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(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The House of Representatives aims to raise anywhere between ₱5 million and ₱10 million to reward Filipino athletes who will bring home medals from the Tokyo Olympics.

In a media forum on Wednesday, 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero said contributions have so far reached ₱4 million, with 40 lawmakers pledging various amounts for the initiative.

“From the House, Speaker Velasco has initiated a move. He started with ₱200,000 and passing the hat to every congressman and congresswoman to contribute for additional incentive for Hidilyn,” Romero said.

“I think the incentive will go to as far as ₱5 million to ₱10 million,” he added.

Romero had said the money will be given to Hidilyn Diaz, the Filipina weightlifter who won the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

However, AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin said in a separate statement that “due to popular demand and upon the advice of the House leadership,” the prize money will be pooled and given to all Filipino athletes who will win a medal in the Tokyo Olympics.

Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio is already assured of a bronze medal after winning against Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda via unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight division.

Romero, who is a majority shareholder of AirAsia Philippines, will personally give Diaz an additional ₱3 million cash incentive. He has also pledged a ₱2 million reward for any Filipino athlete who wins a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, and ₱ 1 million for a bronze medal… Read More

(BusinessWorld) Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn F. Diaz, who made history on Monday when she secured the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medal, was the most-mentioned athlete globally on Facebook from July 26, 9 a.m. PT, to July 27, 9 a.m. PT (midnight in Manila). In that timeframe, Ms. Diaz overtook American gymnast Simone Biles and Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal.

The four-time Olympian’s achievement of winning in the 55-kilogram class weightlifting competition garnered overflowing support and recognition from fans on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook also reported that the Philippines was the country that talked most about the Olympics on the platform, ahead of the United States and India, with the Philippine flag emoji ranking third on the list of most-used emojis on the app.

Ms. Diaz was also the third most-mentioned athlete on Instagram during the same period… Read More

(BusinessWorld) THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Tuesday it expects to generate 1.6 million jobs this year.

“With the increase in infrastructure investment, the DPWH was… able to generate as much as 6.6 million jobs nationwide from 2016 to 2020,” the department said in a statement.

“An estimated 1.6 million jobs are seen to be generated from the 2021 budget of the department,” it added.

The DPWH has an approved budget of P695.7 billion for 2021.

“For infrastructure projects under the DPWH, some P317.7 billion will be implemented for its core programs, particularly, the Asset Preservation Program (P66.0 billion), Network Development Program (P124.5 billion), Bridge Program (P25.4 billion) and Flood Management Program (P101.8 billion),” the Budget department said in a recent statement.

DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar said that next year, the public can expect the completion of 15,134 kilometers of road construction, rehabilitation and widening; 1,859 bridge rehabilitation, retrofitting, replacement, and widening; 4,155 flood-control projects; 17,647 more classrooms, 186 school workshop buildings, and 99 evacuation centers.

“We are confident, and we are really pushing to achieve our goal that by the end of this administration, every Filipino will be able to reap the benefits of these infrastructure projects that they very much deserved,” he added… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), the country’s most dominant religious group other than the Roman Catholic Church has gone a long way. It has evolved to become like a prototype of sorts that other sects tried but fell short of emulating.

From the time it was established in Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila on July 27, 1914, the INC has grown beyond what many thought it would. Its community grew from a handful of adherents to what it is today – largest entirely indigenous-initiated religious organization in the Philippines comprising roughly five million members or roughly five percent of the country’s population.

The figure does not even include believers scattered in 150 countries across the globe.

Founded by Felix Y. Manalo, or Ka Felix who served as its first Executive Minister, INC has had its share of ups and downs too. However, not even the toughest controversies coming its way was enough to delude a religious organization embarking on core values.

Looking back

Ka Felix, who hailed from Barrio Tipas of the old Taguig town in the Province of Morong (now Rizal), started carving his core values during his formative years.

It was at this time that Ka Felix displayed an independent and nationalistic stance reflective of the Gomburza, the three martyred Filipino priests whose deaths awakened the resentment of the Filipinos against the Spanish friars and authorities. Interestingly, Ka Felix was 10 years old when Jose P. Rizal was executed in Bagumbayan, and a budding teenager when the Philippine Revolution broke out.

Then a teenager, an extremely curious Ka Felix started finding answers to questions about his religion. He was a Catholic by birth… Read More

(SunStar) PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 26, 2021, said the country might again go into lockdown if the more aggressive Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 spreads further.

“I hope it will not go any further but if something wrong happens, I’ll have to be strict,” Duterte said in another ad-lib during his final State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

He said he will have to wait for the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the government’s policy-making body on coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response.

The Department of Health (DOH) said 119 Covid-19 cases with the Delta variant have been detected in the country, specifically in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Northern Mindanao, Central Luzon, Davao and Ilocos.

On Monday, the Quezon City Government confirmed that a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) worker from Saudi Arabia tested positive for the Delta variant.
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(The Manila Times) N hour before President Rodrigo Duterte’s final State of the Nation Address (Sona), the hashtag #IbalikAngABSCBN crept to the top trending spot on Twitter Philippines, displacing #Sona2021,, which dropped to third place. At exactly 3 p.m., #IbalikAngABSCBN had 23,600 tweets, while #Sona2021 had 13,400.

It was only minutes before the President’s speech that #Sona2021 regained the No. 1 spot.

As of posting time-about an hour into the President’s speech-ABS-CBN’s hashtag registered 45,400 tweets and counting, with #Sona2021 going up from 27,800.

Tweets carrying #IbalikAngABSCBN were mostly posted by journalists and fan clubs of ABS-CBN stars. A good number were from supporters of young actors Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano-also known as the “DonBel” love team of iWantTFC’s successful romantic comedy series “He’s into Her”-echoing their idols’ sentiments from 2020, at the height of the network’s doomed franchise renewal. It can be recalled that both Pangilinan and Mariano had been very vocal in their support for their home network, posting photos of themselves carrying the #LabanKapamilya hashtag in 2020… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila – The 96-year wait for the elusive Olympic gold medal is over for the Philippines.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz clinched the country’s first Olympic gold medal after dominating the women’s -55kg final on Monday at the Tokyo International Forum.

Diaz lifted a total of 224 kilograms in the event, an Olympic record, to seal the win for the Philippines. Her gold medal-winning lift of 127 kilograms in the clean and jerk event is also an Olympic record.

The 30-year-old pride of Zamboanga is slated to receive ₱33 million as of this writing — ₱10 million from the national government as stipulated in Republic Act 10699, ₱10 million each from business tycoons and sports patrons Ramon Ang and Manny Pangilinan, and ₱3 million from Rep. Mikee Romero.

The Philippines first participated in the Summer Games in 1924.

How Diaz captured the coveted gold
Diaz comfortably cleared the 94- and 97-kg snatch lifts, but she failed to carry the 99-kg lift. She was tied with silver medalist Liao Qiuyun of China after the three snatch lifts with 97 kgs.

In the clean and jerk, her pet event, Diaz started strong after lifting 119 kgs, as she dislodged Liao who made 118 kgs in her first lift.

After seeing the Filipino and Chinese lifters, Kazakhstan’s Zulfiya Chinshanlo decided to lift 123 kgs in her first clean and jerk attempt which forced Diaz and Liao to lift a higher weight in their second try. Chinshanlo, the event’s bronze medalist, cleared the 123-kg lift in her second attempt.

Liao also cleared 123 kgs in her second attempt, but Diaz went for the higher 124-kg lift which she aced to position herself for the gold.

The Chinese lifter could only clear 126 kgs as the Filipino decided to go for 127 kgs. Diaz was already crying tears of joy while still clearing the winning lift… Read More

(GMA News) Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III on Sunday said the government should look into the possibility of imposing restrictions for individuals who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

According to Concepcion, the government should look into “bold moves” such as restricting the unvaccinated population from entering and eating at certain establishments or moving around the country.

“If the coming fourth quarter will be a disaster because of the Delta variant, then the entire 2022 will face a severe challenge,” he said in an emailed statement.

Concepcion made the proposal during a meeting with the inter-agency task force for the management of emerging infectious diseases (IATF-EID), medical experts, and key private sector leaders.

Concepcion said incentives can also be provided to businesses that target full vaccination of their employees, such as increased operational capacity.

Vaccinated individuals can also be given incentives such as more mobility and ease of travel, and exempting them from mandatory tests once fully protected.

“It might be one of the good news that can possibly come up as we approach President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday,” said Concepcion.

The Philippines on Sunday, July 25, reported 5,479 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total caseload to 1,548,755. This includes 54,262 active cases; 1,467,269 recoveries; and 27,224 deaths.

The Philippines aims to inoculate 70 million Filipinos or 100% of the adult population by the end of the year. The country has received 27.922 million doses as of July 17 and has given 15.095 million shots as of July 18.

Metro Manila and four other areas were again placed under the general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions” from July 23 to 31, following the confirmation of the local transmission of the Delta COVID-19 variant… Read More