Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, October 3, 2022.
READ: 'PH in the grip of water crisis'
A TOP executive of a global nonprofit organization working to bring water and sanitation to the world said access to clean, potable water in the Philippines has become a real crisis. Guesting on "Business and Politics," a weekly program on SMNI hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, Griselda Santos, Water.org regional director for Southeast Asia, noted that based on a recent Unicef study, 780 million people across the world do not have access to clean, potable water, and every 2 minutes a child dies of waterborne diseases. At the same time, women and children spend 200 million hours fetching water for household consumption. The situation holds true in the Philippines, Santos said. Children and women "do not have a childhood to speak of. As early as 7 years old, they have been fetching water for hours every day."
READ: Mobility crucial for MSMEs – Concepcion
THE last three months of the year will be crucial for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) since consumer behavior during the Christmas season will determine how the economy will perform ahead of the new year, Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd, Go Negosyo founder, said. He said that mobility in the last quarter must be maintained to ensure that the country's economic recovery does not stall, especially during the holidays when consumer spending is expected to peak.
READ: Filipina wins prestigious global award
DALAREICH Polot became the first Filipina to receive the Goldman Sachs/Fortune Most Powerful Women Global Award. The 34-year-old from Bohol, known as "Bohol's Chocolate Princess," told The Manila Times she learned over the weekend that she has been chosen for the award along with an Egyptian woman. Polot was referring to the Goldman Sachs 10,000 women program that aims to empower women entrepreneurs globally. She is one of the 200 Filipinas who have benefited from the program, having been part of its 2011 alumni.
READ: More than 1 million affected by 'Karding'
THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday said the number of individuals affected by the Typhoon "Karding" has breached the 1 million mark. In its latest situation report, the NDRRMC said 1,072,282 individuals or 299,127 families in 1,915 villages were affected by Karding in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Cordillera. The number of deaths remained at 12, with five people missing and 52 injured.
READ: 'Nothing wrong with lotto draw'
THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Sunday said there was nothing irregular in the Grand Lotto 6/55 draw on Saturday that saw 433 bettors winning the P236 million jackpot. In a press briefing on Sunday, PCSO General Manager Mel Robles said they were elated that many people won. On Saturday night, 433 people won the jackpot prize of P236,091,188.40 by guessing the winning numbers 9, 45, 36, 27, 18 and 54. The winners will each receive P545,245.24.
BUSINESS: PH govt reduces borrowings by P1T
Over to business, the national government reduced its borrowing by around P1 trillion as of end-August due to lower financing from domestic and foreign creditors, Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) figures showed on Sunday. The Treasury bureau made the report after the total debt of the national government stood at P13.021 trillion as of August, an increase of 12 percent or P1.379 trillion from P11.642 trillion a year ago. According to BTr data, the government had borrowed P1.041 trillion in total from local creditors as of August, down from P1.929 trillion in July.
SPORTS: Victolero says he's a fan of Ayo
In sports, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero admitted being a "fan" of Converge new coach Aldin Ayo. Both coaches worked together briefly as the two were part of the Terrafirma (then known as KIA) coaching staff of Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao during the franchise's maiden year in the PBA 2014-15 season. In fact, in the short period of time they worked together, Victolero already recognized how smart Ayo was, owing to the ideas he contributed to the KIA squad.
Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's columnists. Tiglao hits the recent court ruling on Communist rebels, while Fr. Aquino weighs in on Russia's supposed annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
Today's editorial calls on the urgent rehabilitation of Laguna de Bay. 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 week ahead.