Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, Oct. 10, 2022.
FORMER senator Leila de Lima was briefly taken hostage on Sunday by an inmate at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Camp Crame where she is being detained. She was unhurt, but the man who held her hostage and two other inmates were killed. Police said the inmate, Feliciano Sulayao Jr., held de Lima at knifepoint in her cell where he holed up after a foiled escape attempt. He and two other detainees were shot dead by the police. Sulayao and two other detainees had stabbed a police officer as they tried to flee the center. All three were subsequently killed, police said. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in a Twitter post he will visit the custodial center to check on de Lima’s condition. The former senator, who is detained on drug charges, is safe and “unscathed” and will receive “all necessary medical and psychological attention needed,” the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said on Sunday.
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READ: PH should procure bivalent vaccines
THE country should start securing bivalent vaccines to boost efforts to protect Filipinos from Covid-19 and keep the economy afloat, Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd said. He said acquiring the vaccines is vital in the Philippines’ initiatives to maintain economic activity amid volatile factors within and outside its borders. The government, he asserted, needs to prepare early to secure its supply of the vaccines as “a lot of countries have already placed their orders” and the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve these vaccines. Bivalent vaccines protect against several variants of the Covid virus.
READ: La Salle ends skid, defeats Ateneo
DE La Salle University (DLSU) broke its seven-game skid against Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball, pulling off an 83-78 win over its archrival on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This is the first time since Nov. 29, 2017 or Game Two of the Season 80 Finals, that the Green Archers, then led by MVP Ben Mbala, beat the Blue Eagles. Schonny Winston poured 25 points, including two clutch jumpers to lead La Salle to its second win in three outings in Season 85. La Salle now shares the second spot with Ateneo and National University (NU). University of the Philippines tops the standings with three straight victories.
READ: Lobien upbeat on property sector growth
A TOP property developer sees a bright future for the real estate industry as the country’s economic recovery continues to gain more momentum. Guesting on “Business and Politics,” a weekly program aired Saturday on SMNI hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd, Sheila Lobien, chief executive officer of the Lobien Realty Group Inc., based her optimism on the recent forecast of the Asian Development Bank that the economy will grow by 6.3 percent overall in 2023. Commercial real estate, in particular, has been trending up because of the expanding information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) market, she said.
Topping Business
READ: Foreign reserves down to $95B
THE country’s foreign currency reserves stood at $95 billion as of the end of September, down from the $97.4 billion at end-August, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. Preliminary BSP data revealed that the Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) declined for the seventh straight month by $11.6 billion, or 10.9 percent year on year. Since the start of 2022, the country’s GIR declined by $13.8 billion, or 12.7 percent versus $108.8 billion as of end-2021. The latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.6 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.
In Sports
READ: Pirates survive Stags in overtime
LYCEUM of the Philippines University guard JM Bravo scored seven of his 14 points in the extra period as the Pirates defeated the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Stags in overtime, 82-79, in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. The win pushed Lyceum to second place with a 6-2 record as it bounced back from a heartbreaking 63-57 setback to Jose Rizal University last week.
READ: Cantlay, Kim share PGA Vegas lead
Patrick Cantlay matched the course record with an 11-under par 60 to share the lead with South Korean Kim Joo-hyung after Saturday’s (Sunday in Manila) third round of the PGA Shriners Children’s Open. The 30-year-old American missed a birdie putt from just outside 24 feet on the 18th hole to foil his bid for a 59 but settled for matching his career-best PGA round to stand on 19-under 194 after 54 holes at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Kim, in the final group, birdied six of the last eight holes on his way to a bogey-free 62 and equaled Cantlay atop the leaderboard by making a birdie putt from just inside three feet at the 18th hole.
THE Times editorial today tackles the threat to global economy resulting from petroleum exporters’ decision last week to cut production. Read the full version on print or its digital edition or listen to the Voice of the Times. Rigoberto Tiglao and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino are the featured columnists on the front page. Tiglao talks about President Ferdinand Marcos’ 100 days; Fr. Aquino on the state’s obligation to universities.
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This is Pete Llevares reporting.