Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, June 19, 2024.
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VICE President Sara Duterte has resigned as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), breaking away from the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after a year of mounting political tension between their two families. In a statement, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Marcos accepted Duterte's resignation, effective July 19. Garafil said Duterte also resigned from her position as the vice chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
Imee seeks probe on US campaign vs Sinovac
SEN. Imee Marcos wants the Senate to probe the reported secret campaign by the US Defense Department to discredit the Sinovac vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic as a way of diminishing Chinese influence in the region. The senator filed Resolution 1052 on June 18, directing the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which she heads, to conduct the inquiry. Marcos said the reported antiSinovac vaccine and misinformation campaigns "gravely threaten national security issues and public health."
Chinese acted like pirates — AFP chief
THE China Coast Guard (CCG) that boarded Filipino boats and seized guns on board acted like pirates, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Wednesday as he demanded the return of their firearms. Rear Adm. Alfonso Torres told reporters the firearms had been stored in the boats crewed by Filipino sailors, who were under orders not to display their weapons in Monday's confrontation off Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Meanwhile, the seaman who lost his thumb during the June 17 resupply mission to Filipino troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal said he was willing to return to the West Philippine Sea despite the injury he sustained.
PH students at the bottom in PISA creative thinking assessment
THE Philippines lagged behind in the 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Philippines had the second to the lowest mean score in the Creative Thinking Assessment with a mean score of 14, tying with Uzbekistan but higher than Albania, which is the lowest among all countries who participated in the assessment. The country's score is lower than the mean score of 33, the OECD average. The Philippines also ranked lower than the PISA average regarding the creative thinking performance of girls and boys, with girls receiving a mean score of 16 and boys having a mean score of 12. According to the OECD, the Philippines, alongside Albania, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Macao, Morocco and Uzbekistan demonstrated the largest overall relative weakness in creative thinking, scoring at least three points lower than expected after accounting for both mathematics and reading performance. According to the OECD, the PISA 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment evaluated the student's capacity to think creatively, which is defined as the competence to engage in the generation, evaluation, and improvement of original and diverse ideas.
Marcos to lead Olympians send-off
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the send-off rites for the Philippine delegation to the Paris Olympics at the Marble Hall of the Ayuntamiento de Manila in Intramuros on Friday. The event, to be managed by official Philippine Olympics broadcaster Cignal TV, will be attended by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham Tolentino and members of the POC board, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann, as well as national sports association officials. Philippine Olympian Association head Gillian Akiko Thomson-Guevara was also expected to grace the event. As of Tuesday, 15 Filipino athletes have qualified for the Paris Olympics, led by pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena and flag bearers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam. Both boxers were silver medalists in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
SPORTS: AJ Edu out of FIBA OQT – Tim Cone
FILIPINO Cypriot big man AJ Edu has been ruled out of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) as the former Gilas youth member is still recovering from a knee injury he sustained late last year, Gilas coach Tim Cone said. The 6-foot-10 Edu's spot will be taken by Barangay Ginebra veteran and many-time Gilas player Japeth Aguilar. Edu also failed to play for Gilas during the kickoff window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers last February, where the national side clobbered Hong Kong and Taiwan. Also out of the OQT as mentioned earlier by Cone is Barangay Ginebra wingman Jamie Malonzo, who is still recovering since undergoing surgery due to left calf injury. Ateneo's Mason Amos will be taking Malonzo's spot.
BUSINESS: BSP might not need to wait for Fed easing
Over to business, monetary authorities could continue signaling a policy easing ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) given improvements in the country's fundamentals, HSBC Global Research economist Aris Dacanay said. The currency has come under pressure after BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said that cuts could start in August and has been trading in the 58 pesos to $1 level for almost a month, down from P55 at the start of the year. With the Fed seen delaying its easing to September or even December, lower interest rates would make Philippine assets less attractive. This was the situation in October 2022 when the BSP failed to match the Fed's aggressive tightening, leading to the peso dropping to a record low of 59 pesos to the dollar. The central bank's benchmark rate is currently 6.5 percent, the highest since 2007, after 450 basis points of hikes starting in May 2022 due to surging inflation.
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras weighs in on the latest on the situation on religious leader Apollo Quiboloy's arrest, Makabenta looks into why most countries are siding with the Philippines in the South China Sea dispute, and Remoto reveals new fiction material.
Today's editorial prepares the Times for its upcoming midyear economic forum. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
The Times forum to focus on PH growth
TOP Cabinet officials and corporate leaders will share their views on how to sustain optimism amid cloudy economic growth prospects during a forum today, June 20, presented by The Manila Times, in cooperation with Megaworld. The forum, which will be held at the Saffron Grand Ballroom of Lanson Place, Mall of Asia, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will feature speakers such as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Senior Assistant Governor Iluminada Sicat, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Nina Mangio, International Workplace Group Country Manager Lars Wittig, Global investment banker Stephen CuUnjieng, and Citi PH CEO Paul Favila. The discussions are expected to revolve around how the government will sustain its optimism toward the country's growth prospects despite rising inflation and slowing global economic growth. We look forward to seeing you there.
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