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LETRAN DEFEATS BENILDE, POSTS NCAA 3-PEAT
PIKACHU LEAVES POKEMON SHOW AFTER 25 YEARS
SPORTS / C1
ENTERTAINMENT / C3 VOL. XXXVI • NO. 306• 4 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
ARCH LIGHTS.
The arch welcoming visitors to Manila’s Chinatown at the foot of Jones Bridge in Binondo district is lit up —the whole 63.8 feet by 74 feet of it – by more than 900 bulbs with just six days to go before Christmas Day. Danny Pata
PBBM moves to tame inflation Okays NEDA proposal to keep low tariff on rice, corn, pork, coal 'til '23
By Vince Lopez
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to extend the temporary lowering of tariff rates on pork, corn, rice, and coal until the end of next year as a way to temper inflation, the Palace said Sunday.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) had recommended the temporary lowering of tariff rates for these commodities until Dec. 31, 2023. In a statement, NEDA said the move aims “to mitigate and stabilize the impact of inflationary pressures as a result of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, expand supply Next page
Speaker: Transparency key MIF safeguard By Rio N. Araja and Jenniffer B. Austria
incorporated in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill to prevent the misuse of the sovereign wealth fund. The bill was approved on third and SPEAKER Martin Romualdez on Sunday final reading on Dec. 15, with an oversaid transparency is among the key safe- whelming vote of 279 in favor and six guards that the House of Representatives against, and no abstentions after President
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent. “During the lengthy and exhaustive plenary deliberations on House Bill 6608, we adopted various safeguards to ensure we can achieve the objectives of the Maharlika Investment Fund, and one of such Next page
CPP planning ‘tactical offensives’ DOH, PNP set to honor late founder Joma Sison for safe revelry this New Year
THE Communist Party of the Philippines, which marks its 54th anniversary on December 26, said its armed wing, the New People's Army, could "stage tactical offensives" in honor of its late founder, Jose Maria "Joma" Sison. "We declare the following 10 days as a period of mourning for the entire Party
to give the highest possible tribute to Ka Joma... During this period of mourning, the NPA can stage tactical offensives against the rampaging fascist forces to defend the people," the CPP Central Committee said in a statement shared Sunday by the Philippine Revolution Web Central Twitter account. Next page
ROCKET DEBRIS. In this handout photo, a Philippine Coast Guard officer at the port of Subic, Zambales looks at debris towed by the crew of Filipino boat captain David Gervacio about 55 nautical miles west of Subic on Saturday. It is believed to be part of a Chinese rocket launched last October. PCG Photo
PCG recovers debris near Subic akin to China Long March rocket THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recovering similar scrap –that was has recovered debris near Subic, forcibly taken by the Chinese Coast Zambales that are believed to be parts Guard – off the coast of Palawan. of a Long March rocket launched by The PCG said among the materials Next page China in October, about a month after
By Willie Casas THE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday said all hospitals would be on high alert for individuals with injuries and emergencies that may occur during the New Year celebrations. The DOH said that it would monitor hospitals to ensure their readiness to attend to fireworks-related injuries and any emergencies as part of its "Iwas Paputok" campaign. On Dec. 29, DOH officials will visit the Las Piñas Trauma Center, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, and Amang Rodriguez Medical Center. On Dec. 31, the Field Implementation and Coordination Team (FICT) officials will visit communities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to ensure that families are celebrating the coming New Year safely.
PRE-XMAS BLAZE. Relatives weep as they hug the remains of fivemonth-old Baby Pipay, who was one of the ten victims of one family in a fire at Burger Subdivision in Muntinlupa City on Sunday. A total of 10 members of the Ladia clan perished, as the Bureau of Fire Protection-National Capital Region said fire broke out at 9:02 a.m. and reached the first alarm declared at 9:25 a.m. Danny Pata
10 family members died in fire, victims trapped inside house A FAMILY of 10, including a fivemonth-old baby, died when they were trapped in a fire that hit a residential area in Barangay Putatan, Muntinlupa City on Sunday morning, authorities said. Fire Supt. Eugene Briones said
remains had been recovered and arson investigators said the fire affected only the residence of the victims. The victims were identified as Jerome, 65; Gil, 68; Cherry, 39; Mark Next page
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Baliuag declared Bulacan component city after plebiscite BALIUAG, a first-class landlocked municipality in the coastal province of Bulacan north of Manila, is now officially a city. In a plebiscite held Saturday, 17,814 or 75.8 percent of the total voters voted in favor of the cityhood of Baliuag
while 5,702 or 24.2 percent voted No. The voter turnout was low, with only 23,562 out of 10,8572 registered voters participating in the poll. But Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Garcia said this was a non-issue as the major-
ity of the voters ratified the decision to convert Baliuag into a city. The plebiscite was originally set for Jan. 14, 2023, but was rescheduled to an earlier date following the postponement of the December 2022 Barangay Next page