Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
READ: BBM, Sara continue to rule surveys
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his vice-presidential partner Sara Duterte-Carpio maintained their leads in the latest surveys of OCTA Research and PUBLiCUS Asia. The OCTA survey, conducted from April 2 to 6, had Marcos, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer, as the preferred candidate of 57 percent of the 1,200 respondents. The rating was higher than the 55 percent he received in OCTA's February poll. Broken down by region, Marcos got 35 percent in the National Capital Region (NCR), 66 percent in the rest of Luzon, 56 percent in the Visayas and 50 percent in Mindanao. In terms of socioeconomic class, he got 51 percent in the ABC segment, 59 percent in Class D and 44 percent in Class E.
READ: Classes suspended to give way to polls
THERE will be no classes from Kinder to Grade 12 in all public schools from May 2 to 13 to give way to the national elections, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Monday. The elections will be held on May 9. Classes will resume on May 16. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, schools in the country have been holding classes through the distance learning system. With Covid restrictions eased, around 13,000 of the 60,000 public and private schools have been allowed to hold in-person classes.
READ: Robredo camp ramps up house-to-house campaign
THE camp of Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo has ramped up its house-to-house campaigning with only three weeks to go before the elections, her spokesman Barry Gutierrez said, a scheme that former senator Antonio Trillanes 4th described as "the real face of unity" as thousands of volunteers visiting homes, public markets and transport terminals. Trillanes, who is running for a Senate seat under Robredo's slate, said the surging "Pink Movement" boosted its ground game.
READ: Second booster shots put on hold
THE Department of Health (DoH) announced on Monday that the plan for second Covid-19 booster shots for priority sectors has been put on hold until the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) has given its final recommendation. The HTAC, an independent advisory body, was tasked to review policies on vaccine use. Health Undersecretary and National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) chairman Myrna Cabotaje earlier said the guidelines for a second booster dose were ready. Cabotaje said the DoH will anchor the HTAC recommendations to the NVOC guidelines, including the provisions in the emergency use authorization (EUA) for vaccines that were amended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
READ: Sotto finds ways to save SIM card bill
SENATE President Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd said he will try his best "to save" the SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration bill which President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed over a provision requiring social media account identification. He said on Monday that there are two ways to save the bill — the measure can be refiled or the Senate and the House of Representatives can overturn the veto of the President.
BUSINESS: OFWs remittances up in February
Over to business, money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) went up by 1.2 percent in February, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed. Personal remittances — cash or kind transfers between families — totaled $2.79 billion during the month, up from the $2.75 billion in the same month last year.
SPORTS: UP shoots for eighth straight win
Topping sports, the University of the Philippines (UP) shoots for its eighth straight win as it faces Far Eastern University (FEU) anew in the resumption of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena today, April 19. Coming off a one week break in observance of the Holy Week, the Fighting Maroons (7-1) and the Tamaraws (3-5) face off at 10 a.m. as they open the curtains of the day's quadruple-header.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses comments made by political science professor Clarita Carlos, while Makabenta discusses negative campaigning.
Today's editorial analyzes how the sinking of a Russian naval vessel could be a pivotal point in the war in Ukraine. 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.