Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
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READ: Palace won't mess with SSS rate hike
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday said it would let the Social Security System (SSS) implement its members' contribution rate hike, as the increase was "well-studied." In a press conference, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the government should not meddle in the affairs of the social insurance agency. Bersamin also said the proposal to suspend the last tranche of the contribution hike might be politically motivated. He noted that among those who first pushed for a suspension of the contribution rate hike was former SSS president Rolando Macasaet, who is seeking a party-list post in the 2025 midterm elections.
READ: Govt concerned over China's 'monster ship'
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday said the Philippines viewed with concern the presence of China's "monster coast guard ship" in the Philippine waters, saying the government is actively challenging such incursions. Speaking to reporters at the Palace, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been "very alert" since the appearance of the Chinese ship.
READ: LTO summons cat-dragging tricycle driver
THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) issued a show cause order against a tricycle owner over a viral video of him dragging a cat on the road in Malasiqui, Pangasinan. LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said the registered owner of the tricycle with plate number 206-WLY, identified in published reports as 71-year-old Ciriaco Mendoza Jr., was seen driving the vehicle during the incident.
READ: DA official Savellano, husband of Dina Bonnevie, passes
DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano passed away at age 65. He is survived by his wife, actress Dina Bonnevie. Savellano's death was announced by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) on their Facebook page. Savellano served as the DA undersecretary for livestock from July 2023 until his passing. He was also an oversight official of the NTA and the presiding official of the agency's governing board.
READ: Bill to grant franchise to ABS-CBN filed
ALBAY 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda on Tuesday filed House Bill 11252, seeking to grant ABS-CBN Corp. a legislative franchise to run television and radio broadcasting stations for 25 years. In the bill's explanatory note, Salceda said ABS-CBN's extensive regional network reach was crucial to disaster risk reduction. The new franchise, if granted, shall be in effect for 25 years "unless sooner revoked or canceled." Under the measure, ABS-CBN shall provide adequate public service to enable the government, through the said broadcasting stations or facilities, to reach the population on important public issues; provide at all times sound and balanced programming; assist in the functions of public information and education; conform to the ethics of honest enterprise; and not use its stations and facilities for the broadcasting of obscene material; or for the dissemination of false information or willful misrepresentation, to the detriment of the public interest, or to incite, encourage or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.
READ: SEAG gold medalist stabbed to death
SOUTHEAST Asian Games gold medalist Mervin Guarte was stabbed to death on Monday in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. He was 33. A member of the Philippine Obstacle Course Racing Team, Guarte was reportedly sleeping in the living room of the house of a barangay councilor when the unidentified assailant killed him and escaped. Guarte was a former Palarong Pambansa standout and went on to become an NCAA athletics multiple gold medalist with San Sebastian.
SPORTS: Busy year ahead for PH sports – Tolentino
FROM Harbin in February to Chengdu in August and Bahrain in October before finally in Thailand in December and 2025 will be a busy year for Filipino athletes, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino. Up in 2025 are the Ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, from Feb. 7-14, 12th World Games in Chengdu also in China from Aug. 7-17, Third Asian Youth Olympics Games from Oct. 22-31 in Bahrain, and the 33rd Southeast Asian Games Thailand is hosting in Chonburi, Songkhla and Bangkok from Dec. 9-20.
BUSINESS: 2024 inflation within target
Over to business, higher housing, energy and transport costs pushed inflation up in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, but the full-year rate remained well within target. Consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent last month from 2.5 percent in November. The 3.9-percent result a year earlier had marked a return to the 2.0- to 3.0-percent goal after 20 months of above-target inflation. The rate started surging in March 2022 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine affected supply chains, and hit an over 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January last year. December inflation — within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2.3- to 3.1-percent estimate, but higher than the 2.6-percent median in a Manila Times poll of economists — brought the 2024 average to 3.2 percent, well below the prior year's 6.0 percent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, rose to 2.8 percent last month from 2.5 percent in November, but was markedly lower than the 4.4 percent seen a year earlier. For 2024, core inflation averaged 3.0 percent.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao claims the Marcos administration is being revolted by the middle class, while Tatad asks if the recent protests in South Korea is teaching the Philippines a lesson.
Today's editorial calls for more protections for the middle class. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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