Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: 8 party-list groups seen winning seats
Eight party-list groups are poised to win at least one congressional seat, based on a voter preference survey by Octa Research. The fourth quarter survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from Nov. 10 to 16, 2024. Out of a list of 157 party-list organizations, the eight party-list groups garnering more than 2 percent support from likely voters and are on track to secure at least one guaranteed seat potentially are ACT-CIS, Tingog, Ako Bicol, Senior Citizens, Uswag Ilonggo, 4Ps, Tupad, and Akbayan, it said.
READ: World greets 2025 after a sweltering year
Crowds marveled at fireworks to greet 2025, waving goodbye to a year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine. It is all but certain 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, climate-fueled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley. As New Year’s Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia’s picturesque Sydney Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, many revelers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
READ: Palace cites major strides in infrastructure devt
The administration has achieved significant progress in infrastructure development, particularly in energizing power grids of the country, Malacañang said Tuesday. In 2024, the power grids in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were interconnected through the completion of multiple energy projects. These projects benefited not only Luzon and the Visayas, but also Mindanao, with the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection activated.
READ: PhilRice: New rice varieties may control blood sugar
The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has found three new rice varieties with low glycemic indexes (GI), which may be helpful for controlling blood sugar levels, especially for people with diabetes. Earlier this year, PhilRice partner International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) found low-GI rice variety NSIC Rc 182 from the results of their advanced in vitro laboratory tests that simulated digestion. The PhilRice used the NSIC Rc 182 findings as a reference in their own study led by food scientist Marissa Romero, and found three rice varieties with the same GI as NSIC Rc 182 — these are NSIC Rc 472, PSB Rc 10, and Rc 514.
BUSINESS: Ex-BSP official warns of risk from rice prices
The government will have to go beyond doing the “usual stuff” if it wants to bring down rice prices and keep a lid on inflation, a former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official said. Diwa Guinigundo, who was BSP deputy governor from 2005 to 2019, warned that the central bank had already taken notice of inflation risks and that proposals by the Department of Agriculture, including the possible declaration of a rice emergency, were worrying. The rice emergency plan raises some serious questions about the ability of the government to ensure the sufficiency of rice supply in the market from production to harvest to marketing to retail, he wrote in a commentary on Tuesday for New York-based macroeconomic and political research firm GlobalSource Partners Inc.
SPORTS: PH bows to Thailand, fails to make finals
In sports, the Philippine national men’s football team concluded its stint in the Asean 2023 Mitsubishi Electric Cup with a heartbreaking 3-1 loss in the second leg of the semifinals against the vengeful Thailand squad on Monday at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The Philippines failed to sustain its momentum from a 2-1 historic win against Thailand in leg 1 as the Thai booters were buoyed by the partisan crowd in leg 2. Overall, the Philippines was outpointed by the seven-time champions in the semifinals, 4-3, which ending the Filipinos’ hopes of reaching the championship round for the very first time.
READ: Opinion and editorial
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Aquino’s column is about Jesus being born as a Jew while Tatad’s column describes 2024 as Annus Horribilis.
Today’s editorial talks about 2025 — a promising year ahead despite the uncertain challenges.
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