Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, April 26, 2024.
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READ: Marcos: no mercy for child abusers
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday vowed no mercy would be shown to those behind online sexual abuse and exploitation of children as he ordered a crackdown on those crimes. The President issued the statement as he condemned the crimes of online sexual abuse or exploitation of children and child sexual abuse or exploitation materials in the Philippines.
READ: 'Dangerous' heat index of 46 C in 3 areas
THREE key areas in the country including Metro Manila may experience much hotter weather until Friday as the state-run weather agency predicted a dangerous heat index of 46 degrees Celsius is likely. Energy officials said the rising heat would increase the use of electricity to cool homes, putting a strain on power plants, resulting in red and yellow alerts that would last until the end of May.
READ: DoJ reminds govt workers not to cooperate with ICC
THE Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday warned government officials and police who were cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the previous administration's war on drugs that they would be held accountable. DoJ spokesman Jose Dominic Clavano IV issued the statement after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said ICC investigators had already reached out to more than 50 Philippine National Police (PNP) officers allegedly involved in the Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs to give them an opportunity to clear their names. Trillanes' claim has not been independently verified. Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Clavano said while the DoJ has not received information regarding Trillanes' claims, he said the Philippines' policy was to not cooperate with the ICC.
READ: 2nd all-Filipino book fair opens at WTC in Manila
THE National Book Development Board (NBDB) kicked off the largest all-Filipino book fair in the Philippines on Thursday at the World Trade Center in Manila. The second iteration of the Philippine Book Festival (PBF), which will run until April 28, has been envisioned as a response to the challenges faced by the book publishing and education sectors, said NBDB Chairman Dante 'Klink' Ang II.
READ: US, PH tell China: Cease 'unlawful interference'
THE United States and the Philippines called on China to cease its "unlawful interference" with Filipinos' freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Senior Philippine and US officials made the appeal on April 24 at the conclusion of the 11th Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) in Washington. First held in 2011, the dialogue serves as the main annual platform for the two countries for discussing political, security, and economic cooperation, exchanging views on current challenges and strategic priorities, and identifying new collaborative initiatives. In a joint statement shared by the US Department of State, the two countries reiterated their commitment to a maritime order in the South China Sea based on international law. They called on China "to comport" its maritime claims in the South China Sea with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), to respect the Philippines' sovereign rights and jurisdiction.
BUSINESS: HSBC: Rate cuts likely to start in fourth quarter
Headlining business, interest rate cuts will likely only start in the fourth quarter with inflation still to settle firmly within target, the research arm of banking giant HSBC said. HSBC, which earlier said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could start easing policy via a 25-basis-point cut in the third quarter, now expects this to be implemented in the last three months of the year. The BSP policy rate, currently at a near 17-year high of 6.5 percent, could potentially drop to 5.0 percent by the end of 2025, Dacanay said. Surging inflation had prompted monetary authorities to raise key interest rates by a total of 450 basis points beginning May 2022, the last an off-cycle 25-bps hike in October last year as consumer prices spiked after slowing for several months. Inflation, which peaked at a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January 2023, has since returned to the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target. It has risen for the last two months, however, and is expected to top 4.0 percent anew in the second quarter. Still, HSBC said that further tightening was unlikely as current inflation risks can be handled via nonmonetary measures.
SPORTS: PBA's hottest teams collide
In sports, defending champion San Miguel Beer takes on dangerous Magnolia Chicken Timplados in the main game of the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City today, April 26. The meeting will be the first between the two Commissioner's Cup Finals protagonists in the allFilipino conference. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Beermen vanquished the Hotshots, 4-2, in the import-spiced conference title series last February for its league-best 29th championship. San Miguel remains to be the title favorite by staying undefeated in seven games in the Philippine Cup.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao said the Philippines had no share in a recent bill passed by the US Congress, while Tatad becomes nostalgic.
Today's editorial looks into the decongestion of the New Bilibid Prison. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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