Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, February 14, 2022, brought to you by Wilcon Depot, the country's leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer. Shop conveniently 24/7 with the Wilcon online store, just go to shop.wilcon.com.ph.

READ: Bongbong, Sara keep survey lead

THE partnership of Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio maintained their lead in surveys after dominating the January poll of Pulse Asia. Marcos topped Pulse Asia's presidential survey at 60 percent, improving on the 53 percent he garnered last December. The pollster said the standard bearer of the Partido Federal Filipino party was the top pick in all geographic areas and socio-economic groupings. He had 66 percent in Mindanao, 61 percent in the rest of Luzon, 57 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR), and 53 percent in the Visayas. Marcos also posted 61 percent for socio-economic class D, 56 percent in class E, and 50 percent in class C. Note that the survey was conducted between January 19 to 24.

READ: NCR alert level shift decided today

THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases will decide today, February 14, whether to bring down the alert level in Metro Manila from Alert Level 2 to 1. Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said in a radio interview Sunday that further easing restrictions in the National Capital Region (NCR) will depend on the presentation of the technical working group. The new classification will take effect Tuesday until the end of February. Año said caution must be exercised in lowering the alert level considering that campaigning for the May elections has started.

READ: Father-son duo hopes to stir change in Navotas

A FATHER-and-son team is offering holistic change if they take over the helm in Navotas City, the country's fishing capital. Lutgardo "Tatay Gardy" Cruz and his son Raymond Emil "RC" Cruz are running for congressman and mayor, respectively, under the Aksyon Demokratiko party. The older Cruz is going up against incumbent Mayor Tobias "Toby" Tiangco for district representative, while RC is challenging incumbent Rep. John Rey Tiangco, who is switching positions with his brother.

SPORTS: Obiena qualifies for 2 major tournaments

FILIPINO pole vaulter Ernest John "EJ" Obiena's championship finish in the Orlen Cup in Poland last week more than made up for subpar performances in his first two competitions this year. The victory earned him a slot in this year's World Athletics Indoor Championships and World Athletics Championships. The 18th World Indoor Championships will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, from March 18 to 20, while the 18th World Athletics Championships will be in Oregon, USA, from July 15 to 24.

SPORTS: Bad start for Miller in giant slalom

Sticking to sports, Filipino-American alpine skier Asa Miller did not get a good start in his second Winter Olympics stint in Beijing, China. The lone Philippine representative in this year's Winter Olympics got a DNF (did not finish) mark in the giant slalom event at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center on Sunday. The 21-year-old Miller slipped early in his run, resulting in a DNF. Miller wasn't the only one who got booted out, though, as 34 other skiers incurred a DNF. Skiers who were unable to finish their first run were no longer given the opportunity to do their second run unlike those who got to complete their first go. Miller, whose Filipino mother Polly hails from Sta. Cruz, Manila finished 70th in the 110-player field in the giant slalom event of the Pyeongchang Winter Games four years ago. Miller will wrap up his participation in the Beijing Winter Games in the slalom event on February 16.

READ: Hopes up Covid crisis to end in 2022 – SWS

Half of the Filipinos polled in a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in December expects the crisis brought by Covid-19 to end this year. The SWS said 29 percent of the respondents saw the crisis over within six months, while 23 percent said it will end in one year. Hopes that the health crisis will end in 2022 were strongest in Mindanao at 62 percent, followed by the rest of Luzon (51 percent), Metro Manila (49 percent), and the Visayas (41 percent). In the educational bracket, 49 percent of non-elementary graduates hope the crisis will end this year. The sentiment is shared by 53 percent of elementary graduates, 51 percent of junior high school graduates, and 50 percent of college graduates. The survey showed that 45 percent believe the crisis will end after 2022, while 4 percent said that they do not know when it will be over.

READ: 'Global unity key in ending Covid'

GLOBAL cooperation is key in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, the director of the Gamaleya Research Institute, the developer of the Sputnik V vaccine, said. In his first Philippine media interview, professor Alexander Gintsburg said that countries should vaccinate 75 percent to 80 percent of their entire population within a six- to eight-month period.

BUSINESS: Nomura sees below target PH growth

Over to business, Nomura, a global investment bank based in Japan, raised its growth forecasts for the Philippine economy this year and next, but noted the outlooks are still below the government's expectations because the Covid-19 pandemic remains a serious threat to recovery. Nomura stated in a report released over the weekend that it updated upward its outlook for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent in 2022 and to 5.8 percent from 5.2 percent in 2023.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao continues on his discussion on maritime policy, while Fr. Aquino believes empowering the Commission on Higher Education even more will be the death of higher education.

Today's editorial hits out at the cancel culture on TV host Toni Gonzaga. 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 and Happy Valentine's Day.