Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

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READ: SC to PhilHealth: Stop fund transfer

THE Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Tuesday to prevent further transfers of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) funds to the National Treasury. The TRO was issued in response to three consolidated petitions challenging the government's reallocation of excess reserve funds from government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to support unprogrammed appropriations in the national budget. The TRO is effective immediately, stopping the potential transfer of up to 89.9 billion pesos billion in unused PhilHealth reserves. Supreme Court spokesman Camille Ting said the TRO addresses the immediate need to preserve these funds within PhilHealth. However, Ting clarified that the TRO does not require previously transferred amounts to be returned to PhilHealth.

READ: Storm deaths hit 125

SOME 125 people have been reported dead due to Severe Tropical Storms Kristine and Leon, disaster officials said Tuesday. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll was still subject to verification, as only 14 cases have been verified so far. Kristine and Leon affected a total of 7.13 million people or 1.79 million families from 10,181 villages nationwide. The number of damaged houses rose to 78,286, 5,491 of which were destroyed. The estimated damage to agriculture was placed at 2.8 billion pesos and to infrastructure at 1.5 billion pesos.

READ: File charges vs Duterte, lawmaker urges

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Monday said charges should be filed against former president Rodrigo Duterte after he took full responsibility for extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his war on drugs and confirmed the existence of the Davao Death Squad (DDS) in testimony before the Senate Monday. Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña said Duterte not only confirmed the existence of the Davao Death Squad but also implicated all former Philippine National Police chiefs under his administration, admitting to ordering the provocation of "drug suspects" to justify their killing.

READ: Misrepresentation raps field vs Alice Guo

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed criminal complaints against ousted Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo for misrepresentation or for misrepresenting herself as a Filipino when she filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for mayor for the 2022 elections. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday that the criminal complaint was filed before the Regional Trial Court of Capas, Tarlac, for violation of Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to Section 262 of the same code. On Aug. 6, the Comelec en banc unanimously adopted the recommendation of the Legal Department to file a complaint against Guo for misrepresentation in her candidacy in the 2022 local elections.

BUSINESS: BSP: OFWs to gain from 'gray' list exit

Headlining business, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are expected to benefit from the country's expected exit next year from a dirty money watch list, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Tuesday. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last Friday kept the Philippines in the "gray" list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, but also said that it had already acted to address previously identified deficiencies. An onsite visit will now be made sometime in the next few months to verify the implementation of reforms, the FATF said, and a final decision will be made in February. Removal from the gray list, the BSP said, will particularly benefit OFWs "through faster and cheaper remittances, and other cross-border transactions." Inclusion in the gray list can lead to increased scrutiny or restrictions on money transfers. There were fears that the Philippines could have been returned to the FATF blacklist — which it previously was part of from 2000 to 2005 — that carries even more severe penalties. The country was removed from the black list after the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) was passed in 2001 and amended in 2003.

SPORTS: 3 BEST tankers named MOS in Tokyo tourney

Over to sports, three members of the Behrouz Elite Swimming Team (BEST) were hailed as Most Outstanding Swimmers (MOS) in their respective divisions in the 2024 Buccaneer Invitational Swimming Championships held at St. Mary's International School swimming pool in Tokyo, Japan. Kristian Yugo Cabana topped the list, accumulating 49 points to win the MOS award in the boys' 14-year division. The Lucena City pride won four golds (400-m IM, 100m freestyle, 100-m butterfly, and 200-m IM), one silver (200-m butterfly), and one bronze (100-m backstroke) to secure the top spot in his category. Cabana's impressive performance led the BEST team to a successful campaign in Tokyo. Behrouz Mohammad Madi Mojdeh of Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Parañaque also demonstrated exceptional skill, accumulating 42 points to receive the MOS award in the boys' 13- year category. Mojdeh's achievements included two gold medals in the 200-m breaststroke and 100-m breaststroke events, one silver medal in the 400-m IM, and two bronze medals in the 200-m IM and 200-m butterfly events, in the tournament featuring 16 teams and over 600 participants. Therese Annika Quinto similarly excelled, earning the MOS award in the girls' 13-year division with 40 points. Her medal tally included one gold in the 200-m backstroke, two silvers in the 400- m freestyle and 100-m freestyle events, and three bronzes in the 200-m freestyle, 50-m freestyle and 100-m backstroke events.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao reaffirms that former president Rodrigo Duterte is strong and charismatic after the Senate hearings on the war on drugs, Fr. Aquino asks what follows the Synod on Synodality, and Tatad talks about the Brics alliance.

Today's editorial says climate anxiety is no laughing matter. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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