Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, May 22, 2024.
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READ: Escudero: Changing Zubiri was not difficult
SEN. Francis Escudero took only four days to become the leader of the Senate. DONE IN 4 DAYS In an interview Tuesday, Escudero said he started discussing his Senate presidency with fellow senators on May 17, and by May 19, he had secured enough support. On Monday, 15 senators signed the resolution expressing their support for Escudero. The new Senate president said he didn't find it difficult to seek support from his fellow senators because there had been doubts about Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri's leadership before. He declined to elaborate on those doubts, however, saying he wanted to avoid damaging trust among colleagues. But in his comments Monday, Escudero lauded Zubiri for his achievements in leading the Senate and thanked him for his patience, diligence, and his love for the country and the Senate as an institution.
READ: Zubiri, allies form bloc amid shakeup
OUSTED Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri and his allies formed the "Magic 7" bloc "to support one another" Tuesday amid a shakeup in the upper chamber arising from a leadership change. Sen. Francis Escudero on Monday staged a coup against Zubiri as he secured the signatures of 14 fellow senators to unseat the latter. Zubiri managed to retain the support of his "seatmates" group, Sens. Juan Edgardo Angara, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda and Joel Villanueva.
READ: US to train Filipinos in nuclear power
THE Philippines and the United States agreed Tuesday to train Filipinos how to build and operate nuclear power plants as the Southeast Asian country seeks to boost its electricity supply. The announcement comes after Manila and Washington struck a nuclear cooperation agreement in November that cleared a path for US investment to jumpstart atomic power in the energy-hungry Philippines. Under the deal, the Philippine Department of Energy and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation will offer scholarships and exchange programs for Filipinos to learn about civil nuclear power and renewable energy.
READ: El Niño agri damage nears P10B – DA
AGRICULTURAL damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon has surged to 9.5 billion pesos, with potential production losses from 163,694 hectares of crop areas, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Tuesday. In its latest bulletin, the department said drought has affected 175,063 farmers and fishers in 13 regions.
BUSINESS: BSP ready to intervene as peso falls
Over to business, the peso fell to an 18-month low on Tuesday to 58 pesos 27 centavos against the dollar, prompting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to declare that it was ready to intervene if "necessary." The peso weakened by 38 centavos, with sentiment said to have been weighed down anew over monetary policy easing concerns and geopolitical worries. The last time that the peso closed lower was on Nov. 8, 2022, when it ended the day at 58.275 to the dollar. A month earlier, it had twice closed at a record 59 pesos to $1 after the Fed aggressively raised interest rates to combat surging inflation. The slide was arrested as the BSP moved to match the US central bank's tightening and keep local interest rates attractive.
SPORTS: Beermen shoot for 3-0 bulge vs Painters
Headlining sports, San Miguel Beer guns for a commanding 3-0 lead against Rain or Shine as the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series shifts to Cavite at the Dasmariñas Arena on Wednesday. The Beermen took Games 1 (101-98) and 2 (106-89) with seven-time league Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo leading the charge after averaging 22.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. The league's all-time winningest ball club will be shooting for a third straight win and put the Elasto Painters on the ropes in the semis series in their 4:30 p.m. match. In the main game at 7:30 p.m., Meralco tries to build on its confidence-boosting Game 2 win when it shoots for another victory against Barangay Ginebra.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao thinks President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is tightening control of the senate, Fr. Aquino looks into research in speculative and normative disciplines, and Tatad dives into the global view on Singapore.
Today's editorial says the country is missing the active transport opportunity. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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