Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, September 23, 2022.
READ: CPP, NPA not terror groups
THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA) are not terrorist organizations, a Manila trial court has ruled. The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 handed down the ruling last Wednesday as it dismissed a petition of the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Feb. 21, 2018, to declare the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization. The DoJ filed the petition under Section 17 of the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007, which requires a ruling by a regional trial court before an organization can be officially labeled as a terrorist.
READ: BBM seeks partnership with US investors
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday pushed for partnerships with American investors to speed up the Philippines' recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In his remarks during a dialogue with members of the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce here, Marcos expressed hope that the Philippines and investors from the US would be able "to find ways to partner."
READ: PH, Japan to boost relations
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to intensify ties amid challenges in the regional security and economic landscape. Marcos and Kishida reaffirmed their commitment during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
READ: SC asked to void Malampaya share transfer
FORMER executive secretary and Manila Times columnist Ruben Torres has petitioned the Supreme Court to annul the transfer of shares in the Malampaya Project by Chevron Philippines Ltd. to UC Malampaya Philippines Pte Ltd. UC Malampaya is a subsidiary company of Udenna Corp. whose majority stockholder is business tycoon Dennis Uy, a staunch supporter of former president Rodrigo Duterte. The controversial transfer has been the subject of Senate investigations. A statement from the camp of Torres said the Malampaya Project marked the beginning of the natural gas industry in the country and is one of its largest industrial endeavors, providing revenues in excess of $12 billion.
READ: Wearing of face masks in schools mandatory
THE Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said face masks should be worn by learners, teachers or faculty members, and other school personnel in classrooms, laboratories, and other school rooms to mitigate Covid-19 transmission. The directives are contained separately in DepEd Order 41 and CHEd Memo 9. However, wearing of face masks is voluntary in open spaces and outdoor areas where physical distancing may be observed, in line with Executive Order 3 signed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr
READ: Pork prices seen rising by P20/kilo
PORK prices are expected to go up by at least P20 per kilo as demand for the product rises and as a consequence of the effect of the African swine fever (ASF), Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines, Inc. (Agap) party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones said. Briones said that the farmgate price of pork ranges from P180 to P185 per kilo. Based on the daily monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday, the retail price of fresh pork kasim ranges from P275 to P350 per kilo and pork liempo from P320 to P390 per kilo. The cost of frozen imported pork kasim is lower at P240 to P245 per kilo while frozen imported liempo is priced between P270 and P280 a kilo.
BUSINESS: Peso falls to new all-time low of P58.49 vs USD
Over to business, the Philippine peso fell to a new record low against the United States dollar for the third straight day after closing at P58.49 on Thursday. The local currency lost 49 centavos to the US dollar from Wednesday's P58:$1 after it opened at P58.1 and traded between P58.0 and P58.5. Thursday's volume also hit $1.51481 billion, higher than the previous session's $1.05115 billion. This also is the ninth recordhigh closing rate for the US dollar/ peso exchange rate since the start of this year. Since the start of 2022, the peso has depreciated by P7.491, or 14.7 percent, versus P50.999 by the end-2021. The local currency fell again to a new all-time low against the greenback after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced another large interest rate hike of 75 basis points for the third time in a row.
SPORTS: Coach Guiao faces former team NLEX
Topping sports, for the first time in six years, multi-titled head coach Yeng Guiao will face his old team NLEX as he makes his first coaching stint this year with Rain or Shine, the team he left for the Road Warriors in 2016. Game time is 5:45 p.m. today, September 23, in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Guiao led the Elasto Painters to two PBA championships in the 2012 Governors' Cup and 2016 Commissioner's Cup before leaving the team to handle the Road Warriors. With Guiao on the bench, NLEX has become a perennial playoff contender but failed to win the crown. Now, he returns to Rain or Shine with not too many familiar faces on the team. Only Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga and Jewel Ponferrada are left from those Rain or Shine championship teams that he had coached.
Rigoberto Tiglao and Stephen CuUnjieng are today's front page columnists. Tiglao hits out at a fellow Times columnist over fictionalized opinion pieces, while CuUnjieng talks about a new nuclear power.
Today's editorial tackles the recent issues surrounding Philippine basketball. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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For The Manila Times, this is Kim Isabelle Dignadice.