Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, April 29, 2022.
READ: Omicron subvariant case has 44 contacts
AROUND 44 persons who came in close contact with the Finnish woman who is the country's first confirmed case of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12 are being monitored by the Department of Health (DoH). Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd said the figure includes the nine individuals who were identified to have had close contact with the woman when she was in Quezon City. Two of the nine tested negative, Duque said in a briefing on Thursday. The 52-year-old woman arrived from Finland on April 2. Because she did not have the symptoms for the Omicron subvariant and was fully vaccinated, she did not go through quarantine. Nine days after her arrival, the woman began to experience a headache and sore throat, the symptoms of Omicron. She recovered after seven days of isolation and returned to Finland on April 21. Under the revised Covid guidelines, the testing of asymptomatic close contacts of positive Covid-19 cases has been replaced with symptom monitoring. The DoH said other close contacts of the woman include the five people who participated in her seminar in Baguio City and the 30 plane passengers and crew in her flight to Manila. All of the contacts were fully vaccinated, it said.
READ: Redefinition of 'fully vaccinated' pressed
PRESIDENTIAL Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd on Thursday reiterated his call to expand the term "fully vaccinated" to include those who had received booster shots, following the entry of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12 in the country. Concepcion pushed for the redefinition amid the low booster uptake and the emergence of new variants of Covid-19.
READ: MultiSys launches online store builder
SOFTWARE solutions provider MultiSys Technologies Corp. on Thursday launched Multistore, a computer application for building an online store for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Multistore integrates MultiSys flagship platforms such as Deliverybox, which supports pick-up, delivery, and scheduled delivery services; Paybox, which enables cash-on-delivery, e-wallets, and bank payments; and Storebox, which allows for marketplace and digital store management. The app allows entrepreneurs to efficiently oversee their business operations from product management, delivery and logistics services, content management and marketing, customer support, procurement management and inventory tracking, to name a few.
READ: CamSur district bet stripped of candidacy
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disallowed former Pasig City Mayor Maria Belen "Maribel" Andaya-Eusebio from running for a congressional seat in Camarines Sur, saying she falsely claimed to be a resident of the first district of the province. In a unanimous resolution dated April 20, the Comelec's First Division chaired by Commissioner Socorro Inteng canceled Andaya-Eusebio's certificate of candidacy (CoC) after ruling that she was "not a bona fide resident" of the municipality of Ragay in the first district. Andaya-Eusebio was a substitute candidate for her brother, former House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., who filed his candidacy for congressman in the district but decided at the last minute to run instead for provincial governor. It was the second time the Comelec had barred Andaya-Eusebio from seeking a congressional seat in Camarines Sur. In 2019 she tried to run for congressman in the second district, but was rebuffed after falsely claiming she was a resident of Libmanan town. The Comelec pointed out that false material representation is the exclusive ground for cancelling a CoC.
BUSINESS: Govt plans to borrow P200B in May
Over to business, the government plans to borrow P200 billion from domestic sources next month, according to a financing program issued by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Thursday. It will be the same as the P250 billion budgeted for this month if the program is followed. Treasury bonds (T-bonds) were expected to raise P140 billion while Treasury bills (T-bills) were planned to secure P60 billion.
SPORTS: Sotto declares for NBA Draft
In sports, Filipino basketball wunderkind Kai Sotto has announced on Thursday that he will put his name available for the 2022 NBA Rookie Draft. The 7-foot-3 Sotto threw his name in the Rookie Draft following his first professional season with the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League in Australia. The 19-year-old Filipino averaged 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 15.2 minutes per game in his rookie year.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Ruben Torres are today's front page columnists. Tiglao believes the UniTeam of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte Carpio is resisting US interference, while Torres analyzes the labor plans of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Today's editorial believes it is a perfect storm to avoid another Covid-19 subvariant. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
READ: TMT Forum tackles renewable energy
THE Manila Times will hold an online forum dubbed "Boost the Future of Power Stakeholders" today, Friday, with lawyer Felix "Wimpy" Buquid Fuentebella, senior undersecretary for Power, Renewable Energy, Planning and Investment of the Department of Energy (DoE), as keynote speaker. The forum will discuss how the Philippines can achieve energy security and explore more opportunities in renewable energy (RE). Fuentebella will be joined by WeGen Energy Philippines Chairman and President Charlie Ayco and Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement Inc. President Jose Layug Jr. The online forum will be livestreamed on The Manila Times official Facebook page, YouTube channel and Dailymotion account from 10:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. Times columnist Ben Kritz and Section Editor Peter Conrad Cariño will serve as the hosts and moderators. See you there.
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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Friday.