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Optional use of mask indoors up PBBM to issue EO on policy to put PH 'at par' with ASEAN neighbors
MASK MANDATE DISCUSSION.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads a Cabinet meeting at the Palace where a consensus was reached to lift the indoor mask mandate. Revoli Cortez
By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez and Maricel V. Cruz
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will issue an executive order making the wearing of face masks indoors voluntary, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said Tuesday, saying this would put the Philippines "at par" with its Asean neighbors that have already eased their mask mandates against COVID-19.
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 252• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
The agreement was reached during a Cabinet meeting that she attended Tuesday, Frasco said. "As a result of the Cabinet meeting, it was agreed that the President
would be issuing an executive order per the IATF recommendation to make indoor mask wearing also voluntary all over the Philippines Next page
Doctors offered, declined DOH top post Police say leads in Lapid slay MANY doctors have been offered the position of Health Secretary by the Marcos administration but have declined due to several factors, former Department of Health chief Janette Garin said Tuesday. "As far as I know, the position of Secretary of Health has been offered to many qualified individuals already, but they don't want to give up their practice,"
Garin, currently a House representative for Iloilo’s first district, told ANC's "Headstart." Garin also defended the appointment of former Philippine National Police chief Camilo Cascolan as DOH undersecretary on Monday, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to appoint a full-time Health Secretary four months into his term.
SPARKLING LIGHTS.
Ilonggos enjoy the beautiful lights and calm ambiance at the newly renovated Molo Plaza, a historic landmark in Iloilo City. Arnold Almacen
The Iloilo congresswoman said critics of the administration did not understand the risks involved in being appointed to the Cabinet, especially a sensitive post like the DOH. "Give DOH a chance," she said, noting that as someone familiar with the inner workings of the agency, it also needs Next page
Bloodless war vs. drugs proves fruitful—DILG THE government's drive to totally eradicate the rampant illegal drug trade in the country has changed under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following years of bloody campaigns under the previous administration. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said this Tuesday as he revealed the seizure of P6.7 billion worth of shabu in the first three months of the current administration without a single drop of bloodshed, proving that Mr. Marcos' bloodless war against drugs is effective. The P6.7 billion seized by authorities Next page
get closer to identifying ‘brain’
By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE police are getting closer to identifying the mastermind behind the murder of broadcaster Percival Mabasa, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin said Tuesday. "I think the evidence that we are getting are leading us closer to the mastermind of the case because we
already have in our custody (the confessed gunman) Joel Escorial and some information are coming in from the different sectors," Azurin said on ANC's show "Headstart." He also said the sister of alleged middleman Cristito Villamor Palaña went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with crucial information regarding the case. Palaña, previously identified as Next page
DepED probes issued laptop being sold in Mandaue City THE Department of Education is probing allegations its agency-issued laptops —already being criticized as being overpriced—are being sold in a surplus shop in Mandaue City, Cebu. DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said the regional education office is also conducting its own investigation after the department received flak for an audit that unveiled the overpriced devices. “Specifically, they're checking inventories if there's anything missing,"
Poa said at the sidelines of the National Children's Month press conference. DepEd is also checking who will be held liable if the sale of agency-issued laptops is proven true, “depending on if the one liable is an employee of DepEd or the supplier itself," he said. In the report by a Cebu-based daily, a laptop labeled under “Procurement of DCP Packages” was sold for P10,000 —72 percent lower than the DepEd’s Next page
Gov’t to boost STEM courses through scholarship By Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to offer scholarships to students
WEATHER Shear line, ITCZ bring rain showers over PH THE shear line and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) are bringing rain to several areas in the Philippines, as the state weather bureau continues to monitor a lowpressure area (LPA) inside the Next page
in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) track program. The directive was made during the Cabinet meeting held at Malacañan Palace Tuesday morning, Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, officer in charge of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), said in a press statement.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos wants the government to offer a scholarship program for STEM courses to address the lack of talent for information and communication technology businesses," Garafil said. "During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Next page
Ex-UK leader, WHO head call on Marcos By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with former United Kingdom prime minister Tony Blair and World Health Organization (WHO) director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in separate courtesy calls at Malacañang on Tuesday. Mr. Marcos said he and Blair discussed a wide range of topics on
bureaucracy and governance based on the best practices in developed countries. Blair serves as the current executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute For Global Change, a non-profit organization that seeks to support political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalized world. Mr. Marcos first met Blair in the Next page
NEW TOWNSHIP. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is joined by Alliance Global Group Inc. chief executive officer Kevin Tan (2nd from right) during the inauguration of property giant Megaworld’s township development in Bacolod City, the 34-hectare The Upper East. The President led the unveiling of a township marker inside the development, which occupies the former site of the historic BacolodMurcia Milling Company. Also shown in photo are (from left) Special Assistant to the President Sec. Anton Lagdameo Jr., Interior Sec. Benjamin Abalos Jr., and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez (extreme right).