Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, June 23, 2024.

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READ: Marcos must first approve Ayungin resupply missions

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must first approve any public announcements of resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday. Speaking during a news forum, Commo. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), clarified that the policy recommendation mentioned by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Friday was that "we will be announcing the routine resupply operations subject to the approval of our President." Bersamin heads the National Maritime Council (NMC), which was created by President Marcos last March. The executive secretary said on Friday that the President accepted the recommendation of the council "to publicize the schedule for activities without giving up anything." For his part, Tarriela said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and PCG would be working together for the conduct of future resupply missions.

READ: 'Stronger words' needed to define PH-China sea clash – expert

THE government could have used "stronger words" in describing the encounter between the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Philippine Navy during its resupply mission to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal last June 17, a maritime expert said on Saturday. This comes after the government on Friday said that the incident, which resulted in injuries to several soldiers, including one who lost a finger, was just a "misunderstanding" or an "accident" and not an armed attack. The National Maritime Council (NMC), headed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Presidential Adviser for Maritime Concerns Secretary Andres Centino, said the incident did not warrant the need to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the United States.

READ: Tariff cut seen to lower rice prices by P6-P7/kilo

PRICES of rice are expected to drop by 6 to 7 pesos per kilogram (kg) in the coming months with the lowering of the rice tariff, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Saturday. The reduced tariff is provided under Executive Order (EO) 62 issued recently by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The President, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on Thursday approved EO 62 to formalize changes to the 2024-2028 tariff program. The order will effectively cut the rice levy from 35 percent to 15 percent. De Mesa said the validity of EO 62, particularly on the rice tariff reduction, was 15 days upon its publication, or by July 6, while those for other commodities would take effect 30 days upon its publication.

READ: Timor Leste court releases Teves from house arrest

FUGITIVE and expelled Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr. has been released from house arrest by the Timor Leste tribunal conducting extradition proceedings relative to the request made by the Philippine government, the Department of Justice (DoJ) confirmed on Saturday. The DoJ said it was informed by the Timorese Central Authority that the house arrest of Teves ended at around 7 p.m. (6 p.m. in Manila) on Friday. The DoJ said under Timorese laws, a fugitive like Teves could only be detained for a maximum of 90 days.

BUSINESS: Investors 'confident' in PH hospitality growth

In business, investors are positive about the medium- and long-term growth outlook of the Philippine hospitality sector, a new report showed. In the 2024 Philippine Hotel Investment Outlook Survey, 89 percent of the respondents, comprising hotel owners and operators in the Philippines, said they have a "positive outlook" about the overall hospitality industry for the next one to three years. Confidence was even more robust for the long term, with 95 percent of respondents believing the industry would thrive beyond the next three years.

SPORTS: Cramped sched marks Gilas training camp

Over to sports, Gilas Pilipinas is not leaving anything to chance as the national squad kicked off its preparations for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament last Friday at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna. The training camp, under head coach Tim Cone, involves two court practices and sandwiched by a gym workout through Sunday before Gilas returns to Manila to play the Taiwan Mustangs in an open-to-public tune-up game at the PhilSports Arena. At the moment, Gilas is down to an 11-man roster with ace playmaker Scottie Thompson struck out due to a back injury.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, where he wants the country's education system to produce someone like Nvidia's Jensen Huang.

Today's editorial says there's no silver bullet against online scams. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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