Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, August 1, 2024.
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BANNER: Pascual quits as DTI chief
TRADE Secretary Alfredo Pascual stepped down as the head of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after two years of service in the Cabinet of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Pascual met with the President at Malacañang to hand in his resignation. He said his role as the DTI chief "has been one of the most challenging yet fulfilling experiences" of his career. Before his appointment to the DTI in June 2022, Pascual was president of the Management Association of the Philippines and president and co-chairman of the University of the Philippines System from 2011 to 2017. He also had experience as an international development banker and management educator. Marcos recognized Pascual's contributions during his tenure as the DTI chief, particularly his efforts to develop micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Senators want to suspend PUV modernization
AT least 18 of the 23 senators are pushing to suspend the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), formerly called the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). The call came after the July 23 hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services, which concluded that the program was implemented without proper planning and that it was rushed. Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the committee, and 17 other senators introduced Senate Resolution (SR) 1096 on Tuesday, July 30, to suspend the implementation of PTMP.
Rating tools for green buildings pushed
COMPLIANCE with standards on sustainability and building green spaces is essential and should no longer be an option that can be set aside, the Philippine Green Building Council (PGBC) said Wednesday. During The Manila Times' 2024 Real Estate and Construction forum, PGBC Board Vice Chairman Rowena Canlas Ramos said the council is reinforcing the property and building industries through the Philippines Green Building Certification Program with three rating tools. The first tool is Berde, which stands for "Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence." This rating is meant to assess, measure, monitor and certify the performance of green building projects beyond existing national and local building and environmental laws, regulations and mandatory standards. Acquisition of a Berde certification displays the company's dedication to performance. It is also recognized by the national government and the Department of Energy. Ramos said the council is continuously improving Berde based on the current best practices and technologies, changes in regulatory requirements, improvements in industry standards, and experience and insights gained from using Berde in green building projects. Berde's framework addresses the environmental, social and economic aspects of both buildings and the district. Ramos said the new version of Berde buildings will be launched in September. Berde consists of a five-star rating system, a one-star rating being the minimum and a five-star rating being "world-class."
Trillanes files drug case vs Duterte's son
FORMER senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday filed a drug smuggling case against Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, son of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte. Duterte expressed confidence that he would be cleared of the drug smuggling accusation against him. In a post on X, Trillanes said that apart from Duterte and Carpio, Charlie Tan, Nicanor Faeldon and "Tita Nanie" Cabatu-Coronacion were named in the suit linking them to a shipment of 602 kilos of crystal methamphetamine or shabu, worth over 6 billion pesos, seized in 2017.
House orders arrest of Michael Yang
In a related development, the House of Representatives has formally ordered the arrest and detention of Michael Yang, former economic adviser of former president Rodrigo Duterte. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco signed the Committee on Dangerous Drugs' contempt order. The committee, which ordered Yang's 30-day detention at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, cited him for contempt after he failed to show up at panel hearings despite several invitations for him to testify as a resource person. However, Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said Yang has left the Philippines.
Niño Muhlach, partner rage vs son's abuse
ACTOR Niño Muhlach and his long-time partner, Diane Abby Tupaz, posted furious messages on their Facebook accounts Wednesday accusing "shameless people possessed by demons" of sexually abusing one of their children. In her message, Tupaz said they would stop at nothing to achieve justice and teach the alleged abusers a lesson.
Petecio makes rousing start; Marcial booted out
FILIPINO boxer Nesthy Petecio got off to a rousing start, while swimmer Kayla Sanchez posted a new national record at the Paris Olympics. Petecio outclassed Indian Jaismine Lamboria in the women's 57 kg round of 32 to win via unanimous decision at the North Paris Arena Wednesday midnight, July 31 (Manila time). A silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Petecio earned the scores of three 30-27s and two 29-28s. Ten years older and 6 inches shorter, the 32-year-old, 5-foot-2 Petecio easily offset Lamboria's youth and height advantages with her speed and experience. Petecio, the first female boxer from the Philippines to win a medal at the Olympics, battered Lamboria at will to enter the round of 16, where she will face France's Amina Zidani on August 3 at 2 a.m. in Manila. On the other hand, Eumir Marcial made a shock quick exit as he suffered a unanimous decision upset loss against Uzbek Turabek Khabibullaev in the men's 80 kg round of 16 also early Wednesday. A Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist, the 28-year-old Marcial got outpunched by the 20-year-old Olympic debutant Khabibullaev, who earned four 29-28 and one 30-27 scorecards. Meanwhile, Sanchez established a new Philippine record during the women's 100 m freestyle heats at the Paris La Defense Arena on Tuesday evening.
SPORTS: Villegas eyes QF berth in Paris Games
FILIPINO boxer Aira Villegas seeks a quarterfinals berth as she faces Algerian Roumaysa Boualam at the Paris Olympics women's 50-kilogram (kg) round of 16 at the North Paris Arena early Friday (Manila time). Villegas, who turned 29 years old on Thursday, locks horns with Boualam at 2:16 a.m. What better way for Villegas to celebrate her birthday than to give herself another win against fellow 29-year-old Boulam after a stellar showing in her Olympic debut on July 29. Villegas outgunned Moroccan Yasmine Mouttaki for a unanimous decision round of 32 win, which kick-started the five-athlete Philippine boxing team campaign in Paris. The second seed Boulam, on the other hand, earned a bye in the round of 32.
BUSINESS: BSP: Inflation likely rose to 4-4.8% in July
Over to business, power, fuel and food price hikes likely drove inflation to the upper end of the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target or even higher in July, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday. Consumer price growth, which has stayed within target since December last year, was estimated to have hit 4.0- to 4.8-percent from 3.7 percent in June. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is scheduled to release inflation data for the month on August 6.
Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras says the scrapping of the mother tongue teaching is ill-advised, while Makabenta looks into the latest issues on the West Philippine Sea.
Today's editorial looks into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development coming into the Southeast Asian region. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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