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Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Tueday, Oct. 18, 2022.
READ: Poll postponement challenged before SC
THE constitutionality of the law postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) was challenged in the Supreme Court on Monday. Prominent election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked the high court to declare as unconstitutional Republic Act 11935, the law that postponed the BSKE which had been scheduled this December. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed the law on October 10 moving the elections to the last Monday of October 2023. Subsequent BSKEs will be held every three years. Under RA 11935, all incumbent barangay and SK officials will stay in office unless removed or suspended. Macalintal said the power to postpone elections rests solely with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), as stipulated in Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
READ: Marcos pledges to reboot tourism
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Monday vowed to step up efforts to reboot the country's tourism sector. Speaking at the Philippine Tourism Industry Convergence Reception held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Marcos described tourism, which took a heavy blow from the coronavirus pandemic, as the "driving force of the economy," and committed his administration's full backing to the Department of Tourism's (DoT) agenda. Marcos, pleased with Tourism Secretary Cristina Garcia-Frasco's report that around 1.6 million international travelers have visited the country since it reopened its borders last February, directed various government agencies to closely work with the DoT in building new infrastructure, rehabilitating and improving existing tourist destinations and discovering new ones, upgrading sea and airports as well as public transportation, and securing tourists.
READ: Kadiwa stores to sell P70/kilo sugar
KADIWA centers and other outlets will soon be selling refined sugar at P70 per kilo in Metro Manila, where the commodity retails between P95 and P110 per kilo. Agriculture Undersecretary Kristine Evangelista said on Monday at least 13 Kadiwa centers will be set up in the National Capital Region (NCR/Metro Manila) to sell refined sugar at lower retail price. It will also be sold at the offices of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in Quezon City and in Bacolod City. The Department of Agriculture's (DA) main office in Quezon City has a Kadiwa center while Caritas manages a Kadiwa center at the Novaliches Cathedral in Quezon City that will sell the sugar every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Kadiwa rolling stores will also sell the commodity. The sugar sold through the Kadiwa stores are not intended for resale, the DA said.
READ: QC is Philippines' richest city for second straight year
QUEZON City was the country's richest city in 2021, with P451.007 billion in total assets, based on a financial report by the Commission on Audit. Makati was the second richest city with P238.56 billion and Manila the third with P65.25 billion. Completing the top 10 last year were Pasig (P51.176 billion), Taguig (P36.1 billion), Cebu (P33.343 billion), Mandaue City (P33 billion), Mandaluyong (P31.44 billion), Davao (P26.55 billion) and Caloocan (P23.383 billion). Cebu was the richest province in 2021 with total assets of P215.27 billion. It was followed by Rizal (P30.6 billion) and Batangas (P29.705 billion). The other provinces in last year's top 10 list were Davao de Oro (P23.211 billion), Bukidnon (P19.455 billion), Negros Occidental (P18.025 billion), Ilocos Sur (P17.907 billion), Iloilo (P17.399 billion), Isabela (P16.419 billion) and Palawan (P16.1 billion).
Topping Business
READ: Overseas remittances up 4.4% in Aug
PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached $3.02 billion in August this year, data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Monday. According to BSP, the recorded remittance in August 2022 is higher by 4.4 percent than the $2.89 billion posted in the same month last year. This resulted in the cumulative personal remittances rising by 3.0 percent to $23.34 billion in the first eight months of 2022 from $22.67 billion registered in the same period of 2021.
READ: PSEi bucks US markets to gain 1.1 percent
THE local bourse bucked the trend of the US markets on Monday, advancing by 1.11 percent, or 65.58 points, to close at 5,970.33. Claire Alviar, research associate at Philstocks Financial Inc., said that the local heavyweights, especially SM Investments Corp. and SM Prime Holdings Corp., helped lift the market. Michael Ricafort, a chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) also continued to gain after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla signaled that the Philippine economy is strong enough to withstand rate increases, and after Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that the BSP initiated actions to moderate sudden movements in the peso-dollar exchange rate.
In Sports
READ: Cool Smashers, Angels battle for share of lead
PETRO Gazz and Creamline rekindle their rivalry as they clash in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference today, October 18, at the PhilSports Arena. Game is set at 5:30 p.m., serving as the main event of the day's double-header that also features the battle between United Auctioneers and F2 Logistics at 2:30 p.m. The Angels and the Cool Smashers met in the 2019 Finals edition of the Reinforced Conference, with the former beating the latter in the best-of-3 series, 2-1, to win the championship and deny the Cool Smashers a three-peat.
READ: Koepka grabs biggest payday with LIV playoff win
Four-time major-winner Brooks Koepka secured the biggest payday of his career with a $4 million playoff win over close friend Peter Uihlein on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf breakaway tour on Sunday (Monday in Manila). Koepka's birdie on the Jeddah Invitational's third playoff hole cost Uihlein an eye-watering $5.875 million as it denied him the winner's prize plus $8 million for second place in the season standings. Uihlein can console himself with $4 million for third place this season, plus $2.125 million for second place on Sunday and $750,000 for winning the team event alongside Koepka. Koepka can also add $750,000 to his winnings for the team victory.
READ: Yankees stop Guardians, level series
Harrison Bader smacked a two-run home run and the New York Yankees kept their championship hopes alive Sunday (Monday in Manila) by defeating the Cleveland Guardians, 4-2, in the Major League Baseball playoffs. The Yankees pulled level at 2-2 in their best-of-five American League division series to set up Monday's (Tuesday in Manila) winner-take-all fifth game at New York. The winner will advance to the best-of-seven AL Championship Series, which begins Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) at Houston. The Philadelphia Phillies visit the San Diego Padres on Tuesday to open the National League Championship Series. The league champions meet in the World Series starting October 28.
In its editorial today, the Manila Times cites the need to save the country's coral reefs following a report by environmental group Haribon that only 2 percent remain healthy. Read the full version on print, its digital edition or listen to the Voice of the Times. Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are the featured columnists on the front page. Contreras writes about accountability and a father bearing the burden of a son while Makabenta makes a call not to refuse an Olympic champion who made the Filipinos proud.
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This is Kim Dignadice reporting.