twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
MERALCO: POWER RATES LIKELY TO RISE AS SMC ENDS SUPPLY DEAL
BUSINESS / B4
SSS, GSIS out of wealth fund House cuts out state pension agencies’ share of P175b from MIF
By Maricel V. Cruz and Vince Lopez
S
PEAKER Martin G. Romualdez and other leaders of the House of Representatives on Wednesday decided to remove the Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) as contributors to the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF). Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo, a from the state welfare funds after meeting co-author of Romualdez of the MIF bill, with the administration’s economic mansaid lawmakers made the decision to cut agers, who drafted the measure. out P175 billion in proposed contributions Next page
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 297 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PBBM vows to use public money wisely for people’s benefit PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday assured the public that his government would use public money wisely, saying this is his policy. In a statement, Malacañang said taxpayers’ money will be used on projects that will benefit the Filipino people, just as the Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas presented new notes and coin series bearing Mr. Marcos’ signature. “Be assured that it is the policy of this administration, to ensure that every peso and every centavo that the government spends in its programs and projects will be to the benefit of all Filipi-
nos,” the President said. “So, I convey my full support to all our BSP officials and their employees. I also have complete confidence in your capability, competence, and integrity,” he added. Next page
NEW MONEY. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. examines the new banknotes and coin series bearing his signature as presented to him by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla (left) on Wednesday at Malacanang. Presidential Photo
National budget set to be signed into law Dec. 15 PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to sign the proposed P5.268trillion national budget for 2023 into law by December 15, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Wednesday. “We have ratified the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the national budget, which should be ready for signing... for the signature of the President after he returns from his trip to Brussels [in Belgium],” Romualdez told reporters. “We acted on it with dispatch. We have done our jobs, and we are of hope that this will help in our country’s success and the President’s agenda of prosperity for all,” he added. Marcos will be in Brussels from December 11 to 15 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union Summit. Congress on Monday ratified the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 after it was approved by the bicameral conference committee in the morning. The bicam panel also restored the P150 million in confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd), which was cut by P120 million in the Next page
Jobless rate at pre-pandemic level of 4.5% in Oct. from 7.4% year ago By Julito G. Rada, Vince Lopez, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Maricel V. Cruz THE country’s labor market bounced back to its pre-pandemic level, as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in October from 7.4 percent a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday. It was the lowest jobless rate recorded for all October rounds since 2019, the
In this television screen grab, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Southern District Office chief Enrique Lucero and agents Anthony Vic Alabastro and Jaireh Llaguno hide their faces after police arrest them for allegedly selling P1.3 million worth of shabu in their own PDEA office in Taguig City on Tuesday.
PSA said. It also eased from 5 percent in September. “In October 2022, the country’s unemployment rate also fell back to pre-pandemic levels at 4.5 percent, translating into 2.24 million unemployed Filipinos. This is a decline of 1.26 million from the 3.50 million unemployed reported in October 2021, and lower by 256,000 compared to the 2.50 million unemployed in September 2022,” national statistician Next page
SolGen justifies NCAP of LGUs USING vehicles on public roads is “nothing more than a privilege” that can be subject to regulation, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra has said in justifying the “no physical contact apprehension policy” (NCAP) of some local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila. Guevarra defended before the Supreme Court the ordinances of Valen-
DRUGPEDDLING AGENTS?
zuela, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, and Manila, which allowed traffic enforcers to apprehend traffic violators through using closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and impose fines based on the captured images. Three groups of petitioners challenged these measures before the High Next page
PDEA official, agents nabbed in drug buy-bust By Joel E. Zurbano and Rio N. Araja (PDEA-SDO) and two PDEA agents in allegedly involved in selling drugs. a buy-bust operation Tuesday night in Seized from the suspects were a total 1.3 kilos of shabu worth more than P9 THE Southern Police District an- Taguig City. The suspects — PDEA-SDO chief million, four PDEA service firearms, a nounced Wednesday the arrest of the chief of the Philippine Drug Enforce- Enrique Lucero and agents Anthony Vic digital weighting scale, and the cash and ment Agency - Southern District Office Alabastro and Jaireh Llaguno — were Next page
5.3 earthquake, Taal emission fluster Luzon By Rio N. Araja
FORCED OUT. Students of Manuel Araullo High School in Manila make a beeline out of their campus after shockwaves from an intensity 5.2 earthquake that jolted Camarines Norte on Wednesday reached Metro Manila. It even forced the Senate to halt their session – making Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Francis Tolentino, Loren Legarda, and Nancy Binay suffer the midday heat – and suspend their confirmation hearing for Science Secretary Renato Solidum (at left, center frame). Danny Pata and Lino Santos
A MAGNITUDE 5.3 earthquake jolted Tinaga Island in Vinzons, Camarines Norte Wednesday afternoon with shockwaves felt across Metro Manila, forcing people out of homes, schools, and buildings, stalling sessions at the Senate, and forcing the Philippine National Railways to temporarily suspend all trips. Next page