Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, November 17, 2024.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Storm surges slam Bicol ahead of Pepito landfall
EVEN before Super Typhoon Pepito hit land, powerful storm surges hit the provinces of Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte on Saturday morning. The water level in the coastal towns in Albay, including in Legazpi City, experienced unusual elevations at 6 a.m. Legazpi City Boulevard was also inundated by the surge driven by strong winds. In Tiwi town, the seawater also reached the houses in Lourdes village. The state-run weather agency, meanwhile, issued a red storm surge warning in Catanduanes at 8 a.m.
READ: Govt to deploy 36,000 rescuers
THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Saturday that more than 36,000 rescue personnel and assets had been positioned to respond quickly to any damage caused by Super Typhoon Pepito, which was expected to batter the country over the weekend. OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said the rescue troops include personnel of the OCD, Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Bureau of Fire Protection, as well as local government units. All land, sea and air assets supporting these rescue personnel are positioned to ensure quick deployment once needed, Nepomuceno said. Nepomuceno said the combined transportation assets of these services and agencies total 2,299, consisting of land vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, and Navy and Coast Guard vessels. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), meanwhile, said it maintains a national stockpile of 1.3 million family food packs (FFPs) that meets the needs of local government units (LGUs) still recovering from recent storms, as well as those who may be affected by Typhoon Pepito.
READ: Comelec: ACM field tests a success
COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia declared on Saturday that the field testing of the automated counting machines (ACMs) and related systems in select areas of the Philippines and abroad has been a success. Garcia said these field tests were crucial in ensuring the smooth functioning of the electoral process in preparation for the May 2025 midterm elections. The tests, he said, assessed the ACMs’ ability to count votes accurately, transmit results, and integrate with the transmission systems for fast and precise reporting from polling centers to the Comelec’s central servers. He said the testing was a critical step ahead of the mock elections planned for December, which will include a test of the online voting system.
READ: Chelsea Manalo hopes to be country’s 5th Miss Universe
ANTICIPATION is at an all-time high as the 73rd Miss Universe pageant culminates on Sunday morning (Manila time) at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. This year’s edition is historic, with a recordbreaking 125 countries and territories competing — surpassing the previous record of 94 entrants set in 2018. Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua will crown her successor, marking a significant moment in the competition’s history. Among the contenders is the Philippines’ Chelsea Manalo of Bulacan, aiming to become the fifth Miss Universe titleholder from the Philippines, following Gloria Diaz (1969), Margarita Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015) and Catriona Gray (2018).
BUSINESS: PH inflation, GDP gain from reforms
In business, the domestic rate of price increases is seen to benefit from the continued implementation of economic reform measures to further bolster the Philippine economy. Inflation rate in September decelerated to 1.9 percent from month-ago’s 3.3 percent ― the lowest since May 2020’s 1.6 percent. This brought the nine-month average to 3.4 percent, within the government’s 3- to 4-percent target band. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort, in a reply to questions from the Philippine News Agency, forecasts inflation to sustain its deceleration in the coming months which, he said, “would support/ justify future cut in key policy rates/interest rates that would fundamentally lead to faster GDP (gross domestic product)/economic growth than otherwise.” The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policymaking Monetary Board reduced by 25 basis points the central bank’s target reverse repurchase rate to 6 percent on Oct. 15 after noting that price pressures remain manageable, with the risk-adjusted inflation for this year seen to average at 3.1 percent. The inflation rate is seen to benefit from the government measures aimed to ensure adequate food supply, such as Executive Order 62, issued in June 2024, which reduces rice tariffs to 15 percent; loan facilities for the agriculture sector; provisions of seeds to farmers to help address effects of La Niña; and provisions of vaccines against the African swine fever
SPORTS: Kai Sotto has a ‘chance’ to play vs New Zealand
Over to sports, Philippine men’s basketball team manager Richard del Rosario said there’s a “chance” for young slot man Kai Sotto to play when Gilas faces New Zealand on Nov. 21 in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena. Just a week ago, the 7-foot-3 Filipino big man was accidentally hit in the face by Yokohama B-Corsairs reinforcement Damien Inglis in the Koshigaya Alphas’ 80-72 triumph. Sotto was placed under the concussion protocol by Japan B.League. As per del Rosario, the concussion protocol involves a six-step process, though Sotto appears to be progressing well since that accidental hit.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Marlen Ronquillo is today’s front page columnist, as he says the Pharmally issue “sucked anything that smelled like money”.
Today’s editorial discusses the recent GCash issue. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.
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