When she was about to hand over her collection, Marites was told by her coordinator to return the money to the individual bettors because President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered a halt to all games operated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Without elaborating, the President cited “massive corruption” as the reason for his order, which sent police officers scrambling to padlock lotto outlets nationwide and left an air of uncertainty among thousands  who depend on the state-run lottery for their livelihood.

In his video message aired on social media by the Presidential Communications Operations Office on Friday night, the President said:

“Pending investigation, lahat po ng laro ng (all games on) lotto, STL, Peryahan ng Bayan, or whatever nature …. I said all gaming activities… that got their franchise from government through PCSO are, as of today, suspended or terminated because of massive corruption.”

Courts included

“So it becomes illegal because as of today all of those permits and concessions, and whatever are terminated,” he added.

“The ground is massive corruption involving all, including the courts who repeatedly issued injunctions to paralyze government and to allow corruption to thrive,” the President said.

Lotto and STL outlets nationwide were closed by the police, enforcing the President’s order on Saturday morning.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President “will identify the culprits in due time and the full force of the law will come crushing down on them.”

The PCSO was last rocked by controversy when the President fired Alexander Balutan as the agency’s general manager on March 8.

He replaced Balutan with former Cebu police chief Royina Garma who assumed office last week. A news report quoted her as saying that the President told her “to do what is right … for the PCSO.”

Keep the tickets

A large group of STL operators met with Garma on the night the President announced his order.

In a statement, the PCSO advised its customers that its “games are suspended, pursuant to the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte” and that “all players with advanced play tickets are advised to keep their tickets until further notice.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ventured to say that the President’s order could be “a temporary suspension only.”

The impact of the order was immediately felt by game outlet operators and bet collectors.

Cesar Pamaong, a lotto operator in Barangay Cogon, also in Tagbilaran, had to close his outlet which he had been operating since 1999.

In Quezon province, STL bet collector Corazon Jaime said in an interview, “We were all shocked. Some of us were crying when we heard the news.”

Jaime is a bet collector employed by Pirouette Corp., the licensed STL operator in the province since 2006 when the lottery was launched there by PCSO with the aim of eliminating the illegal numbers game “jueteng.”

Jaime went pleading for STL operations to be resumed in the province. “Many of us will go hungry, Tatay Digong,” she said crying.

Juan Bandola, an operator of two lotto outlets in Legazpi City, Albay, said: “Just last week, I paid the fees for another franchise, it should be refunded. How will we pay for the rental of space for our outlets if we will not operate anymore. How can we get the return of our investment especially the franchise fee?”

Bandola said he has paid the Government Service Insurance System P25,500 as surety bond, apart from P3,750 each for the renewal of application for lotto and Keno.

“What could we do? The order came from the OP (Office of the President)?” said an STL operator from Southern Luzon who declined to be named.

Jueteng revival feared

Mario Avanzado, another STL bet collector from Quezon, said “we’re all former jueteng bet collectors. But we don’t want to return to jueteng. We don’t want to become the target of police arrests again once the jueteng operator and police officials disagree on the amount of bribe money.”

He said jueteng has long been out of business in the province since the introduction of STL.

“But with the order of Digong, jueteng will be surely resurrected and bribe money will change hands again,” Avanzado said.

Just last month, the President said of the illegal numbers game that, “for as long as the economy does not really provide food on the table for so many families, hayaan mo na lang ’yan. (Just leave it be.) …. Kasi hindi ko talaga rin kaya. At pagka sinira ko ’yan, ang papalit sa apparatus niyan droga. (Because I cannot tackle that. And if I dismantle it, drugs will replace that apparatus.) So choose between the lesser evil.”

The Federation of Free Workers warned that PCSO’s patrons might “use their betting money for illegal numbers games.”

Impact on health program

Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), pointed out that indigents who rely on PCSO’s revenues will be affected by Mr. Duterte’s order.

According to Balutan, about 1,500 indigents troop to PCSO daily to avail themselves of financial aid.

Last year, PCSO recorded an estimated profit of P64 billion. Thirty percent of this profit goes to the agency’s Individual Medical Assistance Program, which is also one of the identified sources for the universal health care (UHC) program.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had earlier said the P195-billion program will be sourced from the national budget and revenues from the “sin” taxes, as well as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and PCSO.

“We are evaluating the immediate effects of the ban [on PCSO games],” Dominguez said on Saturday.

Anthony Leachon of the Sin Tax Coalition said the President’s order “will definitely hurt the UHC implementation.”

But he added: “The management of sin tax funds and other funds should be managed well by reducing wastage … I’m certain that DBM (Department of Budget and Management) and Congress will find a way to address this problem. We need to plug the leaks. We can’t just raise funds.”

His fellow physician Minguita Padilla, coconvener of Doctors for Truth and Public Welfare, said, “[We] hope that the cleanup [of the PCSO] will be swift so that the funding can commence soonest … It’s better to delay the implementation of UHC in order to purge [agencies] of corrupt elements rather than rush its implementation under an organization with pervasive corruption.”—With reports from Julie Alipala, Julie M. Aurelio, Ben O. de Vera, Joey A. Gabieta, Melvin Gascon, Dale Israel, Williamor Magbanua, Kimberlie Quitasol, Villamor Visayas Jr., Mariejo S. Ramos, Jerome Aning, Maricar Cinco, Delfin Mallari Jr. and Ma. April Mier-Manjares

In response, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said yesterday that it does not take advantage of the flexibility in negotiating agreements that developing countries in the WTO are allowed.

The United States President in a memo addressed to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called on the WTO to change how rich countries can enjoy certain benefits by declaring themselves as developing countries.

“Seven out of the 10 wealthiest economies in the world as measured by gross domestic product per capita on a purchasing power parity basis – Brunei, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Macau, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates – currently claim developing-country status,” it said.

“Mexico, South Korea and Turkey – members of both the Group of 20 and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development – also claim this status.”

Mr Trump also wrote on Twitter: “The WTO is BROKEN when the world’s RICHEST countries claim to be developing countries to avoid WTO rules and get special treatment. NO more!!!”

In the memo, Mr Trump directed Mr Lighthizer to stop treating such countries as developing countries for the purposes of the WTO, if he deemed that they had not made substantial progress towards reform within 90 days.

The memo took aim primarily at China for gaming the system by benefiting from unfair trade benefits while having weaker commitments compared with other WTO members. But it also highlighted 10 other rich economies whose developing-country designations it said were “patently unsupportable in the light of current economic circumstances”.

“When the wealthiest economies claim developing-country status, they harm not only other developed economies but also economies that truly require special and differential treatment,” said the memo.

“Such disregard for adherence to WTO rules, including the likely disregard of any future rules, cannot continue to go unchecked,” it added.

In response to queries from The Sunday Times, MTI said that Singapore fully supports the importance of updating WTO rules to ensure the organisation’s continued relevance.

Special benefits for developing nations

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) does not define what constitutes a developed or developing country and members can declare themselves as either, a check with the WTO website showed.

But other members can challenge a country’s decision to make use of benefits available to developing countries.

Developing countries are entitled to “special and differential treatment”, ranging from setting higher barriers to market entry than more developed economies and being able to subsidise exports of agricultural products.

They can also take longer time periods to implement agreements and fulfil their WTO commitments.

“We are key partners in discussions on strengthening and updating the WTO,” it said, citing as an example Singapore’s role as co-convener in the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce, which focuses on developing new rules for the digital economy.

“We are in contact with our WTO partners, including the US,” added MTI.

It also cited how Singapore committed to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement upon its entry into force instead of seeking a transition period that it was entitled to, as an example of how the Republic was not taking advantage of its developing country status.

Washington’s move to push the WTO to reclassify Singapore as a developed country is unlikely to have a significant impact on Singapore’s trading relations, said Dartmouth College Associate Professor Davin Chor, who specialises in international trade and political economy.

“Singapore is already committed to a very free and open trading system, with minimal tariffs levied on imported goods. In particular, Singapore does not make extensive use of some of the provisions and exceptions that developing countries can appeal to with respect to the WTO,” he told The Sunday Times.

Singapore’s exports to its major export markets are largely covered under free trade agreements, which a change in development status label is unlikely to affect, he added.

“The memo itself appears to be part of the wider strategy by the current US administration to put more pressure on China on the trade front, ” said Dr Chor.

“Anyone can access the area for exercise or sightseeing,” corporate secretary of city-owned developer PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro) Hani Sumarno said on Friday as reported by tempo.co.

The Jalasena track is 7.6 kilometers long and 3 meters wide. However, only 3.1 km has been completed in the first stage of the construction.

The rest of the track is yet to be developed as the land is not yet solid.

“The section that has been completed is on land where the density is suitable,” she said.

The Jalasena track runs along the shore and is built atop a sea dike. Jakpro is installing rocks along the shore so the water is not too deep. The current depth of water along the dike is around 8 to 10 m.

In addition to the track there are also public parks.

Moving Forward Beach, previously known as islet D, will also host the celebration for Indonesia’s 74th Independence Day next month. The ceremony will mark the public opening of the man-made islet in addition to Pantai Kita (Our Beach) and Pantai Bersama (Together Beach), previously called islets C and G respectively. (das)

Local entrepreneur Goh Ming Kang has successfully elicited the interest of the Chinese in the tropical fruit.

The 40-year-old managing director of a food manufacturing company in the Selangor Halal Hub in Port Klang has sent samples of cempedak to China for testing and had received overwhelming support from Chinese food industry captains.

“Currently, my company is already exporting fruit pulp, including durian, to China, India and other Asian countries.

The father of three is in Melaka to work with the state government in sourcing wild cempedak from rural areas and also to look into the commercial cultivation of the fruit.

Goh was raised in a Malay village in Tangkak, Johor and took over his father’s fruit business about 15 years ago and transformed it into a food ingredient processing factory.

He has introduced local fruit toppings for bakeries and edible product manufacturers throughout the country.

The graduate in Food Science Technology from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) said he had faced various obstacles to introduce local fruits to the global market at the initial stage.

“Foreigners distanced themselves from the smell of tropical fruits at one point, but the perception changed after the durian craze in China.

“Now, foreigners are willing to accept the cempedak and the mangosteen,” he said.

Goh said that his business has grown by leaps and bounds – thanks to the boom of durian in China.

“I am not born with a silver spoon but the durian craze changed my life.

“It is my turn to help local farmers and villagers to be successful entrepreneurs by focusing on promoting local fruits globally,” he added.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din said the incident occurred at around 11pm on Friday (July 26) in Flora Damansara.

“A team of three personnel and an officer raided the apartment over an online scam investigation when they were surrounded by about 50 Africans.

“The mob was aggressive towards the policemen and a scuffle ensued.

“During the scuffle, the policemen in the apartment were pulled out and several suspects in the apartment managed to flee,” he said when contacted Saturday (July 27).

He said two African men and three African women fled the scene and the police team retreated and called for support.

“Reinforcements arrived shortly after and managed to arrest 10 Africans who were believed to be involved in the scuffle with the police.

“We are investigating the case as obstructing a public servant from carrying out their duties,” he said.

Meanwhile, Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil Ahmat issued a stern warning against anyone, including the Africans, involved in the case.

“They were clearly breaking the law and obstructing the police.

“We will not compromise and show mercy to suspects in this case. We will take action against anyone who breaks the law,” he said.

The newly identified dead included two children, a mother with her baby and another woman, China Central Television reported.

On Friday, rescue resumed for those unaccounted for, with the help of rescue dogs and life detectors, the local government said.

The landslide occurred at around 9:20 pm on Tuesday in Pingdi village, Shuicheng county, burying 21 houses in a hillside area with about 2 million cubic meters of soil.

When the landslide struck, 62 people were at home.

Apart from the dead and buried, 11 people had been rescued and remained hospitalized on Friday.

The rescue team told Beijing News that a large section of mud and dirt tore loose from the rain-soaked hillside, making the area extremely unstable. Rescue operations were disrupted on Thursday after heavy rainfall trigged another landslide.

“Excessive rainfall has accumulated in the soil, and a landslide occurred again with 10 cracks found in the surface of the mountain,” said Huang Jie, who is leading a taskforce for Blue Sky Rescue Team, a nonprofit volunteer rescue group. His team is participating in the rescue efforts in Pingdi.

He said all the people and equipment had to be evacuated and the rescue efforts suspended after the landslide on Thursday.

More than 900 people, including public security officers, armed police and emergency rescue workers have taken part in the rescue effort, as well as over 250 medical staff at the scene. More than 100 vehicles such as excavators and bulldozers were used for the rescue mission.

Heavy seasonal rains have caused extensive flooding and landslides across much of southern China.

Another landslide earlier on Tuesday left one dead and six missing at a highway construction site in Hezhang county, Guizhou province.

On Thursday, the finance department of Guizhou, together with the province’s emergency management department, distributed 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) and 2 million yuan of disaster relief fund to Shuicheng county and Hezhang county respectively to cope with the aftermath of the disasters.

The Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters said the loft inside the nightclub collapsed around 2:30 a.m. and claimed the lives of two South Koreans. Authorities suspect the loft collapsed due to too much weight. Witnesses said there were about 100 people on the loft area, which was 2.5 meters above the lower floor.

Firefighters said 17 people were injured, including foreign athletes who came to Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, for the July 12-28 FINA World Championships.

So far, authorities confirmed that nine foreign athletes were injured — four Americans, two New Zealanders, one Dutch, one Italian and one Brazilian. They are all water polo players except the Brazilian, authorities said, with six of them women.

Firefighters said their injuries are not severe, although some of them have underwent minor surgery after suffering lacerations. Among the foreigners on the injured list also include two Uzbek men who were not athletes.

Local authorities believe dozens were injured from the collapse if those who suffered light bruises and scratches are included.

There were about 370 people inside the nightclub when the collapse occurred, they said.

The authorities said some of the loft space inside the nightclub was illegally expanded without the city’s authorization.

Gwangju police said it will form a task force team to investigate the matter.

The municipal government of Gwangju and local organizing committee of the FINA Championships said they will give their utmost support to help athletes who sustained injuries from the incident.

The sky bridge provides connectivity for passengers traveling with LRT Jakarta, which spans 5.8 kilometers from Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta to the Velodrome in East Jakarta, to get on Transjakarta service to reach Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta.

“The connectivity also boosts route integration between LRT Jakarta and Transjakarta, for example to Corridor 4 of Transjakarta, which serves Pulo Gadung to Dukuh Atas,” PT LRT Jakarta president director Allan Tandiono on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

The integration could also cut travel time to less than one hour for Kelapa Gading residents to reach Dukuh Atas. In the largest transportation hub in Jakarta, passengers may then continue their trip to any destination with other means of public transportation in Dukuh Atas.

The sky bridge operates in accordance with LRT Jakarta operational hours, from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. everyday.

A free public trial for LRT Jakarta began on June 11. The trial aims to ensure the operational readiness of the light rail public transportation.

Despite the completion of the facilities, the Jakarta administration has yet to announce when it will be officially open to the public.

Four fatalities have been reported in Batanes Province’s Itbayat town following a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the country’s northernmost community at 4:16 a.m. on Saturday (July 27), according to various sources.

Itbayat District hospital staff identified the fatalities as Emma, Mary Rose and toddler Leona, all surnamed Valiente, who were buried when their old house collapsed in Barangay Sta. Maria (also known as Marapuy).

The fourth fatality is being retrieved at Barangay Raele, which is 9 kilometers away. Nineteen more people have been confirmed hurt including teacher Edward Dita. Many were still asleep when the quake struck.

The United States Geological Services tracked the epicenter at 3 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat with a depth of 9.1 km below the Earth’s surface. Residents said they woke up to a jolt that was followed seconds later by the jarring up-and-down movement that sent people scampering for help. Itbayat is currently suffering a power outage likely due to damages affecting underground power lines.

Cracks have been observed at the Itbayat Jorge Abad airport.   Mayor Raul de Savin has been directing recovery and rescue efforts and is convening the disaster risk reduction and management council. USGS data shows that there has been a build up of tremors beginning on July 19 with a 4.5 quake 100 km north of Itbayat, and a 4.9 temblor west of Itbayat on July 22. It says a  4.9 magnitude rocked the islands  106 km east of Basco on July 23 while 4.6 intensity quake was recorded 122 km Southwest of Hengchun in Taiwan.

On Friday afternoon (July 26), Itbayat felt a 4.7 magnitude quake north northeast of Itbayat.

The city’s Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung made the remarks when meeting with the press on Friday, before an appeal board upheld police’s objection to a planned rally in Yuen Long scheduled on Saturday.

The planned rally on Saturday is a response to attacks at Yuen Long metro station on July 21, when people clad in white assaulted commuters and passersby indiscriminately

Cheung warned against people from taking part in the rally as they might be arrested for illegal assembly, a crime punishable by heavy fines and imprisonment.

The planned rally on Saturday is a response to attacks at Yuen Long metro station on July 21, when people clad in white assaulted commuters and passersby indiscriminately.

Cheung said the government understands residents’ anger over the incident and disappointment over the police’s handling of the matter.

“Whether there will be a procession or not, we cannot rule out the possibility of a large number of people turning up… But we sincerely wish that the participants would never resort to violence when expressing their discontent and pay due respect to the public order and people’s life in Yuen Long”, Cheung said hours before the Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions upheld the police’s objection to the rally.

Cheung also urged the public not to abuse the 999 emergency hotline. More than 24,000 calls were made to the hotline within 3 hours on July 21 – that translated to 133 calls in a minute – surpassing the capability of the police force, he said.

Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah, who met the media with Cheung, conveyed the concerns of local shops and residents in Yuen Long, saying the government agreed with their appeal that participants should remain rational and restrained.

An Emergency Transport Co-ordination Center will be set up on Saturday to manage traffic in Yuen Long, said Stella Lee Yim-fong, the Transport Department’s assistant commissioner in the New Territories.

Lee urged road users to refrain from driving to Yuen Long district on Saturday and reminded them to check information on the latest situation from the department’s website and mobile application.