READ: Yang denies role in medical supplies overprice
Former presidential economic adviser Michael Yang on Friday denied involvement in the alleged overpricing of medical supplies for the country's Covid-19 response. Testifying at a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing through videoconferencing from his hotel room in Davao City, Yang said he was never involved in the transaction of the contract that the Procurement Service Department of the Budget and Management (PS-DBM) awarded to Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. to supply the Department of Health (DoH) with personal protective equipment (PPE), face masks, face shields and other medical products. The blue ribbon panel, headed by Sen. Richard Gordon, is looking into allegations that Pharmally, a company with a paid-up capital of just P625,000, was given preferential treatment after it bagged an P8.68-billion contract with the government. Responding to questioning by Sen. Panfilo Lacson through an interpreter, Yang said he never had any business discussions with anyone from Pharmally. His testimony was refuted by Linconn Ong, one of the top officials of Pharmally, who told the committee it was Yang who introduced him to the Chinese suppliers and even guaranteed his capability to pay once the products are delivered. Ong, however, acknowledged that that was the extent of Yang's participation in the transaction. Lacson was not convinced that neither Yang nor Ong was telling everything they knew about the deal and moved that they be arrested and placed in Senate custody until they decide to cooperate. Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros seconded the motion. Also virtually attending the hearing from his home in Singapore was Huang Tzu Yen, president and chairman of Pharmally. Huang said he found he has a standing warrant of arrest in Taiwan for breach of trust but added that he has not received a formal subpoena. He maintained that he has been estranged from his father Huang Wen-Lieh since 2020, and the last time he saw his father was in 2017. The older Huang is also wanted for what is considered to be one of the biggest securities fraud cases involving a listed firm in Taiwan.
READ: ECQ, GCQ for specific Metro Manila areas
An enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or a general community quarantine (GCQ) will be implemented in specific municipalities in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting September 16. The guidelines for the new strategy to contain the surge of Covid-19 have been "provisionally" approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in a briefing Friday. Under the revised setup, a city or town in Metro Manila could be in ECQ, while the neighboring municipality is in GCQ.
READ: More vaccine doses for private sector arrive
The arrival of more coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines purchased by the private sector will speed up the creation of bakuna bubbles, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said on Friday. Concepcion made the statement as he welcomed the arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport of 502,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine procured by the private sector. Concepcion said he remained confident the economy will bounce back better as more vaccines are administered to workers in private companies and their families. The latest batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine was procured by the private sector through a tripartite agreement with the national government and the vaccine manufacturer. An additional 61 million doses ordered by the government and private firms are expected to arrive in the next two months. The bakuna bubble was conceived by Concepcion as a way of accelerating the country's economic recovery. Under the concept, vaccinated individuals can move more freely and enter business establishments like shops and malls.
READ: Filipino talent to help spur BPO sector's development
The country has a deep bench of talent that could help its business process outsourcing (BPO) industry attract more foreign clients. Speaking Friday at The Manila Times online forum, "Resiliency and adaptability at all times of the BPO industry - bedrock of Philippine employment through the years," Zoe Diaz de Rivera, the lead for Talent Attraction and Academe Linkages of IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (Ibpap), said the Philippines has always had the potential to be a major international BPO hub. De Rivera traced the emergence of the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry in the country and how it continues to develop through the years. An IT-BPM company manages work operations of foreign, local or multinational organizations as a third-party outsource provider or an offshore delivery location. Its services include animation, contact center, game development, global in-house center, health information management and IT and software services. According to de Rivera, the IT-BPM sector was born at the same time the internet was taking root in the 1980s. More multinationals were coming into the country, which prompted the sector to reprogram so it could offer a variety of services to foreign companies, she said.
READ: Roque to doctors: I apologize, but I stand by my message
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. on Friday said he was standing by his statements against a doctors' group that he had berated for opposing a shift to the less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) despite a spike in coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) cases. Roque said while he apologized for his emotional outburst and admitting he's only human, he doubled down by saying it is important to hear the sentiments of the countrymen who are going hungry because of endless lockdowns. Roque, who also sits as spokesman for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), was seen lashing out at the doctors from the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) in a leaked video obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
BUSINESS: FDI net inflows soar in June
Over to business, despite concerns about the Covid-19 Delta variant, net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDIs) soared to a five-month high in June, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Central bank figures released on Friday showed that net inflows increased by 60.4 percent to $833 million in the sixth month of 2021, compared to $519 million a year earlier. The June print is the largest since it reached $961 million in January of this year.
SPORTS: Gilas star Ramos signs with Toyama in B.League
In sports, Japan Division 1 team Toyama Grouses announced that they have signed Gilas Pilipinas player Dwight Ramos to play for their team for the B.League's 2021-2022 season through the Asian Quota Player system. The 23-year-old Ramos said he is excited to join Toyama and fulfill his dream to play in Japan. Ramos, who stands at 6-foot-4 and plays the guard positions, added that he hopes to contribute for the Grouses championship run this upcoming season. Toyama reached the quarterfinals last season after tallying a 43-16 win-loss card in the regular season, good for the fourth spot in the East division. The Grouses bowed to the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the quarterfinals.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras explains about broken promises and the culpability of blind loyalty, while Makabenta asks who bears burden of proof in the debate over a climate emergency.
Today's editorial discusses 20 years after the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe weekend ahead.