Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, October 18, 2021.
READ: Rappler scraps 'biased' survey
ONLINE media outfit Rappler deleted its Facebook presidential survey after netizens accused it of using the poll for propaganda, according to several vloggers on Sunday. The vloggers said Rappler has apologized to "angry" netizens and explained that the survey had to be taken down since it was not aligned with its objectives. They said the manipulation was discovered when the total number of those who reacted "did not tally" with the list of netizens who actually reacted. Rappler asked Facebook users in an October 7 post to respond with specific emojis to indicate their preferred presidential bet. The poll asked the question: "Who is your presidential bet for the 2022 elections?" An amused emoji meant a vote for Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, a thumbs-up sign for Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, a heart emoji for Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo, a shocked emoji for Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., and a caring emoji for Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao.
READ: Covid cases dip, lowest in 3 months
COVID-19 cases continue to dip as the government ramped up its vaccination program, pouring more vaccines in areas outside the National Capital Region. On Sunday, the Department of Health (DoH) reported 6,913 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the total to 2,720,368 cases. It was the lowest number of new cases since July.
READ: 'Maring' damage to agriculture hits P1.87B
AGRICULTURAL damage and losses from Tropical Storm "Maring" (international name: Kompasu) rose to P1.87 billion, the Department of Agriculture said on Sunday. The agency said Maring damaged 69,868 hectares of agricultural areas and 91,407 metric tons of produce. The storm affected 60,195 farmers and fishers.Hard-hit areas include the Ilocos and Bicol regions, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa (Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Western Visayas and Soccsksargen.
READ: ECOP, govt map out loan for workers' 13th month pay
THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) is working with the government to map out the mechanics of a loan facility to help pandemic-hit micro and small companies provide workers their 13th month pay. ECOP President Sergio Ortiz Luis Jr. said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Department of Finance agreed in principle to provide P200-million to P500-million interest-free loans for small companies. The money will be sourced from the available funding of the Small Business Corp. (SBCorp) under Bayanihan 2.
BUSINESS: PH up in Peddling Peril Index list
Over to business, the Philippines has improved its ranking the latest edition of the Peddling Peril Index (PPI), the Trade department said on Sunday, moving up to 49th out of 200 countries from 86th a year earlier. The Philippines' 2021/2022 PPI score increased by 273 points to 755 from 482 in the previous year.
SPORTS: Role players crucial for underdog Hotshots
Our top sports story discusses about Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang, Paul Lee and Mark Barroca, who are the key players for the underdog Magnolia Hotshots in their return to the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao analyzes the aforementioned issues surrounding an election poll by Rappler, while Fr. Aquino believes the Catholic Church is listening to the government.
Today's editorial discusses the booster shot vaccines against Covid-19. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
READ: Times announces new senior management team
The Manila Times has announced new designations of its senior management team members to better reflect their current roles and responsibilities. Effective today, Ederlina "Leena" Calso-Chua and Lyd Maritoni Lourdes "Lynette" Ordoñez-Luna will be co-managing editors of The Times. Apart from Calso-Chua and Ordoñez-Luna, The Times also announced the appointment of veteran newspaper executive Blanquita "Blanca" Calilung Mercado, who will be the new president in addition to her current role as chief operating officer (COO). Lastly, the former president, Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, will be the new Times chairman and will remain concurrently as CEO. The Times, the longest-running national daily in the Philippines, celebrated its 123rd founding anniversary October 11. For much of the 20th century, it was the leading national daily not only in the Philippines but throughout Southeast Asia, even earning the title "the grand old dame" of newspapers.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe week ahead.