Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, August 23, 2024.

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READ: 'Duterte ordered killings'

TWO inmates who testified before a House panel on Thursday said they killed three Chinese drug convicts in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016 on the orders of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Fernando Magdadaro and Leopoldo Tan Jr. said that police officers had asked them to kill the three Chinese drug convicts who were also detained in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in exchange for 1 million pesos and their freedom. Tan said he was told the killings had the blessing from the top.

READ: Guo's sister, business partner sent back to Manila

TWO companions who traveled with dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Leal Guo — her sister and her business partner — arrived back in Manila after they were arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia and repatriated by the authorities there. Guo's sister, Sheila, 40, and her business partner Cassandra Li Ong, 24, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 Thursday afternoon, escorted by Bureau of Immigration officers. National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago said the two passengers were to be transferred to the NBI office in Manila for the filing of criminal charges. Sheila Guo and Ong arrived on Flight PR540 with 183 passengers on board. Sheila was put in a wheelchair after she fell at the Immigration area. Both are being sought by the House and Senate. Sheila is facing allegations of helping her sister escape, while Ong was one of the incorporators of Lucky South 99, the illegal online gambling operation in the former mayor's town. Security was tight as the two women were whisked out of the Terminal 1 building and later brought to a waiting van. Earlier on Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines was working with the Indonesian government for the immediate return of the two companions of the dismissed mayor. Alice Guo, her siblings Sheila and Wesley, and their parents have a standing arrest order issued by the Senate for their refusal to appear before the ongoing investigation into the operations of the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the POGO hub in Bamban, which was raided by authorities in March.

READ: Oil siphoning to take 14 days

A BOOSTER pump has improved the efficiency of the siphoning of some 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel from the MT Terranova, which sank off Lamao Point, Limay, Bataan on July 25. The company contracted to conduct the salvaging operation, Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc., said they plan to siphon out 200,000 liters of oil-seawater mixture daily from the ship, and finish the process in 14 days. BRP Sindangan, a Parola-class patrol vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), meanwhile, conducted drone aerial surveillance to monitor activities at ground zero.

READ: 'Use technology to beat learning crisis'

STUDENTS were urged to use technology to the fullest in recognition that there is an ongoing learning crisis, speakers of The Manila Times' Student Empowerment Forum said Thursday. During the forum at the Manila Prince Hotel, physical therapist and educational content creator Lyien Patricia Pascual said there should be ways for students to be motivated to consume the right information on social media. She said educators are also concerned about the use of technology — especially artificial intelligence — by students.

READ: Sara denies plagiarizing children's storybook

VICE President Sara Duterte has lashed out at critics who claim that her children's book, "Isang Kaibigan (A friend)," was plagiarized from the work of an American author. Social media users, which also include some prominent authors, allege that Duterte's story was copied from the graphic novel "Owly: Just a Little Blue" by Andy Runton. Social media users, which also include some prominent authors, allege that Duterte's story was copied from the graphic novel "Owly: Just a Little Blue" by Andy Runton. In a statement on Wednesday, Duterte said it is easy to write a story based on personal experience, and there is no need to copy from other books.

BUSINESS: Nomura sees inflation slowing to 2% in Q4

Over to business, consumer price growth is expected to slow down in the fourth quarter of this year, potentially leading to more rate cuts, Nomura said in a report. The Japanese investment bank expects headline inflation in the Philippines to fall below 2.0 percent by the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching the lower end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2- to 4-percent target.

SPORTS: Obiena finishes 3rd in Switzerland

JUST weeks after finishing fourth in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Filipino pole vaulter Ernest John "EJ" Obiena returned to the podium at the Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland on Wednesday. Clearing the height of 5.82 meters which was lower than the 5.90 meters he made in Paris, Obiena placed third in Lausanne alongside fellow Olympians Sondre Guttormsen of Norway and Kurtis Marschall of Australia. Obiena skipped the heights of 5.35 and 5.52 meters before clearing 5.62 meters in his first attempt. After making the 5.82-meter bar, Obiena failed in all three attempts at 5.92 meters to share the bronze medal with Guttormsen and Marschall. Two-time Olympic champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden dominated the event after clearing the height of 6.15 meters.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao thinks President Marcos is going to lose the Escoda Shoal, while Tatad looks at what's next after the church and former military men rang alarm bells over the thoughts of the Duterte family being in the Senate.

Today's editorial believes the agreement to take in Afghan refugees must be transparent. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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