Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, July 31, 2021.
READ: NCR locked down to stop Delta surge
The National Capital Region (NCR) will return to an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20 to thwart a looming surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases triggered by the highly contagious Delta variant. The new lockdown was announced by Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. on Friday. The independent OCTA Research group has been calling for a "circuit-breaker" lockdown to decisively cut off the spread of the Delta variant. Business groups and even the Department of Trade and Industry had warned that another hard lockdown would make the process of revitalizing the economy even more difficult. Metro Manila will remain in general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened and "additional" restrictions until August 5, before transitioning to ECQ, Roque said.
READ: Lockdown 'key to stopping' Delta
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd supports the decision of the government to enforce a two-week lockdown in Metro Manila, saying it is the key to containing the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19. He said in a statement that the Delta variant is in the country and it is better to prepare now. He also called for the right mechanism to prevent the rapid transmission of the Delta variant.
READ: Unvaccinated could face discrimination, govt warned
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday said preventing unvaccinated individuals from leaving their homes could result in unjust discrimination. In a statement, CHR spokesman Jacqueline Ann de Guia said there are reasons for being unvaccinated that are "beyond their control" and that the country has yet to vaccinate other priority groups not covered by the A1 to A4 categories. During a briefing on Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted policemen and barangay (village) officials to stop people who refuse to be vaccinated from leaving their homes to prevent them from becoming "walking spreaders" of Covid-19.
READ: Delta variant slowing down economic recovery – BSP chief
The Delta variant of Covid-19 is the biggest roadblock on the path to economic recovery, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said on Friday. Speaking at the "The Manila Times 2021 Midyear Economic Report" online forum, Diokno said restrictions meant to stem the spread of the virus could also dampen the momentum that had been building in reviving economic growth. He said the country's 4.2-percent first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was lower than predicted, but "green shoots of recovery" can already be seen in several sectors, including manufacturing.
READ: Petecio eyes a shot at gold today
Philippine boxer Nesthy Petecio continues her quest for a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics today, July 31, taking on an Italian opponent in the women's featherweight semifinals at the Kokugikan Arena. Already assured of the bronze, the pride of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, is expected to go all-out against the taller Irma Testa at 12:39 p.m., Philippine time. A win by Petecio assures the country of its first Olympic boxing silver medal in 25 years. The last one was won by Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco Jr. in the 1996 Atlanta Games. The 5-foot-8 Testa will be no easy opponent. A head taller than the 5-foot-2 Petecio, Testa is also the 2019 European featherweight champion. She competed in the 2016 Rio Games, finishing fifth in the lightweight class. The Tokyo Games is the first Olympic stint for Petecio, a gold medalist in the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships and 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
READ: Duterte recalls order to terminate VFA
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte recalled the abrogation of the country's Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States (US) after it committed to regard the Philippines as a "sovereign equal" and reaffirmed its obligation under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), Malacanang announced on Friday. Under the MDT, the Philippines and the US agreed to come to each other's aid in case of an armed attack in the Pacific Area.
READ: Palace: PH extends travel ban on India
The Philippines has extended the travel ban for travelers from India and nine other countries until August 15 to prevent the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant, Malacañang announced on Friday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the extended travel ban covers India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
BUSINESS: BSP sees faster inflation in July
Over to business, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday that the country's headline inflation rate likely rose to 4.3 percent in July, a two-month high. July's point inflation projection, according to BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, was within the central bank's estimated range of 3.9 to 4.7 percent for the month. The outlook is higher than the 4.1 percent increase in June, but lower than the 2.7 percent print a year ago. If accurate, the forecasted rate would be the fastest in two months, or since May's 4.5 percent. The Philippine Statistics Authority will issue official July inflation data on August 5, 2021.
SPORTS: Obiena makes debut; Pagunsan falters in Day 2
In other Olympic news, Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena makes his Olympic debut even as golfer Juvic Pagunsan tries to bounce back on Saturday at the Tokyo Olympics. The 25-year-old Obiena is to compete in the men's pole vault qualification phase starting at 8:40 a.m (Philippine time). Obiena, who spent the past year and a half training and competing in Europe, needs to clear at least 5.80 meters or make the top 12 in the 30-man tiff in order to advance to the final round. The Tondo native is in group A of the competition with 2012 Olympic gold and 2016 silver medalist Renaud Lavillenie and his younger brother Valentin of France, Masaki Ejima of Japan, Michael Claudio Stecchi of Italy, Augusto Dutra of Brazil, Pawel Wojciechowski and Robert Sobera of Poland, Sondro Guttormsen of Norway, Oleg Zernikel and Torben Blech of Germany, Jin Minsub of South Korea, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, Kurtis Marschall of Australia, and KC Lightfoot of the United States. Obiena's podium aspirations got a boost with the withdrawal of 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world champ Sam Kendricks of USA. Kendricks and German Chiaraviglio of Argentina were tested positive for Covid-19 and were not allowed to compete.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras believes politicizing is not all bad, while Makabenta discusses about women on their views on climate change.
Today's editorial calls for Dumaguete City to scrap its reclamation plan. 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 weekend ahead.