Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, October 25, 2021.

READ: Yulo wins gold

FILIPINO gymnast Carlos Yulo ruled the vault event final round to win a gold medal at the 50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Kitakyushu General Gymnasium in Japan on Sunday. Yulo scored an average of 14.916 points after an exquisite performance, which saw him record 14.800 points for his first vault and 15.033 for his second. Eager to bounce back after failing to defend his floor exercise title on Saturday, Yulo showed he's on a mission right away as he executed a near flawless three-twirl act in mid-air for his first vault. The 21-year-old, who placed third in the vault's qualification phase with 14.808 points, then bolstered his chances of winning the event with an impeccable Dragulescu in the second vault where he launched himself high for multiple body rolls on the way down. Japanese Hidenobu Yonukera claimed the silver medal with an average of 14.866 points, while Israeli Andrey Medvedev captured the bronze with 14.649.

READ: Survey validates Bongbong's lead in street polls

THE lead of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in the recent survey of Publicus Asia validated the results of the series of Kalye Surveys conducted in the first two weeks of October. The Publicus survey showed Marcos, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer, way ahead of the other presidential bets vying in the 2022 elections. The Publicus poll showed an "overwhelming preference" for Marcos in key voting areas. In the National Capital Region, he got over 40 percent preference, and 55.7 percent in North and Central Luzon.

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READ: Covid cases going down fast – OCTA

CASES of Covid-19 are declining fast, falling by 35 percent in the past week, OCTA researcher Dr. Guido David said on Sunday. During the seven-day period, infections went down from 8,400 to 5,400. David said the decline could be attributed to the vaccination campaign since those getting infected were people without jabs, or were vaccinated but with comorbidities or those whose bodies cannot reproduce as many antibodies to fight the virus.

READ: Sale of Chevron's Malampaya share invalid – Gatchalian

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian said there was enough evidence to show that the sale of Chevron's 45 percent stake in the Malampaya gas project to the Udenna group was "defective and invalid." Gatchalian scrutinized Udenna's buy-out of Chevron in Malampaya during the hearing of the proposed 2022 budget of the Department of Energy (DoE). Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi told Gatchalian that no prior approval by the government was needed in Chevron's transfer of its stakes to Udenna's UC Malampaya Philippines Pte Ltd. Cusi added that it was based on an evaluation using the so-called "farm-in process," which according to Gatchalian made DoE's explanation all the more confusing.

READ: Survey sees pay rise for employees in 2022

FILIPINO employees could expect a salary increase of around 5.6 percent in 2022, a survey by a global brokering company of 1,405 companies from 13 markets in the Asia Pacific found. Willis Towers Watson's 2021 Salary Budget Planning Survey provided data on salary budget increase percentages for the past and current years, along with projected increases for 2022. Those in the sectors of medical technology, business support service, including business process outsourcing (BPOs), and manufacturing industries posted the highest average salary budget increase — between 5.2 and 5.7 percent, according to the poll. By 2022, it is projected that medtech will remain as the top industry for a salary increase at 7.3 percent, followed by construction, property, and engineering at 6.2 percent, and business support services including BPOs and pharmaceuticals and health science at 6.1 percent each. Workers in the financial services, insurance, and energy and natural resources industries can expect the lowest pay increases for 2022, at 5.1, 4.8, and 4.7 percent respectively.

READ: Ongpin assails drug charges

JULIAN Ongpin questioned the filing of drug charges against him by the Department of Justice (DoJ), claiming that he was denied his right to appeal the resolution issued by government prosecutors. The son of former Trade secretary Roberto Ongpin asked the Regional Trial Court of San Fernando City in La Union to defer the issuance of an arrest warrant and suspend the proceedings on his controversial drug case. Ongpin, a person of interest in the death of artist Breana "Bree" Jonson, said that he only learned about the DoJ resolution recommending the filing of a complaint against him from online news portals.

BUSINESS: 2021 inflation seen to average 4.3%

Over to business, analysts anticipate a higher average inflation rate this year, with generally balanced risks, according to a poll done by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The central bank said in its 2021 Third Quarter Inflation Report that the findings of a survey of 21 private sector analysts revealed that the mean inflation outlook for 2021 has risen to 4.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent in the previous survey, The projection for 2021 was faster than the 2.6 percent average in 2020. It is, however, slower than the BSP's forecast of 4.4 percent, but it exceeds the government's aim of 2-4 percent.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao hits out at critics over presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' supposed "degree" at Oxford University, while Fr. Aquino talks about rationality and the polls.

Today's editorial welcomes broad political views, but people should choose wisely in next year's elections. 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 week ahead.