HEADLINES: BBM vows response to Chinese bullying | Mar. 29, 2024

HEADLINES: BBM vows response to Chinese bullying | Mar. 29, 2024

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Good Friday, March 29, 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: BBM vows response to Chinese bullying

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday vowed to mount a “proportionate, deliberate and reasonable” response to the “unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks” by the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia in the West Philippine Sea. In a statement released by the Palace, the President said the relevant government agencies would put together “a response and countermeasure package” in the next few weeks based on the recommendations of National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to address Chinese actions against Filipino vessels and personnel in the W.P.S. The President also said the Philippines was in “constant communication” with allies, partners and friends in the international community. Marcos issued the statement after the China Coast Guard used water cannons against a Philippine vessel on a resupply mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The attack caused heavy damage to the resupply boat and injured four servicemen.

READ: 40 dead as pertussis cases rise

THE Department of Health said 28 new pertussis cases were reported from March 10-16, bringing the total to 568 since January. Of the number, 40 deaths have been reported nationwide, the department said. The new number of cases nationwide is 25.38 percent higher than the 453 from the previous 10 weeks. This number is also more than 20 times last year’s 26 cases. The regions with the most number of case increases so far are Calabarzon (Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Metro Manila, Western Visayas, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), and Central Visayas. Quezon City and Pasig City in Metro Manila and Iloilo City in the central Philippines have declared a pertussis outbreak. Of the total pertussis cases recorded, at least six out of 10 were infants below six months of age, while three out of four of these infants were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history. Of the cases, regardless of age, close to seven out of 10 were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history.

READ: Iloilo’s Santa Maria church a stop for Visita Iglesia

THE Santa Maria Parish Church in Iloilo City, dedicated to Our Lady of China, is likely to be on the list of churches that the faithful, especially Chinese Filipinos, will have for their Visita Iglesia. Located on Gen. Blanco Street, Maria Clara, in Iloilo City, the Santa Maria Parish is home to Chinese Filipino Catholics in the Archdiocese of Jaro. According to the parish, the church was established in 1957 by Jesuit missionaries expelled from China with the rise of atheism on the Chinese mainland, including Fr. Miguel Pardenas, a Mexican. Pardenas was pastor of the newly created parish in Cebu City when he came to Iloilo City in 1953 for an Ignatian retreat. The Mother Superior, herself Mexican, had told him there was also a need to minister to the big Chinese and Chinese Filipino population in Iloilo, the parish said. The idea to create a personal parish for the community got strong support from the then-Jaro archbishop, Msgr. Jose Ma. Cuenco. In that same year, the Jesuit China mission superior, Fr. Paul O’Brien, gave that task to Italian missionary Fr. Guerrino Marsecano, who was 39 years old at that time.

READ: Marcos on BARMM: Much needs to be done

MORE work has to be done to spur peace and development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said, a decade after the signing of an agreement that paves the way for peace and development in the region. In his message on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), Marcos pledged to continue working with the Bangsamoro government for BARMM’s prosperity and progress. The CAB, signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on March 27, 2014, formed the groundwork of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

BUSINESS: Hot money flows turn positive in Feb

Over to business, short-term foreign investments rebounded in February after declining at the start of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported late on Wednesday. Foreign investments registered with the central bank via authorized agents — commonly referred to as “hot money” due to the ease by which these can be moved in and out of the country — posted a net inflow of $689 million. This was a reversal from January’s net outflow of $76 million. Overall inflows for the month totaled $1.5 billion — 25.3 percent up from January’s $1.2 billion — while gross outflows narrowed to $859 million — 34.5 percent lower — from $1.3 billion. The funds were mostly invested in peso government securities (61.4 percent or $951 million) and the rest in Philippine Stock Exchange-list securities (38.6 percent or $598 million) — mainly banks, transportation, holding, property and food, beverage and tobacco firms.

SPORTS: Ginebra braces for tough stretch without Scottie

In sports, with the hoopla of the 2024 PBA All-Star Weekend now behind them, Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone said the Gin Kings are bracing for a tough stretch as the team plays three games in seven days starting this Easter Sunday versus longtime rival Magnolia Hotshots. The most difficult part, he said, is going to battle in the Philippine Cup without ace playmaker Scottie Thompson, who is still out due to a back problem. Cone admitted there is no definite timeline for the 30-year-old guard’s return.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao debunks the “Christ myth” while Tatad talks about a possible shutdown against Sonshine Media Network International.

Today’s editorial discusses shielding the country against foreign intervention. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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