Louise Maureen Simeon – The Philippine Star February 3, 2022 | 12:00am MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine manufacturing sector had a bad start for the year as it slowed in January, ending four consecutive months of expansion amid the impact of the Omicron variant. Market intelligence firm IHS Markit said the Philippines’ headline purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 50 in January from 51.8 in December 2021. The opening salvo for the year just registered at the no-change threshold that separates expansion from contraction. While the latest reading ended four successive months of growth, t…