Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
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READ: Last batch of poll machines ready
MIRU Systems Inc. has finished manufacturing 110,620 automated counting machines (ACMs) and peripherals ahead of schedule for use in the 2025 national and local elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday. The final batch of ACMs is now being transported to the Philippines, marking an early milestone in the country's electoral preparations. The first batch of over 10,000 ACMs is currently en route by truck to Busan Port in South Korea, where it will be loaded onto ships bound for the Philippines. Comelec's warehouse in Biñan, Laguna, already houses 78,456 ACMs, or about 71 percent of the total order. Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said 37,329 ACMs have completed the required hardware acceptance test (HAT), with another 41,127 queued for the same inspection. The production and delivery of the ACMs form part of Comelec's Full Automation with Transparency Audit and Count (FASTrAC) initiative, aimed at streamlining and enhancing the integrity of the 2025 elections. This year, Comelec awarded Miru Systems a P17.99 billion contract to provide a comprehensive election system. In addition to the ACMs, the contract includes peripherals such as ballot boxes, laptops, SD cards, and accessories for vote counting and transmission. Comelec Chairman George Garcia expressed satisfaction with the progress, noting that this early completion allows additional time for tests and preparations. The last batch of ACMs, consisting of over 32,000 units, is currently being cleared at customs, in transit, or ready to be loaded for shipment.
READ: Duterte ratings dip again
THE trust and performance ratings of Vice President Sara Duterte slid significantly in the third quarter of 2024, while the ratings of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez remained stable, the latest poll by OCTA Research showed. In its Tugon ng Masa survey conducted from September 4-7, 2024, Duterte's trust ratings slid by six percentage points from 65 percent in the second quarter to 59 percent, while her performance rating declined by eight percentage points from 60 percent in the same quarter to 52 percent. Duterte's trust ratings declined in all regions and socioeconomic classes except in Class E, which increased from 68 percent to 73 percent, and in her bailiwick, Mindanao, which remained steady at 95 percent. She suffered a 13-point drop in the National Capital Region from 60 percent to 47 percent, a nine-point drop in Balance of Luzon from 52 percent to 43 percent, a 12-point drop in Class ABC from 64 percent to 52 percent, and a seven-point drop in Class D from 65 percent to 58 percent. Her performance ratings also suffered among key regions, with a major drop in her performance rating seen in NCR with a 12-point drop from 50 to 38 percent, Balance of Luzon with an 11-point drop from 48 percent to 37 percent, and Visayas with a six percentage point drop from 60 percent to 54 percent. The survey period coincided with the OVP's budget hearings, where Duterte evaded questions regarding the use of her confidential and intelligence funds, which led to the deferment of her office's proposed P2 billion budget.
READ: Imee Marcos: VP Sara is my best friend
SEN. Imee Marcos said she considers Vice President Sara Duterte her best friend despite her scathing criticism of her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., over his Marcos ability to govern. The senator also said that as an independent candidate in the 2025 local polls she would seek the support of everyone for her reelection bid, even the Duterte family, which has had a falling out with the President. In an interview for PrimeTimes with Attorney Lia, Marcos was asked how she felt about Duterte's earlier remarks that she i•magined beheading her brother and threatened to exhume the remains of their father. Marcos said she heard some of it before, which was the reason why she would no longer enter into political alliances. In a press conference that turned into a two-hour rant, Duterte said her relationship with the President had turned "toxic." Duterte said she warned Senator Marcos that "if they would not stop [persecuting her]" she would dig up the remains of their father, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., from the Libingan ng mga Bayani and throw them into the West Philippine Sea.
READ: Death toll from storms up to 150
THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday said that the reported death toll due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon has i•ncreased to 150. It said some 29 people were also reported as missing and 115 more were injured. Kristine and Leon had affected 7,494,023 people or 1,892,226 families across 17 regions. Most of these came from the Bicol Region, with 2,684,154 people, followed by Central Luzon with 1,092,750 and Calabarzon with 752,793. Floods and landslides had been reported in affected areas, and 150,511 houses were damaged — 10,940 of them completely. The NDRRMC said the damage to infrastructure was pegged at P6.39 billion and agriculture at P2.87 billion. Some P32.62 million in damage was done to irrigation facilities. Meanwhile, problems in power supply, water supply, and communication line services remain in many areas. The NDRRMC said assistance worth P895,658,723 million has been provided to the victims so far. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the public on Thursday that the government "is ably handling all disaster management efforts" and "remains in full control" in addressing and providing the needs of all those affected by the onslaught of by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Typhoon Leon.
READ: Global stories of ghosts, ghouls for Halloween
SOME are well-worn warnings as familiar as the changing of seasons. Others are slow burns that end with a bang. Still others are just plain eerie. Stories of spiritual entities, paranormal activity and creepy cryptids are passed through generations the world over, becoming local legends that only sometimes reach across borders and cultures. So if the sordid tales you grew up with no longer make you shiver, it's time to reanimate your roster with global tales of ghosts, hauntings, and petrifying processions. With Halloween nigh, and the season in many parts of the world ripe for campfires and spooky stories, people gravitate toward fear even in a complex and sometimes scary world. Read some favorites — lore and fiction, with maybe some truth sprinkled throughout — that The Associated Press (AP) gathered from its journalists around the planet.
In Business
READ: BSP: October inflation likely rose to 2.0-2.8%
HIGHER food and fuel prices, as well as a weaker peso, could have pushed inflation up in October, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday. Consumer price growth, which had markedly slowed to 1.9 percent in September, was estimated to have increased to 2.0-2.8 percent — the same forecast range issued by the BSP for the month earlier. The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release September inflation data on November 5. The BSP said it would "continue to take a measured approach in ensuring price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable growth of the economy and employment." BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. has said that inflation could go up in October, noting that the September inflation drop — from August's 3.3 percent — was due to base effects. Monetary authorities have lowered the risk-adjusted forecast for this year to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent, but those for 2025 and 2026 were raised to 3.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, from 2.9 percent and 3.3 percent. Easing inflation has allowed the BSP's policymaking Monetary Board to embark on an easing cycle, beginning with a 25-basis point reduction in August that was repeated in October. The central bank's benchmark rate now stands at 6.0 percent, down from the 17-year high of 6.5 percent reached in October last year as monetary authorities hike rates one last time to keep inflation under control. The Monetary Board has one final meeting for 2024, on Dec. 19, where it is expected to again cut key interest rates by 25 basis points.
Topping Sports
READ: Dodgers rally to seal World Series triumph
NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Dodgers produced a stunning fightback to defeat the New York Yankees and clinch the World Series on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) with a dramatic come-from-behind 7-6 victory.••On a night of spellbinding drama at Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers sealed their second Major League Baseball championship crown in five seasons and eighth overall after recovering from 5-0 down to complete a 4-1 series victory. The Yankees kept the series alive with an 11-4 rout in game four on Tuesday. Dodgers star Freddie Freeman, who blasted four consecutive home runs in the opening four games of the series, was named Series Most Valuable Player.
READ: Siakam makes tiebreaking 3 as Pacers beat Celtics in OT
INDIANAPOLIS — Pascal Siakam scored the last of his 29 points on a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in overtime to give the Indiana Pacers a 135-132 victory over the previously unbeaten Boston Celtics on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). Siakam tied his single-game career high with six 3s and grabbed 11 rebounds. Benedict Mathurin scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half, and Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 12 assists. The victory ended Indiana's three-game losing streak. Boston charged back from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and led 132-130 after Derrick White's layup with 39.7 seconds to go. But Indiana scored the final five points to win. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 37 points. Jaylen Brown added 25 points and had a chance to tie the score but his 3 in the waning seconds was off the mark. White finished with 23 points in the first matchup between these teams since Boston swept Indiana in last season's Eastern Conference finals.
READ: Opinion
Online sexual predators continue to menace Filipino children is today's Times editorial. Read the full version on print or digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are the featured columnists on the front page. Tiglao claims that Congress' anti-Duterte investigations have backfired while Tatad asks whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would pick up the challenge presented by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.
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