Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
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READ: Duterte a liar – Marcos
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, a liar for alleging that the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was passed and signed with "blank items" and "discrepancies. He was reacting to Duterte's claims over the weekend that this year's expenditure program is "inaccurate" and not a valid law because of the "blanks." Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab claimed there were discrepancies in the bicameral conference committee report for this year's budget. Ungab said there were missing budget amounts for items under the Department of Agriculture (DA) and unprogrammed appropriations. The House and the Senate ratified a defective bicameral report, he said.
READ: Suspected Chinese spy arrested
AUTHORITIES arrested a Chinese citizen with links to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and his two Filipino accomplices suspected to be behind an espionage operation involving equipment used to map critical infrastructure across the country. In a press briefing on Monday, Jeremy Lontoc, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division chief, said the intelligence operation began when authorities tracked the movements of the group through a covert GPS device installed on their vehicle. The group was discovered loitering near sensitive sites such as military camps, power plants, airports, seaports, local government offices, and even shopping malls and transmitting real-time data to an overseas location.
READ: Court convicts ex-QC mayor Herbert Bautista of graft
THE Sandiganbayan Special Seventh Division convicted former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista and former city administrator Aldrin Cuña of graft in connection with the Online Occupational Permitting and Tracking System (OOPTS) project. In the decision promulgated on Monday, the court found them guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act.
READ: Gordon Ramsay: 'Philippines sleeping beauty of Asia'
FANS of world-renowned British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay finally got the moment they've been waiting for. Ever since the opening of the Gordon Ramsay Bar and Grill Philippines at Newport Resorts World in August 2024, Ramsay's absence from the country left many wondering why the culinary icon hadn't yet visited. But on Monday, Ramsay arrived in Manila with a bang, apologizing for the delay but more than making up for it with thrilling announcements: he is in talks to open three more restaurants in the Philippines, including the possibility of bringing the iconic Hell's Kitchen to the country. Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen brand, inspired by the hit television cooking competition of the same name, is renowned for its dramatic, high-pressure environment where chefs battle for culinary supremacy. The restaurant counterpart mirrors this intensity with its signature dishes like Beef Wellington and lobster risotto.
READ: Marcos likely to extend term of PNP chief
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said there was a high chance he would approve the extension of the tour of duty of Philippine National Police chief Rommel Francisco Marbil "until after the elections." In an ambush interview in Taguig City, Marcos said that "there is a very strong argument" for Marbil's term extension as "it would not be good for stability, especially to change the chief PNP in the middle of a campaign period and then approaching an election period."
BUSINESS: BIR, Customs targets 'more or less' achieved
Topping business, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) both likely hit their 2024 revenue targets, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said, but maintaining the momentum this year could be a challenge. Preliminary figures put 2024 revenues at 4.41 trillion pesos, with taxes accounting for the bulk at 3.78 trillion pesos, while non-tax revenues were at 625.96 billion pesos. The BIR last week said that it likely topped its 2.85-trillion-peso target with "at least" 2.848 trillion pesos having been collected with final figures still to be determined next month. The BOC, meanwhile, which has a 930-billion-peso goal, has so far netted 916.6 billion pesos.
SPORTS: Cousins not closing doors on PBA stint
Over to sports, helping the Zamboanga Valientes sweep The Asian Tournament last August, DeMarcus Cousins goes for another title run this time with the Strong Group Athletics which will compete at the Dubai International Basketball Tournament. The tiff will run from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about sex, lies and religion, Makabenta has three name changes and a trillion-dollar economy, while Mercado discusses the price of democracy.
Today's editorial looks into the sisyphus of poverty reduction. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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