Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, October 8, 2021.
READ: Leni joins 2022 race
Vice President Leonora "Leni" Robredo has officially signed up for the presidential derby. Robredo filed her certificate of candidacy Thursday to become the fifth major candidate to join the race. Robredo, 56, will be facing a strong challenge from the four other contenders: former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Senators Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, and Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, and Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso. The 56-year-old widow of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo is a staunch critic of the Duterte administration. If elected, she would be the country's third woman president after the late Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Robredo had been pushing to unify the opposition to increase the chances of winning against whoever the administration will field. But the talks collapsed after proposals by the partnership of Lacson and Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto were rejected by the group of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, a stalwart of the Liberal Party to which Robredo belongs. The failed negotiations prompted Robredo to announce her presidential run. Robredo has been endorsed by 1Sambayan, a coalition of prominent political figures that include retired Justice Antonio Carpio. It will be the second time Robredo will be facing off with Marcos. She beat the son of the former strongman for the vice presidency in 2016 by 263,473 votes.
READ: Sara firm: I'm not running for president
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has asked her supporters for understanding after rejecting their calls for her to run for president in 2022. In a statement on Facebook, Duterte-Carpio said it pains her to not be able to heed the call of her supporters, who have been urging her to reconsider. She said she wanted to finish her term as the mayor of Davao City. Duterte-Carpio, who has filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for reelection as mayor, said she still has a lot to do in the city. Should Duterte-Carpio win, it will be her fourth mayoral term. She assumed the post in 2010 to 2013, 2016 to 2019 and 2019 to 2022. Various groups have been prodding her to run for president, but she said she will not run after her father announced his bid for the vice presidency.
READ: Bongbong has 2 choices for VP bet
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he will let his party decide for him his running mate in the 2022 elections Interviewed by CNN Philippines, Marcos said the choice is between Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) vice presidential candidate Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go or someone from his Marcos' Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) party. Asked if he is comfortable with Go as his running mate, he replied yes. Marcos must decide today, October 8, the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy (CoC) for national positions. Marcos, the son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, is chairman of the PFP, a center-right party accredited by the Comelec in 2018. In joining PFP, Marcos left the 114-year-old Nacionalista Party (NP), the oldest party in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Last Wednesday, he shared that he had planned to adopt President Duterte as his running mate. but Duterte pulled a surprised when he abandoned his vice presidential plans. Go then filed his CoC as PDP-Laban's bet for vice president. As an ally of the Dutertes, Marcos said he earlier spoke to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea; Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, president of PDP-Laban's pro-Duterte camp, and Go about his plan to adopt the President as his running mate.
READ: Frontliners party-list seeks House seat
THE Frontliners party-list will vie for a seat at the House of Representatives in the 2022 elections. Its first nominee, Jyke Joson, on Thursday filed his certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA). Joson was a former actor, film producer and special assistant of Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao. The party-list vowed to support Filipino athletes who it considered as frontliners.
READ: 'Negative polls done during Covid surge'
THE Department of Health (DoH) said the two surveys by international financial news services that placed the Philippines last in their Covid-19 indices were conducted at the height of the country's worst coronavirus surge in September. The Bloomberg Resilience Index and the Nikkei Global Recovery Index put the Philippines last among the countries surveyed for possible recovery from the virus. In the Bloomberg Index, the Philippines ranked last among 53 countries. In the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index, it was last among 121 countries. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DoH acknowledges the results of the polls, but the process used in determining the rankings were based on three major indicators prevailing at the time the surveys were conducted.
READ: 2 ex-VPs throw hat in Senate race
TWO former vice presidents of the land were among the personalities who joined the race for Senate seats. Former vice presidents Manuel "Noli Boy" de Castro and Jejomar "Jojo" Binay filed their candidacy papers before the Commission on Elections on Thursday at the Harbor Garden Tent of Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. Two other opposition luminaries — former party-list congressman Neri Javier Colmenares and former law dean Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno — also formalized their entry in what is expected to become a tight race for the 12 seats up for grabs in the Senate. Binay will run under the United Nationalist Alliance, a party coalition forged for his failed bid for the presidency in 2016.
READ: Defensor challenges Belmonte in QC race
ANAKALUSU GAN partylist Rep. Michael "Mike" Defensor filed his certificate of candidacy (CoC) at a local Commission on Elections office on Thursday to challenge incumbent Quezon City Mayor Josefina "Joy" Belmonte in the 2022 mayoral race. Defensor is running under the banner of Malayang QC with incumbent Councilor Winston "Winnie" Castelo, who also filed his CoC for vice mayor.
BUSINESS: Fitch lowers 2021 PH growth forecast
Over to business, Fitch Ratings has lowered its Philippine economic growth forecast for this year, citing a weak rebound in domestic output and the resurgence of Covid-19 cases as reasons. In a report released on Thursday, the credit rating agency estimates that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will pick up by 4.4 percent this year, down from a previous outlook of 5 percent. The full-year projection for 2021 is within the government's revised 4- to 5-percentage-point assumption, which is an improvement over the 9.6-percentage-point decline in 2020.
SPORTS: PFL to kick off season October 27
In sports, the Philippines Football League (PFL) announced on Thursday that its 2021 season is set to kick off on October 27 subject to two conditions. First, the quarantine status in Carmona, Cavite where the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) national training center is situated must be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ) by October 16. Carmona was placed under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until October 15. Second, there should be at least six teams participating for the season. During the 2020 bubble season, six teams participated in the league: Stallion Laguna, Kaya Iloilo, Maharlika Manila, Mendiola, Azkals Development Team (ADT), and eventual champion United City, now known as United Clark. This year, all the aforementioned teams are returning except for ADT. Expansion club Cebu FC, however, is expected to participate in the 2021 bubble tournament.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao discusses the recent controversies surrounding Facebook, while Torres talks about the mathematics of Covid-19.
Today's editorial believes China is playing the brinkmanship game again. 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 Friday ahead.