Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, October 19, 2024.
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READ: Sara: Marcos led PH on road to hell
VICE President Sara Duterte on Friday fired a scathing broadside at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., accusing him of dragging the country into hell and threatening to dig up the remains of his father and toss them into the West Philippine Sea. In a two-hour press briefing, Duterte lashed out at the Marcos family, saying she felt “used” after teaming up with Marcos for the 2022 election, which they won by landslide.
READ: Chiz prefers that Blue Ribbon probe drug war
SENATE President Francis Escudero said on Friday the Blue Ribbon Committee would be the panel that could best handle the investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Escudero also said he preferred that the inquiry start during the congressional break so the Senate could give its full attention to ongoing debates on the 2025 national budget. The panel, whose official name is the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, is authorized to conduct motu proprio investigations even while Congress is in recess, he said. Escudero expressed his preference as Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s national police chief, pressed for the inquiry to be conducted by the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, which he chairs. Dela Rosa was planning to invite the former president to the hearing.
READ: President ‘happy’ row with Robredo is over
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said he was “happy” with what he described as his “political reconciliation” with former vice president Leni Robredo. In his speech during the signing of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Act in Malacañang, Marcos thanked Senate President Francis Escudero for setting up his short meeting with Robredo in Sorsogon on Thursday. Escudero had invited Robredo to welcome Marcos at the inauguration of the Sorsogon Sports Arena. The Bicol Region is the bailiwick of Robredo, who is running for mayor in Naga City, Camarines Sur, in next year’s elections. On the sidelines of the event, Marcos and Robredo shook hands and smiled at each other.
READ: Times’ Dante Ang II heads Filipinos Overseas commission
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed The Manila Times Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dante “Klink” Ang II as the new head of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), Malacañang announced Friday. Ang, son of The Times Chairman Emeritus Dante Ang, replaced former CFO head Romulo Arugay, based on the copy of the appointment letter signed by the President on October 16. Prior to his appointment, Ang was an acting member of the Board of Directors of Clark International Airport Corp., a non-chartered government-owned and -controlled corporation.
READ: Senate to end POGO probe
THE Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality said it would soon conclude the investigation into illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators(POGOs) and dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo. Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the Senate would conclude the hearing after examining claims made by confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang in an Al Jazeera documentary, alleging he and Guo worked for the Chinese Communist Party.
BUSINESS: Ayala sells Mynt stake to Mitsubishi for P18.4B
Topping business, Ayala Corporation has agreed to sell half of its stake in the parent firmof GCash to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. (MC), which will also explore additional investment opportunities in the Philippines under a refresh of a 50-year partnership. In a disclosure early on Friday, Ayala said that it was signing a binding term sheet with Mitsubishi — Japan’s largest trading company — where the latter would invest a minimum of 18.4 billion pesos for 50 percent of AC Ventures Holding Corp. AC Ventures holds approximately 13 percent of Globe Fintech Innovations Inc., also known as Mynt, which is the parent firm of GCash, the dominant mobile payments service in the Philippines.
SPORTS: New Sorsogon Arena to boost PH sports – Marcos
Over to sports, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed hope that the newly inaugurated Sorsogon Sports Arena would serve as a national training camp for athletes seeking international recognition, in line with the country’s drive to increase the number of Olympic competitors. In his speech during the inauguration of the Sorsogon Sports Arena, the President cited 1984 Olympian runner Isidro del Prado of Cagang, Barcelona, Sorsogon. He said del Prado, whose 400-meter national record of 45.57 seconds still stands since 1984, showedcourage and determination in international competitions, symbolizing the Filipino spirit.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Dangon Remoto are today’s front page columnists. Contreras analyzes the 2nd Marcos presidency, Makabenta says the government should understand the meaning of a creative economy, while Remoto talks about Nick Carbo’s books in poetry.
Today’s editorial says the aviation agreement signed by five Southeast Asian countries has no purpose. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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