Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, October 1, 2022.
READ: PH, US fortify defense treaty
THE Philippines and United States defense officials met on Friday to discuss ways of strengthening commitments under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) amid rising concerns in the West Philippine Sea and tensions with China. The meeting between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin 3rd and Philippine Defense department Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. was held at the US Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii. In their joint press conference after the meeting, the two said they looked to enhance the cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment.
READ: 'Karding' death toll rises to 12
THE number of deaths attributed to Super Typhoon "Karding" has risen to 12. In a situation report Friday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll included the five rescuers killed earlier in San Miguel, Bulacan. One death each was reported in Baliuag, Bulacan and Zambales, all due to drowning, and one in Burdeos, Quezon, due to a landslide. Two people also drowned in Tanay and one in Antipolo City, both in Rizal, and one person died in Zambales in a motorcycle accident.
READ: Basketball on tap as UAAP back to full-calendar season
FOR the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) opens Season 85 that will have a full calendar of 60 events across 21 sports beginning with the basketball tournament which tips off today, Oct. 1, 2022, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The collegiate league had a shortened Season 84 with fewer events because of Covid-19 restrictions that discouraged close contacts among individuals and banned large crowd gatherings. Adamson University, the season's host, will spearhead the prerecorded opening ceremony with the theme "Rise as One," which will be telecast at 1 p.m.
SPORTS: JRU escapes with overtime win vs Mapua
Sticking to collegiate basketball, Jose Rizal University (JRU) escaped with a hard-earned 67-64 overtime victory over Mapua on Friday to claim its third straight win in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 98 men's basketball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Center.
READ: Duterte insists CPP, NPA terrorist groups
In other news, former president Rodrigo Duterte has insisted that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), are terrorist organizations no matter what any court says. He was referring to a recent decision of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 Presiding Judge Marlo Apalisok Magdoza-Malagar that junked the Department of Justice's (DoJ) 2018 proscription petition to declare the CPP-NPA as terrorist groups.
READ: OCTA hopeful of 'merry' Christmas
DESPITE the current increases in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, OCTA Research said it is still hopeful for a Christmas with low case numbers. This comes as the National Capital Region (NCR) reported a significant increase in its seven-day positivity rate, from 17.5 percent on September 21 to 18.9 percent on September 28. Despite the high positivity rate, the reproduction number has decreased to 1.10 as of September 26 and the growth rate of new cases in the region have slowed down.
READ: PH debt swells to P13.02T
THE country's total outstanding debt climbed to P13.02 trillion as of last August, the Bureau of Treasury reported Friday. The figure is P133.64 billion or one percent higher than the record P12.89 trillion posted in July. The bureau attributed the increase to the issuance of domestic securities and currency adjustments. The government's debt has risen by P1.29 trillion or 11 percent since December 2021, of which 68.7 percent were domestic borrowings. The government's domestic debt ran to P8.94 trillion, higher by P111.21 billion (1.3 percent) than the July level. The August increase in domestic debt resulted from the issuance of P109.43 billion in government securities and the P1.78 billion impact of the peso's depreciation against the US dollar.
BUSINESS: Peso 'slightly recovers' to P58.625 per dollar
Over to business, the Philippine peso on Friday slightly appreciated against the United States dollar after the local currency closed trading at P58.625. Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed that peso trading opened at P58.6, stronger than Thursday's opening of P58.87. The local currency traded between P58.53 and P58.79, resulting in a weighted average of P58.646. The Philippine peso likewise gained 34.5 centavos from Thursday's finish at P58.97.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras believes a law weakens the government case against the country's communists, Makabenta tackles Washington's policies on Taiwan, and Remoto remembers the late former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Today's editorial discusses the renewable energy economy. 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 new month ahead.