Good day. Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Monday, June 3, 2024.

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Chinese ships circling PCG vessel in Escoda

A LONE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship is the subject of continued harassment by Chinese vessels at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Monitoring of the area shows that China Coast Guard (CCG) 3303 has been circling the BRP Teresa Magbanua for 10 days at the atoll, which is about 74 nautical miles from Palawan, well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The Magbanua has been in the area for the past weeks and has been largely stationary while monitoring the activity of Chinese ships there, Sealight, a maritime transparency project that monitors and reports activities in the South China Sea, said. On Saturday morning, China's maritime militia ship Qiong Sansha Yu 00006 passed within 50 meters of Magbanua. Two hours later, CCG 3303 also did so. On May 31, aside from Magbanua, nine Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels and one CCG ship were sighted off Escoda. Escoda Shoal has exhibited signs of coral dredging — a process that inflicts significant harm on the marine ecosystem in the region and a sign that reclamation is in the works. In April, the PCG announced it had discovered that the low-tide elevation surrounding Escoda Shoal was in a similar degraded state as the Pag-asa Cays. The discovery was made after more than three weeks of monitoring.

PH provoking China – Sino defense chief

SINGAPORE — China's defense minister on Sunday acknowledged the importance of newly renewed military-to-military communications with the United States as tensions escalate in the Asia-Pacific but accused Washington of causing the friction with its support for Taiwan and the Philippines. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun told the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore through a translator that China will not allow any country or any force to create conflict and chaos in our region. China has been increasingly assertive in pressing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global shipping route, which has led to a growing number of conflicts, most notably with the Philippines, whose ships have been harassed by the numerically superior Chinese vessels. Dong insisted that China's "strategic culture is anchored in universal love and non-aggression" before threatening the Philippines, which has grown rapidly pro-American since the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022. Since territorial hostilities with China surged last year in the South China Sea, the Marcos administration has taken steps with a number of Asian and Western countries and allowed US troops access to a number of bases in the Philippines under a 2014 defense pact. Dong accused the Philippines of deliberately provoking China, "emboldened by outside powers."

Paalam, Bacyadan punch their way to Olympics

CARLO Paalam and Hergie Bacyadan earned the right to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics after outlasting their respective opponents in the 2nd World Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) in Bangkok, Thailand. Filipina boxer Hergie Bacyadan fulfilled her Olympic dream after winning via unanimous decision against Venezuela's Maryelis Yriza in the women's 75 kg class on Sunday. Three judges gave Bacyadan a 30-26 mark, while the two judges both scored her 29-27. Bacyadan landed powerful jabs in the second round and put up a right uppercut to Yriza, causing the Venezuelan to lose her balance. The 29-year-old boxer stretched her momentum until the third round, sending the Venezuelan boxer a flurry of punches to gain the advantage and finally secure the victory. Meanwhile, Filipino boxer Paalam made his second-straight Olympics appearance as he defeated India's Sachin Siwach (5-0) in the semifinals of the men's 57 kg division on Saturday night. Paalam suffered a previous setback in the 1st World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy, where he absorbed defeat from Turkmenistan's Shukur Ovezov while suffering from a shoulder injury. Paalam bounced back strongly in the second round of the tourney and made sure he would represent the Philippines once more in the Olympics. Paalam and Bacyadan will join fellow Olympic-bound boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas. Overall, the Philippines so far has 15 qualified athletes for the Paris Games.

Filipina rower seeks historic win in Paris

Rowing for eight years, all streams led to Joannie Delgaco's Olympic dream as she becomes the first Filipino rower to qualify in the Olympics and guns for a historic win in the upcoming 2024 Paris Games. The 26-year-old said she was grateful to compete in the prestigious sporting event and show the world what Filipinas are capable of doing. When asked whether there was any pressure in being the first Filipina to compete in the Olympics, Delgaco told The Manila Times that she was not pressured but excited because she would be facing tougher opponents. Delgaco finished fourth in Pool A of the women's single sculls in the World Rowing Asian and Oceanian Regatta in Korea last April 21. Delgaco qualifying for the Paris Olympics marks a historic back-to-back appearance of the Philippines in the rowing competition. Cris Nievarez participated in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The other two Filipino rowers were Edgardo Maerina in the 1988 Seoul Games and Benjamin Tolentino in the 2000 Sydney Games.

Meet Neo Px: The super plant that attacks air pollution

LODI, United States — It may look like an innocent green plant, but its name evokes something far closer to a robot or interstellar rocket. Neo Px is a bioengineered plant capable of purifying indoor air at an unprecedented scale, the first in a potentially long line of such super-powered organisms. Lionel Mora, co-founder of startup Neoplants said: It will not only capture but also remove and recycle some of the most harmful pollutants you can find indoors." Five years ago, the entrepreneur met Patrick Torbey, a genome editing researcher, who dreamed of creating living organisms "with functions." Protected from the elements, several thousand modified pothos plants, green speckled with white, awaited their turn to be potted, packed and shipped. The French startup began selling its first products in the United States in April. The United States was a particularly promising first market since many Americans already widely use air purifiers.

Topping Business

Inflation likely hit upper end of target

RISING utility costs and a weaker peso could have pushed inflation to the brink of breaching target last month, analysts said. The median forecast in a •Manila Times poll of 11 economists was 4.0 percent, at the upper end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 2.0- to 4.0-percent target and within its 3.7- to 4.5-percent estimate for May. The central bank on Friday said that the "continued increases in electricity rates and vegetable prices alongside recent peso depreciation" could have led to faster consumer price growth. It added that cheaper rice, fish and fruits as well as lower domestic oil and gas prices may have offset upside price pressures. Inflation has been rising since February and had been expected to top 4.0 percent as early as April. The result for that month, however, was a lower-than-expected 3.8 percent. Data for May will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority this Wednesday.

In Sports

Mojdeh guns for gold medals in ASG

BRENT International School-Manila pride Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh will be shooting for gold medals when the 13th Asean Schools Games (ASG) swimming competition begins on Monday in Da Nang, Vietnam. Mojdeh, a semifinalist in the 2021 World Junior Championships in Peru, plunges into action in the finals of the girls' 400m individual medley first before competing in the preliminary round of the 100m butterfly. The Filipino-Iranian tanker hopes to surpass her two-bronze medal showing — both in butterfly events — in the 2019 edition held in Semarang, Indonesia. Last Saturday, Mojdeh served as the country's flag bearer in the opening ceremonies of the multi-sporting event, waving the Philippine flag along with more than 160 athletes.

Djokovic battles back in French Open epic

PARIS — Novak Djokovic avoided crashing to his worst defeat at the French Open in 15 years in the early hours of Sunday morning as title rival Alexander Zverev was also pushed to the limit. Defending champion and 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic came from two sets to one down to defeat Italy's Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in a third round tie which ended at 3:07 a.m. (0107 GMT). His four-hour 29-minute victory also allowed the 37-year-old world No. 1 to equal Roger Federer's record of 369 Grand Slam match wins. His reward is a clash with Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina for a place in the quarterfinals.

Opinion

Laying down the groundwork for peace in Gaza is today's editorial on the Times. Read the full version on print or digital or listen to the Voice of the Times. Featured columnists on the front page are Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino and Francisco Tatad. Tiglao asks whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is mad or a war monger; Aquino on the uses and misuses of drafting history; and Tatad on a storm ahead for the Church and State.

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