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Depots yield hoarded sugar 44,000 sacks seized in separate raids of two warehouses in C. Luzon By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta
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USTOMS agents, police and soldiers seized 44,000 sacks of imported sugar with an estimated value of P220 million in separate raids on warehouses in Bulacan and Pampanga on Thursday, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to find out who was hoarding the commodity.
“The BoC’s Pampanga sugar warehouse raid may very well serve as a warning to unscrupulous traders who are currently hoarding their stocks of sugar in order to profit from the current artificial sugar shortage,” Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez said.
He said the government will continue going after unscrupulous traders jacking up prices of food items, particularly sugar, as consumers continue to feel the burden of rising costs. Rodriguez said his office is also investigating reports that Next page
BITTERSWEET REALITY.
Customs officials seized thousands of imported sugar at a warehouse in Bulacan that has no permit from the Sugar Regulatory Administration. Malacanang says the government will continue to crackdown on unscrupulous traders as prices of food items, including sugar, continue to soar. Bureau of Customs
Scarcity of white onions pushes price to P400/k THE price of white onions in local markets spiked to as high as P400 a kilo on Thursday, with few vendors selling the suddenly rare commodity—and those that did refusing to sell piecemeal to regular retail buyers. This developed as the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported it confiscated smuggled carrots declared as chocolates at the Manila North Harbor Port on Aug. 16. Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discussed with his Cabinet the proposals to ensure food security, boost the energy sector, and improve the national government’s housing program. The Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and
the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) presented their plans during the meeting convened by Marcos at Malacañang Palace, Press Secretary Trixie CruzAngeles said. Mr. Marcos stressed the need to solve the logistics problem in the agriculture sector to lower food prices in the country. He said this after the issues on the movement of agricultural products were raised, including complaints of forwarders and cargo handlers on policies imposed by local government units (LGUs), as well as the presence of many checkpoints. “We cannot afford to do that anymore.
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VOL. XXXVI • NO. 184 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 FRIDAY, FRIDAY AUGUST 19, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
DSWD to extend cash aid to poor students By Vince Lopez THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will distribute financial assistance to indigent students every Saturday until September 24, Secretary Erwin Tulfo announced Thursday. During a Palace briefing, Tulfo said the DSWD will give out P1,000 for elementary students, P2,000 for high
school students, P3,000 for senior high school students, and P4,000 for college students or vocational courses. He said there can be three beneficiaries per family. “This program is under the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situation,” Tulfo added. “This program is aimed to help our indigent students all over the country, which means to say children coming
from poor families will be given cash assistance to buy their school supplies or whatever that they need in school,” the secretary said. Tulfo said the DSWD central office will open at 7 a.m. while regional, provincial, and satellite offices will open at 8 a.m. Those who wish to avail of the assistance only need to bring their enrollment certificate and school ID. Next page
Carlos at WPS as China envoy calls on PBBM
Metro mayors stand pat on NCAP policy
NATIONAL Security Adviser Dr. Clarita Carlos visited Palawan and the Kalayaan Group of Islands near the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Wednesday, the Armed Forces Western Command (Wescom) said yesterday. This happened as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian in Malacañang also on Wednesday, the Palace revealed Thursday. Carlos’ visit to Pag-Asa Island (Thitu), which China continues to claim as its own, “bespeaks of our common aspiration, strong stand, and unwavering dedication to protecting the people and the state under our responsibility," said Wescom chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos (no relation to the adviser).
By Joel E. Zurbano and Maricel V. Cruz
ALLIES. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with visiting US lawmakers led by Sen. Edward Markey. 'We look forward to continuing our partnership with the US in the areas of renewable energy use, agricultural development, economic reform, and mitigation of drug problem,' Mr. Marcos said in a Facebook post.
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METRO Manila mayors on Wednesday insisted on carrying out the no-contact apprehension program (NCAP) despite mounting opposition from motorists and transport groups, some of which have filed a petition before the Supreme Court to challenge the policy. “We, the undersigned local chief executives, have joined together on a common stance to continue the implementation of NCAP within our respective territorial jurisdictions,” the mayors said in a joint statement Wednesday. They denied that the system denies Next page
COVID mutations now harder to detect Animal exposure risk monkeypox By Willie Casas infection—WHO MARITIME AWARENESS.
National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos looks through a pair of binoculars during her visit to the Kalayaan Islands Group near the West Philippine Sea on Wednesday. Carlos concurrently chairs the National Task Force on the WPS. AFP Western Command
THE World Health Organization has warned that a global decline in genome sequencing is making it “so much harder to understand” how the COVID-19 virus is mutating. Sequencing enabled the world to rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2 and develop diagnostic tests and other tools for outbreak management, the WHO said. But the number of sequences shared per week has fallen by 90 percent since the beginning of the year, said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. "The number of countries sharing sequences has dropped by 75 percent, making it so much harder to understand
how the virus might be changing," he said during a WHO briefing. "With colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere and people spending more time indoors, the risks for more intense transmission and hospitalization will only increase in the coming months – not only for COVID-19, but for other diseases including influenza." The United Nations agency also noted an increase in COVID-19 deaths over the past four weeks, with 15,000 fatalities reported around the world in the recent week. "Fifteen thousand deaths a week is completely unacceptable when we have all the tools to prevent infections and save lives," Tedros said. Next page
THE World Health Organization called Wednesday for people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus following a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission. A first case of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox – between two men and their Italian greyhound living together in Paris – was reported last week in the medical journal The Lancet. "This is the first case reported of human-to-animal transmission... and we believe it is the first instance of a canine being infected," Rosamund Lewis, the Next page