Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, April 29, 2023.
READ: Defense pacts top Marcos-Biden meet
DEFENSE and security will be on top of the agenda when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with United States President Joe Biden in Washington next week. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Teresita Daza said "discussions on security and defense are a given" since the two countries are longstanding military allies. The two leaders are expected to discuss the decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) since the Philippines and US have major interests in the South China Sea. Manila has been locked in a territorial dispute with Beijing, while Washington has been calling out China over its expansive claims over the strategic waterway.
READ: AFP chief says Balikatan a success despite 'hitches'
THE chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said several "hitches" were encountered in planning this year's Balikatan exercise, particularly in choosing locations for the joint training of the 17,600 participating Philippine and United States troops. In an interview on the sidelines of the closing ceremony for the Balikatan at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday, Gen. Andres Centino said there were "a lot of firsts" for this year's edition.
READ: Film co-written by Times reporter No. 1 on Netflix
AFTER a successful run in theaters in January, the fantasy-comedy movie "Hello, Universe" — co-written by The Manila Times reporter Moises Cruz — is the top film on Netflix in the Philippines this week. "Hello, Universe" is about Ariel (played by Janno Gibbs), a middle-aged man wracked with regrets, getting another chance to rewrite his past after he meets a magical figure who gives him the life he has always dreamt of. Cruz collaborated with Xian Lim, who is also the film's director, in writing the script. The movie stars Benjie Paras, Anjo Yllana, Gene Padilla, Sunshine Guimary and Maui Taylor.
READ: Experts play down fears of new Covid surging again
THREE infectious disease experts have allayed fears of a new spike in Covid-19 cases following the detection in the country of the XBB.1.16 subvariant. They advised the public to continue wearing masks as protection against new subvariants. Octa Research senior fellow Dr. Guido David noted that Covid positivity rates have gone up, with the National Capital Region or Metro Manila reporting a 13.4 percent rise that could reach 20 percent in the coming weeks. In an interview with reporters during a World Immunization Day event in Pasig City on Friday, Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital said masking remains the most effective deterrent against Covid-19 and other diseases.
BUSINESS: Bangko Sentral sees slower April inflation
Over to business, inflation could moderate further in April due to lower food, fuel and electricity prices, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday. Following a significant decline in March to 7.6 percent from February's 8.6 percent, the central bank said consumer price growth was likely to decelerate to a range of 6.3 to 7.1 percent this month. Inflation, which began surging last year in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, peaked at 8.7 percent in January. Results for April are scheduled to be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority next Friday, May 5.
SPORTS: Gilas holds training camp in Laguna
In sports, Gilas Pilipinas is headed to Calamba, Laguna for a weeklong, closed-door training camp starting on Sunday, April 30, as head coach Chot Reyes tries to bring the team together for its final phase of preparation before flying to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men's basketball tournament. The series of setbacks on player availability, most notably the expected absence of injured six-time P.B.A. Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and gunner Roger Pogoy, as well as Jamie Malonzo and Mikey Williams for personal reasons, had become an added distraction to the team's gold medal bid. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas deputy executive director and Gilas team manager Butch Antonio said the out of town camp, which will be held at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, will allow the pool members more time to focus and learn the system set by Reyes.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about the issues with the writ of kalikasan, while Makabenta wonders if China is a developing or developed country.
Today's editorial calls for the modernization of the Philippine Coast Guard. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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