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Palace declares Oct. 31 a holiday By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos has declared Oct. 31, 2022 as a special nonworking holiday to allow Filipinos to spend more time with their families ahead of Undas as well as to promote local tourism. “The President has already signed
the proclamation, declaring October 31 as a special non-working holiday,” Office of the Press Secretary officerin-charge Cheloy Garafil said in a Palace press briefing. The signing of the presidential proclamation came ahead of the country’s annual commemoration of All Saints’
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Gov’t to hike interest rates VOL. XXXVI • NO. 246 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PBBM says policy aims to tame inflation, arrest freefall of peso
By Vince Lopez and Julito G. Rada
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government will raise interest rates to keep inflation in check, a policy that is likely to raise the cost of borrowing.
After meeting with his economic managers Tuesday, Marcos said taming inflation was the “number one priority.” The inflation rate rose to 6.9 percent in September, the highest in four years. “We will continue to use interest rates to mitigate the effects,” the President said in a Twitter post. “We may have to defend the peso in the coming months, but the over-
all forecast is that we are still doing better than other countries in terms of inflation,” he added. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its Asian Development Outlook 2022 update, said it expects inflation in the country to reach 5.3 percent in 2022— much lower than the forecast in Laos, at 17 percent, Myanmar at 16 percent and Timor-Leste at 7.4 percent.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said developments in the global economy, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have had a global impact on prices. “As a result, inflation has remained persistently high globally, driven by rapid price increases in food, transportation, and energy,” Balisacan said. “The Philippines and our Asian Next page
SERIOUS TALK. President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr. convenes members of the economic Cabinet cluster with a focus on addressing the increase in prices caused by inflation.
Mabasa killer gives up, 3 cohorts still at large
Jeeps, buses ask add’l fares during rush hour periods By Rio N. Araja
REENACTMENT. Members of the Southern Police District conduct a walkthrough at the crime scene where broadcast journalist Percy Mabasa, also known as Percy Lapid, was killed in Las Piñas City late Tuesday evening. The alleged gunman, Joel Salve Estorial, can be seen talking to Mabasa’s brother, Roy, who is also a journalist. Inset photo shows Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. presenting Estorial to the media at Camp Crame in Quezon City. Manny Palmero saying the order to kill him came from inside the New Bilibid Prison. In a press conference, Department of Interior and Local Government ONE of the men who gunned down ra- (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abadio commentator Percival Mabasa earli- los Jr. presented Joel Salve Estorial, er this month surrendered to the police, who surrendered to the Philippine
By Joel E. Zurbano, Francisco Tuyay, Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz
National Police-Special Investigation Task Group on Monday out of fear for his safety. “In just 15 days, we have already achieved a major breakthrough in the Percy Lapid case,” Abalos said, referring to Mabasa by his radio name.
Estorial, who is now in police custody, said he and the brothers Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan, and a certain Orlando or Orly, were responsible in the murder, for which they were paid a total of P550,000. Next page
THERE transport groups filed Tuesday a petition to allow jeepney and bus operators and drivers to charge an additional P1 to P2 in surge fare during rush hour. Pasang Masda, the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), and the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO) asked the Transport filed the petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. The groups asked the LTFRB to allow a surge charge of P1 for traditional and modern public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and P2 for public utility buses (PUBs) during the rush hour periods of 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., except on Sundays and national holidays. In a statement, LTFRB said it will study the petitions. “The LTFRB understands the petition of drivers and operations to increase fares again due to continuous increases in the price of crude oil,” the LTFRB said. While this will have an inflationary effect on the country, the agency will set this aside to examine the points raised by transport groups in their petition,” the agency added. Next page
DOH confirms cases of Omicron XBB, XBC variants in 11 regions By Willie Casas THE Philippines has detected the country’s first confirmed cases of the Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant of the coronavirus, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday. DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said some 81 cases of XBB were detected
in two regions. Of the figure, 70 have recovered and eight are still undergoing isolation while the status of the remaining three cases are still being verified. The Omicron XBB subvariant is a recombinant of BJ.1 (BA.2.10.1 sublineage) and Next page
DepEd: Mother Tongue still part of K-10 THE Department of Education on Tuesday clarified the removal of Mother Tongue as a subject is not yet final after one of its officials announced the 50-minute subject will no longer be implemented in a bid to decongest the curriculum. “The removal of the Mother Tongue as a
subject is not yet final,” DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said, noting that the review of the curriculum for the Kinder to Grade 10 (K-10) program has yet to be finalized. Poa issued the clarification after Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said
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OKADA ARRESTED 13 KILLED AFTER ON CHARGES OF RUSSIAN MILITARY GRAVE COERCION JET CRASHES NEWS / A4
WORLD / B2
K-SHOW. Night joggers and cyclists are treated to a colorful media art show titled ‘(Donghaeng): Gunita at Pag-asa’ which
celebrates Philippine-Korean Friendship at the front lawn wide exterior wall of the CCP Complex in Pasay City. Norman Cruz
Deportation of illegal POGO workers begins today “The first deportation is set on October 19, with five or six to be initially deported,” Remulla said in THE deportation of Chinese nationals a press conference. He said some “400 more” Chinese working in illegal online gaming outlets will start today, October 19, Justice POGO workers in custody will also be deported. Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
By Rey E. Requejo and Joel Zurbano
“The Bureau of Immigration already canceled the visas of many working at the illegal POGO outlets. The work is ongoing right now,” Remulla said. The Department of Justice earlier said the BI had already canceled the visas of Next page