Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, February 9, 2023.
READ: Marcos to sign key deals in Japan visit
PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is hopeful that his visit to Japan will result in the implementation of projects that have been abandoned because of the pandemic, as well as the signing of key agreements in agriculture, energy, digital transformation, defense and infrastructure. Marcos said that he aims to strengthen "the bonds of friendship with a close neighbor, like-minded and futureoriented like us in many ways and a most reliable partner in times of both crises and prosperity." The President and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are set to sign key deals in the areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, infrastructure, agriculture and digital cooperation. The President will also hold meetings with Japan's business leaders to promote trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines.
READ: Quake death toll rises above 1,200
The death toll from a massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria rose above 11,200 on Wednesday as rescuers raced to save survivors trapped under debris in the winter cold. Officials and medics said 8,574 people had died in Turkey and 2,662 in Syria from Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the total to 11,236. Nearly 50,000 people were also injured in Turkey and another 5,000 in Syria, officials and rescuers on both sides said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an update on the casualty figures during a visit to Kahramanmaras, a southern Turkish city at the epicenter of the initial quake.
READ: US forces returning to PH to counter China threats
Once-secret ammunition bunkers and barracks lay abandoned, empty and overrun by weeds — vestiges of American firepower in what used to be the United States' largest overseas naval base at Subic Bay in the northern Philippines. But that may change in the near future. The US has been taking steps to rebuild its military might in the Philippines more than 30 years after the closure of its large bases in the country and reinforcing an arc of military alliances in Asia in a starkly different post-Cold War era when the perceived new regional threat is an increasingly belligerent China. On February 2, the longtime allies announced that rotating batches of American forces would be granted access to four more Philippine military camps aside from five other local bases, where USfunded constructions have picked up the pace to build barracks, warehouses and other buildings to accommodate a yet-unspecified but expectedly considerable number of visiting troops under a 2014 defense pact.
READ: DA allots P326.9M for onion production
THE Department of Agriculture (DA), headed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has allocated P326.97 million for onion interventions this year through its High Value Crops Development Program, Malacañang said Wednesday. Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said that P69.949 million was earmarked for onion production support services (provision of seeds, seedlings and other farm inputs); P3.2 million for irrigation network facilities; and P1.9 million for extension support, education and training. She said the program also allotted P6.486 million for farm production-related machinery and equipment distribution; P2.359 million for production facilities; and P2.5 million for post-harvest and processing equipment and machinery distribution.
READ: DMW stops sending domestic help to Kuwait
THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) announced on Wednesday the cessation of deployment of Filipino household help to Kuwait in reaction to the brutal killing of 35-year-old Jullebee Ranara in the hands of her employer's son. DMW Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople said in a statement that the application of first-time migrant workers specifically for household services in Kuwait will be deferred until after significant reforms have been made resulting from upcoming bilateral talks with Kuwaiti authorities.
BUSINESS: Jobless rate up slightly
Topping business, unemployment picked up in December from a month earlier but job quality appears to have improved, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. The jobless rate rose to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent in November, the PSA reported on Wednesday, with 43,000 Filipinos ages 15 and above joining the ranks of the unemployed. At 2.22 million, the total number of those without work rose from 2.18 million in November. Underemployment, however, improved to 12.6 percent from November's 14.4 percent. The number of employed persons looking for more work fell to 6.2 million from 7.16 million a month earlier. The National Economic and Development Authority welcomed results of the PSA's December 2022 Labor Force Survey, saying that the labor market had continued to gain "as more Filipinos pursue and attain high-quality jobs amid the now fully opened economy."
SPORTS: Remulla named CDM for 2024 Olympics
In sports, Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor "Jonvic" Remulla Jr. will stand as the chief de mission (CDM) of Team Philippines in the 2024 Olympic Games, Philippine Olympic Committee President and Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino announced on Tuesday, February 7. The 2024 Olympics is slated in Paris from July 26 to August 11. Remulla is the honorary chairman of rowing and the team manager of the University of the Philippines men's basketball team who clinched the championship in Season 84 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines in 2022. According to Tolentino, what makes the Paris Games much more significant is that the Philippines is celebrating its 100th year of participation in the Olympics. The Games were also held in Paris when the Philippines first joined the Olympics in 1924.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses on food, Makabenta talks about "watershed moments" in Philippine history, while Remoto discusses the Savage Mind bookshop.
Today's editorial believes the recent inflation data could spell trouble in the Philippine economy. 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 Luden Salinas reporting.