Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, June 18, 2023.
Yulo snares gold in Asian Championships
FILIPINO gymnast Carlos Yulo seized the floor exercise gold medal in the Men's Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships at the O.C.B.C. Hall in Singapore on Saturday. The 4-foot-11 Yulo scored 15.300 points to top the floor exercise final which also saw his compatriot Ivan Cruz perform and finish eighth with a score of 11.433 points. Yulo, the 2019 floor exercise world champion, emerged as the top performer in the floor exercise qualification round with 14.966 points last Thursday, June 15. Yulo's stellar performance in the final created a rather significant separation from the other two podium finishers in Dmitriy Patanin of Kazakhstan and Su Weide of China.
SPORTS: Finnegan, Kvamme clinch World Championships berths
In the women's events, Filipino gymnasts Aleah Finnegan and Kylee Kvamme clinched World Championships berths after placing seventh and 14th, respectively, in the Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships women's individual all-around tilt on Friday, June 16. The top eight in the individual all-around punched their ticket to the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, where Finnegan and Kvamme joined Carlos Yulo as gymnasts from the Philippines who will compete in the event slated from September 30 to October 8. Finnegan scored 50.399 points and entered the apparatus finals of the vault, balance beam and floor exercise as the top eight gymnasts in each apparatus (a maximum of two per federation) advanced to the finals. A 2021 Southeast Asian Games vault champion, Finnegan placed second in vault with 13.533 points, seventh in balance beam with 12.833 points and eighth in floor exercise with 12.933 points.
P57.6M in govt aid released to evacuees
In other news, the national government has provided 57.6 pesos million worth of assistance to victims of the Mayon Volcano eruption, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Saturday. Of the amount, 43 million pesos came from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 7 million pesos from the Office of Civil Defense, 38,300 pesos from the local government units, 2.6 million pesos from nongovernment organizations, and 1 million pesos from other government partners. At the same time, the N.D.R.R.M.C. said that based on its latest situational report, 10,123 families or 38,978 individuals in eight cities and municipalities that include 26 villages have been affected and are housed in 27 evacuation centers across Albay.
PNP: Scams up with registered SIMs
THE Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group headed by its director, Brigadier General Sidney Hernia, has issued a public awareness alert to educate the citizens on the dangers associated with selling registered SIM cards to fraudsters. Recent investigations have shown a concerning increase in scams perpetrated through the use of SIM cards illegally obtained from unsuspecting individuals who sell their registered SIM cards. Scammers are buying these SIM cards to target and exploit individuals who have financial needs. These citizens are unaware of the dangers of personal information breaches, which can be used for criminal purposes including identity theft, financial fraud and telecommunications fraud.
PH keeps top tier rank in battle vs trafficking
THE Bureau of Immigration announced on Saturday that the Philippines has been recognized by the United States for its unwavering commitment in combating human trafficking. Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they have received information that the country has maintained its Tier 1 status for the eighth consecutive year in the U.S. Department's 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report. The Tier 1 ranking is the highest classification given by the U.S. State Department, indicating that a country fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is actively working to address the issue.
PAL intl flights moved to NAIA Terminal 1
PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) moved international flights to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 starting Friday, June 16. The domestic flights of PAL started operating on NAIA Terminal 3, alongside AirAsia's domestic terminal. PAL already issued an advisory on June 9 on their Facebook page and the next day on their official website.
BUSINESS: Higher tourism growth seen in 2023
In business, the share of tourism to the country's gross domestic product could reach as high as 8 percent this year due to the further reopening of the Philippine economy, an economist said on Friday. In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the share of tourism to the G.D.P. could grow to 7 to 8 percent, from more than 6 percent in 2022, given the continued recovery and growth in foreign and local tourism due to the easing of restrictions since early 2022.
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he laments that the supposed patriotic month of June is being overshadowed by the issues within noontime show Eat Bulaga.
Today's editorial believes that the country's new export policies will accelerate economic growth. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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