Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, October 17, 2024.
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READ: Palace backs plan to probe killings
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said it supports the plan of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to reinvestigate the high-profile killings related to the war on illegal drugs during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the possible reopening of the investigation showed that the Marcos administration "places the highest importance" on justice and rule of law. PNP spokesman Jean Fajardo earlier said they would look into the drug-war related killings, particularly the elected officials and other well-known personalities who were killed at the height of the anti-drug campaign.
READ: Pimentel: Listen to drug war victims
SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said fellow senators should "find time" to hear the sentiments of the families of drug suspects who were killed during the Duterte administration's war on drugs. He made the appeal on Wednesday as Sen. Bong Go sought a parallel Senate inquiry on the bloody anti-drugs campaign Pimentel said the victims' "grieving families are entitled to serious time and attention coming from senators." Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said to ensure justice and transparency in Senate proceedings, "it is essential to include" Duterte in the planned investigation of the war on drugs.
READ: DoT, PHOA unveil strategic action plan
TOURISM officials and hotel owners on Monday unveiled a five-year plan to improve the competitiveness, long-term growth and expansion of the Philippine hotel business. During the launch of the Philippine Hotel Industry Strategic Action Plan (Phisap) 2023-2028 at The Westin Manila, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco emphasized the plan's critical role in the future of the Philippine tourism industry, noting that the Phisap was developed collectively with not only the DoT and PHOA but also a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, hotel operators, industry associations, and other key players. The plan had been influenced by Frasco's listening tour two years ago, during which the PHOA expressed the necessity for such a framework.
READ: Miru sets up satellite office near Comelec
MIRU Systems, the official election provider for the May 2025 national and local elections, has established a satellite office in Intramuros, Manila to enhance coordination with the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a statement issued on Wednesday, Miru said that as they prepared for the contract's bidding in 2023, it leased an office at Skysuites Tower in Quezon City.
BUSINESS: Key rates cut by 25 bps
Headlining business, monetary authorities cut key interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, as expected, amid an improving inflation outlook. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) benchmark rate now stands at 6.00 percent, and the overnight deposit and lending rates were also adjusted to 5.50 percent and 6.50 percent, respectively. The central bank's policy-making Monetary Board kicked off an easing cycle in August via a 25 basis point cut, acting ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) that also started relaxing policy in September. The Fed's jumbo 50 bps cut had led to talk that the BSP could respond in kind, but central bank Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said that 25 basis point reductions would be the norm. He told reporters on Wednesday that the latest Monetary Board decision was "based on its assessment that price pressures remain manageable."
SPORTS: Yulo thanks Japanese club in Tokyo visit
Over to sports, double Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo returned to Japan to visit his club, the Tokushukai Gymnastics Club. In a post on his Facebook and Instagram handles on Tuesday, he thanked the club where he trained and said he looks forward to joining them again soon.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about the reality of English as a protected language, Makabenta thinks the government's "flunkeys" are putting culture into coma, while Remoto analyzes Nobel Prize winner Han Kang's book.
Today's editorial calls for an investigation into Elon Musk's Starlink and not be given a legislative franchise. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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