Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, July 9, 2022.
READ: Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe shot dead
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation's most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, hospital officials said. Abe, was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was later pronounced dead, despite emergency treatment that included massive blood transfusions, hospital officials said. Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of an attack that shocked many in Japan, which is one of the world's safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere. Current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet ministers hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country after the shooting, which he called "dastardly and barbaric." Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe suffered major damage to his heart in addition to two neck wounds that damaged an artery, causing extensive bleeding. He was in a state of cardio and pulmonary arrest when he arrived at the hospital and never regained his vital signs, Fukushima said. Abe was Japan's longest-serving leader before stepping down in 2020.
READ: Marcos accepts Xi invitation to visit China
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has accepted Chinese leader Xi Jinping's invitation to visit Beijing "to bring the bilateral ties with China to a higher level," Malacañang said Friday. The invitation was personally extended by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his recent meeting with Marcos in Malacañang. No date has been set for the visit, Cruz-Angeles said. During his courtesy call on Marcos, Wang stressed "the cooperation between China and the Philippines and that it transcends any maritime disputes," Cruz-Angeles said. The Chinese minister stressed that "the friendship between the two sides has lasted for many years," she said.
READ: DBM: P343.90B budget left for Marcos govt
ONLY P343.90 billion of the national budget is left for the Marcos administration to spend during the remaining months of 2022 because its predecessor had already distributed 93.2 percent of the appropriations among government agencies, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) revealed on Friday. The overall amount of releases from January through June of this year was P4.67 trillion, or 93.2 percent of the P5.02 trillion budget for 2022. Line departments received P2.77 trillion, which included funds for agencies and other constitutional offices.
READ: BBM hailed for creating advisory panel of experts
GO Negosyo founder Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd lauded President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for creating the Private Sector Advisory Council, saying it shows the President wants to "be attuned" to the plight of businessmen, especially those involved with agriculture. Concepcion particularly cited Marcos' choice of Sabin Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, to head the panel. The President convened the council last Thursday to "discuss and exchange ideas about scaling up" the country's agricultural sector. He said the "severe problems" confronting farmers and fishers prompted him to temporarily assume the leadership of the Department of Agriculture. Marcos noted it was "refreshing" to hear ideas from the panel and how he is "excited to establish programs with the cooperation of the private sector" to ease the burden of local farmers.
READ: Marcos tests positive for Covid-19
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has tested positive for Covid-19 in an antigen test, Malacañang said Friday. In a press briefing, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said that the President "has a slight fever but he is otherwise OK." Cruz-Angeles said that those who had close contact with him, including his son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos, have negative results via antigen test. Marcos' wife, first lady Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos, and sons Simon and Vincent were not close contacts of the Chief Executive as they were out of town, she said. Since Marcos tested positive, Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez attended a briefing from the security cluster on behalf of the President who is currently in isolation, Angeles said.
BUSINESS: DBCC lowers 2022 GDP projection
Topping business, Philippine economic managers adjusted their medium-term macroeconomic assumptions while maintaining their fiscal program, taking into consideration government priorities, recent domestic developments and external pressures. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman announced at a briefing on Friday that recent domestic and international developments have caused the gross domestic product (GDP) growth assumption of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to be slightly revised to 6.5 to 7.5 percent this year. This is a reduction from the DBCC's earlier target of 7 to 8 percent.
SPORTS: Pacquiao to fight Korean YouTuber
In sports, Filipino boxing legend former Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao is all set for a boxing return albeit in an exhibition atmosphere. Pacquiao, who placed third in the 2022 Philippine presidential elections, will fight Korean YouTuber DK Yoo. Yoo, a sports and fitness instructor and the founder of the Warfare Combat System, announced the development in an Instagram post on Wednesday last week.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras weighs in on controversial comments made by actress Ella Cruz, Makabenta has his forecast for the upcoming State of the Nation Address of the Marcos administration, and Remoto discussing travel in the age of the Covid-19 pandemic while at the same time contextualizing from his novel.
Today's editorial discusses the first two executive orders of the Marcos administration. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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This is EJ Gomez reporting.