Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, July 3, 2022.
READ: Opposition to Marcos: Let PH rejoin intl court
OPPOSITION leaders have asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to restore the country's membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) to strengthen defenses against human rights abuses. Former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose six-year term ended on Thursday, withdrew the country's ratification of the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based court launched a preliminary examination into thousands of killings during his campaign against illegal drugs. Critics said Duterte's move was an attempt to evade accountability. However, the ICC prosecutor said the court still has jurisdiction over crimes alleged while the Philippines was still a member of the court.
READ: July surge seen as last but deadlier strains up
OCTA Research Group senior fellow Dr. Guido David said on Saturday that the July surge in Covid-19 cases might be the last that country will experience though the emergence of more vicious variants is still a threat. The Philippines, in the past few weeks, was grappling with a "weak" surge attributed to the presence of the highly-infectious subvariants of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, increased crowd mobility, and waning vaccine immunity. On Friday, the Department of Health (DoH) reported a 53-percent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, with 88 percent of provinces and independent cities reporting an increased growth rate.The country has posted an average of 914 cases per day during June 25 to July 1, compared to the 599 cases per day recorded on June 18-24. David said the numbers will reach their peak within the next two weeks, with an estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 cases per day across the country.Besides the National Capital Region, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), and the Western Visayas regions, David predicted an increase in the number of cases in Cordillera and Central Luzon.He noted that despite the increase in the number of cases, health care utilization rate remained low at around 21 percent, an indication that most of the cases were mild and just being treated at home. David said future onslaught of the virus would not be strong enough to cripple the health system. Although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is yet to appoint a new Health secretary, David is confident that the DoH is capable of sustaining the country's pandemic response.
READ: Manila mayoral bet links Comelec to fraud in protest
AS far as lawyer Alex Lopez is concerned, the election in Manila isn't over as he ramped up his protest against the newly-sworn Mayor Maria Sheilah "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan, urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to take into its custody the disputed ballots in over 1,000 clustered precincts in the May 9 elections while linking some of poll personnel in a "clandestine transport of ballot boxes." Lopez, who came in second in the city polls, filed his protest contesting the election and proclamation of Lacuna-Pangan alleging that massive electoral fraud, anomalies and irregularities were committed in all the 1,859 clustered precincts in Manila. Lopez said in the Amended Manifestation and Motion he filed with the Comelec wherein he also asked the poll body to make "immediate, appropriate and necessary precautionary steps and measures for the safekeeping and custody as well as to safeguard the integrity" of all election paraphernalia related to the May polls in the city. In his motion, Lopez, the eldest child of former Manila mayor Gemiliano "Mel" Lopez, also alleged that on June 18, people identified with the Comelec were seen "clandestinely" transporting boxes containing the May 9 ballots from the Manila City Treasurer's Office at the Manila City Hall to the Diamond Hotel in Manila City where a Random Manual Audit (RMA) was being conducted. An (RMA)is the process of examination to determine whether the automated count of the Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) under an Automated Election System (AES) is accurate based on a manual verification of said count. Sought for a reaction, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said on Saturday that there was "no clandestine transportation of ballot boxes." Laudiangco said that Lopez could be referring to the ballot boxes that were randomly selected and transported to the Diamond Hotel for the law-mandated RMA. In her verified answer to the allegations raised in the electoral protest, Lacuna-Pangan said the vote difference between her and Lopez proves that there is "nothing presumptive" in the election results. Moreover, Lacuna-Pangan said she is the true and legitimate winner and the overwhelming lead she has over protestant Lopez is a "concrete manifestation of the electorate's true choice."
READ: Ex-PH trackster pleads guilty to vape scam
A Southern California man who once competed on the Philippines national decathlon team has agreed to plead guilty to bilking investors out of more than $28 million with a phony scheme to market cannabis vape pens, federal prosecutors announced Friday (Saturday in Manila). David Joseph Bunevacz, 53, of Calabasas, agreed on Wednesday to plead guilty at a later date to securities and wire fraud. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in Los Angeles, the US attorney's office said. According to his plea agreement, as far back as 2010 Bunevacz created several businesses that he claimed were involved in the cannabis industry and the sale of vape pens, prosecutors said. He was a former University of California, Los Angeles, decathlete and competed for the Philippines in the 1990s.
READ: New DoLE, DPWH chiefs assume office
UNDERSERVED workers, particularly in far flung areas, will be on top of the priority of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) under the Marcos administration. New Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma made the assurance after he formally took over the helm of leadership from former Labor secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd over the week. Laguesma vowed to make the Labor department a "more responsible and responsive institution that reaches out to needy workers, especially those in rural and far-urban areas." Likewise, Secretary Manuel Bonoan has also assumed his position as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He succeeded Acting Secretary Roger Mercado. Outgoing Acting Secretary Mercado handed over the DPWH flag symbolizing reins of the agency during a simple turnover ceremony held Friday, July 1 at the DPWH Central Office Multi-Purpose Hall in Port Area, Manila.
READ: PH growth outlook stays at 6.5%
Over to business, debt watcher S&P Global Ratings maintained its 2022 economic growth outlook for the Philippines below the government's goal in light of rising consumer prices. It sees this year's growth in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) would be 6.5 percent, which is faster than the actual GDP growth of 5.7 percent in 2021 but less than the 7 to 8 percent growth target set for this year by the Development Budget Coordination Committee.Asia Pacific chief economist at S&P Global Ratings Louis Kuijs said the Philippines' growth surprised to the upside significantly in the first quarter, with investment coming in particularly strong as both consumption and exports continued to increase. As part of its monetary policy normalization, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points back-to-back in May and June. Kuijs cautioned that this would negatively impact investment recovery, particularly in the private sector, and weigh on growth during the following two years.
READ: PBA open to foreign teams, Asian imports
Topping sports, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has opened its doors to a foreign squad beginning with the Bay Area Dragons, a Hong Kong-based squad competing in the East Asia Super League. PBA commissioner Willie Marcial sees this as a step in strengthening the ties with the other Asian countries while providing our fans a different basketball flavor. He is open to the idea of welcoming additional guest foreign teams in the future. Bringing in Korean and Japanese teams is a big possibility, especially with Filipino players now seeing action in the Korean Basketball League and the B. League in Japan.
Marlen Ronquillo is our front page columnist today. He weighs in on the country's agriculture sector under the new administration.
Today's editorial calls on Rappler to stay open amid a recent ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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For The Manila Times, this is Paulo Dimaapi.