Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, April 10, 2023.
READ: PH, US to solidify trade, defense ties
TOP Philippine economic, diplomatic and security officials will meet this week in Washington with their American counterparts to "solidify" trade and defense alliances between their countries. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the embassy has been preparing for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialog on April 10 and the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) on April 12. Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense department Officer in Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. will fly on Monday to Washington D.C. for the ministerial talks with State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd James Austin. After the ministerial meeting, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan will be the main presenters for the Philippine Economic Briefing. House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is expected to join them. Ambassador Romualdez said the Philippine embassy in Washington organized the briefing with the US Chamber of Commerce, US-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Council and the US-Philippines Society.
READ: China continues military drills encircling Taiwan
Chinese fighter jets and warships simulated strikes on Taiwan Sunday as they encircled the island during a second straight day of military drills that were launched in response to its leader meeting the US House speaker. The exercises sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was "monitoring Beijing's actions closely."Dubbed "Joint Sword," the three-day operation — which includes rehearsing an encirclement of Taiwan — will run until Monday, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said. China's war games saw planes, ships and personnel sent into "the maritime areas and air space of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island's east," the army said as it launched the exercises, engineered to flex Beijing's military muscles in front of Taiwan and the world.
READ: 7 dead in Rizal fire
A family of seven died when they were trapped in their burning house on the eve of Easter Sunday. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Taytay reported that 40 houses were destroyed during the fire in Barangay San Juan. Among the dead was a 2-year-old toddler. The family's house was located at the end of a narrow alley, and firefighters had to go through other burning houses to reach it. Taytay Fire Marshall Inspector Raymond Cantillon said the burned bodies of the victims were found in the kitchen and in the restroom. Investigators said the fire was first reported at 9:43 p.m. It reached third alarm and raged for almost two hours before it was controlled. The fire, which started from the first house fronting the street, spread quickly, trapping the victims. The BFP said 60 families were left homeless and had set up temporary shelter at the San Juan gym. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained.
READ: Tapales new WBA, IBF champion
FILIPINO Marlon Tapales scored an upset split decision victory over Uzbek Murodjon Akhmadaliev to become the new unified World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight champion. The fight was held at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday (Manila time). One judge scored it 118-110 for Akhmadaliev, while the other two had 115-113 each for Tapales. It was the Uzbek's first defeat in 12 fights. Tapales, who has now four straight wins, improved to a 37-win and 3-loss record, with 19 of the victories by knockout.
Topping Business
READ: Tightening pause seen if inflation falls further
Monetary authorities could pause from hiking key interest rates next month, or at least order one final increase should inflation fall even further in April, analysts said. Food prices have fallen over the past two months, they noted, but core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy items — should also start easing. Headline inflation came in at 7.6 percent in March, slowing significantly from February 8.6 percent and January's 14-year high of 8.7 percent. Core inflation, however, rose anew to 8.0 percent from 7.8 percent a month earlier. During its last meeting in February, the BSP's policymaking Monetary Board raised key interest rates by 25 basis points. It also trimmed the inflation outlook for this year to 6.0 from 6.1 percent and that for 2024 to 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent. The outlook could be revised further, especially as inflation data for April will be released on May 5, when the board again meets to discuss policy on May 23.
In Sports
READ: Filipinas rout Tajikistan in Olympic qualifiers
THE Philippine women's national football team routed host Tajikistan 8-0 in the AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Hisor Central Stadium on Saturday night. With the victory, the Filipinas moved to the top of Group E with six points with a goal difference (GD) of +12 on a 2-0 win-loss card. The Filipino booters will next face Hong Kong (2-0, GD of +5) on Tuesday and they just need a draw to advance to the second round of the qualifiers.
READ: Koepka extends Masters lead
Brooks Koepka extended his lead at the Masters to four shots over Spain's world No. 3 Jon Rahm on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) before third-round play at soggy Augusta National was suspended for the day due to heavy rain. With puddles forming on the greens and players battling hard against weather more akin to a British Open, organizers decided to leave the remainder of the contest for Sunday. The weather forecast for Sunday is positive, however, with temperatures expected to rise to above 60 degrees F (15.5 C) and much less chance of rain. The third round will resume Sunday at 8:30 a.m. with the final round expected to begin four hours later off the first and 10th tees in pairings.
READ: Opinion/Editorial
Today's editorial on the Times features the looming trade war between the US and China over rare earth elements, a key component in making a wide variety of high-technology products. Read the full version on print or digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao writes about whether the expanded EDCA had provoked China to advance the date of Taiwan invasion; Aquino on why Easter Sunday does not have the same fanfare as Christmas; and Tatad on protecting former president Rodrigo Duterte against the International Criminal Court, which wants to try him over his drug campaign that had reportedly claimed thousands of lives.
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This is Pete Llevares reporting.