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Inflation up 4-year-high of 6.9% Cabinet tackles rising consumer prices, to keep food supply affordable By Julito G. Rada and Vito Barcelo
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NFLATION rose to a fouryear high of 6.9 percent in September from 6.3 percent a month ago, driven mainly by faster increases in the price of food and nonalcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday. Even as the Department of Finance (DOF) said consumer prices are expected to remain high for the rest of the year, President Marcos said will monitor the price of goods and ensure that food supply is sufficient and affordable. “In our meeting today with the Cabinet, we adopted the next steps to monitor the price of goods. We will ensure that the food supply can be adjusted to be sufficient and affordable for the Filipino people,” Mr. Marcos said in a Facebook post. In an online briefing, national statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa did not rule out the possibility of inflation hitting more than 6.9 percent in the coming months. “There are risks that inflation might accelerate further due to higher food prices... Higher transport fare and the exchange rate have spillover effects on food prices,” Mapa said. Next page
Marcos to push steps to address issues in ASEAN VOL. XXXVI • NO. 233 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
BRACING FOR HIGHER INFLATION IMPACT. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. convenes his Cabinet officials Wednesday to discuss steps to monitor the prices of goods and ensure sufficient and affordable food supply on the back of higher inflation at 6.9 percent in July.
P11.5b allotted for allowance claims of 1.6m frontliners, health staff By Maricel V. Cruz and Willie Casas THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved Wednesday the release of P11.5 billion to the Department of Health (DOH) to cover the One COVID-19 Allowance/ Health Emergency Allowance (OCA/
HEA) claims of over 1.6 million eligible public and private health care and non-healthcare workers. In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) covers unfunded OCA/ HEA claims of health care and non-
health care workers from January to June this year. “Our health care workers deserve all the support and assistance from their government. They’ve been risking their lives to save and protect our people amidst this still prevailing pandemic. This is the least we can do
for them,” she said. This developed as the seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) continued to rise to 19 percent on Wednesday, the OCTA Research Group monitoring the pandemic said.
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he will take an active role in proposing measures to address festering conflicts in the region during the Leaders’ Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia next month. “I think ASEAN can do more than it has done thus far,” Mr. Marcos said in a forum hosted by the Manila Overseas Press Club. “In the upcoming ASEAN conferences in November, I intend to propose several actions that Next page
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House realigns P77.5b in budget to boost critical social services By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Martin Romualdez on Wednesday said the House of Representatives realigned P77.5-billion in its approved version of the 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to augment the budget for health, education, transportation and other critical social services. Romualdez said during the period of amendments, the Lower House augmented the budget of frontline agencies tasked
to address the current economic, health, energy and environmental crises that burden millions of Filipinos. These include: - P20.25-billion for various programs of the Department of Health such as: Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (P13B); allowances for healthcare and non-healthcare workers and frontliners (P5-billion); additional funding for the Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant InstiNext page
Remulla, Toledo open to OPS post but Chavez, Soriano ‘not interested’ MODEL TEACHERS ALL. The awardees of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino’s Ulirang Guro sa Filipino 2022: (from left) Gladys M. Jovel-
lano (Bagacay Elementary School), Warren Norberte (Lungsod Butuan SPED Center), Alma Bautista (Santos Ventura National High School), Alvin Rom De Mesa (ng Leyte Normal University), Cristina Macascas (Pamantasang Normal ng Pilipinas), Lita Bacalla (Cebu Normal University), and Rowena C. Largo (Cebu Normal University). Danny Pata
sumption of limited face-to-face classes. In his National Teachers’ Day message, Marcos urged Filipinos to acknowledge teachers’ sacrifices in molding students and preparing them to achieve their dreams. “I firmly believe that education is the bedrock of every prosperous society, and that those who dedicate their lives to teaching are important drivers of our nation,” Mr. Marcos said.
FOUR names have been floated as the possible next Press Secretary under the Marcos administration, but only two of them said Wednesday they were open to the position vacated by lawyer-vlogger Trixie Cruz-Angeles. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) executive Mike Toledo, former Cavite congressman Gilbert Remulla, Department of Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, and movie director Paul Soriano were among the names floated to succeed Angeles, who resigned Tuesday citing health reasons.
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PBBM, Speaker hail teachers for service to nation By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all teachers in the country for their invaluable service to the nation, especially amid the re-
By Vince Lopez and Vito Barcelo
WEATHER Jacket days setting in as colder wind rolls in PULL out those jackets and sweaters from the closet because colder days are coming – the southwest monsoon or “habagat” season is over and the colder northeast monsoon or “amihan” is blowing “in the coming days,” the state weather bureau said Wednesday. Next page
DILG chief offers P500k for info on journo killing Senator Robin Padilla shows his urine sample as he underwent drug testing at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency headquarters on Wednesday, October 05, 2022. Manny Palmero
Gov’t execs urged to take drug test NEWS / A2
By Rio N. Araja, Joel E. Zurbano, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo INTERIOR Secretary Benhur Abalos has offered a P500,000 reward for any information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible for the murder of veteran broadcaster Percival Mabasa, also known as Percy Lapid. “I’m taking this on my own as a family friend. I’m offering P500,000 of my own money for any information that can help us,” he said.
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PANDEMIC HERO. SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI), the social good arm of the SM group, was recognized by the Board of Investments (BOI) with the Pandemic Heroes Award for its contribution in making a significant difference in the lives of Filipinos during the COVID 19 pandemic. Shown in photo are the BOI team led by Gov. Katrina Therese Lim-Dy (5th from the right) and SMFI’s Debbie Sy (4th from the right)