Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, May 13, 2022.
READ: Marcos, Biden vow stronger ties
PRESUMPTIVE president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and United States President Joe Biden have agreed to further strengthen the ties between their countries following Marcos' landslide victory in Monday's election.Biden and Marcos spoke by phone around 9 a.m. (Manila time), discussing the strengthening of ties in trade and diplomacy, as well as their common interest in democracy, self-determination and economic recovery. Marcos assured Biden that "the Philippines has always held the United States in high regard as a friend, an ally and a partner." Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated Marcos. Xi said that he is ready to build a "good working relationship" with the Marcos administration.
READ: 68:32 ratio 'not evidence of fraud'
THE University of the Philippines (UP) School of Statistics said that the 68:32 ratio trend seen in the transmitted votes for presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Transparency Server is not evidence of election fraud.Votes reflected on the Comelec Transparency Server were partial and unofficial.In a statement, the UP School of Statistics said that the stagnation of the 68:32 ratio was based on the cumulative totals and could not be considered an irregularity.
READ: Ways to parent Gen XYZs
The Manila Times Lifestyle held a forum titled "Achievement Unlocked: Parenting for XYZ" on Thursday. Moderated by Times Lifestyle and Entertainment editor Tessa Mauricio-Arriola and editor Dafort Villaseran, the forum saw a formidable panel of speakers on parenting. They included Dr. Michele Alignay, family psychologist and digital well-being advocate; Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano, celebrity mom and GV Productions Inc. president; Wilma Bañaga, Save the Children Child Protection adviser; and Dr. Randy Dellosa, psychiatrist, psychologist and life coach. Alignay said that generations X and Z are called "digitalzen," which means technology is integral to their system.
READ: Palace team prepares transition for new admin
THE Palace has created a committee to ensure the smooth transition for the next administration by the end of June.Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte, said that the Presidential Transition Committee (PTC) which he heads will oversee the transition activities of the government and see to it that the delivery of services to the public continues.The PTC was formed via Administrative Order 47 earlier issued by the Chief Executive.
BUSINESS: Economy grows by 8.3% in Q1
THE Philippine economy grew by 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022 despite stricter quarantine measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant earlier this year. In a briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the gross domestic product (GDP) expansion during the quarter was a turnaround from the 3.8 percent in the same period last year. It was also higher than the 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the 6.3 percent median estimate of analysts earlier polled by The Manila Times.
SPORTS: Dynasty or history
Over to sports, will the Blue Eagles extend their dynasty or will the Fighting Maroons make history? This is the question set to be answered on Friday when Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) and University of the Philippines (UP) slug it out in the winner-take-all Game Three of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men's basketball finals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena today, May 13.Game time is 6 p.m. The Blue Eagles are looking for their fourth straight UAAP crown while the Fighting Maroons aim for their first championship in 36 years. With the best-of-three series tied at 1-1 and the first two games going down the wire, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin expects Game Three to be another close encounter.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao asks if the "Pinks" are up to something supposedly evil, while Torres makes his final election analysis.
Today's editorial tackles China standing by its "zero-Covid policy". Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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This is Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.