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COPS PLEAD NOT GUILTY IN MISSING SABUNGERO CASE
PH LOGS 2 NEW CASES OF ‘KRAKEN’ COVID SUBVARIANT
NEWS / A4
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVI • NO. 367 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
AFP: No let-up in WPS patrols More nations raise serious concern over China’s ‘coercive’ actions
By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz
T
HE Philippines will continue its maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), even after the Ayungin Shoal incident in which a Chinese vessel aimed a military-grade laser at a Philippine Coast Guard ship, the military said Wednesday. Speaking to the press, Commander Ariel Joseph Coloma of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command said the incident would not stop them from carrying out their mandate. “Nothing has changed,” he said in Filipino. “The AFP will continue its mandate and our ships will continue to patrol the WPS.” The statement came as Canada and Germany joined other nations in calling out the Chinese coast guard’s use of military-grade laser against a Philippine vessel last week. Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman said China’s actions were “coercive” and disrupted “lawful” operations of the said PCG vessel. “Canada underscores its firm and unwavering support for the Philippines in the face of coercive actions of the People’s Republic of China in Next page
HYBRID RICE. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discusses hybrid rice production during his meeting with the management of SL Agritech Corporation (inset), which specializes in the research, development, production, and distribution of hybrid rice. (See story below)
Senators, labor group press for deployment ban of OFWs to Kuwait By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Joel E. Zurbano
pino workers to Kuwait, saying OFWs cannot wait for the government to establish a tighter screening process on SENATORS on Wednesday pressed their foreign employers in the wake of for a deployment ban of overseas Fili- the gruesome murder of domestic help-
er Jullebee Ranada this month. “Reforms should have been done last year, 10 years ago,” said Sen. Raffy Tulfo in reaction to an exclusive story by Manila Standard on Wednesday, which
noted that at least two Filipinos per day experienced violence in the form of physical abuse, sexual harassment, or rape in Kuwait last year. Next page
Gov’t to cut sugar prices by 85% with 440k MT of imported supply By Othel Campos
TOP BRASS. Generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) pay a courtesy call on Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (center) at
the Social Hall of the House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon. Also in photo are House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and Reps. Rachel Arenas, JJ Romualdo, and Jose Aquino. Ver Noveno
PBBM to push use of hybrid variety in rice production By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has agreed to expand the use of hybrid rice as a better alternative to the inbred variety of rice to increase crop production. At the same time, the President said he was optimistic that the Philippines
could come close to self sufficiency in rice in two years if the government can carry out a major reorganization of several key agencies. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Wednesday said the President met Tuesday with SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) chairman
and chief executive officer (CEO) Henry Lim Bon Liong and various farmers from Central Luzon to address the challenges in the rice industry. Marcos said he will implement a program to promote the shift to hybrid rice by providing subsidies and facilitating Next page
Quake death toll near 40k after 8 days AN AID convoy passed through a newly reopened border crossing into rebel-held north Syria, where help has been slow to arrive since last week’s earthquake, which killed nearly 40,000 people in the region. Rare survivors were pulled from the debris eight days after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck Syria and Turkey, but the focus has switched from rescue to providing food and shelter to millions in need. A caravan of 11 United Nations trucks entered Syria through the reopened Bab al-Salama border point, after Damascus agreed to let the world body use the crossing for aid. Next page
A LITTLE SWEETNESS. A Syrian child selling cotton candy smiles as he stands in front of the rubble of a collapsed building following last week’s earthquake in Syria’s rebel-held village of Atarib, in the northwestern Aleppo province, on February 14, 2023. Nearly 40,000 people were killed when the quake devastated swathes of Syria and neighboring Turkey on February 6. AFP
THE Sugar Regulatory Administration has authorized the importation of 440,000 metric tons of refined sugar to bring down the price of the sweetener and manage local demand. According to Pablo Luis Azocana, sugar board planters’ representative at the SRA, the government allowed for the importation of 200,000 MT of sugar classified for domestic use or “B” sugar and another 240,000 MT as buffer stock, classified as “C” or reserve sugar. “We have an allocation for immediate arrival. This is expected to drive prices down to about 85 percent,” he said at the Laging Handa public brief-
ing Wednesday. Azocana stressed that imported sugar will be priced accordingly so as not to hurt farmers, some of whom are opposing the move. “It is our goal that farmers get a fair price for their produce so that they will continue farming,” he said, adding that the government refused to give in to proposals to import raw sugar instead of refined since the local harvest provides bountiful reserves of raw sugar. Based on Sugar Order (SO) No. 6 series of 2022-2023, the country’s second sugar import program aims to maintain a balanced supply and demand of sugar for domestic consumption while ensuring Next page
PhilHealth cover of hemodialysis to be expanded THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) will increase its coverage for outpatient hemodialysis from 90 sessions to 156 sessions this year. In a media forum on Wednesday, PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said this is part of their commitment to implement enhancements in the benefit packages for 2023. “This increase in the number of sessions covered is based on standards for adequate dialysis which requires three four-hour sessions every week for chronic kidney disease Stage 5 patients,” Ledesma said. PhilHealth Senior Vice President Israel Francis Pargas disclosed they are targeting to officially issue the new policy before August, as the 90 sessions may end around that month or the second semester of the year. “So, we have the time until the second sem, to make sure that we can release the 156 [sessions],” he said. “We hope that by this first or second sem, we can Next page
Doris Trinidad Gamalinda
Writer, poet Gamalinda passes away DORIS Trinidad Gamalinda, poet, essayist, and editor of several national publications, died on Monday, February 13, 2023, in Manila. She was 95. Born Adoracion Trinidad on November 15, 1927 to school teacher Aurora Cañizares and lawyer Jesus Trinidad, she obtained her bachelor’s Next page