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BULLISH An attendant raises from a pile a bag of lucky charms, including the figure of an ox, inside a Chinese grocery on Banawe Street in Quezon City on Jan. 30, 2021, weeks before the country, especially the Chinese Filipino community, celebrates the Lunar New Year and usher in the Year of the Ox on February 12. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE Source: ManilaTimes

A man holds up 2021 calendars with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s photo and the phrase “Run Sara Run For President 2022” on Banawe Street in Quezon City on Jan. 30, 2021. The man and other bystanders like him in the area said an unidentified person distributed the calendars early Saturday morning. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE Source: ManilaTimes

BRUSSELS: The European Union introduced tighter rules on Friday (Saturday in Manila) on exports of Covid-19 vaccines that could hit shipments to nations like the United Kingdom, deepening a dispute with London over scarce supplies of potentially lifesaving shots. But amid an outcry in Northern Ireland and the UK, the European Commission made clear the new measure will not trigger controls on vaccines shipments produced in the 27-nation bloc to the small territory that is part of the UK bordering EU member Ireland. Under the post-Brexit deal, EU products should still be able to travel unhindered from the bloc to Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday told European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen of his “grave concerns” after Brussels partially suspended terms of the Brexit deal as part of a vaccine export control scheme. Johnson talked to the EU head on the phone and “expressed his grave concerns about the potential impact which the steps the EU has

Source: ManilaTimes

MEXICO CITY : Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday (Saturday in Manila) he was hopeful that he was through the worst of his coronavirus infection as he reappeared in a video message to the nation. Handout picture released by Mexico’s Presidency press office showing Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador delivering a speach during the inauguration of the new facilities for the National Guard in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on January 24, 2021. (Photo by Handout / Mexican Presidency / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / MEXICAN PRESIDENCY” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS “I still have Covid, but the doctors already tell me that the critical phase is passing,” said the 67-year-old from the National Palace, where he has his office and official residence. “Now I present myself to you so that there are no rumors,” he added in the video posted on social media. “I’m fine although I stil

SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday pushed for the full implementation of the Philippine Identification System (National ID) Act to hasten the country’s recovery after the economy shrank by 9.5-percent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sen. Panfilo Lacson. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Lacson, one of the authors and principal sponsor of the measure in the Senate, said the National ID system will promote financial inclusion and streamline government services — both of which are needed at this time. “The lack of identification creates formidable barriers for the downtrodden and the poor, and creates even larger barriers between the government and the people. Hence, we should push for the implementation of the National ID if we want to further strengthen our response not only against the pandemic, particularly in the rollout of the much-awaited vaccines, but in many of our future endeavors,” he said at the third annual economic and political briefing at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Gradu

Last year’s Covid-19 lockdowns granted this young entrepreneur time to revive his interest in whipping up home-cooked meals. This resulted in a new venture and a chance to help others. Eric Capacia Owner Yaya’s Home Kitchen  “Our goal is simple. To provide familiar Pinoy food that is affordable and all-natural…We want our food to make our customers remember how your mom or lola (grandmother) would cook it.” The year 2020 certainly upended the routines of every Filipino’s life. Some held steady, working from home, while others tried new ventures. For call center executive Eric Capacia, it was rediscovering an inborn talent. Eric is no stranger to the kitchen. Growing up, he remembers helping out his grandmother, whom he called Inang, as well as his two older sisters, Miriam and Eva, prepare the ingredients for their meals. From the simplest to the most complicated dishes, he learned to whip up anything and everything. “Being able to work our way around the kitchen and create de

OKLAHOMA CITY: James Harden and Kyrie Irving each scored 25 points on Friday night (Saturday in Manila) to help Brooklyn roll past the Oklahoma City Thunder 147-125, as the Nets rested Kevin Durant. Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (No. 13) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley (No. 7) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Jan. 29, 2021 (January 30 in Manila) in Oklahoma City. AP PHOTO  Nets coach Steve Nash said he was protecting Durant, the league’s No. 2 scorer. Brooklyn made the move work — the team shot 57 percent from the field and scored a season-high point total. Theo Maledon, a 19-year-old rookie, scored 24 points and was perfect on six shots from 3-point range for the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Hamidou Diallo added 18 for Oklahoma City. The Nets led by nine at the end of the first quarter, then scored the first 10 points of the second to take a 46-27 lead and force the Thunder to call a timeout. The Nets kep

The World Boxing Association (WBA) has stripped eight division world champion and senator Manny Pacquiao of his super welterweight title that he won in 2019 because he was unable to defend it. Manny Pacquiao reacts in a fight in this undated photo. AFP FILE PHOTO The WBA announced on its website on Friday that Pacquiao is now a “champion in recess” and the belt was subsequently given to Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas. “Filipino Manny Pacquiao has been named Champion in Recess by the World Boxing Association (WBA) in a resolution issued by the Championships Committee, while Cuban Yordenis Ugas was promoted to Welterweight Super Champion,” the WBA said. WBA rules and regulations state that a champion who cannot defend his title may be named a champion in recess. “Rule C.22-24 states that when a champion is unable to defend the belt for medical, legal or other reasons beyond his control, he may be named champion in recess. The medical reasons must be documented before the WBA Medical Committ

RHODE ISLAND : The first one-shot Covid-19 vaccine provides good protection against the illness, Johnson & Johnson reported in a key study released on Friday, offering the world a potentially important new tool as it races to stay ahead of the rapidly mutating virus. ONE-SHOT DEAL This September 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows a clinician preparing to administer investigational Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson & Johnson’s long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine appears to protect against symptomatic illness with just one shot – not as strong as some two-shot rivals but still potentially helpful for a world in dire need of more doses. Johnson & Johnson said on Jan. 29, 2021 that in the US and seven other countries, the first single-shot vaccine appears 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe Covid-19. It was more protective against severe symptoms at 85 percent. AP The pharmaceutical giant’s preliminary findings suggest the single-dose opt

Flowers gathered together form the number of deaths from Covid-19 in the Philippines as of Jan. 29, 2021. The flowers were displayed by health workers in front of the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City to commemorate the first reported Covid infection in the country on Jan. 30, 2020. They are calling for the enactment of House Bills 6848 and 7909 or the ‘Free Mass Testing’ and ‘Paid Quarantine Leave’ Acts, respectively. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE Source: ManilaTimes

Foreign portfolio investments continued to depart the country in December on the lingering impact of the coronavirus crisis, bringing net outflows for full-2020 to $4.24 billion, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Data released on Thursday night showed that net outflows of these investments, or “hot money” — so called because of how easily these enter and exit the economy — reached $523.86 million last month, reversing November’s $226.75-million net inflows, but better than the $320.96-million outflows a year earlier. The full-year figure was wider than the $1.90-billion net outflows in 2019, and compares with the central bank’s forecast of $2.8-billion inflows for 2020. In a statement, the Bangko Sentral said the full-2020 net outflows resulted from the $15.91-billion outflows and $11.67-billion inflows for the year. Broken down, the outflows were observed in Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-listed shares ($3.3 billion), peso government securities ($931 million), a

Fitch Solutions and the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on Friday forecast the Philippine economy to grow by more than 7 percent in 2021 on improved consumption and confidence. In a report, the macroeconomic research unit of the Fitch Group said it continued to see the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanding by 7.6 percent, adding that “household consumption remains key to the growth rebound, with a recovery in gross capital formation dependent on stronger domestic demand.” It expects private consumption and gross capital formation to rise by 5.5 percent and 25.1 percent this year, respectively, from their average contractions of 7.9 percent and 35.4 percent in 2020. The rebound in remittances, improving household sentiment and the government’s reluctance to return to the strict lockdown imposed in April are some of the positive factors that would support consumption, Fitch Solutions said. Investments are also expected to expand, it added, but emphasized this

Home loans released by the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) reached a record P12.11 billion last month despite the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Eduardo del Rosario. PHOTO FROM PAG-IBIG FUND In a recent statement, Pag-IBIG Fund said the amount was a 6-percent or P640-million increase from the P11.47 billion in December 2019. Human Settlements Secretary Eduardo del Rosario called these releases “the highest [in] a single month in [the] Pag-IBIG Fund’s history,” and said that, as a result, “we were able to finance the acquisition of 12,275 homes for our members in December alone, which is also a record high.” “Amid the challenges, Pag-IBIG has provided homes to more members during the pandemic, aiding in the government’s efforts, led by President [Rodrigo] Duterte, to keep Filipino families safe at home,” added the official, also the head of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees. For 2020, Pag-IBIG Fund released P63.75 billion in home loans, allowing 63,750 me

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday the country’s headline inflation likely rose to 3.7 percent this month on higher prices of fuel, meat and sin products, and on increased power rates. A shopper checks out goods at a stall in a market on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Tuesday.PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ In a statement, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said January’s point inflation estimate was within the 3.3- to 4.1-percent forecast range of the central bank. The outlook was faster than the 3.5-percent consumer price growth in December 2020 and the 2.9 percent a year earlier. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release official January inflation data on February 5. “Higher prices of fuel and meat, as well as increased Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) power rates and excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, contributed to upward price pressures during the month,” Diokno said. Local oil companies hiked fuel prices three times this month. Price incr

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (No. 23) looks to shoot as Detroit Pistons center Mason Plumlee (24) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Jan. 28, 2021 (January 29 in Manila) in Detroit. AP PHOTO DETROIT: Blake Griffin scored 23 points and the Detroit Pistons took advantage of Anthony Davis’ absence on Thursday night (Friday in Manila) in a 107-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James had 22 points and 10 assists, but only two of those points came after halftime. The defending champions have lost back-to-back games, the first losing streak of any kind for the Lakers since before last year’s playoffs. Davis was out with a right quad contusion, and Los Angeles — which lost by a point at Philadelphia on Wednesday night — faded in the fourth quarter against the Pistons. Detroit led by one before Griffin’s 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining started a 16-0 run. The Lakers went nearly seven minutes without scoring. Wayne Ellington added 20 points f

Monetary authorities approved more foreign borrowings by the national government in the last three months of 2020, raising the full-year tally to over $17 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday. In a statement, the central bank said its policymaking Monetary Board (MB) approved borrowings worth $17.7 billion last year, up 82.5 percent from 2019’s $9.7 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, approved foreign borrowings amounted to $4.2 billion, 7.7 percent bigger than the $3.9 billion in July to September. Last year’s borrowings consisted of three bond issuances worth $6.6 billion, 15 project loans worth $3.7 billion and 16 program loans worth $7.5 billion. According to the BSP, the increase in approved borrowings was due to bond issuances growing by 88.6 percent year-on-year to $6.6 billion from $3.5 billion, and program loans surging by 435.7 percent to $7.5 billion from $1.4 billion in 2019. “The increase in public-sector foreign borrowings in 2020 are,

A senator on Friday warned telecommunications companies against further delaying the stalled implementation of the Mobile Number Portability Act (MNPA). Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate economic affairs committee, said under Republic Act 11202 or the “Act Requiring Mobile Service Providers to Provide Nationwide Mobile Number Portability to Subscribers,” telcos who continue to refuse to implement the MNPA within the prescribed period face a fine of as much as P1 million and the revocation of their franchise. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. Contributed Photo The MNPA allows subscribers to transfer, free of charge, from one service provider to another without changing their mobile number. Gatchalian said the law should have been implemented as early as January last year, having been signed in February 2019. The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were also issued in June 2019. In a letter to the senator in December 2019, Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and Dit

The government is confident the Philippine tourism industry would bounce back from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which robbed the sector of billions of pesos in potential revenues last year. According to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the severe restrictions imposed on mobility and travel, including lockdowns, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus hit tourism especially hard. While reports of new Covid-19 variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil raise fears of fresh border closures around the world, he said the Philippines remained firm on reenergizing the sector on the back of the accelerating distribution of coronavirus vaccines. “We expect that the vaccines being rolled out in the Philippines and other parts of the world would result in gradual adjustments in our protocols on opening our borders wider,” Lopez said in Taglish in a briefing on Friday. He also said the country’s economic fundamentals remained strong, noting that sectors like agric

Consumers play a critical role in reducing their vulnerability to cyber risks, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno. TMT File Photo In a virtual briefing on Thursday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said that as the central bank promotes the wider use of safe digital payments under the new economy, it was also aware of the need to address risks related to the increased accessibility of innovative digital financial products and services. “This includes efforts to stamp out fraud related to the use of credit card,” he added. Based on the Bangko Sentral’s analysis, fraudulent credit card transactions commonly involve information and identity theft; phishing and its variations; and card skimming and card replacement schemes, according to the central bank chief. “Note that unwittingly divulging personal and account information may lead to unauthorized credit card usage,” he said. With this, Diokno said the BSP believes that electronic safety

The Philippine economy dived to its lowest level in the postwar era last year after shrinking by 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Thursday. Claire Dennis Mapa. Photo by John Verdote In a briefing, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the October-to-December gross domestic product (GDP) figure was an improvement from the revised 11.4-percent decline in the third quarter, but a reversal of the 6.7-percent expansion a year earlier. This brought the full-2020 figure to -9.5 percent, which the official called the “lowest since 1946,” when the government started collecting annual GDP data. The figure is a turnaround from 2019’s 6.0-percent growth and hits the high end of the government’s adjusted forecast of an 8.5- to 9.5-percent contraction. It is also worse than the country’s 7-percent GDP drop in 1984. It is deeper than the average 9.2-percent full-year contraction projected by analysts surveyed by The Manila Times,

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca for its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine. An illustration picture shows vials with Covid-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on November 17, 2020. / AFP / JUSTIN TALLIS AstraZeneca is the second vaccine maker to get the green light to supply the country with a Covid injection. FDA Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo said during a briefing on Thursday that the firm’s AZD1222 vaccine had a 70-percent efficacy rate after the first dose in phase three clinical trials. Domingo said the AZD1222’s efficacy rate will increase when the second dose is administered, and the FDA recommended a standard dosage of 0.5 milliliter given from four to 12 weeks. The side effects are at par with common vaccine reactions, he said. Domingo said only patients over 18 years old can receive

The United Nations (UN) projects the Philippine economy to bounce back this year, albeit below the government’s official target range, as downside risks remain high. In its “World Economic Situation Report and Prospects 2021,” the New York-based global body said the country’s gross domestic product could rebound by 6.2 percent from last year’s 9.5-percent contraction. If proven true, the figure would miss hitting the government’s official forecast range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent. “In the Philippines, a recovery in remittance inflows over the outlook period would help to boost domestic demand,” the UN said. This view is consistent with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast of a 4-percent growth in overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances this year. Latest data showed that money sent home by Filipinos abroad in January to November reached $29.98 billion, a 0.9-percent dip from $30.25 billion in the same period in 2019. But the UN warned that still-deteriorating global economic co

Customers may see a reduction in their power bills for February after the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) hinted at lowering rates. In a message to reporters on Thursday, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said “the initial data suggests that the generation costs for February have a very strong likelihood of a decrease due to higher demand in the Luzon grid in January, as compared to December.” “With Luzon peak demand in January increasing compared to December 2020, this swing in demand means that the fixed costs from power suppliers may be spread over higher energy volume, resulting in lower effective rates to consumers, compared to last month,” he added. The official also said Meralco was still waiting for the final billings from the various power suppliers, adding that the company aimed to announce rates early next month. This came after the power distributor increased them by P0.2744 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which translates to an additional P55 in the total bill of households con

Some areas in modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) will return to the stricter general community quarantine (GCQ) starting February 1, Malacañang said on Thursday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) was due to meet on Thursday to discuss new quarantine classifications for Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. Roque said the IATF-EID recommendation will then be presented to Rodrigo Duterte, who will make the new quarantine rules official. “Napakahirap po kasi magsalita kasi talagang nirereserba natin kay Presidente ‘yung desisyon (It’s hard to speak because we don’t want to preempt the President),” Roque said in an interview with DZMM radio. Roque said the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 11 (Davao Region), which both have a “moderate risk” classification in terms of coronavirus bed utilization, were candidates for a stricter lockdown

TOKYO: Overfishing has wiped out over 70 percent of some shark and ray populations in the last half-century, leaving a “gaping, growing hole” in ocean life, according to a new study. ALMOST EXTINCT This 2001 photo provided by Dr. Greg Skomal shows a shortfin mako shark off the coast of Massachusetts. Researchers found the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018. AP PHOTO Researchers found alarming declines in species ranging from hammerhead sharks to manta rays. Among the worst affected is the oceanic whitetip, a powerful shark often described as particularly dangerous to man, which now hovers on the edge of extinction because of human activity. Targeted for their fins, oceanic whitetips are caught up by indiscriminate fishing techniques. Their global population has dropped 98 percent in the last 60 years, said Nick Dulvy, the study’s senior author and a professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU). “That’s a worse decline than

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday maintained its stable outlook for the Philippines’ “BBB+” investment-grade rating as it sees the country’s economy recovering this year. “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the Philippines’ orthodox policymaking will continue to underpin its credit metrics, and that the economy will rebound strongly in 2021,” the New York-based debt watcher said in a report. S&P projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 9.6 percent for the country this year. If true, it would reverse last year’s 9.5-percent contraction in 2020. “We may raise the rating over the next two years if the economy recovers much more quickly than expected, and the government makes significant further achievements in its fiscal reform program, such that the net general government indebtedness falls below 30 percent of GDP,” it said. The credit rating agency projects the country’s net general government debt-to-GDP ratio this year to pick up to 39.4 percent from the

THE Philippines is one with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in seeking a peaceful solution in the pursuit of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana said, stressing that this would help stabilize the Asia-Pacific region. Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana. Contributed Photo Sta. Romana told The Manila Times that “maintaining a peaceful and stable situation in the Korean Peninsula is an important pillar in preserving peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia.” “With this objective in mind, the Philippines seeks to maintain open lines of communication with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPKR or North Korea) while taking into account the sensitive political atmosphere and serious situation in the Korean Peninsula,” he said. He made the statement following the declaration of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier that he would stre