Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, July 11, 2024.
Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
BANNER: Marcos to Quiboloy: Come out from hiding
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday dared Apollo Quiboloy to show up and face the accusations hurled against him, calling him a "fugitive" who is hiding from the law. The President issued the statement after Quiboloy's camp questioned the motives of the private individuals who offered a 10 million peso bounty for his arrest.
President wants to keep his 3rd SONA brief
Meanwhile, Marcos said he was having a hard time figuring out how to fit everything he wanted to convey during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22 in just one hour. In a media interview on the sidelines of the official impounding process ceremony of the Upper Wawa Dam in Montalban, Rizal, the Chief Executive said he would detail how the government is performing when it comes to further ramping up the economy, addressing criminality, eliminating illegal drugs, and responding to other threats facing the country.
Marcos to Wawa Dam operators: Prioritize watershed protection
The President called on the operators of the Upper Wawa Dam to continue collaborating with the government in prioritizing watershed protection and reforestation. In his speech during the impounding process ceremony at the Upper Wawa Dam, the President also called on the stakeholders to pay attention to the biodiversity preservation of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. The President said the Upper Wawa Dam will be the biggest water source to be built in the country in over 50 years, next to the Angat Dam. He said that the water supply from the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project will increase from 80 million to 438 million liters per day once Phase 2 of the Project or the Upper Wawa Dam starts its operations at the end of 2025, which could increase to 710 million liters per day in the following years. These 438 to 710 million liters per day translate to supporting the water supply needs of about 2.2 to 3.5 million Filipinos in the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System service area, Marcos said. The project will also help mitigate the perennial flooding problem in downstream areas and localities of the Marikina River. The construction of the 85-meter-high and 438.5-meter-long roller-compacted concrete Upper Wawa Dam is a major component of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project Phase 2. Marcos said the Upper Wawa Dam will foster climate resilience among Filipinos by protecting communities downstream from flooding and by mitigating the detrimental effects of drought.
Court tells OP to address rice tariff petition
In other news, THE Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Office of the President, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Tariff Commission to comment on a petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by farmers' groups against Executive Order 62 that lowered the tariff on imported rice and other products. The petition was filed on July 4 by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura Inc. (Sinag), Federation of Free Farmers Inc., United Broiler Raisers Association Inc., Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative, and Magsasaka Party-list. Named respondents in the petition were President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Tariff Commission Chairman Marilou Mendoza. The petition called on the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a status quo ante order to restrain the effectivity and implementation of EO 62 and declare it null and void for being unconstitutional.
San Juan mayor says only way to go is up
FOR San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, the only way for his city to go is up. In an exclusive interview with The Manila Times, Zamora said that as his city develops rapidly, he is looking to expand business and residential areas vertically. At the moment, he said, they are expecting to complete a 22-story residential building that will be finished by 2025. Some 500 families stand to benefit from it, as each floor area consists of 28 square meters. Each unit is payable in 25 to 30 years. He added that they had coordinated with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development. San Juan is the smallest city in the Philippines, with a total area of just 595 hectares. It is bounded by Quezon City in the north and east, Mandaluyong in the south, and the City of Manila in the west.
BUSINESS: Trade gap narrows in May
Topping business, the country's trade deficit narrowed in May from a month earlier as slightly higher exports outweighed a dip in imports, preliminary data from Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Wednesday. At $4.6 billion, the shortfall was smaller than the $4.73 billion posted in April but rose from the year-earlier $4.4 billion. Total trade in goods fell to $17.26 billion for the month from April's $17.3 billion and the $17.46 billion recorded in May 2023. Imports hit $10.929 billion, down from $11 billion in April and the year-earlier $10.932 billion, while the $6.33 billion in exports rose from $6.29 billion a month earlier but were lower than May 2023's $6.53 billion. Imports accounted for 63.3 percent of total external trade in May with the rest taken up by outbound shipments. Year to date, exports grew to $30.84 billion from $28.61 billion in the comparable 2023 period. Imports, on the other hand, were lower at $51.42 billion for the January-May period compared to $52.29 billion a year earlier.
SPORTS: Palaro gets under way in Cebu
Over to sports, the first medals of the 64th Palarong Pambansa are set to be disputed at the athletics and swimming events at the Cebu Sports Center on Thursday. Athletics take center stage in the morning with action kicking off at 6 a.m., as the best secondary girls student-athletes of the nation race against each other in the 3,000-meter (m) event, marking the start of competition proper at the venue's track oval. Simultaneously happening is the long jump event of the elementary boys division as well as the discus throw elementary girls championship rounds. Last year, Western Visayas (Region 6) dominated athletics with a total of 24 gold medals which is practically 40 percent of their chips (60). Western Visayas is banking on this discipline anew to boost its bid in eclipsing its second overall finish in last year's Palaro behind champ National Capital Region which harvested 85 golds. Medals are also at stake at the boys secondary long jump final as well as the girls secondary discus throw championship round at 7 a.m.
Antonio Contreras and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras sees patriotism and not Sinophobia over recent surveys that distrusted China, while Remoto looks into the "beautiful boy drought".
Today's editorial discusses the grappling with government revenues. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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