Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Saturday, May 31, 2025.
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READ: Impeach issue splits senators
SENATE President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada has reiterated that the Senate will uphold its constitutional duty to hear the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, despite delays in the process. This assertion comes after Senate President Francis Escudero announced the postponement of the presentation of impeachment articles from June 2 to June 11, raising concerns about the future of the case. In defending the Senate's position, Estrada emphasized that while serving as an impeachment court is essential, the Senate's primary obligation lies in developing and passing legislation that benefits the nation. On Friday, Mamamayang Liberal Partylist representative-elect Leila de Lima expressed frustration over Escudero's decision to move the date of the presentation of impeachment evidence. Interviewed by reporters after a forum in San Juan City, de Lima said that she was already "dismayed" when the Senate did not act on the verified impeachment complaint after it was transmitted from the House of Representatives last February.
READ: Biazon, 4 others convicted in PDAF case
MUNTINLUPA City Mayor Ruffy Biazon and four others, including convicted pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, has been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan for alleged misuse of Biazon's priority development assistance fund (PDAF) worth 3 million pesos for a livelihood project in 2007. Also convicted of graft by the court's special seventh division are former Technology Resource Center (TRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, former TRC employee Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana and Napoles associate Evelyn de Leon. In a 191-page decision written by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, and concurred by division chairman and Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, and Associate Justice Georgina Hidalgo, Biazon was convicted for endorsing the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PDSFI) as the lead implementing agency of his PDAF project.
READ: Teves in NBI custody after return from Timor-Leste
FORMER Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. was flown back to the Philippines Thursday night after being deported from Timor-Leste, where he had sought refuge for two years. At a Friday press briefing, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago said the deportation of Teves was the result of diplomatic efforts between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta. Santiago said Timorese authorities deemed Teves a potential security risk, both due to his undocumented status and the serious criminal charges he faces back home. A Philippine delegation that included Justice Undersecretary Eliseo Cruz and NBI officials traveled to the Timorese capital of Dili on May 28 to facilitate the transfer.
READ: LRT, MRT commuters can soon pay fare via e-wallets
RAILWAY commuters in Metro Manila can soon pay their fare through e-wallets such as GCash and Maya, and debit and credit cards. Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon announced on Friday that fare payments through e-wallets is a response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to Cabinet officials to ensure there are no delays in government projects to better serve the public.
Dizon said cashless turnstiles for the automatic fare collection system will be installed at Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations starting July, eliminating the need to purchase or reload a Beep card, the contactless, stored-value smart card used for paying fares. Dizon said commuters can simply tap their phones or cards at the turnstile or the mechanical gate, which consists of revolving horizontal arms fixed to a vertical post.
BUSINESS: Trade gap narrows
Topping business, the country's trade deficit shrank in April amid a contraction in total merchandise transactions, preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority data showed on Friday. The $3.4-billion gap — the result of imports hitting $6.75 billion and exports totaling $10.24 billion — narrowed from $4.52 billion in March and $4.73 billion a year earlier. Imports and exports were both lower compared to March but diverged when measured against year-ago figures: outbound shipments were up 7.0 percent while purchases from abroad fell 7.2 percent. Exports growth slowed for a second straight month while the imports decline snapped a three-month expansion Total external trade, at $16.99 billion, was down 2.0 percent year on year — a reversal from annual gains of 14.2 percent in March and 18.2 percent a year earlier.
SPORTS: Davao Region claims Palaro basketball crown
Over to sports, Davao Region seized the 65th Palarong Pambansa secondary boys basketball championship after beating Western Visayas in the final game, 67-51, at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena on Friday morning. Represented by Ateneo de Davao University, Region 11 pulled away in the fourth quarter to stretch a 46-37 lead into a 16-point 55-39 advantage following Raissen Boholano's jumper at the 7:48 mark of the final frame. That triple capped Davao's 9-2 telling run as it kept Western Visayas, represented by St. Robert's International College, at bay for the rest of the game. John Mark Peligrino and Rene Bartebonia pumped 19 points each to carry Region 11 to its first ever secondary boys basketball championship in the annual games.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about the dangers of surveys, while Makabenta discusses global warming.
Today's editorial looks into Timor-Leste's entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Read more in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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