Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, August 14, 2021.
READ: DSWD flagged for SAP overpayments
The Commission on Audit (CoA) has found that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) doled out P112 million to 20,196 beneficiaries of its Social Amelioration Program (SAP) who had already received cash and other forms of aid from other government agencies. The commission noted the duplication in aid distribution in the DSWD's Central Office and its field offices in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5, 6, 7 and 13. It said a "validation of SAP payments to recipients revealed that despite the de-duplication procedures set by the Management as internal control, there were still SAP beneficiaries that were paid Emergency Assistance from various government agencies in excess of the threshold set by the JMC (Joint Memorandum Circular)." The excess payment totaled P112,900,645.00 to 20,196 beneficiaries in the eight regions, CoA said in its report.
READ: United opposition, a myth?
Times chairman emeritus Dr. Dante Arevalo Ang writes if the so-called united opposition is a myth. Read a full version on the print, digital, and online versions of the Times.
READ: Threat to oust Pacquiao a 'wild bluff'
The bloc in the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) led by Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao has dismissed as a "wild bluff" the warning issued by a rival group to expel the senator for planning to convert his regional party into a national party. A day earlier, PDP-Laban Secretary General Melvin Matibag, who is identified with the faction led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, said that by plotting to turn the People's Champ Movement (PCM) into a national party, Pacquiao "has virtually created for himself a rabbit hole - one that could lead to his expulsion from Partido Demokratikong Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan." PDP-Laban director general Ron Munsayac refuted Matibag, saying the "snapshots of documents being circulated actually show that within days of becoming PDP-Laban President, Senator Manny Pacquiao gave up the presidency of the People's Champ Movement." Munsayac also called the Cusi faction "unpatriotic" for targeting Pacquiao at a time when the senator was busy preparing for his title fight in Las Vegas on August 21. Matibag had said there was "news quoting reliable sources" that confirms Pacquiao's plan.
READ: Concepcion: AstraZeneca delivery boosts fight vs Delta
The arrival of the second batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses procured by the private sector is very timely since the government is intensifying its fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said. The delivery of 575,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday was made possible through a tripartite agreement among the national government, a group of private corporations represented by Concepcion and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm. In his remarks, the Go Negosyo founder said the AstraZeneca doses will beef up the government's efforts to check the spread of Covid-19's Delta variant.
READ: Duterte accepts Avisado's resignation as Budget chief
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the resignation of Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado who stepped down "due to medical reasons," his spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement on Friday. The Palace spokesman said Duterte has designated Undersecretary Tina Rose Marie Canda as officer in charge of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). She was also the OIC when Avisado was on leave from August 2 to 13. Avisado, who was afflicted with Covid-19, was hospitalized for eight days and went under quarantine for "over a month."
READ: DoH mulls ECQ extension
As the nation logs its second-highest coronavirus disease case count since the pandemic began, the Department of Health (DoH) is weighing the possibility of extending the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila to avert the further incubation of the virus. Metro Manila is under ECQ until August 20, purportedly to stem the continuing increase in the number of cases. The Philippines reported 13,177 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, August 13, the second highest number of infections since the pandemic in the country began in March last year, pushing the total number of infections to 1.713 million.
READ: Govt, private transport push Covid-19 jabs
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) partnered with ride-hailing company Grab Philippines to encourage more individuals to get their jabs against Covid-19. In a statement, the DoTr and LTFRB said the partnership sought to boost vaccine confidence among transport stakeholders and the country's campaign as well. Vaccinated individuals, through "Vacced ka na ba?" will get promo vouchers by sending their vaccination cards to Grab. Participants will also have a chance to win P250,000 in their GrabPay accounts.
BUSINESS: GIR rises to 2-month high at end-July
Over to business, the country's gross international reserves (GIR) increased to a two-month high of $106.54 billion at the end of July on the back of foreign currency deposits by the government and higher gold prices. According to preliminary data issued by the central bank on Friday, the total was 0.73 percent and 8.05 percent more than the $105.76 billion recorded at the end of June and the $98.60 billion reported a year earlier. The amount at the end of July was the biggest since the end of May this year, when it was $107.25 billion.
SPORTS: Casimero predicts KO win vs Rigondeaux
Topping sports, Filipino World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero said that Cuban challenger Guillermo Rigondeaux would last for only three rounds when they clashed on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Casimero said his last six fights all ended in a knockout and told his opponent not to run.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about inflated honors while Makabenta asks if climate fanatics back their forecast on a so-called climate apocalypse.
Today's editorial believes Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd owes the country an explanation, after findings from the Commission on Audit showed a misappropriation of funds. 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.