Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Friday, September 6, 2024. Today's episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines' leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner. BANNER: Alice Guo flown back in Manila DISMISSED Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo arrived back in Manila Thursday evening after Indonesian authorities in Jakarta turned her over to the custody of Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. and Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil. The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Guo was expected to arrive at 8:30 p.m. at the Royal Star Hangar in Pasay City. Earlier, Sen. Raffy Tulfo said he, Guo, Abalos and Marbil were to take a chartered flight from Jakarta to Manila after they served the arrest warrant issued by the Senate against Guo. The flight was originally scheduled to take off from Jakarta at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Manila at 6:15 p.m. but was delayed by "procedural matters." Abalos held the arrest warrant issued by the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms against Guo. Upon returning to Manila, Guo was to be taken to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for further investigation of potential charges. After this, she will be taken to the Senate, where she will be with her sister, Shiela Guo, in the detention facility while waiting for the next hearing they will attend. Tulfo is the chairman of the Senate Committee of Public Services, one of the three committees tasked to investigate the Guos' escape from the Philippines. The two other committees are the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, chaired by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, and the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, led by Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros. Senate President Francis Escudero said the Senate would pursue Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian's proposal to file perjury and disobedience complaints against Guo, who skipped previous Senate hearings into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). The Senate ordered Guo and several others arrested for refusing to attend two consecutive hearings conducted by the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality. Guo's refusal to attend the Senate hearings violates Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes disobedience to a summons issued by Congress. ERC chairman meted preventive suspension THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the preventive suspension of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Monalisa Dimalanta for six months for allowing the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to buy electricity on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and pass the cost to consumers without the ERC's approval. The Office of the Ombudsman issued the order based on the complaint filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), which alleged that Dimalanta's action was a violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. Chavez is appointed PCO chief PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed former broadcaster Cesar Chavez as the new secretary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Malacañang said Thursday. Chavez, presidential assistant for strategic communications, replaced outgoing PCO chief Cheloy Garafil, who was appointed to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO). Chavez took his oath before the President in Malacañang on Thursday afternoon. Chavez thanked the President for his appointment and vowed to effectively communicate government policies to the public. Small meteor lights up PH sky A SMALL, bright meteor lit up skies over northern Luzon early Thursday as it burned up entering the Earth's atmosphere, the European Space Agency (ESA) and witnesses said. The one-meter (3.3-foot) space rock, named 2024 RW1, collided with the Earth's atmosphere at 12:39 a.m. and caused a "harmless" but "spectacular fireball" over Luzon, the ESA said. The meteor was discovered through the Catalina Sky Survey, which is run by the University of Arizona and funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States. It is only the ninth meteor that humans have ever spotted before impact. Teacher faces charges for 'biting' 2 students A male teacher at Don Vicente Rama Memorial National High School allegedly bit two male Grade 10 students, ages 14 and 17, after they refused to lift their shirts and show their abs. The incident has led to legal action and formal complaints from the families of the two students. The father of the 17-year-old student, a police officer, said he was determined to file charges against the teacher. He said the teacher instructed his son to remove his shirt, warning him of consequences if he did not comply. Despite following the instructions, the teacher allegedly bit the student on the back. The father took his son to the Cebu City Medical Center for a medical examination and reported the incident to Police Station 7 in Barangay Inayawan. He said that while he can forgive the teacher, the law needed to be upheld, adding that filing charges would help discipline the teacher. The mother of the 14-year-old student, on the other hand, expressed distress over the situation. She said her son had resisted inappropriate advances from the teacher, who allegedly kissed him during the incident. Both parents approached Barangay Captain Dave Tumulak for assistance. Tumulak confirmed that evidence, including medical certificates and statements from witnesses, supported the students' accounts. Tumulak also said that an administrative complaint has been filed with the Schools Divisions Office in Cebu City and that an investigation is ongoing. BUSINESS: Inflation drops to 3.3% Headlining business, inflation returned to the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target in August, settling at 3.3 percent after spiking to 4.4 percent a month earlier. The result was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) 3.2- to 4.0-percent estimate but was lower than the 3.7-percent median in a Manila Times poll of economists. Consumer price growth a year earlier was an above-target 5.3 percent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items, declined to 2.6 percent from 2.9 percent in the previous month and 6.1 percent in the same month last year. Year to date, headline inflation and core inflation hit 3.6 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. "The downtrend in the overall inflation in August 2024 was primarily brought about by the slower annual increment of food and nonalcoholic beverages at 3.9 percent in August 2024 from 6.4 percent in the previous month," the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said. SPORTS: Short-handed Creamline shows champion's fortitude THERE is no doubt Creamline is the most dominant team in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL). Prior to the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference, the Cool Smashers have collected eight championships, including the last three allFilipino conferences. Despite its success, Creamline has longed for one crown that has eluded the team in the past four years. The Reinforced Conference championship. On a rainy Wednesday night, Creamline outplayed Akari, 25-15, 25-23, 25-17, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City to end the drought and claim its ninth league championship. The Cool Smashers prevailed despite not having its key players in the tournament as Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos were sidelined due to minor injuries. Jema Galanza was also tapped to play for Alas Pilipinas in international tournaments and missed some games in the PVL. Despite these absences, team captain Michelle Gumabao was pleased that the Cool Smashers were able to perform well. Opinion and editorial Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today's front page columnists. Tiglao says impeaching Vice President Sara Duterte is unlikely to happen, while Tatad describes the right to worship. Today's editorial says the polio pause in Gaza brings a glimmer of hope in the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas. Read the full version in the paper's opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times. 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