Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, May 22, 2023.
READ: ‘Destab moves nipped in the bud’
SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Sunday order has been restored in the House of Representatives, and that “moves to destabilize” the chamber had been “nipped in the bud.” Last week, the House elected Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. as senior deputy speaker, replacing Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was relegated to deputy speaker. The shakeup followed reports that Arroyo was planning to oust Romualdez as speaker, reports that the former president has denied. Romualdez said “there is still much work to do, so occasional moves to destabilize the House should be nipped in the bud.” He said the Uniteam, “which the House Leadership has always been a part of, must continue to focus on finding immediate solutions to problems of ordinary Filipinos,” referring to the alliance under which President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte ran in the 2022 elections. The House chooses to focus on addressing low power supply, high electricity rates, telco issues and unstable commodity prices, instead of political destabilization,” he added.
READ: Cash rewards await SEA Games medalists
Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo is the most bemedalled athlete for the Philippines in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and stands to receive a cash reward for winning two golds and two silvers. Yulo will receive a total of P787,500 — P300,000 each for his two gold medals, P150,000 for his silver in still rings, and P37,500 for his silver in the team event with Ivan Cruz, Juancho Besana, Jan Timbang and Justine de Leon. Cruz, Besana, Timbang and de Leon will each get P37,500 as well. Second to Yulo are swimmer Teia Salvino and triathlete Kim Mangrobang who will each receive P450,000. Salvino for her one gold, two-silver, two-bronze medal haul and Mangrobang for a gold each in duathlon and silver in triathlon. Another swimmer, Xiandi Chua, is the third biggest cash earner and will receive P412,500 for a one-gold, one silver and two-bronze finish in the Games. Rounding out the top five earners are taekwondo jin (poomsae) Patrick King Perez and karateka Jamie Lim who are to gain P350,000 and P337,500, respectively. Perez got a one-gold and one-silver medal haul while Lim also got a one-gold and one-silver haul. Pole vaulter EJ Obiena and weightlifter Elreen Ando bagged P300,000 each plus cash bonuses in their SEA Games record-setting golden runs. Another weightlifter, Vanessa Sarno, will receive P300,000 plus cash bonus for winning a gold in the women’s 71 kg category and setting a SEA Games snatch record.
READ: Ong: Hybrid is future for PH retail
THE senior executive vice president and COO of Wilcon Depot Inc. sees a blend of face-to-face and online retail as the wave of the future. Speaking at SMNI’s weekly public affairs program “Business and Politics” hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd, Rosemarie Bosch-Ong said retailers need to adapt to digitalization in the country or be left behind. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Filipinos and all real estate developers modified their homes to fit the online trend. With digitization stepping up in the country and more Filipinos depending on online transactions Bosch-Ong made some suggestions on how the government can help retailers switch to online transactions.
Topping Business
READ: BoP swings to deficit in April
THE country’s balance of payments (BoP) position turned to a deficit in April as the government paid off some of its foreign debts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported late on Friday. The $148-million shortfall was a reversal from the P1.27-billion surplus posted a month earlier, but was also narrower than the year-earlier deficit of $415 million. Year-to-date, however, the BoP position remained positive. The four-month surplus of $3.3 billion was also an improvement from the $79-million surplus recorded in the same period a year ago. Gross international reserves (GIR), meanwhile, rose to $101.8 billion as of end-April from $101.5 billion a month earlier. The GIR level grew month on month despite the April BoP deficit, which the BSP said was mostly due to upward revaluation adjustments in its gold holdings and foreign currency denominated assets.
In Sports
READ: Koepka gets chance to ease Masters ‘choking’ pain
ROCHESTER: Brooks Koepka blamed himself for “choking” away the Masters last month after entering the final day with a four-stroke lead and 30 holes to play. The four-time major winner, who squandered that lead and lost the green jacket to world number one Jon Rahm, will have his chance at redemption on Sunday (Monday in Manila) at the PGA Championship. Koepka fired a four-under par 66 for the second consecutive day on Saturday at Oak Hill to stand on six-under 204 for 54 holes, one stroke ahead of Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Canada’s Corey Conners. The American star was among those who departed the PGA Tour for the Saudi-financed LIV Golf League.
READ: Murray sinks Lakers to put Nuggets on brink
Jamal Murray scored 37 points as the Denver Nuggets routed the Los Angeles Lakers 119-108 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) to move within one win of reaching the NBA finals for the first time in the team’s history. A dazzling first-half shooting performance from Denver point guard Murray laid the foundation for a deserved road win that leaves the Nuggets with a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series. After claiming back-to-back victories at home in games one and two, Denver delivered a performance of ruthless precision to dispatch LeBron James and the 17-time champion Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena. Murray finished with 37 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Nikola Jokic added 24 points — including 15 in the fourth quarter — to steer Denver to victory. Anthony Davis led the Lakers’ scoring with 28 points while James and Austin Reaves added 23 points apiece.
READ: Op/Ed
Today’s editorial warns that El Nino, a polluted Laguna Lake could form a perfect storm. Read the full version on print or digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Dr. Dante Arevalo Ang, The Manila Times chairman emeritus, Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, and Francisco Tatad. Ang writes about ‘trouble in paradise’; Tiglao on Vietnam as the more serious threat; Aquino on the reality of virtual reality and Tatad on whether the UniTeam is breaking up.
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