Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022.
READ: Unemployment back at pre-pandemic level
KEY job indicators have returned to pre-pandemic levels, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, a development said to be the result of further economic reopening. Unemployment eased to 4.5 percent in October, preliminary results of the PSA's latest Labor Force Survey showed, down from the 5.0 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively posted a month and a year earlier. Employment, at 95.5 percent from 95 percent in September, "was the highest rate recorded since January 2020 and registered to have bounced back to the pre-pandemic levels," the PSA said.
READ: 'Humanity has become a weapon of mass extinction'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) slammed multinational corporations for turning the world's ecosystems into "playthings of profit" and warned failure to correct course would lead to catastrophic results. Since taking office in 2017, Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister, has made climate change his signature issue. His fiery denunciations at the ceremonial opening of the conference, known as COP15, revealed the plight of the planet's endangered plants and animals — an interconnected crisis — are equally close to his heart. Before he took the dais, a group of around half a dozen Indigenous protesters interrupted a speech by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is co-hosting the event with China.
READ: PH youth easy prey for online sexual predators
THE Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) on Wednesday urged parents to monitor their children's internet use as a precaution against online sexual predators. PLDT and Smart Stakeholder Management Executive Jose Rosete said in a statement that the internet, computers and gadgets can be dangerous as the youth are vulnerable to sexual predators online. Rosete said that alarmingly, the Philippines is now the biggest supplier of child sexual abuse materials online based on data from international sources. THE Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) on Wednesday urged parents to monitor their children's internet use as a precaution against online sexual predators.Citing mobile gaming as an example, he said it has become easy for sexual predators to lure young gamers into doing seemingly harmless acts, like showing themselves half-naked in exchange for game tokens, badges and upgrades.
READ: DoH to give bivalent Covid jabs next year
THE government aims to intensify its vaccination program next year by using bivalent Covid-19 vaccines, Health department Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire. She said that they are finalizing "initial negotiations" for the procurement of the vaccine, while the Food and Drug Administration is finalizing its evaluation for emergency use authorization and the Health Technology Assessment Council for its assessment. Vergeire added that the vaccination against the Covid-19 virus will continue even if the targets for the national vaccination program have been reached. The country held the third day of its "Bakunahang Bayan" National Vaccination drive on Wednesday, which aims to increase the number of those who have received their first booster shot among the general population and the primary series in kids 5 to 11 years old.
Topping Business
READ: NG debt hits new high at P13.64T
CONTINUED borrowings and a weaker peso led to national government debt hitting a fresh high of P13.64 trillion in October, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Wednesday. For the month alone, P123.92 billion was added to total outstanding debt. Since December last year, government debt has increased by P1.91 trillion, the Treasury said in a statement. The total debt stock as of end-October was primarily composed of local borrowings at 68.58 percent, with the remaining 31.42 percent sourced externally. At P9.36 trillion, domestic debt was up from P9.3 trillion a month earlier.Since the start of 2022, domestic debt has increased by P1.18 trillion "due to continued preference for domestic financing to mitigate foreign currency risk."Foreign borrowings, meanwhile, totaled P4.28 trillion from the P4.22 trillion as of end-September. The Treasury attributed the rise to P118.71 billion in net availments of foreign financing.
In Sports
READ: Portugal advances in World Cup
Goncalo Ramos justified the shock decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a hat-trick on his full debut as Portugal demolished Switzerland, 6-1, on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to power into the World Cup quarterfinals. The 21-year-old Ramos, who started instead of Ronaldo, became the youngest player to strike three times in a World Cup knockout match since Pele in 1958. Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao were also on target for a rampant Portugal, who booked a showdown with Morocco on Saturday for a place in the last four in Qatar. Ramos, who only made his Portugal debut in a pre-tournament friendly last month. Switzerland, who had been hoping to reach a first quarterfinal since hosting the 1954 World Cup, exited in the last 16 for the third time in a row.
READ: Mitchell upstages LeBron as Cavs down Lakers
As a kid growing up in New York, Donovan Mitchell idolized LeBron James. On Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), he upstaged him. Mitchell scored a season-high 43 points and Jarrett Allen returned from injury to add 24, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 116-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in James' only visit home this season. With Anthony Davis missing the final three quarters because of illness, the Cavs improved to an NBA-leading 11-1 on their floor, their best start at home since 2015-16, when James led them to a championship. Darius Garland added 21 points and 11 assists for Cleveland. James finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds, losing for just the third time in 20 games against the Cavs. Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook added 16 points apiece as Los Angeles had its four-game winning streak stopped.
The Times editorial talks about realizing the maritime agenda. Read the full version on print, digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto. Contreras says it is not just the internet that is not neutral, not only in the Philippines; Makabenta writes that the renewable energy transition is not going well; Remoto on the child of the ash-covered sky.
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This is Pete Llevares reporting.