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Sugar import order probed
Palace says DA usec signing for BBM unauthorized, heads may roll By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, and Othel V. Campos
M
ALACAÑANG on Thursday said an investigation is underway over the unauthorized signing of a document directing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar.
“An investigation is ongoing to determine whether any act that would cause the President to lose trust and confidence in his officials can be found or if there is malice or negligence involved,” said Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles.
“In such a case, if such findings are made, then the only determination left will be how many heads are going to roll.” Cruz-Angeles described as “illegal” Sugar Order No. 4 issued Next page
RISING SUGAR. A worker stacks different kinds of repacked sugar at a store in Quezon City on August 11, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thumbed down a proposal to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar amid reports of a looming supply shortage. Manny Palmero VOL. XXXVI • NO. 177 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Marcos tells DTI to ensure cheap fertilizers for farmers PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has met with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual to set out plans to make fertilizers affordable for farmers and improve their productivity. Marcos wants the DTI to make sure that cheaper fertilizers would be made available for farmers, the Office of the President said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night. The meeting was held at Malacañang Palace in Manila, based on the photos uploaded on the OP’s official Facebook page. Marcos, in his official Facebook account, also said he met with Pascual in an effort “to help ease the farmers’ plight and reboot the country’s agriculture
industry.” “We want to revive the agricultural sector, that’s why we met with Secretary Alfredo Pascual of the Department of Trade and Industry. We want the fertilizers used by our farmers to be affordable,” he said. The OP said Marcos continues to prepare “to secure the food supply in the country.” In July, Marcos expressed his intent to pursue government-to-government (G2G) talks to address the increasing prices of fertilizers. Marcos, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government could avail of cheaper fertilizers through the G2G deals. Next page
Another oil price rollback likely as world economy further stalls By Alena Mae S. Flores OIL prices will likely go down effective Tuesday next week by as much as P2.85 per liter due to the continuing fears of a global economic slowdown. Sources estimated the rollback in local pump prices at P2.85 per liter for diesel, P2.34 per liter for kerosene, and P1.23 per liter for unleaded gasoline for the three-day trading period (Monday to Wednesday). This followed the rollback implemented by the oil companies on
August 9 at P2.10 per liter for gasoline, P2.20 per liter for diesel, and P2.55 per liter for kerosene. These resulted in total year-to-date adjustments at a net increase of P17.55 per liter for gasoline, P30.15 per liter for diesel, and P24.75 per liter for kerosene. According to the Department of Energy's latest monitoring report, crude prices fell last week amid heightened fears of recession and demand destruction due to fiscal tightening and rising US-China tensions. Next page
‘COVID CALAMITY STATE DECISION OUT SOON’ NEWS / A2
BUSY BBM. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gestures in a meeting with Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual on Wednesday night in Malacanang on how to ensure more affordable prices of fertilizer for farmers. The next day, Marcos graces the 15th Philippine National Health Research System Week celebration at the Clark Marriott Hotel in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga. Presidential Photos
LTFRB looks at ‘balanced’ higher bus rates By Rio N. Araja THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is keen on approving a petition to increase the fares for public utility buses amid the high prices of oil products after its second hearing on the issue on Thursday.
LTFRB chairperson Cheloy Garafil noted the last bus fare increase was in 2018, when diesel was just at P44 per liter – now it is averaging P78 per liter, up P30 since the start of 2022. But while the agency sees the need for higher fares, it has yet to consult with the National Economic and Development
Authority to ensure a balance on the welfare of both drivers and operators as well as commuters, she added. Bus groups earlier filed a P20 minimum fare increase petition for the first five kilometers in air-conditioned buses from P13 and a charge of P3.40 per Next page
SC sets new ruling on copyrighted music Number coding By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the act of playing radio broadcasts with copyrighted music using loudspeakers (radio-over-loudspeakers) without a license from the copyright owner is considered an infringement of copyright. With the decision, the SC granted the petition of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP) as it reversed and set aside the rulings handed down by both the trial courts and the Court of Appeals (CA),
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which denied the association’s right to collect license fees and/or royalties over copyrighted works of its member artists. Instead, the high court ordered respondent Anrey, Inc. to pay the FILSCAP P10,000 as temperate damages for the unlicensed public performance of the copyrighted songs on FILSCAP’s repertoire. The SC also ordered Anrey to pay P50,000 as attorney’s fees, plus interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from Sept. 8, 2009 until June 30, 2013, and Next page
scheme back in NCR next week
By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday announced it will reimplement the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or the number coding scheme in the National Capital Region effective August 15, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays Next page except for holidays.
LAPTOP PROTEST. Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) picket at the Department of Budget and Management to demand accountability for the alleged Department of Education (DepEd) laptop anomaly that they said cost P2.4 billion for outdated laptops and deprived thousands of teachers of muchneeded devices for distance learning (see story on A3). Norman Cruz
NTC questions ABS-TV5 joint venture THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is set to review the deal that would allow ABS-CBN to broadcast its programs on TV5 following the former’s failure to renew its broadcasting franchise in 2020. In an interview over Radyo Pilipinas on Thursday, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said there would be
a thorough review of the proposed joint venture between the two broadcasting companies due to what he said were ABS-CBN’s violations that were brought up in the investigation conducted by the 18th Congress in 2020. The deal, Cordoba said, would allow ABS-CBN to have part ownership of Next page
LYDIA DE VEGA DIES, 57; TRACK QUEEN MOURNED SPORTS / C1
SY SIBS, VILLAR, RAZON TOP FORBES’ RICH LIST NEWS / A2