Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
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READ: Dispute could turn SCS into 'sea of war'
A CHINESE foreign ministry official believes that Beijing and Manila can resolve their maritime dispute on their own, but a "third party" could turn the South China Sea into a "sea of war." Counselor Zhou Li of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs information department underscored the volatile situation in the South China Sea in her tweet Sunday. Zhou did not identify the third party. Zhou said China and the Philippines agree that negotiation "is the only way to resolve disputes" in the vast waterway. China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits.
READ: Education crisis worries MAP
THE head of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) proposed a whole-of-government approach to ease the education crisis. Benedicta Du-Baladad, MAP president, made the proposal after studies showed that Filipino students had the lowest rating in reading and second to lowest in mathematics and science.
READ: 3 companies dominate 'The Manila Times 500'
FOR the first time, three Philippine companies shared the limelight in The Manila Times 500 and the Next 500 magazine's list of eminent and upcoming corporations. San Miguel Corp. has topped the T.M.T. 500 list for five straight years. Also credited for their top-caliber performance are the S.M. Group and Lazada E-Services Philippines Inc. With the theme "Economy back on track," T.M.T. 500 rated the country's leading companies based mainly on stability, agility and vitality, using data collated in 2023 from the auditing period 2020 to 2021. The magazine comes off the press today, July 11.
READ: PNP, Napolcom to probe origin of big shabu haul
THE work of the Special Investigation Task Group 990 has been terminated, with the Philippine National Police and the National Police Commission tasked to jointly investigate the origin of the 990 kilos of shabu confiscated in Manila last year. Several police officials allegedly tried to cover up their pilferage of the shabu. P.N.P. chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the S.I.T.G. 990 was disbanded following the retirement of its head, MGen. Eliseo Cruz. The S.I.T.G. 990 was created to look into the illegal drug case of dismissed police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr. involving shabu worth an estimated 6.7 billion pesos. Mayo, an intelligence officer for the P.N.P.-Drug Enforcement Group, was arrested in October 2022.
BUSINESS: Investor worries tagged as net FDI drops in April
Over to business, net foreign direct investments dropped in April to $876 million, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported on Monday, contracting by 14.1 percent from the $1.02 billion recorded a year earlier. Year to date, net F.D.I. inflows totaled $2.9 billion, 18 percent lower than the $3.6 billion posted in the comparable 2022 period. For April alone, net investments in debt instruments — which comprised most of F.D.I. for the month — fell by 7.7 percent year on year to $663 million. Net equity placements other than reinvestments of earnings plunged by 33.8 percent to $136 million. Reinvestments of earnings likewise fell, by 19.4 percent to $77 million, from a year earlier.
SPORTS: Marcos to award cash incentives on July 20
In sports, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the distribution of cash incentives to more than 500 national athletes on July 20 at the Malacañang Palace in recognition of their outstanding achievements at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games and 12th Asean Para Games held recently in Cambodia. The Philippine Sports Commission will be releasing about 60 million pesos and 14 million pesos in cash bonuses for the SEA Games and Para Games medalists, respectively, as provided for by Republic Act 10699, or the "Expanded National Athletes and Coaches Incentives and Benefits Act."
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses reorienting the research ethics review process, Makabenta continues his "Filipinas" discourse, while Mercado wants police officers to go after cyber-criminals.
Today's editorial focuses on the reformation of the K to 10 educational program. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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