Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, December 1, 2022.
BANNER: Tariff push to test BBM's political will
A PUSH to extend lowered tariffs on agricultural products will test President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s political will, farmers' groups claimed on Wednesday, given his call to prioritize local food production over imports. Malacañang and the officials concerned were not immediately available for comment. EO 171, issued by then President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2022, extended soon-to-expire lowered tariffs on imported pork, rice and corn up the end of this year to address rising prices blamed on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Marcos, Duterte rated high for trust, performance – poll
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio garnered high trust and performance ratings in October, according to a survey commissioned by OCTA Research. Based on the Tugon ng Masa poll from October 23 to 27, 86 percent of respondents across the country trust both Marcos and Duterte, 4 percent distrust them, and 10 percent are undecided. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri is the next most trustworthy public official with a 52 percent percent trust rating, followed by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez with 38 percent and Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo with 24 percent.
'Be ready to defend your freedom'
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday called on Filipinos to be ever ready to defend their liberty as he leads the commemoration of the 159th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio at the Monument Circle in Caloocan City. This year's celebration carries the theme, "Bonifacio 2022: Kabayanihan at Pagtindig sa Makabagong Panahon." The President encouraged Filipinos to emulate Bonifacio's courage in overcoming the challenges of modern times.
BFAR mulls moratorium on crackdown vs imported fish
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Wednesday said it was considering imposing a moratorium on the crackdown of imported frozen fish in wet markets amid criticisms that it was anti-poor. In a radio interview, Nazario Briguer, BFAR Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit chief, said he had informed BFAR Officer in Charge Demosthenes Escoto on the developments in the Senate after Senators Raffy Tulfo and Mary Grace Poe questioned the move of the agency to crack down on pampano and salmon starting on Dec. 4, 2022.
Catapang says 'fiefdom' exists inside BuCor
BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) Officer in Charge Gregorio Catapang said on Wednesday that ongoing investigation has uncovered the existence of "fiefdom" inside Philippine prison system. Catapang said existing problems were exacerbated when Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel were deployed to augment the BuCor staff following the appointment of Gerald Bantag as the agency's director general in 2019.
DoJ orders probe on recruitment scam
A GROUP of rogue Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) could be in cahoots with a Chinese-run syndicate involved in a cryptocurrency scam overseas. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco to look into the matter, which was exposed by Sen. Ana Theresia "Risa" Hontiveros in a privileged speech last November 21. One of the victims presented by Hontiveros in a Senate hearing said that she and 11 others were recruited via Facebook where they saw advertisements of job openings for call center agents and encoders in Thailand. The victim said after their arrival in Thailand, they were taken to Myanmar where they were allegedly made to work as scammers. They were allegedly trained by "Western" men on how to lure victims to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency accounts. Tansingco said that his office is closely coordinating with Hontiveros' office in gathering more information to determine the possible collusion of some immigration officers assigned in airports to the alleged scam.
Drop in Metro crimes due to new strategy
THE implementation of a new public security program has resulted in a drop in index crimes in Metro Manila, a ranking official of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said. Index crimes include homicide, physical injury, robbery, theft, vehicle theft, motorbike theft and rape. NCRPO spokesman Col. Dexter Versola said the implementation of SAFE, which stands for police operations that are "seen, appreciated and felt by the people through extraordinary actions," has resulted in the gradual decline in index crimes recorded since August.
BUSINESS: Bangko Sentral sees inflation topping 8%
Over to business, inflation could have soared to as much as 8.2 percent in November due to higher food, electricity and cooking gas prices, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said late on Tuesday. Following October's near 14- year high of 7.7 percent, the central bank said consumer price growth likely hit 7.4 to 8.2 percent last month.
SPORTS: HD Spikers, Angels begin finals series
Topping sports, Petro Gazz and Cignal finished as top two and thus are set to collide in a best-of-three Finals series of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference, with Game One set today, December 1, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game time is at 5:30 p.m., with the Angels-HD Spikers series preceding Game 1 of the battle for third best-of-3 series between Creamline and Chery Tiggo. Cignal and Metro Gazz finished with identical 2-1 records and had six points each after the round-robin semis. The HD Spikers got to the Big Dance first as they clinched a finals ticket after winning the third set, 27-25, in their semifinals match against Petro Gazz last Tuesday when the Angels actually won the match in four, 25-14, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19. The third set win enabled Cignal to have a superior set ratio over Petro Gazz and Creamline regardless of how its game against the Angels panned out. On the other hand, the Angels' failure to sweep the HD Spikers had them waiting for the result of the Cool Smashers-Crossovers contest.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses the travails of working for the government, Makabenta weighs in on the protests in China, and Remoto tackles his writing adventures and misadventures.
Our editorial today believes the Court of Appeals' decision on power rate hike is a burden for consumers. 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.