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(BusinessWorld) STOCKS fell on Monday as investors pocketed their gains following a four-day rally in the market last week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 46.02 points or 0.68% to close at 6,628.49 on Monday, while the all shares index went down by 24.65 points or 0.6% to end at 4,022.83.

“Philippine shares closed lower after several days of successive gains last week as the index consolidated in the 6,500 to 6,700 range. There was also a lack of leads with the US being closed for Memorial Day…,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“Investors are waiting for the maiden listing of consumer heavyweight Monde Nissin, which lists [Tuesday] to kick-start the month of June. Many are assessing the latest economic data sets coming out,” Mr. Limlingan added.

“Investors booked gains while waiting for the government’s decision with respect to the quarantine measures of the country after May 31,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a separate Viber message. “Trading was tepid.”

Value turnover dropped to P5.39 billion on Monday with 1.39 billion shares switching hands, from the P12.41 billion with 1.67 billion issues traded on Friday.

Malacañang was expected to announce new lockdown measures for June as prevailing restrictions were only set to be in effect until May 31.

Investors are hoping for a slight easing in the lockdown so the economy can reopen further, boosting recovery prospects.

The Health department on Monday reported 6,684 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s infection tally to 1.23 million.

Active cases were at 54,290, while deaths stood at 20,966.

Majority of sectoral indices declined on Monday except for financials, which inched up by 1.04 points or 0.07% to 1,418.67.

Meanwhile, property shed 48.30 points or 1.47% to end at 3,225.42; services went down by 17.21 points or 1.13% to finish at 1,493.63; industrials lost 52.05 points or 0.57% to 8,937.59; holding firms declined by 19.91 points or 0.29% to 6,708.50; and mining and oil inched down by 5.82 points or 0.06% to close at 9,410.82.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 103 against 85, while 57 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying dropped to P56.14 million on Monday from the P917.26 million recorded on Friday.

Philstocks Financial Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said she expects the PSE index to trade between the 6,600 to 6,900 range on Tuesday.

“The market may rebound on support area once the government eased the quarantine measures in Greater Manila,” Ms. Alviar said in a Viber message.

“Laxer restriction is expected to spur optimism in the market and recovery hopes would rise,” she added… Read More

(GMA News) The Philippines has fully vaccinated more than 1.2 million individuals against COVID-19 as of May 30, nearly three months since the launch of its vaccination campaign, the Department of Health said Monday.

In its latest bulletin, the DOH said a total of 5,180,721 doses have been administered nationwide. The country’s seven-day moving average of daily vaccinated individuals also reached 144,402.

A total of 1,206,371 people have been fully vaccinated against the respiratory illness, 671,422 of whom are health workers, 245,244 are senior citizens, 286,670 are persons with comorbidities, and 3,035 are essential workers.

Meanwhile, a total of 3,974,350 individuals have received their first dose. These include over 1.4 million medical frontliners, 1.3 million senior citizens, 1.1 million persons with comorbidities, and 10,827 essential workers.

“The government is urging eligible populations belonging to priority groups A1 to A3 to register, get vaccinated and complete the required number of doses as scheduled,” the DOH said.

“The vaccinated population are also urged to continue practicing the minimum public health standards as you may still get infected with COVID-19 and infect other people,” it added.

The government started its COVID-19 vaccination program last March 1.

The Philippines has at least 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine supply so far.

Vaccine brands delivered to the Philippines to date include Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V.

The country has so far recorded 1,230,301 cases of COVID-19, including 1,155,045 recoveries and 20,966 fatalities… Read More

(BusinessWorld) US PRESIDENT Joseph R. Biden wants to meet President Rodrigo R. Duterte, as a military pact on the deployment of troops between the two nations hangs in the balance.

The US President had written to the tough-talking leader, assuring him that strong ties between the two countries would continue, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel G. Romualdez said at a taped briefing.

Mr. Duterte had sought closer trade and investment ties with China away from its former colonizer as soon as he assumed the post in 2016. Mr. Duterte had also criticized the US for what he claimed was its ill treatment of its former colony.

The two countries, which will celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations next month, earlier concluded bilateral discussions.

His spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque, Jr. earlier said the President had not decided whether to keep the visiting forces agreement (VFA) with the US.

Mr. Duterte in February last year said he would end the VFA after the US Embassy canceled the visa of his friend Senator Ronald M. de la Rosa, who led his deadly war on drugs as his former police chief.

Meanwhile, Mr. Romualdez said America’s donation of coronavirus vaccines had no strings attached.

Mr. Romualdez said Washington would announce this week the distribution of the first batch of vaccines that it will donate to the Philippines.

The Philippine envoy earlier said the US would donate its excess supply of the shots made by Moderna, Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc.

“It’s actually free,” Mr. Romualdez said. “It’s part of the help that they’re giving to allies like the Philippines and other countries.”

He said Mr. Biden was seeking to hold talks with Southeast Asian leaders in Brunei this November… Read More

(GMA News) At least three minors aged 10, 12, and 14 said they were sexually assaulted by a supposed cult leader in Quezon City.

Identified as a certain Romeo Delos Reyes, the suspect works as a janitor and a leader of a religious group. He also allegedly practices as a witch doctor.

The children said Delos Reyes assaulted them and touched them in sensitive areas to supposedly continue the healing that was done on them.

“Base dito sa isang nanay, ‘yung kanyang anak ay biktima ng panggagahasa kasama ‘yung dalawang bata. Biktima ng panggagahasa ng isang suspect na sinasabi nilang leader ng kulto,” Police Liutenant Colonel Elizabeth Jasmin said in a report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend.”

(Based on one of the mothers, her daughter is a victim of rape, along with the two other children. Victims of rape of a suspect which they claim to be a cult leader.)

Jasmin said the children were said to have been hypnotized and would tolerate Delos Reyes’s touches as this was part of the supposed blessings.

Currently detained, Delos Reyes denied sexually assaulting the children but was reported to have admitted touching the chest of one of them.

“Kasi minsan may puyatan kami magdasal, so ‘dun na kami natutulog. May mga kasama kami so pano masasabing inaano sila kung meron akong mga kasama,” he said.

(Sometimes we have all-nighters praying, so we sleep there. We have companions so how could they accuse me when I have companions.)

“Ang totoo niyan ay ang batang ‘yan ang pumupunta sa akin kada umaga, madaling araw,” he said in the same report.

(The truth is that child comes to me every morning, early morning.)

Delos Reyes will face charges of rape in relation to child abuse, and illegal possession of ammunition after bullets were found in his home, which he also denied.

The religious group has since been disbanded by the Barangay Damayang Lagi… Read More

(PhilStar) MALOLOS, Philippines — Eleven suspects were killed in anti-drug operations in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija on Friday.

Col. Lawrence Cajipe, Bulacan police director, identified four of the seven killed in drug stings in the province as Ferdinand Urian, Percival Paguia, Jayson Hernandez and Mandy de Silva.

Cajipe said the slain suspects drew their guns when they sensed they sold shabu to undercover agents in Pulilan, Pandi Obando, Bustos and Balagtas towns.

He said a 9mm pistol, four caliber .38 revolvers, a .357-caliber revolver, a gun of unknown caliber, 127 sachets of shabu, two motorcycles, drug paraphernalia and marked money were recovered from the fatalities.

Col. Jaime Santos, Nueva Ecija police director, said Reyelito Ramos, Francis Liwanag, Jonathan Miranda and Ruben Galvez shot it out with anti-narcotics agents in Barangays Bantug Hacienda and La Torre in Talavera, Barrera in Cabanatuan City and San Antonio Este in Lupao.

Santos said three caliber. 38 revolvers, a caliber .45 pistol, sachets of shabu, two tricycles and a motorcycle were recovered from the fatalities.

P13.4 million marijuana destroyed
In Kalinga, police destroyed P13.4 million worth of marijuana in Tinglayan, also on Friday.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said police raided a 6,900-square meter marijuana plantation in Barangay Loccong.

“We are warning those who engage in this prohibited trade that we will intensify our police operations to thwart your illegal activities,” Eleazar said.

Probers have yet to determine the cultivators and owners of the marijuana plantation… Read More

(Reuters) HANOI – Authorities in Vietnam have detected a new coronavirus variant that is a combination of the Indian and UK COVID-19 variants and spreads quickly by air, the health minister said on Saturday.

After successfully containing the virus for most of last year, Vietnam is grappling with a rise in infections since late April that accounts for more than half of the total 6,856 registered cases. So far, there have been 47 deaths.

“Vietnam has uncovered a new COVID-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the UK,” Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said, describing it as a hybrid of the two known variants.

“That the new one is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant is very dangerous,” he told a government meeting, a recording of which was obtained by Reuters.

The Southeast Asian country had previously detected seven virus variants: B.1.222, B.1.619, D614G, B.1.1.7 – known as the UK variant, B.1.351, A.23.1 and B.1.617.2 – the “Indian variant”.

Long said Vietnam would soon publish genome data of the newly identified variant, which he said was more transmissible than the previously known types.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four variants of SARS-CoV-2 of global concern. These include variants that emerged first in India, Britain, South Africa and Brazil.

“At the present time, we have not yet made an assessment of the virus variant reported in Vietnam,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Technical Lead for COVID-19, said in an emailed statement. “Our country office is working with the Ministry of Health in Vietnam and we expect more information soon.”

From the WHO’s current understanding, the variant detected in Vietnam was the B.1.617.2 variant, more commonly known as the Indian variant, possibly with an additional mutation, she said.

“However we will provide more information as soon as we receive it,” Van Kerkhove added.

Long said laboratory cultures of the new variant showed the virus replicated itself very quickly, possibly explaining why so many new cases had appeared in different parts of the country in a short period of time.

The health ministry told the meeting the government was working to secure 10 million vaccine doses under the COVAX cost-sharing scheme, as well as a further 20 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and 40 million of Russia’s Sputnik V.

The country of about 98 million people has so far received 2.9 million doses and aims to secure 150 million this year. .. Read More

(PepPh) Direct assault at driving without license ang mga kasong isinampa ng Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau laban sa modelong si Pauline Mae Altamirano.

Si Altamirano, 26, ay inaresto kahapon, May 27, dahil sa pananakit niya kay Marcos Anzures, ang traffic enforcer na sumita sa kanya habang nagmamaneho siya ng Fortuner vehicle sa Malate, Manila.

Kaagad nag-viral ang video kung saan makikita ang paglapastangan, pagmumura, at pananakit ni Altamirano kay Anzures na nagtamo ng mga sugat sa mukha.

Inaresto si Altamirano ng Manila Police District Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (MPD-SMaRT). Pero hindi natapos ang isyu sa pagsasampa ng mga kaso laban sa kanya dahil napag-alamang drug courier siya.

Live na napanood sa Facebook page ni Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno ngayong Biyernes ng hapon, May 28, ang pagharap nito sa tatlong most wanted suspects na may bitbit na illegal drugs at naaresto sa Maynila.

“Hindi naman kayo sasakotehin kung walang ebidensiya laban sa inyo. Ang titigas ng mukha niyo, sa Maynila niyo pa ginagawa. Hindi pa kayo nadala,” sabi ni Isko sa mga dinakip na suspects.

Mariing itinanggi ng isa sa mga suspek ang paratang laban sa kanya dahil driver lamang daw ito ng inarkilang van.

Pero hindi na siya nakapagsalita nang sabihin ni Mayor Isko: “Itinuro agad nga kayo [ng mga kasama mo], hindi pa nga pinipitpit ang mga bayag ninyo.

“Kaya pala malakas ang loob nung babae. Maraming pera kaya nanggugulpe ng enforcer.

“Isokpa niyo sa oblo ‘yan [ipasok niyo sa loob]. Ang lalakas ng loob niyo.

“Talagang sa Maynila niyo gagawin. Susunduin niyo yung drugs, ha?

“Bakit kayo umiiyak? Kapag nasa labas kayo, ang tatapang n’yo.”

Natuklasan ng MPD- SMaRT ang koneksiyon ni Altamirano sa mga dinakip na drug suspects dahil sa palitan ng mga text message sa cellphone.

Napag-alaman din ng MPD-SMaRT na inarkila lamang ni Altamirano mula sa isang residente ng Clark, Pampanga ang Fortuner na minamaneho niya nang sitahin siya kahapon.

Ayon kay MPD-SMaRT Chief Col. Risalino Ibay, may nakuha silang illegal drugs sa bag ni Altamirano na ihahatid sana nito sa kanyang kausap, pero nasita siya ng traffic enforcer dahil sa beating the red light violation… Read More

(GMA News) The number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases within the Philippine National Police (PNP) climbed to 23,571 on Friday after the agency reported 200 new infections.

According to the PNP, 184 more personnel have also recovered from the illness, bringing the total to 21,766, while the death toll rose to 65 with one more fatality.

Meanwhile, there are 1,740 active cases in the agency.

At present, the Philippines has reported 1,209,154 confirmed cases, of which 1,134,818 have recovered and 20,566 have died.. Read More