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Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
READ: Marcos victory inevitable ‒ Pulse
Less than a week before elections, independent pollster Pulse Asia said on Tuesday it was impossible for Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo to stage an upset against former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. or BBM, who got 56 percent in the firm's latest and last presidential election survey.
READ: 'Leni rallies prep for People Power'
Candidate for president and former Defense secretary Norberto Gonzales said on Tuesday the massive campaign rallies of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo were preparing her supporters for another People Power uprising if she loses the May 9, 2022 elections.
READ: PUBLiCUS: 5 cities in NCR battlegrounds in mayoral race
As the May 9, 2022 elections draw near, five cities in the National Capital Region or NCR are considered battlegrounds for the mayoral race — Caloocan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Manila and Pateros — according to the late April survey of PUBLiCUS.
READ: 'Public-private partnership vital in pandemic recovery'
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said the public and private sector's partnership paved the way for the Philippines' success in its battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ: Duterte stops e-sabong
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the suspension of e-sabong or online cockfighting operations.
READ: Gatchalian pushes stronger crackdown on hazing
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of Education and school authorities to fortify the campaign against hazing activities amid reports of hazing-related deaths.
READ: Bets warned vs paying terror groups
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is also the vice chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, warned candidates that they faced disqualification if they collaborated with communist terrorist groups by paying the so-called permit to win and permit to campaign fees.
In regional news,
READ: Reyes disqualification, rearrest sought
After the Office of the Solicitor General sought his rearrest, a disqualification complaint was filed before the Commission on Elections against former governor Mario Joel Reyes, who is seeking a return to the province's top position in the coming May 9 elections.
In world news,
READ: Suu Kyi faces bribery charges in new trial
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial on Monday in a new corruption case that alleged she took $550,000 in bribes from a construction magnate.
READ: Fighting rages in Odesa; more evacuations set
Fighting raged in the critical port city of Odesa and across eastern Ukraine as fresh evacuations of civilians from war-ravaged Mariupol were set to take place on Tuesday.
In business,
READ: Ukraine war to slow PH growth
The Philippine economy is expected to further grow this year but at a slower pace than what the government originally targeted due to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
And in sports,
READ: Suns eclipse Mavs; Heat scorch Sixers
Deandre Ayton scored 25 points as top seeded Phoenix overpowered Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) while Miami exploited the absence of Joel Embiid to rout Philadelphia in the NBA playoffs.
Rigoberto Tiglao and Marlen Ronquillo are the featured columnists on the front page of The Times.
Tiglao questions
READ: Leni: Loony, lying or lazy?
Ronquillo quips
READ: A quantum of solace for embattled democracies
In The Times editorial, it is insisted that
READ: Govt must resolve Mindoro power crisis
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This is Dafort Villaseran reporting. Have a great day ahead!