Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, October 4, 2024.
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READ: Partner in poll IT provider pulls out
WITH only 221 days until the 2025 midterm elections, a partner of the country's IT service provider Miru Systems has pulled out of the joint venture, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia announced Thursday. In a press conference following the third day of filing of certificates of candidacy, Garcia said St. Timothy Construction Corp., which was supposed to provide financing to the joint venture, withdrew from their partnership with Miru.
READ: 'Honey' bitter over Isko 'betrayal'
MANILA Mayor Honey Lacuna said it is not only her but all Manileños who felt betrayed by former mayor Francisco Domagoso's sudden decision to run again as the city's chief executive, despite his earlier assurances that he would retire from politics. Lacuna, who filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) on Thursday seeking a second term, said Domagoso previously gave his assurance that he would retire from politics after losing his bid for the presidency.
READ: Graft court set to rule on Enrile plunder case
THE Sandiganbayan's Third Division is set to hand down its ruling in the plunder case filed in 2014 against former senator Juan Ponce Enrile and other individuals. The promulgation of the decision, which will be read in court, was posted in the court's calendar and was scheduled for Friday morning. Enrile's co-accused include lawyer Jessica Lucila or Gigi Reyes and Janet Lim Napoles.
READ: Duterte allies seek reelection to Senate
ALLIES of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Sens. Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go on Thursday filed their certificates of candidacy (CoCs) for reelection in the 2025 elections. Dela Rosa and Go were also joined by actor Phillip Salvador, who filed his own CoC. Sen. Robinhood Padilla was also present. Speaking to reporters, dela Rosa said he will continue the fight against illegal drugs.
READ: Vilma seeks reelection as governor
Former Batangas governor Vilma Santos-Recto filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) Tuesday, seeking the gubernatorial post she has already occupied three times since 2007. She filed her CoC at the Commission on Elections office at the Batangas Provincial Capitol with her sons Lucky Manzano, who is running for vice governor, and Ryan Recto, who is seeking a congressional seat in the 6th District, the same position occupied by his father, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who accompanied them to the filing. Santos-Recto, a multi-awarded actress before she entered politics, is affectionately known as the "Star for All Seasons."
BUSINESS: AMRO affirms PH growth outlook
Topping business, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) is maintaining its forecasts for Philippine growth, saying that this would be buoyed by investments and services exports, even as it trimmed the outlook for the region. The country is still expected to grow by 6.1 percent this year and 6.3 percent in 2025 — projections that were previously released in July and reiterated in September following an annual consultation visit.
SPORTS: PH memory sports team wins 14 golds
Over to sports, the E Philippine memory sports team brought home 14 gold medals after an impressive performance in the Asia Open Memory Championship held in Singapore on Sept. 28 to 29, 2024. Overall, the six young memory athletes also bagged 7 silvers and 5 bronzes. The Philippines first joined an international memory sports championship in 2010 and has five GMMs. The Asia Open Memory Championship is sanctioned by the Asia Memory Sports Alliance (AMSA) and Global Alliance of Memory Athletics (GAMA).
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao says truth needs research in yielding hard data, while Tatad says a prayer for the nation.
Today's editorial says government data is still vulnerable to cyberattacks. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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