Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, February 6, 2023.

READ: US shoots down Chinese spy balloon

The Biden administration lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its "strong dissatisfaction" at the move and said it may make "necessary responses." The craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the southeastern state of South Carolina with a missile fired from an F-22 plane, Pentagon officials said, falling into relatively shallow water just 47 feet (14 meters) deep. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a "deliberate and lawful action" that came in response to China's "unacceptable violation of our sovereignty."

READ: Lakas-CMD elects new officers

THE political party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) elected its new set of national officers on Friday. The holding of the election was contained in a resolution approved by party members and confirmed by incumbent officers led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Vice President Sara Duterte. Romualdez and Duterte reassumed the positions of president and chairman, respectively. The installation of the new officers "will strengthen and reinvigorate our party in support of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his Agenda for Prosperity and socioeconomic roadmap," Romualdez said in a statement Sunday.

READ: Maharlika needs fine-tuning – Budget chief

DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) has to be fine-tuned further to make it a "development fund." Pangandaman raised the need to tweak the MIF during the "Business and Politics" program on SMNI, aired every Saturday and hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd. Pangandaman said that when the bill was presented to the House of Representatives, some issues arose, particularly the plan to tap state pension funds to start up the MIF. Among the reforms proposed were to reduce competition from the private sector and incorporate features from successful sovereign wealth funds that neighboring countries have set up, she said.

READ: Senate will ratify RCEP – Zubiri

SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri is confident of getting the 16 votes needed to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (RCEP) free trade agreement. He said the Senate expects to ratify the trade agreement within the first quarter of 2023. Only the Philippines has not signed the economic partnership. More than 100 farmers' groups are against the country's inclusion in RCEP. Zubiri assured that under the RCEP, Filipino farmers will still be protected.

READ: DoLE vows to eliminate child labor

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has vowed to reduce the number of child laborers in the country, which now stands at more than 1 million. Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that DoLE has made eradicating child labor its top priority for 2023. The department, in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies, has managed to cut by about half the estimated 2.1 million child workers nationwide. Laguesma said the Labor department will push for more inclusive and preventive interventions to address the problem. One of the measures adopted by the DoLE is the profiling of child laborers to assess their needs and refer them and their families to appropriate agencies and organizations for necessary assistance. DSWD Undersecretary for Inclusive and Sustainable Peace Alan Tanjusay appealed over the weekend to local government units, DoLE, private entities and nongovernment organizations in operating the residential care facility in Tagum City for boys who are Children in Situation of Armed Conflict.

BUSINESS: Economists expect slower inflation

Topping business, inflation could have slowed in January from the prior month's 14-year high, economists said, easing pressures on monetary authorities to continue tightening policy. But interest rate hikes remain in the pipeline, they added, given expectations that 2023 consumer price growth will stay above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2.0- to 4.0-percent target for this year and the next. The median forecast for January inflation among five analysts polled by The Manila Times was 7.6 percent, near the lower end of the BSP's 7.5- to 8.3-percent estimate for the month. Inflation hitting 8.3 percent would be the highest in just over 14 years or since December 2008's 8.7 percent. A 7.5-percent result, meanwhile, would be the lowest in three months and a significant deceleration from December 2022's 8.1 percent. Official January data will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority tomorrow, Feb. 7. The results will be considered by the BSP's policymaking Monetary Board when it meets for the first time this year on February 16.

SPORTS: Madayag thankful for 'redemption' opportunity

In sports, Choco Mucho middle blocker Maddie Madayag just put up her best game since incurring an ACL injury in the 2021 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. Madayag put up 11 points on nine attacks, one block, and one service to lead the Flying Titans to a PVL 2023 All-Filipino Conference 25-15, 25-20, 25-20 win over Akari on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Madayag expressed her gratitude to Choco Mucho new coach Dante Alinsunurin for her strong performance.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao weighs in on the Marcos administration's decision to add four US bases in the country, Fr. Aquino talks about double jeopardy, and Tatad talks about the preservation of the first Marcos administration.

Today's editorial believes geopolitical threats are driving the country's foreign policy. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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This is Peter Stephen Llevares reporting.