Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, October 22, 2023.
Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Aid rolls into Gaza as border crossing opens
TRUCKS carrying humanitarian aid for war-torn and besieged Gaza started passing into the Rafah border crossing from Egypt Saturday, a security source and an Egyptian Red Crescent official told Agence France-Presse. More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid had been positioned near the crossing for days. But Egypt's state-owned Al-Qahera news, which is close to security agencies, said just 20 trucks had crossed into Gaza on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people. Hundreds of foreign passport holders also waited to cross from Gaza to Egypt to escape the conflict.
READ: Marcos back from Asean-GCC Summit
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines from the 2023 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he secured multimillion-dollar investments, pitched the Maharlika Investment Fund, and ensured the welfare of Filipino workers in the Middle East. Marcos and his delegation arrived at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City aboard the presidential plane at 2:48 p.m. on Saturday. During the visit, the country bagged a $120 million worth of investment agreement between Saudi Arabia's Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Co. and Samsung Engineering NEC Co. Ltd. and the Philippines' E.E.I. Corp. for construction export services. The Philippines also received a $4.14 billion investment in pledges from various Arab business leaders. G.C.C. countries are home to an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos and roughly 2.7 million citizens of Asean member states working in critical fields, providing valuable contributions not only to their host country economies but also to the Philippine and Asean economies.
READ: Remains of OFW from Israel arrive home
THE remains of an overseas Filipino worker killed by Hamas militants at the onset of their conflict with Israel arrived in Manila on Saturday. The body of Loreta Alacre was on board Etihad flight E.Y. 424 from Tel Aviv, Israel, which landed in Manila at about 5 p.m. She will be taken to her home province in Negros Occidental on Sunday. The Department of Migrant Workers said the female caregiver was one of four OFWs killed when the war erupted following an attack by Hamas in southern Israel, near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7, 2023. She refused to leave her patient, an elderly Israeli citizen, when their kibbutz was peppered with bullets. Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration identified the fourth fatality in the Israel-Hamas war as Mary Grace Prodigo-Cabrera, who was also a caregiver at Israel's Kibbutz Be'eri for the past four years. She was killed after being abducted by the Palestinian terror group on October 7. Cabrera, of Maasin town in Iloilo province, was the fourth Filipino to be killed in Israel after Alacre, Angeline Aguirre, a nurse, and Paul Vincent Castelvi, a 42-year-old caregiver.
READ: 651 pass chemical engineering exam
THE Professional Regulation Commission announced Saturday that 651 of 927 examinees passed the October 2023 Chemical Engineering Licensure Examination, or a 70.23 percent passing rate. Robby Andre Tan Ching from De La Salle University-Manila topped the examination, garnering a 90 percent rating. Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Diliman ranked first among the top-performing schools, getting a 100 percent passing rate.
BUSINESS: SEC OK's Cityland P1.1-B debt papers
In business, Cityland Development Corp. said on Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission approved its registration of 1.1 billion pesos worth of short-term commercial papers to be issued at face value and traded over the counter. In a disclosure on Friday, Cityland said the S.E.C. had issued the certificate of permit to offer securities for sale, as the commission, in a meeting on October 10, resolved to "favorably consider" the registration of the commercial papers. A commercial paper is a form of short-term, unsecured debt that is issued by corporations and financial institutions for fundraising purposes. This is not supported by any form of collateral. Following the regulatory agency's approval, Cityland may now offer the commercial papers for sale to the public, subject to full compliance with the provisions of the Securities Regulation Code and its amendments.
SPORTS: Marcial gets grand welcome in Zamboanga
Over to sports, 2-time Olympian Eumir Marcial returned home to his native Zamboanga City on Friday, October 20, and was greeted to a grand welcome ceremony. The Zamboanga City government spearheaded the welcome and recognition ceremony for the Olympic boxer who had won a silver medal at the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China. Upon arrival at the Zamboanga International Airport on Friday, Marcial was greeted by his family and local government officials before he was feted to a motorcade around the city.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he talks about Philippine billionaire builders.
Today's editorial calls on authorities to revisit their biofuels policy. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.