Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, June 5, 2022.
READ: BBM to boost agri for food-secure PH
PRESIDENT-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assured the public that giving agriculture a boost is one of the top priorities of his incoming administration as he envisions a food-secure and resilient Philippines in the coming years. Marcos, who has not yet named his nominee for agriculture chief, said that stabilizing the price of food, particularly by helping farmers and fisherfolks, will be crucial in the country's growth. Marcos, who will assume the presidency on June 30, has said that he has been in talks with rice traders to hold the current prices, saying that he seeks to slash them to as low as P20 per kilo.
READ: More areas on Alert Level 1 as subvariant threat looms
MORE areas in the country have been placed under the lowest Alert Level 1 status from June 1 to 15 despite the local transmission of an Omicron subvariant, Malacañang announced on Saturday. Acting Palace spokesman Martin Andanar said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved the recommendations of the Sub-technical Working Group for Data Analytics to provide "clarification" on the alert level classification of provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), independent component cities (ICCs), component cities and municipalities effective June 1, 2022. Andanar said the following HUCs, and ICCs will be placed under Alert Level 1: for the National Capital Region (NCR), Caloocan City, City of Malabon, City of Navotas, City of Valenzuela, Pateros, City of Pasig, City of Marikina, Taguig City, Quezon City, City of Manila, City of Makati, City of Mandaluyong, City of San Juan, City of Muntinlupa, Parañaque City, City of Las Piñas and Pasay City. Apart from the NCR, the following component cities and municipalities will likewise be placed under Alert Level 1: for Cordillera Administrative Region, Abra, Apayao, Baguio City, Kalinga and Mountain Province; for Region 1, Dagupan City, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan; for Region 2, Batanes, Cagayan, City Of Santiago, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino; for Region 3, Angeles City, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Olongapo City, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales; for Region 4A, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Lucena City and Rizal; for Region 4B, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Puerto Princesa City and Romblon; and for Region 5, Albay, Catanduanes and Naga City.
READ: Duterte, Robredo invited to Sara's inauguration
OUTGOING President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo were invited to attend the inauguration of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio in Davao City, her spokesperson said on Saturday. Duterte-Carpio, the President's daughter, will be sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice Ramon Paul Hernando on June 19. Malacañang has yet to confirm if the President will attend the event. Duterte, whose six-year term will end on June 30, skipped the proclamation rite of his daughter at the House of Representatives on May 25.
READ: Guanzon calls party-list harassment 'gossip'
RETIRED Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon denied allegations she was harassing the nominees of the P3PWD party-list group to elbow her way to sit as its representative in the 19th Congress. Former National Youth Commission (NYC) chairman Ronald Cardema accused Guanzon of allegedly pressuring the five nominees of the P3PWD party-list to resign by declaring incapacity so that she could assume the post as the group's first nominee. P3WD won one seat in the party-list elections.
READ: Intelligence lapses in bombings probed
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating possible lapses in intelligence-gathering and implementation of security measures that led to the series of bombings, particularly in Mindanao. The PNP Director for Operations, MGen. Valeriano de Leon, also warned police commanders against "sloppy works in protecting their areas of responsibility (AORs)" following incidents of bomb attacks in Mindanao. De Leon said the regional director of the Police Regional Office 9 is currently conducting an assessment of the lapses in intelligence, as well as the security measures being implemented, particularly in Basilan, where two persons were injured in Monday's twin explosions.
READ: MUP system must be resolved
Over to business, to reduce the government's budget deficit, the Department of Finance (DoF) has emphasized the need of resolving the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension system. The Finance department said in a weekend economic bulletin that the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, the infrastructure program and structural reforms are key ingredients in the country's economic recovery cocktail, which should restore investment-led growth and help the country avoid debt accumulation. It underscored that this should be complemented with steps to reduce the deficit without reducing spending for capital outlays. The government's budget balance was P311.9 billion in deficit in the first four months of this year, down 14.75 percent from P365.9 billion in the same time in 2021.
READ: PBA Season 47 gets underway
Topping sports, a rivalry will be rekindled on opening night of the PBA's 47th season as the protagonists of last season's Philippine Cup finale, TNT Tropang Giga and Magnolia Timplados Hotshots, take center stage in the main game on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. But before the league opens its new season, the PBA will fete the outstanding individuals of the season just passed where Robert Bolick of NorthPort, Mikey Williams of TNT, Calvin Abueva of Magnolia Timplados and Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra dispute the MVP (most valuable player). The opening ceremonies will follow with the traditional parade of muses and team colors. The Tropang Giga, the defending champions of the tournament, face the team they've defeated in five games of the championship series last season — the Hotshots — who will be carrying a new brand, but hoping to bring in the old, fiery form on the hard court. They square off at 6:30 p.m.
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he asks if the incoming administration can quickly walk the talk, especially in terms of farming and agriculture.
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For The Manila Times, this is Paulo Dimaapi.