Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, November 21, 2024.
Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: 'Mary Jane is coming home'
MARY Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker who has been on death row in Indonesia for over a decade, is coming home, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced Wednesday. In a statement, Marcos thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian government for their "goodwill." Marcos said Veloso's story "resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life."
READ: POGO hubs disguised as resorts, restaurants
BANNED from operating by the end of the year, Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are disguising themselves as resorts and restaurants to hide their illegal operations, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Wednesday. Remulla disclosed this when he attended his confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments (CA). Asked about the government campaign to shut down POGOs by the end of the year, he cited the raid in Lapu-Lapu City last August, where workers from the closed POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, transferred. The National Bureau of Investigation director in Central Visayas (NBI-7), Rennan Augusto Oliva, said they acted upon reports that the hotel had become a POGO hub. Remulla said these POGOs obtained business permits from the local government. He said he would issue a memorandum circular to remind mayors of their duty to inspect business establishments.
READ: Typhoons did P1B damage to schools
DAMAGE to school buildings caused by multiple typhoons has reached about 1 billion pesos in 10 regions, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday. In a radio interview, Education Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction Service Revsee Escobedo said 110 out of 280 schools division offices were affected by typhoons Nica, Ofel, and Pepito, with an initial count of 323 classrooms destroyed and 507 needing major repairs. Escobedo also said 209 schools were also being used as evacuation centers due to Pepito.
READ: CA OKs Remulla appointment
THE Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday confirmed the ad interim appointment of Jonvic Remulla as interior secretary. The CA also approved the ad interim appointment of Marilyn Barua-Yap as chairman of the Civil Service Commission. Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who supported Remulla's confirmation, said the former Cavite governor has "committed to implementing reforms" in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). This included enhancing efficiency and public service delivery through the digitalization of local government units (LGUs), expanding the unified 911 emergency response system to provide efficient emergency services for all Filipinos, introducing organizational reforms within the Philippine National Police, and ensuring peaceful elections in 2025.
BUSINESS: Weak growth could prompt fresh rate cut
Topping business, weak economic growth could push monetary authorities to continue cutting key interest rates next month, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Wednesday, but a pause is also possible given inflation pressures. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was markedly lower than expected at 5.2 percent in the third quarter, slowing from 6.4 percent in April-June and putting the 6.0- to 7.0-percent goal for 2024 at risk. The economy will have to expand by 6.6 percent in the last three months of the year for the bottom end of the target to be met. Inflation, meanwhile, edged up to 2.3 percent in October from 1.9 percent a month earlier. The rate is expected to go up this month after a series of storms battered the country and caused extensive farm damage. Monetary authorities, however, still expect consumer price growth to remain within the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target in the near term.
SPORTS: Gilas Pilipinas takes on New Zealand
Over to sports, after reacquainting with coach Tim Cone's system at the three-day training camp, Gilas Pilipinas plunges to action on Thursday to take on longtime Oceania basketball powerhouse New Zealand for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Game time is 7:30 p.m. where an expected "sea of blue" will pack the sports venue as Filipino basketball fans are expected to come in droves to support the national squad. Both teams enter the highly anticipated match tied for the lead in Group B with similar 2-0 win-loss records. The Philippines walloped Hong Kong, 94-64, in its away game, before tearing Taiwan to shreds, 106- 53, at the Mall of Asia Arena during the first window held in February. On the other hand, New Zealand hammered Taiwan, 89-69, and Hong Kong, 88-49, in the first window. A victory somehow gives the Philippines an inside track at securing one of two outright berths in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, which will be played on Aug. 5 to 17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras looks at the Dutertes' "unraveling", Makabenta says the House of Representatives arrogated to itself exclusive authority of the Commission on Audit, while Remoto looks into the fiction pieces of a Vietnamese author.
Today's editorial will prepare readers for the upcoming Times Digital Transformation & Innovation Forum, which will be held at the Sheraton Manila Hotel at Newport World Resorts on Thursday at 10 a.m. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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