Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, October 13, 2024.
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READ: Garma: Duterte wanted 'Davao-style' drug war
RETIRED police colonel Royina Garma told lawmakers Friday night that former president Rodrigo Duterte had ordered her to find a police official to lead a national anti-drug task force that would replicate the so-called Davao model, which gave law enforcers 20,000 pesos for each street-level drug suspect killed. Testifying before the House Quad Committee hearing on Friday, Garma — who at times broke down in tears — said Duterte instructed her in May 2016 to find a Philippine National Police (PNP) officer who was a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo to lead the task force. Garma said she recommended her upperclassman at the PNP Academy, then police colonel Edilberto Leonardo, who was tasked to form the police force after meeting with Duterte.
READ: Dela Rosa denies Espinosa testimony
SEN. Ronald Dela Rosa denied Kerwin Espinosa's claims that he pressured him to accuse Peter Lim and former senator Leila de Lima of involvement in the illegal drug trade on Friday. Dela Rosa, chief of the national police during the Duterte administration, said Espinosa, a confessed drug lord, could not be relied on to tell the truth.
READ: Asean committed to 'enduring solutions' – Marcos
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday night returned to the Philippines from Vientiane, Laos, after obtaining commitments from fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to find "enduring solutions that would safeguard" their collective future. The President and his delegation arrived at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City aboard the Presidential plane at around 10:23 p.m. In his arrival statement, Marcos said the discussions among our partners and friends "were not just about the challenges we face individually, but equally important also about our shared commitment to finding enduring solutions that would safeguard our collective future." Marcos said he and the other Asean leaders agreed to work closer together in promoting sustainable agriculture to achieve long-term food security.
READ: PH cybersecurity status nears tier 1
INFORMATION and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy said over the weekend that the Philippines was close to achieving a Tier 1 ranking on cybersecurity, which would put it on par with the United States, Japan and Singapore. Saying the country has been placed under Tier 3 for "quite some time," Uy said the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, a United Nations survey conducted to assess a nation's cybersecurity capability, policies and programs, now put the Philippines in Tier 2.
READ: 'No Filipino hurt in Beirut air raids'
THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Saturday said no Filipino was hurt in two air raids conducted by the Israeli army in Beirut on Thursday. The strike, described as the deadliest so far in the fight between Israel and Hezbollah, hit densely populated areas, resulting in 22 fatalities and 117 injuries.
READ: Mother tongue bill lapses into law
REPUBLIC Act (RA) 12027, or an act discontinuing the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 and providing for its optional implementation in monolingual classes, has lapsed into law without President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s signature. RA 12027 lapsed into law on October 10, based on the copy of the law released by the Presidential Communications Office on Saturday. Under the new law, the medium of instruction shall revert to Filipino and English, while the mother tongue will serve as "auxiliary media of instruction." Monolingual classes may continue using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction as long as it complies with the following requirements: official orthography developed and published by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), officially documented vocabulary published by the commission, literature on languages and culture, grammar book, and availability of teachers in the school who speak and are trained to teach in the mother tongue.
BUSINESS: Inflation will settle within target in 2024 – NEDA
In business, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is confident that inflation will settle within the government's target this year. Speaking in Filipino, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Friday the target is between 2 and 4 percent average for the year, which is the reason why NEDA believes it is achievable. Inflation fell to a four-year low of 1.9 percent in September this year, bringing the year-to-date inflation figure to 3.4 percent, which is well within the government's target. Edillon said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s move to create the InterAgency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) helped in easing inflation. Under Marcos' Executive Order 28 issued in May last year, the IAC-IMO is tasked to monitor the main drivers of rising prices of basic goods, particularly of food and energy, and their proximate sources and causes.
SPORTS: Casimero overweight in fight against Sanchez
Over to sports, for the third time in his career, Filipino pug Johnriel Casimero incurred a weigh-in debacle for his upcoming fight, this time going overweight in his super bantamweight bout against American Saul Sanchez in Japan. In the weigh-in on Saturday, Casimero went a kilo heavier than the 55.3 kilograms (kg) or 122 pounds (lbs) limit as he tipped the scales at 56.33 kg or 124.12 lbs. Casimero still couldn't make the weight limit after his second try, weighing 55.9 kg or 123.23 lbs. The fight, which is Casimero's first in a year, reportedly, will still push through on Sunday at the Yokohama Budokan since there are no belts at stake. The first time Casimero faced a weigh-in debacle was when he was about to make his WBO bantamweight title defense against Paul Butler in December 2021, not showing up on the weigh-in day due to viral gastritis.
Marlen Ronquillo is today's front page columnist, who focuses on the town of Guagua, Pampanga.
Today's editorial hits out at political dynasties running in the upcoming elections. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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