Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, October 29, 2022.
READ: 31 dead as 'Paeng' brings heavy rains
HEAVY rains spawned by approaching Storm "Paeng" (International Name: "Nalgae") and the prevailing northeast monsoon left at least 31 people dead in Maguindanao, an official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) reported Friday in its 3 p.m. data. BARMM Interior and Local Government Minister and Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence Chief Naguib Sinarimbo said the death toll could still go up as more reports from the field come in. Sinarimbo said 16 deaths were reported in the town of Datu Odin, 10 in Datu Blah Sinsuat, and 5 in Datu Upi. Majority of the deaths were attributed to flooding and the rest to landslides. Several residents climbed to the roof of their flooded houses waiting to be rescued, according to reports. Torrential rain started on Thursday and has not let up. The weather is expected to worsen when Paeng makes landfall sometime today.
READ: New person of interest in Lapid slay surfaces
ANOTHER person of interest in the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa, more popularly known as Percy Lapid, has been transferred to the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Department of Justice (DoJ) said on Friday. Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano 4th, DoJ spokesman, said the eighth person of interest in the case is an inmate at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) detention facility. The transfer was made "last night, around midnight," Clavano said.
READ: Elon Musk takes control of Twitter, fires executives
ELON Musk took control of Twitter and fired its top executives late Thursday in a deal that puts one of the leading platforms for global discourse in the hands of the world's richest man. Following the takeover, Musk tweeted that the "the bird is freed," referencing the company's iconic avian logo. He wasted no time sacking chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources.
READ: 'Hiring K to 12 graduates up to employers'
GO Negosyo founder Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd on Friday said the government could not mandate the private sector to hire K to 12 graduates as the decision to hire lies with employers. Concepcion made the statement after Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte called on businessmen to consider employing K to 12 graduates in a bid to create more livelihood opportunities for Filipinos. During Friday's Laging Handa briefing, Concepcion said that if K to 12 graduates are qualified for the positions they apply for then "there's no reason they cannot be hired."
READ: 16 distressed OFWs in Bahrain repatriated
SIXTEEN distressed Filipinos, including three detainees and a family with three minor children, were successfully repatriated by the Philippine Embassy in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, on Oct. 20, 2022, via Gulf Air. The Philippine Embassy facilitated the repatriation and shouldered the airfare of all Filipinos through the Assistance-to-Nationals Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
READ: Metro mall hours to be extended
MALLS in Metro Manila will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays starting November 14, with the scheme lasting up to January 6, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Friday. MMDA spokesman Mel Carunungan said malls usually follow 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. operating hours, but the expected influx of shoppers during the holiday season has prompted authorities to request mall operators to extend their operations as practiced in recent years. Carunungan said malls that plan to hold weekend sale promotions during the holidays were also asked to submit their traffic management proposals.
BUSINESS: Net outflows surge to $367.3B
Topping business, net "hot money" outflows ballooned to $367.3 billion in September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday, the highest since April last year. While the $892 million in inflows for the month was 12.7 percent higher compared to August, outflows increased by a significantly higher 43.4 percent to $1.3 billion. Foreign investments registered with the BSP through authorized agent banks (AABs) — formerly called foreign portfolio investments — have been posting net outflows since May this year.
SPORTS: Letran stretches winning streak to 7
Over to sports, defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran got back at Lyceum of the Philippines University as the Knights came through with a nail-biting 69-64 win over the Pirates in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Louie Sangalang delivered a gutsy performance as he scored 12 points and pulled down 18 rebounds — 13 of which were on the defensive end — that highlighted the defense of Letran. Letran also got even from a 75- 82 first round defeat against the Pirates on October 2.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles the hardcore pro-Marcos vloggers, Makabenta imagines a situation where Paul Soriano is asked by Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and Remoto finishes his 2-part column on the ghosts of memory.
Today's editorial believes Chinese police are not welcome to the country. 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.