Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
READ: Duterte joins Senate race
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will be vying in next year's elections, but not as a vice presidential candidate as many had believed. On Monday, Duterte filed his candidacy for senator instead. As indicated in his certificate of candidacy filed by his lawyer Melchor Aranas, Duterte will be running under the Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan party. He is substituting for Mona Liza Visorde. The President's decision to seek a Senate seat avoided a potential face off with his daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is the vice presidential bet of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD). Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go revealed that Duterte chose to run for senator to mend frayed ties with the Davao City mayor.
READ: Pilot schools start limited in-person classes
ABOUT a hundred schools throughout the country reopened their classrooms to 5,000 students, teachers and school staff on Monday after more than a year under the blended learning system. The schools were chosen to pilot-test smaller, face-to-face classes that strictly observe health protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) among schoolchildren. Under the guidelines set by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DoH), students are allowed inside the school grounds for a maximum of four-and-a-half hours, except for Kindergarten pupils who can only stay for three hours. A Kindergarten class is limited to 12 learners. Grades 1 to 3 classes are limited to 16 students and senior high school classes to 12 for those taking technical-vocational-livelihood workshop and science laboratory classes.
READ: NCR shift to Alert Level 1 seen by December
THE Department of Health (DoH) believes that the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila could downshift to a more lenient Alert Level 1 by December as long as the drop in the number of Covid-19 cases is sustained. The daily case average in Metro Manila plateaued last week, with 435 cases reported, slightly higher than the 404 reported the week before. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing on Monday that the plateau in cases increases the possibility that the region could safely transition to Alert Level 1. Vergeire earlier said that for the NCR to shift to Alert Level 1, it has to register a continued decline in the average daily attack rate, number of cases and hospital utilization rate, as well as sustain its low-risk status for two incubation periods or 28 days. At least 70 percent of its population should also be fully vaccinated as well as 70 percent of its senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.
READ: Malls told to add more security guards
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) urged shopping mall managements and business establishments to beef up their security personnel as the holiday season approaches and the government further relaxes Covid-19 quarantine restrictions.The PNP chief, Lt. Gen. Dionardo Carlos, said in a statement on Monday business establishments should prepare for an influx of shoppers and customers. Carlos said he made the call to mall managements and establishments because of the "growing complacency" in observing anti-Covid measures. In Metro Manila, more people are flocking to malls, plazas and other recreational areas, Carlos said.
READ: Roque revives run for Senate
PALACE spokesman Harry Roque Jr. wrapped up his duties as spokesperson for President Rodrigo Duterte and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Monday as he filed his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for senator. Roque officially stepped down as he filed his CoC under the People's Reform Party. He took the substitute route replacing Paolo Mario Martelino.
BUSINESS: OFW remittances hit 2-mo high
In business, money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit a two-month high in September, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Monday. Personal remittances — cash or kind transfers between families — totaled $3.02 billion in September, 4.8-percent higher than the $2.88 billion recorded in the same month last year. It was also up from the $2.8 billion in August and the highest since the $3.16 billion in July. The latest data brought the year to-date figure to $25.69 billion, up by 5.7 percent compared to the $24.30 billion in 2020. The year-on-year increase was due to the growth in remittances from land-based OFWs with contracts of one year or more, which grew by 6.2 percent to $2.34 billion from $2.20 billion. The increase was also attributed to the 1.7 percent growth in remittances of sea-and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.
SPORTS: Saso finishes 14th in Pelican Championship
In sports, Filipino-Japanese golf star Yuka Saso finished 14th at the LPGA Pelican Championship on Monday (Philippine time) at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. Saso carded 3-under 67 in the fourth and final round for a total of 11-under 269 in the tournament, as she pocketed a prize of $27,458 or around P1.3 million. The 20-year-old hit five birdies, coming from the second, eight, 11th, 12th, and 14th holes. Saso's bogeys on the seventh and 15th holes added to his total strokes, though. It was quite a roller coaster tournament for Saso as she went from 23rd place to 10th, 17th, and 14th in the first, second, third, and fourth round, respectively. The reigning US Women's Open champion shot 2-under 68 in the opener, 6-under 64 in the second, and even-par 70 in the third before firing 3-under 67 in the final.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras disagrees with Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero De Vera over removing subversive books, while Makabenta reflects on what leaders and statesmen have said in farewell to public life.
Today's editorial analyzes the summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 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 Tuesday ahead.