ABS-CBN FRANCHISE BACKERS MAKE FINAL PLEA FOR VOTES

MANILA -- With more than 11,000 jobs on the line, a group of congressmen

made a last-ditch effort to convince colleagues Thursday to vote in favor of

granting a new broadcast franchise to ABS-CBN.

The appeal was contained in a statement signed by 16 representatives, who

sponsored bills allowing the network to resume operations for another 25

years, ahead of Friday's vote.

The House Committee on Legislative Franchises is set to decide on the fate

of the largest media network in the Philippines, following 12 marathon

sessions that subjected ABS-CBN to fierce scrutiny unlike other broadcast

frequency applicants in the past.

The bills' sponsors said the network "fully complied" with terms of its old

franchise and deserves a new one.

"We... urge the House leadership to enable the quick passage of the bill

granting a new 25-year franchise to ABS-CBN so that the network may resume

its broadcast operations and its much-needed services for the benefit of

Filipinos worldwide," they said.

"It deserves the renewal of its franchise not only because it deserves so

but because we, the people, need its services to entertain and inform."

In the statement, the 16 ABS-CBN supporters summarized allegations raised

against the network and clarifications made during the hearings by

government offices and regulators that it did not violate the law.

The group cited the finding that ABS-CBN paid a total of P71.5 billion in

taxes in 17 years, and did not use a subsidiary as a tax shield.

HOUSE VOTES TODAY ON ABS-CBN FRANCHISE

MANILA — A thunderstorm resulted in a power outage at the House of

Representatives plenary hall yesterday, derailing the summation proceedings

of lawmakers discussing the franchise of beleaguered broadcast giant

ABS-CBN.

It was the turn of Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta – known to be against

the grant of a new 25-year legislative franchise to the Lopez-owned

broadcast company – to make his conclusion when the joint House committee

hearing was forced to a halt.

Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, chairman of the House committee on legislative

franchises, along with Bulacan Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado of the good

government committee, announced there was an electrical problem.

Some 91 members and ex-officio members of both panels are expected to take a

vote today on whether to grant a new franchise or reject it altogether due

to the networkÂ’s alleged violations.

Alvarez designated Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdez,

Deputy Speaker Pablo John Garcia and House Assistant Minority Leader Stella

Quimbo as members of the technical working group tasked to prepare and

present the findings on ABS-CBNÂ’s franchise.

After the summation of 12 hearings for almost two months, the committee on

legislative franchise will vote on bills seeking to grant the network a

fresh franchise valid for 25 years.

CORONAVIRUS CAN FLOAT IN INDOOR AIR, WHO CONCEDES

The coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading

from one person to the next, the World Health Organization formally conceded

Thursday.

The WHO had described this form of transmission as rare and possibly

insignificant. But growing scientific and anecdotal evidence suggests this

route may be important in spreading the virus, and this week more than 200

scientists urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position.

In updated guidance documents, the agency also acknowledged unequivocally

for the first time that the virus can be spread by people who do not have

symptoms: “Infected people can transmit the virus both when they have

symptoms and when they don’t have symptoms,” the agency said.

The WHO previously said asymptomatic transmission, while it may occur, was

probably “very rare.”

Some experts said both revisions were long overdue and not as extensive as

they had hoped.

DISMISSAL OF HEALTH PETITION VS DUTERTE QUESTIONED

MANILA — Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said there was

something “highly irregular” about the outright dismissal of the petition

compelling President Duterte to disclose the state of his health without

first requiring Malacañang to give its comment.

Leonen and Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa were the only

magistrates who dissented on the SCÂ’s decision to dismiss the extremely

urgent petition for mandamus filed by Dino de Leon against the President and

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Both Leonen and Caguioa are appointees of former president Benigno Aquino

III.

When the case was deliberated on and voted upon, 13-2, last May 8, the

15-member SC was complete. But three days later Associate Justice Andres

Reyes Jr. retired.

SC insiders said the ponente of the resolution was Associate Justice Henri

Jean Paul Inting, a Duterte appointee.

At present the SC is composed of three appointees of Aquino, including

Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and 10 justices appointed by

Duterte.

While Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta joined the SC after he was appointed by

then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, it was Duterte who appointed him to

lead the high court last Oct. 23.

In his petition, De Leon questioned the health condition of the President at

a time when the country is battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

and asked Malacañang to disclose the health records of the Chief Executive,

who had been absent from several engagements and had publicly admitted his

illnesses.

“In my view, the outright dismissal of the petition is highly irregular and

constitutes a failure to carry out our responsibility to properly and

accurately interpret Article VII, Section 12 of the Constitution in relation

to the sovereignÂ’s right to information on their governmentÂ’s capability to

represent them,” Leonen said.

Article VII, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution states: “In case of serious

illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his

health. The members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and

foreign relations and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the

Philippines shall not be denied access to the President during such

illness.”

“In times like these when the people must demand a higher standard from

their public officials, it is during crises and national emergencies when

this Court must be most vigilant in order to protect the rights of the

public. Sadly, the majority has neglected this duty. To say the least, it is

inexplicably and perilously obsequious,” he added.

“Empathically, I disagree” with the majority’s vote, Leonen said as he

believed that the President and the Executive Secretary should have been

required to comment on the petition and for the SC to give it due course to

have a full exposition of the arguments from both parties.

The respondents or the Office of the Solicitor General should have been

asked to give their comments on the novel petition. This was the first time

that such petition was brought before the Court.

AMLC TO PHILIPPINES: IMPLEMENT NEW ANTI-TERROR LAW

MANILA — The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said the Philippines

should effectively implement the recently enacted Anti-Terror Act and also

amend the countryÂ’s anti-money laundering law to avoid sanctions from

Paris-based global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

AMLC yesterday said the Philippines has an opportunity to implement Republic

Act 11497 or the Anti-Terror Act (ATA) of 2020 signed by President Duterte

last July 3 and demonstrate progress in fulfilling the countryÂ’s

international commitments.

“It must be remembered that it is not enough to pass the ATA into law

because the Philippines is being assessed both on technical and

effectiveness compliance. The country must also demonstrate effective

implementation of the ATA before the observation period ends in February

2021,” AMLC said.

The STAR earlier reported the countryÂ’s observation period under the Asia

Pacific Group on Money Laundering has been extended to February next year

due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The council is required to submit a comprehensive report on the progress in

implementing the recommended actions after a review in April. The FATF would

decide in June 2021 instead of February 2021 whether or not the Philippines

would be included in the watchdogÂ’s gray list.

The AMLC said the same attention and commitment must be given to proposed

amendments to Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of

2001 to address the shortcomings in its anti-money

laundering/counterterrorism financing (AML/CTF) system.

It warned failure to pass and implement the amendments to the AMLA, as

amended, before next February would have similar effects wherein the

Philippines would be placed in the FATF International Cooperation Review

Group gray list.

DOH LOGS 1,395 NEW COVID-19 CASES; TOTAL NOW AT 51,754

The Department of Health announces 1,395 new cases of the coronavirus

disease. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections in the

Philippines to 51,754.

225 patients have recovered while no one died from the deadly virus based on

the DOH tally update as of July 9.

DOH URGED TO COVER FUNDING FOR COVID VACCINE

MANILA — The House of Representatives has given assurance of a budget

allocation for potential vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019

(COVID-19).

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday said the chamber is ready to

appropriate funds for the vaccine under the national budget for next year,

adding that he prefers to have the funds on hand in case a vaccine is

developed and made available in the market.

“What if there is a vaccine and they won’t supply unless you pay at once? So

the funds should already be available in the budget,” he stressed.

The chamber also called on the Department of Health (DOH) to include it in

the 2021 budget that it would propose as the executive branch is preparing

the National Expenditure Program to be submitted to Congress before the

budget season in August.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez explained that the DOH – not Congress or

any other agency – has the expertise to come up with estimates based on its

institutional knowledge on the cost of previous vaccines and access to

manufacturers.

“I am suggesting that the DOH already incorporate in its budget proposal its

estimated funding requirement for the doses the country needs to protect our

people from coronavirus,” he said in a statement. “We will have to rely on

them, especially considering that the COVID-19 vaccine is yet to be found.”

Rodriguez explained that by this time of the year, the administration has

put together the proposed national budget for next year and is preparing to

submit it to Congress, which is convening for its second regular session on

July 27.

STIMULUS PACKAGE COMPLETE, BUT PALACE UNDECIDED ON SPECIAL SESSION

MANILA — The proposed stimulus package intended to revive the

pandemic-battered economy has been completed, but the executive branch is

still studying whether to ask Congress to hold special sessions to pass the

measure, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque noted that Congress would start a new

regular session soon.

“On the matter of special sessions, the opening (of regular session) will

happen soon so weÂ’ll see what will happen. What is important is the

legislative and the executive branches have agreed on the extension of

emergency powers and the stimulus package, which has been completed,

according to the latest news I heard,” Roque said at a press briefing.

Last week, Roque said Malacañang would ask Congress to hold special sessions

to pass the bill extending President DuterteÂ’s emergency powers to respond

to the pandemic and allocating funds to a stimulus package.

The Bayanihan law, which provided Duterte additional powers to fight the

coronavirus disease 2019, expired last June 25.

Roque previously said the government can only afford to allot P140 billion

for a stimulus package as it faces decreasing tax revenues because of

lockdown restrictions. Congress will start a new regular session on July 27.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, said yesterday a special

session for Congress to pass Bayanihan 2 extending the Bayanihan to Heal as

One Act, which gave President Duterte the power to realign budget to help

address COVID-19, will not have a huge impact anymore.

Sotto said Congress will resume session in two weeks, alongside President

DuterteÂ’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“We have barely a few days before July 27. A special session will not have a

big effect at this point. It should have been called a month ago or two

weeks ago,” Sotto said.

THE REST

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OVER 1,000 COPS INFECTED WITH COVID-19

MANILA — The Philippine National Police on Thursday night announced 25 new

cases of the novel coronavirus among its ranks. This brings the total number

of cops who have been infected with the deadly disease up to 1,006.

Eight of the new cases are from the Central Visayas police — the most number

of cases from a single regional office from Thursday's tally. 250 officers

were deployed to the city after it was put under a stricter enhanced

community quarantine in June.

Making up the rest of new cases are seven police officers from the Metro

Manila, four from Calabarzon, and one each from Camp Crame, Quezon City,

Special Action Forces, the Highway Patrol Group and the Criminal

Investigation and Detection Group

The national police did not announce any new deaths, maintaining their

previous death toll of nine.

QUIAPO CHURCH OPENS DOORS TO 100 ATTENDEES DURING HOLY MASS

Quiapo Church in Manila opened its doors to more Mass attendees Friday after

the government allowed churches in areas placed under the general community

quarantine to accommodate 10 percent of the churchÂ’s capacity.

Hijos at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene said up to 100 attendees

will be allowed inside the sanctuary during Holy Mass and 50 attendees in

between Masses.

Attendees must first line up outside the church, take temperature checks and

sanitation checks and step on a foot bath before being allowed inside the

sanctuary.

All attendees must wear a mask inside the church. Physical distancing is

strictly imposed inside the basilica.

The government previously imposed a 10-people limit on religious gatherings

in places of worship under GCQ areas to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

President Rodrigo Duterte has extended Metro Manila's GCQ status until July

15, while Cebu City is still under the enhanced community quarantine due to

rising number of COVID-19 cases.

SOUTH COTABATO TOWN MAYOR SHOT DEAD

Unidentified riding-in-tandem gunmen shot and killed the mayor of Santo Niño

town in South Cotabato Friday morning.

Initial report said Mayor Pablo Matinong Jr. visited the site of an

infrastructure project in Purok Libertad in Barangay Poblacion when the

gunmen approached and shot him in the head.

Before leaving, the gunmen shot him again in the body.

Matinong had no security escort with him during the incident.

Police brought the mayor to a clinic but he was declared dead on arrival.

Authorities are still conducting an investigation into the incident.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

GARY ONCE COURTED POPS, MARTIN REVEALS

MANILA—Gary Valenciano once courted Pops Fernandez, according to his close

friend and the latter's ex-husband Martin Nievera.

This was the candid revelation of Valenciano and Nievera in a recent episode

of "Straight Talk," an online talk show hosted by fellow music veteran Jaya.

In one portion of the program, dubbed "Trulili or Withcikels," Valenciano

and Nievera took turns in confirming or denying a list of statements.

"Trulili" meant true, while "Withcikels" meant false.

One statement read, "Nagkagusto sa same girl."

That round prompted a little known fact — that Valenciano once pursued

Fernandez romantically. At the time, Nievera and Fernandez were just

friends, but they would later on fall in love.

"In fact," Nievera told Valenciano, "she would talk to me about all her

suitors, and you were one of them!"

Nievera and Fernandez got married in 1986, and have two children together.

They've since separated, but have managed to become close friends again.

Valenciano was also married to his now-wife Angeli Pangilinan in 1986. They

have three children together.

Aside from their common romantic history with Fernandez, Nievera said, in

jest, that he and Valenciano are both "still in love" with the same girl:

another music veteran, Lea Salonga.

SPORTS

PRO LEAGUE PUSHING FORWARD

MANILA — A rejuvenated PBA gets ready to take the next step to its gradual

return by holding a pair of meetings ahead of the government-approved

training restart.

A week after getting the authoritiesÂ’ greenlight, the pro league convenes

the coaches and team managers today to discuss the nitty gritty of the

health protocols that govern the non-scrimmage practices.

This precedes a special board meeting led by PBA chairman Ricky Vargas

tomorrow, with the governors set to go over their plans again and make sure

everything is in order before sending the teams back to the gym.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said they hope to get the training rolling

by July 22.

A lively discussion is expected in todayÂ’s 2 p.m. gab especially with

coaches and team managers, who will actually be in charge of conducting the

sessions under the new normal, providing their ideas and suggestions.

NLEX tactician Yeng Guiao, for one, has batted for the PBA to push further

for resumption.

“It’s feasible when we make it feasible. Dalawa lang ang choice natin –

maghintay tayo ng vaccine na hindi natin alam kung kailan darating o gumawa

tayo ng paraan (We can either wait for a vaccine for an unknown period or we

can look for ways to do it),” he said.

“We have to look for our own solution and be proactive. We’re the least of

the problems of the government. Ang dami nilang problema kung sila ang

hihintayin natin. We have to start pushing for our own resumption,” he

added.

Barangay Ginebra counterpart Tim Cone has called for strict protocol

compliance.

“If we can prove that we are doing this the right way, prove to the IATF and

the board, I think we can progress to a point that we are playing games,” he

said.

Cone emphasized the importance of tapping an uncompromising protocol guy for

every team.

“One who’s not intimidated by the players,” Cone stressed.

The PBA has proposed four players, a trainer/coach and a health officer to

compose a batch per session. But Games and Amusements Board chairman Baham

Mitra said the IATF approved only five pax in areas under general community

quarantine.

INDICATORS

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own

way. - Leo Tolstoy(in Anna Karenina)