Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, June 26, 2023.
PH remains top investments hub
THE Philippines remains the top investment hub in the region in spite of tough competition from neighboring countries and the growing tension with China, Tereso Panga, the director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), said. He said the country remained competitive through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Panga said the country has been luring more investments because of its high labor productivity and the incentives it offers, such as value-added tax (VAT) exemption on importation and VAT-zero rating on local purchases of goods and services. Panga said the country's biggest selling point "is our labor, the high productivity of our labor." The setting up of green lanes for strategic investments will also fast-track the processing of documents for investors, he said. He said he believes the dispute in the West Philippine Sea between China and the Philippines will not affect investment growth, since China is among the Philippines' top investors.
CA to rule on ferry tragedy damage suits
THE Court of Appeals (CA) is set to decide on the multimillion-peso damage suits against the owners of the MV Princess of the Stars, which sank off Romblon in 2008, killing 814 people. Last week, the relatives of the victims and some survivors met with Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the sinking of the ferry, which was owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) which has since been renamed Philippine Span Asia Carriers Inc. (PSACI). Rueda-Acosta, whose agency handles the civil cases, told The Manila Times on Sunday that she has been informed that the case has been submitted for decision. The court granted the appeal of the defendants through their new counsel, the Divina Law Office, for a 10-day extension so they could submit additional evidence. Rueda-Acosta said it was a welcome development for the heirs and survivors who have been seeking justice and closure.
We want porn to be boring – Pornhub owners
Governments should stop cracking down on porn websites and instead take pride in sexual expression and help to make porn normal and "boring," the new owner of Pornhub told Agence France-Presse. Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners bought Pornhub's parent MindGeek three months ago, bringing under its control a stable of other sites, including YouPorn. The acquisition has also brought a sea of legal troubles.Its websites were pulled from the US state of Utah in May after they were ordered to verify the ages of users. In France, website owners and regulators have been locked in talks for months on how to make a 2020 age verification law work in practice. Two of MindGeek's sites have not put in place any age verification and face a court ruling on July 7 that could ban them.
The chief of the rebel Wagner mercenary force will leave Russia and won't face charges after calling off his troops' advance on Saturday, Moscow said, easing Russia's most serious security crisis in decades. The feud between Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russia's military brass came to a violent head in the past day, with his forces capturing a key army headquarters in southern Russia and then heading north to threaten the capital. Within hours of Prigozhin's about-face, the Kremlin announced he would leave for Belarus and Russia would not prosecute either him or the group's members. It had been a dramatic day of developments, with President Vladimir Putin warning against civil war, Moscow telling locals to stay off the streets and Kyiv reveling in the chaos engulfing its enemy. The tide shifted suddenly when Prigozhin made the stunning announcement that his troops were "turning our columns around and going back to field camps" to avoid bloodshed in the Russian capital.Prigozhin, who has feuded bitterly with Moscow's military leadership even as his outfit led parts of Russia's Ukraine offensive, said he understood the importance of the moment and did not want to "spill Russian blood."
Topping Business
Five-month revenue tally surges to P1.6T
REVENUE collections improved in the first five months of the year, and the government is optimistic of meeting this year's target, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Friday. The Finance chief told reporters that revenues for the January-May period totaled P1.593 trillion, P155.6 billion, or 10.83 percent higher compared to the year-earlier P1.437 trillion. The Bureau of Internal Revenue was said to have collected P1.054 trillion, up 9.95 percent from P959 billion, while the Bureau of Customs took in P359.3 billion, 12.10 percent higher than the P320.5 billion posted a year ago. While other tax collections fell by 9 percent to 1.1 billion from P10.1 billion, the overall year-to-date tax take of P1.415 trillion was still 9.71 percent more compared to January-May 2022's P1.29 trillion.
IN Sports
Ancajas knocks out Soto in fifth
FILIPINO boxer Jerwin Ancajas made a successful debut in the super-bantamweight class after defeating Colombian Wilner Soto with a fifth round knockout at The Armory in Minneapolis on Sunday, June 25 (Manila time). Ancajas unleashed vicious body shots that sent Soto to the canvas, prompting the referee to halt the 8-rounder bout with 21 seconds left in the fifth round. Ancajas, 32, thus snapped his two-fight slide, all coming from Fernando Martinez, and improved to a 34-3-2 win-loss-draw record with 23 knockouts. On the other hand, Soto, 32, suffered his seventh straight defeat and dropped to 22-13-0.
Bradley leads Reavie by one at Travelers
Keegan Bradley fired six birdies in a six-under par 64 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) to take a one-shot lead over former winner Chez Reavie heading into the final round of the US PGA Tour Travelers Championship. On another low-scoring day at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, Bradley built a 21-under par total of 189 as Reavie posted a seven-under par 63 for 190. It was a further four strokes back to world number four Patrick Cantlay, who had nine birdies in his nine-under 61 for 194. Rickie Fowler went one better with a 10-under par 60 and headed a trio on 195 that also included Adam Scott, who shot 65, and overnight co-leader Denny McCarthy, who settled for an even par 70. Bradley and Reavie, playing together in the final group, had traded the lead and were tied at 20-under through 15 holes when Bradley landed his tee shot at the par-three 16th six feet from the cup and converted the birdie. Reavie, meanwhile, missed the green and was unable to get up and down, falling two adrift. He clawed back a shot with a 12-foot birdie putt at 18, where Bradley couldn't get his 18-foot birdie attempt to drop.
Today's editorial talks about the how the Covid origins remain shrouded in mystery following a report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which said that there is no "direct evidence" that the Covid-19 pandemic started when the virus broke out of a research laboratory in Wuhan, China. Read the full version on print, digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatatd are the featured columnists on the front page. Tiglao talks about the Vera Files link to a US State Department unit behind fact-checking outfits; Aquino on where the grass is greener; and Tatad on the price of allowing the Afghan refugees into the country.
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