Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, October 25, 2024.
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READ: Storm death toll tops 20
RESCUERS raced Thursday to reach residents still stranded by flooding in the hard-hit Bicol Region, after torrential rains from Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) submerged villages and killed more than 20 people. Schools and government offices were shuttered across the northern Philippines as the storm made landfall on Luzon after first paving a trail of destruction south of the capital. In Naga City and the town of Nabua, rescuers were using boats to reach residents still stranded on rooftops. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 2 million people were affected by Kristine, spread across the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. Most of the affected people — 1.67 million — came from the Bicol Region. The Office of Civil Defense, meanwhile, reported a lower death count of 10 as it worked to validate its figures. More than 1,000 houses were damaged, 92 of them destroyed. Some 296 roads and bridges were flooded or impassable. At least 18 municipalities and cities had declared a state of calamity.
READ: DPWH revising engineering solution
AS heavy rains brought about by Tropical Cyclone Kristine inundated the Bicol Region to an extent not seen in 30 years, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it would be changing the way it deals with rampant flooding across the country. Stung by criticism and allegations of corruption in flood control projects, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said flooding needs to be addressed holistically, stressing that engineering solutions are just part of it.
READ: Kristine destroys 223 classrooms
THE Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday 223 classrooms have been destroyed, and 415 classrooms have been damaged by Tropical Storm Kristine. On the sidelines of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) Horizons conference organized by the University of the Philippines in Taguig on Thursday, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara confirmed that nearly 19 million students in 37,000 schools were not able to attend school over the past two days. On top of the classrooms, furniture and computers were damaged too, he said, bringing the initial estimate of infrastructure damage to 264 million pesos.
READ: Duterte might skip Senate hearing after all
In other news, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said despite earlier assurances that he would show up, former president Rodrigo Duterte is unsure of attending the October 28 Senate hearing on his administration's bloody war on drugs. The senator will lead a Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee to probe Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which some human rights groups and political rivals have said has killed thousands of drug suspects. The Blue Ribbon panel probes "all matters relating to, including investigation of, malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office by officers and employees of the government."
BUSINESS: Budget shortfall widens to P273.3B in September
Over to business, the government's budget deficit widened to 273.3 billion pesos in September as spending outpaced revenue collections, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Thursday. It significantly increased from August's 54.2-billion peso shortfall, was also higher than the year-earlier 250.9 billion pesos, and brought the year-to-date deficit to 970.2 billion pesos.
SPORTS: NCAA postpones games anew
In sports, due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced the postponement of its Friday games at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City. The games scheduled for tomorrow are Mapua University and Arellano University's clash and San Beda University and San Sebastian College-Recoletos' duel will be rescheduled on a later date. If the weather permits on Saturday, the league will follow the timetable where Lyceum of the Philippines University faces the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, and Jose Rizal University against Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists, as they both continue discussing the Marcos-Duterte political fallout.
Today's editorial says a "plan" to flatten the leadership of the Philippine National Police needs to be improved. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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