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PBBM meets agri cluster, digital farming ways eyed By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday met with the agriculture cluster of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) to discuss his administration’s priorities in the sector, specifically measures to ensure food security in the country. During the meeting in Malacañang, the President, who is also the concurrent Agriculture Secretary, received recommendations from the PSAC on digital farming methods and supply chain improvement strategies that will boost the government’s food security program. The PSAC also proposed the review of the policies and structure of the National Food Authority (NFA) to enable the agency to operate as a logistics hub and reduce losses for the
government. Mr. Marcos also made clear his plan for the institutionalization of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) digital platform Sarai which will provide agricultural stakeholders with sitespecific crop advisories based on data gathered from the “Diwata” (fairy) micro-satellite. Through the DOST program, farmers and fishermen will be able to access real-time and updated information on farm conditions, including weather outlook, drought and flood forecasting, disease detection, and infestations. To improve the income of Filipino farmers, Mr. Marcos ordered the acceleration of replanting of coconut trees and distribution of seedlings as
FINDING FOOD SECURITY.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. listens to recommendations from the agriculture cluster (inset) of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) during their meeting in Malacanang on Friday. Presidential Photo
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Pimentel says Marcos needs alter ego in DA
Oil price rollback less than P1/liter likely next week
By Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. does not have to let go of his focus on agriculture, even if he appoints a fulltime secretary to take over the portfolio, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Friday. Pimentel said the President—who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA)—can have a secretary and still keep his eye on the sector. Also reacting to the President’s statement that he would appoint a secretary at the Department of Health once the situation becomesnormal, Pimentel said he should appoint an “alter ego” who shares his views on how to fix the government. "Get an outsider if necessary," said the Senate leader. "But shower him or her with all the support for us to be able to live with the virus.” Pimentel’s colleague in the opposition bloc, Senator Risa Hontiveros,said the President has many jobs and needs a secretary at the DA working in tandem. She said economists had warned that the country is in the midst of an impending food catastrophe. The President said he will only let go of the DA if structural reforms are already in place at the department. The President noted that the problems within the DA are so difficult that “it will take a president to change and turn it around.” But Pimentel said by having a full-time secretary, the President gains a person who can help him with agricultural matters. Earlier, Hontiveros also underscored the need for the President to appoint a new Health secretary, with a firm grasp of public health issues.
DOJ suspends BuCor chief Over death of ‘middleman’ in Lapid slay
By Rey E. Requejo, Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta
and impartial investigation. Remulla said he appointed former Armed Forces chief of staff Gregorio RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday ordered the Catapang Jr. as officer-in-charge of preventive suspension of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Bucor. Remulla said Bantag’s suspension chief Director General Gerald Bantag following the is indefinite and will last as long as the death of an inmate who had been tagged as the "middleman" in investigation is ongoing. the killing of broadcaster Percival Mabasa. He said it was the President that chose Catapang. Bantag’s suspension came after In a media briefing, Justice Secretary ordered Bantag suspended in a meeting Next page Jesus Crispin Remulla said the President Thursday so that there could be a fair
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SUSPENDED. Justice Secretary Crispin Boying Remulla holds up an image in a press conference regarding the death of the alleged middleman in the murder of broadcast journalist Percy Lapid, which led to the suspension of Bureau of Corrections Director Usec. Gerald Bantag (right). Norman Cruz
Instant noodle ban, price hike on Pinoy Bread still pending THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is ready to remove instant noodles from retail market shelves once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues a recall order for such products that are found to have a high sodium content, an official said Friday. The agency is also still reviewing
the petition of bakers to raise Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal prices by P4 – at the same time when canned goods makers are also batting for a price hike -- as doing so will significantly burden consumers, DTI Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Ruth Castelo said. In a televised public briefing,
Castelo said Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual already endorsed Senator Raffy Tulfo's concerns over salt content in noodles – a staple for millions of poor Filipinos -- to the FDA and the Department of Health (DOH). At the Senate hearing of the DTI’s budget, Tulfo said that various brands
of instant noodles have more than 1,600 milligrams (mg) of sodium, while a person can only safely consume 2,000mg of sodium a day. The FDA had the authority to issue a recall order against products found non-compliant to standards, Castelo said.
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DOH affirms local transmission Lazo new PDEA head, Cordoba to COA of Omicron XBB, XBC variants By Willie Casas THE Department of Health (DOH) confirmed Friday the local transmission of the highly contagious Omicron XBB subvariant and XBC variant. During an online town hall meeting, Dr. Alethea De Guzman, director of
DOH's epidemiology bureau, said the country's XBB and XBC cases are not linked to travel. "Definitely, there is local transmission because all these are local cases. This means that we cannot link them to either travel outside the Philippines or Next page
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos has appointed retired police general Moro Virgilio Lazo as the new head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Lazo's appointment was confirmed by Office of the Press Secretary officerin-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil on Thursday night. At the same time, the President has appointed National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba as the new chairman
of the Commission on Audit (COA). Lazo will succeed Wilkins Villanueva as director general of the PDEA, which serves as the government's lead agency in the anti-narcotics campaign. Villanueva, in a Facebook post, shared a copy of Lazo's appointment paper signed by Marcos on Oct. 19. Lazo is a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Maharlika" Class of 1984. After graduating from the PMA Next page
PUMP prices of petroleum products are expected to roll back next week, oil industry sources told the Standard on Friday. Citing oil trading results from October 17 to 20, a source told GMA News the price per liter of diesel may go down by P0.40 to P0.70. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, may be slashed by P0.20 to P0.50 per liter. “There is a high indication of a rollback next week,” Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) Director Rino Abad also said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. Abad said the expected price cut on fuel products will be less than P1 per liter. The Energy official said the global market doubted that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be able to cut oil production by 2 million barrels next month. Oil companies usually announce price adjustments every Monday for implementation the following day. Effective Tuesday, October 18, fuel firms increased prices per liter for gasoline by P0.80, diesel by P2.70, and P2.90 for kerosene. The latest price movements brought the year-to-date adjustments at a net increase of P16.45 per liter for gasoline, P38.50 per liter for diesel, and P29.65 per liter for kerosene. The P2.70 per liter price increase for diesel last week wiped out five consecutive weeks of rollbacks, Department of Energy data showed. It was the second consecutive week of upward adjustment in domestic pump prices as the country’s net oil import bill more than doubled to $9.705 billion in the first six months. Oil firms the week before raised the price of diesel by P6.85 per liter, kerosene by P3.50 per liter, and gasoline by P1.20 per liter. Last week’s price increase offset the five-week rollback, resulting in a net increase of P.070 for diesel, and a net decrease of P3.10 for gasoline and P3.55 for kerosene.
Lettuce outlasts Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister LONDON—Outgoing UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday saw her political career wilt quicker than a lettuce, thanks to a tabloid stunt and a crisis-filled six weeks in office. The Daily Star last Friday launched a video livestream simply featuring a round head of lettuce, dressed up with Next page a wig and googly eyes.