Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
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READ: Veloso, family ready for Christmas reunion
UPON her return to the Philippines, Mary Jane Veloso will be taken straight to prison for a five-day quarantine before she can see her family, who will be allowed to visit her on Christmas, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Tuesday. Veloso had been on death row in Indonesia for 14 years on drug charges, but an agreement between Jakarta and Manila paved the way for her repatriation this week to Manila, where she will serve out the rest of her sentence. BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., who went to Indonesia to escort Veloso back to the country, said the five-day quarantine adheres to mandatory protocols for newly committed prisoners and will be followed by a 55-day orientation, diagnostic evaluation and security classification process at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City. During the quarantine, she will be placed in a regular cell where she will undergo comprehensive medical and physical assessments. These evaluations aim to identify any health concerns, including physical or mental illnesses. The overseer of CIW will also conduct an interview to collect personal information, including details about her relatives or authorized visitors.
READ: PhilHealth budget hiked to P284B despite subsidy cut
THE board of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has approved a 284 billion peso corporate operating budget for 2025 amid a cut in its subsidy in the 2025 General Appropriations Act. The 2025 corporate budget is 10 percent higher than the previous year's 259 billion peso budget this year. In a statement, Health Assistant Secretary and spokesman Albert Domingo said the PhilHealth board has also approved the second round of increases in selected case rates endorsed by the Benefits Committee by as much as 50 percent, as well as the emergency care benefit, glasses and optometric services for children, open-heart surgery benefits and pediatric cataract extractions. Domingo added that the PhilHealth corporate budget has already factored in the zero-premium subsidy for indirect contributors for 2025, as reflected in the 2025 national budget.
READ: Tulfo solidifies lead in survey
ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo emerged as the top contender in the latest 2025 Pre-Election Senatorial Preferential Survey by Tangere, receiving voter preference across all regions, age groups, and socioeconomic classes. Tulfo was favored by respondents in the lower-income sector over those in upper and middle-income brackets. The December 2024 survey revealed significant gains for incumbent Sens. Pia Cayetano and Bong Revilla, as well as former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson. Support for Cayetano and Revilla surged among respondents in Southern Luzon, Northern Luzon and Central Luzon. Meanwhile, Singson's increased popularity was evident among respondents in the National Capital Region (NCR), Northern Luzon, and Central Luzon, while support from Visayas and Mindanao respondents was comparatively weaker. The survey's Top 12 rankings showed a close race for the 2nd to 4th spots, with Ben Tulfo, former Senate president Tito Sotto, and Sen. Bong Go statistically tied.
BUSINESS: PH-Korea free trade deal approved by NEDA Board
Over to business, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board on Tuesday approved the issuance of an executive order (EO) implementing the Philippines-Korea Free Trade Agreement (PH-KR FTA) along with two major infrastructure projects collectively worth 63.2 billion pesos. The EO will cover tariff commitments under the trade deal, which was signed on Sept. 7, 2023, during the 43rd Asean Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, the NEDA said in a statement. Under the deal, Korea will grant duty-free entry to 11,164 Philippine products, accounting for $3.18 billion or 87.4 percent of total Korean imports from the Philippines. The enhanced market access and preferential concessions under the deal surpass those currently offered under Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Korea FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the NEDA said.
SPORTS: Karl Eldrew Yulo pulls off 8-gold sweep in HK
FILIPINO gymnast Karl Eldrew Yulo continues to show his immense promise by the day. The 16-year-old pulled off an eightgold sweep as he led the Philippine team's 14-gold haul at the Hong Kong Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Championships (Chiu Wai Chung Cup) which concluded this recent weekend in Hong Kong, China. Ending the year with a bang, Yulo topped the individual all-around, floor exercise, vault, parallel bars, horizontal bar, pommel horse and still rings events. The younger brother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos also led the way for the nationals to claim the championship in the all-around team tiff and complete his 8-gold haul.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao thinks foreign investments are "drastically falling", while Tatad asks if Vice President Sara Duterte will fall.
Today's editorial says the country must be prepared for an "unsteady new world". Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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