Good day. Here are the Top Stories of The Manila Times for Oct. 30, 2021
READ: PDP-Laban drops Marcos-Go plan
THE Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) faction of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has closed the door on the prospect of fielding Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as its standard-bearer in next year's election. Interviewed on CNN's "The Source" on Friday, Cusi said that a team-up between Marcos and Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go is no longer feasible. The party will stick it out with Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa as its presidential candidate and Go as his running mate, he said.
READ: Metro Manila LGUs told: Prepare for Level 2 shift
DESPITE Metro Manila remaining under Alert Level 3 from November 1 to 14, the Department of Health is urging local government units (LGUs) in the capital region to prepare to shift down to Alert Level 2 to avoid a rebound of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases. According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) urged its fellow member agencies during its recent meeting to "not wait" for the relaxation of restrictions and instead prepare for a scenario where more people will be spending time outside their homes. Under Alert Level 2 of the government's Covid response system, more businesses will be reopened and capacities will be expanded by up to 50 percent in indoor areas and 70 percent in outdoor spaces.
READ: Police told to prepare for All Saints exodus
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar has directed all police chiefs and unit commanders to ensure there are enough officers deployed at transport terminals, airports and seaports to handle the heavy influx of travelers during the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day break. Despite the closure of cemeteries, memorial parks and columbariums until November 2, thousands of people in Metro Manila are still expected to travel to the provinces and take advantage of the extended holiday. Eleazar also stressed the importance of observing health and safety protocols in the terminals and ports to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
READ: Duterte for revival of Asean tourism
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has called for the gradual reopening of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean) borders to revive the region's pandemic-hit tourism industry. Duterte made the call during the 14th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia- Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit. He also pushed for the creation of travel corridors and suggested the adoption of similar arrangements to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and accelerate the recovery of tourism. Duterte noted that BIMP-EAGA can use the Asean Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework as a guide.
In Business
READ: Govt debt soars to P11.91T at end-Sept
THE government's outstanding debt soared to a fresh high of P11.91 trillion at the end of September, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). BTr data released on Friday showed that the latest figure was up 2.4 percent, or P274.52 billion, from P11.64 trillion a month earlier. It added that at the end-of-September result was attributable to net domestic and external debt issuances as well as peso devaluation versus the US currency. Domestic debt rose by 2 percent to P8.38 trillion, up from P8.22 trillion at the end of August, while external debt jumped by 3.1 percent to P3.52 trillion.
Topping Sports
READ: Jazz demolish young Rockets
HOUSTON: Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and seven Utah Jazz players reached double figures in a 122-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday, October 28 (Friday in Manila). Utah is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2006-07 season. Joining Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside, Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles also scored in double figures for the Jazz. Christian Wood led Houston with 16 points and Jalen Green had 13 points on 3 of 16 shooting. He missed all eight of his 3-point attempts. Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun had 14 points.
READ: Clarkson, Green make history
JORDAN Clarkson of the Utah Jazz and rookie Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets made history on Friday, October 29 (Philippine time) as the first NBA players with Filipino descent to play against each other in an official game at the Toyota Center in Houston. Clarkson, 29, and Green, 19, shared the court on a Filipino Heritage Night with a portion of the ticket sales going to the Philippine Sports Association of Texas.
READ: 'Chop' cheer to greet Braves as World Series hits Atlanta
WASHINGTON: The Atlanta Braves, unbeaten at home in this year's Major League Baseball playoffs, will try to reclaim the lead in the 117th World Series on Friday, October 29 (Saturday in Manila) by defeating the Houston Astros. With their supporters delivering the controversial "Tomahawk Chop" cheer in what some see as an insult to Native Americans, the Braves will try to bounce back from a 7-2 loss Wednesday (Thursday) at Houston that left the best-of-seven series level 1-1.
READ: Opinion Editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are the featured columnists on Page 1. Contreras writes about the Pink Taliban. Makabenta talks about the UN chief's cry for 'code red' for humanity while skeptics decry 'false alarm, dishonesty'.
The Times Editorial negates an assertion by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority that increasing traffic volume was a result of more economic activity and was therefore a positive indicator. Read why it isn't in the full version of the Editorial on print or listen to the Voice of The Times.
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This is Paulo Dimaapi reporting.