Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, June 5, 2023.
READ: China warns vs military alliances
China's defense minister warned Sunday against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a "whirlpool" of conflict. Li Shangfu's comments came a day after US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. Li told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore also attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that these alliances would "plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts." Li's comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States' efforts to shore up alliances in the region and counter China's rise. The US is a member of Aukus, which groups it with Australia and Britain. Washington is also a member of the Quad group, which includes Australia, India and Japan. Li sought to paint the United States as the trigger of regional instability, and China as seeking to ease tensions.
READ: US, Japan, Australia, PH hold defense talks
JAPAN, Australia, the United States and the Philippines, through their respective defense ministers, on Saturday met for their first-ever "quad" talk to discuss peace and stability in the region. Japan's Ambassador to Manila Koshikawa Kazuhiko on Saturday tweeted about the "new stage of defense cooperation with like-minded partners." Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Saturday, June 3, met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Defense chief Carlito Galvez Jr. to hold the first Japan-US-Australia-Philippine defense ministerial meeting. The Japan Ministry of Defense on Twitter said the four leaders "discussed regional issues of common interest and opportunities to expand cooperation." Austin, in a separate tweet, said he was honored to meet with Galvez, Hamada and Marles "to discuss opportunities to expand cooperation across our four nations, including in the South China Sea."
READ: PH gets first batch of donated bivalent vaccines
THE Philippines over the weekend received more than 390,000 doses of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines from the Lithuanian government. The vaccines arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, with Health Assistant Secretary Leonita Gorgolon, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, and officials from the Lithuanian Consulate and European Union present for the turnover ceremony. The bivalent vaccines will help boost the Philippines' anti-coronavirus diseases measures by ramping up protection against the original Covid-19 strain, SARS-CoV-2, and Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the Department of Health (DoH) said. Last March, the DoH issued a circular on the management and administration of the donated bivalent vaccines. The guidelines mentioned the prioritization of those to be inoculated, which include health care workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), individuals with comorbidities, and those who are immunocompromised (A3). The bivalent doses, which will serve as the third booster for the priority groups, will be distributed to pilot sites, particularly in hospitals and/or health facilities, such as city health offices and rural health units.
READ: 'Nautical highway needs support from govt, people'
THE Philippines has an established nautical highway system, but it lacks the infrastructure and support from the government and the people, Mary Ann Pastrana, chairman of the Archipelago Philippines Ferries Corp. (APFC), the shipping company that owns and operates Fastcat, said. Guesting on SMNI News Channel's "Business and Politics" program hosted by The Manila Times CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, Pastrana encouraged the government and the riding public to support sea transport to better connect the country's islands. She said other maritime nations like Norway and Canada subsidize shipping companies to provide efficient service to the public. The Philippine Nautical Highway System or RoRo (roll on, roll off) was launched on April 12, 2003. It is a system of roads and ports developed by the Philippine government to connect the major islands of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Pastrana said that even with a RoRo system in place, sea travel is less appealing to the riding public who still prefer to travel by air.
READ: Filipino swimmer sets Asean Para Games record
GARY Bejino set a new record in swimming to power Team Philippines to a four-gold medal haul in the 12th Asean Para Games on Sunday at the Morodok Techo Sports Complex Aquatics Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Bejino clocked 5:38.260 to rule the men's 400 m freestyle S6 event, giving the Philippines its first gold in the biennial meet. He sank the old mark of 6:07.99 set by Aung Myint Myat of Myanmar six years ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Aung Myint finished a distant second to Bejino with a time of 6:04.170. Do Thanh Hai of Vietnam's 6:14.280 was good for third place and the bronze medal. Bejino's compatriot Ernie Gawilan also won the gold in the men's 400 m freestyle S7 with a time of 4:58.78. Cendy Asusano also secured another gold for the Philippines after ruling the women's shot put F54 event. Asusano's teammate Marites Burce bagged the bronze medal.The 33-year-old Asusano vowed to add two more golds — in javelin slated on Monday and discus throw on Wednesday — to his haul.
Topping Business
READ: Continued inflation slowdown expected
INFLATION likely slowed for a fourth straight month in May following price drops for fuel, electricity, and several food items, economists polled by The Manila Times said. The median forecast in a survey of 12 analysts was 6.1 percent, within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 5.8- to 6.6-percent projection for the month. The central bank last week said that fuel price rollbacks, lower poultry and fish prices, and rate cuts imposed by regional power distributors could have led to inflation slowing further in May. However, higher prices of rice, vegetable and other key food items as well as an increase in cooking gas prices and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) rates could have kept consumer price growth elevated, the BSP added. Inflation, which hit a 14-year high of 8.7 in January, began easing the following month and landed at 6.6 percent in April. Data for May will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority tomorrow, June 6.
In Sports
READ: Heat eye equalizer as Nuggets gun for 2-0
For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver's 5,280 feet of mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn't a problem. Not shooting from 15 feet — the distance from the basket to the foul line — was. The Heat made NBA history, and not the good kind, by shooting only two free throws in Game 1 as Denver struck first in the title series with a 104-93 win. It was the fewest free throw attempts ever by a team in a playoff game and makes one of the adjustments for Game 2 on Sunday (Monday in Manila) simple to forecast: Expect Miami to go into attack mode.
READ: McIlroy grabs share of PGA Memorial lead
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy birdied two of the last four holes to grab a share of the lead after Saturday's (Sunday in Manila) third round of the US PGA Tour Memorial Tournament. World No. 3 McIlroy, who won at Dubai in January but hasn't taken a US PGA title this year, fired a two-under par 70 to stand on six-under 210 after 54 holes at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. David Lipsky, an American chasing his first PGA title, closed with back-to-back bogeys and fell into sharing the lead with McIlroy and South Korean Kim Si-woo, who shot 71. One stroke back on 211 were Norway's Viktor Hovland and Americans Wyndham Clark, Mark Hubbard, Lee Hodges and Denny McCarthy. McIlroy, a 23-time PGA winner, had struggled after missing the cut at the Masters and sharing 47th at Quail Hollow, where he's a three-time champion. But he shared seventh at the PGA Championship two weeks ago at Oak Hill despite feeling uncomfortable over the ball and has found better form with the US Open two weeks away.
READ: Opinion/Editorial
Today's editorial rues that a treaty to reduce plastic waste is elusive as ever. 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 and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao exposes the US vaccines for bases demand; Tatad on a stronger Cabinet.
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