Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
READ: 5 more picks for Marcos Cabinet
FIVE more names have been added to the list of prospective members of the Cabinet of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. The five are former congresswoman Maria Zenaida Angping as head of the Presidential Management Staff; Mayor Christina Frasco as Department of Tourism secretary; Amenah Pangandaman as head of the Department of Budget and Management; Ivan John Enrile Uy as Department of Information Communications and Technology secretary; and broadcaster Erwin Tulfo as Department of Social Welfare and Development secretary. Press Secretary-designate Beatrix "Trixie" Cruz-Angeles revealed the new nominations on Monday. Angping is a three-term representative from the third district of Manila, while Frasco is the mayor of Liloan town in Cebu. Frasco, the daughter of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn "Gwen" Garcia, is presently the spokesman for Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio. Pangandaman had served as Budget and Management undersecretary. Uy is an expert in computer forensics, cybercrime, electronic evidence, e-commerce and digital ethics. His last stint in government was as chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology during the Aquino administration. Cruz-Angeles said Marcos picked Tulfo because of his reputation for "helping Filipinos here and abroad." All five have accepted their nominations, she said. They bring to 18 the number of Cabinet nominations.
READ: Schools ready for physical classes
THE Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Monday that 73.28 percent of the country's public schools are ready to conduct face-to-face classes. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said 34,238 schools have been nominated to resume face-to-face classes as of May 26. Briones said 33,000 are public schools while 1,174 are private institutions. She said the department urged more private schools to resume face-to-face classes by June. The approach to and modalities of face-to-face classes will vary with each school because it is "dependent on the situation and state of health and assessment of the DoH," she said.
READ: Leni congratulates Sara; prepares smooth transition
VICE President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo is ready to meet with Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio for a smooth transition of power. Robredo indicated her readiness in a letter responding to Duterte-Carpio's request for an initial meeting between their teams. The vice president said her chief of staff will contact Duterte-Carpio's team for the meeting. The incoming vice president had requested the meeting in a letter to Robredo dated May 27.
READ: Covid cases inch up in Metro Manila
THE reproduction number of Covid-19 in the National Capital Region (NCR) went up in the past week resulting in an increase in new cases, OCTA Research said on Monday. Despite the rise, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said Metro Manila remains at low risk for Covid. Guido said the one-week average daily attack rate (ADAR) increased from 1.02 to 1.08, pushing the daily average of new cases from 72 percent in May 16 to 22 to 74 percent in May 23 to 29. ADAR is the seven-day average number of cases per 100,000 people. The positivity rate also increased from 1.2 percent to 1.4 percent, over an average of 11,047 tests per day. Hospital care utilization rate also grew from 22 percent to 23 percent.
READ: SEA Games medallists to get more perks
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will give additional incentives to Filipino medalists in the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go said on Monday the additional perks will be on top of the incentives provided by law. Go earlier appealed to Duterte for more incentives as he highlighted the government's all-out support to Filipino athletes. The Philippines placed fourth in the just concluded Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, with its athletes taking home 52 gold, 70 silver and 105 bronze medals.
READ: EU sees deeper ties with PH under Marcos
EUROPEAN Union Ambassador to Manila Luc Véron is confident that the EU-Philippines relations "will deepen" under the Marcos administration. Véron on Monday paid President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. a visit. He said that Marcos will be invited to attend the 45th anniversary of the EU-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations commemorative summit in Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 14, 2022.
BUSINESS: SIPP to facilitate economic recovery
Over to business, the economy is expected to make a full recovery following President Rodrigo Duterte's recent approval of the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), the Department of Trade and Industry claimed on Monday. In a statement, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez described the SIPP's approval last May 24 as "opportune" and added that it would "catalyze industrial development." Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo, meanwhile, said the SIPP "aims to hasten the transformation of the country's economy into a modern and efficient one with highly-developed infrastructure."
SPORTS: Lady Bulldogs eye Final Four slot
In sports, National University (NU) looks to clinch a Final Four spot when it faces University of the East (UE) in the UAAP Season 84 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena today, May 31. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Rampaging through the competition, the Lady Bulldogs remain perfect through nine games as they defeated all their opponents including Ateneo de Manila University last Saturday, 18-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses the Marcos "burden of unity", while Makabenta analyzes the appointments of the upcoming Marcos administration.
Today's editorial discusses on going green. 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.