Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Number of Chinese ships swells in Escoda
THE Philippine Navy on Tuesday logged the biggest number of Chinese ships seen in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) weeks after the Philippine Coast Guard pulled its biggest vessel from the disputed area. A total of 11 People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) were sighted in the area from the period September 17 to 23, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said on Tuesday. Despite this, he maintained that China does not have de facto control of the area, as the government will not be deterred from performing its mandate to safeguard Philippine territory.
READ: Senate panel to hold 2nd inquiry on POGOs
THE Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality will likely hold another public hearing on illegal activities of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). Committee chairman Sen. Risa Hontiveros said this was due to the absence of several resource persons at Tuesday’s 14th Senate hearing. Hontiveros ordered the lifting of the contempt charges against Shiela Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and instructed the Office of the Senate-Sergeant-at-Arms to transfer Shiela’s custody to the Bureau of Immigration.
READ: Roque faces disbarment
FORMER Palace spokesman Harry Roque is facing a disbarment complaint filed before the Supreme Court by a former colleague. On Tuesday, former Cabinet secretary Melvin Matibag did not divulge the details of the disbarment complaint but cited the former spokesman’s social media posts, including a video allegedly showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. snorting cocaine.
READ: Comelec to print more than 73M ballots
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will print an initial 73 million ballots in preparation for the upcoming 2025 synchronized national, local and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday that of the number, 70 million would be used for the regular midterm elections, 2 million for BARMM and 1 million as test ballots that would be used for an education campaign on the use of the new automated counting machines (ACMs) from November 2024 to Jan. 30, 2025. Garcia pointed out that the 70 million ballots intended for the regular elections could still increase, depending on the outcome of the still ongoing registration of voters that would end on September 30.
BUSINESS: BSP could match Fed rate cut — Recto
Over to business, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) can copy last week’s supersized US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut amid slowing inflation, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said on Tuesday. The Finance chief is a member of the BSP’s policy-making Monetary Board, which last month kicked off an easing cycle by ordering a 25-basis-point cut that lowered the benchmark rate to 6.25 percent. Last Wednesday, the US central bank also began loosening policy via a 50 basis-point reduction, which put its policy rate to a range of 4.75-5.0 percent and indicated that another 50 bps could follow before the year ends. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. last month said that there was room for another 25 basis-point rate cut in the fourth quarter, although this could change given the Fed move. The Monetary Board has two policy meetings left for the year, in October and December. Recto said the country stood a better chance of achieving the 6.0- to 6.5-percent growth goal for the year if interest rates are lowered further. He expects the economy to grow by 6.1 percent, which will also be helped by slower inflation. The Finance chief said that consumer price growth could decelerate to 2.5 percent this month and average 3.4 percent for 2024, within the BSP’s 2.0- to 4.0-percent target.
SPORTS: Curioso tops chess tourney in Nueva Ecija
In sports, Romulo Curioso Jr. topped the 4th Celso M. Cajucom Chess Tournament dubbed as the “Battle of Chess Wizards” at the SM Megacenter in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija on Sunday. The 25-year-old Curioso, who also plays chess for Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA, scored five wins and a draw in six rounds to dominate the tournament. Samuel Mateo, meanwhile, netted 5.0 points to secure second place while Johnny Guerrero and Janus Ace Bernardo placed third and fourth, respectively, after scoring 4.5 points apiece. Russel Velasquez, Joseph Ian Ocampo, Luigi Laking, Eduardo Lacson and Joshua Navarro each scored 4.0 points to claim fifth to ninth places, respectively. Woman National Master Millery Gen Subia, meanwhile, was awarded as the top female player while Katriel Zaira Guerrero was hailed as the top Kiddies player.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao thinks two lawmakers convinced him that the country is hopeless, while Tatad draws the lines across the vast open South China Sea.
Today’s editorial honors Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa, as he announced his resignation for February next year. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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