t think that his punches will be a big threat to Jerwin Ancajas…,” Mr. Icasiano said.
“I won’t be surprised if Jerwin Ancajas finishes the bout before the fourth round. Alejandro Santiago Barrios will come to terms with the harsh reality that he does not belong in the same league with a lethal ring technician like Jerwin Ancajas,” he added.
Mr. Ancajas, 26, won the International Boxing Federation super flyweight title in September 2016 over Puerto Rican McJoe Arroyo and defended three times in 2017 and two times to date this year.
Twenty-two-year-old Barrios holds a 16-2-4 record.
The Ancajas-Barrios fight will be broadcast live over ESPN5 beginning at 10 a.m.

Chess Olympiad: PHL women’s team smashes Venezuela, 3-1, as Croatia beats the men’s team, 3-1

The Philippine women’s team smashed Venezuela, 3-1, to storm back to relevance even as its men’s squad suffered a 1-3 defeat to higher-ranked Croatia after three rounds of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia Wednesday night.
Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and Woman International Master (WIM) Bernadette Galas delivered the decisive victories against International Master (IM) Sarai Sanchez Castillo and Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Marvia Arcila on the top and fourth board, respectively, to lead the way for the Filipinos, who leapt to a share of 24th spot with four match points.
WIM Catherine Secopito and WFM Shania Mae Mendoza drew with WIM Tairu Rovira Contreras and WFM Corals Garcia on the second and third boards to complete the win for the Philippines, which came here hoping to improve on its 34th place finish in Baku, Azerbaijan two years ago.
It was a win that erased the stigma of a 1.5-2.5 defeat to Slovakia the round before.
Needing at least a draw to seal the match win, Galas, who rested in the first two rounds, went for the win and took it after she turned a pawn advantage into a marathon 79-move victory over of an Alekhine duel.
For the 22-year-old Frayna, her win over Castillo was her third straight after the former also prevailed over WIMs Vania Fausto Da Vilhete of Mozambique and IM Laura Unuk of Slovenia in the first two rounds.
Frayna and company was playing Slovakia in the fourth round at press time.
The men’s squad, which is being bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission, absorbed a 1-3 defeat from Slovakia and fell out of the lead group after starting this 11-round tournament with wins over San Marino, 4-0, and Slovakia, 2.5-1.5.
United States-based Grandmaster (GM) Julio Catalino Sadorra mishandled a winning middlegame and settled with draw versus GM Ivan Saric, the same result extracted by GM John Paul Gomez, who split the point with GM Marin Bosiosic on board four.
IMs Jan Emmanuel Garcia, 22, and Haridas Pascua, 25, succumbed to pressure and fell to GM Ante Brkic and GM Sada Martinovic.
The men’s clashes with Estonia next.

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