BM clinches top prize in Bright Leaf awards
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USINESSMIRROR bagged the Agriculture Story of the Year prize in this year’s Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards. On Tuesday, BusinessMirror’s two-part series, “Global Shipment Woes: Additional Shocks to Phil’s Food Supply Chain” and “Supply Stiffness to Stay as Shipment Issues Seen Spilling Past Yule Season,” was awarded the Agriculture Story of the Year. The story focused on the global supply chain and how it affected the Philippines’s food supplies. (Part 1
BUSINESSMIRROR reporters Cai U. Ordinario, Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas, and Tyrone Jasper C. Piad win the 2021 Agriculture Story of the Year award in the 15th Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards for their Broader Look series, “Global shipment woes: Additional shocks to PHL’s food supply chain” and “Supply stiffness to stay as shipment issues seen spilling past Yule season.” SCREEN GRAB VIA FACEBOOK.COM/BRIGHTLEAFAWARDS
here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2021/05/06/global-shipmentwoes-additional-shocks-to-phls-foodsupply-chain/?fbclid=IwAR2QA-FR1c7RqxuGxg_ATcOLkRdubJf81j6HkTKl03-Ys7PwLvW5RoPWA8kandPart 2 here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2021/05/20/supply-stiffness-tostay-as-shipment-issues-seen-spillingpast-yule-season/?fbclid=IwAR3nRlCx0uBQmoQNvdfSMVIgiPkzvgXFHiOm7yW-B_iEcCRosCz4xD34yE). See “Awards,” A2
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Wednesday, September 14, 2022 Vol. 17 No. 341
PBBM OKS IMPORTATION OF 150,000 MT OF SUGAR n
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
Senate OKs medium-term fiscal framework; Koko votes ‘no’
@jearcalas
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has formally greenlighted the importation of 150,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar to “ensure” domestic supply and “manage” sugar prices. The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SR A) board, chaired by Marcos as the concurrent Agriculture Secretary, issued Sugar Order (SO) No. 2 Series of 20222023 on Tuesday that authorized the first importation program for the current crop year. The SO 2 was signed by Marcos himself and was also signed by other members of the board: the new SRA Administrator David John Thaddeus P. Alba, Ma. Mitzi V. Mangwag (sugar millers’ representative) and Pablo Luis S. See “Sugar,” A2
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
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HE Senate majority bloc, overwhelming one negative vote and one abstention, has swiftly approved Concurrent Resolution No. (CRN) 3 backing the national government’s 2022-2028 Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) calling for the alignment of all economic recovery programs and measures with legislative priorities Co-sponsored by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate
STATE OF CALAMITY Passengers wearing face masks wait at a bus stop in Manila on September 8, 2022. President Marcos is extending a state of calamity declared by his predecessor more than two years ago to deal with continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Monday, September 12, 2022. She also said a previously announced plan to lift the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors will take effect immediately throughout the country, except in crowded areas where people cannot observe social distancing. AP/AARON FAVILA
See “Senate,” A4
MASK EASING SEEN TO LURE MORE FOREIGN TOURISTS By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM
Special to the BusinessMirror
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HE lifting of Covid-19 mask restrictions for outdoor activities will help attract more foreign tourists to the Philippines. In a news statement, Tourism Secretary-designate Christina Garcia Frasco welcomed the decision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to relax the country’s masking rules, “especially as empirical data shows that in other economies in Asia, Europe, and North America where stringent health proto-
cols were lifted, this resulted in more favorable economic conditions, increased tourist arrivals, and faster recovery of their respective tourism portfolios.” Marcos Jr. has signed Executive Order No. 3 making the wearing of face masks outdoors, optional. However, the public must continue to wear t heir mask s in indoor settings, and when using public transportation. Garcia Frasco sa id, w it h the new EO, “and hopefully, the eventual recalibration of all remaining restrictions, the country will be able to strike
the necessary balance between protecting lives and promoting livelihood. Our prospects for recovery are much brighter with the Philippines’ signal to the world that we are open, we are ready, and we are moving forward.” The Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) said, however, more needs to be done to attract more foreign tourists to the country.
‘Not a dealbreaker’
TCP President Jose C. Clemente III told the BusinessMirror that tourists were actually ambivalent about the mask-wearing
requirement. “They will follow rules. [The relaxation of the mask mandate] takes a little of the inconvenience off, but it’s not a dealbreaker.” However, he underscored the issues that should be addressed to make travel to the Philippines and around the country, easier and more seamless. “On behalf of the stakeholders, we urge the Department of Tourism to bring to the attention of the relevant agencies running the OneHealth Pass [OHP] [the need] to address the countless complaints we are still receiving from tourists See “Mask,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.9350 n JAPAN 0.3987 n UK 66.5229 n HK 7.2539 n CHINA 8.2158 n SINGAPORE 40.7727 n AUSTRALIA 39.2111 n EU 57.6239 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1532 Source: BSP (13 September 2022)