Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
READ: PH will not rejoin ICC – Marcos
THE Philippines "has no intention" of rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said on Monday. The President said in a briefing on Monday that he met last week with his administration's legal team of Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla, and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, along with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, an ICC-recognized lawyer who will now serve as private counsel, to discuss the international tribunal's plan to reopen its investigation of the Duterte government's bloody campaign against illegal drugs. He said the choice is whether the Philippines will respond or not to the ICC request. Another option is to fully ignore the ICC's request, he said. The President called for the meeting more than a week after the international court urged the Philippines to reply to the ICC prosecutor's request to reopen the probe into the killings attributed to the war on drugs. At least 12,000 persons were killed during the crackdown, and 2,500 of the killings were attributed to the Philippine National Police (PNP). Human rights groups have accused former president Rodrigo Duterte of sanctioning extra-judicial killings. The ICC gave the country until September 8 to comment on its request. Marcos said a response to ICC needed to be carefully studied.
READ: 10 days of national mourning for FVR
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. declared 10 days of national mourning over the death of former president Fidel V. Ramos, Malacañang announced Monday. The mourning period will be from July 31 to August 9. The 94-year-old Ramos died last Sunday. During the mourning period, the Philippine flag will be flown at half-mast on government buildings and installations. The former president's family has yet to release details about his wake and funeral arrangements.
READ: Bacarro named AFP chief, Azurin to head PNP
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. tapped Medal of Valor awardee Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro Jr. as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Malacañang confirmed on Monday. The Commander-in-Chief likewise named LtGen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. as head of the Philippine National Police (PNP), while Medardo de Lemos was appointed director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The Palace official likewise said that Bacarro, who earned the Medal of Valor on Dec. 21, 1991, for his "conspicuous acts of courage, gallantry, and intrepidity" in fighting the New People's Army (NPA) in Isabela, will be the first AFP chief who will serve a fixed three-year term as mandated by Republic Act 11709. Enacted by former president Rodrigo Duterte last April, RA 11709 "sets a fixed three-year tour of duty for the AFP chief of staff, vice chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff, the major service commanders (Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy), unified command commanders, and inspector general unless sooner terminated by the President." Azurin, meanwhile, will be the first PNP chief under the watch of Marcos.
READ: Palace settles PEZA leadership mix-up
MALACAÑANG has cleared up the confusion over the leadership of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Last week the Palace issued a circular which effectively retained Charito "Ching" Plaza as PEZA director general. Memorandum Circular (MC) 3 extends the term of officers in charge of government agencies until December "to ensure the continuous and effective delivery of government services." It supplements MC 1 issued last June 30 declaring all positions vacant. The memo also states that all officials and employees it covers "are mandated to lawfully perform their duties and functions, and submit bi-monthly performance reports to their respective heads of the department, agency, bureau, office or instrumentality" or be held accountable for non-compliance. MC 3 also makes it clear that PEZA is a government-owned or -controlled corporation (GOCC) and therefore is not covered by the order that declared certain positions vacant. Since MC 1 does not apply to PEZA, "the position of Director General is not considered vacant," Plaza said in a statement. She added that a new OIC has not been named by Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual or a "higher officer."
READ: Marcos urges public to get Covid shots
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday urged the public to heed the government's call and get their vaccinations and booster shots against Covid-19. Speaking at the side of the PinasLakas vaccination event in Pasig City, the President called on all citizens to not wait until the country's Covid cases surge again before getting inoculated. He noted that he wants not just schoolchildren to be given additional doses as an added layer of protection when face-to-face classes resume, but for a massive vaccination drive to be launched in the Visayas and Mindanao, where the Covid-19 positivity rate is increasing. The President also reminded the public to continue observing health and safety protocols especially now that another disease, monkeypox, is threatening the country.
READ: George Garcia named Comelec chairman
VETERAN election lawyer George Erwin Garcia has been appointed as chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Malacañang confirmed on Monday. He had a short stint in the poll body during the last administration, having been appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte last March, serving as one of its commissioners. He stepped down after the Commission on Appointments (CA) bypassed him last June shortly before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assumed power.
BUSINESS: NEDA lists growth drivers
Topping business, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said digitalization and other conventional sectors will continue to create employment and drive the Philippine economy going forward. The infrastructure, data centers, artificial intelligence and digital skills are just a few of the things NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the Marcos administration wanted to make the digital sector more dynamic.
SPORTS: PH bags 3 golds in Asean Para Games
Over to sports, the Philippines scored three gold medals in the Asean Para Games in Indonesia on Monday. Swimmers Ernie Gawilan and Roland Sabido, as well as javelin thrower Cendy Asusano delivered the first three golds for the Philippines in the competition. Gawilan ruled the men's 400m freestyle S7 TF event, while Sabido topped the men's 400m freestyle S9 class. Asusano, meanwhile, got her gold in the women's javelin throw F54 event.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras rants on partisan-induced verbal diarrhea, while Makabenta gives theories on the climate agenda. Meanwhile, columnists Michael Charleston Chua, Stephen CuUnjieng, and Maria Lourdes Tiquia have written their tributes to the late former president Fidel V. Ramos, who died on Sunday. Read more on the paper's opinion section.
Today's editorial discusses the recent National Book Awards. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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This is Pete Llevares reporting.