Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, January 20, 2023.
READ: Senate wants DBM, DepEd execs charged
THE Senate blue ribbon committee has found that the 39,000 laptops purchased in 2021 for public school teachers for P979 million were overpriced and recommended the filing of criminal charges against officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Sen. Francis Tolentino, committee chairman, on Thursday said the panel also admonished former Education secretary Leonor Briones for the anomalous purchase. But Tolentino said there was no evidence to link Briones to the anomaly, and that she was deceived into approving the purchase. The laptops were distributed to government teachers to help them conduct online classes at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. In a 197-page report, the committee recommended graft charges against officials of DepEd and the DBM's Procurement Service (PS) involved in the purchase of the laptops. The report named DepEd Undersecretary Analyn Sevillla, former DepEd undersecretary Alain del Pascua, former DepEd assistant secretary Salvador Malana 3rd, Director Abram Abanil, former PS-DBM officers in charge Lloyd Christopher Lao and Jaysonmer Uayan, BAC chairman Ulysses Mora, and other members and staff of the special bids and awards committee.
READ: DA acts to ease egg shortage
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has directed the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to ease the shortage of eggs in the country triggered by the avian flu and the high cost of feeds. In an interview with The Manila Times on Thursday, Agriculture deputy spokesman Rex Estoperez said the BAI was asked to make an inventory of egg production and consumption. Earlier, Batangas Egg Producers Association (BEPA) President Jesus Medina and Philippine Egg Board Chairman Gregorio San Diego attributed the shortage and the soaring prices to the bird flu outbreak in Luzon and the high cost of feeds. Medina and San Diego appealed to the government to help egg producers address high feed prices.
READ: Indian traders eye ventures outside Metro Manila
INDIAN traders in the Philippines are keen on starting ventures outside of Metro Manila. Ambassador of India to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran relayed the expansion plan during a luncheon meeting Wednesday between the India Business Forum (IBF) Philippines Association Inc. and The Manila Times led by its Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd. The IBF represents a broad spectrum of Indian firms dealing in pharmaceuticals, automobiles, agriculture, insurance, health care, manpower and IT-BPO (information technology-business processing outsourcing). Kumaran said Indian executives in the country saw the need "to have a platform where they could come together, to exchange ideas, and also look at initiatives that could contribute to building relationship, connecting with [Filipino] communities."
READ: Davos forum chief praises PH for remarkable growth
World Economic Forum (WEF) President Børge Brende lauded the Philippines Wednesday for its remarkable gross domestic product (GDP) growth, describing it as the "fastest growing" economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). During a one-on-one with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Brende noted that the Philippine economy outpaced that of other countries in Southeast Asia.
READ: No alarming Covid spikes seen in 2023 – OCTA
THE Philippines will not see any "alarming" spikes of Covid-19 in the coming months unless a new variant in the mold of Delta arrives in the country, a senior fellow of OCTA Research said. Dr. Guido David said that the country will not see any large increases in cases unlike in 2021, when it experienced the Alpha, Beta, and the lethal Delta variants of the virus. He said that the low hospitalization rate last year was due to the high number of Filipinos who had been vaccinated against Covid-19. David said that while he expects Covid-19 cases to continue in 2023, he believes that the country "would be okay" if the state of public health emergency is lifted by the World Health Organization in its upcoming meeting on January 27.
READ: Marcos not keen on 'militaristic' solutions
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said during his meeting with World Economic Forum (WEF) President Børge Brende in Davos, Switzerland that the Philippines is not inclined to militaristic solutions to territorial disputes, adding it "will end badly for everyone involved." Marcos cited the war between Ukraine and Russia that affected not just nearby countries but the whole world as well. He added a similar conflict in the South China Sea would be disastrous for the rest of the world.
BUSINESS: BoP deficit hits record $7.3B
Topping business, the country's overall balance of payments (BoP) payments position hit a record deficit last year following a surplus in 2021, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed on Thursday. The full-year 2022 BoP shortfall of $7.3 billion was the highest since 2000 based on BSP figures. The previous peak was a $2.858-billion gap in 2014. A P1.34-billion surplus was posted in 2021 following a record high of $16.22 billion a year earlier.
In sports, Baseth "Kingpin" Mocaibat of Dasmariñas City demolished the "Fire Dragon" Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei to reign supreme in the Sharks One-on-One race-to-63 10-ball showdown that concluded Monday night at the state-ofthe-art Sharks Billiards and Pool Arena in Diliman, Quezon City. On January 14, the Kingpin from Cavite took control of the game early in the grueling three-stage duel and extinguished any attempt by the Taiwanese Fire Dragon to steal the momentum for a 21-6 lead. In the third and final day, Mocaibat managed to foil every attack launched by Chang and masterfully kept his rival at bay en route to a 63-39 annihilation in this 10-ball event sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board
Francisco Tatad and Carl Balita are today's front page columnists. Tatad weighs in on freeing former senator Leila de Lima, while Balita discusses three "animals" in the classroom.
Today's editorial calls Republic Act 8172 or "An Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide" as archaic and a torment to salt farmers. 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.