Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, March 1, 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: BBM, Sara top OCTA survey

THE team of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio continued their domination of surveys of candidates in the May elections. In OCTA Research's February poll, Marcos was the choice for president of 55 percent of the respondents, 1 percent higher than what he got in OCTA's December 2021 survey. He dominated all subnational regions — 65 percent in Mindanao, 56 percent in Balance Luzon, 47 percent in the Visayas and 46 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR). Marcos also ruled the socioeconomic classes, with 58 percent in the ABC group, 54 percent in the D and 55 percent in the E group.

READ: Legarda leads Senate bets

Meanwhile, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda topped the same survey for Senate candidates.The survey was made on February 12 to 17 and had 1,200 respondents. Close behind were Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, and Sen. Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and broadcaster Raffy Tulfo.Legarda was preferred by 66 percent of respondents, a 5-percent increase from OCTA's December survey. Tulfo had 63 percent, a 3-percent drop from the previous poll. Cayetano had 61 percent and Zubiri, 60 percent.

READ: Resuming in-person classes urged

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday said lowering the alert level in the National Capital Region (NCR) will pave the way for more schools resuming face-to-face classes. Metro Manila and 38 other areas in the country shift to Alert Level 1 beginning today, March 1. The reelectionist senator, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, said in a statement "the lack of face-to-face classes would cause what economic managers called education and economic scarring."

READ: Duterte OKs suspension of online cockfighting

SENATE President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd on Monday said that President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to order the suspension of e-sabong (electronic cockfighting). The vice presidential candidate said that Sen. Ronald dela Rosa discussed the issue with the President. It was Sotto who moved to suspend the license of e-sabong operators during the Senate investigation on the missing individuals connected to online cockfighting. Sotto on Thursday, February 24 pushed the adoption of a resolution urging the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to suspend e-sabong operations. He made the motion "to thoroughly investigate the missing cockfighters."

BUSINESS: Alert Level 1 shift to aid recovery

Over to business, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Monday welcomed the National Capital Region's (NCR) and 38 other areas' shift to Alert Level 1, noting that this will boost economic recovery. MAP president Alfredo Pascual in a statement said the removal of restrictions on the movement of people would assist enterprises in returning to pre-pandemic production and sales operations, particularly those where working from home is not possible or practical.

SPORTS: Chot: Gilas is Dwight, Thirdy's team now

Topping sports, for the second straight game, either Thirdy Ravena or Dwight Ramos had led Gilas Pilipinas' scoring production, but this time, the Philippine national team suffered a sound 88-63 beating at the hands of the New Zealand Tall Blacks. Ravena, a stalwart of the San-en NeoPhoenix in the Japan B.League, finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists in a losing effort. Ramos, also a B.League standout playing for Toyoma Grouses, had a double-double performance of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Both columnists discuss the current war in Ukraine.

Today's editorial also discusses the Ukraine situation, focusing mainly on a cyber war between Russia and the West. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

READ: TMT forum to highlight PH's 2022 prospects

The Manila Times, in cooperation with Citi, Digitalinnov and Infinivan, will hold today, March 1, the "Economic Outlook for 2022: Looking Beyond the Pandemic Endgame" virtual forum to discuss prospects and risks for the year. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno, a member of the interagency Development Budget Coordinating Council that has set an ambitious 7.0- to 9.0-percent growth goal for 2022, will keynote the event. Kelly Bird, Asian Development Bank country director for the Philippines; Ndiame Diop, World Bank Group country director for the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei; Aftab Ahmed, Citi Philippines country head and Citi country officer; and Milo Sandig, Digitalinnov president and chief executive officer, will also speak at the forum. This forum will be moderated by Times chairman Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd and columnist Ben Kritz. See you there.

For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.

On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Tuesday ahead.