Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, August 2, 2024.
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READ: Cabinet revamp: more exits seen
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is cracking his whip on "nonperforming" agencies and a revamp that may see the exit of at least two more Cabinet members. Malacañang announced on Wednesday the resignation of Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who said he wanted to return to the private sector. Sources told The Manila Times the President is reportedly considering National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan to replace Pascual, a move that would pave the way for a wider Cabinet reshuffle. Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, meanwhile, is being considered for both the NEDA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the sources added.
READ: 2 provinces claim mountain village of Malico
SITTING 1,675 meters above sea level, the mountain village of Malico is so cool that it's generating a lot of heat between two provinces that claim jurisdiction over it. Officially, Malico is part of San Nicolas town in Pangasinan, which Gov. Ramon Guico III says has historically been part of his province. In fact, the provincial government recently allocated 200 million pesos for the development of a summer capital for tourists. The plan, however, drew fire from Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Jose Gambito, who told The Manila Times that Guico's announcement to allocate funds for various projects in Malico was "an attempt by the provincial government of Pangasinan to assert control over our very own Malico village." Gambito accused Pangasinan of squatting on Nueva Vizcaya, adding that Malico rightfully belonged to Nueva Vizcaya, as evidenced by the Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative, which is the sole source of electricity in Malico. Gambito also challenged Guico to learn to speak the language of the Kalanguya tribe in Malico before claiming the village. But Guico would have none of it.
READ: PTMP to continue, govt says
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime Bautista on Thursday told Senate President Francis Escudero that suspending the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) would hurt commuters who already benefit from it and damage the government's relationship with drivers and operators who have already agreed to modernize. Meanwhile, in the face of a resolution signed by 22 senators seeking the program's suspension, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said modernization would continue as long as there is no order from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. or the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to halt it. In a letter to Escudero dated July 29, Bautista said the government already invested some 7.5 billion pesos to implement the program from 2018 to 2024, which would go to waste if it follows a Senate recommendation to suspend the PTMP. The secretary acknowledged that there are challenges, but said the results have been very good, and the issues are being addressed. He also said in his letter that public utility vehicle operators are not obliged to buy a modern jeepney immediately, but can do so gradually in three to four years after the consolidation deadline.
READ: Oil being removed from grounded ship
THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday began scooping oil from a ship that ran aground off Mariveles town in Bataan on Wednesday. The oil recovered from the MV Mirola 1 will be taken to a waste disposal facility, the PCG said. The PCG also flew a drone to survey the shoreline near where the Mirola 1 ran aground. It also noted minimal oil sheens and a light smell of diesel oil in the area around the vessel. A PCG team collected water samples for analysis. The Mirola 1 has two tankers filled with diesel oil. It is the third vessel to run into trouble in the waters of Bataan, where MT Terra Nova and MKTR Jason Bradley sank in the past week. The motor tanker that will drain the oil from the Jason Bradley arrived but the siphoning will start at night time, according to Lieutenant Commander Michael John Encina, PCG Central Luzon spokesman. The PCG also said the valves of the Terra Nova need to be reinforced before the contracted salvor Harbor Star Shipping could safely siphon out the fuel cargo. Earlier, divers of Harbor Star were able to seal the 24 valves.
BUSINESS: Remolona: BSP on track to start cutting in August
Over to business, monetary authorities will still likely start cutting key interest in August, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Thursday, as inflation is expected to have peaked in July. The central bank a day earlier said that consumer price growth could have hit 4.0-4.8 percent last month, possibly breaching the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target. The rise from 3.7 percent in June would have been driven by higher fuel, power and food prices, and the BSP said it would "continue to monitor developments affecting the outlook for inflation and growth in line with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy formulation."
SPORTS: No podium finish for Yulo in all-around event
FROM the bottom of the standings at the start of the men's artistic gymnastics all-around finals, Carlos Yulo of the Philippines climbed 12 places up to finish at 12th place overall early Friday morning (Manila time) at the Paris Olympics. There was no podium finish for the Filipino gymnast but Yulo fulfilled his promise to have a better and stronger showing compared to his previous Olympic stint in Tokyo. The 24-year-old Yulo garnered 83.032 points in the all-around despite a fall from the pommel horse at the start of the competition at the Bercy Arena in Paris.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Van Ybiernas are today's front page columnists. Tiglao looks into a US military aid pledge, while Ybiernas assesses the recent floods across Metro Manila.
Today's editorial discusses averting a full-blown war in the Middle East. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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