twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
S
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
PBBM defers brgy., SK polls Signs law setting synchronized BSKE first Monday of Oct. 2023
By Vince Lopez
PORT OF CALL.
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure postponing the December 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE). Republic Act No. 11935, signed by Marcos on Oct. 10, moves the barangay and SK polls to the last Monday of October 2023. “There shall be synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, which shall be held on the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter,” the law reads. RA 11935 is a consolidation of House Bill No. 4673 and Senate Bill No. 1306. In a statement, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said the poll body will comply with the law. “As I have said before, the Comelec shall comply with the law. I have conveyed the Comelec position with regard to postponement of the BSKE to the legislature and the President and I trust that such position was duly noted and considered,” he said.
The 108-year-old Norwegian ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl docks at the Port of Manila on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2002. The ship is currently on a global navigation around the world under One Ocean Expedition, a global campaign that shares knowledge about the importance of the ocean in achieving sustainable development for the future. Inset photo shows a crew taking a selfie on the bowsprit. Danny Pata
Next page
Zubiri accuses China’s envoy at fault for blacklisting fiasco By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Rey E. Requejo and Othel V. Campos SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday denied Chinese Ambassador Huang Xillian’s assertion that he had spread misinformation about Beijing warning its nationals against visiting the Philippines over Chinese-run online gambling operations here. "I was shocked by the turnaround. I was shocked by the statement of the Eembassy and it’s regrettable because we had several witnesses," Zubiri said in a virtual interview with reporters. In a statement issued Tuesday night,
the Chinese embassy noted that “China has not placed the Philippines on its blacklist for tourism,” contrary to Zubiri’s report. After a courtesy call by the Chinese ambassador Tuesday, Zubiri said Huang said the Philippines has been blacklisted for hosting online gambling operations. He also told the Senate committees on ways and means and public order and illegal drugs that Chinese tourists were being warned against visiting the Philippines. Faced with the Chinese denial, Zubiri stood his ground and said he would not apologize. "'I stand by my statement that he mentioned the word 'blacklisting.' It did not come from us. It came from the ambassador of China,” Zubiri said. Next page
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 239• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 THURSDAY, THURSDAY OCTOBER 13, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Palace to draw up plan to curb fake news By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Palace on Wednesday said it would announce programs against fake news in the coming days after a Pulse Asia survey showed this was a problem for nine out of
10 Filipinos. “This is a serious issue that the OPS will closely monitor,” said Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil. “This is why we have programs that we will lay down in the coming days because we also want to address this problem of fake news.”
Expect no price impact yet of oil drilling in Cadlao
Next page
Next page
Expert sees PH nearing endemic stage of COVID
By Alena Mae Flores THE public should not expect the drilling of the Cadlao oil field off north Palawan to have a significant effect on still-rising local oil prices, the Department of Energy said Wednesday. The Philippines' current demand for petroleum is at 325,000 barrels per day, while Cadlao is only expected to produce 5,000 to 15,000 barrels per day by 2024, Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said. It will also take time for the Cadlao field to move from drilling to actual oil production, Sales added. But the DOE official said Australian firm Nido Petroleum Philippines Pty. Ltd.
Results of the survey, conducted between Sept. 17 and Sept. 21, also showed that 58 percent o the respondents believed that social media influencers, bloggers or vloggers were the top peddlers of fake news about government and politics. Forty percent blamed journalists, and 37 percent
By Willie Casas and Vince Lopez
PRESENTATION OF CREDENTIALS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomes Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu during a courtesy call at the Palace on Tuesday.
5he standard thedisaster standardrisk the PH faces greatest 5he standard the standard the among 193 countries surveyed
VALUABLE SUPPORT. PLDT and Smart are recognized by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for their valuable contribution in promoting the country’s Quincentennial Commemorations. In 2021, PLDT and Smart provided connectivity support for NHCP’s full year of activities in line with the 500th anniversary of the Philippines’ role in the first circumnavigation of the world. ‘In this digital age, virtual spaces and connectivity are very important in showcasing our country’s rich history and culture. I would like to take this opportunity to thank PLDT and Smart for their support to our Quincentennial Commemorations, which have allowed us to reach a wider audience,” said NHCP chairman Dr. Rene Escalante. ‘We are honored to have been selected as the official connectivity and digital services partner of NHCP to enable more people across the country and all over the world to take part in important milestones of our nation’s history,” said Catherine Yap-Yang, PLDT and Smart First Vice President and Corporate Communications Group Head.
THE Philippines is the most disasterprone country among 193 in the world based on its exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters, a study conducted by two German institutions said. The World Risk Index, released by Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft (The Alliance Development Works) and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) at Ruhr University
Bochum, said the Philippines is facing the greatest disaster risk among the countries it rated. The Philippines has an index score 46.82, followed by India (42.31), Indonesia (41.46) and Colombia (38.37). Mexico, Myanmar, Mozambique, China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan round up the top 10 countries most at risk of disasters. Next page
THE Philippines is nearing its transition from a pandemic to an endemic state of the coronavirus disease, a health expert said Wednesday. Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of adult infectious diseases and tropical medicine at San Lazaro Hospital, said while the country is not there yet, it can reach the endemic stage if people continue following health protocols and get vaccinated. Another infectious diseases expert, Dr. Edsel Salvana, earlier said that the country was already seeing signs of reaching an endemic stage due to its improved health care utilization rate and decreasing COVID-19 infections. Department of Health (DOH) officerin-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire explained earlier that endemic is “a state wherein cases are stable, already constant, and predictable.” With this, there should be a balance between the level of transmission and immunity, she added. The country on Tuesday recorded 1,554 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the active tally down to 25,004. Meanwhile, at least 73.3 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 20.1 million have received their booster shots. Solante pointed out that data on the second-generation COVID-19 vaccines Next page
Ateneo rated as country’s top learning institution ATENEO de Manila University debuted in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE WUR) as the top institution in the Philippines for its 2023 edition after emerging in the 351-
400 rank bracket. Ateneo surpassed the state-run University of the Philippines, which fell to the 801-1000 bracket – in itself a steep fall from the 601-800 bracket
it was in last year. The Jesuit school had an overall score of 45.0-46.9 based on five pillars: teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook. Next page