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Ex-pontiff Benedict XVI ‘very ill’ VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis said Wednesday that former pontiff Benedict XVI, 95, whose health has steadily been deteriorating, is “very ill” and he is praying for him. “I would like to ask all of you to pray a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict,” Francis said at the end of his general audience. He called on people to “remember him, because
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VOL. XXXVI • NO. 318 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH cautious on Chinese tourists Eyes COVID tests upon arrival as China cases surge ahead of PBBM trip By Darwin G. Amojelar and Willie Casas
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HE Philippines is planning to impose strict travel requirements on Chinese nationals visiting the country as COVID-19 cases in China surge one week before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is scheduled to go there on a state visit. “I think we should be very cautious if they have many COVID-19 cases,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said in a mix of English and Filipino. “We should be careful about letting the Chinese into the country.” He said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) would work on the problem and said the Philippines may require RT-PCR testing upon arrival for travelers from China. “In Hong Kong, they are open but they require an RT-PCR test.
OVERFLOW. This picture shows COVID-19 patients on gurneys at Tianjin First Center Hospital in Tianjin on December 28, 2022. Cities across China have struggled with surging infections, a resulting shortage of pharmaceuticals and overflowing hospital wards and crematoriums after Beijing suddenly dismantled its COVID lockdown and testing regime. AFP
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NTC asks telcos to explain SIM listing glitches, remedial steps set Storm looms over flood-hit areas in south
THE country’s telecommunications companies were ordered to submit incident reports on anomalies regarding their SIM card registration processes by Wednesday, the National Telecommu-
By Darwin G. Amojelar THE government will privatize the operation of the EDSA Bus Carousel service by the first half of next year as free rides on the circuit will end on Jan. 1, 2023, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said on Wednesday. Bautista graced the opening of a new bus stop for the EDSA Bus Carousel at Tramo in Pasay City and said that privatizing the circuit’s operations is on the Department of Transportation’s wish list for 2023.
nications Commission (NTC) said. In a memorandum issued Tuesday, the NTC said the order was in response to “numerous incidents involving unsuccessful or incomplete SIM registra-
tion from the general public.” This was as the country’s three It also noted several initial social mobile operators said Wednesday media reports from users that com- nearly 2.5 million subscribers – out plained of registration sites being of a combined 173 million postpaid down or inaccessible. Next page
Gov’t getting out of carousel bus service in 2023—DOTr
A LOW pressure area that could develop into a storm is expected to dump more rain over the southern and central regions in the country -- the hardest-hit areas during the Christmas weekend floods where the death toll has risen yesterday to 29. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said six deaths were recorded in Region 5, three in Region 8, two in Region 9, and 18 in Region 10. Four of the fatalities have been confirmed while 25 remained for validation. Some 25 persons remain missing, Next page
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NO LONGER FREE NEXT YEAR.
FINANCE CHIEF: ‘WORST IS OVER’ FOR PH ECONOMY
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista converses with a driver of an EDSA carousel bus during the launching of the newly-opened Tramo Station in Pasay City on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. The government will privatize the operation of carousel service by the first half of next year as free rides end on Jan. 1, 2023. Danny Pata
BUSINESS / A8
Palace appoints new Civil Defense Can’t afford onions per kilo? DA says buy per piece head, two NBI assistant directors By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed former Customs official Ariel Nepomuceno as the new administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), just as the country is suffering from inclement Christmas weather that has claimed the lives of 25 people so far. In a statement, the Office of the Press Secretary also said the President has tapped lawyers Angelito Magno and Glenn Ricarte as new Assistant Directors of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Mr. Marcos has likewise appointed Richard “Dickie” Bachmann as the new Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairperson, replacing Noli Eala who was named to the post just last August (full story in Sports, page B1 – Editors). The OPS on Wednesday released photos of Nepomuceno, Magno, and Ricarte taking their oath before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. However, the office has yet to release copies of their appointment papers. Nepomuceno was the former Bureau of Customs (BOC) deputy commissionNext page
EXPENSIVE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU CRY. A vendor at the Marikina City public market arranges red onions, which he sells for P600 per kilo, on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Manny Palmero
CONSUMERS should not buy a kilogram or more of onions as its current price is now more than triple the suggested retail price (SRP), a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said Wednesday. DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said that in select markets in Metro Manila, the price of large onions was already at P550/kg, while smaller ones were priced at P440/kg. He said the SRP of onions was just P170/kg, while the farmgate prices were around P300/kg. “It seems like a lot of people will be angry with me on this, but to be reasonable and practical, let’s not buy a kilo of onions. Let’s buy only what we can afford,” Estoperez said in a Super
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