The Manila Times | June 14, 2019

Angkas to retrain more drivers before test run ÂťStory on B1 ++

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•• 5 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 244 28

FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2019

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PH could cut ties with China – Palace Duterte ‘outraged’ over sinking of Filipino vessel

‘Sick and tired’ Duterte regrets presidential run PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is “sick and tired of the system� and regrets having run for the nation’s top post, given the Philippines’ seemingly insurmountable problems. “I lost my enthusiasm to work. Actually, I deeply regretted it. I regretted my decision to run for president,� Duterte said in the vernacular on Wednesday during the oath-taking of Cagayan

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BY CATHERINE S. VALENTE

T

HE Philippines would not hesitate to sever diplomatic ties with China if the sinking of a Filipino kSHING BOAT IN DISPUTED waters earlier this week TURNED OUT TO BE INTENtional, MalacaĂąang said on Thursday.

“We would cut off diplomatic relations, iyan ang mga unang ginagawa kapag merong mga aggressive acts (that’s the kRST THING TO DO WHERE THERE ARE AGGRESSIVE acts),� Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.

4WENTY TWO &ILIPINO kSHERS WERE RESCUED by a Vietnamese boat after the F/B Gimver 1 COLLIDED ON 3UNDAY WITH AN UNIDENTIkED Chinese vessel, which reportedly left the scene without providing any assistance. The incident, which occurred off Recto Bank in the West Philippine (South China) Sea, has been branded as part of the continued harassment by China, which claims most of the disputed waters. “Mag-diplomatic protest ka. Kung hindi ka kuntento sa paliwanag nila at nakita nating talagang sinadya, ibang usapan na ‘yun 9OU kLE A DIPLOMATIC PROTEST )F YOU

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KAPA RALLY

Pastors and members of KAPA Community Ministry International Inc. hold a prayer rally for justice and peace at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. The group’s offices had been raided by the National Bureau of Investigation over allegations that it is operating an investment scam. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

PhilHealth: Over 4,000 cases still to be resolved

PERFECT SPOT Artists who joined The Manila Times’ painting contest titled ‘Intramuros on Canvass’ do their rendition of the Manila Cathedral. The contest that opened on June 12 will close on June 30.

STATE-OWNED Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has failed to resolve about half of 9,033 cases alleging fraud and other violations by partner healthcare providers.

Data retrieved by The Manila Times from PhilHealth’s arBITRATION OFkCE SHOWED THAT BETWEEN AND ONLY

CASES WERE RESOLVED WITH INDIVIDUALS kNED AND ANOTHER PROVISIONALLY TERMINATED “A balance of 4,404 [cases] are ongoing, either as REGULAR CURRENT CASES OR REOPENED CASES

u PhilHealth said.

PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

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CAMERA SHY

Bryan Christopher Sy, the owner of WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center, covers his face while waiting for officials of the National Bureau of Investigation. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

EDITORIAL

What’s inside

PARTY-LIST SYSTEM: BOON TO DEMOCRACY OpinionA4 OR A FRANKENSTEIN? TOLENTINO BIGGEST SPENDER IN SENATE RACE NewsA8

BESSANG PASS ’45 AND A MESSAGE OF HOPE ’75 REMEMBERED

Rene SaguisagA4 JOSE R. SOBERANO 3rd President and CEO Cebu Landmasters Inc.

Becoming the solution

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WARRIORS SET FOR EMOTIONAL NBA FINALS SHOWDOWN WITH SportsC1 RAPTORS

SHAIRA DIAZ’S INSPIRING STORY

EntertainmentD2

Family hoping for miracle as Garcia still ‘very critical’ VETERAN actor Eddie Garcia remains in critical condition and on life support after fracturing his neck while taping a new television series last Saturday. “He is still in a comatose state and is dependent on ventilator and medications to support his blood pressure,� the Makati Medical Center said in a medical bulletin on Thursday.

Dr. Tony Rebosa, the family spokesman, asked for prayers as the 90-year-old

ÂłMiracleA2 REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

BANK OF CHINA MANILA, PRUDENTIAL GUARANTEE FORGE PARTNERSHIP Bank of China Manila and Prudential Guarantee and Assurance Inc., the largest non-life insurance firm in the Philippines, recently signed a memorandum of understanding at the Bank of China Manila headquarters in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City to explore opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. In photo are Prudential Guarantee Chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr. and Bank of China Manila Country Head Deng Jun.

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Angkas to retrain more drivers before test run A

NGKAS will retrain an additional 15,000 drivers before it could even begin its sixmonth pilot run of its motorcycle taxi SERVICE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH AN OFkCIAL OF the ride-hailing company said on Thursday, a month after the Department of Transportation (DoTr) allowed its implementation in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

)N A BRIEkNG !NGKAS HEAD OF OPERATIONS David Brian Medrana said his firm had retrained 12,000 motorcycle drivers, while 15,000 were yet to undergo retraining.

A total of 27,000 drivers are needed before the company can start the test run, he added.

Since the Transportation department was looking for the pilot run to start by June, Medrana also said at least 2,000 bikers needed to undergo daily a three- to four-hour retraining course that

PNB: Trade Airlines vow flights for Sangley gap may widen in H2 DESPITE narrowing slightly in April, the country’s trade deficit may widen in the second half of the year, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) said on Thursday.

In its “Macro Alert” report, the listed Tan-led lender said its “extrapolation of the monthly trade data continues to show a worsening trade deficit outlook later in 2H19 (second half of 2019), peaking at roughly $4 billion [a] month that coincides with the kSCAL SPENDING @CATCH UP AND ITS LIKELY lift to broad-based demand.”

The Philippine Statistics

PWC’S NEEDLES IN A HAYSTACK

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FRIDAY JUNE 14, 2019

Business Times

CURRENCY RATE

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AIRLINES have pledged to move some of their flights to the stillUNkNISHED 3ANGLEY AIRPORT IN #AVITE province in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s mandate to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said on Thursday.

In a statement, the Transportation department said the pledge came after Secretary Arthur Tugade met with Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director General Jim Sydiongco, Civil Aeronautics

Board Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla, PAL Holdings Director and Treasurer Michael Tan, Cebu Pacific Chief Executive Officer Lance Gokongwei and AirAsia President Dexter Comendador.

“It was a productive and mutually beneficial meeting,”

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Bank execs see 6-7% GDP growth BANK executives remain bullish about the Philippine economy as they expect it to grow within the next two years in line with the government’s target, according to a poll conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“Despite global uncertainties

and market volatilities, banks maintain their optimism on the country’s economic prospects during the second semester of 2018, as 86.1 percent of… respondents project the domestic economy to grow between 6 percent and 7 percent within the

next two years….” the BSP said on Thursday, citing the results of its Banking Sector Outlook Survey (BSOS) for July to December 2018.

For this year, the government revised downward its gross domestic product growth target

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includes reviewing safety measures.

Angkas would also equip its partner-drivers WITH BIKER IDENTIkCATION CARDS VESTS AND HELMETS in line with the DoTr’s orders.

Medrana assured, however, that this would not trigger fare surges. g)T WILL STILL 0 FOR THE kRST KILOMETERS AND P10 per additional km,” he said.

On Angkas operations in Metro Cebu, the

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Where’s Kapa Ministry’s audited financial reports?

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OUGHT. As head of the commercial operations of Phinma Energy Corp., (PHEN), Roman Miguel Garfes de Jesus bought 1.059 million PHEN common shares in five recent trades as follows: 100,000 PHEN common shares at P2.3873 each on June 3, 2019; 100,000 PHEN common shares at P2.4518 each on June 4, 2019; 100,000 PHEN common shares at P2.5307 each on June 6, 2019; 159,000 PHEN common shares at P2.5107 each on June 7, 2019; and 600,000 PHEN common shares at P2.5000 each on June 7, 2019.

The acquisitions increased to 4,799,200 PHEN common

shares, or 0.098 percent, the number of common shares de Jesus directly owns in Phinma Energy.

On June 11, 2019, PHEN common shares opened trading at P2.63, hit a high of P2.78, fell to a low of P2.63 and closed the session at P2.77. The stock hit a 30-day high of P2.78 and a

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