Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, Oct. 30, 2023.
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READ: Marcos, Sara ratings continue to plunge
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte saw their satisfaction ratings dip again in the latest survey conducted by OCTA Research. In the September 30 to October 4 poll, the President's rating dropped by 6 percentage points from the second to the third quarter of 2023, although 65 percent of the respondents remained content with his performance. The decline was biggest in Metro Manila, a 12-percentage-point drop across all socioeconomic classes. The President's trust rating nationwide was 73 percent, lower than the 75 percent in OCTA's second-quarter survey in July. Only 7 percent of the respondents distrust him, while 19 percent are undecided. Duterte had a double-digit dip in her satisfaction rating, with 70 percent still satisfied with her performance. It was 12 percent lower than her rating in July. The survey was done around the same time Duterte was in the spotlight following reports that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent P125 million in confidential funds in 2022 within 11 days, and Congress deciding to scrap the confidential funds of the OVP and the Department of Education, which she also heads.
READ: Pentagon reaffirms vow to protect PH vs Chinese aggression
Lt. Col. Martin Meiners, the spokesman for the US Department of Defense reaffirmed the United States' commitment to come to the Philippines' aid in the wake of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Asked if American troops might be deployed in bases in the Philippines under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), Meiners said the US does not seek permanent basing in the Philippines. Meiners said that it is "too early to discuss specific numbers, capabilities or timing. It is important to remember that any use of EDCA sites is a joint decision between the Philippines and the United States."EDCA sites "could potentially be used to support a wide range of missions that serve our shared interests, including joint military training, disaster relief and humanitarian efforts, and combined exercises," he added. Expanding the EDCA "will make the Philippine-US alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities," which is essential to strengthening combined deterrence posture." In a letter to President Joe Biden on October 27, Republican Senators Jim Risch of Idaho, a ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Roger Wicker of Mississippi, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Marco Rubio of Florida, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, urged him to support the Philippines after the repeated encounters between the China Coast Guard and Philippine Coast Guard in the disputed waters.
READ: Postponed BSKE reels off today
SUPPOSED to be held last December, the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) finally reels off today, October 30, with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) predicting the vote to be peaceful and honest. Last year's BSKE was scrapped over questions of legality. The Supreme Court finally ruled that the polls proceed today out of legal practicality and necessity. Comelec Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said on Sunday that practically all election paraphernalia, from ballots, to counting machines, were in place. Garcia said the PNP reported 30 poll-related incidents as of Sunday. There are 672,016 positions at stake in the village and youth polls, with 42,001 for barangay captains and 294,007 for members of Sangguniang Barangay. The same number of positions for SK chairman and SK council members will be up for grabs. Based on Comelec records, 96,962 candidates are running for barangay captain; 731,682 for members of Sangguniang Barangay; 92,774 for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK); and 493,069 for SK council. Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said persons ages 15 to 30 years can vote in the youth polls, and those ages 18 years and older for the barangay election. The voting centers open at 7 a.m. and close at 3 p.m.
READ: Ex-president Duterte leads bets for Senate
DESPITE his pronouncement that he has retired from politics, former president Rodrigo Duterte is the top choice as candidate for the Senate in a survey by the Publishers Association oRigof the Philippines Inc. (PAPI). The poll was conducted in select villages nationwide from October 2 to 8. Next to Duterte is former senator and boxing icon Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, followed by Sagip Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta. Incumbent senators Maria Imelda Josefa "Imee" Marcos and Christopher "Bong" Go were in fourth and fifth spots, followed by former Senate leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto 3rd, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo. Sitting Senators Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Manuel "Lito" Lapid occupied the 8th to 10th slots, respectively. In 11th to 20th place are Sen. Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano, former Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr., former vice president Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo, former senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, Sen. Francis Tolentino, former senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, Willie Ong, former senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas and Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. The PAPI asked 1,000 respondents to list their Top 20 choices for the Senate if the midterm elections were held during the survey period.
In Business
READ: Debt service bill surges in August
THE national government's debt servicing surged in August following an increase in amortization charges, data released by the Bureau of Treasury showed. The government's debt payments expanded by 176.77 per cent to P189.02 billion in August from P68.29 billion in the same month a year ago. Month on month, debt service payments increased by 193.7 percent from P64.35 billion in July. Interest payments, likewise, in creased by 38.6 percent to P42.66 billion from P30.77 billion in August 2022. Domestic payments grew by 44.8 percent in August 2023 to P29.53 billion from the P20.39 billion recorded in the same month last year. This was composed of treasury bills (P2.76 billion), fixed rate treasury bonds (P17.85 billion) and retail treasury bonds (P8.88 billion). Meanwhile, foreign interest payments climbed to P13.13 billion by 26.4 percent from P10.83 billion in August 2022.
Topping Sports
READ: PH finishes 9th in Asian Para Games
THE Philippines seized 10 gold medals in the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, matching its gold haul from the 2018 edition of the tournament in Jakarta, Indonesia. Despite the equal gold production in the October 22-28 affair, the Filipinos ranked higher this time, going from 11th place five years ago to ninth this year. Ironically, the Philippine contingent made the final ranking improvement even after clinching less silver, bronze and overall medals in this Games, which got delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 situation in China. The Philippines grabbed eight silvers and 11 bronzes in Jakarta for a total of 29 medals, 10 more than what the country totalled in Hangzhou which is 19 spiked by four silvers and five bronzes. In this change, what remains constant for the Philippines was that it garnered most of its gold medals from chess anew. Thanks to a surge of five golds in the final day of competition on Saturday, the Philippine para chess team notched eight, three more than the golds it collected in 2018. The last-gasp gold medal rush also enabled the Filipinos to match its gold haul in 2018.
READ: Arizona routs Texas to level World Series
Arizona pitcher Merrill Kelly struck out nine and scattered three hits over seven innings to spark the Diamondbacks over Texas 9-1 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) and level the World Series. Gabriel Moreno smashed a solo home run and Ketel Marte drove in two runs with a record-setting single as Arizona equalized Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final at 1-1 with Game 3 in Phoenix on Monday. The Rangers, in their first World Series since 2011, seek the club's first MLB crown since it began play in 1961 while the Diamondbacks won their only title in 2001 in their only prior World Series appearance.
READ: Opinion/Editorial
In today's editorial, the Times points to the need for regional resolve to crush human trafficking. Read the full version on print and digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front pagee are Rigoberto Tiglao, Dan Steinbock and Joseph Stiglitz. Tiglao writes about the barangay elections as a major tool of political clans; Steinbock, from Hamas-Israel war to regional escalation with Iran; and Stiglitz on fixing global economic governance.
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