Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila TImes for Saturday, March 19, 2023.

DoJ dismisses one complaint vs Teves

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has dismissed a complaint against Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). Based on a resolution issued on Monday, March 13, and signed by Prosecutor Victor Dalanao Jr. and approved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon, the complaint filed against Teves "is not a proper subject for inquest since he was not arrested during the implementation of the search." Dalanao and Fadullon instead recommended that the complaint be filed against a certain Roland Aguisanda Pablio since the firearms seized during the raid were said to have been licensed to him rather than to Teves. The case stemmed from the raid conducted by the PNP-CIDG on several houses owned by Teves last March 7 in search of loose firearms.

Vergeire accused of 'authoritarian' management

A GROUP of unnamed officials and employees of the Department of Health (DoH) has claimed that its current officer in charge Maria Rosario Vergeire is running the department as an "authoritarian ruler." In a letter written to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other government officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, the employees claimed that Vergeire ran the DoH "like her fiefdom and treats everyone, including undersecretaries and assistant secretaries as if [they were] her own subjects and must follow all her orders." The letter also claimed that Vergeire had started transferring DoH personnel to be replaced by their favored staff. Vacant positions with permanent items are being awarded to favored DoH job-order holders, even if they are new.

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First lady backs Filipina entrepreneurs

FIRST lady Marie Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos on Saturday showed her support for women entrepreneurs, joining them at a Go Negosyo event aimed at encouraging more women to start their own businesses in the country. Araneta-Marcos graced the Go Negosyo's Women Entrepreneurship Summit at the SM Mall of Asia Activity Center in Parañaque City on Saturday. She was joined by Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd, United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, and Parañaque Mayor Eric Olivarez. In his remarks, Concepcion thanked Araneta-Marcos for supporting Go Negosyo's initiatives to help women entrepreneurs in the country.

Tuberculosis is afflicting young Filipinos – expert

A HEALTH expert expressed concern over the rising incidents of tuberculosis (TB) among young Filipinos. Department of Health Disease Prevention and Control Bureau TB adviser Dr. Ronald Allan Fabella said 12 percent of the total number of TB patients in the country are young Filipinos. Fabella said diagnosing TB for patients under 15 is a challenge because children can't produce sputum for confirmatory tests. The World Health Organization estimates that around 741,000 Filipinos have tuberculosis, or around 650 TB cases per 100,000, with the high number due to delayed reporting brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russia rejects, Ukraine hails ICC arrest warrant on Putin

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (Saturday in Manila) announced an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. The Hague-based ICC said it had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights, on similar charges. Moscow dismissed the orders as "void."

UBS in talks to acquire Credit Suisse – report

In business, Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, is in talks to buy all or part of Credit Suisse, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT). Credit Suisse ― Switzerland's second-biggest bank ― came under pressure this week as the failure of two US regional lenders rocked the sector. By the close of markets on Friday, its shares had dropped 8 percent. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and financial markets watchdog Finma told their US and British counterparts their "plan A" to stop the crisis of confidence facing Credit Suisse was to merge it with UBS, the FT reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

Beermen, Gin Kings eye semis

Over to sports, powerhouse sister teams San Miguel Beer (SMB) and Barangay Ginebra eye quick knockout blows against separate opponents as the 2022-2023 PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals start on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen finished the single-round eliminations at 9-2, en route to capturing the second seed entering the opening round of the playoffs. SMB takes on seventh-ranked Converge in the opening game at 4:30 p.m. On the other hand, the league's top crowd-drawer Ginebra takes on sixth seed NLEX in the main game at 6:45 p.m. Both sister ball clubs only need to win once to advance to the best-of-five semifinal series after being in the top four at the end of the eliminations.

Opinion and editorial

Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he weighs in on Congress' controversial moves for charter change.

Today's editorial believes a legislate minimum wage is bad for the economy. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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For The Manila Times, this is Paulo Dimaapi.