Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
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READ: Marcos: No water cannons vs China
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ruled out installing water cannons on Philippine ships sailing through the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and said the country would not respond in kind to recent Chinese attacks on its vessels. Beijing has dispatched hundreds of coast guard and other vessels to press its claims over most of the vital waterway despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. In the latest confrontation on April 30, Manila said the China Coast Guard damaged a Philippine Coast Guard ship and another government vessel with high-pressure water cannons as the boats were bringing fuel, food and water to Filipino fishermen at the Ayungin Shoal.
READ: Analysts disagree over risk of confrontation in WPS
THE possibility that China will abandon hope of peacefully reuniting with Taiwan is still "more dangerous" to regional and global peace than the continued escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, the head of a US-based maritime transparency project said Monday. The view of retired US Air Force Col. Ray Powell, who heads Sealight, which monitors and reports activities in the South China Sea, contrasted with that expressed by former US diplomat Douglas Paal, who told the South China Morning Post that the risk of a confrontation over Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal was much higher and "something more dangerous" than an invasion of Taiwan. Powell told The Manila Times that the situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is "indeed quite dangerous."
READ: PCG joins coastal defense exercise
THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) took part in the Balikatan joint military exercises for the first time Monday joining live-fire coastal defense training in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The annual Balikatan exercise involving 16,000 soldiers from the United States and the Philippines began April 22 and wraps up Friday, May 10. The coastal defense training is aimed at honing the skills of the US and Filipino forces in deterring an invading force.
READ: Lakas-CMD to ally with Federal party
In other news, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) will forge an alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), a party spokesman said Monday. With over 90 lawmakers, Lakas-CMD is the biggest party in the House of Representatives. The PFP, on the other hand, will have 50 of the country's 82 governors. At a press conference, House Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez, Lakas-CMD spokesman, said the two parties share common values and ideologies and would formalize their alliance on Wednesday.
READ: House panel to Alvarez: Answer ethics complaint
THE House Committee on Ethics and Privileges gave Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez 10 days to answer a complaint against him. Ako Bicol Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, a member of the committee, said that on Thursday, the committee considered the complaint which was filed by Tagum Mayor Rey Uy and several others. Bongalon said the complaint involved Alvarez's statement in a rally in April, his habitual absences in Congress, and allegedly libelous remarks.
BUSINESS: First rate cut likely 25 basis points
Topping business, monetary authorities will cut key interest rates by 25 basis points once inflation settles around the midpoint of the target range, the chief of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The BSP's policy-making Monetary Board remained hawkish and expected to only start implementing rate cuts late this year or in the first quarter of 2025 as inflation will likely exceed target in the second quarter.
SPORTS: PH snares 3 golds in HK Athletics Championships
Over to sports, the Philippine national athletics team claimed five medals bannered by three golds in the 2024 Hong Kong Athletics Championships. Tokyo Olympian Kristina Knott, Lauren Hoffman and Hussein Lorana ruled their respective events in the May 4 to 5 tournament that offered Paris Olympic qualifying points. Knott clocked in 11.52 seconds to finish first in the 19-athlete field of the women's open 100m category finals, topping her heats time by 0.48 ticks.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras says the latest hearings in the Senate are more for "political crucifixion", Makabenta looks into a quote by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization over press freedom, and Mercado calls for an end to secret deals.
Today's editorial says the Department of Education is putting out fires on many fronts. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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