Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.

READ: 'Education sector needs a lot of fixing'

THE lack of school facilities, rundown classrooms and slow training of teachers are among the most pressing concerns confronting the Department of Education (DepEd), Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte said on Monday. Speaking during the presentation of the DepEd's Education Report for 2023, Duterte lamented how "Filipino learners are not academically proficient," with many of them experiencing "emotional abuse and exhaustion." This problem is why a large number of students fail "to meet the standards of the demanding, competitive world," Duterte told the guests at the presentation that included President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., lawmakers, the diplomatic corps and education stakeholders. She pointed to the lack of school infrastructure and resources to bring about the ideal teaching process as "the most pressing issue pounding the Philippine basic education." The DepEd also faces a wide learning gap because "learning competencies are missing or misplaced," and the current basic education curriculum is "congested," she said.

READ: Marcos approves recovery roadmap

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order (EO) approving the five-year Philippine Development Plan (PDP) which will serve as the country's roadmap for economic recovery. Malacañang said on Monday EO 14 paves the way for the implementation of the second medium-term plan to "bring back the country to a high-growth trajectory and more importantly, enable economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive and resilient society." The plan covers the period 2023 to 2028. Approved last December by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, the PDP incorporates the administration's 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda to "reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction while addressing the issues brought by the Covid-19 pandemic." EO 14 directs all national government agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), other national government offices and instrumentalities, government corporate entities (GCEs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local government units (LGUs) to adopt and disseminate the PDP. They are also tasked to align their budgetary and department/corporate programs with the strategies and activities identified in the plan.

READ: Consumers warned against buying frozen eggs

THE Philippine Egg Board Association on Monday warned the public against buying frozen eggs. The association's president, Irwin Ambal, said eating frozen eggs could trigger bacterial infections such as salmonella. He said consumers are enticed to buy frozen eggs because they are cheaper than fresh eggs. Frozen eggs sell at P55 to P60 a kilo; a tray of medium-sized eggs costs P270. Fresh eggs should be refrigerated or consumed within one week if stored at normal temperature and in a dry place, he suggested. He said the retail price of eggs continues to rise, but the farmgate price remains stable at P7 per piece.

READ: The Times holds economic forum

ECONOMIC experts will exchange views in The Manila Times' 5th Annual Economic and Political Briefing today, Tuesday. In partnership with Colegio de San Juan de Letran, "Arriba Economia y Politica" will feature TMT Chairman Emeritus Dante A. Ang, Department of Finance Assistant Secretary Eufrocinio Bernabe Sr., and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Secretary General Ruben Pascual. Times columnist Rey Lugtu will be the on-site and online forum's moderator, while Times editor Dafort Villaseran and Letran College of Education professor Joy Chavez will be the event's hosts. The two-hour discussion starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be streamed live on The Manila Times Facebook page and website, The Manila Times TV, Letran College's website and other social media channels.

Topping Business

READ: More reforms needed to lure foreign investors

Private sector representatives urged the government to focus on making the country more attractive to investments as the Marcos administration formally launched its 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP). Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President George Barcelon said in a forum organized by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) that these "fundamental issues" such as "power, production costs, logistic costs, connectivity, and human skills sets" will be addressed by the PDP, along with improving the ease of doing business where the Philippines had already made improvements in the last few years. Barcelon, however, noted that the last Philippine Business Conference had stressed the need to reinvigorate the resource-based sector, particularly mineral mining, oil exploration, forestry, and salt harvesting. The PCCI chief also pointed to the importance of the agricultural sector to economic development. He urged the provision of insurance support and called for a push to involve more of the youth in the sector.

In Sports

READ: Mojdeh banners Brent Intl School in Seoul swimfest

WORLD Junior Championships semifinalist Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh will spearhead Brent International School swimming team's campaign in the 2023 Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) Swimming Championships slated on February 3 to 4 at the Seoul Foreign School swimming pool in Seoul, South Korea. The 16-year-old Philippine national junior record holder will be seeing action in five events — three individual events and two relays. Mojdeh hopes to deliver medals in the girls' 200 m Individual Medley and 100 m Individual Medley, and her pet event 100 m butterfly — the same event where she made it to the semifinals of the World Championships held in Lima, Peru last year. She will also anchor the Brent quartet in the girls' 4x100 m freestyle relay and 4x100 m medley relays.

READ: Chiefs, Eagles set Super Bowl clash

The Kansas City Chiefs will meet the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl after the two top seeds won their Conference Championships in contrasting style on Sunday (Monday in Manila). While the Eagles had it easy against injury-hit San Francisco 49ers, winning 31-7, the Chiefs needed a field goal three seconds from the end to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. The wins set up what should be an enthralling contest between two of the most exciting and entertaining quarterbacks in the NFL with the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes up against Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts. The February 12 clash in Arizona will also pit Chiefs coach Andy Reid against the team where he spent 14 years as head coach. The Eagles sealed the franchise's fourth Super Bowl appearance — and second in five years — with an emphatic victory in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.

READ: Opinion/Editorial

The Times editorial tackles GPT-3 and its discontents. GPT-3 or Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 is an artificial intelligence program that offers articulate conversations and writes essays, stories and even research papers. For the full version, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or listen to The Voice of The Times. Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are the featured columnists on the front page. Contreras makes an appeal to give the President a break while Makabenta tackles Grotesque revision: From declaration of independence to declaration of abortion.

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.

This is Kim Salinas reporting.