Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, December 20, 2021.

READ: 'Odette' toll climbs to 169

THE deaths from typhoon "Odette" climbed to at least 169 on Sunday as communication lines in devastated areas were restored, allowing government officials to receive detailed reports of the situation on the ground. A consolidated report sent to PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos showed that Central Visayas had the most casualties with 129, followed by Western Visayas with 22, CARAGA with 10, Northern Mindanao with 7, and Zamboanga Peninsula with one. It said 107 others were injured and 50 were missing.

READ: CHR favors whole-of-nation approach in fighting illegal drugs

THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) supports the continuation of the Dangerous Drugs Board's Philippine Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy that employs a whole-of-nation approach in solving the country's drug problem. The CHR is an independent constitutional office created under the 1987 Constitution, with the primary function of investigating all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights in the Philippines. During a roundtable interview on Thursday, CHR Executive Director and spokesman Jacqueline de Guia said the CHR wants the government to see the drug problem from the right to life approach.

READ: LGUs to get windfall thanks to Mandanas-Garcia ruling

LOCAL governments are expected to receive almost a trillion pesos next year as their share of national government's tax revenues. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that the national tax allotment (NTA) share for local governments is calculated at P959.04 billion as a result of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling which jacked up their budget allocation from what was previously known as internal revenue allotment (IRA). The amount is P263.54 billion or 37.89 percent more than what LGUs got from this year's IRA. The Supreme Court has ruled that a local government's "fair share" of income includes all national government taxes, not only those collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

READ: Go assures typhoon victims of govt aid

SEN. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go has assured victims of typhoon "Odette" of continuous aid from the government as he reaffirmed his commitment to push for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR). Go on Saturday joined President Rodrigo Duterte in an aerial inspection of the typhoon-hit areas in Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands and Southern Leyte. The President oversaw the rescue and recovery efforts as he and Go surveyed the extent of the destruction caused by Odette. They flew from Metro Manila and passed over Siargao Island before landing in Surigao City. After surveying the damage at the airport, they flew over the Dinagat Islands before proceeding to Maasin City in Southern Leyte where they extended aid, and met with leaders to discuss rescue and recovery efforts. Upon returning to Surigao City, they distributed relief goods, and met with key national and local officials. Go assured the typhoon victims that the government will provide all forms of assistance to help communities recover.

BUSINESS: More firms want to expand, hire

Over to business, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed more firms want to expand their operations and hire more people in the first quarter of 2022. According to the latest Business Expectation Survey (BES) released by the central bank, the percentage of enterprises planning to expand in the industry sector increased to 23.2 percent, up from 9.6 percent in the previous survey. During the next 12 months, however, the percentage fell from 27.3 percent to 26.8 percent.

SPORTS: Sotto going to get better – coach

In sports, Filipino basketball ace Kai Sotto will only get better as he gets more games under his belt in Australia's National Basketball League 2021- 2022 season, according to Adelaide head coach CJ Bruton. Bruton made this comment following Sotto's quiet league debut on Sunday when he played almost 10 minutes and tallied one point, three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in the 36ers' 67-93 loss to the Cairns Taipans.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao discusses lawyer Ferdinand Topacio's bold claim over the ABS-CBN issue, while Fr. Aquino zeroes in on the issues of making mistakes in life.

Today's editorial calls on President Rodrigo Duterte to veto a bill that could potentially drive younger people to vaping. 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 holiday week ahead.