Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, January 13, 2025.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Election period begins
THE 150-day election period for the May 12 vote officially began on Sunday, with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) assuming control over all election-related matters. A gun ban is also in effect during the election period, requiring written Comelec authorization for carrying or transporting firearms or other deadly weapons. The Philippine National Police (PNP) began setting checkpoints in coordination with the Comelec. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said all firearms licenses and permits to carry firearms are suspended during the election period.
READ: Inflation, health top concerns of Filipinos – survey
TEMPERING the effects of inflation, followed by staying healthy are the biggest concern of Filipinos, the survey of OCTA Research for the last quarter of 2024 showed. The poll results, released Sunday, found that 56 percent of the 1,200 respondents listed inflation as their most pressing concern. Although still relatively high, OCTA said the figure is a significant drop from the 66 percent in the July to September survey. The high cost of commodities, with food remaining the major pain point, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao, emerged as the biggest challenge at 44 percent.
READ: Trial for Dengvaxia cases ordered
THE Supreme Court has ordered a Quezon City family court to begin the trial of the second batch of 35 Dengvaxia cases, which have been delayed by the inhibition of judges. In a letter to Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Rosanna Fe RomeroMaglaya, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) Assistant Court Administrator Lilian Barribal-Co directed the transfer of the records of the cases to Branch 102 under Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert. The first batch of eight cases, which involved the same number of complainants of parents and relatives of children whose deaths were linked to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine, have been dismissed by another judge, Cleto Villacorta III, of Branch 228 late last year. Villacorta’s ruling has been questioned by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra before the Court of Appeals. On a motion by the panel of prosecution led by City Chief Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Irene Resurreccion-Medrano, Villacorta inhibited himself from further handling the 35 cases.
READ: Marcos sympathizes with victims of US wildfires
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday expressed his sympathies to the victims of the raging wildfires in California. In a post on his official social media accounts, the President said California is a state where many Filipinos reside. The swarm of wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area has left thousands homeless and at least 16 dead since Jan. 7.
BUSINESS: Continued regulatory relief to ‘comfort’ DBP
Headlining business, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) plans to seek the extension of the regulatory relief granted in the wake of the state-owned bank’s having contributed 25 billion pesos to the country’s first sovereign wealth fund, DBP President and CEO Michael de Jesus said. Both DBP and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) sought regulatory relief in 2023 after both state-owned banks were tapped by the government to capitalize on the Maharlika Investment Fund. Landbank contributed a larger 50 billion pesos, and the combined 75-billion-peso infusion was equivalent to 60 percent of the sovereign wealth fund’s 125-billion-peso initial capitalization.
SPORTS: Marcial back to training amid controversy
Over to sports, training continues for embattled Philippine Olympic boxer Eumir Marcial. Marcial, whose wife Princess accused him of cheating, manipulation, and physical abuse, posted a Facebook video of him sparring with another boxer on Saturday. The post came hours after Marcial spoke to the media when he countered his wife’s claims, falsifying what she said. Marcial’s legal counsel Marlon Morada also said that his client will answer the allegations against him in a “proper forum” as long as they receive the proper formal complaint-affidavit from his wife, who previously said that she will submit her evidence against Marcial in the court.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao weighs in on the recent fires in Los Angeles, Fr. Aquino discusses what a second Trump presidency is like, while Tatad calls on President Marcos to convene the new National Security Council right away.
Today’s editorial talks about the recent decision of Meta to remove fact-checking from its platforms. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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