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Medevac chopper with 5 on board goes missing in Palawan—CAAP VOL. XXXVII • NO. 20 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
A MEDICAL evacuation chopper with 5 persons on board was reported missing Wednesday morning while on its way to a hospital in Palawan province, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said. CAAP said the Alouette helicopter, with registry no. N45VX and operated
by Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services, left Mangsee Island for the Southern Palawan Provincial Hospital in Brooke’s Point. The helicopter, which picked up a female patient, who complained Next page
PBBM defers jeep phaseout
Seeks review of PUV modernization timetable, but strike threat still on By Vince Lopez, Rio N. Araja, Darwin Amojelar and Angelica Villanueva
Marcos nixes special power to hold prices
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the government will review the timetable for its modernization program for public utility vehicles, but a move by regulators to push the phaseout of traditional jeepneys from June 30 to Dec. 31 failed to scuttle plans by one transport group to hold a week-long strike beginning March 6.
“We’ll talk about it,” Mr. Marcos told reporters on the sidelines of an event at the Rizal Park in the City of Manila, when asked if the scheduled phaseout of traditional jeepneys on June 30 would push through as part of the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program. He said he would study the appropriate timetable for introducing electric jeepneys, but said it was “still not urgent” to mandate the use of modern vehicles. “We have to review the timetable. It’s not that simple. Car manufacturers are saying that we are encouraging electric vehicles but we still need to fix our source of power,” Marcos added. While Marcos acknowledged that it is necessary to implement the PUV modernization program, he noted that there are several issues that need to be addressed, including the country’s apparent lack of capability to depend on electric vehicles. Marcos said he would also consider the condition of the traditional jeepneys, with passenger safety in mind. “Perhaps, we could inspect the old vehicles and check if we could still use those,” Marcos said in Filipino. “So, these are the issues that we need to study.” On Tuesday, the Senate unanimously adopted the resolution filed by Senator Grace Poe urging the Land Next page
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday he does not need special powers to deal with rising inflation, noting that several measures are already in place to manage the prices of basic commodities. Marcos made the remark a day after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the country’s headline inflation could surpass 9 percent in February because of high prices of cooking gas and key food items. “I do not think that it is necessary to ask for special powers,” he said in a chance interview on the sidelines of an event at the Rizal Park, when asked if he is considering asking Congress to grant him special powers to curb inflation. “I already have the power to declare an emergency and to control the prices of commodities. So, I don’t think there’s any need for more than that,” he said. On Tuesday, the BSP said the inflation rate in February may fall within the range of 8.5 to 9.3 percent, citing the upside risks from higher prices of cooking gas and food items such as pork, fish, egg, and sugar. Next page
BILATERAL TALKS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pose for a photo opportunity after
delivering their respective opening statements at the President’s Hall in Malacañan Palace on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Rey Baniquet
PH, Malaysia to adopt new tack to resolve WPS issue amicably By Vince Lopez
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to achieve an amicable THE Philippines and Malaysia have resolution, both countries’ leaders said agreed to use “a new level of approach” in a joint statement Wednesday. This means taking a position “at a on the West Philippine Sea issue through
multilateral level between ASEAN” meeting with President Ferdinand Marthat would “lead to an amicable resolu- cos Jr. in Malacañang. tion to this outstanding problem,” visBoth the Philippines and Malaysia iting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar are claimants to contested territories Ibrahim said following his bilateral Next page
Gov’t to push urban agriculture, promote biofertilizers in farming By Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday urged Filipinos to support his administration’s urban farming initiatives that would address threats to food security. Mr. Marcos also said the government will soon introduce the use of biofertilizers to local farmers to cut their dependence on expensive, imported, petroleum-based fertilizers. In a related development, the President said that the Mega Manufacturing Plant in Batangas serves as an example
of what he wants to achieve in the country’s agriculture sector, pointing out the importance of upscaling agricultural operations to benefit small farmers and fisherfolk (see the full story on Business, page B4 – Editors). Mr. Marcos lauded the collaborative efforts of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in launching the Halina’t Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay/Kadiwa Ay Yaman/ Plants for Bountiful Barangays Movement (Hapag Kay PBBM) at the Rizal Next page
OUTPOURING OF GRIEF. Students and teachers of Adamson University in Manila offer a mass for 24-year-old student John Matthew Salilig who died after suffering at least 70 blows in a fraternity initiation. Norman Cruz
Speaker offers P500k for arrest of hazing suspects By Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vince Lopez
Speaker Martin Romualdez offered a P500,000 reward to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of those responsible, saying that “brothers do not kill brothers.” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, who is in GeTHE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been ordered to conduct a parallel probe into the death of a 24-year- neva, Switzerland on official business, ordered the NBI Next page old Adamson University chemical engineering student as
BI to use Tiktok platform to stamp human trafficking PRODUCTION LINE. Workers arrange cans on the production line of canned sardines inside the newly-opened Mega Manufacturing Plant in Santo Tomas, Batangas on March 1, 2023. AFP
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has launched its own TikTok account to counter trafficking syndicates recruiting via the social media platform. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the bureau has received numerous reports of young urban professionals
being recruited via TikTok, Facebook, and other messaging and social media applications to work abroad as cryptocurrency scammers. Victims were offered as much as US$1,000 salary per month (about P55,000) to work in call centers in vari-
ous Asian countries, only to be forced to work as online scammers. “We need to catch up. These syndicates are using these new platforms in recruiting, hence we believe that we need to use the same channels to reach Next page