Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
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READ: Senate chief sets Cha-cha in motion
SENATE President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri on Monday filed Resolution of Both Houses 6 seeking to amend economic provisions in the Constitution. Senate President Pro Tempore Lorna Regina "Loren" Legarda and Sen. Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara co-authored the resolution, proposing amendments to Articles 12,
14 and 16 of the charter. The senators said the nation's economic policy "must be reframed under the demands of this increasingly globalized age, while still protecting the general policy of Filipino-first that guides the economic provisions of the Constitution."
READ: PH to file environmental case against China
STATE prosecutors are preparing a case against China that will be filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, for destructive environmental activity in the West Philippine Sea. Department of Justice spokesman Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano said legal experts had briefed Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Assistant Secretary Raul Vasquez regarding the case.
READ: PH has no clear maritime governance plan - study
WHILE the Philippines has made significant efforts to address multifaceted maritime governance issues, it continues to struggle to set clear strategic priorities amid complex challenges, a maritime security study initiated by several Australian educational institutions said. In an article that is part of the Blue Security project, it was pointed out that the government must set priority areas for international cooperation that should target a broad spectrum of strategic and environmental objectives related to coastal and marine management, tourism, transport, institutional capacities and maritime and territorial disputes. The study said the situation that the Philippines is in frequently "leads to a focus on immediate crises and the neglect of long-term sustainability and comprehensive governance."
READ: Class suspension unnecessary – MMDA
THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said on Monday it would not recommend the suspension of classes despite transport group Manibela's planned transport strike on Tuesday. Manibela over the weekend announced it would stage another protest to demand a halt to the implementation of the government's Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, claiming that around 10,000 to 15,000 jeepney drivers and operators will participate in the strike. Artes assured commuters there would be enough augmentation forces from the M.M.D.A. to be pre-prepositioned in strategic routes and that the agency would monitor the situation around Metro Manila as early as 5 a.m.
BUSINESS: Remittances fall to six-month low
Topping business, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances fell in November from a month earlier but were higher compared to the previous year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed on Monday. At $3.0 billion, personal remittances were lower compared to October's $3.33 billion but picked up from the year-earlier $2.93 billion. Workers with contracts of a year or more and sea- and land-based workers with contracts of less than one year primarily drove the growth, the central bank said in a statement. Money sent home via banks alone totaled $2.7 billion, up from $2.6 billion in November 2022 but also lower than last October's $2.99 billion. The tallies were the lowest in six months or since May when personal remittances totaled $2.8 billion and cash remittances came in at $2.5 billion. Year to date, overall remittances totaled $33.6 billion, 2.9 percent more than the year-earlier $32.6 billion, while cash remittances grew by 2.8 percent to $30.2 billion from $29.4 billion.
SPORTS: Cone, Baldwin top picks to handle Gilas program
Over to sports, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is hard at work on finding a new coach for Gilas Pilipinas, especially with the national basketball team set to participate in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in July. But if the Filipino basketball fans and netizens were to pick, decorated coaches Tim Cone, Tab Baldwin and Brian Goorjian are the names they mentioned in various fan pages discussing the vacant Gilas coaching position. It's no surprise to see Cone, Baldwin and Goorjian as their top picks, with each one tactician sporting a wealthy coaching experience in the international level. Aside from being the winningest coach in the P.B.A., Cone was part of the Chot Reyes-led coaching staff that spearheaded Gilas to the Southeast Asian Games gold medal in May last year, defeating home team Cambodia to reclaim the championship the national team lost to Indonesia in 2022. The 66-year-old tactician was also part of Reyes' Gilas coaching staff in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, where the national team won a game that was enough for the Filipinos to punch a ticket to the Olympic Qualifiers. Cone then head-coached Gilas in the Hangzhou Asian Games where the nationals, albeit formed hastily, gave the Philippines its first gold in the competition in 61 years, beating Jordan in the Finals last year.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks on destabilization, Makabenta weighs in on the Taiwanese elections, while Mercado wants the jeepney to be modernized the Filipino way.
Today's editorial looks into the bilateral ties between the Philippines and Japan. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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