Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, September 28, 2024.
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READ: Garma linked to PCSO exec's slay
A POLICE officer on Friday told a House of Representatives inquiry that former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma ordered the assassination of a PCSO board secretary. Testifying during a hearing of the quad committee, Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza of the Police Drug Enforcement Group said Garma masterminded the killing of PCSO Board Secretary Wesley Barayuga, a former police general, on orders of Col. Edilberto Leonardo. Garma had also been implicated by other resource persons as having relayed instructions to execute three Chinese drug lords being held in the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016. Reading from his affidavit, Mendoza said Leonardo contacted him for a "special project" involving the "elimination" of Barayuga, whom police had linked to illegal drug activities. Mendoza said he at first refused to be part of the plan but was pressured into agreeing after being told the order had come from Garma, a former police official.
READ: Groups ask SC: Stop PhilHealth fund transfer
LEADERS of labor groups and trade unions on Friday filed a motion before the Supreme Court to stop the transfer of 89.9 billion pesos from the reserve fund of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury. In a statement, the groups, led by the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, said the transfer is an "act of negative social justice that would adversely affect the nation's health care system and its beneficiaries, particularly those who have less in life." They said the transfer is "unconstitutional and detrimental to the expansion and improvement of PhilHealth's basic health benefits and services." The motion came after Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III petitioned the court to order a halt to the transfer.
READ: PH to showcase 700 books in Frankfurt Book Fair
IN the run-up to its role as Guest of Honor at the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM, Frankfurt Book Fair) in Germany, the Philippines will present a large array of books from several publishers and authors in this year's edition of the annual book fair. Organizers for the Philippine delegation in this year's FBM, to be held in October, said 700 books from 70 publishers, authors and creatives, which include genres such as graphic novel, children, new adult and education, will showcase the country's vibrant history, culture and heritage — the basis of its literary depth and richness.
READ: Sierra Madre resupply mission successful – AFP
THE military said it was able to deliver on Thursday provisions to the Philippine soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal despite the presence of several Chinese vessels in the disputed waters. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), with support from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), "delivered essential supplies and provisions to the personnel" aboard the beached Sierra Madre and "facilitated troop rotation," AFP Public Affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Friday. In a video provided by the AFP public affairs, a civilian boat, the MV Lapu-Lapu, was seen approaching the Sierra Madre. AFP spokesman Col. Francel Magareth Padilla said there were eight Chinese vessels "in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal during our execution of the mission," but they "posed no threat to our mission." Recently, the PCG's biggest vessel, the Teresa Magbanua, returned to its homeport in Palawan after a five-month tour of duty in Escoda Shoal, another flashpoint in the continuing maritime row between Manila and Beijing.
BUSINESS: Businesses still upbeat; consumers less gloomy
Over to business, consumer confidence became less negative while business sentiment was steady in the third quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported on Friday. Businesses were more confident with regard to the last three months of 2024 and the next 12 months, while consumers turned optimistic for October-December but were less confident for the year ahead. The overall consumer confidence index (CI) for the current quarter improved to -15.6 percent, from -20.5 percent three months earlier, while that for businesses was little changed at 32.9 percent from 32.1 percent previously. A positive result means that optimists outnumber pessimists. The reverse applies with regard to negative CIs. The less pessimistic consumer confidence for the third quarter was said to have stemmed from expectations of higher income from wages, remittances and other sources; increased opportunities for additional income; permanent employment; more job availability; and the more working family members.
SPORTS: Bacyadan gears up for Asian Kickboxing Championship
In sports, Paris Olympian boxer Hergie Bacyadan continues to explore her fighting skills as she prepares for the Asian Kickboxing Championship slated in Cambodia next month. The Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas (SKP) announced in its official social media account that Bacyadan will be part of the national team to see action in the tournament from October 6 to 14. The SKP also posted photographs of Bacyadan training with other national athletes at the Baguio City Teachers Camp as they enter the final phase of their preparation for the Asian event. Also seen in the training camp are bemedalled combat sports athletes Jean Claude Saclag, Whinny Bayawon and Carlo Von Bumina-ang. SKP said that Bacyadan will qualify for the 2025 World Games in China if she wins a gold medal in the Asian Kickboxing Championship.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras says it is time to take another look at free public tertiary education, Makabenta calls on Malaysia to also confront China's bullying tactics, while Remoto takes a look at the Senate hopefuls under the current administration.
Today's editorial talks about the amendments made by Congress to the Rice Tariffication Law. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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