Good day. Here are stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, July 2, 2022.
READ: Marcos shuts down appointive posts
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has declared vacant all positions in government with presidential appointments "to ensure the continuous and effective delivery of government services." Through Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, Marcos issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 1 "declaring vacant certain positions in the departments, offices, agencies and bureaus in the executive department and fixing rules." Under the order, positions of presidential appointees whose appointments are classified as co-terminus, those occupying positions created in excess of the authorized staffing pattern, all non-career executive service officials (CESO) occupying career executive service (CES) positions, and contractual and/or casual employees were deemed vacant effective June 30.
READ: Agri's key role seen in reviving economy
AGRICULTURE will play a major role in the Marcos administration's economic recovery efforts, Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said Friday. Many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) are still trying to recoup their losses from the coronavirus pandemic, and Concepcion said the agriculture sector can help them to stay afloat. With President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. temporarily taking the helm of the Department of Agriculture (DA), MSMEs, especially those who have taken out new loans to refinance their operations, are expected to see better days ahead, he said.
READ: Veteran diplomat to head Foreign Affairs Department
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has named career diplomat Enrique Manalo as the new secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Manalo's appointment was confirmed Friday by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles in a text message. Manalo, the Philippines' former Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), flew in from New York to take his oath before Marcos in Malacanang Friday. He has asked the President "for a few days to wind up affairs in his previous post" in the UN before assuming his duties foreign affairs chief, Cruz-Angeles said. The 69-year-old Manalo replaces Teodoro Locsin Jr. His career in the foreign service spans nearly four decades, having joined the DFA in 1979.
READ: Govt debt drops to P12.50T
THE government's outstanding debt dropped by P267.41 billion to P12.50 trillion at the end of May, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported on Friday. The bureau attributed the decline to the payback of provisional advances from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Domestic obligations accounted for 69.3 percent of the total debt. Local debt was down by 3 percent, to P8.66 trillion from P8.93 trillion, at the end of April, the BTr said, due to the "P300 billion repayment to the BSP which was partially tempered by the net issuance of government securities." Domestic debt has risen by P495.04 billion, or 6.1 percent, since the end of 2021. The bureau also reported that the country's external debt was up by 0.1 percent, to P3.83 trillion from P3.82 trillion, as a result of "the impact of local and foreign currency fluctuations against the USD (United States dollar) amounting to an additional P5.63 billion and P9.41 billion, respectively."
READ: Six out of 10 Pinoys favor nuke energy – PUBLiCUS
NEARLY six out of 10 Filipinos, or 59 percent, support the construction of a nuclear power plant in the country, according to the latest Pahayag survey results conducted by pollster PUBLiCUS Asia. In the same survey conducted on June 16 to 22, only 22 percent of respondents said they either disapprove or strongly disapprove the building of the nuclear power plant. This is the third highest total disapproval rating among 14 issues tested in the online survey. Other issues that were highly disapproved of by the respondents include the construction of more coal plants in the country with 26 percent disapproval, and the accreditation of bloggers and vloggers in Malacañang at 24 percent. Only 47 percent either approve or strongly approve the construction of additional coal-fired plants in the country. According to PUBLiCUS Executive Director lawyer Aureli Sinuat, the survey numbers suggest that proposals to add nuclear power to the country's energy mix may enjoy considerable support.
READ: Robredo launches volunteer group
LAWYER Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo on Friday launched her volunteer group a day after stepping down as the nation's vice president. The group, which was known as Angat Buhay during her time as vice president, is now called Angat Pinas, and aims to bring together the individuals and groups from the public and private sectors to help families in the most remote and impoverished towns in the country. Angat Pinas will initially raise funds by selling more than 900 art works which Robredo received as gifts during the 2022 presidential campaign. Donors can also make contributions of between P1,000 and P20,000 using the Angat Buhay app. During the launch, Robredo introduced former Quezon City representative Jose Christopher "Kit" Belmonte, Rafael Lopa, Joanne Baylon, Gary David and Judith Azarcon as among the members of the board of Angat Pinas.
BUSINESS: Analysts see peso's decline
Over to business, analysts see the Philippine peso (PHP) continue declining in the near future as it fell back to P55 to a United States dollar (USD) level on Friday. The local currency dropped 11 centavos from the P54.97 closing value of the previous day to finish at P55.09:$1 on Friday. As the number of new Covid-19 cases and the positivity rate in the Philippines rise, MUFG Bank currency analyst Sophia Ng said a potential tightening of mobility restrictions is anticipated to put additional downward pressure on the peso. The P56.50:$1 level may be tested, said Craig Chan, head of Global FX Strategy at Nomura, who projected that the dollar-peso exchange rate would likely achieve new record highs in the next one to two months. Chan said that it is very evident from the central bank commentary that a more flexible regime will be permitted for foreign exchange. He added that the Philippines' negative balance of payments and continued spike in demand for foreign currency deposits are two further worrying factors. For his part, Mike Enriquez, president and chief investment officer of Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., pointed out that the weakening of the peso is actually a result of the dollar's strength and not the country's overall economic situation.
SPORTS: San Miguel favored over NorthPort
In sports, San Miguel tries to firm up its hold of the lead while NLEX looks to end a losing streak as the PBA Philippine Cup resumes today, July 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Winning five of their six games, the Beermen will have a chance to virtually secure an outright playoff berth when they take on the NorthPort Batang Pier at 5:15 p.m. right before the match between the Road Warriors and the Magnolia Timplados at 7:15 p.m. The battle between the Beermen and the Batang Pier will be a match of two teams that are going different paths. San Miguel is currently the No. 1 team in the tournament while NorthPort is a skidding squad that is desperate for a victory to keep in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses on reforming the party-list system, while Remoto talks about "memory's fiction".
Today's editorial tackles how the newly-sworn Marcos government can retrieve a "lost" transportation solution. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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This is EJ Gomez reporting.