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WORLD BANK RAISES COUNTRY’S 2022 GROWTH FORECAST TO 7.2% DTI sees increase in SRP in Q1; Meralco rates may go up in Dec.
BUSINESS / B4
By Othel V. Campos and Alena Mae Flores
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 296 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Nov. inflation surges to 14-year high at 8%
MAKERS of bread, instant noodles, milk, sardines, and even non-essentials like candles are bound to raise their prices in the first quarter of 2023, based on a gentle reminder issued by the Trade Department Tuesday. Power retailer Manila Electric Co. also said Tuesday its rates might go in
December with the completion of its P0.47 per kilowatt-hour refund. Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said, however, the lower spot market prices might pull down generation charges this month thus softening the impact of the refund. The firm said earlier that its customers may see an increase in their electricity bills in January 2023 due to Next page
Mr. Marcos: Inflation out of control, but main drivers mainly imported By Julito G. Rada and Maricel V. Cruz
I
NFLATION shot to a 14-year high of 8 percent in November, up from 7.7 percent a month ago, due to faster increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday. The rate was significantly higher a year ago and brought the average inthan the 3.7 percent in the same month flation from January to November this
year to 5.6 percent. Even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., speaking at an event hosted by the Joint Foreign Chambers, said the country’s inflation is “running rampant and out of control.” “We just received the poor news from the Philippine Statistics that in November we hit 8%. And we are Next page
KEEPING IT FRESH. A vendor in Quiapo, Manila waters the vegetables she sells to keep them fresh on Tuesday. Inflation surged to 8.0% in November, the fastest since November 2009’s 9.1% and surpassing the 14-year high of 7.7% recorded in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. Danny Pata
Labor groups seek daily pay hike of P100
PBBM: Our aim is to lessen PH import reliance
By Vito Barcelo
COME INVEST IN PH.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. invites businessmen and members of the Joint Foreign Chambers to invest in the country during the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum 2022 at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City on Tuesday. Presidential Photo
By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expects the country’s economy to exceed levels before 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, as he invited members of the Joint Foreign Chambers on Tuesday
to invest in key areas and reinforce domestic industries. Speaking during the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum 2022 at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City, Mr. Marcos asked foreign businessmen to help the country lessen its dependence on imported
goods, noting the main driver of PH inflation is still imported products such as oil. “So again, import substitution is still a good idea not only for foreign exchange reserve but also, so that we can keep our inflation rate down,” the Presi-
dent said. “It is the aim of this government to transform the Philippine economy to take advantage of the new realities present in the new normal. Gone are the old ways of conducting businesses and Next page
TWO big labor groups have filed petitions to increase the daily minimum wage by P100, reiterating that the salary hike is warranted amid the untamed inflation affecting millions of ordinary Filipino workers. The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) and Partido Manggagawa (PM) filed separate petitions for wage recovery before the National Capital Region Wage Board on Tuesday. With November inflation escalating to 8 percent (see related story on A1 – Editors), Partido Manggagawa said their demand for an immediate wage hike will at least restore the lost purchasing power of workers. The regional wage boards earlier this year approved an increase in the minimum wage in several regions, with the lowest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P305, and the highest in Metro Manila or NCR
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GSIS chief pushes wealth fund bill for ‘national dev’t’ By Vince Lopez, Othel V. Campos, (MIF), saying it would contribute in the and General Manager Arnulfo Veloso, long run to the Marcos administration’s speaking to Radyo Pilipinas in Filipino. and Macon Ramos-Araneta goal of nation-building. “Its goal is not only to have investments “The Maharlika (fund) is a long-term but also to help in national developTHE head of the state pension agency on Tuesday defended the much-crit- investment,” said Government Service ment.” icized Maharlika Investment Fund Insurance System (GSIS) President Next page
OFW deployment to India halted DOH admits THE Philippines is halting the deployment of Filipino migrant workers to India, which was assessed as non-compliant under the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. In an advisory issued Dec. 2, the Phil-
ippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi advised that the deployment of Filipino workers to India “cannot be allowed” owing to the law. Next page
Blackpink is TIME’s Entertainer of the Year NEWS / A2
P22b lost in vax wastage
HOUSE CHRISTMAS KICKOFF. Speaker
Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and his wife Tingog Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez lead officials in lighting the giant Christmas tree and the fireworks show at the flagpole area (inset) to mark the start of the Christmas celebration at the House of Representatives on Monday night. Ver Noveno
By Willie Casas
THE Philippines has lost P22 billion from the 44 million COVID-19 vaccines that went to waste, on the assumption that each vaccine is priced at P500, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said. She told a press briefing the authorities could not give the exact figures because of what she called “the nondisclosure agreements.” “But what we do... for planning purposes, we assume (that) P500 across the board is the price per jab,” Vergeire said. Last week, the health agency disclosed the number of wasted COVID-19 vaccines in the country had reached 44 million, majority of which expired due to short shelf life. Next page
Speaker leads Xmas tree lighting By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez led what he described as a “festive and meaningful” lighting of the giant Christmas tree at the flagpole area to mark the start of the Christmas celebration at the House of Representatives on Monday evening.
In his message to House members, officials, secretariat, and congressional staff prior to the tree lighting and fireworks show, Romualdez said the event should remind everyone about the real reason for celebrating Christmas, which is the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior who was born Next page