Good day. Here are the top stories for the Manila Times on June 19, 2021.
READ: Pacquiao urges boycott of PDP-Laban meeting
SEN. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao is urging his partymates in the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to boycott the meeting called by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, the party's vice chairman. Ronwaldo Munsayac, PDP-Laban executive director, said Pacquiao will not attend the July 17 meeting, which will be held 10 days before President Rodrigo Duterte, the PDP-Laban chairman, delivers his State of the Nation address.
READ: Face shield policy remains – Palace
PALACE spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Friday there are no changes in the existing policy on the use of face shields. Roque made the clarification after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to require the wearing of face shields only in hospitals. Roque said the IATF-EID recommended instead the mandatory wearing of shields in enclosed spaces such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and commercial establishments, including food establishments, malls, public markets, public transport and places of worship.
READ: Progress noted in DoJ probe of EJK cases
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday welcomed the report of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on the progress made by the inter-agency review panel investigating deaths linked to the government's anti-drug campaign. The United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2020 issued a resolution to address the findings of the UN Human Rights Office of "widespread and systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects" and other forms of human rights violations in the Philippines. State security agencies put the death toll from the Oplan Tokhang at about 5,000, but independent sources said the actual figure could be double that.
READ: DoH vouches for vaccines' safety
THE Department of Health (DoH) continued to vouch for the safety and efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines amid reports that hundreds of health workers in Indonesia inoculated with Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine still caught the virus. On Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the public must "cautiously interpret" the news reports, which lack specific data such as the exact number of health care workers in the country.
READ: BSP raises BoP surplus estimate
In Business, THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has adjusted upward its forecast for the country's balance of payments (BoP) surplus this year after taking into account major factors, latest data and actual developments. In a virtual briefing on Friday, Zeno Ronald Abenoja, managing director at the central bank's Department of Economic Research, announced that the surplus was now projected at $7.1 billion this year, equivalent to 1.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
READ: Bucks stay alive, force Game 7
TOPPING Sports, THE Milwaukee Bucks forced a Game 7 in their second-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets with a 104-89 victory on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Khris Middleton set a career playoff high with 38 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30. Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds while James Harden added 16 points for the Nets. Game 7 will be Saturday (Sunday) in Brooklyn. The home team has won each of the first six games in this series. .
READ: Editorial and Opinion
THE Manila Times Editorial says govt assistance should not stop at the airline sector after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd offered financial assistance to help it recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the full version in the Opinion Section on print or listen to the Voice Of The Times
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras writes on when government agencies become heartless while Makabenta talks about the Filipinos' last stand in the Philippine-American War.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
This is Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.
READ: Pacquiao urges boycott of PDP-Laban meeting
SEN. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao is urging his partymates in the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to boycott the meeting called by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, the party's vice chairman. Ronwaldo Munsayac, PDP-Laban executive director, said Pacquiao will not attend the July 17 meeting, which will be held 10 days before President Rodrigo Duterte, the PDP-Laban chairman, delivers his State of the Nation address.
READ: Face shield policy remains – Palace
PALACE spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Friday there are no changes in the existing policy on the use of face shields. Roque made the clarification after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to require the wearing of face shields only in hospitals. Roque said the IATF-EID recommended instead the mandatory wearing of shields in enclosed spaces such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and commercial establishments, including food establishments, malls, public markets, public transport and places of worship.
READ: Progress noted in DoJ probe of EJK cases
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday welcomed the report of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on the progress made by the inter-agency review panel investigating deaths linked to the government's anti-drug campaign. The United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2020 issued a resolution to address the findings of the UN Human Rights Office of "widespread and systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects" and other forms of human rights violations in the Philippines. State security agencies put the death toll from the Oplan Tokhang at about 5,000, but independent sources said the actual figure could be double that.
READ: DoH vouches for vaccines' safety
THE Department of Health (DoH) continued to vouch for the safety and efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines amid reports that hundreds of health workers in Indonesia inoculated with Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine still caught the virus. On Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the public must "cautiously interpret" the news reports, which lack specific data such as the exact number of health care workers in the country.
READ: BSP raises BoP surplus estimate
In Business, THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has adjusted upward its forecast for the country's balance of payments (BoP) surplus this year after taking into account major factors, latest data and actual developments. In a virtual briefing on Friday, Zeno Ronald Abenoja, managing director at the central bank's Department of Economic Research, announced that the surplus was now projected at $7.1 billion this year, equivalent to 1.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
READ: Bucks stay alive, force Game 7
TOPPING Sports, THE Milwaukee Bucks forced a Game 7 in their second-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets with a 104-89 victory on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Khris Middleton set a career playoff high with 38 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30. Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds while James Harden added 16 points for the Nets. Game 7 will be Saturday (Sunday) in Brooklyn. The home team has won each of the first six games in this series. .
READ: Editorial and Opinion
THE Manila Times Editorial says govt assistance should not stop at the airline sector after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd offered financial assistance to help it recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read the full version in the Opinion Section on print or listen to the Voice Of The Times
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras writes on when government agencies become heartless while Makabenta talks about the Filipinos' last stand in the Philippine-American War.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
This is Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.