Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, October 15, 2022.
READ: Marcos rejects calls for Remulla to quit
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Friday rejected calls for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla to resign after his son was arrested in a massive drug bust. Speaking to reporters, Marcos said such a call "has no basis." He said he can only ask an official to quit if "he's not doing his job or that they have misbehaved in that job. [Remulla] has not done [anything wrong]." Marcos said the Justice secretary had made a "very proper" stance by not intervening in his son's case.
READ: BBM unlikely to order de Lima's freedom
Meanwhile, the President is not keen on using his authority to end former senator Leila de Lima's detention, avoiding being accused of interference. Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman had asked the President to order state prosecutors to move for the dismissal of criminal cases against de Lima "where inculpatory evidence is lacking." He said urging prosecutors to do one thing or another is "interfering".
READ: US Navy to back Indo-Pacific allies
The United States Navy is open to cooperation opportunities with America's allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines. Rear Admiral Michael "Buzz" Donnelly, commander of the US Naval Forces in Korea, told reporters at a briefing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on Friday that the US Navy "looks to support...the common universal values we share with our allies and partners." The Ronald Reagan was on a brief port call in Manila. The carrier's strike group was in the Sea of Japan last week following the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea.
READ: PH dumps 2.7M tons of plastic waste into the sea
THE Philippines generates at least 2.7 million metric tons of plastic wastes, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said on Friday, underscoring the urgency to strongly enforce a law making firms responsible for the plastic packaging they produce. In her speech during the launch of the Coca-Cola World Without Wastes project, Yulo-Loyzaga said that 20 percent of the country's plastic wastes end up in the oceans.
READ: Signal No. 1 up in Batanes, Isabela
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Friday that Signal No. 1 was raised over some areas in Batanes and Isabela as Tropical Depression "Neneng" further intensified while moving over the Philippine Sea. In its 5 p.m. bulletin, Pagasa said the storm alert was up over Cagayan, including Babuyan Islands, the eastern portion of Apayao, and the northern portion of Isabela in Luzon. Estimated some 795 kilometers east of Calayan, Cagayan, the tropical depression was moving west-southwestward with maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kph, Pagasa said. It said that Neneng will likely move westward before turning west-northwestward on Sunday.
READ: Palace task force probes journalists' death threats
THE Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) is looking into alleged online death threats made against two journalists, Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) Officer in Charge Cheloy Garafil said on Friday. In a statement, Garafil also said the PTFoMS has already talked to TV5 journalist Ed Lingao and anchor Lourd de Veyra to discuss their safety and security. The OPS serves as the co-chairman of the PTFoMS, along with the secretary of Justice. After the death of journalist Percival Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid, on Oct. 3, 2022, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said a man named Seth Corteza threatened Lingao and de Veyra, warning that they would be the next assassination victims. Lingao, on his social media page, also shared screenshots of a tweet from a netizen, claiming that he and de Veyra would be the next targets to be "taken down".
BUSINESS: Peso slightly up to P58.935 vs USD
Topping business, the Philippine peso appreciated slightly on Friday after closing at P58.935 against the US dollar. The local currency opened trading at P58.97, with a high of P58.985 and a low of P58.88 before closing below the P59 level. On Friday, the peso's average stood at P58.931, compared to Thursday's P58.95. The volume also slightly increased on Friday to $542.80 million against Thursday's $524.08 million. The US dollar corrected lower after rising for two straight trading days by -0.065 or -0.1 percent.
SPORTS: Marcos to support EJ's Olympic bid
In sports, President Ferdinand "Bongbong"Marcos Jr. on Friday vowed to extend necessary assistance to Ernest John "EJ" Obiena as he prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In a short video clip uploaded on state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM), Marcos thanked Obiena for his "greatest" performance as a Filipino athlete. Obiena won the men's pole vault gold medal at the Internationales Stabhochsprung-Meeting in Germany in August.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's fronts page columnists. Contreras believes there is politics in the world of fiction, Makabenta wants the term "fake news" replaced by misinformation and disinformation and Remoto revisits the Myanmar crisis.
Today's editorial laments on Siargao being a national embarrassment. Read the full version in 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 weekend ahead.