twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
S
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
Military must be peacemakers, not just warfighters–President By Vince Lopez THE military should not just be "warfighters" but also "peacemakers," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday amid the government’s new approach toward communist rebels.
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 34 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
The President said this to the Philippine Army's 9th Infantry "Spear" Division in Camarines Sur. According to the Chief Executive, the government has been offering communists a "life after their life as rebels." Next page
PBBM: P20 rice dream alive Notes price per kilo down nearly half from P43, value chain needs fixing
By Vince Lopez and Othel V. Campos
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he is still hopeful that his dream of P20 per kilo of rice for Filipinos will come true. "You can see that the price of rice, my dream of lowering its price to P20, we are not yet there... but we are already at P25. We are close to further reducing its price," the President said in a speech at the launch of the Kadiwa Ng Pangulo in Pili, Camarines Sur The Kadiwa market aims to provide farmers and fishers as well as micro, small, and medium enterprises a direct market for their products. In 500 Kadiwa stores across the country, rice sells for P25 a kilo. As of March 15, the price of wellmilled rice in the markets in Metro Manila ranges from P40 to P46 per kilo, according to government data. It was President Marcos' campaign promise to bring down the price of rice in the Philippines to as low as P20 per kilo. He said the aspiration hinges on fixing the value chain, or the series of stages involved in producing a product or service Next page
HOMES FOR CAMSUR. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. breaks ground for the first housing site in the back-to-back launching of the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project in Camarines Sur along Panganiban Drive in Naga City on Thursday (see story on A2). Rolando Mailo
No extension for Teves; Degamo laid to rest Remulla: Oil spill ship rebuilt from scrap, passed off as new By Maricel V. Cruz
Citizens Act of 1992, as amended by RA Nos. 9257 and 9994, which expanded the coverage of the discount. The high court, through a decision penned by Associate Justice Rodil V. Zalameda, stressed that funeral and burial
SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday renewed his appeal – and ultimatum—to Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. to return to the country and report to work in Congress immediately. This was as Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, who was gunned down along with eight others at his home by heavily-armed men who claimed a certain “Cong Teves” was the mastermind of the brazen assassination, was laid to rest yesterday in his hometown of Siaton. The leadership of the House of Representatives also said it will leave it up “to the sound discretion” of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate Teves over his failure to return to the country despite the Speaker’s appeal and the expiration of his travel clearance last March 9. House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe said it will let the House ethics committee decide on the imposition of appropriate disciplinary action against Teves. The Negros solon’s legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, requested a private meeting with the Speaker Wednesday night. "In that meeting, I reiterated my stand that Cong. Arnie should return to the
Next page
Next page
FAREWELL, GOV. Policemen bear the casket of slain Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo toward the family mausoleum in Bonawon, Siaton, as supporters, relatives, and close allies of the governor shout for justice for his assassination last March 4. PIA
‘Senior discount covers funerals, burials’ THE Supreme Court has declared that the statutorily mandated 20 percent discount for senior citizens covers funeral and burial expenses. In a decision, the SC ruled that the mandatory discount is provided for under Republic Act No. 7432, the Senior
Next page
THE oil tanker MT Princess Empress that sank and caused an environmental crisis off Oriental Mindoro was already so old it had already been scrapped—but was rebuilt and passed off to the Philippine Coast Guard as brand new, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday.
Owing to this, Remulla said the government is eyeing both criminal and civil cases following the sinking of the tanker and the resulting oil spill that is threatening the vital ecosystem of the Verde Island Passage north of where it capsized. “It is a rebuilt scrap... It was not built to be a tanker from the very beginning,” Remulla said. “The PCG had been told that it was brand new. But it turned out that it was already old—rebuilt scrap that Next page
DFA: AUKUS submarine pact set to preserve SCS peace, stability By Rey E. Requejo THE Philippines has interposed no objection to the development of the trilateral security pact among Australia, Britain, and the United States (AUKUS), including Canberra’s plan to purchase nuclearpowered submarines. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs noted the assurances made by the three countries' heads of government that AUKUS will contribute to the preser-
vation of regional peace and stability. The DFA expressed support for the deal as Manila "remains committed to strengthening our existing bilateral security arrangements in the region." "The Philippines appreciates the efforts of the AUKUS parties to provide information and developments on AUKUS, and in this regard, notes their recent announcement," the DFA said. Amid Chinese aggressive behavior in Next page
‘Virginity soap’ leads bogus PH medical posts
SM Foundation aids quake-hit Türkiye, Syria IN SOLIDARITY with earthquake-hit countries Türkiye and Syria, SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI) sent aid through the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Feb. 27. Represented by SM Foundation Health and Medical Programs Executive Director Connie Angeles, SMFI handed over 200 units of gasoline generators to PRC to provide power to areas in both quake-stricken countries.
By Rey E. Requejo, Vince Lopez, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Charles Dantes
DONATION. SMFI’s Connie Angeles (second from left) hands the donation to PRC chairperson Dick Gordon with PRC Governor Ernesto Isla and PRC Secretary General Dr. Gwen Pang (flanking them) as witnesses. Red Cross photo
LOCAL vlogger Rosanel Demasudlay holds a heart-shaped "virginity soap" bar in front of the camera and assures her hundreds of YouTube followers it can be safely used to "tighten" their vaginas. The video is part of a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms where Filipinos rank among the world's heaviest users. Even before COVID-19 confined people to their homes and left them fearful of seeing a doctor, many in Next page
BOGUS SOAP. A person holds a packet of Bar Bilat, a brand of 'virginity soap' not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and advertised on social media platforms with bogus claims it can be safely used to 'tighten' vaginas, inside a laboratory at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. AFP