Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
READ: Bantag tagged as Lapid slay brains
SUSPENDED Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag has been charged with murder for the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa, popularly known as "Percy Lapid," and a National Bureau of Prison (NBP) inmate tagged as the middleman who helped recruit Lapid's killers. The filing of the murder complaints by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) before the Department of Justice (DoJ) was revealed Monday during a press conference led by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. Charged along with Bantag for the killing of Lapid were BuCor Deputy Security Officer Ricardo Zulueta and inmates Denver Batungbakal Mayores, a trusted aide of Bantag; Alvin Cornista Labra, leader of the Batang City Jail gang who received the call from Mayores; Aldrin Micosa Galicia, head of the Sputnik gang who took instructions from Galicia; and Alfie Peñaredonda, head of the Happy Go Lucky gang who was identified as the financier. Charged with Bantag and Zulueta for the murder of alleged middleman Cristito Villamor were Labra, Micosa, and fellow inmates Mario Germones Alvarez, Joseph Medel Georfo, Christam Ramac, Ricky Lamigo Salgado, Ronnie Pabustan de la Cruz and Joel Alog Reyes.
READ: Covid rate in NCR lowest in 4 months
THE Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila last November 2 was 8.9 percent, the lowest in four months, the independent monitoring firm OCTA Research said. OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said the rate was significantly lower than the 10.7 percent on October 26. David said the rate translates to an average of 210 confirmed cases a day. He noted that the seven-day average in the NCR also went down from 411 to 269. This is equivalent to an average daily attack rate (ADAR) of 1.87 per 100,000 population. ADAR shows the average incidence of new cases within a specific period per 100,000 people.
READ: Private sector access to bivalent Covid doses pushed
THE government must allow private health care facilities to procure Covid vaccines, especially the bivalent or modified formulation meant for the Omicron variant and subvariants, to ensure that more vulnerable citizens get an added layer of protection against the virus, Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said on Monday. According to the former presidential adviser, the government plans to buy 10 million doses of the bivalent doses, so it must also allow the private sector to pre-register their workers who would fall under priority categories such as the immunocompromised, elderly and individuals with comorbidities. Doing so will lead to a more accurate estimate for the consumption of the Covid-19 vaccines and avoid wastage, Concepcion said.
READ: UN chief to world leaders: Cooperate or perish
Humanity must "cooperate or perish" in the face of accelerating climate change impacts, UN chief Antonio Guterres told world leaders Monday at the UN COP27 summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik on Sunday (Monday in Manila). In the midst of a barrage of international crises — from the Covid pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to weather extremes battering economies and shaking international relations — Guterres said the world is in "the fight of our lives." Guterres called for a "historic" deal between rich countries and emerging economies that would aim to reduce emissions and keep the temperature rise to the more ambitious Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era. The climate summit comes as nations worldwide are facing increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year alone and cost billions of dollars.
READ: 8 billion humans — and still growing
The United Nations estimates that the global human population will reach 8 billion by mid-November, and will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace and with regional disparities, in the decades to come. The UN Population Division estimates that the number of humans on Earth will grow to 8 billion on November 15, more than three times higher than the 2.5 billion global headcounts in 1950. Given the increase in life expectancy as well as the number of people of childbearing age, the UN projects the population to continue growing to about 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and a peak of about 10.4 billion in the 2080s.
In Business
READ: Growth slowdown to continue
FULL-YEAR economic growth expectations will have to be tempered given an expected third-quarter slowdown and the possibility of a further deceleration in the last three months of the year, analysts polled by The Manila Times indicated. With July-September results to be announced on Thursday, a survey of six economists led to a median growth forecast of 6.0 percent, a substantial slowdown from the 7.4-percent expansion in the previous quarter and January-March's 8.4 percent. This would put year-to-date gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 7.2 percent, near the upper end of the government's downwardly revised 6.5- to 7.5-percent target for 2022. Official third-quarter growth data is scheduled to be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority this Thursday, November 10. All analysts polled forecast a continued deceleration, with the lowest projections for the quarter at 5.2 percent and the highest at 6.2 percent due to factors such as soaring inflation and a weaker peso that have cut into consumer spending.
Topping Sports
READ: Yulo bags two medals in world meet
FILIPINO gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo claimed two medals out of four events in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in England, Liverpool early Monday (Manila time). Yulo snared a silver in the vault final with a score of 14.950 points and a bronze in parallel bars with 15.366. Good as his performance was, Yulo's stint in this year's world meet, however, was a downgrade from last year's in Japan where he ruled the vault and finished second in parallel bars. The 4-foot-11 Yulo actually unleashed exquisite performances in both the vault and parallel bars, but Armenian Artur Devtyan and Chinese Zou Jingyan, however, stole the show and topped the Filipino in those respective events. The 22-year-old Yulo could not hide his disappointment after failing to defend his vault title and likewise failing to match his silver in parallel bars from last year, but he vowed to polish his performance for the upcoming competitions including the Southeast Asian Games next year.
READ: Mitchell, Garland lead Cavs past Lakers
Donovan Mitchell returned from injury to score 33 points and lead Cleveland to a 114-100 NBA victory over former Cavaliers star LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday (Monday in Manila). Darius Garland added 24 points and the Cavs pulled away in the second half against a lackluster Lakers side that got only two points from star Anthony Davis after the interval. Jarrett Allen added 16 points for the Cavaliers, who won their eighth straight and at 8-1 are second to the 9-0 Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. The winning streak is Cleveland's longest since a 13-game streak in 2017 — James's final season with the club. Meanwhile, the sputtering Lakers fell to 2-7.
In its editorial, the Times warns against the alarming return of HIV. Read the full version on print or its digital edition or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta. Contreras writes about the vindication of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona; Makabenta on the partnership of creative and digital economies.
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This is Kim Dignadice reporting.