Dictator’s son may run for President in 2022, his sister says

August 26, 2021 | 9:28 pm

FERDINAND “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. might run for President next year, but is also open to the vice presidential post if he could find a running mate, his sister Senator María Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos said on Thursday.

“For all intents and purposes, he has his own setup, and he is running for President at the present time, but not officially declared,” the lawmaker told the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Mr. Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

Ms. Marcos said her brother would be honored to be the vice-president of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The tandem would be a “marriage made in heaven.”

“The most obvious thing is if the Dutertes have the solid south, we’re assumed to have the solid north,” she added. “It looks like a really solid tandem.”

“My brother is a fairly easy going fellow, and I believe that he is happy to talk to everyone,” Ms. Marcos said.

The senator said she supports a tandem between her brother and Ms. Duterte, but also does not mind if the presidential daughter chooses to work with Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go instead.

Mr. Go, Mr. Duterte’s former aide, on Thursday said there were no issues between him and Ms. Duterte. “The degree of my love for the father is the same as my love for the child,” he said in a statement. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

Court convicts cop for murder of mother and son in Tarlac province

August 26, 2021 | 9:24 pm

A REGIONAL trial court in Tarlac on Thursday convicted a former policeman for the murder of a mother and her son last year.

The court sentenced ex-Staff Sergeant Jonel Nuezca to a jail term of 40 years for each count of murder. It also ordered the convict to pay the heirs of Sonya and Frank Anthony R. Gregorio P952,560 in damages.

“A ‘shoot first, think later’ disposition occupies no decent place in a civilized society,” Judge Stella Marie Q. Gandia-Asuncion said in an 18-page decision dated Aug. 26. “Never has homicide or murder been a function of law enforcement.”

The judge said the attack on the victims, whom the former cop shot and killed over an argument, was “treacherous” because it was “so swift and sudden that the victims were not able to defend themselves.”

The shooting that took place in Paniqui, Tarlac in December was recorded on video and posted on social media. The video became viral and people criticized the police for it.

The video showed the ex-policeman and his daughter in a heated argument with Ms. Gregorio and her son over their fireworks.

The policeman was seen with his young daughter in a heated discussion with Frank Anthony, whose mother was holding him back.

The ex-cop’s daughter shouted “My father is a policeman,” and the ex-cop was heard threatening to kill them. He then shot and killed the mother in the head, then proceeded to shoot Frank Anthony twice, before firing at Sonya once again while she was already on the ground.

Mr. Nuezca was fired from his job, and it was later found out that he had been demoted in October for robbery and extortion in 2014. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Postponement of Bangsamoro parliamentary election hurdles House 2^nd reading

August 26, 2021 | 9:24 pm

BARMM-parliament-BWFILE-TSBasman — BW FILE PHOTO/ TSBASMAN

THE PROPOSED three-year postponement of the 2022 election for 80 parliament members in the Bangsamoro region was approved on second reading at the House of Representatives on Thursday, a day after a counterpart bill was similarly passed by the Senate.

With 39 ‘yes’ votes, 4 ‘no’, and 0 abstention, three House committees — Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Muslim Affairs, and Peace, Reconciliation and Unity — jointly approved moving the parliamentary elections to 2025.

Similar to the Senate version, the House bill also maintains the term of the current members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to June 30, 2022 or until the new Philippine president who will be elected in May next year appoints the new set of members.

The current BTA, whose members were appointed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, serve as parliament members under the transition period of the new region.

Maguindanao Representative Datu Roonie Q. Sinsuat, Sr. emphasized during the joint committee deliberations the urgency of the bill as the election period nears.

“The main issue is the postponement of elections,” he said, adding that all other “peripheral issues” such as the normalization stage of the peace process could be tackled through other venues.

The Senate voted on the bill 18-1-2, with Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr. the only one giving a ‘no’ vote, while Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto and Senator María Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos abstained.

Senator Francis N. Tolentino, chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and the principal sponsor of the bill, said in a statement that the approval will ensure the swift implementation of the political and normalization tracks that were agreed upon during the peace talks between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. — Marifi S. Jara and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

PhilHealth president vows to release 60% of private hospitals’ unpaid claims next week

August 26, 2021 | 9:24 pm

By Bianca Angelica D. Añago Reporter
and Russell Louis C. Ku

PHILIPPINE HEALTH Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) President and Chief Executive Officer Dante A. Gierran has pledged to release funds for 60% of the unpaid claims of private hospitals by the end of next week.

In a House hearing on Thursday, Mr. Gierran said PhilHealth owes private hospitals a total of P21.1 billion as of Aug. 24.

“P17 billion is already in the pipeline, we’re just waiting for the documentations,” he said.

Mr. Gierran also clarified that the delay in the release of claims was due to “miscommunication” with the private hospitals, primarily due to problems in their information and communications technology.

Private hospitals have threatened to cut ties with the state insurer, citing the impact of payment delays to their operations, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic.

PhilHealth’s Senior Vice President Emily B. Roque also said that “there is a delay in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) payments because PhilHealth has policies that need to be amended to improve the processing of COVID claims.”

In a news briefing on Aug. 23, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr. urged PhilHealth to immediately pay private hospitals so as not to further burden the country’s healthcare system.

This was after PhilHealth announced that it will temporarily suspend the payment of claims to healthcare providers that are “subject of investigations pertaining to fraudulent” claims.

PhilHealth said that from January to Aug. 2021, there were 5,872 fraudulent claims filed by the corporation’s prosecution department to its adjudication department.

Health groups, however, said PhilHealth “aims to suspend the payment of hospital claims on the ground of apparent or probable cause, or on a mere suspicion.”

Anti-Red Tape Authority Secretary Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica has recommended that PhilHealth release the payment for claims “within three days, evaluate diagnosis within 20 days, then release full payment afterwards.”

He added that PhilHealth must follow their mandate that claims should be released within a maximum of 60 days.

PRIVATIZATION
Meanwhile, a House representative who authored a bill last year that would open Philhealth to the private sector said on Thursday that privatization will help the embattled state insurer hire manpower that can investigate possible fraudulent claims.

“It doesn’t mean that privatizing Philhealth is that we will sell PhilHealth. What I’m saying is let’s outsource certain functions from the private sectors,” Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo said in a One News interview.

House Bill 7429, also known as the Social Health Insurance Crisis Act of 2020, would grant power to the President to privatize any or all segments of PhilHealth and can abolish or create offices, transfer functions, and do drastic cost-cutting to carry out the move.

It would introduce the creation of an Executive-Legislative Commission to craft policy framework and carry out necessary steps to reorganize the state insurer, including the designation of a transition team that will assume management until its reorganization is completed within two years.

Ms. Quimbo said the circular on withholding payments is not the best way to prevent fraud in PhilHealth, and suggested that the state insurer should instead increase legal capacity and use information technology to detect malpractices.

Police chief orders early security preparation for 2022 elections

August 26, 2021 | 9:23 pm

NATIONAL POLICE chief Guillermo T. Eleazar directed all units and area commanders on Thursday to start planning security measures for the May 2022 polls to ensure the safety and integrity of the electoral process.

“Along with the heated discussion on next year’s elections, I have instructed all our area commanders to begin preparations to ensure clean and orderly elections in our country,” Mr. Eleazar said in Filipino in a news release.

Among the measures to be taken are monitoring the presence of loose firearms, track guns with expired licenses, and be on alert for the formation of private armed groups.

In a press statement in June, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año warned that private armed groups usually emerge during the campaign period for fund-raising or threaten political rivals.

“We have to make sure that they would be denied of this illegal activity, so it is really important that we start early to study and anticipate any threat to the elections next year,” Mr. Eleazar said.

According to Mr. Año, the military is currently addressing seven private armed groups in the western part of Mindanao and monitoring the possible emergence of around 126 armed groups in northern Luzon, and the eastern and western Visayas. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

DepEd to distribute 40,000 laptops to teachers, personnel

August 26, 2021 | 9:20 pm

teacher-online-class-PHILSTARFILE-MVARCAS — A TEACHER holds an online class in this August 2021 photo. — THE PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said it is set to deliver this month some 40,000 laptops to teachers and other personnel nationwide to boost the country’s distance learning program.

“This would go a long way in our continued implementation of our Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan and in providing technical support to our field offices nationwide,” Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones said in a press release.

DepEd said its regional supply office still needs to finalize the list of recipients.

“Our direction is to provide laptops for each teacher and our DepEd offices,” Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua was quoted as saying.

The laptops were procured through the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service with funding from the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan II).

More than half of Filipino teachers used their personal money for gadgets and internet connectivity in the implementation of distance learning, according to the National Research Council of the Philippines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PhilHealth-WV cites performance after Iloilo mayor’s lawsuit threat

August 26, 2021 | 9:18 pm

THE PHILIPPINE Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)-Western Visayas (WV) on Thursday cited its performance as one of the best among regional offices after the mayor of Iloilo said he is mulling filing charges against the state insurer over unpaid claims to hospitals.

PhilHealth Regional Vice President Valeri Anne H. Hollero, in a statement, said their office “has processed the most number of claims among regions. For 2021 alone, the Region has processed 591,148 claims.”

She also said their office’s “average turnaround time for payment of good claims is 27 days from time it is filed by the health care institutions, making it the second fastest among all Regions.”

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in a statement on Wednesday, said he has directed the local government’s legal office to look into the possibility of filing charges against the entire PhilHealth regional office over unpaid claims of medical facilities, which has affected the city’s coronavirus response.

Ms. Hollero defended that “as evidenced by the numbers, PhilHealth Region VI has not been remiss in its duty to facilitate the payment of good claims within the time provided by law.”

PhilHealth-Western Visayas, she said, consider “health care institutions/providers as partners and strives to pay the claims as soon as possible, balancing this with their duty to protect public funds.” — MSJ

Resorts, shrimp farm owners get until end-Sept. to comply with Pujada Bay protected area requirements

August 26, 2021 | 9:17 pm

Pujada-Bay-Mati-BWFile-MMPadillo — BW FILE PHOTO

BUSINESS OWNERS along the Pujada Bay in Mati City have been given an extension until end-September to comply with all the requirements to operate in a declared protected area.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Davao Region office, in a statement on Thursday, said the “one month leeway to all resource users” was for “humanitarian reasons” and agreed upon in a meeting on Aug. 18.

Data from the Pujada Bay Landscape and Seascapes Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) show there are 156 foreshore users, including resorts and other leisure establishments.

Of the total, 69 are at varying stages of complying with the requirements for the Special Use Agreement on Protected Areas (SAPA) while 87 are still undergoing assessment by the PAMB for a clearance to apply for a SAPA.

There are also 50 farms growing Vanamei shrimp along the bay, with only 12 under SAPA processing. The remaining 38 have just submitted a letter of intent to apply.

Under DENR rules, there are up to 13 requirements to get a SAPA, including proof of financial capacity “to manage and develop the area applied for” and a development plan.

DENR-Davao Regional Executive Director Bagani Fidel A. Evasco, also the PAMB chair, noted that there is an existing policy that businesses that will set up shop along Pujada Bay must first comply with a SAPA before being issued a building and business permit.

The Pujada Bay, located in the southeastern part of Mindanao in southern Philippines, was declared a protected area in 1994 and was included last year in the list of Most Beautiful Bays in the World by the 26-nation MBBW group. — MSJ

P9.1-B cash aid in Metro Manila released

August 26, 2021 | 9:17 pm

ABOUT 81% or P9.1 billion out of the P11.2-billion financial assistance for Metro Manila residents affected by the recent two-week strict lockdown has already been released as of Aug. 24, the Presidential Palace said on Thursday.

This means more than nine million beneficiaries have received cash assistance, Palace Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing.

He added that the national government has extended the deadline for the distribution of cash aid, which is being handled by local governments.

Mr. Roque cited that Caloocan City was able to finish the distribution before the original Aug. 24 deadline.

The Department of Budget and Management initially released P10.89 billion for Metro Manila residents.

An additional P368 million was given to Metro Manila after President Rodrigo Duterte approved on Aug. 12 the allocation of P3.78 billion for cash aid to residents in the surrounding provinces of Laguna and Bataan. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Philippine court issues arrest warrant for US diplomat for child abuse

August 26, 2021 | 9:16 pm

A METRO MANILA trial court issued a warrant of arrest on Thursday for a former US embassy official who allegedly sexually abused a Filipina minor.

The diplomat will face charges for violation of the Child Abuse Law of republic Act 7610 and of the Anti-Child Pornography Act or Republic Act 9775.

The court also recommended bail worth P200,000 for each of the two cases, as stated in the warrant dated Aug. 23.

The case stemmed from a complaint against the diplomat received by the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Division on the second week of June this year.

Based on the complaint, the diplomat allegedly engaged in illegal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old Filipina and kept obscene videos and photos of the minor as found on his devices.

The accused diplomat was a member of the Foreign Service at the US embassy in Manila from Sept. 2020 to Feb. 2021. He returned to the US in March 2021.

He was also prosecuted at a court in the Eastern District of Virginia for the same offense. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

PSEi drops as investors pocket gains from rally

August 26, 2021 | 9:00 pm

THE benchmark index snapped its climb on Thursday as investors went profit taking at the last minute, erasing gains seen intraday after telecommunications companies rallied.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched down by 1.62 points or 0.02% to close at 6,820.53 on Thursday. Meanwhile, the all shares index gained 6.49 points or 0.15% to 4,205.

“With most Asian markets on the downtrend as it awaits US Fed meeting on tapering stimulus plus [the] crackdown on Beijing private industries, [the] local market went into profit taking after consecutive days on the upside,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message.

Investors are waiting for the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium on Friday and what US central bank chair Jerome Powell could say about tapering monetary stimulus.

“Last-minute profit taking pulled the market down to 6,820.53, declining slightly by 0.02% after the sharp rally yesterday,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

“The PSEi ended flat despite another incredible day for blue chip telco issues, GLO (Globe Telecom, Inc.) and TEL (PLDT, Inc). The double-digit percentage gains in telco issues were not enough to carry the entire index higher because of its smaller weighting,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.

Shares in Globe went up by 13.38% or P348 on Thursday to finish at P2,948 each, while PLDT stocks improved by 7.73% or P104 to close at P1,449 each.

Majority of sectoral indices closed in the red on Thursday except for services, which gained 53.20 points or 3.11% to close at 1,761.77, and mining and oil, which climbed 74.61 points or 0.81% to 9,262.87.

Meanwhile, holding firms dropped by 55.51 points or 0.81% to 6,781.90; industrials lost 65.72 points or 0.66% to 9,799.56; financials shed 9.40 points or 0.65% to 1,434.86; and property inched down by 4.19 points or 0.13% to 3,143.19.

Value turnover going up to P9.06 billion with 2.48 billion shares switching hands on Thursday, from the P6.48 billion with 1.8 billion shares traded the previous day.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 102 against 94, while 53 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying dropped to P190.9 million on Thursday from the P814.59 million logged on Wednesday.

“There is a strong possibility that markets will see a substantial pullback if the Fed confirms that it will begin to taper its quantitative easing policy,” Mr. Mangun said.

“We may see a pullback towards the end of the week as the PSEi comes up against resistance and investors begin to secure profits,” he added.

Diversified Securities’ Mr. Pangan expects the PSEi to trade between 6,500 and 7,100 today. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Peso retreats ahead of Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium

August 26, 2021 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO weakened against the greenback on Thursday ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, where it could give signals about its plan to reduce its monthly asset purchases.

The local unit closed at P49.98 per dollar yesterday, weaker by 13 centavos from its P49.85 finish on Wednesday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened Thursday’s session at P49.80 versus the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.08, while its intraday best was at P49.74 against the greenback.

Dollars exchanged rose to $1.166 billion from $1.06 billion on Wednesday.

The peso depreciated as investors opted for the safe-haven greenback ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

The annual symposium was set to kick off yesterday and Fed President Jerome Powell will give his speech on Friday.

The minutes of the Fed’s July policy meeting showed officials largely expect to start tapering their monthly purchases of $120 billion in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, a trader attributed the peso’s drop to preference for the dollar after faster-than-expected growth in US capital goods orders.

Reuters reported that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 1% in July, unchanged from its pace in June, based on data released by the US Commerce Department on Wednesday. Meanwhile, shipments of core capital goods rose 1% after increasing 0.6% in June.

For today, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P49.80 to P50.10 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within the P49.95 to P50.20 band. — LWTN with Reuters