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Gov’t wants graphic health warnings on vaping, heated tobacco products

LINDSAY FOX/PIXABAY

THE GOVERNMENT has ordered manufacturers, importers and sellers of vapor and heated tobacco products to print graphic health warnings on their packaging within 18 months,  according to the implementing rules and regulations of the laws taxing these products which were released Tuesday.

Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 003-2020, issued by various agencies including the Department of Health (DoH) and Department of Finance (DoF), ordered the health warnings as part of the implementation of the “sin tax” laws. The JMC serves as the implementing rules and regulations for vapor and heated tobacco products taxed under Republic Acts (RA) 11346 and 11467, which both amend the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

The rules also limit the sale of such products to persons who are at least 21 years old.

The DoH will issue templates for the health warning, including those for inserts and other advertising, outside packaging and labelling, and other packaging from domestic and overseas manufacturers.

“Manufacturers, distributors, importers and sellers of heated tobacco products and vapor products are given a period of 18 months from the effectivity of the rules to comply with the requirements of the Graphic Health Warnings Law,” according to the circular.

The Graphic Health Warnings Law is otherwise known as Republic Act 10643, signed in 2014.

The circular was issued by the DoH, the DoF, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

The DoH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will act as the regulating agencies for manufacturers, importers, and sellers of such products, with authority over packaging, advertising and distribution of vapor and heated tobacco products. The FDA is also tasked with conducting scientific studies on the health impact of these products.

The DBM will determine how the funds raised from taxes collected from these products will be allocated and released to tobacco-producing provinces, as provided for by law.

The DoF and BIR will also determine the rules for setting floor prices for vapor and heated tobacco products.

RA 11346, signed in July 2019, and RA 11467, signed in January 2020, increased the taxes levied on the so-called “sin” products including vapor and heated tobacco products to raise more revenue for the Universal Health Care program while discouraging consumption of these products.

“Consumers should buy HTPs (heated tobacco products) and ENDs (electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems) products that pass the certification process of FDA. Product claims and labeling to inform consumers of product content ensures the consumers’ right to information as well as exercise his right to an intelligent choice,” consumer advocacy group Laban Konsyumer, Inc. President Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said via Viber Tuesday. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Enabling, sustainable, and inclusive mindset to recovery

Into the “next normal,” the usual way of doing things cannot suffice. Our attitudes, the way we behave, and how we put things into perspective matter.

For one, the pandemic has overarchingly taught us and spelled out that government cannot be left on its own in managing the affairs of society. But with intersectoral and multi-stakeholder engagements, crisis and recovery could be a worthwhile and beneficial endeavor.

Stimulating the economy and bringing it to new heights cannot be done through the usual consumption-led approach. But with an investment-driven economy, more and better jobs could be provided to the population. In turn, such an arrangement directly bridges the gap between industry needs and education thrusts.

Recognizing the unique role of the private sector is also the prerequisite of realizing its full potential in catering to the socio-economic welfare of the country. The efficient and effective management of resources via linking society’s supply and demand chains would be at a new level and this is what the private sector specializes in.

Another critical social actor that needs to be emphasized and put in the forefront of recovery and development is civil society. Composed of nongovernmental organizations, the academe, tri-media, think tanks, and independent thought leaders, this represents a balancing force to curb corruption and promote good governance amid recovery.

And at the rate Philippine society is going, a great deal of forward-looking lessons can be gleaned not only from the first session of the Pilipinas Conference launched by Stratbase ADR Institute, dubbed “Rebooting the Economy Post-Pandemic: Cushioning the Long Emergency,” but in the succeeding sessions as well.

To avert further and future crises, a resilient recovery and development plan is needed to envelop an inclusive and multi-stakeholder recovery. Manufacturing, physical and digital infrastructure, consumption, remittances, environment, and agriculture necessitate a proportional emphasis based on the priorities of economy and government.

Aside from the health and economic crises that affronted us, the political health of our system equally requires attention. The loss of transparency, threats to elections, and militarization prod us to unceasingly uphold transparent and accountable governance. In a particular landscape, the rapid digitization of Filipino lives opens the window for the implementation of e-governance. Through e-governance, data could be harnessed and utilized in holding public servants accountable to their constituents.

In setting development goals for recovery, however, consultation should be done with the different sectors in society. Government leaders cannot simply manifest their “strong political will” at the onset of a crisis and then suddenly wane in its duration. In this line, the private sector should steadfastly be the driving force of our economy, while simultaneously promoting social responsibility.

The global economic turmoil was caused by the lockdowns and movement restrictions to impede, if not stop, the spread of the virus. Our country was thrown into an economic tailspin and we are facing economic pessimism and contraction. As a result, the disruption of the supply chain triggered recession and the accelerating velocity of economic activities slowed to a turtle’s pace.

It is noteworthy that the private sector has proven to be a core component of our nation’s recovery. Business leaders will continue to share their short- and long-term outlooks on challenges and threats that we face in a post-pandemic world.

The challenges of 2020 — the decline of traditional growth drivers such as consumption, remittances and services, the technical recession, the pains in striking a balance between economic health and public health, the political health of our system being compromised under “emergency powers,” the weak social protection, the emerging regional political-security environment, the need for climate resilient sustainable communities, and the judicious approach to avert more crisis and promote recovery — should be our springboard onward to 2021.

Crafting the “next normal” must be guided by the chief principle of how to translate challenges and crises into opportunities should the next year prove to be another “long emergency” for Filipinos.

From this new normal, to navigate our society through the crisis and veer toward recovery and growth, demands a rethinking and an eventual changing of mentality.

What we need is an investment-led economy that is capable of making growth more sustainable and inclusive by creating jobs and providing stable incomes to countless Filipinos.

What we need are fruitful government-private sector partnerships and a vibrant citizenship to strengthen society’s resilience.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the President of Stratbase ADR Institute.

Technology innovators and drivers as heroes

I guess you could say that the kind of people and nation we become is largely determined by the kind of people we admire. Because of the power of the media, in general, our people tend to look up to celebrities, whether famous or notorious. This can be seen in the kind of leaders we elect, and the kind of careers our children aspire for.

Today, our heroes are a boxer, beauty queens, an ill-mannered and controversial president, some good looking movie stars and other entertainers. In terms of careers, the most prestigious is that of doctor. Lawyering is another career aspired to, given how many still take the bar exams, despite the pathetic state of our justice system.

Sadly, there seems little regard for scientists and engineers. But if we look to the future, the world belongs to these experts in making and changing the way things are made or done. Even today, it is obvious which are the most successful nations. The United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and many countries in Europe. These countries have made great strides in making life more comfortable and pleasant for their citizens and the rest of the world because of technological and scientific breakthroughs made by some of their highly educated citizens. Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Frederick Smith of Fedex, Jack Ma of Alibaba, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Larry Page and Sergev Brin of Google, Akiro Morita of Sony, and many innovators in communications technology.

What we don’t actually realize is that we have in fact some cases of Filipinos who have made world class innovations in how to make or do things. They just have not been given much attention and have almost disappeared from our formal history.

Perhaps the most successful in terms of economic success is Diosdado “Dado” Banatao, the son of a poor farmer from Cagayan Valley. He managed to get an engineering degree from the Mapua Institute of Technology (bravo to that school) and later got a job at Boeing in California, helping to design some elements of their aircraft. He eventually got into Stanford University for a degree in computer sciences and worked in neighboring Silicon Valley. His brilliance, creativity and hard work helped him develop the microchips which were adopted by NASA and eventually by IT firms such as Microsoft. Banatao is a dollar millionaire, perhaps even a billionaire. He has also gotten involved with some IT education programs in the Philippines, including those in the University of the Philippines and the Asian Institute of Management. Dado Banatao certainly deserves to be hyped as a real hero by our people. He has helped to change the way the world does things today. Someone to be emulated by our youth as demonstrating the limitless possibilities for anyone who is willing to work hard.

Another deserving model is Dr. Fe Del Mundo, the first female accepted into Harvard Medical School. Dr. Del Mundo, who founded and ran the Children’s Medical Center, did not limit her pediatric practice to urban children. She invented a bamboo-based incubator kit, appropriate technology in our country where millions of families still do not have access to the formal healthcare system. It would be interesting to know if this invention is being used extensively in isolated rural areas today. I understand it is used in Indonesia.

Dr. Conrado Dayrit pioneered studies that discovered and promoted the healthy values of coconut oil. Today, his son, Toby Dayrit, continues to advocate the benefits from coconut based products. Virgin coconut oil is an ingredient used in the globally successful hypoallergenic skin and hair care brands developed by dermatologist Dr. Vermen Verallo-Rowell. They have clinics in New York, Paris, Tokyo, London and other key cities in the world.

Gregorio Y. Zara, a national scientist, invented the first two-way videophone.

Dr. Justino Arboleda, an agricultural engineer from Bicol who earned a doctorate from Tokyo University, invented the “coco-net” which is being used in many construction projects, including those in public works, as a low cost innovation in soil erosion control. He also exports coco peat to Australia for use in their cattle farms and as inputs to fertilizer, and coco fiber to China, which is used to firm up bed mattresses. The demand for mattresses has grown as more and more families in China have become more prosperous and no longer want to sleep on hard floors. Arboleda’s coconet production system involves many families in the provinces whom he trained in the production system, enabling them to rise above the poverty line.

Jaime “Jim” Imperial Ayala, a Harvard MBA graduate who came home to the Philippines as country director for the consulting firm McKinsey, eventually joined Ayala Land as its CEO. Today, he has become a social entrepreneur, disseminating the widespread use of a solar-powered lamp in isolated areas around the country. Jim Ayala was motivated by his embrace of a Bible-based Christianity; and he and his family have made many sacrifices, including selling some properties, to fulfill his dream of making life better for rural families. The solar lamp, which was invented by a Stanford student, helps the children study their lessons. It also helps fisher folk who go out to sea at night. Ayala’s management degree has helped him develop a market system in which the rural poor are able to pay for the lamp with microfinance loans. The feedback is positive. The payments are up to date; and the rural families find that the lamp has enabled the children to do well in school; and saved them money from fuel used in their old fire-hazard lamps. One day, perhaps, this social enterprise can realize profits, if we go by C.K. Prahalad’s thinking in his book that there is fortune to be made at the bottom of the pyramid. This could encourage courageous business investors to look for opportunities to do well while doing good.

Perhaps the Departments of Education, Science and Technology, Agriculture, and Trade can team up to produce and disseminate educational materials to propagate and popularize technology innovators and drivers as our new heroes. There is much that can be done online. Perhaps it is a little late for the present generation; but the future ones are still promising.

We need new heroes. Heroes who make and do useful things that make life better for our people.

 

Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and Fellow of the Development Academy of the Philippines.

tsabesamis0114@yahoo.com

Calibrating the ease of doing business in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

With the Philippine economy battling a raging pandemic, there is a great imperative to help business entities weather the crisis by easing the process of doing business. Cognizant of this, the Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) issued Memorandum Circular No. 6 Series of 2020 which provides for the guidelines on the issuance of permits and licenses under the “new normal.”

It complements Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. The memorandum circular was issued to impress the urgency of updating regulatory procedures and documentary requirements of most government agencies as they are not designed to adapt to the “new normal” of physical distancing and limited mobility brought about by the COVID-19. It likewise highlighted that the current pandemic is not an excuse for government agencies not to adhere to the prescribed processing times.

Under RA 11032, government agencies are mandated to render service within the prescribed processing time of three days for simple transactions, seven days for complex transactions, and 20 working days for highly technical transactions or for applications or requests involving activities which pose danger to public health, public safety, public morals and public policy, as classified in their respective Citizen’s Charter. Pursuant to the automatic approval provision, after the lapse of the prescribed processing times, all remaining unacted applications, where the submitted requirements are complete and the appropriate fees paid, shall be deemed automatically approved. In view thereof, the ARTA, through the memorandum circular, underlined that the burden is now shifted to the government agencies, who must act on the application within the prescribed processing time stated under their respective Citizen’s Charters. The presumption that the application is complete and is in order shall prevail, unless there is a notice of disapproval or a notice requesting for extension from the concerned government agencies duly received by the applicant within the prescribed processing time.

While the government adheres to the Zero-Contact Policy in the processing of applications, the memorandum circular emphasized that it should not be used as a tool in denying government service to the transacting public who are requesting for information on their applications. Government agencies are encouraged to use e-mail, their website, or hotlines to address inquiries of applicants. They are likewise required to set up an online processing system and payment gateway for accepting applications and digital payments for permits, licenses, and clearances.

Unless considered strictly necessary, requirements for meetings or interviews with the applicant shall be removed. For low risk applications, a self-declaration may be required from the applicant, in lieu of an inspection. The use of available secure technological platforms for inspections, the conduct of one-time joint inspection when possible, deputizing other government agencies to conduct the inspections for the other, and other appropriate alternative modes of inspection, are also means which the various government agencies can utilize to adapt to the new normal. If the conduct of physical inspection is a mandatory and non-negotiable requirement, government agencies are required to strictly observe contactless inspections and adhere to minimum public health standards as defined under the Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines to suppress transmission of COVID-19.

Consistent with the Whole of Government Approach, which advocates for different government agencies to work together and integrate their processes, the ARTA strongly recommended in the memorandum circular data sharing among government agencies. Data sharing allows for government agencies to have up-to-date and readily available information for the efficient delivery of government services and to calibrate their responses to the current needs of the public. More importantly, it allows for the unhampered exchange of information between government agencies requiring the same information and documentary requirements, which will in turn ease the burden of applicants from having to comply with duplicate submission of documents that have already been provided as part of the application process by other government agencies.

With the simplification and streamlining of the business processes, it is hoped that business entities will have the much needed assistance in navigating through the debilitating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and allow them to focus on assisting the government in sustaining the economy. In the long term, if the guidelines in the memorandum circular are properly adhered to it will also support the groundwork to increase the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of government agencies in cultivating a thriving business climate.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Genie Celini D. Nuevo is a Senior Associate of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW), Davao Branch.

(6382) 224-0996

gdnuevo@accralaw.com

Drones have raised the odds and risks of small wars  

A MAJOR HERO of two recent conflicts — in Libya and in Nagorno-Karabakh — isn’t even human. It’s an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, called the Bayraktar TB2 and made by Baykar, a Turkish company in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law, Selçuk Bayraktar, serves as the chief technical officer.

In Libya last year, the TB2 scored some successes against a vaunted Russian anti-aircraft system, Pantsir, helping the United Nations-recognized government of Fayez al-Sarraj hold Tripoli against the onslaught of General Khalifa Haftar, who had armed himself with the Pantsirs.

In Nagorno-Karabakh this fall, the same drone was instrumental in unleashing hell on Armenian tanks, artillery, and, again, some Russian-made anti-aircraft equipment. It helped bring about Azerbaijan’s decisive victory and a Moscow-brokered peace deal that returned to Azerbaijan most of the territory it lost in a previous war in the 1990s.

That UAVs can play such a visible part in modern wars is a big part of their appeal. As Ulrike Franke of the European Council on Foreign Relations, whose area of expertise includes drone warfare, pointed out in a Twitter thread, “using drones is like having a film crew with you.” The footage filmed by the unmanned aircraft as they attack is often used by governments for propaganda purposes, and it’s far more convincing than the usual conflicting claims by belligerents; independent observers use it to verify the reports.

An even bigger advantage, however, comes from how Turkey and its allies — the al-Sarraj government and the Azerbaijani regime of President Ilham Aliyev — have used drones to upset the offense-defense balance. Whether or not you subscribe to the theory that wars will be fought when the cost of attacking is much lower than the cost of defending, it is both intuitively clear and experimentally proven that losing a drone, or two or three, is less painful, and carries a lower cost, than losing a tank or a manned aircraft. Sending drones into battle is a lot like playing a computer game — and indeed, gamers may make better UAV operators than trained pilots. In both the Libyan and Karabakh wars, the drone operators apparently took a lot of risks to figure out the opposing side’s vulnerabilities, caring relatively little if they lost a UAV or two along the way.

In addition to the relatively costly TB2s — the price tag is several million dollars apiece, not including control centers — Azerbaijan used pretty much anything that could fly, including old Soviet An-2 agricultural planes refitted into UAVs. It also bought kamikaze drones from Israel.

This use of relatively disposable drones has created an offense-defense balance in real-life wars that is more typical of cyberspace, where the attacker has a distinct cost advantage (though some argue that’s mostly because defenders just aren’t nimble enough). Playing whack-a-mole against drones is a lot like chasing hackers.

The shift toward PlayStation reality isn’t necessarily reshaping hypothetical conflicts between major military powers. Superiority in traditional aircraft can still trump the drone advantage. The defense lobby has an interest in continuing to make and sell expensive manned aircraft, and the US and Russia will continue to buy and upgrade them because of the planes’ range and sheer destructive power. But, as Franke pointed out, “for smaller states, which do have air forces, but only have a limited number of aircraft — as is the case for both Armenia and Azerbaijan — drones are quite an important contribution because they boost aerial capabilities.”

Drones, however, can be a nuisance to major powers — just ask Russia. Anyone can build a drone, as Islamist militants proved in Syria when they sent a swarm of basic UAVs against the Russian base in Hmeimim, Syria, in 2018. The attack was thwarted, but it made clear that less protected targets could be hit in a similar fashion.

The rise of the drone has also created a problem for Russia by sowing doubts about its anti-aircraft systems — one of the country’s biggest defense exports. Armenia bet on these products (although perhaps not the best or most modern ones) and lost. After the Pantsir ran into trouble in Libya, the Russian military’s official weekly Zvezda denied the Pantsir’s humiliating vulnerability to the Turkish drones; yet even as it did so, it allowed that the anti-aircraft system has a “blind zone” that an adversary can learn to penetrate.

The Russian propaganda machine has taken pains to reassure the populace, and the Russian defense industry’s clients, that the country has an answer to the UAV threat. Various websites have spread stories about the use of the Krasukha-4 electronic warfare system to help Armenia avoid a total defeat. The Krasukha, first deployed in Syria in 2015, jams radar and GPS signals as well as other electronic communications. Theoretically, it can render drones helpless. Whether it was really used in the Karabakh war was never officially confirmed; General Movses Hakobyan, a top Armenian military official who resigned after the defeat, said Armenia managed to thwart the Bayraktar TB2 for four days when given the use of a different, newer Russian electronic warfare system, Pole-21, first received by the Russian military last year.

But while Russia has emphasized developing its capacity for such electronic warfare, its effectiveness against tactics pioneered by Turkey and its allies is unclear. Jamming, for instance, could devolve into just another game of whack-a-mole.

Ukrainians, for one, see some potential in using drones against Russia-backed forces. Last year, Ukraine signed a $69-million deal with Baykar to buy six TB2s, control equipment, and ammunition. Ukraine is now reportedly working with the Turkish company to launch local production. The example of Azerbaijan’s successful attack on Karabakh is inspiring to Ukrainian leaders, who haven’t given up on reclaiming the country’s east, now controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Russia, however, isn’t the only major military power that should worry about the proliferation of drones. Any country or military bloc that conducts overseas operations and gets involved in local conflicts will likely have to deal with the growing threat. According to a study by Michael Horowitz of the University of Pennsylvania and his collaborators, of the 22 countries that possess armed drones now, 19 have acquired them since 2010, and 14 since 2014, most of them thanks to the “supply shock” of China’s 2011 entry into the market. More than 20 other countries are pursuing the capability, Horowitz found. It is, among other things, a pursuit of status: Drones are synonymous with technological innovation.

Intervention in the deadly computer games of tomorrow could be fraught with embarrassment, or worse, for the big players. And, if the offense-defense balance theory is correct, such interventions will be called for more frequently: Going on the attack is no longer as scary or as expensive as it used to be.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Most sovereigns face ‘significant negative’ shock from COVID-19

MOODY’S Investors Service said on Monday that most sovereigns face a “significant negative shock” from the coronavirus pandemic and that recent developments in vaccine trials have not changed the rating agency’s forecasts.

“Most (sovereigns) face a significant economic loss, a marked increase in their debt burden, and some, in particular emerging markets, face a deterioration in debt affordability,” a top sovereign analyst at Moody’s said in an email responding to questions from Reuters.

“We have not changed our forecasts based on recent developments in progress on vaccine trials since they remain consistent with our general assumptions that some easing of the pandemic is likely next year, although only gradually,” Marie Diron, managing director of the agency’s Sovereign Risk Group, told Reuters.

Ms. Diron said the evolution of the pandemic, including vaccine availability, will be a key driver of economic trends going into the next year.

“The recovery will proceed at different paces in different countries, in part depending on the speed of return to normalcy, in part depending on the varied capacity of economies to recover from a shock,” Ms. Diron added.

Pfizer, Inc and Moderna, Inc are seeking US emergency use authorization for their experimental vaccines, but experts have said more than one vaccine would be needed to end the pandemic that has killed more than 1.4 million people globally.

Moody’s said in October that the global recession caused by the pandemic has been far deeper than expected and has disproportionately affected emerging and frontier market nations. The rating agency said earlier in November that it expected G20 (Group of 20) economies to contract by 3.8% collectively in 2020, followed by 4.9% growth in 2021 and 3.8% growth in 2022.

Last month, S&P Global told Reuters that some of the world’s top economies could see their credit ratings cut or put on downgrade warnings in the coming months in a second global wave of coronavirus-related revisions. — Reuters

California at coronavirus ‘tipping point’ as Trump administration hopes for vaccines by Christmas

LOS ANGELES — California’s governor said on Monday the state was at a “tipping point” in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that would soon overwhelm hospitals as political leaders nationwide turn to increasingly aggressive measures to hold back the latest surge.

Governor Gavin Newsom said he may clamp new “stay-at-home” orders on California’s roughly 40 million residents in the face of infections and hospitalizations that are still rising weeks before emergency vaccines are predicted for release.

“(California) has worked hard to prepare for a surge – but we can’t sustain the record high cases we’re seeing,” Newsom said on Twitter. “Current projections show CA will run out of current ICU beds before Christmas Eve.

The governor told reporters discussions were underway among state health officials over the potential stay-at-home order. He expects to issue a decision in the next day or two.

Last week he ordered a daily curfew barring social gatherings and other non-essential activities across most of the state between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily.

Newsom, who has largely banned indoor dining in the state, has apologized after photos surfaced of the first-term Democrat eating dinner with 11 other people, including a prominent lobbyist, at a French restaurant near Napa. None wore masks.

More than 4.2 million new COVID-19 infections and 36,000 COVID-19 related deaths were reported across the United States in November, according to a Reuters tally. Hospitalizations are at a pandemic high and deaths the most in six months.

Nearly 93,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, up 11% from last week and double the number reported a month ago, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county public health reports.

Americans who have endured eight months of restrictions, lockdown and business closures in the face of the pandemic are pinning their hopes on vaccines developed by drug companies Pfizer, Inc and Moderna that are awaiting US government approval for emergency use.

VACCINES BY CHRISTMAS?
US Health Secretary Alex Azar said Pfizer’s medication could be authorized and shipped within days of a Dec. 10 meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration.

Moderna’s vaccine could follow a week later, Mr. Azar said, after the company announced on Monday it would apply for emergency authorization both in the US and Europe.

“So we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people’s arms before Christmas,” Mr. Azar said on CBS’ This Morning.

Health officials in many states say that even after the vaccines are approved the rollout to Americans nationwide could be slowed by shortages of personal protective equipment and other factors.

The non-partisan Government Accountability Office reported on Monday that some diagnostic test kits and accompanying reagents, as well as PPE are hard to come by “due to a supply chain with limited domestic production and high global demand.” In Los Angeles, health officials on Friday banned all public and private gatherings for at least three weeks and urged residents to stay home as much as possible. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday ordered all elective surgeries to cease in one county and told hospitals statewide to plan on increasing their capacity by 50% if necessary or set up and staff field hospitals.

“Hospital capacity is the top concern,” Mr. Cuomo said.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that as of Saturday he was re-tightening the limit on most outdoor gatherings to 25 people.

Mr. Murphy, who has brought back a series of COVID-19 restrictions in recent weeks, also said all indoor youth and adult sports will be put on hold from Dec. 5 through Jan. 2, 2021, also with exemptions. — Reuters

China gave experimental vaccine to Kim, says analyst

SEOUL — China has provided North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family with an experimental coronavirus vaccine, a US analyst said on Tuesday, citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources.

Harry Kazianis, a North Korea expert at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said the Kims and several senior North Korean officials had been vaccinated.

It was unclear which company had supplied its drug candidate to the Kims and whether it had proven to be safe, he added.

“Kim Jong Un and multiple other high-ranking officials within the Kim family and leadership network have been vaccinated for coronavirus within the last two to three weeks thanks to a vaccine candidate supplied by the Chinese government,” Mr. Kazianis wrote in an article for online outlet 19FortyFive.

Citing US medical scientist Peter J. Hotez, he said at least three Chinese companies were developing a coronavirus vaccine, including Sinovac Biotech Ltd, CanSinoBio and Sinophram Group.

Sinophram says its candidate has been used by nearly one million people in China, although none of the firms was known to have publicly launched Phase 3 clinical trials of their experimental COVID-19 drugs.

Some experts doubted that Kim would use an experimental vaccine.

“Even if a Chinese vaccine had already been approved, no drug is perfect and he would not take that risk when he has numerous shelters which can ensure almost complete isolation,” said Choi Jung-hun, an infectious disease expert who defected from North Korea to the South in 2012.

Mark Barry, an East Asia analyst and associate editor of the International Journal on World Peace, said Mr. Kim would prefer proven European vaccines to one supplied by Beijing.

“The risk is too great. But he’s happy to get Chinese personal protective equipment,” Mr. Barry said on Twitter.

North Korea has not confirmed any coronavirus infections, but South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has said an outbreak there cannot be ruled out as the country had trade and people-to-people exchanges with China — the source of the pandemic — before shutting the border in late January.

Microsoft said last month that two North Korean hacking groups had tried to break into the network of vaccine developers in multiple countries, without specifying the companies targeted. Sources told Reuters they included British drugmaker AstraZeneca.

The NIS said last week it had foiled North Korea’s attempts to hack into South Korean COVID-19 vaccine makers. — Reuters

Hong Kong takes aim at yacht parties in latest virus crackdown

HONG KONG has set up a hotline for residents to report parties aboard private yachts and rented party boats, as the financial hub tightens social-distancing rules to contain a surge of virus cases.

With nightclubs and karaoke parlors closing as a result of a new round of restrictions, some people were hosting rule-breaking gatherings at sea, Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a weekly news briefing Tuesday ahead of a meeting of her advisory Executive Council. Holding parties aboard rented “junks” in Hong Kong’s iconic harbor and outlying islands is a favorite weekend pastime, as is gathering on private yachts anchored off tropical beaches.

“The reporting hotline newly set up is there because we see that, after party rooms and karaoke parlors have been made to close, there are a number of people who organize events at sea,” Ms. Lam said. “We want to target such a breach.”

The local police force, which has already launched a hotline for potential breaches of the city’s controversial national security law, has also posted on Facebook calling on residents to alert them to parties at sea.

“Whilst scheduled premises such as bars, bath houses and party rooms have been closed according to the law, the police noticed that a number of vessels have been hired for social gathering,” the police said. “Even privately owned yachts are sometimes used for such purpose. This greatly increased the risk of transmission of disease.”

Ms. Lam’s comments come a day after announcing a new round of restrictions, including sending civil servants back to working from home, reducing restaurant-goers to two people per table and closing karaoke bars and mahjong parlors. She said authorities planned to raise the HK$2,000 ($258) fine for violating a ban on group gatherings because the current penalty wasn’t enough of a deterrent.

The latest round of measures, including the suspension of a planned travel corridor with Singapore, have dented hopes for an economic recovery in the Asian financial hub. While Hong Kong has had more success containing the pandemic than many big cities — with just over 6,300 total cases and 109 deaths since the outbreak began — cases are rising again with more than 70 cases daily over the past seven days. — Bloomberg

TNT Tropang Giga seek to level PBA Philippine Cup finals series

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

OUTLASTED in the opener of the best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals series, the TNT Tropang Giga look to redeem themselves and level the affair in Game Two on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena in Pampanga.

In the thick of the fight for much of Game One on Sunday, TNT lost some step down the stretch which proved to be costly as they slumped to the 100-94 loss in overtime.

Ray Parks Jr. led the way for the Tropang Giga, finishing with 20 points, five steals, four rebounds and four assists before fouling out late in the extra period.

Unfortunately for TNT, Mr. Parks is considered “doubtful” for Game Two after suffering a recurrence of a left calf strain.

Roger Pogoy finished with 19 points and six boards in the series-opener while Jayson Castro had 12 points and five assists and Poy Erram a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the expected absence of Mr. Parks, TNT is hopeful forward Troy Rosario gets to squeeze out of his funk and step up.

A former National University standout and a member of the school’s champion University Athletic Association of the Philippines team in 2014, Mr. Rosario has been struggling of late, beginning with their semifinal clash with the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.

In Game One of the finals, Mr. Rosario finished with eight points, five rebounds, three assists and a block in 27 minutes on the floor.

Providing a valuable boost, however, is veteran Jay Washington, who had 14 points last time around, including back-to-back triples late in the fourth period that kept TNT in the game.

TNT is back in the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino tournament after seven years.

The last time the Tropang Giga made it to the finals of the Philippine Cup, they were still being coached by Norman Black and went on to win the championship, sweeping the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 4-0.

But TNT was a finalist in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, losing to the San Miguel Beermen in six games.

Barangay Ginebra, for its part, has not won the Philippine Cup title since the 2006-07 season. Apart from trying to end the drought, the Kings are also looking to win back-to-back league titles in addition to the Governors’ Cup championship they won previously.

Young Gilas Pilipinas crew proves mettle by going unscathed in Manama

HAD its share of doubters when it was sent to the second window of the 2021 International Basketball Association (FIBA) Asia Cup Qualifiers in Manama, Bahrain, the young Gilas Pilipinas team showed it deserved the opportunity given to it by sweeping its two-game assignment.

The Jong Uichico-coached team of amateur and collegiate stars completed a shutout of Thailand in their joust by taking the second game as well on Monday night in convincing fashion, 93-69.

It was in follow-up to Gilas’ 93-61 victory in its first game of the window on Friday.

The Philippines was steady on both ends once again, despite a better stand from the Thais than that in the opener.

Javi Gomez de Liano of the University of the Philippines led a balanced attack by Gilas, finishing with 19 points on an efficient 87.5% shooting clip on the floor.

His brother Juan finished with 14 points while Dwight Ramos and Matt Nieto had 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the win.

Isaac Go, meanwhile, had a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds.

Justine Baltazar only had two points, but pulled down 11 rebounds and had three steals.

For Thailand, it was big man Chanatip Jakrawan who showed the way with 34 points and 12 rebounds.

Just like in the first game, Thailand kept the game close in the first quarter before the Philippines put a firmer grip on the proceedings as the game progressed.

Gilas was on top, 53-34, at the halftime break and just kept its opponent at bay after on the way to the victory.

“We really harped on having our players execute our game plan both offensively and defensively. In our first game, we won big and we were concerned that maybe they will take this game for granted, but they did not,” said Mr. Uichico in the postgame press conference of the kind of mindset they had as they finished their campaign in the Bahrain window of the qualifiers.

With the win, the Philippines secured solo leadership in Group A with a 3-0 record, ahead of second-running South Korea (2-0), and fortified its position for a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup happening in August next year.

As per tournament format, the top two teams in each of the six groupings in the qualifiers advance outright to the Asia Cup.

Apart from solidifying its spot in the continental tournament, the success of the young Gilas Team in Bahrain bodes well for the thrust of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ (SBP) program for the national team, including that for the FIBA World Cup in 2023, which the country is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.

“We’re really looking at this as a long-term program for the national team,” said SBP president Al Panlilio in the lead-up to the Manama window and in forming the young squad for the tournament.

The next window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers is scheduled for Feb. 18 to 22 next year, with the Philippines possibly playing host to some games as the SBP offered the country to FIBA as a possible venue. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PSC’s webinar series spotlights maternal health

THE Rise Up! Shape Up! web series of the Philippine Sports Commission returns, focusing this time on maternal health.

A weekly webinar streamed via Facebook and YouTube Live at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday’s episode, titled “Beauty, Blooms & Baby Bumps,” will talk about the benefits of proper and movement exercise during pregnancy.

In it, experts will be discussing important exercises and sporting activities during and after pregnancy to help women achieve a better and safer childbirth experience.

“Gone are the days when pregnant Pinays are discouraged from exercising because of unfounded concerns about safety for the baby. We want to correct that myth by providing scientific evidence from birthing professionals and success stories from new moms who managed to work out during pregnancy,” said PSC Commissioner and Women in Sports oversight Celia Kiram of the series’ fifth episode.

Participating in Beauty, Blooms & Baby Bumps are certified birth doula Ma. Beatrice Lina San Luis of Birthingisablessing.ph on pregnant woman’s body empowerment; Aileen Vinoya, a midwife, nurse, owner, and administrator of Marikina Maternity Clinic and Lying In, who will answer some of the frequently asked questions of mothers concerning gentle birthing, nutrition, and physical activities; and yoga and meditation teacher Eileen Tupaz of White Space Mind and Body Wellness Studio, who will guide women to a pregnancy meditation.

Also participating is University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics dean Francis Diaz, who will share his experience in how he supported his wife to ensure her physical fitness during pregnancy and give important tips and guides for men as a way of support to their partners.

Launched in October, Rise Up! Shape Up! is designed by the PSC campaign to motivate women and girls to integrate simple movement and workouts into their day-to-day living, especially during these times with the pandemic and various quarantine setups.

It also serves to underscore that the sports agency is committed to efforts to help in the nation’s fight against the pandemic.

For more information on Rise Up! Shape Up! visit its official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/riseupshapeup. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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