Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, November 24, 2022.
BANNER: 'Retailers must rethink strategy amid inflation'
A RETAIL executive encouraged retailers to re-strategize the way they do business to cope with inflation. Speaking at The Manila Times online forum, "Tech Leveraging: The Future of Retailing," on Wednesday, Philippine Retailers Association President Rosemarie Bosch-Ong said the retail industry must be resilient in the face of rising inflation. Filipinos are already reeling from high inflation, the depreciation of the peso, and disruptions in the supply chain, she said. Bosch-Ong said her group adopts the concept of "granular pricing," where retailers try to be resilient enough to prevent passing on the cost of production to consumers.
Defense dept sticks to version of sea incident
THE Department of National Defense (DND) maintained that the Chinese coast guard "rudely took" what is believed to be part of a rocket debris that Philippine naval forces recovered in the waters of Pagasa Island near Palawan. DND Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr. said Monday the department is standing by its version of the incident after Beijing issued a statement denying that its coast guard forcibly took the object being towed by a Philippine naval vessel. The Chinese foreign ministry said that the object was taken by its coast guard after a "friendly consultation" with Philippine authorities. But Faustino strongly denied it.
Subpoena error delays Lapid case investigation
THE Department of Justice (DoJ) panel of prosecutors has reset the preliminary investigation of the Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa murder case to December 5 because of an error in the subpoena issued to suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag. Bantag's lawyer Rocky Thomas Balisong said the subpoena listed his client's middle name as "Soriano" instead of "Quitaleg." Bantag did not appear in the initial probe because technically, the subpoena was issued to a different person, Balisong said. Gerald Bantag y Soriano "is different from DG (Director General) Gerald Bantag y Quitaleg," Balisong told reporters. The error was promptly corrected by the prosecutors, who gave Bantag 10 days to submit his counter-affidavit. Balisong added that Bantag might virtually attend the hearing via Zoom on December 5. The other prime suspect, Bantag's deputy at BuCor, Ricardo Zulueta, was also a no-show on Wednesday, nor was he represented by counsel.
THE Commission on Appointments (CA) approved on Wednesday the ad interim appointments of Lucas Bersamin as executive secretary and Benjamin Diokno as Finance secretary. The CA, however, suspended the deliberation on the ad interim appointment of Gamaliel Cordoba as chairman of the Commission on Audit after Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros requested further scrutiny of the appointee's competence. Bersamin and Diokno will face the CA plenary for the final approval of their respective appointments. Sen. Mary Grace Poe pushed for Bersamin's appointment, saying he is not only bright but also has a sense of humor, a quality, she said, needed in his job. Sen. Maria Josefa Imelda "Imee" Marcos sponsored Diokno's confirmation.
Senate approves P5.26T 2023 budget
THE Senate approved on the third and final reading the proposed P5.268 trillion 2023 national budget, the first appropriations measure of the Marcos administration. After almost two weeks of marathon hearings, the Senate on Wednesday approved its version of the 2023 national budget. The senators moved to approve House Bill (HB) 4488, the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), after they passed it on second reading. The members of the bicameral conference committee tasked to finetune HB 4488 will meet on Friday.
BUSINESS: Diokno: PH debt still 'manageable'
Topping business, the country's debt remains "manageable" despite hitting a new record high of P13.52 trillion as of end-September, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday. Government borrowings in the final years of the Duterte administration led to outstanding debt hitting successive all-time highs, culminating in a P12.8-trillion tally by the time then-president Rodrigo Duterte stepped down in June. Nearly another trillion pesos has been added three months into the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. In September alone, another P495.54 billion was added to the government's outstanding debt, attributed to the issuance of government securities and the peso's weakening. Despite rising to 63.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as of end-September from less than 40 percent prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Diokno said the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable by international comparison.
SPORTS: Gavina's squad shackles Howard's team
In sports, Filipino American coach Chris Gavina had mixed emotions heading into his team Taichung Suns' keenly-awaited match against the Taoyuan Leopards who boast of former NBA superstar Dwight Howard as one of their imports. The 6-foot-10 Howard was coming off a dominant debut for the Leopards in his first appearance in the Taiwan T1 League, scoring 38 points, grabbing 25 rebounds and issuing nine assists in a near triple-double effort to lead his team to a 120-115 overtime win against the New Taipei CTBC DEA. Gavina knew what Howard could do, especially inside the paint, where he could simply use his brute strength to bully his defenders. Yet, the Suns' new head coach shared how he spent his time crafting a game plan against the former NBA Slam Dunk king.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists.
Contreras discusses academic freedom, Makabenta weighs in on China's Covid-19 situation, and Remoto recalls some of his past travels.
Today's editorial tackles a new standoff between the Philippine Navy and China's Coast Guard. 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.