Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, June 8, 2024.

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READ: China ships harass PH medical mission

THE China Coast Guard (CCG) tried to block the medical evacuation of a soldier stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. Videos of the incident, which happened last May 19, were released by the PCG on Friday. The PCG said it had sent an inflatable boat to retrieve the soldier from a Philippine Navy speedboat, and had informed the China Coast Guard of the "humanitarian nature" of the mission. The videos show a Chinese-flagged inflatable speed boat bumping into the two stationary Philippine vessels as they prepare to transfer the patient. Other boats — identified by the PCG as belonging to the China Coast Guard — are also seen shadowing and blocking the path of the Philippine Coast Guard boat.

READ: El Niño over, but here comes La Niña

THE El Niño phenomenon, which combined with the dry season brought weeks of extremely hot days and drought conditions to the Philippines, has officially ended, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Friday. Pagasa Administrator Nathaniel Servando said the conditions in the Pacific Ocean have returned to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral levels. However, there is a 69 percent possibility of a transition from ENSO-neutral to La Niña as early as July, Servando said.

READ: BIR to probe Guo cohorts for tax evasion

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Friday said it will investigate for possible tax evasion the names and entities that surfaced during the Senate inquiry of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. In a statement, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said the agency will check the income declared by the personalities mentioned during the Senate hearings. If the declared income "does not match the value of the properties amassed during the same taxable years, criminal cases for tax evasion will be filed. The same charges can be filed against conspirators and the corporate officers of the companies used to amass such wealth," Lumagui said. On Wednesday, the mayor attended the hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, where she denied allegations that she is a Chinese spy and a protector of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in her town. Guo denied the "serious accusations of espionage and money laundering," saying she was not involved in any criminal activities related to the POGOs at the Baufo compound, which she owned and is located right behind the municipal hall.

READ: 90% of Filipinos distrust China – OCTA

AMID the ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea, nine of every 10 Filipinos have shown distrust in China, according to a survey conducted by OCTA Research. In its Tugon ng Masa poll conducted from March 11–14, 91 percent of Filipinos said they distrust China, while only 8 percent said the opposite, pushing Beijing's trust rating downward since February 2022. Mindanao residents were the highest among those who trust China, at 15 percent, while National Capital Region (NCR) residents had the highest distrust rating at 95 percent.

BUSINESS: Factory output recovers in April

Topping business, manufacturing output rebounded in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, with both value and volume growing by 5.9 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, following contractions of 6.8 percent and 5.8 percent a month earlier. The results were lower than the 10.7 percent and 8.0 percent recorded in April last year, preliminary PSA data showed. Year to date, the Value of Production Index (VaPI) remained negative at — 0.6 percent, while the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) was up 0.5 percent. April's VaPI and VoPI gains were due to rebounds in food production, the PSA said. For VaPI, the manufacture of food products grew by 7.4 percent following a 12.5-percent contraction in March, while for VoPI, the increase was 6.8 percent from the previous month's 13.2-percent drop.

SPORTS: Cebu City 90% ready to host Palarong Pambansa

Over to sports, with just a month left until the 2024 Palarong Pambansa begins, acting mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia is confident in Cebu City's preparedness to welcome the 12,000 delegates from all around the country, saying that they are now 90 percent ready to host the games. Hosting the games for the first time in 30 years, Garcia said the city is almost ready to welcome the top student athletes from elementary and high schools from the 17 regions in the Philippines. Garcia met with contractors, officials from the Department of Education and the Local School Board (LSB) at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) on Wednesday, to oversee the final phase of the preparations.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras looks into a "blue economy", Makabenta asks if the country should proceed with the military modernization program, while Remoto discusses vaping and the young.

Today's editorial tackles the recent Manila Times forum hosted by the Italian Embassy. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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