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SIM card registration starts today, early listing urged amid birth pains last minute to do so during the 180day registration deadline. According to the National TelecomMAJOR telecommunications firms munications Commission (NTC), telco urged Filipinos to immediately reg- firms have expressed their readiness ister their SIM card starting today for the full implementation of the SIM (Tuesday) instead of waiting until the Next page
By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel Cruz
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 316 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
8 dead, 19 lost in Xmas flood 100k displaced in Visayas, Mindanao; Bicol agri suffers heavily
HRISTMAS Day floods have left eight people dead, three injured, 19 others missing, and forced the evacuation of over 100,000 people from their homes in six regions across Visayas and Mindanao, civil defense officials said Monday.
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The Office of Civil Defense said the initial estimated damage to agriculture stood at over P59 million, mostly in Region 5 or Bicol, where the flood destroyed irrigation and plants. For the infrastructure sector, the OCD said it received reports placing the damage at P14 million. “The reports are continuously coming in as we speak. There will be additional updates,” OCD joint information head Diego Mariano said. Rivers overflowed, swamping rural villages and highways as well as the cities of Ozamiz and Oroquieta, Next page
PBBM lauds free Wi-fi plan PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday assured Filipinos in remote areas the government will continue to work on establishing internet connections in far-flung areas since access to the Web has become a post-pandemic must-have. Mr. Marcos made this statement as he joined a Zoom call between the Department of Information and Communications Technology Next page
MISAMIS FLOODING. Rescuers use a wooden banca to traverse the flooded streets of Oroquieta City on Monday, while Philippine Coast Guard rescuers evacuate people from a submerged area in Ozamiz City (inset), both in Misamis Occidental province. Christmas Day floods dampened the mainly Catholic country’s most important holiday, civil defense officials said. PCG, AFP Photos
Gasoline price hiked by 95c/liter, kerosene up 50c, diesel down 20c to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market. At the same time, they OIL companies raised the price of gaso- rolled back the price of diesel by P0.20 line by P0.95 per liter and kerosene by per liter. P0.50 per liter effective 6 a.m. Tuesday Next page
By Alena Mae S. Flores
COVID cases up in 4 provinces, further climb seen By Willie Casas and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE positivity rate for COVID-19 rose significantly in four provinces last week, the independent OCTA Research Group said Monday, even as health ex-
perts warned of more cases owing to the recent detection of Omicron subvariant BF.7, which is reported to be fueling the surge of cases in China. Albay, Ilocos Sur, Kalinga, and Pampanga saw more cases before Christmas, OCTA reported, with the seven-
day positivity rate the highest in Ilocos Sur at 44.8 percent on Dec. 24, up from 30.6 percent on Dec. 17. This was followed by Kalinga with 41.7 percent from the previous 26.2 percent. The positivity rate also climbed in Next page
AFP says CPP ‘gasping for breath,’ cites breakdown in communication
EX-REDS. The weapons of 55 former communist insurgents who surrendered to authorities are laid on a table as they were presented to the media at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, on Monday. The event marked the withdrawal of allegiance to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army of the fighters on the 54th founding anniversary of the CPP. Norman Cruz and Danny Pata
THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is “gasping for breath” following a breakdown in communication between its units due to the neutralization of its ranking leaders, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Monday. In a statement, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Agular said the death of CPP’s chairman Jose Maria Sison in the Netherlands has also left the underground movement, which observes its 54th founding anniversary Dec. 26, with “no sense of
purpose and direction.” “There is a breakdown in the communication lines between the CPP Central Committee and its subordinate organs and armed group (NPA). This is primarily due to the neutralization of many of the CPP top leaders: Julius Giron; Menandro Villanueva; Jorge Madlos; etc, the silence and long absence of their supposed chairman now, Benito Tiamzon, and the loss of their mass bases and Next page
Welcome 2023 with ‘torotot’ to avoid injuries—DOH By Willie Casas THE Department of Health has urged the public anew to avoid using firecrackers and opt for alternative noisemakers like horns or “torotot” to welcome the new year, as it tallied 20 fireworks-re-
lated injuries recorded in various parts of the country on Monday. At least 15 new firecracker injuries were listed yesterday, quadrupling the total since the DOH began its injury surveillance report on Dec. 21. But the Health agency continued to
discourage the use of mouth-blown horns as they may still cause the spread of COVID-19 through saliva droplets. Before the pandemic struck, DOH Region 6 Health Support Division officer in charge Dr. May Ann Sta. Lucia Next page
Gov’t sets visa waiver online for short-term tourists SHORT-term visitors to the Philippines may soon be able to extend their stay in the country simply by filing their applications online, as the Bureau of Immigration is set to launch its visa waiver
online project by the end of the year. “Yes, the program is scheduled for In a televised interview Monday, BI launch before yearend, this is called spokesman Dana Krizia Sandoval said the visa waiver – it’s an online prothe agency aims to attract more inter- ject,” Sandoval said during the Laging national tourists to the country. Next page
COLORFUL AIR HORNS. A vendor arranges the display of colorful air horns along Batasan Road in Quezon City on Monday. The horns were priced from P35 to P150, which are expected to sell briskly ahead of New Year’s Day. Joey O. Razon