Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.
READ: Transport groups to hold strike
ORGANIZATIONS representing jeepneys and UV Express drivers and operators will hold a weeklong strike in Metro Manila starting March 6 to underscore their opposition to the government's transport modernization program. Mar Valbuena, chairman of the transport group Manibela, said on Monday that drivers of 40,000 traditional jeepneys and UV Express units in Metro Manila will join the strike. Valbuena said Manibela is awaiting word from members in the provinces if they, too, will call a strike. The jeepney modernization program was one of the priority initiatives of former president Rodrigo Duterte. It seeks to retire old and rundown jeepneys and replace them with high-quality vehicles that are environment-friendly and have bigger passenger capacity. A number of groups, however, are against the policy, saying it does not provide for financial support to jeepney drivers and small operators. Valbuena said jeepney drivers and operators have to struggle with ballooning fuel prices and the costs of organizing themselves into cooperatives, a requirement under the modernization plan.
READ: Makati closes Smart main office over unpaid taxes
THE Makati City government on Monday issued a closure order against Smart Communications Inc. for operating without a business permit and owing the city over P3.2 billion in unpaid franchise tax. In a statement Monday, Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza said businesses in Makati operating without a valid business permit "are essentially operating outside the law." In an order of desistance/closure dated February 23, the city said Smart's headquarters on Ayala Avenue, Barangay San Lorenzo, violated Section 4A.01 of the Revised Makati Revenue Code or City Ordinance 2004-A-025. It ordered the telecommunications giant "to cease and desist from further operating your business establishment until such time compliance with the said ordinance is made."
READ: Covid likely emerged from China lab leak – report
WASHINGTON: The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the US Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination — noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office, The Wall Street Journal reported — marks a shift by the Energy department, which had previously said it was undecided on how the virus emerged. People who read the classified report were quoted in the Journal and The New York Times as saying the department made its judgment with "low confidence," highlighting how different agencies remain divided over the origins of Covid-19 and the pandemic that swept the globe in early 2020. The conclusion, reportedly the result of new intelligence, is nevertheless significant because the department oversees a network of national laboratories, including some that do advanced biological research. The department now joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation in believing that the pandemic, which has left nearly seven million people dead, was the result of a mishap in a Chinese laboratory.
READ: The Times forum to focus on economic growth
TOP corporate executives from Philippine companies will share their views on how to sustain economic growth during a forum today, February 28, presented by The Manila Times, in cooperation with Angkas, BDO and Megaworld. The forum, which will be held at the Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will have as panelists Cosette Canilao, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aboitiz Infracapital; Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital and Investment Corp.; Sheila Lobien, chief executive officer of Lobien Realty Group Inc.; and Milo Sandig, president and CEO of Digitalinnov. The discussions are expected to revolve around how the country's economic managers will continue to implement the administration's 8-point socioeconomic agenda for growth. Invited as guests are Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla; Kelly Bird, Asian Development Bank's country director of the Philippines Country Office Southeast Asia Department; Noiame Dop, World Bank's country director for Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Thailand; Ragnar Gudmundsson, International Monetary Fund's resident representative to the Philippines; Franz-Michael SK Jolo Mellbin, Denmark's ambassador to the Philippines and Palau; and George Royeca, CEO of Angkas.
In Business
READ: BDO net balloons to P57B
THE country's largest bank saw its net income surge to P57.1 billion last year, up 34.7 percent from P42.8 billion in 2021, following robust growth across its core businesses. The earnings were "broad-based and diversified," the Sy-led bank said in a statement, adding that it remained optimistic about its growth prospects despite current headwinds. Return on equity improved to 13 percent for the year — 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter alone — from 10.5 percent in 2021 and 12.8 percent in 2019 before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Gross customer loans were said to have gone up by 9 percent year on year, which BDO described as "broad-based" and due to the economy's reopening.
Topping Sports
READ: Cool Smashers gun for solo lead
DEFENDING champion Creamline shoots for a solo lead in the standings when it faces Army Black Mamba in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena today, February 28. Game time is 4 p.m. Creamline shares the top spot with F2 Logistics at press time with a 4-1 slate but a win over the also-ran Lady Troopers will give them the solo lead in the standings. With Alyssa Valdez still out and Tots Carlos nursing an injury, the Cool Smashers are expected to lean on Jema Galanza once more as well as Michele Gumbao and star setter Jia de Guzman.
READ: Kirk ends drought, wins Honda Classic
MIAMI: Chris Kirk birdied the first playoff hole to beat Eric Cole at the Honda Classic on Sunday (Monday in Manila), ending a near eight-year title drought with his fifth US PGA Tour triumph. It was an emotional win for the 37-year-old American, whose last victory at Colonial in 2015 was followed by time away from the game in 2019 to deal with depression and alcohol misuse. He took a two-shot lead into the final round and carded a one-under-par 69, shaking off a bogey at the 72nd hole with a birdie when they returned again to 18 for the first hole of the playoff. Cole, who is a US tour rookie this season at the age of 34, carded a final-round 67 on the par-70 PGA National course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he joined Kirk in finishing with a 72-hole total of 14-under par 266.
READ: Opinion/Editorial
In its editorial, the Times says the Sogie bill does not push for same-sex marriage. Read the full version on print, on digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Manila Times Chairman Emeritus Dante A. Ang, Antonio Contreras, and Yen Makabenta. Ang, in his column, asks whether EDCA is a bane or boon to the Philippines; Contreras about a country fixated on titles; and Makabenta on a hard lesson learned: China is pivoting away from wolf-warrior diplomacy.
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This is Kim Salinas reporting.