Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, June 24, 2024.
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READ: NPC expels Guo
THE Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) has expelled Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo from the party given the "gravity" of charges and ongoing investigations against her. NPC Chairman Vicente Sotto III ordered Guo's removal from the party after Tarlac Gov. Susan Yap sought her expulsion for Guo's alleged link to the criminal activities of some illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission charged Guo with human trafficking. Sotto noted that the PNP linked Guo to the "grand conspiracy to commit labor trafficking of about 500 foreign POGO workers." Guo's citizenship was also in question as some quarters suspected her of being a "spy" for China.
READ: PH renounces using violence to settle sea row
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood firm on his position Sunday that the Philippines would not trigger any violent confrontation to resolve territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Marcos issued the statement during a visit to the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) Western Command (Wescom) in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, where he said the government would "refuse to play by the rules that force us to choose sides in a great power competition."
READ: Arrest of hackers yields surprise allegations
THE arrest last week of three people for hacking into private and government websites, banks and Facebook accounts yielded an unexpected allegation. One of the suspects, who remained identified only by his code name "Kang Kong," claimed to work in the administrative division of the Manila Bulletin and tagged its technology editor Art Samaniego Jr. as the one who instructed him to look for "vulnerabilities" in unsuspecting websites. The suspects, presented at a press conference on June 21 by the National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD), were alleged to be members of two big hacking groups: Philippine LulzSec and Globalsec. A third subject with an alias "Allan 10k" will be charged through direct filing, an NBI press statement said. In a surprise revelation at the tail end of the press conference, one of the suspects said Samaniego had instructed him to look for "vulnerabilities" in the websites of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Security Council and the 1Sambayan app. Samaniego released a statement denying the allegations against him and said "he had been a long-time partner of government agencies in cybersecurity."
READ: Couples for Christ issues anti-divorce manifesto
COUPLES for Christ (CFC), a Catholic lay group, said it was vehemently opposed to the proposed divorce law, citing its potential impact on families and society. The organization said youths from divorced families were statistically more likely to engage in criminal behavior and substance abuse and suffer from mental health issues, including suicidal tendencies, as well as underperform in school.
BUSINESS: Bangko Sentral seen keeping rates steady
Over to business, Philippine monetary authorities will likely keep key interest rates unchanged for a sixth straight meeting this Thursday, analysts said, pointing to the peso's current weakness and minimal risks of inflation breaching target. During its last meeting on May 16, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) policymaking Monetary Board maintained the benchmark rate at a 17-year high of 6.5 percent, noting that inflation had yet to settle firmly within the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target. The rate has been rising for the past four months and hit 3.9 percent in May amid elevated food and utility costs. The BSP has warned that inflation could top 4.0 percent but expects it to average at a within-target 3.8 percent, risks considered, this year. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. in May raised the prospect of an August easing — this would be the next meeting after this Thursday — but with the US Federal Reserve seen doing so only in September or even in December, this has led to pressure on the peso.
SPORTS: Gilas battles Taiwan Mustangs in tune-up
Heading to sports, even without their top 3 foreign reinforcements, the Taiwan Mustangs are expected to give Gilas Pilipinas a competitive tune-up game Monday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. That's how Taiwan coach Chris Gavina would like to describe what Filipino fans can expect from the Mustangs, who won't have former NBA stars Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins as well as former Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Quinn Cook.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao claims the country is becoming leaderless, Fr. Aquino reacts to a fellow priest's position on divorce, and Tatad looks into policing the South China Sea.
Today's editorial says the Hezbollah-Israel conflict could trigger a wider war in the Middle East. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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