Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Thursday, February 27, 2025.
Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Kidnapped boy found alive, finger missing
POLICE on Wednesday said a 14-year-old Chinese student who was reported kidnapped in Taguig City on Feb. 20 was found Tuesday night, abandoned along Macapagal Avenue in Parañaque City, with his right little finger missing. The Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) said the boy was reported missing after he did not return home from an activity at the British School of Manila on Feb. 20 after being picked up by the family driver. The body of the driver was found in another vehicle. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the PNP to crack down on criminal syndicates in the wake of the latest incident. The police reunited the foreign student with his father and had him medically examined at St. Luke's Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City.
READ: Issue new plates in 3 days, LTO told
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Vince Dizon is turning up the heat on the Land Transportation Office (LTO), demanding a drastic improvement in the agency's sluggish processing of license plates. Just a week after slamming the slow rollout of plates, Dizon on Tuesday challenged the LTO to release plates for newly registered vehicles within three working days. The DOTr chief also pressed the LTO to resolve its massive backlog of more than 9 million unissued motorcycle plates dating back to 2014. The Commission on Audit (COA) recently exposed the scale of the problem, revealing in its latest report that over 9.1 million motorcycle plates remained undelivered as of 2023. COA attributed the backlog to insufficient funding, procurement delays, and logistical lapses, noting that many registrants have already paid for their plates but were still waiting years later.
READ: Teodoro: Asean must be resolute, united
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday emphasized the need for a resolute and united Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to address emerging security challenges confronting the region. Speaking at the Asean Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) in Penang, Malaysia ,Teodoro underscored the need for Asean to remain cohesive and proactive in upholding regional stability, amid the shifting geopolitical landscape that tends to reshape global relations. Reaffirming the Philippines' long-standing commitment to regional peace, Teodoro also pointed out the importance of articulating the realities of the current geopolitical environment to remain adaptive to rapid change and uncertainties.
READ: Fix socmed problems, senatorial bets warned
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has warned senatorial candidates and party-list groups who registered their social media campaign platforms but failed to fully comply with the requirements that they have only until March 7 to submit their deficiencies or risk having their online campaign websites being taken down. Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco issued the reminder on Wednesday that failure on the part of the non-compliant candidates to comply would change their status from "partially compliant" to "non compliant." Laudiangco said that of the more than 18,000 who filed their certificates of candidacy (CoC) for the upcoming midterm elections, 13,000 applied to register their social media platforms for election campaign purposes. In particular, the commission served notices to three senatorial candidates and 12 party-list organizations to complete on or before the March 7 deadline for deficient applications. The commission did not identify the non-compliant parties.
BUSINESS: Trade war biggest risk to PH growth
Topping business, Philippine economic growth could return to target this year, an economist said, but a global trade war — its scope and magnitude in particular — arising from US protectionism could have significant consequences. Security Bank Corp. research head and chief economist Angelo Taningco told reporters on Wednesday that an economic conflict between countries posed the biggest risk to this year's economic performance. Taningco said gross domestic product (GDP) growth could hit 6.1 percent this year, near the lower end of the government's 6.0- to 8.0-percent target. GDP growth was 5.6 percent last year, below the 6.0- to 6.5-percent goal, and was also short of the 6.0- to 7.0-percent target in 2023 at 5.5 percent. US President Donald Trump has followed through with campaign promises to protect US manufacturing and jobs by implementing tariffs, first targeting major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, and then announcing duties on all aluminum and steel imports.
SPORTS: Kai Sotto begins light workout
Over to sports, Gilas Pilipinas star Kai Sotto is preparing for his return to form, as he works on his strength and conditioning, following a tear on his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) earlier this year. From Koshigaya, Japan, Sotto is seen on his Instagram story on Tuesday working his way back, with a "Loading" sticker, with conditioning coach Mel Lantin by his side. He remains out for the rest of the season because of the ACL tear, while playing for the Japanese B.League side Koshigaya Alphas, and he was unavailable in the previous outings of Gilas Pilipinas, with head coach Tim Cone saying the 7-foot-3 centerman would miss 9-12 months of action, potentially missing the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in August in Saudi Arabia, where the national team already qualified.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras and Makabenta give their EDSA Revolution anniversary thoughts, while Remoto honors Cebuano writer-politician Vicente Rama.
Today's editorial said the Philippines is right to be cautious about the maritime carbon tax. Read more on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.