BIRMINGHAM, England: Eddie Pepperell holed a birdie putt from 40 feet on the 18th to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the British Masters and move into position to win the event for the second time in four years. The English golfer shot a second straight 4-under 68 at The Belfry to […]

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said on Saturday that the Catholic Church would not be endorsing any candidate in next year’s national elections. “We can’t say anything (names of candidates) because those who run are ‘trapo’ (traditional politicians). Election is more of a process of choosing the lesser evil,” said Pabillo, the apostolic administrator of […]

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Saturday the government would not meet the May 15 deadline to complete the distribution of financial assistance to indigents affected by lockdowns in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, also known as the NCR Plus. “Despite diligent efforts […]

PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief LtGen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar and Quezon City Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte have spearheaded a peace dialog with leaders of Muslim communities in the city. The dialog took place a day after the celebration of Eid al-Fitr 2021, the feast marking the end of Ramadan, at the Salaam community in Barangay […]

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on Saturday, the latest step by the military to silence reporting from the territory amid its battle with the militant group Hamas. The strike came nearly an hour after the […]

 THE ROBOT HAS LANDED. Santi, the sanitation robot, arrives in SM to fulfill a new mission. He came down to earth to help with the task of making sure that shoppers are safe. Equipped with misting powers, Santi will be disinfecting areas around him with VirusDOC, an FDA-approved disinfectant that it 100% hypoallergenic, non-toxic, […]

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, May 15, 2021. READ: Government picks up pace of vaccination THE government’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination drive is beginning to pick up pace as more vaccine shipments arrive, the Department of Health (DoH) has reported. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday the […]

SENATOR Risa Hontiveros prodded the National Security Council anew to conduct a security audit of DITO Telecommunity, the third major telco player in the country. Hontiveros cited the need to beef up the country’s maritime and internet security because of the continuing presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea. The senator said she […]

BOND issuances by the national government and higher gold prices increased the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) to a three-month high of $107.25 billion as of the end of April. Preliminary Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed on Friday the figure was 2.30 percent and 17.93 percent higher than the $104.48 billion and $90.94 […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has invited in his next televised address former senator Juan Ponce Enrile to discuss issues concerning the West Philippine Sea. In his taped public address aired on Friday, Duterte announced that he invited Enrile as guest in the “Talk to the People” on May 17. “We have respectfully invited Senator Enrile to […]

THE Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea will not move an inch backward, President Rodrigo Duterte said following reported incursions by nearly 300 Chinese militia vessels in the disputed territory. “Yung mga barko natin nandiyan ngayon sa Pag-asa at saan pa, we will not move an inch backward (Our vessels are now there in […]

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, May 14, 2021. READ: New AIDS wave hits PH The Philippines is in the midst of a “new wave” of HIV/AIDS — human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome — cases that have spread mostly among young people. Paula Munderi, United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Prevention team leader, said the country had the […]

THE Philippine government has further tightened the country’s border restrictions by expanding the currently implemented travel ban to Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid threats imposed by the double mutant variant first detected in India. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the travel ban would be imposed on all passengers coming from Oman […]

WASHINGTON: In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people on Thursday, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. “Today is a great day for America,” President Joe Biden said during a Rose Garden […]

METRO Manila and other areas currently under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) will be placed under a new quarantine classification after May 14, Malacañang said on Thursday, amid a decline in new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the statement ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s […]

THE decision of former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes 3rd to seek the presidency in 2022 if Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo doesn’t run for the position came as a “surprise,” her spokesman said. “He knows that the Vice President is still very much open to running for president, so it was a bit of […]

MORE areas in Mindanao were placed under Signal No.2 while some in the Visayas are under Signal No. 1 as tropical storm “Crising” maintained its strength, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Thursday. Signal No. 2 is up over the southern portion of Surigao del Sur (Tagbina, Hinatuan, City of […]

THE Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) has tagged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and local extremist groups as terrorists. Included in the two ATC resolutions were 29 individuals from the CPP’s Central Committee, the Abu Sayyaf Group, Maute Group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as terrorists. ATC Resolution 17, approved on […]

“IT’S free to dream,” Malacañang said on Thursday in response to former senator Antonio Trillanes 4th’s announcement that he was planning to run for president in 2022. “Libre po ang mangarap. Hayaan po nating mangarap na maging presidente si dating senador Trillanes, karapatan po niya ‘yan bilang isang Pilipino (It’s free to dream. Let us […]

THE Philippines posted 6,385 new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on Thursday while the number of recovered patients decreased to 4,289, according to the Department of Health (DoH). This puts the total number of infections to 1.125 million, from which 55,260 are active cases while recoveries are at 1.050 million. The positivity rate […]

SENIOR Citizens Party-list Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Ordanes on Thursday appealed to the Philippines’ Covid-19 task force to consider using mall-based outlets of pharmacies as vaccination sites. The senior lawmaker said it would help “move the country much closer to attaining herd immunity while also reviving economic activity in malls.” He cited as an example the […]

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. once again protested the continued presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) despite repeated appeals for them to leave the area. He ordered on Thursday the filing of diplomatic protest against the presence of 287 Chinese vessels in the WPS as reported by the Philippine Coast […]

SEN. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the reported “return” of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) should be an urgent wake-up call for Filipinos to come up with one strong stand on the issue. The senator on Thursday also proposed exploring other means to address the issue, such as using parliamentary-to-parliamentary channels, […]

SIGNAL No. 2 is up in parts of Mindanao as “Crising” intensified into a tropical storm, the state-run weather agency said on Thursday. Affected areas are the southern portion of Surigao del Sur (Lingig and City of Bislig), the southeastern portion of Agusan del Sur (Trento and Santa Josefa), the northern portion of Davao Oriental […]

THE Metro Manila Council (MMC) will present its recommendation on the next quarantine status in the National Capital Region (NCR) to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) in its meeting this Thursday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos said in a statement. The MMC, the policy-making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), met […]

VICE President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo on Thursday welcomed the celebration of the Eid’l Fitr, reminding Filipinos to “cherish” bonds and spiritual ties that “tighten with every act of communal responsibility,” especially with the challenges brought by the pandemic. She highlighted that this day serves not only “a feast that marks the end of a […]

IT was indeed shocking, to say the least. The comments were pure and unadulterated racism emanating from Filipinos who were reacting to Miss Universe Canada Nova Stevens’ blackness. The remarks are simply too painful and embarrassing to even repeat in this space for they are clear evidence of sheer bigotry and malicious ignorance. What makes […]

First word IN a research paper published in April, Douglas W. Allen, an economics professor in Canada, has uncovered the hard truths about the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown policy most countries have adopted against it. He reached his conclusions after examining over 80 papers on the effects of lockdowns implemented worldwide by governments in […]

AFTER numerous failed attempts to attract a qualified buyer, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) has finally managed to sell one of the bigger unproductive government assets under its control, the 650-megawatt (MW) Malaya thermal plant located in Pililla, Rizal. Not only does the sale of the plant help to resolve some […]

Over 80 percent of the 2021 national budget has been released to government agencies, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). DBM data showed on Wednesday that the allotment release of P3.61 trillion from January to April was 80.2 percent of the P4.50-trillion programmed budget of the government. The latest amount is lower […]

THE City of Manila will begin its first rollout of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to the A1 priority group or medical frontliners on Thursday, the local government unit announced. The first 210 doses will be administered to the frontliners at the Sta. Ana Hospital at 8 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said in […]

THE Philippines recorded another drop in new cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) at 4,842 on Wednesday, the Department of Health (DoH) said but attributed the decline to the low submission of data by its designated Covid laboratories. The DoH said a total of 33,529 samples were tested, 4,191 or 12.5 percent of which […]