KUWTT: War over sea row unlikely – Carlos | June 25, 2022

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Saturday, July 25, 2022.

READ: War over sea row unlikely – Carlos

RETIRED professor Clarita Carlos said she will address the country's dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea "with sensitivity" when she assumes office as National Security Adviser (NSA). Saying that "no one wants to go war" over the maritime row, Carlos said the best thing the next administration can do is to tread with caution. She said the 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating Beijing's claims over the West Philippine Sea, at least for now, is nothing but a piece of paper. The 76-year-old scholar-scientist said until China renounces its claims on the waterway, the best strategy for the Philippines right now is to deal with the Chinese "in the language that they know and in the language that we know."

READ: PH-China oil exploration talks over

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Thursday the Philippines has ended negotiations with China for a joint oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Speaking during the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) Foundation Day, Locsin said: "The President had spoken. I carried out his instructions to the letter: oil and gas discussions are terminated completely. Nothing is pending; everything is over." He said both sides tried to negotiate for three years and got as far as constitutionally possible. However, another step forward would have risked a "constitutional crisis."

READ: Duterte to ICC: Bring it on

WITH less than a week left in his term, President Rodrigo Duterte said he is ready to face charges filed against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with his ruthless war on drugs. In a speech during the awarding of Madayaw Residences Units in Davao City on Thursday, Duterte urged the ICC to stop threatening to investigate the alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration. As many as 12,000 people were killed during Duterte's anti-narcotics crackdown, mostly from poor communities, according to human rights watchdogs. At least 2,500 of the fatalities were considered to be victims to be extrajudicial killings carried out by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

READ: Media to Marcos: Decriminalize libel

MEDIA organizations and practitioners will push for the passage of the legislation to decriminalize libel under the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This was the consensus reached during the Local Press Assembly 2022 held on Friday at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) auditorium at the DoubleDragon Building in Pasay City. The event was jointly hosted by the Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc. (PAPI), Federation of Provincial Press Clubs of the Philippines Inc. and the Boracay Global Press Corps Philippines Inc. Participants to the assembly also agreed to endorse to the next Congress the passage of stringent laws against fake news, passage of a measure that defines human rights and the press, and the passage of a law that protects legitimate media organizations and practitioners. Efforts will also be mobilized to strengthen the role of the community press under the incoming Marcos administration.

BUSINESS: ANZ ups PH growth projection to 6.7%

Topping business, in light of the recovery in the first three months of the year, Australia-based ANZ Research has raised its 2022 economic growth projection for the Philippines, but also issued a warning about expanding external imbalances and escalating inflation pressures. The research company estimated that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 6.7 percent this year, faster than both its earlier forecast of 6.5 percent and the actual GDP growth of 5.7 percent in 2021. However, it is slower than the 7- to 8-percent growth target set for this year by the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee. The first-quarter GDP growth, it stressed, returned to its pre-pandemic level at 8.3 percent, indicating that domestic demand is demonstrating resilience amid escalating price pressures.

SPORTS: Kai Sotto snubbed at NBA Draft

In sports, Filipino Kai Sotto went undrafted in the NBA 2022 Rookie Draft on Friday. Through two rounds and 58 picks, no NBA team selected the 7-foot-2 homegrown Filipino, who played one season for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia's NBL. The 20-year-old Sotto, who reportedly had workouts with eight NBA teams, namely New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers, can still play in the NBA Summer League. That path, however, is no longer an option for Sotto. According to his agent Joel Bell in PlayItRight TV, Sotto has received multiple Summer League invites but he and his camp decided that he will play for the Philippine men's basketball team instead. Sotto, though, immediately contradicted this, saying that his agent 'misspoke' and no decision has been made yet on whether or not he will play in the NBA Summer League.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Antonio Contreras, Yen Makabenta, and Danton Remoto are today's front page columnists. Contreras talks about defending faculty rights, Makabenta continues to throw rocks at the government's inter-agency task force, while Remoto talks about American portraits.

Today's editorial believes the country is turning its back on transparency in extractive industries. Read a full version on the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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This is EJ Gomez reporting.

Source: TheManila Times