Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
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READ: Half of voters already have Senate picks
HALF of registered voters already have a complete list of senatorial candidates for the May 12 elections, the survey company Pulse Asia said Monday. On average, registered voters identify a mean of nine candidates, with a median of 11 candidates they are inclined to support for the May 2025 elections. Mean preference varies from 7 to 11 across different geographic areas and socioeconomic classes, while median preferences range from 8 to 12. Out of 66 senatorial candidates, 14 are in a statistically favorable position to win if the polls were held during the survey period. Apart from Ben Tulfo and Willie Revillame, the other probable winners are current or former members of Congress. Additionally, 10 of those with a statistical chance of winning are running under the administration's "Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas." ACT-CIS Party-List Rep. Erwin Tulfo leads the survey, with a voter preference of 62.8 percent, placing him solo in the first place. Close behind are Sen. Bong Go (50.4 percent) in second place and former Senate president Vicente Sotto III (50.2 percent), who share positions in second to fourth places. Ben Tulfo ranks third and eighth, with Sen. Pia Cayetano (46.1 percent) and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. (46.0 percent) also sharing third to eighth positions. Sen. Imee Marcos (43.4 percent) and former senator Panfilo Lacson (42.4 percent) have statistical rankings between fourth and twelfth places. Completing the list of probable winners are Willie Revillame (41.9 percent, 7th-13th places); Sen. Ronald dela Rosa (41.2 percent, 7th-14th places); Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay (41.1 percent, 7th-14th places); former senator Manny Pacquiao (40.6 percent, 7th-14th places); Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar (38.4 percent, 9th-14th places) and Sen. Lito Lapid (37.7 percent, 10th-14th places). The pollster said 3.1 percent of registered voters are indecisive about senatorial choices. Meanwhile, 2.5 percent do not have a preferred candidate, and 1.7 percent refuse to disclose their voting intentions.
READ: Tulfo brothers lead OCTA survey
ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo and his brother, broadcaster Ben Tulfo, led the senatorial survey of independent pollster OCTA Research at the beginning of the campaign period for national positions. In its Tugon ng Masa survey conducted from Jan. 25-31, 2025, Erwin Tulfo led the survey with a 70 percent voter preference, followed by his elder brother, Ben, with 60 percent. Following the Tulfos are Sen. Bong Go, former senator Vicente Tito Sotto III, Sen. Bong Revilla, and entertainer Willie Revillame. The other six candidates who might have a shot at the Senate are former senator Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Pia Cayetano, former senator Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Lito Lapid, and former interior secretary Benhur Abalos. In all, the administration coalition "Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas" will get eight seats, while Go is the only Duterte-aligned candidate with a shot to win a spot in the Magic 12. Ben Tulfo, Revillame, and Marcos are considered as independents. Candidates out of the top 12 but have a statistical chance of winning a seat include Sen. Francis Tolentino, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
READ: Candidates hit campaign trail
CANDIDATES took their advocacies to the people Tuesday as the 90-day campaign period for senatorial candidates and party-list groups began. The administration's Senate slate, under the banner of Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, officially launched its campaign in Ilocos Norte, rallying support in the political stronghold of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family. President Marcos himself led the campaign kickoff at the province's centennial arena to endorse a powerhouse lineup of senatorial candidates under the Alyansa banner. Sen. Imee Marcos, who earlier declined the endorsement of her brother, was also present during the rally. Aside from Senator Marcos, the administration's Senate slate also included former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Lito Lapid, former senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Bong Revilla, former Senate president Tito Sotto, Sen. Francis Tolentino, former Social Welfare secretary Erwin Tulfo, and Deputy Speaker Camille Villar. Campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said the Alyansa was not just a slate of candidates but a coalition of experienced leaders committed to real solutions. In a press conference on Tuesday, Tiangco said that each candidate on the slate has a proven track record and was ready to work alongside the Marcos administration to advance crucial reforms. With 434,114 registered voters, Ilocos Norte remains a critical base for the administration, which is looking to leverage Ilocano unity to build momentum ahead of the midterms.
READ: Israel says PH ties stronger than ever
THE government of Israel on Tuesday said it remains committed to delivering its promise of helping shape a better future for the Philippines. Israel's Ambassador to Manila Ilan Fluss gave this assurance, saying relations between the two nations remain robust and stronger than ever. Israel's programs in the country include the sending of interns to Israel to learn more about agriculture productivity and food security, provision of scholarships to qualified college-age Filipinos to earn a degree in childhood development, and the bringing in of Israeli technologies to the country "that are very relevant to the challenges here in the Philippines" focused on specific sectors such as agriculture, water and cybersecurity. People-to-people exchange is also a focal point, with Israel looking to send more tourists to the Philippines and vice versa.
BUSINESS: PH hit seen from reciprocal tariffs
Topping business, reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump said he would announce this week could disrupt Philippine exports, analysts warned on Tuesday.
The move will be particularly damaging for the country, Moody's Analytics economist Sarah Tan told The Manila Times, "because duties levied on US imports are higher than the tariffs on Philippine imports imposed by [the] US." If the United States aligns its tariffs accordingly, she added, the cost of Philippine exports to the US will rise, making these less attractive to American buyers.
SPORTS: Gilas braces for Doha tournament
Over to sports, following a grueling three-game quarterfinal series, Tim Cone's coaching job won't have any down time at all as his mind now switches to a new level when he handles the Gilas Pilipinas side that will be playing three games in a friendly tournament this week in Doha, Qatar. Ginebra worked doubly hard on Sunday before scraping past Meralco, 94-87, in a highly emotional sudden death Game 3 to win their PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup quarterfinal series. The victory allowed the league's most popular squad to advance to the best-of-seven semifinal series where Cone's team faces top seed NorthPort two weeks from now. Cone admitted that three-time Best Import Justin Brownlee will be on "load management" come the three games in Doha as they try to keep his legs fresh for the two coming away Games against Taiwan and New Zealand in the last window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao thinks there'll be 18 years of Marcoses in power should the impeachment proceedings start against Vice President Sara Duterte, while Tatad asks if Donald Trump is turning the United States into a fearsome world power.
Today's editorial looks into a need for Filipino teachers in the US state of Alaska. Read more on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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