Faces of the News: June 28, 2020

ILLUSTRATION BY RENE ELEVERA

Roy Cimatu

After crediting Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu for the rehabilitation of prime tourist destination Boracay Island last year, President Duterte once more demonstrated his confidence in the former Armed Forces chief of staff.

This time, Cimatu was tasked to oversee the COVID-19 response of Cebu City where cases continue to climb daily.

Three days into the job, he requested the deployment of more police officers, including commandos from the elite Special Action Forces of the Philippine National Police, to ensure law and order in the city.

So far, Cebu has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, a dubious distinction that some attribute to the city’s congestion, but which Mr. Duterte blames on the residents’ complacency.

Cimatu has long enjoyed the trust of the President, who earlier gave him various roles in his administration, including a diplomatic assignment as special envoy to the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Cimatu briefly reassumed that position when he was asked to oversee the repatriation of Filipinos from Iraq, after tensions escalated between the United States and Iran in January.

—Jhesset O. Enano

Gwendolyn Garcia

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia sent Twitter ablaze after publicly shaming two young doctors who criticized her endorsement of “tuob,” or steam inhalation, as a therapy to ward off COVID-19. In an online press briefing on June 23, Garcia flashed screen captures of the Facebook posts and profiles of the two doctors, dismissing one of them as “just” a general practitioner.

She challenged the other doctor who had threatened to slap her to come forward and do just that. Garcia maintained that her memorandum, urging capitol employees to do tuob at their workstations twice a day, was not mandatory. Her remarks, however, triggered the hashtag #NoToDoctorShaming, as netizens defended of the two physicians who are also front-liners in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the Philippine Medical Association denounced Garcia’s personal attacks on the doctors, while at least 13 medical groups cited “up-to-date” medical evidence showing that steam inhalation has not been proven to kill viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and that the practice could even harm patients.

—Ador Vincent Mayol

Sharon Cuneta

Singer-actress Sharon Cuneta has been creating a buzz on social media these last two weeks with her outraged reaction to what amounts to a rape threat against 19-year-old daughter Frankie “Kakie” Pangilinan by a netizen, who posted under the name Sonny Alcos.

The netizen, who has since deleted his Facebook account, was later identified as Sonny Co, a person said to be based in the United Kingdom with his wife and two daughters, and a member of a religious fellowship.

Alcos’ post seems to be a response to Pangilinan’s previous remarks against “victim-blaming” for rape. Cuneta vowed to hunt down Alcos and file a criminal complaint against him.

Recent news reports said the Department of Justice had already traced the netizen and would look into the incident.

The megastar similarly minced no words in excoriating show biz writer Ronald Carballo, a former publicist whose recent social media post the singer-actress described as “vicious, totally untrue.” In a Facebook post the following day, Carballo apologized profusely for his post which did not name but obviously referred to Cuneta and her two daughters.

—Marinel Cruz

The jobless jeepney driver

While the ubiquitous and gaudy jeepney is acknowledged as one of the country’s most recognizable cultural icons, its drivers are among the most marginalized in the country.

So when the government locked down Luzon in March in an effort to contain the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), thousands of displaced jeepney drivers were plunged deeper into debt. In Metro Manila alone, about 55,000 drivers were idled, some of them forced to beg in the streets to feed their families.

Independent think tank Ibon Foundation estimates that jeepney drivers have lost nearly P80,000 in income the past four months because of the ban on public transport.

Authorities maintained that the face-to-face seating arrangement in jeepneys does not allow physical distancing. When quarantine measures in Metro Manila were relaxed on June 1, public transport was allowed to resume on some routes, but the ban on jeepneys stayed.

Only “modern,” air-conditioned minibuses were allowed back. To stress their sense of desperation, jeepney drivers this week threatened to burn their vehicles in protest. On Wednesday, authorities finally announced that jeepneys can return next week.

—Krixia Subingsubing

Thirdy Ravena

Thirdy Ravena logged another milestone by becoming the first Asian import signed up for the Japanese B.League.

Ravena joined the San-en NeoPhoenix for the next season that starts October as he sought to tick off basketball boxes beyond the country’s borders.

“Overall, I realized that the only reason I’m here is that I love challenges—I love competition and I love being outside my comfort zone,” the former Ateneo star said on Friday during his introductory press conference with San-en NeoPhoenix.

A noteworthy point in the arrangement is that Ravena won’t be held down by his Japanese squad should he need to suit up for the Philippines in international competitions.

“If he chooses the national team, then we will allow him to go back to the Philippines,” San-en CEO Kenjiro Hongo said.

The 23-year-old shooting guard, who won MVP honors in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines finals the last three years in a row, tabbed his contract under the B.League’s asian player quota system that is viewed to enhance the teams’ “competitive abilities” and “expand business in the Asian market.”

—Francis Ochoa

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 tennis player, organized a charity tournament in the Balkans earlier this month. The event wouldn’t have been such a concern if only stricter safety protocols were observed, even if the Serbian government had lifted its lockdown restrictions.

Instead, it sparked controversy. Several players who attended the event contracted the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The tennis exhibition was later canceled, but its consequences had rippled across a sporting world struggling to make it back on its feet.

Several players, including world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios, earlier raised concern about tennis coming back amid the pandemic — and that was before Djokovic’s event. And before the top-ranked Serbian, his wife, and three Top 40 players — Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki—tested positive for COVID-19.

Dominic Thiem, No. 3 in the world, later apologized on Twitter for joining the event, saying they “acted too euphorically.”

On Wednesday, Croatia announced border restrictions because of a spike in COVID-19 cases and the outbreak caused by Djokovic’s event.