Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
READ: Teves denies hand in Degamo killing
NEGROS Oriental Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. on Monday denied any involvement in the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo, saying someone is trying to pin the blame on him. Teves said he had expected that he and his brother, Henry Teves, would be implicated in the death of Degamo, their political rival. The governor was gunned down while talking with his constituents in front of his house last Saturday. Eight other people were killed, and scores of others were wounded in the attack.
READ: Suspects in governor's slay charged
MULTIPLE murder and frustrated murder charges have been filed against the three suspects in the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ). Justice Undersecretary Nicholos Ty said on Monday that Joric Labrador, Joven Aber and Benjie Rodriguez were also charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives. The complaints were separately filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Bayawan City and at the Negros Oriental prosecutor's office in Dumaguete City.
READ: Govt, transport groups differ on strike's impact
TRANSPORT groups on Monday claimed that the first day of their weeklong strike on Monday successfully paralyzed public transportation in Metro Manila and other areas in the country, but government agencies reported that the protest action against the PUV modernization program (PUVMP) hardly made an impact. In a press briefing, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Technical Division chief Joel Bolano said that as of 11 a.m., the strike had affected only 10 percent of routes in the National Capital Region (NCR). Authorities also received no reports of stranded commuters.
READ: Group seeks review of PUV modernization
CALLS for the national government to review the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), the crux of the ongoing weeklong nationwide transport strike, continue to gain support. The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) has joined protests against the program, citing arguments presented in at least two petitions filed before the Supreme Court that seek to nullify certain provisions of the PUVMP "for being an invalid delegation of legislative power and a transgression of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 1987 Constitution." The PUVMP mandates the phase out of all jeepneys that are 15 years old and older and replace them with brand new ones that conform with the Philippine National Standards and powered by either an electric powertrain, or at least a Euro 4-compliant diesel engine.
READ: PAL back to full flight capacity by mid-2023
THE head of Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects the country's flag carrier to return to full flight capacity by the middle of this year. Speaking during a roundtable interview with The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley Ng said the airline is at 90 percent flight capacity, but it still has fewer aircraft than it did before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that China has once again eased travel restrictions, Ng said he expects Philippine business and tourism to pick up. He said he is cautiously optimistic about the outlook for PAL this year because of persistent headwinds, but noted that the first quarter has been kind to the airline industry.
READ: NBI steps into Cebu 'hazing' case
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has stepped into the case of the alleged hazing victim, 20-year-old Ronnel Baguio, following the turnover of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) of his cellular phone, which could help identify others behind his death. PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta and PAO-Forensics Division director Dr. Erwin Erfe on Monday personally met with NBI director Medardo de Lemos at the latter's Quezon City office with Leny Baguio, 38, the mother of the Marine Engineering student of the University of Cebu. Lemos instructed NBI's Cybercrime Division to take possession of the cellular phone and immediately get permission from the concerned court before they touch the device and examine its contents. Rueda-Acosta said the PAO expects a full-blown investigation with the NBI handling the case.
Over to business, regulators have doubled the maximum yearly contributions for the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) program, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced on Monday, in a bid to encourage more Filipinos to prepare for when they finally leave the workforce. The annual limits for the voluntary retirement savings program were raised to P200,000 from P100,000 for locally employed and self-employed individuals, and to P400,000 from P200,000 for Filipinos working abroad, the BSP said in a statement. The increase was recommended by the PERA Inter-Agency Board — composed of the BSP, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) — and approved by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno in line with Republic Act 9505, or the "PERA Act of 2008."
SPORTS: Cool Smashers eye semis berth
Headlining sports, defending champion Creamline looks to secure a semifinal berth when it faces PLDT today, March 7, in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. The league-leading Cool Smashers battle the third-running High Speed Hitters at 4 p.m. Riding on a two-game winning run, Creamline, sporting a 5-1 winloss card, is on a high especially after sweeping Army Black Mamba 25-15, 25-20, 25-12 last Tuesday.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles the Masungi Georeserve, while Makabenta discusses the recent issues in the South China Sea.
Today's editorial tackle on giving more teeth to the Safe Spaces Act. 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.