Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
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READ: Maintain presence in Escoda – Marcos
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the military to maintain a presence in the disputed Escoda (Sabina) Shoal following the pullout of the BRP Teresa Magbanua, the National Maritime Council (NMC) said Monday. BRP Teresa Magbanua has been stationed in the area, 75 nautical miles or around 140 kilometers off Palawan, since April amid reports of China's expansive reclamation activities there. On August 31, a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel rammed into the PCG ship, causing significant damage. The Teresa Magbanua was abruptly called back to Palawan, with Manila citing damage from an earlier clash with Chinese ships, ailing crew members, dwindling food and bad weather.
READ: File 'the right petition' before the UN, ex-envoy says
RETIRED ambassador Hermenegildo Cruz on Monday pushed for the filing of a petition before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for access to resources in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Cruz, who had served as ambassador to Chile, Bolivia, the Soviet Union and the UN, spoke with The Manila Times in a "TMT Newsroom" interview on Monday. He forecasted that the Philippines could get a 13-2 vote in the UNSC with a negative vote from China and Russia or a 13-1-1 with Russia abstaining.
READ: PH records 18 new mpox cases
EIGHTEEN new mpox cases were recorded throughout the country as of August 18, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa reported on Monday. Five of the cases have recovered, while 13 are in home isolation. Herbosa said three of the new cases are in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Metro Manila. So far, 27 mpox cases have been recorded since July 2022, 13 of which are active.
READ: Better weather equipment eyed
SEN. Juan Miguel Zubiri has pressed for better weather forecasting technology to enhance disaster preparedness and management as the Philippines again topped the 2024 World Risk Report. The senator urged the government to prioritize the upgrading of the equipment of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) to obtain more accurate weather forecasts. The chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee K tackled the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST). He sought additional resources for Pag-asa to address its shortcomings.
BUSINESS: OFW remittances hit year high
Topping business, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances rose to their highest so far for the year in July, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday. At $3.43 billion, the personal remittances were 3.2 percent up from the year-earlier $3.32 billion and were also 6.85 percent more than the $3.21 billion posted in June. The result, also the highest since December 2023's $3.63 billion, brought year-to-date remittances to $21.53 billion — 3.0 percent more compared to the $20.91 billion recorded a year earlier
SPORTS: PH stuns Slovenia in Chess Olympiad
In sports, grandmaster Julio Catalino Sadorra pulled off possibly the biggest victory of his life after slaying super GM Vladimir Fedoseev in willing the Philippines to a shock 2.5-1.5 win over 26th seed Slovenia and straight into the top 10 after five rounds of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad at the Bok Sports Hall in Budapest, Hungary. The 38-year-old Sadorra fought his way out of a cramped position and pounced on Fedoseev's costly blunders that allowed the Texas-based Filipino to eke out a 53-move win of a Queen's Gambit Declined and lift the country, seeded 51st out of 197, to the stunning win over the 26th ranked Slovenians. It catapulted the Filipinos, whose trip is bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission through chairman Richard Bachmann and Ed Hayco, straight into the 22-country logjam at No. 7 with eight match points apiece. It was an impressive triumph for Sadorra, whose kingside sacrificial attack left a trail of devastation on Fedoseev, a 29-year-old Russian émigré who was forced to give up her queen to fend off a smashing the former's furious mating threat.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras looks into the citations of contempt at the House of Representatives, Makabenta tells the government to suspend its war on drugs until the House quad hearings are over, and Mercado talks about a serious challenge to democracy.
Today's editorial calls for more investments to improve the country's Program for International Student Assessment rank. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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