Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, September 25, 2021.
READ: Isko won't slide down to VP slot
MANILA Mayor Franciso "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Friday reassured his supporters he will not accept the vice presidential slot in a united opposition ticket. Domagoso has been nominated by the Reform Party as its standard bearer for next year's elections. Domagoso also vowed to stick it out with his running mate, Dr. Willie Ong, dousing speculation that Ong will eventually be replaced by Sen. Mary Grace Poe. The mayor said talks will continue with people who want reconciliation, including those from the Duterte administration, saying he listens to everyone. He said that if he is elected president and President Rodrigo Duterte wins as vice president, he will offer Duterte a Cabinet post out of respect for the position. Duterte has accepted the nomination of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to be its vice presidential bet. Manila Vice Mayor Maria Sheilah "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan, meanwhile, has confirmed she will run for mayor with Third District Rep. Yulo Servo as her running mate. Lacuna vowed to continue what she and Domagoso have started, particularly projects that will provide livelihood and job opportunities to Manilans and address the problems brought about by the pandemic.
READ: Pharmally exec admits altering face shields' expiry dates
A top executive of Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. on Friday admitted before the Senate blue ribbon committee to altering the expiry dates on the face shields delivered by the firm to the Department of Health (DoH). Summoned to the blue ribbon inquiry, Pharmally's Head of the Regulatory Affairs Krizle Grace Mago testified that the tampering was made on instructions from Mohit Dargani, the company's corporate treasurer and secretary. Dargani denied Mago's allegation. Earlier in the hearing, Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros presented a video showing what she described as a Pharmally employee confessing that he and several others were told to change the expiry year on the certificates of the face shields from 2020 to 2021.
READ: KBL names Bongbong as presidential candidate
The Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) has named former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as its presidential bet for the 2022 elections. The KBL is the party founded by Marcos' father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos' nomination was formalized during an event organized by lawyer Larry Gadon at the Thunderbird Resorts and Casino in Binangonan, Rizal and attended by some 200 party members and Marcos loyalists. In a video message, Marcos thanked KBL and his supporters for their trust and confidence but said he cannot give a final response because he is still deciding what national position he will vie for.
READ: Comelec to decide voter sign-up issue next week
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will decide next week if it will give in to the clamor in Congress to extend voter registration beyond September 30. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said on Friday Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abbas has called the Management Committee (Mancom) to a meeting next week to address the issue. The decision of the Comelec en banc will be based on the Mancom's recommendations, Jimenez said. Among the topics up for discussion is the logistics of getting the extension done and how long the extension will be. The commission en banc will have to make a decision by September 29, Jimenez said. The biggest logistical problem if voter registration is extended is its impact on the filing of certificates of candidacy on October 1 to 8.
READ: Case decline result of fewer tests – DoH
A drop in the number of cases in the country should not be immediately pinned down on current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) interventions but on decreased testing output in Covid laboratories, according to the Department of Health (DoH). The statement comes amid the continued case decline in the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila) and surrounding areas that make up the NCR Plus, which is now on a slower trajectory than previous trends. According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, testing output has plunged by 5.3 percent during the week of September 15 to 21, as compared to the previous week of September 8 to 14, with a seven-day moving average of 77,033 tests conducted. The positivity rate also declined to 25.5 percent from the 27.5 percent during that period. Regional positivity rates have dipped as well owing to fewer tests conducted, with the NCR having only tested more than 258,000 samples during that week as opposed to 287,548 samples the previous week, equivalent to a 10.3 percent reduction.
READ: Severe tropical storm to enter PAR
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) is closely monitoring a severe tropical storm with the international name of "Mindulle" as it is still outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). In an advisory, Pagasa said the weather disturbance would be named "Lannie" once it enters PAR either on Sunday or Monday. The weather bureau said the center of the severe tropical storm was estimated at 1,905 kilometers east of Southern Luzon. Packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness up to 115kph, the storm is moving west-northwestward at 20kph, it said. The weather disturbance is forecast to remain far from the Philippine archipelago, according to the state-run weather agency.
READ: Palace: IATF eases guidelines
THE government has allowed teenagers and senior citizens to go out as it eases its guidelines in the pilot implementation of Alert Level 4 in the National Capital Region (NCR) effective October 1, Malacañang said on Friday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved some amendments to its guidelines, which would take effect starting October 1 should NCR remain under Alert Level 4. Roque, who is also the spokes- man for the IATF, said those above 65 and those below 18 are now allowed to go outdoors to exercise, but they will be limited to their general area of residence.
BUSINESS: BoP hits 4-month high surplus in Aug
Topping business, the country's balance of payments (BoP) surplus hit a four-month high of $1.04 billion in August, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data. Released on Friday, the figure was substantially greater than the $657-million surplus in August 2020 and the $642-million surplus in July. It was also the largest since April of this year, when the payments position was in surplus by $2.61 billion. The payments balance is a record of all trade and financial transactions made between entities in one country and the rest of the world in a given period. A shortfall occurs when the country imports more goods, services and capital than it exports; a surplus, when it exports more than it imports.
SPORTS: Yulo wins gold, bronze in Japan
In sports, Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo bagged two medals at the 2021 All Japan Senior and Masters Gymnastics Championships on Thursday in Japan. Yulo seized a gold medal in the floor exercise event with a score of 15.300 and a bronze in the vault event with a score of 15.000. Yulo's Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya shared Yulo's triumph in social media, with a caption of "Revenge the Tokyo," alluding to Yulo's subpar performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses historical revisionism, while Makabenta asks if the United Nations' claims to climate truth are impossible.
Today's editorial zeroes in on the encouraging outlook for the Philippines' economic recovery. 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.