Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, October 6, 2023.
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READ: Boat ramming accidental – PCG
THE Philippine Coast Guard clarified on Thursday that the ramming of a boat last Monday that killed three Filipino fishermen did not happen in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, as earlier reported, and that it was an accident. Coast Guard Commander Jay Tarriela said in an interview that the incident happened 180 nautical miles off Agno, Pangasinan. He stressed that no Chinese vessels were involved in the incident. Speculations about Chinese involvement surfaced after initial reports indicated that the incident occurred in Bajo de Masinloc, an area in the West Philippine Sea where there have been numerous run-ins between Chinese and Filipino ships.
READ: Confidential funds help fight crime, terror – Duterte
VICE President Sara Duterte said confidential funds play a "vital role" in addressing issues such as terrorism, crime and safeguarding the integrity of the nation. Duterte had come under heavy criticism after a combined 650 million pesos in confidential funds was proposed for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which she also heads.
READ: DoJ orders deeper probe of student's death
THE Department of Justice (DoJ) has ordered a thorough probe on the case of a Grade 5 student in Antipolo City who died after being allegedly slapped by his teacher. Based on initial investigation, the student experienced severe headache, dizziness, earache, and vomiting days after he was allegedly slapped by his teacher at Peñafrancia Elementary School in Antipolo City on September 20. Francis Gumikib was brought to the hospital on September 26 where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage. The boy went into a coma and eventually died on October 2. Results of the autopsy conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Forensic Laboratory are yet to be released.
READ: Meggie Ochoa gives PH 2nd gold
JIU-JITSU martial artist Margarita "Meggie" Ochoa gave the Philippines its second gold medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Thursday. Ochoa won against Balqees Abdulla of the United Arab Emirates via an advantage in the women's 48-kilogram division. Ochoa defeated Mongolia's Odgerel Batbayar in the round of 16 via submission, followed by another submission win against Kazakhstan's Nazgul Rakhayeva in the quarterfinals. She defeated Pechrada Kacie Tan of Thailand in the semifinals, via points, 4-2. Ochoa is the country's first Asian Games gold medalist in martial arts, which was introduced at the 2018 Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the country won a bronze medal, which also belonged to Ochoa herself.
SPORTS: Gilas goes for Asiad gold vs Jordan
BUOYED by a courageous comeback win that stunned host China in the semifinals, an inspired Gilas Pilipinas shoots for the gold medal tonight when the Filipinos take on mighty Jordan in the winner-take-all finals of the 19th Asian Games men's basketball tournament at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China. The highly anticipated match is slated at 8 p.m. The Philippines advanced to the gold medal round for the first time in 33 years, thanks to naturalized player Justin Brownlee's second-half brilliance against China that saw him fire 27 of his 33 points in that stretch. The 35-year-old Brownlee went 7-of-12 from downtown, none bigger than his seventh triple of the game with 23 seconds to go. That proved to be the game-winning shot that lifted Gilas Pilipinas to a 77-76 win over host China. What made the win special was the Filipinos fought back from 20 points down, stunning the partisan Chinese crowd as well inside the playing venue.
BUSINESS: Inflation rises to 6.1%; rice price surge blamed
Over to business, inflation accelerated to 6.1 percent in September amid a sharp increase in key food items and transport costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday. The result — higher than August's 5.3 percent but down from the 6.9 percent posted a year earlier — hit the upper end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' 5.3- to 6.1-percent forecast for the month. It also exceeded the 5.4-percent median in a Manila Times poll of economists.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao continues his insistence on the Scarborough Shoal issue, while Tatad looks into the recent Pulse Asia surveys.
Today's editorial discusses the recent bishops' synod, led by Pope Francis. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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