Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, July 8, 2024.
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Driver tags 2 cops in Tarlac killings
THE driver of the SUV used to transport the bodies of beauty queen Geneva Sarita Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitshak Cohen to Tarlac, where they were buried, will be a state witness against two policemen who are the principal suspects in the case. The driver, identified as "Jess," said he told the authorities where the bodies were buried because he was bothered by his conscience, an official said. Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco said the driver was one of the persons of interest in the case. The two policemen implicated in the case have been arrested and are in police custody. "Jess" said that he was hired to drive the SUV for the two principal suspects, who were said to be policemen who had gone AWOL (absent without official leave). He said that he was surprised when he saw two bodies at the back of the SUV. Fearing for his safety, he did what he was told by the two policemen. He said he told the suspects of a place where to bury the bodies, and they proceeded to a quarry in Barangay Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac. Francisco said that while "Jess" is now a state witness, he is not yet off the hook. He said "Jess" was just one of those who gave information, and they were still determining how else he participated in the crime. Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil assured the public that justice would be served to the families of Lopez and Cohen. PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Jean Fajardo said that authorities now have five persons of interest in the case.
Police find firing range, underground tunnel in POGO hub
PORAC, Pampanga — Police inspectors discovered an underground tunnel and an indoor firing range during an inspection of a posh leisure resort owned by a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) in Barangay Señora on Saturday.Armed with a search warrant, a joint police inspection team swooped down on the resort said to be owned by Lucky South 99. Mayor Jaime Capil had directed the authorities to conduct an onsite inspection with Gov. Dennis Pineda, who joined the search operation. The joint inspection team visited the premises in Barangay Señora on June 20, upon the instructions of Pineda, who urged all "city and municipal mayors to conduct measures against illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators and similar establishments within the local government unit.".Pineda said on his Facebook page that the leisure resort did not have a building permit from the mayor or clearance from the barangay, yet construction continued. Two people believed to be incorporators of Lucky South 99, identified as Daniel Salcedo Jr. and Chona Alejandro, both Filipinos, were arrested inside the premises.
Lawmakers want PH history subject back in high school
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro called on House leaders to expedite the passage of House Bill 207, which seeks to include Philippine history as a separate subject in high school. Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered incoming Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara to improve the teaching of Philippine history. The three members of the Makabayan bloc filed House Bill 207 on June 30, 2022. According to the bill's explanatory note, Philippine history was removed from the high school curriculum as part of the reforms under the K–12 program. The Makabayan bloc is composed of Castro, Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel. Meanwhile, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles recommended to Angara the inclusion of the West Philippine Sea issue in the Department of Education's (DepEd) history curriculum. The President chose Angara as the next education secretary after Vice President Sara Duterte resigned from the post.
Manila Times runs a special report on 19th century crimes. "The Man in the Shadows is the story of Juan Luna whose genius as a Filipino painter was overshadowed by the killing of his wife and mother-in-law.
Topping Business
August rate cut still on track
MONETARY authorities will likely start lowering key interest rates next month even if inflation resumes rising, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said. Consumer price growth slowed for the first time in five months in June, to 3.7 percent from 3.9 percent in May, and kept the year-to-date average at 3.5 percent — within the central bank's 2.0- to 4.0-percent target. The BSP subsequently said that the inflation outlook had shifted to the downside but warned that food prices, transportation costs, and electricity rates continued to pose risks. The possibility of July inflation exceeding target, Remolona told reporters on Friday, was already factored in the BSP's outlook and would not reduce the chances of a previously-signaled August easing.July inflation data will be issued on August 6. The BSP's policymaking Monetary Board, meanwhile, will hold its next meeting on August 15. Favorable second quarter growth results set for release on August 8 could also all but guarantee a rate cut next month. The June result, Remolona said, "is a cause for reassurance because it seems to be going in the direction we expected."
In Sports
Putintseva stuns Swiatek at Wimbledon
LONDON — World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was dumped out of Wimbledon by Yulia Putintseva on Saturday as Novak Djokovic reached the fourth round for the 16th time. On a cold and wet day at the All England Club, only three of the women's top 10 were left in the draw, while Andy Murray's Wimbledon career ended with a whimper when Emma Raducanu pulled the plug on their mixed doubles plans. Top seed Swiatek, who won a fourth French Open and fifth Grand Slam title last month, was stunned 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the third round by Putintseva, the Russian-born Kazakh. The upset ended Swiatek's 21-match win streak as the diminutive Putintseva booked a clash with the equally fiery Jelena Ostapenko for a quarterfinal place.
22-strong PH delegation set for Paris Games
TWENTY-TWO is the final count of the Philippine athlete delegation for the Paris Olympics which comes off the wraps on July 26. Gilas Pilipinas, the last one to have tried to make the Games, would have made it 23 had it ruled the FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia. The Philippines suffered a 60-71 defeat to Brazil in the semifinal on Saturday as the country could not make the Olympic basketball stage for 52 years now or since the 1972 Munich Games. That German Olympic edition also saw the Philippines send its highest athlete delegation of 53. Still, it is 22-strong for the Philippines for this Paris Games with the country breaching the 20-athlete delegation for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Games where there were 20 Filipinos who competed. The Philippines came close to breaching the 20-athlete mark at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago when there were 19 athletes led by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who delivered the country's first Olympic gold medal. With Diaz unable to qualify for Paris, the country's medal hopes are automatically placed on the shoulders of those returning Olympians.
PVL holds first-ever rookie draft
THE Premier Volleyball League (PVL) first-ever rookie draft will commence on Monday at the Novotel Manila Araneta City. The program will start at 7 p.m. With UAAP star Thea Gagate joining the draft, and as ZUS Coffee won the first draft pick, the Thunderbelles eye to be strategic to secure the big-stretch La Salle stalwart. ZUS (formerly Strong Group Athletics) new head coach Jerry Yee expressed his desire to take Gagate as their No.1 draft pick. Gagate and playmaker Julia Coronel of La Salle bannered the 47 aspirants of the historic PVL Rookie Draft. The competition arises in PVL as Filipino-foreign prospects also hopped on the draft. After the assessments and tests for the 47 hopefuls last June 25 to 26, the established collegiate volleyball players in the country displayed their caliber as Filipino Canadian Aleiah Torres topped the charts. Torres played as a libero in Brock University and showed her speed and endurance during the tests.
Clearing the path for peace in Gaza is today's editorial in the Times. Read the full version on print and digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao writes foreign investments have fallen, calling it a blowback from the government's anti-China policy; Aquino on excommunication and Tatad on Duterte's dynastic challenge.
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