Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Monday, April 24, 2023.

Water level in 4 Luzon dams drops

THE water level in four major dams in Luzon is down, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). The dams are Angat in Bulacan, La Mesa in Quezon City, San Roque in the Cordillera and Caliraya in Laguna. As of 6 a.m. Sunday, the level at Angat was 196.32 meters,.20 m lower than the 196.52 m Saturday. Angat Dam supplies about 90 percent of the potable water in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and irrigates about 28,000 hectares of farmland in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. It dropped by 15.68 m from its Normal High Water Level (NHWL) of 212 m. Angat Dam is now 8.99 m away from 187.33 m, the level required for it to efficiently supply water. In a statement Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the public to conserve water to minimize the effects of the impending El Niño, which could last until next year.

Danish firms to invest $5B in PH wind farms

A GROUP of investors from Denmark is putting up $5 billion to build offshore wind farms in the Philippines. The Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines Franz-Michael Mellbin said the investment in the energy sector reflects the growing interest among Danish companies to do business in the Philippines. Interviewed by Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd, The Manila Times chairman and chief executive officer in the “Business and Politics” program on SMNI, the envoy said the Marcos administration has been “sending strong signals to the energy sector market and Denmark is responding to that in a positive way.” Mellbin talked about the economic aspect of the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Denmark following the recent visits of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Belgium and Switzerland.

Chinese ship shadows 2 Coast Guard vessels

A CHINA Coast Guard (CCG) ship has been shadowing two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels that approached Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea early Sunday, a United States-based security monitoring group said. It was not the first time that PCG vessels were shadowed by their Chinese counterparts in that part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Philippine Navy has stationed less than a dozen of its personnel on the landing craft BRP Sierra Madre, which was deliberately run aground at the Ayungin Shoal in 1999 in response to the Chinese reclamation of Mischief Reef.

Election, democracy not working for us – Mamba

ELECTION and democracy are not working for Filipinos. That is why the country needs a strong government, said Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba. The governor has attracted media attention for strongly opposing the designation of two military installations in his province as Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, where the United States can stock weapons and equipment. He said that with a strong government, those in power could remove corrupt and abusive officials.

Evacuating Pinoys in Sudan ‘big problem’ – Marcos

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over the weekend admitted that evacuating Filipinos trapped by the fighting in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum is “a big problem.” Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary which erupted last April 15 have intensified, and the President said his government was trying its best to secure the safety of Filipinos living and working in the Northeast African nation.

Economists: Latest data point to 7.1% Q1 growth

Over to business, latest indicators point to the economy having grown by 7.1 percent in the first quarter, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economists said in a new report. The report, which reiterated the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast made a month earlier, pointed to factors such as employment gains in February, a continued expansion in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in March, a rise in government spending, and a more optimistic first quarter business outlook. Last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that confidence for the first and second quarters of 2023 and the next 12 months had significantly increased from three months earlier.

PBA set to investigate game-fixing issue

In sports, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the pro league is set to take a careful look at a report by The Straits Times on Friday, where some players were offered bribes to fix games in the pro league during the 2017-2018 season. The Straits Times, Singapore’s media outlet, in its report, identified the accused as Koa Wei Quan, a former owner of a transportation firm. And based on the court information, Koa was allegedly involved for the period of April to July 2018 in trying to fix the game results in the PBA and the Thailand Basketball League between April and July 2018. The Singaporean businessman was charged in Singapore with 14 counts of graft. On April 6, 2018, Koa was alleged to have offered Magnolia big man Ian Sangalang $5,000, while involving two other people — Sergei Bien Orillo and Leonidez Zapata Avenido — to arrange for the Hotshots to lose Game Five against San Miguel Beer by nine or more points in the Philippine Cup Final.

Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao talks about the supposed loss of the Panatag Shoal, Fr. Aquino ponders on retirement, while Tatad discusses the Taiwan issue.

Today’s editorial tackles plans for the country’s infrastructure. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

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For The Manila Times, this is Kim Luden Salinas reporting