Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, June 4, 2021.

READ: Duterte bares bets for 2022

President Rodrigo Duterte has named Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, Manila City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his long time-aide Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go as his likely choices to run for president in 2022. In a virtual press conference Thursday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte has not made a final choice but mentioned several options.

READ: 5 parties to back Sara's candidacy

At least five political parties will support Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio if she decides to run for president next year, Albay Second District Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente "Joey" Salceda said on Thursday. He did not name the parties, saying it was up to them to make the announcement. Late last month, Salceda said "it is 100 percent certain" that Duterte-Carpio is running next year. Last Monday, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) adopted a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to run for vice president in 2022.

READ: Resurgent ransomware threatens cyber systems
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On today's special report, ransomware, a cybercrime that encrypts systems and locks their owners out until a ransom is paid, has resurfaced globally, and attacks on Philippine cyber firms are likely to increase. Just last May, a ransomware attack affected a subsidiary of the French insurance company Axa, impacting operations in numerous Asian nations, including the Philippines.

READ: Sotto: Scrap quarantine for vaccinated travelers

SENATE President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd called on the government to exempt fully vaccinated persons entering the Philippines from the 14-day quarantine. Sotto made this appeal to the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which issues safety protocols to address the pandemic.

READ: Rise in Covid cases seen


The Department of Health (DoH) has noted an increase in the nationwide number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases following several weeks of decline. Cases in Mindanao were increasing at a faster rate than in the National Capital Region (NCR), according to DoH Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman. The overall caseload dropped in April following the imposition of quarantine measures, de Guzman said. The numbers plateaued in May but could rise again in the following months. De Guzman noted during a briefing on Thursday that the average daily cases during the May 27 to June 2 period was 6,691, higher than the May 6-12 average of 6,410 cases.

READ: Police join PACC's anti-corruption drive

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) joined forces to fight corruption with the launch of "Kasangga: Aksyon Kontra Korapsyon (Partner: Action Against Corruption)" on Thursday. Project Kasangga aims to elicit strong commitment from various government agencies for the speedy detection, prosecution and resolution of graft and corruption. The PNP chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, tasked the police to join the PACC's operations.

READ: Senate approves bill taxing Pogos


The Philippine Senate on Wednesday voted 17-3, passing on the third and final reading Senate Bill 2232 that mandates the taxing of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos). The three senators from the minority group who casted dissenting votes were Franklin Drilon, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, and Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros.

BUSINESS: Govt debt surges to new all-time high

In business, the government's outstanding debt reached a new record high of P10.99 trillion at the end of April due to increased domestic and external obligations, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Treasury data showed on Thursday that the figure was up 2 percent, or P217.48 billion, from P10.77 trillion at the end of March. Of the amount, 28.9 percent was raised from foreign creditors and 71.1 percent from local ones.


SPORTS: Obiena wins gold in Sweden

In sports, Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena won a gold medal on Thursday (Philippine time) in the Folksam Grand Prix in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 25-year-old Obiena cleared 5.70 meters to claim the championship of the tournament and display his readiness to compete in the Tokyo Olympics next month. Obiena, who is now No.10 in the world pole vault rankings, defeated 2016 Rio Olympics champion and world No. 6 Thiago Braz of Brazil and Pal Haugen Lillefosse of Norway.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao talks about people speaking out against China, while Torres discusses about circumventing a constitutional prohibition.

Today's editorial discusses the recent killing of a policeman to a 52-year-old woman. Read the full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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With Dafort Villaseran, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. May you have a safe Friday ahead.