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Blast at military checkpoint in Basilan kills 10

TEN PEOPLE, including troops and civilians, were killed when an explosion tore through a van at an army checkpoint near the city proper of Lamitan early Tuesday, as authorities warned the blast could be linked to a wider plot by Islamic militants.
The powerful explosion happened after soldiers and pro-government militia troops stopped the vehicle and tried to search it just after dawn on the outskirts of the mainly Christian city of Lamitan, which is on the predominantly Muslim island province of Basilan.
The Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom), in a statement, said military troops belonging to the 9th Scout Ranger Company acted upon a report of the presence of a white public utility van suspected to be carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Magwakit Detachment in Barangay Colonia.
One soldier, five militia troops and four civilians were killed.
The van driver, a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf militant group also died, Philippine military spokesman Colonel Edgard A. Arevalo told reporters in Manila.
He added that government forces had been on heightened alert after receiving reports that extremists planned to plant IEDs in areas around the island.
“We can just imagine the tragedy that this would bring to the people of Basilan had we not stopped them at the checkpoint,” Mr. Arevalo said.
Authorities earlier said at least five people died in the blast.
The hinterlands of the island province of Basilan is considered a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that has pledged allegiance with the Islamic State.
“The suspect detonated the bomb sensing danger he will be captured,” Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv S. Hataman told AFP.
Lamitan City Mayor Rose U. Furigay has also issued an order to heighten security measures, especially the inspection of all vehicles entering the city.
Vice Mayor Roderick H. Furigay, meanwhile, speculated that the explosives could have been intended for a parade on Tuesday morning by 4,000 children in the center of the town to mark the country’s “nutrition month”.
“That could have been (the target),” he said on ABS-CBN television.
Lt. Gen. Arnel B. Dela Vega, WesMinCom commander, said he is “committed to exhaust every available resource under his disposal to identify the perpetrators in the soonest possible time.”
The Abu Sayyaf is among several armed groups fighting government forces in the southern Philippines in decades-long rebellion that has claimed more than 100,000 lives by government count.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to create greater Muslim autonomy in the south.
Mr. Duterte put Mindanao, the southern islands in the Philippines including Basilan, under martial rule until the end of this year after Abu Sayyaf members based on the island joined pro-Islamic State group militants who seized the city of Marawi last year.
The five-month siege killed 1,200 people and destroyed much of the center of the city, which Mr. Duterte said the militants planned to turn into the capital of a southeast Asian caliphate.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. condemned the attack, describing it a “war crime” apparently intended against civilians.
”We condemn in the strongest possible terms the latest terrorist attack in Basilan perpetrated in violation of our laws,” Mr. Roque said during a briefing at in Malacañang yesterday.
“We note that even in times of war, the attack constitutes a war crime because it constitutes an indiscriminate attack which is prohibited by Article 4C-1 Attacks on Civilian, by R.A. 9851, IHL Act of 2009,” he added.
Mr. Duterte, soon after signing the BOL, said in a speech in Zamboanga City that he is open to talks and possibly giving pardon to Abu Sayyaf members who will surrender.
In light of the Basilan blast, Mr. Roque clarified that while the President is encouraging the militants to surrender, there will be no “absolute pardon” for criminal acts.
In a statement, Mr. Hataman also appealed to the media and the public to “stick to the facts and not forego our responsibility to the truth” as investigation is ongoing.
“(R)umors and unfounded claims may lead to fear-mongering and may further fuel instability at a time when we are working hard to win the peace and pursue justice,” he said. — AFP with reports from Albert F. Arcilla and Arjay L. Balinbin

Palace submits to Congress bill on department of disaster resilience

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
MALACAÑANG HAS submitted to Congress its version of the proposed law for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. disclosed on Tuesday.
“The Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) has transmitted yesterday (July 30) to the Offices of the Senate President and the House Speaker the administration’s version of the bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience or DDR,” Mr. Roque said in a press briefing at the Palace on July 31.
He added: “The bill is anchored on the government’s experience with previous disasters, among them, super-typhoon Yolanda (in 2013), and guided by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s leadership principles.”
The proposed law, according to Mr. Roque, “is consistent with what the President said even on the Marawi’s [rehabilitation], ayaw niya ng committee-committee (that he does not like multiple committees).”
“The President made this very clear when the proposed bill was presented at the last Cabinet meeting. Only one person is in charge; although, inevitably, there will have to be interagency work because the line agencies do still have their mandate, but there will be one person calling the shots in case of disasters,” Mr. Roque also said.
A key feature of this bill “is a clear system of responsibility for disaster preparedness and response classified into four levels — from Levels 1 to 4 or from the municipal/city mayor all the way up to the Secretary of Disaster Resilience,” the bill’s explanatory note said.
The establishment of the DDR “answers the oft-repeated question in times of disaster: who is in charge?” the note also read.
It added that the “system of assigning levels of responsibility is aimed at ensuring unity of command and effective collaboration in the country’s disaster resilience efforts.”
The DDR will also have the power “to temporarily take over or direct any private utility to avert disasters and/or save lives.”

Businessman entitled to bail after downgraded estafa charge

THE Supreme Court downgraded estafa charges against businessman Delfin S. Lee, thereby allowing him the recourse of bail.
In his Tuesday press briefing, SC Assistant Court Administrator and Chief Public Information Officer Theodore O. Te said the high court “downgraded the offense that respondent Delfin Lee is charged with from syndicated estafa under Article 315, as amended, to simple estafa.”
Thus, Mr. Lee “is entitled to bail as a matter of right,” Mr. Te added.
The SC voted 7-5 in Mr. Lee’s favor, with two of the justices “taking no part” in the voting, the high court spokesman also said.
The SC has not released copies of the decision as of this reporting.
Mr. Lee, president of real estate firm Globe Asiatique, was charged with syndicated estafa after allegedly taking in P6.6 billion worth of housing loans from the PAG-IBIG fund, using “ghost borrowers.” Others inmplicated in the syndicated estafa case filed by the DoJ are Mr. Lee’s son Dexter L. Lee, Globe Asiatique officials Christina Sagun and Cristina Salagan, and PAG-IBIG lawyer Alex Alvarez.
The Court of Appeals(CA) dismissed the syndicated estafa cases of Ms. Sagun and Mr. Alvarez but the SC subsequently issued a temporary restraining order on the CA’s decision.
Syndicated estafa needs at least five respondents and is punishable with life imprisonment. — Gillian M. Cortez

Sotto suggests hybrid polls to include manual, automated systems

SENATE President Vicente C. Sotto III on Tuesday broached the idea of a hybrid mode of elections — instead of the all-automated elections in place since 2013 — in which voting will be manual but the transmission of votes will be automated.
Speaking at Tuesday’s hearing by the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, Mr. Sotto said, addressing the committee chair, Senator Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III: “I think your committee can study the moves done by other countries now. Go back to manual. They all went back to manual.”
The hearing tackled the alleged irregularities in the 2016 general elections, a possibility also flagged by Mr. Sotto in his privileged speeches before his election in May as Senate president.
“Perhaps what we can do is look at the possibility of hybrid: the voting is manual, the transmission will be automated. It will be safer,” Mr. Sotto said.
The Senate inquiry took off from one such privileged speech by Mr. Sotto last March, on the alleged transmission of votes a day before the May 9, 2016, elections, and on the election servers said to be accessed from a foreign source.
There were also claims of other election irregularities in 2016, prompting the Senate leader to suggest the idea of hybrid elections.
Senators were left frustrated as well with the statements of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the hearing, when officials of the poll body were asked to explain the alleged irregularities that year and repeatedly explained that the Comelec has yet to verify, for instance, the alleged early transmission of votes.
“Who sent the transmission last May 8 (2016)?” Mr. Sotto asked.
“May we be allowed to verify first? I think the most important thing here is to find out, did the transmissions send any result in the CCS (consolidated canvassing system),” Comelec Executive Directo Jose M. Tolentino replied.
Mr. Pimentel then requested the Comelec to provide a written statement answering the allegations raised by Mr. Sotto in his privileged speech.
After the hearing, Mr. Pimentel said Mr. Sotto’s idea is “worth pursuing” but could no longer apply in the upcoming 2019 midterm polls.
“Time will be our enemy regarding that, but the idea is worth pursuing….So the proposal answers the call for transparency because the voter himself will now see the counting in his precinct and (it) answers the need for speed when we now sum up the results of the precinct,” he told reporters.
He further warned the Comelec that the Senate would pursue the hybrid elections proposal if irregularities would still be reported in the 2019 midterm elections.
“Now this is a warning to Comelec and its number one contractor, Smartmatic, if there are still issues in 2019 and there are still failures or some observations which cannot be readily explained by them. Then we have no choice (but)…to abandon that. Then shift to hybrid,” Mr. Pimentel said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Diplomat Jose Apolinario L. Lozada, Jr., 68

FORMER Ambassador Jose Apolinario L. Lozada, Jr. passed away on Tuesday at the age of 68, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
According to reports, Mr. Lozada was confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) after suffering from a brain hemorrhage. In 2014, the diplomat was diagnosed with prostate cancer and declared cancer-free the following year.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano offered his condolences to the family of the late ambassador.
“I join the men and women of the Foreign Service in mourning the passing of an astute diplomat and legislator in Ambassador Lozada. I send my condolences and prayers to his family and friends in this time of great sadness,” Mr. Cayetano said.
“Ambassador Lozada and I were good friends and seatmates during the 11th Congress in 1998. I will always remember him as one who championed the welfare of our diplomats and kababayan abroad,” he added.
Mr. Lozada is survived by his wife and four children.
Mr. Lozada served as ambassador to Palau, the Holy See, Vienna, Austria, and Baghdad, Iraq.
He also served as Negros Occidental 5th district representative from 1998 to 2004. He became the chairperson of the House committee of foreign affairs and pushed for the passage of Republic Act No. 9225 or the Dual Citizenship law and Republic Act No. 9189 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Law.
Prior to becoming a lawmaker, Mr. Lozada also became as Appointments Secretary and Chief of Protocol to then President Fidel V. Ramos.
Mr. Lozada obtained a Mathematics undergraduate degree in the De La Sale University (DLSU), a master’s degree in Public Administration in the University of the Philippines (UP), and another master’s degree in Physics at the Siliman University. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Nationwide round-up

Palace urges Maza to surrender

NATIONAL ANTI-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza L. Maza, who faces an arrest warrant for a double murder charge, should surrender to authorities, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
“Well, she has to heed the warrant of arrest, not even the President can interfere in our judicial process,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing at the Palace.
Ms. Maza is the only one left of the three the Left-leaning officials appointed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as part of his Cabinet.
Apart from Ms. Maza, other personalities ordered arrested by the Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court are former party-list representatives Satur C. Ocampo and Teodoro A. Casiño of Bayan Muna and former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Rafael V. Mariano of Anakpawis.
Mr. Roque said the warrants are “lawfully issued by a trial court” and “if they are innocent, then they should in fact surrender, recognize the jurisdiction of the court and prove their innocence in court. That is what we expect from everyone.”
Mr. Roque also said that Ms. Maza remains the chief of the NAPC.
“She hasn’t been fired. But, because she is wanted, she may become a fugitive if she doesn’t surrender. And if she goes on AWOL, absence without leave, then the President will have to decide on her continuing appointment if need be, because she cannot be absent. Her office is very critical to the fight against poverty and we cannot have a secretary who is a fugitive from the law,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Supreme Court votes to speed up disposition of Sandiganbayan cases

THE SUPREME Court voted 8-2 in favor of the “speedy disposition” of pending cases of the Sandiganbayan.
Supreme Court (SC) Spokesperson Theodore O. Te said in a media briefing on Tuesday that the high court “interpreted the reckoning period for the right to ‘speedy disposition of…cases’ under Article III, section 16 to start from the preliminary investigation of cases.”
He emphasized that the cases won’t start before the preliminary investigation and also not from the fact-finding stage.
Newly-appointed Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires, a former Supreme Court associate justice, said on Monday that he will prioritize pending cases at the Sandiganbayan.
He added that the delay of these cases has long been an issue between the office of the Ombudsman and the High Court. — Gillian M. Cortez

Ceremonial signing for Bangsamoro law set Aug. 6


MALACAÑANG ON Tuesday announced that there will be a ceremonial signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed last week.
“There is a ceremonial reenactment of the signing of the BOL on August 6 at 3:45 p.m.,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing at the Palace on Tuesday, July 31.
Last Sunday, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has signed a peace agreement with the government, held its first Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly at Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao to acquaint residents and voters on the BOL. The law will be subject to a plebiscite scheduled later this year. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Universal health care bill must also ensure access to services for remote areas — Duque

A HEALTH center in the town of Alubijid in Misamis Oriental province. — ALUBIJIDMISOR.GOV.PH

HEALTH SECRETARY Francisco T. Duque III said the proposed Universal Health Care (UHC) bill must include provisions ensuring not just coverage but access to services, particularly in the country’s remote areas.
He cited in particular the situation of indigenous peoples (IPs) living in the hinterlands. “It is easy to cover them (with health insurance), but will the health services be available?” Mr. Duque said in an interview on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Healthy Islands Conference held in Davao City last week.
“We need to capacitate our health stations in every barangay… We need to cover a lot more grounds with regards to the setting up of the basic delivery unit of primary health care. This is a major building block of universal health care, it could not be just hospitals,” he said.
The House of Representatives has passed its version of the UHC bill, but its Senate counterpart is still pending. — Maya M. Padillo

DENR calls on police to probe deeper into illegal animal trade

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources urged the Philippine National Police to dig deeper into illegal animal trade after a truck driver was caught transporting 21 frozen pangolins and 16 dead marine turtles in Puerto Princesa, the capital city of Palawan, last Saturday. In a statement on Tuesday, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said he welcomed the filing of charges against the detained driver who was found with the trafficked animals. “This is an outright disregard of our environmental laws, particularly our Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection law. There is no justification for the smuggling and killing of our wildlife species,” he added. The pangolin is one of the most trafficked animal in the Philippines. Bulk of the illegal trade of the animal is shipped to China where it is prized for its supposed medicinal properties. DENR-MIMAROPA Regional Director Henry A. Adornado, in the same statement, said pangolins and marine turtles are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as endangered species. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

900th Negosyo Center opens in Carmen

THE 900TH Negosyo Center in the country has been opened, located in Carmen, Agusan del Norte. Under Republic Act 10644, the Go Negosyo Act of 2014, the Negosyo Centers are intended to help entrepreneurs by providing access to markets and financing, training programs, and a simplified business registration process. The law mandates the creation of such facilities in all municipalities, cities, and provinces to support micro, small, and medium enterprises. “The Negosyo Center is a great help for Filipinos wanting to start businesses,” Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, one of the authors of the law, said in a statement. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Has Cebu turned into a ‘criminal city’?

CEBU Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña himself has branded the city he leads as a “criminal city” following the series of killings involving local government, drug agency, and police officers. Mr. Osmeña told reporters that he agrees with the description made by one of his critics, Councilor Pastor M. Alcover Jr. “They say Cebu is safe. It’s not safe. I told you that already. It’s not safe. Something is wrong. Something is out of place,” Osmeña said. Mr. Alcover earlier expressed his frustration over the spate of unresolved killings and urged the mayor to do something to ensure peace and order in the city. “Cebu City is no longer Queen City of the South. It’s now a criminal city…How can we attract investors? I challenge the mayor to do something to preserve peace and order in the city,” Mr. Alcover told local newspaper The Freeman. Mr. Osmeña, meanwhile, said he will give Cebu City Police Office Director Royina Garma a chance to solve all the killings, especially the alleged involvement of police officers. “My priority, I will not compromise the safety of the city. Right now, let me just read the cards before I make a move. My move right now is let (Ms.) Garma answer for all of these,” he said. — The Freeman

Zamboanga City sets up special desk for over 7,000 pending business permit applications

THE ZAMBOANGA CITY government has set up a quick-response desk to facilitate the issuance of business permits that have been pending since the start of the year. Benjie S. Barredo, chief of the licensing and permits division, said this initiative is intended to help business owners by fast-tracking more than 7,000 pending applications. “This is to facilitate and inform them of their lacking requirements for easier facilitation of their permits,” he said. The quick-response desk opened on Monday, July 30, and will be in operation until Aug. 17. — Albert F. Arcilla

Nation at a Glance — (08/01/18)

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

Rally loses steam on profit taking; Fed watched

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
SHARES snapped their five-day winning streak on Tuesday after investors resorted to profit taking ahead of the United States Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, even as those overseas remained predominantly buyers.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gave up 1.3% or 101.32 points to close at 7,672, while the all-shares index lost 0.88% or 41.16 points to 4,604.12.
“After a five straight days of gains totaling 5.26%, the market succumbed to profit taking…” RCBC Securities, Inc. said in a note prepared by research analyst John Paolo D. Ayson, who noted “[i]t was the locals who cashed in their gains, with the foreigners accumulating P256mn net today.”
“Market had profit taking today… following regional market downtrend,” Diversified Securities, Inc. trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan also cited profit taking as the trigger for the index’s fall, saying in a separate message: “After five consecutive days of bargain hunting, investors decided to take profit from issues that they had bought earlier.”
“Funds also kept to cash ahead of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting which will occur tomorrow evening in the US,” Mr. Limlingan added.
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep rates steady at the end of its July 31-Aug. 1 meeting.
Wall Street fell under the weight of technology stocks, while Asian markets closed mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai SE Composite index edged up 0.04% and 0.26%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.52%.
Back home, all sectoral indices ended in negative territory, led by property which plunged 1.72% or 65.72 points to 3,754.81 and followed by financials that went down by 1.18% or 22.33 points to 1,858.92; holding firms that dropped 1.13% or 86.88 points to 7,593.74; mining and oil that fell by 0.98% or 96.88 points to 9,714.41; industrials that gave up 0.82% or 89.70 points to 10,830.18; and services that slipped by 0.51% or 7.79 points to 1,493.58.
Turnover grew to 842.022 million shares worth P7.05 billion, compared to Monday’s 1.02 billion shares worth P5.61 billion. Stocks that fell were more than double those that gained at 130 to 63, while 52 issues ended flat.
Tuesday’s list of 20 most active stocks counted 15 losers, including Ayala Land, Inc. (down 3.20% to P40.85 apiece); BDO Unibank, Inc. (1.49% to P132); Ayala Corp. (1.38% to P999); Universal Robina Corp. (5.88% to P128); GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (2.41% to P970); and PLDT, Inc. (down 1.62% to P1,337 each).
Only five stocks on the list gained: Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (up 0.43% to P4.71 apiece); Jollibee Foods Corp. (1.50% to P270); Globe Telecom, Inc. (1.21% to P1,835); DMCI Holdings, Inc. (0.68% to P11.80); and International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (0.68% to P89).

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