Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, December 19, 2024.
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READ: Marcos set to veto parts of budget bill
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to veto certain items and provisions of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) "in the interest of public welfare, to conform with the fiscal program, and in compliance with laws," Malacañang said Wednesday. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin issued the statement following budget cuts in the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. He said Marcos was personally leading the ongoing assessment of the proposed 2025 budget, in consultation with the heads of major departments.
READ: PhilHealth board cuts anniversary expenses
THE board of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), led by Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, has vetoed the proposal for the marketing and promotional collateral expenses of the state health insurer's 30th anniversary celebration next year. The collaterals, which totaled 37.5 million pesos, include umbrellas worth 7.9 million pesos, perforated mesh stickers worth P7.3 million, tote bags worth 1.82 million pesos, anniversary shirts worth P3.64 million, marketing shirts worth 1.94 million pesos, jackets worth 13.65 million pesos, katsa bags worth 750,000 pesos and button pins worth 545,000 pesos.
READ: Veloso family pins hopes on clemency
MARY Jane Veloso, who spent nearly 15 years on Indonesia's death row, tearfully reunited with family members Wednesday after arriving in Manila, where she now awaits a hoped-for pardon in a women's prison. Veloso, a mother of two, landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at daybreak, then was immediately transferred to prison following a repatriation deal between the two countries over a decade in the making. Technically still serving a life sentence, how long she remains behind bars is now in the hands of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The 39-year-old was arrested and sentenced to death in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin, a case that sparked uproar in the Philippines. Veloso wept as she hugged one of her sons and her parents Wednesday inside the Correctional Institution for Women in Manila, where she is being detained under the terms of a transfer agreement with Indonesia that removed the possibility of execution. She flew home without handcuffs alongside Filipino correctional officials on an overnight commercial flight after a Jakarta ceremony marking "the end of a harrowing chapter in Veloso's life," the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said in a statement.
READ: Comelec bags 4 awards
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) was named the Election Commission of the Year and won three other awards at the 2025 International Electoral Awards Ceremony and Symposium on Tuesday, Dec. 17, in the Dominican Republic. The award was bestowed on the Comelec by the International Center for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), which also recognized the agency with the Electoral Ergonomy Award, Electoral Conflict Management Award, and International Institutional Engagement Award. Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday said the recognition has inspired and boosted the morale of the men and women of the commission to aim higher and work harder to provide the nation with the most credible and transparent elections in 2025.
READ: Voters back integrity checks
THE majority of Filipino voters demand good governance, transparency and accountability as the country approaches the 2025 midterm elections, a survey conducted by Publicus Asia Inc. released on Wednesday showed. The survey, conducted from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, showed overwhelming support for measures aimed at ensuring integrity among candidates and elected officials. Conducting lifestyle checks for officials and candidates received the highest approval at 80 percent, followed closely by neuro-psychiatric evaluation at 79 percent, and hair follicle drug testing for the president, vice president, Senate president and House speaker (73 percent), Publicus Asia said.
BUSINESS: PH at risk from structural weaknesses, political row
Topping business, structural weaknesses and political volatility could pressure the Philippines' economic and fiscal performance, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday The country's credit rating — an investment-grade "BBB" with a stable outlook — is being constrained by low GDP per capita, it also said in a report.
SPORTS: Cagulangan to play for Suwon
In sports, after leading the UP Fighting Maroons to the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball championship, JD Cagulangan is set to take his talents to the Korean Basketball League (KBL). The 5-foot-10 point guard will play for the Suwon KT Sonicboom per multiple reports. As of posting time, Suwon sits at fourth place in the KBL 2024-2025 season standings with a 10-8 win-loss card. Cagulangan will reportedly join the Sonicboom days after the new year. Cagulangan registered 13.66 points, 4.33 rebounds and 4.66 assists in the Big Dance against La Salle to claim the Finals Most Valuable Player, adding to his Mythical Team selection. It was an outstanding finish to Cagulangan's collegiate career which saw him start with La Salle as a seldom-used point guard.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras says the president has a right to confidential and intelligence funds, while Remoto talks about teaching students in reading.
Today's editorial discusses the conversion of agricultural lands. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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