KUWTT: BBM campaign cost P272M | June 7, 2022

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Tuesday, June 7, 2022.

READ: BBM campaign cost P272M

PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his political party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), spent P272 million for campaigning during the last elections. In a statement on Monday, George Briones, the lawyer of Marcos and the PFP, said the party has submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Marcos' statement of contributions and expenditures (SOCE). Briones said the amount was "well below the maximum expenditure of P337 million allowed by law for a national political party." Under the election law, a candidate for president or vice president can spend only P10 per voter. The campaign spending cap for a political party is P5 per voter. About 66 million voters registered for the May 9 elections. Marcos garnered just over 30 million votes in his landslide victory. The SOCE was prepared and signed by former Davao del Norte second district representative and PFP national treasurer Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo, who was recently nominated by the president-elect as the next Special Assistant to the President.

READ: Charges filed over casino 'takeover'

THE ousted board of the country's biggest casino on Monday filed criminal charges, including kidnapping and serious illegal detention, against Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, Filipino businessman Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco and several others in connection with the "violent takeover" of the casino resort and hotel complex last May 31. The charges were filed with the Department of Justice (DoJ) by Hajime Tokuda, director of Asia Best Group International and Universal Entertainment Corp., the parent company of Tiger Resort Leisure Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), which operates the Okada Manila casino in Parañaque City.

READ: Medical group pushes Herbosa as DoH chief

THE Philippine Medical Association (PMA) endorsed Dr. Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa, the special adviser of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF), as the next Department of Health (DoH) secretary. Congratulating President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (BBM) and Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio, outgoing PMA president Benito Atienza and incoming president Maria Minerva Calimag led their co-officers and members in urging Marcos to pick Herbosa for the Health post, citing his vast experience and expertise in health care systems, public health, hospital administration, trauma surgery, emergency and disaster medicine. In Monday's virtual press conference with the Quezon City Press Club, Atienza and Calimag cited Herbosa's contributions in the campaign against the pandemic. They said it was Herbosa who presented the PMA's proposal to hold National Vaccination Days to the NTF, which contributed to the low incidence of Covid cases. Herbosa received the PMA Presidential Award in recognition of his role in the group's undertakings, Atienza said. Earlier, Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Jose Ma. "Joey" Concepcion 3rd endorsed Herbosa and Dr. Edsel Salvaña for the post to be vacated by Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd.

READ: ARTA execs appeal suspension

ANTI-RED Tape Authority (ARTA) Director General Jeremiah Belgica and three other officials asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its order suspending them for six months in connection with pending administrative charges. The suspension ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman is not a penalty. Belgica, Deputy Director General Eduardo Bringas, Sheryl Pura-Sumagui and Melamy Salvadora-Asperin filed a motion for reconsideration on Monday. Jedrek Ng, who was also included in the preventive suspension order, is not part of the ARTA.

BUSINESS: Fiscal discipline trimmed debt – DoF

Over to business, the national government's debt would have reached P15.4 trillion this year, had the Duterte administration not exercised fiscal discipline in responding to the pandemic, Department of Finance (DoF) chief economist Gil Beltran said. According to a report by the DoF-Domestic Finance Group (DFG), the passage of proposed Covid-19 stimulus bills and other revenue-eroding measures would have led to additional spending or revenue losses of at least P2.2 trillion. This would have increased the overall debt level to P15.4 trillion. Examples of the bills included in the calculation of the DoF-DFG are the proposed value-added tax exemptions for oil, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity and other commodities and abolition of other taxes; various Covid-19 stimulus bills and subsidies; proposed exclusion of the 13th month pay, performance-based bonus and other income from taxable income; and the appropriations for new departments or government entities proposed by various legislators.

SPORTS: Donaire: I am the best

In sports, Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire is set for a unification rematch against Japanese Naoya "The Monster" Inoue at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, today, June 7. Donaire, the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champ, collides with Inoue, the reigning unified World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titlist, at around 7 p.m. (Philippine time).

READ: Opinion and editorial

Antonio Contreras and Yen Makabenta are today's front page columnists. Contreras discusses the weakening of checks and balances, while Makabenta how will incoming President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. allay public skepticism about his pledge of an agriculture renaissance.

Today's editorial discusses arts and culture. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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On behalf of The Manila Times, this is Aric John Sy Cua reporting. Have a safe Tuesday ahead.

Source: TheManila Times