Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, July 30, 2021.
READ: 97 new Delta cases found as lockdown debate rages
Government officials on Thursday continued to argue whether tighter quarantine restrictions should be imposed in the National Capital Region (NCR) to head off a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases triggered by the highly contagious Delta variant. The debate continued even as 97 new cases of the Delta variant were detected in the country on Thursday, pushing the total to 216. The Department of Health (DoH) said 88 of the 97 Delta variant cases were from local transmission and six were from returning overseas Filipinos.
READ: Duterte to those without Covid jabs: Stay home
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered the police and barangay officials to discourage unvaccinated people from leaving their homes, since they are "walking spreaders" of Covid-19. In his weekly "Talk to the People" program, Duterte urged individuals who refuse to get inoculated to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus, especially with the threat of the more contagious Delta variant.
READ: India, PH to bolster energy cooperation
India and the Philippines are finalizing an agreement for harnessing renewable energy (RE) sources. Ambassador of India to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran said on Thursday the two countries are fine-tuning the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation. Kumaran said the MoU will be signed "very quickly" so that it will provide an avenue for a "structured dialogue" on policies and programs on harnessing renewable sources. He said one of the salient points of the planned collaboration is the business-to-business (B2B) or commercial transactions between Indian and Filipino companies.
READ: Marcial advances for bronze fight
Professional boxer Eumir Marcial of the Philippines came to the Tokyo Olympics as a favorite to dominate the middleweight division. In his debut fight at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on Thursday, the pugilist from Zamboanga City did not disappoint. The 25-year-old needed only 2 minutes and 41 seconds to dispose of Algerian Younes Nemouchi. The referee had to end the bout with 19 seconds left in the first round to prevent further damage to the deep cut above Nemouchi's right eye caused by an accidental bumping of heads with Marcial. But even before the injury, Marcial was already punishing Nemouchi with a combination of punches. He even floored the Algerian with a right hook at the 1:59 mark of the first round. Marcial later landed a solid left jab on Nemouchi's face with 1:17 left in the round.
READ: Vaccine boosters eyed for 'special' cases
The country's advisory panel on Covid-19 vaccines said it is open to giving booster shots to persons whose immune systems are compromised. Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) member and infectious diseases specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante said the group is looking at the possibility of administering boosters to patients with low antibody response to vaccines, such as persons living with HIV, cancer patients, senior citizens, and patients taking immunosuppressive drugs such as persons with chronic kidney disease.
READ: Involuntary hunger down in PH - survey
A SOCIAL Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed the number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months has slightly decreased. The pollster said the hunger rate went down by 3.2 percent - from 16.8 percent in May 2021 to 13.6 percent in June or equivalent to 3.4 million families. The overall hunger rate was the sum of the 11.5 percent who experienced moderate hunger and the 2.1 percent who experienced severe hunger. The survey said there was an overall decline in the number of people experiencing hunger in the country, especially in the Visayas.
BUSINESS: Govt debt reaches new high
Over to business, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said the government's outstanding debt reached a new high of P11.16 trillion at the end of June due to increased domestic and external liabilities. The sum was up 0.9 percent, or P94.90 billion, from P11.07 trillion at the end of May, according to Treasury figures released on Thursday. Of the amount, 28.9 percent was secured from foreign creditors and 71.1 percent from local ones. Domestic debt climbed by 0.3 percent to P7.93 trillion in June, up from P7.91 trillion in May, while external debt increased by 2.3 percent to P3.22 trillion. There were P9.05 trillion in outstanding obligations a year ago, with P6.19 trillion in domestic debt and P2.86 trillion in external debt. The bureau said the growing domestic debt is due to "net issue of government securities."
SPORTS: Nievarez, Pagunsan, Gebbie aim for better showing
In other Olympic news, rower Cris Nievarez, golfer Juvic Pagunsan, and swimmer Luke Gebbie aim to have a better showing on Friday for the Philippines' campaign in the Tokyo Olympics. Nievarez, already out of medal contention, eyes a strong finish in the men's single sculls. Pagunsan, who manages to stay within striking distance with opening round leaders, seeks a better showing in the second round in the men's individual stroke play. And Gebbie faces monumental odds in gunning for a semifinal berth in the men's 50-meter freestyle event.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao believes the Duterte administration is triumphant while Torres discusses the first Philippine Olympic gold medal.
Today's editorial is about the mental health of athletes participating at the Olympic Games. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
READ: Times' forum revisits PH economic prospects
Key figures in the Philippine financial sector will provide perspectives on the country's economic prospects amid the Covid-19 pandemic in The Manila Times' Midyear Economic Forum on Friday, July 30. This edition will evaluate if the Philippines' economic estimates are on track with only five months left of 2021. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno will be the keynote speaker. He will share his perspectives and updates on the central bank's important policies that include increasing financial inclusion and making digital payments and electronic commerce more accessible to Filipinos. Philippine National Bank President and CEO and Philippine Bankers Association of the Philippines President Jose Arnulfo "Wick" Veloso and Aftab Ahmed, Citi Philippines country head and Citi country officer, will also deliver their respective speeches. The forum will be moderated by Times president and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd and business columnist Reynaldo "Rey" Lugtu. See you there!
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Friday ahead.