Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
READ: Govt execs linked to agri smuggling
FORMER politicians tried to stop the filing of charges against personalities involved in the smuggling of agricultural products, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official told a Senate hearing on Monday. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste Jr. testified during the resumption of the Senate Committee of the Whole's inquiry into the rampant smuggling of vegetables from China. Laciste made the remark after Benguet provincial board member Robert Namoro asked him to clarify if he mentioned the anomaly during his dialog with Benguet farmers, DA and Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) officials last March 19. Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd on Monday presided over the committee's second hybrid hearing on vegetable smuggling and the efforts of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to stop it. Laciste said that in 2021, while his office was preparing charges against the vegetable smugglers, he received phone calls from government personalities urging him to drop the cases. He said he ignored the phone calls and pushed ahead with the charges. Laciste said he was willing to reveal the identities of the callers in an executive session.
READ: 2nd booster shot rolled out soon
THE Department of Health (DoH) said on Monday it is waiting for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the Covid-19 vaccines that will be administered as a second booster shot to health workers, senior citizens and people with comorbidities. Once the FDA gives its go-signal and guidelines are put in place, the second booster may be administered as early as the end of April or the beginning of May. The Health department wants the FDA to approve the amendment of the EUA for Covid-19 vaccines on the recommendation of the Vaccine Expert Panel. The Health Technology Assessment Council "is also set to review and provide recommendations on the matter," it said.
READ: Biggest PH-US war exercises open
CLOSE to 9,000 soldiers will take part in the "largest-ever" war games between the Philippines and the United States which opened Monday in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. The exercises will take place across Luzon from March 28 to April 8. The two-week military exercises, dubbed as Balikatan 2022, will focus on maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Lt. Gen. Andres Centino led the opening ceremony. In his speech, Centino cited the importance of the war exercises "in light of the domestic landscapes as well as in the international environment."
READ: Robredo vows: I won't neglect Samar
VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo promised to make sure Samar province will not be left behind in development if she wins the presidency. Robredo began her campaign sortie in Samar with a rally in Calbayog City on Monday. She promised to provide Samar with development projects that will help its people prosper.
READ: Fitch sees higher 2022 inflation
Topping business, inflation will likely exceed target this year given the impact of surging commodity prices, Fitch Solutions said on Monday. The financial institution services firm raised its 2022 forecast for the Philippines to 4.5 percent, up from 3.7 percent previously. The latest projection is higher than the government's 2.0 to 4.0 target and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) forecast of 4.3 percent.
READ: Pinoy jins off to Vietnam
In sports, the Smart/MVP Sports Foundation taekwondo squad will leave Manila today, March 29, to compete in the 2022 Asean Taekwondo Federation (ATF) Taekwondo Championships slated from March 30 to April 4 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The delegation, headed by Raul Samson, is composed of 10 kyorugi (free sparring), five poomsae (forms) athletes and three coaches.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras hits out at fact checkers, while Makabenta analyzes the Deep Probe program by SMNI involving five presidential candidates.
Today's editorial tackles the recent incident at the Bajo de Masinloc. 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 Tuesday ahead.