Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
READ: No arrest warrant, no surrender
SUSPENDED Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag, who is implicated in the killing of broadcaster Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa and a prison inmate, said on Monday he will not surrender until an arrest warrant is issued against him. Bantag said in an interview that Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is in a hurry to get him jailed by asking him to surrender despite the fact that the preliminary investigation in the Mabasa case has not even started. Bantag admitted he had a good working relationship with Remulla before he was implicated as the mastermind in the Mabasa murder.
READ: PH fertility rate declines
FILIPINO women have become less fertile to the point that the country's population could start shrinking, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Monday. The average number of children born per Filipina ages 15 to 49 years fell to 1.9 last year from 2.7 in 2017, the PSA said in a statement detailing preliminary results of the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).
READ: House leader named 'Govt Hero of the Year'
DEPUTY Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar was named Government Hero of the Year by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Villar received the award in a ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, last November 11. Villar established May Bahay sa Bakuna in 2021 to persuade Las Piñas residents who were reluctant to get vaccinated against Covid by offering incentives such as participation in a raffle that gave away groceries, motorcycles, and a brand-new house and lot package to the winners. The Government Hero award honors "female government officials who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in 2020–22 to keep us safe and informed" throughout the pandemic.
READ: SRA: 135,618 MT of imported sugar arrive
AN official of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Monday said that 135,618 metric tons of the 150,000 MT imported sugar allocation have arrived. SRA Board Member and Planters' Representative Pablo Luis Azcona added that of the total imported sugar authorized under Sugar Order (SO) 2, at least 70,717 MT allocated for consumers and 64,901.7 MT for industrial use entered the country as of Nov. 6, 2022.
REFORMS are coming to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) with the naming of Jose Arturo "Jay Art" Tugade as head of the agency. Tugade, son of former Transportation chief Arthur Tugade, was formally sworn into office by Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista. He vowed to implement reforms in the agency and the LTO's service to the public.
BUSINESS: Asean, China launch ACFTA upgrade talks
Over to business, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China have officially launched negotiations to upgrade the Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA). This announcement was made on Sunday at the 25th AseanChina Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where Asean also held its annual leaders' summit.
SPORTS: Gilas Pilipinas sweeps 5th window
Topping sports, coach Chot Reyes again paid tribute to Gilas Pilipinas' resolute defense, while citing the unwavering support of the Filipino crowd from the playing venue, which inspired them to turn back the tough challenge of host Saudi Arabia, 76-63, in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Monday, November 14. The rematch at Saudi Arabia's home floor though did not come that easy for the Philippines. Gilas opened the quarter shooting just 6-of-21 from the floor, which allowed the home team to force a 16-16 standoff. But once Gilas started tightening its defensive screws and its shooters began to hit their stride, the Filipinos created the separation. In fact, the turning point happened in the second half when resident shooter Roger Pogoy scattered 11 of his 13 points in the third canto.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses the success of liberal progressive politics while Makabenta analyzes if social media is meeting an apocalypse.
Today's editorial discusses Philippine universities in the latest academic world rankings. 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.