Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, April 1, 2022.

READ: 'Go after agri smugglers'

SEN. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go called on authorities to crack down on the smuggling of vegetables from China that is thriving through the collusion of government personnel. A member of the Senate agriculture committee, Go sought urgent action on vegetable smuggling to protect local farmers. During a hearing by the Senate Committee of the Whole last Monday, lawmakers criticized the Customs bureau and Department of Agriculture for their inaction on vegetable smuggling. The League of Associations at La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas said Filipino farmers lost an estimated P2.5 million a day after orders declined by up to 40 percent due to the influx of smuggled vegetables in the market. Go reminded the Agriculture department to protect the welfare of farmers who were already struggling long before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He called on fellow government workers and other citizens with information to come forward, assuring them of protection and confidentiality.

READ: 'Make booster cards mandatory'

PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd on Thursday reiterated the need to make booster vaccination cards mandatory starting in June to encourage more people to get booster shots against Covid-19. Concepcion made the statement as he reiterated the call to make booster cards the new requirement, replacing vaccination cards, as the document needed for entry into enclosed establishments and other spaces.

READ: Lacson rejects Atienza call to quit race

SEN. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson has rejected the call of Buhay party-list representative Jose "Lito" Atienza for him to withdraw from the presidential race to allow his running mate, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd, to team up with Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao. Lacson said Atienza was being "rude" in making such a call. Atienza is Pacquiao's vice presidential bet. The senator reiterated that he and Sotto will finish the presidential and vice presidential race together, but added he will support any move by other political parties to adopt Sotto.

READ: 7 vie for Supreme Court post

SEVEN candidates are vying for the last vacant seat in the Supreme Court under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Based on Supreme Court ruling in the case of Arturo De Castro vs the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), a new member of the court can be named even during the election period, when government appointments are banned. The jurisprudence allowed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2010. The JBC is accepting nominations for the seat to be vacated by Senior Associate Justice Estela Bernabe. There are six justices from the Court of Appeals and one from the Sandiganbayan for the vacancy.

READ: NCR placed under Alert Level 1

THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has placed Metro Manila and other areas of the country under Alert Level 1 for the first half of April, Malacañang said on Thursday. In an advisory released by the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, the Alert Level Classification of provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), and independent component cities (ICCs) will be in effect from April 1 to 15.

READ: Filipinos want free medicines – survey

RESULTS of a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations released on Thursday said the majority of Filipinos believe it is the government's responsibility to provide them free medicines. The survey, titled "Filipino's Preference on Access to Medicines," noted very strong agreement across demographics with 96 percent of adult respondents saying that the government "should definitely" (78 percent) and "should probably" (17 percent) provide free medicines to those who need them. The survey also revealed issues that should be addressed to lower or remove the out-of-pocket spending of Filipinos on health care.

READ: Robredo family leads house-to-house campaign

VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo's family and celebrity supporters of her presidential bid will lead a house-to-house campaign on Saturday. The candidate and her entourage will visit parts of Quezon City, Cavite, Pasay City, Dumaguete City, Tagbilaran City, Marawi City and Cagayan de Oro City. Other Robredo supporters will also go on a house-to-house sortie in other parts of the country in the days before the May elections. Aika and her sister Tricia have been going on the road for their mother. In a Facebook post on March 23, Tricia Robredo asked supporters of her mother's presidential bid to go out of their circle.

BUSINESS: Peso gains, returns to P51:$1 territory

Over to business, the Philippine peso experienced its best day in four weeks on Thursday, returning to the P51 to a United States dollar level. From the previous day's finish of P52.01, the local currency gained 27 centavos to $51:$1. It hasn't been this strong since March 3, when it closed at 51.50:$1.

SPORTS: Ateneo routs Adamson to remain undefeated

In sports, the Ateneo de Manila University thrashed Adamson University, 78- 47, to stay spotless in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday. The Blue Eagles charged right out of the gates with a 14-5 start and led by as much as 23 points in the first half before posting a 36-24 lead. Ateneo (3-0) did not let up in the second half and went on to lead by as many as 35 points, 78-43, following a three-point play completion by Geo Chiu with 1:35 left in regulation.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao lashes out at presidential candidate Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso over the Marcos estate tax, while Torres talks about skills development.

Today's editorial hails the peace developments between Russia and Ukraine. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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 April.