Disney signs deal to stream Spider-Man, other Sony films

April 23, 2021 | 12:02 am

LOS ANGELES — Walt Disney Co. said on Wednesday it had reached a deal with Sony Pictures to bring new Spider-Man movies and other films to Disney’s streaming services and TV networks in the United States after they play on Netflix.

Disney also secured rights to offer hundreds of older Sony films much sooner, including Jumanji and Hotel Transylvania. The company said it will add a significant number of Sony titles to Hulu starting in June. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The arrangement means Disney will be able to offer new Sony movies, including any new installments in Marvel’s Spider-Man and Venom series, starting in 2023. First they will play in theaters and be offered on DVD and video-on-demand. Next, they will head to Netflix for an exclusive 18-month period before going to Disney+ or other Disney platforms.

The agreement covers new Sony films that debut in theaters between 2022 to 2026. That is scheduled to include Marvel’s Morbius, best-selling book adaptation Where the Crawdads Sing, Brad Pitt thriller Bullet Train and another installment in the Bad Boys comedy series.

Netflix reached a deal with Sony earlier this month. — Reuters

Emerging technologies to combat the pandemic

April 23, 2021 | 12:01 am

In a landmark gesture for humanity, Israelis stepped out into the streets unmasked for the first time in a year on April 18 amid a further easing of COVID-19 safety restrictions. The government has relaxed the mask-wearing rule outdoors in response to its successful mass vaccination drive, which has now reached 5.34 million people or 61.7% of its 9.3 million citizens.

The swift rollout of a vaccination program and a set stringent protocols may be the much-publicized reasons for Israel’s triumph against the world’s archenemy, but new and emerging technologies have a huge impact on the country’s success. While many industries collapsed such as in travel and entertainment, the technology sector in Israel have emerged with renewed energy, with tech players inventing new solutions and adapting products and technologies to ease the burden on the health system, and help people and businesses survive during and beyond the crisis.

A report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change cited that at the onset of the pandemic, the Israeli Innovation Authority put out a call for proposals in an effort to speed up disruptive innovations to address Covid-19-related issues. This resulted in commercialized technological solutions in the fields of monitoring, contact tracing and reporting, digital health, ventilation devices and PPE, logistics, and other tech solutions aimed at mitigating the new reality through technology and innovations.

One example is Neura, that released an AI-enabled contact tracing for governments, public health officials and first responders, based on analysis of complex mobile data, without compromising privacy. It offers digital epidemiological investigations, contact tracing alerts and info, and real-time gathering detection for high-risk areas.

Another Israeli company, Clew, developed Al-powered predictive analytics for ICU patients which delivers real-time optimized patient workflow and clinical resource allocation, and early predictive warnings for patient complications (flagging patient deterioration 6-12 hours before condition worsens). The platform utilizes available patient data to provide predictions for early identification and intervention as well as patient prioritization and can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. This is currently being used in Israel, France and the US.

Yet another, AI’s Sterilisation Robot, wherein Israeli Airforce Industry’s robot carries adapted UV-C technology, designed to disinfect coronavirus facilities at hospitals. It is also used in sterilizing passenger aircrafts to address new requirements for aircraft disinfecting between flights.

There’s a host of emerging technologies, which if rolled out to many countries in the world can potentially slow down, if not, totally end, the pandemic. A study published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology, outlined the innovations utilizing 4^th Industrial Revolution technologies to combat Covid-19.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is used in “detecting virus, individuals with fever, and suspected symptoms of COVID-19 through the integration of thermal imaging, AI computer vision, and cloud computing and accordingly advice for the treatment. Further, these have brought down the time of genetic detection to minutes.”

Cloud computing is used to store Covid-related information and made available to enable an enormous amount of computing power to the users with the help of the internet and helps in making real-time decisions in disease modeling. Software can be used with blockchain and other tools to model requirements of critical facilities at a different level, from the hospital to the nation.

Big data provides storage capacity for extensive data of the population in a format that can be used efficiently for analysis and necessary action can be taken toward the prevention of disease transmission, movement, health monitoring, and prevention system.

Telemedicine enables a patient to have a consultation from well-trained professionals on their medical conditions through video calls, avoiding the need for a hospital visit and thus helping the social distancing and man-to-man contact and disease transmission. However, these remote consultations are now possible with using better telecom infrastructure with virtual reality and augmented reality.

Blockchain is used to build algorithms that help provide real-time information to all the strategic partners and traceability in the process of disease control and help toward effective management of the supply chain for vaccines and healthcare supplies.

Internet of things (IoT) applications connect all devices to the internet in the hospital and strategic locations. Thus, these connected devices help to inform the medical staff of any errors and change of requirements during the treatment process.

Drones are used as unmanned vehicles controlled by remote location which can undertake jobs of logistics providers and area surveillance and can also be used for disinfecting remote locations.

Robotics undertakes repetitive jobs with precision and reliability in the hazardous environment of infectious disease in and around the hospitals and can make an intelligent decision with inputs from the population data analyzed through AI.

Additive manufacturing technologies undertake the manufacture of personalized devices for healthcare workers and patients, using 3D printing technology for the COVID-19, whenever required.

These emerging technologies have a critical role to play in containing, managing, and providing solutions to the challenges the world is facing. Coupled with funding, strict social protocols, and political will, these will put an end to the scourge.

The author is Founder and CEO of Hungry Workhorse Consulting, a digital and culture transformation consulting firm. He is the Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). He is Fellow at the US-based Institute for Digital Transformation He teaches strategic management in the MBA Program of De La Salle University. The author may be e-mailed at rey.lugtu@hungryworkhorse.com

How HR must handle all employee issues

April 23, 2021 | 12:01 am

I’m the newly-hired human resource (HR) manager at a medium-sized corporation. Since my appointment, I have noticed an increasing number of complaints about the management style of team leaders, line supervisors, and managers. The issues involve such matters as the non-approval of leave applications and even a requirement that workers be at their desks 100% of the time. How should I handle these trivial issues? — Golden Girl.

A common question raised by parents with young children during weekends is: “Do we hear too well or our children are just too noisy?” Applying this to your situation, the question becomes: “Is your management team too strict or the employees complaining about nothing?”

Employee issues that you characterize as trivial suggests that you may be biased in favor of your team leaders, line supervisors, and managers. On the other hand, the employees consider these issues important to them, and assign to them an importance similar to requests for salary increases or promotions. So, where do you draw the line?

It’s not only the question of “where,” but it should be that you, as the HR manager, needs to draw the line to reduce, if not eliminate these issues. As the company’s internal police, drawing the line means establishing general rules that are reasonably acceptable to both labor and management.

For decades, “employee issues” have been conflated with the grievance machinery in place at unionized establishments. It doesn’t mean however, that the machinery can’t be applied in non-unionized companies which may opt to refer to them as “grievances,” which may carry a negative connotation that may hinder dispute resolution.

“Non-union grievance procedures,” according to Cornell University conflict resolution professor Alexander Colvin in his research paper Grievance Procedures in Non-Union Firms (2014) “vary widely in their structure from informal open door policies to elaborate peer review and arbitration based procedures.”

THE PROBLEM WITH GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
However, many non-unionized companies often object to the use of the term “grievance machinery,” including the fear that such wording may invite employees to form a union. Such organizations have become proactive in creating alternative programs to create, enhance, and maintain dynamic policies to bring about organizational justice.

There are many programs that management may initiate through the HR department as a first line of defense. To properly carry out its duties, HR should create and maintain communication programs designed to resolve any issue and prevent them from deteriorating into full-blown industrial conflict:

Open-door policy This literally means that any employee can elevate an issue, idea, or complaint to the next-higher level of management if a team leader, line supervisor, or manager fails to resolve it within a reasonable period. This allows any employee to break the so-called chain of command without any repercussions. Resorting to such measures is not unanimously supported by HR experts.

The key therefore, is to train all line executives how to resolve issues. This may include teaching them the dynamics of effective leadership.

The 24-Hour Rule This policy is related to the open-door policy as it sets the timeline for all line executives for resolving employee issues. After one day without resolution, the case is automatically elevated to the next level. The exception to this is when a line executive is on leave or at a business meeting that will delay addressing the issue.

Some organizations consider the 24-hour rule to be absurd. That’s why they adopt a 48-hour rule instead. Whatever it may be, the timeline for resolving issues must be the soonest possible time.

HR Monitoring System Whatever program is resorted to, HR must monitor all employee issues and their resolution by line executives. This is to ensure that all issues are resolved in accordance with established guidelines and timelines. To make this happen, line executives must send a FYI email to HR for the record.

The whole idea is for HR to compile a database of best practices for resolving issues, particularly common problems that may be rooted in the persistence of obsolete or impractical management policies.

MANAGEMENT STYLE
Every step of the way, employees must be allowed to express themselves freely. Many supervisors and managers may not know it, but many issues can be traced to their aloofness to the plight of their employees. At times, bosses may even interrupt workers as the latter are trying to raise their issues.

It is to be expected that some employees will be timid. That’s why line executives must patiently hear out what their workers are saying. This gives management the opportunity to understand the problems being raised. It often boils down to the line executive asking deep-dive questions.

On the other hand, line executives must also avoid dismissing any arguments from employees. HR and line executives must assess the worthiness of all issues raised without prejudging them. It’s the best approach to avoid miscommunication.

Send anonymous questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

Entertainment News (04/23/21)

April 23, 2021 | 12:01 am

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UST student film series ongoing online

ENTRIES from this year’s Sine Reel, the longest-running student film festival in the country, are now streaming for free on iWantTFC. The film festival features 14 short films made by members of University of Santo Tomas’ Communication Arts Students’ Association. The iWantTFC app is available for iOs and Android, or on iwanttfc.com. Viewers can also watch the films on a bigger screen through select devices on VEWD, ROKU streaming devices, Android TV, select Samsung Smart TV models, Telstra TV for global users, and VIDAA for select countries. iWantTFC is also available via Chromecast and Airplay.

Reality shows part of hayu’s summer offerings

SHOWING on hayu this month are a number of reality shows. Fifteen chefs and restaurant owners representing a cross section of kitchens and food around the US vie for the title of Top Chef. Viewers can get inspired on how to host the perfect party through Overserved with Lisa Vanderepump, where parties with celebrity guests include cocktails, games, and feasts. Meanwhile, Made in Chelsea follows the lives of affluent young people in London. And of course, there’s the 20^th and final season of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Sign up via hayu.com to a weekly plan for P49, or a monthly plan of P149 with a free trial of seven days, or get a hayu prepaid pass.

Netflix premieres season 2 of Girl From Nowhere in May

NETFLIX, in partnership with GMM Studios International, announced that the global premiere of Girl From Nowhere Season 2 will be on May 7. Girl From Nowhere, which enjoyed success in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia, is a fantasy thriller centered around Nanno, an unconventional teenager who moves to different schools to serve her own brand of vigilante justice. In Season 2, Nanno tackles even bigger social injustices that take her beyond school grounds. Girl From Nowhere Season 2 will be exclusively available on Netflix.

The Sound of Magic, Move To Heaven show on Netflix

COMING to Netflix soon are two of its original series, one based on a popular webtoon, the other based on an essay. The Sound of Magic, based on the popular webtoon Annarasumanara, is a drama about Yoon Ah-yi, a girl who had to grow up too fast, and Rieul, a mysterious magician who wants to remain as a kid. The Sound of Magic will be released in over 190 countries on Netflix. Meanwhile, the heartwarming Move to Heaven revolves around a young man with Asperger’s syndrome and his guardian who both work as “trauma cleaners,” a group of people who clear out the possessions of the deceased and uncover stories that are left behind. The show, which comes to Netflix on May 14, is based on a nonfiction essay Things Left Behind by Kim Sae-byul who was one of the first trauma cleaners in Korea.

DJ Regard releases new single ‘You’

KOSOVAN DJ and producer Regard has released his new single, “You,” in collaboration with Australian singer Troye Sivan and Canadian singer Tate McRae. The 1980s-inspired anthem flirts between Mr. Sivan and Ms. McRae’s ethereal and confessional lyricism. Listen to “You” on https://lnk.to/RegardTroyeTateYou.

Asian Terminals to rethink alternative revenue sources

April 23, 2021 | 12:01 am

ASIAN Terminals, Inc. (ATI) said on Thursday that it will have to review its strategies, especially its alternative revenue sources, as container volumes are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023.

“The company does not expect volumes to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022 or 2023,” ATI Executive Vice-President William Khoury said at the company’s online annual stockholders’ meeting.

He added: “In this regard, we have to replace the following measures: alternative sources of revenues — for example integration of services, provide logistics services, and so on — ongoing cost-saving initiatives, and delay of all unnecessary capital expenditures.”

The company invested a total of P2 billion in 2020, which was a significant reduction from the previous year’s, according to Mr. Khoury.

ATI is spending approximately P6 billion this year.

In March, the company announced that its capital expenditure budget for this year will be used to support the acquisition of “more modern cargo handling equipment and the development of related logistics infrastructure projects” in Manila, Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite.

The company has said developing more cargo storage spaces, offering ancillary services leveraged on its core ports business, and new port operations here and abroad are among the opportunities it is exploring.

ATI saw its attributable net income for 2020 drop 20.4% to P2.95 billion. Revenues from operations declined 17.8% to P10.96 billion last year. — Arjay L. Balinbin

How PSEi member stocks performed — April 22, 2021

April 23, 2021 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, April 22, 2021.

Philippines slips in clean energy transition readiness list

April 23, 2021 | 12:00 am

Peso rebounds vs dollar on oil price correction, gov’t offer of euro bonds

April 22, 2021 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO rebounded versus the greenback on Thursday as oil prices corrected and after the government raised €2.1 billion from its offer of euro-denominated bonds.

The local unit closed at P48.41 per dollar on Thursday, appreciating by four centavos from its P48.45 finish on Wednesday, based on data published on the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website.

The peso opened the session at P48.43 per dollar, which was also its weakest showing for the day. Meanwhile, its intraday best was at P48.38 against the greenback.

Dollars traded dropped to $595.5 million on Thursday from $797.4 million on Wednesday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the peso’s appreciation to the downward correction in oil prices.

Reuters reported that oil prices declined on Wednesday amid cautious sentiment as COVID-19 cases went up in many countries, particularly India. The price of US crude dropped 2.11% to $61.35 per barrel, while Brent was down 1.86% to $65.33.

Mr. Ricafort said sentiment was also supported by the euro-denominated bond sale of the Bureau of the Treasury.

The government raised €2.1 billion (P122.4 billion) through its offer of euro-denominated bonds in tenors of four years, 12 years, and 20 years.

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso appreciated versus the dollar on expectations of lower weekly initial US jobless claims. The data was set to be released later in the day.

For Friday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P48.35 to P48.45 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P48.30 to P48.50 — LWTN with Reuters

Local shares decline as foreigners exit market

April 22, 2021 | 9:00 pm

PSE-3-011021 — COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE, INC.

PHILIPPINE shares closed in the red on Thursday as investors pocketed their gains and as foreigners exited the market amid lingering concerns on the economy’s prospects.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 23.86 points or 0.37% to close at 6,415.53 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index declined by 16.93 points or 0.42% to 3,947.41.

COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Technical Analyst Juanis G. Barredo said the benchmark index went down amid “pressure due to foreign selling, worries over longer term impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and the lack of fresh catalysts.”

“The mining sector worked in a heavy correction today due to profit taking after seeing a large pick up into the last week or so stemming from the government’s announcement to reopen the sector,” Mr. Barredo added.

For his part, China Bank Securities Corp. Research Head Rastine Mackie D. Mercado said the PSEi declined “as more index issues showed signs of capitulation.”

“Trading volumes also remained lackluster and foreigners remained net sellers in today’s session,” Mr. Mercado said via e-mail on Thursday. “Investors also continued to take profit on mining issues after their recent rallies.”

All sectoral indices closed in the red on Thursday. Mining and oil lost 317.51 points or 3.45% to close at 8,872.65; financials went down by 9.57 points or 0.68% to 1,382.03; industrials declined by 51.69 points or 0.59% to 8,638.67; services slumped by 5.69 points or 0.39% to 1,445.71; holding firms fell by 19.84 points or 0.3% to 6,506.74; and property gave up 6.40 points or 0.2% to finish at 3,129.71.

Value turnover went up to P5.65 billion with 3.66 billion shares switching hands on Thursday from the P5.37 billion with 3.46 billion shares seen on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, net foreign selling ballooned to P1.12 billion on Thursday from the P776.80 million logged in the previous trading day.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 127 versus 71, while 46 names closed unchanged on Thursday.

Mr. Mercado said he expects the market “to remain in limbo” due to the lack of near-term catalysts.

“Possible developments to watch out for over the coming weeks include the release of firms’ first-quarter financial results, government report on the first quarter gross domestic product figures, and the arrival of second quarter vaccine shipments,” he said.

“We may see the index test the support at 6,330 over the coming days, as it traverses the 6,330 to 6,650 range,” Mr. Mercado said.

“The index now stands at a crucial spot of support, close to 6,400, as a break of this may drive a further slip towards 6,200 to 6,100,” COL Financial Group’s Mr. Barredo added. — K.C.G. Valmonte

Government eyes more than 5M vaccine doses in second quarter

April 22, 2021 | 8:35 pm

THE PHILIPPINES expects to take delivery of more than five million doses of coronavirus vaccines this quarter as it tries to fast-track the rollout amid a fresh surge in infections, according to the government’s vaccine czar.

Half-a-million doses of CoronaVac made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was expected to arrive on Thursday, and 15,000 more doses would come on April 25, Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., chief implementer of the country’s pandemic plan, told a televised news briefing on Thursday.

The government would also take delivery of about 500,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine made by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology on April 29, he said.

About 195,000 doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer, Inc. will arrive at the end of the month, Mr. Galvez said.

By May, the country will take delivery of about two million doses of CoronaVac, as many as two million doses of Sputnik V, and 194,000 doses of the vaccine made by Moderna, Inc. As many as two million doses of Pfizer, Inc. will have arrived by then, he said.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 8,767 coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total to 971,049.

The death toll rose by 105 to 16,370, while recoveries increased by 17,138 to 846,691, it said in a bulletin.

There were 107,988 active cases, 96.6% of which were mild, 1.3% did not show symptoms, 0.7% were critical, 0.9% were severe and 0.55% were moderate.

The DoH on April 2 reported the highest daily tally of 15,310 cases since the pandemic started last year.

The agency said 25 duplicates had been removed from the tally and 43 recovered cases were reclassified as deaths. One laboratory was closed on April 20, while five laboratories failed to submit data.

About 10.6 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of April 20, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 144.5 million and killed 3.1 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization. About 122.7 million people have recovered, it said.

Mr. Galvez said almost 1.4 million Filipinos have been vaccinated against the coronavirus as of April 21.

Of the total, more than one million were health workers, while 184,200 were seniors. More than 210,880 people with health complications were also vaccinated, he added.

Mr. Galvez said the government had been vaccinating as many 70,000 Filipinos daily in the previous weeks. About 120,000 Filipinos are expected to be inoculated daily by June, he added.

Also on Thursday, testing czar Vivencio B. Dizon said the country’s coronavirus testing laboratories have been conducting at least 55,000 tests daily in the past week. It peaked at 65,000 daily, he told the same briefing.

Mr. Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the country’s pandemic plan, said about 200,000 more antigen test kits had been deployed to Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite and Batangas, where there had been a recent surge in infections.

Health facilities have committed to put up 175 more intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 1,000 ward beds for coronavirus patients in these areas.

Presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said 65% of ICU beds for coronavirus patients in the country have been used. Half of isolation beds have been used and 55% of ward beds were already occupied, he told the briefing.

About 45% of ventilators for coronavirus patients had been used.

Mr. Roque said more than 82% of ICU beds in Metro Manila have been used. He added that about 61% of isolation beds and 70% of ward beds in the region were already occupied. About 60% of ventilators in the capital region have been used.

Meanwhile, Mr. Roque said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration may run out of funds by mid-May for quarantine facilities of returning Filipino migrant workers. The agency only has about P1.4 billion left in its budget.

Mr. Dizon said the government spends about P4.5 million daily to quarantine migrant workers. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

President Duterte to skip ASEAN summit in Jakarta — Palace

April 22, 2021 | 8:34 pm

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo R. Duterte won’t attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta this weekend so he could attend to “pressing domestic concerns,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

He would send the country’s top envoy to the meeting instead, it said in a statement on Thursday.

“The President has decided to remain in the country to attend to pressing domestic concerns in light of the surge in COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases,” DFA said.

Mr. Duterte might join the meeting virtually, his spokesperson Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. told a televised news briefing. “The Philippines strongly supported the convening of the meeting even without the full attendance of all ASEAN leaders,” DFA said.

The meeting would address urgent matters in the region including pandemic recovery efforts, community building programs, Myanmar’s governance crisis, and other regional and international issues, it added.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. “will also express the Philippines’ strong support to the initiative of Brunei Darussalam and the secretary-general of ASEAN to use their good offices, in accordance with the ASEAN charter, to visit Myanmar and spearhead ASEAN’s response to the crisis” there.

In February, Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratically installed government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, resulting in a massive uprising that triggered a violent crackdown on state dissenters.

More than 500 people in Myanmar have been killed by military forces since the popular revolt began, according to a report by human rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

While a number of countries around the world have spoken against military rule in Myanmar, the Philippines and neighboring countries have only given a tepid response to the crisis..

The palace earlier said the crisis in Myanmar was an internal issue that Manila would rather not interfere with. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Senators want task force stripped of funds on red-tagging

April 22, 2021 | 8:33 pm

Several senators on Thursday sought to deprive a national task force against communism of its budget after an official linked an organizer of community pantries to Maoist rebels.

“We should move to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in the next budget,” Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva tweeted late Wednesday. “The people’s money will just go to waste.”

He said the agency’s P19-billion budget should instead be used as cash aid to poor Filipinos affected by a coronavirus pandemic.

“I agree,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian replied in a tweet. “If these are the kind of people who will spend hard earned taxpayer’s money, then it’s not worth it.”

Agency spokesman Antonio G. Parlade, Jr. on Tuesday likened in a Cignal TV interview the community pantry efforts of organizer Ana Patricia Non to Satan tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit.

A community pantry offers free food such as rice, noodles and canned goods for free to the poor, while accepting donations from those who can afford these.

Ms. Non in a Facebook post on Tuesday said the community pantry that she started would be closed that day after they were linked to communist rebels.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Villanueva said his call for the realignment of the agency’s budget “conforms to the existing budget practice of realigning scarce funds to where these are more needed.”

“It is also not giving comfort to the armed enemies. It is simply giving aid to our hungry people,” he said.

Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel supported the call, noting that they have tried to cut its budget during hearings last year.

“And if there are already calls from the rest of the Senate not to fund them, I will gladly support that again,” she told an online news briefing.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III rejected the call. “Defunding it would give back the gains of the government to the rebels,” he said in a Viber group message.

“We should not be hasty in blaming a good program because of irresponsible statements from some officials. Replace the officials instead.”

Ms. Hontiveros on Thursday also filed a resolution condemning the red-tagging of community pantries by government officials.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said the task force’s budget should be given to the poor instead.

He also sought the passage of the bill he filed seeking to penalize red-tagging with a 10-year jail term.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said police collecting personal data of community pantry organizers could face charges of violating the Data Privacy Act.

He also said a person who solicits funds for charity but fails to account for it and later ends the activity is not liable for any offense “unless fraud was employed.”

Also on Thursday, Mr. Guevarra said he had met with the families of the Southern Tagalog raids victims and with the wife of slain labor rights activist Dandy Miguel.

He said he assured the victims’ families that they would get to the bottom of the killings.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary-General Renato M. Reyes, who came with the families, said they “found the meeting very encouraging as the process of investigation as well as the participation of witnesses was clarified.”

“The survivors and witnesses also expressed fear for their safety as their communities are militarized. This should be addressed in the course of the investigation,” he said.

Police killed nine activists during a March 7 raid in Southern Tagalog. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas and Bianca Angelica D. Añago