Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, December 21, 2024.
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READ: Alice Guo bail petition denied
A PASIG City court has dismissed the petition for bail of Alice Guo, citing the "strong evidence" against her and her co-accused. Guo, the former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, is charged before the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 167 with qualified human trafficking. The denial of her bail plea means that Guo will continue to be detained at the Pasig City Jail. Accused with her are Maybelline Requiro Millo, Rita Sapnu Yturralde, Rowena Gonzales Evangelista, Thelma Barrogo Laranan, Merlie Joy Manalo Castro, Rachelle Joan Malonzo Carreon, and Jaimielyn Santos Cruz. The court granted bail to Cruz and Millo, stating that the evidence against them was weak. The case stemmed from a raid on a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Bamban in June. Over 800 Filipinos and foreigners working in the hub were rescued. Guo pleaded not guilty to the human trafficking charge in September. Her lawyer, Nicole Jamilla, described the charge as baseless. Guo is also charged in a graft case in Valenzuela City, a material misrepresentation case in Tarlac. She also faces a quo warranto petition in Manila, a petition to cancel her birth certificate in Tarlac, complaints for tax evasion, 87 counts of money laundering, and charges of perjury and falsification before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
READ: Govt workers get gratuity pay hike
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has increased the gratuity pay of contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in government for this year, Malacañang said Friday. The higher cash incentives for state workers was mandated by Administrative Order (AO) 28, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin last Thursday by the authority of the president. From 5,000 pesos in 2023, all COS and JO employees will now receive a 7,000 peso gratuity pay not earlier than Dec. 15, according to the AO. AO 28 covers all workers whose services are directly engaged through COS and JO by national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and local water districts (LWDs).
READ: Tulfo, Ong, Lacson top Senate 4th-quarter poll
REPRESENTATIVE Erwin Tulfo, physician Willie Ong and former senator Panfilo Lacson were the frontrunners in the last survey for the year of senatorial hopefuls conducted by independent pollster Publicus Asia. Tulfo, the ACT-CIS Party-list congressman running under the administration ticket, had a 41-percent voter preference rating, the highest among potential 2025 senatorial candidates. His trust rating dropped slightly from 32 percent in the third quarter to 27 percent. Ong, of the Aksyon Demokratiko party, tied with returning senator Panfilo Lacson at second place with a 39-percent voter preference. The next top six are former Senate president Vicente Sotto III, and Senators Bong Go and Pia Cayetano. Rounding out the magic 12 are broadcaster Bienvenido Tulfo, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, former senators Emmanuel Pacquiao, Francis Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno Aquino, and Sen. Francis Tolentino, who edged out Sen. Imee Marcos from the previous quarter.
READ: DOJ determined to file charges over killings
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday it will press charges for crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law against those allegedly responsible for extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration's war on drugs. Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said the DOJ had launched its own investigation into EJK allegations through the National Prosecution Service, even before the House of Representatives' Quad Committee started its hearings.
BUSINESS: Consumers less gloomy; business sentiment rises
Over to business, consumer sentiment remained negative, but less so, while business optimism improved in the fourth quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday. Results of the central bank's latest consumer and business expectations survey placed the consumer confidence index (CI) at -11.1 percent for OctoberDecember, improving from -15.6 percent three months earlier. The CI for businesses, meanwhile, rose to 44.5 percent from 32.9 percent in July-September. Consumer sentiment for the quarter and year ahead also improved, to 4.2 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively, from 0.7 percent and 9.9 percent in the earlier survey. Business confidence, however, fell for the first quarter of 2025 and the full year, to 40.3 percent and 56.4 percent from the quarter- and year-ahead 56.8 percent and 58.0 percent in the third-quarter poll. A positive CI means that optimists outnumber pessimists. The reverse applies with regard to negative results.
SPORTS: Ginebra, Converge clash in Batangas
In sports, Barangay Ginebra and Converge clash in the first road game for the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Saturday at the Batangas City Coliseum. Both teams are coming off victories. The Gin Kings bucked the absence of injured stars Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt, relying on import Justin Brownlee's 49-point explosion to hammer the Terrafirma Dyip, 114-98, on Thursday. On the other hand, the FiberXers registered their first back-to-back victories for the conference with a 116-105 come-from-behind win against the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Leonor Briones are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about the issue of Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin, while Briones laments about missing Christ in Christmas.
Today's editorial calls on the country's transportation authorities to focus on moving people, not paperwork. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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