Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
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READ: Duterte, sons to run in 2025 polls – Sara
VICE President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and her two brothers, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, would run for the Senate in 2025. She also said the younger Duterte, who goes by the nickname Baste, is vying to become the possible successor of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2028. ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro slammed the move of the Duterte family to run in the 2025 and 2028 elections, calling it a form of "bureaucrat capitalism," where a single family will control every aspect of a nation's politics.
READ: They tried to slash me, VP says
The Vice President also said a noticeable scar on her neck was the result of a failed attack, but she offered no other information. Duterte did not identify who slashed her. When asked later by reporters in the Office of the Vice President's Pride Reception about her wound, Duterte did not offer any additional explanation.
READ: Ombudsman upholds Guo suspension
THE Office of the Ombudsman denied the motion of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo to reconsider her preventive suspension. In an order signed on June 21, 2024, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he found no compelling reason to reconsider the preventive suspension order. He also denied the motions of Business Permit and Licensing Officer Edwin Campo and Municipal Legal Officer Adenn Sigua to reconsider their preventive suspension.
READ: Duterte, de Lima invited to drug war probe
The House Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday approved the motion to invite former president Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Ronald de la Rosa as resource persons to its probe of extrajudicial killings in the previous administration's bloody war on drugs. During the committee's third hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers listened to stories of the relatives of the drug war victims. Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas moved to invite Duterte and de la Rosa to respond to the issues presented by the victims and their families. The motion was seconded and, without objection, approved.
READ: Injured Navy man: 'It was no accident'
THE Philippine Navy personnel who lost his thumb during the June 17 Ayungin Shoal incident believes that China wanted to prevent rotation and resupply (RoRe) missions to the beached BRP Sierra Madre to reduce the number of Filipino soldiers manning the post. Seaman First Class Jeffrey Facundo made the remark on Tuesday at the Senate inquiry on the reported ramming by China Coast Guard (CCG) boats of Philippine vessels on regular RoRe to the BRP Sierra Madre.
READ: Filipino golfers qualify for Olympics
FILIPINO golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina qualified for the Paris Olympics, the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) announced on Tuesday. Pagdanganan, 26, placed 35th to make her second straight Olympic qualification, while Ardina, 30, finished 55th to make her Olympic debut in Paris. This is Ardina's second Olympic qualification, though, as she made the cut at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but did not compete due to the Zika virus threat. In the world rankings, Pagdanganan and Ardina, who compete at the LPGA, are 113th and 298th, respectively.
SPORTS: Gilas to go '11-strong' in FIBA OQT
GILAS Pilipinas will head to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) with 11 players as coach Tim Cone doesn't see it necessary to fill in the spot vacated by injured guard Scottie Thompson. Cone made the announcement shortly after Gilas scored a 74-64 win over the Taiwan Mustangs in their send off friendly game on Monday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
BUSINESS: DA: Rice tariff cuts could be short term
Over to business, the Agriculture Department will seek a review of a Palace directive that slashed rice tariffs should local market prices drop beyond 42 pesos per kilo. Executive Order (EO) 62, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. just last week, cut the import duty on rice to 15 percent from an already-lowered 35 percent up to 2028 in a bid to keep inflation under control. Instead of the usual 30-day effectivity period that will apply to other tariff program changes under EO 62, the rice tariff cuts will be fast-tracked to next week. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier this month said that the government was hopeful that the move would lead to rice prices dropping to 29 pesos per kilo, at least for the poor, via the tariff cuts and subsidies. Based on the Agriculture Department's latest monitoring report, retail prices of rice were ranging from P48 to as high as 60 pesos per kilo in Metro Manila markets. Bringing prices down to 42 to 45 pesos per kilo will already be a big deal, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He added, however, that further declines would prompt the Agriculture Department to push for a review of EO 62.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao, Francisco Tatad and Jeffrey Sachs are today's front page columnists. Tiglao explains the disagreements of two Cabinet secretaries, Tatad honors the late Philippine veteran journalist Ruben Alabastro, and Sachs gives a primer on the Summit of the Future.
Today's editorial says the Supreme Court offers a partial solution to infrastructure obstacles. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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