Category: Philippine Star

President Marcos has ordered government agencies to provide 24/7 assistance to those affected by Friday’s powerful earthquakes in Davao Oriental.

Cabinet officials, including Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Mindanao Development Authority Chairman Leo Magno yesterday visited Manay, Davao Oriental, the epicenter of the magnitude 7.4 and 6.8 earthquakes.

‘The President’s paramount concern is the safety and well-being of our people in the earthquake-struck areas,’ Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said in a statement yesterday.

The Cabinet officials checked on the condition and needs of patients at the Manay District Hospital, which sustained damage from the strong quakes.

They also attended an inter-agency meeting at the Kanato Hall, Subagan Tourism Complex in Mati City to fast-track response and rehabilitation efforts.

Gatchalian assured Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang that the DSWD has more than enough food and non-food items to sustain the province’s ongoing disaster response and will continue to augment supplies as needed.

He said the DSWD has already distributed 1,552 boxes of family food packs, 606 ready-to-eat food boxes and 969 non-food items, amounting to more than P3.74 million in total assistance to Davaoenos affected by the twin quakes.

Gatchalian also directed the setting up of enclosed family tents at the Manay District Hospital to serve as safer and more comfortable temporary shelters for patients and hospital staff.

Beyond immediate relief, Gatchalian said the DSWD’s standard operating procedures are also in place to extend financial assistance to the injured, cover medical bills, provide burial aid and support families who lost their loved ones.

Gatchalian said once the response phase concludes, the DSWD will roll out cash assistance for families with partially or totally damaged homes as part of the recovery and rebuilding phase.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte visited Davao Oriental to provide assistance to the victims of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) also announced yesterday that its Red Cross Medical Tent is now up and operational at the Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center.

‘A 10-bed emergency room complex was deployed to cater to incoming patients. The facility is now serving seven individuals in need of urgent care,’ the PRC said in a statement.

To reinforce hospital operations, PRC chairman Richard Gordon mobilized six Red Cross volunteers to support medical staff, alongside a welfare desk to assist patients and their families.

The PRC said its humanitarian caravan response in Davao Region is also serving hot meals and clean water to families affected by the temblor.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned in Santa Ana, Manila has denied the claim of Mayor Isko Moreno that the city government funded the roofing and retrofitting of the church.

‘The current roofing retrofitting here in our church is funded by our generous benefactors and is not funded by the city government,’ the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned said on Facebook.

Moreno cited the retrofitting of the church as among his accomplishments in his first 100 days in office.

‘We are confused by an entry in the Mayor’s report for his first 100 days in office, specifically the accomplishment entitled, ‘Pagsasaayos ng Sta. Ana National Shrine.’ As far as the church administration knows, the local government of Manila currently has no projects or activities related to the (retrofitting),’ the church said.

The Sta. Ana National Shrine asked Moreno to clarify the issue.

‘The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned has been and will always be in alignment with the goals and aspirations of the city government when it comes to cultural endeavors and safeguarding the free exercise of religion in the city. We request that the city government clarify the statement in our good Mayor’s 100-day accomplishment report related to our church, as it has caused confusion among our parishioners and the Manila constituents as a whole,’ the church added.

Santo Tomas needed three overtimes to earn a 98-89 against Ateneo and gain a piece of the lead in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball yesterday at the refurbished Blue Eagle Gym in Katipunan.

The Growling Tigers saved their best for last, forcing the Blue Eagles to just four points in the third extension to share the UAAP leadership with National U at 4-1 nearing the end of the first round.

Included in the killer finisher was a 9-0 blast capped by Collins Akowe’s layup to turn an 85-85 count after two extra sessions to a sudden 94-85 cushion heading home.

Akowe collared 20 points and 19 rebounds laced by three steals and three blocks, none bigger than the game-tying free throws in the last 31.6 seconds of the second OT to keep Santo Tomas afloat.

‘It was a triple overtime game so throw away all the numbers. It was all heart for both teams,’ said assistant coach Juno Sauler on the UAAP’s first triple extension since women’s basketball in 2018.

Earlier, Adamson needed a strong closeout after wasting a 20-point lead to keep University of the East winless, 76-62.

Adamson climbed to 2-4 for solo sixth place ahead of another tough assignment against red-hot Santo Tomas next Saturday.

These past months – years, actually – I have been sharing my wife Neni’s plans and frustrations in preparation for the Philippines to be the Guest of Honor in the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest in the world, with a proud history and tradition that began in 1949. Although this grand initiative has taken her away from home, as a lover and collector of Philippine books, I thoroughly support this endeavor which I know is a once-in-a-lifetime break for the Philippine publishing industry. On the eve of her departure, Neni writes:

‘This is my nth trip to Frankfurt, Germany for the Frankfurter Buchmesse. It began during my term as chair of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) when Sen. Loren Legarda was approached by then NBDB governor and publishing icon Karina Bolasco, to help the publishing industry the way she helped Philippine art and architecture return to the Venice Biennale after a 50-year absence. And what tremendous help she has been extending – with the kind of all-out assistance the industry had never before received from anyone in government – so that what we all thought was another wild dream of hers will be a reality in a few days, on Oct. 14 – for the Philippines to be Guest of Honor (GoH), only the second Southeast Asian country to be so privileged, after Indonesia in 2015.

‘Yes, the work to bid, to prepare and to vie to be GoH needed many years of preparation. The country’s visibility at the Buchmesse was an important requirement as manifestation of our genuine interest. Karina Bolasco prepared the excellent Bid Book for the Philippines. The pandemic happened and we thought that was the writing on the wall. But post-pandemic, at the Philippine Book Festival in Davao in 2023, Juergen Boos, Buchmesse CEO, announced that the country had been approved as GoH for 2025. While we were elated by the news, we also knew that we did not have the advantage of the usual five-year advance planning afforded other countries. But buckle down to work, we did.

‘The initial necessary step as we learned from Indonesia and the Buchmesse officials was that first and foremost, a Core Team needed to be organized. Since Karina Bolasco, Ani Almario and I were on the board when the idea was first born and pursued, we became part of the Core Team and the subsequent working committees. Sen. Loren was the project visionary, while National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)’s tried and tested administrator Riya Lopez (also of the Venice Biennale successful exhibitions) and NBDB executive director Charisse Aquino Tugade were the project co-directors. Other members were writer and publisher Kristian Sendon Cordero, publisher Nida Ramirez and NBDB reliables, Maria Christina Pangan-Cagalingan and Charmaine Capuchino. Providing valuable support was the office of Sen. Legarda and other government agencies, the NCCA, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the NBDB. Philippine Ambassador to Germany Irene Susan Natividad and Frankfurt’s Philippine Consul General Ivy Banzon Abalos have been such supporters. It certainly takes more than a village to mount a GoH.

‘This trip to the Buchmesse is different from all previous trips. While we used to have a national stand to display our latest titles in various genres, this time we will have the usual stand – larger than usual – and a Pavilion of 2,000 square meters as GoH with us as central focus. It will exhibit the important books that tell the story of Philippine publishing and will also display a yearly tradition of books that the Buchmesse collects from publishers all over the world – books published in the last five years on the Philippines.

‘The Pavilion, conceptualized and designed by Stanley Ruiz and Patrick Flores, is promising as it attempts to capture the color, vibrance and diversity of the Filipino way of life.

‘It will be the venue for the hundred-plus sessions envisioned by Karina Bolasco for the international audience to discover the diversity and richness of Philippine art and culture, hardly known beyond its shores.

‘It is absolutely exciting that as GoH, a large 500+ strong delegation of Filipino creatives, publishers and supporters (and Pinoy style, family and friends) will be in attendance. Over a hundred creatives and publishers are travel grantees who applied when NBDB made the call.

‘While the Buchmesse officially ends on Sunday, Oct. 19, with the Philippines turning over the GoH distinction to Prague, the connections will certainly continue and be nurtured. It is a fortunate coincidence that Prague succeeds the Philippines as GoH, because the two countries have had a close link long before the shared GoH honor. The Philippine-Prague connection first began and was enriched during the tenure of Ambassador Jaroslav Olsa Jr. in partnership with Savage Mind’s Kristian Cordero, formerly Ateneo de Naga University Press director.

‘On the collaboration between these two countries, Cordero and I are proceeding to Prague to launch our titles which have been translated into Czech language. The launch is in partnership with the Philippine embassy in Prague headed by Amb. Eduardo Martin R. Meñez and Martin Vopenka, publisher of Prah and president of the Czech Publishers Association.

‘As co-chairs of the Translation Subsidy Program for GoH, Cordero and I are excited about the display the Philippine stand will proudly display – of the 28 (and counting) German editions and the countless others in over 30 different languages.

‘May GoH open doors for our writers and publishers.’

Florence Bisera heads into the ICTSI Del Monte Championship unfolding Tuesday brimming with confidence, riding a wave of momentum and a game trending steadily upward.

After a dramatic come-from-behind win in Negros Occidental followed by a breakthrough international triumph in Thailand, the rising Davaoeña has emerged as one of the hottest names on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

With a P1 million purse at stake, Bisera steps into the Del Monte Golf Club in Bukidnon as a marked player.

Standing in her way are Daniella Uy, Chanelle Avaricio, Mafy Singson, Sarah Ababa, Chihiro Ikeda and Harmie Constantino, among others.

Nature isn’t letting up. After Typhoon Opong, a quake in Cebu followed. Now, as we are trying to monitor where Typhoon Quedan is heading to, a quake in Davao Oriental struck. Though most of us are probably immune by now to typhoons because of their frequency and predictability, in tremors we aren’t.

Yes, the unpredictability of the occurrences of earthquakes and the uncertainty as to how many and how strong aftershocks shall be is so traumatic to a certain extent. For one, just as we thought that yesterday’s tremor was one of the thousands of aftershocks from the activity of the Bogo Bay Fault, we were shocked by the news that it was another one at magnitude 7.6 off the coast of Manay, Davao Oriental. Now, as we felt both tremors in Metro Cebu, will this mean that the number of aftershocks will certainly double in the next couple of days or weeks? Honestly, we do not know. Certainly though, the incoming monsoon rains and tropical depressions will compound the inconveniences and discomforts that we now currently endure.

Needless to say, some of our miseries should have been avoided had our contractors built our roads and bridges in accordance with the programs of work. As these are all substandard, some roads are not anymore passable and a number of bridges are entirely unusable. In fact, despite these calamities, we could have still freely leave our abode on time for work than wait for water to subside had the flood control and drainage projects been done religiously. Or, we could have eased the pain of some of our brethren (who are using tents as temporary shelter) had contractors consciously built LGUs’ gymnasiums as prescribed.

Indeed, all these morbid (the untimely deaths from collapsing gymnasiums) realities and discomforts are enough to persistently demand for accountability. The question now is, are those who are to do that will be able to do so in a country where the aura of impunity pervades?

So, what is impunity then? It is that perception of ‘freedom from punishment for any wrongdoing, or where there is a strong feeling from a perpetrator (whether individual or entity) that there will be no consequences, whatsoever, for such actions.’ Simply put, getting away with murder is one of them.

Not long ago, that aura prevalently obtained. Undeniably, there were a lot of casualties in the war on drugs. But where are the culprits? Most of them got off scot-free. The same was true with the so called ‘Pharmally case’ at the height of the pandemic.

To recall, an inadequately capitalized Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. was involved in the alleged importation and sell of overpriced medical supplies to the government to contain the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Well, the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee conducted an investigation and dug deeper into the core of it and uncovered several issues. These include, among others, the supply of face shields that were allegedly of substandard quality. Worse, as the transaction was in billions, the other question was, how were they able to close such deal with a meager paid-up capital.

Well, as the investigation went on and was moving into the direction of Michael Yang, then Pres. Duterte’s economic adviser, cabinet officials were barred from participating in the hearings. Thus, the case was never pursued and was left to froze. Clearly, therefore, impunity obtains when, first and foremost, our law enforcement and judicial system won’t work diligently as mandated. Secondly, when the ‘ako ang bahala sa iyo’ mantra prevails, the perpetrators will become bolder.

Without a doubt, accountability is the real antidote to impunity. Today though, we have a glimmer of hope as the investigations of the anomalous infrastructure projects go on. Yes, at the very least, that aura of impunity is slowly diminishing. Yes, too slow for comfort as remnants of the previous regime remains and are trying to detour any investigation that will lead to those they swore to protect.

Yet, it is incumbent upon us to add fuel to the fire. Well, not in a bad or precarious way. What we must do is never give the culprits and their cohorts the opportunity to simmer down that boiling desire of those clamoring for change. Those who are fighting impunity with the hope of achieving accountability.

Like nature, there must be no letting up.

The leadership of the House of Representatives is not sure of the whereabouts of former Ako Bicol party-list congressman Zaldy Co, Speaker Faustino Dy III said yesterday.

Immediately after receiving Co’s letter of resignation on Sept. 29, Dy contacted former justice secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla for the cancellation of Co’s passport, amid an investigation into alleged irregularities in public works projects linked to the former lawmaker.

The Speaker explained that while the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is the authority that formally cancels passports, the House sought the assistance of the DOJ because it oversees the Bureau of Immigration and can help expedite the coordination process.

But the DFA clarified yesterday it cannot cancel Co’s passport without a court order.

DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said such court order should also specifically direct the cancellation of the person’s passport.

‘In accordance with the New Philippine Passport Act, the Department of Foreign Affairs may cancel a Philippine passport only upon the issuance of a court order when the holder is a fugitive from justice or convicted of a criminal offense,’ she explained.

Escalona told The STAR that a passport, in general, may also be cancelled ‘when there is proof that a passport was acquired fraudulently, tampered with or issued erroneously.’

The DFA issued a similar statement earlier in May in relation to calls to cancel the passport of former presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon said Co would become an ‘undocumented alien’ in any foreign country if his passport is cancelled and allow the Philippines to request the Interpol for his return.

Dy said Remulla had assured him that the DOJ would take the fastest possible course of action.

Co, in his last letter to the House before resigning, stated he was leaving the country for medical treatment in the United States.

‘There are many who are saying that they are seeing him in many places, but the letter that we received from him before he resigned is. he will undergo medical treatment. That is what he applied for in his travel clearance, that his destination is to America,’ Dy said.

However, the Speaker acknowledged receiving reports that Co might now be in Europe. There are posts on social media allegedly showing him with bodyguards in Spain.

If Co returns to the Philippines, voluntarily or otherwise, Dy said the case would likely be handled by the DOJ or the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, which is leading the investigation into alleged irregularities in public works and flood-control projects.

Two people died when their motorcycle collided with an ambulance in Meycauayan, Bulacan on Thursday afternoon.

Eduardo Tubera, 59, and his wife Narcisa, 64, were rushed to the Marymount Hospital where they died while being treated.

Reports said the Tuberas were traveling in Barangay Bahay Pare when their motorcycle crashed into the ambulance.

The ambulance, driven by Ruel de Castro, reportedly tried to overtake, causing it to hit the motorcycle.

The victims were thrown off the motorcycle, Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr., Central Luzon police director, said.

It turns out that the proposed 50 percent tax on content creators attributed to Senate President Tito Sotto was fake. Unfortunately, this was discovered after some impulsive readers had already taken hammer and tongs to the good senator’s name. The perpetrator of this misinformation obviously did not think this through. It is a convoluted and complicated issue, one which may never be untangled.

Firstly, there is the issue of jurisdiction. What is Filipino content? Does this refer to content generated in the Philippines, paid out in the Philippines, or created by Filipino citizens? Is it considered Filipino content if you are a Filipino living and earning outside the country?

Secondly, who will police Filipino content creators? Does the charter of any government agency compass online content creation? Sports in particular is easy to replicate and steal. We have already seen veteran sports journalists like Nick Giongco, Sid Ventura and this writer have content taken verbatim and shared on other platforms with no proper attribution. Basketball and boxing in particular are easy prey, since many venues and tournaments do not regulate spectators who use their phones to record the events. Some of these accounts, particularly in boxing, receive millions of views on a daily basis.

Fair use doctrine allows for the reuse of sound bites, portions of news reports, photos, and even short clips of video for analysis, commentary and criticism. However, there are many unscrupulous content creators who steal entire interviews and critical highlights which rightly belong to the original producers. In many cases, they simply translate voice reports and news items into Filipino, take credit and get away with it, since most sites cannot interpret translated content. Another problem is the sheer number of idea thieves. You would have to file cases against all of them, and it is extremely difficult to pinpoint who started it. The volume of resources needed to do so is too big to accommodate.

Next, how would you decide who to tax and how much to tax them? In most of the cases of monetization, when the creator signs up, he already indicates where he will be taxed. In YouTube for example, you have to fill up a form and indicate if your country has a tax treaty with the US, where the video broadcasting site is located. Then there’s the whole mess of whether or not they qualify for Philippine taxation. In most places in America, you are required to pay a state tax and a federal tax. In some cases, this combined taxation could reach up to 50 percent, as is the case in California.

And would such taxation apply to legitimate sports broadcast organizations, celebrities, sports personalities and media? In the case of news outlets, their attempts to expand their reach often result in greater online income as a byproduct. Beyond that, international sports celebrities like Alex Eala, Manny Pacquiao and even local sports personalities have such large followings that generating income is almost secondary when it happens. And again, who would you tax? The athlete, the company whose products they endorse, the go-between who brokered their agreement or all of them?

The bottomline is that there would be too many problems in regulating and then taxing online content creation, especially since the flow of content is constant, extremely popular and easily passed around. Nowadays, you could be faceless, unheard, unidentified and still be able to earn off someone else’s hard work. Sadly, opportunism goes beyond sports, perpetuated by thoughtless, inconsiderate, unimaginative copycats.

Earlier in the week, Rain or Shine veteran Gabe Norwood announced that this will be his ‘last flight’ as he aims to retire at the end of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.

Norwood, on Saturday night, became the hero in the Elasto Painters’ 96-95 overtime win over the Meralco Bolts at the Ynares Center in Montalban.

The debuting Painters trailed by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but they erased that as Norwood forced the overtime period with a tip-in.

He finished with 11 points and three rebounds in almost 29 minutes of play.

After being down by as much as 13 points, 74-87, in the fourth quarter following a jumper by Chris Newsome, the Painters unleashed a massive 14-2 run capped by a 4-pointer by Caelan Tiongson to make it a one point game, 88-89, with about 17 seconds left in regulation.

A split from the line by Newsome pushed Meralco ahead, 90-88.

With a shot to either tie it or get the lead, Rain or Shine went to Adrian Nocum, who missed two jumpers. Norwood, though, cleaned up the second miss with a tip-in to tie things up with 1.2 seconds left.

Newsome then missed the game-winning 3-pointer, as time expired.

In the extra five minutes, Michael Malonzo and Anton Asistio gave Rain or Shine the much-needed breathing room to grab a 94-90 advantage.

Chris Banchero, however, hit a 3-pointer to slice the deficit to one, 93-94.

Caelan Tiongson answered with a jumper of his own, before Banchero’s layup set the final score with 1:43 left.

Both teams then exchanged misses down the stretch, as Newsome and Allein Maliksi failed to push Meralco ahead for good, enabling the Painters to hold on.

After the game, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao acknowledged that they wouldn’t have won the game without Norwood.

“Well, Gabe played a really good game today. Offense and defense. He put in those crucial two points, I think, to tie,’ he said.

‘Gabe’s playing well. He’s still a really important part of the team. And we could not have won this game without Gabe,’ he added.

Guiao stressed that he thought they were about to lose, but he asked his team to give their best.

‘We struggled. We almost lost the game. It was actually looking like a losing game in the last three or four minutes. But we found a way. I think that’s character,’ he stated.

‘You know you have a good team when, in spite of a lot of things not going your way, you still find a way to win. I think that’s a sign that we have a really good group and we beat a really tough team,’ he added.

Tiongson carried the load for Rain or Shine with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Keith Datu backstopped with 11 markers and seven boards, while Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut had 10 apiece.

Bong Quinto and CJ Cansino powered Meralco with 18 points apiece. The former had 10 rebounds, while the latter had eight boards.

The Bolts dropped to 0-2 in the conference.