Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
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READ: Junk budget law, SC urged
PETITIONERS led by former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez and Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab have filed a case before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2025. The petitioners argued that the 2025 national budget violates several provisions of the Constitution, including the right to health, the prohibition against increasing congressional appropriations beyond the president's recommendations, and the mandate to prioritize education in the national budget. The petition named the House of Representatives, the Senate, and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin respondents. The petitioners sought a declaration from the Supreme Court that budget law is unconstitutional, citing grave abuse of discretion in its passage and implementation. The petitioners argued that the 2025 GAA violates Article II, Section 15 of the Constitution, which mandates the state to protect and promote the right to health. They claimed that the budget stripped the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) of its funding despite the Universal Health Care Act (UHCA) requiring the government to subsidize premium contributions for indirect contributors, such as low-income and unemployed individuals. The petitioners asserted that the removal of PhilHealth's subsidy undermines the government's obligation to provide accessible health care to all Filipinos. The petition further alleged that the House of Representatives and the Senate violated Article VI, Section 25(1) of the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from increasing the appropriations recommended by the President in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
READ: Poll body taps TikTok to fight fake news
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) and social media platform TikTok Philippines on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement to fight political misinformation, disinformation and fake news to preserve the integrity and transparency of the May 12 elections. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the partnership would help dispel misinformation and disinformation since TikTok was the top platform being used by politicians and candidates. He admitted that Comelec does not have the human and financial resources to do what TikTok could do, adding they would seek similar deals with other social platforms.
READ: JDV building, museum inaugurated
THE House of Representatives inaugurated the Jose de Venecia Jr. Building and Museum in its complex in Quezon City on Tuesday. De Venecia, the former speaker, was present at the event, accompanied by his wife Gina, herself a former lawmaker, and their son Pangasinan 4th District Rep. Christopher de Venecia. Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who delivered the keynote address, described de Venecia in his speech as "a man of great ideas" and "of profound humanity."
READ: Fewer Chinese ships spotted near Ayungin
THE Navy on Tuesday said it spotted fewer China vessels during the latest resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship that the Philippines deliberately grounded on Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a military outpost in the disputed South China Sea. Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said it has only monitored two People's Liberation Army-Navy warships, five China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and two Chinese maritime militia vessels during the Jan. 24 resupply mission. Compared to the previous rotation and reprovisioning mission, there were fewer ships this time, Trinidad said at a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo. It was also a far cry from the 46 Chinese vessels monitored in December 2023. The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday said this was the fifth resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre following the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) between Manila and Beijing.
READ: Miru promises smooth elections despite hitches
TECHNOLOGY service provider Miru Systems vowed seamless midterm polls despite interruptions in the production of peripherals. Temporary restraining orders by the Supreme Court resulting from electoral disputes have affected the production of election peripherals, including ballots. Miru Project Managing Director Andrew Shim said the company was coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the National Printing Office (NPO) to reconfigure timelines and maintain production efficiency. The revised contract includes the deployment of four additional machines from the NPO to supplement the two advanced HP printers provided by Miru Systems.
BUSINESS: Farm output shrinks anew in fourth quarter
Headlining business, agricultural output fell for a third straight quarter in the last three months of 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, underlining expectations that full-year economic growth likely missed the target. The PSA will release preliminary fourth quarter and 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth data this Thursday. Analysts have said that while the final quarter would have improved from July-September's disappointing 5.2 percent, the growth would not have been enough to reach the government's 6.0- to 6.5-percent goal for the year. Still, the fourth-quarter farm output contraction of 2.2 percent, was narrower than the 3.2- and 3.6-percent declines seen in the second and third quarters, PSA data showed.
SPORTS: Carlos Yulo out to scale higher expectations
EXPECTATIONS are definitely higher for gymnast Carlos Yulo after pulling off a historic double gold medal at last year's Paris Olympics — the first for any Filipino Olympian. Rejuvenated after taking a well-deserved break, "Caloy," who was feted as "Athlete of the Year" at the 2024 Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night at the Manila Hotel's grand ballroom, said he's out to give his best to make the podium again. Yulo sure did not forget to express gratitude to the people who helped him become the greatest Filipino Olympian — from the Lord, his girlfriend Chloe San Jose, Gymnastics chief Cynthia Carrion, fellow Olympians, his coach Aldrin Castañeda, and the people who stayed up late at night and prayed for his success during the Paris Games.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao gives a "simplistic and uninformed analysis" on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, while Tatad asks if there is any other political party ready to lead the Filipino people.
Today's editorial calls for a condemnation of US President Donald Trump's "discrimination-based" aid cuts. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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