Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, September 20, 2021.
READ: Pacquiao to run for president
SEN. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao was proclaimed Sunday by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction led by him and Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel 3rd as its candidate for president in next year's elections. Pacquiao's proclamation came nearly two weeks after the PDP-Laban faction headed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi named Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go as its standard bearer and President Rodrigo Duterte as his running mate. In his acceptance speech, Pacquiao said he will always be a fighter, whether inside or outside the boxing ring. The national council, whom Pacquiao described as the "grassroots members" of PDP-Laban, also gave him the power to pick his running mate. He vowed to launch a real fight against corruption and warned wrongdoers in government he will put them behind bars if he is elected president.
READ: SPECIAL REPORT: Teachers, students see learning loss
In today's special report, we tackle the struggles of learning between teachers and students a year and a half into the new normal of education. Read the full version of this report in the print, online, and digital editions of the Times.
READ: Concepcion pushes for shorter quarantine
A shorter quarantine period for fully vaccinated travelers from North America is being proposed to entice arrivals to the country during the Christmas season. Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd urged the government to allow a shorter quarantine period for fully vaccinated travelers from North America to entice them to fly home and reunite with their loved ones this Christmas. Expressing concern that the aviation industry is in danger of flatlining, he urged the government to look into the possibility of shortening quarantine protocols for inbound travelers and even those included in the list of travel ban exemptions.
READ: Robredo to keep pushing for unity ticket
VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo will keep working to form a unity ticket for the opposition. During her weekly radio show Sunday, Robredo said she is keeping the sentiments of her supporters close at heart. She is being touted as the best choice to lead the opposition against the administration in next year's elections, although she has not revealed if she is running for president. She has until October 1 to decide, the last day for filing a certificate of candidacy.
READ: Police to investigate anti-jab protest in Manila
THE police will investigate a protest rally in Manila held on Saturday by a group who is against Covid-19 vaccinations. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday said the Philippine National Police (PNP) will investigate the people behind Gising Maharlika, the group that massed at Liwasang Bonifacio to denounce the government's mask mandate and vaccination campaign. Año said in an interview on DZBB radio he was confident the police can "easily trace" the rally participants through video footages.
READ: Soliman, 68
Former Social Welfare secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman died on Sunday at the age of 68. Tributes poured for the former official from her former colleagues and friends, including members of the Liberal Party and colleagues in the Cabinet of the late former president Benigno Aquino 3rd.
READ: Crackdown on drug hoarders urged
FORMER senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. sought a crackdown on hoarders and profiteers of Tocilizumab to end the fleecing of patients in dire need of the life-saving drug against Covid-19. He deplored that the price of Tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug repurposed for use in severe cases of Covid-19, skyrocketed in the past few weeks. In a recent buy-bust conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), agents found that profiteers sell a vial of Tocilizumab for P97,000, more than four times its maximum retail price of P20,581.
READ: Federal party eyes Marcos as head
Speaking of Marcos, the revitalized Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) has deferred the election of its chairman as it decided to reserve the post for the former senator. Marcos had been endorsed in a unanimous vote as the PFP presidential candidate in the May 9, 2022 national elections. The PFP, which the Commission on Elections accredited on Oct. 5, 2018, held on Sept. 18 its national convention. The PFP, which promotes the ideology of federalists Pedro Paterno and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, has been reinvented and fortified in preparation for next year's local and national elections. The party overhauled its leadership during the hybrid virtual convention and elected new officers, retaining most of its officials. Installed as the PFP executive vice president and general campaign manager for the 2022 national election was lawyer Victor Rodriguez.
BUSINESS: PH foreign debt hits $100B
Over to business, the country's outstanding external obligations exceeded $100 billion level at the end of June this year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In a statement, the central bank reported that the actual P101.2 billion foreign debt during the period was $4.1 billion, up 4.3 percent from the $97 billion at the end of March 2021.
SPORTS: Biado rules US Open Pool Championship
Topping sports, Filipino cue artist Carlo Biado pulled off a scintillating come-from-behind 13-8 win over Singaporean Aloysius Yapp in the finals, as he ruled the 2021 US Open Pool 9-ball Championship on Sunday (Philippine time) at the Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Down by five racks, 3-8, Biado won the last 10 racks of the match to complete his comeback bid, and became the second Pinoy pool player to win the US Open in 27 years or since 1994, when the great Efren 'Bata' Reyes ruled the event.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao hits out at a university on a Martial Law exhibit, while Fr. Aquino discusses the Catholic Church being on the mend.
Today's editorial talks about a collaboration between the Philippine National Police and the Chinese government over transnational crimes. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe week ahead.