Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Saturday, January 18, 2025.
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READ: 2025 budget is 'suboptimal'
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said the government was remedying what he described as a "suboptimal" 2025 national budget. The president told reporters in Burauen, Leyte, he and his Cabinet were looking at tapping savings to restore cuts in the approved National Expenditure Program (NEP). The president said the administration is focused on securing funding for critical sectors such as education, health and tourism. Marcos has been meeting with some of the Cabinet members to discuss the result of their agencies' budget review under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) vis-à-vis the NEP.
READ: Trump's top diplomat pick warns China
UNITED States Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the State Department, said China should "stop messing around" with the Philippines and Taiwan, noting that its "deeply destabilizing" actions in the region are compelling the US to "counteract." During his confirmation hearing before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Thursday (Manila time), Rubio discouraged Beijing from carrying out "anything rash or irrational" when it comes to the Philippines or Taiwan if it is serious about stabilizing US-China relations.
READ: President backs food security emergency
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed support for the declaration of a food security emergency to bring down the prices of rice in the country. Speaking to reporters, the president said the recommendation to declare a food security emergency aims to address the soaring price of rice.
READ: Marcos agrees with Enrile on INC stand
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday agreed with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile that the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally last Monday opposing calls to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte could set a "very detrimental precedent." Enrile had questioned the implications of the rally at Rizal Park in Manila, which drew 1.8 million INC followers.
READ: Petition filed to disbar Duterte
LED by human rights group Karapatan, families of victims of extrajudicial killings filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking the revocation of former president Rodrigo Duterte's license to practice law. The petitioners were accusing Duterte of gross violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which they said undermined human rights and eroded the rule of law.
BUSINESS: Low global growth worries WB
Topping business, global growth will likely remain low this year and the next at a rate insufficient for sustained economic development, the World Bank said on Thursday as it raised concerns over the impact on developing countries such as the Philippines. In the January edition of its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank said that global growth would likely stay steady at 2.7 percent in 2025 and 2026, unchanged since 2023 should the 2024 estimate hold true. Developing economies are also expected to collectively have grown by 4.1 percent in 2024, to be sustained this year and slowing to 4.0 percent in 2026. The projections for countries that are officially classified as "emerging market and developing economies," however, were said to be weaker compared to prior the Covid-19 pandemic and "insufficient to foster the progress necessary to alleviate poverty and achieve wider development goals." For the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, the World Bank said growth could hit 4.6 percent this year — down from an estimated 4.9 percent in 2024 — and fall further to 4.1 percent in 2026. This is due to a slowdown in China — expected to have grown by 4.9 percent last year (the official figure released Friday was a better-than-expected 5.0 percent) and post 4.5- and 4.0-percent results in 2025 and 2026.
SPORTS: PSA enshrines Diaz to Hall of Fame
Over to sports, the Philippines' first Olympic gold medalist, Hidilyn Diaz, will be enshrined in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Hall of Fame. On Thursday, the PSA said the enshrinement is "for bringing pride and glory to the country with every lift she did in an outstanding sporting journey." The Zamboanga City native will be honored during the San Miguel Corporation-PSA Awards Night that will be held at The Manila Hotel on Jan. 27, 2025.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about religious freedom and violations of law and public order, while Remoto discusses the waning of the H1B visa for those who want to live in the US.
Today's editorial says "bigger thinking" is needed for real jobs and economic growth. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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