Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, July 28, 2023.
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READ: China eyes military exercises with PH
CHINA has offered to conduct joint military exercises with the Philippines. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Thursday that Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian made the proposal to him during the recent celebration of the 96th anniversary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army held at a hotel in Mandaluyong City. Brawner said the A.F.P. will have to thoroughly study the "white papers" submitted by Beijing apparently containing the proposed joint military training with Manila.
READ: Nontraditional partners eyed in upgrading PH defense
THE Department of National Defense will tap nontraditional partners and alliances in upgrading the country's defense capabilities, Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. said. Teodoro said he was instructed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "to prepare for any eventuality that may befall the country and require the D.N.D.'s resources in the future." He added that the D.N.D. is also looking for partners, "not only for purely defensive purposes," but also for the convergence of the economic and security potentials of growth industries, particularly in cybertechnology. He said the country needs a stronger, real-time, and fully analyzed information, from the point of occurrence to the decision-making process, in as much real-time as possible. He said these are all part of the continuous development of the D.N.D.'s fundamental building blocks in creating a credible deterrent posture.
READ: Maine, Arjo say 'I do'
INTERNATIONALLY awarded actor and Quezon City First District Rep. Arjo Atayde and top television celebrity Maine Mendoza will get married in Baguio City today, in ceremonies whose details the couple had tried their very best to keep under wraps for many months. While the date July 28 had been circulating in gossip columns as the day Atayde and Mendoza would exchange "I do's" — exactly a year after they got engaged — neither bride nor groom has ever confirmed it. Reporters pressed Atayde about the wedding details when he attended Monday's State of the Nation Address (SONA), but all the 32-year-old son of businessman Art Atayde and seasoned actress Sylvia Sanchez would say was, "Soon."
READ: LPA to enter on Saturday
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Thursday a tropical depression outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility will likely enter on Saturday. It will be named "Falcon." Weather specialist Ana ClaurenJorda told The Manila Times in a phone interview that the tropical depression was spotted past 3 p.m. Thursday 1,560 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas. Moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour, it has maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 70 kilometers per hour, she said.
READ: $285M investment pledges secured
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s three-day state visit to Malaysia bore fruit as he locked in around $285 million in investment commitments following his series of meetings with Malaysian business leaders on the last day of his state visit here. The investment offers were in the food processing industry, multi-service digital platforms, aviation, aviation maintenance support services, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure, water and wastewater treatment areas, which, he said, will have a valuable contribution to the economic growth of the Philippines.
BUSINESS: August rate decision to consider 'all factors'
Topping business, the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to resume hiking interest rates will be considered but will not be the only factor on the table in next month's policy meeting, a Monetary Board official said on Thursday.After pausing in June, the Fed on Wednesday, US time, announced a 25-basis-point adjustment that pushed the federal funds rate to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, the highest in 22 years. It also indicated that further tightening could be done this year to push inflation back to target, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell saying that the "process of getting inflation back down to two percent has a long way to go." The Monetary Board, which decides policy for the Central Bank and mostly moved to match the Fed's rate hikes since last year, will be meeting on August 17.
SPORTS: Brownlee will not join Gilas in China
Over to sports, Gilas Pilipinas will be playing without a naturalized player when the national squad participates in a pocket tournament in Guangdong, China on August 2-5. National coach Chot Reyes said Justin Brownlee, one of Gilas' three naturalized players in the pool, will stay behind as he undergoes a minor procedure on his ankle.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists, as they both discuss the President's foreign policy.
Today's editorial talks on fixing a "broken" global food system. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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