Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, December 17, 2022.
READ: President signs P5-trillion budget
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has signed into law the P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, the first full-year outlay under his administration. Marcos signed the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in a ceremony in Malacañang, which was witnessed by Vice President Sara Duterte, some Cabinet officials and members of Congress led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. In his remarks, the President said the passage of the spending measure was among the fastest in recent years.
READ: Marcos brings home P9.8-B trade pledges
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. returned from his visit to Brussels, Belgium, with P9.8 billion worth of investment pledges from European business executives. Arriving at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City Thursday night, Marcos described his trip to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (Asean-EU) Commemorative Summit as "very productive," with European companies planning to expand their businesses in the Philippines.
READ: BIR busts firm faking receipts
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has seized "voluminous" falsified receipts, invoices, and other business documents issued to various individuals and companies by a business company. A statement from the BIR said Commissioner Romeo Lumagui, together with the legal and revenue officers from the bureau's Quezon City office headed an operation against Brenterprise International Inc. which yielded hundreds of booklets of receipts, invoices, and other business documents in the name of the company's clients from all over the country, a number of which are among those identified Cannot Be Located (CBL) Taxpayers by the BIR. Lumagui said the company prints fake receipts which it sells to clients who use them to justify deductions for expenses.
READ: PNP says Misa de Gallo generally orderly and peaceful
THE traditional and face-to-face Misa de Gallo also known as "Simbang Gabi" (Dawn Masses) in the Philippines that started on Friday — the first since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country and many other parts of the world — was generally orderly and peaceful, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said. PNP spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo, in a radio interview, said their monitoring showed no untoward incident had been reported. The PNP noted that "a lot of people" heard the Masses that were held for the first time in two years, when people, except a limited number, were locked down in their homes.
READ: Atayde vows: Maharlika fund will be corrupt-free
QUEZON City First District Representative Juan Carlos "Arjo" Atayde has vowed to add more security measures to the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) management to protect it from corruption. The House on Thursday approved House Bill 6608, or the proposed "Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act," after it was certified as urgent by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. In a statement on Friday, Atayde said the amendments to HB 6608 "are proof that we in Congress are serious about keeping the MIF as free from corruption and risk as possible." Among the amendments is the exclusion of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) as sources of funding for the wealth fund.
READ: Independent probe on prison 'killings' pushed
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro on Friday called for an independent investigation of allegations by an inmate at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) that several high-profile inmates were killed and did not die from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Castro was referring to the testimony of detainee Rodel Tiaga who recalled witnessing the alleged murder of drug lord Eugene Chua at "Site Harry," the designated quarantine facility at the NBP for those who tested positive for Covid-19.
BUSINESS: 2024-2026 inflation goal set at 2-4%
Topping business, economic managers have decided to keep the 2023-2024 inflation target at 2.0 to 4.0 percent and adopt the same range for the following two years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday. In a statement, the central bank said the inflation target range of 3.0 percent ±1.0 ppt (percentage point) continues to be an appropriate quantitative representation of the medium-term goal of price stability that is optimal for the Philippines given the current structure of the economy and outlook for macroeconomic conditions over the next few years.
SPORTS: In pole vault and basketball, lawmakers call for reform
Over to sports, two members of the House of Representatives on Friday sought specific reforms to pole vault, basketball and sports investment. Ang Probinsyano party-list Rep. Alfredo de los Santos requested that the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), universities and colleges take an active part in pole vault to assist the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) in developing and promoting the sport. The lawmaker wants all interschool athletics meets to include the sport in future competitions. Manila Third District Rep. Joel Chua, meanwhile, urged the adoption of new policies and procedures aimed at eliminating violence and abuse in basketball, as well as an increase in financial assistance for and consideration of the wellbeing of players. Basketball leagues, according to Chua, "must also adapt their methods of thinking about the financial, physical and professional wellbeing of its players, coaching staff, and support employees."
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras weighs in on the recent transport situation, Makabenta cautions on the Maharlika Investment Fund after its approval in the Lower House, and Remoto discusses on a home for Filipinos in Bangkok, Thailand.
Today's editorial believes there needs to be new ideas at the National Irrigation Administration. 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.