Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Sunday, July 28, 2024.
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READ: Ayungin resupply 'without incident'
THE Philippines said it carried out a rotation and resupply (RoRe) to troops on a South China Sea reef Saturday without "untoward incidents," more than a month after a violent clash with Chinese forces in the area. It said the mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal was the first since Manila and Beijing reached a "provisional arrangement" earlier this month for the delivery of daily necessities and rotation missions for Filipino troops based on the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusty warship grounded atop the reef. The shoal has been a focus of clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to almost the entire South China Sea. A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the latest June 17 confrontation when China Coast Guard (CCG) members wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled a Philippine Navy attempt to resupply its troops.
READ: Blinken hits out at China as Beijing warns Manila again
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken hit out at China's "escalatory and unlawful actions" in the South China Sea on Saturday, hours before he was due to hold talks with Beijing's top diplomat at a regional meeting in Laos. Blinken is in the capital Vientiane for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers meeting, part of an Asian tour aimed at reinforcing regional ties in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing. His statement comes as China once again warned the Philippines that it would "respond resolutely" to any violation by the Philippines of a recent deal to calm tensions between the two countries in the South China Sea, its top diplomat told his Filipino counterpart, Beijing said Saturday. Manila is locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes annually. Last week, the two sides agreed to a "provisional arrangement" for resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal), which has been the focus of violent clashes in recent months. On Saturday, Manila said it had successfully resupplied troops on the Second Thomas Shoal without any incident. In response, Blinken said the US was "pleased to take note of the successful resupply today" and "applaud that and hope and expect to see that it continues going forward."
READ: Marcos creates Bataan oil spill task force
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday created an interagency task force to clean up the oil spill from the sunken MT Terra Nova off the coast of Limay, Bataan. The incident happened 3.6 nautical miles east of Lamao Point in Limay town at around 1:10 a.m. on Thursday, a day after floods triggered by a typhoon-enhanced southwest monsoon submerged most of Luzon. Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the oil spill could affect the waters of Bulacan, Cavite, and Pampanga.
READ: Flood fatalities reach 16
THE death toll from the floodings triggered by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) has climbed to 16, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Saturday. The NDRRMC said six of the fatalities have yet to be validated, while five were from Calabarzon and four from Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula). It added that nearly a million families, or 3,360,339 persons, were affected by the combined effects of torrential monsoon rains, Typhoon Butchoy and Typhoon Carina. Government data said 251,166 persons, or 64,520 families, stayed in evacuation centers, while 886,311 individuals, or 212,751 families, were housed in temporary shelters.
READ: PH athletes in high spirits at Paris Games' opening
LIKE the atmosphere around them, some of the 22 Filipino athletes, as well as sports officials, showed up in high spirits during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony early Saturday (Manila time). In a historic boat parade down the River Seine, Olympic silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio proudly waved the giant Philippine flag as they were welcomed by spectators on the banks. Joining Paalam and Petecio were fencer Samantha Catantan, boxers Hergie Bacyadan and Aira Villegas, swimmers Kayla Sanchez and Jarod Hatch, as well as gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Ruivivar, and hurdlers John Cabang and Lauren Hoffman. They were all smiles; some jumped up and down, waving the Philippine flaglets. Philippine de chef de mission Jonvic Remulla, Association of the Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) Secretary General Marcus Manalo, Philippine rowing President Patrick Gregorio, and Philippine athletics chief Agapito Capistrano were also on the boat, together with the athletes from Poland and Puerto Rico. Rower Joanie Delgaco and gymnast Carlos Yulo were not on the parade as they were set to hit the ground running for the Philippines' 100th-year participation in the Games.
SPORTS: Filipina gymnasts take center stage in Paris
FILIPINO female gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Ruivivar take center stage in the second day of competition of the Paris Olympics on Sunday. The Pinay trio is in subdivision 3 of the women's artistic gymnastics all-around qualification which takes place at the Bercy Arena, the same venue where Carlos Yulo competed on Saturday in the men's side. Subdivision 3 starts at 8:50 p.m. on Sunday (Manila time). The 21-year-old Finnegan, the 22-year-old Malabuyo and the youngest in the Philippine delegation in 18-year-old Ruivivar, each of them being half American, need to finish in the top 24 of the 95-player field divided into five subdivisions to reach the all-around final. Per apparatus, the Filipino gymnasts need to make the top eight to proceed to the medal round. The all-around final is set on August 2 while the apparatus championship rounds are split into August 3, 4 and 5. Before Finnegan, Malabuyo and Ruivivar perform in the evening, Filipino fencers Samantha Catantan and Maxine Esteban compete first in the women's fencing individual foil at the Grand Palais in the afternoon.
BUSINESS: Mining industry eyes uniform tax treatment
Over to business, the Philippine mining industry is calling for significant reforms in tax policy and regulatory processes to revitalize the sector and attract foreign investments. During an industry luncheon on Friday, Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) President Dante Bravo highlighted the need for a uniform tax treatment for mining companies. He said that the current 2-percent tax rate imposed by local government units is burdensome for mining companies.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, as he analyzes the stakes of the upcoming elections in the United States.
Today's editorial says an agreement between the Philippine and Chinese governments on resupply missions was just short-lived. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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