Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, May 30, 2022.
READ: Rizal Park eyed as venue for BBM inauguration
THE family of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. wants his inauguration on June 30 held at Rizal Park's Quirino Grandstand for "sentimental reasons." Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa "Imee" Marcos said in a radio interview on Sunday it was at Quirino Grandstand where their father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., held his major public appearances. Marcos Sr. was also sworn in as the country's 10th president at the storied venue in 1965. The senator said the family has discussed the matter with Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso. However, the senator said that the weather has been "uncooperative" during the past weeks.
READ: Govt urged: Focus on economy, not alert levels
TO speed up the country's economic resurgence, the government should start easing out of a public health emergency status and begin streamlining restrictions, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said Sunday. Concepcion noted that with Covid-19 cases in the country under control and most areas under Alert Level 1, "this would be the right time" for the government to focus on post-pandemic recovery. Given how freely people are now moving around, Concepcion believes the government should now have a standardized set of restrictions, which include requiring masks in common areas and a fully vaccinated status for indoor establishments.
READ: Labor groups favor hybrid work setup
LABOR groups are pushing for the full implementation of the hybrid work system, citing a recent study that showed Filipino employees had bigger savings when it was carried out at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the hybrid system, an employee works in the office on certain days and from home during the rest of the work week. In its global study titled "Employees are ready for hybrid work, are you?" tech firm Cisco surveyed 28,025 full-time employees from 27 countries between January and March this year. A little more than 1,000 respondents or 29 percent were from the Philippines. The study covered different generations and gender. Most those polled believed that hybrid work improved the employees' well-being, work-life balance, relationships and personal confidence.
READ: NPC seeks creation of media commission
THE National Press Club (NPC) of the Philippines has passed a special resolution calling on the incoming Marcos administration to continue supporting the operation of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) by transforming the body into a commission. Under Special Resolution 1, series of 2022, the NPC noted that since the PTFoMS' creation by Duterte under Administrative Order 1 in October 2016, media workers, including Club members, have come to rely on the task force as their direct line to the Office of the President for prompt action of their needs as journalists.
READ: Comelec shuts down automated poll system
WITH the end of the electoral process, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will shut down its automated election system (AES) servers and network infrastructure on Monday. In an advisory issued on Sunday, the Comelec said the shutdown of the AES will be done in the presence of political parties and citizens' arm groups. It will be held at the Central Data Center in PLDT Vitro Taguig, Central Data Center in PLDT Vitro Parañaque, and the Backup Data Center at Data One in Quezon City. The poll agency said for security reasons in the data centers, the activity will not be open to the media for coverage. The AES used voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass results. Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan has said the May 9 elections "surpassed our expectations in peacefulness, speed, and turnout, to name a few." Pangarungan, however, admitted that the elections were "not perfect."
BUSINESS: Govt provides less subsidies in April
Over to business, the national government provided stateowned firms less subsidies in April than a year before, with the National Food Authority (NFA) receiving the majority of the funds. The Bureau of the Treasury reported that 28 government-owned and -controlled firms received P5.11 billion in financing for the month, down 78.53 percent from P23.83 billion in April 2021.
SPORTS: Go lauds Pinoy athletes for great showing in SEAG
In sports, Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, hailed Team Philippines on their outstanding achievement at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) held in Hanoi, Vietnam, recently. The delegation from the country finished fourth in the medal table with a total of 227 medals, including 52 gold medals, 70 silver medals and 105 bronze medals. Go also expressed gratitude for the efforts of all the athletes who competed in the biennial sports meet. With 205 gold medals, host Vietnam is the overall champion of the Games, followed by Thailand.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are today's front page columnists. Tiglao hits out at a historian on a supposed fake article, while Fr. Aquino discusses the church and the elections.
Today's editorial believes the country's economic comparisons to Sri Lanka is not only inaccurate but also harmful. 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 week ahead.