Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, September 24, 2022.
READ: Biden: US bound to defense of PH
United States President Joe Biden reaffirmed to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. his country's "ironclad commitment" to defend the Philippines from an attack by a foreign aggressor. Biden and Marcos held their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday (Friday in Manila). In a statement released after the meeting, the White House said the two leaders "reflected on the importance of the US-Philippines alliance."
READ: Govt not giving up on terrorist-tagging CPP-NPA
THE government will explore "many available remedies" after a Manila court threw out a petition by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), as terrorist organizations, a Malacañang official said. Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar earlier this week issued a ruling that dismissed the DoJ's petition. In a press briefing Friday, Press Secretary Rose Beatrix "Trixie" Cruz-Angeles said the court's decision "is not yet final," and "there are still many available remedies for the government."
READ: Barangay-SK poll calendar tweaked
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has revised its calendar of activities for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on December 5 to avoid a conflict if the proposed measure seeking to reset the synchronized polls is enacted into law. As approved by the Comelec en banc, the filing of the certificates of candidacy (CoC) for aspiring barangay leaders and youth councilors was moved to October 22 to 29 from October 6 to 13.
READ: NCR Covid positivity up, matches August peak
THE Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila has matched its previous peak in August, OCTA Research reported. OCTA Research senior fellow Dr. Guido David said NCR's positivity rate rose to 17.5 percent as of September 21 from 14.3 percent the previous week, equaling the peak reported last August 5. The highest recorded positivity rate was 50 percent, logged during the Omicron wave earlier this year.
READ: 'CoA flagged P909.5M DAR's special funds'
ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro on Friday disclosed that the Commission on Audit (CoA) has questioned the P909.5 million special funds received by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for the implementation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) in 2021. During the plenary deliberations of the P15.85 billion 2023 proposed budget of the DAR, Castro said that she received a copy of the report where CoA stated that the DAR failed to identify the supposed former rebel beneficiaries of the program.
BUSINESS: Business sentiment down in Q3
Over to business, the business sentiment turned less optimistic in the third quarter and in the next 12 months due to a weak peso and high inflation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) quarterly Business Expectations Survey (BES) showed on Friday. Conversely, a BSP study on consumer sentiment showed Filipino consumers have a more positive perspective for the last quarter of 2022 and the following 12 months due to expectations of increased income and improved work conditions. The latest BES results showed an overall confidence index (CI) of 26.1 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to 35.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
SPORTS: PSC to strengthen grassroots programs
In sports, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will not only focus on the elite athletes but will also strengthen its grassroots development programs. PSC chairman Noli Eala said this at the government sponsored public briefing on Friday. Eala also bared his plan to revive the National Sports Development and Promotion Council which will involve the participation of the Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, local government units and the national sports associations.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles the challenge President Marcos is facing coming home from his weeklong trip to the United States, Makabenta tackles the Museo ng Pag-asa, while Remoto tackles the novel The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.
Today's editorial calls on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to clearly address the instability of the Philippine peso. Read the full version in 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 Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe weekend ahead.