Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, July 1, 2022.
READ: 'We will go far together'
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos not to dwell on the past as he vowed to lead the country to a "future of sufficiency." Marcos expressed confidence that Filipinos "will go further together than against each other, pushing forward, not pulling each other back." The 64-year-old Marcos was sworn in as the country's 17th president on Thursday, 36 years after his father, Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., was ousted in a popular uprising. The younger Marcos took his oath of office before Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo. His wife, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and their sons, Sandro, Simon and Vincent, shared the stage with him during the inauguration ceremony at the National Museum in Manila. Marcos extended his hand even to his critics. He said his administration will adopt measures to ensure the country's economic recovery from the pandemic. He said his administration is drawing a "comprehensive, all-inclusive plan for economic transformation." He thanked his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, for his "courage" in making "hard decisions" aimed at bringing change and progress. Marcos assured the public that the country "won't be caught unprepared, under-equipped, and understaffed to fight the next pandemic." He paid tribute to the country's nurses, who he called "the best in the world." Touching on the unabated rise in crude oil prices on the world market, Marcos said the Philippines "can find a way" around its energy supply problems and hinted on exploring for oil and gas. The Malampaya project in Palawan has tapped the country's only gas reserves, which are expected to be depleted in a few years. Days before Marcos was sworn in, the Duterte administration ended talks with China over energy exploration in the West Philippine Sea citing constitutional limits. In his speech during the traditional vin d'honneur after the inauguration, the President stressed the importance of strengthening relationships with other states "that will make a more balanced and stable new global environment for us to work in." The Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to the Philippines and dean of the diplomatic corps, Archbishop Charles John Brown led the toast to congratulate the newly-sworn president. Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the inauguration were Douglas Craig Emhoff, the husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris; China's vice president Wang Qishan; Vietnam's vice president Vo Thi Anh Xuan; Thailand's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Don Pramudwinai, and Australia's governor general David Hurley. Special envoys from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom also attended the rites.
READ: President swears in new Cabinet
THE members of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s Cabinet were sworn in on Thursday in Malacañang following the inauguration of the country's 17th president at the National Museum. Marcos administered the oath. The President has named more than 20 individuals to Cabinet posts, including the economic cluster headed by incumbent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Benjamin Diokno who will take over the Department of Finance.Aside from Diokno, other holdovers from the Duterte administration who are joining the Marcos Cabinet are outgoing Labor and Employment chief Silvestre Bello 3rd, former Cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Solicitor General Jose Calida. Bello is the new chairman and resident representative-designate of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office to be based in Taiwan, while Guevarra takes over from Calida as solicitor general. Nograles was renominated as chairman of the Civil Service Commission. He was one of former president Rodrigo Duterte's ad-interim appointees bypassed by the Commission on Appointments due to lack of quorum.On Wednesday, Marcos named Calida as chairman of the Commission on Audit and Jose Arnulfo "Wick" Veloso as president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).Juan Ponce Enrile, who was in the Cabinet of Marcos Jr.'s father Ferdinand Sr. and appointed as chief presidential legal counsel, did not make it to the President's inauguration after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. Marcos will temporarily be the Agriculture secretary while Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio will serve as Education secretary.In his inaugural speech, Marcos expressed confidence that Duterte-Carpio can reform the education system to better prepare Filipino students for more and better jobs.
READ: Tulfo assumes DSWD post
Meanwhile, Erwin Tulfo formally took over from Rolando Joselito Bautista as head of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in turnover ceremonies at its central office in Quezon City on Thursday. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. tapped Tulfo, whom Bautista described as "highly qualified and professional." In his last message to the employees, Bautista thanked the team at DSWD for their dedication and diligence. During the ceremony, he handed over the Transition Handbook, a representation of duties and responsibilities; the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) coffee-table Book and Terminal Report, a representation of the Department's accomplishments; the DSWD Red Vest, a representation of the commitment and compassionate service of DSWD employees; and the DSWD Colors, a representation of the Filipino's spirit. As part of his initial reforms, Tulfo promised to remove the fixers and people abusing the agency's programs, extend the tenure of the 9,000 department employees who have contracts of service until December, and have the workforce provide the finest professional service.
READ: Citizen Duterte flies home to Davao City
AFTER six years as the country's president, Rodrigo Duterte returned to his hometown as a private citizen. After departure ceremonies in Malacañang on Thursday, Duterte flew to Davao City. Duterte capped his presidency on Thursday by welcoming Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at the Palace before Marcos' inauguration at the National Museum. Marcos arrived at Malacañang Palace past 10 a.m. and was greeted by Duterte at the top of the grand staircase. He signed the guestbook before spending a few more moments with Duterte. He skipped the traditional car ride that would have brought him and Marcos to the National Museum. In a public address earlier this month, he urged Filipinos to "come to terms with reality" and support the country's new leaders. Duterte had said the country's next leader should be "compassionate and decisive."
BUSINESS: PH economy to hit 7% GDP this year
Over to business, despite the effect of rising fuel costs on consumer demand, the new chief of the central bank, Felipe Medalla, is optimistic that the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth would reach at least the lower end of the government's objective this year. It should be mentioned that the government's growth target for this year was reduced by the Development Budget Coordination Committee from the prior objective of 7 to 9 percent to 7 to 8 percent. Medalla said the second quarter will still see positive GDP growth albeit slower than the prior three months, as people's mobility continues to improve despite the rising Covid-19 cases. He admitted that it will be difficult to match the 8.3 percent economic growth from the first quarter because of higher base effects.
SPORTS: Ginebra resumes PBA campaign without Tim Cone
Topping sports, after seven days of inactivity, Barangay Ginebra returns to action tonight but will face new team Converge without head coach Tim Cone. Cone left Tuesday night to join the Miami Heat as an assistant coach for the NBA Summer League. He left the coaching chores to his chief deputy, Richard del Rosario. Barangay Ginebra will be steered by del Rosario for its next four games starting today when the reigning Governors' Cup champion takes on upstart Converge in the main game of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Since losing to the Magnolia Timplados Hotshots in their first Manila Clasico encounter of the new season, the Gin Kings had won back-to-back games which put them in solo second spot. A win against the FiberXers today will allow the PBA's most popular squad a chance to join San Miguel, which they beat last week, on top of the team standings with a 5-1 win-loss record. They'll be facing a FiberXers team that was beaten black and blue by the Beermen, 111-92, last Sunday.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao weighs in on the Rappler controversy, while Torres praises new President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr's prioritizing of the agriculture sector.
Today's editorial tackles issues surrounding flooding and climate change. 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 Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.