1.

51 hurt as quake rocks southern Philippines

MANILA (UPDATE)—Fifty-one people were injured and several homes, churches and other
buildings damaged on Saturday when an earthquake sent terrified residents of the southern
Philippines fleeing their homes before dawn, police said.

The 5.8-magnitude shallow quake struck the northeast coast of Mindanao island at 4:42 a.m.
(2042 GMT Friday), with the Philippine seismology office recording 7 less intense aftershocks.

Officers at the police station in Madrid town, near the epicenter, ducked beneath tables as the
glass door of a filing cabinet splintered and a television set fell to the floor and shattered, police
chief Lieutenant Wilson Uanite said.

"We saw people running out of their homes. A number of residences sustained minor damage
like cracked walls," Uanite told AFP by telephone.

Patients were also evacuated briefly at the Madrid District Hospital, which sustained cracks on
its concrete walls, he added.

The roof of an old car park in Madrid collapsed, causing slight damage to the town's two fire
trucks and three cars, Uanite said.

The impact was also felt in four neighboring towns, damaging homes, two Catholic churches, a
hotel, a gym, a bridge, and a public market, while toppled power pylons blocked a key road, the
civil defense office in the region said.

A restaurant tipped over into a nearby river in Cantilan town, while residents reported broken
plates and glass and ceramic decorative figurines in their homes, police officer Johannes Tipon
told AFP by telephone.

In Cantilan, masonry from a construction site fell through the roof of a neighboring house,
injuring a girl and her father as they slept, Tipon added.

The US Geological Service said Saturday's quake occurred at a depth of 11.8 kilometers.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that
stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The country's most recent deadly quake occurred in April when at least 11 people were killed
and a supermarket collapsed in a 6.3-magnitude tremor that hit a region north of the capital
Manila.

2. Robredo camp not threatened by PACC impeachment

comment
MANILA -- Vice President Leni Robredo is willing to face any impeachment call, her
spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez said on Sunday.
This, after the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) said Robredo could be
impeached for endorsing the resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights (UNHRC)
seeking to review the country’s war on illegal drugs.

“Ang taong walang kasalanan, walang kinakatakot sa imbestigasyon,” Gutierrez said on

"BISErbisyong LENI," Robredo’s radio show.

Paulit-ulit na ring sinabi ni VP Leni, 'Kung gusto niyo mag-file ng impeachment sige lang, 'di
ba? Handa akong harapin 'yan.' Kung tingin talaga ng ating mga kinatawan sa Kamara ay may
batayan, e di handa siyang harapin,” Gutierrez added.

Gutierrez also insisted that Robredo continues to fulfill her constitutional mandate and has not
done anything wrong for showing support to the Iceland-backed resolution.

“Alam naman niya na wala siyang maling ginagawa. Tapat niyang tinutupad ang kaniyang
sinumpaan sa ilalim ng konstitusyon kaya sa tingin ko hindi dapat matakot kung wala namang
maling ginagawa,” he said.

 Anti-corruption body: Robredo can be impeached for supporting UN resolution

On Saturday, PACC chief Manuelito Luna accused Robredo of "betraying public trust" since she
is insinuating that the Duterte administration is "guilty of human rights abuses" by expressing her
support to the UNHRC resolution.

Gutierrez criticized Luna for his statements, saying the PACC chief is merely seeking for
attention.

“Feeling ko talaga ang punto talaga diyan eh para sumikat eh. Kasi ang impeachment, 'yan ay
isang proseso na nagsisimula sa kongreso. Eh sa pagkakaintindi ko hindi naman miyembro ng
Kongreso itong taong ito,” Gutierrez said.

3. PVL: Angels fly high, claim Reinforced Conference crown

ANTIPOLO --- PetroGazz denied Creamline a three-peat after completing a come-from-behind
finals series win on Sunday to claim its breakthrough Premier Volleyball League Season 3
Reinforced Conference title.

Celebrated scoring duo Cuban Wilma Salas and American Janisa Johnson delivered the same
performance they have been bringing the whole conference to power the Angels to a 25-15, 28-
30, 25-23, 25-19, win in the best-of-three series decider at the packed Ynares Sports Center
here.

Tied at 14 in the fourth set, PetroGazz displayed great team effort with Johnson and Salas
conniving with the Angels locals led by Jonah Sabete, Cherry Nunag, Jeanette Panaga, setter
Djanel Cheng and libero Cienne Cruz for a 10-3 scoring spurt to reach match point, 24-17.
4. PBA: Blackwater fends off Alaska, clinches No. 3 spot
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE)Blackwater Elite pulled away in the final minute for a 112-
104 triumph over the Alaska Aces on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, giving them the No. 3
seed in the playoffs of the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

In a back-and-forth showdown that featured 13 ties and 22 lead changes, it was Blackwater that
made the biggest plays in the closing stretch on both ends of the floor. Rabeh Al-Hussaini came
through with a clutch three-pointer that gave the Elite a 109-104 lead with 1:18 left, and Roi
Sumang put the finishing touches on the win.

The Elite finished the elimination round with a 7-4 win-loss record, and prevented the Aces from
a securing a spot in the quarterfinals. Aside from Alaska, still in the hunt for the eighth and last
playoff spot are Phoenix and Meralco.

"The players are being challenged, since three days ago, to get this win for the franchise and for
ourselves," said Blackwater coach Aris Dimaunahan. "We challenged the guys to keep the third
seed coming into the playoffs. "

"We want to get a win coming to the playoffs, para meron kaming kumpyansa whoever we
play," he added.

Ray Parks finished with an all-around performance of 25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3
steals, while Sumang had 18 points. Import Staphon Blair came up with 14 points and 10
rebounds, while Al-Hussaini finished with 12 markers in the win.

5. Locsin warns people under drug syndicates’ payroll may take advantage of UN probe

said some people – under the payroll of drug syndicates – may take advantage of the United Nations
(UN) human rights investigators to undermine the Philippine government’s war on drugs.

He stressed this point to justify the Duterte administration’s decision to deny entry to any UN
representative tasked to review President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug campaign.

“The Philippines rejects this resolution,” Locsin said in a press statement.

“It cannot, in good conscience, abide by it. We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided
resolution, so detached from the truth on the ground,” Locsin said of the Iceland-sponsored UN Human
Rights Council resolution seeking a review of the Philippines’ war on drugs amid allegations of
extrajudicial killings (EJK) involving suspected drug personalities.
“Because we don’t want congenital liars finally being able to say they were eyewitnesses to what never
happened, gathered evidence that doesn’t exist and provide simulacra of proof of nonexistent events to
justify their pay from the drug cartels,” Locsin said on Twitter.

Reacting to a netizen’s observation that the UN resolution is a form of foreign intervention, Locsin said,
“First establish real death toll by body count; match police reports with forensic findings; victims surely
not vaporized.”

“We found remains of Communit purges; why not of alleged victim of EJK. We just can’t trust foreigners
who don’t shower daily. It’s an Asian thing,” he said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also dismissed the UN resolution. “We have a functioning criminal justice system
that deals adequately with erring law enforcers,” he tweeted.

“We regularly provide our Human Rights Commission the budget they need to perform their mandate.
Obviously, we can manage without the intervention of the UN Human Rights Council,” the senator said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked the government to keep an open mind and display
statesmanship amid the UNHRC’s move to seek a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in
the country.

The resolution, introduced by Iceland, was adopted by 18 countries but rejected by 14 others, including
China. At least 15 countries abstained, including Japan. BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

6. Henry Sy Jr. pulls out P6-B investment in Tarlac

BAMBAN, Tarlac: The plan to put up a P6-billion cement factory here fizzled out after Big Boss Cement
(BBC) decided to pull out its investment due to the residents’ resistance.

Henry Sy Jr.

Mayor Antonio Feliciano revealed this during a gathering of municipal employees, saying that BBC
factory owner Henry Sy Jr. caved in to the people’s refusal to host the cement factory in the town.
“A 6-billion-peso investment is what we are talking about here. It is not everyday that a small town like
ours will have an opportunity like this,” Feliciano said.

“Imagine a single business locator putting up a big investment with us. But that’s all gone with the wind
now,” he added.

Sy’s decision came after thousands of residents staged a series of protests, including a candle vigil
against the factory, citing the risk it would pose to the environment and the health of residents,
especially children.

Protests

Diane Figueroa, president of the Concerned Citizens of Bamban, led the protest against the operation of
the factory in Sitio Panadakitan,

Barangay Dela Cruz, saying that they were not against progress, but putting the health of their children
at risk and the environment in danger would push them to “go out and show our resistance.”

“Once that cement factory is established, the children of Bamban will suffer,” she said.

The area where the proposed 12-hectare cement factory was supposed to be built was once an irrigated
rice field that was said to have been reclassified as an industrial zone.

Residents were also worried about the dangers the factory could pose to nearby agricultural areas and
the risk it would pose to their health since the factory would be just about 300 meters from their
residences.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources then announced it would hold a public
consultation as a result of the series of protests.

Reports have it that there was no public consultation before the cement company was allowed to
construct its facilities.
Politics?

But Feliciano is suspicious that the resistance was a product of political propaganda perpetrated by his
opponents, although he did not name names.

“My political nemesis must be happy now because they won. They killed the plan due to their
continuous mudslinging tactics,” he said.

“They must have thought they have hurt me because of the pullout scenario but no, they have hurt the
poor people of Bamban,” Feliciano added.

He said with the P35-million annual taxes that would come from the BBC investment, more programs
and projects could have been achieved for the benefit of the people.

Feliciano also recalled one of his conversations with Sy, claiming that the latter told him he wanted the
town to keep up with the economic growth enjoyed by its neighbors.

“He (Sy) told me that while Bamban is sandwiched between Mabalacat City and the highly-anticipated
New Clark City, he did not want our town to be left behind that is why he decided to invest here,”
Feliciano said.

7. P100M worth of smuggled gadgets seized in

Pampanga
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PHILIPPINES

P100M worth of smuggled gadgets seized in Pampanga

The smuggled gadgets include 6,900 units of Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi phones and tablets

Jun Malig

Published 7:14 PM, July 14, 2019

Updated 7:51 PM, July 14, 2019

SMUGGLED GOODS. Task Force Aguila and Bureau of Customs personnel unload boxes containing
mobile phones, tablets, and other items at Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. Photo by Jun Malig

SMUGGLED GOODS. Task Force Aguila and Bureau of Customs personnel unload boxes containing
mobile phones, tablets, and other items at Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. Photo by Jun Malig

PAMPANGA, Philippines – An anti-smuggling task force at Clark Freeport Zone confiscated hundreds of
boxes of misdeclared and undervalued mobile phones and sports watches from Hong Kong as they were
being brought into Metro Manila on Friday, July 12.

Arnel Maguillo, deputy director of Task Force Aguila (TFA), said about 6,900 units of Vivo, Huawei, and
Xiaomi phones and tablets, and 1,090 sports watches were found inside two trucks.

He said the two vehicles with plate numbers CAP 6868 and CAK 7736 were intercepted at the TFA
checkpoint near the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) tollgates here around 11 am.

The task force set up a checkpoint after receiving information that "voluminous boxes" of imported
electronics were being loaded into two aluminum canter vans at the United Parcel Service facility here
and were set to be transported outside the freeport zone.

The apprehended trucks were brought to the TFA compound here and the task force coordinated with
the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Clark office for the inventory of the seized items, which turned out to be
misdeclared and undervalued.

8. Senior citizen shot dead inside car in Makati

Jesus Dimayuga, 63, who has no known enemies, dies on the spot after an unidentified gunman
fires at him

MANILA, Philippines – A 63-year-old man was shot dead inside his car along Osmeña
Highway in Makati City on Sunday, July 14.
According to Makati Police Investigation Unit chief Major Gideon Ines Jr, Makati
resident Jesus Dimayuga, 63, was driving with his wife, Romana, along Osmeña
Highway in Barangay Bangkal at about 8:30 am when a motorcycle-riding gunman
suddenly appeared and fired at Jesus.

Jesus Dimayuga died on the spot as the bullet hit his chest, near his heart.

Romana Dimayuga said the gunman then fled toward EDSA.

Police could not identify the gunman using CCTV footage as he was wearing a yellow
helmet and face mask. The suspect was on a red motorcycle with no plate number.

According to Ines, the shell of a caliber .9mm pistol was recovered from the crime
scene.

Police said the motorcycle used by the gunman was then found in a vacant lot in La
Guardia Street, Barangay Bangkal, hours after the shooting. No gun was found.

Ines said the suspect involved may have been a professional hitman. Romana
Dimayuga said her husband did not have known enemies. Jesus Dimayuga worked as
a former dispatcher of Sunshine Transport Taxi.

9. LTFRB urges ACTO to cancel July 15 transport strike

MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
(LTFRB) called on the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) to cancel
its transport strike set for Monday, July 15.

ACTO earlier said its members would gather at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon
City at 8 am on Monday, then proceed to the LTFRB office.

They will be protesting certain guidelines under the government's public utility vehicle
(PUV) modernization program, reported Inquirer.net.

The LTFRB, in a statement on Sunday, July 14, said the planned transport strike would
be "disruptive" and "a disservice to the commuting public."

The LTFRB noted that other major transport groups, such as Pasang Masda and the
Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines, have
already said they would not be joining the strike.
The PUV modernization program mandates the phasing out of jeepneys and buses
aged 15 years and older and the replacement of non-Euro-4 compliant engines with
new models prescribed by the government.

But the program has faced delays and issuesover its implementation, including the huge
costs to replace old PUVs. – Rappler.com

10. Joint naval patrols can assert arbitral win in West

Philippine Sea – Carpio
MANILA, Philippines – There is a way for the Philippines to enforce the arbitral award of
its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, and that is to join foreign navies in
patrolling the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Supreme Court Senior
Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Friday, July 12.

“All that the Philippines has to do is to send the Philippine Navy on joint patrol with the
US Navy and with the other naval powers of the world when they conduct FONOPs in
the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio told a forum marking the 3rd anniversary of
the landmark decisionon the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China.

FONOPs, or “freedom of navigation and overflight operations” are the “most robust
enforcement” of the arbitral award, the country’s most senior High Court judge added.

Carpio, who helped build the country’s arbitration case, lamented that the Duterte
administration has “done absolutely nothing” to enforce the legal victory that invalidated
China’s sweeping claim over the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ EEZ that
Filipinos refer to as the West Philippine Sea.

Last May, the Philippine Navy patrol vessel BRP Andres Bonifacio joined naval
ships from the US, India, and Japan in a FONOP in the South China Sea, sailing from
South Korea to Singapore.

This was more an exception than the rule, as the Duterte administration tends to
distance itself from activities that might provoke an adverse reaction from Beijing.

Meanwhile, the Philippines participated in joint military exercises led by China in

November 2018.

Rights affirmed
President Rodrigo Duterte has chosen not to insist that China abide by the ruling.
Instead, he fostered closer ties with Beijing and evaded checking its incursions into
Philippine waters for fear that it might lead to war.

Duterte has repeatedly said the Philippines is no match for China’s military might, and
that leaves him unable to assert the ruling of an international arbitral tribunal.