Govt sets ₧125 red onions SRP; takes effect Feb. 8 By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE national government has set a suggested retail price (SRP) for red onions at P125 per kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). DA Undersecretary Kristine Evagelista told reporters on Monday that the SRP for onions has already been
approved. Evangelista said the SRP only covers red onions. Evangelista said the department will coordinate with market masters and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to disseminate information on the SRP. The SRP may take effect starting Wednesday in the National Capital Region (NCR). “[This] is our way of
guiding them also to be able to negotiate with their suppliers, and at the same time we have identified some suppliers who are willing to sell wholesale para sa ating mga retailers para sila ay makasunod sa SRP,” Evangelista said. Evangelista said the computation of the SRP was based on the cost of importers as well as wholesalers. She explained that the
landed cost of imported onions reached P77 per kilo while wholesalers in places like Divisoria averaged P94 to P110 per kilo. “In-average na lang po natin ‘yan, kinompute po natin ang gastos ng ating retailers, yung pwesto, bayad sa tindera [We just took the average. We computed the retailer’s cost, for the stalls, the seller’s wage]. See “Red onions,” A2
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CONSUMER HOURS LOST TO BROWNOUTS UP 10% w
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Tuesday, February 7, 2023
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages |
Vol. 18 No. 115
THE MORNING AFTER Firefighters inspect the smoldering remains of a warehouse in Barangay San Antonio, Sucat, Parañaque, on Monday, February 6, 2023, after it was damaged by a fire that broke out on Sunday night. The blaze spread quickly in the commercial area, prompting the Bureau of Fire Protection to raise the alarm to Task Force Bravo, which meant a call for at least 19 fire trucks. No casualty was reported. NONIE REYES
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By Cai U. Ordinario
@caiordinario
OWER outages caused by storms, earthquakes, and even lightning cost the country 107.5 million consumer-hours in 2021, according to a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). In “Electricity Supply Interruptions in the Philippines: Characteristics, Trends, Causes,” author and PIDS Research Fellow Kris Francisco said this was a 10-percent increase from 97.2 million consumer-hours in 2015. Consumer-hours, PIDS explained, was computed by multiplying the duration of power outages (in hours) by the number of affected customers. “Electricity supply interruptions hur t households, businesses, and the economy. Power outages increase households’ and businesses’ expenses to keep them running and disrupt ‘critical infrastructure’ such as banking, transportation, telecommunications, and production, which can lead to huge economic losses,” the PIDS said. The study highlighted that cus-
tomers of electric cooperatives experienced, on average, 5.7 power interruptions or 8.8 hours of no power in 2021, an improvement from 2015’s 11 hours. More frequent power interr upt ions occ u r red in Lu zon, while longer power outages happened in provinces located in the Visayas. Francisco said power outages were caused by supply, technical, environmental or “interruptions due to natural events” like storms as well as other issues that cover “prescribed” or unspecified problems in the monthly interruption reports. Extended power outages were caused by storms and other environment-related factors and are “more concentrated in Luzon than in Visayas and Mindanao.”
NETIZENS IN UPROAR OVER ENHYPEN FRISKING, FILMING By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
By Andrea E. San Juan
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HE government and the private sector are now finalizing strategies to improve food security in the country amid inflation woes, according to an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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UNIT of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) will investigate personnel involved in the filming and unpermitted frisking of members of the Korean pop group Enhypen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). The seven-man boy band held a three-day concert in Manila over the weekend as part of its “Manifesto” World Tour. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) said, “The management is currently investigating the matter to determine the extent of violation committed based on existing rules and security screening protocols, if anything, and impose appropriate sanctions should it be necessary.” The statement was issued in response to “a video circulation on social media, showing that airport Security Screening Officers allegedly exhibited
Govt, biz craft food security strategies amid rising prices
While DTI-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo cannot divulge all details on the Trade department’s initiatives to help enhance food security, she gave a hint that the government and private sector are mulling over setting limits for traders. See “Govt,” A2
ENHYPEN FRISKING
unprofessional behavior and the unwarranted filming during the conduct of security screening procedures on a group of departing Korean artists at the [Naia].” A video posted on TikTok and later shared on Twitter on Monday showed a ponytailed female Security Screening Officer frisking each member of the band after going through the metal detector frame. See “Netizens,” A2
See “Consumer,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 53.7720
n JAPAN 0.4059 n UK 64.7361 n HK 6.8527 n CHINA 7.9074 n SINGAPORE 40.6010 n AUSTRALIA 37.0704 n EU 57.9931 n KOREA 0.0431 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.3304
Source: BSP (February 6, 2023)