Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, Dec. 11, 2023.
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READ: Chinese ship rams PH supply boat
A CHINA Coast Guard (CCG) ship rammed a Philippine boat that was delivering supplies to Filipino troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal Sunday morning. Based on monitoring by United States based security expert Ray Powell, the incident involved the boat Unaiza May 1 and the CCG ship 21556. The Bureau of Fisheries aand Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and several Philippine fishing boats were subjected to "illegal and aggressive actions" by CCG and Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) ships off Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea. Powell said the Philippine Cost Guard (PCG) vessels BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan were escorting the Unaiza May 1 and another boat, the Kalayaan, during the resupply mission. The Philippine convoy faced a blockading force of 14 Chinese militia ships and two CCG vessels, said Powell. Hours earlier, three CCG ships and four People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels had fired water cannons at the supply convoy. The Sindangan was monitored to be closely engaged with the militia ship Qiong Sansha Yu 00012, while the CCG 5305 and two other militia vessels encircled the Sindangan about 13.5 kilometers from the entrance to the Ayungin Shoal.
READ: Clark airport consortium lines up projects in 2024
THE government-run Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) plans to start several pandemic left over 202,000 dead in Britain, certainly not the worst case in the world, which saw 1.1 million dead in India; and, by contrast, an unverified low death rate in China, where the virus had begun. Guesting in SMNI's weekly public affairs program "Business and Politics" hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd, CIAC's new president and CEO Arrey Perez said it will bid out seven infrastructure projects aimed at halping improve the airport's services and tourism thrust. Three of the projects are private-public partnerships (PPPs), and four are infrastructure ventures. The PPP projects are the National Food Terminal, the water innovation or urban renewal program, and the Clark Entertainment and Event Hubs, Perez said. The infrastructure projects are the New Clark Airport direct access link road, the expansion and upgrade of road networks and utilities, the development of Clark's second runway, and the new CIAC headquarters. Perez also said the CIAC plans to sign an agreement in May next year with Aéro Montréal, a think tank consisting of all the major decision makers in Quebec's aerospace sector.
READ: Many Filipinos keen on entrepreneurship
A GOOD majority of Filipinos have a keen sense of entrepreneurship and want to put up their own businesses, a recent survey by OCTA Research showed. Their entrepreneurship sense was measured by their awareness of Go Negosyo, a movement supporting small businesses. Overall, 66 percent of the 1,200 respondents have heard of Go Negosyo. The highest rating, 81 percent, came from the National Capital Region (NCR), followed by Mindanao (67 percent), Visayas (63 percent) and Luzon (53 percent). Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd said the survey would drive him to further "reaffirm our advocacy of the last 18 years." Go Negosyo was founded in 2005, the same year that Concepcion was named Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship by then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
READ: Lawmaker warns Meralco may lose franchise
SURIGAO del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel warned that the franchise of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) may be canceled because of its failure to submit annual financial and operation reports, which are required by law.The vice chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises claimed that Meralco submitted reports only from 2018 to 2022. Under the law, non-compliance would be grounds for the cancellation of a franchise. Pimentel said that the submission of reports should be done every year. He said a check of the records showed that Meralco submitted the required reports only seven times. The lawmaker said the power company should have submitted 20 reports.Meralco on Sunday maintained that it complied with the requirements.
READ: San Beda holds off Mapua, forces NCAA finals decider
SAN Beda University on Sunday held off Mapua University 71-65 in Game Two of the NCAA Season 99 men's basketball finals to force a winner-take-all showdown. A massive turnout of 22,465 fans packed the Mall of Asia Arena as the Red Lions extended the finals series after dropping the first game. Jacob Cortez fired 21 points, including two triples in the last 4:28, to lead San Beda, which bucked a 6-point third quarter performance and put together a 23-point performance in the final 10 minutes.The last bucket of the fourth-quarter surge was a Yukien Andrada trey that gave the Red Lions a 70-63 advantage with 2:21 left. Mapua failed to mount a come back, missing key free throws down the stretch until Peter Alfaro split his charities in the last 8 seconds to ice the game. Game Three will be on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Topping Busines
BUSINESS: Monetary Board seen pausing anew this week
MONETARY authorities will likely keep key interest rates unchanged this Thursday, analysts polled by The Manila Times said. Consumer price growth has moderated to just above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) target and economic growth was better than expected in the third quarter, they noted. Several said that the central bank's policymaking Monetary Board was likely to again profess a tightening bias given inflation concerns. Others, meanwhile, claimed the BSP was likely done with raising interest rates and that an easing could be ordered as early as the second quarter of next year. Key interest rates have been increased by a total of 450 basis points (bps) since May 2022 in a bid to temper inflation. The BSP's policy rate currently stands at 6.5 percent, the highest in 16 years, following an off-cycle 25-bps hike just before the end of October. That was prompted by a two-month run of higher inflation in August and September. Consumer price growth, however, then slowed the following month — which led to a pause last November 16 — and further in November. Last month's headline rate of 4.1 percent was just above the BSP's 2.0- to 4.0-percent goal and the figure is expected to finally return to target this month. While full-year inflation is still expected to exceed the target in 2023, it is expected to remain under control and end next year within 2.0-4.0 percent with possible spikes due to El Niño and other factors.
In Sports
SPORTS: PH fencers bag 3 golds in Malaysia
UNIVERSITY of the East (UE) high school fencers Nina Canlas and James Lim dominated their respective categories even as Red Warriors rookie Willa Galvez made a huge contribution in the 2nd Malaysia Fencing Federation Minime International Fencing Championship held Nov. 30-Dec. 5, 2023, at the Tan Sri Hamzah Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Canlas, a Grade 9 student at UE-Manila, captured two gold medals after ruling the Under-14 and Under-17 women's epee individual, beating Sara Sofea Idongesit of Malaysia's Five Star Fencing Club, 15-11, in the finals of U-14, and Ching Yang of Taipei, 15-10, in the U-17 finals. Nina, the eldest of three Canlas siblings of UE head coach and former national team chief mentor Rolando "Amat" Canlas Jr., bagged her third gold when she teamed up with UE rookie Juliana Jimenez, Justa Sandoval and Zoey Velasco of Canlas Fencing in a 45-41 win over Malaysia's Bekking Fencing in the U-17 team women's epee. Lim, on the other hand, came through with a thrilling 15-13 win over Saif Nordin of Malaysia's Touche Fencing Club in the U-14 men's foil finals. Now in his 10th grade at UE, Lim is aiming to defend the gold in the junior's category in the coming UAAP Season 86 Fencing Championship this March 2024.
SPORTS: Davis, James power Lakers to NBA Cup crown
The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by a monster game from Anthony Davis, beat the upstart Indiana Pacers 123-109 to win the first edition of the NBA In-Season Tournament on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). Davis scored 41 points and pulled down 20 rebounds while superstar LeBron James added 24 points and 11 rebounds for the 17-time NBA champion Lakers, who added their first NBA Cup to the club trophy case. For James, it was a brand new accolade in the 21st season of a career that has included four NBA titles, the 38-year-old getting the nod as Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Led by Davis and James, the Lakers outmuscled the Pacers, never letting them get their high-octane offense to fully fire. They out-scored the Pacers 86-44 in the paint and got the better of them on the boards 55-32.
READ: Opinion
The European Union's blueprint for AI governance is today's editorial. Read the full version on print or digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao writes about preparing the ground for a Romualdez dynasty, this early; Aquino on Advent and time; and Tatad on learning from former British prime minister Boris Johnson.
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