Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, November 10, 2022.
READ: Tracker teams ready to hunt down Bantag
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said a manhunt will be launched against suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and his deputy Ricardo Zulueta once an arrest warrant was issued against them for the killing of journalist Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa and alleged middleman Cristito Villamor Palaña (previously identified as Crisanto or Jun Villamor). The two were accused of conspiring to kill Mabasa over his expose on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Bantag. Villamor wound up dead on the day witness and self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial was presented to the media. He was allegedly suffocated to death by his fellow gang members at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) as part of the coverup of Mabasa's murder. Both Bantag and Zulueta are facing two counts of murder charges. Azurin said authorities were still looking for Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan, who acted as lookouts, and a certain "Orly/Orlando" who drove the getaway motorcycle after Lapid was shot dead. He said the Police Security and Protection Group is ready to provide Bantag protection upon his arrest. Bantag previously served as jail warden in the cities of Parañaque, Manila, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela, and was the head of the BJMP regional office in Mimaropa, before his stint as BuCor director.
READ: PGH to examine 120 corpses from BuCor
JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Wednesday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) has asked the assistance of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for the pathological examination of the 120 cadavers discovered at the Eastern Funeral Homes, an accredited funeral parlor of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). A total of 176 unclaimed bodies of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were discovered in the premises during the course of the investigation of the Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa murder case.
READ: UP remains one of top universities in Asia
THE University of the Philippines has emerged as the top Philippine university in Asia based on the 2023 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asian University Rankings released late Monday. The country's state university ranked 87th among the 760 schools that were assessed by QS, with a score of 47. Following UP is Ateneo de Manila University at 134th place with a score of 34.7, De La Salle University at 171st place with a score of 29.5, and University of Santo Tomas at 175th place with a score of 29. Other schools that made it in the Asian university ranking list are the Ateneo de Davao University, Mapua University and Silliman University, which are at 551-600th place; Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology at 601-650th place; and St. Louis University-Baguio and Xavier University-Cagayan de Oro at 651-700th place.
READ: Marcos, DoE execs tackle energy security
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. met with top officials of the Department of Energy (DoE) and other agencies related to the sector to tackle ways the government can ensure the country's energy security, Malacañang said Wednesday. They tackled "immediate and medium-term plans for energy development and power supply in the country," the Office of the President (OP) said in a Facebook post. Marcos has pushed the use of renewable energy that will also step up the country's efforts in combating climate change. The DoE informed the President that it is preparing for the second green energy auction by June 2023 after the success of the first one held last June. The Green Energy Auction Program was undertaken to entice investments in new or additional renewable energy capacities for the utilization of more sustainable supply sources to meet the country's electricity demands and in the long run bring down the cost of power.
BUSINESS: Q2 growth raised to 7.5% ahead of Q3 data release
In business, the economy grew a bit faster in the second quarter of 2022 than previously reported, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the April-June period was revised to 7.5 percent from 7.4 percent. The net primary income (NPI) growth rate was also raised to 65.3 percent from 64.8 percent and while that for gross national income (GNI) was kept at 9.3 percent.
SPORTS: CSB players to take legal action vs Amores
Topping sports, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (CSB) players badly hurt by a violent John Amores of Jose Rizal University (JRU) are seriously considering taking legal action following their game marred by a brawl in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament. CSB coach Charles Tiu said on Wednesday that the school, particularly the players involved, are considering filing a case against Amores. He did not mention the name of the players. In an act of rage, Amores punched James Pasturan and Taine Davis — both seen on video replays trying to pacify the JRU players.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles the Department of Education's Administrative Order 49, Makabenta gives his reasons why climate summits are bound to fail, and Remoto discusses random notes on Philippine writing.
Today's editorial believes privatizing the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) railway system is a sensible idea. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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This is Peter Steven Llevares reporting.