TAYO NA SA ANTIPOLO The Antipolo cathedral or Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage is now officially an International Shrine. Father Rector Reynante Tolentino celebrated Mass in honor of the Virgin Mary. The church was the first National Shrine in the country and now is the first International Shrine in Southeast Asia. BERNARD TESTA
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ERC ORDER MAY BRING EARLY OUTAGES—NGCP w
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, March 28, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 164
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |
n uesday
PBBM AT CONNECTOR President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inaugurates the first section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector from Caloocan to España in a program at the toll plaza located between the cities of Caloocan and Manila on Monday, March 27, 2023. Joining the President are Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. Chairman Manuel Pangilinan and Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan. Story in Nation, A3. PNA/ALFRED FRIAS
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By Lenie Lectura
@llectura
HE possibility of power outages could happen soon unless the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) withdraws its order denying the request of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for monthly extensions on ancillary services agreements (ASAs). On Monday, NGCP warned of the possibility of intermittent power interruptions after the ERC denied a request for month-onmonth extensions on ASAs, while the competitive selection process (CSP) is being undertaken. In denying its request, the ERC cited DOE (Department of Energy) Circular No. 2019-12-0018 which disallows execution of Ancillary Ser v ices Procurement Agreements (ASPAs) on a non-firm basis, and Circular No. 2021-10-0001 which requires procurement of AS through CSP only. The NGCP has already concluded the acceptance and opening of bids for AS on March 14, 15, and 16 for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, respectively. It is now evaluating the bids and expects to formally award contracts to winning bidders no later than April 18, 2023. However, the ASPAs resulting
from CSP still need to be approved by the ERC. NGCP is anticipating that a provisional approval (PA) for the said ASPAs may not be expected earlier than June 2023, “with the regulatory processes that applications of this nature need to undergo.” NGCP said that as early as September 2022, several of its ASPAs have already expired. Consequently, it was constrained to extend existing ASPAs on a month-to-month basis to ensure the sufficiency of services while the procurement process is ongoing. “With ERC’s denial of this interim arrangement, our hands are tied. The Philippine Transmission Grid shall be vulnerable to power interruptions resulting from an artificial lack of AS. Without an existing ASPA, NGCP cannot nominate power plants to provide the critical services,” explained NGCP.
SELF-MEDICATION, DETENTION FEAR STYMIED COVID TREATMENT By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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ELF-MEDICATION and the fear of going to a health facility were among the top reasons Filipinos did not seek medical consultation for Covid-19 symptoms, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Based on the 2022 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) Key Indicators report, the majority or 65 percent of households did not seek consultation or treatment for their Covid-19 symptoms. Of these Filipinos, some 83.7 percent did not consult a doctor because they self-medicated while 35.2 percent expressed fears of going to a health facility due to Covid-19. In terms of age group, those who self-medicated the most belonged to the 50 to 64 year old bracket at 86.8 percent; followed by the 65 and older at 86.6 percent. In terms of region, selfmedication as a reason not to seek medical consultation was the highest among those in Davao Region at 94.8 percent, and Northern Mindanao
at 90.5 percent. The data also showed this was the lowest in Soccsksargen at 67.5 percent and Zamboanga Peninsula at 75.2 percent. The fear of going to a health facility was highest in Cagayan Valley at 63.1 percent, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula at 53.9 percent. The lowest percent distribution for fear of going to a health facility was seen in Calabarzon at 20.7 percent, followed by the National Capital Region at 23.1 percent. Almost half or 43.8 percent of younger Filipinos aged 20 years old and below did not seek medical attention for fear that they would be sent to a health facility due to Covid-19. Meanwhile, other reasons Filipinos refused to seek medical attention for Covid-19 symptoms were harmless symptoms at 14.1 percent; cost, 3.7 percent; and distance, 1.3 percent. Others were embarrassed to seek treatment for their symptoms at 0.9 percent; there was an absence of doctors or health facilities, 0.3 percent; and others did not know at 0.2 percent.
Labor seeks common wage hike for Calabarzon region By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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ITH the high cost of living having a uniform impact on the income of workers across Calabarzon, a group of 12 labor organizations has demanded for a standard P750 minimum wage rate in the region.
On Monday, members of the Workers Initiative for Wage Increase (WIN4WIN) filed a wage petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-Region 4-A (RTWPB-4A) to grant them increases, which will bring all existing minimum wage rates in its jurisdiction to their desired amount. See “Labor,” A2
See “Self-medication,” A2
See “ERC,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.3220 n JAPAN 0.4161 n UK 66.4956 n HK 6.9204 n CHINA 7.9096 n SINGAPORE 40.7639 n AUSTRALIA 36.0481 n EU 58.4939 n KOREA 0.0419 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4615 Source: BSP (March 27, 2023)