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APEC AGENDA TO YIELD ‘GOOD PROGRESS’ FOR PH—MR. MARCOS By Vince Lopez and Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed confidence that his participation in the 29th AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Thailand will bring “good progress” to the Philippines. Mr. Marcos, who arrived in Bangkok
late afternoon yesterday, acknowledged that APEC member economies account for 38 percent of the global population, 48 percent of world trade, and 62 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP). “It will be an honor for me to represent the Philippines at the APEC. APEC remains to be one of the prime platforms to engage the economies of the Asia-
Pacific region. The importance of this region to us and to the rest of the world cannot be overstated,” the President said in a pre-departure speech delivered at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. This is the first time Mr. Marcos will attend the APEC meeting as the country’s chief executive. Next page
APEC PARTICIPATION. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives in Bangkok late Wednesday afternoon for the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) from Nov. 18 to 19, 2022. He is accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos and the rest of the Philippine delegation.
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 275 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PBBM: Rice at P20/k soon Says gov’t nearing goal as ‘Kadiwa sa Pasko’ stalls now sell at P25/k
By Vito Barcelo
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday he is getting closer to his campaign promise of having rice sell for P20 a kilo, but acknowledged that more needed to be done before this became a reality. At the launch of the “Kadiwa ng Pasko” project, Mr. Marcos said rice is already being sold for P25 a kilo in the Kadiwa stalls and the National Food Authority (NFA). “You can see that we are getting closer to our goal of P20 a kilo but let’s take it slowly. We’ll get there,” he said in Filipino. The Kadiwa ng Pasko project was designed to address inflation by providing the people with affordable goods especially during the holiday season in coordination with the Department of Agriculture as the lead agency, Malacanang said. Fourteen sites were opened simultaneously across the country on Wednesday, including 11 in the National Capital Region, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao De Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato. The President was joined by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos. The program aims to provide a market for farmers and fishers for their produce without having to go through traders and middlemen. Organizers expect them to have better income and, at the same time, provide the public access to more affordable, accessible, and highquality merchandise. The President said he hoped Filipinos would support the program, which aims to effectively promote the growth Next page
US Vice President Kamala Harris
US Veep Harris to visit Palawan amid SCS issue By Rey E. Requejo
AFFORDABLE GOODS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday leads the launching of the ‘Kadiwa Ng Pasko’ project at a covered court in Mandaluyong City. Revoli Cortez
Trump declares presidential bid, vows to rout Biden A COMBATIVE Donald Trump launched into the 2024 White House race on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time), setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his hand-picked candidates weakened his grip on the party. “America’s comeback starts right now,” the 76-year-old former president told hundreds of supporters gathered in
NASA LAUNCHES MOST POWERFUL MOON ROCKET
an ornate American flag-draped ballroom at his palatial Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said, minutes after filing the official paperwork for his third presidential run. Trump’s unusually early entry into Next page
Former US President Donald Trump
By Rio N. Araja
SUSPENDED. Acting National
Irrigation Administration head Benny Antiporda shows a copy of the suspension order from the Ombudsman during a press conference in Quezon City on November 16, 2022. Manny Palmero
THE Office of the Ombudsman has placed National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Administrator Benny Antiporda under preventive suspension for six months following administrative complaints filed by several NIA employees against him. In a five-page order, Ombudsman Samuel Martires ordered the suspension after NIA employees Lloyd Allain Cudal and Michelle Gonzales Raymundo complained against Antiporda for allegedly committing conduct prejudicial to the best interest of
Senate to revive oversight panel on confidential, intelligence funds By Macon Ramos-Araneta
TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON.
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Ombudsman suspends NIA chief, may face dismissal
WORLD / B2
Spectators watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on November 16, 2022. NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is a 25-and-a-half day voyage beyond the far side of the Moon and back. AFP
UNITED States Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Palawan, which faces the disputed South China Sea, when she comes over on an official visit next week, a senior American official said Tuesday. The official from the US Embassy in Manila, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said Harris will be the highest-ranking American official to visit the western island province adjacent to the disputed Spratly Islands in a show of support to the Philippines. Manila announced earlier Tuesday that Washington would spend $66.5 million to start building training and warehouse facilities at three of its military bases there under a 2014 joint security deal. China has fortified parts of disputed Spratlys, which are also being claimed
THE Senate will revive a committee that would exercise congressional oversight on confidential and intelligence funds (CIIF), which are slated to reach P9.3 billion for various agencies under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, Sen. Sonny Angara said Wednesday. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri filed the resolution forming a Select
Oversight Committee to investigate government agencies’ use of their allocated confidential funds. The proposed committee will be composed of three members – a senator from the majority and the minority, to be headed by the Senate President. The 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) marks P9,287,675,000 for confidential and intelligence funds— P4,330,048,000 marked as confidential Next page
the service, grave misconduct, harassment, oppression, and ignorance of the law. “After a careful evaluation of the records, this Office finds that among the respondents, Respondent Benny Antiporda’s guilt is strong and that the case against him… may warrant his removal from the service,” the order read. At a media briefing in Quezon City, Antiporda claimed a “big-time syndicate” at NIA was behind the complaints filed against him with the Ombudsman, which were part of a “smear campaign.” Next page
CHED drops full distance degree plan THE Commission on Higher Education said colleges and universities will no longer be allowed to implement full distance learning starting the second semester of Academic Year 2022-2023. Under CHED Memorandum Order No. 16, higher education institutions Next page