Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Sunday, August 18, 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: China protests PCG flagship in PH waters

CHINA said it would take “firm and decisive actions” against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua, which has been anchored since April at the Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, a part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Lian Jian, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said China has protested to the Philippines through diplomatic channels and asked the Philippines to stop its infringement activities and withdraw the vessel at once. At the same time, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Beijing expressed its “very dramatic” alarm over a mid-range missile system that the US military recently deployed to the Philippines and warned it could destabilize the region. But Manalo said he reassured his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that the weaponry was only in the country temporarily in talks last month in Laos on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings with Asian and Western countries.

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READ: Leave Lebanon, Filipinos urged

AMID fears of a widening war in the region, the Philippine Embassy in Beirut has urged all Filipinos in Lebanon — about 11,000 of them — to leave the country immediately while the airport is still operational. The advisory came as Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli air strike on Saturday in southern Lebanon killed 10 Syrians, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. The toll from the strike in the Nabatieh area is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israeli forces began exchanging near-daily fire over their border after war in the Gaza Strip began in October. International mediators have been trying to reach a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants, which diplomats say could help to avert a wider war in which Lebanon would be on the front line.

READ: Sara: Allegations vs husband ‘political noise’

VICE President Sara Duterte urged the public over the weekend not to lose sight of the problems of the country amid the “political noise” surrounding allegations that her husband, Manases Carpio, was involved in drug smuggling in 2018. Carpio, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte and former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang were tagged in the smuggling of shabu (crystal meth) amounting to P11 billion by former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban during a hearing of the House “Quad Committee” on Friday. The Quad Committee comprises the House Committees of Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts. In an ambush interview on Saturday at the sidelines of the Kadayawan Festival, Duterte said that she could not speak for her brother Paolo and even her husband, second gentleman Carpio, over the accusations hurled against them.

READ: PH urged to invest more in sanitation

THE Philippines has made strides in preventing unhygienic practices, but it needs to invest more in sanitation, such as toilets, to prevent diseases from spreading. In an interview for the online show “The Manila Times Roundtable” with Times Chairman Dante Francis Ang II, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) chief of climate, environment and disaster resilience for the Philippines Carlos Vasquez said there should be continued awareness about unhygienic practices like open defecation that would kickstart demand for additional toilets. Vasquez said that while the country has made strides in preventing this, 3 percent of the population still practice open defecation in bushes, which could lead to diseases such as cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases.

READ: Oil spill compensation for LGUs ready to begin

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) on Saturday said the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) was ready to indemnify local government units (LGUs) that shelled out funds to mitigate the effects of the oil spill in Bataan. Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said the IOPC was currently looking at the expenses incurred by LGUs to help those affected by the maritime disaster. He reported that 52,000 fishermen from Bataan and Cavite were affected by the oil spill. The provincial governments of Bataan and Cavite are helping identify the roughly 21,000 probable claimants of the compensation.

READ: PHLPost disruptive power struggle ends

THE monthlong power struggle for the postmaster general affecting the operations of the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) has ended. Luis Carlos has unseated former Quezon City councilor Michael Planas as postmaster general and PHLPost CEO after being unanimously reelected by the board of directors, which is now headed by its new chairman, former Court of Appeals justice Stephen Cruz. Members of the PHLPost Board of Directors unanimously reelected Carlos on August 15 during a special board meeting called for this purpose. PHLPost is a governmentowned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) in which the postmaster general and chairman shall be appointed to its governing board and nominated by the Philippine president, while the CEO is confirmed and elected annually by the members of the board, consistent with Republic Act 10149. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named Carlos as acting postmaster general and member of the PHLPost Board of Directors on March 28, 2023. He assumed office as the new postmaster general and CEO on April 3, 2023. However, in May 2024, President Marcos appointed Planas as chairman of the PHLPost Board of Directors. Subsequently, the PHLPost Board of Directors elected him as its new postmaster general and CEO at the annual election last June 18.

BUSINESS: NEDA: Govt to keep addressing poverty

In business, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the decline in poverty rate in 2023 shows promising signs of inclusive government efforts to reduce poverty across the regions and provinces. In a statement late Thursday, Balisacan noted, however, that despite the decline, the government will continue to address the root causes of poverty and make sure that the reduction will be sustained.

SPORTS: Castañeda grateful for opportunity to coach Yulo

In sports, Aldrin Castañeda expressed gratitude for having an opportunity to coach Carlos Yulo again. Castañeda was one of Yulo’s junior coaches before the Filipino gymnastics ace got coached by Munehiro Kugimiya in Japan starting in 2016. When the two parties parted ways last year due to personal differences, Castañeda was reassigned to coach Yulo, eventually helping the 4-foot-11 dynamo in winning two gold medals at the Paris Olympics.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Marlen Ronquillo is today’s front page columnist, where he says the surge in leptospirosis cases is “pausing a hoopla” over the coming First World-hood.

Today’s editorial hits out at the motives of mandatory drug testing. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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