Issuu

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

manilastandard.net

Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net

Inflation takes toll on daily life Ibon Foundation cites difficulty to cope with high prices despite pay hike By Darwin Amojelar

HE high prices of petroleum products as well as the elevated inflation have made it difficult for Filipino workers to make ends meet, despite the minimum wage hike that took effect on June 1, according to a local think-tank. Ibon Foundation cited as an example the P570 minimum wage in Metro Manila, which it said was barely half the P1,119 per day wage needed for a family of five to live decently. On a monthly basis, Ibon estimates a family of five with a monthly income

of P24,333 will spend P2,522 for water, electricity, and gas – the third highest expense after food (P12,731) and house rental (P4,323). The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported that the country’s headline inflation rate rose to 6.9

percent in September, significantly higher than the 6.3 percent in August this year and the 4.2 percent in the same month last year. This trend is observed in other countries as well, given the same experience of subdued demand or a low base the past year, because of COVID, and the external pressures this year from commodity prices, logistics bottlenecks, weather shocks, and wide swings in the exchange rate against the US dollar. “The government’s priority is to Next page

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 245 • 3 SECTIONS 24 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Cheaper imported sugar at P70/kilo in market Nov. REAL HARD TIMES.

Despite a recent wage hike, real wages for many Filipinos are declining amid higher food prices, as these charts provided by Ibon Foundation show. The think tank said cutting oil prices will help control inflation, as oil product prices will be lower without oil excise taxes and their 12% value-added tax (VAT).

By Othel V. Campos, Joel E. Zurbano, and Vito Barcelo THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will begin selling cheaper imported sugar at the offices of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in Quezon City and Bacolod City, once the imports arrive by end-October or early November 2022.

The SRA will sell sugar directly to consumers at a fixed price of P70 per kilogram (kg). Consumers may also avail of cheaper sugar from Kadiwa rolling stores and Kadiwa on Wheels as part of government efforts to bring reasonably-priced sweetener directly to end-users. Next page

Diesel price hike wipes out 5 weeks worth of rollbacks By Alena Mae Flores TODAY’S P2.70 per liter price increase for diesel has wiped out five consecutive weeks of rollbacks, Department of Energy data showed. This is the second consecutive week of upward adjustment in domestic pump prices, with an increase of as much as P2.90 per liter for kerosene and P0.80 per liter for gasoline as the country’s net oil import bill more than doubled to $9.705 billion in the first six months. Oil firms last week raised the price of diesel by P6.85 per liter, kerosene by P3.50 per liter, and gasoline by P1.20 per liter. Next page

PBBM: Tourism ‘high potential driver’ to transform economy THE tourism industry is among the country’s high potential drivers for economic transformation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized

on Monday as he graced the PhilipThe President was with First Lady Vice President Sara Dutertepine Tourism Industry Convergence Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos and Carpio, Public Works Secretary Reception at the SMX Convention House Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Manuel Bonoan, Tourism Secretary Center in Pasay City. Rep. Sandro Marcos. Next page

UNITY TOAST FOR TOURISM. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center) leads the toast at the Philippine Tourism Industry Convergence Reception on Monday with First Lady Liza

Araneta-Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, Senior Deputy Speaker Sandro Marcos, Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco, Cabinet members, and partner private stakeholders leaders at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. DOT photo

Private schools to keep blended learning, ‘mother tongue’ out of K-12 DILG to meet By Maricel V. Cruz THE Department of Education on Monday said the mandatory daily face-toface classes in all public schools will push through as scheduled on November 2, while private schools may con-

tinue with blended learning. At the same time, DepEd Usec. Epimaco Densing said the department would remove the 50-minute mother tongue language as a subject in a bid to decongest the K-12 curriculum. “We will continue using the mother

FOR MARAWI’S HEROES.

Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines offer flowers to their departed comrades before the Marawi Pylon at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City to mark the 5th Marawi Liberation on Monday (Story on A2). Danny Pata

Envoy says $100m US grant to PH for modernizing AFP in the works By Rey E. Requejo

US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson revealed Monday that THE United States is already working the US State Department already notion granting the Philippines $100 mil- fied the US Congress of its intent to make lion to bankroll the modernization pro- available a substantial grant “in foreign gram of the Armed Forces. Next page

tongue as a medium of instruction for students in kindergarten to Grade 3. But we also agreed on something that can help decongest the curriculum... We all agreed in the curriculum and instruction division to do away with the 50 minutes of mother tongue as a subject,”

Densing said. Under the K-12 program, the mother tongue subject focuses on the development of students’ speaking, reading, and writing skills in their first or local language. There are 19 local languages being Next page

Lawyer disputes putting off BSKE, senators insist move constitutional By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has been asked to declare as unconstitutional Republic Act No. 11935 postponing the holding of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) from December this

media groups on protection

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rio N. Araja

year to October 2023. In a petition for certiorari, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked the High Court to declare as unconstitutional the measure that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law last week.

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it will meet with media groups to thresh out security measures aimed at protecting them from various threats in the wake of the killing of radio commentator Percival Mabasa earlier this month. DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. made this statement after lawmakers and various media groups expressed concern over surprise visits by police to the homes of some journalists.

Heart attack kills ‘Coco’ Rasuman

Soriano named comms adviser

‘Special treatment’ for Remulla’s son?

NEWS / A2