Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
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READ: Teen was not rescued – report
THE "rescue" of the14-year-old student from the British School of Manila was not a heroic police operation but a pre-arranged handover orchestrated by a $1 million ransom payment, a confidential source within the Philippine National Police (PNP) told The Manila Times on Monday. The source said an undisclosed businessman, allegedly with ties to the victim's family, provided the ransom — $1 million — to secure the teenager's release. A report yet to be released by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) that quoted an affidavit of sacked Anti-Kidnapping Group chief Col. Elmer Ragay further suggested that the high-profile "rescue" of the victim may have been staged. The report, yet to be made public, raises critical questions about the role of top police officials and even a high-ranking government figure in the circumstances surrounding the case.
READ: Heat wave shuts down schools
SOARING temperatures shut down schools in nearly half of Metro Manila on Monday, local officials said, as the torrid dry season began. A national weather service advisory warned the heat index, a measure of air temperature and relative humidity, was set to reach "danger" levels in Manila and two other areas of the country. Classes at all levels in public and private schools in Manila, Pasay, Malabon, Las Piñas, and Parañaque were suspended because of extreme heat, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
READ: Protect workers from hot weather, labor group says
ORGANIZED labor on Monday called for the implementation of preventive measures to protect workers from heat-related illnesses as temperatures continue to rise in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that with the heat index surging to 42 to 51°C, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should immediately implement Labor Advisory 8, series of 2023, to protect workers from heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses. The labor advisory mandates all employers to conduct heat-related health risk assessments, improve workplace ventilation, provide sufficient drinking water, adjust work-rest cycles, and implement education campaigns on heat stress prevention. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has forecast a "danger" heat index of up to 46 degrees Celsius while the Department of Health (DOH) warned against heat-related illnesses ranging from heat cramps and exhaustion to fatal heat stroke.
READ: PH, military allies boost interoperability
SENIOR military leaders from the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines met on Sunday to enhance the interoperability of their land forces in the Indo-Pacific region. Philippine Army Public Affairs Office chief Col. Louie Dema-ala said the command hosted a CORE 4 Technical Working Group-Two-Star Level Meeting that discussed ways to improve interoperability and aligning military exercises. The high-level discussions were attended by Brig. Gen. Dean Thompson (G3, Australian Army), Maj. Gen. Scott Winter (G5, Usarpac), Col. Christopher Winn (G5, Marforpac), Maj. Gen. Norimichi Shirakawa (G5, JGSDF), Brig. Gen. Vicente Blanco III (deputy commandant, Philippine Marine Corps), and Maj. Gen. Leodevic Guinid, vice commander of the Philippine Army.
BUSINESS: PH manufacturing slows anew
Headlining business, slower output and new orders growth weighed on the country's manufacturing sector in February, S&P Global said on Monday, with the purchasing managers' index (PMI) month slipping for a second straight month. The PMI of 51.0 was still above the 50.0 threshold demarcating an expansion from a contraction, but was lower than January's 52.3, which in turn had fallen from December 2024's 32-month high of 54.3.
SPORTS: Eldrew Yulo relishes first running experience
Over to sports, Eldrew Yulo was among the 15,000 tough participants of the 2025 National Milo Marathon Manila Leg at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Sunday. The younger brother of the two-time Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo who was accompanied by his mom Angelica shared how his first-ever marathon went. Eldrew stays grounded despite the overwhelming attention from fans seeking selfies. He was taken aback by the enthusiastic welcome he received from the crowd.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Orlando Mercado are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about the mess in Philippine politics, while Mercado weighs in on Trump's White House tantrum while meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Today's editorial looks into technological developments in the Philippine education system. Read more on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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