Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, August 16, 2022.
READ: Another sugar exec resigns
ANOTHER official who signed the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) board resolution allowing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar has resigned. SRA Board Member Roland Beltran handed his resignation to Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez on Sunday. Beltran signed SRA Order 4 as the representative of sugar millers on the board. He cited his health as the main reason for his decision to quit the board. Beltran said he first signified his intention to resign last July 1 but was informed on July 29 that he had been retained in a holdover capacity.
READ: Agri group wants Sebastian charged
AN agricultural group on Monday said authorities should determine the criminal liability of resigned Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian and other officials who had a hand in the illegal order to import 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar. Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) President Rosendo So said the investigation launched by Malacañang should include other officials of the DA and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) who were responsible for the approval of Sugar Order 4. So said that in a previous meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez and SRA officials, he does not recall that a tacit approval was given to import 300,000 MT of sugar.
READ: DepEd asks CoA to check laptop deal for fraud
THE Department of Education (DepEd) has requested the Commission on Audit (CoA) to conduct a fraud check on the purchase of laptops meant for teachers made by the Procurement Services of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM). DepEd Chief of Staff and Undersecretary Epimaco Densing 3rd said Vice President and Education chief Sara Duterte-Carpio gave the go-signal last Friday to request the fraud audit. CoA has flagged the purchase, saying the laptops were overpriced and outdated. During a press briefing on Monday, Densing said the DepEd will withhold comment on whether the procurement process was anomalous until the results of the investigation are released. He said the P2.4 billion used to buy the laptops did not come from the DepEd's regular budget but was funded by the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act.
READ: Positivity rates in 8 provinces down
THE weekly positivity rates have decreased in at least eight provinces in Luzon where Covid-19 cases might have already peaked, the independent monitoring group OCTA Research said on Monday. Pampanga recorded the biggest decrease in weekly positivity rate from 35 percent on August 6 down to 26 percent on August 13. Positivity rates also went down in Benguet (from 22 percent to 21.6 percent), Cavite (21.1 percent to 18.2 percent), Isabela (47.6 percent to 46.5 percent), Laguna (33.2 percent to 29.5 percent), Pangasinan (25 percent to 21.6 percent), Quezon (25.1 percent to 22.1 percent), and Zambales (28.6 percent to 24 percent).
READ: Most schools to hold F2F classes
THE Department of Education (DepEd) expects around 90 percent of the more than 47,000 public schools nationwide to hold in-person learning when classes open on Monday, August 22. Education Chief of Staff and Undersecretary Epimaco Densing 3rd said around 76 percent of public schools participated in the pilot and expanded face-to-face classes in the previous school year. Majority of private schools, on the other hand, will implement blended learning at least until October 31. The Education department provided all public and private schools a transition period from Aug. 22 to Oct. 31, 2022, to slowly shift from distance learning or blended learning modalities to the mandatory five-day in-person learning by November 2.
BUSINESS: Debt servicing down in first half
Over to business, debt payments by the national government plunged in the first half of the year following an even steeper drop in amortizations, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed. Debt servicing for the period totaled P458.35 billion, down 40.76 percent from the year-earlier P773.702 billion. Amortization payments plummeted by 64 percent to P201.140 billion from P565.169 billion, with payments on external debt down 70 percent to P47.763 billion from P160.023 billion and domestic payments (down or up by how many percent) to P153.37 billion from (how much last year).
SPORTS: Cool Smashers brace for AVC stint
In sports, despite being told on short notice and having limited time to prepare, Creamline star Alyssa Valdez assured Filipino fans that the Cool Smashers will give it their all in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup for Women slated from August 21 to 29 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. Creamline became the "accidental" Philippine representative for the AVC Cup after the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) decided to not field the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs-bannered national team to the AVC due to "the team's training schedule and corresponding availability" on August 7. The decision came a day after the NU management refused to allow the Lady Bulldogs to play in the PVL Invitational Conference semifinals as a replacement for Kobe Shinwa University, which pulled out after one of its players tested positive for Covid-19 before its flight to Manila. The PNVF and the PVL then decided to send the eventual best local team of the conference to the AVC and that turned out to be Creamline, which has only agreed to be the Philippine representative in AVC on Sunday.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists, as both tackle the sugar importation controversy.
Today's editorial is against the banning of so-called "subversive" books. 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.