MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to grant a franchise to San Miguel Aerocity Inc. that will allow it to build and operate a domestic and international airport in Bulacan reached the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, endorsed for plenary approval the franchise bid of the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) subsidiary.
The franchise bill is contained in Committee Report 128, which was signed by 15 senators.
In sponsoring the bill, Poe cited the “overwhelming” need to build a new airport amid the “full and overloaded” state of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the country’s main gateway.
“Most countries are building airports for the future, we should do, too. But building a new airport is not just about the future. It is also an obligation past due,” Poe said.
“Like the public transport that crawls on its congested streets, Manila’s airport is now full and overloaded,” she added.
According to Poe, NAIA is five years past its maximum passenger handling capacity of 35 million people annually.
In 2019, she said NAIA handled 47.8 million passengers.
“The passenger volume is forecast to reach 71. 6 million passengers a year by 2030 and 101.5 million by 2040, a period equivalent to three senatorial terms,” she noted.
“This is the snapshot of the problem confronting the 39th busiest airport in the world, in the 11th most populous metropolis in the planet, in the 13th most populated country in the world,” she added.
Under the bill, the franchise applicant has an “obligation to maintain the airport city in a satisfactory manner at all times.”
“But knowing the proponent behind it, it will go above and beyond in terms of servicing the public,” she said.
“The standards for this new airport are at par with, if not greater, than the ones set for all other airports in the country,” she added.
The construction of the airport will begin within a year of the franchise approval, according to the senator.
“We shall have a brand new international hub within 12 years from now at the latest at no cost to the government. After the lifetime of this franchise, which is 50 years, the airport will be turned over to the government, again, at no cost,” Poe said.
The bill would meanwhile exempt the franchisee from all direct and indirect taxes and fees during the airport’s 10-year construction period.
“After the construction period and during the remaining 40 years of its franchise, it shall be exempt only from income and property taxes until it has recouped its investments,” the senator added.
“After which, it will be subjected to all taxes from thereon,” she further said.
The construction of the new airport, Poe added, would inevitably spur tourism and employment.
She said SMC had committed to prioritizing the hiring of residents and returning overseas Filipino workers for the construction of the airport.
“The residents of Taliptip, where it will be built, are all set to train under TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) for courses and skills specific to the needs of the airport’s construction,” Poe said.
“At a time where we are badly hit by the pandemic, employment and tourism generating projects are definitely most welcome,” she added.
Poe, meanwhile, assured her colleagues in the Senate that her committee had ensured that the franchise applicant has a history of compliance, the most recent certificates of good standing, tax clearances, audited financial statements and even feasibility studies “before they are even scheduled for a hearing.”
“A franchise is indeed a delicate balance of conditions and privileges,” she added.
Poe also endorsed for plenary approval the franchise bid of the following companies:
Cruz Telephone Company, Inc. — Operates a telecommunications system under Manila East Holding Corporation and J.S. Cruz Construction and Development Inc. Franchise expired on March 29, 2020, seeking renewal of 25-year franchise.
Tandag Electric and Telephone Company, Inc. — Operates a public domestic telecommunications. Franchise to expire on July 16, 2023, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. — Operates domestic telecommunications, radiophones, broadcasting and telecasting under the same company name and Globe Telecom Inc. Franchise to expire on Aug. 9, 2021, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
FBS Radio Network — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 9, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Century Communications Marketing Center Inc. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 16, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Caceres Broadcasting Corp. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on July 9, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Philippine Collective Media Corp. — Expanding to digital television. Franchise to expire on Nov. 14, 2034, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Negros Broadcasting and Publishing Corp. — Operates radio and television broadcasting. Franchise expired on Sept. 23, 2020, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Davao Light and Power Company — Operates electric light, heat and power system. Franchise to expire on Sept. 7, 2025, seeking renewal of its 25-year franchise.
Metro Manila Turf Club Inc. — Operates racetrack for horse racing. Franchise expired on April 22, 2020, seeking a 35-year franchise.
“I thank my colleagues for their preliminary support for these measures, for signing the committee report in a very timely manner,” Poe said.
“I hope that we can deliberate these with the public need in mind,” she added.
[atm]
Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo takes his oath before House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Lakas-CMD president, in the presence of Deputy Majority Leader Juan Miguel Arroyo, party vice president for Luzon. (Photo from the Office of House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez)
MANILA, Philippines — Two members of the ruling party PDP-Laban in the House of Representatives has jumped over to the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party.
Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo and Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Ecleo took their oath as new members of the Lakas-CMD on Tuesday.
House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Lakas-CMD president, and Deputy Majority Leader Juan Miguel Arroyo, party vice president for Luzon, led the oath-taking ceremony.
This brings the number of Lakas-CMD members in the House to 36 with 19 district and 17 party-list representatives.
“Lakas-CMD is gaining momentum in its goal to strengthen its ranks in the House of Representatives. We will continue this feat in the coming months by strengthening our support for our 19 regular members and 17 party-list allies,” Romualdez said in a statement.
“The party will remain a staunch ally of the government and will continue to support the swift passage of President Duterte’s legislative agenda,” he added.
Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Ecleo took his oath via videoconferencing. (Photo from the Office of House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez)
Lakas-CMD has produced two presidents — Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who also served as House speaker.
The party is chaired by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.
[atm]
MANILA, Philippines—At least 23 sailors aboard a Philippine Navy ship tested positive for coronavirus and showed COVID-19 symptoms after the vessel, which has not been identified, docked in La Union province.
Respiratory samples were taken from the 23 crew members last Sept. 25 and test results showed all were infected with SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and had symptoms of the disease, according to the Naval Forces Northern Luzon (Navfornol) in a statement on Tuesday (Sept. 29).
The total number of crew members on the ship was not immediately known.
But the Navfornol statement said all those who tested positive were transported to military treatment facilities in Metro Manila early on Tuesday for quarantine and proper care.
The vessel arrived at San Fernando City, La Union on Sept. 11 after undergoing maintenance at the Philippine Navy base in Sangley Point in Cavite province, the Navfornol said.
A few days after the vessel’s arrival in La Union, some of the crew members started showing COVID-19 symptoms, like cough and colds. They were immediately isolated from the rest of the vessel’s crew.
The other crew members, who did not test positive, would be put on 14-day quarantine inside the ship, Navfornol said.
The entire ship would be disinfected.
Navfornol said all camps within its jurisdiction have had no active COVID-19 case.
MANILA, Philippines — At least two senators on Tuesday warned the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that the pending destruction of tons of illegal drugs in its inventory could trigger a “temptation to recycle” among law enforcement agents.
Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon raised concerns over PDEA’s “huge inventory of confiscated drugs” during the Senate hearing on the proposed 2021 budget of the agency.
Upon the questioning of Drilon, PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva said the agency has 2.82 tons of illegal drugs in its present inventory, 1.867 tons of which are methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu).
“We always ask this question because we are concerned about the huge inventory of confiscated drugs,” Drilon said.
Lacson, meanwhile, said: “That’s a very valid concern aired by the Senate minority leader kasi dito nagsisimula yung (because this triggers the) temptation to recycle because this involves big amounts of money.”
According to Villanueva, PDEA destroyed 2.1 tons of shabu worth an estimated P13.36 billion in August.
PDEA is scheduled to destroy another 300 kilograms of shabu in November, he added.
Villanueva said they are still awaiting a court order that would allow them to destroy the said volume of shabu.
“We are still awaiting the order of the court. This is still pending, yung (the) case in court,” the PDEA chief said.
But Drilon, a former justice secretary, pointed out that the “pendency of the case is not a justification for not implementing the law.”
Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the court should conduct an ocular inspection of confiscated illegal drugs and paraphernalia within 72 hours. Consequently, PDEA should proceed with the destruction of the seized evidence within 24 hours.
Further, Drilon said the Supreme Court had earlier initiated a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with PDEA “in order to facilitate the burning of this inventory of illegal drugs.”
“It is not correct that you are waiting for the order of the court to implement this because there is already an order from the court administrator to facilitate this,” the minority leader said.
Drilon then recalled an incident involving the “recycling” of narcotics, which eventually led former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde, who was then the Pampanga police chief, to relinquish his post.
“We do recall the famous Pampanga episode, which somehow dragged the name of Gen. Albayalde,” the senator said.
“A good number of kilos of illegal drugs disappeared after it was confiscated by the raiding team…This is the reason why we are particular about implementing this provision of the law, which requires the destruction of the contraband,” he added.
Lacson, who presided over the hearing, advised Villanueva to inform PDEA’s agents on the ground about the MOA between the Supreme Court and the agency in order to expedite the destruction of seized drugs.
In response, Villanueva committed to the immediate destruction of illegal drugs stored in its inventory.
“We will be writing to all the lower courts who have the jurisdiction of the dangerous drugs and ask for the destruction para sumabay sa (so we can include this in) November. That’s what we will do,” the PDEA chief also said.
Drilon, likewise, asked Villanueva if “recycling” activities among law enforcers is still a problem within the agency.
“We raised this every budget time, but in fairness, I have not heard in the news about the recycling business of law enforcement officers as we have seen before and is that a correct assumption? That we don’t have that much, recycling is not that much of a problem today?” Drilon asked.
Responding to this, Villanueva said PDEA has been strict when it comes to this issue, saying that even rumors of “recycling” within the agents are being looked into.
“Talagang mahigpit tayo. Ang PDEA is mahigpit talaga right now as far as recycling. Kahit yung tsismis lang ng recycling ay talagang pinu-pursue natin yung information,” he said.
(We are really strict. PDEA is really strict when it comes to recycling. Even rumors of such activities, we will pursue the information and look into it.)
“Right now, wala kaming naririnig ng something about recycling of dangerous drugs,” Villanueva added.
(Right now, we have not heard something about recycling of dangerous drugs.)
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday expressed alarm over the use of Facebook by security forces to attack alleged “enemies of the people.”
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines warned that the social media giant may be unaware that it was also being used by “enemies of the state.”
The emerging controversy over the use of the social networking platform follows Facebook’s move to take down more than 100 accounts and pages, including those on Instagram, which were linked to the AFP and the Philippine National Police that targeted activists and dissidents.
“The alleged link of the removed accounts to the Philippine military and the Philippine police is alarming. If this is true, the [CHR] categorically states that this goes against the best interest of the public,” CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit said in a statement.
“In these times when cyber militias and troll farms are reported to drown out legitimate dissent and haphazardly label individuals and organizations as ‘enemies of the people,’ such allegations cast doubts on the agenda of these institutions,” she said.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s cybersecurity police chief, on Tuesday said Facebook had also taken down over 150 accounts based in China that supported President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter Sara Duterte’s possible presidential run in the 2022 polls.
The Philippine and China groups of accounts were removed because of their “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” which violated Facebook’s community standards, he said.
“In each case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts as a central part of their operations to mislead people about who they are and what they are doing, and that was the basis for our action,” Gleicher said.
Dumpit said that if these activities were proven to be state-sponsored propaganda, the CHR would go after those responsible.
She said Facebook’s disclosures show the need for laws against the systemic disinformation. People also need to improve their digital literacy and critical thinking when navigating the internet to minimize the effects of disinformation, she added.
Dumpit lamented that the social network “has been weaponized against democracy and freedom of expression,” and that Facebook’s policies were not grounded on the rights to information and free speech.
Facebook has a responsibility to protect the rights of its users since it has been widely used for dissent and exchanges of opinion, she said. But it is also a platform for trolls to attack dissenters and critics of the current administration, she said.
“The policy of Facebook should be anchored on human rights, the foremost of which in this case is the right to receive and impart information and the right to freedom of expression,” Dumpit said.
Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the AFP spokesperson, on Friday said Facebook was also being used by antigovernment forces.
“Although Facebook owns and dictates the policy, they should review it,” Arevalo said during Friday’s Laging Handa forum. “They may not be aware that in taking down these accounts, they are being partisan and are being used by the enemies of the state.”
“They might be victims of ‘CIB,’ or coordinated inauthentic behavior, because these enemies of the government are working together in getting Facebook to take down our very important organizations,” he added, without elaborating.
The AFP and the PNP earlier said that none of their official Facebook accounts had been taken down and openly disowned those that were removed.
But the AFP protested against the takedown of one account — Hands Off Our Children (HOOC), which was administered by Capt. Alexandre Cabales, the chief of the Philippine Army’s Social Media Center.
Arevalo also slammed the manner in which Cabales’ identity was disclosed, saying it was a “breach” of his personal identity and security.
“He was not even given the chance to explain his side. His life and reputation was endangered. Captain Cabales was branded as an administrator of fake news,” he said.
He called on Facebook and Digital Forensics Research Lab (DFRLab), the independent analyst that disclosed Cabales’ activity, to review their privacy policy.
DFRLab of the US-based Atlantic Council found that the officer was also the operator of a network of fake accounts that had been “demonizing leftists and youth organizations” and “Red-tagging the President’s critics.”
Arevalo pressed Facebook and DFRLab to provide the military with a list of pages and accounts that were taken down so that the AFP could investigate any allegation that military personnel violated its social media policy.
Chief of Staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay had asked Facebook’s officials in the Philippines to restore the HOOC page, saying that although it was not an official AFP page, it advocated views of the military.
HOOC represents a group of parents whose children had allegedly been recruited by the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Arevalo said Cabales did not violate the military’s policy on social media use because he only reposted “legitimate, real and authentic” content, which did not deserve the sanction.
“So far, up to this time, we don’t see any violation of any AFP social media policy and use for him to be charged,” Arevalo said. “You can see from his posts that he did not post any fake news.”
Cabales also handles Kalinaw News, the Army’s online news platform, under the supervision of the Civil Military Operations Regiment.
Kalinaw News, which has not been taken down, reports the Army’s activities, such as offensives against communist rebels and terrorists, as well as its community engagements.
Cabales’ personal Facebook account, where he regularly shared Kalinaw News content, was taken down by Facebook.
MANILA, Philippines — The situation in private schools seemed to be worse than Education Secretary Leonor Briones initially estimated in June as actual enrollment figures showed that less than half of learners have registered in those institutions this school year.
According to updated data presented on Friday by the Department of Education (DepEd), only 49.62 percent of the expected number of private school students registered for this school year, or only 2.1 million compared to last year’s 4.3 million learners.
Back in June, Briones expressed confidence that enrollment would pick up a month before classes in some private schools began on Aug. 24 but the numbers did not improve and only 27 percent registered in private schools in July.
Briones surmised that more than half of private school students transferred to public schools as the pandemic affected the financial situation of Filipino families.
According to DepEd data earlier this month, at least 865 out of 14,435 private schools nationwide that opened in the previous academic year suspended operations this year because, Briones explained, they either had too few incoming students or their teachers transferred to public schools.
Most of the closed schools were in Central Luzon, while the rest were in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Western Visayas and Bicol Region.
The schools told the DepEd they might reopen next year if the situation improves, but their closures have already affected more than 3,000 teachers and 40,000 students this year, data showed.
NO EASY SHIFT Fourth grader Ashlee Dino pays attention to her computer screen at her Navotas City residence during an e-learning simulation session on Aug. 5. The Department of Education on Friday reported that more than two million private school students have transferred to public schools, citing the pandemic’s heavy toll on the financial situation of many families. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
At the Senate hearing on the DepEd’s proposed 2021 budget on Friday, Briones said enrollment in public schools had reached 99.16 percent, or 22.3 million.
With the 2 million enrollees in private schools, a total of 24.5 million students will undergo the DepEd’s pilot blended learning program this school year starting Oct. 5.
“I would like to emphasize that our focus is not only maintenance, going back to where we were. We all know that we cannot go back, so this budget is part of our effort to prepare the department in its transition to the future,” Briones told members of the Senate committee on finance.
The education chief outlined the DepEd’s programs that underpin its proposed 2021 budget of P605 billion, an increase of P52 billion from the agency’s budget of P553 billion in 2020.
In her presentation, Briones said the pandemic also highlighted “the inadequacy of our schools to meet the requirements of the near future,” especially once schools return to in-person learning.
To prepare for this transition, the department plans to redesign classrooms and school buildings.
“Classrooms will look different. Standard classrooms will no longer suffice. Aside from those that need to be repaired, the size will have to change to allow physical distancing,” Briones said.
The department, Briones said, has prepared a list of items that would facilitate these changes, such as the replacement and completion of school buildings, classroom furniture, wash facilities and water supply.
The DepEd also hopes to combine artificial intelligence with existing basic education modalities.
But the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines said the DepEd actually needs more—at least P126.9 billion—for a budget that would ensure safety, accessibility and quality education amid the health crisis.
Of this amount, ACT proposes allocating P116.6 billion for teaching and learning needs under the blended modes of learning.
This includes the costs of providing laptops to every teacher (P19.1 billion); P1,500 monthly internet allowance for teachers for 10 months (P15 billion); increasing to P10,000 the teaching supplies allowance (P9 billion); tablets and internet subsidy to at least 5 percent of the most crisis-affected students (P13.3 billion); module printing (P51.5 billion); module distribution and retrieval (P8.5 billion); family literacy program (P100 million); and reinstating funding for special education (P107 million).
ACT, the government-accredited negotiating body for public school faculty and personnel, said the additional budget can also cover P1.7 billion for preventive health measures in the education sector, such as purchasing personal protective equipment and disinfecting supplies, while the rest can be used to grant benefits to its front-liners in education.
“The delivery of education suffered delays for this school year due to our education system’s difficulty in shifting to remote learning amid the uncontained pandemic,” the group said in a statement.
“With no end in sight to this health crisis, we urge lawmakers to judiciously allocate the people’s coffers to enable the provision of social services like education to the Filipino people,” the group added.
MANILA, Philippines — If everything goes according to schedule, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said a COVID-19 vaccine might be available in the country as early as April next year.
But FDA Director General Eric Domingo pointed out that this timetable rests entirely on manufacturers being able to complete clinical trials and analysis of results of their vaccine this year and their prompt submission of requirements for product evaluation and registration.
“At the earliest, we believe that [they] would be able to complete their Phase 3 clinical trials in December. That means there’s a possibility that by the end of the year or toward the first quarter of next year, we already have applicants for registration,” Domingo told reporters on Friday.
Once the clinical data and registration requirements are submitted to the FDA, it will take around 45 to 60 days for the agency to process the registration.
Domingo said only applications from those that completed their Phase 3 trials and have complete documents and dossiers would be processed.
“If clinical trials are completed by December or January, and a company would file an application with FDA, it’s possible that by April 2021 we will have an approved vaccine,” Domingo said.
MANILA, Philippines — At least 201 drug suspects were killed during the pandemic, data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed.
PDEA on Friday said that as of Aug. 31, 5,856 drug suspects were killed under President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war since July 1, 2016, but human rights groups claim that the death toll could be as high as 27,000.
The latest death toll is higher by 46 from the 5,810 deaths recorded in July 31.
“It is true that 155 deaths were recorded from March to July but out of that, 82 recorded deaths happened in Mindanao, which represents 52 percent of the total recorded deaths for the period,” PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva told the Inquirer in a text message.
From the 155 deaths, 46 deaths were added from July 31 to Aug. 31 this year, bringing the total death toll to 201.
Villanueva reacted to the Sept. 8 release of the New York-based Human Rights Watch that a total of 155 people were killed in antidrug operations from April to July 2020 during the pandemic, almost 50 percent higher than the 103 deaths recorded from December 2019 to March 2020.
“We cannot just make an intelligent analysis by just looking at numbers at hand without finding out what those numbers represent,” he told the Inquirer.
He said the “drug war in Mindanao is different from any areas in the country,” citing the death of five PDEA agents in an ambush in Kapai town Lanao del Sur in October 2018. He said “no one made a big fuss out of it.”
Data from PDEA showed that a total of 176,777 anti-illegal drugs operations were conducted from July 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2020, adding that 256,788 drug suspects were arrested.
During a press conference in Quezon City on Friday, Villanueva said “Oplan Tokhang” would resume after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For now, it isn’t easy to deal with COVID. Right after the pandemic, we will start with the Tokhang,” he said.
Villanueva clarified that Oplan Tokhang means visiting suspected drug users in their homes and urging them to surrender and undergo drug rehabilitation.
The drug clearing operations by local government units slowed down due to the new coronavirus, Villanueva said.
“Our barangay clearing operations slowed down because of the pandemic. The local governments became busy because of COVID-19, so our rehabilitation program was stymied. But it will not stop us from clearing barangays,” he said.
The PDEA chief said he already talked to Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan, the Philippine National Police chief, to focus on curbing illegal drugs at the barangay level.
The latest numbers on drug war deaths released by the PDEA has proved that the war on drugs has worsened amid a global pandemic, an official of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.
The death toll was also significantly higher compared to the number of reported deaths four months before the country was placed on lockdown in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. The average monthly death rate then was at 26, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW’s Asia division.
“This shows that the number of ‘drug war’ deaths recorded in August is almost double the number of average monthly deaths before the lockdown, which started in mid-March. What this shows is the police are treating suspects on their lists like sitting ducks who are pinned down in place by the COVID-19 lockdown and associated checkpoints and other restrictions,” said Robertson.
The increase of deaths brought by drug operations amid lockdown measures is another “clear reason” why the United Nations Human Rights Council should be allowed to investigate the reported human rights violations in the Philippines, he said.
LEGAL ACTION Actress Julia Barretto, with mom Marjorie, files a cyberlibel complaint against former broadcaster Jay Sonza on Friday at the National Bureau of Investigation. —PHOTO GRABBED FROM ABS-CBN
Actress Julia Barretto on Friday filed a cyberlibel complaint and violation of the Safe Spaces Act in the National Bureau of Investigation against former broadcaster Jay Sonza for his malicious social media posts regarding the ABS-CBN talent’s rumored pregnancy.
In an interview with the Inquirer, NBI Cybercrime Division chief Vic Lorenzo said Barretto was accompanied by her mother Marjorie at the NBI office around 11 a.m. to file the charges in relation to Sonza’s Facebook public post on Sept. 21.
The Safe Spaces Act seeks to protect everyone from sexual harassment in public spaces such as streets, markets, malls and even in cyberspace.
“I have gone through a lot, I have let a lot of things pass in social media … I just want to show people that am not going to let these things slide,” Barretto told ABS-CBN.
In a statement, Barretto said she went to the NBI to ask the agency to investigate Sonza’s “untrue and irresponsible” statements in his social media account.
“I am pursuing this case because the statements made by Mr. Sonza are untrue and irresponsible. The widespread reposting of the news based on his post caused distress to me and my family,” she said.
“I don’t want to take this matter lightly. Mr. Sonza, and all those who publish these reckless and baseless posts, must be held accountable for their actions so that they think twice before claiming things as fact,” she added.
In his online post, Sonza said Barretto was pregnant with actor Gerald Anderson, the actress’ rumored boyfriend.
“Napatunayan nina Visoy (Visayan Tisoy) Gerald Anderson at anak nina Dennis Padilla at Marjorie Barretto na si Julia Barreto na kapuwa hindi sila bago (The Tisoy Gerald Anderson and Julia Barretto, the child of Marjorie and Dennis, found that they are not new),” Sonza wrote.
“After months of love lockdown and ESQ (exact sex quadrant)—something is formed in Julia’s womb. Nahinayak ang batang Dadiangas, Nasiyot man jud oi. Kapugngan pay tren, dili ang gugmang gauros uros tawon. Happy Monday po. Makikibalita ako kung kailan ang kasal sa aking neighbor (I will seek an update on date of the wedding of my neighbor),” Sonza said.
Barretto said she would pursue the case despite Sonza retracting his statements on Tuesday.
In his subsequent post, Sonza retracted his statements, this time quoting on Facebook Julia and Marjorie Barretto’s denials of the former’s pregnancy.
Alden Richards (right) and Jasmine Curtis-Smith
In his first acting project since the start of quarantine, Alden Richards couldn’t help but note how different current shooting conditions are from how things were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s my first project shoot since March. It’s very different. The workforce wasn’t cut off only by half, it was more than that,” he said of his recent taping for GMA 7’s upcoming drama anthology, “I Can See You,” which starts airing on Sept. 28.
The new series’ pilot episode titled, “Love on the Balcony,” will have Alden portraying a wedding videographer who falls in love and helps a frontliner nurse (played by Jasmine Curtis-Smith) cope with life in the “new normal.” It also stars Pancho Magno, Shyr Valdez and Denise Barbacena.
“Preparations prior to the taping are also different—there’s swab testing, health monitoring, etc. On set, there’s still health monitoring. And then we have to have an antigen test after the taping,” he told “24 Oras.”
“And you don’t get to see everyone’s face, because of masks and face shields,” added the 28-year-old actor.
Alden (left) and Jasmine
Aside from “I Can See You,” Alden will also host “Lockdown: Food Diaries,” a new GMA Public Affairs documentary that delves into the impact the pandemic has had on the food industry.
The topic hits close to home, Alden said, because he himself owns food businesses that are trying to stay afloat.
“The show is very compatible with me because we have restaurants. And I can speak from firsthand experience, about the things we go through,” he said, adding that his main goal right now is to make sure that, at the very least, his establishments’ expenses get covered.
“It doesn’t matter if we don’t earn anything. All businesses are currently on survival mode,” he pointed out.
Alden
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has never been more important. And Alden makes sure to stick to his regimen to keep himself fit and maintain his physique.
“I work out first thing in the morning … I also do intermittent fasting, which I started two years ago. I’m used to eating after 12 noon and not having any more food after 8 p.m.,” he said in a virtual conference for his Cosmo Cee endorsement.
But just because he can eat anything and everything during his eight-hour window, doesn’t mean he does. “What I have learned is that there are not-so-good after effects when you eat unhealthy food. You actually end up gaining weight at times. You still have to eat a balanced diet,” he stressed.
And he doesn’t really need a professional chef for his meals. “I look up recipes on the internet,” Alden related.
Scene from “To Calm the Pig Inside”
Joanna Vasquez Arong’s “Ang Pagkalma sa Unos” (To Calm the Pig Inside) recently bagged another award, this time, the Best International Documentary prize at the 15th Shorts Mexico Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Mexico.
Arong posted the comment of the members of the international documentary category jury on her Facebook page. It read: “After a long and conscientious deliberation, we have decided [to declare the] winner of the 15th edition of Shorts Mexico.
“We thought it was a very powerful short film with excellent work in photography, and above all, excellent narrative work about a huge problem, which is the disappearance of people due to natural disasters,” the jury comment stated.
Joanna Vasquez Arong
In a prerecorded video that was streamed during the festival’s virtual awards ceremony on Sept. 19 (Manila time), Arong said: “I’m glad that our film from the Philippines also resonated over there (in Mexico). .. What a wonderful surprise to hear that we won. I actually cried when I read the news.”
She added that she wished she could have been in Mexico “to personally share some of the stories behind the film. When I posted [on Facebook our screening schedule] at the Shorts Mexico fest, one of the storm chasers whose video footage is in the film reminded me, for example, that one of them almost lost his leg while recording that footage.”
“To Calm the Place Inside” contemplates the effects a typhoon leaves on a seaside city. According to Arong, “Myths are woven in to try to understand how people cope with devastation and trauma. A girl’s voice divulges bits and pieces of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experience she felt visiting this ravaged port city.”
The film won Best International Documentary prize in Mexico.
Arong’s 14-minute film competed against entries from the United States, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Finland, she reported. The event, which is the largest short documentary festival in Latin America, ran from Sept. 2 to Sept. 9.
In August, the film competed in the 2020 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, where it bagged the Special Jury Prize. Early this month, it also received a Special Mention from the 2020 Bangkok Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Film Festival in Thailand.
For those in the Philippines who wish to still see the film, said Arong, it is presently part of the Active Vista International Human Rights Festival, which will end tomorrow. “To Calm the Pig Inside” is also part of the Daang Dokyu film festival, but will be shown from Oct. 2 to Oct. 8 as part of its curated films for “Ang Lahat ng Bagay ay Magkaugnay.”
Nadine Lustre
Nadine Lustre and James Reid are set to headline Smart’s GigaFest Virtual Concert, which will be livestreamed today at 8 p.m. on the telecommunications company’s official Facebook and YouTube pages.
The music event will also feature soul-R&B artist KZ Tandingan and rapper Curtismith.
Fans can tune in as early as 6:30 p.m. for the preconcert activities and sidelights, which include “Relax, You Got This” with Macoy Dubs and Dr. RJ Naguit; and “Workout Sessions” with Katarina Rodriguez and Vince Velasco. Prizes will be drawn for Smart subscribers.
The show is part of the monthlong Giga Fest celebration, which will also be presenting the first online run of the Korean Film Festival from Sept. 12 to Oct. 2.
Among the movies to be shown are Son Ye-jin’s “Be with You” and “The Last Princess”; Hyun Bin’s “The Swindlers” and “Confidential Assignment”; and Park Seo-joon’s “Midnight Runners” and “The Beauty Inside.”
Earlier this month, GigaFest held an exclusive streaming of the 10th iHeartRadio Music Festival, which featured performances by BTS, Coldplay, Kane Brown, Khalid, Keith Urban, Migos, Swae Lee, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Rhett, Usher and more. Those who missed it can catch its television airing on TV5 on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4. —ALLAN POLICARPIO
James Reid
XOXO members (from left): Lyra Micolob, Mel Caluag, Riel Lomadilla and Dani Ozaraga
Riel Lomadilla, Dani Ozaraga, Lyra Micolob and Mel Caluag joined the talent search “The Clash” in hopes of fulfilling their dreams of becoming successful solo artists.
They didn’t win. But they didn’t walk away completely empty-handed.
The four ended up getting another shot—this time, as a girl pop group called XOXO. It was unexpected; they had been singing solo for most of their lives. But this twist of fate, they agreed, was something they didn’t know they needed. “We all performed solo before. Perhaps the management thought that forming a group would be a more effective way for us to make an impact, show our talents, and hone our individual strengths,” Lyra told the Inquirer in a recent video conference for the quartet’s debut single, which is also titled “XOXO.” While they’re not turning their backs on the prospect of going solo, the girls stressed that joining the band isn’t a mere stepping stone. They’re determined to put in the work and build up XOXO.
“We can’t say what will happen in the future. If there will be an opportunity to go solo, why not? But as of now, this is our main focus. We will be investing our time and effort in it, so that we could grow,” Riel pointed out. “We want to cultivate this group and succeed together.”
“We’re still blessed to have an opportunity like this,” Dani added. “Whatever happens, being with XOXO will help us in the long run.”
Performing as XOXO has taught them things they wouldn’t have known otherwise. One of the most important of those, they said, is being a team player; being more perceptive of what each other does onstage. “There has to be give and take. We have to lift each other up because we’re a team,” Lyra said. “We have to make sure that once we go onstage, people see a unit and hear one voice.”
“If it weren’t for XOXO, we probably wouldn’t have learned what it’s like to work as a team. As a solo singer, you’re used to focusing on what you need to do. But in a group, you become more mindful of your collaboration with others, so you can come up with harmonious performances,” Riel said.
“Looking at our first performances and comparing them to how we perform now, I can say that we sound more cohesive,” Dani said. “We’re also more sensitive to each other’s needs, so we can help each other.”
Competition is out of the question. No one tries to outdo anyone because each has a role to play. Riel and Lyra have the deeper timbre and typically take care of the harmonies. The belting, on the other hand, is relegated to Dani and Mel, who favor such singing style.
“We enjoy the roles assigned to us. I’m an alto, so I’m given parts that go well with my voice. Riel and I can hit high notes, but it’s not our main strength, unlike Mel and Dani,” Lyra said. “Walang lamangan. Our musical director, Vincent de Jesus, gives us our respective turns to shine. One song may be Dani’s turn to shine and do the ad libs and high notes. In the next one, it would be Mel … and so on,” Riel said.
Their new song, “XOXO” (GMA Music), is an empowering dance ditty that promotes self-love and body positivity—a rallying cry for girls who feel that they need to conform to society’s beauty standards.
“We have different body shapes, sizes, heights and skin tones. And we want to tell people that even if we’re not sexy or beautiful by the standards society dictates, we can still feel sexy and beautiful in the body we’re in,” Riel said.
Nikkolas Smith stands beside his tribute to Chadwick Boseman, titled “King Chad.” Image: Instagram/@nikkolas_smith
Disney has unveiled a mural honoring the late actor Chadwick Boseman, famously known as King T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” a few weeks after he was laid to rest.
The new mural, aptly titled “King Chad,” was created by concept artist and former Disney Imagineer Nikkolas Smith. The installation can be found at Anaheim’s Downtown Disney in California, USA.
The artist took to Instagram yesterday, Sept. 24, to share his work, noting that “this one is special.”
“It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus,” Smith explained. “To millions of kids, T’Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman.”
“I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way. I am grateful to the Disney family for being so supportive of my journey as an artist,” he added.
Boseman passed away inside his home in Los Angeles on Aug. 28 after a four-year battle with cancer. Despite this, he was still able to star in several films such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) “Black Panther,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” as well as in “Marshall” and “Da 5 Bloods,” along with other projects.
The late actor has also been commended by fellow artists and fans for taking the time to visit sick children in the past years while he himself was battling colon cancer, unbeknownst to the public.
Walt Disney Imagineering’s official Instagram account likewise shared Smith’s work, which has the inscription: “As a former Disney Imagineer, I had the honor of working on a major children’s hospital initiative and Avengers Campus as my final two assignments.”
“Seeing Chadwick’s heart for people in-person, and later discovering his courageous battle with cancer, I was inspired to create this tribute to honor his life and legacy. To us, he was and will always be T’Challa. Long Live The King,” the inscription further read.
Millions of fans around the world and stars alike have since shared their respective tributes to honor the late actor.
Other than portraying T’Challa a.k.a. Black Panther in the MCU, Boseman is known for giving life to Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown in the big screen. /ra
RELATED STORIES:
Michael B. Jordan wishes he ‘had more time’ with Chadwick Boseman in heartfelt tribute
Shock, grief and gratitude after death of Chadwick Boseman
Obama, Johansson and more react to death of Chadwick Boseman
Philippines News © 2015 | Distributed By My Blogger Themes | Designed By Templateism.com
