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All roads lead to schools today 54k schools nationwide welcome back 27.6m students after 2 years

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

OR the first time in over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started, some 27.6 million elementary and high school students will troop back to over 54,000 schools nationwide today as in-person classes finally resume.

Department of Education spokesman Michael Poa said 24,175 public and private schools nationwide or 46 percent will implement five-day face-to-face classes, while 29,721 schools, or about 51.8 percent will implement blended learning modality. The remaining 1.29 percent or about 1,004 schools will conduct distance learning, Poa said. The number of returning learners is about a million short of DepEd’s target of 28.6 million. With the expected influx of people,

the Philippine National Police has activated its Balik-Eskwela operational guidelines. In Metro Manila alone, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is deploying more than 5,000 police officers to ensure peace and order during today’s opening of classes in 1,212 schools in the region. The deployment includes 1,033 personnel in police assistance desks, 384 motorcycle patrollers, 38 Explosives and Ordnance Division/K9 personnel, Next page

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 188 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

48,000 students get cash aid, smoother payout set Welfare and Development’s educational Secretary Benhur Abalos will sign an aid amounting to P141 million, DSWD agreement Monday for the smooth and orderly release of payouts to qualified AN INITIAL 48,000 students ben- Secretary Erwin Tulfo said Sunday. Meanwhile, Tulfo said he and Interior efited from the Department of Social Next page

By Rio N. Araja

Segregation reinstated on SRA claims sugar shipment seized in Subic aboveboard MRT Line 3 READY FOR CLASS. Learners with special needs teacher Lina Laguinday writes a welcome message on the whiteboard at the Aurora Quirino Elementary School in San Andres, Malate,

Manila on Sunday, while a school worker mops the floor near a ‘back to school’ sign at the Rafael Palma Elementary School also in Manila as the school year 2022-2023 begins with in-person classes in public schools on Monday. Danny Pata and Norman Cruz

By Rio N. Araja and Joel E. Zurbano

THE sugar shipment from Thailand that Customs agents seized at the Subic port of Zambales was aboveboard, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Sunday.

This developed as authorities are finding out if warehouses recently inspected by Customs and Trade officials were used for hoarding sugar stocks -and if it constitutes economic sabotage, SRA Deputy Administrator Guillermo Tejida III said over the weekend.

In a statement, Tejada said the 7,000 metric tons of sugar intercepted by Customs agents at the Subic port onboard vessel M/V Bangpakaew were part of Sugar Order No. 3 on the importation of 200,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar approved by the SRA Board in

May 2022. In a memo to the Bureau of Customs, Tejida also said the Thai shipment was legitimate. “This is to certify that the imported cane refined sugar from Thailand Next page

First Lady gets ribbing from son on 63rd birthday FIRST Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos marked her 63rd birthday with a ribbing from her son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, on social media. “Happy birthday, mom! We love you so much! I consider it such a privilege to have you in our lives” the lawmaker said in an Instagram post. “You better be nice to me, or I might have to post pictures of you crying after reading Dad’s birthday card this morning,” the eldest son of the First Lady and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. added.

DOH studying commercial sale of COVID vax

WEATHER Signal No. 1 in Cagayan as ‘Florita’ gains steam

By Willie Casas

NEWS / A2

Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera, a deputy minority leader, on Sunday said the proposed national budget would be thoroughly reviewed and would “pass through the eye of the needle” at the House of Representatives.

THE Philippines is moving a step closer toward making COVID-19 vaccines available commercially with the creation of Task Force Edward that will work on the evaluation and approval of jabs for sale. The task force, named after British physician Dr. Edward Jenner, who is known for his work on immunization, “aims to make safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines more accessible to the Filipino people,” according to the Food and Drug Administration. In an earlier interview, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said COVID-19 vaccines might be commercially available in the country by early next year. As of now, Vergeire said only Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson &

FIRST LADY’S DAY. First Lady Liza Araneta Ramos (right) is beaming beside President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in this file photo, as she celebrated her 63rd birthday on Sunday, August 21.

House to get proposed P5-t national budget, solons to scrutinize outlay By Rio N. Araja

MAYON VOLCANO AT ALERT LEVEL 1 NEWS / A2

TO PROVIDE more comfort to women, children, and the elderly and amid the return of face-to-face classes today, the Department of Transportation on Sunday reinstated the segregation scheme at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, which runs the length of EDSA in Metro Manila. In an advisory, the DOTr said the first two doors of the first train car will be designated for the exclusive use of senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs), pregnant women, and those with children. The last three doors of the first train car will be exclusively for female passengers, while the rest of the train set will be open for all other passengers. The DOTr also noted that minimum public health standards will continue to be implemented, including the mandatory wearing of face masks and voluntary use of face shields.

MINORITY lawmakers have vowed to subject the proposed 2023 national budget of P5.268-trillion to “tight scrutiny” even as the House leadership has committed to ensuring its timely passage.