Good day. Here are the Top Stories of The Manila Times on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022 brought to you by Wilcon Depot, the country's leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer. Shop conveniently 24/7 with Wilcon online store, just go to shop.wilcon.com.ph.
READ: CamSur mayors choose Marcos
THE camp of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said that at least 11 mayors in Camarines Sur have expressed their support for his presidential bid. Camarines Sur is a known bailiwick of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo, who is also running for president. During a private meeting with Marcos on Monday, the mayors reportedly urged him to solve the decades-long insurgency problem in the province if he wins the presidential race. The town mayors who were at the meeting included Fermin Mabulo (San Fernando), Migay Ibasco (Bula), Tom Bocago (Sipocot) and Melanie Abarientos (Del Gallego). Also with them were mayors Weny Sabalbero (Cabusao), Nelson Legaspi (Canaman), Anthony Reyes (Milaor), Ed Severo (Calabanga), Chris Lizardo (Minalabac), Leonardo Agos (Gainza) and Boy Franco (Pamplona).
READ: Pandemic far from over – WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, as France, Germany and Brazil posted new records of infections in the past 24 hours. The highly transmissible Omicron strain has spread unabated around the world, pushing some governments to impose fresh measures while speeding up the rollout of vaccine booster shots. The UN health chief warned against dismissing Omicron as mild, as the dominant Covid strain continues to flare new outbreaks from Latin America to East Asia after it was first detected in southern Africa in November.
READ: Omicron now dominant Covid-19 variant in PH
THE Philippines on Wednesday reported an additional 492 new cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and the first two deaths due to the highly infectious strain. The Department of Health (DoH) said the two fatalities were both above 60 years old, unvaccinated and with pre-existing health conditions. The high detection rate of the variant, equivalent to nearly 69 percent of the 715 samples sequenced by the Philippine Genome Center from January 13 to 14 classified it the most dominant variant in the country. Results of the latest sequencing said that 332 were local infections and 160 were from returning overseas Filipinos. The total number of Omicron cases in the country is now 535. The National Capital Region (NCR) logged the highest number of local transmissions with 227, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 76 and Central Luzon with 11.
READ: GOVT EYES ANOTHER MASS JAB DRIVE
THE National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) is considering holding another round of nationwide mass vaccination amid the spike in coronavirus infections, possibly driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, Malacañang said on Wednesday. Cabinet Secretary and acting Palace spokesman Karlo Alexei Nograles said a repeat of the nationwide jab drive is highly likely in case the government failed to meet its target of fully vaccinating 77 million citizens by the end of March.The first national jab drive dubbed "Bayanihan sa Bakunahan" was held on Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2021. This was followed by another nationwide vaccination campaign on December 15 to 17, except in regions hit by Typhoon Odette.
In Business
READ: Maybank sees PH hitting 2022 growth
MAYBANK Investment Banking Groupvexpects the Philippine economy to rebound by 7 percent this year, but warns that the Covid-19 pandemic and other external factors remain as wild cards. The growth forecast hit the lower end of the 7- to 9-percent range set by the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee for the year. Suhaimi Bin Ilias, the investment bank's chief economist, during a webinar on Wednesday, said fiscal and monetary support will remain the critical factor that will complement the economi reopening of the Philippines.
Topping Sports
READ: Timberwolves lean on Towns to beat Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns converted a go-ahead three-point play with 29 seconds left and the Minnesota Timberwolves edged the New York Knicks 112-110 on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). Anthony Edwards scored 21 points and Towns had 20 for the Wolves, who won for the sixth time in eight games to level their record at 22-22. D'Angelo Russell added 17 points. Evan Fournier scored 27 points and Julius Randle had 21 for the Knicks, who lost for the second straight day and dipped back below.500 at 22-23. Walker scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.
READ: Nadal continues bid for 21st Slam
MELBOURNE: Rafael Nadal steps up his march towards a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Nadal, who recently won his first tournament after five months out battling a foot injury, was highly impressive in racing past American Marcos Giron in straight sets on Monday to open his campaign.Nadal's half of the draw was made easier when the unvaccinated nine-time champion Novak Djokovic was thrown out of Australia. Women's top seed Ashleigh Barty stayed on course for a potential fourth-round showdown with Naomi Osaka with a second flawless display. Barty, chasing a first title at her home Grand Slam, barely broke sweat as she powered past Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1 in just 52 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
READ: Opinion and Editorial
The Times, in its Editorial, questioned the priorities of Congress for the last few days of the legislative session as described by Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon, whose list of measures he considers important do not include the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Even if the Senate were to have a change of heart, however, and swiftly correct this oversight, it has already committed another inexcusable failure that cannot be fixed before next year. And this one has a direct impact on the Philippines' ability to protect itself from the current and potential future pandemics. Read the Opinion Section for the full version or listen to The Voice of The Times.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Edcel Lagman are the featured columnists on Page 1. Contreras writes about mass vaccination and not mass testing, Makabenta on contact tracing being deemed futile and wasteful with the Omicron variant and Lagman on the efficacy of the Reproductive Health Law.
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This is Christian Crow Maghanoy reporting.