Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, September 13, 2024.
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READ: P1.3B taken out of OVP's budget
A HOUSE panel on Thursday slashed nearly 1.3 billion pesos off the budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), or 63 percent of its original budget request of 2.037 billion pesos. The move follows Vice President Sara Duterte's refusal to face the House Committee on Appropriations again to answer questions about her budget, after she accused lawmakers of using the hearings to attack her. The Manila Times tried to reach the OVP for comment but the office has yet to issue a statement. Earlier, however, Duterte had stated that the OVP has "deferred entirely to the discretion and judgment of the committee regarding its budget proposal for 2025." House Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chairman and Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said the executive committee of the panel approved the removal of 1.293 billion pesos from the OVP budget, made up of 947 million pesos for financial assistance and 48.3 million pesos for rent and lease expenses.
READ: Marcos to skip UN meet
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is skipping this year's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York due "to pressing domestic concerns," Malacañang said Thursday. Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo would instead lead the Philippine delegation to the UNGA on Marcos' behalf. The Philippines is one of the original 51 charter members that created the United Nations in 1945. This is not the first time Marcos skipped the assembly. He also did not attend the 78th session of the UNGA last year and was represented by Manalo. The President only attended the UNGA in 2022, his first time returning to New York in 25 years. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, in a separate statement, said that the President would skip the UNGA as he "was limiting his trips up to the end of the year." Reports said that the Philippines was among the 20 countries that plan to talk with China in the upcoming summit at the sidelines of UNGA in New York City on September 22.
READ: TMT honors exemplary LGUs
A TOTAL of 26 cities and 12 municipalities will be competing for The Manila Times (TMT) Philippine Model Cities and Municipalities 2024 Awards, co-presented by Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A) Grant Thornton and Megaworld Corp. The awards and forum will be held at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria on September 19, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with the theme "Reinventing, reinvigorating urban living." As the co-presenter of this year's TMT Philippine Model Cities and Municipalities, P&A Grant Thornton, represented by Vice Chairman and Deputy Managing Partner Olivier Aznar, signed a memorandum of agreement with TMT, represented by President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Blanca Calilung-Mercado.
READ: House panel cites Roque in contempt
THE House of Representatives' quad committee on Thursday cited lawyer Harry Roque in contempt for refusing to submit the documents it required of him. The panel decided to detain Roque until he submits the documents or until it ends its hearings on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). The committee ruled to hold him in the House's detention facility. The panel issued a subpoena for the deed of sale of a lot, Roque's income tax return, 2016-2022 SALNs (statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth), and a trust agreement.
BUSINESS: Slowing inflation seen improving jobs outlook
Headlining business, unemployment may have risen but slowing inflation could lead to improvements in the labor market, GlobalSource Partners analysts Diwa Guinigundo and Wilhelmina Manalac said in a commentary released earlier this week. The country's jobless rate worsened to 4.7 percent in July from 3.1 percent a month earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last week, with an estimated 2.38 million Filipinos said to be without work. Inflation, meanwhile, was at 4.4 percent in July and eased to 3.3 percent in August.
SPORTS: Ginebra aims to get even with Rain or Shine
Over to sports, Barangay Ginebra clashes with Rain or Shine, hoping to get some measure of revenge against the team that beat the Gin Kings in their first encounter as action in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup heats up on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The Gin Kings (4-2) and the Elasto Painters (5-1) take on each other at 7:30 p.m. The first game, meanwhile, features San Miguel Beer (4-2) and winless Phoenix (0-6) at 5 p.m. The Gin Kings of coach Tim Cone has won their last three games and will be looking to extend its streak when they face Rain or Shine, which beat Ginebra, 73-64, in the season's first out-of-town game in Candon City in Ilocos Sur. Cone knows the team is in for a tight stretch this week, having to play three tough squads. One thing going well for Ginebra is the Gin Kings have already hurdled the first road block in its "revenge tour", a 112-98 triumph over Blackwater, in a successful payback win against the same team that beat them in the first round. Now, Ginebra will be eyeing another victory against a Rain or Shine quintet that handled the league's most popular squad very well in their first meeting.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao analyzes the recent US presidential debates, while Tatad looks into the election map in the House of Representatives.
Today's editorial calls plastics an environmental menace. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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