Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
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READ: US-Japan-PH summit to boost defense ties
Japanese and Philippine leaders head to Washington this week for a trilateral summit aimed at boosting defense ties, hot on the heels of four-way military drills in the South China Sea with Australia. A major upgrade of US defense ties with increasingly self-confident Japan could be announced, as well as joint coast guard patrols with Manila in areas disputed with China. Also on the agenda will be securing access to vital supplies such as semiconductors and rare metals, North Korea's growing belligerence, and the Japanese takeover of US Steel opposed by President Joe Biden.
READ: Marcos hopes drills will ease Chinese aggression
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed hope Monday that the country's joint naval exercises with the United States, Japan, and Australia in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) would reduce Chinese aggression in the disputed waters. Marcos issued the statement a day after five warships from the four countries held joint drills that officials said were a "show of unity." In an interview in Bacolod City, the President said the Philippine government will do all it can through diplomacy to convey to the Chinese leadership the need to lower the tension in the West Philippine Sea and avoid possible direct confrontation.
READ: Marcos rejects Quiboloy conditions for surrender
Meanwhile, Marcos on Monday rejected the conditions set by the fugitive TV evangelist Apollo Quiboloy for his surrender, likening his demand of a written guarantee against American intervention to the tail wagging the dog. Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed "Son of God" and spiritual adviser to former president Rodrigo Duterte, was charged by the US Justice Department in 2021 with trafficking girls and women ages 12 to 25 to work as personal assistants who were allegedly required to have sex with him. In March, the Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Quiboloy and five other defendants with qualified human trafficking and other acts of child abuse. A court has issued a warrant for Quiboloy's arrest, but the pastor remains in hiding. In a voice clip posted on the YouTube channel of his church's TV network Sonshine Media, Quiboloy said he wants a written guarantee from the government that "there will be no American interference and no extraordinary rendition" if he surrenders to face charges in the Philippines.
READ: DoLE pushes flexible work arrangement
AMID dangerous spikes in heat index across the country, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is pushing for a flexible work arrangement to protect workers' health. Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said on Monday that flexible work arrangements can be part of precautionary measures to protect workers from heat-related illnesses.
READ: 31% of Pinoys pro-Marcos, 20% pro-Duterte – survey
MORE adult Filipinos support President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration than the Duterte family and their political allies, the latest OCTA Research survey released on Monday said. The poll, conducted from March 11 to 14 among 1,200 respondents nationwide, showed 31 percent of Filipinos support Marcos and his government, while 20 percent back the Duterte family and their supporters. Only about 4 percent said they support the opposition. Some 29 percent of the respondents could be classified as "independents" because they do not identify with Marcos, Duterte, or the opposition. The remaining 15 percent did not know who to support or refused to respond.
BUSINESS: Rates steady, BSP hawkish
Headlining business, monetary authorities kept key interest rates unchanged on Monday but raised inflation forecasts for this year given continued price pressures. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said that given the upside risks, any easing could be delayed to later in the year or possibly the start of 2025. The central bank's benchmark rate remains at a near 17-year high of 6.5 percent while its overnight deposit and lending rates stay at 6.0 and 7.0 percent, respectively.
SPORTS: Sarno enters Olympics in record-setting fashion
FILIPINO weightlifter Vanessa Sarno did not only qualify for the Paris Olympics, she also did it in a record-setting fashion. Competing in the 2024 International Weightlifting Federation World Cup women's 71-kg class in Phuket, Thailand on Sunday, April 7, Sarno established a new national standard in snatch with a 110-kg lift, topping the previous record of 108 that she herself posted in IWF Grand Prix in Doha last December. The aforementioned tournament was one of the qualifying events for the Olympics and it is where Sarno hoisted her best total lift of 249 kg, having raised 139 in clean and jerk. That 249 kg stood strong enough for Sarno to survive the World Cup, the last Olympic qualifier where she hoisted 135 in clean and jerk for a total of 245 kg only. The total weight she lifted in the Grand Prix was good enough for her to stay in top 10 of the Olympic Qualification Rankings of her weight class which merits an Olympic slot. Sarno finished fifth in the World Cup and stayed at fifth in the qualifiers.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras revisits academic freedom, Makabenta starts his theories on COP29, and Mercado discusses former Singapore prime minister Lee Kwan Yew's leadership style.
Today's editorial calls on the Department of Education to revert to the old school calendar to avoid the hottest months of the year. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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