Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, May 28, 2023.
BANNER: 'Betty' forces evacuation, Signal No. 1 up in NLuzon
A PRE-EMPTIVE evacuation of residents in areas on the path of Super Typhoon "Betty" (international name: "Mawar") began on Saturday, the government said, as a slightly weaker but faster and still destructive storm entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) earlier in the day. In its 5 p.m. forecast, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Signal No. 1 has been raised in most provinces in Northern Luzon. Pagasa said Betty has slightly weakened but will remain under the super typhoon category. Its maximum sustained winds have decreased to 185 kilometers per hour (kph) from 195 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph from 240 kph, as of 3 p.m. The eye of the storm was estimated at 1,055 kilometers east of Central Luzon and is forecast to track westward in the next 12 hours. A gale warning is in effect over the northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon, the eastern seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon, and the eastern seaboards of the Visayas and Mindanao, Pagasa said.
G7, Quad back Marcos on 'rules-based' order in Indo-Pacific
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s position to adhere to a rules-based international order in the South China Sea and to maintain peace and stability in the region has earned support from world leaders belonging to the Group of Seven (G7) and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), Malacañang said. The expressions of support were relayed to Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko through a letter sent to her on May 20, 2023. Garafil said the letter contains Koshikawa's report on the outcome documents of the recently-concluded 2023 G7 and Quad summits hosted by Japan. In the letter, Koshikawa reported the fruitful culmination of the twin summits with "consequential decisions encompassing matters related to the Philippines."
Keep 'It's more fun in the PH' tagline – it's more fun
TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco is making sure the industry — and travelers alike — is not identifying the new country branding, "We Give the World Our Best," recently introduced by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Creative Communications, as her department's tourism brand for the Philippines. She said the latest initiative "translates to everything that permeates our sense of hospitality and service as a tourism industry. 'We give the world our best' is a statement of fact. It is a rallying call.
Welfare of PH migrants in Norway pushed
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to Norway Enrico Fos met with the International Organization for Migrants Chief of Mission Fumiko Nagano on Wednesday to discuss possible areas of collaboration that will advance the welfare of Filipino migrants in the country. Fos said that among the issues discussed was the Philippine Embassy's position on the proposed abolition of the au pair system in Norway. An au pair is basically a live-in nanny. The idea behind the program is for international people to improve their Norwegian language skills and learn about Norwegian society by living with a Norwegian family. The recipients of about 70 percent of au pair permits issued in Norway are Filipinos.
BUSINESS: Clients' money must be protected
In business, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla likened bank owners to public servants, saying the former's job is to protect their depositors' money. In his speech during the launch of the book "Banking Laws of the Philippines — Annotated" at the Central Bank's main office in Manila on Friday night, Medalla underscored the need to update banking laws to cope with the rapid changes, both in the law and financial innovations. Having banking laws means being more loyal to depositors than the owner, he said, pointing out that 80 percent of the funds lent by banks consist of depositors' money and only 20 percent is owned by the bank.
SPORTS: Jaja Santiago trains with Crossovers
In sports, Jaja Santiago returned and trained with Chery Tiggo on Friday, May 26, fueling speculations that she might play for the Crossovers in the 2023 P.V.L. Invitational Conference set to start on June 29. Chery Tiggo posted a video of Santiago, a back-to-back Best Middle Blocker in the Japan V. League, training with the Chery Tiggo players but did not write that Santiago will play in the Invitational Conference. In the reel posted on Facebook on Friday, Chery Tiggo only captioned that the former N.U. Lady Bulldogs star was just sharing her "professional knowledge and experience with the team during training."
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he weighs in on the issues in the House of Representatives.
Today's editorial calls on the Congress supermajority to be more productive. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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