Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
READ: Hidilyn Diaz wins gold for PH
AFTER 97 years, the Philippines finally won its first Olympic gold medal on Monday when Hidilyn Diaz ruled the women's 55-kilogram weightlifting event and made history. The 4-foot-11 Diaz lifted a total of 224 kilograms (kg), setting an Olympic record. She smashed her personal best to see off world record holder Liao Qiuyun of China who had to settle for silver. With Liao setting a target of 223 kg, just 4 kg shy of her own world record, Diaz was faced with a final clean and jerk of 127 kg to win - fully 5 kg more than she had ever achieved in competition. With a massive effort, she hoisted the huge Olympic record weight and the tears of joy began to flow even before she dropped the bar to the floor after a triumphant effort. Liao took the silver with Kazakhstan's Zulfiya Chinshanlo the bronze.
READ: Paalam, Petecio forge on; Didal misses out on a medal
Meanwhile, in other Olympic news, Filipino boxers Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio advanced to the next round while skateboarder Margielyn Didal missed out on a medal in the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. Paalam advanced to round of 16 in the men's flyweight division and Petecio to the quarterfinals in the women's featherweight class. Didal, however, placed seventh in the final round of the women's street skateboarding. Paalam defeated Brendan Irvine of Ireland via majority decision in a round of 32 bout at the Kokugikan Arena.
READ: Lockdown looms
In other news, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the past five years of his term have been "truly challenging and humbling." Delivering his valedictory State of the Nation of Address (SONA), Duterte said that in his remaining year in office, he will have "fewer visions" for the country but "more remembrances." But the President also highlighted the danger from a more transmissible Covid-19 variant and hinted about imposing another hard lockdown to fight it. He said he will wait for the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases before reimposing stricter restrictions. Duterte admitted that "we cannot afford more lockdowns lest our economy bleeds to the point of irreversible damage." He thanked the private sector as well as the medical and economic frontliners who "selflessly gave their all" in fighting the pandemic. The President spoke for two hours and 46 minutes, the longest SONA he has delivered. He often digressed from his speech to elaborate on particular issues. He touted the achievements of his administration, from free education, universal health care (UHC), gains in the war against illegal drugs and corruption, and accomplishments in terms of infrastructure.
READ: President's approval, trust ratings down
President Rodrigo Duterte's approval and trust ratings had a "sizeable" decline, a survey by PUBLiCUS Asia showed. Duterte had an approval rating of 58 percent, down from 65 percent in the first quarter of this year. His trust rating also slid to 50 percent from 55 percent.
READ: 'Martial law needed to rid govt of corruption'
Saying that corruption was "endemic" in the government, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday advised his successor to "declare martial law" to end the bureaucratic problem.
In his final State of the Nation Address, Duterte said corruption might be eliminated in the government if martial law was declared and all officials in the bureaucracy with new ones.
READ: Covid cases up in 6 regions
CASES of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have gone up in six regions in the country, but the Department of Health (DoH) cannot say if the spikes are driven by more transmissible variants. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday identified the regions as Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao and the National Capital Region. Vergeire told reporters the rise in cases was noted from July 11 to 24. But she made it clear the increases do not mean that the regions are experiencing the beginnings of a surge as the independent OCTA Research Team claims. In its report on Sunday, OCTA suggested that Metro Manila is exhibiting the "early signs" of a surge. Vergeire said the increase in cases does not correspond to the epidemiological definition of a surge. She also explained the objective of genome sequencing is not to find out how widespread the variants are, but why they are spreading.
READ: Lacson decries Bayanihan underspending
SEN. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson deplored the underspending of Bayanihan 2 funds, saying Filipinos whose lives and livelihoods were affected by the pandemic did not get the assistance due them. He said Filipinos were hit by a double whammy, "no thanks to a P63 billion-plus underspending by the government under Bayanihan 2 - with some P46.397 billion undisbursed and P17.273 billion unobligated." The senator on Monday detailed the P63 billion unspent funds under Bayanihan 2, which was enacted to fund the government's response to the pandemic.
BUSINESS: Delta variant downs PSEi anew
Over to business, the Philippine index continued to plummet on Monday amid the worries on the contagious Delta variant. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 2.27 percent or 148.13 points to its intraday low of 6,372.61, while the broader All Shares dropped by 1.82 percent or 73.36 points to close at 3,965.15. Diversified Securities Inc. trader Aniceto Pangan attributed the local bourse's slump to the new Delta variant cases in the country and the recent reversion to stricter quarantine measures of the capital region.
SPORTS: Watanabe, 2 others make Olympic debut
Going back to the Olympics, Filipino swimmer Remedy Rule eyes a semifinal berth, while fellow swimmer Luke Gebbie, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, and weightlifter Elreen Ando make their Olympic debut in the Tokyo Games on Tuesday. Rule, who is half American, tries to make the semifinals of the women's 200-meter butterfly event at 6:31 p.m (Philippine time) at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The 24-year-old's chances of entering the semis are great considering that there are only 17 swimmers in the 3-heat race, and the top 16 advance to the semifinal round. Rule, a 2019 Southeast Asian Games double silver and bronze medalist, is slotted in heat 3 of the event alongside Ana Monteiro of Portugal, Laura Stephens of Great Britain, Zhang Yufei of China, Boglarka Kapas of Hungary, and Franziska Hentke of Germany.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about disrespecting voters, while Makabenta discusses the Delta variant of Covid-19 forcing countries to change strategy.
Today's editorial focuses on saving Metro Manila from floods after recent monsoon rains battered the region. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Tuesday ahead.