Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
READ: Marcos wants closer ties with US
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought a stronger alliance with the US when he met President Joe Biden on Monday (local time). Marcos pointed to escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific and how vital US assistance is on resolving the differences. He cited America's role in maintaining peace, stability and development in the region.
READ: BBM, US officials seal agri deal
The President met with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials to seal an agreement creating a ministerial team on agricultural cooperation meant to put more focus on the Philippines' food efficiency and security. His meeting with USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack, Marcos said, was a welcome development, as the Philippine government is "able to partner with the United States when it comes to the agricultural sector." During the meeting, the Filipino side sought to bolster mutually beneficial agreements to strengthen agriculture research for development, capacity-building initiatives specific to the advancement of biotechnology agenda in the country, as well as expanding market access of Philippine agricultural products to the US.
READ: Water level in dams further decrease
THE water level in five major dams in Luzon continues to drop, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Tuesday as it issued a warning against El Niño. The dams are Angat and Ipo in Bulacan, La Mesa in Quezon City, San Roque in Cordillera, and Caliraya in Laguna. Pagasa said as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, Angat Dam's water level was 194.88 meters, 0.20 m lower than the 195.08 m level on Monday. Angat's water level dropped by 17.12 m from its normal high water level (NHWL) of 212 m. It is 8.66 m lower than the 186.22 m level required for supplying sufficient water.
READ: Covid cases rise 42%
THE Philippines reported a 42 percent increase in Covid-19 cases in the past week, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Tuesday. However, the department said it would not reimpose stricter measures on masking and instead urged the public to be tolerant of slight case increases. In its case bulletin issued on Tuesday, the DoH said 4,456 new cases were reported during the week of April 24 to 30, or an average of 637 cases per day. Out of the 4,456 new cases, only 22 were severe or critical. Despite the increase in the number of cases, hospital bed utilization rate remained low, with only 351 severe and critical admissions in hospitals and 15 percent of the 2,021 available Covid-19 intensive care unit beds being used.
READ: 'EDCA protection vs external threats'
THE Philippines' defense agreements with the United States will serve as protection against external threats and address humanitarian crises in case of a Taiwan contingency, former Armed Forces chief Emmanuel Bautista said Tuesday during a webinar hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute. He raised the need to protect the West Philippine Sea, the northern Philippines such as Batanes, and other areas from external threats. Bautista was the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines when the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was signed in 2014.
BUSINESS: March budget gap widens Q1 shortfall
Topping business, the government's budget deficit rose to P210.3 billion in March following a double-digit revenue drop, Treasury bureau data showed on Tuesday. Spending also fell, by 2.62 percent, but earnings plunged by nearly 12 percent, leading to a shortfall 12.04 percent higher compared to year-earlier P187.7 billion. Year to date, the budget gap rose to P270.9 billion for the first quarter, down 14.51 percent from P316.8 billion in the comparable 2022 period. Three-month revenue collections improved by 4.38 percent to P818.7 billion from P784.4 billion while spending contracted by 1.06 percent to P1.09 trillion from last year's P1.101 trillion. Tax collections accounted for 87.89 percent or P719.5 billion of first-quarter revenues while non-tax revenues contributed P99.2 billion or 12.11 percent. The revenue taken for March alone reached P258.7 billion, 11.99 percent lower than the year-earlier P293.9 billion. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) accounted for more than half or P141 billion, down 17.27 percent year on year.
SPORTS: Valdez chosen as PH flag bearer
Over to sports, volleyball superstar Alyssa Valdez has been chosen as the flag bearer for Team Philippines at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony on Friday, May 5, at the Morodok Techo Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This is the second time that Valdez will carry the flag for the Philippines in the SEA Games. She was also given the opportunity to carry the Philippine flag in the 2015 edition of the biennial meet. Valdez, who looks to lead the Philippine women's volleyball team to its first podium finish in the SEA Games in 18 years, accepted the honor to become the country's flag bearer anew.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists, Tiglao discusses US vassals, while Tatad said the country should not be a crybaby.
Today's editorial believes cyberdefense should not be part of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. 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.