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PBBM TO VISIT 2 ASEAN NATIONS IN SEPTEMBER NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVI • NO. 185 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 SATURDAY SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Supermarkets sell sugar at P70/kilo SM, Robinsons, Puregold cut SRP on Palace’s plea By Vince Lopez, Vito Barcelo, and Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE country’s leading supermarkets have agreed to bring down the price of sugar to as low as P70 per kilogram, Malacañang announced Friday.
This came about after Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez, upon the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., held a series of talks with owners of Robinsons Supermarket, SM Supermarket, and Puregold Supermarket, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said. The OPS said the supermarket owners heeded Marcos’ appeal to lower the price of sugar to P70. “They all agreed to the suggested retail price of P70 per kilo of sugar, from a high of P90 to P110 per kilo,” it said in a statement. The government is also determining if the country’s sugar shortage was "artificial," Press
SUSPECT SHIP. These handout photos from the Bureau of Customs show the M/V Bangpakaew, which was held by authorities at the Subic port in Zambales after it was found to be loaded with 7,021 metric tons of white refined sugar, equivalent to 140,000 bags and with a total tax payment valued at P45.6 million. BOC photos
BIR taps big online sellers, monitors socmed for data THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will only go after big-time online sellers despite the prodding of Senator Raffy Tulfo to run after smugglers instead of small socialmedia influencers and vendors. BIR Commissioner Lilia Guillermo
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CRYING ON A DRY RUN. A boy cries while his teacher fixes his face mask during a dry run at Lakan Dula Elementary School in Tondo, Manila on Friday, three days before the formal opening of school year 2022-2023 on Monday. Norman Cruz
said Friday the agency will only run after the big sellers, and that she has sought the help of e-commerce giants Shopee and Lazada. Though she did not give details of what makes a large online seller, Guillermo Next page
DepEd to give one-time P5,000 cash aid to teachers on Aug. 22 By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Department of Education (DepEd) will disburse a one-time cash allowance of P5,000 to all teachers during the opening of classes on Aug. 22. DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said at a press conference that the allowance
was aimed at helping teachers return to school. “All teachers will get that. I think it will be downloaded to school divisions. I'll confirm but everyone will get their P5,000 cash allowance by August 22,” Poa said. Next page
Antipolo school closes 2 days before classes open Fuel price hikes forecast next week as US pump consumption picks up By Rio N. Araja ANOTHER private school, Georgia International Academy in Antipolo City, Rizal on Friday announced its closure through a Zoom meeting with parents, a few days before the school year 2022-23 opens on Monday.
Officials of the school, which has branches in Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo cities, promised to refund the tuition paid by parents, GMA News reported on Twitter. The reasons for the school’s closure were still unclear as of press time. This comes on the heels of the
closure of Colegio de San Lorenzo in Quezon City, which announced Monday it was closing shop, to the chagrin of its students, their parents, and the faculty. On Friday, QC Mayor Joy Belmonte called the attention of Colegio de San Next page
world market. Meanwhile, the Civil Aeronautics THE Department of Energy (DOE) Board (CAB) said airline fuel projected a possible oil price hike next surcharges are likely to go down in week of as much as P2 per liter for diesel September as crude prices fall. Next page due to the movement of prices in the
By Alena Mae S. Flores
DOH reveals two more monkeypox cases detected
Senate lockdown set after members, staff get COVID-19 By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Willie Casas SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Friday declared a lockdown at the Senate building after seven senators and several employees tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the 19th Congress last month. Senators JV Ejercito and Nancy Binay announced yesterday they had both tested positive for the coronavirus. Next page
By Willie Casas
SPEAKER: PH-US TIES TO REMAIN STRONG By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday night expressed confidence that the Philippines and the United States' close and friendly ties will remain strong under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
NEWS / A2
SOLONS ALL. The US
Congressional Delegation led by Senator Edward Markey (center) and the Philippines Congressional Delegation headed by Speaker Martin Romualdez (fourth from left) pose for posterity during their friendship caucus Thursday night at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City. Ver Noveno
THE Department of Health (DOH) on Friday recorded two more cases of monkeypox in the Philippines, raising the total number of confirmed cases to three. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a press briefing, said the two new cases are aged 34 and 29 years and both had recent travel history to countries with confirmed monkeypox cases. “The persons who have contracted Next page