Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
READ: Covid cases up by 82 percent
THE Department of Health (DoH) on Monday reported an 82-percent increase in Covid-19 cases in the country. In its weekly case bulletin, the DoH said 3,051 cases were recorded from June 13 to June 19, or a daily average of 436. This is 82 percent higher than the cases reported from June 6 to June 12. Health Undersecretary and spokesman Rosario Vergeire said the National Capital Region or Metro Manila is particularly experiencing "a start in the peak in the number of cases" similar to the spikes in September 2021 and January 2022 driven by the Delta and Omicron variants. Vergeire made it clear that the current trend cannot be referred to as a "surge" and doing so will only confuse the public. She attributed the increase of cases to the Omicron subvariants, increased mobility and the waning immunity of the population due to the slow administration of booster vaccines. Out of 55 million Filipinos eligible for booster shots, only 14 million have received booster doses.
READ: Marcos to head DA
PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday will temporarily act as the secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to address the most pressing concerns of the agriculture sector. In a press briefing, the incoming leader said the problem in the agriculture sector is "severe." His decision to head the Agriculture department was "not only to make it clear what a high priority we put on the agriculture sector, but also as a practical matter so things will move quickly," he added. Among his plans is to rebuild the value chain of agriculture, and one way to reach this is by tweaking the DA's organizational structure.
READ: Sara plans in-person classes next school year
VICE President-elect and incoming Education secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio plans to resume full face-to-face classes in the next school year. Outgoing Education Secretary Leonor Briones has said that the Department of Education (DepEd) wants all schools returning to physical classes for School Year 2022-2023. The Education department has reported that as of June 16, 32,787 public schools and 1,063 private schools have reverted to face-to-face classes. In a press briefing on Monday, Duterte-Carpio said she will be meeting with DepEd officials on June 25 to arrange the transition from online schooling. Duterte-Carpio also said that she will follow the initiatives of the current administration for more benefits for teachers.
READ: Bank freezes account of Okada Manila
OKADA Manila's bank accounts have been frozen because of the intra-corporate dispute in Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of the casino hotel and resort located in Parañaque City. The legal counsel of TRLEI, Estrella Elamparo, said the banking institutions involved in the freezing of Okada Manila's accounts include BDO Unibank (BDO), Asia United Bank and Union Bank of the Philippines. With the status quo ante order (SQAO) issued by the Supreme Court last April, the banks have become more prudent in dealing with the financial transactions of Okada Manila, Elamparo said. BDO, in particular, also required the previous TRLEI board, led by Hajime Tokuda and Byron Yip, and the one constituted by Kazuo Okada, led by Filipino businessman Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco and Dindo Espeleta, to sign an agreement to disburse the salaries of the Okada Manila employees.
BUSINESS: Peso further weakens to 54:$1 on Monday
In business, the Philippine peso further depreciated, breaching the P54-perdollar level on Monday. The local currency closed at P54.065 to a dollar on Monday, weaker than the P53.75 closing last Friday, June 17. This is the weakest performance since the P54.08 per dollar closing on Oct. 12, 2018. Monday's close also already exceeded the upper end of the government's P50-53:$1 peso-dollar exchange rate forecast for the year.
SPORTS: NU shoots for UAAP volley crown
Topping sports, the National University goes for the season sweep and the championship when it faces De La Salle University (DLSU) in Game 2 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 women's volleyball Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena today, June 21. Game is set at 6:30 p.m. after the awarding ceremonies for individual plums. The Lady Bulldogs have won all their 15 games this season including the 25-20, 25-12, 25-21 sweep of the Lady Spikers in Game One last Saturday. Drawing MVP chants from NU fans, super rookie Bella Belen led the way for NU in that game with 15 points on top of 13 excellent receptions.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras laments on unequal justice, while Makabenta compares the rise of Bongbong Marcos to the likes of two former prime ministers.
Today's editorial tackles modest proposals for culture and the arts. 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.