Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, November 17, 2022.
READ: Harris visit 'affirms' US commitment
UNITED States Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive in the Philippines on Sunday to highlight the US' commitment to uphold rules-based maritime law and freedom of navigation in the region amid overlapping claims in the South China Sea (SCS). A senior US administration official announced, in a background briefing on Wednesday, that Harris will arrive Sunday night after attending the AsiaPacific Economic Conference Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands invalidated Beijing's "nine-dash line" doctrine over the entire SCS region following an arbitration case filed by the Philippine government on Jan. 22, 2013. China's nine-dash line unilaterally encroached on territories of other Southeast Asian countries, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Beijing rejected the ruling that favored the Philippines.
READ: Marcos leaves for APEC meet in Thailand
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. embarked on another trip abroad on Wednesday, this time to participate in the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. In his departure statement delivered at the Villamor Air Base, the Chief Executive said his goal is to unlock economic potential, enable the country's participation in the digital economy and advance sustainable development, as well as address the climate change crisis, among others, during the four-day gathering.
READ: Congress, BARMM leaders convene in 'historic' forum
ANOTHER milestone in the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) has been reached after the Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum convened for the first time on Tuesday, focusing on strengthening ties between the national government and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Led by Inter-Governmental Relations Body (IGRB) co-chairmen Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and BARMM Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education Mohagher Iqbal, the event was also participated in by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, and other senators and members of the House of Representatives. The gathering in Pasay City was in accordance with Section 3, Article 6 of the BOL which mandates the establishment of the Philippine Congress–Bangsamoro Parliament Forum (PCBPF) to fortify the cooperation and coordination of legislative initiatives between the national and Bangsamoro governments.
READ: 'PH close to achieving P20/kilo rice'
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the Philippines is close to achieving the aspiration of bringing down the price of rice to P20 per kilogram. In his speech during the simultaneous launch of the "Kadiwa ng Pasko" project in Mandaluyong City, Marcos said the National Food Authority (NFA) is now selling rice at P25 per kilogram.
READ: DENR investigates 'quarrying' at NBP
AN official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said that the DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has started its investigation on the controversial quarrying inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). In a radio interview, DENR Undersecretary for Policy Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones said based on the initial report of the MGB Region 4A (Calabarzon), at least 10,000 cubic meters of soil were extracted from the quarrying site, with at least 6,000 cubic meters of soil missing.
READ: Palace proclamation out on holidays for 2023
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday released Proclamation 90 amending an earlier circular listing the regular and special holidays for 2023. Signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on November 11, the amendment was made "pursuant to the principle of holiday economics" wherein a longer weekend "will help encourage domestic travel" as well as "increase tourism expenditures in the country." Based on the proclamation, Jan. 2, 2023 is now a special nonworking day, while April 10 and Nov. 27, 2023 are now considered as regular holidays.
BUSINESS: ERC kicks off review of PSAs
Over to business, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has started the nationwide roll-out of review of power supply agreements (PSAs) to assist electric cooperatives (ECs) formulating immediate and midterm measures to address the high cost of electricity in the country. The PSA Caravan, an initiative of ERC and the Department of Energy (DoE), was formally launched on November 10 in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. It aims to evaluate primarily the generation component of consumers' electricity bills. Generation charge constitutes almost 60 percent of the power bill and accounts for the cost of power generated and sold to distribution utilities (DUs) by generation companies under PSAs or through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which the utilities then supply to their captive customers. As of August 2022, generation charges have increased by more than 20 percent compared to 2021 generation charges across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, according to ERC.
SPORTS: JRU drops Amores; game officials probed
Topping sports, Jose Rizal University (JRU) has released a statement on Wednesday announcing the removal of player John Anthony Amores from its basketball team roster after he attacked College of St. Benilde players in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) game on November 8 at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan. In a memo posted on the Facebook page of the NCAA on Wednesday, JRU made the decision to upgrade the sanction against Amores from an indefinite suspension to expulsion from the team. JRU added that Amores will no longer be part of any of the university's sports programs and all privileges to him as a student-athlete have been cancelled. He has also been suspended from all his academic classes and will be asked to render community service as additional punishment. Amores was suspended by the league last week after he punched several St. Benilde players, two of whom have since filed charges against him.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles Filipino resilience, Makabenta discusses climate activist Greta Thunberg's new book, while Remoto tackles a history of shorts.
Today's editorial calls for a strengthening of protections against risks of cryptocurrency. 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.