Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Resolve Cha-cha issue, Padilla asks high court
SEN. Robinhood Padilla filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Monday asking it to determine whether the Senate and the House of Representatives should vote jointly or separately on amendments to the Constitution. The question has been a sticking point to previous attempts to amend the Constitution, with senators tending to support separate voting and members of the House joint voting. Padilla further pointed out that he could not perform his functions as chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Reforms "due to the ambiguities" of Sections 1 and 3 of Art. XVII of the Constitution. He invoked the Supreme Court's constitutional power to "settle an existing, actual controversy," which are purely questions of law, "as it ruminates on the proper application and interpretation of Constitutional provisions."
READ: Garcia asks: Why insist on old machines?
COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Monday said those behind the demolition campaign against him have shown their hand because they always insist on using "obsolete and dilapidated" counting machines that came from the poll body's previous technology provider. Garcia said the Comelec has already traced and identified the people behind the manufacture of his 49 offshore bank accounts and six local bank accounts, adding that he is ready to divulge their identities in a proper forum. He also pointed out that he has already proven that the smear campaigns against him were all done through the use of fake documents to make it appear that he was the owner of those bank accounts. Aside from his critics' insistence to use the old counting machines, Garcia also noted that his detractors were demanding his resignation.
READ: PNP chief gives in to senator's 'request'
SEN. Ronald de la Rosa on Monday pressed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to "re-deploy" to Vice President Sara Duterte the Davao policemen who were earlier removed from her security detail. The senator on Monday said Duterte wanted them back because she is "more comfortable" with them, saying they were part of her security escort when she was still Davao mayor. Some of them were reassigned to PNP headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City. But PNP chief Rommel Marbil said 31 of Duterte's "original" police escorts remained with her. Duterte still has 358 security escorts, most of them from the Armed Forces of the Philippines. De la Rosa and Sen. Robinhood Padilla raised the issue at the sidelines of the Senate probe on the alleged excessive force used by the PNP in serving the warrant of arrest against Apollo Quiboloy at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KoJC) compound in Davao City. Marbil said there was "no political pressure" to reduce Duterte's security detail.
READ: Closure of POGOs to have 'very little' impact on GDP
THE closure of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) will have "very little" impact on the country's economic growth, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the banning of POGOs during his State of the Nation Address last July 22. The President wanted the gaming operators to shut down by the end of this year.
READ: Yulo: 'To those who truly believe in me, this one's for them'
CARLOS Yulo emerged as the Philippines' first double gold medalist after ruling the Paris Olympics vault finals on Sunday night, Aug. 4, barely 24 hours after clinching the gold in the floor exercise final. The 24-year-old, who hails from Leveriza in Malate, Manila, said he dedicates his triumph to the people who truly believe in him — and even to those who don't. Yulo's second gold was the icing on the cake for his redemption tour where he rose from the ashes of a frustrating Tokyo Olympics stint where he went home empty-handed. A favorite to win in the floor exercise event following his 2019 World Championships conquest, Yulo could not make the final in Tokyo after a fall during the qualification round. He bounced back in the vault apparatus but could only finish fourth. Yulo, who parted ways with long-time Japanese coach Munehiro Kugimiya, also had to go through a rough World Championships last year that saw him land on his back at the rings and vault apparatus. These athletic struggles have also been compounded by the rift between him and his family that has recently surfaced online. All those challenges have only made Caloy stronger, though.
SPORTS: Villegas eyes final spot in Paris
AIRA Villegas of the Philippines aims to take her Olympic debut to greater heights as she vies for a final spot and secure at least a silver medal finish at the Paris Games. Assured of a bronze medal, Villegas takes on a familiar foe as she locks horns with Turkish Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the semifinal round early Wednesday, August 7 (Manila time). The three-round bout is set at 4:18 a.m. Villegas first met Cakiroglu at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships quarterfinals in Turkey where she lost to the eventual champ, 0-5. Now, Villegas looks to exact revenge on the Turkish boxer just like what she did in the quarterfinals against home bet Wassila Lkhadiri.
BUSINESS: BSP chief: Rates can stay steady
Over to business, monetary authorities can keep key interest rates steady "for the time being," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Monday, with a cut likely should inflation fall further. The central bank chief's remarks contrast with earlier statements indicating that a rate cut could be ordered next Thursday with inflation risks having moderated. Remolona told reporters last week that a 25-basis-point cut could be ordered on August 15, to be followed by another later in the year, despite an expected uptick in July inflation. Data for the month will be issued today, and the BSP — which is targeting 2.0- to 4.0-percent inflation — has forecast a 4.0- to 4.8-percent result.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras tackles on "inflated" grades, while Mercado analyzes the gold medals won by Carlos Yulo at the Olympics.
Today's editorial discusses improving student scores in international assessments. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.