Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, March 10, 2023.
READ: Teves tagged in Degamo killing
ONE of the suspects in the killing of Gov. Roel Degamo has admitted to investigators that Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr. ordered the assassination, a well-placed source told The Manila Times Thursday. The source, who had firsthand information on the case said that the suspect included in his confession how he was recruited into joining the group that carried out the killing. Two of the suspects also revealed they have a video conversation with the person who ordered the killing. Four men have been arrested in the case and are staying at the National Bureau of Investigation detention center in Manila. The source did not say who among the four pointed to Teves as the man who ordered Degamo killed. The suspects, who were from different places outside Negros, including Mindanao, told investigators they had been shadowing Degamo as early as December last year. They were briefed in a safe house and waited for an "opportune time" to carry out the hit. The governor and eight of his constituents were gunned down outside his house in Pamplona town on March 4. A fifth suspect was reportedly killed during a shootout with pursuing lawmen just hours after the shooting in Pamplona. At least five more suspects are still at large.
READ: Wreckage of lost Cessna found
THE wreckage of the Cessna 206 that has been missing since January 24 was found deep in the Sierra Madre forest in Isabela on Thursday. All six people aboard the plane were killed, said a search team that reached the crash site in a mountainous area of Barangay Ditarum, Divilacan town. There were no survivors in the crash. Killed were the pilot, Capt. Eleazar Mark Joven and his passengers Val Kamatoy, 34; Kamatoy's nephew Rom Josthle Manday, 15, and siblings Mark Eiron Siguerra, 20, and Xam Siguerra, 10; and Josefa Perla España.
READ: Massive vaccine wastage seen
A SENATOR is worried that about 60 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will go to waste if they are not administered by the end of September. Sen. Francis Tolentino raised his concern on Thursday as he ended the Senate blue ribbon committee's investigation on the refusal of the Department of Health (DoH) to release the details of its vaccine procurement contracts. The DoH cited a nondisclosure agreement for refusing to reveal the contracts' details. Tolentino, the committee's chairman, said the panel will come out with policies concerning future vaccine procurement.
READ: WHO Western Pacific chief ousted for misconduct
THE World Health Organization has terminated the contract of its powerful Western Pacific regional director Takeshi Kasai following staff accusations of racist, abusive and authoritarian behavior. The move is a first for the WHO, which has faced accusations of not being transparent on internal misconduct. Japanese doctor Kasai was in charge of the WHO's Western Pacific region, covering almost 1.9 billion people across 37 territories and has its headquarters in Manila. The WHO received allegations of misconduct against Kasai in the second half of 2021 and in 2022, it said.
THE unemployment rate in January scaled up from a month earlier but labor market conditions continue to improve, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. The jobless rate rose to 4.8 percent in January 2023 from 4.3 percent in December. However, this is lower than the rate reported in January 2022 at 6.4 percent. This brings a total of 2.37 million unemployed Filipinos. PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said the increase in unemployment was expected and is seasonal as the holiday activities in the last quarter do not carry over.
BUSINESS: Charter change seen boosting PH growth
Topping business, constitutional amendments that improve the investment climate will have a positive impact on Philippine economic growth, Fitch Solutions said in a new report. It noted that the removal of foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions, in particular, could lead to overall investments picking up in the coming years. The Fitch Solutions commentary was prompted by the House of Representatives' having approved a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution on Monday.
SPORTS: Fajardo to miss PBA All-Star Game
In sports, 6-time league Most Valuable Player (MVP) June Mar Fajardo, who hurt his left knee in San Miguel Beer's game versus the Ryukyu Golden Kings at the East Asia Super League last week in Japan, will miss the PBA All-Star Game this weekend and will be out for four to five weeks. The 6-foot-10 Fajardo underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on Wednesday and the SMB coaching staff and management are still awaiting the result. Team manager Gee Abanilla, however, ruled Fajardo out for the PBA All-Star festivities that will start on Friday to give the San Miguel star center time to heal on his left knee injury after accidentally colliding with Ryukyu import Jack Cooley early in the first quarter of that game.
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao believes the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement will not help the country's maritime issues, while Tatad wants President Marcos to talk to the nation.
Today's editorial weighs in on the recent oil spill in Oriental Mindoro. 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.