Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
READ: Percy Lapid killing: Politicians among 'persons of interest'
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said on Monday there are 160 persons of interest or possible suspects, including the chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), in the killing of radio commentator Percival Mabasa, more popularly known as Percy Lapid. PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the list also includes politicians and police and military personalities. He did not identify them. In a press briefing in Camp Crame, Azurin said that the personalities were among those who were criticized by Mabasa in his program. He said that since 2021 Mabasa had censured 600 personalities, but only 160 of them could be considered persons of interest. Asked if BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag was one of them, Azurin confirmed that Bantag is included.
READ: FDA warns vs 'toxic' cough syrups
THE Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Monday echoed an earlier warning by the World Health Organization (WHO) against four "substandard" cough syrups for children. The WHO tagged the cough syrups manufactured by India-based Maiden Pharmaceutical Ltd. under the brands Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup as unsafe for consumption because they contain "toxic ingredients." The warning was issued following the death of 66 children in the West African country of Gambia last September. In its advisory, the FDA said the four brands contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol which are considered as contaminants and toxic to humans. Consumption "may result in abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death," it said.
READ: DHUSD orders Sta. Lucia realty to freeze lot sales
THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) directed the Sta. Lucia Realty and Development to stop selling and promoting properties until it can explain alleged violations in the sale of 19 lots in a subdivision in Quezon City. DHSUD Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation Division-NCR officer in charge Regional Director Norman Jacinto Doral sent a notification to Sta. Lucia Realty dated October 20 after it sold the lots in Vista Real Classica which were not covered by its license to sell. The 19 homeowners claimed they learned that the lots sold to them by Sta. Lucia were built on Lot 116-D Psd-541, which is not covered by the License to Sell 97-04-3085 issued to the developer on April 28, 1997.
READ: Police, LTO, Coast Guard on full alert for All Saints' Day
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is on full alert in preparation for the expected deluge of people flocking to terminals due to the long weekend as they go home to their provinces and visit the graves of their departed loved ones. PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Rederico "Red" Maranan said at the Laging Handa Public Briefing that 17,000 members of the Metropolitan Manila police force will be deployed in strategic areas in the National Capital Region (NCR). He said the PNP had already met with various agencies such as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and other force multipliers. PNP personnel will be deployed in bus terminals, piers, airports and other places of convergence, especially cemeteries.
READ: Housing program to create 1.7-M jobs
THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said on Monday that about 1.7 million jobs a year will be created under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s six-year housing program. The Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino: Zero ISF (informal settler family) 2028 Program is "projected to have direct and indirect jobs in the sector, especially in areas where mid-rise to high-rise units will be built," Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said. Acuzar cited a study showing that at least eight workers are necessary to build a housing unit within a certain period. The number of jobs generated by the housing program will contribute to the government's post-pandemic recovery efforts and the eight-point economic agenda of the Marcos administration, according to the DHSUD. As of August this year, there were 2.68 million unemployed Filipinos ages 15 to 64, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures.
REGIONS: Plane overshoots runway in Cebu
A KOREAN Air aircraft from Seoul veered off the runway at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) amid a heavy downpour on Sunday, Edilyth Maribojoc, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) Corporate Affairs head, said in a press statement. Korean Air flight KE 631 from Seoul overshot the runway at 11:11 a.m. on Sunday. No one was injured among the 162 passengers and 11 crew on board the A330 aircraft. Maribojoc said that all people on board were immediately evacuated and attended to by airport emergency personnel.
BUSINESS: Domestic trade plunges in Q2
Over to business, domestic trade contracted in the second quarter even as the economy was further reopened, preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday showed. The value of goods traded within the country fell by 17.9 percent to P190.09 billion from P231.51 a year earlier. Volume-wise, the plunge was a steeper 23.9 percent to 3.87 million tons from 5.08 million tons. Food and live animals were the most traded items in the April-June period, accounting for 0.91 million tons, or a share of 23.6 percent of total domestic trade. Following were manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (0.82 million tons, or 21.1 percent), and machinery and transport equipment (0.80 million tons, or 20.8 percent). In value terms, machinery and transport equipment topped domestic trading at P70.16 billion, or 36.9 percent of the total. It was followed by food and live animals (P38.75 billion, or 20.4 percent), and manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (P30.25 billion, or 15.9 percent).
SPORTS: Crossovers aim for solo lead in PVL
In sports, Chery Tiggo aims for the solo lead in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference standings as it faces Choco Mucho today, October 25, at the PhilSports Arena. The Crossovers meet the Flying Titans at 2:30 p.m, preceding the game between PLDT High Speed Hitters and the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers at 5:30 p.m. Chery Tiggo heads to the game with eight points built on a 3-0 slate, second to the Grand Slamseeking Creamline, which also sports a 3-0 record but is at the top with nine points. Thus, a win by the Crossovers over the Flying Titans would make them the leader in the 9-team tourney.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras believes a senator's proposal to ban Korean television dramas is misguided protectionism, while Makabenta weighs in on Xi Jinping's reelection as China's president.
Today's editorial discusses the South Korean model for cultural industries. 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.