Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, November 18, 2022.
READ: Marcos, Xi meet amid sea row
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss ways to firm up bilateral ties even as the territorial dispute between their countries in the South China Sea continues to simmer. Marcos and Xi held a one-on-one discussion on the sidelines of the 29th AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Marcos' first bilateral meeting with the Chinese leader took place ahead of his scheduled state visit to China this January. It will be the President's first state visit outside of Southeast Asia following official trips to Indonesia and Singapore in September. The Philippines and China have been locked in a maritime row, with Beijing claiming almost all of the South China Sea, which overlaps with the West Philippine Sea. In 2016, the Philippines scored a victory against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, after the court declared Beijing's claim on the South China Sea as illegal. China has refused to acknowledge the ruling. Apart from the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have also competing claims in the South China Sea.
READ: Ukraine war casts shadow over APEC summit
PACIFIC rim leaders flew to Bangkok on Thursday for a summit on pandemic recovery and the global economic turmoil unleashed by the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will join rulers from the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum for the highlevel talks. The gathering follows a meeting of the G20 in Indonesia that was upended by fears that a deadly missile strike on Poland signaled a dangerous escalation of Russia's war in Ukraine. Western leaders have moved to dial down the alarm, saying the blast was probably an accident, with both Poland and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) saying the explosion was most likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage.
READ: US vice president to discuss illegal fishing with Palawenos
UNITED States Vice President Kamala Harris will discuss with Palawan residents the impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on their livelihoods. Harris will also meet with young Filipino women to talk about "empowering women and girls," a senior US administration official said in a background briefing on Wednesday. Harris will arrive Sunday night after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit in Bangkok, Thailand. The first woman US vice president will meet with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte separately on Monday. On Tuesday, Harris will travel to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, to meet with residents, civil society leaders and representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said IUU fishing ranges from "small-scale, unlawful domestic fishing to more complex operations carried out by industrial fishing fleets."
READ: Bantag to attend probe on Lapid slay
SUSPENDED Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director-General Gerald Bantag has signified interest in attending the Department of Justice's (DoJ) preliminary investigation on the murder case of radio commentator Percival Mabasa or Percy Lapid. Bantag, who was tagged as the mastermind in the killing of the hard-hitting radio commentator, said that he is willing to attend along with his legal counsel, Rocky Balisong. However, he admitted that no one at his Caloocan City residence was present to receive his subpoena. The serving authorities then put the subpoena inside a plastic packet and hung it on the gate of the residence. Bantag's lawyer said the subpoena can be sent instead to Bantag in Baguio City, where his client is located. The Philippine National Police said it will coordinate with the local police of Baguio City.
READ: SIM registration law takes effect next month
SEN. Mary Grace Poe on Wednesday said the full implementation of Republic Act 11934 or the "Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act" was set on Dec. 27, 2022, with implementing rules and regulations to be issued on Dec. 12. billion proposed DICT budget for 2023. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services said a public hearing will be held on December 5 to gather inputs from stakeholders. Signed into law on Oct. 10, 2022, the SIM Registration Act requires the registration of SIM cards as a deterrent to mobile phoneaided crimes such as text scams.
BUSINESS: S&P affirms PH's BBB+ investment-grade rating
Topping business, S&P Global Ratings on Thursday affirmed the Philippines' investment grade rating, citing healthy economic growth and a likely improvement in the country's finances. Upheld were the "BBB+" longterm and "A-2" short-term sovereign credit ratings with a "stable" outlook.
SPORTS: Austria lifts La Salle past Adamson
Over to sports, CJ Austria drained the game-winning triple as De La Salle University nipped Adamson University, 81-78, on Thursday in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Left open on the left wing, Austria drilled the go-ahead threepointer off a Ben Phillips assist to finish with 16 points for the struggling Green Archers. With the victory, La Salle avenged its first round loss to Adamson and improved its win-loss record to 4-6. Austria added two rebounds and two steals even as Michael Phillips collected 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals for La Salle.
Van Ybiernas and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Ybiernas weighs in on the Percy Lapid murder case, while Tatad asks on the fruits of 500 years of Christianity in the country.
Today's editorial calls on coaches and schools to team up to curb sports violence. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, get a copy of The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and Keep Up With The Times.
For The Manila Times, this is Kim Isabelle Dignadice.