Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, November 15, 2024.
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READ: DOJ to study if case can be filed
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said all testimony provided by former president Rodrigo Duterte during congressional hearings will be considered for a possible case buildup in the government's investigation of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his administration's war on drugs. Speaking to reporters, Marcos said the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) would assess Duterte's statements to determine their legal consequences.
READ: Duterte vows to hang himself if bank accounts are really his
FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte vowed to hang himself if the bank accounts that were raised against him by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV were proven to be true. Trillanes attended the 11th public hearing of the House quad committee on Wednesday night to share his thoughts on the Duterte administration's war on drugs in front of the former chief executive, who attended the marathon hearing. Trillanes testified that the war on drugs was only used to scare people, and that Duterte was in connivance with alleged Chinese drug lords, including his former economic adviser Michael Yang.
READ: Thousands flee as Ofel slams NLuzon
TYPHOON Ofel (international name: Usagi) slammed into the country's already disaster-ravaged north on Thursday, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal areas. Ofel made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province at 1:30 p.m. with winds of 175 kilometers an hour, the national weather service said — the fifth storm to strike the country in just three weeks. The brutal wave of weather disasters has already killed 159 people and prompted the United Nations to request $32.9 million in aid for the worst-affected regions. The national weather agency had initially raised its highest storm alert, but downgraded to its second-highest as Ofel made landfall.
READ: Veteran journalist heads media security task force
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday announced the appointment of veteran journalist and former Philippine Information Agency (PIA) director general Jose "Joe" Torres Jr. as the new executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS). Torres takes over from another veteran journalist, Paul Gutierrez, whose term as PTFOMS chief expired last September. The task force, created during the Duterte administration, is the government arm tasked with the protection of the life, liberty, and security of media practitioners in the country.
READ: Internet disruption cost LTO millions
THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) said on Thursday that it lost millions of pesos in revenue after its computerized management system went offline for a day. The LTO said that on Oct. 30, an intentional fiber cut disrupted the internet connection at its central office in Quezon City. The disruption halted vital services, including driver's license renewals, vehicle registrations and other essential transactions, inconveniencing thousands of motorists and logistics companies nationwide. The agency said clients who had taken time off from work to complete their transactions were left frustrated as they were sent home without resolution, while businesses dependent on LTO services faced costly delays.
BUSINESS: PH digital competitiveness drops
Topping business, the Philippines' digital competitiveness has fallen for a second straight year based on an annual ranking released on Thursday by Switzerland's Institute for Management Development (IMD). The country was 61st out of 67 economies in the 2024 list, produced by the IMD's World Competitiveness Center (WCC). This was down from 59th last year when it lost three spots from 56th in 2022. It was next to last among 14 AsiaPacific countries, unchanged since 2020, and 25th among 30 economies with populations of more than 20 million, also the same as last year. Singapore continued to lead the list while the United States experienced a three-place drop to fourth. Switzerland and Denmark took second and third, respectively.
SPORTS: Gilas can beat New Zealand says Cone
Over to sports, Tim Cone is well aware that Gilas Pilipinas will have to pass through the proverbial eye of the needle when the Philippine men's basketball squad faces New Zealand on Nov. 21 for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. But as long as they do what they need to do, Cone feels they have a legitimate shot at beating the visiting team. For one, Cone said Gilas Pilipinas is motivated to protect its home court, especially as he anticipates thousands of basketball-crazy Filipino fans to come and support the Philippine team.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao thinks there is a conspiracy in the Quad Comm hearings in the House of Representatives, while Tatad analyzes Kamala Harris' recent US presidential election loss.
Today's editorial looks into the uncertainty surrounding undocumented Filipinos living in the United States, as it prepares for another Trump administration. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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