U.S. tech companies disappointed with DACA ruling, urge Congress to act

July 18, 2021 | 2:59 pm

Some U.S. tech companies expressed disappointment with a ruling by a federal judge that blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Friday sided with a group of states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, arguing that it was illegally created by former President Barack Obama in 2012.

“We have long argued in support of this program, filing an amicus brief in this case, and we are very disappointed by the decision (from the judge)”, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.

“Dreamers and immigrants make the United States — and Twitter — better”, a spokesperson from social media platform Twitter said in an emailed statement.

Twitter, Google, Microsoft and Photoshop maker Adobe urged the U.S. Congress to come together to protect Dreamers, with Google saying they wanted DACA to be “cemented” into law.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said that the “disappointing” ruling created “uncertainty yet again for Dreamers.”

The judge ruled on Friday that the program violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when it was created but said that since there were so many people currently enrolled in the program – nearly 650,000 – his ruling would be temporarily stayed for their cases and their renewal applications.

Mr. Biden, who was vice president when Obama created the program, has said he wants to create a permanent pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, known as “Dreamers.”

On Saturday, Mr. Biden vowed to preserve the program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, promising to appeal the judge’s ruling invalidating it and urging Congress to provide a path to citizenship. – Reuters

Facebook says it should not be blamed for U.S. failing to meet vaccine goals

July 18, 2021 | 2:54 pm

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – Facebook on Saturday defended itself against U.S. President Joe Biden’s assertion that the social media platform is “killing people” by allowing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines to proliferate, saying the facts tell a different story.

“The data shows that 85% of Facebook users in the US have been or want to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” Facebook said in a corporate blog post by Guy Rosen, a company vice president. “President Biden’s goal was for 70% of Americans to be vaccinated by July 4. Facebook is not the reason this goal was missed.”

COVID-19 misinformation has spread during the pandemic on social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc-owned YouTube. Researchers and lawmakers have long accused Facebook of failing to police harmful content on its platforms.

“They’re killing people. … Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people,” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday when asked about misinformation and what his message was to social media platforms such as Facebook.

The company has introduced rules against making specific false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines for it, and says it provides people with reliable information on these topics.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is now the dominant strain worldwide, accompanied by a surge of deaths around the United States almost entirely among unvaccinated people, U.S. officials said on Friday.

American cases of COVID-19 are up 70% over the previous week and deaths are up 26%, with outbreaks occurring in parts of the country with low vaccination rates. – Reuters

Duterte says vice president role would give him lawsuit immunity

July 18, 2021 | 1:56 pm

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte once again floated the idea of a vice-presidential run in the 2022 elections, saying it would give him immunity from lawsuits.

“They keep on threatening me with lawsuits and everything,” Duterte said at his ruling party’s assembly meeting on Saturday, referring to his political enemies.

“But the law says if you’re president, vice president, you have immunity. So I’ll just run as vice president.”

Duterte’s political party has urged him to seek the vice presidency after his term ends next year. Under Philippine law, a president can only be elected for one six-year term.

His possible candidacy has raised legal questions about how it could circumvent a ban on presidential term limits and has also been viewed as a way for him to remain immune from criminal charges. — Bloomberg

16 more Filipinos infected with Delta variant

July 16, 2021 | 7:06 pm

Sixteen more Filipinos have been infected with the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant, bringing the total to 35, according to the Department of Health (DoH).

Five of the 16 were returning migrant Filipinos, while 11 were locals, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

One of the workers arrived in the Philippines on April 26 from the United Kingdom and has since recovered after a 14-day quarantine. Two arrived in the Philippines on June 15 from Qatar and have also recovered. Information on the other two were still being verified.

Of the 11 local cases, six were detected in Northern Mindanao, two in the National Capital Region and two in Western Visayas.

All of them have recovered, except for one patient from Metro Manila who died after being rushed to the hospital on June 28, DoH said.

One other patient who was initially tested in the metro but had an address in Central Luzon has also recovered.

Of the 11 cases, nine had tested positive between June 23 and 28, while two tested positive on May 27, the agency said.

Health authorities said they were coordinating with the Centers for Health Development and local governments for contact tracing. The Bureau of Quarantine and Department of Transportation were on high alert to implement strict border controls.

The Health department reported 5,676 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections on Friday, bringing the total to 1.496 million.

The death toll rose to 26,476 after 162 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 2,670 to 1.421 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 48,480 active cases, 91.8% of which were classified as mild, 2.1% were asymptomatic, 2.6% were severe, 1.85% were moderate and 1.6% were critical.

DoH said 13 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 10 of which were tagged as recoveries. Twenty-eight recoveries were reclassified as active cases and 116 recoveries were tagged as deaths. Three laboratories failed to submit data on July 14.

1M AstraZeneca, 1.6-M Janssen vaccines arrive

July 16, 2021 | 7:03 pm

vaccine-health-worker — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

About 2.7 million more coronavirus vaccines arrived in the Philippines on Friday, boosting the government’s inoculation drive.

The government took delivery of 1.1 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca Plc and 1.6 million shots made by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the presidential palace said.

Private companies paid for the AstraZeneca vaccines, while the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines was donated by the US. The same number of Johnson & Johnson vaccines was expected to arrive on Saturday.

Unlike the other vaccine brands that require two doses, the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson requires only a dose.

The government has given out 14.46 million vaccines, 4.29 million of which were second doses, presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing.

He added that 391,283 shots were given out on Thursday, the highest so far.

Meanwhile, an inter-agency task force has updated the list of territories under a so-called green list, travelers from which only need to undergo a seven-day quarantine instead of 10 days.

The countries included Albania, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Benin, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Curacao, Dominica, Eswatini, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia and Gabon

Also on the list are Gambia, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Iceland, Isle of Man, Israel, Laos, Liechtenstein, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria and North Macedonia.

Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Romania, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Singapore, Sint Eustatius, South Korea, Taiwan, Togo, Turks and Caicos Islands and Vietnam likewise were on the green list.

Meanwhile, Filipinos in Thailand have sought the government’s help for vaccination as the country experiences a fresh surge in infections from more contagious coronavirus variants.

Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Millicent C. Paredes said they were in talks with Thailand, which is facing vaccine supply problems, to vaccinate Filipinos there as soon as possible.

Ms. Paredes said the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Thailand was due Alpha and Delta variants that spread in high-end bars in Bangkok.

Thirty of 30,000 Filipinos in Thailand have been infected with the coronavirus. Only two were active cases, 27 have recovered and one patient died, she said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Google faces cyber-crime cases in Philippines

July 16, 2021 | 7:01 pm

LPpresident-Pangilinan-LIBERAL.PH — LIBERAL.PH

A Philippine senator has filed cyber-crime charges against Google Philippines and the owners of two YouTube channels at the Justice department for showing videos alleging domestic violence and adultery in his family.

“Social media sites need to step up and be more responsive to reports and more especially to legal complaints,” Senator Francis N. Pangilinan said in a statement on Friday. “These are harmful to individuals and to families.”

Mr. Pangilinan said Google, the owner and service provider of YouTube since 2006, is “liable under Philippine laws as a foreign corporation doing business in the Philippines.”

He added that his office had reported 82 fake and malicious videos to YouTube, which rejected 28 reports for lack of merit. It had yet to decide on 54 reports, he said.

The videos were uploaded on YouTube on May 2021 alleging that Mr. Pangilinan had physically abused his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan. Some of the videos also claimed his wife had committed adultery.

His family has denied all the allegations. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

PBA 46th season gets green light

July 16, 2021 | 7:00 pm

PBA-Nlex — THE PBA is seeking ways to augment the immediate start of its delayed Season 46. — PBA IMAGES

An inter-agency task force against the coronavirus on Thursday allowed the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to restart its 46th season, subject to compliance with health protocols.

The Games and Amusement Board would ensure players comply with health standards amid a coronavirus pandemic, presidential spokesperson Herminio L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing on Friday.

The PBA’s 46th season was scheduled to open on July 16 in Pasig City. It was originally scheduled to start on April 9 but got delayed amid a fresh surge in infections.

The task force also allowed the Philippine National Volleyball Federation to host the 21st Asian Seniors Women’s Volleyball Championship, also subject to health protocols. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

DBP joins UN’s Green Climate Fund

July 16, 2021 | 6:44 pm

THE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has been accredited to join the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund (GCF), making it among the banks that can provide financing for environment and climate change-related programs in developing countries.

DBP President and CEO Emmanuel G. Herbosa said in a statement Friday that the bank will be the second Philippine entity to join the international fund, created by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“We envision GCF as an additional source of highly-concessional loans or even grants to expand the reach and to scale up DBP’s environmental and climate-related programs and advocacies,” Mr. Herbosa said.

He said the bank is currently in discussions with potential development partners to help it formulate and roll out green energy, energy efficiency, waste management, and disaster resilience projects.

The GCF, established in 2010, aims to extend financing and technical support to developing economies seeking to cut their carbon emissions and adopt climate-resilient programs. It also assists vulnerable nations in adapting to the severe impacts of climate change.

Participating banks can tap the fund to help channel the grants, concessional loans, guarantees or equity instruments for proposed projects.

The GCF now has 113 accredited entities, 57 of which are government agencies, which can provide support worth up to $250 million per project.

“We are honored to be in the select roster of international and national commercial banks; multilateral, regional and national development finance institutions; and civil society organizations, among others, that are working together for the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects on a global scale,” the DBP chief said.

The bank is the sixth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets and has been designated the lead bank for infrastructure.

Its net profit fell 30% to P3.9 billion in 2020 on increased loan loss provisionins and operating expenses.

The Philippines has committed to cut its total greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030. – Beatrice M. Laforga

Peso weakens on further Delta variant cases

July 16, 2021 | 6:42 pm

The peso weakened against the dollar Friday after the government confirmed the detection in the Philippines of more cases of the highly-infectious Delta variant of COVID-19.

The peso ended at P50.235 to the dollar, against its P50.22 close Thursday, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ (BAP).

The peso opened at P50.20, hitting a low of P50.25. Its intraday best was P50.15.

Dollar volume was $841.6 million, down from Thursday’s tally of $1.41 billion.

Week-on-week, the peso weakened from its P50.08 close on July 9.

On Friday, health authorities reported that they had detected more local-transmission cases of the Delta variant, causing the peso to retreat, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

Growing concern over the resurgence of coronavirus infections in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia further weighed on market sentiment, he said.

The Health department said it recorded 11 new local-transmission cases out of 16 Delta variant infections. This brought the case count for the highly-infectious Delta variant in the Philippines to 35.

The Philippines reported 5,676 new coronavirus cases Friday, with all active cases amounting to 48,480 so far. Deaths numbered 26,476 with the addition of 162 newly deceased.

The Federal Reserve’s recent dovish signals also affected the peso’s movements Friday according to Mr. Ricafort.

The US job market “is still a ways off” from the progress the Fed wants to see before reducing its support for the economy, while current high levels of inflation will ease “in the coming months,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a trader also attributed the peso’s weakness to expectations US retail sales will improve in June. – Beatrice M. Laforga

Agencies told to improve budget use

July 16, 2021 | 6:39 pm

The Department of Budget and Management has asked government agencies to improve their budget use and avoid underspending if they want to get their proposed budgets for next year.

“If they are not prepared to fully use the funds allotted to them, their budget proposals for next year will be affected,” Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado told a virtual news briefing on Friday in mixed English and Filipino. “We look at their budget utilization rate and absorptive capacity in evaluating their budget proposals.”

The Budget department is working on the proposed P5.024-trillion budget for 2022, which will be sent to Congress 30 days after President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s final state of the nation address on July 26.

Mr. Avisado said agencies should use the funds allotted to them within a year, except for infrastructure projects whose funds are valid for two years.

To encourage agencies to fully use their budgets, the government is adopting a cash-based budgeting system where it only releases the funds that will be used for the year. Unspent funds will automatically go back to the Treasury bureau.

The Budget department released P3.833 trillion to state agencies in the first half, or 85% of the P4.5-trillion spending program for the entire year.

State offices have reported a 97% budget use rate as of June after using P1.871 trillion of the P1.936-trillion notices of cash allocations issued to them, according to data from the agency. This was better than the 93% use rate a year earlier.

For the second quarter, their cash use rate went up to 96% from 90% a year earlier.

“We have the funds and we have released them,” Mr. Avisado said. “It’s just a matter of improving the system.”

Underspending by state agencies delay projects aimed at spurring economic growth. Agencies spent only 69% or 141.45 billion of the P205-billion fund from a second stimulus law five days before it expired on June 30. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Del Monte Philippines P44-B IPO OK’d

July 16, 2021 | 6:36 pm

The corporate regulator has approved Del Monte Philippines, Inc.’s P44-billion initial public offering (IPO) plan in what could be the second-biggest share sale amid a coronavirus pandemic this year.

The company will get its registration order and permit to sell after complying with certain conditions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement on Friday.

The commission at its July 15 meeting approved Del Monte’s registration statement covering almost 2.8 billion common shares to be listed and traded on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The company, known for its tomato sauce products and packaged pineapple, seeks to conduct the IPO from Aug. 9 to 13. It plans to make PSE debut on Aug. 23, according to its latest SEC filing.

Monde Nissin Corp. raised P48.6 billion from the country’s largest IPO in June. More than P122 billion was raised in the sale of primary and secondary shares at the stock exchange in the first half, more than P104 billion for the entire 2020.

Del Monte Philippines shelved its IPO plan in 2018 due to volatile market conditions despite getting approval from the SEC and PSE.

The company was stronger than it was three years ago after expanding its footprint overseas, Del Monte Chief Operating Officer Luis F. Alejandro told the ABS-CBN News Channel earlier this month.

Del Monte Philippines will sell 699.33 million secondary common shares to the public for as much as P54.80 each, with an overallotment option of as much as 104.899 million common shares.

These are shares owned by Del Monte Pacific Ltd. units Central American Resources, Inc. and SEA Diner Holdings (S) Pte Ltd.

Parent Del Monte Pacific will get and use a portion of the proceeds to repay debt, redeem some preferred shares and for general corporate purposes.

Del Monte Philippines assigned Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd. as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the offer. CLSA Ltd., DBS Bank Ltd. and Jefferies Singapore Ltd. were named as joint international bookrunners.

BDO Capital Investment Corp. and BPI Capital Corp. were tapped as joint local lead underwriters and bookrunners, with First Metro Investment Corp. as the local co-lead underwriter.

Del Monte Pacific shares at the stock exchange fell by 2.6% or 40 centavos to close at P15 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

BSP fully awards 28-day bills

July 16, 2021 | 6:33 pm

1000-peso-bills-052818 — *BW FILE PHOTO*

The Philippine central bank raised P100 billion from its auction of short-term securities on Friday as rates dipped on strong liquidity loans to the government got renewed.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) fully awarded the 28-day bills as total tenders reached P186.61 billion, almost twice as big as the initial offer. Demand was slightly higher than P182.21-billion worth of bids last week.

The debt paper fetched an average rate of 1.784%, 3.8 basis points lower than last week. Banks sought yields of 1.77% to 1.789%, a lower range compared to the 1.795-1.809% a week ago.

“Today’s auction results continue to show market participants’ sustained strong interest in the 28-day bill amid ample liquidity in the financial system,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The rates declined anew after the central bank again extended the validity of its P540-billion loan to the National Government, Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said via Viber.

The move meant there was less pressure for the state to borrow locally, which helped government bond yields to ease, he said.

Higher bids in the past auctions showed the market was still awash with cash.

The central bank’s Monetary Board renewed its P540-billion direct advance to the government for the fourth straight time, since the latter started borrowing short-term loans from the central bank in March last year.

The central bank charter allows it to lend a fifth of its average revenue to the government, which is equivalent to P540 billion.

Congress increased the cap to 30% or as much as P850 billion through a stimulus law passed this year amid a coronavirus pandemic.

The government started borrowing from the central bank last year to help finance its pandemic response amid plunging tax collections.

“The BSP’s monetary operations will remain guided by its latest assessment of liquidity conditions and market developments,” Mr. Dakila said. — Beatrice M. Laforga