Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022
READ: Maharlika fund worries senators
SOME senators harbor concerns over the proposed creation of the P275-billion Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) because it intends to tap private and public pension contributions. Under the bill jointly filed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Rep. Ferdinand "Sandro" Marcos 3rd, the fund will pool resources from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines for investments. Senate Majority Leader Emmanuel "Joel" Villanueva, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel 3rd, as well as Senators Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, Francis Joseph "Chiz" Escudero and Christopher "Bong" Go wanted safeguards to prevent the government from dipping into pension funds and invest the amount elsewhere without the consent of SSS and GSIS members.
READ: Bicam panel approves P5.268T budget
THE Bicameral Conference Committee report on the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 has been approved by both the House of Representatives and Senate, clearing the road for its quick approval. Members of the bicam panel met on Monday at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City to put the finishing touches to the spending plan for the coming year. The panel's second and final bicam meeting was jointly presided by Sen. Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, and Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee. Co and Angara approved the bicam report, which contained institutional realignments or amendments they had decided on during the initial bicam meeting on November 25. Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Co had promised the people that the House would increase the allocations of agencies providing social services like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Education (Deped), and the Department of Transportation (DoTr).
READ: Bantag shows up in DoJ probe
SUSPENDED Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director-general (DG) Gerald Bantag attended on Monday the consolidated preliminary investigation on the murder of broadcaster Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa and the death of alleged middleman Cristito Villamor Palaña at the Department of Justice (DoJ). Bantag also confirmed that he has already subscribed to his counter-affidavit before a Baguio City prosecutor, but he chose to attend the preliminary probe in person to file additional documents. He added that he is not hiding. Bantag's legal counsel, lawyer Rocky Thomas Balisong, meanwhile, confirmed that they filed a motion for inhibition "to remove the preliminary investigation from the DoJ" for lack of jurisdiction and based on the Constitution, the Ombudsman has the power to investigate all offenses committed by public officials that appear to be illegal, unofficial and corrupt practices.
READ: Oxford Dictionaries names 'goblin mode' word of the year
Asked to sum up 2022 in a word, the public has chosen a phrase. Oxford Dictionaries said Monday that "goblin mode" has been selected by online vote as its word of the year. It defines the term as "a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations." First seen on Twitter in 2009, "goblin mode" gained popularity in 2022 as people around the world emerged uncertainly from pandemic lockdowns. For the first time this year's winning phrase was chosen by public vote, from among three finalists selected by Oxford Languages lexicographers: "goblin mode," "metaverse" and the hashtag "IStandWith."
In Business
READ: Economic team cuts 2023 growth target
NEXT year's economic growth target has been lowered on account of global headwinds, the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) announced on Monday. The government will now be working to meet a 2023 gross domestic product growth goal of 6.0 to 7.0 percent, down from 6.5 to 8.0 previously. This year's 6.5- to 7.5-percent target was retained as well as the 6.5 to 8.0 percent for 2024 to 2028. The DBCC said the government remained on track to meet the 2022 target as the economy had been further reopened. Inflation, meanwhile, is now expected to average 5.8 percent this year, up from the 4.5 to 5.5 percent earlier forecast, mainly due to higher prices of food and transport costs.
READ: Stocks drop; peso ends winning streak
The peso snapped a seven-day winning streak and the stock market fell for a second straight session on Monday after the gov't revised its macroeconomic forecasts. The peso closed at P56.02 against the greenback, 28 centavos weaker from Friday, while the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 47.52 points or 0.73 percent to settle at 6,442.13. The broader All Shares also went down by 15.72 points or 0.46 percent to 3,403.93.
Topping Sports
READ: Gazz Angels shoot for 2nd straight title
PETRO Gazz guns for its second straight title in Game 2 of its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Finals against Cignal today, December 6, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. The defending champs Angels look to finish off the HD Spikers at 5:30 p.m. Petro Gazz got the head start of the series after pulling off a hard-earned sweep of Cignal, 25-21, 27-25, 37-35, last Thursday at The Big Dome, where American reinforcement Lindsey Vander Weide unleashed a career-best 34 points to tow her side to the triumph. Now, with the chance to finish the series and successfully defend the throne they won in the 2019 edition of the Reinforced Conference, the Angels are out for blood.
READ: Lastimosa earns UAAP POW
ADAMSON star guard Jerom Lastimosa has done some heavy lifting in the home stretch of the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament, as the Falcons soared to catch the last bus to the Final Four. Lastimosa, who braved a right foot injury in the second round, towed Adamson to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 following a thrilling 80-76 win against La Salle in a win-or-go-home duel for the last playoff spot. For his heroics, Lastimosa was voted unanimously as the Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and San Miguel Corp.
READ: Hovland hangs on to retain World Challenge crown
Viktor Hovland led by four shots at the turn. No one got closer to him than two shots during the final nine holes at the Hero World Challenge. Hovland pulled a 6-iron from an awkward lie into the water on the 18th hole and had to make a 20-foot bogey putt for a 3-under 69 to secure victory Sunday (Monday in Manila), allowing him to join tournament host Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners of this holiday event. Woods won in 2006 and 2007 when it was held at Sherwood Country Club.
The Times, in its editorial, writes easing the 'learning poverty'. Read the full version on print, on digital or listen to The Voice of The Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta. The two columnists give contrasting views on the Maharlika fund. Contreras writes about giving the proposed sovereign wealth fund a fair hearing while Makabenta thinks the idea is 'incredibly obtuse'.
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This is Kim Dignadice reporting.