Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Christmas Day, December 25, 2024.
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READ: Marcos to sign 2025 budget bill Dec. 30
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the proposed 6.352-trillion-peso national budget for 2025 on Dec. 30, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cesar Chavez said earlier the President and his advisers never discussed implementing a reenacted budget. Marcos was supposed to sign the budget measure last Dec. 20 but deferred it, saying the bill needed further review. This was the first time Marcos took longer to enact the spending bill. He signed the 2023 budget on Dec. 16, 2022, and that for 2024 on Dec. 20, 2023.
READ: Missile system deployed in Laoag 'alarming'
THE deployment of a United States missile system at the Laoag International Airport, a civilian area in Ilocos Norte, has alarmed citizens, scholars and leaders, a political analyst said. In a media forum organized by Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI), geopolitical and economic risk consultant Prof. Mario Ferdinand Ayano Pasion highlighted the constitutional, geopolitical and societal repercussions of the deployment of the Typhon missile system, which has a range of up to 2,500 kilometers.
READ: Marcos urges Filipinos to live a meaningful life
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to live a life of meaning and purpose as he joined the nation in celebrating Christmas. The holiday season, being "a crucial part of our deeply held beliefs," also serves as a time to fully experience "the presence of God in its nearest and most intimate form, evoking gratitude, kindness, and happiness to one and all," he said.
READ: Comelec focuses on security in 2025 polls
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is focusing on the security aspect of the 2025 polls amid the series of election-related incidents. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday the commission is coordinating closely with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help prevent violence from marring the May elections. In the latest incident, Sulu provincial election supervisor Vidzfar Julie Amil survived an assassination attempt in Zamboanga City last week. His brother, former barangay chairman Naser Amil, was killed in the attack. Garcia said the assassination try was election-related. He said all election-related incidents are considered law enforcement matters, pending the start of the election period in Jan. 12, 2025.
BUSINESS: Non-tax revenues to boost collection
Headlining business, higher non-tax revenues are expected to push total collections beyond the 4.27-trillion-peso goal this year, finance secretary Ralph Recto said, but tax revenues are seen missing its target. According to the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF), the government is aiming to end the year with 4.27 trillion pesos in revenue collections, with tax collections accounting for the bulk at 4.07 trillion pesos while non-tax revenues at 198.5 billion pesos only. Of the total tax revenues, the BIR is set to collect 3.01 trillion pesos, while the Customs Bureau is expected to generate almost 1 trillion pesos. While both fall short of the target, Recto said it still represents a double-digit growth year-on-year.
SPORTS: Amit punches ticket to World Games
Over to sports, 2-time World 10-Ball champion Rubilen "Bingkay" Amit booked her ticket to the 2025 World Games following a runner-up finish at the Asian 10-Ball Women's Pool Championships held in Doha, Qatar. Amit settled for a silver medal finish at the tournament finals, losing to Liu Shasha of China, 7-6. But it was good enough to earn a spot in the World Games slated for next year in Chengdu, China.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists, as they give their Christmas thoughts.
Today's editorial talks about Peace on Earth. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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